Archive for June, 2015

Do you ever wonder what you should pray about?

Friday, June 19th, 2015

COGwriter

By Lynn Torrance (from The Good News, August 1961):

Is it wrong to pray for oneself? about how to make “ends meet”? about how to overcome? Just what should one pray about?

MANY do not know what to pray about. We are often asked, “What can I pray about?” Some say, “I ask God to forgive, to guide and direct me. I ask God to bless the work, the ministers, and the Church. What else is there to pray about?”

Acknowledge God

The Bible makes plain that the FIRST STEP in learning what to pray about is to realize WHOM we are praying to.

Did you take time today to get down on your knees and become acquainted, in prayer, with God? Or are you waiting for the right “feeling”? the right mood? Are you, day after day, “putting off” praying until tomorrow because you do not think of anything to pray about? — because you just don’t feel comfortable praying to God?

Notice what Jesus instructed His disciples to pray about when they asked him to teach them to pray. Jesus said — as quoted in archaic English in the King James Version, “When ye pray, say, OUR FATHER which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name” (Luke 11:1-2).

We must first acknowledge the greatness of our HEAVENLY Father. Our faith increases when we realize that what He has promised He can and will perform! He is the God of Heaven — the Ruler of the whole universe.

Abraham strengthened his faith by giving glory to God. “He grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised” (Rom. 4:20-21, R.S.V.).

David was a praying man. David constantly gave glory and praise to God. His last public prayer is given in the Bible and is an excellent example of how to give God Glory and Honor — of what to pray about, “BLESSED are thou, LORD God of Israel our FATHER, for ever and ever. Thine, O LORD is the GREATNESS, and the POWER, and the GLORY, and the VICTORY, and the MAJESTY; for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine; thine is the KINGDOM, O LORD, and thou art EXALTED as HEAD ABOVE ALL. Both RICHES and HONOR come from thee, and thou RULEST over all … In thy hand it is to make GREAT and to GIVE STRENGTH to all. And now therefore, our God, we THANK THEE, and PRAISE thy glorious name” (I Chron. 29:10-13).

Do you glorify the majesty, the power, and the wisdom of God in prayer?

After you have praised and honored God and hallowed His Holy name then you pray —

“Thy Will Be Done”

Notice carefully that Christ next set us the example to pray: “Thy Kingdom come, THY WILL be done on earth as it is in heaven” (Mat. 6:10).

What IS God’s Will for this earth? We can know! God makes it clear in His Word what His Will is.

In Mat. 24:14 we read: “This gospel of the Kingdom SHALL be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations.” This one verse teaches a great deal about HIS WILL.

HOW is this work of preaching and publishing the Gospel to all the world being done? It is through the “World Tomorrow” broadcast, the PLAIN TRUTH, the GOOD NEWS, the CORRESPONDENCE COURSE, the BOOKLETS, the advertising in READER’S DIGEST, the Letter Answering Department, the evangelistic campaigns, the baptizing tours, the local visiting teams, even through the Ambassador College ENVOY — and especially through EACH and EVERY minister of God.

Are you praying for the success and effectiveness of ALL THESE THINGS? It is GOD’S WILL that you do!

Pray for the “World Tomorrow” broadcast. Pray that each time it goes out over the air new people will be caused to listen to it. Pray that doors to reach each section of the world, not now being reached at this time, will be opened.

Pray that God will train and send out laborers to reap the harvest of interested listeners of the “World Tomorrow” broadcast (Mat. 9:38). Pray that God will send the right students to Ambassador College, men and women who have the ability and talents and the submissiveness that He can use in His Work. Don’t forget to pray that the students who are already in Ambassador College may bear more fruit.

Pray for the co-worker letters, that God will lay it on the hearts of the readers to support this WORK with their prayers, their tithes and their offerings.

And how long do you think it would take you to pray for each and every minister, carefully, diligently? Ask God to give them the power of His Holy Spirit, His knowledge, His wisdom, that He might use them as instruments through whom He nourishes the flock He has chosen. Ask God to use them to preach from the scripture the words that are “profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness” (II Tim. 3:16).

Don’t pray these exact words. Jesus didn’t say: “Pray this.” He said “Pray thus!” Build upon and expand these suggestions. You can think of many other things to pray about when interceding for God’s ministers.

These are but a few examples, a small beginning of things to pray for. You can think of many others.

Praying for each phase of the work is important. In fact, the very existence of the work of God depends upon your prayers.

For example: When we pray that God lay it on the hearts of the people of this country to send tithes and offerings to support the cost of preaching and publishing this Gospel message to the entire world, it is His WILL to honor that prayer. He goes into action. He directly intervenes in the very lives of the people of this country and MAKES them send in more money than they would have otherwise. Thus, through daily prayer you add to the list in heaven of those you are helping to lead down the path that leads to eternal life. Your reward is certain.

PRAYER is YOUR ministry. Lack of prayer will keep you out of the Kingdom of God! God expects you to do your part. That is His will.

“Give Us Our Daily Bread”

Did you know your DAILY BREAD is dual?

Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger” (John 6:35). Come to God through daily prayer and Bible study and He will supply your DAILY spiritual needs. You have more daily need of spiritual food than even of physical food — but God here promises you both, if you will only ask Him.

Why is it that some who know God wants to supply us daily with all our needs immediately begin to ask God for things that satisfy the lust of the flesh. Their prayers are usually very short and filled with I’s, me’s and mine’s. It’s “God give me this” and “God give me that.” “Ye ask,” retorts James, “and receive NOT, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts” (James 4:2).

“Forgive Us”

Jesus also said to ask God to “forgive us our trespasses [or debts], as we forgive our trespassers [or debtors]” (Mat. 6:12).

Have you asked God to forgive your every sin, your every shortcoming, your every weakness, your every stumbling — and those of others? Do we ALSO forgive our debtors — those who offend us?

We MUST forgive everyone who has stepped on our toes, everyone who has offended us, everyone who has wronged us in any way whatsoever. God forgives us only as we forgive others! Remember that forgiving means forgetting. Yet we know that in some local churches there are people who CANNOT BE FORGIVEN by God because they still REFUSE to forgive their brethren. Brethren, this must not continue!

And finally He said, “Lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.”

God tempts no man. “Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed” (James 1:13-14). Watch and pray that you be not drawn away by lusts and enter into temptation (Mat. 26:41). Watch, keep awake. When wrong thoughts begin to come into your mind, FLEE QUICKLY to God in prayer. Put your trust in Him. Or else God will allow you to stumble in temptation till you learn to put your whole life in God’s hands.

We are not to pray this sample prayer that Jesus gave — word for word. We are to use it as an outline for our daily prayers. Few realize that Jesus also gave innumerable OTHER DETAILS to pray about in His Word. These all MAGNIFY the main principles mentioned in His outline of prayer. They should all be fitted into the pattern Jesus gave the disciples. We are instructed to pray for those in authority (I Tim. 2:1-3), for our enemies, for those who persecute us (Mat. 5:44); for the brethren (Eph. 6:18); that we may escape the things to come (Luke 21:36); for the sick and afflicted (James 5:14-16); for your own requests (Phil. 4:6); for the ministry (II Thess. 3:1); and for the churches (Eph. 1:16; Col. 1:3; Philemon 4; I Thess. 1:2).

Pray for Ourselves?

Of course! But not for ourselves only. If your prayers include others and theirs include you, think how many prayers are said ON YOUR BEHALF! But if you are selfish and pray only for yourself — and everyone else did the same — then ONLY YOU would be praying for yourself.

A student at Ambassador College discovered quite by accident the amazing principle that the Law of Love is a Living Law. He had tried to overcome a certain weakness but had failed again and again. He felt miserable and dejected.

A friend revealed that he too was having trouble overcoming the very same temptation. This student felt so miserable himself that he hastened to go and pray EARNESTLY for his friend. He said, “Oh, God, don’t let my friend be as weak and rotten as I am. Strengthen him, take this temptation from him.”

This student was amazed to discover that after having prayed for his friend, his own overpowering weakness left him! It was suddenly as if this temptation no longer existed.

This student learned that when one has some sin he is unable to overcome, if he will pray for all others who have, or even might have the same weakness, the God of Love rewards him for praying for His OTHER children.

Try it. Pray for all the men and women in the Church who have, or who even might have — the same overpowering temptation you have and see for yourself that God will reward you for showing Love to His OTHER children by strengthening you. He can and will remove your temptation from you.

Remember, if you pray for others, and all the others pray for you and others, think how much more help you have than if you alone prayed for just your problem.

Therefore pray that God will imbue us all with His Holy Spirit (Luke 11:13). Ask God for the gift of repentance so all can overcome sin. Ask God for wisdom (James 1:5), power, understanding, and knowledge.

Pray that God will implant in His people the DESIRE to study and pray until all are filled with the Spirit of God, with understanding and a true sense of values.

When you read the Bible and don’t understand a verse — that is something to pray about. If you are falling short of obeying His instruction — that is something to pray about. For some of you there are almost as many things to pray about as there are verses in the Bible!

Don’t just limit the things you pray about to the points mentioned in this article. Ask God to show you what else HE wants YOU to pray for. HE will show you IN HIS WORD many other things to pray about.

Whatever you do don’t let your prayer become a mere ritual, a vain repetition. Be diligent. Be persistent. Prayer and Bible Study must be first in your life, or you are putting something else before God. We receive what we ask of God “because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in His sight” (I John 3:22).

Prayer has to become heartfelt — full of thanksgiving, praise and joy. It should be a spontaneous and natural talking to God. The more you pray, the more you will understand how to pray.

God KNOWS that many of you faithful brethren are praying. He also KNOWS that others have not prayed as they should.

God’s ministers have said, “YOU ARE CONVERTED TO THE DEGREE THAT YOU PRAY FOR GOD’S WORK!”

If you have been PUTTING OFF prayer until tomorrow DO something now. Force yourself to begin to study and pray. Don’t put off your own salvation!

Some items of possibly related interest may include:

Prayer: What Does the Bible Teach? This free booklet contains 28 biblically-based tips on improving the effectiveness of your prayers. This is a pdf. A related two part sermon is available: What Does the Bible Teach About Prayer? and What does the Bible Teach About Prayer (& Healing)?
Faith for those God has Called and Chosen What is faith? Can faith be increased? Are you saved by faith? What about works? Do Christians need to keep the Ten Commandments? What is the ‘faith chapter’? How do the just live by faith? Is faith one of the weightier matters of the law? How does faith come? Here is a link to a related sermon titled: Faith for the Called and Chosen. Here is a link to shorter version of the written article in Mandarin Chinese 一篇关于信仰的小文章
What Should I Pray About? An old article by Lynn Torrance on prayer.
Importance of Fasting An old article by Herbert W. Armstrong on this subject.
Building Character: Going on to Perfection Once you have accepted Jesus, do you need to strive for perfection and build character? A related video sermon is available: Going on to perfection and building character.
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? There is also a video titled What is the meaning of your life?
Just What Do You Mean — Repentance? Do you know what repentance is? Have you truly repented? Repented of what? Herbert W. Armstrong wrote this as a booklet on this important subject.
When You Sin: Do You Really Repent? This is an article by Charles F. Hunting. A related sermon is Confess to God and truly repent.
Just What Do You Mean Conversion? Many think that they are converted Christians. But are they? Would you like to know more about conversion. Herbert W. Armstrong wrote this as a booklet on this important subject.

IMF & Greece still talking tough, but…

Thursday, June 18th, 2015


Part of Athens (Photo By Joyce Thiel)

COGwriter

IMF and Greece continue to negotiate, though both sides are talking tough:

June 18, 2015

International creditors demanded Thursday that Greece propose economic reforms that could break the impasse in bailout talks.

Greece was unequivocally denied any possibility for a delay or a grace period to repay the International Monetary Fund, as finance ministers from the Eurozone and the heads of the IMF and European Central Bank prepare for a much anticipated crisis meeting in Luxembourg.

“…On that particular issue, timeline: 30th of June is the day when the lump sum payment is due to the IMF and there is no grace period or two-month delay, as I have seen here and there,” said IMF Managing Director Christine LaGarde.

Eurozone President Jeroen Dijsselbloem said Greece has to take “further steps” to obtain a lasting deal that “needs to hold up in the coming years to be credible.”

Optimism remains

Germany’s Chancellor, Angela Merkel, whose country is Greece’s main creditor, told German lawmakers in the parliament earlier Thursday that she was “still confident” a deal was possible.

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said he was optimistic Greece will deliver new proposals, which would be considered immediately.

“We are very optimistic that we will finally get the proposals and then we will review them immediately,” said Schaeuble.

Schaeuble had maintained a strong stance from the onset that Greece should fulfill its obligation to international creditors before any additional financial help is considered.

Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis indicated he would not present new proposals Thursday to break the impasse. But said he hoped his “ideas” would be received favorably. “The purpose is to replace costly discord with effective consensus.”

The meeting of finance ministers of 19 Eurozone countries planned for next week is crucial in determining whether international creditors would unlock another $8.2 billion in bailout funding ahead of a June 30 deadline, by which Greece has to repay $1.8 billion to the IMF. http://www.voanews.com/content/imf-chief-says-no-grace-period-no-delay-for-greece/2828019.html

The situation with Greece is difficult and may cause problems not only there, but elsewhere.  The departure of Greece from either the Eurozone or the European Union has been labeled a Grexit and a default could possibly trigger some type of departure.

The Eurozone itself consists of the nations that use the Euro as their currency (which are most of the nations in the European Union, plus a couple of others). Technically, Greece could default, possibly be pushed out of the Eurozone, but still remain part of the European Union.

The European Union does not want Greece to default nor turn possibly turn to Russia for financial assistance. Europe does not want Greece to leave the Eurozone. This situation is tough for the Germans and the Greeks. The Germans feel that they have lent Greece money in good faith and that they are not being paid back as agreed, but they do not want Greece to default and not pay the rest back.

Yet, the leaders that are currently in charge of Greece seem to feel that the EU has left them little choice but to either default or turn to possibly Russia or some other nation outside the European Union.

Although when Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras met with Russian President Vladimir Putin, he did not get all that he wanted (see Fighting, despite ‘ceasefire’ in Ukraine; Greece and Russia talk, but…), his plans were not rebuffed. So, another attempt to make a deal with Russia could be something Greece feels it may do. Despite the fact that Alexis Tsipras said he was not going to ask Russia for money before.

Of course, if the EU can afford to bail out Greece (and other struggling nations) that is better for the Euro as a single currency.

As far as Greece does, Greece joined the predecessor to to the European Union in 1981. For historical and prophetic reasons, Greece will be a supporter of the final Beast power that will arise in Europe. At least two of the empires mentioned in Daniel 7 included all or part of Greece.

Greece is on the ‘Great Sea’ (Daniel 7:2; which is the Mediterranean Sea according to other scriptures) and the final Beast power is called the Beast from the sea (Revelation 13:1).

I have written for years that there could be problems with the Euro, and that it even could get replaced. No matter what happens to the Euro, the reality is that something is being built in Europe.

There will be problems in Europe (Daniel 2:41-43), maybe massive ones and civil unrest. Europe itself will be affected by the biblical Armageddon (Revelation 16:13-16; 19:17-21), but the Eurozone issues with Greece are not part of that.

Despite problems in Europe, after some reorganizations a powerful leader there will arise (Revelation 17:12-13). And his empire will include Greece.

Some items 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”? Is an emerging European power “the daughter of Babylon”? What is ahead for Europe? Here is a link to a video titled: Can You Prove that the Beast to Come is European?
European Technology and the Beast of Revelation Will the coming European Beast power would use and develop technology that will result in the taking over of the USA and its Anglo-Saxon allies? Is this possible? What does the Bible teach? Here is a related YouTube video: Military Technology and the Beast of Revelation.
Must the Ten Kings of Revelation 17:12 Rule over Ten Currently Existing Nations? Some claim that these passages refer to a gathering of 10 currently existing nations together, while one group teaches that this is referring to 11 nations getting together. Is that what Revelation 17:12-13 refers to? The ramifications of misunderstanding this are enormous.
World War III: Steps in Progress Are there surprising actions going on now that are leading to WWIII? Might a nuclear attack be expected? Does the Bible promise protection to all or only some Christians? How can you be part of those that will be protected? A related video would be Is World War III About to Begin? Can You Escape?
WTO/TTIP and the Babylonian Beast Will international trade agreements like WTO/TTIP/CETA lead to the fulfillment of end time prophecies concerning the Babylonian Beast power that the Book of Revelation warns against? What does the Bible teach? A related video would be WTO Trade Deal and the Rise of the European Beast Power.
Is Russia the King of the North? Some claim it is. But what does the Bible teach? Here is a link to a video, also titled Is Russia the King of the North?
Who is the King of the North? Is there one? Do biblical and Roman Catholic prophecies for the Great Monarch 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? In the Spanish language check out ¿Quién es el Rey del Norte? Here is a link to a video titled: The Future King of the North.
Germany’s Assyrian Roots Throughout History Are the Germanic peoples descended from Asshur of the Bible? Have there been real Christians in Germanic history? What about the “Holy Roman Empire”? There is also a You-Tube video sermon on this titled Germany’s Biblical Origins.
Germany in Biblical and Catholic Prophecy Does Assyria in the Bible equate to an end time power inhabiting the area of the old Roman Empire? What does prophecy say Germany will do and what does it say will happen to most of the German people? Here is a link to a related sermon titled Germany in Bible Prophecy. Here is a link to a video Is the USA Pushing Germany to Start WWIII?

Laudato Si: Will Pope Francis’ economic actions match his words?

Thursday, June 18th, 2015


Pope Francis’ Latest Encyclical

COGwriter

Pope Francis’ latest encyclical titled Laudato Si was officially released today.  VOA reported the following about it:

June 18, 2015

The Vatican has released a landmark letter by Pope Francis saying global warming is mostly man-made and calling it one of the most important issues of the day.

The 191-page encyclical released Thursday said a “very solid scientific consensus indicates that we are presently witnessing a disturbing warming of the climactic system.”

“Humanity is called to recognize the need for change of lifestyle, production, and consumption, in order to combat this warming or at least the human causes which produce or aggravate it,” the letter continued.

Pope Francis also highlighted the importance of combating pollution and protecting water supplies. He also calls for moving away from the intensive use of fossil fuels and says so-called carbon credits are ineffective.

The encyclical, which is the second-highest ranking document able to be issued by a pope, comes ahead of his September visit to the U.S. and a major United Nations conference on climate change in Paris later this year.

Progressive stance

The document reflects a continuation of relatively progressive stances taken by the Argentina-born pope. He has also called on the church to become more welcoming to homosexuals and to not put undue focus on controversial issues related to abortion and gay marriage.  http://www.voanews.com/content/pope-appeals-to-catholics-in-climate-change-encyclical/2827175.html

I would mention that the increased acceptance of sexual immorality, including aspects of the homosexual agenda, are factors in what is now touted as ‘climate change.’  But that was not something that Pope Francis mentioned in his encyclical.

I did read over the entire Laudato Si today, and here are some quotes from what Pope Francis (via his translators) wrote:

1. “LAUDATO SI’, mi’ Signore” – “Praise be to you, my Lord”. In the words of this beautiful canticle, Saint Francis of Assisi reminds us that our common home is like a sister with whom we share our life and a beautiful mother who opens her arms to embrace us. “Praise be to you, my Lord, through our Sister, Mother Earth, who sustains and governs us, and who produces various fruit with coloured flowers and herbs”.[1]

2. This sister now cries out to us because of the harm we have inflicted on her by our irresponsible use and abuse of the goods with which God has endowed her. We have come to see ourselves as her lords and masters, entitled to plunder her at will. …

6. My predecessor Benedict XVI likewise proposed “eliminating the structural causes of the dysfunctions of the world economy and correcting models of growth which have proved incapable of ensuring respect for the environment”.[10] He observed that the world cannot be analyzed by isolating only one of its aspects, since “the book of nature is one and indivisible”, and includes the environment, life, sexuality, the family, social relations, and so forth. It follows that “the deterioration of nature is closely connected to the culture which shapes human coexistence”. …

7. These statements of the Popes echo the reflections of numerous scientists, philosophers, theologians and civic groups, all of which have enriched the Church’s thinking on these questions. Outside the Catholic Church, other Churches and Christian communities – and other religions as well – have expressed deep concern and offered valuable reflections on issues which all of us find disturbing. To give just one striking example, I would mention the statements made by the beloved Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, with whom we share the hope of full ecclesial communion.

8. Patriarch Bartholomew has spoken in particular of the need for each of us to repent of the ways we have harmed the planet, for “inasmuch as we all generate small ecological damage”, we are called to acknowledge “our contribution, smaller or greater, to the disfigurement and destruction of creation”. …

9. At the same time, Bartholomew has drawn attention to the ethical and spiritual roots of environmental problems, which require that we look for solutions not only in technology but in a change of humanity; otherwise we would be dealing merely with symptoms. He asks us to replace consumption with sacrifice, greed with generosity, wastefulness with a spirit of sharing, an asceticism which “entails learning to give, and not simply to give up. It is a way of loving, of moving gradually away from what I want to what God’s world needs. It is liberation from fear, greed and compulsion”.  …

18. The continued acceleration of changes affecting humanity and the planet is coupled today with a more intensified pace of life and work which might be called “rapidification”. Although change is part of the working of complex systems, the speed with which human activity has developed contrasts with the naturally slow pace of biological evolution. …

20. Some forms of pollution are part of people’s daily experience. Exposure to atmospheric pollutants produces a broad spectrum of health hazards, especially for the poor, and causes millions of premature deaths. People take sick, for example, from breathing high levels of smoke from fuels used in cooking or heating. There is also pollution that affects everyone, caused by transport, industrial fumes, substances which contribute to the acidification of soil and water, fertilizers, insecticides, fungicides, herbicides and agrotoxins in general. Technology, which, linked to business interests, is presented as the only way of solving these problems, in fact proves incapable of seeing the mysterious network of relations between things and so sometimes solves one problem only to create others. …

21. Account must also be taken of the pollution produced by residue, including dangerous waste present in different areas. Each year hundreds of millions of tons of waste are generated, much of it non-biodegradable, highly toxic and radioactive, from homes and businesses, from construction and demolition sites, from clinical, electronic and industrial sources. …

22. These problems are closely linked to a throwaway culture which affects the excluded just as it quickly reduces things to rubbish. …

23. The climate is a common good, belonging to all and meant for all. At the global level, it is a complex system linked to many of the essential conditions for human life. A very solid scientific consensus indicates that we are presently witnessing a disturbing warming of the climatic system. In recent decades this warming has been accompanied by a constant rise in the sea level and, it would appear, by an increase of extreme weather events, even if a scientifically determinable cause cannot be assigned to each particular phenomenon. Humanity is called to recognize the need for changes of lifestyle, production and consumption, in order to combat this warming or at least the human causes which produce or aggravate it. …

25. Climate change is a global problem with grave implications: environmental, social, economic, political and for the distribution of goods. … There has been a tragic rise in the number of migrants seeking to flee from the growing poverty caused by environmental degradation. …

29. One particularly serious problem is the quality of water available to the poor. Every day, unsafe water results in many deaths and the spread of water-related diseases, including those caused by microorganisms and chemical substances. …

32. The earth’s resources are also being plundered because of short-sighted approaches to the economy, commerce and production. …

40. Oceans not only contain the bulk of our planet’s water supply, but also most of the immense variety of living creatures, many of them still unknown to us and threatened for various reasons. …

45. In some places, rural and urban alike, the privatization of certain spaces has restricted people’s access to places of particular beauty. …

51. Inequity affects not only individuals but entire countries; it compels us to consider an ethics of international relations. A true “ecological debt” exists, particularly between the global north and south, connected to commercial imbalances with effects on the environment, and the disproportionate use of natural resources by certain countries over long periods of time. … The warming caused by huge consumption on the part of some rich countries has repercussions on the poorest areas of the world, especially Africa, where a rise in temperature, together with drought, has proved devastating for farming. …

52. The foreign debt of poor countries has become a way of controlling them, yet this is not the case where ecological debt is concerned. In different ways, developing countries, where the most important reserves of the biosphere are found, continue to fuel the development of richer countries at the cost of their own present and future. The land of the southern poor is rich and mostly unpolluted, yet access to ownership of goods and resources for meeting vital needs is inhibited by a system of commercial relations and ownership which is structurally perverse. The developed countries ought to help pay this debt by significantly limiting their consumption of non-renewable energy and by assisting poorer countries to support policies and programmes of sustainable development. …

53. These situations have caused sister earth, along with all the abandoned of our world, to cry out, pleading that we take another course. …

57. It is foreseeable that, once certain resources have been depleted, the scene will be set for new wars…

61… There are regions now at high risk and, aside from all doomsday predictions, the present world system is certainly unsustainable from a number of points of view, for we have stopped thinking about the goals of human activity. …

VI. THE COMMON DESTINATION OF GOODS

93. Whether believers or not, we are agreed today that the earth is essentially a shared inheritance, whose fruits are meant to benefit everyone. … The Christian tradition has never recognized the right to private property as absolute or inviolable, and has stressed the social purpose of all forms of private property. …

94. The rich and the poor have equal dignity, for “the Lord is the maker of them all” (Prov 22:2). “He himself made both small and great” (Wis 6:7), and “he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good” (Mt 5:45). This has practical consequences, such as those pointed out by the bishops of Paraguay: “Every campesino has a natural right to possess a reasonable allotment of land where he can establish his home, work for subsistence of his family and a secure life.  …

95. The natural environment is a collective good, the patrimony of all humanity and the responsibility of everyone. If we make something our own, it is only to administer it for the good of all. If we do not, we burden our consciences with the weight of having denied the existence of others. That is why the New Zealand bishops asked what the commandment “Thou shall not kill” means when “twenty percent of the world’s population consumes resources at a rate that robs the poor nations and future generations of what they need to survive”. …

THE HUMAN ROOTS OF THE ECOLOGICAL CRISIS

101. It would hardly be helpful to describe symptoms without acknowledging the human origins of the ecological crisis. …

106. The basic problem goes even deeper: it is the way that humanity has taken up technology and its development according to an undifferentiated and one-dimensional paradigm. …

114. All of this shows the urgent need for us to move forward in a bold cultural revolution. …

117. Neglecting to monitor the harm done to nature and the environmental impact of our decisions is only the most striking sign of a disregard for the message contained in the structures of nature itself. When we fail to acknowledge as part of reality the worth of a poor person, a human embryo, a person with disabilities – to offer just a few examples – it becomes difficult to hear the cry of nature itself; everything is connected. …

126. We can also look to the great tradition of monasticism. …

133. It is difficult to make a general judgement about genetic modification (GM), whether vegetable or animal, medical or agricultural, since these vary greatly among themselves and call for specific considerations. …

134. Although no conclusive proof exists that GM cereals may be harmful to human beings, and in some regions their use has brought about economic growth which has helped to resolve problems, there remain a number of significant difficulties which should not be underestimated. …

144. A consumerist vision of human beings, encouraged by the mechanisms of today’s globalized economy, has a levelling effect on cultures, diminishing the immense variety which is the heritage of all humanity. Attempts to resolve all problems through uniform regulations or technical interventions can lead to overlooking the complexities of local problems which demand the active participation of all members of the community. New processes taking shape cannot always fit into frameworks imported from outside; they need to be based in the local culture itself. …

146. In this sense, it is essential to show special care for indigenous communities and their cultural traditions. …

155…The acceptance of our bodies as God’s gift is vital for welcoming and accepting the entire world as a gift from the Father and our common home, whereas thinking that we enjoy absolute power over our own bodies turns, often subtly, into thinking that we enjoy absolute power over creation. Learning to accept our body, to care for it and to respect its fullest meaning, is an essential element of any genuine human ecology. Also, valuing one’s own body in its femininity or masculinity is necessary if I am going to be able to recognize myself in an encounter with someone who is different. In this way we can joyfully accept the specific gifts of another man or woman, the work of God the Creator, and find mutual enrichment. It is not a healthy attitude which would seek “to cancel out sexual difference because it no longer knows how to confront it”. …

161. Doomsday predictions can no longer be met with irony or disdain. We may well be leaving to coming generations debris, desolation and filth. …

165. We know that technology based on the use of highly polluting fossil fuels – especially coal, but also oil and, to a lesser degree, gas – needs to be progressively replaced without delay. …

171. The strategy of buying and selling “carbon credits” can lead to a new form of speculation which would not help reduce the emission of polluting gases worldwide. …

172. For poor countries, the priorities must be to eliminate extreme poverty and to promote the social development of their people. At the same time, they need to acknowledge the scandalous level of consumption in some privileged sectors of their population and to combat corruption more effectively. …

194. For new models of progress to arise, there is a need to change “models of global development”;[136] this will entail a responsible reflection on “the meaning of the economy and its goals with an eye to correcting its malfunctions and misapplications”. …

197. What is needed is a politics which is far-sighted and capable of a new, integral and interdisciplinary approach to handling the different aspects of the crisis. …

201. The majority of people living on our planet profess to be believers. This should spur religions to dialogue among themselves for the sake of protecting nature, defending the poor, and building networks of respect and fraternity. …

I. TOWARDS A NEW LIFESTYLE

203. Since the market tends to promote extreme consumerism in an effort to sell its products, people can easily get caught up in a whirlwind of needless buying and spending. Compulsive consumerism is one example of how the techno-economic paradigm affects individuals. …

205. Yet all is not lost. Human beings, while capable of the worst, are also capable of rising above themselves, choosing again what is good, and making a new start, despite their mental and social conditioning. …

220. This conversion calls for a number of attitudes which together foster a spirit of generous care, full of tenderness. …

228. Care for nature is part of a lifestyle which includes the capacity for living together and communion. Jesus reminded us that we have God as our common Father and that this makes us brothers and sisters. Fraternal love can only be gratuitous; it can never be a means of repaying others for what they have done or will do for us. That is why it is possible to love our enemies. This same gratuitousness inspires us to love and accept the wind, the sun and the clouds, even though we cannot control them. In this sense, we can speak of a “universal fraternity”.  …

230. Saint Therese of Lisieux invites us to practise the little way of love, not to miss out on a kind word, a smile or any small gesture which sows peace and friendship.  …

236. It is in the Eucharist that all that has been created finds its greatest exaltation. …

237. On Sunday, our participation in the Eucharist has special importance. Sunday, like the Jewish Sabbath, is meant to be a day which heals our relationships with God, with ourselves, with others and with the world. Sunday is the day of the Resurrection, the “first day” of the new creation, whose first fruits are the Lord’s risen humanity, the pledge of the final transfiguration of all created reality. It also proclaims “man’s eternal rest in God”. …

238… Consequently, “when we contemplate with wonder the universe in all its grandeur and beauty, we must praise the whole Trinity”. …

239. For Christians, believing in one God who is trinitarian communion suggests that the Trinity has left its mark on all creation. Saint Bonaventure went so far as to say that human beings, before sin, were able to see how each creature “testifies that God is three”. The reflection of the Trinity was there to be recognized in nature “when that book was open to man and our eyes had not yet become darkened”. …

240… Everything is interconnected, and this invites us to develop a spirituality of that global solidarity which flows from the mystery of the Trinity. …

VIII. QUEEN OF ALL CREATION

241. Mary, the Mother who cared for Jesus, now cares with maternal affection and pain for this wounded world. Just as her pierced heart mourned the death of Jesus, so now she grieves for the sufferings of the crucified poor and for the creatures of this world laid waste by human power. Completely transfigured, she now lives with Jesus, and all creatures sing of her fairness. She is the Woman, “clothed in the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars” (Rev 12:1). Carried up into heaven, she is the Mother and Queen of all creation.

Much of the media is focused on the climate change aspects of this encyclical. As a natural health proponent, I certainly favor reductions in the use of pesticides, herbicides, various other toxins, and rubbish. As far as how Christians should view the environment, the article The Bible, Christians, and the Environment has scriptures to consider.  As far as weather goes, those who actually believe the Bible may wish to check out the article Weather Blessings and Sorrows.

Getting back to Pope Francis’ paper, Laudato Si included a dangerous ecumenical appeal  (see item 7), a mention of his church’s public acceptance of evolution (see item 18), ‘land reform’ (see item 94), considering consumption as a form of murder (see item 95), a call for ‘cultural revolution’ (see item 114), hints denouncing abortion (see item 117), an endorsement of monasticism (see item 126), a refusal to condemn GMOs (see item 133), a somewhat endorsement of GMO grains with caution (see item 134), special interfaith dialogue (see items 146 & 201), discouragement of transgenderism (see item 155), “universal fraternity” (see item 228), a reference to Therese of Lisieux, appeals to the Eucharist (see items 236 & 237, a plug for Sunday (see item 237), plugs for the Greco-Roman Trinity (see items 238 & 239 & 240), appeals to ‘Mary’ (see 241), and sprinkled throughout with hints about a new economic world order that he wants.

To Pope Francis, a cooperative new world order, not the return of Jesus Christ and the establishment of the Kingdom of God, is the solution.  The Bible shows that his way will not work (cf. Revelation 17-18), but that Jesus will return to solve the issues the world faces (Revelation 19), including ones related to environmental disaster:

15 Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!” 16 And the twenty-four elders who sat before God on their thrones fell on their faces and worshiped God, 17 saying:

“We give You thanks, O Lord God Almighty,
The One who is and who was and who is to come,
Because You have taken Your great power and reigned.
18 The nations were angry, and Your wrath has come,
And the time of the dead, that they should be judged,
And that You should reward Your servants the prophets and the saints, And those who fear Your name, small and great, And should destroy those who destroy the earth.” (Revelation 11:15-18)

Of course, many politicians, the United Nations, and those in the mainstream media believe getting Pope Francis’ endorsement of change needed for the economy and environment is consistent with their view that humanity will be able to solve its problems.  Yet, the Kingdom of God is the answer.

However, the Pope’s message is popular and will be welcomed by many. In September of this year he is scheduled to give a message to the US Congress as well as the United Nations, which is planned to include at least some items in his Laudato Si encyclical.

Now as far as Pope Francis’ economic agenda goes, how long can Pope Francis make such pleas and not follow them himself?

Over the two plus years he has been pontiff, he has made similar economic statements, but without real action on his part.

Notice something from October 4, 2013:

Pope Francis on Friday (Oct. 4) traveled to Assisi, the central Italian hill town made famous by the pope’s namesake, St. Francis, where he renewed his call for Christians to forsake the pursuit of worldly possessions. The medieval saint lived in poverty in order to dedicate his life to Christ, and the pope said Christians — not just Catholics — should seek to emulate the venerated patron saint of the poor, calling the pursuit of wealth a “cancer of society and the enemy of Christ.”

The pope warned that seeking worldly possessions leads to “vanity, arrogance, and pride.”…Francis addressed a group of poor people in the same room where St. Francis is believed to have stripped off his clothes and given away his worldly possessions. The pope expressed anger at a “savage world” that “doesn’t help, doesn’t care if there are children in the world who die of hunger.” http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/on-faith/pope-francis-walks-in-the-shadow-of-namesake-saint-in-assisi/2013/10/04/c1422f12-2d21-11e3-b141-298f46539716_story.html

While on the surface this sounds like what a ‘lamb’ may say, could it be part of the speech of a dragon (Revelation 13:11)?

Pope Francis is pushing for a new financial system.  Will he some day give away much of the Vatican’s vast wealth?

Notice that financial pressures will be something that the Antichrist is associated with:

16 He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, 17 and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. (Revelation 13:16-17)

The “He” above is the two-horned beast (Revelation 13:11), also known as the False Prophet (Revelation 16:13), and Antichrist (1 John 4:1-3).

The Bible also says that the merchants of the world will have gotten wealthy from the system that the Antichrist will promote:

2 Babylon the great…has become a dwelling place of demons…a cage for every unclean and hated bird! 3…and the merchants of the earth have become rich through the abundance of her luxury. (Revelation 18:2a,b,d, 3c)

So, there are several biblical prophecies that tie the power that the Antichrist supports with a type of deceitful prosperity. Did you notice the connection to a cage of birds above? Well, then notice then also the following:

27 As a cage is full of birds,
So their houses are full of deceit.
Therefore they have become great and grown rich.
28 They have grown fat, they are sleek;
Yes, they surpass the deeds of the wicked;
They do not plead the cause,
The cause of the fatherless;
Yet they prosper,
And the right of the needy they do not defend.
29 Shall I not punish them for these things?’ says the Lord.
‘Shall I not avenge Myself on such a nation as this?’

30 “An astonishing and horrible thing
Has been committed in the land:
31 The prophets prophesy falsely,
And the priests rule by their own power;
And My people love to have it so.
But what will you do in the end? (Jeremiah 5:27-31)

So, the supporters of the Beast and Antichrist/False Prophet will prosper for a time, then God will punish.

Furthermore, notice three Catholic writings/prophecies about the final Antichrist:

Saint Mechtilda (died 1299): Antichrist will, through base and false strategem, and with presents of gold and gems, attain influence over the worldly princes. They will look up to him as their Lord and God (Culleton, The Reign of Antichrist, pp. 133-134).

Saint Ephrem (died 375): Antichrist will use worldly goods as bait. He will entice many Christians with money and goods to apostatize…The devil will help him find all the hidden treasures of the world, even those at the bottom of the ocean. With those treasures he will attain greater success for the reign of Satan than at any other time in past centuries (Connor, pp.73.74).

Saint Jerome (died 420): Antichrist…will gain support with many gifts and money. He will sell himself to the devil…(Connor E. Prophecy for Today. Imprimatur + A.J. Willinger, Bishop of Monterey-Fresno; Reprint: Tan Books and Publishers, Rockford (IL), 1984, p. 74).

The Bible, by the way, does mention that the King of the North will end up with a lot of gold, silver, and precious stones (Daniel 11:38,43) and that a seven-hilled/mountain-based power will have “gold and precious stones and pearls” (Revelation 17:4).

But is it possible that before the Beast rises up that the Antichrist will use material items for bait?

Might the Antichrist use some of the wealth of the Vatican to support certain European nations/leaders? I expect this, as it seems to be likely and consistent with the following scriptures:

1…”Come, I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters, 2 with whom the kings of the earth committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth were made drunk with the wine of her fornication.”…9 “Here is the mind which has wisdom: The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits…18:3 For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich through the abundance of her luxury.” (Revelation 17:1-2,9; 18:3)

Nor do I believe the Vatican will limit its support to Europe. The Church of Rome has a lot of worldly wealth–it is a version of that church that is being discussed above in Revelation.

Pope Francis, within days of becoming pontiff, declared, “Oh, how I would like a poor Church, and for the poor” (see Pope Francis: Do his comments about the poor show that he intend to fulfill biblical and Catholic prophecies about the final Antichrist?). Is it possible that he is suggesting that since his church holds enormous wealth in bank accounts, land, art, and jewels, that perhaps he intends to distribute some of this wealth (see Pope Francis claims he wants his church to be poor and help the poor)? Would he not then set an example he wants others to follow as he indicated in his Laudato Si?

I suspect the time will come when the Vatican will actually sell/give away/pledge some of its wealth to influence world events. Pope Francis has been hinting of this for over two years, so at some point in time, he probably intends to take action to match his rhetoric. This will increase his popularity with the media, European leaders, and others in the world.

If Pope Francis does not end up doing this, he, at minimum, has made various statements that the final Antichrist (which may not be him as that is not certain yet) and the Beast, can point to as justification for wealth distribution.

UPDATE 06/22/15: We just uploaded a video yesterday on this topic that you may wish to view: Laudato Si: Pope’s Agenda or Kingdom of God?

Some items of related interest may include:

Weather Blessings and Sorrows Are weather problems a warning? What should be done? What does the Bible teach about weather? What about floods, droughts, heat, earthquakes, tornadoes, and solar storms? Here is a related YouTube video Does God Use Weather? A related item in the Spanish language would be Bendiciones y maldiciones del clima.
The Bible, Christians, and the Environment How should Christians view the environment? Does the Bible give any clues? What are some of the effects of air, water, and land pollution? Is environmental pollution a factor in autism and death? Do pollutants seem to double the autism risk? What will Jesus do? A YouTube video is available titled Air Pollution, Autism, and Prophecy.
Why Should American Catholics Fear Unity with the Orthodox? Are the current ecumenical meetings a good thing or will they result in disaster? Is doctrinal compromise good? Here is a link to a related video Should you be concerned about the ecumenical movement?
Will the Interfaith Movement Lead to Peace or Sudden Destruction? Is the interfaith movement going to lead to lasting peace or is it warned against? A video of related interest could be Do You Know That Babylon is Forming?
Is Evolution Probable or Impossible? This short article clearly answers what ‘pseudo-scientists’ refuse to acknowledge. Here is a link to a YouTube video titled Is There Another View of Evolution? and another titled Quickly Disprove Evolution as the Origin of Life.
Abortion, the Bible, and a Woman’s Right to Choose Do you know what the Bible teaches on this? Has the Roman Catholic Church allowed abortions? What about the real Church of God? Some may also, or instead, wish to view the YouTube video Abortion, the Bible, and US Debt.
Did the Early Christian Church Practice Monasticism? Does God expect or endorse living in a monastery or nunnery?
Cross-dressing and other assaults against your children.  What should you do? Is there an agenda to turn your children and/or grandchildren away from biblical morality and towards practices promoted by homosexuals? What does the Bible teach about cross-dressing? What should parents do? If there is an agenda, what has been going on?  There is also a YouTube video on this, titled Cross dressing and Other Assaults Against Your Children.
The Bible Condemns Homosexuality “Same-sex marriage” for “gays” and lesbians is becoming more acceptable to many. What does the Bible teach about homosexuality?  Can homosexuals change? A related video sermon is titled What Does the Bible Really Teach about Homosexuality?
GMOs and Bible Prophecy What are GMOs? Since they were not in the food supply until 1994, how could they possibly relate to Bible prophecy? Do GMOs put the USA and others at risk? Here is a related YouTube video GMO Risks and the Bible.
Marcus, the Marcosians, & Mithraism: Developers of the Eucharist? Marcus was a second century heretic condemned for having a ceremony similar to one still practiced by many who profess Christ. Might he also be in the apostolic succession list of the Orthodox Church of Alexandria? Where did the eucharistic host and IHS come from?
Sunday and Christianity Was Sunday observed by the apostolic and true post-apostolic Christians? Who clearly endorsed Sunday? What relevance is the first or the “eighth” day?
Did the True Church Ever Teach a Trinity? Most act like this is so, but is it? Here is an old, by somewhat related, article in the Spanish language LA DOCTRINA DE LA TRINIDAD.
Mary, the Mother of Jesus and the Apparitions Do you know much about Mary? Are the apparitions real? What happened at Fatima? What might they mean for the rise of the ecumenical religion of Antichrist? Are Protestants moving towards Mary? How do the Eastern/Greek Orthodox view Mary? How might Mary view her adorers? Here is a link to a YouTube video Marian Apparitions May Fulfill Prophecy.
Pope Francis: Could this Marian Focused Pontiff be Fulfilling Prophecy? Pope Francis has taken many steps to turn people more towards his version of ‘Mary.’ Could this be consistent with biblical and Catholic prophecies? This article documents what has been happening. There is also a video version titled Pope Francis: Could this Marian Focused Pontiff be Fulfilling Prophecy?
Feast of the Immaculate Conception? Did early Christians teach Mary had an immaculate conception and led a sinless life?
Origin of the Marian Dogmas: Where Do Catholic Scholars Say The Four Dogmas of Mary Came From?
Assumption of Mary Did Mary die? Was she taken to heaven on August 15th? What is known? What does the Bible show?
Could Pope Francis be the Last Pope and Antichrist? According to some interpretations of the prophecies of the popes by the Catholic saint and Bishop Malachy, Pope Francis I is in the position of “Peter the Roman,” the pontiff who reigns during tribulations until around the time of the destruction of Rome. Do biblical prophecies warn of someone that sounds like Peter the Roman? Could Francis I be the heretical antipope of Catholic private prophecies and the final Antichrist of Bible prophecy? This is a YouTube video.
The Malachy Prophecies and “Peter the Roman” An Irish bishop allegedly predicted something about 112 popes in the 12th century. Pope Benedict XVI was number 111. Francis would seem to be number 112–if he is that one–and if so, he is to reign until Rome is destroyed. May he be an antipope/final Antichrist?
Which Is Faithful: The Roman Catholic Church or the Continuing 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 do deus?]
Some Doctrines of Antichrist Are there any doctrines taught outside the Churches of God which can be considered as doctrines of antichrist? This article suggests at least three. It also provides information on 666 and the identity of “the false prophet.” Plus it shows that several Catholic writers seem to warn about an ecumenical antipope that will support heresy. You can also watch a video titled What Does the Bible teach about the Antichrist?
The Antichrist Quiz Do you really know much about the Antichrist?
Jesus: The Son of God and Saviour Who was Jesus? Why did He come to earth? What message did He bring? Is there evidence outside the Bible that He existed? Here is a YouTube sermon titled Jesus: Son of God and Saviour.
The Gospel of the Kingdom of God was the Emphasis of Jesus and the Early Church Did you know that? Do you even know what the gospel of the kingdom is all about? You can also see a YouTube video sermon The Gospel of the Kingdom.
United Nations: Humankind’s Last Hope or New World Order? Is the UN the last hope for humanity? Or might its goals end up with sinister results? A related video would be United Nations and Vatican Are Planning the New World Order.
Europa, the Beast, and the Book of Revelation discusses the largest church since the second/third century, which in a real sense is the eighth church mentioned in the Book of Revelation (it also endorses “eighth day” worship). What church would support the Beast? Here is a link to a video titled: Can You Prove that the Beast to Come is European?

Pornography rampant in Western entertainment

Thursday, June 18th, 2015

COGwriter

Sometimes, when I am watching what is supposed to be family-oriented television programs or movies, I find that they contain some type of pornography. While most males on the programs tend to be reasonably clothed, the same cannot be said of a lot of the females on the programs.

It is clear that many young females that wish to be some type of entertainment celebrity feel that they have to show a lot skin publicly in order to become a “success.” And this seems to work for some (people like “Lady Gaga” and “J. Lo” come to mind)–and even US President Obama said one female that did this (Beyoncé was a great role model for his daughters).

Sadly, pornography is growing in acceptance in the Western world at least. What was considered immoral dress in the mid-20th century is now more modest dress than many young females wear.

Furthermore, what was considered immoral dress in the mid-20th century is now more modest dress than many young females wear.

Yet, the Bible teaches:

8 I desire therefore that the men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting; 9 in like manner also, that the women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with propriety and moderation…(1 Timothy 2:8-9)

The Western nations no longer seem to highly prize modesty in female apparel (though female politicians tend to remain modest in their dress). Immodesty in dress is now mainly considered to be acceptable or simply daring, as opposed to being immoral by many.

Although these females (and their promoters) believe that this is harmless entertainment that will help careers, it is not without cost:

15 Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination?
No! They were not at all ashamed;
Nor did they know how to blush.
Therefore they shall fall among those who fall;
At the time I punish them,
They shall be cast down,” says the Lord. (Jeremiah 6:15)

Not only will those that participate and promote pornography pay a price, society will as well:

18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 19 because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, 21 because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Professing to be wise, they became fools, 23 and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man — and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things.

24 Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, 25 who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.

26 For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. 27 Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due.

28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; 29 being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, 30 backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, 31 undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; 32 who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them. (Romans 1:18-32)

Some have claimed that there is also a child porn ‘epidemic’ (http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-27872401). Child pornography hurts the child, the promoters, and the viewers of it.

But even pornography related only to adults is not harmless (cf. Matthew 5:27-28).

What is considered to be acceptable dress for public display (mainly for females) continues to the trend to show more skin, more cleavage (and more and more women have decided to have “breast enhancement” apparently for display), and more of their figures. This is not good. And this is not just limited to television or the movies.

Another trend, which is apparently in the USA as well as Europe is the trend for women’s clothing to become more sheer. So sheer, that one can look through the clothes. This is not a positive trend.

The end-time sorrows and troubles in Western society are still in the beginning stages (Matthew 24:5-8), and will get much worse according to the Bible (Matthew 24:21-22; 2 Timothy 3:1-7).

I believe that the growing acceptance of pornography (hard and soft) and other forms of immorality help weaken the USA, Canada, and their other Anglo-nations (Romans 1:18-32) and likely will also be a factor in them being vulnerable to invasion by the final Beast power that the Bible warns about (Revelation 13; Daniel 11:39; Isaiah 10:5-11). And while the Bible shows that the Beast power will be punished later (cf. Daniel 11:44; Isaiah 10:12), this does not mean that the Anglo-nations should not discourage pornography now.

Female starlets need to be told that encouraging pornography and lust is not true success.

Some items of possibly related interest may include:

Pornography: A scourge on society Is pornography harmless fun? Does the Bible teach anything about it? What are the views of some involved with it? Here is a link to a YouTube video Pornography: Harmless Fun or a Scourge on Society?
Love, Marriage, and Sex It is important to get them in the right order.
When Will the Great Tribulation Begin? 2014, 2015, or 2016? Can the Great Tribulation begin today? What happens before the Great Tribulation in the “beginning of sorrows”? What happens in the Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord? Is this the time of the Gentiles? When is the earliest that the Great Tribulation can begin? What is the Day of the Lord? Who are the 144,000? Here is a version of the article in the Spanish language: ¿Puede comenzar la Gran Tribulación en 2013 o 2014? ¿Es el Tiempo de los Gentiles? You can also see the English language sermon video: The Great Tribulation from the Mount of Olives.
Anglo – America in Prophecy & the Lost Tribes of Israel Are the Americans, Canadians, English, Scottish, Welsh, Australians, Anglo-Saxon (non-Dutch) Southern Africans, and New Zealanders descendants of Joseph? Where are the lost ten-tribes of Israel? Who are the lost tribes of Israel? What will happen to Jerusalem and the Jews in Israel? Will God punish the U.S.A., Canada, United Kingdom, and other Anglo-Saxon nations? Why might God allow them to be punished first? Here is a link to the Spanish version of this article: Anglo-América & las Tribus Perdidas de Israel. Information is also in the YouTube sermons titled Where are the Ten Lost Tribes? Why does it matter? and British are the Covenant People. A short YouTube of prophetic interest may be Barack Obama and the State of the Apocalypse.
Will the Anglo-Saxon Nations be Divided and Have People Taken as Slaves? Will the lands of the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand be divided? What about Jerusalem? What does Bible prophecy teach? Are there non-biblical prophecies that support this idea? Who will divide those lands? Who will end up with the lands and the people? Here is a link to a video titled Will the USA and other Anglo-nations be Divided and Their People Made Slaves? Here is a related item in the Spanish language ¿Serán divididas las naciones anglosajonas?
British are the Covenant People What do ‘British’ and ‘Britain’ mean in Hebrew? Are the descendants of the Anglo-Saxons people of the covenant? Does the British royal family connect to the throne of David? What does the Bible teach? What does history show us? Is there any DNA evidence related to British-Israelism? When did Christianity make it to the British Isles? Could Jeremiah have made it to the British Isles? What type of Christians made it to the British Isles? Did the last King of England believe in British Israelism?
Canada in Prophecy: What Does Bible Prophecy, Catholic Prophecy, and other Predictions Suggest About the Future of Canada? There are prophecies that suggest involvement with Canada. And many are not positive about its future.
Who is the King of the West? Why is there no End-Time King of the West in Bible Prophecy? Is the United States the King of the West? If so, what does that really mean for the USA and its Anglo allies.
Is Tony Blair Apocalyptic? The former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom converted to Catholicism shortly after leaving his office and has been active in European affairs. What role might he play?
The Ten Commandments Reflect Love, Breaking them is Evil Some feel that the ten commandments are a burden. Is that what Jesus, Paul, Peter, James, and John taught? For a more detailed discussion of the first four commandments, please see the video The Ten Commandments: Loving God. For a more detailed discussion of the last six commandments, please see: The Ten Commandments: Loving Your Neighbor. Here is a link to a related article in Mandarin Chinese 十条诫命显示爱,违反诫命的就是邪恶的
Barack Obama, Prophecy, and the Destruction of the United States-Second Edition for Second Obama Term This is a 160 page book for people truly interested in prophecies related to Barack Obama and the United States, including learning about many that have already been fulfilled (which the book documents in detail) and those that will be fulfilled in the future. It also has a chapter about a Republican choice. This book is available to order at www.barackobamaprophecy.com. The physical book can also be purchased at Amazon from the following link: Barack Obama, Prophecy, and the Destruction of the United States: Is Barack Obama Fulfilling Biblical, Islamic Catholic, Kenyan, and other America-Related Prophecies? What About Republican Leaders? Second Edition for Second Obama Term.
Barack Obama, Prophecy, and the Destruction of the United States-Second Term-Amazon Kindle edition. This electronic version is available for only US$2.99. And you do not need an actual Kindle device to read it. Why? Amazon will allow you to download it to almost any device: Please click HERE to download one of Amazon s Free Reader Apps. After you go to for your free Kindle reader and then go to Barack Obama, Prophecy, and the Destruction of the United States-Second Term-Amazon Kindle edition.

The Bible and Homosexuality: 10 FAQs Pro and Con

Wednesday, June 17th, 2015


The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah

COGwriter

Received an article from a reader about homosexuality and the Bible.  Thearticle, titled Jesus and the Bible: FAQs for Gay Pride Month, by “Episcopal Priest Reverend Susan Russell,” was supportive of the homosexual agenda.  It had her top ten FAQs on the subject.  Here is part of it and along with the the first question and her answer:

June 6, 2015

June is Gay Pride Month. It is a time for parades and for festivals, for rainbow flags and for dance tents. …

So here’s the 2015 version of my Top Ten FAQs about God, Jesus, the Bible and LGBT People — offered in hope that together we truly can be the change we want to see in the world and offered in rebuttal to the rabid rhetoric of the anti-gay religious right that infuses our public discourse and infects our political process. Those who use God, Jesus and the Bible as weapons of mass discrimination do not speak for me. And they do not speak for my church.

1. Is being gay a sin?
No. Sins are acts that separate us from God and keep us from loving our neighbors as ourselves. Being gay is not a sin. Bullying is a sin. Being hateful to other people is a sin. Putting yourself in the place of God to judge others is a sin. Being gay is not. (Russell S. God, Jesus and the Bible: FAQs for Gay Pride Month. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rev-susan-russell/god-jesus–the-bible-faqs_b_7523704.html)

Susan Russell is correct if she is saying that not being heterosexual is not a sin.  However, if she is saying that lusting after someone else to have sex with them is not a sin, she is incorrect.

While sin often involves physical acts, it can happen in the mind. Notice the following (the first is directly from Jesus):

27 “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’  28 But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. (Matthew 5:27-28)

16 For all that is in the world — the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life — is not of the Father but is of the world. 17 And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever. (1 John 2:16-17)

7 What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! On the contrary, I would not have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, “You shall not covet.” (Romans 7:7)

12 Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. 13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. 14 But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. 15 Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death. (James 1:12-15)

So, if one covets a sexual relationship with one who is not their proper spouse, that is sin.  This is the case with all practicing homosexuals, and those who wish to also do so.

Here is the second FAQ:

2. What did Jesus say about gay people?
Jesus said the same thing about gay people that he said about all people: God loves you beyond your wildest imagining and calls you to walk in love with God and with each other. He also said a whole lot about welcoming the stranger, embracing the outcast, ministering to the marginalized and loving – not judging – your neighbor.

Jesus did teach that one should love strangers and neighbors, but did not make positive statements about being ‘gay.’

Now, it is true that God loves all.  But what is the love of God?  Notice what the Bible teaches:

6 This is love, that we walk according to His commandments. (2 John 6)

3 Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. 4 He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5 But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. 6 He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked. (1 John 2:3-6)

How did Jesus walk?

Well, other than the fact that He did not sin (Hebrews 4:5), He taught that marriage was between a man and a woman:

6 But from the beginning of the creation, God ‘made them male and female.’  7 ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife,  8 and the two shall become one flesh’; so then they are no longer two, but one flesh.  9 Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate. (Mark 10:6-9)

From the beginning of creation marriage was to be between a man and a woman, a male and a female.  Jesus never hinted that there was any type of same-sex marriage He would sanction.

It should be noted that the gospel accounts do not show that Jesus made a specific statement about people who were homosexual as none were mentioned as following Him nor listening to Him.

As far as Jesus supposedly not teaching to ever judge, notice what He actually taught:

24 Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment. (John 7:24)

The Bible teaches:

172…For all Your commandments are righteousness.  (Psalms 119:172)

Jesus had the Apostle John make statements in the Book of Revelation that would include condemnation of those who practice homosexuality:

14 Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city. 15 But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie. (Revelation 22:14-15)

Here are statements from two commentaries on what the term ‘dogs’ in Revelation 22:15 may mean:

κύνες, an archaic metaphor, coloured by the nomad’s hatred of hounds; cf. Arabia Deserta, i. 337, 339 (“only the dog has no citizenship in the nomad life”. “It is the only life mishandled by the gentle Arab, who with spurns and blows cast out these profane creatures from the tent.”) Here κύνες are not merely impure pagans, but the impudently impure, possibly in the special and darker sense of “sodomites” (cf. 1 Timothy 1:10; Deuteronomy 23:17-20, collated with πόρνη and βδέλυγμα). cf. on Revelation 21:8 and Cooke’s North Sem. Inscriptions, p. 68. Such loathsome practices were not uncommon in the Oriental cults.  Expositor’s Greek Testament

For without are dogs,…. That is, without the holy city are such persons who are comparable to dogs for their filthiness, impudence, and voraciousness, as are persecutors, heretics, and apostates, Matthew 7:6. Some think Sodomites are intended, as in Deuteronomy 23:18. So Abarbinel and others interpret the law; and who abound in the Roman jurisdiction, called therefore Sodom, Revelation 11:8 and indeed all wicked men, who will be cast out into outer darkness, may be signified hereby. Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

Sodomy is a practice of male homosexuals.  Even if the term translated as ‘dogs’ does not have to mean homosexuals, Revelation 22:14-15 condemns all sexual immorality, which includes homosexual relations.

Furthermore, notice what the Apostle Paul, who Jesus personally called (Acts 9:3-6), was inspired to write:

9 I wrote to you in my epistle not to keep company with sexually immoral people. 10 Yet I certainly did not mean with the sexually immoral people of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. 11 But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner — not even to eat with such a person.

12 For what have I to do with judging those also who are outside? Do you not judge those who are inside? 13 But those who are outside God judges. Therefore “put away from yourselves the evil person.” (1 Corinthians 5:9-13)

Jesus would not have endorsed His followers fellowshipping with those who claimed to be His followers, yet were practicing sexual immorality.

Here is part of the third FAQ:

3. Does the Bible really condemn homosexuality?
The short answer is no, it does not. The handful of passages in the Old and New Testaments that talk about God condemning specific sexual acts have nothing whatsoever to do with sexual orientation and everything to do with contexts such as cultic prostitution or gang rape.

The Bible clearly condemns homosexuality and this is not limited to the context of cultic prostitution or gang rape.  The verses she is referring to are mainly in Deuteronomy 23:17-18 (plus Judges 19:22-23 and 2 Kings 23:7-8), which means that she seemingly agrees that the statements in Deuteronomy are a reference to homosexuality, which confirms my response to her 2nd FAQ.

Now let’s read some direct statements from the Old Testament against homosexuality that are not made in the context of rape or cultic worship:

22 You shall not lie with a male as with a woman. It is an abomination.  (Leviticus 18:22)

13 If a man lies with a male as he lies with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination. (Leviticus 20:13)

Those who try to claim that the Bible does not clearly condemn homosexuality are intentionally misreading what it actually teaches. The Bible prohibits and condemns homosexual behavior–the Bible calls it an abomination!

Here are some statements from the New Testament that related to sexual immorality and specifically homosexuality and practices associated with homosexuality:

9 Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, 10 nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. (1 Corinthians 6:9-10)

22 Professing to be wise, they became fools, 23 and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man — and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things.

24 Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, 25 who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.

26 For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. 27 Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due.

28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; 29 being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, 30 backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, 31 undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; 32 who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them. (Romans 1:22-32)

The Bible teaches that homosexuality is wrong and is dangerous.  Early Christian leaders, like Polycarp of Smyrna and Melito of Sardis, also condemned illicit sexual behaviors including homosexuality:

Knowing, then, that “God is not mocked,” we ought to walk worthy of His commandment and glory …For it is well that they should be cut off from the lusts that are in the world, since “every lust warreth against the spirit; ” and “neither fornicators, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, shall inherit the kingdom of God,” nor those who do things inconsistent and unbecoming (Polycarp. Letter to the Philippians, Chapter V. From Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 1as edited by Alexander Roberts & James Donaldson. American Edition, 1885).

53. But in addition to this there were to be found among men many things still more monstrous and terrifying and brutal: father cohabits with his child, and son and with his mother, and brother with sister, and male with male, and each man lusting after the wife of his neighbor. (Melito’s Homily on the Passover)

Real Christianity does not condone homosexuality.

Here is some of the fourth FAQ:

4. How do I respond when people say “God hates f–s”?
First of all, God’s nature is to love, not to hate. We believe that what God cares about is not our sexual orientation but our theological orientation — and that the question that matters is not “who do you love?” but “do you love?”

The Bible says “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).  The Bible also teaches that God loves sinners and sent His son to die for them:

16 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.  17 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)

But, although Jesus died for sinners, He also taught:

14 Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you. (John 5:14)

1 But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.

2 Now early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people came to Him; and He sat down and taught them. 3 Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery. And when they had set her in the midst, 4 they said to Him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act. 5 Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do You say?”  6 This they said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him. But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear.

7 So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.”  8 And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. 9 Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. 10 When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, “Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?”

11 She said, “No one, Lord.”

And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.” (John 8:1-11)

Those who practice sexual immorality of an kind are sinning and going contrary to what Jesus taught.

Here is the fifth FAQ:

5. What do I tell people when they say being gay is a sin and a choice?
Tell them that Jesus said absolutely nothing about being gay, but he said a lot of things about judging other people. Then tell them that while there is no consensus among scientists about the exact reasons that an individual develops a heterosexual, bisexual, gay, or lesbian orientation, there is consensus that sexuality is a continuum. So the “choice” is not to be gay, straight or somewhere in between; the “choice” is to build our own healthy relationships — and give other people the grace to build theirs.

People choose whether or not to sin.  Unless being raped, people choose whether or not to engage is sexual activity or immorality.  Participating in homosexual relations is a choice–a choice that the Bible repeatedly condemns in various ways throughout its books.

Being a former practicing homosexual or idolator is not a sin (1 Corinthians 6:9-11).  Being a current one is (cf. Revelation 22:14-15).

Here is the sixth FAQ:

6. How about transgender people? Where do they fit in?
The same place all God’s beloved children fit in: smack dab in the center of God’s care, love and desire for health and wholeness for every single human being.

It is true that God loves everyone.  However, God’s word has statements against those who try to be ‘transgender’:

5 A woman shall not wear anything that pertains to a man, nor shall a man put on a woman’s garment, for all who do so are an abomination to the Lord your God. (Deuteronomy 22:5)

9 Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, (1 Corinthians 6:9, KJV)

The word translated as ‘effeminate’ above, μαλακοί, implies effeminacy, and by extension, homosexuality.

The Bible condemns cross-dressing, which many so-called transgendered people do, as an abomination.

Real Christian leaders, like Polycarp of Smyrna, also condemned acting in a transgendered way:

Knowing, then, that “God is not mocked,” we ought to walk worthy of His commandment and glory …For it is well that they should be cut off from the lusts that are in the world, since “every lust warreth against the spirit; ” and “neither fornicators, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, shall inherit the kingdom of God,” nor those who do things inconsistent and unbecoming (Polycarp. Letter to the Philippians, Chapter V. From Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 1as edited by Alexander Roberts & James Donaldson. American Edition, 1885).

God loves all, but does not want people to be transgendered nor commit other abominations.

Here is the seventh FAQ:

7. How do I respond when politicians condemn my sexuality, citing their belief in the Bible?
Remind them that the First Amendment protects them in believing whatever they want to about what God does or does not bless, but it also prohibits them from using those beliefs to decide who the Constitution protects or doesn’t protect. Tell them to stop confusing their theology with our democracy. And then campaign for and donate to their opponent in the next election cycle.

The Constitution does not prohibit leaders from using their theology to help them understand the Constitution.  The US Constitution was written by people who generally believed that biblically-based beliefs helped governance.  The ‘founding fathers’ of the USA felt that marriage was to be a state, not federal issue, and none of them proposed that homosexuals had a right to marry each other.

Here is the eighth FAQ:

8. What about those who say they need “religious freedom laws” to protect their right to discriminate against LGBT people because of their religion?
They are wrong. The Constitution already protects their the right to exercise their religion. It does not protect their right to impose their religion. Just as using the Bible to justify racial segregation was wrong in 1965 using it to justify LGBT discrimination is wrong in 2015.

The declaration of the above is wrong, though the US Constitution was to protect the right to exercise religion, various courts have sadly ruled against people acting in accordance with their religious beliefs.  This has been worsening in recent years.

Historically, the Constitution has been interpreted to mean that people did NOT have to violate their religious conscious.  From even before the time that the Constitution was adopted, hotel owners, to cite one example, were able to refuse to rent to people that they suspected might engage in sexual immorality.  But that was not called ‘discrimination’ against fornication.

The Bible itself DOES justify religious segregation from those who claim to be true Christians, but who violate God’s laws regarding matters including sexual immorality:

11 But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner — not even to eat with such a person. (1 Corinthians 5:11).

The New Testament does not say that related to race (see also God’s Grace is For All).

One is born into one’s race.  Unless being raped, one chooses whether or not to have homosexual relations.  The two are not the same.

Furthermore, notice:

3 But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints; 4 neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. 5 For this you know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. 6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. (Ephesians 5:3-7)

Many Protestant leaders are trying to deceive people with empty words that forms of sexual uncleanness are fine and should be allowed to be part of the Church–the Bible warns against this.

Here is part of the ninth FAQ:

9. So is your church in favor of marriage equality?
Yes. In 2012 the Episcopal Church adopted a resolution entitled “End Discrimination Against Same-Sex Marriages” urging the repeal the of DOMA and the extension of federal benefits to couples in a same-sex marriage.

If so-called ‘marriage equality’ is agreeing that same-sex marriage is as valid before God as a proper heterosexual marriage, then this is not the position of the Continuing Church of God.  The only marriages sanctioned throughout the Bible were between a man and a woman.

Here is the tenth FAQ:

10. Should I try to “pray away the gay”?
No. If you need to pray away something, pray away homophobia. Homosexuality doesn’t need healing. Homophobia does.

The Bible condemns even the condoning of homosexual behavior (Romans 1:18-32)–if Susan Russell defines that as ‘homophobia,’ then she is specifically condemning the Bible.

The Bible says that true Christians can overcome practicing homosexuality:

13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. (Philippians 4:13)

13 No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it. (1 Corinthians 10:13)

18 Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body. 19 Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? 20 For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s. (1 Corinthians 6:18-20)

9 Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, 10 nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God. m(1 Corinthians 6:9-11)

But in this age, many who claim to be Christians, do not believe that.

Of course, the Bible also does not endorse female priests (for details, see Women and the New Testament Church), but many do not believe that as well.

Encouraging the homosexual agenda is something that the Bible warns against:

9 The look on their countenance witnesses against them, And they declare their sin as Sodom; They do not hide it. Woe to their soul! For they have brought evil upon themselves. (Isaiah 3:9)

13 The fear of the Lord is to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way And the perverse mouth I hate. (Proverbs 8:13)

18 Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before a fall. (Proverbs 16:18)

7 as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. (Jude 7)

6…the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them to destruction, making them an example to those who afterward would live ungodly (2 Peter 2:6)

So the Bible shows that Sodom was destroyed for many things including its pride and the committing of abominations. Homosexuality is an abomination. Sodom and Gomorrah were turned into ashes making them an example–but many leaders in the UK, USA, Scotland, Canada, New Zealand, and elsewhere do not wish to consider the ramifications of what they are doing. Much of the ‘extreme weather’ that has been going on lately appears related to the increasing acceptance of the homosexual agenda (cf. Amos 4:7-12).

Notice that not just participating in homosexual and lesbian acts are prohibited by the Bible, but that condemnation is also given to those who approve such acts per Romans 1:22-32.

Several Protestant denominations apparently they do not know and/or care that the survival of many in the United States and the Anglo-Saxon lands is at risk! There are other sins of immorality, such as pornography and abortion, that are rampant and wrong in these lands as well.

More wrong arguments from Protestant leaders are also dealt with in the new video sermon: What Does the Bible Really Teach about Homosexuality?

No one should be ignoring the warnings of the Bible. No one should be pushing the homosexual agenda. Yet, many in the West, judges included, foolishly are–and this will be to their peril.

Some items of possibly related interest may include:

The Bible Condemns Homosexuality “Same-sex marriage” for “gays” and lesbians is becoming more acceptable to many. What does the Bible teach about homosexuality? Can homosexuals change?  A sermon of related interest is titled What Does the Bible Really Teach about Homosexuality?
Cross-dressing and other assaults against your children. What should you do? Is there an agenda to turn your children and/or grandchildren away from biblical morality and towards practices promoted by homosexuals? What does the Bible teach about cross-dressing? What should parents do? If there is an agenda, what has been going on? There is also a YouTube video on this, titled Cross dressing and Other Assaults Against Your Children.
Weather Blessings and Sorrows Are weather problems a warning? What should be done? What does the Bible teach about weather? What about floods, droughts, heat, earthquakes, tornadoes, and solar storms? Here is a related YouTube video Does God Use Weather? A related item in the Spanish language would be Bendiciones y maldiciones del clima.
Love, Marriage, and Sex It is important to get them in the right order.
Hope of Salvation: How the Continuing Church of God differ from most Protestants How the real Church of God differs from mainstream/traditional Protestants, is perhaps the question I am asked most by those without a Church of God background. As far as some changes affecting Protestantism, watch the video Charismatic Kenneth Copeland and Anglican Tony Palmer: Protestants Beware!
Beware: Protestants Going Towards Ecumenical Destruction! What is going on in the Protestant world? Are Protestants turning back to their ‘mother church’ in Rome? Does the Bible warn about this? What are Catholic plans and prophecies related to this? Is Protestantism doomed?
Abortion, the Bible, and a Woman’s Right to Choose Do you know what the Bible teaches on this? Has the Roman Catholic Church allowed abortions? What about the real Church of God? Some may also, or instead, wish to view the YouTube video Abortion, the Bible, and US Debt.
Pornography: A scourge on society Is pornography harmless fun? Does the Bible teach anything about it? What are the views of some involved with it? Here is a link to a YouTube video Pornography: Harmless Fun or a Scourge on Society?
British and American Moral Decay Public nudity is becoming more prevalent in the Anglo-Saxon lands. What are some of the consequences?
Can those in the USA/UK see the Handwriting on the Wall? Is everything fine in the USA/UK or is it like the days of Noah? Can we learn from the handwriting that appeared on a wall thousands of years ago? Here is a link to a related YouTube video Can you see the ‘Handwriting on the Wall’?
Anglo – America in Prophecy & the Lost Tribes of Israel Are the Americans, Canadians, English, Scottish, Welsh, Australians, Anglo-Saxon (non-Dutch) Southern Africans, and New Zealanders descendants of Joseph? Where are the lost ten-tribes of Israel? Who are the lost tribes of Israel? What will happen to Jerusalem and the Jews in Israel? Will God punish the U.S.A., Canada, United Kingdom, and other Anglo-Saxon nations? Why might God allow them to be punished first? Here is a link to the Spanish version of this article: Anglo-América & las Tribus Perdidas de Israel. Information is also in the YouTube sermons titled Where are the Ten Lost Tribes? Why does it matter? and British are the Covenant People. A short YouTube of prophetic interest may be Barack Obama and the State of the Apocalypse.
Will the Anglo-Saxon Nations be Divided and Have People Taken as Slaves? Will the lands of the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand be divided? What about Jerusalem? What does Bible prophecy teach? Are there non-biblical prophecies that support this idea? Who will divide those lands? Who will end up with the lands and the people? Here is a link to a video titled Will the USA and other Anglo-nations be Divided and Their People Made Slaves? Here is a related item in the Spanish language ¿Serán divididas las naciones anglosajonas?
British are the Covenant People What do ‘British’ and ‘Britain’ mean in Hebrew? Are the descendants of the Anglo-Saxons people of the covenant? Does the British royal family connect to the throne of David? What does the Bible teach? What does history show us? Is there any DNA evidence related to British-Israelism? When did Christianity make it to the British Isles? Could Jeremiah have made it to the British Isles? What type of Christians made it to the British Isles? Did the last King of England believe in British Israelism?
When Will the Great Tribulation Begin? 2015, 2016, or 2017? Can the Great Tribulation begin today? What happens before the Great Tribulation in the “beginning of sorrows”? What happens in the Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord? Is this the time of the Gentiles? When is the earliest that the Great Tribulation can begin? What is the Day of the Lord? Who are the 144,000? Here is a version of the article in the Spanish language: ¿Puede comenzar la Gran Tribulación en 2014 o 2015? ¿Es el Tiempo de los Gentiles? You can also see the English language sermon video: The Great Tribulation from the Mount of Olives.
Barack Obama, Prophecy, and the Destruction of the United States-Second Edition for Second Obama Term This is a 160 page book for people truly interested in prophecies related to Barack Obama and the United States, including learning about many that have already been fulfilled (which the book documents in detail) and those that will be fulfilled in the future. It also has a chapter about a Republican choice. This book is available to order at www.barackobamaprophecy.com. The physical book can also be purchased at Amazon from the following link: Barack Obama, Prophecy, and the Destruction of the United States: Is Barack Obama Fulfilling Biblical, Islamic Catholic, Kenyan, and other America-Related Prophecies? What About Republican Leaders? Second Edition for Second Obama Term.
Barack Obama, Prophecy, and the Destruction of the United States-Second Term-Amazon Kindle edition. This electronic version is available for only US$2.99. And you do not need an actual Kindle device to read it. Why? Amazon will allow you to download it to almost any device: Please click HERE to download one of Amazon s Free Reader Apps. After you go to for your free Kindle reader and then go to Barack Obama, Prophecy, and the Destruction of the United States-Second Term-Amazon Kindle edition.

Korea: Record drought in North, deadly pestilence in the South

Wednesday, June 17th, 2015


Korea Flag 1889

COGwriter

Both North and South Korea made the news today for potential disasters that are occurring in those lands:

June 17, 2015

North Korea says it is facing its worst drought in a century, sparking fears of worsening food shortages.

State news agency KCNA said main rice-growing provinces had been badly affected and more than 30% of rice paddies were “parching up”.

Hundreds of thousands of North Koreans are believed to have died during a widespread famine in the 1990s. …

The United Nations World Food Programme says North Korea regularly faces significant food shortages and currently about a third of children in the country are malnourished. …

It is unusual for North Korea to talk openly of its shortages so the very appearance of the report in state media is significant. It indicates the situation is serious, and it may well indicate that North Korea wants outside help. …

KCNA said rice planting had finished in more than 441,560 hectares of paddy fields “but at least 136,200 hectares of them are parching up”.

It said paddy fields in South Hwanghae and North Hwanghae provinces were particularly badly hit, with up to 80% of rice seedlings drying up in some areas.

It said South Phyongan and South Hamgyong were also “badly affected”.

“Water levels of reservoirs stand at their lowest, while rivers and streams [are] getting dry,” the news agency said. …

Last year the country saw its lowest rainfall in 30 years. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-33160768

June 17, 2015 (Via AOL headline)

N. Korea’s control over its citizens possibly imperiled

Crops have reportedly been severely damaged — and if devastating famine follows, history says the authoritarian government may be threatened.

North Korea says it has been hit by its worst drought in a century, resulting in extensive damage to agriculture.

June 17, 2015

Seoul: Eight new Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) cases were reported in South Korea on Wednesday, taking the total to 162, the health ministry said.

Among the new cases were five people contracting the virus at the Samsung Medical Center in Seoul, where the patient 14, called super spreader, has infected nearly 80 people, Xinhua news agency reported.

One Samsung hospital doctor, 33, was included in the list of new infectees.

The remaining three cases caught the virus each at the Hallym University Medical Center in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, the Gangdong Kyunghee University Medical Center in Seoul and a small clinic in Pyeongtaek, about 60 km south of Seoul.  http://zeenews.india.com/news/health/health-news/south-korea-mers-cases-rise-to-162_1614784.html

June 17, 2015

The World Health Organization (WHO) said Wednesday the outbreak of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome in South Korea shows the urgent need for greater international readiness to fight infectious diseases.

“This outbreak is a wake-up call and [shows] that in a highly mobile world, all countries should always be prepared for the unanticipated possibility of outbreaks of this, and other serious infectious diseases,” said WHO in a statement.

But the Geneva-based organization said it does not consider the MERS outbreak to be a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, thanks to quick South Korean action to contain the disease.

The South Korean health ministry on Wednesday reported the country’s 20th MERS fatality and said eight new infections have been discovered, bringing the total number of cases to 162.

The government insists the virus has been primarily contained to medical facilities and has expressed hope the disease could be brought under control by the end of the month.

There is no cure or vaccine for MERS, which has a fatality rate of around 35 percent, according to WHO.

Over 5,500 people in South Korea have been placed in quarantine after having possibly come into contact with individuals infected with the disease. http://www.voanews.com/content/south-korea-mers-outbreak-a-wake-up-call/2825740.html

Droughts are also affecting Africa, Ukraine, California, and other parts of the world.

As regular readers of this page and the Book of Matthew are aware, Jesus predicted famines and pestilences:

7 … And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of sorrows. (Matthew 24:7-8)

It has long been known that the Bible tells of a later time when food prices would rise and there would be more death by pestilences:

5 When He opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come and see.” So I looked, and behold, a black horse, and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand. 6 And I heard a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not harm the oil and the wine.”

7 When He opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, “Come and see.” 8 So I looked, and behold, a pale horse. And the name of him who sat on it was Death, and Hades followed with him. And power was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword, with hunger, with death, and by the beasts of the earth. (Revelation 6:5-8)

The above relates to the rides of the third and fourth horsemen of the Apocalypse (see also Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse and Fourth Horseman of the Apocalypse).

The most immediate effect of the drought will be some food shortages and rises in food prices in the West, but probably deaths in North Korea and perhaps other parts of the world.

Notice the following Question and Answer from the old Good News magazine:

Are we headed for a time of worldwide catastrophes? Is this what Jesus meant in Matthew 24:8, when He said: “All these are the beginning of sorrows”?

Bible prophecy not only speaks of a time of chaos affecting all nations…God, who controls all events and would intervene on our behalf if we turned in repentance to Him, is going to allow disasters to teach us once and for all that it doesn’t pay to transgress the laws He gives us for our good.

God told our forefathers, after He had rescued them from the slavery of Egypt, that if they were obedient to His laws, He would bless them greatly. Disobedience, on the other hand, would bring nothing but drought, misery, hunger and every frightful curse. Read it for yourself in Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28.

If the nations as a whole will not repent, you as an individual can be spared. Repent of disobedience to God’s laws. Obey Him in every way as truth is revealed to you. Only in this way can you expect God’s protection as mighty forces are unleashed in full fury in the months and years immediately ahead. (Questions &  Answers. Good News, June-July 1985)

God does control the weather and commands humans everywhere to repent (Acts 17:30).

Some items of possibly related interest may include:

Weather Blessings and Sorrows Are weather problems a warning? What should be done? What does the Bible teach about weather? What about floods, droughts, heat, earthquakes, tornadoes, and solar storms? Here is a related YouTube video Does God Use Weather? A related item in the Spanish language would be Bendiciones y maldiciones del clima.
Fourth Horseman of the Apocalypse What is the pale horse of death and pestilences? What will it bring and when? Spanish: El cuarto jinete de Apocalipsis, el caballo pálido de muerte y pestilencia.
Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse What do each of the four horseman of the Apocalypse represent? Have they began their ride? Did Jesus discuss the any of this? Might their rides coincide with the “beginning of sorrows? Do they start their ride prior to the Great Tribulation? Did Nostradamus or any other ‘private prophets’ write predictions that may mislead people so that they may not understand the truth of one or more of the four horseman? There is also a related YouTube video titled The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.
Ebola, Pestilence, and 2016? The World Health Organization says the Ebola epidemic is the most severe acute public health emergency seen in modern times and kills 71% who contract it. What does the United Nations say? Is Ebola a pestilence related to the four horsemen of the apocalypse? Is a questionable prediction that all humans will die from infection in 2016 possible?
When Will the Great Tribulation Begin? 2015, 2016, or 2017? Can the Great Tribulation begin today? What happens before the Great Tribulation in the “beginning of sorrows”? What happens in the Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord? Is this the time of the Gentiles? When is the earliest that the Great Tribulation can begin? What is the Day of the Lord? Who are the 144,000? Here is a version of the article in the Spanish language: ¿Puede comenzar la Gran Tribulación en 2014 o 2015? ¿Es el Tiempo de los Gentiles? You can also see the English language sermon video: The Great Tribulation from the Mount of Olives.
Africa: Its Biblical Past and Prophesied Future What does the Bible teach about Africa and its future? Did the early Church reach Africa? Will God call all the Africans?
What is the Gospel? True religion should be based upon the true gospel. What are some of the different gospels and where did they come from? Do you believe the true or a false gospel? Who is preaching the gospel? Here is a version in Korean 복음이란 무엇인가?
Korea in Prophecy, Any Witness? Where did the Korean people come from? Does God have a plan for the Koreans? Is Korea mentioned in any prophecies? Will Koreans be among the first in the Kingdom of God? Here is a machine-translated link to that article in Korean: 한국의 언어로 : 한국 예언, 모든 증인에?; here is a link to that article in Mandarin Chinese: 在预言中的韩国:有任何证人吗?
United Nations: Humankind’s Last Hope or New World Order? Is the UN the last hope for humanity? Or might its goals end up with sinister results? A related video would be United Nations and Vatican Are Planning the New World Order.
Anglo – America in Prophecy & the Lost Tribes of Israel Are the Americans, Canadians, English, Scottish, Welsh, Australians, Anglo-Saxon (non-Dutch) Southern Africans, and New Zealanders descendants of Joseph? Where are the lost ten-tribes of Israel? Who are the lost tribes of Israel? What will happen to Jerusalem and the Jews in Israel? Will God punish the U.S.A., Canada, United Kingdom, and other Anglo-Saxon nations? Why might God allow them to be punished first? Here is a link to the Spanish version of this article: Anglo-América & las Tribus Perdidas de Israel. Information is also in the YouTube sermons titled Where are the Ten Lost Tribes? Why does it matter? and British are the Covenant People. A short YouTube of prophetic interest may be Barack Obama and the State of the Apocalypse.
Will the Anglo-Saxon Nations be Divided and Have People Taken as Slaves? Will the lands of the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand be divided? What about Jerusalem? What does Bible prophecy teach? Are there non-biblical prophecies that support this idea? Who will divide those lands? Who will end up with the lands and the people? Here is a link to a video titled Will the USA and other Anglo-nations be Divided and Their People Made Slaves? Here is a related item in the Spanish language ¿Serán divididas las naciones anglosajonas?
Just What Do You Mean — Repentance? Do you know what repentance is? Have you truly repented? Repented of what? Herbert W. Armstrong wrote this as a booklet on this important subject.
When You Sin: Do You Really Repent? This is an article by Charles F. Hunting. A related sermon is Confess to God and truly repent.
Do Christians Sin? This is an article by Herbert W. Armstrong.
Overcoming Sin What is sin? How are Christians suppose to overcome it? Here is a link to a version in Mandarin Chinese: 克服是重要的. Here is a link to a version in Spanish: Vencer al pecado. Here is also a link to a video in English titled How to Overcome Sin.

1 John 5:7-8 and the Trinity

Wednesday, June 17th, 2015

COGwriter

Does the Bible clearly teach the trinity doctrine?

Some claim that 1 John 5:-7-8 is proof of the Greco-Roman trinity. But is it really?

The above drawing is also used by some trinitarians to explain the trinity, even though it clearly violates laws of logic. It was basically developed because although most who profess Christ claim to believe in the trinity, it is a concept that is contradictory, so trying to show it in a drawing supposedly makes the illogical easier to understand.

But was the trinity a doctrine of the New Testament or early Christians?

Here is what one modern historian has written about it:

Like other doctrines that became central to the faith, however, belief in the Trinity was a historical development, not a “given” from the early years of the faith. A. The basic notion of the Trinity is that there are three persons in the Godhead: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. These are all equally God and of the same substance, but despite the fact there are three persons, together, they compromise only one God, indivisible in nature. B. This doctrine does not appear to be a doctrine pronounced by the historical Jesus, Paul, or any other Christian writer during the first hundred years or so of Christianity. C. It cannot be found explicitly stated in the earliest Christian writings. The only passage of the New Testament that declares the doctrine (1 John 5:7-8) was not originally part of the text but was added by doctrinally astute scribes at a later date (it is not found in any Greek manuscripts until the 11th century) (Ehrman B. From Jesus to Constantine: A History of Early Christianity, Part 2. The Teaching Company, Chantilly (VA), 2004, p. 43).

According to the above, the trinity was not an original Christian belief and that only passage in the New Testament that declares that doctrine (1 John 5:7-8) was added at a later date.

Here is the version of 1 John 5:7-8 as improperly shown in the NKJV and the modern Douay Rheims:

7 For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one. 8 And there are three that bear witness on earth: the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three agree as one. (1 John 5:7-8, NKJV)

7 And there are three who give testimony in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost. And these three are one. 8 And there are three that give testimony on earth: the spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three are one. (1 John 5:7-8, Douay-Rheims)

But much of what is shown above was ADDED to the original biblical texts.

Here is what the original text supports according to Dr. Daniel Wallace, professor of New Testament Studies at Dallas Theological Seminary (a trinitarian institution) wrote:

The Textual Problem in 1 John 5:7-8:

“5:7 For there are three that testify, 5:8 the Spirit and the water and the blood, and these three are in agreement.” –NET Bible

Notice that this is much shorter than what most Protestant or Catholic translators now show. Even certain trinitarian scholars realize that instead of teaching the trinity, the above has to do with Jesus and baptism (see Nelson Study Bible, p. 2147 which is also quoted in the article Did the True Church Ever Teach a Trinity?). It was only after someone scribbled a side note well after the Bible was written that the trinitarian view was added.

How late was the addition that makes it longer?

Here is more from Dr. Daniel Wallace on the longer addition:

This longer reading is found only in eight late manuscripts, four of which have the words in a marginal note. Most of these manuscripts (2318, 221, and [with minor variations] 61, 88, 429, 629, 636, and 918) originate from the 16th century; the earliest manuscript, codex 221 (10th century), includes the reading in a marginal note which was added sometime after the original composition. Thus, there is no sure evidence of this reading in any Greek manuscript until the 1500s; each such reading was apparently composed after Erasmus’ Greek NT was published in 1516. Indeed, the reading appears in no Greek witness of any kind (either manuscript, patristic, or Greek translation of some other version) until AD 1215 (in a Greek translation of the Acts of the Lateran Council, a work originally written in Latin)…

The Trinitarian formula (known as the Comma Johanneum) made its way into the third edition of Erasmus’ Greek NT (1522) because of pressure from the Catholic Church. After his first edition appeared (1516), there arose such a furor over the absence of the Comma that Erasmus needed to defend himself. He argued that he did not put in the Comma because he found no Greek manuscripts that included it…

In reality, the issue is history, not heresy: How can one argue that the Comma Johanneum must go back to the original text when it did not appear until the 16th century in any Greek manuscripts? (Wallace DB. The Textual Problem in 1 John 5:7-8. http://bible.org/article/textual-problem-1-john-57-8)

Although the NIV gets I John 5:7-8 right, in the KJV, Douay-Rheims, NKJV and many other translators of I John 5:7-8 include words not in the original text. On page 1918, The Ryrie Study Bible reminds everyone, related to the NKJV:

“Verse 7 should end with the word witness. The remainder of v. 7 and part of v. 8 are not in any ancient Greek manuscript…”.

In other words the words “in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness on earth” are not inspired and are not supposed to be in the Bible.

Now lest any Catholics have a different view, although the CHANGED version of the Latin Vulgate contains a version of this, the Codex Amiatinus (Codex Amiatinus. Novum Testamentum Latine interpreter Hieronymo. Epistula Iohannis I V:6-8. Constantinus Tischendorf, Lipsiae. 1854 http://books.google.com/books?hl=pl&id=x0opAAAAYAAJ&q=NOVUM_TESTAMENTUM_LATINE#v=onepage&q=NOVUM_TESTAMENTUM_LATINE&f=false viewed 04/21/12), which is believed to be the closest to the original document that Jerome originally translated into Latin, also does not have this as The Catholic Encyclopedia states:

Codex Amiatinus The most celebrated manuscript of the Latin Vulgate Bible, remarkable as the best witness to the true text of St. Jerome…(Fenlon, John Francis. “Codex Amiatinus.” The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 4. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1908. 21 Apr. 2012 <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04081a.htm>)

Note: Yes, I personally read the Latin in the Codex Amiatinus and compared it to the changed version and more modern version of the Latin Vulgate which differs from the early version in that the modern version adds “in caelo, Pater, Verbum, et Spiritus Sanctus. Et hi tres unum sunt. Et tres sunt qui testimonium dant in terra:” (Latin Vulgate . com is provided by Mental Systems, Inc. http://www.latinvulgate.com/verse.aspx?t=1&b=23&c=5 viewed 04/21/12).

In other words, Catholic scholars realize that the texts that Jerome used to originally put together the Latin Vulgate Bible (the basic Bible for Catholics) did not have the late addition (which, of course, it could not originally have had as that addition came about many centuries after Jerome did his translation).

The Protestant and Catholic bibles that have the added words are relying on very late documents that were not considered to be original. Even various trinitarian scholars have concluded that 1 John 5:6-8 essentially has to do with Christ–not the “trinity” (see Nelson Study Bible, p. 2147 which is also quoted in the article Did the True Church Ever Teach a Trinity?)

Some sadly, of course, have ignored the truth about the origin of 1 John 5:7-8 and wish to believe that because early heretics seem to have possibly referred to it (one popular online source falsely claims that Tertullian, who followed the heretic Montanus, quoted the omitted words in Against Praxeas–this is not true as I have read that writing and it is not in there–but even if it was, Tertullian was a heretic follower who did not seem to have the proper canon), that it must be true–but that of course is a lie.

I would like to mention here that BECAUSE most Bibles contain the false long addition to 1 John 5:7-8, that Muslims often cite this as absolute proof that the Bible has been tampered with and cannot be trusted like they claim the Koran can. The belief and use of 1 John 5:7-8 causes the name of Christ (through the term ‘Christianity’) to be blasphemed among the Gentiles (Romans 2:24; Isaiah 52:5). No honest translator should have ever included it in the Bible as anything other than a footnote that it was improperly added in later centuries as a pretended addition to the text.

Origins of Certain Trinitarian Terms

The Cathecism of the Catholic Church itself admits that the Church (not the Bible) had to come up with terms of “philosophical” (pagan/Greek) origin to explain the trinity:

251 In order to articulate the dogma of the Trinity, the Church had to develop its own terminology with the help of certain notions of philosophical origin: “substance,” “person,” or “hypostasis,” “relation” and so on (Catechism of the Catholic Church. Imprimatur Potest +Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger. Doubleday, NY 1995, p. 74).

According to a Catholic bishop named Marcellus of Ancyra wrote, around the middle of the fourth century, certain aspects of trinitarianism came from paganism and the term “hypostases” entered the professing Christian world from a heretic named Valentinus:

Now with the heresy of the Ariomaniacs, which has corrupted the Church of God…These then teach three hypostases, just as Valentinus the heresiarch first invented in the book entitled by him ‘On the Three Natures’. For he was the first to invent three hypostases and three persons of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and he is discovered to have filched this from Hermes and Plato (Source: Logan A. Marcellus of Ancyra (Pseudo-Anthimus), ‘On the Holy Church’: Text, Translation and Commentary. Verses 8-9. Journal of Theological Studies, NS, Volume 51, Pt. 1, April 2000, p.95 ).

So, it was a heretic that introduced the trinitarian term hypostasis.

The term “substance” basically comes from a Greek term that was introduced to the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches by the pagan sun-worshiping Emperor Constantine. Protestant scholar H. Brown noted:

Although Constantine is usually remembered for the steps he took toward making Christianity the established religion of the Roman Empire, it would not be wrong to consider him the one who inaugurated the centuries of trinitarian orthodoxy. It was he who proposed and perhaps even imposed the expression homoousis at the Council of Nicea in 325, and it was he who provided government aid to the orthodox and exerted government pressure against nonconformists. ( Brown HOJ. Heresies: Heresy and Orthodoxy in the History of the Church. Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody (MA), 1988)

It should be noted that it is understood, even by some Catholic scholars, like Priest Bellarmino Bagatti, that those considered to be Judeao-Christians did not accept the Emperor’s non-biblical term:

The point of view of the Judaeo-Christians, devoid of Greek philosophical formation, was that of keeping steadfast to the Testimonia, and therefore not to admit any word foreign to the Bible, including Homoousion. ( Bagatti, Bellarmino. Translated by Eugene Hoade. The Church from the Gentiles in Palestine. Nihil obstat: Ignatius Mancini, 1 Februari 1970. Imprimi potest: Herminius Roncari, 26 Februari 1970. Imprimatur: +Albertus Gori, die 28 Februarii 1970. Franciscan Printing Press, Jerusalem, 1971, pp. 47-48)

Regarding the New Testament, even a trinitarian scholar has admitted that the Bible promotes a binitarian view, and does not teach what is now considered to be the trinity:

The binitarian formulas are found in Rom. 8:11, 2 Cor. 4:14, Gal. 1:1, Eph. 1:20, 1 Tim 1:2, 1 Pet. 1:21, and 2 John 1:13…No doctrine of the Trinity in the Nicene sense is present in the New Testament…There is no doctrine of the Trinity in the strict sense in the Apostolic Fathers…(Rusch W.G. The Trinitarian Controversy. Fortress Press, Phil., 1980, pp. 2-3).

The terms trinity, threeness, or trinitarian are not found in the Bible. The Protestant reformer Martin Luther himself taught:

It is indeed true that the name “Trinity” is nowhere to be found in the Holy Scriptures, but has been conceived and invented by man. (Luther Martin. The Sermons of Martin Luther, Church Postil, 1522; III:406-421, PC Study Bible formatted electronic database Copyright © 2003, 2006 by Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved.)

According to Roman Catholic sources, the term trinity, in relation to the Godhead, did not come until the late second/early third century. Yet, the idea of the trinity was apparently voiced by the heretic Montanus and as well as developed by a famous Gnostic heretic named Valentinus in the mid-2nd Century. One of the so-called Montanist Oracles, spoken by Montanus was:

“I am the Father and the Son and the Paraclete.” (Didymus, De trinitate iii. 41. 1.) (Assembled in P. de Labriolle, La crise montaniste (1913), 34-105, by Bates College, Lewston (Maine) http://abacus.bates.edu/Faculty/Philosophy%20and%20Religion/rel_241/texts/montanism.html 01/31/06).

This is one of the first references to a trinitarian view of the Godhead (the other earliest one was from the heretic Valentinus–it is unclear which was first). The paraclete is a term used to signify the Holy Spirit (it is from the Greek term parakletos). Eusebius records (Eusebius. Church History, Book V, Chapters 18-19) that church leaders in Asia Minor and Antioch, such as Apollonius of Ephesus, that Serapion of Antioch, Apollinaris of Hierapolis, and Thraseas of Eumenia opposed the Montantist heresies (Apollinaris of Hierapolis and Thraseas of Eumenia were Quartodecimans, and Apollonius likely was as well). And Irenaeus recorded that Polycarp denounced Valentinus.

The reality is that the longer addition of 1 John 5:7-8 was unknown to early Christians as it was not part of the Bible. And shockingly to some, the early faithful clearly held what has been called a binitarian or semi-Arian view of the Godhead.

Those interested in studying this doctrine in more detail, should consider looking at the following documented items:

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?
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 longer article than the Binitarian View article, and has a little more information on binitarianism, and less about unitarianism. A related sermon is also available: Binitarian view of the Godhead.
Valentinus: The Gnostic Trinitarian Heretic He apparently was the first Christ-professing heretic to come up with the idea of three hypostases.

Russia says USA’s weapons ideas for Eastern Europe means it will add 40 more ICBMs

Tuesday, June 16th, 2015


Russian Topol-M ICBM on MZKT-79221 mobile launcher

COGwriter

Russia’s President Putin responded to what he considers to be USA provocation for an arms race:

June 16, 2015

Russian President Vladimir Putin says more than 40 new intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) will be added to the country’s nuclear arsenal this year.

Addressing the opening of the Russian Defense Ministry’s Army-2015 international military expo near Moscow on Tuesday, Putin said the new missiles “will be able to overcome any, even the most technologically advanced anti-missile defense systems.”

According to the U.S. State Department, Russia currently has 515 deployed intercontinental ballistic missiles, submarine-launched ballistic missiles and heavy bombers, carrying a total of 1,582 nuclear warheads.

The Russian president’s comments came amid heightened tensions between Russia and NATO countries over the conflict in eastern Ukraine, and they follow Western press reports that the United States is planning to permanently station heavy American weaponry and troops in Eastern Europe and the Baltic states.

Asked about Mr. Putin’s comments, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters in Brussels on Tuesday that they simply confirmed “the pattern and the behavior of Russia over quite a period of time,” including an increase in what he called “nuclear rhetoric.”

“This nuclear saber-rattling of Russia is unjustified,” he said. “It’s destabilizing and it’s dangerous. And this is something which we are addressing, and it’s also one of the reasons we now are increasing the readiness and preparedness of our forces.”

Asked about the U.S. plan to preposition military hardware and personnel in Eastern Europe and the Baltic states, the NATO chief welcomed efforts to protect allies.

Commenting on those reports Monday, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said the plan to preposition military hardware and personnel is “still in the early stages of the policy making process, but is consistent with strategy that we have previously pursued.” President Barack Obama, he said, is “serious” about upholding the U.S. commitment to defend its NATO allies.

Russia claims no alternative

Russia’s Foreign Ministry also commented on the planned deployments, warning that such a move could provoke a military confrontation with “dangerous consequences.” Earlier Monday, Russia’s Interfax news agency quoted senior Russian defense ministry official General Yuri Yakubov as saying that the plan, if put into action, would be “the most aggressive step by the Pentagon and NATO since the Cold War of the last century,” and that Russia would have no alternative other than to “build up its forces and means in the western strategic direction.”

On Saturday, the New York Times quoted unnamed U.S. officials who said the plan was aimed at countering further Russian aggression following Moscow’s 2014 annexation of Crimea, the Ukrainian Black Sea peninsula.

According to the newspaper, if the plan is approved by U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter and President Obama, the U.S. will store fighting vehicles and position as many as 5,000 troops in Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Poland and possibly Hungary.  All seven countries are NATO members.

In May, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia called on NATO to permanently station troops on their territory in order to deter Russia.

Poland said Sunday the plan would place battle tanks and other equipment on its soil. Defense Minister Tomasz Siemoniak said he discussed the plan with U.S. military officials in Washington last month and was assured a decision would be made soon.

US lawmakers supportive

Meanwhile, U.S. lawmakers from both parties told VOA they support plans to boost America’s presence in Eastern Europe.

“I agree (with the move). I visited with the president of Lithuania last August, and I know that they are quite concerned, because of the aggressiveness of Putin along their border, along with the significant Russian population that each of the Baltic states have, particularly Estonia,” said Democratic Senator Bill Nelson. “I think it’s a legitimate concern.”  http://www.voanews.com/content/reu-putin-russia-nuclear-arsenal/2824374.html

The Bible does not tell of a massive war between the Russians and the Americans, but USA politicians rarely base decisions on biblical prophecies.

I have warned for some time that the USA is preparing for major conflicts with the Russians and the the Chinese that the Bible does not foretell of.  This, in my opinion, is making the USA vulnerable for an enemy that will develop.

I would state that there is a chance that Russia will ultimately use many of those 40 new ICBMs, and that would be against Europe (cf. Daniel 11:44-45; Isaiah 13:1-8).

Many would be surprised to realize that the Bible warns that military friends/allies of the USA and its Anglo-Saxon allies will turn against them and become enemies:

1 How lonely sits the city
That was full of people!
How like a widow is she,
Who was great among the nations!
The princess among the provinces
Has become a slave!

2 She weeps bitterly in the night,
Her tears are on her cheeks;
Among all her lovers
She has none to comfort her.
All her friends have dealt treacherously with her;
They have become her enemies. (Lamentations 1:1-2)

The USA and Great Britain (including its Anglo-Commonwealth members, like Australia and Canada) were “great among the nations.” And the Bible is clear that betrayal is coming from national FRIENDS!

More about Europe’s role in the coming destruction can be found in the articles Europa, the Beast, and Revelation and Anglo – America in Prophecy & the Lost Tribes of Israel, as well as yesterday’s post USA looking to provide heavy weaponry to Eastern Europe: deterrent to Russia or preparation for disaster?

The USA provoking Russia, while considering more arms for Europe, will not result in lasting peace.  The Bible says a war is coming that will result in the end of the USA and its lands (Daniel 11:39).

Some items 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”? Is an emerging European power “the daughter of Babylon”? What is ahead for Europe? Here is a link to a video titled: Can You Prove that the Beast to Come is European?
European Technology and the Beast of Revelation Will the coming European Beast power would use and develop technology that will result in the taking over of the USA and its Anglo-Saxon allies? Is this possible? What does the Bible teach? Here is a related YouTube video: Military Technology and the Beast of Revelation.
Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse What do each of the four horseman of the Apocalypse represent? Have they began their ride? Did Jesus discuss the any of this? Might their rides coincide with the “beginning of sorrows? Do they start their ride prior to the Great Tribulation? Did Nostradamus or any other ‘private prophets’ write predictions that may mislead people so that they may not understand the truth of one or more of the four horseman? There is also a related YouTube video titled The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.
World War III: Steps in Progress Are there surprising actions going on now that are leading to WWIII? Might a nuclear attack be expected? Does the Bible promise protection to all or only some Christians? How can you be part of those that will be protected? A related video would be Is World War III About to Begin? Can You Escape?
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? Does God have 7,000 year plan? What year may the six thousand years of human rule end? When will Jesus return? 2022 or 20xx? There is also a video titled The 6000 Year Plan: Is the end of humanity’s reign almost up? Here is a link to the article in Spanish: ¿Tiene Dios un plan de 6,000 años?
When Will the Great Tribulation Begin? 2015, 2016, or 2017? Can the Great Tribulation begin today? What happens before the Great Tribulation in the “beginning of sorrows”? What happens in the Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord? Is this the time of the Gentiles? When is the earliest that the Great Tribulation can begin? What is the Day of the Lord? Who are the 144,000? Here is a version of the article in the Spanish language: ¿Puede comenzar la Gran Tribulación en 2014 o 2015? ¿Es el Tiempo de los Gentiles? You can also see the English language sermon video: The Great Tribulation from the Mount of Olives.
Russia and Ukraine: Their Origins and Prophesied Future Russia in prophecy. Where do the Russians come from? What about those in the Ukraine? What is prophesied for Russia and its allies? What will they do to the Europeans that supported the Beast in the end? There is also a video sermon available: Russia in the Bible and in Prophecy and a video sermonette available: Ukraine in Prophecy?
Is Russia the King of the North? Some claim it is. But what does the Bible teach? Here is a link to a video, also titled Is Russia the King of the North?
Ezekiel 38: For Russia & Iran in Our Day? Is Ezekiel 38 about to be fulfilled? A related video is available titled Ezekiel 38: For Russia, Ukraine, & Iran Now?
Islands and Bible Prophecy What’s ahead for islands? What does the Bible prophesy about them?
Germany’s Assyrian Roots Throughout History Are the Germanic peoples descended from Asshur of the Bible? Have there been real Christians in Germanic history? What about the “Holy Roman Empire”? There is also a You-Tube video sermon on this titled Germany’s Biblical Origins.
Germany in Biblical and Catholic Prophecy Does Assyria in the Bible equate to an end time power inhabiting the area of the old Roman Empire? What does prophecy say Germany will do and what does it say will happen to most of the German people?
Who is the King of the North? Is there one? Do biblical and Roman Catholic prophecies for the Great Monarch 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? Here is a link to a video titled: The Future King of the North.
Can You Prove that the Beast to Come is European? The Book of Revelation tells of a beast power that will rise up. Some think that this must be Russia or could be Islamic, while others say that this power is European. The Book of Daniel tells of the rise of an end time King of the North that some think must be referring to a Russian leader, while others say that this power is European. How can you be sure? This YouTube video has all the scriptural proofs that you should need to prove that this power must be a European one.
The Eurasian Union, the Kings of the East, and Bible Prophecy Is there a Eurasian union that will be formed? Is one being formed right now? Are any leaders working on that in the 21st century? Does the Bible teach that there will be a Eurasian union? If some type of Eurasian union is formed, who might it benefit and who will it destroy? A related video would be Is The Eurasian Union Rising?
Is Russia the King of the North? Some claim it is. But what does the Bible teach? Here is a link to a video, also titled Is Russia the King of the North?
Russia and Ukraine: Their Origins and Prophesied Future Russia in prophecy. Where do the Russians come from? What about those in the Ukraine? What is prophesied for Russia and its allies? What will they do to the Europeans that supported the Beast in the end? There is also a video sermon available: Russia in the Bible and in Prophecy and a video sermonette available: Ukraine in Prophecy?
Anglo – America in Prophecy & the Lost Tribes of Israel Are the Americans, Canadians, English, Scottish, Welsh, Australians, Anglo-Saxon (non-Dutch) Southern Africans, and New Zealanders descendants of Joseph? Where are the lost ten-tribes of Israel? Who are the lost tribes of Israel? What will happen to Jerusalem and the Jews in Israel? Will God punish the U.S.A., Canada, United Kingdom, and other Anglo-Saxon nations? Why might God allow them to be punished first? Here is a link to the Spanish version of this article: Anglo-América & las Tribus Perdidas de Israel. Information is also in the YouTube sermons titled Where are the Ten Lost Tribes? Why does it matter? and British are the Covenant People. A short YouTube of prophetic interest may be Barack Obama and the State of the Apocalypse.
Will the Anglo-Saxon Nations be Divided and Have People Taken as Slaves? Will the lands of the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand be divided? What about Jerusalem? What does Bible prophecy teach? Are there non-biblical prophecies that support this idea? Who will divide those lands? Who will end up with the lands and the people? Here is a link to a video titled Will the USA and other Anglo-nations be Divided and Their People Made Slaves? Here is a related item in the Spanish language ¿Serán divididas las naciones anglosajonas?
British are the Covenant People What do ‘British’ and ‘Britain’ mean in Hebrew? Are the descendants of the Anglo-Saxons people of the covenant? Does the British royal family connect to the throne of David? What does the Bible teach? What does history show us? Is there any DNA evidence related to British-Israelism? When did Christianity make it to the British Isles? Could Jeremiah have made it to the British Isles? What type of Christians made it to the British Isles? Did the last King of England believe in British Israelism?
WTO/TTIP and the Babylonian Beast Will international trade agreements like WTO/TTIP/CETA lead to the fulfillment of end time prophecies concerning the Babylonian Beast power that the Book of Revelation warns against? What does the Bible teach? A related video would be WTO Trade Deal and the Rise of the European Beast Power.
Can those in the USA/UK see the Handwriting on the Wall? Is everything fine in the USA/UK or is it like the days of Noah? Can we learn from the handwriting that appeared on a wall thousands of years ago? Here is a link to a related YouTube video Can you see the ‘Handwriting on the Wall’?
The Snowden Leaks are Leading to the Destruction of the USA Can what happened with the leaks of what the NSA has done help the USA to be taken over? What does the Bible teach that seems to be related to this? Here is a related YouTube video titled Are the Snowden NSA leaks leading to the destruction of the USA?
Barack Obama, Prophecy, and the Destruction of the United States-Second Edition for Second Obama Term This is a 160 page book for people truly interested in prophecies related to Barack Obama and the United States, including learning about many that have already been fulfilled (which the book documents in detail) and those that will be fulfilled in the future. It also has a chapter about a Republican choice. This book is available to order at www.barackobamaprophecy.com. The physical book can also be purchased at Amazon from the following link: Barack Obama, Prophecy, and the Destruction of the United States: Is Barack Obama Fulfilling Biblical, Islamic Catholic, Kenyan, and other America-Related Prophecies? What About Republican Leaders? Second Edition for Second Obama Term.
Barack Obama, Prophecy, and the Destruction of the United States-Second Term-Amazon Kindle edition. This electronic version is available for only US$2.99. And you do not need an actual Kindle device to read it. Why? Amazon will allow you to download it to almost any device: Please click HERE to download one of Amazon s Free Reader Apps. After you go to for your free Kindle reader and then go to Barack Obama, Prophecy, and the Destruction of the United States-Second Term-Amazon Kindle edition.

Church of God News in Spanish

Tuesday, June 16th, 2015

COGwriter

The Continuing Church of God continues to get additional materials translated into the Spanish language.

Here are links to the latest items we received:

Understanding YOUR destiny
Entendiendo SU destino
http://www.cdlidd.es/entendiendo-su-destino/
LCG says prophets are rare, but look at the fruits
LCG dice que los profetas son raros, pero miren a los frutos
http://www.cdlidd.es/lcg-dice-que-los-profetas-son-raros-pero-miren-a-los-frutos/
PCG and LCG do not understand the end-time King of the South sequence–do you?
PCG y LCG no entienden la secuencia del Rey del Sur del tiempo del fin. ¿La entiende usted?
http://www.cdlidd.es/pcg-y-lcg-no-entienden-la-secuencia-del-rey-del-sur-del-tiempo-del-fin-la-entiende-usted/
It’s been two years, but evolutionist prediction has still not come to pass
Han pasado dos años, pero predicción evolucionista todavía no ha llegado a ocurrir
http://www.cdlidd.es/hanpasadodosanosperoprediccionevolucionistatodavianohallegadoaocurrir/
The British are the Covenant People
Los británicos son el pueblo del pacto
http://www.cdlidd.es/los-britanicos-son-el-pueblo-del-pacto/
LCG and PCG teach ten (or eleven) nations in Revelation 17:12-13–what if they are wrong?
La LCG y la PCG enseñan diez (o doce) naciones en Apocalipsis 17: 12-13 ¿Qué pasa si ellas están equivocadas?
http://www.cdlidd.es/la-lcg-y-la-pcg-ensenan-diez-o-doce-naciones-en-apocalipsis-17-12-13-que-pasa-si-ellas-estan-equivocadas/
Bilderberg Conference: Is ‘one-world government’ the goal?
Conferencia de Bilderberg: ¿Es la meta ‘un gobierno mundial’?
http://www.cdlidd.es/conferencia-de-bilderberg-es-la-meta-un-gobierno-mundial/
Stratfor: ‘Secularism in the Muslim world appears to be in terminal retreat’
Stratfor: ‘El secularismo en el mundo Musulmán parece estar en retirada terminal’
http://www.cdlidd.es/stratfor-el-secularismo-en-el-mundo-musulman-parece-estar-en-retirada-terminal/

The Continuing Church of God has a separate Spanish language website http://www.cdlidd.es. The term Continuing Church of God translates into La Continuación de la Iglesia de Dios in the Spanish language, also called Castellano or Español.

The Continuing Church of God is reaching people around the world in multiple languages via the internet, printed literature, and human church leads around the world. We also reach people over the radio and through videos in the English language.

Some items of possibly related interest may include:

Mexico, Central America, South America, Brazil, and the Caribbean in Prophecy [Español: México, América central, Suramérica, Brasil y el Caribe en la profecía] [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 role might the various Caribbean nations/territories play?

Continuing History of the Church of God This pdf booklet is a historical overview of the true Church of God and some of its main opponents from c. 31 A.D. to 2014. A related sermon link would be Continuing History of the Church of God: c. 31 to c. 300 A.D. Marque aquí para ver el pdf folleto: Continuación de la Historia de la Iglesia de Dios.

Where is the True Christian Church Today? This free online pdf booklet answers that question and includes 18 proofs, clues, and signs to identify the true vs. false Christian church. Plus 7 proofs, clues, and signs to help identify Laodicean churches. A related sermon is also available: Where is the True Christian Church? Here is a link to the booklet in the Spanish language: ¿Dónde está la verdadera Iglesia cristiana de hoy? Here is a link in the German language: WO IST DIE WAHRE CHRISTLICHE KIRCHE HEUTE? Here is a link in the French language: Où est la vraie Église Chrétienne aujourd’hui?

Statement of Beliefs of the Continuing Church of GodContend earnestly for the faith once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3, NKJV),  “Let brotherly love (Philadelphia) continue” (Hebrews 13:1) “…continuing stedfastly in the teaching of the apostles” (Acts 2:42 YLT). So, what does that really mean in terms of specific beliefs? Here is a related link in Spanish/español: Declaración de las Doctrinas de la Continuación de la Iglesia de Dios. Here is a related link in Tagalog: Paglalahad ng Mga Paniniwala ng Patuloy na Iglesya ng Diyos. Here is a related link in Mandarin Chinese 继续神的教会的信仰声明. Here is a related link in Kiswahili: KATIKA LUGHA YA KISWAHILI. Here is a related link in Dutch: Verklaring van geloofspunten van de Continuing Church of God. Here is a related link in Deutsche (German): Glaubenserklärung der Continuing Church of God. Here is a related link in Italiano: Dichiarazione del Credo della Continuing Church of God. Here is related link in the French language: Déclaration des croyances de L’Église Continue de Dieu.

Faith for those God has Called and Chosen What is faith? Can faith be increased? Are you saved by faith? What about works? Do Christians need to keep the Ten Commandments? What is the ‘faith chapter’? How do the just live by faith? Is faith one of the weightier matters of the law? How does faith come? Here is a link to a pdf. booklet titled Faith for Those God has Called and Chosen. Marque aquí para ver el pdf folleto: Fe para aquellos que Dios ha llamado y escogido.Here is a link to a related sermon titled: Faith for the Called and Chosen. Here is a link to shorter version of the written article in Mandarin Chinese 一篇关于信仰的小文章

CCOG.ORG Continuing Church of God The group striving to be most faithful amongst all real Christian groups to the word of God. To see how CCOG has done so far, here are links to two sermons Continuing Church of God (CCOG) first year anniversary: What has been accomplished? and The Continuing Church of God: Two Years of Proclamation. Here is a written link to a version of that sermon in the Spanish language: Aniversario del primer año de la Continuación de la Iglesia de Dios: ¿Qué se ha cumplido?

CCOG.ASIA We in the Continuing Church of God also have the url www.ccog.asia which has a focus on Asia and has various articles in Mandarin Chinese as well as some in English, plus some items in other Asian languages. 我们在继续神的教会也提供此网址 www.ccog.asia, 关注于亚洲并且有各种各样的中英文文章,其中一些用菲律宾语翻译的文章也正在进行中,准备添加到这个网站中。 HHere is a link to our Statement of Beliefs in Mandarin Chinese 继续神的教会的信仰声明.

CCOG.IN This is a website targeted towards those of Indian heritage. It has a link to an edited Hindi translation of The Mystery of the Ages and is expected to have more non-English language materials in the future.

CCOG.EU This is a website targeted toward Europe. It has materials in more than one language (currently it has English, Dutch, and Serbian, with links also to Spanish) and it is intended to have additional language materials added.

CCOG.NZ This is a website targeted towards New Zealand and others with a British-descended background.

PNIND.PH Patuloy na Iglesya ng Diyos. This is the Philippines website Continuing Church of God. It has information in English and Tagalog.

CDLIDD.ES La Continuación de la Iglesia de Dios. This is the Spanish language website for the Continuing Church of God.

Donald Trump enters the presidential race

Tuesday, June 16th, 2015


Donald Trump presidential campaign logo

COGwriter

Business man and tv personality Donald Trump announced his intentions to run for the USA presidency today:

June 16, 2015

Real-estate mogul and reality-television star Donald Trump said Tuesday he will seek the Republican nomination for president. He’s the 12th high-profile Republican to enter the 2016 race, with more to come in the weeks ahead.

“All of my life, I have heard, a truly successful person, a really successful person, and even a modestly successful person, cannot run for public office, just can’t happen,” Trump said. “Yet that’s the kind of mindset you need to make this country great again.

“So, ladies and gentlemen, I am officially running for president of the United States, and we are going to make our country great again.”  http://www.aol.com/article/2015/06/16/donald-trump-announces-hes-running-for-president/21196754/?icid=maing-grid7%7Chtmlws-main-bb%7Cdl5%7Csec1_lnk2%26pLid%3D-1344786222

June 16, 2016

Donald Trump finally took the plunge.

The real estate mogul and TV reality star launched his presidential campaign Tuesday, ending more than two decades of persistent flirtation with the idea of running for the Oval Office.

“So, ladies and gentlemen, I am officially running for president of the United States, and we are going to make our country great again,” Trump told the crowd in a lengthy and meandering 45-minute speech that hit on his signature issues like currency manipulation from China and job creation, while also taking shots at the president and his competitors on the Republican side.

“Sadly the American dream is dead,” Trump said at the end of his speech. “But if I get elected president I will bring it back bigger and better and stronger than ever before.”  http://www.cnn.com/2015/06/16/politics/donald-trump-2016-announcement-elections/

Here is an item about someone’ s opinion of Donald Trump’s possible impact on the election:

June 16, 2015

Donald Trump is not going to be president of the United States.

This the entire nation could probably agree on, even as he announced Tuesday his official bid for the White House.

“I have heard that a truly successful person, a really, really successful person, and even modestly successful, cannot run for public office. Just can’t happen. And yet that’s the kind of mind-set that you need to make this country great again,” Trump said Tuesday from his announcement at Trump Tower in New York City. “So, ladies and gentlemen, I am officially running for president of the United States, and we are going to make our country great again.”

How The Donald could affect 2016:

1. Trump could poll high enough to kick a more typical—if less famous—candidate off the Fox and CNN debate stages: candidates who aren’t polling as well as others will participate only in a bottom-tier contest. If by name recognition alone Trump is pushed to the top of the qualifying polls …

2. A Trump candidacy is great news for the news. Trump is always good for a sound bite: He’s unabashedly confident, speaks with what’s at most a very thin filter, and has very little to lose.

During his announcement Tuesday, in what appeared to be a joke, Trump connected his business success in the United States with the Islamic State.

“Islamic terrorism is eating up large portions of the Middle East,” Trump said. “They’ve become rich. I’m in competition with them. They just built a hotel in Syria. Can you believe this? They built a hotel.” …

3. In that way, he’s able to throw the news cycle off track by vacuuming up airtime and making other candidates answer for him.  …

… but why it won’t matter for very long

1. He’s able to throw the news cycle off track by vacuuming up airtime and making other candidates answer for him. No, this is not a copy-and-paste mistake: The same quality that could make him a force on the campaign trail suggests to voters that he is unserious. His quip about being wealthier than Mitt Romney is entertaining—and “almost assuredly true,” according to The Des Moines Register—but it doesn’t actually add anything to the larger debate. It’s just another quote at which voters can chuckle as they open their wallets for another candidate.

2. Trump is essentially running for fun—and a possible ratings boost. This might be the first time Trump has formally declared a full-blown campaign for the presidency, but it’s hardly the first time he has floated the idea—and been accused of doing so for less-than-honorable reasons.

3. Seventy-four percent. That’s the number of Republican voters who said in a March poll that they could never see themselves voting for Trump.  http://www.nationaljournal.com/2016-elections/donald-trump-president-run-2016-announcement-20150616

Here is some information about him:

In February 2012, Trump endorsed Mitt Romney for president of the United States.Trump was an early supporter of Ronald Reagan for president of the United States. At the 2011 CPAC conference, Trump stated that he is “pro-life” and “against gun control.” He has spoken before Tea Party supporters.Trump has expressed concern that vaccines may be linked to autism.In May 2015, Trump opposed giving President Obama fast track trade authority for the Trans Pacific Partnership trade agreement. Instead, he has called for stronger negotiations with China on trade and tariffs if necessary.Trump has advocated a policy of stronger leadership to deal with the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) which he has blamed for high oil prices.(Donald Trump. Wikipedia, accessed 06/15/15)

Not that I think he is necessarily better or worse than the others who have announced their candidacies, I do not believe the Donald Trump can make the USA great again.

He tries to have a pragmatic message and tends to talk tough about China, and that may appeal to some.  When I have seen some of his decisions and information related to them, let me simply state that I do not believe he is attempting to imitate Jesus Christ.

The USA truly needs national repentance.  None of the current presidential candidates, including “the Donald,” has called for that.

Some items of possibly related interest may include:

Hillary Clinton in Prophecy Prophecy, Hillary Clinton? Are there prophecies that Hillary Clinton may fulfill? Are there any prophecies that she has already helped fulfill? Could Hillary Clinton be apocalyptic? Could Hillary Clinton be the final Antichrist? A video of related interest is titled Hillary Clinton and Bible Prophecy.
Hillary Clinton, Prophecy, and the Destruction of the United States This is a 188 page book for people truly interested in prophecies related to Hillary Clinton and the United States, including learning about many that have already been fulfilled and those that will be fulfilled in the future. It also discusses Republicans. The physical book can be purchased at Amazon from the following link: Hillary Clinton, Prophecy, and the Destruction of the United States: Is Hillary Clinton Fulfilling Biblical, Islamic Catholic, Hopi, and other America-Related Prophecies? $11.99.
Hillary Clinton, Prophecy, and the Destruction of the United States-Amazon Kindle edition. This electronic version of the 188 page print edition is available for only US$3.99. And you do not need an actual Kindle device to read it. Why? Amazon will allow you to download it to almost any device: Please click HERE to download one of Amazon s Free Reader Apps. After you go to for your free Kindle reader and then go to Hillary Clinton, Prophecy, and the Destruction of the United States-Amazon Kindle edition.
The Gospel of the Kingdom of God was the Emphasis of Jesus and the Early Church Did you know that? Do you even know what the gospel of the kingdom is all about? You can also see a YouTube video sermon The Gospel of the Kingdom.
Should a Christian Vote? This article gives some of the Biblical rationale on this subject. Would Jesus vote for president/prime minister? Is voting in the Bible? This is a subject Christians need to understand.
Women and the New Testament Church
What roles did women play in the ministry of Jesus and the apostles? Did Jesus and the Apostle Paul violate Jewish traditions regarding their dealings with women? Do women have any biblical limitations on their role in the Church? Were there female prophets? Do women have any special responsibilities in terms of how they dress? What does the New Testament really teach about women? Here is a related sermon titled: New Testament Women.
Anglo – America in Prophecy & the Lost Tribes of Israel Are the Americans, Canadians, English, Scottish, Welsh, Australians, Anglo-Saxon (non-Dutch) Southern Africans, and New Zealanders descendants of Joseph? Where are the lost ten-tribes of Israel? Who are the lost tribes of Israel? What will happen to Jerusalem and the Jews in Israel? Will God punish the U.S.A., Canada, United Kingdom, and other Anglo-Saxon nations? Why might God allow them to be punished first? Here is a link to the Spanish version of this article: Anglo-América & las Tribus Perdidas de Israel. Information is also in the YouTube sermons titled Where are the Ten Lost Tribes? Why does it matter? and British are the Covenant People. A short YouTube of prophetic interest may be Barack Obama and the State of the Apocalypse.
Will the Anglo-Saxon Nations be Divided and Have People Taken as Slaves? Will the lands of the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand be divided? What about Jerusalem? What does Bible prophecy teach? Are there non-biblical prophecies that support this idea? Who will divide those lands? Who will end up with the lands and the people? Here is a link to a video titled Will the USA and other Anglo-nations be Divided and Their People Made Slaves? Here is a related item in the Spanish language ¿Serán divididas las naciones anglosajonas?
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? Does God have 7,000 year plan? What year may the six thousand years of human rule end? When will Jesus return? 2022 or 20xx? There is also a video titled The 6000 Year Plan: Is the end of humanity’s reign almost up?
When Will the Great Tribulation Begin? 2015, 2016, or 2017? Can the Great Tribulation begin today? What happens before the Great Tribulation in the “beginning of sorrows”? What happens in the Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord? Is this the time of the Gentiles? When is the earliest that the Great Tribulation can begin? What is the Day of the Lord? Who are the 144,000? Here is a version of the article in the Spanish language: ¿Puede comenzar la Gran Tribulación en 2014 o 2015? ¿Es el Tiempo de los Gentiles? You can also see the English language sermon video: The Great Tribulation from the Mount of Olives.
Will the UK Lose Gibraltar and the Falkland Islands? Spain wants Gibraltar and Argentina wants the Falklands (also known as the Malvinas). Does the Bible give clues as to what will happen with these ‘sea gates’? A related video would be Will the UK Lose Gibraltar and the Falkland Islands? A version in Spanish ¿Perderá el Reino Unido a Gibraltar y las Islas Falkland (Malvinas)? Here is a version in Mandarin Chinese 英国将失去直布罗陀和福克兰群岛.
Just What Do You Mean — Repentance? Do you know what repentance is? Have you truly repented? Repented of what? Herbert W. Armstrong wrote this as a booklet on this important subject.
When You Sin: Do You Really Repent? This is an article by Charles F. Hunting. A related sermon is Confess to God and truly repent.
Barack Obama, Prophecy, and the Destruction of the United States-Second Edition for Second Obama Term This is a 160 page book for people truly interested in prophecies related to Barack Obama and the United States, including learning about many that have already been fulfilled (which the book documents in detail) and those that will be fulfilled in the future. It also has a chapter about a Republican choice. This book is available to order at www.barackobamaprophecy.com. The physical book can also be purchased at Amazon from the following link: Barack Obama, Prophecy, and the Destruction of the United States: Is Barack Obama Fulfilling Biblical, Islamic Catholic, Kenyan, and other America-Related Prophecies? What About Republican Leaders? Second Edition for Second Obama Term.
Barack Obama, Prophecy, and the Destruction of the United States-Second Term-Amazon Kindle edition. This electronic version is available for only US$2.99. And you do not need an actual Kindle device to read it. Why? Amazon will allow you to download it to almost any device: Please click HERE to download one of Amazon s Free Reader Apps. After you go to for your free Kindle reader and then go to Barack Obama, Prophecy, and the Destruction of the United States-Second Term-Amazon Kindle edition.