Church of God News

“Martyrdom of Polycarp” from Ceiling of the Church of St. Polycarp, Smyrna (now called Izmir, Turkey)

COGwriter

February 23rd is considered the “Feast of Polycarp” by the Roman and Eastern Orthodox Catholics.  Some believe that he was martyred on that date.

Polycarp was a disciple of the Apostle John.  In the late 1st century (or the early second century) he was put in charge of the Church of God in Smyrna. Roman Catholics and Eastern Orthodox revere him as a saint (as do some Protestants). We in the Living Church of God primarily trace our early history from Peter, Paul, and John through Polycarp (we also trace our history through other areas that had faithful Christians for a while, such as Jerusalem).

Almost everyone associated with Christendom considers that Polycarp was a true and faithful Christian leader.

In the late second century, the Catholic and Orthodox saint Irenaeus wrote:

But Polycarp also was not only instructed by apostles, and conversed with many who had seen Christ, but was also, by apostles in Asia, appointed bishop of the Church in Smyrna…always taught the things which he had learned from the apostles, and which the Church has handed down, and which alone are true. To these things all the Asiatic Churches testify, as do also those men who have succeeded Polycarp down to the present time (Irenaeus. Adversus Haeres. Book III, Chapter 4, Verse 3 and Chapter 3, Verse 4).

So if Polycarp was a faithful saint who was appointed by the apostles, then perhaps real Christians would follow his practices as he followed the Bible.

In the famous account of his martyrdom, he made some statements that even under the face of death suggested that he had a sense of humor:

9:1 But as Polycarp entered into the stadium, a voice came to him from heaven; ‘Be strong, Polycarp, and play the man.’ And no one saw the speaker, but those of our people who were present heard the voice. And at length, when he was brought up, there was a great tumult, for they heard that Polycarp had been apprehended.

9:2 When then he was brought before him, the proconsul enquired whether he were the man. And on his confessing that he was, he tried to persuade him to a denial saying, ‘Have respect to thine age,’ and other things in accordance therewith, as it is their wont to say; ‘Swear by the genius of Caesar; repent and say, Away with the atheists.’

Then Polycarp with solemn countenance looked upon the whole multitude of lawless heathen that were in the stadium, and waved his hand to them; and groaning and looking up to heaven he said, ‘Away with the atheists.’

9:3 But when the magistrate pressed him hard and said, ‘Swear the oath, and I will release You; revile the Christ,’ Polycarp said, ‘Fourscore and six years have I been His servant, and He hath done me no wrong. How then can I blaspheme my King who saved me?’

And even though many Greco-Romans observe the presumed date of his martyrdom as a feast, it is not likely that many of those who do so realize that he held many (though not all) views that sometimes conflict with those now held by the Greco-Roman churches.  Actually, he was a heretic fighter and even tried to get Anicetus, Bishop of Rome to change.

Here is a summary of some of Polycarp’s beliefs and practices:

A Binitarian view, that acknowledged the Holy Spirit, was held by the apostolic and post-apostolic true Christian leaders, like Polycarp.
Hierarchical church governance was advocated by Polycarp.
The canon of the New Testament was known by Polycarp as he seemed to refer to all the books it in the famous Polycarp’s Letter to the Philippians.
Christmas was not observed by Polycarp nor any professing Christ prior to the third century, or ever by those holding to early teachings.
Deification of Christians was taught by the early leaders of the Church, including Polycarp.
Easter per se was not observed by the apostolic church, and Polycarp fought against it.
The Fall Holy Days were observed by true early Christians, including Polycarp.
The Father was considered to be God by all early professing Christians, including Polycarp.
Polycarp taught against idols (and that would include icons).
Polycarp taught against the immortality of the soul.
Jesus was considered to be God by the true Christians, including Polycarp.
The Kingdom of God was taught by Polycarp.
Leavened Bread was removed from the homes of early Christians like Polycarp.
Lent was not observed by Polycarp.
Limbo was not taught by Polycarp.
Military Service was not allowed for true early Christians like Polycarp.
Millenarianism (a literal thousand year reign of Christ on Earth, often called the millennium) was taught by the early Christians who succeeded Polycarp.
Passover was kept on the 14th of Nisan Polycarp.
Purgatory was not taught by Polycarp.
The Resurrection of the dead was taught Polycarp.
The Sabbath was observed on Saturday by Polycarp.
The Ten Commandments were observed by the apostolic and true post-apostolic Christians, including Polycarp–and in the order that the Living Church of God claims they are in.

The Living Church of God seems to be the largest group in the world to have all of the same beliefs and practices as Polycarp (although we observe no particular day in his honor).

If Polycarp really was a saint that was placed in charge by Christ’s apostles, shouldn’t you have the same beliefs and practices?

Several articles of possibly related interest may include:

Location of the Early Church: Another Look at Ephesus, Smyrna, and Rome What actually happened to the primitive Church? And did the Bible tell about this in advance?
Polycarp’s Letter to the Philippians Did Polycarp refer to all the books in the New Testament? This is Roberts and Donaldson’s translation, corrected by me in one place, where they made a small error in translating Latin by omitting one word.  It is also annotated with scriptures to demonstrate that Polycarp did have the New Testament canon.
Polycarp of Smyrna: The Heretic Fighter Polycarp was the successor of the Apostle John and a major leader in Asia Minor. Do you know much about what he taught? Does the Living Church of God or the Church of Rome more faithfully follow his teachings and practices?
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?
What Do Roman Catholic Scholars 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.
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?
Which Is Faithful: The Roman Catholic Church or the Living Church of God? Do you know that both groups shared a lot of the earliest teachings? Do you know which church changed? Do you know which group is most faithful to the teachings of the apostolic church? Which group best represents true Christianity? This documented article answers those questions. Português: Qual é fiel: A igreja católica romana ou a igreja viva do deus? Tambien Español: Cuál es fiel: ¿La iglesia católica romana o La Iglesia del Dios Viviente? Auch: Deutsch: Welches zuverlässig ist: Die Römisch-katholische Kirche oder die lebende Kirche von Gott?
Some Similarities and Differences Between the Orthodox Church and the Living Church of God Both groups claim to be the original church, but both groups have differing ways to claim it. Both groups have some amazing similarities and some major differences. Do you know what they are?

“Orthodox” 16th Century Representation of the “Apocalypse”

COGwriter

More and more financial types in the USA are realizing some of the seriousness of the debt situation:

Armageddon

Money and Markets – Feb 22, 2010   excerpt…

Never before in history has a world power like the U.S. been so utterly buried in debt! And never before has that debt been financed so massively by foreign investors!

In the entire world, the United States government and its agencies have, by far, the largest pile-up of interest-bearing debts ($15.6 trillion), the largest accumulation of unsecured obligations (over $60 trillion), the largest yearly deficit ($1.6 trillion), and the greatest indebtedness to the rest of the world ($4.8 trillion).

Full article at:  http://www.moneyandmarkets.com/armageddon-10-37926

What they do not know, but regular readers of the COGwriter page do, is that this was predicted in Bible prophecy:

³ For the vision is yet for an appointed time; But at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; Because it will surely come, It will not tarry…
⁶ “Will not all these take up a proverb against him, And a taunting riddle against him, and say, ‘Woe to him who increases
What is not his—how long?
And to him who loads himself with many pledges’?
⁷ Will not your creditors rise up suddenly? Will they not awaken who oppress you? And you will become their booty. ⁸ Because you have plundered many nations, All the remnant of the people shall plunder you…” (Habakkuk 2:3,6–8).

And the results of the debt will be worse than most of the financial types have realized.

Some items of possibly related interest may include:

2012 and the Rise of the Secret Sect This is a link related to a book by Bob Thiel (COGwriter). This also has YouTube videos related to 2012. The book has a chapter titled Barack Obama, the Future Islamic King of the South, and the End of America.
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? Eight reasons why Barack Obama is apocalyptic and eight reasons why Barack Obama is not the Antichrist. This article includes many 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. Read it and decide for yourself if President Obama seems to be fulfilling various 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.

Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople

COGwriter

Notice the following:

Patriarch of Constantinople’s new encyclical defends Catholic-Orthodox dialogue

Istanbul, Turkey, Feb 20, 2010 / 06:14 pm (CNA).- Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople’s newest encyclical encourages dialogue between the Orthodox Church and other Christian churches and laments those who are “unacceptably fanatical” in challenging such dialogue…“They disseminate false rumors that union between the Roman Catholic and Orthodox Churches is imminent, while they know well that the differences discussed in these theological dialogues remain numerous and require lengthy debate; moreover, union is not decided by theological commissions but by Church Synods,” Bartholomew wrotehttp://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/patriarch_of_constantinoples_new_encyclical_defends_catholic-orthodox_dialogue/

COGwriter has been one of the few non-Roman, non-Orthodox sites to warn against the coming unity for years.

Now I actually agree with the Orthodox Patriarch that the Orthodox will likely need to have a church synod for unity.  But what he did not mention is that Orthodox prophets have expected such a meeting to take place and result it unity.  Notice one from centuries ago:

Saint Nelios the Myrrh-Gusher (died 1592): During that time the Eighth and last Ecumenical Synod will take place, which will satisfy the contentions of the heretics…(Thiel, Bob. 2012 and the Rise of the Secret Sect, Nazarene Books, 2009, p. 173).

By satisfying “heretics”, clearly this council compromises and changes the religion, which will be called “Catholic”.

Yet, some Orthodox look forward to this, but also expect an antipope near then:

Helen Tzima Otto (20^th century): We have been told time and time again through the prophets that the Great Monarch and Papa Angelorum…will convene the 8^th Ecumenical Council, which will reunify all Christians…The Emperor will spend three years waging wars against the non-Christian nations…{later will be} the end time schism of the Roman Catholic Church of the End Times and the rise of an antipope (2012 and the Rise of the Secret Sect, p. 173).

Such unity will be dangerous for both the Church of Rome and the Eastern Orthodox.  Signs and lying wonders may be a deceptive factor in this occurrence (cf. 2 Thessalonians 2:9).

Notice that one Orthodox writer worries that it may come about because of apparitions claiming to be Mary:

Peter Jackson (20^th century): To which Mary are Muslims and Protestants being drawn?… Rome began to see her more and more as a “goddess,” a fourth Hypostasis of the Trinity…Today, as heterodox Christians become more and more ecumenist and work toward creating a “One World Church,” the search has begun for a Mary of universal recognition, one who will appeal not only to those who bear the name Christian, but apparently to Muslims and others as well, just as attempts are likewise being made to identify the “new Christ” with the Muslim concept of their coming Mahdi and with the Messiah still awaited by the Jews. This, of course, will be no Christ at all but the antichrist (2012 and the Rise of the Secret Sect, pp. 115-116).

Since the Bishop of Rome already has stated that the Vatican will compromise doctrinally in order to get the Orthodox to join (2012 and the Rise of the Secret Sect, p. 181), the Eastern Orthodox are justifiably concerned that such unity will take place.  Furthermore, Roman Catholics are right to be concerned that since the Vatican has already stated that it will compromise for the sake of unity with the Eastern Orthodox, that compromise will occur in Rome for such unity.

Notice what two Roman Catholic priests wrote:

Priest O’Connor (20^th century?): This final false prophet will be a bishop of the church and will lead all religions into becoming one…

Priest Paul Kramer (21^st century): The errors of Orthodoxy and of Protestantism will be embraced by that false church, it will be an ecumenical church because the Anti-Pope will be recognized by the world—not by the faithful, but by the world—by the secular world and the secular governments…

The Anti-Pope will be recognized as the legitimate Pope of the “church,” and the legitimate head of the Vatican State. That “church” will be united with all the false religions. They will be united together under the universality of the Masonic umbrella. In that motley ecumenical union will be the established religion of the so-called civilized world. This is how we will get into the time of great persecution such as the world has never seen (2012 and the Rise of the Secret Sect, pp. 171, 173).

Notice that both Roman and Eastern Orthodox sources are concerned that such unity will result in the rise of the final Antichrist.  There is also a Mayan prophecy that seems to warn against this (2012 and the Rise of the Secret Sect, p. 172).

Oddly, certain Orthodox and Catholic prophets seem to look forward to the time that Babylon will be re-established:

Monk Leontios (died 543): Rejoice, oh most unhappy one, oh New Babylon!…You, who are the New Babylon rejoice now on behalf of Zion! New Babylon, dance, bounce and leap greatly, make known even those in Haydes what a Grace you have received. Because that peace which was yours to enjoy in times past, and which God has deprived you of in course of battles, receive it once more from the hand of an Angel…oh, the City of Seven Hills the dominion will be yours…

Abbott Joachim (died 1202)…A remarkable Pope will be seated on the pontifical throne, under special protection of the angels. Holy and full of gentleness, he shall undo all wrong, he shall recover the states of the Church, and reunite the exiled temporal powers. As the only Pastor, he shall reunite the Eastern to the Western Church…This holy Pope shall be both pastor and reformer. Through him the East and West shall be in ever lasting concord. The city of Babylon shall then be the head and guide of the world. Rome, weakened in temporal power, shall forever preserve her spiritual dominion, and shall enjoy great peace…At the beginning, in order to bring these happy results, having need of a powerful assistance, this holy Pontiff will ask the cooperation of the generous monarch of France (Great Monarch) (2012 and the Rise of the Secret Sect, pp. 229-230).

Yet, according to the Bible, the Babylonian power will fall during the Day of the Lord (Revelation 18:2).  Since the Babylon in the Book of Revelation is a city on seven hills (Revelation 17:5-9), this is referring to a city such as Rome.  And this is known by Catholic scholars.

Since so many biblical and non-biblical writings seem to warn against a coming unity that seems to be being discussed by Rome and Constantinople, it is not correct to state that it is only “fanatics” that should be concerned.

Such unity appears to be coming within a relatively few years and would seem to be prophesied to affect the whole world–and not in a positive way.

No wonder this matter is so serious among those who understand that the Bible warns that such will rise up.

Some articles of possibly related interest may include:

Why Should American Catholics Should Fear Unity with the Orthodox? Are the current ecumenical meetings a good thing or will they result in disaster?
Orthodox Must Reject Unity with the Roman Catholics The talks for unification involve compromise and the apparent rising up of a changed religion that no one should accept.
European empire formed today, might it become Babylon? On December 1, 2009, a new empire formed.  Most are unaware of what the Lisbon Treaty will bring about.

Karl-Theodor von und zu Guttenberg

COGwriter

A week ago, I posted an article containing some news items (see Statfor’s Caesar; Karl-Theodor von und zu Guttenberg a Prince of the North?) that provided many reasons that German Defence Minister Baron Karl-Theodor von und zu Guttenberg might become the final King of the North.

And while that identity is not yet certain, I noticed that I had written the following in a book that I wrote in 2009:

The King of the North will probably proclaim “peace and safety” while plotting for the sudden destruction of those opposing him (1 Thessalonians 5:2–3). This would be a second false proclamation of peace. The sudden destruction is likely to include a nuclear attack, and could possibly happen in conjunction with a NATO exercise that would catch the U.S.A. and its Anglo-allies off guard (other nations are likely to also be involved). (Thiel B. 2012 and the Rise of the Secret Sect. Nazarene Books, 2009, pp. 302-303).

The Bible foretells the time of a military leader rising up (Revelation 13:1-4) who will destroy the “strongest fortresses”  (Daniel 11:39)–apparently a reference to the USA and its Anglo-allies.

Notice also the following recent two news item from 2010:

German Defence Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg Calls For NATO Reforms

“We speak too much and achieve too little,” said the German Ministe {sic} as he hoped for “courageous and pragmatic” proposals to reform NATO to meet its objectives. The Minister was discussing the need for redeveloping the strategic concept for NATO and urged for inclusion of ideas from the new member states. (German Defence Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg Calls For NATO Reforms. Source: eGov monitor – A Policy Dialogue Platform
Published Wednesday, 17 February, 2010 – 17:20. http://www.egovmonitor.com/node/33747 viewed 02/20/2010).

German minister calls for Lisbon treaty EU army

GERMAN FOREIGN minister Guido Westerwelle has called for the EU to proceed with plans for a European army under the Lisbon Treaty, which he dubbed “the beginning and not the end” of a common security and defence policy.

His remarks at the annual Munich Security Conference followed a call by Berlin’s defence minister Karl Theodor zu Guttenberg to end what he called Nato’s “absurd” practice of unanimous decision-making (Scally D. German minister calls for Lisbon treaty EU army. The Irish Times – Monday, February 8, 2010. http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/world/2010/0208/1224263954855.html viewed 02/20/2010).

So the German Defence Minister, Karl-Theodor Guttenberg, wants NATO to be changed, and fairly quickly. Yet he still wants NATO.  And he wants it to be able to make decisions without all the nations in it agreeing–he considers that having to get all agree is “absurd” .  And that indicates that Baron Guttenberg seems to have dictatorial tendencies.  That may not bode well for the one nation known as the USA.

Of course, this does not prove that Karl-Theodor von und zu Guttenberg will have to be the King of the North, but his possible resemblance may be more than an interesting coincidence.

Some items for further related study may include:

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?
2012 and the Rise of the Secret Sect This is a link related to a book by Bob Thiel (COGwriter). This also has YouTube videos related to 2012.
2012 y el surgimiento de la secta secreta Nuevo libro del Dr. Thiel en Español.
Two Horned Beast of Revelation and 666 Who is 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”? Is an emerging European power “the daughter of Babylon”? What is ahead for Europe?

COGwriter

Gerald Flurry’s PCG added another relic to its collection:

Here is some of what PCG said about it:

EDMOND—In the most recent instance of the ruins of Herbert W. Armstrong’s legacy being raised, the Philadelphia Church of God has acquired the bronze letters from the Ambassador Auditorium’s dedication inscription…

After discovering the cost of casting all the letters needed for the dedication inscription of the PCG’s Armstrong Auditorium would have totaled around $10,000, church officials contacted Harvest Rock Church about the possibility of buying the letters. church officials contacted Harvest Rock Church about the possibility of buying the letters. They offered the letters to the PCG as a gift and suggested a $100 token of thanks. The PCG sent $250 to cover the shipping and a donation of thanks.

Receiving the letters from Ambassador was not only a significant blessing financially, but also in terms of incalculable sentimental value. Facilities manager and Ambassador College graduate Roger Brandon said, “In one sense [the letters] are worthless to someone else … I saw them and had to walk away. You get a bit emotional.” The only words that need to be newly cast are “Armstrong Auditorium” and “Philadelphia.”…

The letters will take up their new home in the Grand Lobby on the center onyx wall between the two candelabra, just as they did in Ambassador under Mr. Armstrong, dedicating the building to God. In addition to the candelabra, the letters join the Swans in Flight sculpture by Sir David Wynne and a 9-foot Steinway concert grand piano from Ambassador Auditorium as a group of treasures the PCG has acquired from the former Worldwide Church of God campuses. The mission of the PCG via its Armstrong International Cultural Foundation is to revive and continue the cultural and humanitarian legacy of Herbert W. Armstrong.  http://www.pcog.org/article.php?articleid=97 (photo from same source)

While some in PCG will argue that this was mainly done as a cost-saving measure, the above “press release” suggests that it is more than that.

Here is an astute assessment by Shadows of WCG webmaster “J”:

I have written many times about the idolatry of the physical attributes of the Ambassador Auditorium that permeates with sickening nausea from so many. From the pianos to the candelabra to these bronze letters – directly to the bronze swan fountain, one would think they would get a clue over getting emotional and having to walk away over bronze lettering would show that something is very, very wrong with that picture.

It is, in my opinion, the strongest form of blatant idolatry.

The Philadelphia Church of God seems to be on a mission of “raising the ruins” – physical ruins – of what is left of the Worldwide Church of God’s physical programs and assets.

While doing so, they store up treasures on Earth – and abandon “treasures in heaven”.

PCG has for a long time, focused (in my opinion) on mainly how to physically appear to be like the old WCG.

Relic acquisition among the Greco-Roman churches began in earnest in the fourth century.  Notice the following:

It appears that Helena was converted to Christianity when she was 63 years of age.  As though to compensate for the years before her conversion, she set out in the year 324 with great zeal and fervor to build churches, to restore and adorn older ones and to find precious relics…She was elevated by her son to the position of empress of the world and mistress of the empire (Cruz JC. Relics.  Our Sunday Visitor Publishing, 1984, p. 255).

…thanks to Emperor Constantine…his mother Saint Helena began a campaign to recover as many relics of Christianity as she could get her hands on (John Trigilio, Kenneth Brighenti. The Catholicism Answer Book: The 300 Most Frequently Asked Questions. Sourcebooks, Inc., 2007, p. 258).

Emperor Constantine I, appointed his mother Helen as Augusta, and gave her unlimited access to the imperial treasury in order to locate the relics of Judeo-Christian tradition. (Helena of Constantinople. Wikipedia, viewed 04/20/09)

It was mainly because of Constantine and Helena that the Greco-Roman churches adopted idols and icons for their churches.  The Bible itself warns that even using genuine relics can be a problem (2 Kings 18:4).

And while I do not believe that those in PCG will directly worship the bronze letters or other relics that have been acquired, I do believe that they will feel that their ownership proves (to many of them at least) that PCG is the correct church.

While I have nothing against attaining the letters per se, this announcement from PCG (combined with its earlier acquisitions) really does remind me of Emperor Constantine’s mother’s quest for relics and pictures in the fourth century.

Of course, until the fourth century, relics were avoided by most who professed Christ.  And while buying the bronze letters of itself does not prove idolatry, the pattern of PCG acquiring relics certainly suggests that its focus may be a bit too much on outward appearance and perhaps worse.

Two articles of possibly related interest may include the following:

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 claims to be faithful.
What Did the Early Church Teach About Idols and Icons? Did Catholic and Orthodox “saints” endorse or condemn idols and icons for Christians?

Bas-relief at Angkor Wat depicting a demon performing an ancient abortion.

COGwriter

February, as most know, is “Black History Month”. One disturbing modern aspect of African-American history is the abortion rate:

Abortion and black children

By George Berkin

February 19, 2010, 3:36PM

It’s one of the worst-kept secrets in the abortion “wars” – that African-American women have abortions at a rate several times that of whites.

http://blog.nj.com/njv_george_berkin/2010/02/abortion_and_black_children.html

For a portion of the population that often seems to claim to be Christian, this is appalling. Of course, abortion is not a new practice, nor is it restricted to any specific ethnic group.  And yes, Planned Parenthood generates a lot of revenue from killing unborn babies (see also Planned Parenthood Director Quits After Viewing Abortion Via Ultrasound).

But it is not right.

An article of possibly related interest may include:

Abortion, the Bible, and a Woman’s Right to Choose Do you know what the Bible teaches on this?

A slightly difficult uphill and narrow way in Tobago

COGwriter

While news and history of religious interest are the most often the focus of the COGwriter news page, an item of personal interest is, “What is God’s Plan for You?”  What is the meaning of your life?

Why did God make YOU? What is YOUR purpose?

The Bible teaches “God is love” (1 John 4:16). God made you to share His love with YOU.

As a matter of fact,

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved (John 3:16-17).

Love is the main part of the meaning of life.

And YOU are also to love,

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love (1 John 4:7-8 7).

The Bible also shows,

If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also (John 4:20-21).

“If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself,’ you do well (James 2:8).

Jesus taught, “And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise (Luke 6:31). The Sabbath, for example, reflects love towards others as well as God’s love toward humanity–as it is clear that God intended Divine rest from the beginning. The Bible does teach that real love and ethics are found in the law of God. For more on the Bible and love, please read the article The Ten Commandments Reflect Love.

You may be thinking, “well I have heard some of this before from some religion”, what is MY purpose? Who am I? Why me?

YOU are unique. You are one who can give love in a unique way. Ultimately God has special plans for YOU personally. YOU are not the same as everyone else.

Of course, giving love and living the true way of Christ is difficult because narrow is the way and there “are few that find it” (Matthew 7:13-14) in this age.  But there is an “age to come” (Matthew 12:32).

As far as being unique, the Bible makes it clear that we are not all the same and are not to contribute the same way, and it uses the analogy of the body in 1 Corinthians 12:12-23 to do so:

For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body–whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free–and have all been made to drink into one Spirit. For in fact the body is not one member but many. If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I am not of the body,” is it therefore not of the body? And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I am not of the body,” is it therefore not of the body? If the whole body were an eye, where would be the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where would be the smelling? But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased. And if they were all one member, where would the body be? But now indeed there are many members, yet one body. And the eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you”; nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” No, much rather, those members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary.

Yes, YOU, whether strong or weak, are necessary. God’s plan includes a plan for YOU! Yes, you.  You are to receive and you to give love.

This is the true Christian meaning of life.

In the Old Testament, Job understood that God had a plan for him when he stated to God, “You shall desire the work of Your hands (Job 14:15). What Job meant was that after he was resurrected (this is discussed in the verses prior) Job knew that God had a meaning of life for him personally.

In the New Testament, Jesus taught the same thing. When He taught,

In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself (John 14:2-3).

Jesus was saying that He would prepare a place for YOU if you were one of the Father’s children.

Furthermore, notice the following:

But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked (1 John 2:5-6).

In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another (1 John 4:9-11).

We are to love and receive love.

Those who are depressed about the suffering in today’s world need to understand that the Bible teaches,

God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away (Revelation 21:3-4).

And the happiness we will experience will be beyond that which humans can imagine (1 Corinthians 2:9).

God’s plan for you is to show you love through the forgiveness of sins, to ultimately reveal His loving plan of salvation to all, to give you more than you can even imagine, and for you to be able to show love to others throughout eternity.

Some articles of possibly related interest may include:

What is the Meaning of Life? Who does God say is happy? What is your ultimate destiny? Do you really know? Does God actually have a plan for YOU personally?
Are You Saved? Do You Love Jesus? What is a True Christian? What is the Gospel? Evangelist Richard Ames answers those important questions.
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?
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.
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? Will God call everyone? Will everyone have an opportunity for salvation? Does God’s plan of salvation take rebellion and spiritual blindness into account?

Pope Benedict XVI

COGwriter

In his comments yesterday, Pope Benedict XVI said:

Today, Ash Wednesday, we begin the Lenten journey: a journey that extends over 40 days and that leads us to the joy of the Lord’s Easter…

Dear friends! While we hasten to undertake the austere Lenten journey, we want to invoke with particular confidence the protection and help of the Virgin Mary. May she, the first believer in Christ, be the one who accompanies us in these 40 days of intense prayer and sincere penance, to be able to celebrate, purified and completely renewed in mind and spirit, the great mystery of her Son’s Easter. (http://www.zenit.org/article-28387?l=english)

According to The Catholic Encylopedia itself, the 40 day Lenten season was really not a practice of the original Christians:

Some of the Fathers as early as the fifth century supported the view that this forty days’ fast was of Apostolic institution…But the best modern scholars are almost unanimous in rejecting this view…We may then fairly conclude that Irenaeus about the year 190 knew nothing of any Easter fast of forty days…And there is the same silence observable in all the pre-Nicene Fathers, though many had occasion to mention such an Apostolic institution if it had existed. We may note for example that there is no mention of Lent in St. Dionysius of Alexandria (ed. Feltoe, 94 sqq.) or in the “Didascalia”, which Funk attributes to about the year 250 (Lent. The Catholic Encyclopedia).

The Catholic Saint Abbot John Cassian (also known as Cassianus, monk of Marseilles) in the fifth century admitted:

Howbeit you should know that as long as the primitive church retained its perfection unbroken, this observance of Lent did not exist (Cassian John. Conference 21, THE FIRST CONFERENCE OF ABBOT THEONAS. ON THE RELAXATION DURING THE FIFTY DAYS. Chapter 30).

Yet, in the late second century, Polycrates, Bishop of Ephesus, felt it needful to remind Bishop Victor of Rome, that Easter Sunday was not a practice of the original apostles, but Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread were:

We observe the exact day; neither adding, nor taking away…Philip, one of the twelve apostles, who fell asleep in Hierapolis; and his two aged virgin daughters, and another daughter, who lived in the Holy Spirit and now rests at Ephesus; and, moreover, John, who was both a witness and a teacher, who reclined upon the bosom of the Lord, and, being a priest, wore the sacerdotal plate. He fell asleep at Ephesus. And Polycarp in Smyrna, who was a bishop and martyr; and Thraseas, bishop and martyr from Eumenia, who fell asleep in Smyrna. Why need I mention the bishop and martyr Sagaris who fell asleep in Laodicea, or the blessed Papirius, or Melito, the Eunuch who lived altogether in the Holy Spirit, and who lies in Sardis, awaiting the episcopate from heaven, when he shall rise from the dead? All these observed the fourteenth day of the passover according to the Gospel, deviating in no respect, but following the rule of faith. And I also, Polycrates, the least of you all, do according to the tradition of my relatives, some of whom I have closely followed. For seven of my relatives were bishops; and I am the eighth. And my relatives always observed the day when the people put away the leaven. I, therefore, brethren, who have lived sixty-five years in the Lord, and have met with the brethren throughout the world, and have gone through every Holy Scripture, am not affrighted by terrifying words. For those greater than I have said ‘ We ought to obey God rather than man’ (Eusebius. Church History, Book V, Chapter 24. Translated by Arthur Cushman McGiffert. Excerpted from Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series Two, Volume 1. Edited by Philip Schaff and Henry Wace. American Edition, 1890. Online Edition Copyright © 2004 by K. Knight).

Notice that Polycrates said that he and the other early church leaders (like the Apostles Philip and John, and their successors like Polycarp, Thraseas, Sagaris, Papirius, Melito) would not deviate from the Bible, and that they knew the Bible taught them to keep the Passover on the correct date, and not always on a Sunday. Also notice that they always observed the day when the people put away the leaven. Polycrates also reminded the Roman bishop that true followers of Christ “obey God rather than men”.

The Apostle Paul also invoked keeping the Days of Unleavened Bread:

7 Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us.  8 Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. (1 Corinthians 5:7-8)

Thus, while the Apostle Paul specifically endorsed the observance of Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread, he did not do so for something called Lent.   However, because the Days of Unleavened Bread involve a seven-day “fast” from leaven, it may be that some associated with Rome and Egypt felt that an abstinence period would be appropriate, but the amount of time varied.

Notice what the Catholic Socrates Scholasticus admitted around the beginning of the fifth century:

The fasts before Easter will be found to be differently observed among different people. Those at Rome fast three successive weeks before Easter, excepting Saturdays and Sundays. Those in Illyrica and all over Greece and Alexandria observe a fast of six weeks, which they term ‘The forty days’ fast.’ Others commencing their fast from the seventh week before Easter, and fasting three five days only, and that at intervals, yet call that time ‘The forty days’ fast.’ It is indeed surprising to me that thus differing in the number of days, they should both give it one common appellation; but some assign one reason for it, and others another, according to their several fancies. One can see also a disagreement about the manner of abstinence from food, as well as about the number of days. Some wholly abstain from things that have life: others feed on fish only of all living creatures: many together with fish, eat fowl also, saying that according to Moses, Genesis 1:20 these were likewise made out of the waters. Some abstain from eggs, and all kinds of fruits: others partake of dry bread only; still others eat not even this: while others having fasted till the ninth hour, afterwards take any sort of food without distinction. And among various nations there are other usages, for which innumerable reasons are assigned. Since however no one can produce a written command as an authority, it is evident that the apostles left each one to his own free will in the matter, to the end that each might perform what is good not by constraint or necessity. Such is the difference in the churches on the subject of fasts (Socrates Scholasticus. Ecclesiastical History, Volume V, Chapter 22).

Since the Babylonians took over the Greeks and the Egyptians, that may have been when they started this practice.

Some others have suspected that pre-Christian culture was the reason that a 40 day Lenten period was adopted by the Church of Rome:

But the original length of the fast, traced back to Babylon was a “forty-days” fast in the spring of the year (Laynard’s Nineveh and Babylon, chapter 4, page 93). That is why it bore its name of “40 days”! (Hoeh, H. Did Jesus Observe Lent? Plain Truth. February 1982, p. 30).

It is likely that the idea of a forty-day fast came from Alexandria in Egypt or from Greece.

The historian Alexander Hislop apparently felt so as he wrote:

The forty days’ abstinence of Lent was directly borrowed from the worshippers of the Babylonian goddess…Such a Lent of forty days was observed in Egypt, as may be seen on consulting Wilkinson’s Egyptians…Among the Pagans this Lent seems to have been an indispensable preliminary to the great annual festival in commemoration of the death and resurrection of Tammuz, which was celebrated by alternate weeping and rejoicing, and which, in many countries, was considerably later than the Christian festival, being observed in Palestine and Assyria in June, therefore called the “month of Tammuz”; in Egypt, about the middle of May, and in Britain, some time in April. To conciliate the Pagans to nominal Christianity, Rome, pursuing its usual policy, took measures to get the Christian and Pagan festivals amalgamated, and, by a complicated but skilful adjustment of the calendar…Originally, even in Rome, Lent, with the preceding revelries of the Carnival, was entirely unknown; and even when fasting before the Christian Pasch was held to be necessary, it was by slow steps that, in this respect, it came to conform with the ritual of Paganism. What may have been the period of fasting in the Roman Church before sitting of the Nicene Council does not very clearly appear, but for a considerable period after that Council, we have distinct evidence that it did not exceed three weeks (Hislop A. Two Babylons. pp. 104-106).

So, while their was a biblical time of some type of abstinence, a 40 day period known as Lent was not the practice of early Christians.

Some modern groups, like the Living Church of God (who traces its history through leaders including Polycarp and Polycrates), still observe Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread.  But groups with closer historical ties to the Church of Rome tend to observe Lent and Easter Sunday.

Some articles of possibly related interest may include:

Mysterious origins of Mardis Gras and Ash Wednesday Where do researchers believe these practices came from?  Are they modern or ancient?
Is Lent a Christian Holiday? When did it originate? What about Ash Wednesday? If you observe them, do you know why?
Did Early Christians Celebrate Easter? If not, when did this happen? What do scholars and the Bible reveal?
Passover and the Early Church Did the early Christians observe Passover? What did Jesus and Paul teach? Why did Jesus die for our sins?
Melito’s Homily on the Passover This is one of the earliest Christian writings about the Passover. This also includes what Apollinaris wrote on the Passover as well.
Should Christians Keep the Days of Unleavened Bread? Do they have any use or meaning now? What is leaven? This article supplies some biblical answers.

COGwriter

Last night US President Obama’s defended his economic stimulus plan:

On anniversary, Obama defends economic stimulus

Steve Holland

Wed Feb 17, 2010 11:37pm

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama vigorously defended his $787 billion stimulus on Wednesday, insisting it rescued Americans from the worst of the economic calamity and ripping Republican critics who called it a waste. http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE61G38U20100218?type=GCA-Economy2010

So, not surprisingly, President Obama defended his plan.  The plan has contributed to having President Obama sign a bill on February 12, 2010 to raise the debt ceiling to $14.3 trillion dollars:

Obama signs law lifting debt ceiling…

Obama signed the measure, raising the US debt ceiling to 14.3 trillion dollars…  http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gaXeUkifDBLCpg5SyHD0hgxn1EPw

It should be mentioned that the $14.3 trillion figure does not include personal or corporate debt.  The “National Debt” does not include items such as foreign investment in the USA outside of items like treasury bills. The Europeans, for example, have over $5,000,000,000,000 invested in the USA that could become nearly worthless if the USA defaults on its other debt or if its economy succumbs to the debt.  That will not please them.  Nor will it please other creditors, like China.

It also needs to be understood that increased debt increases the amount of interest to be paid, and likely will also force interest rates to rise and make the interest payments even higher (http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/bus/columnists/wdeener/stories/DN-deenercol_18bus.ART.State.Edition1.3cf1a10.html).

If interest rates rise to their 1982 levels in a few years, the interest on the USA debt will likely exceed the total of all income tax revenues.  This will likely raise interest rates to even higher levels.  Levels that creditors will finally realize cannot be paid back.  Taxes simply cannot be raised enough without destroying economic growth to solve this.  The USA will have to discover some great new technology to extend its dominance (remotely possible), nationally repent (highly unlikely), or come to an end (most likely).

What most pundits have not dared to say is that if the USA is not the leading economic power, it will also have to cease to be the leading military power. If this USA is not even to be a “mediocre” power (as the second article above suggests), it will be considered vulnerable and quite weak.

Here some excerpts from my book 2012 and the Rise of the Secret Sect related to Barack Obama, the USA, debt, and end-time prophecy:

Additionally, one of the first things that Barack Obama has done as U.S.A. president is to sign into to a law a bill that will greatly increase the debt of the U.S.A.  He has also indicated that he will need to pursue policies that will increase that debt during at least his first administration, although he ultimately hopes to change that, as even he claims that the U.S. debt is “unsustainable.”

However, he and others may not realize that the Bible strongly warns about what will happen to a huge debtor in the end time.  Notice what the seer Habakkuk wrote over 2,600 years ago:

³ For the vision is yet for an appointed time; But at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; Because it will surely come, It will not tarry…
⁶ “Will not all these take up a proverb against him, And a taunting riddle against him, and say, ‘Woe to him who increases
What is not his—how long?
And to him who loads himself with many pledges’?
⁷ Will not your creditors rise up suddenly? Will they not awaken who oppress you? And you will become their booty. ⁸ Because you have plundered many nations, All the remnant of the people shall plunder you…” (Habakkuk 2:3,6–8).

Hence, Barack Obama seems to currently be fulfilling the part of that prophecy of increasing pledges/debt. And, of course, it is possible that the rest of the above prophecy might be fulfilled while he is U.S.A. president.  This prophecy, if it is applicable to the U.S.A, also suggests that American dollars will ultimately be of no value to creditors by then (or to probably anyone else)…

Since 1973, the U.S.A. switched from being a creditor nation and instead has become the greatest debtor nation in the history of humankind.   Because the U.S.A. owes alien nations trillions of dollars, it appears that the curse in Deuteronomy 28:44 of having to borrow from aliens is happening to it now. President Barack Obama has put forth economic policies that will (for at least several years) greatly increase that debt.  Yet, increasing national debt like this will lead to destruction at the appointed time of the end (Habakkuk 2:3, 6–8)…

Habakkuk 2 makes clear that at the appointed time of the end, a great borrowing people will be destroyed (Habakkuk 2:3,6-8).  Something similar is in Deuteronomy 28:42-51.  No nation in the history of humankind has ever accumulated as much debt as the United States of America (because the U.K. may have the highest amount of per capita debt, its fate would seem to be similar). Yet, the relationship between debt accumulation and prophesied destruction remains unapparent to many.

And although President Obama inherited a debt-laden nation, his policies, according to his own public pronouncements, will lead to greatly increased U.S.A. debt for several years.  These increases of debt are likely to go past the point of no return and become one of the final factors that will cause creditors to rise up and destroy the U.S.A. (Thiel B. 2012 and the Rise of the Secret Sect, released September 2009).

The Bible lists debt as a curse for disobedience (Deuteronomy 28:42-51).  Creditors rising “up suddenly” to “plunder” the USA means the end of the USA.

The USA is the largest debtor nation in the history of the world and seems determined to fulfill the prophecies related to the end time debtor.  It cannot borrow like it has indefinitely.  And even the US President realizes that.  But if you are an American, do you really understand how that may affect you?

Some items of possibly related interest may include:

2012 and the Rise of the Secret Sect This is a link related to a book by Bob Thiel (COGwriter). This also has YouTube videos related to 2012. The book has a chapter titled Barack Obama, the Future Islamic King of the South, and the End of America.
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? Eight reasons why Barack Obama is apocalyptic and eight reasons why Barack Obama is not the Antichrist. This article includes many 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. Read it and decide for yourself if President Obama seems to be fulfilling various 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.

Neodymium Magnet on a Hard Drive

COGwriter

The world is starting to wake up to the fact that China controls 95% or so of the “rare earth elements” and that it may need all it produces by 2012:

China ups rare earth reserve

Financial Times – Feb 12, 2010

China’s leading producer of rare earth metals has been given government approval to build a strategic reserve, exacerbating concerns that Beijing is tightening its grip on the valuable minerals, needed to produce green and high-technology products.

China supplies about 95 per cent of the global market for rare earths… http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/fe51dd3c-1775-11df-87f6-00144feab49a.html

Concern as China clamps down on rare earth exports

Neodymium is one of 17 metals crucial to green technology. There’s only one snag – China produces 97% of the world’s supply. And they’re not selling

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/concern-as-china-clamps-down-on-rare-earth-exports-1855387.htmlOur Secret War With China

HoweStreet – Feb 11, 2010…

Congress…passed the Rare Earth Supply-Chain Technology and Resources Transformation Act of 2009 (RESTART). Here is a summary of their findings:

• Many modern defense technologies cannot be built without REEs.
• Significant quantities of REEs are used in the production of green technologies that support reduced dependence on foreign oil.
• The U.S. depends nearly 100% upon imports for REEs.
• More than 95% of REEs for world consumption comes from China.
• China’s ability and willingness to export REEs is eroding.
• Pending Chinese legislation proposes an immediate ban on the five “heavy” REEs and a restriction on the export of all the other light REEs to a level well below Japan’s 2008 demand alone.
• The U.S. has no active heavy group rare earth production capabilities. Nor does the U.S. maintain a strategic reserve of REEs…

Australia has some of the richest rare earth deposits outside of China. South Africa used to produce a large quantity of REEs. As prices go up, you can expect many of those old mines to be reopened.

While U.S. production is virtually zero, a mine in California is set to reopen in 2012. And expect more mines to be opened domestically. http://www.howestreet.com/articles/index.php?article_id=12449

As the above article shows, rare earth elements do exist elsewhere, but if most of the world cannot get what they would normally need, some will have to do without.  As I mentioned last year (see China’s Rare Earth Power), this could significantly affect the balance of power in the world.  But it also may direct groups such as the Europeans to attempt to develop weaponry that is less dependent upon these rare earth metals.

And while it would seem that the shift would result in China becoming the dominant power (which appears to be the plan of China’s government), biblical prophecy points to Europe as the end-time “Beast” power (Europe will also likely have access to REEs from Greenland).   While REEs are very important, European technologies, such as those expected to come from the Large Hadron Collider (see Antimatter, CERN’s Collider, and Military Applications) will likely keep Europe militarily and perhaps even economically ahead of China.   The same, however, cannot be said of the USA and its Anglo-allies.

A new order is developing in the world and the USA will NOT remain on top according to biblical prophecy, which seems to be confirmed by world events on a nearly daily basis.

Some articles of possibly related interest may include:

Asia in Prophecy What is Ahead for China? 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?
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?
End of Mayan Calendar 2012–Might 2012 Mean Something? Are there Mayan calendar predictions for change in 2012? Changes were centuries ago predicted by the Hopi Native Americans. Do Mayan/Hindu/Hopi/Buddhist/New Age/Nostradamus prophecies have any value here? Why might Satan have inspired this date? Does the Dresden codex show destruction of the earth by flood?
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? Eight reasons why Barack Obama is apocalyptic and eight reasons why Barack Obama is not the Antichrist. This article includes many 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. Read it and decide for yourself if President Obama seems to be fulfilling various 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.
Large Hadron Collider may result in military applications The Europeans have the largest physics project on the planet. Some scoff, but might it result in military applications? May the Large Hadron Collider help fulfill Revelation 13:4?
2012 and the Rise of the Secret Sect This page contains some concepts and prophecies related to 2012 and a book.  This also has YouTube videos related to 2012 and beyond.