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February 8th is observed as International Septuagint Day.

Many, particularly Greco-Roman Catholics, consider that the Greek Septuagint Old Testament is superior to the Hebrew Masoretic text for the Old Testament. Plus, supporters of the Septuagint tend to accept books of the Bible that early Christians, current Church of God Christians, and Protestants do not accept as inspired.

Here is some information in it from our free online book Who Gave the World the Bible? The Canon: Why do we have the books we now do in the Bible? Is the Bible complete?:

The term ‘Septuagint’ (LXX) is from the Latin septuaginta, ‘seventy.’ This term septuaginta seems to have been first used by Augustine in his City of God (Sundberg AC, Jr. The Septuagint: The Bible of Hellenistic Judaism. In: The Canon Debate. Baker Academic, 2002) which was published in 426.

The Septuagint is a translation of Hebrew writings, which now includes ones known as the Old Testament as well as those often referred to as the Old Testament Apocrypha.

According to legend, seventy-two Jewish scholars were asked by the Greek King of Egypt Ptolemy II Philadelphus to translate the Torah (the first five books of the Bible) from biblical Hebrew into Greek. This was to be done on a scroll to be included in the famous Library of Alexandria shortly before it ended up burning down (Dines JM. The Septuagint. Michael A. Knibb, Ed., London: T&T Clark, 2004).

The legend claims that the translators each came up with identical translations of the Torah — Irenaeus of Lyon also pushed this story (Adversus Heresies, III, Chapter, 21, verse 2). That legend came from a falsified work. Here is some information about it:

Letter of Aristeas, pseudepigraphal work of pseudo-history produced in Alexandria … The author assumed the name of a 2nd-century-bc writer and purported to give a contemporary account of the translation of the Hebrew Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible, into Greek. He presented himself as a pagan admirer of Judaism who held a high position in the court of Ptolemy II Philadelphus (285–246 bc) in Alexandria. The writer used current Hellenistic literary conventions and the technical language of the Alexandrian court, but his Greek style and several historical inaccuracies indicate that he was a deliberate archaist. (Letter of Aristeas. Encyclopædia Britannica — accessed 04/17/20)

The initial ‘Septuagint’ translation was believed to have been done in the 2^nd and/or 3^rd century B.C. The Hellenistic Jews of Alexandria in Egypt ended up accepting and promoting this translation.

The Eastern Orthodox essentially believe that the Septuagint translators improved the Bible:

The Orthodox Church has the same New Testament as the rest of Christendom. As its authoritative text for the Old Testament, it uses the ancient Greek Septuagint. When this differs from the original Hebrew (which happens quite often), Orthodox believe that the changes in the Septuagint were made under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and are to be accepted as part of God’s continuing revelation. (Ware T. The Orthodox Church. Penguin Books, London, 1997, p.200)

Orthodox Metropolitan Hilarion Alfeyev notes:

 … though the Greek text is not the original language of the Old Testament books, the Septuagint does reflect the state of the original text as it would have been found in the third to second centuries BCE …  St. Philaret of Moscow considers it possible to maintain that “in the Orthodox teaching of Holy Scripture it is necessary to attribute a dogmatic merit to the Translation of the Seventy, in some cases placing it on equal level with the original and even elevating it above the Hebrew text, as is generally accepted in the most recent editions.” (Alfeyev H. Orthodox Christianity, Volume II: Doctrine and Teaching of the Orthodox Church, New York: St. Vladimir Seminary Press, 2012, p. 34)

Therefore, the Eastern Orthodox believe that the original inspiration of the Old Testament (which was mainly written in Hebrew) was improved by humans who translated it into Greek, in the version known as the Septuagint.

Jewish, as well as Church of God, scholars would consider that to effectively be a blasphemous position to take. Humans cannot improve the originally inspired word of God.

That being said, Greek Christians (like Theophilus of Antioch) who seemingly did not read Hebrew tended to read the Septuagint or similar translations of the Old Testament (not because they accepted the Apocrypha, but because it was available), but that does not mean they called it superior to the Hebrew text.

Notice also:

In the 3rd century ce Origen attempted to clear up copyists’ errors that had crept into the text of the Septuagint, which by then varied widely from copy to copy, and a number of other scholars consulted the Hebrew texts in order to make the Septuagint more accurate. (Septuagint. Encyclopædia Britannica — accessed 04/17/20)

Since the manuscripts of the Septuagint were copied by hand and by people of differing abilities, there were different versions of the Septuagint in existence. The translation of the book of Daniel was so poor that the second-century translation attributed to Theodotion replaced it.

By the 3^rd century, the textual problem had become so bad that Origen collected all the existing versions of the Septuagint and created a six-column work called the Hexapla. The Hexapla … was Origen’s ‘corrected’ text of the Septuagint. (Carlson K. Hidden in Plain Sight, Part I: The Development of the Canon. Dormition Publishing, 2019, p. 47)

So, this demonstrates whatever version that exists now was not fully in place during the time of Jesus and His disciples.

Furthermore, it should also be pointed out that Lucian of Antioch (late 3^rd and early 4^th century) while opposing allegorical positions (such as held by Origen) tried to correct translation errors in the Septuagint by consulting with the Hebrew texts:

Lucian was a Hebrew scholar, and his version was adopted by the greater number of the churches of Syria and in Asia Minor. (Duchesne L. Early History of the Christian Church: From Its Foundation to the End of the Third Century, Volume 1, 4^th edition. Longmans, Green & Co., 1912, p. 362)

Lucian also rejected the Apocrypha (Wilkinson BG. Truth Triumphant, ca. 1890. Reprint: Teach Services, Brushton, NY, 1994, p. 51). Waldensian and pre-Waldensians later used information from Lucian (Wilkinson BG. Our Authorized Bible Vindicated. 1930, reprint TEACH Services, 2014, pp. 31, 40).

Augustine of Hippo thought the Hebrew (the Masoretic) and Septuagint were both authoritative, even where they contradicted each other (Augustine. City of God, Book 18, Chapter 44). But he also seemed to show a preference for the Masoretic as ‘authoritative’ (Wendland E. HOW WE GOT THE BIBLE: Overview of Aspects of the Scripture Transmission Process, Version 2.6. Lusaka Lutheran Seminary, August 29, 2017, p. 20).

Jesus declared, “Scripture cannot be broken” (John 10:35), hence to suggest that scripture was broken and then declare it was later improved/fixed is theologically unsound. Changing/improving scripture is also in violation of numerous scriptures (e.g. Deuteronomy 4:2, 12:32; Proverbs 30:5; Psalm 12:6-7, 33:4, 119:160, Revelation 22:18).

We in the Continuing Church of God believe that the Bible is infallible as originally written and do not believe that the Holy Spirit improved the word of God through human translators. We believe God gave the world the Bible, through His chosen human instruments (2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:19-21), and it was infallible when given.

Some scholars have claimed that the term ‘Septuagint’ was developed from Exodus 24:1,9 where seventy elders were referred to, and that Moses and Aaron were added to come up with 72 translators (Sundberg AC, Jr. The Septuagint: The Bible of Hellenistic Judaism. In: The Canon Debate. Baker Academic, 2002). However, irrespective of where the term Septuagint may have come from, Moses did not write the Torah in Greek.

Chronology Errors

The Septuagint has errors in chronology related to Genesis 5 and 11. Even according to defenders of the Septuagint, this results in adding 1386 additional years as compared to the Masoretic text (e.g. Smith, HB, Jr. 2018.  The case for the Septuagint’s chronology in Genesis 5 and 11. In Proceedings of the Eighth International Conference on Creationism, ed. J.H. Whitmore, pp. 117–132. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Creation Science Fellowship).

Notice what a translation of the Septuagint teaches:

²⁵ And Mathusala lived an hundred and sixty and seven years, and begot Lamech. ²⁶ And Mathusala lived after his begetting Lamech eight hundred and two years, and begot sons and daughters. ²⁷ And all the days of Mathusala which he lived, were nine hundred and sixty and nine years, and he died. ²⁸ And Lamech lived an hundred and eighty and eight years, and begot a son. (Genesis 5:25-28, Elpenor’s Bilingual (Greek / English) Old Testament. English translation by L.C.L. Brenton)

²¹ And there died all flesh that moved upon the earth, of flying creatures and cattle, and of wild beasts, and every reptile moving upon the earth, and every man. ²² And all things which have the breath of life, and whatever was on the dry land, died. ²³ And [God] blotted out every offspring which was upon the face of the earth, both man and beast, and reptiles, and birds of the sky, and they were blotted out from the earth, and Noe was left alone, and those with him in the ark. (Genesis 7:21-23, Ibid)

The Septuagint has Methuselah living 802 years after Lamech was born and Lamech having a son Noah at age 188. This means that Methuselah lived 614 years after Noah was born. Yet, the Great Flood came in the 600th year of Noah’s life per Genesis 7:10-12.

This is a major problem for the Septuagint. Since all humans died from the Flood except those with Noah (Genesis 7:23), and Mathusula/Methuselah was not among them, because “Scripture cannot be broken” (John 10:35), the Bible itself proves that the Septuagint was wrong and the translation was NOT inspired by God. (Note: The Roman Catholic Douay Old Testament of 1609 does not agree with the Septuagint on Genesis 5:25-26, but with the chronology of the Masoretic text.)

According to the Masoretic text, Methuselah lived 782 years after Lamech was born and 600 years after Noah was born (Genesis 5:26-29). That means either Methuselah died right before the flood or, probably more likely, in the Flood. Methuselah did not live past the Flood.

There is another chronological item to consider with the Septuagint. “Figures from the LXX place creation at ca. 5554 BC” (Smith, p. 117).

This creates a problem for the Eastern Orthodox because several of their early saints taught that a millennial reign of 1,000 years would begin at the end of the 6,000 years (e.g. Irenaeus. Adversus haereses, Book V, Chapter 28:2-3; 29:2 and Methodius. Banquet of the Ten Virgins, Discourse 9, Chapter 1). Since the Septuagint’s 6,000 years would have been up in the 5^th century A.D., and the millennium then did not happen, this demonstrates that either Greco-Roman saints were in error and/or the Septuagint’s chronology was off.

Since the Masoretic text, in this author’s view, points to the creation being c. 3959-3971 B.C., we have not yet come to the end of the 6,000 years, though we are getting close.

Superiority?

 Many, particularly among the Eastern Orthodox, believe that the Septuagint is superior to the original Hebrew. Notice the following summary of claimed reasons from Alexandru Mihaila from the University of Bucharest Orthodox Theology Department:

I summarize the principal arguments in favor of the exclusiveness of the Septuagint:

– the Septuagint is older than the Masoretic Text;

– the Septuagint is inspired (a conception that started with Philo of Alexandria);

– the Holy Apostles and New Testament authors used the Septuagint;

– the Fathers of the Church quoted the Septuagint;

– the rabbis modified the Masoretic Text in order to eliminate the Messianic prophecies concerning Jesus Christ;

– the Septuagint is the official version of the Orthodox Church. (Mihăilă A. The Septuagint and the Masoretic Text in the Orthodox Church(es) Download Date | 9/18/19. https://docplayer.net/156142221-The-septuagint-and-the-masoretic-text-in-the-orthodox-church-es-alexandru-mihaila-recent-positions-of-romanian-theologians.html — accessed 03/24/20)

Let’s look at each of those.

First, it is true that several of the Septuagint documents are older than the Masoretic texts, but it is not in the original language of the Old Testament. It should be noted that the ‘Silver Scrolls’ provide evidence of the accuracy of the Masoretic text as far back as the 6^th and/or 7^th centuries B.C.—and they are older than the earliest Septuagint texts that have been found (c. 2^nd century B.C.). Additional reasons to accept the Masoretic text are found later in this book.

Second, claims of inspiration of translators have no basis in scripture and are mainly speculation. Because of errors in the Septuagint, any claims of Divine inspiration can be fully discounted. Furthermore, Philo of Alexandria believed that the world existed eternally in contradiction to the account in the Book of Genesis — he also held many other non-biblical positions.

Third, Jesus, at least sometimes, quoted from the Hebrew. And while New Testament authors and others writing in Greek sometimes quoted in ways consistent with the Septuagint, they never indicated that the Septuagint was in any way superior to the Hebrew originals or they would ALWAYS quote it precisely. The fact that a Greek translation of the Hebrew was sometimes correct, does not prove that God inspired the entire translation. Plus the fact that the Septuagint was changed after the original apostles died should show all that it was NOT directly inspired.

Fourth, the fact that some early Greek writers sometimes used a Greek translation of Hebrew does not mean that it was superior. Melito’s not listing the books in the order found in the Septuagint is, in essence, additional concurrence of that point.

Fifth, there is no proof that rabbis (or Levites) specifically altered the Masoretic text in order to eliminate prophecies associated with Jesus. Actually, the Great Isaiah Scroll found in Qumran, demonstrates that the Jews did not alter Isaiah.

Portion of the Great Isaiah Scroll

Furthermore, there are hundreds of prophecies from the Masoretic text that Jesus fulfilled—so obviously the Jews had not intentionally removed those. Those prophetic verses can be found in the free book, online at ccog.org, Proof Jesus is the Messiah.

Sixth, the fact that the Orthodox Catholic Church (as it is officially called) has adopted the Septuagint is true, but those in the COG and most other faiths do not consider their determination as authoritative (see also the free book, online at ccog.org, titled: Beliefs of the Original Catholic Church).

Seventh, the modern Septuagint contains books that neither Jesus nor the apostles accepted as valid.

Additional Books

After the Greek version of the Torah was completed, more books were later translated — but the original Septuagint did NOT include the Apocryphal books — they were added later.

Apocrypha comes from the Greek ἀπόκρυφος meaning ‘hidden’ or ‘secret wisdom.’ The apocryphal books, in other words, had a hidden beginning, a secret origin — not openly given to the community at first.

The Catholic Encyclopedia claims that the expanded list of Septuagint books (the Apocryphal ones), and not just the books that Jesus and others in Palestine used, is more complete and should be considered as sacred scripture:

… that there is a smaller, or incomplete, and larger, or complete, Old Testament. Both of these were handed down by the Jews; the former by the Palestinian, the latter by the Alexandrian, Hellenist, Jews. …

The most striking difference between the Catholic and Protestant Bibles is the presence in the former of a number of writings which are wanting in the latter and also in the Hebrew Bible, which became the Old Testament of Protestantism. These number seven books: Tobias (Tobit), Judith, Wisdom, Ecclesiasticus, Baruch, I and II Machabees, and three documents added to protocanonical books, viz., the supplement to Esther, from x, 4, to the end, the Canticle of the Three Youths (Song of the Three Children) in Daniel 3, and the stories of Susanna and the Elders and Bel and the Dragon, forming the closing chapters of the Catholic version of that book. Of these works, Tobias and Judith were written originally in Aramaic, perhaps in Hebrew; Baruch and I Machabees in Hebrew, while Wisdom and II Machabees were certainly composed in Greek. The probabilities favour Hebrew as the original language of the addition to Esther, and Greek for the enlargements of Daniel.

The ancient Greek Old Testament known as the Septuagint was the vehicle which conveyed these additional Scriptures into the Catholic Church. (Reid G. Canon of the Old Testament)

Sadly, improper books have been used as the vehicle to provide support for various non-scriptural positions related to the dead and improper worship.

Like the Catholics of Rome, the Eastern Orthodox believe it took many centuries to determine the books of the Bible that they accepted:

The Hebrew version of the Old Testament contains thirty-nine books. The Septuagint contains in addition ten further books not present in the Hebrew, which are known in the Orthodox Church as the ‘Deutero-Canonical Books’. These were declared by the Councils of Jassy (1641) and Jerusalem (1672) to be ‘genuine parts of Scripture’; (Ware, p. 200)

The late Septuagint included the Apocrypha, the so-called Deutero-Canonical Books, which means it had extra-books. These extra books are not inspired by God.

It may be of interest to note that those apocryphal books were not found in the Dead Sea Scrolls at Qumran.

“Based on the findings at Qumran, the Apocrypha was not viewed as canonical by the Qumran community. It was only during and after the time of Augustine (AD 354-430), when he, along with the local councils he influenced, declared the books of the Apocrypha inspired.” (Holden, p. 90)

Notice the following admission from an Eastern Orthodox source:

[M]ost Orthodox scholars … consider that the Deutero-Canonical Books, although part of the Bible, stand at a lower footing than the rest of scripture. (Ware, p.200)

So, while the Old Testament Apocrypha is accepted as scripture by the Eastern Orthodox, their scholars believe it is of lower footing than the actual biblical books.

This seems to be confusing for the Orthodox: it either is scripture or it is not! Of course, “God is not the author of confusion” (1 Corinthians 14:33).

The extra books were not divinely inspired. Though they can have some interesting historical information, they should not be considered part of the biblical canon.

Notice the following observation:

Numerous spurious books were gradually introduced into the inspired Canon. No two copies of the earliest Catholic Bibles agree as to which apocryphal books were to be added. It was not until 397 A.D., at the Council of Carthage, that Augustine, the Canaanite Bishop from Hippo in North Africa, led the Council of Carthage to generally approve seven Apocryphal books. As late as 363 A.D., at the Council of Laodicea the Greek Church rejected the Apocryphal books as a whole. … At the Council of Trent on April 8, 1546, those who rejected the Apocrypha were declared to be ‘anathema of Christ’! Here was the authority of men determining what others must believe. This was not the authority of God. (Do We Have The COMPLETE BIBLE? Ambassador College Publications, 1974)

Before going further, it may be of interest to note that the Church of Rome and the Eastern Orthodox do not accept ALL the extra books that are part of the Septuagint. Though, the Eastern Orthodox claim:

The official version of the Old Testament authorized by the Orthodox Church for use in worship and reading is that of the Septuagint. The number of books in the Septuagint Old Testament edition of the Bible are forty-nine books, twenty-seven in the New Testament. (Holy Scripture In The Orthodox Church. ‘The Bible.’ Compiled by Father Demetrios Serfes, Boise, Idaho, USA. August 20 2000)

Essentially, the Roman and Orthodox Catholics do not consider 2 Esdras, to be canonical (though it is in an appendix to the Slavonic Bible) nor 4 Maccabees (though it is in an appendix to the Greek Bible). 1 & 2 Esdras were part of the Latin Vulgate that Jerome originally prepared (though he endorsed neither one).

2 Esdras was possibly rejected by the Catholics of Rome and most of the Eastern Orthodox because it teaches that one should not pray for the dead as that will not affect their “punishment or reward” (2 Esdras 7:105; cf. 7:88). This is in contradiction to the Septuagint text of 2 Maccabees 12:45-46, which improperly endorses prayer for the dead.

The following additional Septuagint books are accepted by the Eastern Orthodox, but not the Roman Catholics:

• 1 Esdras
• Prayer of Manasseh
• 3 Maccabees
• 4 Maccabees
• Psalm 151 (in the Septuagint)
• Odes

Thus, neither the Church of Rome nor the Eastern Orthodox seemingly accept all the Septuagint books, and they also do not accept all of the same books. Note that the Eastern Orthodox say they have 79 books and the Church of Rome 73.

This would seem to be problematic in their talks about ecumenical unity. However, some of the text is the same in both Bibles, but categorized differently.

Some Quotes from the Apocrypha

Beyond the Jews and history, one can determine that the Apocrypha should not be considered as scripture as it contains doctrinal contradictions to the Bible.

For example, notice something from the fifth chapter of the Apocryphal Book of Tobit:

⁴ Tobiah went out to look for someone who would travel with him to Media, someone who knew the way. He went out and found the angel Raphael standing before him (though he did not know that this was an angel of God).

⁵ Tobiah said to him, “Where do you come from, young man?” He replied, “I am an Israelite, one of your kindred. I have come here to work.” …

¹¹ Tobit asked him, “Brother, tell me, please, from what family and tribe are you?”

¹² He replied, “Why? What need do you have for a tribe? Aren’t you looking for a hired man?” Tobit replied, “I only want to know, brother, whose son you truly are and what your name is.”

¹³ He answered, “I am Azariah, son of the great Hananiah, one of your own kindred.”

An angel of God would not lie about his ancestry. But that is what is happening in this book.

In chapter 6, this lying angel later told Tobit to get fish entrails:

⁷ Then the young man asked the angel this question: “Brother Azariah, what medicine is in the fish’s heart, liver, and gall?”

⁸ He answered: “As for the fish’s heart and liver, if you burn them to make smoke in the presence of a man or a woman who is afflicted by a demon or evil spirit, any affliction will flee and never return. ⁹ As for the gall, if you apply it to the eyes of one who has white scales, blowing right into them, sight will be restored.”

The Bible does not enjoin anything like burning fish entrails for removing demons.  This is not something that Jesus did (Matthew 5:8; 17:18), nor the Apostle Paul (Acts 16:18). Jesus also did not apply gall to eyes for healing (cf. Matthew 20:34; John 9:6-7).

Another false book of the Apocrypha is called Wisdom (or the Wisdom of Solomon). Its third chapter teaches:

¹⁶ But the children of adulterers will not reach maturity, the offspring of an unlawful bed will disappear.

¹⁷ Even if they live long, they will count for nothing, their old age will go unhonoured at the last; ¹⁸ while if they die early, they have neither hope nor comfort on the day of judgement, ¹⁹ for the end of a race of evil-doers is harsh.

So, in other words, Wisdom is teaching that if you are born outside of proper wedlock, you will likely not reach maturity. That is simply false.

Furthermore, Wisdom is teaching that a child of adultery will perish and there’s nothing anyone can do about it! This is against scriptures in the New Testament such as Mark 3:28, 1 Corinthians 6:9-11, and John 3:16-17 — as well as some in the Old Testament like Ezekiel 18:19-20.

The sixth chapter of the Book of Wisdom contains the following lie:

²⁴ In the greatest number of the wise lies the world’s salvation, in a sagacious king the stability of a people.

The wisdom of the world IS NOT salvation (cf. 1 Corinthians 1:19-29) —salvation only comes through Jesus (1 Corinthians 1:30; Acts 4:10-12).

Here are some passages from the third chapter of the book of Sirach also called Ecclesiasticus:

³ Those who honor their father atone for sins;

¹⁴ Kindness to a father will not be forgotten; it will serve as a sin offering — it will take lasting root. ¹⁵ In time of trouble it will be recalled to your advantage, like warmth upon frost it will melt away your sins.

³⁰ As water quenches a flaming fire, so almsgiving atones for sins.

While we are to honor our father (cf. Exodus 20:12) and give to the poor (cf. 2 Corinthians 9:9), these are not offerings that atone for sins. Sirach is clearly in conflict with New Testament scriptures such as Ephesians 2:8-10, Titus 3:3-7, Hebrews 10:4-10, and 1 John 2:2.

Notice the first several verses of the 12^th chapter of Sirach:

¹ If you do good, know for whom you are doing it, and your kindness will have its effect.

² Do good to the righteous and reward will be yours, if not from them, from the LORD.

³ No good comes to those who give comfort to the wicked, nor is it an act of mercy that they do. ⁴ Give to the good but refuse the sinner; ⁵ refresh the downtrodden but give nothing to the proud. No arms for combat should you give them, lest they use these against you; Twofold evil you will obtain for every good deed you do for them.

These passages clearly go against the teachings of Jesus in passages such as Matthew 5:43-48, 6:3, and Luke 6:27-36.

Sirach takes a negative stance against women (cf. Sirach 22:3). It also has the following statement which conflicts with scripture:

²⁴ With a woman sin had a beginning, and because of her we all die. (Sirach 25:24)

On this, let us look at some of what the New Testament teaches:

²¹ For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. ²² For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. (1 Corinthians 15:21-22)

The New Testament is blaming Adam, not Eve (cf. Romans 5:12-14; 1 Timothy 2:14) for death.

Sirach is obviously opposed to the Bible and no one should consider it as part of the Old Testament Canon.

There are many other passages from the Apocrypha that could be cited here to show that they should not be scripture. Hopefully, enough are cited here to provide you sufficient proof of that.

Note: The version of the Apocrypha shown in this section is that used at the website of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in 2017 (www.usccb.org) — lest any feel that a translation bias distorted their meaning.

The Jewish Encyclopedia of 1906 notes, “no controversy arose concerning the Apocrypha: all were agreed that they were non-canonical.”

Justin and Other Books?

Is there justification for other books in the Old Testament?

In what looks like a rather weak attempt to try to justify its use of the  additional books, The Catholic Encyclopedia states:

St. Justin Martyr is the first to note that the Church has a set of Old Testament Scriptures different from the Jews’, and also the earliest to intimate the principle proclaimed by later writers, namely, the self-sufficiency of the Church in establishing the Canon; its independence of the Synagogue in this respect. (Reid, Old Testament Canon)

Specifically, Justin claimed, that the Jews (‘they’) removed scriptures:

And I wish you to observe, that they have altogether taken away many Scriptures from the translations effected by those seventy elders who were with Ptolemy …

Trypho remarked, “Whether [or not] the rulers of the people have erased any portion of the Scriptures, as you affirm, God knows; but it seems incredible.”

“Assuredly,” said I, “it does seem incredible”. (Justin Martyr. Dialogue with Trypho, Chapters 71,73)

Justin seemed to teach that Jewish leaders removed passages from the Bible — he did not clearly teach that books were missing (Ibid. Chapters 71-73). Scholar F.F. Bruce indicated that Justin erroneously thought that words which were later added to the Septuagint by ‘Christians’ had been removed by the Jews in their scriptures (Bruce, The Canon of Scripture, p. 66).

Justin also stated that the Jews did NOT trust the Septuagint as they asserted the Septuagint translators improperly changed passages, but he wanted Trypho to trust it anyway (Justin Martyr. Dialogue with Trypho, Chapter 68).

Furthermore, Justin Martyr, in this author’s view, was an apostate and not a faithful Christian. While in Ephesus, Justin admitted that he did not live differently than the Gentiles (in violation of Paul’s admonition in Ephesians 4:17), taught God’s law was not in force, and did not observe the Sabbaths or the other Holy Days that the early Church did (Dialogue. Chapter 18). And, apparently, he did not accept the same content of the books that the disciples did for the Old Testament. Justin seemed to teach that the Jews eliminated parts by not accepting everything from the Septuagint translators. It may be important to note that Justin wrote decades BEFORE Melito, and Melito did not include any of the deuterocanonical books in his list.

After Justin Martyr left Ephesus he became influential in Rome. Eusebius noted:

And in Rome … Anicetus assumed the leadership of the Christians there … But Justin was especially prominent in those days. (Eusebius Church History. Book IV, Chapter 11)

Justin became so prominent that his influence was later being used as justification that ultimately led to the adoption of extra books in the Old Testament (Reid, Old Testament Canon) that were not in those scriptures used by Christ and the original apostles! He influenced Rome’s preference for the Septuagint.

Apocrypha Not Accepted by Certain Famous Greco-Roman Saints

As mentioned earlier, the books that the Roman Catholics and Eastern Orthodox tend to call the deuterocanonical books, are normally called the Apocrypha or the apocryphal books associated with the Old Testament. (There are also ones associated with the New Testament and they are specifically rejected by Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, Protestants, and those in the Churches of God.)

These books were not included in Melito’s list of the 2^nd century. They were also rejected in the third and fourth centuries by Greco-Roman scholars such as Origen, Athanasius, and Jerome (who was named Eusebius Hieronymus Sophronius), essentially because they understood that the books were not properly accepted by the Jews and did not agree with certain church teachings.

Origen of Alexandria (c. 200 A.D.), taught:

“It should be stated that the canonical books, as the Hebrews have handed them down, are twenty-two; corresponding with the number of their letters”. (Eusebius. Church History, Book VI, Chapter 25, verse 1)

He then listed the books as we know them from the Hebrew Bible. He did not list the Apocrypha as canonical and put Maccabees in a different category than canonical scripture (Ibid, verse 2).

Athanasius of Alexandria (c. 330 A.D.) taught:

The books of the Old Testament are twenty-two, which is the number of the letters among the Hebrews. Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, of Kings four, two books; of Paralipomenon (Chronicles) two, one book; Esdras two, one book; Psalms, Proverbs; twelve prophets, one book; then Isaiah, Jeremiah with Baruch, Lamentations, and epistles; Ezekiel and Daniel. Then there are books uncanonical, but readable, the Wisdom of Solomon, Sirach, Esther, Judith, Tobit. (As cited in Stowe CE. Apocryphal Books of the Old Testament. Bibliotheca sacra: a theological quarterly, Volume 11. Dallas Theological Seminary and Graduate School of Theology, April 1854, p. 298)

Notice, that although he was wrong about Esther and Baruch, Athanasius basically did not consider that the Apocrypha was part of the canon.  He also stated:

Since some persons have attempted to set in order the books that are called apocryphal, and to mix them with the divinely inspired Scriptures, of which we have been fully certified, as those who saw them from the beginning, and who, being ministers of that word, handed them down from our fathers, it seemed fitting to me, being exhorted thereto by the orthodox brethren, and having learned the truth, to set in order the canonical Scriptures, which have been handed down, and are believed to be from God; that every one who has been deceived, may convict those who led him astray. (ibid, pp. 298-299)

So, Athanasius said that people had been deceived by non-canonical books and that the Apocrypha was not canonical. He also claimed that the true books had been handed down from the beginning: and even though he himself did not know the precise list well, he was right about the correct books being handed down to the faithful (he also did list the 27 books of the New Testament in a letter in 367: Athanasius. 39^th Letter. Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series, Vol. 4. Edited by Philip Schaff and Henry Wace).

It should be noted that Athanasius is considered to be a major saint by the Greco-Romans as he was the biggest advocate of the trinity at the Council of Nicea and was outnumbered by non-trinitarians by about 8:1. Clearly, he did not accept the ‘deuterocanonical’ books.

Notice something from a Roman Catholic author:

The Septuagint tradition, which included not only the protocanonicals but also seven additional books … this tradition also had fuzzy boundaries. Some editions of the Septuagint included additional books such as 1-2 Esdras, 3-4 Maccabees, and the Prayer of Manasseh. (Akin J. The Bible is a Catholic Book. Catholic Answers Press, 2019, p. 41)

‘Fuzzy boundaries’ means that scholars realize that the Septuagint’s traditional inclusion of various books cannot be trusted and some versions of the Septuagint have even more improper books.

“God is not the author of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints” (1 Corinthians 14:33).

Jerome and the Deuterocanonical Books

The Catholic Encyclopedia notes:

St. Jerome cast his weighty suffrage on the side unfavourable to the disputed books … Jerome lived long in Palestine, in an environment where everything outside the Jewish Canon was suspect, and that, moreover, he had an excessive veneration for the Hebrew text, the Hebraica veritas as he called it. … the inferior rank to which the deuteros were relegated by authorities like Origen, Athanasius, and Jerome, was due to too rigid a conception of canonicity, one demanding that a book, to be entitled to this supreme dignity, must be received by all, must have the sanction of Jewish antiquity, and must moreover be adapted not only to edification, but also to the ‘confirmation of the doctrine of the Church’, to borrow Jerome’s phrase. (Reid, Old Testament Canon)

But Jerome did not simply consider these additions were inferior.

Notice here where he calls Judith a historical book (as opposed to divinely inspired), but says he was forced to include it:

Among the Jews, the book of Judith is considered among the apocrypha; its warrant for affirming those [apocryphal texts] which have come into dispute is deemed less than sufficient. Moreover, since it was written in the Chaldean language, it is counted among the historical books. But since the Nicene Council is considered to have counted this book among the number of sacred Scriptures, I have acquiesced to your request (or should I say demand!): and, my other work set aside, from which I was forcibly restrained, I have given a single night’s work, translating according to sense rather than verbatim. (Jerome. Jerome, The Preface on the Book of Judith: English translation by Andrew S. Jacobs)

Notice that Jerome called it apocrypha and that he did not consider that it actually was considered sacred at the time of Nicea (325 A.D.). Notice also the following he wrote about Tobias:

I do not cease to wonder at the constancy of your demanding. For you demand that I bring a book written in Chaldean words into Latin writing, indeed the book of Tobias, which the Hebrews exclude from the catalogue of Divine Scriptures, being mindful of those things which they have titled Hagiographa. I have done enough for your desire, yet not by my study. For the studies of the Hebrews rebuke us and find fault with us, to translate this for the ears of Latins contrary to their canon. (Jerome, Prologue to Tobit. Translated by Kevin P. Edgecomb, 2006)

Notice also that Jerome specifically stated that the churches condemned the Septuagint additions to the Book of Daniel:

In reference to Daniel … I also told the reader that the version read in the Christian churches was not that of the Septuagint translators but that of Theodotion. It is true, I said that the Septuagint version was in this book very different from the original, and that it was condemned by the right judgment of the churches of Christ … I repeat what the Jews say against the Story of Susanna and the Hymn of the Three Children, and the fables of Bel and the Dragon, which are not contained in the Hebrew Bible. (Jerome. Apology Against Rufinus, Book II, Chapter 33)

The Septuagint version includes a section called Bel and the Dragon and the Susanna story — which were originally written in Greek (Bruce, The Canon of Scripture, p. 76) — these are two sections that the original Hebrew does not have, but they have been accepted by the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches as part of their Bible.

Here is a Roman Catholic claim:

Saint Jerome … used the Septuagint Greek version and retained all forty-six Old Testament books with the twenty-seven New Testament books to formulate the first single-volume edition of the Christian Bible, totaling seventy-three books. Things didn’t change for fifteen centuries until the Protestant Reformation. (Brighenti KK, Trijilio J Jr. The Catholicism Answer Book: The 300 Most Frequently Asked Questions. Sourcebooks, Inc, 2007, p. 23)

Yet that certainly gives the wrong impression. Jerome was opposed to the Apocrypha and other Roman leaders were uncertain about them. Nor was it 15 centuries to the Protestant Reformation — it was just over 11. Plus, Jerome used the Hebrew text for the Old Testament when he could (Francis, Pope. APOSTOLIC LETTER SCRIPTURAE SACRAE AFFECTUS OF THE HOLY FATHER FRANCIS ON THE SIXTEEN HUNDREDTH ANNIVERSARY OF THE DEATH OF SAINT JEROME. Copyright – Libreria Editrice Vaticana, September 30, 2020)—he used comparatively little of the Septuagint itself as he preferred the Hebrew first and the Greek text by Theodotion and others secondarily (Worth Jr, RH. Bible Translations: A History Through Source Documents. McFarland Publishing, 1992, pp. 19–30).

Regarding Jerome and his involvement with scripture, Pope Francis went so far as to declare:

Jerome can serve as our guide because, like Philip (cf. Acts 8:35), he leads every reader to the mystery of Jesus, while responsibly and systematically providing the exegetical and cultural information needed for a correct and fruitful reading of the Scriptures. (Francis, APOSTOLIC LETTER SCRIPTURAE SACRAE AFFECTUS)

Yet, if Jerome is the guide for Roman Catholics, they would have to admit that he did not want people to value the Apocrypha of the Septuagint.

Consider that Jerome accepted the 22 books as the Hebrews numbered them as inspired and not the Apocrypha:

Jerome, writing about A.D. 400, has left two lists of OT books.  Both agree with the Protestant OT canon, though the order varies and the two lists differ in order.  He lists the books of the OT in his Prologus Galeatus (written in 388) and numbers them twenty-two according to the letters of the Hebrew alphabet.  Others he says are among the Apocrypha and names Wisdom of Solomon, Ecclesiasticus, Judith, Tobit, the post-Christian Shepherd of Hermas (or as some think 4 Esdras), and the books of Maccabees.  It has always been regarded as curious that the man who translated the VULGATE Bible used by Roman Catholics with its Apocrypha is a most explicit witness against the Apocrypha. (Tenney MC. The Zondervan Encyclopedia of the Bible, Volume 1: Revised Full-Color Edition — Kindle. Zondervan Academic, 2010)

Furthermore, Jerome specifically challenges the validity of the Septuagint and states that the Hebrew Bible was used by Jesus and the Apostles:

The Hebrew Scriptures are used by apostolic men; they are used, as is evident, by the apostles and evangelists. Our Lord and Saviour himself whenever he refers to the Scriptures, takes his quotations from the Hebrew; as in the instance of the words “He that believes in me, as the Scripture has said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water,” and in the words used on the cross itself, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani,” which is by interpretation “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” not, as it is given by the Septuagint, “My God, my God, look upon me, why have you forsaken me?” and many similar cases. I do not say this in order to aim a blow at the seventy translators; but I assert that the Apostles of Christ have an authority superior to theirs. Wherever the Seventy agree with the Hebrew, the apostles took their quotations from that translation; but, where they disagree, they set down in Greek what they had found in the Hebrew. (Jerome. Apology Against Rufinus, Book II, Chapter 34)

Jerome, the person who, in a sense, gave the Church of Rome the Bible, was opposed to books that he was required to include. He also correctly believed that the translation of the Septuagint was inferior to the Apostles’ writings.

While Jerome was apparently pressured to state otherwise later in his life, his writings clearly show he had serious misgivings about the Apocrypha and realized those books were not originally part of the Bible.

Historical Catholic Concerns

Origen, Jerome, and Athanasius were not the only Roman or Eastern Orthodox leaders with concerns about the extra books.

Cyril of Jerusalem (4^th century) also indicated that the Apocryphal books were considered to be of lesser reliability as he wrote:

We speak not from apocryphal books, but from Daniel; for he says, And they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and half a time. A time is the one year in which his coming shall for a while have increase; and the times are the remaining two years of iniquity, making up the sum of the three years; and the half a time is the six months. (Cyril of Jerusalem. Catechetical Lecture 15 On the Clause, And Shall Come in Glory to Judge the Quick and the Dead; Of Whose Kingdom There Shall Be No End, Chapter 16. From Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series, Vol. 7. Edited by Philip Schaff and Henry Wace. Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1894)

The Roman Catholic Church recognizes its leaders had concerns about these additional Old Testament books for centuries. The Catholic Encyclopedia notes:

THE CANON OF THE OLD TESTAMENT DURING THE FOURTH, AND FIRST HALF OF THE FIFTH, CENTURY

In this period the position of the deuterocanonical literature is no longer as secure … Alexandria, with its elastic Scriptures, had from the beginning been a congenial field for apocryphal literature, and St. Athanasius, the vigilant pastor of that flock, to protect it against the pernicious influence, drew up a catalogue of books with the values to be attached to each. First, the strict canon and authoritative source of truth is the Jewish Old Testament, Esther excepted … Following the precedent of Origen and the Alexandrian tradition, the saintly doctor recognized no other formal canon of the Old Testament than the Hebrew one; but also, faithful to the same tradition, he practically admitted the deutero books to a Scriptural dignity, as is evident from his general usage …

THE CANON OF THE OLD TESTAMENT FROM THE MIDDLE OF THE FIFTH TO THE CLOSE OF THE SEVENTH CENTURY

This period exhibits a curious exchange of opinions between the West and the East, while ecclesiastical usage remained unchanged, at least in the Latin Church. During this intermediate age the use of St. Jerome’s new version of the Old Testament (the Vulgate) became widespread in the Occident. With its text went Jerome’s prefaces disparaging the deuterocanonicals, and under the influence of his authority the West began to distrust these and to show the first symptoms of a current hostile to their canonicity …

The Latin Church

In the Latin Church, all through the Middle Ages we find evidence of hesitation about the character of the deuterocanonicals. (Reid, Canon of the Old Testament. The Catholic Encyclopedia)

Even into the Middle Ages, the Roman Catholic Church was not sure if the deuterocanonical books were on a par with scripture!

Either they always were inspired by God or always were not.

Thus, while many of the Greco-Roman churches knew which were and were not the true books at least as early as the fourth and fifth centuries, there still was contention. Additional books came to be accepted by them that were NOT part of the original faith, which true Christians are to earnestly contend for (Jude 3).

Catholic theologians, like 11^th century Saxony priest Hugh of St. Victor, taught that the additional books were not scripture (Hugh. On the Sacraments, I, Prologue. As cited in Bruce, The Canon of Scripture, p. 99).

Notice something from ArmenianBible.org (accessed 04/16/20):

Not till the 8th century was the Apocrypha rendered into Armenian: it was not read in Armenian churches until the 12th.

Furthermore, these additional books were not once and for all officially adopted by Rome until 1546. The use of the term ‘deuterocanonical’ seems to have first been used in the 16^th century (Bruce, The Canon of Scripture, p. 105) and is essentially an admission that they were not original.

The Catholic Encyclopedia also states:

The protocanonical books of the Old Testament correspond with those of the Bible of the Hebrews, and the Old Testament as received by Protestants. The deuterocanonical (deuteros, ‘second’) are those whose Scriptural character was contested in some quarters, but which long ago gained a secure footing in the Bible of the Catholic Church, though those of the Old Testament are classed by Protestants as the ‘Apocrypha’. … The Septuagint version was the Bible of the Greek-speaking, or Hellenist, Jews, whose intellectual and literary centre was Alexandria (see SEPTUAGINT). The oldest extant copies date from the fourth and fifth centuries of our era … The most explicit definition of the Catholic Canon is that given by the Council of Trent, Session IV, 1546 … The order of books copies that of the Council of Florence, 1442, and in its general plan is that of the Septuagint. (Reid, Old Testament Canon)

Why were they adopted in the 16^th century?

Here is the view of a Protestant writer:

There is a mistaken belief among some that the Apocrypha books were part of the Bible, and that these were rejected by the Protestant Reformers. On the contrary, the Apocrypha books were never a part of the Old Testament Canon. Thus there is no question of the Reformers dropping out some books from the Canon. Rather, it is the Roman Catholic Church which ADDED these books to the Canon by a proclamation made at the Council of Trent…

With the Protestant Reformation, many of the Reformers challenged the Catholic church to prove their doctrine by supporting these from the Canon. To their dismay the Roman Catholics discovered that many of their doctrines are not derived from the Canon. At the same time they realized that at least some of these erroneous doctrines are supported by the Apocrypha. Thus for their survival it became necessary to add the Apocrypha to the Canon.

In 1545 the Roman Catholic Church convened what is called the Council Of Trent. Here they passed numerous resolutions, including many curses against the Protestant Believers. In April 1545 the Council declared that the Apocrypha are also part of the Bible. Thus for the first time in history the Apocrypha books were ADDED by the Roman Catholic church to the Bible. This was done in order to justify their doctrinal errors (for which support was available only in the Apocrypha), and also to oppose the Protestant believers. The first Vatican Council held 1869-70 reaffirmed the decision of the Roman Catholic Church to add the Apocrypha to the Canon.

Historically and theologically the Apocrypha was never part of the Canon. (Philip JC. Reliability of The Canon. Indus School of Apologetics and Theology Textbook No -004A1, version used in 2006)

The Roman Catholics were not the only ones to adopt those so-called deuterocanonical books. The Eastern Orthodox Church did as well.

It should also be noted, further, that John Wycliffe included them in his 1384 and 1395 translations (Bruce, The Canon of Scripture, p. 100). Also, in the original of the King James Version of the Bible in 1611, Protestants did also include the Old Testament Apocrypha, but later they were dropped from it (for the last time around 1666).

An Anglican canon, with the Apocrypha declared not to be of ‘divine origin,’ appeared in 1644 (Bruce, The Canon of Scripture, p. 109). In 1826, after the Protestant National Bible Society of Scotland petitioned the British and Foreign Bible Society not to print the Apocrypha, they ceased to be in most Protestant Bibles.

Protestants have claimed the Apocrypha were originally included in their Bibles for historical, not scriptural, value.

The following is from the Statement of Beliefs of the Continuing Church of God:

THE HOLY BIBLE

The Holy Bible is the inspired Word of God and was finalized by the Apostle John (see also Who Gave the World the Bible?). As commonly divided, it is a collection of 66 books, with 39 from the Hebrew scriptures (The Old Testament Canon) and 27 from the Greek Scriptures (The New Testament Canon). Scripture is inspired in thought and word and contains knowledge of what is needed for salvation (2 Timothy 3:15-17; Matthew 4:4; 2 Peter 1:20-21). Scripture is truth (John 17:17) and is infallible and inerrant in its original manuscripts (John 10:35).

We in the Continuing Church of God are following the Apostle Jude’s admonition “to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3). The Roman and Eastern Orthodox churches clearly are NOT doing this as they adopted books that early leaders knew were not part of the true canon.

The 39 books that are in the Old Testaments that those in the COGs and Protestant Churches use are the correct books of the Old Testament.

Even the Roman Catholic supporting Jerome recognized some of the flaws of the deuterocanonical books. His original research made him only accept the 39 Old Testament books as truly valid and seemingly he partially consulted with those who held Church of God doctrines when he put his books together.

The true Old Testament canon is based on the biblical criteria and this canon essentially was affirmed during the 2^nd century by one considered to have been faithful (Melito).

While it is true, in a sense, that ‘the Church gave the world the Bible’ — it was the church established by Christ through the apostles Peter, Paul, and John and their successors as inspired by the Holy Spirit that did so. This was the Church of God which Polycarp and other early saints became part of.

Consider that:

just because a book is found in the Septuagint, doesn’t automatically mean that it is canonical. Do you believe the Prayer of Manasseh is canonical? The Vulgate’s 3 Esdras, or Maccabees 3 and 4? How about Psalm 151 or the Psalms of Solomon? No, I don’t think you would believe that, yet these books are in some of the Septuagint manuscripts. So, don’t try to say that the deuterocanonicals are equal in inspiration to the protocanonical books just because they are found in the Septuagint.

(http://answeringcatholicclaims.blogspot.com/2012/02/did-catholic-church-give-us-bible.html)

The Catholic Encyclopedia refers to the “admitted absence of any explicit citation of the deutero writings … the non-citation of the deuterocanonicals in the New Testament” (Reid, George. Canon of the Old Testament. The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 3., 1908), while also admitting that most of the other books of the Old Testament are cited in the New.

Jesus and His apostles DID NOT consider that the extra books that the Church of Rome accepts were valid or that they were validated by events recorded in the New Testament.

Quotes in the New Testament from the Greek

Does the Greek New Testament ever quote the Septuagint?

Here is what the Greco-Roman Catholic priest Jerome wrote about the Book of Matthew and its use of the Old Testament:

Matthew, also called Levi, apostle and aforetimes publican, composed a gospel of Christ at first published in Judea in Hebrew for the sake of those of the circumcision who believed, but this was afterwards translated into Greek though by what author is uncertain. The Hebrew itself has been preserved until the present day in the library at Caesarea which Pamphilus so diligently gathered. I have also had the opportunity of having the volume described to me by the Nazarenes of Beroea, a city of Syria, who use it. In this it is to be noted that wherever the Evangelist, whether on his own account or in the person of our Lord the Saviour quotes the testimony of the Old Testament he does not follow the authority of the translators of the Septuagint but the Hebrew. Wherefore these two forms exist “Out of Egypt have I called my son,” and “for he shall be called a Nazarene”. (Jerome. De Viris Illustribus [On Illustrious Men]. Excerpted from Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series, Volume 3. Edited by Philip Schaff and Henry Wace. American Edition, 1892)

This was cited to show that the Hebrew scriptures were what were normally used for scripture in Palestine/Judea.

But, since nearly all of the New Testament was written in Greek, it is logical that Greek translations were sometimes quoted.

John Ogwyn noted:

Should we be concerned that some New Testament quotations from the Old Testament {seemingly} were taken from a Greek translation—the Septuagint—rather than from the Hebrew Masoretic Text? Greek was the most universal language at the time when the New Testament was being written.

Gentile converts were unfamiliar with the Hebrew language and even most Jews outside of Palestine no longer had a good reading knowledge of Hebrew.

The Septuagint was a Greek translation of the Old Testament that had been made in Egypt.

But it was not the only Greek translation of the Old Testament available in the time when the New Testament was written. There was at least one Greek translation that differed significantly from the Septuagint.

It was used by Theodotion in the second century ad for his revised Greek text of the Old Testament.

The book of Daniel, as preserved in Greek translation by Theodotion, matches far more closely the quotations from Daniel in the New Testament than does the Septuagint, for instance. Though none of the Greek translations of the Old Testament were totally accurate, most of their deviations from the Hebrew text were in areas that did not affect the overall sense of the message …

Gleason Archer and G. C. Chirichigno in their comprehensive work, Old Testament Quotations in the New Testament: A Complete Survey, make the following points about New Testament quotations: 1) in 268 New Testament citations both the Septuagint and Masoretic Text are in complete harmony; 2) in 50 citations the New Testament agrees with the Septuagint, even though it differs slightly from the Masoretic Text (although not seriously enough to distort the meaning); 3) in 33 citations the New Testament adheres more closely to the Masoretic Text than to the Septuagint; 4) in 22 citations the New Testament adheres closely to the Septuagint even when it deviates somewhat from the Masoretic Text.

The New Testament writers only made use of Septuagint quotations if those passages properly conveyed the inspired meaning of the Hebrew text. (Ogwyn J. How Did We Get The Bible? Tomorrow’s World, January-February 2002)

Essentially, John Ogwyn was saying that New Testament writers did not rely on translated passages of the Old Testament into Greek that differed materially from the original Hebrew. Therefore, one should not conclude that the entire, flawed, Septuagint was acceptable to them (though where it was not flawed and a proper translation, they could have used it or something similar).

Others have claimed that:

TWO OUT OF EVERY THREE QUOTATIONS from the OLD TESTAMENT FOUND IN THE NEW DO NOT AGREE VERBALLY WITH THE READING OF THE SEPTUAGINT translation of the Old Testament. (Do We Have The COMPLETE BIBLE? Ambassador College Publications, 1974)

Now, the Eastern Orthodox believe that the majority of Old Testament quotes are based on the Septuagint, but that is mainly an assumption since most are not direct quotes, which one would logically conclude they would have to be if the Septuagint was the preferred and divinely inspired source.

While the Eastern Orthodox generally claim that the Masoretic Text (Hebrew Bible with vowels and limited punctuation) is flawed and has been changed, their proof is lacking (more on the Masoretic Text is in the next chapter).

This author states that the type of ‘proof’ that the Septuagint was inspired is reminiscent of the same type of ‘proof’ that people bring out when they claim that the New Testament was written in Aramaic and not Greek (for specific details, check out the following link: www.cogwriter.com/greek-aramaic-hebrew-new-testament.htm).

Furthermore, unlike the Septuagint, the Masoretic text does not include the Old Testament Apocrypha.

While it can give insight into the ancient understanding of certain words, events, and concepts, the Septuagint is NOT a better version of the Old Testament than the Masoretic Hebrew text. Plus it has non-biblical books.

More on it and the Bible can be found in the free online book: Who Gave the World the Bible? The Canon: Why do we have the books we now do in the Bible? Is the Bible complete?

An online sermon of related interest is also available: The Septuagint and its Apocrypha,

Some items of possibly related interest may include:

Who Gave the World the Bible? The Canon: Why do we have the books we now do in the Bible? Is the Bible complete? Are there lost gospels? What about the Apocrypha? Is the Septuagint better than the Masoretic text? What about the Textus Receptus vs. Nestle Alland? Was the New Testament written in Greek, Aramaic, or Hebrew? Which translations are based upon the best ancient text? Did the true Church of God have the canon from the beginning? Here are links to related sermons: Let’s Talk About the Bible, The Books of the Old Testament, The Septuagint and its Apocrypha, Masoretic Text of the Old Testament, and Lost Books of the Bible, and Let’s Talk About the New Testament, The New Testament Canon From the Beginning, English Versions of the Bible and How Did We Get Them?, What was the Original Language of the New Testament?, Original Order of the Books of the Bible, and Who Gave the World the Bible? Who Had the Chain of Custody?
Read the Bible Christians should read and study the Bible. This article gives some rationale for regular bible reading, certain ancient texts, and discusses translations. Here is a link in Mandarin Chinese: ‹ûW#~Ï Here is a link in the Spanish language: Lea la Biblia..
Bible: Superstition or Authority? Should you rely on the Bible? Is it reliable? Herbert W. Armstrong wrote this as a booklet on this important subject.
Is God’s Existence Logical? Is it really logical to believe in God? Yes! This is a free online booklet that deal with improper theories and musings called science related to the origin of the origin of the universe, the origin of life, and evolution. An animated video of related interest is also available: Big Bang: Nothing or Creator?
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.
Beliefs of the Original Catholic Church. 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, and What Type of Catholic was Polycarp of Smyrna?, Tradition, Holy Days, Salvation, Dress, & Celibacy, and Early Heresies and Heretics, and Doctrines: 3 Days, Abortion, Ecumenism, Meats, Tithes, Crosses, Destiny, and more, and Saturday or Sunday?, The Godhead, Apostolic Laying on of Hands Succession, and Church in the Wilderness Apostolic Succession List.
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?
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.

Thailand street vendor (Pixabay)

COGwriter

The Continuing Church of God is pleased to announce this sermon from its ContinuingCOG channel:

56:18

Thailand: Origins, Prophecies, and God’s Loving Plan

Nearly 66 million people live in Thailand. Thailand also joined the BRICS group of nations in 2025. Where did the Thai people come from? What are some concerns related to Buddhism, the primary religion of most of the Thai people? What about the impact of the dragon, that serpent of old called the Devil and the dragon? Do the Thais look prophesied to support a Russian-led confederation against the end time European Babylonian beast power? What about salvation? Is eternal torment or deification God’s loving plan? Dr. Thiel goes over scriptures as well as some of the witness that the people of Thailand have had.

Some items of possibly related interest may include:

Thailand: Any Witness? Prophecies? Ultimate Destiny? Where did the Thai people descend from? Any witness” What will happen to them? Here is a link to a related sermon:  Thailand: Origins, Prophecies, and God’s Loving Plan.
Asia in Prophecy What is Ahead for Asia? Who are the “Kings of the East”? What will happen to nearly all the Chinese, Russians, Indians, and others of Asia? China in prophecy, where? Who has the 200,000,000 man army related to Armageddon? Here is a link to a related sermon: Asia in Prophecy. Two YouTube video are Is China THE Threat to the United States of America? and China: A King of the East.
Mysteries of God. What is God? Is God omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent? Does the Godhead consist of a closed trinity or an expanding family?
The MYSTERY of GOD’s PLAN: Why Did God Create Anything? Why did God make you? This free online book helps answers some of the biggest questions that human have, including the biblical meaning of life. Here is a link to three related sermons: Mysteries of God’s Plan, Mysteries of Truth, Sin, Rest, Suffering, and God’s Plan, and The Mystery of YOU.
Christians: Ambassadors for the Kingdom of God, Biblical instructions on living as a Christian This is a scripture-filled booklet for those wishing to live as a real Christian. A related sermon is also available: Christians are Ambassadors for the Kingdom of God. Here is a video in Spanish: ¿Qué es un verdadero cristiano?
The Gospel of the Kingdom of God This free online pdf booklet has answers many questions people have about the Gospel of the Kingdom of God and explains why it is the solution to the issues the world is facing. Here are links to three related sermons: The World’s False Gospel, The Gospel of the Kingdom: From the New and Old Testaments, and The Kingdom of God is the Solution.
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.
Hope of Salvation: How the Continuing Church of God Differs from Protestantism The CCOG is NOT Protestant. This free online book explains how the real Church of God differs from mainstream/traditional Protestants. Several sermons related to the free book are also available: Protestant, Baptist, and CCOG History; The First Protestant, God’s Command, Grace, & Character; The New Testament, Martin Luther, and the Canon; Eucharist, Passover, and Easter; Views of Jews, Lost Tribes, Warfare, & Baptism; Scripture vs. Tradition, Sabbath vs. Sunday; Church Services, Sunday, Heaven, and God’s Plan; Seventh Day Baptists/Adventists/Messianics: Protestant or COG?; Millennial Kingdom of God and God’s Plan of Salvation; Crosses, Trees, Tithes, and Unclean Meats; The Godhead and the Trinity; Fleeing or Rapture?; and Ecumenism, Rome, and CCOG Differences.
Where is the True Christian Church Today? This free online pdf booklet answers that question and includes 18 proofs, clues, and signs to identify the true vs. false Christian church. Plus 7 proofs, clues, and signs to help identify Laodicean churches. A related sermon is also available: Where is the True Christian Church? Here is a link to the booklet in the Spanish language: ¿Dónde está la verdadera Iglesia cristiana de hoy? Here is a link in the German language: WO IST DIE WAHRE CHRISTLICHE KIRCHE HEUTE? Here is a link in the French language: Où est la vraie Église Chrétienne aujourd’hui?
Continuing History of the Church of God This pdf booklet is a historical overview of the true Church of God and some of its main opponents from Acts 2 to the 21st century. Related sermon links include Continuing History of the Church of God: c. 31 to c. 300 A.D. and Continuing History of the Church of God: 4th-16th Centuries. The booklet is available in Spanish: Continuación de la Historia de la Iglesia de Dios, German: Kontinuierliche Geschichte der Kirche Gottes, and Ekegusii Omogano Bw’ekanisa Ya Nyasae Egendererete.
Faith for Those God has Called and Chosen What is faith? Can faith be increased? Are you saved by faith? What about works? Do Christians need to keep the Ten Commandments? What is the ‘faith chapter’? How do the just live by faith? Is faith one of the weightier matters of the law? How does faith come? Marque aquí para ver el pdf folleto: Fe para aquellos que Dios ha llamado y escogido. In German: Glaube für die von GottBerufenen und Auserwählten. In French: La Foi pour ceux que Dieu a Appelés et Choisis. Here is a link to a related sermon titled: Faith for the Called and Chosen.and here is a link to another sermon Faith and Courage. Here is a link to shorter version of the written article in Mandarin Chinese 一篇关于信仰的小文章. Here are links to the sermons Christian Faith and Increasing Faith.
Prayer: What Does the Bible Teach? This free booklet contains 28 biblically-based tips on improving the effectiveness of your prayers. This is a pdf. A related two part sermon is available: What Does the Bible Teach About Prayer? and What does the Bible Teach About Prayer (& Healing)?
Is God Calling You? This booklet discusses topics including calling, election, and selection. If God is calling you, how will you respond? Here is a link to a related sermon: Could God be Calling You? A short animation is also available: Is God Calling You?
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
Is God’s Existence Logical? Is it really logical to believe in God? Yes! Would you like Christian answers to give atheists? This is a free online booklet that deal with improper theories and musings called science related to the origin of the origin of the universe, the origin of life, and evolution. Two animated videos of related interest are also available: Big Bang: Nothing or Creator?and A Lifegiver or Spontaneous Evolution?
Universal OFFER of Salvation, Apokatastasis: Can God save the lost in an age to come? Hundreds of scriptures reveal God’s plan of salvation Will all get a fair chance at salvation? This free book is packed with scriptures showing that God does intend to offer salvation to all who ever lived–the elect in this age, and the rest in the age to come. Here is a link to a related sermon series: Universal Offer of Salvation 1: Apocatastasis, Universal Offer of Salvation 2: Jesus Desires All to be Saved, Mysteries of the Great White Throne Judgment (Universal Offer of Salvation part 3), Is God Fair, Will God Pardon the Ignorant?, Can God Save Your Relatives?, Babies, Limbo, Purgatory and God’s Plan, and ‘By the Mouth of All His Holy Prophets’.
Christians: Ambassadors for the Kingdom of God, Biblical instructions on living as a Christian This is a scripture-filled booklet for those wishing to live as a real Christian. A related sermon is also available: Christians are Ambassadors for the Kingdom of God.
The Ten Commandments: The Decalogue, Christianity, and the Beast This is a free pdf book explaining the what the Ten Commandments are, where they came from, how early professors of Christ viewed them, and how various ones, including the Beast of Revelation, will oppose them. A related sermon is titled: The Ten Commandments and the Beast of Revelation.
Where is the True Christian Church Today? This free online pdf booklet answers that question and includes 18 proofs, clues, and signs to identify the true vs. false Christian church. Plus 7 proofs, clues, and signs to help identify Laodicean churches. A related sermon is also available: Where is the True Christian Church? Here is a link to the booklet in the Spanish language: ¿Dónde está la verdadera Iglesia cristiana de hoy? Here is a link in the German language: WO IST DIE WAHRE CHRISTLICHE KIRCHE HEUTE? Here is a link in the French language: Où est la vraie Église Chrétienne aujourd’hui?
Continuing History of the Church of God This pdf booklet is a historical overview of the true Church of God and some of its main opponents from Acts 2 to the 21st century. Related sermon links include Continuing History of the Church of God: c. 31 to c. 300 A.D. and Continuing History of the Church of God: 4th-16th Centuries and Continuing History of the Church of God: 17th-20th Centuries. The booklet is available in Spanish: Continuación de la Historia de la Iglesia de Dios, German: Kontinuierliche Geschichte der Kirche Gottes, and Ekegusii Omogano Bw’ekanisa Ya Nyasae Egendererete.
CCOG.ORG Continuing Church of God The group striving to be most faithful amongst all real Christian groups to the word of God. There are links to literature is about 100 different languages there.
Congregations of the Continuing Church of God This is a listing of congregations and groups of the Continuing Church of God around the world.
Continuing Church of God Facebook page This has news and prophetic information.
Continuing Church of God, Africa, Facebook page This has news and prophetic information.
Continuing Church of God, Canada, Facebook page This has news and prophetic information.
Continuing Church of God, Europe, Facebook page This has news and prophetic information.
CCOG.AFRICA This is a website targeted towards those in Africa.
CCOG.ASIA We in the Continuing Church of God also have the url www.ccog.asia which has a focus on Asia and has various articles in Mandarin Chinese as well as some in English, plus some items in other Asian languages. 我们在继续神的教会也提供此网址 www.ccog.asia, 关注于亚洲并且有各种各样的中英文文章，其中一些用菲律宾语翻译的文章也正在进行中，准备添加到这个网站中。 Here is a link to our Statement of Beliefs in Mandarin Chinese 继续神的教会的信仰声明.
CCOG.IN This is a website targeted towards those of Indian heritage. It has a link to an edited Hindi translation of The Mystery of the Ages and is expected to have more non-English language materials in the future.
CCOG.EU This is a website targeted toward Europe. It has materials in more than one language (currently it has English, Dutch, and Serbian, with links also to Spanish) and it is intended to have additional language materials added.
CCOG.NZ This is a website targeted towards New Zealand and others with a British-descended background.
CCOGCANADA.CA This is a website targeted towards those in Canada.
CDLIDD.ES La Continuación de la Iglesia de Dios. This is the Spanish language website for the Continuing Church of God.
CG7.ORG This is a website for those interested in the Sabbath and churches that observe the seventh day Sabbath.
PNIND.PH Patuloy na Iglesya ng Diyos. This is the Philippines website Continuing Church of God. It has information in English and Tagalog.
CCOG Animations YouTube channel. The Continuing Church of God has some animations to teach aspects of Christian beliefs. Also available at BitChute COGAnimations https://www.bitchute.com/channel/coganimations/
Bible News Prophecy channel. Dr. Thiel has produced hundreds of videos for the BibleNewsProphecy channel. You can find them at them on YouTube at BibleNewsProphecy https://www.youtube.com/user/BibleNewsProphecy, plus also on Vimeo at Bible News Prophecy https://vimeo.com/channels/biblenewsprophecy as well as on Brighteon Bible News Prophecy https://www.brighteon.com/channel/ccogbnp and Bitchute Prophecy https://www.bitchute.com/channel/prophecy/
CCOGAfrica channel. This has messages from African pastors in African languages such as Kalenjin, Kiswahili, Embu, and Dholuo. Also available at BitChute COGAfrica https://www.bitchute.com/channel/cogafrica/
CDLIDDSermones channel. This contains messages in the Spanish language
BibleNewsProphecy Podcast. This has audio-visual podcasts of the Bible News Prophecy channgel. It plays on i-Phones, i-Pads, and Windows devices that can play i-Tunes.
Bible News Prophecy online radio. This is an audio version of the Bible News Prophecy videos. It is also available as a mobile app.
Bible News Prophecy International radio. This has links to our non-English language online radio station as well as materials in multiple languages.
ContinuingCOG channel. Dr. Thiel has produced scores of YouTube video sermons for this channel. Note: Since these are sermon-length, they can take a little longer to load than other YouTube videos. Also available at BitChute COGTube https://www.bitchute.com/channel/cogtube/
Study the Bible Course A free online course to help you learn and study the word of God.
Statement of Beliefs of the Continuing Church of God “Contend earnestly for the faith once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3, NKJV), “Let brotherly love (Philadelphia) continue” (Hebrews 13:1) ” & continuing stedfastly in the teaching of the apostles” (Acts 2:42 YLT). So, what does that really mean in terms of specific beliefs–the Statement gives answers? Here is a related link in Spanish/español: Declaración de las Doctrinas de la Continuación de la Iglesia de Dios. Here is a related link in Tagalog: Paglalahad ng Mga Paniniwala ng Patuloy na Iglesya ng Diyos. Here is a related link in Mandarin Chinese ~ç~íy^v„eYOv„OáNðXðf. Here is a related link in Kiswahili: KATIKA LUGHA YA KISWAHILI. Here is a related link in Dutch: Verklaring van geloofspunten van de Continuing Church of God. Here is a related link in Deutsche (German): Glaubenserklärung der Continuing Church of God. Here is a related link in Italiano: Dichiarazione del Credo della Continuing Church of God. Here is related link in the French language: Déclaration des croyances de L’Église Continue de Dieu. Here is a related link in the Chichewa language: ZIKHULUPIRIRO ZA MPINGO WA CONTINUING CHURCH OF GOD. Here is a link in Romanian: Declarația de credințe a continuării Bisericii lui Dumnezeu. Here is a link in Portuguese: Declaração de Crenças da Continuação da Igreja de Deus. Here is a link in Russian: Утверждение верований о продолжении Церкви Божьей. Here is a link to a related English-language sermon: Beliefs of the Continuing Church of God.

COGwriter

This coming Sunday is known as “Super Bowl Sunday” in the USA. Most years, the American football (which is not the same as the sport called soccer in the USA) contest known as the Superbowl is the most watched television program in the USA. Around 100,000,000 are expected to intentionally (as opposed to perhaps seeing a news item about it) watch at least some of its violent action this year according to various reports.

Should Philadelphian Christians, those who are to have love for others, watch the Super Bowl? Could it be harmful to watch? Should Philadelphian Christians enjoy watching people get ran into and knocked over?

Tackle football is violent. It is dangerous. Many people who play it are still getting severely hurt:

A concussion protocol was first introduced in 2009 by the NFL’s Head, Neck and Spine Committee in an effort to improve concussion detection. …

Prior to the 2016-2017 season, the NFL added additional elements to its concussion policy to ensure enforcement of the protocol, namely disciplining those teams that violate the required procedures. …

Enhancing the protocol to strengthen enforcement seemed like a wise move from the NFL. However, if teams are not going to face penalties for poor concussion management, it raises serious questions about the League’s intentions in making these changes.

The League’s history with concussion management is already so fraught, and while the NFL has appeared to make positive efforts in their handling of concussions, these situations only suggest the League has regressed. The protocol should have been enforced since its institution, but it wasn’t. It should have been followed since disciplinary action was put in place to avoid these situations, but it wasn’t. And the League should have disciplined teams for violating the protocol to set a precedent and strengthen their policy, but they didn’t.

The NFL has released injury data from the 2016-2017 pre-season and regular season. Combining this data, the number of reported concussions decreased by 11.3 percent from last season. While this may appear on its face to be a marked improvement, this is a decrease against the previous season, which saw the highest number of diagnosed concussions (275) in the past five years.

Having a loosely followed concussion protocol clearly is not enough. http://www.sporttechie.com/2017/02/03/sports/nfl/nfl-concussion-protocol-still-inadequate-after-enhancements-this-season/

Concussions are still an issue, years after the “concussion protocols”:

February 7, 2022

Data released Monday by the NFL showed 187 concussions during the 2021 season, including preseason, all practices and games. While that is up from 172 the previous season, there were no exhibition games in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. https://journalstar.com/lifestyles/health-med-fit/nfl-concerned-about-concussions-injuries-on-special-teams/article_d5a62135-aae1-59cf-a4e5-200298fdbe25.html

American tackle football remains a dangerous sport and, even when played according to its rules, injures players.

American tackle football is dangerous:

February 4, 2025

Darius Slay, cornerback for the Philadelphia Eagles: “I got hit hard in the upper chest/neck area late in the year. It was a really rough hit. My head snapped back and hit the turf. I actually saw stars. I went over to the sideline to go through routine concussion testing protocol, and I told them what happened. The doctors there were quick to remind me that we were playing the Steelers, who have stars in their logo, and that I was probably just recalling seeing the stars on the helmet of the guy who popped me. Just as they said that my blurry vision began to clear up and I realized that yea, we were playing the Steelers! Obviously, I hadn’t been concussed, and the league agreed.”

There were several other notable cases that the NFL did not deem to meet the inclusion criteria for a concussion. One of these involved a practice squad fullback for the Carolina Panthers who developed early onset dementia just days after his helmet-to-helmet hit with a 6’6, 250lb linebacker with 4.4 40-yard-dash speed. The NFL is classifying this as a case of dementia, not a concussion.

Fans may also recall Miami Dolphins’ quarterback Tua Tagovailoa being stretchered off the field and placed in a full-body cast in the Mount Sinai Miami Medical Center following a blind-side hit by Myles Garrett that actually registered as a small-to-moderate size earthquake of magnitude 3.5 on the Richter scale. Tua lost all motor control and remains in a state of full-body paralysis to this day. The NFL is classifying this as an injury sustained “of natural causes”, you know, because of the earthquake and all.

The most egregious exception from the NFL’s head-injury count was former Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ kicker Rodrigo Blankenship, who died after being laid out by a threesome of massive defensive linemen during a field goal attempt in week 12 against the New Orleans Saints. The NFL is classifying this as a death, not as a concussion.  https://filthyeasyvocab.substack.com/p/new-nfl-concussion-report-drops-just?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

Should Christians, who are part of Jesus’ church of brotherly love, encourage people to cause themselves and others great bodily harm?

We live in an age of heightened awareness about concussions. From battlefields around the world to football fields in the U.S., we’ve heard about the dangers caused when the brain rattles around inside the skull and the possible link between concussions and the degenerative brain disease chronic traumatic encephalopathy.

A number of high-profile NFL stars have developed CTE, and parents are increasingly worried about how concussions may affect their children who play sports. …

A study published online Thursday in Brain, a journal of neurology, presents the strongest case yet that repetitive hits to the head that don’t lead to concussions —meaning no loss of consciousness or other symptoms that can include headaches, dizziness, vision problems or confusion — cause CTE.

“We’ve had an inkling that subconcussive hits — the ones that don’t [show] neurological signs and symptoms — may be associated with CTE,” says Dr. Lee Goldstein, an associate professor of psychiatry at the Boston University School of Medicine and the lead investigator on the study. “We now have solid scientific evidence to say that is so.”

And this evidence, he says, leaves researchers “terrifically concerned.”

“The concussions we see on the ballfield or the battlefield or wherever — those people are going to get attention,” Goldstein says, “because it’s obvious they’ve had some sort of injury. We’re really worried about the many more people who are getting hit and getting hurt — their brain is getting hurt — but are not getting help because we can’t see the evidence on the outside that their brain is actually hurt. It’s a silent injury.”

Translating Goldstein’s concern to the football field, Chris Nowinski, who heads the Concussion Legacy Foundation, says, “We see the hard hits all the time, where a guy pops up and smiles and [signals] a first down, and [we think], ‘OK, that hit was fine.’ But what this study says is: No, that hit probably wasn’t fine, and that poor guy can’t feel the damage that’s happening in his brain right now.” https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2018/01/18/578355877/repeated-head-hits-not-concussions-may-be-behind-a-type-of-chronic-brain-damage

Thus, sports like American tackle football are not safe.

There is NO DOUBT among those interested in the truth that American tackle football is violent and causes harm to the players–much of which is permanent.

It is SO BAD that many insurance companies do not wish to be associated with American tackle football:

Insurers are leaving the football market fearing Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) is the new asbestos.

Steve Fainaru and Mark Fainaru-Wada wrote in a spectacular ‘outside the lines’ piece for ESPN+,

To an increasing number of carriers, football is a dam built atop an earthquake fault. A disaster might never occur, but the specter of huge potential losses is scaring many companies away.

“Thirty years from now, you could be on the hook, and that’s a very difficult situation for an insurance company to be in,” James Lynch, chief actuary for the Insurance Information Institute in New York told Fainaru and Fainaru-Wada. “This is why the industry is concerned about it. You want to be able to box up that risk.”

Having played high school and college football, and now dealing with a variety of neurological issues, the following paragraph resonated with me.

It’s not just CTE. CTE isn’t going to be the expensive part,” said one insurance executive who spoke to Outside the Lines on the condition of anonymity. “Dementia and every case of Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s are going to be blamed on football. There will be a bevy of doctors in California and other states, and they’re going to say, ‘I’m sure it was because you played football.’”

There was a time when insurers lined up to provide the NFL with General Liability and Workman’s Compensation coverage. Now there is only one carrier writing this business, without an exclusion for head trauma, Berkeley Entertainment & Sports. January 28, 2019 https://mises.org/wire/nfls-latest-headache

Consider also something about Joe Namath:

One of the most legendary figures in NFL history will deliver a sobering message to football fans on the morning of Super Bowl XLVIII. Former New York Jets quarterback Joe Namath, who famously guaranteed a win for his underdog squad in Super Bowl III, revealed the toll that football has taken on him in an interview with CBS scheduled to air on Sunday.

“I’ve been through some things medically. I’ve seen some things on my brain,” Namath told Rita Braver of CBS Sunday Morning in a brief preview of the interview released in advance. “But I’ve had treatment, and I’ve improved. None of the body was designed to play football. Excuse me, you know, football, we’re just not designed for it.” http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/01/joe-namath-brain-damage-nfl_n_4709018.html

Football causes great harm. No one has excuses anymore to pretend otherwise.

Tackle football fans WANT one team to repeatedly knock down players of the opposing team. They get a thrill and satisfaction from their team winning.

But for many tackles to happen, one or more players often get, at least slightly, injured and sometimes permanently so.

To encourage this as a fan and to be pleased when it happen simply is not good for Christians and is harmful for character development–including developing more of the love of God.

The Apostle John was inspired to write, “he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also.” (1 John 4:20-21)

Encouraging and celebrating violent physical contact (tackling) is not showing love towards players.

Since most people in the USA have, at one time or another, made some hint of professing following Jesus, a relevant question may also be:

Would Jesus want you to watch the Super Bowl?

Jesus, of course, taught “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:39), while the Apostle Paul wrote “no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it” (Ephesians 5:29).

The Bible teaches:

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

Tackle football is a lust of the flesh and eyes. Those who claim to be Christian and endorse it are letting the pride of life deceive them.

How many who are in the COGs love the worldly sport of American tackle football and really do not care that it causes irreparable harm to its participants? Is it not another reason that some watch because of their lust for violence and/or for social acceptance?

This is not what loving Christians should do.

Most violent sports advocates do not seem to realize that they are being influenced by the devil who is the prince of the power of the air:

1 And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, 2 in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, 3 among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.

4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. (Ephesians 2:1-10)

Why would anyone feel that God Himself would condone encouraging violent sports as the type of ‘good works’ Christians should be involved in?

After seeing the injuries that some of my high school football-playing colleagues suffered, I could not reconcile the scriptures with American football. There are better ways for Christians to learn principles like teamwork from other sports or activities than watching actual violence such as occurs in American tackle football.

Also, notice what John the Baptist taught soldiers:

14 And the soldiers likewise demanded of him, saying, And what shall we do? And he said unto them, Do violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely; and be content with your wages. (Luke 3:14, KJV)

I could not reconcile loving my neighbor as myself and cherishing my flesh and not doing violence to any man by watching others do it in a football game. Nor could I reconcile it with the following:

9…You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 10 Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. (Romans 13:9-10, NKJV)

The Super Bowl will do harm to participants in it.

The New Testament also warns Christians against being violent or approving of those that are (Romans 1:28-32), while history records that early Christians would not watch violent sports. Notice one such report from Theophilus of Antioch perhaps written about 180 A.D.:

Consider, therefore, whether those who teach such things can possibly live indifferently, and be commingled in unlawful intercourse, or, most impious of all, eat human flesh, especially when we are forbidden so much as to witness shows of gladiators, lest we become partakers and abettors of murders. But neither may we see the other spectacles, lest our eyes and ears be defiled, participating in the utterances there sung. (Theophilus of Antioch. To Autolycus, Book III, Chapter XV. Translated by Marcus Dods, A.M. Excerpted from Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 2. Edited by Alexander Roberts & James Donaldson. American Edition, 1885. Online Edition)

So, Christians did not believe that they were to watch the violent sports that were so popular in the second century.

In the 20th century, the late Herbert W. Armstrong wrote:

Competition and not cooperation, is the attitude which Satan inculcates human minds. But that does not mean that all sports are wrong or to be banned. The law of God is based on the way of righteousness…The basic law is love, out flowing toward God above all else, and secondarily, “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.”

To harm the other fellow and to gain by doing so for self is a kind of competition that is wrong. Hostility toward the other is sin…

Wherever a game in sports involves antagonists–in hostile attitude to harm the other and/or to “get” from the other–to get the best of the other then a harmful, satanic and evil attitude enters in, and the sport is evil, not good…

Football (American football) is a violent body-contact sport. It is often played with an attitude of hostility and is dangerous and is fraught with physical injury…Soccer does not embody the same evils. (Plain Truth, July-August 1984)

CNN (01/29/2012) had a report that the average American high school football player received 650 sub-concussion hits per season which increased the risk for brain damage of various types.

Since I do not actually watch American football, I do not know how many violent acts are likely at this year’s Super Bowl, but the number is likely to be very high, and maybe even a lot more if thoughts of violence are included (cf. Matthew 5:21-22).

In my view, the tackle version of the sport of American football is evil (touch football I would not consider to be inherently evil–though attitude is still a possible factor there). Also, no Christian can really defend how professional football cheerleading females are publicly dressed and displayed–and presumably some of how they will be displayed at the Super Bowl game.

Gambling, which is often a form of covetousness is also involved. I saw an estimate that $6 billion is expected to be bet on the Super Bowl.

For more on gambling, see the article Gambling and Sin: Is it a Sin for Christians to Gamble?

As far as violence goes, the Bible shows that God is against violence:

23 ‘Make a chain,
For the land is filled with crimes of blood,
And the city is full of violence.
24 Therefore I will bring the worst of the Gentiles,
And they will possess their houses;
I will cause the pomp of the strong to cease,
And their holy places shall be defiled. (Ezekiel 7:23-24)

28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; 29 being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality…30…violent, proud, boasters,…31…unmerciful; 32 who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them. (Romans 1:28-32)

Do you approve of those who practice violence?

Since American football games, like the Super Bowl, intentionally inflict various hurts, the following scripture supports the idea that American football will not be allowed in the Millennium:

9 They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain,
For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord
As the waters cover the sea. (Isaiah 11:9, NKJV)

While “love does no harm to a neighbor” (Romans 13:9), what do sports like American football do?

A while back, on the night before the Super Bowl, I saw portions of TBN’s Christian World News. Towards the end, they interviewed players on the teams in that scheduled Super Bowl game who professed Christ. The players, individually, basically stated that their faith was more important than winning the Super Bowl. But none said that they would renounce violence, not harm others, or not participate in the game because of its negative fruits.

Additionally, of the multitude of groups that profess Christ, it appears that only an actual or relative handful or so will tell their members that they should not be fans of American tackle football. Sometimes they will not denounce it because their leaders are fans, sometimes because they are afraid that they might lose members and/or money, and sometimes because of all of those reasons.

Would Jesus want you to watch the Super Bowl? What about the Apostle Paul who warned against approving violence? The same Apostle Paul who said to imitate him as he imitated Christ (1 Corinthians 11:1). Would Jesus or the Apostle Paul watch the Superbowl as football fans rooting for one team to crush the other team?

“Perhaps,” some might answer. And still others may ridicule and/or dismiss what I have written.

However, if Jesus Himself did watch the Super Bowl, would He watch it and hope that one team would tackle and crash into members of the other team? Or might He watch it, if He did, so He could make social commentary against the violence and/or distorted priorities of the land?

Would Jesus take pleasure in humans damaging other humans for entertainment?

This is something that Christians, and others, should think about.

For more scriptures, as well as the position of early Christians and others on watching violent sports or participating in other violent pursuits, please see the following:

Is American Football Evil? Is the most popular spectator sport in the USA something that Christians should watch? What do the Bible and early writings show? There is also a YouTube video available titled Should Christians watch American football?
Military Service and the Churches of God: Do Real Christians Participate in Carnal Warfare or Encourage Violence? Here are current and historical perspectives on a matter which show the beliefs of the true church on military participation. Is war proper for Christians? A related sermon would be: Christians, Violence, and Military Service.
What is a True Philadelphian? Many claim to be part of the Philadelphia era of the Church, but is claiming enough? This article has biblical and historical evidence about who really are the Philadelphians.
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.
The Philadelphia Church Era and Remnant Though the era was predominant circa 1933 A.D. to 1986 A.D., but a remnant has continued. The old Radio Church of God and old Worldwide Church of God were part of the era, and now the remnant of that era is basically the most faithful in the Church of God, like who hold to the beliefs and practices of the Continuing Church of God. Here is a link to a related sermon: Philadelphia Church Era: History & Teachings.
Why is there a Philadelphian remnant of the true Christian Church of God? Did the old Worldwide Church of God essentially predict a Philadelphian remnant? Is a Philadelphian remnant needed for end-time prophecies to be fulfilled? Here is a link to a related sermon: The Philadelphia Remnant.
Gambling and Sin: Is it a Sin for Christians to Gamble? What does the Bible reveal? A related video is Gambling: A Covetous Sin?
Pornography: A scourge on society Is pornography harmless fun? Does the Bible teach anything about it? What are the views of some involved with it? Here is a link to a YouTube video Pornography: Harmless Fun or a Scourge on Society?

(Above from Pixabay)

COGwriter

The European Union is concerned about tariffs and trade with the USA:

Trans-Atlantic turning point: Donald Trump tests EU-US ties

The European Union is striving to demonstrate its economic independence from the United States while remaining dependent on US military protection. It’s the bloc’s latest challenge in relations with its longtime partner.

7 February 2025

On Sunday, US President Donald Trump described the US’s economic relationship with the  European Union as “an atrocity.”

“They don’t take our cars; they don’t take our farm products,” Trump said, describing the trade deficit between the US and EU. “Essentially, they don’t take almost anything.” …

On Tuesday, the European commissioner for trade and economic security, Maros Sefcovic, clarified that this balance amounted to about 3% of the €1.5 trillion annual trade volume between the EU and US. …

Trump: ‘Definitely’ tariffs

On Sunday, Trump repeated his threat that he would “definitely” impose tariffs on goods from the European Union. But, so far, EU heads of state and government have shown a unified self-assured response.  …

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said a change in customs policy that made the exchange of goods and services difficult “would be bad for the US and bad for Europe.” Scholz said the European Union could respond with steeper tariffs of its own. …

Arthur Leichthammer, a policy fellow for geoeconomics at the Berlin-based think tank the Jacques Delors Centre, …

Leichthammer said the protective shield provided by US nuclear capabilities, the collective defense guarantees within the NATO alliance and overall military cooperation with the United States were crucial elements of the EU’s defense strategy. These dependencies could make it hard for the bloc to stand up to the US, Leichthammer said.

Nevertheless, Leichthammer said, the European Union must pursue a credible and unified policy of deterrence in response to Trump’s tariff threats. …

The EU and its member states are currently looking for ways to make their defense strategy less dependent, https://www.dw.com/en/trans-atlantic-turning-point-donald-trump-tests-eu-us-ties/a-71533038

Some in the EU are overly confident as the following suggests:

EU holds cards when negotiating with Trump on tariffs, says ex-WTO chief Lamy

The EU holds several cards when it comes to negotiating its way out of economically harmful tariffs, former head of the WTO, Pascal Lamy has told Euronews’ Europe Conversation.

Brussels has been preparing for the likelihood of a second Trump term for several months ahead of his election, with the spectre of trade tariffs central to such preparations.

“They’ve been thinking about that for months. I mean, the notion that Trump would be president of the US appeared, unfortunately, in my view, quite some time ago,” said Lamy, who also served as EU Commissioner for Trade.

“There is a range of issues where we probably could open an interesting trans-Atlantic negotiation” which would allow Brussels to prevent the application of tariffs, he said. …

If negotiations between the EU and US on tariffs fail, Lamy said the EU should retaliate, which will have implications for US exporters.

“We have the means to retaliate because we have a large market and US exporters of a number of products will have problems if we retaliate,” he said. https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2025/02/06/eu-holds-cards-when-negotiating-with-trump-on-tariffs-says-ex-wto-chief-lamy

So, the EU has “been thinking about that for months.” So, has Donald Trump–except for him it has been years.

The USA has the military power and Donald Trump can tell the EU no, various nations will not be defended as they have not met NATO spending goals. It matters little if Donald Trump is “legally” right or wrong, this is what he believes and since the President of the United States is also commander and chief of the US military, he simply can chose not to assist Europe militarily or in a much more limited way.

The EU is not in as strong of a negotiating position as it wants to publicly portray.

Columbia, Panama, Canada, and Mexico have all recently learned this.

The EU leaders, however, do realize this. But their hope is that collectively they have a lot more power than an individual nation.

Yet, since Donald Trump is of the view that the USA has more power and less need of the EU than it has of the USA, the EU is not in as strong of a position as it hopes.

It is what will happen with Europe which will be one of major unintended consequences of Donald Trump’s trade policies and statements. Notice something from my latest book available at Amazon Kindle: Unintended Consequences and Donald Trump’s Presidency: Is Donald Trump Fulfilling Biblical, Islamic, Greco-Roman Catholic, Buddhist, and other America-Related Prophecies? as well as Amazon print Unintended Consequences and Donald Trump’s Presidency: Is Donald Trump Fulfilling Biblical, Islamic, Greco-Roman Catholic, Buddhist, and other America-Related Prophecies?:

Trade

Historically, Donald Trump has called for “fair trade” and indicated that various nations, including several in Asia, are not engaged in fair trade, so he has proposed high tariffs.[i]

Donald Trump has called tariffs, “the most beautiful word in the dictionary” and even proposed massive tariffs (up to 2000%) on Mexico if it will not do what he wants.[ii] He has basically also proposed a minimum of 10% tariffs on goods from much of the rest of the world.

Some believe that Donald Trump’s positions on trade will lead to a global trade war.[iii] Europe has said it will hit back against Donald Trump’s tariff policies.[iv] It is my position that trade disputes will be a factor in Europe taking military action against the USA one day.

One of the unintended consequences of Donald Trump’s threats of tariffs and other trade matters is that it is motivating nations he has threatened to look to trade more with each other.

The morning after his reelection, I wrote:

According to the major media, Donald Trump won re-election. … Europe will get more serious about trade deals with others internationally, such as being more motivated to approve the trade deal with the Mercosur block of South America.[v]

On December 6, 2024, Politico reported that the European Union approved the massive Mercosur trade deal, despite opposition from France and others, and also pointed to Donald Trump’s reelection as a factor.[vi]

Energy and climate policy differences between the Europeans and Donald Trump look to increase the negative view many in Europe already have about the USA. …

• Pushing tariffs and other policies that foreign nations do not like is contributing to other nations looking to bypass the USA dollar, as well as trade more with each other and less with the USA. This will further push various globalist’s moves forward without the USA. This is also helping set the stage for the coming European Babylonian Beast to dominate international trade.

[i] ^{Trade: Donald J. Trump’s Vision. https://www.donaldjtrump.com/policies/trade accessed December 16, 2016}

[ii] ^{Pan J. Donald Trump calls tariff ‘the most beautiful word,’ threatens up to 2,000% tariff to block Mexican car imports. Yahoo News, November 3, 2024}

[iii] ^{Islam F. Will Trump’s victory spark a global trade war? BBC, November 7, 2024}

[iv] ^{Vella JH. EU’s game plan for Trump trade war: ‘Hit back fast and hard.’ Polico.eu, October 21, 2024}

[v] ^{Thiel B. Media declares Donald Trump won the election–now what? y Donald trump y eventos para observar. COGwriter, November 6, 2024}

[vi] ^{Gijs C, Leali G. EU snubs France to seal huge Latin American trade deal. Politico, December 6, 2024}

(Thiel B. Unintended Consequences and Donald Trump’s Presidency: Is Donald Trump Fulfilling Biblical, Islamic, Greco-Roman Catholic, Buddhist, and other America-Related Prophecies? Nazarene Books, 2025)

More of the world’s nations are starting to look away from the USA for trade. While the EU currently DOES NOT hold truly strong cards when negotiating with the USA, it does when dealing with other nations–and it will do so.

Notice part of number 8 of my list of 25 items to prophetically watch in 2025:

Europe will reach out to various ones in Asia and Africa, as well as Latin America. In the next several years, deals and more trade will occur with Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

Consider also the following:

Top EU official suggests strengthening trade ties with China as bloc faces US tariffs

February 5, 2025

With changes unseen in a century rapidly unfolding, and the world turning into a less stable and certain place, risks of division, fragmentation and disorder are looming large. Against this backdrop, China-EU relations have more strategic significance and global influence, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said on Wednesday, in response to European Commission President Ursula that EU and China can find agreements that could even expand trade and investment ties. …

As US President Donald Trump suggested the EU could be the next to face US tariffs, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen – seen by media as the continent’s most prominent China hawk – stated on Tuesday that there is room to strengthen trade relations and even “find agreements” with Beijing, in “an era of hyper-competitive and hyper-transactional geopolitics.”

“We will keep de-risking our economic relationship – as we have been doing in recent years. But there is also room to engage constructively with China – and find solutions in our mutual interest,” von der Leyen said in a speech before the EU’s diplomatic corps in Brussels, South China Morning Post reported on Tuesday.

The European Commission President said she believes that EU and China can find agreements that could even expand trade and investment ties. “It is a fine line that we need to walk. But it can lead us to a fairer and more balanced relationship with one of the world’s economic giants. And that can make sense for Europe,” she continued. https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202502/1327889.shtml

Both China and the EU are looking to trade more with each other. They are two of the largest traders in the world.

Notice also the following:

The new EU-Mexico agreement: the EU fast-tracks integration with Latin America

3 February 2025

Mexico and the EU consolidate their strategic association with a modernised agreement that expands economic opportunities. The renewal of the EU-Mexico FTA updates an agreement that has been in place since 2000, eliminating restrictions in key sectors such as agri-food, services and public procurement, in addition to incorporating regulations on digital trade and data protection.

The EU accelerates its integration with Latin America & the Caribbean (LAC) in response to the geopolitical reconfiguration and the uncertainty and risks of a second Donald Trump presidency. …

The next key step should be the interoperability and regulatory convergence among the network of trade agreements between the EU and Latin America (covering 95% of the GDP of Latin America and the Caribbean) to transform the architecture of EU-LAC trade and Latin American intraregional trade. Moving in this direction would create an integrated EU-LAC economic space of 1.1 billion people with a GDP comparable to that of the US and EU-LAC bilateral trade would increase by up to 70%, while LAC intra-regional trade would grow by up to 38%.

Analysis
Just a few weeks after the announcement of the EU-Mercosur agreement in Montevideo, Uruguay, last 6 December, following 25 years of discussions, the EU took a new step in its integration strategy with Latin America by closing after nine years of negotiations the modernisation of the EU-Mexico agreement (EU-Mexico FTA), updating the treaty in force since 2000. The agreements follow the modernisation of the EU-Chile agreement, concluded in December 2023 and ratified by the European Parliament in February 2024.

The accelerated pace at which these agreements are being concluded is by no means a coincidence, but a clear manifestation of the EU’s political decision to strengthen its strategic partnership with Latin America in a context of global geopolitical reconfiguration and the uncertainties and risks of a new Trump Administration in the US. https://www.realinstitutoelcano.org/en/analyses/the-new-eu-mexico-agreement-the-eu-fast-tracks-integration-with-latin-america/

We are already seeing unintended consequences of Donald Trump’s trade statements and policies as the EU, Canada, and Latin America are looking more towards trade deals with each other and NOT the USA.

The Bible shows that Europe will, temporarily, dominate trade, which means that the USA will not:

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

9 The kings of the earth who committed fornication and lived luxuriously with her … 19 in which all who had ships on the sea became rich by her wealth! (Revelation 18:9,19)

Europe does not have to be perfect to do this, but perceived for a time, as the best economic option for the world.

Biblical prophecies will come to pass.

“Elijah in the wilderness“

COGwriter

A past edition of Outreach, put out by the Churches of God, UK, had the following:

Where Is Elijah?

If Jesus is to return any time soon, then ‘Elijah’, according to some teachers, should be alive and kicking somewhere on earth…

John the Baptist reflected the life-style of the first Elijah—rough-hewn, godly, dwelling in the desert. He had the same message, to confront ungodliness, ‘…to turn many of the sons of Israel to the Lord their God’ (v.16)—a mission he surely accomplished Matthew 3:5-6). A people prepared for the message of Jesus.

But ‘Elijah’ will also return ’…before the coming of the great and dreadful day of Jehovah’ (Malachi: 4:5). That day—the great ‘Day of the Lord’—is ushered in by the returning Jesus who said ‘…I will come again’. Elijah’s message will be a call to repentance, a return by mankind to the true God—a call heard worldwide. John, in Revelation, speaks of ‘…my two witnesses’ (ch 11:3ff), and their mission does indeed ‘prepare the way of the Lord’. They reflect both the work of both Elijah [eg drought] and Moses [eg plagues].

It will be an awesome time of tribulation upon those who continue unrepentant, unheeding of the call to turn to God. Their mission will end at the return of Jesus, when they will be glorified with Him, together with the rest of the ’firstfruits harvest’ (Revelation 11:3-12).

The above group has tended to maintain an affiliation with COGOM. COGOM has tended to take more of a hands off view on prophecy (and, in my view, misworded some of the above–Jesus ushers in the Day of the Lord, but He does this about a year before He returns).

Although people, like the discredited Ron Weinland (see Concerns About Ronald Weinland’s Church of God-Preparing for the Kingdom of God) and David Pack (see Why Not the Restored Church of God?) have claimed to be ‘Elijah,’ neither of them are.

Yet, the Bible does show that there will be an ‘Elijah’ who is alive before Jesus returns and that it is likely that he will be one of the two witnesses. And as Jesus is likely to return within the next couple of decades, it is reasonable to consider that he must be alive today.

Could he be one who has restored information on church history, doctrine, prophecy, and the reason that God created anything? Could he be one reaching people around the world with the Gospel of the Kingdom of God in over 1,000 different languages? Or has God not chosen to have him do much at this stage?

Was it Herbert W. Armstrong?

No.

Did Herbert W. Armstrong ever think he might be Elijah?

Most definitely.

The late evangelist Raymond McNair admitted:

However, on occasion, Mr. Armstrong may have expressed some doubt in regard to his calling and ministry, concerning himself being the end-time “Elijah,” (McNair, Raymond.  Was Mr. Armstrong Who He Said He Was?  Ad in Connection’s section of The Journal, June 30, 2004).

Yes, HWA expressed some doubt–not simply may have. Herbert W. Armstrong admitted to Aaron Dean, his long-time personal aide (and Aaron Dean told me this personally on several occasions for over the past two+ decades) that he might not have understood the biblical passages on the Elijah correctly before he died, and that God could raise someone else up to fulfill the Elijah role. Furthermore, HWA specifically expressed doubt to the late evangelist Dibar Apartian (and who also told me). Dibar Apartian did not believe that HWA was the Elijah when we discussed this several times and he agreed with me about this.

Those with a WCG background might find the following quote from Herbert W. Armstrong of some assistance here as he wrote:

I have been asked “Are you the Elijah?”  And I say “No.” (Armstrong, Herbert W.  Congress of Leading Ministers Hears Defined and Reemphasized Spiritual Organization of Church. Worldwide News, March 6, 1981, p. 10)

Also, in HWA’s sermon, given on the last day of Unleavened Bread in April 1985, HWA stated the following:

You know there is a prophecy about John the Baptist, while the prophecy is talking about Elijah.  But if you read in Elijah {“Malachi”} 3 and verses 1-5, it is talking, not  about  someone preparing the way for Christ’s first coming, but when Christ comes to set on the throne of the earth and remove Satan.  You read verse 1 and you can apply that to John the Baptist.  But you read on through verses 2,3,4, and 5 and you find its talking about the second coming of Christ.  The things He will do then, but He did none of those things that are in verse 2,3,4, and 5 when He came the first time.  Now John the Baptist did fulfill verse 1.  Even Jesus said so.  Jesus said that he had come in the spirit and power of Elijah.  Was he Elijah?  No he wasn’t.  They asked John the Baptist, ‘Are you Elijah?’  He said, ‘No I am not’.  He wasn’t a liar.  He knew the truth.  He was not Elijah.  Am I Elijah?  No, definitely not!  Now I met Elijah.  Elijah has come to me and announced that he was Elijah, but I showed him the way out of the office.  I did not believe him.

Those with a WCG background might find the following quote from Herbert W. Armstrong of some assistance here as he wrote:

Those called into the Church were called not merely for salvation and eternal life, but to learn the way of God’s government and develop the divine character during this mortal life in the Church age …

Also Malachi 4:5-6 pictures the Elijah to come at the very end of the Church age (Mystery of the Ages. 1985, pp. 201, 349).

And when was the “Church age” supposed to end according to Herbert Armstrong’s old church? Notice:

God has set before us an open door and no MAN can shut it. God can shut it, and He will when the work is finished and the Philadelphia Church goes to a place of safety. …The Laodicean Church is not going to be worthy to escape to a place of safety. When it is too late, they will find that the Church of Philadelphia has gone to safety (What Is the “LAODICEAN CHURCH”? Good News August 1959 Vol. VIII, Number 8).

Now since the Church age has not ended, and the Day of the Lord has not yet come, then it follows that Elijah was to come on the scene publicly after this was written.

HWA, himself, wrote:

Jesus shall come, SOON NOW, to RESTORE ALL THINGS! He did NOT restore all things when he first came. John the Baptist did not “restore all things.” But the one who was to “restore all things” just before the “day of the Lord” and preparing the way for Christ’s second coming, was YET to come, in the future, as Jesus said. Now what are the “all things” to be RESTORED? “Restitution” means restore to a former state or condition (Armstrong HW.  Brethren & Co-Worker Letter, August 24, 1982).

Note that HWA states ONE (Elijah) comes just before the day of the Lord—an event that still has not occurred, hence some additional restoration beyond what HWA did is needed–and this has been happening in the Continuing Church of God. CCOG has restored more than any COG in the 21st century and under the human leadership of Bob Thiel it continues to do so. In time, God will make the final Elijah clear to all willing to see (this is NOT saying that he MUST be Bob Thiel–but we believe it will be a leader in CCOG).

In that same a co-worker letter dated August 24, 1982, HWA wrote:

Now why, then, was Elijah YET, in the future, to come – just before the “day of the Lord?” Verse 11, Jesus said to “restore all things”…Have WE, through this Work, RESTORED anything? Indeed we have! We have RESTORED the TRUE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST–through us JESUS CHRIST has already begun RESTORING the KNOWLEDGE of what had been taken away–the GOVERNMENT OF GOD. Through us the living Christ has been preparing for his SECOND COMING for the PURPOSE of RESTORING ALL THINGS!…It is the living JESUS CHRIST who had been ACTUALLY DOING the Work. He has used YOU and me as his INSTRUMENTS! WHAT A PRIVILEGE AND JOY!

Note how many times HWA used the expressions ‘we’, ‘us’, and ‘you’–in the context that helped fulfill the Elijah role. As stated earlier, it was HWA’s original position that the Philadelphia Era of the COG was the fulfillment of the Elijah role. It was clearly still his position in 1982 that he himself was not the only possible one to fulfill an Elijah role. And while HWA says that the Philadelphia portion of the COG restored many things (and apparently will restore ALL THINGS under the direction of its final leader), he never stated that there was nothing else that needed to be restored. Amongst other items, there were items on church history and end time prophecy that HWA did not restore that are now being restored.

Furthermore, it should be noted that a careful reading of another one of HWA’s articles supports the idea that the Philadelphia era will need to have something else be restored. HWA wrote:

This very WORK OF GOD for our day is foretold in the prophecy of Revelation 3:7-13. But there it is revealed that we, today, are a people of but little strength – little power (verse 8)! – within ourselves though we have faithfully KEPT GOD’S WORD! The impact of this WORK OF GOD today is going out only through the power of God! Are you having your part in this very WORK OF GOD? But – let’s face it! – WE DO NOT HAVE WITHIN OURSELVES, AS GOD’S INSTRUMENTS FOR HIS WORK TODAY, ANYWHERE NEAR THE POWER OF GOD THAT ACTIVATED THAT ORIGINAL FIRST-CENTURY CHURCH! For that very reason, the living Christ says (verse 8), He has opened to us the gigantic door of MASS COMMUNICATION! The magnified power of the microphone and the printing press. Yet that is only physical, mechanical power! The REAL POWER that makes God’s Work vital and alive is the Holy Spirit of God! (Armstrong HW. Christians Have Lost Their POWER! Plain Truth, Jun 1958).

The Greek word translated as strength, dunamis, which HWA refers to as power, is the same Greek word that is normally translated as ‘miracle’ or ‘miracles’. Thus, Revelation 3:8 shows that the Philadelphia Church will have some type of miracles, and although I agree with HWA’s position that the initial power/miracle had to do with electronic media, I also agree with him that the old WCG did not have, “ANYWHERE NEAR THE POWER OF GOD THAT ACTIVATED THAT ORIGINAL FIRST-CENTURY CHURCH.” Thus, HWA acknowledged, howbeit indirectly, that the power of God had not been fully restored to his WCG. And it should be noted that dreams and gifts of prophecy were given to the first-century church (Acts 2:17-18) and thus, according to his own writing, there should be these type of occurrences at the end. One group in the 21st century has that (see Dreams, the Bible, the Radio Church of God, and the Continuing Church of God and How To Determine If Someone is a True Prophet of God).

The CCOG may be the only COG that has  ALL the 18 restored truths that Herbert W. Armstrong pointed to as restored to the Philadelphia portion of the COG in its official Statement of Beliefs–see Statement of Beliefs of the Continuing Church of God.

In addition to that, here is a summary of other matters restored in the CCOG:

Dreams & Signs of Acts 2:17-18
Why God Created Anything
Why God Created Human Beings
Teaching all things Jesus taught (Matthew 28:19-20; see also The Final Phase of the Work)
Church History–and how it supports the COG contending for the original faith.
Laying on of Hands Succession and List
Violent Sports (see also Is American Football Evil?)
Details and Ramifications of Being Non-Trinitarian (see also Did the True Church Ever Teach a Trinity?)
The Final Phase of the Work and Preparing for the ‘Short Work’ and The Famine of the Word
The Gospel of the Kingdom of God translated into over 1500 languages–while working on more (see also Preaching the Gospel in Over 1500 Languages)–and while distinguishing between the millennial and post-millennial phases of the Kingdom of God.
Romans 11:25 and the Full Number of the Gentiles
Major and massive details on God’s plan of salvation (see also Universal OFFER of Salvation, Apokatastasis: Can God save the lost in an age to come? Hundreds of scriptures reveal God’s plan of salvation)
Prophecy (watch also 50+ Laodicean Prophetic Errors)
Habakkuk 2 and Debt (e.g., see Anglo – America in Prophecy & the Lost Tribes of Israel)
Identity of the Man of Sin of 2 Thessalonians 2
Daniel 11:39 and the Start of the Great Tribulation
USA-Samaria Identification
Mark of the Beast
Attaining the Unity of God (see also What is Your Destiny? Deification? Did the Early Church Teach That Christians Would Become God?)
Why Do Christian People Die?
Information on the Third Resurrection (see also Universal OFFER of Salvation, Apokatastasis: Can God save the lost in an age to come? Hundreds of scriptures reveal God’s plan of salvation
The reason there was both a Passover and Atonement sacrifice representing Jesus (see Should You Keep God’s Holy Days or Demonic Holidays?).

There is a 21st century Elijah, and that individual would be expected to be part of the Continuing Church of God.

The Continuing Church of God put out the following sermon on its ContinuingCOG channel:

1:11:07

21st Century Elijah

Was John the Baptist the prophesied Elijah or at least a type of Elijah? Is there an Elijah to come? Have Sabbatarians been teaching this a long time? What were 18 truths that Herbert W. Armstrong said God had him restore? Was anything to be restored in the last days, consistent with Daniel 12:4 and Matthew 17:11? Was God supposed to restore dreams and prophets in the last days? Did the Worldwide Church of God teach such would happen again? Have we seen signs of Acts 2:17-18 in the Continuing Church of God? Is Bob Thiel the final Elijah or one of the two witnesses? Why or why not? Has there been the restoration of important truths in the CCOG? Is the CCOG at least setting the foundation for the 21st century Elijah? Dr. Thiel gives information relating to all of that in this sermon.

Here is a link to the sermon: 21st Century Elijah.

When Herbert W. Armstrong was directing it, the old Worldwide Church of God (WCG) taught:

These two witnesses are two human beings who are given extraordinary power for 3 1/2 years just prior to Christ’s return (verse 3). If any man attempts to hurt them before their ministry is up, “…fire proceeds out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies” (verse 5). Note how similar this is to the power given to Elijah (II Kings 1:9-15). They also have power over the rainfall, to produce drought and famine as did Elijah (Luke 4:25; I Kings 17:1-7), and to smite the earth with plagues (Rev. 11:6). Their mission will be to give one final warning (Armstrong HW, editor. The Plain Truth Personal Correspondence Department response on the two witnesses to Mr. and Mrs. Thiel. September 13, 1984).

Herbert Armstrong was NOT one of the two witnesses.

Sadly, just as many would not hear Elijah’s nor John the Baptist’s messages, relatively few will pay much attention to the end time Elijah as well.

That is not a surprise as most Christians in the end times were to be Laodicean, and Jesus warned the Laodiceans since they would not ‘get with the program,’ that they would be punished (Revelation 3:14-18).

Of course, if you are willing to believe the truth and do what the Bible teaches, that does not have to include you.

As far as restoration goes, the Continuing Church of God put together the following sermon on its ContinuingCOG channel:

1:15:45

CCOG: Restoring All Things

Jesus stated that an Elijah to come would restore all things (Mathew 17:11). Did Herbert W. Armstrong restore anything? Consistent with Daniel 12:4, were there truths that were to be restored in the 21st century? What are some that have been restored? What about church history, the original catholic church, the faith once for all delivered to the saints, and apostolic succession? What were the last days signs of Acts 2:17-18? What about teachings on violent sports, the fulness of the Gentiles, using scores of languages to help fulfill Matthew 24:14, non-trinitarian ramifications, prophetic matters, the identity of the man of sin, Daniel 11:39 and the start of the Great Tribulation, the identity of Samaria, the connection between Habakkuk 2:1-8 and the United States of America, the final phase of the work, the mark of the Beast, and the third resurrection? Has the Continuing Church of God been restoring matters in the 21st century? Dr. Thiel addresses these questions and more.

Here is a link to the sermon: CCOG: Restoring All Things.

The Elijah’s restoring of “all things” means that he is to be restoring information that the true Church of God once understood, but later must have lost or misunderstood.

The problem is that just as many would not hear Elijah’s or John the Baptist’s messages, relatively few will pay much attention to the end time Elijah as well.

Some items of possibly related interest may include:

The Elijah Heresies Does the Bible teach that there will be a future Elijah? Must it be Herbert W. Armstrong? Three related sermons are available Elijah: Prophecies and Heresies, Elijah, Herbert W. Armstrong, and CCOG, and 21st Century Elijah.
Continuing Church of God, Elijah, and Restoring All Things Have all things been restored? Is there restoration going on? Is there supposed to be a 21st century Elijah? Here is are links to two related sermons: 21st Century Elijah and CCOG: Restoring All Things. Here is a link to a related sermon in the Spanish language: La restauracion de todas las cosas.
Elijah: Past and Prophesied Information about the original Elijah and some information about the Elijah-related prophecies.
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.
The MYSTERY of GOD’s PLAN: Why Did God Create Anything? Why Did God Make You? This free online book helps answers some of the biggest questions that human have, including the biblical meaning of life. Here is a link to three related sermons: Mysteries of God’s Plan, Mysteries of Truth, Sin, Rest, Suffering, and God’s Plan, and The Mystery of YOU.
The Gospel of the Kingdom of God This free online pdf booklet has answers many questions people have about the Gospel of the Kingdom of God and explains why it is the solution to the issues the world is facing. It is available in over 1,000 languages at ccog.org. Here are links to four kingdom-related sermons:  The Fantastic Gospel of the Kingdom of God!, The World’s False Gospel, The Gospel of the Kingdom: From the New and Old Testaments, and The Kingdom of God is the Solution.
Why Be Concerned About False and Heretical Leaders? There have been many false leaders–here is some of why you should be concerned about them. Here is a related article in the Spanish language ¿Por qué estar preocupado acerca de falsos y heréticos líderes?
Does the CCOG have the confirmed signs of Acts 2:17-18? Does any church have the confirmed dream and prophetic signs of Acts 2:17-18? Should one? Here is a link in the Spanish language: ¿Tiene la CCOG confirmadas las señales de Hechos 2: 17-18? Here is a link in the French language: Est-ce que l’Église Continue de Dieu confirme les signes d’Actes 2:17-18? A related sermon in the English language is also available: 17 Last Days’ Signs of the Holy Spirit.
Church of God Leaders on Prophets Have there been prophets throughout the church age? Are any supposed to be around in the last days? What have COG leaders stated or written about prophets? Here is a link to a related sermon: Church of God Leaders on Prophets.
How To Determine If Someone is a True Prophet of God There are many false prophets. How can Christians determine who is a true prophet? There is also a sermon-length video titled How to determine if someone is a true prophet of God. Here is a related link in Spanish/español: ¿Cómo determinar si alguien es un verdadero profeta de Dios?
The Dangerous Rise of Preterists Has the Great Tribulation finished? What was the view of early Christians? Why is the preterist view dangerous? A related sermon video is titled Preterism: You’ve Gotta Be Kidding…Right?
Why Be Concerned About False and Heretical Leaders? There have been many false leaders–here is some of why you should be concerned about them.
Herbert W. Armstrong, the Philadelphia Church, & the Mantle Herbert Armstrong claims God had him raise the Philadelphia up. Are there reasons to believe that the Philadelphia mantle in now within the CCOG? Here is a link to a related sermon: Herbert W. Armstrong and the Philadelphia Mantle.
Who Are The Two Witnesses? What is their job? What does the Bible reveal? What has the Church of God taught on this subject? Might even Roman Catholic prophecies give some clues here? A related sermon is available: Prophecy and the Two Witnesses. Here is a related link in Spanish/español:¿Quiénes son los dos testigos?
The Final Phase of the Work What is the final phase of the work? Who will lead it? Do you have the courage to support it? Here is a related YouTube video titled The Final Phase of the Work. The written article has been translated into Spanish La Fase Final de la Obra.

Coronation chair with Stone of Scone in Westminster Abby c. 1880
(Wikipedia)

COGwriter

Two years ago, the BBC reported the following:

The disputed history of the Coronation Stone

6 March 2023

On 6 May 2023, Charles III will be crowned on the sacred Stone of Scone – an ancient symbol of Scottish sovereignty whose history is mired in controversy and legend.

Westminster Abbey is one of the most famous religious buildings in the world and one of London’s key tourist sites. Built by King Edward I (Edward the Confessor) in 1040, it has been the site of royal coronations since 1066. … visitors are paying particular attention to the Coronation Chair, the seat on which English monarchs have been crowned since 1308. …

This was designed by Edward I to house the Coronation Stone, a sacred rock with mysterious origins that he brought from Scotland in 1296.

The platform is currently empty – but before the coronation on 6 May, the stone will be brought from Edinburgh Castle (where it’s housed alongside the Scottish Crown Jewels) to the Abbey when Charles III is crowned king of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The Coronation Stone – also known as the Stone of Scone or Stone of Destiny – is an ancient symbol of Scottish sovereignty with links to Ireland and Spain, stolen by the English and even associated with biblical lore. …

According to legend, it was the same stone used by the biblical figure Jacob (the father of the Israelites) as a pillow in Bethel when he dreamed of a ladder reaching to heaven. From here, one of Jacob’s sons is said to have taken it to Egypt, from where it travelled to Spain and later to Ireland when the Spanish king’s son, Simon Brech, invaded the island in 700 BCE.

There it was placed on the sacred Hill of Tara near Skryne in County Meath and named the Lia Fail …

“There are a number of Lia Fail in ancient Irish history,” said Dr David Hume, an Ulster Scots historian, journalist and broadcaster. “In 496 CE, a stone was in the possession of King Fergus Mór mac Eirc who ruled Dalriada, a kingdom that spanned the Irish Sea and incorporated parts of Western Scotland.”

According to Hume, the story goes that Fergus took the Lia Fail stone from Ireland to Scotland when he moved his royal seat to Dunnadd in Argyll in 498 CE. However, it’s uncertain just how much of the story is true. The main evidence for it is in the Scottish Declaration of Arbroath in 1320 CE, signed by the Scottish nobles in an appeal to the Pope to recognise Scottish independence, which mentions an “honour” passing through the Mediterranean Sea and coming from Israel.

Whatever the truth, we know that the stone was taken to Scone Abbey in Perthshire after Kenneth I – who united the Scots and Pictish kingdoms and is known as the first King of Scotland – moved his capital from Western Scotland to Scone in around 840 CE. This “Stone of Destiny” was used for centuries in the coronation ceremonies of Scottish monarchs.

But following his victory at the Battle of Dunbar in 1296, England’s King Edward I marched north, seized the stone from Scone Abbey and had it fitted into the base of a specially crafted wooden Coronation Chair on which English – and later British – monarchs have been crowned inside London’s Westminster Abbey ever since.

However, even this history remains disputed. …

“When the Stone was returned to Scotland in 1996, the process of removing it from the chair required great care to ensure both were protected throughout,” explained Kathy Richmond, head of Collections & Applied Conservation at Historic Environment Scotland. https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20230305-the-disputed-history-of-the-coronation-stone

In 1993, my wife Joyce and I saw the stone in the coronation chair, essentially  like it looked in the photo at the beginning of this post. Since it was moved to Scotland in 1996, we saw the coronation chair without the stone when we visited Westminster Abby again in 2019.

That said, the chair and stone were used for the coronation of King Charles III.

The old Radio Church of God published the following about the stone:

In Westminster Abbey is an intriguing stone, steel gray in color, mixed with red veins, twenty-two inches long, thirteen inches broad and eleven inches deep. Attached to each end is a worn iron ring by which the stone may be carried. This rock is not beautiful, yet it is more important than all the crown jewels! On it Elizabeth II was crowned.

For centuries the kings of Scotland — the ancestors of the present British royal family — were crowned upon it. Upon this stone the ancient Irish kings of this same royal family were also crowned, even as far back as five and one-half centuries before the birth of Jesus Christ.

What is the true significance of this rock? Where did it come from?

Ancient Irish annals prove the rock — which they called “Lia fail” meaning stone of destiny — did not originate in Ireland, but came by way of Spain from the East. It was brought by a white-haired old man — a prophet — who also brought a daughter of an Eastern king.

Through her marriage to the king of Ireland, she not only continued her father’s throne but also became the ancestor of a dynasty which has continued to Elizabeth II. …

Yes, on the throne of England reigns a daughter of David, a descendant of King Zedekiah’s daughter whom Jeremiah the prophet took to Ireland together with the stone of destiny. From the marriage of that young princess has descended a dynasty that has ruled Ireland, Scotland and England for over 2500 years! And all of them have been crowned over the some of destiny, Jacob’s pillow stone. (Why is the stone under the royal chair in Westminster Abbey in London called “Jacob’s Pillow Stone?” Plain Truth, July 1959)

The late evangelist Dr. Herman Hoeh (while in the Radio Church of God) wrote the following:

According to this Masonic tradition, a Prince Eochaid of Ireland came to Jerusalem several years before 585. He was present during the siege. This Eochaid (meaning Knight) was none other than Oilioll Olchaoin, the son of Siorna Saoghlach mac Dian called the Heremon. Eochaid was blood royal of the Milesian Zarah line. After the fall of Jerusalem he married Zedekiah’s daughter, named in the Masonic tradition Tea Tephi, of the Pharez line. They fled in 585 with Jeremiah and Baruch to Egypt.

The last Biblical record places them in Egypt. Masonic tradition, however, traces their journey to Ireland. Irish histories relate the arrival of a royal party in 569 B.C. (See “The Irish Prince and the Hebrew Prophet”, New York, 1896, pages 137-145). The arrivals included Prince Eochaid, his wife Tea Tephi, their son and a prophet called Ollamh Fodhla and his scribe Baruch. When they reached Tara, Eochaid was proclaimed king since his father had just died. A description from the Masonic tradition reads: “Jeremiah had joined the hands of the prince and princess over the sacred stone (lia fail) … and commanded the blessing of Israel’s God to rest upon the throne of David.” (“The Irish Prince and the Hebrew Prophet”, page 139). …

In 1296 Edward I of England declared himself king of Scotland and removed the coronation stone — Lia Fail — from Scone to Westminster. (Hoeh H. Compendium of World History. Ambassador College Thesis, 1967)

Now, Charles has officially succeeded his mother–and was coronated over that stone.

Here is some information in a book I have written tilted Lost Tribes and Prophecies: What will happen to Australia, the British Isles, Canada, Europe, New Zealand and the United States of America?:

Stone of Destiny

As far as the “stone of destiny” goes, my wife and I saw what reportedly is it back in 1993 when it was in the coronation throne in Westminster Abby. It was not there the last time we visited Westminster Abby (2019) as it is now stored in Scotland.

According to legend, it was the coronation stone used by the kings of Judah and some think it originally was Jacob’s. Jacob had used a pillar stone as a pillow, then anointed it with oil, and said he it would be “God’s house” (Genesis 28:18-22).

If that stone ended up in the first Temple under the Holy of Holies as some Jews claim,[i] then it was not the coronation stone of scripture as that was not out in public view (cf. Leviticus 16:1-19; Hebrews 9:7-8).

During the time of that temple, the Bible points to coronations being done at/on a pillar stone that was in public, so that would not be at the Holy of Holies:

¹² … put upon him the crown and the insignia; and  they made him king, and anointed him; and… ¹⁴ … behold, the king stood on the platform, as the manner was … (2 Kings 11:12,14, Jewish Publication Society)

¹² … put the crown on him, and gave him the Testimony; they made him king and anointed him, and … ¹⁴ … there was the king standing by a pillar according to custom; (2 Kings 11:12,14, NKJV)

During the time of Jeremiah, King Josiah of Judah made a solemn covenant at what looks to be this very same stone (2 Kings 23:3).

Various ones have asserted that the coronation stone was brought to Ireland by Jeremiah and ended up in Scotland.[ii] Fergus, son of Erc, is claimed to have taken it from Ireland and brought it to Scotland.[iii] Some others claim that the true stone was actually kept in Ireland and a substitute was what was sent to Britain (but if so, no one seems know where it is). Some others say that King Edward took the wrong stone and there is one hidden in Scotland, but it has not been publicly revealed if that was the case. [iv]

The stone that currently is in Scotland, that King Edward I had taken from Scotland and brought to Westminster Abby in the late 1200s, is made from red sandstone, but does not look red at all. Some say it originated from Scone, Scotland and not from the Middle East—if so, then one or more of the transfer legends are in error. The reports that a stone was taken from Ireland to Scotland contradicts the Scottish origin of the stone, as others have noted.[v] Hence, the Scottish origin of the stone may not be a fact like some have asserted.[vi]

It may be of interest to note that there is red sandstone in Haran, where Jacob’s pillar stone originated, as well as many other places in the Middle East, including Petra. So, it may be possible that the stone in Scotland could have come from Jeremiah, but that is not dogma as we have not scientifically examined the stone ourselves to attempt to determine its original location.

However, it should be pointed out that the phallic stone currently at the Lia Fail on the Hill of Tara was not brought by Jeremiah. Legend says Tea Tephi removed an original phallic stone which was part of pagan worship.[vii] After the Stone of Destiny went to Britain or otherwise left the Hill of Tara, a phallic stone was put back there and is there now.[viii]

That is consistent with reports that there were two different origins of the Lia Fail. One is that Tuatha de Danann brought it from Germany and it is an ancient pagan symbol, and the other is that a Milesian leader brought it over from Spain.[ix] Since Tea Tephi reportedly came to Ireland via Spain,[x] that could explain both stones (and there could be more than two).

The following from the 19^th century mentions Jeremiah and the stone:

We have seen a late work on prophecy gravely affirming that the Prophet Jeremiah died in Ireland, having been forced hither by the wandering sons of Ephraim. One of the few unquestionable facts connected with early Irish history, is the intercourse between Ireland and the Phoenicians, through Spain. The Israelitish settlers, according to the tradition, carried with them Jacob’s pillow or pillar, known as the Lia Fail or Stone of Destiny, which secured a perpetual monarchy to the people so happy as to possess it. This stone, at the crowning of the first king of the Scots in Scotland, was borrowed ….[xi]

The above legend is interesting as it looks to tie Ephraim in with the British Isles, and affirms the idea that Jeremiah also came to the isles. In the 43^rd chapter of Jeremiah, Jeremiah is shown to be with the “king’s daughters” (Jeremiah 43:1-6), but nothing like the pillar stone is mentioned with them.

That said, King Charles is expected to be coronated on a throne that will contain the ‘Stone of Scone.’[xii]

[i] Vilnay Z. Legends of Jerusalem Volume 1. Jewish Publication Society, 1973, pp. 9-10

[ii] E.g. Plain Truth Staff. The Bible Answers Short Questions From Our Readers. Plain Truth Magazine July 1959; The Christian remembrancer; or, The Churchman’s Biblical, ecclesiastical & literary miscellany. 1864, p. 2

[iii] Poole WH. Anglo-Israel Or, The Saxon Race, Proved to be the Lost Tribes of Israel. W. Briggs, 1889, p. 501

[iv] Cartwright M. Stone of Scone. World History Encyclopedia, 2018.

[v] Ibid; Johnson B. The Stone of Destiny. Hiatoric UK, viewed 03/06/23.

[vi] Enfield L. The disputed history of the Coronation Stone. BBC, March 6, 2023

[vii] Yarrow S. The Legend of Teia Tephi, Queen of Ireland. http://www.pocketoz.com.au/colours/covenant_tephi.html accessed 08/12/22

[viii] Joyce PW. The Wonders of Ireland and Other Papers on Irish Subjects, Longmans, Green, and Company, 1911, p. 70

[ix] Petrie, pp. 161-162

[x] Petrie, p. 130

[xi] The Christian remembrancer; or, The Churchman’s Biblical, ecclesiastical & literary miscellany. 1864, p. 2

[xii] Enfield L. The disputed history of the Coronation Stone. BBC, March 6, 2023

Related to ties that the British royalty has to the ancient Davidic throne of Israel, the Continuing Church of God put together the following video on our Bible News Prophecy YouTube channel:

Here is a link to our video: Lia Fail and the British Monarchy.

Eastern Orthodox 16th Century Representation of the “Apocalypse”

COGwriter

Israel 365News posted the following:

Trump’s Gaza Plan is “The Final task before Messiah”

February 5, 2025

Trump announced an entirely unexpected proposal on Tuesday:

“The US will take over the Gaza Strip,” Trump said at a joint press conference. “And we will do a job with it too. We’ll own it.”

“We will be responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous unexploded bombs and other weapons on the site, [for] get[ting] rid of the destroyed buildings, level[ing] it out, [and] creat[ing] an economy development that will supply unlimited numbers of jobs and housing to the people of the area,” Trump said.

The president said the Palestinians “have no alternative” but to leave the “big pile of rubble” that is Gaza and voluntarily relocate to one or more countries “with humanitarian hearts.”

“[We’ve got to] do something different. You just can’t go back. If you go back, it’s going to end up the same way it has been for 100 years,” he said, adding that other regional leaders backed his idea.

“It should not go through a process of rebuilding and occupation by the same people that have… lived there and died there and lived a miserable existence there,” Trump said.

He described his vision in which the  “world’s people” would settle in Gaza once the US finishes rebuilding it, and that while the Palestinians could be among them, the site on the Mediterranean will become an “international” hub.  …

When considering the future of Gaza concerning Israel, it is essential to understand its role in the Bible and prophecy. Gaza appears 18 times in the Hebrew Bible and is listed in Genesis 10:19 as being included in the southern border of the Promised Land. Gaza was, nonetheless, sporadically conquered and occupied by foreigners, including the Assyrians, Philistines, and Egyptians. It was, in fact, one of five Philistine cities on the coastal plain of Israel, remaining as one of the cities that Joshua failed to capture in his lifetime (Joshua 10:41).

Rabbi Yekutiel Fish, a respected mystic rabbi from Jerusalem who authors a Torah blog titled Sod HaChashmal, praised Trump’s plan and predicted that its success was inevitable.

“Trump is a successful man and puts together business deals that no one else could manage,” Rabbi Fish said. “For him, this is a deal that all sides benefit.”

But Rabbi Fish saw Trump’s Gaza plan as part of a bigger picture.

“Everyone is focused on Gaza, but that is only one part of the end-of-days agenda, which has the Jews living in Israel’s prophesied borders,” Rabbi Fish said. “The Torah explicitly includes Gaza. What Trump is doing is cleaning out Gaza of all the haters of Israel. They cannot be in Israel after the Messiah comes. After the Messiah, the only people who can be in the Biblical borders of Israel are those who believe He is One and His name is One. This will include Gaza, half of Lebanon, and much of Jordan.” https://israel365news.com/400058/kabbalist-trumps-gaza-plan-the-final-task-before-messiah/

No, the Trump proposal is NOT the final task before the Messiah returns.

Rabbi Fish has a history of being wrong related to the Messiah (e.g. see Rabbi Yekutiel Fish: Next year will be the final Jubilee, year of Messiah’s arrival and Trump: US ‘locked and loaded;’ BIN: Yekutiel Fish: ‘Yemen…first stage in the multi-national War of Gog and Magog’).

There is also the position of the international community that opposes the Trump proposal (see China, Saudi Arabia, Hamas, France, Germany, and others reject Trump Administration expulsion plan–prelude to Daniel 9:27?).

But, more importantly, there are scriptures.

Jesus laid out what would happen BEFORE He was to return.

While people like Rabbi Fish discount the words of Jesus, true Christians do not.

Nearly two thousand years ago, Jesus’ disciples specifically asked Him how to know when this would happen (Matthew 24:3; Mark 13:4; Luke 21:7)–and He responded with details. Several of those details are yet to be fulfilled.

But sadly, many overlook what Jesus taught, but instead try to point to other things.

Related to nearly every individual year beginning in 2008, I have denounced false prophets as well as those that speculated on each of those years as the start of the Great Tribulation, as all who did so were much too close to that date/year for it to be possible. Or, related to false predictions on Jesus’ return, Harold Camping back in 2011 (see Harold Camping’s Teachings About the End of the World Do Not Agree with the Bible).

At this moment it is now impossible that the Great Tribulation can begin in 2025 or 2026 or 2027. The Great Tribulation will come relatively soon, but 2028 is the earliest possible start date (you may also wish to watch a sermon video titled The Great Tribulation from the Mount of Olives, as well another sermon titled: Great Tribulation: 2026 or 2027?).

Jesus’ disciples specifically asked Him how to know when this would happen (Matthew 24:3; Mark 13:4; Luke 21:7)–and He responded with details. Several of those details are yet to be fulfilled.

But sadly, many overlook what Jesus taught, but instead try to point to other things–but in this article I have striven to draw conclusions from what the Bible actually teaches.

Consider, for example, that although some claimed that the blood moons in 2014 and 2015 may have marked the beginning of the Great Tribulation, I correctly denounced that years ago (Blood Moons, Eclipses, and Prophecy; a related YouTube video is also available: Blood Moons, Prophecy, 2014, and 2015) and was proven right. I also denounced the so-called Shemitah year and the claimed devastation that was supposed to hit the world economy, etc. in late 2015 (see also 6000 years up and Jesus to return in 2016? and September ‘convergence’: a harbinger of potential disaster?), and again was right. On January 1, 2017, I blasted the idea of the claimed “Jubilee of 2017” would mark the end (see Can the Great Tribulation Start in 2017? Furthermore, I blasted the idea that the solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 (see Solar Eclipse and the Apocalypse) or Planet Nibiru would begin the tribulation or destroy the Earth (see Doomsayers: Planet Nibiru to destroy Planet Earth in four weeks). I also denounced the view that because of the formation of the tiny nation of Israel in 1948, that the Great Tribulation needed to start 70 years later, like in 2018 (watch Can the Great Tribulation begin in 2018?). Some wrongly claimed that something from the “Sabbatical Code” as well as a shemita-decree calculation or a message from Fatima predicted 2019 (see False ‘Great Tribulation’ predictions/calculations for 2019). Some pointed to astronomy and even John 20:20 as proof for 2020 as the beginning, but this was denounced as well (watch Could the Great Tribulation Begin in 2020?). Certain ones who claimed to be COG pointed to 2020 and/or 2021 were wrong (see PCG claims Revelation 17:12 prophecy can happen this year! James Malm wrong about 2021) and some pointed to Israel’s 1948 formation and the US presidential election in 2020 as pointing to 2021 (2021: The Great Tribulation or the Great Reset?)–which I also denounced. Also denounced were centuries old predictions supposedly pointing to 2022 by Nostradamus and Paracelsus as well as some from Muslims that pointed to Jesus returning in 2022 or 2023 (watch Can the Great Tribulation start in 2022 or 2023?). I also denounced that some pointed to ancient sources, biblical holy days, a guess of the Jubilee year, and various other signs for 2023 for either the ‘rapture’ or the start of the Great Tribulation–and a claimed COG which had the Great Tribulation begin on March 31, 2023 and another who claimed September 16, 2023 (watch Can Jesus return in 2023 or 2024?), but they were also wrong. Also denounced were various ones who pointed to 2024 including one tying it in with 1948 and the State of Israel (watch Tribulation in 2024?), who were wrong as well.

Why?

Because according to the Bible, other events needed to occur, that had not yet occurred.

We must base the timing of the Great Tribulation upon what the Bible teaches.

The reality is that there are sufficient clues in the Bible, and such as in the books of Daniel and Matthew, that make the prospective of the Great Tribulation happening in the next three years impossible.

Yet, we have seen events occur that are getting us closer regarding the coming Apocalypse.

For example, all the societal deterioration we have seen is consistent with the following being fulfilled:

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! (2 Timothy 3:1-5)

With all this going on, could it still be possible that the countdown for the Great Tribulation will begin in 2025?

Perhaps.

Let’s first look at the following:

3 Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”

4 And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. (Matthew 24:3-5)

Just like you, the disciples wanted to know. But also notice that Jesus said to be careful about being deceived, including by people who teach that Jesus is the Christ.

The biblical reality is that necessary events that Jesus and Daniel mentioned, that will allow for that, have not happened.

For some scriptural proof, let’s look at the account in Matthew 24:

4 And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. 6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.

9 “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. 10 And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. 11 Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. 12 And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. 13 But he who endures to the end shall be saved.

14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.

15 “Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place” (whoever reads, let him understand), 16 “then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. (Matthew 24:4-16)

Notice also that Jesus pointed to signs in the heavens those signs are AFTER the tribulation:

29 “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. (Matthew 24:29)

That said, there is no possibility that the Great Tribulation can happen in 2025 and those who rely on the Bible have realized this. It is only those who overlook scripture and rely on their own views and/or false traditions who make the mistake of thinking that the Great Tribulation can, or could, happen in 2025.

Why do I state this?

Jesus pointed to Daniel.

Thus, one reason that the Great Tribulation will not begin yet is that one known as the final King of the North in Daniel 11 needs to rise up.

The Bible shows that the coming “King of the North” will make a deal of some sort with one called the King of the South just before the appointed time of the end:

27 Both these kings’ hearts shall be bent on evil, and they shall speak lies at the same table; but it shall not prosper, for the end will still be at the appointed time (Daniel 11:27).

Daniel chapter 11 tells much about the end times and it involves both a King of the South and a King of the North. And while there was a president of the South and a president of the North in the Union for the Mediterranean (see Deal Leading to Psalm 83?), these individuals have not held the type of power (nor prerogatives) of the prophesied King of the North and the King of the South. Nor will the current head of the post-Lisbon European Union, likely be the final King of the North as she does not seem to fit that description.

Since the Great Tribulation will not start before there is an actual King of the South and an actual final King of the North –it is not yet.

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

There are several reasons that this “prince” is referring to the leader of the developing European empire (see King of the North and Europa, the Beast, and the Book of Revelation). One is that it was the people of the Roman Empire of the 1st century that fulfilled the portion of Daniel 9:26 as they destroyed the city (Jerusalem) in 70 A.D. The European Union includes much of the land and peoples that were part of the ancient Roman Empire. And it is the “prince” coming from that people that verse 27 is referring to. Thus, this prophecy tells us that a lower level European leader will officially start to rise up about 3 1/2 years before the great tribulation (and yes, according to Jesus, some “tribulation” does happen prior to the start of the Great Tribulation). Another is the fact that the “beast of the sea” (Revelation 13:1) fits with the beasts from the “great sea” (Daniel 7:2)–and that is the Mediterranean Sea according to the Old Testament–hence this is an empire like the old Roman one (for more details, please see Europa, the Beast, and the Book of Revelation).

This portion of scripture in Daniel seems to be discussing some type of peace deal that the Europeans will either propose or at least one from Europe will endorse. Such a deal does not yet exist–and the Messiah will not return until 7 years after it has been confirmed.

Now, with the turmoil we have seen in the Middle East, at this instant it is possible that such a deal could be confirmed in 2025.

But we do not know yet–we are to “Watch” as Jesus admonished His followers in Mark 13:37.

As far as Gaza goes, Rabbi Fish is also wrong about that as he also does not seem to understand many prophecies in the Old Testament (see Gaza and the Palestinians in Bible Prophecy).

Some items of possibly related interest may include:

When Will the Great Tribulation Begin? 2025, 2026, or 2027? 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? A short video is available titled: Great Tribulation Trends 2025.
There is a Place of Safety for the Philadelphians. Why it May Be Near Petra This article discusses a biblical ‘place of safety’ and includes quotes from the Bible and Herbert W. Armstrong on this subject–thus, there is a biblically supported alternative to the rapture theory. Two sermon-length videos of related interest are available Physical Protection During the Great Tribulation and Might Petra be the Place of Safety? Here is something related in the Spanish language: Hay un lugar de seguridad para los Filadelfinos. ¿Puede ser Petra?
Is There A Secret Rapture for the Church? When and Where is the Church Protected? What does the Bible really teach? Does the Church flee or is it taken up just prior to the great tribulation? Who really is left behind? Here are links to two related videos Rapture or Fleeing? Which is Great Tribulation Protection? and Did Jesus Teach a Pre-tribulation Rapture?
Gaza and the Palestinians in Bible Prophecy What does the Bible teach about Gaza and the fate of the Palestinians? Here is a link to two related videos: Gaza and Bible Prophecy and Gaza and Palestine in Prophecy.

COGwriter

If you are a Christian, should you celebrate February 14th as Valentine’s Day?

The Apostle John was inspired to write:

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

Valentine’s Day is a worldly holiday, essentially built upon lust of the eyes and the pride of life. It will pass away, it is not a true Christian holiday. The true origin of Valentine’s Day is outside the Bible and early Christian literature.

Christians who may be tempted to compromise need to ask themselves if the origins of Valentine’s Day are biblical or pagan.

It is not too hard to figure that out.

Even the old World Book Encyclopedia (Valentine’s Day. Volume 19. 1966, pp.205-206) states,

…the customs of the day have nothing to do with the lives of the saints. They probably come from an ancient Roman festival called Lupercalia which took place every February 15. The festival honored Juno, the Roman goddess of women and marriage, and Pan, the god of nature…The Romans celebrated their feast of Lupercalia as a lovers’ festival for young people. Young men and women chose partners for the festival by drawing names from a box…After the spread of Christianity, churchmen tried to give Christian meaning to the pagan festival. In 496, Pope Gelasius changed the Lupercalia festival of February 15 to Saint Valentine’s Day February 14. But the sentimental meaning of the old festival has remained to the present time. Historians disagree about the identity of St. Valentine”.

Furthermore it also states,

“LUPERCALIA…was celebrated on February 15 in honor of Faunus, a rural Italian god. Faunus was later identified with Pan, the god of herds and fertility…Priests…ran around striking all the women the met (Lupercalia. Volume 12. 1966, p.456).

The pagan being named Cupid (a supposed son of Venus) was also involved. According to pagan mythology, anyone being hit by Cupid’s arrow falls in love with the first person he/she sees. One source was bold enough to state,

The church replaced elements of various love-gods (Juno Februata, Eros, Cupid, Kama, Priapus) with St. Valentine, an imaginary Christian. A number of contradictory biographies were created for him…By taking over some of the features of the Pagan gods and goddesses, St. Valentine became the patron saint of lovers…St. Valentine’s Day can be traced back to Lupercalia, the Roman “festival of sexual license” (ST. VALENTINE AND VALENTINE’S DAY, http://www.religioustolerance.org/valentine1.htm, February 6, 2004).

Notice what the Roman Catholics teach,

The roots of St. Valentine’s Day lie in the ancient Roman festival of Lupercalia, which was celebrated on Feb. 15. For 800 years the Romans had dedicated this day to the god Lupercus. On Lupercalia, a young man would draw the name of a young woman in a lottery and would then keep the woman as a sexual companion for the year (The Origins of St. Valentine’s Day. http://www.americancatholic.org/Features/ValentinesDay/, January 31, 2004).

It is of interest to note that the same Catholic source states,

The Catholic Church no longer officially honors St. Valentine, but the holiday has both Roman and Catholic roots.

Does Valentine’s Day sound like a holy festival of love or a pagan holiday of lust?

Notice also:

The Feast of Lubercus The first interpretation has this celebration originating as a pagan tradition in the third century. During this time hordes of hungry wolves roamed outside of Rome where shepherds kept their flocks. The God Lupercus, was said to watch over the shepherds and their flocks and keep them from the wolves. Every February the Romans celebrated a feast called Lupercalia to honor Lupercus so that no harm would come to the shepherds and their flocks. Also during Lupercalia, but in honor of the goddess Juno Februata, the names of young women were put into a box and names were drawn by lot. The boys and girls who were matched would be considered partners for the year, which began in March. This celebration continued long after wolves were a problem to Rome. — St. Valentine’s Day As Christianity became prevalent, priests attempted to replace old heathen practices. To Christianize the ancient pagan celebration of the Feast of Lubercus, the church officials changed the name to St. Valentine’s Day. To give the celebration further meaning and eliminate pagan traditions, priests substituted the drawing of Saints names for the names of the girls. On St. Valentine’s Day the priest placed saint’s names into an urn or box. The young people then drew a name from the container. In the following year, the youth was supposed to emulate the life of the saint whose name he had drawn. By the fourteenth century they reverted back to the use of girl’s names. In the sixteenth century they once again tried to have saintly valentines but it was as unsuccessful as the first attempt. While it can’t be proved historically, there were seven men named Valentine who were honored with feasts on February 14th. Of these men, two stories link incidents that could have given our present day meaning to St. Valentine’s Day…—-February 14th – The Day the Birds Began to Mate The Europeans also believed that on February 14th the birds began to choose their mates. In fact Chaucer, in his “Parlement of Foules,” wrote: “For this was Seynt Valentine’s Day when every foul cometh ther to choose his mate”…The tradition of birds choosing their mates on St. Valentine’s Day led to the idea that boys and girls would do the same. Now when a youth drew a girl’s name, he wore it on his sleeve, and attended and protected her during the following year. This made the girl his valentine and they exchanged love tokens throughout the year. Later this was changed to only men giving love tokens to females, usually without names but signed “with St. Valentine’s Love.” Later, in France, both sexes drew from the valentine box. A booked called Travels in England, written in 1698, gives an account of the way it was done: On St. Valentine’s Eve an equal number of Maids and Bachelors get together, each writes their true or some feigned name upon separate billets, which they roll up and draw by way of lots, the Maids taking the Men’s billets, and the Men the Maids’; so that each of the young Men lights upon a Girl that he calls his Valentine, and each of the Girls upon a young Man which she calls hers. By this means each has two Valentines–but the Man sticks faster to the Valentine that is fallen to him than to the Valentine to whom he is fallen. Fortune having thus divided the company into so many couples, the valentines give balls and treats to their mistresses, wear their billets several days upon their bosoms or sleeves, and this little sport ofen ends in Love. This ceremony is practised differently in different Countries, and according to the freedom or severity of Madame Valentine. This is another kind of Valentine, which is the first young Man or Woman chance throws in your way in the street, or elsewhere . . . (The Origins of Valentine’s Day. http://www.techdirect.com/valentine/origin.html, January 31, 2004).

Anyway, the preceding article mentions those three as the possible origins of Valentine’s day. Actually all three of those are to some degree correct (and World Book Online, in its article Valentine’s Day–which I checked on February 6, 2004–says that some believe that all three played a role in the origins)–Valentine’s day was a pagan holiday that the Catholic Church modified and that most Protestants embrace, which is probably why some Europeans also declared that to be the day the birds mated (birds mate pretty much every day in some part of Europe, so its seems disingenuous to coincidentally declare it on February 14).

But the most likely beginning of the “holiday” seems to have to do with the beginning of the Roman Empire, and probably is prior to the third century:

Archaeologists say they have unearthed Lupercale-the sacred cave where, according to legend, a she-wolf nursed the twin founders of Rome and where the city itself was born.

The long-lost underground chamber was found beneath the remains of Emperor Augustus’ palace on the Palatine, a 230-foot-tall (70-meter-tall) hill in the center of the city…

According to myth, Lupercale is where a she-wolf suckled Romulus and Remus, the twin sons of the war god Mars and mortal priestess Rhea Silvia, who had been abandoned in a cradle on the bank of the Tiber River…

Every year on February 15 ancient priests killed a dog and two goats and smeared the foreheads of two boys from noble families with the sacrificial blood as part of the Lupercalia celebration. (Valsecchi, Maria Cristina. Sacred Cave of Rome’s Founders Discovered, Archaeologists Say. National Geographic News. January 26, 2007. January 26, 2007. http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/01/070126-rome-palatine.html)

Of course, the story of Romulus and Remus is really the fable about the beginning of the Roman Empire–now that Europe is once again trying to revive this empire, I am sure that its leaders are pleased to have located “the sacred cave”.

Is Valentine’s Day A Holiday in Honor of “The Queen of Heaven”?

Another source adds,

The roots of Valentine’s Day can be traced back to pagan festivals of third century Rome. February 14th was set aside as a day to honor the goddess Juno, who was the queen of the Roman gods and goddesses and was the goddess of women and marriage. This day was also the eve of the Feast of Lupercalia. This festival was in honor of the god Lubercus (The History of Valentine’s. http://www.christinescyberuniverse.com/VDay/VdayHistory.html, January 31, 2004).

And who was Juno?

JUNO was the queen of heaven and wife of Jupiter (Zeus)…The ancient Greeks called her HERA (Juno. World Book Encyclopedia, Volume 11. 1966, pp.162-163).

A holiday for the queen of heaven!

What does God say about that?

“…the women knead dough, to make cakes for the queen of heaven; and they pour out drink offerings to other gods, that they may provoke Me to anger. Do they provoke Me to anger?” says the LORD. “Do they not provoke themselves, to the shame of their own faces?” (Jeremiah 7:18-20, NKJV)

Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, saying: “You and your wives have spoken with your mouths and fulfilled with your hands, saying, ‘We will surely keep our vows that we have made, to burn incense to the queen of heaven and pour out drink offerings to her.’ You will surely keep your vows and perform your vows! Therefore hear the word of the LORD, all Judah who dwell in the land of Egypt: ‘Behold, I have sworn by My great name,’ says the LORD, ‘that My name shall no more be named in the mouth of any man of Judah in all the land of Egypt, saying, “The Lord GOD lives. Behold, I will watch over them for adversity and not for good. And all the men of Judah who are in the land of Egypt shall be consumed by the sword and by famine, until there is an end to them”’ (Jeremiah 44:25-28, NKJV).

In other words, God was not happy that people wanted to worship the queen of heaven and He would punish them for it.

Another source mentioned,

The Feast of Lupercalia was celebrated in honor of the God Lupercus, who was said to watch over shepherds and their flocks and kept them safe, since during this time hordes of hungry wolves roamed outside Rome. The festival was celebrated on February 15 at the cave of the Lupercal on the Palatine Hill, where the legendary founders of Rome, the twins Romulus and Remus, were supposed to have been nursed by a wolf. However, other scholars, while not dismissing the celebration of Lupercalia, prefer to explain the celebration which took place in the middle of February as a celebration to the Goddess Juno Februato. It is to their thinking linked to Valentine’s Day. While all scholars agree to the time when the practice of men drawing the names of women took place, there do exist slight differences in whose honor the celebrations took place. As time marched on, Christianity steadily gained converts and it became an officially supported religion in the Roman state under Constantine I, who ruled as emperor from AD 324 to 337. All pagan cults were prohibited in AD 392 by an edict of emperor Theodosius I. At this time, priests attempted to replace old heathen practices. The ancient pagan celebration of the Feast of Lubercus was renamed St. Valentine’s Day . The priests replaced the practice of having men draw names of girls with having young people draw names of saints. The youths were supposed to emulate the life of the saint whose name they had drawn. The practice of this custom was unsuccessful at first and reverted back to the use of having men draw names of girls (The Myth of the Origin of Valentine’s Day. http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/9300/stp.html, January 31, 2004).

No matter if Valentine’s is the Feast of Lupercus/Lubercus or Queen of Heaven Juno or both (which it probably is) it is NOT listed as a Feast of the LORD (see Leviticus 23).

The modern practice of giving cards to ask/tell someone to “be my Valentine” seems to be a holdover from the ancient sexual lottery.

None who profess Christ should observe this February 14th “holiday”–it simply is not a Christian holiday. It began as a sexual lottery and still has sexual ramifications, even in the 21st century.

Modern scholars and historians realize this, shouldn’t you?

For more information, please consider studying the following:

Valentine’s Day: Its Real Origins Christianity Today has suggested that Valentine’s Day is good for Christians to observe. Is this true? There is also a YouTube titled Should Christians Observe Valentine’s Day? A more detailed sermon is available and titled Valentine’s Day, Christianity, and Islam.
Should You Keep God’s Holy Days or Demonic Holidays? This is a free pdf booklet explaining what the Bible and history shows about God’s Holy Days and popular holidays. Two related sermons would be Which Spring Days should Christians observe? and Fall Holy Days for Christians.
Mardi Gras: The Devil’s Carnival? Is Mardi Gras Christian? Do you know that in Bolivia the carnival/Mardi Gras time is part of a celebration known as the Devil’s Carnival? Where did it come from? There is also a related YouTube video Mardi Gras & Carnaval: Are they for Christians?
Is There “An Annual Worship Calendar” In the Bible? This paper provides a biblical and historical critique of several articles, including one by WCG which states that this should be a local decision. What do the Holy Days mean? Also you can click here for the calendar of Holy Days.
The Ten Commandments: The Decalogue, Christianity, and the Beast This is a free draft/unedited pdf book explaining the what the Ten Commandments are, where they came from, how early professors of Christ viewed them, and how various ones, including the Beast of Revelation, will oppose them. A related sermon is titled: The Ten Commandments and the Beast of Revelation.
Are the Ten Commandment Still in Effect? This article quotes the ten commandments and combines some of the previous articles into one article about the ten commandments. The commandments are shown at Mount Sinai, before Mount Sinai, in the teachings of Jesus, after the crucifixion, and in the teachings of Paul. It addresses the most common “traditions of men” regarding them as well.
Were the Pharisees Condemned for Keeping the Law or Reasoning Around it? Many believe that the Pharisees were condemned for keeping the law, but what does your Bible say? If they were not condemned for that, what were they condemned for?
The Ten Commandments Reflect Love, Breaking them is Evil Some feel that the ten commandments are a burden. Is that what Jesus, Paul, Peter, James, and John taught?
Was the Commandment to Love the Only Command? Some have stated that John’s writings teach this, but is that what the Bible really says?
The Ten Commandments and the Early Church Did Jesus and the Early Church keep the ten commandments? What order were they in? Here are quotes from the Bible and early writings.
The History of Early Christianity Are you aware that what most people believe is not what truly happened to the true Christian church? Do you know where the early church was based? Do you know what were the doctrines of the early church? Is your faith really based upon the truth or compromise?
Where is the True Christian Church Today? This free online pdf booklet answers that question and includes 18 proofs, clues, and signs to identify the true vs. false Christian church. Plus 7 proofs, clues, and signs to help identify Laodicean churches. A related sermon is also available: Where is the True Christian Church? Here is a link to the booklet in the Spanish language: ¿Dónde está la verdadera Iglesia cristiana de hoy? Here is a link in the German language: WO IST DIE WAHRE CHRISTLICHE KIRCHE HEUTE? Here is a link in the French language: Où est la vraie Église Chrétienne aujourd’hui?
Continuing History of the Church of God This pdf booklet is a historical overview of the true Church of God and some of its main opponents from Acts 2 to the 21st century. Related sermon links include Continuing History of the Church of God: c. 31 to c. 300 A.D. and Continuing History of the Church of God: 4th-16th Centuries and Continuing History of the Church of God: 17th-20th Centuries. The booklet is available in Spanish: Continuación de la Historia de la Iglesia de Dios, German: Kontinuierliche Geschichte der Kirche Gottes, French: L’Histoire Continue de l’Église de Dieu and Ekegusii Omogano Bw’ekanisa Ya Nyasae Egendererete.

Greenland Fjord (Pixabay)

COGwriter

Greenland has called for a special election:

February 5, 2025

Greenland’s Prime Minister Múte Egede called for an early election on March 11, amid geopolitical tensions caused by U.S. President Donald Trump’s threats to acquire the Arctic island.

“It’s time for an election to the Inatsisartut [Greenlandic Parliament]. If the Inatsisartut approves my proposal, this will happen on March 11th,” Egede wrote Tuesday in a post on Facebook.

“We are in a serious time. A time we have never experienced in our country. The time is not for internal division but for cooperation and unity for our country. I am once again more than ready to work for you and to lead our country,” he added.

Egede’s announcement comes after parliament passed a law to ban foreign or anonymous donations over concerns of external influence in any election campaign.

Trump has repeatedly expressed interest in taking control of the strategically located and resource-rich island, calling an American acquisition of Greenland an “absolute necessity” and refusing to rule out using military force to take it, sending shock waves across Europe. https://www.politico.eu/article/greenland-calls-snap-election-donald-trump-looms-over-island-mute-egede/

Germany is considering being part of the defense in Greenland:

Germany ready to deploy troops to Greenland – Spiegel

5 February 2025

The German government could pledge troops to a proposed NATO mission in Greenland, according to sources cited by Der Spiegel on Tuesday. The reported initiative by European members of the military bloc would aim to mitigate tensions created by President Donald Trump’s push for US sovereignty over the Danish island.

Trump has framed his bid for Greenland as a national security issue, …

EU leaders and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte discussed enhancing NATO’s presence in Greenland to try to alleviate the pressure from Trump, according to Der Spiegel, corroborating earlier media reports. Publicly, Rutte has emphasized the organization’s commitment to collectively addressing geopolitical challenges. …

Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, chairperson of the German parliamentary defense committee, expressed support for deploying troops to Denmark, telling Spiegel that it would signal to the US that it cannot claim sole rights over Greenland. https://www.rt.com/news/612215-greenland-nato-mission-spiegel/

Donald Trump is upsetting many nations. The fact is that there will be many unintended consequences of his statements, threats, and policies.

He is pushing away allies and offending a lot of them. More and more are seeing him act as a bully.

Related to Greenland, here is something from my latest book available at Amazon Kindle: Unintended Consequences and Donald Trump’s Presidency: Is Donald Trump Fulfilling Biblical, Islamic, Greco-Roman Catholic, Buddhist, and other America-Related Prophecies? as well as Amazon print Unintended Consequences and Donald Trump’s Presidency: Is Donald Trump Fulfilling Biblical, Islamic, Greco-Roman Catholic, Buddhist, and other America-Related Prophecies?:

Donald Trump’s foreign policy statements have unsettled many—in the USA as well as foreign nations. He is believed by many to be more unpredictable than Richard Nixon. Many have rightly pointed out that he often acts as a bully.

Greenland

There is also something referred to as the “law of unintended consequences.” There are consequences for the USA, Europe, and elsewhere that have and will occur because of Donald Trump’s statements and actions.

Consider, for one example, that after his reelection, Donald Trump stated that the United States needed to have Greenland for defense and economic purposes. Not only did that offend the governments of Denmark and Greenland, the Danish government then announced that it would greatly increase the amount of money it would spend on the defense of Greenland.[i]

On January 7, 2025, Donald Trump refused to rule out military or economic actions to acquire Greenland.[ii] The next day, European leaders warned they would not tolerate an attack on Greenland and that the continent of Europe was strong.[iii]

Donald Trump then stated he would implement high tariffs against Denmark to try to get it to sell Greenland to the USA.

However, that overlooks the fact that the European Union has its Anti-Coercion Instrument, which is designed to stop a foreign power from trying to punish one EU nation. Because of that, analysts report that punitive tariffs against Denmark “could lead to unintended consequences” from the EU against the USA.[iv]

One longer term consequence of Donald Trump’s rhetoric may be that the Europeans could decide that Greenland would be a useful place to conduct surveillance on the US and Canada.

Additionally, it is also possible that Greenland could be used as a base to 1) interfere with US military satellite communications, 2) possibly neutralize some US military moves in Greenland, or even 3) a place to also launch an attack against the US, Canada, and/or even the UK. The Bible teaches about a great power who will be destroyed by its friends, who become enemies (Lamentations 1:1-2)—some statements by Donald Trump are pushing “friends” (NATO allies) into being enemies. …

The USA will be attacked by “friends” consistent with the following:

¹ How lonely sits the city
That was full of people!

How like a widow is she,
Who was great among the nations!

The princess among the provinces Has become a slave!

² She weeps bitterly in the night,
Her tears are on her cheeks;
Among all her lovers
She has none to comfort her.

All her friends have dealt treacherously with her;
They have become her enemies. cf. Lamentations 1:1-2).

Notice the one who was “great among the nations” will be conquered by friends, who will become enemies.

The USA was prophesied to be “great” in Genesis 48:19 and is considered by international sources to be great among the nations of the world today.[v]

[i] ^{Fouda M. Denmark to boost Greenland’s defence after Trump repeats controversial remarks seeking US ownership. Euronews, December 25, 2024}

[ii] ^{Trump threatens ‘very high’ tariffs on Denmark over Greenland. BBC, January 7, 2025}

[iii] ^{Germany, France criticize Donald Trump’s Greenland threat. Deutsche Welle, January 8, 2025}

[iv] ^{Aitken P. Trump’s Tariff Threat Against Denmark Risks Showdown With European Union. Newsweek, January 12, 2025}

[v] ^{Hartig H. Majority of Americans say U.S. is one of the greatest countries in the world. PEW Research Center, August 29, 2023}

(Thiel B. Unintended Consequences and Donald Trump’s Presidency: Is Donald Trump Fulfilling Biblical, Islamic, Greco-Roman Catholic, Buddhist, and other America-Related Prophecies? Nazarene Books, 2025)

Others have noted that Donald Trump is treating nations who are considered to be “friends” as enemies (e.g. see RT: Zelensky says US doesn’t care about EU; BBC: Frenemies?).

Yes, the Bible teaches about a great power who will be destroyed by its friends, who become enemies (Lamentations 1:1-2)–that will include people like the Germans (cf. Isaiah 10:5-11).

And yes, a more militarized Greenland could play a role in the conquering of the USA–which is prophesied to happen (cf. Daniel 11:39).

World events are aligning with properly understood biblical prophecies.

Some items of possibly related interest may include:

Europa, the Beast, and Revelation Where did Europe get its name? What might Europe have to do with the Book of Revelation? What about “the Beast”? Is an emerging European power “the daughter of Babylon”? What is ahead for Europe? Here is are links to related videos: European history and the Bible, Europe In Prophecy, The End of European Babylon, and Can You Prove that the Beast to Come is European? Here is a link to a related sermon in the Spanish language: El Fin de la Babilonia Europea.

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

Unintended Consequences and Donald Trump’s Presidency: Is Donald Trump Fulfilling Biblical, Islamic, Greco-Roman Catholic, Buddhist, and other America-Related Prophecies?  Is Donald Trump going to save the USA or are there going to be many disastrous unintended consequences of his statements and policies? What will happen. The link takes you to a book available at Amazon.com.

Unintended Consequences and Donald Trump’s Presidency: Is Donald Trump Fulfilling Biblical, Islamic, Greco-Roman Catholic, Buddhist, and other America-Related Prophecies? Kindle edition is available for only US$3.99. And you do not need an actual Kindle device to read it. Why? Amazon will allow you to download it to almost any device: Please click HERE to download one of Amazon s Free Reader Apps. After you go to for your free Kindle reader and then go to Unintended Consequences and Donald Trump’s Presidency: Is Donald Trump Fulfilling Biblical, Islamic, Greco-Roman Catholic, Buddhist, and other America-Related Prophecies?

Lost Tribes and Prophecies: What will happen to Australia, the British Isles, Canada, Europe, New Zealand and the United States of America? Where did those people come from? Can you totally rely on DNA? What about other peoples? Do you really know what will happen to Europe and the English-speaking peoples? What about Africa, Asia, South America, and the Islands? This free online book provides scriptural, scientific, historical references, and commentary to address those matters. Here are links to related sermons: Lost tribes, the Bible, and DNA; Lost tribes, prophecies, and identifications; 11 Tribes, 144,000, and Multitudes; Israel, Jeremiah, Tea Tephi, and British Royalty; Gentile European Beast; Royal Succession, Samaria, and Prophecies; Asia, Islands, Latin America, Africa, and Armageddon;  When Will the End of the Age Come?;  Rise of the Prophesied King of the North; Christian Persecution from the Beast; WWIII and the Coming New World Order; and Woes, WWIV, and the Good News of the Kingdom of God.

Symbol of Israeli-Palestinian Peace Process

COGwriter

Deutsche Welle reported the following:

Middle East: Trump’s Gaza takeover remarks met with backlash

5 February 2025

Saudi Arabia and China are among those rejecting President Donald Trump’s suggestion that the US could “take over” Gaza. US top diplomat Marco Rubio has stood behind the president’s remarks.  …

China said on Wednesday that it disagrees with the “forced transfer” of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, reports AFP news agency.

The comment came after US President Donald Trump suggested a US takeover of Gaza and the “resettlement” of Palestinians living there. …

Saudi Arabia says it rejects any attempts to displace the Palestinians from their land and that this stance is not negotiable.

In a sharply worded statement issued early Wednesday, Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry said their long call for an independent Palestinian state was a “firm, steadfast and unwavering position.”

“The kingdom of Saudi Arabia also stresses … its absolute rejection of infringement on the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, whether through Israeli settlement policies, annexation of Palestinian lands or efforts to displace the Palestinian people from their land,” the statement said.

The statement was a reaction to Tuesday’s announcement by US President Donald Trump, who suggested the United States could take over the war-ravaged Gaza Strip after the Palestinians are resettled elsewhere and develop it economically. https://www.dw.com/en/middle-east-trumps-gaza-takeover-remarks-met-with-backlash/live-71508488

Notice also the following:

World reaction to Trump’s ‘take over’ and ethnic cleansing plan for Gaza

5 February 2025.

Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri said the call for Palestinians in Gaza to be ethnically cleansed was an “expulsion from their land”.

“Trump’s remarks about his desire to control Gaza are ridiculous and absurd, and any ideas of this kind are capable of igniting the region,” Abu Zuhri said. “We consider them [the plan] a recipe for generating chaos and tension in the region because the people of Gaza will not allow such plans to pass.” …

Secretary-General Hussein al-Sheikh said the PLO rejects all calls for the displacement of the Palestinian people from their homeland….

France

“France reiterates its opposition to any forced displacement of the Palestinian population of Gaza, which would constitute a serious violation of international law, an attack on the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinians, but also a major obstacle to the two-state solution and a major destabilising factor for our close partners Egypt and Jordan as well as for the entire region,” Foreign ministry spokesman Christophe Lemoine said in a statement.

Lemoine added that the future of Gaza should be in the context of a future Palestinian state and should not be controlled by a third country.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/2/5/world-reaction-to-trumps-comments-on-ethnic-cleansing-in-gaza

5 February 2025

Palestinians, their allies and other nations reacted strongly to President Donald Trump’s proposal on Tuesday, February 4, that the United States “take over” the Gaza Strip and permanently resettle its residents. …

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, a staunch ally of Israel, said, “It is clear that Gaza – along with the West Bank and East Jerusalem – belongs to the Palestinians. They form the starting point for a future state of Palestine.”

“A displacement of the Palestinian civilian population from Gaza would not just be unacceptable and against international law,” Baerbock said in a statement. “This would also lead to new suffering and new hatred.” She said that there must not be a solution “over the heads of the Palestinians” and a negotiated two-state solution remains the only one. https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2025/02/05/world-reactions-to-trump-s-proposal-for-us-to-take-over-gaza-strip_6737820_4.html

The USA greatly offended the Palestinians and other Arabs, including of course, those of Gaza.

France, a European Union nation, is telling the Palestinians that the EU is with them and not the USA. So, is Germany, which is another EU nation.

Now, the Bible itself shows that the time will come when there will be a temporary ‘peace deal’ in the region (see the article The ‘Peace Deal’ of Daniel 9:27).

Donald Trump offending many in the world could be a prelude to getting Europeans involved in a peace deal in the Middle East.

And the Bible also shows that a European leader–probably a German–will be involved in confirming the coming prophesied deal of Daniel 9:26-27, which states:

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

The “prince” is a European leader who is later called the King of the North in Daniel 11:40. The ‘one week’ has generally been understood by prophecy watchers to mean a seven year deal, that is broken in the middle of it (after 3 1/2 years). This break is also confirmed in the following scripture:

31 And forces shall be mustered by him, and they shall defile the sanctuary fortress; then they shall take away the daily sacrifices, and place there the abomination of desolation. (Daniel 11:31)

The “him” is the European King of the North.

Why is Daniel 9:27 believed to be a type of ‘peace deal’?

There are several reasons.

Notice some other scriptures that discuss this leader:

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).

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. 24 He shall enter peaceably, even into the richest places of the province; and he shall do what his fathers have not done, nor his forefathers: he shall disperse among them the plunder, spoil, and riches; and he shall devise his plans against the strongholds, but only for a time. (Daniel 11:23-24, NKJV)

So this leader gives people the impression that there will be “peace” and is involved in some type of deal. This is the same leader that confirms the covenant in Daniel 9:27. The term is translated as “peace” in Daniel 8:25 is from the Hebrew term shalvah and essentially means security. In other words, this leader will destroy “many” who are under the impression that they are secure because of some type of security and/or trade arrangement. Such arrangements are now commonly referred to as peace deals or treaties. Land swaps or changes to territories are likely.

Since the prophesied deal has not been confirmed, at least not publicly, the Great Tribulation would seem to be at least 3 1/2 years away (you may also wish to check out the article When Will the Great Tribulation Begin?).

One way to show Daniel is referring to a European kingdom is to realize that it was the people of the Roman Empire of the 1st century that fulfilled the portion of Daniel 9:26 as they destroyed the city (Jerusalem) in 70 A.D. Jewish sources, while not understanding all of this, also agree that it was Roman sources that destroyed the city and sanctuary as the following demonstrates:

“The people of the prince will come and destroy the city and the Sanctuary” Daniel 9:26, refers to the Roman legions of Vespasian and Titus, who destroyed Jerusalem. (Daniel 9 – A True Biblical Interpretation. Jews for Judaism. https://jewsforjudaism.org/knowledge/articles/answers/jewish-polemics/texts/daniel-9-a-true-biblical-interpretation/ accessed 07/30/16)

In the 21st century, the European Union includes much of the land and peoples that were part of the ancient Roman Empire. And it is the “prince” coming from that people that verse 27 of Daniel 9 is referring to. Thus, this prophecy tells us that a lower level European leader will somewhat officially start to rise up about 3 1/2 years before the great tribulation (and yes, according to Jesus, some “tribulation” does happen prior to the start of the Great Tribulation). Another is the fact that the “beast of the sea” of Revelation 13:1 fits with the beasts from the “great sea” of Daniel 7:2–and that sea is the Mediterranean Sea according to the Old Testament. Hence a power in Europe the only region that could have an empire geographically like the old Roman one (for more details, please see Europa, the Beast, and the Book of Revelation).

Consider the following prophetic sequence based upon Daniel’s writings and Jesus’ words in the Gospels:

1. The beginning of sorrows (Matthew 24:4-8)–this has begun.
2. A seven year deal is confirmed/advanced and the final countdown begun– this has not happened yet, though various ones are working on it.
3. There will be persecutions against those the support the true end-time Philadelphia work –this will intensify.
4. The Gospel of the Kingdom will reach the world as a witness — this is in progress but not finished.
5. The sacrifices, which will have started, will stop and the abomination spoken of by Daniel will be set up (Daniel 9:27, 11:31, 12:11). This is about 3 1/2 years after item 2.
6. The most faithful will flee (Revelation 12:14-16).
7. The Great Tribulation will begin and Jerusalem will be trampled down by Gentiles for 42 months.
8. Jesus will return 3 1/2 years after the Great Tribulation begins.
9. Jesus will bring peace (see How Will Middle East Peace be Brought About?).

Notice how many items are directly predicated on the seven-year deal of Daniel 9:27. Note: The sacrifices will have to start before they are stopped, but precisely where that appears in the sequence is unclear, other than it is after item 2 and prior to item 5.

Let me also add that the European Union has a Middle East “peace envoy” and it expects to be involved in a peace deal (see https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/politics-and-diplomacy/article-751872).

Donald Trump’s positions on Gaza and many other matters are offending much of the world.

With various ones wanting some part of a Middle East peace deal, Europeans wanting to be involved, many offended by Donald Trump, along with escalating tensions in the Middle East, we are seeing steps on the world scene that are aligning with properly understood biblical prophecies.

Some items of possibly related interest may include:

The ‘Peace Deal’ of Daniel 9:27 This prophecy could give up to 3 1/2 years advance notice of the coming Great Tribulation. Will most ignore or misunderstand its fulfillment? Here is a link to a related sermon video Daniel 9:27 and the Start of the Great Tribulation.
How Will Middle East Peace be Brought About? Can humans bring peace to the Middle East? Here is a link to a related video: Middle East Peace? When?
The Gospel of the Kingdom of God This free online pdf booklet has answers many questions people have about the Gospel of the Kingdom of God and explains why it is the solution to the issues the world is facing. It is available in hundreds of languages at ccog.org. Here are links to four kingdom-related sermons:  The Fantastic Gospel of the Kingdom of God!, The World’s False Gospel, The Gospel of the Kingdom: From the New and Old Testaments, and The Kingdom of God is the Solution.
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.
Jerusalem: Past, Present, and Future What does the Bible say about Jerusalem and its future? Is Jerusalem going to be divided and eliminated? Is Jesus returning to the area of Jerusalem? There are also two related YouTube videos you can watch: Jerusalem To be divided and eliminated and God’s and Satan’s Plan for Jerusalem.
Lost Tribes and Prophecies: What will happen to Australia, the British Isles, Canada, Europe, New Zealand and the United States of America? Where did those people come from? Can you totally rely on DNA? What about other peoples? Do you really know what will happen to Europe and the English-speaking peoples? What about Africa, Asia, South America, and the Islands? This free online book provides scriptural, scientific, historical references, and commentary to address those matters. Here are links to related sermons: Lost tribes, the Bible, and DNA; Lost tribes, prophecies, and identifications; 11 Tribes, 144,000, and Multitudes; Israel, Jeremiah, Tea Tephi, and British Royalty; Gentile European Beast; Royal Succession, Samaria, and Prophecies; Asia, Islands, Latin America, Africa, and Armageddon;  When Will the End of the Age Come?;  Rise of the Prophesied King of the North; Christian Persecution from the Beast; WWIII and the Coming New World Order; and Woes, WWIV, and the Good News of the Kingdom of God.
Unintended Consequences and Donald Trump’s Presidency: Is Donald Trump Fulfilling Biblical, Islamic, Greco-Roman Catholic, Buddhist, and other America-Related Prophecies?  Is Donald Trump going to save the USA or are there going to be many disastrous unintended consequences of his statements and policies? What will happen. The link takes you to a book available at Amazon.com.
Unintended Consequences and Donald Trump’s Presidency: Is Donald Trump Fulfilling Biblical, Islamic, Greco-Roman Catholic, Buddhist, and other America-Related Prophecies? Kindle edition is available for only US$3.99. And you do not need an actual Kindle device to read it. Why? Amazon will allow you to download it to almost any device: Please click HERE to download one of Amazon s Free Reader Apps. After you go to for your free Kindle reader and then go to Unintended Consequences and Donald Trump’s Presidency: Is Donald Trump Fulfilling Biblical, Islamic, Greco-Roman Catholic, Buddhist, and other America-Related Prophecies?