Update 263

On September 30, 2006, Edwin Pope will give the sermon, titled, “The Angel Lucifer.”

The services can be heard at www.cognetservices.org at 12:30 pm Pacific Time (which is 2:30 pm Central Time). Just click on Connect to Live Stream.

The
Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) is next week–from Sunday evening, at
sunset (October 1, 2006) until Monday evening, at sunset (October 2,
2006).

There will be one service on the Day of Atonement. Norbert
Link will give the sermon from San Diego, at 1:30 pm Pacific Time
(which is 3:30 pm Central Time). His sermon is titled, “The Purpose of
Fasting.”

The services can be heard at www.cognetservices.org. Just click on Connect to Live Stream.

PLEASE NOTE:

This
will be our last Update before the Feast of Tabernacles (Saturday,
October 7, 2006 until Friday, October 13, 2006, beginning with the
opening night on Friday, October 6, 2006) and the Last Great Day
(Saturday, October 14, 2006). Our first Update after the Feast will be
published on or about Thursday, October 19, 2006.

“If you love Me, prove it,” is a challenge to Christians from
God–although the wording is not exactly in this form. Jesus said it
this way: “‘If you love Me, keep My commandments'” (John 14:15).

We
are all a bit guilty in proclaiming our love for God and Jesus Christ
without doing those things that really prove that we love God. Abraham
willingly and unquestioningly prepared to offer his son Isaac just as
God had commanded him to do! That was a test for Abraham, and he proved
his unparalleled love for his God.

What Abraham did is
memorialized in God’s Word–in particular, Hebrews 11:17-19: “By faith
Abraham, when he was TESTED, offered up Isaac, and he who had received
the promises offered up his only begotten son, of whom it was said, ‘In
Isaac your seed shall be called,’ concluding that God was able to raise
him up, even from the dead, from which he also received him in a
figurative sense.”

God has already proven His love for us in that
He actually did that for which Abraham was only tested (Compare John
3:16). Jesus spoke of His own love and of His willingness to prove it
when He told His disciples–His friends, “‘Greater love has no one than
this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends'” (John 15:13). Jesus
died for all–for the sins of all of us! (Compare Romans 6:10; 1
Corinthians 15:3; 2 Corinthians 5:14-15).

Here is our test: “I
beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you
present your bodies a LIVING SACRIFICE, holy, acceptable to God, which
is your reasonable service” (Romans 12:1).

Just how we do that
“reasonable service” is further defined in God’s Word. Our answer is
found in this straightforward definition of how we should love God:
“For this is the love of God, that WE KEEP HIS COMMANDMENTS. And His
commandments are not burdensome” (1 John 5:3).

When you hear
someone profess their love for the Father and for His Son, examine
their words and actions based on God’s Word. More importantly, see if
this is a test you can pass–it really is our proof of love!

European Reaction to Muslim Protests

The EUObserver reported on September 22, 2006:

“Angry Muslim reaction to the Pope’s recent remarks on Islam has seen some centre-right MEPs make a last-minute attempt to insert a paragraph condemning the Muslim outcry into a major report on Turkey’s EU accession progress… But with [the] draft version of the report already ruffling feathers in Ankara, EPP-ED deputies opted to prevent further controversy by refraining from a reference to the protests in the Muslim world on the Pope’s speech. Instead, they only filed a comment that welcomes the Pope’s planned November visit to Turkey.”

Such “diplomatic” silence of some European politicians has angered others.

On September 24, 2006, aljazeera.net filed this report:

“Jose Manuel Durao Barroso, the EU Commission president, has strongly defended Pope Benedict XVI, saying Muslim criticism was unacceptable. Barroso’s comments appeared a day after Spanish media quoted Jose Maria Aznar, the former Spanish prime minister [from 1996 to 2004], as saying that Benedict had no need to apologise… Asked why European leaders had not stood up to defend the pope’s right to free speech, Barroso said: ‘Perhaps it is because there are concerns about a possible confrontation. I was disappointed that there were not more European leaders who said: “Obviously the pope has the right to express his opinion. The problem is not the comments of the pope but the reactions of the extremists … We must defend our values.” Why do we always have to say sorry and they never do?… It is interesting to note that while a lot of people in the world are asking the pope to apologise for his speech, I have never heard a Muslim say sorry for having conquered Spain and occupying it for eight centuries.'”

The comments by the Pope regarding Mohammed and Islam and the ensuing protests by many Muslims might very well lead to a stronger reaction from the Western world. The following articles might just be additional examples.

Germany’s “Fear” of Radical Muslims?

 On September 26, The Associated Press reported:

“A leading opera house canceled a 3-year-old production of Mozart’s ‘Idomeneo’ that included a scene showing the severed head of the Prophet Muhammad, unleashing a furious debate over free speech. In a statement late Monday, the Deutsche Oper said it decided ‘with great regret’ to cancel the production of the 225-year-old opera after Berlin security officials warned of an ‘incalculable risk’ stemming from the scene.”

The article continued:

“Many…, including Germany’s top security official, Interior Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble, condemned the decision… ‘That is crazy,’ Schaeuble told reporters in Washington… ‘This is unacceptable.’ Berlin’s mayor, Klaus Wowereit, said that ‘with all understanding for the concern about the security of spectators and performers, I consider the decision of the director to be wrong. Our ideas about openness, tolerance and freedom must be lived on the offensive. Voluntary self-limitation gives those who fight against our values a confirmation in advance that we will not stand behind them.’ Bernd Neumann, the federal government’s top cultural official, said that ‘problems cannot be solved by keeping silent. When the concern over possible protests leads to self-censorship, then the democratic culture of free speech becomes endangered.'”

Der Spiegel Online reported in more detail about the fierce German reaction from all major political parties to the self-censorship of the opera house. In its article of September 26, the magazine quoted leading politicians as speaking of “prostration before radical Muslims” and “pure cowardness.” Wolfgang Thierse, Vice-President of the German Parliament, stated that this is “a frightening sign of fear.” He asked: “What will be next? After having limited the freedom of art, will we now limit the freedom of speech and of preaching?” Berlin’s mayor, Klaus Wowereit, was quoted as saying that the decision of the opera house was “utter nonsense.”

According to The Associated Press of September 27, “German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned against ‘self-censorship out of fear’… ‘We must be careful that we do not increasingly shy away out of fear of violent radicals,’ Merkel told the Hannover Neue Presse. ‘Self-censorship out of fear is not tolerable.’… Response from Germany’s Islamic community was mixed, with some praising the decision and others calling on Muslims to accept the role of provocation in art.”

The reaction of the German press was also quite telling. According to a summary, which was published in Der Spiegel Online on September 27, 2006, “The Financial Times Deutschland doesn’t pull any punches. ‘The self-censorship of the Deutsche Oper is hysterical and stupid.’… The Handelsblatt also cautions Germans not to lose their heads. ‘… Has the country lost the faculty to discriminate between a Mozart opera and conscious insults of Islam?’… The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung… paints the controversy in bold, historical strokes. ‘This is about the danger that is lurking throughout all the Western democracies… the voluntary abandonment of our constitutionally protected freedom of speech.'”

Afraid of the Fear of Terror?

On September 27, Der Spiegel Online published the following “telling” editorial:

“One of Mozart’s operas [has] been taken off the playlist at Berlin’s State Opera for fear of a terrorist attack. It’s a shocking example of pre-emptive surrender: At this point, it seems, terrorists don’t even need to issue a specific threat in order to intimidate us. It took the Catholic Church 359 years to revoke its condemnation of Galileo, but the current Pope needed only two days to distance himself from his quotation of a statement that remains topical despite being uttered 500 years ago. Piet Hein Donner, the former Dutch Minister of Justice, who has just resigned from her position, believes Islamic Shariah law could be legally introduced in Holland if two thirds of the Dutch population were to one day approve it. The London police has announced it will inform and consult with a board of Muslim community leaders the next time it plans an anti-terrorism operation that affects Muslims…

“If we didn’t already know it by the time of the recent scandal surrounding cartoons of Muhammad were published in a Dutch newspaper, that event confirmed to us that Muslims are especially sensitive when it comes to their prophet. We learned that their anger threshold is very low and that it’s best not to overstep it. We also learned that they interpret the suggestion that they incline towards violence as a form of defamation — one they like to respond to by burning flags and effigies, and by chanting ‘Kill Those Who Insult Islam!’

“Representatives of other religions, of course, are a bit more relaxed when they become an object of ridicule or malice. No Catholic authority got upset when Cologne’s Cardinal Meisner was represented as an inquisitor who burns women at the stake. German Chancellor Angela Merkel didn’t send out any hit squads either when she became the object of sexist caricatures in Mainz. But during this year’s Carnival festivities — a time when, traditionally, no taboo is respected as long as overstepping it raises a laugh — Cologne’s famed carnival societies decided to take no risks and do without jokes about Islam and Muslims. And so the festivities remained untainted by violence…

“What’s next?… If this attitude prevails, drama, art and literature will have a hard time in the future… Even a drama as harmless as Lessing’s ‘Nathan the Wise’ could cause outrage. The play features a dialogue between a Christian, a Jewish and a Muslim character. But it doesn’t present them as absolute equals.”

Interview With Syrian President

On September 24, Der Spiegel Online published a revealing interview with Syrian President Bashar Assad. We are quoting the following excerpts:

“There are close ties among our peoples, whether in Iraq, Syria or Palestine. We have the same feelings, the same habits and the same pride. Look at Damascus. There are 500,000 refugees from the occupied Golan Heights, about 500,000 from Palestine and about 100,000 from Iraq living here. We tend to the needs of these people, but all we get from the West is rejection… There can be no peace in the Middle East without Syria. The Lebanon and the Palestinian conflicts are inextricably linked with Syria… Whenever you Germans come to Syria, you talk about freedom of opinion. Why don’t you allow me to have my opinion?… The majority of my people think the way I spoke… Israel occupies a part of my country–of course Israel is an enemy. If you want to play a role in our region, then you have to be able to see things from our point of view. That’s also true for the classification of Hezbollah as a ‘terrorist organization.’ That cannot remain so. In 2004, Germany played an important role during the prisoner exchange between Israel and Hezbollah. That’s exactly the point: to work within the realities that exist in this part of the world…

“For us, the balance is important, and there, Europe is much closer to us than America. Europe knows our world… Germany is supposed to prevent weapons from reaching Hezbollah. History teaches us that nobody can prevent a resistance group from arming when it has the support of the people… As long as the public support for Hezbollah remains as high as it is today, yes, it is a Mission Impossible. The majority here sees the resistance against Israel as legitimate. I would advise the Europeans: Don’t waste your time, address the roots of the problem… As a resistance organization, Hezbollah has a right to arm itself–and they have more than enough weapons… I don’t say that Israel should be wiped off the map. We want to make peace–peace with Israel… But even my personal opinion, my hope for peace, could change one day. And when the hope disappears, then maybe war really is the only solution.”

Stripped of all the verbiage, Assad is making the following points: Syria and Hezbollah want to continue to play a major role in the Middle East. Europe and especially Germany should come to the help of the Arabs. They should cease supporting Israel and they should cease trying to secure peace through European ground troops and a navy, as this endeavor will fail. These are interesting concepts, in light of Biblical prophecy. Make sure to tune in to our new StandingWatch program, titled, “Europe and the Muslim World.”

Germany’s “Grand Coalition” Is NOT Working!

On September 26, Der Spiegel Online wrote:

“Less than a year after Chancellor Angela Merkel came to power, all pretence [of being] at harmony in her left-right coalition has evaporated… most commentators agree that the first ‘grand coalition’ in four decades isn’t working, and there’s little Merkel can do about it. The government’s main project so far, a reform of the health service, is unravelling months after the two parties reached a messy compromise… SPD members… are flirting with the opposition liberal Free Democrats, even though they have even less in common with the pro-market, tax-cutting party than with the conservatives. A ‘culture of mistrust’ has taken hold in the coalition…

“Mutual dislike and fundamental disagreements on policy are coming out with a vengeance after being hidden for months behind a façade of harmony. Surveys show the Germans want the government to stop bickering and get on with gentle reforms that don’t cause anyone too much pain… Voters are getting turned off by internal disputes they see as motivated by ‘vanity, power politics or excessive self-interest,’ mass circulation daily Bild said in a Tuesday commentary… One of the main internal critics of the health reform, Bavarian state premier Edmund Stoiber, told a meeting of his Christian Social Union party on Monday that if compromise talks fail ‘it will be the end of the government.'”

On September 24, Bild am Sonntag developed an interesting scenario. According to the paper, new elections are not to be expected, as both major parties (SPD and CDU) would lose. But SPD, FDP and the Green party could call for a parliamentary “no-confidence” vote against Angela Merkel, and with their combined votes, SPD party leader Kurt Beck could become the next German Chancellor. Even though this scenario is highly speculative, it shows the German perception of a totally incompetent Grand Coalition.

Bulgaria and Romania Will Join the EU

On September 26, 2006, Der Spiegel Online reported the following:

“Fewer than three years after the European Union grew by 10 new countries in May 2004, the club is set to add two new members. The European Commission on Tuesday recommended that Bulgaria and Romania be allowed in on Jan. 1, 2007 as planned. But in a move to address widespread concerns that the two countries are not fully prepared for membership, the Commission has tacked on an unprecedented list of conditions the south-eastern European countries must meet to avoid being deprived initially of full membership benefits…

“The admission of the two countries will add some 30 million people to the EU’s present population of around 450 million and push the club’s borders east to the Black Sea. Both countries, however, are relatively poor — with economies only one third the size of the EU average — and both have struggled to bring rampant corruption under control. Money laundering and organized crime are of particular concern in Bulgaria. The country has also been told it needs to amend its constitution to remove ambiguities about the independence and transparency of its judiciary. Billions of euros in EU aid may be withheld should adequate steps not be taken…

“The expansion is to be formally approved by EU leaders in October. Four countries — France, Germany, Denmark and Belgium — have yet to ratify the entry of the two countries but are expected to do so soon… The enlargement comes as Europe continues to struggle with its constitution, rejected by both France and the Netherlands in 2005. In a nod to concerns that the club cannot continue absorbing new members, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said that Romania and Bulgaria will be the last countries admitted until the EU decides on how it wishes to move forward… Despite the comments, the EU urged Montenegro to continue working toward EU membership. The tiny Balkan country joins Croatia, Serbia, Turkey, Bosnia, Macedonia, Albania and Ukraine on the list of EU hopefuls.”

European Unification is very much alive, and as the Bible clearly shows, a United States of Europe will become the most powerful entity on earth. But it should also be noted that ultimately, the EU will be ruled by ten “core” nations or groups of nations which will in turn give their authority to a very charismatic, political leader of “Assyrian” or German descent. When that happens, the return of Jesus Christ has drawn very near. For more information, please read our free booklet, “Europe in Prophecy.”

No Disarmament of Hezbollah?

The Associated Press reported on September 27, 2006:

“Six weeks after the end of the Lebanon war, the militant Hezbollah group is facing little on-the-ground pressure to give up its weapons and disarm–despite a U.N. cease-fire resolution demanding just that. The leaders of a U.N. peacekeeping force in south Lebanon say the job is not theirs. And Lebanon’s ill-equipped army, some of whose soldiers wear tin-pot helmets and carry outdated M-16 rifles, shows no signs of diving into a confrontation with battle-hardened Hezbollah fighters…

“The commanders of the U.N. force say that under the resolution, their job is merely to assist the Lebanese army in regaining control of southern Lebanon and to ensure the area cannot be used for launching rocket attacks into northern Israel. Meanwhile, Lebanese security officials say the army’s mission in the south is based on what they call an ‘understanding’ with Hezbollah that the army will not search for and seize weapons, but only confiscate those shown in public.”

To nobody’s surprise, we should be able to see clearly that the present U.N. “peace plan” for Lebanon is not working. What will be happening next?

USA No Longer Number One

Britain’s “The Independent” wrote on September 27:

“The United States has lost its top slot in a global ranking of economic competitiveness published yesterday because of mounting concern among businesses over its budget deficit and crumbling faith in its institutions. The world’s largest economy fell from first to sixth place in the World Economic Forum’s annual survey that is based on interviews with 11,000 business leaders. The harsh verdict comes a week after the International Monetary Fund highlighted a US slowdown as the biggest threat to the world economy… It ranked just 69th out of 125 in terms of the basic health of its economy, with its health and primary education ranked 40th and the quality of its institutions 27th… Switzerland jumped from fourth last year to take the top slot, while Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Singapore all overtook the US. The rest of the top 10 was made up of Japan, Germany, the Netherlands and the UK.”

The question addresses a seemingly difficult passage in Exodus 4:24-26, which reads:

“And
it came to pass on the way [to Egypt], at the encampment, that the LORD
met him and sought to kill him. Then Zipporah took a sharp stone and
cut off the foreskin of her son and cast it at Moses’ [literally: his] feet, and said, ‘Surely you are a husband of blood to me!’ So He let
him go. Then she said, ‘You are a husband of blood!’–because of the
circumcision.”

Please note that this incident occurred after God
had prophesied to Moses how Pharaoh would react to his demand to let
the people of Israel go (verses 21-23). It would therefore make little
sense to assume that God had changed his mind a few hours later to kill
Moses. Note that verses 22-23 record God’s words to Moses, which
immediately precede the above-quoted passage: “Then you shall say to
Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the LORD: “Israel is My son, My firstborn. So I say
to you, let My son go that he may serve Me. But if you refuse to let
him go, indeed I will kill your son, your firstborn.”‘”

The
context of the passage in Exodus 4:24-26 shows that God did not intend
to kill Moses [whom He was sending to Egypt to free the Israelites],
but one of Moses’ two sons, who had not been circumcised. At the time
of Moses, there was in effect a temporary law that God had given to
Abraham, to circumcise every male child (Genesis 17:9-13). God
specifically stated that “the uncircumcised male child, who is not
circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that person shall be cut off
from his people” (verse 14).

It is apparent that Moses and
Zipporah had neglected to circumcise one of their sons, even though
both knew better. God, true to His Word, was about to “cut off” or kill
the uncircumcised son, due to Moses’ and Zipporah’s disobedience–God
later killed the firstborn sons of Egypt, when the Egyptians refused to
be obedient to God. God could not use Moses to be His servant, as long
as he refused to faithfully obey God’s commands. Zipporah might have
influenced Moses not to circumcise their son; so she immediately acted
in obedience to God’s command, whereupon God ceased from attempting to
kill the son.

When reading seemingly difficult passages, it is
important to study the passage in context and in light of other
Scriptures. For example, we read about Noah’s curse of his
grandson Canaan for something that–so it might seem–Canaan’s father
Ham had done. We find this passage in Genesis 9:20-25. As in the case
of God’s attempt to kill Moses’ son, a careful study reveals that it
was not Ham, but Ham’s son Canaan, who disgraced Noah and was cursed as
a consequence. The passage reads:

“And Noah began to be a farmer,
and he planted a vineyard. Then he drank of the wine and was drunk, and
became uncovered in his tent. And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the
nakedness of his father, and told his two brothers outside. But Shem
and Japheth took a garment, laid it on both their shoulders, and went
backward and covered the nakedness of their father. Their faces were
turned away, and they did not see their father’s nakedness. So Noah
awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done to him.
Then he said: ‘Cursed be Canaan; A servant of servants He shall be to
his brethren.'”

The context of the passage shows, of course,
that more was involved than mere “nakedness” of Noah. Apparently,
somebody had violated Noah, while he was drunk. But who did? We read
that Noah awoke and knew what “his younger son” had done to him. This
is not a reference to Noah’s son Ham, but to Ham’s son Canaan. A
correct rendering of Genesis 9:24 states: “And Noah awoke from his
wine, and knew what his YOUNGEST son had done unto him.” But Ham was
not Noah’s youngest son–Japheth was–while Canaan was the youngest son
of Ham. According to Jewish tradition, Canaan either “castrated” Noah
or he “indulged a perverted lust upon him” (compare Soncino, page 47).
In any event, Ham saw on his uncovered father the terrible signs of
Canaan’s evil deed or perverted lust, and Shem and Japheth covered Noah
with a garment.

It is not that uncommon throughout the Biblical
narrative, that subjects, objects or pronouns might be referring to
another person other than what might be suspected at the first reading
of a particular passage. For a last example, let’s consider Exodus
34:27-28 (Authorized Version):

“And the LORD said unto Moses,
Write thou these words: for after the tenor of these words I have made
[better: I will make] a covenant with thee and with Israel. And he was
there with the LORD forty days and forty nights; he did neither eat
bread, nor drink water. And he wrote upon the tablets the words of the
covenant, the ten commandments.” The question is, Who wrote the words
of the covenant on the tablets of stone? A superficial reading might
suggest that it was Moses. But a study of other Scriptures reveals that
it was God, not Moses.

After Moses had destroyed the first
tablets of stone with the Ten Commandments, because of his anger over
the sin of the Israelites who had built a golden calf, God had Moses
cut two new tablets of stone (Exodus 34:1). But God also said, in the
same verse: “… I will write on these tablets the words that were on
the first tablets which you broke.” The fact that it was God–not
Moses–who wrote the Ten Commandments a second time on the tablets of
stone, is confirmed in Deuteronomy 10:4: “And He wrote on the tablets
according to the first writing, the Ten Commandments, which the LORD
had spoken to you.. and the LORD gave them to me.” Moses wrote these
words, including with other statutes and judgments, and even temporary
ritual laws, in a book–which became known as the “Book of Moses.” But
he did not write the Ten Commandments on the tablets of stone–God did
that.

In conclusion, it is important to read “difficult”
Scriptures in context and in conjunction with the rest of the Bible. A
correct understanding reveals that God did not try to kill Moses, but
Moses’ son, who was not circumcised. Noah did not curse Canaan for an
evil deed perpetrated by Noah’s son Ham, but for an evil deed committed
by Ham’s youngest son, Canaan. And it was not Moses, but God, who wrote
the Ten Commandments twice on two tablets of stone.

Lead Writer: Norbert Link

Hard copies of our new book, “Teach Us to Pray,” will be handed out to feastgoers at the Feast sites in the United

States and Great Britain. Mailing of the book to our subscribers will commence after the Feast.

Shelly Bruno completed the design of our Festival brochure, which will be distributed at the Feast in California. You can preview the brochure at http://www.eternalgod.org/feast/fot/2006/us/feast_brochure_2006.pdf

 

A new StandingWatch program was recorded last Friday and has been posted on the Web. It is titled: “Europe and the Muslim World.”

Set forth below is a summary of the program:

What is the significance of a German navy in the Middle East, European ground troops in Lebanon, and hostile Muslim reactions to a speech of Pope Benedict XVI? How real are the threats of radical Muslims and terrorists to conquer and destroy Rome, occupy the city of Jerusalem and attack the United States? Will Europe and the Catholic Church stand idly by when some of these threats seem to materialize?

by Manuela Link

There have been many times while growing up
when I have competed for a specific place in the hierarchical ladder of
success. As a physically active person, I competed in races for my
school. Always winning, I didn’t know what it would be like to lose,
until I did. I didn’t like that feeling, so I made it a goal that I
would continue to work my hardest each time I trained for running. I
much preferred the finish line behind me rather than just in front, so
I broke my track record every year.

In high school, grades were
my greatest concern. I didn’t want to be close to passing, I wanted my
4.0 grade point average (GPA) to remain with me, so I worked hard at
maintaining that by doing my assignments and studying. I may have been
close to being good, but I always sought improvement and better
achievement. Now I’m close to being finished with my formal education,
but I won’t feel like I have completely succeeded until it’s over.

Being
close to something means that a person has to relate to what it is they
are trying to improve. Without daily contact or interaction, the talent
or education, or even the bond with a friend will start to fade and
eventually disappear. It takes a lot of effort to become close to
something or someone. God is never distant and I know that with
practice and boldness I will become closer to Him, and one day, be
right there. Giving up can never be an option, but staying the course
and keeping the faith will take me to where I want to go–closer than
ever before.