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Saw the following related to the UK and survival:

Want to survive the apocalypse? From energy bars, gas masks and freeze dried food, doomsday ‘prepper’ reveals everything you’ll need if the world ends as government unveils website advising Brits on how to get ready for an emergency

23 May 2024

A new government website advising Brits how to prepare for an emergency has focused attention on the phenomenon of ‘prepping’ – and one practitioner today revealed his list of the top 10 items to stow away in the event of a disaster.

Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden wants people to make contingency plans for dealing with potential emergencies to help build ‘national resilience’ and ease pressure on emergency services.

This includes stocking up with enough food and water to survive for three days in the event of flood, alongside other precautions like establishing escape plans for fires and learning basic first aid skills. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13451205/prepper-reveals-10-items-need-emergency.html

While the above is logical for local weather disasters (and there is more information at the link above), no that will not insure anyone can survive the Apocalypse.

Before getting to that, there are various views on possible apocalyptic scenarios, some of which are consistent with prophesies in the Book of Revelation (also know as the Apocalypse) and some that are not.

A while back, a reader sent me a link to an article from the Russian Times that linked to a study from Oxford University’s Future of Humanity Institute and the Global Challenges Foundation. The article was titled, 12 likely causes of the Apocalypse, as seen by scientists, whereas the 212 page report from Oxford was titled 12 Risks that threaten human civilisation.

Anyway, here they are (listed in the same order as in the 12 likely causes of the Apocalypse, as seen by scientists in that article):

Asteroid impact

…Large asteroid collisions happen about once every 20 million years, the report says. Probability: 0.00013% http://rt.com/news/232591-12-causes-apocalypses-scientists/

The actual probability of a major impact, if comets are considered, is 100%. Not that this will end human civilization, but the Book of the Apocalypse tells of something coming from the sky called Wormwood (Revelation 8:10-11; see also Wormwood and Planet Nibiru).

Here is the second listed one of the 12:

Super-volcano eruption

A volcano capable of causing an eruption with an ejecta volume greater than 1,000 km3 could cause a global catastrophe… Probability: 0.00003%

The USA is at risk should the supervolcano at Yellowstone erupt:

Yellowstone Supervolcano Eruption Would be Devastating For U.S.

If the Yellowstone supervolcano erupted, at least a meter of ash would cover parts of the Rocky Mountain range and a few millimeters of ash would reach cities on both coasts of the U.S., according to new estimates based on computer simulations on the event…
The Ash3D model simulated Yellowstone’s eruption and the study, “Modeling Ash Fall Distribution From a Yellowstone Supereruption,” was published in the Wiley Online Library.

Larry Mastin, lead author of the study and US Geological Survey hydrologist, said he helped develop the Ash3D model, said that there has been a recent rise in demand for models projecting the density of the ash driven by a ground-collapsing eruption from the Yellowstone volcano. …

Once they simulated a modern-day Yellowstone eruption, researchers were able to determine that a Yellowstone caldera eruption would release an “umbrella” of ash that would spread from the center of the US and cover both coasts.

“In essence, the eruption makes its own winds that can overcome the prevailing westerlies, which normally dominate weather patterns in the United States,” said Mastin. “This helps explain the distribution from large Yellowstone eruptions of the past, where considerable amounts of ash reached the west coast.”

The effects of the supervolcano’s ash cloud would have a significant impact on every part of the U.S. The whole continent would suffer drastic change, according to Mastin.

“Electronic communications and air transportation would likely be shut down throughout North America,” said the study. “There would also be major climate effects. Emission of sulfur aerosols during the 1991 Pinatubo eruption produced global cooling by an average of 1 degrees Celsius for a few years, while the 50 km 3 Tambora eruption of 1815 cooled the planet enough to produce the famed ‘year without a summer’ in 1816, during which snow fell in June in eastern North America and crop failures led to the worst famine of the 19th century.” http://www.autoworldnews.com/articles/8822/20140901/yellowstone-supervolcano-eruption-would-be-devastating-for-u-s.htm

The chance is probably much, much higher than the Oxford report indicates. Jesus warned about a time of earthquakes and troubles:

8 … And there will be earthquakes in various places, and there will be…troubles. These are the beginnings of sorrows. (Mark 13:8)

A supervolcanic eruption such as one at Yellowstone could cause major “troubles.” Watch also Are supervolcanoes a real threat?

Here is the third of the 12:

Global pandemic

A high impact epidemic is more probable than is widely believed, as all the features of an extremely devastating disease already exist in nature…Probability: 0.0001%

As I wrote back in 2015:

The probability of a major pandemic is actually 100% according to the Bible. (Thiel B. Oxford University’s 12 likely causes of the Apocalypse. COGwriter, February 18, 2015)

Since I wrote that, we have had COVID-19–but more are coming.

Notice also what Jesus said:

7…And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of sorrows. (Matthew 24:7-8)

Notice also what the Book of the Apocalypse teaches:

7 When He opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, “Come and see.” 8 So I looked, and behold, a pale horse. And the name of him who sat on it was Death, and Hades followed with him. And power was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword, with hunger, with death, and by the beasts of the earth. (Revelation 6:7-8)

Hopefully more will realize that a major pandemic is possible–and it will be more devastating than COVID-19 has thus far been. The current bird flu is a possibility (watch Bird Flu and 4th Horseman’s Ride).

Here is the fourth of the 12:

Nuclear war

The possibility of a deliberate or accidental nuclear conflict in the next century or so is estimated at 10%. The larger impact would depend on whether the conflict would trigger a “nuclear winter” – a climatic effect that would plunge temperatures below freezing, destroy most of the ozone layer, and start firestorms, which would likely lead to mass starvation and state collapse. Probability: 0.005%

Nuclear war or something similar has a probability of 100% in the next century. Jesus said:

7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom (Matthew 24:7)

The Book of Apocalypse teaches:

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)

Something that resembles nuclear devastation is one of the prophesied curses mentioned in the Bible:

23 ‘The whole land is brimstone, salt, and burning; it is not sown, nor does it bear, nor does any grass grow there, like the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, which the Lord overthrew in His anger and His wrath.’ 24 All nations would say, ‘Why has the Lord done so to this land? What does the heat of this great anger mean?’ 25 Then people would say: ‘Because they have forsaken the covenant of the Lord God of their fathers, which He made with them when He brought them out of the land of Egypt; 26 for they went and served other gods and worshiped them, gods that they did not know and that He had not given to them. 27 Then the anger of the Lord was aroused against this land, to bring on it every curse that is written in this book. (Deuteronomy 29:23-27).

6…He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day; 7 as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. (Jude 6-7)

19 Through the wrath of the LORD of hosts
The land is burned up,
And the people shall be as fuel for the fire; No man shall spare his brother.
20 And he shall snatch on the right hand
And be hungry;
He shall devour on the left hand
And not be satisfied; Every man shall eat the flesh of his own arm. 21 Manasseh shall devour Ephraim, and Ephraim Manasseh; Together they shall be against Judah (Isaiah 9:19-21).

The above descriptions are consistent with a nuclear or similar attack. Manasseh represents the USA and Ephraim its British-descended allies. THIS HAS NOT YET HAPPENED IN HISTORY AND IS A PROPHECY FOR OUR TIME. While Israel was uprooted historically, the land did not burn up or become brimstone. Deuteronomy 29:29 provides one reason why most Protestants and most others that profess Christ do not understand these prophecies–they do not do the words of the law that God expects His people to do today. Europe is looking at developing more nuclear capabilities, particularly as they have concerns about the USA and its presidential election (watch Donald Trump, Europe, and Nuclear Weapons?).

Here is the fifth of the 12:

Extreme climate change

…Climate change could lead to mass deaths, famines, social collapse, and mass migration. Probability: 0.01%

The probability of severe climate change is 100%, though of itself, it will not eliminate humanity. The Book of the Apocalypse teaches:

9 And men were scorched with great heat, and they blasphemed the name of God who has power over these plagues; and they did not repent and give Him glory. (Revelation 16:9)

More on the Bible and weather can be found in the article Weather Blessings and Sorrows.

Here is the sixth of the 12:

Synthetic biology

The most damaging impact from synthetic biology to human civilization would come from an engineered pathogen targeting humans or a crucial component of the ecosystem, the report states. Such would emerge from military or commercial bio-warfare, bio-terrorism, or leaked pathogens. Probability: 0.01%

As I wrote back in 2015:

Synthetic biology is going on now. They may lead to famines and pestilences, (Thiel B. Oxford University’s 12 likely causes of the Apocalypse. COGwriter, February 18, 2015)

In January 2020, I tied the coronavirus to originating in a laboratory (watch: Biological Warfare and Prophecy), so yes, synthetic biology has already led to one serious pestilence.

Synthetic biology is likely to contribute lead to famines and pestilences, which Jesus and the Book of the Apocalypse warn of. Here is a link to a related video: Biological Warfare and Prophecy. Articles of related interest would include GMOs and Bible Prophecy and Chimeras: Has Science Crossed the Line?; see also Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

Here is the seventh of the 12:

Nanotechnology

Atomically precise manufacturing would create smart or extremely resilient materials, and allow many different groups to manufacture a wide range of things – including large arsenals of novel weapons, such as nuclear ones. Probability: 0.01%

The Bible tells of war, and I suspect that technology will be part of it (see European Technology and the Beast of Revelation). Perhaps it will involve nanotechnology. Some think nanotechnology will save humanity–but we put out an opposing view on the video: Nanobots, 666, & Eternal Life?

The eighth of the 12 was:

Unknown consequences

These are all the unknowns that could lead to the end of the world, scientists say…”Probability: 0.1%

Sin leads to death and will be a factor in causing the Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord. Most scientists do not consider sin a factor, so for them, I will call it an “unknown consequence,” like the Apostle Paul referred to the “unknown God” (Acts 17:23).

Back in the Summer of 2018, I warned about risks associated with the release of genetically-modified mosquitoes. A year later, I was proven to be right (see Scientists confirm COGwriter GMO mosquito warning). The pro-genetic mosquito scientists admitted that they ended up with an “unanticipated outcome.”

I put out a book in January 2025 titled Unintended Consequences and Donald Trump’s Presidency: Is Donald Trump Fulfilling Biblical, Islamic, Greco-Roman Catholic, Buddhist, and other America-Related Prophecies? World events have already confirmed over a dozen things in that book.

The ninth of the 12 was:

Ecological collapse

In this scenario, the ecosystem would suffer a drastic change that would lead to mass extinction … Probability: N/A

The above is consistent with Wormwood (Revelation 8:10-11), high heat (Revelation 16:9), and other items that the Book of the Apocalypse foretells. Notice also:

7 The first angel sounded: And hail and fire followed, mingled with blood, and they were thrown to the earth. And a third of the trees were burned up, and all green grass was burned up.

8 Then the second angel sounded: And something like a great mountain burning with fire was thrown into the sea, and a third of the sea became blood. 9 And a third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed. (Revelation 8:7-9)

There will be an ecological crisis, the Bible tells of it. Humans are not properly tending the Earth. They are destroying it. And they will be judged for it:

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

An article of related interest would be The Bible, Christians, and the Environment.

The tenth of the 12 was:

Global system collapse

The world economic and political systems are interconnected, and are prone to system-wide failures caused by the structure of the network. Economic collapse is usually accompanied by social chaos, civil unrest, and a breakdown of law and order. Probability: N/A

The economic world order led by the USA will collapse–trade matters, sanction, and debt accumulation will be factors.

The tariffs and threats from Donald Trump have unnerved the world order.

As far as the USA goes, it is the largest debtor in the history of the world, and notice what will happen:

6 “Will not all these take up a proverb against him,
And a taunting riddle against him, and say,
‘Woe to him who increases
What is not his — how long?
And to him who loads himself with many pledges’?
7 Will not your creditors rise up suddenly?
Will they not awaken who oppress you?
And you will become their booty.
8 Because you have plundered many nations,
All the remnant of the people shall plunder you,
Because of men’s blood
And the violence of the land and the city,
And of all who dwell in it. (Habakkuk 2:6-8)

The USA expects to continue to increase its debts (see CBO points to massive debt: Can the depth of a coming financial crisis be known?). There will be an economic collapse of the USA. See also Anglo – America in Prophecy & the Lost Tribes of Israel.

The eleventh of the 12 was:

Future bad governance

A disaster… – like constructing a global totalitarian state. Probability: N/A

Back in 2015, I posted:

Biblically, there is a 100% probability of a totalitarian state. (Thiel B. Oxford University’s 12 likely causes of the Apocalypse. COGwriter, February 18, 2015)

Since then, COVID measures have shown that eliminating freedoms and putting in totalitarian policies can be done quickly by governments. We have also seen calls by the World Economic Forum and others for this.

More and more have publicly called for that, though they do not realize the ramifications (watch, for example, Will there be a “Great Reset”?).

Here is some of what the Bible teaches about a coming totalitarian state:

11 Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth, and he had two horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon. 12 And he exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence, and causes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. 13 He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men. 14 And he deceives those who dwell on the earth by those signs which he was granted to do in the sight of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who was wounded by the sword and lived. 15 He was granted power to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed. 16 He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, 17 and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.

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

The whole world will fall for at least part of it:

8 All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. (Revelation 13:8)

For more information check out Europa, the Beast, and Revelation and Who is the King of the North?

The twelfth of the 12 was:

Artificial Intelligence

The creation of human-level intelligence can result in the possibility that this intelligence will be driven to construct a world without humans…

On the other hand, the report also says it is probable that such intelligence could counter other apocalyptic causes presented in the study. Probability: 0-10%

The chances of computer problems causing other problems is high (see also Artificial Intelligence and Prophecy).

The Bible is clear that human-related intelligence (and that would include computers) will not solve the problems–only God will be able to. Notice:

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

More information on the Great Tribulation can be found in the article When Will the Great Tribulation Begin? A YouTube video of related interest may be: Could the Great Tribulation Begin in 2020?

The Great Tribulation will begin in this century and the events of the Book of the Apocalypse will come to pass.

But what about protection?

The Book of Revelation shows that there will be parts of four Churches of God at the time of the end (Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea) and I believe that those that are actually part of the Church of God, but are not actually Philadelphian are almost all in the Thyatira, Sardis, and/or Laodicea churches. And those non-Philadelphian groups have so many prophetic misunderstandings that they will NOT know when the Great Tribulation will start until it is too late.

Notice what Jesus says happens to many those that follow them in the end:

Thyatira…22 Indeed I will cast her into a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of their deeds. 23 I will kill her children with death, (Revelation 2:18,22-23).

Sardis…Therefore if you will not watch, I will come upon you as a thief, and you will not know what hour I will come upon you (Revelation 3:1,3).

Laodiceans… As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent (Revelation 3:14,19).

Yet notice that there is a difference for the Philadelphians who were not deceived into following false or heretical teachings:

Philadelphia…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).

While it is possible that some in the Thyatira, Sardis, and/or Laodicea churches may repent, only the Philadelphians are promised protection from the great tribulation, “the hour of trial”.

And that is another reason why understanding church eras is important.

(The main reason, however, is that seven times related to the seven Churches of Revelation 2 & 3, Jesus states, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches” Revelation 2:7,11,17,29;3:6,13,22. More on Church eras can be found in the article The Churches of Revelation 2 & 3.)

During the Great Tribulation, the Beast will control buying and selling:

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

18 Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: His number is 666. (Revelation 13:16-18)

Does this mean that the Philadelphian Christians will starve?

No.

Notice some of what the prophet Isaiah was inspired to write:

15 He who walks righteously and speaks uprightly, He who despises the gain of oppressions, Who gestures with his hands, refusing bribes, Who stops his ears from hearing of bloodshed, And shuts his eyes from seeing evil: 16 He will dwell on high; His place of defense will be the fortress of rocks; Bread will be given him, His water will be sure. (Isaiah 33:15-16)

20 “Assemble yourselves and come; Draw near together, You who have escaped from the nations” (Isaiah 45:20).

Isaiah thus indicates this place will be a fortress of rocks for those that escape from the nations (note: the escaping from the nations suggests that groups with origins in CGI, such as ICG and CEM, are in error for teaching that God intends to protect people where they are) and those protected will be able to eat (some have wondered if this could be ‘manna’) and drink. It is likely that they will also have many possessions in common, consistent with what happened in Acts 2:43-46.

It is also of interest to note that those that escape will be assembled–they are not lone independents–this is also consistent with writings in Zephaniah 2:1-3.

God inspired the Prophet Zephaniah to write the following:

1 Gather yourselves together, yes, gather together, O undesirable nation, (Zephaniah 2:1)

Although it has certain misunderstandings, the Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown Commentary realized that the gathering together was intended for a religious group or assembly:

Zephaniah 2:1

Gather yourselves together – to a religious assembly, to avert the judgment by prayers, (Joel 2:16, “Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders,” etc.) (from Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown Commentary, Electronic Database. Copyright © 1997, 2003, 2005, 2006 by Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved.)

When are they to gather together?

2 Before the decree is issued, Or the day passes like chaff, Before the Lord’s fierce anger comes upon you, Before the day of the Lord’s anger comes upon you! (Zephaniah 2:2)

This gathering is to take place well before the day of the Lord (which happens about 2 1/2 years after the Great Tribulation of Matthew 24:21 begins) and before some type of decree is issued. People who have not gathered together and think they will be able to know what to do at the end are mainly deceiving themselves.

Consider also what the New Testament teaches about the importance of gathering together as we get closer to the end:

We should not stop gathering together with other believers, as some of you are doing. Instead, we must continue to encourage each other even more as we see the day of the Lord coming. (Hebrews 10:23, Gods Word Translation)

Who does God want to gather together?

The end time Philadelphian Christians. Notice what Jesus stated and something the Apostle Peter wrote:

19 If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. (John 15:19, NKJV)

9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: 10 Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy. (1 Peter 2:9-10, KJV)

This is a peculiar people. These are people who the world does not desire. These are Philadelphian Christians. Notice what the Apostle Paul wrote:

1 Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, 2 not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come. (2 Thessalonians 2:1-2)

This gathering together before Jesus returns is for Christians.

How else do we know that Zephaniah 2:1-3 is related to Christians? Because the decree is for the end time and because of what else God inspired Zephaniah to write:

3 Seek the Lord, all you meek of the earth, Who have upheld His justice. Seek righteousness, seek humility. (Zephaniah 2:3a)

The above is a reference to Christians as they are to be the “meek of the earth” (Matthew 5:5) and to Philadelphians who “have upheld His justice. Seek righteousness, seek humility.” These are Philadelphian Christians who understand that church leaders need to have integrity and are willing to be humble enough to accept the authority of a church led by a low-level prophet in the absence of a clear apostle (cf. 1 Corinthians 12:28; Ephesians 4:11-15). They are humble enough to not think that they should remain ‘independent,’ as many who once were part of the old Worldwide Church of God have done.

Why does God tell them they may wish to be gathered together? So:

3 … It may be that you will be hidden In the day of the Lord’s anger. (Zephaniah 2:3b)

Interestingly, the Hebrew words translated as Zephaniah means “Yahweh Hides” or “Yahweh Has Hidden” (Holy Bible: Vine’s Expository Reference Edition, p. 826).

Why have I written that Zephaniah 2:1-3 has to do with Philadelphian Christians?

For they are the only ones who will actually ‘gather together’ as they should.

Why?

Because it is only to the Philadelphians that Jesus promises to protect from the coming hour of trial, also referred to as the Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord (Revelation 3:7-13).

Notice also the following from a former WCG member:

1) In Matthew 24:37-39 the discussion is still somewhat general. The two groups in this context are:

A) those who are protected at the place of safety;

B) all the rest of mankind who are not protected.

After this general comment, Jesus Christ became more specific. From here on He repeatedly contrasts TWO groups. But neither of those two groups represents the world at large. Both of those groups represent people who really SHOULD BE His “servants”; they both should be doing God’s work, and they both should be protected from the end time events, but only one group actually is protected.

The two groups that Christ repeatedly contrasts in the next section appear to represent:

A) the Philadelphian Christians

B) the Laodiceans.

In repeatedly referring to the same people, who are alive at the time of His return, Christ is highlighting different aspects about these two groups. So notice:

2) In Matthew 24:40 the Philadelphians are taken to the place of safety, and the Laodiceans are left behind.

3) In Matthew 24:41 this is repeated, the Philadelphians are taken to the place of safety and the Laodiceans are left behind.

… In Luke 17:37 the disciples are, in effect, asking: WHERE is the place of safety? WHERE are they taken?

And they answered and said unto him, WHERE, LORD? And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body [is], thither will the eagles be gathered together. (Luke 17:37)

Regarding this section of Scripture I have often pointed out that they asked the wrong question, but it is the same question that most of us would also have been inclined to ask. We want to know WHERE the place of safety is, as if that was somehow important. What they really should have asked is: “WHY LORD?” Why are some left behind?

What is the difference between these two groups? Why are some who are seemingly in the Church not going to be protected? Because it was the wrong question, the answer to which Christ did not want to divulge, therefore Christ gave a rather cryptic answer. It was a polite way of saying: “I am not going to tell you that right now”. However, this cryptic clue appears to be a reference to Petra, more than to any other place. (Nelte, Frank W. But If That Evil Servant Shall Begin to Smite His Fellow Servants … April 1995. http://www.franknelte.net/article.php?article_id=161&print=yes viewed 08/02/14)

Getting back to Zephaniah, notice that book is teaching that a decree is issued, apparently by a church leader–and I believe that the leader will be part of the Continuing Church of God. This would seem to happen after the gospel has been preached enough to the world as a witness (Matthew 24:14), Jewish sacrifices are stopped, and the abomination is set up (Daniel 9:27; 11:31; see also The ‘Peace Deal’ of Daniel 9:27) per Jesus’ statements in Matthew 24:15-16.

What kind of decree will be issued?

A decree that may allow those who are gathered together and who listen to it an opportunity to be protected (Zephaniah 2:1-3). A decree that the Philadelphians will listen to and then fly/flee.

When is a decree to be issued? After an event that Jesus told of that He tied to the writings of the Prophet Daniel:

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), (Matthew 24:15)

14 “So when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not” (let the reader understand), (Mark 13:14a)

What did Jesus say happens next?

16 “then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17 Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house. 18 And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes. 19 But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! 20 And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath. 21 For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. (Matthew 24:16-21)

Why a decree?

Apparently, to make it easier for people who read what Jesus said to better be able to understand that Matthew 24:15 and Mark 13:14 and Daniel 9:27b and Daniel 11:31 had been fulfilled.

By whom will the decree be made?

The Bible says:

7 Surely the Lord God does nothing,
Unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets.
8 A lion has roared!
Who will not fear?
The Lord God has spoken!
Who can but prophesy? (Amos 3:7-8)

The prophet may make the decree personally and/or pass it on to another authority in the church to make.

Who is the only Church of God in the 21st century to teach all of this?

The Continuing Church of God.

If you are not with the group that is leading the final phase of the work will you not be able to fly/flee if you wait until the last moment? While that may be remotely possible for some, remember that God inspired Zephaniah to admonish God’s people to ‘gather together…before the decree is issued.’

Most will discount this and many will scoff. Most COGs do not have anyone considered to be a prophet, and those other than CCOG who claim to, have prophets that have been proven to be false (e.g. PCG, CGPFKG, TPM).

Furthermore, let me mention that I read a post from a CCOG scoffer who picked at the very idea that one should suggest that a COG is Philadelphian and those part of such a COG will have be subject to being protected in a place of safety.

He and many others do not realize Jesus taught how important paying attentions to world events and prophecy is. Notice something Jesus taught:

34 “But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly. 35 For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth. 36 Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.” (Luke 21:34-36)

Notice Jesus said to watch and pray ALWAYS. He was referring to prophetic matters. THIS CAME FROM JESUS, BUT MANY SCOFF AT PROPHECY for differing reasons (cf. 2 Peter 3:1-7)–yet being a prophetic scoffer is a mistake (cf. 2 Peter 3:8-9).

Jesus realized that if people did not pay attention to prophecy and pray alway, they would not properly take the steps to “be counted worthy to escape all these things.” Yes, God uses prophecy as a motivator for people. Remember that God used Jonah to warn Nineveh (Jonah 3:1-4) and they repented (Jonah 3:5-9), and they did not get the punishment they were going to get then (Jonah 3:10).

Anyway, there is only one way to be guaranteed protection during the coming Great Tribulation, and that is not a few days of food, water. etc., but by being a true Philadelphian Christian.

Some items of possibly related interest may include:

There is a Place of Safety for the Philadelphians. Why it May Be Near Petra This article discusses a biblical ‘place of safety,’ Zephaniah 2 to ‘gather together,’ and includes quotes from the Bible and Herbert W. Armstrong on fleeing to a place–thus, there is a biblically supported alternative to the rapture theory. Two sermon-length videos of related interest are available Physical Protection During the Great Tribulation and Might Petra be the Place of Safety?  Here are two related items in the Spanish language: Hay un lugar de seguridad para los Filadelfinos. ¿Puede ser Petra? and Existe un Lugar de Seguridad.
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.
When Will the Great Tribulation Begin? 2024, 2025, or 2026? 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 la Gran Tribulación comenzar en el 2020 o 2021? ¿Es el Tiempo de los Gentiles? A related video is: Great Tribulation: 2026 or 2027? A shorter video is: Tribulation in 2024? Here is a video in the Spanish language: Es El 2021 el año  de La Gran Tribulación o el Grande Reseteo Financiero.
What is a True Philadelphian? What is one? Should you be a true Philadelphian? Here are links to two related videos: Be a Real Philadelphian Christian and Be a Philadephian Witness.
12 Apocalyptic Risks from Oxford University Oxford University’s Future of Humanity Institute and the Global Challenges Foundation issued a 212 page report titled “12 Risks that threaten human civilisation.” The Russian Times reported about it with an article titled The article was titled, “12 likely causes of the Apocalypse, as seen by scientists.” Risks included asteroid impact, supervolacanic explosion, global pandemic, nuclear war,climate change, synthetic biology, nanotechnology, unknown consequences, ecological collapse, economic global system collapse, bad governance, and artificial intelligence flaws. Are the risks greater than what Oxford scientists believe? What does the Bible say about these risks? This is a video.
Wormwood and Planet Nibiru Will the Earth be devastated by Planet X or Comet Encke? Here is a link to a related YouTube video Could Comet ISON be Wormwood of Bible Prophecy?
Earthquakes Today and Bible Prophecy Contains a cool up-to-the-hour update of earthquakes around the world from USGS. It also explains what did Jesus teach about earthquakes and how the Bible describes “the big one” (as well as when it is expected).
GMOs and Bible Prophecy What are GMOs? Since they were not in the food supply until 1994, how could they possibly relate to Bible prophecy? Do GMOs put the USA and others at risk? Here is a related YouTube video GMO Risks and the Bible.
Chimeras: Has Science Crossed the Line? What are chimeras? Has science crossed the line? Does the Bible give any clues?
COVID 19 is NOT the End, but could it be TEOTWAKI? The novel coronavirus called COVID-19 is wreaking havoc around the world. Many states of the USA as well as countries in Europe are on lockdown with shelter in place /shelter in residence requirements. In France, a form is required when you are not at your house. In Spain, drones are being used to warn people who are outside to got back to their homes–does that bring up feelings of ‘Big Brother’? Italy, France, and other areas are using police and/or military force to encourage people to stay inside. According to the Bible could this be the end? If not, what has to happen first? Have the second and third of the four horsemen of the Apocalypse started their ride? Could COVID-19 be the fourth horseman? Why or why not? Could we be seeing The End of the World as We Know It (TEOTWAKI) like the R.E.M.’s 1987 single song discussed? Do Christians need to fear? What did Jesus teach? What did the Psalmist teach? This is a video. Here is a link to a version in the Spanish language: Corona 19 no es el final PERO es el TEOTWAKI.
COVID-19 Leading to 666? The novel coronavirus of Wuhan, China fame, is now called COVID-19. It has also been called the ‘Coronapocalypse.’ Does COVID-19 have any prophetic ramifications? What did Jesus teach about pestilences and sorrows in the Olivet prophecy in Matthew 24? Could COVID-19 be the ride of the fourth horseman of the Apocalypse? Why was this type of disease expected according to the O. Here is a link to a version in the Spanish language: ld Testament prophecies in Deuteronomy and Leviticus? What has the US Centers for Disease Control warned about? What has the CDC reported about the flu? Were there lessons about fear and infections in the 2011 movie ‘Contagion’? Because of COVID-19, the World Health Organization (WHO), nation of Iran, and certain French locations are telling people not to use cash, but instead electronic forms of payment. The US Federal Reserve is now quarantining money repatriated from Asia to reduce the potential spread of the coronavirus on US currency bills. Is COVID-19 worse than we have been told or could this all be a ‘false flag’ event to encourage people to move towards a cashless society? If the thousands of deaths associated with COVID-19 are pushing parts of the world towards cashlessness, how much more likely will the ride of the fourth horseman and over a billion human deaths motivate people to move to making electronic payments that can be monitored? The Bible tells of a soon coming society that controls buying and selling to force allegiance to a coming European Beast power, known as 666 (Revelation 13:16-18). Does the ‘great tribulation’ begin before ride of the fourth horseman or with the opening of the fifth seal of Revelation 6? Do the words of Jesus helps us better understand the sequence of the four horsemen of the Apocalypse and the start of the Great Tribulation? Will the ride of the fourth horseman help lead to the rise of 666? Is that ride very close? Dr. Thiel addresses these issues and more in this video. Here is a link to a version in the Spanish language: El COVID-19 ¿Conduce al 666?
Biological Warfare and Prophecy Is biological warfare possible? Was it prophesied? Scientists have long warned that pathogenic organisms like the coronavirus could be weaponized. Furthermore, back in 2017, there were concerns that the biological research facility being constructed in Wuhan, China was risky and that a coronavirus from it could be released. On January 25, 2020, China’s President Xi Jinping publicly stated that the situation with the Wuhan-related strain of the coronavirus was grave. Did Church of God writers like the late evangelist Raymond McNair warn that engineered viruses (the “Doomsday bug”) were consistent with prophecies from Jesus? Did a warning from CCOG leader Bob Thiel warn about risks of genetically-modified (GMO) mosquitoes come to pass? Could human research and/or the consumption of biblically-unclean animals such as bats and snakes be a factor in current outbreaks or coming future pestilences? What about famines? How devastating have pestilences been? How devastating are the prophesied ones going to be? Dr. Thiel addresses these issues and more in this video.
Fourth Horseman of the Apocalypse What is the pale horse of death and pestilences? What will it bring and when? Some related videos may include Amphibian Apocalypse: Threat to Humans?, Zombie Deer Disease is Here! Are the 10 Plagues on Egypt Coming?, and Biological Warfare and Prophecy. Here is a version of the article in Spanish: El cuarto jinete de Apocalipsis, el caballo pálido de muerte y pestilencia.
Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse What do each of the four horseman of the Apocalypse represent? Have they began their ride? Did Jesus discuss the any of this? Might their rides coincide with the “beginning of sorrows? Do they start their ride prior to the Great Tribulation? Did Nostradamus or any other ‘private prophets’ write predictions that may mislead people so that they may not understand the truth of one or more of the four horseman? There is also a related YouTube video titled The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.
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.
World War III: Steps in Progress Are there surprising actions going on now that are leading to WWIII? Might a nuclear attack be expected? Does the Bible promise protection to all or only some Christians? How can you be part of those that will be protected? A related video would be Is World War III About to Begin? Can You Escape?
Fourth Horseman of the Apocalypse What is the pale horse of death and pestilences? What will it bring and when? Spanish: El cuarto jinete de Apocalipsis, el caballo pálido de muerte y pestilencia.
Weather Blessings and Sorrows Are weather problems a warning? What should be done? Here is a related YouTube video Does God Use Weather?
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.
Could God Have a 6,000 Year Plan? What Year Does the 6,000 Years End? Was a 6000 year time allowed for humans to rule followed by a literal thousand year reign of Christ on Earth taught by the early Christians? Does God have 7,000 year plan? What year may the six thousand years of human rule end? When will Jesus return? 2031 or 2035 or? There is also a video titled: When Does the 6000 Years End? 2031? 2035? Here is a link to the article in Spanish: ¿Tiene Dios un plan de 6,000 años?
When Will the Great Tribulation Begin? 2025, 2026, or 2027? Can the Great Tribulation begin today? What happens before the Great Tribulation in the “beginning of sorrows”? What happens in the Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord? Is this the time of the Gentiles? When is the earliest that the Great Tribulation can begin? What is the Day of the Lord? Who are the 144,000? A short video is available titled: Great Tribulation Trends 2025.
Lost Tribes and Prophecies: What will happen to Australia, the British Isles, Canada, Europe, New Zealand and the United States of America? Where did those people come from? Can you totally rely on DNA? What about other peoples? Do you really know what will happen to Europe and the English-speaking peoples? What about Africa, Asia, South America, and the Islands? This free online book provides scriptural, scientific, historical references, and commentary to address those matters. Here are links to related sermons: Lost tribes, the Bible, and DNA; Lost tribes, prophecies, and identifications; 11 Tribes, 144,000, and Multitudes; Israel, Jeremiah, Tea Tephi, and British Royalty; Gentile European Beast; Royal Succession, Samaria, and Prophecies; Asia, Islands, Latin America, Africa, and Armageddon;  When Will the End of the Age Come?;  Rise of the Prophesied King of the North; Christian Persecution from the Beast; WWIII and the Coming New World Order; and Woes, WWIV, and the Good News of the Kingdom of God.
Physical Preparation Scriptures for Christians. We all know the Bible prophecies famines. Should we do something? Here is a version in the Spanish language Escrituras sobre Preparación física para los Cristianos. Here is a link to a related sermon: Physical preparedness for Christians.

(Photo by Geierunited)

COGwriter

Should anyone smoke?

It’s been said that good habits are hard to make but easy to live with, while bad habits are easy to make but are hard to live with.

The intent of the new law looks to make it a little harder to start.

Should Christians smoke?

Does smoking show love to self or neighbor?

No.

Why?

Here are some facts to consider from the US Centers for Disease Control:

Smoking leads to disease and disability and harms nearly every organ of the body.

• More than 16 million Americans are living with a disease caused by smoking.
• For every person who dies because of smoking, at least 30 people live with a serious smoking-related illness.
• Smoking causes cancer, heart disease, stroke, lung diseases, diabetes, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which includes emphysema and chronic bronchitis.
• Smoking also increases risk for tuberculosis, certain eye diseases, and problems of the immune system, including rheumatoid arthritis.
• Smoking is a known cause of erectile dysfunction in males.

Smoking is the leading cause of preventable death.

• Worldwide, tobacco use causes more than 7 million deaths per year. If the pattern of smoking all over the globe doesn’t change, more than 8 million people a year will die from diseases related to tobacco use by 2030.
• Cigarette smoking is responsible for more than 480,000 deaths per year in the United States, including more than 41,000 deaths resulting from secondhand smoke exposure. This is about one in five deaths annually, or 1,300 deaths every day.
• On average, smokers die 10 years earlier than nonsmokers. https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/fast_facts/index.htm#beginning accessed 12/27/19

Smoking is bad.

Moses said, “be sure your sin will find you out” (Numbers 32:23).

You do not “get away with” smoking.

Consider also that smoking causes DNA damage:

November 3, 2016

Smoking leaves an “archaeological record” of the hundreds of DNA mutations it causes, scientists have discovered.

Having sequenced thousands of tumour genomes, they found a 20-a-day smoker would rack up an average of 150 mutations in every lung cell each year. http://www.bbc.com/news/health-37849000

Smoking is dangerous and hurts the smoker and those around the smoker.

Notice some of what the New Testament teaches:

19. WHAT! Don’t you know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, which you have within you from God, and you are not your own? 20. For you were bought with a price. Therefore, glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s. (1 Corinthians 6:19-20, AFV)

37…”‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 22:37-40, NKJV)

Consider that smoking does not glorify God in your body–it harms your body. Consider that smoking also does not show love towards one’s neighbor–it harms your neighbor. Smoking is a sin against the body, and sometimes more than that.

Don’t deceive yourself that smoking is not a sin:

8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us. (1 John 1:8-10)

Can or should smokers quit?

Yes.

As hard as it seems to be, smokers can change. Notice that the Apostle Paul taught:

13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. (Philippians 4:13)

Jesus can help the smoker.

The Apostle Paul also specifically taught that Christians who had a variety of sinful practices can change (1 Corinthians 6:9-11).

Here is information about his own smoking and views on it by the late Hebert W. Armstrong from his Autobiography:

In order to keep up with the job, due to inadaptability and resultant slowness, it became necessary to work nights. I established a system. I worked alternately one night until ten, the next until midnight, rising at 5:30 every morning. Time had to be taken out to walk the one or two miles from my room to the mill, and also to walk over to the boarding house where I took meals. I kept awake on the job nights by smoking a pipe — my first habitual smoking. In just six months this overwork and loss of sleep exacted its toll, and I was sent to the hospital with a very severe case of typhoid fever…

I had taken up pipe smoking during those long and frantic night hours at Wiggins, Mississippi, as an aid to staying awake while I worked over the books. I had smoked, moderately, ever since. However, I will say that I was never a heavy smoker. Never more than one cigar a day, or three or four cigarettes in a day. That’s the reason I did not have the battle many men have had in breaking the habit, when I saw that it had to be broken…

{Later} I was baptized, the matter of smoking had to be settled. Of course the Quaker church, in which I had been reared as a boy, taught that smoking was a sin. But I had been unhappily disillusioned to see that in so many basic points the Bible teaching is the very opposite of what I had absorbed in Sunday school. “I’ve got to see the answer to the tobacco question IN THE BIBLE!” I said to myself. Until I found the answer in the Bible, I decided I would continue as before — smoking mildly. I had continued to smoke lightly, averaging three or four cigarettes a day, or one cigar a day. I had never been a heavy smoker.

Now I had to face the question: Is smoking a SIN? I wanted the BIBLE answer, for I had learned by this time that Christ had said we must live by EVERY WORD OF GOD. The BIBLE is our Instruction Book on right living. We must find a BIBLE reason for everything we do. I knew, of course, there is no specific command, “Thou shalt not smoke.” But the absence of a detailed prohibition did not mean God’s approval. I had learned that GOD’S LAW is His WAY OF LIFE. It is a basic philosophy of life.

The whole Law is summed up in the one word LOVE.

I knew that love is the opposite of lust. Lust is self-desire — pleasing the self only. Love means loving others. Its direction is not inward toward self alone, but outgoing, toward others. I knew the Bible teaches that “lust of the flesh” is the way of SIN.

So now I began to apply the principle of God’s Law. I asked myself, “WHY do I smoke?” To please others — to help others — to serve or minister to or express love toward others — or only to satisfy and gratify a desire of the flesh within my own self? The answer was instantaneously obvious. I had to be honest with it. My only reason for smoking was LUST OF THE FLESH, and lust of the flesh is, according to the BIBLE, sin! I stopped smoking immediately.

This beginning of overcoming was not too difficult, for it had not been a “big habit” with me. Once weaned, I was able to see it as it is — a dirty, filthy habit. And today we know it is a serious and major contributing cause of lung cancer! God designed and created the human body. He designed the LUNGS to take in FRESH AIR to fire and oxidize the blood, and at the same time to filter out of the blood the impurities and waste matter the blood has picked up throughout the body. Befouled smoke, containing the poisons of nicotine and tars, reduces the efficiency of the operation of this vital organ.

The physical human body is, God says, the very TEMPLE of His Holy Spirit. If we defile this TEMPLE — this physical body — God says He will destroy us! God intended us, if we are to be COMPLETE, to live happy, healthy and abundant lives, and to gain eternal life, to take in HIS SPIRIT — not poisonous foreign substances like tobacco.

Hebert W. Armstrong died on January 16, 1986, at age 93 1/2. His reasons for quitting smoking make biblical sense to me. People should not smoke. It harms them and others around them.

He concluded, correctly, that Christians should not smoke.

Quitting cigarette smoking is good for your health. A study out of the UK has quantified that for women:

Life expectancy was dramatically improved among participants in Great Britain’s Million Women Study who quit smoking compared with continuous smokers, confirming the previously uncertain benefits of smoking cessation in women, researchers said.

Although women who stopped smoking around age 50 remained at significantly higher risk of all-cause mortality compared with never-smokers (relative risk 1.56, 95% CI 1.49 to 1.64), it was much lower than the tripled risk of death seen in current smokers, according to Kirstin Pirie, MSc, of the University of Oxford in England, and colleagues…

“Stopping well before age 40 years would avoid well over 90% of the excess hazard in continuing smokers,” Pirie and colleagues wrote.

But, they stressed, “this does not … mean that it is safe to smoke until age 40 years and then stop.” http://www.medpagetoday.com/PrimaryCare/Smoking/35605

Researchers who followed one million women found those who smoked a pack a day starting in their teens reduced life expectancy by an average of 11 years, according to a new study published in The Lancet. NBC’s Robert Bazell reports. http://video.msnbc.msn.com/nightly-news/49575213/#49575213

The sooner one quits, the better it is for one’s health.

Notice one reported way to help a smoker quit:

September 9, 2013

Want a smoker to quit? Scare, shock or disgust him. That’s what the U.S. government did with its first federally funded anti-smoking ad campaign and, new data suggest, it worked.

An estimated 1.6 million Americans tried to quit and at least 100,000 likely succeeded as a result of graphic ads that showed how real ex-smokers had suffered paralysis, stroke, lung removal, heart attacks and limb amputations, according to a study Monday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The first round of ads ran from March through May in 2012, followed by a second one this past spring. A third round is planned for next year.

The CDC created the startling ads after consulting with smokers, who urged it to make the statistics about smoking — that it’s the leading cause of preventable death and that it shortens life expectancy by 10 years — real. So it focused on the effects of smoking-related disease rather than the risk of death. http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/09/09/cdc-anti-smoking-ads-prompt-100000-plus-to-kick-habit/2777357/

Of course, the smoker also has to want to quit. But realizing the truth about smoking should help.

Notice also the following from someone in the Continuing Church of God:

I have an unusual aspect of faith that I went through. I am a recovering alcoholic and smoker. When I first became a member of WCG in 1982 (I think), I smoked and drank. I knew I couldn’t continue in the Church without repentance and therefore quitting. I prayed to God regarding smoking (drinking wasn’t that bad in those days) and through His Word, I quit. After falling away (sometime in the late 90’s, I think), I started smoking again and drinking became quite severe. I longed for the days when God was in my life (I know I was the one that left) when a friend of mine with similar feelings found the CCOG. We both immediately felt God said, “OK, here you go. Seek and ye shall find”.

The problem was I was back smoking and drinking and knowing I couldn’t continue with those habits. I was actually afraid to pray to God to quit smoking and drinking because I KNEW HE WOULD DO IT! I was scared to death to go without tobacco. The thought of having to deal with the irritability associated with quitting until my body was functioning normally was more than I wanted to deal with. The thought of night sweats and raw nerves until my body readjusted to no alcohol was really scary. These feelings were real and they kept me from turning to God. I tried to quit smoking on my own, every minute was an ordeal. I tried to quit drinking on my own, I was wringing wet with sweat at night and my legs screamed with “restlessness”. I lasted a couple of days at most each time I tried. It always reinforced my fear of praying to God for help because I knew He would help and I would have to go through the ordeal just described. I just kept putting off quitting because of fear.

I was so bothered by my behavior and knew I couldn’t continue with the way I was going that I finally asked God to make me quit. He did, just like I knew He would. I threw my burden on Christ and said “here it’s yours”. Now I waited for the irritability of no cigarettes and the dreaded night sweats. They never came.

In my fear I forgot how merciful God is. I thank Him hour by hour for stopping me from smoking and drinking. I use this experience to try to let go of my fears in other areas and let the gift of God increase my faith.

Yes, God is merciful.

Biblical Tips to Help You Quit

Having grown up in an area where I knew a lot of people who smoked, it was clear to me that quitting smoking is not easy for those really hooked on it.

Christians can ask God for assistance in stopping smoking. Christians need to have faith in God (see also the free pdf booklet Faith for Those God has Called and Chosen).

But what if you make mistakes and stumble?

If you stumble get up!

Consider that Jesus stated to His disciples:

31 All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written:

‘I will strike the Shepherd,
And the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’ (Matthew 26:31)

Well, a dozen of the stumbling disciples ended up being the 12 apostles.

James wrote:

2 For we all stumble in many things. If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body. (James 3:2)

James was including himself in that. The New Testament says we ALL stumble in one thing or the other.

If you stumble, you need to get up.

Endure.

Jesus taught:

13 But he who endures to the end shall be saved. (Matthew 24:13)

James also wrote:

12 Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. (James 1:12)

Jesus also taught:

20 But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; 21 yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles. (Matthew 13:20-21)

Notice something else that James wrote:

2 You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures. 4 Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. 5 Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, “The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously”? (James 4:2-5)

Be careful that you are not trying to get along with the smoking crowd.

6 But He gives more grace. Therefore He says:

“God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.”

7 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom.

10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up. (James 4:6-10)

The Apostle Paul wrote:

13 No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it. (1 Corinthians 10:13)

Physical ways to “bear it” would include changing what you are doing when you are tempted to smoke. Do something else! Like go to another room. Start reading the Bible. For some, perhaps taking a walk or doing more vigorous exercise, et cetera.

Nicotine seems to have some temporary effects on the body, like the necessary thyroid hormone triiodothyronine. Nicotine is highly addictive and comes along with a range of negative chemicals in tobacco products that are harmful to human health. Nutritional support for the thyroid can help some break their addiction to nicotine.

Consider the analogy of getting air out of a glass. On our own, without equipment, we can’t make it a vacuum. But if we change the glass by pouring water in, the air leaves.

Be filled with the Holy Spirit:

18 And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, (Ephesians 5:18)

If you do not want to stumble and wish to be better filled with the Holy Spirit, take true heed of the instructions that the Apostle Peter wrote:

1 Simon Peter, a bondservant and apostle of Jesus Christ,

To those who have obtained like precious faith with us by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ:

2 Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, 3 as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, 4 by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

5 But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, 6 to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, 7 to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. 8 For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins.

10 Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble; 11 for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. (2 Peter 1:1-11)

Not that it is easy, but the Bible says that if you endure, humble yourself, resist Satan, and draw near to God you can get to the point you would not stumble in your efforts to stop smoking.

You may have tried to stop smoking many times. You may have prayed about it.

You should not give up. In the Old Testament we read of God telling the children of Israel to punish the Benjamites in Judges 20:12-20, and those who tried to do so failed and suffered loss (Judges 20:21). Then, God told them to do it again (Judges 20:23), and they suffered loss again (Judges 20:25). The children of Israel wanted to give up (Judges 20:26-28), but God said to try again (Judges 20:28), and that time they succeeded Judges 20:29-46). What happened to the children of Israel was more difficult than not lighting up a cigarette.

Overcome bad habits. Jesus said:

7 … To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God. (Revelation 2:7)

26 And he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations —

27 ‘He shall rule them with a rod of iron;
They shall be dashed to pieces like the potter’s vessels’ —

as I also have received from My Father; 28 and I will give him the morning star. (Revelation 2:26-28)

12 He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more. I will write on him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God. And I will write on him My new name. (Revelation 3:12)

7 He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son. (Revelation 21:7)

Endure and overcome! The promised benefits are better than the “passing pleasures of sin” (Hebrews 11:25)–which in the case of smoking also has serious health consequences.

Smoking is wrong and it kills people. God wants people to change/repent (Acts 17:30)–which means that, despite its difficulties it can be done (cf. 1 Corinthians 10:13).

The sooner one starts the better off one will be. Christians should strive to not smoke and should strive to be healthy.

With God’s help, yes, you can quit smoking or overcome other sins in your life.

As far as helping others to quit, IF they say they could like to quit, you could refer them to the following video on our Bible News Prophecy YouTube channel:

Should You Smoke? Would You Like Help to Quit?

has been said that bad habits are easy to get into, but difficult to get out of. Smoking leads to disease and disability and harms nearly every organ of the body. On average, smokers die 10 years earlier than nonsmokers. A 20-cigarette-a-day smoker racks up an average of 150 mutations in every lung cell each year. Many find it hard to stop smoking as the nicotine habit is a difficult addiction to break. Is smoking a sin? Can smokers quit? Why did Herbert W. Armstrong quit smoking? Are there things that smokers can do to help them quit? If you have tried to quit before and failed, should you keep trying? Does the Bible offer any help to people addicted to smoking or other vices? Does Jesus promise rewards for those who overcome? Dr. Thiel addresses these issues and more.

Here is a link to our video: Should You Smoke? Would You Like Help to Quit?

Several items of possibly related interest include:

Should Christians Smoke Tobacco? Is smoking a sin? What does the Bible teach? What have COG leaders written? Can smokers change? What about marijuana?
Marijuana: Should a Christian Get High? There is increasing acceptance of the use of marijuana. How should Christians view this? Here is a related video titled How Should a Christian View Marijuana?
Alcohol: Blessing or Curse? This is an article from the old Good News magazine that attempts to answer this question.
Binge Alcohol Drinking and the Bible Many college students and others overindulge in alcohol. Are there health risks? What does the Bible teach?
Obesity, processed foods, health risks, and the Bible Does the Bible warn about the consequences of being obese? Is overeating dangerous? Is gluttony condemned? What diseases are associated with eating too much refined foods? A related video would be Eating Right, Eating Too Much, and Prophecy.
Christians: Ambassadors for the Kingdom of God, Biblical instructions on living as a Christian This is a scripture-filled booklet for those wishing to live as a real Christian. A related sermon is also available: Christians are Ambassadors for the Kingdom of God.
Living as a Christian: How and Why? In what ways do Christians live differently than others. What about praying, fasting, tithing, holy days, and the world? There is also a YouTube video related to that also called: Living as a Christian: How and Why?
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.
Overcoming Sin What is sin? How are Christians suppose to overcome it? Here is also a link to a video titled How to Overcome Sin.
How to Prevent Sin This is an article by Herbert W. Armstrong.
Just What Do You Mean Conversion? Many think that they are converted Christians. But are they? Would you like to know more about conversion. Herbert W. Armstrong wrote this as a booklet on this important subject.
Christian Health Matters Should Christians be concerned about their health? Does the Bible give any food and health guidelines? Here are links to three related sermons: Let’s Talk About Food, Evil is Affecting the Food Supply, and Let’s Talk About Health.

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

COGwriter

Russia continues to fight Ukraine and take more territory:

Russia seizes Ukrainian border villages as its massive bombing campaign slows

May 27, 2025

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian forces have taken four border villages in Ukraine’s northeastern Sumy region, a local official said Tuesday, days after Russian President Vladimir Putin said he had issued an order to establish a buffer zone along the border.

Sumy borders Russia’s Kursk region, where a surprise Ukrainian incursion last year captured a pocket of land in the first occupation of Russian territory since World War II. Creating a buffer zone could help Russia prevent further Ukrainian cross-border attacks there.

Meanwhile, a Russian bombing campaign that had escalated in recent days slowed overnight as far fewer Russian drones targeted Ukrainian towns and cities.

Moscow’s invasion has shown no signs of stopping despite months of intense U.S.-led efforts to secure a ceasefire and get traction for peace talks.  …

The weekend surge in Russia’s bombardments of Ukraine drew a rebuke from U.S. President Donald Trump, who said Putin had gone “crazy.” https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-drones-buffer-zone-c063c708733d8e67a4893f54f264a9b6

Now, as far as Donald Trump goes, he knew that Russia may end up going for more territory. Notice something from earlier this year:

11 February 2025

Donald Trump warned Ukraine may or may not lose its sovereignty to Russia while claiming that the war-hit nation had agreed to a rare earth minerals deal with the US.

“They may make a deal. They may not make a deal. They may be Russian someday, or they may not be Russian someday. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/ukraine-russia-war-rare-earth-trump-losses-latest-news-b2696042.html

It has been widely believed that Donald Trump would push Ukraine to acknowledge the loss of territory. But so far publicly, those leading Ukraine have not done so.

That is probably part of why Russia has decided to intensify its efforts to gain more territory.

Because of prophecies related to the “kings of the Medes” in the Book of Jeremiah, in the Fall of 2013 I wrote that Russia would end up with some territory that Ukraine claimed. Notice something from our free online book Lost Tribes and Prophecies: What will happen to Australia, the British Isles, Canada, Europe, New Zealand and the United States of America?:

Russia and the Medes

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The following passages seem also to apply:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The USA would not accept the vote by the Crimeans primarily because it seems to want to stop Russia from expanding. The USA pushed for international sanctions with Europe, many of which still remain, in an effort to hope Russia would release Crimea to Ukraine.

The USA’s position seemed to be based mainly on politics as opposed to its professed belief in democracy.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

21:20

Russia, Ukraine, Babylonian Europe, and Prophecy

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

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

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

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

Remember that Jesus taught:

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

Ukraine may wish to reconsider where it is at to see if now it believes it should attempt to make a deal with Russia.

As I posted here in February 2025:

The longer the conflict continues, the less territory that Ukraine will have.

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

World events continue to align with properly understood biblical prophecies.

Some items of possibly related interest may include:

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

Isaac Newton, 1712 portrait

COGwriter

It has been opined that end of the world could take only 72 minutes:

72 Minutes Until the End of the World?

Nuclear war would be bad. Everyone knows this. Most people would probably rather not think through the specifics. But Annie Jacobsen, an author of seven books on sensitive national security topics, wants you to know exactly how bad it would be. Her new book Nuclear War: A Scenario, sketches out a global nuclear war with by-the-minute precision for all of the 72 minutes between the first missile launch and the end of the world. …

That’s this, in Jacobsen’s telling: A North Korean leader launches an intercontinental ballistic missile at the Pentagon, and then a submarine-launched ballistic missile at a nuclear reactor in California, for reasons beyond the scope of the book except to illustrate what one “mad king” with nuclear weapons could do. A harried president has a mere six minutes to decide on a response, while also being evacuated from the White House and pressured by the military to launch America’s own ICBMs at all 82 North Korean targets relevant to the nation’s nuclear and military forces and leadership. These missiles must fly over Russia, whose leaders spot them, assume their country is under attack (the respective presidents can’t get one another on the phone), and send a salvo back in the other direction, and so on until 72 minutes later three nuclear-armed states have managed to kill billions of people, with the remainder left starving on a poisoned Earth where the sun no longer shines and food no longer grows. https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2024/04/29/the-frighteningly-fast-path-to-nuclear-armageddon-00154591

Well, the world will not end that way, even if there is nuclear war. Jesus taught:

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

So, while things will get horrible, it will not be the end.

Perhaps it should be noted that if Russia gets enough hypersonic missiles, it would seem like it could take less than 72 minutes.

That said, many have wondered when the end may be.

Isaac Newton was a famous scientist. But he also had an interest in theology and prophecy.

World Net Daily (WND) reported the following:

Sir Isaac Newton stated: “We account the Scriptures of God to be the most sublime philosophy. I find more sure marks of authenticity in the Bible than in any profane history whatsoever. … Worshiping God and the Lamb in the temple: God, for his benefaction in creating all things, and the Lamb, for his benefaction in redeeming us with his blood.”

Captivated by Bible prophecy, Sir Isaac Newton wrote “Observations on the Prophecies of Daniel and the Apocalypse of St. John” (published in 1733), in which he stated: “Daniel was in the greatest credit amongst the Jews, till the reign of the Roman Emperor Hadrian. And to reject his prophecies, is to reject the Christian religion. For this religion is founded upon his prophecy concerning the Messiah.”

He concluded his introductory chapter: “Daniel is most distinct in order of time, and easiest to be understood, and therefore in those things which relate to the last times, he must be made the key to the rest.”

In his preface to “The Prophecies of Daniel and the Apocalypse” (published 1733), Sir Isaac Newton quoted a letter to Richard Bentley, dated Dec. 10, 1692: “When I wrote my treatise about our System I had an eye upon such Principles as might work with considering men for the belief of a Deity and nothing can rejoice me more than to find it useful for that purpose.”

Sir Isaac Newton wrote in “Observations on the Prophecies of Daniel and the Apocalypse of St. John” (published 1733): “The Book of Revelation exhibits to us the same peculiarities as that of Nature. … The history of the Fall of Man – of the introduction of moral and physical evil, the prediction of the Messiah, the actual advent of our Savior, His instructions, His miracles, His death, His resurrection, and the subsequent propagation of His religion by the unlettered fishermen of Galilee, are each a stumbling-block to the wisdom of this world. … But through the system of revealed truth which this Book contains is, like that of the universe, concealed from common observation, yet the labors of the centuries have established its Divine origin, and developed in all its order and beauty the great plan of human restoration.” …

In “Observations on the Prophecies of Daniel and the Apocalypse of St. John” (published 1733), Sir Isaac Newton wrote: “For the prophets and apostles have foretold that as Israel often revolted and brake the covenant, and upon repentance renewed it, so there should be a falling away among the Christians, soon after the days of the Apostles, and that in the latter days God would destroy the impenitent revolters, and make a new covenant with his people. And the giving ear to the prophets is a fundamental character of the true church. … For as the few and obscure Prophecies concerning Christ’s first coming were for setting up the Christian religion, which all nations have since corrupted, so the many and clear Prophecies, concerning the things to be done at Christ’s second coming, are not only for predicting but also for effecting a recovery and re-establishment of the long-lost truth, and setting up a kingdom wherein dwells righteousness. The event will prove the Apocalypse, and this Prophecy, thus proved and understood, will open the old Prophets and all together will make known the true religion, and establish it. … An angel must fly through the midst of heaven with the everlasting Gospel to preach to all nations, before Babylon falls, and the Son of man reaps his harvest.” (Revelation 14:6) 03/19/17 http://www.wnd.com/2017/03/what-interested-isaac-newton-more-than-science/#qWFOKKoXE3eJSk34.99

Isaac Newton was correct that prophecy is important, Daniel and Revelation lay out a lot about prophecy, and that the Protestants have major problems with prophecy.

Let us notice here that the Bible teaches:

10 … Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. (Revelation 19:10)

Prophecy is important.

Isaac Newton warned predicting dates, as he wrote:

Yet, did so himself:

Following the day/year guideline, Newton assigned 1,260 years of the Revived Roman empire before Antichrist’s desecration of the temple. This he did realizing that the rebuilding of the temple and the judgments of Revelation did not follow the rebirth of the Roman Empire in A.D. 800. None of the prophecies of the End of Days followed the coronation of Charlemagne as Emperor of the revived Roman Empire after 1,260, nor for that matter, any of the years up until Newton’s day. Therefore, he established each day with a year from A.D. 800, arriving at the year A.D. 2060.

In a manuscript number 7.3g, f. 13v. of the Yahuda collection, Newton was even more specific about the 2060 date.

So then the time times & half a time are 42 months or 1260 days or three years & an half, reckoning twelve months to a year & 30 days to a month as was done in the Calendar of the primitive year. And the days of short lived Beasts being put for the years of lived [sic for “long lived”] kingdoms, the period of 1260 days, if dated from the complete conquest of the three kings A.C. 800, will end A.C. 2060.

But Newton’s prediction of Charlemagne’s revived Roman Empire starting in A.D. 800 and existing until the return of Christ was contradicted in 1806 when Napoleon forced the Empire’s dissolution. http://www.wnd.com/2008/09/75434/#GmvymUAjkYZqZ7jt.99

In one 1704 document Newton calculated the end of the world to be not earlier than 2060, based on a phrase from the Book of Daniel, Chapter 12, Verse 7, which reads: “and I heard him swear by him who lives forever that it should be for a year, two years, a half-year; and that, when the power of the destroyer of the holy people was brought to an end, all these things should end.”

According to the exhibit Newton interpreted this phrase as meaning that 1,260 years would pass from the establishment of the Holy Roman Empire under Charlemagne in 800 to the end of time.

“It may end later, but I see no reason for its ending sooner,” Newton wrote in his precise cramped script. “This I mention not to assert when the time of the end shall be, but to put a stop to the rash conjectures of fanciful men who are frequently predicting the time of the end, and by doing so bring the sacred prophecies into discredit as often as their predictions fail.” https://www.archbalt.org/exhibit-shows-isaac-newtons-fascination-with-religious-writings/

Well, the world as we know it will end this century–and probably a couple of decades sooner than Isaac Newton predicted (see Does God Have a 6,000 Year Plan? What Year Does the 6,000 Years End?). Isaac Newton had several misunderstandings related to days and years.

Isaac Newton seemed to see the Beasts in Revelation 13 as Roman and Greek:

And the ten horns received power as Kings, the same hour with the Beast.

At length the woman arrived at her place of temporal as well as spiritual dominion upon the back of the Beast, where she is nourished a time, and times and half a time, from the face of the serpent; not in his kingdom, but at a distance from him. She is nourished by the merchants of the earth, three times or years and an half, or 42 months, or 1260 days: and in these Prophecies days are put for years. During all this time the Beast acted, and she sat upon him, that is, reigned over him, and over the ten Kings who gave their power and strength, that is, their kingdom to the Beast ; and she was drunken with the blood of the Saints. By all these circumstances she is the eleventh horn of DANIEL’S fourth Beast, who reigned with a look more stout than his fellows, and was of a different kind from the rest, and had eyes and a mouth like the woman ; and made war with the saints, and prevailed against them, and wore them out, and thought to change times and laws, and had them given into his hand, until a time, and times, and half a time. These characters of the woman, and little horn of the Beast, agree perfectly : in respect of her temporal dominion, she was a horn of the Beast; in respect of her spiritual dominion, she rode upon him in the form of a woman, and was his Church, and committed fornication with the ten Kings. (Newton I., 1733, as published later as: Sir Isaac Newton’s Daniel and the Apocalypse with an introductory study of the nature and the cause of unbelief, of miracles and prophecy, by Sir William Whitla; 1922; Murray, London)

So, he was referring to Revelation 12 & 17 above. Here is something from Revelation 12:

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 12:14-17)

Then he immediately went to Revelation 13, but starting in verse 10:

The second Beast, which rose up out of the earth, was the Church of the GREEK Empire : for it had two horns like those of the Lamb, and therefore was a Church ; and it spake as the Dragon, and therefore was of his religion ; and it came up out of the earth, and by consequence in his kingdom. It is called also the false Prophet who wrought miracles before the first Beast, by which he deceived them that received his mark, and worshipped his image. When the Dragon went from the woman to make war with the remnant of her seed, this Beast arising out of the earth assisted in that war, and caused the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the authority of the first Beast, whose mortal wound was healed, and to make an Image to him, that is, to assemble a body of men like him in point of religion. He had also power to give life and authority to the Image, so that it could both speak, and by dictating cause that all religious bodies of men, who would not worship the authority of the Image, should be mystically killed. And he causeth all men to receive a mark in their right hand or in their fore head, and that no man might buy or sell save he that had the mark, or the name of the Beast, or the number of his name; all the rest being excommunicated by the Beast with two horns. (Newton I., 1733, as published later as: Sir Isaac Newton’s Daniel and the Apocalypse with an introductory study of the nature and the cause of unbelief, of miracles and prophecy, by Sir William Whitla; 1922; Murray, London)

The Beast will be over a kingdom that will include territories that the old Latin/Roman empire controlled, including some of the parts that were Greek (Greece and Turkey come to immediate mind). That would include much of Europe and parts of North Africa and the Middle East. The Bible shows that eventually the Beast, the European King of the North, will take over territories in the Middle East and North Africa per Daniel 11:40-43.

But that does NOT mean that the Beast of the Earth must be Greek–this leader, called the False Prophet later in scripture, will be from the Latin (RC) church.

His mark is ✠✠✠ and his name ΛATEINOΣ, and the number of his name 666. (Newton I., 1733, as published later as: Sir Isaac Newton’s Daniel and the Apocalypse with an introductory study of the nature and the cause of unbelief, of miracles and prophecy, by Sir William Whitla; 1922; Murray, London, pp. 326-327)

His mark is † † †, and his name ΛΑΤΕΙΝΟΣ, and the number of his name, 666. (Sir Isaac Newton :: Chapter 3. Of the relation which the Prophecy of John hath to those of Daniel; and of the Subject of Prophecy.)

For more on the ‘mark, ‘ check out the article Mark of the Beast. The fact of three crosses got me to consider that this also may be a warning about trinitarianism, as Isaac Newton was not a trinitarian.

Dr. John Byl wrote:

Isaac … Newton traced the doctrine of the trinity back to Athanasius (298- 373); he became convinced that before Athanasius the Church had no trinitarian doctrine. In the early 4th century Athanasius was opposed by Arius (256-336), who affirmed that God the Father had primacy over Christ. In 325 the Council of Nicea condemned as heretical the views of Arius. Thus, as viewed by Newton, Athanasius triumphed over Arius in imposing the false doctrine of the trinity on Christianity.

According to Newton, the seventh seal began … when trinitarianism was officially ratified at the Council of Constantinople. The great apostasy was not Romanism, but trinitarianism, “the false infernal religion”, to quote Newton’s own words. (Byl J. ON NEWTON AND THE TRINITY. Translated in 2005. http://www.geocentricity.com/ba1/no077/newton-b.html accessed 05/22/21)

Athanasian Creed (though not actually written by Athanasius, but statements were attributed to him) of the 6^th century states:

Whoever desires to be saved should above all hold to the catholic faith.

Anyone who does not keep it whole and unbroken will doubtless perish eternally.

Now this is the catholic faith:

That we worship one God in trinity and the trinity in unity,

… we must worship their trinity in their unity
and their unity in their trinity.

Anyone then who desires to be saved
should think thus about the trinity.

The Bible teaches that you must believe in Jesus, but says nothing about worshiping a trinity in order to be saved.

That being said, Jesus taught His followers to look at various signs and events (Matthew 24, Mark 13, Luke 21) as well as the Book of Daniel–plus He gave the Revelation. And Jesus did not say to mainly focus on mathematical calculations, though they can play some role.

Isaac Newton’s 2060 calculation seems a bit too late–the next decade or the one after it seem much more likely.

Those in the Continuing Church of God generally believe that the recreated world that began after Genesis 1:1 would last 6,000 years after either Adam’s creation or his sin. The 6,000 years looks to end by the first half of the 21st century as opposed to the second half (based on the timing of Jesus’ earthly ministry the 6,000 years would seem to be up between 2031 and 2035).

Before going further, it should be pointed out that Isaac Newton believed that much of Revelation had been at least partially fulfilled, but, of course, not completely.

Christians who hope they are Philadelphian may find the following from Isaac Newton to also be of interest:

In the sixth Epistle, to the Angel of the Church in PHILADELPHIA (Apoc. iii. 10, 12.) CHRIST saith: Because in the reign of the heathen Emperor JULIAN, thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep theefrom the hour of temptation, which by the woman’s flying into the wilderness, and the Dragon’s making war with the remnant of her seed, and the killing of all who will not worship the Image of the Beast, shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth, and to distinguish them by sealing the one with the name of God in their foreheads, and marking the other with the mark of the Beast. Him that overcometh, I will make a pillar in the Temple of my God ; and he shall go no more out of it. And I will write upon him the name of my God in his forehead. So the CHRISTIANS of the Church of PHILADELPHIA, as many of them as overcome, are sealed with the seal of God, and placed in the second Temple, and go no more out. (Newton I., 1733, as published later as: Sir Isaac Newton’s Daniel and the Apocalypse with an introductory study of the nature and the cause of unbelief, of miracles and prophecy, by Sir William Whitla; 1922; Murray, London, p. 333)

Yes, the Philadelphians are those who will flee (for more details, see also There is a Place of Safety for the Philadelphians. Why it May Be Near Petra).

Revelation states the following about the Philadelphians:

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. 11 Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown. 12 He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more. I will write on him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God. And I will write on him My new name. (Revelation 3:7-12)

While Isaac Newton did not fully understand church eras as we in the Continuing Church of God do (nor does it look like he tied Revelation 12:17 in with the Philadelphians as he should have), he did write that the protection during the time others take the Mark of the Beast, was to be provided to the Philadelphians.

He also wrote about the Book of Revelation and the millennium :

Then he describes the sudden coming of the day of the Lord upon them, as a thief in the night, which is the APOCALYPTIC phrase; and the millennium, or thousand years, which are with God but as a day …

JUSTIN MARTYR, who within thirty years after JOHN’S death became a CHRISTIAN, writes expressly that a certain man among the Christians whose name was John, one of the twelve Apostles of Christ, in the Revelation which was shewed him, prophesied that those who believed in Christ should live a thousand years at Jerusalem. And a few lines before he saith: But I, and as many as are Christians, in all things right in their opinions, believe both that there shall be a resurrection of the flesh, and a thousand years life at Jerusalem built, adorned and enlarged. Which is as much as to say, that all true CHRISTIANS in that early age received this Prophecy: for in all ages, as many as believed the thousand years, received the APOCALYPSE as the foundation of their opinion: and I do not know one instance to the contrary. PAPIAS Bishop of HIERAPOLIS, a man of the Apostolic age, and one of JOHN S own disciples, did not only teach the doctrine of the thousand years, but also l asserted the APOCALYPSE as written by divine inspiration. MELITO who flourished next after JUSTIN, 2 wrote a commentary upon this Prophecy ; and he, being Bishop of SARDIS one of the seven Churches, could neither be ignorant of their tradition about it, nor impose upon them. IRENAEUS, who was contemporary with MELITO, wrote much upon it, and said, that the number 666 was in all the antient and approved copies; and that he had it also confirmed to him by those who had seen John face to face, meaning no doubt his master POLYCARP for one. At the same time 1 THEOPHILUS Bishop of ANTIOCH asserted it, and so did TERTULLIAN, CLEMENS ALEXANDRINUS, and ORIGEN soon after ; and their contemporary HIPPOLYTUS the Martyr, Metro politan of the ARABIANS (HIERON), wrote a commentary upon it. All these were antient men, flourishing within a hundred and twenty years after JOHN S death, and of greatest note in the Churches of those times. Soon after did VICTORINUS PICTAVIENSIS write another commentary upon it; and he lived in the time of DIOCLESIAN. This may surely suffice to shew how the APOCALYPSE was received and studied in the first ages : and I do not indeed find any other book of the New Testament so strongly attested, or commented upon so early as this. The Prophecy said: Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this Prophecy, and keep the things which are written therein. This animated the first CHRISTIANS to study it so much, till the difficulty made them remit, and comment more upon the other books of the New Testa ment. This was the state of the APOCALYPSE, till the thousand years being misunderstood, brought a prejudice against it: and DIONYSIUS of ALEXANDRIA, noting how it abounded with barbarisms, that is with HEBRAISMS, promoted that prejudice so far, as to cause many GREEKS in the fourth century to doubt of the book. But whilst the LATINS, and a great part of the GREEKS, always retained the APOCALYPSE, and the rest doubted only out of prejudice, it makes nothing against its authority. (Sir Isaac Newton’s Daniel and the Apocalypse with an introductory study of the nature and the cause of unbelief, of miracles and prophecy, by Sir William Whitla; 1922; Murray, London, pp. 300, 303-304)

But his 2060 calculation, was really not scriptural.

The same can be said of various ones who predicted the end of the world for earlier than now as well as those indicating that it would be before 2022.

Do not let people in or out of the COGs deceive you on prophecy. Believe the Bible.

15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. 16 But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness. (2 Timothy 2:15-16, KJV)

Believe what the Bible teaches and do not be misled by traditions of men that are in error. Including famous ones.

Sadly, there are many biblical signs related to the Great Tribulation and Jesus’ return that few understand today.

The Continuing Church of God (CCOG) put out the following video on our Bible News Prophecy YouTube channel related to this:

15:45

Isaac Newton’s End of the World Predictions?

Did the famous 18th century scientist, known as Sir Isaac Newton, predict the end of the world in the 21st century? Why may the world end earlier than he wrote? Could his 2060 date be wrong? Did he have errors related to the revived Roman Empire? Did he assert that some type of cross was the ‘mark of the beast’ like the Cathari had? Did he seem to tie trinitarianism with that mark as well as being part of an “infernal false religion’? What did he teach about who would flee? Did he realize that it would be Philadelphian Christians that Jesus promised to protect from the hour of trial known as the great tribulation? Is Jesus possibly expected to return by 2031? Dr. Thiel addresses these questions and more in this video.

Here is a link to the video: Isaac Newton’s End of the World Predictions?

Some items of possibly related interest may include:

Could God Have a 6,000 Year Plan? What Year Does the 6,000 Years End? Was a 6000 year time allowed for humans to rule followed by a literal thousand year reign of Christ on Earth taught by the early Christians? Does God have 7,000 year plan? What year may the six thousand years of human rule end? When will Jesus return? 2031 or 2035 or? There is also a video titled: When Does the 6000 Years End? 2031? 2035? Here is a link to the article in Spanish: ¿Tiene Dios un plan de 6,000 años?
Did the True Church Ever Teach a Trinity? Most act like this is so, but is it? Here is an old, by somewhat related, article in the Spanish language LA DOCTRINA DE LA TRINIDAD. Two related sermons are available: Trinity: Fundamental to Christianity or Something Else? and The Godhead and the Trinity. A brief video is also available: Three trinitarian scriptures?
When Will the Great Tribulation Begin? 2025, 2026, or 2027? Can the Great Tribulation begin today? What happens before the Great Tribulation in the “beginning of sorrows”? What happens in the Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord? Is this the time of the Gentiles? When is the earliest that the Great Tribulation can begin? What is the Day of the Lord? Who are the 144,000? A short video is available titled: Great Tribulation Trends 2025.
The Times of the Gentiles Has there been more than one time of the Gentiles? Are we in it now or in the time of Anglo-America? What will the final time of the Gentiles be like? A related sermon is available and is titled: The Times of the Gentiles.
Armageddon Who is involved and when will this gathering happen? Here is also a video from Dr. Thiel, from Tel Megiddo in Israel: Armageddon. Other videos include: Armageddon Will it come on Trump’s watch?, Iraq, Armageddon, & Prophecy, Freemasonry, Armageddon, and Rome, Is China paving roads to Armageddon?, and Jordan, Petra, and Armageddon.
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.
What is the Origin of the Cross as a ‘Christian’ Symbol? Was the cross used as a venerated symbol by the early Church? Two related YouTube videos would be Beware of the ‘Ecumenical Cross’ and Origin of the Cross.
The Mark of Antichrist What is the mark of Antichrist? What have various ones claimed? Here is a link to a related sermon What is the ‘Mark of Antichrist’?
Mark of the Beast What is the mark of the Beast? Who is the Beast? What have various ones claimed the mark is? What is the ‘Mark of the Beast’?
USA in Prophecy: The Strongest Fortresses Can you point to scriptures, like Daniel 11:39, that point to the USA in the 21st century? This article does. Two related sermon are available: Identifying the USA and its Destruction in Prophecy and Do these 7 prophesies point to the end of the USA?
Who is the King of the West? Why is there no Final End-Time King of the West in Bible Prophecy? Is the United States the King of the West? Here is a version in the Spanish language: ¿Quién es el Rey del Occidente? ¿Por qué no hay un Rey del Occidente en la profecía del tiempo del fin? A related sermon is also available: The Bible, the USA, and the King of the West.
Protestant and Church of God views of the United States in Bible Prophecy Is the USA mentioned in Bible prophecy? Some Protestants say yes, while others say no. What does the Bible really teach? Learn the truth about this. There is also a video available: Is The United States Mentioned In Bible Prophecy?
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.
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. See also Do You Hold to Any of These Laodicean Prophetic Errors?
There is a Place of Safety for the Philadelphians. Why it May Be Near Petra This article discusses a biblical ‘place of safety,’ Zephaniah 2 to ‘gather together,’ and includes quotes from the Bible and Herbert W. Armstrong on fleeing to a place–thus, there is a biblically supported alternative to the rapture theory. Two sermon-length videos of related interest are available Physical Protection During the Great Tribulation and Might Petra be the Place of Safety? Here is something related in the Spanish language: Hay un lugar de seguridad para los Filadelfinos. ¿Puede ser Petra?
This is PETRA! This is a 1962 Good News article by the late Dr. Hoeh.

(Pixabay photo)

COGwriter

RT reported the following:

Euro could dethrone US dollar – ECB

26 May 2025

The euro could become a strong alternative to the US dollar if the 20-nation bloc could reform its financial and security framework, European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said on Monday.

The dollar tumbled to a three-year low last month as market jitters mounted over US President Donald Trump’s tariff war. Lagarde has asserted that Washington’s economic policies are pushing global investors to rethink their reliance on the greenback.

The dollar’s dominance has also been increasingly undermined due to concerns over soaring US debt and Washington’s use of the currency as a geopolitical weapon by imposing sanctions and freezing assets.

However, the euro faces similar problems. Since Western sanctions were imposed on Russia in response to the Ukraine conflict in 2022, Moscow and its trade partners have increasingly moved away from both the euro and dollar in favor of national currencies. Russian data indicates that 90% of the country’s trade with BRICS members last year was conducted in domestic currencies.

Despite this, Lagarde pointed to a “prime opportunity” for the euro to grow in influence, referencing trade policy uncertainty under Trump as a key factor behind investor concern. “The ongoing changes create the opening for a global euro moment,” she said. “But the euro will not gain influence by default – it will have to earn it.”

Lagarde emphasized that to close the gap with the dollar, the EU would need to complete its single market, enhance legal consistency, and reform domestic financial systems. Boosting the euro’s use in international trade invoicing, she added, would also help, alongside improving cross-border payment mechanisms and building up ECB-led liquidity support.

She also argued that greater joint financing – including in defense – is necessary to underpin the euro’s standing. “We need stronger military capabilities if we want the euro’s global role to grow,” she stated. https://www.rt.com/business/618173-ecb-dollar-euro-alternative/

In many ways, Donald Trump has made Europe, and its currency, more attractive on the world scene.

Tariffs and sanctions and the threat of more tariffs and sanctions are causing more nations to turn away from the USA and look more towards each other.

The Europeans have long wanted the euro to push the US dollar’s reserve currency status aside. Plus there is the BRICS+ alliance that has long wanted to stop using the US dollar for cross-border trade.

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

The USA dollar will ultimately crash and be worthless. That “pride” of American power will be broken (cf. Leviticus 26:19). …

European leaders have been working for years to establish a new reserve currency for the world, partially with the intent to remove the USA dollar from its current position as a reserve currency.

Those in Russia, Iran and some of the Arab lands, along with nations such as Brazil and India have discussed plans for the removal of the dominance of the USA dollar in global trade as well. Many are now working on that, along with China, in what is called the BRICS alliance.While Donald Trump did not cause all of this, an unintended consequence of the use of sanctions in the Trump-Pence Administration (as well as by the Biden-Harris Administration) is that more nations are looking to bypass the dollar. …

When the U.S. dollar is no longer the world’s reserve currency, this will hurt the USA financially. Increasing debt, including “quantitative easing,” is a form of dishonest profits that is not something that God approves of and will punish the USA for (cf. Ezekiel 22:13-16). …

Since many are now questioning the role of the USA dollar as the world’s reserve currency, more are looking into other currencies as well as gold.

Gold will set records in U.S. dollar terms. …

When the U.S. dollar totally collapses people all around the world will consider that even if the euro (or something similar) is strong, having a more gold-backed currency would be safer.

The collapse of the USA dollar will shake a lot of the world’s confidence in non-gold backed currencies. The Europeans do not have to have a perfect currency, only one that is perceived to be in better shape than the USA dollar or various other currencies.

Having the European power acquiring more gold to back the Euro or possibly another future European currency (that might potentially replace the Euro or even a basket of currencies) may greatly increase European credibility, prosperity, and influence around the globe, even if the backing is only implied. …

The USA and its dollar are at serious risk. …

Unintended Consequences

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

• Pushing tariffs and sanctions on other countries is contributing to the rise of the final time of the Gentiles (Luke 21:24; Ezekiel 7:24).
• Pushing tariffs and other policies that foreign nations do not like is contributing to other nations looking to bypass the USA dollar, as well as trade more with each other and less with the USA. This will further push various globalist’s moves forward without the USA. This is also helping set the stage for the coming European Babylonian Beast to dominate international trade. …
• Pushing against Europe’s unity is encouraging the Europeans, which are prophesied to have unity difficulties (cf. Daniel 2:41-43), to try harder to unify, which will happen after at least two reorganizations (Revelation 17:12-13).
• By breaking political norms and acting like a ‘strong man’ this will help Europeans being more accepting of their beast ‘strong man’ (Revelation 13:1-10; 17:13).
• Donald Trump’s statements will help promote the rise of stronger European leaders like Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg.
• Although, overall, the European nations have not paid for their defense to the amount they have suggested they would, pressuring them to spend more will 1) encourage them to be independent of the USA and 2) put Europe in a position where it has a great army (Daniel 11:25), many ships (Daniel 11:40), and access to nuclear weapons (cf. Deuteronomy 29:23-25; Isaiah 9:19-21;Ezekiel 6:6), which will help it conquer the USA, which is the military power with the strongest fortresses (cf. Daniel 11:39).

[ii] Thiel B. Barack Obama, Prophecy, and the Destruction of the United States. Nazarene Books, 2013, pp. 67-48

Since the above was published, gold has set records in US dollar terms multiple times. And more countries are looking seriously about bypassing the US dollar because of tariffs, sanctions, and other economic issues.

The Continuing Church of God put together the following video in November 2024 on our Bible News Prophecy YouTube channel:

14:50

SWIFT end to the US dollar?

After World War II, the US dollar became the world’s primary international trading currency. In this video Dr. Thiel and Steve Dupuie went over some of the reasons for that development. They also discussed US dominance of SWIFT. SWIFT stands for the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication. SWIFT provides a network that enables financial institutions worldwide to send and receive information about financial transactions. The use of sanctions and the weaponization of SWIFT by the US was brought out as were alternatives to SWIFT development by Russia (System for Transfer of Financial Messages-SPFS) and China (Cross-Border Interbank Payment System-CIPS). Also the BRICS Pay alternative to SWIFT, mentioned at the BRICS Kazan Summit in October 2024 was mentioned as well as “the Unit”, which is a potential, gold-backed currency that Vladimir Putin brought up as another alternative. An article titled ‘The Biggest Story that’s NOT Being Told Will WREAK HAVOC on the US Economy’ was discussed along with the specter of extreme inflation hitting the US once its dollar is no longer relied on internationally. The fact that SWIFT is supposed to be a European system, and one that Europeans want more control of, was mentioned along with the fact that the Europeans could also push harder for the end of SWIFT and/or the US dollar dominance. The timing of the coming Great Tribulation and US banking/financial matters was also mentioned.

Here is a link to our video: SWIFT end to the US dollar?

The US dollar is going away as the world’s premier currency and the damage to the US economy is beyond what most of its politicians realize.

But Europe is also looking to increase its military capabilities.

And while some think this will not harm the US, they are wrong.

Europe will one day reorganize (Revelation 17:12-13), end up with a great army (Daniel 11:25) with many ships (Daniel 11:40), and will one day conquer the strongest military power in the world (Daniel 11:39)–that will be the end of the US and its British descended allies.

The Bible also says that Europe will one day dominate international trade (cf. Revelation 17 and 18).

It is trying to set that up now.

Also, having the Euro dethrone the US dollar will assist with that–and that is something the Europeans are working on now!

There have and will be many unintended consequences of Donald Trump’s statements and policies.

Some items of possibly related interest may include:

Lost Tribes and Prophecies: What will happen to Australia, the British Isles, Canada, Europe, New Zealand and the United States of America? Where did those people come from? Can you totally rely on DNA? What about other peoples? Do you really know what will happen to Europe and the English-speaking peoples? What about Africa, Asia, South America, and the Islands? This free online book provides scriptural, scientific, historical references, and commentary to address those matters. Here are links to related sermons: Lost tribes, the Bible, and DNA; Lost tribes, prophecies, and identifications; 11 Tribes, 144,000, and Multitudes; Israel, Jeremiah, Tea Tephi, and British Royalty; Gentile European Beast; Royal Succession, Samaria, and Prophecies; Asia, Islands, Latin America, Africa, and Armageddon;  When Will the End of the Age Come?;  Rise of the Prophesied King of the North; Christian Persecution from the Beast; WWIII and the Coming New World Order; and Woes, WWIV, and the Good News of the Kingdom of God.
Spiritual Samaritans: Old and New Who were the Samaritans? Do the represent true Christianity or something else? Here is a link to a related sermon: USA in Prophecy: Samaria.
The End of US Dollar Dominance Is the USA losing its economic status? What about the petro-gold-yuan? A related video is also available: US Dollar being challenged by Gold-Petro-Yuan.
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 and silver? Two videos of related interest may be: Germany, Gold, and the US Dollar and Silver, Science, and Scripture.
Europa, the Beast, and Revelation Where did Europe get its name? What might Europe have to do with the Book of Revelation? What about “the Beast”? Is an emerging European power “the daughter of Babylon”? What is ahead for Europe? Here is are links to related videos: European history and the Bible, Europe In Prophecy, The End of European Babylon, and Can You Prove that the Beast to Come is European?
Unintended Consequences and Donald Trump’s Presidency: Is Donald Trump Fulfilling Biblical, Islamic, Greco-Roman Catholic, Buddhist, and other America-Related Prophecies?  Is Donald Trump going to save the USA or are there going to be many disastrous unintended consequences of his statements and policies? What will happen. The link takes you to a book available at Amazon.com.
Unintended Consequences and Donald Trump’s Presidency: Is Donald Trump Fulfilling Biblical, Islamic, Greco-Roman Catholic, Buddhist, and other America-Related Prophecies? Kindle edition is available for only US$3.99. And you do not need an actual Kindle device to read it. Why? Amazon will allow you to download it to almost any device: Please click HERE to download one of Amazon s Free Reader Apps. After you go to for your free Kindle reader and then go to Unintended Consequences and Donald Trump’s Presidency: Is Donald Trump Fulfilling Biblical, Islamic, Greco-Roman Catholic, Buddhist, and other America-Related Prophecies?

CCOG portrayal of the Beast of Revelation 13:1-10

COGwriter

Back in 2022, World net Daily reported:

WND EXCLUSIVE

Finally emerging: The beast, mark and number of the beast revealed

September 18, 2022

For thousands of years, millions of Christians have been intrigued by mysterious Scriptures discussing the beast, the number of the beast, and mark of the beast.

But what do these cryptic terms really mean? …

Joe … Kovacs said at the outset, “A lot of people tense up in anxiety when they hear the term ‘beast.’ There’s no reason to fear. … The beasts are [in metaphoric fashion] mankind. It says it outright, a man is like the beasts … Because human beings, even though we’re in the image of God and look like God and have eyes and hands and all that, we’re in the form of a beast, in the body of a beast. We have flesh and blood, just like the beast. It’s especially referring to mankind in rebellion against God. If we’re in in rebellion against God, we’re gonna stay in the flesh, in this burning place, in this Sodom and Egypt that we’re in.

“So WE are the beast. It’s that simple. It’s just not in the Bible, it’s in regular conversation. People are called beasts all the time,” he noted, such as when parents call their children ‘kids,’ which are young beasts. “Our sports teams are called Lions and Tigers and Bears.” …

“If anyone [is] in rebellion against God, whether it’s a government, which is made up of mankind, or an individual person, that is the beast. We can see more proof when we talk abut the NUMBER of the beast, which is found in Revelation 13:18.

“Wisdom is needed here. Let the one with understanding solve the meaning of the number of the BEAST, for it is the number of a MAN. His number is 666” (Revelation 13:18 NLT). …

“Why is the number 666? That’s a fascinating question,” he said. “Well, what day of the week was mankind made on?”

“He was on the sixth day,” Laird responded.

“And we were told to do our work in how many days?” Kovacs asked.

“Six days,” Laird correctly answered.

“Six days,” Kovacs confirmed. “This is not hard for people to understand. Everybody knows that mankind was made on the sixth day. Our work was to be done in six days. It’s repeated, though, three times: six and six and six. Why is it repeated? Because it’s what I mentioned early on about Hebrews 13:8. ‘Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.’ There’s three days involved here. Three times. If you’re in rebellion against God in the past, the present or in the future, you have the number of the beast, because six is the number of man in rebellion against God. It’s as simple as that. …

“Some people think there’s gonna be a mark on on our bodies, and there might be in the physical sense. But we’re talking here on the higher, spiritual, parable level of God speed.”

“Let’s look at Revelation 14, verses 9 and 10. It says: ‘If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives a mark on his FOREHEAD or on his HAND, he will also drink the wine of God’s wrath’ (Revelation 14:9–10 CSB). https://www.wnd.com/2022/09/finally-emerging-beast-mark-number-beast-revealed/

Several of above positions by Joe Kovacs are wrong in so many ways.

Let’s start with 666.

In the Greek it is NOT three sixes like Joe Kovacs is pushing, it is 600, 60, and 6.

Regarding 666, the Bible teaches the following, which I will repeat here:

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

The first writing that had been found suggesting that a Roman or Roman empire is 666 was by Irenaeus, who claimed to have listened to Polycarp when he (Irenaeus) was a young man. Irenaeus wrote:

Then also Lateinos (LATEINOS) has the number six hundred and sixty-six; and it is a very probable [solution], this being the name of the last kingdom [of the four seen by Daniel]. For the Latins are they who at present bear rule: (Irenaeus. Adversus haereses, Book V, Chapter 30, Verse 3. Excerpted from Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 1. Edited by Alexander Roberts & James Donaldson. American Edition, 1885).

The New Testament was written in Greek, and John penned the Book of Revelation on the Greek speaking island of Patmos (Revelation 1:9). They still speak Greek there. Anyway, adding up the values of the Greek letters for the word Lateinos brings you to 666:

 

L = 30	lambda
A = 1	alpha
T = 300	tau
E = 5	epsilon
I = 10	iota
N = 50	nu
O = 70	omicron
S = 200	sigma
——–
666

 

This is consistent with what the old WCG taught:

In the 2nd century A.D., Irenaeus, disciple of Polycarp, the Apostle John’s disciple, explained that in Greek the word Lateinos — meaning “Latin man” or Roman — adds up to 666. (L = 30; A = 1; T = 300; E = 5; I = 10; N = 50; 0 = 70; S = 200) This, he stated, was the, intent of the scripture.

The number 666 is thus anciently branded on the old Roman Empire and its revivals. (Stump KW. Just What Do You Mean… ANTICHRIST? Plain Truth, September 1981)

Specifically, 666 is the number of the first beast in Revelation 13 as distinguished from the Antichrist, who is the second, the two-horned beast in the same chapter. And as Revelation 13 shows, the two-horned beast works with and promotes the seven-headed (and ten-horned) first beast in that chapter.

Please understand that the leader of the ten-horned Beast of Revelation 13:1-10 (see Europa, the Beast, and the Book of Revelation) and the one called 666 in Revelation 13:10 is also the one who is the final King of the North. He is also called the ‘man of sin’ in 2 Thessalonians 2 (see also Who is the Man of Sin of 2 Thessalonians 2?).

Now, what about Joe Kovacs’ claim that the Beast simply represents all humankind?

That is also absurd.

Notice what Revelation 13 says about the Beast:

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?”

5 And he was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and he was given authority to continue for forty-two months. 6 Then he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, His tabernacle, and those who dwell in heaven. 7 It was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation. 8 All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

9 If anyone has an ear, let him hear. 10 He who leads into captivity shall go into captivity; he who kills with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.  (Revelation 13:1-10)

The Beast represents various world empires, and in the end time, will be led by a specific man.

Consider the bolded passages above. They are clearly referring to an individual, not all of humankind.

Notice also the following:

12 “The ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have received no kingdom as yet, but they receive authority for one hour as kings with the beast. 13 These are of one mind, and they will give their power and authority to the beast.  (Revelation 17:12-13)

Again, this proves the Beast to come is an individual man.

Joe Kovacs is wrong.

Sadly, WND has a history of promoting those who misunderstand and falsely teach about prophecy.

Like the Greco-Roman Catholics who teach against the millennium, Protestants also often improperly allegorize scripture.

Those who do so will not understand biblical prophecies and will not take the steps that the Bible says that they should.

Do not be misled by Joe Kovacs, WND, or others who will not teach what the Bible teaches.

Some items of related interest may include:

Two Horned Beast of Revelation and 666 Who is 666? This article explains how the COG views this, and compares this to Ellen White. Here is a link to a prophetic video Six Financial Steps Leading to 666?
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?
Must the Ten Kings of Revelation 17:12 Rule over Ten Currently Existing Nations? Some claim that these passages refer to a gathering of 10 currently existing nations together, while one group teaches that this is referring to 11 nations getting together. Is that what Revelation 17:12-13 refers to? The ramifications of misunderstanding this are enormous. A related sermon is titled Ten Kings of Revelation and the Great Tribulation.
Christian Repentance Do you know what repentance is? Is it really necessary for salvation? Two related sermons about this are also available: Real Repentance and Real Christian Repentance.
Is God Calling You? This booklet discusses topics including calling, election, and selection. If God is calling you, how will you respond? Here is are links to related sermons: Christian Election: Is God Calling YOU? and Predestination and Your Selection. A short animation is also available: Is God Calling You?
What is the Appropriate Form of Biblical Interpretation? Should the Bible be literally understood? What do the writings of the Bible, Origen, Herbert W. Armstrong, and Augustine show?
Beliefs of the Original Catholic Church: Could a remnant group have continuing apostolic succession? Did the original “catholic church” have doctrines held by the Continuing Church of God? Did Church of God leaders uses the term “catholic church” to ever describe the church they were part of? Here are links to related sermons: Original Catholic Church of God?, Original Catholic Doctrine: Creed, Liturgy, Baptism, Passover, What Type of Catholic was Polycarp of Smyrna?, Tradition, Holy Days, Salvation, Dress, & Celibacy, Early Heresies and Heretics, Doctrines: 3 Days, Abortion, Ecumenism, Meats, Tithes, Crosses, Destiny, and more, Saturday or Sunday?, The Godhead, Apostolic Laying on of Hands Succession, Church in the Wilderness Apostolic Succession List, Holy Mother Church and Heresies, and Lying Wonders and Original Beliefs. Here is a link to that book in the Spanish language: Creencias de la iglesia Católica original.
Hope of Salvation: How the Continuing Church of God Differs from Protestantism The CCOG is NOT Protestant. This free online book explains how the real Church of God differs from mainstream/traditional Protestants. Several sermons related to the free book are also available: Protestant, Baptist, and CCOG History; The First Protestant, God’s Command, Grace, & Character; The New Testament, Martin Luther, and the Canon; Eucharist, Passover, and Easter; Views of Jews, Lost Tribes, Warfare, & Baptism; Scripture vs. Tradition, Sabbath vs. Sunday; Church Services, Sunday, Heaven, and God’s Plan; Seventh Day Baptists/Adventists/Messianics: Protestant or COG?; Millennial Kingdom of God and God’s Plan of Salvation; Crosses, Trees, Tithes, and Unclean Meats; The Godhead and the Trinity; Fleeing or Rapture?; and Ecumenism, Rome, and CCOG Differences.
Did The Early Church Teach Millenarianism? Was the millennium (sometimes called chiliasm) taught by early Christians? Who condemned it? Will Jesus literally reign for 1000 years on the earth? Is this time near? Three related sermons are available Let’s Talk About the Earthly Millennium, Millennial Utopia, and The Millennium.
Does God Have a 6,000 Year Plan? What Year Does the 6,000 Years End? Was a 6000 year time allowed for humans to rule followed by a literal thousand year reign of Christ on Earth taught by the early Christians? Does God have 7,000 year plan? What year may the six thousand years of human rule end? When will Jesus return? 2031 or ? There is also a video titled 6000 Years: When will God’s Kingdom Come? Here is a link to the article in Spanish: ¿Tiene Dios un plan de 6,000 años?

COGwriter

The Continuing Church of God continues to get additional materials translated into the Spanish language.

Here are the translations that we just received:

Donald Trump’s Middle East trip supporting Sunni (King of the South) rise–plus Vladimir Putin invites Arab League to meet in Russia

El viaje de Donald Trump a Oriente Medio en apoyo del ascenso de los suníes (Rey del Sur) y la invitación de Vladimir Putin a la Liga Árabe a reunirse en Rusia

https://cdlidd.es/el-viaje-de-donald-trump-a-oriente-medio-en-apoyo-del-ascenso-de-los-sunies-rey-del-sur-y-la-invitacion-de-vladimir-putin-a-la-liga-arabe-a-reunirse-en-rusia/

Pope Leo XIV pushing for unity; yes, he is expected to be ecumenical

El Papa León XIV impulsa la unidad; sí, se espera que sea ecuménico

https://cdlidd.es/el-papa-leon-xiv-impulsa-la-unidad-si-se-espera-que-sea-ecumenico/

BibleNewsProphecy: Artificial Intelligence – A False Friend May 18, 2025

Noticias Bíblicas y Profecía: La inteligencia artificial: Una falsa amiga

https://cdlidd.es/noticias-biblicas-y-profecia-la-inteligencia-artificial-una-falsa-amiga/

US government moving towards reducing subsidies for ‘junk foods,’ while promoting whole foods–UK deciding against doing so May 18, 2025

El gobierno de Estados Unidos avanza hacia la reducción de los subsidios a la “comida chatarra”, mientras promueve los alimentos integrales; el Reino Unido decide no hacerlo.

https://cdlidd.es/el-gobierno-de-estados-unidos-avanza-hacia-la-reduccion-de-los-subsidios-a-la-comida-chatarra-mientras-promueve-los-alimentos-integrales-el-reino-unido-decide-no-hacerlo/

Donald Trump announces ‘Golden Dome,’ China objects, but WWIII will still come

Donald Trump anuncia la ‘Cúpula Dorada’, China se opone, pero la Tercera Guerra Mundial aún llegará

https://cdlidd.es/donald-trump-anuncia-la-cupula-dorada-china-se-opone-pero-la-tercera-guerra-mundial-aun-llegara/

Mark of the Bible and Apostolic Succession

Marcos de la Biblia y la sucesión apostólica

https://cdlidd.es/marcos-de-la-biblia-y-la-sucesion-apostolica/

ECB concerned about Trump policies and gold. EU elections–the ‘right’ gaining voters and ‘left’ in a ‘free fall’

El BCE se muestra preocupado por las políticas de Trump y el oro. Elecciones europeas: la derecha gana votos y la izquierda cae en picado.

https://cdlidd.es/el-bce-se-muestra-preocupado-por-las-politicas-de-trump-y-el-oro-elecciones-europeas-la-derecha-gana-votos-y-la-izquierda-cae-en-picado/

Starvation in Gaza? Could this possible ‘war crime’ turn out to be the ‘terrible crime’ predicted for the end times by Herman of Lehnin?

¿Hambruna en Gaza? ¿Podría este posible «crimen de guerra» convertirse en el «terrible crimen» predicho para el fin de los tiempos por Herman de Lehnin?

https://cdlidd.es/hambruna-en-gaza-podria-este-posible-crimen-de-guerra-convertirse-en-el-terrible-crimen-predicho-para-el-fin-de-los-tiempos-por-herman-de-lehnin/

1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicea–Could a coming meeting be THE EIGHTH ecumenical synod that is supposed to satisfy heretics?

1700 aniversario del Concilio de Nicea – ¿Podría ser el próximo encuentro EL OCTAVO sínodo ecuménico que pretende satisfacer a los herejes?

https://cdlidd.es/1700-aniversario-del-concilio-de-nicea-podria-ser-el-proximo-encuentro-el-octavo-sinodo-ecumenico-que-pretende-satisfacer-a-los-herejes/

United Kingdom makes a new deal with the European Union–a prelude to Hosea 5:13-14?

El Reino Unido hace un nuevo acuerdo con la Unión Europea: ¿Un preludio de Oseas 5:13-14?

https://cdlidd.es/reino-unido-hace-un-nuevo-acuerdo-con-la-union-europea-un-preludio-de-oseas-513-14/

Robert Prevost speaks in Vatican City and also explains why he chose name Pope Leo XIV

Robert Prevost habla en la Ciudad del Vaticano y también explica por qué eligió el nombre de Papa León XIV

https://cdlidd.es/robert-prevost-habla-en-la-ciudad-del-vaticano-y-tambien-explica-por-que-eligio-el-nombre-de-papa-leon-xiv/

BRICS+: 40% of world population and growing–the final times of the Gentiles is approaching

BRICS+: 40% de la población mundial y en aumento: se acerca el fin de los tiempos de los gentiles

https://cdlidd.es/brics-40-de-la-poblacion-mundial-y-en-aumento-se-acerca-el-fin-de-los-tiempos-de-los-gentiles/

Pope Leo XIV pushing for unity; yes, he is expected to be ecumenical

El Papa León XIV impulsa la unidad; sí, se espera que sea ecuménico

https://cdlidd.es/el-papa-leon-xiv-impulsa-la-unidad-si-se-espera-que-sea-ecumenico-2/

Did the demons know that Robert Prevost would become Pope Leo XIV?

¿Sabían los demonios que Roberto Prevost se convertiría en el Papa León XIV?

https://cdlidd.es/sabian-los-demonios-que-roberto-prevost-se-convertiria-en-el-papa-leon-xiv/

Ancient purple dye factory found near Israeli coast and a demonic encounter in Lydia

Descubren antigua fábrica de tinte púrpura cerca de la costa israelí y un encuentro demoníaco en Lidia

https://cdlidd.es/descubren-antigua-fabrica-de-tinte-purpura-cerca-de-la-costa-israeli-y-un-encuentro-demoniaco-en-lidia/

COVID deaths continue, while WHO gets its new ‘pandemic treaty’ for pestilences

Continúan las muertes por COVID, mientras la OMS obtiene su nuevo ‘tratado pandémico’ para las pestes

https://cdlidd.es/continuan-las-muertes-por-covid-mientras-la-oms-obtiene-su-nuevo-tratado-pandemico-para-las-pestes/

BibleNewsProphecy: Mark of the Cell Phone?

Noticias de Profecía de la Biblia: ¿La marca del teléfono celular?

https://cdlidd.es/noticias-de-profecia-de-la-biblia-la-marca-del-telefono-celular/

Most who claim Christianity will not recognize Jesus when He is returning

La mayoría de los que afirman ser cristianos no reconocerán a Jesús cuando regrese

https://cdlidd.es/la-mayoria-de-los-que-afirman-ser-cristianos-no-reconoceran-a-jesus-cuando-regrese/

Letter to the Brethren: May 22, 2025

Carta a los hermanos: 22 de mayo de 2025

https://cdlidd.es/carta-a-los-hermanos22-de-mayo-de-2025/

Mahdi claimant Abdullah Hashem calls for Arabs to build Jewish Temple in Jerusalem and removing Palestinians from Gaza

El reclamante del Mahdi, Abdullah Hashem, pide a los árabes que construyan un templo judío en Jerusalén y expulsen a los palestinos de Gaza.

https://cdlidd.es/el-reclamante-del-mahdi-abdullah-hashem-pide-a-los-arabes-que-construyan-un-templo-judio-en-jerusalen-y-expulsen-a-los-palestinos-de-gaza/

An Old Testament Gospel? The Gospel – In the Old Testament

¿Un Evangelio del Antiguo Testamento? El Evangelio – En el Antiguo Testamento

https://cdlidd.es/un-evangelio-del-antiguo-testamento-el-evangelio-en-el-antiguo-testamento/

WCG’s original name was not the Radio Church of God? What about radio in the 21st century?

¿El nombre original de la WCG no era la Iglesia de Dios de la Radio? ¿Qué pasa con la radio en el siglo XXI?

https://cdlidd.es/el-nombre-original-de-la-wcg-no-era-la-iglesia-de-dios-de-la-radio-que-pasa-con-la-radio-en-el-siglo-xxi/

AP article on why Popes push ‘Mary’ misses the prophetic and interfaith reasons May 17, 2025

El artículo de AP sobre por qué los Papas promueven el nombre de «María» pasa por alto las razones proféticas e interreligiosas.

https://cdlidd.es/el-articulo-de-ap-sobre-por-que-los-papas-promueven-el-nombre-de-maria-pasa-por-alto-las-razones-profeticas-e-interreligiosas/

Boomers, Gen-Z, Millennials, Gen-Xr’s: The ‘Titanic Struck’ and the Math Doesn’t Work

Baby Boomers, Generación Z, Millennials, Generación X: El ‘Titanic’ impactó y las matemáticas no funcionan

https://cdlidd.es/baby-boomers-generacion-z-millennials-generacion-x-el-titanic-impacto-y-las-matematicas-no-funcionan/

The Continuing Church of God has a separate Spanish language website http://www.cdlidd.es. The term Continuing Church of God translates into La Continuación de la Iglesia de Dios in the Spanish language, also called Castellano or Español.

We have also additional Spanish language videos on our CDLIDDSermones channel.

Our Spanish translator normally provides translated news items once or twice per month.

So, in addition to having magazines and books in the Spanish language, we also post news items in it as well.

This is another avenue we utilize to teach all that we can in accordance with Matthew 24:14, Mark 13:28-37, and Matthew 28:19-20.

The Continuing Church of God is reaching people around the world in multiple languages via the internet, printed literature, and human church leaders.

We also reach people over the radio and through videos in the English language.

Some items of possibly related interest may include:

Mexico, Central America, South America, Brazil, and the Caribbean in Prophecy [Español: México, América central, Suramérica, Brasil y el Caribe en la profecía] [Português: México, América Central, Ámérica do Sul, e Brasil na profecia] What will happen to those of Latin America? Will they have prosperity? Will they cooperate with Europe? Will they suffer in the future? What role might the various Caribbean nations/territories play? Two videos of related interest are available: Will Mexico Regain USA Territories? and Donald Trump and Mexico’s future. A sermon of related interest is available: Latin America in Prophecy.

CDLIDDSermones channel. This contains messages in the Spanish language.

CDLIDD.ES La Continuación de la Iglesia de Dios. This is the Spanish language website for the Continuing Church of God and has articles in español/castellano.

Bible News Prophecy International radio. This has links to our non-English language online radio station as well as materials in multiple languages, such as Spanish.

Continuing History of the Church of God This pdf booklet is a historical overview of the true Church of God and some of its main opponents from Acts 2 to the 21st century. Related sermon links include Continuing History of the Church of God: c. 31 to c. 300 A.D. and Continuing History of the Church of God: 4th-16th Centuries and Continuing History of the Church of God: 17th-20th Centuries. The booklet is available in Spanish: Continuación de la Historia de la Iglesia de Dios, German: Kontinuierliche Geschichte der Kirche Gottes, and Ekegusii Omogano Bw’ekanisa Ya Nyasae Egendererete.

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?

Statement of Beliefs of the Continuing Church of God “Contend earnestly for the faith once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3, NKJV), “Let brotherly love (Philadelphia) continue” (Hebrews 13:1) ” & continuing stedfastly in the teaching of the apostles” (Acts 2:42 YLT). So, what does that really mean in terms of specific beliefs–the Statement gives answers? Here is a related link in Spanish/español: Declaración de las Doctrinas de la Continuación de la Iglesia de Dios. Here is a related link in Tagalog: Paglalahad ng Mga Paniniwala ng Patuloy na Iglesya ng Diyos. Here is a related link in Mandarin Chinese ~ç~íy^v„eYOv„OáNðXðf. Here is a related link in Kiswahili: KATIKA LUGHA YA KISWAHILI. Here is a related link in Dutch: Verklaring van geloofspunten van de Continuing Church of God. Here is a related link in Deutsche (German): Glaubenserklärung der Continuing Church of God. Here is a related link in Italiano: Dichiarazione del Credo della Continuing Church of God. Here is related link in the French language: Déclaration des croyances de L’Église Continue de Dieu. Here is a related link in the Chichewa language: ZIKHULUPIRIRO ZA MPINGO WA CONTINUING CHURCH OF GOD. Here is a link in Romanian: Declarația de credințe a continuării Bisericii lui Dumnezeu. Here is a link in Portuguese: Declaração de Crenças da Continuação da Igreja de Deus. Here is a link in Russian: Утверждение верований о продолжении Церкви Божьей. Here is a link to a related English-language sermon: Beliefs of the Continuing Church of God. Here is a link to a booklet titled: Statement of Beliefs of the Continuing Church of God.

Faith for those God has Called and Chosen What is faith? Can faith be increased? Are you saved by faith? What about works? Do Christians need to keep the Ten Commandments? What is the ‘faith chapter’? How do the just live by faith? Is faith one of the weightier matters of the law? How does faith come? Here is a link to a pdf. booklet titled Faith for Those God has Called and Chosen. Marque aquí para ver el pdf folleto: Fe para aquellos que Dios ha llamado y escogido.Here is a link to a related sermon titled: Faith for the Called and Chosen. Here is a link to shorter version of the written article in Mandarin Chinese 一篇关于信仰的小文章

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 Animations channel. The Continuing Church of God has some animations to teach aspects of Christian beliefs.

Bible News Prophecy channel. Dr. Thiel has produced many YouTube videos for the BibleNewsProphecy channel. And you can find them there.

ContinuingCOG channel. Dr. Thiel has produced YouTube video sermons for this channel. Note: Since these are sermon-length, they can take a little longer to load than other YouTube videos. Here is a link to a short intro: ContinuingCOG Channel.

CCOGAfrica channel. This has messages from African pastors in African languages such as Kalenjin, Kiswahili, Embu, and Dholuo.

BibleNewsProphecy Podcast. This has audio-visual podcasts of the Bible News Prophecy channgel. It plays on i-Phones, i-Pads, and Windows devices that can play i-Tunes.

Bible News Prophecy online and European Gospel radio. This has an audio version of the Bible News Prophecy videos and other radio broadcasts. It is also available as a mobile app.

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

CCOGAFRICA.ORG This is a website targeted towards those in Africa.

CCOGCANADA.CA This is a website targeted towards those in Canada.

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.

PNIND.PH Patuloy na Iglesya ng Diyos. This is the Philippines website Continuing Church of God. It has information in English and Tagalog.

Study the Bible Course Want to learn more about the Bible? This new course is for you! Here is a: link to Lesson 1: Why Study the Bible? Here is a: link to Lesson 2: Here’s good news…the MESSAGE sent from Heaven. Here is a: link to Lesson 3: Christ Will Stop World Suicide! Here is a: link to Lesson 4: How to Study the Bible. Here is a link to Study the Bible Course: Test 1, for Lessons 1-4. Here is a: link to Lesson 5: The Millennium. Here is a: link to Lesson 6: Utopia! It is also available in French (Leçon 1 En francés), Kiswahili (Somo 1 Katika Kiswahili), Mandarin Chinese (™–˜u : N-Vý), Tagalog (KURSO SA PAG-ARAL NG BIBLYA), and Spanish (Lección 1 En castellano).
Youth Bible Lessons We have scores of lessons for the very young through teenage to learn about the ways of God.

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

COGwriter

Today, many in the USA observe ‘Memorial Day.’ It was originally known as ‘Decoration Day.’ It started after the American Civil War to commemorate the Union and Confederate soldiers who died in the Civil War. By the 20th century, Memorial Day was extended to honor all Americans who have died while in the military service.

A secular source posted the following:

May 29, 2023

On Memorial Day, we honor those who died in the service of our country. Let us do everything we can as a people and a nation to stop war and all its brutality. 

A peaceful future without war and all its awfulness is the best way to honor our troops, even as we cherish the memory of the heroes who gave their all.

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/best-way-honor-sacrifice

While that would be great now, that type of peace will not happen until after Jesus, the Prince of Peace, returns.

A reader sent me a link to the following article about it:

Memorial Day a time to question war…

It is proper to pay respect to those who made the ultimate sacrifice for the rest of us. Memorial Day should also be a time of reflection on when it is moral for the United States to wage war and, if allowed, how this country should conduct war.

War is awful. In these days of shallow, sanitized news coverage, the real horror of war rarely confronts us with the terrible death it levies against fellow humans, soldiers and civilians alike, and the maiming injuries, physical and psychological, it leaves behind in its wake…

Over the centuries, religious leaders and moral philosophers have clarified moral principles for commencing a “just war.” Choices about war and peace involve not only military and political options, but also moral questions

The ‘just war’ concept, to a major degree, is based upon the writings of the Roman Catholic theologian Thomas Aquinas and was a term used by early followers of Martin Luther. In the 16th century, Martin Luther’s followers condemned those who did not believe that Christians were to be soldiers. Notice what the followers of Martin Luther declared in 1530:

Article XVI: Of Civil Affairs. Of Civil Affairs they teach that lawful civil ordinances are good works of God, and that it is right for Christians to bear civil office, to sit as judges, to judge matters by the Imperial and other existing laws, to award just punishments, to engage in just wars, to serve as soldiers...They condemn the Anabaptists who forbid these civil offices to Christians.

It should be noted that some of those called Anabaptists were in the Church of God (please see the article The Sardis Church Era). Martin Luther would have also condemned groups like the Continuing Church of God which hold to beliefs that he condemned on these matters.

Yet, from the beginning of the New Testament church true Christians (and even most of the heretical apostates) would not participate in carnal warfare.

Melito, a leading Church of God Christian leader wrote around 170 A.D., that if a leader is just, then God provides peace:

My opinion is this: that in `this’ way a kingdom may be governed in peace-when the sovereign is acquainted with the God of truth, and is withheld by fear of Him from doing wrong to those who are his subjects, and judges everything with equity, as one who knows that he himself also will be judged before God; while, at the same time, those who are under his rule are withheld by the fear of God from doing wrong to their sovereign, and are restrained by the same fear from doing wrong to one another. By this knowledge of God and fear of Him all evil may be removed from the realm. For, if the sovereign abstain from doing wrong to those who are under his rule, and they abstain from doing wrong to him and to each other, it is evident that the whole country will dwell in peace. Many blessings, too, will be enjoyed there, because amongst them all the name of God will be glorified. For what blessing is greater than this, that a sovereign should deliver the people that are under his rule from error, and by this good deed render himself pleasing to God? For from error arise all those evils from which kingdoms suffer; but the greatest of all errors is this: when a man is ignorant of God, and in God’s stead worships that which is not God. (Melito. Translation by Roberts and Donaldson. A DISCOURSE WHICH WAS IN THE PRESENCE OF ANTONINUS CAESAR, AND HE EXHORTED THE SAID CAESAR TO ACQUAINT HIMSELF WITH GOD, AND SHOWED TO HIM THE WAY OF TRUTH. Online version copyright © 2001 Peter Kirby. http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/melito.html 11/18/06).

Tatian, a professing Christian apologist, wrote around 170 A.D.:

And for these the witnesses take their seats, and the boxers meet in single combat, for no reason whatever, nor does any one come down into the arena to succour. Do such exhibitions as these redound to your credit? He who is chief among you collects a legion of blood-stained murderers, engaging to maintain them; and these ruffians are sent forth by him, and you assemble at the spectacle to be judges, partly of the wickedness of the adjudicator, and partly of that of the men who engage in the combat. And he who misses the murderous exhibition is grieved, because he was not doomed to be a spectator of wicked and impious and abominable deeds (Tatian. Translated by J.E. Ryland. Tatian’s Address to the Greeks, Chapter XXIII . Excerpted from Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 2. Edited by Alexander Roberts & James Donaldson. American Edition, 1885. Online Edition Copyright © 2004 by K. Knight).

Athenagoras, a professing Christian apologist, wrote around 170 A.D.:

What man of sound mind, therefore, will affirm, while such is our character, that we are murderers?…

Who does not reckon among the things of greatest interest the contests of gladiators and wild beasts, especially those which are given by you? But we, deeming that to see a man put to death is much the same as killing him, have abjured such spectacles (Athenagoras. A Plea for the Christians, Chapter XXXV. Translated by B.P. Pratten. Excerpted from Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 2. Edited by Alexander Roberts & James Donaldson. American Edition, 1885. Online Edition Copyright © 2004 by K. Knight).

Even today, many Christians realize that watching brutal events intent on causing physical harm, such as real boxing and American football, is inappropriate.

Now, here is something from Theophilus of Antioch (who apparently was part of the Church of God) perhaps written about 180 A.D.:

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

So, true Christians did not believe that they were to fight nor even watch the violent sports that were popular in the second century.

Notice that this is also the position of the third century Catholic theologian and bishop Hippolytus, who also adds various occupations to those that reject one from being a follower of Christ:

16:6 A charioteer, likewise, or one who takes part in the games, or one who goes to the games, he shall cease or he shall be rejected. 7 If someone is a gladiator, or one who teaches those among the gladiators how to fight, or a hunter who is in the wild beast shows in the arena, or a public official who is concerned with gladiator shows, either he shall cease, or he shall be rejected. 8 If someone is a priest of idols, or an attendant of idols, he shall cease or he shall be rejected. 9 A military man in authority must not execute men. If he is ordered, he must not carry it out. Nor must he take military oath. If he refuses, he shall be rejected. 10 If someone is a military governor, or the ruler of a city who wears the purple, he shall cease or he shall be rejected. 11 The catechumen or faithful who wants to become a soldier is to be rejected, for he has despised God. (Hippolytus. The Apostolic Tradition of Hippolytus of Rome. From the work of Bernard Botte (La Tradition Apostolique. Sources Chretiennes, 11 bis. Paris, Editions du Cerf, 1984) and of Gregory Dix (The Treatise on the Apostolic Tradition of St. Hippolytus of Rome, Bishop and Martyr. London: Alban Press, 1992) as translated by Kevin P. Edgecomb http://www.bombaxo.com/hippolytus.html viewed 08/06/09)

Around 250 A.D., elder/presbyter Pionius of Smyrna asked:

To whom have we done wrong? Have we perchance murdered someone? Or, do we persecute anyone? Or have we obliged anyone to venerate idols? (Martyrdom of Pionius as translated in Monroy, Mauricio Saavedra. The Church of Smyrna: History and Theology of a Primitive Christian Community. Peter Lang edition, 2015, p. 155)

He asked those questions knowing full well that real Christians had not done any of those things.

As late as the beginning of the fourth century, the Greco-Roman Catholic apologist Lactanus/Lactanius wrote:

For when God forbids us to kill, He not only prohibits us from open violence, which is not even allowed by the public laws, but He warns us against the commission of those things which are esteemed lawful among men. Thus it will be neither lawful for a just man to engage in warfare (Lactanus. Divine Institutes, Book VI (Of True Wisdom and Religion), Chapter 20).

Or why should he carry on war, and mix himself with the passions of others, when his mind is engaged in perpetual peace with men? {The Christian} considers it unlawful not only himself to commit slaughter, but to be present with those who do it, and to behold it (Lactanus. Divine Institutes, Book V (Of True Wisdom and Religion), Chapter 18).

Christianity Today has recognized that early Christians were against military service:

The ancient church understood that war has been around as long as human beings and sin have coexisted. It is a consistent tenet throughout the Christian tradition that war is the result of sin. The responses to war, however, have followed two basic trains of thought: pacifism, and the idea that certain wars can be just.

Pacifism is characteristic of the early centuries of Christianity in someone like the North African apologist Tertullian (160-220 A.D.), who regularly warned Christians to distance themselves from pagan culture. He wrote:

“How will he serve in the army even during peacetime without the sword that Jesus Christ has taken away? Even if soldiers came to John and got advice on how they ought to act, even if the centurion became a believer, the Lord by taking away Peter’s sword, disarmed every soldier thereafter. We are not allowed to wear any uniform that symbolizes a sinful act” (On Idolatry 19.3).

The third-century Roman Presbyter Hippolytus wrote The Apostolic Tradition, Canon 16, (ca. 215 A.D.) which opposed serving in the military as a matter of church discipline:

“A soldier in the lower ranks shall kill no one. If ordered to do so, he shall not obey, and he shall not take an oath. If he does not want to comply with this directive, let him be dismissed [from the church].”

(Elowsky, Joel. Ancient Christian Commentary on Current Events: What Is War Good For? Christianity Today, posted October 28, 2003).

Now, I should add that it is doubtful that most of those quoted in the article were true Christians themselves. Yet, it is clear that they understood that John the Baptist and the Apostles were against war.

Here is more from Tertullian’s writings:

But now inquiry is made about this point, whether a believer may turn himself unto military service, and whether the military may be admitted unto the faith, even the rank and file, or each inferior grade, to whom there is no necessity for taking part in sacrifices or capital punishments. There is no agreement between the divine and the human sacrament, the standard of Christ and the standard of the devil, the camp of light and the camp of darkness. One soul cannot be due to two masters–God and Caesar. And yet Moses carried a rod, and Aaron wore a buckle, and John (Baptist) is girt with leather and Joshua the son of Nun leads a line of march; and the People warred: if it pleases you to sport with the subject. But how will a Christian man war, nay, how will he serve even in peace, without a sword, which the Lord has taken away? (Tertullian. On Idolatry, Chapter 19. 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).

The Roman Catholic theologian Hippolytus, early third century, noted this:

That it is not meet for Christians to bear arms (Hippolytus. Heads of the Canons of Abulides or Hippolytus, Which Are Used by the Ethiopian Christians. Excerpted from Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 5. Edited by Alexander Roberts & James Donaldson. American Edition, 1886. Online Edition Copyright © 2005 by K. Knight).

Theological historian Bart Ehrman noted this as a difference between the Jews and the early Christians:

Further indications of a separation of Christians from Jews came soon thereafter in the Jewish uprising against the Romans in Palestine, leading to a three-year war and the ultimate destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in the year 70 C.E. Old traditions indicate that the Christian Jews refused to participate in the struggle (Ehrman B. From Jesus to Constantine: A History of Early Christianity. The Teaching Company, Chantilly (VA), 2004, p. 33).

Furthermore, the historian Kenneth Scott Latourette noted that even late into the third century:

…perhaps most of the early Christians had conscientious scruples against military service (Latourette K.S. A History of Christianity, Volume 1, Beginnings to 1500. Harper, San Francisco, 1975, p. 89).

And while after some time much of the empire soldiers professed Christ, this empire-wide acceptance of Christianity occurred with a “compromise with the world…a serious peril to the Gospel” (ibid, p.108).

For the most part until near the time of the sun-god worshiping Emperor Constantine, even the Greco-Romans who professed Christ were opposed to being part of the military (see Military Service and the Churches of God: Do Real Christians Participate in Carnal Warfare?). From around the time of Constantine, a variety of arguments were developed to try to justify violating this original Christian practice, yet those who continued the original faith resisted these human arguments.

Over in Ukraine, we have seen people of faiths derived from Emperor Constantine killing each other.

As far as war goes, it will be eliminated by the final phase of the Kingdom of God. Notice what the Bible teaches:

2 Now it shall come to pass in the latter days
That the mountain of the Lord’s house
Shall be established on the top of the mountains,
And shall be exalted above the hills;
And all nations shall flow to it.
3 Many people shall come and say,
“Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
To the house of the God of Jacob;
He will teach us His ways,
And we shall walk in His paths.”
For out of Zion shall go forth the law,
And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
4 He shall judge between the nations,
And rebuke many people;
They shall beat their swords into plowshares,
And their spears into pruning hooks;
Nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
Neither shall they learn war anymore. (Isaiah 2:2-4)

1 Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. 2 Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. 4 And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”

5 Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” And He said to me, “Write, for these words are true and faithful.” (Revelation 21:1-5)

So, as many remember the soldiers who died in warfare today, Christians can look forward to the time that there will be no more war nor pain of war.

Some items of possibly related interest may include:

Military Service and the Churches of God: Do Real Christians Participate in Carnal Warfare or Encourage Violence? Here are current and historical perspectives on a matter which show the beliefs of the true church on military participation. Is war proper for Christians? A related sermon would be: Christians, Violence, and Military Service.
Hope of Salvation: How the Continuing Church of God Differs from Protestantism The CCOG is NOT Protestant. This free online book explains how the real Church of God differs from mainstream/traditional Protestants. Several sermons related to the free book are also available: Protestant, Baptist, and CCOG History; The First Protestant, God’s Command, Grace, & Character; The New Testament, Martin Luther, and the Canon; Eucharist, Passover, and Easter; Views of Jews, Lost Tribes, Warfare, & Baptism; Scripture vs. Tradition, Sabbath vs. Sunday; Church Services, Sunday, Heaven, and God’s Plan; Seventh Day Baptists/Adventists/Messianics: Protestant or COG?; Millennial Kingdom of God and God’s Plan of Salvation; Crosses, Trees, Tithes, and Unclean Meats; The Godhead and the Trinity; Fleeing or Rapture?; and Ecumenism, Rome, and CCOG Differences.
The Gospel of the Kingdom of God This free online pdf booklet has answers many questions people have about the Gospel of the Kingdom of God and explains why it is the solution to the issues the world is facing. Here are links to four related sermons:  The Fantastic Gospel of the Kingdom of God!, The World’s False Gospel, The Gospel of the Kingdom: From the New and Old Testaments, and The Kingdom of God is the Solution.
Beliefs of the Original Catholic Church: Could a remnant group have continuing apostolic succession? Did the original “catholic church” have doctrines held by the Continuing Church of God? Did Church of God leaders uses the term “catholic church” to ever describe the church they were part of? Here are links to related sermons: Original Catholic Church of God?, Original Catholic Doctrine: Creed, Liturgy, Baptism, Passover, What Type of Catholic was Polycarp of Smyrna?, Tradition, Holy Days, Salvation, Dress, & Celibacy, Early Heresies and Heretics, Doctrines: 3 Days, Abortion, Ecumenism, Meats, Tithes, Crosses, Destiny, and more, Saturday or Sunday?, The Godhead, Apostolic Laying on of Hands Succession, Church in the Wilderness Apostolic Succession List, Holy Mother Church and Heresies, and Lying Wonders and Original Beliefs. Here is a link to that book in the Spanish language: Creencias de la iglesia Católica original.
Continuing History of the Church of God This pdf booklet is a historical overview of the true Church of God and some of its main opponents from Acts 2 to the 21st century. Related sermon links include Continuing History of the Church of God: c. 31 to c. 300 A.D. and Continuing History of the Church of God: 4th-16th Centuries and Continuing History of the Church of God: 17th-20th Centuries. The booklet is available in Spanish: Continuación de la Historia de la Iglesia de Dios, German: Kontinuierliche Geschichte der Kirche Gottes, French: L Histoire Continue de l Église de Dieu and Ekegusii Omogano Bw’ekanisa Ya Nyasae Egendererete.
Sola Scriptura or Prima Luther? What Did Martin Luther Really Believe About the Bible? Though he is known for his public sola Scriptura teaching, did Martin Luther’s writings about the Bible suggest he felt that prima Luther was his ultimate authority? Statements from him changing and/or discounting 18 books of the Bible are included. Do you really want to know the truth?
The Similarities and Dissimilarities between Martin Luther and Herbert W. Armstrong This article clearly shows some of the doctrinal differences between in the two. At this time of doctrinal variety and a tendency by many to accept certain aspects of Protestantism, the article should help clarify why the genuine Church of God is NOT Protestant. Do you really know what the Protestant Reformer Martin Luther taught and should you follow his doctrinal example?
Christian Soldiers How are Christians to be like soldiers? How are they to be different?
World War III: Steps in Progress Are there surprising actions going on now that are leading to WWIII? Might a nuclear attack be expected? Does the Bible promise protection to all or only some Christians? How can you be part of those that will be protected? A related video would be Is World War III About to Begin? Can You Escape?
Fourth Horseman of the Apocalypse What is the pale horse of death and pestilences? What will it bring and when? Here is a link to a related sermon: Fourth Horseman, COVID, and the Rise of the Beast of Revelation. Some shorter related videos may include Amphibian Apocalypse: Threat to Humans? and Zombie Deer Disease is Here! Are the 10 Plagues on Egypt Coming? Here is a version of the article in Spanish: El cuarto jinete de Apocalipsis, el caballo pálido de muerte y pestilencia.
Wars, rumors of wars, and the Apocalypse Jesus foretold a time before the end where there would be wars and rumors of wars. The Apocalypse (the Book of Revelation) warns of the red horseman of war. Now, even secular writers, like Larry Edelson, are worried that wars and rumors of war are the most menacing problem that now haunts the earth? Are they right? What is the solution?

(UnSplash photo)

COGwriter

In its current edition of The Philadelphia Trumpet, PCG has the following:

Is the U.S. dollar losing its safe-haven status? Capital Economics weighs in

The horizon is darkening for the world’s dominant currency. Despite some positive financial news in the United States, other nations continue to reduce their reliance on the U.S. dollar. The price of gold has spiked past $3,000 per ounce as central banks around the world load up on the precious metal in lieu of dollars.

Yet the U.S. dollar may soon face an even more formidable rival than gold bullion: digital money.

The only reason the dollar has not collapsed already is that the world’s other major currencies are in even worse shape. Since there is currently no viable alternative reserve currency, central banks grudgingly work past the dollar’s flaws and continue to use it for international transactions. But what would happen if those banks no longer needed currency reserves at all?

Soon after China launched a digital yuan in 2021, the Bank for International Settlements launched a technology called Multiple Central Bank Digital Currency Bridge (mBridge). This project is designed to tie together central bank digital currencies from China, Hong Kong, Saudi Arabia, Thailand and the United Arab Emirates. Once operational, these five nations will not need to use dollars in cross-border payments as the mBridge system converts digital yuan to digital riyal, and digital baht into digital dirham.

The goal of mBridge is to eliminate the need for nations to keep U.S. dollars in reserve to make international transactions. This will drastically reduce demand for the dollar and tank its value. That will destabilize the U.S. economy, exacerbating the nation’s debt and making the U.S. vulnerable in almost every imaginable sense—abroad and at home.

The Bank for International Settlements is not attempting to achieve this goal by replacing the dollar with a new reserve currency: It aims to accomplish it by eliminating the need for a reserve currency altogether. https://www.thetrumpet.com/31309-eliminating-the-need-for-the-dollar

Since the Europeans came up with the euro, there have been efforts in various nations and groups of nations to reduce the use of the US dollar for international trade.

Sanctions by the US have pushed nations away from the SWIFT system of international payment settlement.

Related to that we put out the following video:

14:50

SWIFT end to the US dollar?

After World War II, the US dollar became the world’s primary international trading currency. In this video Dr. Thiel and Steve Dupuie go over some of the reasons for that development. They also discussed US dominance of SWIFT. SWIFT stands for the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication. SWIFT provides a network that enables financial institutions worldwide to send and receive information about financial transactions. The use of sanctions and the weaponization of SWIFT by the US is brought out as are alternatives to SWIFT development by Russia (System for Transfer of Financial Messages-SPFS) and China (Cross-Border Interbank Payment System-CIPS). Also the BRICS Pay alternative to SWIFT, mentioned at the BRICS Kazan Summit in October 2024 was mentioned as well as “the Unit”, which is a potential gold-backed currency that Vladimir Putin brought up as another alternative. An article titled ‘The Biggest Story that’s NOT Being Told Will WREAK HAVOC on the US Economy’ was discussed along with the specter of extreme inflation hitting the US once its dollar is no longer relied on internationally. The fact that SWIFT is supposed to be a European system, and one that Europeans want more control of, was mentioned along with the fact that the Europeans could also push harder for the end of SWIFT and/or the US dollar dominance. The timing of the coming Great Tribulation and US banking/financial matters was also mentioned.

Here is a link to our video: SWIFT end to the US dollar?

The USA dollar will no longer remain “king.” This will greatly impact the economy of the USA.

The USA has massive debt, has imposed numerous sanctions, has threatened other sanctions, cut nations out of Swift, and has often weaponized its dollar.

As more and more nations are affected, less and less trust the “safe haven” status of the US dollar. Notice also:

… the dollar tumbled after Moody’s Ratings stripped the US of its last top credit rating due to ballooning debt and deficits. 05/19/25 https://finance.yahoo.com/news/gold-gets-bounce-moody-us-235551394.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly9uZXdzLmdvb2dsZS5jb20v&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAH4t0oiZ4nGbSkIapaFHLj83FMhtBR8HNh-XqTRYXXiH-Zy9-BvnhlJvoQFrBT1oKmasPmOAlYJNqy1-03NmODP294Tg0QNOZUv80Z9-4BbetnMI5kMaLY5KQodL-aszZgCeEvI_LZ6XnF1jMtH1J6gQMpd3URq9mbVJ_WbjiYz0

Consider also that the Europeans have long wanted the euro to push the US dollar’s reserve currency status aside and the BRICS+ alliance wants to try to stop using the US dollar for cross-border trade.

The BRICS+ alliance includes Russia, China, and various African and Asian nations.

Related to the US dollar and BRICS, the Continuing Church of God (CCOG) put together the following video on our Bible News Prophecy YouTube channel:

14:31

BRICS Push Aside USA Dollar

The BRICS nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) have as one of their founding goals, to eliminate the need to use USA dollars in cross-border trade. Six additional nations have been invited to join BRICS in 2024, and India reports that six more are also being looked at. The BRICS nations have already begun to drop the USA dollar for some cross-border trading with Russia and China indicating that they had almost done so completely in late 2023. What will happen to the economy and value of the USA dollar if more and more nations stop using it as a primary reserve and trading currency? What about hyperinflation? Does the Bible prophesy destruction for a highly indented nation in the end time? Is the USA the most indebted nation of all time? What about the intent and use of the Euro? Will Europe and Asia cooperate to eliminate the USA and its British-descended allies?

Here is a link to our video: BRICS Push Aside USA Dollar.

Last Fall I wrote:

Neither a possible Trump-Vance or Harris-Walz Administration has proposed anything that would truly stop de-dollarization. Actually threats against nations involved, by Donald Trump, as well as policies suggested by Kamala Harris, will tend to increase the speed of de-dollarization. (Thiel B. MW: Can America Survive Global De-Dollarization? COGwriter: No! COGwriter, October 4, 2024)

Well, that is happening. There will be many unintended consequences of Donald Trump’s statements and policies.

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

Notice what Donald Trump stated in late 2024:

“The idea that the BRICS countries are trying to move away from the dollar while we stand by and watch is over,” Trump wrote in a Nov. 30 Truth Social post. …

“We require a commitment from these countries that they will neither create a new BRICS currency, nor back any other currency to replace the mighty U.S. dollar or, they will face 100 percent tariffs, and should expect to say goodbye to selling into the wonderful U.S. economy,” the president-elect recently wrote.

In October, speaking at the Economic Club of Chicago with Bloomberg, Trump warned … “We have to have that. We cannot lose it,” Trump said. “You’ll go to Third World status in this country because you take a look at the way things are running.” (Durden T. De-Dollarization Effort In Spotlight After Trump’s Tariff Threat On BRICS. ZeroHedge, December 3, 2024)

Yes, the impact of the USA dollar losing its reserve status would be horrible–and even worse than Donald Trump asserted. And things like 100% tariffs are inflationary.

The BRICS+ nations, which compose nearly half the population of the world, still want to bypass the US dollar.

US President-elect Donald Trump has threatened 100 percent tariffs on BRICS nations if they replace the dollar in international trade.

However, Brazil has indicated that it aims to boost the effort during its presidency of BRICS. President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s government has said its objective is the “development of means of payment” to facilitate trade between member countries.[i]

Furthermore, some suspect that more countries in BRICS+ may destroy the ‘petrodollar’ system that supports the dollar.[ii]

The USA dollar will ultimately crash and be worthless. That “pride” of American power will be broken (cf. Leviticus 26:19).  …

European leaders have been working for years to establish a new reserve currency for the world, partially with the intent to remove the USA dollar from its current position as a reserve currency.

Those in Russia, Iran and some of the Arab lands, along with nations such as Brazil and India have discussed plans for the removal of the dominance of the USA dollar in global trade as well. Many are now working on that, along with China, in what is called the BRICS alliance.[iii] While Donald Trump did not cause all of this, an unintended consequence of the use of sanctions in the Trump-Pence Administration (as well as by the Biden-Harris Administration) is that more nations are looking to bypass the dollar. …

When the U.S. dollar is no longer the world’s reserve currency, this will hurt the USA financially. Increasing debt, including “quantitative easing,” is a form of dishonest profits that is not something that God approves of and will punish the USA for (cf. Ezekiel 22:13-16).

Inflation will eventually hit the USA extremely hard. As the world becomes less attached to the American dollar, many financial jobs and opportunities will be in places other than the USA. Eventually, but not yet, the USA dollar will become worthless.

Will it always be straight downhill for the economy of the USA?

No.

There are some reasons to have some temporary optimism. Proposed reductions in government regulations are expected to boost the economy. In addition, technological and other developments may temporarily support the U.S. economy—as can reductions of regulatory burdens.

Some policies of Donald Trump’s may help. …

For years, I have written that because of improvements in various aspects of energy and other technology (some of which Donald Trump seems to support), the USA may experience even more of an energy export boom, such as with oil and natural gas, etc. that may prolong its days of economic prosperity.[iv]  But prolonging is likely all that is possible as its destruction is prophesied (Daniel 11:39; Habakkuk 2:6-8). …

Since many are now questioning the role of the USA dollar as the world’s reserve currency, more are looking into other currencies as well as gold.

Gold will set records in U.S. dollar terms. …

When the U.S. dollar totally collapses people all around the world will consider that even if the euro (or something similar) is strong, having a more gold-backed currency would be safer.

The collapse of the USA dollar will shake a lot of the world’s confidence in non-gold backed currencies. The Europeans do not have to have a perfect currency, only one that is perceived to be in better shape than the USA dollar or various other currencies.

Having the European power acquiring more gold to back the Euro or possibly another future European currency (that might potentially replace the Euro or even a basket of currencies) may greatly increase European credibility, prosperity, and influence around the globe, even if the backing is only implied.

The debt accumulation policies of the Obama-Biden and the Trump-Pence Administrations, which were a massive acceleration of the previous policies of the Bush Administration, have to a large degree been continued and expanded by the Biden-Harris Administration.

The increases in America’s debt are heading the world into the time when something other than the U.S. dollar will be valued as its reserve currency.

A Trump-Vance Administration would need to make massive changes to possibly prevent this.

The USA and its dollar are at serious risk. …

Unintended Consequences

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

• Pushing tariffs and sanctions on other countries is contributing to the rise of the final time of the Gentiles (Luke 21:24; Ezekiel 7:24).
• Pushing tariffs and other policies that foreign nations do not like is contributing to other nations looking to bypass the USA dollar, as well as trade more with each other and less with the USA. This will further push various globalist’s moves forward without the USA. This is also helping set the stage for the coming European Babylonian Beast to dominate international trade.

[i] ^{Indonesia joins BRICS group of emerging economies. Aljazeera, January 7, 2025}

[ii] ^{Dourian K. Are the BRICS gearing up to challenge the petrodollar? Middle East Economy, October 10, 2024}

[iii] ^{BRICS Expansion, the G20, and the Future of World Order. Carnegie Endowment for the International Peace, October 9, 2024}

[iv] Thiel B. Barack Obama, Prophecy, and the Destruction of the United States. Nazarene Books, 2013, pp. 67-48

Since the above was published, gold has set records in US dollar terms multiple times. And more countries are looking seriously about bypassing the US dollar because of tariffs.

The US dollar is going away as the world’s premier currency and the damage to the US economy is beyond what most of its politicians realize.

That said, it is not just Russia, China, and parts of Africa and Asia that are pushing towards de-dollarization, so are the Europeans. They are also in the process of increasing their gold reserves, partially at the expense of decreasing their US dollar reserves.

Do not think that Europe will not one day support the complete toppling of the US dollar as well as the US itself (cf. Daniel 11:39).

Since many are now questioning the role of the US dollar as the world’s reserve currency, more are looking into other currencies as well as gold.

Gold is becoming the de facto reserve currency behind the US dollar and one day will greatly surpass the US dollar.

As I have long written, gold will set records in US dollar terms.

Now, I have made the previous statement many times, and gold has set records in US dollar terms many times since I started writing that statement.

It has been reported by others that many nations around the world are already in the process of accumulating gold to one day overthrow the US dollar—and that the “U.S. is unprepared for this strategic alternative to dollar dominance.”

When the US dollar totally collapses people all around the world will consider that even if the euro (or something similar) is strong, having a more gold-backed currency would be safer.

The collapse of the US dollar will shake a lot of the world’s confidence in non-gold backed currencies.

The Europeans do not have to have a perfect currency, only one that is perceived to be in better shape than the US dollar.

Having the European power acquiring more gold to back the Euro or possibly another future European currency (that might potentially replace the Euro or even a basket of currencies) may greatly increase European credibility, prosperity, and influence around the globe, even if the backing is only implied.

The debt accumulation policies of the US government are going to be a factor in the dollar’s and the USA’s decline.

The increases in America’s debt are heading the world into the time when something other than the US dollar will be valued as its reserve currency.

The end of US dollar dominance is coming.

One day, the US dollar will be eliminated.

Some items of possibly related interest may include:

Lost Tribes and Prophecies: What will happen to Australia, the British Isles, Canada, Europe, New Zealand and the United States of America? Where did those people come from? Can you totally rely on DNA? What about other peoples? Do you really know what will happen to Europe and the English-speaking peoples? What about Africa, Asia, South America, and the Islands? This free online book provides scriptural, scientific, historical references, and commentary to address those matters. Here are links to related sermons: Lost tribes, the Bible, and DNA; Lost tribes, prophecies, and identifications; 11 Tribes, 144,000, and Multitudes; Israel, Jeremiah, Tea Tephi, and British Royalty; Gentile European Beast; Royal Succession, Samaria, and Prophecies; Asia, Islands, Latin America, Africa, and Armageddon;  When Will the End of the Age Come?;  Rise of the Prophesied King of the North; Christian Persecution from the Beast; WWIII and the Coming New World Order; and Woes, WWIV, and the Good News of the Kingdom of God.
Spiritual Samaritans: Old and New Who were the Samaritans? Do the represent true Christianity or something else? Here is a link to a related sermon: USA in Prophecy: Samaria.
The End of US Dollar Dominance Is the USA losing its economic status? What about the petro-gold-yuan? A related video is also available: US Dollar being challenged by Gold-Petro-Yuan.
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 and silver? Two videos of related interest may be: Germany, Gold, and the US Dollar and Silver, Science, and Scripture.
Europa, the Beast, and Revelation Where did Europe get its name? What might Europe have to do with the Book of Revelation? What about “the Beast”? Is an emerging European power “the daughter of Babylon”? What is ahead for Europe? Here is are links to related videos: European history and the Bible, Europe In Prophecy, The End of European Babylon, and Can You Prove that the Beast to Come is European?

Artist’s portrayal of Jesus’ return

COGWriter

Will most people that profess Christ recognize Jesus when He returns?

World Net Daily editor Joseph Farah, correctly, seems to doubt that:

When the Jewish people finally received their Messiah, the vast majority did not recognize Him.

When He returns, will Christians make the same mistake?

That’s the fear WND founder Joseph Farah expressed in an interview with Paul McGuire on “Apocalypse and the End Times” on GodTV. It was part of a wide-ranging conversation about how the last days will be far different than what many believers expect.

“Who is Jesus and how is he going to come back?” Farah asked. “You know, a lot of people missed Jesus the first time He came. Most of the Jews did not recognize Him as their Messiah. They had a misunderstanding of how the Messiah was going to come. And they were going a lot by man’s teaching rather than going back to the Scriptures. And I wonder, when Jesus does come back, if many people in the church are going to miss Him too.” …

“This Jewish guy is going to come back, on the Mount of Olives as prophesied, and He’s going to become King of Israel,” Farah said wryly. “And the whole world is going to center around Israel at this point. Are they going to recognize him? Or are they going to be fooled by an imposter that we call the Antichrist who is going to do all kinds of signs and miracles, et cetera?”

Truly becoming knowledgeable about the Bible and the roots of the Christian faith is a passionate concern of Farah’s, who urges all believers to examine their beliefs.

“More than a billion people in the world call themselves Christians – how many of them are authentic Christians?” he asked. …

“Did Jesus come to start a new religion? No – he preached only to the House of Israel during his earthly ministry. The Apostles did initially also and only later, decades later perhaps, did they recognize that perhaps Gentiles could be part of this, and it’s such a blessing that we are. The notion of replacement theology is why Israel still is the most controversial country in the world today.” …

He mourned the average Christian’s lack of knowledge about the Millennial Kingdom and the earthly rule of Jesus.

“If you ask the average Christian about that, they have no understanding,” he explained. “We’ve got to perfect and redeem this world. To bring it back to the Garden of Eden – that’s the goal, that’s what Jesus is coming back to do, and to rule and reign from Jerusalem with a rod of iron.

“Are people prepared for this sweet Jesus that they read about in the New Testament to rule and reign from Jerusalem with a rod of iron? These are questions I think it’s important for Christians to challenge themselves with.” 01/28/17 http://www.wnd.com/2017/01/how-christians-will-recognize-jesus-again/#Tv3LCrfs88QtYzZc.99

Joseph Farah, a non-Roman Catholic, is correct that relatively few who profess Christ believe in the millennial reign of Jesus, even though the Bible teaches it (Revelation 20:4-6; see also Did The Early Church Teach Millenarianism?). Few understand that Jesus will rule with a rod of iron (Revelation 12:5, 19:15). And even less understand the good news of the Kingdom of God. And most are sorely ignorant of the true history of the faithful Christian church (Jude 3; for details check out Continuing History of the Church of God and Where is the True Christian Church Today?).

What about Roman Catholics?

Well, officially they do not believe in the millennial reign, in spite of the fact that it admits that many of their claimed early saints taught the millennium. Now they strongly condemn this belief as a doctrine of Antichrist:

676 The Antichrist’s deception already begins to take shape in the world every time the claim is made to realize within history that messianic hope which can only be realized beyond history through the eschatological judgment. The Church has rejected even modified forms of this falsification of the kingdom to come under the name of millenarianism, especially the “intrinsically perverse” political form of a secular messianism. (Catechism of the Catholic Church. Imprimatur Potest +Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger. Doubleday, NY 1995, p. 194).

It should be noted that the millennial teaching appears to be the only doctrine associated with Antichrist that is condemned in the current official Catechism of the Catholic Church (which is the first new one in hundreds of years). The one that has the imprimatur of Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger who was Pope Benedict XVI.

While some Roman Catholic writings are correct, certain contradictory Roman Catholic writings/prophecies teach that Antichrist:

1. Will cite scriptures as proof of His Messiahship
2. Will keep and promote the seventh-day Sabbath
3. Will teach against idols and an idol-related Mass
4. Will teach that the Catholic religion is false
5. Will renumber the Ten Commandments
6. Will be Jewish
7. Will “observe the Jewish rites”
8. Will have supporters who teach against the trinity
9. Will preach the millennial gospel of the kingdom
10. Will preach that there is a coming future opportunity for salvation
11. Will come after thunders, lightning, earthquakes, mountains being leveled, and great hail
12. Will win the “battle of Armageddon”
13. Will come after the destruction of the Roman Empire
14. Will claim to be the Messiah
15. Will have those that appear to be resurrected saints with him.

Jesus: said scriptures testified who He was (John 5:39), kept the seventh-day Sabbath, taught against idols, never advocated the wearing of crosses on the hand or forehead (cf. Revelation 13:16;20:4), taught that those who held to a religion based upon tradition over the Bible is false, taught all the ten commandments as the Continuing Church of God teaches them, was Jewish (John 4:9-10; Matthew 1:1-3; Luke 3:23-33), kept “Jewish practices” like Passover (Matthew 26:18) and the Feast of Tabernacles (John 7:2,10), has always had non-Trinitarian supporters, taught the millennial gospel of the kingdom, taught that there would be a future opportunity for salvation, shows that thunders/lightning/earthquakes/hail preceded His coming (Revelation 16:17-21), shows that the forces of evil gathered at Megiddo lose (Revelation 16:13-16; 19:17-21), that He will reign after the destruction of the Roman Empire (Revelation 19:2-8), and He will teach He is the Messiah (John 4:25-26). And His Apostles Paul and John were inspired to write that resurrected saints will come with Jesus and reign at His second coming.

Thus, it appears that certain private Greco-Roman Catholic prophecies have been given to warn the world that when Jesus comes He will be the Antichrist. This may be part of the reason that the Bible warns that people will be angry and will actually make war against/with Jesus when He returns:

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

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 (Revelation 19:19).

Thus, I believe that Satan inspired a lot of false prophecies and improper theology so that those who are not the very elect will be deceived (Matthew 24:24) and will actually fight against Jesus (Revelation 19:19). This is part of Satan’s Plan.

This is part of why all who profess Christ need to understand who the true Church has been from the beginning, who the true Church was in the intervening years, and who the true Church actually will be in the end (for more details, please go to the History of Early Christianity page, and/or the free online booklets Continuing History of the Church of God and Where is the True Christian Church Today?).

Furthermore, it needs to be understood that some Greco-Roman Catholics also seem to teach that the ones that those of us in the COG consider to be the two witnesses, will be announcing the Antichrist (e.g. Birch, p. 556) and that during the time we in, that the COGs call the Great Tribulation, there will be supernaturally-fed people opposed to the Roman Catholic church dwelling in caves and that they will be “the advance guard of the son of perdition” (Hildegard of Bingen. Scivias. Paulist Press, Mahwah (NJ), p. 301).

Sadly, many Greco-Roman Catholic prophecies and writings apparently are directed against those in the protected Philadelphia remnant of the Church of God and against Jesus Christ. Many pronouncements by supporters of Martin Luther did as well. Those that do not understand the truth about Jesus, church history, and prophecy will be deceived. But YOU do not have to be.

Some items of possibly related interest may include:

Christ or Antichrist? 1961 article by David Jon Hill, originally published in the old Good News magazine.
Will You Be Deceived by Antichrist? 1964 article by David Jon Hill, originally published in the old Good News magazine.
Satan’s Plan Does Satan have a plan? What is it? Has it already been successful? Will it be successful in the future? Here are links to a two-part sermon series: What are Some of the Parts of Satan’s Plan? and Satan’s Plan is More Dramatic than Many Realize.
Do Certain Greco-Roman Catholic Prophecies About Antichrist Warn Against Jesus? Will the final “Anti-Christ” be Jewish, insist on Saturday, be opposed to the trinity, and bring in the millennium? Certain Catholic writings indicate this, while others take a different view, but what does the Bible show? A related sermon is Will Jesus Christ be called the Antichrist?
Greco-Roman Catholic Prophecies: Do They Mirror, Highlight, or Contradict Biblical Prophecies? People of all faiths may be surprised to see what various Roman and Orthodox Catholic prophets have been predicting as many of their predictions will be looked to in the 21st century.
Is There A Secret Rapture for the Church? When and Where is the Church Protected? What does the Bible really teach? Does the Church flee or is it taken up just prior to the great tribulation? Who really is left behind? There is also a YouTube video with information Did Jesus Teach a Pre-tribulation Rapture?
Could God Have a 6,000 Year Plan? What Year Does the 6,000 Years End? Was a 6000 year time allowed for humans to rule followed by a literal thousand year reign of Christ on Earth taught by the early Christians? Does God have 7,000 year plan? What year may the six thousand years of human rule end? When will Jesus return? 2031 or 2035 or? There is also a video titled: When Does the 6000 Years End? 2031? 2035? Here is a link to the article in Spanish: ¿Tiene Dios un plan de 6,000 años?
Armageddon Who is involved and when will this gathering happen? Here is also a video from Dr. Thiel, from Tel Megiddo in Israel: Armageddon. Other videos include: Armageddon Will it come on Trump’s watch?, Iraq, Armageddon, & Prophecy, Freemasonry, Armageddon, and Rome, Is China paving roads to Armageddon?, and Jordan, Petra, and Armageddon.
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?
Proof Jesus is the Messiah This free book has over 200 Hebrew prophecies were fulfilled by Jesus. Plus, His arrival was consistent with specific prophecies and even Jewish interpretations of prophecy. Here are links to seven related sermons: Proof Jesus is the Messiah, Prophecies of Jesus’ birth, timing, and death, Jesus’ prophesied divinity, 200+ OT prophecies Jesus filled; Plus prophecies He made, Why Don’t Jews Accept Jesus?, Daniel 9, Jews, and Jesus, and Facts and Atheists’ Delusions About Jesus. Plus the links to two sermonettes: Luke’s census: Any historical evidence? and Muslims believe Jesus is the Messiah, but … These videos cover nearly all of the book, plus have some information not in the book.
The Dangerous Rise of Preterists Has the Great Tribulation finished? What was the view of early Christians? Why is the preterist view dangerous? A related sermon video is titled Preterism: You’ve Gotta Be Kidding…Right?
Wormwood and Planet Nibiru Will the Earth be devastated by Planet X or Comet Encke? Here is a link to a related YouTube video Could Comet ISON be Wormwood of Bible Prophecy?
The Elijah Heresies Does the Bible teach that there will be a future Elijah? Must it be Herbert W. Armstrong? Two related sermons are available Elijah: Prophecies and Heresies and Elijah, Herbert W. Armstrong, and CCOG.
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.
The Red Heifer, Jewish Beliefs, and the End of the World The Temple Institute is watching a ‘red heifer.’ Why might this be important in the sequence of end time events? Here is a related link in the Spanish language Novilla roja descubierta en EE.UU. e Instituto del Templo está interesado en ella. Here are links to two related videos in English: Red Heifers and the Fate of the World and The Red Heifer and the End of the World.
Why Be Concerned About False and Heretical Leaders? There have been many false leaders–here is some of why you should be concerned about them. Here is a related article in the Spanish language ¿Por qué estar preocupado acerca de falsos y heréticos líderes?.
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?
Where is the True Christian Church Today? This free online pdf booklet answers that question and includes 18 proofs, clues, and signs to identify the true vs. false Christian church. Plus 7 proofs, clues, and signs to help identify Laodicean churches. A related sermon is also available: Where is the True Christian Church? Here is a link to the booklet in the Spanish language: ¿Dónde está la verdadera Iglesia cristiana de hoy? Here is a link in the German language: WO IST DIE WAHRE CHRISTLICHE KIRCHE HEUTE? Here is a link in the French language: Où est la vraie Église Chrétienne aujourd’hui?
Continuing History of the Church of God This pdf booklet is a historical overview of the true Church of God and some of its main opponents from Acts 2 to the 21st century. Related sermon links include Continuing History of the Church of God: c. 31 to c. 300 A.D. and Continuing History of the Church of God: 4th-16th Centuries and Continuing History of the Church of God: 17th-20th Centuries. The booklet is available in Spanish: Continuación de la Historia de la Iglesia de Dios, German: Kontinuierliche Geschichte der Kirche Gottes, French: L Histoire Continue de l Église de Dieu and Ekegusii Omogano Bw’ekanisa Ya Nyasae Egendererete.
Beliefs of the Original Catholic Church. Did the original “catholic church” have doctrines held by the Beliefs of the Original Catholic Church: Could a remnant group have continuing apostolic succession? Did the original “catholic church” have doctrines held by the Continuing Church of God? Did Church of God leaders uses the term “catholic church” to ever describe the church they were part of? Here are links to related sermons: Original Catholic Church of God?, Original Catholic Doctrine: Creed, Liturgy, Baptism, Passover, What Type of Catholic was Polycarp of Smyrna?, Tradition, Holy Days, Salvation, Dress, & Celibacy, Early Heresies and Heretics, Doctrines: 3 Days, Abortion, Ecumenism, Meats, Tithes, Crosses, Destiny, and more, Saturday or Sunday?, The Godhead, Apostolic Laying on of Hands Succession, Church in the Wilderness Apostolic Succession List, Holy Mother Church and Heresies, and Lying Wonders and Original Beliefs. Here is a link to that book in the Spanish language: Creencias de la iglesia Católica original.
Hope of Salvation: How the Continuing Church of God Differs from Protestantism The CCOG is NOT Protestant. This free online book explains how the real Church of God differs from mainstream/traditional Protestants. Several sermons related to the free book are also available: Protestant, Baptist, and CCOG History; The First Protestant, God’s Command, Grace, & Character; The New Testament, Martin Luther, and the Canon; Eucharist, Passover, and Easter; Views of Jews, Lost Tribes, Warfare, & Baptism; Scripture vs. Tradition, Sabbath vs. Sunday; Church Services, Sunday, Heaven, and God’s Plan; Seventh Day Baptists/Adventists/Messianics: Protestant or COG?; Millennial Kingdom of God and God’s Plan of Salvation; Crosses, Trees, Tithes, and Unclean Meats; The Godhead and the Trinity; Fleeing or Rapture?; and Ecumenism, Rome, and CCOG Differences.