Jerusalem Post Columnist Speculates on Attacking Iran

So the Obama Administration makes an agreement with Iran to verify with inspections that they are not running any covert program to make nuclear weapons and Iran's Supreme Leader made a fatwa in 2003 banning the possession of nuclear weapons as un-Islamic.

But despite these things some still think attack Iran militarily is a good idea seemingly heedless of the terrible pain and suffering such a move is certain to cause. The following is from a columnist who, through no fault of her own, is often quoted by PCG.

Here is the place to mention that Israel still may have the ability to attack Iran’s nuclear sites. If it does, then it should attack them as quickly and effectively as possible.

No, a successful Israeli attack cannot turn back the clock. Israel cannot replace the US as a regional superpower, dictating policy to our neighbors. But a successful attack on Iran’s nuclear program along with the adoption of a vigilantly upheld strategy of active nuclear defense can form the basis of a successful Israeli nuclear defense system.

And no, Israel shouldn’t be overly concerned with how Obama will respond to such actions. (Caroline Glick, Obama's Age of Nuclear Chaos, Jerusalem Post, July 16, 2015.)

Let's have another war, as though there are not enough in the Middle East already.

This sounds like a terrible idea.

There is no guarantee that such a move would even work. Will it make Iran bend to outside pressure or will they respond in kind?

Such a move is practically certain to cause much pain and suffering for everyone concerned. This pain and suffering should be avoided.

Shouldn't one at least wait for the agreement to fail to make one's side look justified rather then think of such things now?

I strongly hope no one in power acts on such an idea. 

CIA Says Iran Will Not Significantly Increase Funding to Terrorists After Agreement

From Haaretz:

The CIA analysts concluded that even if Tehran increases its support for Hezbollah in Lebanon, Houthi rebels in Yemen and the embattled regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad, the additional funding is unlikely to tip the balance of power in the world’s most volatile region. ...

“The notion that they're just immediately going to turn over $100 billion to the IRGC or the Quds Force, I think, runs contrary to all the intelligence that we’ve seen and the commitments that the Iranian government has made,” Obama said, referring to Iranian special forces. (Haaretz, July 17, 2015..)

How different this is from what PCG has been saying about this agreement with Iran about its nuclear program.

A PCG Writer Posts Mural of Northern Irish Terrorist Group

Found this on a social media account of one of PCG's junior writers who shall remain nameless in this post. This is what the PCG writer in question wrote when posting the photo below.

Traveling tip: Northern Irish don't accept euros only pounds. Even currency factors into being patriotic to Britain!

I find myself baffled as to why anyone uninvolved in that terrible and most painful conflict would ever want to put a photo like this on a social media account.

Perhaps the PCG writer did not think things through when posting this photo. Perhaps the PCG writer did not properly understand what may be seen here.

Let's use this posting by this PCG writer as an opportunity to educate ourselves about what lies behind this mural.

It is a mural promoting the "Ulster Defense Association" and its armed wing the "Ulster Freedom Fighters". It is a loyalist paramilitary organization that was founded in 1971 among the Protestants of Northern Ireland to fight the Catholics during the Troubles.

The US State Department regards it as a terrorist organization. On December 31, 2001 the US State Department listed this group as being subject to Executive Order 13224 thus "authorizing the U.S. government to designate and block the assets of foreign individuals and entities that commit, or pose a significant risk of committing, acts of terrorism." And that includes the group depicted in the mural above.

The mural contains the following paean glorifying them.

For as long as one hundred of us remain alive we shall never in anyway consent to submit to the Irish for it's not for glory, honour or riches we fight but for freedom alone which no man loses but with his life.

[Signed:] U.D.A./U.F.F.

And what did they do in their "fight ... for freedom"?

From Wikipedia:

According to the Sutton database of deaths at the University of Ulster's CAIN project the UDA/UFF was responsible for 259 killings during the Troubles. 208 of its victims were civilians (predominantly Catholics), 12 were civilian political activists (mainly members of Sinn Fein), 37 were other loyalist paramilitaries (including 30 of its own members), three were members of the security forces and 11 were republican paramilitaries.

From the BBC:

The UDA's stated aims were to protect unionist communities from attacks by republican paramilitaries but in reality it was little more than a criminal and sectarian gang. 

It killed hundreds of people during the Troubles in Northern Ireland. 

It often claimed responsibility for sectarian murders by using the cover name, the Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF).

Notorious UFF attacks included the shooting dead of five Catholics at a Belfast bookmakers shop in 1992 and the Greysteel massacre the following year, when gunmen entered a rural pub in County Londonderry and opened fire, leaving eight people dead.

No wonder the US State Department regards it as a terrorist organization and the US government has the authority to disrupt this group's finances.

From the US State Department:

The UDA/UFF has evolved into a criminal organization deeply involved in drug trafficking and other moneymaking criminal activities through six largely independent “brigades.” It has also been involved in murder, shootings, arson, and assaults. (Source, p. 37.)

Wikipedia has a Timeline of Ulster Defence Association actions. Here is the first of many killings listed in that article.

20 April [1972]: UDA members walked into a taxi depot on Clifton Street in Belfast and asked for a taxi to Ardoyne. From the location of the depot and the stated destination, they could be sure their driver was a Catholic. They forced him to stop in Harrybrook Street and shot him in the head.

And one of PCG's writers thought putting a photo of a mural that glorifies a group that did things like this was a good idea?

Let us use this as a lesson for ourselves in being careful to understand the implications of doing something that can seem of little consequence at the time but can be quite painful to others.

It is so good that violence has now stopped in Northern Ireland. May such frightful things never again blight Northern Ireland.

PCG's Bible Story Now Online

So Joel Hilliker stated that PCG had bought the copyright for The Bible Story. Banned by HWA also reported on this development.

PCG has released their version of The Bible Story online at their website.

They have currently released eight volumes.

The first volume is copyrighted 2008. Volume 2 is dated 2009. Volume 3 is dated 2009. Volume 4 is dated 2010. Volume 5 is dated 2011. Volume 6 is dated 2012. Volume 7 is dated 2013. And Volume 8 is dated 2014.

The first six volumes use the old text and interior illustrations by Basil Wolverton. (The chapters are arranged differently from how WCG divided the volumes.) However the volume covers are different.

 But starting with Volume 7, set during the time of David, PCG began writing the text themselves and producing their own interior illustrations for them. Volume 7 is written by Robert Morley and David Brandon. Volume 8 is written by Robert Morley and Brent Nagtegaal. It is still ongoing. Currently PCG's account is still set in the two kingdoms period.

The fact that Volume 1 is copyrighted in 2008 would indicate that PCG purchased the copyright no later then that. So it seems PCG has possessed the copyright for about seven years but because of PCG's secretiveness this has not been widely known until now.

Should PCG Trust Michael Oren?

While listening to one Trumpet Hour program they mentioned Micheal Oren's book Ally: My Journey Across the American-Israeli Divide. Michael Oren used to be the Israeli Ambassador to the United States. They mentioned it in a positive manner.

But should PCG's leaders trust what he says? Maybe they should compare what he says with what others who should know happen to say as well.

One person, Leon Wieseltier, has taken issue with what Oren said. Wieseltier even says that Oren failed to understand an ironic comment.

The renowned liberal writer and editor Leon Wieseltier blasts his description in Michael Oren’s new book, dubbing it “outrageous,” “risible” and “cheap and ugly.” He said that he is “outraged and offended” for being depicted as a self-hating Jew, and that he intends to “strike back, because that is what we do.”

Wieseltier also disputed Oren’s account of a conversation in which the former New Republic literary editor is said to have conceded that “his hatred of Bibi had become pathological,” as Oren wrote. “Of course I was speaking ironically,” Wieseltier said, “making fun of what Michael thought. My mistake… irony left the subject of the discussion about Israel many decades ago.” ...

Wieseltier recounted his give and takes with Oren on this matter, which he had assumed was harmless banter. “All jokes aside, I don’t take kindly to being called anti-Semitic and I don’t take kindly to having Jewish self-hatred attributed to me,” Wieseltier responded. “It’s cheap and it’s ugly and he knows better...” (Chemi Shalev, Wieseltier 'outraged' by Michael Oren’s 'cheap and ugly' depictions, Haaretz, June 25, 2015.)

Now it is not possible for me to verify things one way or the other. Frankly I have no interest in this dispute except to encourage people to search out a matter instead of just taking one man's word for granted.

Arutz Sheva Writer: US State Department is Israel's "Foremost Enemy"

Did you know that the US State Department is the foremost enemy of the State of Israel?

Well, that is what a writer for Arutz Sheva, a news organization that caters for national religious Israeli Jews and is trusted by PCG, UCG and LCG has asserted.

Jewish Republicans in the US talk as if the Republican Party is the savior of Israel. And Democrats are more than willing to absorb accusations of anti-Israel bias from the other side of the aisle. But the fact is both parties are not such great friends to Israel. Israel’s foremost enemy is the US State Department. The presidents and politicians, are just the summer help to State. Obama and Kerry have just been more outspoken about carrying out State’s mandate than previous administrations that gave lip service to Israel, but also quietly stabbed her in the back. (Larry Kaplan, Why US State Declassified the Report on Israel’s Nuclear Capabilities, March 31, 2015.)

Not Hamas? Not the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade? Not Hezbollah? Not Iran? The foremost enemy of the State of Israel is the US State Department?

Also apparently any campus events criticizing Israel were part of some conspiracy by the US State Department against the State of Israel.

All the anti-Semitism and boycott nonsense we are seeing at American campuses was orchestrated by the US State Department. That goal is to groom future generations in America to oppose a Jewish state. The State Department quietly funds many such seminars at campuses that try to persuade the uninitiated that ending a Jewish state will mean “peace.” Even some of the Jews in America are falling for the ruse. (Larry Kaplan, Why US State Declassified the Report on Israel’s Nuclear Capabilities, March 31, 2015.)

Why do the COGs trust this news organization?

PCG Condemns Agreement with Iran

So the Obama Administration has done it and signed an agreement with Iran about its nuclear program.

And PCG, predictably, condemns the agreement and portrays it as something terrible.

Their first response to this agreement may be heard in a Trumpet Daily episode hosted by Stephen Flurry.

At one point Stephen Flurry even insinuates that Germany will turn against America because of this agreement. He says this even though Germany is one of the countries negotiating with Iran.

Well, what happens when Germany wakes up and realizes that this is a historic mistake of epic proportions. That's coming. (9 minutes.)

Germany is one of the negotiating parties of the agreement.

Stephen Flurry also says this agreement is a seed of war (11 minutes).

As though continuing to impose sanctions even when Iran is willing to negotiate an agreement could possibly lead to peace.

In 2003 Iran's Supreme Leader issued a fatwa condemning the possession of nuclear weapons as un-Islamic thus banning Iran from making nuclear weapons. This detail has rarely been mentioned by PCG.

In 1994 Gerald Flurry proclaimed Iran to be the King of the South. Since then PCG have constantly demonized Iran, particularly since 9/11, and have constantly tried to stir up hostility towards Iran in order to attract more followers. If peace should be made between America and Iran this would discredit Gerald Flurry's dire announcements that Iran is somehow plotting to commit some kind of catastrophe. So PCG's leaders do not want peace with Iran.

Should Netanyahu Resign Over Iranian Nuclear Agreement?

So the Obama Administration has done it and signed an agreement with Iran about its nuclear program.

Shortly before the signing of this agreement one Israeli MK argued that if this agreement is signed then Netanyahu should resign as Prime Minister.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu must resign from his post if the world’s six leading countries reach a bad agreement with Iran in Vienna because it would be a personal failure for him, Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid told his faction in the Knesset Monday. ...

Lapid said he told American and European leaders in recent weeks that on Iran there is no opposition and coalition in Israel. But he said Netanyahu campaigned for three election cycles on the promise that he, and only he, can stop the deal with Iran.

As such, Lapid believes that if the prime minister fails to prevent the deal he cannot escape responsibility.

“If this bad deal is signed, it is a failure that has Netanyahu’s name all over it,” Lapid said. “His approach led us to a situation in which the American administration isn’t willing to listen to our positions. His approach led not only the United States, but also the other five powers involved in the negotiations – China, Russia, France, Britain and Germany – not to take into account Israel’s concerns over the deal, concerns that are right and justified.” (Gil Hoffman, Lapid: Netanyahu should quit if bad Iran nuclear deal signed, Jerusalem Post, July 6, 2015.)

Would PCG ever bother to mention something like this?

LCG Ridiculously Says "Amalekites" Have Taken Over Iran

So LCG's Mario Hernandez has proclaimed in an article that Iran is hostile towards the United States and the State of Israel because a bunch of persons descended from the Amalekites have seized control of Iran from 1979 onwards.

This article comes from the November-December 2014 issue of LCG's Living Church News (pp. 14-17).

As many of you readers know, some self-appointed prophets have made wild pronouncements about Iran’s role in end-time prophecy, even labeling it the “King of the South” despite its location north of Jerusalem. Many mistakenly lump Iran in with the Arab countries to its south, and as a result fail to recognize important details about this mysterious nation.

This is clearly a criticism of PCG's 1994 proclamation that Iran is the King of the South. And while Hernandez is correct in saying that Iran is east, not south, of Jerusalem, he is about to present an idea so ridiculous and bizarre even PCG has never mentioned it.

So, can we discern any key that would allow us to better understand the background behind this nation’s aggressive presence in the Middle East drama? Is there an explanation for the sharp contrast in the relations between Iran and Israel before and after the overthrow of the Shah Reza Pahlavi in 1979? Is it just a matter of religion? Or is there more?

Let us be enlightened.

It might sound strange to some, but the roots of the seriously aggravated tensions between the present rulers of Iran and the nation of Israel date back to a time when Islam did not even exist. We are faced with a family conflict that has been perpetuated throughout the centuries all the way to our time. ...

How can we explain the sudden and brutal 180-degree change of direction in the domestic and foreign policy of Iran after the overthrow of the Shah Reza Pahlavi in 1979? How could a former friend of Israel and the United States turn overnight into their most bitter enemy?

There are many reasons for this. Memories of what happened in 1953 being just one of them. Will even one of those many things be mentioned here?

The Shah, who was a Muslim, considered himself heir and successor of the ancient kings of the Persian Empire. Statistics indicate that the majority of Iran’s population today is of Persian origin. Both the historical record and the Bible clearly point to the fact that the Persian people have not been an enemy of Israel or the Jewish people.

What most people do not understand is that after the fall of the Shah, the government in Iran was taken over by a minority that is not of Persian origin.

Who is that minority?

Hernandez means the Amalekites.

Here we see Haman’s Amalekite attitude causing a dramatic “180-degree” turnaround in the government’s attitude toward the Jewish people. This is remarkably like what we saw in Iran when the Ayatollah Khomeini came to power after the overthrow of the Shah. And here is a fascinating detail: in the grammar of the Semitic languages, “Khomeini” has the same root as “Haman”—notice the shared HMN.

Is that even true? According to this discussion from 2003 the surname Khomeini refers to the town he was born in, namely Khomein. And apparently the town of Khomein was named after a character in the Iranian classic epic, The Shahnadeh, namely Hooman.

Incidentally the discussion from 2003 also mentions this assertion that Khomeini refers to Haman. So this idea seems to have been making the rounds of some churches since at least 2003. Hernandez must have heard this assertion somewhere, presumably outside the COGs, and has presented it to LCG members without checking if it is true or acknowledging where he got this ridiculous idea. That is plagiarism. He should tell his readers where he got this false idea instead of being silent about the fact that others have taught this idea.  

But this does not appear to be true. And even if Khomeini was descended from the Amalekites what about everyone else who has led Iran since 1979? Are they all Amalekites? Every single one of them? Or is it only half of them? This idea is absurd and ridiculous.

So, is it any surprise that we find a parallel between Amalek’s attack against Israel in the desert (Exodus 17:8–16; Deuteronomy 25:17–18) and the increase of terrorism in the world favored (and sometimes even sponsored) by the current leaders in Iran? The Medo-Persian nation of Iran, despite its history of tolerance and even friendship toward the Jews, has come under the influence of an Amalekite mentality—even an ethnic Amalekite leadership—which took the reins of power after the overthrow of Shah Reza Pahlavi.

The only surprise is how little regard LCG's leaders have for their members in promoting strange, racist and plagiarized doctrines such as this.

To say that certain people, in this instance alleged Amalekites, behave in a certain way because of their ancestry is racist. This idea is not just wrong, but racist too.

This article is ridiculous. It is simply untrue that another ethnic group has taken over Iran from 1979 onwards, Amalekite or otherwise. Hernandez does not even mention what happened in 1953. This article is useless in understanding current affairs. But it does reveal that LCG's leaders are willing to publish an article that happens to say something so utterly untrue and false.

The editors are the issue are listed as being Roderick Meredith, Richard Ames, William Bowmer and John Robinson. Why didn't any of them bother to note that this article is simply wrong to claim that another ethnic group has taken over Iran? Were any of them aware that this idea has been plagiarized from some other source?

That LCG's leadership would publish such a deluded article indicates that LCG's leaders have little regard for truth and seem content to promote such falsehoods to LCG members. LCG members have been badly misled on this issue.

PCG Accuses Obama of Leading America to Its Death

The Pan-African Flag

In the latest issue of PCG's recruitment magazine Gerald Flurry has written an article, Police Under Attack, in which he once again promotes his false prophecy of "race war". He asserts that African Americans will soon launch a wave of riots against the white majority. He insinuates this wave of riots will somehow occur everywhere in America. (This article was published shortly before the racist terrorist attack in Charleston.)

Although Flurry alludes to recent events in this article in fact he is simply repeating the same idea he has consistently taught since 1992 in his booklet, The Ezekiel Watchman. A chapter of a similar type written in 2002 can be read on their website if you want to see this nonsense for yourself. He is simply recycling this same idea yet again today.

This is not a new idea for Gerald Flurry. He has constantly taught it. And with the current concern and protests about police brutality towards African Americans he has brought out this vicious idea of his yet again.

Let us look at this latest article.

In this article Gerald Flurry demonizes President Obama as "leading this nation to its death".

So now, a man is leading this nation to its death ... (p. 32.)

When one reads the context it is clear that Gerald Flurry is talking about President Obama here. Gerald Flurry has accused President Obama of leading America "to its death".

Instead of helping people during the current tense situation regarding widespread concern about police brutality Gerald Flurry has chosen to spread his bizarre and fanciful accusation that African Americans will soon launch a wave of riots against the white majority.

This future wave of riots is called a "race war" or "race riot" by PCG's writers. But even this name is misleading. Whenever Gerald Flurry and his collaborators talk about this false prophecy it is always portrayed as African Americans attacking innocent whites. The white majority is always portrayed as innocent and passive whenever this bizarre accusation is made by PCG. There is little concern that racist whites are going to attack racial minorities. When talking of this doctrine PCG talks of African Americans being violent against whites.

Let's look at more of what Flurry has to say.

What are we dealing with here? More and more people, especially in the black community, are speaking of the need for revolution—even race war. These comments from Mrs. Obama feed into that movement. This was not a speech of love. (p. 5.)

Gerald Flurry is projecting his bizarre idea that African Americans are soon fated to launch a wave of riots everywhere within America onto African Americans.

It is Gerald Flurry who has been fear mongering since 1992 that African Americans will soon launch a wave of riots against the white majority.

He is the one who has been accusing African Americans of soon attacking the white majority for twenty-three years now.

Many African-Americans don’t buy into this drivel. You have to give them credit for that because they are taking a lot of heat for that position. (p. 5.)

Seeing this one might be tempted to imagine that Gerald Flurry is sensible in regards to race relations. That would be wrong. To accuse African Americans that they will soon attack the white majority by launching riots in the cities (apparently everywhere in America all at once) is complete nonsense. Riots do not just happen. There are reasons why they occur. They also tend to quickly dissipate because they are usually spontaneously occur. This shows that Gerald Flurry does not understand how riots occur or what they are actually like.

The man they arrested, Freddie Gray, had used drugs for years, committed numerous crimes, and was caught running from the police, apparently with an illegal knife. (p. 5.)

What a callous way to describe how an American man died. This statement is made to make it seem as though America lost little with his death. Nothing could be further from the truth. His death never should have happened. His tragic death is a terrible loss for everyone concerned, especially for his family and friends. How dare Flurry be so dismissive about the tragic death of an American and then still calls himself an American.

So Flurry says this American man who passed away before his time "used drugs for years". What about Gerald Flurry? He got arrested for being in control of a car while he was drunk with alcohol, which also alters one's mental state like illegal drugs, on September 18, 1993.

So Flurry says this American man "was caught running from the police". What about Gerald Flurry? According to the police report made upon his arrest on September 18, 1993, Gerald Flurry tried to bribe a police officer when he was arrested in order to evade accountability.

The officer asked the subject [Gerald Flurry] to provide a drivers license. The male subject stated that he did not have one. The officer asked again. The male subject then pulled his wallet from his back pocket. He pulled out a twenty dollar bill and extended his hand to the officer offering it to him. The officer repeatedly told the male subject to put the money back into his wallet and to find his drivers license. The male subject then pulled a five dollar bill from his wallet and extended his hand with the twenty dollars in it to the officer. The officer asked him to put his money away. (Source.)

I'm not saying that, the police report did.

Gerald Flurry accuses Freddie Gray of evading police by running away. But according to the police report Gerald Flurry tried to evade scrutiny by a police officer by trying to bribe him.

Last December, after Michael Brown’s death in Ferguson, President Obama said he wanted to make sure police were using their surplus military and military-type equipment properly. He also proposed over $300 million in federal funding for local police forces to buy equipment like body cameras. (p. 32.)

Micheal Brown did not just die. He was shot to death by a police officer. 

Shouldn't a leader of any group want to be sure that things are being used in the proper way? But this attempt to make sure police departments are using equipment properly is here demonized as an attempt to impose "a diabolical tyranny".

The president has people moving into cities and taking over police departments in order to straighten them out! The federal government is getting more and more control. It has a stranglehold on the police even now. The Obama administration seems to view each new prominent race-related police story that explodes into the news as an opportunity to seek more control.

They are tearing down the police, the nation’s last line of defense. They have already torn it down to a great extent. Do you know what comes after that? As I wrote last month, our cities will be burned with fire (Isaiah 1:7). That nightmare is already starting, and could break out and spread throughout the nation overnight!  (p. 32.)

As I wrote in a previous post Gerald Flurry seems to have this bizarre idea that this future wave of riots by African Americans against the white majority will seem to occur everywhere in America at once. The last sentence in the quote above only shows that is indeed what Gerald Flurry says to his followers.

Also note how he insinuates that this fanciful race war is already starting right now. What nonsense.

Quite likely the reason this future "race war" is portrayed as happening everywhere at once ("could break out and spread throughout the nation") is to scare you with this implanted phobia. It can't scare you if you think it will happen somewhere else.

After this Flurry then accuses President Obama of being used by Satan to subvert America in the same way Tkach changed WCG away from Armstrongism.

As I wrote in my booklet America Under Attack (request a free copy), Satan the devil is working to tear down the United States. That is his goal. He and the demons have been cast down to Earth, they know they have only a short time left, and they are full of wrath (Revelation 12:12).

As that booklet explains, a technique that the devil has used time and again throughout history is to empower a leader [This refers to Antiochus, Tkach and Obama.] who is able to do his damage from within. Believe it or not, this is exactly what is happening to the U.S. today.

So now, a man [President Obama] is leading this nation to its death ... (p. 32.)

What nonsense! What vile filth the followers of PCG are given to understand world events.

Gerald Flurry has been propagating his false prophecy of "race war" since 1992. He is not prophesying about local riots like what unfortunately happened in Ferguson and Baltimore. He predicts something like this will occur simultaneously everywhere in the United States.

Gerald Flurry's followers will have to wait a very long time for this fanciful wave of "race riots" against the white majority (that is to somehow occur simultaneously all over the United States) to occur.  Because it will never happen. Twenty-three years after he first taught this racist dogma in 1992 this still has not happened. And it never will.