The media and the short work

How will Matthew 24:14 be fulfilled?

Back in November 2002, the late Dr. Roderick C. Meredith and I had a discussion about that. I reminded him that he said that LCG’s influence was like 1/2 a peanut shell in the Pacific Ocean. And got him to understand that even if LCG doubled it television coverage that this would not fulfill Matthew 24:14.

During that meeting, and subsequent meetings with other LCG evangelists, I put forth my view that for a short time, the media would focus on the message of the Philadelphian work–particularly after identifying the King of the North and explaining what he would do (cf. Daniel 11:39-43). All the evangelists seemed like they had not thought of that, but that they agreed with the vision I laid out.

In late December 2017, in the article titled 18 items to prophetically watch in 2018, I wrote:

Jesus taught:

19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. (Matthew 28:19-20)

In the Continuing Church of God, in sermons, I have gone over every thing that the Bible records that Jesus spoke in the New Testament. …

We also have made literature available, not only on the internet, but in printed form and in multiple languages.

Jesus also taught:

14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come. 15 “Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place” (whoever reads, let him understand), 16 then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 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. 22 And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened. (Matthew 24:14-22)

Notice that the Great Tribulation happens after Matthew 24:14 has been fulfilled to God’s satisfaction.

In the Continuing Church of God, we have a booklet, The Gospel of the Kingdom of God, available in close to 100 languages. They can be found at www.ccog.org

According to AWStats, our websites have been visited by people from at least 220 nations/territories. According to YouTube our online videos have been viewed by people from at least 220 nations/territories.

More will be done.

The late artist Andy Warhol was known for getting the idea out that people are entitled to their ‘fifteen minutes of fame.”

The Apostle Paul wrote that God would have a short work:

28 For He will finish the work and cut it short in righteousness, Because the Lord will make a short work upon the earth. (Romans 9:28)

In the Continuing Church of God, we are preparing for this through the development of articles and booklets, and in numerous languages.

We believe that when we publicly identify the coming King of the North and explain that he is pushing a false peace and false gospel, and that he will destroy the USA and its Anglo-Saxon dominated allies, as well as an Islamic power, that media attention will be focused on us and what we teach.

This will be the short work, and will lead to the fulfillment of Matthew 24:14.

Are you going to watch or support the work?

Jesus praised the Philadelphians for their work (Revelation 3:7-13), while condemning the Laodicean Christians for being lukewarm about the work (Revelation 3:14-22).

Has there been any media attention?

Yes, in addition to many radio interviews, other media has relayed some of what we teach.

Notice something from the CCOG Letter to the Brethren: April 19, 2018:

We Got Media Attention

Many of you will remember that in my 2015 sermon The Short Work, I mentioned my belief that the short work alluded to in Romans 9:28, as well as the final fulfillment of Matthew 24:14, would partially happen as the result of media coverage.

While now is not the time for the fulfillment of Romans 9:28, we did just get some media attention.

The UK Express ran three articles where I was mentioned by name this week: World War 3 WARNING: US told ‘consequences of bombing Syria’ set the stage for WAR and World War 3 PROPHECY: Did ‘Balkan Nostradamus’ Baba Vanga predict Putin’s rise to power? and End of the world: Will the world end on April 23? Will World War 3 break out?

In the first one, they embedded part of this week’s recommended sermonette video: Syria and the start of World War 3. Now, the way it was embedded does not affect the statistics that YouTube supplies us, so we are not sure how many have seen the version the Express put together. But, as a media outlet, obviously more have now seen this.

Of course, the coverage was not intended to be flattering. But that is consistent with the prophetic words of Jesus:

11 Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. 12 Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you (Matthew 5:11-12).

It is not that the UK Express was spreading evil falsehoods about us, per se, in all of the articles. But the coverage is ‘tabloid’ like and used unflattering titles.

That being said, media attention will amplify our reach and I believe will be a factor in the prophesied fulfilling of Matthew 24:14.

Now, this is not the first media attention that we got. We actually got a lot of Chinese media attention several years ago. Plus, between myself and two others in CCOG, we have done about 120 radio interviews that have been broadcast on secular stations. Also, from time to time, mainstream media sources (like the Washington Post) have accessed and published our information.

We also have received promotion, via Facebook, by a CCOG member that has gotten about 20,000 views of our animations in the past six weeks (note: YouTube does not collect statistics on those views–the numbers come directly from Facebook).

Why bring media and other promotion up now?

Two reasons.

The first is that last week, Robert Nyambaso Onsando contacted me to ask my permission to broadcast one of our sermons over a private TV station he owned, broadcasting from Kisii Town, in the Western Kenya Region.

Here is what he sent:

Hello Bob, My name is Pastor Robert Onsando, formerly SDA member until three and half years ago. When I found the truth in the Church of God. I have a TV station In Kenya and would love to use it for the spread of the Word. I met a friend in KEHANCHA from the CCOG. I am more excited.

So I asked CCOG Evangelist Evans Ochieng (man in the blue suit below) to meet with Robert Nyambaso Onsando (he is to Evangelist Ochieng’s right) about this, and he did.

After that meeting, Robert Nyambaso Onsando sent in the following report:

Praise God, the photos do not look very nice, it was already dark. We had a wonderful meeting the my brothers in Christ, God has bigger plans for His Church in Kenya and Africa. We shared quite a bit among the things we discussed was TV Station and I was open of it is God’s wish, i am ready to fully dedicate it for the work of God. I was excited with the welcome they have me to the Continuing Church of God. This is the Church I have been looking for. They have me a number of books, which I will go through. God bless.

Evangelist Ochieng believes that this will have a positive impact.

And the second item?

As it turns out, one of our newer BibleNewsProphecy videos essentially ended up being featured in another YouTube video. While this has happened in the past, this particular one is of interest because of how many people have seen it.

The YouTube video, Something is Biblical About This!, has received over 265,000 views in the past seven or eight days. After showing various leaders covered by the news, the video switches to one of our videos (PESCO and a Great European Army) and shows many excerpts for about five minutes.

So while YouTube only shows that our BNP channel has so far had less than 600 views, we actually have had a couple of hundred thousand more views than that.

We in CCOG are leading the Final Phase of the Work and various ones in the media will cover parts of what we teach in the future. Matthew 24:14, which was not the topic of the video that was covered, will be fulfilled.

Anyway, being featured in another video gives parts of the message we are proclaiming some fame. More will happen in the future.

Outside media attention of aspects of our views, including from those hostile to aspects of what we teach will help lead to the fulfillment of Matthew 24:14.

Some items of possibly related interest may include:

Preparing for the ‘Short Work’ and The Famine of the Word What is the ‘short work’ of Romans 9:28? Who is preparing for it? Here is a link to a related video sermon titled: The Short Work.
The Final Phase of the Work What is the final phase of the work? Who will lead it? Do you have the courage to support it? Here is a related YouTube video titled The Final Phase of the Work. The written article has been translated into Spanish La Fase Final de la Obra.
Leading the Final Phase of the Work Matthew 24:14 teaches “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come ” will be fulfilled and RCG is not the group doing this. Who is leading the final phase of the work? What did Herbert Armstrong and the old WCG teach about that and about prophets? Does Bob Thiel meet the criteria that the Bible and the old WCG set? What is the proof? What has the Continuing Church of God been doing? This is a sermonette length video.
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.
Should the Church Still Try to Place its Top Priority on Proclaiming the Gospel or Did Herbert W. Armstrong Change that Priority for the Work? Some say the Church should mainly feed the flock now as that is what Herbert W. Armstrong reportedly said. Is that what he said? Is that what the Bible says? What did Paul and Herbert W. Armstrong expect from lower level leaders? A related sermon is available titled Priority of the Philadelphia Work.
6. The Philadelphia Church Era was predominant circa 1933 A.D. to 1986 A.D. The old Radio Church of God and old Worldwide Church of God, now the remnant of that era is basically the most faithful in the Church of God, like who hold to the beliefs and practices of the Continuing Church of God.
7. The Laodicean Church Era has been predominant circa 1986 A.D. to present. The Laodiceans are non-Philadelphians who mainly descended from the old WCG or its offshoots. They do not properly understand the work or biblical prophecies and will face the Great Tribulation if they do not repent. One video of related interest is 17 Laodicean Errors in Prophecy.
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.