Church of God News

‘George Floyd’ Riot aftermath (Lorie Shaull)

COGwriter

We are seeing protests, arrests, and riots across the USA (see Riots across the USA: Garner Ted Armstrong on cause of racial strife), protests in Hong Kong (see China approves Hong Kong National Security Law), and rumors of another intifada from the Palestinians (see Netanyahu sworn in and wants annexations, but Jordan’s King Abdullah opposed).

Here is some information on the riots and protests in the USA:

George Floyd protests continue nationwide, 4,400 arrests reported; St. John’s Church in DC set on fire

June 1, 2020

More than 4,400 arrests have been made at protests nationwide since viral video emerged showing former Minneapolis Officer Derek Chauvin holding his knee to Floyd’s neck for more than eight minutes on Memorial Day, resulting in Floyd’s death. Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo apologized to Floyd’s family Sunday, saying that firing Chauvin and the other three officers involved in the incident was the right thing to do.

Peaceful protests continued to be marred by violence. The Minneapolis Department of Public safety confirmed a semi-truck drove into a group of peaceful protesters on Interstate 35. …

As protesters gathered near the White House, flames were seen at Washington, D.C., landmark that bills itself as “the church of the presidents.” The fire, apparently an act of arson, was in the basement of St. John’s Church, across from the White House, The Washington Post reported, and was extinguished. It occurred as a demonstration was taking place outside. The gathering had attracted as many as 1,000 Sunday, who faced off against officers in riot gear. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/06/01/george-floyd-protest-arrests-dc-chicago-minneapolis/5305001002/

Will Today’s Riots Spur Electoral Backlash Like 1967’s?

June 1, 2020

As New York Times columnist Ross Douthat notes, riots weren’t the only types of “urban violence” that fed a racial backlash in the 1960s and beyond; violent crime rates were rising rapidly, as well. Current crime rates are relatively low in most cities, but conservative race-baiters have become adept at using selective crime spikes to conjure the specter of terrifying “waves.”

Nixon and Reagan were shrewd manipulators of white racial fears and deft deployers of racist dog whistles, but both were arguably pikers compared to Donald J. Trump.

That a wave of “race riots” has broken out as Trump is in the throes of an existential fight to stay in power has to be looked on as a gift from heaven by many in his camp. That today’s Democrats are (to their credit) feeling much more pressure to identify with the victims of racial injustice than were their forbears over a half-century ago is just fuel for the backlash fires. Perhaps the current protests will subside or be channeled constructively, or they will be overshadowed by the daily violence of coronavirus cases and families and lives torn apart by the collapse of the economy. But when push comes to shove in October, you can bet that Republican campaign ads and social-media messaging will be aflame with images of rioters along with their alleged Democratic allies, the criminal illegal aliens. https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/06/will-todays-riots-spur-electoral-backlash-like-1967s.html

As far as Donald Trump goes, here is something I warned about here in September 2016:

For years I have warned that more civil unrest was coming to the USA. We have already seen a re-emergence of civil unrest already in 2015 and 2016.

That does not mean that I agree that globalists will necessarily trigger it etc. But the media certainly has fanned the flames in the past and I expect them to do more such fanning in the future if Donald Trump were to win. (Thiel B. ‘Chaos will erupt across America in less than 100 days… no matter who wins the election’. COGwriter, September 5, 2016)

Plus, here is something related to that in my book Donald Trump and America’s Apocalypse:

For one prophetic example, on September 5, 2016, I warned that the media would fan the flames for civil unrest if Donald Trump were elected. The morning after his election I warned that we would see civil unrest. Less than 24 hours later, tens of thousands, of various backgrounds, were protesting (Blau M, et al. Protesters target Trump buildings in massive street rallies. CNN, November 10, 2016 ) and certain ones in the media helped fan those flames of those protests. Expect more protests against Donald Trump. (Thiel B. Donald Trump and America’s Apocalypse. Nazarene Books, 2017, pp. 15-16)

Donald Trump has been a polarizing figure and has offended many including minorities and Muslims. Expect civil unrest and rioting. The Bible prophesies “There shall be terror within” (Deuteronomy 32:25). (Thiel B. Donald Trump and America’s Apocalypse. Nazarene Books, 2017, p. 86)

That has happened.

Now consider that Jesus said:

4 “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. (Matthew 24:4-8)

We are in the ‘beginning of sorrows.’ The first horseman of the Apocalypse spreading a false interfaith and ecumenical gospel has been becoming more and more prominent on the world scene the past several years. They claim Jesus is Christ, but do not truly act like it, and they are deceiving many.

Jesus said this would be followed by wars and rumors of war.

As far as rumors of war go, the situation in Hong Kong has sparked many fears and rumors. Millions in Hong Kong seem to see “the handwriting on the wall” (see also China approves Hong Kong National Security Law) and have decided to be pro-mainland China (see Nearly 2.93 mln Hong Kong residents sign petition supporting national security legislation) while others wish to protest.

Now, notice something related to Palestine:

June 1, 2020

Abbas: “The [Palestinian] leadership has today decided the following: First, the PLO and the State of Palestine are absolved, as of today, of all the agreements and understandings with the American and Israeli governments and of all the commitments based on these understandings and agreements, including the security ones.”

[Official PA TV, May 19, 2020]

On the day of Abbas’ speech, the official PA daily editorial also warned of impending violence. The editorial prescribed “fighting this plan… regardless of the extent of the sacrifices and the quantity of the Martyrs’ blood”:

“The possibility that stands before Palestine with its people, its leadership, and its factions… is either treason through silence over the destructive colonialist annexation plan, or fighting this plan… on the basis of resolve and perseverance in the paths of national struggle, regardless of the extent of the sacrifices and the quantity of the Martyrs’ blood. On these paths there can be no compromises of any kind; either the free and independent State of Palestine whose capital is East Jerusalem with a just resolution for the refugees’ problem, or ‘fire from generation to generation.’”

[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, May 19, 2020]

Abbas’ Fatah Movement has also threatened violence against Israel, promising “an explosion of the situation” and “self-sacrifice”:

We hold the Israeli occupation and the current American administration fully responsible for the explosion in the situation in the Palestinian territories, and say to them that the Palestinian people will defend its land and its right with self-sacrifice… We will not allow any occupying power to expropriate our historical Palestinian right, and we will all mobilize to fight with the sword of justice against the dark forces of occupation, until the occupation is defeated and independence is achieved.” (See full statement below)

[Official Fatah Facebook page, May 20, 2020]

Fatah in Hebron “warned” Israel that Fatah “will be watching” and that “options are completely open” – a Palestinian euphemism for threatening to use violence and terror. …

Similarly, PLO Executive Committee member Saleh Rafat encouraged Palestinians to use “all the types of popular resistance” against Israel – another term that includes the use of violence and terror:

“PLO Executive Committee member and Secretary-General of the Palestinian Democratic Union FIDA Saleh Rafat… called on all the Palestinian factions, the civil and official Palestinian institutions, and all our Palestinian people in Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip, and the West Bank to come out against the Israeli steps that are meant to Judaize occupied Jerusalem, to tighten the siege of the Gaza Strip, and to annex the Palestinian territories, through all the types of popular resistance in all the Palestinian districts.”

[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, May 29, 2020] https://www.breakingisraelnews.com/151201/fatah-last-warning-threatens-explosion-and-self-sacrifice-if-israel-annexes-judea-samaria/

Many of those statements sound at least like rumors of war.

We could be at or near the time of the ride of the red horseman of the apocalypse.

Red Horseman of War

Notice what Jesus had the Apostle John record:

3 When He opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, “Come and see.” 4 Another horse, fiery red, went out. And it was granted to the one who sat on it to take peace from the earth, and that people should kill one another; and there was given to him a great sword. (Revelation 6:3-4)

The specter of war is haunting the world right now. And though we expect, after conflict, to see temporary peace in places like the Middle East (cf. Daniel 9:27; see also The ‘Peace Deal’ of Daniel 9:27), many are preparing for war.

Here is number 7 from my article 20 items to prophetically watch in 2020:

7. Strife and the Red Horse of War

Notice the following:

3 When He opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, “Come and see.” 4 Another horse, fiery red, went out. And it was granted to the one who sat on it to take peace from the earth, and that people should kill one another; and there was given to him a great sword. (Revelation 6:3-4)

Somewhat paralleling the ride of the second horseman of Revelation 6:3-4, Jesus warned about wars and disturbances:

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. (Matthew 24:6-7a)

“Nation … against nation” is literally “ethnos … against ethnos” in the original Greek. Notice how the Orthodox Jewish Bible translates the first half of Matthew 24:7:

For there will be an intifada of ethnic group against ethnic group, …

We expect to see more wars, rumors of war, and civil unrest.

When I heard a black woman scream out “Shoot all the white folks” on the news last Thursday evening, her statement ended up bringing the “intifada of ethnic group against ethnic group” translation of Matthew 24:7 to mind. “Intifada” means rebellion or uprising, or more properly, it comes from the Arabic intifāḍah meaning “shaking off.” We have seen rebellion and a desire to shake off various governmental practices in these recent protests and riots.

Speaking of racial riots, I saw printed signs in windows of various businesses in the Minneapolis area that said “BLACK OWNED BUSINESS.’ Apparently hoping that the building would not be ransacked.  This reminded me of the spray painted words “Soul Brother” that I saw on buildings in Detroit, Michigan related to the 1967 riots. Related to that riot, notice what history.com reported:

The 1967 Detroit Riots were among the most violent and destructive riots in U.S. history. By the time the bloodshed, burning and looting ended after five days, 43 people were dead, 342 injured, nearly 1,400 buildings had been burned and some 7,000 National Guard and U.S. Army troops had been called into service. https://www.history.com/topics/1960s/1967-detroit-riots accessed 05/53/20

Worse riots are going to happen related to the red horseman’s ride–which had NOT began before the 1967 riots.

It should be noted that the opening of this second seal for the red horseman’s ride IS NOT the Great Tribulation, as that does not begin until the 5th seal of Revelation is opened (Revelation 6:9). But warring destruction will accompany the start of the fifth seal as the opening of most seals does NOT close the previous ones.

Jesus said that before the Great Tribulation (Matthew 24:21), that we are to expect wars, rumors of wars, and various sorrows (Matthew 24:4-8).

So, other world leaders, in addition to the Beast of Revelation 13:1-10, are involved with this red horse.

The late Herbert W. Armstrong taught:

The first horseman is not the coming of Christ; it was the false Christ deceiving the people. For one thing, it was long after Christ had come. John wrote this in 90 AD and Christ had come, and was crucified, and gone to heaven in 31 AD. So you see it’s talking of something else, not something that had happened. This is a prophecy for the future. (Armstrong HW. Revelation – Closed Book Until the End. Radio broadcast. http://www.hwalibrary.com/cgi-bin/get/hwa.cgi?action=getbroadcast&InfoID=1371308958 accessed 09/05/17)

As far as timing goes, here is something else that the old Worldwide Church of God published back in 1975:

In the book of Revelation we find a disturbing vision of four fearsome horsemen (Rev. 6:1-8). Each of these horsemen is a symbol of the four major punishments to be inflicted upon a rebellious mankind — probably in the not-too-distant future! (Ritter G. 4 Horsemen of the Apocalypse – The Pale Horse – Disease Epidemics. Ambassador College Press, 1975)

4 Horsemen of the Apocalypse – The Red Horse – War

John writes: “And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword” (Rev. 6:4).

John was not speaking about the fall of Jerusalem. That war was already some twenty years behind him. John was referring to future events that would bring 6000 years of human history crashing to a cataclysmic close.

The context of the book of Revelation alone demonstrates this. In chapter 9, verse 16, John writes of an army of 200 million men. There were barely that many men, women and children on earth in the days of Christ or the apostle John. Until the nineteenth century it would have been impossible to field an army this big, even if all the nations of the world had pooled their manpower resources. … John is referring to a time yet ahead of us when “peaceful coexistence” will be a thing of the past. (Ritter G. 4 Horsemen of the Apocalypse – The Red Horse – War, pp. 48, 52; see also Ritter R. The War that could end it all. Good News, December 1975)

What leads to the riding of the horsemen, including the one of war?

Satan!

7 And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, 8 but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. 9 So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. (Revelation 12:7-9)

12 Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time. (Revelation 12:12)

Satan deceives the world, including religiously (2 Corinthians 11:14-15), and is a factor in the ride of the white horseman and then the others.

Satan is stirring up unrest around the world. And this also includes Europe.

The Bible shows that a warring leader will arise in Europe:

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

That sea, according to Daniel, is the “Great Sea” (Daniel 7:2-8), further identified by other scriptures to be what we now call the Mediterranean Sea (Numbers 34:6-7; Joshua 1:4; 9:1; 23:4; Ezekiel 47:13-16). We also have a BNP video Can You Prove that the Beast to Come is European?

Once this Beast decides to make massive war, at first he will be successful.

First, he will likely quell unrest in Europe.

Then, he will eventually turn against the USA and its Anglo-Saxon descended allies:

24 His power shall be mighty, but not by his own power;
He shall destroy fearfully,
And shall prosper and thrive;
He shall destroy the mighty, and also the holy people.

25 “Through his cunning
He shall cause deceit to prosper under his rule;
And he shall exalt himself in his heart.
He shall destroy many in their prosperity. (Daniel 8:24-25)

39 Thus he shall act against the strongest fortresses with a foreign god, which he shall acknowledge, and advance its glory; and he shall cause them to rule over many, and divide the land for gain. (Daniel 11:39)

This Beast leader, also called the King of the North, will then eliminate lands now dominated by Islam:

40 “At the time of the end the king of the South shall attack him; and the king of the North shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter the countries, overwhelm them, and pass through. 41 He shall also enter the Glorious Land, and many countries shall be overthrown; but these shall escape from his hand: Edom, Moab, and the prominent people of Ammon. 42 He shall stretch out his hand against the countries, and the land of Egypt shall not escape. 43 He shall have power over the treasures of gold and silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt; also the Libyans and Ethiopians shall follow at his heels. (Daniel 11:40-43)

He will be successful militarily for a time.

Satan will want to see more destroyed and will encourage nations to gather in Armageddon:

13 Then the sixth angel sounded: And I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, 14 saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, “Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.” 15 So the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour and day and month and year, were released to kill a third of mankind. 16 Now the number of the army of the horsemen was two hundred million; I heard the number of them. (Revelation 9:13-16)

13 And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs coming out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. 14 For they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. (Revelation 16:13-14)

16 And they gathered them together to the place called in Hebrew, Armageddon. (Revelation 16:16)

This will not turn out well for those who so gather:

14 These will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and those who are with Him are called, chosen, and faithful. (Revelation 17:14)

44 And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. (Daniel 2:44)

8 The nations were angry, and Your wrath has come,
And the time of the dead, that they should be judged,
And that You should reward Your servants the prophets and the saints,
And those who fear Your name, small and great,
And should destroy those who destroy the earth. (Revelation 11:18)

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

KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.

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

19 And I saw the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army. 20 Then the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. These two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone. 21 And the rest were killed with the sword which proceeded from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse. And all the birds were filled with their flesh. (Revelation 19:15-21)

And then what happens:

1 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. 2 He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; 3 and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. But after these things he must be released for a little while.

4 And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. 5 But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years. (Revelation 20:1-6)

The old WCG taught after this:

Peace at Last

Jesus Christ will then go about the business of establishing real world peace. With Satan the Devil bound (Rev. 20:2), his destructive church-state combine out of the way, and with the nations no longer governed by fallible men, remarkable things will begin to happen. Isaiah writes: “And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain [government] of the Lord’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears in to pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more” (Isa. 2:2-4; see also Micah 4:1-4).
For the first time the vast majority of people will learn what it means to live according to God’s laws. No longer will they be motivated to fight and quarrel, but will learn to love their fellowman. There it is — the final solution to war.

For the sake of all humanity, the sooner it arrives the better. (Ritter G. 4 Horsemen of the Apocalypse – The Red Horse – War, p. 52)

Despite wars, ultimately, there is good news as God’s kingdom will come and those issues will be gone (Revelation 7:16).

Yet, currently we see a lot of violent unrest and posturing–that ultimately will fail. The Kingdom of God is the Solution.

Here is our latest video:

14:10

Riots and the Red Horse of the Apocalypse

We are seeing riots and protests across the USA, protests and skirmishes in Hong Kong, and another potential intifada with the Palestinians over Israel’s annexation plans. Could any of this be related to the beginning of sorrows Jesus mentioned in Matthew 24? What about rider of the red horse of war of the apocalypse? Is ethic group prophesied to be against ethnic group according to the Orthodox Jewish Bible? Did the red horse begin the ride in the 20th century? What is the relationship of the seals of Revelation 6 and the start of the Great Tribulation? Will a warring ‘Beast’ leader arise in Europe? Might he quell civil unrest? Might he militarily destroy the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada? What about the Islamic nations of the Middle East and North Africa? Will Jesus have the King of the North Beast defeated? After Jesus returns will this be the time when people will not learn war? What about the other seals in the Book of Revelation? Dr. Thiel address these and more in this video.

Here is a link to our video: Riots and the Red Horse of the Apocalypse.

We are seeing signs of the Red Horseman of the Apocalypse.

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This entry was posted on Monday, June 1st, 2020 at 6:10 am and is filed under Prophecy.

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