Church of God News

Donald Trump (Official White House Photo)

COGwriter

US President Donald Trump gave his State of the Union address last night. He did not mention US debt. Here are the only comments he made using the term budget:

My budget will ask Democrats and Republicans to make the needed commitment to eliminate the H.I.V. epidemic in the United States within 10 years. …

I’m also proud to be the first president to include in my budget for a nationwide paid family leave so every new parent has the chance to bond with their newborn child. http://time.com/5521860/2019-state-of-the-union-trump-transcript/

One poll I saw today said that the majority of Americans liked Donald Trump’s speech. I was surprised last night when NBC commentators were, at least partially, pleased by it.

That being said, President Trump did NOT mention the word debt (at least it is not in the transcript that Time published). In the Democratic party response to Donald Trump’s speech by Stacey Abrams, this is the only time the word debt was mentioned:

My father has battled prostate cancer for years. To help cover the costs, I found myself sinking deeper into debt – because while you can defer some payments, you can’t defer cancer treatment. http://time.com/5521939/state-of-the-union-democratic-response-transcript/

The debt is a serious issue. More so than most think.

Notice the following from Michael Snyder:

The Most Depressing Stat Of The Month: The U.S. National Debt Is About To Pass The $22 Trillion Mark

The U.S. national debt is wildly out of control, and nobody in Washington seems to care.  According to the U.S. Treasury, the federal government is currently $21,933,491,166,604.77 in debt.  In just a few days, that figure will cross the 22 trillion dollar mark.  Over the last 10 years, we have added more than 11 trillion dollars to the national debt, and that means that it has been growing at a pace of more than a trillion dollars a year.  To call this a major national crisis would be a massive understatement, and yet there is absolutely no urgency in Washington address this absolutely critical issue.  We are literally destroying the financial future of this nation, but most Americans don’t seem to understand the gravity of the situation that we are facing.

The Congressional Budget Office projects that the national debt and interest on that debt will both explode at an exponential rate in future years if we stay on the path that we are currently on.  According to the CBO, the federal government spent 371 billion dollars on net interest during the most recent fiscal year… http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/the-most-depressing-stat-of-the-month-the-u-s-national-debt-is-about-to-pass-the-22-trillion-mark

Michael Snyder is correct that “most Americans don’t seem to understand the gravity of the situation that we are facing.” This will end in massive disaster!

Consider some past statements from now US President Donald Trump:

I’m the king of debt. I love debt. (Egan M. Donald Trump: ‘I’m the king of debt.’ CNN, May 7, 2016)

Donald Trump also said:

I have borrowed, knowing that you can pay back with discounts. And I have done very well with debt. Now, of course, I was swashbuckling, and it did well for me and it was good for me and all that. …

Now we’re in a different situation with a country, but I would borrow knowing that if the economy crashed you could make a deal. And if the economy was good it was good so therefore you can’t lose. …

I don’t want to renegotiate the bonds, but I think you can do discounting. … I’m not even suggesting that we don’t borrow money at very low rates long term so we don’t have to worry about when they come due. (Kurtzleben D. Donald Trump’s Messy Ideas For Handling The National Debt, Explained. NPR, May 9, 2016)

Nobody knows debt better than me. I’ve made a fortune by using debt and if things don’t work out, I renegotiate the debt. Well, you go back and you say, ‘hey, guess what? The economy just crashed. I’m going to give you back half. (“Trump recession”? Presumptive GOP nominee fires back at Clinton. CBS, June 22, 2016)

It sounds like Donald Trump believes that debt is good and there is nothing wrong with defaulting or otherwise not intending to pay the total debt back. Other USA politicians have also basically suggested paying the debt back in inflated currency or something else other than the original value of the debt.

The Bible says the wicked have that attitude:

²¹ The wicked borrows and does not repay, But the righteous shows mercy and gives. (Psalms 37:21)

Donald Trump has also filed for bankruptcy four times—presumably to not pay back debt, while he claims a financial worth around $10 billion.

He may consider that to be ‘good business,’ but his practices and intents sound biblically immoral.

Yet he, the Federal Reserve, many politicians, and many in the mainstream press seem to love debt. The Bible teaches that debt is one of the curses that happen to the disobedient:

15 “But it shall come to pass, if you do not obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments and His statutes which I command you today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you: (Deuteronomy 28:15)

43 “The alien who is among you shall rise higher and higher above you, and you shall come down lower and lower. 44 He shall lend to you, but you shall not lend to him; he shall be the head, and you shall be the tail.

45 “Moreover all these curses shall come upon you and pursue and overtake you, until you are destroyed, because you did not obey the voice of the Lord your God, to keep His commandments and His statutes which He commanded you. 46 And they shall be upon you for a sign and a wonder, and on your descendants forever.

47 “Because you did not serve the Lord your God with joy and gladness of heart, for the abundance of everything, 48 therefore you shall serve your enemies, whom the Lord will send against you, in hunger, in thirst, in nakedness, and in need of everything; and He will put a yoke of iron on your neck until He has destroyed you. 49 The Lord will bring a nation against you from afar, from the end of the earth, as swift as the eagle flies, a nation whose language you will not understand, 50 a nation of fierce countenance, which does not respect the elderly nor show favor to the young. 51 And they shall eat the increase of your livestock and the produce of your land, until you are destroyed; they shall not leave you grain or new wine or oil, or the increase of your cattle or the offspring of your flocks, until they have destroyed you. (Deuteronomy 28:43-51)

The end result of the coming massive financial crisis will be the END OF THE USA!

However, this will not happen this month, this year, or even during the first term of Donald Trump’s Administration. But it will happen!

While much of the debt is owed to nations such as China, Japan, and the Arab World, the Europeans have trillions of dollars invested in the USA–money they may be disappointed to have devalued, and actually the Europeans seem to hold the most US debt (see EU reportedly the largest holder of USA debt). Enough so that they may divide the land among themselves and other creditors (cf. Daniel 11:39; see also USA in Prophecy: The Strongest Fortresses).

Overall, the USA continues on despite its dependency upon debt.

For now, because other economies are looking weak, nations and investors have continued to support the USA and its dollar. But this is not because the USA looks so good, but that others, for now, look worse. Yet, this will change when Europe emerges (and yes it is facing debt and banking crises in various areas).

The reality is that a more severe debt crisis is coming. And when it happens, it will be so much worse than most imagine (though a less severe crisis or two, or more, will likely precede the final one).

Consider that the Bible teaches the following:

12…Those who lead you cause you to err, And destroy the way of your paths.” (Isaiah 3:12)

16 For the leaders of this people cause them to err, And those who are led by them are destroyed (Isaiah 9:16).

43 The alien who is among you shall rise higher and higher above you, and you shall come down lower and lower. 44 He shall lend to you, but you shall not lend to him; he shall be the head, and you shall be the tail. 45 Moreover all these curses shall come upon you and pursue and overtake you, until you are destroyed because you did not obey the voice of the LORD your God, to keep His commandments and His statutes which He commanded you…47 “Because you did not serve the LORD your God with joy and gladness of heart, for the abundance of everything, 48 therefore you shall serve your enemies, whom the LORD will send against you, in hunger, in thirst, in nakedness, and in need of everything; and He will put a yoke of iron on your neck until He has destroyed you. 49 The LORD will bring a nation against you from afar, from the end of the earth, as swift as the eagle flies, a nation whose language you will not understand, 50 a nation of fierce countenance, which does not respect the elderly nor show favor to the young. 51 And they shall eat the increase of your livestock and the produce of your land, until you are destroyed; they shall not leave you grain or new wine or oil, or the increase of your cattle or the offspring of your flocks, until they have destroyed you. 52 They shall besiege you at all your gates until your high and fortified walls, in which you trust, come down throughout all your land; and they shall besiege you at all your gates throughout all your land which the LORD your God has given you (Deuteronomy 28:42-45,47-52)

3 For the vision is yet for an appointed time; But at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; Because it will surely come, It will not tarry…5 Indeed, because he transgresses by wine, He is a proud man… 6 “Will not all these take up a proverb against him, And a taunting riddle against him, and say, ‘Woe to him who increases What is not his–how long? And to him who loads himself with many pledges’? 7 Will not your creditors rise up suddenly? Will they not awaken who oppress you? And you will become their booty. 8 Because you have plundered many nations, All the remnant of the people shall plunder you (Habakkuk 2:3,5,6-8).

The above prophecy will be fulfilled at the time of the end (cf. “The message was true, but the appointed time was long…in the latter days, for the vision refers to many days yet to come,” Daniel 10:1,14). Daniel 8:19, 11:27,29,35 use same the Hebrew term for “appointed time” as Habakkuk 2:3, while Daniel 10, using a different term, ties the latter days to the time in Daniel 8:19. Habakkuk 2 was not fulfilled in its entirety anciently. Also, it makes little sense that Habakkuk would be directed towards the modern nation of Israel as it does not have enemy creditors. It must be a nation or group of nations with some prominence at the appointed time of the end.

The nation with the greatest debt of all time is the United States of America, and on a per capita basis the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is one of the most indebted.

The ‘State of the Union’ is that the union is severely in debt and is planning on increasing that debt.

This is a serious issue that most politicians in the USA and UK are not serious about correcting.

They should heed scripture and biblical prophecies.

Hopefully you do.

“Do not despise prophecies” (1 Thessalonians 5:20)–the end is getting closer.

Parts of the January-February 2018 edition of the Bible Advocate

COGwriter

In a previous edition of its Bible Advocate magazine (Jan-Feb 2018), Church of God, Seventh Day-Denver (CG7) has somewhat asserted its binitarian view of the Godhead:

Statement of Faith 2 The Deity

This we believe:

The sovereign deity of the universe is God Almighty, who is to be worshiped in spirit and in truth. He is eternal, infinite, holy, self-existent Spirit who created, sustains, rules, redeems, and judges His creation. He is one in nature, essence and being. God is revealed in Scripture as Father and Son. …

One God, revealed as Father and Son From start to finish, the Bible knows only one God. The Hebrew shema says it best: “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one” (Deuteronomy 6:4; see also Deuteronomy 4:35; 32:39; 2 Samuel 7:22; 1 Chronicles 17:20; Psalm 86:10; Isaiah 43:10; 44:6; 45:5, 14, 18; Mark 12:29; 1 Corinthians 8:4; Ephesians 4:6; 1 Timothy 2:5. While Christianity is a monotheistic faith and our God is numerically one, the best biblical evidence points to the fact that He is uniplural in His divine person. Uniplural suggests that God is one in essence but more than one in expression.

COGwriter

Is the reason that many do not understand prophecy is because the Bible contains a numeric series of codes that one needs to accept in order gain missing insight?

No.

Jesus pointed to various signs to look for when His disciples asked Him about prophetic events (cf. Matthew 24), but looking for numeric codes was not one of the signs He pointed to.

Yet, various ones have believed that there are numeric patterns that reveal various ‘truths’ of the Bible.

While author Michael Droskin popularized it decades ago, at least as far back as Isaac Newton, some have looked for and made conclusions based upon that. And while God certainly inspired the Bible to be written as it was, and there is numeric and other understandings that God has, people need to be cautious when the ‘Bible Code’ is claimed to reveal something.

Notice the following:

Biblical prophecy ‘FULFILLED’ after SECRET hidden Bible code CRACKED by experts

5 February 2019

On November 4, 1995, Israel’s Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated at the end of a rally in support of a peace agreement between Israel and Palestine. The killer, an Israeli ultranationalist named Yigal Amir, radically opposed Rabin’s initiative and the signing of the Oslo Accords. However, the incident was part of a much bigger biblical prophecy being fulfilled, according to a new theory.

Journalist Michael Drosnin, alongside Jewish mathematicians Doron Witztum, Eliyahu Rip and Yoav Rosenburg, claim to have found a hidden message in the Bible that proves it was the work of God.

Amazon Prime’s “Bible Conspiracies” revealed how the group of researchers came to make their claim. …

“There appears to have been a secret prophecy in the structure of the Bible, which has only now been found with the help of computers.

“Using some extremely clever mathematics and a specific method of copyrighting the material, the text can be read in many different ways.

“By choosing equal distance letter sequences in the text, not counting spaces, they spelt out: ‘Yitzhak Rabin, assassin that will assassinate, Amir and 5756 – the Hebrew year for 1995.” https://www.express.co.uk/news/weird/1082562/biblical-prophecy-fulfilled-bible-code-cracked-spt

0n September 1, 1994, I flew to Israel and met in Jerusalem with a close friend of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, the poet Chaim Guri. I gave him a letter which he immediately gave to the Prime Minister.

“An Israeli mathematician has discovered a hidden code in the Bible that appears to reveal the details of events that took place thousands of years after the Bible was written,” my letter to Rabin stated.

“The reason I’m telling you about this is that the only time your full name Yitzhak Rabin is encoded in the Bible, the words ‘assassin that will assassinate’ cross your name.”

On November 4, 1995, came the awful confirmation, a shot in the back from a man who believed he was on a mission from God, the murder that was encoded in the Bible three thousand years ago. (Droskin M. The Bible Code: Michael Droskin. Amazon.com, accessed 02/05/18)

Now, perhaps it should be pointed out, that there are different ‘Bible Code’ systems. Any, and ALL, that rely on the current Jewish reckoning of the year are false.

Why?

Because the Jews CHANGED the year. Their year is off by 200, hence any calculations based on the Bible and the year that align are coincidental and NOT inspired by God. For more on the year, watch 6000 Years: When will God’s Kingdom Come?

Now I have denounced the combination of the ‘Bible Code’ and the use of the Jewish year before. Here is something I posted in 2008:

Notice the following soon to be proven false prophecy:

The Lords’ Witnesses, the True Bible Code, End Time Chronology

Cute, but wrong, until we are right inspite of ourselves! – Michael Schwingenschloegl and Francis Conger
The Kingdom of God has started. Jesus has married his bride, the 1NC saints in heaven. – Gordon Ritchie

We now expect a dual terrorist attack in the US and the UK on 2008Iyyar19 or 2008Iyyar21, i.e. between the sunsets of April25/26 or April27/28. This is the fulfilment of the stone of Daniel2 hitting the image and of mushroom the cloud of 1Kings18 rising from the sea. We have got this wrong so far around 70x. This is the first birth pang of the Kingdom of God, so it should not be large attack by biblical standards, since the first birth pang is the smallest. But it will be scary and significant and so may be radiological. This attack starts the Great Tribulation of Matthew 24.

Invitation to the Evening Meal of the Lamb’s Marriage and the Festival of Cakes

Jesus, the lamb of God, is now married. So the late passover this year, on 2008Iyyar14, is the evening meal of the lamb’s marriage. The Lords’ Witnesses are the only church that knows how to celebrate this seminal event properly (http://www.truebiblecode.com/ viewed 4/24/08).

   I cannot believe people like this are serious, but whether they are or not, people need to READ their Bibles and realize that the END CANNOT COME in 2008 …

Perhaps, I should also add, that like CGPFK’s Ronald Weinland who seems to pushed his dates out further, I was told that this “True Bible Code” page predicted 17th to 21st April as the possible nuclear attack on USA and UK until early yesterday–and that it has made other inaccurate date predictions prior to that date (of course, if they predict it for every possible date in the future, at some point they may get it right 🙂 ).

While terrorist events can, and sometimes will, happen, the Great Tribulation has not started and will not start this weekend. What the Bible shows MUST happen has NOT happened yet. (Thiel B. Europe to Launch Satellite for Galileo, But More False Witnesses. COGwriter, April 24, 2008).

Of course, that “True Bible Code” was wrong about 2008.

I also denounced a prediction related to the ‘Bible Code’ and the ‘Jewish year’ for 2010:

Here is another one:

If 2017 AD is the 70th Year of Israel, the 70th year of Jubilee years (50 years), AND GOD IS USING THIS JUBILEE SYSTEM for the End Times, this means that JESUS WILL RETURN TO EARTH AND SET UP THE KINGDOM IN JERUSALEM in 2017 AD or 5777 HEBREW CALENDAR.

5777 (2017) = GREAT JUBILEE YEAR

Now when we subtract SEVEN YEARS for the Great Tribulation, (2017 – 7) we get 2010 AD (5770 HC) for the START of The Tribulation. http://www.satansrapture.com/2010jub.htm

While it is possible that Jesus may return in 2017, the Great Tribulation cannot start in 2010.

The same website also claimed the following based allegedly on the so-called “Bible Code”:

COMET IMPACT: 2010 AD

I have found a Bible Code that may give us the clearest window ever as WHEN The First Rapture will Happen and The Great Tribulation will start.

This Code Matrix is based upon a Fixed Event found In The Book of Revelation, chapter eight.

LOCATION: LEV:3:5:17:14
WORMWOOD — STRIKES — 5770 AD

5770 AD is The Hebrew Year for 2010 AD…
Pastor Harry/Church of Philadelphia Internet http://www.satansrapture.com/comet2010.htm

The reality is that the wormwood comet-like event in Revelation will not happen in the first year of the Great Tribulation, nor will it happen in 2010.

Pastor Harry also claimed at the same page:

The First Rapture (Rev:4) and The Coming
Of Antichrist (Rev:6) will Happen Before
The Year: 5770 or 2010 AD.

Although Jesus will ultimately return, there is no pre-tribulation rapture (for details see Is There A Secret Rapture for the Church? When and Where is the Church Protected?). Thus, it is not possible for it to occur in 2010.  And it certainly did not happen PRIOR to 2010 as his webpage claimed when I viewed it on 12/11/09. (Thiel B. False Predictions for 2010. COGwriter, January 3, 2010)

Here is something related to 2011:

A “Pastor Harry Walther” of “Church of Philadelphia Internet” claims through his understanding of the so-called “Bible code” that the “rapture” may be June 8 or 9 in 2011 (http://www.satansrapture.com/harry2010.htm viewed 11/03/10).  I denounced him about a year ago (he claimed that “Wormwood” of Revelation 8:10-11 would hit the earth in 2010 amongst other false predictions), and he will be wrong about the “rapture” in 2011. (Thiel B. False Predictions for 2011. COGwriter, January 2, 2011)

Notice also something from 2015 that was posted at COGwriter.com:

Russian military air support, along with Iranian ground troops, are affecting the situation in Syria …

Someone claimed to be an expert in the ‘Bible Code’ is pointing to the current situation as prophetically significant:

With Russia and Iran now undisputedly backing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad by sending troops and weapons into Syria, a newly-released Bible Codes video reveals that the partnership has Messianic implications for the Jewish people.

International Bible Codes expert Rabbi Mattiyahu Glazerson explains that the recent cooperation among Russia, Iran and Syria to boost the standing of Assad is one step in the final redemptive process.

In the Bible Codes table, which comes from the Book of Deuteronomy, Glazerson points out codes embedded in the Biblical text that describe the current situation, such as Rusiya (Russia) and b’Suria (in Syria), Iran and the Hebrew letters tav, shin, ayin and vav (תשעו), which have the numerical value of 776. This is a reference to 5776, the current Hebrew year.

Glazerson points out that the end of Deuteronomy 6:14 and Deuteronomy 6:15, which appear in the table, tells exactly what plans Iran has in store for Israel:

“ …of the peoples that are around you. For the Lord, your God, is a zealous God among you, lest the wrath of the Lord, your God, be kindled against you, and destroy you off the face of the earth.”

For Israel, Iran is “of the peoples that are around you.” Iranian leaders have repeatedly stated that their goal is to wipe Israel off the map, with the most recent public comments being made by Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who vowed that Israel will cease to exist within 25 years.

Concluding his explanation regarding Iran, Glazerson points out the words aish (fire) and Iran, a reference to the weapons of Iran, as well as several places in the Bible Codes table where the words geula (redemption) and moshiach (Messiah) are found.  …

“If you will follow most of my tables with Mashiach (Messiah),” Rabbi Glazerson told Breaking Israel News, “according to what our Rabbis say in the Talmud (Judaism’s most important compendium of rabbinic wisdom), [if] Jews not do teshuva (repent) willingly, God will appoint on them a cruel leader, like Haman in Persia (modern day Iran) and he will threaten to destroy them.”  https://www.breakingisraelnews.com/49215/new-bible-code-reveals-messianic-implications-of-iranian-russian-and-syrian-partnership-middle-east/#U1ZAzfYG60sXOs7L.99

Let’s deal with some of the issues above.

First of all, it is not actually year 5776.  That count does NOT agree with the actual Bible, hence to imply that the ‘Bible Code’ interpretation is for this year is irrelevant.  To determine the approximate year, with multiple scriptures, check out the article Does God Have a 6,000 Year Plan? What Year Does the 6,000 Years End?

Second, even if it were the year 5776, it makes no sense to add 5000 years to the number 776, which is what the Jewish Rabbi’s interpretation admittedly did.

Third, let’s look at the actual verses in the Bible partially cited by Rabbi Matityahu Glazerson:

14 You shall not go after other gods, the gods of the peoples who are all around you 15 (for the Lord your God is a jealous God among you), lest the anger of the Lord your God be aroused against you and destroy you from the face of the earth. (Deuteronomy 6:14-15)

Since Rabbi Glazerson claims that ‘the peoples who are around you’ is Iran, perhaps we should consider if the nation of Israel is currently going after the Shi’ite Allah.  There is no evidence that Israel has recently done this, thus that interpretation is wrong.

Fourth, I do not believe that Israel will be destroyed and put under Iran this 5776 year.  While the Bible does allow for an attack from Iran (Isaiah 22:1-14), it also indicates that Iran will be broken militarily (Jeremiah 49:34-39), and it nowhere teaches that Israel will be under Iran.  The cruel taskmaster that the Bible tells of rules over Egypt:

4 And the Egyptians I will give
Into the hand of a cruel master,
And a fierce king will rule over them,”
Says the Lord, the Lord of hosts.  (Isaiah 19:4)

The above leader is either a reference to the King of the South who has ties to Egypt per Daniel 11:40-43 and Ezekiel 30:2-9 or is a reference to the King of the North who will takeover the King of the South and Egypt per Daniel 11:40-43.  It matters not how the Talmud interprets this, the reality is that the only passage in the Bible that is direct about a ‘cruel master’ states he is over Egypt. (Thiel B.  Russia, Iran, & Syria: Real and Wrong Views of Prophecy. COGwriter, October 17, 2015)

Related to the above, we put together the following video on our Bible News Prophecy YouTube channel:

Russia, Iran, Syria, & the Bible (Code)

So, for over a decade I have denounced those that tried to tie their version of the ‘Bible Code’ with the supposed date of the Jewish year.

And as I wrote before, yes, sometimes a coincidence will occur. And that is my view of the Yitzhak Rabin assassination and the Bible Code interpretation.

As far as Isaac Newton goes, he predicted the end of the world in 2060, based upon his interpretation of events and codes–that year is too far off to be right (for more information on why, check out the article Does God Have a 6,000 Year Plan? What Year Does the 6,000 Years End?).

Believe what the Bible says and do not be swayed by those who try to make a convincing argument that is in conflict with it or historical facts.

Some items of related interest may include:

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? 2027 or 20xx? There is also a video titled 6000 Years: When will God’s Kingdom Come? Here is a link to the article in Spanish: ¿Tiene Dios un plan de 6,000 años?
When Will the Great Tribulation Begin? 2019, 2020, or 2021? 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 and newer video is: Might the Great Tribulation start in 2019?
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.
Armageddon Who is involved and when will this gathering happen? Here is also a video from Dr. Thiel, from Tel Megiddo in Israel: Armageddon. Other videos include: Armageddon Will it come on Trump’s watch?, Iraq, Armageddon, & Prophecy, Freemasonry, Armageddon, and Rome, Is China paving roads to Armageddon?, and Jordan, Petra, and Armageddon.
Why Be Concerned About False and Heretical Leaders? There have been many false leaders–here is some of why you should be concerned about them. Here is a related article in the Spanish language ¿Por qué estar preocupado acerca de falsos y heréticos líderes?
How To Determine If Someone is a True Prophet of God There are many false prophets. How can Christians determine who is a true prophet? There is also a sermon-length video titled How to determine if someone is a true prophet of God. Here is a related link in Spanish/español: ¿Cómo determinar si alguien es un verdadero profeta de Dios?
Ezekiel 38: For Russia & Iran in Our Day? Is Ezekiel 38 about to be fulfilled? Are we close to the battle with Gog and Magog? Three related videos are available: Ezekiel 38 Gog and Magog War: Is it Soon?, Ezekiel 38: For Russia, Ukraine, & Iran Now?, and Russia, Iran, Syria, & the Bible (Code).

COGwriter

The USA is again turning away from the World Trade Organization:

US Trade Agency Sees Negotiating New WTO Rules to Rein in China as Futile

February 5, 2019

WASHINGTON — 

Negotiating new World Trade Organization rules to try to rein in China’s “mercantilist” trade practices would be largely a futile exercise, the Trump administration’s trade office said on Monday, vowing to pursue its unilateral approach to protect U.S. workers, farmers and businesses.

The U.S. Trade Representative’s office used its annual report to Congress on China’s WTO compliance in part to justify its actions in a six-month trade war with Beijing aimed at forcing changes in China’s economic model.

The report also reflects the United States’ continued frustration with the WTO’s inability to curb what it sees as China’s trade-distorting non-market economic policies, and offered little hope that situation could change soon.

“It is unrealistic to expect success in any negotiation of new WTO rules that would restrict China’s current approach to the economy and trade in a meaningful way,” the USTR said in the report.

Some U.S. allies, including Canada, the European Union and Japan, which are also frustrated with pressures created by China’s economic policies, have begun talks on the first potential changes and modernization of WTO rules since it was founded in 1995.

But any WTO rule changes must be agreed by all 164 member nations, and past efforts have stalled. …

While U.S. President Donald Trump said he would like to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping to try to hammer out a trade deal, the USTR report makes clear a massive amount of work will be needed to bridge the gulf between the two countries.

It cited the key structural issues in the talks, which also include China’s new cybersecurity law and discriminatory regulatory practices, as examples of how China aids domestic firms at the expense of foreign competitors in ways that escape WTO rules, adding that China has become “a unique and pressing problem for the WTO and the multilateral trading system.”

The criticism also comes as the United States weakens the WTO’s role as global commerce watchdog by blocking the appointments of judges to its appellate body, which may no longer be able to function by December, when two judges step down. https://www.voanews.com/a/us-trade-agency-sees-negotiating-new-wto-rules-to-rein-in-china-as-futile/4772977.html

Unlike the USA, the European Union is more willing to use the WTO, including against the USA:

The tariffs on Spanish black olives opened a new chapter in the US-EU trade war saga last year. Now the European Union has adopted a firm stance by announcing that the European Commission will challenge the US’s tariffs in the World Trade Organization (WTO).  These tariffs do not only have a big impact on Spanish olive exports, but they also represent a threat to the European Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).

“The duties imposed by the United States on black olives from Spain are unjustified, unwarranted and go against the rules of the World Trade Organisation. Tomorrow, we are taking this case to the WTO dispute settlement system, requesting consultations with the US,” tweeted last Monday the European Commissioner for Trade, Cecilia Malmström. https://www.forbes.com/sites/anagarciavaldivia/2019/01/30/eu-stands-up-for-spanish-olives-against-us-tariffs-at-wto-interview-with-spanish-farmers-union/#2918a1eda716

The European Union sees the WTO as something that was dominated by the USA, but is something it can use to get its own rules in on trade. Notice something from a couple of months back:

EU to Push for G20 Summit to Support WTO Reform

November 27, 2018

BRUSSELS —

Global trade tensions are putting at risk commitments by the Group of 20 leading economies to keep markets open, European Union delegates to the G20 said, pledging to help reform World Trade Organization rules to resolve the strains.

G20 leaders meet on Friday and Saturday in Buenos Aires with the escalating trade dispute between the United States and China likely to top the agenda.

The chairman of EU leaders’ meetings Donald Tusk and the head of the European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, Jean-Claude Juncker will represent the 28-nation bloc at the summit.

“The outlook ahead of the summit is rather bleak. The rules-based international order is under increasing strain and global trade tensions remain unresolved, thereby negatively affecting the global economic outlook,” Tusk and Juncker said.

“We, therefore, want to focus our attention on convincing our partners that there is no better alternative than a coordinated multilateral cooperation,” they said in a letter to other EU leaders.

The United States and China have been imposing tariffs on each other’s goods in a dispute over market access, forced technology transfer, intellectual property rights and state subsidies to certain sectors that distort competition.

The EU, Canada and Japan are also involved because of U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum products imposed by Washington earlier this year.

WTO rules had to be adapted to new global challenges, such as industrial subsidies, forced technology transfer and other market-distorting policies, the EU letter said.

The G20 summit should also aim to help end the blockage of appointments by the United States to the WTO’s body for settling disputes and halt the escalation of unilateral measures and countermeasures by the world’s two biggest economies.

President Donald Trump has brought the world’s top trade court to the brink of collapse by refusing to endorse new judges. From December 2019 there will be only one judge left, making it impossible for the WTO to issue final appeal rulings.

“The longstanding G20 commitments to keep markets open, to fight protectionism and support the multilateral trading system, risk becoming empty words,” the letter said.

The EU, which published proposals on Monday for WTO reform, would promote changes to the body’s three functions: negotiating, monitoring and dispute settlement to “tackle the root causes of the tensions”, it said.

The EU wants concrete progress at WTO trade discussions in Geneva by the time G20 meets again in Japan in June 2019. https://www.voanews.com/a/eu-to-push-for-g20-summit-to-support-wto-reform/4675848.html

The EU is moving to fill voids that the USA is causing. Notice also the following:

31 August 2018

Trump threatens to pull US out of World Trade Organization

President Donald Trump has threatened to withdraw the US from the World Trade Organization (WTO), claiming it treats his country unfairly.

“If they don’t shape up, I would withdraw from the WTO,” Mr Trump said in an interview with Bloomberg News. …

US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer has also accused the WTO of interfering with US sovereignty. …

China’s commerce ministry has said it “clearly suspects” the US of violating WTO rules.

An initial complaint at the WTO was filed by China in July after Mr Trump imposed his first round of tariffs. …

The WTO is at the heart of the system of rules for international trade. It is the forum for sorting disputes between countries about breaches of global trade rules and for negotiating new trade liberalisation.

The EU, meanwhile, is trying to steer the US towards reforming the WTO rather than abandoning it.

Bernd Lange, chair of the European Parliament’s trade committee, told Politico magazine that it would submit plans to overhaul the organisation in September. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-45364150

The USA has been giving the Europeans an unprecedented opportunity to write the rules for international trade. This is one of the ‘unintended consequences’ of Donald Trump’s trade policies and statements.

While the EU has cow-towed to the USA to some degree related to sanctions and Iran, the Bible shows that Europe, for a prophesied time at least, will eventually ‘win’ the trade war. Donald Trump’s approach is helping the Europeans by giving them more credibility as the USA is getting less credibility with many of the nations it trades with (as well as those it sanctions).

As I wrote this past Summer (see ‘Trade apocalypse’ will lead to the fulfilling of prophecies in the Book of the Apocalypse), to avert what has been called a ‘trade apocalypse,’ Europe wants to rewrite the rules for international trade.

Essentially Europe will dominate the WTO or perhaps instead establish or become an important near equivalent.

That is consistent with warnings in the Book of the Apocalypse, more commonly referred to these days as the Book of Revelation. That book teaches about an end time European power:

2 … Babylon … 3 For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich through the abundance of her luxury. (Revelation 18:2,3)

The above is referring to the fact that nations of the world are prophesied to get wealthy trading with end time Babylon, which will be a European entity. This European power will have religious ties to the City of Seven Hills–the Church of Rome:

1 Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and talked with me, saying to me, “Come, I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters, 2 with whom the kings of the earth committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth were made drunk with the wine of her fornication.” (Revelation 17:1-2)

9 Here is the mind which has wisdom: The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits. … 18 And the woman whom you saw is that great city which reigns over the kings of the earth.” (Revelation 17:9,18)

The Bible tells of a trading power arising in Europe that is tied to the City of Seven Hills. Europe, the United Nations, and the Vatican have stated that they have agreed on essentially the same future for the world. Now, Europe is getting an opportunity to better mold trade in its image–with its standards and, at least indirectly, its control.

Back in 1971, the old Worldwide Church of God (WCG) published the following:

Momentous, historic events are transforming Western Europe. But most Americans are “asleep at the switch” to what is happening. It’s time for a self-centered America to wake up – before her allies become her enemies. Envision the startling future of Western Europe. A … union of perhaps 250 million people, surpassing both the United States and the Soviet Union in economic strength, possessing for the first time worldwide political power and influence. One news source recently called it an “enormous, physically powerful beast.” A new Western Europe controlling perhaps half of all world trade, by exclusive arrangements with dozens of nations who produce raw materials. A “United States of Europe” possessing one single currency – a currency so strong that it will replace the U. S. dollar as the kingpin currency of world trade.(Hogberg G.EUROPE’S COMMON MARKET RISING WORLD COLOSSUS. Plain Truth, 1971)

Now, Europe does have its own currency–a currency that some see as the logical replacement for the US dollar for world trade–especially because of US sanctions, etc. (see also SWIFT end of the USA by 2025 as EU, Russia, China, and Iran take steps?). Now, let me add that less than a decade after the above was published, the WCG publicly announced that Eastern Europe would also be part of this European power. And within a decade of that, Eastern European nations began to officially join in with what has become the European Union. And, in population (over 510 million), the European Union is actually larger than that of the USA and Russia combined (though once the UK is out, it will be a bit smaller–yet other nations want to become part of it).

The prophesied European power will be able to dominate world trade by developing/writing/controlling many of the rules for international trade and the world’s largest market.

With more and more of the world upset by US President Donald Trump, Europe is seizing an opportunity–an opportunity that will result in it fulfilling various end time prophecies.

Others can now see how Europe may rise economically and dominate trade as the USA fades from dominance.

Trade will be a factor in what can be called World War III.

As far as trade and our prophetic teachings go, here is a link to our video: Trade Disputes: CCOG Warnings Are Coming to Pass.

Valentine Postcard (1910)

COGwriter

Some time back, a reader sent the following, which is such a classic, I would like to post it again:

February 10, 2014

DEAR ABBY: My boyfriend and I have been together for 2 1/2 years, living together for two. He says Valentine’s Day is a made-up holiday to get people to spend money. I told him every holiday is geared toward people spending money.I find myself feeling angry and hurt that I’m not receiving anything for Valentine’s Day. He never buys cards or flowers for me. How do I communicate to him that this is important to me without making things worse? — CRAVING A LITTLE ROMANCE

DEAR CRAVING: Your boyfriend may be cheap, but he also has a point. According to a report on npr.org, the celebration of Valentine’s Day started in ancient Rome and contains elements of both Christian and pre-Christian religions. In the third century A.D., two men named Valentine were executed by the emperor Claudius II in different years on Feb. 14, and a few hundred years later, a pope (Gelasius I) combined St. Valentine’s Day with Lupercalia — a fertility feast — to replace the pagan ritual. (Research this online if you wish, because I found it fascinating.) The holiday didn’t become romanticized until the Renaissance.

That said, allow me to point out that there are few things more unpleasant than feeling forced to give someone a gift.

‘Abby’ had several helpful points that all should consider. The woman that wrote her the question, should also consider the following scripture:

15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life is not of the Father but is of the world. 17 And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever. (1 John 2:15-17)

Her lust for the things of the world is not Christian.

Valentine’s Day has pagan origins with direct ties to idolatry. All who profess Christ should consider what the Bible teaches about such practices:

29 When the LORD your God cuts off from before you the nations which you go to dispossess, and you displace them and dwell in their land, 30 take heed to yourself that you are not ensnared to follow them, after they are destroyed from before you, and that you do not inquire after their gods, saying, ‘How did these nations serve their gods? I also will do likewise.’ 31 “You shall not worship the LORD your God in that way; for every abomination to the LORD which He hates they have done to their gods; for they burn even their sons and daughters in the fire to their gods. 32 Whatever I command you, be careful to observe it; you shall not add to it nor take away from it (Deuteronomy 12:29-32, NKJV).

2 Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them. 3 For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe (Jeremiah 10:2-3, KJV).

Notice also want the New Testament teaches:

…abstain from things offered to idols (Acts 15:29, NKJV).

14 Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? 15 And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? 16 And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. (2 Corinthians 6:14-16)

9 What am I saying then? That an idol is anything, or what is offered to idols is anything? 20 Rather, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice they sacrifice to demons and not to God, and I do not want you to have fellowship with demons. (1 Corinthians 10:19-21)

But because most who profess Christianity do not heed these warnings, they are disobeying God’s instructions. You can also watch a short YouTube video about this titled Should Christians Observe Valentine’s Day? or a longer, more complete sermon titled Valentine’s Day, Christianity, and Islam.

None who profess Christ should observe this February 14th “holiday”–it simply is not a Christian holiday.

Let me add that CBS is reporting that less people appear to be observing Valentine’s Day in 2019, apparently because they are buying less. Maybe Abby’s comments have been agreed to (at least indirectly) by more.

For more information, please consider studying the following:

Valentine’s Day: Its Real Origins Christianity Today suggests that Valentine’s Day is good for Christians to observe. Is this true? There is also a YouTube titled Should Christians Observe Valentine’s Day? and a longer, more complete sermon titled Valentine’s Day, Christianity, and Islam.
Should You Keep God’s Holy Days or Demonic Holidays? This is a free pdf booklet explaining what the Bible and history shows about God’s Holy Days and popular holidays. A related sermon is Which Spring Days should Christians observe?
Is There “An Annual Worship Calendar” In the Bible? This paper provides a biblical and historical critique of several articles, including one by WCG which states that this should be a local decision. What do the Holy Days mean? Also you can click here for the calendar of Holy Days.
The Ten Commandments: The Decalogue, Christianity, and the Beast This is a free pdf book explaining the what the Ten Commandments are, where they came from, how early professors of Christ viewed them, and how various ones, including the Beast of Revelation, will oppose them. A related sermon is titled: The Ten Commandments and the Beast of Revelation.
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?
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.

Depiction of Beasts of Daniel 7

COGwriter

CNBC ran the following commentary:

Brexit is a revolt against a German-run European super-state

February 4, 2019

• Led by an appallingly incompetent German management, the European Union will most probably come out terminally fractured after next May’s parliamentary elections.
• The political forces already at work in a number of countries will go back to nation states and a free-trading area, abandoning the pipe dream of a European statehood and sovereignty. …

Germany planted the seeds of destruction

Although the form of the British exit from the EU is often presented as a reductionist binary choice — “a no-deal exit” or “a deal the U.K. and the EU can live with” — London has in effect restated the fundamental question of what is a European project: A Europe of sovereign nation states, or a federal European super-state.

The disastrous fiscal austerity policies imposed by German Chancellor Angela Merkel on sinking euro area economies at the beginning of this decade, and her subsequent disorderly open-door immigration waves in 2015 have been a catalyst and a detonator of strong centrifugal forces throughout the European Union. …

President Donald Trump … told Merkel that trade free-riding on the U.S. was over, and so was Washington’s total underwriting of German security. Apparently shocked by the lack of American solidarity (stupidity), Merkel’s response was that “Europeans truly have to take our fate into our own hands.” In other words, never mind, Germany will continue to bilk Europe.

That, however, was too late for Merkel and Germany. …

And everybody is waiting to see what political forces will emerge from the European parliamentary elections in late May. The event is billed as a decisive showdown between established and highly contested governing circles, and what are derisively called “populist” demagogues and illiberal democracies. https://www.cnbc.com/2019/02/04/brexit-is-a-revolt-against-german-run-europe-super-state—commentary.html

Many think Europe is doomed. But the Bible teaches that it will reorganize (cf. Revelation 17:12-13).

Now as far as Brexit and the Superstate Europe goes, notice some things that were reported a few days after the Brexit vote:

European SUPERSTATE to be unveiled: EU nations ‘to be morphed into one’ post-Brexit

EUROPEAN political chiefs are to take advantage of Brexit by unveiling their long-held plan to morph the continent’s countries into one GIANT SUPERSTATE, it has emerged yesterday.

28 June 2016

The foreign ministers of France and Germany are due to reveal a blueprint to effectively do away with individual member states in what is being described as an “ultimatum”.Under the radical proposals EU countries will lose the right to have their own army, criminal law, taxation system or central bank, with all those powers being transferred to Brussels.

The public broadcaster reports that the bombshell proposal will be presented to a meeting of the Visegrad group of countries – made up of Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia – by German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier later today.Excerpts of the nine-page report were published today as the leaders of Germany, France and Italy met in Berlin for Brexit crisis talks.

In the preamble to the text the two ministers write: “Our countries share a common destiny and a common set of values ??that give rise to an even closer union between our citizens. We will therefore strive for a political union in Europe and invite the next Europeans to participate in this venture.” http://www.express.co.uk/news/politics/683739/EU-referendum-German-French-European-superstate-Brexit

June 28, 2016

THE EU has unveiled plans to morph the continent’s countries into one giant superstate just days after Britain voted to leave the EU, it is claimed.

Foreign ministers from France and Germany presented the radical proposals to do away with individual member states’ armies, criminal law systems and central banks, it has been reported. …

In a foreword to the nine-page report seen by the Daily Express, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier and his French counterpart Jean-Marc Ayrault said: “Our countries share a common destiny and a common set of values… that give rise to an even closer union between our citizens.

“We will therefore strive for a political union in Europe and invite the next Europeans to participate in this venture.” …

While the paper stops short of explicitly calling for an EU army, it does suggest its members should work more closely on defence matters.

The paper states: “We, as Europeans, need to take on a greater responsibility for our own security.

“We need to be ready and able to repel, respond and to protect ourselves against aggression, provocations and destabilisation.” https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/politics/1354489/eu-unveils-plans-for-giant-superstate-just-days-after-britain-voted-brexit/

The firestorm raging across Europe following last week’s vote in the United Kingdom to leave the E.U. blew into a tumult on Monday when it was revealed that a new “superstate” is being considered under which individuals nations – or possibly former nations – would “lose the right to have their own army, criminal law, taxation system or central bank,” according to one report.

The report said Polish Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski was raging, “This is not a good solution, of course, because from the time the E.U. was invented a lot has changed.”

The Daily Mail said the presentation came from Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Germany’s foreign minister, and Jean-Marc Ayrault, his French counterpart.

They described it as a way to address the migrant crisis, economic cooperation and security, but in Poland, it was described as an “ultimatum.”

The Mail speculated Britain may have avoided the new “superstate,” through which nations would “transfer their armies, economic systems and border controls to the E.U.” http://www.wnd.com/2016/06/european-superstate-suggested-as-brexit-solution/#3QdeHsK1P03L27c4.99

May 15, 2016

Ex-London Mayor Boris Johnson has compared the European Union’s aims to those of Adolf Hitler, arguing that the 28-nation bloc is creating a superstate that mirrors the attempt of the Nazi leader to dominate the European continent. …

Johnson, the most prominent political figure arguing that Britain should leave the EU — opting for “Brexit” — says the past 2,000 years of European history had been dominated by doomed attempts to unify the continent.He said while EU officials are using “different methods” from the Nazi regime, they share the aim of unifying Europe under one “authority.”

He was quoted as saying “Napoleon, Hitler, various people tried this out, and it ends tragically. The EU is an attempt to do this by different methods.” http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/boris-johnson-european-union-hitler-1.3583108

We did a video about that idea about three years ago–European Unity to be like Hitler?

The Bible shows that a monstrous superstate, called the Beast, will arise in Europe:

1 Then I stood on the sand of the sea. And I saw a beast rising up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and on his horns ten crowns, and on his heads a blasphemous name. 2 Now the beast which I saw was like a leopard, his feet were like the feet of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. The dragon gave him his power, his throne, and great authority. 3 And I saw one of his heads as if it had been mortally wounded, and his deadly wound was healed. And all the world marveled and followed the beast. 4 So they worshiped the dragon who gave authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?”

5 And he was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and he was given authority to continue for forty-two months. 6 Then he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, His tabernacle, and those who dwell in heaven. 7 It was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation. 8 All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

9 If anyone has an ear, let him hear. 10 He who leads into captivity shall go into captivity; he who kills with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints. (Revelation 13:1-10).

Notice something from Matthew Henry Commentary’s on Revelation 13:1-10:

The apostle, standing on the shore, saw a savage beast rise out of the sea; a tyrannical, idolatrous, persecuting power, springing up out of the troubles which took place. It was a frightful monster!

Yes, the monstrous Beast power will rise up.

Notice the following from the Hebrew scriptures:

2 Daniel spoke, saying, “I saw in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the Great Sea. 3 And four great beasts came up from the sea, each different from the other. (Daniel 7:2-3)

The “Great Sea” that bordered the ancient lands of Israel (Numbers 34:6-7; Joshua 1:4; 9:1; 23:4; Ezekiel 47:13-16) is the Mediterranean Sea–and that is the sea that Daniel was referring to. Despite some false claims by some, the Beast power is not a nation like Russia, which does not border the Mediterranean Sea, but Europe which does (Russia, however, will be a factor in eliminating the European beast power, see also The Eurasian Union, the Kings of the East, and Bible Prophecy). A comparison of the beasts in Revelation 13 and Daniel 7 shows that they share many of the same characteristics (for some details, you may wish to watch the YouTube video Can You Prove that the Beast to Come is European?).

Europe is the power that will control the “Great Sea.” And while the southern border of the Mediterranean Sea is currently under Arab control, the Bible shows that the King of the North will take over the Arab powers (Daniel 11:40-43; Ezekiel 30:1-9).

Getting back to the Hebrew scriptures:

7 “After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, exceedingly strong. It had huge iron teeth; it was devouring, breaking in pieces, and trampling the residue with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns. (Daniel 7:7)

23 “Thus he said:

‘The fourth beast shall be
A fourth kingdom on earth,
Which shall be different from all other kingdoms,
And shall devour the whole earth,
Trample it and break it in pieces.
24 The ten horns are ten kings
Who shall arise from this kingdom.
And another shall rise after them;
He shall be different from the first ones,
And shall subdue three kings.
25 He shall speak pompous words against the Most High,
Shall persecute the saints of the Most High,
And shall intend to change times and law.
Then the saints shall be given into his hand
For a time and times and half a time. (Daniel 7:23-25)

This Beast power rises up after a reorganization:

7 But the angel said to me, “Why did you marvel? I will tell you the mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her, which has the seven heads and the ten horns. (Revelation 17:7)

12 “The ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have received no kingdom as yet, but they receive authority for one hour as kings with the beast. 13 These are of one mind, and they will give their power and authority to the beast. (Revelation 17:12-13)

The Brexit is NOT THAT reorganization, but fallout from it could be related to the Europeans to decide that they must support an autocratic superstate.

Why would some European leaders push for a superstate now?

Well, the UK was probably the biggest impediment to their goal of a European superstate. And that is a goal that many in the EU truly have. With the UK voting to leave, this has been a time to reassess the direction of Europe.

Some want an empire, and most nations in Europe are now supporting a European army called PESCO:

15:25

PESCO and a Great European Army

In November 2018, French President Macron called for a “true European army” because of China, Russia, and the USA. Some others in Europe have echoed that sentiment. On November 9, 2018, US President Donald Trump called that an insult, but the next day said that the USA wanted “a very strong Europe.” Emmanuel Macron referred to Donald Trump as “my friend” and indicated a desire to strengthen Europe’s military spending. In December 2017, 25 European nations agreed to be part of a military alliance called PESCO. Europe also has NATO and IEI. Will Europe end up with “a great army”? Has Donald Trump’s announcement to withdraw from the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty gotten some to say that Europe must rebel against the USA? Is the idea of a United States of Europe and a European army a “paranoid fantasy” or a biblical reality? Will the USA regret Europe becoming a stronger military power? Will the USA be betrayed by “friends” such as its continental European allies? Does the Bible teach any or all of this? Are there connections to the Beast of Revelation or the King of the North of Daniel 11? Dr. Thiel addresses these matters in this video.

Here is a link to the sermonette video: PESCO and a Great European Army.

Those who feared Europe wanted to become a ‘superstate’ are correct.

However, not all the remaining nations in the EU want further integration, and ones like Poland certainly are not looking to increase the possibility of German dominance over them.

So what will happen?

There will be negotiations and proposals. But not full agreement (cf. Daniel 2:41-43).

There will be economic and civil crises.

Then there will come a couple of prophesied reorganizations in Europe (Revelation 17:12-13, see also Must the Ten Kings of Revelation 17:12 Rule over Ten Currently Existing Nations?), and the militaristic superstate that the Bible refers to as the ‘Beast of the Sea’ (Revelation 13:1=10) will arise. The monstrous superstate will come–and it will destroy the United Kingdom (and the United States and others for that matter, cf. Daniel 11:39).

The Brexit vote is a push in that direction. A militaristic superstate will form in Europe!

Some items of related interest may include:

Europa, the Beast, and Revelation Where did Europe get its name? What might Europe have to do with the Book of Revelation? What about “the Beast”? Is an emerging European power “the daughter of Babylon”? What is ahead for Europe? Here is a link to a video titled: Can You Prove that the Beast to Come is European?
European Technology and the Beast of Revelation Will the coming European Beast power would use and develop technology that will result in the taking over of the USA and its Anglo-Saxon allies? Is this possible? What does the Bible teach? Here is a related YouTube video: Military Technology and the Beast of Revelation.
Must the Ten Kings of Revelation 17:12 Rule over Ten Currently Existing Nations? Some claim that these passages refer to a gathering of 10 currently existing nations together, while one group teaches that this is referring to 11 nations getting together. Is that what Revelation 17:12-13 refers to? The ramifications of misunderstanding this are enormous. A related sermon is titled Ten Kings of Revelation and the Great Tribulation.
Who is the Man of Sin of 2 Thessalonians 2? Is this the King of the North, the ten-horned beast of Revelation 13:1-11, or the two-horned Beast of Revelation 13:12-16? Some rely on traditions, but what does the Bible teach? Here is a related link in Spanish/español: ¿Quién es el Hombre de Pecado de 2 Tesalonicenses 2? Here is a version in Mandarin: 主编： 谁是’大罪人’？Here is a link to a related YouTube video, in English, titled Who is the Man of Sin?
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?
Two Horned Beast of Revelation and 666 Who is 666? This article explains how the COG views this, and compares this to Ellen White. Here is a link to a prophetic video Six Financial Steps Leading to 666?
The Mark of Antichrist What is the mark of Antichrist? What have various ones claimed? Here is a link to a related sermon What is the ‘Mark of Antichrist’?
Mark of the Beast What is the mark of the Beast? Who is the Beast? What have various ones claimed the mark is? What is the ‘Mark of the Beast’?
Post Brexit Prophecy On June 23, 2016, the voters of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (UK) chose to leave the European Union. Now with this BRitish EXIT (Brexit) vote, what is prophesied to happen to the UK? Will the UK do well or be taken over and made slaves? Dr. Thiel explains from biblical prophecies what is ahead for the UK, Europe, and even the USA, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. This is a video.
Brexit and the fate of Northern Ireland, Gibraltar, the UK, and the USA On April 29, 2017, 27 of the nations of the European Union agreed to certain guidelines for the negotiations with the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland which gave its notice to leave on March 29, 2017. These guidelines are contrary to what the UK wants. Does the EU intend the UK to pay a price for leaving the EU? What does Spain want? What does the Republic of Ireland want? Will Northern Ireland and Gibraltar eventually fall under European control? Will the UK and USA be conquered? What does the Bible teach? Dr. Thiel answer these questions and more in this video.
Forbes’ Brexit Monster is the Beast of Revelation Various ones have been properly convinced that there is a plan for a European superstate. Forbes’ writer Tom Worstall wrote that the Brexit vote was about the United Kingdom “not joining the monster of the European Union to come.” The Bible tells of a Beast monster that will arise in the end times in Europe. Dr. Thiel cites news reports, as well as the Old and New Testaments, to show that the monster many fear will arise in Europe, despite the vote by the British to exit the European Union. This is a video.
Will the UK Lose Gibraltar and the Falkland Islands? For many years, the major sea gates of the world were possessed/controlled by the United States (Panama Canal and certain locations in the Pacific ocean) and the British Empire (Straits of Malacca, Singapore, Suez Canal, Bab el Mandeb, Strait of Hormuz, Simon’s Town/Cape of Good Hope, Malta, etc.), and many are no longer under their control. Spain wants Gibraltar and Argentina wants the Falklands (also known as the Malvinas). UK Prime Minister David Cameron says the UK will defend the Falklands Gibraltar. Does the Bible give clues as to what will happen with those ‘sea gates’? Do promises made the Jacob’s mother Rebekah play a role? What about Deuteronomy 28? This is a video.
Will the UK Lose Gibraltar and the Falkland Islands? Spain wants Gibraltar and Argentina wants the Falklands (also known as the Malvinas). Does the Bible give clues as to what will happen with these ‘sea gates’? A version of the article in the Spanish language would be ¿Perderá el Reino Unido a Gibraltar y las Islas Falkland (Malvinas)?.
World War III: Steps in Progress Are there surprising actions going on now that are leading to WWIII? Might a nuclear attack be expected? Does the Bible promise protection to all or only some Christians? How can you be part of those that will be protected? A related video would be Is World War III About to Begin? Can You Escape?
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.
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? 2027 or 20xx? There is also a video titled 6000 Years: When will God’s Kingdom Come? Here is a link to the article in Spanish: ¿Tiene Dios un plan de 6,000 años?
When Will the Great Tribulation Begin? 2019, 2020, or 2021? 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 and newer video is: Might the Great Tribulation start in 2019?
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British are the Covenant People What do ‘British’ and ‘Britain’ mean in Hebrew? Are the descendants of the Anglo-Saxons people of the covenant? Does the British royal family connect to the throne of David? What does the Bible teach? What does history show us? Is there any DNA evidence related to British-Israelism? When did Christianity make it to the British Isles? Could Jeremiah have made it to the British Isles? What type of Christians made it to the British Isles? Did the last King of England believe in British Israelism?
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Donald Trump and America’s Apocalypse This 188 page book is for people truly interested in prophecies related to Donald Trump and the United States, including learning about several that have already been fulfilled and those that will be fulfilled in the future. The physical book can be purchased at Amazon for $12.99 from the following link: Donald Trump and America’s Apocalypse.
Donald Trump and America’s Apocalypse-Kindle Edition This electronic version of the 188 page print edition is available for only US$3.99. And you do not need an actual Kindle device to read it. Why? Amazon will allow you to download it to almost any device: Please click HERE to download one of Amazon s Free Reader Apps. After you go to for your free Kindle reader and then go to Donald Trump and America’s Apocalypse-Kindle Edition.
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?

Pope Francis

COGwriter

Pope Francis is in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) pushing his interfaith agenda:

February 4, 2019

ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES — 

Pope Francis opened his historic visit to the United Arab Emirates on Monday with a grandiose, pomp-filled welcome ceremony before he was to address faith leaders in a show of religious tolerance in a Muslim region known for its restrictions on religious freedom. …

Francis’ speech to the gathering of faith leaders later in the evening is the highlight of his brief, 40-hour visit to Abu Dhabi, the first to the Arabian Peninsula by a pope. His trip culminates on Tuesday with the first-ever papal Mass on the Arabian Peninsula – a gathering expected to draw some 135,000 faithful in a never-before-seen display of public Christian worship here. …

Francis arrived in the Emirati capital late on Sunday …

In a sign that regional politics was playing a not-insignificant role in Francis’ visit, the papal plane flew north of Qatar and around the peninsular, energy-rich nation on his flight Sunday.

Four Arab nations – Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates – have been boycotting Qatar since June 2017 as part of a regional political dispute. https://www.voanews.com/a/pope-francis-travels-to-uae/4771356.html

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE, has taken to Twitter to welcome the visit to the UAE by Pope Francis.

“We welcome Pope Francis to the UAE. This historic visit will deepen the values of tolerance, understanding and interfaith dialogue,” he said. “We are bound by our humanity, our common values and belief in the future of humankind. Welcome to the UAE in this, our year of tolerance.”

Sheikh Mohammed added that for the last five decades the UAE has “been promoting the values of love, security, acceptance, freedom of religion and respect of others.” …

The Pope’s visit has been welcomed by many members of the UAE’s one million strong Catholic community, most of whom hail from the Philippines or India.

In Dubai, for example, St. Mary’s Catholic Church was decorated with the yellow and white flags of the Vatican and a lifelike picture of Pope Francis. https://www.arabianbusiness.com/culture-society/412428-sheikh-mohammed-welcomes-pope-francis-to-uae

Pope Francis is encouraging an interfaith and ecumenical agenda that may encourage temporary alliances with those of Islamic lands (cf. Daniel 11:27; Psalm 83:4-8).

This interfaith agenda will not end well for many followers of Islam (Daniel 11:40-43; Ezekiel 30:2-8).

As far as ‘Mary’ is concerned, Pope Francis has pushed his version of her more than other pontiffs I am aware of.

What about the use of ‘Mary’ and Islam and the interfaith movement?

Here are  details from my book Fatima Shock!:

Islam, the Lady of Fatima, and Mary in the Qur’an

Interestingly, Archbishop Fulton Sheen wrote:

It is our firm belief that…Islam…will be converted to Christianity…It is our belief that this will not happen through direct teaching of Christianity, but through a summoning of the Muslims to a veneration of the Mother of God.582

He also wrote he believed that the apparition:

…chose to be known as “Our Lady of Fatima” as a pledge and sign of hope for the Muslim people… so that they one day would accept…583

Thus, Archbishop Sheen essentially thought that the appearance in Fatima was to also ultimately result in Muslims (and possibly Hindus) accepting his faith. Notice that he also wrote:

Our missionaries report the most extraordinary reaction of these peoples as the Pilgrim statue of Our Lady of Fatima was carried through the East. At the edge of Nepal, three hundred Catholics were joined by three thousand Hindus and Moslems, as four elephants carried the statue to the little church for Rosary and Benediction…The final evidence of the relationship of the village of Fatima to the Moslems is the enthusiastic reception that the Moslems in Africa and India and elsewhere gave to the pilgrim statue of Our Lady of Fatima… in Mozambique the Moslems, who were unconverted, became Christians as soon as the statue of Our Lady of Fatima was erected…

Missionaries in the future will, more and more, see that their apostolate among the Moslems will be successful in the measure they preach Our Lady of Fatima.584

On December 27, 1983, Ali Ağca referred to Muhammad’s daughter as the goddess of the Fatima apparitions. 585

It seems that apparitions could be a factor in temporarily getting Muslims to consider that there is more to Catholicism than most of them have thought.  Archbishop Sheen felt that a Marian “miracle” would be a factor in Muslims and others together and become end time Catholics in the Day of Wrath (Dies Irae):

And as Mary revealed herself in that first Miracle of the Sun, so may we look forward to another revelation of her power when the world has its next rehearsal for the Dies Irae.586

Also notice something from Vatican II:

Moslems…They also honor Mary, His virgin Mother; at times they even call on her with devotion.587

Chapter 19 of the Qur’an/Koran/Quran is, from an Islamic perspective, devoted to Mary and Jesus (“Mary” is also spelled Maryam, Marium, or Miriam in Arabic translations into English). Here are a few passages from it:

019.020  Y: She said: “How shall I have a son, seeing that no man has touched me, and I am not unchaste?”…

019.027…S: And she came to her people with him, carrying him (with her). They said: O Marium! Surely you have done a strange thing.

019.028 Y: “O sister of Aaron! Thy father was not a man of evil, nor thy mother a woman unchaste!”588

066.012 Y: And Mary the daughter of ‘Imran, who guarded her chastity; and We breathed into (her body) of Our spirit; and she testified to the truth of the words of her Lord and of His Revelations, and was one of the devout (servants).589

While the above supports the virgin birth of Jesus, some also seem to believe that the Qur’an is supportive of teaching the “immaculate” conception of Mary in Islam.590

So, there are Islamic ties to Mary that resemble those in post-sixth century Catholicism.

Marian Interest and Her Claimed Final House in Turkey

A house where Mary may have lived out her last days is in Turkey.  My wife Joyce and I have visited it.  It is on the outskirts of ancient Ephesus.

“Mary’s House” near Ephesus—Lighter, Upper, Portion Added

There is an annual celebration for Mary, in the area near Ephesus, which Islamic Turks put on and participate in.  Because of Islamic fascination with Mary, it is possible that an apparition claiming to be Mary might appear in Turkey and/or elsewhere. This may partially persuade some Muslims to temporarily consider that somehow God might be working through a Western religious leader. This will not last for all (Daniel 11:27; 40), but it seems to have been part of Catholic prophecy:

Blessed Maria of Agreda (died 1665): The power of Mary in the latter days will be very conspicuous. Mary will extend the reign of Christ over the heathens and the Mohammedans…591

Perhaps it should be mentioned that there are certain Catholic prophecies that suggest many Muslims in Turkey will somewhat accept the Catholic faith. Here is one:

Brother Louis Rocco (19th century): Terrible wars will rage all over Europe…Great cities and small towns alike will be destroyed in a bloody revolution…In Istanbul (Constantinople) the Cross will replace the half-moon of Islamism, and Jerusalem will be the seat of a King. The southern Slavs will form a great Catholic Empire and drive out of Europe the Turks (Mohammedans), who will withdraw to North Africa and subsequently embrace the Catholic faith.592

Many people of all persuasions, including apparently atheists, are going to fall away from their current beliefs in vast numbers (even according to many Catholic leaders) to embrace one who will promote a powerful ecumenical religion that is to be accompanied by what will appear to be real miracles.

Perhaps more shocking is that there is a 17th century Islamic prophecy from a Dervish (Dervishes are mainly based in Turkey) that suggests that because many are not good Muslims, they will accept a faith that claims Christ after seeing something that resembles a female apparition, that  some  suspect  will  be  considered  to  be  “Mary.”593

Hence, at least one Islamic prophecy seems to support the view that many Muslims (especially in Turkey) may accept the coming ecumenical religion promoted by a “Marian” apparition. …

In the 21st century, Giuseppe De Carli wrote the following related to Islam and Fatima:

The Shiites believe that the Fatima shrine belongs, by right, to Muslims, and that Catholics have stolen it from their rightful owners. They argue that if a Lady dressed in shining white appeared there, then it’s because she had a message for the Muslims, not for Christians. Ali Ağca, in his megalomania thought he had a mission from God. Apparently, when John Paul II visited him at the Rebibbia prison in 1983, he asked the pontiff, “So who is Fatima for you?” Twice now I have done on-the-scene reporting from Fatima and I have spotted Arabs who seemed to want to remain incognito…Fatima has a religious and political significance.594

So, some Muslims, at least, believe that the messages for Fatima were apparently different than those publicly revealed, that Fatima is for them, and any message for Fatima has to do with Islam.

Notice also from Priest L.J. Cizik:

It is a fact that Moslems from various nations, especially from the Middle East, make so many pilgrimages to Our Lady of Fatima’s Shrine in Portugal that Portuguese officials have expressed concern. The combination of an Islamic name and Islamic devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary is a great attraction to Moslems.595

It would not surprise me if one or more future Lady apparitions shows herself to Muslims and encourages them to support the ecumenical religion that the Europeans will themselves embrace in much greater numbers in very few years.

Notice the following from the Encyclopedia of Islam:

Fatima is greatly revered by Muslims…Moreover, she will be the first to enter PARADISE…and like MARY in Catholic Christianity, she will intercede for those who honor her…Indeed, in Shii literature, Fatima is compared to Mary the mother of JESUS because of the violent deaths suffered by each of their sons.596

So, there are similarities (as well as differences) between Catholic and Islamic beliefs related to Mary and Fatima.

A series of apparitions occurred at a Coptic Orthodox church in Zeitoun, Egypt, from 1968 to 1973 and:

Moslems, Copts, Roman Catholics, Protestants, and others were overwhelmed by the Lady who seemed to be composed of light. Moslems chanted from the Koran: “Mary, God has chosen thee. And purified thee; He has chosen thee above all women.”597

So, some Muslims have already been impressed by apparitions of the Lady, and may once again. …

Based upon sacred scripture (Daniel 11:40), the religious fervor that is often present in the Islamic world, and the pagan  connection  to  female  apparitions,  I  suspect  that any close “semi-ecumenical” alliance with the majority of the Muslims will be very short-lived.  The Bible tells of a time when the final “King of the South” (a Caliphate-type leader of a likely Islamic confederation, who some may consider to be the Imam Mahdi) will make a deal with the final European “King of the North” (Daniel 11:27), but later attack the King of the North (Daniel 11:40).   Some countries, like Turkey (ancient Edom) will apparently end up supporting the Europeans (Daniel 11:25-26, 41).

Regarding Fatima, I am more of the opinion that since some Muslims somewhat venerate Muhammed’s daughter Fatima, the Hindus have various female deities, the Chinese have had female apparitions, Japan and other lands have had apparitions, many Protestants are getting closer to Rome, many people believe in goddesses, most Buddhist’s tend to support a more ecumenical view of religion, etc. that Marian apparitions may be used to help many groups get together (at least temporarily).

582         Sheen, Fulton Archbishop. The World’s First Love. Reprint, Ignatius Press, 1996,  p. 201
583         Sheen, p. 203
584         Sheen, pp. 190, 202-203
585         Apostoli, p. 188
586         Sheen, p. 274
587         Nostra Aetate as cited in Bertone, p. 120
588         Online version of Koran at http://www.asksam.com/ebooks/releases.asp?file=Koran.ask&dn=19%3a%20MARYAM%20%28MARY%29  viewed 04/05/2011
589         Online version of Koran at http://www.asksam.com/ebooks/releases.asp?file=Koran.ask&dn=66%3a%20AT-TAHRIM%20%28BANNING%2c%20PROHIBITION%29 viewed 04/07/2011
590         Pennington R.  Islam’s view of Mary. Muslim Voices, December 22, 2008 http://muslimvoices.org/islam-view-of-mary/ viewed 04/05/2011
591         Dupont, p. 33
592         Dupont, p.76
593         Tzima Otto, Helen.  They’ll have no King but Caesar. Verenikia Press, 2005, pp. 417-422; the Dervish was killed for making it, p. 522
594         Bertone, p. 77
595         Cizik LJ Priest.  OUR LADY AND ISLAM: HEAVEN’S PEACE PLAN.  Soul Magazine.  September – October 2001, © 2001 The Blue Army of Our Lady of Fatima, U.S.A., Inc.,  page 6 http://www.ewtn. com/library/mary/olislam.htm viewed 11/02/10
596         Campos JE. Encyclopedia of Islam: Encyclopedia of world religions: Facts on File library of religion and mythology. Infobase Publishing, 2009, pp. 230-231
597         Tetlow J. Will Mary Unite All Religions? ENDTIME ISSUES NEWSLETTER No. 116, Biblical Perspectives, 2004, p. 16

Perhaps it should be mentioned, that just one ‘Marian apparition’ (The ‘Lady’ of Guadalupe ) has been claimed to have been effective in turning Latin America predominantly Roman Catholic–this profoundly affected those cultures and the world.

What will happen if some type of ‘Marian apparition’ is seen and even shown on media like television and/or the internet? Might Islam temporarily respond?

Since the Bible teaches that the whole world will worship the Beast (Revelation 13:8), but that the King of the South will turn against the Beast (Daniel 11:40-43), this shows that Muslims will, temporarily, support the Beast (cf. Psalm 83:4-8).

Since Islam does acknowledge Jesus’ mother Mary and Catholics have tried to use ‘Mary’ as an ecumenical and interfaith tool, a false version of ‘Mary’ will likely be part of the reason for this temporary worship of the Beast. It is my opinion that building a cathedral for ‘Mary’ in an Islamic land is consistent with this.

Islam will temporarily support the coming Beast and Marianism will likely be a factor for this temporary support.

Notice the following:

Mary’s Providential Bridge to Islam

May 15, 2017

From the time of the apparitions of the Blessed Mother at Fatima, Portugal, many have wondered about the possible significance of Our Lady choosing a location with such an apparent connection to Islam.

As a matter of historical importance, Fatima was the favorite daughter of Muhammad — a woman considered of the highest dignity in Islam, save for only one person: the Virgin Mary. Indeed, after Fatima’s death at around the age of 26, her father wrote to his dead daughter: “Thou shalt be the most blessed of women in Paradise after Mary.”

Is there a relationship between the appearance of Our Lady and the Muslim world? Surely, it was not a random choice by the Blessed Mother, and so how should we approach the possible message it sends to the world at this historical moment?

It is a surprise to many that Islam traditionally has thought so highly of the Blessed Virgin Mary. She is called by Muslims Miriam or Maryam in Arabic, and also Umm Isa, or “Mary, the mother of Jesus,” or simply, Sayyida, the Lady.

Mary is the only woman named in the Quran, and she is revered as a righteous woman in her own right and as the most pious, chaste and virtuous woman in history. …

It was in the very village named after a convert from Islam — a convert initially named after Muhammad’s daughter — that the Blessed Mother chose to appear to the three shepherd children May 13, 1917. What does it mean? What is Our Lady trying to teach us? Is she telling us that just as she shows us the way to her Son that the path ahead in evangelization and overcoming the savagery of jihadism might also pass through her loving heart?

Venerable Fulton Sheen thought so.

In his 1952 book, The World’s First Love, he devoted a chapter to Mary and the Muslims. He prophetically observed, “At the present time, the hatred of the Moslem countries against the West is becoming a hatred against Christianity itself. Although the statesmen have not yet taken it into account, there is still grave danger that the temporal power of Islam may return and, with it, the menace that it may shake off a West which has ceased to be Christian and affirm itself as a great anti-Christian world power.”

Archbishop Sheen, however, did not despair. Instead, he looked to Fatima and to Mary. “Since nothing ever happens out of heaven except with a finesse of all details,” he wrote, “I believe that the Blessed Virgin chose to be known as ‘Our Lady of Fatima’ as a pledge and a sign of hope to the Moslem people, and as an assurance that they, who show her so much respect, will one day accept her Divine Son, too.”

He added:

“Missionaries in the future will, more and more, see that their apostolate among the Moslems will be successful in the measure that they preach Our Lady of Fatima. Mary is the advent of Christ, bringing Christ to the people before Christ himself is born. In any apologetic endeavor, it is always best to start with that which people already accept. Because the Moslems have a devotion to Mary, our missionaries should be satisfied merely to expand and to develop that devotion, with the full realization that Our Blessed Lady will carry the Moslems the rest of the way to her Divine Son. She is forever a ‘traitor,’ in the sense that she will not accept any devotion for herself, but will always bring anyone who is devoted to her to her Divine Son. As those who lose devotion to her lose belief in the divinity of Christ, so those who intensify devotion to her gradually acquire that belief. … The Moslems should be prepared to acknowledge that, if Fatima must give way in honor to the Blessed Mother, it is because she is different from all the other mothers of the world and that without Christ she would be nothing.”

We seek bridges to Islam. Mary is a way. http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/marys-providential-bridge-to-islam

Since many in Islam have a special reverence for Mary, I suspect that if one or more apparitions claiming (or presumed) to be Mary show up in Islamic lands, that many there will be temporarily persuaded to support the Beast power (the Catholic prophesied “Great Monarch”)–especially if Muslims can be temporarily persuaded to accept a cross symbol (which would otherwise be quite difficult for them to do).

Apparently, others have felt the same way.

The following was written over two decades ago by a member of the Orthodox Church and is warning people that false apparitions claiming to be Mary will lead to people to accept Antichrist:

“Mother goddesses” known in the ancient world were not just confined to the Near East and Mediterranean but are universal. The Kogi Indians, among whom we lived in Columbia, worship a spirit called Nabuba, the “Ancient Mother.” When Roman Catholics missionaries attempted to evangelize the Kogi int he last century, they used a not-uncommon strategy for drawing pagan peoples into Rome’s fold: rather than explaining the differences between the pagan mysthology and Christian truth, they found “equivalences,” Christ, under this syncretistic view, corresponds to the Kogi Sejukukui (a trickster god who faked his own death by hiding in a cave), while Nabuba is said to be the Virgin Mary. This confusion has led the Kogis to call their pagan temples “cansamaria,” a corruption of “casa de Maria” (house of Mary).

Given these Roman Catholic “evangelistic methods” of more than a century ago, it is it any wonder that contemporary “apparitions” of Mary are invariably accompanied by ecumenistic messages promoting the idea that all religions are equally valid and Orthodox Christianity is but one “path” among many? A recent issue of Orthodox Tradition (1966) contains the account of Matushka (wife of a Russian Orthodox priest) Katherine Swanson’s trip to Medjugorje, Croatia, to investigate the most famous of the recent cases of apparitions of Mary in the Roman Catholic world. In it she recounts a telling episode:

Our guide took our group for an audience with the “seers.” During this audience, a pilgrim asked one of the children the following questions: “Does the Virgin say that the Catholic Church is the true church?” The response given by the child provides clear evidence of the ecumenical content and religious relativism which, oddly enough, increasingly mark the “revelations” at Medjugorje: “Our Blessed Mother says that all religions are equally pleasing to God.“

The Life magazine article, then, is yet another contribution to this line of thought. Given the idea that all paths are equally valid, then all “Marys” are equally valid, too. The author describes several of the Marys of our times: Miearculous Mary (such as at Medjugorje), Mediator Mary (Who, as the author quotes Fr. Andrew Greeley saying, lets people into Heaven through the “back door”), (Editors notes: the Orthodox Church of course never taught about the “back door”, and of course one only prays that this is a matter of a figure of speech, but let us not dwell on the “back door”, but the gates of Paradise, the Kingdom of our God). Mediator Mary of the feminists, and Mother Mary. This last one, Mother Mary, is the role which the author considers the most appealing to non-Catholics: “The emotional need for her is so irresistible to a troubled world that people without an obvious link to the Virgin are being drawn to her. It is known that Muslins revere Mary as a pure and holy saint…Interdenominational Marian prayer groups are springing up throughout the world. Many Protestants, even some who still reject notions of a supernatural Virgin, miss Mary.”

To which Mary are Muslims and Protestants being drawn? The Protestant Reformation rejected the distorted view of Mary which had developed in the West since the Schism of 1054, and which would ultimately result in the Roman Church’s proclamation of their dogma of the Immaculate Conception. But Protestantism did not just reject the Western view of Mary; it ignored Her altogether, in effect denying Her role in the Incarnation and, consequently, the part She plays in our salvation. As Rome began to see her more and more as a “goddess,” a fourth Hypostasis of the Trinity, as it were, the Protestants reacted by down playing Her position and refusing to honor Her at all, this in spite of the Gospel words:“All Generations Shall Call Me Blessed.”

Today, as heterodox Christians become more and more ecumenist and work toward creating a “One World Church,” the search has begun for a Mary of universal recognition, one who will appeal not only to those who bear the name Christian, but apparently to Muslims and others as well, just as attempts are likewise being made to identify the “new Christ” with the Muslim concept of their coming Mahdi and with the Messiah still awaited by the Jews. This, of course, will be no Christ at all but the antichrist.

(Jackson P. ORTHODOX LIFE., No. I, 1997., Brotherhood of Saint Job of Pochaev at Holy Trinity Monastery, Jordanville, N.Y. pp. 18-22.  http://fr-d-serfes.org/orthodox/theotokos.htm viewed 05/11/09)

There is more danger in this interfaith movement than most realize.

In January 2019, someone sent me a link to the following:

Pope Francis’s advocacy for Islam could destroy Europe

January 11, 2019

Francis is not particularly concerned about church closings. Perhaps he even thinks of them as a blessing, i.e., a necessary end to the old order of things that will clear the way for the construction of the new order.

What is this new order? In many respects, it resembles the new world order envisioned by politicians and academics on the left. Like them, Francis has a dim view of national borders and national sovereignty, and, like them, he has an almost unquestioning belief in the benefits of international institutions. One gets the impression that Francis would be quite content to let the U.N. run the world, despite the fact that the U.N. is increasingly run by leftists and Islamists. For example, Francis has praised the U.N.’s Global Compact for Migration because he believes that immigration should be governed globally rather than by individual nations.

How does this relate to Christianity and Islam? Just as Francis seems to favor a one-world government, he also seems to be drawn by the vision of a one-world religion. He hasn’t said so in so many words, but he has given several indications that he envisions an eventual blending of religions. This would not be the “one flock, one shepherd” Church that Christ spoke of but something a bit more diverse.

One way to achieve this unity in diversity is by deemphasizing doctrine. Doctrinal differences are, after all, the main dividing line between different faiths. Thus, by downplaying the importance of doctrine – something he has done fairly consistently throughout his papacy – it’s probable that Francis hopes to smooth the path to interreligious harmony. Just as Francis disapproves of borders between nations, it’s quite likely that he looks upon borders between religions as artificial and unnecessarily divisive. …

As George Neumayr points out in The Political Pope, Francis frequently shows signs of indifferentism – i.e., the belief that all religions are of equal value. For example, when speaking of the murder of Fr. Jacques Hamel by two jihadists, he drew a moral equivalence between Islam and Christianity, saying, “If I speak of Islamic violence, I must speak of Catholic violence.”

Other signs of his indifferentism are not difficult to find. In 2014, he told a group of Protestants, “I’m not interested in converting Evangelicals to Catholicism. I want people to find Jesus in their own community.” On another occasion, he criticized Pope Benedict’s “ordinariate” for Anglicans interested in becoming Catholics by saying that they should remain “as Anglicans.” On still other occasions, he has waxed enthusiastic about Martin Luther and the Protestant Reformation.

Ironically, several examples of his indifferentism can be found in Evangelii Gaudium– ostensibly an exhortation to evangelize. Although the document urges us to spread the joy of the Gospel, it provides a number of reasons why we shouldn’t bother. The main reason given is that we already share so many ethical and spiritual values with other faiths that there’s no point in converting non-Catholics.

Thus, Evangelii Gaudium leaves the impression that Jews shouldn’t be evangelized (an impression that was later explicitly confirmed by the Vatican). Moreover, Francis also seems to exempt Muslims from any need to convert. https://www.lifesitenews.com/opinion/pope-franciss-advocacy-for-islam-could-destroy-europe

This interfaith agenda is dangerous and will not end well for many followers of Islam (Daniel 11:40-43; Ezekiel 30:2-8)–but neither will it end well for Europe (cf. Daniel 11:44-45).

Consider also that the ecumenical and interfaith movements that the Vatican, certain Protestants, certain Muslims, and certain Eastern Orthodox leaders are promoting are clearly condemned by the Bible and should not be encouraged:

3 … contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints. (Jude 3)

17 “Come out from among them
And be separate, says the Lord.
Do not touch what is unclean,
And I will receive you.” (2 Corinthians 6:17)

Early Christian leaders did NOT seek unity to those who were heretical or not Christians–instead they denounced those views (see Continuing History of the Church of God).

The Apostle Paul also taught that true unity of faith would not happen until after Jesus returns:

13 until we all reach unity in faith and knowledge of the Son of God and form the perfect Man, fully mature with the fullness of Christ himself. (Ephesians 4:13, NJB)

Those who believe this unity comes prior to Jesus’ return are in error. Actually, when Jesus returns, He will destroy the unity of nations that are against Him:

11:15 Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and voices could be heard shouting in heaven, calling, ‘The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and his Christ, and he will reign for ever and ever.’ 16 The twenty-four elders, enthroned in the presence of God, prostrated themselves and touched the ground with their foreheads worshipping God 17 with these words, ‘We give thanks to you, Almighty Lord God, He who is, He who was, for assuming your great power and beginning your reign. 18 The nations were in uproar and now the time has come for your retribution, and for the dead to be judged, and for your servants the prophets, for the saints and for those who fear your name, small and great alike, to be rewarded. The time has come to destroy those who are destroying the earth.’ (Revelation 11:15-18, NJB)

19:6 And I heard what seemed to be the voices of a huge crowd, like the sound of the ocean or the great roar of thunder, answering, ‘Alleluia! The reign of the Lord our God Almighty has begun;… 19 Then I saw the beast, with all the kings of the earth and their armies, gathered together to fight the Rider and his army. 20 But the beast was taken prisoner, together with the false prophet who had worked miracles on the beast’s behalf and by them had deceived those who had accepted branding with the mark of the beast and those who had worshipped his statue. These two were hurled alive into the fiery lake of burning sulphur. 21 All the rest were killed by the sword of the Rider, which came out of his mouth, and all the birds glutted themselves with their flesh… 20:4 Then I saw thrones, where they took their seats, and on them was conferred the power to give judgement. I saw the souls of all who had been beheaded for having witnessed for Jesus and for having preached God’s word, and those who refused to worship the beast or his statue and would not accept the brandmark on their foreheads or hands; they came to life, and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. (Revelation 19:6,19-21; 20:4, NJB)

Notice that Jesus will have to destroy a world of armies unified against Him. Then He and the saints will reign. That is when there will be proper unity of the faith. Even the NJB, a Roman Catholic translation of the Bible, concurs. The nations will be united AGAINST Jesus.

Catholics, Orthodox, Protestants, Muslims, and others need to be concerned about the type of unity that is actually being promoted and what the ecumenical and interfaith agendas are really about.

Some items of possibly related interest may include:

Differences Between Islam and the Continuing Church of God What are some of the main differences? Are there any similarities? A video of related interest is titled: Islam: Any Christian Concerns or Similarities?
Satan’s Plan Does Satan have a plan? What is it? Has it already been successful? Will it be successful in the future? Here are links to a two-part sermon series: What are Some of the Parts of Satan’s Plan? and Satan’s Plan is More Dramatic than Many Realize.
Mystery of Iniquity What is the mystery of iniquity? How did it start? How will it end? Two related sermons are also available: The Mystery of Iniquity and The Mystery of Lawlessness.
The Ten Commandments: The Decalogue, Christianity, and the Beast This is a free draft/unedited pdf book explaining the what the Ten Commandments are, where they came from, how early professors of Christ viewed them, and how various ones, including the Beast of Revelation, will oppose them. A related sermon is titled: The Ten Commandments and the Beast of Revelation.
United Nations: Humankind’s Last Hope or New World Order? Is the UN the last hope for humanity? Or might its goals end up with sinister results? Two related videos include UN’s ‘New Universal Agenda’ is a False Gospel! and United Nations and Vatican Are Planning the New World Order.
The Bible, Christians, and the Environment How should Christians view the environment? Does the Bible give any clues? What are some of the effects of air, water, and land pollution? Is environmental pollution a factor in autism and death? Do pollutants seem to double the autism risk? What will Jesus do? Here is a link to a related sermon: Christians and the Environment (there is also YouTube video available titled Air Pollution, Autism, and Prophecy).
Hope of Salvation: How the Continuing Church of God differ from most Protestants How the real Church of God differs from mainstream/traditional Protestants, is perhaps the question I am asked most by those without a Church of God background. As far as some changes affecting Protestantism, watch the video Charismatic Kenneth Copeland and Anglican Tony Palmer: Protestants Beware! [Português: Esperança do salvação: Como a igreja do deus difere da maioria de protestantes]
Beware: Protestants Going Towards Ecumenical Destruction! What is going on in the Protestant world? Are Protestants turning back to their ‘mother church’ in Rome? Does the Bible warn about this? What are Catholic plans and prophecies related to this? Is Protestantism doomed? See also World Council of Churches Peace Plan.
Will the Interfaith Movement Lead to Peace or Sudden Destruction? Is the interfaith movement going to lead to lasting peace or is it warned against? A video sermon of related interest is: Will the Interfaith Movement lead to World War III? and a video sermon is also available: Do You Know That Babylon is Forming?
Why Should American Catholics Fear Unity with the Orthodox? Are the current ecumenical meetings a good thing or will they result in disaster? Is doctrinal compromise good? Here is a link to a related video Should you be concerned about the ecumenical movement?
Which Is Faithful: The Roman Catholic Church or the Continuing Church of God? Do you know that both groups shared a lot of the earliest teachings? Do you know which church changed? Do you know which group is most faithful to the teachings of the apostolic church? Which group best represents true Christianity? This documented article answers those questions.
What is the Unpardonable Sin? What is it? Can you repent of it? Do you know what it is and how to avoid it? Here is a link to a related sermon video The Unpardonable Sin and the Prodigal Son. Here is a link to a shorter video The ‘Unpardonable Sin’ and ‘Climate Change’?
Beware: Protestants Going Towards Ecumenical Destruction! What is going on in the Protestant world? Are Protestants turning back to their ‘mother church’ in Rome? Does the Bible warn about this? What are Catholic plans and prophecies related to this? Is Protestantism doomed? watch the video Charismatic Kenneth Copeland and Anglican Tony Palmer: Protestants Beware!
Some Similarities and Differences Between the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Continuing Church of God Both groups claim to be the original church, but both groups have differing ways to claim it. Both groups have some amazing similarities and some major differences. Do you know what they are?
Orthodox Must Reject Unity with the Roman Catholics Unity between these groups will put them in position to be part of the final end time Babylon that the Bible warns against as well as require improper compromise.
Laudato Si: Pope’s Agenda or Kingdom of God? Pope Francis’ 2nd encyclical is titled ‘Laudato Si.’ In it, he goes over his views related to environmental, economic, social, moral, agricultural, and spiritual issues. He advocates international cooperation to solve various problems he believes are affecting humanity. Is that Pope’s agenda the solution? What about the Kingdom of God? does the Bible teach? Two related articles include Laudato Si: Will Pope Francis’ economic actions match his words? and Laudato Si: A call for a one-world government?
Some Similarities and Differences Between the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Continuing Church of God Both groups claim to be the original church, but both groups have differing ways to claim it. Both groups have some amazing similarities and some major differences. Do you know what they are?
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.
Could Pope Francis be the Last Pope and Antichrist? Former Argentinian Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio is now Pope Francis. According to some interpretations of the prophecies of the popes by the Catholic saint and Bishop Malachy, Pope Francis is in the position of “Peter the Roman,” the pontiff who reigns during tribulations until around the time of the destruction of Rome. Do biblical prophecies warn of someone that sounds like Peter the Roman? Could Francis be the heretical antipope of Catholic private prophecies and the final Antichrist of Bible prophecy? Could a Jesuit be “the black pope”?
Pope Francis: Could this Marian Focused Pontiff be Fulfilling Prophecy? Pope Francis has taken many steps to turn people more towards his version of ‘Mary.’ Could this be consistent with biblical and Catholic prophecies? This article documents what has been happening. There is also a video version titled Pope Francis: Could this Marian Focused Pontiff be Fulfilling Prophecy?
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.

COGwriter

The Chinese “New Year 2019 of the Pig” is to start February 5, 2019. The Chinese New Year is based upon a lunar-solar calendar cycle. Like the biblical one, it is supposed to be somewhat related to Spring, though the Chinese one tends to begin earlier.

The Chinese New Year is basically considered to be an observance originally established to worship pagan gods and also has astrological implications (it also can involve ancestor worship). Unlike Western astrology which is supposedly based upon the astrological sign in the sky when one is born (which varies about monthly), Chinese astrology is based on being born in a particular astrological year. The Chinese have 12 astrological signs that rotate in a cycle.

The year that is ending was the year of the dog. Thus people who are to be born between now and next year are considered to ‘astrologically’ be born under the sign of the year of the pig.

Here are some comments from Wikipedia about it:

Chinese New Year is an important traditional Chinese holiday celebrated on the first day of the year of the Chinese calendar. In China, it is also known as the Spring Festival, the literal translation of the modern Chinese name. Chinese New Year celebrations traditionally run from Chinese New Year’s Eve, the last day of the last month of the Chinese calendar, to the Lantern Festival on the 15th day of the first month, making the festival the longest in the Chinese calendar. Because the Chinese calendar is lunisolar, the Chinese New Year is often referred to as the “Lunar New Year“.

The source of Chinese New Year is itself centuries old and gains significance because of several myths and traditions. Traditionally, the festival was a time to honor deities as well as ancestors…

According to tales and legends, the beginning of Chinese New Year started with the fight against a mythical beast called the Nian (Chinese: 年; pinyin: Nián). Nian would come on the first day of New Year to eat livestock, crops, and even villagers, especially children. To protect themselves, the villagers would put food in front of their doors at the beginning of every year. It was believed that after the Nian ate the food they prepared, it wouldn’t attack any more people. One day people saw that the Nian was scared away by a little child wearing red. The villagers then understood that the Nian was afraid of the color red. Time when the New Year was about to come, the villagers would hang red lanterns and red spring scrolls on windows and doors. People also used firecrackers to frighten away the Nian. From then on, Nian never came to the village again. The Nian was eventually captured by Hongjun Laozu, an ancient Taoist monk. The Nian became Hongjun Laozu’s mount…

The first day is for the welcoming of the deities of the heavens and earth, officially beginning at midnight. It is a traditional practice to light fireworks, burn bamboo sticks and firecrackers and to make as much of a din as possible to chase off the evil spirits as encapsulated by nian (年) of which the term guo-nian (过年) was derived…

The second day of the Chinese New Year, known as kāinián (開年/开年, “beginning of the year”),^[17] was when married daughters visited their birth parents, relatives and close friends…

The third day is known as Chìkǒu (赤口), directly translated as “red mouth”. Chìkǒu is also called Chìgǒurì (赤狗日), or “Chìgǒu’s Day”. Chìgǒu, literally “red dog”, is an epithet of “the God of Blazing Wrath” (熛怒之神). Rural villagers continue the tradition of burning paper offerings over trash fires. It is considered an unlucky day to have guests or go visiting…

In those communities that celebrate Chinese New Year for only two or three days, the fourth day is when corporate “spring dinners” kick off and business returns to normal…

This day is the God of Wealth’s birthday…

The seventh day, traditionally known as Rénrì (人日, the common person’s birthday), is the day when everyone grows one year older…

Eight Day Another family dinner is held to celebrate the eve of the birth of the Jade Emperor, the ruler of heaven. People normally return to work by the eighth day.the Store owners will host a lunch/dinner with their employees, thanking their employees for the work they have done for the whole year.

Approaching 12 midnight on this day, Hokkien people prepare for a Jade Emperor ritual (Bai Ti Gong or 拜天公) during which incense is burnt and food offerings made to the Jade Emperor and also to Zao Jun, the Kitchen God who reports on each family to the Jade Emperor.

Some people will hold a ritual prayer at after midnight on the eighth day. In Malaysia, especially, people light fireworks, often more than on the first day…

The ninth day of the New Year is a day for Chinese to offer prayers to the Jade Emperor of Heaven (天公, Tiāngōng) in the Daoist Pantheon.

Tenth Day The Jade Emperor’s party is also celebrated on this day…

On the 13th day people will eat pure vegetarian food to clean out their stomach due to consuming too much food over the preceding two weeks…

The fifteenth day of the new year is celebrated as Yuanxiao Festival/Yuánxiāojié (元宵節), also known as Shangyuan Festival/Shàngyuánjié (上元節) or the Lantern Festival (otherwise known as Chap Goh Mei Chinese: 十五暝; pinyin: Shíwǔmíng; literally “the fifteen night” in Fujian dialect)…In Malaysia and Singapore, this day is celebrated by individuals seeking for a love partner, a different version of Valentine’s Day.

Since about a fifth to a quarter of humanity is Chinese, I thought it may be important to point out the pagan implications of this holiday as it is celebrated by scattered Chinese around the world.

The Bible itself has a different start of the New Year. When speaking of the Hebrew month of Abib, which occurs around late March/early April God declared:

“This month shall be your beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year to you” (Exodus 12:2).

And that was not January 1st nor is it the 5th of February in 2019.

Also, the Bible is opposed to astrology (cf. Isaiah 47:13-15), and would not condone being part of astrological celebrations.

The first day of the next biblical new year is April 6th for 2019, which technically begins after sunset on April 5th.

Some items of possibly related interest may include:

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?
Origins and Practices of Chinese New Year When is the Chinese New Year? What are its origins? Should Christians observe it?
The Bible and Astrology Should Christians avoid participating in astrology or did God inspire it? Does the Bible encourage astrology? What does the Bible actually teach? What is astrology? How does astrology differ from astronomy? Should Christians Be Involved In Astrology?
OMENS? DIVINATION? HOROSCOPES? THE ORIGIN OF ASTROLOGY Where did astrology come from? Should you read your horoscope?
Does Astrology Work? Many believe and follow astrology–but does it work?
Should You Observe God’s Holy Days or Demonic Holidays? This is a free pdf booklet explaining what the Bible and history shows about God’s Holy Days and popular holidays.
Close Encounters of a ‘Spirit’ Kind discusses some experiences I believe were (demon) ‘spirit’ related.
Angels, Cherubim, and Seraphim This is information about various types of angelic beings.
Did Early Christians Celebrate Birthdays? Did biblical era Jews celebrate birthdays? Who originally celebrated birthdays? When did many that profess Christ begin birthday celebrations? A related sermon video is available and is titled: Birthdays, Christians, and December 25th.
Valentine’s Day: Its Real Origins Christianity Today suggests that Valentine’s Day is good for Christians to observe. Is this true? There is also a YouTube titled Should Christians Observe Valentine’s Day?
Why Were You Born? Why did God make you? Herbert W. Armstrong wrote this as a booklet on this important subject. You may also wish to read the article What is Your Destiny? or watch the video, also titled What is Your Destiny?
What is the Meaning of Life? Who does God say is happy? What is your ultimate destiny? Do you really know? Does God actually have a plan for YOU personally? There is also a video titled What is the meaning of your life?
Living as a Christian: How and Why? In what ways do Christians live differently than others. What about praying, fasting, tithing, holy days, and the world? There is also a YouTube video related to that also called: Living as a Christian: How and Why?
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?
The Dramatic Story of Chinese Sabbathkeepers This reformatted Good News article from 1955 discusses Sabbath-keeping in China in the 1800s.
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?
Is God Unreasonable? Some have suggested that if God requires Sabbath-keeping He is unreasonable. Is that true? Here is a link to a related article in Mandarin Chinese 一个不合理的神？
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. (Here is a related link in Spanish/español: Calendario Anual de Adoración –Una crítica basada en la Biblia y en la Historia: ¿Hay un Calendario Anual de Adoración en la Biblia?
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。

1588 painting of the Council of Trent

COGwriter

In his latest newsletter (February 2019), Mike Gendron had the following:

Biblical Responses to Statements by Catholics

Statement: The Catholic Church is the only true church.

Response:  According to God’s Word, the true church submits to its one Head, the Lord Jesus Christ, and is made up of all who are born again  (1 Cor. 12:13; Col. 1:18). Its doctrine, practices and precepts were recorded in the New Testament, which is the supreme authority to the exclusion of all others. The Roman Catholic Church cannot be the true Church because none of the following Catholic traditions and rituals are found in Scripture: praying to Mary and saints, venerating Mary, submitting to a pope, infallible bishops, venial sins not causing spiritual death, praying for souls in purgatory, a sacerdotal priesthood, the propitiatory sacrifice of the Mass, baptizing infants, dispensing grace through sacraments, or successors of the apostles after Paul and Matthias.

The Catholic Church may trace its origin back to the first century, but it did not heed the prophetic warnings of Christ and the apostles. They gave stern warnings that the church would have to fight against false teachers and apostasy. Paul pleaded with the Ephesian elders to be on the alert, because “after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them” (Acts 20:29-30). He also warned that some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons (1 Tim. 4:1). The Catholic Church officially and dogmatically departed from the faith of the apostles at the 16th century Council of Trent. Therefore, it must be called an apostate church, along with the many protestant churches that have departed from the faith.

While Mike Gendron often has interesting information in his newsletter, the above contains a couple of points that are serious historical errors. So, let’s look at them in the order they were in the above article.

First, according to the Bible, the true church is made up of people who have been begotten by God and have the Spirit of Christ in them (Romans 8:9-11). The Bible, and early theological writers, taught that humans are not born again until the resurrection (for details, see Born Again: A Question of Semantics?).

Now, Mike Gendron is correct that “none of the following Catholic traditions and rituals are found in Scripture: praying to Mary and saints, venerating Mary, submitting to a pope, infallible bishops, venial sins not causing spiritual death, praying for souls in purgatory, a sacerdotal priesthood, the propitiatory sacrifice of the Mass, baptizing infants, dispensing grace through sacraments.”

The reason I did not include Mike Gendron’s comment “or successors of the apostles after Paul and Matthias” is that scripture as well as early church history indicates that people like Jesus’ brother James (Galatians 1:19) and others were considered to be apostles (some suspect that Andronicus and Junia, mentioned in Romans 16:7 were apostles). Plus there were various statements that the Apostle Paul was inspired to write (1 Corinthians 12:28; 2 Corinthians 11:13; Ephesians 4:11). Consider that there would be no reason to say that there would be false apostles, if the position was that there could not be further apostles past Paul (1 Corinthians 1:1) and Matthias (Acts 1:26).

As far as succession goes, the Bible teaches the laying on of hands, which can be perceived as a type of apostolic succession.

Another issue to bring up is that while the Church of Rome claims to trace its origins to the first century, that is more of a widely accepted claim as opposed to historical fact.

Catholic scholars (and priests) F.A. Sullivan and R. McBrien wrote:

Admittedly the Catholic position, that bishops are the successors of the apostles by divine institution, remains far from easy to establish…The first problem has to do with the notion that Christ ordained apostles as bishops…The apostles were missionaries and founders of churches; there is no evidence, nor is it at all likely, that any one of them ever took up permanent residence in a particular church as its bishop…The letter of the Romans to the Corinthians, known as I Clement, which dates to about the year 96, provides good evidence that about 30 years after the death of St. Paul the church of Corinth was being led by a group of presbyters, with no indication of a bishop with authority over the whole local church…Most scholars are of the opinion that the church of Rome would most probably have also been led at that time by a group of presbyters…There exists a broad consensus among scholars, including most Catholic ones, that such churches as Alexandria, Philippi, Corinth and Rome most probably continued to be led for some time by a college of presbyters, and that only in the second century did the threefold structure of become generally the rule, with a bishop, assisted by presbyters, presiding over each local church (Sullivan F.A. From Apostles to Bishops: the development of the episcopacy in the early church. Newman Press, Mahwah (NJ), 2001, pp. 13,14,15).

History, “the teacher of life”, teaches that there were no popes in the modern sense of the word (that is, as the sole Bishop of Rome) until the middle of the second century. Until then, the church of Rome was governed not by a single bishop but by a committee or council of elders and presbyter-bishops, perhaps with one individual acting as the body’s convener or chair. Those prominent in the Roman community may have been the ones whom the Catholic Church regards as immediate successors of Peter himself: Linus, Anacletus, Clement, Evaristus, et al. But we cannot be certain. It is significant, for example, that when St. Ignatius of Antioch (d ca. 107) addressed his famous letters to the various churches of the Mediterranean world, the letter to Rome was the only one in which the local bishop is not mentioned. Indeed, there is no evidence that Peter himself ever functioned in an episcopal role in Rome. Although traditionally regarded as the founder of the church there along with the Apostle Paul, Peter was not even present when Christianity first came to Rome in the early 40s (McBrien, Richard P. Lives of the Popes: The Pontiffs from St. Peter to Benedict XVI. Harper, San Francisco, 2005 updated ed., p. 396).

And that is certainly correct concerning Rome. There were no “bishops of Rome” in the first century and certain Roman Catholic scholars understand this (see What Do Roman Catholic Scholars Actually Teach About Early Church History?), hence the idea that there is an unbroken line of bishops in apostolic succession from Rome in the first century is false (more information can be found in the article Apostolic Succession).

The next point to mention is that while traditionally, Protestants trace themselves through the Church of Rome until the Protestant Reformation and the Council of Trent in the 16th century.

There are several problems with this.

One is, that although it was the Council of Trent that officially adopted extra books for the Old Testament (called the deuterocanonical books; see also The Old Testament Canon), the Church of Rome already had many doctrines based on traditions and non-biblical ideas well before the time the Protestants split from them.

The reality is that the Protestant faith also accepted many non-biblical traditions that the Church of Rome had.

Consider the following:

Table of Early Heretics/Heresies Denounced by Church of God  Asia Minor Leaders

Note: All of those listed as Heretics are considered heretics to this day by the Church of Rome.

Although Greco-Roman supporting leaders outside of Asia Minor/Antioch sometimes denounced these particular heretics, their churches often ended up adopting portions of their heresies. There were other heresies introduced in the 2nd to 4th centuries that were never accepted by the faithful Quartodeciman successors to the 2nd century Asia Minor leaders, as they did not teach the Jewish apocrypha, special dress for the clergy, clerical celibacy, immortal souls going to heaven, baptism by sprinkling, unclean meat consumption, military service for Christians, a mystic Eucharist, or a winter holiday somewhat coinciding with Saturnalia/Mithra ceremonies, etc. Even certain Catholic/Orthodox “saints” in the first few centuries originally condemned many of those particular doctrines. Variations of such teachings are now accepted by the Roman and Eastern Orthodox Catholics.

Historical evidence shows that leaders in Asia Minor denounced heresies generally before Rome did. And sadly, Rome adopted and/or later accepted some version of many of these denounced heresies.

Protestants also adopted many of them.

All who profess Christ should “contend earnestly for the faith once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3).

This includes not only the Roman and Eastern Orthodox Catholics, but the Protestants as well.

Some items of possibly related interest may include:

What Do Roman Catholic Scholars Actually Teach About Early Church History? Although most believe that the Roman Catholic Church history teaches an unbroken line of succession of bishops beginning with Peter, with stories about most of them, Roman Catholic scholars know the truth of this matter. Is telling the truth about the early church citing Catholic accepted sources anti-Catholic? This eye-opening article is a must-read for any who really wants to know what Roman Catholic history actually admits about the early church. There is also a YouTube sermon on the subject titled Church of God or Church of Rome: What Do Catholic Scholars Admit About Early Church History?
Nazarene Christianity: Were the Original Christians Nazarenes? Who were the Nazarene Christians? What did they believe? Should 21st century Christians be modern Nazarenes? Is there a group that exists now that traces its history through the Nazarenes and holds the same beliefs today? Here is a link to a related video sermon Nazarene Christians: Were the early Christians “Nazarenes”?
Does the Church of God need to be headquartered in Jerusalem? Some say so. But what does the Bible teach? A related short video is also available: Does the Bible endorse Jerusalem as the Church of God headquarters now?
Location of the Early Church: Another Look at Ephesus, Smyrna, and Rome What actually happened to the primitive Church? And did the Bible tell about this in advance?
Apostolic Succession What really happened? Did structure and beliefs change? Are many of the widely-held current understandings of this even possible? Did you know that Catholic scholars really do not believe that several of the claimed “apostolic sees” of the Orthodox have apostolic succession–despite the fact that the current pontiff himself seems to wish to ignore this view?  Is there actually a true church that has ties to any of the apostles that is not part of the Catholic or Orthodox churches?  Read this article if you truly are interested in the truth on this matter! Here is a link to a sermon: Claims of Apostolic Succession. Here is a related articlein the Spanish language La sucesión apostólica. ¿Ocurrió en Roma, Alejandría, Constantinopla, Antioquía, Jerusalén o Asia Menor?
Early Church History: Who Were the Two Major Groups that Professed Christ in the Second and Third Centuries? Did you know that many in the second and third centuries felt that there were two major, and separate, professing Christian groups in the second century, but that those in the majority churches tend to now blend the groups together and claim “saints” from both? “Saints” that condemn some of their current beliefs. Who are the two groups? A related sermon is also available Christianity: Two groups.
What Was the Original Apostles’ Creed? What is the Nicene Creed? Did the original apostles write a creed? When was the first creed written? Are the creeds commonly used by the Eastern Orthodox or Roman Catholics original?
Do You Practice Mithraism? Many practices and doctrines that mainstream so-called Christian groups have are the same or similar to those of the sun-god Mithras. December 25th was celebrated as his birthday. Do you follow Mithraism combined with the Bible or original Christianity? A sermon video from Vatican City is titled Church of Rome, Mithras, and Isis?
Hope of Salvation: How the Continuing Church of God differs from most Protestants How the real Church of God differs from mainstream/traditional Protestants, is perhaps the question I am asked most by those without a Church of God background. As far as some changes affecting Protestantism, watch the video Charismatic Kenneth Copeland and Anglican Tony Palmer: Protestants Beware! [Português: Esperança do salvação: Como a igreja do deus difere da maioria de protestantes]. A sermon is also available: How Does the Church of God Differ from Protestantism?
Beware: Protestants Going Towards Ecumenical Destruction! What is going on in the Protestant world? Are Protestants turning back to their ‘mother church’ in Rome? Does the Bible warn about this? What are Catholic plans and prophecies related to this? Is Protestantism doomed? See also World Council of Churches Peace Plan.
The Similarities and Dissimilarities between Martin Luther and Herbert W. Armstrong This article clearly shows some of the doctrinal differences between the two. At this time of doctrinal variety and a tendency by many to accept certain aspects of Protestantism, the article should help clarify why the genuine Church of God is NOT Protestant. Do you really know what the Protestant Reformer Martin Luther taught and should you follow his doctrinal example? Here is a related sermon video: Martin Luther and Herbert Armstrong: Reformers with Differences.
Which Is Faithful: The Roman Catholic Church or the Continuing Church of God? Do you know that both groups shared a lot of the earliest teachings? Do you know which church changed? Do you know which group is most faithful to the teachings of the apostolic church? Which group best represents true Christianity? This documented article answers those questions. [Português: Qual é fiel: A igreja católica romana ou a igreja do deus?]
Some Similarities and Differences Between the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Continuing Church of God Both groups claim to be the original church, but both groups have differing ways to claim it. Both groups have some amazing similarities and some major differences. Do you know what they are?
The Churches of Revelation 2 & 3 from 31 A.D. to present: information on all of the seven churches of Revelation 2 & 3. There is also a YouTube video: The Seven Church Eras of Revelation. There is also a version in the Spanish language: Las Siete Iglesias de Apocalipsis 2 & 3.
1. The Ephesus Church Era was predominant from 31 A.D. to circa 135 A.D. The Church of James, Peter, Paul, and John, etc. Here is a link to a related video sermon: Ephesus Church Era.
2. The Smyrna Church Era was predominant circa 135 A.D. to circa 450 A.D. The Church led by Polycarp, Melito, Polycrates, etc.Here is a link to a related video sermon: The Smyrna Church Era.
3. The Pergamos Church Era was predominant circa 450 A.D. to circa 1050 A.D. An especially persecuted Church.
4. The Thyatira Church Era was predominant circa 1050 A.D. to circa 1600 A.D. The Church during the Inquisition.
5. The Sardis Church Era was predominant circa 1600 A.D. to circa 1933 A.D. Discusses early history of the Seventh Day Baptists, Seventh-day Adventists, and COG-7th Day.
6. The Philadelphia Church Era was predominant circa 1933 A.D. to 1986 A.D. The old Radio Church of God and old Worldwide Church of God, now the remnant of that era is basically the most faithful in the Church of God, like who hold to the beliefs and practices of the Continuing Church of God.
7. The Laodicean Church Era has been predominant circa 1986 A.D. to present. The Laodiceans are non-Philadelphians who mainly descended from the old WCG or its offshoots.  They do not properly understand the work or biblical prophecies and will face the Great Tribulation if they do not repent. One video of related interest is 17 Laodicean Errors in Prophecy.
Laudato Si: Pope’s Agenda or Kingdom of God? Pope Francis’ 2nd encyclical is titled ‘Laudato Si.’ In it, he goes over his views related to environmental, economic, social, moral, agricultural, and spiritual issues. He advocates international cooperation to solve various problems he believes are affecting humanity. Is that Pope’s agenda the solution? What about the Kingdom of God? does the Bible teach? Two related articles include Laudato Si: Will Pope Francis’ economic actions match his words? and Laudato Si: A call for a one-world government?
Do You Know That Babylon is Forming? How is the final Babylon forming? Are Protestants such as Joel Osteen and Kenneth Copeland are endorsing something dangerous? Could Pope Francis be the ‘False Prophet’ that the Bible warns against? Is an antipope expected to endorse a one-world religion? Here is a link to a related written article In Vatican City: New Babylon more openly forming!
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.
Is God Calling You? This booklet discusses topics including calling, election, and selection. If God is calling you, how will you respond? Here is a link to a related sermon: Could God be Calling You?
Christian Repentance Do you know what repentance is? Is it really necessary for salvation? A related sermon is also available titled: Real Christian Repentance.

COGwriter

UK Prime Minister Theresa May says that Brexit will occur next month:

Brexit: Theresa May ‘determined’ to leave EU in March

3 February 2019

Theresa May has said she is “determined” to deliver Brexit on time, ahead of talks on the Irish backstop.

Writing in the Sunday Telegraph, the prime minister said she would return to Brussels with a “fresh mandate, new ideas and a renewed determination”.

MPs have voted to seek an “alternative arrangement” to guarantee the Northern Ireland border stays open after Brexit.

But the Irish deputy prime minister has said “there are no credible alternative arrangements” to the proposal.

The backstop forms part of the withdrawal agreement negotiated by the UK and EU and is aimed at keeping the border between Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic open after Brexit.

BBC political correspondent Chris Mason said that while Mrs May pledged to “go back to Brussels to secure a plan that Parliament can stand behind”, the EU remains publicly opposed to changing the backstop.

The UK is due to leave the EU at 23:00 GMT on Friday 29 March, when the two-year time limit on withdrawal negotiations enforced by the Article 50 process expires. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-47105990

So far, Europeans (including the Irish) are not impressed with any alternative:

3 February 2019

Germany’s Foreign Minister, Heiko Maas, said on Sunday that the idea of the UK avoiding Brexit was unlikely. …

EU won’t budge

Maas reiterated the EU’s rejection of a potential renegotiation of the withdrawal agreement, adding that the UK’s only option to avoid a “hard Brexit” was to simply accept the agreement that is on the table.

The German foreign minister also rejected British attempts at obtaining further concessions that can satisfy hardliners and critics of the deal in London.

“The agreement we negotiated with Britain is already a compromise — especially regarding the arrangements for Northern Ireland,” he said.

British Prime Minister Theresa May has expressed confidence she will win over both the European Union and her own lawmakers when she returns to Brussels to renegotiate the contentious deal to avoid a hard Irish border. https://www.dw.com/en/maas-exit-from-brexit-extremely-unlikely/a-47339398

Some in the EU have held out hope that the UK would not exit from the EU, but now more see the exit (called Brexit) likely.

I have been warning for years that Northern Ireland would be a major issue with Brexit, and it clearly is.

The border between the Republic of Ireland and the UK’s Northern Ireland has been open for some time, and the EU and UK would prefer it to remain open–but many in the UK are upset that the EU essentially thinks that Northern Ireland will have to function a lot like it is still in the EU for that border to be open.

Despite British hopes for its future, loss of territories will one day include Northern Ireland. Notice a few prophetic warnings that are consistent with that:

24 ‘Do not defile yourselves with any of these things; for by all these the nations are defiled, which I am casting out before you. 25 For the land is defiled; therefore I visit the punishment of its iniquity upon it, and the land vomits out its inhabitants. 26 You shall therefore keep My statutes and My judgments, and shall not commit any of these abominations, either any of your own nation or any stranger who dwells among you 27 (for all these abominations the men of the land have done, who were before you, and thus the land is defiled), 28 lest the land vomit you out also when you defile it, as it vomited out the nations that were before you. (Leviticus 18:24-29)

23 ‘And if by these things you are not reformed by Me, but walk contrary to Me, 24 then I also will walk contrary to you, and I will punish you yet seven times for your sins. 25 And I will bring a sword against you that will execute the vengeance of the covenant; when you are gathered together within your cities I will send pestilence among you; and you shall be delivered into the hand of the enemy. (Leviticus 26:23-25)

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)

These territorial losses will include Northern Ireland and Gibraltar, as well as England, Wales, and Scotland. Yes, one day, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland will be no more.

Even if there is a ‘hard’ (no deal with the EU) or ‘soft’ (May’s new proposal) Brexit, or even if there is no Brexit, I expect that the Republic of Ireland (or at least an Irish leader) will have control over Northern Ireland and probably other lands as well with the next decade or so.

Notice what Article 3 the Irish Constitution states:

It is the firm will of the Irish Nation, in harmony and friendship, to unite all the people who share the territory of the island of Ireland, in all the diversity of their identities and traditions, recognising that a united Ireland shall be brought about only by peaceful means with the consent of a majority of the people, democratically expressed, in both jurisdictions in the island. Until then, the laws enacted by the Parliament established by this Constitution shall have the like area and extent of application as the laws enacted by the Parliament that existed immediately before the coming into operation of this Constitution.

While the democratic way is one way, if that does not work, military pressure will accomplish this (cf. Daniel 8:24-25, 11:39).

That view of Ireland is also consistent with certain Catholic prophecies:

St. Senanus (d. 560): They (English) themselves will betray each other: in consequence their sovereignty will be broken…One monarch will rule in Ireland over the English (Culleton R. Gerald. The Reign of Antichrist, Reprint TAN Books, Rockford, IL, 1974, p. 128).

St. Malachy (12th century). “Ireland will suffer English oppression for a week of centuries, but will preserve her fidelity to God and His Church. At the end of that time she will be delivered, and the English in turn must suffer severe chastisement. Ireland, however, will be instrumental in bringing back the English to the unity of Faith.” (Dupont, Yves. Catholic Prophecy: The Coming Chastisement. TAN Books, Rockford (IL), 1973, p.15)

Priest G. Rossi (19th century): Ah! wretched Protestantism shall have to answer for the loss of faith… English schism and heresy have squandered their treasures and abused their great temporal power, not only in persecuting-the faith in Great Britain and Ireland, but also in banishing the true religion of Jesus Christ from their vast American possessions…Their long-deserved punishment, however, is approaching from the North! (Rossi, Gaudentius. The Christian Trumpet: Or, Previsions and Predictions about Impending General Calamities, the Universal Triumph of the Church, the Coming of the Anti-Christ, the Last Judgment, and the End of the World; Divided Into Three Parts, 4th edition. Patrick Donahoe, 1875. Original from Oxford University. Digitized Sep 1, 2006, pp. 16, 255).

Although I wrote what I did based upon biblical prophecies, the desires of Spain and Ireland, as well as the writings of Catholic prophets, are consistent with the view that the UK will lose Northern Ireland and Gibraltar.

With what has been going on in the UK, the EU, and the USA since the Brexit vote, more in the UK are concluding that the EU wants to be an empire. The EU has taken several stances that the UK does not like, including stances that the EU used to pretend it did not really have. Glimpses of the true colors of the European project (e.g. Daniel 2:41-43; Isaiah 10:5-8) have re-assured some in the UK that leaving the EU is in its best interest.

Consider that the Bible itself teaches that Europe will reorganize and unite (Revelation 17:12-13; see also Must the Ten Kings of Revelation 17:12 Rule over Ten Currently Existing Nations?), as well as become the dominant world trading power for a time (Revelation 17 & 18). The Bible also teaches of a time of Jacob’s trouble (Jeremiah 30:7)–and this will include the UK (as well as the USA, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand).

The Bible is accurate and its prophecies can be counted on.

Most people do NOT realize what will happen in Europe.

Europe is not going to ‘get over’ the Brexit and will one day take actions that most of those in the UK (as well as USA and Canada) will not consider possible (cf. Daniel 8:24-25, 11:39; see also USA in Prophecy: The Strongest Fortresses).

Now, there is something else going on in the UK regarding Brexit, and that is something called a ‘Brexit box’ or at least stocking up on food and other supplies. Notice some items related to that:

Worried about Brexit, Brits stockpile food, supplies

3 February 2019

Nick Thomas, a 25-year-old hazardous waste operator from Cornwall, is insistent that Brexit will be fine. Probably. “If ‘no deal’ goes badly, there’ll be rioting on the streets and looting, national uproar. If people can’t eat, they’ll rise up and fight. But I can’t see it happening — that’s a very worst case scenario,” he said.

Thomas, who voted to leave the EU because of the adverse effects of the common fisheries policy on his local area, is not ruling out the possibility of things going awry. He has stocked up with a substantial amount of dried goods – rice and pasta, primarily — as well as tinned beans and vegetables. “The main thing is the food supply chain,” he said. “A couple of friends of mine have done the same as me and bought some big bags of rice and pasta, some long-life tins of food. But we’re all of the same opinion that there’s nothing really to worry about.” …

He is not alone. A Facebook group, 48% Preppers, has almost 8,000 members, while other similar groups also have memberships in the thousands. As the withdrawal agreement flounders in the UK parliament, concerns about Britain leaving with no deal on March 29 are growing. A sudden disruption to long established customs agreements could mean gridlock at ports, lorries stuck on highways or ferries with goods spoiling, and shortages of food and medicines in Britain’s supermarkets and pharmacies.

The Department of Health has signed two contracts for warehouse space to store drugs in case of a no-deal Brexit, and are seeking another warehouse for storage. Supermarkets — including Tesco and Marks and Spencer — are stockpiling tinned food, and the government has warned that fresh food could be in short supply. https://www.dw.com/en/worried-about-brexit-brits-stockpile-food-supplies/a-47321264

Some in U.K. turn to ‘Brexit Boxes’ as threat of chaotic exit from the E.U. looms

Some fear that if Britain leaves the E.U. without a deal in place there could be chaos at the border, leading to possible shortages of food and medicine.

LONDON — There’s the despatch box in Westminster’s Houses of Parliament from which Prime Minister Theresa May sets out her government’s policy and the ballot box through which Britons voted on June 23, 2016 to leave the European Union. Now, some in the U.K. are turning to so-called “Brexit Boxes.”

With the deadline to leave the European Union rapidly approaching, the prospect of crashing out without a deal has some Britons taking an approach akin to preparing for a natural disaster.

From the outside, it looks like any other white cardboard box.

It’s inside the box that things start to get interesting: there’s fire starter gel, a water filter, and a whole month’s worth of freeze dried meals — in flavors like chicken tikka and mac & cheese.

It’s basically everything you would need to survive the apocalypse. Or — maybe — a hard Brexit. 02/02/19 https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/some-u-k-turn-brexit-boxes-threat-chaotic-exit-e-n966166

The idea of having several days or even several weeks of food and other supplies is not unique for those worried about Brexit. There may or may not be significant issues that will arise in the short-term regarding supplies if there is a ‘hard Brexit’ (as mentioned earlier in this post there WILL BE significant long-term consequences for the UK, including Northern Ireland).

Living in California, we are often encouraged by various governmental agencies to have at least three days of food and water in case of emergencies like earthquakes.

So, irrespective of Brexit matters, having supplies (and they do not need to be ‘Brexit boxes’) makes sense.

That being said, Brexit will have many consequences for the UK and will ultimately affect the world in many ways that its backers and opponents have not considered.

Some items of possibly related interest may include:

Brexit and the fate of Northern Ireland, Gibraltar, the UK, and the USA On April 29, 2017, 27 of the nations of the European Union agreed to certain guidelines for the negotiations with the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland which gave its notice to leave on March 29, 2017. These guidelines are contrary to what the UK wants. Does the EU intend the UK to pay a price for leaving the EU? What does Spain want? What does the Republic of Ireland want? Will Northern Ireland and Gibraltar eventually fall under European control? Will the UK and USA be conquered? What does the Bible teach? Dr. Thiel answer these questions and more in this video.
Physical Preparation Scriptures for Christians. We all know the Bible prophecies famines. Should we do something? Here is a version in the Spanish language Escrituras sobre Preparación física para los Cristianos. Here is a link to a related sermon: Physical preparedness for Christians.
Forbes’ Brexit Monster is the Beast of Revelation Various ones have been properly convinced that there is a plan for a European superstate. Forbes’ writer Tom Worstall wrote that the Brexit vote was about the United Kingdom “not joining the monster of the European Union to come.” The Bible tells of a Beast monster that will arise in the end times in Europe. Dr. Thiel cites news reports, as well as the Old and New Testaments, to show that the monster many fear will arise in Europe, despite the vote by the British to exit the European Union. This is a video.
Will the UK Lose Gibraltar and the Falkland Islands? For many years, the major sea gates of the world were possessed/controlled by the United States (Panama Canal and certain locations in the Pacific ocean) and the British Empire (Straits of Malacca, Singapore, Suez Canal, Bab el Mandeb, Strait of Hormuz, Simon’s Town/Cape of Good Hope, Malta, etc.), and many are no longer under their control. Spain wants Gibraltar and Argentina wants the Falklands (also known as the Malvinas). UK Prime Minister David Cameron says the UK will defend the Falklands Gibraltar. Does the Bible give clues as to what will happen with those ‘sea gates’? Do promises made the Jacob’s mother Rebekah play a role? What about Deuteronomy 28? This is a video.
Post Brexit Prophecy On June 23, 2016, the voters of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (UK) chose to leave the European Union. Now with this BRitish EXIT (Brexit) vote, what is prophesied to happen to the UK? Will the UK do well or be taken over and made slaves? Dr. Thiel explains from biblical prophecies what is ahead for the UK, Europe, and even the USA, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. This is a video.
Will the UK Lose Gibraltar and the Falkland Islands? Spain wants Gibraltar and Argentina wants the Falklands (also known as the Malvinas). Does the Bible give clues as to what will happen with these ‘sea gates’? A version of the article in the Spanish language would be ¿Perderá el Reino Unido a Gibraltar y las Islas Falkland (Malvinas)?
British – 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-Celtic Nations be Divided and Have People Taken as Slaves? Will the lands of the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand be divided? What about Jerusalem? What does Bible prophecy teach? Are there non-biblical prophecies that support this idea? Who will divide those lands? Who will end up with the lands and the people? Here is a link to a video titled Will the USA and other Anglo-nations be Divided and Their People Made Slaves? Here is a related item in the Spanish language ¿Serán divididas las naciones anglosajonas?
British are the Covenant People What do ‘British’ and ‘Britain’ mean in Hebrew? Are the descendants of the Anglo-Saxons people of the covenant? Does the British royal family connect to the throne of David? What does the Bible teach? What does history show us? Is there any DNA evidence related to British-Israelism? When did Christianity make it to the British Isles? Could Jeremiah have made it to the British Isles? What type of Christians made it to the British Isles? Did the last King of England believe in British Israelism?
Catholic Prophecies: Do They Mirror, Highlight, or Contradict Biblical Prophecies? People of all faiths may be surprised to see what various Roman and Orthodox Catholic prophets have been predicting as many of their predictions will be looked to in the 21st century.
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?
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.
Must the Ten Kings of Revelation 17:12 Rule over Ten Currently Existing Nations? Some claim that these passages refer to a gathering of 10 currently existing nations together, while one group teaches that this is referring to 11 nations getting together. Is that what Revelation 17:12-13 refers to? The ramifications of misunderstanding this are enormous. A related sermon is titled Ten Kings of Revelation and the Great Tribulation.
Europa, the Beast, and Revelation Where did Europe get its name? What might Europe have to do with the Book of Revelation? What about “the Beast”? Is an emerging European power “the daughter of Babylon”? What is ahead for Europe? Here is a link to a video titled: Can You Prove that the Beast to Come is European?