The Two Witnesses of Revelation - They're Everywhere, They're Everywhere

In my 26-year experience as a Pastor, I had managed to meet 23 of the Two Witnesses of Revelation. I am tempted to say 11 pairs and one who thought he was both, but that's not how it really was. Every one of these was a lone male, sometimes a pastor, sometimes a member, often times a lone religious renegade that no church would claim. For those of you unfamiliar with the concept of the Two Witnesses, these are the two final humans, but some say they will be the literally resurrected Moses and Elijah, Moses and Aaron, or Amos and Andy depending,, who will tell all of us on the earth why the end has come. 

As the Bible says, "This Gospel of the Kingdom of God will be preached to all the world, and then shall the INCOME, oops sorry, end come." The competition among those Pastors and Apostles that are hoping to win the title and at times behave more like competing to be Larry, Moe and Curly, but that would be Three Witnesses, will probably be more astounding than any Two Witnesses of Revelation. The description is found here in Revelation 11. 

REVELATION 11:3 "And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy one thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth." 4 These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands standing before the God of the earth. 5 And if anyone wants to harm them, fire proceeds from their mouth and devours their enemies. And if anyone wants to harm them, he must be killed in this manner. 6 These have power to shut heaven, so that no rain falls in the days of their prophecy; and they have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to strike the earth with all plagues, as often as they desire. (NKJV) 

While I personally feel that the chance of any two human beings being taken seriously in this role is about nil, it is none-the-less a very big part of the prophetic hopes of many literalists, especially those in what have become the remaining splinters of the now defunct Worldwide Church of God. It still exists, but it just doesn't know it has become irrelevant and uninfluential in the world of theology and religion. Tis more like a glorified Sunday School than a Church, but I spare you. The Two Witnesses would never come from the Worldwide Church of God because yelling, "woe unto you, we don't know the answer to that either, be warmed and filled..." etc, is just not a credible message these days and certainly not scary enough. The kind Jesus of the Gospels gets lost somewhere between John and Revelation as well. Angry books make angry churches.
However, even if there were ever such a modern day thing as the Two Witnesses, here is why it would not work. No two human males in the entire Church of God menagerie of splits, splinters, slivers and dust mites could ever get along long enough to come up with the same coherent message. Frankly, they would smite each other before they ever smote you and I. 

The Book of Revelation, which probably is not near as up to date for today as most think, nor written with the events of today in mind as many are taught requires the Two Witnesses to get along and agree with each other for a time of 1260 days or about three and half years. No way! I have yet to meet any two of the Church of God ministers, especially the Lone Rangers of "My Church is the one true church," mentality to be able to agree on anything or get along for much more than a few hours, if that. This is way short of the time these two men will have to live, eat and agree together on the next day's rants against the people. Let me illustrate what I mean. 

Ronald Weinland was a minister in the WCG, then a minister in the United Church of God (UCG), but a number of years ago declared himself a prophet--(even though I prefer the idea that Churches be NON-PROPHET) he did that many years after the Philadelphia Church of God's Gerald Flurry did the same. Both of these minister types were Worldwide Church of God pastors before the crash. Both went on to start their own one man shows. In an email inquiry of Mr. Weinland, by Dr. Robert Thiel of the Living Church of God, as to whether or not he claims to be one of the Two Witnesses, Mr. Weinland replies: 

"Yes I do make the claim. I am one of the witnesses. The subject is already covered in sermons on our website and will be covered far more thoroughly in a new book that will be out before next Feast of Tabernacles. 

So we have that settled. We have the first of the Two Witnesses, even though he was never on my original list of 23. So now we have 24. Hey nice! That's the same number of Elders around the throne of the Son, or the hours in the day around the SUN, whatever you like!" 

Next enter David C. Pack, founder and sole authority in the Restored Church of God, also a sliver offshoot of Christianity. While Mr. Pack has never said that that he is one of the Two Witnesses, he has said in sermons that they will come out of the Restored Church of God, come UNDER his supervision as Witnesses are not higher than Apostles, of which he is one, and that HE will train them for their 3.5 year assault on the world. 

Pretty cool stuff to spend your life planning I think! 

At any rate, Dr. Thiel goes on to note: 

"There is a rumor going around, which I never posted, that Ronald Weinland claims that David Pack is the other of the two witnesses. This is not true. When I asked him, I received the following response: 'No I haven't said such a thing about Dave. We are not going in the same direction.' 

I did post the above response so that those interested in the truth would realize that the rumor was false. I do have a concern that now that this rumor is out and now that Ronald Weinland claims to be one of the two witnesses, that it would not surprise me if one who has taken titles to himself (Gerald Flurry comes to mind) may decide they need to claim to be one of the two witnesses." 

So now we have problems. There are my 23 of the Two Witnesses, Gerald Flurry of the Philidelphia Church of God...maybe in time, Ron Weinland for sure and the two, yet to be announced in the Restored Church of God under Dave Pack. Let's see, 23+1+1+2=27 Two Witnesses. And these are just the ones I know of. Perhaps there is significance in 3×3x3 Witnesses, but I don't know what it might be so forget that. 

Ok, but here is the problem even bigger than too many of them. 

"5 And if anyone wants to harm them, fire proceeds from their mouth and devours their enemies. And if anyone wants to harm them, he must be killed in this manner. 6 These have power to shut heaven, so that no rain falls in the days of their prophecy; and they have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to strike the earth with all plagues, as often as they desire. (NKJV) 

Of course people are going to want to harm these guys. At least if they are
the ones mentioned. And with that much firepower, well they say way too much
now in Church that can't be backed up with reality, so someone is going to get burned. Letting them smite us all "as often as they desire," is just going way overboard on God's part. I think some of the smitting could degenerate into a bad case of "oh yeah...blam,""oh yeah...bash,""Oh yeah...crunch." A Way too human a way of getting everyone's attention. Personally I think, with the bad record churches and men have for being false prophets and witnesses and just plain looney, I would prefer that God just call a weekend seminar, serve nice food, and personally explain to all of us just what seems to be the problem. I respond better to that kind of thing rather than having people I don't trust in the least think they can smite me at will for not believing them personally. I still feel that when we speak to God, it can be called prayer, but when God speaks to us, we might need medication and not a following... But the real problem and the real reason we don't have to worry about the Two Witnesses coming out of the Church of God movements that have sprung from the demise of the Worldwide Church of God is best summed up in the observation by Mr. Weinland himself. 

"'No I haven't said such a thing about Dave. We are not going in the same direction.'"
This is our salvation! The fact is that no two men in any of these groups can get along for even a minute is the key that unlocks the truth of Revelation on this topic! Mr. Weinland can't abide Mr. Pack. Mr. Pack won't credential Mr. Weinland or Mr. Flurry. Mr. Flurry can't stand Mr. Pack and doesn't know Mr. Weinland and my personal list of 23 all agree that no way are these new guys invited into the final contestants for the job! Can two walk together unless they be agreed? The answer is no, so in no way will any of these guys be the Two Witnesses for 3.5 seconds, much less years. 

Now Mr. Pack insists that he will select the Two Witnesses and train them out of his own Church. I doubt that because Mr. Pack so loves titles, "The Watcher", "End Time Apostle"'"Mr." etc, that I am sure he'll want to be, hmmm...both of the Two Witnesses himself. There is more control over what is said, less overhead and less dispute over who is the chief smiter, firebreather, plague giver, blood maker and drought causer. 

Somewhere and somehow, Mr. Pack will find a way to give a four to eight hour sermon on how the Greek word for "two" is really the word for "twoo" as in "true" and Witnesses is really supposed to be singular. It is the Twoo Witness, which of course, will be Mr. Pack. 

The good thing will be that if the others oppose this, he can incinerate them with the word of his mouth and plague 'em. Well maybe not in that order. Well anyway, won't happen in reality. 

So relax everyone! Since no two male ministers of the same group or Church of God, and certainly no two in opposing groups can get along long enough to remotely fulfill the 3.5 years the Two Witnesses of Revelation will have to work together, we are all safe! Any two from this bunch will plague, drought, smite and incinerate EACH OTHER long before the sun goes down on the first day of their prophecy!  Dennis Diehl 2006

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/348380

But we have turned away from that God! We are spitting in the face of the God of the Bible in many, many ways. In an Op/Ed piece in this Sunday’s New York Times (February 14, 2016), I could not help but note a piece about the problems of “same-sex” couples. 

As a box inserted in the article states:  “Some married same-sexers want to be called wives, or husbands or partners; some ‘hersbands’ or ‘wusbands.’ Ask them.” Early in the article a man “who married his ‘husband’ in California in 2008” states:  “‘Secretly, for years, I kept referring to him as my partner if he wasn’t in the room,’ Mr. Valenzuela said. ‘There’s something deeply heteronormative about ‘husband’ that feels like a betrayal of my very queer identity. Like, if I say it, people will picture him wearing a cardigan reading the newspaper by the fireplace. I do say ‘husband’ more now, but a tiny part of me cringes with shame when I do.’” 

What a shame for this man to—as he himself says—betray his own “very queer identity!”

My friends, the Jesus Christ of your Bible is coming back to this earth soon! Then, this “queer” fellow quoted above will want to vomit when he finally realizes Who he has actually “betrayed” and his real “identity,” a male human being created in the image of God! We who are “called” now to understand and who fulfill our calling as true Christians will have the challenge and the opportunity to teach, to train and to genuinely help such confused and deluded human beings who will finally understand and want to fulfill their real purpose in life as potential sons of God!

Brethren, when we read the constant reports in the news about how corrupt governments all over the earth are crashing and hurting their peoples in the process, it is obvious that Almighty God will soon intervene! For the true God tells us in His Word:  “For I am the Lord, I do not change” (Malachi 3:6). So, Jesus Christ is coming soon (Revelation 11:15). That is truly the only hope for this corrupt generation!

Let me start by telling you a little about us. My husband, Patrick, is truly one of the most loving, kind, generous and God-fearing men I have ever known in my life. He has never met a stranger and would do just about anything to help just about anyone.  He's the type of person who always sees the best in everyone and keeps a positive outlook no matter how grim a situation is because of his profound faith in God. 

Patrick was a member of a small church called the Living Church of God (LCG) when I met him.  LCG is a splinter of a larger church that was called the Worldwide Church of God which was led by Hebert W. Armstrong.  Patrick's parents dedicated their lives to the church and Patrick followed in their footsteps. He made generous financial contributions, volunteered at youth camps, helped elderly church members and widows, etc.  When LCG moved its world headquarters to Charlotte, we sold our Kansas City home and moved there too. In short, we served LCG's ministers and members to the best of our ability for years. 

In September of 2014 a blogger wrote some unflattering things about LCG on his website.  LCG assumed that Patrick was the source of information  because of his close connections with the minister in question,  and then decided to "mark" both of us from the pulpit a few short days later in front of our congregation of over 250 people. 

 
"Marking" in LCG is similar to shunning in Amish communities. Being marked means that we are of such a vile and loathsome nature that we are considered enemies of Israel, enemies of the church, cast to Satan, beyond salvation. We were never counselled; just cast out without question. Church members are to shun those that are marked. To not participate in shunning a marked member is akin to making the conscious decision to disobey church ministry and in so doing risk your very salvation. 

With one fail swoop and on completely false accusations we lost every friend we had. We lost our church. Our children no longer had any friends (they are home schooled). We were cast out into the cold to wither and die. The heartache caused from such a profound loss was so great that we, in fact, felt like we were going to die. 

We contacted the blogger who promptly emailed LCG and posted a statement on his website stating that we were not the source of his information but the church refused to clear our names. 

We spent an entire year calling, writing, shamelessly begging and pleading for LCG to meet with us as Christians to try to work things out.  We were desperate. But it was all to no avail.  

Instead the church propagated more lies about us and spred them through whispering campaigns. They had to do as much damage to our reputations as possible to justify their completely un-Christ-like treatment of us to their members.  Especially when our reputations were that of generous, devoted, serving members who were well liked in congregations across the US and internationally. 

The Living Church of God continued to defame our character for over a year. After making many, many, many attempts to get them to work together toward peaceful resolution with no success, we initiated a lawsuit against them for Defamation of Character and Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress.  We want to restore our good family name and show LCG that it is not okay to use their power to bully their members. 

They have hired a powerful and expensive law firm to fight us. While they have a huge pool of tithe-payer funded cash to pay their legal fees, we do not. We have opened this GoFundMe account in hopes that people will help us fight for justice.  All money raised will go to pay our legal fees. If any should remain, we will donate it to St. Jude's Research Center. 

Please help if you can. We are most grateful for any assistance! The WCG and the LCG have left many hurt, broken, bullied and abused members in their wake.  Most felt they were defenseless and did nothing. We seek justice both for ourselves and for the many others whose lives have been negatively impacted by these organizations.

WORLDWIDE CHURCH OF GOD WORLD HEADQUARTERS

PASADENA, CALIFORNIA 91123

"For godly sorry worketh repentance to salvation ... but the sorrow of the world worketh death." (II Cor. 7:8-10).

Dear brethren, let us fervently pray for one another! Let us do everything we can to forgive each other, to help each other and to build the attitude of love and unity, of which we have experienced so much recently. Thank God for the wonderful weekend we enjoyed! But, let us also realize that in the months and years just ahead, Satan will do everything he possibly can to destroy that attitude of love and unity. He will come after us with clever arguments and demonic capacity so that we will need God’s direct power to overcome. So we can overcome. And with God’s help, we will overcome! 

That is why—as I have said—we must be willing to fight. We must recognize that we are not just “nice people,” but that we are also “Christian soldiers.” We must ask God for the Spirit, the faith and the courage of the Apostle Paul who wrote at the very end of one of the most traumatic event-filled lives in the history of Christianity: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing” (2 Timothy 4:7–8).

Anonymous said... 

lcg, like any other organization, is a reflection of the character of its leader; we all know this is not the first time dr. Meredith has been sued for this exact same kind of behavior...
when i attended lcg a decade ago there was a member who was disfellowshipped because they refused to stop eating swine; then in a sermon the minister mentioned this person and basically said negative things about this person, rather than just letting bygones be...
later, i was told either cut my long hair or i could no longer attend; i chose not to cut my hair, not because i wanted to merely keep my hair long, but as a matter of principle because i felt lcg, and wwcg in general did always choke on a gnat and wolf down a camel; 

i later wrote the minister and asked him not to slander me as he did the other member that he disfellowshipped, and warned him that if i found out that he did, i would consider legal action against him... 

dr. meredith, if you are not satisfied with the growth of the lcg you should look in the mirror and curse yourself; your own unkind, spiteful callous character has not only stunted the growth of lcg, and kept you from becoming the rightful leader of wwcg, but has indeed hindered the gospel... 

March 3, 2016 at 4:16 PM 

Victor Kubik was reconfirmed to a second term as president of the United Church of God, an International Association , after a full reaffirmation process on March 2, 2016. This second term runs from 2016-2019. The Council of Elders looks forward to working with Mr. Kubik in furthering the Vision and Mission Statements of the Church.

The Personal Appearance Campaign (PAC) in Nashville, Tennessee, last week drew 45 new guests who responded to invitations to attend via ads in Beyond Today (BT) magazine, BT subscriber letters, online advertising and Pandora radio ads. These campaigns provide a compelling and powerful way to preach the gospel because they are live and in-person. We come in direct contact with the public and can interact with them. It provides a safe way for people to approach us.

To Whom It May Concern

Patrick and I have decided to take down the Go Fund Me account this morning. It seems it has called into question our integrity which makes us feel badly. While much of the scrutiny is baseless (our lawyer isn’t working on contingency and we do not have millions of dollars in our bank account), it is still upsetting to be accused of “going back to court for a second helping” and other untrue statements which have been made to paint us in a negative light.

We tried for over a year to do everything possible to avoid this situation. We would have greatly preferred not to go to court but they left us with no other options because they were unwilling to even speak to us and we were unwilling to let our name be tarnished without basis.

Last Spring LCG put this whole ordeal into the realm of “worldly courts” when they sent us the attached release letter. The last paragraph is appalling. It was them, not us, which drew first (and second) blood and elevated this situation to this point. They not only wanted us to agree to their untruths but there was absolutely no indication that doing so would facilitate the initiation of the peace making process.

I would also like to take this opportunity to let people know that we had our lawyer write Mr. Meredith and Rod McNair a letter last summer stating that we had no desire to take this matter to court. We beseeched them to contact us within 7 business days to schedule a meeting to talk things out but they let the deadline come and go. We have made it clear that we do not desire to be reinstated as LCG members but that we just wanted to walk in peace, have our names cleared, and be able to openly love our few remaining LCG friends without them risking getting in trouble themselves.

From the beginning of this horrible ordeal with LCG, we have tried to do everything as rightly as we possibly could. The point of the lawsuit is to recover the sterling names passed down from two of God’s most devoted servants, Ralph and Patricia Scarborough. We want everything on the level in honor of their memory. We realize that at some point, everything we have done and said will possibly be made public. For that reason, we have strived especially hard to do everything with the best character we possible could.

We greatly appreciate the help of those who contributed to the Go Fund Me account in the short time it was activated. We have already paid over $10,000 in legal fees related to this lawsuit so every little bit helps.

Sincerely,

 

Patrick and Elizabeth Scarborough

Many members in LCG were unaware that Dibar Apartian had issues with LCG’s Tomorrow’s World magazine. He stated it lacked interest, depth, and relevance. In 2007 and 2008, he pushed Dr. Meredith to agree to have articles in it from me as he told me that my articles were what LCG needed. Dr. Meredith agreed, at least at that time. I agreed, but under the proviso that LCG would first fix errors in its booklet on church history. Although LCG, numerous times agreed to do that and told me numerous times that it was working on doing that, it never happened as various ones promised. The reality is that one of the top people did not want the magazine changed and prevented the booklet changes as a reason to not have me submit articles.

Dibar Apartian frequently used to urge me to try to get the other leaders in LCG to correct doctrinal, prophetic, and literature errors. Although I tried to get him to do more of that himself, he always instructed me to not only do that, but to remind other leaders in Charlotte to keep their promises to fix errors, literature, etc.

I just wanted to write you about Mr. Apartian and what he REALLY felt about LCG and its leaders.

I know that Dibar Apartian expressed serious concern for the LCG brethren, as he made comments about the “true colors” of LCG’s upper leadership would come out after his death-which is exactly what happened.

Mr. Apartian told several LCG members, whom he trusted, that LCG was no longer God’s true Church, and was no longer even a Godly church.

Mr. Apartian was against the “falling away” doctrine, just as John Ogwyn was against it also.

Mr. Apartian also knew that Herbert W. Armstrong was vehemently against Rod Meredith being the human leader of the church. Mr. Apartian always felt uneasy about following Rod Meredith, since he knew HWA’s feelings about that.

Mr. Apartian was also having private meetings, near the end of his life, with ministers of different Church of God groups-one of those ministers, whom Mr. Apartian met with, told me about their meetings in person. Those private meetings were about Mr. Apartian leaving LCG.

However, due to his rapidly failing health and a few other reasons, he stayed with LCG.
He did make it very clear though, that LCG was heading the wrong direction, in terms of doctrine and other major decisions as well.

Mr. Apartian was also very upset about Rod Meredith’s lack of compassion and concern for him, while he was near his death.

Rod Meredith had heard about some of Mr. Apartian’s revealing comments about LCG, and Meredith was not happy.

Therefore, Rod Meredith did not visit much with Mr. Apartian towards the end, and Meredith even discouraged other LCG members from visiting with Mr. Apartian-worried that more negative facts about LCG would “get out.”

I hope this info is helpful-God’s people need to know the truth about LCG and about Rod Meredith
. . .
Mr. Apartian actually said that LCG was no longer a Godly church!

He also said that we would all see LCG’s “true colors” after he died.

He made these statements to several LCG members, but most of them are still working at HQ, so they just keep quiet and don’t say a word.

The first is that it may have ecumenical and interfaith appeal. It may be that those that do may consider the Mars’ ‘cross ‘ (presuming it is not a shadow or something) as proof of its ‘universal’ nature.  This may encourage some to embrace the interfaith and ecumenical agendas that the Church of Rome is promoting.  Especially if the Vatican ever accepts the possible existence of this Mars’ cross as valid.

The second is that Catholic prophecy indicates that a cross will be used as a way to separate its supporters from others in the future.

The Bible is opposed to the idea of ‘holy relics’ like crosses. Here is one admonition from the Apostle John: 

21 Little children, keep yourselves from idols (1 John 5:21). 

Media and Communications Committee (MCC)—Rex SextonA MCC video conference was held on Feb. 11, 2016. Currently their responsibilities are to review the current Media Operation Plan and how it is being carried out. They also discussed flexibility in carrying out the Scopes and Responsibilities. The subject was discussed regarding the role of women authors in Church publications. There was a general discussion on the history of female UCG authors, and it was agreed that there exists no approved policy or guidelines on the subject. It was suggested that the Council consider an approved policy for Media and Communications Services, and there will be discussion on this topic in this week’s meetings.

03/05/16 p.m. The Banned By HWA corrected the date of its post below to today. Then Gary Leonard called me more names, as did some of those who post there. The bitter people over there have real problems with the truth--and yes, I do pray for them.

Read it here: Four tests to prove whether a prophet is true 

We need to carefully consider God’s Word—the Bible—in order to discern between false and true prophets. The Bible provides four tests to determine the genuineness of a prophet. 

1. Does the conduct of the prophet reflect godly character? 

Jesus and the apostles warned many times about deceptive prophets. In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus said, “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits” (Matthew 7:15-17). 

These prophets can be identified by their “fruits”—a term used metaphorically by Jesus to describe one’s actions and character. The law of God is the only standard we have to determine whether someone’s fruits are good or bad. True prophets will live in accordance with God’s law. 

2. Do the predictions of the prophet come true? 

Moses instructed ancient Israel: “When a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the thing does not happen or come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him” (Deuteronomy 18:22). 

The Bible gives a few exceptions. It shows that God has the prerogative to change His mind, as was the case with Jonah’s prophecies about Nineveh (Jonah 3:10). Also, this does not mean that God’s true servants couldn’t be wrong about timing, as Paul was in assuming he would be alive at Christ’s return (1 Thessalonians 4:15). 

Except in circumstances like these, if a prophet’s predictions do not come to pass, then he or she is not a true prophet. 

3. Are the words of the prophet consistent with Scripture? 

God explained to those who foolishly seek knowledge from mediums and wizards, “To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them” (Isaiah 8:19-20). 

Peter declared that the apostles could truthfully attest to many fulfilled Bible prophecies concerning the life and deeds of Jesus Christ. “For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. ... And we have the prophetic word made more sure” (2 Peter 1:16, 19, Revised Standard Version). 

Peter also stated that true prophets do not speak their own words. As Peter wrote, “Knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:20, emphasis added). 

4. Do the people benefit spiritually from the prophet’s ministry? 

God’s desire was that ancient Israel would serve as a model nation and represent Him to the nations around them. Israel would be blessed as it fulfilled God’s expectation.
With this background, God warned His people, “‘Behold, I am against those who prophesy false dreams,’ says the LORD, ‘and tell them, and cause My people to err by their lies and by their recklessness. Yet I did not send them or command them; therefore they shall not profit this people at all,’ says the LORD” (Jeremiah 23:32; also read verses 13-14). 

The results of a prophet’s ministry can also indicate whether this person is a false or true prophet.

Although COGWA left out some criteria, even eased upon the above criteria, there is one person in one of the COGs that meets all those criteria, and he is not part of COGWA, but physically heads up the Continuing Church of God(CCOG). 

Consider also that Jesus taught:

41 He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward. (Matthew 10:41)

Jesus is telling His followers that if a true prophet is out there, that they need to follow. 

Yet, in this Laodicean time (Revelation 3:14-18), most real Christians will not listen to what Jesus said on this and many other matters. 

While some discount prophecy and prophets, notice what Jesus admonished His faithful to do:  

     35 For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth.   36 Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man. (Luke 21:35-36)

Are we not a lot closer to the end now than when Jesus stated that? Should you not be watching world events as properly explained in the light of Bible prophecy? 

The various Laodiceans will not properly understand end time prophecy, and that will contribute to them NOT fleeing when they should (cf. Matthew 24:15-21; Revelation 12:14-17).

After 40 days and nights God began to stop the rain and close up the fountains of waters; and the waters began to slowly recede over the next 110 days so that the water level had fallen significantly.   

Besides the depth of the water, there would have been great earthquakes opening and later closing the deep aquifers of water inside the earth.  Such massive violent earthquakes would have displaced water causing a great sloshing back and forth of billions of tons of water carrying  rock and debris, which would have grooved the ground giving the appearance of ice ages and piling up huge numbers of bodies in various areas as we see in the fossil record today.  

The ancient pre-flood civilizations would now be buried deep under the sea and probably under many feet of mud at the bottom of the sea  today; the legend of a pre-flood Atlantis world may have been based on these facts.

Then three months later on the first day of the tenth month the tops of the mountains became visible as the water continued to recede.  

These were the mountain tops seen by Noah; huge mountains were also being up-thrust around the earth but were not seen by Noah being great distances away. 

During this time some of the great canyons of the earth were formed, as up-thrusts of land caused billions of acre feet of water to suddenly rush off the up-thrust land, like millions of high pressure hoses; the water rushing downward to lower elevations; just like during the creation week. 

No, the Grand Canyon did not take millions of years to form; it took months, as water ran off when the area was suddenly thrust upwards as God resurfaced the earth; thrusting up land causing vast quantities of water to run off at tremendous speed and pressures. 

This present world with its high mountains, hills, valleys and plateaus was formed by God via this flood, and today’s world is quite different from the pre-flood world.

Then God continues to bring rain on the earth in place of watering the earth by mist and dew, which rain began at the flood; the forming of rain drops in the atmosphere would now refract sunlight through the large droplets and produce the rainbow. Pre-flood there had been no rainbow as there was no rain drops, only mist [condensing dew], which did not refract the light in that manner. 

It is my judgment that there is significant and verified evidence that the season is well-advanced in Eretz Israel. In my opinion, there is sufficient fully mature grain, in both thewildandagriculturalcrops that a first of the first-fruits sheaf would be available to wave on the evening afterthe Sabbath of March 26, 2016 and that there would be sufficient grain (parched or raw) to be groundinto the required meal offering at that time. Therefore, it is my expressed conclusion that the NewMoon crescent we seek on the evening of March 9, 2016 will be the first of the New Year, and begin themonth of Abib. YOSR

Nehemiah Gordon and other Karaite Jews (who continue to adhere to the Second Temple Calendar), have posted both of their ‘aviv barley’ reports: 

“On Wednesday March 9, 2016 we examined barley in the Judean Desert and Jordan Valley. Despite finding some lone stalks of Aviv barley, we did not find any fields that had significant amounts of Aviv barley. In one sampling of the most advanced barley at Ein Mabua in the Judean Desert we found 10% of the stalks were Aviv, not nearly enough to harvest with a sickle as per Deut.16:9.”

Thursday, March 10th: “After scouring the Land of Israel for Aviv Barley, the Aviv Search Team has concluded beyond any doubt that the time of the Aviv has not yet arrived. We found individual stalks of Aviv barley in the Judean Desert and northern Negev. However, we did not find any fields with substantial quantities of Aviv Barley. 

The answer is clear. The new moon sighted on March 10, 2016 is the beginning of the 13th Hebrew Month. The First Hebrew Month, Chodesh Ha-Aviv, will begin on April 8, 2016 (barring clouds). The festival of Passover (Chag HaMatzot) will begin April 22 at sunset and Shavuot will fall out on Sunday June 12, 2016.

We sighted the new moon of the 13th Hebrew Month on March 10, 2016 from Jerusalem. The new moon was first sighted by Keith Johnson followed shortly thereafter by Nehemia Gordon, Yoel Halevi, Devorah Gordon, and Gil Ashendorf. Photos of the new moon are on Facebook” 

Brian and Linda Convery’s ‘aviv’ reports, with pictures, for March 7th, 8th, 9th & 10th are all on their Abib of God website.

NEW YEAR ANNOUNCEMENT:   Brian inspected the crops in the south yesterday even going as far south as Sderot in the Gaza belt.  No barley was found anywhere near the required  maturing stage anywhere.  Not even the fig trees were leafing out yet.  He will inspect in the  north of the country tomorrow.  

Nevertheless it is clear that absolutely no advanced growth barley exists in the immediate vicinity of Jerusalem and the temple; which is required for the first month of the new year to be declared.  

If the New Moon is seen as expected after sunset Thursday night, it will make March 11 the first day of the 13th Biblical month.  As expected the New Year and Passover will be in April. 

New International VersionStop bringing meaningless offerings! Your incense is detestable to me. New Moons, Sabbaths and convocations-- I cannot bear your worthless assemblies.
New Living TranslationStop bringing me your meaningless gifts; the incense of your offerings disgusts me! As for your celebrations of the new moon and the Sabbath and your special days for fasting--they are all sinful and false. I want no more of your pious meetings.
English Standard VersionBring no more vain offerings; incense is an abomination to me. New moon and Sabbath and the calling of convocations— I cannot endure iniquity and solemn assembly.
New American Standard Bible "Bring your worthless offerings no longer, Incense is an abomination to Me. New moon and sabbath, the calling of assemblies-- I cannot endure iniquity and the solemn assembly.
King James BibleBring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting.
Holman Christian Standard BibleStop bringing useless offerings. Your incense is detestable to Me. New Moons and Sabbaths, and the calling of solemn assemblies-- I cannot stand iniquity with a festival. 
International Standard VersionStop bringing useless offerings! Incense is detestable to me, as are your New Moons, Sabbaths, and calling of convocations. I cannot stand iniquity within a solemn assembly.
NET BibleDo not bring any more meaningless offerings; I consider your incense detestable! You observe new moon festivals, Sabbaths, and convocations, but I cannot tolerate sin-stained celebrations! 
GOD'S WORD® TranslationDon't bring any more worthless grain offerings. Your incense is disgusting to me, so are your New Moon Festivals, your days of worship, and the assemblies you call. I can't stand your evil assemblies.
JPS Tanakh 1917Bring no more vain oblations; It is an offering of abomination unto Me; New moon and sabbath, the holding of convocations-- I cannot endure iniquity along with the solemn assembly. 

I hate your new moon festivals and your appointed feasts, They have become a burden to Me; I am weary of bearing them.…

Matthew 11:28-30New International Version (NIV)28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

The greatest is one who is a true servant—one who truly cares for and helps others! Notice that it was the Son of God, Jesus of Nazareth, who took little children up in His arms and who stooped over to wash the feet of His disciples. You can read about that foot-washing service in John 13. It was Jesus who sacrificed His life for us all! As the Apostle Paul wrote: “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). 

Jesus’ example was one of service, sacrifice and love. “For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life” (Romans 5:10). 

Whatever position we may hold in this life, we will never find true success unless we have an attitude of godly service toward others. One of the measures of true success is the degree of godly service one is willing to give. False success depends on the get principle, the standard carnal condition—or “default characteristic”—of human nature.

In the 40+ years I have been in the church of God I have seen multiple churches divide and split time after time- for the same reason. I have seen sexual predatorsgiven hall passes. I have seen good honest Christians, who are just trying to serve God, kicked to the curb like a piece of trash after decades of loyal service. I have seen decisions being made by the Ministry that greatly affected my family, done haphazardly that have affected me still to this day. 

War, crime, inequity and hate pervade our human society. Only the Kingdom of God will bring to earth the peace, prosperity and harmony that will allow humanity to flourish, but Christians can have a foretaste of the Kingdom by living God's way! 

All over the world, millions are beginning to realize more than ever that the world around them—the entire human society—is coming apart and coming to a bitter end unless massive changes come about soon. For entire governments are being overthrown right and left throughout the Middle East, Africa and elsewhere. The terrorist group widely known as ISIS has overthrown several governments and undermined the stability of others. Their model of governance is essentially a dictatorship, which rules under Sharia Law—a legal system derived from a particular medieval understanding of the Muslim holy book, the Quran, and subsequent commentaries. In practice, as millions can attest from personal suffering, this is a harsh and bitter way of life that oppresses not only women but in fact the healthy family and every part of society.