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COGwriter

On May 12, 2016 (it varies each year based upon the lunar calendar) the nation of Israel celebrates its independence and formation as the State of Israel.

Israel became independent on May 14, 1948, and this was officially recognized May 1, 1949. This independence has affected the views of many Protestants related to prophecy. Many base a lot of their prophetic understandings on it.

Many Protestants believe that the modern nation Israel, along with Jews scattered around the world, is ALL OF ISRAEL.

As shown by other scriptures (e.g. Genesis 48:11,15-16,19-20; cf. 1 Chronicles 5:1-2), the name Israel was to be placed on the descendants of Joseph–this made 13 tribes. Later, the Bible shows that God separated ten tribes of Israel (1 Kings 11:31) from those of Judah (1 Kings 12:20).

Yet, it was prophesied that most would call the Jews ‘Israel’:

1 Hear this, O house of Jacob, Who are called by the name of Israel, And have come forth from the wellsprings of Judah (Isaiah 48:1)

This has happened as that is how the Judean nation is known today.

Yet, because of not understanding other scriptures, many overlook the scriptures that teach that there are other tribes of Israel in other places. Notice the following from the New Testament:

1 James, a bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad: Greetings. ( James 1:1)

So, the idea that there were still other tribes that were not in the area of Judea/Palestine was still recognized in the New Testament.

What might any of this to do with the nation now called Israel?

Some, mainly Protestants, have pointed to the formation of the small nation of Israel as the fulfillment of many end time prophecies. And this has frequently been overstated.

The Christian Research Journal published the following:

Many Christians in the United States believe that it is their biblical responsibility to support the contemporary Jewish State of Israel for specific theological reasons (as opposed to general political ones), a view known as Christian Zionism. The Pew Research Center put the figure at 63 percent for white evangelicals. This view holds that the regathering of Jewish people to Israel since 1948 is the miraculous fulfillment of God’s promises to Abraham to establish Israel as a nation forever in Palestine. Tim LaHaye’s Left Behind novels, together with books written by Hal Lindsey, Pat Robertson, and many others, which propound this view, have sold well over 100 million copies. …

A growing number of Christians, however, are left increasingly uneasy about the idea that God would bring the Jewish people back to Palestine while they are in unbelief, since that was why they were exiled from it in the first place. The methods Israel has used, moreover, to colonize the land and subjugate the Palestinians— many of whom are Christians—do not match the picture of a God‐fearing Israel that Christian Zionists find in their literal interpretation of the ancient prophecies.

(Christian Research Journal, volume 29, number 06, 2006 http://www.equip.org/article/modern-israel-in-bible-prophecy-promised-return-or-impending-exile/#christian-books-1 accessed 04/18/15)

In other words, many Protestants believe this even though Protestants writers have made claims that are not backed up by the literal interpretation of the prophecies in the Bible.

Many claim that the Jews returning to that land from around the world fulfills biblical prophecies. Here is one such claim:

What the scriptures say (just a few of them-more at the end):

Isaiah 43
5 Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west.
6 I will say to the north, `Give them up!’ and to the south, `Do not hold them back.’ Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth-

In Isaiah 43:5-6, the prophet said that the people of Israel would return to their homeland from the east, the west, the north and the south. Isaiah lived 2700 years ago. Beginning at that time, a succession of empires conquered the land of Israel and forced many into exile. This led to a worldwide scattering of Jews. But, during the past century, millions have returned to Israel.–

Jeremiah 23:3-6
“I myself will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the countries where I have driven them and will bring them back to their pasture, where they will be fruitful and increase in number. I will place shepherds over them who will tend them, and they will no longer be afraid or terrified, nor will any be missing,” declares the Lord. “The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will raise up to David a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land. In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. This is the name by which he will be called: The Lord Our Righteousness. https://heavenawaits.wordpress.com/jewish-return-to-israel-in-end-times/ accessed 04/18/15

But, people in the modern nation of Israel are afraid, David has not been raised up as king of Israel, and only a relatively small percentage of the total Israelite-descended population has ended up in the nation of Israel. The same source as the above had the following:

… 93.5% of Jews in the world will end up in Israel by 2012. I wonder how true this will turn out to be…….. https://heavenawaits.wordpress.com/jewish-return-to-israel-in-end-times/ accessed 04/18/15

That prediction was in error. It is currently estimated that there are between about 14 to 18 million Jews (and I suspect much higher, along with at least hundreds of millions of descendants of Israel from the other tribes), with about 6 million living in the nation of Israel.

Even ignoring the other tribes of Israel, it is clear that since most Jews do not live in Israel, that the prophecies some interpret related to the Jews returning to Israel are in error. These particular prophecies are for a time after the Great Tribulation (see Will the Anglo-Saxon Nations be Divided and Have People Taken as Slaves?) and not prior to it as certain Protestants have claimed.

Notice also another claim from an article titled 10 Prophecies Fulfilled in 1948:

The people of Israel would return to “their own land”

Bible passage: Ezekiel 34:13
Written: between 593-571 BC
Fulfilled: after May 14, 1948

In Ezekiel 34:13, the prophet said that God would gather the people of Israel scattered throughout the world and bring them back to “their own land.” After many centuries of dispersion, hundreds of thousands of Jews returned to their ancient homeland beginning in the late 1800s. But, millions more returned after Israel declared independence in 1948. In other words, millions of exiles returned to their ancient homeland which was now truly “their own land” in the sense that it was now a sovereign Jewish state. (10 Prophecies Fulfilled in 1948 Last Updated: 07/31/2013 21:28 http://watchmanbiblestudy.com/articles/1948propheciesfulfilled.htm accessed 04/18/15)

But is what happened in Israel a possible fulfillment? No. Notice the verse mentioned above then others:

13 And I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land; I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, in the valleys and in all the inhabited places of the country. 14 I will feed them in good pasture, and their fold shall be on the high mountains of Israel. There they shall lie down in a good fold and feed in rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. 15 I will feed My flock, and I will make them lie down,” says the Lord God. 16 “I will seek what was lost and bring back what was driven away, bind up the broken and strengthen what was sick; but I will destroy the fat and the strong, and feed them in judgment.”

17 ‘And as for you, O My flock, thus says the Lord God: “Behold, I shall judge between sheep and sheep, between rams and goats. 18 Is it too little for you to have eaten up the good pasture, that you must tread down with your feet the residue of your pasture — and to have drunk of the clear waters, that you must foul the residue with your feet? 19 And as for My flock, they eat what you have trampled with your feet, and they drink what you have fouled with your feet.”

20 ‘Therefore thus says the Lord God to them: “Behold, I Myself will judge between the fat and the lean sheep. 21 Because you have pushed with side and shoulder, butted all the weak ones with your horns, and scattered them abroad, 22 therefore I will save My flock, and they shall no longer be a prey; and I will judge between sheep and sheep. 23 I will establish one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them — My servant David. He shall feed them and be their shepherd. 24 And I, the Lord, will be their God, and My servant David a prince among them; I, the Lord, have spoken.

25 “I will make a covenant of peace with them, and cause wild beasts to cease from the land; and they will dwell safely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods. 26 I will make them and the places all around My hill a blessing; and I will cause showers to come down in their season; there shall be showers of blessing. 27 Then the trees of the field shall yield their fruit, and the earth shall yield her increase. They shall be safe in their land; and they shall know that I am the Lord, when I have broken the bands of their yoke and delivered them from the hand of those who enslaved them. 28 And they shall no longer be a prey for the nations, nor shall beasts of the land devour them; but they shall dwell safely, and no one shall make them afraid. 29 I will raise up for them a garden of renown, and they shall no longer be consumed with hunger in the land, nor bear the shame of the Gentiles anymore. 30 Thus they shall know that I, the Lord their God, am with them, and they, the house of Israel, are My people,” says the Lord God.'” (Ezekiel 34:13-30)

The tiny nation of Israel since 1948 has NEVER truly dwelled safely. Furthermore, Israel is regularly ‘shamed’ by Gentiles via United Nations’ resolutions, terrorism, and various international statements and actions.

But most importantly, overwhelmingly number of Jews in Israel do not know the true God now as God. This has NOT yet been fulfilled, but will be later (see also Will the Anglo-Saxon Nations be Divided and Have People Taken as Slaves?).

What about the nation of Israel supposedly fulfilling the prophecies claimed to be related to Jesus’ parable of the fig tree?

Here are comments from two Protestant/Baptist prophecy interpreters:

Prophecy,…why is the subject so popular today? One word: Israel.

You see, none of the prophecies concerning the end times were relevant — much less understood — until Israel became a nation again in 1948.

In His parable concerning the fig tree, Jesus told His disciples that when it begins to put forth leaves, they would know that summer is near. In the same way, He said that the generation that saw all of the signs He listed occurring within the same time span, and increasing in frequency and intensity, should recognize that His coming is near.

Many of those “signs” involved the nation of Israel. But before there actually existed a nation of Israel, none of them made sense. (Lindsey H. The Hal Lindsey Report. 11-01-2013. http://www.hallindsey.com/the-hal-lindsey-report-11012013/)

And there is one main event in bible prophecy that had to happen to usher in the time that the bible calls the “Last Days”, or the “time of Jacob’s trouble”, and that event happened on May 14, 1948 … “Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer [is] nigh: So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, [even] at the doors. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.” Matthew 24:32-34

This is what’s known as the Fig Tree Prophecy. (The Fig Tree Prophecy of Matthew 24: How The Rebirth of Israel Signals The Last Days. http://www.nowtheendbegins.com/pages/the_fig_tree_prophecy.htm viewed 05/06/14)

Israel the fig tree has put forth its leaves and been reborn as a nation therefore the coming of Christ draws near. Luke 21:32 also states that a generation would not pass. A generation is between 70-100 years, Israel was established again on May 15, 1948. Jews are still immigrating back to Israel from nations far and wide, just like the Bible said they would. https://heavenawaits.wordpress.com/jewish-return-to-israel-in-end-times/ accessed 04/18/15

Here is one of the passages of scripture that certain ones believe relate to the 1948 formation of the State of Israel:

2 One basket had very good figs, like the figs that are first ripe; and the other basket had very bad figs which could not be eaten, they were so bad. 3 Then the Lord said to me, “What do you see, Jeremiah?”

And I said, “Figs, the good figs, very good; and the bad, very bad, which cannot be eaten, they are so bad.”

4 Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 5 “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: ‘Like these good figs, so will I acknowledge those who are carried away captive from Judah, whom I have sent out of this place for their own good, into the land of the Chaldeans. (Jeremiah 24:2-5)

Notice that the above ties Israel with figs, but only claims to bring the good figs back. Although I have seen the above shown as scriptural evidence that Jesus’ parable of the fig tree relates to the modern nation of Israel (https://heavenawaits.wordpress.com/jewish-return-to-israel-in-end-times/ accessed 04/18/15), that makes little sense as the modern Jews do not seem to be any closer to God than those in Jeremiah’s time. Furthermore, look at the other passages that follow:

6 For I will set My eyes on them for good, and I will bring them back to this land; I will build them and not pull them down, and I will plant them and not pluck them up. 7 Then I will give them a heart to know Me, that I am the Lord; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God, for they shall return to Me with their whole heart. (Jeremiah 24:6-7)

The above clearly has not happened. Not only has the nation of Israel NOT returned to God with their whole heart, that nation has also lost some of the land that it had in various ‘peace’ negotiations. Jewish settlers have been plucked up. Hence it is not appropriate to tie Jeremiah 24:2-7 to the modern nation of Israel.

Now why would anyone try? Well they do to attempt to prove that the nation of Israel is the fig tree that Jesus referred to in the gospels. Here is what Jesus said:

32 “Now learn this parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. 33 So you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near — at the doors! 34 Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place. 35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away. (Matthew 24:32-35)

28 “Now learn this parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already become tender, and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. 29 So you also, when you see these things happening, know that it is near — at the doors! 30 Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place. (Mark 13:28-30)

29 Then He spoke to them a parable: “Look at the fig tree, and all the trees. 30 When they are already budding, you see and know for yourselves that summer is now near. 31 So you also, when you see these things happening, know that the kingdom of God is near. 32 Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all things take place. (Luke 21:29-32)

We will get to what the “all things” Jesus referred to were. Before going there directly, perhaps it should be mentioned that although he believed that the 1948 recognition by the UN was a prophesied prophetic event, the late Protestant/Baptist scholar Dr. Walvoord wrote:

Matthew 24:32-35; Mark 13:28-21; Luke 21:29-33 … A common interpretation has been to interpret the fig tree as a type of Israel and the revival of Israel as the budding of the fig tree … there is no scriptural basis (Walvoord JF. Prophecy Handbook. Victor Books, 1990, pp. 390-391)

Not only was Dr. Walvoord correct that there is no scriptural basis, I will take it a step further. Unless a generation is over 70 years, it is NOT POSSIBLE THAT THE FORMATION OF THE STATE OF ISRAEL IN 1948 FULFILLED THE PARABLE OF THE FIG TREE IN MATTHEW, MARK, OR LUKE.

Why?

Jesus noted that the events in Matthew 24. Mark 13, and Luke 21 would all happen within the same generation. Biblically, a generation was normally considered only 30 or 40 years according to what seems to be Smith’s Bible Dictionary’s understanding of Job 42:16 (Smith W. Smith’s Bible Dictionary. Originally written 1863, Hendrickson Publishers, p. 211). Here is that scripture:

16 After this Job lived one hundred and forty years, and saw his children and grandchildren for four generations. (Job 42:16)

Essentially, 140 years divided by four generations equals what may be considered 35 years per generation, with 40 years more probable as that would make the grandchild of the last generation 20 years of age.

Even if a generation is biblically longer, it would not seem to be over 70 years or maybe 80:

10 The days of our lives are seventy years;
And if by reason of strength they are eighty years,
Yet their boast is only labor and sorrow;
For it is soon cut off, and we fly away. (Psalms 90:10)

70 years would seem to be the maximum length of a biblical generation. Since the Great Tribulation (Matthew 24:21) cannot possibly start prior to 2019 (and likely later, see When Will the Great Tribulation Begin? and/or watch Can the Great Tribulation Start in 2016?) and Jesus cannot return until 3 1/2 years later, if Jesus reference to “this generation” meant 70 years or less, then it is not possible that the view that the formation of the State of Israel was the first sign to count the fulfillment of much of Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21 could be biblically possible.

Getting back to Jesus’ statements about the parable of the fig tree, in the gospel account He specifically says that you need to look at the signs He listed earlier.

So, let’s look at the account in Matthew 24:

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

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

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

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

Some have apparently concluded that the State of Israel needed to form for the event in verse 15 to occur. And while that may well be, that was not the first of the items to be fulfilled in “this generation.” The generation either starts with the start of the “beginning of sorrows” or verse 9. And because Jesus said, “this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place” (Matthew 24:34), and those things included the sorrows, this really does not point the formation of the nation of Israel as the starting point.

As I wrote years ago, I have suspected that the beginning of sorrows may have begun on September 19, 2009 or shortly thereafter. There was an meeting of certain leaders in the Eastern Orthodox church around then that seemed to embrace the ecumenical agenda of the white horseman of Revelation 6:1-2, which is consistent with the first sorrow Jesus mentioned in Matthew 24:4-5. I perhaps should mentioned that I also told the presiding evangelist of my former church in November of 2009, that the beginning of sorrows may have started on September 19, 2009 or the next month, and not too long thereafter that church put out several writings that the beginning of sorrows had began.

If the beginning of sorrows began in 2009, then there is time in “this generation” to see the signs further fulfilled. The ecumenical agenda has really been pushed since that time, which is a sign that many Protestants have difficulty seeing. Certain Protestants have sadly also accepted that agenda themselves (e.g. Kenneth Copeland, Joel Osteen, Rick Warren, etc.).

Notice the following that may have necessitated having an Israeli nation in the Palestine/Judea region:

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

This is something that Jesus did refer to in Matthew 24:15. Of course, that prophecy about the sacrifices stopping will not be fulfilled until after the sacrifices are resumed, which having a Jewish nation could (and at some point in time will) do (see also Why is a Jewish Temple in Jerusalem Not Required?).

So, while the formation of the State of Israel was needed for the fulfillment of some aspects of prophecy, the 1948 formation itself did NOT trigger the time of “this generation.” However, it may well be that the events for the generation that Jesus spoke, started to formally occur around six or so years ago.

But to claim that a ‘generation’ needs to be over 70 years is a stretch that I do not believe should be looked at related to Israel in 1948. The start of the nation of Israel, because of its allusion in Matthew 24:15, was not the start of sorrows. The prophecies in Jeremiah and Ezekiel do not possibly point to what happened when Israel was formed in 1948.

Jesus is coming and Bible prophecy will be fulfilled. But do not rely on ‘traditions’ that are not in full accordance with the Bible.

A video of related interest is titled Israel, 1948, and Prophecy.

Some items of possibly related interest may include:

When Will the Great Tribulation Begin? 2016, 2017, or 2018? Can the Great Tribulation begin today? What happens before the Great Tribulation in the “beginning of sorrows”? What happens in the Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord? Is this the time of the Gentiles? When is the earliest that the Great Tribulation can begin? What is the Day of the Lord? Who are the 144,000? Here is a version of the article in the Spanish language: ¿Puede comenzar la Gran Tribulación en 2016 o 2017? ¿Es el Tiempo de los Gentiles? You can also see the English language sermon video: The Great Tribulation from the Mount of Olives. A shorter video is: Can the Great Tribulation Start in 2016?
Hope of Salvation: How the Continuing Church of God differ from most Protestants How the real Church of God differs from mainstream/traditional Protestants, is perhaps the question I am asked most by those without a Church of God background. As far as some changes affecting Protestantism, watch the video Charismatic Kenneth Copeland and Anglican Tony Palmer: Protestants Beware! [Português: Esperança do salvação: Como a igreja do deus difere da maioria de protestantes]
Dangerous Protestant Prophetic Errors What are some errors that various Protestants hold to that will tend to prevent them from knowing when the Great Tribulation will begin? A related video is titled Ten Dangerous Protestant Prophetic Errors.
Beware: Protestants Going Towards Ecumenical Destruction! What is going on in the Protestant world? Are Protestants turning back to their ‘mother church’ in Rome? Does the Bible warn about this? What are Catholic plans and prophecies related to this? Is Protestantism doomed? See also World Council of Churches Peace Plan.
Why is a Jewish Temple in Jerusalem Not Required? Although people like Timothy LaHaye teach a third Jewish temple is required, who is ‘the temple of God” in the New Testament? Does the Bible require a rebuilt Jewish Temple? Here is a related item in the Spanish language ¿Por qué no se requiere un templo judío en Jerusalén? Here is a link to a sermon titled The Temple, Prophecy, and the Work.
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.
Jerusalem To be divided and eliminated Many want Jerusalem. Who does the Bible teach will control Jerusalem? Will the Jews be forced out of Jerusalem and many made captive? What did Jesus teach about this? Are nations even now considering providing the prophesied armies to surround Jerusalem? What is Jerusalem Day? What is Nakba Day? What events should Christians watch in Jerusalem as signs that the Great Tribulation will begin? What is the solution to Jerusalem? This is a video.
Jerusalem: Past, Present, and Future What does the Bible say about Jerusalem and its future? Is Jerusalem going to be divided and eliminated? Is Jesus returning to the area of Jerusalem? There is also a related YouTube video you can watch titled Jerusalem To be divided and eliminated.
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.
Anglo – America in Prophecy & the Lost Tribes of Israel Are the Americans, Canadians, English, Scottish, Welsh, Australians, Anglo-Saxon (non-Dutch) Southern Africans, and New Zealanders descendants of Joseph? Where are the lost ten-tribes of Israel? Who are the lost tribes of Israel? What will happen to Jerusalem and the Jews in Israel? Will God punish the U.S.A., Canada, United Kingdom, and other Anglo-Saxon nations? Why might God allow them to be punished first? Here is a link to the Spanish version of this article: Anglo-América & las Tribus Perdidas de Israel. Information is also in the YouTube sermons titled Where are the Ten Lost Tribes? Why does it matter? and British are the Covenant People. A short YouTube of prophetic interest may be Barack Obama and the State of the Apocalypse.

COGwriter

The USA candidates are campaigning and hoping that they will either win or do “better then expected” in Tuesday’s New York primaries.

They all promote their ‘solutions’ to the economy of the USA.

Other than Ted Cruz, one subject they do not tend to talk about is gold. Gold is so valuable, it is called a ‘precious metal.’ For most of its history, the USA dollar used to be directly convertible to gold. It no longer is.

Going as far back as 1961, the USA was starting to not have enough gold to back its dollar, the Plain Truth reported:

Germany, Japan have the largest surpluses of GOLD and DOLLARS…Rich Uncle {Sam} has the greatest deficit in governmental history and a GREATER DEBT than all the REST OF THE WORLD COMBINED!…

Vast foreign aid programs drain the U.S. Treasury…American spending to supply services and to support our troops in foreign countries and military installations around the world amounts to…dollars flowing out of the frightened U.S. Treasury. All of these factors, combined with heavy taxes, gigantic public and private debt, and no gold backing for our own currency if foreign investors demanded gold for their dollars, adds up to the staggering revelation that the U.S., richest nation in the world, is bordering on bankruptcy! (Hill DJ. What the US Gold Crisis Means to You. Plain Truth. February 1961, p. 9).

France did finally cash in dollars for gold and this caused a crisis in the USA.

The USA’s answer was to go off the gold standard completely in 1971. About the same time it made a deal with Saudi Arabia to price oil in dollars. So, while this prevented “foreigners” from being able to redeem US dollars for something from the USA treasury, instead it meant that dollars could be used to by oil. As other (mostly smaller) oil producers followed Saudi Arabia’s lead, this has served to support the US dollar for several decades.

The USA is now the most indebted nation that the world has ever seen. Many are concerned.

Those in Russia, China, India, and Europe are looking more towards gold, and less towards the USA dollar to back their economies and their currencies.

Back in 1971, the Plain Truth mentioned gold and that a currency coming out of Europe would replace the USA dollar:

FOR 40 YEARS, (1931 to 1971) the American dollar reigned supreme in world trade and finance. From 1945 to 1958, the dollar was considered better than gold to most developing economies…

On August 15, 1971, President Nixon revealed his new economic plan. One part of the strategy was to cut loose the dollar from gold, in effect letting it “float” in foreign transactions until natural market pressure would decide its best value…

The European Common Currency appears to be the most likely successor to the dollar in this long line of monetary dynasties. Europe is the only continent with sufficient gold backing…

… and What About Gold?

The gold standard is not sacred. It is only about 100 years old in the history of man, a product of evolution as much as any social institution. But in a world of sovereign powers, there must be some standard to finance international trade and domestic currency. Gold has the confidence of more people than any other standard, especially in Europe. (Alexander G. America faces “The Dollar Crisis”. Plain Truth magazine, October 1971, pp. 3-4)

Other articles from the old WCG also predicted that the Europeans would end up with their own European currency and that it would be expected to replace the dollar.

All of this has been happening. As the USA continues to increase its debt, the value of the dollar will ultimately drop even more. The time will come when the USA dollar will be worthless and gold will be even more valuable.

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

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

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

16…’Alas, alas, that great city that was clothed in fine linen, purple, and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls! (Revelation 18:16)

4 The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls (Revelation 17:4)

There are no similar statements backing up the future value of paper items, like the US dollar or the British pound (scripture, indirectly, teaches their elimination, for details see Anglo – America in Prophecy & the Lost Tribes of Israel). Daniel 11:24 shows that the leader mentioned in Daniel 11:434 will somehow also be accumulating wealth prior to this time, and that may involve gold accumulation. Perhaps to back up a European supported currency, he also may end up with personal and/or national gold reserves and/or wealth from the Vatican. The Vatican has a vast amount of wealth and is prophesied to be improperly involved with the kings of the earth in the end times per Revelation 17.

The Bible is clear that a leader in Europe will be interested in gold in the end times.  Gold will have value when the USA dollar becomes worthless.  Now this does NOT mean that gold will only go up in value.  It will have ups and downs and probably will drop in value once associated with the temporary peace deal that Daniel 9:27 alludes to (see also The ‘Peace Deal’ of Daniel 9:27).

This does not mean that gold will not drop in value (it goes up and down all the time). But unless there is national repentance across the USA, the USA dollar will ultimately be worth less than the cotton-paper it is printed on. None of the presidential hopefuls will be able to stop it.

Unlike the USA dollar,gold seems to be prophesied to retain value past that time the USA is gone (cf. Daniel 11:43; Revelation 18)–though it too will end up with issues and one day be worthless (Ezekiel 7: 19).

Some items of possibly related interest may include:

The Plain Truth About Gold in Prophecy. How Should a Christian View Gold? What do economists and the Bible teach about gold? Gold and silver may drop in value. Inflation/deflation? What do Christians need to know about gold?
Just What Do You Mean — Repentance? Do you know what repentance is? Have you truly repented? Repented of what? Herbert W. Armstrong wrote this as a booklet on this important subject.
When You Sin: Do You Really Repent? This is an article by Charles F. Hunting. A related sermon is Confess to God and truly repent.
Do Christians Sin? This is an article by Herbert W. Armstrong.
Europa, the Beast, and Revelation Where did Europe get its name? What might Europe have to do with the Book of Revelation? What about “the Beast”? Is an emerging European power “the daughter of Babylon”? What is ahead for Europe? Here is a link to a video titled: Can You Prove that the Beast to Come is European?
European Technology and the Beast of Revelation Will the coming European Beast power would use and develop technology that will result in the taking over of the USA and its Anglo-Saxon allies? Is this possible? What does the Bible teach? Here is a related YouTube video: Military Technology and the Beast of Revelation.
Anglo – America in Prophecy & the Lost Tribes of Israel Are the Americans, Canadians, English, Scottish, Welsh, Australians, Anglo-Saxon (non-Dutch) Southern Africans, and New Zealanders descendants of Joseph? Where are the lost ten-tribes of Israel? Who are the lost tribes of Israel? What will happen to Jerusalem and the Jews in Israel? Will God punish the U.S.A., Canada, United Kingdom, and other Anglo-Saxon nations? Why might God allow them to be punished first? Here is a link to the Spanish version of this article: Anglo-América & las Tribus Perdidas de Israel. Information is also in the YouTube sermons titled Where are the Ten Lost Tribes? Why does it matter? and British are the Covenant People. A short YouTube of prophetic interest may be Barack Obama and the State of the Apocalypse.
Will the Anglo-Saxon Nations be Divided and Have People Taken as Slaves? Will the lands of the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand be divided? What about Jerusalem? What does Bible prophecy teach? Are there non-biblical prophecies that support this idea? Who will divide those lands? Who will end up with the lands and the people? Here is a link to a video titled Will the USA and other Anglo-nations be Divided and Their People Made Slaves? Here is a related item in the Spanish language ¿Serán divididas las naciones anglosajonas?
British are the Covenant People What do ‘British’ and ‘Britain’ mean in Hebrew? Are the descendants of the Anglo-Saxons people of the covenant? Does the British royal family connect to the throne of David? What does the Bible teach? What does history show us? Is there any DNA evidence related to British-Israelism? When did Christianity make it to the British Isles? Could Jeremiah have made it to the British Isles? What type of Christians made it to the British Isles? Did the last King of England believe in British Israelism?
Barack Obama, Prophecy, and the Destruction of the United States-Second Edition for Second Obama Term This is a 160 page book for people truly interested in prophecies related to Barack Obama and the United States, including learning about many that have already been fulfilled (which the book documents in detail) and those that will be fulfilled in the future. It also has a chapter about a Republican choice. This book is available to order at www.barackobamaprophecy.com. The physical book can also be purchased at Amazon from the following link: Barack Obama, Prophecy, and the Destruction of the United States: Is Barack Obama Fulfilling Biblical, Islamic Catholic, Kenyan, and other America-Related Prophecies? What About Republican Leaders? Second Edition for Second Obama Term.
Barack Obama, Prophecy, and the Destruction of the United States-Second Term-Amazon Kindle edition. This electronic version is available for only US$2.99. 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 Barack Obama, Prophecy, and the Destruction of the United States-Second Term-Amazon Kindle edition.
Donald Trump in Prophecy Prophecy, Donald Trump? Are there prophecies that Donald Trump may fulfill?  Are there any prophecies that he has already helped fulfill?  Could a Donald Trump presidency be apocalyptic?  A related video is titled Could Donald Trump be Apocalyptic?
Hillary Clinton, Prophecy, and the Destruction of the United States This is a 188 page book for people truly interested in prophecies related to Hillary Clinton and the United States, including learning about many that have already been fulfilled and those that will be fulfilled in the future. It also discusses Republicans. The physical book can be purchased at Amazon from the following link: Hillary Clinton, Prophecy, and the Destruction of the United States: Is Hillary Clinton Fulfilling Biblical, Islamic Catholic, Hopi, and other America-Related Prophecies? $11.99.
Hillary Clinton, Prophecy, and the Destruction of the United States-Amazon Kindle edition. This electronic version of the 188 page print 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 Hillary Clinton, Prophecy, and the Destruction of the United States-Amazon Kindle edition.

COGwriter

The latest issue (says #180, print date January 31 2016) of The Journal was sent out electronically and just received. This was another relatively short edition.

Items covered included information on Ron Dart’s death and the life of the late David Jon Hill.  Actually, most of the issue had to do with Ronald Dart, ads, and David Jon Hill.

Here is information related to Ron Dart as reported in The Journal :

TYLER, Texas—Ronald Lee Dart, 82, founder of Christian Educational Ministries and the Born to Win radio broadcast, died Jan. 23, 2016. The official cause of death was a “prolonged battle with cutaneous T cell lymphoma,” a type of skin cancer, announced CEM office manager Linda Benton. Ms. Benton said Mr. Dart “died peacefully in his sleep.” He had never fully recovered from an injury to his head caused by a fall at his residence in 2010. …

Mr. Dart served as a pastor of a congregation of the Radio Church of God and returned to Ambassador in Pasadena, Calif., to work on his master’s degree in theology. He later did graduate work in communications at the University of Texas, Austin. Mr. Dart eventually taught speech and theology at Ambassador College, as well as serving as the school’s deputy chancellor and executive vice president.

Alongside his college duties, he served as pastor of the Big Sandy Worldwide Church of God 1973-76. Joined CGI in ’78 After Garner Ted Armstrong left the WCG in 1978, Mr. Dart joined up with him in his new Church of God International, based in Tyler.

After differences with the CGI in 1995, Mr. Dart left the church and founded Christian Educational Ministries, based in nearby Whitehouse, with his wife, the former Allie Driver, in November of that year. (CEM is known as Christian Educational Services in some countries.) Mr. Dart’s Born to Win is heard on several radio stations throughout the United States.

Mr. Dart was preceded in death by his father, mother and sister, Nana Williams. He is survived by his wife of 62 years. Mr. Dart’s funeral took place at Stewart Family Funeral Home in Tyler, with a United Church of God elder, Jonathan Garnant of Yorba Linda, Calif., officiating.

After Dixon Cartwright contacted me, I reported about Ronald Dart’s death here a couple of weeks ago (see CEM’s Ronald Dart died and Ronald Dart’s funeral). Information on CEM is included in the article Teachings of Christian Educational Ministries.

In its previous couple of issues, The Journal re-ran an article from David Jon Hill who died November 23, 2003, that he had written for The Journal in 2003.  In this issue, Brian Knowles wrote the following about David Jon Hill:

Jon the teacher

Jon Hill taught several classes at Ambassador College in Pasadena. His most famous was Old Testament Survey. He owned that class.

Many a student roared with laughter as Jon made those OT stories of Abraham and Sarah live. His sense of humor was unique, based on a keen and penetrating understanding of human nature.

Jon understood that the best writing and the most memorable sermons are built around stories, not “string of pearls” concordance like Scripture passages. Much of the Bible is narrative. Jon was one of the WCG’s best speakers and writers because he was a natural storyteller. His memories of life were told in anecdotes.

He seemed to see the Bible as a series of scenes in which people acted out minidramas that depicted life’s great spiritual truths. Jon saw the humor in everything, even in the direst of situations. Jon also taught a class called Theological Journalism.

Eventually he passed that class on to me to teach and I became an official faculty member at AC. I also guest-lectured in his OTS class and speech classes and occasionally in Epistles.

I am not certain if I ever met David Jon Hill.  He did a lot of research on Catholic private prophecies and how some of them will be used to mislead people in the end times. Two of his articles related to that were published by the old Radio Church of God. Here are links to both of them: Christ or Antichrist? and Will You Be Deceived by Antichrist? He also wrote about how to study the Bible: How to Study the Bible.

Additionally, The Journal also had the usual letters to the editor and other advertisements, various comments, and opinion articles. The advertisements mainly seem to be from possibly Laodicean groups and/or individuals (not all seem to be COG) who seem to think that the ads are somehow doing the work. More of the real work the COGs should be doing are in the article The Final Phase of the Work.

The Journal itself is available by paid subscription (though Dixon Cartwright says some subscriptions are free to those who cannot afford it).  It tends to have a non-Philadelphian approach to many matters.

COGwriter

Hebert W. Armstrong died on January 16, 1986, at age 93 1/2. Many never heard of him, but multiple millions did. His death seemed to mark the end of the predominance of the Philadelphia era of the Church of God and the predominance of the Laodicean era instead and many Laodicean groups formed since his death.

Despite his claim that he would follow in his footsteps, Herbert Armstrong’s chosen successor in the old Worldwide Church of God, the late Joseph Tkach, Sr., did not remain faithful to the teachings that many of us believe God inspired Herbert Armstrong to restore to the church. Here are Some Quotes from Herbert W. Armstrong on Laodicea and Holding Fast to Doctrine.

Since Herbert W. Armstrong’s death, many who declared that they believed the doctrines he claimed to restore to the Church of God, either repudiated everything or at least several of those doctrines.  Some others, improperly, somewhat idolized him.

But then there are those who still agree with the following teaching of Herbert W. Armstrong:

“Don’t believe me – BELIEVE YOUR BIBLE – BELIEVE GOD! I always say…check up! Listen without prejudice, with open mind, then check up–go to your BIBLE, and BELIEVE what you read there.” (Herbert W. Armstrong, Plain Truth magazine, Sept. 1963, Personal pg.1)

Herbert Armstrong made mistakes, and often big ones.  He also had his own character flaws, though not all things written against him are true (see 15 Accusations and Truthful Responses About Herbert W. Armstrong).

But I do not want the focus of this post to be on the person of Herbert W. Armstrong, but on the biblically-correct teachings he claimed to restore to the Philadelphian portion of the Church of God that he claimed were lost through the ages by the time he encountered the Sardis era of the Church of God.

Herbert W. Armstrong wrote:

At least 18 basic and essential truths have been restored to the True Church since” the year 1933 (Mystery of the Ages, Dodd & Mead, 1985, p. 251.

The only Church of God group that specifically lists all of those truths as part of their official beliefs is the Continuing Church of God.  Notice that portion of the Statement of Beliefs of the Continuing Church of God:

1. True Gospel (An article of related interest may include The Gospel of the Kingdom of God was the Emphasis of Jesus and the Early Church.)

2. Purpose of God (An article of related interest may include Deification: Did the Early Church Teach That Christians Would Become God?).

3. God’s Plan through the Holy Days (Several articles of possibly related interest may include Is There “An Annual Worship Calendar” In the Bible?, Passover and the Early Church, and Did Early Christians Observe the Fall Holy Days?)

4. Proper Church Government (Two articles of possibly related interest may include The Bible, Polycarp, Herbert W. Armstrong, and Roderick C. Meredith on Church Government and Polycarp’s Letter to the Philippians.)

5. Who and What is God? (An article of related interest may include One God, Two Beings Before the Beginning.)

6. What and Why is Man? (Two articles of possibly related interest may include What is the Meaning of Life? and Did Early Christians Believe that Humans Possessed Immortality?)

7. Spirit in Man (An article of possibly related interest may include Did Early Christians Believe that Humans Possessed Immortality?)

8. Firstfruits In this Age (An article of related interest may include Pentecost: Is it more than Acts 2?)

9. Knowledge of What the Millennium Truly Is (An article of related interest may include Did The Early Church Teach Millenarianism and a 6000 Year Plan?)

10. Truth About the Holy Spirit (An article of related interest may include Did Early Christians Think the Holy Spirit Was A Separate Person in a Trinity?)

11. Christians are Begotten Now (An article of related interest may include Born Again: A Question of Semantics?)

12. Born-Again at the Resurrection (An article of related interest may include Born Again: A Question of Semantics?)

13. Identity of Physical Israel (An article of related interest may include Anglo – America in Prophecy & the Lost Tribes of Israel.)

14. How the Identity of Israel Opens Up Understanding of Bible Prophecy (An article of related interest may include Anglo – America in Prophecy & the Lost Tribes of Israel.)

15. Second and Third Tithes (An article of related interest may include Is Third Tithe Still Valid Today?)

16. Identity of Babylon and Her Daughters (Three articles of possibly related interest may include Europa, the Beast, and Revelation, Which Is Faithful: The Roman Catholic Church or the Genuine Church of God?, and Hope of Salvation: How the Genuine Church of God differ from most Protestants.)

17. Satan has Deceived the Whole World (An article possibly related interest may be The Day of Atonement–Its Christian Significance.)

18. We Are to Be Separate (Two articles of related interest may include Why Be Concerned About False and Heretical Leaders? and Overview: How Does the Church of God Agree and Disagree with Other Faiths Professing Christ?)

We in the Continuing Church of God do not simply believe these truths because Herbert W. Armstrong came up with a list.  We believe them because they are biblically accurate and, as applicable, consistent with aspects of church history.

Without going into more detail here, the second century writings of Theophilus of Antioch, for example, demonstrate that Christians believed that they were to be born again at the resurrection (Theophilus of Antioch. To Autolycus, Book 2, Chapter XV) and other early writings do demonstrate that there were those who professed Christ after the death of the original apostles that seemed to hold to those “restored truths.”  Judeo-Christians of the first few centuries A.D. seemed to understand at least some of the identity of physical Israel and tried to get the gospel message to them (e.g. James 1:1).

Consider also, in his October 1979 Plain Truth article titled 7 Proofs of God’s True Church, Herbert W. Armstrong listed seven proofs that he felt that the Philadelphia portion of the true Church of God would have.  These included knowing/teaching 1) Who and What is God?, 2) The Government of God and Creation of Holy and Righteous Character, 3) Who and What is Man?, 4) The Truth About Israel, 5) The True Gospel, 6) What and Why the Church?, and 7) The Priority of Teaching of the Reign of the Kingdom of God. He felt that the, then, Worldwide Church of God had all of those. We in the Continuing Church of God do as well.

Specifically related to those we teach:

1)      The view that early Christians had on the Godhead,

2)      The government of God (hierarchical with the Father as highest in authority and operates under His loving laws) and His goal of developing righteous character (Romans 5:4; Matthew 5:48) with doctrinal assistance from His ministry (Ephesians 4:11-16),

3)      That God intentionally created humans physical (Genesis 2:7) and that those He calls (John 6:44) can become spiritual (1 Corinthians 15:45-48) in the family of God (Ephesians 3:14-19),

4)      The identity of modern Israel and how that ties in with prophecy (cf. Genesis 48, 49; 2 Kings 12:19-20; 16:5-6; James 1:1; Daniel 11:39),

5)      Christ’s gospel of the kingdom (Mark 1:14-15; Acts 1:1-3),

6)      That the church does the work of God (Matthew 24:14; 28:19-20; John 6:29; Revelation 3:7-13; 1 Corinthians 12:1-31; 16:9; 2 Corinthians 6:14-18; Ephesians 5:25-32) in truth (Psalm 33:4; Isaiah 61:8; John 17:17; 2 Timothy 2:15),

7)      The proper priority of proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom to the world as a witness (Matthew 24:14) and the soon-coming millennium (Revelation 20:4), while teaching disciples all things that Jesus commanded (Matthew 28:19-20).

After the death of Herbert Armstrong, his human successor entered into apostasy and renounced most of the unique Church of God doctrines. The true church continued as many left that organization and many other organizations have since formed. Apostasy has happened from New Testament times (e.g. 1 John 2:18-19) and is one reason why tracing true Christian church history can be difficult.

While many Church of God groups have leaders that claim most or all of those seven points, nearly all have failed to truly practice Herbert Armstrong’s points 2, 6, and 7, and have misunderstood some of the others.  At least one group that believes it is a leader in 6 & 7 above, knowingly and intentionally, has made that proclamation with materials it knew contained doctrinal errors that were not the truth.  That willingness to spread a false message shows that they are not leading the final phase of the work of God—the work of God MUST BE DONE IN TRUTH per Psalm 33:4.  The LORD said, “I will direct their work in truth” (Isaiah 61:8), and those who knowingly publish and distribute doctrinal errors obviously are not accepting the LORD’s direction.

Many other groups discount points 6 & 7. Yet, here is also something that Herbert W. Armstrong wrote related to points 6 and to parts of point 7:

In Matthew 28:19-20, God’s order is 1) go and preach the Gospel (compare with Mark’s version, same words of Jesus, Mark 16:15); 2) baptize those who repent and believe; then after that, 3) teach them to observe the commandments” (Autobiography of Herbert W. Armstrong, p. 523).

PURPOSE of the Church, 1) proclaiming the coming kingdom of God to the world and 2) feeding the flock.

The “loner”–the “individual Christian,” who wants to climb up into the kingdom some other way than by CHRIST and HIS WAY through his CHURCH–is not being trained in CHRIST’S MANNER OF TRAINING, to rule and reign with Christ in his kingdom! (Mystery of the Ages, p.270).

Herbert Armstrong also taught, “with modern facilities for mass communication – the printing press, radio, television, even the telephone by which one may reach another in any part of the world in a matter of minutes or less – can reach more people by far than all of the first century apostles combined.” (7 Proofs of God’s True Church, Part 6. Plain Truth, August 1979).

We in the Continuing Church of God are utilizing 21^st century methods for mass communication including the printing press, radio, YouTube television, the telephone, and of course the internet, which can even be faster than the forms of mass communication that Herbert Armstrong used.  We have reached multiple millions with the gospel of the kingdom and have the type of proclamation and prophetic truths that Jesus said should be the criteria to know the true from the false in Matthew 7:15-18.

These truths are also listed in our free booklet Where is the True Christian Church Today?

But many once part of the old Worldwide Church of God no longer believe several truths.

Jesus warned the Philadelphians to “Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown” (Revelation 3:11), and this would seemingly have to include the doctrinal truths that were restored to the Philadelphia portion of the Church of God. The Bible also warns that people who seem to be believers will “fall away” from the truth and while that has happened in the past, it will again happen in the future (cf. Daniel 11:30-35; 1 Timothy 4:1). Some who once claimed to be Philadelphians have not held fast to that teaching either.

Herbert Armstrong ultimately believed that a dream, which had two proclamation parts, was a prophecy from God for him to enter the ministry, which he did, and he completed the first proclamation part of the dream.  Thirty years after his death, the only group that has claimed to be working towards completing the second part of that dream is the Continuing Church of God.Three articles of related interest may include Dreams, the Bible, the Radio Church of God, and the Continuing Church of God, The Final Phase of the Work, and Should the Church Still Try to Place its Top Priority on Proclaiming the Gospel or Did Herbert Armstrong Change that Priority for the Work?

Most groups with leaders once part of the old Worldwide Church of God discount all dreams and have not placed the public proclamation of the kingdom of God to the world as their true initial priority (Matthew 24:14; 28:19), do not fully understand all of the restored truths, and have not valued the truth enough, hence they have shown that they are not the possessors of what has been called the “Philadelphia mantle” (leadership authority).  The group with said mantle is also represented by the “woman” of Revelation 12:14-17.

The Book of Hebrews teaches:

¹ Let brotherly love continue. (Hebrews 13:1)

Why bring that up here?  Because the word translated as “brotherly love” is the Greek word Philadelphia. Philadelphia was to continue, even into this Laodicean time, as well as be present (to a degree) throughout the history of the Church of God. Philadelphians are deeply caring people.

Part of Herbert W. Armstrong’s legacy is that he took the Bible to be the word of God and taught:

…the Bible tells us to PROVE all things (Armstrong HW. The RESURRECTION was NOT on Sunday. 1952).

Which of course, it does as the Apostle Paul wrote:

21 Prove all things; hold fast that which is good (1 Thessalonians 5:21, KJV).

More on Philadelphia-era doctrines and priorities can be found in the article The Philadelphia Church Era.

Those interested in learning more about Herbert W. Armstrong, should read the article Who Was Herbert W. Armstrong? How is He Viewed Today?

Several items of possibly related interest include:

Who Was Herbert W. Armstrong? How is He Viewed Today? Includes quotes from the 1973 edition of The Autobiography of Herbert W. Armstrong and explains how he is and should be viewed today.
15 Accusations and Truthful Responses About Herbert W. Armstrong He, even after his death, keeps being improperly maligned–here is the truth on these matters.
18 Truths Restored to the Churches of God Herbert W. Armstrong wrote that he felt he had restored at least 18 lost truths to the Church, here is Herbert W. Armstrong’s list given 12/17/83. This articles also has links to show that these truths were believed by professors of Christ in earlier times, hence they were not some invention of Herbert Armstrong.Here is a related link in Spanish/español: Lista de Herbert W. Armstrong de las 18 verdades restauradas.
Do You Believe God Used Herbert W. Armstrong to Raise Up the Philadelphia Era of the Church of God? Nearly everyone while in WCG used to believe this, most do not seem to anymore.
The Final Phase of the Work What is the final phase of the work? Who will lead it? Do you have the courage to support it? Here is a related YouTube video titled The Final Phase of the Work. The written article has been translated into Spanish La Fase Final de la Obra.
Leading the Final Phase of the Work Matthew 24:14 teaches “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come ” will be fulfilled and RCG is not the group doing this. Who is leading the final phase of the work? What did Herbert Armstrong and the old WCG teach about that and about prophets? Does Bob Thiel meet the criteria that the Bible and the old WCG set? What is the proof? What has the Continuing Church of God been doing? This is a sermonette length video.
Should the Church Still Try to Place its Top Priority on Proclaiming the Gospel or Did Herbert W. Armstrong Change that Priority for the Work? Some say the Church should mainly feed the flock now as that is what Herbert W. Armstrong reportedly said. Is that what he said? Is that what the Bible says? What did Paul and Herbert W. Armstrong expect from evangelists?
Here are Some Quotes from Herbert W. Armstrong on Laodicea and Holding to Doctrine.
Continuing Church of God The group striving to be most faithful amongst all real Christian groups to the word of God.
5. The Sardis Church Era was predominant circa 1600 A.D. to circa 1933 A.D. Discusses early history of the Seventh Day Baptists, Seventh-day Adventists, and COG-7th Day.
6. The Philadelphia Church Era was predominant circa 1933 A.D. to 1986 A.D. The old Radio Church of God and old Worldwide Church of God, now the remnant of that era is basically the most faithful in the Church of God, like who hold to the beliefs and practices of the Continuing Church of God.
7. The Laodicean Church Era has been predominant circa 1986 A.D. to present. The Laodiceans are non-Philadelphians who mainly descended from the old WCG or its offshoots.  They do not properly understand the work or biblical prophecies and will face the Great Tribulation if they do not repent. One video of related interest is 17 Laodicean Errors in Prophecy.

COGwriter

Back in the old Radio Church of God (which became the old Worldwide Church of God) was an article by David Jon Hill that had the following:

Will YOU be Deceived by ANTICHRIST?

Events are plunging toward the eventful climax of Christ’s return. Will you recognize the REAL CHRIST when he returns?
by David Jon Hill…

Catholic Interest in ProphecyGod declares that the endtime pope will be a false prophet, yet the pope has never declared himself to be a prophet. When will he deceive the world into thinking that he foresees future events? What events will he foretell? How will these prophecies affect you? How can you keep from being deceived?

A recently published book reveals a startling Catholic interest in endtime prophecy. This book, together with tradition and the writings of some of the “early church Fathers,” brings to light an eye-opening preview of the false prophecies that are about to be preached!

Satan knows God’s general Plan. He has been at work in the minds of evil and deluded men throughout the ages to lay the groundwork of the GREAT DELUSION ! Though the vials of the wrath of God are poured out on sinful men, their impenitence remains–“AND THEY REPENTED NOT” (Rev. 16:9)…

Giant Rehabilitation Program

The “mop-up operation” that will follow the return of Christ, in which you may be employed, will be the greatest in all history!

It is difficult to realize the total chaos that will exist! The truth of your Bible revealed in the pages of Revelation is not just “apocalyptic writing”- but these revelations are from the Almighty God who foresaw this cnd of civilization and realized as He told us Himself in Matthew 24:22 that, “Except those days should be shortened, there should NO FLESH BE SAVED ALIVE!”

So let your mind dwell for a moment on the REALITY of this. Let the truth sink in! This will be a time such as the earth has NEVER FACED BEFORE.

No ships are plying the sea, no forests cover the mountainsides, no grass clothes the plains, whole islands have disappeared into the sea, mountain chains have been wrenched out of shape, peaks have become valleys and valleys have become plateaus. Even the earth itself is not circling the sun in its proper orbit, but reeling like a drunken man through the solar system!

In a situation such as this only those who have God’s Truth could be expected to be sane! “The public service of God shall be extinguished . . . at that time silver and gold shall be cast out in the streets, and none shall gather them; but all things shall be an offence” (Ibid. Hippolytus, section XXXIV).

The “public service,” the Catholic Mass, will not be allowed! Silver and gold won’t be worth anything to man, because you cannot buy God–only repentance will be worth anything in that day! “And they shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, for fear of the Lord, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth. In that day a man shall cast his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which they made each one for himself to worship, to the moles and to the bats!” (Isa. 2:19-20.)

The supreme government on earth is the Government of God. Christ Himself, with all of the saints born into His Kingdom with Him, and the multitudes of Israel coming out of captivity are abiding in peace at Jerusalem. “Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS. Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that they shall no more say, The Lord liveth, which brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt; but, The Lord liveth, which brought up and which led the seed of the house of Israel out of the NORTH COUNTRY, and from ALL COUNTRIES whither I had driven them: and they shall DWELL IN THEIR OWN LAND” (Jer. 23:5-8).

The first twenty-six verses of Jeremiah 31 repeat again the establishment of peace and God’s rule at Jerusalem over Israel and over His born-again Sons. Read it yourself!

During this same time, “He shall judge among many people, and rebuke STRONG NATIONS AFAR OFF; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more” (Mic. 4:3).

Millennia1 Pioneers

Then, after a period of time-including the three and one-half years of the ministry of Jesus Christ which He has yet to finish as a personal ministry to Israel–those of us who are the born Sons of God and the physical seed of Israel will go forth from Jerusalem to establish government, peace and prosperity. The laws of God will be taught to all the peoples of the earth, beginning at Jerusalem. “Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man, and with the seed of beast” (Jer. 31 :27).

When you come to them and say, “This is THE WAY, WALK YE IN IT!” (Isa. 30:21), when you begin to explain to them that the Christianity they have known is FALSE, that the Sabbath is the seventh day of the week-even when you are able to read the thoughts of their minds-it is STILL GOING TO SENSES! They will have been deceived ahead of time by a clever satanic-inspired prophecy. They will believe that you are teaching exactly these things which they have been told are false! Yes, believe it or not, Satan knows the Scripture-he TREMBLES AT GOD’S WORD BECAUSE HE KNOWS IT WILL COME TO PASS! And he will have tried his best, by his method of CONFUSING THE FACTS, to so deceive this last generation as to frustrate the Plan nf God in setting tip His government in the Millennium. Even though Satan himself is restrained at this time from further deceiving the nations, HE HAS BE DIFFICULT TO BRING THEM TO THEIR ALREADY DECEIVED THIS LAST GENERATION!

Listen to this satanic delusion: “Antichrist will be an iconoclast [against idols). Most of the world will adore him. He will teach that the Christian religion is false, confiscation of Christian property is legal, Saturday is to be observed instead of Sunday, and he will change the Ten Commandments [that is, restore them in their ORIGINAL FORM, including the declaration against idols). All his wonders could not be written in a book. They will be more wonderful than the Old and New Testaments! . . . he will read people’s minds, raise the dead, REWARD HIS FOLLOWERS AND PUNISH THE REST”! (Prophecy For Today; from Dionysius of Luxemberg, d. 1682.) AND, “. . . He will begin by affecting RESPECT FOR THE LAW OF MOSES’(’Ibid.; from Frederick William Faber, d. 1863).

The Pope’s Prophecy

Here we see in full the prophecies this endtime false prophet will preach. He will attribute Jesus Christ’s intervention in world affairs to the person and the workings of Antichrist!

Christ is the One who is AGAINST IDOLS! Christ is the One who will show how perverted this world’s “Christianity” has become-that it is a FALSE RELIGION! Christ is the Lord of the Old Testament whose day of worship is the seventh day, INSTEAD OF SUNDAY! CHRIST is the One who gave the Ten Commandments in their ORIGINAL FORM, and will restore them. CHRIST IS THE ONE WHO WILL RAISE THE DEAD AND REWARD HIS FOLLOWERS. . . HE IS GOD, AND THERE IS NONE LIKE HIM!

So we see here the diabolical plot hatched by this professed “Christian” leader. Here is the age-old attempt of Satan the Devil to arrogate to himself and to his deceived minions the OFFICE OF GOD; while he attributes the intervention of the True Christ in his returning glory to the PERSON AND ACTION OF ANTICHRIST!

This charges the office and work of the Holy Spirit as having its origin as a WORK OF THE DEVIL, AND CONSTITUTES UNPARDONABLE SIN!

These diabolical thoughts, ensconced in the fear-ridden minds of completely deceived human beings, WILL BE DIFFICULT TO DISLODGE! You will need all the power God bestows on you as His born son to do the job He will give you to do.

Peace At Last!

Egypt is an example of all the nations who refuse to come up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles, to recognize God as the Ruler of the earth. Then we see the last rebellion put down as those from the far corners of the earth up in Siberia, and in the provinces of China-the farthest spot on earth from Jerusalem-will swoop down upon in a vain effort to take away the great riches that God has bestowed on His peace-loving people. A thousand years of peace and prosperity, health and happiness stretch beyond that time that cannot be imagined in your mind.

And think of it, brethren, YOU have been called to help God bring His peace to this earth! You are offered a sonship in the Kingdom of God to teach other people how to become God ! By overcoming yourself daily. By getting close to God in prayer and Bible study. By learning how to live yourself. By setting a Christian example in overmming the petty sins that weight you down.

As one last illustration of the reality of this fact please turn to Isaiah 19, and begin reading in Verse 16, “In that day shall Egypt be like unto women: and it shall be afraid and fear because of the shaking of the hand of the Lord of hosts, which he shaketh over it. . . In that day shall there be a highway out of Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrian shall come into Egypt, and the Egyptian into Assyria, and the Egyptians shall serve with the Assyrians. In that day shall Israel be the third with Egypt and with Assyria, even a blessing in the midst of the land: whom the Lord of hosts shall bless, saying, BLESSED BE EGYPT MY PEOPLE, AND ASSYRIA THE WORK OF MY HANDS, AND ISRAEL MINE INHERITANCE!” (Isa. 19:23-25.)

This is real, brethren, and you need to realize it!

THE REWARD OF THE RIGHTEOUS IS NOT ETERNAL RETIREMENT, BUT A REAL, DOWN-TO-EARTH, 24 – HOUR – A – DAY JOB. . . . EMPLOYMENT FOR ETERNITY, JOYFUL WORK!

David Jon Hill in that article, as well as one three years prior, made it clear that part of Satan’s plan is laid out in non-biblical prophecies and that God’s people will need to know how to deal with those that will be misled about them. This is part of why various prophetic sources are referred to at COGwriter. Christians are not to be ignorant of Satan’s devices (2 Corinthians 2:11) and “doctrines of demons” (1 Timothy 4:1) will affect many in the end times.

From Elijah denouncing the prophets of Baal (1 Kings 18:19-40) to Jeremiah denouncing the prophecies of the falsely claimed “Queen of Heaven” (Jeremiah 44:17-25) to realizing how the 21st century will be affected by false prophets, God’s spokesmen have had to deal with those who wanted to believe false prophecies more than the God of the Bible. Perhaps if more realize this now, some additional ones will have the “love of the truth” (2 Thessalonians 2:10) and be spared from falling for the deception that will come from false prophets and those who believe false prophecies.

I would add that while certain Catholic prophecies suggest that the Antichrist will be a pope (or, perhaps more properly, antipope as he will not truly believe the Roman Catholic faith), that other Catholic propheicies misidentify that Antichrist as Jesus and several of those are in the article by David Jon Hill.

TRANSFORMED FROM TRUTH

COGwriter

This afternoon, I received an email from GCI (Grace Communion International, essentially the group that originally ran the new Worldwide Church of God) today with a link to a letter and a video message from its J. Tkach. His message states:

On Christmas Eve 1906, a former Edison engineer named Reginald Fessenden broadcast the first music ever played on the radio. The song he chose was “Oh Holy Night.” He played the opening on his violin, and then sang the rest – though he later admitted his singing wasn’t very good.

But good or not, the words of the song rang true…

No, the night of December 24th/25th was not holy to the God of the Bible.

All the biblical Holy Days are listed in Leviticus 23 and none occur in December.

Why did Christmas end up on December 25th?

Because that was the day of celebration of the birthday of the sun-god Mithra and December 25th also took place during the Saturnalia, hence it was acceptable to at least two groups of pagans. Followers of Mithra represented an influential group in the Roman Empire. Other practices associated with Mithraism have become part of the Roman and Orthodox Catholic churches (such as their communion services) (for more details, please check out the documented article Do You Practice Mithraism?).

Notice the following:

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

Until the Council of Nicea, the December 25th Christmas holiday was not even accepted by the Roman Catholics.

But Emperor Constantine, who was a follower of Mithra, decided that the date of Mithra’s birthday should also be the date to celebrate Jesus’ date of birth:

The first recorded date of Christmas being celebrated on December 25th was in 336AD, during the time of the Roman Emperor Constantine (he was the first Christian Roman Emperor). A few years later, Pope Julius I officially declared that the birth of Jesus would be celebrated on the 25th December. (Why is Christmas Day on the 25th December? http://www.whychristmas.com/customs/25th.shtml accessed 12/07/15)

The eventual choice of December 25, made perhaps as early as 273, reflects a convergence of Origen’s concern about pagan gods and the church’s identification of God’s son with the celestial sun. December 25 already hosted two other related festivals: natalis solis invicti (the Roman “birth of the unconquered sun”), and the birthday of Mithras, the Iranian “Sun of Righteousness” whose worship was popular with Roman soldiers. The winter solstice, another celebration of the sun, fell just a few days earlier. Seeing that pagans were already exalting deities with some parallels to the true deity, church leaders decided to commandeer the date and introduce a new festival.

Western Christians first celebrated Christmas on December 25 in 336, after Emperor Constantine had declared Christianity the empire’s favored religion. (Coffman E. Why December 25? For the church’s first three centuries, Christmas wasn’t in December—or on the calendar at all. Christianity Today, August 8, 2008. http://www.christianitytoday.com/ch/news/2000/dec08.html accessed 12/07/15)

The Church of Rome decided to later require all to observe it as The World Book Encyclopedia notes:

In 354 A.D., Bishop Liberius of Rome ordered the people to celebrate on December 25. He probably chose this date because the people of Rome already observed it as the Feast of Saturn, celebrating the birthday of the sun (Sechrist E.H. Christmas. World Book Encyclopedia, Volume 3. Field Enterprises Educational Corporation, Chicago, 1966, pp. 408-417).

It needs to be understood that some scholarly sources believe that the celebration in Rome of Christmas may have began 2-3 decades earlier (because Constantine kept it on 12/25 in 336 A.D.), but none I am aware of suggest it was prior to Constantine in the fourth century.

Should real Christians call the night that the pagans worshiped the sun-god and had a wild party holy?  It was not holy to the God of the Bible.

Obviously not, yet many who claim Christianity still do.

Some items of related interest may include:

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.
Was Jesus Born in the Grotto of the Nativity? Was Jesus born in a below ground cave? Was Jesus born below the “Church of the Nativity”? Were the wise men there?
Is Keeping Christmas a Sin? Is keeping Christmas acceptable for true Christians? What are some scriptures to consider?
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?
Is God Unreasonable? Some have suggested that if God requires Sabbath-keeping He is unreasonable. Is that true?
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. 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.
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?

TRANSFORMED FROM TRUTH

COGwriter

Sometime back, I received an email from GCI (Grace Communion International, essentially the group that originally ran the new Worldwide Church of God) today with a link to a letter and a video message from its J. Tkach. The letter starts out with:

The Christmas season is here again, and you know what that means: Christmas cards!

The video message from J. Tkach concluded with:

During this season of Advent as we move toward the celebration of Christ’s birth, I want to personally wish you: “the peace of God, which transcends all understanding…” (Philippians 4:7).

I’m Joseph Tkach, Speaking of LIFE.

No, most people do not use the term “Advent” to refer to the December celebration of Saturnalia that most people now call “Christmas.” Partially because of sensitivities of some of its members, J. Tkach has tended not often to use the term Christmas, though this seems to be changing. The old WCG taught strongly against the observation of Christmas.  It also did not observe Christmas nor encourage substitute words to celebrate it nor endorse Christmas cards.

But ignoring Christmas/Advent semantics, while Jesus was born, the real evidence is that He was not born in December. Nor did early followers of Christ either celebrate the day of His birth, nor, when the compromisers got more influence, did those that did originally celebrate it in December.

By the end of the second century, some of the compromisers did celebrate something in the late December time period, but it had nothing to do with Jesus’ birth.

Notice what Tertullian wrote (late 2nd early 3rd century) about winter celebrations, such as Saturnalia (from a pagan deity whose name meant plentiful):

The Minervalia are as much Minerva’s, as the Saturnalia Saturn’s; Saturn’s, which must necessarily be celebrated even by little slaves at the time of the Saturnalia. New-year’s gifts likewise must be caught at, and the Septimontium kept; and all the presents of Midwinter and the feast of Dear Kinsmanship must be exacted; the schools must be wreathed with flowers; the flamens’ wives and the aediles sacrifice; the school is honoured on the appointed holy-days. The same thing takes place on an idol’s birthday; every pomp of the devil is frequented. Who will think that these things are befitting to a Christian master, unless it be he who shall think them suitable likewise to one who is not a master? (Tertullian. On Idolatry, Chapter X. Translated by S. Thelwall. Excerpted from Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 3. Edited by Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson. American Edition, 1885. Online Edition Copyright © 2004 by K. Knight).

But, however, the majority (of Christians) have by this time induced the belief in their mind that it is pardonable if at any time they do what the heathen do, for fear “the Name be blasphemed”…To live with heathens is lawful, to die with them is not. Let us live with all; let us be glad with them, out of community of nature, not of superstition. We are peers in soul, not in discipline; fellow-possessors of the world, not of error. But if we have no right of communion in matters of this kind with strangers, how far more wicked to celebrate them among brethren! Who can maintain or defend this?…By us,…the Saturnalia and New-year’s and Midwinter’s festivals and Matronalia are frequented–presents come and go–New-year’s gifts–games join their noise–banquets join their din! Oh better fidelity of the nations to their own sect, which claims no solemnity of the Christians for itself!…Not the Lord’s day, not Pentecost, even it they had known them, would they have shared with us; for they would fear lest they should seem to be Christians. We are not apprehensive lest we seem to be heathens! (Tertullian. On Idolatry, Chapter XIV. Translated by S. Thelwall. Excerpted from Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 3. Edited by Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson. American Edition, 1885. Online Edition Copyright © 2004 by K. Knight).

But “let your works shine,” saith He; but now all our shops and gates shine! You will now-a-days find more doors of heathens without lamps and laurel-wreaths than of Christians. What does the case seem to be with regard to that species (of ceremony) also? If it is an idol’s honour, without doubt an idol’s honour is idolatry. If it is for a man’s sake, let us again consider that all idolatry is for man’s sake; let us again consider that all idolatry is a worship done to men, since it is generally agreed even among their worshippers that aforetime the gods themselves of the nations were men; and so it makes no difference whether that superstitious homage be rendered to men of a former age or of this. Idolatry is condemned, not on account of the persons which are set up for worship, but on account of those its observances, which pertain to demons (Tertullian. On Idolatry, Chapter XV. Translated by S. Thelwall. Excerpted from Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 3. Edited by Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson. American Edition, 1885. Online Edition Copyright © 2004 by K. Knight).

What Tertullian seems to be saying is that observing mid-winter celebrations make Christians appear to be followers of pagan gods, and since the pagans would not intentionally celebrate days considered by many to be Christian, Christians should not celebrate days that are honored by the heathen. Specifically, he felt that those who profess Christ should not celebrate Saturnalia, New Year’s, or other pagan days, as even the observance is a form of idolatry (click here for an article titled Is January 1st a Date for Christians Celebrate?). He also suggested that his type of “Christian” was more pagan than the average pagan. Interesting.

Since the modern Christmas celebration is at the same time as the old Gentile Saturnalia holiday (and with many of the same elements, like wreaths and gift-giving), it is clear that Tertullian is condemning these practices by stating that those that keep it are of the pagan god Saturn. He also wrote against winter giving:

…gifts like those you have in the Saturnalia! (Tertullian. De Fuga in Persecutione, Chapter 13. Excerpted from Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 4. Edited by Alexander Roberts & James Donaldson. American Edition, 1885. Online Edition Copyright © 2004 by K. Knight).

So basically, those who teach “Jesus is the reason for the season” are in error. The reason for the season appears to be that those who professed ‘Christianity’ wanted to have a party. And did not care if the party was related to pagan gods.

It is interesting to note that Tertullian objected to keeping a celebration lasting until the Roman New Years, putting up wreaths, and giving gifts. Since most of these quotes come from his writing titles “On Idolatry” apparently he considered those practices as idolatrous.

It seems to me that no true Christians would do this, only those who were somewhat nominal, but who had been accepted, to some degree, by part of the Greco-Roman confederation. His complaints apparently did not stop this from happening, though his objections certainly have biblical support.

Oddly, although he endorsed Christmas (which included traces of pagan worship), Archbishop of Constantinople John Chrysostom (who condemned people for keeping God’s Holy Days in the fourth century) wrote the following in the late fourth century:

And what, pray you, is that Minerva of theirs, and Apollo, and Juno ? They are different kinds of demons among them. (Chrysostom J. The homilies of S. John Chrysostom, Archbishop of Constantinople: on the Acts of the Apostles, Volume 1, Homily IV. John Henry Parker, 1851. Original from Harvard University. Digitized, Apr 12, 2008, p. 66)

Venerable Cesare Baronius, a Catholic of the 16th century, wrote:

If the candles which were formerly distributed at the Saturnalia are now identified with the feast of the Purification of our Lady? What, I ask, is there so surprising if holy bishops have allowed certain customs firmly rooted among pagan peoples, and so tenaciously adhered to by them that even after their conversion to Christianity they could not be induced to surrender them, to be transferred to the worship of the true God?” (Baronius, “Annales”, ad ann. 58, n. 77). (as cited in Thurston, Herbert. “Lights.” The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 9. Nihil Obstat. October 1, 1910. Remy Lafort, Censor. Imprimatur. +John M. Farley, Archbishop of New York. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. 21 Dec. 2009 <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09244b.htm>)

Thus, Baronius seems to be saying that Saturnalia lights are a pagan practice, yet using them is acceptable.

But even the Rheims‘ version of the New Testament (a Catholic approved translation) states the following:

15. And what agreement with Christ and Belial? or what part hath the faithful with the infidel?
16. And what agreement hath the temple of God with Idols? For you are the temple of the living God. as God saith, Then I will dwell, and walk in them, and will be their God: and they shall be my people.
17. For the which cause, Go out of the midst of them, and separate yourselves. saith our Lord, and touch not the unclean: and I will receive you (2 Corinthians 6:15-17, The Original And True Rheims New Testament Of Anno Domini 1582. Prepared and Edited by Dr. William von Peters, Ph.D. Copyright © 1998, Dr. William G. von Peters. Ph.D. 2004, copyright assigned to VSC Corp.).

So unclean practices associated with idols are prohibited by God. Does not that include celebrating as the idolaters celebrate?

The Catholic Encyclopedia teaches that:

Christmas was not among the earliest festivals of the Church (Martindale C. Transcribed by Susanti A. Suastika. Christmas. The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume III. Copyright © 1908 by Robert Appleton Company. Online Edition Copyright © 2003 by K. Knight. Nihil Obstat, November 1, 1908. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., Censor. Imprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York).

The above is true.

Why did Christmas end up on December 25th?

Probably because that was the day of celebration of the birthday of the sun-god Mithra. December 25th also took place during the Saturnalia, hence it was acceptable to at least two groups of pagans. Followers of Mithra represented an influential group in the Roman Empire. Other practices associated with Mithraism have become part of the Roman and Orthodox Catholic churches (such as their communion services) (for more details, please check out the documented article Do You Practice Mithraism?).

Notice the following:

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

Until the Council of Nicea, the December 25th Christmas holiday was not even accepted by the Roman Catholics.

The World Book Encyclopedia notes,

In 354 A.D., Bishop Liberius of Rome ordered the people to celebrate on December 25. He probably chose this date because the people of Rome already observed it as the Feast of Saturn, celebrating the birthday of the sun (Sechrist E.H. Christmas. World Book Encyclopedia, Volume 3. Field Enterprises Educational Corporation, Chicago, 1966, pp. 408-417).

It needs to be understood that some scholarly sources believe that the celebration in Rome of Christmas may have began 2-3 decades earlier (because Constantine kept it on 12/25 in 336 A.D.), but none I am aware of suggest it was prior to Constantine in the fourth century.

There have been scholars who believe that Constantine was involved as tradition claims a certain church in Rome as the first site of a December 25th “Christmas” celebration as the following 2007 news account indicates:

The church where the tradition of celebrating Christmas on Dec. 25 may have begun was built near a pagan shrine as part of an effort to spread Christianity, a leading Italian scholar says.

Italian archaeologists last month revealed an underground grotto that they believe ancient Romans revered as the place where a wolf nursed Rome’s legendary founder, Romulus, and his twin brother, Remus. A few feet from the grotto, or “Lupercale,” the Emperor Constantine built the Basilica of St. Anastasia, where some believe Christmas was first celebrated on Dec. 25…

It opted to mark Christmas, then celebrated at varying dates, on Dec. 25 to coincide with the Roman festival celebrating the birth of the sun god, Andrea Carandini, a professor of archaeology at Rome’s La Sapienza University, told reporters Friday. The Basilica of St. Anastasia was built as soon as a year after the Nicaean Council. It probably was where Christmas was first marked on Dec. 25, part of broader efforts to link pagan practices to Christian celebrations in the early days of the new religion, Mr. Carandini said. “The church was built to Christianize these pagan places of worship,” he said. “It was normal to put a church near these places to try to ‘save’ them.” Rome’s archaeological superintendent, Angelo Bottini, who did not take part in Mr. Carandini’s research, said that hypothesis was “evocative and coherent” and “helps us understand the mechanisms of the passage from paganism to Christianity.” (Scholars link 1st yule church to pagan shrine. Washington Times – Dec 23, 2007 ROME (AP). http://washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071223/FOREIGN/924350661/1001 viewed 12/24/07).

And the December 25th date was adopted apparently because the Greco-Roman church was filled with people who did not care that this was the Saturnalias/Mithras birthday (see also Do You Practice Mithraism?), so calling it by the name of Christ somehow was believed to make the sun rebirth activities more acceptable.

And the December 25th Christmas did not become part of the observations in Constantinople until the famous hater of Jews, John Chrysostum, introduced it there:

We may take it as certain that the feast of Christ’s Nativity was kept in Rome on 25 December…It was introduced by St. John Chrysostom into Constantinople and definitively adopted in 395 (Thurston. H. Transcribed by Rick McCarty. Christian Calendar. The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume III. Published 1908. New York: Robert Appleton Company. Nihil Obstat, November 1, 1908. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., Censor. Imprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York ).

Furthermore, here is even more that The Catholic Encyclopedia admits about Christmas:

Christmas…Irenaeus and Tertullian omit it from their lists of feasts; Origen, glancing perhaps at the discreditable imperial Natalitia, asserts (in Lev. Hom. viii in Migne, P.G., XII, 495) that in the Scriptures sinners alone, not saints, celebrate their birthday; Arnobius (VII, 32 in P.L., V, 1264) can still ridicule the “birthdays” of the gods.

Alexandria. The first evidence of the feast is from Egypt. About A.D. 200, Clement of Alexandria (Strom., I, xxi in P.G., VIII, 888) says that certain Egyptian theologians “over curiously” assign, not the year alone, but the day of Christ’s birth, placing it on 25 Pachon (20 May) in the twenty-eighth year of Augustus…

Cyprus, Mesopotamia, Armenia, Asia Minor. In Cyprus, at the end of the fourth century, Epiphanius asserts against the Alogi (Hær., li, 16, 24 in P. G., XLI, 919, 931) that Christ was born on 6 January…

Rome. At Rome the earliest evidence is in the Philocalian Calendar (P. L., XIII, 675; it can be seen as a whole in J. Strzygowski, Kalenderbilder des Chron. von Jahre 354, Berlin, 1888), compiled in 354, which contains three important entries. In the civil calendar 25 December is marked “Natalis Invicti”…

By the time of Jerome and Augustine, the December feast is established, though the latter (Epp., II, liv, 12, in P.L., XXXIII, 200) omits it from a list of first-class festivals. From the fourth century every Western calendar assigns it to 25 December…

The Gospels. Concerning the date of Christ’s birth the Gospels give no help; upon their data contradictory arguments are based. The census would have been impossible in winter: a whole population could not then be put in motion…

Natalis Invicti. The well-known solar feast, however, of Natalis Invicti, celebrated on 25 December, has a strong claim on the responsibility for our December date. For the history of the solar cult, its position in the Roman Empire, and syncretism with Mithraism, see Cumont’s epoch-making “Textes et Monuments” etc., I, ii, 4, 6, p. 355…The earliest rapprochement of the births of Christ and the sun is in Cypr., “De pasch. Comp.”, xix, “O quam præclare providentia ut illo die quo natus est Sol . . . nasceretur Christus.” – “O, how wonderfully acted Providence that on that day on which that Sun was born . . . Christ should be born.”…

Cards and presents. Pagan customs centering round the January calends gravitated to Christmas…

The yule log. The calend fires were a scandal even to Rome, and St. Boniface obtained from Pope Zachary their abolition (Martindale C. Christmas, 1908).

Hence it is clear that even early Roman writers such as Irenaeus, Tertullian, and Origen did not endorse Christmas, nor did Augustine even list it as an important holiday. And that even later Catholic sources recognize that it is not likely that a census (as shown in Luke 2:1) would be done during the winter–making a December 25th date of birth unlikely (it was also too cold for shepherds to spend the night with their flocks out in an open field, as shown in Luke 2:8, making a December 25th birth basically impossible).

It appears that towards the beginning of the third century, there were some in Alexandria (not Asia Minor, or even Rome) who began to feel that Jesus’ birth should be celebrated, and that it would be on May 25th. But later, in the fourth century, Christmas began to be celebrated with January 6th or December 25 being the dates observed (and that is believed to be because the sun-worshiping Emperor Constantine, or one of his successors, wanted to have a Sun holiday at the time of Saturnalia and Brumalia to placate the Gentiles).

The simple fact is that early Christians did not have a holiday to observe the “incarnation.” If God wanted it celebrated, perhaps the date, as well as some admonition to observe it, would be in the New Testament. Compromisers who claimed to be Christian could not pass up a December party called Saturnalia. Those who had ties to the sun god Mithras wanted to keep observing his day. And so, in the fourth century, something like Christmas was officially observed in Rome and Constantinople.

But, history suggests that there were actual Christians who would not follow Rome or Constantinople. And there still are today. What about you?

Some items of related interest may include:

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?
Was Jesus Born in the Grotto of the Nativity? Was Jesus born in a below ground cave? Was Jesus born below the “Church of the Nativity”? Were the wise men there?
Is Keeping Christmas a Sin? Is keeping Christmas acceptable for true Christians? What are some scriptures to consider?
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?
Is God Unreasonable? Some have suggested that if God requires Sabbath-keeping He is unreasonable. Is that true?
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. 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.

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?

COGwriter

Back in the old Radio Church of God (which became the old Worldwide Church of God) was an article by David Jon Hill that had the following:

Will YOU be Deceived by ANTICHRIST?

Events are plunging toward the eventful climax of Christ’s return. Will you recognize the REAL CHRIST when he returns?
by David Jon Hill

Is THE pope ignorant of the plain Bible statements that label him “the Antichrist”? What deception will Satan use to keep the world from realizing the pope’s true identity?…

God Permits Evil

God COMMANDS obedience and righteousness, but He PERMITS EVIL! Jesus’ reference to Judas is applicable in principle to today’s fast-moving prophetic events. “Woe unto the world because of offences! for it must needs be that offences come; BUT WOE TO THAT MAN BY WHOM THE OFFENCE COMETH !” (Matt. 18:7).

The human instruments Satan the Devil is preparing to serve him are aware of what God’s Word says regarding the returning Christ and the Antichrist who is to oppose Him! They know enough prophecy to perform their abominable deeds with knowledge and vigor. They know, and have known historically, enough prophecy to prepare a perverted prophecy to deny the true prophetic warning broadcast by The WORLD TOMORROW!

Catholic Interest in Prophecy

God declares that the endtime pope will be a false prophet, yet the pope has never declared himself to be a prophet. When will he deceive the world into thinking that he foresees future events? What events will he foretell? How will these prophecies affect you? How can you keep from being deceived?

A recently published book reveals a startling Catholic interest in endtime prophecy. This book, together with tradition and the writings of some of the “early church Fathers,” brings to light an eye-opening preview of the false prophecies that are about to be preached!

Satan knows God’s general Plan. He has been at work in the minds of evil and deluded men throughout the ages to lay the groundwork of the GREAT DELUSION ! Though the vials of the wrath of God are poured out on sinful men, their impenitence remains–“AND THEY REPENTED NOT” (Rev. 16:9). They will flee from Christ–even calling for rocks to fall on them, hiding out in caves–RUNNING AWAY FROM GOD!

WHY?

Because …THAT MAN WILL TELL THE WORLD THE BIGGEST LIE EVER TOLD! Into the ears of those who do not have a love of the truth he will pour the LIE that our returning King, Jesus Christ, is the ANTICHRIST! And they will believe him because God will have sent them a “strong delusion, that they should believe a LIE!” (II Thes. 2:3-11).

But upon what will the pope base this claim?

By its own admission, the Catholic Church bases its definition of the articles of faith on its own interpretation of the Scriptures AND TRADITIONS as explained in the writings of the early church “Fathers”! “And then it was approved by all, that the traditions should be received as of equal authority with the Scriptures” (History of the Council of Trent, page 145).

Any attempt to dispute their interpretation by use of plain Scripture is greeted, as it was at the time of this declaration, with the cry of “HERETIC” and branded as “Anathema”! “. . . the holy Scripture cannot be expounded against the sense held by the holy Mother the Church, nor against the common consent of the Fathers” (History of the Council of Trent, page 152).

Catholic Definition of Antichrist

Here now, for the professed prophecies in the Catholic Church’s recently published book, Prophecy for Today:

“Towards the end of the world Antichrist will overthrow the Pope and usurp his See”! (“Prophecy” of Abbott “Merlin” Joachim, died 1202; see also Catholic Encyclopedia, article “Antichrist.”) Because they will not admit the truth, the Church believes the Antichrist will be the one to unseat the pope, while every Bible prophecy commissions the true Christ with that job.

“Antichrist will fight a successful battle at Mageddo [Armageddon) in Palestine after which. . . he will hereafter become lord of the world’ (Ibid; Anna Catarina Emmerick, d. 1824). It is almost impossible to see how they could believe this! But there it is! And here is more! “The Kings will send armies to the Holy Land, but the Antichrist will slay them all”! (Ibid.; “Venerable Maria of Agreda.” d. 1665.) Compare this with Revelation 19:19.

But to continue. “Antichrist and his army will conquer Rome, kill the Pope and take the throne. . . The Jews will come from everywhere, and accept Antichrist as the Messiah.” (Ibid.; from a “prophecy” by Venerable Bartholomew Holthauser, d. 1658.)

Just one more quote to illustrate their satanic definition: “After the destruction of Rome, Antichrist will appear and exalt himself above pagan deities and the Trinity. . . Coming to Jerusalem, he will succeed through false preaching, miracles, gifts, terror, aided throughout by the devil. An evil spirit will come out of the air and descend upon his followers. He shall feign a resurrection from the dead, cause rain to fall. . . and perform other wonders, all through the power of the devil. . . . The Jews will welcome him.” (Ibid.; Richard Rolle of Hampole, d. 1349.)

Compare With Your Bible

Hippolytus is one of the “early church Fathers” upon which the Catholic Church depends for inspiration and dogma. Get your Bible, and compare the plain statements of Scripture, the Word and authority of Almighty God, with the blasphemous prophecies made by Hippolytus about the year 170 A. D. Satan very cleverly inspired this early writer to pen these prophecies just a hundred years after the True Church of God had to flee to Pella. Since that time there have been scattered prophecies by many important men and women in the Catholic Church on this subject of greatest importance-even up to as recently as 100 years ago.

Hippolytus begins by saying, “Believe not the enemy who is to come and be seen; for he is an adversary and corrupter and son of perdition, and deceives you; and for this reason he will kill you, and smite them with the sword” (Ante-Nicene Fathers; Hippolytus, section XXIX).

GOD’S Word says, “Behold, he {Jesus Christ) cometh with clouds; and EVERY EYE SHALL SEE HIM . . , and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him” (Rev. 1:7).

“And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God” (Rev. 19:15).

Hippolytus goes on to say: “. . . at that time the whole earth will bewail the life of anguish, and the sea and air in like manner will bewail it; and the sun, too, will wail; and the wild beasts, together with the fowls, will wail; mountains and hills, and the trees of the plain, will wail on account of the race of man, because all have turned aside from the Holy God, and obeyed the deceiver, and received the mark of that abominable one, the enemy of God, INSTEAD OF THE QUICKENING CROSS OF THE SAVIOR” (Ibid.; section XXXIII).

God’s clear revelation shows that the time when the families of all the earth are going to bewail for anguish is the time of Christ’s return. “And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise anymore: the merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones. . . fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and SLAVES, and SOULS OF MEN. . . . The merchants of these things, which were made rich by her, shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment, WEEPING AND WAILING!” (Rev. 18:11-15).

Hippolytus: “And in the presence of all he exhibits himself as taken up into heaven with TRUMPETS and SOUNDS, and the MIGHTY SHOUTING of those who hail him with INDESCRIBABLE HYMNS; the heir of darkness himself shining like light, and at one time soaring to the heavens, and at another descending to the earth with great glory, and again charging the demons, like angels, to execute his behests with much fear and trembling. For he will show forth his demons brilliant like angels, and he will bring in hosts of the incorporeal without number” (Section XXXIII).

The Holy Spirit through the revelation of YOUR BIBLE says: “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a SHOUT, with the VOICE OF THE ARCHANGEL, and with the TRUMP OF GOD: and the DEAD IN CHRIST SHALL RISE first: then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to MEET the Lord in the air”! (I Thes. 4 : 16-17.)

As for Hippolytus’ “demons brilliant like angels,” Daniel tells us that the resurrected and changed saints “shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars (angels) for ever and ever!” (Dan. 12:3). See also 1 Corinthians 15:50-53).

And the “indescribable hymns”– “And they sung as it were a new song before the throne.. .and NO MAN COULD LEARN THAT SONG but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were REDEEMED from the earth . . . the FIRSTFRUITS unto God and to the Lamb!” (Rev. 14:3-4).

More From Hippolytus

“Then that abominable one [if this is not blasphemy against the very God of Heaven, what is?] will send his commands throughout every government by the hand at once of demons and of visible men, who shall say, ‘A mighty king has arisen upon the earth; come ye all to WORSHIP him; come ye all to see the strength of his kingdom: for, behold, he will give you corn; and he will bestow upon you wine, and great riches, and lofty honours. For the COMMAND. Come ye all to him”’ (Ibid., section XXXVII).

Revelation 14:6-7: “And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and WORSHIP him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters [and therefore the whole EARTH AND SEA OBEYS HIS COMMAND].”

When these false “prophecies” are read from pulpits into the ears of gullible people and they begin to see God’s intervention come to pass, THEY WHOLE EARTH AND SEA OBEYS HIS WILL BELIEVE THE ONLY MEANING THEY HAVE EVER LEARNED ABOUT THESE SIGNS AND WONDERS, AND BE CONVINCED THAT THE GLORIOUS CHRIST RETURNING IN TRIUMPH IS IN TRUTH THE ANTICHRIST!

A more modern prophetess of the Catholic Church has this to say about this time of preaching: “Whole nations will join the Church shortly before the reign of the Antichrist. These conversions will be amazing. Those who shall survive shall have to conduct themselves well. There shall be innumerable conversions of heretics, who will return to the bosom of the Church” (Prophecy For Today; from Anna Maria Taigi, d. 1837).

These false doctrines and false prophecies are going to be preached with ALL DECEIVABLENESS, and are truly going to deceive ALL THE WORLD. You and I, when we enter God’s Kingdom at His return, are going to have to coiiviiice these people of the TRUTH.

Being Gods Born Sons Not an Easy Job!

The whole world will be up in arms AGAINST Christ. The chaos from years of pestilence and plague, the devastation of hydrogen and nuclear wars of cosmoscide will have to be CLEANED UP. Complete anarchy will take over in all the countries of the world as the earthly governments collapse; order will have to be restored. This cannot be done overnight.

It will take painstaking effort, even after the complete co-operation or the population of the earth is gained! Human nature will resist the Government of God to the bitter end!

It’s not going to be easy to convince these hysterically frightened, demoniacally deceived, pitifully desperate human beings! This last generation, sinful as it is, will need the full compassion and mercy you will be able to give as God’s Sons. You will need every ounce of spiritual power and wisdom God will give you to perform the JOB of rehabilitating millions of crazed, completely deceived men left on this earth.

They will be gaunt, wild-eyed! They will have seen more horrible things happen in their lifetime than all the pages of history have yet recorded.

Driven in stark, raving FEAR AND OPEN TERROR from their homes, they will seek to hide from the newest and most overawing manifestation of world-shaking POWER that they have yet seen–the only thought in their tortured minds will be that HERE IS YET ANOTHER ENEMY IN THIS SICK…TORN EARTH . . . HIDE, HIDE, HIDE ! ! !

HIPPOLYTUS agrees with what will happen, but he calls the one who causes it to happen the ANTICHRIST and not the TRUE CHRIST! “Then will he send the cohorts of the demons among MOUNTAINS AND CAVES AND DENS OF THE EARTH, to track out those who have been concealed from his eyes, and to bring them forward to worship him” (Ibid., section XXIX).

The Bible tells us from whom men will hide in the rocks, “And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; and said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb” (Rev. 6:15-16).

You, as a born son of God, may have to be one of those who is sent out to track down these frightened people. You may have to counsel with them and assure them that the true living God has returned to the earth and that there will be peace from that time forward.

Remarkable Prophecy

Here is another false prophecy from Hippolytus.

“And by reason of the SCARCITY OF FOOD, all will go to him and worship him; and he will put his mark on their right hand and on their forehead, h a t no one may put the sign of the honorable cross upon his forehead with his right hand; but his hand is bound” (Ibid., section XXVIII).

Now turn to the book of Zechariah in your Bible, and read what the Lrue, triumphant, returning Christ will do to the nations of this earth in order to get them to worship Him. “And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles. And it shall be, that whoso will not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain. And if the family of Egypt go not up, and come not, that have no rain; there shall be the plague, wherewith the Lord will smite the heathen that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles. This shall be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all nations that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles” (Zech. 14:16-19).

The Eternal God, at His return, is going to cause the nations of this earth to recognize Him as Ruler and to worship Him through the means of controlling the weather, causing drought and famine-SCARCITY OF FOOD-until ALL NATIONS COME UP TO KEEP THE FEAST OF TABERNACLES!

While the illustration above is not how the final Antichrist will look (Satan’s ministers try to appear as angels of light per 2 Corinthians 11:13-15), the reality is that he will (at least initially) likely profess some type of triune deity (so, for that reason, I thought showing someone demonic appearing with a trident was of interest). And this seems to be consistent with both biblical and Catholic prophecy.

Already, many Catholics, Protestants, Eastern Orthodox, and others have been affected by the ecumenical and interfaith movements. What will happen when there are major signs and lying wonders? Nearly all will be deceived per 2 Thessalonians 2:9-12.

What about YOU?

Christians are not to be ignorant of Satan’s devices (2 Corinthians 2:11) and dealing with false prophecies has long been something that God’s faithful leaders have had to do (cf. 1 Kings 18). Yet, most of humanity will be deceived (Matthew 24:23).

I would add that while certain Catholic prophecies suggest that the Antichrist will be a pope, that others misidentify that Antichrist and several of those are in this article by David Jon Hill.

COGwriter

Have you heard about Petra in Jordan?  Do you know much about it?

Back in April 1962, the old Radio Church of God published the following from the late Dr. Herman Hoeh:

Let’s open our Bibles to see why Petra has puzzled scholars and Bible students for centuries.

The true Church of God is pictured in Revelation 12. It is symbolized by a woman-the bride of Christ. But it is a persecuted woman-a Church hated by the world. According to verse 6 the Church fled the first time from her persecutors for 1260 years – during the Middle Ages. But verse 14 unveils another flight of the Church-in the very last days. This time the duration is only 3y2 years! “And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle”-supernatural deliverance-“that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time”–3 1/2 years.

This prophecy has never been understood by the world because the world cannot understand to whom this prophecy refers. It does not recognize who are the true Church. It sees only the false churches, described in Revelation 17.

But consider now the special time of this prophecy about protection in a mysterious wilderness. Notice exactly which period in the history of God’s Church the escape shall occur. Turn to Revelation 3:7-13. This is addressed to the Philadelphia Era of God’s Church -the Church before whom Christ opens the door to preach His gospel around the world (verse 8). Because this Church has kept Gods word, Jesus promises: “I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation”-the time of trial–“which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth’ (verse 10). Here is a world-wide terror to come upon all nations. This is not for the slow-moving past. It is a prophecy for the pulsating present the last days of human history–just before God intervenes to set up His Kingdom to bring peace at last.

Here is a prophecy for this generation- at the very time God’s Church is preaching and publishing the Gospel of the Kingdom of God world-wide. This prophecy is about us!

But how will Jesus keep us from the coming trial and persecution? We just read the answer from Revelation 12! There is a place of safety, in a wilderness, for the people of God.

But where is that wilderness?

That is the mystery that has puzzled so many for so long! God has kept it a mystery so the world would not know. He has even kept it hidden from God’s Church in the past so His people would have their minds on their work! It is only those who are having a part in the work of God-who have their minds on the Kingdom of God, not some physical place of protection–who will escape. That escape cannot be planned for in advance. It is a supernatural escape!

Remember, if the Christians in Jerusalem in apostolic days had quit their work and prematurely escaped to Pella before A.D. 69, they would have been destroyed by the Roman armies who devastated the city. It was only those who completed the work of God who reached safety in A.D. 69 after the Romans destroyed Pella!

That is why God has veiled the exact place of escape from human eyes all these years. But as the days draw closer to the time of the end, the light of prophecy shines ever more clearly! When the moment comes that we need to know where that place of safety is, Christ will make it known. Meanwhile we need to keep our eyes open and our minds yielded-drinking in the implications of prophecy for this Church today! But where does Petra fit in all this?

An Old Testament Prophecy

Turn to Isaiah 42:l0-13. Here is a prophecy for today-a time of divine intervention, verse 14. Now read verse 11 from the Jewish Publication Society translation according to the original inspired Hebrew:

“Let the wilderness and the cities thereof lift up their voice, the villages that Kedar doth inhabit”–the descendants of Kedar are the Bedouin Arabs who dwell throughout the Middle East in black tents. Here we have a wilderness located in the Arab world! But continue reading: “Let the inhabitants of Sela exult. Let them shout from the top of the mountains.” The inhabitants of Sela? Who are they? And where is Sela? (In the King James Version the word for Sela is translated “rock.”)

Any Bible student knows that Sela is the Hebrew name of Petra! Sela means Rock–in Hebrew; Petra means Rock in Greek! But Sela or Petra is fundamentally uninhabited today, save for a few dozen wandering Bedouin. These are not the inhabitants in this verse, for notice verse 12: “Let them’’–the inhabitants of Petra or Sela–“give glory unto the Lord”–the Bedouin do not know God, they are Mohammedan–“and declare His praise in the islands.”

Which islands? The islands which Israel inhabits–Isaiah 41:1 and 8. God is certainly not going to use a few uneducated, ignorant Mohammedan Bedouin to declare His glory in the islands and coastlands of Northwestern Europe -where Israel is today! This prophecy resurrection and the return of Christ in power and glory. Christ is going to use His servants–now immortal in the Kingdom of God–to proclaim His intervention and the establishment of His Kingdom over all the earth. He is going to use the very ones whom He is now using to proclaim His message. Then they will finally heed!

Isn’t this prophecy a clear indication that the place of safety for the people of God who are now doing the work of God–and broadcasting to the islands and coastlands of Northwestern Europe–is in an Arabian wilderness, where the Bedouin dwell and is probably at Sela, or Petra?

Supernatural Protection

Turn now to another parallel passage, this time Isaiah 33. Read especially verses 13-17. Notice the time setting. It is when the worlds ambassadors, who seek to make peace, suddenly find the world caught up in frightful destruction (verses 7-8).

Beginning with verse 13 God warns the House of Israel-the “sinners in Zion”-of their sins (verse 14). “Who will be able to live through the endtime fiery atomic and hydrogen warfare?” God asks (verse 14). Those who obey Him, declares verse 15. But where will they go?

Verses 16 and 17 answer! “He shall dwell on high: his place of defense shall be the munitions of rocks.. .” This verse is poorly translated in most versions because the translators did not understand the prophecy. The true meaning has been hidden. The place of protection shall be, not munitions of rocks, but the “strongholds of Sela!” The original, inspired Hebrew, mistranslated “munitions,” is metsad, and means a stronghold or a castle or a fort. And the word for “rock” in this verse is Sela, the name of Petra in the Hebrew language!

Petra is a dry, barren area. It hardly provides a few dozen Bedouin sufficient sustenance. How are all of the faithful people of God to be provided for? Continue with the end of verse 16: “…his bread shall be given him; his waters shall be sure.” Here also is supernatural provision! Remember what happened to the children of Israel in the Sinai wilderness? God supernaturally provided them food and water nearly 40 long years! God can do the same today! It is not those who heap up provisions that shall escape! It is those who obey God, who do His work, and who trust Him to provide the necessities and the divine protection when that time arrives!

Verse 17 completes the picture: “Thine eyes shall see the King in His beauty: they shall behold the land that is very far off’-or “they shall behold a land stretching afar,” according to the Jewish translation. We shall see Him as He is (I John 3:2). Notice also that those in safety see “the land”-Palestine, the promised land stretching into the distance. Surely here is another indication of the high rocky crags of Petra from which one may look northwest to the promised land.

Place of Safety

Perhaps the most commonly quoted verses about Petra are found in Isaiah 16. The prophecy is found in verses 1 to 5. It is a message to Moab-modern Jordan, in whose territory Petra or Sela is presently located. Verse 1 should read: “Send ye the lambs for the Ruler of the land from Sela that is toward the wilderness, unto the mount of the daughter of Zion” (compare the KJV with the JPS translation).

The time setting of this prophecy is the return of Christ to rule the nations. He is the King of the land. The Moabites are commanded to seek Him, to send Him an offering as a token of their submission. The offering comes from Sela. But why are the Moabites found in Sela, when only Bedouin dwell there today? The succeeding verses answer: “For it shall be, that, as a wandering bird cast out of the nest, so the daughters”– and‘ descendants–“of Moab shall be at the fords of Arnon.” Other prophecies picture hordes from the east capturing the land east of the Jordan. (See Ezekiel 25:l0.) As these Communist hordes plunge toward Palestine, slaughtering as they go, a pitiful remnant–described in Jeremiah 48:1-25–escapes at the Arnon (a stream running into the Dead Sea). The Moabite refugees flee southward for protection. Why? Is it perhaps because they have known of others already there in a place of safety? Now look at verse 4. God is addressing Moab: “Let Mine outcasts dwell with thee, Moab; be thou a covert to them from the face of the spoiler.”

So there are others there already. “Mine outcasts,” God calls them. God’s people, who flee from the world, refugees or outcasts!

The fleeing Moabites are not to betray where they are. This makes verse 3 much clearer. The Moabites are commanded to “Give counsel, execute justice; make thy shadow as night in the midst of the noon day; hide the outcasts; betray not the fugitive” (JPS trans.). Their flight is not to reveal where God’s own outcasts are. Their movements are to be as invisible as if it were in black night!

Now compare this prophecy with Jeremiah 48:28, “O ye that dwell in Moab, leave the cities, and dwell in the rock”–Sela, in Hebrew–“and be like the dove that makes her nest in the sides of the holes mouth”! A perfecr description of Petra, with its caves!

Isaiah 16:5 then reveals the very next prophetic event to occur: “And a throne is established through mercy, and there sitteth thereon in truth, in the tent of David, One that judgeth, and seeketh justice, and is ready in righteousness” (JPS trans.). Christ is now pictured as seated on the throne of David! Surely this indicates that God‘s outcasts in Isaiah 16 are the same as those mentioned in Revelation 12 who escape to the wilderness-shortly before the return of Christ!

In the New Testament, while not all Christians are promised physical protection, the Philadelphians are promised to be protected from the Great Tribulation and this place is in the wilderness according the the Book of Revelation:

7 “And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write, ‘These things says He who is holy, He who is true, “He who has the key of David, He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens”: 8 “I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it; for you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name. 9 Indeed I will make those of the synagogue of Satan, who say they are Jews and are not, but lie — indeed I will make them come and worship before your feet, and to know that I have loved you. 10 Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth. (Revelation 3:7-10)

13 Now when the dragon saw that he had been cast to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male Child. 14 But the woman was given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness to her place, where she is nourished for a time and times and half a time, from the presence of the serpent. 15 So the serpent spewed water out of his mouth like a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away by the flood. 16 But the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed up the flood which the dragon had spewed out of his mouth. 17 And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. (Revelation 12:13-17)

While Petra may not be the place, it is a place to be considered (though it may only be in vicinity).

Some items of possibly related interest may include:

This is PETRA! This is a 1962 Good News article by the late Dr. Hoeh.
There is a Place of Safety for the Philadelphians. Why it May Be Petra This article discusses a biblical ‘place of safety’ and includes quotes from the Bible and Herbert W. Armstrong on this subject–thus, there is a biblically supported alternative to the rapture theory. There is also a video on the subject: Might Petra be the Place of Safety? Here is something related in the Spanish language: Hay un lugar de seguridad para los Filadelfinos. ¿Puede ser Petra?
When Will the Great Tribulation Begin?Can the Great Tribulation begin today? What happens before the Great Tribulation in the “beginning of sorrows”? What happens in the Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord? Is this the time of the Gentiles? When is the earliest that the Great Tribulation can begin? What is the Day of the Lord? Who are the 144,000? Here is a version of the article in the Spanish language: ¿Puede comenzar la Gran Tribulación en 2015? ¿Es el Tiempo de los Gentiles? You can also see the English language sermon video: The Great Tribulation from the Mount of Olives.
The Philadelphia Church Era was predominant circa 1933 A.D. to 1986 A.D. The old Radio Church of God and old Worldwide Church of God, now the remnant of that era is basically the most faithful in the Church of God, like who hold to the beliefs and practices of the Continuing Church of God.
The Laodicean Church Era has been predominant circa 1986 A.D. to present. The Laodiceans are non-Philadelphians who mainly descended from the old WCG or its offshoots. They do not properly understand the work or biblical prophecies and will face the Great Tribulation if they do not repent.

Artist’s representation of Jacob’s ladder dream (Genesis 28:10-17)

COGwriter

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

1:20:25

Does God use dreams? The Old and New Testaments show that He certainly does. In 1917, Loma D. Armstrong had a dream that her husband felt was from God, showing two sets of stars. Herbert Armstrong felt the dream was confirmed with the start of the Radio Church of God. But what about the second part? And if God used a dream to a woman in the 20th century prior to the start of the Philadelphia era of the Church of God, could He have not done that in the 21st century prior to the start of the Continuing Church of God ? Have dreams associated with the Continuing Church of God been confirmed? What did Herbert Armstrong teach about ‘one man rule’? Should most once part of the old Worldwide Church of God believe this ‘trunk of the tree’? If so, should they not act on that? Dr. Thiel answers these questions, goes over various dreams, and more.

Here is a link to the sermon: Dreams, COGs, and One Man Rule.

Some items of related interest may include:

Dreams, the Bible, the Radio Church of God, and the Continuing Church of God How has God used dreams in the past? Does God still use dreams? Did He use any involving those in the Continuing Church of God? A related sermon is also available: Dreams, COGs, and One Man Rule.
How To Determine If Someone is a True Prophet of God There are many false prophets. How can Christians determine who is a true prophet? There is also a sermon-length video titled How to determine if someone is a true prophet of God. Here is a related link in Spanish/español: ¿Cómo determinar si alguien es un verdadero profeta de Dios?
The Philadelphia Church Era was predominant circa 1933 A.D. to 1986 A.D. The old Radio Church of God and old Worldwide Church of God, now the remnant of that era is basically the most faithful in the Church of God, like who hold to the beliefs and practices of the Continuing Church of God.
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.
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.
CCOG.ORG Continuing Church of God The group striving to be most faithful amongst all real Christian groups to the word of God. To see how CCOG has done so far, here are links to two sermons Continuing Church of God (CCOG) first year anniversary: What has been accomplished? and The Continuing Church of God: Two Years of Proclamation. Here is a written link to a version of that sermon in the Spanish language: Aniversario del primer año de la Continuación de la Iglesia de Dios: ¿Qué se ha cumplido?
CCOG.ASIA We in the Continuing Church of God also have the url www.ccog.asia which has a focus on Asia and has various articles in Mandarin Chinese as well as some in English, plus some items in other Asian languages. 我们在继续神的教会也提供此网址 www.ccog.asia, 关注于亚洲并且有各种各样的中英文文章，其中一些用菲律宾语翻译的文章也正在进行中，准备添加到这个网站中。 Here is a link to our Statement of Beliefs in Mandarin Chinese 继续神的教会的信仰声明.
CCOG.IN This is a website targeted towards those of Indian heritage. It has a link to an edited Hindi translation of The Mystery of the Ages and is expected to have more non-English language materials in the future.
CCOG.EU This is a website targeted toward Europe. It has materials in more than one language (currently it has English, Dutch, and Serbian, with links also to Spanish) and it is intended to have additional language materials added.
CCOG.NZ This is a website targeted towards New Zealand and others with a British-descended background.
CCOGCANADA.CA This is a website targeted towards those in Canada.
CDLIDD.ES La Continuación de la Iglesia de Dios. This is the Spanish language website for the Continuing Church of God.
PNIND.PH Patuloy na Iglesya ng Diyos. This is the Philippines website Continuing Church of God. It has information in English and Tagalog.
Bible News Prophecy online radio. This is an audio version of the Bible News Prophecy videos as well as some ContinuingCOG channel sermons. It is also available as a mobile app.
ContinuingCOG channel. Dr. Thiel has produced scores of YouTube video sermons for this channel. Note: Since these are sermon-length, they can take a little longer to load than other YouTube videos.