Internet censorship in Eurasia, what might Donald Trump do related to the USA?
More and more we are seeing more censorship on the internet. Notice the following related to some Eurasian nations:
April 13, 2017
The following is a partner post from EurasiaNet.org by Mike Runey. Republished with permission.
The Azerbaijani government appears to have taken yet another step to quash online opposition media in the country, who have responded by using a technique borrowed from Chinese dissidents in their escalating cyberwar with the authorities.
The internet freedom organization VirtualRoad reported on April 10 that it had found evidence a “dedicated appliance” aimed at “interfer[ing] actively with web traffic” in the infrastructure of Azerbaijan’s de facto internet service provider monopoly. The device is being used to block three major opposition news sites: Meydan TV, Azadliq Qezeti, and Azadliq Radiosu, using a sorting technique called deep packet inspection.
The affected outlets haven’t given up, and on April 9 Azadliq Qezeti circumvented the blockage by cheekily hosting a mirror version of their website on Amazon Web Services (AWS), a tactic favored by Chinese activists in recent years.
By backing up their site on AWS, Azadliq Qezeti have forced the government’s hand, as Azerbaijan would now have to block all of AWS to block domestic access to Azadliq Qezeti. The potential consequences of this has so far stymied even those behind China’s famed Great Firewall, as it would mean everyone – including major corporations – using Amazon’s popular cloud computing system for apps, databases, management tools, and other services would lose access as well. https://globalvoices.org/2017/04/13/azerbaijans-government-dissidents-acquire-new-weapons-for-cyber-war/
April 13, 2017
Southeast Asian lawmakers use ‘fake news’ fears to justify censorship
Multiple governments in Southeast Asia are leveraging the issue of fake news as a justification for stricter laws and to harass journalists. In Singapore, Minister for Communications and Information Yaacob Ibrahim said the country will soon amend its Broadcasting Act in order to ensure that overseas content providers “[are] in line with our community values, including the need to uphold racial and religious harmony.”
In the Philippines, House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez filed a bill mandating that social media companies verify the identity of users before registering them on their networks, in what he describes as an effort to more easily prevent users from creating fake accounts and spreading fake news. https://advox.globalvoices.org/2017/04/13/netizen-report-censorship-spikes-with-venezuelas-self-inflicted-coup/
Notice that information that does not AGREE with the government’s religious views or views on “harmony” are also being targeted.
While many in the West do not think that they can be affected by internet censorship, the USA (e.g. NY Senator proposing more censorship: Can this lead to Amos’ prophesied famine of the word?), Canada (see California considering internet political censorship; Canada again restricts speech), and Europe (see ZH: Europe’s Out-Of-Control Censorship) are seeing more censorship proposals.
A reader tipped me off to the following today:
Internet Censorship Is Advancing Under Trump
We expect attacks on internet speech in Zimbabwe and Russia. Under Trump, it’s hitting home.
April 12, 2017
On April 2, President Trump signed a bill passed last month releasing internet service providers (ISPs) like Verizon and AT&T from having to protect consumer data, in effect jeopardizing people’s privacy and opening them up to surveillance. And FCC Chair Ajit Pai is planning to weaken net neutrality rules, which would allow ISPs to create fast lanes for preferred internet traffic while slowing other traffic sources.
If we don’t have net neutrality, the ISPs could slow people who are talking about, for example, going to a rally,” says Kate Forscey, associate counsel at Public Knowledge, a free speech organization. “It’s not just about streaming Netflix—it’s about fundamental engagement in a democratic environment.” Against this backdrop, the DHS’s attempt to strong-arm Twitter looks less like a defeat and more like a testing of the waters.
These developments don’t on their own spell internet censorship. Rather, they lay the groundwork for it: They create the conditions that allow a regime, whether it’s headed by Trump or another administration down the line, to squelch dissent. It’s part of a broader trend around the world, in which numerous governments are whittling away at internet freedoms.
“On a global level social media platforms have been facing growing censorship over the past year,” says Jessica White, an analyst at Freedom House, an independent watchdog organization. Twitter’s lawsuit put an end to one attempt by the Trump administration to undermine free online expression, but it is unlikely to be the last. It is just the freshest in a long string of ploys by governments around the world to solidify their power over online communities. …
Controlling dissent through censorship is a tried-and-true tactic of authoritarian governments, which have a long history of cracking down on newspapers, radio, and TV. Social media got a pass at first “because it’s new, and people who run these regimes are old,” says Joshua Tucker, a politics professor at New York University who specializes in Russian and Slavic studies. Now, he says, restrictive governments recognize that “it is important to control because of its importance for protest.” …
In 2016, Freedom House ranked the US as having one of the most free webs in the world. Trump’s first 100 days are likely to knock it down a few rungs. “Specific steps have been taken that provide us with reasonable grounds to consider downgrading” the US, says White, although at this point they “can’t tell by how much.” Now Freedom House lists the US under “countries to watch,” along with Zimbabwe, the Philippines, and Denmark. With countries around the world reconsidering their internet freedoms, democracy falters. https://backchannel.com/the-us-is-now-one-of-those-countries-threatening-the-free-web-a9fa304f4198
The USA used to be the ‘freest’ nation, now it is not. Its change is setting the world up for more totalitarian censorship.
This loss of freedom was prophesied:
11 “Behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord God,
“That I will send a famine on the land,
Not a famine of bread,
Nor a thirst for water,
But of hearing the words of the Lord.
12 They shall wander from sea to sea,
And from north to east;
They shall run to and fro, seeking the word of the Lord,
But shall not find it. (Amos 8:11-12)
Notice that the Bible tells of a time that will come when the word of God will not be found. I do not believe that this means that there will be no more Bibles–but that those wanting to better understand it will have trouble finding explanations.
The old Worldwide Church of God once, correctly, taught that the reason that the Philadelphian work of God was based out of the USA was because it was the nation that most valued freedom of speech and freedom of the press, Notice something it published about that back in 1981:
THE MOST important work in the world cannot be done without freedom of the press!
What is that work?
It is the work of announcing that God will restore His Government to the whole earth! But before the Government of God is restored, it must first be announced! The good news of that announcement — the Gospel of the Kingdom of God — must be preached (Matthew 24:14) to all nations (Matthew 28:19). And the nations must choose whether they will want it or resist it.
In this day, God has made the MASS media available to accomplish His work. But reaching a mass audience with the good news of God’s soon-coming Government requires the freedom to PUBLISH. Notice Mark 13:10: “And the gospel must first be published among all nations.” …
Governmental Reaction
And yet while the Bible places a duty on God’s servants, it also warns that this world — even now and in the future — will not always allow the freedom to publish.
In the past a government’s excuse for persecution was that God’s message IS TOO DISTURBING to be allowed to circulate freely. …
For the future, the Bible prophecy reveals that the time will come when most of this world’s nations will be led by Satan to abolish freedom of the press — and all related freedoms. Why? To prevent any publishing of God’s message from reaching any substantial number of people!
`Behold, the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord: and they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, and shall not find it” (Amos 8:11-12).
Elsewhere the Bible reveals how this prophesied press clampdown will take place. Revelation 13 describes a great religious-civil power that will arise in the place of the old Roman Empire. This prophesied power will not allow free speech, a free press or the free exercise of any religion — except the official religion of the state.
Why Free Press Important
The Gospel is the good news of a government that will REPLACE the governments of this world. Yet replace is a mild word! The prophet Daniel flatly declares that the Government of God will “break in pieces and consume” the nations of this world that resist Him (Daniel 2:44).
The Gospel of the Kingdom of God proclaims that there is a higher power than human government, another and divine government to whom men, whether they know it or not, ultimately owe allegiance. For this reason early Christians were accused of doing “contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, one Jesus” (Acts 17:7).
No wonder the governments of this world have historically sought to suppress the publishing of the Gospel of the Kingdom of God — for it is ultimately the news of their overthrow by Christ at His return! …
Even if false ideas circulate under freedom of the press, at least God’s Word will also be able to go out unhindered.
Free societies pay a very high price for freedom of the press — pornography circulates freely because human courts say they can’t really tell the difference between pornography and other kinds of writing or expression. This is a very high price — but at least it does insure the free circulation of God’s truth, as well as other religious ideas.
If you grant human government the authority to censor what is printed or spoken, you allow the government to stop any message it doesn’t approve of.
Government tried to suppress Elijah, Amos and Jeremiah; it is prophesied to suppress God’s true Gospel again in the future. The power to censor bad writing easily becomes the power to suppress good writing.
There is a reason why God began, and based, his end-time work in the country on earth where freedom of the press is greatest — and why God’s Church has grown the most, as a rule, in countries where press freedom is substantial. Since the spreading of God’s Word is the most important activity on earth — the preservation of freedom of the press is one of the most awesome responsibilities God lays on human government. (Calkins J. FREE PRESS IN THE BIBLE? Was It Prophesied? Plain Truth. May 1981)
The Philadelphia portion of the Church of God did begin in the USA and its most faithful remnant is still based out of the USA.
But now, in the USA and especially outside of it, we are seeing more and more calls for restrictions and censorship.
We are getting closer to this time of Amos 8:11-12 being fulfilled. More and more are starting to see that their are plans to censor speech from the internet.
That is part of why we in the Continuing Church of God are preparing for the ‘short work’ (Romans 9:28) and the coming ‘famine of the word.’
Consider, however, that Jesus said:
4 I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work. (John 9:4)
Philadelphian Christians want to respond to the doors that Christ opens to proclaim the gospel (2 Corinthians 2:12; 1 Corinthians 16:8-9; Colossians 4:2-4) and do the work. We will stand up for the truth, despite realizing that the ‘famine of the word’ that the prophet Amos referred to is coming. We must do the work and persevere to the end.
As far as internet monitoring goes, consider the following prophecy:
13 Therefore the prudent keep silent at that time, For it is an evil time. (Amos 5:13)
The above indicates that even those that are doing nothing wrong will need to be silent at the coming evil time.
Yet, currently, it is still time to:
1 Cry aloud, spare not;
Lift up your voice like a trumpet;
Tell My people their transgression,
And the house of Jacob their sins. (Isaiah 58:1)
Which is what we in the Continuing Church of God are doing. We have denounced, not only sins that the world sometimes seems to consider politically correct, but also sins that many claimed COGs will not do, because of their own concerns about their political fates (watch CCOG, a corporation sole, not a 501(c)(3)) and/or fates that could happen if they offended their financial supporters if they told the truth to truly fulfill Isaiah 58:1 (e.g. Are Violent Sports Evil?).
Many in and out of the government are watching the internet and have plans to deal with materials that they some day hope to silence. And yes, we know that there will be massive government persecution (cf. Daniel 7:25; see also Persecutions by Church and State).
Yet, there is good news as the Kingdom of God will come and replace the Babylonian (Revelation 13:16-18) system that we see being put together today. Yet, have no doubts, the type of totalitarian Beast society that the Bible warned about for the end times is truly taking shape in many parts of the world.
Some items of possibly related interest may include:
Preparing for the ‘Short Work’ and The Famine of the Word What is the ‘short work’ of Romans 9:28? Who is preparing for it? Here is a link to a related video sermon titled: The Short Work.
Should the Church Still Try to Place its Top Priority on Proclaiming the Gospel or Did Herbert W. Armstrong Change that Priority for the Work? Some say the Church should mainly feed the flock now as that is what Herbert W. Armstrong reportedly said. Is that what he said? Is that what the Bible says? What did Paul and Herbert W. Armstrong expect from lower level leaders? A related sermon is available titled Priority of the Philadelphia Work.
Persecutions by Church and State This article documents some that have occurred against those associated with the COGs and some prophesied to occur. Will those with the cross be the persecutors or the persecuted–this article has the shocking answer. There is also a YouTube video sermon you can watch: The Coming Persecution of the Church. Here is information in the Spanish language: Persecuciones de la Iglesia y el Estado.
The Gospel of the Kingdom of God This free online pdf booklet has answers many questions people have about the Gospel of the Kingdom of God and explains why it is the solution to the issues the world is facing. Here are links to three related sermons: The World’s False Gospel, The Gospel of the Kingdom: From the New and Old Testaments, and The Kingdom of God is the Solution.
Germany’s Assyrian Roots Throughout History Are the Germanic peoples descended from Asshur of the Bible? Have there been real Christians in Germanic history? What about the “Holy Roman Empire”? There is also a You-Tube video sermon on this titled Germany’s Biblical Origins.
Germany in Biblical Prophecy Does Assyria in the Bible equate to an end time power inhabiting the area of the old Roman Empire? What does prophecy say Germany will do and what does it say will happen to most of the German people? Here is a version of the article in the Spanish language: Alemania en la profecía bíblic. Here are links to two English language sermon videos Germany in Bible Prophecy and The Rise of the Germanic Beast Power of Prophecy.
The Eurasian Union, the Kings of the East, and Bible Prophecy Is there a Eurasian union that will be formed? Is one being formed right now? Are any leaders working on that in the 21st century? Does the Bible teach that there will be a Eurasian union? If some type of Eurasian union is formed, who might it benefit and who will it destroy? A related video would be Is The Eurasian Union Rising?
What Did Christ Mean – Many Are Called, But Few Are Chosen? This article was by Raymond McNair.
Christian Repentance Do you know what repentance is? Is it really necessary for salvation? A related sermon is also available titled: Real Christian Repentance.
Just What Do You Mean — Repentance? Do you know what repentance is? Have you truly repented? Repented of what? Herbert W. Armstrong wrote this as a booklet on this important subject.
When You Sin: Do You Really Repent? This is an article by Charles F. Hunting. A related sermon is Confess to God and truly repent.
When Will the Great Tribulation Begin? 2017, 2018, or 2019? 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 videos: The Great Tribulation from the Mount of Olives and Can the Great Tribulation begin before 2020? A shorter video is: Will the Great Tribulation Start in 2017?
Are You Being Called by God? Norman Shoaf wrote various points to consider.
Is God Calling You? Alfred E Carrozzo wrote this.
What Did Christ Mean – Many Are Called, But Few Are Chosen? This article was by Raymond McNair.
Christian Repentance Do you know what repentance is? Is it really necessary for salvation? A related sermon is also available titled: Real Christian Repentance.
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. One video of related interest is 17 Laodicean Errors in Prophecy.
Canada in Prophecy: What Does Bible Prophecy, Catholic Prophecy, and other Predictions Suggest About the Future of Canada? There are prophecies that suggest involvement with Canada. And many are not positive about its future.
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: Donald: ‘Trump of God’ or Apocalyptic?
Donald Trump and America’s Apocalypse This 188 page book is for people truly interested in prophecies related to Donald Trump and the United States, including learning about several that have already been fulfilled and those that will be fulfilled in the future. The physical book can be purchased at Amazon for $12.99 from the following link: Donald Trump and America’s Apocalypse.
Donald Trump and America’s Apocalypse-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 Donald Trump and America’s Apocalypse-Kindle Edition.
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. A video of possible interest may be Will Will USA Spying Help the Beast Power?
Leading the Final Phase of the Work Matthew 24:14 teaches “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come ” will be fulfilled and RCG is not the group doing this. Who is leading the final phase of the work? What did Herbert Armstrong and the old WCG teach about that and about prophets? Does Bob Thiel meet the criteria that the Bible and the old WCG set? What is the proof? What has the Continuing Church of God been doing? This is a sermonette length video.
Who is the King of the North? Is there one? Do biblical and Roman Catholic prophecies for the Great Monarch point to the same leader? Should he be followed? Who will be the King of the North discussed in Daniel 11? Is a nuclear attack prophesied to happen to the English-speaking peoples of the United States, Great Britain, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand? When do the 1335 days, 1290 days, and 1260 days (the time, times, and half a time) of Daniel 12 begin? When does the Bible show that economic collapse will affect the United States? In the Spanish language check out ¿Quién es el Rey del Norte? Here is a link to a video titled: The Future King of the North.
Internet Control, Famine of the Word, and 666 On October 1, 2016, the USA officially relinquished control over the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), despite objections from certain political leaders and former military officials. Might this lead to more censorship, imposition on non-biblical ‘community standards,’ and loss of first amendment rights? Could this transfer of control have any prophetic ramifications? Will the internet be a factor in the ‘short work’ of Romans 9:28 and the coming ‘famine of the word’ that the Prophet Amos warned about? Will internet control be something that the 666 power will have? Dr. Thiel addresses these matters and more in this video.
USA in Prophecy: The Strongest Fortresses Can you point to scriptures, like Daniel 11:39, that point to the USA in the 21st century? This article does. A related sermon is titled: Do these 7 prophesies point to the end of the USA?
Who is the King of the West? Why is there no Final End-Time King of the West in Bible Prophecy past Daniel 11:39? Is the United States the King of the West? Here is a version in the Spanish language: ¿Quién es el Rey del Occidente? ¿Por qué no hay un Rey del Occidente en la profecía del tiempo del fin?
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.
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