Letter to the Brethren: July 16, 2015

World News Items

The USA helped broker a deal with Iran that has left critics in the USA, Israel, and Saudi Arabia concerned (see Barack Obama praises Iran deal, Saudis want to take action, and Israel condemns the deal with Iran).  It is likely that Iran will somehow violate the deal.  If the violation is severe enough, we may well see that Israel and/or the USA will take steps to ‘neutralize’ Iran.  Iran may well damage Israel (Isaiah 22:1-14) and even the USA. But that will not end well for Iran (cf. Jeremiah 49:34-38).

Many who claim to believe the Bible in the USA are getting concerned about its government’s views on morality.  So much so, some claim a ‘state religion’ is emerging that many do not like (see Has the USA established a state religion?).  The USA has taken steps that negatively affect freedom of speech and freedom of religion the past couple of years, and its recent Supreme Court decision on homosexuality (see US Supreme Court declares in favor of homosexual marriage, in spite of the Constitution) is correctly seen as proof of some that the USA has changed for the worse (see also Cal Thomas, Evangelicals, core beliefs, and ‘culture wars’).

General Joseph F. Dunford, the nominee to serve as the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the Senate Armed Services Committee that Russia was the biggest existential threat to the USA (see General: Russia is the biggest existential threat to the USA). While some may think so from a carnal perspective, the biggest threats the USA actually faces is its growing acceptance of immorality and debt (Habakkuk 2:6-8), plus its misunderstanding what will happen to it from Europe (cf. Daniel 11:39).

Some in Texas and elsewhere have considered that planned US government actions pose one of the biggest threats.  A military exercise called Jade Helm 15 began yesterday that some have been concerned about (see Jade Helm starts today: A captivity is coming. Time to flee July 27, 2015?).  The Bible says, “”Do not say, ‘A conspiracy,’ Concerning all that this people call a conspiracy, Nor be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled” (Isaiah 8:12).  This is not to say that there are not government ‘conspiracies’ against citizens, only that we do not have to be overly concerned about them like many in the world become.

The European Large Hadron Collider may have discover a particle called a pentaquark (see Large Hadron Colliders claimed to have discovered pentaquarks).  A pentaquark is a subatomic particle consisting of four quarks and one antiquark bound together.  A quark  is an elementary particle and a fundamental constituent of matter.  I have long believed that technology will be the key to a defeat of the USA by the Europeans (see European Technology and the Beast of Revelation), and technologies related to the Large Hadron Collider may well play a role.

There are concerns in Greece and elsewhere that Germany is getting much more influence in international matters (see Greece, Azerbaijan, and others concerned about the rise of German influence).  Of course, based upon biblical prophecy, we in the Continuing Church of God have expected to see a rise in German influence (see also Germany in Biblical and Catholic Prophecy)–and that rise is not over.

In Greece, although its top leaders made an agreement with the Europeans/Germans (see First step of an agreement with Greece reached, but . . .), many people there are not happy with us.  There have been protests and rioting as we expected (see As predicted, Greeks riot).  Expect to see more unrest and rioting in Europe in the future, including  parts of Europe that rarely have such civil issues.

There is still fighting in Ukraine between the Kiev government of the west and the separatists of the east.  Today, the parliament in Kiev approved a draft proposal to grant the Donetsk and Luhansk regions more autonomy (see Ukraine votes to give more autonomy to eastern Ukraine; a separation of the Medes?).  The Bible tells of a time when the ‘kings of the Medes’ will help crush the end time daughter of Babylon (Jeremiah 51:11-33).  In Ukraine, we may be seeing a separation between those whose ancestry is more from the Medes and those that are less so.  Those in the east are more supportive of Russia, whereas those in the west are more supportive of the European Union.

Pope Francis was in Latin America promoting his views of religion and economic policy (see Pope Francis condemns corruption, ‘unbridled’ capitalism, and poverty–will he practice what he preaches?).  The Bible shows that a controlled economic system will be implemented (Revelation 13:16-18) and Pope Francis continues to take steps that are helping to set the stage for that.

The Russians, Chinese, Indians, Brazilians and others wrapped up some meetings in Ufa, Russia.  The Indians joined the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation last Friday.  Some believe that the Eurasians and other Gentiles are working on a new world order (see SCO, EAEU, and BRICS defining a ‘new world order’?).  The time will come when the USA/Anglo-Saxon order that the world has had for the past couple of centuries will be replaced by a time of Gentile dominance (Luke 1:24; Ezekiel 30:3).  And the time will come when the Eusasians will become part of a military confederation (Revelation 16:12-16; Jeremiah 50:41-43).  But biblically, it is the ‘Babylonian’ power in Europe (cf. Revelation 17-18) that will dominate a ‘new world order’ for a time–but this will also help with the prosperity of the Eurasians.

Suggested Sabbath Service

Here is our suggested format for Sabbath services this week:

• 2-3 hymns (our songbook, The Bible Hymnal, contains the materials from the 1974 Bible Hymnal from the old WCG with new covers, plus ten additional hymns; there is also some Choral Accompaniment online).
• Opening prayer.
• Sermonette, which for most who receive this letter via email will be a recorded one by Jay Chang titled: China: Present and Future. A written article of slightly related interest is titled: China and Asia in Prophecy. Other sermonettes are available at the Bible News Prophecy channel.
• Announcements (if any; though for many it will be this letter) and one hymn.
• Sermon, which for most who receive this letter via email will be a recorded one. The one suggested for this week is: John 4-6: Jesus and the Samaritan Woman, Miracles and the Bread of Life. There is no directly related written article, but some may find the articles Jesus: The Son of God and Saviour and The Apostle John of related assistance.  Other sermons are also available at the ContinuingCOG channel.
• Final hymn.
• Closing prayer.

Note: If you have a slow internet connection, you can watch these by starting the video, then below it (and towards the right) look for an outline of a gear–if you click on that, it will allow the YouTube video to be played with lower video quality, but at least it will not stop often–you can select a quality as low as 144p.

If your internet connection is still too slow (as my home one is) and/or you prefer audio messages to audio-visuals ones, go to the YouTube link for the message, click on SHOW MORE related to the description. You will then see something that says, “Download MP3.” Below that is a link to an MP3 file. Most computers (and even some cellular telephones) will allow MP3 files to be downloaded and played. This is an option we have made available (but we are also looking into ways to improve that as well)–and, of course, we have written article options that we list each week.

Some people have found that if their internet connections are not fast enough, that they can simply listen to the messages that are found at the new Bible News Prophecy online radio channel.

IN CASE YOU DO NOT RECEIVE A ‘LETTER TO THE BRETHREN‘ FOR ANY WEEK, REMEMBER THAT THERE ARE MANY SERMON MESSAGES ON THE ContinuingCOG channel AND MANY SERMONETTE MESSAGES ON THE Bible News Prophecy channel.

Concluding Comments

The Bible states:

1 O Lord my God, in You I put my trust;
Save me from all those who persecute me;
And deliver me,
2 Lest they tear me like a lion,
Rending me in pieces, while there is none to deliver.

3 O Lord my God, if I have done this:
If there is iniquity in my hands,
4 If I have repaid evil to him who was at peace with me,
Or have plundered my enemy without cause,
5 Let the enemy pursue me and overtake me;
Yes, let him trample my life to the earth,
And lay my honor in the dust. (Psalms 7:1-5)

Brethren, we need to trust God, despite persecutions and those who do not love the truth.  But we also need to live according to God’s ways and avoid participating in or encouraging iniquity ourselves.

Sincerely,

Bob Thiel
Pastor and Overseer
Continuing Church of God