Church of God News

Aisle of Ultraprocessed Foods at Walmart
(Photo by Thayne Tuason via Wikipedia)

COGwriter

Here are two reports on the risks and harms associated with ultra-processed foods:

19 November 2025

Women who eat large amounts of ultra-processed foods (UPFs) are at a greater risk of developing a precursor to bowel cancer, according to a new study.

Research found women who frequently eat UPFs are at a significantly higher risk of being diagnosed with a growth in the bowel that, while non cancerous, can develop into cancer over a long period of time.

Writing in the journal Jama Oncology, experts said that the study provides insight on how diet can influence early changes in the bowel.

They monitored 29,105 women with an average age of 45, gathering food surveys from them taken every four years.

Their findings showed women who regularly ate UPFs such as processed sauces, crisps, processed meats and many ready meals had a 45 per cent higher likelihood of developing a type of polyp called an adenoma than those with the lowest consumption. Those who ate the highest proportion of UPFs ate around 9.9 portions a day. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/health/ultra-processed-food-bowel-cancer-adenoma-diet-b2868106.html

Ultra-processed foods threaten public health — researchers

Ultra-processed foods (UPFs) pose a significant threat to public health and require urgent attention, according to global health experts.

More than 40 experts from around the world published their research in top medical journal The Lancet, blaming UPFs for poor diets globally and a rise in diseases, from obesity to cancer.

“It’s about the evidence we have today about … ultra-processed foods and human health,” Carlos Monteiro, a lead researcher from University of Sao Paulo, said at an online briefing on Tuesday.

“What we know right now justifies global public action.”

Researchers blame food industry

The researchers said that UPFs currently represent more than half of all calories eaten in the United States, Australia and the UK.

They blamed massive corporations for changing global diets in recent decades by using aggressive marketing to sell products made with inferior ingredients and artificial methods.

Eight UPF manufacturers — Nestle, PepsiCo, Unilever, Coca-Cola, Danone, Fomento Economico Mexicano, Mondelez, and Kraft Heinz — account for 42% of the sector’s $1.5 trillion (€1.3 trillion) in assets in 2021, the paper said.

“The key driver of the global rise in UPFs is the growing economic and political power of the UPF industry, and its restructuring of food systems for profitability above all else,” the researchers wrote.

“The industry comprises UPF manufacturers at its core, but also a broader network of co-dependent actors who collectively drive the production, marketing and consumption of UPFs.” https://www.dw.com/en/ultra-processed-foods-threaten-public-health-researchers/a-74798960

Notice also:

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said between August 2021 and August 2023, American youth “consumed 61.9% of their daily calories, on average, from ultra-processed foods, while adults consumed 53.0% of their daily calories from ultra-processed foods.”

“Ultra-processed foods tend to be hyperpalatable, energy-dense, low in dietary fiber, and contain little or no whole foods, while having high amounts of salt, sweeteners, and unhealthy fats,” according to the CDC. “Ultra-processed food consumption has been associated with higher risk of cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality.”

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told Fox News earlier this year, “We are poisoning ourselves and it’s coming principally from these ultra-processed foods.” 08/07/25 https://www.foxnews.com/health/majority-americans-get-more-than-half-calories-from-ultra-processed-foods-cdc-finds

Ultra-processed foods are highly consumed and are dangerous. And it is not just Westerners who are consuming them.

I remember my shock when my family and I were in Malaysia back in 1997 and I saw how much ultra-processed foods were consumed there.

Last Summer, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. also made some comments about ultra-processed foods:

August 24, 2024

RFK Jr. informed journalists at his special press conference in the early afternoon of Friday that America’s health crisis stems from ultra-processed foods pushed by giant food/pharma companies that have corrupted various federal agencies:

Autism rates were about one in 10,000 in my generation – in my kids Generation 1 in 34. I’ll repeat in California 1 and 22. Why are we letting this happen? Why are we allowing this to happen to our children? These are the most precious assets that we have in this country how can we let this happen to them.

About 18% of American teens now have fatty liver disease, that’s like one out of every five – that disease when I was a kid only affected late stage alcoholics who were elderly.

Cancer rates are skyrocketing in the Young and the old young. Adult cancers are up 70-79%. One in four American women is on anti-depressant medication. About 40% of teens have a mental health diagnosis and 15% of high schoolers are on Aderall, and half a million children on SSRIs.

So what’s causing this suffering? I’ll name two culprits first and the worst is ultra-processed food. About 70% of American children’s diet is ultra-processed that means industrial manufacturing – these Foods consist primarily of processed sugar, ultra-processed grains, and seed oils.

Scientists who, for many of them, formerly worked for the cigarette industry, which purchased all the big food companies in the 1970s and 80s, deployed thousands of scientists to figure out chemicals new chemicals to make the food more addictive, and these ingredients didn’t exist a 100 years ago. Humans aren’t biologically adapted to eat them. Hundreds of these chemicals are now banned in Europe but ubiquitous in American processed foods.

The second culprit is toxic chemicals in our food and our medicine and our environment pesticides food additives pharmaceutical drugs and toxic waste permeate every cell of our bodies. The Assault on our children’s cells and hormones is unrelenting – name just one problem many of these chemicals increase estrogen – because young children are ingesting so many of these hormone disruptors, America’s puberty rate is now occurring at age 10 to 13, which is six years earlier than girls were reaching puberty in 1900 our country has the earliest puberty rates of any continent on the Earth and no this isn’t because of better nutrition – this is not normal – breast cancer is also estrogen-driven and it now strikes one in eight women. We are mass poisoning all of our children. 

RFK Jr. then touched on the processed food industry lobbyists who have corrupted Washington, resulting in a food supply chain filled with poison that is killing Americans. He said several federal agencies that are supposed to protect consumers have also been corrupted.

He pointed out that the processed food industry has been “destroying small farms, and they’re destroying our soils.” https://www.zerohedge.com/commodities/rfk-jr-donald-trump-will-end-war-small-wars-save-nations-food-supply-chain

While some in mainstream act like Kennedy is a bit of a nut, the fact is that, yes, ultra-processed foods are dangerous.

Ultra-processed foods are industrial formulations typically made with ingredients not commonly used in home cooking. These often include substances like flavor enhancers, colorings, emulsifiers, preservatives, and other additives. The term comes from the NOVA classification system, which categorizes foods based on how much they are processed.

I asked ChatGPT for a list if them. So, here is its list of common examples of ultra-processed foods:

---

🔹 Snacks and Sweets

• Packaged cookies and biscuits

• Candy and chocolate bars

• Ice cream with artificial additives

• Sweetened breakfast cereals

• Snack cakes and pastries (e.g., Twinkies, Pop-Tarts)

• Energy or granola bars (with artificial flavors/preservatives)

---

🔹 Beverages

• Sugar-sweetened sodas (e.g., Coca-Cola, Pepsi)

• Energy drinks

• Flavored bottled iced teas

• Sweetened fruit drinks (not 100% juice)

• Meal-replacement shakes (though some can be actual foods)

• Powdered drink mixes

---

🔹 Packaged & Instant Meals

• Instant noodles

• Microwaveable frozen dinners (e.g., mac and cheese, frozen pizza)

• Cup/bowl ramen

• Boxed pasta meals with seasoning packs

• Canned ravioli or spaghetti in sauce

• Shelf-stable meat substitutes with long ingredient lists

---

🔹 Processed Meats and Alternatives

• Hot dogs

• Chicken nuggets

• Fish sticks

• Packaged deli meats (with preservatives like sodium nitrite)

• Plant-based meat alternatives with additives (e.g., Beyond Meat, Impossible Burger)

---

🔹 Breads and Bakery Items

• Packaged white bread (especially with additives and long shelf life)

• Hamburger or hot dog buns with preservatives

• Mass-produced muffins, donuts, and croissants

• Frozen waffles and pancakes

---

🔹 Sauces, Spreads, and Condiments

• Commercial mayonnaise

• Bottled salad dressings (with stabilizers and preservatives)

• Sweetened ketchup

• Artificially flavored cheese spreads

• Flavored dips made with powdered ingredients

---

🔹 Other Examples

• Flavored instant rice or grain dishes

• Powdered soups or cream-of-something mixes

• Artificially flavored cheese snacks (e.g., Cheetos)

• Pre-packaged flavored popcorn

• Low-calorie frozen desserts with artificial sweeteners

---

⚠️ Common Ingredients in Ultra-Processed Foods

If you see these on the label, it’s a red flag:

• High-fructose corn syrup

• Artificial sweeteners (aspartame, sucralose)

• Hydrogenated oils or trans fats

• Monosodium glutamate (MSG)

• Artificial flavors/colors

• Emulsifiers (e.g., soy lecithin)

• Preservatives (e.g., BHA, BHT, sodium benzoate)

Now, in small quantities, these seem to have little negative effect for most people, but when they become a major part of the diet, their dangers go up substantially.

Last year, NewsMax reported the following:

Ultra-Processed Foods Linked to 32 Illnesses

February 29, 2024

Ultra-processed foods can cause dozens of terrible health problems among people who eat them too often, a new review warns.

Researchers linked diets high in ultra-processed foods to an increased risk of 32 separate illnesses. In particular, these foods are strongly tied to risk with early death, heart disease, cancer, mental health disorders, overweight and obesity, and Type 2 diabetes, researchers said.

For example, ultra-processed foods are associated with a 50% increased risk of heart-related death, a 48% to 53% increased risk of anxiety and common mental disorders, and a 12% risk of type 2 diabetes, researchers said. …

Ultra-processed foods include packaged snacks, sugary drinks, instant noodles, sweet cereals and ready-to-eat meals.

The products undergo multiple industrial processes to make them tasty and shelf-stable, and contain additives like emulsifiers, coloring agents and chemical flavors.

Unfortunately, ultra-processed foods now account for up to 58% of total daily energy intake in some high income-countries, and are proliferating in low- and middle-income countries, researchers said in background notes.

“Notably, over recent decades, the availability and variety of ultra-processed products sold has substantially and rapidly increased” in countries around the world, wrote the research team led by Melissa Lane, …

Alterations in the food made during manufacturing “may affect digestion, nutrient absorption and feelings of satiety,” the researchers wrote.

Emerging evidence in humans also has linked some additives used in the foods — non-sugar sweeteners, emulsifiers, colorants and nitrates or nitrites — with poor health outcomes, researchers said.

Intensive industrial processing of food might also produce harmful substances that contribute to chronic inflammation, and even packaging materials can contain contaminants, they added. … profit motives discourage food makers from switching to nutritious products. https://www.newsmax.com/health/health-news/ultra-processed-foods-illness/2024/02/29/id/1155395/

Yet, in the USA, various dietitians are pretending that obesity and processed foods are good and healthy (see General Mills funded dieticians who try to claim being obese is healthy and that ultra-processed foods are good).

But they are not healthy.

Why are they sold?

The Apostle Paul warned:

10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, (1 Timothy 6:10)

Greed, not health, drives much of the food processing industry. Notice:

Scientists criticize food manufacturers for massive profits from sales of unhealthy ultraprocessed food

November 18, 2025

Certain ultraprocessed foods, or UPFs, are contributing to worldwide obesity, chronic health conditions and premature death, yet the food industry continues to aggressively market new and existing products in this category for massive profits, according to an unprecedented three-part series authored by 43 global experts in nutrition and supported by the United Nations Children’s Fund, or UNICEF, and the World Health Organization.

More than 50% of the $2.9 trillion paid to shareholders by food corporations between 1962 and 2021 “was distributed by UPF manufacturers alone,” according to research published Tuesday in the leading medical journal The Lancet.

“We found evidence that UPF consumption is increasing everywhere around the world, fueled by powerful global corporations,” said coauthor Carlos Augusto Monteiro, professor emeritus of nutrition and public health in the School of Public Health at Brazil’s University of São Paulo.

“To keep this business model, which is highly profitable, the industry cannot afford to make minimally processed foods as they did in the past, so they use extensive political lobbying to stop effective public health policies that support healthy eating,” said Monteiro, who coined the term “ultraprocessed food” in 2009 when he developed the NOVA classification system, which categorizes foods into four groups by their level of industrial processing.

Companies can “double or triple their profits” by turning corn, wheat, beans and other whole foods “into a colorless and flavorless sawdust which is then reconstructed with artificial flavorings and additives,” said Barry Popkin, the W.R. Kenan Jr. Distinguished Professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Gillings School of Global Public Health. https://www.cnn.com/2025/11/18/health/ultraprocessed-industry-profits-wellness

Yes, greed is a factor. And yes, the food industry advertises and promotes processed foods.

That said, remember Eve in the Garden:

6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. (Genesis 3:6)

Eve reasoned around God’s restriction. The fruit looked like good and desirable food to her. Ultra-processed foods and many unclean meats that God’s word prohibits look like good and desirable foods to many–so this is not entirely the fault of the food processing industry.

Self-control is something Christians should have (e.g. 2 Peter 1:6).

Highly-processed junk foods may look good, taste good, and seem convenient, but if consumed at all, should be a very small part of anyone’s diet.

Yet most in the West deceive themselves that they are not eating too much of them or that they are fine. Plus there is a lot of advertising that promotes them. That brings to mind another warning from the Apostle Paul:

1 But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: 2 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, … 13 … evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. (2 Timothy 3:1-2,13)

Because the negative effects take time, many are wrongly persuaded by advertisements and availability to eat too much highly processed foods. Many also deceive themselves into falsely believing that they cannot cause serious problems–yet they can.

The following scripture came to mind:

11 Because the sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil. (Ecclesiastes 8:11)

As far as food processing goes, it really started to become a problem in the 19th century. This is when refined flour came out. Then we saw degerminated corn meal and white rice. Grits, which once were made of ground, whole organic corn, are now made with degerminated GMO corn, ‘fortified’ with synthetic vitamins. After corn was ‘degerminated’ many people in the Southern USA died from a disease called pellagra. Instead of going back to whole corn, chemically-derived synthetic vitamins were added, which I consider to be dangerous.

In the 19^th century, after natural brown rice became refined on a large scale, white rice became popular. Many preferred white rice because it could be stored longer than natural brown rice, plus it cooked faster.

In the 19^th century, a disease called beriberi began to cause many deaths in parts of Asia. Symptoms of beriberi include weight loss, emotional disturbances, impaired sensory perception, weakness and pain in the limbs, and periods of irregular heart rate.

At first no one connected the consumption of white rice in with beriberi. Leading ‘infectious disease’ experts attempted to figure out what caused this beriberi outbreak, without success. The real cause was the greatly reduced consumption of B-vitamins that was in the portion of the rice that was refined away—but no one realized this at first.

Now, we have even more highly processed items in the food supply–and also genetically-modified substances that there is limited data on the possible long-term health consequences of their consumption.

What should you eat? You should eat real food and for most people, at least two or more servings of fruit and three of more servings of vegetables daily, relatively small amounts of meats, whole grains, and olive oil come to mind. Refined grains, sugars (whether natural or artificial), sodas, and GMOs should be highly limited or not consumed at all

God’s word says:

2 … Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good (Isaiah 55:2).

People should try to eat real, not artificial, foods. And if you take vitamins and minerals, take the type whose nutrients are 100% food (which is what I personally do).

In 2022, the Continuing Church of God put out the following sermon on its ContinuingCOG channel:

It is nice that some are warning about some of the evils affecting the food supply.

Some items of possibly related interest may include:

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.
American foods that gross out foreigners A study done in the Fall of 2014 found out which foods that non-USA Americans considered weird or gross that Americans eat. This video discusses those foods, ingredients in some of those foods, and warns against consuming ‘that which is not bread’ (Isaiah 55:2). Dr. Thiel also warns about synthetic vitamins and some of the issues associated with them. He also discusses something promoted by the late Seventh-day Adventist, Dr. John Harvey Kellogg.
The New Testament Church, History, and Unclean Meats Are foods considered to have been unclean in the Old Testament considered to be food in the New Testament? This article discusses this from the perspective of the New Testament. It also has a list of clean and unclean animals. It also answers the question, is pork healthy or is pork dangerous? There is also a sermon-length video on this: Christians and Unclean Meats; two short videos are also available: Did Jesus declare all animal flesh food? and COVID, Pandemics, and Unclean Meat.
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?
Eating Right, Eating Too Much, and Prophecy Are there disadvantages to being overweight? Is junk food really bad for you? Does the Bible discuss overeating and/or obesity? Is overeating having an effect on the US military? What are the ramifications of personal and national health for overeating? What should you eat? This is a sermonette-length YouTubevideo.
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 are some related videos: GMO Risks and the Bible and GMOs, Lab meat, Hydrogenation: Safe or Dangerous?
Chimeras: Has Science Crossed the Line? What are chimeras?  Has science crossed the line? Does the Bible give any clues? A video of related interest is Half human, half pig: What’s the difference?  and Human-Monkey Embryos and Death.
Ten Simple Rules that Lead to Health Herbert Armstrong gives his opinions on this.
Does God Heal Today? What does the Bible teach? Herbert Armstrong tries to explain this.
UK Study Supports Daniel Diet Daniel and his companions looked better eating more vegetables and avoiding strange meats. Has modern science confirmed this?
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.

COGwriter

ZeroHedge posted the following from Michael Snyder:

Super Creepy ‘The World Ahead 2026’ Economist Magazine Cover Signals War, Pestilence, & Financial Collapse Next Year

November 18, 2025

There is one magazine that represents the interests of the global elite more than any other.  It is known as “The Economist”, and each year it puts out an issue that is dedicated to what is coming in the year ahead.  As we have seen so many times before, these issues tend to be alarmingly accurate.  The reason why they are so accurate is because the ultra-wealthy elite have an enormous amount of influence over the course of human events.  If they are absolutely determined to make something happen, there is a good chance that it is going to happen.  Ominously, it appears that they are anticipating a great deal of global chaos in 2026.

The Economist has been around since 1843, but it has never had a very large readership among the general population.

Ultimately, it is a publication by the elite and for the elite. …

When you look at that cover, what stands out to you?

To me, the fact that there are so many symbols relating to war really got my attention.

There is a huge red tank on one side of the cover, and another huge red tank on the other side of the cover.

At the top there are several large missiles that look like they are ready to be launched, and at the bottom there are more large missiles.

Also, right in the middle we see two enormous swords that are crossed. …

And not too far below that chart, there is a red image of a broken dollar sign.

In addition, throughout the bottom half of the graphic it looks like paper currency is falling everywhere.

Wow.

Obviously they are trying to communicate something about the global economy, and it certainly isn’t good.

Will 2026 be a year of financial collapse?

We won’t have to wait too long to find out.

I also noticed two gigantic syringes near the bottom of the cover.

And throughout the cover there are lots of “pills” floating around.

I started to count them, but there are just too many.

So what does this mean?

Are they suggesting that another global pandemic is on the way?

Will 2026 be a year when people are taking shots and pills to try to protect themselves from a major pestilence that has broken out? …

Lastly, I wanted to mention the giant raised fist near the top of the cover.

A raised fist has been the primary symbol of resistance to the Trump administration.

And I don’t think that it is an accident that the giant raised fist has been placed right on top of the American flag in this graphic.

Are the global elite planning civil unrest in major U.S. cities in 2026? https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/super-creepy-world-ahead-2026-economist-magazine-cover-shows-they-expect-war

Several of Michael Snyder’s characterizations of that cover suggest things associated with the some of the rides of the four horsemen of the Apocalypse.

That said, here are some quotes from the lead article in The Economist:

This is Donald Trump’s world—we’re all just living in it. The disruptor-in-chief was the biggest factor shaping global affairs in 2025, and that will be the case for as long as he remains in the White House. His norm-shattering approach has caused turmoil in some areas (as in trade) but has also delivered diplomatic results (as in Gaza) and forced necessary change (as with European defence spending). …

Foreign-policy analysts are divided: is the world in a new cold war, between blocs led by America and China, or will a Trumpian deal divide the planet into American, Russian and Chinese “spheres of influence”, in which each can do as they please? Don’t count on either. …

With luck, the fragile peace in Gaza will hold. But conflicts will grind on in Ukraine, Sudan and Myanmar. Russia and China will test America’s commitment to its allies with “grey-zone” provocations in northern Europe and the South China Sea. …

All this poses a particular test for Europe. It must increase defence spending, keep America on side, boost economic growth and deal with huge deficits, even though austerity risks stoking support for hard-right parties. It also wants to remain a leading advocate for free trade and greenery. It cannot do all of these at once. …

China has its own problems, with deflation, slowing growth and an industrial glut, but Mr Trump’s “America First” policy opens up new opportunities for China to boost its global influence. It will present itself as a more reliable partner, particularly in the global south, where it is striking a string of trade agreements. …

So far America’s economy is proving more resilient than many expected to Mr Trump’s tariffs, but they will dampen global growth. And with rich countries living beyond their means, the risk of a bond-market crisis is growing. https://www.economist.com/the-world-ahead/2025/11/10/tom-standages-ten-trends-to-watch-in-2026

Presuming he is alive, Donald Trump is expected to have a major impact in 2026.

Yes, Russia and China want to build up a block including the Global South to have not only their own spheres of influence, but to also be a counter to the USA and Europe. Yet, I expect China to have struggles and difficulties in 2026.

Yes, Europe will have its struggles in 2026. But it will focus on trade agreements and military matters.

And yes, the bond market, particularly related to US Treasury bonds to finance US government debt will have obstacles.

Ultimately, but NOT in 2026, the debt of the US will be a factor in its toppling (cf. Habakkuk 2:6-9).

But nations will work to bypass the US dollar in 2026.

Some items of possibly related interest may include:

26 items to prophetically watch in 2026 Much is happening. Dr. Thiel points to 26 items to watch (cf. Mark 13:37) in this article.
When Will the Great Tribulation Begin? 2026, 2027, or? 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?
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 Sorrows and the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Here are links to shorter videos: These Signs of the 4 Horsemen Have Begun and Biological Weapons and the 4th Horseman of the Apocalypse.
USA in Prophecy: The Strongest Fortresses Can you point to scriptures, like Daniel 11:39, that point to the USA in the 21st century? This article does. A related sermon is titled: Do these 7 prophesies point to the end of the USA?
Who is the King of the West? Why is there no Final End-Time King of the West in Bible Prophecy? 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.
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; here is a message in Spanish: Me Está Llamando Dios Hoy? A short animation is also available: Is God Calling You?
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.
About Baptism Should you be baptized? Could baptism be necessary for salvation? Who should baptize and how should it be done? Here is a link to a related sermon: Let’s Talk About Baptism and Baptism, Infants, Fire, & the Second Death.
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.

COGwriter

The fourth Thursday in November is the American holiday called Thanksgiving.

According to Wikipedia:

In Canada, Thanksgiving is celebrated on the second Monday in October. It is the only other country outside of the United States that officially observes the day as a holiday.

Unlike most holidays observed in the USA and Canada, this Thanksgiving is not of pagan origin. Hence, the vast majority in the Church of God (COG) consider it an “optional” (not biblically-required) holiday. Jesus Himself seemed to observe a national Jewish, as opposed to a biblical, holiday called the Feast of the Dedication in the New Testament as He went to the Temple during it (John 10:22-23).

As Americans know, the history related to the USA Thanksgiving involves a group of people commonly known as the Pilgrims.

They were a dissenting religious group considered to be outside of mainstream “Christianity”. The Pilgrims felt that the only way to freely practice their religion was to physically separate themselves from the Church of England that had persecuted them. First to flee persecution, these “Separatists,” moved to the English Midlands. Then they went to Amsterdam in 1607. In 1609, more moved into the more religiously tolerant Netherlands. But then they decided that this would not do. Finally, they began their voyage to America in 1620. It took months to cross the ocean and they lost many during that voyage as well as after coming to America. In spite of all their sufferings and the death of half of their company, in October 1621, the Pilgrims celebrated their first harvest. In 1863, US President Lincoln made a proclamation that ultimately led to Thanksgiving becoming a US holiday.

The persecutions of the Pilgrims somewhat remind me of the history of the Church of God (a related article of interest may be Persecutions by Church and State).

Notice something from the old Radio Church of God on this subject:

Dear Friend: How should we view the American custom or celebrating Thanksgiving Day? The Thanksgiving holiday was established in comparatively recent years. It is, or course, not mentioned in Scripture — but the principle or attending and celebrating national holidays is made clear in Scripture. Thanksgiving Day was established by the early colonists, not by any Divine authority. But this in itself does not make it wrong to celebrate with good fellowship. Notice the example or Jesus Christ. In John 10:22 we find that Christ attended the “Feast or Dedication,” which was established by the Jews years before to commemorate the purification of the temple at Jerusalem. That day was celebrated on the anniversary of the day that the reestablishment or Divine worship occurred after Antiochus Epiphanes had been vanquished and the temple purified about 165 B.C.   Jesus’ attendance at that annual holiday clearly illustrated that it is not wrong to attend or celebrate a national holiday established for an honorable purpose. There was nothing wrong in the Jews’ celebrating the dedication of the temple and giving God special gratitude on that day. God led Esther and Mordecai to establish the Feast of Purim in commemoration of the miraculous deliverance or the Jews from bloody Haman (see the last chapter or Esther). The national holidays celebrated by the Jews have, of course, no special significance for the non-Jew — just as Thanksgiving Day holds no special significance for our non-American brethren scattered around the world. God permits these customs only if they do not get out or hand. What God expressly forbids is the observance of pagan festivals which were intended as deliberate substitutes for the plan and program of God. We are not to adopt in God’s worship those customs which heathen used in serving their gods. But it is proper and fitting for national leaders to set aside time for the whole nation to give God special thanks for His unique bounty to this nation. Thanksgiving Day was first celebrated by the Pilgrims in 1621 after their first harvest had been entirely reaped. On that day, they paid tribute to God for all their bountiful and undeserved material and spiritual blessings. Thanksgiving Day gradually became neglected and was revived during the Civil War as a day of special national thanksgiving for preserving this nation. This American Thanksgiving Day does not have a pagan origin despite the claims of certain fringe sects. It is not usually celebrated with pagan ceremonial customs in honor of pagan traditions and gods, as are Christmas, Easter and Halloween. If this national holiday becomes corrupted, then it would be high time to reject it — but generally is not so celebrated today. This day of national thanksgiving can be enjoyed by our brethren in America with an especially deep understanding because we know that our personal and national prosperity have come solely as the result of God’s promise to Abraham — and as a result of His choice of this nation as the springboard for His Church in this generation. Our brethren in other nations do not celebrate this holiday any more than we celebrate the Jews’ Feasts of Dedication and Purim. What we all do celebrate are those divinely appointed Holy Days and Festivals established by God in His Word for all men. We never regard a national holiday with the same respect, awe and reverence as we do God’s Sabbath and His Holy Days. National holidays are just that — holidays, not Holy Days. They are a time of secular pleasure and gratitude, nothing more. But in the midst of the Thanksgiving season, let’s not neglect Paul’s command in Ephesians 5:20 to “give thanks always.” Let’s not make a mockery of God’s special blessings to this nation. LETTER ANSWERING DEPARTMENT Letter Number: 930

Publication Date: 1959

Thanksgiving is an optional national holiday. It is not a biblical holy day, nor is it kept like one.

Anyway, the first verse in the following is the second most common verse some have looked up online:

11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. 12 Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. 13 And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you, says the Lord, and I will bring you back from your captivity; I will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you, says the Lord, and I will bring you to the place from which I cause you to be carried away captive. (Jeremiah 29:11-14)

Notice that the plan is exile, and as Christians we live as exiles, strangers, and pilgrims in this world. The Apostle Peter referred to Christians as “pilgrims” in 1 Peter 1:1 and as “sojourners and pilgrims’ in 1 Peter 2:11:

9 But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; 10 who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.

11 Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul, 12 having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation. (1 Peter 2:9-12)

1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,

To the pilgrims of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, 2 elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ:

Grace to you and peace be multiplied. (1 Peter 1:1-2)

Peter was referring to the ‘elect,’ the scattered Christians of his day, as “pilgrims of the Dispersion.” They were in various locations (most of which were in Asia Minor; see also Location of the Early Church: Another Look at Ephesus, Smyrna, and Rome).

The Continuing Church of God has the following sermon which is at its ContinuingCOG channel:

1:20:11

Christians: Strangers, Pilgrims, and Ambassadors

Are Christians supposed to be strangers, pilgrims, and ambassadors? Are God’s Holy Days one way they are different from most of the world? What are tabernacles? Did Jesus pray that Christians would be taken out of the world? Are Christians to be in the world, but not of it? Did people like Noah and Abraham forsake wealth to sojourn as God wished them to? Are Christians to follow that example? Do Christians have a permanent city during this age? What festival was considered to be the pilgrim feast? What is an ambassador? Might your conduct help convert people after the second resurrection? Does the world think a small church is a cult? What about seeking first the Kingdom of God? What do the Gentiles of this world focus on? What should Christians focus on? Does the weekly Sabbath and annual Feast of Tabernacles help drive home the point that Christians are strangers and pilgrims sojourning in this life as we look forward to what God has in store for us? Dr. Thiel addresses these issues and more.

Here is a link to this sermon: Christians: Strangers, Pilgrims, and Ambassadors,

Some items of possibly related interest may include:

Christians are to Be Strangers and Pilgrims? Should Christians sojourn? What does the Bible and Feast of Tabernacles teach? Two  related video sermons are available Christians: Strangers, Pilgrims, and Ambassadors and Christian Pilgrims.
Thanksgiving: Can Christians keep it? Is this American holiday appropriate? Why or why not? A sermon related to giving thanks is also available: Ingratitude and Giving Thanks.
Is God Calling You? This is a booklet discussing calling, election, and selection. If God is calling you, how will you respond?
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.
The Ten Commandments: The Decalogue, Christianity, and the Beast This is a free draft/unedited pdf book explaining the what the Ten Commandments are, where they came from, how early professors of Christ viewed them, and how various ones, including the Beast of Revelation, will oppose them. A related sermon is titled: The Ten Commandments and the Beast of Revelation.
Prayer: What Does the Bible Teach? This free booklet contains 28 biblically-based tips on improving the effectiveness of your prayers. This is a pdf. A related two part sermon is available: What Does the Bible Teach About Prayer? and What does the Bible Teach About Prayer (& Healing)?
Should You Keep God’s Holy Days or Demonic Holidays? This is a free pdf booklet explaining what the Bible and history shows about God’s Holy Days and popular holidays. A related sermon is Which Spring Days should Christians observe?
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.
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?

Symbol of Israeli-Palestinian Peace Process

COGwriter

The European Union wants more involvement in the Middle East peace process. EuroNews reported the following:

EU wants a seat on Trump’s Gaza Board of Peace, Commissioner for the Mediterranean says

18 November 2025

The EU should be represented on US President Donald Trump’s transitional body for Gaza, Dubravka Šuica, the EU’s Commissioner for the Mediterranean, has told Euronews.

The European Union should sit on the controversial ‘Board of Peace’ pitched by US President Donald Trump in his 20-point plan for Gaza, the EU’s Commissioner for the Mediterranean, Dubravka Šuica, told Euronews on Tuesday.

“If we talk about fair play, then we should have a seat on this board for sure,” Šuica, whose portfolio covers EU support to the Palestinian territories, said on Euronews’ The Europe Conversation.

“We are the biggest, not only (financial) donors, but players,” she added. “We are their closest neighbours. So I think that we should have a place on this board.”

The Commissioner’s call comes a day after the UN Security Council endorsed Trump’s Gaza plan in a vote, with Russia and China abstaining. It also comes despite concerns that it would grant the US President outsized influence over the Strip’s future and sideline other regional powers. …

An EU official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that talks between the EU and the US over European representation on the board were ongoing. The issue is expected to be discussed when EU foreign ministers gather in Brussels for talks on Thursday, 20 November. …

On Thursday, Commissioner Šuica and the Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa will co-chair a Palestine Donor Group as part of efforts to transition to Gaza’s post-war future. As many as 60 international delegations, including those from Europe and the Middle East, are expected to attend.

Šuica said the group would focus on what the EU can do to “empower” the Palestinian Authority (PA), the Fatah-led governing body that oversees parts of the occupied West Bank.

“We will be trying to show that (the) Palestinian Authority can at one point (…) take over some of the services in the country, not only in the West Bank but also later in Gaza,” Šuica explained.

The EU is the biggest donor of aid to Palestinians, https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2025/11/18/eu-wants-a-seat-on-trumps-gaza-board-of-peace-commissioner-for-the-mediterranean-says

Not only does the EU want to be part of this, it is highly likely that the Palestinians want Europe included as well.

For example, in the previous Trump Administration, the Palestinian President said he could not work with the USA.

The reality is that Palestinian Authority does not trust the Trump Administration. The recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and the moving of the US embassy to Jerusalem brought Palestinian condemnation as well as statements against trusting the US to broker a peace deal years ago:

President Abbas declares end to agreements with Israel, US

RAMALLAH, Tuesday, May 19, 2020 (WAFA) – President Mahmoud Abbas today declared an end to the agreements and understandings signed with Israel and the United States and turned over responsibility over the occupied territories back to Israel.

“The Palestine Liberation Organization and the State of Palestine are absolved, as of today, of all the agreements and understandings with the American and Israeli governments and of all the obligations based on these understandings and agreements, including the security ones,” the President declared at an emergency meeting for the Palestinian leadership held in Ramallah to discuss Israeli plans to annex parts of the occupied Palestinian land as declared in the new Israeli government’s coalition agreement.

“The Israeli occupation authority, as of today, has to shoulder all responsibilities and obligations in front of the international community as an occupying power over the territory of the occupied state of Palestine, with all its consequences and repercussions based on international law and international humanitarian law, particularly the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949, which holds the occupying power responsible for the protection of the civilian population under occupation and their property, criminalizes collective punishment, bans theft of resources, appropriation and annexation of land, bans forced transfer of the population of the occupied territory and bans transfer of the population of the occupying state (the colonialists) to the land it occupies, which all are grave violations and war crimes,” he said. http://english.wafa.ps/page.aspx?id=cBrJbOa117154132029acBrJbO

29 August 2019

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas … called for Europe to play a greater role in the Middle East peace process. …

The Palestinians have cut off relations with the United States and no longer view Washington as a neutral arbiter.

Germany, on the other hand, has taken efforts to support a multilateral approach instead of unilateral imposition, Abbas said.

“Therefore we demand that negotiations fall under an international umbrella” composed of a quartet of European states and Arab states to guide talks between Israelis and Palestinians, Abbas said. https://www.dw.com/en/germanys-merkel-insists-on-two-state-solution-in-israel-palestine-conflict/a-50211907

President Abbas has been furious that Israel wants to officially annex Judea-Samaria and that the USA was supporting this (see Netanyahu sworn in and wants annexations, but Jordan’s King Abdullah opposed). The Palestinians prefer to deal with the Europeans.

Let it be understood, also, that, the European Union has an office with “Special Representatives” for Middle East peace.

The Europeans want to be involved.

Today’s call is consistent with that.

But what about the Bible?

The Bible itself shows that the time will come when there will be a temporary ‘peace deal’ in the Middle East (see the article The ‘Peace Deal’ of Daniel 9:27).

It points to a European leader that will be involved in confirming the coming, prophesied deal of Daniel 9:26-27, which states:

26 And the people of the prince who is to come Shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end of it shall be with a flood, And till the end of the war desolations are determined. 27 Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week; But in the middle of the week He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, Even until the consummation, which is determined, Is poured out on the desolate (Daniel 9:26-27).

The “prince” is a European leader who is later called the King of the North in Daniel 11:40. The ‘one week’ has generally been understood by prophecy watchers to mean a seven year deal, that is broken in the middle of it (after 3 1/2 years). This break is also confirmed in the following scripture:

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

The “him” is the European King of the North–he was the one who was the prince who confirmed the deal.

The European King of the North may even move to Jerusalem to claim to enforce the peace deal (probably with troops called ‘peacekeepers’). Yet, according to Jesus, that should serve as a warning that it is time to flee:

20 But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near. 21 Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those who are in the midst of her depart, and let not those who are in the country enter her. (Luke 21:20-21)

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 24:15-22)

Regarding fleeing, check out the article” There is a Place of Safety for the Philadelphians. Why it May Be Near Petra.

One way to show Daniel is referring to a European kingdom is to realize that it was the people of the Roman Empire of the 1st century that fulfilled the portion of Daniel 9:26 as they destroyed the city (Jerusalem) in 70 A.D. Jewish sources, while not understanding all of this, also agree that it was Roman sources that destroyed the city and sanctuary as the following demonstrates:

“The people of the prince will come and destroy the city and the Sanctuary” Daniel 9:26, refers to the Roman legions of Vespasian and Titus, who destroyed Jerusalem. (Daniel 9 – A True Biblical Interpretation. Jews for Judaism. https://jewsforjudaism.org/knowledge/articles/answers/jewish-polemics/texts/daniel-9-a-true-biblical-interpretation/ accessed 07/30/16)

In the 21st century, the European Union includes much of the land and peoples that were part of the ancient Roman Empire. And it is the “prince” coming from that people that verse 27 of Daniel 9 is referring to. Thus, this prophecy tells us that a lower level European leader will somewhat officially start to rise up about 3 1/2 years before the great tribulation (and yes, according to Jesus, some “tribulation” does happen prior to the start of the Great Tribulation). Another is the fact that the “beast of the sea” of Revelation 13:1 fits with the beasts from the “great sea” of Daniel 7:2–and that sea is the Mediterranean Sea according to the Old Testament. Hence a power in Europe the only region that could have an empire geographically like the old Roman one (for more details, please see Europa, the Beast, and the Book of Revelation).

Now, regarding false peace, this same beast leader will be involved in that in several ways. Here are a couple of scriptures pointing to that:

25 And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without hand. (Daniel 8:25, KJV).

23 And after the league is made with him he shall act deceitfully, for he shall come up and become strong with a small number of people. 24 He shall enter peaceably, even into the richest places of the province; and he shall do what his fathers have not done, nor his forefathers: he shall disperse among them the plunder, spoil, and riches; and he shall devise his plans against the strongholds, but only for a time. (Daniel 11:23-24, NKJV)

So this leader gives people the impression that there will be “peace” and is involved in some type of deal. This is the same leader that confirms the covenant in Daniel 9:27. The term is translated as “peace” in Daniel 8:25 is from the Hebrew term shalvah and essentially means security. In other words, this leader will destroy “many” who are under the impression that they are secure because of some type of security and/or trade arrangement. Such arrangements are now commonly referred to as peace deals or treaties. Land swaps or changes to territories are likely.

He also will make a lying deal with an Arabic leader that the Bible calls the King of the South per Daniel 11:27.

Isaiah was inspired to write:

8 The way of peace they do not know … (Isaiah 59:8, ESV)

While the current Gaza plan is not going to bring lasting peace, in time we will see a temporal peace deal. Perhaps after a major attack by Iran (cf. Isaiah 22:6-9).

Related to European involvement, we have the following video:

14:49

Will Europe be Involved in Peace in the Middle East?

EuroNews reported, “It’s the right time for the EU to step in and bring peace to the Middle East,” because Europe needs to move towards international leadership and the United States moves have basically resulted in a big mess. The Palestinians also prefer the Europeans to the Americans when it comes to dealing the Israel and Netanyahu’s government. Does the Bible point to a European confirming a peace deal in the Middle East? Is this a temporary, seven-year, deal that will be broken in the middle. Did Irenaeus of Lyon and Hippolytus of Rome consider this a deal that would be broken after 3 1/2 years? Do any Islamic prophecies point to the same thing? Will all in the world understand this deal? Could apparitions, like in Fatima, which have claimed to be of “Mary” be involved? Is confirmation of the deal by a “prince” setting in motion the timing of the Great Tribulation and later the return of Jesus and the establishment of the millennial Kingdom of God? What did Daniel the prophet write? Will the breaking of this deal precede the destruction of the USA and its British-descended allies? What happens after the confirming prince becomes the King of the North? Will this also be the Beast power that will conquer an Arabic power to arise called the King of the South per Daniel 11:40-43? Who are the “mighty” and who are the “holy” people that the Beast will destroy? Will the deal a European prince confirms be broken according to scripture? Dr. Thiel and Steve Dupuie go over these issues.

Here is a link to our video: Will Europe be Involved in Peace in the Middle East?

There will be European involvement in the Middle East.

Some items of possibly related interest may include:

The ‘Peace Deal’ of Daniel 9:27 This prophecy could give up to 3 1/2 years advance notice of the coming Great Tribulation. Will most ignore or misunderstand its fulfillment? Here is a link to a related sermon video Daniel 9:27 and the Start of the Great Tribulation. Here is a link to a shorter video: rump’s Deal of the Century and Daniel 9 27?
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 are links to three related videos: The King of the North is Alive: What to Look Out For, The Future King of the North, and Rise of the Prophesied King of the North.
Iran in Prophecy Is Iran in Bible prophecy? If so, what does the Bible teach? What names, other than Persia, may be used to describe Iran? There are also two related videos: Iran In Prophecy and Iran and Israel Conflict.
Islamic and Biblical Prophecies for the 21st Century This is a free online book which helps show where biblical and Islamic prophecies converge and diverge. Here are links to related sermons: Seeing Christianity Through Islamic Eyes, Imam Mahdi, women, and prophecy, and Terrorism, Iran, and Fatima, Dajjal, Antichrist, Gold, & Mark of the Beast?, and Jesus and God’s Plan for Muslims. Here is a link to a sermon in the Spanish language: El Imám Mahdi las mujeres y la profecía bíblica. Here is a link to the book in Spanish: Profecías islámicas y bíblicas para el Siglo 21°.
Donald Trump in Prophecy Prophecy, Donald Trump? Are there prophecies that Donald Trump may fulfill?  Are there any prophecies that he has already helped fulfill?  Is a Donald Trump presidency proving to be apocalyptic?  Three related videos are available: Donald: ‘Trump of God’ or Apocalyptic? and Donald Trump’s Prophetic Presidency and  Donald Trump and Unintended Consequences.
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? This is a free eBook.

Civil War movie poster

COGwriter

Saw a couple of articles about the possibility of a civil war in the USA. Here are some excerpts:

Too Many Americans Want a Civil War

November 17, 2025

The political assassination of Charlie Kirk continues to impact America.  Charlie’s conservative nonprofit organization, Turning Point USA, has seen a surge in membership.  There are reports across the country of increased church attendance, …

An equally important, though darkly troubling, consequence of his murder has been the deluge of mockery and hatred from leftists celebrating Charlie’s death.  Antifa-aligned groups show up on college campuses to attack Turning Point staff and prevent students from hearing Charlie’s arguments.  Prominent Democrats continue to pretend that violent leftist rhetoric had nothing to do with his murder.  Celebrity “journalists” defend Charlie’s assassination by not-so-subtly suggesting that Charlie’s willingness to debate a range of political and moral issues with Americans of all political backgrounds constituted some kind of impermissible “hate” or linguistic “violence.”

In a recent interview with Democrat Senator John Fetterman, leftist propagandist Katie Couric tried really hard to blame Charlie for his own murder.  “Did you have any issues, now in hindsight, over some of the things that Charlie Kirk said?” Couric asked Fetterman.  When the senator responded with compassion for Charlie’s family and pointed out that “engaging in debate would never justify what’s happened,” Couric nonetheless insisted, “I think some people might say Charlie Kirk’s rhetoric was extreme. … People think his words lead to violence.”

Breaking news, Katie: During the height of the civil rights movement, people worried that Martin Luther King, Jr.’s words would lead to violence, too.  His assassination did not dispel the truth of his message.  The same is true of Charlie.

When famous “reporters” such as Couric so conspicuously work to justify a leftist-inspired political assassination, non-leftists pay attention.  As one social media account posted, “Charlie was a moderate Christian conservative.  If Katie thinks he ‘deserved’ this because of his beliefs, she thinks we ALL deserve the same thing.”  A lot of non-leftist Americans have realized over the last two months that leftists want them dead.

For the last ten years, they’ve watched Antifa domestic terrorists burn down businesses, threaten drivers, and perpetrate all kinds of violence against random American citizens.  Seeing this organized terrorism on computer screens, many non-leftists could effectively compartmentalize these incidents of violence and destruction as the actions of revolutionary Marxists and militant Democrats.

After Charlie’s assassination, however, non-leftists witnessed the publicized glee of ordinary Democrats across the country.  Teachers, nurses, and even therapists felt no shame in expressing happiness over Charlie’s murder.  …

Within moments of the attempted assassination of President Trump in Pennsylvania last summer, Democrat politicians and their allies in the press were already downplaying the event or pretending that the shooting had been faked (even as fire chief Corey Comperatore lay dead).  Rather than taking a moment to consider how close the country had come to a potentially civil war-triggering murder of a major national figure, leftists publicly regretted that the assassin had failed.  Random leftists took to social media platforms to complain about the shooter’s aim. …

Too many Americans seek and cheer violence right now. Too many Americans are eager for civil war. If we cannot lower the temperature in this country, Charlie’s murder will presage an unbearable slaughter to come. https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2025/11/too_many_americans_want_a_civil_war.html

The Coming American Civil War

This is an important report on the prospect for another American Civil War as now the polls show that 30% of American view that violence is necessary to solve policial disputes. The United States has become so POLARIZED that there is no possible resolution. Politics has devolved into trying to undermine a sitting president ll for political gain with no consideration for the country of the rule of law. Both sides see the opposition now as the enemy, not simply an oponent {sic}.  11/16/25 https://www.armstrongeconomics.com/armstrong-economics-upcoming-events/world-economic-conference/the-coming-american-civil-war-2/

Last year, a movie was released titled Civil War, with the subtitle All Empires Fall. It is intended to depict a new civil war in the USA. Here is some of what Wikipedia reported about it:

Civil War is a 2024 dystopian action film written and directed by Alex Garland.^[4] The film stars Kirsten Dunst, Wagner Moura, Cailee Spaeny, Stephen McKinley Henderson, and Nick Offerman. Its plot follows a team of journalists who travel across the United States during a rapidly escalating Second American Civil War, which has engulfed the entire nation. … The film documents the journalists struggling to survive during a time when the U.S. government has become a dystopian dictatorship and partisan extremist militias regularly commit war crimes. (Civil War (film), Wikipedia, accessed 04/08/24)

From what I have been able to tell, that movie involves heavy military weapons, etc., as well as armed people. It also seems to include an alliance of states that probably would not align with each other in such a conflict.

That said, could another civil war happen?

Even a couple of months back, some have wondered it the shooting of Charlie Kirk will be a turning point leading to civil war in the USA.

Political leaders confront security concerns — and fear — after Kirk’s assassination

September 14, 2025

MORRISTOWN, N.J. (AP) — Even before the killing of Charlie Kirk, Gov. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania was struggling with the emotional toll of political violence.

In the middle of the night just five months ago, someone broke into his home and set it on fire. Shapiro, who is also a likely 2028 Democratic presidential contender, was asleep with his wife and children. …

Across the nation, it is much the same for Republican and Democratic officials after another stunning act of political violence. Politicians in both parties and at virtually every level of public service are suddenly being forced to deal with acute security concerns — and feelings of grief, anger and fear — as they move deeper into a fraught election season. …

Bellicose rhetoric and even death threats have surged in the days since Kirk was killed.

“The left is the party of murder,” Elon Musk, the tech titan and CEO of the social media platform X, wrote. “If they won’t leave us in peace, then our choice is to fight or die.”

To that, Fox News host Jesse Waters said during a broadcast, “They are at war with us. Whether we want to accept it or not, they are at war with us. What are we going to do about it?” https://apnews.com/article/political-violence-republican-democrat-election-fear-kirk-eb105e574210d5fc03b9d0500ac36a96

Is a new civil war in the U.S. possible?

The brutal assassination of the American conservative commentator Charlie Kirk has once again brought the possibility of a new civil war in the U.S. into public virtual discussion. The topic of a Civil War 2.0 is not actually new. Over the past few years, according to Google Analytics — especially in the days immediately following the assassination attempt on Donald Trump — terms like “civil war” have seen a growing search volume on search engines. In 2024, the year of Trump’s second election, the film Civil War, directed by Alex Garland, was released. In its backdrop, an authoritarian U.S. government faces three simultaneous secessionist movements.

We could say, therefore, that the signs of “civil war” have already started to occupy the American political and cultural imagination, which is truly significant. …

What is certain, therefore, is that the assassination of Charlie Kirk will lead to more assassinations, terrorist attacks, political violence in the streets, etc. — not necessarily to a formal civil war. https://strategic-culture.su/news/2025/09/12/is-new-civil-war-in-us-possible/

“THIS IS WAR”: Some Right-Wing Figures Call for Retribution Following Kirk Killing

Conservative activist and Trump confidant Laura Loomer sent a barrage of posts to her 1.7 million followers. In one, she called for the Trump administration to “shut down, defund, & prosecute every single Leftist organization,” adding, “The Left is a national security threat.” After Kirk’s death was confirmed, she wrote: “They sent a trained sniper to assassinate Charlie Kirk while he was sitting next to a table of hats that said 47.” It is unclear which “they” she was referring to. 

“More people will be murdered if the Left isn’t crushed with the power of the state,” Loomer added.

Even President Donald Trump blamed the shooting on “radical left political violence” in an Oval Office address Wednesday night.

Former White House staffer and current podcast host Katie Miller, wife of White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, wrote on X that liberals “have blood on your hands.” And Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) went so far as to blame the killing on the Democrats. …

Andrew Tate, the British American masculinity influencer turned far-right culture warrior, kept his message simple: “Civil war,” he wrote. Anti-abortion activist and president of Students for Life Kristan Hawkins also invoked civil war and seemed to imply that Kirk’s killing was a result of his opposition to abortion. “We all know the work we do to protect Life comes at a cost,” Hawkins said. In another X post, she wrote: “This is a new civil war. One that we must fight with love to restore a Culture of Life.”

Chaya Raichik, the creator of the far-right Libs of TikTok Twitter account, quickly began sharing posts that were meant to show left-wing and progressive people, including many who aren’t public figures, celebrating Kirk’s killing. In her own post on X, she wrote: “THIS IS WAR.” 09/13/25 https://www.lemkininstitute.com/single-post/this-is-war-some-right-wing-figures-call-for-retribution-following-kirk-killing

While I did now know much about Charlie Kirk before he was killed (had heard him on the radio and seen him on the news a few times), I do not believe he would have wanted an actual civil war because of his death.

However, he did speak out against sexual immorality and aspects of the LGBTQ+ agenda. The man accused of murdering Charlie Kirk reportedly lived with a man who was trying to become a woman–a so-called trans person:

While the left oscillates between celebrating Charlie Kirk’s murder and insisting the suspect, Tyler Robinson, is a conservative, today we learn that Robinson was living with a transgender partner who was in the process of transitioning from male to female, 09/13/25 https://www.zerohedge.com/political/charlie-kirks-assassination-suspect-lived-transgender-partner-discord-denies-use

It would seem that Charlie Kirk’s more biblical stand against such things would be a motivating factor for the killer. While even Democrat Bill Clinton signed the ‘Defense of Marriage Act,’ which was supposed to prohibit homosexual marriages, nowadays pretty much all Democrats, as well as a lot of Republicans, in the USA condone LGBTQ+ relations, which the word of God opposes (Romans 1:18-32)–and the LGBTQ+ groups have grown in influence.

That said, there is a major divide in the USA: Both the left and the right are concerned about civil unrest and even civil war.

Jesus warned:

6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.

9 “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. 10 And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. 11 Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. 12 And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. (Matthew 24:6-12)

We are in the “beginning of sorrows” and we are more and more seeing “lawlessness” abounding as Jesus warned.

Related to violence in the land and prophecies, the old Worldwide Church of God published the following:

This world is filled with a multitude of causes, small and great, just and unjust. The prospects for success for many of these causes, however, are doubtful at best. Opposition or indifference to them is simply too overwhelming in many cases to permit the individuals and groups involved to achieve their goals. …

Bible prophecy … reveals that we are headed for a new dark age of political despotism and barbarism — on a scale unmatched in history! Rampant terrorism on the world scene will undoubtedly play its part in paving the way for prophesied end-time tyrants to assume broad “emergency” powers — as did Adolf Hitler and others through history.

Perilous times

The scourge of terrorism was predicted centuries ago in the pages of the Bible.

Jesus prophesied that conditions in the latter days would mirror the chaotic state of the earth in Noah’s time — an evil and corrupt world filled with violence (Luke 17:26, Genesis 6:5, 11). 

The apostle Paul also warned, “In the last days perilous times will come” (II Timothy 3:1). The meaning of this prophecy goes far beyond mere incidental crime.

“Make a chain,” cried the prophet Ezekiel , “for the land is filled with crimes of blood, and the city is full of violence” (Ezekiel 7:23).

Bible prophecies picture an end-time world filled with lawlessness, aggression and hate, a world split by factions and international disputes, an era of rampant, indiscriminate violence and murder inspired by Satan the devil, the original murderer (John 8:44).  (Stump K. How TERRORISM Will Be Stopped! Good News, December 1985)

We are seeing more hate and violence. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2023/12/04/doomsday-preppers-and-election-2024-fears/71695426007/

The USA is deeply divided. It has politicized more and more.

Jesus warned:

25 … Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand. (Matthew 12:25)

24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 And if a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand.  (Mark 3:24-25)

17 … Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and a house divided against a house falls. (Luke 11:17)

Notice that God inspired this to be written three times in the Gospels.

God normally seems to repeat something in scripture for emphasis.

The division is a BIG DEAL.

The end of the USA and UK is coming (cf. Daniel 11:39).

Instead of fighting each other, love is what is needed.

As Jesus taught:

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)

27 “But I say to you who hear: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you. 29 To him who strikes you on the one cheek, offer the other also. And from him who takes away your cloak, do not withhold your tunic either. 30 Give to everyone who asks of you. And from him who takes away your goods do not ask them back. 31 And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise.

32 “But if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive back, what credit is that to you? For even sinners lend to sinners to receive as much back. 35 But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil. 36 Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful. (Luke 6:27-36)

Instead of true love, a lot of hate and anger has been displayed and whipped up.

Troubles are prophesied (Mark 13:8).

The time of Jacob’s trouble (Jeremiah 30:7), also known as the Great Tribulation (Matthew 24:21), is coming and the USA and its Anglo-Saxon allies (including Canada) will be affected.

National repentance is the only way to prevent it, and that does not look likely. Though for the nation, the Kingdom of God is the solution, but first there will be a horrific 3 1/2 years.

Personal repentance, however, is still possible. Your personal future can still be much brighter than that of your country. Jesus, in addition to being the source of salvation, also offered physical protection to the most faithful (see Philadelphian Christian Great Tribulation Protection and/or watch Great Tribulation Protection).

Some items of possibly related interest may include:

Philadelphian Christian Great Tribulation Protection What will the Great Tribulation be like? Does Jesus promise physical protection to some or all Christians? Where might the place of protection be? What about fleeing to the mountains? What did Ezekiel warn? Here is a link to a related sermon: Great Tribulation Protection.
When Will the Great Tribulation Begin? Can the Great Tribulation begin today? What happens before the Great Tribulation in the “beginning of sorrows”? What happens in the Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord? Is this the time of the Gentiles? When is the earliest that the Great Tribulation can begin? What is the Day of the Lord? Who are the 144,000?
Crime can be stopped…here’s how! This was a booklet that was edited with some updates by Dr. Thiel. Here is a link to a related sermon: Crime and How it Will be Stopped!
God’s Grace is For All Is being Jewish a hindrance to salvation? What about not being a descendant of Israel? What does the Bible really teach? Here is a link to a related sermon titled Race and Grace; Do you view race as God does? Watch also Mystery of Race.
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. It is available inover 1,000 languages at ccog.org. Here are links to four kingdom-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.
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 Sorrows and the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Here are links to shorter videos: These Signs of the 4 Horsemen Have Begun and Biological Weapons and the 4th Horseman of the Apocalypse.
USA in Prophecy: The Strongest Fortresses Can you point to scriptures, like Daniel 11:39, that point to the USA in the 21st century? This article does. A related sermon is titled: Do these 7 prophesies point to the end of the USA?
Who is the King of the West? Why is there no Final End-Time King of the West in Bible Prophecy? 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.
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; here is a message in Spanish: Me Está Llamando Dios Hoy? A short animation is also available: Is God Calling You?
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.
About Baptism Should you be baptized? Could baptism be necessary for salvation? Who should baptize and how should it be done? Here is a link to a related sermon: Let’s Talk About Baptism and Baptism, Infants, Fire, & the Second Death.
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.

Vatican City (photo by Joyce Thiel)

COGwriter

On November 18th, various Catholics of Rome celebrate the feast of the dedication of the Basilicas of Peter and Paul–both of which I have visited. The one known as St. Peter’s Basilica is in Vatican City and is claimed to have the remains of the Apostle Peter.

Part of this is based upon the claim that Peter died in Rome.

What about Peter’s death? Notice what the Rheims New Testament records that Peter wrote just prior to it:

14. Being certain that the laying away of my tabernacle is at hand, according as our Lord
JESUS Christ also signified to me.
15. And I will do my diligence, you to have often after my decease also, that you may keep
a memory of these things.
16. For, not having followed unlearned fables, have we made the power and ‘presence’
of our Lord JESUS Christ known to you: but made beholders of his greatness.
17. For, he receiving from God his father honour and glory, this manner of voice coming
down to him from the magnifical glory, This is my beloved son in whom I have pleased
myself, hear him.
18. And this voice we heard brought from heaven, when we were with him in the holy
mount. (II Peter 1:14-18).

This is problematic as far as Rome is concerned. The reason is that the above passage seems to be teaching that John was still with Peter (John was part of the “we heard”). This is indirectly acknowledged by the ANNOTATIONS from Chapter 1 of I Peter from the Rheims New Testament of 1582 on page 515 as it states:

c By this it is plain, that either John, James, or Peter must be the author of this epistle, for these three only were present at the Transfiguration. Matt. 17:1

Since the particular above, James, is believed to have been killed by 39 A.D. in Judea (Acts 12:1), either the Apostle Peter died near then (which he did not, he died around three or so decades later) or the Apostle John must have still been with Peter. And since there is no evidence that the Apostle John went to Rome in the 60s A.D., the available evidence (including from Roman Catholic sources) suggests that John was in Jerusalem or Asia Minor at that time. Plus, if John was in Jerusalem or Asia Minor then, since Peter seems to be claiming that John was with him, then Peter would have been in Jerusalem or Asia Minor just prior to his death. Hence, to claim that Peter spent much time in Rome or died in Rome seems to be inconsistent with the biblical record.

The place of Peter’s burial is also controversial.

Essentially according to the Quo Vadis legend, Peter was buried in Rome. However, that account was not written until over a century after Peter died.

But there was something else that some have pointed to:

It is not before around 160 CE that we see some kind of interest by Roman Christians in the site by the construction a simple monument that consisted of a niche and a courtyard (the Tropaion Gaii). The monument was probably used for gatherings, but not as a marker as an individual grave, since memory of Peter’s original burying place was lost by the time the Tropaion was erected. The existence of the Tropaion did not result in the development of a Christian burial site, but was integrated into a middle-class non-Christian burial street. Only in the age of Constantine the site was firmly and finally taken over by Christians, thereby obliterating all earlier traces of burial activity apart from the immediate space around the Tropaion. ( Zangenberg, Jürgen; Labahn, Michael. Christians as a religious minority in a multicultural city: modes of interaction and identity formation in early Imperial Rome : studies on the basis of a seminar at the second conference of the European Association for Biblical Studies (EABS) from July 8-12, 2001, in Rome. Volume 243 of Journal for the study of the New Testament Library of New Testament Studies, the Series European studies on Christian origins. Continuum International Publishing Group, 2004, p. 132)

Furthermore that site must not have been accepted originally as, according to the Liber Pontificalis (the Book of Popes), it was Roman bishop Cornelius who supposedly moved the body of Peter to its present location (nearly two centuries after Peter died). Here is one written account:

XXII Cornelius (Pope 251-253)…He during his pontificate at the request of a certain matron Lucina, took up the bodies of the apostles, blessed Peter and Paul up out of the catacombs by night; first the body of blessed Paul was received by the blessed Lucina] and laid in her own garden on the Via Ostiensis, near the place where he was beheaded; the body of the blessed Peter was received by the blessed Cornelius, the bishop, and laid near to the place where he was crucified, among the bodies of the holy bishops, in the shrine of Apollo, on the Mons Aureus, in the Batican, by the palace of Nero, on June 29. (Translated by Louise Ropes Loomis. The Book of the Popes (Liber Pontificalis. Originally published by Columbia University Press, NY 1916. 2006 edition by Evolution Publishing, Merchantville (NJ), pp. 25-26).

Hence, one of the earliest Roman Catholic writings attempting to demonstrate that Rome had a series of early bishops/popes states that Peter was NOT originally buried in Rome. There would be no point in moving Peter’s body if people actually had believed that the Tropaion Gaii marked the spot.

Interestingly the conclusion of the one who supposedly identified the body of Peter in Vatican Hill was that he was not convinced it was Peter:

Antonio Ferrua …was the Jesuit archaeologist responsible for uncovering what is believed to be the tomb of St Peter in the grottoes under St Peter’s Basilica in Rome…Ferrua’s discovery came, however, quite by chance. In 1939 Pope Pius XI died and plans were made to bury him beside Pius X in the crypt below the basilica. But when workmen began to dig under St Peter’s they came upon the floor of Constantine’s original basilica, beneath which was a necropolis, a street of Roman tombs dating from the 2nd century AD…Under the supervision of Monsignor Ludwig Kaas, the Administrator of St Peter’s, the Vatican appointed four archaeologists, including Ferrua, to investigate the tombs…Ferrua’s discovery was shrouded in controversy; in 1953, after the death of Monsignor Kaas, it was revealed by a workman that he had discovered some other bones which Kaas had ordered to be removed from the repository and stored at the Vatican. When these were later identified as the remains of an elderly man, it was concluded that these were the bones of the saint. “The relics of St Peter,” announced Pope Paul VI on June 26 1968, “have been identified in a manner which we believe convincing”; the following day, after a ceremony in front of the aedicula, the remains were restored to the repository.

Ferrua was more circumspect. Aware of the scepticism that surrounded even the analysis of the Greek fragment – which others had read as Petros endei or “Peter is not here” – he recently told the Italian Catholic newspaper L’Avvenire that he was “not convinced” that the saint’s bones had been found…A man of deep faith, Ferrua was a rigorous scholar, much admired for his refusal to allow his beliefs to compromise his work (The Rev Antonio Ferrua. Telegraph, London – May 29, 2003 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1431338/The-Rev-Antonio-Ferrua.html viewed 07/20/09).

Thus, the one credited for finding Peter’s body was unconvinced by the evidence he had investigated.

It should be noted that there is also the view that Peter died in Judea and was interred in the Mount of Olives—an ossuary box bearing the inscription “Shimon Bar Jonah” has been found and some believe it may be referring to the Simon Bar-Jonah (Fingegan J. The Archaeology of the New Testament. Princeton: Princeton University Press, reprt 1979, pp. 359-375) that became the Apostle Peter as per Matthew 16:17—and although that is inconclusive, it is probably stronger contemporary “evidence” than Rome seems to have as Peter’s original burial site.

Here is some limited information about it written by F. Paul Peterson in 1960, edited by James Tabor, and somewhat shortened by me:

While visiting a friend in Switzerland, I heard of what seemed to me, one of the greatest discoveries since the time of Christ—that Peter was buried in Jerusalem and not in Rome…

After talking to many priests and investigating various sources of information, I finally was greatly rewarded by learning where I could buy the only known book on the subject, which was also written in Italian. It is called, “Gli Scavi del Dominus Flevit”, printed in 1958 at the Tipografia del PP. Francescani, in Jerusalem. It was written by P. B. Bagatti and J. T. Milik, both Roman Catholic priests…

In Jerusalem I spoke to many Franciscan priests who all read, finally, though reluctantly, that the bones of Simon Bar Jona (St. Peter) were found in Jerusalem, on the Franciscan monastery site called, “Dominus Flevit” (where Jesus was supposed to have wept over Jerusalem), on the Mount of Olives…the names of Christian Biblical characters were found on the ossuaries (bone boxes). The names of Mary and Martha were found on one box and right next to it was one with the name of Lazarus, their brother. Other names of early Christians were found on other boxes. Of greatest interest, however, was that which was found within twelve feet from the place where the remains of Mary, Martha and Lazarus were found—the remains of St. Peter. They were found in an ossuary, on the outside of which was clearly and beautifully written in Aramaic, “Simon Bar Jona”…

Then I asked, “Does Father Bagatti (co-writer of the book in Italian on the subject, and archaeologist) really believe that those are the bones of St. Peter?” “Yes, he does,” was the reply. Then I asked, “But what does the Pope think of all this?” That was a thousand dollar question and he gave me a million dollar answer. “Well,” he confidentially answered in a hushed voice, “Father Bagatti told me personally that three years ago he went to the Pope (Pius XII) in Rome and showed him the evidence and the Pope said to him, ‘Well, we will have to make some changes, but for the time being, keep this thing quiet’.” In awe I asked also in a subdued voice, “So the Pope really believes that those are the bones of St. Peter?” “Yes,” was his answer. “The documentary evidence is there, he could not help but believe.” …

I did not have the opportunity to see priest Bagatti while in Jerusalem. I wrote to him, however, on March 15, 1960, as follows: “I have spoken with a number of Franciscan priests and monks and they have told me about you and the book of which you are a co-writer. I had hoped to see you and to compliment you on such a great discovery, but time would not permit. Having heard so much about you and that you are an archaeologist (with the evidence in hand), I was convinced, with you, concerning the ancient burial ground that the remains found in the ossuary with the name on it, ‘Simon Bar Jona’, written in Aramaic, were those of St. Peter.” It is remarkable that in his reply he did not contradict my statement, which he certainly would have done if he honestly could have done so. “I was very much convinced with you – … that the remains found in the ossuary … were those of St. Peter.” This confirms the talk I had with the Franciscan monk in Bethlehem and the story he told me of Priest Bagatti’s going to the Pope with the evidence concerning the bones of St. Peter in Jerusalem. In his letter one can see that he is careful because of the Pope’s admonition to keep this discovery quiet. (Peterson F. Paul. Saint Peter’s Tomb: The Discovery of Peter’s Tomb in Jerusalem in 1953. http://www.jesusdynasty.com/blog/2007/04/03/has-the-ossuary-of-simon-peter-aka-simeon-son-of-jonah-been-found/ viewed 02/17/11)

The Jerusalem burial of Peter is not currently taught by the Church of Rome. Thus, it appears to me, at least, that scholars (including Catholic ones) tend to understand that it is questionable if Peter was buried in Rome and if his body is actually in St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City (see also What Do Roman Catholic Scholars Actually Teach About Early Church History?).

A while back related to Roman Catholic ‘myths,’ Zenit.org, a pro-Vatican news source, reported the following:

Much of the hostility towards the Catholic Church is based on ignorance and prejudice. This is the argument of Christopher Kaczor in his recent book, “The Seven Big Myths About the Catholic Church,” (Ignatius Press). A professor of philosophy at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, Kaczor started by pointing out that the Church is made up of both saints and sinners and that mistakes in governance can indeed occur…

The first myth examined by the book is the idea that religion and science are in conflict with each other…The second myth is that the Church opposes freedom and happiness by saying no to a number of actions…The idea that the Church hates women is another myth addressed in the book…The issue of homosexuality, and the argument by some that the Church hates homosexuals, is another myth dealt with by Kaczor. http://www.zenit.org/article-35978?l=english

Before going further, I would state that true science and true religion are not in conflict with each other.

Now as far as myths FROM the Roman Catholic Church, there are many (and some are not accepted by its top leadership, though commonly held).

Since Zenit mentioned seven myths about Roman Catholics, let us briefly list eight ‘Roman Catholic’ myths with a comment or so after each:

1. The Roman Catholic Church is the original church and became that way when the Apostle Peter was in Rome. The Bible never suggests that, nor is there absolute proof the Apostle Peter was ever even in Rome (and even if he was, he spent the bulk of his time elsewhere). For details, please see the article Peter and Rome.
2. The Church of Rome has apostolic succession from Peter to Linus to Cletus to Clement to Evaristus. The fact is that Roman Catholic scholars know this is essentially wishful thinking based upon later traditions. For details, please see What Do Roman Catholic Scholars Actually Teach About Early Church History? and Apostolic Succession.
3. The Church of Rome never changes. This is thoroughly disproved by many documents. A detailed article on many doctrinal changes that the Roman Catholic Church adopted are proven in the free online book: Beliefs of the Original Catholic Church.
4. The Church of Rome gave the world the Bible. No, the Bible as we know it came from Asia Minor and the Hebrews. The fact that it took the Church of Rome centuries to finally settle on the books as the Apostle John finalized and his successors verified, proves that Rome was not the source of the Bible. It was the Church of God, not the Church of Rome, that maintained the proper ‘chain of custody.’ For details, please see: Who Gave the World the Bible? The Canon: Why do we have the books we now do in the Bible? Is the Bible complete?
5. The Church of Rome is the original “catholic church.” The first time the term “catholic church” is clearly found in theological writings, it was used in a letter to the Church of God in Smyrna and was not a reference to Rome. Yet, even though the Church of Rome teaches that the church in Smyrna was led by a variety of leaders it considers to be saints, the Church of Rome does not hold to the same teachings that the Church of God in Smyrna held to–instead it now strongly condemns some of those beliefs. For details, please see the free online book: Beliefs of the Original Catholic Church.
6. Christian leaders wore mitres and dressed like the modern Catholic clergy. While the Vatican does not teach this directly, the average member seems to accept the dress of the Catholic clergy as nearly sacred. Yet, no early leader dressed like that and even in St. Peter’s Cathedral in Vatican City, none of the early apostles are portrayed wearing mitres, etc. For additional proof, please see the article Were the Early Duties of Elders/Pastors Mainly Sacramental? What was their Dress?
7. The Church of Rome has the creed of the apostles. No, history, as verified by Greco-Roman Catholic scholars, disproves this. For details, please see What Was the Original Apostles’ Creed? What is the Nicene Creed?
8. The Church of Rome has true apostolic succession. No, its claimed early leaders held Church of God, not current Greco-Roman Catholic, doctrine. That, along with a Church of God laying on of hands succession list is in the free online book: Beliefs of the Original Catholic Church.

The original faithful Church was in Jerusalem and over time the location of its main leaders shifted to Asia Minor and then elsewhere (this can be demonstrated by studying the historical and biblical references in Location of the Early Church: Another Look at Ephesus, Smyrna, and Rome).

Because many who profess Christ, Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Protestant, to name three groups, do not understand the truth about Church history (see The History of Early Christianity for an overview), most believe myths about it (as well as what God’s plan is).

It is only the true Church of God that has the type of spiritual succession and continuity to the original faith of the apostles that those associated with the Roman and Eastern Orthodox Catholic faiths claim to have.

Some items of possibly related interest may include:

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.
Peter and Rome He was an original apostle and early Christian leader. Where was Peter buried? Where did Peter die?
The Smyrna Church Era was predominant circa 135 A.D. to circa 450 A.D. The Church led by Polycarp, Melito, Polycrates, etc. Here is a link to a related video sermon: The Smyrna Church Era.
What Do Roman Catholic Scholars Actually Teach About Early Church History? Although most believe that the Roman Catholic Church history teaches an unbroken line of succession of bishops beginning with Peter, with stories about most of them, Roman Catholic scholars know the truth of this matter. Is telling the truth about the early church citing Catholic accepted sources anti-Catholic? This eye-opening article is a must-read for any who really wants to know what Roman Catholic history actually admits about the early church.
Laying on of Hands Succession and List Does the Church of God have laying on of hands succession? Does the Continuing Church of God have a list of leaders from the time of the apostles? Here is a link to a related sermon: Apostolic Laying on of Hands Succession.
Apostolic Succession What really happened? Did structure and beliefs change? Are many of the widely-held current understandings of this even possible? Did you know that Catholic scholars really do not believe that several of the claimed “apostolic sees” of the Orthodox have apostolic succession–despite the fact that the current pontiff himself seems to wish to ignore this view? Is there actually a true church that has ties to any of the apostles that is not part of the Catholic or Orthodox churches? Read this article if you truly are interested in the truth on this matter! Here is a link to a sermon: Claims of Apostolic Succession. Here is a related article in the Spanish language La sucesión apostólica. ¿Ocurrió en Roma, Alejandría, Constantinopla, Antioquía, Jerusalén o Asia Menor?
Early Church History: Who Were the Two Major Groups that Professed Christ in the Second and Third Centuries? Did you know that many in the second and third centuries felt that there were two major, and separate, professing Christian groups in the second century, but that those in the majority churches tend to now blend the groups together and claim “saints” from both? “Saints” that condemn some of their current beliefs. Who are the two groups? A related sermon is also available Christianity: Two groups.
What Was the Original Apostles’ Creed? What is the Nicene Creed? Did the original apostles write a creed? When was the first creed written? Are the creeds commonly used by the Eastern Orthodox or Roman Catholics original?
Who Gave the World the Bible? The Canon: Why do we have the books we now do in the Bible? Is the Bible complete? Are there lost gospels? What about the Apocrypha? Is the Septuagint better than the Masoretic text? What about the Textus Receptus vs. Nestle Alland? Was the New Testament written in Greek, Aramaic, or Hebrew? Which translations are based upon the best ancient text? Did the true Church of God have the canon from the beginning? Here are links to related sermons: Let’s Talk About the Bible, The Books of the Old Testament, The Septuagint and its Apocrypha, Masoretic Text of the Old Testament, and Lost Books of the Bible, and Let’s Talk About the New Testament, The New Testament Canon From the Beginning, English Versions of the Bible and How Did We Get Them?, What was the Original Language of the New Testament?, Original Order of the Books of the Bible, and Who Gave the World the Bible? Who Had the Chain of Custody?
Do You Practice Mithraism? Many practices and doctrines that mainstream so-called Christian groups have are the same or similar to those of the sun-god Mithras. December 25th was celebrated as his birthday. Do you follow Mithraism combined with the Bible or original Christianity? A sermon video from Vatican City is titled Church of Rome, Mithras, and Isis?
Were the Early Duties of Elders/Pastors Mainly Sacramental? What was their Dress? Were the duties of the clergy primarily pastoral or sacramental? Did the clergy dress with special liturgical vestments? Can “bishops” be disqualified as ministers of Christ based on their head coverings?
The Churches of Revelation 2 & 3 from 31 A.D. to present: information on all of the seven churches of Revelation 2 & 3. There is also a YouTube video: The Seven Church Eras of Revelation. There is also a version in the Spanish language: Las Siete Iglesias de Apocalipsis 2 & 3.
Nazarene Christianity: Were the Original Christians Nazarenes? Who were the Nazarene Christians? What did they believe? Should 21st century Christians be modern Nazarenes? Is there a group that exists now that traces its history through the Nazarenes and holds the same beliefs today? Here is a link to a related video sermon Nazarene Christians: Were the early Christians “Nazarenes”?
Location of the Early Church: Another Look at Ephesus, Smyrna, and Rome What actually happened to the primitive Church? And did the Bible tell about this in advance?
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? Here is a link to a short animation: Which Church would Jesus Choose?
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.
The History of Early Christianity Are you aware that what most people believe is not what truly happened to the true Christian church? Do you know where the early church was based? Do you know what were the doctrines of the early church? Is your faith really based upon the truth or compromise?

Fox Sisters
(Public domain photo)

COGwriter

A few days ago, according to one source, marked the 177th anniversary of the spiritualist movement in the USA:

The Birth of Spiritualism

On 14 November 1848 the Fox sisters conjured up a movement when they made contact with the dead – or so they claimed.

hat hath God wrought?’ Perhaps it is a coincidence, but in the spring of 1848 – four years after Samuel Morse tapped out those first words in code and sent them out into the silence – the dead started tapping out messages to the living too.

It happened in upstate New York where the Fox family had recently moved. Their farmhouse was said to be haunted; a spirit was heard knocking in the night. The two youngest daughters, Catherine and Margaretta, both adolescents, discovered that if they asked questions the spirit would knock in reply. It revealed itself to belong to a 31-year-old man.

Neighbours came to listen. Someone had the idea of reciting the alphabet to help the spirit speak. … The fame of the Fox sisters spread. …

It seems to have been the girls’ older sister Leah Fish – 35 and married – who saw the commercial possibilities. On 14 November 1848 the first public demonstration of the sisters’ powers took place at the Corinthian Hall in Rochester. ‘We … could not but admit the evidence of [our] senses’, the local paper reported. ‘THE GHOST was there.’ Spiritualism exploded. By the late 1860s there were some 11 million spiritualists in the US alone.

Fame took its toll on the Fox sisters, however. In 1888 Margaretta, widowed and alcoholic, gave an interview to the New York Herald.

‘Is it all a trick?’ the journalist asked.

‘Absolutely’, Margaretta replied. ‘Spirits, is he not easily fooled?’

As a child, she explained, she learned to make the sounds using the joints in her feet.

A sense of sadness pervades the interview. ‘The spirits will not come back’, she said of the dead. 11/14/25 https://www.historytoday.com/archive/months-past/birth-spiritualism?utm_source=firefox-newtab-en-us

So, someone figured out a trick, and that worked to deceive.

The Bible teaches:

14 Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city. 15 But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie. (Revelation 22:14-15)

In ancient times, pagan priests used mechanical and other tricks to persuade people that the idols they made were real.

In modern times, though, tapping into aspects of human psychology also works to deceive many.

The Guardian ran the following from a former astrologer named as Felicity Carter:

I was an astrologer – here’s how it really works and why I had to stop

Customers marvelled at my psychic abilities but was that really what was going on when I told their fortune? … the universe told me I wasn’t cut out for science, by sending me my second-year results. I dropped out to pursue theatre and also signed up for a one-year course at the Sydney Astrology Centre, a cavernous commercial building in a seedy part of town. …

Although astrologers use Nasa data for their calculations, horoscopes aren’t a true map of the heavens. The Babylonians who invented astrology believed the sun rotated round the Earth; modern astrologers still use Earth-centred charts, as if Copernicus had never existed. That’s only the start of the scientific problems.

The astrological meanings themselves derive from a principle called sympathetic magic, where things that look alike are linked together. Mars looks red, so it rules red things like blood. How do you get blood? You cut, so Mars rules surgery and war. …

Astrology is one big word association game.

I loved it, though I was losing interest in other mystical practices. …

When I saw the ad for a fortune teller, I pounced.

My credentials impressed the man on the counter (“My name is Ron,” he said. “My spirit guide is Blue Star. He’s on the intergalactic committee”) and I was hired.

We charged A$50 an hour, a significant sum at the time, and I wanted to offer value. No fishing for clues from me – I printed a horoscope or laid the cards and started interpreting immediately, intending to dazzle the customer with my insights.

Half the time, though, I couldn’t get a word in. It turned out what most people want is the chance to unload for an hour.

The range of problems faced by people who can afford $50 for fortune telling turned out to be limited: troubles with romance, troubles at work, trouble mustering the courage for a much-needed change. I heard these stories so often I could often guess what the problem was the moment someone walked in. Heartbroken young men, for example, talk about it to psychics, because it’s less risky than telling their friends. Sometimes I’d mischievously say, “Let her go. She’s not worth it,” as soon as one arrived. Once I heard, “Oh my God, oh my GOD!” as an amazed guy fell backwards down the stairs.

I also learned that intelligence and education do not protect against superstition. …

What broke the spell for me was, oddly, people swearing by my gift. Some repeat customers claimed I’d made very specific predictions, of a kind I never made. It dawned on me that my readings were a co-creation – I would weave a story and, later, the customer’s memory would add new elements. I got to test this theory after a friend raved about a reading she’d had, full of astonishingly accurate predictions. She had a tape of the session, so I asked her to play it.

The clairvoyant had said none of the things my friend claimed. Not a single one. My friend’s imagination had done all the work.

Yet sometimes I could be uncannily accurate – wasn’t that proof I was psychic? One Sunday, I went straight from work to a party, before I’d had time to shuck off my psychic persona. A student there mentioned she wasn’t sure what to specialize in – photography, graphic design or maybe industrial design?

“Do photography,” I said.

She looked at me, wide-eyed. “How did you know?” she said, explaining photography was her real love, but her parents didn’t approve.

I couldn’t say, “because my third eye is open”, so I reflected for a moment. Then it hit me. “You sounded happier when you said ‘photography’,” I said. My psychic teacher was right – the signals we pick up before conscious awareness kicks in can be accurate and valuable. https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2019/nov/06/i-was-an-astrologer-how-it-works-psychics?utm_source=pocket-newtab

Felicity Carter is correct that astrology is not scientific. It is not even consistent with itself as the signs people supposedly were born under are all off by about a month.

Getting back to psychics, notice the following:

Psychic and Fortune-Telling Scams: How They Work and How to Protect Against Them

In psychic and fortune-telling scams, individuals claim to have special powers to predict the future, communicate with a deceased loved one, or provide insights into a person’s life. These scams prey on vulnerable people, particularly those who are grieving, lonely or struggling financially. The scammers solicit business through mail, social media platforms, storefronts, and even street encounters. …

Psychic services are a significant industry in the United States, with nearly 94,000 businesses offering palm and tarot readings, astrological advice, and similar services. Pew Research Center found that four in 10 adults in the US believe in psychics, fueling an industry with annual revenues exceeding $2 billion.

Financial losses to psychic scams are also troubling. According to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s (ACCC) Scamwatch platform, 207 Aussies lost over $500,000 to psychic and clairvoyant scams in 2022.

Tactics used by psychic, clairvoyant or fortune-telling scammers

Scams in this category usually involve scammers promising you:

– Curse removals. The scammers say they sense the presence of a curse that can only be removed for a hefty sum.

– Restore your health in exchange for multiple payments

– Riches or rekindling of lost love for a fee

Fraudsters in this line of business trick victims into handing over money and personal and financial information. This involves:

• High-pressure tactics to make people pay for services they don’t need. The scammers usually threaten or use intimidating language to coerce victims
• Preying on people’s fears and insecurities, making them believe they are in danger or that something very bad will happen to them unless they pay for a protection spell or purchase protection charms and talismans.
• Conducting cold readings to make victims believe they have special insights into the victim’s background and life. This typically involves the con artists making generalized statements about the victim – combining highly likely guesses and broad statements to create the illusion of supernatural powers or connection to the spirit realm.
• Requesting personally identifiable information that may include full names, date of birth and even IDs and credit card information to conduct identity theft and other crimes.

Here are some real-life examples from scam victims shared with the BBB’s Scam Tracker:

“Romance, psychic services scam. Tactics they used were harrasment, blackmail, cyberbullying and using your own information you gave they against to slander your name and reputation,” one victim said.

Another report reads, “I went to a business where two women pretended to be a psychics and fortune tellers. The whole time they were asking me specific information like full name, favorite numbers, phone, trying to illicit more and more personal information. They tried to convince me I had a family curse and I was surrounded by a dark aura, also I needed to pay them for a money cleansing ritual. It would be a few sessions of 150 each starting that day. They were very forceful and wouldn’t take no for an answer.” 07/25/2024 https://www.bitdefender.com/en-us/blog/hotforsecurity/psychic-and-fortune-telling-scams

That does not mean that all is fake.

Sometimes, demons are involved, and they can be accurate deceivers.

Notice the following:

August 15, 2016

THE MUM at the centre of Scotland’s incredible “poltergeist” case broke her silence yesterday.

Catherine Shreenan told of the stress the whole affair had placed her under – but insisted she didn’t want to discuss the bizarre occurrences at her home.

The Record revealed on Saturday how police who went to the Rutherglen house where Ms Shreenan lives with her teenage son had themselves witnessed a series of unexplained happenings.

Called by the frantic mum to deal with what was described as a “disturbance” officers saw clothes flying across a room, lights going off and when they went back on the lampshades were upside down and oven doors opening and closing.

A chihuahua dog which was playing in the garden was then discovered sitting on top of a seven-foot hedge.

Yesterday Ms Shreenan said: “It’s placed enormous stress on the family. I’ve had people, teenagers, going past my home singing Ghostbusters.” …

Police were called to the house on Monday and Tuesday last week.

The situation has been discussed at high levels within Police Scotland, with senior officers perplexed as to how they best handle the incidents.

Police sources said officers with 20 years experience at the force had witnessed the strange events and nobody knew how to proceed.

The source said: “One problem we’ve got is where we go from here as no crime has been established, so what else can we do but deal with any reports of disturbances.”

A priest has been to the house in Stonelaw Road and performed what has been described as a ‘blessing’ at the property. http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/poltergeist-case-mum-speaks-enormous-8630255

August 15, 2016

Police officers who called to the house, near Glasgow, last week reportedly saw the family’s pet Chihuahua levitating and clothes flying across rooms.The mother and teenager contacted officers after being left “extremely distressed” by the “violent and unexplained circumstances”, according to insiders.A baffled source said: “These were incidents that were witnessed by our own officers. Incidents that are not easily explained. “But officers with more than 20 years’ service are saying they’ve never seen anything like this.”It really is something that down-to-earth police officers are having trouble getting their heads round.”How do you handle what, despite us liking to use the word, has been described as a poltergeist.” Another insider said: “The officers witnessed the lights going off, clothes flying across the room and the dog sitting on top of the hedge.”The officers called their superiors who also attended thinking the cops were perhaps being a bit silly but it’s being taken very seriously.”The fact it was witnessed by our officers has lent itself to a very different but active inquiry.” http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/700059/ghost-poltergeist-Scotland-South-Lanarkshire

The fact that the reports say that this was witnessed by police officers, indicates that this is not just a delusional report, but that something, apparently demonic, was witnessed.

Yet publicly claiming something came from demons is not what most modern government officials will do. So, they are at a loss on this.

Here is how Dictionary.com defines poltergeist:

noun

1. a ghost or spirit supposed to manifest its presence by noises, knockings, etc.

The ‘spirit’ doing what has been described in Scotland certainly sounds as if it is demonic.

We should expect to see increases in such demonic ‘paranormal’ activity.

Why?

Notice the following prophecy written by the Apostle Paul:

3 Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, 4 who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.

5 Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? 6 And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time. 7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way. (2 Thessalonians 2:3-7)

So, the restrainer will be taken out of the way before the end. (For information on who the restrainer seems to be, check out the article What is Restrained and Who is Restraining in 2 Thessalonians 2:7?)

After the restrainer is out of the way, we will see more signs and lying wonders (2 Thessalonians 2:8-12).

Expect to see more ‘verified’ ‘paranormal’ activity.

A video is also available titled: Poltergeists and Lying Wonders.

The children of Israel were warned not to pay attention to astrology as the heathen did.

Notice:

19 And take heed, lest you lift your eyes to heaven, and when you see the sun, the moon, and the stars, all the host of heaven, you feel driven to worship them and serve them, which the Lord your God has given to all the peoples under the whole heaven as a heritage. (Deuteronomy 4:19-20)

By changing one’s actions based upon what a horoscope or psychic says, one is serving the stars which God clearly tells people not to do.

Notice also:

2 Thus says the Lord:

“Do not learn the way of the Gentiles;
Do not be dismayed at the signs of heaven,
For the Gentiles are dismayed at them. (Jeremiah 10:2)

Now, the above is not saying not to pay attention to weather patterns, as Jesus Himself endorsed that.

Nor is it saying that there cannot be any signs in the heavens to ever pay attention to from a prophetic perspective, as Jesus said to notice specific occurrences in the heavens before He returns.

What the Bible was warning about was to rely on astrological and similar interpretations of the heavens to affect your life or future.

The Bible condemns astrology, not astronomy. Notice a biblical purpose for various heavenly bodies:

14 Then God said, “Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years; 15 and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth”; and it was so. (Genesis 1:14-15)

2 “This month shall be your beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year to you. (Exodus 12:2)

4 ‘These are the feasts of the Lord, holy convocations which you shall proclaim at their appointed times. 5 On the fourteenth day of the first month at twilight is the Lord’s Passover. 6 And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the Lord; seven days you must eat unleavened bread. (Leviticus 23:4-6)

The Bible clearly teaches that the heavenly bodies are involved with the seasons (including holy days) and that is part of why they were made. But signally the start of Spring or Fall for example, is not the same as suggesting that there is hidden meaning in the stars related to your date of birth.

Astrologers will not save you:

13 You are wearied in the multitude of your counsels;
Let now the astrologers, the stargazers,
And the monthly prognosticators
Stand up and save you
From what shall come upon you.
14 Behold, they shall be as stubble,
The fire shall burn them;
They shall not deliver themselves
From the power of the flame;
It shall not be a coal to be warmed by,
Nor a fire to sit before!
15 Thus shall they be to you
With whom you have labored,
Your merchants from your youth;
They shall wander each one to his quarter.
No one shall save you. (Isaiah 47:13-15)

If you want direction, trust in God:

5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding;
6 In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct your paths. (Proverbs 3:5-6)

4 “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.'” (Matthew 4:4)

One is to trust God and His word, not some pagan-inspired horoscope.

One major difference between God’s predictions and those of astrologers is that God can make His come to pass:

9 Remember the former things of old,
For I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and there is none like Me,
10 Declaring the end from the beginning,
And from ancient times things that are not yet done,
Saying, ‘My counsel shall stand,
And I will do all My pleasure,’
11 Calling a bird of prey from the east,
The man who executes My counsel, from a far country.
Indeed I have spoken it;
I will also bring it to pass.
I have purposed it;
I will also do it. (Isaiah 46:9-11)

3 “I have declared the former things from the beginning;
They went forth from My mouth, and I caused them to hear it.
Suddenly I did them, and they came to pass. (Isaiah 48:3)

If you want to know more about the future, believe the word of God:

9 Behold, the former things have come to pass,
And new things I declare;
Before they spring forth I tell you of them. (Isaiah 42:9)

You should believe biblical prophecies that are properly explained by His true ministry (cf. Acts 8:30-31). Not astrologers.

Some items of possibly related interest may include:

The Bible and Astrology Should Christians avoid participating in astrology or did God inspire it? Does the Bible encourage astrology? What does the Bible actually teach? What is astrology? How does astrology differ from astronomy? Here are links to two videos Astrology, the occult, tattoos, and pornography and Should Christians Be Involved In Astrology?
OMENS? DIVINATION? HOROSCOPES? THE ORIGIN OF ASTROLOGY Where did astrology come from? Should you read your horoscope?
Does Astrology Work? Many believe and follow astrology–but does it work? Here is a link to the article in Mandarin Chinese: 占星术准确吗？
Angels, Cherubim, and Seraphim This is information about various types of angelic beings.
Did God Create a Devil? If not, what happened? Herbert W. Armstrong wrote this as a booklet.
Close Encounters of a ‘Spirit’ Kind discusses some experiences I believe were (demon) ‘spirit’ related. A video is also available titled: Poltergeists and Lying Wonders.
Read the Bible Christians should read and study the Bible. This article gives some rationale for regular bible reading.
Bible: Superstition or Authority? Should you rely on the Bible? Is it reliable? Herbert W. Armstrong wrote this as a booklet on this important subject.

Donald Trump ‘Truth Social’ on Epstein file release

COGwriter

In a reversal of some of his public statements this year, Donald Trump has said he backs the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files:

In Surprise Reversal, Trump Now Supports GOP Release Of Epstein Files

November 17, 2025

Less than 24 hours Days after President Donald Trump called Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene a traitor and mocked Thomas Massie’s dead wife – because they were among four Republicans pushing for a House floor vote to force the DOJ to release the Epstein files, Trump – likely sensing he dun goofed, big time, reversed course Sunday night and now supports their release.

“As I said on Friday night aboard Air Force One to the Fake News Media, House Republicans should vote to release the Epstein files, because we have nothing to hide, and it’s time to move on from this Democrat Hoax perpetrated by Radical Left Lunatics,” Trump posted to Truth Social. “The Department of Justice has already turned over tens of thousands of pages to the Public on “Epstein,” are looking at various Democrat operatives (Bill Clinton, Reid Hoffman, Larry Summers, etc.) and their relationship to Epstein, and the House Oversight Committee can have whatever they are legally entitled to, I DON’T CARE!” 

Except he cared enough to excommunicate Massie and MTG for wanting the public to know which elites were likely ensnared in a honeypot operation, while both Reps. have also been highly critical of Israeli influence in US politics. And based on widespread condemnation among the base, Trump clearly miscalculated. 

Trump did the whole ‘release them, I don’t care’ thing earlier this year after failing to follow through on a core campaign promise, and instead giving a handful of influencers binders full of old information.

“Let’s start talking about the Republican Party’s Record Setting Achievements, and not fall into the Epstein “TRAP,” which is actually a curse on the Democrats, not us,” Trump’s ‘truth’ continues.  …

Trump’s announcement came days after the House Oversight Committee released tens of thousands of emails handed over by the Epstein estate – which made clear that Trump and Epstein were pals, had a falling out, and then Epstein started helping Democrats ‘get Trump’ – including texting in real time with lawmaker Stacey Plaskett (D-Virgin Islands) during a 2019 congressional hearing with Michael Cohen…

Plaskett, for those who didn’t know, previously served in the Virgin Islands government – helping to give Epstein tax benefits, and worked for Epstein’s fixer on the island before she was elected to Congress. https://www.zerohedge.com/political/stunning-reversal-trump-now-supports-gop-release-epstein-files

November 17, 2025

Trump mocked Democratic hypocrisy: “Nobody cared so much about Jeffrey Epstein when he was alive, and, if the Democrats had anything, they would have released it before our Landslide Election Victory. Some ‘members’ of the Republican Party are being ‘used’, and we can’t let that happen.”

Trump concluded, “Let’s start talking about the Republican Party’s Record Setting Achievements, and not fall into the Epstein ‘TRAP’, which is actually a curse on the Democrats, not us. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” https://modernity.news/2025/11/17/trump-demands-full-epstein-files-release-its-a-democrat-hoax-give-them-everything/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=trump-demands-full-epstein-files-release-its-a-democrat-hoax-give-them-everything

Donald Trump promised to call for the release of the Epstein files when running for office. Then after he got in, he opposed it.

Now, it is true that much of his political base wanted them released–and still does.

So, did he just change his mind again because of that or was he being deceptive all along about this?

When I read about the reversal today, it reminded me of an old Uncle Remus story. Notice something from the classic tale of Br’er Rabbit and the Briar Patch:

When Brer Fox found Brer Rabbit entangled with the Tar-Baby, he felt really good, and he rolled on the ground laughing. Eventually, he got up and said:

“Well, I think I got you this time, Brer Rabbit. Maybe I haven’t, but I think I have. You been running around here being cheeky for a mighty long time, but I think you’ve come to the end of the line. You’ve been cutting capers and bouncing about the neighbourhood where I’m in charge, and poking about in what is not your business,” said Brer Fox.

“Who asked you to chat up the Tar-Baby? And who stuck you up the way you are? Nobody in the round world. You just jammed yourself on that Tar-Baby without waiting for any invitation,” said Brer Fox,. “And there you are, and there you’ll stay until I fix up a heap of brushwood and make a fire, ’cos I’m going to barbecue you today for sure,” said Brer Fox.

So Brer Rabbit talked in a mighty humble way.

“I don’t care what you do with me, Brer Fox” said Brer Rabbit. “Just don’t fling me in that briar patch over there. Roast me, Brer Fox, but don’t fling me in in that briar patch,” said Brer Rabbit.

“It’s so much trouble to start a fire,” said Brer Fox, “that I think I’d rather hang you.”

“Hang me just as high as you please, Brer Fox,” said Brer Rabbit, “but for Lord’s sake don’t fling me in in that briar patch.”

“I don’t have any string,” said Brer Fox, “so I think I’d rather drown you.”

“Drown me just as deep as you please, Brer Fox,” said Brer Rabbit, “but for Lord’s sake don’t fling me in in that briar patch.”

“There’s no water nearby,” said Brer Fox, “so I think I’d rather skin you.”

“Skin me, Brer Fox, snatch out my eyeballs, tear out my ears by the roots, and cut off my legs,” said Brer Rabbit. “Only please, Brer Fox, please don’t throw me into the briar patch.”

“It’s not going to be much fun skinning you,” said Brer Fox, “you’re not scared of that. But you are scared of the briar patch.”

And with that, Brer Fox yanked Brer Rabbit off the Tar-Baby, and he flung him -KERPLUNK!- right into the briar patch.

Well, there was a flutter where Brer Rabbit landed, then “Ooo! Oow! Ouch!” he screeched and he squalled. Then after a while, there was only a weak whisper from Brer Rabbit. Brer Fox listened.

“I got him! Brer Rabbit is dead!” said Brer Fox.

But then he heard a scuffling away at the other end of the briar patch. And low and behold, who does Brer Fox see scrambling out but Brer Rabbit himself, playing a briar bush whistle.

“Born and bred in the briar patch, that’s me,” laughed Brer Rabbit. “I told you not to throw me there. In all the world, that’s the place I love best!”

With a lippity clip, he hopped away. https://www.abelard.org/brer_fox_brer_rabbit_briar_patch.php?utm

Did Donald Trump set up the Democrats for pushing against the release, hence lied to do so?

Whatever the motives of Donald Trump, the Epstein matter has been a scandal of horrific crimes (such as rape) and various forms of immorality.

In addition to testimonies from various victims, some were videoed engaging in illegal sexual acts:

July 10, 2019

Jeffrey Epstein may allegedly have “blackmail material” related to “the sexual proclivities” of “powerful men,” speculated Ann Coulter during a Tuesday interview on SiriusXM’s Breitbart News Tonight with host Rebecca Mansour and special guest host John Hayward.

“He seems to have blackmail material,” said Coulter. “There are cameras all over his mansions. He asks the girls to come to him and report on the sexual proclivities of all these powerful men, so, you know, you can see why I despair of him ever being brought to justice.”

“There were a lot of really powerful men — businessmen and Hollywood figures — that spent time [with Jeffrey Epstein],” noted Mansour.

Coulter replied, “And international leaders and politicians, that’s why I think the biggest question is: Who is funding all this? It seems — I’m not saying that this is true … one of my theories was that [Jeffrey Epstein] was like the concierge for the underage sex ring, and rich men would pay him to go to Orgy Island or down to Palm Beach or New York … and he’d arrange [sexual liaisons] and they’d pay him to have all these places. He was just like the concierge of these places, getting the girls there.”

Coulter continued, “But I don’t think there are that many billionaires who have this particular weird sexual fetish . This isn’t normal. So you need both, hundreds of millions of dollars, a weird sexual fetish, and you’re willing to pay Jeffrey Epstein, so it does make you think that there could be a state sponsor behind this. Again, I don’t think it’s Russia, but let’s say it is to keep the left interested.”

Former Palm Beach State Attorney Barry Krischer, a Democrat, opted against charging Jeffrey Epstein after local authorities delivered evidence to him, explained Coulter. …

Coulter remarked, “If you wanted to turn this into a partisan issue, this is definitely more of a Democrat scandal than a Republican scandal, But I just wouldn’t, personally, pitch it in those terms, at all. It’s monstrous behavior, there’s some guilt on both sides, but it is just the establishment and the elites allowing the least among us to be really horribly abused and pushed under the rug, just as … with the grooming gangs [in the U.K.].” https://www.breitbart.com/radio/2019/07/10/ann-coulter-jeffrey-epstein-seems-to-have-blackmail-material-with-sexual-proclivities-of-all-these-powerful-men/

Yes, this is horrific.

Various high level and influential people have been implicated as being involved in this.

Perhaps the release of the files will lead to penalties for the perpetrators.

Regarding the end times, the Bible warns:

1 But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: 2 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, 4 traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away! (2 Timothy 3:1-5)

Eastern Orthodox Rendering of Gregory Thaumaturgus

COGWriter

November 17th is observed by some Greco-Roman Catholics in honor of the third century bishop known as Gregory Thaumaturgus, whom they also call saint Gregory of Neocaesarea.

Although I had heard of him decades ago, until I was doing research related to Fatima, I had not realized how much he affected the history (and doctrine) of the Greco-Roman-Protestant churches, as well as to a degree, the Church of God. Yet, many have never heard of him.

Around 238-244 A.D., Gregory (died roughly 270 A.D.) seems to have been the first to have claimed to have seen an apparition of Mary. This apparition allegedly appeared to him before he became a bishop. Gregory is also known as “Gregory the Wonder Worker” and Saint Gregory Thaumaturgus (wonder worker). He had been trained by allegorical teacher Origen in Alexandria.

Related to Gregory, Roberts and Donaldson reported:

He was believed to have been gifted with a power of working miracles, which he was constantly exercising…the demons were subject to him…he could cast his cloak over a man, and cause his death…he could bring the presiding demons back to their shrine.

Because Gregory’s power over demons and other “wonders” were apparently accepted by many, he had influence. It seems that Gregory’s enchantments and/or sorceries (cf. Isaiah 47:5-12; Nahum 3:4), along with Imperial persecutions, may have greatly assisted the Greco-Roman faction in essentially eliminating the organized faithful in Asia Minor. Gregory was also a factor in the Marian cults that began to rise up around that time. His writings teach praise and excessive devotion to the “Holy Virgin,” including the blasphemous teaching that Mary “blotted out” Eve’s “transgressions.” He was amongst the earliest ones to promote the expression the “Holy Trinity” and the pagan idea that humans had an immortal soul.

Here the mystery of the Holy Trinity was revealed by the archangel to the Holy Virgin according to the gospel (Gregory Thaumaturgus, Homily concerning the Holy Mother of God, Section 35. Translated from the Armenian by F. C. CONYBEARE The Expositor 5th series vol.3 (1896), p. 173. http://www.tertullian.org/fathers/gregory_thaumaturgus_homily.htm viewed 11/13/12).

We prove, then, that the soul is simple…that what is simple is immortal…If, therefore, the soul is not corrupted by the evil proper to itself, and the evil of the soul is cowardice, intemperance, envy, and the like, and all these things do not despoil it of its powers of life and action, it follows that it is immortal. (Gregory Thaumaturgus. On the Soul, Chapters 5, 6. Translated by S.D.F. Salmond. From Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 6. Edited by Alexander Roberts, James Donaldson, and A. Cleveland Coxe. Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1886. Revised and edited for New Advent by Kevin Knight. <http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0608.htm> viewed 06/05/11)

The gospel never uses the expression trinity, much less “Holy Trinity” nor does it teach that the soul is immortal (to the contrary, in Ezekiel 18:4 the Roman Catholic Douay-Rheims Bible teaches ” the soul that sinneth, the same shall die” and “The soul that sinneth, the same shall die” in Ezekiel 18:20), but Gregory put his own interpretation on scripture (in the trinity case, he was referring to Luke 1:35, which does not prove that doctrine; and for the immortality of the soul he did not cite scripture). Gregory was a major reason that the trinity started to be accepted much outside of Montanist circles (Origen, too, was a factor). Protestants, of course, accepted the trinity, yet few realize that Gregory’s ‘Marian visions’ seem to have played a role in this.

The Catholic Encyclopedia claims Gregory the Wonder Worker developed the first creed with the word meaning “Trinity”:

The first creed in which it appears is that of Origen’s pupil, Gregory Thaumaturgus. In his Ekthesis tes pisteos composed between 260 and 270, he writes:

There is therefore nothing created, nothing subject to another in the Trinity: nor is there anything that has been added as though it once had not existed, but had entered afterwards: therefore the Father has never been without the Son, nor the Son without the Spirit: and this same Trinity is immutable and unalterable forever (P.G., X, 986).

It is manifest that a dogma so mysterious presupposes a Divine revelation.

The last statement should give many pause as it was allegedly from seeing one or more apparitions of Mary (and supposedly the Apostle John) that Gregory the Wonder Worker gained his “revelations.” Gregory was a supporter of Rome and Alexandria and was a major factor in spreading more acceptance of the trinitarian position, especially throughout Asia Minor and Antioch.

Because of his “miraculous abilities,” his ideas apparently had more acceptance than what the Bible taught, and many were adopted. Notice something else he wrote:

O holy virgin … She is the ever-blooming paradise of incorruptibility, wherein is planted the tree that giveth life, and that furnisheth to all the fruits of immortality…Thus the holy Virgin, while still in the flesh, maintained the incorruptible life…the holy Virgin has surpassed even the perfection of the patriarchs (Gregory Thaumaturgus. The Second Homily on the Annunciation to the Holy Virgin Mary. http://www.tertullian.org/fathers2/ANF-06/anf06-24.htm#TopOfPage viewed 11/13/12)

The Bible does not teach that Mary led an “incorruptible life.” The Bible teaches that all have sinned (Romans 3:23), except Jesus (Hebrews 4:14-15). Stating or implying that Mary did not is in biblical error. Perhaps it should be added that Dr. Ludwig Ott’s 20th century book Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma teaches:

The doctrine of the Immaculate Conception of Mary is not explicitly revealed in scripture… Neither the Greek nor the Latin Fathers explicitly (explicite) teach the Immaculate Conception of Mary. (Ott L. L. Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma, 4th ed . TAN Books, Rockford (IL), Nihil Obstat: Jeremiah J. O’ Sullivan. Imprimatur: + Cornelius, 7 October 1954., Printed 1974, TAN Books, pp. 200-201)

But it was more than Marian ideas that Gregory Thaumaturgus influenced.

Bishop “Gregory the Wonder Worker” was involved in the councils looking into Paul of Samosata, who at the time was considered the Greco-Roman Bishop of Antioch (Roberts A, Donaldson J, Volume 20, p. 3).

Gregory assisted in getting Greco-Roman influence to succeed there. The Prophet Isaiah warned that the “Lady of the Kingdoms” used sorceries since her “youth” (Isaiah 47:5,12), and Gregory’s use of “powers” in the formative years of the Greco-Roman confederation seems consistent with that biblical prophecy (he also had influence in various parts of Asia Minor. Gregory Thaumaturgus. Canonical Epistles IV,VII. Ante-Nicene Fathers; also Drijvers JW, Watt JW. Portraits of spiritual authority: religious power in early Christianity, Byzantium, and the Christian Orient, Volume 137 of Religions in the Graeco-Roman world. BRILL, 1999, pp. 107-108).

Actually in Antioch, with the successor to Paul of Samosata, we seem to see for the first time a bishop outside of Italy that was apparently installed because of direction from the Church in Rome, and the mystic Gregory Thaumaturgus was involved in this. This, to a degree, marked a major expansion of influence of the Church of Rome outside of Italy (it also had some previous influence in Corinth).

The Catholic Encyclopedia credits his influence in expanding their church (which it calls “the Christian Church” below):

Among those who built up the Christian Church, extended its influence, and strengthened its institutions,…Gregory of Neocaesarea holds a very prominent place…To attract the people to the festivals in honour of the martyrs, we learn that Gregory organized profane amusements as an attraction for the pagans who could not understand a solemnity without some pleasures of a less serious nature than the religious ceremony.

Sadly, it is partially because of Gregory that apostate “Christianity” took on more of the trappings of pagan worship and the Marian cults had been allowed to grow and flourish.

Notice an explanation for why there was the adoption of paganism by the Greco-Roman Catholics as written by the late 19th century Roman Catholic Cardinal Newman:

Confiding then in the power of Christianity to resist the infection of evil, and to transmute the very instruments and appendages of demon-worship to evangelical use, … the rulers of the Church from early times were prepared, should the occasion arise, to adopt, to imitate, or to sanctify the existing rites and customs of the population, as well as the philosophy of the educated class.

St. Gregory Thaumaturgus supplies the first instance of this economy. … The bodies of the Martyrs were distributed in different places, and the people assembled and made merry, as the year came round, holding festival in their honour. This indeed was a proof of his great wisdom … for, perceiving that the childish and untrained populace were retained in their idolatrous error by creature comforts, in order that what was of first importance should at any rate be secured to them, viz. that they should look to God in place of their vain rites, he allowed them to be merry, jovial, and gay at the monuments of the holy Martyrs, as if their behaviour would in time undergo a spontaneous change into greater seriousness and strictness, since faith would lead them to it; which has actually been the happy issue in that population, all carnal gratification having turned into a spiritual form of rejoicing.”

There is no reason to suppose that the licence here spoken of passed the limits of harmless though rude festivity; for it is observable that the same reason, the need of holydays for the multitude, is assigned by Origen, St. Gregory’s master, to explain the establishment of the Lord’s Day also, and the Paschal and the Pentecostal festivals, which have never been viewed as unlawful compliances; and, moreover, the people were in fact eventually reclaimed from their gross habits by his indulgent policy, a successful issue which could not have followed an accommodation to what was sinful. (Newman JH, Cardinal. An Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine. J. Toovey, 1845, p. 358).

Cardinal Newman explained pagan items were considered to be an evangelical tool (ibid, p. 358). Please understand that the appeal to “the philosophy of the educated class” means that pagan philosophy (as taught by the ancient Greeks and Romans, and expanded by people like Clement and Origen) was to be accepted.

Furthermore, we see that Gregory Thaumaturgus decided that it would be a good evangelizing tool to be a friend of the world allow pagan and other demonic worship practices. Gregory was a major compromiser whose actions later provided support for others to compromise and change even more from the original catholic faith.

Gregory greatly influenced theological thought and several widely-accepted false doctrines were originated and/or promoted by him. The fact that he reportedly caused the death of enemies by throwing his cloak upon them has not sufficiently diminished his influence–but should have. He was a factor for various ones: Parting from THE WAY.

The Continuing Church of God put out this sermonette on its ContinuingCOG channel related to him:

20:46

Gregory Thaumaturgus, Signs, and Lying Wonders

Very few people realize how a demonically- influenced leader man from Neocaesarea impacted doctrines in the Greco-Roman church. Gregory the Wonder Worker claimed to receive messages from an apparition he believed was Jesus’ mother Mary. He pushed the trinity, an antichrist creed, and the immortal soul teaching. Gregory also is celebrated as a saint by the Roman Catholics for pushing profane entertainment and festivals to attract pagans. He allegedly had the power to cause death by tossing his cloak on someone. The Apostle Paul warned of signs and lying wonders–and said that started in his day–which it did with Simon the sorcerer (Acts 8) also known as Simon Magus. Gregory Thaumaturgus had demonic signs and wonders and said he learned them from apparitions. The prophet Isaiah warned about the virgin daughter of Babylon who used sorceries–this is the same mystery Babylon of Revelation 17 that comes to her end in Revelation 18. In this video, Dr. Thiel gives some background about Gregory and warns about those who walk by sight and not faith.

Here is a link to the sermonette: Gregory Thaumaturgus, Signs, and Lying Wonders.

Most of the professing Christian world accepts one or more beliefs promoted by Gregory Thaumaturgus.

Now the Bible also points to even more persuasive signs and lying wonders in the future:

9 The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, 10 and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 11 And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, 12 that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness. (2 Thessalonians 2:9-12)

Nearly everyone alive at that time will be deceived.

Do YOU have enough love of the truth to not fall for them?

Perhaps, if you think so, you should not be so sure.

For more information, please check out the following:

Gregory the Wonder Worker Also known as Gregory Thaumaturgus, this third century Eastern Orthodox leader was one of the most dangerous heretics and his views have been adopted by many who profess Christ. Here is a link to ta related video: Gregory Thaumaturgus, Signs, and Lying Wonders.
What was the Parting from the Way? What was the parting of the ways? Have most who profess Jesus as Lord gone the broad and wrong way? What does the Bible teach about continuing the original faith? Who does history show held to it? Who holds to it now? Here is a link to a related sermon: Parting from THE WAY.
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. A related sermon is available: Trinity: Fundamental to Christianity or Something Else? A brief video is also available: Three trinitarian scriptures?
Did Early Christians Believe that Humans Possessed Immortality? What does John 3:16, and other writings, tell us? Did a doctrine kept adopted from paganism? Here is a YouTube video titled Are humans immortal?
Mary, the Mother of Jesus and the Apparitions Do you know much about Mary? Are the apparitions real? What might they mean for the rise of the ecumenical religion of Antichrist? Are Protestants moving towards Mary? How do the Orthodox view Mary? How might Mary view her adorers?
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.
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? Here is a link to a short animation: Which Church would Jesus Choose?
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.
Who is the Man of Sin of 2 Thessalonians 2? Is this the King of the North, the ten-horned beast of Revelation 13:1-11, or the two-horned Beast of Revelation 13:12-16? Some rely on traditions, but what does the Bible teach? Here is a related link in Spanish/español: ¿Quién es el Hombre de Pecado de 2 Tesalonicenses 2?; here here are links to videos in Spanish: ¿Quién es el Hombre de Pecado de 2 Tesalonicenses 2? and ¿Quién es el ‘hombre de pecado’? Here is a version in Mandarin: N;ÿ Œ
f/’Y’jNº’ÿ Here is a link to a related English sermon video titled: The Man of Sin will deceive most ‘Christians’.

🇲🇽 MASSIVE PROTESTS in Mexico City
Youth and older supporters flooded the streets near the National Palace, demanding justice, security & accountability after the assassination of a mayor. Clashes broke out between protestors and police, tear gas used, dozens of injuries. pic.twitter.com/wCNDl988tl

— KraatyNews (@KraatyN) November 16, 2025

COGwriter

There have been protests in Mexico:

Thousands protest crime and corruption in Mexico City as ‘Gen Z’ protests gain momentum

November 16, 2025

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum accused right-wing parties of trying to infiltrate the Gen Z movement, and of using bots on social media to try to increase attendance.

Several thousand people took to the streets of Mexico City on Saturday to protest crime, corruption and impunity in a demonstration organized by members of Generation Z, but which ended with strong backing from older supporters of opposition parties.

The demonstration was mostly peaceful but ended with some young people clashing with the police. Protesters attacked police with stones, fireworks, sticks and chains, grabbing police shields and other equipment. …

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum still has high approval ratings despite a recent spate of high profile murders that includes the assassination of a popular mayor in the western state of Michoacan. …

Saturday’s march was attended by people from several age groups, with supporters of the recently killed Michoacan Mayor Carlos Manzo, attending the protest wearing the straw hats that symbolize his political movement.

“The state is dying,” said Rosa Maria Avila, a 65-year-old real estate agent who traveled from the town of Patzcuaro in Michoacan state.

“He was killed because he was a man who was sending officers into the mountains to fight delinquents. He had the guts to confront them,” she said of Manzo. https://www.nbcnews.com/world/mexico/thousands-protest-crime-corruption-mexico-city-gen-z-protests-rcna244172

November 16, 2025

Sheinbaum, a left-wing progressive member of the Movimiento Regeneración Nacional party, remains popular among Mexican voters but political youth organizations have become increasingly angry with violence from highly armed cartels gripping the nation.

In particular, the protests came after Carlos Manzo, the popular mayor of Uruapan in the state of Michoacán, was assassinated earlier this month while with his family celebrating Day of the Dead.

Manzo had cracked down against organized crime and the cartels in Uruapan before his death.

“They took away our Mexican Bukele, Carlos Manzo, to scare us. But they gave us a national hero,” read a banner at the protest Saturday, according to The New York Times.

The banner likened Manzo to El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele, who has drawn admirers across the region for his aggressive campaign against gangs and the steep decline in violence that followed, even as rights groups warn about due-process abuses. https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2025/11/16/injuries-gen-z-police-clashes-mexico-city/5191763313723/

Mexico has long endured corruption from politicians as well as criminals who assassinate politicians who take steps against criminals.

Mexico, like the rest of the world, needs the return of Jesus and the establishment of the Kingdom of God.

But that will not happen for at least another 7 years.

One matter that the government of Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum is attempting to deal with is trade.

The USA has been turning allies, like Mexico and Europe, into enemies, and that is consistent with biblical prophecies (e.g. Lamentations 1:1-2).

There is an expression that “the enemy of your enemy is your friend.”

As I wrote last June, “Expect the European Union and Mexico to trade more with each other.”

Consistent with that, notice the following:

A door to Europe: Mexico’s search for a way out of Trump’s trade war

Brussels is expected to ratify a modernized EU–Mexico trade agreement soon

November 7, 2025

PARIS – More than 84% of Mexico’s exports head to the United States. But with the trade war reignited by Donald Trump, the country could soon be tempted to look across the Atlantic for new opportunities in the European Union. …

According to US media reports, Washington is considering conducting military operations inside Mexico to combat drug cartels. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has firmly rejected these reports in recent days.

Yet her room for manoeuvre with President Donald Trump is limited: more than four-fifths of Mexican exports are bound for the US, and since 1 November, Washington has imposed new tariffs of 25% on trucks and 10% on buses made in Mexico.

According to Brenda Estefan, professor of geopolitics at Mexico’s IPADE Business School, the Mexican authorities urgently need to find new trading partners.

“Mexico cannot afford to be left alone in a dark room with Trump,” she said.

Turning to Europe

Trade in goods between the European Union and Mexico reached €82 billion in 2024 – a fraction of the €662 billion exchanged with the United States. Yet the potential for growth is real. Brussels is expected to ratify a modernised EU-Mexico trade agreement soon, finalised earlier this year.

The updated deal will eliminate many tariffs on EU food and agricultural exports and add a chapter on sustainable trade, introducing binding provisions on labour rights, environmental protection, climate action and responsible business practices.

According to international trade consultant Jorge Molina, the revised deal is “far better” than the original agreement, which has been in force since 2000. https://www.euractiv.com/news/a-door-to-europe-mexicos-search-for-a-way-out-of-trumps-trade-war/

As far as Mexico goes, notice some items in my fee eBook Unintended Consequences and Donald Trump’s Presidency: Is Donald Trump Fulfilling Biblical, Islamic, Greco-Roman Catholic, Buddhist, and other America-Related Prophecies? :

 

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

The “he” is the King of the North. … The strongest fortresses belong to the United States, and to a much lesser degree, its English-speaking allies. …

As far as lands being divided by this leader goes, it is likely that Mexico will regain at least some of the lands it had ceded to the USA. It would seem like Russia would end up with at least part of Alaska and perhaps part of Canada. The Irish would be expected to control Northern Ireland (and perhaps other lands controlled by the United Kingdom). Some Mexicans, Russians, and Irish have called for this.

Because of USA debts, a Russian professor named Igor Panarin predicted that the Europeans, Russians, Mexicans, Japanese, and Chinese may end up dividing the land of the USA in the 21^st century.[i] And a Roman Catholic prophecy (previously cited[ii]) shows that the UK will be divided.  

Furthermore, back in WWI days, understand that Germany promised Mexico it would give it the lands ceded to the USA if it helped Germany win.[iv] The Germanic European Beast power would be expected to do likewise again.

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] Osborn A. As if Things Weren’t Bad Enough, Russian Professor Predicts End of U.S.  Wall Street Journal, Dec 29, 2008

[ii] Culleton, The Reign of Antichrist, p. 163

[iii] ^{Silsco A. ‘Alaska Is Ours!’ Billboards Appear in Russia After Threat to Reclaim State. Newsweek, July 7, 2022}

[iv] ^{Davidson JD. How America’s Reasons For Entering World War I Resonate Today. The Federalist, April 6, 2017} 

Since the above was published, more countries are looking seriously about bypassing the US dollar because of tariffs, sanctions, and other economic issues.

Notice the following from my article 25 items to prophetically watch in 2025:

8. Trade

Not all warfare is militaristic. There is also economic warfare.

This often involves trade.

The major use of sanctions, mainly pushed by the USA, has been continuing.

This is affecting trade and pushing trade away from the USA. But also encouraging the Anglo-nations to try to increase trade with each other.

Back in 2008, I posted the following:

In the spirit of accommodation and personal interest, many of the “standards” of the European Union will be adopted by the USA, Canada and Mexico, as well as by nearly all of the countries of the world. The Arab nations will most likely agree with many of the standards as they seem to be destined to form a brief end-time alliance with the Europeans (The Arab World In the Bible, History, and Prophecy).

However, over time, it will become increasingly clear that the British will be in more agreement with the Canadians and Americans and that the European Union in more agreement with the Mexicans than the EU will have with the English-speaking nations.

Trade wars and/or serious trade disputes will most likely arise.

The Brits will ultimately decide that they are more supportive of the Americans and Canadians. They will be so much more supportive that they will end up in a trading agreement with them (with the Australians and New Zealanders probably also becoming part of that agreement).

The EU will decide that Mexico and the rest of Latin America are in more agreement with it and thus make some type of serious trading agreement with most (or all) of Latin America. The Vatican will also have influence here as Latin America is highly Roman Catholic.

The Europeans and Americans, however, will continue to have military agreements, though many will be tense about them. (Thiel B. A Combined EU & North American Trade Block Coming? COGwriter.com, March 3, 2008) …

The reelection of Donald Trump will motivate many to trade with each other because of his threats of tariffs, etc. …

The final time of the Gentiles is approaching. We are seeing BRICS, the Global South, the EU, and others working on ways to trade and not have to deal with the descendants of Ephraim (UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand) and Manasseh (the USA).

The Europeans will work with many nations to secure stronger trade agreements.

As far as Europe, Mexico, and South America go, we put out the following sermon:

1:11:42

Latin America in Prophecy

Which biblical figures did the Latin Americans descend from? What does the Bible teach will happen to their descendants in the future? What will happen to the non-Latin peoples in Central America, South America, and the Caribbean? Is Europe in the process of making major trade deals with Latin America? What kind of religious, legal, and cultural ties are there between Europe and Latin America? What about Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Columbia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela in prophecy? What about Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama? What about islands like Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Dominican Republic? How about the non-Latin lands like Belize, Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana? Plus, the non-Latin island nations like Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Martinique, etc.? Does the Bible tell of specific items of trade between Europe and Latin America in Ezekiel 27 and Revelation 18? What about the impact of US President Donald Trump? Is it possible that Mexico or others in Latin America could work militarily with the coming European Beast power to attack the USA? Will the nations of Mexico, South America, Central America, and the Caribbean prosper during the time of the Great Tribulation and Mystery Babylon the Great? What happens during the Day of the Lord? Will people in Latin America respond to God’s calling before Jesus returns? What happens after Mystery Babylon falls? Does God have any plans to offer salvation to Latin Americans who never had an opportunity? What is available at www.cdlidd.es and www.ccog.org? What are some of the near-term and longer term prophecies that will affect Latin America? Dr. Thiel addresses these issues and more.

Here is a link to the sermon: Latin America in Prophecy.

Yes, for a time, Mexico will move closer to Europe.

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.
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.
Donald Trump in Prophecy Prophecy, Donald Trump? Are there prophecies that Donald Trump may fulfill?  Are there any prophecies that he has already helped fulfill?  Is a Donald Trump presidency proving to be apocalyptic?  Three related videos are available: Donald: ‘Trump of God’ or Apocalyptic? and Donald Trump’s Prophetic Presidency and  Donald Trump and Unintended Consequences.
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? This is a free eBook.
25 items to prophetically watch in 2025 Much is happening. Dr. Thiel points to 25 items to watch (cf. Mark 13:37) in this article. Here is a link to a related sermon video: 25 Items to Watch in 2025.
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