#Pope Francis might be the False Prophet

[biblenewsprophecy]

The End of European Babylon

The end of 'Babylon' is prophesied in the Bible, yet some Greco-Roman Catholic writers look forward to it. Where did Babylon come from? Any connection to Nimrod or the Tower of Babel? How have Sardis and Philadelphian remnants of the Church of God identified Babylon? Any connection to the Church of Rome and seven hills? Do scriptures support the final Antichrist being an antipope/anti-pope? Is that person expected to do prodigies/miracles, signs, and lying wonders? Will Europe enforce the "mark of the beast" and 666 controls? What about the EU, WEF, UN, WCC, and the Vatican? Will a coming European Beast power be in charge of the end time "daughter of Babylon'? What events are related to the three angels' messages? Which areas may supply the kings of the Medes? Will a Russian-led force destroy much of Europe? Will Christians be on "the sea of glass" when the seven last plagues are poured forth? Will most people repent then? Will Europeans and others have an opportunity for salvation? What about Armageddon? Will the armies of this world fight against the returning Jesus? Will Jesus win and implement the millennial kingdom of God? Dr. Thiel addresses these and other matters in this third part of a three-part sermon series on Europe.

A free online book of related interest may be 'Lost Tribes and Prophecies: What will happen to Australia, the British Isles, Canada, Europe, New Zealand and the United States of America?'

Free audio book: Lost Tribes and Prophecies — Bible News Prophecy Radio

Sermon Youtube video link: The End of European Babylon

Related Items:

Part 1: European history and the Bible

Part 2: Europe in Prophecy

Part 3: The End of European Babylon

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 and Can You Prove that the Beast to Come is European?

The Great Monarch: Biblical and Catholic Prophecies Is the ‘Great Monarch’ of Catholic prophecies endorsed or condemned by the Bible? Two sermons of related interest are also available: Great Monarch: Messiah or False Christ? and Great Monarch in 50+ Beast Prophecies.

European Technology and the Beast of Revelation Will the coming European Beast power would use and develop technology that will result in the taking over of the USA and its Anglo-Saxon allies? Is this possible? What does the Bible teach? Here is a related YouTube video: Military Technology and the Beast of Revelation.

Must the Ten Kings of Revelation 17:12 Rule over Ten Currently Existing Nations? Some claim that these passages refer to a gathering of 10 currently existing nations together, while one group teaches that this is referring to 11 nations getting together. Is that what Revelation 17:12-13 refers to? The ramifications of misunderstanding this are enormous. A related sermon is titled Ten Kings of Revelation and the Great Tribulation.

Do You Know That Babylon is Forming? How is the final Babylon forming? Are Protestants such as Joel Osteen and Kenneth Copeland are endorsing something dangerous? Could Pope Francis be the ‘False Prophet’ that the Bible warns against? Is an antipope expected to endorse a one-world religion? Here is a link to a related written article In Vatican City: New Babylon more openly forming!

United Nations: Humankind’s Last Hope or New World Order? Is the UN the last hope for humanity? Or might its goals end up with sinister results? A related video would be United Nations and Vatican Are Planning the New World Order.

Germany’s Assyrian Roots Throughout History Are the Germanic peoples descended from Asshur of the Bible? Have there been real Christians in Germanic history? What about the “Holy Roman Empire”? There is also a You-Tube video sermon on this titled Germany’s Biblical Origins.

Germany in Biblical and Catholic Prophecy Does Assyria in the Bible equate to an end time power inhabiting the area of the old Roman Empire? What does prophecy say Germany will do and what does it say will happen to most of the German people? Here is a link to a video Is the USA Pushing Germany to Start WWIII?

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 two related videos: The King of the North is Alive: What to Look Out For and The Future King of the North.

Lost Tribes and Prophecies: What will happen to Australia, the British Isles, Canada, Europe, New Zealand and the United States of America? Where did those people come from? Can you totally rely on DNA? Do you really know what will happen to Europe and the English-speaking peoples? What about the peoples of Africa, Asia, South America, and the islands? This free online book provides scriptural, scientific, historical references, and commentary to address those matters. Here are links to related sermons: Lost tribes, the Bible, and DNA; Lost tribes, prophecies, and identifications; 11 Tribes, 144,000, and Multitudes; Israel, Jeremiah, Tea Tephi, and British Royalty; Gentile European Beast; Royal Succession, Samaria, and Prophecies; Asia, Islands, Latin America, Africa, and Armageddon;  When Will the End of the Age Come?;  Rise of the Prophesied King of the North; Christian Persecution from the Beast; WWIII and the Coming New World Order; and Woes, WWIV, and the Good News of the Kingdom of God.

Beliefs of the Original Catholic Church: Could a remnant group have continuing apostolic succession? Did the original “catholic church” have doctrines held by the Continuing Church of God? Did Church of God leaders uses the term “catholic church” to ever describe the church they were part of? Here are links to related sermons: Original Catholic Church of God?, Original Catholic Doctrine: Creed, Liturgy, Baptism, Passover, What Type of Catholic was Polycarp of Smyrna?, Tradition, Holy Days, Salvation, Dress, & Celibacy, Early Heresies and Heretics, Doctrines: 3 Days, Abortion, Ecumenism, Meats, Tithes, Crosses, Destiny, and more, Saturday or Sunday?, The Godhead, Apostolic Laying on of Hands Succession, Church in the Wilderness Apostolic Succession List, Holy Mother Church and Heresies, and Lying Wonders and Original Beliefs. Here is a link to that book in the Spanish language: Creencias de la iglesia Católica original.

Hope of Salvation: How the Continuing Church of God Differs from Protestantism The CCOG is NOT Protestant. This free online book explains how the real Church of God differs from mainstream/traditional Protestants. Several sermons related to the free book are also available: Protestant, Baptist, and CCOG History; The First Protestant, God’s Command, Grace, & Character; The New Testament, Martin Luther, and the Canon; Eucharist, Passover, and Easter; Views of Jews, Lost Tribes, Warfare, & Baptism; Scripture vs. Tradition, Sabbath vs. Sunday; Church Services, Sunday, Heaven, and God’s Plan; Seventh Day Baptists/Adventists/Messianics: Protestant or COG?; Millennial Kingdom of God and God’s Plan of Salvation; Crosses, Trees, Tithes, and Unclean Meats; The Godhead and the Trinity; Fleeing or Rapture?; and Ecumenism, Rome, and CCOG Differences.

Where is the True Christian Church Today? This free online pdf booklet answers that question and includes 18 proofs, clues, and signs to identify the true vs. false Christian church. Plus 7 proofs, clues, and signs to help identify Laodicean churches. A related sermon is also available: Where is the True Christian Church? Here is a link to the booklet in the Spanish language: ¿Dónde está la verdadera Iglesia cristiana de hoy? Here is a link in the German language: WO IST DIE WAHRE CHRISTLICHE KIRCHE HEUTE? Here is a link in the French language: Où est la vraie Église Chrétienne aujourd’hui?

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

Faith for Those God has Called and Chosen What is faith? Can faith be increased? Are you saved by faith? What about works? Do Christians need to keep the Ten Commandments? What is the ‘faith chapter’? How do the just live by faith? Is faith one of the weightier matters of the law? How does faith come? Marque aquí para ver el pdf folleto: Fe para aquellos que Dios ha llamado y escogido. In German: Glaube für die von Gott Berufenen und Auserwählten. In French: La Foi pour ceux que Dieu a Appelés et Choisis. Here is a link to a related sermon titled: Faith for the Called and Chosen.and here is a link to another sermon Faith and Courage. Here is a link to shorter version of the written article in Mandarin Chinese 一篇关于信仰的小文章. Here are links to the sermons Christian Faith and Increasing Faith.

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)?

Is God Calling You? This booklet discusses topics including calling, election, and selection. If God is calling you, how will you respond? Here is a link to a related sermon: Could God be Calling You? A short animation is also available: Is God Calling You?

Proof Jesus is the Messiah This free book has over 200 Hebrew prophecies were fulfilled by Jesus. Plus, His arrival was consistent with specific prophecies and even Jewish interpretations of prophecy. Here are links to seven related sermons: Proof Jesus is the Messiah, Prophecies of Jesus’ birth, timing, and death, Jesus’ prophesied divinity, 200+ OT prophecies Jesus filled; Plus prophecies He made, Why Don’t Jews Accept Jesus?, Daniel 9, Jews, and Jesus, and Facts and Atheists’ Delusions About Jesus

Is God’s Existence Logical? Is it really logical to believe in God? Yes! Would you like Christian answers to give atheists? This is a free online booklet that deal with improper theories and musings called science related to the origin of the origin of the universe, the origin of life, and evolution. Two animated videos of related interest are also available: Big Bang: Nothing or Creator? and A Lifegiver or Spontaneous Evolution?

The MYSTERY of GOD’s PLAN: Why Did God Create Anything? Why did God make you? This free online book helps answers some of the biggest questions that human have, including the biblical meaning of life. Here is a link to three related sermons: Mysteries of God’s Plan, Mysteries of Truth, Sin, Rest, Suffering, and God’s Plan, and The Mystery of YOU.

Universal OFFER of Salvation, Apokatastasis: Can God save the lost in an age to come? Hundreds of scriptures reveal God’s plan of salvation Will all get a fair chance at salvation? This free book is packed with scriptures showing that God does intend to offer salvation to all who ever lived–the elect in this age, and the rest in the age to come. Here is a link to a related sermon series: Universal Offer of Salvation 1: Apocatastasis, Universal Offer of Salvation 2: Jesus Desires All to be Saved, Mysteries of the Great White Throne Judgment (Universal Offer of Salvation part 3), Is God Fair, Will God Pardon the Ignorant?, Can God Save Your Relatives?, Babies, Limbo, Purgatory and God’s Plan, and ‘By the Mouth of All His Holy Prophets’.

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 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.

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.

CCOG.ORG Continuing Church of God The group striving to be most faithful amongst all real Christian groups to the word of God. There are links to literature is about 100 different languages there.

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According to the Bible (Prophecy Update)

 By Daymond Duck    Published on: June 27, 2021

One, according to the Bible, there will be a one-world religion headed up by someone called the False Prophet during the Tribulation Period.

In Feb. 2019, Pope Francis and a Muslim Sheikh, Ahmed al-Tayeb, signed an agreement called the Document on Human Fraternity for World Peace.

The purpose of this document is to merge the religions to create world peace.

Francis and the Imam established a Higher Committee of Human Fraternity to bring together people of all backgrounds, beliefs, and nationalities.

The committee met twice in Sept. 2019.

They announced plans to build a complex called the “Abrahamic Family House” in Abu Dhabi.

Plans called for the “Abrahamic Family House” to have a church, a mosque and a synagogue (separate places for Christians, Muslims and Jews to worship) and a fourth place for people of all religions to come together as one body.

Francis and the Imam would promote peace, coexistence, and brotherhood among all religions.

On June 15, 2021, it was reported that construction on the Abrahamic Family House is well underway.

The foundations of the church, mosque and synagogue have been laid, construction is about one-fifth done, and the buildings are projected to open in 2022.

The mosque will be called the Imam Al Tayeb Mosque; the church will be called St Francis Church, and the synagogue will be called the Moses ben Maimon Synagogue (after a famous 12th-century Jewish scholar).

The UAE views itself as a tolerant nation and boasts that it allows dozens of religions to worship there.

A UAE official said Christians, Jews and Muslims make up more than half the world’s population.

The article also said the first Hindu Temple is scheduled to open in the UAE in 2023.

At least a few Bible prophecy teachers believe Pope Francis and the Imam Al Tayeb are trying to establish Chrislam (the merging of Christianity, Judaism and Islam; the three faiths that trace their beginning to Abraham) as the one-world religion.

Two, according to the Bible, the Tribulation Period will begin when the Antichrist confirms a covenant for peace in the Middle East.

On June 12, 2021, it was reported that the Biden administration is supporting the Abraham Accords negotiated by the Trump administration and is eager to expand them.

However, Biden’s state department is recommending that these agreements be called normalization agreements instead of the Abraham Accords.

The change in administrations has not stopped the quest for a covenant of peace in the Middle East.

Three, according to the Bible, Jerusalem will be a cup of trembling and a burdensome stone for the world at the end of the age.

In 1967, 80,000 or more troops from several Arab nations moved 1,000 or more tanks and heavy weapons close to Israel’s borders in preparation for an attack.

On June 5, 1967, Israel launched a pre-emptive strike, defeated the Arab nations, captured East Jerusalem, and reunited the city.

Jews call the reunification of Jerusalem “Jerusalem Day.”

They celebrate “Jerusalem Day” and their sovereignty over the city by singing, dancing, and waving the Israeli flag in a parade through the center of the city.

Under the direction of Iran, the terrorist group Hamas located in Gaza called the celebration offensive and threatened violence if the Jews did not cancel it.

Jerusalem Day fell on May 10, 2021; the Jews did not cancel the parade, but it was interrupted by sirens at the Wailing Wall because Hamas was firing rockets at Jerusalem (during the recent May 11-day war).

The May 11-day war ended; the parade was rescheduled for June 15, 2021; Hamas threatened violence again; the Jews still did not cancel it, but they revised the route to keep the parade just outside the city.

This time Hamas responded by launching incendiary balloons (balloons carrying fire bombs) into Israel that started several mostly small fires.

On June 17, 2021, Israel retaliated by bombing 10 Hamas targets in the Gaza strip.

This controversy over Jerusalem clearly fits in with Bible prophecy.

A very interesting comment came from Yair Golan, a member of the new Prime Min. Naftali Bennett’s coalition: “This is not just a parade of flags; there will be other nationalist initiatives, the purpose of which is to bring about the War of Gog and Magog.”

Many Bible prophecy teachers believe the Battle of Gog and Magog is close, and the Bible says it will take place in the latter years and latter days.

It must happen.

On June 20, 2021, following more riots and violence by Hamas, Israeli Prime Min. Bennett sent a warning to Hamas that our patience “has run out,” we will not tolerate “any more violence” from you of any kind.

Some Israeli officials said the violence must stop or Israel will resume the May 11-day war.

Four, according to the Bible, the Jews will return to the Promised Land in two great waves at the end of the age: the first great wave will be unbelieving Jews before the Tribulation Period, and the second great wave will be believing Jews at the end of the Tribulation Period.

On June 17, 2021, it was reported that 6% of the global Jewish population lived in Israel in 1948, but more than 40% of the global Jewish population lives in Israel today.

Covid, lockdowns, closed airports, closed borders, war, etc., slowed the return in recent months, but these things could not stop it, and the number of applications from young adult Jews (age 18-35) wanting to relocate to Israel has surged (up more than 40%).

The global pandemic, grounded airplanes, thousands of rockets fired at Israel, Muslim threats, etc., have not stopped God’s Word from being fulfilled.

Five, according to the Bible, knowledge will greatly increase at the time of the end.

It was recently reported that IBM said knowledge will soon double every 12 hours because of quantum computing.

Britt Gillette, founder of the “End Times Bible Prophecy” website and author of several books, recently noted that Google plans to build a million-qubit quantum computer by 2029. IBM and the UK have agreed to invest 300 million dollars on a quantum computing project, and many other corporations around the world are investing in quantum computing applications.

Quantum computing will accelerate knowledge, weapons development, tracking everything, make it possible for one nation to control everyone on earth, and more.

It seems obvious that the prophesied increase of knowledge at the time of the end is taking place (Dan. 12:4).

Six, according to the Bible, the God that created this world and all humans has warned the nations that He will cut them into pieces and drag them into the Battle of Armageddon for coming against Jerusalem, scattering the Jews, and dividing the land of Israel at the time of the end (during the Tribulation Period; Zech. 12:1-3; Joel 3:2).

History is not there yet, but God appears to be warning world leaders to leave Israel and Jerusalem alone.

In his June 18, 2021 issue of “Koenig’s Eye View from the White House,” William Koenig inferred that Trump, Netanyahu and the world seemed to be moving along in a normal fashion until they signed the “Peace to Prosperity Plan” at the White House on Jan. 28, 2020.

Immediately after the signing of that document, leaders of Germany, France, the UK, the EU, the Arab League, and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) expressed their support for the Two-State Solution, UN resolution 242 and 338, and the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative that will divide the land of Israel, etc.

Then, on Sept. 15, 2021, Trump and Netanyahu signed the Abraham Accords, which will also divide the land of Israel.

Koenig noted that Covid-19 came on the scene as a global pandemic and caused worldwide problems, Trump was removed from office, and Netanyahu is now out of office.

If the world keeps ignoring God’s warnings (and it will), the Church will be Raptured, and world leaders will be in the Tribulation Period.

Seven, according to the Bible: Russia, Iran, Turkey, and others will attack Israel at the Battle of Gog and Magog in the latter days and latter years (Ezek. 38:1-8, 16).

Iran is enriching uranium for use in nuclear missiles, and some speculate that the Battle of Gog and Magog might be triggered by Israel striking Iran’s nuclear facilities first.

On June 18, 2021, Iran elected a new President named Ebrahim Raisi.

Russia and Turkey quickly congratulated Raisi on his victory.

He will take office in August 2021.

On June 18, 2021, Israel’s Foreign Minister Lapid said Raisi is known as the Butcher of Tehran because he is responsible for killing thousands of Iranians.

Israel expects Raisi to build up Iran’s uranium stockpile, and an unnamed Israeli source said, “There will be no choice but to go back and prepare attack plans for Iran’s nuclear program.”

Think about it; Iran started the recent May 11-day war with Israel, Iran is seeking nuclear missiles, and the Butcher of Tehran is the soon to be Pres. of Iran.

Other than the latter days and latter years, only God knows when this war will take place, but it appears to be close.

Incidentally, Paul said, “in the last days, perilous times shall come” (II Tim. 3:1), and on June 18, 2021, it was reported that US Sec. of State Blinken told Congress, “The situation (in Iran) is becoming increasingly perilous.”

Also, concerning the election of Raisi, a US State Department spokesperson said, “Iranians were denied their right to choose their own leaders in a free and fair electoral process.”

Millions think that is what happened in the US.

Eight, according to the Bible, the nations that burden themselves with Jerusalem at the end of the age will face the judgment of God (Zech. 12:3).

On Dec. 6, 2017, Pres. Trump recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and ordered the US embassy to be moved from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem (opened on May 14, 2018).

He followed that with an order to close the US Consulate in East Jerusalem that served the Palestinians (Mar. 4, 2019).

On June 22, 2021, it was reported that Pres. Biden wants to reopen the US Consulate in East Jerusalem, and that would reverse Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as the undivided capital of Israel.

Biden needs Prime Min. Bennett’s approval to open a Consulate in Jerusalem, and the report said he opposes it but is likely to approve it to avoid embarrassing Biden.

If Bennett lets Biden do this, the US and Israel could both be in trouble with God (Gen. 12:3, Joel 3:2; Zech. 12:3).

Nine, concerning the ability to track everyone: on June 21, 2021, it was reported that some people that have been vaccinated for Covid are being tracked in real time by 5G Cell phone towers.

Data on their location, vital signs, etc., is being uploaded to computers and stored in massive databases.

This writer cannot prove the accuracy of this report, but if it is true, people are likely unknowingly agreeing to be tracked when they agree to be vaccinated.

I have little knowledge of things like this, but it seems to me that they have nanochips in their body that act somewhat like a computer operating system.

Some say this internal operating system is not the Mark of the Beast, but it is a step in that direction, and future vaccinations will take them there.

Finally, are you Rapture Ready?

If you want to be rapture ready and go to heaven, you must be born again (John 3:3). God loves you, and if you have not done so, sincerely admit that you are a sinner; believe that Jesus is the virgin-born, sinless Son of God who died for the sins of the world, was buried, and raised from the dead; ask Him to forgive your sins, cleanse you, come into your heart and be your Savior; then tell someone that you have done this.

#news #music #art #summer #money #weather #pope #bennett #butcher #iran #data #5g #quantum #jerusalem #heart #emoji #meme

[lawrenceop]

HOMILY for 10th after Pentecost (Dominican rite)

1 Cor 12:2-11; Luke 18:9-14

St Luke says that Jesus “told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and despised others”. (Lk 18:9) Hence today’s Gospel addresses itself to us in at least three respects: to those who trust in themselves; to those who consider themselves to be righteous; and to those who despise others. Unfortunately, these are not necessarily three distinct groups of people but rather, like the Pharisee in the parable, all three aspects can be (and often are) concurrent in one individual.

Our merciful Saviour, in telling us this parable, therefore, desires to teach you and me to please God truly, through humility of heart – through the offering of a heart that is, like his own Sacred Heart, “meek and humble” (cf Mt 11:29) For that is why the Lord God has become Man, so that we might love Christ, and so, as his friend, desire to imitate him and become like him. So, “for us men and for our salvation”, as we say in the Creed, God chose to show his greatness and power by humbling himself, becoming Man, and dying in a humiliating and shameful manner, by crucifixion. Thus St Augustine says: “On every side the humility of the good master is being assiduously impressed upon us, seeing that our very salvation in Christ consists in the humility of Christ. There would have been no salvation for us, after all, if Christ had not been prepared to humble himself for our sakes”.

The humility of God in the Incarnation and in the Passion is only possible for the true God. The idols, the false gods, that St Paul references in today’s epistle, being at best false projections of human ideals, and at worse, demons, are full of pride: lofty; aloof from human suffering and need; lacking in empathy with the human condition. Such idols St Paul describes as “dumb” because they do not speak. God, the true God, however, speaks his Word, and in so doing he creates all that is for the love of mankind, and then, moreover, God speaks his Word into creation to save mankind. As Pope Benedict XVI has said: “The Son himself is the Word, the Logos: the eternal word became small – small enough to fit into a manger. He became a child, so that the word could be grasped by us”, so that we might share in the divine life through grace, through the humble instrumentality of the Sacraments which are extensions of the Incarnation in our lives. Hence St Augustine says: “the pride of man [is] exposed and cured through the humility of God”.

Catholic tradition, particularly through certain devotional practices that are dear to the Dominican Order, such as the Holy Rosary and the Angelus, loves to contemplate and marvel at the humility of God in becoming Man. For from the incarnate Word we learn humility, we learn to be grateful, we learn to love. Focussing on the humility of the incarnate Lord is thus an antidote to those three aspects that today’s Gospel parable addresses, namely, those who trust in themselves; to those who consider themselves to be righteous; and to those who despise others. Thus St Augustine says: “In order then that men might not disdain to imitate a humble man, God himself became humble – even human pride could not refuse to follow in the steps of God!” If we wish to follow the Master, therefore, then we must first of all follow him in his humility.

What does it mean to be humble? In English we sometimes refer to a man who might have been somewhat exalted as “down to earth”. This is a lovely paraphrase of humilitas, for the Latin word for humble is related to the Latin word humus, meaning ‘the earth’. One who is humble is thus one who remembers that he is made from the dust of the earth, who is thus dependent on God for all that he is, and for all the good things he has, and for all the good he does. For God formed Adam from the earth - and his name, adamah in Hebrew means ‘the ground’ or ‘the earth’. Human beings, therefore, are creatures of the earth, and so the one who is grounded, who is down to earth, who is humble, remembers the limitations of his human nature. Hence St Thomas Aquinas says: “Humility means seeing ourselves as God sees us: knowing every good we have comes from Him as pure gift”.

No one who considers their earthly origins, dependent on the Creator who breathes into him the breath of life, the life-giving breath of the Holy Spirit himself, could pridefully trust merely in himself or in human efforts. For man to trust in himself alone, without any recourse or reference to God, is thus shown to be not merely ingratitude but also foolishness. As St Paul says: “What have you that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if it were not a gift?” (1 Cor 4:7)

In today’s epistle, therefore, St Paul lists the many gifts of the Holy Spirit that enrich the Church and enable us to live as Christian disciples. The Pharisee in today’s Gospel also enunciates gifts from God which enabled him to keep the Law of God, and perform good acts of religion. Often our focus is on what we do: we can prophesy, or we can preach, or teach, or catechise; or we have stayed chaste, or have moderated our food and drink; or we have prayed everyday, or gone to Sunday Mass as we should, or done our religious duties. Each of these acts are good and fitting. However, St Paul repeatedly refers to the spiritual gifts that “are inspired by one and the same Spirit” (1 Cor 12:11) because his focus isn’t so much what we do, but how we do these good things. We act not by our own steam, as it were, but by the very divine breath of God. Therefore St James says: “Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. Every good endowment and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights” (1:17). Therefore, if we are indeed righteous, and if we should consider ourselves to be righteous, as the Pharisee indeed was, then, we must also consider, in humility, that our good acts do not come from us alone but find their origin and completion in God’s grace. Thus the Council of Trent taught: “a Christian should never rely on himself or glory in himself instead of in the Lord, whose goodness towards all men is such that he wants his own gifts to be their merits.” The proud man, therefore, takes pride in his own glory, but the humble gives all glory to God and boasts of God’s mercies. So St Augustine says: “if humility does not precede and accompany and follow every good work we do, and if it is not set before us to look upon, and beside us to lean upon, and behind us to fence us in, pride will take from our hand any good deed we do while we are in the very act of taking pleasure in it”!

The third aspect concerns those who despise others. St Thomas points out that the proud man characteristically looks down on others because he wants to dominate, to think himself superior to others, to exalt himself to an excellence he does not possess. In Latin, therefore, the word for ‘pride’ is superbia, meaning to place oneself over others, which is what the Pharisee does in the parable. He says: “God, I thank thee that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.” (Lk 18:11b) Externally, it looks as though he is giving glory to God, and thanking God for his gifts, but the Lord exposes his prideful heart because, in fact, he despises others and looks down at them. This should serve as a warning to us: for the Pharisee is doing ostensibly good things: he is praying in the Temple, as he should. He is thanking God for his gifts, as he should. And, he is doing righteous things in accordance with the Law, as he should.

But all these external ritual acts are not enough. These might be enough for an idol, for a false god, but as the true God says to the prophet Samuel: “the Lord sees not as man sees; man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” (1 Sam 16:7) Indeed, Scripture says that “the word of God is living and active… discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” (Heb 4:12) Thus, Christ, the incarnate Word, teaches us by this parable to pay attention to our intentions, to our inmost thoughts and motivations. Given that these are often hidden even from our own selves, so we ought to be careful in judging others, and in despising them, even those whom we might know to be manifest sinners in gravely sinful situations. By all means, preach the Gospel of salvation and call others to repentance; “convince, rebuke, and exhort, [but] be unfailing in patience and in teaching”, as St Paul said (2 Tim 4:2). And, as I said last Sunday, pray and do penance for the conversion of sinners, bearing witness to others by your charity and virtue. But never despise them, nor consider yourself to be superior, nor look down on them – unless it is from the Cross, as our humble and loving Saviour did.

And, finally, a word concerning our own sinful selves: Do not be swift to judge yourself, condemn yourself, be harsh to yourself, or hate yourself because of your sins. St Francis de Sales observed that this impatience with our own sinfulness and weakness can often arise not because one loves God nor loves virtue, but it may be due to pride: we cannot stand to see our imperfections and hate being seen to be imperfect. Rather, turn to God, and say in all truth and humility: “God, be merciful to me a sinner!” And then trust in God’s grace to act in your life, in his good time, according to his wisdom, and for his own glory. For God, in his Providence, has humbled himself for our salvation. So, likewise, through humbly submitting to God’s Providence and mercy, we shall be cured of pride and be exalted with Him.

#humility #pride

[pamphletstoinspire]

The Kingdom of Love: 5th Sunday of Easter

The Easter Season is passing quickly. Already it is more than half over, as we progress toward the great Feasts of Ascension and Pentecost. We want the Season to slow down, so that we may savor the joy and consolation of these readings from Acts and John that dominate the Easter Cycle, but tempus fugit.

The Readings for this Fifth Sunday of Easter describe the growth of the Kingdom of God, which is manifested on earth as the Church. The first two readings and the psalm are tied together with Kingdom images, and the Gospel reminds us that this Kingdom is characterized by God’s love.

1. The First Reading is Acts 14:21-27:

After Paul and Barnabas had proclaimed the good news to that city and made a considerable number of disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch. They strengthened the spirits of the disciples and exhorted them to persevere in the faith, saying “It is necessary for us to undergo many hardships to enter the kingdom of God. They appointed elders for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting, commended them to the Lord in whom they had put their faith. Then they traveled through Pisidia and reached Pamphylia. After proclaiming the word at Perga, they went down to Attalia. From there they sailed to Antioch, where they had been commended to the grace of God for the work they had now accomplished. And when they arrived, they called the church together and reported what God had done with them and how he had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles.

The key line from this reading of Acts is: “It is necessary for us to undergo many hardships to enter the Kingdom of God.”

If we had read through Acts continuously to this point, we would notice that the narrative has switched from following Peter (Acts 1-12) to following Paul (Acts 13-28) by this point in the story, and the theme of suffering to enter the Kingdom actually enters the Book of Acts at this point. The word for “suffering” here is the Greek thlipsis, often translated “tribulation” by the KJV-RSV tradition, and associated with the hardship preceding the final judgment in the Gospels and Revelation. It is also a favorite term of St. Paul throughout his Epistles.

It is not accidental that “tribulation” crops up in St. Paul’s preaching precisely at this point. In the verses immediately preceding today’s Reading (i.e. Acts. 14:19-20), Paul is stoned to death by a mob incited by some Jews, yet he more-or-less miraculously “rises from the dead,” returns to the city, and continues preaching in the region.

As Paul was preaching this message of “through many tribulations we must enter the Kingdom of God,” he was still visibly cut and bruised in a most awful way from his recent near-fatal (or truly fatal?) stoning. Standing mangled, bruised, bloody, and bandaged in front of the believers, his words must have had added power. Truly, he knew what tribulation was.

Empowered by the Spirit, the Apostles in Acts are growing in their understanding of the mystery of the Gospel. Though the element of suffering for the sake of the Good News had been present from the beginning of Jesus’ own preaching, Paul is realizing just how true this is. So many years before, Jesus Himself pronounced it on a mountaintop:

“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so men persecuted the prophets who were before you.” (Matt 5:10-12)

So Paul’s preaching shows strong continuity with Jesus’. Through his preaching, the Kingdom continues to grow among the Gentiles. The ancient kingdom of David and Solomon included many Gentile nations within it, as vassal states in the empire (1 Kgs 4:21). Now the Kingdom of David, which is also the Kingdom of God, grows by the preaching about Jesus, Son of God and Son of David. And so it goes today: the preaching continues, conversions continue, and “tribulations” continue.

Pope Francis has spoken often of the modern world as an age of Christian martyrdom. Some years ago he said:

"There are bloody persecutions, like being torn to pieces by wild beasts to the delight of the audience in the stands or being blown up by a bomb at the end of Mass” and there are "velvet-gloved” persecutions that are "cloaked in politeness": the ones that marginalize you, take your job away if you fail to adapt to laws that "go against God the Creator. Persecution, I would say, is the daily bread of the Church. Today, on Easter Sunday, just three weeks ago… Those Christians who were celebrating Easter in Pakistan were martyred because they were celebrating the Risen Christ. Thus, the history of the Church goes ahead with its martyrs."

Though he spoke those words some years ago, they continue to ring true as the massacre of Christians at Easter in Sri Lanka this past year reminds us.

The Pope pointed out that in addition to bloody persecutions, there is a subtle form of persecution consisting of a refusal to allow conscientious objection to the pro-death laws of Western societies:

"But there is another persecution which is not much spoken about," a persecution "camouflaged by culture, by modernity, by progress in disguise: It is a persecution I would 'ironically' describe as polite. It’s when someone is persecuted for wanting to manifest the values of the Gospel: "It’s persecution against God the Creator in the person of his children!”

"It’s the kind of the persecution that deprives one of freedom, and of the possibility of conscientious objection. This is the persecution of the world."

Before we leave the First Reading, we should note a small but important feature of the Apostles’ ministry: “they appointed elders (presbuteroi) for them in each church.”

The leadership of the Church needs to be appointed, not elected, because the authority comes from Christ through his representatives, not from the people, as if the Church were a democracy.

These elders appointed by the Apostles were the first bishops (episkopoi) and priests (presbuteroi). In the very early Church, the terminology for the roles that we now distinguish as “bishops” and “priests” was not yet regularized. In certain NT passages, episkopos and presbuteros were used roughly synonymously. Later, the Church became more conscientious about reserving the title episkopos (bishop) for the presbuteros (priest) who was in charge of the whole local church. Keeping that in mind, we see here in Acts 14 how the Apostles, while they were alive, were conscious of the need to appoint leaders to continue their ministry and exercize their authority in their absence. These episkopoi and presbuteroi in turn appointed replacements for themselves, down to the present day, with Pope Francis and our local bishops and priests. So we are still “living in Acts.” The Church we see forming in this holy book is the one we still inhabit. The successors of St. Paul continue their ministry among us!

2. The Responsorial Psalm is Ps 145:8-9, 10-11, 12-13

R. (cf. 1) I will praise your name for ever, my king and my God.

The LORD is gracious and merciful,slow to anger and of great kindness. The LORD is good to all and compassionate toward all his works. R. I will praise your name for ever, my king and my God.

Let all your works give you thanks, O LORD,and let your faithful ones bless you. Let them discourse of the glory of your kingdomand speak of your might. R. I will praise your name for ever, my king and my God.

Let them make known your might to the children of Adam,and the glorious splendor of your kingdom. Your kingdom is a kingdom for all ages,and your dominion endures through all generations. R. I will praise your name for ever, my king and my God.

This Psalm is unique in that it mentions the kingdom (Heb. malkuth) of God four times. Only one or two other Psalms even mention God’s kingdom (103:19, possibly 45:6), and then only once each. So Psalm 145 is the “Psalm of the Kingdom of God.” This Kingdom is to be proclaimed to “the children of Adam,” that is, to all people, to all nations. That is precisely what Paul and Barnabas were doing in the First Reading. This kingdom is characterized by God’s grace, mercy, kindness (hesed), goodness, and compassion. This reminds us of the Gospel Reading, where Jesus gives the “new commandment” of love, which will characterize the new community he has established.

3. The Second Reading is Rev 21:1-5a:

Then I, John, saw a new heaven and a new earth. The former heaven and the former earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. I also saw the holy city, a new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, God’s dwelling is with the human race. He will dwell with them and they will be his people and God himself will always be with them as their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there shall be no more death or mourning, wailing or pain, for the old order has passed away.” The One who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.”

Jerusalem was the capital city of the Davidic Kingdom, and several times in the nation’s history, the extent of the kingdom was reduced by invasion to the capital city alone (Isa 1:8; 36:1-2). Jerusalem is the mystical center of the Kingdom. This New Jerusalem is often identified as an image of heaven, but it is more accurate to see it as a vision of the Church. The “Church Triumphant” and “Heaven” are virtually coextensive concepts, so there is a great deal of overlap. Nonetheless, the identification with the Church can be made with the help of St. Paul, who calls the Church both the Bride of Christ (Eph. 5) and also the Temple of God, built on the foundation of the Apostles (Eph. 2). Likewise, this New Jerusalem of Revelation is Bride of Christ (Rev 21:9), a giant Holy of Holies (21:16), built on the foundation of the Apostles (21:14).

In the Church Triumphant, truly all tears, death, mourning, wailing, and pain will be removed. We may rest assured that there will be an ultimate end to the “tribulations” we suffer for the sake of the Kingdom. Nonetheless, even now, through the ministry of the Church and the Sacraments, we receive a great deal of comfort and consolation as we “strive to enter the Kingdom.”

Covenant concepts are implicit in this reading. The city is a “bride,” married to the Lamb, and marriage is one of the primary forms of covenant. Furthermore, this phrase, “they will be his people and he will be their God,” is often called by scholars the “covenant formula” or “covenant formulary,” because it is the most succinct Old Testament expression of the essential covenant relationship between God and Israel.

A covenant is the extension of family ties by an oath. Families are bound by love. This Second Reading uses an image of very tender love: “He will wipe every tear from their eyes.” This is a very intimate gesture. It is human nature to resist another person touching one’s face, especially around one’s eyes. If a stranger approached us and reached for our eyes, we would react violently and defensively. This is only something we would accept from a father, a mother, a spouse. God promises us this level of intimacy forever in the Church Triumphant, the life to come.

4. The Gospel is Jn 13:31-33a, 34-35:

When Judas had left them, Jesus said, “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him. If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself, and God will glorify him at once. My children, I will be with you only a little while longer. I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another. This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

The Gospel of John is full of paradox, almost from the beginning of the Gospel, where we read:

He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world knew him not.

He came to his own, and his own received him not.

We would expect, of course, that when the maker comes to what he has made, he would be received with joy — but paradoxically, such is not the case.

There is paradox in today’s periscope as well. We have reached one of the darkest hours in Jesus’ ministry: Judas has just left the upper room to carry out his mission of betrayal. Judas, one of the most capable and trustworthy of the disciples, the one entrusted with the common purse, is intent on selling Jesus to those who want him dead.

So is Jesus morose at this moment? Far from it! Instead he says:

Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him …

Why is this moment considered the “glory” of the Son of Man? We may offer many different perspectives on that question, but perhaps it is because Jesus has just consented to the will of the Father, consented to the total act of self-gift that will lead to the cross. This is the true glory of God: not simply that he is the all-powerful creator, but that his love extends to the point of giving up his divine prerogatives and giving himself into the hands of his creatures, to make them his sons and daughters (Phil. 2:5-11).

So the “glory” of the Son of Man is the glory of the total self-gift of love.

At this point, we see the logic of Jesus’ discourse, and why he moves from speaking of his glorification to the command of love:

I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another.

As many commentators have pointed out, the command of love by itself is not new. The Old Testament already commanded one to “love your neighbor as yourself” (Lev 19:18). What is new here is to love as Jesus has loved, which is to love more than self.

The community of disciples that Jesus has formed and is forming, which can also be called “the Church” and “the Kingdom,” should be marked by this love:

This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.

We see here how love is tied to evangelism: “This how all will know … if you have love.” This is a truth we tend to forget. When we take up efforts for evangelization, we tend to think of strategies for outreach, of door-to-door canvassing, rallies, crusades, passing out brochures, parish missions, etc. All of things are fine, but more fundamental is whether the local Christian community actually demonstrates love for each other.

Is our local parish a community of love, or a religious center where people greet each other in passing while heading in or out of worship? Is it any wonder, then, that the world doesn’t recognize us as the disciples of Jesus?

It is a hard saying. We have a great deal to do in order to implement our Lord’s command this day.

From: www.pamphletstoinspire.com

#the kingdom of love

[pope-francis-quotes]

5th November >> (@zenitenglish) #PopeFrancis #Pope Francis Will Celebrate Mass for World Day of the Poor, Sunday, 18th November, Feast of the Dedication of the Papal Basilica to Saint Peter.

Pope Will Celebrate Mass for World Day of the Poor, Sunday, 18th November

Feast of the Dedication of the Papal Basilica to Saint Peter

On Sunday, November 18, 2018, Feast of the Dedication of the Papal Basilica to Saint Peter, in the same basilica the Holy Father Francis will celebrate Holy Mass on the occasion of the World Day of the Poor.

Below is the Vatican-provided text of Pope Francis’ Message for this second World Day of the Poor, which was released in June, on the theme: ‘This poor man cried and the Lord heard him’.

MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS POPE FRANCIS

SECOND WORLD DAY OF THE POOR

33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time 18 November 2018

This poor man cried and the Lord heard him

1. «This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him» (Ps 34:7). The words of the Psalmist become our own when we are called to meet the different conditions of suffering and marginalization lived out by very many of our brothers and sisters whom we are accustomed to label generically as “the poor”. The Psalmist is not extraneous to suffering; quite the contrary. He has direct experience of poverty and yet transforms it into a song of praise and thanksgiving to the Lord. This Psalm is an opportunity for us today, immersed as we are in the many different forms of poverty, to understand who are the true poor on whom we are called to look upon in order to hear their cry and recognise their needs.

We are told, first of all, that the Lord listens to the poor who cry to Him and is good to those who seek refuge in him, their hearts broken by sadness, loneliness and exclusion. The Lord listens to those who are downtrodden in their dignity and yet have the strength to look up in order to receive light and comfort. He listens to those who are persecuted in the name of a false justice, oppressed by policies unworthy of the name and intimidated by violence. And yet they know that they have their Saviour in God. What emerges from this prayer is above all the sense of abandonment to, and trust in, a Father who listens and is welcoming. It is on the same wavelength as these words that we can better understand what Jesus proclaimed with the beatitude «Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:3).

Such is this unique experience, in many ways undeserved and impossible to express in full, that we nevertheless feel the desire to communicate it others, first of all to those who, like the Psalmist, are poor, rejected and marginalized. In fact, no-one can feel excluded from the Father’s love, especially in a world which often elevates riches as the primary objective and leads us to isolation.

2. Psalm 34 uses three verbs to characterize the attitude of the poor man and his relationship with God. First of all, “to cry”. The condition of poverty cannot be expressed in a word, but becomes a cry which crosses the heavens and reaches God. What does the cry of the poor express if not their suffering and solitude, their delusion and hope? We can ask ourselves how it is that this cry, which rises to the presence of God, is unable to penetrate our ears and leaves us indifferent and impassive? On a day like the World Day of the Poor we are called to make a serious examination of conscience in order to understand if we are really capable of hearing them.

What we need in order to recognise their voice is silence in which to listen. If we speak too much ourselves, we will be unable to hear them. Often I am afraid that many initiatives, by themselves meritorious and necessary, are intended more to please those who undertake them than to really acknowledge the cry of the poor. If this is the case, when the cry of the poor rings out our reaction is incoherent and we are unable to empathize with their condition. We are so entrapped in a culture which obliges us to look in the mirror and to pamper ourselves that we believe that a gesture of altruism is sufficient without compromising ourselves directly.

3. The second verb is “to answer”. The Lord, the Psalmist tells us, not only listens to the cry of the poor, but He answers it. His answer, as attested by the whole history of salvation, is an all-loving sharing in the condition of the poor. It was so when Abram expressed to God his desire for an offspring, notwithstanding that he and his wife Sarah were old in years and had no children (cfr. Genesis 15:1-6). It happened when Moses, through a bush which burned without being consumed, received the revelation of the divine name and the mission to free his people from Egypt (Exodus 3:1-15). And this answer is confirmed throughout the wandering of Israel in the desert, when it was bitten by hunger and thirst (cfr. Exodus 16:1-6; 17:1-7) and when it fell into wretchedness of the worst kind, that is, unfaithfulness to the covenant and idolatry (cfr. Exodus 32:1-14).

God’s answer to the poor is always an intervention of salvation in order to heal the wounds of body and soul, restore justice and assist in beginning anew to live life with dignity. God’s answer is also an appeal in order that those who believe in Him can do the same within the limitations of their human nature. The World Day of the Poor wishes to be a small answer which the whole Church, spread throughout the world, gives to the poor of every type and in every land lest they think that their cry has gone unheard. Probably, it is like a drop of water in the desert of poverty; and yet it can be a sign of sharing for those who are in need, that they might experience the active presence of a brother or a sister. It is not delegated power of which the poor have need, but the personal involvement of as many hear their cry. The concern of believers in their regards cannot be limited to a kind of assistance – as useful and as providential as this may be in the beginning – but requires a «loving attentiveness» (Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii gaudium, 199) which honours the person as such and seeks out his best interests.

4. The third verb is “to free”. The poor of the Bible live with the certainty that God intervenes in their favour to restore their dignity. Poverty is not brought on by itself, but is caused by selfishness, pride, greed and injustice. These are evils as old as man himself, but also sins in which the innocents are caught up, leading to consequences on the social level which are dramatic. God’s liberating action is an act of salvation towards those who manifest their sadness and distress to Him. The prison of poverty is broken open by the power of God’s intervention. Many of the Psalms narrate and celebrate this history of salvation which is mirrored in the personal life of the poor: «For he has not despised or abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; and he has not hidden his face from him, but has heard, when he cried to him» ( Psalm 22:25). To be able to contemplate God’s countenance is a sign of His friendship, His proximity, and His salvation. «Thou hast seen my affliction, thou hast taken heed of my adversities … thou hast set my feet in a broad place» ( Psalm 31:8-9). To offer the poor a “broad space” is to liberate them from the “snare of the fowler” ( Psalm 91:3) and subtract them from the trap hidden on their path, in order that they might proceed expeditiously and look serenely upon life. God’s salvation takes the form of hand held out to the poor which is welcoming, offers protection and allows them to experience the friendship which they need. It is beginning with this concrete and tangible proximity that a genuine path of liberation emerges. «Each individual Christian and every community is called to be an instrument of God for the liberation and promotion of the poor, and for enabling them to be fully a part of society. This demands that we be docile and attentive to the cry of the poor and to come to their aid» ( Evangelii gaudium, 187).5. I find it moving to know that many of the poor have identified themselves with Bartimaeus from St. Mark’s Gospel. Bartimaeus, a blind man, «was sitting by the roadside to beg» (verse 46) and, having heard that Jesus was passing by, «began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me”» (verse 47). «Many rebuked him, telling him to be silent; but he cried out all the more» (verse 48). The Son of God heard his cry: «“What do you want me to do for you?” And the blind man said to him, “Master, let me receive my sight”» (verse 51). This Gospel narrative makes visible what in the Psalm is announced as a promise. Bartimaeus is a poor man who finds himself deprived of fundamental capacities like his sight and being able to work for his living. How many paths today also lead to forms of precariousness! The lack of basic means of subsistence, marginalization stemming from a reduced capacity to work owing to ill-heath, the various forms of social slavery, notwithstanding the progress made by humankind … How many poor people today are like Bartimaeus, sitting by the roadside and searching for the meaning of their existence! How many of them ask themselves why they have fallen so far and how they can escape! They are waiting from someone to come up and say: «Take heart; rise, he is calling you» (verse 49).

Unfortunately, often the opposite happens and the poor are reached by voices rebuking them and telling them to shut up and to put up. These voices are out of tune, often determined by a phobia of the poor, considered not only as destitute, but also as bearers of insecurity and instability, detached from the habits of daily life and, consequently, to be rejected and kept afar. The tendency is to create a distance between them and us, without realizing that by so doing we distance ourselves from the Lord Jesus who does not reject the poor, but calls them to Him and consoles them. The words of the Prophet concerning the style of life proper to believers is most apt in this case: «to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free and to break every yoke … to share bread with the hungry and bring the homeless and poor into the house … to cover the naked» (Isaiah 58:6-7). Deeds such as these allow sin to be forgiven (cfr. 1 Peter 4:8), justice to pursue its path and, when it is us to cry to the Lord, ensure that he will answer and say: here I am! (Isaiah 58:9).

6. The poor are the first to whom it is given to recognise the presence of God and to testify to His proximity in their lives. God remains faithful to his promise, and even in the darkness of the night does not withhold the warmth of his love and consolation. However, in order to overcome the overwhelming condition of poverty, it is necessary that the poor perceive the presence of brothers and sisters who show concern for them and who, by opening the door of their hearts and lives, make them feel like friends and family. Only in this way can we discover «the saving power at work in their lives» and «put them at the centre of the Church’s pilgrim way» (Evangelii gaudium, 198).

On this World Day we are invited to give concreteness to the words of the Psalm: «The afflicted shall eat and be satisfied» (Psalm22:27). We know that in the Temple of Jerusalem, after the sacrificial rite, a banquet took place. It was this experience which enriched the first World Day of the Poor in many Dioceses last year. Many people found the warmth of a home, the joy of a celebration meal and the solidarity of those who wished to share the table in a simple and brotherly way. I would like that this year and in the future this World Day be celebrated in the spirit of joy for the rediscovery of our capacity for getting together. Praying together as a community and sharing a Sunday meal is an experience which takes us back to the earliest Christian community, described by St. Luke the Evangelist with all his originality and simplicity: «And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. […] And all who believed were together and had all things in common; and they sold their possessions and goods and distributed them to all, as any had need» (Acts 2:42.44-45).

7. Numerous initiatives are undertaken every day by the Christian community in order to give a sign of neighbourliness and relief in the face of the many forms of poverty which are before our eyes. Often it is the case that cooperation with other enterprises, moved not not by faith but by human solidarity, enable us to give assistance which by ourselves would have been impossible. Recognising that the in the immense world of poverty our capacity for action is limited, weak and insufficient leads us to reach out to others so that reciprocal cooperation can reach its objective in a more effective way. We are inspired by faith and by the imperative of charity, but we also know how to recognise other forms of assistance and solidarity which are characterized, in part, by our same objectives, albeit that we do not neglect our proper role which is to lead everyone to God and to holiness. Dialogue among the different forms of experience and humility in giving freely of our collaboration, without seeking the limelight, is an adequate and fully evangelical response which we can all give.

In the service of the poor, the last thing we need is a battle for first place. Instead we should recognise with humility that it is the Spirit which solicits from us actions which are a sign of God’s answer and proximity. When we find a way to draw near to the poor, we know that the first place belongs to Him who has opened our eyes and our heart to conversion. The poor have no need of protagonists, but of a love which knows how to hide and forget the good which it has done. The true protagonists are the Lord and the poor. He who desires to serve is an instrument in God’s hands in order to make manifest His presence and salvation. St. Paul recalls this when writing to the Christians of Corinth, who used to compete amongst themselves for charisms by seeking the most prestigious: «The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you”» (1 Corinthians 12;21). The Apostle makes an important point when he observes that it is the parts of the body which appear to be weaker which are more necessary (cfr. verse 22); and those which «we think less honourable we invest with the greater honour, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, which our more presentable parts do not require» (verses 23-24). Thus, while Paul imparts to the community a fundamental teaching on charisms, he also educates it concerning its attitude towards its weaker and more needy members in the light of the Gospel. Far from the disciples of Christ nourishing sentiments of contempt or pietism towards the poor, they are called to honour them, giving them precedence, out of the conviction that they are a real presence of Jesus in our midst. «As you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me» (Matthew 25:40).

8. Here we can see how distant our way of living is from that of the world which praises, follows and imitates those who have power and riches, while at the same time marginalizing the poor and considering them a waste and an object of shame. The words of the Apostle Paul are an invitation to give evangelical fullness to solidarity with the weaker and less gifted members of the body of Christ: «If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honoured, all rejoice together» (1 Corinthians 12:26). Similarly, in the Letter to the Romans, he exhorts us: «Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly» (12:15-16). This is the vocation of the disciple of Christ; the ideal for which we must constantly strive is the increasing assimilation in us of the «mind of Jesus Christ» (Philippians 2:5).

9. A word of hope is the natural epilogue to which faith gives rise. Often it is the poor who undermine our indifference which is the daughter of a vision of life which is too imminent and bound up with the present. The cry of the poor is also a cry of hope which manifests the certainty of being liberated. This hope is founded upon the love of God who does not abandon those who trust in Him (cfr. Romans 8:31-39). As St. Teresa of Ávila writes in The Way of Perfection: «Poverty comprises many virtues. It is a vast domain. I affirm that whoever despises all earthly goods holds dominion over them» (2:5). It is in the measure in which we are able to discern authentic good that we become rich before God and wise in the face of ourselves and others. It is really so: in the measure in which we succeed in giving riches their right and true sense that we grow in humanity and become capable of sharing.

10. I invite my brother bishops, priests and, in particular, deacons, on whom hands have been laid for the service of the poor (Acts 6:1-7), as well as religious and the lay faithful – men and women – who in parishes, associations and ecclesial movements make tangible the Church’s response to the cry of the poor, to live this World Day as a special moment of new evangelization. The poor evangelize us, helping us to discover every day the beauty of the Gospel. Let us not waste this opportunity for grace. Let all of us feel on this day that we are debtors towards the poor because, stretching out our hands reciprocally one to another, a salvific encounter be created which strengthens our faith, renders our charity active and enables our hope to continue secure on the journey towards the Lord who is returning.

From the Vatican, 13 June 2018

Liturgical Memorial of Saint Anthony of Padua

Francis

[Original text: Italian] [Vatican-provided text]

©  Libreria Editrice Vaticana

NOVEMBER 05, 2018 16:32

WORLD DAYS

[sammy24682468]

"Memory Text: “ ‘At that time Michael shall stand up, the great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people; and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation, even to that time. And at that time your people shall be delivered, every one who is found written in the book’ ” (Daniel 12:1, NKJV)."

"Last week we looked at the counterfeit trinity, Satan (the dragon) and two earthly powers that together will bring persecution against God’s people. One of these powers, the sea beast (Rev. 13:1-10), is described as a composite of a leopard, a bear, and a lion (Rev. 13:2)—images taken directly from Daniel 7:4-6. We saw in week 6 that in Daniel 7—after the rise of Babylon (lion), Media-Persia (bear), and Greece (leopard)—came the final earthly power, Rome. It started out as pagan Rome and then turned into papal Rome, the little horn power of Daniel 7:7, 8; 19-21; and 23-25 that rose directly out of the fourth beast. We saw, too, that many of the characteristics of papal Rome, as depicted in these verses in Daniel 7, reappear in the sea beast of Revelation 13:1-10. Hence, Bible scholars have seen Rome as one of the key antagonists in the end-time scenario of Revelation 13."

John is on the Island looking  back in time while  Daniel  is looking  forward to the future.

"Read Revelation 13:1-10 and go over the reasons why these texts are referring to the papacy, with regard to its role in the past and in the future. Notice specifically just how prominent a role it is given. What does this mean in terms of last-day events?"

"Although God has faithful people in all churches, Scripture does point to a specific role that this institution has played in history and will play in last-day events."

"For centuries the Roman church had been the central religion and, in many ways, the political center of the Western world. A telling example of her power is seen in the story of Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV, who, upon angering Pope Gregory VII, came to the pope’s castle to make peace. There, the Roman emperor was made to wait in an outer court for three days in the winter cold before the pope granted him entrance. Gregory VII, elated with his triumph, boasted that it was his duty to pull down the pride of kings."

The pope had more power than the kings back in those  days.

"Nevertheless, by the late eighteenth century through the influence of the Reformation, the Enlightenment, and the French Revolution, Rome’s political and religious hegemony had been shattered. One of the popes, Pius VI, actually had been taken captive by the French army in 1798 and died in exile in 1799."

"Revelation 13, however, speaks of a resurgence after the healing of its “deadly wound” (Rev. 13:3). And although Rome today doesn’t have the kind of political power it wielded in the day of Gregory VII, it is an influential force, both religiously and politically, thanks to the popularity of recent popes (for instance, Pope Francis’ speaking to both houses of the U.S. Congress in 2015 was a historical first). According to prophecy, this influence only will grow."

"The beast that precedes this one—long viewed as Rome by Protestants—was depicted as having been given power for forty-two months (Rev. 13:5). The forty-two months are the same as the “time and times and the dividing of time” of Daniel 7:25, or three and a half years (Rev. 12:14), or 1,260 prophetic days (Rev. 12:6)—the time during which the papal power oppressed its opponents. This prophetic time period (using the day-year principle) began with the supremacy of the papacy, a.d.  38, and terminated in 1798, the year that the pope was taken captive. At this time the papal power received its deadly wound, and the prediction was fulfilled."

"About this point in history, near the close of the “forty-two months�� (1798), another power appears (Rev. 13:11, Rev. 13:1). It arises this time out of the earth—which is in contrast to many of the previous powers, which arose out of water (see Dan. 7:2, 3)—a symbol of masses of people. “ ‘The waters which you saw, where the harlot sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues’ ” (Rev. 17:15, NKJV)."

"For these reasons, and others, this power must be the United States of America, which arose in a relatively uninhabited part of the world and didn’t need to overthrow any major empires in order to do so."

"“What nation of the New World was in 1798 rising into power, giving promise of strength and greatness, and attracting the attention of the world? The application of the symbol admits of no question. One nation, and only one, meets the specifications of this prophecy; it points unmistakably to the United States of America.”—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 440."

"Although this power is described first as having two horns like a lamb, symbolizing gentleness, it will speak “as a dragon” (Rev. 13:11), indicating a time of persecution such as took place under the previous power. Revelation 13:11-17, then, answers the question about how Rome could exert the influence that prophecy predicts. It will have the might of the United States behind it—that’s how."

"All through sacred history, the Lord constantly had to deal with those who fell into idolatry and other forms of false worship (see Matt. 4:8-10). In the final crisis, as depicted in Revelation 13, the issue of worship will again arise. Here, too, God’s people will have to make a choice about whom they will worship and serve (see Josh. 24:15)."

"In week 2, in the lesson titled “Daniel and the End Time,” we studied the story of three Hebrew boys who were ordered to “worship the golden image” (Dan. 3:5). We saw, too, how Revelation 13 uses language from that chapter in depicting the persecution that God’s people will face in the end times. That is, we may see what happened in Daniel  3 as a precursor to what will happen in the last days, as depicted in the immediate context of the beast powers in Revelation 13. All were commanded to worship the golden image, or they would be put to death in a fiery furnace. Similarly, in Revelation 13, whoever “would not worship the image of the beast [is] to be killed” (Rev. 13:15, NKJV)."

"Babylon always has been the capital of false worship. The Tower of Babel testified to its builders’ desire, like Lucifer, to “ascend above the heights of the clouds” (Isa. 14:14), as well as to its builders’ efforts to save themselves in case of another global deluge. Thus, they refused to believe God’s promise never to bring another flood upon the earth (Gen. 9:8-11)."

"The Neo-Babylonian Empire likewise exalted the work of human hands. Nebuchadnezzar extolled “this great Babylon, that I have built” (Dan. 4:30). Later, King Belshazzar took the golden cups of Solomon’s temple for a feast, and “they drank wine, and praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze and iron, wood and stone” (Dan. 5:3, 4, NKJV). Notice that the true vessels of the temple were filled with intoxicating wine, which deadened the sensibility of all who drank from them. As a result, many in the city perished when Babylon fell. Thus, an outward appearance of truth can deceive us by disguising the deadly “wine of Babylon.” False worship and false ideas are the currency of Satan’s kingdom."

"Babylon has a long history as the capital of false worship; so it is a fitting symbol of an end-time power that deceives the nations."

"Compare the dragon, the sea beast, and the scarlet beast (Rev. 12:3, 13:1-3, 17:3). What are the similarities and differences?"

Hint: what colors are found predominantly in the Roman  Catholic  Church.

"All three beasts have seven heads and ten horns, which represent the sum total of heads and horns of the beasts of Daniel 7. Each successive empire was built upon those that went before. Similarly, the scarlet beast combines elements of the dragon and the sea beast (symbolizing pagan and papal Rome, respectively), as well as of the land beast (Rev. 13:11-14), grouping “all three powers—all of God’s enemies—into a real coalition.”—Jacques B. Doukhan, Secrets of Revelation: The Apocalypse Through Hebrew Eyes (Hagerstown, Md.: Review and Herald® Publishing Association, 2002), p. 162. An additional element in Revelation 17 is the woman who rides on the scarlet beast, symbolizing an illicit union of religious and political powers. This woman contrasts sharply with the pure woman of Revelation 12:"

"Pure Woman (Rev. 12) Harlot (Rev. 17)In heaven On the waters Clothed with the sun Clothed in purple and scarlet Crown of twelve stars Adorned with gold, gems, pearls Attacked by the dragon Supported by the dragon Mother of the remnant Mother of harlots As “the mother of harlots,” Babylon has been busy reproducing itself. The apostate mother church has many apostate daughters. But God does not take ownership of the errors promulgated and atrocities committed by apostate Christianity. His true people, although attacked by Satan, survive through the centuries."

"Revelation 14:8 has already warned people of Babylon’s fall or apostasy from the truth, which eventually leads to the final deception, the mark of the beast (Rev. 14:9-11). This warning will be repeated with much greater power, culminating in one last appeal for God’s people still in Babylon to come out of her and unite with God’s end-time, remnant church (Rev. 18:1-4)."

"Over the years, students of Bible prophecy have been following world events with great interest, particularly as they seem to relate to the end time. Think, for instance, about the role of the United States. As far back as 1851, some Adventists were identifying America as the second beast power (Rev. 13:11-15), which was a very remarkable identification given the status of the United States then. In the mid1800s, the big powers were still the Old World ones: Prussia, France, Austria-Hungary, and England. At that time America had a peacetime army of about twenty thousand men, about one-tenth the number of combatants at the Battle of Waterloo (1815) alone. In 1814, just forty years earlier, the British invaded and burned Washington, D.C. In 1876, Sitting Bull’s braves wiped out General Custer’s Seventh U.S. Cavalry Regiment. Thus, even after some commentators identified the United States as the power that would one day enforce the “mark of the beast” on the world, the nation was still fighting Native Americans on its own soil, and not always winning either!"

"No question, world events are following as we have believed they would. But still more things need to happen before we reach the end. That’s why, for instance, when discussing the “mark of the beast,” it’s very important to emphasize that right now no one has it, regardless of whether or not they are keeping the fourth commandment."

"Read Revelation 18:1-4. What is happening here, and why is this important for us to remember now? What do these verses teach us about our mission to the world?"

"These verses paint a bleak political, moral, and spiritual picture of the world. They show the malevolent influence of false religious teaching in the world. At the same time, though, they offer great hope, because another angel from heaven lights the world with his glory. Further, God’s faithful people, the ones who haven’t learned yet what they need to know, are called out of Babylon. This means, then, that right up to the end, God’s people who are already out of Babylon have a work to do for those who are still in it."

"Satan’s attack on God’s law is an attack on God"

"Himself, both on His authority and on His government. So in the last days, in the climactic events of the final crisis, Satan will be attacking those who keep “the commandments of God” (Rev. 12:17, 14:12), for they alone will be refusing to pay him homage through his proxies here on earth. The battle that he waged against God in heaven long ago will be continued here on earth, and just as he was defeated in heaven, he will be defeated here on earth. “From the very beginning of the great controversy in heaven it has been Satan’s purpose to overthrow the law of God."

"It was to accomplish this that he entered upon his rebellion against the Creator, and though he was cast out of heaven he has continued the same warfare upon the earth. To deceive men, and thus lead them to transgress God’s law, is the object which he has steadfastly pursued. Whether this be accomplished by casting aside the law altogether, or by rejecting one of its precepts, the result will be ultimately the same. He that offends ‘in one point,’ manifests contempt for the whole law; his influence and example are on the side of transgression; he becomes ‘guilty of all.’ James 2:10."

"—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 582."

[jeshurunj]

WHERE DO THEY PUT THE ASHES ON ASH WEDNESDAY?

Rev 13: 16And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: 17And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.

18Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.

VICARIUS FILII DEI

______________________

Vicarius filii Dei Means: Vicar of The Son of God!

It Also Indicates:

"The Abomination of Desolation!"

Which Is A Title!

Man That Seeks To Change Times and Laws!

It is the Mark of The Beast.

666!

Do You Remember Your Roman Numerals!

V 5

I. 1

C. 100

A. 0

R. 0

I. 1

U. 5

S. 0

F. 0

I. 1

L. 50

I. 1

I. 1

D. 500

E. 0

I. 1

_

666

Means Replacement of Christ!

Christ Vicar!

Main Entry: delegate

Parts of Speech: noun

Definition: representative, often governmental

Synonyms: commissioner, nominee, deputy, envoy, member, minister, senator, ambassador, vicar, mouthpiece, viceroy, emissary, surrogate, spokesperson, appointee, rep, alternate, agent, plenipotentiary, proxy, factor, front, legate, regent, consul, SUBSTITUTE, REPLACEMENT, pinch hitter, STAND-IN, catchpole, member of Congress, people's choice.

PAPACY!

THEY'RE GETTING YOU READY AND YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW IT!

CONQUERING OF THE PEOPLE!

Pope Francis reveals he saw a psychoanalyst for six months to ‘clarify a few things!'

http://www.theprovince.com/news/world/pope+francis+reveals+psychoanalyst+months+98clarify+things/14493254/story.html

Pope reveals he had weekly psychoanalysis sessions at age 42

WHICH EXPLAINS WHY MAN IS (NO) VICAR (REPLACEMENT-SUB) FOR GOD (CHRIST)!

Pope Francis: I avoid reading heresy accusations “for the sake of my mental health”

Ecclesiastes 9: 3 This is an evil among all things that are done under the sun, that there isone event unto all: yea, also the heart of the sons of men is full of evil, and madness is in their heart while they live, and after that they go to the dead.

APPROX: 96% OF THE CHURCHES IN THE WEST ORIGINATED FROM THE MOTHER / UNIVERSAL CHURCH!

UNIVERSAL: A CONGLOMERATE OF VARIOUS MAN MADE PAGANISMS!

THE GREAT WHORE THAT SITS ON MANY WATERS....

COUNTERFEIT CHRISTIANITY!

So will you chose to follow the Great Who're and her FALSE PROPHET right into the Lake of FIRE?

Check this out, because it certainly applies to every Catholic and follower of the Harlots who worships Christ "vicar" and that doctrine, other wise known as the Beast, Mother Church / Universal Church/ Mother of Harlots!

And those who even unknowingly worship in a Harlot Church!

Your time is very Short!

Where do they place the Ashes on Ash Wednesday? Verse 16 is a clue! They're preparing you ALREADY!

[republicstandard]

US Embassy in Jerusalem Opening Tomorrow: Regional Unrest Ahead

The Iran-Palestine Peace Circus: Two Non-Deal-Deals in Likud Clown World

Deals! They come in three forms: Good deals, bad deals, and forced deals; the first two depend on whether you correctly assess your risks, but they’re agreed upon by both parties; the last depends on whether you’re being conquered or not. If you’re being conquered your only real choice is to fight, rather than accept a deal probably not offered in good faith to begin with. If you trust the word of a person who knows they have the ability to force you into an unfavorable compromise, they’ll probably, eventually, take to themselves even that which you have been offered.

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This was the sentiment held by my best friend when growing up; a young Palestinian named Peter with a few Lebanese roots, exiled in an Australian capital city with his Christian family, separated from other family members exiled in Lebanon. They were some of the most welcoming, truly conservative people I have ever met, the strength of their family bond being an amazement to behold. Perhaps a strong family bond is easier when your birthright is stolen by a new nation which ejects you from the land of your nativity, finally your family being forced to settle halfway across the planet in a foreign country. Tough times make tough people.

Palestinians, as Christians, had been thriving in Palestine for almost two thousand years until 1947 when the government of Great Britain created a power vacuum, announcing it would remove its mandatory administration. In swept tens of thousands claiming a birthright lost to them in 70AD; though from a Christian perspective this birthright was rejected on Passover 33AD during a Messianic Regicide. Perhaps this is why the Palestinian Christians were the recipients of especially egregious disdain. Today, less than 30% of these Palestinian Christians worldwide still reside in their homeland.

Christian Zionism: Likud Christmas gift that keeps on giving

As a result of this exodus, Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus Christ which was 86% Christian in 1950, was by 2012 only 12% Christian; the rest of the town being Muslim. This de-Christianization of the birthplace of Christ is a direct result of the formation of Israel in 1948 – not the result of Muslims driving out Christians – though if you were to ask a Christian Zionist living in America what they thought of the situation, you’d think modern Palestinians were worshipping Molech, sacrificing babies on altars, Joshua having returned in a secular reappearance.

Pope Francis visited Israel/Palestine back in 2014 during the 50th anniversary of the first Papal visit to Jerusalem (1964 Pope Paul VI visit). During this 2014 visit Haaretz reported an inconvenient truth which might come as a surprise to some western Christians, but not Christian Zionists as it will go through one ear and out the other: The Palestinian Authority is far more accommodating towards Palestinian Christians than the administration in Israel;

... the PA’s record is far better than Israel’s. The president's spokesman, Nabil Abu Rudeineh, is a Christian. So are two cabinet members, for Finance and Tourism, and two members of the PLO's executive committee. The deputy speaker of the Palestinian National Council, Qonstantin Qurmush, is a priest. Christians abound on boards of banks and chambers of commerce, and head its largest company, CCC. By contrast, in its 66 years, Israel has had no Christian presidential spokesman, government minister, or bank chairman. Where Palestine has eight Christians in its parliament, Israel has two. Where Palestine has at least five ambassadors, including to London and Berlin, Israel has none. … Israel’s prime minister [Netanyahu] ... in his first term in the late 1990s aroused Christian ire by backing construction of a mosque next to Nazareth’s Basilica of Annunciation, while his Palestinian counterpart, Yasser Arafat opposed it. [!!] ... Israel does give its Christians native citizenship, but when its leaders endlessly trumpet their status as a Jewish state, many feel they have second class status. They are not spared strip-searches at Israel’s airports. Exacerbating Christian anxieties, hate-graffiti – such as "Mary is a prostitute" – is daubed on church doors, and increasingly rife. Priests in Jerusalem say spitting on their habits has become well - a habit.

Despite this reality, adherents of the relatively new phenomenon known as Christian Zionism - with their ironic blindness to the implications of Messianic Regicide as applies to the land deed of Mosaic covenant - cheer on the consummation of the remaining land by an ethnic in-group so detached from the Old or New Testaments, it leaves a person actually familiar with that sacred text scratching their head in bewilderment.

This travesty bears heavy irony: Christians thus cheer the historical displacement of fellow Christians by a nation which despises the person of Christ, most of whom, as secular, regard not even the person of Moses; two men respected by almost all Muslims as two of six sacred prophets. Of course, secular leaders like Netanyahu will never miss an opportunity to wheel out the proverbial corpse of Moses endowed with everlasting political capital, citing the land deed promised by (to?) this titan of history as part of a conditional covenant.

It might sound like a generalization, but let’s face it: Christian Zionists actually believe themselves to epitomize the purity of right-wing conservative doctrine in the United States. They consider fellow Christians who hold a position of empathy towards Palestinians to be either ‘liberals’ or anathema to true Christianity. Accordingly, denouncing the false image of largely secular lebensraumist Zionism is a heresy too upsetting to Cyrus Scofield’s ghost. As a result, most Christians who don’t overtly agree with Scofield’s gibberish simply hold their silence. The Christian Zionist cannot but judge, though they should remember, “Judge not, that ye be not judged.”

Well, I’m sorry to be the messenger carrying the uncomfortable flame of truth, but holding your silence is just as bad. It’s time to speak up; something early Church fathers were also persecuted for. It is our duty. It is what qualifies our Christianity. Never shrink from controversy because Jesus Christ died for this very same reason; testifying against this same ethnic group the Palestinians are now also confronted with, I might add. All Christians need to realize that ethnic Palestinians worldwide are over three times as likely per capita to accept the blessing of Jesus Christ than Jews; they also have a much higher conversion rate.

From the same Haaretz article quoted above :

The Knesset bans Christmas trees which sprout all over Palestine from public display on its premises.

The above should be read in context of the National Menorah being erected annually next to the National Christmas Tree directly south of the White House, which if not attended by US officials yearly to celebrate Hanukkah would be shouted from the rooftops as a sign of disrespect, anti-Semitism, probably even garnering hyperbolic insinuations that gas chambers were nigh. Oh, how accommodating we are in the west, regardless of the treatment of Christians by that nation claiming the name of Israel in the east. The Smithsonian magazine gives a little history of how the National Menorah was lawyered into the national capital highlighting the coincidental relevance of Iran ever since its inception in 1979 :

Every year, the White House has two holiday symbols on the Ellipse: the White House Christmas tree and the National Menorah. The tradition of the National Menorah dates back to 1979, and to an Orthodox Jewish leader in Washington named Abraham Shemtov, who thought the nation’s capital needed a menorah as well as a Christmas tree. Then, the secretary of the interior initially denied him a permit to put a menorah on government property, on the grounds that it would violate the First Amendment … Shemtov … “called his friend Stu Eizenstat, an adviser to President Jimmy Carter. Eizenstat gave the secretary a choice: Either approve the permit or deny the National Christmas Tree’s permit too. If he disobeyed, Eizenstat would take the matter straight to Carter, who would side with Eizenstat—a major embarrassment for the secretary.” Shemtov got the permit, and a tradition was born. That year, President Jimmy Carter participated in the lighting of the menorah, mentioning the Iran hostage crisis in his speech.

70 Years: Reversing the symbolism of Cyrus the Great

Cyrus Scofield wasn’t just the author of the most influential pro-Zionist commentary on the Bible, but his parents happened to name him after a man of completely opposite purpose; liberator of those who deserve covenant clemency. Cyrus the Great of the Achaemenid Empire of Persia is commemorated in Judaism and Christianity, for freeing the People of the Covenant in 539BC from a 70 year captivity in Babylon; the number 70 being of further importance in Christianity as Jerusalem was obliterated by Rome in the 70th year (70AD) since the birth of Christ. Cyrus also lived to 70 years of age and Trump was 70 years old when elected. Haaretz reported the religious buzz in December 2017 :

Christians and Jews Now Compare Trump to Persian King Cyrus – Will He Build the Third Temple? Like Cyrus 2,500 years ago, Trump is seen as an instrument of God. And the plan: to build the Third Temple on the Temple Mount – where the Al-Aqsa Mosque currently stands

Currently, in 2018, during the 70th anniversary of the 1948 Israeli Declaration of Independence, the opportunity to invoke this important number and its relation to Cyrus the Great has not been missed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu; leader of the Likud coalition in the Knesset. US President Donald Trump has been happy to indulge Netanyahu’s semiotic fancies for this anniversary by declaring Jerusalem to be the official capital city of Israel – a ‘holy’ grail endorsement justifying the 1967 border violations by Israel.

On March 1st – Purim (!) – Netanyahu made a speech at the United Nations HQ in NYC where he, characteristically, held up a Persian rug made in Iran in what the Jerusalem Post called a ‘Purim Parody’. He declared the rug a weapon of subversive warfare and a vector for money laundering by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. Four days later, on March 5th, he met Trump and wife Melania in the White House for a presser ;

It’s always a pleasure to see you, both but this is the first time we meet in Washington – America’s capital – after you declared, Mr. President, Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. And this was a historic proclamation followed by your bold decision to move the embassy by our upcoming National Independence Day. I want to tell you that the Jewish people have a long memory. So we remember the proclamation of the great King Cyrus the Great — Persian King. Twenty-five hundred years ago, he proclaimed that the Jewish exiles in Babylon can come back and rebuild our temple in Jerusalem. We remember, 100 years ago, Lord Balfour, who issued the Balfour Proclamation that recognized the rights of the Jewish people in our ancestral homeland. We remember seven[ty] years ago, President Harry S. Truman was the first leader to recognize the Jewish state. And we remember how a few weeks ago, President Donald J. Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. Mr. President, this will be remembered by our people throughout the ages. And as you just said, others talked about it. You did it. So I want to thank you on behalf of the people of Israel. And I also want to — I look forward to our discussions on both challenges and opportunities. If I had to say what is our greatest challenge in the Middle East to both our countries, to our Arab neighbors, it’s encapsulated in one word: Iran. Iran has not given up its nuclear ambitions. It came out of this nuclear deal emboldened, enriched. It’s practicing aggression everywhere, including on our own borders. And I think we have to stop this country — the chants, “Death to Israel,” “Death to America.” Iran must be stopped. That is our common challenge.

Thus, Palestinian Christian and Muslim captivity by Israel, is portrayed as a period of Israeli captivity, Trump is likened to Cyrus the Great, the rebuilt Temple is invoked (!), and the actual Persians are portrayed as if they are Babylonians who need to be thrown off by the might of King Trump at the 70 year mark. Reversals! This is Likud Clown World!

#Netanyahu thinks he can complain about #Iran's nuclear program to the international atomic agency, Is he going to tell them about #Israel's illegal nuclear weapons program too?

— Partisangirl 🇸🇾 (@Partisangirl) April 30, 2018

Trump’s actions to move the US Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem during this 70th year, in spite of Palestinian protestations, is not exactly the sort of conciliatory stance a person makes when apparently just about to offer the Palestinians a deal for statehood – in good faith we are told. This deal which will be publicly tabled by the end of May 2018 is not a good deal. It’s not even a bad deal. It’s the third option; the forced deal. This is conquest in continuation. There is no good faith here towards the Palestinians.

A cadre of four comprising of Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and wife, together with Jared Kushner and wife Ivanka Trump, are to open the US Embassy on the 70th anniversary; May 14th. I have a hunch that Kushner is Donald Trump’s chosen peace ambassador to present the deal shortly thereafter. Jared, the geopolitically inexperienced heir of a billionaire Orthodox Jewish New Jersey felon’s real-estate empire headquartered at the Kushner Companies building at 666 Fifth Avenue – who married the non-Jewish daughter of the first billionaire POTUS, shunning Rabbinical marriage custom – will perhaps be ‘offering’ a ‘peace deal’ in Jerusalem to the Palestinians and Israelis (which the Likud totally engineered). Could this get any more clown world?

Early reports are suggesting that this deal is for the Gaza Strip and half of the current West Bank excluding the Jordan Valley; including four peripheral and rather marginal neighborhoods in East Jerusalem as a capital. If true, this new West Bank would be a concentration camp for 3.3 million Palestinians forever placing Israel in charge of Palestinian water supplies, their contact with fellow Arabs in Jordan being cut off. Israel would have a complete choke-hold over this mini-state. If the Palestinians accept or are forced to accept this deal, the new nation could expect to be sanctioned and/or continue to be assaulted by a hostile Israel perpetually citing ‘self defense’; just like Syria and Lebanon, sovereignty would mean nothing.

If one checks the rising war barometer since the Iraq War – especially lately – one gets the impression this symbolic 70th year was singled out so that tensions around Iran and Palestine would climax simultaneously :

Sunni Saddam overthrown. Democracy brought to majority Shiite Iraq.

Shiites inevitably become the dominant force in Iraqi politics.

Shiite ascendancy allows a greater rift to open up between Baghdad and Erbil, fueling the Sunni Kurdish independence movement while Israel digs into the KRG oil and gas industry (previous article) readying it for integration into Israeli water and energy security agendas.

Shiite Iran becomes major power broker in Baghdad and Shiite Southern Iraq.

Sunni ISIS/Syrian Rebel/Al-Qaeda/Al-Nusra NATO-Saudi proxies break out like a virus in order to clear the required pipeline corridors and justify balkanization of Syria (previous article).

Iranian proxy Hezbollah drawn deeper into Lebanon, Syria, Iraq.

Hezbollah strengthened immensely in the Shiite public imagination for preventing the fall of Assad. This is great news for the Likud.

Israel now can claim Hezbollah/Iran have encircled them so that annexation of more Syrian and perhaps Lebanese territory can be claimed as ‘self-defense’ against Iran (actually happening as I type, as I predicted a week ago). This is simply more land theft or theft by proxy. As explained in a previous article, this is to assist Israel and the Saudis to carve out two pipeline corridors, 1) to bring oil and gas from a newly balkanized north-east Syrian puppet state and the KRG in northern Iraq, into Haifa via the Golan Heights, including water from the Euphrates, and 2) to tap the Gazprom Killer in Qatar, linking it with the EU, preventing Iran from tapping this same shared super-field and gaining access to either the EU or Chinese energy markets.

Iran non-deal-deal (explained below) for a nuclear program offered then revoked by successive administrations as if this wasn’t planned all along to provoke predictable reactions in Tehran; for example, the burning of the US flag in their parliament by government officials. Netanyahu, Likud & Co., sit back in glee at this wonderful public relations gift for the Zionist cause. Mission accomplished. Chaos can now resume as desired.

Jerusalem declared the official capital of Israel by the US President and the official location of a newly relocated US Embassy to be opened on May 14th, 2018; the Roman calendar date of the 70th anniversary of the Israeli Declaration of Independence.

Palestine offered a “deal of the century” on statehood by President Trump, almost instantly endorsed by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman – even though it isn’t public yet – who then threatened Mahmoud Abbas, telling him he has to accept the deal or resign (Isn’t it funny how this happens right after the recent major purge of royal rivals in Saudi Arabia?). It’s as if Salman were the inaugural recipient of the Zionist award for Wahhabist of the Year. I can imagine the award now; it would be a golden clown waiving the black flag of Jihad wearing a suicide vest of peace.

The billionaire Jewish Zionist Sheldon Adelson – the largest political donor in the US and Trumps biggest donor, who openly supports illegal settlements in the West Bank – waits until Trump revokes the Iran nuclear deal including a fresh slew of sanctions on Iran, before donating $30 million to save the House GOP majority. You’ve got to be good boys and girls before you get your pocket money!

Dear reader: None of this is deliberately synchronized.

These are all ‘coincidences’ following foreign policy ‘mistakes’ in Iraq.

Nothing to see here . . . move along now!

Likud Clown World: Come to the big top, to see the show!

The ‘liberal’ Brookings Institution in Washington DC – which is one of many fronts for tabling Zionist geopolitical agendas and presenting them as productions in the best interests of the United States – released a 156-page report in 2009 entitled “Which Path To Persia?” (PDF).

This report is basically a handbook for regime change, such as those which have occurred or been attempted during the Arab Spring (which began two years after the report was released). As I mentioned in a previous article, JINSA and Netanyahu’s Likud coalition have a fixation on Iran which is the crux of this very influential report I would advise serious students of geopolitics to read in full. On page 39 (pg.52 in PDF), the report states the following regarding Sanctions :

For those who favor regime change or a military attack on Iran (either by the United States or Israel), there is a strong argument to be made for trying this option [sanctions] first. Inciting regime change in Iran would be greatly assisted by convincing the Iranian people that their government is so ideologically blinkered that it refuses to do what is best for the people and instead clings to a policy that could only bring ruin on the country. The ideal scenario in this case would be that the United States and the international community present a package of positive inducements so enticing that the Iranian citizenry would support the deal, only to have the regime reject it. In a similar vein, any military operation against Iran will likely be very unpopular around the world and require the proper international context—both to ensure the logistical support the operation would require and to minimize the blowback from it. The best way to minimize international opprobrium and maximize support (however, grudging or covert) is to strike only when there is a widespread conviction that the Iranians were given but then rejected a superb offer—one so good that only a regime determined to acquire nuclear weapons and acquire them for the wrong reasons would turn it down. Under those circumstances, the United States (or Israel) could portray its operations as taken in sorrow, not anger, and at least some in the international community would conclude that the Iranians ‘brought it on themselves’ by refusing a very good deal.

Notice the inclusion of Israel side-by-side with the United States as dual antagonists attempting to convince every other world player of the need to take down Iran.

What actually happened when this planned Iranian nuclear deal was offered up by Obama in 2015? Rather than decline it, Iran accepted the terms. We can see in the report that the intent was for the deal to be rejected so the US and Israel could use the rejection to 1) prove to the world that the Iranian regime cared more about nuclear arms than peace, and 2) use the rejection to stir resentment internally in Iran, turning the Iranian people against the regime. This deal acceptance delayed Zionist plans to overthrow the regime using this initial approach, though in the section on Invasion, on page 65 (pg.78 in PDF), the report continues :

If the United States were to decide that to garner greater international support, galvanize U.S. domestic support, and/or provide a legal justification for an invasion, it would be best to wait for an Iranian provocation, then the time frame for an invasion might stretch out indefinitely. With only one real exception, since the 1978 revolution, the Islamic Republic has never willingly provoked an American military response, although it certainly has taken actions that could have done so if Washington had been looking for a fight. Thus it is not impossible that Tehran might take some action that would justify an American invasion and it is certainly the case that if Washington sought such a provocation, it could take actions that might make it more likely that Tehran would do so (although being too obvious about this could nullify the provocation). However, since it would be up to Iran to make the provocative move, which Iran has been wary of doing most times in the past, the United States would never know for sure when it would get the requisite Iranian provocation. In fact, it might never come at all.

This report is entirely candid that the desired outcome for the US and Israel is a full scale invasion of Iran!

As I hinted earlier, the foreign policy ‘mistakes’ made after the Iraq War which have led to an Iranian influenced Shiite regime talking over in Baghdad, were completely deliberate. The breakout of NATO asymmetric warfare proxies known as ISIS & Co., in Iraq and Syria, were also deliberate (Wikileaks). Hezbollah which is virtually a direct militia arm of the Iranian regime has been drawn down into Syria and they’re even more entrenched in Lebanon as the recent election has proven. Now Israel and Hezbollah are exchanging fire between the Golan Heights and the Syrian ‘buffer zone’ which I predicted in a previous article.

The truth is, the Iran nuclear deal was always going to be revoked in the event that Iran did not decline the offer. This is because it is a non-deal-deal; it was simply a circus apparatus in the world-class Iran Palestine Peace Circus brought to you by Likud Clown World.

The forced deal in Palestine is also none other than a non-deal-deal, being synchronized with the collapse of the Iran non-deal-nuclear-deal during Israel’s 70th year. This is being done so that a Palestinian rejection or acceptance can be tied into a greater conflict where asymmetric warfare techniques (such as false-flag military or terror attacks) can be used to create the PR necessary to sell Israel as the victim and the United States as the savior; rather than both being seen as aggressors having planned this in advance. Thankfully far more people are waking up to the reality of this circus.

What do the true aggressor’s desire? As I explained in my last two Balkanizing Syria articles (here and here), they desire the final rewiring of mid-east geopolitics: Pipeline corridors; Israeli lebensraum annexations; balkanization; death; misery; flag draped coffins; not to forget massive military industrial complex profits and war debts for the bonds salesmen – Americans can pay the bills and provide the bodies, as usual. US neocons and Zionist JINSA aligned apparatchiks in Washington designed all of this. It is a masterpiece of Hegelian dialectic.

I’ll leave you with one final ominous statement from this Brookings report reminiscent of the chilling “New Pearl Harbor” comment in the 1997 PNAC Rebuilding America’s Defenses report. This excerpt comes from page 66 (pg.79 in PDF), mentioning a “Tehran-sponsored 9/11” :

Most European, Asian, and Middle Eastern publics are dead set against any American military action against Iran derived from the current differences between Iran and the international community—let alone Iran and the United States. Other than a Tehran-sponsored 9/11, it is hard to imagine what would change their minds. For many democracies and some fragile autocracies to which Washington would be looking for support, this public antipathy is likely to prove decisive. For instance, Saudi Arabia is positively apoplectic about the Iranians’ nuclear program, as well as about their mischief making in Lebanon, Iraq, and the Palestinian territories. Yet, so far, Riyadh has made clear that it will not support military operations of any kind against Iran. Certainly that could change, but it is hard to imagine what it would take.

NOTE: Public antipathy can only be manipulated using massive events like the September 11th, 2001, terror attacks in the US, which can be organized as false-flag operations if/when necessary.

I have a good idea exactly what and where such an event may occur, though I’ll save that for a future article. To be clear, I am not against Jews having a sovereign state of their own, but I question the wisdom of them having been given this particular land of all lands; including their M.O. towards their neighbors since their ascension. What is the statute of limitations on a particular land covenant granted by divine right in a largely secular state? 1900 years?

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I urge the reader to take the time to read the “Which Path To Persia?” report. It’s quite obvious from the bold language and tone, the authors consider Iran to be a frustratingly peaceful nation actively attempting not to trigger a conflict, yet the authors are clearly attempting to work out schemes to implode Iran or to justify a military invasion – shades of Iraq WMD’s propaganda. These people are insane. People with psychological profiles like this, could either deliberately, or accidentally, trigger WWIII if public awareness of their intentions does not increase rapidly. It almost might be too late though, based on events taking place on the Syria-Israel border at this very moment.

I don’t know about you, but this Peace Circus is starting to insult my intelligence. Is Netanyahu Pennywise the Clown from Stephen King’s I.T., or am I just having a bad dream? At least a rogue intern got the best of this dangerous clown villain recently during a PowerPoint presentation :

A disgruntled intern slipped this slide into #bibi's speech about #Iran's nukes, it reminds people that #Israel tried to sell nukes to South Africa. Embarrassing! #Netanyahu pic.twitter.com/KdYAhdQA86

— Partisangirl 🇸🇾 (@Partisangirl) April 30, 2018

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Please share this important video with your friends and family on social media. 🙏 Repent and study God's word daily. Share Jesus Christ with everybody. It's important. This video shows that we're getting close to the return of Jesus Christ. 🙌 Stay holy, stay sober, stay pure and stay humble.

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[biblenewsprophecy]

Europe In Prophecy

Is Europe mentioned in biblical prophecy? What is the 'Great Sea'? Any connection between the Mediterranean Sea and the Beast that arises from the sea in Revelation 13 or the King of the North of Daniel 11? Might a Habsburg or Emperor Constantine descendant reign over some version of a reorganized (Revelation 17:12-13) 'Holy Roman Empire'? Will troubles, like those associated with the rides of the 'Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse' be a factor in the rise of the coming European Beast power? Could the final Antichrist be an anti-pope who will only initially pretend to be Roman Catholic? Will there be signs and lying wonders? Will nations of the world prosper with this coming European daughter of Babylon in the end times? Will Europe persecute the Philadelphian Christians before the "saints are given into his hand" for forty-two months, 3 1/2 years? What about proclamation of the Gospel of the Kingdom to the world as a witness? Will the USA, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom be conquered? What about the coming 'King of the South,' who has traits similar to the Imam Mahdi that many Muslims are looking for? Does the Bible tell of a lying deal between the Europeans and what looks to be an Islamic power? Is a European 'prince' expected to confirm some type of temporary peace deal in the Middle East? Will Europe have a "great army" and "many ships'? What about CBDCs and 666 controls? Dr. Thiel addresses these matters and more in this second part of a three-part sermon series related to Europe.

A related, free, online book is available titled 'Lost Tribes and Prophecies: What will happen to Australia, the British Isles, Canada, Europe, New Zealand and the United States of America?'

Free audio book: Lost Tribes and Prophecies — Bible News Prophecy Radio

Sermon Youtube video link: Europe In Prophecy

Related Items:

Part 1: European history and the Bible

Part 2: Europe in Prophecy

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 and Can You Prove that the Beast to Come is European?

The Great Monarch: Biblical and Catholic Prophecies Is the ‘Great Monarch’ of Catholic prophecies endorsed or condemned by the Bible? Two sermons of related interest are also available: Great Monarch: Messiah or False Christ? and Great Monarch in 50+ Beast Prophecies.

European Technology and the Beast of Revelation Will the coming European Beast power would use and develop technology that will result in the taking over of the USA and its Anglo-Saxon allies? Is this possible? What does the Bible teach? Here is a related YouTube video: Military Technology and the Beast of Revelation.

Must the Ten Kings of Revelation 17:12 Rule over Ten Currently Existing Nations? Some claim that these passages refer to a gathering of 10 currently existing nations together, while one group teaches that this is referring to 11 nations getting together. Is that what Revelation 17:12-13 refers to? The ramifications of misunderstanding this are enormous. A related sermon is titled Ten Kings of Revelation and the Great Tribulation.

Do You Know That Babylon is Forming? How is the final Babylon forming? Are Protestants such as Joel Osteen and Kenneth Copeland are endorsing something dangerous? Could Pope Francis be the ‘False Prophet’ that the Bible warns against? Is an antipope expected to endorse a one-world religion? Here is a link to a related written article In Vatican City: New Babylon more openly forming!

United Nations: Humankind’s Last Hope or New World Order? Is the UN the last hope for humanity? Or might its goals end up with sinister results? A related video would be United Nations and Vatican Are Planning the New World Order.

Germany’s Assyrian Roots Throughout History Are the Germanic peoples descended from Asshur of the Bible? Have there been real Christians in Germanic history? What about the “Holy Roman Empire”? There is also a You-Tube video sermon on this titled Germany’s Biblical Origins.

Germany in Biblical and Catholic Prophecy Does Assyria in the Bible equate to an end time power inhabiting the area of the old Roman Empire? What does prophecy say Germany will do and what does it say will happen to most of the German people? Here is a link to a video Is the USA Pushing Germany to Start WWIII?

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 two related videos: The King of the North is Alive: What to Look Out For and The Future King of the North.

Lost Tribes and Prophecies: What will happen to Australia, the British Isles, Canada, Europe, New Zealand and the United States of America? Where did those people come from? Can you totally rely on DNA? Do you really know what will happen to Europe and the English-speaking peoples? What about the peoples of Africa, Asia, South America, and the islands? This free online book provides scriptural, scientific, historical references, and commentary to address those matters. Here are links to related sermons: Lost tribes, the Bible, and DNA; Lost tribes, prophecies, and identifications; 11 Tribes, 144,000, and Multitudes; Israel, Jeremiah, Tea Tephi, and British Royalty; Gentile European Beast; Royal Succession, Samaria, and Prophecies; Asia, Islands, Latin America, Africa, and Armageddon;  When Will the End of the Age Come?;  Rise of the Prophesied King of the North; Christian Persecution from the Beast; WWIII and the Coming New World Order; and Woes, WWIV, and the Good News of the Kingdom of God.

Beliefs of the Original Catholic Church: Could a remnant group have continuing apostolic succession? Did the original “catholic church” have doctrines held by the Continuing Church of God? Did Church of God leaders uses the term “catholic church” to ever describe the church they were part of? Here are links to related sermons: Original Catholic Church of God?, Original Catholic Doctrine: Creed, Liturgy, Baptism, Passover, What Type of Catholic was Polycarp of Smyrna?, Tradition, Holy Days, Salvation, Dress, & Celibacy, Early Heresies and Heretics, Doctrines: 3 Days, Abortion, Ecumenism, Meats, Tithes, Crosses, Destiny, and more, Saturday or Sunday?, The Godhead, Apostolic Laying on of Hands Succession, Church in the Wilderness Apostolic Succession List, Holy Mother Church and Heresies, and Lying Wonders and Original Beliefs. Here is a link to that book in the Spanish language: Creencias de la iglesia Católica original.

Hope of Salvation: How the Continuing Church of God Differs from Protestantism The CCOG is NOT Protestant. This free online book explains how the real Church of God differs from mainstream/traditional Protestants. Several sermons related to the free book are also available: Protestant, Baptist, and CCOG History; The First Protestant, God’s Command, Grace, & Character; The New Testament, Martin Luther, and the Canon; Eucharist, Passover, and Easter; Views of Jews, Lost Tribes, Warfare, & Baptism; Scripture vs. Tradition, Sabbath vs. Sunday; Church Services, Sunday, Heaven, and God’s Plan; Seventh Day Baptists/Adventists/Messianics: Protestant or COG?; Millennial Kingdom of God and God’s Plan of Salvation; Crosses, Trees, Tithes, and Unclean Meats; The Godhead and the Trinity; Fleeing or Rapture?; and Ecumenism, Rome, and CCOG Differences.

Where is the True Christian Church Today? This free online pdf booklet answers that question and includes 18 proofs, clues, and signs to identify the true vs. false Christian church. Plus 7 proofs, clues, and signs to help identify Laodicean churches. A related sermon is also available: Where is the True Christian Church? Here is a link to the booklet in the Spanish language: ¿Dónde está la verdadera Iglesia cristiana de hoy? Here is a link in the German language: WO IST DIE WAHRE CHRISTLICHE KIRCHE HEUTE? Here is a link in the French language: Où est la vraie Église Chrétienne aujourd’hui?

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

Faith for Those God has Called and Chosen What is faith? Can faith be increased? Are you saved by faith? What about works? Do Christians need to keep the Ten Commandments? What is the ‘faith chapter’? How do the just live by faith? Is faith one of the weightier matters of the law? How does faith come? Marque aquí para ver el pdf folleto: Fe para aquellos que Dios ha llamado y escogido. In German: Glaube für die von Gott Berufenen und Auserwählten. In French: La Foi pour ceux que Dieu a Appelés et Choisis. Here is a link to a related sermon titled: Faith for the Called and Chosen.and here is a link to another sermon Faith and Courage. Here is a link to shorter version of the written article in Mandarin Chinese 一篇关于信仰的小文章. Here are links to the sermons Christian Faith and Increasing Faith.

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)?

Is God Calling You? This booklet discusses topics including calling, election, and selection. If God is calling you, how will you respond? Here is a link to a related sermon: Could God be Calling You? A short animation is also available: Is God Calling You?

Proof Jesus is the Messiah This free book has over 200 Hebrew prophecies were fulfilled by Jesus. Plus, His arrival was consistent with specific prophecies and even Jewish interpretations of prophecy. Here are links to seven related sermons: Proof Jesus is the Messiah, Prophecies of Jesus’ birth, timing, and death, Jesus’ prophesied divinity, 200+ OT prophecies Jesus filled; Plus prophecies He made, Why Don’t Jews Accept Jesus?, Daniel 9, Jews, and Jesus, and Facts and Atheists’ Delusions About Jesus

Is God’s Existence Logical? Is it really logical to believe in God? Yes! Would you like Christian answers to give atheists? This is a free online booklet that deal with improper theories and musings called science related to the origin of the origin of the universe, the origin of life, and evolution. Two animated videos of related interest are also available: Big Bang: Nothing or Creator? and A Lifegiver or Spontaneous Evolution?

The MYSTERY of GOD’s PLAN: Why Did God Create Anything? Why did God make you? This free online book helps answers some of the biggest questions that human have, including the biblical meaning of life. Here is a link to three related sermons: Mysteries of God’s Plan, Mysteries of Truth, Sin, Rest, Suffering, and God’s Plan, and The Mystery of YOU.

Universal OFFER of Salvation, Apokatastasis: Can God save the lost in an age to come? Hundreds of scriptures reveal God’s plan of salvation Will all get a fair chance at salvation? This free book is packed with scriptures showing that God does intend to offer salvation to all who ever lived–the elect in this age, and the rest in the age to come. Here is a link to a related sermon series: Universal Offer of Salvation 1: Apocatastasis, Universal Offer of Salvation 2: Jesus Desires All to be Saved, Mysteries of the Great White Throne Judgment (Universal Offer of Salvation part 3), Is God Fair, Will God Pardon the Ignorant?, Can God Save Your Relatives?, Babies, Limbo, Purgatory and God’s Plan, and ‘By the Mouth of All His Holy Prophets’.

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 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.

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.

CCOG.ORG Continuing Church of God The group striving to be most faithful amongst all real Christian groups to the word of God. There are links to literature is about 100 different languages there.

LATEST SERMONS

[lawrenceop]

HOMILY for 20th Sunday after Pentecost (EF)

Eph 5:15-21; John 4:46-53

“Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of the time, because the days are evil” (Eph 5:15), says St Paul in today’s epistle. And how do we know that the days in which live now, that these, our current times, are evil? You might say to me that this is obvious! Certainly, even our non-religious contemporaries will agree that 2020 has been a terrible catastrophic year, and we have seen and suffered many evils: the coronavirus and its many deadly, restrictive, and debilitating effects, of course, but also widespread riots and protests, the destruction of churches and public property, family strife and assaults, and of course, the ongoing evil of abortion. These, you might think, would be signs that the “days are evil”.

But if we are sensitive to the nuances of Sacred Scripture, we should notice that, in fact, the prevalence of sin and sickness is not the main indication that the age is evil. Rather, the prevalence of these evils in every age merely reminds us that, as St John says: “we are of God, [but] the whole world is in the power of the evil one.” (1 Jn 5:19) For the Saviour too affirms that Satan is the “ruler of this world”, whom he has cast out by the power of his holy Cross. But the reclamation of the world and its redemption takes place in us and in our lives; in how we use the material things of this world, and how we relate to God and one another. Hence, the Church exorcises and blesses persons and things, claiming them for God so that the whole of this world can be redeemed by Christ, and be used for his glory.

Therefore, given this fact, we should indeed, as St Paul says, look carefully and wisely how we walk – in other words, we must be mindful to behave as God’s own children, to follow the Lord’s wisdom handed down for generations. The prophet Micah thus says: “He has showed you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” (6:8) So, in every age, whether it is an evil age or not, the Lord has asked this of us: that we should walk in friendship with our neighbours, where possible; walk in the kind of fraternal solidarity with people of good will that is spoken of by Pope Francis, and to “walk humbly” with God as Scripture says.

So, what, according to the Word of God, is a sign that we live in an evil age? In St Luke’s Gospel Jesus says: “This generation is an evil generation; it seeks a sign…” (Lk 11:29) Hence in today’s Gospel from St John, the Lord says to the official from Capernaum who had come to him seeking a healing miracle for his son: “Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe.” (Jn 4:48) Now, it is not unreasonable to ask for one’s child, one’s parent, one’s friend and loved ones to be healed. We do it all the time, and well we should. But the key question is this: do we need signs and wonders in order to believe in God, to believe in Jesus Christ, to believe in the Word of God? In other words, do the miracles, the external signs, produce belief such that our faith depends on them? For the result of this kind of belief is that when there are no visible miracles, no external signs and beautiful wonders, no great healings, or indeed, when our prayers and novenas and penances seem to produce no results, then our faith fails; then, we doubt the goodness and wisdom of God. However, when this happens, perhaps one didn’t really have faith at all. Rather, one is of an “evil generation”, a faithless generation, that would not believe unless one sees signs and wonders.

Jesus thus first converts the heart of the man who approaches him in the Gospel. He gives him the gift of faith. As St John recounts: “Jesus said to him, ‘Go; your son will live.’ The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and went his way.” (Jn 4:50) Pay attention, again, to the words of the Gospel: “the man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and went his way.” So, too, if we have the gift of faith, then we shall believe in the word of Jesus, believe in his promises, and therefore have a deep thirst to understand and contemplate the Word of God in Sacred Scripture. For, with belief in the Word of God, we will go on our way, but, mindful to look carefully how we walk, as St Paul said, so that we walk along the way of salvation that is taught by Christ’s Holy Church. This is what is meant by walking as “wise” men rather than as the unwise.

For, regrettably, there is, among some people in the Catholic Church today, a certain excitement about purported signs and wonders, and even, supposedly new revelations concerning the divine will. But this is unwise! For there can be no new revelations which supplement the public revelation given to the Church – any novelties stemming from so-called private revelation would be just heresy. And there are various groups and online videos spreading talk of signs, miracles, private revelations, new prophecies, charismatic utterances, and so on. However, to what end? For what purpose? Is it to deepen our faith in the wisdom and providence of God? Do these help us to be truly abandoned to divine providence. Or do they give us a false sense of control and security about how to navigate these evil times? Therefore, do not, like the unwise, follow false prophets and be led away from the Gospel. Remember, “walk humbly with your God”, and be warned: “an evil, faithless generation seeks a sign” (cf Mt 12:39).

Therefore, do not seek signs in order to believe. Rather, believe the Word of the Lord, and then trust that great marvels will be done in your life. For God wills to convert your heart, to raise you up from the deadliness of sin, and to give you, finally, a share in his divine Trinitarian life. This is the promise that is made to us in today’s Gospel miracle. But all this Christ does invisibly through grace albeit acting visibly through the Sacraments of his Church. At his word, spoken by the priest in persona Christi capitis, God’s grace works invisibly in our lives, but sanctifying grace will at last have visible effects too: in the way we talk to one another, in the way we love one another, in our works of mercy and charity. Thus, the sure sign of God’s power at work among us isn’t seen in splendid spectacles and great wonders; nor in mystical experiences and visions, but in the transformation of our everyday lives, in the depth and reality of our love for God and compassion for one another. A faithful generation, therefore, would recognise this, and long for an increase of charity, and seek to build a more just, fraternal, and virtuous society.  

So St Paul says in his letter to the Ephesians: “Be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” Then, continuing on with the passage sung in today’s epistle, St Paul describes how it looks like if we Christians walk in love. The grace of God produces a tangible visible sign among us as we’re “filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with all your heart, always and for everything giving thanks in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God the Father.” (Eph 5:18-20)

My brothers and sisters, because the “days are evil”, and because we will continue to labour under the effects of the current pandemic and the other evils of our age, know this therefore: the world is in dire need of our Christian witness of love, faith, and unity. So, as things in the world become fractured and polarised and divided, let us be united in Jesus Christ, firmly founded on faith in his Word, held within the unity of Christ’s One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church, in a communion of filial love for the Pope and our Bishops. For Christ has promised to remain with us, here in his holy Church, until the end of time. And, as things become difficult and complex and confusing in our world, let us offer up our inconveniences and sufferings in penance for sin, continuing “always and for everything” to thank God for his graces and mercy. Therefore let us now lift up our hearts at the Altar, and so offer to God, in union with Christ, this Eucharist, this holy Sacrifice of our thanksgiving and praise. Through you and me, God is at work in us to redeem the world!

#faith #unity #charity #ecclesiology #miracles #signs #wonders #private revelation

[pamphletstoinspire]

God and Mammon: The 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time

As Jesus continues his “death march” to Jerusalem in Luke’s Gospel (Luke 9–19), he challenges us this Sunday to choose, in a clear and conscious way, our goal in life: God or money. The First Reading reminds us that wealth was a seductive trap for the people of God throughout salvation history.

1. The First Reading is Amos 8:4-7:

Hear this, you who trample upon the needy and destroy the poor of the land! “When will the new moon be over,” you ask, “that we may sell our grain, and the sabbath, that we may display the wheat? We will diminish the ephah, add to the shekel, and fix our scales for cheating! We will buy the lowly for silver, and the poor for a pair of sandals; even the refuse of the wheat we will sell!” The LORD has sworn by the pride of Jacob: Never will I forget a thing they have done!

Amos is often thought to be the earliest of all the literary (writing) prophets, since his relatively short ministry probably fell in the decade 770-760 BC. Amos 1:1 dates his prophecy to “two years before the earthquake” during the reigns of Uzziah of Judah and Jeroboam II of Israel, an event that archeologists now estimate at c. 760 BC, ±25 yrs. This would probably place his ministry just prior to Hosea’s longer career (c. 750-725BC).

Amos, like Hosea, prophesied to northern Israel; but unlike Hosea, Amos was not a northerner himself. He was a Judean from Tekoa, a village to the south of Jerusalem, an agricultural worker who raised sheep and tended an orchard of sycamore-figs (Amos 7:14). He was called by God to preach judgment to northern Israel at a time when that nation was wealthy, arrogant, and oppressive to their southern neighbors. Amos clearly distances himself from the professional prophets who learned prophesying from their fathers and practiced it as a kind of family trade (see Amos 7:12-14). He was not motivated by a desire to earn a living, but was impelled by a genuine commission from God (7:15).

This Sunday’s First Reading is a portion of the fourth of a series of five visions (7:1–9:8) of divine judgment that constitute the last major section of the book. After an oracle of judgment against Amaziah the unrighteous priest (7:16-17), Amos sees a “basket of summer fruit (Heb. qāyîtz),” which indicates that the “end (Heb. qētz) has come for my people Israel” (8:1-3). Wailing, mourning, death, and a famine of God’s word will come on Israel, because of the abuse of the poor (8:4-7) and worship of false gods (8:13-14).

A striking feature of this First Reading is the way these ancient Israelite merchants regard religion as an impediment to profit. “When will the Sabbath be over, that we may display our wheat?” The Sabbath, which God gave to man as a beautiful day of rest, to be enjoyed with family, friends, and God Himself, is now seen as a burden and restraint to the pursuit of profit.

As Catholics we often forget that observance of the Sabbath (in the New Covenant, shifted to the first day of the week, the Lord’s Day) is still part of the Ten Commandments and obligatory for Christians. Although many of us live in nominally “Christian” cultures, respect for the Lord’s Day has been all but lost, and instead commerce and retail proceed on the Lord’s day of rest and worship as on every other day. Folks head from Mass to the grocery store, not thinking that this practice supports retailers being open on Sunday, therefore requiring their minimum-wage employees (the poor) to be there and labor on what should be a day of rest and worship for all. The consequences for Christian culture are tragic, because there remains, then, no one day of rest when persons have the freedom to worship and spend time in quiet with God and family together. As a Church, we cannot restore a Christian culture without re-establishing a respect — at least among Christians! — for the rest that is appropriate to the Lord’s Day.

Amos is best remembered in the Jewish and Christian tradition as a preacher of justice who was unafraid to publically rebuke the wealthy elite of his day, whose hypocritical and syncretistic religious practices did nothing to alleviate the guilt of their social and economic abuse of the poor. Amos composed his prophesies in simple yet vivid poetry, as in this much-quoted oracle:

“I hate, I despise your feasts, and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies. Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and cereal offerings, I will not accept them, and the peace offerings of your fatted beasts I will not look upon. Take away from me the noise of your songs; to the melody of your harps I will not listen. But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream!

Even today Amos’ words remind Christian believers that external observance of the Church’s rituals does not excuse or justify lifestyles of self-indulgence and indifference to the poor and needy.

2. Our Second Reading is 1 Timothy 2:1-8:

Beloved: First of all, I ask that supplications, prayers, petitions, and thanksgivings be offered for everyone, for kings and for all in authority, that we may lead a quiet and tranquil life in all devotion and dignity. This is good and pleasing to God our savior, who wills everyone to be saved and to come to knowledge of the truth. For there is one God. There is also one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as ransom for all. This was the testimony at the proper time. For this I was appointed preacher and apostle — I am speaking the truth, I am not lying — teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth. It is my wish, then, that in every place the men should pray, lifting up holy hands, without anger or argument.

The Second Reading at this time of year is working its way through the personal letters of St. Paul. This passage from St. Paul’s first letter to Timothy stresses the need of the Christian community to pray together, especially for government officials. Good government is necessary that we may lead a “quiet and tranquil life in all devotion,” which pleases God who “desires all to be saved.” Why is good government and tranquil life connected with “all being saved?” Because political stability enables the Church to go about her evangelizing mission unmolested.

Pope Francis had some direct words about this passage of St. Paul:

“None of us can say, ‘I have nothing to do with this, they govern. . . .’ No, no, I am responsible for their governance, and I have to do the best so that they govern well, and I have to do my best by participating in politics according to my ability. Politics, according to the Social Doctrine of the Church, is one of the highest forms of charity, because it serves the common good. I cannot wash my hands, eh? We all have to give something!”

There is a tendency, the Pope observed, to only speak ill of leaders, and to mutter about “things that don’t go well.” “You listen to the television and they’re beating [them] up, beating [them] up; you read the papers and their beating [them] up. . . .” He continued, “Yes, maybe the leader is a sinner, as David was, but I have to work with my opinions, with my words, even with my corrections” because we all have to participate for the common good. It is not true that Catholics should not meddle in politics:

“‘A good Catholic doesn’t meddle in politics.’ That’s not true. That is not a good path. A good Catholic meddles in politics, offering the best of himself, so that those who govern can govern. But what is the best that we can offer to those who govern? Prayer! That’s what Paul says: “Pray for all people, and for the king and for all in authority.” “But Father, that person is wicked, he should go to hell. . . .” Pray for him, pray for her, that they can govern well, that they can love their people, that they can serve their people, that they can be humble.” A Christian who does not pray for those who govern is not a good Christian! “But Father, how will I pray for that person, a person who has problems. . . .” “Pray that that person might convert!”

(From Vatican Radio: bit.ly/1gnJgYK)

3. The Gospel is Luke 16:1-13:

Jesus said to his disciples, “A rich man had a steward who was reported to him for squandering his property. He summoned him and said ‘What is this I hear about you? Prepare a full account of your stewardship, because you can no longer be my steward.’ The steward said to himself, ‘What shall I do, now that my master is taking the position of steward away from me?

I am not strong enough to dig and I am ashamed to beg. I know what I shall do so that, when I am removed from the stewardship, they may welcome me into their homes.’ He called in his master’s debtors one by one.

To the first he said ‘How much do you owe my master?’ He replied, ‘One hundred measures of olive oil.’ He said to him, ‘Here is your promissory note. Sit down and quickly write one for fifty.’

Then to another the steward said, ‘And you, how much do you owe?’ He replied, ‘One hundred kors of wheat.’ The steward said to him, ‘Here is your promissory note; write one for eighty.’

And the master commended that dishonest steward for acting prudently.

The role of steward in a large household was one of great responsibility, but also wealth and prestige. It went to the master’s most trusted male slave. As a result, enterprising young freemen in the Roman empire sometimes sold themselves as slaves to wealthy men in order to become stewards of their households.

Since the stewardship was an administrative position in which one lived in physical comfort, the steward realizes he is in great trouble when the master wishes to fire him. He’s not suited to any other way of making a living, and as a slave he has no estate of his own. He’s been use to socializing with his master’s peers, although he is not truly their social or legal equals.

So he pulls of a kind of “white collar crime.” Calling in his master’s debtors, he has them manipulate their receipts to “erase” a significant portion of their debt. Then they will be in this steward’s debt after he is fired, and “owe him one.”

Eventually, when the master found out what the steward had done, he “commended” him. This probably means, he acknowledged (grudgingly) how cunning his former employer had been.

“For the children of this world are more prudent in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light.

Non-religious people frequently have more “street smarts” in manipulating others than those who practice a faith. That’s why its best for Christians to stay out of the “rat race” rather than try to compete in it.

I tell you, make friends for yourselves with dishonest wealth, so that when it fails, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.

This is perhaps the key teaching of this entire Reading. The world encourages an attitude in which we use people to gain things. Jesus reverses this: use things to gain people. If spending money and giving goods can open others to friendship with the Church and ultimately Christ Himself, then spend the money, give the goods.

Pagan religion in the ancient world tended to be a semi-magical way to manipulate the spiritual realm (the realm of the “gods”) in order to gain material wealth.

Christianity is precisely the reverse of this. It is a religion in which we sacrifice material in order to gain spiritual wealth.

That is one reason why the “health and wealth Gospel” is such a perversion. Periodically one can here a radio or TV evangelist preaching Christ as a means to the “good life” — this is a return to paganism, a subordination of the spiritual to the material. It does not lead to true conversion, because as long as Jesus is a means to an end — and not the end itself — one is not yet a Christian.

The person who is trustworthy in very small matters is also trustworthy in great ones; and the person who is dishonest in very small matters is also dishonest in great ones.

If, therefore, you are not trustworthy with dishonest wealth 
who will trust you with true wealth? If you are not trustworthy with what belongs to another, who will give you what is yours?

“Small matters” are often not small at all, because their consequences can be huge. This was illustrated some years ago when the $136 million-dollar Mars Climate Orbiter was lost on its maiden voyage due to malfunction. The problem? The contractor Lockheed Martin and constructed the device using English measurements, whereas the purchaser NASA conducted their operations only in metric.

Small issues — an inch vs. a centimeter—can have enormous material consequences and also spiritual ones. St. Josemaría Escrivà used to say he could tell the state of a man’s soul by looking at his desk or inspecting his closet. The interior of a man is reflected in his smallest actions.

Jesus teaches us here that material wealth — which in the eternal perspective is a matter of very little consequence at all — serves for us as a “testing ground.” Our faithful administration of material goods — which would include generosity toward the poor—wins favor with God and gains spiritual blessing, and to the contrary, self-indulgent use of material goods damages spiritual progress. No servant can serve two masters. He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and mammon.”

The Christian who approaches discipleship with Christ while still trying to attain “the American dream” or the “good life” is dooming himself to frustration. If wealth, pleasure, or power in this life is what you are after, you truly have the wrong religion! It is truly pathetic, for example, for the Christian who devotes himself to mission work in his youth to become embittered or disgruntled in mid-life when he or she realizes they do not have the material wealth or creature comforts of their peers who went straight into business out of high school or college. Frustration results when the Christian loses focus on Christ and begins to pine for certain pleasures or pursuits that seem out of reach or incompatible with his life’s vocation. The only answer for this kind of frustration is re-conversion: to call to mind whom we are serving and why, and recommit to his service.

From: https://www.pamphletstoinspire.com/

#25th sunday in ordinary time

[pope-francis-quotes]

14th June >> (@zenitenglish) Pope Francis’ Message for 2nd World Day of the Poor ‘This poor man cried and the Lord heard him’ Below is the Vatican-provided text of Pope Francis’ Message for the second World Day of the Poor, which is to be celebrated on Nov. 18, 2018, on the theme: ‘This poor man cried and the Lord heard him’ *** MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS POPE FRANCIS SECOND WORLD DAY OF THE POOR 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time 18 November 2018 This poor man cried and the Lord heard him 1. «This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him» (Ps 34:7). The words of the Psalmist become our own when we are called to meet the different conditions of suffering and marginalization lived out by very many of our brothers and sisters whom we are accustomed to label generically as “the poor”. The Psalmist is not extraneous to suffering; quite the contrary. He has direct experience of poverty and yet transforms it into a song of praise and thanksgiving to the Lord. This Psalm is an opportunity for us today, immersed as we are in the many different forms of poverty, to understand who are the true poor on whom we are called to look upon in order to hear their cry and recognise their needs. We are told, first of all, that the Lord listens to the poor who cry to Him and is good to those who seek refuge in him, their hearts broken by sadness, loneliness and exclusion. The Lord listens to those who are downtrodden in their dignity and yet have the strength to look up in order to receive light and comfort. He listens to those who are persecuted in the name of a false justice, oppressed by policies unworthy of the name and intimidated by violence. And yet they know that they have their Saviour in God. What emerges from this prayer is above all the sense of abandonment to, and trust in, a Father who listens and is welcoming. It is on the same wavelength as these words that we can better understand what Jesus proclaimed with the beatitude «Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:3). Such is this unique experience, in many ways undeserved and impossible to express in full, that we nevertheless feel the desire to communicate it others, first of all to those who, like the Psalmist, are poor, rejected and marginalized. In fact, no-one can feel excluded from the Father’s love, especially in a world which often elevates riches as the primary objective and leads us to isolation. 2. Psalm 34 uses three verbs to characterize the attitude of the poor man and his relationship with God. First of all, “to cry”. The condition of poverty cannot be expressed in a word, but becomes a cry which crosses the heavens and reaches God. What does the cry of the poor express if not their suffering and solitude, their delusion and hope? We can ask ourselves how it is that this cry, which rises to the presence of God, is unable to penetrate our ears and leaves us indifferent and impassive? On a day like the World Day of the Poor we are called to make a serious examination of conscience in order to understand if we are really capable of hearing them. What we need in order to recognise their voice is silence in which to listen. If we speak too much ourselves, we will be unable to hear them. Often I am afraid that many initiatives, by themselves meritorious and necessary, are intended more to please those who undertake them than to really acknowledge the cry of the poor. If this is the case, when the cry of the poor rings out our reaction is incoherent and we are unable to empathize with their condition. We are so entrapped in a culture which obliges us to look in the mirror and to pamper ourselves that we believe that a gesture of altruism is sufficient without compromising ourselves directly. 3. The second verb is “to answer”. The Lord, the Psalmist tells us, not only listens to the cry of the poor, but He answers it. His answer, as attested by the whole history of salvation, is an all-loving sharing in the condition of the poor. It was so when Abram expressed to God his desire for an offspring, notwithstanding that he and his wife Sarah were old in years and had no children (cfr. Genesis 15:1-6). It happened when Moses, through a bush which burned without being consumed, received the revelation of the divine name and the mission to free his people from Egypt (Exodus 3:1-15). And this answer is confirmed throughout the wandering of Israel in the desert, when it was bitten by hunger and thirst (cfr. Exodus 16:1-6; 17:1-7) and when it fell into wretchedness of the worst kind, that is, unfaithfulness to the covenant and idolatry (cfr. Exodus 32:1-14). God’s answer to the poor is always an intervention of salvation in order to heal the wounds of body and soul, restore justice and assist in beginning anew to live life with dignity. God’s answer is also an appeal in order that those who believe in Him can do the same within the limitations of their human nature. The World Day of the Poor wishes to be a small answer which the whole Church, spread throughout the world, gives to the poor of every type and in every land lest they think that their cry has gone unheard. Probably, it is like a drop of water in the desert of poverty; and yet it can be a sign of sharing for those who are in need, that they might experience the active presence of a brother or a sister. It is not delegated power of which the poor have need, but the personal involvement of as many hear their cry. The concern of believers in their regards cannot be limited to a kind of assistance – as useful and as providential as this may be in the beginning – but requires a «loving attentiveness» (Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii gaudium, 199) which honours the person as such and seeks out his best interests. 4. The third verb is “to free”. The poor of the Bible live with the certainty that God intervenes in their favour to restore their dignity. Poverty is not brought on by itself, but is caused by selfishness, pride, greed and injustice. These are evils as old as man himself, but also sins in which the innocents are caught up, leading to consequences on the social level which are dramatic. God’s liberating action is an act of salvation towards those who manifest their sadness and distress to Him. The prison of poverty is broken open by the power of God’s intervention. Many of the Psalms narrate and celebrate this history of salvation which is mirrored in the personal life of the poor: «For he has not despised or abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; and he has not hidden his face from him, but has heard, when he cried to him» ( Psalm 22:25). To be able to contemplate God’s countenance is a sign of His friendship, His proximity, and His salvation. «Thou hast seen my affliction, thou hast taken heed of my adversities … thou hast set my feet in a broad place» ( Psalm 31:8-9). To offer the poor a “broad space” is to liberate them from the “snare of the fowler” ( Psalm 91:3) and subtract them from the trap hidden on their path, in order that they might proceed expeditiously and look serenely upon life. God’s salvation takes the form of hand held out to the poor which is welcoming, offers protection and allows them to experience the friendship which they need. It is beginning with this concrete and tangible proximity that a genuine path of liberation emerges. «Each individual Christian and every community is called to be an instrument of God for the liberation and promotion of the poor, and for enabling them to be fully a part of society. This demands that we be docile and attentive to the cry of the poor and to come to their aid» ( Evangelii gaudium, 187).5. I find it moving to know that many of the poor have identified themselves with Bartimaeus from St. Mark’s Gospel. Bartimaeus, a blind man, «was sitting by the roadside to beg» (verse 46) and, having heard that Jesus was passing by, «began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me”» (verse 47). «Many rebuked him, telling him to be silent; but he cried out all the more» (verse 48). The Son of God heard his cry: «“What do you want me to do for you?” And the blind man said to him, “Master, let me receive my sight”» (verse 51). This Gospel narrative makes visible what in the Psalm is announced as a promise. Bartimaeus is a poor man who finds himself deprived of fundamental capacities like his sight and being able to work for his living. How many paths today also lead to forms of precariousness! The lack of basic means of subsistence, marginalization stemming from a reduced capacity to work owing to ill-heath, the various forms of social slavery, notwithstanding the progress made by humankind … How many poor people today are like Bartimaeus, sitting by the roadside and searching for the meaning of their existence! How many of them ask themselves why they have fallen so far and how they can escape! They are waiting from someone to come up and say: «Take heart; rise, he is calling you» (verse 49). Unfortunately, often the opposite happens and the poor are reached by voices rebuking them and telling them to shut up and to put up. These voices are out of tune, often determined by a phobia of the poor, considered not only as destitute, but also as bearers of insecurity and instability, detached from the habits of daily life and, consequently, to be rejected and kept afar. The tendency is to create a distance between them and us, without realizing that by so doing we distance ourselves from the Lord Jesus who does not reject the poor, but calls them to Him and consoles them. The words of the Prophet concerning the style of life proper to believers is most apt in this case: «to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free and to break every yoke … to share bread with the hungry and bring the homeless and poor into the house … to cover the naked» (Isaiah 58:6-7). Deeds such as these allow sin to be forgiven (cfr. 1 Peter 4:8), justice to pursue its path and, when it is us to cry to the Lord, ensure that he will answer and say: here I am! (Isaiah 58:9). 6. The poor are the first to whom it is given to recognise the presence of God and to testify to His proximity in their lives. God remains faithful to his promise, and even in the darkness of the night does not withhold the warmth of his love and consolation. However, in order to overcome the overwhelming condition of poverty, it is necessary that the poor perceive the presence of brothers and sisters who show concern for them and who, by opening the door of their hearts and lives, make them feel like friends and family. Only in this way can we discover «the saving power at work in their lives» and «put them at the centre of the Church’s pilgrim way» (Evangelii gaudium, 198). On this World Day we are invited to give concreteness to the words of the Psalm: «The afflicted shall eat and be satisfied» (Psalm22:27). We know that in the Temple of Jerusalem, after the sacrificial rite, a banquet took place. It was this experience which enriched the first World Day of the Poor in many Dioceses last year. Many people found the warmth of a home, the joy of a celebration meal and the solidarity of those who wished to share the table in a simple and brotherly way. I would like that this year and in the future this World Day be celebrated in the spirit of joy for the rediscovery of our capacity for getting together. Praying together as a community and sharing a Sunday meal is an experience which takes us back to the earliest Christian community, described by St. Luke the Evangelist with all his originality and simplicity: «And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. […] And all who believed were together and had all things in common; and they sold their possessions and goods and distributed them to all, as any had need» (Acts 2:42.44-45). 7. Numerous initiatives are undertaken every day by the Christian community in order to give a sign of neighbourliness and relief in the face of the many forms of poverty which are before our eyes. Often it is the case that cooperation with other enterprises, moved not not by faith but by human solidarity, enable us to give assistance which by ourselves would have been impossible. Recognising that the in the immense world of poverty our capacity for action is limited, weak and insufficient leads us to reach out to others so that reciprocal cooperation can reach its objective in a more effective way. We are inspired by faith and by the imperative of charity, but we also know how to recognise other forms of assistance and solidarity which are characterized, in part, by our same objectives, albeit that we do not neglect our proper role which is to lead everyone to God and to holiness. Dialogue among the different forms of experience and humility in giving freely of our collaboration, without seeking the limelight, is an adequate and fully evangelical response which we can all give. In the service of the poor, the last thing we need is a battle for first place. Instead we should recognise with humility that it is the Spirit which solicits from us actions which are a sign of God’s answer and proximity. When we find a way to draw near to the poor, we know that the first place belongs to Him who has opened our eyes and our heart to conversion. The poor have no need of protagonists, but of a love which knows how to hide and forget the good which it has done. The true protagonists are the Lord and the poor. He who desires to serve is an instrument in God’s hands in order to make manifest His presence and salvation. St. Paul recalls this when writing to the Christians of Corinth, who used to compete amongst themselves for charisms by seeking the most prestigious: «The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you”» (1 Corinthians 12;21). The Apostle makes an important point when he observes that it is the parts of the body which appear to be weaker which are more necessary (cfr. verse 22); and those which «we think less honourable we invest with the greater honour, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, which our more presentable parts do not require» (verses 23-24). Thus, while Paul imparts to the community a fundamental teaching on charisms, he also educates it concerning its attitude towards its weaker and more needy members in the light of the Gospel. Far from the disciples of Christ nourishing sentiments of contempt or pietism towards the poor, they are called to honour them, giving them precedence, out of the conviction that they are a real presence of Jesus in our midst. «As you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me» (Matthew 25:40). 8. Here we can see how distant our way of living is from that of the world which praises, follows and imitates those who have power and riches, while at the same time marginalizing the poor and considering them a waste and an object of shame. The words of the Apostle Paul are an invitation to give evangelical fullness to solidarity with the weaker and less gifted members of the body of Christ: «If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honoured, all rejoice together» (1 Corinthians 12:26). Similarly, in the Letter to the Romans, he exhorts us: «Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly» (12:15-16). This is the vocation of the disciple of Christ; the ideal for which we must constantly strive is the increasing assimilation in us of the «mind of Jesus Christ» (Philippians 2:5). 9. A word of hope is the natural epilogue to which faith gives rise. Often it is the poor who undermine our indifference which is the daughter of a vision of life which is too imminent and bound up with the present. The cry of the poor is also a cry of hope which manifests the certainty of being liberated. This hope is founded upon the love of God who does not abandon those who trust in Him (cfr. Romans 8:31-39). As St. Teresa of Ávila writes in The Way of Perfection: «Poverty comprises many virtues. It is a vast domain. I affirm that whoever despises all earthly goods holds dominion over them» (2:5). It is in the measure in which we are able to discern authentic good that we become rich before God and wise in the face of ourselves and others. It is really so: in the measure in which we succeed in giving riches their right and true sense that we grow in humanity and become capable of sharing. 10. I invite my brother bishops, priests and, in particular, deacons, on whom hands have been laid for the service of the poor (Acts 6:1-7), as well as religious and the lay faithful – men and women – who in parishes, associations and ecclesial movements make tangible the Church’s response to the cry of the poor, to live this World Day as a special moment of new evangelization. The poor evangelize us, helping us to discover every day the beauty of the Gospel. Let us not waste this opportunity for grace. Let all of us feel on this day that we are debtors towards the poor because, stretching out our hands reciprocally one to another, a salvific encounter be created which strengthens our faith, renders our charity active and enables our hope to continue secure on the journey towards the Lord who is returning. From the Vatican, 13 June 2018 Liturgical Memorial of Saint Anthony of Padua Francis [Original text: Italian] [Vatican-provided text] © Libreria Editrice Vaticana 14th JUNE 2018 13:08 POPE AND HOLY SEE

[wakingthefury]

The Roman Catholic Church will be the infrastructure for the False Church as foretold in Revelation 17

Listen to Today's Program JD: As we think about the end times which we do of course on this broadcast and the events leading up that are foretold in Bible prophecy and the word of God. Do you think that Roman Catholicism fits into this prophetic scenario? DJ: Well we do know this, we know in the first half of the tribulation period before the antichrist goes into the temple to declare himself to be God he’s going to setup a false Christianity and he’s going to oversee that false religious system. I think it’s going to necessarily be bigger than the Catholic Church itself and so of course many people over the years have thought the Pope might be the antichrist. I think prophetically that’s not possible that he will come up as a political leader. But I think it is possible that given that the Catholic Church makes up 1 billion of the world’s population certainly it has to have a role in it. If you go to Revelation chapter 17 where it talks about the harlot on the beast and the mystery Babylon there are so many what seemed to be historical parallels. John is obviously looking forward but us looking back at John’s prophecies and visions there seemed to be some connection there. And then you combined with the actions of John Paul the second, Pope Francis toward conciliation toward merging of evangelism and I would say the charismatic movement along with Catholicism all of this is setting the stage for what some have called the super religion or the one world religion that will be present during the first half of the tribulation period. JD: David James with a Biblical understanding of the present day Roman Catholic Church and how it fits Revelation chapter 17.

We report this information because it is setting the stage for Bible prophecy to be fulfilled.

Many people have asked me if the Catholic Church in Rome is the false church as foretold in Revelation chapter 17. Let me quickly remind you that the words Catholic Church are not found in this prophetic passage. However, Revelation 17 does give us a description of the world wide false church that will be in Rome. It will be a mother son cult and it seems to be describing the false church of Revelation chapter 17. For example, the false church is a mother son cult dating back to the book of Genesis 11:4.

This church will be headquartered in a seven-hilled city and that is the city of Rome as we’ve already mentioned. And the beast mentioned eight times in the passage is the antichrist who will rule this false church. Revelation 17 may well be describing the Roman Catholic Church whether or not that is the case there will be a pseudo church in Rome during the tribulation period whoever that may be. 

via Jimmy DeYoung's News Update http://ift.tt/2vPNNn5

#IFTTT #Jimmy DeYoung's News Update #Prophecy #End Times

[christianandnerdy]

"God cannot be God without men" well that's his opinion, the God I believe in, the God of the holy bible doesn't need men, it is men who need God. #Repost @we_are_dust7 ・・・ For those who have eyes to see & ears to hear what the Spirit is saying. . [THE FALSE PROPHET] Has #PopeFrancis lost his mind? Or is the #Pope finally coming out of the Communist closet? 👉 #God can be God without man for God created man 👈, if we reverse this then God is a man-made creation – plain & straightforward. Pope Francis was speaking on the theme “God’s paternity, wellspring of our hope,” to a group of pilgrims & other faithful travelers. The Pope has once again sparked controversy amongst believers & theologians with his latest remarks made on Wednesday. Francis has similarly aligned his ideology with that of communism & even has claimed that “Communists think like #Christians.” The atheistic side of what the pope spews is coming to the forefront of his socialistic agenda, to state that God needs man to exist is to practically state that God is a man-made creation. Pope Francis also promotes a 👉 #oneworldreligion implying that Christians, Jews, & Muslims can #coexist 👈 & live in peace under the same god. 1). GOD DOESN’T NEED US; WE NEED GOD: 📖 Acts 17:24-27 God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; Neither is worshipped with men's hands, ➡as though He needed any thing,⬅ seeing He giveth to all life, and breath, and all things; And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; ➡ That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us:⬅ 2). Peace in only found in #JESUS [Isaiah 26:3, John 14:27] because He is the PRINCE OF PEACE [Isaiah 9:6]. 3). Salvation is only found in JESUS [Acts:4:12] because He is the only way [John 14:6].

#christians #jesus #coexist #oneworldreligion #popefrancis #repost #pope #god

[sammy24682468]

"Memory Text: “ ‘At that time Michael shall stand up, the great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people; and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation, even to that time. And at that time your people shall be delivered, every one who is found written in the book’ ” (Daniel 12:1, NKJV)."

"Last week we looked at the counterfeit trinity, Satan (the dragon) and two earthly powers that together will bring persecution against God’s people. One of these powers, the sea beast (Rev. 13:1-10), is described as a composite of a leopard, a bear, and a lion (Rev. 13:2)—images taken directly from Daniel 7:4-6. We saw in week 6 that in Daniel 7—after the rise of Babylon (lion), Media-Persia (bear), and Greece (leopard)—came the final earthly power, Rome. It started out as pagan Rome and then turned into papal Rome, the little horn power of Daniel 7:7, 8; 19-21; and 23-25 that rose directly out of the fourth beast. We saw, too, that many of the characteristics of papal Rome, as depicted in these verses in Daniel 7, reappear in the sea beast of Revelation 13:1-10. Hence, Bible scholars have seen Rome as one of the key antagonists in the end-time scenario of Revelation 13."

John is on the Island looking back in time while Daniel is looking forward to the future.

"Read Revelation 13:1-10 and go over the reasons why these texts are referring to the papacy, with regard to its role in the past and in the future. Notice specifically just how prominent a role it is given. What does this mean in terms of last-day events?"

"Although God has faithful people in all churches, Scripture does point to a specific role that this institution has played in history and will play in last-day events."

"For centuries the Roman church had been the central religion and, in many ways, the political center of the Western world. A telling example of her power is seen in the story of Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV, who, upon angering Pope Gregory VII, came to the pope’s castle to make peace. There, the Roman emperor was made to wait in an outer court for three days in the winter cold before the pope granted him entrance. Gregory VII, elated with his triumph, boasted that it was his duty to pull down the pride of kings."

The pope had more power than the kings back in those days.

"Nevertheless, by the late eighteenth century through the influence of the Reformation, the Enlightenment, and the French Revolution, Rome’s political and religious hegemony had been shattered. One of the popes, Pius VI, actually had been taken captive by the French army in 1798 and died in exile in 1799."

"Revelation 13, however, speaks of a resurgence after the healing of its “deadly wound” (Rev. 13:3). And although Rome today doesn’t have the kind of political power it wielded in the day of Gregory VII, it is an influential force, both religiously and politically, thanks to the popularity of recent popes (for instance, Pope Francis’ speaking to both houses of the U.S. Congress in 2015 was a historical first). According to prophecy, this influence only will grow."

"The beast that precedes this one—long viewed as Rome by Protestants—was depicted as having been given power for forty-two months (Rev. 13:5). The forty-two months are the same as the “time and times and the dividing of time” of Daniel 7:25, or three and a half years (Rev. 12:14), or 1,260 prophetic days (Rev. 12:6)—the time during which the papal power oppressed its opponents. This prophetic time period (using the day-year principle) began with the supremacy of the papacy, a.d. 38, and terminated in 1798, the year that the pope was taken captive. At this time the papal power received its deadly wound, and the prediction was fulfilled."

"About this point in history, near the close of the “forty-two months” (1798), another power appears (Rev. 13:11, Rev. 13:1). It arises this time out of the earth—which is in contrast to many of the previous powers, which arose out of water (see Dan. 7:2, 3)—a symbol of masses of people. “ ‘The waters which you saw, where the harlot sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues’ ” (Rev. 17:15, NKJV)."

"For these reasons, and others, this power must be the United States of America, which arose in a relatively uninhabited part of the world and didn’t need to overthrow any major empires in order to do so."

"“What nation of the New World was in 1798 rising into power, giving promise of strength and greatness, and attracting the attention of the world? The application of the symbol admits of no question. One nation, and only one, meets the specifications of this prophecy; it points unmistakably to the United States of America.”—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 440."

"Although this power is described first as having two horns like a lamb, symbolizing gentleness, it will speak “as a dragon” (Rev. 13:11), indicating a time of persecution such as took place under the previous power. Revelation 13:11-17, then, answers the question about how Rome could exert the influence that prophecy predicts. It will have the might of the United States behind it—that’s how."

"All through sacred history, the Lord constantly had to deal with those who fell into idolatry and other forms of false worship (see Matt. 4:8-10). In the final crisis, as depicted in Revelation 13, the issue of worship will again arise. Here, too, God’s people will have to make a choice about whom they will worship and serve (see Josh. 24:15)."

"In week 2, in the lesson titled “Daniel and the End Time,” we studied the story of three Hebrew boys who were ordered to “worship the golden image” (Dan. 3:5). We saw, too, how Revelation 13 uses language from that chapter in depicting the persecution that God’s people will face in the end times. That is, we may see what happened in Daniel 3 as a precursor to what will happen in the last days, as depicted in the immediate context of the beast powers in Revelation 13. All were commanded to worship the golden image, or they would be put to death in a fiery furnace. Similarly, in Revelation 13, whoever “would not worship the image of the beast [is] to be killed” (Rev. 13:15, NKJV)."

"Babylon always has been the capital of false worship. The Tower of Babel testified to its builders’ desire, like Lucifer, to “ascend above the heights of the clouds” (Isa. 14:14), as well as to its builders’ efforts to save themselves in case of another global deluge. Thus, they refused to believe God’s promise never to bring another flood upon the earth (Gen. 9:8-11)."

"The Neo-Babylonian Empire likewise exalted the work of human hands. Nebuchadnezzar extolled “this great Babylon, that I have built” (Dan. 4:30). Later, King Belshazzar took the golden cups of Solomon’s temple for a feast, and “they drank wine, and praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze and iron, wood and stone” (Dan. 5:3, 4, NKJV). Notice that the true vessels of the temple were filled with intoxicating wine, which deadened the sensibility of all who drank from them. As a result, many in the city perished when Babylon fell. Thus, an outward appearance of truth can deceive us by disguising the deadly “wine of Babylon.” False worship and false ideas are the currency of Satan’s kingdom."

"Babylon has a long history as the capital of false worship; so it is a fitting symbol of an end-time power that deceives the nations."

"Compare the dragon, the sea beast, and the scarlet beast (Rev. 12:3, 13:1-3, 17:3). What are the similarities and differences?"

Hint: what colors are found predominantly in the Roman Catholic Church.

"All three beasts have seven heads and ten horns, which represent the sum total of heads and horns of the beasts of Daniel 7. Each successive empire was built upon those that went before. Similarly, the scarlet beast combines elements of the dragon and the sea beast (symbolizing pagan and papal Rome, respectively), as well as of the land beast (Rev. 13:11-14), grouping “all three powers—all of God’s enemies—into a real coalition.”—Jacques B. Doukhan, Secrets of Revelation: The Apocalypse Through Hebrew Eyes (Hagerstown, Md.: Review and Herald® Publishing Association, 2002), p. 162. An additional element in Revelation 17 is the woman who rides on the scarlet beast, symbolizing an illicit union of religious and political powers. This woman contrasts sharply with the pure woman of Revelation 12:"

"Pure Woman (Rev. 12) Harlot (Rev. 17)In heaven On the waters Clothed with the sun Clothed in purple and scarlet Crown of twelve stars Adorned with gold, gems, pearls Attacked by the dragon Supported by the dragon Mother of the remnant Mother of harlots As “the mother of harlots,” Babylon has been busy reproducing itself. The apostate mother church has many apostate daughters. But God does not take ownership of the errors promulgated and atrocities committed by apostate Christianity. His true people, although attacked by Satan, survive through the centuries."

"Revelation 14:8 has already warned people of Babylon’s fall or apostasy from the truth, which eventually leads to the final deception, the mark of the beast (Rev. 14:9-11). This warning will be repeated with much greater power, culminating in one last appeal for God’s people still in Babylon to come out of her and unite with God’s end-time, remnant church (Rev. 18:1-4)."

"Over the years, students of Bible prophecy have been following world events with great interest, particularly as they seem to relate to the end time. Think, for instance, about the role of the United States. As far back as 1851, some Adventists were identifying America as the second beast power (Rev. 13:11-15), which was a very remarkable identification given the status of the United States then. In the mid1800s, the big powers were still the Old World ones: Prussia, France, Austria-Hungary, and England. At that time America had a peacetime army of about twenty thousand men, about one-tenth the number of combatants at the Battle of Waterloo (1815) alone. In 1814, just forty years earlier, the British invaded and burned Washington, D.C. In 1876, Sitting Bull’s braves wiped out General Custer’s Seventh U.S. Cavalry Regiment. Thus, even after some commentators identified the United States as the power that would one day enforce the “mark of the beast” on the world, the nation was still fighting Native Americans on its own soil, and not always winning either!"

"No question, world events are following as we have believed they would. But still more things need to happen before we reach the end. That’s why, for instance, when discussing the “mark of the beast,” it’s very important to emphasize that right now no one has it, regardless of whether or not they are keeping the fourth commandment."

"Read Revelation 18:1-4. What is happening here, and why is this important for us to remember now? What do these verses teach us about our mission to the world?"

"These verses paint a bleak political, moral, and spiritual picture of the world. They show the malevolent influence of false religious teaching in the world. At the same time, though, they offer great hope, because another angel from heaven lights the world with his glory. Further, God’s faithful people, the ones who haven’t learned yet what they need to know, are called out of Babylon. This means, then, that right up to the end, God’s people who are already out of Babylon have a work to do for those who are still in it."

"Satan’s attack on God’s law is an attack on God"

"Himself, both on His authority and on His government. So in the last days, in the climactic events of the final crisis, Satan will be attacking those who keep “the commandments of God” (Rev. 12:17, 14:12), for they alone will be refusing to pay him homage through his proxies here on earth. The battle that he waged against God in heaven long ago will be continued here on earth, and just as he was defeated in heaven, he will be defeated here on earth. “From the very beginning of the great controversy in heaven it has been Satan’s purpose to overthrow the law of God."

"It was to accomplish this that he entered upon his rebellion against the Creator, and though he was cast out of heaven he has continued the same warfare upon the earth. To deceive men, and thus lead them to transgress God’s law, is the object which he has steadfastly pursued. Whether this be accomplished by casting aside the law altogether, or by rejecting one of its precepts, the result will be ultimately the same. He that offends ‘in one point,’ manifests contempt for the whole law; his influence and example are on the side of transgression; he becomes ‘guilty of all.’ James 2:10."

"—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 582."