Letter to our Friends - August 6, 2021

CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST ONLINE MINISTRIES

P.O. BOX 6458

SPRING HILL, FLORIDA 34606

Leonard V. Johnson

Founder/Pastor

Dearest Friends:

Greetings from Spring Hill, Florida.

The Rest of the Story…

In this Sabbath’s suggested sermon, “A Woman’s Faith,” I go over a small portion of an email which I received awhile back from a young lady in Chicago that was in dire straits requesting our prayers and asking if God would somehow overlook her prostituting herself to help pay bills. Here is a transcript of those emails –

Thank you very much sir,I really appreciate. ..Please put me in your prayers I need a miracle .I don't want to sin against God I have been faithful all these years .

Am in a difficult situation my dad is sick and I need some money to suit his bills my anty is encouraging me to go into prostitution to raise the money I know that's bad in the site of God but am left with no other option no one to help me.,,, if I go ahead to do it will God understand please I need your reply as soon as possible.

My response:

Dearest friend:

You stated in your letter that you have no other options but prostitution to raise the money needed. There are at least 169 verses in our living GOD'S WORD—the Holy BIBLE— that refer to the Way's that God provides for us. Philippians 4:19 states, “My God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus.” Our great God desires to provide for those who obey Him.

Like any good parent, God the Father would never give us what He knows would harm us. His desire is to help us develop GODLY character so that we are “the salt of the earth,” the “light of the world”—Matthew 5:13-14. However, God does not want to see that He is just a mere heavenly source for mere physical possessions. Acquiring “things” is not the fundamental goal of this life—Luke 12:15.

Our Lord Jesus said –

“’ Seek FIRST His Kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things [including your financial needs] will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself’”—Matthew 6:33-34; NIV.

Our great God understands the difference between our wants and our needs. He knows that where our treasure is, there our heart is also (Matthew 6:21). He wants us to understand that this world is not His, it belongs to Satan the devil, the god of this world—2 Corinthians 4:4. Our home is in His Kingdom, His government, His world to come, and that we need to focus on the goal at the end of the race—eternal life.

In our Master's prayer, Jesus teaches His disciples to ask for provision, and to depend on God always, each time we pray, “’ Give us today our daily bread’”—Matthew 6:11; NIV. Father knows our needs. He desires a covenant relationship with us, and that involves trusting in Him to meet our daily requirements and to seek first HIS KINGDOM and HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS—Matthew 6:33.

Psalm 84:11 states –

“For the LORD GOD is a Sun and a Shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor; no good thing does He withhold FROM THOSE WHOSE WALK IS BLAMELESS.”

We must walk uprightly.

Go to God dear friend, in full submission, in prayer and fasting and seek God, ask Him to help you in this dire-strait. He will answer you!!!

Now, prostitution is against GOD'S Law – summed up in the TEN COMMANDMENTS. Prostitution not only destroys marriages, families, and lives, but it will ultimately destroy the spirit and soul that leads to physical and spiritual death—Revelation 21:8; the sexually immoral). God says, “Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to Him as instruments of righteousness. For sin shall not be your master, ...”—Romans 6:13-14; NIV.

My dear friend, the Church of Jesus Christ Online Ministries has helped many, for God’s religion that He accepts as pure and faultless is: to look after orphans and widows in their distress. I will seek God’s Wisdom on this matter. For we are to be good stewards and do our very best to ensure that the money that He has blessed us with will be used to give charity to those who truly need it. Brother Paul gave Timothy detailed instructions for caring for widows in the Church and WARNINGS about what could happen if charity was given improperly (1 Timothy 5:3-16).

In the meantime, may I suggest you continue in fervent prayer and fasting (if possible), asking Father for His help in this matter.

May God’s blessings and grace be with you, In Jesus' name,

Pastor Leonard Johnson

CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST ONLINE MINISTRIES

P.O. Box 6458

Spring Hill, Florida 34606

pastorleonard1@yahoo.com

Friends, our great and awesome God wants you and me – including our young lady from Chicago – to be happy, to have a zest for life, to have a full life, and to be able to share our life with others – that’s love!

“’ The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly’” – John 10:10, NKJV, and throughout the remainder.

His glorious light shall direct us toward the Way that leads to true happiness, true peace, and true security.

“For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments [the TEN COMMANDMENTS] are not burdensome” – 1 John 5:3.

This is a glorious truth that so few understands!

Our Lord Jesus Christ was asked once what the great commandment was in the law. Now, understand, the Pharisees – one of whom was a lawyer here – who had asked Him this question was not asking in regards to God’s Law – but rather to test Him. The Pharisees had developed a system of some 613 laws, some 365 commands, with some 248 additional sets of laws. They had replaced accountability to God with accountability to men. They had made these man-made laws with a spirit of judgment against their fellow man. These hypocrites gravely confused personal preferences with divine Law, and they made their man-made laws a burden unto the Jews – as well as to mankind in general. And our Lord Jesus Christ flat out rejected them!

Here our Lord Jesus Christ simplified God’s holy, eternal, and relevant Law – summed up with the TEN COMMANDMENTS – by saying –

“ ...’ You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the FIRST and great commandment. And the SECOND is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself’” – Matthew 22:37-39.

And truly to call out their man-made laws, He added –

“’ On THESE TWO COMMANDMENTS hang all the Law and the Prophets.’”

The FIRST FOUR Commandments - Exodus 20; Deuteronomy 5 – show us how to love God. The last SIX Commandments reveal to us the Way we are to love our neighbor – our fellow man.

But, how does the natural unconverted mind view this!?

“For those who live according to the flesh [ in other words – seeking only material and physical “things”] set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded [again, seeking only after material wealth and physical “things’] is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity [meaning, hostile] against God; for it is not subject to the Law of God [the Ten Commandments], nor indeed can be” – Romans 8:5-7.

And, NOTICE THIS –

“So then, those who are in the flesh CANNOT please God” – vs. 8.

Mankind – without the Spirit of God – wants little to do with God. God is love, yet, mankind as a whole blindly rejects the love of God that would bring true happiness, true peace, and true security.

Now, in this Sabbath’s sermon, along with within this email, I had mentioned that within God’s living word there are some 169 verses that teach us God’s Way in which He provides for us. Also, there are 10 direct points – called the TEN COMMANDMENTS! These points are as much an eternal law as gravity is to us! When you break but one point – there is a penalty. Physically, spiritually, emotionally, and possibly even mentally you will suffer.

Let’s cover physical here (and let’s use “sexually immoral” because of the subject of the email) – What if everyone suddenly stopped committing adultery, homosexuality, and prostitution!? Well, sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) would soon disappear. Sex outside of marriage (marriage defined by God as between a man and a woman) would disappear, as would prostitution.

God’s living word certainly tells us that prostitution is immoral. The wisdom blessed by God to King Solomon tells us –

“For a [prostitute] is a deep pit, And a seductress is a narrow well. She also lies in wait as for a victim, And increases the unfaithful among men” – Proverbs 23:27-28.

“For the lips of an immoral woman drip honey, And her mouth is smoother than oil; But in the end she is bitter as wormwood, Sharp as a two-edged sword. Her feet go down to death, Her steps lay hold of [the grave]. Lest you ponder her path of life – Her ways are unstable; You do not know them” – Proverbs 5:3-6.

Friends, like all humanity, prostitutes have the opportunity to repent, to be baptized and have hands laid upon them, to receive the glorious gift of God’s Spirit, and to have their name written into the Book of Life! To be cleansed of all their unrighteousness and be blessed with a new creation! They must turn away from their sinful lifestyle and turn to the living God the Father and Jesus Christ – whose grace is sufficient – cf. 2 Corinthians 5:17; 12:9.

Mankind’s two choices are described in Deuteronomy –

“’ I call heaven and earth as witnesses TODAY against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; that you may love the LORD your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, FOR HE IS YOUR LIFE AND LENGTH OF YOUR DAYS; …’” – Deuteronomy 30:19, 20.

However, God’s living words – recall the very words of our Lord Jesus Christ, “’ Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God’” – truly reveals something far greater than just mere physical curses for breaking God’s Law. When one chooses to break one of His Ten Commandments that define love – His living word says that you sin.

“Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness” – 1 John 3:4.

God’s holy, relevant, and eternal Law – summed up with the Ten Commandments – are a blessing – they reveal to you just what sin is – cf. Romans 3:20; 4:15; 5:13-14. The apostle James terms the Ten commandments “the perfect law of liberty” – James 1:25.

When God’s immutable Law is broken and not repented of – well, every cause has an effect.

“For the wages of sin is death, …” – Romans 6:23.

Prayer Requests

We ask for your prayers for Minister Michael C. Garrett. He has a grave infection on one of his toes. Please ask our Heavenly Father and our Lord Jesus Christ to completely heal him of this terrible thing – and that the antibiotics of which he is taking will indeed do what it is supposed to do.

Also, I ask for your prayers for me – next week I go and have an outpatient procedure done called a colonoscopy. I’m not having any problems, I’m getting it done simply because of my age. I would greatly appreciate your prayers on my behalf that nothing will go wrong and that everything will turn out fine. Thank you so very much.

New Office Equipment

Thank you for your continued support. Your tithes and offerings helped the Church of Jesus Christ Online Ministries to purchase a new, badly needed, printer.

Soundcloud Radio

As many of you are aware, we have several sermons on our Soundcloud Radio Channel online.

SoundCloud is a Swedish-founded online audio distribution platform and music sharing website based in Berlin, Germany, that enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio, as well as a digital signal processor enabling listeners to stream audio.

If you like what you hear, be sure to like, follow, and repost your favorite sermons! And, THANK YOU for subscribing and listening, for your interest, your support, and your love!

Suggested Sabbath Day Services

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

● 2 hymns. (a free printable “Old Time Gospel” hymn site is “The Old Time Gospel”).

● Opening prayer.

● Announcements (if any – a great video for announcements is Deacon Robbie Lamb’s Watchman brief insights of world news in relation to biblical prophecies!).

● Suggested Sermon: “A Woman’s Faith” by Leonard V. Johnson. Additional sermons are available HERE.

● Final hymn.

● Closing prayer.

IN CASE YOU HAVE NOT RECEIVED A ‘LETTER TO OUR FRIENDS’ FOR ANY WEEK, REMEMBER WE HAVE OUR CHURCH LETTERS ON OUR WEBSITE.

World News Items

• First Amendment — Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Now, certainly, those of us in the United States of America since the Depression Era, to those of us from the Post-War Era, and even a great many of us from Generations X, Y, Z have long been taught that our Constitution guaranteed freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and freedom of religion. And, to a large degree, this is supposed to be based on the FIRST AMENDMENT of the US Constitution!

Yet, the USA has had a grave problem with the federal courts as they basically “make it up as they go along” and rule against freedom of speech as well as our religious freedom – many judges do not even accept that such freedoms were ever intended to be guaranteed by our Founding Fathers! And, internet censorship is but another way in which our government is opposed to freedom of the press.

And it’s not just our judicial branch of the US government with this attitude. The executive branch and legislative branches, too, are calling for greater censorship and loss of freedom of speech – at least a greater loss of the freedom of the internet press (see: ‘LifeSite - Biden admin admits it tells Facebook what to censor: ‘They’re killing people’’ also ‘NewYorkPost - White House ‘flagging’ posts for Facebook to censor over COVID ‘misinformation’’). As we have been saying – both Google and YouTube have been tightening their grip on conservative Christians in the US. Here is what Minister Guy LaMar has discovered in his research –

YES!

They do go after us - CHRISTIANS - They do go after Conservatives. They look for keywords to attack.

Recently I saw a video of a reporter going to a local college and interviewing the youthful students. Now, keep in mind the media is run by liberals. Reporters, newspaper people are 95% all liberal. College teachers are 95% all liberals.

Well, the students were all for the LGBTQ+ agendas and very anti-American, very against our history, they think our history is criminal, they think God is a joke.

They believe in the Democrat party as the only party. …

YouTube does look for certain words found in videos and they do flag them to downsize the recognition. Because the larger the view count the more recognition they will get.

A famine of hearing the word of God is prophesied (Amos 8:11-12) and we are getting ever-closer to that time. Those who believed that “it would never happen here” are wrong.

Apparently, and I’m just spitballing, the multiple thousands upon thousands of sermons from this world’s churches on YouTube, with their thousands of views, must all be liberals – or they have a great marketing team!

In the Middle East of the world, there was an incident last week involving a drone attack on an Israeli-bound tanker. Israel, the United Kingdom, as well as the United States of America have all blamed a State Sponsor of Terrorism – Iran. Of course, Iran has denied it – but the accusers have vowed to take action (see: ‘Israel365News - ISRAEL’S DEFENSE MINISTER CALLS FOR RETALIATION AGAINST IRAN: WASHINGTON CALLS FOR ‘JOINT RESPONSE’). Yet, do not think that Iran would not react (to note: A nuclear-armed Iran poses a direct threat to America's closest allies in the Middle East. Israel is most at risk as Iran's leaders have repeatedly declared that Israel should “be wiped from the map”). The time will come when a people that appears to be in Iran and Syria will cause grave damage to Jerusalem (Isaiah 22:6-8) – be sure to also read “’ Blow the Trumpet’!”

Concluding Comments

Let us be comforted by the word of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ –

“’ And I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear Him who, after He has killed, has power to cast into [Gehenna; the lake of fire]; yes, I say to you, fear Him!

Are not five sparrows sold for two copper coins? And not one of them is forgotten before God. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows’” – Luke 12:4-7.

Let us friends stay the course! Let us not fear! Let us not fall away – from God’s living truth!

In deep gratitude and love, in Jesus' name,

Leonard V. Johnson

Letter to our Friends - July 30, 2021

CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST ONLINE MINISTRIES

P.O. BOX 6458

SPRING HILL, FLORIDA 34606

Leonard V. Johnson

Founder/Pastor

Dearest Friends:

Greetings from West Central Florida.

I am certainly looking forward to this year’s Feast of Tabernacles – at which I also will enjoy speaking at. It will truly be most wonderful for the brethren to gather together once again. I have not seen the brethren there in Owensboro since 2019. Although we are in no way involved in politics, we, like God, are observers of what is happening in this present evil age – and will certainly have much to discuss involving this Biden Administration.

We may not be able to have many more Feasts. It is even possible, though I do not believe probable, that this upcoming Feast could be our LAST! As I was discussing with my sister, this world’s conditions are growing worse, it seems, by the week. This is not the United States of America of the 50s or even the 60s! With this grave influx of illegal immigrants into the US, this America is changing its traditional values rapidly. Sadly, even before this year’s Feast, we may find conditions of VIOLENCE and the on-rush of what our Lord Jesus Christ called the ‘great tribulation’! A time of great trouble the likes of which the world has never known – and this government may not allow us to have such a joyous gathering together!?

WHAT, after all, friends, is the one thing that is uppermost in God the Father’s and our Lord Jesus Christ’s mind!? About WHAT are THEY MOST CONCERNED!?

Is God most concerned about – above all else, in getting this world saved!? Especially right now – before the coming of the Day of the LORD!?

NO! First – we know that God has not been trying to get people IN THIS WORLD “saved” (spiritually I mean), even since the time of Adam. Now, in this latest sermon, “A Tradition of Religion,” I spoke a little about the Kingdom of Israel and the Kingdom of Judah – and God at no time offered them any spiritual “salvation” or eternal life. There were only a few that God gave His Holy Spirit to – HIS PROPHETS. And, that was only for the purpose of accomplishing their mission. God has not called but a few through every generation – even now – and these few of us have indeed been predestined to be called. “’ No one can come to Me,’” said our Lord Jesus Christ, “’ unless the Father who sent Me draws him.’” Truly, all the others must first learn by experience that Satan the devil’s way is completely contrary to the Way of God's – the Way of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control – to learn that Satan’s way is not good for them.

Understand friends, God does not view this world – in its present condition – as people do! I’ve often imagined that God looks down upon this earth and sees every one of His begotten children giving off a glimmer of light. But He also looks down upon this earth and sees millions of demons along with their master, all of whom are imprisoned upon this planet. We need to keep in mind – “We do not wrestle against flesh and blood [against our fellow human beings], but against principalities [against rulerships], against powers, against the ruler of [this] darkness, against spiritual hosts [armies] of wickedness in the heavenly places” – Ephesians 6:12, NKJV.

The apostle Paul calls this evil “whisperer” the “prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience.” In other words, in all those who are not OBEYING GOD’S VERY RELEVANT LAW! And, sadly, that is a great many people!

So, the majority of our people here on Earth do not truly view this world as God certainly does. And, very few people have had the awesome privilege to view the Earth from some 200 miles above the surface of the planet. The majority of our people are not conscious of the real rulers of this world – Satan the devil and his demons. An evil spirit who knows all too well that his time is soon coming to an end! – Revelation 12:12.

We – as Christ’s ambassadors – are looking forward to GOD’S GOVERNMENT being established upon this Earth! His government is His kingdom – the administration of HIS LAW over all those under His kingdom.

Understand friends, God's angels – in figurative language – shouted for joy at the creation of Earth, the mourning stars sang together – Job 38:7. God first placed angels upon this earth to establish the government of God – but then they sinned and rebelled against the government of God – see Genesis 1:2; 2 Peter 2:4.

This grave rebellion against God is mentioned in Isaiah 14:12-15 and Ezekiel 28:11-19 – their rebellion and attempted coup d'état removed the government of God from this Earth.

And, as we learn, beginning in Genesis 1:3, in six days God renewed the face of the earth for the inhabitation of mankind – see also Psalm 104:30. But, again, the government of God was rejected, and mankind obeyed “the serpent” – the enchanting whisperer – Genesis 3:6.

Now certainly the questions can be asked – why did God create mankind and place mankind upon the Earth!?

Well – we know that God (in Hebrew it’s Elohim – meaning more than one – the God family; be sure to watch our sermon “Elohim – the Family of God”) alone could be relied upon to administer the Kingdom of God. So, God made plans to REPRODUCE THEMSELVES in Their image and in Their likeness – cf. Genesis 1:26.

Many will want to argue and say, “There is only One God!” And they will often quote Isaiah 45:5, “’ I AM the LORD, and there is no other; There is no God besides Me.’” But, one must understand the whole context of just what the LORD God is saying here –

“’ I AM the LORD, that is My name; And My glory I will not give to another, Nor My praise to carved images’” – Isaiah 42:8.

“’ For I AM the LORD your God, The Holy One of Israel, your Savior; … I, even I, AM the LORD, And besides Me there is no savior’” – Isaiah 43:3, 11.

“ … ‘Is there a God besides Me? Indeed there is no other Rock; I know not one’” – Isaiah 44:8b.

“ … ‘For I AM God, and there is no other; I AM God, and there is none like Me” – Isaiah 46:9b.

So, truly, the LORD God isn’t saying there is no God family (consisting at the present time of God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ), but rather what He is saying is that there is no Savior but He – and He alone! There is One God the Father...and One Lord Jesus Christ! – cf. John 10:30; 1 Corinthians 8:5-6; John 17:3; revelation 11:15.

But getting back to the questions at hand, let us go back to old school. Why is it that God placed many angels upon this earth!? We find that angels were created long before the earth’s creation. Why!? Why were they placed here!?

Well, we read in Hebrews 2:5, “For He has not put the world to come, of which we speak, …” – meaning the soon-coming Kingdom of God “in subjection to angels.”

Now I personally do not believe that God ever had any intention of putting the Kingdom of God under the subjection of angels. God truly had – and has – a Master Plan from the very beginning!

Continuing, the apostle Paul adds, “ … ‘What is man that You are mindful of him, Or the son of man that You take care of him? You have made him a little lower than the angels; You crowned him with glory and honor, And set him over the works of Your hands. You have put all things [and certainly this includes God's universe] in subjection under his feet’” – Hebrews 2:6-8. And again, staying in context, this is speaking of the world to come – not at this time.

Continuing we read, “For in that He put all in subjection under him.” Truly, this means the entirety of GOD’S UNIVERSE! Notice, however, “But now we do not yet see all things put under him.”

Now, I went and here recently watched the entire 79 episodes of the original Star Trek television series – and the thought that came to my mind was this very passage – “we do not yet see all things [which includes GOD’S UNIVERSE] put under him.”

Yet friends, what do we now see!? “But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that HE, by the grace of God [see John 3:16], might taste death [here speaking of the second death] for everyone.”

As in Hebrews 1:3 – “ … upholding all things [including GOD’S UNIVERSE] by the word of His power.” For He is “the firstborn among many brethren” – Romans 8:29. For He is already born of God by a resurrection from the dead – Romans 1:4. Indeed! As we shall be! He is our Captain who has gone on ahead, preparing the way for us! – Hebrews 2:10.

Now I ask – do you know your potential!?

Notice this in the Book of Romans chapter 8 –

“For the earnest expectation of the creation [meaning, ‘all created things’ including the whole universe] eagerly waits for the revealing of the [children] of God.” 

In other words, we shall be revealed in glory, by the resurrection to come – when we are changed from mortal to immortal. 

“For the creation [the physical matter of the universe] was subjected to futility [meaning, vanity], not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption [its bondage to the law of decay] …”

The law of decay is a physical law described in mathematical manners that describes the properties of a nuclear atom in a state of decay. The radioactive decay law states that this decay is constant. For if nothing was done about this law of decay, this corruption will ultimately lead to the complete annihilation of the universe. For I refer to a little physics here, the laws of thermodynamics –

• First Law - Energy cannot be created or destroyed in an isolated system. 
• Second Law - Entropy – or disorder – always increases.
• Third Law - The entropy of a system approaches a constant value as the temperature approaches heat, and eventual death.
  
  

So, truly, this law of decay proves that life originated from a Divine Being with intelligence outside of this physical universe.

“ … into the glorious liberty of the children of God.”

“For we know that the whole creation [which does include the universe] groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. Not only that [meaning, ‘all created things’ including the universe], but we also have the firstfruits of the Spirit [the first ones to be called by God the Father], even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the [birth as children of God], the redemption of our body” – Romans 8:19-23.

“For our citizenship is in heaven [the atmosphere], from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body [SPIRIT-COMPOSED BODY], according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself” – Philippians 3:20-21.

Friends, think of this awesome and mind-blowing incredible potential of mankind through Jesus Christ our Master!!

Soon, our Lord Jesus Christ is coming “with ten thousands of His saints, to execute judgment on all, to convict all who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in an ungodly way” as King of kings and Lord of lords to take over the kingdoms of the earth – to establish the GOVERNMENT OF GOD! If you will reject the way of Satan the devil and overcome, He will grant you to sit with Him on His throne, as He also overcame and sat down with His Father on His throne! – see Revelation 3:21.

So, surely you can see, from the Scriptures we’ve just covered, that the ONE THING UPPERMOST ON GOD’S MIND IS THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD ON EARTH!?

And that time is soon-coming – in ‘this generation’! And, God wants us to announce this coming kingdom, and announce how one may enter into this kingdom! – cf. Acts 28:31. IT IS SOON COMING!

This is pivotal, and central, in the greatest of Good News –

“Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that He may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before, whom heaven [speaking here of the third heaven, where God now resides] must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began” – Acts 3:19-21.

Remember, the prophet Enoch - who was Adam’s great-great-great-great grandson (and Noah’s great grandfather) – prophesied of this coming kingdom long before the Book of Genesis was written – see Jude 1:14-15.

Friends, this world as a whole doesn’t understand this awesome living truth that God is preparing for us. Let us thank Almighty God and our Lord Jesus Christ that They have blessed us with this great mystery!

Suggested Sabbath Day Service

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

● 2 hymns. (a free printable “Old Time Gospel” hymn site is “The Old Time Gospel”).

● Opening prayer.

● Announcements (if any – a great video for announcements is Deacon Robbie Lamb’s Watchman brief insights of world news in relation to biblical prophecies!).

● Suggested Sermon: “A Tradition of Religion” by Leonard V. Johnson. Additional sermons available HERE.

● Final hymn.

● Closing prayer.

IN CASE YOU HAVE NOT RECEIVED A ‘LETTER TO OUR FRIENDS’ FOR ANY WEEK, REMEMBER WE HAVE OUR CHURCH LETTERS ON OUR WEBSITE.

World News Items

In Massachusetts, USA transexual protesters gathered together to protest a church that put a passage from the Book of Genesis on a billboard against the LGBTQ+ and their agenda! (see ‘Media Nation - Medford trans community and allies protest church’s anti-LGBTQ message’). As I wrote on our Facebook page – “We are certainly being persecuted for our "free" speech for Almighty God and our Lord Jesus Christ! Yet, the greater majority of us, brethren, have yet to receive the terrible beatings, the stripes, the incarcerations, the stoning’s, in grave hunger and thirst, cold and naked, as our dear Brother in Christ Paul had to suffer! - cf. 2 Corinthians 11:24-28. Let us, brethren, have a deep concern and pray daily for the Church of God! For their spiritual and physical growth, for the love of God to always shine abroad unto them, and for their protection always from evil.” According to God Almighty, whom we trust, there is coming a time when there will be a famine of even hearing the word of God – anywhere. See Amos 8:11-12.

Many health professionals (though I am dubious at calling the CDC professionals) appear to be concerned about the emergence of a new strain of the COVID-19, the “Delta-Variant” (see ‘The Babylon Bee - To Defeat Delta Variant, Experts Recommend Doing All The Things That Didn't Work The First Time’). Is not the definition of insanity doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result!? 

There is also – according to these “professionals” – an emergence of Candida Auris. (see ‘Center For Disease Control And Prevention - Candida Auris', retrieved 30 July 2021). Also, notice ‘Zero Hedge - Move Over COVID: A Drug-Resistant Super Bug Fungus Is Now Being Reported In Texas And Washington D.C.’ and ‘” The War Has Changed” - Leaked CDC Report Claims Delta Spreads As Easily As “Chickenpox”’). Let us be reminded – the Lord our God, Jesus Christ, WARNED of a time of great sorrow when there will be ‘pestilences’ (Matthew 24:7-8) So, we should not find it shocking to learn of other coming pestilences.

Concluding Comments

Minister Michael C. Garrett wrote the following:

Matthew chapter 6, He gave another treasure of a little gem. He said, “’ For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.’” You can ask yourself that question. I can say, “OK, Michael C. what do you treasure!?” Because that’s really where my heart is. Or, if you’re evaluating somebody that you meet, what is their treasure!? If it’s like that guy who just can’t wait to get to the bar, you pretty well know what his treasure is. He worships at the altar of his alcohol. Or, his drug addiction. Whatever it is. All the different things you could get into. You can find out where a human heart is – and if you meet a church person, you just wanna know, can I trust this person!? How sincere are they!? Just ask yourself the question: What is their treasure!?

If they spend all of their time talking about their new car, their new house, their new this, their new physical whatever it is, you pretty well have a clue that their heart is not tuned in to the things of God. It just speaks for itself. “’ For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.’” …

And then Jesus had something to say over in Luke 6 – which is a powerful statement! I guess if we would all apply this to our lives, how much better off we would be. Luke chapter 6, verse 36 – “’ Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful. 37) Judge not, and you shall not be judged.’” – O’ my! If we as an organization could simply put that into effect and have it at the root of our spiritual DNA, what a much finer and more powerful organization we would be in the service of Jesus Christ! And yet that often is not the way things go. He says, “’ Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.’” – and what’s the counterpart of that!? If you don’t forgive, you won’t be forgiven! If you hold that grudge, that sense of vengeance in your heart, you are far from doing the will of God and it will cripple your heart and it will poison your heart and it will calcify your heart. And for those people who always want to point fingers – you’ve always been around them – they can’t wait to tell you the latest story about some piece of bad news on somebody else. It’s the old saying, that if you find somebody pointing their finger at somebody, three fingers are always pointing back.

(READ MORE "The Treasure of Your Heart")

In deep gratitude and love, in Jesus' name,

Leonard V. Johnson

The Divinity of Jesus Christ

In the New Testament, the apostle John begins by making the divinity of Jesus Christ clear to all when he wrote –

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2) He was in the beginning with God. 3) All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made” – John 1:1-3, NKJV throughout, unless otherwise specified.

Thus, the Word was God and was with God. And the Word – Jesus Christ – is a lot like the Father. Notice that Jesus became flesh –

“And the Word became flesh and dwelt [or rather, tabernacled] among us, and we beheld His glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth” – John 1:14.

An important point to notice is that this shows us that our Lord Jesus Christ was God and that He actually became flesh – Scripture does not state that He remained fully God on Earth. It should probably be mentioned that those with a unitarian view believe this should be translated differently. Yet, that does not change the totality of God’s living word on this subject.

Our Lord Jesus Christ teaches, “’ I and My Father are one’” – John 10:30, which completely contradicts the unitarian position that Jesus is not now God (as well as does John 1:1-3, which is another issue unitarians dispute).

The apostle Matthew, who quoted Isaiah 7:14, makes it abundantly clear of His divinity –

“’ Behold, the virgin shall be with Child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,’ which is translated, ‘God with us.’” – Matthew 1:23.

Also, notice what occurred after Jesus Christ’s glorious resurrection –

“And Thomas answered and said to Him, ‘My Lord and my God!’ 29) Jesus said to him, ‘Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed’” – John 20:28-29.

So, not only did the apostle Thomas call our Lord Jesus Christ God – and indeed Jesus’ statement confirmed the correctness of Thomas’ assertion (of which happened after the resurrection of Jesus Christ).

Also, the apostle Paul states, after Jesus’ resurrection –

“For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily” – Colossians 2:9.

Our Lord Jesus Christ clearly knew that He was equal with God the Father as the apostle Paul correctly points out –

“Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, 6) who, being in the form of God [God the Father], did not consider it robbery to be equal with God” – Philippians 2:5-6.

Confess Your Faults

God’s living word says we are to confess our trespasses [or rather, ‘our problems’] to one another, and to pray for one another, that we may be healed. But, it also says, “For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus” – 1 Timothy 2:5.

We are admonished by the apostle James to confess (or rather, admit) our unintentional error or willful transgression that we have done to harm somebody. We are to confess only to those whom we have hurt or wronged! Recall God’s living word says –

“My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 2) And He HIMSELF is the propitiation for our sins, …” – 1 John 2:1, 2.

Friends, your personal sins are no one’s business except God the Father’s and our Lord Jesus Christ’s – who is our Advocate!

“And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but ALL THINGS are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account” – Hebrews 4:13.

GOD is the only Judge! Notice that King David wrote in Psalm 51 that his sin was against God, and God alone –

“Against You, You ONLY, have I sinned, …” – Psalm 51:4.

God’s living word does not say – anywhere – that we are to confess our sins to a priest, nor does it say that we are to ever authorize any penance.

Sadly, I have known of people that would confess some of the most horrible and despicable sins and crimes to their brethren or to a priest. I wouldn’t ever think about sharing some of the rotten and terrible things that I have done in my past with anyone but God. Sharing these things with others is called T.M.I. – too much information. Friends, it is uncouth, it is inappropriate and it is dangerous. It is unbelievable to me how many in these Baptist churches will stand up and confess their deepest of sins to the congregation. We are to be prudent – cf. Proverbs 13:16; 27:12. We are not to lack decency – cf. 1 Corinthians 14:40.

Now, truly, if you have committed a wrong against someone, then you ought to go directly to them and seek forgiveness, restitution, reconciliation as our Lord Jesus Christ Himself teaches us –

“’ Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24) leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift’” – Matthew 5:23-24.

Again, we should NEVER confess our sins to anyone but God.

Original and early translations of God’s living word do not show that any penance was implemented as a requirement.

The Roman Catholic Church, under Pope Callistus I, compromised or either implemented penance or even extended what may have already existed within the Roman Catholic Church.

And on another note, the late American Baptist evangelist Billy Graham (whose annual salary was $633,722) 1 had taught and spread a perverted plan of salvation, which is called Lordship Salvation. Advocates of Lordship Salvation are careful to say that salvation is by grace alone, that believers are saved before their faith ever produces any good works.

This false doctrine of demons has crept into the greater majority of this world’s churches today – improperly teaching that all one needs to do is believe in the Lord to be saved.

One of the major false doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church is to confess sins to a mere man – instead of Almighty God! The idea that we should confess our sins to each other to help us to live a more righteous life is unbiblical. It is a satanic false doctrine to confess any sin to a minister or a Catholic priest – because they cannot forgive anyone’s sins, including their own! ONLY GOD CAN FORGIVE SIN! Even the hypocritical Pharisees of Jesus’ time knew this –

“ … ‘Who can forgive sins but God alone?’” – Mark 2:7b.

The apostle Paul wrote –

“But exhort one another daily, while it is called ‘Today,’ lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin” – Hebrews 3:13.

Now, here the Greek word for exhort is parakaleō, which means “to ask, to comfort, encourage.” It means to care about one another so that if we see a fellow Christian going astray or about to make a bad decision, we lovingly let them know that we care, praying for them, and are concerned about them.

Now, The Catholic Encyclopedia points to John 20:23 as their proof that auricular confession is to be made to priests – it also points to Matthew 16:19 as their proof -

Penance is a sacrament of the New Law instituted by Christ in which forgiveness of sins committed after baptism is granted through the priest's absolution to those who with true sorrow confess their sins and promise to satisfy for the same...the Council of Trent declares, Christ principally instituted the Sacrament of Penance after His Resurrection, a miracle greater than that of healing the sick. "As the Father hath sent me, I also send you. When he had said this, he breathed on them; and he said to them: Receive ye the Holy Ghost. Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them; and whose sins you shall retain, they are retained' (John 20:21-23)...

Clement I (d. 99) in his Epistle to the Corinthians not only exhorts to repentance, but begs the seditious to "submit themselves to the presbyters and receive correction so as to repent" (chapter 57), and Ignatius of Antioch at the close of the first century speaks of the mercy of God to sinners, provided they return" with one consent to the unity of Christ and the communion of the bishop". The clause "communion of the bishop" evidently means the bishop with his council of presbyters as assessors. He also says (Letter to the Philadelphians) "that the bishop presides over penance".

(Hanna, Edward. The Sacrament of Penance. The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 11. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911. Retrieved 2 August 2021).

There is absolutely no mention in God’s living word that our Lord Jesus Christ ever instituted penance for “forgiveness of sins committed after baptism.” So, while it is true that He taught forgiveness of sin, that bold face lie about penance being instituted by Jesus Christ is false!

Even Roman Catholic sources openly admit that Callistus I made changes in the standards along with the factors in making the majority of those who professed Christ part of the Greco-Roman confederation. 2 This shows clearly again that the Roman Catholic Church clearly has changed from the practices in the first (and early second) century.

The Council of Trent back in the 16th century made a variety of statements concerning auricular confession. The following is perhaps the first one to deal with this -

CANON VI.--If anyone denieth, either that sacramental confession was instituted, or is necessary to salvation, of divine right; or saith, that the manner of confessing secretly to a priest alone, which the Church hath ever observed from the beginning, and doth observe, is alien from the institution and command of Christ, and is a human invention; let him be anathema.

(The Council of Trent The Fourteenth Session The canons and decrees of the sacred and oecumenical Council of Trent, Ed. and trans. J. Waterworth (London: Dolman, 1848), 92-121. https://history.hanover.edu/texts/trent/ct14.html. Retrieved 2 August 2021.

God’s living word clearly teaches repentance – not penance. His word also teaches us that God forgives sins that true Christians should acknowledge to Almighty God.

There are more references – including Roman Catholic Church references – that make it crystal clear that auricular confession was not an original true Christian practice, and those who truly believe that they should “contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints” would certainly not want to practice such a late and heretical innovation.

God’s living word clearly teaches us –

“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” – 1 John 1:9. □

Bibliography

1 Baptist Planet Southern Religion - https://baptistplanet.wordpress.com/2009/10/15/baptist-salaries-known-and-unknown/. Retrieved 2 August 2021.

2 Matz T. St. Callistus I. Copyright 2009 Catholic Online. http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=31 viewed 2 August 2021.

Additional Things To Think About...

Being Anointed - HAVE you ever wondered just how sick you should be before you call upon a servant of God (an elder of the Church – James 5:14) for anointing and prayer to be healed!? [...]

Do They Have God's Spirit!? - Vanity shows up. Do you know why!?

A Soon-Coming Kingdom - Personally, I firmly believe the following – and it surely makes a lot of wonderful sense. [...]

Letter to our Friends - July 23, 2021

CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST ONLINE MINISTRIES

P.O. BOX 6458

SPRING HILL, FLORIDA 34606

Leonard V. Johnson

Founder/Pastor

Dearest Friends:

Greetings from Spring Hill, Florida.

YouTube censorship of ‘conservative’ content

YouTube last Tuesday “purged” The Independent Christian Church of God’s view count on their YouTube channel! The view count was in the triple digits for the recent sermons “Spooks” and “Who Are We?” Now the view count is in the double-digit range! Here is what Minister Guy C. LaMar wrote –

“Interesting - My wife told me yesterday day that my view count on my latest YouTube sermon was 100 even. So I looked and it was. Then today I just checked and it says 42 views. Hummmmmm.......I have a sneaky feeling YouTube is a bit of an anti-Christian media platform.”

Indeed YouTube is! They have continued to “purge” and even suspend more and more channels for which they do not care.

Back in 2018 Michael Snyder of The Economic Collapse had written –

This Is The Worst Purge Of Conservative Voices In The History Of The Internet

In recent weeks, we have witnessed an unprecedented social media crackdown on conservative voices. YouTube’s war with Alex Jones has gotten the most attention, but literally hundreds of conservative content creators have had their accounts penalized, suspended or deleted by YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and other social media giants. There appears to be a coordinated effort to target conservative viewpoints, because similar voices on the left are not receiving equal treatment. …

How would you feel if you spent years creating videos and building up a subscriber base only to have all of that work wiped out in a single moment by a leftist YouTube moderator?

Sadly, that is precisely what is happening to dozens upon dozens of conservatives right now…

One of the most disturbing examples of censorship was what happened to the Health Ranger channel. Mike Adams is a personal friend, and I am extremely upset about what YouTube has done to him…

As we reported over the weekend, YouTube terminated the entire Health Ranger video channel on Saturday, wiping out over 1,700 videos and approximately 350K+ subscribers. This was done, of course, as part of the YouTube left-wing PURGE now being carried out against non-establishment speakers who are being targeted for political reasons.

YouTube’s censorship rampage also wiped out all my videos on the donkeys I rescued, the range-free chickens I raise and even the beautiful ice crystals I captured on video over the winter. In its censorship sweep, YouTube is obliterating thousands of videos without cause, violating the civil rights of informative internet users and functioning as a criminal techno-cartel.

There is absolutely no reason for YouTube to do this. Mike Adams has literally helped millions of people through his work, and I am urging all of my readers to contact YouTube and demand that they restore his channel immediately.

(READ MORE: http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/this-is-the-worst-purge-of-conservative-voices-in-the-history-of-the-internet/. Retrieved 23 July 2021).

Now certainly, these types of “purges” and suspensions from YouTube are not new, however, we are seeing an even greater increase of electronic social-media censorship against ANYONE who does not agree with the mainstream media and/or those who have the conservative views and teachings of God’s living word – the Holy Bible. Or, for that matter, those who quote God’s word!

Also, Google, which owns YouTube, has changed its search parameters in a great many areas to reduce the possibility of certain views or beliefs from showing up on the first page of their search engine query. In our view, this has greatly hurt the Church of Jesus Christ Online Ministries and our affiliated churches’ YouTube channels.

Now, I say this not so that our people should take some kind of political action – but I say this to witness, announce, and warn our people that Authoritarianism Can Happen Again! – even in a so-called “free” society. And that it will take place more and more as the ‘end of this age’ ends. The reality is – Internet censorship was prophesied to occur in this end-time –

“’ Behold, the days are coming,’ says the Lord GOD, ‘That I will send a famine on the land, Not a famine of bread, Nor a thirst for water, But of HEARING the words of the LORD. They shall wander from sea to sea, And from north to east; They shall run to and fro, seeking the word of the LORD, But shall not find it’” – Amos 8:11-12, NKJV and throughout.

Notice that God’s living word tells that a time is coming when the word of the LORD will not be found – worldwide. Truly, in this 21st-century world, the Internet is accessed by people of every continent, country, nation, province, and state – thus, some type of Internet restriction/suspension/ or removal is coming! And in a few nations, it is already here – i.e. North Korea, China, Libya, South Africa.

Truly, the United States of America no longer has the type of “freedom of religion” or “freedom of speech” which our Founding Fathers wanted. Now, while YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter are not part of the US government, these private entities DO NOT support God or His teachings.

Having and following the views and teachings of God the Father and Jesus Christ as written in Their living word is certainly becoming more problematic in the United States of America!

Sadly, there is soon coming a day when the US government, as well as various private entities, will stop our efforts on the Internet altogether.

We should consider the words of our God –

“Therefore the prudent keep silent at that time, For it is an evil time” – Amos 5:13.

Interestingly – yesterday I had told my wife of what I taught upon for this coming Sabbath-day sermon, “Are The Dead In Heaven?” And she responded, “You just keep pushing their buttons, don’t you!?” I answered, “Someone needs to, and we are the only ministries which appear to be doing so!” However, God’s living wisdom tells us that even then – during this soon-coming ‘evil time’ – those that are doing nothing wrong will need to be silent for safety’s sake.

Yet, at this time, while it is still ‘day’ we must, like what the prophet Isaiah was told, - 

“’ CRY ALOUD, SPARE NOT; Lift up your voice like a trumpet; Tell My people their transgression, And the house of Jacob their sins’” – Isaiah 58:1.

This is exactly what we in the Church of Jesus Christ Online Ministries are doing – along with our affiliated churches!

We are denouncing not only the sins of God’s people – see Jeremiah 50:6-7; Luke 15:3-7; Matthew 10:6 – but a WARNING and telling of the sins of the house of Jacob (the United States of America, the United Kingdom, and her Commonwealth of Nations, Australia, and New Zealand, Canada), and also of this world’s false religion – politics.

Notice that Minister Michael C. Garrett has spoken of (and will continue to speak of) many of the sins prevalent in this 21st century –

• The Voice of One, Crying In The Wilderness (a five-part series).
• Anti-Christs (a three-part series).
• Avoid Negativity.
• Cities of Refuge.
• Blessings And Cursings (in three parts). 
• Newspapers, Thoughts, And the Bible.
• Come Now, Let Us Reason Together.
• The High Priestess Of Hypocrisy.
• God Gave Them Over To A Reprobate Mind.
• You Will Know Them By Their Fruits (an eight-part series).
• He Will Heal Them.
• The Tongue Is A Deadly Poison.
• Toxic Philosophy (a five-part series).
• Prophets or Profits?
• “Jacob’s Trouble”
• “CURSES”

Also, notice that Minister Guy C. Lamar of The Independent Christian Church of God has also spoken of (and will continue to speak of) these prevalent sins in this 21st century –

• Great Tribulation (in two parts).
• Halloween – Oct 31 2020.
• Idolatry Of Modern Times.
• Love vs Divisions.
• The Guy LaMar Radio Show: False Religions.
• The Guy LaMar Backyard Commentary Show: Worldly ideas Vs. The Kingdom.
• Sign Of The Times.

Also, also notice that we here at the Church of Jesus Christ Online Ministries have (and will continue to) speak of these prevalent sins in this 21st century –

• Are We To Listen To Others?
• ‘This is a rebellious people’
• ‘Tell My People Their Sins’
• ‘Equity Cannot Enter’
• ‘Why Should You Die, O House Of Israel?’
• Cry Aloud, Spare Not
• Is God Listening?

There are a great many in and outside the US government who have devious plans and are watching the Internet with ever-more plans on censorship of material they will someday completely silence.

Notice this from God’s living word –

“Hear my voice, O God, in my meditation; Preserve my life from fear of the enemy. Hide me from the secret plots of the wicked, From the rebellion of the workers of iniquity, Who sharpen their tongue like a sword, And bend their bows to shoot their arrows – bitter words, That they may shoot in secret at the blameless; Suddenly they shoot at him and do not fear.

They encourage themselves in an evil matter; They talk of laying snares secretly; They say, ‘Who will see them?’ They devise iniquities: ‘We have perfected a shrewd scheme.’ Both inward thought and the heart of man are deep” – Psalms 64:1-6.

So, if you think that if you’ve done nothing wrong there is nothing to fear from surveillance, consider that many in the US government consider that NOT supporting the LGBTQ+ agenda, or homosexual “marriage,” etc. are “enemies of the state.” Also, it has been said, that people who believe in a Millennial Reign of Jesus Christ should not be trusted and should be considered as a potential terrorist!

Suggested Sabbath Day Services

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

● 2 hymns. (a free printable “Old Time Gospel” hymn site is “The Old Time Gospel”).

● Opening prayer.

● Announcements (if any – a great site for announcements is Deacon Robbie Lamb’s Watchman brief insights of world news in relation to biblical prophecies!).

● Suggested Sermon: “Are The Dead In Heaven?” by Leonard V. Johnson. Additional sermons are available HERE!

● Final hymn.

● Closing prayer.

IN CASE YOU HAVE NOT RECEIVED A ‘LETTER TO OUR FRIENDS’ FOR ANY WEEK, REMEMBER WE HAVE OUR CHURCH LETTERS ON OUR WEBSITE.

World News Items

The Washington Post and others reported that the documentary which was released last Friday about the life of former celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain has a disturbing “deepfaked voice” (See: ‘TWP - The controversy over Anthony Bourdain’s deepfaked voice is a reminder that documentaries aren’t journalism’). Certainly, when one considers these entertainment documentaries real and factual there is a great risk. Consider - I have been mentioning that the majority of documentaries that are on Prime Video are for entertainment purposes only and are greatly skewed with a leftist agenda. The use of technology to produce what they are calling ‘deepfakes’ is certainly a tool in which ‘the god of this age’ – Satan the devil – will continue to utilize in the future. God’s living word warns that “evil men and imposters will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived.” “But,” as the apostle Paul continued, “you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, …” – that being JESUS CHRIST HIMSELF! – 2 Timothy 3:12-14.

More ‘deepfakes’ are coming – do not fall for them!

Because of this “purging” and shadow banning of our YouTube channels we also are utilizing other social media video platforms – like Godtube, BitChute, Brighton, as well as our Soundcloud Radio channel. However, as I had posted in the article “EU Attacking Video Platforms,” BitChute is now being pressured (and has agreed to suppress) anti-LGBTQ+ videos. This, of course, comes as no surprise. This is why – as an example – I have phrased titles and posts in ways not to incite the wrath of Big Tech “Brother”!

However, even this may not be enough very soon. In Poland, LGBTQ+ promoters seemingly consider that advocating traditional family values and of even going to church is none other than prima facie (See: ‘DW - Polish LGBTQ activists refuse to be silenced by lawsuits’). They – just like a relative of mine – do not like being told that God’s living word says that even condoning, without actual participation in this LGBTQ+ agenda, is deserving of death! – cf. Romans 1:18-32.

That being said – and as I just mentioned to my wife this morning; the Trump Administration was but a slight pause; the calm before the storm – much of this world is moving ever-closer towards the final time of the Gentiles (Ezekiel 30:3; Luke 21:24). Truly, the European Union, China, Iran, and Serbia have recently vowed to move closer to the Russian-dominated Eurasian Economic Union (See: ‘Tehran Times - Iranian companies ink MOU for exporting water industry goods to Eurasia’ along with ‘Tehran Times - Iran hails ties with Eurasian Union’ along with ‘Foreign Brief - Serbia-Eurasian Economic Union free trade agreement enters into force’). And also ‘Bloomberg - Putin Warns U.S. May Regret Using Dollar as Sanctions Weapon’). Now, while the EAEU is NOT the prophesied threat against the Anglo-American nations, the stage is being set for the final rise of the Gentiles of the ‘end of this age.’

Concluding Comments

Minister Michael C. Garrett wrote, under the inspiration of God’s Spirit:

“Lamentations 1:3 – “Judah has gone into captivity, Under affliction and hard servitude; She dwells among the nations, She finds no rest; All her persecutors overtake her in dire straits.” – now, this did take place in 605 B.C.! THIS WILL HAPPEN AGAIN! So, many prophecies are dual – they have an earlier fulfillment, and they have a much larger, more significant fulfillment in the latter days! And this will be one of those latter days fulfillments. Verse 12 – “Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by? Behold and see If there is any sorrow like my sorrow, Which has been brought on me, Which the LORD has inflicted In THE DAY OF HIS FIERCE ANGER.” – the Day of the Lord!

Chapter 2, Verse 1 – “How the Lord has covered the daughter of Zion With a cloud in His anger! He cast down from heaven to the earth The beauty of Israel, And did not remember His footstool IN THE DAY OF HIS ANGER.” – ‘In the day of His anger’ is the Day of the Lord! Verse 5 – “The Lord was like an enemy. He has swallowed up ISRAEL, … And has increased mourning and lamentation In the daughter of Judah.” Verse 21 – “’ Young and old lie On the ground in the streets; My virgins and my young men Have fallen by the sword; You have slain them in THE DAY OF YOUR ANGER, You have slaughtered and not pitied.’” – now, ‘pray not for this people’ is indeed a Message from the Bible.”

(Notes Regarding The Day of Atonement - Prophetically the Day of the Lord!).

Friends, a major change is prophesied – and it is coming – this world is about to get freight-trained! Let us all get our spiritual house in order NOW (Luke 21:34-36; Zephaniah 2:1-3).

In deep gratitude and love, in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior,

Leonard V. Johnson

EU Attacking Video Platforms

THE European Union is attacking video platforms such as BitChute for refusing to squelch its criticism in regards to the LGBTQ and BLM agenda.

Natural News reported the following:

Now the EU is going after video platforms like BitChute that refuse to censor content critical of LGBTQ and Black Lives Matter propaganda

The alternative media streaming platform BitChute, which is based out of the United Kingdom, has issued new guidelines against free speech that conform to the “hate speech” requirements of both its country and the European Union.

After consulting with the U.K.’s Office of Communications (Ofcom), BitChute determined that the wording of its “Incitement to Hatred” guidelines was too narrow and needed to be altered in order to better cover the scope of the U.K.’s regulations against “extremism.” …

Now, terrorism and violent extremism has been redefined by BitChute to include the prohibition of content coming from entities that have been “designated under counterterrorism legislation” as no longer having freedom of speech.

“In addition, those designated by the United Kingdom of Great Britain, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United States of America, the United Nations, the European Union or any member state of the European Union will be prohibited on the platform,” BitChute says. …

As for “Incitement to Hatred,” BitChute defines this as “any material likely to incite hatred against a group of persons or a member of a group of persons based on specific grounds,” including sex, race, color, ethnic or social origin, genetic features, language, religion or belief, political or any other opinion, membership of a national minority, property, birth, disability, age and sexual orientation.

This expansive list will almost certainly be used to silence critics of Antifa, Black Lives Matter (BLM), the Cult of LGBTQ, and various other protected left-wing groups that cry “hate” every time someone says or does something that upsets them.

BitChute says that it will no longer allow content that is in any way “derogatory, denigrating” or that contains “demonizing statements” against a group of people or members of a group.

“When material is confirmed by our moderators as being in violation of the Incitement to Hatred prohibition, it will be restricted to prevent viewing within a specific set of geographical areas,” BitChute says about its new process.

These geographical areas include the U.K. and Northern Ireland, member states of the E.U., states that form the European Union Economic Area, and any territories within any of these states.

(READ MORE: https://www.naturalnews.com/2021-07-17-eu-silencing-bitchute-censorship-lgbtq-blm-propaganda.html).

Truly, one of the main reasons why we have sermons on our BitChute channel is because of grave concerns of censorship from video platforms such as YouTube and Vimeo. YouTube began ramping up its censorship upon us when Minister Michael C. Garrett gave a five-part series of sermons entitled Toxic Philosophy. The view count went from triple digits to the lower double digits – overnight!

Last year, Big Tech “Brother” essentially shut down both BitChute and Brighteon near the 2020 election – apparently to stop videos they did not like. Since we in the COJCOM have had issues with YouTube – along with our affiliated churches – we have added other video and audio channels and platforms (for a list with links, go to COJCOMs Multimedia page).

Now, while we do utilize these alternative video and audio platforms to some of Big Tech “Brother”, these certainly are only temporary – as we are getting ever closer to God’s prophesied time of famine of His living word – Amos 8:11-12. And that will render all these alternatives essentially useless.

Certainly relying on BitChute as an open door to proclaim the glorious Word of God, the Truth of God, and the ultimate Plan of God will be a problem in the future. And, as I said recently – it already is a problem since Facebook won’t even allow one to mention BitChute, because, as they claim, it goes against their “Community Guidelines.”

Speaking one’s conservative mind, and even religious conservative opinions come under fire – and the greater majority of this world are like sheep for the slaughter when it comes to blanket censorship, de-platforming, shadow banning, etc.

Friends, the loss of religious freedom to hear the very words of the Creator of the universe was prophesied – not just for prophet Amos’ time, but also in this end-time (cf. Ecclesiastes 1:9) -

“’ Behold, the days are coming,’ says the Lord GOD, ‘That I will send a famine on the land, Not a famine of bread, Nor a thirst for water, But of hearing the words of the LORD’” – Amos 8:11.

So, notice that God’s living word tells us that there is coming a time when the word of God won’t be able to be heard – from sea to sea, or from north to east. Our people who want to hear God’s living truth won’t be able to find it!

Friends, I have been WARNING since early 2011 that governments around the world will continue to pressure regulations with the Internet which will result in the ultimate fulfillment of Amos 8:11-12!

Now, this is in part of why we in the Church of Jesus Christ Online Ministries – along with our affiliated churches – are preparing for when our Lord Jesus Christ cuts “short” His work upon the earth – cf. Romans 9:28 – and of this soon-coming “famine” of hearing His word.

Let us consider what our Lord Jesus Christ said –

“’ I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work’” – John 9:4.

Friends, we in the Church of Jesus Christ Online Ministries – and our affiliated churches – are doing the works of God while we can. We do understand that there is soon coming a time when “no one can work.”

Indeed, while our Lord Jesus Christ has opened this door for the Body of Christ – the Church of God – a door in which only He can shut (cf. Revelation 3:7-8), we know it will not remain open forever. And this is why we are trying out several different video and audio platforms – even though some of them have problems.

Yet, friends, there is the greatest of Good News – the coming kingdom of God – which will annihilate and replace the Babylonian type system of which we see in force today – cf. Revelation 13:16-18. □

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