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Israel launched what it called a preemptive strike against Hezbollah, who responded with firing rockets into Israel:

Israel launches ‘preemptive’ strikes in Lebanon as Hezbollah fires back hundreds of rockets

August 25, 2024

The Israeli military launched what it called “preemptive” strikes against Hezbollah in Lebanon, as the Iran-backed militant group said it carried out its own strikes in response to the killing of a top commander.

The overnight strikes are some of the most serious yet between Israel and Hezbollah, who have been exchanging fire for months. The hostilities have raised the specter of a regional conflagration, prompting intense diplomatic efforts to de-escalate tensions.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said about 100 of its fighter jets “struck and destroyed thousands of Hezbollah rocket launcher barrels” across dozens of launch sites from Lebanon on Sunday. It followed these up with further attacks later in the day.

Israel said it carried out the strikes in self-defense after identifying that Hezbollah was “preparing to fire missiles and rockets toward Israeli territory.” Hezbollah called Israel’s description of its strike as preemptive “baseless.”

In a meeting with his security cabinet Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel was “determined to do everything to protect our country,” and vowed to “uphold a simple rule: whoever hurts us — we hurt him.”

Soon after the Israeli raids, the IDF said approximately 200 rockets had been launched from Lebanon towards Israel early Sunday, with no reports of injuries so far. Hezbollah said the “first phase” of its strikes against Israel “has ended with complete success,”claiming that it launched 320 rockets and a barrage of drones toward Israel. https://www.cnn.com/2024/08/24/middleeast/israeli-strike-hezbollah-lebanon-intl-hnk/index.html

August 25, 2024

Israel carried out its biggest assault on Lebanon’s Iranian proxy group Hezbollah in 10 months of fighting early Sunday, acting on what an Israeli security source told VOA was precise intelligence to stop thousands of rockets and drones from being launched into Israeli territory. …

Israeli reserves Brig. Gen. Jacob Nagel, a former national security adviser to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, told VOA in a text message that Israel’s “precise intelligence worked very well” in detecting Hezbollah plans to strike deep into Israel with the aim of damaging both military and civilian facilities and harming civilians.

The Israeli military said most of the Hezbollah rockets and drones primed for Sunday’s predawn assault were aimed at northern Israel, while some also were aimed at the country’s densely populated center. The group denied that its planned attack was largely thwarted by a preemptive Israeli assault. …

In a separate VOA interview, former Israeli intelligence official Avi Melamed said Sunday’s predawn strikes on Hezbollah also highlight the group’s increasing struggle with maintaining deterrence against Israel.

Melamed, who runs Inside the Middle East, a U.S. nonprofit research group, said Hezbollah already has struggled with Israel using superior intelligence to carry out strikes killing more than 400 of its operatives in Lebanon in 10 months, among them senior commanders like Shukur.

“Sunday’s preemptive Israeli strike disrupted Hezbollah’s attack plan [to avenge Shukur], adding to a deterrence problem that also affects its patron Iran,” Melamed said.

Nagel said he sees Iran’s radical ruling clerics as behind all of the region’s terror activity that targets Israel.

“So the time is approaching for Israel to exercise a relatively new national security strategy and punish the terror leaders there,” he wrote, referring to Iran. https://www.voanews.com/a/israel-acted-on-intelligence-to-stop-hezbollah-firing-thousands-of-rockets-and-drones-security-source-says/7756139.html

Well, this action by Israel may further motivate Iran to attack.

Regarding matters involving the region, notice the following, which is chapter 4 in my free online book Islamic and Biblical Prophecies for the 21st Century:

4. Iran, Syria, and Terror

The Hamas-Israel war that began on October 7, 2023, highlighted for many that Iran has been involved in backing Hamas, Hezbollah, and others. And of course, Iran has long been an ally of Syria.

HarperCollins published the following about an Islamic end times sign and Syria:

Another purported sign is the movement into Syria of the pro Assad Hezbollah militia, whose flag is yellow.

 “As Imam Sadeq has stated, when the (forces) with yellow flags fight anti-Shi’ites in Damascus and Iranian forces join them, this is a prelude and a sign of the coming of his holiness,” Rohollah Hosseinian, an Iranian cleric and member of Parliament, explained. [i]

The expression “his holiness” is a reference to the Imam Mahdi—and its use of terms like that make some Sunni’s consider Shiites to be heretics and idolators.

That said, Iranians are Persians and not Arabs. Here is something about their ancestors:

Iranians … are a mixed people of the remnants of Media and Elam and other ancestors of Semitic and Hamitic stock.[ii]

Iran’s closest ally is Syria. While some Arab nations have made peace with Israel, Iran and Syria have not.

Notice the following hadiths:

“At the end of Time there will be a trial in which people will be sorted in a way similar to that in which gold is sorted from metal.”

“So do not rebuke the people of Syria but rebuke the evil people among them because amongst them is Al Abdal.

A flood is about to be sent down upon the people of Syria which will disperse their groups in such a way that if foxes attacked they would be beaten.

At that time a man from the Family of my House will come under three banners; between twelve and fifteen thousand and their password is – ‘Die, die.’ Then, there will come seven banners and under each will be one man seeking the kingdom.

Allah will kill all of them and restore unity and favors upon the hearts of Muslims, and those who were far come close.” [iii]

“Al Mahdi is a man from my children. His face is like a glittering star, his skin is the color of an Arab, and his body is like that of Israel.

He will fill the earth with justice just as it will have been filled by injustice, and the dwellers of Heaven and Earth will be pleased with his Caliphate.” [iv]

Although one of the hadiths above used the term Israel in a non-negative manner, in January 2021, Iranian state media ISNA reported:

Iranian lawmakers have submitted a bill seeking the government by law to commit to Israel’s destruction by the year 2040,” [v]

The Bible points to Iran (Elam below) and its ally Syria (Kir below) causing damage to Jerusalem of the nation of Israel:

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. (Isaiah 22:5-12)

The Bible tells that after Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria took over Damascus, he moved Syrians to Kir (2 Kings 16:9-10). 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. The Bible also has the expression “the Syrians from Kir” (Amos 9:7), which is basically confirmation that Kir of Isaiah 22 would include Syrians. The prophecy that “Kir uncovered the shield” suggests that Syria will have somehow reduced the effectiveness of Israel’s ‘Iron Dome’ and/or other defensive equipment the nation of Israel will use. The Bible additionally 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). The “House of the Forest” was anciently located in Lebanon (e.g. 1 Kings 7:2, 10:17,21; 2 Chronicles 9:16,20 [vi])–which is where Hezbollah is based out of.

Here is the Catholic Public Domain Version translation of Isaiah 22:8:

⁸ And the covering of Judah will be exposed, and in that day, you will see the weaponry of the forest house. (Isaiah 22:8, CPDV)

A way for Judah to “see the weaponry of the forest house” would be a massive attack by Hezbollah. 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, understand that “the damage to the city of David” is a reference to at least part of Jerusalem, which is the “city of David” (cf. 2 Kings 9:28).

Further notice that Isaiah’s prophecy states that the damage will be great. Also notice part of the reason will be because Judah (modern nation of Israel) would “not look to its Maker,” nor “have respect for Him,” that God will allow this. Just relying on Israel’s own military will not be enough.

It appears there will likely be a regional war involving Israel, who has threatened to take preemptive attacks to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons[vii] as well as retaliatory attacks because of a massive arial attack by Iran announced on April 14, 2024.[viii] Israel has promised retaliation, with Iran’s then President Ebrahim Raisi asserting that even the “tiniest” invasion of its territory would bring a “massive and harsh” response. … and that if Iran had wanted to carry out a bigger attack, “nothing would remain from the Zionist regime.”[ix] While Israel did make what could be considered a tiny response, Iran suggested that the matter was now closed.[x] This author does not believe that, but instead believes that Iran and its allies are biding their time until they launch a massive attack.

Scripture points to an attack with Iranian involvement that will cause great damage to Israel. Despite its posturing, relative military strength, and ability to damage Israel and others, Iran will be somehow effectively neutralized (cf. Ezekiel 32:24). This could perhaps be from an attack involving Israel and other nations and/or internal civil unrest — this could also include electromagnetic (EMP) or similar weapons used against Iran (Jeremiah 49:34-39).

Before going further, certain Protestant and Jewish prophecy watchers believe that Iran, along with Russia, will invade the nation of Israel before Jesus returns based on the 38^th chapter of the Book of Ezekiel, which is also related to Gog and Magog (Ezekiel 38:2-6). But that prophecy is NOT for this age. Notice something Russia and Iran are prophesied to say:

¹¹ You will say, ‘I will go up against a land of unwalled villages; I will go to a peaceful people, who dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates’ —  ¹² to take plunder and to take booty, to stretch out your hand against the waste places that are again inhabited, and against a people gathered from the nations, who have acquired livestock and goods, who dwell in the midst of the land. ¹³ Sheba, Dedan, the merchants of Tarshish, and all their young lions will say to you, ‘Have you come to take plunder? Have you gathered your army to take booty, to carry away silver and gold, to take away livestock and goods, to take great plunder?’”‘ (Ezekiel 38:11-13)

The tiny nation called Israel does not have any significant amount of gold,[xi] nor is it filled with peaceful people who dwell safely, hence the Ezekiel 38 prophecy is not for this age (it is post millennial per Revelation 20:7-8). Islam tends to use Gog and Magog as representations of evil (Sura 18:94).

For this age, understand that Iran has weapons that can cause damage, including terror. Biblically, we see that terror is associated with Elam:

²⁴ There is Elam and all her multitude, All around her grave, All of them slain, fallen by the sword, Who have gone down uncircumcised to the lower parts of the earth, Who caused their terror in the land of the living; Now they bear their shame with those who go down to the Pit. (Ezekiel 32:24)

Furthermore, the USA itself, as well as the State of Israel, are vulnerable to EMP (electromagnetic pulse) type attacks and even items such as biological weapons, chemical weapons, terrorism, nuclear weapons, dirty bombs, etc. which Iran and Syria could use in a conflict.

But should this attack occur, this would NOT be the final destruction of the USA. Prophetically, Iran would not end up faring well (cf. Ezekiel 32:24-25).

Because of prophecies related to the destruction of Syria’s capital Damascus (Isaiah 17:1), damage to Iran from multiple nations (Jeremiah 49:34-39), and great damage to be done to Jerusalem (Isaiah 22:8-9), one or more of those events may well precede the ‘peace deal’ of Daniel 9:27.

After this author originally wrote basically the paragraph above, he ran across the following:

There is an 800-year-old rabbinic commentary known as Yalkut Shimoni, which he translates: “Paras (Persia-Iran) will be the dread of humanity. The world’s leaders will be frustrated in their futile efforts to save what they can, but to no avail. The people of Israel will also be petrified by the impending danger. And HaShem (God) will say to us, ‘Why are you afraid? All of this I have done in order to bring you the awaited redemption. And this redemption will not be like the redemption from Egypt, which was followed by suffering. This redemption will be absolute, followed with peace.’”[xii]

Yes, presuming we see great damage to Jerusalem, this would seem to set the stage for the peace deal of Daniel 9:27, which is consistent with the above old Jewish commentary.

Interestingly, there is a prophecy that the ‘Great Monarch’ of Greco-Roman prophecy will arise after Iran (Persia) causes damage:

Oracle of Baalbek: And the name of this King is concealed among the nations; and his name is similar to the last day, and it is written from the 18th letter. And when he will receive his empire, his name will be Anastasius, (Anastasois). This king is bald headed, handsome … In his day the Persians will rise up and destroy the cities of the East … [xiii]

The above, which is believed to have been written over a thousand years ago during the Byzantine reign, is a prediction of a leader to rise up that many Greco-Roman Catholic writings look forward to, called the Great Monarch. He looks to be similar to the one that the Bible refers to as the Beast, the final King of the North of Daniel 11. Notice the belief that he will be around when the Persians–the Iranians–have destroyed cities in the East. Jerusalem was east (as well as south) of the old Byzantium Empire. This looks to be in alignment with Isaiah 22:6-9.

Notice something else involving Syrians and the Palestinians, who Iran supports:

⁸ The Lord sent a word against Jacob, And it has fallen on Israel. ⁹ All the people will know — Ephraim and the inhabitant of Samaria — … ¹¹ Therefore the Lord shall set up The adversaries of Rezin against him, And spur his enemies on, ¹² The Syrians before and the Philistines behind; And they shall devour Israel with an open mouth. (Isaiah 9:8-9, 11-12)

In addition to the nation of Israel, the USA (prophetic Samaria) and its British descended allies (prophetic Ephraim) will have more terrorist attacks. Syrian, Palestinian (called Philistines in Isaiah 9:12) and some other refugees and other migrants within their borders are a potential terrorist problem (Jeremiah 15:6-8; Ezekiel 21:12, 32:24). The Bible clearly warns that there will be “terror within” as (Deuteronomy 32:25).

Isaiah and Ezekiel look to be prophesying problems from Syrians, Palestinians, and Iranians. And this would be expected to include terrorism. And this is also consistent with prophecies in Psalm 83.

In Ezekiel 38, Iran is prophesied to be involved in a battle on the side of Russia and China. But that prophecy will not be fulfilled for over 1000 years.

That said, in 2024, Iran joined the BRICS alliance, which is dominated by Russia, India, and China. All of those appear to be biblical “kings of the east” that will be involved in the gathering at Armageddon (Revelation 16:12-16).

Furthermore, despite Iran’s preference for dealing with Europe over the United States of America, Iran looks to be one of the nations that will align with Russia and China to conquer the Babylonian European Beast power (Jeremiah 50:41-43).

Iran will be involved in the fulfillment of numerous prophecies.

[i] Stern, p. 222

[ii] Stump K. South Asia in Prophecy. Plain Truth, July/August 1986, p. 5

[iii] This hadith was reported by Imam Ali in the references of Ahmad, Abu Dawood, Ibn Majah and At-Tabarani. Accessed 11/06/23 https://www.muhammadanreality.com/ImamMahdiSignsfortheSavoir.htm#Top

[iv] These hadiths were narrated by Hudhayfah and are found in the references of Abu Nuaym, At-Tabarani, and Abu Amru Ad Dani. Accessed 11/06/23 https://www.muhammadanreality.com/ImamMahdiSignsfortheSavoir.htm#Top

[v] Iran Parliament to debate bill calling for Israel’s destruction by 2040. i24news, January 6, 2021

[vi] Though many scholars claim Jerusalem was the site of ‘the house of the forest,’ additional details as to reasons why Lebanon should be considered as the location are in the following paper: A Discourse on the House of the Forest of Lebanon, pp: 111-134 in Bunyan J. Stebbing H. The Entire Works of John Bunyan, Volume 4. Virtue and Company, 1860

[vii] Egozi A. With Netanyahu back in charge, is a solo Israeli strike against Iran in the cards? Breaking Defense, November 08, 2022

[viii] Frankel J. Israel says it will retaliate against Iran, despite the risks. ABC, April 16, 2024

[ix] The Latest | Netanyahu says Israel will decide how to respond as Iran warns against retaliation. Associated Pres, April 17, 2024

[x] Hafezi P, Mackenzie J. Tehran plays down reported Israeli attacks, signals no retaliation. Reuters, April 19, 2024

[xi] Kopf S. Jerusalem of Gold. Jerusalem Post, February 16, 2011

[xii] Rabbi: Blood moons mean ‘messianic advancement’. World News Daily, August 30, 2015

[xiii] Tzima Otto, p. 64

Iran may very well decide to strike Israel “preemptively.” On the other hand Iran likely also has plans for a massive response should Israel hit it “preemptively”–which is something Israel has suggested it will do.

More on what is prophesied to occur is in the following Bible News Prophecy video:

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. Here are links to related sermons: Seeing Christianity Through Islamic Eyes, Imam Mahdi, women, and prophecy, and Terrorism, Iran, and Fatima, Dajjal, Antichrist, Gold, & Mark of the Beast?, and Jesus and God’s Plan for Muslims.
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. Here is a related sermon in the Spanish language: El cristianismo visto a través de los ojos islámicos.
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.

1939 Sheet Music Cover via Wikipedia

COGwriter

Saw the following yesterday:

When I grew up, Great Britain was exotic. There were the red telephone booths, Buckingham Palace, black cabs, and, of course, the Bobbies (police) and the Beefeaters. England was the land of Shakespeare, Queen Elizabeth I, and Henry IV. For me, Britain was history incarnate. …

Although the Magna Carta would have a rough beginning, it was an enormous step in the drive towards liberty. The document would set the stage for Parliament to evolve from councils that advised the King into a representative body that began taking a more active and powerful role in governing.

It was just the first in a line of steps that would make Britain the freest nation on the planet for centuries. …

The genesis of today’s dystopia began almost three decades ago when immigration took off in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The number of non-EU immigrants averaged over 200,000 per year for a decade and then skyrocketed after 2020. A nation of 55 million in 2000 is today over 65 million, with almost all of that growth coming from immigration, a majority from non-EU nations, particularly from the Middle East and Africa, countries that don’t share British culture or, importantly, religion. …

London has become a killing ground for knife attacks, the overwhelming number being committed by minorities. Indeed, the country has become beset with machete attacks, a crime that was historically unheard of in Britain but which is common in the third world.

In July, the 17-year-old son of Rwandan immigrants knifed ten little girls, killing three of them. With the government withholding information on the killer, online posts asserted he was an immigrant. Tensions rose, and, across the UK, Brits protested the unfettered invasion of immigrants, the violence being perpetrated by immigrants and Muslims, and the system’s seeming duplicitous, two-tiered approach to justice when it came to immigrants and Muslims vs. white Brits, all of whom the government and the state-run media invariably characterize as “far right.”

These protests drew the new Labour government’s ire, and it launched a wave of arrests and a propaganda campaign against the “far right” anti-immigration “racists.” People were sentenced to prison for chanting “who the f*** is Allah” (although they were neither violent nor making threats), shouting “You’re not English anymore” at the police, or selling stickers that say “It’s OK to be white.”

Seeking to curtail what it claims is misinformation and incitement, the government warned the British citizenry, “You may be committing a crime if you repost, repeat or amplify a message which is false, threatening, or stirs up racial / religious hatred.” They also warned potential anti-immigration protesters, “We’re watching you.”

So basically, the government decides what’s false, threatening, or hate speech, and if you post anything about it online, you could end up in jail. And if threatening Brits’ freedom of speech wasn’t enough, the government threatened online platforms (and Musk) if they allowed prohibited speech. 08/23/24 https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2024/08/britain_which_birthed_american_ideas_about_liberty_has_embraced_despotism.html

With that in mind, there was an article recently titled: ‘Will There Always Be an England?’

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

15:26

Will there always be an England?

Although there is a British song from 1939 that has the line “There will always be an England,” is that true? Some have noted cultural dissolution, enough so that they have wondered if England will remain. Does the Bible point to the end of England? While the British Empire was the world’s largest, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland has less than 1% of its 1920 empire. Will the UK lose more land such as Northern Ireland, Gibraltar, and the Falkland Islands? Will it be conquered? Do biblical and Greco-Roman Catholic prophecies point to the end of the UK? Could the British people be descendants of Joseph’s son Ephraim? Why does the Bible show it will be conquered? Dr. Thiel and Steve Dupuie go over these matters.

Here is a link to our video: Will there always be an England?

There will not always be an England as it has been, as it will one day be conquered.

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? Do you really know what will happen to Europe and the English-speaking peoples? What about the peoples of Africa, Asia, South America, and the islands? This free online book provides scriptural, scientific, historical references, and commentary to address those matters. Here are links to related sermons: Lost tribes, the Bible, and DNA; Lost tribes, prophecies, and identifications; 11 Tribes, 144,000, and Multitudes; Israel, Jeremiah, Tea Tephi, and British Royalty; Gentile European Beast; Royal Succession, Samaria, and Prophecies; Asia, Islands, Latin America, Africa, and Armageddon;  When Will the End of the Age Come?;  Rise of the Prophesied King of the North; Christian Persecution from the Beast; WWIII and the Coming New World Order; and Woes, WWIV, and the Good News of the Kingdom of God.
Brexit and the fate of Northern Ireland, Gibraltar, the UK, and the USA On April 29, 2017, 27 of the nations of the European Union agreed to certain guidelines for the negotiations with the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland which gave its notice to leave on March 29, 2017. These guidelines are contrary to what the UK wants. Does the EU intend the UK to pay a price for leaving the EU? What does Spain want? What does the Republic of Ireland want? Will Northern Ireland and Gibraltar eventually fall under European control? Will the UK and USA be conquered? What does the Bible teach? Dr. Thiel answer these questions and more in this video.
Brexit Happened: Now What? At 11:00 pm January 31, 2020, the United Kingdom formally left the European Union. Many celebrated, while many mourned. Nigel Farage stated, “This is the greatest moment in modern British history.” What will happen to the United Kingdom? Will the UK be involved in trade deals with the United States of America and the Europeans? Will the UK regret the BRitish Exit (Brexit) from the EU?What will happen with the European Union? Is Europe prophesied to have a great army and many ships? Does the Bible prophesy a reorganization of Europe? Does it prophesy that the Europeans will become a conquering military power? Is the United Kingdom prophesied to be conquered? How does the Bible name the British-descended peoples? Was the British Empire the largest in world history? Was Brexit predicted by Church of God leaders in 1970 and the early 1990s? Will the European Union be negatively affected financially by the departure of the UK? Will this turn out well for the UK or the Europeans? Dr. Thiel addresses these issues and more in this video.
Will the UK Lose Gibraltar and the Falkland Islands? Spain wants Gibraltar and Argentina wants the Falklands (also known as the Malvinas). Does the Bible give clues as to what will happen with these ‘sea gates’? A version of the article in the Spanish language would be ¿Perderá el Reino Unido a Gibraltar y las Islas Falkland (Malvinas)?
Anglo – America in Prophecy & the Lost Tribes of Israel Are the Americans, Canadians, English, Scottish, Welsh, Australians, Anglo-Saxon (non-Dutch) Southern Africans, and New Zealanders descendants of Joseph? Where are the lost ten-tribes of Israel? Who are the lost tribes of Israel? What will happen to Jerusalem and the Jews in Israel? Will God punish the U.S.A., Canada, United Kingdom, and other Anglo-Saxon nations? Why might God allow them to be punished first? Here is a link to the Spanish version of this article: Anglo-América & las Tribus Perdidas de Israel. Information is also in the YouTube sermons titled Where are the Ten Lost Tribes? Why does it matter? and British are the Covenant People. A short YouTube of prophetic interest may be: Are Chinese threats against Australia for real?
Will the Anglo-Saxon-Celtic Nations be Divided and Have People Taken as Slaves? Will the lands of the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand be divided? What about Jerusalem? What does Bible prophecy teach? Are there non-biblical prophecies that support this idea? Who will divide those lands? Who will end up with the lands and the people? Here is a link to a video titled Will the USA and other Anglo-nations be Divided and Their People Made Slaves? Here is a related item in the Spanish language ¿Serán divididas las naciones anglosajonas?
British are the Covenant People What do ‘British’ and ‘Britain’ mean in Hebrew? Are the descendants of the Anglo-Saxons people of the covenant? Does the British royal family connect to the throne of David? What does the Bible teach? What does history show us? Is there any DNA evidence related to British-Israelism? When did Christianity make it to the British Isles? Could Jeremiah have made it to the British Isles? What type of Christians made it to the British Isles? Did the last King of England believe in British Israelism?
Canada in Prophecy: What Does Bible Prophecy, Catholic Prophecy, and other Predictions Suggest About the Future of Canada? There are prophecies that suggest involvement with Canada. And many are not positive about its future. A sermon of related interest is also available: Canada in Prophecy.
Australia and New Zealand in Prophecy Do biblical prophecies help explain the wealth blessings for Australia and New Zealand? Might cursings from disobedience come in the 21st century? Here is a link to a related sermon: Australia and New Zealand: Origins and Prophecy.
Canada in Prophecy: What Does Bible Prophecy, Catholic Prophecy, and other Predictions Suggest About the Future of Canada? There are prophecies that suggest involvement with Canada. And many are not positive about its future. A sermon of related interest is also available: Canada in Prophecy.
Australia and New Zealand in Prophecy Do biblical prophecies help explain the wealth blessings for Australia and New Zealand? Might cursings from disobedience come in the 21st century? Here is a link to a related sermon: Australia and New Zealand: Origins and Prophecy.
Greco-Roman Catholic Prophecies: Do They Mirror, Highlight, or Contradict Biblical Prophecies? People of all faiths may be surprised to see what various Roman and Orthodox Catholic prophets have been predicting as many of their predictions will be looked to in the 21st century.
USA in Prophecy: The Strongest Fortresses Can you point to scriptures, like Daniel 11:39, that point to the USA in the 21st century? This article does. A related sermon is titled: Do these 7 prophesies point to the end of the USA?
Who is the King of the West? Why is there no Final End-Time King of the West in Bible Prophecy? Is the United States the King of the West? Here is a version in the Spanish language: ¿Quién es el Rey del Occidente? ¿Por qué no hay un Rey del Occidente en la profecía del tiempo del fin? A related sermon is also available: The Bible, the USA, and the King of the West.
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?

#UPDATE French authorities said earlier they were treating the early Saturday blast outside the Beth Yaacov synagogue in the seaside resort of La Grande Motte, near the city of Montpellier, as a potential terror attack. pic.twitter.com/52d4FkxkTh

— AFP News Agency (@AFP) August 24, 2024

COGwriter

It looks like a terrorist hit at a synagogue in France today:

Police officer injured in explosion outside synagogue in France

The country’s Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said the incident was “clearly criminal”

24 August 2024

A police officer was injured when a car exploded outside the Beth Yaacov synagogue in the French town of La Grande-Motte on Saturday morning, police have confirmed.

Shortly before the blast, two vehicles had been set alight; one of them reportedly contained a gas canister.

“An attempted arson, clearly criminal, affected the synagogue in La Grande Motte this morning,” France’s Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, adding that all efforts are being made to locate the perpetrator.

The mayor of La Grande-Motte, Stephane Rossignol, said surveillance cameras had captured an individual setting fire to vehicles in front of the synagogue, according to French newspaper Le Figaro.

A police source told the media the suspected perpetrator was seen leaving the area’s premises and was apparently wearing a traditional keffiyeh scarf and carrying a Palestinian flag. https://www.rt.com/news/603016-police-officer-hurt-in-explosion-synagogue/

French authorities open terror probe after police officer injured in synagogue blast

August 24, 2024

French authorities are treating a blast outside a synagogue that injured a police officer as a possible terror attack, the latest in a series of incidents in recent months that have unsettled France’s large Jewish community. …

French anti-terrorism prosecutors confirmed in an email to CNN that they had taken charge of the investigation. It said an initial investigation indicated that the perpetrator was carrying a Palestinian flag and a gun.

La Motte’s mayor, Stephan Rossignol, said in an interview with French radio Franceinfo that the incident began with what appeared to be a diversionary tactic: a suspect setting cars on fire in a parking lot under an office building across the street from the synagogue.

When emergency services arrived, there was a powerful explosion that injured one police officer, knocking the individual to the ground, Rossignol said.

A statement from the anti-terrorism prosecutor said that the explosion was caused by a bottle of gasoline inside one of the vehicles set alight.

The statement added that five people were inside the synagogue at the time, including the synagogue’s rabbi. Rossignol said the perpetrator’s goal was “clearly” to get inside the building, but the individual was unable to do so. The suspect then unsuccessfully tried to set fire to the outside of the synagogue. https://www.cnn.com/2024/08/24/europe/france-synagogue-arson-la-grande-motte-intl/index.html

There was also a terrorist incident in Germany yesterday:

‘Festival Of Diversity’ Horror: Manhunt For ‘Arab-Looking’ Man After 3 Killed, 8 Wounded In Mass Stabbing In Germany

August 24, 2024

A major manhunt is underway after a Friday night mass stabbing attack killed three people and wounded eight more at a “Festival of Diversity” in Germany. Living up to the event’s billing, witnesses to the bloodshed in the western German city of Solingen say the attacker was Arab in appearance — a detail every major US news outlet is omitting from its coverage as our report is written.

“This evening we are all in shock, horror and great sadness in Solingen. We all wanted to celebrate our city’s anniversary together and now we have dead and injured people to mourn,” said Solingen Mayor Tim-Oliver Kurzbach. “I pray for all those who are still fighting for their lives.” While the festival was indeed being held on the occasion of the city’s 650th anniversary, rather than emphasizing German heritage and history, the organizers were apparently determined to put “diversity” front and center. 

Their goal was accomplished in way they didn’t intend, with the attacker himself reportedly infusing his own strain of “diversity.” According to the German newspaper Bild, witnesses say the knife-wielding murderer looked like a young Arab man. At around 9:45 pm, he lashed out at an apparently random assortment of victims at the Fronhof, a market square that was being used as a venue for live musical performances. …

After fatally slashing three people and wounding eight more — five seriously — the attacker was said to have fled toward a main street and is still at large. The evening’s events were called off shortly after 10 pm as sirens wailed throughout the city of about 160,000 residents and a police helicopter circled above, Solinger Tageblatt reported. Special forces units from across the North Rhine-Westphalia state were deployed to Solingen as part of a large search operation, according to The Times of London.

While the Festival of Diversity was slated to extend all through the weekend, organizers opted to cancel it altogether shortly after midnight. …

As if it weren’t ironic enough for a “diversity” festival in Germany to be terrorized by someone apparently of foreign heritage, Solingen is also known as the “City of Blades,” owing to its long history as a center of scissor- and knife-making that stretches back to the Middle Ages. …

Serious knife attacks in Germany are up 9.7% year-over-year. The Alternative for Germany (AfD) party thinks blades per se aren’t the problem:  “We have exploding foreign crime, youth crime, migrant violence, because we have open borders,” said party co-leader Alice Weidel in July. https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/festival-diversity-horror-manhunt-arab-appearing-man-after-3-killed-8-wounded-mass

August 24, 2024

SOLINGEN, Germany, Aug 24 (Reuters) – A stabbing rampage in which a man killed three people and wounded eight others at a festival in the western German city of Solingen was “a possible act of terrorism”, an official said on Saturday, as the search for the unknown assailant continued. Police said they had detained a 15-year-old individual and were investigating whether there was a possible link to the attacker, who is still at large.

Markus Caspers, an official with the public prosecutor’s office in Duesseldorf, told an afternoon news conference that “terrorism” couldn’t be ruled out … https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/german-police-search-assailant-festival-stabbing-that-kills-3-2024-08-24/

Well, the group calling itself the Islamic State has taken credit for the attack in Germany:

Islamic State claims responsibility for deadly stabbings in Solingen

August 24, 2024

The so-called Islamic State terror group has claimed responsibility for the deadly stabbing in Solingen, claiming that the culprit was a member of of the group and carried out the attack as “revenge for Muslims in Palestine and elsewhere,” according to a statement on the group’s mouthpiece Amak.

The perpetrator of the attack remains at large, after stabbing three people at a festival in the city on Friday night and wounding eight. https://www.yahoo.com/news/islamic-state-claims-responsibility-deadly-192619033.html?guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly9uZXdzLmdvb2dsZS5jb20v&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAMLuRbMIB52Hbt_7Z4YyAxTAiQ1kELlFxK4r0nmfSKMu5jGPAUOM5PX8I9qOIvDJ4iXIzHj5f8MMDPUkR1I0Qv9ojueXXM9xrz1z_eZ7qYPAZgZjivbo6RBuUZcTJuDbQUTJQ9GOFDR_KBm6ieiBwL2VEv49xiLy8fmraj33-8zP&guccounter=2

Many in Europe are opposed to more migrants, particularly Islamic ones. These incidents are part of a collection that is impacting Europe.

Consider also the following:

18 December 2023

Italy PM Giorgia Meloni News: Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has stirred controversy by asserting, “There is no place for Islam in Europe,” citing concerns over the ongoing promotion of Islam on the continent. The first woman to hold the position of Prime Minister in Italy, Meloni, who leads the far-right party ‘Brothers of Italy,’ has expressed unease about the compatibility of certain interpretations of Islamic culture with the rights and values of European civilization.

In a bold statement, Meloni accused Saudi Arabia of financially supporting Islamic cultural centers in Italy, emphasizing the clash between the values of European cities and the promotion of Islam. …

Meloni addressed the compatibility issue, stating, “There is a problem of compatibility between a certain interpretation of Islamic culture and the rights and values of our civilization.” Her remarks add fuel to the ongoing debate on cultural integration and the challenges posed by religious diversity in Europe. https://www.rozanaspokesman.com/news/world/181223/italys-pm-giorgia-meloni-sparks-controversy-with-bold-statement-on-is.html

It should be noted that although the above is a recent news report, it was reported elsewhere that this was not a recent statement, but instead came from a video recording of Giorgia Meloni back in 2018 (https://newsmeter.in/fact-check/old-video-of-italian-pm-giorgia-melonis-comment-on-islam-shared-as-recent-722240).

Anyway, Giorgia Meloni is not the only one who has seen issues in compatibility between Europe and Islam.

Notice something from over a decade ago from Germany’s then Chancellor Merkel:

October 18, 2010

BERLIN—German Chancellor Angela Merkel joined her country’s increasingly acrimonious debate about immigration over the weekend, declaring that multiculturalism in Germany had been a “total failure.”…

Ms. Merkel’s party has railed against multiculturalism for years, arguing for the primacy of German Leitkultur, a term that evokes the country’s Judeo-Christian traditions, as well as the principles of the age of the enlightenment.

Yet the timing of Ms. Merkel’s comments, which come in the midst of a public debate over what Germany can do to better integrate immigrants, many of whom are Muslim, has drawn attention. Polls indicate that a growing number of Germans believe that too many of the country’s foreigners live in what are often referred to as “parallel communities” with little or no connection with German culture … http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304250404575558583224907168.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

Notice a later report from Germany:

Majority Support For Muslim Migration Ban As 3 In 4 Germans Say Newcomers Hate Western Society

November 5, 2023

Some 61 percent of Germans no longer want any migration from Islamic nations, new polling shows…

Nearly two-thirds of all German citizens want the country’s federal government to impose a ban on migration from predominantly Muslim nations, a damning survey has revealed.

Polling conducted by INSA on behalf of the Bild tabloid newspaper showed that 61 percent of respondents now advocate refusing any more migrants from Islamic countries with many explaining they no longer feel safe in their own country and believe an increasing number of new arrivals despise German society.

A majority of voters from every political party except for the German Green Party supported a ban on Muslim immigration. https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/majority-support-muslim-migration-ban-3-4-germans-say-newcomers-hate-western-society

Germany will eventually do more than attempt to restrict Islamic migrants.

It hopes to cast them out.

As it turns out, Greco-Roman Catholic also have private prophecies that tell of a time of civil war in Europe–and pushing out Islam. Notice that the first one considers civil war is a major sign of end time events and the second one mentions Germany:

Desmond Birch (20th century): Civil war breaks out in France and Italy at almost the same time. This is the sign given by many prophets that the Chastisement has begun.. (DA. Trial, Tribulation & Triumph: Before During and After Antichrist…The Great King will establish Peace and justice in civil matters on a worldwide basis, and protect the primacy of the Church in spiritual matters. Queenship Publishing Company, Goleta (CA), 1996, p. 554)

Old English Prophecy (On a tombstone at the Kirby cemetery, Essex). When pictures look alive, with movements free, (T.V. and movies) When ships like fish swim beneath the sea, (Submarines) When outstripping birds can soar in the sky (Jets and rockets) The half the world drenched in blood shall die…In Germany begins a dance, Which passes through Italy, Spain, and France, But England shall pay the piper. (Dupont, Yves. Catholic Prophecy: The Coming Chastisement. TAN Books, Rockford (IL), 1973, pp. 21-22)

Pope John Paul II (March 1993), as reported by Monsignor Mauro Longhi on October 22, 2017: ‘Tell this to those whom you will meet in the Church of the third millennium. I see the Church afflicted by a deadly scourge. Deeper, more painful and more deadly than those of this millennium’, referring to … communism and Nazi totalitarianism. ‘It’s called islamism. They will invade Europe. I saw the hordes coming from the West to the East’, and he described to me the countries one by one: from Morocco to Libya to Egypt, and so on to the eastern parts. The Holy Father added, ‘They will invade Europe, Europe will be like a cellar, old relics, shadowy, cobwebs. Family heirlooms. You, the Church of the third millennium, will have to contain the invasion. Not with armies, armies will not suffice, but with your faith, lived with integrity.’ ” (McLean DC. Newly revealed vision of St. Pope John Paul: Islam will invade Europe. LifeSite News, November 23, 2017. https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/newly-revealed-vision-of-st.-pope-john-paul-islam-will-invade-europe)

Birch Tree Prophecy (Old German) “When the world becomes Godless: revolutions will break out against kings; fathers will be against sons and sons against fathers; dogma will be perverted; men will try to overthrow the Catholic Church…A terrible war will find the north fighting against the south. The south will be led by a Prince wearing a white coat with a cross on the front…” (Culleton, R. Gerald. 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. 143).

Monk Hilarion (d. 1476): The people of the Peninsula of Europe will suffer by unnecessary wars until the Holy Man comes … That Lion will come from a high mountain in the enlightened nation. Then the people of the Half-Moon {Islam} of the tribe of Agar overrun many nations. toward midnight (North) and commit depredations. Three years will they reign destroying all. Yet in the third year will be one of the unconquerable Eagles who reign over the Enlighted Nation between the Rhine and the North Sea, with a great army meet them at the mouth of the River Rhine and in a fearful battle almost entirely annihilate them (Culleton, pp. 137-138).

Brother Louis Rocco (19th century): Terrible wars will rage all over Europe. God has long been patient with the corruption of morals; half of mankind He will destroy. Russia will witness many outrages. Great cities and small towns alike will be destroyed in a bloody revolution that will cause the death of half the population. In Istanbul (Constantinople) the Cross will replace the half-moon of Islamism, and Jerusalem will be the seat of a King. The southern Slavs will form a great Catholic Empire and drive out of Europe the Turks (Mohammedans), who will withdraw to North Africa and subsequently embrace the Catholic faith. (Dupont, p.76)

Brother Louis Rocco (19th century): All over Europe there will rage terrible civil wars…The German sections of Austria will join Germany, so will also the commercial cities of Belgium and Switzerland. A Catholic descendant of a German imperial house will rule a united Germany with peace, prosperity and great power, for God will be with this sovereign (the Great Monarch?)…A Great Monarch will arise after a period of terrible wars and persecutions in Europe. He will be a Catholic; he will not be a German (Culleton, p. 195).

St. Francis de Paul (d. 1507): A new order will be founded, that of the Cruciferi, because its members will carry the cross on their banners…The Crusaders will lead the Mohammedans, the teachers of heretical doctrines and bad Christians back to Christ…the power of Islam {was} destroyed by the Great Monarch. (Culleton, The Reign of Antichrist, p. 142).

Saint Marie-Bernarde Soubirous also known as Saint Bernadette of Lourdes (19th century): On the eve of the year 2000, a final clash between the followers of Mohammed and the Christian nations of the world will take place. A furious battle will be waged in which 5,650,451 soldiers are killed and a bomb of great power will fall on a city in Persia. But in the fullness of time, the sign of the cross will prevail and all of Islam will be forced to convert to Christianity. (Cain M. Oh what a Triumph it will be!!! Daily Catholic. Catholic PewPoint. May 14, 1998 vol. 9, no. 94. http://www.dailycatholic.org/issue/May/may14ed.htm viewed 11/09/10)

John of the Cleft Rock (1340): The White Eagle (Great Monarch), by order of the Archangel Michael, will drive crescent from Europe where none but Christians will remain–he himself will rule from Constantinople. An era of peace and prosperity will begin for the world. There will no longer be Protestants {there were no “Protestants” then and author Connor of that book suggests that perhaps this word should have been translated as heretics} or schismatics…God will raise up a holy Pope (Connor, pp. 33-34)

The reference to “the crescent” is pointing to eliminating Islam from Europe.

The Bible shows that the European beast leader, also called the King of the North, will arise promising peace.

21 And in his place shall arise a vile person, to whom they will not give the honor of royalty; but he shall come in peaceably, and seize the kingdom by intrigue. 22 With the force of a flood they shall be swept away from before him and be broken, and also the prince of the covenant. 23 And after the league is made with him he shall act deceitfully, for he shall come up and become strong with a small number of people. (Daniel 11:21-23, NKJV)

25 And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without hand. (Daniel 8:25, KJV).

(To prove this leader will be European, please watch the video: Can You Prove that the Beast to Come is European?)

But he will, as alluded to in Daniel 8:25 and as stated in Revelation 13:3-4, be a man of war.

He will push out Islam (cf. Daniel 11:40-43) and lead a powerful European military (cf. Revelation 13:3-4; Daniel 11:39-43)! This will reduce migrants in Europe.

Related to Islam’s future in Europe, we made the following video on our Bible News Prophecy YouTube channel:

17:19

Will Islam be Pushed Out of Europe?

On June 8, 2018, Austria’s Chancellor Sebastian Kurz announced the closing of seven Islamic mosques in an effort to reduce “political Islam.” In the past several years, at least 6 European nations have banned the wearing of a commonly used garment by Islamic females. Heinz-Christian Strache (later Vice Chancellor of Austria) has declared that Islam has no place in Europe. Did Germany’s Angela Merkel call multiculturalism a failure? Will there be deals between the Muslims and the Europeans? Will a European Beast leader rise up after a reorganization that will eliminate nationalism? Will Europe push out Islam? What does Catholic prophecy teach? What does the Bible teach in Daniel and Revelation? Is Islam prophesied to be pushed out of Europe? Dr. Thiel addresses these issues and more.

Here is a link: Will Islam be Pushed Out of Europe?

The mood in Europe is not pro-Islam, despite some protests that may suggest otherwise. Expect steps and the rise of various ones who will claim to put a stop to it.

We are in the time before the Great Tribulation (Matthew 24:21-22) that Jesus referred to as “the beginning of sorrows” (Matthew 24:4-8).

Steps leading to the Great Tribulation, as well as reactions in Europe against Muslims are taking place.

“Watch” (Mark 13:37).

Above from PublicDomainPictures.net

COGwriter

During COVID, we saw a variety of anti-religious regulations enforced by many governments around the world.

Now with nearly all COVID restrictions removed, we have been seeing another type of religious persecution from various governments around the world.

As reported here Thursday, the Ukrainian Parliament this week voted to ban what has been the largest religious organization in that country (see ‘Ukrainian parliament votes again to ban Russian Orthodox Church’ which was separated and renamed the ‘Ukraine Orthodox Church’ in 2018), basically for political reasons. Today, Ukraine’s president signed that ban into law:

August 24, 2024

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Saturday signed a law banning the Moscow-linked Orthodox Church in Ukraine, according to a decision published on the Ukrainian parliament’s website. https://news.cgtn.com/news/2024-08-24/news-1wkn1bfm7mM/p.html

That church was formed in 2018 to be separate from the Russian Orthodox Church and it says it is separate, but the government still is banning it.

Politics and the power of the state are being used against religion.

Ukraine is an extreme example, but not the only one.

Another trend, however, is economic pressure and basically persecution of house churches under various pretenses.

Despite them being common in the New Testament (Romans 16:5; 1 Corinthians 16:19; Colossians 4:15; Philemon 2), economic and regulatory persecutions are popping up against them in nations that have majorities of people who claim Christianity.

Notice a report related to Rwanda:

Rwanda Shuts Down 5,600 Churches Over Safety Violations

August 23, 2024

The Rwandan government has closed thousands of churches, including 100 cave churches, due to safety, health, and regulatory issues, such as inadequate soundproofing and the transactional nature of some worship practices.

According to Usta Kaitesi, Chief Executive of the Rwanda Governance Board (RGB), many affected faith-based organizations lacked basic infrastructure, proper hygiene, and safety standards, with some operating illegally. https://allafrica.com/view/group/main/main/id/00090124.html

August 23, 2-24

Rwandan authorities announced a ban Thursday on the activities of 43 faith groups across the country effective Aug. 28, weeks after thousands of illegal churches were closed.

A letter issued by the Ministry of Local Government directed districts leaders to enforce the ban, saying an ongoing evaluation found the affected faith-based organizations operating in contravention of existing regulations. …

All preachers were also required to have theological training before opening a church under the law determining the organization and functioning of faith-based organizations in the country. https://www.yenisafak.com/en/world/rwanda-announces-ban-on-over-40-religious-groups-3689727

Well, what the above left out is that Rwanda is requiring ALL churches to own land and their own building on it.

Earlier this month, the government of Rwanda shut down one of our house churches there because of that rule. It was not about safety.

Anyway, in order to comply, we had our leader in Rwanda, Moise Nshimiyimana, purchase the following piece of land:

Richard Close speaking at the Feast of Tabernacles in New Brunswick

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
(Photo by Gage Skidmore)

COGwriter

As has been rumored lately, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has decided to no longer run as an independent presidential candidate:

August 23, 2024

Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. on Friday dropped his White House bid and announced support for former President Donald Trump, issuing broadsides against the Democratic Party’s handling of the primary election and media censorship.

Kennedy said in Phoenix that the Democratic Party of “waged continual legal warfare against both President Trump and myself,” and “ran a sham primary.”

“In an honest system, I believe I would have won the election,” he said. https://www.foxnews.com/politics/robert-f-kennedy-jr-endorse-trump-president-court-filing-shows

August 23, 2024

The 2024 presidential election race is about to take its next unexpected turn…

“Democrats have become the party of war, censorship, corruption, big pharma, big tech, big ag, and big money wanting to abandon democracy by canceling the primary to conceal the cognitive decline of the sitting president.

I left the party to run as an independent…

The DNC and its media organs engineered a surge of popularity for VP Harris based upon nothing. No policies, no interviews, no debates. Only smoke and mirrors.” 

“A Chicago circus that is based on NOTHING. Who needs a policy if you hate Donald Trump?“

“How did the Democratic Party choose a candidate that has never done an interview or debate during the entire election cycle?” Kennedy asked.

“We know the answer: They did it by weaponizing the government agencies. They did it by abandoning democracy. They did it by suing the opposition and by disenfranchising American voters. What most alarms me isn’t how the Democratic Party conducts its internal affairs or runs its candidates. What alarms me is the resort to censorship and media control and the weaponization of the federal agencies.”

Kennedy refuses to be a spoiler… “Many months ago, I promised the American people that I would withdraw from the race if I became a spoiler… In my heart, I no longer believe that I have a realistic path to electoral victory in the face of this relentless, systematic censorship and media control.”

“I am simply suspending it and not ending it. My name will remain on the ballot in most states.

I encourage you to vote for me.

In an honest system, I believe that I would have won the election.

After all, the polls consistently showed me beating each of the other candidates.

In about 10 battleground states where my presence would be a spoiler, I’m going to remove my name.” …

I throw my support behind Donald Trump.”

Kennedy said that in a series of meetings with Trump and his team, he realized he shared more in common with the former president than he thought. …

Most notably, RFK Jr. admitted in front of the nation that he attempted to contact VP Harris first and that she neither wanted to talk or meet with him is a strong message to Independent voters:

“Following my first discussion with President Trump, I tried unsuccessfully to open similar discussions with Vice President Harris. Vice President Harris declined to meet or even to speak with me.”

“Democrats want nothing to do with you, Republicans will at least give you a seat at the table.”

RFK addressed details on the Russia-Ukraine war (via Kyle Backer):

“We have pushed Russia closer to China and Iran. We are closer to the brink of nuclear exchange than at any time since 1962. And the Neocons in the White House don’t seem to care at all.”

“Our moral authority and our economy are in shambles. And the war gave rise to the emergence of BRICS, which now threatens to replace the dollar as the global reserve currency.”

“This is a first class calamity for our country.”

“Judging by her bellicose, belligerent speech last night in Chicago, we can assume that President Harris will be an enthusiastic for this and other Neocon military adventures.”

“President Trump says he will reopen negotiations with President Putin and end the war overnight as soon as he becomes president.”

“This alone would justify my support for his campaign.”

“Last summer, it looked like no candidate was willing to negotiate a quick end to the Ukraine War, to tackle the chronic disease epidemic, to protect free speech, our Constitutional freedoms, to clean corporate influence out of our government or to defy the Neocons on their agenda of endless military adventurism.”

“But now, one of the two candidates has adopted these issue as his own to the point where he has asked to enlist me in his administration.”

“I am speaking, of course, of Donald Trump.”

Trump expressed his gratitude:

PRESIDENT TRUMP: “We just had a very nice endorsement from RFK JR!” pic.twitter.com/yNmooMWGo4

— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) August 23, 2024

…

RFK Jr. was shunned by Democrat Party insiders in their initial effort to prop up husk of a president, Joe Biden.

Now they are stuck with Biden’s insurance policy, Kamala Harris.

It terrified the Dems to have RFK Jr. in the running, so they rigged the rules, banned him from state ballots, and vilified him as extreme. And to dampen his impact on the Harris-Walz ticket, after trying to deny him ballot access and remove RFK Jr. from the state ballots he made his way to, Democrats will now attempt to keep him on ballots to hurt Trump.

Such hypocrites. https://www.zerohedge.com/political/watch-live-rfk-jr-addresses-nation

While they have serious differences Robert Kennedy Jr. and Donald Trump agree on several topics.

In addition to their views about the Democratic party (Donald Trump is also a former Democrat) and how the transfer to Kamala Harris has been handled, notice some items from Wikipedia:

Speaking on Erin Burnett OutFront, Kennedy said that President Biden poses a bigger threat to democracy than does Donald Trump, alleging that he was the first ever president to use federal agencies to censor free speech …

As for defending the January 6 rioters, the Kennedy campaign blamed the marketing firm that handles their email communications.^[197] Shortly after the marketing email was sent out and during a statement to clarify his position on the Capitol attack, Kennedy said he would appoint a special prosecutor to determine if those charged were politically prosecuted, questioned whether the riot qualified as an insurrection, and stated he was “disturbed by the weaponization of government” against Trump.^[198] Following Trump’s conviction of 34 felonies by a jury in his New York hush money case, Kennedy, agreeing with the Republican stance, called the verdict “profoundly undemocratic” and attacked Democrats by claiming that the prosecution was politically motivated. … 

Kennedy has said he wants to “end the proxy wars, bombing campaigns, covert operations, coups, paramilitaries, and everything else that has become so normal most people don’t know what’s happening.”^[201] He says that “the Democratic Party became the party of war,” and said “I attribute that directly to President Biden.” …

Kennedy argues that there were agreements between United States and Russian (or Soviet) leaders emphasized that NATO would not expand eastwards, and the illegal invasion of Ukraine occurred because Russian security concerns were ignored by the United States. …

Kennedy has long supported the legalization of gay marriage.^[233] He has stated that transgender people deserve respect, that he is opposed to “mean-spirited” legislation and that he supports peoples’ “gender choices”.^[234][201] However, he is against transgender women participating in women’s sports, and has supported the LGBT chemicals conspiracy theory.(Robert F. Kennedy Jr. 2024 presidential campaign. Wikipedia, accessed 08/23/24)

Kennedy believes that the administration of President Joe Biden in large part caused the 2022 invasion of Ukraine by Russia due to reckless and militant action; …

Kennedy has been critical of the integrity of the voting process. (Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Wikipedia, accessed 08/23/24)

I do not endorse any candidate, yet will mention that, yes, the USA had agreed to not allow NATO to expand, but would add that the USA also provided guarantees to Ukraine that it would defend its territory if Ukraine gave up its nuclear weapons–which Ukraine did.

Let me add that Robert Kennedy, Jr. has pointed out problems with the pharmaceutical industry–and I have posted about that here from time to time (e.g. FDA’s Christopher Cole, ‘The drug companies, the food companies, the vaccine companies, they pay us hundreds of millions of dollars a year to hire and keep the reviewers to approve their products’). He also has issues with the moves towards cashlessness (see RFK Jr. Maintains Highest Favorability Rating Among Presidential Candidates In New Poll) and gender matters (see Robert Kennedy on herbicides and ‘gender dysphoria’).

That said, yes, many politicians, pundits, and media operatives are hypocritical.

As far as being hypocritical goes, the Book of Job teaches:

13 … And the hope of the hypocrite shall perish, (Job 8:13)

The Bible prophecy warns that God will punish and destroy “an hypocritical nation” (Isaiah 10:6, KJV) in a prophecy related to the USA.

The Bible teaches:

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

These national sins include abortion, sexual immorality, promoting pornography, false witness, violence, economic theft through debt, hypocrisy, disdain for the God of the Bible, covetousness, and a host of other sins that neither Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Donald Trump, nor Kamala Harris truly condemn.

For more on sin, check out our free online book, The Ten Commandments: The Decalogue, Christianity, and the Beast.

America, while having ups, is on its way down.

Whoever wins in the US Presidency in 2024 will not stop the decline of the USA.

Regular readers realize that I am NOT a voter nor a Democrat nor a Republican –I am a non-partisan Christian looking for the return of Jesus and the establishment of the Kingdom of God.

Right now, the USA is deeply divided.

Jesus warned:

25 Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand. (Matthew 12:25)

17 Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and a house divided against a house falls. (Luke 11:17)

The divide in the USA is growing as many of its sins (including hypocrisy) become more blatant.

Regarding the two remaining major candidates for the USA presidency, the Continuing Church of God put together the following video on our Bible News Prophecy YouTube channel:

14:24

Trump vs Harris vs Scripture

Are Donald Trump and Kamala Harris qualified to be President of the United States according to its Constitution? Does the adulterer Donald Trump’s record as a businessman who declared bankruptcy multiple times and who was once President of the USA make him the best choice? Does Kamala Harris’ political positions, one or more were related to adultery, and then later being Vice-President make her the best choice? What about their positions on adultery and LGBTQ matters? Do either of them meet the biblical requirements to be leaders? Could they both be evil? Should Christians put their faith in leaders or in Jesus and His Kingdom? Dr. Thiel and Steve Dupuie go over these points.

Here is a link to our video: Trump vs Harris vs Scripture.

Put your faith in Jesus and the coming Kingdom of God, not in US elections.

Some items of possibly related interest may include:

Might the U.S.A. Be Gone by 2028? Could the USA be gone by the end of 2028 or earlier? 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?
Should a Christian Vote? This article gives some of the Biblical rationale on this subject. Would Jesus vote for president/prime minister? Is voting in the Bible? This is a subject Christians need to understand. A video of related interest is available titled: Should Christians Vote? Another video is Biden, Trump, and the Bible.
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?
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 four related sermons:  The Fantastic Gospel of the Kingdom of God!, The World’s False Gospel, The Gospel of the Kingdom: From the New and Old Testaments, and The Kingdom of God is the Solution.
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
Donald Trump in Prophecy Prophecy, Donald Trump? Are there prophecies that Donald Trump may fulfill?  Are there any prophecies that he has already helped fulfill?  Is a Donald Trump presidency proving to be apocalyptic?  Two related videos are available: Donald: ‘Trump of God’ or Apocalyptic? and Donald Trump’s Prophetic Presidency.
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.

Face in Shroud: Actual and Enhanced (Dianelos Georgoudis)

COGwriter

Are you familiar with the Shroud of Turin? Could it possibly be real?

The following was in the first item at the SGT Report this morning:

August 22, 2024

Researchers have newly traced the Shroud of Turin – long believed to be the burial cloth of Jesus Christ – to Israel during the time of Jesus, discrediting previous theories that the Shroud is only a medieval forgery.

Italian scientists used a wide-angle X-ray scattering (WAXS) method to examine the shroud’s cellulose fibers, yielding data that is “compatible with the hypothesis that the Turin Shroud is a 2000-year-old relic,” the study concluded. https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/new-study-traces-shroud-of-turin-to-time-of-jesus-in-first-century-middle-east/?utm_source=featured-news&utm_campaign=catholic

A careful reading of the above shows that it does NOT prove that the Shroud is authentic, only that a researcher concluded that it might be possibly “compatible” with the view that the garment could be old enough.

But that is not proof.

For example, last fall a reader sent me a link to the following:

Turin Shroud reimagined by AI shows what Jesus ‘really looked like’

September 26, 2023

Artificial Intelligence has revealed the clearest ever image of the Turin Shroud to show what Jesus may have looked like. …

With the help of Midjourney, you can now be met with a lifelike face of what AI thinks Jesus looks like compared to the 14 feet (4.2 metres) long original cloth.

It shows a man with long hair and a beard with his eyes open looking directly out. Part of his body can also be seen. …

It was first revealed to the masses some 600 years ago and even then, some thought that the Shroud was more likely to be a scam than the real traces of Jesus.

French bishop Pierre d’Arcis wrote to Pope Clement VII in 1390 to say he believed that the Shroud was little more than “a clever sleight of hand”. He instead said it was more likely to be someone “falsely declaring this was the actual shroud in which Jesus was enfolded in the tomb”.

“[The purpose] is to attract the multitude so that money might cunningly be wrung from them.”

Work has of course been done to try and get to the bottom of the Shroud’s authenticity, with carbon dating having found that it may have been created between period 1260AD and 1390AD.

Meanwhile, in 1979, the Turin Commission declared that it was likely that the stains were not blood, but rather pigment. Then, in 2018, forensic scientists reported that it was artificially created in work published in the Journal of Forensic Science.

The Roman Catholic Church, meanwhile, has never accepted or completely rejected that the Shroud is real. https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/weird-news/turin-shroud-reimagined-ai-shows-30987007

Well, it is not real.

Apparently, however, NewsMax has wanted people to think it is real. Notice the following photo which is the cover of its April 2023 magazine and then some comments posted at its website about the Shroud:

New scientific findings point to the authenticity of Jesus’ burial shroud — giving new meaning to his life, death, and claimed resurrection.

Jesus. To this day, no other figure in history has ever gripped the human imagination quite like the Son of God. Yet his time on earth was so very brief.

Though some 2,000 years have passed since his death, time has not dimmed the interest. In fact, it has only fueled the faithful for more on the enigmatic man who shaped history.

And yet historically significant figures often leave trace evidence of their presence behind, if the faithful know where to look for it.

That’s likely why the discovery of the Shroud of Turin, purported to be Jesus of Nazareth’s burial cloth that was first procured by a 14th-century knight, has generated such intense interest and galvanized the faithful.

Overwhelming evidence indicates the Shroud is very real, and the devout have welcomed the latest modern scientific methods that have been brought to bear witness. https://w3.newsmax.com/General/NMM/Offers/Issues/NMM-2023-04?dkt_nbr=0701029t94pa accessed 03/26/23

No, that NewsMax cover does not show the real face of Jesus. No, there is not overwhelming evidence that the Shroud of Turin is real.

Furthermore, notice something that NewsMax posted in 2018:

A new high-tech forensic study of the blood flows on the Shroud of Turin, the mysterious linen some Christians believe is Jesus’ burial cloth, is the latest analysis to suggest that it is most likely a mediaeval fake.

The results of the investigation, in which scientists used a volunteer and a mannequin and employed sophisticated techniques such as Bloodstain Pattern Analysis (BPA), was published in the latest edition of the Journal of Forensic Sciences. https://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/shroud-turin-fake-jesus/2018/07/18/id/872517/

Let’s also, consider the following:

The earliest historical records of the Shroud of Turin place it in Lirey, France during the 1350s. A French knight named Geoffroi de Charny allegedly presented it to the dean of the church in Lirey as Jesus’ authentic burial shroud. There’s no record of how de Charny got his hands on the shroud, nor where it was during the 1300 intervening years since Christ’s burial outside Jerusalem. …

Around 1389, Pierre d’Arcis—the bishop of Troyes, France—sent a report to Pope Clement VII claiming an artist had confessed to forging the shroud. Furthermore, d’Arcis claimed the dean of the Lirey church knew it was a fake and had used it to raise money anyway. In response, the pope declared the shroud wasn’t the true burial cloth of Christ. …

Despite the fact that Pope Clement VII declared the shroud a fake over 600 years ago, there has been no end to the debate about the shroud’s authenticity. … In 2018, researchers used forensic techniques to argue the blood stains on the shroud couldn’t have come from Christ. 04/09/20 https://www.history.com/news/shroud-turin-facts

Christian Headlines earlier reported the following about the Shroud of Turin:

Italian researchers and experts have revealed that they have new and fascinating answers to how Jesus looked as a human man.

The researchers based their study off the Shroud of Turin, which, as CBN News reports, is a 14-foot linen cloth that is believed to be what Jesus’ body was wrapped in before He was put in the tomb. It is also believed to be imprinted with an image of Jesus’ face. …

For the Christian tradition the image that is seen on the Shroud is that of Jesus crucified dead. And now science is of this opinion too,” said Giulio Fanti, a professor of mechanical and thermal measurements at the University of Padua in Italy. “We have studied for years using the most sophisticated 3D technologies the image left by the body on the sheet. And the statue is the final result.” …

Based on this replica, Jesus is thought to have been taller than the average man from the first century.

“According to our studies, Jesus was a man of extraordinary beauty. Long-limbed, but very robust, he was nearly 5 ft. 11 in. tall, whereas the average height at the time was around 5 ft. 5 in. And he had a regal and majestic expression,” said Fanti.

The University of Padua and Padua Hospital collaborated to create the life-sized replica of Jesus, 04/02/18 https://www.christianheadlines.com/blog/researchers-create-life-sized-replica-of-jesus-based-on-shroud-of-turin.html

This is NOT real Christian news as the Shroud is NOT possibly the burial cloth of Jesus as evidence in the New Testament points against it.

In February 2018, World Net Daily (WND) ran the following headline about the Shroud of Turin:

9 reasons Shroud of Turin is the real deal

http://www.wnd.com/2018/02/9-reasons-shroud-of-turin-is-the-real-deal/

I will not bother to list their reasons as to why they claim that the Shroud of Turin is “the real deal” here now, because it cannot be.

While WND sometimes has useful information, pushing this shroud nonsense is absurd.

There is no way that the Shroud of Turin represents Jesus.

Even the Church of Rome will not say it is the real deal (but it teaches that it is fine to idolize/venerate it).

In the past several years, I have seen comments from some Protestant leaders who seem to believe Jesus used this shroud. WND is also a Protestant source, and really should not be promoting icons like this.

Here are a few comments on the Shroud of Turin from the Answers.com article titled Is the Shroud of Turin true or fraud?:

There is no record of the shroud during the first centuries of the Christian era, it is first mentioned in the 14th century, having been found in the Diocese of Troyes…

The Gospel writers say that the body of Jesus, after being taken from the stake by Joseph of Arimathea, was wrapped in clean fine linen. (Matthew 27:57-61; Mark 15:42-47; Luke 23:50-56) The apostle John adds: Nicodemus also came bringing a roll of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds of it. So they took the body of Jesus and bound it up with bandages with the spices, just the way the Jews have the custom of preparing for burial. John 19:39-42…writers of the third and fourth centuries, many of whom wrote about a host of miracles in connection with numerous relics, did not mention the existence of a shroud containing the image of Jesus. What happened to it at this time, if it did exist, is unknown.

Let’s quote John 19:39-42 in its entirety:

39 And Nicodemus, who at first came to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds. 40 Then they took the body of Jesus, and bound it in strips of linen with the spices, as the custom of the Jews is to bury. 41 Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. 42 So there they laid Jesus, because of the Jews’ Preparation Day, for the tomb was nearby. (John 19:39-42)

Basically, strips of linen were placed on Jesus’ body somewhat like a mummy (this is also basically what happened to Lazarus, see John 11:43-44). If the Shroud of Turin was saturated with myrrh and aloes, it would by now be fairly stiff and would tend to look quite different than the shroud now does.

Notice furthermore that Jesus’ burial cloths, though mentioned in scripture, are basically only mentioned as being folded after the resurrection:

6 Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb; and he saw the linen cloths lying there, 7 and the handkerchief that had been around His head, not lying with the linen cloths, but folded together in a place by itself. 8 Then the other disciple, who came to the tomb first, went in also; and he saw and believed. 9 For as yet they did not know the Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead. 10 Then the disciples went away again to their own homes. (John 20:6-10).

By the time the Apostle John wrote this, if there had been any real special powers associated with the shroud, it would have seemed that he would have mentioned them, but he did not.

Carbon-14 dating points to the shroud as a forgery from the Middle Ages:

The Carbon-14 Bombshell

In 1988, the Vatican authorized carbon-14 dating of the shroud. Small samples from a corner of its fabric were sent to labs at the University of Oxford’s Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit (RAU), the University of Arizona, and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology. All three found that the shroud material dated to the years between 1260 and 1390, more than a millennium after the life and death of the historical Jesus.

The labs assessed the reliability of their estimate at 95 percent. To make the case even more convincing, the dates closely coincided with the first documented appearance of the Shroud of Turin in 1353. 04/17/15 https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2015/04/150417-shroud-turin-relics-jesus-catholic-church-religion-science/

While I will add that some Xray and other tests have been interpreted to suggest that the Shroud could be old enough (see https://www.ncregister.com/interview/new-scientific-technique-dates-shroud-of-turin-to-around-the-time-of-christ-s-death-and-resurrection), notice also the following:

Curiously enough, it was a Roman Catholic bishop who first branded the shroud a fraud. When, in the year 1356, the fourteen-by-three-and-a-half-foot piece of linen was exhibited at the obscure church of Lirey in central France — the first known historical record of its existence — it quickly became the subject of a lengthy memorandum to the Pope from Henry of Arcis, bishop of Troyes. Bishop Henry alleged that the Lirey canons had “falsely and deceitfully, being consumed with the passion of avarice and not from any motive of devotion but only of gain, procured for their church a certain cloth cunningly painted, upon which by clever sleight of hand was depicted the twofold image of one man, that is to say the back and the front, they falsely declaring and pretending that this was the actual shroud in which our Savior Jesus Christ was enfolded in the tomb.” …

In Search of a Past

“I am convinced that this is the shroud that covered Jesus Christ after His crucifixion.” So declared Dr. Max Frei of the University of Zurich after painstakingly testing for pollen grains in the linen of the shroud and analyzing them.

“My analysis of pollen grains has been confirmed under the electron microscope beyond any reasonable doubt…. I isolated from the shroud more than a dozen pollen grains from plants growing in Jerusalem and surrounding deserts. They grow only in the Near East,” he said.

“The pollen most found on the shroud is identical to the most common pollen in the sediment of Lake Tiberias, in Israel” (National Enquirer, Nov. 29, 1977).

But even if we accept that the pollen proves the shroud once resided in Palestine, it would not necessarily connect it with Christ, for Dr. Frei also found in its fibers pollen from the area of southeastern Turkey! This finding would, perhaps, support Ian Wilson’s theory that the shroud itself is none other than the famous Mandylion (meaning “napkin” or “handkerchief’ in Arabic) which had been brought to Constantinople from Edessa in eastern Turkey. From there he postulates the Knights Templars took the shroud to the Holy Land before bringing it to France.

The Byzantine Connection

Fifty years before the shroud enters history in the possession of Geoffrey deCharnay and the Lirey church, there was another Geoffrey deCharnay. This other Geoffrey is not provably related, but shroudists suspect that he was. This man was a famous knight of the Templar organization, which King Philip the Fair of France charged with secret “idol” worship of a disembodied head — the image on the shroud, says Wilson and Geoffrey was martyred, all the while denying there was any idol.

The Templars had sacked Constantinople (Byzantium) in 1204, which, as capital of the Byzantine Empire and center of its religion, had become glutted with relics and icons innumerable. Among the relics, according to extant records, was something called a burial cloth of Christ, which apparently bore a full length image, and also the famous Edessa image, the Mandylion, which had been taken by force from the Moslem rulers of its city in A.D. 944. These both disappeared in the looting — possibly taken to the Templars’ Palestine headquarters.
Ian Wilson speculates that both cloths were one and the same. He explains the double listing as possibly referring to copies of the original. A flourishing industry existed in Byzantium of making cloth and other images of “Christ.” Many of these were, like the Mandylion itself, regarded as miraculously produced.

The problem for Wilson’s theory is that the Edessa image is specifically described as a face only, appearing on a towel, a veronica napkin, while on the Turin shroud is undeniably a double full length figure. Wilson suggests the reason was that the shroud had always been kept folded in such a way that only the face was showing.

In any event, the image on the shroud has a long, sad face and long hair. A writer for the London Tablet was moved to observe: “The first thought likely to occur is: But how very strongly the figure resembles the Christ of any number of old masters [painters of the fifth century on]”‘ (quoted from Wilcox, p. 26).

What the Earlier Paintings Looked Like

There is more to that statement than meets the eye.

The oldest pictures of Christ are paintings on the walls of the catacombs of Rome. Most date from the second and third centuries. It was against the teachings of the church to have such pictures (see box: The Early Church and Images). Nevertheless, those who sketched them only about 100 years after the apostles — were undoubtedly acquainted with individuals who were familiar with the general appearance of Christ that came by word of mouth from His own generation.

“… There is a painting of the Resurrection of Lazarus in which Christ is shown — youthful and beardless, with short hair and large eyes…. Although it is now only barely recognizable, this picture is of great interest since it is the oldest representation of Jesus that is preserved anywhere” (Roderic Dunkerley, Beyond the Gospels, p. 57).

In all of these early portrayals, “He is almost invariably boyish…. His hair is short” (Frederic William Farrar, The Life of Christ as Represented in Art, 1894, p. 43). Short hair was the predominant style among men in the Hellenized areas of the eastern Mediterranean (including Palestine) in Christ’s time. …

How Was Christ’s Body Really Wrapped?

The shroud theory demands that Christ’s body was covered differently than was the custom in Jewish burial. The usual fashion was for the body to be wrapped cocoon-wise in strips of linen cloth which were bound at hands and feet. All representations of Christ’s burial in the first four centuries assumed this Egyptian-like style. “The [Jewish] corpse was wrapped in a shroud, and bandages soaked with resin were wound around the hands and feet: a cloth, the sudarium, was placed over the face (John 11:44). Finally the tomb was shut” (Bo Reicke, The New Testament Era, p. 187).

The account of the raising of Lazarus illustrates the method. “The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with bandages, and his face wrapped with a cloth.” It would appear that he was so enclosed and tied as to be scarcely able to walk until “Jesus said to them, `Unbind him, and let him go”‘ (John 11:44). Shroud of Turin theorists postulate that Joseph of Arimathea, not having time to bury Christ’s body properly, simply covered it, leaving the body lying amidst the rolls of cloth he had brought for the usual wrapping, perhaps intending to return and use them after the Sabbath. They suppose this may have been what Peter saw when he came into the tomb after the resurrection and saw “linen cloths lying, and the napkin, which had been on his head… rolled up in a place by itself (John 20:6-7).

But Matthew tells us that “Joseph took the body, and wrapped it in a clean linen shroud” (Matt. 27:59). This shroud was obviously not merely a long flat cloth like the Turin shroud, laid out under the body, then folded over it from the head.

The Gospel of John plainly tells us that Joseph and his company actually “bound it [the body — not merely covered it] in linen cloths [plural] with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews” (John 19:40). This was done even before they carried the body to the tomb (verse 42). (Briggs LC. ICON SUPREME? THE SHROUD OF TURIN. Plain Truth, December 1978)

As far as the claim that the face on the Shroud agrees with tradition about Jesus’ appearance goes, consider the following:

• The earliest known depictions of Jesus had short hair and did not look like the Shroud
• Jesus was never reported as being tall in the Gospels or by the Apostle Paul
• Jesus would not have been as tall as the Shroud suggests
• The ‘traditional’ image of Jesus –like in the NewsMax cover photo– is more of a compromise with how the pagan god Zeus looked

Notice the following which is the earliest representation of Jesus’ physical appearance yet discovered (since the Shroud is not authentic):

The earliest surviving paintings claimed to be of Jesus, from a church at the ruined city of Dura-Europos on the Euphrates (dating from first half of the 3rd Century AD)

Jesus is not shown to have long hair or a long beard.

Notice also the following fresco from a cave in the 3rd or 4th century:

(MeisterDrucke)

Jesus is not shown to have long hair or a long beard. Again, another depiction that does NOT resemble the Shroud of Turin.

A while back, the BBC addressed the fact that the commonly seen pictures claiming to be of Jesus are false, but instead are of a Byzantine version of Zeus:

Everyone knows what Jesus looks like. He is the most painted figure in all of Western art, recognised everywhere as having long hair and a beard, a long robe with long sleeves (often white) and a mantle (often blue).

Jesus is so familiar that he can be recognised on pancakes or pieces of toast.

But did he really look like this?

Probably not.

In fact this familiar image of Jesus actually comes from the Byzantine era, from the 4th Century onwards, and Byzantine representations of Jesus were symbolic – they were all about meaning, not historical accuracy.

They were based on the image of an enthroned emperor, as we see in the altar mosaic of the Santa Pudenziana church in Rome. …

Jesus is dressed in a gold toga. He is the heavenly ruler of all the world, familiar from the famous statue of long-haired and bearded Olympian Zeus on a throne . . . Byzantine artists, looking to show Christ’s heavenly rule as cosmic King, invented him as a younger version of Zeus. What has happened over time is that this visualisation of heavenly Christ – today sometimes remade along hippie lines – has become our standard model of the early Jesus. December 24, 2015 http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-35120965

From the above, we can also conclude that when we have reports of people who claim to have seen Jesus in various ways, those who claimed He had long hair, etc., clearly were not seeing Jesus.

The same can be said of the Shroud of Turin–that it could not possibly be Jesus.

It is a version of the pagan deity Zeus that many people are bowing down before or otherwise venerating (perhaps it should also be added here that many of the portrayals of Jesus’ mother Mary, came from worship of goddesses, like Diana, who the Greeks called Artemis).

While the BBC article used the expression “probably not” related to whether Jesus had long hair, the biblical answer is DEFINITELY NOT.

Notice what the Bible says:

14 Does not even nature itself teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a dishonor to him? (1 Corinthians 11:14)

Jesus did not have long hair. If He did, the Apostle Paul would not have written the above. For additional proof, consider the following:

1 Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ. (1 Corinthians 11:1)

Paul would not be imitating Christ by denouncing His hair length. Consider also that God inspired the Apostle John to write:

6 He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked. (1 John 2:6)

If Jesus had long hair, God would not have inspired John to say to walk as Jesus walked, while also inspiring Paul to write that it is a shame for a man to have long hair.

Consider that a Roman Catholic priest reported:

Saint Thomas {Aquinas} teaches, there is no argument against a fact—contra factum non argumentum est. If a statement is contrary to fact, then no authority on earth can expect us to believe it. (Kramer P. The Devil’s Final Battle. Good Counsel Productions, 2002, p. xxiii)

So, what are some facts disproving the Shroud?

It is a fact that the Shroud shows a tall Jesus with long hair.

It is a fact that Jesus was not tall and could not have had long hair.

Therefore, irrespective of what many want to falsely believe, the Shroud was NOT Jesus burial cloth.

Now let’s see some more from the BBC article:

When early Christians were not showing Christ as heavenly ruler, they showed Jesus as an actual man like any other: beardless and short-haired. … in the 1st Century Graeco-Roman world, being clean-shaven and short-haired was considered absolutely essential. http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-35120965

No early Christian ever showed Jesus as a long-haired person. Having short hair was normal. The earliest found depictions of Jesus do NOT show Jesus to have had long hair. While no one knew, even then, what Jesus actually looked like, it took another century (and likely the influence of the idolatrous Emperor Constantine) before the longed-hair portrayals began to appear en mass.

Furthermore, if Jesus had distinctively long hair, He would have been highly recognizable. But the Bible shows that He was not. Once, while He was speaking to the Jews during the day, they wanted to stone Him, but He escaped right after talking to them (John 10:31-39), which indicates He was not excessively tall (like the Shroud of Turin suggests) or had distinguishing features like long hair.

Furthermore, the Jewish leaders felt the need to pay Judas (Mark 14:10) to point out Jesus with a kiss so they could arrest Him (Mark 14:43-46), which they would not have needed to do if He was distinguished with features like long hair and being tall

Getting back to the BBC article, notice why else Jesus would not have had long hair:

If he had had even slightly long hair, we would expect some reaction. Jewish men who had unkempt beards and were slightly long-haired were immediately identifiable as men who had taken a Nazirite vow. This meant they would dedicate themselves to God for a period of time, not drink wine or cut their hair – and at the end of this period they would shave their heads in a special ceremony in the temple in Jerusalem (as described in Acts chapter 21, verse 24).

But Jesus did not keep a Nazirite vow, because he is often found drinking wine – his critics accuse him of drinking far, far too much of it (Matthew chapter 11, verse 19). If he had had long hair, and looked like a Nazirite, we would expect some comment on the discrepancy between how he appeared and what he was doing – the problem would be that he was drinking wine at all. http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-35120965

And that is correct. Notice that the Bible shows Jesus did drink wine, but that the Nazirites could not:

19 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look, a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ But wisdom is justified by her children. (Matthew 11:19)

1 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘When either a man or woman consecrates an offering to take the vow of a Nazirite, to separate himself to the Lord, 3 he shall separate himself from wine and similar drink; he shall drink neither vinegar made from wine nor vinegar made from similar drink; neither shall he drink any grape juice, nor eat fresh grapes or raisins. 4 All the days of his separation he shall eat nothing that is produced by the grapevine, from seed to skin. (Numbers 6:1-4)

While some claim that Jesus never made nor drank wine, but only grape juice, consuming anything from grapes was prohibited for Nazirites. Since Jesus did not sin, He certainly was not under a Nazirite vow walking around with long hair while at the same time drinking anything produced from grapes.

Sadly, many prefer to accept the Byzantine portrayal of Zeus as Jesus.

Zeus was the head of the pagan deities that Romans and Greeks (though the Romans called Zeus ‘Jupiter’) worshiped. Christians certainly were not to continue in pagan worship practices by renaming Zeus as Jesus. Nor were they to rename other pagan deities as something else, nor incorporate pagan holidays into their form of worship:

20 Rather, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice they sacrifice to demons and not to God, and I do not want you to have fellowship with demons. 21 You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the Lord’s table and of the table of demons. (1 Corinthians 10:20-21)

People are not honoring Jesus by venerating long-haired portrayals of Him that came from paganism.

Furthermore, even if the actual burial cloth of Jesus was the Shroud of Turin or some other similar relic, it should not be venerated by Christians.

History records that the early Christians opposed venerating relics. Many do not seem to realize how negatively early Christians viewed such items.

The Continuing Church of God does not consider that the Shroud of Turin is holy nor is it possibly the burial cloth of Jesus.

Among other reasons, it is not supported by the historical record nor scripture. The image on the Shroud of Turin shows a long-haired male. Yet, Jesus did not have long hair.

Notice that even Roman Catholic translations of the Bible support that:

¹⁴ Does not nature itself teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a disgrace to him, ¹⁵ but when a woman has long hair, it is her glory? (1 Corinthians 11:14-15a, New Jerusalem Bible)

While hair does grow after death, it does not grow quickly enough for the length that is on the Shroud of Turin. Jesus said He would be in the grave three days and three nights (Matthew 12:40), and that would not be enough time for long hair to appear.

Here is a more complete picture of the 3d image:

From worldtruth.tv

That image is too big too have been Jesus of the Bible.

Furthermore, notice the following:

Length Measurements on the Shroud of Turin …

Measurements taken by Bruno Barberis and Gian Maria Zaccone give (frontal image at the bottom left, dorsal image at the top) 441.5 cm for the right height, and 442.5 cm for the left height. The bottom width is 113.0 cm and the top width is 113.7 cm. http://www.iro.umontreal.ca/~latendre/shroud/shroudCal.html

This means that the Shroud of Turin is 174 inches, 14.5 feet, long. The height of the man in the shroud would need to be about 6 ft. tall. That could not be Jesus.

Why?

Jesus did not stick out in a crowd (cf. Luke 4:28-29), and even needed someone to identify Him (Matthew 26:48). Men were much shorter then than now (average was about 5’3″ to 5’4″) and a six foot man would be noticed. If the shroud was that of Jesus, Jesus would have had to be much to tall to blend into the crowds at that time. There is no reason to believe Jesus was tall or had any special appearance–the Bible indicates the opposite (cf. Isaiah 53:2).

Most do not know a lot about the Bible and know even less about early church history–and what many think they know is clouded by misinformation and misconceptions.

And the Shroud of Turin does not provide helpful information into original Christianity, it only seems to be for those who prefer icons and improper traditions of men over what the Bible teaches.

People claiming to be Christians should not promote it as a relic of Jesus!

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

Here is a link to our video: Could the Shroud of Turin Be Real? 12 Reasons to Consider.

It is NOT possible that Shroud of Turin was the burial cloth of Jesus.

That said, there is REAL proof Jesus is the Messiah (see the free online book Proof Jesus is the Messiah). Do not, however, base your faith on fakes.

Related to certain prophetic proofs, here is a link to my latest sermon:

1:14:43

Jesus for Prophecy Skeptics

Should non-believers accept Jesus as the Messiah? Should prophecy be important? Since “the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy’ (Revelation 19:10), are there prophecies Jesus made that were fulfilled outside of scripture that prove Jesus was the Messiah? Are there numerous writings from esteemed Jewish rabbis and scholars that point to the Messiah coming when Jesus came? Does the Book of Daniel and portions of the Babylonian Talmud point to Jesus being the Messiah? Was the Messiah supposed to come before the Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed in 70 A.D. as Jesus did? Shouldn’t Jews, Muslims, secularists, New Agers, and other non-believers accept Jesus as the Messiah? Why should believers know this? Dr. Thiel addresses these matters and more by citing scriptures, history, and various ancient and modern writings.

Here is a link to our sermon: Jesus for Prophecy Skeptics.

Those interested in early Christianity may wish to study the following documented items and presentations to learn more:

Clear Proof that the Shroud of Turin is Fake: Debunking the ‘reasons’ that the Shroud of Turin is real There is NO proof that the Shroud of Turin has Jesus’ image and those who are willing to believe the Bible can prove it is fake. Here is a link to a related video: Could the Shroud of Turin Be Real? 12 Reasons to Consider.
Proof Jesus is the Messiah This free book has over 200 Hebrew prophecies were fulfilled by Jesus. Plus, His arrival was consistent with specific prophecies and even Jewish interpretations of prophecy. Here are links to seven related sermons: Proof Jesus is the Messiah, Prophecies of Jesus’ birth, timing, and death, Jesus’ prophesied divinity, 200+ OT prophecies Jesus filled; Plus prophecies He made, Why Don’t Jews Accept Jesus?, Daniel 9, Jews, and Jesus, and Facts and Atheists’ Delusions About Jesus. Plus the links to two sermonettes: Luke’s census: Any historical evidence? and Muslims believe Jesus is the Messiah, but … These videos cover nearly all of the book, plus have some information not in the book.
Jesus: The Son of God and Saviour Who was Jesus? Why did He come to earth? What message did He bring? Is there evidence outside the Bible that He existed? Here is a YouTube sermon titled Jesus: Son of God and Saviour.
What Did the Early Church Teach About Idols and Icons? Did the early Church use icons? What was the position of Christians about such things? A related sermon is available: The Second Commandment, Idols, and Icons.
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.
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.
Where is the True Christian Church Today? This free online pdf booklet answers that question and includes 18 proofs, clues, and signs to identify the true vs. false Christian church. Plus 7 proofs, clues, and signs to help identify Laodicean churches. A related sermon is also available: Where is the True Christian Church? Here is a link to the booklet in the Spanish language: ¿Dónde está la verdadera Iglesia cristiana de hoy? Here is a link in the German language: WO IST DIE WAHRE CHRISTLICHE KIRCHE HEUTE?
The History of Early Christianity Are you aware that what most people believe is not what truly happened to the true Christian church? Do you know where the early church was based? Do you know what were the doctrines of the early church? Is your faith really based upon the truth or compromise?
The Churches of Revelation 2 & 3 Do they matter? Most say they must, but act like they do not. This article contains some history about the Church of God (sometimes referred to as the continuation of Primitive Christianity) over the past 2000 years.
What Do Roman Catholic Scholars Actually Teach About Early Church History? Although most believe that the Roman Catholic Church history teaches an unbroken line of succession of bishops beginning with Peter, with stories about most of them, Roman Catholic scholars know the truth of this matter. This eye-opening article is a must-read for any who really wants to know what Roman Catholic history actually admits about the early church.
Nazarene Christianity: Were the Original Christians Nazarenes? Who were the Nazarene Christians? What did they believe? Should 21st century Christians be modern Nazarenes? Is there a group that exists now that traces its history through the Nazarenes and holds the same beliefs today? Here is a link to a related video sermon Nazarene Christians: Were the early Christians “Nazarenes”?
Location of the Early Church: Another Look at Ephesus, Smyrna, and Rome What actually happened to the primitive Church? And did the Bible tell about this in advance?

Plain Truth magazine August 1965

COGwriter

In an article titled Satan’s Destructive Battle Plan, PCG’s Gerald Flurry had the following:

The Prophet Daniel addressed his end-time book to spiritual Israel, or the Church, and two nations of Israel: America and Britain. … We must watch for an Antiochus-type in both the Church and the nation today. …

Let’s take another look at this pivotal passage in Daniel. “The host of heaven” from Daniel 8:10 is translated “the host of the stars” in the Revised Standard Version. The stars, or the angels of God, help God’s people when they obey. We lose that help when we rebel. A hideous invisible force stamped on God’s own Church “by reason of transgression”—because of the people’s sins! This happened after Mr. Armstrong’s death in 1986. It is happening in America right now. (For more information, request our free booklet America Under Attack.)

The word “host” is a military term. Strong’s Concordance defines it this way: “a mass of persons, especially organized for war; and soldiers; army. The expression also means to muster soldiers for warfare. Host can refer to an army of demons, angels or men.” God has an army of angels and saints; Satan has an army of demons and men, in this case sinning saints turning away from God. This is a real war! Spiritual war is more dangerous than any physical war.

Verse 11 should read, “Yea, he magnified himself even against the prince of the host, and by him the daily … was taken away, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down.” Satan and his army violently confronted the “prince of the host,” or Jesus Christ! Christ explains the meaning of this prophecy to His loyal remnant.

The end-time religious Antiochus subverted God’s Church from within. “And an host was given him against the daily … by reason of transgression, and it cast down the truth to the ground; and it practised, and prospered” (verse 12). “It,” or the demon army, “cast down the truth to the ground.” Antiochus is a physical man swayed by Satan to overthrow the Church. The real power comes from the demon army. For 1,150 days, God gave no new truth to His people. For 1,150 days, Satan suppressed the gospel message (Daniel 8:14; English Standard Version).

Here’s what I wrote in America Under Attack:

The obvious question arises, why would God allow such a terrible thing to happen? The answer is back in Daniel 8:12. That verse describes this satanic spirit army wreaking destruction within God’s Church. And notice: It says it was “by reason of transgression.” The sins of the people gave Satan his opening. Their prayers to God are not being answered. That is why Antiochus can do all of his dirty work: because there’s so much sin going on inside Israel. … The sin within gave the devil his opening. Once Satan got inside, he went right into the sanctuary, working through the leaders at the top, and cast the truth to the ground! That is how Satan destroyed God’s Church.

COGwriter

Kamala Harris is scheduled to give her acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention today.

Joe Biden spoke there on Monday.

Shortly after the 2020 US presidential election, I wrote that the end would NOT come in their first presidential term:

The end of the USA will NOT occur in the first term of the Biden-Harris Administration. (Thiel B. ZH: Trump Says “Election Far From Over”; Biden “Honored & Humbled” After MSM Declares Him President-Elect. COGwriter, November 7, 2020)

And that has been correct.

On January 21, 2021, my book Biden-Harris: Prophecies and Destruction, came out.

It contained various warnings, predictions, and speculations about things that would (and would not) occur in their 2021-2025 term in office.

Did any get confirmed so far in the Biden-Harris Administration?

Yes.

Notice the followings twenty warnings/predictions/speculations, which are verbatim quotes from my book Biden-Harris: Prophecies and Destruction along with one or more examples of fulfillment or at least partial fulfillment:

1. WARNING: The Biden-Harris team is interested in increasing debt, which the Bible condemns as a curse (Deuteronomy 28:15,44). They intend stimulus and other projects that are expected to increase the debt of the U.S.A. Increasing national debt will lead to destruction at the appointed time of the end (Habakkuk 2:3–8). They will not be able to reverse enough of the debt to stop Habakkuk 2:3-8 from being  fulfilled.

FULFILLMENT EXAMPLE:

Debt has risen according to official government data:

• January 19, 2021, $27,752,835,868,445.35, the date  Trump-Pence leave office, replaced the next day by Biden-Harris.
• January 19, 2024, $34,072,342,032,939.15, after 3 years of the Biden-Harris Administration.

And it has gone up over one trillion dollars more since. According to the latest report from the US Treasury, the official US debt was $35,215,900,370,093.07 as of Tuesday (see also https://fiscaldata.treasury.gov/datasets/debt-to-the-penny/debt-to-the-penny). Even the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has been voicing concerns about US debt (see post dated June 28, 2024: VOA: IMF says US needs to tackle debt; USA Today: Ballooning U.S. budget deficit is killing the American dream; COGwriter: Debt will be part of the USA’s worst nightmare).

2. WARNING: Inflation will eventually hit the U.S.A. extremely hard.

PARTIAL FULFILLMENT:

Posted June 10, 2022: AP: US inflation hit a new 40-year high last month of 8.6%; COGwriter: Much more food price inflation is coming

Posted July 13, 2022: USA inflation hit 9.1%, German food prices up 12.1%; Could the third horseman of the Apocalypse have begun his ride?

Posted December 14, 2022: Inflation down, but vegetable prices up 38.1%?

Posted April 10, 2024: ZH: “Obviously, This Is Very Bad News For Biden”: Wall Street Reacts To Today’s Red Hot Inflation Print

Inflation will ultimately get much worse, despite recent reductions in the rate of inflation.

3. WARNING: Because they do not put much stock in biblical prophecies, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are not expected to truly understand the threat that Europe poses and are expected to enable its rise. … The Biden-Harris Administration is expected to promote European military spending which would help enable the rise of the King of the North/Beast power who will be in league with the final Antichrist.

FULFILLMENT EXAMPLE:

In addition to promoting increased military spending by the Europeans, on September 21, 2021, Joe Biden endorsed European defense separate from NATO (https://www.defenseone.com/ideas/2021/09/biden-just-gave-france-something-more-valuable-submarine-contract/185560/)–this will not end well for the USA (cf. Daniel 11:39).

4. WARNING: Joe Biden and Kamala Harris both claim to be Christians, yet support restrictions on religious speech and actions, while specifically pushing for a sexual agenda that the Bible says ends in death and destruction (cf. Romans 1:18-32; Jude 7).

FULFILLMENT EXAMPLES: Here are links to some items that document that:

Posted January 22, 2021: ‘Outrage After Biden Signs Executive Order Pushing Schools To Include Transgender Athletes In Girls’ Sports’

Posted February 1, 2021: AP, Mike Gendron, and DR: The first 12 days of Biden-Harris Administration.

Posted: March 21, 2022: VOA: Biden to Mark Transgender Day of Visibility With New Actions

Posted June 1, 2023: The LGBTQ+ (and Joe Biden) Push ‘Pride Month’

5. WARNING: Consider also that if some are insulted because their sins are called out, at least some associated with the Biden-Harris team want to make that a crime! … The incoming Biden-Harris Administration has made some statements suggesting they are not fully in agreement with the right of free speech. A “famine” of the word is prophesied (Amos 8:11) and it is possible that they could authorize steps that could lead to that.

FULFILLMENT EXAMPLE: In a tweet dated June 16, 2022, Joe Biden stated:

As I’ve said before to the LGBTQI+ community: Your President has your back. Yesterday, I signed an Executive Order that will protect the community from hateful attacks, use the full force of the government to prevent “conversion therapy,” advance equality for families, and more. https://www.facebook.com/POTUS/posts/as-ive-said-before-to-the-lgbtqi-community-your-president-has-your-back-yesterda/474294841364151/

Also notice:

Posted April 28, 2022: WND: Biden DHS creates unit to police speech

While that DHS unit did not go through quite as planned, it was another move to restrict religious speech. Also, since the Bible teaches that homosexuals can change (1 Corinthians 6:9-11), Joe Biden’s tweet pledging to use “use the full force of the government to prevent ‘conversion therapy,’ ” is opposed to religious freedom of speech.

6. WARNING: the promotion of more and more aspects of immorality … may also cause weather problems. … Unless there is national repentance, a Biden-Harris Administration will not positively change the true moral direction of the U.S.A. There will be more odd and berserk weather.

FULFILLMENT EXAMPLES:

Posted December 27, 2021: ‘Cost of weather disasters surged in 2021’

Posted July 13, 2023: MS: We Are Starting To Experience The Apocalyptic Weather Of The End Times

Posted September 12, 2023: AP: US sets record for billion-dollar weather disasters in a year — and there’s still 4 months to go

Posted June 24, 2024: Semafor: World breaks 1,400 temperature records in a week as heat waves sweep globe

Posted August 16, 2024: CBS: July was hottest on record, NOAA says, with 2024 likely to be warmest year to date

7. WARNING: The Biden-Harris Administration wants to increase Islamic immigration into the U.S.A. The Bible prophesies “There shall be terror within” (Deuteronomy 32:25). The Bible also specifically warns of problems from Arabic peoples in the end times (Psalm 83:3-8). Some Syrians, including some already in the U.S.A., may take terroristic actions as that too is consistent with biblical prophecy (cf. Isaiah 9:8-9, 11-12).

FULFILLMENT EXAMPLES: Increasing Islamic immigration into the USA has happened. Here are links to three items documenting that:

Posted January 30, 2021: ‘Biden Extends, Expands Deportation Protection for Syrians in US’–a terrorism risk?

Posted October 21, 2021: CBS: Biden administration to allow private groups to sponsor Afghan evacuees; COGwriter: Terrorist risk?

Posted August 18, 2021: Potential terrorists? USA wants Afghani refugees, France’s Macron says EU should not.

Posted February 16, 2024: 2 million suspected terrorists illegally in the USA?

8. WARNING: Now, we would expect trade negotiations with Europe to continue and some type of agreements will happen. … Yet, misunderstandings and differences of opinion will occur.

FULFILLMENT EXAMPLES:

Posted November 7, 2022: CNBC: EU says it has serious concerns about Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act

Posted December 3, 2022: DW: German finance minister warns of US trade war; BBC: Finnish PM Sanna Marin … Europe must make sure it is “building those capabilities when it comes to European defence …”

Posted June 4, 2023: EU and USA held trade meeting, but …

Posted July 5, 2023: ‘EU parliament trade chief calls for tariffs on US hydrogen’

9. WARNING: Iran may decide to strike out against Israel, and likely Jerusalem (cf. Isaiah 22:7-8) if it determines that it should. If it is frustrated with the Biden-Harris Administration policies or delays, that may very well be a factor in it taking prophesied military action.

PARTIAL FULFILLMENT SUPPORT AND EXAMPLES:

Posted December 21, 2022: EN: Iran nuclear deal is ‘dead’, claims US President Joe Biden

Posted April 13, 2024: Iran launches first phase in its biggest direct attack against Israel

Posted July 31, 2024: ZH: Ayatollah Says ‘Severe’ Revenge Coming For Israel Killing Hamas Leader On Iranian Soil

While Iran sent out missiles towards Jerusalem, the prophesied “great damage” did not happen in April 2024, but it has signaled its intent to cause great damage to hit the nation of Israel.

10. PREDICTION: WWIII absolutely will not happen before 2025.

PARTIAL FULFILLMENT:

World War Three has not started and 2025 is only a few months away.

11. PREDICTION: Gold will set records in U.S. dollar terms.

MULTIPLE FULFILLMENTS:

Posted March 6, 2024: ZH: ‘We Have Liftoff!’ – Spot Gold Takes Out Record High

Posted April 8, 2024: Gold hit record high–‘What’s behind China’s gold-buying spree?’

Posted August 18, 2024: ‘Gold All Time Highs: Is $3000 Next?’

Posted August 21, 2024: Gold lifts off to another record as the US dollar is worth less; What about silver?

12. WARNING: The Obama-Biden Administration seemed supportive of the type of confederation that will lead to the formation of the final King of the South of biblical prophecy (Daniel 11:40-43). A Biden-Harris Administration is expected to do the same, if not more.

FULFILLMENT EXAMPLES:

The White House “FACT SHEET: The United States Strengthens Cooperation with Middle East Partners to Address 21st Century Challenges”  dated July 16, 2022 states:

President Biden affirmed the United States’ commitment to accelerate ongoing work with its allies and partners in the Middle East to integrate and enhance security cooperation. https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/07/16/fact-sheet-the-united-states-strengthens-cooperation-with-middle-east-partners-to-address-21st-century-challenges/

The White House “FACT SHEET: The Biden-⁠Harris Administration’s National SecurityStrategy”:

President Biden’s National Security Strategy outlines how the United States will advance our vital interests and pursue a free, open, prosperous, and secure world.  … A more integrated Middle East that empowers our allies and partners will advance regional peace and prosperity, https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/10/12/fact-sheet-the-biden-harris-administrations-national-security-strategy/

13. WARNING: Humans should eat what is good (cf. Isaiah 55:2). Joe Biden, like others before him, has made statements supporting the use of genetically-modified organisms (GMOs) to be consumed as foods [Farm Bureau. Trump v Biden: Where do the candidates stand on GMOs and other key food issues? Genetic Literacy Project, November 17, 2020]. Increased reliance on GMOs by the United States puts the nation at major risk for nearly complete crop failures. The Bible warns that famines (Matthew 24:7) and food shortages (Revelation 6:5-6) are coming and the Biden-Harris Administration may further help set the stage for this.

PARTIAL FULFILLMENT EXAMPLE:

The White House “Fact Sheet: Biden-⁠Harris Administration’s Actions to Advance American Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing” dated June 25, 2024, promotes investment in GMO foods as part of it biotechnology and biomanufacturing goals (see https://www.whitehouse.gov/ostp/news-updates/2024/06/25/fact-sheet-biden-harris-administrations-actions-to-advance-american-biotechnology-and-biomanufacturing/).

14. WARNING: By focusing too much on threats from China and almost always considering the Europeans as some type of allies, a Biden-Harris Administration is currently not expected to reverse the Asian ‘pivot’ strategy of the Obama-Biden Administration.

FULFILLMENT EXAMPLES:

Posted September 16, 2021: China NOT pleased with AUKUS alliance; France also upset

Posted November 20, 2021: ZH: China Deems Australia ‘No Longer Peaceful’, But Now “Saber Wielding” After Sub Deal; CNN: The EU realizes it can’t rely on America for protection.

Posted June 8, 2022: ‘Cambodia, China Revamp Naval Base, Stoking US fears ‘

Posted July 24, 2022: ‘Milley: China more aggressive, dangerous to US, allies’

Posted October 28, 2022: VOA: China Remains Top Threat in New US National Defense Strategy; COGwriter: USA promotion of perversion will not end well

Posted January 30, 2023: ZH: Air Force General Tells His Officers ‘War With China’ Only 2 Years Away

Posted: June 21, 2023: ‘US-China tensions: Biden calls Xi a dictator a day after Beijing talks’

Posted July 23, 2023: ‘U.S., Allies Hold Record-Setting Military Exercise in Australia in Message Aimed at China’

Posted July 29, 2023: ABC: US and Australia deepen military ties to counter China

So no, the Asia pivot strategy has not been reversed, but to a real degree continued and is being pushed.

15. WARNING: Joe Biden and Kamala Harris believe their policies will lead to more peace. We will one day hear proclamations of false peace and safety and the Bible warns repeatedly that end-time destruction will follow those declarations …

PARTIAL FULFILLMENT EXAMPLES:

The loss of Afghanistan, Russia’s “Special Military Operation” into Ukraine, the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack and the resultant Israel-Hamas war, and Iran’s bombing of Israel in 2014, all suggest that more peace did not come under the Biden-Harris Administration.

16. WARNING: Joe Biden has a history of making inaccurate statements about himself.

CONFIRMATION: CNN posted the following:

Fact check: A look at Biden’s first year in false claims

January 20, 2022

When President Joe Biden passingly said in a voting rights speech last week that he had been “arrested” in the context of the civil rights movement — even suggesting this had happened more than once — it was a classic Biden false claim: an anecdote about his past for which there is no evidence, prompted by a decision to ad-lib rather than stick to a prepared text, resulting in easily avoidable questions about his honesty.

Biden’s imaginary or embellished stories about his own history were the most memorable falsehoods of his first year in office. They were not, however, the only ones. The President also made multiple false claims about important policy matters, notably including three subjects that occupied much of his time: the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, the economy and the Covid-19 pandemic. And Biden was incorrect on numerous occasions when ad-libbing about a wide assortment of facts and figures — sometimes in a way that appeared inadvertent, but other times in a way that helped him make a political point.

Biden distracted from his voting rights message with the baseless claim last week, which he had made before, about having been arrested during a civil rights protest; in some of the previous versions of the story, he had merely claimed a police officer had taken him home from a protest. (There is evidence Biden participated in some civil rights activities in his youth but no record of any arrest.)

And Biden told two different inaccurate stories while trying to emphasize his connection to the Jewish community.

At a September event in honor of the High Holy Days, Biden told Jewish leaders that he remembered “spending time at” and “going to” Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life synagogue, the site of an antisemitic massacre in 2018; he had spoken by phone to the synagogue’s rabbi in 2019 but never went. At a Hanukkah event in December, Biden claimed that late Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir had invited him to meet with her during the Six-Day War of 1967 (he actually met with her weeks before the Yom Kippur War six years later) and, more significantly, that she had wanted him to be “the liaison between she and the Egyptians about the Suez, and so on and so forth.”

There is zero evidence Meir ever wanted to use a 30-year-old rookie US senator as a “liaison” with a major adversary. https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/20/politics/fact-check-biden-false-claims-first-year-2021/index.html

The list of false claims by CNN was much longer than posted here. So, yes, that warning has also been confirmed.

See also the post of March 8, 2024 from FactCheck.org: Joe Biden’s ‘State of the Union,’ fact checking, and scripture.

17. WARNING: Like certain others, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are helping to fulfill the following prophecy for the “last days”:

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

FULFILLMENT EXAMPLES: Regarding just Kamala Harris being a slanderer, notice the following from FactCheck.org:

FactChecking Vice President Kamala Harris

July 23, 2024

In about 48 hours, Vice President Kamala Harris went from No. 2 on the Democratic presidential ticket to the presumptive presidential nominee, after President Joe Biden dropped out of the race and endorsed her. Here, we fact-check some of Harris’ recent speeches — before and after Biden dropped out:

• Harris repeated the claim that former President Donald Trump “intends to cut Social Security and Medicare,” even though he did not attempt to cut either retirement program when he was president, and he has said that he will not cut them in a second term.

• She referred to Project 2025 — a conservative plan for deeply cutting and overhauling the federal government — as Trump’s “extreme Project 2025 agenda.” Trump has disavowed the project, which he described as “seriously extreme.”

• The vice president repeated one of her favorite talking points when she claimed “Donald Trump openly vowed, if reelected, that he will be a dictator on Day 1.” He said he was joking when he said he wouldn’t be a dictator “except for Day 1.”

• Harris left the misleading impression that Trump was to blame for the loss of “tens of thousands” of manufacturing jobs. The U.S. added more than 400,000 manufacturing jobs under Trump — until the economic effects of the global COVID-19 pandemic reversed all those job gains. https://www.factcheck.org/2024/07/factchecking-vice-president-kamala-harris/

Note: This is not a defense of Donald Trump, but is shown to point out that Kamala Harris is a slanderer. I would also characterize Joe Biden’s (see Joe Biden signs executive order to increase abortion access) and her strident abortion advocacy (e.g. see Arizona court recognizes abortion ban–what should, ‘My body, my choice’ really mean?) as “headstrong, haughty, … brutal,” etc. Support of “pride events” by her and Joe Biden (e.g. The LGBTQ+ (and Joe Biden) Push ‘Pride Month’) are also consistent with the warning against being “proud.”

18. WARNING: Divisive statements from Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are expected to result in division and protests.

FULFILLMENT EXAMPLES:

Posted July 30, 2021: COVID: The Divided States of America & European protests

Posted November 21, 2021: Kyle Rittenhouse, Riots, and a Nation Divided

Posted January 6, 2022: Biden speaks about January 6th: A house divided? Civil war?

Posted March 7, 2022: NewsMax: ‘People’s Convoy’ Truck Protest Drives Laps Around Washington

Posted May 2, 2024: Most NYU arrested protesters were not students–could the Biden Administration Gaza plan cause terrorism within the USA?

Posted March 3, 2024: WND: Stunning poll reveals more than 100 million Americans expect civil war within 5 years

19. WARNING: Joe Biden has made statements supporting losses of privacy, increased surveillance, and favoring unlimited government control. This type of thing will be exploited by 666 of Revelation 13:16-18.

PARTIAL FULFILLMENT:

The European Union’s ‘Digital Services Act’ (e.g. see EU ‘Digital Services Act’ in place: Yes, it is a prelude to the ‘famine of the word’) as well as the Biden-Harris Administration’s look into having a Central Bank Digital Currency (‘FedNow, the Precursor to the Digital Dollar CBDC, Has Launched’) is consistent with that warning.

20. SPECULATION: In October of 2020 Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi proposed changes to the 25^th Amendment to the US Constitution to make it easier for Congress to remove a president. if the president was incapable of the job. Some suspect, because of Joe Biden’s health and age, this was done to help pave the way for a Kamala Harris presidency.

Speaker Pelosi said the proposal was NOT directed towards Donald Trump, who then made the following statements about it:

Nancy Pelosi is looking at the 25th Amendment in order to replace Joe Biden with Kamala Harris … The Dems want that to happen fast because Sleepy Joe is out of it!!! … this 25th Amendment, I think they put it in so they can get Kamala in [^{Bowden E, et al. Trump says Pelosi’s 25th Amendment bill is about replacing Biden with Harris. NY Post, October 9, 2020}].

I expect that Kamala Harris will either be the de facto president, possibly being the actual president of the U.S.A. as Joe Biden has issues that will lead to that. …

Kamala Harris is also female and looks to be one who is fulfilling the following prophecy in these end times:

¹² As for My people, children are their oppressors, And women rule over them. O My people! Those who lead you cause you to err, And destroy the way of your paths. (Isaiah 3:12)

While certainly there are places for women (Judges chapters 4 & 5) and Gentiles (2 Chronicles 36:22) in leadership positions, Isaiah does not suggest that this should be looked at as a great blessing.

PARTIAL FULFILLMENT:

In 2021, Joe Biden invoked the 25th amendment to temporarily transfer his office to Kamala Harris (see https://lawandcrime.com/politics/president-biden-invokes-25th-amendment-temporarily-transfers-power-to-vp-kamala-harris/).

Furthermore, in 2024, Joe Biden knew that some in his party were looking to invoke the 25th amendment to possibly push him out of the presidential election. While Joe Biden has remained in office, on July 21, 2024 he dropped out the presidential race and endorsed Kamala Harris (see ZH: Biden Drops Out Of 2024 Race But Will Remain Through Term; Endorses Harris As Resignation Calls Grow). It is reasonable to suspect that one reason that Joe Biden selected her as his replacement was because he valued views she provided him to rule the nation.

In a real sense, Kamala Harris is now the official ruler of the Democratic party and she is also a type of de facto president as Joe Biden is what is termed a “lame duck” (e.g. see Joe Biden faces uncertainties of ‘lame duck’ administration).

Those are at least partially consistent with my expect speculation.

Biblical prophecies will be fulfilled. Political and other leaders in the USA are helping to fulfill some of them.

In the case of the Biden-Harris Administration and timing, numerous warnings and predictions have thus far, at least partially, come to pass.

As regular readers of this COGwriter Church of God News page are aware, I am NOT a voter nor a Democrat nor a Republican –I am a non-partisan Christian looking for the return of Jesus and the establishment of the Kingdom of God.

Let me add that, years ago, I also put together a list of 20 warnings that Donald Trump at least partially fulfilled. Details are in the article: Donald Trump in Prophecy.

For a general warning, understand that the Bible shows that destruction is coming to the USA (cf. Daniel 11:39; Habakkuk 2:6-9; Isaiah 10:5-11) as well as its British-descended allies (cf. Isaiah 17:3a, Daniel 8:24-25a; see also our free online book: Lost Tribes and Prophecies: What will happen to Australia, the British Isles, Canada, Europe, New Zealand and the United States of America?).

The Anglo-American nations need repentance, the return of Jesus, and the coming Kingdom of God.

St Sophia’s Cathedral in Kyiv, Ukraine
(Photo by Paweł ‘pbm’ Szubert)

COGwriter

The government of Ukraine took another step to diminish religious rights in that country:

Ukrainian parliament votes again to ban Russian Orthodox Church

The Ukrainian parliament passed a bill banning the Russian Orthodox Church, once the country’s most popular but now accused of ties to the Moscow Patriarchate. Russia condemned this as Kyiv’s attempt to “destroy canonical Orthodoxy.”

August 22, 2024

In a second reading, the Ukrainian Parliament passed a bill that would ban the Russian Orthodox Church affiliated with the Moscow Patriarchate, which has often been seen as a channel of Kremlin influence, following two and a half years of Russian invasion of Ukraine, several lawmakers announced.

Shortly after it passed August 20, Russia denounced the bill as an attempt by Kyiv to “destroy canonical Orthodoxy.” …

The church targeted by this decision was once the most popular in Ukraine, a predominantly Orthodox country. However, it has lost many followers in recent years as Ukrainian national sentiment has grown stronger against the former Russian power.

The process accelerated with the 2018 creation of an independent Ukrainian Orthodox Church, separate from Moscow, and even more so with the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, which the Moscow Patriarchate has openly supported. The Ukrainian parliament had already passed the bill in its first reading in October 2023.

According to MP Yaroslav Zheleznyak, the new law, which President Volodymyr Zelenskyy must still sign before it can take effect, will give the affected parishes nine months to “sever their ties with the Russian Orthodox Church,” which supports the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

“We hope today’s decision will accelerate the transition of these parishes to the Orthodox Church” independent of Moscow’s control, added Gerashchenko.

According to media reports, the Russian-linked church still has about 9,000 parishes in Ukraine, compared to 8,000 to 9,000 for its independent rival. https://international.la-croix.com/world/ukrainian-parliament-votes-again-to-ban-russian-orthodox-church

Ukraine’s parliament voted on Tuesday on a bill that would ban the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), which has historic links to Russia but severed ties with the Moscow Patriarchate following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The UOC has also denounced the Russian invasion, but these steps were not enough for Ukrainian officials, who still accuse it of having ties with Moscow. The crackdown on the UOC has involved church raids, the arrest of priests, and the eviction of clergy from the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra, also known as the Monastery of the Caves. …

Andriy Yermak, Zelensky’s chief of staff, said after the bill was passed that “there will be no Moscow Church in Ukraine.”

The Ukrainian government has supported the similarly named Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU), which was granted independence from the Moscow Patriarchate by the Patriarchate of Constantinople in 2019.

As of 2023, the UOC remained the largest of the two Orthodox churches in Ukraine, as only a small number of parishes decided to join the OCU following the Russian invasion. https://news.antiwar.com/2024/08/20/ukrainian-parliament-votes-to-ban-orthodox-church-with-historic-ties-to-russia/

The Ukrainian parliament has banned a branch of the Orthodox church, linked to the Russian Orthodox Church. …

President Volodymyr Zelensky announced the legislation last week, when he said it would strengthen Ukraine’s “spiritual independence.” 08/21/24 https://www.newsweek.com/ukraine-ban-orthodox-church-russia-moscow-1942301

Banning what has been the most popular church in Ukraine is not supporting personal “spiritual independence,” but shows governmental control over religion.

But attempting to control religion in Ukraine is not new with this legislation.

Joseph Farah, editor and founder of World Net Daily and a former supporter of Volodymyr Zelensky, posted the following:

December 8, 2022

Zelensky has banned opposition parties. He’s shut down critical media by force. He’s arrested his political opponents. He has sent soldiers into churches. Zelensky’s secret police have raided monasteries across Ukraine, even a convent full of nuns, and arrested dozens of priests for no justifiable reason whatsoever and in clear violation of the Ukrainian constitution, which apparently no longer matters. And in the face of this, the Biden administration has said nothing.

Last week, he announced his plan to ban an entire religion, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church – more than a thousand years old – and to seize its property, all for being insufficiently loyal to his regime. A free country does not ban a major religion.

Nor is it permissible in time of war to place soldiers in churches. It’s wrong to arrest dozens of priests. It’s a war crime. And he’s doing it to a Ukrainian church! … The Zelensky government bans all opposition voices and parties. Priests are arrested. Is that freedom?

I repent of my once-enthusiastic support of Zelensky and the immoral war in Ukraine. Not another dime for the U.S. war machine in Ukraine. Not now. Not ever. We were sold a bill of goods.

I regret my support for this quagmire – just one more permanent war for the war party. https://www.wnd.com/2022/12/admit-fooled-zelensky-ukraine/

There are many types of causalities from politicians and wars.

As far as the Ukrainian government and religion go, last December, CBS reported the following:

December 25, 2023

Ukrainian Orthodox Christians attended services on Sunday as the country for the first time celebrated Christmas on December 25, after the government changed the date from January 7, when most Orthodox believers celebrate, as a snub to Russia.

“All Ukrainians are together,” said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a Christmas message released Sunday evening. “We all celebrate Christmas together. On the same date, as one big family, as one nation, as one united country.” …

“We believe that we really should celebrate Christmas with the whole world, far away, far away from Moscow. For me, that’s the new message now,” said one smiling parishioner, Olena, whose son is a medic on the front line.

“We really want to celebrate in a new way. This is a holiday with the whole of Ukraine, with our independent Ukraine. This is very important for us,” she told AFP.

Notice that the government of Ukraine made the change.

While this is portrayed as a snub against Russia, it is also a snub against the rest of the Eastern Orthodox Catholics who use the January 7 date.

Notice, for example, two reports from December 2022:

December 2, 2022

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine on Friday banned the activities of religious organizations “affiliated with centers of influence” in Russia and said it would examine the links between the Ukrainian and Russian Orthodox churches.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a decree enacting a National Security and Defense Council decision to impose personal sanctions against representatives of religious organizations associated with Russia, which invaded Ukraine more than nine months ago.

Zelenskyy’s decree additionally provided for examining the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate, one of two Orthodox bodies in Ukraine following a schism that in 2019 resulted in the establishment of one with independence from the Russian church.  …

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov accused Ukrainian authorities last week of “waging a war on the Russian Orthodox Church.” …

Orthodox Christians are the largest religious population in Ukraine. But they have been fractured along lines that echo political tensions over Ukraine’s defense of its independence and its Western orientation amid Russia’s continued claim to political and spiritual hegemony in the region — a concept sometimes called the “Russian world.” https://apnews.com/article/zelenskyy-kyiv-religion-europe-government-and-politics-7eaf9ac19b000a2147f0204877a0004e

December 12, 2022

Zelensky’s skill at public relations, which has led many to regard any criticism of him or his government as Russian propaganda.

Yet a closer look at life in Zelensky’s Ukraine reveals that it is not the paragon of democracy and Western values that everyone seems to think it is. Ukraine is a deeply corrupt country with wealthy oligarchs playing the same role there as they do in Putin’s Russia. Using the war as an excuse, Zelensky has banned his political opposition and shut down all media not controlled by his regime.

The latest example of his authoritarian style is even more egregious.

Zelensky’s attempt to bar Orthodox churches that answer to the Russian Orthodox Church ought to dispel any notion that Americans are supporting Western values of freedom in this war. …

The discovery of pro-Russia literature in some churches is being proclaimed as proof of treason. Others are dismissing the initial cries of outrage as misinformation. Zelensky hasn’t banned the Orthodox Church, his apologists say. Orthodox Christians are free to worship and attend services, but only in approved Ukrainian Orthodox churches that look to religious leaders in Kyiv rather than Moscow. …

This approach toward the Orthodox Church clearly contradicts those eager to portray this war as a clear-cut conflict between an authoritarian oppressor and a democratic underdog.

While Putin, in his quest to reassemble the old Tsarist and Soviet empires, should not be allowed to extinguish Ukraine’s right to self-determination, the reality on the ground is that many ethnic Russians and Russian speakers living in the country don’t identify with Ukrainian nationalism. So even churches that take no part in the conflict are seen by Zelensky and his cohorts as enemies. …

The apt comparison for Zelensky’s move against the Russian Orthodox Church here is not to democracies under siege but to communist China, which for decades limited Christian worship to only those Catholic or Protestant churches that pledged fealty to Beijing and the Communist Party and not to any independent religious authority. https://www.newsweek.com/zelensky-defender-democracy-opponent-religious-freedom-opinion-1766012

Volodymyr Zelensky  is a secular Jew. Yet, let me point out that it is not just the current government of Ukrainian with that approach or attitude.

Back in 2018, shortly thereafter, leaders in Ukraine met to become independent of the Moscow patriarch. Here is a report:

15 December 2018

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has announced the creation of an independent Ukrainian Orthodox Church, marking a historic split from Russia.

He said national security depended on “spiritual independence” from Russia.

He was speaking at a special council of orthodox priests in Kiev, where a new leader of the Church was selected.

The Russian Orthodox Church cut ties with the spiritual authority of the world’s Orthodoxy after it recognised the Ukrainian Church’s independence.

Russia also fears that its churches in Ukraine could be seized. …

The special council was held in the ancient St Sophia’s Cathedral – one of Kiev’s best known landmarks.

Ukrainian clerics of different Orthodox denominations – including some bishops from the Moscow branch – elected Metropolitan Epifaniy as the leader of the new church.

“This day will go into history as a sacred day… the day of the final independence from Russia,” President Poroshenko told a crowd of thousands outside the cathedral. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-46575548

Years back, the Russian church was concerned about this and asked for international assistance. And while the Vatican and the World Council of Churches were sympathetic to the Russia position, the Patriarch of Constantinople made a ruling in favor of the nationalistic Ukrainian Orthodox Church–which now the parliament of Ukraine has taken legal action to dissolve.

Anyway, there was not some new doctrinal change in the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) that caused Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople to recognize the Ukrainian Orthodox church as independent of the ROC.

Basically, that schism was due to politics. And since Jesus was not born on December 25th, the shift in date by the government of Ukraine was also about politics. Those in Western Europe and the USA — the suppliers of most of the funds and military equipment to Ukraine, observe Christmas on December 25th.

Notice also the following about the split between Ukraine and the Russian Orthodox Church back in December 2018– and the particular words of which I bolded:

A council of Orthodox bishops has created a new Ukrainian church, marking an historic split from Russia which its leaders see as vital to the country’s security and independence.

The announcement on Saturday came after Ukrainian priests held a synod in capital Kiev’s 11th-century Saint Sophia Cathedral to establish an Orthodox church independent from Moscow. …

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko announced that 39-year-old Metropolitan Epifaniy of the Kiev Patriarchate church is the head of the new church. His secular name is Sergiy Dumenko. …

“Ukraine was not, is not, and will not be the canonical territory of the Russian church,” Poroshenko said, adding that an independent Ukrainian Orthodox Church was now a “matter of national security”. …

In Moscow, the Russian Orthodox Church protested vigorously and dismissed the synod as uncanonical.

Vladimir Legoida, a spokesman for the Moscow church, told Russian state television that the Kiev synod had “no church, religious or evangelical meaning” and that it will have “no canonical consequences”.

Representatives of Ukraine’s three Orthodox Churches attended the synod, but only two from the branch loyal to Moscow showed up.

Russian bishop Metropolitan Hilarion in Volokolamsk on Saturday compared the two representatives of the Moscow-backed church to Judas. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/12/ukraine-creates-orthodox-church-independent-russia-181215171220016.html

Like the old Roman Emperors Constantine and Theodosius, rulers of Ukraine place their government over religion.

Actually, it was the sun god worshiping Emperor Constantine who wanted the December 25th originally as it was celebrated as the birthday of the sun god Mithra. The Catholic Encyclopedia notes:

Constantine the Great… Constantine can rightfully claim the title of Great, for he turned the history of the world into a new course and made Christianity…the religion of the State… it is easy to understand that many of the emperors yielded to the delusion that they could unite all their subjects in the adoration of the one sun-god who combined in himself the Father-God of the Christians and the much-worshipped Mithras; thus the empire could be founded anew on unity of religion. Even Constantine…cherished this mistaken belief… Could not Sol Deus Invictus, to whom even Constantine dedicated his coins for a long time, or Sol Mithras Deus Invictus, venerated by Diocletian and Galerius, become the supreme god of the empire?  Constantine may have pondered over this. Nor had he absolutely rejected the thought even after a miraculous event had strongly influenced him in favour of the God of the Christians… It is true that the believers in Mithras also observed Sunday as well as Christmas. Consequently Constantine speaks not of the day of the Lord, but of the everlasting day of the sun.  (Herbermann C., Georg Gp. Constantine the Great. The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 4. Nihil Obstat. Remy Lafort, Censor. Imprimatur. +John M. Farley, Archbishop of New York.  New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1908).

Mithraism A pagan religion consisting mainly of the cult of the ancient Indo-Iranian Sun-god Mithra. It entered Europe from Asia Minor after Alexander’s conquest, spread rapidly over the whole Roman Empire at the beginning of our era, reached its zenith during the third century, and vanished under the repressive regulations of Theodosius at the end of the fourth century…Helios Mithras is one god…Sunday was kept holy in honour of Mithra, and the sixteenth of each month was sacred to him as mediator. The 25 December was observed as his birthday, the natalis invicti, the rebirth of the winter-sun, unconquered by the rigours of the season (Arendzen J. Mithraism. The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume X. Nihil Obstat, October 1, 1911. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., Censor. Imprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911).

Furthermore, let me add that because the Demophilus, the Eastern Orthodox Patriarch of Constantinople from 370 A.D., was removed from his position by Emperor Theodosius in 380 A.D. because he would not go along with a doctrinal change that Theodosius insisted upon (for details, check out the article Did the True Church Ever Teach a Trinity?).

So, governmental involvement over religion is not new in the 21st century, yet it has been a factor in the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Back in December 2018, I also posted:

The schism between Constantinople and the ROC has the potential to cause Ukraine to split with part supporting Russia. (Thiel B. Ukrainian Orthodox meet to become separate: Russian Orthodox ask for the UN to intervene. COGwriter, December 15, 2018)

That has since happened. Much of the Donbas region is in support of Russia, aligned with it, and in 2022 was annexed by Russia.

That being said, yes politics plays a role in what is happening between Russia and Ukraine.

But religion is also involved as political leaders have long invoked it when it comes to military conflict.

That said, the Bible warns of another government power, led by the coming Babylonian European King of the North Beast and his two-horned beast accomplice, that will put even more controls on religion as discussed in the 13th chapter of the Book of Revelation:

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

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

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

11 Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth, and he had two horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon. 12 And he exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence, and causes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. 13 He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men. 14 And he deceives those who dwell on the earth by those signs which he was granted to do in the sight of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who was wounded by the sword and lived. 15 He was granted power to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed. 16 He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, 17 and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.

18 Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: His number is 666. (Revelation 13:1-18)

That said, at some point, there will be a temporary acceptance of the Ukrainian and Russian Orthodox churches with each other (as there will be temporal success of the interfaith and ecumenical movements). The current situation has been a factor in the shedding of blood in Ukraine and territories it once controlled.

Pray to the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6) for God’s kingdom to come (Matthew 6:10).