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Might Pope Francis resign? Former archbishop points to him as Anti-Christian

Friday, February 21st, 2025

The Vatican’s pontiff Francis has been in the hospital for over a week. Notice the following:

Senior Vatican cardinal broaches topic of Pope Francis resigning due to health

February 21, 2025

An an interview given to Italian radio a senior Vatican cardinal has discussed the issue of whether Pope Francis should or might resign due to his health problems that have seen him hospitalised for just over a week.

His predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, in 2013 became the first pope to resign since 1294, at the time citing health problems that arguably were not as serious as Pope Francis’s. The latter has also previously alluded to his belief that if heath problems became serious enough he would consider resigning.

As the pontiff enters his eighth day in hospital today, 21 February, suffering from pneumonia in both lungs – one of which had to be partially removed when he was a young man – Vatican watchers are wondering if that level of seriousness might be getting closer, reports The Times of London.

“I think he could [resign] because he is a person who, from this point of view, is quite decisive in his choices,” Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, a former President of the Pontifical Council for Culture who is regarded as a prominent intellectual in the Roman Curia, said in the radio interview.

Sources close to the Pope have emphasised that he is not in mortal danger and that he is gradually recovering. https://thecatholicherald.com/senior-vatican-cardinal-broaches-topic-of-pope-francis-resigning-due-to-health/

21 February 2025

Ravasi also recalled the pontiff’s 2023 interview marking ten years since he became Pope, in which he said he would step down if he became unable to fulfill his duties due to health problems or an accident. The pontiff noted at the time he had already submitted his pre-signed resignation to Cardinal Bertone, the former Vatican secretary of state. In the interview, Francis said he felt “old” and physically humiliated after being confined to a wheelchair as a result of a knee injury. https://www.rt.com/news/613104-pope-francis-could-resign/

Pope Francis’ given name at birth was Jorge Mario Bergoglio. He indicated after becoming pontiff that he might resign. He might before he dies. We will see.

Some ‘fringe” and other Roman Catholics have long questioned whether or not he was the “legitimate’ pope.

Notice also the following denouncement from Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò (who has basically been defrocked by the Vatican):

February 17, 2025

Bergoglio has gone so far as to invent a new doctrine, imposing as a moral duty “the reception of immigrants,” from whose management he obtains billions in public funding and through which he accredits himself as the main interlocutor of the globalist elite and executor of the woke agenda. He exploits the teaching of Pius XII – decontextualizing and distorting his words – because by quoting a pope not suspected of modernist or conciliar contamination, he hopes to gain the attention and support of those faithful who do not listen to him.

We need to understand Bergoglio’s fraudulent operation: he wants to take the conflict between the immigrationist-woke Deep Church and the Trump administration to the next level, “dogmatizing” the duty to welcome illegal immigrants and thus forcing American Catholics to see Trump as an enemy of the Catholic Church. In short, he is trying, according to his characteristic modus operandi, to turn President Trump into an adversary in order to undermine his support from Catholic voters. …

American Catholics, however, have seen through the fraud! While Bergoglio, in obedience to his globalist masters, hurls anathemas against those who “build walls,” President Trump has announced – among other measures that we welcome with deep satisfaction – the return of the United States to the Geneva Consensus Declaration, which defends the right to life for all, reaffirms the importance of the family, and affirms that there is no international “right” to abortion. …

It is shocking how Bergoglio’s appeals on the “infinite dignity of all” stubbornly exclude defenseless children massacred by abortion, victims of organ harvesting and mutilation for so-called gender transitioning, mothers used as merchandise for surrogate motherhood, young people corrupted by woke perversions, and the masses of minors who fuel the prostitution racket or end up in a Beverly Hills villa to satisfy the execrable depravities of the pedophile elite. …

The very last thing that Bergoglio ever pursues is the defense of the integrity of the faith or the salvation of souls. Nor does he really care about the poor: just look at how many homeless people are camped around the Vatican and under Bernini’s colonnade; back in the era of COVID, in order to get a meal they had to show that they had received the vaccine.

The ugly bronze boat erected in Saint Peter’s Square is a monument to Bergoglio’s hypocrisy. For him, the poor and the marginalized are a mere tool to “crossbreed” both the social and ecclesial fabric – that is, to dissolve it – and thus obtain the definitive cancellation of what remains of Christian society after decades of secularization.

Bergoglio “thinks big” – he wants to create the premises for the new religion of humanity, deluding himself that he can preside over it and thus carve out a role for himself in the New World Order. As a prophet of syncretistic, ecological, and inclusive globalism, Bergoglio even made an appearance at the Sanremo Festival to launch John Lennon’s song Imagine, the Masonic manifesto of the New Order. …

Bergoglio’s attitude toward persecuted Christians is quite different: with the secret agreement made with the communist regime of Beijing, he has handed over Chinese Catholics to be slaughtered, and he remains silent on the violations of their fundamental human rights.

In Bergoglio’s dystopian vision – anti-human, anti-Christian and antichristic – our nations are lands set apart for Mohammedan conquest: this is the purpose of conciliar ecumenism. According to the Koran, anywhere the call of the muezzìn resounds and where the “prayer carpet” is spread is Islamic territory. The connivance of the Bergoglian clergy, who host imams in our churches and allow such prayer in the parvises of our cathedrals, constitutes a betrayal of Christ and of the faithful. …

Bergoglio’s globalist dystopia aims at the erasure of national and ethnic identities, especially where they are founded on Christian civilization, and instead promotes anything linked to pagan and idolatrous beliefs. The cancellation of all differences and the external homologation of cultures ought to be considered by the Catholic Church as a disaster, while the Bergoglian church is recklessly promoting it. (Abp. Vigano asks Trump’s CIA director to ‘investigate the Deep State plan to eliminate Benedict XVI.’ LifeSiteNews, February 17, 2025. https://www.lifesitenews.com/opinion/abp-vigano-asks-trumps-cia-director-to-investigate-the-deep-state-plan-to-eliminate-benedict-xvi/?utm_source=featured-news&utm_campaign=usa)

Last December, Lifesite News posted the following translation from an interview with Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò conducted by Andrea Caldart:

Archbishop Viganò: The Catholic Church has nothing to do with the Bergoglian church

Andrea Caldart: Bergoglio’s Church seems to be in turmoil: many faithful continue to watch this Pope excommunicating priests and others because they produce evidence that Pope Benedict XVI has never actually renounced the Petrine “munus.” Archbishop Viganò, in which Church are we living?

Carlo Maria Viganò: Bergoglio’s “church” is not only in turmoil: it is in full delirium. If this can happen, it is precisely because it is no longer the Catholic Church, but her scandalous counterfeit; and because in the place of the Pope on the Throne of Peter sits a heretical and usurper tyrant. …

Those who think that the crisis began with this “pontificate” are mistaken: the desire to tamper with the Roman Papacy dates back to the Second Vatican Council, was continued with John Paul II’s encyclical Ut unum sint, was confirmed by the anomaly of Benedict XVI’s Resignation and was then embraced by Bergoglio – in full coherence with his predecessors – with the Study Document The Bishop of Rome issued by the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity. Redefining the Papacy “in an ecumenical and synodal mold” is the typical modus operandi of heretics to conceal behind vague formulas a deliberately subversive action, contrary to the Faith and the constant practice of the Roman Catholic Church.

We must take note of the coup d’état that was hatched by the deep church and that brought to power, up to the very top of the Catholic hierarchy, the fifth columns of the enemy, that is, of the Masonic anti-church, of the Synagogue of Satan. …

Andrea Caldart: How do you evaluate the current state of the Catholic Church with respect to traditional values and modernity?

Carlo Maria Viganò: The Catholic Church has nothing to do with the Bergoglian church, which is “conciliar,” “synodal,” and “ecumenical,” but certainly not Catholic. … The assertion that the Church must be democratic and that the laity can or should participate in its government is obviously a colossal lie: not only because this contradicts the monarchical structure that Our Lord gave Her …

Andrea Caldart: A question arises: where does the Catholic Church “subsist” today? How can the Catholic Church exist without a visible head?

{Carlo Maria Viganò: } The Catholic Church certainly does not exist in the Bergoglian church: certainly not in the conventicle of cardinals and bishops who support the tyrant out of fear, timidity, self-interest, blackmail, or acquiescence. …

Carlo Maria Viganò: The task of a Bishop, that is, of a Successor of the Apostles, is summed up by Saint Paul (2 Tim 4:1-5): I beseech you, before God and Christ Jesus, who must judge the living and the dead, by his appearance and his kingdom: preach the word, insist on every favorable and unfavorable occasion, convince, rebuke, exhort with all kinds of teaching and patience. For the time will come when they will no longer endure sound doctrine, but, having itching ears, they will seek teachers in great numbers according to their own desires, and they will turn their ears away from the truth and turn to fables. But be vigilant in all things, endure suffering, carry out the task of evangelist, faithfully fulfill your ministry. 12/23/24 https://www.lifesitenews.com/opinion/archbishop-vigano-the-catholic-church-has-nothing-to-do-with-the-bergoglian-church/

Here is a brief summary of points where I believe that Carlo Maria Viganò was correct:

Pope Francis is not faithful to the beliefs of the original catholic church.
The Roman Catholic Church is a “scandalous counterfeit.”
The problems in it began long before Jorge Mario Bergoglio became Pope Francis.
There is a “deep church” associated with the Church of Rome with Masonic ties.
Yes, the “Synagogue of Satan” (Revelation 2:9, 3:9) is an applicable title for the Roman Catholic Church (see also What is the Synagogue of Satan?).
The true catholic church “has nothing to do with the Bergoglian church.”
The true catholic church is not ecumenical.
The true catholic church is not democratic.
The true catholic church has hierarchical governance (see also The Bible, Peter, Paul, John, Polycarp, Herbert W. Armstrong, Roderick C. Meredith, and Bob Thiel on Church Government).
The true catholic church “certainly does not exist in the Bergoglian church.”
The true catholic church does not exist “in the conventicle of cardinals.”
The truly faithful bishops/overseers/ministers have apostolic succession (see also Beliefs of the Original Catholic Church: Could a remnant group have continuing apostolic succession?).
The Church of Rome long ago broke away with being faithful to many true Christian doctrines (see also Beliefs of the Original Catholic Church: Could a remnant group have continuing apostolic succession?).
Francis’ position is anti-Christian and is helping set the stage for the final Antichrist.
That faithful leaders are to “contend earnestly for the faith once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3), which is what he implied with citing 2 Timothy 4:1-5.

As far as Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò goes, he used to hold a high position within the Church of Rome, but he was excommunicated last Summer (see Vatican excommunicates Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò who responds with a warning about Freemasonsry and the WEF’s influence on the Vatican)–though some say he excommunicated himself.

The Vatican currently seems to believe that Carlo Maria Viganò leads a break-away sect that is not part of them.

That said, neither the Church of Rome nor the group associated with Carlo Maria Viganò holds to the beliefs of the original catholic church.

The majority in the Church of Rome turned against the faithful beliefs in the second century A.D. For documented details, see the free online book: Beliefs of the Original Catholic Church.

All who claim to be Christian are “to contend earnestly for the faith once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3).

Among other doctrines, that original faith did NOT:

1) Include a round Eucharistic host. For details, check out the articles: Marcus, the Marcosians, & Mithraism: Developers of the Greco-Roman Eucharist? and Early Christianity and the Eucharist?

2) Include idolatry. For details, check out the article: What Did the Early Church Teach About Idols and Icons?

3) Observe Passover more than once per year. The repeated Eucharist is supposed to be related to Jesus’ and Passover. See also: Passover and the Early Church and Early Christianity and the Eucharist?

4) Teach purgatory or plenary indulgences. or details, check out the article: Did the Early Church Teach Purgatory?

5) Teach that tradition was above or equal to scripture. For details, check out the article: Tradition and Scripture: From the Bible and Church Writings

Although Greco-Roman Catholics claim to have preserved the original Christian faith, their scholars realize that they changed it. That is documented in the book Beliefs of the Original Catholic Church.

We also put out related sermons.

Here are a list of all the sermons directly tied to the Beliefs of the Original Catholic Church book:

This book and the available sermons are intended to help us to instruct many and answer many who have a professing Christian background:

33 And those of the people who understand shall instruct many; (Daniel 11:33, NKJV)

15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear: 16 Having a good conscience; that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ. (1 Peter 3:15-16, KJV)

This information is important for you to know, presuming you wish to be one who understands and obeys God’s word.

If you missed any of those sermons, or wish to re-watch any, hopefully the list will make that easier for you.

Many with a Worldwide Church of God, or other Church of God background, may be surprised to learn who the true Christian leaders said the original catholic church was.

In the 20th century, the old Radio and Worldwide Church of God taught (bolding mine):

These words from the Syriac version of … {The Epistle to the Magnesians} Ignatius clearly demonstrate the importance of the Sabbath in the early Catholic churches. (Hoeh H. Why Do the Churches Observe SUNDAY? Good News, April 1957)

Well might Jesus say: “I know . . . where Satan’s seat is . . . where Satan dwelleth.” His “Pergamos” Church knew, too! This was a different kind of era. An age in which the True Church was actively pursued,and had to remain in hiding. … Polycrates had been … part of “the catholic church of God.” The great conspiracy had succeeded-it had stolen the name of Christ, the name of God’s Church. (Lesson 50 – What Became of the Church Jesus Built? 58 Lesson: Ambassador College Bible Correspondence Course, 1968, p. 8)

Polycrates came from that area in which Paul spent most of his tin1e -in Asia Minor, near Ephesus. This is also where John spent his last days. Here we have Christiam still remaining true to the faith! (Hoeh H. A True History of the True Church. Radio Church of God, 1959, p. 16)

Eusebius, historian of the early centuries of the Church, speaks of the true Christians observing Passover on the 14th of Nisan, first month of the Sacred Calendar.

“A question of no small importance arose at that time. For the parishes of all Asia, as from an older tradition, held that the fourteenth day of the moon, on which day the Jews were commanded to sacrifice the lamb, should be observed as the feast of the Saviour’s passover … the bishops of Asia, led by Polycrates, decided to hold to the old custom handed down to them. He himself, in a letter which he addressed to Victor and the church of Rome, set forth in the following words the tradition which had come down to him:

“‘We observe the exact day; neither adding, nor taking away. For in Asia also great lights have fallen asleep, which shall rise again on the day of the Lord’s coming, when he shall come with glory from heaven, and shall seek out all the saints. Among these are Philip, one of the twelve apostles … and, moreover, John, who was both a witness and a teacher, who reclined upon the bosom of the Lord … and Polycarp in Smyrna, who was a bishop and martyr; and Thraseas, bishop and martyr from Eumenia … the bishop and martyr Sagaris … the blessed Papirius, or Melito ….All these observed the fourteenth day of the passover according to the Gospel, deviating in no respect, but following the rule of faith’ ” (Ecclesiastical History, book V, chapters XXIII and XXIV). (Armstrong HW. The Plain Truth About Easter. WCG booklet, 1973)

They called themselves the Apostolic Catholic church, but … nicknamed Paulicians by their enemies … (Paulicians. The Encyclopaedia Britannica: Mun to Pay. 1911, p. 961; Blackwell D. A HANDBOOK OF CHURCH HISTORY: A Thesis Presented to the Faculty of the Ambassador College Graduate School of Theology. April 1973, p.29)

Yes, the true Church of God was the original catholic church–the first three references to the “catholic church” in the ancient literature were ALL directed at the true Church of God (detailed quotes are in the free online book Beliefs of the Original Catholic Church). As far as later designations go, those once part of the old Worldwide Church of God may be interested in learning that Dibar Apartian, a late Worldwide Church of God (WCG) evangelist, confirmed with me and my family in Evian, France, at the Feast of Tabernacles in 2008, that we were all part of the original catholic church.

The original “catholic church of God” was NOT the Roman Catholic church.

If you are interested in church history and what happened with the original church, you may also wish to read the book, which is available free online at the following link: Beliefs of the Original Catholic Church.

The Continuing Church of God is NOT Greco-Roman Catholic, but neither is it Protestant. For some of the reasons why we are NOT Protestant, check out the free online book, Hope of Salvation: How the Continuing Church of God Differs from Protestantism.

Some items of possibly related interest may include:

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, 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.
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?
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.
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.
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 160 different languages there.

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Peter Waldo did keep the Sabbath and is in the CCOG list of Apostolic succession

Friday, February 21st, 2025

Statue purported to be Peter Waldo
(photo by Alexander Hoernigk)

COGwriter

Did any of the Waldensians keep the seventh-day Sabbath?

Did all of them?

What about Peter Waldo?

Some have asserted that those who have called themselves some version of the term Waldensian always kept Sunday.

Seventh-day Adventist scholar Gerard Damsteegt has stated:

Although there is no record that Waldo and his followers observed the seventh-day Sabbath, we know that several movements related to the Waldenses were reported to observe this custom. (Damsteegt PG. DECODING ANCIENT WALDENSIAN NAMES: NEW DISCOVERIES. Andrews University Seminary Studies, Vol. 54, 2016, No. 2, Autumn 2016, p. 254)

Actually, the above scholar provided evidence that Peter Waldo and his followers kept the Sabbath in the same article, more of which will be cited later.

First, let it be made clear that scholars who have looked into the Waldensians have concluded that at least some of them kept the seventh-day Sabbath.

Here is an old report from old English (where the letter ‘f’ was often used instead of the letter ‘s,’ so it is changed below) from a Baptist historian in the 18th century:

Some of the inhabitants of the Pyrenees, and of the adjacent states, and not those of the vallies of Piedmont, were the true original Waldenses, … Some of these christians were called Sabbati, Sabbatati, and Insabbatati, and more frequently Inzabbatati. Led astray by found without attending to facts, one says, they were so named from the hebrew word sabbath, because they kept the saturday for the Lord’s day. Another says, they were so called because they rejected all the festivals, or sabbaths, in the low latin sense of the word, which the catholick church religiously observed. (Robinson R. Ecclesiastical Researches. Francis Hodson, publisher. 1792, pp. 299-304)

So, there were multiple types of Waldensians, and many kept the seventh-day Sabbath.

Notice the following:

One of the primary sources of evidence of Waldensian Sabbathkeeping during the first half of the thirteenth century comes from a collection of five books written against the Cathars and Waldensians about 1241-1244 by Dominican inquisitor Father Moneta of Cremona in northern Italy.

Moneta passionately defended himself against criticism from Waldensians and Cathars that Catholics were transgressors of the Sabbath commandment. In the chapter De Sabbato, et De Die Dominico he discussed the significance of the seventh-day Sabbath of Exodus 20:8, “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy,” and contrasted it with the value of the Lord’s day, his term for the first day of the week. …

Sabbathkeeping among Waldensians was most widespread in Bohemia and Moravia, places to which they fled during papal persecution.

A fifteenth-century manuscript, published by church historian Johann Döllinger in History of the Sects {Beiträge zur Sektengeschichte des Mittelalters (Munich: Beck, 1890), Vol. II, p. 662} reports that Waldensians in Bohemia “do not celebrate the feasts of the blessed virgin Mary and the Apostles, except the Lord’s day. Not a few celebrate the Sabbath with the Jews.” (Damsteegt PG. Were Waldensians Sabbath-keepers? Adventist World, September 6, 2017).

Here is a report from the Lutheran historian Johann Mosheim concerning a group in the 12th century and two of their tenets:

the denomination of the Pasaginians … The first was a notion, that the observance of the law of Moses, in everything except the offering of sacrifices, was obligatory upon Christians; in consequence of which they circumcised their followers, abstained from those meats, the use of which was prohibited under the Mosaic economy, and celebrated the Jewish sabbath. The second tenet that distinguished this sect was advanced in opposition to the doctrine of three persons in the divine nature. (Mosheim JL, Coote C, Gleig G. An Ecclesiastical History, Ancient and Modern: In which the Rise, Progress, and Variations of Church Power, are Considered in Their Connexion with the State of Learning and Philosophy, and the Political History of Europe During that Period, Volume 1. Translated by Archibald Maclaine. Plaskitt & Cugle, 1840. Original from Ohio State University, Digitized Aug 8, 2013, p. 333)

So, they kept the Sabbath, abstained from unclean meats, and were opposed to the trinitarian view. While not all the views that Mosheim had about the Pasaginians were Church of God views, apparently some called by that name were Church of God Christians. It should also be noted that Mosheim believed that there were two types of Waldnesians. One considered that the Church of Rome was a real Christian church, whereas the other considered the Church of Rome to be the harlot of Revelation 17 (Moshiem, p. 333). Others have written that one type of Waldensian was fairly close to the Greco-Romans, whereas the other type was much more independent of them (Froom LE. The Prophetic Faith of Our Fathers, Volume 1. Review and Herald, 1950, p. 831).

In the seventeenth century, Peter Allix reported about beliefs of the early Waldensians from a critic and then made his own comments:

That the Law of Moses is to be kept according to the letter, and that the keeping of the Sabbath, Circumcision, and other legal observances, ought to take place. They hold also, that Christ the Son of God is not equal with the Father, and that the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, these three Persons, are not one God and one substance; and, as a surplus to these their errors, -they judge and condemn all the doctors of the Church, and universally the whole Roman Church. Now, since they endeavour to defend this their error by testimonies drawn from the New Testament and Prophets, I shall, with assistance of the grace of Christ, stop their mouths, as David did Goliah’s, with their own sword. (Allix P. Some Remarks upon the Eccelisastical History of the Ancient churches of Piedmont. originally published 1690, Oxford reprint 1831, p. 169)

But here, first of all, we are to take notice, that the Waldenses and Albigenses had both of them the same belief… the difference between the Waldenses and the Church of Rome was not so small, that they could be looked upon only as schismatics, as the Bishop of Meaux has been pleased to imagine … the Waldenses, or disciples of Waldo, having been particularly famous for their refusing to swear, … Peter Waldo’s translating of the Bible, which must have been done before the year 1180, shews, that in France there was already a language different from the Latin tongue, (Ibid, pp. 173, 183, 184)

The above suggests that they held several Church of God doctrines, including binitarianism, non-swearing of oaths, and Sabbath-keeping.

The Petrobrusians (considered related to the Waldenses) kept the Sabbath and were condemned for it by the Roman Catholic saint Bernard in the 12th century (Andrews J. History of the Sabbath and First Day of the Week. Reprint by Teach Services, 1998, p. 421). Notice the following from a Sunday-keeping writer (where I have typed it as originally written–knowing that now, the “f” charcaters below would have been an “s” in modern writing):

the feventh day Sabbath … In S. Bernard’s dayes it was condemned in the Petrobufiani. (In: White F, Bifhop of Ely. A Treatise on the Sabbath Day …. Richard Badger, 1635, p. 8)

So, yes, some of the immediate predecessors of Peter Waldo and the Waldensians kept the seventh-day Sabbath and were condemned for it. Peter Waldo likely was in contact with some considered Petrobrusians.

The Patarenes (considered related to the Waldenses) kept the Sabbath and were condemned for it by Cardinal Damian around the same time (Wilkinson B. Reprint by Teach Services, 1994, pp. 234-235).

Now what about Peter Waldo himself? Here is more from SDA scholar Gerard Damsteegt:

With few exceptions, Waldensians today deny that the ancient Waldenses kept the seventh-day Sabbath. However, historical evidence indicates that many did observe Sabbath during the Middle Ages. During the early part of the seventeenth century, the Swiss histo-rian Melchior Goldastus (1576–1635) commented on Emperor Frederic II’s Constitution of 1220 against heretics. He reasoned that the label insabbatati was used to describe heretics during the thirteenth century “because they judaize on the Sabbath,” that is, they kept the Sabbath like the Jews. He mentioned that the “Valdenses” were often called “Insabbatati,”14 indicating that during that time there were Waldenses who kept the seventh-day Sabbath (Saturday) as a day of rest. …

Primary sources show that, in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, there were two groups of Waldenses–one group that observed Sunday as the Lord’s day, the other that kept the seventh-day Sabbath of the Bible. Our research reveals that the title insabbatati could apply to (1) Waldenses who rejected Catholic festivals and holy days, or sabbaths, and observed only Sunday as the Lord’s day and (2) Waldenses who, in addition, rejected Sunday as a Catholic institution and kept the seventh-day Sabbath of the Bible. The title sabbatati, as applied to heretics, was used to characterize Waldenses who stood out because of their observance of the seventh-day Sabbath. (Damsteegt PG. The ancient Waldenses: Did the Reformation predate Luther? Ministry, October 2017, pp. 23,24)

The Waldensian historian, Emilio Comba, admits that northern Italy was a stronghold of various dissident groups associated with the Waldenses, some of which kept the Sabbath and often influenced and merged with the various groups of the Poor of Lyon and Poor Lombards.Sabbath keeping among the Waldenses was most widespread in Bohemia and Moravia. An inquisitor’s manuscript from the fifteenth century reports that Waldenses in Bohemia “do not celebrate the feasts of the blessed virgin Mary and the Apostles, except the Lord’s day. Not a few celebrate the Sabbath with the Jews.” … Most historians identify Tourlupins with the Picardian branch of Waldenses. A company of them was arrested in 1420. Well-preserved manuscripts mention that they “upheld that the Saturday must be celebrated instead of Sunday.”

From the end of the twelfth century, opponents of the Waldenses called them insabbatati, insabbatatis, xabatati, xabatenses, sabbatati, sabatatos, inzabattati, insabbatatorum, and insabbatatos. These words can be traced back to the basic The first time the word insabbatati appeared in the existing Latin literature is in an edict issued in 1192 against heretics by Alfonso II, King of Aragon, (1152–1196), Count of Barcelona, and Count of Provence. This edict warned against the Valdenses (Waldenses) and identified them as Insabbatatos and Pauperes de Lugduno (Poor of Lyon). The edict, however, did not explain why Waldenses were called Insabbatatos. The next use of this term was in an 1197 edict issued by the son of Alfonso II, Peter II, King of Aragon, (1174–1213) and Count of Provence. This document called them Sabatati and Pauperes de Lugduno. …

From the various accounts of Waldenses rejecting holy days, festivals or sabbaths, it is not surprising that, as late as the time of archbishop James Usher (1581–1656), there were many who believed that insabbatati referred to those Waldenses who worshiped by judaizing on the Sabbath. Concerning the word insabbatati, Jesuit Inquisitor Pegne also admitted that “many used to think it came from Sabbath, and that they [Waldenses] observed the Sabbath according to the custom of the Jews.” …

Since the Middle Ages, historians have characterized the Waldenses by the uncomplimentary names insabbatati and sabbatati to indicate their unique attire by the type of shoes they wore, or their unique belief in rejecting Catholic holy days or festivals and practices. The research underlying this article has tried to decode the confusion surrounding these names. This has led to the following insights for historiography, previously unnoticed. From the analysis of the shoe theory, the research brought out that the wearing of perforated shoes was not introduced by or was not the custom of the Waldenses or the Poor of Lyon, but it was a custom introduced by the Poor Catholics and the Reconciled Poor. …

The term sabbatati also could have been used to describe some groups of Waldenses who followed the Jewish practice of resting on the Sabbath. This fits the meaning of both Insabbatati as depicting the rejection of Catholic holy days, Sabbaths, and teachings, and sabbatati describing the observance of the seventh-day Sabbath. Primary sources show that one inquisitor in the thirteenth century wrote a book against the Waldenses and Cathars in which he refuted their criticism that Roman Catholics observed Sunday instead of the seventh-day Sabbath. This is evidence that there were Waldenses and Cathars who kept the seventh-day Sabbath during the high Middle Ages. Additional evidence shows that several groups closely associated and considered part of the Waldensian movement did indeed keep the seventh-day Sabbath as early as the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. (Damsteegt PG. DECODING ANCIENT WALDENSIAN NAMES: NEW DISCOVERIES. Andrews University Seminary Studies, Vol. 54, 2016, No. 2, 237–258)

While there may be debate regarding the precise year of Alphonso’s decree, notice the following:

Again to the South-West, about AD. 1190, we read of a public discussion between certain Valdenses and Catholics near Narbonne: and in 1194 of a Decree of Alphonzo II of Arragon against them …

[596] “Waldenses sive Insabbatatos, qui alio nomine se vocant Pauperes de Lugduno,…ab omni regno nostro, tanquam inimicos crucis Christi,…et regni publicos hostes, exire ac fugere praecipinius.” (Elliot EB, ed. The Horae Apocalypticae. Originally finished in 1860. Cross The Border Publishing, reprint 2018, Chapter VII and reference 596)

I have translated the above as follows:

“The Waldenses, or the Insabbatatos, who call themselves the Poor of Lyons by another name, … from all our kingdom, as enemies of the cross of Christ, … and the public enemies of the kingdom, to go forth and flee from the headlands.”

The fact that the followers of Peter Waldo may not have been publicly accused of keeping the seventh-day Sabbath until the late 12^th century could possibly suggest that some who were earlier categorized as Waldensians did not then do so.

Yet, since Peter Waldo lived until 1205 in the 13^th century, the fact that his people were called insabbatati by the end of the 12^th century looks to be evidence that Peter Waldo and his followers were keeping the seventh-day Sabbath by then.

As far as Peter Waldo goes, it is my view that he initially (c. 1160-1179) may or may not have been a Sabbath-keeper, but became one, probably no later than 1180, after exposure to some in his region who held Church of God-type doctrines.

He is also in a succession list article that I wrote and that the January-February 2022 edition of the Sabbath Sentinel put out by the Bible Sabbath Association, which is not a Church of God group (though it has members that are in the COGs, as well as members who are not), published on pages 16-19:

Sabbatarian/Waldensian Apostolic Succession List?

By Dr. Bob Thiel

Could there be a list of successive Sabbath-keepers from the time of the original apostles to present?

Yes.

After seeing several published claims in the 19^th and 20^th centuries of apostolic succession related to a group known as the Waldensians [1-6], I contacted historians and librarians associated with the American Waldensian Society to see if they had a list to back up such claims—I also contacted leaders in several Sabbatarian churches.

Those I was in communication with were unaware of any such list, even though several documents claimed that early Waldensians (also known as Vaudois) had true succession and/or some type of list prior to the time of the 16^th century Protestant Reformation [1-7].

However, to assist, the Waldensians referred me to Moravian scholar Dr. Craig Atwood as well as the Archivo Della Tavola Valdese–the historical archives of the Waldensian Church in Italy—for more information.

Dr. Atwood provided information that the succession of Moravian prelates was accepted by the British Parliament in 1749 (Acta Fratrum Unitatis in Anglia), because they claimed succession via the Waldensians [2, 7].

The Waldensians, or at least a Moravian portion, claimed to have originally descended from ‘‘a branch of the Greek church’’ from the 9^th century [3]. Moravia is a historical region in the east of the Czech Republic and one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. In the 18^th century, the Episcopal Church seemed to accept the Moravians as having valid Greek church succession [3].

Some indicate that the Waldensians came from a branch of the 4^th century Greek church [7], which would point to Asia Minor and Antioch. Another source seems to point to the Waldensians being a branch of the 3^rd or 4^th century Antioch church [8]. Even Roman Catholic sources acknowledge that there were Sabbath-keeping leaders in Antioch in the 3^rd or 4^th centuries [9]

While there were different groups called Waldensians by the Roman Catholics, some did keep the Sabbath as well as hold to other doctrines not held by the Roman Catholics or the bulk of the Protestants [10].

Although modern Waldenesians observe Sunday, notice the following:

Sabbathkeeping among Waldensians was most widespread in Bohemia and Moravia, places to which they fled during papal persecution. A fifteenth-century manuscript, published by church historian Johann Döllinger in History of the Sects, reports that Waldensians in Bohemia “do not celebrate the feasts of the blessed virgin Mary and the Apostles, except the Lord’s day. Not a few celebrate the Sabbath with the Jews.” [11]

Here is what Johann Döllinger published in Latin in the above source, with my translation below it:

festa divae virginis Mariae et Apostolorum non celebrant, solam diem Dominicam aliqui. Nonnulli vero cum Judaeis sabbatum celebrant, [12]

the festival of the blessed virgin Mary and the Apostles not celebrated, only some the Lord’s day. Not a few of the people celebrate the Sabbath with the Jews,

There were differences among the Waldenesians. Some kept the Sabbath. The succession list in this article only includes leaders, starting with the apostles, who seemingly kept the seventh-day Sabbath.

In the 14^th century, the assertion of Waldensian apostolic succession was reported by a Dominican monk:

Waldenses … push back their beginnings to the age of primitive Christianity. Thus they deny that they first appeared as a set of heretics breaking off from the historical Church, and claim to have preserved the purity of the faith through the ages, while all the rest of the Church was degenerating and accumulating the corruptions against which they protested from the first.

Claim to apostolic origin. — This claim is first met with in a Dominican monk at Passau in the year 1316, who states that the Waldenses are the most ancient of all the sects, some even saying that this sect ‘duravit a tempore patrum.’ It was but a step to add that the Waldensian church was founded by St. Paul when on his way to Spain. [4]

The Latin duravit a tempore patrum translated to English means they ‘‘lasted from the time of the fathers.’’ While there could be groups with ties to Spain, since the Waldenses elsewhere indicated that they came from part of the Greek church originally (apparently Asia Minor/Antioch) [3,8], that would seemingly rule out Spain (though there were different groups called Waldensians).

The Catholic Encyclopedia says that earlier succession claims were made by other groups, such as those known as Paulicians and Cathari [13-14]. The 12^th century abbot Bernard of Clairvaux, a declared doctor of the Roman Church, called, ‘‘The Cathari, a sect of the Waldenses’’ [15].

Reportedly, Waldensians ‘‘Being scattered abroad in various countries, … they supported amongst them the true apostolic succession of ministers and bishops, after the aforesaid manner of appointment, without break, down to the year 1450, about which time the separation of the Bohemian Brethren from the then prevailing religion of Bohemia took place for sufficient causes’’ [6].

A branch of the Greek Orthodox Church essentially approved Waldensian succession in 1451 through the acceptance of the ordinations of some Waldensian presbyters who accepted their church [5].

Interestingly in the early 1700s, John Potter, Anglican Bishop of Oxford/Canterbury, said the Moravian bishops (who claimed descent from the Waldenses) had ‘‘true succession’’ and made a point that ‘‘only those ignorant of church history could cast any doubt about it’’ [2].

But in this century, no Waldensian list dating back to the apostles has been found in modern Waldensian sources.

Marco Fratini, who works at the Waldensian Library in Italy, said that the archives there did not have such a list [16]. He also stated that such a list would be difficult to compile as there are a variety of doctrinal inconsistencies related to modern Waldensians. He is correct about that, but also there is the historical problem that people of various beliefs were termed Waldensians, not because they were all part of the same group, but because they were not in communion with, or were considered to be in opposition to, the Roman Catholic Church.

Notice also the following:

Roman Church they refused to give it the name of Catholic, and showed in what it had departed from true catholicity. The Vaudois, therefore, are not schismatics, but the continued inheritors of the church founded by the apostles. This church then bore the name of Catholic, [17].

That being said, Marco Fratini of Archivo Della Tavola Valdese also emailed me on September 3, 2020 to encourage me to send him such a list if I came up with one. In June 2021, I sent him a list with through 1525 that follows:

31 – c. 64-68 Apostles Peter and Paul c. 67
c. 98 – 102 Apostle John
c. 100 – c. 157 Polycarp of Smyrna
c. 157 – c. 160 Thraseas of Smyrna
c.160 – c. 167 Sagaris of Laodicea
c. 167 – c.170 Papirius of Smyrna
c. 170 – c. 180 Melito of Sardis
c. 180 – c. 200 Polycrates of Ephesus
c. 200 – c. 220 Camerius of Smyrna
c. 220 – c.254 Nepos of Arsinoe
c. 254 – c. 275 Unnamed Antiochian(s) or possibly Dorotheus
c. 275 – 312 Lucian of Antioch
c. 313 – 380 Unnamed Antiochian(s)
c. 380 – c. 470 Unnamed Antiochians or Unnamed Nazarenes
c. 470 – c. 500 Constantine of Antioch and Aushin
c. 500 – c. 645 Unnamed ‘Paulicians’
c. 645 – c. 650 Unnamed leader with New Testament from Syria
c. 650 – c. 684 Constantine of Mananali (Silvanus)
c. 684 – c. 696 Simeon
c. 697 – c.702 Sergius
c. 702 – c. 717 Paul the Armenian
c. 717 – c. 746 Gegnesius
c. 746 – c. 782 Joseph (Epaphroditus)
c. 783 – c. 800 Unnamed Paulician(s)
c. 801 – c. 835 Sergius (Tychicus)
c.836 – c. 919 Unnamed Paulicians
c. 920 – c. 950 Basil
c. 951 – c. 980 Jeremiah
1000s Sergius (27 years)
c. 1110 – 1140 Peter DeBruy (Pierre De Bruy)
1140 – 1155 Arnold of Brescia
1156 – 1181 Nicetas
1181 – 1205 Peter Waldo
1205 – 1224 Arnold Hot
1224- 1300 Unnamed Waldensians
c. 1310 – 1322 Walter the Lollard
1322 – c. 1335 Raymond the Lollard
c. 1335 – c. 1460 Unnamed Waldensians
c. 1460 -1492 Anthony Ferrar
1492 – 1525 Stefano Carlino or Unnamed Waldenesians

He responded to that list by stating:

Dear Dr. Thiel,

thank you for the exhaustive list.

I don’t know all of them, but it’s interesting. So I’m not able to suggest modification.

Best regards

Marco Fratini [18]

However, since we know that Anabaptists in Moravia were known for keeping the seventh-day Sabbath [19], and the Moravians claimed ties through the Waldensians, the following Moravian Sabbath-keepers could be added next of the list:

1526 – 1528 Moravian Sabbatarian Anabaptist ‘traveling minister’
1529 – 1540 Andreas Fischer

So, yes, there now is a list going back to the original apostles through the Waldensians and Moravian Anabaptist Sabbath-keepers. But, it is not as complete as preferred.

There are, of course, other possible lists and I expect to make modifications for other purposes, but for now this list looks plausible–even considering that several of the leaders on it were denounced by other churches based on real and fabricated teachings [cf. 20].

I invite others who have insight and could possibly help improve the list (and fill in gaps, if possible) to contact me.

My email address is COGwriter@aol.com

Bob Thiel

References

[1] Proceedings of the New York State Historical Association:…Annual Meeting with Constitution and By-laws and List of Members, Volume 17; Volume 19. The Association, 1919, pp. 190-191
[2] Podmore C. The Moravian Church in England, 1728-1760. Clarendon Press, 1998, pp. 210-239
[3] Martin JH. Historical Sketch of Bethlehem in Pennsylvania With Some Account of the Moravian Church. Philadelphia,1873, pp. 8, 51
[4] Adeney W. Waldenses, Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics Volume 12. Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1922, p. 664; the cited earlier source for this was from ‘‘Contra Valenses, in Maxima Bibliotheca…, Lyons, 1677-1707, xxv, 262 ff’’
[5] On the Episcopacy of the Herrnhuters, Commonly Known as the Moravians. The British Magazine, volume 7. 1835, pp. 645-647
[6] Benham D. Notes on the Origin and Episcopate of the Bohemian Brethren. Dalton & Lucy, 1867, p. 104
[7] Atwood CD. Community of the Cross Moravian Piety in Colonial Bethlehem. Penn State Press, 2004, p. 23
[8] Edwardson C. FACTS of FAITH. Christian Edwardson, 1943, pp. 18, 153
[9] Cardinal Newman, John Henry. The Arians of the Fourth Century. Longmans, Green, & Co., New York, 1908, pp. 7, 9
[10] Robinson R. Ecclesiastical Researches. Francis Hodson, publisher. 1792. Original from University of Chicago, Digitized Nov 19, 2015, pp. 299-304
[11] DamsteegT GF. Were the Waldensians Sabbathkeepers? Adventist World – November 11, 2017, p. 15
[12] Döllinger J. Beiträge zur Sektengeschichte des Mittelalters (Munich: Beck, 1890), Vol. II, p. 662.
[13] Fortescue, Adrian. ‘‘Paulicians.’’ The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 11. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911
[14] Weber, Nicholas. ‘‘Cathari.’’ The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 3. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1908
[15] Taylor A. The history of the English General Baptists of the Seventeenth Century. 1818, pp. 22, 24
[16] Re: I: Prima successione dell’elenco dei leader. Email from Marco Frateri to Dr. Thiel, September 2, 2020
[17] Muston A. THE ISRAEL OF THE ALPS. A COMPLETE HISTORYOF THE WALDENSES AND THEIR COLONIES. Translated by J.Montgomery. LONDON: BLACKIE & SON, 1875, pp. 11-13
[18] Re: Waldenian Prima successione dell’elenco dei leader. Email from Marco Frateri to Dr. Thiel, June 17, 2021
[19] Clasen CP. Anabaptist Sects in the Sixteenth Century: A Research Report. Mennonite Quarterly Review, VOl. XLVI, July 1972, pp. 256-279
[20] Hoeh, A True History of the True Church. Radio Church of God, 1959, pp. 18-19

Dr. Thiel is the overseeing pastor of the international Continuing Church of God, www.ccog.org. He also posts daily reports on Church of God and prophetic news at www.cogwriter.com

We put together a sermonette related to the above:

20:46

Waldensian Apostolic Succession

Jesus said that the true church would continue to the end of the age. Did any in the groups called Waldensians (or Waldenses), Vaudois, or Moravians have apostolic succession? Were there such claims over 500 years ago? Did any group claim to have an actual apostolic succession list of bishops? Was such a list at least partially accepted by the British Parliament in the 18th century or the Greek Orthodox Church in the 15th century or others centuries ago? Could the Waldenses have came from the true church in Antioch or Asia Minor in the 3rd or 4th centuries? Do modern American Waldensians claim to have such a list? What about the ones associated with that church or its Archivo Della Tavola Valdese in Italy? Did Dr. Thiel put together such a list and share it with them? Can such a list be seen today? Dr. Thiel goes over that and some of his research into this topic, while also asking for others to help fill in the gaps or assist in improving the list in this video. Dr. Thiel also discusses its symbol with a candle on a lampstand pointing to the fourth star and Jesus words in Revelation.

Here is a link to our video: Waldensian Apostolic Succession.

The true Christian Church of God, and all of its true ministers, have laying on of hands succession from the original apostles to present.

And yes, we believe all who held succession did keep the seventh-day Sabbath, including Peter Waldo.

Some items of possibly related interest may include the following:

The Thyatira Church Era was predominant circa 1050 A.D. to circa 1600 A.D. The Church during the Inquisition. It claimed succession from the apostles. Here is a link toa related sermon: Thyatira, Succession, and Jezebel.
Another Look at the Didache, Ignatius, and the Sabbath Did Ignatius write against the Sabbath and for Sunday? What about the Didache? What does the actual Greek reveal?
The Sabbath in the Early Church and Abroad Was the seventh-day (Saturday) Sabbath observed by the apostolic and post-apostolic Church? Here is a related sermon video The Christian Sabbath and How and Why to Keep It.
The Christian Sabbath. This is a series of articles from the Catholic Mirror essentially proving that the biblical Sabbath was Saturday, that the Lord’s day in Revelation 1 is not a reference to Sunday, that the Church of Rome implemented Sunday, and that nearly all Protestants followed Rome.
Early Sabbath Keeping in North America When did Europeans first keep the Sabbath in North America? Did the pilgrims who arrived on the Mayflower keep Saturday or Sunday?
How to Observe the Sabbath How should you keep the Sabbath? This is an old article by Raymond Cole, with updated information for the 21st century.
The Dramatic Story of Chinese Sabbathkeepers This reformatted Good News article from 1955 discusses Sabbath-keeping in China in the 1800s.
Is God Unreasonable? Some have suggested that if God requires Sabbath-keeping He is unreasonable. Is that true? Here is a link to a related article in Mandarin Chinese 一个不合理的神？
Should You Observe God’s Holy Days or Demonic Holidays? This is a free pdf booklet explaining what the Bible and history shows about God’s Holy Days and popular holidays. A related sermon is Which Spring Days should Christians observe?
Is Revelation 1:10 talking about Sunday or the Day of the Lord? Most Protestant scholars say Sunday is the Lord’s Day, but is that what the Bible teaches?
Sunday and Christianity Was Sunday observed by the apostolic and true post-apostolic Christians? Who clearly endorsed Sunday? What relevance is the first or the “eighth” day? A related sermon is also available: Sunday: First and Eighth Day?
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.
Tradition and Scripture: From the Bible and Church Writings Are traditions on equal par with scripture? Many believe that is what Peter, John, and Paul taught. But did they?
Polycarp of Smyrna: The Heretic Fighter Polycarp was the successor of the Apostle John and a major leader in Asia Minor. Do you know much about what he taught? A YouTube video or related interesy may be: Polycarp of Smyrna: Why Christians should know more about him.
Theophilus of Antioch This is one of the second century leaders of some Christians in Antioch and is considered a Patriarch of the Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch.
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.

Posted in Church History | Comments Off on Peter Waldo did keep the Sabbath and is in the CCOG list of Apostolic succession

Teachings of Herbert W. Armstrong and Martin Luther–which are more biblical?

Thursday, February 20th, 2025

Herbert W. Armstrong and Martin Luther

COGwriter

Most people are familiar with the Protestant Reformer Martin Luther. And most people who come to this COGwriter Church of God News page regularly are familiar with the late COG leader Herbert W. Armstrong.

While both men had issues in their personal lives, I would like to highlight a couple of their doctrinal/theological similarities and a couple of doctrinal differences.

Ten Commandments

Regarding the Ten Commandments, Martin Luther claimed that:

God threatens to punish all who break these commandments…Therefore, we should also love and trust in Him and gladly do what He commands” (Luther’s Small Catechism with Explanation. Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis, 1986, p.12).

The fruits of this sin are afterwards the evil deeds which are forbidden in the Ten Commandments…we hold that the Law was given by God, first, to restrain sin by threats and the dread of punishment, and by the promise and offer of grace and benefit (Luther Martin. The Smallclad Papers. 1537. Translated by F. Bente and W. H. T. Dau Published in: _Triglot Concordia: The Symbolical Books of the Ev. Lutheran Church_. (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921), pp. 453-529).

…teach them first of all these articles, namely the ten commandments…But as for those that will not learn, let them be told that they deny Christ and are no Christians…(Luther M. The Short Catechism, 1529. Cited in Bettenson H, ed., Documents of the Christian Church. London: Oxford University Press, 1943, p. 225).

Furthermore, the Christian Questions and Their Answers section of that book states (it is unclear if Martin Luther actually wrote that section, though it is ascribed to him):

“1. Do you believe that you are a sinner? Yes, I believe it, I am a sinner. 2. How do you know this? From the Ten Commandments, which I have not kept…The Ten Commandments are the law of God” (Luther’s Small Catechism with Explanation. Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis, 1986. pp.39-40,53).

Martin Luther wrote,

…whoever wishes to know and to do good works needs nothing else than to know God’s commandments. Thus Christ says, Matthew xix, “If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.” And when the young man asks Him, Matthew xix, what he shall do that he may inherit eternal life, Christ sets before him naught else but the Ten Commandments (Luther M. Treatise on Good Works, March 29, 1520).

For even if a Moses had never appeared and Abraham had never been born, the Ten Commandments would have had to rule in all men from the very beginning, as they indeed did and still do (Luther, M. Against the Sabbatarians:Letter to a Good Friend, Part II, 1538).

Similarly, Herbert Armstrong taught,

“The ten commandments were first made known to ADAM in the Garden of Eden…We read the answer in Romans 5:12, ‘Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and DEATH BY SIN; so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.’ And in verse fourteen, ‘Death reigned FROM ADAM TO MOSES’. ‘Sin is NOT imputed when there is NO law,’ you read in the 13th verse. Yet sin was imputed because death did reign from Adam to Moses. There must then have been a law from Adam’s time…What is sin? Is there a BIBLE definition? Is there any place in the Bible where it says, “Sin is . . . and then follows the definition? The answer is in 1 John 3:4, ‘Sin is the transgression of the law.’ ” (Armstrong, H. Were the TEN COMMANDMENTS in force before Moses? Circa 1956).

A free online booklet related to the Ten Commandments is available: The Ten Commandments: The Decalogue, Christianity, and the Beast.

State of the Dead

They even had similarities on the state of the dead.

The immediate cause of Luther’s stand on the sleep of the soul was the issue of purgatory, with its postulate of the conscious torment of anguished souls. While Luther is not always consistent, the predominant note running all through his writings is that souls sleep in peace, without consciousness or pain. The Christian dead are not aware of anything—see not, feel not, understand not, and are not conscious of passing events. Luther held and periodically stated that in the sleep of death, as in normal physical sleep, there is complete unconsciousness and unawareness of the condition of death or the passage of time.† Death is a deep, sound, sweet sleep.‡ And the dead will remain asleep until the day of resurrection (Martin Luther and William Tyndale on the State of the Dead pp. 571-572).

Martin Luther specifically taught:

It is probable, in my opinion, that, with very few exceptions indeed, the dead sleep in utter insensibility till the day of judgment… On what authority can it be said that the souls of the dead may not sleep out the interval between earth and heaven… (Luther M. Translated by W. Hazlitt. The life of Luther written by himself. M. Michelet, ed. Bohn’s Standard Library. G. Bell, 1904, p. 133).

Herbert Armstrong taught,

“The Bible teaching contrary to much religious and church teaching – that is the WORD OF GOD teaching – is that the dead ARE DEAD – utterly unconscious. Notice the inspired wisdom of Solomon: “For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not anything…” – the RSV translates it “the dead KNOW NOTHING” (Eccl.9:5)… I Corinthians 15:49: “And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall [future – resurrection] also bear the image of the heavenly” (verse 49). As we are now flesh, we shall be SPIRIT – at the resurrection, that is, when we shall be “BORN AGAIN” – when we shall see, enter into, the Kingdom of God – when we are Spirit – at the resurrection! ‘Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot Inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep [be dead], but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we [the then living] shall be changed (verses 50-52)’” (Armstrong HW. Incredible Human Potential. Chapter 12).

While some criticize this teaching and call it “soul sleep”, it was held by the earliest Christians. Please check out the article Did Early Christians Believe that Humans Possessed Immortality?

Both men had a lot of dissimilarities, personal and professional. But, this article will not focus on personal dissimilarities, but rather on a few of the doctrinal dissimilarities. Because, from the perspective of biblical truth, those are the primary dissimilarities which should count.

Is the Bible Fallible? Does the Bible Contradict Itself?

Martin Luther seems to think so as he wrote about the Book of James,

In the first place it is flatly against St. Paul and all the rest of Scripture in ascribing justification to works. It says that Abraham was justified by his works when he offered his son Isaac; though in Romans 4 St. Paul teaches to the contrary that Abraham was justified apart from works, by his faith alone, before he had offered his son, and proves it by Moses in Genesis 15…But this James does nothing more than drive to the law and to its works. Besides, he throws things together so chaotically that it seems to me he must have been some good, pious man, who took a few sayings from the disciples of the apostles and thus tossed them off on paper. Or it may perhaps have been written by someone on the basis of his preaching. He calls the law a ‘law of liberty’, though Paul calls it a law of slavery, of wrath, of death, and of sin (Luther, M. Preface to the Epistles of St. James and St. Jude, 1546; originally 1522).

As the following quotes show, Martin Luther did not care for several books in the Old Testament either:

Job spoke not as it stands written in his book, but only had such thoughts. It is merely the argument of a fable. It is probable that Solomon wrote and made this book…Ecclesiastes ought to have been more complete. There is too much incoherent matter in it…Solomon did not, therefore, write this book…I am such an enemy to the book of Esther that I wish it did not exist, for it Judaizes too much…The history of Jonah is so monstrous that it is absolutely incredible. (as quoted in O’Hare, p. 202).

For additional information, please read the article, Sola Scriptura or Prima Luther: What Did Martin Luther Actually Teach about the Bible?

Yet, WCG under Herbert Armstrong taught,

The Bible is true not only scientifically, but historically. Again, though the Bible is not a history book, what ever is mentioned as history in the Bible is always true…Is the Word of God infallible? It certainly is (Is the Bible Infallible? Good News Article – Dec. 1980).

Are All the Books of the New Testament Proper?

Martin Luther had a fairly low view of the Books of Hebrews, James, Jude, and Revelation as he wrote,

Up to this point we have had the true and certain chief books of the New Testament. The four which follow have from ancient times had a different reputation. In the first place, the fact that Hebrews is not an epistle of St. Paul, or of any other apostle, is proved by what it says in chapter 2 (Luther, M. Prefaces to the Epistle of the Hebrews, 1546; originally1522).

Martin Luther wrote,

Concerning the epistle of St. Jude, no one can deny that it is an extract or copy of St. Peter’s second epistle, so very like it are all the words. He also speaks of the apostles like a disciple who comes long after them and cites sayings and incidents that are found nowhere else in the Scriptures. This moved the ancient fathers to exclude this epistle from the main body of the Scriptures. Moreover the Apostle Jude did not go to Greek-speaking lands, but to Persia, as it is said, so that he did not write Greek. Therefore, although I value this book, it is an epistle that need not be counted among the chief books which are supposed to lay the foundations of faith (Luther, M. Preface to the Epistles of St. James and St. Jude, 1546; originally 1522).

Martin Luther taught,

Which are the true and noblest books of the New Testament? From all this you can now judge all the books and decide among them which are the best. John’s Gospel and St. Paul’s epistles, especially that to the Romans, and St. Peter’s first epistle are the true kernel and marrow of all the books…Therefore John’s Gospel is the one, fine, true, and chief gospel, and is far, far to be preferred over the other three and placed high above them. So, too, the epistles of St. Paul and St. Peter far surpass the other three gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke. In a word St. John’s Gospel and his first epistle, St. Paul’s epistles, especially Romans, Galatians, and Ephesians, and St. Peter’s first epistle are the books that show you Christ and teach you all that is necessary and salvatory for you to know, even if you were never to see or hear any other book or doctrine. Therefore St. James’ epistle is really an epistle of straw, compared to these others, for it has nothing of the nature of the gospel about it (Luther, M. Prefaces to the New Testament. LW 35:357-362, 394-399 Preface to the New Testament, 1546; originally 1522).

Under Herbert Armstrong, WCG taught,

The Bible is true not only scientifically, but historically. Again, though the Bible is not a history book, what ever is mentioned as history in the Bible is always true…Is the Word of God infallible? It certainly is” (Is the Bible Infallible? Good News Article – Dec. 1980).

” ‘To bind up’ comes from the Hebrew word meaning ‘to complete.’ The apostles were used ‘to complete’ the testimony of Jesus Christ. The New Testament Church has “the testimony of Jesus Christ” (Rev. 12:17). It was also through Jesus’ disciples that God’s seal of approval was placed on those laws which are eternally binding on Christians. Yes, we can know! The Bible is COMPLETE! Not one book of the Bible has been lost. Not one is missing. The books of the Bible as you find them in your King James Version constitute the complete Bible! (Do We Have The COMPLETE BIBLE? Copyright 1959, 1974 Ambassador College).

Two articles of possibly related interest may be The Old Testament Canon and The New Testament Canon – From the Bible Itself. A free online book of possible interest is also available: Who Gave the World the Bible, The Canon: Why do we have the books we now do in the Bible?

It may be of interest to also realize that while Martin Luther wrote, “John’s Gospel is the one, fine, true, and chief gospel, and is far, far to be preferred over the other three and placed high above them”, he (unlike HWA) ignored much of what it taught. The plain truth is that much of the Gospel According to John had to do with two holy day seasons: the final Passover season (Chapters 13-21) and one particular Feast of Tabernacles‘ season (Chapters 7-9)–times that Martin Luther did not observe like the original Christians did, but that Herbert Armstrong did.

Baptism of Infants/Children

“Why are babies to be baptized? A. Babies are to baptized because they are included in the words ‘all nations’ (Luther’s Small Catechism with Explanation. Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis, 1986, p.202).

Furthermore, Martin Luther got these statements confirmed,

Article IX: Of Baptism. Of Baptism they teach that it is necessary to salvation, and that through Baptism is offered the grace of God, and that children are to be baptized who, being offered to God through Baptism are received into God’s grace. They condemn the Anabaptists, who reject the baptism of children…Article XII:…They condemn the Anabaptists, who deny that those once justified can lose the Holy Ghost. (The Confession of Faith: Which Was Submitted to His Imperial Majesty Charles V. At the Diet of Augsburg in the Year 1530. by Philip Melanchthon, 1497-1560. Translated by F. Bente and W. H. T. Dau. Published in: Triglot Concordia: The Symbolical Books of the Ev. Lutheran Church. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, pp. 37-95.)

Thus Martin Luther not only encouraged infant baptism, he condemned those who opposed infant baptism.

The Apostle Peter taught, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins” (Acts 2:38) “Then those that gladly received his word were baptized” (Acts 2:42).

Herbert Armstrong taught,

Should Children Be Baptized? One cannot be baptized until after he has fully REPENTED. Only those who BELIEVE, both the true GOSPEL (the Message Jesus preached, which is the Kingdom, or Government of God) and on JESUS CHRIST as personal Saviour, can be baptized (see Acts 2:38; 8:37; 16:31). Children have not reached that maturity where they have the self-discipline to truly repent, and believe (Armstrong H. All About Water Baptism. 1948, 1954, 1972 edition).

There is no recorded instance of any babies being baptized in the Old or New Testaments. An article of related interest may be Baptism and the Early Church.

On October 31, 2017, many celebrated Martin Luther’s Protestant Reformation, despite not realizing that he did not reform to teach the original and true Christian faith. The faith that we stand for in the Continuing Church of God.

Herbert W. Armstrong had many doctrines closer with the teachings of the Bible and early Christianity than Martin Luther did. See also Continuing History of the Church of God.

Some items of possibly related interest may include:

The Similarities and Dissimilarities between Martin Luther and Herbert W. Armstrong This article clearly shows some of the doctrinal differences between in the two. At this time of doctrinal variety and a tendency by many to accept certain aspects of Protestantism, the article should help clarify why the genuine Church of God is NOT Protestant. Do you really know what the Protestant Reformer Martin Luther taught and should you follow his doctrinal example? Here is a related sermon video: Martin Luther and Herbert Armstrong: Reformers with Differences.
Sola Scriptura or Prima Luther? What Did Martin Luther Really Believe About the Bible? Though he is known for his public sola Scriptura teaching, did Martin Luther’s writings about the Bible suggest he felt that prima Luther was his ultimate authority? Statements from him changing and/or discounting 18 books of the Bible are included. Do you really want to know the truth?
Who Gave the World the Bible? The Canon: Why do we have the books we now do in the Bible? Is the Bible complete?
COGwriter Position on Other Churches and Religions What is the fate of those who do not know Christ? What about those who profess Christ outside the Church of God?
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.
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.
Beliefs of the Original Catholic Church: Could a remnant group have continuing apostolic succession? Did the original “catholic church” have doctrines held by the Continuing Church of God? Did Church of God leaders uses the term “catholic church” to ever describe the church they were part of? Here are links to related sermons: Original Catholic Church of God?, Original Catholic Doctrine: Creed, Liturgy, Baptism, Passover, What Type of Catholic was Polycarp of Smyrna?, Tradition, Holy Days, Salvation, Dress, & Celibacy, Early Heresies and Heretics, Doctrines: 3 Days, Abortion, Ecumenism, Meats, Tithes, Crosses, Destiny, and more, Saturday or Sunday?, The Godhead, Apostolic Laying on of Hands Succession, Church in the Wilderness Apostolic Succession List, Holy Mother Church and Heresies, and Lying Wonders and Original Beliefs. Here is a link to that book in the Spanish language: Creencias de la iglesia Católica original.
Where is the True Christian Church Today? This free online pdf booklet answers that question and includes 18 proofs, clues, and signs to identify the true vs. false Christian church. Plus 7 proofs, clues, and signs to help identify Laodicean churches. A related sermon is also available: Where is the True Christian Church? Here is a link to the booklet in the Spanish language: ¿Dónde está la verdadera Iglesia cristiana de hoy? Here is a link in the German language: WO IST DIE WAHRE CHRISTLICHE KIRCHE HEUTE?

Posted in Doctrine | Comments Off on Teachings of Herbert W. Armstrong and Martin Luther–which are more biblical?

Free promotion for ‘Unintended Consequences and Donald Trump’s Presidency:’

Thursday, February 20th, 2025

COGwriter

Amazon Kindle has allowed us to promote the electronic version of my book, Unintended Consequences and Donald Trump’s Presidency: Is Donald Trump Fulfilling Biblical, Islamic, Greco-Roman Catholic, Buddhist, and other America-Related Prophecies?, for free for several days.

The book came out a few days BEFORE Donald Trump took office. And already, various world events are confirming warnings, comments, and speculations it contains.

Since that book came out, world events have aligned with several warning, predictions, and unintended consequences pointed to in it. Below, in italics, are statements from that book, with the page numbers where the prediction can be found in the printed book shown within ():

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. (p.210) Confirmation: Because of tariff threats from Donald Trump, on 1/21/25, EU President Ursula von der Leyen stated that Europe would seek out others to trade with (https://www.politico.eu/article/eu-donald-trump-america-we-have-other-options-ursula-von-der-leyen/).
Gold will set records in U.S. dollar terms. … … gold will set further records in U.S. dollar terms in the relatively near future. (pp. 205, 206) Confirmation: Gold hit a record price on 1/31/25 (https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/gold-hits-record-high-trump-tariff-worries-mount-2025-01-31/) and did it again on 02/10/25. The record price of gold reflects a record minimum value in gold for the USA dollar.
One of the unintended consequence of his actions is, that after crises (cf. Revelation 6:7-8), more Europeans will decide that they need their own even stronger leader—which will happen per Revelation 13:10 and 17:13. (pp. 58-59) Partial confirmation: This already started to happen at a European political conference on 2/08/25 (https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2025/02/08/your-time-is-over-far-right-leaders-take-on-the-eus-mainstream-parties)
Donald Trump has often encouraged increased military spending by the Europeans. … Donald Trump is helping enable the rise of the King of the North/Beast power who will be in league with the final Antichrist. (p. 87) Partial confirmation: This is partially confirmed as Kaja Kallas, Vice President of the European Commission stated on 1/22/25 that Europe needs to spend more as Donald Trump called for (https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2025/01/22/eu-must-spend-more-than-1-of-gdp-on-defence-to-prepare-for-the-worst-kallas-says).
Donald Trump’s rise has also spurred the Europeans to further unify among themselves. … Donald Trump has been pointed to by various European leaders as ‘proof’ that Europe needs more unification and distance from the USA. (p. 88) Partial confirmation: More of this has since happened (https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2025/01/22/eu-must-spend-more-than-1-of-gdp-on-defence-to-prepare-for-the-worst-kallas-says and https://www.msn.com/en-gb/money/other/eu-enlargement-debate-at-davos-focuses-on-europe-s-global-role-and-growth/ar-AA1xBhgq?ocid=finance-verthp-feeds) and a EU foreign ministers meeting on 1/27/25 called for a unified approach to deal with US President Donald Trump and what analysts refer to as his “divide and rule policy” (https://www.dw.com/en/eu-sanctions-russia-trump-2025/a-71427544).
Jesus warned about a coming time of pestilences as part of the beginning of sorrows (Matthew 24:4-8)—they are consistent with the ride of the 4^th horseman of the Apocalypse (Revelation 6:7-8)—that ride may well start in the second term of a Donald Trump Administration. Actions and/or inactions by Donald Trump will likely put the USA at increased risk of problems from pestilences. (p. 90) Potential confirmation: Donald Trump announced he is pulling the USA out of the World Health Organization (https://fortune.com/well/2025/01/21/trump-who-us-remove-world-health-organization/).
His policies are pushing nations away from the USA and helping set the stage for the final times of the Gentiles (cf. Ezekiel 7:24, 39:23; Luke 21:24). (p. 91) Potential confirmation: Donald Trump’s comments at the WEF reportedly silenced the crowd and made them “stone-faced” (Donald Trump speaks virtually to the WEF’s Davos meeting and pushes USA fossil fuels and trade matters). These leaders were not pleased and will take actions. Ursula von der Leyen said “Europe will keep seeking co-operation — not only with our long-time, like-minded friends, but with any country we share interests with.”
His statements are getting more in Europe to consider that they need to reorganize and support some type of a strong man leader. The Bible shows that will happen in Revelation 17:12-13. Speculative confirmation: I cannot imagine that at the WEF and within the EU they are not discussing something like a stronger European leader and a reorganization of Europe. For example the chief executive of a European bank at the WEF conference stated, “I heard the EU talking about the willingness to make changes,” and “The truth of the matter is every time they do something they create more bureaucracy, more complexity. They need to have a huge reset” (https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/jan/24/davos-donald-trump-tariffs-eu-us). Germans have noticed that what they call the “far right” is gaining because of Donald Trump and that right wing leaders look more useful now (https://www.german-foreign-policy.com/en/news/detail/9836 01/21/25). Furthermore, EU President Von der Leyen said this week, “To sustain our growth in the next quarter of the century, Europe must shift gears,” (https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/jan/24/davos-donald-trump-tariffs-eu-us) that sounds like a plea to reorganize.

There will be many unintended consequences of the Trump-Vance Administration.

And there already have been.

Unintended Consequences and Donald Trump’s Presidency: Is Donald Trump Fulfilling Biblical, Islamic, Greco-Roman Catholic, Buddhist, and other America-Related Prophecies?-Kindle edition Kindle edition is available free for a few days. 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?

Posted in Prophecy | Comments Off on Free promotion for ‘Unintended Consequences and Donald Trump’s Presidency:’

After promoting apostasy in the old WCG, the one who called himself the ‘Bible Answer Man’ turned even further away from the Bible

Thursday, February 20th, 2025

TRANSFORMED FROM TRUTH

Worldwide Church of God Transformed from Truth to Fairy Tales

COGwriter

Mike Gendron had the following titled “The Consequences of Departing from the Faith” as his lead article in one of his newsletters, regarding Hank Hanegraaff who called himself the Bible Answer Man:

Hank Hanegraaff, known as the Bible Answer Man, was chrismated into the Orthodox Church last month. According to Orthodox teachings, Chrismation is the mystery by which a person is granted the gift of the Holy Spirit through the anointing of Holy Chrism. How could a man who spent so many years helping Christians identify various counterfeits now make the most foolish decision to join a counterfeit form of Christianity? Like its former protagonist, the Roman Catholic Church, the Orthodox also teach a false and fatal gospel of salvation by sacraments and works. They are both to be accursed for teaching a gospel contrary to the Gospel of Christ (Gal. 1:6-9).

How could the Bible Answer Man disregard the Bible when making a decision that has eternal consequences? Hanegraaff said, “I’ve been impacted by Eastern Orthodox people who have a very keen sense of Church history and have absolute fidelity to the essentials of the historic Christian faith.” It is hard to believe that someone who claims to know the Bible so well can say the Orthodox religion has “absolute fidelity to the essentials of the historic Christian faith.” Does Hanegraaff not know that the primary essential of the Christian faith is the non-negotiable Gospel of Christ? (1 Cor. 15:1-4).

The Orthodox people do not believe or proclaim the one-time, all-sufficient, unrepeatable sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ for the finished work of redemption. Instead, their priests continue to offer what they believe is the physical body and blood of Jesus Christ everyday on an altar. This Eucharistic sin-offering not only blasphemes Christ, but also rejects His victory cry, “It is finished” (John 19:30). By continuing their sacerdotal priesthood, the Orthodox also reject Jesus as the one mediator between God and man (1 Tim. 2:5). In the Orthodox Church forgiveness of sin and salvation can only come through its priests and its sacraments.

One of the immediate consequences for Hanegraaff’s conversion to the Orthodox Church was having his radio program booted from the Bott Radio Network. We applaud the network’s decision to discontinue the Bible Answer Man program after carrying it since the 1980’s. Hanegraaff’s perplexing decision to join an apostate church that long ago departed from the faith of the apostles, may have eternal consequences also. The Orthodox religion holds its people captive through an utter dependence on a superfluous priesthood for salvation, along with the idolatrous worship of icons, necromantic prayers and worship for the dead. … Hanegraaff has submitted to a much more corrupt religion (Gal. 2:5).

Throughout the New Testament, we are warned that there will be false converts, false teachers, and apostates in the church. We cannot judge anyone’s heart, but we must be fruit inspectors (Mat. 7:15-20). Only God knows if Hanegraaff is a true or a false convert. However, it is inconceivable that a true Christian would exchange a relationship with the One Mediator for a religion that offers ungodly mediators. Hanegraaff’s departure is not unprecedented. “They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be shown that they all are not of us” (1 John 2:19).

We need to remember that the last days will be marked by widespread deception and growing apostasy. “The Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons” (1 Tim. 4:1). Paul exhorts the church to be on the alert. He wrote: “I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them” (Acts 20:28-30). Only time will tell how many undiscerning people will follow Hanegraaff on the wide road to destruction.

We are living in a church age where many people are choosing to follow persuasive personalities rather than the Lord Jesus Christ and His Word. These undiscerning people need to be warned that there are eternal consequences for those who follow the teachings of men without testing them with the supreme authority of God’s Word. The only way false teachers can succeed is when professing Christians put up with them (2 Cor. 11:4). May God give us the courage and boldness to contend earnestly for the faith that was signed, sealed, and delivered 2000 years ago (Jude 3).

How could “The Bible Answer Man” drift further away from the Bible?

To me that is an easy answer, I never believed that he truly believed the Bible. I reported some news of his transformation to Eastern Orthodoxy in the past when I first heard of it (see CRI’s Hank Hanegraaff, who advised WCG to apostatize, converted to Eastern Orthodoxy).

As far as the Eastern Orthodox go, though they have some good points, they are NOT a Bible-based church, but often rely on traditions and councils of men that differ from original Christianity. They actually sometimes have referred to themselves as the “Church of the Seven Councils”–and those councils were not intent upon heeding scripture. For documented details, check out the article: Some Similarities and Differences Between the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Continuing Church of God. As far as the additional apocryphal books that the Eastern Orthodox accept, check out the article The Old Testament Canon or 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?

The Eastern Orthodox, while claiming to be the original catholic church, do not hold to many important beliefs of early Christians. For documented details, check out the free online book: Beliefs of the Original Catholic Church.

As readers of this page may recall, Hank Hanegraaff, himself, assisted in causing a major falling away from the truth (see also The Falling Away: The Bible and WCG Teachings).

Here is an older report related to Hank Hanegraaff and the apostate leadership of the changed Worldwide Church of God (which now calls itself Grace Communion International):

WCG leaders aired doctrinal views on CRI’s radio program

By Dixon Cartwright

The pastor general of the Worldwide Church of God described to an international radio-talk-show audience Jan. 4, 5 and 12, 1996, the transformation of the WCG from a legalistic sect whose members were plagued by cognitive dissonance into a fledgling Protestant denomination coming out of a cave and seeking acceptance by the world of mainstream churches. Joseph Tkach Jr., WCG pastor general, and Greg Albrecht, editor in chief of the WCG’s Plain Truth magazine, appeared on The Bible Answer Man radio talk show with host Hank Hanegraaff on segments originating in a studio in San Juan Capistrano, Calif. The Bible Answer Man is sponsored by Mr. Hanegraaff’s Christian Research Institute (CRI), which was founded by the late Walter Martin, who wrote Kingdom of the Cults, a book dedicated to exposing what he termed non-Christian sects, including the Worldwide Church of God. …

Mr. Hanegraaff noted that WCG leaders had contacted him “probably two or three years ago” and “we have spent quite a bit of time together over the last few years.”

On fire to help

Mr. Albrecht commented that he was “a longtime listener of the program, so it’s great to be on the show with you.” Mr. Tkach said he and other WCG leaders—he named specifically Mr. Albrecht, church-administration director Mike Feazell, treasurer Bernie Schnippert (who died in 2014) and computer-information-systems manager David Smith—“all have a fire in our belly to help others realize the pain of legalism and to escape it.”

Mr. Tkach said he hopes the experiences of the Worldwide Church of God will promote a “ripple effect throughout the entire Saturday-Sabbath-keeping community” so Sabbatarians can “realize the Sabbath in its proper perspective.”

Although Mr. Tkach and Mr. Albrecht couched their phrases in diplomatic terms when it came to describing the WCG of old and its founder, Herbert W. Armstrong, Mr. Hanegraaff was more to the point in saying that Mr. Armstrong espoused “false doctrine.”

Mr. Albrecht noted that he could not “stand in judgment” of Mr. Arm- strong “in terms of the basis of his sal- vation,” but Mr. Hanegraaff noted that the WCG has “judged his [Mr. Armstrong’s] writings, and that is why you’ve changed them.”

Mr. Tkach responded, “You said that very well.”

The talk-show host asked Mr. Tkach to confirm that he personally, as well as the Worldwide Church of God, repudiates many of the former WCG teachings espoused by Mr. Armstrong: “You are comfortable in saying that Herbert W. Armstrong did deny essentials of the historic Christian faith; the Trinity would be a good example?”

“Absolutely,” replied Mr. Tkach. “I have no reservations in saying that some of the things that Mr. Armstrong taught were in major error.”

Of course, the statement that the WCG has repudiated its own core doctrines— and by extension the doctrines of the other Sabbatarian groups with origins in the Worldwide Church of God—is no surprise to readers of this newspaper. But it is instructive to hear some of the testimonials of their newfound faith from the lips of two of the principal apologists of the new teachings. (Cartwright D. The Journal: News of the Churches of God, #173, print date May 31, 2015)

I remember some of the false information that WCG leaders were giving at the time and recall a little bit from the falsely named ‘Bible Answer Man.’ WCG leaders kept telling the membership that the changes were not planned, but more information points to a plot to introduce heretical doctrines. The changed WCG basically became just another Protestant sect. Real Church of God groups, like the Continuing Church of God are NOT Protestant, as our histories and doctrines greatly differ (see details, for three examples, in the free online books Hope of Salvation: How the Continuing Church of God differs from Protestantism and Where is the True Christian Church Today? and Continuing History of the Church of God).

Hank Hanegraaff also wrote the Forward to J. Tkach, Jr.’s absurd Transformed book:

Foreword to Transformed by Truth, by Hank Hanegraaf

Foreword to Transformed by Truth, by Joseph Tkach

The Worldwide Church of God has embarked upon a course virtually uncharted in church history—a course that has taken them from the kingdom of the cults to the kingdom of Christ. In Transformed by Truth, Joseph Tkach, leader of the Worldwide Church of God, candidly describes the movement’s transformation from the perspective of his own personal awakening. During their pilgrimage from cultism to the cross, I have come to know Joseph as both a friend and as a brother in Christ. I have observed firsthand his courage, his integrity, and his absolute commitment to Scripture as the final court of arbitration.

The above related to the Bible is fantasy. It is false.

Joseph Tkach now endorses things like Easter, the Trinity, and Christmas–none of which came from the Bible. The Eastern Orthodox do as well, plus have many doctrines that are in conflict with an “absolute commitment to Scripture as the final court of arbitration”–for details, check out the article Some Similarities and Differences Between the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Continuing Church of God.

Hank Hanegraaff’s assessment of J. Tkach’s theology, as well as his own, were and remain flawed.

They are practicing a version of Mithraism (see also Do You Practice Mithraism?).

Neither of those men are following the biblical faith, which was the faith of the original faithful followers of Jesus, which is the faith still practiced in the Continuing Church of God.

In 2024, Hank Hanegraaff posted a podcast titled, Does Church history matter?

The answer is yes, even according to him, but sadly he does not properly understand it (proof is in the free online book: Beliefs of the Original Catholic Church: Could a remnant group have continuing apostolic succession?).

As far as the old Worldwide Church of God goes, after Hank Hanegraaf’s ‘assistance’ it went further away from “the faith once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3). It also sold its properties in Pasadena, changed its name to Grace Communion International (GCI), and has now relocated its main office to Charlotte, NC (see GCI purchased new facility in Charlotte, NC) and GCI’s J. Tkach reported on its move).

Both Hank Hanegraaf and GCI have gotten further and further away from the original Christian faith.

Some items of related interest may include:

Some Similarities and Differences Between the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Continuing Church of God Both groups claim to be the original church, but both groups have differing ways to claim it. Both groups have some amazing similarities and some major differences. Do you know what they are? Here is a link to a related sermon: Eastern Orthodox 40+ Similar Beliefs to the CCOG.
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.
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?
The Falling Away: The Bible and WCG Teachings Who is 2 Thessalonians 2:3 referring to? Are there multiple falling aways? Here is a related link in Spanish/español: La Apostasía: Enseñanzas de la Biblia y de la WCG. There are also two YouTube videos on the subject that you can watch The Falling Away Part 1: From the Bible and Church History and The Falling Away Part 2: Positions Presented by Others.
Did Early Christians Celebrate Easter? If not, when did this happen? Where did Easter come from? What do scholars and the Bible reveal? Here is a link to a video titled Why Easter?
What Does the Catholic Church Teach About Christmas and the Holy Days? Do you know what the Catholic Church says were the original Christian holy days? Was Christmas among them? Is December 25th Jesus’ birthday or that of the sun god? Here is a link to a related sermon: What do Catholic and other scholars teach about Christmas?
Did Early Christians Celebrate Birthdays? Did biblical era Jews celebrate birthdays? Who originally celebrated birthdays? When did many that profess Christ begin birthday celebrations? A related sermon video is available and is titled: Birthdays, Christians, and December 25th.
Should You Observe God’s Holy Days or Demonic Holidays? This is a free pdf booklet explaining what the Bible and history shows about God’s Holy Days and popular holidays.
The Old Testament Canon This article shows from Catholic accepted writings, that the Old Testament used by non-Roman Catholics and non-Orthodox churches is the correct version.
The New Testament Canon – From the Bible and History This article, shows from the Bible and supporting historical sources, why the early Church knew which books were part of the Bible and which ones were not.
Hope of Salvation: How the Continuing Church of God differs from Protestantism How the real Church of God differs from mainstream/traditional Protestants, is perhaps the question I am asked most by those without a Church of God background. As far as some changes affecting Protestantism, watch the video Charismatic Kenneth Copeland and Anglican Tony Palmer: Protestants Beware! [Português: Esperança do salvação: Como a igreja do deus difere da maioria de protestantes]. Several related sermon 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, and How Does the Church of God Differ from Protestantism?
Beware: Protestants Going Towards Ecumenical Destruction! What is going on in the Protestant world? Are Protestants turning back to their ‘mother church’ in Rome? Does the Bible warn about this? What are Catholic plans and prophecies related to this? Is Protestantism doomed? See also World Council of Churches Peace Plan.
Orthodox Must Reject Unity with the Roman Catholics Unity between these groups will put them in position to be part of the final end time Babylon that the Bible warns against as well as require improper compromise.
Why Should American Catholics Fear Unity with the Orthodox? (And the Protestants) Are the current ecumenical meetings a good thing or will they result in disaster? Is doctrinal compromise good? Here is a link to a related video Should you be concerned about the ecumenical movement?
Do You Practice Mithraism? Many practices and doctrines that mainstream so-called Christian groups have are the same or similar to those of the sun-god Mithras. December 25th was celebrated as his birthday. Do you follow Mithraism combined with the Bible or original Christianity? A sermon video from Vatican City is titled Church of Rome, Mithras, and Isis?
Did Early Christians Think the Holy Spirit Was A Separate Person in a Trinity? Or did they have a different view? A related sermon is available: Truth about the Holy Spirit: What THEY do not want you to know!
Did the True Church Ever Teach a Trinity? Most act like this is so, but is it? Here is an old, by somewhat related, article in the Spanish language LA DOCTRINA DE LA TRINIDAD. A related sermon is available: Trinity: Fundamental to Christianity or Something Else? A brief video is also available: Three trinitarian scriptures?
Was Unitarianism the Teaching of the Bible or Early Church? Many, including Jehovah’s Witnesses, claim it was, but was it? Here is a link to a related sermon: Unitarianism? How is God One?
Binitarianism: One God, Two Beings Before the Beginning This is a longer article than the Binitarian View article, and has a little more information on binitarianism, and less about unitarianism. A related sermon is also available: Binitarian view of the Godhead.
Is There “An Annual Worship Calendar” In the Bible? This paper provides a biblical and historical critique of several articles, including one by the Tkach WCG which states that this should be a local decision. What do the Holy Days mean? Also you can click here for the calendar of Holy Days.
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.
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?

Posted in Religious News, WCG News | Comments Off on After promoting apostasy in the old WCG, the one who called himself the ‘Bible Answer Man’ turned even further away from the Bible

Synthetic vitamins and false religion are swallowed by many

Wednesday, February 19th, 2025

Typical B vitamin supplement tablets (Ragesoss)

COGwriter

Many studies on the ineffectiveness of USP vitamins and mineral salts have come out. Notice the following report:

Getting the right amount of vitamins and minerals can lower your risk of an early death, but they should come from food instead of supplements, a study published Tuesday suggests.

Researchers from Tufts University say they found no association between the use of dietary supplements and a lower risk of death.

The study analyzed data from a larger health and nutrition survey conducted from 1999 to 2010. More than 30,000 participants ages 20 and older answered questions about dietary supplement use.

Results showed people who got adequate amounts of vitamin K and magnesium lowered their risk of early death, and those who got enough vitamin A, vitamin K and zinc had a lower risk of death from cardiovascular disease. Those benefits were earned only when those nutrients came from food, not supplements.

“While supplement use contributes to an increased level of total nutrient intake, there are beneficial associations with nutrients from foods that aren’t seen with supplements,” said Fang Fang Zhang, an author on the study and associate professor at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University, in a statement.

The research was published in the peer-reviewed journal Annals of Internal Medicine.

The study found excess intake of calcium through supplements was associated with a higher risk of death from cancer. Researchers say there was no link between cancer risk and calcium intake from food. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2019/04/09/vitamin-mineral-supplements-dont-lower-risk-early-death-study/3408637002/?fbclid=IwAR3lEr0m3Bf_6AR9_1r0XcFc61MhphZBw5el2jGjbtmNqS46Vjo88UCePAc

A new study says all those vitamins we take might not be doing much for our bodies.

The study was led by researchers with St. Michael’s Hospital in Canada and the University of Toronto.

They reviewed data on four different vitamins: multivitamins, Vitamin D, Calcium and Vitamin C.

Researchers found those four vitamins showed no benefit in preventing cardiovascular disease, heart attack, stroke or premature death.

“We were surprised to find so few positive effects of the most common supplements that people consume,” said Dr. David Jenkins, the study’s lead author. “Our review found that if you want to use multivitamins, vitamin D, calcium or vitamin C, it does no harm – but there is no apparent advantage either.”

Experts say these findings suggest people should be conscious of the supplements they’re taking and only use specific vitamins or minerals they’re lacking naturally. http://fox8.com/2018/05/30/study-finds-most-popular-vitamin-mineral-supplements-provide-no-health-benefit/

So, more studies say that USP (United States Pharmacopeia) vitamins and minerals (the kind almost everyone takes) do not help as many hope. Yes, these studies on synthetic vitamins and ground up rocks (despite the labels of many of them saying ‘natural’ or some other terms to imply that) show they are not what humans should take for nutrition.

Here is another report about the dangers of the typical vitamin supplements that many people take:

Dietary supplements linked to increased cancer risk

Dr. Tim Byers, director for cancer prevention and control at the University of Colorado Cancer Center, conducted a meta-analysis of two decades worth of research — 12 trials that involved more than 300,000 people — and found a number of supplements actually made a person much more likely to develop certain types of cancer.

Byers began his investigation on the association between supplements and cancer risk 20 years ago. He and many other researchers observed that people who ate more fruits and vegetables cut their risk for cancer. Byers and his colleagues wondered if taking supplements that provide the same vitamins and minerals as fruits and vegetables could offer similar protection.

But his findings suggested just the opposite — rather than warding off cancer, taking lots of supplements may raise a person’s risk. …

Byers presented his research Monday at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research, in Philadelphia.

Through his analysis, Byers found that people who took high doses beta carotene supplements had an increased risk for lung cancer. Selenium supplements were associated with skin cancer. Men who took vitamin E had an elevated risk for prostate cancer. Folic acid, a B vitamin, taken in excess could lead to an increased risk for colon cancer.

Byers says it’s still unclear why supplements could have this adverse effect, but he and other researchers hope to learn more about the association. (Firger J. CBS News. April 20, 2015 http://www.cbsnews.com/news/dietary-supplements-linked-to-increased-cancer-risk/)

So why do typical vitamin supplements not provide the same protection as nutrients found in foods?

For decades the ‘natural’ health industry has been touting thousands of vitamin supplements. The truth is that most vitamins in supplements are made of or processed with petroleum derivatives or hydrogenated sugars hence they are synthetic. Even though they are often called natural, most non-food vitamins are isolated substances which are crystalline in structure. Vitamins naturally in food are not crystalline and never isolated. Non-food vitamins are isolates, which means that they are individual chemicals lacking substances that real foods contain. Vitamins found in any real food are chemically and structurally different from those commonly found in ‘natural vitamin’ formulas. Food vitamins contain a matrix of substances which improve bioavailability and safety. Since they are different, naturally-oriented people should consider non-food vitamins as vitamin analogues (imitations) and not actually vitamins. Whether sold retail or wholesale, nearly all companies sell synthetic vitamins.

A ‘dirty little secret’ of the so-called natural health industry is that nearly all vitamins sold are synthetic isolates often made of petroleum derivatives.

Although many mainstream health professionals believe, “The body cannot tell whether a vitamin in the bloodstream came from an organically grown cantaloupe or from a chemist’s laboratory,” this belief is quite misleading for several reasons. First it seems to assume that the process of getting the amount of the vitamin into the bloodstream is the same (which is frequently not the case). Secondly, scientists understand that particle size is an important factor in nutrient absorption even though particle size is not detected by chemical assessment. Thirdly, scientists also understand that, “The food factors that influence the absorption of nutrients relate not only to the nature of the nutrients themselves, but also their interaction with each other and with the nonabsorbable components of food.” Fourthly, “the physiochemical form of a nutrient is a major factor in bioavailability” (and food and non-food vitamins are not normally in the same form). Fifthly, most non-food vitamins are crystalline in structure.

Natural food vitamins are nutritionally superior to synthetic ones. Synthetic isolates are crystalline in structure and are often in chemical forms that are foreign to the human body.

I have known for years that synthetic vitamins are dangerous and have had papers published about this (e.g. Thiel R. Natural vitamins may be superior to synthetic ones. Med Hypo 2000 55(6):461-469).

As far as what most people take as vitamins goes, it does NOT matter if the label says ‘natural’ as there is no government standard of what that means in most supplements.

Notice the following (bolding in source below):

Some ‘natural’ products are anything but

Vitamin pills can be synthetically, and legally, produced in a lab. Synthetic ingredients are even allowed in multi-vitamins that bear the Department of Agriculture’s “Organic” seal…

“Vitamins can be synthetic because, by definition, a vitamin does not have to come from nature,” says Fabricant at the FDA. (Vitamins & supplements. Consumer Reports, September 2012: 18-23)

Most people who take vitamin supplements falsely believe that what they are taking is ‘natural,’ but that is not the case. Isolated vitamins simply do NOT NATURALLY EXIST in nature. Foods are a complex matrix of many substances and vitamins are never isolated in foods. I would also add that most so-called ‘antioxidant’ vitamins that people take DO NOT HAVE PROVEN SIGNIFICANT ANTIOXIDANT EFFECTS IN THE HUMAN BODY, but only are ‘antioxidants’ in test tubes (Hendler S, Rorvik D, editors. PDR for Nutritional Supplements. Medical Economics, Montvale (NJ), 2001 ). But people mislead themselves about this all the time.

Furthermore, there is NO SUCH THING AS ‘NATURAL’ FOLIC ACID. Folic acid is unnatural, folic acid is synthetic, and the body cannot properly convert much folic acid into a usable folate form. Furthermore, concerns about folic acid feeding cancer are now a real concern in the 21st Century—too much folic acid may kill you.

“Folic acid is a synthetic folate form” and was not developed until the 20th century. Folic acid is chemically known as pteroylglutamic acid (PGA) and is a crystalline substance (no food vitamins are naturally crystalline in structure). Folate, once also known as vitamin B9, exists in foods, yet crystalline folic acid does not. Folates also differ from folic acid “in the extent of the reduction state of the pteroyl group, the nature of the substituents on the pteridine ring and the number of glutamyl residues attached to the pteroyl group.”

A 2010 report states, “”The more we learn about folic acid, the more it’s clear that giving it to everyone has very real risks,” says folic acid researcher David Smith, PhD, a professor of pharmacology at the University of Oxford in England…The risk experts worry about most: colon cancer. Last year, health officials in Chile reported that hospitalization rates for colon cancer among men and women age 45 and older more than doubled in their country since fortification was introduced in 2000. In 2007, Joel Mason, MD, director of the Vitamins and Carcinogenesis Laboratory at the Tufts University School of Medicine, described a study of the United States and Canada suggesting that rates of colon cancer rose — following years of steady decline — in the late 1990s (around the time our food was being fortified)” (Bell L. Is your breakfast giving you cancer? Research links too much folic acid to certain cancers. Prevention. March. 29, 2010. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35874922/ns/health-diet_and_nutrition//).

The same report also states, “Other research links high doses to lung and prostate cancers. In one study conducted in Norway, which doesn’t fortify foods, supplementation with 800 mcg of folic acid (plus B12 and B6) daily for more than 3 years raised the risk of developing lung cancer by 21 percent. Another, in which men took either folic acid or a placebo, showed those consuming 1,000 mcg of folic acid daily had more than twice the risk of prostate cancer. And a new worry recently came to light when scientists discovered the liver has limited ability to metabolize folic acid into folate — which means any excess continues circulating in the bloodstream. “Unlike folate, folic acid isn’t found in nature, so we don’t know the effect of the excess,” says Smith. Indeed, many scientists have grown increasingly concerned about mounting research — including a study published last winter in the Journal of the American Medical Association — suggesting that all the extra folic acid might increase your odds of developing cancer.”

Even foods “fortified” with folic acid may cause serious neurological problems in patients deficient in vitamin B12 (Carmel R. Folic Acid. In Modern Nutrition in Health and Disease, 10th ed. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Baltimore, 2006:470-481). Furthermore, “no folic acid dose can be considered as truly safe in the presence of untreated cobalamin deficiency” (Carmel R. Folic Acid. In Modern Nutrition in Health and Disease, 10th ed. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Baltimore, 2006:470-481).

Thousands of years ago, God inspired one of his prophets to pen the following, which encourages people to eat what is good:

2 Why do you spend money for what is not bread, And your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, And let your soul delight itself in abundance. (Isaiah 55:2)

Intentionally eating synthetic vitamins is not good. Real science supports this view.

Despite the truth, most people (over 98%) who take typical vitamin supplements believe that whatever they take is actually natural and does not have the risks that researchers keep finding that typical vitamin supplements have. This is a false belief. The truth about vitamins in supplements can be known (see The Truth About Vitamins in Nutritional Supplements), but most do not want to learn and then act on the truth.

My son Brian made two animations related to this:

Vitamin Tricks

Vitamin Tricks: More is Not Better

It was after he did those that I had him make animations for the CCOG Animations Channel.

Synthetic vitamins are a lot like false religion. False religion DOES NOT BRING salvation, despite what people like Pope Francis have indicated.

Because of tradition, family influence, and/or social pressures, most people (over 99%) have a faith (religious, atheistic, or agnostic) that is based upon false belief.

Ignoring eastern faiths which do not even claim Jesus, let’s simply state that those who have studied early Christianity and the Bible honestly realize that what is practiced by the Roman Catholics, Protestants, and Eastern Orthodox is in massive contradiction to the “faith once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3). The same can also be said of the Jehovah’s Witnesses, Messianic Jews, Seventh-day Adventists, and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Mormons).

The reality is those in those religions tend to have a false understanding of salvation and do not understand God’s plan. The truth about the early Christian church and what happened to it can be known (see Continuing History of the Church of God). Where the most faithful Christian church is can also be determined (see Where is the True Christian Church Today?).

Jesus said:

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

8 “These people draw near to Me with their mouth, And honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me. 9 And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men. (Matthew 15:8-9)

21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ (Matthew 7:21-23)

Most WILL NOT WORSHIP GOD IN TRUTH, but instead cling to falsehoods and false traditions. Many use Jesus’ name, but He says He will say to many that He does not know them.

Like those who swallow synthetic vitamins, nearly all take false beliefs into their hearts and minds all the time. They hope, despite the truth, that salvation will come from faiths built upon falsehood.

Consuming large amounts of synthetic vitamins can increase the risk of cancer and other diseases. Being a consumer of false religion does not lead to salvation in this age.

Some items of possibly related interest may include:

The Truth About Antioxidants Most ‘antioxidant supplements are not effective for humans.
The Truth About Vitamins in Nutritional Supplements Nearly all vitamins people take are synthetic.
The Truth about Minerals in Nutritional Supplements Nearly all mineral supplements people take consist of industrially processed ground up rocks.
GMOs and Bible Prophecy What are GMOs? Since they were not in the food supply until 1994, how could they possibly relate to Bible prophecy? Do GMOs put the USA and others at risk? Here is a related YouTube video GMO Risks and the Bible.
Chimeras: Has Science Crossed the Line? What are chimeras? Has science crossed the line? Does the Bible give any clues? A video of related interest is Half human, half pig: What’s the difference?
Physical Preparation Scriptures for Christians. We all know the Bible prophecies famines. Should we do something? Here is a version in the Spanish language Escrituras sobre Preparación física para los Cristianos.
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’.
Tradition and Scripture: From the Bible and Church Writings Are traditions on equal par with scripture? Many believe that is what Peter, John, and Paul taught. But did they? A related sermon is titled Tradition and Scripture.
COGwriter Position on Other Churches and Religions What is the fate of those who do not know Christ? What about those who profess Christ outside the Church of God?
Hope of Salvation: How the Continuing Church of God Differs from Protestantism The CCOG is NOT Protestant. This free online book explains how the real Church of God differs from mainstream/traditional Protestants. Several sermons related to the free book are also available: Protestant, Baptist, and CCOG History; The First Protestant, God’s Command, Grace, & Character; The New Testament, Martin Luther, and the Canon; Eucharist, Passover, and Easter; Views of Jews, Lost Tribes, Warfare, & Baptism; Scripture vs. Tradition, Sabbath vs. Sunday; Church Services, Sunday, Heaven, and God’s Plan; Seventh Day Baptists/Adventists/Messianics: Protestant or COG?; Millennial Kingdom of God and God’s Plan of Salvation; Crosses, Trees, Tithes, and Unclean Meats; The Godhead and the Trinity; Fleeing or Rapture?; and Ecumenism, Rome, and CCOG Differences.
Beliefs of the Original Catholic Church. 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 .
Similarities and Differences Between the Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Continuing Church of God Both groups claim to represent the original Christian faith. Do you know much about them? Both groups have some interesting similarities, but many major differences. Would you like information on how to deal with Jehovah’s Witnesses?
Messianic Judaism Beliefs Differ from the Continuing Church of God Both groups keep the seventh-day Sabbath, but have important differences in doctrines and practices. Here is a link to a related sermon: Messianic Jewish Beliefs.
SDA/CCOG Differences: Two Horned Beast of Revelation and 666 The genuine Church of God is NOT part of the Seventh-day Adventists. This article explains two prophetic differences, the trinity, differences in approaching doctrine, including Ellen White. Did Ellen White make prophetic errors? Did Ellen White make false prophecies? Here is a version in the Spanish language: SDA/COG Diferencias: La bestia de dos cuernos de Apocalipsis y 666. Here is a sermon in the English language: CCOG and SDA differences and similarities.
Some Dissimilarities Between The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (LDS) and the Continuing Church of God The genuine Church of God is not related to the Mormons and this article explains some differences and a couple of similarities. Also, might certain LDS prophecies apply to Mitt Romney?
What Do Roman Catholic Scholars Actually Teach About Early Church History? Although most believe that the Roman Catholic Church history teaches an unbroken line of succession of bishops beginning with Peter, with stories about most of them, Roman Catholic scholars know the truth of this matter. Is telling the truth about the early church citing Catholic accepted sources anti-Catholic? This eye-opening article is a must-read for any who really wants to know what Roman Catholic history actually admits about the early church. There is also a YouTube sermon on the subject titled Church of God or Church of Rome: What Do Catholic Scholars Admit About Early Church History?
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?
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.

Posted in Doctrine | Comments Off on Synthetic vitamins and false religion are swallowed by many

PCG and ICG see Donald Trump as a type of savior for the USA–COGwriter warns of many ‘unintended consequences’ which have already begun to come to pass

Wednesday, February 19th, 2025

COGwriter

Donald Trump’s presidency has excited many, including various ones claiming to be in the Churches of God.

The March 2025 edition of PCG’s Philadelphia Trumpet has the following from its leader Gerald Flurry:

Why God Is Saving America Through Trump

The Golden Age of America begins right now,” Donald Trump declared in his inaugural speech, January 20. “From this day forward, our country will flourish and be respected again all over the world.”

President Trump signed executive orders that will halt illegal immigration, designate drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations, approve oil drilling, and enact tariffs. He said the U.S. government’s official policy is that male and female are the only two genders. He renamed Mount Denali as Mount McKinley and the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America. “The United States will once again consider itself a growing nation, one that increases our wealth, expands our territory, builds our cities, raises our expectations and carries our flag into new and beautiful horizons,” he said.

This is a stunning contrast from the dangerous policies that characterized the administrations of Barack Obama and Joe Biden. How did this dramatic change happen?

Trump answered this question in his inaugural speech. After referencing the attempt on his life last summer, he said, “I felt then, and believe even more so now, that my life was saved for a reason. I was saved by God to make America great again.”

Trumpet readers know this is exactly what the Bible prophesied. God saw the bitter affliction of America and the other end-time nations of Israel (2 Kings 14:26-28) and decided to save us—temporarily—by the hand of a modern King Jeroboam ii: Donald J. Trump. Even through the darkest days of Trump’s political wilderness years, I showed you how God prophesied that He would bring him back to lead a national resurgence. (Read “Why I Still Believe Donald Trump Is Coming Back.”)

Now this is reality. And it truly is a miracle! Many people are thanking God for this stunning turn of events. God has been protecting and empowering this man.

The big question you must ask yourself is why.

We must look beyond the surface, and beware the serious mistake of glorifying Donald Trump rather than God.

Is God blessing America for its righteousness? Or is there another reason? What does God expect from us?

The answers lie in other important prophecies.

Blessings and Curses

What do you think of Bible prophecy? Most people ignore it. Did you know that one third of your Bible is prophecy? God inspired it and preserved it in Scripture for many important reasons.

The most important purpose of Bible prophecy is to reveal God. It reveals God’s mighty hand in world events, it warns us of the consequences of defying Him, it shows His mercy and unveils His plans. When we see God’s prophecies being fulfilled, we need to recognize God’s power, think deeply on that, and grow in awe and respect for Him!

One consistent message of Bible prophecy is that when we obey and serve God, we receive blessings; and when we disobey and reject Him, we receive curses. Read Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28, which specifically list those blessings and curses—and realize that America is chief among the modern descendants of ancient Israel, to whom God gave these promises.

The fact is, America is enjoying fewer and fewer of these blessings and is suffering more and more of these curses: weather disasters, agricultural blights, sickness and disease, promiscuity and family breakdown, skyrocketing debt, porous borders, weak law enforcement, broken national will, defeat in war. The problems facing this country are not merely the result of a handful of wicked leaders. They are signs of national sins that are arousing God’s deep anger!

However, prophecy shows that some of these curses are going to abate under Donald Trump’s leadership. We can expect this to happen. Is this because the nation is becoming more righteous and pleasing to God?

Actually, Scripture is clear that there are times God blesses despite the sins of the people. The reign of Jeroboam ii in ancient Israel was one of those times. The sinful nation was in a time of bitter affliction and about to be destroyed. Yet God stopped the forces seeking to blot out the name of Israel, and He saved the nation by the hand of King Jeroboam. Israel turned back its enemies, the nation’s borders expanded, and its people prospered magnificently (2 Kings 14:25). This turnaround did not follow a national repentance or spiritual revival. It simply demonstrated God’s immense mercy and love in spite of their ongoing sins!

Two of God’s prophets who were active during this period were Amos and Hosea (Amos 1:1; Hosea 1:1). The messages of these two men are especially relevant to America today. Both reveal a painful truth we must understand: Even in a time of growing prosperity, there are grievous national sins that God intends to punish!

From Obama to Trump

A second prophecy I have pointed to for the last four years to show that Donald Trump would return to the presidency is in Amos 7. This chapter describes specific events to occur during the reign of the modern-day Jeroboam.

Verses 1-6 show God’s anger at national Israel and His intention to punish it severely. The context shows that, as I explain in America Under Attack, the reason for His anger is the destruction caused by Barack Obama, abetted by the sins of the American people. America truly has been under attack! Yet verses 3 and 6 show God actually relenting, showing mercy, and refraining from immediate punishment.

Beginning in verse 7, however, there is a shift to the reign of Jeroboam, an indication that God would silence Obama (article, page 35).

Between verses 6 and 7, you can insert the prophecy of 2 Kings 14:26-28. This is a dramatic intervention by God in American politics! God stopped the destructive work of this man who was “fundamentally transforming” the country by destroying its founding principles, and He installed a man who loves America and has shown tremendous courage to fight those ruinous forces.

Look what Mr. Trump has endured for the past nine years! I know of no other man who would be willing to resist such fierce and relentless opposition. And look what he has accomplished. In many ways he has done a great work. God has been able to use his talent, ability and fervent passion to fight America’s enemies, especially those within, to temporarily save this country. That is clear to see and something to behold! I expect this to happen even more dramatically during his second term.

This makes the next verses in Amos’s prophecy, when it shifts to the Jeroboam era, particularly jarring: “[B]ehold, the Lord stood upon a wall made by a plumbline, with a plumbline in his hand. … Then said the Lord, Behold, I will set a plumbline in the midst of my people Israel: I will not again pass by them any more” (verses 7-8). In other words, God will give one last warning—and then the time for mercy is over! He is still angry, still planning to punish the nation!

In verse 9 comes this stunning statement: “And the high places of Isaac shall be desolate, and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste; and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.”

Think about this! Here God has just worked marvelous miracles to put this man back in power, to silence his enemies, and to lead an impressive national resurgence. Yet in the same context, God says He is about to bring the sword against Jeroboam’s family!

Why is God so upset? If you are only looking at these events physically, you simply will not understand them. God provides these prophetic warnings to give us His perspective. He has been doing this throughout the Obama years, then the Trump years and Biden years—and He is doing so right now, with this Trump resurgence.

Let’s first study the context provided by Amos and Hosea. Then we will pick up more details specifically about Jeroboam.

America’s Sins

Amos 6 shows people enjoying great luxury in spite of terrible curses on the land: “That drink wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the chief ointments: but they are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph” (verse 6). Joseph is the patriarch of Manasseh and Ephraim, the names that Bible prophecy uses for the United States and Britain. There is deep affliction in our nations—family breakdown, drugs, pornography, immorality, indebtedness, unchecked immigration, violence and crime. We should be grieving over this affliction, the moral and spiritual shattering and destruction. President Trump has promised to fix some of these problems. How deeply are people grieving over this affliction? The time ahead will reveal a great deal about America’s character.

Think about the parallels between this period in ancient Israel and America today.

The Anchor Bible Dictionary says Amos’s description of elaborate banquets and “his reference to the rich women of Israel as the ‘cows of Bashan’ (Amos 4:1), fattened on their wealth and security,” suggests a period of “prosperity that enveloped the royal family and prominent members of society but did not trickle down to the poor. It is this uneven distribution of wealth … that set the atmosphere for the social crimes that Amos so violently abhorred.”

THERE ARE SIGNS OF AN EFFORT TO REJECT SOME EVILS THAT HAVE INFECTED AMERICA AND TO STRENGTHEN THE NATION’S MORAL FIBER— A MOVE IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.

“Furthermore, they considered their wealth and security as evidence that [God] was pleased,” this commentary continues. This, I expect to see even more in the time ahead as the nation experiences a recovery during President Trump’s second term. “[T]he people … were reasoning in reverse: Their prosperity proved that they were righteous.” Watch for this attitude in America in the time ahead. God tells us to pursue righteousness, and the material blessings will follow.

Anciently, the people prioritized wealth. This was “wholly abhorrent to [God], according to the prophet,” the Anchor Bible Dictionary says. “‘One’s conduct in the marketplace must always conform to one’s attitude in the holy place ….’ And Israel’s did not. Amos decried the social injustice, the oppression of the poor, and the lack of any moral or ethical values on the part of the rich and powerful. According to Amos, the spokesman of [God], Israel was a violent, oppressive and exploitative society. … The rich falsified weights and measures (8:5) and traded dishonestly (8:6). Even the courts, the last bastion of hope for the poor, were corrupt. Judges were bribed to cheat the poor out of what little they had (2:7; 5:10, 12). In fact, Israel was no longer capable of acting with justice (3:10; cf. 5:7, 24; 6:12). Truth and honesty were now hated (5:10)” (ibid). How much can you recognize these sins in America today? Isaiah 1:5-6 prophesy of moral and spiritual sickness that infects America from the upper echelons of leadership to the lowest common citizen!

Amos 6:8 says, “The Lord God hath sworn by himself, saith the Lord the God of hosts, I abhor the excellency of Jacob, and hate his palaces ….” What our nation esteems highly, God abhors! What Israel exalts, God hates! Do you view things as God does? Do you hate the same things God does? Do you abhor the evils and sins of this society?

Remember, this is an end-time book, specifically for our day! Think seriously about these warnings from Amos as you watch what happens next in America. Prosperity alone does not indicate righteousness.

There are some signs of an effort to reject some of the evils that have infected America and to strengthen the nation’s moral fiber. That is certainly a move in the right direction. Yet America is going to have to take many more such steps to avoid the sins that entrapped Israel under Jeroboam anciently.

The Prophet Hosea paints the same picture. “Hosea began prophesying at the end of a period of material prosperity under King Jeroboam ii of Israel (2 Kings 14:23-27),” the Hebrew-Greek Key Word Study Bible says. “Unfortunately, however, during most of Hosea’s lifetime, the people were spiritually bankrupt. Their leaders permitted them to practice idolatry (2 Kings 15:35; 2 Chronicles 27:2) and commit spiritual ‘harlotry’ against the Lord (Hosea 1:2; 2:8; 4:12-15). They refused to recognize that God had provided them with the wealth that they possessed (2:8). In fact, they attributed their prosperity to the idols (2:5; 10:1). The people had become covetous and greedy, oppressing those who were least able to defend themselves (4:2; 10:13; 12:6-8).” Again—do you recognize the disparity between America’s material wealth and the spiritual bankruptcy?

In that period of Israel’s history, God sent prophets to expose and convict people of their sins and to warn them of the consequences those sins would bring. God is doing the same today. Will you heed God?

King Jeroboam II

Anciently, God used Jeroboam ii to temporarily save Israel (2 Kings 14:26-27). However, this is what that prophetic passage says about the king himself: “… Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel began to reign in Samaria …. And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord: he departed not from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin” (verses 23-24).

Before you dismiss this, remember that this passage is what God has been emphasizing to show that Donald Trump would return to office. This modern Jeroboam warred his way back—just as God prophesied (verse 28)—and now we need to pay close attention to how God assesses the situation and what He says will happen next.

So many people are investing faith in the new president and are excited about the changes he promises to make. Many of those changes are good and will reverse some of the bitter affliction America has suffered. But none of them is a substitute for the national repentance that must take place to replace the curses and punishments that await us with the lasting blessings of God!

People are looking to Donald Trump to fix America’s problems. No man can accomplish what Mr. Trump thinks he can!

God wants to make America’s temporary resurgence permanent. But that will happen only if we as a people truly, genuinely repent and turn to God—and that includes the president.

Again, in Amos 7:9, God warns that He “will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.” This king has a lot of sins, and if he does not repent, God will send the sword! This is reality!

That verse also says “the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste.” What does that mean? Sanctuaries are places of worship. This is prophecy about America’s religion. God is so displeased with the state of our religion that He is warning that our sanctuaries are about to be laid waste!

God repeatedly warns in Scripture about the dangers of false religion—even religion that uses the name of Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul, for example, forewarned of “false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness …” (2 Corinthians 11:13-15). Christ Himself said, “And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say? … For many shall come in my name, saying, I [Christ] am Christ; and shall deceive many” (Luke 6:46; Matthew 24:5). So many people who consider themselves religious know nothing about the Bible. We must be discerning about who we follow!

Here in Amos 7 is a confrontation between one of Jeroboam’s spiritual advisers and the Prophet Amos. This “Amaziah the priest of Bethel” is a trusted religious figure—but he is a false priest and an enemy of God. (I explain specifically about this man in my booklet The Lion Has Roared.)

This prophecy shows a terrible warning sign of something very wrong in the Jeroboam administration! How could you have such a man exerting such influence and still expect to receive God’s backing and support?

This “priest of Bethel” rebukes God’s prophet and tells him, “O thou seer, go, flee thee away into the land of Judah, and there eat bread, and prophesy there: But prophesy not again any more at Bethel [a reference to the capital city, which we could liken to Washington, D.C., today]: for it is the king’s chapel, and it is the king’s court” (verses 12-13). The “king’s chapel” is a place of worship that belongs to the king. President Trump has a strong following among evangelicals and Catholics. Many Christians in America today look to this man for leadership. Some people believe America is on the cusp of a religious revival. But you need to know your Bible and beware religion that has only “a form of godliness”; God tells us “from such turn away”! (2 Timothy 3:5).

If you understand this prophecy, you recognize that there is something wrong with this religion. Just think: It describes a confrontation between the king’s religious leader and a true prophet of God! Amos’s message was not popular. That prophet had to boldly stand for God in a time of a strong and popular king, a time of prosperity, a time when religion, of a sort, was ascendant—and give God’s final warning before the nation fell!

Remember, this is prophecy for today!

Will you heed God’s warning?

America’s Last Chance

Sadly, Amos 7 prophesies that most people will not heed God’s warning. Verse 10 shows Amaziah telling King Jeroboam, “Amos hath conspired against thee in the midst of the house of Israel: the land is not able to bear all his words.”

Anciently, people could not bear Amos’s message. What about today? What about you?

This prophecy warns of Americans being caught up with Jeroboam and not wanting to hear about sin and punishment. There is a real danger when people close their ears to God’s correction! If people fail to learn lessons from the curses we have suffered, if they fail to examine their lives and make changes, there will be grave consequences.

Anyone who believes that, now that Trump is back in power everything will be just fine, needs to pay attention! God prophesies otherwise. He says people must repent. He has warned many times, and He is now giving His last warning! He will not again pass by anymore.

America’s problems are much deeper than Donald Trump can solve. This nation has forsaken God. America is in so much trouble, you would think millions of people would be turning to God! If there isn’t repentance, the Jeroboam resurgence will die out—and the result will be nothing like what people expect!

How angry is God? Amos has some of the most blistering warnings of any prophet in the Bible of the horrific curses that are about to descend on our nation (e.g. Amos 3:11-12; 5:3; 6:9-11). Amos 1 and 2 describe a nuclear “fire” (1:4, 7, 10; 2:2, 5) that is about to envelop America, along with several other nations! The Anchor Bible says these are all referring to “one cosmic holocaust, not just several invasions that would pick off these countries one by one.” Nuclear war is coming—primarily in an attack on America and Britain!

Why is the punishment so extreme? In Amos 4:11, God likens this nuclear conflagration to the fire that destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah—“fire from the Lord out of heaven”! (Genesis 19:24). God destroyed those cities for their rank immorality! Shouldn’t His punishment of Sodom cause us to think twice about indulging in the same sins they were guilty of? Unless there is real repentance, God will punish us as He did Sodom!

Many Bible prophecies warn of this nightmare! (e.g. Isaiah 1:9; Jeremiah 50:40; Ezekiel 16:49-50; 2 Peter 2:6; Jude 7). Jesus Christ Himself said of our day, “Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed” (Luke 17:28-30).

God is temporarily saving America by the hand of Donald Trump. For this we can be very thankful! But why is He doing this? Not because of the nation’s righteousness. Not so we will put our faith in politicians or the political process. God is saving America to give us one last opportunity to repent and turn to Him! He is creating some stability to provide His prophet and His work the means to trumpet one last warning.

Amos’s Fate

God’s prophecies for America, as well as Britain and the Jewish state in the Middle East, truly are horrifying! God forewarns of an economic besiegement, cities being engulfed in burning and violence, and even worse. You can read about these in Herbert W. Armstrong’s book The United States and Britain in Prophecy.

“Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid? …” (Amos 3:6). This is a time for blowing the trumpet of warning! People in cities should be afraid, especially if they know what is about to happen to the cities of modern-day Israel!

Verses 7-8 say, “The Sovereign Lord never does anything without revealing his plan to his servants, the prophets. When a lion roars, who can keep from being afraid? When the Sovereign Lord speaks, who can keep from proclaiming his message?” (Good News translation). Why does God roar? To try to get people to change their ways so they can avoid those punishments! People must hear and respond or pay a terrifying price!

How does God roar? He always does so through His loyal people. “[N]o prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation” (2 Peter 1:20). God reveals the meaning of His prophecies to His servants, who then have the responsibility to publicize that understanding to the world. That is what He did anciently through Amos and Hosea. Today, He works through His end-time prophet and the work that supports him.

Resume the story in Amos 7 to see where this strong warning message leads. In a confrontation with God’s servant, Jeroboam’s false priest Amaziah will say, “O thou seer, go, flee thee away into the land of Judah, and there eat bread, and prophesy there” (verse 12). Again, this shows something is dreadfully wrong with Jeroboam—having a man like this leading him spiritually. This horrible man will tell God’s people to get out! The indication is, there is such hostility to God’s message that God’s people will be exiled!

Amos 8:11 speaks of “a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord.” People won’t be able to hear God’s message because God’s people are silenced and cast out!

Amos stood up to that false minister and gave him one final prophecy: “Therefore thus saith the Lord; Thy wife shall be an harlot in the city, and thy sons and thy daughters shall fall by the sword, and thy land shall be divided by line; and thou shalt die in a polluted land: and Israel shall surely go into captivity forth of his land” (Amos 7:17). The only thing that will stop this from happening in our day is national repentance!

Your Responsibility

You have just witnessed a spectacular fulfillment of prophecy. God preserved and protected a man who was universally considered a political corpse! Against all odds, God exalted him back into the presidency in breathtaking fashion. Prophecy said it would happen, and it has.

This should increase your faith in Bible prophecy—even the unfavorable prophecies! Just as God’s word about Trump’s return was fulfilled, so too will the prophecies of America’s fall! God says, “So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it” (Isaiah 55:11).

God is warning today—and it is His last warning before the Great Tribulation begins. Jesus Christ said, “For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be” (Matthew 24:21).

People really think they can somehow turn everything around, solve all the problems, and create a new golden age in America and the world. Yet the reality is that we are in the final days before the worst suffering ever on Earth!

People are going to come to see that they truly, deeply need God. I hope and pray they will come to recognize this soon—or else sadly, most people will only be reached through indescribable suffering.

This need not be the case for you. Listen to God’s warning as He delivers it through “His servants the prophets.” Use this resurgence—this calm before the storm—to repent and turn to Him.

This is why God is so carefully orchestrating all these events. It is not merely to show His power—though it certainly does do that. It is to draw people to repentance. “… As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel? … Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near” (Ezekiel 33:11; Isaiah 55:6).

If you turn from the ways that are bringing God’s judgment and support the modern Amos work that is proclaiming His warning, then you will live! God protected Donald Trump miraculously—and He promises to protect His faithful people too! And He will use them to help Jesus Christ establish a Kingdom that supplants and surpasses all the kingdoms of this world.

The golden age Donald Trump is promising is illusory. But the golden age God Himself promises is sure—and it is almost here!

Regarding the Jeroboam matter, in 2021, PCG posted the following:

The story of an ancient king of Israel carries an urgent lesson for Americans and Israelis in 2021. …

Since January 2017, Philadelphia Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry has repeatedly explained the dramatic prophecy in Amos 7, which specifically discusses an end-time Jeroboam and “house of Jeroboam.” Mr. Flurry has shown that United States President Donald Trump is the end-time type of King Jeroboam ii, and that Mr. Trump’s presidency can be compared to the summary of Jeroboam’s reign recorded in 2 Kings 14. …

Under Jeroboam, Israel experienced an economic boom. Its enemies retreated. Its borders expanded. A religious revival swept across the land. The same happened in America under Donald Trump. …

God is resurrecting the history of Jeroboam for us right now. God, in His mercy, is saving Israel one final time. As was the case under Jeroboam ii, the resurgence of the United States under Donald Trump is only temporary. The rapid radicalization of the nation under the Biden administration proves this all the more. When President Trump regains power, God’s purpose in bringing that about is not merely to stabilize the nation or our bank accounts. Its purpose is to provide time—and precious little of it—to repent. https://www.thetrumpet.com/24401-the-modern-king-jeroboam-ii

No, the borders of the US did not expand nor did a religious revival sweep across the USA under Donald Trump’s first term in office.

Notice, now, something that PCG’s top leader Gerald Flurry had in the July 2021 dated edition of its magazine:

What Will Happen After Trump Regains Power

Bible prophecy shows that he will return to office to stop some of the destruction being caused by the current administration. …

(2 Kings 14:26-27). … “Now the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, and all that he did, and his might, how he warred, and how he recovered Damascus, and Hamath, which belonged to Judah, for Israel, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?” (verse 28). This verse marks a new development. It happens after God uses Jeroboam to save Israel. …

How does this verse apply to Donald Trump? Bible prophecy shows that, however it happens, Mr. Trump will return to office.

‘Warred’ to ‘Recover’

Amos 7 contains a prophecy about end-time Israel—most prominently, the superpower America today. It is clearly about the very end of the nation. It shows that at that time, Jeroboam is not only in power, but he is wielding kingly authority.

This prophecy describes a confrontation Jeroboam has with a representative of God. I will explain more about this in a moment. But it’s important to note that Amos 7 looks like one flowing event: There is no hint of a gap or pause in Jeroboam’s reign before this confrontation. Is it possible that this prophecy doesn’t mention an interruption in his rule because in God’s view, there is no gap? I believe that by maintaining the flow of Jeroboam’s rule in this prophecy, God may well be showing that the 2020 election was stolen. Perhaps He looks on Mr. Trump as still being president of the United States! The view that the election was stolen has far more weight if that’s the way God Himself sees it.

But 2 Kings 14:28 gives us insight into what is happening during the pause in Trump’s rule, between his first and second term. …

President Trump could also lead some states to secede from the union. That would lead to some kind of warfare.

Verse 28 of 2 Kings 14 strongly indicates that Mr. Trump recovers his presidency by some kind of warring—not voting.

It seems certain to me that this will happen before the next presidential election in 2024—unless there would be some kind of war and voting combined. But 2 Kings 14:28 does not even hint of an election.

(Flurry G. What Will Happen After Trump Regains Power. Philadelphia Trumpet, July 2021 https://www.thetrumpet.com/23957-what-will-happen-after-trump-regains-power)

Gerald Flurry was predicting some type of ‘war’ that would put Donald Trump in office before the 2024 election (I bolded his statement above to make it easier for people to notice that he had been wrong about that). Gerald Flurry has a documented history of error.

It should be pointed out that Gerald Flurry did not teach a “pause” between Donald Trump’s presidential terms before.

Right before the election in 2020, Gerald Flurry was NOT teaching that Donald Trump would one day again be President of the United States–he was teaching that Donald Trump had to remain in office now. Here is direct proof as Gerald Flurry wrote the following:

Donald Trump Is Going to Win This Election

November 9, 2020

This past Friday night, Joe Biden held a big parade and made a victory speech. Saturday, the American news media decided to declare him the winner of the election and the president-elect of the United States.

It does appear strongly that this man will be America’s next president. But I absolutely do not believe that at all. Regardless of how things look right now, I am confident that Donald Trump will remain president. …

Unfulfilled Prophecies

The Trumpet has been explaining biblical prophecies that apply to Donald Trump and to America—specific end-time prophecies that must be and will be fulfilled.

We have shown how President Trump is here to stop the destructive spirit that is working to destroy America. …

But looking at this modern-day Jeroboam, you have to say God gave Israel a “savior”—at least to the extent that He wouldn’t let these enemies bring down the nation. He has been blocking this movement to “blot out the name of Israel [which includes America] from under heaven.”

And is his job finished? No, it isn’t. So I don’t believe at all that he is going to disappear from the scene!

The Trumpet has also pointed to a prophecy in Amos 7 that tells us a lot about this end-time Jeroboam. None of that prophecy has yet been fulfilled—but we can be sure that it will be, and President Trump must be in power for this to take place. God is going to fulfill every prophecy of His Bible! …

Donald Trump certainly has his problems, and God sees those—but He chose him as a savior—temporarily—for this nation! https://www.thetrumpet.com/23137-donald-trump-is-going-to-win-this-election

While God will fulfill every prophecy of His Bible, Gerald Flurry has a history of misunderstanding and misinterpreting biblical prophecies. THIS ELECTION meant the one in November 2020. Gerald Flurry wrote that Joe Biden would NOT be President of the USA and he was “confident that Donald Trump will remain president.”

But Gerald Flurry was wrong as Joe Biden assumed the office on January 20, 2021.

ICG’s Mark Armstrong put out the following in his newsletters related to the USA and Donald Trump:

The whole world is jumping around in expectation of Trump being the boss.  We have no idea what is about to happen. …

the Trump effect will be massive.  Everybody better start doing the right thing, or there’s going to be trouble. …

The whole world is about to change.  We’re getting another chance to make everything right.

Mark

(Weekly Update by Mark Armstrong – January 17, 2025)

Greetings from Tyler,

Things are already happening fast and it’s not even January 20^th yet. … Trump …

It appears God has looked down in His great mercy and decided it’s not time. I’ve been hearing about the “gun lap” since the late ‘60s. It looks like we’ve got more time to get things right. We should be more than thankful.

Mark

(Weekly Update by Mark Armstrong – January 10, 2025)

We’re only two weeks from Trump regaining the presidency and things are already underway. …

It seems to me that God has looked down in His mercy and decided that we ought to have one more chance.  Would Grandpa Armstrong ever be surprised!  We were in the gun lap when I was in high school. They never saw Trump coming. Dad never did either. Would they ever be surprised!   …

It looks like we’re going to have some good years here in the U. S. I hope they don’t release all the secrets at once, but it’s about to begin, and I’m sure God knows what’s going on.

Mark

(Weekly Update by Mark Armstrong – January 3, 2025)

President Trump has been saying what he will do in his speeches. I don’t know if you watched the appearance in Davos on the big screen but it was priceless. He wrecked them. All the dignitaries are wondering why they came, and what’s next. How good is it to have a guy that doesn’t need a teleprompter?

There’s a pervading sense that the U. S. is back, directing things, not just waiting to see what happens. …

I know the church has always preached the end of the world, and I guess something still could happen to derail this realignment. But my sense is that God looked down in His mercy and decided the time is not yet. Let’s see where this American revival goes.

Mark

(Weekly Update by Mark Armstrong – January 24, 2025)

My Grandad wouldn’t have believed it, Dad wouldn’t either.  You had to live through it.  I think we’ve been living on the fumes of what Ronald Reagan set in motion, and Trump is even better. …

God, in His mercy, thought we needed more time.

Mark

(Weekly Update by Mark Armstrong – January 31, 2025)

There are also various other religious people who place their hopes in Donald Trump, despite his obvious moral flaws.

Donald Trump is not going to save America.

While it is good that he asserts two genders and took steps to prevent men from competing in women’s sports, God is not using him to save the USA.

Donald Trump has stated that he has never repented, so unless he really does, people need to be more cautious about their over-praise of him (and yes, there are people who over-criticize him unmercifully).

Regarding the current Donald Trump presidency, here is something I wrote that was published BEFORE he took office and it is 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 is Fulfilling End Time Prophecy

Donald Trump is clearly an apocalyptic leader (cf. 2 Timothy 3:1-5). Although he is not the final Antichrist that the Bible warns about, Donald Trump has been helping fulfill many aspects of prophecy. Donald Trump is expected to help enable the rise of the final Antichrist—so will any possible successor to him.

Donald Trump has supported Islamic goals for an Arabic-confederation indirectly, and sometimes more directly, which will lead to a leader rising up over certain Islamic lands (Daniel 11:40; Ezekiel 30:1-8).

While I believe that he believes he wants to help, certain of his actions are pointing to destruction.

Donald Trump has made political, economic, and military statements which will ultimately help the rise of the upcoming Beast power in Europe. Donald Trump seems to think the relationship between Europe and the USA is better than it really is.

This European Beast power will, after it has a prophesied reorganization and rises up, destroy the United States (Daniel 11:39). And the leader of this power is supposed to rise up “When the transgressors have reached their fullness,” (Daniel 8:23).

Donald Trump has specifically caused people of the United States to err further away from biblical morality, which will lead to destruction (Isaiah 3:12; 9:16). Instead of advocating what should be considered as biblical morality, he has pushed positions that are clearly opposed to the laws of God (e.g. Romans 1:18-32).

He has advocated policies (as have others) which are expected to increase the debt of the USA, hurt its military superiority, lead to civil unrest (cf. Deuteronomy 32:25), and set the USA up for ruin (Habakkuk 2:6-8).

Unintended Consequences

While Donald Trump seems to believe that his policies are best for the United States, notice some unintended consequences of them:

While promoting peace is good, once the Middle East deal is confirmed by a European leader (called a prince in Daniel 9:26), the 3 ½ year countdown to the start of the Great Tribulation and the conquering of the USA and its British-descended allies will begin.

Pushing tariffs and sanctions on other countries is contributing to the rise of the final time of the Gentiles (Luke 21:24; Ezekiel 7:24).

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.

Although national repentance could delay the coming conquering (cf. Daniel 4:27) of the USA (Daniel 11:39), Donald Trump instead is focused more on economic matters. Since that repentance is not expected, a European will end up in charge (cf. Hosea 11:1a, 3a, 4b, 5b-7).

Focusing on Bitcoin, instead of gold, will not provide the USA with the financial stability that it wants. Instead it looks to be another reason other nations will accumulate gold. Gold which will outlast the dollar of the USA.

The Bible warns against condoning sexual immorality as deadly (Romans 1:18-32), and that is something that Donald Trump does not seem to realize.

Pushing debt increasing policies will put the USA into a position where it will be conquered, consistent with Habakkuk 2:6-8. This will lead to the land of the USA being divided (cf. Daniel 11:39; Lamentations 4:16; Amos 7:17).

Pushing against Europe’s unity is encouraging the Europeans, which are prophesied to have unity difficulties (cf. Daniel 2:41-43), to try harder to unify, which will happen after at least two reorganizations (Revelation 17:12-13).

By breaking political norms and acting like a ‘strong man’ this will help Europeans being more accepting of their beast ‘strong man’ (Revelation 13:1-10; 17:13).

Donald Trump’s statements will help promote the rise of stronger European leaders like Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg.

Although, overall, the European nations have not paid for their defense to the amount they have suggested they would, pressuring them to spend more will 1) encourage them to be independent of the USA and 2) put Europe in a position where it has a great army (Daniel 11:25), many ships (Daniel 11:40), and access to nuclear weapons (cf. Deuteronomy 29:23-25; Isaiah 9:19-21;Ezekiel 6:6), which will help it conquer the USA, which is the military power with the strongest fortresses (cf. Daniel 11:39).

Christians are to “walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7). By faith we trust the prophecies in the word of God over plans of humans (cf. Psalm 118:9).

That is one way for Christians to avoid negative “unintended consequences.”

More items, as well as specific predictions related to the presidency of Donald Trump are in the Amazon Kindle book: Unintended Consequences and Donald Trump’s Presidency: Is Donald Trump Fulfilling Biblical, Islamic, Greco-Roman Catholic, Buddhist, and other America-Related Prophecies?

Now since that book came out, world events have aligned with several warning, predictions, and unintended consequences pointed to in it. Below, in italics, are statements from that book, with the page numbers where the prediction can be found in the printed book shown within ():

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. (p.210) Confirmation: Because of tariff threats from Donald Trump, on 1/21/25, EU President Ursula von der Leyen stated that Europe would seek out others to trade with (https://www.politico.eu/article/eu-donald-trump-america-we-have-other-options-ursula-von-der-leyen/).
Gold will set records in U.S. dollar terms. … … gold will set further records in U.S. dollar terms in the relatively near future. (pp. 205, 206) Confirmation: Gold hit a record price on 1/31/25 (https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/gold-hits-record-high-trump-tariff-worries-mount-2025-01-31/) and did it again on 02/10/25. The record price of gold reflects a record minimum value in gold for the USA dollar.
One of the unintended consequence of his actions is, that after crises (cf. Revelation 6:7-8), more Europeans will decide that they need their own even stronger leader—which will happen per Revelation 13:10 and 17:13. (pp. 58-59) Partial confirmation: This already started to happen at a European political conference on 2/08/25 (https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2025/02/08/your-time-is-over-far-right-leaders-take-on-the-eus-mainstream-parties)
Donald Trump has often encouraged increased military spending by the Europeans. … Donald Trump is helping enable the rise of the King of the North/Beast power who will be in league with the final Antichrist. (p. 87) Partial confirmation: This is partially confirmed as Kaja Kallas, Vice President of the European Commission stated on 1/22/25 that Europe needs to spend more as Donald Trump called for (https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2025/01/22/eu-must-spend-more-than-1-of-gdp-on-defence-to-prepare-for-the-worst-kallas-says).
Donald Trump’s rise has also spurred the Europeans to further unify among themselves. … Donald Trump has been pointed to by various European leaders as ‘proof’ that Europe needs more unification and distance from the USA. (p. 88) Partial confirmation: More of this has since happened (https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2025/01/22/eu-must-spend-more-than-1-of-gdp-on-defence-to-prepare-for-the-worst-kallas-says and https://www.msn.com/en-gb/money/other/eu-enlargement-debate-at-davos-focuses-on-europe-s-global-role-and-growth/ar-AA1xBhgq?ocid=finance-verthp-feeds) and a EU foreign ministers meeting on 1/27/25 called for a unified approach to deal with US President Donald Trump and what analysts refer to as his “divide and rule policy” (https://www.dw.com/en/eu-sanctions-russia-trump-2025/a-71427544).
Jesus warned about a coming time of pestilences as part of the beginning of sorrows (Matthew 24:4-8)—they are consistent with the ride of the 4^th horseman of the Apocalypse (Revelation 6:7-8)—that ride may well start in the second term of a Donald Trump Administration. Actions and/or inactions by Donald Trump will likely put the USA at increased risk of problems from pestilences. (p. 90) Potential confirmation: Donald Trump announced he is pulling the USA out of the World Health Organization (https://fortune.com/well/2025/01/21/trump-who-us-remove-world-health-organization/).
His policies are pushing nations away from the USA and helping set the stage for the final times of the Gentiles (cf. Ezekiel 7:24, 39:23; Luke 21:24). (p. 91) Potential confirmation: Donald Trump’s comments at the WEF reportedly silenced the crowd and made them “stone-faced” (Donald Trump speaks virtually to the WEF’s Davos meeting and pushes USA fossil fuels and trade matters). These leaders were not pleased and will take actions. Ursula von der Leyen said “Europe will keep seeking co-operation — not only with our long-time, like-minded friends, but with any country we share interests with.”
His statements are getting more in Europe to consider that they need to reorganize and support some type of a strong man leader. The Bible shows that will happen in Revelation 17:12-13. Speculative confirmation: I cannot imagine that at the WEF and within the EU they are not discussing something like a stronger European leader and a reorganization of Europe. For example the chief executive of a European bank at the WEF conference stated, “I heard the EU talking about the willingness to make changes,” and “The truth of the matter is every time they do something they create more bureaucracy, more complexity. They need to have a huge reset” (https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/jan/24/davos-donald-trump-tariffs-eu-us). Germans have noticed that what they call the “far right” is gaining because of Donald Trump and that right wing leaders look more useful now (https://www.german-foreign-policy.com/en/news/detail/9836 01/21/25). Furthermore, EU President Von der Leyen said this week, “To sustain our growth in the next quarter of the century, Europe must shift gears,” (https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/jan/24/davos-donald-trump-tariffs-eu-us) that sounds like a plea to reorganize.

There will be many unintended consequences of the Trump-Vance Administration. Donald Trump was not sent by God to save America.

Now look at part of number 22 of my 2024 list of 25 items to prophetically watch in 2025:

22. Reelection of Donald Trump and His Adminstration

In the Bible News Prophecy magazine, October-December 2024 edition, number 22 was listed as “The Incoming US Presidential Administration”

So, it was renamed.

The reelection of Donald Trump has sent shockwaves throughout the world as well as through the legacy media of the United States.

It has brought both hope to some and worry to others.

Donald Trump will be apocalyptic. At least 20 warnings/predictions I made before his last Administration assumed office came to pass (for details see Donald Trump in Prophecy).

Look for Donald Trump and His Administration to offend the Europeans, cause international trade concerns, push many nations further away from the United States, change matters in Ukraine, affect matters in the Middle East, impact US energy production, impact immigration, impact the move away from the US dollar, and further divide many in the United States.

Notice the last statement above.

ALL of those things have happened in the last month.

There have been many unintended consequences of the Trump-Vance Administration–and there will be more.

The United States needs repentance, the return of Jesus, and the coming Kingdom of God.

Some items of related interest may include:

USA in Prophecy: The Strongest Fortresses Can you point to scriptures, like Daniel 11:39, that point to the USA in the 21st century? This article does. Two related sermon are available: Identifying the USA and its Destruction in Prophecy and Do these 7 prophesies point to the end of the USA?
Who is the King of the West? Why is there no Final End-Time King of the West in Bible Prophecy? Is the United States the King of the West? Here is a version in the Spanish language: ¿Quién es el Rey del Occidente? ¿Por qué no hay un Rey del Occidente en la profecía del tiempo del fin? A related sermon is also available: The Bible, the USA, and the King of the West.
Christian Repentance Do you know what repentance is? Is it really necessary for salvation? Two related sermons about this are also available: Real Repentance and Real Christian Repentance.
Is God Calling You? This booklet discusses topics including calling, election, and selection. If God is calling you, how will you respond? Here is are links to related sermons: Christian Election: Is God Calling YOU? and Predestination and Your Selection. A short animation is also available: Is God Calling You?
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?
The Gospel of the Kingdom of God This free online pdf booklet has answers many questions people have about the Gospel of the Kingdom of God and explains why it is the solution to the issues the world is facing. Here are links to four related sermons: The Fantastic Gospel of the Kingdom of God!, The World’s False Gospel, The Gospel of the Kingdom: From the New and Old Testaments, and The Kingdom of God is the Solution.

Posted in COG News, Prophecy | Comments Off on PCG and ICG see Donald Trump as a type of savior for the USA–COGwriter warns of many ‘unintended consequences’ which have already begun to come to pass

Cardinals are not from the Bible. What are biblical appropriate titles for church leaders?

Wednesday, February 19th, 2025

Cardinal Vestments

COGwriter

Cardinals hold a high position in the Church of Rome.

The Church of Rome actually teaches that they are the group to flee to the wilderness that God will protect for 3 1/2 years per Revelation 12:14-16 (Kramer HB. The Book of Destiny. Nihil Obstat: J.S. Considine, O.P., Censor Deputatus. Imprimatur: +Joseph M. Mueller, Bishop of Sioux City, Iowa, January 26, 1956. Reprint TAN Books, Rockford (IL),pp. 295-299).

But, the Bible does not mention them.

Is ‘cardinal’ an office the Bible lists for the Christian church?

In recent times, popes have often held the office of cardinal prior to their election as pontifex maximus, a non-biblical title that came from paganism:

Priest Herman Kramer (20th century): Antichrist will have a forerunner or prophet, who will prepare the way for him…This false prophet possibly at the behest of Antichrist usurps the papal supremacy…His assumed spiritual authority and supremacy over the Church would make him resemble the Bishop of Rome…He would be Pontifex Maximus, a title of pagan emperors, having spiritual and temporal authority. …Though he poses as a lamb, his doctrines betray him…His principles and dogmas to be accepted … it will comprise emperor-worship … with the persecution of true believers (Kramer H.B. L. The Book of Destiny, pp. 318,319).

The term ‘cardinal’ itself is not found in any version of the Holy Bible.

As far as cardinals go, the word comes from a term meaning hinge according to the Houghton Mifflin dictionary and The Catholic Encyclopedia:

Latin, serving as a hinge, from card, cardin-, hinge (http://education.yahoo.com/reference/dictionary/entry/cardinal)

By the term cardinal (Cardinalis)…an ecclesiastical cardo (Lat. for hinge). (Sägmüller, Johannes Baptist. “Cardinal.” The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 3. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1908. 22 Feb. 2014 <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03333b.htm>.)

Why is that important?

Two reasons.

First, this term does not come from the Bible (I also did a search of the Douay Rheims, and it is not in there either).

Second, it comes from paganism.

Here is some of what Alexander Hislop reported about that:

If there be any who imagine that there is some occult and mysterious virtue in an apostolic succession that comes through the Papacy, let them seriously consider the real character of the Pope’s own orders, and of those of his bishops and clergy. From the Pope downwards, all can be shown to be now radically Babylonian. The College of Cardinals, with the Pope at its head, is just the counterpart of the Pagan College of Pontiffs, with its “Pontifex Maximus,” or “Sovereign Pontiff,” which had existed in Rome from the earliest times, and which is known to have been framed on the model of the grand original Council of Pontiffs at Babylon. The Pope now pretends to supremacy in the Church as the successor of Peter, to whom it is alleged that our Lord exclusively committed the keys of the kingdom of heaven. But here is the important fact that, till the Pope was invested with the title, which for a thousand years had had attached to it the power of the keys of Janus and Cybele, * no such claim to pre-eminence, or anything approaching to it, was ever publicly made on his part, on the ground of his being the possessor of the keys bestowed on Peter.

* It was only in the second century before the Christian era that the worship of Cybele, under that name, was introduced into Rome; but the same goddess, under the name of Cardea, with the “power of the key,” was worshipped in Rome, along with Janus, ages before. OVID’s Fasti

Very early, indeed, did the bishop of Rome show a proud and ambitious spirit; but, for the first three centuries, their claim for superior honour was founded simply on the dignity of their see, as being that of the imperial city, the capital of the Roman world. When, however, the seat of empire was removed to the East, and Constantinople threatened to eclipse Rome, some new ground for maintaining the dignity of the Bishop of Rome must be sought. That new ground was found, when, about 378, the Pope fell heir to the keys that were the symbols of two well-known Pagan divinities at Rome. Janus bore a key, and Cybele bore a key; and these are the two keys that the Pope emblazons on his arms as the ensigns of his spiritual authority. How the Pope came to be regarded as wielding the power of these keys will appear in the sequel; but that he did, in the popular apprehension, become entitled to that power at the period referred to is certain. Now, when he had come, in the estimation of the Pagans, to occupy the place of the representatives of Janus and Cybele, and therefore to be entitled to bear their keys, the Pope saw that if he could only get it believed among the Christians that Peter alone had the power of the keys, and that he was Peter’s successor, then the sight of these keys would keep up the delusion, and thus, though the temporal dignity of Rome as a city should decay, his own dignity as the Bishop of Rome would be more firmly established than ever. On this policy it is evident he acted. Some time was allowed to pass away, and then, when the secret working of the Mystery of iniquity had prepared the way for it, for the first time did the Pope publicly assert his pre-eminence, as founded on the keys given to Peter. About 378 was he raised to the position which gave him, in Pagan estimation, the power of the keys referred to. In 432, and not before, did he publicly lay claim to the possession of Peter’s keys. This, surely, is a striking coincidence. Does the reader ask how it was possible that men could give credit to such a baseless assumption? The words of Scripture, in regard to this very subject, give a very solemn but satisfactory answer (2 Thess 2:10,11): “Because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved…For this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie.” Few lies could be more gross; but, in course of time, it came to be widely believed; and now, as the statue of Jupiter is worshipped at Rome as the veritable image of Peter, so the keys of Janus and Cybele have for ages been devoutly believed to represent the keys of the same apostle…

The priest who explained the Mysteries to the initiated was sometimes called by a Greek term, the Hierophant; but in primitive Chaldee, the real language of the Mysteries, his title, as pronounced without the points, was “Peter”–i.e., “the interpreter.” As the revealer of that which was hidden, nothing was more natural than that, while opening up the esoteric doctrine of the Mysteries, he should be decorated with the keys of the two divinities whose mysteries he unfolded.

Hence, from the mere jingle of words, persons and things essentially different were confounded; and Paganism and Christianity jumbled together, that the towering ambition of a wicked priest might be gratified; and so, to the blinded Christians of the apostacy, the Pope was the representative of Peter the apostle, while to the initiated pagans, he was only the representative of Peter, the interpreter of their well known Mysteries. Thus was the Pope the express counterpart of “Janus, the double-faced.” Oh! what an emphasis of meaning in the Scriptural expression, as applied to the Papacy, “The Mystery of Iniquity”! The reader will now be prepared to understand how it is that the Pope’s Grand Council of State, which assists him in the government of the Church, comes to be called the College of Cardinals. The term Cardinal is derived from Cardo, a hinge. Janus, whose key the Pope bears, was the god of doors and hinges, and was called Patulcius, and Clusius “the opener and the shutter.” This had a blasphemous meaning, for he was worshipped at Rome as the grand mediator. Whatever important business was in hand, whatever deity was to be invoked, an invocation first of all must be addressed to Janus, who was recognised as the “God of gods,” in whose mysterious divinity the characters of father and son were combined, and without that no prayer could be heard–the “door of heaven” could not be opened. It was this same god whose worship prevailed so exceedingly in Asia Minor at the time when our Lord sent, by his servant John, the seven Apocalyptic messages to the churches established in that region. And, therefore, in one of these messages we find Him tacitly rebuking the profane ascription of His own peculiar dignity to that divinity, and asserting His exclusive claim to the prerogative usually attributed to His rival. Thus, Revelation 3:7 “And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth.” Now, to this Janus, as Mediator, worshipped in Asia Minor, and equally, from very early times, in Rome, belonged the government of the world; and, “all power in heaven, in earth, and the sea,” according to Pagan ideas, was vested in him. In this character he was said to have “jus vertendi cardinis”–the “power of turning the hinge”–of opening the doors of heaven, or of opening or shutting the gates of peace or war upon earth. The Pope, therefore, when he set up as the High-priest of Janus, assumed also the “jus vertendi cardinis,” “the power of turning the hinge,”–of opening and shutting in the blasphemous Pagan sense. Slowly and cautiously at first was this power asserted; but the foundation being laid, steadily, century after century, was the grand superstructure of priestly power erected upon it. The Pagans, who saw what strides, under Papal directions, Christianity, as professed in Rome, was making towards Paganism, were more than content to recognise the Pope as possessing this power; they gladly encouraged him to rise, step by step, to the full height of the blasphemous pretensions befitting the representative of Janus–pretensions which, as all men know, are now, by the unanimous consent of Western Apostate Christendom, recognised as inherent in the office of the Bishop of Rome. To enable the Pope, however, to rise to the full plenitude of power which he now asserts, the co-operation of others was needed. When his power increased, when his dominion extended, and especially after he became a temporal sovereign, the key of Janus became too heavy for his single hand–he needed some to share with him the power of the “hinge.” Hence his privy councillors, his high functionaries of state, who were associated with him in the government of the Church and the world, got the now well known title of “Cardinals”–the priests of the “hinge.” This title had been previously borne by the high officials of the Roman Emperor, who, as “Pontifex Maximus,” had been himself the representative of Janus, and who delegated his powers to servants of his own. Even in the reign of Theodosius, the Christian Emperor of Rome, the title of Cardinal was borne by his Prime Minister. But now both the name and the power implied in the name have long since disappeared from all civil functionaries of temporal sovereigns; and those only who aid the Pope in wielding the key of Janus–in opening and shutting–are known by the title of Cardinals, or priests of the “hinge.”…

Does the Pope receive the adorations of the Cardinals? The king of Babylon, as Sovereign Pontiff, was adored in like manner…

The Papal mitre is entirely different from the mitre of Aaron and the Jewish high priests. That mitre was a turban. The two-horned mitre, which the Pope wears, when he sits on the high altar at Rome and receives the adoration of the Cardinals, is the very mitre worn by Dagon, the fish-god of the Philistines and Babylonians. There were two ways in which Dagon was anciently represented. The one was when he was depicted as half-man half-fish; the upper part being entirely human, the under part ending in the tail of a fish. The other was, when, to use the words of Layard, “the head of the fish formed a mitre above that of the man, while its scaly, fan-like tail fell as a cloak behind, leaving the human limbs and feet exposed.” Of Dagon in this form Layard gives a representation in his last work; and no one who examines his mitre, and compares it with the Pope’s as given in Elliot’s Horoe, can doubt for a moment that from that, and no other source, has the pontifical mitre been derived.

The mitre/hat shown in the photo at the beginning of this post is a version of the ‘fish hat’ that Alexander Hislop says came from paganism.

The Bible shows that worshipers of Dagon were destroyed by Samson (Judges 16:23-30).

As far as offices listed for the New Testament Church, the New Jerusalem Bible (a Roman Catholic translation) teaches the following:

¹¹And to some, his ‘gift’ was that they should be apostles; to some prophets; to some, evangelists; to some, pastors and teachers; ¹² to knit God’s holy people together for the work of service to build up the Body of Christ, (Ephesians 4:11-12, NJB)

²⁸ And those whom God has appointed in the Church are, first apostles, secondly prophets, thirdly teachers; after them, miraculous powers, then gifts of healing, helpful acts, guidance, various kinds of tongues. (1 Corinthians 12:28)

⁵ The reason I left you behind in Crete was for you to organise everything that still had to be done and appoint elders in every town, in the way that I told you, ⁶ that is, each of them must be a man of irreproachable character, husband of one wife, and his children must be believers and not liable to be charged with disorderly conduct or insubordination. ⁷ The presiding elder has to be irreproachable since he is God’s representative: never arrogant or hot-tempered, nor a heavy drinker or violent, nor avaricious; ⁸ but hospitable and a lover of goodness; sensible, upright, devout and self-controlled; (Titus 1:5-8)

¹Here is a saying that you can rely on: to want to be a presiding elder is to desire a noble task. ² That is why the presiding elder must have an impeccable character. Husband of one wife, he must be temperate, discreet and courteous, hospitable and a good teacher; ³ not a heavy drinker, nor hot-tempered, but gentle and peaceable, not avaricious, ⁴ a man who manages his own household well and brings his children up to obey him and be well-behaved: ⁵ how can any man who does not understand how to manage his own household take care of the Church of God? ⁶ He should not be a new convert, in case pride should turn his head and he incur the same condemnation as the devil. ⁷ It is also necessary that he be held in good repute by outsiders, so that he never falls into disrepute and into the devil’s trap. ⁸ Similarly, deacons must be respectable, not double-tongued, moderate in the amount of wine they drink and with no squalid greed for money. ⁹ They must hold to the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience. ¹⁰ They are first to be examined, and admitted to serve as deacons only if there is nothing against them. (1 Timothy 3:1-10)

Many offices are listed in the New Testament, but none that sounds like Cardinals. Note that the NKJV has the term “pastors” in Ephesians 4:11 and “bishop” in 1 Timothy 3:1.

Here is more on the origins of Cardinals:

In Rome the first persons to be called cardinals were the deacons of the seven regions of the city at the beginning of the 6th century, when the word began to mean “principal,” “eminent,” or “superior.” The name was also given to the senior priest in each of the “title” churches (the parish churches) of Rome and to the bishops of the seven sees surrounding the city. By the 8th century the Roman cardinals constituted a privileged class among the Roman clergy. They took part in the administration of the church of Rome and in the papal liturgy. By decree of a synod of 769, only a cardinal was eligible to become pope. In 1059, during the pontificate of Nicholas II (1059–61), cardinals were given the right to elect the pope. For a time this power was assigned exclusively to the cardinal bishops, but the third Lateran Council (1179) gave back the right to the whole body of cardinals. The cardinals were granted the privilege of wearing the red hat by Innocent IV (1243–54) in 1244 or 1245; it has since become their symbol. (Cardinals. Encyclopaedia Brittanica. http://www.britannica.com/topic/cardinal-Roman-Catholicism accessed 01/24/16)

Certain of the garb of Cardinals were not adopted until over a 1000 years after Jesus was killed according to The Catholic Encyclopedia:

Chief among the insignia of the cardinal is the red hat, first worn by the legati a latere (cardinal envoys of the pope). It was granted to the secular cardinals by Innocent IV at the Synod of Lyons in 1245, and to the religious cardinals by Gregory XIV in 1591; the latter, it must be noted, continue to wear the distinctive habit of their order (Barmgarten, “Die Uebersendung des rothen Hutes” in “Hist. Jahrbuch”, XXVI, 99 sqq.). They also wear the red (scarlet) biretta, that was granted to them, probably, by Paul II (1464-71). They also have the right to wear scarlet, particularly a scarlet mantle, which according to tradition was probably granted them by Boniface VIII (1294-1303). They also wear a ring with a sapphire stone, and use the ombrellino that is held over them whenever they quit their carriages to accompany with bare heads the Blessed Sacrament, if perchance they meet It on their way. In their titular churches a baldacchino covers the cardinalitial throne, and they have the right to use in these churches the episcopal ornaments, i.e. the mitre of damask silk (since Paul II), the crosier and the pectoral cross. (Sägmüller, Johannes Baptist. “Cardinal.” The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 3. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1908. 22 Feb. 2014 <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03333b.htm>.)

Cardinals come from paganism. The Bible tells nothing of a College of Cardinals who would elect a Pontifex Maximus (a title that the Catholic Bishop Sircius took for himself in the late fourth century–it had long been a title pagan Roman emperors had).

The vestments they wear were not adopted until at least the fourth century by the Church of Rome (see also Were the Early Duties of Elders/Pastors Mainly Sacramental? What was there Dress?). Essentially, the office of Cardinal is a modified remnant from the worship of Mithras and Dagon, though it took the Church of Rome even more centuries for them to develop into the position that they now hold. Of course, that also helps prove that their precise position did not come from the Bible and such vestments that they use were not worn by the original Apostles nor other early Christian leaders.

Cardinals, and their garb, were adapted from paganism. This is one of the many reasons to consider that the final Antichrist will claim ties to the Church of Rome. I would like to emphasize that this leader will CLAIM ties to Rome, but ultimately will betray the Church on Seven Hills as that seems to be laid out in Revelation 13, 17, and 19.

The office of Cardinal does not come from the Bible. It comes from paganism. Cardinals also dress in ways that pagan leaders did, and not as the early apostles did.

What titles did early Christians use?

The New Testament lists various clerical roles:

¹¹ And to some, his ‘gift’ was that they should be apostles; to some prophets; to some, evangelists; to some, pastors and teachers (Ephesians 4:11, NJB)

¹ Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, to all God’s holy people in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with their presiding elders and the deacons. (Philippians 1:1, NJB)

¹ Paul and Timothy, the servants of Jesus Christ; to all the saints in Christ Jesus, who are at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons. (Philippians 1:1, DRB)

²⁸ Keep watch over yourselves and over the whole flock of which the holy Spirit has appointed you overseers, in which you tend the church of God that he acquired with his own blood. (Acts 20:28 NABRE)

¹ I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a deaconess of the church at Cenchreae (Romans 16:1, NJB)

²³ Greetings to you from Gaius, my host here, and host of the whole church. (Romans 16:23, NJB)

² … Timothy, our brother and God’s minister (1 Timothy 3:2, EOB)

¹ I urge the elders among you … (1 Peter 5:1, NJB)

We in the Church of God have used all of those titles at one time or the other and have leaders with nearly all of those titles today.

Notice something reported in Appendix A of the Eastern Orthodox Bible (bolding in source):

For instance, as seen in the New Testament literature itself, it is an indisputable fact that the earliest Christians used the terms “bishop” (“overseer”) and “presbyter” (“elder”) interchangeably:

Titus 1:5-7: For this reason, I left you in Crete so that you might set right what remains to be done and appoint presbyters in every town, as I directed you, on condition that a man be blameless, married only once, with believing children who are not accused of licentiousness or rebellious. For a bishop, as God’s steward, must be blameless, not arrogant…” (See also: 1 Tim 3:1-7; 5:17-22)

Acts 20:17-28: From Miletus he (Paul) had the presbyters of the Church of Ephesus summoned. When they came to him, he addressed them… “Keep watch over yourselves and over the whole flock of which the Holy Spirit has appointed you overseers, in which you tend the Church of God…”

Early Christian leaders had titles, basically the ones in those lists.

The New Testament listed positions are titles that the CCOG still uses to this day.

As far as titles go, we do not see terms like Archbishop, Metropolitan, or Patriarch used for the clergy in the New Testament. Nor are they found in the more widely used Greco-Roman translations of the New Testament.

Thousands of years ago, pagan emperors used to use the title Pontifex Maximus. This is NOT a title listed in the Bible. Nor is pope or cardinal.

Some items of related interest may include:

The Malachy Prophecies and “Peter the Roman” An Irish bishop allegedly predicted something about 112 popes in the 12th century. Pope Benedict XVI was number 111. Francis would seem to be number 112–if he is that one–and if so, he is to reign until Rome is destroyed. May he be an antipope/final Antichrist?
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.
Was Peter the Rock Who Alone Received the Keys of the Kingdom? How should Matthew 16:18-19 be understood?
The Bible, Peter, Paul, John, Polycarp, Herbert W. Armstrong, Roderick C. Meredith, and Bob Thiel on Church Government What form of governance did the early church have? Was it hierarchical? Which form of governance would one expect to have in the Philadelphia remnant? The people decide and/or committee forms, odd dictatorships, or the same type that the Philadelphia era itself had? What are some of the scriptural limits on ecclesiastical authority? Do some commit organizational idolatry? Here is a Spanish language version La Biblia, Policarpo, Herbert W. Armstrong, y Roderick C. Meredith sobre el gobierno de la Iglesia. Here is a link to a sermon titled Church Governance.
The Apostle Peter He was an original apostle and early Christian leader. Where was Peter buried? Where did Peter die?
Will You Be Deceived by Antichrist? 1964 article by David Jon Hill, originally published in the old Good News magazine.
What Did the Early Church Teach About Idols and Icons? Did the early Church use icons? What was the position of Christians about such things?
What is the Origin of the Cross as a ‘Christian’ Symbol? Was the cross used as a venerated symbol by the early Church? A related YouTube video would be Origin of the Cross.
Could Pope Francis be the Last Pope and Antichrist? According to some interpretations of the prophecies of the popes by the Catholic saint and Bishop Malachy, Pope Francis I is in the position of “Peter the Roman,” the pontiff who reigns during tribulations until around the time of the destruction of Rome. Do biblical prophecies warn of someone that sounds like Peter the Roman? Could Francis I be the heretical antipope of Catholic private prophecies and the final Antichrist of Bible prophecy? This is a YouTube video.
Was Celibacy Required for Early Bishops or Presbyters? Some religions suggest this, but what does the Bible teach? What was the practice of the early church?
Did the Early Christian Church Practice Monasticism? Does God expect or endorse living in a monastery or nunnery?
Were the Early Duties of Elders/Pastors Mainly Sacramental? What was there Dress? Were the duties of the clergy primarily pastoral or sacramental? Did the clergy dress with special liturgical vestments? Can “bishops” be disqualified as ministers of Christ based on their head coverings?
Why Should American Catholics Fear Unity with the Orthodox? Are the current ecumenical meetings a good thing or will they result in disaster? Is doctrinal compromise good? Here is a link to a related video Should you be concerned about the ecumenical movement?
Orthodox Must Reject Unity with the Roman Catholics Unity between these groups will put them in position to be part of the final end time Babylon that the Bible warns against as well as require improper compromise.
Mary, the Mother of Jesus and the Apparitions Do you know much about Mary? Are the apparitions real? What happened at Fatima? What might they mean for the rise of the ecumenical religion of Antichrist? Are Protestants moving towards Mary? How do the Eastern/Greek Orthodox view Mary? How might Mary view her adorers? Here is a link to a YouTube video Marian Apparitions May Fulfill Prophecy.
Some Doctrines of Antichrist Are there any doctrines taught outside the Churches of God which can be considered as doctrines of antichrist? This article suggests at least three. It also provides information on 666 and the identity of “the false prophet.” Plus it shows that several Catholic writers seem to warn about an ecumenical antipope that will support heresy. You can also watch a video titled What Does the Bible teach about the Antichrist?
The Mark of Antichrist What is the mark of Antichrist? What have various ones claimed? Here is a link to a related sermon What is the ‘Mark of Antichrist’?
Mark of the Beast What is the mark of the Beast? Who is the Beast? What have various ones claimed the mark is? What is the ‘Mark of the Beast’?
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.

Posted in Doctrine | Comments Off on Cardinals are not from the Bible. What are biblical appropriate titles for church leaders?

Elon Musk says his ‘Grok 3’ artificial intelligence program is ‘terrifyingly smart’: Another 666 prelude?

Tuesday, February 18th, 2025

(Grok logo)

COGwriter

Elon Musk announced a new iteration of artificial intelligence that he claims to be better (at least in some ways) than ChatGPT:

18 February 2025

The battle to conquer the artificial intelligence crown is underway. Names such as ChatGPT, from OpenAI, Gemini, from Google, Copilot, from Microsoft, and China’s Deepseek, among others, are already part of our lives. Elon Musk did not want to lose prominence in this race and has opted for his own AI software, Grok. The tycoon has just presented the third version of this chatbot.

Compared to the previous version of the software, Grok 3, developed by Musk’s company xAI, it multiplies its capacity by ten. “It’s terrifyingly smart,” said the tycoon. The CEO of Tesla, X and SpaceX, as well as an advisor to President Donald Trump, is convinced that his AI is better than that of his competitors: “In the tests we have done so far it is outperforming everything that has been released, so that’s a good sign.” https://www.marca.com/en/technology/2025/02/18/67b49f49e2704ee8418b45b0.html

What could “terrifyingly smart” mean?

Could ‘artificial intelligence’ (AI) become an evil force that will harm or perhaps even rule the world?

Elon Musk was worried that this could be so, back in 2018

Elon Musk: ‘Immortal’ evil superintelligence could rule world

April 7, 2018

Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk’s biggest fear is a form of artificial intelligence that could create an “immortal dictator,” a “godlike” entity that rules the world and one “from which we can never escape.”

That’s what he says in a new documentary by American filmmaker Chris Paine about the imminent threat of AI, which he believes will be smarter than man and, of course, never die.

The Tesla and SpaceX chief executive officer says it could develop within one company – like Google — or among a small group of people.

“The least scary future I can think of is one where we have at least democratized AI because if one company or small group of people manages to develop godlike digital superintelligence, they could take over the world,” Musk said. “At least when there’s an evil dictator, that human is going to die. But for an AI, there would be no death. It would live forever. And then you’d have an immortal dictator from which we can never escape.” http://www.wnd.com/2018/04/elon-musk-immortal-evil-superintelligence-could-rule-world/#b0f3rERzXiKHeXE8.99

While Elan Musk voiced fears about the rise of an Immortal dictator, the Bible shows that a mortal dictator will rise up in Europe (Revelation 17:12-13). Mass censorship (Amos 8:11-12) and death will occur (cf. Daniel 11:33; Revelation 13:10-15).

The coming European Beast power will want to be worshiped as if he were God in the end times:

3 Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, 4 who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. (2 Thessalonians 2:3-4).

Before we get more into that, consider the following scriptures related to the Tower of Babel:

1 Now the whole earth had one language and one speech. 2 And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar, and they dwelt there.

3 Then they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They had brick for stone, and they had asphalt for mortar.

4 And they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.”

5 But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built.

6 And the Lord said, “Indeed the people are one and they all have one language, and this is what they begin to do; now nothing that they propose to do will be withheld from them. 7 Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.”

8 So the Lord scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth, and they ceased building the city. 9 Therefore its name is called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth; and from there the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth. (Genesis 11:1-8)

The people did not want to be scattered, even though that was God’s plan (cf. Genesis 9:1,7). So God intervened.

Notice they had one language, but God changed that. One of the reasons He said He did that was because humans would be able to do things that they purposed. The language barrier has been a factor in slowing down aspects of intellectual progress, as well as intellectual foolishness. But now with computers, software, and many of the world’s educated understanding the English language, we should expect faster development.

Furthermore, faster development of knowledge was also prophesied in the Bible to occur during the time of the end:

4 “But you, Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book until the time of the end; many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase.” (Daniel 12:4)

What is called ‘artificial intelligence’ is consistent with that prophecy.

AI will also be used for things like internet censorship–much more of which is to come (cf. Amos 8:11-12).

It also has military applications. Notice the following:

Google quietly abandoned a long-standing commitment to not use artificial intelligence (AI) technology in weapons or surveillance. In an update to its AI principles, which were first published in 2018, the tech giant removed statements promising not to pursue:

technologies that cause or are likely to cause overall harm

weapons or other technologies whose principal purpose or implementation is to cause or directly facilitate injury to people

technologies that gather or use information for surveillance violating internationally accepted norms

technologies whose purpose contravenes widely accepted principles of international law and human rights.

The update came after United States President Donald Trump revoked former President Joe Biden’s executive order aimed at promoting safe, secure and trustworthy development and use of AI.

The Google decision follows a recent trend of big tech entering the national security arena and accommodating more military applications of AI. 02/10/25 https://theconversation.com/google-has-dropped-its-promise-not-to-use-ai-for-weapons-its-part-of-a-troubling-trend-249169

Do not trust that Europe will not abandon commitments to protect privacy with AI or will not also consider its use for military purposes.

Notice the following about the European Beast of the Sea (watch Can You Prove that the Beast to Come is European?):

1 Then I stood on the sand of the sea. And I saw a beast rising up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and on his horns ten crowns, and on his heads a blasphemous name. 2 Now the beast which I saw was like a leopard, his feet were like the feet of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. The dragon gave him his power, his throne, and great authority. 3 And I saw one of his heads as if it had been mortally wounded, and his deadly wound was healed. And all the world marveled and followed the beast.4 So they worshiped the dragon who gave authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?” (Revelation 13:1-4)

So, this Beast power will be worshiped, the whole world will marvel, and he will have a unique way to wage war successfully. I have written since at least last decade that this means that advanced technology will be part of the reason. And that technology is likely to use what is called artificial intelligence.

Consider also that the Europe-based World Economic Forum had the following in an official email today:

Public AI infrastructure, the concept of governments building publicly owned and controlled AI systems, was a key topic at the AI Action Summit in Paris. Considering the challenges of private AI and regulation, driving investment and building such infrastructure requires some reforms and considerations.

So, yes, the WEF wants more involvement and more governmental involvement in AI.

Now let’s look at the following scriptures which support the view that, to some degree, advanced computer software, which may or may not be considered as ‘artificial intelligence,’ will be used by the coming European Beast of the Sea dictator (Revelation 13:1-10) as well as his Beast of the Earth (Revelation 13:11) accomplice:

11 Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth, and he had two horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon. 12 And he exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence, and causes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.

13 He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men. 14 And he deceives those who dwell on the earth by those signs which he was granted to do in the sight of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who was wounded by the sword and lived.

15 He was granted power to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed.

16 He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, 17 and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.

18 Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: His number is 666. (Revelation 13:11-18)

Notice that the Beast of the Earth gets the people who dwell on the earth to worship the other Beast. While he will likely have what will be some type of demonic-superpower (Revelation 16:13), it appears that something like artificial intelligence will be used to get the image of the Beast to speak and to get those who will not worship the Beast to be killed.

Either way, when ‘666’ is here, the system will be “terrifyingly smart.” Yes, the coming Beast power will be terrifying!

Additionally, when it comes to controlling buying and selling, that was not possible before this digital age of the 21st century. That is something that computers will be involved in. Computer software is a type of artificial intelligence. And sometimes it is specific programing that is considered AI as well.

The Bible shows that the world will get to the point of total destruction after the Great Tribulation, but that God will intervene:

21 For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. 22 And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened. (Matthew 24:21-22)

Jesus will destroy this Beast and his accomplice:

11 Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. 12 His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. 13 He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God.

14 And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses.

15 Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. 16 And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.

17 Then I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in the midst of heaven, “Come and gather together for the supper of the great God, 18 that you may eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them, and the flesh of all people, free and slave, both small and great.”

19 And I saw the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army. 20 Then the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. These two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone. (Revelation 19:11-19)

That Beast power will be destroyed and the Kingdom of God will be established:

15 Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!”

16 And the twenty-four elders who sat before God on their thrones fell on their faces and worshiped God, 17 saying: “We give You thanks, O Lord God Almighty, The One who is and who was and who is to come, Because You have taken Your great power and reigned. 18 The nations were angry, and Your wrath has come, And the time of the dead, that they should be judged, And that You should reward Your servants the prophets and the saints, And those who fear Your name, small and great, And should destroy those who destroy the earth.” (Revelation 11:15-18)

So, the Beast power and his supporters will be defeated.

The Continuing Church of God (CCOG) put out the following video on our Bible News Prophecy YouTube channel back in 2018:

15:30

Artificial Intelligence and Prophecy

Billionaire Elon Musk declared he was worried that artificial intelligence (AI) may lead to the rise of an “immortal dictator,” a “godlike” entity that could take over the world. Is this accurate, or at least, close in some ways? Does Bible prophecy foretell of the rise of an immoral leader who considers himself above all gods? Will this result in great destruction? What is AI? How might it fit in with various prophecies? Was the increase in technological knowledge we now have prophesied over 2000 years ago? Will 666 control over buying and selling involve any form of AI? Dr. Thiel goes over many scriptures, including prophetic ones, that involve human knowledge–which is the basis of AI. He also points out that when various prophesies were made, there was no technology capable of fulfilling them, but that because of computers, such ability exists now. Dr. Thiel also points out what Jesus will do about it.

Here is a link: Artificial Intelligence and Prophecy.

We have put out more videos on AI since:

ChatGPT and 666

Is AI in the Bible?

AI Jesus? Artificial Intelligence God?

666, the Censorship Industrial Complex, and AI

Artificial Intelligence Superhuman Persuasion?

Artificial Intelligence Deadly Perils?

AI and What is Truth?

Google’s Willow chip, Bitcoin, and Europe’s exascale JETI Jupiter supercomputer project

Back in 2016, we also put out the following: Crowdsourcing and Artificial Intelligence to solve “wicked problems”?

There have also been numerous related and other articles on the risks of artificial intelligence.

Bible prophecy shows that a militaristic European dictator will arise, will apparently use something like AI, and while he will NOT be immortal, HE WILL BE TERRIFYING!

Some items of possibly related interest may include:

Who is the King of the North? Is there one? Do biblical and Roman Catholic prophecies for the Great Monarch point to the same leader? Should he be followed? Who will be the King of the North discussed in Daniel 11? Is a nuclear attack prophesied to happen to the English-speaking peoples of the United States, Great Britain, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand? When do the 1335 days, 1290 days, and 1260 days (the time, times, and half a time) of Daniel 12 begin? When does the Bible show that economic collapse will affect the United States? In the Spanish language check out ¿Quién es el Rey del Norte? Here is a link to a video titled: The Future King of the North.
Preparing for the ‘Short Work’ and The Famine of the Word What is the ‘short work’ of Romans 9:28? Who is preparing for it? Will Philadelphian Christians instruct many in the end times? What about modern censoring, censorship, and shadow banning? Here is a link to a related video sermon titled: The Short Work. Here is a link to another: Preparing to Instruct Many.
Philadelphian Christian Great Tribulation Protection What will the Great Tribulation be like? Does Jesus promise physical protection to some or all Christians? Where might the place of protection be? What about fleeing to the mountains? What did Ezekiel warn? Here is a link to a related sermon: Great Tribulation Protection.
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.
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.
Lost Tribes and Prophecies: What will happen to Australia, the British Isles, Canada, Europe, New Zealand and the United States of America? Where did those people come from? Can you totally rely on DNA? Do you really know what will happen to Europe and the English-speaking peoples? What about the peoples of Africa, Asia, South America, and the islands? This free online book provides scriptural, scientific, historical references, and commentary to address those matters. Here are links to related sermons: Lost tribes, the Bible, and DNA; Lost tribes, prophecies, and identifications; 11 Tribes, 144,000, and Multitudes; Israel, Jeremiah, Tea Tephi, and British Royalty; Gentile European Beast; Royal Succession, Samaria, and Prophecies; Asia, Islands, Latin America, Africa, and Armageddon; When Will the End of the Age Come?; Rise of the Prophesied King of the North; Christian Persecution from the Beast; WWIII and the Coming New World Order; and Woes, WWIV, and the Good News of the Kingdom of God.

Posted in Prophecy | Comments Off on Elon Musk says his ‘Grok 3’ artificial intelligence program is ‘terrifyingly smart’: Another 666 prelude?

Ukraine reportedly panics related to US proposed peace plan

Tuesday, February 18th, 2025

Map showing areas annexed by Russia from Ukraine
(Public domain via Wikipedia)

COGwriter

While Russia and US discuss plans for a deal related to Ukraine, Ukrainians are reportedly in a panic mode:

Zelensky Abruptly Cancels Planned Saudi Visit After Being Sidelined From US-Russia Talks

February 18, 2025

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced Tuesday he is cancelling his scheduled state visit to Saudi Arabia following the conclusion of US-Russia talks there.

He’s been on a Middle East diplomatic tour to gain support for his country now three years in to the Russia-Ukraine war, which took him to the UAE, Turkey, and Wednesday he was supposed to be in Saudi Arabia to meet with the kingdom’s leadership. The Saudi trip had been planned before it was known that the US-Russia talks would take place.

“Zelensky CANCELLING trip to Saudi Arabia following US/Russia talks. Zelensky will now return to Kyiv from Ankara, Turkey,” Fox News has reported. He now says he plans to visit in March. Zelensky is clearly trying to lash out at Washington.

Without doubt this is to signal his anger about being cut out of talks toward ending the Ukraine war. The Kremlin hailed Tuesday’s four-and-half hour meeting in Riyadh, with Rubio leading the US side and Lavrov leading the Moscow delegation, as “successful”. European officials were also noticeably absent from the meeting, which was hosted and mediated by the Saudi government.

Zelensky had issued a prior warning while in the UAE: “Ukraine will not accept. Ukraine knew nothing about this. And Ukraine regards any negotiations about Ukraine without Ukraine as having no results,” he had said.

“Ukraine will not take part in the negotiations. Ukraine did not know they were planned. And the visit to the region was planned long before the US decided to meet Russia there,” he continued.

The fact that a high-level peace meeting was taking place without Zelensky or any Ukrainian representation, at the very moment he was in the region, is being felt as adding insult to injury from the Trump administration. https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/zelensky-abruptly-cancels-planned-saudi-visit-after-being-sidelined-us-russia-talks

‘Panic’ in Ukraine as leaked confidential Trump peace plan astounds: report https://t.co/Ef4XLGMhh6

— Morgan Fairchild (@morgfair) February 18, 2025

‘Panic’ in Ukraine as leaked confidential Trump peace plan astounds: report

The UK-based Telegraph newspaper has obtained a copy of a proposed peace plan being pitched by the Trump administration to Ukraine that has reportedly set off “panic” in Kyiv. …

In sum the plan would guarantee the United States half of the revenues generated by the extraction of resources in Ukraine going forward, as well as half of revenues generated by “all new licenses issued to third parties” in the country.

While Zelenskyy had in the past proposed developing a partnership with the United States to extract key minerals in his country, the proposed deal goes far beyond anything he pitched to President Donald Trump in recent months. https://www.rawstory.com/trump-ukraine-2671169386/

It appears that 1) Donald Trump does not intend for Russia to leave much, if any, of the areas it controls, 2) Donald Trump believes that if Ukraine expects the US to defend it, that Ukraine needs to pay for that protection.

Having Russia keep much of the territories it gained in its ‘Special Military Operation’ should not be a surprise to long term readers of this COGwriter Church of God News page.

Because of prophecies related to the “kings of the Medes” in the Book of Jeremiah, in the Fall of 2013 I wrote that Russia would end up with some territory that Ukraine claimed.

Now notice some biblical prophecies and comments from our free online book Lost Tribes and Prophecies: What will happen to Australia, the British Isles, Canada, Europe, New Zealand and the United States of America?:

Russia and the Medes

Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus tend to be considered as East Slavs. They tend to be descended from Japheth’s sons Madai, Tubal, Mechech, and Gomer (Genesis 10:2).

All of which have descendants in Russia. Belarus seems to have mainly descended from Madai (or possibly Midian).

There were numerous tribes of the Medes (which descended from Madai) with the Buzhians in the northwest part of Ukraine.[i] …

Peoples prophetically called Medes are also shown to destroy the final Babylon according to both Isaiah and Jeremiah:

¹ The burden against Babylon which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw…

¹⁷ “Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them,
Who will not regard silver; And as for gold, they will not delight in it. ¹⁸Also their bows will dash the young men to pieces, And they will have no pity on the fruit of the womb; Their eye will not spare children. ¹⁹ And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, The beauty of the Chaldeans’ pride, Will be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. (Isaiah 13:1, 17-19)

¹¹ Make the arrows bright! Gather the shields! The Lord has raised up the spirit of the kings of the Medes. For His plan is against Babylon to destroy it,
Because it is the vengeance of the Lord, The vengeance for His temple. (Jeremiah 51:11)

The fact that there are multiple kings of the Medes indicates that powers involved in this end time confederation represent multiple governments. This would seem to include Russia, Belarus, and likely Crimea, Donbas, and some others in Ukraine, some in Moldova, perhaps some from the nation of Georgia, and some in Iran, etc.

Anciently, “Darius the Mede” (Daniel 5:31) conquered old Babylon—modern “Medes” will help do the same to the end-time daughter of Babylon.

The following passages seem also to apply:

⁸ “Move from the midst of Babylon, Go out of the land of the Chaldeans; And be like the rams before the flocks. ⁹ For behold, I will raise and cause to come up against Babylon An assembly of great nations from the north country, And they shall array themselves against her; From there she shall be captured. Their arrows shall be like those of an expert warrior; None shall return in vain. (Jeremiah 50:8-9)

Those who believe the Bible should leave the midst of end-time Babylon by then. Certainly, the above “north country” includes Russia, but other passages clearly point to others from Asia being involved (Jeremiah 51:27-29).

Notice some of what will happen to the coming European Babylonian Beast power led by a power from the farthest parts of the earth (Russia is the nation that is the farthest east and close to being the farthest north nation):

²² Thus says the Lord: “Behold, a people comes from the north country, And a great nation will be raised from the farthest parts of the earth.

²³ They will lay hold on bow and spear; They are cruel and have no mercy; Their voice roars like the sea; And they ride on horses, As men of war set in array against you, O daughter of Zion.”

²⁴ We have heard the report of it; Our hands grow feeble. Anguish has taken hold of us, Pain as of a woman in labor. ²⁵ Do not go out into the field, Nor walk by the way. Because of the sword of the enemy, Fear is on every side. ²⁶O daughter of my people, Dress in sackcloth And roll about in ashes! Make mourning as for an only son, most bitter lamentation; For the plunderer will suddenly come upon us. (Jeremiah 6:22-26)

⁴¹ “Behold, a people shall come from the north, And a great nation and many kings Shall be raised up from the ends of the earth. ⁴² They shall hold the bow and the lance; They are cruel and shall not show mercy. Their voice shall roar like the sea; They shall ride on horses, Set in array, like a man for the battle, Against you, O daughter of Babylon.

⁴³ “The king of Babylon has heard the report about them, And his hands grow feeble; Anguish has taken hold of him, Pangs as of a woman in childbirth. (Jeremiah 50:41-43)

The “great nation” from the “farthest parts of the earth” includes Russia. There are also nations that will be confederate with it.

[i] White, In Search of … The Origin of Nations, p. 273

Since there appear to be different tribes of Medes, that supports the idea of some type of split in Ukraine–such as what we have essentially seen on the two maps in this post. And, this split started over a decade ago.

In 2014, Crimea voted to leave Ukraine and become part of Russia. Russia later accepted and annexed the territory, which it had long wanted. Crimea has been a fairly poor region that felt neglected and discriminated against by the western portion of Ukraine. Many in the Donbas region also have felt neglected (or worse) by western Ukraine and have long wanted to be closer to Russia. It should be noted that the USA and some of its allies called the referendum in Crimea to be part of Russia some type of a sham, yet the reality is that the majority in Crimea wanted to be part of Russia. On March 18, 2014, when Vladimir Putin signed a treaty to make Crimea part of Russia (https://www.rferl.org/a/putin-to-visit-crimea-to-mark-five-years-since-).

Many of those in Crimea (other than the Tartars) and in the Donbas region believed that they would be better off with Russia who wanted them than Kiev who claims to want to keep them, but apparently had not shown them enough signs that it would truly be able to help them.

Even though the USA and many in Europe have wanted Russia to leave Crimea, on March 18, 2019, I posted:

It remains my view that Crimea and at least parts of eastern Ukraine will ultimately align with Russia.

International sanctions will not stop biblical prophecies from being fulfilled. (Thiel B. ‘Putin in Crimea as Russia Marks Five Years Since Annexation’ the ‘Kings of the Medes’ will arise. COGwriter, March 18, 2019)

And the events of the past few years confirmed my view that sanctions would not stop Russia from having territories align with it. The various sanctions announced by the USA and the Europeans look to be political punishment, as opposed to being announced by those who seriously believe that they will get Russia to cede the Donbas region back to Ukrainian control (it would probably take a pro-Russian government in Kiev for Russia to do that).

Long-time readers of this COGwriter Church of God News page are aware that I have repeatedly told of a time where those in parts of Ukraine and Moldova would end up supporting Russia. For example, here is something from 2014:

As ‘independent states’ Donetsk and Luhansk may enter into some type of joint confederation with each other or Russia. If the forces from Kiev decide to attack, they will likely fight and ask for help from Russia.

Donetsk and Luhansk may vote to be annexed by Russia, like Crimea did. Or at minimum decide to ask to be part of Vladimir Putin’s Eurasian Union.

The Bible has several end time prophecies concerning the Medes (Isaiah 13:17-19) and the kings of the Medes (Jeremiah 51:11, 28-29) that involve military action. Various ones in Crimea, Donetsk, Luhansk, Russia, and elsewhere are part of the descendants of the Medes, as likely are some in Moldova.

Alliances consistent with end time Bible prophecy are in the process of forming. (Thiel B. Eastern Ukraine votes for independence: Kiev upset, Russia pleased. COGwriter, May 12, 2014)

Several years back, Russia’s president declared he had recognized and accepted the Luhansk People’s Republic and Donetsk People’s Republic as independent nations (see I365: Right before Messiah, US will fight Russia and China will capitalize, rabbinic “prophecy” reveals’ COGwriter: No, that is not what the Bible teaches). Then on 30 September 2022, Vladimir Putin announced the annexation of Ukraine’s Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia areas in an address to both houses of the Russian parliament.

The Bible foretells a time when the “Kings of the Medes” will get together (Jeremiah 51:11, 28)–and some now have. Many in Russia, Ukraine, and even Moldova have descent from the ancient Medes.

On the Sabbath of February 5, 2022, I did a sermonette where I mentioned that lands associated with Ukraine would end up being confederate with Russia:

21:20

Russia, Ukraine, Babylonian Europe, and Prophecy

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

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

Since that came out, more territories that Ukraine once controlled are now controlled by Russia.

While Ukraine has put up a lot of resistance to Russia’s Special Military Operation, Russia is larger and has more troops, etc.

Remember that Jesus taught:

31 Or what king, going to make war against another king, does not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? 32 Or else, while the other is still a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks conditions of peace. (Luke 14:31-32)

Ukraine may wish to reconsider where it is at to see if now it believes it should attempt to make a deal with Russia–particularly with Donald Trump now US President. The longer the conflict continues, the less territory that Ukraine will have.

No matter what Ukraine’s leadership currently hopes, at least parts of Ukraine are going to ultimately support Russia (cf. Jeremiah 51:11, 28).

Some items of possibly related interest may include:

Russia and Ukraine: Their Origins and Prophesied Future Russia in prophecy. Where do the Russians come from? What about those in the Ukraine? What is prophesied for Russia and its allies? What will they do to the Europeans that supported the Beast in the end? There is also a video sermon available: Russia in the Bible and in Prophecy as are two video sermonettes Russia, Ukraine, Babylonian Europe, and Prophecy and Ukraine in Prophecy?
Is Russia the King of the North? Some claim it is. But what does the Bible teach? Here is a link to a video, also titled Is Russia the King of the North?
Ezekiel 38: For Russia & Iran in Our Day? Is Ezekiel 38 about to be fulfilled? Are we close to the battle with Gog and Magog? Four related videos are available: Ezekiel 38 Gog and Magog War: Is it Soon?, Ezekiel 38: For Russia, Ukraine, & Iran Now?, Russia, Iran, Syria, & the Bible (Code), and Gog, Magog, Vladimir Putin, and Ezekiel 38?
The Eurasian Union, the Kings of the East, and Bible Prophecy Is there a Eurasian union that will be formed? Is one being formed right now? Are any leaders working on that in the 21st century? Does the Bible teach that there will be a Eurasian union? If some type of Eurasian union is formed, who might it benefit and who will it destroy? A related video would be Is The Eurasian Union Rising?
Europa, the Beast, and Revelation Where did Europe get its name? What might Europe have to do with the Book of Revelation? What about “the Beast”? Is an emerging European power “the daughter of Babylon”? What is ahead for Europe? Here is are links to related videos: European history and the Bible, Europe In Prophecy, The End of European Babylon, and Can You Prove that the Beast to Come is European? Here is a link to a related sermon in the Spanish language: El Fin de la Babilonia Europea.
The European Union and the Seven Kings of Revelation 17 Could the European Union be the sixth king that now is, but is not? Here is a link to the related sermon video: European Union & 7 Kings of Revelation 17:10.
Who is the King of the North? Is there one? Do biblical and Roman Catholic prophecies for the Great Monarch point to the same leader? Should he be followed? Who will be the King of the North discussed in Daniel 11? Is a nuclear attack prophesied to happen to the English-speaking peoples of the United States, Great Britain, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand? When do the 1335 days, 1290 days, and 1260 days (the time, times, and half a time) of Daniel 12 begin? When does the Bible show that economic collapse will affect the United States? In the Spanish language check out ¿Quién es el Rey del Norte? Here is a link to a video titled: The Future King of the North.
Lost Tribes and Prophecies: What will happen to Australia, the British Isles, Canada, Europe, New Zealand and the United States of America? Where did those people come from? Can you totally rely on DNA? Do you really know what will happen to Europe and the English-speaking peoples? What about the peoples of Africa, Asia, South America, and the islands? This free online book provides scriptural, scientific, historical references, and commentary to address those matters. Here are links to related sermons: Lost tribes, the Bible, and DNA; Lost tribes, prophecies, and identifications; 11 Tribes, 144,000, and Multitudes; Israel, Jeremiah, Tea Tephi, and British Royalty; Gentile European Beast; Royal Succession, Samaria, and Prophecies; Asia, Islands, Latin America, Africa, and Armageddon; When Will the End of the Age Come?; Rise of the Prophesied King of the North; Christian Persecution from the Beast; WWIII and the Coming New World Order; and Woes, WWIV, and the Good News of the Kingdom of God.

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