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Ancient text of the Book of Amos

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Major internet players have agreed to more censorship:

This Is the Purge We All Knew Was Coming: “Shutting Down Extremist Content”

December 7, 2016

 The potential to reach a global audience with important information, and the idea that it could be in the hands of anyone is just too big.So it is no surprise that many corporate giants from Silicon Valley are now putting forward a unified front to silence free speech on social media.

Hashtags, keywords and flagged accounts, logged in various databases, will be shared and enforced across the web. Shutting down content identified as unacceptable will now be streamlined, and leave unpopular posters with fewer places to peddle their extremist, outside views.

According to Yahoo! News:

Web giants YouTube , Facebook , Twitter and Microsoft will step up efforts to remove extremist content from their websites by creating a common database.

The companies will share ‘hashes’ – unique digital fingerprints they automatically assign to videos or photos – of extremist content they have removed from their websites to enable their peers to identify the same content on their platforms.

“We hope this collaboration will lead to greater efficiency as we continue to enforce our policies to help curb the pressing global issue of terrorist content online,” the companies said in a statement on Tuesday.

[…]

The European Union set up an EU Internet Forum last year bringing together the internet companies, interior ministers and the EU Counter-Terrorism Coordinator to find ways of removing extremist content.

Many current incidents are being used to push the idea that a new online policing – and a pulling of the weeds – is now necessary.

The “fake news” purging campaign has reached across the blogosphere and alternative media and punished websites that have dared to report on such taboo topics as Pizzagate, Wikileaks email dumps, any controversial aspects of the Syrian war and many other serious topics which these agenda-driven companies have opted to suppress.

While these platforms offer the opportunity to reach a wide audience, the centrality of ubiquitous platforms like Facebook, Google and Twitter is, obviously, that they have the power to delete accounts and drive down audience response by tweaking the algorithm.

They can make you invisible.

That is the state of free speech in 2016. It can be eradicated at a moment’s notice, and perhaps for reasons you aren’t even aware of. http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-12-07/purge-we-all-knew-was-coming-shutting-down-extremist-content

The European Commission urged the biggest U.S. technology companies — like Facebook, Twitter, Microsoft, YouTube and Google — to crack down on online hate speech themselves Sunday, or it will enact legislation forcing them to do so.

Several corporations in the tech industry agreed to remove content that incites hatred or is terrorist-related, after voluntarily signing a code of conduct earlier this year, according to Reuters.

The European Commission (much like the U.S. government, including President Barack Obama) are constantly worried that vitriolic posts on the internet helps terrorists’ recruitment efforts.

Many of the tech companies already have protocol for ridding of certain posts it deems dangerous. …

Famous actor James Woods decided to boycott Twitter in November due to this new pattern of censorship.

Twitter, like other tech companies, are hard-pressed to balance out the wishes of users who want to exercise their free speech rights, with governments and organizations that want certain language and content to be silenced due to its potential to stir hate. http://dailycaller.com/2016/12/05/eu-threatens-massive-internet-censorship-if-big-tech-wont-come-to-heel/#ixzz4SAEPdnWu

Last December Facebook censored radio talk show host Michael Savage for posting photos that had been in the news a couple of years earlier (see Facebook censors Michael Savage for showing photos of Islamic demonstrators).

How does it try to justify it?

By pointing to its ‘Community Standards’ guidelines.

Here are some of Facebook’s policies from its Community Standard’s pages:

We remove content, disable accounts, and work with law enforcement when we believe there is a genuine risk of physical harm or direct threats to public safety. …

People use Facebook to share their experiences and to raise awareness about issues that are important to them. This means that you may encounter opinions that are different from yours, which we believe can lead to important conversations about difficult topics. To help balance the needs, safety, and interests of a diverse community, however, we may remove certain kinds of sensitive content or limit the audience that sees it.

While the above may seem reasonable to many, the reality is that internet censorship is a real threat as how the above is interpreted can lead to inappropriate censorship. Facebook used to allow COGwriter Church of God News page items to directly go to my page as part of an RSS feed, but stopped that a few years ago.

Twitter still carries the headlines of the posts from the page, but one day it may declare that this is either “alt-right” or “religious extremism” or whatever else it may chose to use as ‘justification’ to stop it.

This censorship issue on social media is so serious that we in the Continuing Church of God decided, because of an incident with YouTube, to come up with an alternative to YouTube if we were seriously faced with its censorship again (a sermon by Steve Dupuie allegedly violated ‘community standards’ essentially because he said that Christians needed to obey God’s written word–I filed and appeal to YouTube and they decided they should not have censored that sermon).

The USA no longer has the type of ‘freedom of religion’ or ‘freedom of speech’ its founders envisioned. And while neither Facebook, Twitter, or YouTube are part of the government of the USA, they do not support the agenda or the morality of the Bible.

The time will come when the USA, and likely some private companies, will apparently stop the efforts of websites like this one. As well as our numerous video channels on the internet.

The world is getting less tolerant of speech that does not conform to what governments find ‘acceptable.’

Consider the following prophecy:

13 Therefore the prudent keep silent at that time, For it is an evil time. (Amos 5:13)

The above indicates that even those that are doing nothing wrong will need to be silent at the coming evil time.

Yet, currently, it is still time to:

1 Cry aloud, spare not;
Lift up your voice like a trumpet;
Tell My people their transgression,
And the house of Jacob their sins. (Isaiah 58:1)

Which is what we in the Continuing Church of God are doing. We have denounced, not only sins that the world sometimes seems to consider politically correct, but also sins that many claimed COGs will not do, because of their own concerns about their political fates (watch CCOG, a corporation sole, not a 501(c)(3)) and/or fates that could happen if they offended their financial supporters if they told the truth to truly fulfill Isaiah 58:1 (e.g. Are Violent Sports Evil?).

Many in and out of the government have plans and are watching the internet with plans to deal with materials that they some day hope to silence.

Notice the following from the Bible:

1 Hear my voice, O God, in my meditation;
Preserve my life from fear of the enemy.
2 Hide me from the secret plots of the wicked,
From the rebellion of the workers of iniquity,
3 Who sharpen their tongue like a sword,
And bend their bows to shoot their arrows — bitter words,
4 That they may shoot in secret at the blameless;
Suddenly they shoot at him and do not fear.

5 They encourage themselves in an evil matter;
They talk of laying snares secretly;
They say, “Who will see them?”
6 They devise iniquities:
“We have perfected a shrewd scheme.”
Both the inward thought and the heart of man are deep. (Psalms 64:1-6)

And while you might think that if you have done nothing wrong, you have nothing to fear from surveillance, consider that many in the government of the USA consider that not supporting homosexual marriages, etc. are extremist. I also saw someone once on a documentary that stated that people who believed in the millennium could not be trusted and should be considered as potential terrorists. The fact that we in the Continuing Church of God would be considered pacifists, does not change the fact that since we hold to millennial and other biblical views that we will not be improperly classified by government employees with various agendas.

The Prophet Amos was inspired to record the following:

11 “Behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord God,
“That I will send a famine on the land,
Not a famine of bread,
Nor a thirst for water,
But of hearing the words of the Lord.
12 They shall wander from sea to sea,
And from north to east;
They shall run to and fro, seeking the word of the Lord,
But shall not find it. (Amos 8:11-12)

Notice that the Bible tells of a time that will come when the word of God will not be found. And that would seem to be because truth from it will be taken off the internet. In the 21st century, the internet is accessed by people in every country, and thus some type of internet restriction/suspension/site removal is coming.

We are getting closer to this time. More and more are starting to see that their are plans to censor speech from the internet.

That is part of why we in the Continuing Church of God are preparing for the ‘short work’ (Romans 9:28) and the coming ‘famine of the word.’

One of the ways we are preparing for the ‘short work’ (Romans 9:28) is by working behind the scenes to have materials available in over 100 languages so that the ‘short work,’ which will fulfill Matthew 24:14 will happen.

Here are some words from Jesus that all should take note of regarding the time period of the end:

14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached to all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then the end shall come. 15 “Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place” (whoever reads, let him understand), 16 “then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17 Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house. (Matthew 24:14-16).

The end has not yet come (Matthew 24:6)–the final phase of the work is not over. People have not needed to flee related to this. Materials need to be available to more people and in more languages.

It is my belief that after the peace deal in Daniel 9:27/11:23 has been made and/or confirmed by “the prince to come,” that the group that best represents the “sect of the Nazarenes” (the remnant of the Philadelphia era of the church per Revelation 3:7–11, as led by the Continuing Church of God) in the 21st century will begin to publicly identify the person who confirmed the deal (“the prince”) as the one who fulfilled Daniel 9:27/11:23-24.

This apparently enrages the King of the North so much that he initially tries to eliminate these people through political pressure and selected persecution.  Internet censorship, at least in Europe, will likely be occurring related to this.

When the more faithful in the COG (which will, as it now looks, be the Continuing Church of God, and others who may somewhat follow that lead) publicly identifies the King of the North as well as keeps reporting about the final Pope/Antichrist  this would be expected to result in massive media coverage. This magnification of the true Church will help fulfill Matthew 24:14 as the media and others will pour through CCOG literature. Catholic scholars (probably getting some direction from the last pope) and others will tear through COG literature and attempt to challenge the credibility and the integrity of the COG message–this will initially cause “vigilante-type” persecution, but will also be followed by more institutionalized persecution (Matthew 24:-10; Daniel 11:28-35; 7:25)–as well as internet censorship. Notice that Matthew 24:14 shows that the “end shall come” after the gospel of the kingdom has been proclaimed to the world as a witness. Media spotlighting of what we the Continuing Church of God will thus get a witness into many lands that otherwise may not have realized much or anything about the gospel of the kingdom. But YouTube could start by removing ‘extremist’ sermons, etc.

It may be that prior to going to a place of protection (please see There is a Place of Safety for the Philadelphians. Why it May Be Petra), some Christians will flee out of the European (and certain other) lands dominated by the rising King of the North (and/or his sympathizers) prior to him moving into Jerusalem. This probably will be during verses 28-30 of Daniel 11 as this is when the King of the North begins his anger against God’s most faithful (and I believe that since God’s faithful will understand these passages in Daniel 11 by then, some will not wait until verses 30 or 31 to flee from the north–and will most likely go to Judea).

Now at “the appointed time” (again PRIOR to going to the place of protection) something will trigger the King of the North going towards the south:

29 At the appointed time he shall return and go toward the south; but it shall not be like the former or the latter. 30 For ships from Cyprus shall come against him; therefore he shall be grieved, and return in rage against the holy covenant, and do damage. So he shall return and show regard for those who forsake the holy covenant (Daniel 11:29-30).

Note: the Hebrew term translated as “Cyprus” in the NKJV is a mistranslation. The KJV uses the term Chittim which can mean “Western lands.” Hence the King of the North will apparently be temporarily stopped by a Western naval power (this also parallels Numbers 24:24 which also uses the term Chittim and is talking about an Assyrian/European power being troubled by a naval power).

Notice that the King of the North will be even further enraged by the people of the “holy covenant” and most likely try to stop the supporters of it from proclaiming the truth about his intentions and the gospel of the kingdom (c.f. Matthew 24:14).  This would seem to result in internet censorship in Europe and pressure on the USA for it to push for internet censorship as well.

The King of the North will probably attempt to learn more about how to eliminate the Philadelphian faithful by being nice to apostate members (those who “forsake the holy covenant”)–apparently he attempts to get them to betray true Christians (Matthew 24:10). It strikes me as important that although a naval power stops the King of the North momentarily, the King of the North becomes apparently more enraged with the people of the holy covenant than the naval power.

Why would this be?

Most likely this occurs because the people of the holy covenant are proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom (Matthew 24:14, as that immediately precedes “the end”) and teaching that the King of the North is fulfilling prophecies in Daniel 11. This will likely be considered as ‘extremist content’ and/or ‘hate speech.’  In the USA, proclaiming that an ally with some type of alliance connection (like perhaps NATO) may be considered to be ‘treasonous’ or somehow in violation of the so-called ‘Patriot Act.’ The USA will apparently support censorship then or shortly thereafter.

Notice that after the King of the North returns home, he decides to come back to the Jerusalem area, but this time with a much more determined military presence:

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 above event, which apparently will involve the King of the North sending in forces into Jerusalem, was spoken of by Jesus (Matthew 24:15) as a warning of the final end time. So after the gospel has been preached enough to the world as a witness (Matthew 24:14), Jewish sacrifices are stopped (Daniel 9:27), the abomination is set up (Daniel 9:27; 11:31), and a decree is issued (Zephaniah 2:1), the most faithful Philadelphians will flee per Jesus’ statements in Matthew 24:15-16.

And during this time, the northern King will apparently corrupt the corruptible and continue to be responsible for persecuting the people of God:

32 Those who do wickedly against the covenant he shall corrupt with flattery; but the people who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits. 33 And those of the people who understand shall instruct many; yet for many days they shall fall by sword and flame, by captivity and plundering. 34 Now when they fall, they shall be aided with a little help; but many shall join with them by intrigue. 35 And some of those of understanding shall fall, to refine them, purify them, and make them white, until the time of the end; because it is still for the appointed time (Daniel 11:32-35).

It is likely that it is the remnant of the Philadelphians are the ones who are strong, they will instruct many, and will carry out something important–and that will be part of the final phase of the work. This could also include members doing miracles (Acts 2:17-21). And this seems to have to be led by the Continuing Church of God as we are the ones who are willing to be properly bold, while also actually reaching millions. It should be noted that the words great exploits  in the NKJV (Daniel 11:32) do not literally appear in the Hebrew text; but perhaps these faithful Christians have the types of signs that Jesus mentioned in Mark 16:15–18, in addition to the fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23), as well as the prophesied work of martyrdom (cf. Revelation 6:11). Fruits, in terms of numbers of believers, will also apparently become more evident (cf. John 15:5-17).

This gospel proclamation success, combined with the martyrdom associated with it, will result in the opening of the fifth seal of Revelation, the start of the Great Tribulation, and the King of the North (the “he” in Daniel 11:39) invading the those with the strongest fortresses (which in the 21st century is the USA and its Anglo-Saxon descended allies):

9 When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held. 10 And they cried with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” 11 Then a white robe was given to each of them; and it was said to them that they should rest a little while longer, until both the number of their fellow servants and their brethren, who would be killed as they were, was completed. (Revelation 6:9-11)

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

The end of the USA is coming (see USA in Prophecy: The Strongest Fortresses) and some will one day consider that to be ‘extremist speech’ or a ‘conspiracy theory’ that must be censored. But the message will go forth by the end time Philadelphian Christians.

The Philadelphians are the only ones that Jesus promises protection from this coming hour of trial:

7 “And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write,

‘These things says He who is holy, He who is true, “He who has the key of David, He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens”: 8 “I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it; for you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name. 9 Indeed I will make those of the synagogue of Satan, who say they are Jews and are not, but lie — indeed I will make them come and worship before your feet, and to know that I have loved you. 10 Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth. 11 Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown. 12 He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more. I will write on him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God. And I will write on him My new name.

13 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”‘ (Revelation 3:7-13)

Jesus praised the Philadelphians for doing the work and warned them not to let any man take their crown. Because of actions of men such as Joseph Tkach, Gerald Flurry, David Pack, and/or other apostates, many are letting a man take away their crown as many will no longer support the work, and deceive themselves that it is through and that they do not need to do anything but take care of their lives spiritually–that is scripturally in error. Not producing because of overbearing men is NOT a valid excuse per Jesus:

20 “Then another came, saying, ‘Master, here is your mina, which I have kept put away in a handkerchief. 21 For I feared you, because you are an austere man. You collect what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow.’ 22 And he said to him, ‘Out of your own mouth I will judge you, you wicked servant. You knew that I was an austere man, collecting what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow. 23 Why then did you not put my money in the bank, that at my coming I might have collected it with interest?’

24 “And he said to those who stood by, ‘Take the mina from him, and give it to him who has ten minas.’ 25 (But they said to him, ‘Master, he has ten minas.’) 26 ‘For I say to you, that to everyone who has will be given; and from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. (Luke 19:20-26)

Jesus condemned the one who felt it was safer NOT to support the work that was to be done.

7 “And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write, ‘These things says He who is holy, He who is true, “He who has the key of David, He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens”: 8 “I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it; for you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name. 9 Indeed I will make those of the synagogue of Satan, who say they are Jews and are not, but lie — indeed I will make them come and worship before your feet, and to know that I have loved you. 10 Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth. (Revelation 3:7-10)

Philadelphian Christians want to respond to the doors that Christ opens to proclaim the gospel (2 Corinthians 2:12; 1 Corinthians 16:8-9; Colossians 4:2-4). We will stand up for the truth, despite realizing that the ‘famine of the word’ that the prophet Amos referred to is coming. We must do the work and persevere to the end.

The world is changing. Internet censorship is becoming more normal. Things are NOT going as they have been. Do not deceive yourself.

In time, the ‘famine of word’ will hit. But Jesus’ message of the Gospel of the Kingdom of God will reach the world as a witness.

Some items of possibly related interest may include:

Preparing for the ‘Short Work’ and The Famine of the Word What is the ‘short work’ of Romans 9:28? Who is preparing for it? Here is a link to a related video sermon titled: The Short Work.
The 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.
The Gospel of the Kingdom of God was the Emphasis of Jesus and the Early Church Did you know that? Do you even know what the gospel of the kingdom is all about? You can also see a YouTube video sermons Why Teach the Kingdom of God? and The Gospel of the Kingdom.
The Final Phase of the Work What is the final phase of the work? Who will lead it? Do you have the courage to support it? Here is a related YouTube video titled The Final Phase of the Work. The written article has been translated into Spanish La Fase Final de la Obra.
When Will the Great Tribulation Begin? 2017, 2018, or 2019? Can the Great Tribulation begin today? What happens before the Great Tribulation in the “beginning of sorrows”? What happens in the Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord? Is this the time of the Gentiles? When is the earliest that the Great Tribulation can begin? What is the Day of the Lord? Who are the 144,000? Here is a version of the article in the Spanish language: ¿Puede comenzar la Gran Tribulación en 2016 o 2017? ¿Es el Tiempo de los Gentiles? You can also see the English language sermon videos: The Great Tribulation from the Mount of Olives and Can the Great Tribulation begin before 2020? A shorter video is: Will the Great Tribulation Start in 2017?
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.
Anglo – America in Prophecy & the Lost Tribes of Israel Are the Americans, Canadians, English, Scottish, Welsh, Australians, Anglo-Saxon (non-Dutch) Southern Africans, and New Zealanders descendants of Joseph? Where are the lost ten-tribes of Israel? Who are the lost tribes of Israel? What will happen to Jerusalem and the Jews in Israel? Will God punish the U.S.A., Canada, United Kingdom, and other Anglo-Saxon nations? Why might God allow them to be punished first? Here is a link to the Spanish version of this article: Anglo-América & las Tribus Perdidas de Israel. A video of possible interest may be Will Will USA Spying Help the Beast Power?
Leading the Final Phase of the Work Matthew 24:14 teaches “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come ” will be fulfilled and RCG is not the group doing this. Who is leading the final phase of the work? What did Herbert Armstrong and the old WCG teach about that and about prophets? Does Bob Thiel meet the criteria that the Bible and the old WCG set? What is the proof? What has the Continuing Church of God been doing? This is a sermonette length video.
Hope of Salvation: How the Continuing Church of God differ from most Protestants How the real Church of God differs from mainstream/traditional Protestants, is perhaps the question I am asked most by those without a Church of God background. As far as some changes affecting Protestantism, watch the video Charismatic Kenneth Copeland and Anglican Tony Palmer: Protestants Beware! [Português: Esperança do salvação: Como a igreja do deus difere da maioria de protestantes]
Internet Control, Famine of the Word, and 666 On October 1, 2016, the USA officially relinquished control over the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), despite objections from certain political leaders and former military officials. Might this lead to more censorship, imposition on non-biblical ‘community standards,’ and loss of first amendment rights? Could this transfer of control have any prophetic ramifications? Will the internet be a factor in the ‘short work’ of Romans 9:28 and the coming ‘famine of the word’ that the Prophet Amos warned about? Will internet control be something that the 666 power will have? Dr. Thiel addresses these matters and more in this video.
USA in Prophecy: The Strongest Fortresses Can you point to scriptures, like Daniel 11:39, that point to the USA in the 21st century? This article does. A related sermon is titled: Do these 7 prophesies point to the end of the USA?
Who is the King of the West? Why is there no Final End-Time King of the West in Bible Prophecy? 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?

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 7th, 2016 at 7:30 am and is filed under Prophecy.

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