Church of God News

Haaretz: Hamas’ campaign of rape against Israeli women is revealed, testimony after testimony https://t.co/NaZ1RHq3GD

— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) December 2, 2023

COGwriter

Over 6,400 are now reportedly dead from the war that Hamas initiated:

Sheryl Sandberg takes a stand against rape in the Israel-Hamas war

December 6, 2023

Sandberg’s new call. On Monday afternoon, former Meta COO Sheryl Sandberg joined a group of activists at the UN calling for a wider global response to sexual violence committed against Israeli women by Hamas during the Oct. 7 attacks.

Sandberg first spoke out on this issue via a CNN op-ed published in late November. The founder of LeanIn.org, Sandberg often weighs in on women’s workplace issues and sometimes on related matters of sexism and gender bias. But wading into the Israel-Hamas war, via this particular topic of sexual violence, is perhaps her boldest stance yet. “For over a decade, I’ve been urging women to lean in,” Sandberg said in her speech at the UN. “Now I call on everyone to speak out.” https://fortune.com/2023/12/06/sheryl-sandberg-rape-israel-hamas-war/

‘Widespread’ Sexual, Gender-Based Crimes Committed During Hamas Attack, Israeli Officials Say

December 5, 2023

JERUSALEM — A man hiding in a pit during the Oct. 7 Hamas assault on an outdoor music festival in Israel said he heard someone nearby screaming she was being raped. Elsewhere in the area, a combat paramedic saw the body of a young woman with her legs open, her pants pulled down, and what looked like semen on her lower back. An army reservist who was tasked with identifying those killed by the militants said some of the women were found wearing only bloodied underwear.

Such accounts given to The Associated Press, along with first assessments by an Israeli rights group, show that sexual assault was part of an atrocities-filled rampage by Hamas and other Gaza militants who killed about 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and took more than 240 hostages that day.

While investigators are still trying to determine the scope of the sexual assaults, Israel’s government is accusing the international community, particularly the United Nations, of ignoring the pain of Israeli victims.

“I say to the women’s rights organizations, to the human rights organizations, you’ve heard of the rape of Israeli women, horrible atrocities … where the hell are you?” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told a news conference Tuesday, switching to English to emphasize the point.

U.S. President Joe Biden called the reports “appalling” and urged the world to condemn “horrific accounts of unimaginable cruelty.”

Two months after the Hamas attacks on the music festival, farming communities and army posts in southern Israel, police are still struggling to put together the pieces.

In the immediate aftermath of the attacks, priority was given to identifying bodies, not to preserving evidence. Police say they’re combing through 60,000 videos seized from the body cameras of Hamas attackers, from social media and from security cameras as well as 1,000 testimonies to bring the perpetrators to justice. It has been difficult finding rape survivors, with many victims killed by their attackers.

The group Physicians for Human Rights in Israel, which has a record of advocating for Palestinian civilians in Gaza suffering under Israel’s longtime blockade of the territory, published an initial assessment in November.

“What we know for sure is that it was more than just one case and it was widespread, in that this happened in more than one location and more than a handful of times,” Hadas Ziv, policy and ethics director for the organization, said Tuesday. “What we don’t know and what the police are investigating is whether it was ordered to be done and whether it was systematic.”

Hamas has rejected allegations that its gunmen committed sexual assault.

Screaming for help

Ron Freger fled the music festival when Hamas attacked and said he heard a woman screaming for help. “I was lying in a pit (and) I heard (a girl) yelling: ‘They’re raping me, they’re raping me!'” he told the AP.

Several minutes later, he heard gunshots close by and she fell silent, he said.

“The feeling in that moment is one of complete powerlessness. I’m lying in this hole and I have no ability to do anything. I have no weapon, I have nothing, I’m surrounded by other people who are hiding with me and we’re completely powerless,” said the 23-year-old from the northern Israeli town of Netanya.

Last month, Israel’s police chief presented to the international news media videotaped testimony of a rape witness at the music festival. Her face blurred, she said she watched militants gang-rape a woman.

“I couldn’t understand what I saw,” she said.

A combat medic told the AP that he came across half a dozen bodies of women and men with possible signs of sexual assault when he reached one of the attacked communities.

At the Shura military base where victims are being identified, Shari Mendes, a member of the army reserve unit that deals with the identification and religious burial preparation of female soldiers, said some of the women’s bodies came in with little clothing, such as parts of their pajamas. Some only had bloodied underwear.

‘Widespread’ crimes

Based on open-source information and interviews, the Physicians for Human Rights in Israel report documents incidents at the music festival, homes around the Gaza Strip and an Israeli military base, all attacked by Hamas.

“It is becoming more apparent that the violence perpetrated against women, men and children also included widespread sexual and gender-based crimes,” it says.

Before this war, Hamas, an Islamic militant group sworn to Israel’s destruction, wasn’t known to use rape as a weapon, said Colin P. Clarke, director of research at The Soufan Group, a global intelligence and security consulting firm. Its tactics included suicide bombings and shooting attacks on Israeli soldiers and civilians. https://www.voanews.com/a/widespread-sexual-gender-based-crimes-committed-during-hamas-attack-israeli-officials-say/7386217.html

Rape has long been a terrifying aspect of war that brutal haters have used.

A group that is supposed to have religious morals like Hamas never should have planned or condoned its use.

As far as shifts in morality goes, the Apostle Paul wrote:

1 But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: 2 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, 4 traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away! 6 For of this sort are those who creep into households and make captives of gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts, 7 always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. (2 Timothy 3:1-7)

Terrorists and actions of Hamas this Fall have been consistent with being “without self-control, brutal, despisers of good.” It is evil to harm people with rape and to violate God’s loving commandments.

Now, consider that Jesus taught:

9 In this manner, therefore, pray:

Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
10 Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.  (Matthew 6:9-10)

36 Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man. (Luke 21:36)

Yes, pray for God’s kingdom to come. Support the work of making that happen!

Furthermore, to be counted worthy, you need to not just keep the commandments and believe in Jesus–but be part of the most faithful remnant of the true church (cf. Revelation 12:14-17).

We in the Continuing Church of God look forward to the return of Jesus, the establishment of the millennial Kingdom of God, and the end of atrocities like rape.

We pray for God’s kingdom to come and are working on assisting with the preparation for that.

Some items of related interest may include the following:

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. It is available in over 1000 languages at ccog.org. Here are links to four kingdom-related sermons:  The Fantastic Gospel of the Kingdom of God!, The World’s False Gospel, The Gospel of the Kingdom: From the New and Old Testaments, and The Kingdom of God is the Solution.
The Ten Commandments Reflect Love, Breaking them is Evil Some feel that the ten commandments are a burden. Is that what Jesus, Paul, Peter, James, and John taught? For a more detailed discussion of the first four commandments, please see the video The Ten Commandments: Loving God–and here is a link to a related article in Spanish: Los primeros cuatro mandamientos: Amar a Dios. For a more detailed discussion of the last six commandments, please see: The Ten Commandments: Loving Your Neighbor. Here is a link to a related article in Mandarin Chinese SAga‹ëT}f>y:r1ÿÝSÍ‹ëT}v„\1f/ª`vv„
Did The Early Church Teach Millenarianism? Was the millennium (sometimes called chiliasm) taught by early Christians? Who condemned it? Will Jesus literally reign for 1000 years on the earth? Is this time near? Three related sermons are available Let’s Talk About the Earthly Millennium, Millennial Utopia, and The Millennium.
Could 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? 2031 or 2025 or? There is also a video titled: When Does the 6000 Years End? 2031? 2035? Here is a link to the article in Spanish: ¿Tiene Dios un plan de 6,000 años?
Preparing for the ‘Short Work’ and The Famine of the Word What is the ‘short work’ of Romans 9:28? Who is preparing for it? Will Philadelphian Christians instruct many in the end times? Here is a link to a related video sermon titled: The Short Work. Here is a link to another: Preparing to Instruct Many.

Russian Iconic Portrayal of Nicholas of Myra

COGwriter

December 6 is the Greco-Roman Feast for Nicholas.

Greg Williams, president of Grace Communion International (the group that was part of the changed Worldwide Church of God) had the following in its December 2021 newsletter:

Believe it or not, even Santa can be saved! Far from being a dangerous fairy tale, Santa Claus in reality is an Anglicized form of the Dutch name Sinter Klaas, which in turn is a reference to Saint Nicholas, a Christian bishop from the fourth century. According to tradition, Saint Nick not only lavished gifts on needy children, but also  valiantly supported the doctrine of the Trinity at the Council of Nicea in AD 325. While the word Trinity­­–like incarnation–is not found in Scripture, it aptly codifies what God has condescended to reveal to us about His nature and being.

Santa Claus – St Nicholas – was a good Christian man who served others and believed in the Father, Son and Spirit.

No, Nicholas was NOT a good Christian man nor a saint. Furthermore, not only is trinity not mentioned in the Bible, it was not believed nor taught by early Christians.

Additionally, it is wrong to tell children lies about Santa Claus. Nicholas is dead. He does NOT know who is naughty or nice. He does not have a sleigh with reindeer. He does not come down chimneys to give presents, etc.

Now who was the real Roman Catholic and Orthodox and GCI saint called Nicholas?

Here are some answers from a Catholic monsignor priest:

The Real St. Nicholas – Not Fat and Not Very Jolly Either.

(Dec 6) is the Feast of St. Nicholas. The real St. Nicholas was nothing close to the St. Nick (Santa Claus) of the modern age. He was a thin curmudgeonly man with a zeal for the Lord that caused flairs of anger. Compromise was unknown to him. The slow transformation of him into “Jolly ole’ Saint Nicholas is a remarkable recasting of him centuries in the making…

Enjoy this excerpt on the real St. Nicholas of Myra (aka Santa):

He approaches Arius, fist raised menacingly. There are gasps. Would he dare? He would. Fist strikes face. Arius goes down. He will have a shiner. Nick, meanwhile, is set upon by holy men. His robes are torn off. He is thrown into a dungeon…

Saint Nicholas. Paintings show a thin man. He was spare of frame, flinty of eye, pugnacious of spirit. In the Middle Ages, he was known as a brawling saint. He had no particular sense of humor that we know of. He could be vengeful, wrathful, an embittered ex- con….No doubt, Saint Nick was a good man. A noble man. But a hard man.

Nicholas was born in Patara, a small town on the Mediterranean coast, 280 years after the birth of Christ. He became bishop of a small town in Asia Minor called Myra. Beyond that, details of his life are more legend than fact….He became a priest at 19, and bishop in his twenties…Nicholas of Myra might not seem like the kind of person who relates to kids, and few acts attributed to him involve children.

St. Nicholas of Myra morphed into Santa Claus. (Pope C, Msgr. The Real St. Nicholas – Not Fat and Not Very Jolly Either. http://blog.adw.org/2012/12/the-real-st-nicholas-not-fat-and-not-very-jolly-either/ viewed 12/6/12)

So, Nicholas was a violent and hard man according to a senior Roman Catholic priest. Nor, biblically, was he a saint (cf. Acts 5:32).

Here are two more articles about him, with a Germanic focus:

Though they have similar outfits, Nikolaus is not to be confused with Santa Claus, who Germans call the Weihnachtsmann, or Father Christmas…

Each year on December 6, Germans remember the death of Nicholas of Myra (now the Anatolia region of modern Turkey), who died on that day in 346. He was a Greek Christian bishop known for miracles and giving gifts secretly, and is now the patron saint of little children, sailors, merchants and students. Known as Nicholas the Wonderworker for his miracles, he is also identified with Santa Claus. Beliefs and traditions about Nikolaus were probably combined with German mythology, particularly regarding stories about the bearded pagan god Odin, who also had a beard and a bag to capture naughty children http://www.thelocal.de/society/20121206-15915.html

Children were often quite frightened of being questioned about their behaviour because they’ve been told that St. Nicholas will hurt them with his rod or even put them in a sack and take them away. http://www.thelocal.de/society/20111206-15915.html

Notice the following from the St. Nicholas Center:

In 325 Emperor Constantine called the Council of Nicaea, which was the first ecumenical council ever held. More than 300 bishops from all over the Christian world came to debate the nature of the Holy Trinity, one of the early church’s most intense theological questions. Arias, from Egypt, taught that the Son Jesus was not equal to God the Father. This was the Arian controversy which shook Christianity’s very foundations. According to one account, when confronted by the unyielding Arias, Nicholas slapped him in the face. For such a breach of decorum, Nicholas was brought before Constantine, who stripped him of his office and had him thrown into prison. During the night, Jesus with his Mother Mary appeared to Nicholas: Jesus bringing the book of the Gospels, and Mary, the bishop’s stole which had been taken from him. In this way Nicholas was reinstated. (Bishop of Myra. St. Nicholas Center. http://www.stnicholascenter.org/pages/bishop-of-myra/ viewed 12/05/14)

While Jesus is God, since Jesus said “My Father is greater than I” (John 14:28), this should help prove that Nicholas was wrong to punch somebody who claimed to believe something like that–plus Christians are not to be violent (Luke 3:14; see also Military Service and the Churches of God: Do Real Christians Participate in Carnal Warfare or Encourage Violence? ). Hence this helps demonstrate that Jesus’ mother Mary truly DID NOT appear to him, to get him acquitted of this. Mary, the mother of Jesus, did not appear to Nicholas (see also Mary, the Mother of Jesus and the Apparitions).

Perhaps I should mention that once, when my wife and I were in Serbia, we were told that Nicholas is the most popular ‘saint’ in that Eastern Orthodox-dominated land.

Here is some of what the Eastern Orthodox have strangely claimed about him:

As a faithful bishop/shepherd, St. Nicholas was revered as a saint even before his death because of his great holiness and tender care of his flock. After the Blessed Mother and St. John the Forerunner (Baptist), Nicholas was the most revered saint in the early church. He is most honored in the East, especially in Russia. Throughout the world many churches are named for him—more than for any other saint. His ministry continues to this day as a powerful intercessor for the protection and advancement of the Church. (Orthodox America and St. Therese Byzantine Catholic Church, St. Petersburg, Florida. http://www.stnicholascenter.org/pages/wonderworker/)

Of course, according to the Holy Bible, the only intercessor listed in the Bible is Christ (Romans 8:34; Hebrews 7:25)–and Jesus is specifically called the “one mediator” (1 Timothy 2:5, Douay-Rheims). Nicholas is not one who should be revered and he is NOT our intercessor.

Christmas itself is not a biblical holiday, but a compromise with pagan festive and religious practices. It was not observed by early Christians, and even the Church of Rome did not observe it on December 25th until some time in the fourth century. And the English word for “Christmas” did not even enter the literature before 1038 A.D. It was not an original day observed by early Christians.

Some items of possibly related interest may include:

What Does the Roman Catholic Church Teach About Christmas and the Holy Days? Do you know what the Catholic Church says were the original Christian holy days? Was Christmas among them? Is December 25th Jesus’ birthday or that of the sun god? Here is a link to a related sermon: What do Catholic and other scholars teach about Christmas?
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?
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.
Holy Day Calendar This is a listing of the biblical holy days through 2033, 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: OUeåf/y^v„W#eåÿ Ù‘Ìf/NNýy^v„W#eåeåS†NÎ2013^tó2024^t0.
Beliefs of the Original Catholic Church: Could a remnant group have continuing apostolic succession? Did the original “catholic church” have doctrines held by the Continuing Church of God? Did Church of God leaders uses the term “catholic church” to ever describe the church they were part of? Here are links to related sermons: Original Catholic Church of God?, Original Catholic Doctrine: Creed, Liturgy, Baptism, Passover, What Type of Catholic was Polycarp of Smyrna?, Tradition, Holy Days, Salvation, Dress, & Celibacy, Early Heresies and Heretics, Doctrines: 3 Days, Abortion, Ecumenism, Meats, Tithes, Crosses, Destiny, and more, Saturday or Sunday?, The Godhead, Apostolic Laying on of Hands Succession, Church in the Wilderness Apostolic Succession List, Holy Mother Church and Heresies, and Lying Wonders and Original Beliefs. Here is a link to that book in the Spanish language: Creencias de la iglesia Católica original.
Did the True Church Ever Teach a Trinity? Most act like this is so, but is it? Here is an old, by somewhat related, article in the Spanish language LA DOCTRINA DE LA TRINIDAD. A related sermon is available: Trinity: Fundamental to Christianity or Something Else? A brief video is also available: Three trinitarian scriptures?
Was Unitarianism the Teaching of the Bible or Early Church? Many, including Jehovah’s Witnesses, claim it was, but was it? Here is a link to a related sermon: Unitarianism? How is God One?
Mary, the Mother of Jesus and the Apparitions Do you know much about Mary? Are the apparitions real? What happened at Fatima? What might they mean for the rise of the ecumenical religion of Antichrist? Are Protestants moving towards Mary? How do the Eastern/Greek Orthodox view Mary? How might Mary view her adorers? Here is a link to a YouTube video Marian Apparitions May Fulfill Prophecy. Here is a link to a sermon video: Why Learn About Fatima?
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.
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.
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.

COGWriter

A reader sent me a link to the following:

A second Trump term ‘poses a threat to the existence of America as we know it,’ says The Atlantic’s top editor

December 5, 2023

Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, refuses to go gently into that good night.

“We can’t participate in the normalization of Donald Trump,” an impassioned Goldberg told me by phone on Monday. “I refuse to participate in the normalization of Donald Trump.”

Goldberg is one of the few major newsroom leaders who has been exceptionally clear-eyed about the perilous storm on the horizon for American democracy. Using plain language, Goldberg and his team of writers at the renowned magazine have not shied away from portraying Trump as a vandal of civilized society and an outright menace to the U.S. Constitution. https://www.cnn.com/2023/12/05/media/second-trump-term-threat-atlantic-editor/index.html

Let me add that the America I knew when growing up no longer exists.

Anyway, here is something from Donald Trump related to Joe Biden:

Former President Trump claimed President Biden poses a grave risk to democracy, returning the criticism most often associated with the prospects of his own return to the White House in 2024.

“He’s been weaponizing government against his political opponents like a Third World political tyrant,” Trump said of Biden at a campaign event Saturday in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. “Biden and his radical left allies like to pose as standing up as allies of democracy.” 12/03 23 https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/4340083-trump-claims-biden-is-bigger-threat-to-democracy/

Both Donald Trump and Joe Biden are evil (for biblical reasons, watch also the video Biden, Trump, and the Bible).

Both have hastened the downfall of the USA.

Many in the USA are concerned about the 2024 election, which, unless one of them dies or drops out, is expected to be a choice between these two.

The Bible teaches:

2 You shall not follow a crowd to do evil; (Exodus 23:2)

No matter which you may or may not prefer, the lessor of two evils is still evil.

USA Today reported the following:

Could 2024 election cause society to collapse? Some preppers think so — and they’re ready.

December 4, 2023

Brekke Wagoner looks out the windows of her home in North Carolina and sees disaster coming.

Not immediately, but someday,.. she worries that an incompetent federal government … She’s one of a growing number of people on both sides of the political divide who are preparing for the possibility of a disastrous collapse of society after the 2024 election.

Wagoner, 39, represents a relatively small but growing segment of Americans who consider themselves “preppers” ‒ people prepared to survive without government assistance during disasters. Those disasters could encompass anything from a major storm to widespread looting sparked by election anger. …

More Americans preparing for disaster ahead of election

In the past 12 months, 39% of millennials and 40% of Gen Zers reported having spent money on prepping, according to Finder.com, which has collected similar data since at least 2017. Overall, almost 30% of Americans surveyed reported taking some steps toward emergency preparedness last year, up from about 25% in 2017, according to the annual Finder survey. …

Chad Huddleston of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, a professor and anthropologist who has studied the prepping community extensively … said it’s important to distinguish between the large numbers of people who consider being prepared for emergencies their civic and family responsibility and those who are, sometimes eagerly, awaiting societal collapse. But he said the number of people deliberately preparing for a crisis tied to a Trump-Biden election is growing. …

Drew Mille … He’s prepared for a full societal collapse caused by war, a nuclear explosion or rampaging mobs angry at election results. …

Overall, prepping appears to reflect the deep uncertainty many Americans feel: A recent USA TODAY/Suffolk University Poll found that 67% of Americans think the country is facing either bigger problems than usual or is in the most troubled state they’ve ever seen. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2023/12/04/doomsday-preppers-and-election-2024-fears/71695426007/

Yes, there is an increase in preppers these days.

The Hamas-Israel war also has been a recent factor.

Related to that and other conflicts, we uploaded the following prepper-related video on our Bible News Prophecy YouTube channel:

15:10

How to Prep for War

With the turmoil in the Middle East between Hamas, Israel, and others, some are concerned about the outbreak of World War Three. Daisy Luther, the webmaster of the ‘Organic Prepper’ site, posted an article on October 27, 2023 titled ‘How I’m Prepping for War’ where she explains reasons people would want to prepare by storing food, medicines, and gold before WWIII can break out, based upon what happened in WWII as well as current official US government policy. The ‘Wall Street Journal’ reported that there has been a substantial increase in “doomsday preppers” in the USA since 2020. Are the weapons of Christian warfare carnal or spiritual? Should Christians stockpile anything or just rely on the Lord? What did Jesus say the focus for Christians should be? Will preppers who head to the mountains be safe according to the Bible? What about the “seven last plagues” of Revelation 16? Will most Christians not be protected during the coming Great Tribulation? Who is the group of Christians that Jesus promised to protect from the coming “hour of trial’? Is putting confidence in God and striving to live as a Philadelphian Christian the only real prepping solution? Dr. Thiel and Steve Dupuie address these matters.

Here is a link to the sermonette video: How to Prep for War.

Let me add that the USA, for one example, will end up much worse than even most preppers think.

Is hording food, gold, and medicines the answer to prep for war of the Great Tribulation?

No.

Jesus warned:

19 Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Matthew 6:19-21)

Notice the following from the Apostle Paul:

4 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds (2 Corinthians 10:4)

11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; 18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints — (Ephesians 6:11-18)

Now, that does NOT mean that stocking up on necessities and having food and money for emergencies is not a good idea.

The Bible also teaches:

6 Go to the ant, you sluggard! Consider her ways and be wise, 7 Which, having no captain, Overseer or ruler, 8 Provides her supplies in the summer, And gathers her food in the harvest. (Proverbs 6:6-8)

22 A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children (Proverbs 13:22a).

3 A prudent man forsees evil and hides himself, But the simple pass on and are punished (Proverbs 22:3).

The old Radio and Worldwide Church of God also taught:

Understand thoroughly, brethren, before we go into the technical and physical details that NO MANNER OR AMOUNT OF FOOD STORAGE CAN SAVE YOU! Only God can!

If you get to looking to the physical, dedicating all your time, efforts and energies to food storage to save your physical life — then you will be the greatest loser of all time! Read Luke 9:24-25 — “For whosoever will save his life [seek to selfishly maintain his physical life at all costs] shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it. For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away?”

Avoid the extremes!

Don’t be super and pseudo-spiritual and declare that you are going to trust the Lord and not do anything for yourself. Remember God’s admonition given through Solomon, “Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise: Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, Provideth her meat in the summer [the time of plenty] and gathereth her food in the harvest.” (Proverbs 6:6-8.) We have been warned ahead of time and should do everything within our power to prepare, ALL THE TIME KNOWING ONLY GOD CAN SAVE US THROUGH THESE END-TIME CATASTROPHES!

And DON’T become a food fanatic! Don’t look to the physical. Pray for Godly BALANCE. In fact it would be a good idea for you to do JUST THAT RIGHT NOW! (Schurter D. Prepare for Famine! Good News, April-May 1966)

Of course, since gold is regarded as a disaster hedge by many investors, prudence might dictate that perhaps a small fraction of your liquid assets be in gold: (Caulkins J. WHEN MONEY FAILS. Good News, WCG, October-November 1979)

As the article implies, the Bible is warning that we can have the wrong focus and that if our priorities are too much on the physical that we can lose it all.

Sometime back, the Continuing Church of God put out the following sermon from its ContinuingCOG channel:

As Christians, “we walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7).

Most preppers are overly focused on the physical and not the spiritual–ancient Israel made the same mistakes (cf. 1 Samuel 12:12). And that is even true for MOST end time Christians.

The Bible shows that some few will escape the captivity that will impact the Anglo-American peoples and will go to the mountains:

16 ‘Those who survive will escape and be on the mountains
Like doves of the valleys,
All of them mourning,
Each for his iniquity.
17 Every hand will be feeble,
And every knee will be as weak as water. (Ezekiel 7:16-17)

Yet, notice also something from the prophets Amos and Jeremiah:

9 ‘Assemble on the mountains of Samaria; See great tumults in her midst, And the oppressed within her. 10 For they do not know to do right, ‘Says the Lord, ‘Who store up violence and robbery in their palaces.’” 11 Therefore thus says the Lord God: “An adversary shall be all around the land; He shall sap your strength from you, And your palaces shall be plundered.” 12 Thus says the Lord: “As a shepherd takes from the mouth of a lion Two legs or a piece of an ear, So shall the children of Israel be taken out Who dwell in Samaria — In the corner of a bed and on the edge of a couch! 13 Hear and testify against the house of Jacob,”Says the Lord God, the God of hosts, 14 ‘That in the day I punish Israel for their transgressions, I will also visit destruction on the altars of Bethel; And the horns of the altar shall be cut off And fall to the ground. (Amos 3:9-14)

19 They pursued us on the mountains And lay in wait for us in the wilderness (Lamentations 4:19).

The above indicates that some will be hiding in the mountains, and other places in the USA, while others are will be taken out of the USA (which is the prophetic Samaria–see Spiritual Samaritans: Old and New). Most of the Anglos that are not killed will be made slaves. Hiding in the mountains may protect a few for a time, but it will be relatively few that survive that way for long.

They will be pursued.

But didn’t Jesus teach to flee to the mountains?

Well, yes for the mountains of Judea:

15 “Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place” (whoever reads, let him understand), 16 “then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. (Matthew 24:15-16)

But He also did not say one should plan to stay in them. Consider that Jesus then added:

17 Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house. 18 And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes. 19 But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! (Matthew 24:17-19)

Now this does not mean that Jesus expected one to go to a stocked bunker. Only that those in Judea who have not fled before they see the abomination will not have time to do anything then except flee. In time, any who are Philadelphian Christians will go elsewhere (see also There is a Place of Safety for the Philadelphians. Why it May Be Near Petra).

Notice something else that Jesus taught:

36 Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man. (Luke 21:36)

7 “And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write,

‘These things says He who is holy, He who is true, “He who has the key of David, He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens”: 8 “I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it; for you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name. 9 Indeed I will make those of the synagogue of Satan, who say they are Jews and are not, but lie — indeed I will make them come and worship before your feet, and to know that I have loved you. 10 Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth. 11 Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown. 12 He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more. I will write on him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God. And I will write on him My new name.

“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”‘ (Revelation 3:7-13)

Jesus tells His followers to watch, pray, and change enough to be accounted worthy to escape these things. Physical protection from the coming hour of trial is possible to those who will properly heed the word of God (cf. Zephaniah 2:1-3). Jesus clarifies in Revelation 3 that He is specifically referring to providing protection to the Philadelphian Christians.

Furthermore the Bible is clear that NOT ALL CHRISTIANS are promised this protection:

14 But the woman was given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness to her place, where she is nourished for a time and times and half a time, from the presence of the serpent. 15 So the serpent spewed water out of his mouth like a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away by the flood. 16 But the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed up the flood which the dragon had spewed out of his mouth. 17 And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. (Revelation 12:14-17)

Two types of Christians are discussed above. A group that flees to a place and the rest that do not do so. Notice also what will happen to many Christians in the end times:

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. … 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. (Revelation 13:1,5-7)

If you are alive during this time and you do not want to be overcome by the coming Beast, YOU MUST live as a Philadelphian Christian–do not deceive yourself otherwise.

Jesus gave the following warning to most end time Christians:

15 I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. 16 So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. 17 Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’ — and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked — 18 I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see. 19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent. (Revelation 3:15-19)

While there is value in doing some physical prepping, proper spiritual prepping–which MOST END TIME CHRISTIANS WILL NOT DO–is so much more important.

For more on who will be protected and where they will be protected, please check out the article There is a Place of Safety for the Philadelphians. Why it May Be Petra.

Put your confidence in God, not bunkers.

Some items of possibly related interest may include:

There is a Place of Safety for the Philadelphians. Why it May Be Petra This article discusses a biblical ‘place of safety’ and includes quotes from the Bible and Herbert W. Armstrong on this subject–thus, there is a biblically supported alternative to the rapture theory. There is also a video on the subject: Might Petra be the Place of Safety? Here is something related in the Spanish language: Hay un lugar de seguridad para los Filadelfinos. ¿Puede ser Petra?
Should a Christian Vote? This article gives some of the Biblical rationale on this subject. Would Jesus vote for president/prime minister? Is voting in the Bible? This is a subject Christians need to understand. A video of related interest is available titled: Should Christians Vote? Another video is Biden, Trump, and the Bible.
Could 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? 2031 or 2025 or? There is also a video titled: When Does the 6000 Years End? 2031? 2035? Here is a link to the article in Spanish: ¿Tiene Dios un plan de 6,000 años?
Is There A Secret Rapture for the Church? When and Where is the Church Protected? What does the Bible really teach? Does the Church flee or is it taken up just prior to the great tribulation? Who really is left behind? There is also a YouTube video with information Did Jesus Teach a Pre-tribulation Rapture?
This is PETRA! This is a 1962 Good News article by the late Dr. Hoeh.
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. Here is a link to a shorter video: How to Prep for War.
Protestant and Church of God views of the United States in Bible Prophecy Is the USA mentioned in Bible prophecy? Some Protestants say yes, while others say no. What does the Bible really teach? Learn the truth about this. There is also a video available: Is The United States Mentioned In Bible Prophecy?
Dangerous Protestant Prophetic Errors What are some errors that various Protestants hold to that will tend to prevent them from knowing when the Great Tribulation will begin? A related video is titled Ten Dangerous Protestant Prophetic Errors.
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? A related sermon is also available: The Bible, the USA, and the King of the West.
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?
The Plain Truth About Gold in Prophecy. How Should a Christian View Gold? What do economists and the Bible teach about gold? Gold and silver may drop in value. Inflation/deflation? What do Christians need to know about gold?
The Dangerous Rise of Preterists Has the Great Tribulation finished? What was the view of early Christians? Why is the preterist view dangerous? A related sermon video is titled Preterism: You’ve Gotta Be Kidding…Right?
Anglo – America in Prophecy & the Lost Tribes of Israel Are the Americans, Canadians, English, Scottish, Welsh, Australians, Anglo-Saxon (non-Dutch) Southern Africans, and New Zealanders descendants of Joseph? Where are the lost ten-tribes of Israel? Who are the lost tribes of Israel? What will happen to Jerusalem and the Jews in Israel? Will God punish the U.S.A., Canada, United Kingdom, and other Anglo-Saxon nations? Why might God allow them to be punished first? Here is a link to the Spanish version of this article: Anglo-América & las Tribus Perdidas de Israel. Information is also in the YouTube sermons titled Where are the Ten Lost Tribes? Why does it matter? and British are the Covenant People. A short YouTube of prophetic interest may be: Are Chinese threats against Australia for real?
Will the Anglo-Saxon-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?
Canada in Prophecy: What Does Bible Prophecy, Catholic Prophecy, and other Predictions Suggest About the Future of Canada? There are prophecies that suggest involvement with Canada. And many are not positive about its future. A sermon of related interest is also available: Canada in Prophecy.
Australia and New Zealand in Prophecy Do biblical prophecies help explain the wealth blessings for Australia and New Zealand? Might cursings from disobedience come in the 21st century? Here is a link to a related sermon: Australia and New Zealand: Origins and Prophecy.
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?
Did Jesus Teach a Pre-tribulation Rapture? Did the Bible teach that Jesus raptures Christians prior to the start of the Great Tribulation? What did Jesus Himself teach? Do the scriptural passages that Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins point to prove their left behind pre-tribulation rapture assertions? Do all Christians get protected from the Great Tribulation? Who does the Bible teach will get protected? Is the Great Tribulation the ‘wrath to come’ that Christians are promised protection from? This is a video.
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]
When Will the Great Tribulation Begin? 2024, 2025, or 2026? 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 la Gran Tribulación comenzar en el 2020 o 2021? ¿Es el Tiempo de los Gentiles? A brand new video, mentioning the Israel-Hamas war, is available: Tribulation in 2024?
4. The Thyatira Church Era was predominant circa 1050 A.D. to circa 1600 A.D. The Church during the Inquisition. It claimed succession from the apostles. Here is a link toa related sermon: Thyatira, Succession, and Jezebel.
5. The Sardis Church Era was predominant circa 1600 A.D. to circa 1933 A.D. Discusses some early history of the Seventh Day Baptists, Seventh-day Adventists, CG7-Salem, Jerusalem 7DCG, and COG-7th Day-Denver. Here are two historical sermons: Sardis Church Era: Beginnings, Doctrines, and Leaders and Sardis: SDBs, SDAs, & CG7s.
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 50+ Laodicean Prophetic Errors. See also Do You Hold to Any of These Laodicean Prophetic Errors?
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. It is available in hundreds of languages at ccog.org. Here are links to four kingdom-related sermons:  The Fantastic Gospel of the Kingdom of God!, The World’s False Gospel, The Gospel of the Kingdom: From the New and Old Testaments, and The Kingdom of God is the Solution.

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

In Genesis 19:24-25, we read that Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed by God.

And why did it happen?

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

Homosexuality is a form of sexual immorality that involves going after “strange flesh.”

Notice that God turned:

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

Thus, the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah were to serve as an example to those who would live as they did.

The prophet Ezekiel twice associates “pride” with Sodom (Ezekiel 16:49,56)–which is also something we see with the LGBTQ+ movement today–as well as in the entertainment industry.

Notice what God says parents should do:

6 “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. (Deuteronomy 6:6-9)

6 Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it. (Proverbs 22:6).

Denounce attempts promoting sinful abominations.

The truth is that no one, child or adult, should be trying to promote abominations.

The Bible teaches:

1 “Now this is the commandment, and these are the statutes and judgments which the Lord your God has commanded to teach you, that you may observe them in the land which you are crossing over to possess, 2 that you may fear the Lord your God, to keep all His statutes and His commandments which I command you, you and your son and your grandson, all the days of your life, and that your days may be prolonged. 3 Therefore hear, O Israel, and be careful to observe it, that it may be well with you, and that you may multiply greatly as the Lord God of your fathers has promised you — ‘a land flowing with milk and honey.’

4 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one! 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.

6 “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. (Deuteronomy 6:1-9)

4 “Remember the Law of Moses, My servant,
Which I commanded him in Horeb for all Israel,
With the statutes and judgments.
5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet
Before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.
6 And he will turn
The hearts of the fathers to the children,
And the hearts of the children to their fathers,
Lest I come and strike the earth with a curse.” (Malachi 4:4-6)

Disney is doing the opposite of what scripture is teaching and that will bring disaster.

Do not let that organization, or anyone for that matter, deceive your children to go against the Bible.

Related to children, the Continuing Church of God put together the following video on our Bible News Prophecy YouTube channel:

Parents want their children to grow up to lead happy, healthy, and productive lives. Former US Congressman Ron Paul wrote that government schools have no business instructing young children in sexuality. The American Thinker asserted that schools are improperly trying to indoctrinate children in a way of ‘normalizing perversion.’ What does the Bible teach about instructing children? What does the Bible teach about having a perverse mouth or engaging in perversity? Does the Bible tie perversity in with abominations? What about things like cross dressing? What are the results of teaching or engaging in perversity? What about those that only approve them? Dr. Thiel addresses these issues and more.

Here is a link to our video: Do not indoctrinate children in perversion.

As far as “normalizing paganism’ goes, aspects of that have been “normalized” for the world for millennia–and this by the churches of the world–Disney is just more blatant about it than the world’s churches tend to be.

Understand that the Bible says to:

1 Cry aloud, spare not;
Lift up your voice like a trumpet;
Tell My people their transgression,
And the house of Jacob their sins. (Isaiah 58:1)

So, we have continued to do that, where we can (John 9:4; Revelation 3:7-8).

The Bible refers to the time we are in as an evil time:

10 They hate the one who rebukes in the gate,
And they abhor the one who speaks uprightly. …

13 Therefore the prudent keep silent at that time,
For it is an evil time. (Amos 5:10,13)

We are in an evil time that will end in a lot of ruin and destruction.

Please heed the words of Jesus and pray for God’s Kingdom to come.

Some links to items of possibly related interest:

Might the U.S.A. Be Gone by 2028? Are there prophetic reasons to believe that the USA will not last two complete presidential terms? Yes. There is a tradition attributed to the Hebrew prophet Elijah that humanity had 6,000 years to live before being replaced by God’s Kingdom. There are scriptures, writings in the Talmud, early Christian teachings that support this. Also, even certain Hindu writings support it. Here is a link to a related video: Is the USA prophesied to be destroyed by 2028?
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?
Cross-dressing and other assaults against your children. What should you do? Is there an agenda to turn your children and/or grandchildren away from biblical morality and towards practices promoted by homosexuals? What does the Bible teach about cross-dressing? What should parents do? If there is an agenda, what has been going on? There are also two YouTube videos related to this, titled Transgender ‘Woe to those who call evil good’ and Cross dressing and Other Assaults Against Your Children.
The Bible Condemns Homosexuality “Same-sex marriage” for “gays” and lesbians is becoming more acceptable to many. What does the Bible teach about homosexuality? Can homosexuals change? A related video sermon is titled: What Does the Bible Really Teach about Homosexuality?
USA pushing gender confusion On May 13, 2016, the Obama Administration sent notices to school districts around the USA on how it wants them to deal with toilets, lockers, sports, and other issues of interest to the LGBT crowd. The Obama Administration has redefined the word ‘sex’ as written in the 1964 Civil Rights Act as expanded in 1972. Does the Bible teach transgenderism? Are accommodations for those considering themselves transgendered helpful or evil? What does the Bible teach about cross-dressing and other transgender issues? Does the Bible warn of terrible consequences for those who merely approve the LBGT agenda? This is a video.
Anglo – America in Prophecy & the Lost Tribes of Israel Are the Americans, Canadians, English, Scottish, Welsh, Australians, Anglo-Saxon (non-Dutch) Southern Africans, and New Zealanders descendants of Joseph? Where are the lost ten-tribes of Israel? Who are the lost tribes of Israel? What will happen to Jerusalem and the Jews in Israel? Will God punish the U.S.A., Canada, United Kingdom, and other Anglo-Saxon nations? Why might God allow them to be punished first? Here is a link to the Spanish version of this article: Anglo-América & las Tribus Perdidas de Israel. Information is also in the YouTube sermons titled Where are the Ten Lost Tribes? Why does it matter? and British are the Covenant People. A short YouTube of prophetic interest may be: Are Chinese threats against Australia for real?
Will the Anglo-Saxon-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?
Canada in Prophecy: What Does Bible Prophecy, Catholic Prophecy, and other Predictions Suggest About the Future of Canada? There are prophecies that suggest involvement with Canada. And many are not positive about its future. A sermon of related interest is also available: Canada in Prophecy.
Australia and New Zealand in Prophecy Do biblical prophecies help explain the wealth blessings for Australia and New Zealand? Might cursings from disobedience come in the 21st century? Here is a link to a related sermon: Australia and New Zealand: Origins and Prophecy.
Is the USA prophesied to be destroyed by 2028? Are there prophetic reasons to believe that the USA will not last two complete presidential terms? Yes. There is a tradition attributed to the Hebrew prophet Elijah that humanity had 6,000 years to live before being replaced by God’s Kingdom. There are scriptures, writings in the Talmud, early Christian teachings that support this. Also, even certain Hindu writings support it. This is a video.
Biden-Harris: Prophecies and Destruction Can the USA survive two full presidential terms? In what ways are Joe Biden and Kamala Harris apocalyptic? This book has hundreds of prophecies and scriptures to provide details. A Kindle version is also available 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 your free Kindle reader app (or if you already have one or a Kindle), you can go to: Biden-Harris: Prophecies and Destruction (Kindle) to get the book in seconds.
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. Two related sermon are available: Identifying the USA and its Destruction in Prophecy and 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? A related sermon is also available: The Bible, the USA, and the King of the West.
Preparing for the ‘Short Work’ and The Famine of the Word What is the ‘short work’ of Romans 9:28? Who is preparing for it? Here is a link to a related video sermon titled: The Short Work. Here is a link to another: Preparing to Instruct Many.
Why sex and marriage? What are each spouse’s responsibilities regarding sex in the marriage? What is not allowed according to God’s word? Why is there sex and why is there marriage? Parental discretion is advised as to whether or not everything in this article is now appropriate for their children. Dr. Thiel goes over scriptures, The Missing Dimension in Sex, and provides answers to questions many have had. A related sermon is available: Sex and Marriage. Here is that sermon in the Spanish language: Matrimonio y sexo.
Are any types of birth control scripturally allowed? Did Jesus make a statement that might be consistent with birth control? Are there any methods that might be appropriate? What methods would be biblically prohibited? Here is a link a related video: Can Christians Use Birth Control?
Here’s the Plain Truth About OLD TESTAMENT POLYGAMY by Herbert Armstrong. Here is a related article in the Spanish language: ¿Es la poligamia una senda de Dios?
Husbands Love Your Wives An article written by the late Selmer Hegvold.
Five Rules for Effective Parenting Do you know that there are five simple rules that can make you a more effective parent? Here is a link to a version in Mandarin Chinese N”ga{€SUg eHv„[PYsQ{€²‰ÄR. There is also a 12 1/2 minute English language YouTube video on this, also titled Five Rules for Effective Parenting.
What Psychologists do not Know About Child Rearing This is an article by Herbert Armstrong that was used as the introduction to the pdf booklet The Plain Truth About Child Rearing.
The Plain Truth About Child Rearing This is a pdf booklet that the old WCG put out. Also watch, Teach Children Self-Discipline, Self-Control.

Gold bullion

COGwriter

As mentioned in the Letter to the Brethren of July 27, 2023 (see Letter to the Brethren: July 27, 2023), we received and mailed out the print edition of the book, Lost Tribes and Prophecies: What will happen to Australia, the British Isles, Canada, Europe, New Zealand and the United States of America?

On page 293 of the print edition and page 317 of online version of my book is the following statement:

Gold will set records in U.S. dollar terms.

The Bible shows that the Babylonian, European Beast power will control a lot of gold.

Related to that, the Continuing Church of God (CCOG) put out the following video on our Bible News Prophecy YouTube channel:

Gold is so valuable it is called a precious metal. What nation has the most of it? Is there an area of nations with more? Will gold last longer than the USA dollar? Are there properties about the Beast and/or the Antichrist in the Bible that show that the European Babylonian Beast power will amass gold during the time of the Great Tribulation? Are there Eastern Orthodox prophecies that look forward to this? Are there biblical and Roman Catholic prophecies that warn against this? Are European central banks already accumulating gold? Did Swiss America state that some central banks are leaning towards a gold standard? Might the coming King of the North accumulate gold to use to help shore up his currency after the demise of the US dollar? Dr. Thiel addresses these issues and more.

Here is a link to the sermonette video: Beast Prophecies and European Gold.

What about silver?

Silver has long been used as money.

It should be noted that the Bible does show that silver (along with gold) will have value into at least the first few couple of years of the Great Tribulation. Here are some end time prophecies from scripture that help show that:

40 “At the time of the end…43 He shall have power over the treasures of gold and silver (Daniel 11:40,43)

14… And the wealth of all the surrounding nations
Shall be gathered together:
Gold, silver, and apparel in great abundance. (Zechariah 14:14)

12 … merchandise of gold and silver, precious stones and pearls … (Revelation 18:12)

Yet, throughout history, governments have often debased the value of their silver currency by making it dross.

This is something that the Bible warns against:

4 Take away the dross from silver (Proverbs 25:4a).

In the USA, its “silver” became “dross” in 1965.

Interestingly the USA, not being satisfied with simply making its silver dross, has taken so many steps to make its currency dross through debt, “quantitative easing”, massive deficits, and politically-motivated spending that it pays no attentions to God’s warnings about cheapening the money supply.

We have the following silver-related video:

15:10

Silver, Science, and Scripture

What is silver? What is it used for? How long has it been used? Will it have use in the future? There was an archaeological discovery that concluded that silver was used as a form of payment 3,700 years ago in the Levant (roughly the area of Israel, Lebanon, and Syria)–that was 500 years earlier than many thought it had been used there. Was silver shown to be used even a couple of centuries earlier than that by Abraham in the Bible? What is dross? Did ancient Rome have dross coins? Did the USA switch to dross coins instead of silver in 1965? Does the Bible teach against the use of dross? Does the Bible prophesy that silver will have value into the Great Tribulation? Are there Greco-Roman Catholic prophecies pointing to Great Monarch amassing precious metals and the Antichrist using wealth as bait? Will there be a time when people toss their silver into the street? Are there any radioactive risks with silver? Will gold and silver have value in the millennium? What does the word of God teach is more valuable than gold or silver? What should you invest in? Steve Dupuie and Dr. Thiel address these issues.

Here is a link to our video: Silver, Science, and Scripture.

Anyway, the USA dollar will one day collapse and be worth no more than the scrap or novelty value of the cotton-paper it is printed on.

Rises in the price of gold will happen and the USA dollar will basically become worthless.

Some items of possibly related interest may include:

The Plain Truth About Gold in Prophecy. How Should a Christian View Gold? What do economists and the Bible teach about gold? Gold and silver may drop in value. Inflation/deflation? What do Christians need to know about gold? Two videos of related interest are Beast Prophecies and European Gold and Germany, Gold, and the US Dollar.
The End of US Dollar Dominance Is the USA losing its economic status? What about the petro-gold-yuan? A related video is also available: US Dollar being challenged by Gold-Petro-Yuan.
Does the CCOG have the confirmed signs of Acts 2:17-18? Does any church have the confirmed dream and prophetic signs of Acts 2:17-18? Should one? Here is a link in the Spanish language: ¿Tiene la CCOG confirmadas las señales de Hechos 2: 17-18? Here is a link in the French language: Est-ce que l’Église Continue de Dieu confirme les signes d’Actes 2:17-18? A related sermon in the English language is also available: 17 Last Days’ Signs of the Holy Spirit.
Church of God Leaders on Prophets Have there been prophets throughout the church age? Are any supposed to be around in the last days? What have COG leaders stated or written about prophets? Here is a link to a related sermon: Church of God Leaders on Prophets.
Lost Tribes and Prophecies: What will happen to Australia, the British Isles, Canada, Europe, New Zealand and the United States of America? Where did those people come from? Can you totally rely on DNA? Do you really know what will happen to Europe and the English-speaking peoples? What about the peoples of Africa, Asia, South America, and the islands? This free online book provides scriptural, scientific, historical references, and commentary to address those matters. Here are links to related sermons: Lost tribes, the Bible, and DNA; Lost tribes, prophecies, and identifications; 11 Tribes, 144,000, and Multitudes; Israel, Jeremiah, Tea Tephi, and British Royalty; Gentile European Beast; Royal Succession, Samaria, and Prophecies; Asia, Islands, Latin America, Africa, and Armageddon;  When Will the End of the Age Come?;  Rise of the Prophesied King of the North; Christian Persecution from the Beast; WWIII and the Coming New World Order; and Woes, WWIV, and the Good News of the Kingdom of God.

(Unsplash photo)

COGwriter

The BBC reported the following:

Kiss to become ‘immortal’ thanks to Abba’s avatar technology

4 December 2023

When rock band Kiss played their final farewell concert in New York this weekend, they ended with a gesture that will ensure their digital immortality.

As they left the stage at Madison Square Garden, the band were replaced by flying avatars who launched into the hit song God Gave Rock ‘n’ Roll to You.

The technology, originally developed for the Abba Voyage show, will allow them to stay on the road in retirement.

Gene Simmons said the band could now be “forever young and forever iconic”.

Singer Paul Stanley added: “What we’ve accomplished has been amazing, but it’s not enough. The band deserves to live on because the band is bigger than we are.

“It’s exciting for us to go the next step and see Kiss immortalised.” …

The digital characters were created from data captured while the band performed in motion capture suits earlier this year. https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-67611691

No, collecting video and using a computer to help make something up is NOT immortality.

It is just a fake.

But it is an accurate enough fake that many will be happy with it.

The use of Artificial Intelligence programs by the masses is increasing.

While what is happening with KISS has the band’s approval, that is not the only thing that has been happening with deepfakes.

CBS reported the following:

Deepfake nude images of teen girls prompt action from parents, lawmakers: “AI pandemic”

December 4, 2023

A mother and her 14-year-old daughter are advocating for better protections for victims after AI-generated nude images of the teen and other female classmates were circulated at a high school in New Jersey.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the country, officials are investigating an incident involving a teenage boy who allegedly used artificial intelligence to create and distribute similar images of other students – also teen girls – that attend a high school in suburban Seattle, Washington.

The disturbing cases have put a spotlight yet again on explicit AI-generated material that overwhelmingly harms women and children and is booming online at an unprecedented rate. According to an analysis by independent researcher Genevieve Oh that was shared with The Associated Press, more than 143,000 new deepfake videos were posted online this year, which surpasses every other year combined. …

“AI pandemic”

The problem with deepfakes isn’t new, but experts say it’s getting worse as the technology to produce it becomes more available and easier to use. Researchers have been sounding the alarm this year on the explosion of AI-generated child sexual abuse material using depictions of real victims or virtual characters. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/deepfake-nude-images-teen-girls-action-parents-lawmakers-ai-pandemic/

This is terrible and should not happen. It is to be denounced:

1 Cry aloud, spare not;
Lift up your voice like a trumpet;
Tell My people their transgression,
And the house of Jacob their sins.  (Isaiah 58:1)

As Western culture has becoming more accepting of the promotion of pornography, this development is not a surprise.

The Apostle Paul warned:

1 But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: 2 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, 4 traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, .. 13 … evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. (2 Timothy 3:1-4,13)

Having nude deepfakes and/or videos of sexual acts with them is more than just embarrassing to the teenage girl victims, it is traumatizing and can result in them being sexually harassed and bullied–as well as likely increasing the chance they may be sexually assaulted.

We have warned about the emergence of deepfakes for some time now. Back in 2021, the Continuing Church of God (CCOG) put out the following video on our Bible News Prophecy YouTube channel:

13:27

Lies and Deepfakes

Jesus taught that God’s prophets would be reviled and spoken evil of. He also warned that the devil was a liar that worked to take the word of God away from those who heard it. The Apostle Paul warned that “evil men and seducers would wax worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived” (2 Timothy 3:13, KJV). He also warned that letters purported from him with false messages were an issue. COG leader Serapion of Antioch denounced a gospel falsely attributed to the Apostle Peter as pseudepigrapha. With the internet, lies can spread faster than before. With technology, like artificial intelligence, can we expect to see deepfakes that will make it look like Christian leaders say or do things that they did not? Do you, “prove all things” so you will not fall from the coming increased deceit? Will YOU hold fast to that which is good or be one who “loves and practices a lie’? Dr. Thiel refers to aspects of modern technology and various scriptures to warn Christians to not be misled by what is coming.

Here is a link to the video: Lies and Deepfakes.

Earlier this year, I was presented with what I considered to be a “deepfake” computer-conversation that I was able to determine could not have happened as it was presented to myself and others. Sadly, however, some preferred to believe the lie.

The Bible warns against:

15 … idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie. (Revelation 22:15)

As far as lying idolatry is concerned, there already is an “AI Jesus” which claims to be the true Jesus–that is blasphemous. The AI is also biased and allows its Jesus to depart from biblical teachings. Here is a video related to that:

14:48

AI Jesus? Artificial Intelligence God?

We are seeing more and more steps to incorporate Artificial Intelligence (AI) in with matters of religion. From a Protestant sermon via AI, to PETA blaspheming God by re-writing a false account of the Book of Genesis, to Yuval Noah Harari of the World Economic Form (WEF) calling for a new globalist religion and Bible to be produced by AI, things like ChatGPT are being used. There is also an AI thing called “ask Jesus” which has a false Messiah who does not always provide biblically-accurate statements. Many humans want to worship “the work of their hands.” Is that warned against in scripture? Where is this leading? Might the “image of the beast” be demonic and/or involve AI and the Antichrist? Do humans know the way that is right that does not lead to death? Dr. Thiel and Steve Dupuie address these matters.

Here is a link to our video: AI Jesus? Artificial Intelligence God?

That said, while KISS fans may like computer-generated avatars, there is a difference between that and those who use deepfakes to deceive and try to humiliate others.

The Apostle Paul warned about those who were “slanderers” in the last days, and that certainly would include those who produce deepfakes of teenage and other women.

Those type of deepfakes are horrible.

Pray, as Jesus said, for God’s Kingdom to come (Matthew 6:10).

Ukraine and Russian-occupied/annexed territories as of 3 December 2023
(From Viewsridge via Wikipedia)

COGwriter

The fighting in Ukraine grinds on.

Here are two reports related to the politics and the conflict:

US is running out of money for Ukraine and that could hinder fight against Russia, White House warns

December 4, 2023

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration on Monday sent Congress an urgent warning about the need to approve tens of billions of dollars in military and economic assistance to Ukraine, saying Kyiv’s war effort to defend itself from Russia’s invasion may grind to a halt without it.

In a letter to House and Senate leaders and released publicly, Office of Management and Budget Director Shalanda Young warned the U.S. will run out of funding to send weapons and assistance to Ukraine by the end of the year, saying that would “kneecap” Ukraine on the battlefield.

She added that the U.S. already has run out of money that it has used to prop up Ukraine’s economy, and “if Ukraine’s economy collapses, they will not be able to keep fighting, full stop.”

“We are out of money — and nearly out of time,” she wrote. …

Congress already has allocated $111 billion to assist Ukraine, including $67 billion in military procurement funding, $27 billion for economic and civil assistance and $10 billion for humanitarian aid. Young wrote that all of it, other than about 3% of the military funding, had been depleted by mid-November. https://apnews.com/article/biden-ukraine-congress-military-assistance-economy-557cbced7f7c1242ea08c52dadefc33b

3 December 2023

Outnumbered and outgunned, one front-line soldier has given a sobering account of Ukraine’s struggle to cling on to its foothold on the east bank of the vast Dnipro river.

Several hundred Ukrainian soldiers have made it there as part of a counter-offensive launched six months ago.

Under relentless Russian fire, the soldier spent several weeks on the Russian-occupied side of the river as Ukraine sought to establish a bridgehead around the village of Krynky. The BBC is not naming him to protect his identity.

His account, sent via a messaging app, speaks of troop boats blown out of the water, inexperienced reinforcements and a feeling of abandonment by Ukraine’s military commanders. …

The Ukrainian soldier’s quotes are below in bold.

“The entire river crossing is under constant fire. I’ve seen boats with my comrades on board just disappear into the water after being hit, lost forever to the Dnipro river.

“We must carry everything with us – generators, fuel and food. When you’re setting up a bridgehead you need a lot of everything, but supplies weren’t planned for this area.

“We thought after we made it there the enemy would flee and then we could calmly transport everything we needed, but it didn’t turn out that way.

“When we arrived on the [eastern] bank, the enemy were waiting. Russians we managed to capture said their forces were tipped off about our landing so when we got there, they knew exactly where to find us. They threw everything at us – artillery, mortars and flame thrower systems. I thought I’d never get out.”

Yet the few hundred marines have been able to dig in, partly helped by Ukrainian artillery fire from the higher, western banks of the Dnipro.

The river separates the Russian-occupied and Ukrainian-controlled parts of the southern Kherson region. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-67565508

Without more money and weapons from the USA and Europe, Ukraine has little hope to beat back Russia.

Jim Rickards had the following in an email:

November 28, 2023

Ukraine is losing its war with Russia. Russian forces move slowly and methodically, instead of using major “arrow” offensives. …

Russia’s wearing out the Ukrainian forces through attrition. Only when there’s little or nothing left of Ukrainian fighting ability will Russia launch a decisive offensive. The war will continue possibly until 2025, maybe even 2026, but the outcome of a Russian victory already seems determined.

Officially losing Donbas, Luhansk, and Crimea is not what Ukraine’s President Zelensky wants. But it looks like, if there was a negotiated settlement, that would tend to mean that Russia would hold on to Crimea and much of the Donbas as Russian territory. The Kyiv regime has not wanted that to be seriously considered, but may find that as its best course of action.

Furthermore, if USA funding and weapons stop, this may embolden Russia to go for even more territory.

As long time readers of this COGwriter Church of God News page are aware, for many years I have written that at least part of the territory that Ukraine claims would ultimately be supportive of Russia. We have seen some of that already, and perhaps we will see Ukraine officially accept at least some territorial loss.

In 2013, I warned that Russia would end up with territory claimed by Ukraine well before it happened in Crimea. Furthermore, on February 22, 2022, two days before Russia’s ‘special military operation’ into Ukraine began, I posted: “I expect that Donetsk and Luhansk will either be annexed by Russia and/or join its Eurasian Economic Union.” After holding referendums, that annexation happened in 2022:

On 30 September 2022, Russia, amid an ongoing invasion of Ukraine, unilaterally declared its annexation of areas in and around four Ukrainian oblasts – Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson. The boundaries of the areas to be annexed and their borders were not defined; Russian officials stated that they would be defined later. …

On 20 September, the authorities of the Donetsk People’s Republic, the Luhansk People’s Republic, as well as the occupation administrations of Kherson Oblast and Zaporizhzhia Oblast, announced referendums on joining Russia on 23–27 September.^[18]

On 27 September, Russian officials claimed that the accession “referendum” in Zaporizhzhia Oblast passed, with 93.11% of voters in favour of joining the Russian Federation.^[19]

… On 30 September, Putin signed accession treaties with the four pro-Russian leaders of the regions, Leonid Pasechnik, Head of the Luhansk People’s Republic, Denis Pushilin, Head of the Donetsk People’s Republic, Yevgeny Balitsky, governor of the Zaporizhzhia Oblast and Volodymyr Saldo, governor of the Kherson Oblast.^[26] The exact boundaries of the territories declared annexed were however not legally defined, with the drafts of final annexation documents recursively referring to territories “on the day of the admission to the Russian Federation” and on the day of “the formation of a new constituent entity within the Russian Federation”, both being prospective future events.^[26] (Russian annexation of Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia oblasts. Wikipedia, accessed 04/06/23)

Russia may negotiate the borders of the annexed regions. However, Russia has no intentions of giving up Crimea or all of the Donbas.

If Ukraine does not receive enough military and financial support, Russia may decide to go for even more territory like Kiev, or perhaps all of Ukraine.

Here is that video made just prior to Russia’s military operation in Ukraine:

21:20

Russia, Ukraine, Babylonian Europe, and Prophecy

The situation between Russia and Ukraine has again heated up, although it has been tense since the Euromaiden protests and Russia’s annexation of Crimea. There was later a separation of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church from the Russian Orthodox Church. Is war prophesied for Russia and Ukraine? Are prophecies in the Bible associated with the ‘kings of the Medes’ and a power from the “north country” related to any in Russia and Ukraine? Is a confederation of powers from the north, east, and central Asia prophesied to destroy the coming end time European Babylon? Will the destruction be reminiscent of what happened to Sodom and Gomorrah? Who is the King of the North and who will destroy him? Do those in Russia and Ukraine have a hope of salvation? Will Russia and powers of the east be involved in the gathering in Armageddon as prophesied in Revelation 16? Dr. Thiel addresses these issues.

Here is a link to our video: Russia, Ukraine, Babylonian Europe, and Prophecy.

Jesus warned:

8 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be earthquakes in various places, and there will be famines and troubles. These are the beginnings of sorrows. (Mark 13:8)

We have seen nations against nations, limited famines, troubles, and are in the beginning of sorrows. And the situation between Russia and Ukraine has been consistent with that.

We are getting to the end of the 6,000 years that God seemingly has allowed humans to rule themselves, which will soon be followed by the 1,000 year reign of Christ. Pray for Jesus to return and God’s Kingdom to come (Matthew 6:10).

But prior to Jesus’ return, “there will be great tribulation” as Jesus foretold (Matthew 24:21).

Jesus told His followers:

36 Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man. (Luke 21:36)

As we get closer to the end of the age, it is even more imperative that we do so.

Some items of possibly related interest may include:

Russia and Ukraine: Their Origins and Prophesied Future Russia in prophecy. Where do the Russians come from? What about those in the Ukraine? What is prophesied for Russia and its allies? What will they do to the Europeans that supported the Beast in the end? There is also a video sermon available: Russia in the Bible and in Prophecy as are two video sermonettes Russia, Ukraine, Babylonian Europe, and Prophecy and Ukraine in Prophecy?
Is Russia the King of the North? Some claim it is. But what does the Bible teach? Here is a link to a video, also titled Is Russia the King of the North?
Ezekiel 38: For Russia & Iran in Our Day? Is Ezekiel 38 about to be fulfilled? Are we close to the battle with Gog and Magog? Four related videos are available: Ezekiel 38 Gog and Magog War: Is it Soon?, Ezekiel 38: For Russia, Ukraine, & Iran Now?, Russia, Iran, Syria, & the Bible (Code), and Gog, Magog, Vladimir Putin, and Ezekiel 38?
Lost Tribes and Prophecies: What will happen to Australia, the British Isles, Canada, Europe, New Zealand and the United States of America? Where did those people come from? Can you totally rely on DNA? What about other peoples? Do you really know what will happen to Europe and the English-speaking peoples? What about Africa, Asia, South America, and the Islands? This free online book provides scriptural, scientific, historical references, and commentary to address those matters. Here are links to related sermons: Lost tribes, the Bible, and DNA; Lost tribes, prophecies, and identifications; 11 Tribes, 144,000, and Multitudes; Israel, Jeremiah, Tea Tephi, and British Royalty; Gentile European Beast; Royal Succession, Samaria, and Prophecies; Asia, Islands, Latin America, Africa, and Armageddon;  When Will the End of the Age Come?;  Rise of the Prophesied King of the North; Christian Persecution from the Beast; WWIII and the Coming New World Order; and Woes, WWIV, and the Good News of the Kingdom of God.
Could 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? 2031 or 2025 or? There is also a video titled: When Does the 6000 Years End? 2031? 2035? Here is a link to the article in Spanish: ¿Tiene Dios un plan de 6,000 años?

COGWriter

December has several non-biblical observances that many observe.

For example, December 6th is observed by some to honor saint Nicholas.

And various ones celebrate something called Krampus.

December 8th is observed by Roman, as opposed to Eastern Orthodox, Catholics as the ‘Feast of the Immaculate Conception.’ It is an official holiday for certain countries in Europe and Latin America.

Here is some of what Pope Francis said about it before, from a translation posted by Zenit (a pro-Vatican news agency):

Dear brothers and sisters,

The message of today’s feast of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary can be summed up in these words: everything is a grace, everything is a free gift from God and his love for us. The Angel Gabriel calls Mary “full of grace” (Lk.1,28): in Her there is no room for sin, because God has always chosen Her as the mother of Jesus and has preserved Her from original sin.December 8, 2014 http://www.zenit.org/en/articles/on-the-feast-of-the-immaculate-conception

Despite the pontiff’s claim, the Bible shows that other than Jesus (Hebrews 4:15), “all have sinned” (Romans 3:23) – that includes Mary.

Here is some of what The Catholic Encyclopedia says about this Roman Catholic feast:

The feast of the Immaculate Conception

The older feast of the Conception of Mary (Conception of St. Anne), which originated in the monasteries of Palestine at least as early as the seventh century, and the modern feast of the Immaculate Conception are not identical in their object.

Originally the Church celebrated only the Feast of the Conception of Mary, as she kept the Feast of St. John’s conception, not discussing the sinlessness. This feast in the course of centuries became the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, as dogmatical argumentation brought about precise and correct ideas, and as the thesis of the theological schools regarding the preservation of Mary from all stain of original sin gained strength. Even after the dogma had been universally accepted in the Latin Church, and had gained authoritative support through diocesan decrees and papal decisions, the old term remained, and before 1854 the term “Immaculata Conceptio” is nowhere found in the liturgical books, except in the invitatorium of the Votive Office of the Conception…

Today the Conception of St. Anne is in the Greek Church one of the minor feasts of the year. The lesson in Matins contains allusions to the apocryphal “Proto-evangelium” of St. James, which dates from the second half of the second century (see SAINT ANNE). To the Greek Orthodox of our days, however, the feast means very little; they continue to call it “Conception of St. Anne”, indicating unintentionally, perhaps, the active conception which was certainly not immaculate. In the Menaea of 9 December this feast holds only the second place, the first canon being sung in commemoration of the dedication of the Church of the Resurrection at Constantinople. The Russian hagiographer Muraview and several other Orthodox authors even loudly declaimed against the dogma after its promulgation, although their own preachers formerly taught the Immaculate Conception in their writings long before the definition of 1854…

In the Western Church the feast appeared (8 December), when in the Orient its development had come to a standstill. The timid beginnings of the new feast in some Anglo-Saxon monasteries in the eleventh century, partly smothered by the Norman conquest, were followed by its reception in some chapters and dioceses by the Anglo-Norman clergy…

The “Martyrology of Tallaght” compiled about 790 and the “Feilire” of St. Aengus (800) register the Conception of Mary on 3 May. (Holweck, F. (1910). Immaculate Conception. In The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. Retrieved December 8, 2012 from New Advent: http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07674d.htm)

From the above we see that:

• The ‘Feast of the Immaculate Conception’ is NOT an original Christian observance.
• The first version of it developed around the seventh century in the Greek/Orient (Eastern Orthodox) church.
• Greek/Orient (Eastern Orthodox) church does not consider it to be of much importance.
• A falsely named and false book (the so-called Proto-evangelium of James) was claimed centuries later to support this (having read the so-called Proto-evangelium of James, let me state that any ‘support’ even from it is weaker than weak).
• The Russian Orthodox denounced the idea of the ‘immaculate conception of Mary.’
• The Western Church of Rome did not start to observe a version of it until the 11th century.
• Until 1854 the term Immaculate Conception was not officially used.
• The date itself seems to have been changed.

Thus, the ‘Feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary’ was not an original Christian observance.

Basically Roman Catholic dogma, defined in 1854, teaches that Mary was conceived without ‘original sin’ and that she allegedly lived a completely sinless life. Since Roman Catholic scholars realize that this was not the original position of their early theologians (which they normally call “early Church fathers,” but are called “older Fathers” below), The Catholic Encyclopedia declares:

Proof from Tradition

In regard to the sinlessness of Mary the older Fathers are very cautious: some of them even seem to have been in error on this matter… these stray private opinions merely serve to show that theology is a progressive science. (Holweck, F. (1910). Immaculate Conception. In The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. Retrieved December 8, 2012 from New Advent: http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07674d.htm)

Notice that the so-called “Proof from Tradition” disproves the belief in Mary’s claimed sinlessness. And instead of this being a biblical or early tradition, it developed over time.

Here is some of what I wrote about this subject in the past (note: DRB is an abbreviation for Douay-Rheims Bible, which is a Catholic-approved version):

In the 19th century, there was a female apparition in France, known as the Lady of Lourdes. One of the statements she reportedly stated in 1858 was, “I am the Immaculate Conception!”

Now this is an unusual and biblically contradictory idea as the Bible teaches that all have sinned (Roman 3:23) except Jesus (Hebrews 4:15), as He is the only one who had a biblically immaculate conception, but not the Marian kind.

For non-Catholics, let me explain that what became an extra-biblical Catholic doctrine was that Mary was conceived unlike all other humans and free of what many refer to as “original sin.” Specifically this “dogma” has been explained in Dr. Ludwig Ott’s 20th century book Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma as:

“Mary’s freedom of original sin was an unmerited gift of God, and an exception from the law that was vouchsafed to her only.”

His book also teaches:

The doctrine of the Immaculate Conception of Mary is not explicitly revealed in scripture… Neither the Greek nor the Latin Fathers explicitly (explicite) teach the Immaculate Conception of Mary.

So where did it come from?

Let’s have a look at some comparative religion. Before the birth of Christ, the Iranian goddess Aredvi Sura Anāhitā, known as the Persian Diana, was called “the virgin, ““the immaculate. “ Kore-Persephoneia was also the “immaculate Maiden“ and “Virgin of the World“ who gave birth to a son for Zeus, and she is believed to be same goddess Diana. Hence, it appears that at least some of the idea was part of paganism associated with “Diana“ goddess worship.

Jumping forward to the 12th century, a British monk Eadmer began to promote the idea of an Immaculate Conception of Mary. When he did so, “St. Bernard of Clairvaux… (about 1140), warned the faithful that this was an unfounded innovation…” So was the Catholic saint Bernard wrong in condemning Monk Eadmer’s heresy here? Of course not! Others, at least as late as the 17th century supported Bernard’s position on this.

Yet, after claiming to see an apparition in Rue du Bac, Paris in 1830, the Catholic saint Catherine Labouré claimed Mary “was conceived without sin.” The extra-biblical teaching of the so-called “Immaculate Conception” did not become a type of Catholic dogma until December 8, 1854. It, thus, was not part of early apostolic tradition…

In a letter to her confessor dated June 12, 1930, Lúcia {of Fatima fame} claimed that she was told the following on the night of May 29th-30th, 1930:

There are five kinds of offenses and blasphemies against the Immaculate Heart of Mary: (1) blasphemies against her Immaculate Conception; (2) against her perpetual virginity; (3) against her divine maternity, refusing to accept her at the same time as the Mother of humankind; (4) by those who try to publicly implant in the hearts of children an indifference, contempt, or even hate for this Immaculate Mother; and (5) for those who insult her sacred images.

Priest Andrew Apostoli, in his Fatima for Today book, wrote:

Those who commit such blasphemies against our Lady are in grave danger of losing their souls, for these sins seriously offend God himself.

I was shocked to read the above.

Now if all five of those statements are blasphemies, then many early Catholic and Eastern Orthodox saints are guilty of blasphemy by that definition. History records that recognized Catholic and/or Eastern Orthodox saints such as Melito, Irenaeus, Theophilus of Antioch, Origen, Basil, Cyprian of Carthage, John Chrysostom, Ambrose, Hilary, Gregory of Tours, Bernard of Clairvoux, Bonaventure, “Albert the Great,” and Thomas Aquinas all took one or more positions that the “messenger” apparently considered to be blasphemous.

Since Priest Apostoli says that salvation may be lost for taking positions against those messages, does not this mean that he is challenging the validity of the sainthood of all Catholic-approved saints who took such supposedly “blasphemous” positions?

He surely does not intend to, but that is what some of the “blasphemy messages” really mean…

Teaching Against the Immaculate Conception

It needs to be understood that the idea of an Immaculate Conception for Mary was not an early tradition of the church nor is it taught in scripture.

The Catholic Encyclopedia article of the Immaculate Conception clearly recognizes this:

No direct or categorical and stringent proof of the dogma can be brought forward from Scripture.

So, the doctrine is simply not provable from the Holy Bible.

One aspects of the belief in Mary’s “Immaculate Conception” is that “she was immune from all sin, personal, or inherited.” Yet, scripture states:

23 For all have sinned, and do need the glory of God. 24 Being justified freely by his grace, through the redemption, that is in Christ Jesus, (Romans 3:23-24, DRB)

15 For we have not a high priest, who can not have compassion on our infirmities: but one tempted in all things like as we are, without sin. 16 Let us go therefore with confidence to the throne of grace: that we may obtain mercy, and find grace in seasonable aid. (Hebrews 4:15-16, DRB)

All, including Mary, sinned, and need redemption through Christ Jesus (and not Mary) according to the Bible.

Notice that the Catholic Encyclopedia article of the Immaculate Conception also teaches:

* Origen…thought that…for her sins also Christ died (Origen, “In Luc. Hom. Xvii”).
*…St. Basil writes in the fourth century: he sees in the sword, of which Simeon speaks, the doubt which pierced Mary’s soul (Epistle 259).
* St. Chrysostom accuses her of ambition, and of putting herself forward unduly when she sought to speak to Jesus at Capharnaum (Matthew 12:46; Chrysostom, Homily 44 on Matthew).

The book Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma also admits that “individual Greek Fathers (Origen, St. Basil, St. John Chrysostom, St. Cyril of Alexandria) taught that Mary suffered from venial personal faults, such as ambition and vanity, doubt about the message of the Angel, and lack of faith under the Cross…”

Either those Catholic saints (or Orthodox saints in the case of Origen) were not committing blasphemy, they were not really saints, and/or the messages that Lúcia was told did not come from God.

Additionally, as late as the early 5th century, even the Catholic saint Augustine would not teach as dogma that Mary was without sin.

About 1140, the Catholic saint Bernard of Clairvaux warned the faithful not to believe the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception of Mary as it was an unfounded innovation.

The Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma also teaches that “the leading theologians of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries (Petrus Lombardus, St. Alexander of Hales, St. Bonaventure, St. Albert the Great, St. Thomas Aquinas…) rejected the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception.”

Thus, to teach that it is blasphemy or a serious sin against God to not accept the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception of Mary (as being different than how other humans were conceived) does not seem to be a biblical or early historical truth—even Catholic saints opposed the view.

Notice also what Jesus taught:

32 And the multitude sat about him; and they say to him: Behold thy mother and thy brethren without seek for thee.
33 And answering them, he said: Who is my mother and my brethren?
34 And looking round about on them who sat about him, he saith: Behold my mother and my brethren.
35 For whosoever shall do the will of God, he is my brother, and my sister, and mother. (Mark 3:32-35, DRB)

Jesus is showing that all who do God’s will are His mother, brother, or sisters. If Mary was sinless or conceived differently, He would have not included His mother in those statements.

The Eastern Orthodox in their Patriarchal Encyclical of 1895 declared:

XIII. The one holy, catholic and apostolic Church of the seven Ecumenical Councils teaches that the supernatural incarnation of the only-begotten Son and Word of God, of the Holy Ghost and the Virgin Mary, is alone pure and immaculate; but the Papal Church scarcely forty years ago again made an innovation by laying down a novel dogma concerning the immaculate conception of the Mother of God and ever-Virgin Mary, which was unknown to the ancient Church (and strongly opposed at different times even by the more distinguished among the Papal theologians).

Thus, the Eastern Orthodox have long taught that the idea of an “Immaculate Conception” of Mary was “unknown by the ancient Church.”386 And they correctly teach that Jesus alone is pure and immaculate, and refer to the Immaculate Conception teaching as a novel “innovation.” An innovation adopted since the 1800s is not an original teaching—true traditionalists cannot accept such late traditions as essential.

Since Pope Benedict XVI considers that those of the Eastern Orthodox are churches in “the proper sense,”387 obviously the Pope does not believe that they are committing sin or blasphemy in denying the modern teaching of the Immaculate Conception of Mary.

Nor should anyone else based upon what the Bible teaches.

The pro-Vatican news source Zenit.com reported these two items:

Best Wishes for the Feast of the Immaculate Conception

ROME, DEC. 7, 2012 (Zenit.org).- Padre Pio said that “The Madonna is the shortcut to get to God.”

There is no doubt that in order to see the face of Jesus, we must turn to His Mother, and it is to Her who we look to heal our diseases, to turn our tears into prayer. http://www.zenit.org/article-36131?l=english

Vatican City, December 07, 2014 …

Here is the translation of the Holy Father’s address before and after the recitation of the Angelus today to the faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square.

* * *

Dear brothers and sisters, …

The Virgin Mary is the “path” that God Himself has prepared to come into the world. Let us entrust to Her the expectation of salvation and peace for all men and women of our time. http://www.zenit.org/en/articles/on-the-lord-s-consolation

This also is in conflict with scripture. It is by Jesus’ stripes we are to be healed (Isaiah 53:5), not Mary. Jesus, not His mother Mary, is the one mediator. ‘Mary’ is NOT the one to whom Christians entrust their salvation. Salvation comes through Jesus Christ, and only Jesus Christ, according to the Bible (Acts 4:12), not Mary.

Here is something I wrote related to the mediator matter on page 249 of my book Fatima Shock!:

Mark Miravalle, a professor of theology at Franciscan University of Steubenville, wrote:

Let us pray daily for the solemn definition of Our Lady’s spiritual motherhood as co-redemptrix, mediatrix of all graces, and advocate, which truly reveal the saving actions of motherly intercession which come forth from her Immaculate Heart, and thus to bring the Church and the world a giant step closer to the Fatima-prophesied “Era of Peace.”

Yet, there is nothing in scripture about Mary bringing in an era of peace or being our intercessor—the only intercessor listed in the Bible is Christ (Romans 8:34; Hebrews 7:25)—the Bible says He is the “one mediator” (1 Timothy 2:5, DRB). The Bible shows that we are only to call upon the name of the Lord/God/Jesus (2 Timothy 2:22; Romans 10:12-13; Acts 26:20)—never Mary.

Although it is proper for Christians to state that Mary, the mother of Jesus, was blessed (Luke 1:48), it is blasphemous to insist that she was sinless (cf. Romans 3:23) and that one must turn to Mary in order to see Jesus (1 Timothy 2:5).

Fatima is a town in Portugal where an immodestly-dressed ‘Lady’ allegedly appeared to three children once a month for six months in 1917 (watch also Did the Lady of Fatima Wear a Short Skirt?). Many decided that Mary, the mother of Jesus, appeared there. But the ‘Lady’ never claimed to be Mary and absolutely could not have been. Yet, Pope Francis dedicated his pontificate to her. If Pope Francis actually adopts the agenda of the ‘Fatimists’, who believe that peace will only come to the earth if a pope and his bishops will consecrate Russia to the allegedly immaculate heart of Mary, this could well be a major fulfillment of biblical prophecies related to false declarations of peace as found in Ezekiel 13:2-20 and 1 Thessalonians 5:3.

Jesus warned that all but the very elect will be deceived (Matthew 24:24). The Apostle Paul added that signs and lying wonders will deceive those that do not have the love of the truth (2 Thessalonians 2:9-10). Marian apparitions may very well be part of that deception and the more that Pope Francis and others emphasize ‘Mary,’ the easier it will be for people to believe deceptive apparitions.

There is nothing in the Bible, or even in early church writings, that supports the view that December 8th is to be a festival for some type of ‘immaculate conception’ of Mary. Those who are willing to believe what the Bible teaches, as well as truly connect-the-dots related to early church history, will realize that. Sadly, however, multiple millions are not willing to do so.

Speaking of the Bible and festivals, a reader sent me the following:

In fact, the Interfaith Calendar organization lists 14 religious holidays for the month of December. Here are those holidays with a little explanation on each.

Dec. 6: Saint Nicholas Day — Christian

This holiday honors the birth of Saint Nicholas, the saint who serves as a role model for gift-giving and is commonly known as Santa Claus, according to Interfaith Calendar.

… Hanukkah — Judaism

This is the eight-day Jewish festival of lights, which celebrates the Maccabean revolt in Egypt. Eight candles are lit with a menorah to honor the holiday.

Dec. 8: Immaculate Conception — Catholic

In the lead-up to Jesus’ birthday celebration on Christmas, Catholics celebrate the day of Immaculate Conception to honor his mother Mary, who they say was preserved from original sin for her entire life.

Dec. 8: Rohatsu (Bodhi Day) — Buddhist

This holiday celebrates the historical Buddha’s decision and vow to sit under the Bodhi tree until he reached spiritual enlightenment. It’s celebrated through meditation and is embraced similar to how Christians celebrate Christmas to honor Jesus Christ.

Dec. 12: Advent Fast begins — Orthodox Christian

Though Advent began this last weekend, the fasting starts midway through the month with only two weeks until Christmas. The holiday is celebrated by believers lighting Advent candles, hanging wreaths and attending church ceremonies, according to Interfaith Calendar.

Dec. 12: Feast Day of Our Lady of Guadalupe — Catholic

This is a primarily Catholic holiday celebrated by Mexicans and Americans of Mexican descent that honors the reported appearance of the Virgin Mary in Mexico City, according to Interfaith Calendar.

Dec. 16: Posadas Navidenas — Christian

This is a primarily Hispanic Christian holiday that commends Mary and Joseph’s journey to Bethlehem to give birth to Jesus, according to Interfaith Calendar.

Dec. 21: Solstice — Wicca/Pagan

Solstice is the point in the year “when the earth is most inclined away from the sun. It is the most southern or northern point depending on the hemisphere,” according to Interfaith Calendar. Pagans and Wicca believers will celebrate that event through Yule, in which believers also honor “the winter-born king, symbolized by the rebirth of the sun,” Interfaith Calendar explained.

Dec. 23: Mawlid el-Nabi — Islam

This is an Islamic holiday that honors the birth of the Prophet Muhammad, who founded Islam. Shia and Sunni believers will celebrate on separate days by reading the prophet’s teachings, according to Interfaith Calendar.

Dec. 25: Christmas — Christian

Christmas is a primarily Christian holiday that celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ. Many will attend church, have family parties and exchange gifts, according to Interfaith Calendar.

Dec. 26: Zarathosht Diso (Death of Prophet Zarathustra) — Zoroastrian

Unlike many of the other holidays in the month, Zoroastrians honor the death of their prophet, Zarathustra, who founded Zoroastrianism, one of the world’s oldest monotheistic religions.

Dec. 27: Feast of the Holy Family — Catholic

Catholics use this day to honor Jesus, Mary and Joseph, according to Interfaith Calendar.

Dec. 28: Holy Innocents Day — Christian

Christians solemnly honor the deaths of children killed by King Herod, who was attempting to kill Jesus, according to Interfaith Calendar.

Dec. 31: Watch Night — Christian

For Watch Night, Christians will thank God for the safety they received during the year, according to Interfaith Calendar.

http://national.deseretnews.com/article/6884/These-are-the-14-religious-holidays-believers-celebrate-in-December.html

There have long been festivals in the winter that do NOT come from the Bible. The ‘feast of the immaculate conception’ is simply one of them.

Also, Pope Francis declared a new one a while back, which is to take place December 10th each year (see Pope Francis authorizes yet another Marian holiday: A Black Madonna connection to his interfaith environmental agenda?).

Let it also be noted that NOT ONE OF THEM WAS OBSERVED BY THE ORIGINAL CATHOLIC CHURCH.

None of God’s annual holy festivals occur in the month of December, though the Israeli national one of Hanukkah is alluded to in scripture (see also Hanukkah: Jewish Christmas and Hidden Key to Prophecy?)–and it runs from sunset December 7th through sunset December 15th in 2023.

For more information, please check out the following:

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. Two related sermons would be Which Spring Days should Christians observe? and Fall Holy Days for Christians.
Was Jesus Born in the Grotto of the Nativity? Was Jesus born in a below ground cave? Was Jesus born below the “Church of the Nativity”? Were the wise men there?
How did December 25th become Christmas? Was Jesus born then? If not, why December 25? Here is the article translated into Mandarin Chinese 12月25日最后是怎么被许多基督的信仰者采纳的.
Is Keeping Christmas a Sin? Is keeping Christmas acceptable for true Christians? What are some scriptures to consider?
What Does the Roman Catholic Church Teach About Christmas and the Holy Days? Do you know what the Catholic Church says were the original Christian holy days? Was Christmas among them? Is December 25th Jesus’ birthday or that of the sun god? Here is a link to a related sermon: What do Catholic and other scholars teach about Christmas?
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.
Greco-Roman Catholic Saint Nicholas Day December 6th is observed by some in Nicholas’ honor. Was he fat or jolly as Santa Claus is portrayed?
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?
Mary, the Mother of Jesus and the Apparitions Do you know much about Mary? Are the apparitions real? What happened at Fatima? What might they mean for the rise of the ecumenical religion of Antichrist? Are Protestants moving towards Mary? How do the Eastern/Greek Orthodox view Mary? How might Mary view her adorers? Here is a link to a YouTube video Marian Apparitions May Fulfill Prophecy. Here is a link to a sermon video: Why Learn About Fatima?
The ‘Lady’ of Guadalupe: Any Future Ramifications? It is claimed that a female apparition appeared near Mexico City on December 12, 1531. How has it affected the world? What might it suggest about the future? A video of related interest is titled: The ‘Lady of Guadalupe’ and Prophecy.
Pope Francis: Could this Marian Focused Pontiff be Fulfilling Prophecy? Pope Francis has taken many steps to turn people more towards his version of ‘Mary.’ Could this be consistent with biblical and Catholic prophecies? This article documents what has been happening. There is also a video version titled Pope Francis: Could this Marian Focused Pontiff be Fulfilling Prophecy?
Origin of the Marian Dogmas: Where Do Catholic Scholars Say The Four Dogmas of Mary Came From?
Assumption of Mary Did Mary die? Was she taken to heaven on August 15th? What is known? What does the Bible show?
Hanukkah: Jewish Christmas and Hidden Key to Prophecy? Originally a Jewish national holiday, has Hanukkah morphed into a Jewish Christmas? Does it hold hidden secrets to prophecy?
Fatima Shock! What the Vatican Does Not Want You to Know About Fatima, Dogmas of Mary, and Future Apparitions. Whether or not you believe anything happened at Fatima, if you live long enough, you will be affected by its ramifications (cf. Isaiah 47; Revelation 17). Fatima Shock! provides concerned Christians with enough Catholic-documented facts to effectively counter every false Marian argument. In addition to the print version, there is a Kindle version of Fatima Shock! which you can acquire in seconds.
Women and the New Testament Church What roles did women play in the ministry of Jesus and the apostles? Did Jesus and the Apostle Paul violate Jewish traditions regarding their dealings with women? Do women have any biblical limitations on their role in the Church? Were there female prophets? Do women have any special responsibilities in terms of how they dress? What does the New Testament really teach about women? Here is a related sermon titled: New Testament Women.
Beliefs of the Original Catholic Church: Could a remnant group have continuing apostolic succession? Did the original “catholic church” have doctrines held by the Continuing Church of God? Did Church of God leaders uses the term “catholic church” to ever describe the church they were part of? Here are links to related sermons: Original Catholic Church of God?, Original Catholic Doctrine: Creed, Liturgy, Baptism, Passover, What Type of Catholic was Polycarp of Smyrna?, Tradition, Holy Days, Salvation, Dress, & Celibacy, Early Heresies and Heretics, Doctrines: 3 Days, Abortion, Ecumenism, Meats, Tithes, Crosses, Destiny, and more, Saturday or Sunday?, The Godhead, Apostolic Laying on of Hands Succession, Church in the Wilderness Apostolic Succession List, Holy Mother Church and Heresies, and Lying Wonders and Original Beliefs. Here is a link to that book in the Spanish language: Creencias de la iglesia Católica original.
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

Many in the United Kingdom are, according to polls, regretting the decision to leave the European Union, known as Brexit (BRitish EXIT from the EU) (see ‘Number of Britons regretting Brexit hits new record high: Survey’).

The UK Guardian put out the following.

No 10 daren’t admit it, but Ursula von der Leyen is right: we’ll be going back on Brexit

3 December 2023

There was little doubt who came ahead in the spat between Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, and Rishi Sunak last week over Britain rejoining the EU. She began her salvo acknowledging that the EU had “goofed up” in losing Britain, but that it would fall to her children’s generation “to fix it”. The “direction of travel was clear”. Britain one day would rejoin.

The substance behind No 10’s inevitable refutation was so threadbare that it bordered on the comic. But then there is no better defence to hand. The prime minister, intoned his spokesman, did not think Brexit was in danger, trying to reinforce the point by declaring: “It’s through our Brexit freedoms that we are, right now, considering how to further strengthen our migration system. It is through our Brexit freedoms we are ensuring patients in the UK can get access to medicines faster, that there is improved animal welfare. That is very much what we are focused on.” …

As von der Leyen says, the direction of travel is away from this barren Brexit – thus everything from Britain re-entering the Horizon Europe research programme to a fifth postponement of inspecting food and plant imports from the EU. The logic of geography, economics and the availability of only one-sided trade deals, especially with the US and China, is inexorable. The EU will remain Britain’s largest trading partner: it sets the rules and we either abide by them or accept reduced trade with all the consequences. A former top Treasury official tells me that his advice to Rachel Reeves, a growth-focused would-be chancellor, would be unambiguous: rejoin the single market and the customs union. …

But rejoining? Pro-EU sentiment is certainly hardening. The European movement is the largest it has ever been. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/dec/03/number-10-ursula-von-der-leyen-rejoin-european-union

Now, let me mention that the Guardian has always been against Brexit and wants the UK in the EU.

And yes, various leaders in the UK, including King Charles III, want the UK to be closer to Europe.

Regarding the King and Brexit, notice something from this past Spring:

Mending EU ties after Brexit

The visit is also meant to improve relations with European Union countries, after years of tension over pre and post-Brexit negotiations.

British Ambassador to Berlin Jill Gallard told Deutschlandfunk that Charles’ visit aimed to show that though Britain has left the European Union, it has not left Europe. She added that with Britain and Germany currently sharing several objectives, the timing of the visit was right.

“This visit was a recommendation from the British government,” Gallard told the German radio station on Wednesday morning. “And it is no coincidence that this will be the first visit to Europe.” 03/23/23 https://www.dw.com/en/uks-king-charles-visits-germany-in-first-trip-abroad-as-monarch/a-65162741

That said, there will be closer connections between Europe and what is currently called the United Kingdom–the UK will be conquered by the coming European King of the North power.

The Bible tells of a time when the world will be dominated by Europe (cf. Revelation chapters 13,17, and 18)–and the power with the strongest military (which is currently the USA and its British-descended allies) will be conquered by the European King of the North in Daniel 11:39.

Consider, further, that the Book of Hosea specifically shows that there will be problems with Israel, Ephraim (the British), and Judah. And these are problems that seem to coincide to the sequence in Daniel 11:39-42.

Notice what Hosea 5:5 teaches will be fulfilled:

5 The pride of Israel testifies to his face; Therefore Israel and Ephraim stumble in their iniquity; Judah also stumbles with them.

Hosea is showing that Israel/USA, Ephraim/United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Canada, Australia, & New Zealand, and Judah (the nation now called Israel) will have problems. This prophetically may be because of an attack by the King of the North on the USA and some of its English-speaking allies (Daniel 11:39)–which also will be the start of the Great Tribulation. The USA probably will have had pride in its military power which then will be broken and its cities made desolate (cf. Leviticus 26:19, 28-33).

Hosea 8:14 discusses the cities being devoured by fire. Sodom and Gomorrah were partially destroyed to be examples to those who would go for “sexual immorality” and “strange flesh” (Jude 7)—truly those sins are becoming more in the Anglo-lands (see also The Bible Condemns Homosexuality). Those who do not believe that these words apply to the modern descendants of Jacob will not apparently understand this (cf. Deuteronomy 29:29).

Those who trust in oppression and perversity will have sudden destruction come upon them (Isaiah 30:12-13). The Anglo-nations should know better, but will not repent, and Hosea was inspired to write:

5… the Assyrian shall be his king, Because they refused to repent. (Hosea 11:5)

This is not to say that non-Anglo peoples do not have sin or that they will not be punished. The Bible is clear that Assyria will be an end time, northern power that God will punish per Zephaniah 2:13-15, which seems to go along with Revelation 18:1-10. Many of the surviving British and Americans will be made slaves (see also Will the Anglo-Saxon Nations be Divided and Have People Taken as Slaves?).

Just prior to the start of the Great Tribulation, the Philadelphia remnant will have fled (Revelation 12:14-16; see also Matthew 24:15-21) since Jesus promised them protection from that “hour of trial” (Revelation 3:7-10).

Hosea continues to record terrible distresses for these people, then notice what follows in Hosea 5:13-14.

13 When Ephraim saw his sickness, And Judah saw his wound, Then Ephraim went to Assyria And sent to King Jareb; Yet he cannot cure you, Nor heal you of your wound. 14 For I will be like a lion to Ephraim, And like a young lion to the house of Judah. I, even I, will tear them and go away; I will take them away, and no one shall rescue.

So then Ephraim tries to make a deal with Assyria–the prophetic European Beast. Prophetic Ephraim is the United Kingdom and its British-descended allies. Prophetic Assyria is Germany and its European allies. It is likely that at least some member of the British royal family will be involved in attempting to make a deal with Germany–and the current visit by King Charles III looks to be a prelude to set the stage for this.

Also notice Hosea 8:8-9 where Ephraim apparently tries to pay for help while Israel (perhaps the USA or the USA and Judah) is essentially gone:

8 Israel is swallowed up; Now they are among the Gentiles, Like a vessel in which is no pleasure. 9 For they have gone up to Assyria, Like a wild donkey alone by itself; Ephraim has hired lovers.

In Hosea 12:1 Ephraim tries to make a deal with the Assyrians:

1 Ephraim feeds on the wind, And pursues the east wind; He daily increases lies and desolation. Also they make a covenant with the Assyrians. And oil is carried to Egypt.

And in Hosea 7:11-12 Ephraim also tries to make a deal with Egypt and Assyria. This deal seems to be made after the USA has been eliminated or is on its way out.

11 Ephraim also is like a silly dove, without sense—They call to Egypt, They go to Assyria. 12 Wherever they go, I will spread My net on them; I will bring them down like birds of the air; I will chastise them, According to what their congregation has heard.

There would seem to be no point in going to Egypt if the King of the South has already been overwhelmed by the King of the North, so this attempt to make deals might happen fairly early in the Great Tribulation.

There is nothing that I am aware of in world history that shows that Ephraim calls to Egypt after Hosea was written in a manner to fulfill that prophecy. Since this is a prophecy that must come to pass, this is one more reason why I believe the Bible supports the concept that the King of the North invades the USA and its English-speaking allies before it invades the King of the South–this is something several COGs do not understand nor teach correctly (see also Do You Hold to Any of These Laodicean Prophetic Errors?; here is a link to a related video: 50+ Laodicean Prophetic Errors).

Notice that Ephraim will eat unclean things in Assyria:

3 They shall not dwell in the Lord’s land, But Ephraim shall return to Egypt, And shall eat unclean things in Assyria. (Hosea 9:3)

These verses in Hosea suggest that the Ephraimites (United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand) and the Jews (modern Israel) think they should get some protection from Assyria (Germany), probably because the USA (Manasseh) was the primary reason the King of the North attacked the strongest fortresses and/or because they have made various treaties.

Furthermore, it shows that one of the reasons that Israel, including Ephraim, is swallowed up is because they trusted Assyria. King Charles III, for example, may feel trust that way during and after this trip.

Yet, the Bible shows that Assyria is a people who Isaiah 10 shows will destroy nations:

5 Woe to Assyria, the rod of My anger
And the staff in whose hand is My indignation.
6 I will send him against an ungodly nation,
And against the people of My wrath
I will give him charge,
To seize the spoil, to take the prey,
And to tread them down like the mire of the streets.
7 Yet he does not mean so,
Nor does his heart think so;
But it is in his heart to destroy,
And cut off not a few nations. (Isaiah 10:5-7)

Interestingly, Ephraim, Manasseh/Samaria (the USA), and Judah are also prophesied to turn on each other to some degree (Isaiah 9:21).

This seems to be consistent also with a Roman Catholic prophecy:

St. Senanus (died 560): They (English) themselves will betray each other… (Culleton, The Prophets and Our Times, p. 128)

Hosea 10:9-11 suggests that Ephraim and Judah will be forced into hard labor, perhaps around this time as well; while 11:1-8 says that Assyria will be the king of Ephraim and Israel, because they refused to repent, and that the sword will devour their cities.

The last verse in Hosea (14:9) begins with:

9 Who is wise? Let him understand these things. Who is prudent? Let him know them.

Note that the word translated as “prudent” above is the same Hebrew word biyn that is in Daniel 11:33/35 as understanding. Since I believe that the Philadelphian portion of the Church is to have the wise and prudent, I believe that Hosea is giving more insight as to why it may be tied into Daniel 11.

Very few in the Church of God have tried to connect the prophecies of Hosea together. Most will not know when it is time to flee and when the Great Tribulation will begin until it is too late.

As a prelude to this trip by King Charles III, we put together the following related video:

14:52

King Charles Setting Prophetic Stage?

Buckingham Palace announced that King Charles III will be making his first international state visit from March 26-31, 2023 by going to France and Germany. Some believe this is intended to attempt to smooth over some relations between the United Kingdom and the European Union. Could there be any connection to the goals of the World Economic Forum? Could this visit possibly help set the stage for the UK (prophetic Ephraim) to fulfill certain prophecies related to Germany (prophetic Assyria) after the start of the Great Tribulation? Are there biblical prophecies that suggest that the United States of America and its British-descended allies may turn on each other? Did Nostradamus also seem to predict that as well as some events that now seem to be happening–such as opinions not being free? Is the USA prophesied to be destroyed by a European power? Is King Charles knowledgeable about any biblical prophecies concerning the British peoples being descendants of the Israelite tribe of Ephraim? Are the North American and British peoples prophesied to have a European king over them because they refuse to repent? What to prophecies by Hosea, Daniel, Amos, and Isaiah show? Steve Dupuie and Dr. Thiel address these matters.

Here is a link to our video: King Charles Setting Prophetic Stage?

More on what will happen to the UK, its British-descended allies, the USA, and Europe, can be found in the following free online book: Lost Tribes and Prophecies: What will happen to Australia, the British Isles, Canada, Europe, New Zealand and the United States of America?

Some items of possibly related interest may include:

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.
Lost Tribes and Prophecies: What will happen to Australia, the British Isles, Canada, Europe, New Zealand and the United States of America? Where did those people come from? Can you totally rely on DNA? What about other peoples? Do you really know what will happen to Europe and the English-speaking peoples? What about Africa, Asia, South America, and the Islands? This free online book provides scriptural, scientific, historical references, and commentary to address those matters. Here are links to related sermons: Lost tribes, the Bible, and DNA; Lost tribes, prophecies, and identifications; 11 Tribes, 144,000, and Multitudes; Israel, Jeremiah, Tea Tephi, and British Royalty; Gentile European Beast; Royal Succession, Samaria, and Prophecies; Asia, Islands, Latin America, Africa, and Armageddon;  When Will the End of the Age Come?;  Rise of the Prophesied King of the North; Christian Persecution from the Beast; WWIII and the Coming New World Order; and Woes, WWIV, and the Good News of the Kingdom of God.
There is a Place of Safety for the Philadelphians. Why it May Be Near Petra This article discusses a biblical ‘place of safety,’ Zephaniah 2 to ‘gather together,’ and includes quotes from the Bible and Herbert W. Armstrong on fleeing to a place–thus, there is a biblically supported alternative to the rapture theory. Two sermon-length videos of related interest are available Physical Protection During the Great Tribulation and Might Petra be the Place of Safety?  Here is something related in the Spanish language: Hay un lugar de seguridad para los Filadelfinos. ¿Puede ser Petra?
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 are links to related videos: European history and the Bible, Europe In Prophecy, The End of European Babylon, and Can You Prove that the Beast to Come is European?
When Will the Great Tribulation Begin? 2024, 2025, or 2026? 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 la Gran Tribulación comenzar en el 2020 o 2021? ¿Es el Tiempo de los Gentiles? A brand new video, mentioning the Israel-Hamas war, is available: Tribulation in 2024?

Asked by @nanditab1 whether the U.S. would support a buffer zone between Gaza and Israel, @VP said: “We have not weighed in on that.” pic.twitter.com/3ayuncZFjg

— Akayla Gardner (@gardnerakayla) December 2, 2023

COGwriter

Voice of America published the following:

VP Harris Sketches Out US Vision of Post-Conflict Gaza

December 3, 2023

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris on Saturday laid out broad American objectives for when the Israel-Hamas conflict ends and stressed that the Palestinian people in Gaza and the West Bank should ultimately be reunified under one governing entity. …

In talks with President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi of Egypt, Harris said that “under no circumstances will the United States permit the forced relocation of Palestinians from Gaza or the West Bank, the besiegement of Gaza, or the redrawing of the borders of Gaza,” the White House said in a statement.

She also said that once the war ends, efforts to rebuild should be pursued “in the context of a clear political horizon for the Palestinian people towards a state of their own led by a revitalized Palestinian Authority and have significant support from the international community and the countries of the region,” the statement said.

“The vice president made clear that Hamas cannot control Gaza, which is untenable for Israel’s security, the well-being of the Palestinian people, and regional security,” the White House said. https://www.voanews.com/a/vp-harris-sketches-out-us-vision-of-post-conflict-gaza/7381566.html

The nation of Israel considers that it has sovereignty over Gaza, hence when Kamala Harris said “under no circumstances will the United States permit the forced relocation of Palestinians from Gaza or the West Bank, the besiegement of Gaza, or the redrawing of the borders of Gaza,” that is somewhat illogical in that I doubt she is saying that the USA would actually attack to stop or prevent Israel for doing some or all of those things.

Furthermore, besiegement has been part of Israel’s military strategy since the current conflict began in October, as well as the fact that it has had a limited besiegement (though strict border controls) prior to the October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas.

As far as Israel’s stated intentions, they are not the same as the USA’s:

Netanyahu vows ‘total victory’ against Hamas; says PA rejects Israel, can’t rule Gaza

December 3, 2023

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed Saturday night not to allow the Palestinian Authority to take control of the Gaza Strip once Israel succeeds in removing Hamas from power, in sharp opposition to US President Joe Biden’s position and that of other key international actors. …

Netanyahu acknowledged the differences with the US, saying the US supports some of the war goals, “two of them for sure” — an apparent reference to public differences over the US call for a “revitalized” PA to eventually control Gaza in the context of a two-state solution.

“Ultimately this is our war. Ultimately we have to make the decisions. Ultimately, we do make the decisions,” he said. “We try and often succeed in convincing our American friends. I hope and believe that will be the case in the future.” https://www.timesofisrael.com/netanyahu-vows-total-victory-against-hamas-says-pa-rejects-israel-cant-rule-gaza/

Key Netanyahu aide reveals ‘security envelope’ to enclose Gaza

December 3, 2018

Israel is going to create a “security envelope” in Gaza once its military has vanquished Hamas, a senior adviser to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has revealed to the media. Earlier, Reuters reported that the Israeli government had informed several countries about its plans for a “buffer zone” in the Palestinian enclave.

Israel launched its military operation against Hamas after Palestinian militants carried out a surprise incursion into the Jewish state, killing 1,200 people and abducting several hundred more. Netanyahu’s war cabinet has named the complete eradication of the Islamist group from Gaza as its aim. No clear picture has emerged yet as to the enclave’s future, however.

Speaking to reporters on Saturday, Mark Regev said that “Israel will have to have a security envelope,” adding that “we can never again allow terrorists to cross the border and butcher our people the way they did on October 7.”

The official hastened to stress that “that is not Israel taking territory from Gaza,” describing the planned arrangement as “common sense.” https://www.rt.com/news/588422-israel-plans-buffer-zone-gaza/

As far as “common sense” goes, it would seem to be “common sense” that leaders in Israel would read the Hebrew scriptures (otherwise known as the Old Testament). Presuming that they read them, they should also pay attention to the fact that the Bible shows that Gazans/Palestinians will end up with territory that Israel controls.

Zechariah had a prophecy of change coming to Gaza:

5 Ashkelon shall see it and fear; Gaza also shall be very sorrowful; And Ekron, for He dried up her expectation.The king shall perish from Gaza, And Ashkelon shall not be inhabited. 6 “A mixed race shall settle in Ashdod, And I will cut off the pride of the Philistines. 7 I will take away the blood from his mouth, And the abominations from between his teeth. But he who remains, even he shall be for our God, And shall be like a leader in Judah, And Ekron like a Jebusite. 8 I will camp around My house Because of the army, Because of him who passes by and him who returns. No more shall an oppressor pass through them, For now I have seen with My eyes. (Zechariah 9:5-8)

Some (see Matthew Henry’s Commentary, etc.) believe that this was fulfilled in the past. However, as future prophecies tell of a time Gaza and the Philistines having problems (see below), the above could still have future fulfillment. If so, it shows that some in Gaza/Palestine will be converted.

Bible prophecy tells of calamity coming to Gaza and other lands:

17 Then I took the cup from the Lord’s hand, and made all the nations drink, to whom the Lord had sent me: 18 Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, its kings and its princes, to make them a desolation, an astonishment, a hissing, and a curse, as it is this day; 19 Pharaoh king of Egypt, his servants, his princes, and all his people; 20 all the mixed multitude, all the kings of the land of Uz, all the kings of the land of the Philistines (namely, Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and the remnant of Ashdod); 21 Edom, Moab, and the people of Ammon; 22 all the kings of Tyre, all the kings of Sidon, and the kings of the coastlands which are across the sea; 23 Dedan, Tema, Buz, and all who are in the farthest corners; 24 all the kings of Arabia and all the kings of the mixed multitude who dwell in the desert; 25 all the kings of Zimri, all the kings of Elam, and all the kings of the Medes; 26 all the kings of the north, far and near, one with another; and all the kingdoms of the world which are on the face of the earth. Also the king of Sheshach shall drink after them.

27 “Therefore you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “Drink, be drunk, and vomit! Fall and rise no more, because of the sword which I will send among you.”‘ 28 And it shall be, if they refuse to take the cup from your hand to drink, then you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: “You shall certainly drink! 29 For behold, I begin to bring calamity on the city which is called by My name, and should you be utterly unpunished? You shall not be unpunished, for I will call for a sword on all the inhabitants of the earth,” says the Lord of hosts.’ (Jeremiah 25:17-29)

Many of the lands above are listed as supporters of the final King of the South (Daniel 11:40-43) and/or part of a confederation that will be destroyed that will involve Egypt (Ezekiel 30:3-8). Some of those lands, Ashkelon (located 50 kilometres south of Tel Aviv, and 13 kilometres north of the border with the Gaza Strip), Ekron (modern Tel Miqne, which is 35 kilometers west of Jerusalem), and Ashdod (located 32 kilometres south of Tel Aviv, 20 km north of Ashkelon, and 53 km west of Jerusalem), are currently dominated by the nation of Israel.

Ashkelon, Tel Migne, and Ashdod are claimed to be part of Israel. They are not in the Gaza Strip (they are all north of it) nor part of the other Palestinian controlled region known as the West Bank. Therefore, it looks like the Palestinians will either control those cities again or be so numerous in it that they are the ones affected in Jeremiah 25. It is my current view that the Palestinians will gain land that the nation of Israel thinks it will continue to control.

Jeremiah 25 looks to be showing us that the current nation of Israel will lose lands to the Palestinians–and this would seem to be well after the ‘peace deal’ of Daniel 9:27 is confirmed (and it is not currently expected that most of those lands would be ceded to the Palestinians in the Daniel 9:27 deal).

The entire 47th chapter of Jeremiah is a prophecy about the Philistines, including Gaza:

1 The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet against the Philistines, before Pharaoh attacked Gaza.

2 Thus says the Lord: “Behold, waters rise out of the north, And shall be an overflowing flood; They shall overflow the land and all that is in it, The city and those who dwell within; Then the men shall cry, And all the inhabitants of the land shall wail. 3 At the noise of the stamping hooves of his strong horses, At the rushing of his chariots, At the rumbling of his wheels, The fathers will not look back for their children, Lacking courage, 4 Because of the day that comes to plunder all the Philistines,To cut off from Tyre and Sidon every helper who remains; For the Lord shall plunder the Philistines, The remnant of the country of Caphtor. 5 Baldness has come upon Gaza, Ashkelon is cut off With the remnant of their valley. How long will you cut yourself? 6 “O you sword of the Lord, How long until you are quiet? Put yourself up into your scabbard, Rest and be still! 7 How can it be quiet, Seeing the Lord has given it a charge Against Ashkelon and against the seashore? There He has appointed it.” (Jeremiah 47:2-7)

Problems were thus prophesied for Gaza–since there is a duality to some prophecies (e.g. Malachi 4:5 & Matthew 17:10-13), this prophecy Jeremiah recorded may also have a future application. It should be noted that since Ashkelon is currently claimed to be part of Israel, possibly the Palestinians will either control it again or be so numerous in it that they are affected.

While the Jews do not accept the New Testament, Christians do. So, consider the following words of Jesus:

20 But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near. 21 Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those who are in the midst of her depart, and let not those who are in the country enter her. 22 For these are the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. (Luke 21:20-22)

Jesus’ prophecy points to non-Israel armies coming into its territory.

Israel is simply not going to have the type of success in the long-run that it is hoping for.

That said, a temporal “peace” come:

26 And the people of the prince who is to come Shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end of it shall be with a flood, And till the end of the war desolations are determined. 27 Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week; But in the middle of the week He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, Even until the consummation, which is determined, Is poured out on the desolate (Daniel 9:26-27).

This prophecy in Daniel is a referring to a timed deal–a deal with a time limit. The ‘one week’ has generally been understood by prophecy watchers to mean a seven year deal, that is broken in the middle of it (after 3 1/2 years). If the prophesied confirmations happens in 2024, we would expect that Jesus would return in 2031 (watch our newest uploaded video Tribulation in 2024?).

The deal is confirmed by one called a “prince” in Daniel 9:26. This “prince” is pointing to a leader of the developing European empire who is called the King of the North in Daniel 11:40 (see King of the North and Europa, the Beast, and the Book of Revelation). He will break the deal when, according to Daniel 11:31, he will also be the King of the North.

People will be misled about the deal and will tend to believe it is good (1 Thessalonians 5:3; cf. Ezekiel 13:10-14). USA political leaders have long endorsed proposals for peace between the Palestinians and the Israelis that could be modified and perhaps temporarily adopted. Destruction of the USA will happen about three and 1/2 years after the deal is confirmed by the European leader (cf. Daniel 9:27, 11:31-39).

Notice something that the Apostle Paul wrote about:

3 For when they say, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape. 4 But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. (1 Thessalonians 5:3-4)

Many will NOT understand, but will be deceived about the temporal peace that will come.

Based upon what the Bible teaches about the seven churches of Revelation 2 & 3, it is my position that the seven-year component of the deal in Daniel 9:27 will not be clear enough to Greco-Roman Catholics, Protestants, nor most who claim to be in the Church of God for them to realize this is the deal. Just like they do not consider certain prophetic matters clear enough (e.g. How To Determine If Someone is a True Prophet of God), the vast majority will not truly understand the prophetic implications when the related deal is made.

A real lasting peace will not occur until the establishment of the true Kingdom of God (Isaiah 2:4; Micah 4:3, Revelation 21). Until then, the Bible warns of times  of temporary (Daniel 9:27) and false declarations of peace (e.g. 1 Thessalonians 5:3; Ezekiel 13:10-14).

Christians need to watch and pray (Luke 21:36) and not be deceived like the world will be (2 Thessalonians 2:9-12).

A timed peace deal in the Middle East is something to watch for. And that is something that people like Kamala Harris would seem inclined to support.

Some items of possibly related interest may include:

The ‘Peace Deal’ of Daniel 9:27 This prophecy could give up to 3 1/2 years advance notice of the coming Great Tribulation. Will most ignore or misunderstand its fulfillment? Here is a link to a related sermon video Daniel 9:27 and the Start of the Great Tribulation.
When Will the Great Tribulation Begin? 2024, 2025, or 2026? 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 la Gran Tribulación comenzar en el 2020 o 2021? ¿Es el Tiempo de los Gentiles? A brand new video, mentioning the Israel-Hamas war, is available: Tribulation in 2024?
Gaza and the Palestinians in Bible Prophecy What does the Bible teach about Gaza and the fate of the Palestinians? Here is a link to two related videos: Gaza and Bible Prophecy and Gaza and Palestine in Prophecy.
Biden-Harris: Prophecies and Destruction Can the USA survive two full presidential terms? In what ways are Joe Biden and Kamala Harris apocalyptic? This book has hundreds of prophecies and scriptures to provide details.  A Kindle version is also available 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 your free Kindle reader app (or if you already have one or a Kindle),  you can go to: Biden-Harris: Prophecies and Destruction (Kindle) to get the book in seconds.