On Guard & Ready, Pt. 4

Ronald Weinland

February 26, 2022

Last Sabbath we ended by focusing on what God said was genuine and true regarding the purpose of fasting that’s recorded there in Isaiah 58. It’s always a great place to go back to to see what He has to say about some of those things, about a wrong spirit and a wrong mind that tries to get something from God, believes that something is almost, as it were, owed to them because of their humbling themselves and fasting, and it doesn’t work that way.

We’re not going to review any of that today because there is no need for that. We’re simply going to move forward in the series entitled On Guard and Ready with this being Part 4. I thought this would be the last of it, but there’s going to be one more after this. So one more sermon in this series after that.

Again, I marvel too about that… I do and don’t because I come to see how God works to lead and guide and direct subjects we go into and timing of things and how things work out. This particular subject here because of what’s happening in the world right now and why I mention that this series was started in the first place, has to do with the seventh chapter of the book about the Thunders. And just so everyone understands those things aren’t coincidental that work out that way. So, there’s a Great God that leads, guides, and directs His Church, and that’s an awesome thing to experience and an awesome thing for us to understand.

Anyway, as it was stated last Sabbath there is to be absolutely no strife, no contention, no argumentative spirit that should exist in God’s Church ever. And yet as I explained throughout this series, that’s all I’ve ever known as a whole in God’s Church. It’s always existed. It’s always been there. It was there during the time after I was called in ’69 and in Herbert Armstrong’s time of his ministry through the 70’s and all the things the Church and what he went through in his life, and then until his death in ’86 there.

Then Laodicea was Laodicea, there wasn’t much there. Very lukewarm. But again, the kind of strife and contentiousness that existed got worse and worse, but with a lethargic spirit too. Almost as though a lot didn’t care, but some did, but there were divisive things taking place throughout the Church. Then the Apostasy, and then after the Apostasy, again, that’s all we’ve ever known.

Sometimes we think about different areas, regions we travel into and think of all the people who were there and all the people who aren’t there now. All the people who have come and gone and it just drives home that point so powerfully so that “many are called, and few are chosen.” For the last 2,000 years that’s the way it’s been in God’s Church.

God has called so many people to have opportunity to enter into a fight, to enter into a battle, to battle against self, to have the way paved for them (if only people could see that), of being able to enter into His Family. He makes that way abundantly clear but the choices that human beings make, the things we go through haven’t been good.

That’s why so often when we talk about things that happened in the Old Testament sometimes we shake our heads and think, “How could they have done that?” And yet I look at what happened in the Church with people who have God’s spirit in them, the begotten spirit of God, and a life that’s living within them with power and ability to see and comprehend things. To turn against what God gave is far, far worse than what any of the Israelites ever did ever in any time period, and that’s a marvel as well.

The more we understand that, the more sobered we are by that, the better off we are because this is a battle to the end all the way through. It’s something you can’t let up on. That’s why we have to be on guard and ready constantly in our lives spiritually.

So again, this matter of strife and contention, argumentative spirit has no place in God’s Church and not amongst God’s people, against God’s people, and especially not toward God’s ministry. Sometimes it’s hard for people to grasp what we do when we fight that fight, because that is against God very powerfully so. That’s how He takes that. Because that’s what it is, it’s a spiritual thing.

Anyway, let’s go on over to John 17, because this message of these things should not exist in God’s Church, and especially toward God’s ministry, whether it be the prophets of old or within the New Testament and things that are said there, these are things that make very clear how the Body of Christ is to function, especially within the Church, and it is without contention, it is without divisiveness, it is with the spirit of oneness and unity of mind.

That’s why we’re going into this flow here of John 17 that we address every year at Passover. It’s very powerful. It has to do with the Body of Christ, and to grasp as well that we’re instructed, Christ instructs here how we’re to be in essence, in what we went through talking about Gideon, we’re to be as one person. One person, one Body, one mind. That’s an awesome thing to grasp. It’s a beautiful thing, really, if we’re able to truly grasp it and hold on to it with all of our being.

But here is something Christ said on Passover night. He gave some of the most important, most meaningful teachings of all that ministry that he had on that particular night. Saved them, reserved them for that night because this was going to launch into the beginning of the Church, the Body of Christ.

John 17:11. So, it’s good to focus upon this in that context – one mind, one thinking, as we talked about last Sabbath, standing as one. Now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to You. So, these things are written for us. What he was saying to God the Father was there for us. This is his mind because it’s the mind of God, but it shows that unity and oneness even in that, which is an awesome thing.

So he says, And I come to You. Holy Father, keep through Your own name those whom You have given me. So, one of the first things we begin to learn as we’re called into God’s Church is that it’s God’s Church. It’s not Catholic. It’s not Lutheran. It’s not Seventh Day Adventist. It’s not Messianic Jew. It’s none of those things. It is the Church of God, God’s Church; it belongs to God. Awesome.

…through Your own name those whom You have given me, that they may be one, as we are. So, that should mean so much to us. We’re to be one. That’s our goal. That’s the purpose of our spiritual life, in that respect, to become one – one Body, one mind in agreement with the Great God of the universe. Awesome!

While I was with them in the world, I kept them in Your name: those whom You gave me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled. Again, this was a beginning. It was special training given to a few who were going to have incredible opportunity to be those who would be the leaders in God’s Church, apostles. Apostles in God’s Church, the disciples. As they went through this, one didn’t come through it, so it had to be given to another because there were to be twelve in the very beginning. Then one later on to the Gentiles; Paul was called.

Now I am coming to You; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves. So, in this period of time to them these things are being spoken. His desire, God’s desire, because they’re one. It’s one mind, in that respect, unity, oneness of mind.

I have given them Your word. What an awesome thing. He was the word of God made flesh. His mind was the mind of God – total unity and oneness, agreement with God. Things that we really can’t fully comprehend. But the more you comprehend it and the more you see it the more exciting, the more fulfilling, the more meaningful it becomes.

I have given them Your word, and the world has hated them. So, surprise, surprise. So, we get to experience that. It says, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. That’s the way it’s always been. Those whom God has called, prophets and so forth through time and those whom God called and worked with, as a whole, if they knew what this was about, especially the prophets, it wasn’t well received over and over again. Then the Church and the apostles and on and on, and the ministry and the churches that were raised up. The world has hated God’s Church and the world has hated God.

He makes it very clear, “They hate me, they’re going to hate you.” They hate those whom God calls to be a part of the Body of Christ.  They don’t understand it. They can’t see it. It isn’t their time.

He says, I do not pray that You take them out of the world, but that You would keep them from the evil. Some translate this as “the evil one,” refer to it as that. So, from evil, any kind of evil, candidly, anything that would hurt the course we’re on once we’re called, once we’re begotten of God’s spirit, that we be protected from evil. And we live in a very unique time right now where we should be sobered to the core of our being.

We’re watching things on TV that are so similar but different people playing their part, or different countries playing their part, but so similar to what happened at the beginning of WWII, and same attitudes of countries sitting back and watching, giving lip service here and there to a point, but not going too far.

Because people were afraid of Hitler. Nations were afraid of Hitler and his military might at that time. They would go so far but not too far so as to stir him up to come against them. That’s the mindset. The U.S. tried to keep out of that war for a long, long time, didn’t want to become engaged in it. We can understand that in a way as far as physical life and human mind is concerned, but the longer it went, the lack of preparedness on their part, the greater the price was that had to be paid. We see some of those same kinds of things taking place now.

This is the beginning of rumbling in a very powerful way of things that are spreading in Europe. It’s forcing the minds of Europeans to move even faster in a particular direction, that we know what it is. Isn’t that an incredible thing? So often I wondered how in the world would Europeans as a whole turn against this country, and it’s there. It’s right in front of us. And now they’re being pressured into it more.

Although that’s horrifying and sick, it should be encouraging too to God’s Church because things are speeding up. Those things wouldn’t be happening to this degree right now if it wasn’t for a purpose (they’re for a purpose); it’s to push this more and more. God’s in control of everything. He allows things in a spirit world to take place. He gives them permission, if you will, to do some of the things they do. He has given permission, if you will, for Russia to do what it’s doing, to let those beings go.

Because there are spirit beings involved in this. You need to understand that. Satan and a demonic world is very much involved in war, in every war that’s ever taken place. They love killing and slaughter. They hate human beings with a passion and so they love this, when they’re given the go ahead to do their thing.

They love it when God allowed them to kill His own Son. They loved it! They love that kind of thing. With the perverted minds still think, must think, seemingly think (by what it says in scripture) that they can change that. You can’t understand that kind of a mind because it’s not sound.

So again, things that Christ was saying, “protect them from the evil.” So, we should have an incredible boldness. And hopefully, this time period is teaching that even more so. As you watch those things, there is a lot of fear over there. They talk about it. People are stirred up in the sense of fear, of what’s taking place. If you live right there you’re even stirred up more, ready to die for what you believe in.

It's kind of awesome to listen to some of those people in the sense of what people are wanting to hold on to and what they’re willing to take a stand on. They’re willing to take a stand. As I watch some of those things the first thing that comes to my mind is the Great White Throne. That’s their chance because a lot of them are going to die in this. So, it’s the Great White Throne for them, those who are speaking out.

That one woman who is in the parliament there who’s been speaking out, she knows she’s on the list. She knows what her life is. Zelensky? He knows. He knows he’s at the top of the list. They’re going to kill him. He has no doubt about that.

So, when you’re confronted with something like that what do you do? For us in God’s Church we have a confidence. Your life is in God’s hands regardless of what happens to you. That’s the way it is. To the degree we believe that says a lot about where we are in what we do believe. We are in God’s hands. God loves us. He has a purpose for every one of us that He’s called. His desire is to bring us through that. We don’t have to fear like the world does in life or death. Because if it’s death, it’s one thing behind it, life, guaranteed.

He went on to say, They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through Your truth. I love every bit of this from John 14 on. To me these are some of the most meaningful, exciting, revealing scriptures that were ever written. Ever! And if we’re not careful we can take them for granted.

Chapter 14, Christ made it clear, “Everything I do, I do because the Father dwells in me, I in Him, He in me.” He goes on then to explain that “I am coming again.” Not about a future coming that we’re getting close to now in the sense of returning to this earth, and not as some of those scriptures talk about, that he did come. Anyway, I’m not going to go through those. We know what those are.

He’s coming to dwell in human flesh, to dwell in human beings, to dwell in us so that we can have the exact same thing take place in our minds, in our life, to dwell in God, God dwell in us, we in Christ, Christ in us. Awesome! Beautiful! Again, the most powerfully given things ever to mankind to understand—powerful, powerful—that God desires to dwell in us for all time, when it’s all said and done. Like what we’re experiencing now but more powerful then because we’re going to be in spirit bodies. Awesome!

“Sanctify them through Your truth.” So when I read through something like that and see that I think, look at the truths that God has given to us. That’s why I’ve said it so often. They are your strength in the sense of belief, in the sense of faith in them, in the sense of confidence. They teach you a lot. They teach you how God leads His Church. They teach you about unity and oneness. They teach you about how He gives things to the Church.

We are either that same mind or we’re fighting it. That’s all there is to it. And so, if we’re of the same mind we grasp God, we grasp the way of God, we grasp the government of God, we grasp how God works in our lives individually.

It’s not about a separate relationship that any of us have with God, because I’ve lived through that in Worldwide, where people lived like that, where people thought they had this special relationship with God that went around God’s apostle, Herbert Armstrong. They thought they had a special relationship, that they could see things that he couldn’t see.

You think, you’re batty as all get out, crazy, out of your mind spiritually, truly, to think like that. But people did by the droves, and people left by the droves over all kinds of things, stupid things. Make-up. I mean, can you think of anything more stupid than to leave over an issue like make-up? To decide you’re going to leave God’s Church because you know which is right, with it or without it; with it on or with it off. That has to be decided.

So, individuals think, “Well, God has made it very clear to me that it’s without,” or “that it’s with.” They’d make those decisions and go with someone who believed the same thing because they hadn’t proved to themselves how truth came into the Church. They hadn’t proved to themselves. They didn’t believe how truth came into God’s Church, those 18 Truths, how they were in God’s Church, how that God’s Church was able to understand them. It didn’t come through any of those individuals out there at headquarters. Not a one of them!

That’s why after all this was over with and we had the Apostasy I would get infuriated when I would hear different ones say, “Well, he was a good teacher.” I did a boil inside. I did a burning inside. It was very hard for me at times, and sometimes I said a few things, but it was very hard for me to hold back, to let them go their course, to let them do their thing. Because they’re going to do it; their mind is made up already that he was a good teacher.

And I think, there’s some things I’d like to say. “Don’t you grasp? Don’t you see just a little bit that everything you know, everything you understand, every truth you were ever given came through God’s apostle, that man that you said was a good teacher?” Isn’t that sick? I mean, really, when you look at something like that from that vantage point, it is insanely sick. I think of all who left over it and all the ministry who left over it.

Your word is truth. So, if we have the truth that’s God’s word to us to understand more about God. Awesome!

As You have sent me into the world, even so I also send them into the world. So, we have the choice. We all are called and sent, every one of us, to live this way of life, to fight this battle here in our time, in wherever we live. Doesn’t matter where you live, you’re called, you have God’s spirit in you, and you’re to live this way of life.

Verse 19—Even for their sakes I sanctify myself. What an awesome thing to understand. That’s what we should strive to do toward one another, for one another as a Body, to purify our lives, to cleanse our lives, to be as clean as we can be and close to God as we can be, to be of that one mind as much as we can be. Because that only strengthens the Body. Because if we do less than that or we go in the opposite direction it hurts the Body, it pulls down the Body, it’s a detriment to the Body.

I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth. Awesome! These are powerful things that Christ had to say, they truly are.

Neither do I pray for these alone, but for those also who will believe on me through their word. We’re here because of that word that they wrote, that they suffered for, that they suffered to give, and they suffered a lot. They suffered a lot more than any of us ever have.

So that they all may be one. Sacrifice so that we could be one, so that God’s Church could be one, stand as one person in unity and oneness with God Almighty.

“So that they all may be one.” So, this story is so powerful in what he says right here on Passover night. That’s why we read it every Passover, as a whole, 14, 15, 16, 17, in through here, we read those scriptures about these things.

So that they all may be one, as You are, Father, in me, and I in You, so that they also may be one in us. Therein is the key. We have to humble ourselves and yield ourselves to God’s way, to repent of sin so that we can remain as one, so that we can be in this battle together. It’s a battle. It’s a fight all the way; has been from the time you were called, and it’ll be that way until the time it’s over with.

So that they also may be one in us. So that the world may believe that You have sent me. What does that mean “so that the world may believe?” In time, God makes it very clear what He has done in His Church because it’s glorified in such a powerful way in the first resurrection. Now, there are others, obviously, that were going to be brought along out of the first 4,000 years, but not that many as compared to the Church. In the last 2,000 years that’s been ramped up on the sense of those who’ve been worked with and transformed and changed to become a part.

So, that’s what this is talking about, that in time they’re going to see. Who’s going to be able to deny the 144,000 when they come and do what they do? Even the ones who are destroyed and resurrected later on. Because there are going to be a lot of people destroyed when they come, that army and what they do. An incredible fight takes place. Well, not much of a fight to it, it’s just about destroying those who are destroying the earth. They don’t have the ability to hurt the 144,000 and Christ one iota.

“So that the world may believe that You have sent me.” It glorifies Christ. It glorifies the Church. It glorifies the work that God has done. Powerful!

So the glory which You gave me I have given them; so that they may be one. How many times throughout the scripture this is stressed? So important to grasp we are to be one!

That’s why we started this particular part here today about how the fact that there should never, never be, exist, contention, anything that is against this way of life. Some of the things that have taken place throughout, well, they’ve taken place ever since I’ve been in the Church, argumentative spirits, the contention, the strife, it should just never be in our lives toward one another or toward the Church.

So the glory which You gave me I have given to them; so that they may be one; even as we are one. It’s a process whereby we can come into oneness with God, to be atoned to God, at one with God. There is nothing greater than to come, become of the same mind. That means in agreement with the mind of God. It’s not just a matter of obeying the law because God says we have to do it. It’s a good starting point if that’s all we grasp at that point. We do it, we live it, we start tithing, we cease to work then on the Sabbath day at sundown to sundown.

So, we go through those things because God said it, so we learn through that process. Then in time we come to understand it and we begin to agree. That’s what’s important. It’s not just a matter because God says so, it’s a matter of coming to see this is the right way, this is the only way. It’s a beautiful way that God has given to us to worship Him, to become at one with Him. There’s a process here whereby our minds are able to be transformed.

What could be more beautiful than to be in agreement with God, at one with God? Different people but in harmony and unity with God because we agree. God doesn’t want just people to do things because it’s commanded. The Israelites went through a lot of things, ceremonies and so forth, it didn’t do a bit of good. It didn’t mean a thing except for keeping Israel together in one sense, to a degree, and that was not that grand.

So the glory which You gave me I have given to them; so that they may be one; even as we are one; I in them, and You in me, that they may be made perfect in one. That’s how we’re made perfect. We’re not made perfect if we’re not one, if we’re not growing in oneness and unity. That’s imperfection, and that has to be repented of wherever we see it, whenever it comes to the surface, and we are able to address it. What a beautiful thing that we can repent and move on, and whatever we’ve repented of is behind us. We don’t have to carry it anymore; it's gone. That’s the love of God, the mind of God.

I in them, and You in me, that they may be made perfect in one; so that the world may know that You have sent me and have loved them as You have loved me. So, the world is going to know it when they see their lives in spirit, spirit life.

So, how deeply do you grasp the importance of what Christ said on that night of his life during that Passover night? To me, these are awesome scriptures, beautiful scriptures.

Let’s turn over to Philippians 2. I’m going to revisit a few verses here that we covered at the very beginning of last Sabbath’s sermon, and then we’re going to go on because there is more in Philippians here, but I just want to touch base on these quickly.

Philippians 2:2—Fulfill my joy, that you be likeminded. Now, this is very close to what Christ said, that that joy be full, and this is how you accomplish it, and it’s about being at one. This is what it’s talking about as we talked about this word means “the same thinking.” The same thinking because we think the same way about how to live life.

…having the same love, in the sense of living together with others, in one mind, in one thinking. So, he stresses this, that we’re to be like minded or of the same thinking, but of one thinking. So, not just that, it’s one thinking. It comes from God.

Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory. It’s not about self. It’s not about us in the sense of being lifted up. God lifts us up. Just to have God’s spirit, to be begotten of God’s spirit, how much more lifted up can a human being desire? While we’re in the human flesh what greater thing is there than that?

But we are perverted in thinking as human beings because of selfishness and so we have to struggle through that and come to get rid of this thing of pride and haughtiness and thinking we’re special, we’re something. It’s God that’s great and God in us is great, and the life that’s changing, this mind that’s being transformed, that’s what greatness is. Beautiful. Awesome.

…but in lowliness of mind (humility). So, that has to exist in order for God’s mind and God’s way to be in us. For that mind to be in us we have to have humility. If we take it to ourselves we’re going to pay for it.

Verse 5—Let this mind be in you, which was also in Joshua the Christ. So, that’s what Christ wanted, that’s what he said in John 17, and now Paul is saying it here to the Philippians and stressing it even more so and driving the point home.

Going on now, verse 12—Wherefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence… So, he travelled a lot from different areas, area to area spending time. He couldn’t get on a jet and just go from area to area like we do today. He spent time in an area, worked with people for a time because it was the beginning of the Church and Church being strengthened.

And so, he would travel from area to area and then at other times send out other ministers who would go into these areas because they were, Paul had chosen those, worked with those (because Christ had), who were supportive and understood and faithful, and sent them out into different areas.

…work out your own salvation. Now, it doesn’t stop there; it says, with fear and trembling. So this is a part of being on guard and ready. This is a mind that realizes there are things we have to do. We have to take seriously what we’ve been given and understand the dangers. The greatest danger is self, selfishness. It’s not Satan. It’s not demons. It’s self. Because they have no ability to come after us if we’re faithful to God. They’re powerless. If we’re close to God, they’re powerless. That’s why we have to have God’s strength and God’s spirit every day of our life.

And so, to understand something like this, that this is why we do what we do, we want to be at one with God, want to be close to God, because if we’re not we fear what the vast majority in God’s Church have done, left, gave up. “Too hard!” Something else would look better. Wanted something else that thought would be satisfying or believed something that someone said that wasn’t in agreement and unity with the Church and went off on a tangent to do their own thing, whatever. There have been so many things that have happened that have led people away.

But it’s their own fault. Every person has a choice. Every person has choices all their life. God has given us that when He called us. “Do you want My way of life? Have you given your life to Me?” At baptism that’s what we told God, “My life is Yours. It’s not mine to do whatever I want to now, because what I want to do is wrong. My selfishness is wrong. I want to do what God says is right.” Awesome.

For it is God who works in us, or in you, both to will and to do of His good pleasure. Boy, do we grasp that? It’s God. It’s God working in us transforming our minds so that we can be His children in His Family.

Verse 14—Do all things... Not a few things, not a few things and somehow we’re okay with God. Our whole life!

It brings to mind something that’s been on my mind here recently, why I went away for three years and the harassment we’ve had ever since then. They just keep coming. It’s the gift, as my wife says, “it keeps on giving.” Some of that, I think, is about to come to an end, finally, but I think of some of those things and talking the other night here about the trial. Thought, you know, they wouldn’t allow things about the Church in, and yet everything we do is about the Church. Everything that our focus is about is about the Church. Incredible. That’s the way we are to live our lives. All things, everything, because this is our life in God’s Church, in the Body of Christ, to stand in one in unity and oneness with God.

Do all things without murmuring, without complaining and grumbling as the word means, and disputing. No disputing. Then this word here, I love this word in the Greek language because it has to do with reasoning, as in our own human reasoning. That’s just a giant trap of our own, perverted, selfish trap if we don’t see it. Because we get caught in it as human beings, our own human reasoning. We begin to think certain things, we begin to believe something that’s not in unity and oneness with the Church, with God. That’s a matter of being in unity with God. And on and on it goes.

So, we have to go through these things in order to see ourselves, in order to see things that can be changed. Thank God He works with us to help us to change. Because that’s our goal, to be in God’s Family, so we can’t stay this way. Everything that’s not right in us has to be changed. We all have things that are not right in us. You will until the day you die or the day you’re changed, whatever happens.

So again here, without your reasonings, so that you may be blameless and harmless, the children of God without rebuke in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world. So, that’s how we’re to live. He sent us into the world to do that, to live His way of life. That’s to be seen. They don’t understand it. One day, those who know you, they’re going to know, and things are going to be written and told about you.

…holding forth the word of life so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain, neither labored in vain. So, that was his desire. He wants to see that his work is producing, and as though he’s doing it, but he knows it’s coming from God. But there is still that that people have to respond to on their own making choices. Are they going to hear? Are they going to listen? And so, he was concerned about that.

That’s one thing I’ve always been so thankful for, that Herbert Armstrong died in 1986. He didn’t have to see what happened in Laodicea. He didn’t have to see what happened with an apostasy. I’m so thankful he was spared that, truly. To be an old man of his age and have to see what he had done diminished like it was, scattered like it was. Horrible for him to have to have seen that.

Anyway, Philippians 3:14—I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Joshua the Christ. As we all should. That’s what it’s about, to press toward that mark. Our goal, our desire to be in the Family of God. And again, calling it a “high calling.” What greater thing could a human being have than that? It’s high because of God, God Almighty.

Verse 15—Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, or as many as would be, we want to grow in perfection. That’s our desire. That’s the thrust of this. …be thus minded. Be of the same thing, of this thinking, so that if anything, or that in anything you would be otherwise minded. So, in other words, don’t be otherwise minded, be of the same mind, be of this thinking.

And if you were, basically it says, if you would otherwise, be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this to you. So, where we’re not perfected in our minds and not able to see something God will help reveal those things to us. He brings them to the surface. We go through various things to help us to see ourselves, and then we have to address what we’re going to do.

Verse 16—Nevertheless, whereto we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, or “standard” as it is. So it says a lot, by the same rule, by the same standard. We have to live by a very high standard, don’t we, because it’s from God. It’s not human standards, human thinking of what is good and right and so forth, it’s what God says is.

Let us mind (think) the same thing. This is about unity and oneness again with God.

Brethren, be followers together of me. So, he wasn’t ashamed to say that. It wasn’t a haughty thing that he said. He said, “This is what I am living; let’s do the same, all of us as a Body, as a Church, to change and do this,” and mark, it says, or keep your eye on is what the word means, keep your eye on, watch those who walk so, in other words, in this way, as you have us for an example. So in other words, others who do the same, you do the same. Watch. Learn.

Verse 18—For many walk, of whom I have often told you, and now tell you even with tears, that they are the enemies of Christ being nailed to a pole. But anyway here, it’s basically saying here some of the same things we talked about but in different terms where it’s going through here and talking about individuals that he’s seen people who have left the Church, he's seen people who have turned against God, who have turned against Christ and his being nailed to a pole, why he died, why he went through what he did.

And you think, what a horrible thing that people begin to turn against – once they’ve been called, to turn against Christ, to turn against what we’ve been given.

It says, whose end is their destruction. This has happened throughout the history of the Church. Destruction. That’s where they head. When they leave, when they start going in a wrong direction it doesn’t lead anywhere good. Their lives become messed up, their minds become messed up. And where it ends?

…whose god is their belly. In other words, its saying here it’s their own inner self, what they want, what they desire, that’s their god. They’re not looking to God; they want to satisfy what they want. So any time someone picks something different from what God says is right it’s like an idol. That’s what they’re worshipping. That’s their god. But it’s from them. It’s from their inner most being. That’s what they want against God. It’s insane.

…and whose glory is in their own shame. That’s all they’re going to receive from it, their own shame for what their doing, for what their choices are. …they mind (think) on physical things.

For our citizenship… It’s not “conversation” as some translations have it. Our citizenship is in heaven; from where we also look for the Savior, the Lord Joshua the Christ. So again, our lives are in God’s hands. That’s what it’s saying here. Our citizenship, we don’t have it yet in that sense of what we’re going to be, but our desire is to be in God’s Family, and where we are in our lives is there, in God’s hands.

…who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue or bring into subjection all things unto himself. So, that’s the story that all things indeed are going to be brought into subjection first of all to Christ, and then when it’s all said and done it’s handed back to God because it’s God’s anyway. But He’s given it to Christ to do all this, to bring all enemies under his feet.

That’s the power that’s working, and we can be a part of that. Those who won’t be it’s the end of the hundred years and what happens there when life, physical life is taken from the earth because spirit life has already been given.

Philippians 4:1—Therefore, my dearly beloved and longed for, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord. So, he was saying here, he was going through a lot of things that we’ll go through next Sabbath, but Paul went through a lot in his ministry and what he did and what he wrote and so forth. This is a part of what he’s talking about here, he’s talking to people about working out their own salvation while in his absence, to even be more on guard.

“Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” This is his message. He’s trying to stir them up to keep them focused and saying that, in essence, this is his joy and crown of life, it’s what lifts him up, it’s what encourages and helps him to see what they do as they respond. That’s the way it is in God’s Church. Those who live this way of life, there is nothing more beautiful. Those who leave, there is nothing more painful.

So again here, the way to stand fast is first and foremost accomplished by doing so as one. It’s so simple, but it’s not simple. That’s the goal, that’s the purpose, that’s what Christ said on Passover night. That’s what it says throughout scripture, to be atoned to God, to be at one with God, to be of the same thinking, to be of the same mind, to repent where we’re not, to change where we’re not, to seek to change where we’re not, to seek the help of God’s spirit to change in those things so that we can have that in our life.

The more we have that the more at peace we’ll be, the stronger we’ll be spiritually. It has to be done by being “in the Lord,” as it said. It’s the only way to be one. So, we have to be in God and God in us. We can’t do it on our own. That’s why we have to cry out to God for help, for strength on a continuing basis.

Now, I’ve sped this sermon along today here because of my little schedule here, as I told you about, but I’m going to spend time now in going through some news articles because I hope everyone is grasping and comprehends what was said at the very beginning. The reason we’re going into this sermon series is because of the seventh chapter about the Thunders.

And I hope, as I said earlier, that you grasp those things that are happening right now are not a coincidence in the sense of timing, in the sense of how everything is working out. Those are there to give us encouragement and strength to understand where we’re headed, to help us to be on guard, to help us to be sober minded, to not let down, to not be divisive in any fashion or form but to be in unity with God as much as we can be and ask God for help in accomplishing that more and more.

So, we’re going to go through some news articles now because of the Thunders.

I heard an individual last night, I think it was, on the news talking about some of these things taking place over there and how you see the panic over there. You see how people were. You know, you think, watch people trying to get on a train. They’re trying to get out, they want to get out, Poland is letting them in, and you can’t help that your heart goes out to people but you realize these things have to come to pass and we haven’t seen anything yet.

This is small. This is a small Thunder but it’s a powerful one. But just as that individual said, he said, “It’s like hearing thunder in the distance getting closer and closer.” That’s where we are, it’s getting closer and closer.

Another one this morning I’ll tell you about before I go into some of this. I think he was practicing over here in college, university to be a lawyer from Ukraine. He was going on and talking about this conflict and he said basically summing this up, that he realizes that there is no other way but if it has to be done that it be done on the ground in forces there. He said, because if they start to use nuclear weapons, in essence, paraphrasing some of this, he said it’s annihilation, and that’s what it is. That’s exactly prophetic. Who can help but speak things that are prophetic? Because that’s where we are in time.

And so for him to say something like that, well, kind of sends chills up and down your spine, to realize that’s exactly where we are and that’s exactly what’s going to take place, and it is prophetic. That that’s what this is all about, it’s bringing us to a point of annihilation if God didn’t intervene. That’s our story in this end-time. That’s what Herbert Armstrong began to grasp in a very powerful way and taught the Church. God has blessed us to grasp those things as we continue to grow and grow closer to this period of time.

So, we’re going to take time to go through some of these news articles. I’m sure you’ve heard tons of them but gives it a different perspective sometimes just by going through them in this format.

And to see mankind, to see the hypocrisy of mankind, and they put themselves into a corner and what can you do? It’s a Catch-22. It really is. If you look at the world, because mankind misuses everything he has, this is what it leads to. It’s inevitable, a time to use what they have. When he uses them, when different ones use them, when this country uses some of them – because some are going to take off, some are going to take place before it’s totally destroyed – but again, it’s going to be so horrific.

And you’re just getting a little bit of taste, because this is nothing. That’s why your confidence and boldness needs to be in God Almighty, to realize your life is in His hands and He’ll take care of you wherever you are to whatever degree it has to be done, needs to be done, should be done. I hope you have that kind of confidence.

So, it’s not a matter of planning out ahead, “Where should I be?” It’s like where should I plan my trips? Well, I’m going to keep planning wherever. Wherever. And whenever it happens, it happens; my life is in God’s hands. Yours is too.

“US Cites Ukraine Crisis To Approve $6 Billion Tank Deal For Poland.”[1] Now, just threw this in there because it’s like this happened WWI and WWII, a lot of things happened in the world at times. There are merchants and they make a lot of money on weapons of war. You don’t hear people talking about it all that much, but they make lots and lots of money off of war. It’s a lot of German history, if you will, in the past.

“German army reinforcements reach Lithuania amid Ukraine crisis.”[2] This is a little hard to read. “A German army convoy of 130 soldiers and 60 vehicles…” Well, you need 60 vehicles to carry 130 men, I guess. Something like that. “…reached Lithuania on Thursday, bringing almost half of planned reinforcements for the country's German-led NATO battlegroup amid fears of a Russian invasion of Ukraine.”

Now, that’s pretty sick. That’s just really pretty sick. Let’s don’t overdo it. Sending 130. “We’re coming! We’re on our way.” It’s like, “Are you kidding me?” That’s insulting. It really is. If I were Ukrainian people I’d be so insulted by that, by the German people and what they’re doing. Think, “Look what you did during WWII to us and what we had to go through during that time period and what are you doing now? You’re playing politics. It’s about gas. You say it’s not, but it is. Money. Money. Money.” Staying in politics, staying in power, keeping him back a little way, not too far, he won’t go any farther, surely.

It's just a sick, sick world.

“US Trucker Convoy Organizers…” Well, that’s the next one coming. If you thought the Canadian thing was one thing, here is another one. So, what are they going to do now? They’re getting ready to put up fences around the White House again, this great big show of showing the world what a great nation we are at peace, and power, and we have to put up fences. So, it’s a great show on one side.

Anyway, it says, “Thousands expected to join.”[3] “Thousands of semitruck drivers are expected to take part in the coast-to-coast ‘People's Convoy’ to protest government COVID-19 mandates starting Wednesday, Feb. 23…It's an enormous group of people. I know Canada had hundreds. We have thousands…” Well, it’s one way to demonstrate, I guess, but how is it going to be met? Well, it’s not going to be a picnic. It’s not going to be a lot of fun.

Up there they’ve seized trucks. They’re talking about selling the trucks off. They’re taking their licenses; they’ve just basically frozen their bank accounts. Pretty much the way they deal with governments. They want to freeze everything in Russia and different countries and so forth. But that’s what they do, people like to have control so government will try to control and say, “Well, this is what we’re going to do to you, and if you thought you had a livelihood, guess again. Go find something else because we’re ending yours.” That’s basically how it is. Sick world. Just seeing it for what it is.

Anyway, that’s all we need in the midst of what’s taking place over there, supplies not moving as they need to and, well, I guess different ones feel like they need to take as stand, and that’s in their hands.

“Will Xi Jinping's ‘End Of Days’ Plunge China & The World Into War?”[4] “The Communist Party of China has always believed its struggle with the United States is existential—in May 2019 the official People's Daily declared a ‘people's war’ on America—but the hostility has become far more evident in the past year. Virulent anti-Americanism suggests Xi Jinping is establishing a justification to strike America. The Chinese regime often uses its media to first warn and then signal its actions. America has now been warned.”

Well, I wouldn’t dismiss that too quickly because they’re still the most likely to have someone somewhere be the one who starts the First Trumpet event, if you will, that it’s not China directly, it doesn’t come out of China, but it comes out of somebody else that’s pretty close by. That’d be a very easy thing to do. So, they have their objectives and they’re going to do what they’re going to do. But people don’t believe it. It’s like, “Oh, it’s over there. It’s not here.” And you think, “Your eyes are going to be opened up in a horrifying way.”

Another one here: “Russians have hacked American military-industrial complex – US.”[5] “The FBI, National Security Agency, and US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) released a report on Wednesday alleging that since at least January 2020, the hackers have been collecting information that is unclassified but contains ‘significant insight into US weapons platforms development and deployment timelines.’”

Sometimes you think of all these different articles that are out there and this is what the world is talking about. Now, you couldn’t do this two years ago. You couldn’t find these kinds of articles two years ago, and now it’s rampant. I mean, we’ve been reading headlines week after week here, and there’ll be more next week, but it’s just like the world has so changed. That ought to be sobering to us, it really should be.

In a strange sort of way rather encouraging because we want to get this over with, get through this and have a new world come. Because that’s our own hope, is that God intervene, set up a new government on this earth that we’ve longed for, that His people have longed for through time, and get away from this thing of human nature and human government because it’s so evil. It really is.

“Rents reach 'insane' levels across US with no end in sight.”[6] “In the 50 largest U.S. metro areas, median rent rose an astounding 19.3% from December 2020 to December 2021, according to a Realtor.com analysis of properties with two or fewer bedrooms. And nowhere was the jump bigger than in the Miami metro area, where the median rent exploded to $2,850, 49.8% higher than the previous year.”

I can’t comprehend that. That’s mind-boggling. You take some of these large cities, I don’t know how people live in some of them. That’s the median rental range. Insanity! And it’s just things like this, one after another, of things that are just going crazy out there, they really are. And you think, where do you think all this is headed? It’s headed to one giant end, to one giant implosion.

“EU must act to avoid Bosnia 'falling apart', Borrell says.”[7] Who’s hearing about Bosnia? Yet that’s a report out there by Reuters. “Bosnia has been going through its worst political crisis since the end of the Balkan wars of the 1990s, with Bosnian Serbs challenging state institutions as part of their long-time bid to secede and eventually join neighbouring Serbia.” … “‘The ministers have to take decisions about how to stop this dynamic in Bosnia-Herzegovina and to avoid that the country can fall apart in pieces. This is a critical situation.’”

So, you just think one hot spot after another. Everything is about to explode all over the place.

“‘Danger to Life’ Flood Warnings Issued in UK, Hundreds Evacuate as Storm Franklin Makes Landfall.”[8] “The newly-named storm is the third in less than a week to pummel the UK, coming in the wake of Storm Eunice that killed three people and left 1.4 million homes without power…” Anyway, I don’t know if anyone has seen some of these things, but we had huge winds that went across the United States here a while back that were hurricane force, 90-95 mph in a lot of places. Over there it was more. Three times it’s happened over there.

And you think, things are really ratcheting up more and more and it’s about the example we have of a woman in travail. It gets closer and closer, more often and more often, and these are seven different ones that we’re talking about. That’s where we are in time. That ought to be sobering to you.

“PUTIN DECLARES FORMAL RECOGNITION OF EAST UKRAINE SEPARATIST REGIONS AS SOVEREIGN STATES.”[9] You’ve all heard that.

“DC Truckers…” I’m going to go back to this one again because this isn’t over with. “DC trucker convoy plans on shutting down Capital Beltway, organizer says: 'Giant boa constrictor.'” “A trucker convoy heading to Washington, D.C., plans to shut down the Capital Beltway later this week in protest of wide-ranging issues such as fuel prices, vaccine requirements and immigration, the organizer said.” … “‘I'll give you an analogy of that of a giant boa constrictor,’ Bolus said. ‘That basically squeezes you, chokes you and it swallows you, and that's what we're going to do the D.C.’”

Well, I don’t think it’s going to work. But anyway, I can understand some of the sentiment, some of the feelings that are involved there. But people pay a price for taking different stands and it only hurts all of us when it’s all said and done. I mean, we’re hurting bad enough with not being able to get things around the way it is and give it some more time…. Anyway, human nature.

“U.S. hits Russian banks, elites with sanctions over Ukraine crisis.”[10] I have a really hard time listening to some of this sometimes because they’re doing little things here and there but they’re not doing much bigger things they could do if they wanted to, and they’re not doing them.

“Pre-Amble To WW3 Sends Stocks & Bonds Lower; Gold & Crude Higher.”[11] Well, now the latest one coming out is “It’s all rebounded. Isn’t that a wonderful thing? It’s all rebounded. We’ve gotten past it; it’s all rebounded. Joy. Joy. Joy.” Makes you sick.

“Donald Trump: 'China's going to be next,' will ‘absolutely’ invade Taiwan following Russia-Ukraine crisis.”[12] Well, it doesn’t take a genius. But sadly, today, maybe it does, to see that that’s exactly where we’re at. Do you think they’re not going to take advantage of certain things?

All these things that are happening right now are tests toward this country. What are the reaction? Where does NATO stand right now? How are they dealing? How is the EU dealing with all this stuff? And it’s prodding different areas. These people aren’t stupid. They have objectives, China and Russia, and they’re going to keep doing what they’re doing until they feel like it’s time. And Europe knows it.

“Sen. Lindsey Graham warns of World War III if Putin, China and Iran 'get away with it'.”[13] Well, they’re going to get away with it.

“First Shipments Of Stinger Missiles Arrive In Ukraine As ‘Gift’ From Latvia.”[14] Well, you know where they came from. But little too late.

“China Might ‘Be There Tomorrow’ - Warns Chinese State Pundit In Dire Taiwan, Ukraine Comparison.”[15] “The influential former editor and current commentator for China's state-run English daily Global Times issued a shocking comment hours into Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Hu Xijin weighed in on Thursday's PLA fighter jet breach of Taiwan's air defense identification zone by saying ‘Get used to it. There may be more PLA aircraft flying there tomorrow.’" So, the question was asked, “Did he just warn the West that China is about to move on Taiwan - at a ‘perfect storm’ moment that all eyes are on the war in Ukraine? Did Putin just set the example for near-term Chinese military action?”

Well, at least it’s got people thinking a little bit now about what’s coming or what’s happening in the world, whereas before it’s like people really didn’t care. So, it’s like, we can sort this out, we can work through this. It’s always been in the mind. It was in WWI, WWII, and it’s there again, that we’re going to be able to work this out. It doesn’t work that way.

“European Natural Gas jumps 60% on Ukraine Turmoil.”[16]

Another one here: “Biden Presented With 'Menu' Of Options For 'Massive Cyberattacks Against Russia.'”[17]

Now, my fear in going through these articles and just throwing out these headlines and a few quips here and there is that if we’re not careful we can be numb like the rest of the world, like this country, like others are. You can hear this and after a while it begins to settle out in your mind. It’s like it’s a new norm and so you shift gears, and it doesn’t seem as bad as it really is. Yeah, yeah it is. It’s really bad and it’s going to get a whole lot worse. That’s what’s sad about human nature sometimes is that we can be lulled to sleep through these things in the worst of times. It’s happened over and over and over again.

“Biden Presented With 'Menu' Of Options For 'Massive Cyberattacks Against Russia.'” “Two U.S. intelligence officials, one Western intelligence official and another person briefed on the matter say no final decisions have been made, but they say U.S. intelligence and military cyber warriors are proposing the use of American cyber weapons on a scale never before contemplated. Among the options: Disrupting internet connectivity across Russia, shutting off electric power, and tampering with railroad switches to hamper Russia’s ability to re-supply its forces, three of the sources said …Whether that's actually possible remains to be seen - as Russia has made headlines in the past for their ability to disconnect themselves from the worldwide internet.”

“Last June, Biden and the leaders of 30 countries that now make up NATO agreed that ‘the impact of significant malicious cumulative cyber activities might, in certain circumstances, be considered as amounting to an armed attack,’ with Biden calling NATO's Article 5 - or its mutual self-defence clause, ‘a sacred obligation’ that is ‘rock solid and unshakable.’”

Again, sometimes it’s just hard to read some of these things because of what they’re doing. And yes, all these cyber things are taking place right now over there and they’re testing the limits of everything they can to see what they can and cannot do in order to do something bigger later on, and so we see these things here.

But you know what? There’s a very easy way, and they already know that, of crippling everything over here. That’s what they want to do. They can cripple everything all at one time with a massive attack. They’ll do it. But there’s one great way and that’s by EMP’s going off. Pretty much fries everything.

“In short, cyberattacks on NATO members by Russia (or other nations) could be considered an act of war, so might Russia assume the same about attacks on their systems?” They’ve been doing it back and forth for a long time.

“Kremlin Website Goes Down.”[18] “The official website of the president of Russia has gone down.” Little bit of humor in that, but it’s still on in Kyiv so they were talking about that, and it’s Russian owned. Evidently, they built the system, and someone was commenting—I think it was that woman in parliament, or maybe it was another person—made comment that the reason it’s still on is because they still want to make the money from it. So, I don’t know any of this, if it was a tongue in cheek thing that was said.

“Reports say other government websites, such as the Russian parliament’s one, have gone offline too. The Kremlin’s website, as well as the website of Russia’s Security Council, went down as a result of cyber-attacks, a source told Sputnik, adding that Presidential Office on Security Information is dealing with the problem.” Puts everybody at ease.

Here is a nice one: “Pentagon approves National Guard deployment ahead of DC trucker convoy.”[19] Yeah, not going to be pretty on the store shelves and elsewhere.

“Putin waves nuclear sword in confrontation with the West.”[20] I hope you all picked up that little blurb. He didn’t say nuclear weapons when he made a comment that basically anyone, again, paraphrasing, basically had to do with if anyone tries to stop, interfere, or whatever, that they’re going to experience the worst that they’ve ever experienced in history. The consequences will be the worst of anything that’s ever happened to them in their history.

And basically, there’s not much worse in Europe there then a nuclear weapon going off. But anyway. Then the comment comes back from another individual here, it says, “‘Putin should understand NATO also has nuclear weapons’, says French Foreign Minister.” So, there is this thing going back and forth. I mean, when you start doing that, when you start threatening nuclear weapons, it isn’t far away for somebody to do something stupid.

I’m going to spend quite a bit of time here in this last one because I think it’s noteworthy because it’s prophetic, because it’s that which has pushed Europe to do the things they’re doing and it’s becoming clearer and clearer. It’s entitled here, “Is it time for an EU Army?”[21]

Now, we already know that they have certain plans, and this article talks about some of that. But this is talking about something much greater.

“‘European security’ isn’t just a figure of speech anymore; it’s a collective problem that we can no longer afford to ignore. It is too late to start building the European army. It will be too late five years from now, too, and the Russian invasion of Ukraine is not going to be Europe’s last security crisis.”

Now, if people can see and start talking in these terms and they’re talking amongst themselves about these things… Again, this wasn’t done in the past, hasn’t been done in the past year or two years, or three years ago, and yet it’s out there very powerfully right now in the news in a very powerful way.

He goes on to say, “Russian caudillo,” which is a Spanish word for military dictator, “Russian [I’ll just say it] military dictator Vladimir Putin plans to use Ukraine as the stage for an opera in three acts: Blitzkrieg [which is “Lightning War” from the Germans], Anschluss [which is a word used regarding Hitler’s forcible annexation of Austria in 1938, so it has a meaning of “forcible uniting” in other words, so it’s their concept of uniting someone, but by force. That’s what Hitler did.], and Kolonisation.” So, all German words that they used here for this, and you know what that one is.

“Ukraine is a nation that has slipped — and sometimes been pushed — through the cracks of Europe’s security architecture: It has an ‘association’ agreement with the European Union but is not an EU member; it is — was — on track to join NATO (and has — had — been on that hamster wheel for years) but is not a NATO member.”

I think this is an awesomely written article because the individual really gets down to the heart and core and the crux of some of this and shows a lot of the hypocrisy and things that go on between nations, and it’s happening again just like in WWII.

… “NATO has been a two-edged sword for Europe…” There are reasons why they didn’t want them to become a part. They want them to be in the middle between NATO and Russia. They knew that certain things, Putin has these plans and so forth, because if they allowed them into NATO what does that mean? Nuclear war quicker, faster. Because if it happens to one, it happens to all. That’s their stance, and if they don’t do it, then they fall and they know that.

“…both edges cutting the wrong way at times. American domination of NATO has provided a permission slip for European sloth and parsimony,” which means “an extreme unwillingness to spend money or provide resources.” “— If it’s Washington’s show, why not let Washington do the heavy lifting? — but that same American domination has in recent years been a source of deepening anxiety for Europeans who see the United States as an increasingly erratic and undependable security partner, one whose attention is focused on the Indo-Pacific rather than on the trans-Atlantic.”

So, you think Europeans aren’t feeling different toward the United States? I’m rather in awe in some ways, dumbfounded to see the change that’s taken place over there because it’s been of just recent time here and it’s accelerating quite fast in how they think toward the United States. That’s why it’s always been difficult in the past to see how on earth, why would they attack this nation? Because that seems so ludicrous in common thinking. If you told this to somebody in society out here, they’re going to be the ones, “What are you smoking?” (“Where did you buy it?”) That would probably be their response by too many, they’d want some of that stuff.

But going on here, “A possible partial solution to that problem is the formation of an EU-wide military to replace Europe’s reliance on national militaries (most of them currently underfunded and ill-provisioned) working under the aegis of NATO or the unwieldy and largely untested instruments of the Common Security and Defense Policy. Within most of the nations of the European Union, there is little popular support for increased military spending at the national level; at the same time, there is widespread support for the European Union’s taking a more active and direct role in common defense.”

So, all of these things working together. It’s prophetic things coming together. We should be able to see that.

“And now there is war in Europe. The proposal to build a European army has some high-profile supporters — Emmanuel Macron, Angela Merkel, Olaf Scholz, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen.” To name a few there.

“Shocked by the sudden collapse of the U.S. project in Afghanistan under the Biden administration, von der Leyen called for European leaders to muster the guts to build up a European force — both practically and politically. ‘You can have the most advanced forces in the world,’ she said, ‘but if you are never prepared to use them — of what use are they?’”

So just that tone and that sentiment and those things being spoken is quite powerful.

“What has held us back until now is not just a shortfall of capacity — it is the lack of political will.” So, they’re being pushed into this. That’s what’s happening. It’s like they’re being pushed into some wanting to do this and now being pushed into having to do this from their perspective.

“The proposed European army also has one very important opponent: the United States.” Awesome what’s said here. “When Merkel and Macron started talking as though they were serious about the possibility of a European army, the Trump administration went as far as to threaten to impose sanctions to stop it, mostly out of fear that U.S. defense contractors would lose out.”

And this, some of this stuff was written by an individual by the name of “Lord.” So, I’m going to quote something he said, “Lord’s letter complained that building up a proper EU army would mean ‘duplication, non-interoperable military systems, diversion of scarce defense resources, and unnecessary competition between NATO and the EU.’ All of those are, in fact, legitimate concerns — precisely the sort of thing one would expect a competent and responsible government to deal with.”

… “Currently, European military integration is pursued under PESCO (Permanent Structured Cooperation),” [which we talked about some time back, which is their structure for a military], “which is a series of binding mutual agreements and protocols — i.e., not a matter of military exercises but one of committee meetings. For an indicator of just what PESCO entails, consider that in 2017, Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar assured legislators voting on the agreement that it would involve only such uncontroversial tasks as counterterrorism and digital-security work. ‘What we are not going to be doing is buying aircraft carriers and fighter jets,’ he promised.”

Now, this is going through all this stuff basically saying, look at all they’re doing. They’re shuffling paper, basically, is what he’s saying. “We’re shuffling paper, we’re getting nowhere, nothing is being done, and we’re not going to be building aircraft, so what are we doing when we talk about a military and coming together?”

So, finally, he says, “Someone is going to have to [do these things].” In other words, to build up an army. “Because the fact is that within a few days, the Russian army is going to be in a position from which it can reach Vienna in nine hours — by public transit. This is a new era, and not a safer one.”

So again here, just a perspective of where things are, that it’s gotten, it’s getting to a point now where it’s pushing them into a position where they’re going to have to make choices and decisions. That’s why there is this battle going back and forth with NATO, because they can’t co-exist. And yet some people try to say politically that they can co-exist. But the reality is you can’t have NATO and a European Military might against Russia. It has to be, basically, one another. They’re saying, basically, that what they want is a European power. They don’t want the United States involved in it because they realize the United States is their number one opposition. So, incredible times we live in.

So, I hope that sobers you, because it should, these kinds of articles. Because they’re the kinds of things we’ve never seen before. They’ve never been out there before and now it’s happening faster and faster, quicker and quicker, and you need to be ready, and you need to be on guard. That’s what this series is about.

[1] https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/us-cites-ukraine-crisis-approve-6-billion-tank-deal-poland

[2] https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/german-army-reinforcements-reach-lithuania-amid-ukraine-crisis-2022-02-17/

[3] https://www.newsmax.com/newsmax-tv/trucker-convoy-canada/2022/02/18/id/1057531/

[4] https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/will-xi-jinpings-end-days-plunge-china-world-war

[5] https://www.rt.com/russia/549824-hacked-us0military-industrial-complex/

[6] https://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory/rents-reach-insane-levels-us-end-sight-83014476

[7] https://www.reuters.com/world/eu-must-act-avoid-bosnia-falling-apart-borrell-says-2022-02-21/

[8] https://sputniknews.com/20220221/danger-to-life-flood-warnings-issued-in-uk-hundreds-evacuate-as-storm-franklin-makes-landfall-1093226606.html

[9] https://wearechange.org/putin-declares-formal-recognition-of-east-ukraine-separatist-regions-as-sovereign-states/

[10] https://financialpost.com/pmn/business-pmn/u-s-hits-russian-banks-elites-with-sanctions-over-ukraine-crisis

[11] https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/putins-pre-amble-ww3-sends-stocks-bonds-lower-gold-crude-higher

[12] https://news.yahoo.com/donald-trump-chinas-going-next-232516191.html

[13] https://www.foxnews.com/media/sen-lindsey-graham-world-war-iii-putin-china-iran-get-away

[14] https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/first-shipments-stinger-missiles-arrive-ukraine-gift-latvia

[15] https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/chinese-jets-come-near-taiwan-beijing-blasts-us-fueling-fires-lead-ukraine-invasion

[16] https://www.nationandstate.com/2022/02/24/european-natgas-jumps-60-on-ukraine-turmoil/

[17] https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/biden-presented-menu-options-massive-cyberattacks-against-russia

[18] https://sputniknews.com/20220224/kremlin-website-goes-down-1093342106.html

[19] https://thehill.com/policy/defense/595431-pentagon-approves-request-for-national-guard-deployment-ahead-of-dc-trucker

[20] https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/putin-waves-nuclear-sword-confrontation-west-83103191

[21] https://www.nationalreview.com/2022/02/is-it-time-for-an-eu-army/