Church of Jesus Christ Online Ministries: Letter to our Friends

CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST ONLINE MINISTRIES

We are based upon the Word of God, the Truth of God, and the Plan of God

P.O. BOX 6458

SPRING HILL, FLORIDA 34606

www.owensborocojc.com

Leonard V. Johnson

Pastor and Founder

Earthquakes, In Divers Places

Back in 2020, we posted an article “It’s Not the End of the World As We Know It.” In that article, we speak concerning the nearly worldwide pandemic of COVID-19, and the fact that a great many of our peoples in this world are pronouncing that because of this pandemic, it is “the end of the world!”

Truly, our Lord Jesus included in things to watch for in this end time would be ‘pestilences.’ That there would be TROUBLES! And certainly ever-growing ‘troubles.’

In the Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary under pestilence, it states, “Pestilence is often associated with war and siege conditions.” 1 And they list a couple of Scriptures for reference.

There are certainly additional ‘troubles’ that our Lord Jesus mentions. In the Book of Luke he uses the word ‘commotions,’ “’ But when you hear of wars and commotions, do not be terrified; for these things must come to pass first, but the end [meaning, the end of this age] will not come immediately’” – Luke 21:9.

A TIME OF ‘GREAT TRIBULATION’!

Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ said that in this end-time, ‘this generation,’ meaning the generation which will see all these things come to pass – there would be certain signs of when this present age is nearing its end – the Book of Matthew chapter 24 –

Verse 4 – “And Jesus answered and said to them: ‘Take heed that no one deceives you. 5) For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ [saying that Jesus was and is the Christos, the Messiah] and will deceive many.’”

And this has certainly been taking place, even since the middle of the 1st century AD! We can certainly look around our nations and – without naming names – we understand that this prophecy has undoubtedly come true. An awful lot of people have been deceived about who Jesus Christ really was, what He stood for, and why He even came to earth! And that’s a tragedy.

Verse 6 – “’ And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. …’”

And we are certainly hearing of wars and rumors of wars – i.e. a potential war with Iran, as this recent article asserts – that the “PENTAGON DEVELOPED CONTINGENCY PLAN FOR WAR WITH IRAN.”

Our Lord Jesus continues on in Verse 7 – “’ For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. …’”

We tend to believe that this is a reference to the Book of Daniel – ‘the kingdom of the North,’ and ‘the kingdom of the South.’ The European combine and the Islamic confederation – whatever they will call themselves in the future. I think this is an indication of the growing tension between these two groups of people. Catholic Europe and the Islamic Middle East.

Let us now turn to the Book of Revealing – the Book of Revelation which also prophesies of this very thing – chapter 6 –

“When He opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, ‘Come and see.’ 4) Another HORSE, FIERY RED, went out. And it was granted to the one who sat on it to take peace from the earth, and that people should kill one another; and there was given to him a great sword” – Revelation 6:3-4.

This is our Lord Jesus Christ─ because He is the Great Revelator─ suggesting the prophecy of the prophet Daniel in chapter 11. A direct reference to a final holy war between the end-time Catholic United States of Europe (‘king of the North’) and the Islamic confederation of nations (‘king of the South’) – cf. Daniel 11:40; Revelation 9:13-16.

Continuing, our Lord Jesus Christ says, “…‘And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places.’”

So in all of this, it’s a step-by-step progress – over here something happens, and over there something happens. And as you read the Bible and you sort of get the feeling that it grows in intensity! As time goes by.

So, it’s important to notice that our Lord Jesus listed earthquakes as one ‘sign’ that precedes the ‘great tribulation’ – Matthew 24:4-22; see also “Prophetic Events To Watch For.” And He told His servants to ‘WATCH AND PRAY’!

Weather sorrows and troubles around the world are certainly things we are to ‘watch’ for.

The USA, like Ancient Rome, Will Fall!

We have been saying for years that the innumerable ‘troubles’ which are befalling the United States of America, in combination with the fact of her $31.7 TRILLION national debt─ the highest global national debt─ is weakening her here in the ‘beginning of sorrows.’ And, massive earthquakes could trigger supervolcanoes! Notice this from 2017 –

Almost 770 earthquakes have been recorded in Yellowstone Park over the past two weeks — more than normal but not a sign of volcanic activity, scientists say.

As of 11:30 Friday morning, 769 quakes had been recorded in the current swarm, said Jamie Farrell, a research professor of seismology at the University of Utah.

The swarm, which began June 12, is ongoing, he added, though the frequency of earthquakes has slowed down a bit. Typical swarms comprise 10 to 50 quakes, Farrell said.

“As of now, everything that we can see looks like these are tectonic in origin,” he said. “There’s no volcanic signature to any of these events that we’ve found.”

(READ MORE: Yellowstone earthquake swarm slowing, but ongoing — nearly 770 quakes so far. Retrieved 21 March 2023).

Friends, things will not remain as they have! Yellowstone could erupt! Elements will melt. Get your spiritual house in order.

There is a new study that suggests that the ancient Roman Empire fell because of grievous weather. Notice –

A team of researchers based their findings on data from 9,000 wooden artifacts from the past 2,500 years.

They found that periods of warm, wet summers coincided with prosperity, while political turmoil occurred during times of climate instability. The findings have been published online by the journal Science.

Once they had developed a chronology stretching back over the past 2,500 years, they identified a link with prosperity levels in past societies, such as the Roman Empire.

“Wet and warm summers occurred during periods of Roman and medieval prosperity. Increased climate variability from 250-600 AD coincided with the demise of the western Roman empire and the turmoil of the migration period,” the team reported.

(READ MORE: https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-12186245. Retrieved 21 March 2023).

Since the United States of America is the most indebted nation in the history of nations, certainly grievous weather troubles will aid in her downfall. In the United States, 97 natural disasters occurred in 2021. Of these, 64 of them were severe thunderstorms, 14 were caused by wildfire, heat waves, and drought, and another 12 were due to floods and flash floods. Eight out of ten of the most expensive natural disasters in the U.S. were hurricanes, with the most expensive being Hurricane Katrina in 2005, with 182.5 billion U.S. dollars! 2

With ever-increasing inflation, domestic terrorism, riots, and civil unrest, along with an increase in food shortages, surely this will awaken the rest of the world to the fact that the US will not─ even if she was capable─ of ever repaying her debts. Recall, former President Donald Trump once said concerning the national debt, “I would borrow, knowing that if the economy crashed, you could make a deal.” 3

Even though we have referred to this many times before – let us quote this once again – the apostle Paul, speaking in a synagogue at Antioch to the sons of the family of Abraham, and all who fear God:

“’ Beware therefore, lest what has been spoken in the prophets come upon you:

41) ‘Behold, you despisers, Marvel and perish! For I work a work in your days, A work which you will by no means believe, Though one were to declare it to you’” – Acts 13:40-41.

Continuing with Habakkuk:

“Are You not from everlasting, O LORD my God, my Holy One? We shall not die. O LORD, You have appointed them for judgment; O Rock, You have marked them for correction. 13) You are purer eyes then to behold evil, And cannot look on wickedness. Why do You look on those who deal treacherously, And hold Your tongue when the wicked devours A person more righteous than he? 14) Why do You make men like fish of the sea, Like creeping things that have no ruler over them? 15) They take up all of them with a hook, They catch them in their net, And gather them in their dragnet. Therefore they rejoice and are glad. 16) Therefore they sacrifice to their net, And burn incense to their dragnet; Because by them their share is sumptuous And their food plentiful. 17) Shall they therefore empty their net, And continue to slay nations without pity?” – Habakkuk 1:12-17.

“I will stand my watch And set myself on the rampart, And watch to see what He will say to me, And what I will answer when I am corrected. 2) Then the LORD answered me and said: ‘Write the vision And make it plain on tablets, That he may run who reads it. 3) For the vision is yet for an appointed time; But at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; Because it will surely come, It will not tarry.

4) ‘Behold the proud, His [life] is not upright in him; But the just shall live by his faith’” – Habakkuk 2:1-4.

Notice this end-time prophecy is for an appointed time – the time of the end. It is a prophecy for our time – and it will affect the proud. And, sadly, many will “run who reads it.”

narakeet

After much prayer and fasting, we have decided to utilize a speech synthesis generator to create voiceovers for audio articles for many of our articles along with audio booklets for many of our online booklets. We chose narakeet because of its pricing, ease of use, and very realistic and professional-sounding audio. We currently have over an hour and a half of audio articles available. We thank you immensely for your generous support and financial assistance to help allow us to utilize this─ growing popularity─ technology!

Suggested Sabbath Day Service

Here is our suggested Sabbath day service for our scattered brethren and friends around the world:

• TWO songs of praise. (our songbook, The Bible Hymnal, is suggested, there is some Instrumental Accompaniment to the Bible Hymnal available on our website).

• Opening prayer.

• Announcements – from the deacon or pastor.

Sermon – from the pastor or guest speaker. The one suggested for this week is “’ Watch’ God’s Way” delivered by Minister Leonard V. Johnson.

• Closing song.

• Closing prayer.

In case you do not receive a ‘Letter to our Friends’ for any week, remember that there are many sermon messages on the Church of Jesus Christ Online Ministries’ BitChute channel, as well as our Soundcloud Radio channel. Also, we post all ‘Letter to our Friends’ on our website - https://www.owensborocojc.com/search/label/Church%20letters.

Some World News In Relation To Biblical Prophecy

Here in the United States of America two of our largest banks─ failed. This, of course, is cause for concern in Europe. (See: USNews – ‘From Wine Country to London, Bank's Failure Shakes Worldwide’).

Certainly, if this spreads, Europe will blame the USA for the ensuing economic crises.

Will some type of financial crisis trigger the rise of the final ‘beast’ power – a reorganized Europe – which is spoken of in Revelation 17:12-13!? We believe it will.

In Europe, Credit Suisse appears to be having issues as well.

ZeroHedge reports:

“The Market Is Being Brutal”: Futures Crash As Banks Crisis Slams Europe, Credit Suisse Craters

Just when it seemed that futures may finally be stabilizing after a week of rollercoaster moves and one day after US regional banks rebounded amid hopes that the US small bank run was easing, the bank crisis made a triumphant arrival in Europe where (just as we warned yesterday) it was all about Credit Suisse.

The Swiss Bank, already trading at all-time lows after it said yesterday that its financial reports had a material weakness, cratered more than 20%…

… after the bank’s top shareholder, Saudi National Bank Chairman Ammar Al Khudairy, whose stake has lost more than one-third of its value in three months, ruled out investing any more in the troubled Swiss bank as a bigger holding would bring additional regulatory hurdles.

(READ MORE: https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/market-being-brutal-futures-crash-banks-crisis-slams-europe-credit-suisse-craters).

We also need to understand there is something else happening:

Silicon Valley Bank collapse worked its way into being the 2nd biggest banking collapse in US history, we’ve got to take another look at that still breaking story from different angles, with both that story over at Coin Telegraph which reporting on how the Silicon Valley Bank failure is urging regulators to step in due to claims that nearly 40,000 of all depositors at Silicon Valley Bank are small businesses and how these bank runs are being used to lead to the ‘new world order‘ and ‘great reset.’ …

So while 10’s of millions of Americans may not think that the collapse of SVB will have any effect upon them at all, as this story over at Coin Telegraph also reports, according to Fed data, small banks in the United States had $6.8 trillion in assets and $680 billion in equity as of February 2023. Considering this scenario, a failure on the tech bank would put in “risk of a run on thousands of small banks,” further making the SBV situation a “main street problem,” said Bob Elliot.

And while The Dispatch reports the Federal government is trying to contain the fallout from this latest bank failure, how long before they can no longer ‘kick that can down the road‘ and things will implode disastrously? It’s not just a coincidence that #TheGreatDepression is trending this very moment on twitter. …

So while March of 2023 might not be that day, and somehow the globalists will manage to kick the can down the road even one more time, knowing that the ‘great reset‘ and ‘new world order‘ are their ‘end games‘ for this mess they’ve created really tells us it’s just a matter of time.

(https://allnewspipeline.com/Bank_Runs_Lead_To_New_World_Order_And_Great_Reset.php).

The Gateway Pundit reports:

Tucker Carlson Goes There: “If People Don’t Start Making a Lot of Noise – It Will Mean Digital Currency… If You Want to Make a Run on the Banks This Is How You Talk”

And, again, we stress that digital currency is NOT the prophesied ‘mark of the beast.’

Indeed, the USA has been looking into having a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC)! And, indeed, this will increase government control and loss of freedom.

As I mentioned before, the Lego Land theme park in Winter Haven, Florida is cashless! And this trend will grow in the coming years! Notice that one of the prophetic events to watch for is: The rising trend of a ‘no cash’ society will increase, and eventually, the United States of America will become a whole cashless society.

ARE YOU PAYING ATTENTION TO WHAT IS GOING ON IN THIS WORLD!?

Ever greater pushes towards a cashless society, complete surveillance, digital passports, facial recognition, and increasing travel restrictions are all ways which, as stated in the article by allnewspipeline, are aiding the “great reset.”

Yet, again we want to stress─ many of the churches of God are continuing to proclaim that all this is the “666 prophecy.”

Notice Minister Michael C. Garrett:

I turned to some ICG websites, and I found a booklet – written by Mr. Garner Ted Armstrong – The Mark of the Beast – What Is It? - a man who knew what the Bible said (for the most part), a man who studied and thought about the Word of God, but now has been in his grave for almost sixteen years – wrote the following:

“Millions are deceived! Many believe the Mark of the Beast is yet some future development, a national identity card, or an invisible tattoo, or a microchip implanted beneath the skin, or a plastic credit card.”

Now, pay attention here, because he puts an exclamation point at the end of this sentence.

“All of this is nonsense!”

So, Mr. Garner Ted Armstrong knew enough to realize that all these stories about microchips and ID chips and credit cards and whatnot are indeed nonsense.

“Those who believe such things know nothing of the Bible, of history, or of prophecy!”

Mr. Garner Ted Armstrong was dead-on right! …

The Bible describes a “one-world government”!? No. Now, every time I’ve seen one of these books or one of these movies I’ve always been astounded by this concept that they put forth of “one-world religion,” and “one-world government”! And that seems to bring great joy to people of that ilk to talk about it. And if it were true it would be something to be upset about, but THE BIBLE DOES NOT describe that!

(READ MORE: The MARK of the BEAST).

So, if anyone believes that this world is going to have some super powerful ONE-WORLD RULING GOVERNMENT that will have everyone under the oligarch's control - then you are highly mistaken.

Yes, there is rising a European "beast" power that will ultimately control a large swath of people. That has occurred several times in the past.

But by no means will there ever be just a ONE-WORLD GOVERNMENT under mankind that the whole world is going to jump on board with and go along with. It is not going to happen! Not by human fleshly people!

Concluding Comments

Minister Michael C. Garrett wrote:

“And today in my notes, let’s turn to Romans 5 … Verse 20 – “Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound.” – now, which law is he talking about!? Is he talking about the Ten Commandments!? I don’t think so. Sometimes in Paul’s writing, he’s talking about the Old Testament law, meaning the laws surrounding the Jewish religion, the temple, the sacrifices, the ceremonial washing, and all the little doodads that they did back in the Old Covenant. And I think he’s referring to the Old Covenant here. Sometimes Paul talks about the New Covenant – many times. In fact, just while we’re talking about that, turn to Romans 7:12 – “Therefore the Law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good.” I believe he’s talking about the Ten Commandments right there. Because he even used the word commandment. And there are some people who – and it’s really hard to explain this one – there’s a group, there’s a mindset, there’s a movement, in some Protestant churches to bend over backward to try to tell their people that “the law is done away.” Now quite frankly, just to be honest, the origins of that type of statement coming from the fact that there are people going to church on Sunday – and they do it because the people before them did it, their mother, father, grandfather, grandmother. And they’re troubled because if they’re honest with the Bible, the day of church – I like to call it Church day – is what we call here in the Western culture Saturday. The seventh day of the week. Now, there are people, there are religious groups that keep Saturday as their church day - Seventh-Day Adventists, there were some seventh-day Baptists and other outfits. So they were honest enough with the Word of God that they looked in there and say, “Hey folks! Sunday’s not church day!” The weekly church day. But then church “officialdom” came in and made them change to Sunday. But Sunday is not the official church day. It’s the seventh day, which we call Saturday. So, if you say that the Ten Commandments are in effect, all of a sudden, you’re looking at the FOURTH COMMANDMENT – “’ Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.’” And, that means ‘remember the seventh day of the week.’ Now, what do you do!? How do you get yourself around that!? So, there are people – and I’ve heard of them, … “There’s no place in the New Testament, that requires the keeping of the Ten Commandments.” Well, O’ my! There’s a whole bunch of places, and here’s one of them. It’s just as plain as can be, the Apostle Paul – which in all of the personalities of the Bible, and when you think about the Old Testament prophets and you think about the disciples, and think about John the Baptist, and the various writers of the Bible. In my opinion, and it’s just my opinion, the Apostle Paul is 2nd in the hierarchy of importance, or significance, below Jesus Christ! Paul wrote the majority of what we now call the New Testament. And he wrote that under the inspiration, guidance, and direction of God’s Spirit and of Jesus Christ – Jesus Christ’s mind. Paul knows what he’s talking about! Paul is an authority! And here he says it, “Therefore the Law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good.” But like I said earlier, sometimes when Paul uses the word “law,” he’s talking about the Old Covenant or the law of the Levites and the temple people. And sometimes when he uses the word “law,” he’s talking about the Ten Commandments and the New Covenant. And you have to have enough wisdom and discretion to know which is which!”

(Christ In You (Unleavened Bread) 2017 Day 4).

With love and gratitude, in Jesus' Name,