July 15, 2022 Brethren Letter
Dear Brethren,
The united Europe must and will come. YOU and I are involved — DEEPLY! God’s Church must first be made ready for Christ’s coming. I call on you in Jesus’ name to pray as never before that God’s Church will heed and draw closer to him. Have we not been becoming lukewarm? Read the last part of Revelation 3. If we are lukewarm we shall be spewed out of Christ’s mouth. (Brethren, Co-Worker Letter – June 25,1985)
God’s apostle, Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong expounded upon the prophecies of the Bible right to the very end of his life. He warned all of us of events that would take place in this end-time, describing the reunification of Europe into a soon-coming “super-state.”
Last week, there was an article posted by Breitbart News (July 9th), that illustrates what is happening in the heart of Europe (specifically, Germany, as shown below). Based upon history and Biblical prophecy, we can see where severe economic problems in Europe will eventually have an impact globally, actually unifying Europe into a short-lived super-power of ten nations (or groups of nations), that will have a profound effect on the entire earth.
Gas Crisis: Rising Energy Prices Could See Germany’s ‘Social Peace’ Collapse
Germany’s economics minister believes that his country could soon face a collapse of “social peace” as a result of rising energy prices.
A loss of spending power and a “credit crunch” brought about by the sudden spike in energy prices could bring about serious problems for Germany’s “social peace”, the country’s economic and climate minister, Robert Habeck, has said.
According to a report by Der Spiegel, the resultant gas crisis caused by the Kremlin turning down the taps has left Germany in an extremely vulnerable economic position, with Habeck himself now expressing concern that an ensuing economic crisis could lead to social unrest in the country.
“Social peace in Germany is being severely challenged and
strained,” the minister reportedly admitted, citing a possible slipping of the German economy.
“Social peace in Germany is being severely challenged and strained,” the minister reportedly admitted, citing a possible slipping of the German economy.
Fears surrounding a collapse in “social peace” in Germany come as politicians in the country brace for the complete loss of Russian gas, an event some — including Habeck himself — are anticipating could happen later this month.
Such a move would almost certainly plunge the country into a severe recession, without one forecast predicting the country’s economy to suffer around a €200 billion loss within six months of supplies being cut off.
Brethren, time is so SHORT. We don’t want to be… “CAUGHT SHORT,” thinking, “My Lord delays His coming.” (Matthew 24:48; Luke 12:45). Stay close to God and put your hearts into your prayers like never before. All of us must!
Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double- minded. (James 4:7-8)
Tonight, I’m sending PART of Mr. Armstrong’s Brethren, Co-Worker letter dated August 14, 1978. In his letter, he describes the image spoken of in the Book of Daniel, and the related prophecies of the Book of Revelation. Since the letter is very long, I again have split his letter into two parts, and will plan to send the second part next week.
Please have a good Sabbath night’s rest, everyone!
Sincerely, Your Brother in Christ,
Gary Liebold
Dear Brethren and Co-Workers in Christ,
August 14, 1978
…Now remember, the BIBLE is essentially the Book of ISRAEL — both ancient carnal Israel and New Testament spiritual Israel (the Church of God). The Bible is therefore not directly concerned with oriental religions. But the Hamitic religions of Egypt and the Middle East did come in contact with Israel — and do very significantly today with the Church of God — and, therefore, we do find a considerable history of them in the Bible.
I want you to consider now, the governments and religions of this area. They did come into contact with ancient Israel. And they do today, in a significant manner very little realized, with GOD’S CHURCH!
The Bible reveals history and prophecy regarding the pagan church-and-state combination, from ancient Egypt, from which Israel was delivered from slavery, through Babylon, Persia, Greece and Rome.
In the days of the prophet Daniel, about 550-610 B.C., King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon — the Chaldean Empire — had conquered other nations and formed the first WORLD EMPIRE. Nimrod long before had started the organization of city-states. Now Nebuchadnezzar conquered and annexed Egypt, the Medes, Persians, and Greeks, into the CHALDEAN EMPIRE, usually called Babylon, after its capital city. The nation Israel had been divided into TWO nations many generations before. Israel had rejected King Rehoboam, son of King Solomon, and set up a new king, Jeroboam, over them. At that time the tribes of Judah and Benjamin split off from the nation Israel, becoming the Kingdom of Judah in order to retain the Davidic dynasty in King Rehoboam. Jereboam rejected the priests — the tribe of Levi — and the Levites mostly joined with the nation Judah. They, and they only, became known as the Jews.
In 721-718 B.C., King Shalmaneser of the Kingdom of Assyria (prior to Nebuchadnezzar’s Chaldean Empire) had conquered the Kingdom of Israel (TEN TRIBES), and moved them as slaves into the land of Assyria, on the southern shores of the Caspian Sea. He had put Babylonians, of the Babylon Mystery religion, in the land of Samaria — north of Jerusalem, from where he had evicted the ten-tribe Kingdom of Israel. They were still there in the time of Christ — Gentiles, in northern Palestine, retaining the Babylonian Mystery religion.
More than 120 years after the captivity of the Kingdom of Israel, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon besieged and conquered the Kingdom of Judah (the Jews) and evicted them from Judea as slaves, taken to the land of Babylon.
Among these Jewish captives were four outstanding, especially talented and brillant Jewish lads, of which Daniel was one. Nebuchadnezzar set them in important posts in the Chaldean government.
God used all four in dealing with the Chaldean King Nebuchadnezzar — but especially Daniel as a prophet of God.
The Book of Daniel, chapter 2 records the incident of the super impressive dream in which Nebuchadnezzar dreamed of a tremendous metallic statue. Daniel was called to tell the king what he had dreamed, and the message God conveyed to Nebuchadnezzar through it. The head of this enormous statue of a man was of fine GOLD, the breast and arms of silver, the belly and thighs of brass, the legs of iron, and the feet and toes a mixture of iron and miry clay — utterly non-adhesive.
This God-given dream was a PROPHECY. God revealed His tremendous MEANING to Nebuchadnezzar. The head of gold represented Nebuchadnezzar and his first WORLD EMPIRE, the Chaldean or the Babylonian Empire. The dream contained a time-element. After Nebuchadnezzar’s empire was to arrive a second empire, even larger and stronger in military might, but of less spiritual and moral values — the breast and arms of silver — the Persian Empire. It was later to be followed by a still larger and stronger empire though of lesser moral and spiritual value; Greece. The legs of iron represented the strongest of all in physical strength, yet it divided — the two legs of iron representing the two divisions of the Roman Empire with the western capital at Rome, and the eastern capital at Constantinople (called Istanbul, Turkey today). The feet and ten toes represented OUR TIME — this latter half of the twentieth century — at the CLOSE of the six-thousand-year sentence God imposed on the DAY OF MAN. It represented the Kingdom of God finally replacing all these Gentile kingdoms (verse 44).
Iron is stronger than brass, silver or gold, but less valuable. But miry clay, mixed with the iron toes, is both the least in value and strength. And iron and clay will not cleave together. They represent the resurrected Holy Roman Empire, soon to appear.
Now let us tie this prophecy to the actual historic events as they have occurred! After the Chaldean Empire, there arose the empire of the Medes and the Persians — the Persian Empire. It was conquered in 330 B.C. by Alexander the Great of Macedonia — with Grecian armed forces. But it was short-lived. Alexander soon died in a drunken debauch. His kingdom was then carried on in four divisions, each headed by one of Alexander’s four generals.
But one by one, these four divisions were swallowed up by what became the ROMAN EMPIRE, 31 B.C. It ruled the world, including the land of Israel and Judea in the time of Christ.
The Roman Empire was destroyed by Barbarians from the north in 476 A.D.
Then, beginning 333 A.D., the ancient Babylonian Mystery religion, a sector of it transplanted in Palestine north of Jerusalem after 718 B.C., had through its first century leader, Simon the
Sorcerer (Acts 8), appropriated the name “Christianity,” portraying a false Jesus and turning Christ’s grace into license to disobey God’s Law.
By 554 this religion, called also the Roman Catholic religion, had become strong enough to dominate the world. In that year at the behest of the Roman Pope, the government of the eastern division of the defunct Roman Empire, Justinian, was moved to Rome and the Roman Empire was resurrected as the “HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE.” It was a union of European nations, in a CHURCH-AND-STATE EMPIRE — with the Roman Pope astride what is symbolized as the “beast” in Daniel 7, and in Revelation 13 and 17.
Let me at this point bring you up to date with the prophecies of Daniel 7, and the 13th and 17th chapters of Revelation.
In Daniel 7, the prophet himself had a dream in which God revealed the future. He saw FOUR wild animals — the first a lion, second a bear, third a leopard with four heads, and fourth a beast that embodied the dominant characteristics of its predecessors — the HEAD of the lion, the FEET of the bear, the BODY of the leopard, with four heads.
But in Daniel’s dream an additional factor was revealed which did not appear in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream-image. The fourth “beast,” representing the Roman Empire, had ten horns sprouting out of its head. But “there came up among them” — among the horns — “another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots” (verse 8).
The four “beasts” were four kingdoms that should arise beginning with the Chaldean Empire (verse 17), and “the fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth” (the Roman Empire — 31 B.C.-476 A.D.). And the “ten horns out of this (fourth) kingdom are ten kings (or kingdoms) that shall arise” (verse 24) out of — or after the Roman Empire — after 476 A.D.
The “little horn,” before whom three of the first horns were plucked up by the roots — (the Heruli, the Vandals and the Ostrogoths which disappeared from existence), was the little horn in whom “were the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking great things” (verse 8); then again, “even of that horn that had eyes and a mouth that spake very great things, whose look was more stout than his fellows” (verse 20) — that is, a smaller horn, who dominated over the other horns, and before whom the first three were disintegrated.
This “little horn” was of major importance. For “the same horn made war with the saints (true Christians), and prevailed against them, until the Ancient of days (CHRIST) came, … and judgment was given to the saints of the most high; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom” (verses 21 and 22).
After the first three kingdoms following 476 A.D. had disappeared, SEVEN “horns” were left — seven kingdoms or rulerships to arise out of the original Roman Empire.
These seven formed the “Holy Roman Empire.” The first was Justinian, starting 554 A.D. The second was the Frankish kingdom of Charlemagne, 800 A.D. The third was the German kingdom of Otto the Great, the fourth was the Austrian Hapsburg kingdom of Charles the Fifth, and the fifth that of Napoleon, ending 1814 A.D. That ended, for the time being, the “Holy Roman Empire.” But there were recesses and lapses between Justinian’s reign and the revival in 800 A.D. under Charlemagne. These lapses or recesses are by inference “valleys” between mountain peaks, as we shall see in Revelation 17.
In 1935 Mussolini, on taking over Ethiopia, and including Italian Somaliland and Eritrea, concluded a concordat with the Vatican, called the restoration of the “Holy Roman Empire.” However, this was little noted at the time — I do not even remember it to have been front page news — and it was an insignificant and short-lived restoration of this “empire” — when the sixth of these remaining seven horns could aptly be termed, as in Revelation 17 “the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.”
Notice one more passage in Daniel 7 before leaving this chapter: “I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the son of man came with the clouds of heaven [Christ], and came to the Ancient of days and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations and language should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed” (verses 13, 14).
Then finally Daniel’s prophecy ends with “and the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom [of God] under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions will serve and obey him” (verse 27).
Now on to Revelation 13.
John in vision here sees ONE “beast” rise up out of the sea — but it combined all the main carnal strengths and characteristics of Daniel’s four “beasts.” What the apostle John saw was a single wild animal with seven heads and ten horns. Daniel saw four “beasts” but the third, the Greco-Macedonian Empire, had four heads — the four divisions into which Alexander’s empire split up.
The wild animal John saw was like a leopard — but with the feet of a bear (the strongest part of the bear), a mouth like a lion and therefore the body of a quick cat-like leopard — in other words, the carnal and physical strength and characteristics of Babylon, Persia, Greece and Rome were all
combined in this one animal — which therefore represented the ROMAN EMPIRE, with its continuation through the “Holy Roman Empire,” and even until the coming of Christ to RULE!
John continues describing this wild animal, saying that the “dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority” (Rev. 13:2). In Rev. 12:9 the dragon is explained to be a symbol representing Satan the Devil. So, this wild animal symbolizes the Roman Empire, as organized by MAN under the sway of Satan.
Verse 3: one of his seven heads — definitely the last one, or the Roman Empire of 31 B.C. – 476 A.D. — was wounded to death (476 A.D.), but the deadly wound was healed — by the succeeding “Holy Roman Empire,” beginning 554 A.D.
The people of the Western world worshipped the dragon — Satan, the god of this world — which the world is deceived into worshipping. They also worshipped the “beast” — the “Holy Roman Empire.” HOW? By saying, “Who is like unto the beast (the Holy Roman Empire), who is able to make war with him?” THAT IS WORSHIP!
“And there was given unto him” (verse 5) “a mouth speaking great things … and powerwas given unto him to continue forty and two months” — prophetic months — literally 1260 years — and it actually continued 554 to 1814 — precisely 1260 years. This “mouth speaking great things” is the same as the little horn of Daniel 7 with “a mouth speaking great things” — in other words, the Vatican.
Verse 7: “And it was given unto him [by Satan] to make war with the saints, and to overcome them.” It was Simon the Sorcerer (Acts 8) who, in 33 A.D., two years after Christ had founded the Church of God, turned the Babylonian Mystery religion into a so-called “Christianity,” and wielded enough power to SUPPRESS the preaching of Christ’s gospel message (Gal. 1:6,7). If you have ever read “Fox’s Book of Martyrs” you will understand how this religious power, sitting astride the government — during this 1260 years tortured and put to death thousands of saints.
The church merely pronounced them “anathema from Christ” and/or state military police did the torturing and killing. This is referred to in Rev. 6 under the fifth seal — symbolizing the now-imminent “Great Tribulation” when another martyrdom of saints is coming in our time, during the Great Tribulation!
Now in verse 11, Rev. 13, John in his vision sees another “beast” coming up out of the earth, with two horns like a lamb, “and he spake as a dragon.” The two horns represent two government heads. “Like a lamb” — appearing as the Church of Christ, the Lamb of God. One of these horns represented the Papacy as RELIGIOUS head, the other is head of Vatican City, one of the world’s civil governments.
This second “beast” — the Papacy — (verse 12) exercised all the power of the first beast before him, — that is of the civil “Holy Roman Empire” — the United Europe! This same situation is pictured in Rev. 17 as a woman (church) riding astride a “beast” — the Roman government.
They claimed the “Holy Roman Empire” was the Kingdom of God. Christ had come, not in His own Person, but in that of the Pope’s, and was ruling. This explains why they called the CHURCH the Kingdom of God! The Popes have taken the title “Vicar of Christ,” which does not mean representative of Christ, but “in place of Christ.” In other words, Christ has been banished, and the Roman leader has taken His place.
Then, this religious leader — yet to come — is to perform “great wonders,” or apparent miracles — even as Simon the Magician of Acts 8 did among those of the Babylonian Mystery religion of his day in the land of Samaria, north of Jerusalem. But it was all deception — not real miracles, but magic.
Verse 14 — this religious leader brought into being an “image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.” That is, a replica, likeness, imitation of the Imperial Roman Empire GOVERNMENT. Vatican City — a civil GOVERNMENT — is patterned after the system of government of the Roman Empire.
“And (verse 15) he had power to … cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.” Notice, the religious power did not do the actual killing — he caused them to be killed. The church pronounced dissenters “heretics” which was tantamount to a death-sentence. They were tortured, and unless they recanted and accepted the Catholic teaching, they were martyred. THIS WILL HAPPEN AGAIN — AND SOON — (Rev. 6:11) during the Great Tribulation!
Now comes verse 16 (Rev. 13). This same religious power, through the military and police of the STATE government of the “Holy Roman Empire,” and its now very imminent resurrection — will cause all within the jurisdiction of the civil state to RECEIVE A MARK and (verse 17) no person was then, or will be in the coming Great Tribulation, able to buy or sell — engage in earning a living, or purchase food or necessities of life — unless they have that mark!
The “beast” has a number we should be able to count — 666!
Now to Revelation 17!
The same Gentile CHURCH-AND-STATE system in its final and latter stages — now very imminent — is portrayed in Revelation 17. In this vision given the Apostle John regarding the DAY OF THE LORD (Rev. 1:10) an angel came to him. It was one of the seven angels with the vials of the seven last plagues — to be poured out at the precise time of Christ’s Second Coming.
The seventeenth chapter is another inset chapter — one of the few injected into the main story-flow of the prophetic book of Revelation. The story-flow, in chapter 16, had come to the very time for the pouring out of the seven last plagues.
The angel said, “Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters.”
This, of course, is symbolically speaking of the great false church. The many “waters” are (verse 15): several nations speaking different languages. Historically, it could mean only European nations — the “Holy Roman Empire” of 554 – 1814 A.D.
This great church (verse 2) has committed fornication (spiritually) with the kings of Europe. Fornication is illicit intercourse with an unmarried person. Israel had been married to Christ (the Lord of the Old Testament). So this is not Israel. It is identified as Gentile nations. The true Church of God is the affianced bride of Christ. Christ’s death severed the Old Covenant marriage. But New Testament spiritual Israel (the Church) is engaged to marry the RESURRECTED CHRIST, upon the resurrection of the Church.
So, (verse 3) the angel in vision carried John into the wilderness, where he saw this same great whore as a woman sitting astride a scarlet-colored “BEAST” (symbolic of civil overnment). This “beast” had seven heads and ten horns. This is a continuation of the “beast” prophecies of Daniel 7 and Revelation 13. But the “beast” revealed to John here is the very latter part of the whole system, dating from Nebuchadnezzar’s Chaldean empire. But the “seven heads” of this seventeenth chapter “beast” are the “Holy Roman Empire,” dating from 554 A.D. — in other words the last seven of the ten horns of the thirteenth chapter “beast.”
And the ten horns on this “beast” are the same as the “ten TOES” of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream image (Daniel 2).
This woman (church) was arrayed in purple, the color of royalty and scarlet, the color of a whore. Also she was decked with gold and precious stones and pearls.
Now we come to HER NAME (verse 5): “MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.” Her harlot daughters came out of her in protest. This name identifies the church as that of the BABYLONIAN MYSTERY religion, now grown GREAT ruling civil nations.
In other words the Babylonian Mystery religion of the ancient Chaldean Empire, now grown great in size and power. Indeed she is the largest religion on earth in number of adherents today.
Notice, this “woman” was drunken with the blood of the saints — just as Daniel’s”little horn” persecuted the saints of Christ — and prevailed against them until the coming of Christ to rule the
world (Dan. 7:21,22). This, incidentally, is not referring to the Roman Empire persecutions, where professing Christians were thrown to hungry lions as a “sport” in the Roman Coliseum. This is speaking of a medieval persecution.
Then (verse 8) the angel in this vision explains to the apostle the time element. Remember, this whole seventeenth chapter prophecy is thrown in — as an inset into the sequence of prophesied events of the book of Revelation, just at the point where world events had come to the very time of Christ’s return in POWER. So, we know the time of events shown the apostle in the seventeenth chapter is shortly before Christ’s Second Coming.
Verse 8 explains that John is seeing this “beast” at a time in world events when the “Holy Roman Empire” was, and is not, and shall ascend (be restored) out of the bottomless pit — that is a state of virtual nonexistence.
Notice the latter part of verse 8. The whole world will be shocked in wonder, when this final revival of the “Holy Roman Empire” occurs. It is “the beast that was,” and (at the time-setting of this vision) “is not, and yet is.” That would place the time when the vision John saw this church riding over the governments of Europe, at approximately 1935 and up to our very present moment.