Church of God News

January-March 2018 cover of Bible News Prophecy magazine

COGwriter

Talks of trade war remain in the news:

Trump sees China trade as a war he can win

August 21, 2018

With China’s economy cooling, President Trump and his aides are emboldened on the hardline tariffs strategy that they increasingly believe is jamming President Xi Jinping, officials tell Axios.

Why it matters: For West Wing policy advisers, China has become a rare unifying issue …

A member of Congress who recently spoke at length with Trump about trade said: “He thinks he’s right and he thinks he’s winning.”

• “He’s resolved to be the guy that changes the world trading system. … He’s willing to take some pain to do it.”
• “Trade is the one policy issue he feels comfortable with: He owns it, and he’s 100 percent convinced he’s right.” …

Based on news reports out of China (Wall Street Journal, Aug. 14, from Beijing: “China’s Growth Engine Sputters as It Battles U.S. Over Trade”), some administration officials believe Trump is winning his fight with Beijing.

• “They’re shaken up,” one senior official told us. https://www.axios.com/trump-trade-war-china-tariffs-c2a9f45a-8a72-4e5e-b24e-5880abbb339b.html

August 21, 2018

The Chinese government is eager to see the dispute settled quickly, for obvious reasons: A protracted trade conflict with the U.S. would damage China economically and complicate Xi’s plans to transform the country from a low-wage manufacturing powerhouse into a global leader in high technology. He has reportedly instructed his deputies to stabilize the relationship with the U.S. as soon as possible.

The Trump administration, on the other hand, is not in such a rush. …

The economic impact of a full-on trade war would complicate things politically for Xi, but giving into American demands to his country’s disadvantage would be even more damaging to his prestige. Xi has consolidated his power in Beijing, indeed to a troubling extent, and will likely remain in control of the country for another decade or more no matter what, but if he is given a choice between belt-tightening and national humiliation, he won’t have to think too hard about that decision. http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2018/08/trump-trade-war-china-talks.html

Yes, the Chinese are concerned about this, but so are the Australians:

Australia has a lot to lose in the US-China trade war

August 21, 2018

Australia risks getting caught in the crossfire as the world’s two biggest economies move ahead with tariffs on large swathes of each other’s exports in a dispute that shows little sign of ending anytime soon.

The resource-rich country has benefited hugely from China’s voracious appetite for goods ranging from iron ore and copper to milk and wine. Chinese visitors also spend billions of dollars per year in Australia.  …
The Australian government is in a difficult spot because it can’t afford to upset either the United States or China by being seen to take sides in the trade war.

“They have to try and keep both sides happy,” Dales said.  https://money.cnn.com/2018/08/21/news/economy/australia-economy-trade-war/index.html

Speaking of Australia, notice something from an article by its former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd:

Could Trade War Lead to the Real Thing?

Historically, we’ve failed to see tipping points until too late.

News that China and the U.S. will resume trade talks this week swiftly lifted markets. This follows the first meetings at the annual summer retreat of the Chinese Communist Party leadership at the beachside resort of Beidaihe. As might be expected, the main topic this summer has been the U.S.-China trade war, where it might lead and what could conceivably be done to avert it without an unacceptable loss of political face. …

Over the last five years, when faced with domestic challenges, Xi hasn’t shown much inclination to back down. Whenever anyone has given him serious trouble in internal politics, he’s smashed them and then tarred them as disloyal to the Party or the country. …

And on the security front, we could easily see escalation in the South China Sea and beyond.

Historically, we’ve routinely failed to discern when the tipping points come between public disagreement, failed diplomacy, political crisis, failed crisis management, limited conflict and then more general war. In this case, we aren’t even yet at phase two in the sequence. https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2018-08-20/could-u-s-china-trade-war-lead-to-a-real-conflict

Trade concerns have been heating up in the past year or so, but have accelerated in the past several months due to threats, tariffs, counter-tariffs, etc.

Church of God writers have warned about a coming trade war and related disputes for decades.

Back in 1971, the late Pastor General of the old Worldwide Church of God Herbert W. Armstrong wrote the following:

Trade War Looming to Trigger World War III?

Either we start raising high tariff barriers against other countries, starting a TRADE WAR which in time will trigger the nuclear war that will DESTROY US – or, American workers are going to have to MEET the competition of the workers in other countries, by lowering living standards. Obviously American workers are not going to choose to do the latter. And if they don’t – well, THE HANDWRITING IS ON OUR NATIONAL WALL. (Armstrong HW. Trade War Looming to Trigger World War III? Plain Truth, March 1971)

And while his basic impression of timing was off it is correct that trade issues will be a factor that will trigger WWIII. A war that will be against the USA, Canada, and UK by a power that will reorganize (Revelation 17:12-13; Must the Ten Kings of Revelation 17:12 Rule over Ten Currently Existing Nations?) and then rise in Europe (watch also Can You Prove that the Beast to Come is European?). A Europe that is angry at the UK for Brexit and one that is mad at the USA for a host of reasons (including decisions of its President-elect Donald Trump).

China is concerned and part of its plans include its ‘Silk Road’ project, which helps give it more dominance and trading opportunities in Asia–plus better ties to Europe.

As far as Europe goes, notice the following:

Germany poised to set world’s largest trade surplus

21 August 2018

Germany is on track to record the world’s largest trade surplus for a third consecutive year. The country’s $299 billion surplus is poised to attract criticism, however, both at home and internationally. …

The latest numbers reinforce Germany’s dominant export strength in the world and are likely to spark criticism from other leading nations. The US in particularly has chided Germany for its trade surplus, with President Donald Trump singling out the country as one of the main culprits for America’s $460 billion trade deficit.

Trump has also threatened to slap tariffs on foreign automobiles in the US, Germany’s most important export item. https://www.dw.com/en/germany-poised-to-set-worlds-largest-trade-surplus/a-45150968

Donald Trump has frequently complained about Germany’s trade prowess. The above report may well embolden him on European tariffs.

Trade will be a factor in what can be called World War III–and this war will be a conflict with Europe (but the ‘shooting’ aspect of this will not happen before 2022; for some details, see When Will the Great Tribulation Begin?).

The Europeans are taking steps that will not end well for the USA.

And as far as China goes, not only will it cooperate with Europe against the USA, it may well end up taking over Australia (watch Are Chinese threats against Australia for real?).

The final time of the Gentiles is getting closer.

South Africa farmland

COGwriter

The expropriation of farmland has begun in South Africa:

South Africa begins seizing white-owned farms

21 August 2018

THE South African government has begun the process of seizing land from white farmers.

Local newspaper City Press reports two game farms in the northern province of Limpopo are the first to be targeted for unilateral seizure after negotiations with the owners to purchase the properties stalled.

While the government says it intends to pay, owners Akkerland Boerdery wanted 200 million rand ($18.7 million) for the land — they’re being offered just 20 million rand ($1.87 million).

“Notice is hereby given that a terrain inspection will be held on the farms on April 5, 2018 at 10am in order to conduct an audit of the assets and a handover of the farm’s keys to the state,” a letter sent to the owners earlier this year said. …

It comes as the South African government pushes ahead with plans to amend the country’s constitution to allow for the expropriation of land without compensation.

The seizures are intended to test the ability of the government to take land under existing laws, which the ruling African National Congress has previously stated is allowable if “in the public interest”.

Earlier this month, City Press reported the government had drawn up a list of 139 farms it planned to seize “to test out” section 25 of the constitution. https://www.news.com.au/finance/economy/world-economy/south-africa-begins-seizing-whiteowned-farms/news-story/8937f899bd3f131bfc4ffb648ea5c53b

‘Zimbabwe-fication’ Begins: Farmers Panic As South Africa Seizes First White-Owned Land

August 21, 2018

ANC chairman Gwede Mantashe sparked panic last week when he said:

“You shouldn’t own more than 25,000 acres of land. Therefore, if you own more it should be taken without compensation.”

“People who are privileged never give away privilege as a matter of a gift,” he continued.  “And that is why we say, to give you the tools, revisit the constitution so that you have a legal tool to do it.”

Mantashe comments were condemned by both white and black farmers, with unions predicting such a move would lead to job losses and a situation in which South Africa may no longer be able to feed itself.

Omri van Zyl, head of the Agri SA union, which represents mainly white commercial farmers, said:

“The mood among our members is very solemn. They are confused about the lack of any apparent strategy from the government and many are panicking.

So many farms are up for sale, more than we’ve ever had, but no one is buying.”

“Why would you buy a farm to know the government’s going to take it?”

The National African Farmers’ Union (Nafu), which represents the country’s black farmers, said the scheme would lead to job losses.

Nafu president Motsepe Matlala said:

“From a practical and economical point of view it will not work.”

“Land will be a central issue in the looming 2019 election year, and rhetoric is always easier than transformative action.”

AfriForum, an influential lobby group, recently warned the government its plans would be “catastrophic”.  Ian Cameron, the group’s spokesman, said: “We’re really heading for a state of anarchy if something doesn’t change drastically.”

Local newspaper City Press is reporting that two game farms in the northern province of Limpopo were the first to be targeted for unilateral seizure after negotiations with the owners to purchase the properties stalled.

While the government says it intends to pay, owners Akkerland Boerdery wanted 200 million rand ($18.7 million) for the land. However, they are being offered just 20 million rand ($1.87 million).

When my wife Joyce and I visited South Africa back in 1985, we met a woman in the old Worldwide Church of God who had fled Rhodesia because of anti-white politics, land confiscation, etc. She told us that she expected that the same thing would happen to South Africa later, and that seems to be the case. Rhodesia was once one of the most prosperous African nations. It is now called Zimbabwe and is considered a massive economic disaster.

As far as losing land in Zimbabwe and South Africa, consider the following prophecy:

58 “If you do not carefully observe all the words of this law that are written in this book, that you may fear this glorious and awesome name, THE LORD YOUR GOD, 59 then the Lord will bring upon you and your descendants extraordinary plagues — great and prolonged plagues — and serious and prolonged sicknesses. 60 Moreover He will bring back on you all the diseases of Egypt, of which you were afraid, and they shall cling to you. 61 Also every sickness and every plague, which is not written in this Book of the Law, will the Lord bring upon you until you are destroyed. 62 You shall be left few in number, whereas you were as the stars of heaven in multitude, because you would not obey the voice of the Lord your God. 63 And it shall be, that just as the Lord rejoiced over you to do you good and multiply you, so the Lord will rejoice over you to destroy you and bring you to nothing; and you shall be plucked from off the land which you go to possess. (Deuteronomy 28:58-63)

More will lose land in South Africa. Ultimately, so will the peoples of the USA, UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. We are getting closer to the final time of the Gentiles.

Notice something from the old WCG in 1977:

Because the citizens of the United States, Canada, Australia, Britain, South Africa and Rhodesia are breaking certain fundamental laws, they are facing, as surely as the rising of tomorrow’s sun, increased race riots, social decad6nce, widespread crime, venereal disease, pornography and the continuing onslaught of runaway inflation. These are the fruits of disobedience to the Ten Commandments of God. (Armstrong GT. DOES THE BIBLE PREACH A MESSAGE OF HOPE? Plain Truth, October-November 1977)

Until this year, Zimbabwe (called Rhodesia above) has had the worst inflation this century.

Last year, I reported here that some were concerned about a racial genocide and theft coming to South Africa. Here is an article that I posted:

White South Africans Are Preparing For “Removal of All Whites Within Five Years”

May 5, 2017

Back in March, the President of South Africa made a shocking suggestion, which left many white landowners fearing that they may face a race war in the near future. In a speech, Jacob Zuma announced that he wanted the government to begin confiscating white owned lands, before redistributing them to black South Africans.

Zuma wants a “pre-colonial land audit of land use and occupation patterns” to help decide which lands need to be taken, and has said that “We need to accept the reality that those who are in parliament where laws are made, particularly the black parties, should unite because we need a two-thirds majority to effect changes in the constitution.”

It’s believed that Zuma is calling for this radical action in response to the rise of a rival political party known as the Economic Freedom Fighters, who have long called for the confiscation of white owned lands.

Obviously, this kind of talk doesn’t bode well for the future of South Africa. You have the leaders of the first and third most popular political parties, both of which promote socialist ideas, openly declaring that they want the government to steal from an entire racial group. Since these political parties wouldn’t be in power unless they had some degree of popular support, it’s clear that black South Africans are increasingly turning against their white neighbors. It’s a perfect recipe for genocide.

It’s conditions like that which have spawned organizations like the Suidlanders; a massive civilian-run civil defense group that is dedicated to protecting Afrikaaners in the event of social collapse or civil war. They’re currently getting ready for the possibility of a government implemented genocide of white South Africans. One of their leaders recently spoke to Infowars, and explained how they plan to respond to that threat.

Roche told Infowars that leftist South African leaders have in recent months threatened “the slaughter of all whites, and the removal of all whites within five years,” prompting Suidlanders to prepare for a surprise civil war event which they now believe is imminent.

“Then we would, in such an open civil war, in such a crisis, gather our people together and seek sanctuary in a remote location and then to remove ourselves from being wiped out or slaughtered,” Roche said.

However, the organization doesn’t plan to take up arms, and their best plan so far will only accommodate a minority of whites in the country. http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-05-04/white-south-africans-are-preparing-slaughter-and-removal-all-whites-within-five-year

15 months later we are seeing changes based on racial discrimination, etc. This is wrong (see God’s Grace is For All and/or watch a related sermon titled Race and Grace; Do you view race as God does?).

The old Worldwide Church of God warned that there could be race wars in Rhodesia and then later in South Africa back in 1976:

Race War in Southern Africa?

Encouraged by their victory in Angola, Soviet- and Cuban-supported African nationalist guerrillas may seek to “complete the job” by launching an offensive aimed at overthrowing the last remaining white minority governments in southern Africa. …

First Target – Rhodesia

The immediate threat is to Rhodesia (Zimbabwe to African nationalists) – a nation of 270,000 whites ruling over 6 million blacks. As we go to press, Mozambique has closed its border with Rhodesia and has declared a “state of war,” seizing all Rhodesian property and assets within Mozambique. … It is believed by most observers that the Rhodesian government forces, even though well trained and adequately equipped, could not withstand a major guerrilla campaign for long on their own. Yet despite the threat of eventual Soviet domination of the area, British and U.S. officials have made it clear that there will be no American or British military intervention to defend the minority Rhodesian regime if fighting breaks out. Both governments have instead been urging “realistic” negotiations to forestall the threat of violence.

Second Target – South Africa

War in South Africa itself is seen as very unlikely. … The militant South-West African Peoples Organization (SWAPO) – a nationalist group recognized by the U.N. as ” the sole legitimate representative of the Namibian people ” – is reportedly ready to ” invite external intervention ” to drive the South Africans out. … Surrounded by black Africans in overwhelming numbers, the white populaces of Rhodesia and South Africa may be in for a long and bloody struggle to retain their right in the African sun. (Race War in Southern Africa? Plain Truth, April-May 1976)

And yes, changes happened in Rhodesia, there was racial violence and most whites fled or suffered various losses. South Africa is heading that way as well.

My wife and I were speaking with a South African woman this Spring who was moving to the USA. Essentially she said it was not safe for her or her family. She hoped to be able to assist getting her family out of that country as well.

Back in 1977, the old Worldwide Church of God published the following:

The Birthright Blessing

The truth is, the prosperity enjoyed by Rhodesia’s whites has not been gained at the expense of, or through the “oppression” of their far more numerous black countrymen. Hard work, the entrepreneurial spirit, the ability of the European mentally to adapt to the modern industrial world as opposed to the approach of the average African still attuned to traditional tribal customs and ways of doing things is in large part responsible for the large white-black prosperity gap. But there is another, even more important reason for the prosperity Rhodesians have heretofore enjoyed. Rhodesia’s whites, like English- speaking Anglo-Saxons everywhere else, have been the beneficiaries of a unique blessing, one not earned, in the final analysis, even by the stint of their own efforts. They have been the recipients, strange as it may seem, of the birthright blessings conferred upon them by a distant biblical ancestor – the patriarch Abraham. (Hogberg G. Rhodesia: Why No Peace is in Sight. Plain Truth, 1977)

There were blessings as well as cursings prophesied for the descendants of Israel (cf. Deuteronomy 28). The blessings as well as cursings promised to the descendants of Israel are coming to pass. We have seen that in Rhodesia, we are seeing that in South Africa, and we will see that in the USA, UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand (see Anglo – America in Prophecy & the Lost Tribes of Israel).

On his first visit to South Africa, the late WCG Pastor General Herbert W. Armstrong observed that while things appeared fine on the surface, racial issues were deep:

My first visit to South Africa was some years overdue. I had expected. from reports printed about South Africa and apartheid to find whites arrogantly dominant and blacks cowering in fear. But I found instead – on the surface – apparent racial peace. I found black s holding their heads up just like whiles. I found both blacks and whites. for instance, in the hotel’s large coffee shop in equal numbers. each going about their respective jobs just as if they were all the same race. Then, suddenly, the day before yesterday, I arrived back in Johannesburg from a visit to South-West Africa and found in the evening newspaper the full-page-wide headline. “SIX DIE IN RIOTS.” That was Wednesday, June 16. The morning paper on Thursday, June 17, had a giant page-wide headline of two words. “Flaming Night.” Under it was a seven-column, full-color picture of motor trucks in flame. All had seemed to be at PEACE here – on the surface. (Armstrong HW. Personal. Plain Truth, August 1976)

But he also wrote that God had a plan to solve this:

In the WORLD TOMORROW, which is coming SOON, two things will bring about RACIAL PEACE: One, human nature will be changed. Two, the segregation-integration issue will be settled in a way to bring PEACE;. And there will be NO DISCRIMINATION, no one race over any other. Opportunity for success and welfare will be EQUAL. Then humans will learn, as the apostle Paul said to the Athenian “thinkers” on Mars’ Hill that God the Creator “hath made of one blood all nations of men.” And not of “white” blood, or so me other colored blood. We all have one ancestor, Adam. and ultimately we shall be ONE FAMILY, not in color, but in spirit and in LOVE. (Armstrong HW. Personal. Plain Truth, August 1976)

While it is good news that the Kingdom of God will be established and eliminate racial hatred that we see today. That will not be implemented until Jesus returns. Until then, Jesus spoke of there being troubles and sorrows (Mark 13:8), the Great Tribulation (Matthew 24:21), and the Day of the Lord (Isaiah 2:12-21; Ezekiel 30:2-3).

Until then, of course, true Christians are to love, and not hate, people of all races (see also God’s Grace is For All and The Philadelphia Remnant: It’s All About Love).

Fragment from the Gospel Written by John (Ryland’s Papyrus c. 125 A.D.)

COGwriter

The Apostle John wrote what is known as the fourth gospel as well as three letters and the Book of Revelation. Some realize this, though some do not wish to believe this:

Though the first two centuries of Christianity were years of persecution and dispersion, wreaking havoc on record keeping, we have clear indications the early Christians were confident of the Johannine authorship of the Fourth Gospel. For example, John had a disciple named Polycarp (AD 69-155), a young man who heard the apostle’s sermons in Ephesus, absorbed his teaching and became a bishop and martyr in nearby Smyrna. Polycarp had a follower named Irenaeus (AD 130-200), who became Bishop of Lyons and who wrote: “John, the disciple of the Lord, who also leaned on him, himself also published the Gospel in Ephesus, when he was living in Asia.” Thus we have a direct chain of early evidence and personal testimony linking John to Polycarp to Irenaeus and avowing John’s authorship of the Fourth Gospel.

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We additionally have the writings of Theophilus of Antioch, who died in AD 181. Quoting word-for-word from John 1:1, Theophilus said: “And hence the holy writings teach us, and all the spirit-bearing men, one of whom, John, says, ‘In the beginning was the Word.'”

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Then there’s the Muratorian Fragment, an early list of New Testament books giving short accounts of the origin and contents of the canonical books. According to this document, the author of the Fourth Gospel was the apostle John.

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Clement of Alexandria (AD 150-215), an educator in Egypt, made a similar assertion: “But that John, last of all, conscious that the outward facts had been set forth in the [first three] Gospels, was urged on by his disciples, and divinely moved by the Spirit, composed a spiritual Gospel.” In other words, after the other three Gospels appeared, John was urged by friends to write an account explaining the theological and spiritual aspects of the person of Christ.

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Moreover we have the record of Eusebius of Caesarea (AD 260-340), the “Father of Church History,” who had access to early documents some of which are now lost to us, and who lived in Palestine where the Gospel events took place. He wrote that after the outbreak of persecution in Jerusalem the apostles were scattered across the world, and John went to modern-day Turkey and lived in the city of Ephesus. According to Eusebius, there was no debate about the authorship of the Fourth Gospel. Eusebius said: “Now let me indicate the undisputed writings of this apostle (John). His Gospel, read by all the churches under heaven, must be recognized first of all.” According to Eusebuis, John lived in Ephesus, read the synoptic Gospels, welcomed them and affirmed their accuracy; but wanting to make some additional points, he composed his account.

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Even in Roman times amid growing pains and persecution, we have testimony from Europe (Lyons), the Middle East (Caesarea), Africa (Alexandria), and Asia (Antioch), all attesting to the authorship of the Fourth Gospel. Biblical scholar William Hendrickson said: “Tertullian, Clement of Alexandria, Irenaeus, and Theophilus show us that in the last quarter of the second century the Fourth Gospel was known and read throughout Christendom: in Africa, Asia Minor, Italy, Gaul, and Syria, and that it was ascribed to the well-known John.”

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We also have an interesting discovery now exhibited at the John Rylands Library in Manchester, England, called the Ryland Fragment. It was excavated about a hundred years ago, just as scholars were convinced the Fourth Gospel couldn’t have been written in the first century, its philosophy and theology being so developed. This small scrap of papyrus was found in Egypt and dated to the time of Hadrian, perhaps about AD 125. It contained lines from John 18, which demonstrates the Gospel of John was in wide circulation with copies being read in Egypt on papyri within a few years of John’s death. Since John is widely accepted as the last of the four Gospels, this discovery supports the conclusion all four Gospels were first century documents that spread across the Roman world within a generation.

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If any other ancient text were affirmed by this kind of evidence, its authorship would be virtually unquestioned. What if these early witnesses had better understanding of the authorship of the Fourth Gospel than today’s well-meaning writers whose agendas are sometimes influenced by anti-supernatural presuppositions? I have no hesitation accepting the view that the Apostle John wrote this book, and in fact, I can’t imagine anyone else who could have done it. Admittedly, Christianity doesn’t stand or fall on the precise identity of the author of the Fourth Gospel — the author identifies himself only as “the disciple whom Jesus loved.” But it does stand or fall on the identity of Jesus Christ, and on whether he was a legend, a liar, a lunatic, or the person John presents him to be — the Lord of all.

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Letting John be John and Jesus be Jesus is a solution that leaves me intellectually satisfied and spiritual enriched. As John said near the end of his Gospel: “Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”

SOURCE: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-j-morgan/let-john-be-john-and-let-_b_3713609.html?utm_hp_ref=religion

Here is some of what Theophilus of Antioch reported about John and his writings:

And hence the holy writings teach us, and all the spirit-bearing [inspired] men, one of whom, John, says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God,” showing that at first God was alone, and the Word in Him. Then he says, “The Word was God; all things came into existence through Him; and apart from Him not one thing came into existence.” The Word, then, being God, and being naturally produced from God, whenever the Father of the universe wills, He sends Him to any place; and He, coming, is both heard and seen, being sent by Him, and is found in a place (Theophilus of Antioch. To Autolycus, Book II, Chapter XII. Translated by Marcus Dods, A.M. Excerpted from Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 2. Edited by Alexander Roberts & James Donaldson. American Edition, 1885. Online Edition Copyright © 2004 by K. Knight).

Eusebius reported that in the late second century Polycrates of Ephesus wrote the Bishop of Rome Victor stating:

We observe the exact day; neither adding, nor taking away. For in Asia also great lights have fallen asleep, which shall rise again on the day of the Lord’s coming, when he shall come with glory from heaven, and shall seek out all the saints. Among these are Philip, one of the twelve apostles, who fell asleep in Hierapolis; and his two aged virgin daughters, and another daughter, who lived in the Holy Spirit and now rests at Ephesus; and, moreover, John, who was both a witness and a teacher, who reclined upon the bosom of the Lord, and, being a priest, wore the sacerdotal plate. He fell asleep at Ephesus. And Polycarp in Smyrna, who was a bishop and martyr; and Thraseas, bishop and martyr from Eumenia, who fell asleep in Smyrna. Why need I mention the bishop and martyr Sagaris who fell asleep in Laodicea, or the blessed Papirius, or Melito, the Eunuch who lived altogether in the Holy Spirit, and who lies in Sardis, awaiting the episcopate from heaven, when he shall rise from the dead ? All these observed the fourteenth day of the passover according to the Gospel, deviating in no respect, but following the rule of faith. And I also, Polycrates, the least of you all, do according to the tradition of my relatives, some of whom I have closely followed. For seven of my relatives were bishops; and I am the eighth. And my relatives always observed the day when the people put away the leaven. I, therefore, brethren, who have lived sixty-five years in the Lord, and have met with the brethren throughout the world, and have gone through every Holy Scripture, am not affrighted by terrifying words. For those greater than I have said ‘ We ought to obey God rather than man’…I could mention the bishops who were present, whom I summoned at your desire; whose names, should I write them, would constitute a great multitude. And they, beholding my littleness, gave their consent to the letter, knowing that I did not bear my gray hairs in vain, but had always governed my life by the Lord Jesus” (Eusebius. Church History. Book V, Chapter 25).

There is also another document that was discovered a few decades ago that ties the Apostle John in with Polycarp of Smyrna. It is known as the Harris Fragments. Here is some of what it says:

Polycarp…He was… {an} old man, being one hundred and f[our] of age. He continued to walk [i]n the canons which he had learned from his youth from John the a[p]ostle.(Weidman, Frederick W. Polycarp and John: The Harris Fragments and Their Challenge to Literary Traditions. University of Notre Dame Press, Notre Dame (IL), 1999, pp. 43,44).

The canons that Polycarp learned from the Apostle John would have included knowledge of the Apostle John’s writings. John and his followers like Polycarp had the complete Bible.

John, his writings, and his teachings were known. The world would be a better place if more people followed them.

Some items of possibly related interest may include:

The Apostle John He wrote a lot that people should study. John was an original apostle, early Christian leader, and the last of the original apostles to die. Here is a link to a related sermon titled Apostle John: The Disciple that Jesus Loved. John is the final original apostle that we in the Continuing Church of God trace our ecclesiastical succession through.
Laying on of Hands This is an elementary principle of Hebrews 6. Have you properly had hands laid upon you? Here is a link to a related sermon: Laying on of Hands and Succession.
JOHN Here are links to a seven-part sermon series covering the entire ‘Gospel of John’: John 1-3: Anti-unitarian, Wine, Being Born Again, & Heaven, John 4-6: Jesus and the Samaritan Woman, Miracles and the Bread of Life, John 10-12: Sheep, Hirelings, Lazarus/Soul Sleep and ‘Palm Day’, John 13-15: Footwashing and the Words of Jesus, John 16-18: Truth, Trinity, and Pontius Pilate, and John 19-21: Do not only try, do what God wants.
The Old Testament Canon This article shows from Catholic accepted writings, that the Old Testament used by non-Roman Catholics and non-Orthodox churches is the correct version.
The New Testament Canon – From the Bible and History This article, shows from the Bible and supporting historical sources, why the early Church knew which books were part of the Bible and which ones were not.
Read the Bible Christians should read and study the Bible. This article gives some rationale for regular bible reading. Here is a link in Mandarin Chinese: 读圣经
Bible: Superstition or Authority? Should you rely on the Bible? Is it reliable? Herbert W. Armstrong wrote this as a booklet on this important subject.
Is Matthew 28:19 in the Bible? Some have claimed that Matthew 28:19 has added words as part of a trinitarian plot. Is that true?
What is the Appropriate Form of Biblical Interpretation? Should the Bible be literally understood? What do the writings of the Bible, Origen, Herbert W. Armstrong, and Augustine show?
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 Acts 2 to the 21st century. Related sermon links include Continuing History of the Church of God: c. 31 to c. 300 A.D. and Continuing History of the Church of God: 4th-16th Centuries and Continuing History of the Church of God: 17th-20th Centuries. The booklet is available in Spanish: Continuación de la Historia de la Iglesia de Dios, German: Kontinuierliche Geschichte der Kirche Gottes, French: L Histoire Continue de l Église de Dieu and Ekegusii Omogano Bw’ekanisa Ya Nyasae Egendererete.

COGwriter

Just received the following in a forwarded email:

Dixon Cartwright is in the hospital in Tyler. He had another stroke. The last one was about ten years ago and he followed the doctor’s orders and lost weight and such.

I e-mailed him a couple of days ago with no response, which was unusual. So, I called him last night and he told me what had happened. He has congestive heart failure and is scheduled for another stent (he has two) or possibly by- pass surgery today. He cannot walk at all. Linda is supposed to bring his laptop to him today.

Please all pray for him and Linda.

Dixon is probably best known as being the editor and publisher of The Journal: News of the Churches of God.

He put it out for 21 years:

He shut it down earlier this year (last edition was dated January 31, 2018).

His health was one of the reasons (see Cartwright’s Journal out: HWA New Moons, Future temple, LU, and why it is shutting down).

He and his wife are in my prayers.

China’s planned ‘roads’ (Lommes)

COGwriter

China’s Global Times reported the following about China’s ‘Silk Road’ project, also known as the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI):

20 August 2018

Is the Belt and Road initiative (BRI) a strategic tool of Beijing or a geopolitical lever to confront the West? …

The BRI is indeed a recent Chinese proposal of international cooperation, centered on increasing land, sea, and air connectivity in Asia, Europe, Africa and the entire world. It is a new Chinese proposal for enhancing world cooperation, multilateralism and dealing with global problems. …

Considering the current geopolitical tensions in Asia, Europe and Africa, it is almost impossible not to view the BRI from a strategic perspective. Strategically, the advancement of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and its relations with the Eurasian Economic Union is another sign within the strategic framework of the BRI. In spite of this, I totally agree with Professor Gu Bin when he tries to show the reasons behind the BRI and its incomparability with the old Marshall Plan. The amount of financial resources is for example incomparable, trillions versus billions. …

the BRI is an important project for both China and the world. http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1116204.shtml

The Belt and Road Initiative is a massive, very ambitious project designed to increase “land, sea, and air connectivity in Asia, Europe, Africa and the entire world”. The connectivity is also expected to include South America in an indirectly related Chinese project as well.

Interestingly, one of the reasons that Iran is claiming it needs more military power is to defend its part in the Belt and Road Initiative:

August 20, 2018

Iran served as a critical bridge in the ancient Silk Road, connecting the East and the West. It also has enormous potential to play a significant role in the new Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). …

With the threat of hot war almost a monthly occurrence, the Trump administration has unleashed economic warfare on Iran, as it has become clear: Iran is a significant piece of the BRI.

The assault of sanctions, launched after Washington’s unilateral pullout from the Iran nuclear deal, “should be interpreted as an advance gambit in the New Great Game at whose center lies in China’s New Silk Road–arguably the most important infrastructure project of the 21st century—and overall Eurasia integration,” said Pepe Escobar, a Brazilian journalist with focus on Central Asia and the Middle East.  …

As the Eurasian Integration is expanding, Iran has considerably boosted economic cooperation with China.

On Saturday, “China is ready to develop further cooperation with Iran and condemns the use of unilateral sanctions in international relations,” Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said during a phone conversation with his Iranian counterpart Javad Zarif.

“China attaches a great importance to Chinese-Iranian relations and is ready to continue developing mutually beneficial cooperation between China and Iran,” Wang said, as quoted by the Chinese Foreign Ministry, adding that Beijing had opposed the use of unilateral sanctions in international relations.

In response to Washington’s precision-guided economic warfare and constant threats from the Trump administration, Iran’s defense minister just announced plans to unveil a new fighter jet this week and continue enhancing missile capabilities.

In other words, Iran is boosting its defense capabilities to protect the BRI from future American intervention in the region. https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-08-19/iran-defends-eurasia-integration-unveiling-new-fighter-jet

While I believe that Iran has other reasons than the BRI for wanting to boost its military capabilities (see Iran in Prophecy), the above is interesting in light of the fact that Iran has been working with China on the BRI as the following from a few months ago shows:

May 1, 2018

Iran’s top trading partner is China, while Tehran and Moscow have been improving ties as the three countries move closer to cementing a solid alliance …

the actual, working Iran nuclear deal, known by the ungainly acronym JCPOA, is at the heart of it. … And faithful to the slowly evolving Eurasia integration roadmap, Russia and China are at the forefront of supporting Iran.

China is Iran’s top trading partner – especially because of its energy imports. Iran for its part is a major food importer. Russia aims to cover this front. …

For Beijing, Iran is an absolutely key hub of the New Silk Roads, or the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). A key BRI project is the $2.5 billion, 926 kilometer high-speed railway from Tehran to Mashhad; for that China came up with a $1.6 billion loan – the first foreign-backed project in Iran after the signing of the JCPOA. …

Despite historical frictions, Iran and Russia are getting closer and closer. Tehran provides crucial strategic depth to Moscow’s Southwest Asia presence. And Moscow unequivocally supports the JCPOA. http://www.atimes.com/article/eurasia-torn-between-war-and-peace/

As far as Iranian trade goes, Iran has indicated that it wants to join the EAEU (Eurasian Economic Union), a Russia-dominated trade union. Presuming it does, Iran would be the first nation to join that was not part of the old Soviet Union. That may get other nations, including some that were in the old Soviet Union, to consider that the EAEU may be for them as well.

Before going further, let me point out that despite what certain Protestant writers claim, we in the Continuing Church of God do not believe that Iran is about to align with Russia to fulfill Ezekiel 38 (two related videos are available titled Ezekiel 38: For Russia, Ukraine, & Iran Now? and Russia, Iran, Syria, & the Bible (Code)). Although there is cooperation with various nations, the time period for Ezekiel 38 is AFTER Jesus returns, not before (see also Ezekiel 38: For Russia & Iran in Our Day?).

But what about China’s BRI more officially known as the One Belt, One Road Initiative?

It is proceeding and parts are intended to be finished by 2030.

We could well see the gathering at Armageddon by then AND have the Chinese ‘roads’ (some are actually shipping ports) used to transport soldiers and military equipment to gather at Armageddon.

As far as Armageddon goes, the term Armaggedon is only used once in the Bible. It is the sixth of seven bowls of God’s wrath:

1 Then I heard a loud voice from the temple saying to the seven angels, “Go and pour out the bowls of the wrath of God on the earth.” (Revelation 16:1)

12 Then the sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up, so that the way of the kings from the east might be prepared. 13 And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs coming out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. 14 For they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.

15 “Behold, I am coming as a thief. Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame.”

16 And they gathered them together to the place called in Hebrew, Armageddon. (Revelation 16:12-16)

For them to gather, they must cross over land to get to Armageddon. The Silk Road project will make that easier.

The kings of the east reference refers to Asian nations, including Russia, whose border extends to the farthest parts of the east–and China which is commonly believed to be part of the ‘far east.’

The world order is in the process of realigning.

The BRI project is a massive one that looks to improve the ability of nations to gather at Armageddon.

We are getting closer to the final times of the Gentiles.

As Jesus said: “And what I say to you, I say to all: Watch!” (Mark 13:37).

Some items of possibly related interest may include:

Is China paving roads to Armageddon? China is working on something known as the ‘Silk Road’ project or the “One Belt, One Road” initiative. NBC reports that China intends to spend one trillion dollars to build roads, bridges, railroads, and maritime facilities to reach from China to Europe and China to the Middle East. Over 60 nations, including Russia, are involved with this. Could this Silk Road project possibly produce thoroughfares that could be used by troops that will amass at Armageddon? Dr. Thiel discusses this project and some of its potential prophetic ramifications in this video.
Armageddon Who is involved and when will this gathering happen? Here is also a video from Dr. Thiel, from Tel Megiddo in Israel: Armageddon.
China, Its Biblical Past and Future, Part 1: Genesis and Chinese Characters Where did the Chinese people come from? This article provides information showing that the Chinese peoples must have known about various accounts in the Book of Genesis up until their dispersion after the Tower of Babel. Here is a link to a version of this article in Spanish: ¿Prueban los caracteres chinos la exactitud de la Biblia?
China, Its Biblical Past and Future, Part 2: The Sabbath and Some of God’s Witness in China When did Christianity first come to China? And is there early evidence that they observed the seventh day sabbath?
Asia in Prophecy What is Ahead for Asia? Who are the “Kings of the East”? What will happen to nearly all the Chinese, Russians, Indians, and others of Asia? China in prophecy, where? Who has the 200,000,000 man army related to Armageddon? A YouTube video of interest may be Is China THE Threat to the United States of America?
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?
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? Another could be Russia, Iran, Syria, & the Bible (Code).
Iran in Prophecy Is Iran in Bible prophecy? If so, what does the Bible teach? What names, other than Persia, may be used to describe Iran? There is also a related YouTube video titled Iran In Prophecy.
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.
USA in Prophecy: The Strongest Fortresses Can you point to scriptures, like Daniel 11:39, that point to the USA in the 21st century? This article does. A related sermon is titled: Do these 7 prophesies point to the end of the USA?
When Will the Great Tribulation Begin? 2018, 2019, or 2020? 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 2018 o 2019? ¿Es el Tiempo de los Gentiles? You can also see the English language sermon videos: The Great Tribulation from the Mount of Olives and Can the Great Tribulation begin before 2020? A shorter video is: Can the Great Tribulation begin in 2018?
The Times of the Gentiles Has there been more than one time of the Gentiles? Are we in it now or in the time of Anglo-America? What will the final time of the Gentiles be like? A related sermon is available and is titled: The Times of the Gentiles.

COGwriter

At the Feast of Trumpets, which they normally call Rosh Hashanah, Jews proclaim a New Year. The current one from sunset September 20, 2017 to September 9, 2018 is the year they call 5778 or 5778 AM (anno mundi). The one that starts after sunset September 9th, is claimed to be the year 5779.

In the Hebrew Year 5778, Israel Celebrated Its 70th Anniversary. What Will 5779 Bring?

August 20, 2018

“Holiness in time is manifested through God’s festivals and according to His calendar, which begins on Rosh Hashanah in September, the head of the year,” said Rabbi Tuly Weisz, …

Weisz, who posed, “The year 2017 marked the jubilee anniversary of Jerusalem’s reunification. In 2018, we celebrated the 70th anniversary of Israel’s independence. What will 2019 bring?” https://www.breakingisraelnews.com/112508/israel-celebrated-70-anniversary/

It is true that we will see what next year will bring.

But it should be pointed out the the idea that it is the year 5778 AM is in error.

Notice the following from a Jewish scientist:

28 June 2018

For in Your sight a thousand years are like yesterday that has passed, like a watch of the night. Psalms 90:4 (The Israel Bible™)

The Hebrew calendar year 6,000, 222 years from now, marks the end of the age of the Messiah but scientist Saul Kullook, has calculated a different date, potentially bringing redemption much closer.

Kullook has made an intense study into physical-mathematical structures contained in the Hebrew Bible and the ancient tradition of Israel. …

As a preface to Kullook’s latest discovery, he cited the Talmud (Tractate Avodah Zarah 9a) which states that the world will last for 6,000 years. This is broken down into three periods: for 2,000 years, the world stood empty, for 2,000 years the world existed “in Torah”, and the final 2,000 years will be the age when the Messiah may come, depending on mankind’s actions. At the end of the 6,000 years, the Messiah must come, even if mankind has not prepared itself.

According to the current Hebrew calendar, the current year is 5778, meaning the age of the Messiah is set to end in 222 years, or 2240 CE. …

Kullook explained the discrepancy.

“Our current Hebrew calendar is based on the Rabbinical work Seder Olam Rabbah, introduced in the Second Century CE,” he said. “It provides the base for the current Hebrew calendar and calculates it according to the destruction of the First Temple in 422 BCE, which introduces a difference of 164 years in relation to the scholarly counting for past historical events.”

Kullook explained how the Seder Olam Rabbah came to this conclusion.

“Torah sources are in agreement that the biblical Exodus took place in the year 2,448 according to the Hebrew Bible chronology. After that, there were 480 years until the First Temple was built,” Kullook said, citing the Book of Kings.

In the four hundred and eightieth year after the Israelites left the land of Egypt, in the month of Ziv—that is, the second month—in the fourth year of his reign over Yisrael, Shlomo began to build the House of Hashem. I Kings 6:1

Kullook went on to describe the timeline.

“According to the Talmud (Tractate Yoma 9a), the First Temple was destroyed 410 years after it was built,” he said. “This means that the time of destruction of the First Temple according to the Hebrew Bible chronology was the year 3,338 (2,448+480+410). Hence, the year 4,000, from when the Messianic age starts, will have begun 662 years after destruction of the First Temple (3,338 + 662 = 4,000).”

“According to Seder Olam Rabbah and our current Hebrew calendar, the destruction of the First Temple took place in 442 BCE. This means that Seder Olam Raba and our current Hebrew calendar are out of synch with modern historical records concerning the destruction of the Temple. It introduces a difference of 164 years in relation to the scholarly counting for past historical events.”

“According to the counting of the Hebrew Calendar as set by Seder Olam Rabbah, the year 6000 will be in 222 years,” Kullook noted.”But if you figure the age of moshiach (Messiah) according to the Talmud and what we now know about the historical timing of the destruction of the First Temple, on this basis, the age of moshiach begins in 58 years.”

Stated simply, Kullook discovered that if you base the end of times, scheduled to arrive in the year 6,000 according to the current Hebrew Calendar which places the destruction of the First Temple in 442 BCE, the age of Moshiach will last until 2,240 CE. But if you base the end of times on a date of destruction of the First Temple in the historically accurate 586 BCE, the year 6,000 of the Hebrew chronology falls in 2076 CE.

“Because we are only 58 years away from the end of the 6,000 years of history, we can consider that we are, indeed, at the end-of-times,” Kullook said. https://www.breakingisraelnews.com/110117/scientist-recalculates-time-til-end-of-days/

Well, it is actually later than that as the numbers do not add up with scripture. But before getting to that, let me state that according to that Talmud citation from Saul Kullook, the Messiah was to come about 2000 years ago, and Jesus did.

Anyway, I have heard various explanations of why the ‘official’ Jewish count of the age of the world is off.

Perhaps the most common is that a Rabbi did a calculation once, made a possibly deliberate error in a book called the Seder Olam over 1800 years ago and everyone kept following it. Though many keep following it, many Jewish scholars realize that it contained errors.

The numbers in the Bible are much clearer and I do not believe that they would be off for over 200 years because of overlapping reigns, differences in birth dates, etc. Plus, the 6000 years should be up in the next decade or so.

There is also a 1997 book written by an attorney and Orthodox Jew titled Jewish History in Conflict: A Study of the Major Discrepancy between Rabbinic and Conventional Chronology with detailed explanations that tries to resolve much of this. Basically, according to a reviewer (http://www.lamblion.com/articles/articles_jewishlife3.php viewed 04/02/12), the book suggests that there was a misunderstanding about certain Persian kings and Daniel 9:24-27 and that this error was carried forward. The book’s author, Michael First, essentially shows that the current Jewish chronology is flawed and that something closer to the conventional chronology (like the article Does God Have a 6,000 Year Plan? What Year Does the 6,000 Years End?) is the correct one.

Here is some of what the old Jewish Encyclopedia says about the Seder Olam:

SEDER ‘OLAM RABBAH: …

Earliest post-exilic chronicle preserved in the Hebrew language. In the Babylonian Talmud this chronicle is several times referred to simply as the “Seder ‘Olam” (Shab. 88a; Yeb. 82b; Nazir 5a; Meg. 11b; ‘Ab. Zarah 8b; Niddah 46b), and it is quoted as such by the more ancient Biblical commentators, including Rashi. But with the twelfth century it began to be designated as “Seder ‘Olam Rabbah,” to distinguish it from a later, smaller chronicle, “Seder ‘Olam, Zuṭa”; it was first so designated by Abraham ibn Yarḥi (“Ha-Manhig,” p. 2a, Berlin, 1855). …

The 420 years of the Second Temple are divided into the following periods: the domination of the Persians, 34 years; of the Greeks, 180 years; of the Maccabees, 103 years; of the Herods, 103 years. It will be seen that the allowance, contrary to historical facts, of only thirty-four years for the Persian domination is necessary if agreement with the Biblical text is to be insisted upon; for it is stated (Dan. ix. 24) that the second exile was to take place after seventy Sabbaths of years (= 490 years). If from this number the seventy years of the first Captivity be deducted, and the beginning of Alexander’s domination over Palestine be placed, in accordance with Talmudical evidence, at 386 years before the destruction of the Second Temple, there remain only thirty-four for the Persian rule. (Seligsohn M. Seder Olam. Jewish Encyclopedia of 1906)

Notice that it admits that the dating is off.

Notice also an admission reportedly from Jewish Rabbi Simon Schwab:

6. The gravity of this intellectual dilemma posed by such enormous discrepancies must not be underestimated. The unsuspecting students — including the pupils of our Yeshivoth and Beth Jacob High Schools — are faced with a puzzle that appears insoluble. How could it have been that our forebears had no knowledge of a period in history, otherwise widely known and amply documented, which lasted over a span of 165 years and which was less than 600 years removed in time from the days of the Sages who recorded our traditional chronology in Seder Olam? Is it really possible to assume that some form of historical amnesia had been allowed to take possession of the collective memory of an entire people? This should be quite like assuming that some group of recognized historians of today would publish a textbook on medieval history, ignoring all the records of, say, the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries of the Common Era. Would this not seem inconceivable even for those who, unfortunately, do not possess the necessary emunas chachomim to accept the world of our Sages?

7. This enormous discrepancy between sacred tradition and secular data would appear at first glance to frustrate any and all hope that it might be possible to compile a comparative chronology acceptable to Orthodox Jewry and secular historians alike. To faithful believers in the veracity of our most sacred literature, both Biblical and Rabbinic, there seems to be left only the following two alternatives between which to choose: One: Faithfully to put our trust in the superior wisdom of our inspired teachers of Torah who have arrived at the absolute Truth and, consequently, to reject categorically and absolutely the right of any secular scientist, even the most objective in his field to contradict our convictions. In this case, it would mean that we would have to declare that these 165 years which our Tradition has ignored are, in fact, non-existent, and have been conjectured by secular historians out of the clear blue sky. According to this method of reasoning, it would follow that all the historical developments reported in connection with the timetable of ancient history referring to that period are not history but fiction and based on misinterpretation and misleading evidence. Or Two: We might accept the unanimous opinion of secular historians as coming as close to the objective truth as that is possible, but make an ingenious attempt to interpret the Biblical data and to treat the traditional Rabbinic chronology as mere Aggadic homily which may lend itself to symbolic or allegorical evaluation. This dilemma is most unfortunate. For it would appear that the only course to take would be either to “correct” secular ancient history by 165 years which we would then have to call “fictitious” or else to declare that our traditional calendar is based not on historical calculations but on Aggadic pronouncements. Even centuries ago, in his “Me’or Eynayim” (35), Azariah de Rossi, a controversial figure in the annals of our people, criticized the puzzling texts of Seder Olam and of the Talmud, much to the righteous indication of contemporary and later Rabbinic scholars (cf. R. David Gans in Tzemach David (#3448) and R. Jacob Emden to Seder Olam 30). (Breuer M, Breuer J. Jubilee Volume Presented in Honor of the Eightieth Birthday of Rabbi Dr. Joseph Breuer. P. Feldheim, 1962, pp. 182-183)

Schwab reportedly also admitted:

4. The Torah-true historian is now confronted with a truly vexing problem. Ancient history of the Babylonian and Persian Empires presents us with completely different data. These figures can hardly be doubted for they appear to be the result of painstaking research by hundreds of scholars and are borne out by profound erudition and by ever increasing authoritative evidence. Sometimes small discrepancies of a year or tow at the most have yet to be accounted for, but complete agreement seems to be almost within reach at the present time…. Since according to Ezra (6:15) the Second Temple was completed in the sixth year of Darius I, the date following the secular chronology must have been 517 BCE; i.e., exactly 70 years after the date (again, established by secular historians) for the destruction of the First Temple (587 BCE). Consequently the first year of the era of the Second Temple was 517 BCE and not 351 BCE. As long as we cannot doubt the date given for the destruction of the Second Temple (70 CE) we are compelled to admit that the Bayis Sheini must have existed for no less than 586 years instead of the 420 years given by tradition. This amounts to a discrepancy of over 165 years compared with our Jewish way of reckoning!

5. Furthermore there are at least nine Persian kings beginning with Cyrus (seven of these reigned subsequent to the consecration of the Temple) until the beginning of the Greek Era, during a period of well over 200 years. Compare with these figures the statements of Seder Olam and of Talmudic-Rabbinic literature (Seder Olam 30, Rosh Hashanah 3b) which know of only four Median-Persians kings ruling over a period of not more than 52 years, of which only 34 years belong to the period subsequent to the building of the Second Temple. …

B. 1. There seems to be left, as yet unexplored, only one avenue of approach to the vexing problem confronting us. It should have been possible that our Sages — for some unknown reason — had “covered up” a certain historic period and purposely eliminated and suppressed all records and other material pertaining thereto. If so what might have been their compelling reason for so unusual a procedure? Nothing short of a Divine command could have prompted our Chazal, those saintly “men of truth” to leave out completely from our annals a period of 165 years and to correct all data and historic tables in such a fashion that the subsequent chronological gap could escape being noticed by countless generations, known to a few initiates only who were duty-bound to keep the secret themselves. 2. In the course of our inquiry, we do indeed find a Divine command conveyed by an angel to Daniel to “seal the words and close the book” at the end of a long prophesy which begins in Chapter 11:1 and ends at Chapter 12:4 in the Book of Daniel…. (Excerpts from Comparative Jewish Chronology (pp177-197) in Jubilee Volume for Rav Yosef Breuer by Rabbi Simon Schwab as cited in Avodah Mailing List Volume 11 : Number 018 Tuesday, May 27 2003. http://www.aishdas.org/avodah/vol11/v11n018.shtml accessed 06/05/16)

Perhaps it should be noted that allegedly a formal retraction of his “coverup theory” appeared in Schwab’s volumes of “Selected Writings” – but he insisted that even though the explanation was not tenable the problem remained.

Here is more about this:

Furthermore, the shortening as perpetuated in the Sedar Olam was deliberate!

While not openly admitting this, present day Jewish scholars acknowledge that there is something enigmatic about the Sedar Olam’s dating. For example, after stating that the commonly received dates from the Ptolemaic chronology “can hardly be doubted,” Rabbi Simon Schwab, nevertheless goes on to uphold his own tradition:

“It should have been possible that our Sages — for some unknown reason — had “covered up” a certain historic period and purposely eliminated and suppressed all records and other material pertaining thereto. If so what might have been their compelling reason for so unusual a procedure? Nothing short of a Divine command could have prompted our Chazal, those saintly “men of truth” to leave out completely from our annals a period of 165 years and to correct all data and historic tables in such a fashion that the subsequent chronological gap could escape being noticed by countless generations, known to a few initiates only who were duty-bound to keep the secret themselves.” (Emphasis Schwab’s)

This is an astonishing proposal. Schwab, along with other Jewish commentators, further suggests that the reason why God directed the sages of the 2nd century AD to become involved in falsifying the data was to confuse anyone who might try to use the prophecies of Daniel to predict the time of the Messiah’s coming.

This was supposedly done to honour Da 12:4: “shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end.” He adds that the reason the sages had adopted the non-Jewish Seleucid Era calendar was part of a scheme to do just that–to close up the words and seal the book of Daniel. Schwab also states that if the 165 years were included it would reveal “we are much closer to the the end of the 6th Millennium than we had surmised.” (Schwab mentions this date as the time when many rabbis expect Messiah to come.).

But can any sincere reader accept such a flimsy reason as justification for distorting history? It actually accuses God himself of perpetrating a dishonest deception.

Indeed, it is manifestly apparent that the real reasons for the deliberate altering of their own national chronology in the Seder Olam were: (1) to conceal the fact that the Da 9:25 prophecy clearly pointed to Jesus of Nazareth as its fulfillment and therefore the long awaited Messiah, and (2) to make that seventy week of years prophecy point instead to Simon Bar Kokhba! Rabbis in the century immediately following Christ Jesus had a tremendous problem with so direct a prophecy as Da 9:24-27. This chapter speaks of Messiah’s appearing 69 “weeks” (i.e., 69 sevens) or 483 years after the going forth of a commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem. This 538 BC prophecy {Da 9:1} unmistakably points to the start of the ministry of Jesus Christ in 29 AD. Such must either be acknowledged and his person accepted or completely erased from Jewish consciousness. The latter could be accomplished if the 69 (or 70) weeks of years could some

how be made to apply to the century after the life of Christ. Then it would be possible for the rabbis to point to another messiah who, as circumstances would have it, was cut off in death some 100 years after the crucifixion of our Lord.

The 10th day of the month Ab (c. mid-August) is a great day of sorrow to Israel. On this day in 588 BC, the Babylonians destroyed Solomon’s Temple. Further, the second temple was laid waste by the Romans under Titus on the same day in 70 AD. And on this very day in 135 AD, at the conclusion of a 3 1/2-year revolt, the Romans crushed the army of the “messianic” Simon Bar Kokhba (also spelled “Cocheba”).

Bar Kokhba had been declared the long-awaited Messiah by the foremost Jewish scholar of that day, the highly venerated Rabbi Akiva (Akiba) ben Joseph. In 130 AD. Emperor Haddrian of Rome declared his intention to raise a shrine to Jupiter on the site of the temple, and in 131 he issued a decree forbidding circumcision as well as public instruction in the Jewish law. Having preached peace all his life, the 90-year-old Akiva gave his blessing to the revolution by proclaiming that Bar Kokhba was the “star out of Jacob” and the “sceptre out of Israel.” {Nu 24:17}

In his 98th year, Akiva was eventually imprisoned and condemned to death by the Romans. Among the many accolades heaped upon Akiva, that which elevated him as a pre-eminent authority, was the acknowledging of him as “the father of the Mishnah.” Such prominence gave great weight to the messianic expectancy Akiva placed upon Bar Kokhba.

Akiva’s students became some of the most prominent sages of the following generation. Among these was Yose (Josi) ben Halafta. Akiva’s influence on Halafta is apparent from a statement made concerning his education; it was merely said that Rabbi Akiva had been his teacher. As his mentor Akiva’s regard for Bar Kokhba would have been thoroughly imbedded in Yose.

The preceding overview explains why the Seder Olam is held in such veneration and why the Jews still use it for their national dating. Yet the fact remains that it is a dishonest attempt to conceal the truth with regard to the Da 9:24-27 prophecy.

By removing the 164 (or 165) years from the duration of the Persian Empire, Rabbi Halafta was able to make the 483 year Da 9:24-27 prophecy fall reasonably close to the years prior to the 132 AD revolt during thich Bar Kokhba rose to prominence as Israel’s military and economic leader. Then with Akiva proclaiming, “This is the King Messiah” followed by “all the contemporary sages regarding him as the King Messiah,” the Jewish populace united around this false hope. (Jones F. Appendix G: The Seder Olam Rabbah — Why Jewish Dating is Different. In: Pierce L, Pierce M, editors. The Annals of the World. Master Books. Copyright 2003. ISBN: 089051-360-0, pp. 932-933)

While I do not agree with all that is asserted in the above, the author is correct that the dating issue with the Jews seemed to be deliberate. Consider also the following prophecy:

4 … Their lies lead them astray, Lies which their fathers followed. (Amos 2:4)

Many peoples have chosen to rely on lies, sometimes called tradition (though not all traditions are based on lies), instead of acting on the truth.

Many Jewish scholars realize the errors in the Seder Olam (First M. Jewish History in Conflict. Jason Aronson, Inc. Jerusalem, 1997, pp. 44-80), and several admit that the errors seemed to be to affect the interpretation of Daniel 9:24-26 (ibid). According to Michael First, some of the modern Jewish scholars in the latter category appear to include Hayyim Shvilly (ibid, p. 70), Benny Isaacson (p. 71), Ben Zion Wacholder (pp. 73-74), Jay Braverman (p. 74), Joseph Tabori (pp. 76-77), and Henry Guggenheimer (p. 78). Berel Wein is said to have admitted that “the Jewish way of counting is off 166 years” (p. 78), whereas Samuel Hakohen admitted that Jewish sages provided an incorrect chronology “to accurately predict the time of the coming of the Messiah” (pp. 78-79). Michael First also lists Jewish scholars in the 8th through 15th centuries (such as Pirkei De-Rabbi Eliezer, Josippon, Moses ben Samuel ka-Kohen Gikatilla, Rashi, Zerahiah ben Isaac ha-Levi Gerondi, Abraham ben David ha-Levi Ibn David, David Kimhi, Samuel ben Nissim Masnut, Isaac ben Joseph Israeli, Isaac Abravanel) who had problems and/or wrote in contradictions related to one or more parts of the Jewish chronology of the Seder Olam (pp. 183-198).

Michael First reported that Jewish Rabbi Simon Schwab said that the 165 years could be related to ‘Daniel’s secret’ (cf. Daniel 12:9) as the gematria (Gematria /ɡəˈmeɪ.tri.ə/ originated as an Assyro-Babylonian-Greek system of alphanumeric code/cipher later adopted into Jewish culture that assigns numerical value to a word/name/phrase in the belief that words or phrases with identical numerical values bear some relation to each other or bear some relation to the number itself as it may apply to Nature, a person’s age, the calendar year, or the like. Source: Wikipedia 09/24/17) is 165, even though it is more like 168 or 169 years that was changed (First M. Jewish History in Conflict: A Study of the Major Discrepancy between Rabbinic and Conventional Chronology. Jason Aronson, Inc., 1997, p. 75).

Notice also related to another Jewish leader:

Samuel Kedar (1984)

Samuel Kedar makes the same suggestion as Schwab. He writes that the Sages purposely stated an incorrect chronology in order to prevent people from using their chronology to accurately predict the timing of the coming of the Messiah. In certain instructions given to Daniel, the Sages saw a divine command to obscure a part of the Persian period. … Kedar even includes the same gematria as Schwab … equals 165 (First M. Jewish History in Conflict: A Study of the Major Discrepancy between Rabbinic and Conventional Chronology. Jason Aronson, Inc., 1997, p. 67).

I looked for more sources by Jewish writers, not those that claim to accept Jesus, to verify more parts of the above. So here is something from Josephus:

6. When therefore the generals of Antiochus’s armies had been beaten so often, Judas assembled the people together, and told them, that after these many victories which God had given them, they ought to go up to Jerusalem, and purify the temple, and offer the appointed sacrifices. But as soon as he, with the whole multitude, was come to Jerusalem, and found the temple deserted, and its gates burnt down, and plants growing in the temple of their own accord, on account of its desertion, he and those that were with him began to lament, and were quite confounded at the sight of the temple; so he chose out some of his soldiers, and gave them order to fight against those guards that were in the citadel, until he should have purified the temple. When therefore he had carefully purged it, and had brought in new vessels, the candlestick, the table [of shew-bread], and the altar [of incense], which were made of gold, he hung up the veils at the gates, and added doors to them. He also took down the altar [of burnt-offering], and built a new one of stones that he gathered together, and not of such as were hewn with iron tools. So on the five and twentieth day of the month Casleu, which the Macedonians call Apeliens, they lighted the lamps that were on the candlestick, and offered incense upon the altar [of incense], and laid the loaves upon the table [of shew-bread], and offered burnt-offerings upon the new altar [of burnt-offering]. Now it so fell out, that these things were done on the very same day on which their Divine worship had fallen off, and was reduced to a profane and common use, after three years’ time; for so it was, that the temple was made desolate by Antiochus, and so continued for three years. This desolation happened to the temple in the hundred forty and fifth year, on the twenty-fifth day of the month Apeliens, and on the hundred fifty and third olympiad: but it was dedicated anew, on the same day, the twenty-fifth of the month Apeliens, on the hundred and forty-eighth year, and on the hundred and fifty-fourth olympiad. And this desolation came to pass according to the prophecy of Daniel, which was given four hundred and eight years before; for he declared that the Macedonians would dissolve that worship [for some time]. (Josephus. Antiquities of the Jews. Book XII, Chapter 7, Verse 6).

The reason this is relevant is it shows that in the first century, at least one Jewish scholar said a period of time of 408 years elapsed from a prophecy of Daniel (probably Daniel 9:1-2) and the time that Antiochus descrated the Temple, whereas the Seder Olam uses a shorter amount of years for this span. Even Jewish scholars recognize this. Notice one:

In Summary, Josephus … is working from a different chronology then Seder Olam. (Shulman M. Daniel 9 – Its Chronology and Meaning. © Moshe Shulman 2010. p. 22. http://www.judaismsanswer.com/Daniel%209%20Chronology.pdf accessed 07/30/16)

According to the date assigned to the reign of Darius the Mede as beginning 374 B.C. (per the interpretation of Pierce L, Pierce M, editors. The Annals of the World. Master Books. Copyright 2003, p. 932), and since Antiochus is well known to have made that destruction in 167 B.C., there is over a 200 year difference here. And although Josephus may himself have too much time (that is hard to determine as the first year of the reign of Darius the Mede is debated, though more often presumed to be in the 6th century B.C. instead of the 4th century B.C. as the Seder Olam seems to point to). Thus, this reduction of time seems intentional in the Seder Olam, and likely is related to the rise of Christianity as the Seder Olam, did not come out until a generation after Josephus.

Speaking of Josephus, it has been speculated that one of his writings (Contra Apion, I, 8) support the view that the Jews tried to minimize the importance of the Book of Daniel (Derstine T. Anti-Messianic Basis of Jewish Chronology. Are We Living in the Year 5770? Persian Chronology in the Seder Olam. 2009; see also The Original Order of the Books of the Bible).

In the case of Akiva, he apparently believed so much in Bar Kochba that he felt he had to make a change in chronology that many Jews now follow. Notice something else related to him from the Jewish Talmud where he tried to tie Bar Kochba to a passage in Numbers 24:17:

Rabbi Shimon ben Yohai taught: Rabbi Akiva would expound, A star has risen from Jacob – “Kozba [Bar Kokhba] has risen from Jacob.” When Rabbi Akiva would see bar Kozba, he would say: “This is the anointed King – the Messiah.” Rabbi Yohanan ben Tortah said to him: “Akiva, grass will sprout from your cheeks and still the Messiah will not arrive.” (Yerushalmi, Taanit 4:5)

Yes, Bar Kochba was not the Messiah, but believing that he was (and that Jesus was not) seems to have influenced the ‘dating of the world.’ Akiva actually changed Bar Kosiba’s name (suggesting he was a disreputable son) to Bar Kochba, which for a time, seemed to prolong the myth he was Messianic.

Notice another Jewish observation about Bar Kochba:

The Sages called him not Bar Kochba (the son of a star) but Bar Koziba (the son of a lie). His real name was neither; it was Bar Kosiba. (Hammer H. One triumph and two tragedies. The Jerusalem Post, November 29, 2012 http://www.jpost.com/Magazine/Judaism/One-triumph-and-two-tragedies accessed 08/01/16)

Yet because of their ‘greatest sages,’ Akiva tried to make others believe Bar Koziba was really the Messiah, many Jews seemed to accept/make calculation changes.

Yet, irrespective of why any of this may have happened, the fact is that the Jewish year is off by around 200 years compared to historical records and the biblical account.

Now let’s look at an excuse the Jews have for one of the comments in the Talmud (that is also quoted at the beginning of this article) from 2012:

Well, let me tell you what the traditional sources say about that. There is a time frame in which the Messiah has to come. The Talmud in Tractate Sanhedrin 97a says the following:

“The academy of Eliyahu taught the following Baraisa: The world is destined to exist for six thousand years: The first two thousand years were of nothingness; the second two thousand years were of Torah; the third two thousand years should have been the days of the Messiah, but because of our sins, which are numerous, the years that have gone from [the Messianic Era] have gone.”

From this passage in the Talmud we learn three things. First of all, we learn that the world as we know it will only last for 6000 years. I guess you can call it: Y6K – The Jewish Doomsday. [There are various traditions as to what is going to happen after the year 6000 – see the Talmud in Sanhedrin 97a. All agree, however, that Olam HaZeh, the physical world as we know it, will not last forever. Rather, those who merit it will morph into a new spiritual reality known as Olam HaBa, the “World to Come”, where they will bask in the splendor of G-d’s Divine Presence for all eternity.]

Secondly, we learn that the Messiah could have arrived to redeem us and bring us all to Israel as early as the year 4000 in the Hebrew calendar (which corresponds to the year 240 CE in the Julian calendar). Unfortunately, since we haven’t been good boys and girls, it is already the year 5773 and the Messiah still hasn’t shown up!

Most importantly, we learn that the Messiah has to come before the year 6000 – which means that he will definitely arrive within the next 227 years! Who knows, if we don’t get to see the Messianic Era, maybe our children or grandchildren or great-grandchildren will!

The truth is that we might be closer to witnessing the Messianic Age than we think. You see, there is a major chronological discrepancy between rabbinic chronologists for the destruction of the First Temple in 423 BCE and the modern secular dating for it in 586 BCE – a difference of 163 years!

[Click on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missing_years_%28Jewish_calendar%29 to learn more about this discrepancy between the Jewish and conventional chronologies as well as the various attempts from Rabbis and historians over the years to reconcile them.]

This means that if the conventional chronology is correct, then we are actually in the year 5936 on the Jewish calendar, which is only 64 years away from the year 6000!! This means that many of us have a good chance of actually being there when the Messiah arrives. This is all very exciting!! I hope and pray that we all get to see the Messiah, may he come speedily and in our days. Amen! (Parshas Vayigash (5773) Y6K – The Jewish Doomsday. TORCH 2017 (2012) © https://www.torchweb.org/torah_detail.php?id=239 accessed 09/19/17)

Well, that is closer to the right amount (as well as closer to that done by Saul Kullook), but that is still off. The explanation for why the claim that Messiah did not come 1900 years ago, of course, is wrong. Jesus did come, but He was rejected (cf. 1 Peter 2:4).

Notice something else from the Talmud:

It has been taught; R. Nathan said: This verse pierces and descends to the very abyss: For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though he tarry, wait for him; because it will surely come, it will not tarry. Not as our Masters, who interpreted the verse, until a time and times and the dividing of time; nor as R. Simlai who expounded, Thou feedest them with the bread of tears; and givest them tears to drink a third time; nor as R. Akiba who expounded, Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth: but the first dynasty shall last seventy years, the second, fifty two, and the reign of Bar Koziba two and a half years.

R. Samuel b. Nahmani said in the name of R. Jonathan: Blasted be the bones of those who calculate the end. For they would say, since the predetermined time has arrived, and yet he has not come, he will never come. But, wait for him, as it is written, Though he tarry, wait for him. (Sanhedrin 97b. Babylonian Talmud: Tractate Sanhedrin)

Consider that the Babylonian Talmud dates from the 3rd to 5th centuries. By that time, some in Judaism realized, apparently based upon their improper understanding of Habakkuk 2, Daniel 9, and other materials, that the Messiah should have already came. Of course, Jesus did come (see The KEY To The Crucifixion Date which goes into more depth about Daniel 9), but they would not accept Him.

It should be noted that Jewish rabbis have generally decided to teach that the Messiah would come at/by the end of 6,000 years (as opposed to their earlier view of 4,000 years). Unless more Jews change their view of the chronology, many will believe that when Jesus returns, it will be too early, and thus once again deny Christ.

As far as what year AM it is, check out the article: Does God Have a 6,000 Year Plan? What Year Does the 6,000 Years End?

It is later than most people think.

Some items of possibly related interest may include:

Proof Jesus is the Messiah This free book has over 200 Hebrew prophecies were fulfilled by Jesus. Plus, His arrival was consistent with specific prophecies and even Jewish interpretations of prophecy.
Was there an expectation among Judaism for a Messiah around the time of Jesus? Is there any evidence that any Jews expected a Messiah when Jesus arrived?
Is God Calling You? This booklet discusses topics including calling, election, and selection. If God is calling you, how will you respond?
Christian Repentance Do you know what repentance is? Is it really necessary for salvation? A related sermon is also available titled: Real Christian Repentance.
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? 2026 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? 2018, 2019, or 2020? 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 2018 o 2019? ¿Es el Tiempo de los Gentiles? You can also see the English language sermon videos: The Great Tribulation from the Mount of Olives and Can the Great Tribulation begin before 2020? A shorter video is: Can the Great Tribulation begin in 2018?
The Times of the Gentiles Has there been more than one time of the Gentiles? Are we in it now or in the time of Anglo-America? What will the final time of the Gentiles be like? A related sermon is available and is titled: The Times of the Gentiles.
Is There “An Annual Worship Calendar” In the Bible? This paper provides a biblical and historical critique of several articles, including one by the Tkach WCG which states that this should be a local decision. What do the Holy Days mean? Also you can click here for the calendar of Holy Days.
What are Postponements? This was written by the late evangelist Raymond McNair and explains a lot about postponements and calculations.
Calculated or observed calendar? Did Jesus use a calculated calendar? This article addresses this issue that many wonder about.
Is January 1st a Date for Christians Celebrate? Historical and biblical answers to this question about the world’s New Year’s day. A video of related interest is also available: God’s or Satan’s New Year?
Hebrew Calendar and “Postponements” This late John Ogywn writing explains why the most faithful in the Church of God use the calendar that we do and answers such questions as “Did Jesus Observe the Postponements?”
Holy Day Calendar This is a listing of the biblical holy days through 2024, with their Roman calendar dates. They are really hard to observe if you do not know when they occur 🙂 In the Spanish/Español/Castellano language: Calendario de los Días Santos. In Mandarin Chinese: 何日是神的圣日？ 这里是一份神的圣日日历从2013年至2024年。.
Should You Observe God’s Holy Days or Demonic Holidays? This is a free pdf booklet explaining what the Bible and history teach about God’s Holy Days and popular holidays. A related sermon is Which Spring Days should Christians observe?
The History of Early Christianity Are you aware that what most people believe is not what truly happened to the true Christian church? Do you know where the early church was based? Do you know what were the doctrines of the early church? Is your faith really based upon the truth or compromise?
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 Acts 2 to the 21st century. Related sermon links include Continuing History of the Church of God: c. 31 to c. 300 A.D. and Continuing History of the Church of God: 4th-16th Centuries and Continuing History of the Church of God: 17th-20th Centuries. The booklet is available in Spanish: Continuación de la Historia de la Iglesia de Dios, German: Kontinuierliche Geschichte der Kirche Gottes, French: L Histoire Continue de l Église de Dieu and Ekegusii Omogano Bw’ekanisa Ya Nyasae Egendererete.

COGwriter

Joseph Farah, editor of World Net Daily, posted something trying to teach that it was Arabs and not Europeans that destroyed the Temple in 70 A.D. Here is some of what he posted:

Temple? What Temple? The one Arabs destroyed

Who destroyed the Temple in A.D. 70?

The Temple was destroyed by the forces of Rome, but, interestingly, according to the historian Josephus, not at the command of Rome or the people of Rome.

Did you know that? You do now.

By A.D. 70 the Roman armies in the Middle East were made up largely of men who were not from Europe, not from Italy. They were comprised of provincial soldiers from Syria, Arabia – local forces. While they were under the command of Roman officers, they were not ordered to destroy the Temple. In fact, they were ordered to stop the destruction by Titus, who would later become emperor.

First let me quote from the Roman historian Tacitus who meticulously described the forces that sacked Jerusalem and destroyed the Temple.

“Early in this year Titus found in Judea three legions, the 5th, the 10th and the 15th,” he wrote. “To these he added the 12th from Syria and some men belonging to the 18th and 3rd, whom he had withdrawn from Alexandria (Egypt). This force was accompanied by a strong contingent of Arabs, who hated the Jews with the unusual passion of neighbors.”

Now, I stopped the article here to point out that the quote above has been truncated and parts left out. Here is the full quote of this section from Tacitus:

[5.1] EARLY in this year Titus Caesar, who had been selected by his father to complete the subjugation of Judaea, and who had gained distinction as a soldier while both were still subjects, began to rise in power and reputation, as armies and provinces emulated each other in their attachment to him. The young man himself, anxious to be thought superior to his station, was ever displaying his gracefulness and his energy in war. By his courtesy and affability he called forth a willing obedience, and he often mixed with the common soldiers, while working or marching, without impairing his dignity as general. He found in Judaea three legions, the 5th, the 10th, and the 15th, all old troops of Vespasian’s. To these he added the 12th from Syria, and some men belonging to the 18th and 3rd, whom he had withdrawn from Alexandria. This force was accompanied by twenty cohorts of allied troops and eight squadrons of cavalry, by the two kings Agrippa and Sohemus, by the auxiliary forces of king Antiochus, by a strong contingent of Arabs, who hated the Jews with the usual hatred of neighbours, and, lastly, by many persons brought from the capital and from Italy by private hopes of securing the yet unengaged affections of the Prince. With this force Titus entered the enemy’s territory, preserving strict order on his march, reconnoitring every spot, and always ready to give battle. At last he encamped near Jerusalem. (The Histories by Publius Cornelius Tacitus. http://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/txt/ah/tacitus/TacitusHistory05.html accessed 08/13/17)

So, while there were Arabs, they were only part of the conquering force, and there were many troops brought from Italy and Rome.

As far as those Roman legions go, I looked up information on each of the above legions and they all appear to have been initially begun by Romans. Romans did include others in their military, but these tended to be peoples from Europe, not mainly Arabs. Consider also the following:

Up to about 88 BC the legions were made of citizens of Rome and surroundings and colonies. Thereafter also the allies were Roman citizens, the legions were recruited from Italian males. In the professional army created by Augustus the legions were filled with citizens, more and more recruited also in the provinces. The auxilia units were made of non-citizens from all places in and beyond the frontiers. After the proliferation of the citizenship to almost all male inhabitants of the whole empire by Aurelius Severus (Caracalla) the distinction between legions and auxilia vanished. The preferred recruitment was local. So people from all the empire served. From the late third century onwards more and more “barbarians” from outside the empire served in the army as individuals. In the later fourth and the fifth century a big part of the army was made of such foreigners, perhaps up to 30 percent … (http://historum.com/ancient-history/108044-ethnic-composition-roman-legions.html accessed 08/13/17)

During the reign of Augustus and Trajan the army became a professional one. Its core of legionaries was composed of Roman citizens who served for a minimum of twenty five years.(Ancient Roman Military. http://www.crystalinks.com/romemilitary.html accessed 08/13/17)

Presuming the above is correct, then in the first century, the vast bulk of the soldiers were Roman citizens. Most of which would have been ethnically European (Italian, Greek, etc.).

Anyway, Joseph Farah then brings in the first century Jewish historian Josephus:

Josephus reports in his own words: “The multitude of the Arabians, with the Syrians, cut up those that came out as supplicants, and searched their bellies (looking for gold they had swallowed). Nor does it seem to me that any misery befell the Jews that was more terrible than this, since in one night’s time about 2,000 of these deserters were thus dissected.”

Finally, after the Romans and these Middle Eastern provincial forces of Rome broke through the city walls and captured the Temple, it was set on fire.

Here’s Josephus’ account: “Now a certain person came running to Titus, and told him of this fire … whereupon he rose up in great haste, and, as he was, ran to the holy house, in order to have a stop put to the fire; after him followed all of his commanders, and after them followed the several legions, in great astonishment; so there was a great clamor and tumult raised, as was natural upon the disorderly motion of so great an army. Then did Caesar, both by calling to the soldiers that were fighting, with a loud voice, and by giving a signal to them with his right hand, order them to quench the fire.”

In other words, Titus had no desire to see the Temple destroyed. Rome loved its treasures of conquest, and this Temple was one of the greatest prizes ever. The emperor’s son didn’t order the Temple destroyed. He tried desperately to stop it.

Why didn’t that work?

Josephus explains: “Titus supposing that the house itself yet be saved, he came in haste and endeavored to persuade the soldiers to quench the fire. Yet were the regards they had for Caesar, and their dread of him who forbade them, not as hard as their passion and their hatred of the Jews, and a certain vehement inclination to fight them. … And thus was the holy house burnt down, without Caesar’s approbation.” http://www.wnd.com/2017/08/temple-what-temple-the-one-arabs-destroyed/

Now, although it is true that Titus himself preferred to not destroy the Temple and the above seems to support Joseph Farah’s view of Arab destruction, this is only partially what Josephus wrote.

Notice more of what Josephus wrote:

1 … But when Titus perceived that his endeavors to spare a foreign temple turned to the damage of his soldiers, and then be killed, he gave order to set the gates on fire. (Wars of the Jews, Book VI, Chapter 4, section 1)

5. So Titus retired into the tower of Antonia, and resolved to storm the temple the next day, early in the morning, with his whole army, and to encamp round about the holy house. But as for that house, God had, for certain, long ago doomed it to the fire; and now that fatal day was come, according to the revolution of ages; it was the tenth day of the month Lous, [Ab,] upon which it was formerly burnt by the king of Babylon; although these flames took their rise from the Jews themselves, and were occasioned by them; for upon Titus’s retiring, the seditious lay still for a little while, and then attacked the Romans again, when those that guarded the holy house fought with those that quenched the fire that was burning the inner [court of the] temple; but these Romans put the Jews to flight, and proceeded as far as the holy house itself. At which time one of the soldiers, without staying for any orders, and without any concern or dread upon him at so great an undertaking, and being hurried on by a certain divine fury, snatched somewhat out of the materials that were on fire, and being lifted up by another soldier, he set fire to a golden window, through which there was a passage to the rooms that were round about the holy house, on the north side of it. As the flames went upward, the Jews made a great clamor, such as so mighty an affliction required, and ran together to prevent it; and now they spared not their lives any longer, nor suffered any thing to restrain their force, since that holy house was perishing, for whose sake it was that they kept such a guard about it.

6. And now a certain person came running to Titus, and told him of this fire, as he was resting himself in his tent after the last battle; whereupon he rose up in great haste, and, as he was, ran to the holy house, in order to have a stop put to the fire; after him followed all his commanders, and after them followed the several legions, in great astonishment; so there was a great clamor and tumult raised, as was natural upon the disorderly motion of so great an army. Then did Caesar, both by calling to the soldiers that were fighting, with a loud voice, and by giving a signal to them with his right hand, order them to quench the fire. But they did not hear what he said, though he spake so loud, having their ears already dimmed by a greater noise another way; nor did they attend to the signal he made with his hand neither, as still some of them were distracted with fighting, and others with passion. But as for the legions that came running thither, neither any persuasions nor any threatenings could restrain their violence, but each one’s own passion was his commander at this time; and as they were crowding into the temple together, many of them were trampled on by one another, while a great number fell among the ruins of the cloisters, which were still hot and smoking, and were destroyed in the same miserable way with those whom they had conquered; and when they were come near the holy house, they made as if they did not so much as hear Caesar’s orders to the contrary; but they encouraged those that were before them to set it on fire. As for the seditious, they were in too great distress already to afford their assistance [towards quenching the fire]; they were every where slain, and every where beaten; and as for a great part of the people, they were weak and without arms, and had their throats cut wherever they were caught. Now round about the altar lay dead bodies heaped one upon another, as at the steps going up to it ran a great quantity of their blood, whither also the dead bodies that were slain above [on the altar] fell down.

7. And now, since Caesar was no way able to restrain the enthusiastic fury of the soldiers, and the fire proceeded on more and more, he went into the holy place of the temple, with his commanders, and saw it, with what was in it, which he found to be far superior to what the relations of foreigners contained, and not inferior to what we ourselves boasted of and believed about it. But as the flame had not as yet reached to its inward parts, but was still consuming the rooms that were about the holy house, and Titus supposing what the fact was, that the house itself might yet he saved, he came in haste and endeavored to persuade the soldiers to quench the fire, and gave order to Liberalius the centurion, and one of those spearmen that were about him, to beat the soldiers that were refractory with their staves, and to restrain them; yet were their passions too hard for the regards they had for Caesar, and the dread they had of him who forbade them, as was their hatred of the Jews, and a certain vehement inclination to fight them, too hard for them also. Moreover, the hope of plunder induced many to go on, as having this opinion, that all the places within were full of money, and as seeing that all round about it was made of gold. And besides, one of those that went into the place prevented Caesar, when he ran so hastily out to restrain the soldiers, and threw the fire upon the hinges of the gate, in the dark; whereby the flame burst out from within the holy house itself immediately, when the commanders retired, and Caesar with them, and when nobody any longer forbade those that were without to set fire to it. And thus was the holy house burnt down, without Caesar’s approbation.

8. Now although any one would justly lament the destruction of such a work as this was, since it was the most admirable of all the works that we have seen or heard of, both for its curious structure and its magnitude, and also for the vast wealth bestowed upon it, as well as for the glorious reputation it had for its holiness; yet might such a one comfort himself with this thought, that it was fate that decreed it so to be, which is inevitable, both as to living creatures, and as to works and places also. However, one cannot but wonder at the accuracy of this period thereto relating; for the same month and day were now observed, as I said before, wherein the holy house was burnt formerly by the Babylonians. Now the number of years that passed from its first foundation, which was laid by king Solomon, till this its destruction, which happened in the second year of the reign of Vespasian, are collected to be one thousand one hundred and thirty, besides seven months and fifteen days; and from the second building of it, which was done by Haggai, in the second year of Cyrus the king, till its destruction under Vespasian, there were six hundred and thirty-nine years and forty-five days. (Wars of the Jews, Book VI, Chapter 4, sections 5-8)

So, Titus did not want to destroy the Temple, but he and his troops did so.

Josephus also wrote:

5. And now Titus, upon consideration that the alacrity of soldiers in war is chiefly excited by hopes and by good words, and that exhortations and promises do frequently make men to forget the hazards they run, nay, sometimes to despise death itself, got together the most courageous part of his army, and tried what he could do with his men by these methods. “O fellow soldiers,” said he, “to make an exhortation to men to do what hath no peril in it, is on that very account inglorious to such to whom that exhortation is made; and indeed so it is in him that makes the exhortation, an argument of his own cowardice also. I therefore think that such exhortations ought then only to be made use of when affairs are in a dangerous condition, and yet are worthy of being attempted by every one themselves; accordingly, I am fully of the same opinion with you, that it is a difficult task to go up this wall; but that it is proper for those that desire reputation for their valor to struggle with difficulties in such cases will then appear, when I have particularly shown that it is a brave thing to die with glory, and that the courage here necessary shall not go unrewarded in those that first begin the attempt. And let my first argument to move you to it be taken from what probably some would think reasonable to dissuade you, I mean the constancy and patience of these Jews, even under their ill successes; for it is unbecoming you, who are Romans and my soldiers, who have in peace been taught how to make wars, and who have also been used to conquer in those wars, to be inferior to Jews, either in action of the hand, or in courage of the soul, and this especially when you are at the conclusion of your victory, and are assisted by God himself; for as to our misfortunes, they have been owing to the madness of the Jews, while their sufferings have been owing to your valor, and to the assistance God hath afforded you; for as to the seditions they have been in, and the famine they are under, and the siege they now endure, and the fall of their walls without our engines, what can they all be but demonstrations of God’s anger against them, and of his assistance afforded us? It will not therefore be proper for you, either to show yourselves inferior to those to whom you are really superior, or to betray that Divine assistance which is afforded you. And, indeed, how can it be esteemed otherwise than a base and unworthy thing, that while the Jews, who need not be much ashamed if they be deserted, because they have long learned to be slaves to others, do yet despise death, that they may be so no longer; and do make sallies into the very midst of us frequently, no in hopes of conquering us, but merely for a demonstration of their courage; we, who have gotten possession of almost all the world that belongs to either land or sea, to whom it will be a great shame if we do not conquer them, do not once undertake any attempt against our enemies wherein there is much danger, but sit still idle, with such brave arms as we have, and only wait till the famine and fortune do our business themselves, and this when we have it in our power, with some small hazard, to gain all that we desire! For if we go up to this tower of Antonia, we gain the city; for if there should be any more occasion for fighting against those within the city, which I do not suppose there will, since we shall then be upon the top of the hill and be upon our enemies before they can have taken breath, these advantages promise us no less than a certain and sudden victory. As for myself, I shall at present wave any commendation of those who die in war, and omit to speak of the immortality of those men who are slain in the midst of their martial bravery; yet cannot I forbear to imprecate upon those who are of a contrary disposition, that they may die in time of peace, by some distemper or other, since their souls are condemned to the grave, together with their bodies. For what man of virtue is there who does not know, that those souls which are severed from their fleshly bodies in battles by the sword are received by the ether, that purest of elements, and joined to that company which are placed among the stars; that they become good demons, and propitious heroes, and show themselves as such to their posterity afterwards? while upon those souls that wear away in and with their distempered bodies comes a subterranean night to dissolve them to nothing, and a deep oblivion to take away all the remembrance of them, and this notwithstanding they be clean from all spots and defilements of this world; so that, in this ease, the soul at the same time comes to the utmost bounds of its life, and of its body, and of its memorial also. But since he hath determined that death is to come of necessity upon all men, a sword is a better instrument for that purpose than any disease whatsoever. Why is it not then a very mean thing for us not to yield up that to the public benefit which we must yield up to fate? And this discourse have I made, upon the supposition that those who at first attempt to go upon this wall must needs be killed in the attempt, though still men of true courage have a chance to escape even in the most hazardous undertakings. For, in the first place, that part of the former wall that is thrown down is easily to be ascended; and for the new-built wall, it is easily destroyed. Do you, therefore, many of you, pull up your courage, and set about this work, and do you mutually encourage and assist one another; and this your bravery will soon break the hearts of your enemies; and perhaps such a glorious undertaking as yours is may be accomplished without bloodshed. For although it be justly to be supposed that the Jews will try to hinder you at your first beginning to go up to them; yet when you have once concealed yourselves from them, and driven them away by force, they will not be able to sustain your efforts against them any longer, though but a few of you prevent them, and get over the wall. As for that person who first mounts the wall, I should blush for shame if I did not make him to be envied of others, by those rewards I would bestow upon him. If such a one escape with his life, he shall have the command of others that are now but his equals; although it be true also that the greatest rewards will accrue to such as die in the attempt.” (Wars of the Jews, Book VI, Chapter 1, section 5)

So, Titus ordered the destruction of the city and said his troops were Roman. And notice further that the Romans had been waging war against the Temple according to Josephus:

7. In the mean time, the rest of the Roman army had, in seven days’ time, overthrown [some] foundations of the tower of Antonia, and had made a ready and broad way to the temple. Then did the legions come near the first court, and began to raise their banks. The one bank was over against the north-west corner of the inner temple another was at that northern edifice which was between the two gates; and of the other two, one was at the western cloister of the outer court of the temple; the other against its northern cloister. However, these works were thus far advanced by the Romans, not without great pains and difficulty, and particularly by being obliged to bring their materials from the distance of a hundred furlongs. They had further difficulties also upon them; sometimes by their over-great security they were in that they should overcome the Jewish snares laid for them, and by that boldness of the Jews which their despair of escaping had inspired them withal; for some of their horsemen, when they went out to gather wood or hay, let their horses feed without having their bridles on during the time of foraging; upon which horses the Jews sallied out in whole bodies, and seized them. And when this was continually done, and Caesar believed what the truth was, that the horses were stolen more by the negligence of his own men than by the valor of the Jews, he determined to use greater severity to oblige the rest to take care of their horses; so he commanded that one of those soldiers who had lost their horses should be capitally punished; whereby he so terrified the rest, that they preserved their horses for the time to come; for they did not any longer let them go from them to feed by themselves, but, as if they had grown to them, they went always along with them when they wanted necessaries. Thus did the Romans still continue to make war against the temple, and to raise their banks against it. (Wars of the Jews, Book VI, Chapter 2, section 7)

9. In the mean time, the Jews were so distressed by the fights they had been in, as the war advanced higher and higher, and creeping up to the holy house itself, that they, as it were, cut off those limbs of their body which were infected, in order to prevent the distemper’s spreading further; for they set the north-west cloister, which was joined to the tower of Antonia, on fire, and after that brake off about twenty cubits of that cloister, and thereby made a beginning in burning the sanctuary; two days after which, or on the twenty-fourth day of the forenamed month, [Panemus or Tamuz,] the Romans set fire to the cloister that joined to the other, when the fire went fifteen cubits farther. The Jews, in like manner, cut off its roof; nor did they entirely leave off what they were about till the tower of Antonia was parted from the temple, even when it was in their power to have stopped the fire; nay, they lay still while the temple was first set on fire, and deemed this spreading of the fire to be for their own advantage. However, the armies were still fighting one against another about the temple, and the war was managed by continual sallies of particular parties against one another. (Wars of the Jews, Book VI, Chapter 2, section 9)

1. NOW as soon as the army had no more people to slay or to plunder, because there remained none to be the objects of their fury, (for they would not have spared any, had there remained any other work to be done,) Caesar gave orders that they should now demolish the entire city and temple, but should leave as many of the towers standing as were of the greatest eminency; that is, Phasaelus, and Hippicus, and Mariamne; and so much of the wall as enclosed the city on the west side. This wall was spared, in order to afford a camp for such as were to lie in garrison, as were the towers also spared, in order to demonstrate to posterity what kind of city it was, and how well fortified, which the Roman valor had subdued; but for all the rest of the wall, it was so thoroughly laid even with the ground by those that dug it up to the foundation, that there was left nothing to make those that came thither believe it had ever been inhabited. This was the end which Jerusalem came to by the madness of those that were for innovations; a city otherwise of great magnificence, and of mighty fame among all mankind. (Wars of the Jews, Book VII, Chapter 1, section 1)

Getting back to Joseph Farah, he also wrote:

Why is it today that so many Christians believe that the future Antichrist will be from Europe, from a revived Roman Empire?

If you think about it, and correct me if I am wrong, all of our theories about a Roman Antichrist start and pretty much end with the interpretation of Daniel and Revelation, with the cornerstone being Daniel 9:26. That verse reads: “After threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.”

“The people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary.” The prince that shall come is the Antichrist. So, naturally, many have concluded that since Rome destroyed the Temple, a Roman prince would have to be the Antichrist.

Yet, Roman authority did not seek to destroy the Temple. It sought to avert it. And the people who destroyed it were not Romans either. They were Arabs whose anti-Israel passions were inflamed. They even disobeyed direct orders from Rome to stop the destruction.

And notice how carefully Daniel’s prophecy is written: “The people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary.” http://www.wnd.com/2017/08/temple-what-temple-the-one-arabs-destroyed/

Since he said to correct him if he was wrong, after this is posted, I plan to send him a link to this post.

Now, who did Josephus claim destroyed the city?

The Romans.

Who did Josephus claim destroyed the temple sanctuary?

The Romans.

It is not that Arabs had nothing to do with it, but they were not the initiators and of themselves did not destroy the city–the Romans did. The Roman army fulfilled Daniel 9:26.

Joseph Farah’s article also has the following within it:

Get Joel Richardson’s groundbreaking New York Times best-seller, “The Islamic Antichrist,” for the full, comprehensive case.

Just because a book may be a best seller, that does not mean that it is accurate (remember The Da Vinci Code?). Regular readers of the COGwriter Church of God News page are aware that I have dispelled many of the errors of Joel Richardson and that book in the past.

Let’s also dispel a few more.

The use by Joseph Farah of Daniel 9:26, of necessity, ties in with Daniel 11:31 and subsequent verses in Daniel (see also The ‘Peace Deal’ of Daniel 9:27 and Who is the King of the North?). Joel Richardson and Joseph Farah would seemingly agree with the tie of Daniel 9:26 and Daniel 11:31, etc. It is the King of the North that stops the sacrifices according to the Bible.

Yet, the 11th chapter of Daniel is quite problematic for the view that the final Antichrist power is Islamic.

Daniel 11:39 tells of the King of the North destroying the strongest fortresses. This King is the one referred to as a prince in Daniel 9:26. In the 21st century, that would be the King of the North destroying the USA as the USA has the strongest military forces (for more details, see USA in Prophecy: The Strongest Fortresses).

Then, the Bible shows that the King of the North will destroy the King of the South. Notice:

40 “At the time of the end, the king of the south shall attack him, but the king of the north shall rush upon him like a whirlwind, with chariots and horsemen, and with many ships. And he shall come into countries and shall overflow and pass through. 41 He shall come into the glorious land. And tens of thousands shall fall, but these shall be delivered out of his hand: Edom and Moab and the main part of the Ammonites. 42 He shall stretch out his hand against the countries, and the land of Egypt shall not escape. 43 He shall become ruler of the treasures of gold and of silver, and all the precious things of Egypt, and the Libyans and the Cushites shall follow in his train. (Daniel 11:40-43, ESV)

Notice that the King of the North is prophesied to destroy what are now predominantly Islamic regions of the Middle East and North Africa.

While the King of the South would seemingly have to be Islamic (perhaps called a Mahdi), that is not the case for the King of the North.

Let’s now also see more about those peoples allied with the King of the South in Ezekiel 30:

1 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus says the Lord God:

“Wail, ‘Alas for the day!’
3 For the day is near,
the day of the Lord is near;
it will be a day of clouds,
a time of doom for^a the nations.
4 A sword shall come upon Egypt,
and anguish shall be in Cush,
when the slain fall in Egypt,
and her wealth is carried away,
and her foundations are torn down.

5 Cush, and Put, and Lud, and all Arabia, and Libya, and the people of the land that is in league, shall fall with them by the sword.

6 “Thus says the Lord:
Those who support Egypt shall fall,
and her proud might shall come down;
from Migdol to Syene
they shall fall within her by the sword,
declares the Lord God.
7 And they shall be desolated in the midst of desolated countries,
and their cities shall be in the midst of cities that are laid waste.
8 Then they will know that I am the Lord,
when I have set fire to Egypt,
and all her helpers are broken.

9 “On that day messengers shall go out from me in ships to terrify the unsuspecting people of Cush, and anguish shall come upon them on the day of Egypt’s doom; for, behold, it comes! (Ezekiel 30:1-9, ESV)

While there was a prophesied earlier fulfillment of this by Nebuchadnezzar (Ezekiel 30:10-19), Ezekiel 30:3 has a fulfillment near “the day of the Lord”–which means it still has not been completely fulfilled. Furthermore, notice the following:

25 … Then they shall know that I am the Lord, when I put my sword into the hand of the king of Babylon and he stretches it out against the land of Egypt. 26 And I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them throughout the countries. Then they will know that I am the Lord.” (Ezekiel 30:25-26, ESV)

Please realize that the bulk of the Egyptians did not learn that the God of the Bible was Lord back then. Ezekiel 30 is referring to a time when the end time King of Babylon, the European King of the North, will destroy Egypt and its allies.

Those allies are the predominantly Islamic peoples of North Africa and the Middle East, including the Arabs.

Thus, it is not logical to conclude that the King of the North, who Joel Richardson and Joseph Farah are identifying as the final Antichrist, is an Islamic power based in Saudi Arabia (Joel Richardson and others have claimed that Mystery Babylon is the Saudi city of Mecca; watch also the video Mystery Babylon USA, Mecca, or Rome?).

Perhaps I should add that while I do believe that the final King of the South will be anti-Jesus, biblically, there is no way that the final Antichrist will be an Arabic Islamic leader.

Although there are certain doctrinal areas that Joseph Farah and I tend to agree on (like the fact that the early Christian church had more “Jewish” characteristics than most realize today and that Christians should keep the biblical holy days), this Islamic antichrist position is one of many areas of prophetic disagreement I have with him.

The Bible does NOT support the view that the final Antichrist is an Islamic Arab.

Much more information about why that is so is in the article Can the Final Antichrist be Islamic?

Some items of possibly related interest may include:

Can the Final Antichrist be Islamic? Is Joel Richardson correct that the final Antichrist will be Islamic and not European? Find out. A related sermon is titled: Is the Final Antichrist Islamic or European? Another video is Mystery Babylon USA, Mecca, or Rome?
Jerusalem Temple Destruction and the Messiah Was there any connection between prophesies of the Messiah and the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem in 70 A.D? On the 9th day of the fifth month on the Hebrew calendar, Jews fast because of the destruction of that Temple and other events that have befell the Jews. Did you know that the Jews tie the birth of the Messiah in with the month of Av? They also tie positive events from then to ‘Rosh Hoshana’ in the month of Tishri. Is there any relationship to Jesus and the first feast in Tishri? Did Jesus’ prophesies related to the Temple come to pass? What do Jewish and non-Jewish sources report about what happened to Jerusalem and the Temple? Did Jesus come when the Messiah was prophesied to start His ministry in Daniel 9? What happened when Jesus was killed? Was there a time of transition until the Temple was to be destroyed on August 30, 70 A.D.? What should Jews and others do related to the Messiah and the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem? What seems to have happened to some of the ashlar stones that were part of that Temple? Dr. Thiel addresses these issues and more.,
Is the Future King of the South Rising Up? Some no longer believe there needs to be a future King of the South. Might Egypt, Islam, Iran, Arabs, or Ethiopia be involved? Might this King be called the Mahdi or Caliph? What does the Bible say? A YouTube video of related interest may be: The Future King of the South is Rising.
The Arab and Islamic World In the Bible, History, and Prophecy The Bible discusses the origins of the Arab world and discusses the Middle East in prophecy. What is ahead for the Middle East and those who follow Islam? What about the Imam Mahdi? What lies ahead for Turkey, Iran, and the other non-Arabic Muslims? An item of possibly related interest in the Spanish language would be: Líderes iraníes condenan la hipocresía de Occidente y declaran que ahora es tiempo para prepararse para el Armagedón, la guerra, y el Imán Mahdi.
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?
When Will the Great Tribulation Begin? 2018, 2019, or 2020? 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 2018 o 2019? ¿Es el Tiempo de los Gentiles? You can also see the English language sermon videos: The Great Tribulation from the Mount of Olives and Can the Great Tribulation begin before 2020? A shorter video is: Can the Great Tribulation begin in 2018?
The Times of the Gentiles Has there been more than one time of the Gentiles? Are we in it now or in the time of Anglo-America? What will the final time of the Gentiles be like? A related sermon is available and is titled: The Times of the Gentiles.
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.
The ‘Peace Deal’ of Daniel 9:27 This prophecy could give up to 3 1/2 years advance notice of the coming Great Tribulation. Will most ignore or misunderstand its fulfillment? Here is a link to a related sermon video Daniel 9:27 and the Start of the Great Tribulation.
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?
USA in Prophecy: The Strongest Fortresses Can you point to scriptures, like Daniel 11:39, that point to the USA in the 21st century? This article does. A related sermon is titled: Do these 7 prophesies point to the end of the USA?

An RFID tag visible under the skin soon after being implanted (James Wisniewski)

COGwriter

There are 80 workers at a firm in Wisconsin that have implanted microchips:

August 19, 2018

Wisconsin technology firm Three Square Market has injected 80 employees with their own brand of RFID microchips over the last year, and according to MIT Technology Review, “they love it.”

The implant, which is about the size of a grain of rice, utilizes Near Field Communication (NFC) technology, also found in credit cards, debit cards, key fobs, and smartphones. This technology is considered “passive,” meaning the microchip stores data that can be read by other devices but cannot read data themselves. …

In the fast-approaching dystopic future, corporations and government could soon be collecting private data on their citizens via implanted microchips.

Also, the security risk behind any wireless technology leaves the device vulnerable to hackers, who will eventually discover wireless methods to steal personal data stored on the microchip.

However, Jowan Osterlund, a piercings specialist and advocate of biohacking Swedes, “brushes off fears of data misuse and conspiracy theories,” said AFP. https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-08-18/wisconsin-company-injecting-rfid-microchips-hands-employees

At least 3000 Swedes have implanted microchips: as well (see Thousands of Swedes have implanted microchips: A prelude to 666?).

Many think it is convenient.

Personally, I do not love it and have major privacy and other concerns about the practice.

You can always be tracked when your are microchipped.

While you may think you have done nothing wrong, the Bible warns about a totalitarian Beast power that will arise and harm those striving to live God’s way of life (Revelation 13:1-10). Totalitarian controls will be part of this (cf. Revelation 13:16-18).

Steps towards a totalitarian society keep happening.

Yehuda Glick

COGwriter

This time of the year, we tend to hear about other attempts by certain Jews in Israel to resume animal sacrifices and/or build a temple. WND reported the following:

‘Restore the Temple Mount to its Biblical Intent and Usher in Redemption’

19 August 2018

“The status quo presently and officially is that Jews and Christians are not allowed to pray on the Temple Mount,” Member of Knesset Rabbi Yehuda Glick told Breaking Israel News.

Jews and Christians may visit the Mount at certain times, but are forbidden from praying, singing or making any religious displays or protests.

According to Glick, because Jerusalem is currently experiencing a time of relative calm, rarely do police interfere with quiet prayer “unless the Waqf claims it’s offending them,” whereas previously the Jordanian Waqf (an Islamic religious endowment) was very strict. The Waqf would follow each visitor’s every move and Jewish groups would be accompanied by policemen who watched the visitors’ lips to ensure they were not praying, Glick explained.

In 1967, despite thousands of years of yearning for Jewish sovereignty over Judaism’s holiest sites, Moshe Dayan, then Israeli defense minister, relinquished control of the Temple Mount to the Waqf.

According to Rabbi Pinchas Winston, specialist on the End of Days and geula (redemption), God controls history based on “where the Jewish people are holding,” and said that “1967 could have been a time of geula” if not for Dayan’s actions. …

Glick called the 1967 Temple Mount relinquishment a naïve move, in which Israel incorrectly believed that relinquishing control of a site holy to Muslims as well as Jews and Christians would create a lasting peace between Israel and her Arab neighbors. … said Glick, prayer should be allowed for all, as the Temple Mount is a house of prayer for all nations and prayer there should never be considered offensive. …

Wander said that aspirations should go even farther: The Jews should start building the Third Temple on the Temple Mount.

“It is the goal of the Jewish nation to come back to the land and resurrect what we once had as a nation, including rebuilding the temple,” he said. …

According to Wander, the political environment is ripe for it as well, as “Trump has given us a window of opportunity” of which he hopes the government will take advantage. … According to Wander, the political environment is ripe for it as well, as “Trump has given us a window of opportunity” of which he hopes the government will take advantage.  …

Winston urged “righteous gentiles” to continue investing in the State of Israel both spiritually and financially. Without a Temple, he explained, non-Jews cannot send sacrifices as they did in the past, but by taking part in bringing geula, they have an opportunity to bring back Temple times. …

“We are living miracles as prophecies unfolding before our eyes,” Wander said. “It won’t be much longer before we achieve our goals.” https://www.breakingisraelnews.com/112478/restore-the-temple-mount-to-its-biblical-intent-and-usher-in-redemption/

Yehuda Glick is an American-born Israeli rabbi and current Member of the Knesset. He was a target of an assassination attempt in 2014 for his Temple advocacy. He campaigns for expanding Jewish access to the Temple Mount. He used to be the executive director of the Temple Institute and is currently a member of the Knesset for the Likud party. He would like animal sacrifices as well as another Jewish temple. As obviously, do people like Pichas Winston.

But they do not need to rebuild a massive temple in order to implement animal sacrifices.

Notice the following:

The 71 members of the “Re-established Sanhedrin” say they want to begin sacrificing animals again, despite the absence of the Temple, the ritual altar and all the required implements listed in the Bible. Rabbi Dov Stein of the group admitted…

“We want to do the sacrifice, but we have political problems,” Stein said. “We hope there will come a time when the government will agree. We will push for that to happen.” (Rabbis aim to renew animal sacrifices. Associated Press. Feb 28, 2007. http://www.jpost.com)

The “Sanhedrin” group referred to above began to form in 2004 and claims to have “the consent of hundreds of rabbis, scholars and leaders” (http://www.thesanhedrin.org/en/index.php/The_Sanhedrin_Initiative viewed 09/11/08). It also has been working on implements, including those related to having an altar.

Notice something from the leader of the Sanhedrin:

April 19, 2016

Breaking Israel News asked Rabbi Hillel Weiss, secretary of the Nascent Sanhedrin, if the mitzvah of korban pesach is incumbent upon the Jews today by Jewish law, despite the lack of a Temple or an altar. “Of course. There isn’t even a question,” Rabbi Weiss answered. “There is nothing in Jewish law that prevents us from performing this sacrifice. The only obstacle is the government that will not allow the Jews to do this great mitzvah, so the sin is on them, and not, God forbid, on the Jewish people.”

The Sanhedrin established a committee in 2004 concerning the korban pesach to work in cooperation with all religious, legal, and administrative authorities. The committee has attempted several times to obtain the government’s permission. Legal documents were sent to the Prime Minister, the Supreme Court, and the Chief of Police. The Prime Minister did not respond. The Supreme Court appeared to uphold the right to perform the sacrifice, but denied it on grounds of security. This answer was reiterated by the Chief of Police.

Indeed, the korban pesach is not dependent on the presence of a Temple and continued long after the Second Temple was destroyed. http://www.breakingisraelnews.com/66076/passover-sacrifice-makes-comeback-overlooking-temple-mount-photos/#zchLRxxm8yeAtXsO.99

This group has made some attempts to offer sacrifices in the past, but has often run into political opposition. Israeli courts have generally agreed that Jews have the right to perform animal sacrifices, but have repeatedly denied this right as the timing would have excessively negative consequences. And to rebuild a temple in the area that the Muslims consider sacred would be even more problematic politically–especially at this instant. Yet, because the Muslims have a strong presence at the site of the old Temple Mount (Har HaBayit) with their al-Aqsa Mosque, some consider the actual construction of a Jewish temple there to be impossible.

Though it may well take a war, peace deal, and/or political gridlock for animal sacrifices to happen.

But it will come to pass. The Sanhedrin wants it (watch also Sanhedrin pushing animal sacrifices). In late 2016, they appointed Rabbi Baruch Kahane as the next Kohen Gadol–high priest (see Reconstituted Sanhedrin names high priest in preparation for the restoration of sacrifices; to begin as early as the Day of Atonement?). More on the Sanhedrin can be found in the article Nascent Sanhedrin structure and high priest: The plan is to start animal sacrifices–this would fulfill prophecy!

Furthermore, perhaps it should be realized that the government of Israel does have a certain amount of respect for Yisrael Ariel, the founder of the Temple Institute. Yisrael Ariel is also a member of the “Re-established Sanhedrin.” Actually, the Israeli government announced that Yisrael Ariel was winner of the Yaakov Egerst Memorial Award for Jewish Culture by the Ministry of Education for some of his work (Rabbi Yisrael Ariel to Receive the Jewish Culture Award for 5769. Israel National News. Oct 7, 2008).

As far as other ‘obstacles’ to taking actions, the Temple Institute has a moveable altar of unhewn (cf. Deuteronomy 27:5-6) stones (see Temple Institute Completes Altar of Unhewn Stones) as well as implements needed to perform the sacrifices (some of which I personally saw in October 2013).

And since the high priest is not the only one that would be authorized to perform daily sacrifices, in 2016 the Temple Institute announced that it has established a school to train others in the ways of being Levitical priests (see ‘Temple Institute Announces School to Train Levitical Priests’)–it had several pilot programs in the past to be ready. But now it expects more regular training.

The Sanhedrin and the Temple institute keep taking steps aligning with properly understood end time biblical prophecies. Biblical prophecies will come to pass (2 Peter 1:19).

The Temple Institute itself is not planning on building the temple until after what seems to be politically impossible. This is what its website has stated:

When will the reconstruction of the Holy Temple Commence?

There are two approaches to answering this question.

One approach is based on the geo-political dynamics of the Temple Mount, and the other approach is based on the desire of the nation of Israel and her fellow nations to rebuild the Holy Temple.

Geo-politically, the Temple Mount has to be cleared of the Dome of the Rock and the mosques which are presently located upon it before the physical rebuilding of the Holy Temple can begin. Many scenarios can be imagined which would accomplish this, the most promising, and not necessarily the most far-fetched, would entail Moslem recognition of the Mount as the intended location for the rebuilt Temple. With the acquiescence of the Moslem world the Moslem structures currently on the Mount would be disassembled and reassembled elsewhere…

the Temple Institute is not building the Temple offsite. We are building a stone altar offsite so that when the opportunity arrives we can move it to its proper location on the Mount. The Divine service, including the offerings can begin before the building of the Temple itself, once the altar is built and standing in its proper place. (http://www.templeinstitute.org/frequently-asked-questions.htm viewed 11/10/13)

The Muslims are not interested in getting their famous Dome of the Rock and mosques removed. So, that type of change is not likely, even after a war.

The late Herbert W. Armstrong wrote:

God made a prophecy in the third chapter of Malachy…Continuing, “…shall suddenly come to His temple…” What kind of temple is He coming to? Are the Jews going to tear down the Dome of the Rock and build a new temple? Oh, no!… A holy temple! Christ is coming to His church! Christ is coming to His temple! Do we see that? The church is the temple. “…in whom ye are also builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.” (Armstrong, Herbert W. Congress of Leading Ministers Hears Defined and Reemphasized Spiritual Organization of Church. Worldwide News, March 6, 1981, p. 10)

While the Jews already have a portable altar and essentially a portable ‘temple’ that they can use for sacrifices, do not expect them to build a massive temple such as Solomon built or that Herod rebuilt.

As far as politics go, many temple advocates are encouraged by actions and statements from US President Donald Trump.

But that does not mean that Donald Trump must support the tearing down of Muslim structures on the Temple Mount so that a massive Jewish temple compound can be constructed.

Earlier this year, the Sanhedrin has decided to issue a special commemorative coin to celebrate Israel’s soon 70th anniversary:

April 15, 2018

The recent effort that created the commemorative “Trump-Cyrus Coin,” sporting images of President Trump and ancient Persian King Cyrus, is now minting a special edition “70 Year Redemption Coin” to raise funds to build Jerusalem’s Third Temple as a house of prayer for all nations.

The organizers, which include Israel’s nascent Sanhedrin, the Mikdash (Temple) Educational Center and the United Temple Movements, have prepared the new coin to honor the 70th anniversary of the nation, which takes place this Thursday, April 19.

They believe the Temple project is the only way to avert the outbreak of another Middle East war.

“The Temple, as a house of prayer for all nations, is the source of true peace,” said Rabbi Hillel Weiss, spokesman for the nascent Sanhedrin, a biblically mandated court of 71 elders, told Breaking Israel News. “It has been presented in the media as a ‘flashpoint,’ the focus of conflict. That is the opposite of the truth and has actually made this lie into a reality.”

The previous project involving the commemorative Trump-Cyrus coin was so successful the organizers of the new effort are optimistic about an international effort to plan and fund the rebuilding of the Temple, a project fraught with controversy even within Israel, because of the Islamic presence of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock – two shrines atop the Temple Mount. …

The coin is currently being sold on the Mikdash Education Center’s website. All proceeds from sales will be used for re-enactments of Temple ceremonies, education on the Temple or transferred to the Third Temple when it is built. 04/15/18 http://www.wnd.com/2018/04/new-coin-minted-to-fund-building-jerusalem-temple/#LXIEspz5C9HJLs4i.99

Because of Donald Trump’s decision related to Jerusalem, some think this will make it easier for a ‘Third Temple’ to be built there and that Donald Trump is the biblical ‘Cyrus’ (see Donald Trump reportedly a ‘Cyrus’ preparing the way for a new Jewish temple).

The Sanhedrin released a coin related to that a couple of months ago (see also Sanhedrin Mints Silver Half Shekel With Images of Trump and Cyrus: Is the ‘third temple’ necessary for a successful Trump presidency?):

The Sanhedrin hopes that the sale of the coins will help it raise money for a temple as well as items related to having to operate a temple.

But will the creation of a third Jewish temple in Jerusalem avert war?

No.

The Bible tells of great damage coming to Jerusalem:

6 Elam bore the quiver With chariots of men and horsemen, And Kir uncovered the shield. 7 It shall come to pass that your choicest valleys Shall be full of chariots,And the horsemen shall set themselves in array at the gate.

8 He removed the protection of Judah. You looked in that day to the armor of the House of the Forest; 9 You also saw the damage to the city of David, That it was great; And you gathered together the waters of the lower pool. 10 You numbered the houses of Jerusalem, And the houses you broke down To fortify the wall. (Isaiah 22:6-10)

That damage appears to be from an Iranian (Elam) and Syrian (Kir) power.

What about Bible prophecy about sacrifices?

Well, prophecies related to animal sacrifices will be fulfilled–but that can be done without a massive temple.

In a nation as politically fragmented as modern Israel, the time may come when a ruling coalition will itself have in it some members of a small religious group that will insist on the resumption of sacrifices for it to remain in office. And allowing sacrifices on a small altar certainly would seem politically more plausible than the construction of a Jewish temple with the removal of the Dome of the rock or even otherwise next to the al-Aqsa Mosque. While this may not be seen as viable in every possible Israeli administration, it certainly is a possibility for a future one.

Now let’s notice the view of some Jews about the ramifications of a new temple:

Schwartz, Cohen and Glick are all confident that once the Third Temple is erected, the world will become a fundamentally different place. The Lord would then bestow on Earth great abundance and there would no longer be anyone in need of charity.

“Those who do not feel what is going to happen are either blind or stupid, or ungrateful,” Glick noted, clearly annoyed with me, having noticed the skeptical expression on my face. “There has never been anything like that in the history of the human race; the return of an exiled people to its homeland is unique in human annals. It is all written in the Torah. And the last, supreme stage will be the construction of the temple.” http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/06/buildng-third-temple-jerusalem.html#ixzz2Zb18AyW6

The above position reminds me of what the Fatimists (people who believe that the messages from the ‘Lady of Fatima’ are divine and reveal God’s new plan to save humanity) say will happen if Russia is consecrated to “the immaculate heart of Mary.” Basically, the Fatimists believe that act would also bring about peace and great abundance. But neither a ‘third’ temple nor consecration to Russia will save humanity–it will take the return of Jesus Christ and the establishment of the Kingdom of God and not some human action to usher in the millennial peace.

As far as animal sacrifices go, even after the first Jerusalem temple was built and left in ruins, the Bible itself specifically shows that they were made in the time of Ezra BEFORE the second temple was ready:

6 From the first day of the seventh month began they to offer burnt offerings unto the LORD. But the foundation of the temple of the LORD was not yet laid. (Ezra 3:6)

One may argue that since it takes the participation of Jewish religious leaders in order for Jewish animal sacrifices to be resumed, that the above scripture, from so long ago, is a moot point.

For formal clarification of the position of Jewish leaders, I (Bob Thiel) contacted the reconstituted Sanhedrin some time ago and asked why it felt that sacrifices could be started before a temple is rebuilt.

The response received was:

Rabbi Yeshayahu Hollander wrote:

רמב”ם, מעשה הקרבנות, פרק יט , הלכה טז והלכה יז:

טז [טו] מִי שֶׁשָּׁחַט קֳדָשִׁים בַּזְּמָן הַזֶּה, וְהֶעֱלָה חוּץ לָעֲזָרָה–חַיָּב: מִפְּנֵי שְׁהוּא רָאוּי לִקָּרֵב בִּפְנִים–שֶׁהֲרֵי מֻתָּר לְהַקְרִיב, אַף עַל פִּי שְׁאֵין בַּיִת, שֶׁקְּדֻשָּׁה רִאשׁוֹנָה קִדְּשָׁה לְשָׁעָתָהּ וְקִדְּשָׁה לָעֲתִיד לָבוֹא, כְּמוֹ שֶׁבֵּאַרְנוּ.
יז [טז] הַשּׁוֹחֵט קָדְשֵׁי גּוֹיִים בַּחוּץ, חַיָּב; וְכֵן הַמַּעֲלֶה אוֹתָן בַּחוּץ. וְהַגּוֹיִים מֻתָּרִין לְהַקְרִיב עוֹלוֹת לַה’, בְּכָל מָקוֹם–וְהוּא, שֶׁיַּקְרִיבוּ בַּבָּמָה שֶׁיִּבְנוּ. וְאָסוּר לְסַיְּעָן, וְלַעֲשׂוֹת שְׁלִיחוּתָן–שֶׁהֲרֵי נֶאֱסַר עָלֵינוּ לְהַקְרִיב בַּחוּץ; וּמֻתָּר לְהוֹרוֹת לָהֶם, וּלְלַמְּדָם הֵיאַךְ יַקְרִיבוּ לְשֵׁם הָאֵל בָּרוּךְ הוּא.

Translation:

Hichot Maasei HaKorbanot [The Procedures of Offering Sacrifices]

Chapter 19

Paragraph 17:

He who slaughters a Sacrifice in this period [when we have no Temple], and offered the sacrifice outside the Azara [the alloted area of the Temple] – is culpable, because the offering must be performed in the Azara, SINCE IT IS PERMITTED TO PERFORM SACRIFICES despite having no Temple, since the sanctity of the Temple is eternal.

Paragraph 18:

He who slaughters the sacrifice of a gentile outside the Azara is culpable, as is one who performs the offering. NON JEWS are permitted to offer burnt-offerings anywhere, on an alkter which they built. Jews may not help them in the performance of this sacrifice, since Jews may not offer sacrifices outside the Azara. But we may instruct them and teach them how to perform sacrificesto the ASlmighty God, Blessed be He.

Additionally, it is worth noting that on 5766, Rabbi Benyamin Fuss published a 445 page book on Sacrifices of non-jews, of which the text proper is of 372 pages [the rest are indices, etc.] called Torat Habamah: Regarding sacrifices on an Altar outside the Temple. (Email from the Sanhedrin webmaster Abrahamson to Bob Thiel September 17, 2008).

Rabbi Yeshayahu Hollander was the English language spokesman for the nascent Sanhedrin.

The webmaster of the Sanhedrin added the following in a subsequent email:

This quote comes from Maimonides’ (Rambam) work the Mishneh Torah.

The nascent Sanhedrin sees itself as the continuation of rabbinic jurisprudence, and must take into account all halachic works written to date, and proceed from there. (Email from the Sanhedrin webmaster Abrahamson to Bob Thiel September 17, 2008).

Thus, it appears to be a longstanding position of some Jewish scholars that Jewish sacrifices can be started on an altar and, as long as it is in the area of the old temple, that a physical temple is not first required.

This is consistent with Ezra’s previously quoted practice.

As far as a physical temple in Jerusalem goes, here is what the late Herbert W. Armstrong wrote:

God made a prophecy in the third chapter of Malachy…Continuing, “…shall suddenly come to His temple…” What kind of temple is He coming to? Are the Jews going to tear down the Dome of the Rock and build a new temple? Oh, no!… A holy temple! Christ is coming to His church! Christ is coming to His temple! Do we see that? The church is the temple. “…in whom ye are also builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.” (Armstrong, Herbert W. Congress of Leading Ministers Hears Defined and Reemphasized Spiritual Organization of Church. Worldwide News, March 6, 1981, p. 10)

Some no longer agree with him about that, but I believe he was right and that can be shown from what the Bible also teaches (Why is a Jewish Temple in Jerusalem Not Required?).

This does not mean that a Jewish temple cannot be built, only that it is not required to be built before Jesus returns. The Bible (Ezra 3:6) and Jewish religious leaders agree that animal sacrifices (which the Bible says will resume as it teaches that they will later be stopped per Daniel 9:27;11:31) can occur without a Jewish temple. Only an altar in the area is required (cf. Ezra 3:2-6) and the Jews already have one of those (for details, see Why is a Jewish Temple in Jerusalem Not Required?).

While the Jews push for another temple, and may possibly get one, they also tend to push for the ability to do animal sacrifices.

At some point in time, the sacrifices will begin, but will be stopped (Daniel 9:27,11:31). And that will not be a sign of peace and prosperity, but a sign that the Great Tribulation is about to begin (Matthew 24:15-23).

Some items of possibly related interest may include:

Why is a Jewish Temple in Jerusalem Not Required? Although people like Timothy LaHaye teach a third Jewish temple is required, who is ‘the temple of God” in the New Testament? Does the Bible require a rebuilt Jewish Temple? Here is a related item in the Spanish language ¿Por qué no se requiere un templo judío en Jerusalén? Here is a link to a sermon titled The Temple, Prophecy, and the Work.
Jerusalem, Donald Trump, and Prophecy  On December 6, 2017, US President Donald Trump fulfilled a campaign promise related to the recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. This brought anger, protests, and rockets from some Palestinians. It also brought condemnation from European allies–it has been claimed to be disruptive and even catastrophic. The Palestinian President (Mahmoud Abbas) said that this pronouncement eliminated the USA as being a fair mediator for a peace deal. Others have claimed that Donald Trump is an end time Cyrus and his pronouncement will lead to a Third Temple in Jerusalem. Is there ever going to be a peace deal? If so, will Europeans be part of it? Is Donald Trump a ‘Cyrus.’ Do the Jews require a Third Temple for sacrifices? Dr. Thiel answers those questions and more.
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Location of the Prophesied Physical Temple Leroy Neff gives his rationalse for the location of the coming temple.
Church of God on Jerusalem’s Western Hill Could this building, often referred to as the Cenacle, possibly have been the oldest actual Christian church building?
Does the ‘Cenacle’ deal have prophetic ramifications? After a 20 year negotiation, the Church of Rome has negotiated the right to have Catholic mass in the building known as the Cenacle. It is in the area where the Church of God on Jerusalem’s Western Hill once stood. This is believed to be the location of the earliest Christian church building. How does the Bible define the ‘temple of God’ in the New Testament? Could this be the area where the ‘man of sin’ will sit in the “temple of God’ that Bible prophecy discusses in 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4? This is a YouTube video.
Jerusalem: Past, Present, and Future What does the Bible say about Jerusalem and its future? Is Jerusalem going to be divided and eliminated? Is Jesus returning to the area of Jerusalem? There is also a related YouTube video you can watch titled Jerusalem To be divided and eliminated.
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.
The Gospel of the Kingdom of God This free online pdf booklet has answers many questions people have about the Gospel of the Kingdom of God and explains why it is the solution to the issues the world is facing. Here are links to three related sermons: The World’s False Gospel, The Gospel of the Kingdom: From the New and Old Testaments, and The Kingdom of God is the Solution.
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COGwriter

The Continuing Church of God (CCOG) is pleased to announce the following video on our Bible News Prophecy YouTube channel:

15:19

Here is a link to our video: US Sanctions and Tariffs leading to New World Order?

Some items of possibly related interest may include the following:

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USA in Prophecy: The Strongest Fortresses Can you point to scriptures, like Daniel 11:39, that point to the USA in the 21st century? This article does. A related sermon is titled: Do these 7 prophesies point to the end of the USA?
Who is the King of the West? Why is there no Final End-Time King of the West in Bible Prophecy? Is the United States the King of the West? Here is a version in the Spanish language: ¿Quién es el Rey del Occidente? ¿Por qué no hay un Rey del Occidente en la profecía del tiempo del fin?
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: Are Chinese threats against Australia for real?
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?
Donald Trump in Prophecy Prophecy, Donald Trump? Are there prophecies that Donald Trump may fulfill? Are there any prophecies that he has already helped fulfill? Is a Donald Trump presidency proving to be apocalyptic? Two related videos are available: Donald: ‘Trump of God’ or Apocalyptic? and Donald Trump’s Prophetic Presidency.
Trump Presidency Magic 8 Ball or Bible Prophecy? BBC reported that one might as well use a ‘Magic Eight-Ball’ to try to predict what will happen in the remaining time of Donald Trump’s presidency. What is a ‘Magic Eight-Ball’? Dr. Thiel not only explains that, but also briefly goes over 10 biblically-based warnings he wrote would happen if Donald Trump were elected that have already began to come to pass. He also goes over something he wrote back in 2008 that the Trump presidency is also helping lead to fulfillment. Should you trust Bible prophecy or not? Dr. Thiel says that Bible prophecy can be trusted, despite the view of skeptics and others that either overlook or despise the Bible. This is a video.
The Gospel of the Kingdom of God This free online pdf booklet has answers many questions people have about the Gospel of the Kingdom of God and explains why it is the solution to the issues the world is facing. Here are links to three related sermons: The World’s False Gospel, The Gospel of the Kingdom: From the New and Old Testaments, and The Kingdom of God is the Solution.
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? 2026 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? 2018, 2019, or 2020? 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 2018 o 2019? ¿Es el Tiempo de los Gentiles? You can also see the English language sermon videos: The Great Tribulation from the Mount of Olives and Can the Great Tribulation begin before 2020? A shorter video is: Can the Great Tribulation begin in 2018?
The Times of the Gentiles Has there been more than one time of the Gentiles? Are we in it now or in the time of Anglo-America? What will the final time of the Gentiles be like? A related sermon is available and is titled: The Times of the Gentiles.
The Plain Truth About Gold in Prophecy. How Should a Christian View Gold? What do economists and the Bible teach about gold? Gold and silver may drop in value. Inflation/deflation? What do Christians need to know about gold? A video of related interest may be: Germany, Gold, and the US Dollar.
Christian Repentance Do you know what repentance is? Is it really necessary for salvation? A related sermon is also available titled: Real Christian Repentance.
Is God Calling You? This is a draft booklet discussing calling, election, and selection. If God is calling you, how will you respond?
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?
The Gospel of the Kingdom of God This free online pdf booklet has answers many questions people have about the Gospel of the Kingdom of God and explains why it is the solution to the issues the world is facing. Here are links to three related sermons: The World’s False Gospel, The Gospel of the Kingdom: From the New and Old Testaments, and The Kingdom of God is the Solution.
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?
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 Acts 2 to the 21st century. Related sermon links include Continuing History of the Church of God: c. 31 to c. 300 A.D. and Continuing History of the Church of God: 4th-16th Centuries and Continuing History of the Church of God: 17th-20th Centuries. The booklet is available in Spanish: Continuación de la Historia de la Iglesia de Dios, German: Kontinuierliche Geschichte der Kirche Gottes, French: L’Histoire Continue de l’Église de Dieu and Ekegusii Omogano Bw’ekanisa Ya Nyasae Egendererete.
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?
Congregations of the Continuing Church of God This is a listing of congregations and groups of the Continuing Church of God around the world.
Continuing Church of God Facebook page This has news and prophetic information.
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。 Here 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.
CCOGAFRICA.ORG This is a website targeted towards those in Africa.
CCOGCANADA.CA This is a website targeted towards those in Canada.
CDLIDD.ES La Continuación de la Iglesia de Dios. This is the Spanish language website for the Continuing Church of God.
PNIND.PH Patuloy na Iglesya ng Diyos. This is the Philippines website Continuing Church of God. It has information in English and Tagalog.
CCOG Animations channel. The Continuing Church of God has some animations to teach aspects of Christian beliefs.
Bible News Prophecy channel. Dr. Thiel has produced many YouTube videos for the BibleNewsProphecy channel. And you can find them there.
ContinuingCOG channel. Dr. Thiel has produced YouTube video sermons for this channel. Note: Since these are sermon-length, they can take a little longer to load than other YouTube videos. Here is a link to a short intro: ContinuingCOG Channel.
CCOGAfrica channel. This has messages from African pastors in African languages such as Kalenjin, Kiswahili, Embu, and Dholuo.
BibleNewsProphecy Podcast. This has audio-visual podcasts of the Bible News Prophecy channgel. It plays on i-Phones, i-Pads, and Windows devices that can play i-Tunes.
Bible News Prophecy online radio. This is an audio version of the Bible News Prophecy videos. It is also available as a mobile app.