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COGwriter

Reuters reported the following:

Russia to allow crypto payments in international trade to counter sanctions

MOSCOW, July 30 (Reuters) – Russian lawmakers passed a bill on Tuesday that will allow businesses to use crypto currencies in international trade, as part of efforts to skirt Western sanctions imposed after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The law is expected to go into force in September, and Russian central bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina, one of the backers of the new law, said the first transactions in cryptocurrencies will take place before the end of the year.

Russia has faced significant delays in international payments with major trading partners such as China, India and the United Arab Emirates after banks in those countries, under pressure from Western regulators, became more cautious.

“We are taking a historic decision in the financial sphere,” the head of the Duma lower house of parliament, Anatoly Aksakov, told lawmakers. https://www.reuters.com/technology/russia-launch-international-payments-crypto-before-end-2024-2024-07-30/

Russia Legalizes Bitcoin And Crypto for International Trade To Bypass Sanctions

In a significant legislative move, Russian lawmakers have passed a bill permitting businesses to use Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies in international trade, according to a report by Retuers. This development is part of Russia’s strategy to circumvent Western sanctions imposed following the invasion of Ukraine. The new law, expected to take effect in September, aims to address delays in international payments, particularly with key trading partners like China, India, and the UAE. …

Despite efforts to shift to trading partners’ currencies and develop an alternative BRICS payment system, many transactions still rely on dollars and euros via the SWIFT system, risking secondary sanctions. Nabiullina emphasized that these sanctions have complicated import payments, extending supply chains and increasing costs.

This decision by Russian lawmakers aims to mitigate the economic challenges posed by sanctions and ensure smoother international trade operations. 07/30/24 https://bitcoinmagazine.com/business/russia-legalizes-bitcoin-and-crypto-for-international-trade-to-bypass-sanctions

While the BRICS nations may or may not end up with their own currency, Bitcoin is something that many of them are willing to deal in.

This helps Russia in many ways as 1) It has accumulated more Indian rupees than it has reasons to spend, 2) bypasses the USA dollar, and 3) gives Russia a lot more flexibility in buying from non-BRICS aligned nations as well.

Plus, Russia likely realizes that anything it can do to bypass the USA dollar hurts the USA which is trying to hurt Russia with its sanctions policies.

I have long warned of “unintended consequences” of USA sanctions policies against Russia.

Six years ago, we put out the following video on our Bible News Prophecy YouTube channel:

15:19

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

As far as cryptocurrencies go, ZeroHedge posted the following in 2022:

The Bitcoin is ‘as-good-as-gold’ myth is over

November 17, 2022

When you invest in gold or buy silver coins … you are choosing to invest in an asset that has no counterparty risk.

Sadly those who have been holding their bitcoin on the crypto exchange FTX, have not experienced the same level of reassurance and service from the exchange’s management.

This time last year, cryptocurrency enthusiasts were still touting “Crypto as the new gold”– crypto touted as having the same ‘safe’ attributes as gold.

The main attribute is that it is a currency that government doesn’t control. Also, it is without counterparty risk. The latest debacle has once more proved this is not always the case for cryptocurrencies.

The news that the crypto exchange FTX was filing for bankruptcy on November 5 sent Bitcoin plunging down a further 25%.

This is on top of the more than 60% Bitcoin has already declined since its November 2021 peak. …

The FTX collapse has brought to light that the CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried, had authorized billions of dollars worth of customer assets to be lent to its affiliated trading firm Alameda Research to fund risky bets.

According to news reports Alameda Research owes FTX upwards of US$10 billion. This is more than half of its US$16 billion in customer assets!

The bankruptcy case is likely to take years to unravel. There could be more than one million creditors, and more than 100 other related corporate entities involved.

Everyone who thought they owned Bitcoin held by FTX became an unsecured bankruptcy creditor. These are the ones who must now rely upon some Court to confirm just how much, or any Bitcoin they will receive. …

Only time will tell if the timing of the test (on the heels of the FTX collapse) is simply ‘bad timing’ or an omen of a system building in even more risk. Investing in physical gold and silver are still the tried-and-true alternative!  https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2022-11-17/bitcoin-good-gold-myth-over

The reason crypto can never replace gold lies in physics: Gold cannot be destroyed

Everything else can. Computers. Exchanges. Mining Pools. Wallets. Powergrids. Internets. Nations. You name it. If you blew up the planet earth, the gold atoms would still be there.

Unlike anything else you can invest or store money in, gold doesn’t rely on any external force for this to continue to be true over time. It is sort of like a battery with no expiration date.

Gold exists as atomic number 79 on the periodic table. It is chemically inert and does not interact with oxygen. It is the only element with properties that make it completely immune to the forces of entropy. The only way to destroy it would be to fire it into the sun, or somehow put it in the middle of an equivalent fusion reaction that took the atoms apart at a subatomic level. (Stanczyk A. A Gold Guys View of Crypto, Bitcoin, and Blockchain. Medium.com, December 10, 2017 https://medium.com/@alex.stanczyk/a-gold-guys-view-of-crypto-bitcoin-and-blockchain-26e42eeab6b7)

Yes, gold and silver have been safer than being with FTX.

Cryptocurrencies, like Bitcoin, have never been backed by anything other than the desire of many to use it to trade or speculate with. (Note: that although currencies like the USA dollar were once backed by gold, currently it, and nearly all currencies of the world, are backed by nothing either–so in that respect are not much different than cryptocurrencies.)

As long time reader of this COGwriter Church of God News page are aware, I never bought into the myth that Bitcoin was “as good as gold” and have long warned about it–here is a link to something posted here over 8 years ago: Bitcoin seller ‘goes dark’–Bitcoins are not the answer.

Yet, for nations under sanctions such as Russia, Iran, and North Korea, they have different needs and interests which cryptocurrencies may assist.

It remains my view that once governments get involved enough with their own digital currencies, steps to eliminate Bitcoin will take place.

As far as governments being involved, former US President and Republican party candidate Donald Trump has brought it up.  Notice the following:

Trump Likes the Idea of a Federal Bitcoin Reserve. Don’t Laugh.

The idea of a government fund invested in cryptocurrency may sound foolish, but there are reasons for the US Treasury to consider adding Bitcoin to its portfolio.

July 31, 2024

Which financial assets a central bank should buy and sell is hardly a novel question. Historically, the US Federal Reserve has focused on shorter-term Treasury securities, but quantitative easing had the Fed buying mortgage securities and quality commercial paper in significant quantities. More generally, central banks often hold gold and foreign currencies. https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2024-07-31/trump-likes-the-idea-of-a-federal-bitcoin-reserve-don-t-laugh

‘Absolute Game Changer’—Congress Introduces Radical Bitcoin Bill As Trump Primes Price For A $100 Trillion Surge To Replace Gold

The bitcoin price has climbed almost 20% since Trump was revealed to be the headline speaker at the Bitcoin 2024 conference in Nashville, Tennessee, with billionaire investor Mark Cuban issuing a “crazy” bitcoin price prediction.

Now, after Trump promised to create a “strategic national bitcoin reserve” and predicted bitcoin could eclipse gold’s $16 trillion market capitalization, U.S. senator Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) has introduced a bill to direct the U.S. Treasury to purchase 1 million bitcoins worth almost $70 billion—while MicroStrategy’s Michael Saylor has upped his huge bitcoin price prediction. …

“If I am elected, it will be the policy of my administration, United States of America, to keep 100% of all the bitcoin the U.S. government currently holds or acquires into the future, we’ll keep 100%,” Trump said during his Saturday speech at Bitcoin 2024. “This will serve, in effect, as the core of the strategic national bitcoin stockpile.” https://www.forbes.com/sites/digital-assets/2024/07/28/absolute-game-changer-congress-introduces-radical-bitcoin-bill-as-trump-primes-price-for-a-100-trillion-surge-to-replace-gold/

The Bible teaches that the coming Beast power will control buying and selling (Revelation 13:16-18)–hence the Bible makes no provision for something like Bitcoin being able to operate like it has.

A couple of years ago, the European Union has stated that it will be the “sheriff” of Bitcoin. Related to that, the Continuing Church of God (CCOG) put out the following video on our Bible News Prophecy YouTube channel:

9:03

EU to be ‘Sheriff’ of BitCoin & Digital Currencies

Will Bitcoin remain unregulated? The European Union does not think it should be and it released a paper titled “Proposal for EU Regulation on Markets in Crypto-Assets.” Christine Lagarde, president of the European Central Bank, earlier endorsed EU regulation of crypto and digital currencies. A Belgian declared that the EU was the “new Sheriff in town” to deal with the “wild west” of Bitcoin, blockchain, and other cryptocurrencies. The European Union now also has the European Public Prosecutor’s Office in operation, mainly to deal with financial matters? Will the Europeans end up controlling buying and selling associated with 666 in Revelation 13:16-18? Is Europe taking preliminary steps to do so now? Dr. Thiel address these issues.

Here is a link to our video: EU to be ‘Sheriff’ of BitCoin & Digital Currencies.

As far as gold goes, it is mentioned 453 times in the NKJV Protestant translation of the Bible and 464 times in the Roman Catholic Douay-Rheims Bible–hence it is something that the Bible refers to. Furthermore, gold is prophesied to have worth into the time of the Great Tribulation (cf. Revelation 18:12,16), but that will not last either. For more on gold and prophecy go, check out the article: The Plain Truth About Gold in Prophecy. How Should a Christian View Gold?

As far Bitcoin itself goes, unless adopted and controlled by the Beast, it will become worthless.

The time is also coming when the USA dollar will be worthless. And yes, the Bible tells that for a time gold will be worthless, but that does not happen to gold until years after the demise of the US dollar. But placing too much confidence in gold, currencies, or alternatives like Bitcoin will not truly save anyone (cf. 1 Peter 1:7). Yet, true repentance and turning to the Jesus of the Bible can.

UPDATE 08/04/24: We just uploaded the following related video:

14:59

Russia, USA, & Bitcoin

On July 30, 2024, Russian lawmakers passed a bill that will allow businesses to use cryptocurrencies, like Bitcoin, to skirt Western sanctions imposed after Russia’s Special Military Operation into Ukraine. This is to come to force in September 2024. This is hoped to help with trade between Russia, China, India, the United Arab Emirates, and others. What are several advantages to Russia in doing so? Could there be “unintentional consequences” in dealing with Bitcoin? Is Bitcoin “as good as good” or silver? What does the Bible teach about gold? Does the Bible allow for the ‘666’ power to use unregulated Bitcoin? Was a bill been introduced in the US Congress for its Treasury to purchase 1 million Bitcoin? Has Donald Trump made statements about the USA stockpiling Bitcoin should he again become President of the United States? Does the Bible warn against debt accumulation, show that the USA dollar will one day be worthless, and prophesy that the strongest military on the earth will be conquered? Should you rely on any nation, gold, or cryptocurrency? What should Christians rely on? Dr. Thiel and Steve Dupuie address these issues.

Here is a link to our video: Russia, USA, & Bitcoin.

Although the USA is not likely to repent nationally to prevent its prophesied demise (c. Habakkuk 2:6-8; Daniel 11:39; Isaiah 10:5-11), nor can Bitcoin prevent it, personally you can repent, as well as physically take steps, before the dollar-based economic system collapses.

Do NOT place your confidence in Bitcoin, FTX, the US dollar, or gold, but “seek first the Kingdom of God” (Matthew 6:33).

Some items of possibly related interest may include:

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.
The Plain Truth About Gold in Prophecy. How Should a Christian View Gold? What do economists and the Bible teach about gold? Gold and silver may drop in value. Inflation/deflation? What do Christians need to know about gold? A video of related interest may be: Germany, Gold, and the US Dollar.
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.
Is God Calling You? This booklet discusses topics including calling, election, and selection. If God is calling you, how will you respond? Here is are links to related sermons: Christian Election: Is God Calling YOU? and Predestination and Your Selection. A short animation is also available: Is God Calling You?
Christian Repentance Do you know what repentance is? Is it really necessary for salvation? A related sermon is also available titled: Real Christian Repentance.
Just What Do You Mean — Repentance? Do you know what repentance is? Have you truly repented? Repented of what? Herbert W. Armstrong wrote this as a booklet on this important subject.
When You Sin: Do You Really Repent? This is an article by Charles F. Hunting. A related sermon is Confess to God and truly repent.
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.
Blockchain, Karl Guttenberg, and 666. American Express just announced a deal with Ripple related to using its blockchain technology. No longer confined to Bitcoin, blockchain technology is moving towards the mainstream. Former German Economic and later Defense Minister, Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg has long been an adviser to Ripple and has plans for internationally-expanding the use of blockchain money. Jim Rickards, Doug Casey, and others have expressed concerns that blockchain money will give governments too much control over buying and selling. Could any of this be related to biblical prophecies in the Books of Daniel and Revelation? Could any of this help fulfill the prophecies related to buying and selling and 666 in Revelation 13? Dr. Thiel addresses these issues and more in this video. A related written article is also available: Amex launches blockchain-based business payments using Ripple: Prelude to the Beast and 666?
Some Doctrines of Antichrist Are there any doctrines taught outside the Churches of God which can be considered as doctrines of antichrist? This article suggests at least three. It also provides information on 666 and the identity of “the false prophet.” Plus it shows that several Catholic writers seem to warn about an ecumenical antipope that will support heresy. You can also watch a video titled What Does the Bible teach about the Antichrist?
Might German Baron Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg become the King of the North? Is the former German Defense Minister (who is also the former German Minister for Economics and Technology) one to watch? What do Catholic, Byzantine, and biblical prophecies suggest? A video of related interest would be: Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg and Europe’s Future.
Two Horned Beast of Revelation and 666 Who is 666? This article explains how the COG views this, and compares this to Ellen White. Here is a link to a prophetic video Six Financial Steps Leading to 666?
Europa, the Beast, and Revelation Where did Europe get its name? What might Europe have to do with the Book of Revelation? What about “the Beast”? Is an emerging European power “the daughter of Babylon”? What is ahead for Europe? Here is a link to a video titled: Can You Prove that the Beast to Come is European?
Must the Ten Kings of Revelation 17:12 Rule over Ten Currently Existing Nations? Some claim that these passages refer to a gathering of 10 currently existing nations together, while one group teaches that this is referring to 11 nations getting together. Is that what Revelation 17:12-13 refers to? The ramifications of misunderstanding this are enormous. A related sermon is titled Ten Kings of Revelation and the Great Tribulation.
Who is the Man of Sin of 2 Thessalonians 2? Is this the King of the North, the ten-horned beast of Revelation 13:1-11, or the two-horned Beast of Revelation 13:12-16? Some rely on traditions, but what does the Bible teach? Here is a related link in Spanish/español: ¿Quién es el Hombre de Pecado de 2 Tesalonicenses 2?; here is a link to a video in Spanish: ¿Quién es el ‘hombre de pecado’? Here is a version in Mandarin: N;ÿ Œ
f/’Y’jNº’ÿ Here is a link to a related English sermon video titled: The Man of Sin will deceive most ‘Christians’.
Who is the King of the North? Is there one? Do biblical and Roman Catholic prophecies for the Great Monarch point to the same leader? Should he be followed? Who will be the King of the North discussed in Daniel 11? Is a nuclear attack prophesied to happen to the English-speaking peoples of the United States, Great Britain, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand? When do the 1335 days, 1290 days, and 1260 days (the time, times, and half a time) of Daniel 12 begin? When does the Bible show that economic collapse will affect the United States? In the Spanish language check out ¿Quién es el Rey del Norte? Here are links to two related videos: The King of the North is Alive: What to Look Out For and The Future King of the North.
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?
Might the U.S.A. Be Gone in 2028? Could the USA be gone by the end of 2028? 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? In Spanish: Seran los Estados Unidos Destruidos en el 2028?
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 related video is: Great Tribulation: 2026 or 2027? A shorter video is: Tribulation in 2024?
The Gospel of the Kingdom of God This free online pdf booklet has answers many questions people have about the Gospel of the Kingdom of God and explains why it is the solution to the issues the world is facing. Here are links to three related sermons: The World’s False Gospel, The Gospel of the Kingdom: From the New and Old Testaments, and The Kingdom of G

Ismail Haniyeh
(Council.gov.ru via Wikipedia)

COGwriter

Iran’s Supreme leader has vowed revenge after a Hamas leader was killed in Tehran:

Ayatollah Says ‘Severe’ Revenge Coming For Israel Killing Hamas Leader On Iranian Soil

July 31, 2024

The world just woke up to a new Middle East on Wednesday which stands on the precipice of major war between Iran and its proxies and Israel, following the overnight Israeli assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, the top political leader of Hamas, during an inauguration event for Iran’s new president. Haniyeh, who is based in Qatar, and an Iranian security guard were killed reportedly while in the Iranian capital. Hamas has since condemned the “treacherous Zionist raid on his residence in Tehran.”

Iran is vowing “severe” punishment, with the Islamic Republic’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, announcing in English and Farsi on X, “The criminal, terrorist Zionist regime martyred our dear guest in our territory and has caused our grief, but it has also prepared the ground for a severe punishment.”

And Iran’s newly sworn-in president Masoud Pezeshkian in a statement cited in state media said the country will “defend its territorial integrity, dignity, honor, and pride, and will make the terrorist occupiers regret their cowardly act.”

Taking out Haniyeh was the second high-profile assassination attributed by Israel in a matter of hours, following the Tuesday airstrike in Beirut that killed Hezbollah’s top military leader and right-hand man to Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah, Fuad Shukr.

That attack was massive and on a neighborhood and buildings in the south of the capital, with Lebanon’s Health Ministry saying three people, including two children, have been killed, with at least 74 wounded. https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/ayatollah-says-severe-revenge-coming-israel-killing-hamas-leader-iranian-soil

July 31, 2024

A former Israeli national security adviser tells VOA that Iranian proxy groups Hamas and Hezbollah face dilemmas in considering retaliations against Israel for the assassinations of two of their senior members in strikes on Beirut and Tehran over several hours beginning Tuesday.

Israeli reserves Brig. Gen. Jacob Nagel, a former national security adviser to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, discussed those dilemmas in a Wednesday phone interview with VOA. Nagel is an Israel-based senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a U.S. foreign policy and security research group in Washington.

Israel asserted that it killed Fuad Shukr, the top military commander of Lebanon’s U.S.-designated terror group Hezbollah, in a Tuesday strike on a building in the group’s stronghold of southern Beirut. Hezbollah has not said whether Shukr was killed in the attack.

The Israeli government and military have not commented on the attack that Iran and the Hamas terror group said killed the group’s political chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran hours later. Hamas and Iranian state media blamed Israel for Wednesday’s pre-drawn strike on a residence in the Iranian capital, without citing evidence. https://www.voanews.com/a/hamas-hezbollah-face-dilemmas-in-hitting-back-at-israel-after-assassinations-of-key-leaders/7723918.html

Last evening, before the announcement of the killing of Ismail Haniyeh, Micheal Snyder posted the following:

July 31, 2024

Now we shall see what Hezbollah chooses to do in response.

Prior to the Israeli attack, the head of Hezbollah had pledged that any attack on Beirut would mean that Tel Aviv would be targeted in return…

On Monday, Lebanon’s foreign minister told CNN that an Israeli attack in the southern suburbs of Beirut, or the international airport, “would surely lead to war.” Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah has repeatedly said that any Israeli strike on the Lebanese capital would prompt a Hezbollah attack on Tel Aviv.

I am sure that Hezbollah will do something in response.

But I don’t think that all-out war will erupt quite yet.

I still think that we are at least a couple of months away.

But a day of reckoning is definitely approaching. The Israelis are absolutely determined to move Hezbollah north of the Litani River, and Hezbollah has warned that the moment IDF troops enter southern Lebanon all-out war will begin. …

Ever since last October, this war has been simmering at a relatively low level as Israel and Hamas have been going at it.

But eventually this thing is going to spiral out of control, and the death and destruction we will witness will shock the entire globe. https://endoftheamericandream.com/will-turkey-try-to-invade-israel-once-the-end-times-war-in-the-middle-east-spirals-out-of-control/

We may be closer to an all-out war than Michael Snyder thinks.

Actually, a destructive war is part of Hamas’ official purpose. Notice something from one of Hamas’ official founding documents:

THE COVENANT OF THE HAMAS – MAIN POINTS . . .

Goals of the HAMAS:
——————
‘The Islamic Resistance Movement is a distinguished Palestinian movement, whose allegiance is to Allah, and whose way of life is Islam. It strives to raise the banner of Allah over every inch of Palestine.’ (Article 6)

On the Destruction of Israel:
—————————–
‘Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it, just as it obliterated others before it.’ (Preamble)

Hamas and Iran want Israel gone—though that does not mean that they will not be open to some type of a temporary or timed withdrawal or peace deal. And a TEMPORARY one will come according to the Bible:

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).

But, again, the deal will be temporary. The “one week” above has been understand to be a seven-year confirmation, but the fact that it will be broken in the middle shows it will basically only have a 3 1/2 year confirmation.

Most often, “peace deals” happen after conflict and Iran has vowed to increase the conflict and it would seem that its proxies of Hamas and Hezbollah want to do that as well.

The Bible has the following prophecy:

12 The Syrians before and the Philistines behind; And they shall devour Israel with an open mouth. (Isaiah 9:12)

The Bible clearly is prophesying problems from some Syrians (who are close allies of Iran) and some Palestinians (which includes those of Gaza).

Regarding Iran possibly attacking Israel, in March I posted the following:

The Bible shows that God will allow what looks to be a Iranian-Syrian confederation to strike the nation of Israel:

1 The burden against the Valley of Vision.

What ails you now, that you have all gone up to the housetops, 2 You who are full of noise, A tumultuous city, a joyous city? Your slain men are not slain with the sword, Nor dead in battle. 3 All your rulers have fled together; They are captured by the archers. All who are found in you are bound together; They have fled from afar. 4 Therefore I said, “Look away from me, I will weep bitterly; Do not labor to comfort me Because of the plundering of the daughter of my people.”

5 For it is a day of trouble and treading down and perplexity By the Lord God of hosts In the Valley of Vision — Breaking down the walls And of crying to the mountain. 6 Elam bore the quiver With chariots of men and horsemen, And Kir uncovered the shield. 7 It shall come to pass that your choicest valleys Shall be full of chariots, And the horsemen shall set themselves in array at the gate.

8 He removed the protection of Judah. You looked in that day to the armor of the House of the Forest; 9 You also saw the damage to the city of David, That it was great; And you gathered together the waters of the lower pool. 10 You numbered the houses of Jerusalem, And the houses you broke down To fortify the wall. 11 You also made a reservoir between the two walls For the water of the old pool. But you did not look to its Maker, Nor did you have respect for Him who fashioned it long ago.

12 And in that day the Lord God of hosts Called for weeping and for mourning, For baldness and for girding with sackcloth. 13 But instead, joy and gladness, Slaying oxen and killing sheep, Eating meat and drinking wine: “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!”

14 Then it was revealed in my hearing by the Lord of hosts,”Surely for this iniquity there will be no atonement for you, Even to your death,” says the Lord God of hosts. (Isaiah 22:1-14 NKJV)

Elam is a reference to at least some in Iran. The old Worldwide Church of God published the following:

Iranians comprise nearly 70 percent of the country. Iranians, though Islamic, are totally distinct from the neighboring Arab peoples of the Middle East. They are a mixed people of the remnants of Media and Elam and other ancestors of Semitic and Hamitic stock. (Stump K. South Asia in Prophecy. Plain Truth, July/August 1986, p. 5)

The Bible tells that after Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria took over Damascus, he moved Syrians to Kir (2 Kings 16:9-10). God’s word has the expression “the Syrians from Kir” (Amos 9:7), which is basically confirmation that Kir of Isaiah 22 would include Syrians. The Bible also tells of a time when Kir will be destroyed (Isaiah 15:1b) and also says that Syria’s capital Damascus will be destroyed (Isaiah 17:1).While this does not mean that Kir must (or must only) be a reference to Syria, the fact that Syria is an ally of Iran is interesting.

In Isaiah 22: 8, “Judah” is a reference to those in the land commonly called Israel–God will allow Israel to be attacked! In Isaiah 22:9, consider that “the damage to the city of David” is a reference to at least part of Jerusalem–and notice that the damage will be great. This, in turn, would be expected to result in a massive Israeli, possibly with US involvement, attack against Iran and its allies, like Syria.the

The fulfillment of Isaiah 22:6-9 could lead to the prophesied peace deal of Daniel 9:26-27 and the countdown to the start of the Great Tribulation.

But notice verse 8: He removed the protection of Judah.

Part of the protection of Judah, aka the nation called Israel, comes from the USA.

While Syria (and others) may be involved in removing “the protection of Judah,” the more the USA distances itself from Israel, the more tempting an attack may seem for Iran.

Anyway, we may well see Iran attack Israel in 2024, and that could possibly lead to the confirmation of the deal of Daniel 9:27. (Thiel B. VOA: Hamas Leader Speaks in Iran of Israel’s ‘Political Isolation’. COGwriter, March 27, 2024)

Since that post, we have seen an attack by Iran in 2024. But as I emailed someone within a few hours after it began, I did not believe it was the attack of Isaiah 22:6-9. And it was not.

That said, most COGs do not understand about Iran in prophecy (see Iran & Syria & Israel: PCG, WCG, CGG, UCG, CEG, COGaIC, LCG, RCG, ICG, CGI, and CCOG).

Last year, the Continuing Church of God (CCOG) put together the following Bible News Prophecy video on our Bible News Prophecy YouTube channel related to Iran and Israel:

15:03

Iran and Israel Conflict

European Union foreign policy chief, Josep Borrel, has been brokering the nuclear negotiations involving Iran and said that he thinks the deal is “in danger.” Iran blames the United States, whereas the USA says they are not delaying it. Israeli sources stated that Israel will stop Iran from getting a nuclear bomb. Joe Biden says the USA would use its own military power to prevent Iran from getting such a bomb if need be. In 2021, Iranian lawmakers have submitted a bill seeking the government by law to commit to Israel’s destruction by the year 2040. Does the 22nd chapter of Isaiah point to damage coming to Israel from Iran and possibly Syria? Might Iran be concerned enough about limited progress with the USA to launch some type of attack? Is Iran the prophesied ‘King of the South’? Is it reasonable to think that the prophesied peace deal of Daniel 9:27 will not happen until after a military conflict. like a regional war? Should Christians watch the Middle East? Dr. Thiel and Steve Dupuie discuss these matters.

Here is a link to our video: Iran and Israel Conflict.

As the Ayatollah continues to age, he may well decide that 2024 is the year for him to attempt to fulfill his desire to eliminate Israel.

This is something to watch for (cf. Mark 13:37).

Some items of possibly related interest may include:

Iran in Prophecy Is Iran in Bible prophecy? If so, what does the Bible teach? What names, other than Persia, may be used to describe Iran? There is also a YouTube video titled Iran in Prophecy. Here are links to two related videos Iran In Prophecy and  Iran and Israel Conflict.
Islamic and Biblical Prophecies for the 21st Century This is a free online book which helps show where biblical and Islamic prophecies converge and diverge.
Seeing Christianity Through Islamic Eyes This article has information from the book, Islamic and Biblical Prophecies for the 21st Century, as well as from the old WCG and other sources.
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.
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 a related video: Gaza and Palestine in Prophecy.
Damascus and Syria in Prophecy Will Bashar Assad hold power as he has it? Does the Bible show that Damascus, the capital of Syria, will be destroyed? What will happen to Syria? Will the Syrians support the final King of the South that the Bible tells will rise up? Which scriptures discuss the rise and fall of an Arabic confederation? Does Islamic prophecy predict the destruction of Syria. This is a YouTube video.
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 ? 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?
The Arab and Islamic World In the Bible, History, and Prophecy The Bible discusses the origins of the Arab world and discusses the Middle East in prophecy. What is ahead for the Middle East and those who follow Islam? What about the Imam Mahdi? What lies ahead for Turkey, Iran, and the other non-Arabic Muslims? An item of possibly related interest in the Spanish language would be: Líderes iraníes condenan la hipocresía de Occidente y declaran que ahora es tiempo para prepararse para el Armagedón, la guerra, y el Imán Mahdi.

Duccio di Buoninsegna’s Imagined Depiction of Hosea

COGwriter

Some observe a memorial to the death of the Prophet Hosea on July 31st of each year. Hosea was believed to have lived in the 8th century B.C. The name “Hosea,” means “salvation,” or “He saves,” or “He helps.”

Here is how the Book of Hosea starts:

1 The word of the Lord that came to Hosea the son of Beeri, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel. (Hosea 1:1)

Hosea is shown to have had a difficult time and was told to take harlots as wives. But he also had difficult messages for the children of Israel, then and now.

The Book of Hosea specifically shows that there will be problems with Israel, Ephraim, 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/Great Britain, Canada, Australia, & New Zealand, and Judah (the nation now called Israel) will have problems. This may be because of an attack by the King of the North on the USA and some of its English-speaking allies. The USA probably had pride in its military power which was then 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 Anglo-Saxon-Celtic peoples will be made slaves (see also Will the Anglo-Saxon-Celtic Nations be Divided and Have People Taken as Slaves?).

Since by this time, the Philadelphia remnant will have fled (Revelation 12:14-16), the following also comes about:

6 “With their flocks and herds

They shall go to seek the Lord,

But they will not find Him;

He has withdrawn Himself from them.

7 They have dealt treacherously with the Lord,

For they have begotten pagan children.

Now a New Moon shall devour them and their heritage. (Hosea 5:6-7)

Because of the “sin of Samaria” (Amos 8:14; which may be a reference to the modern USA) there will be a famine of the word that God will have happen (Amos 8:11-12) to at least the North Americans—the place where much of the Philadelphia remnant would have fled from (between Daniel 11:30-39).

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.

Hosea also warns about whirlwinds and a coming massive tornado:

6 For from Israel is even this:
A workman made it, and it is not God;
But the calf of Samaria shall be broken to pieces.

7 “They sow the wind,
And reap the whirlwind.
The stalk has no bud;
It shall never produce meal.
If it should produce,
Aliens would swallow it up.
8 Israel is swallowed up;
Now they are among the Gentiles
Like a vessel in which is no pleasure.
(Hosea 8:6-8)

5 Even though Ephraim ran wild,
the black sheep of the family.

“God’s tornado is on its way,
roaring out of the desert.
It will devastate the country,
leaving a trail of ruin and wreckage.
The cities will be gutted,
dear possessions gone for good.
16 Now Samaria has to face the charges
because she has rebelled against her God:
Her people will be killed, babies smashed on the rocks,
pregnant women ripped open.
(Hosea 13:15-16, THE MESSAGE)

In the above, notice that Samaria is also affected in both of the above sections. This seems to be a reference to the ‘melting pot’ of the USA (Samaria was a melting pot mixture of Babylonians and Israelites; see also Anglo – America in Prophecy & the Lost Tribes of Israel).

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. These deal seem 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.

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, Israel?) 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. Assyria is a people who Isaiah 10 shows will destroy nations.

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

This seems to be consistent also with a 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 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.

Some items of possibly related interest may include:

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?
Is a Great Reset Coming? Klaus Schwab of the World Economic Forum has proposed a societal change that has been basically endorsed by the Vatican and many world leaders. Does the Bible prophesy a major reset? Here is a link to a related video: Will there be a “Great Reset”?
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?
The King’s Pedigree This is an article published by the Otago Witness in 1902 related to connections of the British Throne to the throne of King David of Israel. This also has some modern commentary inserted in italics.
THE QUEEN’S ROYAL DESCENT FROM KING DAVID THE PSALMIST This is a listing from Adam to the Kings of Judah through Queen Victoria put together in the 19th century. A list from 19th century to present is also included.
Canada in Prophecy: What Does Bible Prophecy,Roman 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.
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 related video is: Great Tribulation: 2026 or 2027? A shorter video is: Tribulation in 2024? Here is a video in the Spanish language: Es El 2021 el año  de La Gran Tribulación o el Grande Reseteo Financiero.
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? Here is a link to a related sermon in the Spanish language: El Fin de la Babilonia Europea.
The European Union and the Seven Kings of Revelation 17 Could the European Union be the sixth king that now is, but is not? Here is a link to the related sermon video: European Union & 7 Kings of Revelation 17:10.
Must the Ten Kings of Revelation 17:12 Rule over Ten Currently Existing Nations? Some claim that these passages refer to a gathering of 10 currently existing nations together, while one group teaches that this is referring to 11 nations getting together. Is that what Revelation 17:12-13 refers to? The ramifications of misunderstanding this are enormous. Here is a link to a related sermon in the Spanish language: ¿Deben los Diez Reyes gobernar sobre diez naciones? A related sermon in the English language is titled: Ten Kings of Revelation and the Great Tribulation.
Might German Baron Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg become the King of the North? Is the former German Defense Minister (who is also the former German Minister for Economics and Technology) one to watch? What do Greco-Roman Catholic, Byzantine, and biblical prophecies suggest? A video of related interest would be: Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg and Europe’s Future. A shorter video is also available: The Middle East, Prophecy, and Karl Theodor zu Guttenberg.
Germany’s Assyrian Roots Throughout History Are the Germanic peoples descended from Asshur of the Bible? Have there been real Christians in Germanic history? What about the “Holy Roman Empire”? There is also a You-Tube video sermon on this titled Germany’s Biblical Origins.
Germany in Biblical and Roman Catholic Prophecy Does Assyria in the Bible equate to an end time power inhabiting the area of the old Roman Empire? What does prophecy say Germany will do and what does it say will happen to most of the German people? Here is a version of the article in the Spanish language: Alemania en la profecía bíblic. Here are links to two English language sermon videos Germany in Bible Prophecy and The Rise of the Germanic Beast Power of Prophecy. Here is one in the Spanish language: Alemania en profecía Biblica.

Alaska (via Pixabay)

COGwriter

World Net Daily published the following:

‘Our Alaska’: Russia’s new talking point sparks U.S. alarm

July 29, 2024

Posturing from Russia has heated up after both Russian and Chinese jets were found in international airspace only 200 miles from Alaska, and joining the chorus are Russian broadcasters now saying it’s “our Alaska.”

Alaska was purchased from the Russian Empire in 1867 and was considered a “bargain basement deal. “For a price of $7.2 million (equivalent to $129 million in 2023), the oil- and resource-rich state has now become a coveted prize for Russia, which sits only 55 miles away at its closest point.

Russian broadcaster Olga Skabeyeva, host of Russia-1 program 60 Minutes, recently referred to Alaska as Russia’s Alaska during a weekend show. Her co-host, Adalbi Shkhagoshev, who is also a deputy in Russia’s parliament, commented on the interception of Russian and Chinese aircrafts. https://www.wnd.com/2024/07/our-alaska-russias-new-talking-point-sparks-u-s-alarm/

Russia wants Alaska back.

Earlier this year, a reader send me a link to the following:

Putin stokes tensions with US, declares 1867 sale of Alaska ‘illegal’

21 January 2024

Interestingly, Vladimir Putin appears to have rethought the sale of Alaska to the Americans. It’s not a joke: he’s trying to give the impression that his influence extends not only to his country’s future events but also plans to rewrite the past. Therefore, he signed a decree rendering the sale of Alaska illegal.

This is likely the beginning of a request for its return from the United States. …

“Before Americans seize our properties abroad, they should remember, we also have something to reclaim.” – stated Vyacheslav Volodin, the chairman of the State Duma, during a plenary sitting in the summer of 2022.  …

Notably, Russia employed a similar propaganda mechanism in the case of Crimea, https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/putin-stokes-tensions-with-us-declares-1867-sale-of-alaska-illegal/ar-BB1h1lcT?ocid=msedgntp&pc=U531&cvid=f080f327d1aa42bcb8891fbb00789277&ei=35

As long time readers of this COGwriter Church of God News page are aware, I have long written that Russia will end up with at least parts of Alaska. Since I began to write that, 15 or so years ago, occasional reports pop up showing that Russia is still interested in Alaska.

Vladimir Putin’s signing of a declaration about the sale to the USA being illegal is consistent with that.

Furthermore, notice that a reader sent me a link to the following last month:

Russian Lawmaker Floats Texas and Alaska Annexations

December 9, 2023

A Russian politician has said that Venezuela’s threat to seize a region of Guyana signals a “new world order,” which could lead to future annexations by neighbors of U.S. territory that have faced their own historic disputes.

The comments from Sergey Mironov follow an attempted landgrab of Essequibo by Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Mironov is leader of the A Just Russia faction that forms the country’s systemic opposition generally sympathetic to Vladimir Putin‘s foreign policy. …

Mironov seemed to celebrate the move by Maduro, a Putin ally, in a post on X. “Did you want a new world order? Receive it and sign for it. Venezuela has annexed a 24th state, Guyana-Essequibo,” wrote the Russian lawmaker, without mentioning Moscow’s own annexations, which include Crimea and four regions of Ukraine.

“This is happening right under the nose of the once-great hegemon of the United States. All that remains is for Mexico to return Texas,” Mironov wrote. He was referring to the history of the state controlled by Mexico until 1836, when it became independent, before joining the U.S. in 1845.

Mironov, ex-chairman of Russia’s Federation Council between 2001 and 2011, added, “It’s time for Americans to think about their future. And also about Alaska,” which was part of the Russian empire before it was purchased by the U.S. in 1867 for $7.2 million.

Moscow has never formally asserted a territorial claim to Alaska, but comments by Russian politicians about retaking the state have become more common since Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/russian-lawmaker-floats-texas-and-alaska-annexations/ar-AA1lfGBw?ocid=socialshare&pc=U531&cvid=cb8aa7f996ff44f2a5fe87f37bac62e9&ei=22

Yes, some in Russia want Alaska back, and yes some in Mexico want Texas and other lands controlled by the USA back.

Also notice something from last Spring:

April 28, 2023

Kremlin propagandist Vladimir Solovyov launched an attack on the United States on state television, sharing an image of a map that divides up the U.S., seemingly contesting the legitimacy of its territorial gains throughout history. …

“Russian propagandist Solovyev drags his idea of dividing the United States between different countries from show to show,” …

Solovyov regularly lashes out at the West’s support of Ukraine in the ongoing war against Russia. In the clip, he seems to contest U.S. support for Ukraine’s goal of securing its 1991 borders. He does this by pointing out on a map some of the territorial gains the United States made in the 1800s, seemingly drawing a parallel to Russian ambitions. Russian President Vladimir Putin has, in various declarations, denied Ukraine’s national identity as well as its legitimacy as a sovereign nation. …

The state TV host then broadcast a map captioned “How did the USA expand its territory?” on the screen.

“I believe that the State Duma should say that we recognize Mexico’s territorial right to the territories which were taken away from it, as a result of the hostilities of 1748, because these matters have no statute of limitations. So of course the new Mexico should be returned by the USA to the Mexican Republic,” said Solovyov.

That would “be fair,” he said.

Mexico ceded 55 percent of its territory, including present-day New Mexico, as part of a treaty signed on February 2, 1848, that ended the war between the United States and Mexico.

“Likewise, we must look carefully at the fate of the free state of Texas, because in 1745 it was invaded and that too is totally unacceptable.” https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/russian-state-tv-shows-map-dividing-u-s-up-among-other-countries/ar-AA1atlGD?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=U531&cvid=a473fb7639df48fba09393ee52ba51b8&ei=36

Well, Russia wants more than to push for Mexico to get back a lot of land it was forced to give to the USA.

Last Summer, a reader tipped me of to the following that appeared in Newsweek:

‘Alaska Is Ours!’ Billboards Appear in Russia After Threat to Reclaim State

July 7, 2022

Billboards proclaiming “Alaska Is Ours!” have been spotted in Russia one day after a key ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested that the country could reclaim the territory that was sold to the U.S. in 1867.

Multiple billboards bearing the slogan surprised residents in the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk after being spotted on Thursday, according to Krasnoyarsk news agency NGS24. One day earlier, Putin ally and State Duma speaker Vyacheslav Volodin suggested that Russia could “take back” Alaska in retaliation for economic sanctions imposed on Russia following the country’s invasion of Ukraine.

The idea that Russia will regain at least part of Alaska is highly likely.

Since 2008, I have reported that Russia wants Alaska back and that I believe it will end up with at least part of it, and perhaps also parts of Canada.

Furthermore, I have also long warned that there are costs and “unintended consequences” for USA sanctions against Russia.

For different reasons, back in 2020, Democratic Congressman Adam Schiff voiced concerns that Russia could end up with Alaska:

February 3, 2020

Adam Schiff of California claimed during closing arguments in the Senate impeachment trial Monday that President Donald Trump will sell a U.S. state to the Russian government if not removed from office.

If “abuse of power” was not impeachable, Schiff argued, “then a whole range of utterly unacceptable conduct in a president would now be beyond reach.”

“Trump could offer Alaska to the Russians in exchange for support in the next election, or decide to move to Mar-A-Lago permanently and leave Jared Kushner to run the country, delegating to him the decision whether they go to war.” https://thefederalist.com/2020/02/03/schiff-trump-will-sell-alaska-to-russia-if-we-dont-impeach-him/

When I reported about this, I also stated “Donald Trump is not about to do that.”

However, the idea that Russia may end up with Alaska is real.

The late US Senator John McCain made some interesting statements back in 2008 about Alaska and Russia’s Vladimir Putin as CNN reported:

McCain: Putin wants ‘to restore the old Russian empire’

McCain’s comments came in an interview with Harrisburg public radio WITF, in which he hammered Putin…

He then accused Putin of wanting to restore Russia to the days of czardom, when a monarchy exerted broad control over parts of Asia and eastern Europe.

“I think it’s very clear that Russian ambitions are to restore the old Russian Empire,” he said. “Not the Soviet Union, but the Russian Empire.”  http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/08/12/mccain-putin-wants-to-restore-the-old-russian-empire/

Between 1742 and 1867 the Russian Empire administered Alaska as a colony. I have been writing for years that Russia may very well end up with it–as well as parts of Canada.

Consider also that, back in 2008, a Russian Professor predicted that Russia would end up with Alaska:

MOSCOW — For a decade, Russian academic Igor Panarin has been predicting the U.S. will fall apart…Prof. Panarin, 50 years old, is not a fringe figure. A former KGB analyst, he is dean of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s academy for future diplomats…

When the going gets tough, he says, wealthier states will withhold funds from the federal government and effectively secede from the union. Social unrest up to and including a civil war will follow. The U.S. will then split along ethnic lines, and foreign powers will move in…

“It would be reasonable for Russia to lay claim to Alaska; it was part of the Russian Empire for a long time.” A framed satellite image of the Bering Strait that separates Alaska from Russia like a thread hangs from his office wall. “It’s not there for no reason,” he says with a sly grin.

(Osborn A. As if Things Weren’t Bad Enough, Russian Professor Predicts End of U.S. Wall Street Journal, Dec 29, 2008 http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123051100709638419.html).

Although Russia does not know how it will happen, I think I do. It is certainly possible that if Russia makes a deal with the rising European Beast power that it may end up with Alaska.

Consider the following prophecy:

39 Thus he shall act against the strongest fortresses with a foreign god, which he shall acknowledge, and advance its glory; and he shall cause them to rule over many, and divide the land for gain (Daniel 11:39).

The “he” is the European King of the North (cf. Daniel 11:40). The strongest fortresses in the 21st century belong to the USA, and to a lessor degree its British-descended allies.

Since Bible prophecy points to Anglo-lands being divided in various scriptures (for more than Daniel 11:39, see Will the Anglo-Nations be Divided?), Russia may well end up with some of all of Alaska and maybe even parts of Canada.

Despite what many think, Germany and Russia will one day make a deal. Here is something I posted here in 2014:

It is certainly possible that if Russia makes a deal with the rising European Beast power that it may end up with Alaska. Bible prophecy indicates that the Anglo-lands will be divided (for details see Will the Anglo-Nations be Divided?). (Thiel B. German-Russian relations a prelude to the end of USA dominance? COGwriter, July 26, 2014)

Back in 1962, notice two items that the old Radio Church of God published:

United within the ancient boundaries of the Holy Roman Empire; united by the common spiritual bond of universal Catholicism; united in a burgeoning and booming industrial economy that dominates today’s world; united geographically in the most productive and industrial complex of all the earth — at least TEN NATIONS OF MODERN EUROPE WILL MARCH ONTO THE SCENE OF WORLD HISTORY AS THE GREATEST SINGLE HUMAN FORCE EVER SEEN BY MAN! This United Europe will form a nonaggression pact or political alignment of some sort with the Soviet East. …

Modern Europe is counseling and making treaties and alliances and agreements to conquer this earth! … Germany, those living in Germany, even the German government, may not yet know that they are going to join in a treaty with the Russians to destroy the United States and bring it to its knees-it is not in his “heart” to think so, but on the other hand it IS in his “heart” to destroy-the very characteristic of the Assyrian, the modern German, is a harsh, cruel, iron, dedication to militarism and destruction! …

MAN’S ONLY HOPE LIES IN TURNING TO HIS CREATOR GOD!

“At what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom. to pluck up, and to pull down, and to destroy it; If that nation, against whom I have pronounced, TURN FROM THEIR EVIL, I will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them… Behold, I frame evil against YOU, and devise a device against YOU: return ye now EVERY ONE from his evil way and make your ways and your doings good!” (Jer. 18:7, 8, 11).

The case of America and Great Britain is hopeless! (Hill DJ,What is Germany’s Destiny? Plain Truth, March 1962, pp. 28-29)

The German people are now asking themselves: “Can we rely on the Americans and British?” … These questions lead to the logical conclusion that maybe the only people the Germans can rely on themselves. They are now thinking: “Perhaps we can strike a better bargain with the Russians ourselves.” …

Once a German-dominated Europe is fully established, Germany will be ready to negotiate and bargain with Russia- and behind the backs of the Western Allies if necessary. …

When will a Russo-German deal be made? Here is a quotation from a circular letter issued in September, 1950 by the Nazi Geo-political Center in Madrid:

“However long we may continue to milk the Americans of millions of dollars, there must come the inevitable moment when we shall have to make it crystal clear to them that we are not willing to join the fight against Russia for American interests … (Germany Plots with the Kremlin by T H. Terens, p. 15). …

Most Americans and Britons are not aware of what Germany and Europe are planning against them. This is partly due to the cunning of German. politics. …

World events are moving swiftly toward the climax when Great Britain and the United. States will be attacked, conquered and DESTROYED! (Boraker R. Are the Germans Secretly Dealing with Moscow? Plain Truth, May 1962, pp. 45-47)

Note: I never saw the above articles until many years AFTER I wrote that the European Beast will likely grant at least part of Alaska to Russia.

Russia and Europe will make some type of a deal that will not work out well for the USA or the UK.

Let me also add that Russia has taken some steps to try to connect with Alaska.

Notice the following:

The TKM-World Link (Russian: ТрансКонтинентальная магистраль, English: Transcontinental Railway) also called ICL-World Link (Intercontinental link) is a planned 6,000-kilometer link between Siberia and Alaska providing oil, natural gas, electricity, and railroad passengers to the United States from Russia. Proposed in 2007, the plan includes provisions to build a 103-kilometre (64 mi) tunnel under the Bering Strait which, if completed, would become the longest tunnel in the world.The tunnel would be part of a railway joining Yakutsk, the capital of the Russian Yakutia republic, and Komsomolsk-on-Amur, in the Russian Far East, with the western coast of Alaska. The Bering Strait tunnel was estimated to cost between $10 billion to $12 billion, while the entire project was estimated to cost $65 billion.

In 2008, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin approved the plan to build a railroad to the Bering Strait area, as a part of the development plan to run until 2030. The more than 100-kilometre (60 mi) tunnel would run under the Bering Strait between Chukotka, in the Russian far east, and Alaska. The cost estimate was US$66 billion.

In late August 2011, at a conference in Yakutsk in eastern Russia, the plan was backed by some of President Dmitry Medvedev’s top officials, including Aleksandr Levinthal, the deputy federal representative for the Russian Far East. It would be a faster, safer, and cheaper way to move freight around the world than container ships, supporters of the idea believed. They estimated it could carry about 3% of global freight and make about US$7 billion a year. Shortly after, the Russian government approved the construction of the US$65 billion Siberia-Alaska rail and tunnel across the Bering Strait.

Other observers doubt that this will be cheaper than container ships, bearing in mind that the cost for transport from China to Europe by railroad is higher than by container ship (except for expensive cargo where lead time is important).

In 2013 the railway Amur Yakutsk Mainline connecting Yakutsk (2,800 km or 1,700 mi from the strait) with the main rail network was completed. However, this railway is meant for freight and is too curvy for high-speed passenger trains. Future projects include the Lena–Kamchatka Mainline (ru) and Kolyma–Anadyr highway (ru). The Kolyma–Anadyr highway has started construction, but will be a narrow gravel road. (Bering Strait crossing. Wikipedia, accessed 08/06/18)

The part of the above project to connect to Alaska has also been called the Interamerican Railroad Line and claimed to be a Russian project.

Apparently, even Stalin may have wanted to regain it according to the following story:

Atlanta Journal Constitution – Aug 7, 2010 excerpt…

Nearly 60 years ago, Alexander Vitebsky was a young Soviet officer stationed in Siberia, part of a massive force assembled to try to fulfill Joseph Stalin’s dream of invading Alaska.

“It was very secretive,” said Vitebsky, who, for decades afterward, also carried a secret — he dreamed of coming to America. “We didn’t buy what we were told about America.” (http://www.ajc.com/news/atlanta/atlantas-public-housing-is-587310.html)

Furthermore, notice:

Offshoot of Russian Orthodox Church Thrives in Alaska August 5, 2017

Alaska is the biggest – yet one of the least populated American states. There are just over 741,000 people living there – oil industry workers, adventurers from all over the U.S., Native Alaskans, immigrants. Within this complex cultural mosaic there is a group known as Russian Old believers. Nearly 50 years ago, they established a village called Nikolaevsk on Alaska’s Kenai peninsula. https://www.voanews.com/a/offshoot-russian-orthodox-church-thrives-in-alaska/3973089.html

Russia still has limited ties to Alaska–and it does want it back. And yes, it would like to see the territory of the USA broken up.

The Continuing Church of God  put out the following video on our Bible New Prophecy YouTube channel:

14:34

Russia and Mexico to Receive US Land?

Shortly after US President Joe Biden told Ukraine it could use certain long-range weapons to attack inside of Russia, Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested that two can play at that game. He said that the Kremlin would consider putting ICBMs and/or other missiles in nations that are hostile to the USA. Kremlin television showed Cuba, Nicaragua, Venezuela, and Mexico, and pointed to damage coming to places like Alaska. Russians have long suggested that Mexico could/should get back lands from Texas to California that the US gained at the point of a gun. Many Russians consider that Alaska should again be part of Russia. Did the Germans propose giving Mexico lands from the US during World War 1? Are there scriptures that point to the strongest fortresses of the US being conquered and having its lands divided by the European King of the North Beast power? Did Russian Igor Panarin point to the US breaking up in many pieces with Mexico getting the land back (that some Mexicans have called the ‘reconquista’), China or Japan getting Hawaii, Russia regaining Alaska, and Europe ending up with other parts of the US? Might Russia and Mexico one day cooperate when Europe wants to take over the US? Might Russia end up with at least parts of Alaska and possibly parts of Canada? Steve Dupuie and Dr. Thiel cover these matters.

Here is a link to our video: Russia and Mexico to Receive US Land?

Anyway, there is a history this century of Russians stating that Russia will or should end up with Alaska and Mexico ending up with lands that the USA controls.

I believe Russia will end up with at least part of Alaska.

There will be many costs and consequences of USA sanctions that the Biden-Harris Administration has not sufficiently considered.

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?
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. 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?
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; and Asia, Islands, Latin America, Africa, and Armageddon,  When Will the End of the Age Come?, and Rise of the Prophesied King of the North.
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.

 
Venezuelan protester damaging statue of former president Hugo Chavez
(TrueUtopian via Wikipedia)

COGwrite

After Sunday’s election, the situation in Venezuela remains unsettled as various ones disbelieve the reports about the winner:

July 30, 2024

The Organization of American States’ (OAS) election observation department said on Tuesday it cannot recognize the results by Venezuela’s national electoral council declaring President Nicolas Maduro the winner of Sunday’s disputed vote. The 35-member regional body, which is to meet about Venezuela on Wednesday, said Venezuela’s National Election Council (CNE) had shown itself biased towards the government. The CNE said Maduro had won with 51% of votes, but the opposition said the 73% of vote tallies to which it has access showed its candidate Edmundo Gonzalez had more than twice as many votes as Maduro. Protests have erupted in Venezuela, while the United States and various Latin American leaders have rejected the results or said greater transparency is needed. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/oas-department-says-results-announced-by-venezuela-cannot-be-recognized-2024-07-30/

The United States has a history of challenging election results in various countries. And while it looks to be right this time, it tends to be hypocritical.

Notice also:

Venezuelan opposition says it has proof its candidate defeated President Maduro in disputed election

July 30, 2024

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — As thousands of people demonstrated across Venezuela, opposition candidate Edmundo González announced Monday that his campaign has the proof it needs to show he won the country’s disputed election in which electoral authorities named President Nicolás Maduro the victor.

González and opposition leader Maria Corina Machado told reporters they have obtained more than 70% of tally sheets from Sunday’s election, and they show González with more than double Maduro’s votes. Both called on people, some of whom protested in the hours after Maduro was declared winner, to remain calm and invited them to gather peacefully at 11 a.m. Tuesday to celebrate the results.

“I speak to you with the calmness of the truth,” González said as dozens of supporters cheered outside campaign headquarters in the capital, Caracas. “We have in our hands the tally sheets that demonstrate our categorical and mathematically irreversible victory.” https://apnews.com/article/venezuela-presidential-election-maduro-machado-edmundo-results-acee6c8cd3a8fc88086c2dd71963b759

July 30, 2024

“We’ve seen this movie before,” said Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro from the presidential palace following a night of massive protests and unrest which has seen clashes with police. The protests look to spread Tuesday, as new large rallies are being planned.

“We have been following all of the acts of violence promoted by the extreme right,” he added in the fresh remarks cited by Reuters. Overnight, several United Socialist Party of Venezuela offices and headquarters were burned by oppositionists who charge that the election was stolen.

Maduro also commented, “I’m getting a video here of the burning of PSUV’s headquarters in Calabozo… this is very typical of what they call ‘Color Revolutions’, designed by the Americans. It’s a script.” https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/venezuela-election-protests-spread-maduro-claims-us-backed-color-revolution-driving

There was a lot of proof of election irregularities in the 2020 US presidential election.

Instead of looking into to that in depth, the media and many others dismissed that as a “conspiracy theory.”

I expect protests related to the USA’s presidential election this year.

Anyway, that said, Venezuela is a resource rich country. It may have the greatest amount of oil reserves of any country, and it is also a significant producer of gold.

Venezuela was one of the wealthiest countries in Latin America, but now is one of the poorest.

While all human governments tend to mismanage resources and their economies, Venezuela has been more extreme that way than many.

That being said, as I have written before, ultimately, I believe that Venezuela will change and some of those who left that nation for other lands will return.

Venezuela, also, will likely have some prosperity with trade from the rising Babylonian Beast power, but that will be temporal.

Venezuela, like the rest of the world, needs repentance and the Kingdom of God.

Related to voting, the Continuing Church of God put out the following video on our Bible New Prophecy YouTube channel:

15:15

Should Christians Vote in 2024?

There are elections in over 50 nations scheduled for 2024. How old is democracy? Does the Bible sanction it? Do people often act like they want to be deceived? Are there men on the ballots that meet the Bible’s criteria for leaders? How does the Bible show that leaders are to be put in place? Is the lesser of two evils still evil? Does the Bible teach that, “the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, gives it to whomever He will, and sets over it the lowest of men in Daniel 4:17? Could someone vote against God’s plan? Do people know more than a prophet of God when it comes to choosing leaders? Are there truly pro-voting scriptures in the Bible? Are God’s people to support a crowd in doing evil? Will voting change the coming destruction that the Bible prophesies? Steve Dupuie and Dr. Thiel go over these matters.

Here is a link to the video: Should Christians Vote in 2024?

Altar on Mount Ebal (photo by zstadler)

COGwriter

The Bible has the following:

1 Now Moses, with the elders of Israel, commanded the people, saying: “Keep all the commandments which I command you today. 2 And it shall be, on the day when you cross over the Jordan to the land which the Lord your God is giving you, that you shall set up for yourselves large stones, and whitewash them with lime. 3 You shall write on them all the words of this law, when you have crossed over, that you may enter the land which the Lord your God is giving you, ‘a land flowing with milk and honey,’ just as the Lord God of your fathers promised you. 4 Therefore it shall be, when you have crossed over the Jordan, that on Mount Ebal you shall set up these stones, which I command you today, and you shall whitewash them with lime. 5 And there you shall build an altar to the Lord your God, an altar of stones; you shall not use an iron tool on them. 6 You shall build with whole stones the altar of the Lord your God, and offer burnt offerings on it to the Lord your God. 7 You shall offer peace offerings, and shall eat there, and rejoice before the Lord your God. 8 And you shall write very plainly on the stones all the words of this law.” (Deuteronomy 27:1-8)

So an altar was supposed to be built.

Since Joshua was the leader of the children of Israel when they crossed over the Jordan, did he have such an altar built?

Yes, The Bible also has the following:

30 Now Joshua built an altar to the Lord God of Israel in Mount Ebal, 31 as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded the children of Israel, as it is written in the Book of the Law of Moses: “an altar of whole stones over which no man has wielded an iron tool.”  (Joshua 8:30-31)

Could it have been found decades ago?

Israel365News reported the following by Aaron Lipkin:

Joshua’s Altar – How Archaeology proves the Bible

Since the 1960’s, many historians and Bible scholars (the “Minimalists”) suggested that the Bible is not a history book and that the events described in the Old Testament, never really happened or are at best, inaccurate. They claimed the Exodus and the Conquest never occurred, Moses and Joshua never really existed. Why did they come to that conclusion? Because of “lack of archaeological proof”, they claim.

In 1982, a young secular Israeli archaeologist by the name of Adam Zertal started excavating an ancient archaeological site on Mt. Ebal, near the Biblical city of Shechem in the region of Samaria, Israel. He dated the structure to the Early Iron Age (1250 BC). March 22, 2023. https://www.israel365news.com/368740/joshuas-altar-how-archaeology-proves-the-bible/

As far as the dating of the altar itself goes, while there are some broken pots that date into the 13th century BCE, the rocks themselves are not dated. If this is the altar that Joshua built, it would have been built about 150 years earlier–somewhere in the 1400-1370 BCE date. That said, Adam Zertal presented a 1985 study where he believed he was able to prove that there were different stages during the site’s development and that critics who did not believe this could be Joshua’s altar overlooked evidence (e.g. https://www.baslibrary.org/biblical-archaeology-review/12/1/2). As far as the Exodus goes, here is a link related to that: When was the Exodus? Did it Happen?

Now, initially, Adam Zertal had not believed he had found what could be Joshua’s altar. Yet by 1985, his views changed after studying more archeological data. Let’s continue with Aaron Lipkin’s Israel365News article related to him:

Like the Minimalist scholars, Zertal did not believe that the book of Deuteronomy and the book of Joshua describe real historical events, but he was intrigued by this mysterious heap of stones and the surrounding enclosure wall. …

Zertal tried to find the origin of this mysterious structure and was not able to find any architectural parallels in the Canaanite  and surrounding cultures. One day an Orthodox Jew showed him a sketch of the Second Temple Altar…the similarity was striking.

Zertal understood that he’d found an Israelite altar on Mt. Ebal. In his book “A Nation Born” he describes how he looked at the Orthodox Jew and said, “This has to be the altar that Joshua built according to the commandment of Moses. There is no other possibility. If this is Joshua’s Altar, then Joshua existed, and Moses existed and the Exodus really happened…” From that point on, Zertal believed in the historicity of the Biblical account.

So, Adam Zertal believed the evidence he uncovered.

The Israel365News article then had the following related to more recent research by Aaron Lipkin who wrote:

In 2019, I was involved in a special expedition of archaeologists that came to Israel to reanalyze the archaeological dump from Zertal’s 1980’s excavations.

We extracted the material and by using a wet sifting technique, we were able to locate findings that Zertal missed. …

Archaeologist Dr. Scott Stripling announced that the tablet contained what is probably the most ancient Hebrew inscription ever found in the Land of Israel.

The inscription was a curse, written in Hebrew, with the name of the Lord engraved in it:

You are Cursed by the God YHW, Cursed.

You will die Cursed – Cursed you will surely die.

Cursed you are by YHW – Cursed.

This is probably the most important inscription ever found in the land of Israel. …

Moses commanded the Israelites to conduct a national ceremony and proclaim the Curses on Mt. Ebal and the Blessings on Mt. Gerizim.

“And when the Lord your God brings you into the land that you are entering to take possession of it, you shall set the blessing on Mount Gerizim and the curse on Mount Ebal.” Deuteronomy 11:29 (ESV)

Is it possible we found a curse inscription on the mountain of Curses, related to the ceremony mentioned in the Bible?

Yes, there looks to be ties of this archaeological site and the Bible.

That said, there is also more archaeological evidence about Joshua.

For example, in 2022, the Temple Institute had the following in its newsletter:

Av 29, 5782/August 26, 2022 …

First Archaeological Dig Begins At Site Believed To Be Joshua’s Tomb “And Joshua sent the people away, every man to his inheritance. And it was after these things, that Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of HaShem, died, being a hundred and ten years old. And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnat-serah, which is in Mount Ephraim, on the north side of the hill of Gaash. And Israel served HaShem all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that outlived Joshua, and who had known all the works of HaShem, that He had done for Israel.” (Joshua 24:28-31) Khirbet Tibnah is located on a hill in the southwest of the Samaria region, east of Shoham near Halamish. The site was populated from the Bronze Age until the beginning of the Ottoman period.

The Temple Institute had more on this at its Facebook page:

Khirbet Tibnah is located on a hill in the southwest of the Samaria region, east of Shoham near Halamish. The site was populated from the Bronze Age until the beginning of the Ottoman period.

Archaeologists have begun digging at Khirbet Tibnah in the West Bank, a site where humans have settled for about 4,000 years and which is believed to be where the biblical Joshua lived and was buried, the excavation project at the site announced on Monday.

The dig is being led by Dr. Dvir Raviv and students from Bar-Ilan’s Department of Land of Israel Studies and Archaeology, alongside volunteers from Israel and abroad.

Khirbet Tibnah is located on a hill in the southwest of the Samaria region, east of Shoham near Halamish. The site was populated from the Bronze Age until the beginning of the Ottoman period, according to Bar-Ilan.

The site is also identified as Timnath-heres or Timnath-serah, a town which, according to the Book of Joshua, was given by the Israelites to the prophet and was where he lived and was buried. The tomb of Caleb is also believed to be at the site.

The site was surveyed in the 1800’s and is mentioned in a number of historical documents. https://www.facebook.com/templeinstitute/posts/10151729391479969

Here is some of what the Bible tells about Joshua and his burial:

29 Now it came to pass after these things that Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died, being one hundred and ten years old. 30 And they buried him within the border of his inheritance at Timnath Serah, which is in the mountains of Ephraim, on the north side of Mount Gaash.

31 Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who had known all the works of the Lord which He had done for Israel.

32 The bones of Joseph, which the children of Israel had brought up out of Egypt, they buried at Shechem, in the plot of ground which Jacob had bought from the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for one hundred pieces of silver, and which had become an inheritance of the children of Joseph.

33 And Eleazar the son of Aaron died. They buried him in a hill belonging to Phinehas his son, which was given to him in the mountains of Ephraim. (Joshua 24:29-33)

This is interesting as we get closer to the end that some archeologists continue to look for more evidence of biblical locations, figures, and events.

Now notice the following from Robert M. Bowman, Jr.:

I will highlight three pieces of evidence that support the historicity of the account found in the Old Testament.

(1) The list of cities in the Transjordan region through which the Israelites passed on their way into the land in Numbers 33:45-50 includes Iyim, Dibon-gad, Abel-shittim, and Jordan. A list of places through which Egyptian armies passed in their military incursions dating from the same general period include these four places in the same order. Ian Wilson in his book The Bible Is History quotes archaeologist Charles Krahmalkov on this point: “The biblical story of the invasion of Transjordan that sets the stage for the conquest of all Palestine is told against a background that is historically accurate. The Israelite invasion route described in Numbers 33:50 was…an official, heavily trafficked Egyptian road through the Transjordan in the Late Bronze Age.”³ By itself, this piece of information does not prove that the Conquest happened, but it does lend some credibility to the account.

(2) Although most archaeologists today think that the story of Joshua’s conquest of Jericho cannot be true, their reasoning is likely based on a mistaken chronology. As Time magazine recently put it, “Did Joshua conquer the city of Jericho? The walls of this Canaanite city did come tumbling down, say most historians, but centuries before Moses’ protégé could have arrived.”⁴ This assessment is based on the conclusions of Kathleen Kenyon, who in the 1950s dated Jericho’s fall to around 1500 BC while assuming a late date of around 1200 BC for the Conquest. The issue here, then, is one of chronology. The bottom line is that “the walls” did, in fact, “come a tumblin’ down,” just as the Bible says, although the current archaeological convention does not date the event to the period indicated by the Bible. Similar chronological difficulties attend the events of the Exodus: there are records of Egypt being devastated by the kinds of plagues recorded in the Book of Exodus, but modern archaeology dates this devastation to a period hundreds of years earlier than the Bible indicates.⁵  One should not underestimate the extreme complexities and difficulties of calibrating archaeological finds across the region with the chronological information found in ancient written sources.

(3) Scientists have discovered evidence that provides remarkable confirmation of one of the miracles of the Conquest: the crossing of the Jordan River. The book of Joshua reports that when the Israelites began to cross the Jordan opposite Jericho, the waters of the Jordan “rose up in one heap a great distance away at Adam” as they flowed down toward the Dead Sea (Josh. 3:14-17). This damming of the river allowed the Israelites to walk across the riverbed on dry ground. Critics of the Bible routinely claim that no such event occurred, and suggest that the book is crediting Joshua with a miracle similar to the crossing of the Red Sea in order to portray him as Moses’ true successor. However, we have good evidence, both internal and external, supporting the historicity of the account of Joshua’s crossing of the Jordan.

Adam was a village some fifteen or twenty miles upstream (north) from where the Israelites crossed the river. (They crossed directly across from Jericho.) There is nothing historically or religiously significant about this village other than its role as a “footnote” in this account that would explain why the book of Joshua specifies it as the place where the waters were stopped. Furthermore, a writer composing a “pious fiction” about Joshua stopping the waters of the Jordan would surely have had the waters stop right in front of the Israelites, not miles upstream. This incidental detail clearly indicates that the story is at least based on fact. https://www.namb.net/apologetics/resource/joshua-s-conquest-did-it-happen/ accessed 08/26/22

Of course, for those of us who believe the Bible, no further proof related to Joshua is needed. But for some who have heard statements from pseudo-archaeologists that deny the biblical accounts, it may be helpful for them to realize that as time goes on, more and more archaeological evidence surfaces that supports the Bible.

Many of the so-called educated have claimed many fraudulent positions, like that the biblical David was a myth. Now, notice the following:

Here is a link to that July-September 2017 edition of Bible News Prophecy magazine. Its front cover shows an ancient stela that mentions King David, and contains more information about why true science supports the Bible. In 2023, its inscription was declared to be genuine (see Mesha Stela declared to mention ‘House of David,’ hence is additional proof of the biblical text)–of course, that means it was also genuine in 2017 and before.

The Bible is true, but many do not want it to be believed.

The world’s claimed anti-biblical knowledge is false.

The Apostle Paul warned:

20 … Guard what was committed to your trust, avoiding the profane and idle babblings and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge — 21 by professing it some have strayed concerning the faith. (1 Timothy 6:20-21)

Be careful not to accept ‘knowledge’ from those who are contradicting the Bible.

Notice also:

9 The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, 10 and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 11 And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, 12 that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness. 92 Thessalonians 2:9-12)

Do you really love the truth?

Then do not fall for their lies.

Remember to “let God be true but every man a liar” (Romans 3:4).

There was a Joshua and some are looking for even more evidence to prove that is so.

Related to Joshua and skeptics, we put together the following video:

16:34

Did Joshua of the Bible Exist?

The Temple Institute out of Jerusalem reported that the first archaeological dig has started at the site many believe was the tomb of Joshua of the Bible. What does the Bible say about Joshua’s burial? Why do places like Wikipedia and Google point to sources who say that Joshua did not exist, but instead was a national myth? Are they looking at the wrong time (13th instead of 15th century BCE)? What about archaeological evidence that points to place the Book of Judges mentions? What about the destruction of ancient Jericho? Should we trust the biblical account or those who claim to have scholarly knowledge? Steve Dupuie and Dr. Thiel go over these matters.

Here is a link to the video: Did Joshua of the Bible Exist?

Some items of possibly related interest may include:

EXODUS Exodus sermons, which it total cover each and every verse of that book, include Exodus 1-4: Jewish Myths or Lessons for Christians Today?, Exodus 5-7: Serpents, Blood, and Revelation, Exodus 8-9: Plagues and Prophecy, Exodus 10-12: The Last Plagues & 21st Century Prophecies, and Exodus 13-15: Passover Protection and Armageddon. Another article is Exodus 16-19 which covers all of those verses–here is a link to a related sermon: Exodus 16-19: Manna, Governance, and End Time Protection. Another article is Exodus 20 which covers all of the verses in that chapter–here is a link to a related sermon: Exodus 20: The Ten Commandments. Another article covers the verses in those chapters Exodus 21-24: These are the Judgments–here is a link to a related sermon: Exodus 21-24: Judgments. Here is a link to the article Exodus 25: Ark of the Covenant and Mercy Seat–here is a link to a related sermon: Exodus 25: Ark of the Covenant and the Mercy Seat. Here is a link to the article Exodus 26-32 Tabernacle, Sacrifices, & the Book of Life–here is a link to a related sermon:Exodus 26-32: Tabernacle, Golden Calf, and Book of Life. A final article is: Exodus 33-40, The Final Chapters.Here are links to two related video sermons: Exodus 33-36: Moses Shown and You Should Too and Exodus 37-40: Finishing the Work.There is also more, such as the article: When was the Exodus? Did it Happen? Some deny the biblical account of the Exodus. Was Ramses II the pharaoh then? When did the Exodus occur?  Is there proof outside of the Bible that there was an Exodus? Here is a related article in the Spanish language: ¿Cuándo fue el Éxodo? ¿Ocurrió realmente? Also: Reasons, Proofs, and Ramifications of the Ten Plagues of Exodus What do you know about these plagues? What happened to the ‘gods of Egypt’? Is there any confirmation outside the Bible? Might something worse be coming? A related two-part sermon is available: Egypt and the Plagues (Part 1) and Exodus Plagues and Prophecy (Part 2). Also: Exodus and the Days of Unleavened Bread. This article discusses parts of the Book of Exodus with some connections to the Days of Unleavened Bread. Also Exodus 4:24, Why would God have sought to kill Moses? What did Moses do wrong? Do you have a similar problem?
Is God’s Existence Logical? Is it really logical to believe in God? Yes! Would you like Christian answers to give atheists? This is a free online booklet that deal with improper theories and musings called science related to the origin of the origin of the universe, the origin of life, and evolution. Here is a link to a related sermon: Evolution is NOT the Origin of Life. Two animated videos of related interest are also available: Big Bang: Nothing or Creator? and A Lifegiver or Spontaneous Evolution?
Read the Bible Christians should read and study the Bible. This article gives some rationale for regular bible reading.
Biblical Archaeology This is a website that has more information on biblical archeological as is sometimes known as the Bib Arch site.
The Old Testament Canon This article shows from Catholic accepted writings, that the Old Testament used by non-Roman Catholics and non-Orthodox churches is the correct version.
Old Testament History This is a link to articles that essentially back up the historical accuracy of the Hebrew scriptures (AKA The Old Testament).
Tradition and Scripture: From the Bible and Church Writings Are traditions on equal par with scripture? Many believe that is what Peter, John, and Paul taught. But did they? Two related sermons are available Scripture and Traditions and Tradition and Scripture.
Who Gave the World the Bible? The Canon: Why do we have the books we now do in the Bible? Is the Bible complete? Are there lost gospels? What about the Apocrypha? Is the Septuagint better than the Masoretic text? What about the Textus Receptus vs. Nestle Alland? Was the New Testament written in Greek, Aramaic, or Hebrew? Which translations are based upon the best ancient text? Did the true Church of God have the canon from the beginning? Here are links to related sermons: Let’s Talk About the Bible, The Books of the Old Testament, The Septuagint and its Apocrypha, Masoretic Text of the Old Testament, and Lost Books of the Bible, and Let’s Talk About the New Testament, The New Testament Canon From the Beginning, English Versions of the Bible and How Did We Get Them?, What was the Original Language of the New Testament?, Original Order of the Books of the Bible, and Who Gave the World the Bible? Who Had the Chain of Custody?

(Official Olympic logo for 2024)

COGwriter

The BBC reported the following:

29 July 2024

A veteran sports commentator has been sacked from his Olympics role after making a sexist remark about Australian female swimmers following their gold medal win.

As the 4x100m freestyle relay team were making their way off the pool deck in Paris, Bob Ballard said they were “finishing up”, adding “you know what women are like… hanging around, doing their make-up”.

The clip quickly went viral and broadcaster Eurosport later said he had been removed from the commentary line-up. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cprq880yz0xo

Yes, women tend to wear make-up –and yes that takes many some time.

Apparently that factual and truthful statement was too much for some of the “woke” crowd running aspects of the 2024 Olympics in Paris.

Michael Snyder also made some comments about some other bizarre matters there:

July 27, 2024

The opening ceremony for the Paris Olympics is being called the most anti-Christian opening ceremony in history. Approximately 6,000 athletes, 3,000 performers, 300,000 spectators and numerous celebrities participated in a festival of blasphemy and wokeness that is being widely criticized all over the globe. Most of the criticism has to do with a scene during the opening ceremony that appeared to mimic Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper painting. I am going to get to that in this article, but first I want to discuss something that happened during the opening ceremony that I think is not getting nearly enough attention.

At one point during the opening ceremony, the focus was on a winged white horse that was riding directly in front of the Eiffel Tower.

Obviously the organizers meant for this to be a very noteworthy moment, because the Eiffel Tower is France’s most important national monument.

The winged white horse was being ridden by a mysterious warrior that was arrayed in brilliant armor, and this reminded some people of the white horse in Revelation chapter 6…

And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.M

Many Christians consider the rider on the white horse to be a symbol that represents the Antichrist.

So could it be possible that either knowingly or unknowingly, the organizers of this opening ceremony were foreshadowing the arrival of the Antichrist?

Of course the organizers will never admit this even if that is what they intended, just like they will never admit that they were purposely copying The Last Supper in another scene…

Interestingly, following the very first day of competition at the Olympics, the city of Paris suddenly lost power…

Day un of the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris is in the books, and while the first day of competition was great, heavy storms battered the City of Lights, and it got so bad that overnight, the power appears to have gone out in large portions of the city.

Around midnight, reports started circulating that the City of Lights had gone dark. While the reports and the cause of any blackouts have not yet been confirmed, some videos are floating around social media of what sure looks like a city in the midst of a major power outage.

Of course, people immediately made a connection to the impeccably timed apparent power outage and the opening ceremony which happened about 36 hours earlier and featured what sure looked to most people like a clear-cut mockery of the Last Supper.

Was this just another “coincidence”, or was someone trying to send us a message

https://endoftheamericandream.com/did-the-opening-ceremony-for-the-paris-olympics-foreshadow-the-coming-of-the-antichrist/

In addition to losing power there was sabotage to the train system before the ceremonies began (see CNN: French rail lines disrupted by ‘coordinated sabotage’ ahead of Paris Olympics opening ceremony) plus more sabotage seems to have hit:

France has experienced the second sabotage of critical infrastructure in just a few days.

Outage tracking website Netblocks confirmed on X, “Network data show disruptions to multiple internet providers in France amid reports of a fibre sabotage campaign targeting telecoms infrastructure during the Paris 2024 Olympics.” 

Bloomberg reports that fiber lines operated by the telecommunications company SFR were cut during the overnight hours. Internet traffic in the southern and eastern regions of the country was disrupted and has since been rerouted. …

On Monday, French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin confirmed that far-left extremists carried out the attack on the nation’s train network.

Will French President Emmanuel Macron condemn ultra-left activists for destroying critical infrastructure? When will it be time to label these acts as terrorism? https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/second-sabotage-french-internet-fiber-cables-severed-causing-widespread-disruptions

Speaking of terrorism, there was stabbing terrorism in the UK today with two children killed and nine other people injured (see https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cql8j2j0304o).

That said, I did not watch any of the opening ceremonies–but did report about the ‘Last Supper’ (really last Passover) perverse depiction (see Olympic blasphemy: Opening ceremony mocks Jesus’ last Passover with drag queens–are there any positive Olympic ideals? ).

But what officials are now trying to say is that the ‘Last Supper’ was not the theme, but the whole ceremony was to exalt paganism.

Yet, many do not agree.

Plus, one of the participants admitted the truth as the following article and tweet helps point out:

July 29, 2024

French bishops were outraged at the Olympics’ opening ceremony over its blatant mockery of Christianity – in which transgender men and a child reenacted Leonardo da Vinci’s “The Last Supper” – along with many other sexualized scenes that included a man with his testicles exposed and hanging out of his outfit. The display has led to worldwide outrage, including several corporate sponsors ditching the Olympics.

Barbara Butch, the woman in the center, posted this photo to her instagram, admitting that this photo had everything to do with them mocking the scriptures.

She then deleted it a few hours later and called it “the feast of the Gods”.

Nope. Caught. pic.twitter.com/IhyREuYlU5

— Sarah Fields (@SarahisCensored) July 28, 2024

At the center of this scene was rotund French DJ ‘Barbara Butch,’ a Jewish lesbian who at bragged on social media about mocking Christianity, only to delete the post after controversy erupted.

The Olympics apologized for the ceremony, insisting “There was never an intention to show disrespect to a religious group” with the scene created by artistic director Thomas Jolly – also of Jewish descent, who notably excluded a depiction of, say, Mohammad and his young bride at the table. …

Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò – the former papal nuncio to the United States who questioned the legitimacy of Pope Francis and the authority of the Second Vatican Council, and was excommunicated three weeks ago for “his refusal to recognize and submit to the Supreme Pontiff.”

In a scathing rebuke of the Olympics, Viganò called the opening ceremony “the latest in a long series of vile attacks on God, the Catholic Religion and natural Morality by the antichristic elite holds that hostage Western countries.”

“We a dystopian dance macabre in Holograms of the horsemen of the Apocalypse alternated with a plump blue Dionysius, served under a bell of various courses; the parody of the LGBTQ+ Last Supper…” the letter continues.

Viganò also pointed to “disconcerting scenes at the 2012 London Olympics, the 2016 of inauguration of the Gotthard Tunnel, and the 2022 Commonwealth Games, featuring infernal figures, goats, and terrifying animals.”

The elite who organizes these ceremonies demand not only the right to blasphemy and the obscene display of the foulest vices, but even their mute acceptance by Catholics and decent people, who are forced to suffer the outrage the most sacred symbols of their Faith and the very foundations of the Natural Law desecrated. -Carlo Maria Viganò

According to Viganò, “Satan makes nothing: only he ruins everything. He does not invent: he tampers. And his followers are no different: they humiliate woman’s femininity in order to erase the motherhood that recalls the Virgin Mother; they castrate man’s manhood in order to tear from the image of God’s fatherhood; they corrupt the little ones in order to kill in them and make them victims of the most abject wokeism.” https://www.zerohedge.com/political/rebel-archbishop-slams-olympics-vile-attacks-god-says-macron-obama-married-trans-men

Yes, many things were corrupt and denying that insults were part of the intent is simply disingenuous.

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, … 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)

Men pretending that they are women are functioning as imposters in the Olympic ceremony. Stabbing people is brutal. Sabotage is also brutal.

Now, see something related to one of the trans ceremony participants:

July 29, 2024

A drag queen who carried the torch of the Olympic flame in Paris’s opening ceremony told critics, “We ain’t going nowhere” after the theatrics received backlash for appearing to mock Christianity.

French drag performer Karl Sanchez, known by his stage name Nicky Doll, has taken to social media to make fun of “the ones that had their feathers ruffled seeing queerness on their screen” after Christians responded poorly to the ceremony’s portrayal of the iconic painting, the Last Supper:

“The opening ceremony did ruffle some feathers… and I LOVE it,” Doll wrote in a Monday morning Instagram Story that Fox News viewed. “You know why? Because the Olympics are the biggest stage in the world and us queer people have always been the audience of other people’s life and achievement and it is time that we are welcome in the space.”

In an earlier post from Sunday, he said it was his “absolute honor to perform in front of billions of people around the world, and celebrate our olympians.”

“And remember, to the ones that had their feathers ruffled seeing queerness on their screen: WE AIN’T GOING NOWHERE,” he added in capital letters: https://www.breitbart.com/sports/2024/07/29/paris-olympics-drag-queen-responds-to-backlash-we-aint-going-nowhere/

The following is applicable to what the Olympics and others have been doing:

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)

Yes, those pushing and tolerating perversion are bringing evil upon themselves.

The Bible warns against the rise of despisers of good in the last days:

20 Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil;
Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness;
Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!

21 Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes,
And prudent in their own sight! (Isaiah 5:20-21)

Woe to those that do such things–yet we keep seeing that happen.

To be clear, “Cross-dressing”–which is what drag queens do–is condemned as an abomination in the Bible:

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

The Bible clearly condemns cross-dressing.

Yet, the Olympics put those doing so on display.

That said, the Olympics is a mixture of good and evil, though the evil part looks to be increasing.

As far as symbols of the Apocalypse go, Europe has long had them. To see them, check out the following post from earlier this month: Does the European Union actually use Babylonian symbols?

Having a white horse in the Olympics along with paganism is consistent with some of that.

But yes, it is terrible how perverse the world has become.

Some items of possibly related interest may include:

Europa, the Beast, and Revelation Where did Europe get its name? What might Europe have to do with the Book of Revelation? What about “the Beast”? Is an emerging European power “the daughter of Babylon”? What is ahead for Europe? Here is 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? Here is a link to a related sermon in the Spanish language: El Fin de la Babilonia Europea.
The European Union and the Seven Kings of Revelation 17 Could the European Union be the sixth king that now is, but is not? Here is a link to the related sermon video: European Union & 7 Kings of Revelation 17:10.
The Great Monarch: Biblical and Catholic Prophecies Is the ‘Great Monarch’ of Catholic prophecies endorsed or condemned by the Bible? Two sermons of related interest are also available: Great Monarch: Messiah or False Christ? and Great Monarch in 50+ Beast Prophecies.
European Technology and the Beast of Revelation Will the coming European Beast power would use and develop technology that will result in the taking over of the USA and its Anglo-Saxon allies? Is this possible? What does the Bible teach? Here is a related YouTube video: Military Technology and the Beast of Revelation.
Must the Ten Kings of Revelation 17:12 Rule over Ten Currently Existing Nations? Some claim that these passages refer to a gathering of 10 currently existing nations together, while one group teaches that this is referring to 11 nations getting together. Is that what Revelation 17:12-13 refers to? The ramifications of misunderstanding this are enormous. A related sermon is titled Ten Kings of Revelation and the Great Tribulation.
Do You Know That Babylon is Forming? How is the final Babylon forming? Are Protestants such as Joel Osteen and Kenneth Copeland are endorsing something dangerous? Could Pope Francis be the ‘False Prophet’ that the Bible warns against? Is an antipope expected to endorse a one-world religion? Here is a link to a related written article In Vatican City: New Babylon more openly forming!
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 videos related to this, titled Transgender ‘Woe to those who call evil good’, Cross dressing and Other Assaults Against Your Children, Disney’s abominable promotions!, USA pushing gender confusion, and New Transgender Study.
The Bible Condemns Homosexuality “Same-sex marriage” for “gays” and lesbians is becoming more acceptable to many. What does the Bible teach about homosexuality and the LGBTQ agenda?  Can homosexuals change? A related video sermon is titled: What Does the Bible Really Teach about Homosexuality? A short video is available titled: Gay Gene? Born That Way?
Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse What do each of the four horseman of the Apocalypse represent? Have they began their ride? Did Jesus discuss the any of this? Might their rides coincide with the “beginning of sorrows? Do they start their ride prior to the Great Tribulation? Did Nostradamus or any other ‘private prophets’ write predictions that may mislead people so that they may not understand the truth of one or more of the four horseman? There is also a related YouTube video titled Sorrows and the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Here are links to shorter videos: These Signs of the 4 Horsemen Have Begun and Biological Weapons and the 4th Horseman of the Apocalypse.

China’s Belt & Road Initiative
(By Lommes – his own work via Wikipedia)

COGwriter

Five years ago, Italy indicated it wished to be linked to part of China’s One Belt, One Road Initiative (see Italy looking to support ‘Silk Road 2.0,’ the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative). But last year, Italy changed its mind. Now, China is making suggestions:

China’s Xi calls for cooperation with Italy, evoking ancient ‘Silk Road’

July 29, 2024

Beijing — Chinese President Xi Jinping called for further cooperation with Italy on Monday at a meeting with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, saying the two countries were the ends of the historical Silk Road trade route.

Meloni pulled Italy out of China’s Belt and Road Initiative — whose name refers to the ancient overland trade route — in December, but signed an agreement Sunday that provides a new path for the two countries to cooperate on trade and other issues.

Meloni is on a five-day state visit, her first trip to China as prime minister.

The Belt and Road Initiative, one of Xi’s signature policies, aims to build power and transportation infrastructure around the world in order to stimulate global trade while also deepening China’s ties with other nations.

“China and Italy are located at opposite ends of the ancient Silk Road,” Xi told Meloni, “and the long-standing friendly exchanges between the two countries have made important contributions to the exchange and mutual learning of Eastern and Western civilizations, as well as human development and progress.”

“If countries are inter-connected, they will advance; if they are closed to each other, they will retreat,” said Xi.

Meloni said Italy could play an “important role” in China’s relationship with the European Union and creating balanced trade relationships. https://www.voanews.com/a/china-xi-calls-for-cooperation-with-italy-evoking-ancient-silk-road/7716888.html

I continue to believe that China’s Belt & Road Initiative (aka Silk Road project) has prophetic ramifications.

Here is a video we made related to it fsome time ago:

Is China paving roads to Armageddon?

China is working on something known as the ‘Silk Road’ project or the “One Belt, One Road” initiative. NBC reports that China intends to spend one trillion dollars to build roads, bridges, railroads, and maritime facilities to reach from China to Europe and China to the Middle East. Over 60 nations, including Russia, are involved with this. Could this Silk Road project possibly produce thoroughfares that could be used by troops that will amass at Armageddon? Dr. Thiel discusses this project and some of its potential prophetic ramifications in this video.

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

As posted here in the past, here is what was written during Donald Trump’s presidency.

As far as the timing of Armageddon goes, it will NOT happen during Donald Trump’s presidency (presuming he, if he gets a second term, is re-elected in 2020). We put together the following video on our Bible News Prophecy YouTube channel:

A news article had the following: “Armageddon: Will it come on Trump’s watch?” It then answered that question, but without referring to the Bible. What is Armageddon? What does the Bible teach about it? If US President Donald Trump serves two consecutive terms, can the prophesied gathering at Armageddon take place while he is in office? When is the earliest year that Armageddon can occur? What are some of the events that have to happen prior to the start of Armageddon? Whether or not he can be around for Armageddon, what are some of the ways that US President Donald Trump is apocalyptic? Dr. Thiel addresses these issues and does explain the earliest time when Armageddon can occur. A written article of related interest is available titled “ Armageddon: Will it come on Trump’s watch? Is 2019 going to be the year of the Armageddon?“

Here is a link to the sermonette video: Armageddon Will it come on Trump’s watch?

Now, the term Armaggedon is only used once in the Bible. It is the sixth of seven bowls of God’s wrath:

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

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

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

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

For them to gather, they must cross over land to get to Armageddon.

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

While the primary road of the BRI/Silk Road project does not go to Armageddon, it will make getting there a lot easier. So, will the naval route.

The pathways to Armageddon are being set.

Now, in one respect the point of the BRI is for all roads to lead to China.

China expects this will help it with trade and international influence. And it certainly appears that it will.

On the other hand, if one goes in the opposite direction, then the roads (including naval routes) go back from Europe to all across Asia and into Africa. There is also an arctic route expected which connects Europe from the north.

Italy’s involvement with the project really puts Europe on the BRI map.

Since the Bible teaches that it will be Europe that will dominate world trade, Italy’s expected involvement in the BRI looks to be a way that Europe will get access to markets in Asia and Africa.

For example, the Bible teaches the following about an end time European power:

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

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

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

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

The Bible tells of a trading power arising in Europe that is tied to the City of Seven Hills. Europe, the United Nations, and the Vatican have stated that they have agreed on essentially the same future for the world. Interestingly, the Chinese BRI looks to assist with that.

Remember that nearly all roads go two ways. So, while China will benefit from its project, so will Europe.

Five years ago, the Continuing Church of God (CCOG) put together the following video on our Bible News Prophecy YouTube channel:

8:20

China’s Silk Road and Babylon the Great

China has been embarking on a multi-trillion dollar project to build roads and ports to connect more of Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and Europe to it. This has been called the ‘Belt and Road Initiative,’ Silk Road Project, Silk Road 2.0, and the One Belt, One Road Initiative. While this is expected to benefit Chinese trade (as well as provide infrastructure for the gathering at Armageddon), could this also benefit the rise of Babylon the Great foretold in the Book of Revelation and scriptures in the Old Testament? What about the proposed Polar Silk Road? Will the benefits to Europe last or will the end time ‘daughter of Babylon’ possibly face invasion from nations involved with the Silk Road project? Dr. Thiel addresses these issues with scriptures from the Bible.

Here is a link to our video: China’s Silk Road and Babylon the Great.

Related to the ‘Global Gateway,’ the Continuing Church of God (CCOG) put together the following video on our Bible News Prophecy YouTube channel:

12:52

EU’s Global Gateway, Trade, and War?

The European Union announced that it planned to spend €300 billion ($340 billion) in a program called ‘Global Gateway.’ According to EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen it is a “true alternative” to China’s Belt and Road Initiative, also known as the Silk Road Project. Both the EU and Chinese projects will improve road, ports, and/or other infrastructure to connect with Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America. Will this result in increased trade for Europe and Asia during the time of the Gentiles? Will Babylonian Europe dominate trade for a time? Will devastating war hit Europe with Russian and Eurasian involvement? Would infrastructure these projects are involved in be used for war? What about preparation for Armageddon? Dr. Thiel address these issues and cites biblical prophecies related to these matters.

Here is a link to our video: EU’s Global Gateway, Trade, and War?

That said, while the USA supported and praised the new connectivity initiative from the G20, the connectivity does not really connect the USA.

This will facilitate trade, help set up for the gathering at Armageddon (watch Is China paving roads to Armageddon?), but also help the coming Beast power rise up and prosper.

Some items of possibly related interest may include:

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.
Armageddon Who is involved and when will this gathering happen? Here is also a video from Dr. Thiel, from Tel Megiddo in Israel: Armageddon. Other videos include: Armageddon Will it come on Trump’s watch?, Iraq, Armageddon, & Prophecy, Freemasonry, Armageddon, and Rome, Is China paving roads to Armageddon?, and Jordan, Petra, and Armageddon.
China, Its Biblical Past and Future, Part 1: Genesis and Chinese Characters Where did the Chinese people come from? This article provides information showing that the Chinese peoples must have known about various accounts in the Book of Genesis up until their dispersion after the Tower of Babel. Here is a link to a version of this article in Spanish: ¿Prueban los caracteres chinos la exactitud de la Biblia?
China, Its Biblical Past and Future, Part 2: The Sabbath and Some of God’s Witness in China When did Christianity first come to China? And is there early evidence that they observed the seventh day sabbath?
Asia in Prophecy What is Ahead for Asia? Who are the “Kings of the East”? What will happen to nearly all the Chinese, Russians, Indians, and others of Asia? China in prophecy, where? Who has the 200,000,000 man army related to Armageddon? A YouTube video of interest may be Is China THE Threat to the United States of America?
The Times of the Gentiles Has there been more than one time of the Gentiles? Are we in it now or in the time of Anglo-America? What will the final time of the Gentiles be like? A related sermon is available and is titled: The Times of the Gentiles.
Who is the King of the North? Is there one? Do biblical and Roman Catholic prophecies for the Great Monarch point to the same leader? Should he be followed? Who will be the King of the North discussed in Daniel 11? Is a nuclear attack prophesied to happen to the English-speaking peoples of the United States, Great Britain, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand? When do the 1335 days, 1290 days, and 1260 days (the time, times, and half a time) of Daniel 12 begin? When does the Bible show that economic collapse will affect the United States? In the Spanish language check out ¿Quién es el Rey del Norte? Here are links to two related videos: The King of the North is Alive: What to Look Out For and The Future King of the North.
Europa, the Beast, and Revelation Where did Europe get its name? What might Europe have to do with the Book of Revelation? What about “the Beast”? Is an emerging European power “the daughter of Babylon”? What is ahead for Europe? Here is a link to a video titled: Can You Prove that the Beast to Come is European? See also EU’s Global Gateway, Trade, and War?

Jesus and the cross: Jesus’s crucifixion is displayed on the fifth-century C.E. wooden doors of the Basilica of Santa Sabina in Rome. (Wikipedia)

COGwriter

The Biblical Archaeology Society (BAS) had this in one of its weekly newsletters:

Jesus and the Cross

Throughout the world, images of the cross adorn the walls and steeples of churches. For some Christians, the cross is part of their daily attire worn around their necks. Sometimes the cross even adorns the body of a Christian in permanent ink. In Egypt, among other countries, for example, Christians wear a tattoo of the cross on their wrists. And for some Christians, each year during the beginning of Lent, they receive the cross on their foreheads in ash.
Clearly, today the cross is accepted as the most popular symbol of Christianity. But, interestingly, most scholars believe that early Christians did not use the cross as an image of their religion because crucifixion evoked the shameful death of a slave or criminal.¹

Scholars believe that the first surviving public image of Jesus’s crucifixion was on the fifth-century wooden doors of the Basilica of Santa Sabina, which is located on the Aventine Hill in Rome.² Since it took approximately 400 years for Jesus’s crucifixion to become an acceptable public image, scholars have traditionally believed that this means the cross did not originally function as a symbol for Christians.³

… Perhaps the earliest portrayal of the cross by Christians occurred in the iconography of their papyrus manuscripts, specifically the Staurogram, or shape of the cross made by the overlapping of the Greek letters “Rho” and “Tau” ().¹¹ A more obvious depiction of the cross is seen in a third-century gem in the British Museum, which depicts a crucified Jesus with an inscription that lists various Egyptian magical words. …

Undoubtedly, though, Constantine’s adoption of the cross was the most important development that resulted in its becoming the preeminent symbol of Christianity.

According to Eusebius, the day before the Battle of Melvian Bridge, Constantine earnestly prayed for victory against his co-emperor Maxentius. Constantine’s prayer was answered, and a most marvelous sign appeared to him from heaven. Eusebius relates that Constantine saw a cross of light in the sky, above the sun, bearing the inscription, “Conquer by this” (Life of Constantine 28). That night, Eusebius reports, Jesus explained to Constantine the meaning of the vision. Constantine was directed by Jesus to create a new banner with the symbol of the cross created by the Greek letters “Chi” and “Rho.” This well-known symbol in Christianity, which is usually referred to as the Chi-Rho (), became known as the standard of the cross.

According to the fifth-century Christian historian Sozomen, Constantine abolished crucifixion in special reverence for the power and victory he received because of the symbol of the cross (History of the Church 1.8). This abolishment certainly changed the Roman perception of the cross. Simply put, Constantine’s public endorsement of the cross changed its connotation from a repulsive device for executing slaves, foreigners, and Roman citizens of low social standing into a revered, public symbol.

Constantine did not create the symbol of the cross. Rather he adopted it as a new symbol for his empire that had converted to Christianity. Of course, this means that when the artisans depicted the crucified Jesus on the wooden doors of Santa Sabina in the fifth century, the cross was no longer an offensive image. (Jesus and the Cross. Biblical Archaeology Society. February 23, 2020 https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/biblical-topics/crucifixion/jesus-and-the-cross/?mqsc=E4109490&dk=ZE0223ZF0&utm_source=WhatCountsEmail&utm_medium=BHDWeek%20in%20Review%20Newsletter&utm_campaign=ZE0223ZF0)

No, today faithful Christians still do not use crosses as religious symbols, as they clearly were not used as such by early faithful followers of Jesus.

But yes compromisers, Egyptian magi, and Emperor Constantine did. And, the ‘acceptance’ of crosses was pushed by Constantine and many who would follow his lead.

The Continuing Church of God put out the following video on our Bible New Prophecy YouTube channel.

Do you know the origin of the cross? Was Jesus crucified on a cross? What do the Greek words often translated as cross or crucify actually mean? When did crosses get adopted by certain churches? Which groups called crosses ‘the mark of the Beast”? Have Catholic and other writers warned against the cross? Could the Antichrist use crosses to deceive? What do ancient Egypt and Babylon have to do with the cross? Dr. Dr. Thiel answers these questions and more.

Here is a link to the video titled: Origin of the Cross

It may be of historical interest to note the following statements in the article on the Paulicians in The Catholic Encyclopedia (bolding mine):

They honoured not the Cross, but only the book of the Gospel…They were Iconoclasts, rejecting all pictures… The whole ecclesiastical hierarchy is bad, as also all Sacraments and ritual. They had a special aversion to monks…Since Gibbon the Paulicians have often been described as a survival of early and pure Christianity, godly folk who clung to the Gospel, rejecting later superstitions, who were grossly calumniated by their opponents…

…the Cathari also renounced priestly vestments, altars, and crosses as idolatrous. They called the cross the mark of the beast, and declared it had no more virtue than a ribbon for binding the hair. (Fortescue, Adrian. Paulicians. The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 11. Nihil Obstat. February 1, 1911. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., Censor. Imprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911. 23 May 2010 <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11583b.htm>)

So, groups that traced their history to original early Christianity (see also Continuing History of the Church of God) did not use crosses and further claimed, that after the Greco-Romans pushed them, that the cross was a mark of the beast.

Does this claim seem too far-fetched for modern times?

Consider the following report from Ecumenical News:

A Salvadoran Cross that is a now an icon of Christian unity was dedicated and placed in the World Council of Churches’ Chapel in Geneva, Switzerland on the first day of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.

The 2-metre high cross from Salvador has become known as the Lund Cross from the Swedish city where Lutherans and Roman Catholics met at the end of 2016 to commemorate the 500th Reformation anniversary.

“On behalf of the World Council of Churches, we receive this cross as a gift of communion,” said World Council of Churches general secretary, Rev. Olav Fykse Tveit at the ceremony.

“May the historical step that it symbolizes reminds us that Christ’s cross transforms our conflict into communion, and we are reconciled as one creation, joined by the one sprit {sic} of God and Creator. Behold the life-giving cross.”

A sign of continuous commitment with the one ecumenical movement the Lund Cross was created for that joint Catholic-Lutheran Commemoration of the Reformation in Lund and Malmö, Sweden, on 31 October 2016.

The week of prayer for its part is traditionally celebrated between 18-25 January, between the feasts of St Peter and St Paul. …

Cardinal Kurt Koch, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity in his 18 January sermon in the chapel spoke on the message of the cross which is the work of Salvadoran artist Christian Chavarría Ayala, a man who has lived in the shadow of death squads in his country.

The cross is rich with symbols, and shows a baptismal font, branches of the true vine, and Jesus inviting people of all nations to share bread and wine.

The Lund Cross was painted by Ayala, a Lutheran from El Salvador in the typical colorful style of his country.

“People create crosses from their own experiences,” said the artist, who as a child lived through the Salvadoran civil war and grew up in a refugee camp in Honduras. …

In his sermon, Koch reminded those in the chapel that the cross was present during the signing of a Lutheran-Catholic Joint Statement signed by Pope Francis and Bishop Munib A. Younan, who was Lutheran World Federation President on that historic day. …

Dedicating the cross LWF’s Junge said, “In gratitude for the Lutheran and Catholic Joint Commemoration of the 500th Anniversary of the Reformation in Lund, Sweden, we present the Lund Cross to the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva. 01/18/18 http://www.ecumenicalnews.com/article/salvadoran-cross-that-is-christian-sign-of-unity-is-dedicated-at-ecumenical-center-in-geneva/60489.htm

So, the head of the World Council of Churches, the head of the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, and other ecumenists are promoting the cross as an ICON and a symbol of their ecumenical plans.

The Lutherans, which commissioned the Salvadorian cross, reported the following about it:

The cross depicts the Triune God’s creative, reconciling and sanctifying work. …

The cross depicts the Triune God’s creative, reconciling and sanctifying work. At the base of the cross, the hands of God hold all things together, as is recorded in Colossians 1:17 and Hebrews 1:3.

Jesus Christ, Word of God, is at the center of all life, incarnate, redeeming, reconciling, sustaining all creation, and renewing our lives by his death and resurrection made present in the Eucharist. The vineyard and the vine represent both Christ and the people of God. …

The Eucharist represents the visible and full church communion for which we dearly long. At the table, our Lord Jesus Christ offers himself as nourishment for the journey, strengthening the communion of saints established in baptism, reconciling all people as walls of division are broken down. …

The images on this cross embody reconciliation: God’s call to communities of faith to be places of reconciliation and peace, God’s call to all the baptized to be ministers of reconciliation, engaging the path of goodness that offers reconciliation to all humanity and all creation. God embraces this splendid universal communion. https://www.lutheranworld.org/news/salvadoran-cross

As far as the “Triune God” message, consider that it was not until the Council of Constantinople in 381 A.D. that it was formally adopted by the Greco-Romans, see also the article Did the True Church Ever Teach a Trinity? As far as the eucharist goes, early Christians literally broke unleavened bread to recount Jesus’ final Passover–see also Marcus, the Marcosians, & Mithraism: Developers of the Eucharist?

Does God embrace this “splendid universal communion” that differs from the Bible and the early Christian church?

No.

Consider the following:

23 But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. 24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth. (John 4:23-24)

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

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

Early Christian leaders did NOT seek unity with those who were heretical and introduced foreign concepts–instead they denounced them (see Continuing History of the Church of God), including specifically the first one who is believed to have introduced the mystical eucharist (see Marcus, the Marcosians, & Mithraism: Developers of the Eucharist?).

The Continuing Church of God has put together the following video on our Bible News Prophecy YouTube channel:

Beware of the ‘Ecumenical Cross’

‘The Catholic Encyclopedia’ reported that in the first millennium of the Christian era, there were those who considered that the ‘cross’ would be the ‘mark of the beast.’ Is this too far-fetched to be possible now? As it turns out, in the 21st century, the World Council of Churches, the Vatican, and the Lutherans have embraced the ‘Lund Cross,’ also known as the Salvadoran cross, for purposes of ecumenical unity. Furthermore, writings by various Catholic saints and some claiming to see Marian apparitions have pointed to a group, in the end times, that will wear some type of cross to persecute those that do not. Is the cross an original symbol that early Christians venerated? Could a cross be ‘a’ or ‘the’ mark of the beast or the mark of final Antichrist? Dr. Thiel addresses this as well as other aspects of the ecumenical agenda.

Here is a link to our video: Beware of the ‘Ecumenical Cross.’

Before going further, let me also state that the word “cross” is not actually in the original New Testament. The Greek word stauros, which is often translated as cross, properly means “a stake or post” (Biblesoft’s New Exhaustive Strong’s Numbers and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. Copyright (c) 1994, Biblesoft and International Bible Translators, Inc.).

Perhaps it should be mentioned that crosses are part of various pagan religions, and hence some type of cross could appeal to many who do not profess Christianity.

Although it is well documented that early Christians DID NOT venerate the cross or use it as any type of icon, in the fourth century the “cross” became a military symbol after a sun-worshiping Emperor claimed to have a vision and a dream:

In 312, the Roman Emperor Constantine I the Great was in Trier, Germany where he had an unexpected vision of a cross that appeared in the sky. Constantine’s soldiers, the majority of whom were pagans, placed the sacred image of the cross on their shields (Mangan C.M. In This Sign You Conquer, 10/15/03 Copyright © 2004 Catholic Online).

He {Constantine} said that about noon, when the day was already beginning to decline, he saw with his own eyes the trophy of a cross of light in the heavens, above the sun, and bearing the inscription, Conquer by this…in his sleep the Christ of God appeared to him with the same sign which he had seen in the heavens, and commanded him to make a likeness of that sign which he had seen in the heavens, and to use it as a safeguard in all engagements with his enemies….At dawn of day he arose, and communicated the marvel to his friends: and then, calling together the workers in gold and precious stones, he sat in the midst of them, and described to them the figure of the sign he had seen, bidding them represent it in gold and precious stones…

Now it was made in the following manner. A long spear, overlaid with gold, formed the figure of the cross by means of a transverse bar laid over it. On the top of the whole was fixed a wreath of gold and precious stones; and within this, the symbol of the Saviour’s name, two letters indicating the name of Christ by means of its initial characters, the letter P being intersected by X in its centre…

The emperor constantly made use of this sign of salvation as a safeguard against every adverse and hostile power, and commanded that others similar to it should be carried at the head of all his armies. (Eusebius. The Life of Constantine, Book I, Chapters 28,30,31).

This type of cross is known as a labarum:

The Labarum (☧) was a vexillum (military standard) that displayed the first two Greek letters of the word “Christ” (Greek: ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ, or Χριστός) — Chi (χ) and Rho (ρ). It was first used by the Roman emperor Constantine I…

Though modern representations of the chi-rho sign represent the two lines crossing at ninety degree angles, the early examples of the Chi-Rho cross at an angle that is more vividly representative of the chi formed by the solar ecliptic path and the celestial equator. This image is most familiar in Plato’s Timaeus…Of Plato’s image in Timaeus, Justin Martyr, the Christian apologist writing in the second century, found a prefiguration of the Cross (Labarum. Wikipedia, viewed 03/04/09).

So we see that the Chi-Rho existed from at least the time of Plato (a pagan philosopher), but was adopted by Constantine centuries after Christ died. The heretic Justin was probably one who originally encouraged its adoption, and he apparently got it from Plato. Constantine’s mother Helena later claimed to find a piece of Jesus’ ‘cross’ and this helped popularize interest in crosses in the empire.

As far as the end times go, there is a Catholic writer who indicated that the image or perhaps mark of the beast may be something that resembles that Constantinian cross:

Priest P. Huchedé (19th century): Antichrist will further make all men, great and small, rich and poor, freemen and bondmen, bear a sign on their right arm or their forehead. (Apoc. 13:16). What this sign shall be time alone will reveal. Yet there are some {Catholic} commentators of the Holt Writ, who, according to a special revelation pretend to say that it shall be formed out of the Greek letters X and P, interlaced…which resembles the number of Christ. (Cornelius a Lapide in Epis. 2 to Thes.). No one can either buy or sell without this mark, as specified in the Apocalypse (13:17). (Huchedé, P. Translated by JBD. History of Antichrist. Imprimatur: Edward Charles Fabre, Bishop of Montreal. English edition 1884, Reprint 1976. TAN Books, Rockford (IL), p. 24).

If the cross is a symbol of the future Antichrist/Beast power, as Priest P. Huchedé indicates it will be (and it is in a book with an official imprimatur), perhaps those who come from faiths descended from Emperor Constantine should be concerned about their religion now–before it becomes even further removed from the original faith. The Bible indicates that the true Christians will NOT have the symbol/mark needed to buy or sell when the two beasts of Revelation 13 are in power, but only those that will follow those beasts will (Revelation 13:16-17)–and while crosses may not necessarily be required everywhere, other Catholic writings suggest that in certain places, they will be.

Although all real scholars admit that the original Christians would not kill or intentionally participate in military service, after Emperor Constantine claimed to see a spear in the sky with a traverse bar (see Constantine is Why “Christians” War), the group that accepted his authority then allowed him to convene what is known as the Council of Nicea in 325. A.D.

Before going further, let me state that a cross was used by the followers of the militaristic sun-god called Mithraism, which Emperor Constantine supported.

The 20th and 19th century writers Manly Hall and Albert Pike wrote respectively:

Candidates who successfully passed the Mithraic initiations were called Lions and were marked upon their foreheads with the Egyptian cross. (Manly P. Hall Manly P. Hall (Author), J. Augustus Knapp (Illustrator) The Secret Teachings of all Ages. Originally published 1926, reprint Wilder Publications, 2009, p. 45)

Mithras signed his soldiers on the forehead with a Cross. X is the mark of 600, the mysterious cycle of the Incarnations. (Pike A. Morals and dogma of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry. First published 1871. Forgotten Books, 1962, p. 246)

Catholic scholar Cumont wrote:

A curious bas-relief recently published shows us the spectacle of this sacred repast (Fig. 38). Before two persons stretched upon a couch covered with pillows is placed a tripod bearing four tiny loaves of bread, each marked with a cross. … these love feasts are evidently the ritual commemoration of the banquet which Mithra celebrated before his ascension. (Cumont F. The Mysteries of Mithra. Open Court, 1903. Original from Harvard University, Digitized Feb 15, 2008, p. 160)

Crosses were not originally part of Christian worship (for details read What is the Origin of the Cross as a ‘Christian’ Symbol? and/or watch a related YouTube video: Origin of the Cross).

Before going further, it may be of interest to note that a Mithraic temple was in the news some time back:

In central London, seven meters underground, lies an ancient Roman temple to a mysterious god called Mithras.

Nearly 2,000 years after the temple was frequented by the all-male members of an exclusive, enigmatic cult, it has now been faithfully restored and opened to the public.

A light display in the recess of the temple depicts the cult statue of Mithras slaying a bull, an image that was the central icon of the cult. …

It is believed that soldiers and merchants gathered in these secret temples drinking, feasting and performing rituals that may have involved simulating death and rebirth, and even some nakedness. …

Variations of the bull-slaying cult statue — known as the Tauroctony — feature a scorpion on the bull’s testicles, a dog and snake licking the blood, and various zodiac signs and allusions to Sol the sun god. http://www.cnn.com/2018/01/12/europe/london-temple-of-mithras/index.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%253A+rss%252Fcnn_latest+(RSS%253A+CNN+-+Most+Recent)

Now the ancient cult of Mithras is being represented. In fact, there are some 600 people a day visiting a restored temple underneath the London headquarters of the business news outlet Bloomberg. …

“Most people today don’t realize how much of a hold ancient pagan beliefs, practices and images still have on their lives,” said Joseph Farah, author of The Restitution of All Things: Israel, Christians and the End of the Age. “In fact, pagan values and traditions have never left us. Even Jews and Christians are impacted by them. And they are not innocent because the gods of paganism are actually demons, according to the Bible. It’s not something to be played with. http://www.wnd.com/2018/01/now-people-going-ga-ga-over-temple-of-mithras/#V5C3az8alRmLw63t.99

So, this pagan, sun-god cult is officially getting some attention. And attention at a time when the ecumenical types are pushing crosses. Perhaps it should also be emphasized that the professing Christian world has been impacted quite a bit by doctrines once associated with Mithraism (see also Do You Practice Mithraism?).

As far as crosses go, some may be astounded to learn that there are roman Catholic writings that indicate that those who wear crosses will be persecutors in the end times:

St. Francis de Paul (1470): These holy Cross-bearers shall reign and dominate holily over the whole world until the end of time…(Culleton, G. The Prophets and Our Times. Nihil Obstat: L. Arvin. Imprimatur: Philip G. Scher, Bishop of Monterey-Fresno, November 15, 1941. Reprint 1974, TAN Books, Rockford (IL),p. 157-161).

St. Bridget of Sweden (died 1373): …war shall end when an emperor of Spanish origin will be elected, who will, in a wonderful manner, be victorious through the sign of the Cross. He shall destroy the Jewish and Mahometan sects… (Culleton, The Prophets and Our Times , p. 154).

Anne Catherine Emmerich (October, 1820): citizens and peasants, many of whom were marked on the forehead with a red cross. As this army drew near, the captives and oppressed were delivered and swelled the ranks whilst the demolishers and conspirators were put to flight on all sides (Emmerich AC. The Life of Lord Jesus Christ and Biblical Revelations. Schmöger edition, Vol. IV. Nihil Obstat: D. Jaegher, 14 Februari 1914. Imprimatur: A.C. De Schrevel, Brugis, 14 Februari 1914. Reprint TAN Books, Rockford (IL), 2004, pp. 290-291).

Notice what one claimed to be “Mary” allegedly stated in an apparition in Pfaffenhofen, Germany on June 25, 1946:

I am the great Mediatrix of Grace. The Father wants the world to recognize His handmaid…My sign is about to appear. God wills it…I cannot reveal my power to the world as yet…Then I will be able to reveal myself…Chose a sign for yourself so that the Trinity may soon be adored by all! Pray and sacrifice through me!…I will impose crosses on my children that will be as heavy and as deep as the sea because I love them in my sacrificed Son. I pray, be prepared to bear the cross in order that the Trinity may be honored (Culleton, Reign of Antichrist, pp. 217-218).

Real Christians would not pray and sacrifice through Mary.

In 1958, Matous Losuta of Czechoslovakia claimed that “Mary” stated:

All my children will receive and carry the sign of the cross on their foreheads (Flynn, Ted & Flynn, Maureen. Thunder of Justice: The Warning, the Miracle, the Chastisement, the Era of Peace. Signs of the Times Illustrated by Kaleidoscope Graphics Staff Contributor Malachi Martin Published by Maxkol Communications, 1992, p. 331).

This is not something that the Bible advocates. (More on Mary can be found in the article Mary, the Mother of Jesus and the Apparitions.)

Thus, according to various Greco-Roman Catholic mystics and writers, those that follow a persecuting power will wear some type of cross. And according to at least one Catholic priest, it is similar to the type of cross that Emperor Constantine used, and according to that same priest, it may be an important symbol for the beasts of Revelation 13 and their followers.

And now, we are seeing a type of cross being called an “icon” by major leaders in the ecumenical movement and a promoter of a Babylonian ecumenical unity that the Bible warns against (cf. Revelation 17) .

Some type of cross may well be a mark of the Beast or final Antichrist.

Some items of possibly related interest may include:

What is the Origin of the Cross as a ‘Christian’ Symbol? Was the cross used as a venerated symbol by the early Church? A related YouTube video would be Origin of the Cross.
What Did the Early Church Teach About Idols and Icons? Did Catholic and Orthodox “saints” endorse or condemn idols and icons for Christians? A related sermon is available: The Second Commandment, Idols, and Icons.
Marcus, the Marcosians, & Mithraism: Developers of the Eucharist? Marcus was a second century heretic condemned for having a ceremony similar to one still practiced by many who profess Christ, as well as for promoting the ‘eighth day’ ogdoad. Might he also be in the apostolic succession list of the Orthodox Church of Alexandria? Where did the eucharistic host and IHS come from?
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?
Sunday and Christianity Was Sunday observed by the apostolic and true post-apostolic Christians? Who clearly endorsed Sunday? What relevance is the first or the “eighth” day? A related sermon is also available: Sunday: First and Eighth Day?
Hope of Salvation: How the Continuing Church of God Differs from Protestantism The CCOG is NOT Protestant. This free online book explains how the real Church of God differs from mainstream/traditional Protestants. Several sermons related to the free book are also available: Protestant, Baptist, and CCOG History; The First Protestant, God’s Command, Grace, & Character; The New Testament, Martin Luther, and the Canon; Eucharist, Passover, and Easter; Views of Jews, Lost Tribes, Warfare, & Baptism; Scripture vs. Tradition, Sabbath vs. Sunday; Church Services, Sunday, Heaven, and God’s Plan; Seventh Day Baptists/Adventists/Messianics: Protestant or COG?; Millennial Kingdom of God and God’s Plan of Salvation; Crosses, Trees, Tithes, and Unclean Meats; The Godhead and the Trinity; Fleeing or Rapture?; and Ecumenism, Rome, and CCOG Differences.
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.
Beware: Protestants Going Towards Ecumenical Destruction! What is going on in the Protestant world? Are Protestants turning back to their ‘mother church’ in Rome? Does the Bible warn about this? What are Catholic plans and prophecies related to this? Is Protestantism doomed? See also World Council of Churches Peace Plan.
Why Should American Catholics Fear Unity with the Orthodox? (And the Protestants) Are the current ecumenical meetings a good thing or will they result in disaster? Is doctrinal compromise good? Here is a link to a related video Should you be concerned about the ecumenical movement?
Will the Interfaith Movement Lead to Peace or Sudden Destruction? Is the interfaith movement going to lead to lasting peace or is it warned against? A video sermon of related interest is: Will the Interfaith Movement lead to World War III? and a video sermon is also available: Do You Know That Babylon is Forming?
The Mark of Antichrist What is the mark of Antichrist? What have various ones claimed? Here is a link to a related sermon What is the ‘Mark of Antichrist’?
Mark of the Beast What is the mark of the Beast? Who is the Beast? What have various ones claimed the mark is? What is the ‘Mark of the Beast’?
Who is the Man of Sin of 2 Thessalonians 2? Is this the King of the North, the ten-horned beast of Revelation 13:1-11, or the two-horned Beast of Revelation 13:12-16? Some rely on traditions, but what does the Bible teach? Here is a related link in Spanish/español: ¿Quién es el Hombre de Pecado de 2 Tesalonicenses 2? Here is a version in Mandarin: 主编： 谁是’大罪人’？Here is a link to a related YouTube video, in English, titled Who is the Man of Sin?
Persecutions by Church and State This article documents some that have occurred against those associated with the COGs and some prophesied to occur. Will those with the cross be the persecutors or the persecuted–this article has the shocking answer. There is also a YouTube video sermon you can watch: The Coming Persecution of the Church. Here is information in the Spanish language: Persecuciones de la Iglesia y el Estado.
The Spanish Inquisition and Early Protestant Persecutions Was the Church of Rome really responsible for this? What happened? A video of related interest is titled: The Past and Future Inquisition.
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.
Some Doctrines of Antichrist Are there any doctrines taught outside the Churches of God which can be considered as doctrines of antichrist? This article suggests at least three. It also provides information on 666 and the identity of “the false prophet.” Plus it shows that several Catholic writers seem to warn about an ecumenical antipope that will support heresy. You can also watch a video titled What Does the Bible teach about the Antichrist?

Original 1611 KJV leaf of parts of Habakkuk chapters 2 & 3
(It was a gift to me from a reader)

COGwriter

ABC reported the following:

UK is ‘broke and broken,’ new government says amid shortfall in public finances

July 28, 2024

LONDON — Britain’s new left-leaning government said Sunday that the nation is “broke and broken,” blaming the situation on its predecessors ahead of a major speech on the state of the public finances that is widely expected to lay the groundwork for higher taxes.

In a sweeping assessment three weeks after taking power, Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s office professed shock at the situation they inherited after 14 years of Conservative Party rule, while releasing a department-by-department analysis of the perceived failures of the previous government.

The critique comes a day before Treasury chief Rachel Reeves is expected to outline a 20-billion-pound ($26 billion) shortfall in public finances during a speech to the House of Commons. …

“The assessment will show that Britain is broke and broken — revealing the mess that populist politics has made of the economy and public services,” Downing Street said in a statement. https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/uk-broke-broken-new-government-prepares-tackle-shortfall-112344544

Yes, the UK is in debt and in various ways it is broke.

Yet, in certain ways, it is in better shape than the US is in.

The Bible shows national debt is a curse and it also clearly warns that an indebted people will be destroyed by people whose language that they do not understand, and that the destruction will be fairly total:

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

7 The rich rules over the poor, And the borrower is servant to the lender. (Proverbs 22:7)

13 And the Lord said, “Because they have forsaken My law which I set before them, and have not obeyed My voice, nor walked according to it, 14 but they have walked according to the dictates of their own hearts…16 I will scatter them also among the Gentiles, whom neither they nor their fathers have known. And I will send a sword after them until I have consumed them.” (Jeremiah 9:13,14a,16)

12 One-third of you shall die of the pestilence, and be consumed with famine in your midst; and one-third shall fall by the sword all around you; and I will scatter another third to all the winds, and I will draw out a sword after them. (Ezekiel 5:12)

Most will not believe, but that was expected:

6 “Don’t say such things,” the people respond. “Don’t prophesy like that. Such disasters will never come our way!” (Micah 2:6, New Living Translation)

16 … You say, ‘Do not prophesy against Israel, And do not spout against the house of Isaac.’ (Amos 7:16)

People will not want to hear! See also Preparing for the ‘Short Work’ and The Famine of the Word.

Habakkuk was a Hebrew prophet.

Around 605-625 B.C. Habakkuk wrote a short book of the Bible that has a lot of implications for the time that we are now in.

Here are some passages from it (italics are not inspired but were headings in the translation):

1 The burden which the prophet Habakkuk saw.

The Prophet’s Question

2 O Lord, how long shall I cry, And You will not hear? Even cry out to You, “Violence!” And You will not save. 3 Why do You show me iniquity, And cause me to see trouble? For plundering and violence are before me; There is strife, and contention arises. 4 Therefore the law is powerless, And justice never goes forth. For the wicked surround the righteous; Therefore perverse judgment proceeds.

The Lord’s Reply

5 “Look among the nations and watch — Be utterly astounded! For I will work a work in your days Which you would not believe, though it were told you. 6 For indeed I am raising up the Chaldeans, A bitter and hasty nation Which marches through the breadth of the earth, To possess dwelling places that are not theirs. 7 They are terrible and dreadful; Their judgment and their dignity proceed from themselves. 8 Their horses also are swifter than leopards, And more fierce than evening wolves. Their chargers charge ahead; Their cavalry comes from afar; They fly as the eagle that hastens to eat. 9 They all come for violence; Their faces are set like the east wind. They gather captives like sand. 10 They scoff at kings, And princes are scorned by them. They deride every stronghold, For they heap up earthen mounds and seize it. 11 Then his mind changes, and he transgresses; He commits offense, Ascribing this power to his god.” (Habakkuk 1:1-11)

Notice that the above states that the end time work will not be believed by many even though God will reveal it–which He does through His prophets, like Habakkuk. While some claim that this was only for the past (like many in LCG) or that the entire book is really related to the Chaldeans and Chaldean debt (like HOI) and have despised my quoting of this, they seemingly forget that this is in the New Testament:

41 ‘Behold, you despisers,
Marvel and perish!
For I work a work in your days,
A work which you will by no means believe,
Though one were to declare it to you.‘” (Acts 13:41)

I believe that the Continuing Church of God is helping fulfill that. No xWCG group has had the type of growth in the 21st century that the CCOG has had–and this happened despite not having the large amounts of money like many groups have had available. Nor have any had the amount of signs that God promised (for details, check out the article: Does the CCOG have the confirmed signs of Acts 2:17-18?).

Now, getting back to Habakkuk:

The Prophet’s Second Question

12 Are You not from everlasting, O Lord my God, my Holy One? We shall not die. O Lord, You have appointed them for judgment; O Rock, You have marked them for correction. 13 You are of purer eyes than to behold evil, And cannot look on wickedness. Why do You look on those who deal treacherously, And hold Your tongue when the wicked devours A person more righteous than he? 14 Why do You make men like fish of the sea, Like creeping things that have no ruler over them? 15 They take up all of them with a hook, They catch them in their net, And gather them in their dragnet. Therefore they rejoice and are glad. 16 Therefore they sacrifice to their net, And burn incense to their dragnet; Because by them their share is sumptuous And their food plentiful. 17 Shall they therefore empty their net, And continue to slay nations without pity? (Habakkuk 1:12-17)

Notice that in the above the one getting punished will be punished by someone who, in certain ways, is worse than the one who will be punished. So while some believe that in certain ways the USA and its Anglo-allies are more “righteous” than the Beast power that will destroy it, the reality is that this is part of God’s plan.

2:1 I will stand my watch And set myself on the rampart, And watch to see what He will say to me, And what I will answer when I am corrected.

The Just Live by Faith

2 Then the Lord answered me and said: “Write the vision And make it plain on tablets, That he may run who reads it. 3 For the vision is yet for an appointed time; But at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; Because it will surely come, It will not tarry. 4 “Behold the proud, His soul is not upright in him; But the just shall live by his faith. (Habakkuk 2:1-4)

Notice that the prophecy that is being discussed is for the appointed time of the end. It is a prophecy for our time–and will affect the proud. What will happen is so bad “That he may run who reads it.”

Yet, most do not take it seriously enough, and that includes most Christians:

Woe to the Wicked

5 “Indeed, because he transgresses by wine, He is a proud man, And he does not stay at home. Because he enlarges his desire as hell, And he is like death, and cannot be satisfied, He gathers to himself all nations And heaps up for himself all peoples. 6 “Will not all these take up a proverb against him, And a taunting riddle against him, and say, ‘Woe to him who increases What is not his — how long? And to him who loads himself with many pledges’? 7 Will not your creditors rise up suddenly? Will they not awaken who oppress you? And you will become their booty. 8 Because you have plundered many nations, All the remnant of the people shall plunder you, Because of men’s blood And the violence of the land and the city, And of all who dwell in it. (Habakkuk 2:5-8)

Actually, with an admitted debt of $35 trillion dollars and plans to increase that much further, the USA has increased pledges more than any nation in the history of the planet–it is plundering nations by issuing debt it will not repay. And on a per capita basis, the United Kingdom is one of the most indebted nations on the earth itself. The above is NOT a prophecy of Chaldean debt, nor was it fulfilled in its entirety thousands of years ago.

Please pay attention to the fact that that above is a prophecy for the appointed time of the end–essentially the time of the Great Tribulation (Matthew 24:21; watch also Great Tribulation: 2026 or 2027?). The USA has been accumulating pledges in the form of US Treasury bonds and notes, and is the most indebted nation of all time. It is descendants of Israel, like the USA, that are prophesied to have debt issues with foreigners if they turn from God’s laws (cf. Deuteronomy 28:43-44)–that is consistent with Habakkuk 2:6-8. The above prophecy is NOT a reference to the nation calling itself Israel as it has nothing compared to USA debt. Nor is it a prophecy for the European Beast power  (which will include Chaldeans) as it will not be destroyed because of debt.

That debt prophecy in Habakkuk will be fulfilled at the time of the end (cf. “The message was true, but the appointed time was long…in the latter days, for the vision refers to many days yet to come”, Daniel 10:1,14). Daniel 8:19, 11:27, 29,35 uses the same Hebrew term for “appointed time” as Habakkuk 2:3, while Daniel 10, using a different term, ties the latter days to the time in Daniel 8:19. Habakkuk 2 was not fulfilled in its entirety anciently. Also, it makes little sense that Habakkuk would be directed towards the modern nation of Israel as it does not have enemy creditors. It must be a nation or group of nations with some prominence at the appointed time of the end. As far as “violence of the land” as a contributing factor, this would seem to include crime, military missions, and perhaps riots/civil unrest, but might it also include promotion of violent sports? Is the USA government not giving shameful counsel regarding matters such as homosexuality and abortion?

Notice also the following from the Commentary on Habakkuk from the ancient Dead Sea Scrolls (roughly 2000 years old; translated in the 1950s by F.F. Bruce):

God commanded Habakkuk to write the things that were coming upon the last generation, but the fulfilment of the epoch he did not make known to him. (1Q p Hab. vii 1-5)

While ancient commentaries like this are NOT scripture, this particular one shows that those who understood the Hebrew language around 2000 years ago believed that Habakkuk’s words had NOT then been fulfilled and were for the time of the end.

The official US government debt nearly doubled under the Obama Administration:

According to the US Treasury, the debt of the USA as of 01/19/2009 (the day before Barack Obama took office) was 10,628,881,485,510.23 (https://treasurydirect.gov/NP/debt/current).

According to the US Treasury, the debt of the USA as of 01/19/2017 (the day Barack Obama left office and the day before Donald Trump took office) was 19,944,429,217,106.77 (https://treasurydirect.gov/NP/debt/current).

Those who thought that the Trump Administration would fix that are in error as the following shows:

According to the US Treasury, the debt of the USA as of 01/19/2021 was $27,752,835,868,445.35 (https://fiscaldata.treasury.gov/datasets/debt-to-the-penny/debt-to-the-penny)

And these debt figures do not include state and local government debt, nor consumer or corporate debt.

Furthermore, the debt has risen by over 7 trillion dollars in less than four years under the Biden-Harris Administration:

According to the US Treasury, the debt of the USA as of 07/25/2024 was $34,997,540,505,103.33 (https://fiscaldata.treasury.gov/datasets/debt-to-the-penny/debt-to-the-penny)

The USA has been setting itself up for the penalties prophesied by Habakkuk.

Raising debt, not cutting spending, remains the US government’s plan.

How bad is the current situation?

Notice something from last week:

‘America is going bankrupt’: Elon Musk issues dire warning as interest on US debt was equal to 76% of income tax collected in June — and is expected to exceed $1.14 trillion this year

July 23, 2024

Rising national debt has long been a pressing issue in America, and it has caught the attention of Tesla CEO Elon Musk.

“America is going bankrupt btw,” Musk wrote in a recent post on the social media platform X. He was responding to a post by Billy Markus, the creator of Dogecoin.

Markus’ post included a screenshot of a headline reading, “Interest Payments on US National Debt Will Shatter $1,140,000,000,000 This Year – Eating 76% of All Income Taxes Collected: Report.”

Musk added a comment expressing his dismay: “I am glad 76% of the income tax I pay goes directly to important things like interest on past government incompetence.” …

The headline originated from an article on The Daily Hodl, which featured an analysis by economist E.J. Antoni.

Antoni, a research fellow in the Heritage Foundation’s Grover M. Hermann Center for the Federal Budget, delved into the latest Monthly Treasury Statement from the Bureau of the Fiscal Service.

He pointed out a striking detail: in June 2024, the U.S. government spent $140.238 billion on interest for Treasury debt securities. For context, the government collected $184.910 billion in individual income taxes that same month.

This means that an amount equivalent to 76% of June’s individual income tax revenue was used solely for interest payments on the national debt, not including principal repayment.

Antoni expressed his concern about America’s fiscal challenge in a post on X, writing, “Interest on the federal debt was equal to 76% of all personal income taxes collected in June – that’s the Treasury’s largest source of revenue and three-quarters of it gets consumed just by interest; does Congress know? Do they even care?” https://moneywise.com/news/economy/elon-musk-issues-dire-warning-as-interest-on-us-debt-was-equal-to-76-of-income-tax-collected-in-june

If interest rates ever rise to the level that they were in the US in the early 1980s, that will trigger a spiral that the US possibly could not recover from.

Perhaps it should be pointed out that the old Radio Church of God did teach that Chaldeans were essentially Europeans who would punish the US and its English-speaking allies, that Habakkuk 1 had future fulfillment, and also tied it in with Isaiah 10:

One whole book of the Bible — Habakkuk — is entirely devoted to a prophecy concerning the Chaldeans in these latter days! …

The reason that some Chaldeans were later associated with Babylon in Daniel’s time is that a small part of them was later settled by the Assyrians near Babylon. The original inspired Hebrew of Isaiah 23:13 explains this: “Behold, the land of the Chaldeans — this is the people that was not, when Asshur founded it for shipmen”. How clear. The Chaldeans were divided, not an organized nation. A part of them was transplanted to Babylon. … Where are they today?

When we next find them, they dwell on the shores of the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe!  … Some of the sons of Asshur are these: Kharmen, or Germanni — meaning men of war; Khatti; Akkadians; Almani, or Halmani; and Kassites, or Cossaei. (For these names see any article on “Assyria”, or these separate names, in Biblical encyclopaedias).

Where are these tribes today? They are no longer in ancient Assyria! Where did they go? The entire tenth chapter of Isaiah pictures the power that Asshur — the Assyrians — shall wield in these latter days. …

Read Isaiah 10 and Habakkuk 1, together with Isaiah 48. Notice that the children of Israel are delivered into the hands of the Whites of Europe! … Christ Himself will have to put a stop to that attempt of Satan to crush Israel. Then the White, English-speaking world, with the other tribes of Israel will really begin to shoulder the “White Man’s Burden” and bless the world with peace instead of cursing it. (Hoeh H. The Race Question. Plain Truth, July 1957 p. 22).

And, “the White, English-speaking world,” obviously includes the USA and UK.

That said, the ‘Chaldeans’ will be punished per Isaiah 10:12 and verses such as Habakkuk 2:9-19 also look to apply.

Furthermore, the old WCG did clearly teach that Habakkuk 2 had future application:

Habakkuk … God also said that this vision was to be written for our benefit today. … (Habakkuk 2:3). God showed Habakkuk that He will punish all the unrighteous at the end-time. … (Habukkuk 2:8, 10, 16-17) (Armstrong HW, editor in chief. THE MINOR PROPHETS SPEAK TO US! Youth Bible Lessons, Level 7, Lesson 9, 1986, p. 4)

So, yes, the old WCG understand that Habakkuk 2 was prophetic for the end time–not that it was full fulfilled thousands of years ago (which many in certain COGs wrongly believe). And since it is for the end time, the woes associated with debt/pledges must apply to some nation or group of nations now. And, the most indebted nation now is the USA.

Do you believe the words that God inspired Habakkuk to write? If so, do you really understand what is going to happen to the USA, UK, and their Anglo-descended allies relatively soon?

There is also a YouTube video related to this: Was USA debt and destruction predicted 2,600 years ago?

Here is something that was written in 1973 for the old Ambassador College by Dean Blackwell:

Why do you think in Habakkuk, God said that He’d “revive His work in the midst of the years”? Would this be said if they were doing the work in all the time of the New Testament Church?

You might note that in Habakkuk 3:2, he says: O Eternal, I have heard thy speech and was afraid: O Eternal, revive thy work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make known; in wrath remember mercy.

He is referring to God reviving His work in the midst of man’s last century. He said that God would make known what is happening and what’s going to happen in man’s last years, in the day of His wrath. He requested that God remember mercy and hide His people in a place of safety.

The work needs to be done in the 21st century. Will you truly support it?

Much of Habakkuk’s message is for the appointed time of the end, hence is applicable today.

The rising US and UK debts cannot continue indefinitely–there is a major price to pay.

While those nations do not show any interest in repenting, you personally can.

To learn even more, please, with your Bible, check out the following:

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 related video is: Great Tribulation: 2026 or 2027? A shorter video is: Tribulation in 2024?
Watch also: Great Tribulation Protection.
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.
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?
CCOG.ORG Continuing Church of God The Philadelphian organization striving to be most faithful amongst all real Christian groups to the word of God. This page has links to materials in over 200 languages. To watch what has been happending in the CCOG so far, here are links to two sermons Continuing Church of God (CCOG) first year anniversary: What has been accomplished? and Continuing COG’s 10 Unique Years.
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.
Should the Church Still Try to Place its Top Priority on Proclaiming the Gospel or Did Herbert W. Armstrong Change that Priority for the Work? Some say the Church should mainly feed the flock now as that is what Herbert W. Armstrong reportedly said. Is that what he said? Is that what the Bible says? What did Paul and Herbert W. Armstrong expect from lower level leaders? A related sermon is available titled Priority of the Philadelphia Work.
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.
The Final Phase of the Work What is the final phase of the work? Who will lead it? Do you have the courage to support it? Here are two related YouTube videos titled Final Phase of the Work: Need and Background and The Final Phase of the Work. The written article has been translated into Spanish La Fase Final de la Obra.
Leading the Final Phase of the Work Matthew 24:14 teaches “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come ” will be fulfilled and RCG is not the group doing this. Who is leading the final phase of the work? What did Herbert Armstrong and the old WCG teach about that and about prophets? Does Bob Thiel meet the criteria that the Bible and the old WCG set? What is the proof? What has the Continuing Church of God been doing? This is a sermonette length video.
Who is the King of the North? Is there one? Do biblical and Roman Catholic prophecies for the Great Monarch point to the same leader? Should he be followed? Who will be the King of the North discussed in Daniel 11? Is a nuclear attack prophesied to happen to the English-speaking peoples of the United States, Great Britain, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand? When do the 1335 days, 1290 days, and 1260 days (the time, times, and half a time) of Daniel 12 begin? When does the Bible show that economic collapse will affect the United States? In the Spanish language check out ¿Quién es el Rey del Norte? Here is a link to a video titled: The Future King of the North.
Is God Calling You? This booklet discusses topics including calling, election, and selection. If God is calling you, how will you respond? Here is are links to related sermons: Christian Election: Is God Calling YOU? and Predestination and Your Selection; here is a message in Spanish: Me Está Llamando Dios Hoy? A short animation is also available: Is God Calling You?
Christian Repentance Do you know what repentance is? Is it really necessary for salvation? Two related sermons about this are also available: Real Repentance and Real Christian Repentance.
Just What Do You Mean — Repentance? Do you know what repentance is? Have you truly repented? Repented of what? Herbert W. Armstrong wrote this as a booklet on this important subject.
When You Sin: Do You Really Repent? This is an article by Charles F. Hunting. A related sermon is Confess to God and truly repent.