• Romans 3:23 We have ALL sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God. But... 1 John 1:9 if we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. We stand behind you Pastor Jim and family, because you are willing to confess any shortcomings and pay for them if necessary.

Well, since 2009 I have been watching Karl zu Guttenberg as one who possibly could be the final King of the North of Bible prophecy.  He has already fulfilled at least seven speculative predictions I have written about him.

The fact that he keeps making statements like the final King of the North might be expected to say is also consistent with that.  He has complained that US President Obama is the “most detached President” he had seen in decades, is consistent with the views of one who could one day be persuaded to takeover the USA–which is what the final King of the North will do per Daniel 11:39.

Now there was also something else that caught my interest in the TheStreetTV YouTube video.

Which was?

Karl zu Guttenberg had both a beard and mustache.  Not like what he had once when he had not shaved for three days some years ago, but one that looks like he may keep it for a time.  And he did not have it in another YouTube video that was posted about three weeks earlier.

Well back in 2011, in an article, I had written and quoted the following:

Also notice:

Anonymou Paraphrasis (10th century): He is graceful and charming his cheeks are turning red when he blushes. He is tall in stature, he has a beard, and there is a moustache also…he has dark hair, his head begins to turn bald in the front, he has an elderly look… (Tzima Otto, p. 43)

The Baron is considered to be graceful and charming. And while the Baron is not tall by modern standards, he would be tall by the standards of the time the above was written (the average height for a male was about 5 foot 6 inches a century or so ago). I do not know if his cheeks are able to turn red. He is slightly balding in the front. In the hundreds of photographs I have viewed of him, he never had a beard or moustache. So, either the prophecy is in error (or does not apply to him) or he will get both a beard and a moustache.

The Anonymou Paraphrasis is a Greek Orthodox writing that foretells the rise of one that is often called the ‘Great Monarch.’ The ‘Great Monarch’ is a leader that many Greco-Roman private prophecies tell of who is to re-establish a universal ‘Catholic’ faith, annihilate heretics, eliminate Islam, and conquer the Anglo-Saxon descended English speaking nations.  This is an individual that seems to have frightening similarities to the King of the North (Daniel 11:21-44), the final Beast of the Sea (Revelation 13:1-10) that the Bible warns against.

As far as Herr Guttenberg’s present facial hair, it is my view that his beard and mustache do not currently give him a truly elderly look.  I will speculate that if Karl zu Guttenberg lets his beard and mustache grow a bit longer, and he starts to show some gray, this likely will give him an elderly look, consistent with the prophecy in the Anonymou Paraphrasis.

Of course, of itself, simply growing facial hair is not proof that Baron Guttenberg is the final King of the North of biblical prophecy.  But because of his new appearance, combined with other actions, statements, and what the Bible says should be happening around this time, Herr Guttenberg remains a person of interest, to me at least.

Now if Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg gets involved with a future Middle East peace deal and he establishes some type of new religious “Catholic” order, then he could become the final King of the North. But even if he is not, we are certainly living in times where a powerful leader in Europe will rise up.

The final phase of the work is moving forward.  More information is being put together, more people are being reached, and people are being reached in more languages.

It is the highly dedicated in the real Church of God (COG) that will finish the human part of the final phase of the work before (Matthew 24:14-15) and during (Revelation 11:3-14) the Great Tribulation and Day of the Lord. Presuming no significant organizational changes, for many reasons, the final phase of the work will be led by the Continuing Church of God

This final phase of the work seemingly will consist of identifying what is happening in the world (specifically also in Europe, the Middle East, and the Anglo-descended nations), finishing the proclamation of Christ’s gospel of the kingdom as a witness along with persecution (Matthew 24:9-14), the rise and work of the two witnesses (Revelation 11:2-12; which will likely overlap a few days with Matthew 24:14), the likely assistance to the two witnesses by the scattered flock (Revelation 20:4; cf. Luke 9:2-6), the three angel’s messages (Revelation 14:8-11; plus other angelic interventions), and the witness of those persecuted and martyred for Jesus (cf. Revelation 17:6). And then Jesus will return and establish the Kingdom of God.

Being killed as the result of persecution is seemingly also part of the final phase of the work that some of God’s people will endure:

12 Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. 13 Then I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.’” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors, and their works follow them.” (Revelation 14:12-13; cf. 6:11)

About a decade ago, evangelist R.C. Meredith and I were talking and he agreed with various points I was raising about the end time work. And back then, I was able to help lead him to essentially state that in the end it would not mainly be the message of the COG vs. the Protestants, but it would be the COG basically vs. the ecumenical religion that will rise up in the end that will likely (for a while) refer to itself as “Catholic.” In 2005, during the Feast of Tabernacles in Clearwater Beach, after a private lunch, we and our wives met at his hotel room and I also discussed various aspects of the final phase of the work with him–and I had other meetings, discussions, and emails related to that with the other Charlotte evangelists through December 14, 2012. Yet, even though he and others in his church agreed to take many steps related to the final phase of the work, few, if any, of the promised steps were taken by his group–this is a major part of why the Continuing Church of God needed to form.

A bolder, yet truthful, willingness to “name names” and call out what is happening will need to happen than the official COG groups formed between 1986 and 2011 have done–and this would seem to have to be led by the Continuing Church of God. (I have emails from one or more LCG evangelists where they objected to doing parts of this themselves, as well as notes from a meeting where they told me, and one was Dr. Meredith, that they were afraid that I was could become too bold and that they did not want to take bold proclamation steps that could trigger the persecution that they teach is biblically prophesied.)

The gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed more powerfully to the world as a witness and the end will come (Matthew 24:14). We in the CCOG are reaching people in over 220 countries and territories and expect to continue to lead the humanly-involved portion of that, and certain other aspects, of the final phase of the work.

 Partially because the message of the COG, the people of the holy covenant, will enrage the upcoming prince/king of the North (Daniel 11:28-30). One or more associated with the Continuing Church of God will be identifying that the European “prince” (Daniel 9:26-27) who is rising up to become a king, will not be able to truly bring peace, but instead about bring war and will be in league with the final Antichrist. This will likely trigger major media coverage. Scrutiny of real, as well as claimed, COG literature will likely happen and various aspects of real and incorrect COG doctrines will likely be ridiculed.

 Will you support the final phase of the work?

Satan and the Laodiceans simply do not wish to properly support God’s work. Of course, many Laodiceans do not know that they are in that condition, and for many reasons will not understand the final phase of the work or who is leading it.

Because creation came from a Creator, it follows that environmental disasters have a spiritual dimension. Thankfully, the someone who created our planet and created us reveals Himself to human beings. He is God.

But a God who lovingly made creation would never allow humans to suffer. That is a false argument, based not on God’s actual nature, but on our own ideas.

God punishes. We can see that in the Bible, and we can see that in the news. Why? Because we sin. We sin so much that if God doesn’t intervene, we will drown in it. We are on our way to violently deleting ourselves from this planet, no environmental disasters needed.

So God uses something no human being can control to communicate with us: our environment. We just need to get the message: If your entire world is shaking, something is wrong.
 
When earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes, mudslides, tornados and fires strike, does that mean God is lashing out at us in retaliation? No. It is God’s loving correction for those who will recognize it. Does it mean that the people who die as buildings collapse on them are extra-sinful people? Jesus Christ Himself answered this exact question. He said that those who die in such disasters are a warning to the rest of us that unless we repent, we will likewise perish.

So we have a great deal of unity. The vast majority of our ministers and members all “speak the same thing.” And we are overwhelmingly involved in “giving ourselves” to “do the Work”! Brethren, I am extremely grateful to report to you in the name of Christ that we do have a greater sense of unity and harmony in this present Work than at any other time I can remember in the 63 years of my full-time service!

Most of you know that the man appointed to be my successor, Mr. Richard Ames, is extremely dedicated, balanced and loyal. I hope all of you will support him with all your heart unless he turns totally away from God as some men in recent years have done. However, those who turned aside a number of years ago had not been “tried and tested” in the way that Mr. Ames has. So I have every confidence that—although Satan will attack us and try to divide us and upset us in other ways—it will undoubtedly not be because Mr. Ames turns aside. So I ask you to give him every support and heartfelt prayers to continue on faithfully as you have done with me. Thank you!

Also, if anything should happen to Mr. Ames, another of the most experienced and dedicated leaders in the Work at this time is Mr. Gerald Weston, who has already been acknowledged by the Council of Elders to carry on in Mr. Ames’ place, if necessary, as Presiding Evangelist of the Living Church of God. Mr. Weston, also, has been tried and tested in many different ways. He has served faithfully throughout the United States, across Canada, and soon will be serving full-time in Britain, Europe and the Middle East. Do give him your support and your fervent prayers!

Lucifer was not loyal to His Creator. We must not be like that.

...we must do what we can to continue the wonderful spirit of unity, brotherly love and service 

...focus on doing with faithfulness that which is our own part—sincerely trying to support those who may have, at this time, a higher “rank” in the Work of God.

It looks like LCG is preparing for the death of Rod Meredith by amassing ministers in Charlotte at LCG headquarters. What better way to ensure that ministers will ally with you in a split than to bestow upon them the honor of being brought to headquarters? It feeds their egos and makes them feel special and extra worthy. It is likely that the thought is that by keeping them close, they will retain them instead of losing them to other ACOG’s in the turmoil of the imminent LCG split after Meredith kicks the bucket. Although Meredith has recently named Ames or even Gerald Weston as his heirs to the LCG throne, most in LCG speculate that the split will be Jim Meredith vs Doug Winnail. I like to imagine the battle being like that episode of Star Trek where Kirk and Spock are forced to fight each other on Vulcan. Jim Meredith is impulsive, overly-confident and short-sighted but he carries the Meredith name. Winnail is slow to act but cunning and calculated. Oh the suspense!

At present there are somewhere between 115-125 ministers in the entire Living Church of God (which ironically is dying).  At last count there were nearly 20 ministers in Charlotte alone. It is rare for them to preach on the Sabbath (we are primarily subjected to one of 3 sermons Mr. Meredith repeats over and over again, hearing from anyone else is rare). Rod McNair and Mike Desimone are officially the pastors of the Charlotte congregation if anyone needs anointed or wants marriage counseling or whatever but most would rather suffer than call McNair and Desimone is still wet behind the ears. 

There is no real explanation as to why so many ministers would be in Charlotte when those left in the field are spread so thinly. It is frustrating because there are so many members out there, who never or very rarely get to see a minister; who are dedicated to a church that would rather keep bringing ministers to headquarters and inventing jobs and fancy titles instead of using them to feed the flock. It would make more sense to hire trained professionals to fill these positions than to take ministers from the field. It seems kind of backwards.  One would think that the ministers would, in fact, miss ministering if that is where their hearts truly were. Unfortunately and predictably, they get to headquarters and enjoy having a title, being part of the upper echelon and having their butts kissed because “they are from headquarters”.  Forget those long hours driving to meet remote members or to meet potential new converts. Forget all that grueling work counseling and anointing members, visiting the sick, helping the poor, etc. 

Sadly, coming to work at LCG headquarters always leads to a huge let down as they learn how much backbiting and politicking goes on. They soon realize that “God’s true work” isn’t really that Godly and that men who they always looked up to are frightfully carnal with enormous egos that demand to be fed daily. But hey, you still get a free company car and a free gas card even though you only have to drive 4.3 miles to get to work every day so it eases the pain just a little.

The following LCG ministers are already suckling from the Meredith power tit here in Charlotte:

• Rod Meredith
• Jim Meredith
• Richard Ames
• Doug Winnail
• Dexer Wakefield
• Rod McNair
• Scott Winnail
• Peter Nathan
• Mario Hernandez
• Wally Smith
• Gary Ehman
•  Gaylyn Bonjour
•  Wyatt Cesielka
• Dr. Germano
• John Robinson
• Mike Desimone
• Don Davis (was a minister but has his power stripped a few years back and has slowly been getting more and more responsibility again)
•  Charles Ogwyn (no longer works in the headquarters building but still attends the Charlotte congregation

The Worldwide Church of God faced problems in obtaining accreditation for its ‘Ambassador College’, under the direction of Michael Germano, who was unable to carry out all the changes necessary for accreditation, as he was not given full authority to do so. On refusing its second application in 1970, the Western Association of Schools and Colleges commented that, “The basis of ‘truth’ for Ambassador and its faculty is whether or not facts, information, or ideas agree with their Biblical interpretation ... Science has ‘advanced’ by constant self-criticism. Such a direction does not seem to be open for Ambassador faculty, however. This borders on academic dishonesty.”

Viktor Kubik announced to the General Conference of Elders that the church is considering accreditation for Ambassador Bible College. “Ambassador Bible College will be further developed as a place of biblical learning and training in service and leadership. We’re looking into it being accredited for international students to be able to more easily come and learn as well.”

The Living Church of God’s Living University, under the presidency of Dr. Germano, has gained limited accreditation, so it offers resources that “Living University does not necessarily endorse ... nor vouches for their accuracy.”  Church of God News

I'm telling you what the world is like. AND CHRIST CAME TO CALL US OUT OF THIS WORLD AND TO BE SEPARATE — NOT TO GO ON INTO IT FURTHER. 

   Why is it that not only have we found that those students that come here that have had a university education are handicapped? And they are! And they're not humble like they should be. And that we find that those who graduate from here, never having gone to another university, if then they are encouraged to go and get additional degrees, right away they become so very self-important. And they look down on us and they look down that way on Ambassador College — it is of nothing. 

   University of Southern California, that's very big, that's way up here, UCLA that's way up here, Stanford they're way up there, Harvard, oh, that's bigger yet, Oxford and Cambridge. Ambassador College, oh, that little 'ole thing over there, they believe in Jesus Christ. Well you know if they believe in something like that, that's not scientific. Even God isn't scientific. You know science refers only to those things that are physical and material and Christ is not physical or material neither is God. So what do they think of God? They have nothing but disrespect and contempt for God and for Jesus Christ. AND THAT'S WHAT THEY'RE TAUGHT AND THEY COME TO HAVE THAT ATTITUDE. I'M TALKING OUT; I'M SPEAKING OUT HERE TODAY. THAT'S THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM IN THIS WORLD. 

Real Accreditation

   There's one college that has real accreditation in this world and that is Ambassador College in Pasadena, California. And if Ambassador College in Big Sandy, Texas goes on to be a four year college it'll have that same accreditation. 

   Well, Jesus started the church by starting with twelve people. How's He going to start the Kingdom of God, that great family of God, that ultimately is going to consist of billions of people? He is going to start that through the church. He is going to start that through the church. 

   So here we are near the end of Satan's world that started back in the days of Adam, and they started a certain educational system. They started certain kinds of government. The first record that we have so far as I know is that of Nimrod after the flood. And we had, first city states, government of a certain city, and the wars from one city between one city and another. And finally we got into certain nations. And we had the nations of Egypt and Babylonia and of Greece and so on. And then a man named Nebuchadnezzar got a lot of those nations together in the first world empire and government came to be empirical. That was succeeded, it was called the Chaldean Empire or Babylon after its capital city. It was succeeded by the Persian Empire and that by the Greco-Macedonian Empire — split up into four divisions after Alexander died prematurely in a drunken debauch. 

   And then came the great Roman Empire, it fell in 476 AD and in 554, the Pope at Rome brought Justinian from Constantinople on over to Rome to start the Holy Roman Empire as they called it. That was a sort of resurrection, a rejuvenation of the old Roman Empire. In the meantime there had been the Vandals and the Ostrogoths and the Heruli and they sort of disappeared. We don't know what ever happened to them. The Bible says they were plucked up by the roots and a plant plucked up by the roots is gone. You can't find any record of it any longer and that's the way it was, and that came from Constantinople. 

   Now I had an experience just on this last trip, just about two weeks ago. In Jerusalem the patriarch, he's younger than I am, but he's the patriarch of the Eastern Orthodox Catholic Church, the Greek Catholic Church. And he came to my suite in the hotel to see me. I thought he might come and I was prepared and I had a gift of Steuben to give to him, but he came with a gift for me. And he presented me, I didn't think; I might have brought it with me and I could show you here today. I think maybe we will show it; I don't know whether to show it or whether to throw it away. Well now, I don't mean any disrespect, I want you to understand what I mean. What he gave me he regarded as something of very great honor. It was a medal that had first been given by, oh what they call him, the great Constantine wasn't it? From Constantinople way back in those days about the fourth or fifth century and it is a fairly large gold cross and it comes with, well I believe it's a ribbon, that will hang around the neck and you can wear it. Course I'm not going to wear it, because it's a pagan symbol that's what I meant, but he doesn't look on it as pagan. And he looks on it as something very great and God does look on the heart. As far as he knows he isn't looking on it as anything wrong now you understand, I don't mean any disrespect and we should respect certain offices even though they are wrong. I tell you I respect the office of Satan, believe it or not, I respect it because I fear it. There is power there. 

   But so few of those have ever been given. From the first one they have a record of every one ever given. Way back since about the fourth or fifth century or something like that. I think it was Constantine the great who gave the first one. That will go back to the fourth century, 321 AD — 321. And that's the time of the Nicene Council, and the one I have is the, let me see, the one hundred and twenty-first wasn't it, or was it the one thirty-first one that has ever been given in all these years. Well I think that probably we shall put it in our collection of souvenirs and things that have been given, and of perhaps of decorations that have been give me and things of that sort. But anyway, I just thought I would mention it. It was looked upon as a very great honor and I'm sure he meant it that way, so I don't mean any disrespect. I think you understand that. 

Rod McNair recently ordered one of his members to quit their job at a nursing home where they worked helping sickly senior citizens. His reason? Demons. It is his belief that demons often inhabit the elderly.LCG recommends that its members stay away from people with mental illness and now they have added to that, the elderly. Ironic since the average age of an LCG member is about 75 and its leader, Rod Meredith, is 85.  According to sources, this member obediently quit their job immediately after being told to. Most professionals understand the importance of giving a notice of resignation out of respect for the employer and to maintain ones reputation in the industry. But not McNair. This member was subsequently accused of being disobedient to God's ministry by not quitting quickly enough once McNair learned that the member worked a two week notice to wrap up their obligations to the company. The member has now been disfellowshipped.

This raises several questions. What kind of church tells a member to quit a job that entails helping the needy on a daily basis? The elderly are often forgotten or neglected in our society. Is that what Jesus would do?What kind of member obeys this insane request, likely to their own financial detriment? Is it Christian to avoid the sick? The mentally ill? Is it fair to treat the mentally ill as demon possessed? Even if this person was told to quit and didn't, would that really be grounds for disfellowshipment? Are LCG members outraged by this or are they onboard with this type of behavior?

Every time I hear another one of these stories coming out of Charlotte I am left wondering... what will it take to make people realize that this isn't what being led by Christ looks like. By their fruits they will be known... wake up sheeple.

I was having trouble believing this story. So I did a little digging.
And to my horror it is true!
How can this happen?
How can someone be so unchristian?
My mind is boggled by this!

I know this person. They were in a good position at this nursing home for years. I went to this facility to visit 3 different church members who were each there for a short time after being in the hospital for different things. One of them was a minister.

Each time I left the nursing home I remember thinking that you would have to be a saint to work there. I can't imagine helping people like that with everything from getting food in their mouths to going to the toilet (or worse, cleaning a diaper).

I have heard this rumor going through LCG ever since the Winter Weekend but I haven't talked to the person because we have been told not to. It makes me feel sad that something like this could happen and I don't understand it.

Serving those who are rarely served (the elderly) seems honorable.

It seems like it would have been easy enough for Mr. McNair to prove that this person had quit their job simply by calling the nursing home and asking if so-and-so still worked there.

Even still, I can't imagine asking them to quit in the 1st place :(

There are so many troubling things about this story. I heard it months ago and sort of knew that it would eventually end up being made public. Despite what anon 6:00 says, LCG members are troubled by the story.

It's troubling that they think nursing homes are demon-filled. It's troubling that the ministry think they have the authority to ask someone to quit a job helping people (including church people). It's troubling that this member was accused of "lying about quitting" because they worked a 2 week notice. It's troubling that this person was subsequently disfellowshipped for the so-called lie. Especially since anyone who knows the person knows that they really did quit the job when they said they quit their job which would have been pretty easy to prove in the first place. The whole situation is sad.

"Are LCG members outraged?"

No. They aren't. They believe that LCG is the Church of God under the direction of Jesus Christ led by Christ's chosen leader, Rod Meredith.

We believe that God is in charge of the Church and that it is not for us to understand why God's ministry do these kind of things. It is our job to trust and obey them. In doing this it shows that we are able to be lead and therefore we will be established as pillars in God's Kingdom.

If we question the ministry but say we believe they are being lead by Christ, then we are in essence questioning Christ.

If this person was told to flee to the place of safety, would they wait 2 weeks to do it? Maybe this was a test to see if they really trusted LCG ministry, and they failed. They should have had the faith to not worry about their reputation in the field, or money or anything else. If you follow without questioning you show your loyalty. LCG ministry has an extra measure of God's Spirit and is better able to discern these things. Most LCG members acknowledge this. To quote Mr. Meredith, "those who don't know where the door is".

I think it's hilarious that Packman devoted 2 entire World To Come programs to bash Harold Camping's failed prophetic dates back in 2011, and now he's getting a taste of his own medicine after that epic fail last year- he actually thought he could get away with a rewrite of some of his earlier material as a cover-up after the blowout! Pack is now left to cower under his desk at the magnificent Hall of Administration and hasn't put out much of anything since. This couldn't have happened at a better time while he's right in the middle of building a costly and glorious monument to his own foolishness in Wadsworth.

Way to go, Dave!

On Tuesday, the city council of Berkeley, California, will vote on a cellphone “right to know” law that would be the first safety ordinance of its kind in the country. It would require cellphone retailers to include a city-prepared notice along with the purchase of a cellphone, informing consumers of the minimum separation distance a cellphone should be held from the body.

Berkeley’s vote comes the day after the release of a letter signed by 190 scientists from 39 countries calling on the United Nations, the World Health Organization, and national governments to develop stricter controls on cellphones and other products that emit RF or electromagnetic fields (EMF). The letter states, “The various agencies setting safety standards have failed to impose sufficient guidelines to protect the general public, particularly children who are more vulnerable to the effects of EMF.”

I actually do not have a cell phone.  I sometimes joke that I am the only person in the world without one.  But it is not because of health reasons.  Basically, I do not have much of a need for one as I have sufficient land-line telephones at my home and office, so I prefer not to bother with carrying and charging a cell phone.

Now, despite potential health dangers associated cell phones, there are some prophetic ramifications of them.

 The following scriptures could potentially involve cellular telephones:

15 He was granted power to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed. 16 He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, 17 and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
18 Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: His number is 666. (Revelation 13:15-18, NKJV)

The above was written over 1900 years ago.  At the time it was written it would seem that there would be no way to stop/monitor buying and selling that Revelation 13:17 foretells.  Now, as more and more financial transactions are electronic, we are at the point that the vast majority of financial transactions can be monitored/controlled in some nations, like those in Europe. The Bible teaches that it will be a European power that is 666 and will enforce what is prophesied in Revelation 13:16-18.
How could this involve cellular telephones?

Well, there have been news reports that certain nations are considering doing away with cash completely.  And there are more and more ways to pay electronically with cellular telephones (e.g. see Could Apple Pay be a step towards 666?).

Now, lest anyone get the wrong impression, I did not post this to tell people that they should not have a cellular telephone nor to imply that cellular telephones are 666 nor the Mark of the Beast.

I posted about all of this to warn cellular telephone users that the health risks associated with them should not be ignored.  And I posted this so prophecy watchers would consider that the technology that is needed to fulfill the buying and selling prophecy in Revelation 13 already exists and possibly may involve cellular telephones.

That being said, there will be a place for more than electronic currencies.  The time will come that problems and debt of the USA will trigger its economic collapse (Habakkuk 2:6-8) and military conquest (Daniel 11:39).

Because much of the world has used the USA dollar for decades as the international/trading/reserve currency, after the USA dollar collapses people will be hesitant to accept another ‘fiat’ currency (one with no real backing).  This may be one of the reasons that the Bible prophecies that the European Beast King of the North power (Daniel 11:40) will take “the treasures of gold and silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt” (Daniel 11:43).

But as more and more people use cellular telephones, it may well be that some version of them (such as what might become part of a national identification/bank card) will be part of how the Beast power will be able to control buying and selling.

“I believe you misunderstand the reasons CGI is known for being ‘relatively moderate.’ The CGI differs from some (but not all) of the other groups in that it emphasizes servant leadership rather than some hierarchical form of polity, does not believe it is ‘above’ the other groups spiritually (it's members do not claim to be the ‘Philadelphia church’ or the ‘spearhead’ of the Work of God), does not have leaders claiming to be apostles or prophets, and doesn't use near-date-setting or claims about being in the ‘gun lap’ of the ‘final phase of God's Work’ to get people to send more money.” - See more here

“When someone from another organization is invited to speak in Tyler, if that person has views that differ in some way from the CGI's doctrinal positions or are considered controversial within CGI circles, he is asked not to bring them up. If he does bring them up, he will not be invited to come back to speak again. Further, the degree and nature of other CoG groups' differences with the CGI is an important factor in determining whether and how the CGI will participate in joint-activities with them. If you think CGI folks will "accept any belief that comes down the pike," just ask Lonnie about that. After he went public with his views on sexual issues, the CGI stopped using his material in its publications.” - See more here

“But the CGI's theological positions are spelled out in no-uncertain terms in its Systematic Theology Project. Its official position on homosexual behavior is in agreement with the official position of the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches as well as a very large number of Evangelical churches and theologians: homosexual acts are acts of grave depravity and are intrinsically disordered.” - See more here