Pastor’s Report - 17 Jan 2025
Why Wild Weather?

Why Wild Weather?

Will these extreme weather conditions increase until: "... upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring;"? (Luke 21:25)

Globally, extreme weather disasters occur every day. According to the World Meteorological Association, between 1970 and 2019 these disasters caused 2.06 million deaths and $3.64 trillion (USD) in losses. In fact, 50% of all recorded disasters are due to weather, climate and water hazards. Seven of the top 10 costliest disasters in that period occurred in the U.S. (disasterphilanthropy.org)

California's catastrophe

The past year of 2024 did indeed bring an succession of weather extremes across the United States, marking it one of the most tumultuous years in recent memory. From hurricanes and wildfires to record-setting tornadoes and flooding, "nature" left a lasting impact on millions. Consider the recent unprecedented wildfires in California:

Conditions for a January firestorm in Los Angeles have never existed in all of known history, until now. In the 16 months since the city’s first tropical storm encounter, southern California has endured its hottest summer in history and received just 2% of normal rainfall to start this year’s rainy season – its driest such stretch on record. The grasses from 2023’s tropical storm deluge are still around, adding to the fuel for fires. On its own, that would be a recipe for disaster. But add to that this week’s historic Santa Ana wind storm, which on its own has broken wind speed records across the region for any time of the year, with gusts as high as 100mph early on Wednesday.

The 2020 and 2021 hurricane seasons saw a combined seven major hurricanes affect Louisiana and the broader central Gulf coast, sometimes just weeks apart. A similar hurricane swarm happened last year in Florida. In 2023, wildfires burned an area of Canada more than double the previous record, sending plumes of smoke across the continent and raising public health concerns for tens of millions of people downwind.

In the weeks and months ahead, when the rainy season resumes and the next atmospheric river arrives, Los Angeles will be at an elevated risk for catastrophic flooding in the burn scars of the Palisades and Eaton fires, again compounding the disaster for local residents. (theguardian.com)

On our TVs and news feeds each night we're kept up to date on the mind-blowing destruction these fires are causing: loss of life for at least two dozen people and around ten thousand homes and buildings reduced to ashes. Yet whenever this, and other "natural" disasters are discussed in the media here in the UK, God is never mentioned. The arguments certainly rage over whether man-made global warming is responsible for the climate change we are currently witnessing, but over the years I have never heard anyone even voice the thought that God – who ultimately controls the weather – may well be punishing us for our rebellion, arrogance and sins. Or even that we should individually or nationally go to God and pray for relief.

His Unseen Hand

Such was not previously the case. The weather was recognised as something over which puny mankind had no control so our nations would consistently turn more readily to the only One who did. And in days past, we had a great deal to be thankful for in the way God cared for us as nations, as He fulfilled His promises to Abraham (Genesis 22:15-18).

Ephraim and Manasseh (the sons of Joseph) were specifically singled out to receive "the blessings of heaven above" that would bring the material wealth promised to the nations:

  • Joseph is a fruitful bough, a fruitful bough by a well; his branches run over the wall:
  • By the God of thy father who will help you; and by the Almighty, who will bless you with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lies beneath ... (Genesis 49:22,25 NKJV)

The Eternal even used contrasting weather in Joseph's personal life via the seven years of bounty followed by seven years of famine to seal his fame, raising him from prison to the second in command of all the land of Egypt (Genesis 41:17-45). And it was this event and the resulting drought in Canaan – an obvious weather event – that brought his father and brothers into Egypt to begin the fulfilment of God's prophecy to his great-grandfather Abraham:

  • And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years;
  • And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance. (Genesis 15:13-14)
The Spanish Armada

But the effect of God's unseen hand in the weather can be clearly seen far more recently in our nations' history – during the reign of Elizabeth 1 – when Manasseh was still with Ephraim – still part of Protestant Europe and before the first American colony of 1607. At that time Phillip of Spain was determined to return England to the Catholic fold and in 1588 mounted one of the largest campaigns of the day with an armada of 151 ships to establish a bridgehead at Southampton. Though harried by Drake on the Dutch coast, it was the weather that finally gave England its victory as described by History of the English People, by John Richard Green:

"Never anything pleased me better," wrote Drake, "than seeing the enemy fly with a southerly wind to the northwards ... But the work of destruction was reserved for a mightier foe than Drake. The English vessels were soon forced to give up the chase by the running out of their supplies. But the Spanish ships had no sooner reached the Orkneys than the storms of the northern seas broke on them with a fury before which all concert and union disappeared.

In October fifty reached Corunna [their home port in Spain], bearing ten thousand men stricken with pestilence and death. Of the rest some were sunk, some dashed to pieces against the Irish cliffs ... "I sent my ships against men," said Philip when the news reached him, "not against the seas." It was in nobler tone that England owned her debt to the storm that drove the Armada to its doom. On the medal that commemorated its triumph were graven the words, "The Lord sent his wind, and scattered them."

The French

God's purpose was to make the US and UK (Manasseh and Ephraim) the prophesied nation and company of nations ready for His end-time predictions to be fulfilled just before Christ's return. As England rose during the 1700s several other nations were also vying for the top slot on the world scene that was destined to be held by the British. One of the most dominant of those foes was France. Yet the crucial sea battle of Quiberon Bay – off the Bay of Biscay – was once again won by the weather. In the Prelude section of the account you cannot help but notice how heavy gales and wind direction changed and re-changed in this crucial battle to fight against the French – while assisting the English fleet. Yet the dominance of the oceans it then gave Great Britain was critical as published by Wikipedia:

... in the words of Alfred Thayer Mahan (The Influence of Sea Power upon History), "The battle of 20 November 1759 was the Trafalgar of this war, and [ ... ] the English fleets were now free to act against the colonies of France, and later of Spain, on a grander scale than ever before". For instance, the French could not follow up their victory at the land Battle of Sainte-Foy in what is now Canada in 1760 for want of reinforcements and supplies from France, and so Quiberon Bay may be regarded as the battle that determined the fate of New France and hence Canada.

In a similar way weather defeated Napoleon and his prophesied fifth head of the Holy Roman Empire (Revelation 17:9) – not only in his miscalculated incursion into Russia, but as Victor Hugo points out; Napoleon relied heavily on artillery, so all God had to do was to dampen the battle a little to allow Wellington's forces the time to better prepare:

If it had not rained in the night between the 17th and the 18th of June, 1815, the fate of Europe would have been different. A few drops of water, more or less, decided the downfall of Napoleon. All that Providence required in order to make Waterloo the end of Austerlitz was a little more rain, and a cloud traversing the sky out of season sufficed to make a world crumble.

The battle of Waterloo could not be begun until half-past eleven o'clock, and that gave Blucher time to come up. Why? Because the ground was wet. The artillery had to wait until it became a little firmer before they could manoeuvre. (Les Miserables - Waterloo)

World War I

When we think of World War I, we think of the trenches. But there were several other theatres of conflict at the time including one high in the air over the UK. Unfortunately the English fighter planes of the time were unable to fly very high – but The Eternal still controls the weather – even at 20,000 feet:

Weatherwatch: How England was saved from the Super-Zeppelins:

The largest fleet of airships ever to attack the UK set off on 19 October, 1917 to bomb the industrial Midlands. It was called the "Silent Raid" as the 11 German navy airships flew too high to be heard from the ground. They were Super-Zeppelins, able to fly at 20,000 feet and so out of range of anti-aircraft guns or fighter aircraft.

However, the crews were vulnerable to the extreme cold, lack of oxygen, and on this occasion to the strong winds that wrecked the mission. The Germans had forecast good weather, but no observations were made over 10,000 feet. Above that height the crews faced gale force winds from the north-west. The 650ft hulls were distorted by the turbulence and, with men struggling to hold the rudders, the Zeppelins were forced off course.

One of the craft which had crossed over the Wash at 8.30pm was driven south and was over Bedford at 10pm, dropping bombs on an engineering works. Pushed farther south the crew spotted the faint lights of the tiny Bedfordshire village of Heath and Reach, and released a string of seven bombs. They missed, dropping harmlessly in fields. The airship then turned for home, heading over London, Dover and the western front in France, only making it back to Germany at 3.45pm – a flight of 27 hours. Just seven of the 11 airships returned to Germany safely. One hundred crew were killed or captured. As with the Spanish Armada, England was saved by the weather. (The Guardian, Sunday 16 October 2011)

Dunkirk

Consider the events that allowed 335,000 men to be evacuated from the beaches of Dunkirk by an armada of small boats, when PM Winston Churchill himself feared "that perhaps 20,000 or 30,000 men (out of 400,000) might be re-embarked. The whole root and core and brain of the British army ... seemed about to perish upon the field, or be led into ignominious and starving captivity." According to the Daily Telegraph's report at that time, two weather miracles were clearly apparent:

"As the story is told, two great wonders stand forth; and on them have turned the fortune of the troops. I have talked to officers and men who have got safely back to England, and all of them tell of these two phenomena. The first was the great storm which broke over Flanders on Tuesday, 28 May. The second was the great calm which settled on the English Channel during the days following... Those who are accustomed to the Channel testify to the strangeness of this calm; they are deeply impressed by the phenomenon of Nature by which it became possible for tiny craft to go back and forth in safety.

"So the two miracles made possible what seemed impossible. In the darkness of the storm and the violence of the rain, formations which were eight to twelve miles from Dunkirk were able to move up on foot to the coast with scarcely any interruption from aircraft for aircraft were unable to operate in such turbulent conditions" (Daily Telegraph July 8, 1940)

The reaction of the populace at the time both recognised and acknowledged the Divine Hand of Providence that helped them via the unusual weather. A national service of thanksgiving was held in all churches Sunday 9th June and apparently, many congregations chose to sing Psalm 124. You can almost imagine its words were written and preserved for the occasion:

  • If it had not been the LORD who was on our side, now may Israel say;
  • If it had not been the LORD who was on our side, when men rose up against us:
  • Then they had swallowed us up quick, when their wrath was kindled against us:
  • Then the waters had overwhelmed us, the stream had gone over our soul:
  • Then the proud waters had gone over our soul.
  • Blessed be the LORD, who hath not given us as a prey to their teeth.
  • Our soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowlers: the snare is broken, and we are escaped.
  • Our help is in the name of the LORD, who made heaven and earth. (Psalm 124:1-8)
D-Day

In both the invasion of Sicily and later D-Day itself, stormy weather first lulled the enemy into a false sense of security to be replaced by a sudden small window of calm in which the Allied troops were able to land. Speaking in Abilene, Kansas, on June 4, 1952, Dwight Eisenhower was reported in Time magazine to say of D-Day:

"This day eight years ago, I made the most agonizing decision of my life. I had to decide to postpone by at least 24 hours the most formidable array of fighting ships and of fighting men that was ever launched across the sea against a hostile shore ... If there were nothing else in my life to prove the existence of an almighty and merciful God, the events of the next twenty-four hours did it ... The greatest break in a terrible outlay of weather occurred the next day and allowed that great invasion to proceed, with losses far below those we had anticipated."

All the planning, all the manufacture of munitions, all the training of personnel, all depended on one crucial item – the weather:

"... if we had persisted in the attempt to land on June 5 a major disaster would almost surely have resulted. This [the Meteorology Staff] told us to inspire more confidence in their next astonishing declaration, which was that by the following morning [June 6] a period of relatively good weather, heretofore completely unexpected, would ensue, lasting probably thirty-six hours. The long-term prediction was not good but this short period of calm weather would intervene between the storm we were then experiencing and the beginning of the next spell of bad weather. "I quickly announced the decision to go ahead with the attack on June 6" (Crusade in Europe, pages 249-250).

The Position Today

The English speaking nations that physically carry the name of Israel today (Genesis 48:16) are so often at the vanguard of evil – trailblazing all kinds of depravity: Atheism; Homosexuality; Gender confusion; Feminism; Abortion by the millions; Appalling movies with violence and sexual immorality of all kinds. As God punished the gentile nations for these sins, He will also punish Israel, as there is no respect of persons with God. As God warns Israel through His prophet Amos:

  • For thus saith the Lord GOD; The city that went out by a thousand shall leave an hundred, and that which went forth by an hundred shall leave ten, to the house of Israel ...
  • ... They hate him that rebuketh in the gate, and they abhor him that speaketh uprightly.
  • Forasmuch therefore as your treading is upon the poor, and ye take from him burdens of wheat: ye have built houses of hewn stone, but ye shall not dwell in them; ye have planted pleasant vineyards, but ye shall not drink wine of them.
  • For I know your manifold transgressions and your mighty sins: they afflict the just, they take a bribe, and they turn aside the poor in the gate from their right. (Amos 5:3,10-12)

And the elements – for better or worse – remain a key instrument in the hands of God to fulfil His purpose on this earth. The only reason the weather was favourable to the Allies and against the Axis powers in the last war was because it was God's purpose for Germany to lose that conflict. The unconditional promises to Abraham – withheld for a full 2,520 years – had to be completely fulfilled, largely to enable the Gospel to be preached in all the world as a witness. That phase is now complete. Today, having "profaned God's name among the heathen" (Ezekial 36) modern-day Israel should expect certain other specific prophecies regarding the weather to begin to apply:

  • And I also have given you cleanness of teeth in all your cities, and want of bread in all your places: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the LORD.
  • And also I have withholden the rain from you, when there were yet three months to the harvest: and I caused it to rain upon one city, and caused it not to rain upon another city: one piece was rained upon, and the piece whereupon it rained not withered ...
  • ... I have smitten you with blasting and mildew: when your gardens and your vineyards and your fig trees and your olive trees increased, the [locusts] devoured them: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the LORD. (Amos 4:6,7,9)
  • But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee ...
  • ... And thy heaven that is over thy head shall be brass, and the earth that is under thee shall be iron.
  • The LORD shall make the rain of thy land powder and dust: from heaven shall it come down upon thee, until thou be destroyed. (Deuteronomy 28:15,23,24)
Spiritual Lessons

As God says in Leviticus 18, even the land – and atmosphere – will eventually "spue us out" if we do not repent of our collective national sins. Could we be seeing the beginning stages happening now? And just as Israel suffered the first three plagues with the Egyptians, so the Church will not be entirely immune. We too should expect to experience the beginnings of these events. Such things appear destined to form part of our learning experience – events that we are to view in their greater spiritual context, using a Godly perspective, however the media may erroneously present them at the time.

So as we live through these looming weather-related prophecies – progressively compounded by cosmic contamination it seems that will alter the very strength of the sun and the resulting weather patterns (Isaiah 13:10, 30:26) – we are encouraged to hold firm to this greater spiritual context:

  • And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring;
  • Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.
  • And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.
  • And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh. (Luke 21:25-28)

And it's not only OUR redemption (Strongs 629 – deliverance, liberation) ... because we know it's for an eternal, life-giving reason why God will bring such severe punishment on mankind, and He gives us hope and encouragement for a bright future for ALL, once we have learnt some vital lessons:

  • Then the Eternal became jealous for His land,and He spared His people.
  • And the Eternal answered His people: “Behold, I will send you grain, new wine, and oil, and by them you will be satisfied. I will never again make you a reproach among the nations ...
  • ... Do not be afraid, O beasts of the field, for the open pastures have turned green, the trees bear their fruit, and the fig tree and vine yield their best.
  • Be glad, O children of Zion, and rejoice in the Eternal One your God, for He has given you the autumn rains for your vindication. He sends you showers, both autumn and spring rains, as before.
  • The threshing floors will be full of grain, and the vats will overflow with new wine and oil.
  • I will repay you for the years eaten by locuststhe swarming locust, the young locust, the destroying locust, and the devouring locust. My great army that I sent against you.
  • You will have plenty to eat, until you are satisfied. You will praise the name of the Eternal your God, who has worked wonders for you. My people will never again be put to shame. (Joel 2:18,19,22-26 Moffatt)

In the meantime, our job is to hold resolutely to that Living Word – faithfully living life accordingly – so we will be able to stand firm, unshakeable, unmoveable to the end, whatever the storms of both life – and wild weather – may throw at us.

  • And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?
  • Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like:
  • He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock. (Matthew 6:46-48)
News Review - 11 Jan 2025
2025

A year of dramatic opportunities… and risks…
OR
A Hollywood disaster movie?

2025

When looking forward into the new year, 2025 is rather interesting. Both the media and the prophets, both ancient and modern, are all prophesying much of the same thing: wars, rumours of wars, financial disasters, wild weather, earthquakes and volcanos, and unstable governments around the world.

Good news of any kind is hard to find.

What The Media Is Saying

2025: A Year Of Uncertainty Ahead As The Old World Order Crumbles

“The past year has been a ‘turning point’, but the next 12 months will bring even more upheaval. The year 2024 has ended, marking a watershed moment in global politics. Half the world’s population cast their votes over 12 tumultuous months, against a backdrop of unprecedented events in Europe and the Middle East.

For better or worse, last year redrew the political map. Elections across the West revealed that the old elites – the architects of the first quarter of the 21st century – are losing their grip. For the first time in decades, they failed to sell an inspiring vision of the future.

The liberal democratic model, once cherished by the United States and Western Europe, now stands weakened and questioned.

The Middle East in ruins. In the Middle East, 2024 was catastrophic. International institutions failed to act decisively, hamstrung by the political paralysis of their Western patrons. The ‘axis of resistance’, led by Iran, has crumbled. Tehran’s regime is in survival mode, while regional power is shifting toward Israel and Turkey. Israel’s ongoing military actions in southern Syria and threats against Iran suggest the region is far from stable.

If 2024 was the year of a global tipping point, 2025 promises to be one of opportunity – and peril. The key story will likely be attempts to resolve the Ukrainian conflict. One thing is clear: the political and economic shifts of 2024 have set the stage for a year of dramatic opportunities and risks. For better or worse, 2025 is here.” (rt.com)

Right-Wing Government In Austria

Since WW2, the rise of another Fascist leader in Europe seemed impossible, but do events in Austria send out a warning? Will Germany follow suit? Germany’s hard won prosperity is under serious threat, and people are angry. The outcome of the February elections is critical, not only to Germany, but to Europe and the rest of the world!

“Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen has tasked Herbert Kickl, the leader of the far-right Freedom Party of Austria (FPO), the country’s most popular political force, with holding coalition talks to form a government. He also appeared to express concerns that the country might face the possibility of having a hardline right-wing leader for the first time since World War II.(rt.com)

Is 2025 Going To Look Like A Hollywood Disaster Movie?

“Gallup just conducted a survey that discovered that most Americans believe that 2025 will be a year of ‘political conflict, economic difficulty, international discord, increasing power for China and Russia, and a rising federal budget deficit’…

It appears that 2025 will also be a year of war. The US and Israel are openly talking about conducting a pre-emptive strike on Iran’s nuclear program, North Korea is threatening to invade South Korea, and long-range NATO missiles continue to hit targets deep inside Russia. In response, the Russians just fired missiles at Kyiv…

Elsewhere, Chinese President Xi Jinping is boldly declaring that ‘reunification’ with Taiwan is inevitable and nobody will be able to stop it… Will 2025 be the year when China finally pulls the trigger? When it happens, we will instantly be at war with China. Ominously, the Chinese are in the midst of ‘the largest military build-up of any nation in the world since Germany in the 1930s’…” (themostimportantnews.com)

“Gestalt-Switch”

Those who don’t learn the lessons of history…

“Once it was the slogan of East Germans rejecting Communism. But as crowds chanted, ‘We are the people,’ at Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Saturday, it was the sound of an enraged nation that could be on the brink of ditching democracy. When Germany’s politicians are barracked and threatened by a populist mob that despises everything the establishment stands for, comparisons to the early 1930s are inevitable.

Adolf Hitler, the leader of a fringe party consisting of thugs and extremists, rose to power on just such a wave of anger. Not long ago, the rise of another Fascist popular leader to power in Berlin seemed unthinkable.

But the Germans have a word for just such a reversal in psychology: GESTALT-SWITCH. It means an overnight change in the way people think. Germans had one for the good after 1945, but if they switch back now, all Europe will be plunged into chaos.” (dailymail.co.uk)

Accelerating Moral Decline

“Most people including myself are focused on the economy and how it is doing. But the more concerning thing is actually the state of our society and it’s associated cultures. It is pretty clear to me that it is collapsing and may already be collapsed. The structure of our society has always been marriage, family, homes, community, stable work, and social organizations like churches. This was a successful model. One can criticize the model or aspects of this model but it worked.

Now we see a major collapse of dating and marriage, of family formation, of church attendance, of communities. We have a huge uptick in recreational drug use and abuse, a huge uptick in mental illness and the associated psychotropic drug treatment. A majority of the population now doesn’t feel safe in their cities and towns. We have a huge big brother surveillance environment with cameras everywhere especially on doorbells.

Sexual deviance is becoming normalized through porn and other avenues. People tend to keep to themselves much more now. Many men are preoccupied with video games. Finding a stable career or line of work is more and more difficult. And the cost of living has risen to a level that makes life extremely difficult to afford just the basics.” (citizenwatchreport.com)

Depression, Debt, Default & Destruction In 2025

“Financial and geopolitical cycle analyst Martin Armstrong: A depression most likely in Europe and a recession in the United States up until 2028. At my November conference, everybody was celebrating after Trump won. I stood up and told my clients, ‘I’m sorry, Trump is not going to have a blissful administration, and he’s not going to prevent the economic decline.’(usawatchdog.com)

The National Debt Grows… And Grows…

“As 2025 approaches, America’s fiscal health is in serious trouble with a ballooning federal debt exceeding 100% of the GDP. It’s projected to get even worse. A year ago, the US national debt amounted to more than $33.8 trillion, according to Senate Republican Joint Economic Committee data. As of December 24, 2024, the debt has climbed to nearly $36.3 trillion, a $2.5 trillion increase within the past 12 months. If the average daily rate of debt growth over the past three years continues, the gross national debt will reach $37 trillion within 5 months, $39.2 trillion in 2026, and $40.95 trillion in 2027, according to the most recent Congressional Budget Office 10-year forecast.” (therecord-online.com)

Syria Fears Return Of Islamic State

While the USA and the Western countries support the SDF, Turkey is supporting the rival HTS, plus there are several other groups that want a slice of the action. Hardly a recipe for peace!

“Islamic State is ready to rise again from the Syrian desert as it seeks to exploit the fall of Assad with a new wave of attacks, according to the leader of the country’s western-backed troops. The warning from General Mazloum Abdi, head of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), comes amid fears that the jihadists could capitalise on the chaos and the growing spectre of a second civil war in the country’s east. The SDF, supported by the United States, Britain and other western countries, is in a confrontation with Turkey, which backs Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the rebel group that has seized Damascus and most of Syria.” (thetimes.com)

China Will Be Able To Invade Taiwan In 2025

“Taiwan’s defence minister has warned that China will be fully capable of invading the island in 2025, in the government’s first clear message to the public that the country faces a threat of war.

Chiu Kuo-cheng issued the warning after almost 150 Chinese warplanes operated in international airspace near Taiwan between Friday and Monday.” (ft.com)

Ukrainian Conflict Ending In 2025?

Negotiations with Russia, after years of silence, are back on the agenda. However, some in the Ukrainian government are saying that the world needs to understand how crucial it is NOT to end the war on any idea of negotiating with Russia.

“Ukrainian officials are ‘starting to believe’ that the conflict with Russia will be resolved next year, a senior member of Vladimir Zelensky’s government has reportedly told the Washington Post. The shift in attitude is a direct result of US President-elect Donald Trump’s public talk of a settlement, the official added. ‘I wouldn’t believe we’re anywhere close to negotiations’ were it not for Trump’s repeated comments on peace talks, the official continued, adding: ‘I just don’t think it’s possible to come to any agreement with [Russian President Vladimir] Putin.’” (rt.com)

A Year Of Chaos

“The Economist magazine asks the question: Are we heading into a year that will be characterized by great turmoil? Every year The Economist publishes an issue that is dedicated to what is coming in the year ahead. In the past, many of these issues have turned out to be eerily accurate. This year’s issue could be previewing some very alarming events that are coming in 2025.

Are they trying to warn us that we are getting dangerously close to nuclear war? Or could it be possible that they are suggesting that nuclear weapons could actually be used in combat at some point in 2025?

At this moment global health authorities are dealing with an outbreak of a mystery illness that is being referred to as ‘Disease X’ in Africa, a new strain of the monkeypox that has started to pop up all over the world, an eruption of the Marburg virus in Rwanda, and a bird flu crisis that never seems to end and that has now jumped into humans. I am convinced that pestilence will be a major theme in 2025, and apparently the Economist does too.

Are they anticipating that there will be economic and financial turmoil during the year ahead? Of course economic problems have already begun in the US, in Europe, and in China. The global economy is rapidly heading in the wrong direction, and many are warning that 2025 is going to be a very hard year.” (theeconomiccollapseblog.com)

“Divided We Fall”

“Author Mitchell Feierstein laments: The bitter divisions in America are turning neighbour against neighbour and tearing families apart, amid an atmosphere of indoctrination where freedom of thought and speech is outlawed. I fear we’re on the road to civil war.(rt.com)

Does All This Sound Familiar?

Does it seem to tie in with what we are told in Matthew 24?

…Deception
…wars and rumours of wars
…nation shall rise against nation
…and kingdom against kingdom
…famines
…and pestilences
…and earthquakes.

Many of us have been watching this situation develop over the last 50-60 years. We have watched as the troubles increase in intensity - and frequency.

It would seem that the end game is close - very close.

We see almost daily articles talking about WW3 - and nations arming themselves with nuclear weapons. Many are claiming that we are about to be hit with another pandemic. We watch as right wing governments increase. We see Germany in political chaos. We see a world financial system which is at the point of collapse!

Even The Media Agrees With Bible Prophecy!

Over 40 years ago Mr Armstrong explained the problem - the media can see what is happening, and some view the future like a Hollywood disaster movie. They can see political conflict and a collapsing financial system. They can see the wars, and threats of wars.

They can see marriage and the family being destroyed, and drug use on the increase. They report on the fact that many people no longer feel safe in their cities and towns.

They can see the problems, but there are few solutions.

Most of all, they cannot see WHY this is all happening.

As Mr Armstrong explained many years ago…

“This may sound incredible, but it’s true. Editors, newscasters, foreign correspondents do not understand the real meaning of the world news they report, analyze and discuss. Heads of government are utterly unaware of the true significance of the very world-shaking events with which they deal. They have no conception of where these events are leading. Incredible? Perhaps – but true!” (US and GB in Prophecy - Chapter 1)

Where ARE These Events Leading?

Whether people want to believe it or not, this present world system is about to end. What we are witnessing right now is the run up to the Great Tribulation, culminating in the return of Jesus Christ, who will take over the government of the whole earth!

We must be prepared to expect the unexpected.

Huge geopolitical changes can occur in just a few hours. Witness the recent events in Syria. When we went to bed on Saturday night, the situation in Syria was “normal”. When we woke up Sunday morning the whole geopolitical situation in the Middle East changed!

Expect The Unexpected

A prophecy in Isaiah explains: “…Calamity will come upon you SUDDENLY — like a BULGING WALL THAT BURSTS and falls. In an instant it will collapse and come crashing down.” (Isaiah 30:13, NLT)

“Therefore the LORD will cut off from Israel head and tail, branch and rush, IN ONE DAY.

The ancient and honourable, he is the head; and the prophet that teacheth lies, he is the tail.

For the leaders of this people cause them to err; and they that are led of them are destroyed.” (Isaiah 9:14-16)

Over 40 years ago, God’s end time apostle gave a warning of a sudden end time event:

“…I can see now the event that is going to trigger the formation of reunification in Europe; the resurrection of the Medieval Holy Roman Empire that we’ve been looking forward to that is prophesied to come…

…I believe that some event is going to happen suddenly just like out of a blue sky that is going to shock the whole world… Well, now I think I can see what may be the very event that is going to trigger it and that is the economic situation in the world

…When the financial structure breaks down, all civilization is going to break down. I just wanted to say that much - maybe you can begin to see how serious this thing can become!” (Sermon - Prophecy Part 1 - 7 July 1984)

Why This End Time Crisis?

We read above the prophecy in Isaiah 30 about calamity coming suddenly… followed by total destruction.

The question is Why?

Why is God allowing this to happen?

The answer is given in the preceding verses:

“Now go, write it before them in a table, and note it in a book, that it may be for the time to come for ever and ever: That this is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of the LORD: Which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits:

Get you out of the way, turn aside out of the path, CAUSE THE HOLY ONE OF ISRAEL TO CEASE FROM BEFORE US.

Wherefore thus saith the Holy One of Israel, Because ye despise this word, and trust in oppression and perverseness, and stay thereon:

Therefore this iniquity [lawlessness] shall be to you as a breach ready to fall, swelling out in a high wall, whose breaking cometh SUDDENLY AT AN INSTANT.” (Isaiah 30:8-13)

Mankind has not just rejected God’s law, but they have replaced God with science.

The result is troubles and evils that mankind cannot solve. As Mr Armstrong warned;

“…They are speeding on a collision course with human annihilation!” (The Plain Truth – April 1981)

Humanity needs a course correction to avoid total annihilation. God is about to apply that course correction!

Correction means a change of course.

It means REPENTANCE – and repentance means turning around and going the OTHER WAY!

“But finally, when the correction becomes INTENSE enough, our peoples will acknowledge their transgressions, WILL REPENT, WILL SEEK THEIR GOD!” (US and GB in Prophecy - Chapter 14)

Give And Get

“I’ve been hammering away on the fact there is a CAUSE For every effect – and humanity has tended to deal with effects instead of correcting causes in trouble areas! I repeat again and again – THERE IS A SPIRITUAL LAW that governs the problems, troubles and evils we’ve been unable to solve. We smugly prefer to ignore it in our confident vanity. Yet it’s inexorable – as relentless and as certain as the law of gravity. Break it, and it breaks you.

That spiritual law is the principle – the motivation – the attitude of outflowing LOVE. It is outflowing concern for the good and welfare of others. I simplify it by the term ‘GIVE’ and its transgression as ‘GET’. This materialistic world has been traveling the way of ‘GET’ – self-centeredness, covetousness, envy and jealousy, competition, strife, violence and war, resentment of authority.

The invisible law of ‘GIVE’ is cooperating, helping, serving, sharing. If we would all live with that incentive our troubles and evils would vanish. But this civilization will not! Where does that leave us? Our evils and woes are accelerating. We are speeding on a collision course with human annihilation!

But thank God! Before such final crash, that all-powerful, all-‘GIVE’ ‘Strong Hand from Someplace’ is going to intervene in this world’s affairs, and save a rebellious humanity from itself! All humanity shall be compelled to enjoy peace, happiness, universal abundance in well-being!

Science, industry, human government will not achieve this. It will have to be done to us! Of course, that means that at last mortal eyes shall be opened to the TRUE VALUES – and live the spiritual way of ‘GIVE’! Humanity shall learn, at last, that it is ‘more blessed to GIVE than to receive’! Indeed, some of us are learning it already!” (The Plain Truth – April 1981)


A Must Read Book For 2025

The last book that Mr Herbert W Armstrong was inspired to write he entitled ‘Mystery of the Ages’.
Now these mysteries can be understood!
Here is how he introduced it:

“I have seen this twentieth century develop into a state of awesome advancement and achievement industrially and technologically. Paradoxically, I have seen alarming escalation of appalling evils, crime and violence and the crucible of nuclear war develop to threaten THE VERY EXTINCTION OF THE HUMAN RACE WITHIN THE PRESENT LIVING GENERATION. These conditions and facts are indeed mysteries that have remained unsolved and now need to be explained.(Mystery of the Ages - Author’s Statement)

Now you can understand…

Who and What is God?
Mystery of Angels and Evil Spirits
The Mystery of Man
Mystery of Civilization
Mystery of Israel
Mystery of the Church
Mystery of the Kingdom of God

(Mystery of the Ages)

Audio - 11 Jan 2025

Latest Audio - 2025-01-11

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World Tomorrow
by Mr Armstrong
Prophecy part 4 - Lessons to Learn
broadcast 1980s - played Wales UK 11 Jan 2025
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Sermon
by Ian Henderson
Polarisation
given Wales UK 11 Jan 2025
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Transcript - 31 May 2022

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HWA Bible Study:
I Corinthians 1 and 2 20 Jul 1980
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“Just what is an APOSTLE?”
Just what is an Apostle?

Today we find the Church of God in a “wilderness of religious confusion!”

The confusion is not merely around the Church – within the religions of the world outside – but WITHIN the very heart of The True Church itself!

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Listen to Me, You who know righteousness, You people in whose heart is My Law: …I have put My words in your mouth, I have covered you with the shadow of My hand, That I may plant the heavens, Lay the foundations of the earth, and say to Zion, “you are My people” (Isaiah 51:7,16)