On November 22, 2014, Norbert Link will give the sermon, titled, “Leaving the Church of God?”

The live services are available, over video and audio, at www.cognetservices.org (12:30 pm Pacific Time; 1:30 pm Mountain Time; 2:30 pm Central Time; 3:30 pm Eastern Time; 8:30 pm Greenwich Mean Time; 9:30 pm Central European Time). Just click on Connect to Live Stream.

Many in this world believe that they are “saved” when they merely “believe” in Christ.  They take one of the most, if not the most popular Scripture in the Bible, John 3:16, and justify themselves by simply reading it, thinking that this is all one needs to do in order to be saved and have everlasting life.  They fail to recognize the true meaning behind that verse and ignore the other vast amounts of Scriptures in the Bible.  Does the world love Christ?  Do they keep His commandments?  We can only love Christ if we keep His commandments–EVERYTHING that Christ commands (John 14:15, 21-24).

We are to be followers and doers of what He requires, and this involves action.  We will not be saved and have everlasting life if we only “believe” in Him.  To have any part of Christ, we first of all need to repent, believe, be baptized and receive God’s Holy Spirit.  Without this process, it is impossible to have everlasting life and to be in the Kingdom of God, for Christ says in John 3:5: “…unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.”

We must also understand that no one can come to Christ, unless that person has been called to the truth by the Father (compare John 6:44,65).  So are we then automatically saved and have we obtained eternal life when we were properly baptized and were given the Holy Spirit?  Of course, as long as God’s Spirit lives within us, we have the guarantee of eternal life. But can we lose it again?

James 2:14-17 says: “What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him?  If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,’ but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.”  Hebrews 5:9 also points out that Christ “became the author of eternal salvation to all who OBEY Him.” 

Are we obeying with living faith?

We must continue to work at perfecting ourselves, by using the gift that has been granted to us by our Father through His Holy Spirit.  We are commanded to keep His commandments, to preach the gospel of the Kingdom of God to the world, to live a righteous and godly life. God expects that from us and He expects us to obey Him!  He has called us out of this world to give us the opportunity to be among the first to enter His Kingdom and to receive everlasting life.  This is still our choice.  It is no guarantee.  Revelation 3:11 tells us to “hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown.”  And in Revelation 2:10 Christ tells us to “be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.”

What is given to us can also be taken away.  When we turn back, we will lose what had been offered to us. Only when we overcome until the end, will we be saved (Matthew 24:13; Revelation 2:26).  This is a lifelong process that God requires of us: to be faithful continuously, to pray continuously, to be vigilant and strong continuously, to give comfort and love to one another continuously, to put ALL trust and confidence in Him continuously, and to obey Him continuously.  When we continue to do all of that until the end, then we will be saved. 

We begin reporting on the G20 Summit and the ongoing controversy between Vladimir Putin and the West; present excerpts from an insightful interview with Henry Kissinger; and give you surprising facts about Austria, Romania and the UK.

We address the increasing violence in Jerusalem and the ongoing conflict between Israel, the West and the Arabs, pertaining, among other issues, to construction in East Jerusalem; report on Saudi Arabia’s future; speak about President Obama’s performance in Australia pertaining to climate change; the current defeat of the Keystone XL Pipeline project; the Immigration Debate; and reveal interesting facts about the origin of the Mormon church and their founders, as well the shaky history of Al Sharpton.

We focus on the problems with undercover operations and present a devastating example of incompetent child “protection” agencies which some have labeled as “legal kidnapping.”

We conclude with reports on Muslim misinterpretations of American history; Muslim prayers in the National Cathedral which might have unintended consequences; and the decision of the Church of England to ordain female bishops. Also,we present the strong admonition about child rearing given by Billy Graham.

Germany Concerned About Rumors from the East

Der Spiegel Online wrote on November 16:

“The German government is concerned about Russia’s politics of power regarding the Balkans. President Putin is apparently trying to disassociate the countries from the EU.”

The Local wrote on November 16:

“A German embassy worker has been expelled from Moscow in what Berlin sees as a ‘retaliatory’ move, a German foreign ministry source said Saturday… According to Spiegel, the move comes after Berlin expelled a Russian diplomat from the consulate general in the western city of Bonn ‘in total discretion’. ‘In similar cases in the past, there was no reaction from the Russians, this time it’s different,’ the weekly wrote, citing a source within the German foreign ministry.”

Die Zeit wrote on November 16:

“The signs between Russia and the West show a new ice age.”

Der Spiegel Online wrote on November 17:

“From the perspective of Berlin, Russia has gone from being a difficult partner to being an adversary within just one year…”

Putin Under Attack

BBC News reported on November 16:

“Much of the [G20] summit focused on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s position on the crisis in Ukraine. Mr Putin faced fierce criticism and left the meeting before it ended, but said the summit was ‘constructive’. Mr Putin said he was leaving before the release of the official communique, citing the long flight to home to Russia and the need for sleep…

“Mr Obama told reporters Mr Putin was ‘violating international law, providing heavy arms to the separatists in Ukraine’ and violating the Minsk agreement. He said the ‘economic isolation’ of Russia would continue unless Mr Putin changed course… During the summit, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and British Prime Minister David Cameron also sharply criticised Mr Putin…”

The Times of Israel wrote on November 15:

“British Prime Minister David Cameron went so far as to allude to Nazi Germany when referring to Russian actions… Widely reported in the British press as an allusion to Adolf Hitler’s regime, Cameron added that the world had in the past seen the terrible results of a major power meddling in the affairs of a weaker European country… The West this week accused Russia of sending fresh military hardware into eastern Ukraine, fueling fears of a return to all-out conflict.”

Germany to the Rescue?

On November 18, the Local published an article with the following headline: Steinmeier rushes to Moscow as Ukraine boils.” The article continued:

“Germany’s Foreign Minister jetted to Kiev and Moscow on Tuesday in a bid to revive a failing peace plan in eastern Ukraine, where intense fighting has pushed EU-Russia relations to [a] breaking point…

“Ahead of Steinmeier’s visit, Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov said Moscow hoped ‘that the ‘point of no return’ has not yet been crossed’ in its relations with Europe. Lavrov cautioned there would not be a major breakthrough at the talks with his counterpart from Germany…

“Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko on Monday wrote on Twitter that while Kiev wants to avoid all-out conflict, it is ‘prepared for a scenario of total war’.”

Henry Kissinger Speaks Out

In November, Der Spiegel Online conducted a revealing interview with Henry Kissinger. We are bringing you the following excerpts:

“SPIEGEL: Dr. Kissinger, when we look at the world today, it seems to be messier than ever — with wars, catastrophes and chaos everywhere. Is the world really in greater disorder than ever before?

“Kissinger: It seems that it is. There is chaos threatening us, through the spread of weapons of mass destruction and cross-border terrorism. There is now a phenomenon of ungoverned territories, and we have seen in Libya, for example, that an ungoverned territory can have an enormous impact on disorder in the world. The state as a unit is under attack, not in every part of the world, but in many parts of it…

“SPIEGEL: … How should the West react to the Russian annexation of Crimea? Do you fear this might mean that borders in the future are no longer incontrovertible?

“Kissinger: Crimea is a symptom, not a cause. Furthermore, Crimea is a special case. Ukraine was part of Russia for a long time. You can’t accept the principle that any country can just change the borders and take a province of another country. But if the West is honest with itself, it has to admit that there were mistakes on its side. The annexation of Crimea was not a move toward global conquest. It was not Hitler moving into Czechoslovakia… Europe and America did not understand the impact of these events, starting with the negotiations about Ukraine’s economic relations with the European Union and culminating in the demonstrations in Kiev. All these, and their impact, should have been the subject of a dialogue with Russia. This does not mean the Russian response was appropriate…

“SPIEGEL: Relations between the West and Russia are tenser now than they have been in decades. Should we be concerned about the prospects of a new Cold War?

“Kissinger: There clearly is this danger, and we must not ignore it. I think a resumption of the Cold War would be a historic tragedy. If a conflict is avoidable, on a basis reflecting morality and security, one should try to avoid it… the West could not accept the annexation; some countermeasures were necessary. But nobody in the West has offered a concrete program to restore Crimea. Nobody is willing to fight over eastern Ukraine…  There’s no question that it was morally justified to overthrow Muammar Gadhafi, but we were not willing to fill the vacuum afterwards. Therefore we have militias fighting against each other today. You get an ungoverned territory and an arms depot for Africa…

“SPIEGEL: Are you in favor of a more assertive role for Europe, especially for Germany?

“Kissinger: Yes, certainly… Germany is the most significant European country and, yes, it should be much more active. I do have very high regard of Ms. Merkel, and I think she is the right person for leading Germany into this role…”

As can be expected, Henry Kissinger’s viewpoints reflect truth and error. His statements about Germany are remarkable.

Austria—What You Might Not Have Known About it!

The Local (Austrian edition) wrote on November 6:

“When Vladimir Putin visited Vienna in June 2014, the long-serving head of the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber said it was already the third time he had received the Russian president. Putin, jokingly criticizing his host’s longevity, cried out in German: ‘Dictatorship! But good dictatorship.’ Austrian and Russian entrepreneurs in the audience burst out laughing. So did Austria’s president, Heinz Fischer, who amicably patted Putin on the back.

“In summer 2014, while EU-Russian relations were sinking toward Cold War levels, refocusing NATO’s attention on its Eastern flank, Austria was giving the Russian president the red-carpet treatment. Officially, Vienna supports EU sanctions against Russia, but most Austrians are unhappy with the measures, even after much fighting in eastern Ukraine.

“Austria is also moving ahead with the South Stream pipeline, a venture that will bring more Russian gas to Europe but that Brussels has criticized for its noncompliance with EU rules.

“It is not just Vienna’s stances on the Ukraine crisis and Russian energy that set it apart from many other European capitals. Austria’s entire European discourse is different. Few Austrians care about the euro crisis or the new European commissioners who entered office in November 2014. The country has its back to Brussels and looks toward Eastern and Southeastern Europe, where it earns most of its money…

“Austrians see themselves as ultra-pragmatists who never take a stand except when it comes to promoting their business interests. Muddling through is second nature to them… The Ukrainian border is closer to Vienna than the Swiss border is. Bratislava is a 50 minute drive away, and Budapest can be reached in a few hours… The Habsburg Empire once stretched from Italy’s Lombardy to Ukraine’s Lviv. Despite having been cut off from this hinterland during the Cold War, Austrians feel close to Central and Eastern Europe. There are family ties; the mentality is similar.

“Austria is also the second-biggest investor in Central and Eastern, in terms of GDP, after Germany. Austrians’ stability and prosperity depend on the region’s well-being…

“Austria has a different relationship with Russia from that of Poland or the Baltic states: those countries were ‘freed’ after the Cold War ended, while Austria’s understanding with Moscow continues. Vienna applied for EU membership only after an explicit go-ahead by then Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in 1989. Austria joined the EU in 1995, along with Sweden and Finland. It doesn’t dare join NATO.

“Austria… is the second-richest EU member state after Luxembourg. Government debt and the budget deficit are modest by eurozone standards, at 80.3 percent and 2.8 percent of GDP respectively in 2014…

“In the 1930s, Austrians fought Austrians in a civil war. Then came Nazi Germany’s annexation of Austria in 1938, with big Austrian crowds cheering Hitler. After the Second World War, Germany went through a painful soul-searching process. Austria did not. It still portrays itself as a victim of the Germans…

“Thanks to Austrian neutrality, Vienna became the UN’s third headquarters after New York and Geneva… It is no coincidence that the US agents who were caught spying on German trade policy in July 2014 received their instructions and payment from the US embassy in the Austrian capital…

“In July 1989, Austria submitted a request for EU membership… Later that year, the Berlin Wall came down. That this event coincided with Austria’s move toward EU membership was an unbelievable piece of luck for Vienna. The fall of Communism meant that Eastern European countries would eventually join the union, shifting Europe’s heart eastward. Austria would sit right in the middle of this ‘new Europe’. This transition gave the Austrian economy a tremendous boost. The country’s entrepreneurs travelled all over Eastern Europe, buying up banks and companies and starting businesses…

“Vienna… has the second-biggest Serbian population after Belgrade… In Vienna, there is irritation about past and present EU policies toward Moscow and Kiev. Most Austrians agree the EU has made a mistake by getting closer to Ukraine, Georgia, and Moldova, and not to Russia…

“Austria was the first European country to receive Russian gas, in the late 1960s. A big storage facility, co-owned by Russia, lies close to Vienna. Austrians, who insist that this gas has always arrived on time, see no need to reduce their dependency on Russian energy…

“In the future, Austria will keep walking a tightrope in Europe. Itself a product of tension between East and West, the country will abide by EU rules and will be careful not to burn bridges… Austrians believe they are at the centre of the new Europe. Whatever this means, they must somehow make it work. And that is precisely what Austrians have always been doing: trying to reconcile irreconcilable viewpoints, and doing well out of it.”

Austria might very well play a major role in Europe. Another European country sympathetic to Russia would be Bulgaria.

Ethnic German First Romanian President

The EUObserver wrote on November 17:

“On Sunday night (16 November), thousands of people gathered again in University Square, waving Romanian flags with a round hole in the middle, just as they did in 1989, when they cut out the Communist coat of arms. This time, it was to celebrate the unexpected victory of Klaus Iohannis, the first Romanian president to come from an ethnic minority…
    
“55-year old Iohannis belongs to a small German ethnic minority in Transylvania which settled there in the 12th century and was as numerous as 700,000 before the Second World War… As a centre-right politician of German ethnicity, Iohannis is also likely to become an ally of German Chancellor Angela Merkel.”

Deutsche Welle added on November 17:

“It’s a surprise of historic dimensions. For the first time since the political turn of events 25 years ago, Romanians have demonstrated cross-party solidarity… Klaus Iohannis has shown quite formidably that a Protestant ethnic German politician can be a good Romanian, too…

“Before the Iron Curtain fell, Romanians had to stand in line for nights on end to get a stick of butter or two bananas for their children. This time, they lined up to give democracy in their country a new chance. Against their own government’s wishes. And they persevered! Now it’s up to Iohannis to show that he deserves voters’ trust while at the same time providing for balance and reconciliation as the president of all Romanians.”

Most Migrants Obtain EU Citizenship Through the UK

The Times wrote on November 18:

“The UK granted almost a quarter of all new citizenships granted within the EU, according to official figures published today. Migrants from India topped the list of people being given a UK passport, followed by those from Pakistan, Nigeria and the Philippines in 2012, the statistics showed.

“The UK granted citizenship to the highest number of migrants of any of the 28 EU states in 2012, giving passports to 193,900 people.”

No Limit to Construction in East Jerusalem

Deutsche Welle reported on November 16:

“Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman… voiced in unequivocal fashion his nation’s right to housing construction in the annexed eastern section of Jerusalem, saying Israel would ‘never agree to limit its activity.’… German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier… urged Lieberman and the Israeli government to pursue all possible avenues for peace and, in particular, to ‘refrain from all activity’ that could potentially be a stumbling block to peace negotiations with Palestinians…

“Israel refers to the entire city of Jerusalem as its ‘united, undivided capital.’ The Palestinians demand that the city’s eastern sector be made capital of their promised state, and are vehemently against any Israeli attempt to expand construction. Liebermann’s remarks came four days after Israel approved plans to build 200 homes in Ramot in occupied East Jerusalem despite months of almost daily clashes and tensions there with Palestinians, triggered in part by settlement expansion.

“That announcement prompted a rebuke from Washington, which reiterated its ‘unequivocal’ opposition to such construction in East Jerusalem, warning it could ‘exacerbate this difficult situation on the ground and … will not contribute to efforts to reduce the tension.’… Recent disputes between Israelis and Palestinians also concern access to the flashpoint site known to Jews as Temple Mount and Muslims as the Al-Aqsa Mosque – part of a compound supervised by neighboring Jordan.”

Serious Upheaval in Israel

The Guardian wrote on November 18:

“Five Israelis were killed and eight more wounded in a frenzied assault by two Palestinian men [cousins] on Jewish worshippers praying at a Jerusalem synagogue in the most lethal incident in the city in years. The two assailants who launched their attack with meat cleavers and a gun during early morning prayers were then killed by police officers in the ensuing gun battle at the scene of the attack… Three of the victims held dual US-Israeli citizenship, and one was a British-Israeli citizen…

“The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a militant group, said the cousins were its members. A PFLP statement did not specify whether the group instructed the cousins to carry out the attack. Hamas, the militant Palestinian group that runs the Gaza Strip, also praised the attack. Israel’s prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, vowed that Israel would ‘respond harshly’ to the attack, describing it as a ‘cruel murder of Jews who came to pray and were killed by despicable murderers’.

“The US secretary of state, John Kerry, said he spoke to Netanyahu after the assault and denounced it as an ‘act of pure terror and senseless brutality and violence. Innocent people who had come to worship died in the sanctuary of a synagogue,’ Kerry said, his voice quavering. They were hatcheted, hacked and murdered in that holy place in an act of pure terror and senseless brutality and murder. I call on Palestinians at every single level of leadership to condemn this in the most powerful terms. This violence has no place anywhere, particularly after the discussion that we just had the other day in Amman.’…

“The Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, condemned the attack, the first time he has done so since a recent spike in deadly violence against Israelis began. He also called for an end to Israeli ‘provocations’ surrounding the sacred site… The statement called for an end to the ‘invasion’ of the mosque at the holy site and a halt to ‘incitement’ by Israeli ministers…

“Tuesday’s attack was the latest in a series of deadly assaults. Five Israelis and a foreign visitor have been deliberately run over and killed or stabbed to death by Palestinians while about a dozen Palestinians have also been killed, including those accused of carrying out those attacks. Residents trace the violence in Jerusalem to July, when a Palestinian teenager was burned to death by Jewish assailants, an alleged revenge attack for the abduction and killing of three Jewish teens by Palestinian militants in the occupied West Bank…”

Deutsche Welle added on November 18:

“The armed wing of the militant group Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine… praised [the two murderers] as ‘heroic comrades’ and ‘martyrs, and called for an escalation of ‘confrontations with (Israeli) occupiers and settlers who have no place on our land.’…

“Netanyahu blamed the attack on Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. ‘This is the direct result of the incitement being led by [Islamist militant group] Hamas and Abu Mazen (Abbas), incitement which the international community is irresponsibly ignoring,’ Netanyahu said…

“Incidents of violence in Jerusalem, other parts of Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories has surged in the past month, fuelled in part by a dispute over a Jerusalem holy site referred to by Jews as the Temple Mount and by Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary.”

The Times of Israel commented on November 18:

“This was no case of ‘spontaneous terrorism’… the two terrorists… cousins from the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Jabel Mukaber, were apparently familiar with the synagogue where they staged their attack. They may have worked in the area; plainly, they gathered intelligence on it prior to the attack.

“The relatively high body count also sets Tuesday’s attack apart from the recent attacks — which include the attempted murder of Temple Mount activist Rabbi Yehudah Glick — and creates more potential for escalation. An indiscriminate massacre of worshipers in a synagogue, wrapped in their prayer shawls, strikes at the most basic symbols of the Jewish people, and could result in acts of revenge against Palestinians…

“Jerusalem refuses to return to normal… The decision-makers and the security establishment cannot solve the security nightmare that has enveloped Jerusalem…

“The prime beneficiaries of the grim new reality are the terror groups, led by Hamas. The Islamist terror organization is doing everything it can to inflame tensions and encourage more attacks. Its spokespeople praised the murderers in Tuesday’s attack, just as they did the previous killers. Joining Hamas are other terror groups…”

Israel Upset with Spanish Parliamentary Vote

Deutsche Welle wrote on November 19:

“Israel’s Foreign Ministry on Wednesday decried the Spanish parliament’s overwhelming vote in favor of recognizing a Palestinian state, which came hours after a deadly attack in a Jerusalem synagogue. ‘The declaration of the Spanish parliament only distances the chance of reaching an agreement between Israel and the Palestinians because it encourages the Palestinians to become more extreme in their positions,’ the Foreign Ministry statement said.

“The overwhelming but symbolic Spanish vote- 319 in favor, two against, one abstention – appealed to the government in Madrid to recognize Palestine in conjunction with any similar move from the European Union. French parliamentarians will also vote on the matter on November 28; Sweden formally recognized Palestine last month.

“‘It would have been better if the Spanish parliament had instead chosen to do the right thing by condemning the abominable slaughter carried out by inflamed Palestinians in a synagogue in Jerusalem,’ the Foreign Ministry said. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had said late on Tuesday that some countries were guilty of ignoring the bloodshed in the region and were instead seeking to reward the Palestinians, in reference to the vote in Spain.”

What’s Next for Saudi Arabia?

BBC News wrote on November 18:

“With the Middle East in an unprecedented state of turmoil, the need for smooth and orderly transfers of power in Saudi Arabia – ruled by a 90-year-old infirm monarch – has become more crucial than ever – but who will inherit the kingdom in the coming years is a thorny issue yet to be resolved.

“Saudi Arabia is a large and influential country. Guardian of the two most holy sites in Islam, it regards itself as leader of the Sunni community worldwide. The kingdom is a key player in Sunni attempts to block Shia Iranian influence in the Middle East – and is the world’s leading oil producer.

“On the face of it, the immediate succession process is arranged and agreed upon by the senior princes of the Al Saud royal family.

“King Abdullah will be succeeded by Crown Prince Salman, an event which in turn should make Prince Muqrin (at present deputy crown prince) the next heir to the throne… Today, the assumption – but no more than that – is that Prince Muqrin’s elevation to deputy crown prince means that in time he will be the last son of the founding monarch to sit on the throne. But Prince Ahmed [another one of King Abdullah’s sons] might still assert his seniority by age… King Abdullah is old and frail, while, according to unconfirmed reports, Crown Prince Salman (78) suffers health problems – something strongly denied by the Saudi authorities…

“A meeting of the Allegiance Council, a body consisting of sons and grandsons of Ibn Saud to resolve succession issues, was held in March 2014 and endorsed King Abdullah’s elevation of Prince Muqrin – with the proviso that this appointment could not be overturned. But not all princes present at that Allegiance Council meeting voted in favour of Prince Muqrin’s promotion. Differences of opinion are likely to manifest themselves still more when he, as the youngest of Ibn Saud’s sons, moves up the succession ladder…

“Saudi Arabia faces many internal challenges, ranging from rising youth unemployment, the return of jihadists from Iraq and Syria, to growing criticism of Al Saud on domestic social media and simmering restiveness in the Shia-dominated Eastern Province.”

Obama Ignorant About Climate Change?

On November 19, The Washington Times published an article by  Bob Carter and Tom Harris, stating that “Bob Carter is former professor and head of the School of Earth Sciences at James Cook University in Australia. Tom Harris is executive director of the Ottawa-based International Climate Science Coalition.” The article stated the following:

“The focus of the 2014 Group of 20 summit meeting in Brisbane, Australia, was on stimulating economic growth across the industrialized world. Thanks, though, to President Obama’s grandstanding and attempted sabotage of the agenda as laid out by the host country, climate change also came to prominence.

“For several months prior to the G-20, and despite strong Australian resistance, radical environmental groups had been lobbying for inclusion of global-warming issues on the meeting’s agenda. Mr. Obama was happy to oblige them. His endorsement of the U.S.-China Joint Announcement on Climate Change just before the G-20 was a signal that he would also use the Australian meeting to highlight his campaign to stop ‘global warming.’

“That global warming stopped 18 years ago and the warming of a few tenths of a degree between 1979 and 1997 shows no sign of being other than of natural origin is apparently unknown to the president. Taking action on climate change is to be a cornerstone of his presidential legacy. Bankrupting the domestic coal-mining companies is just an added bonus in Mr. Obama’s eyes…

“New scientific papers appear nearly every week that show that the claimed link between carbon-dioxide emissions and dangerous global warming is imaginary. Accordingly, the link between climate-change policy and energy policy is thereby invalidated, but this persistently escapes global-warming pundits…”

No Keystone XL Pipeline

The Washington Times wrote on November 18:

“Senate Democrats filibustered the Keystone XL pipeline on Tuesday, in a vote that reverberated from Louisiana, where a key senator’s career is now likely doomed, to the broader national Democratic Party, where environmentalists have emerged triumphant in a divisive internal battle with labor unions.

“The Keystone vote took on symbolism far beyond the small impact on American crude supplies and the slight effect expected on gas prices. Environmentalists drew lines and dared moderate and conservative Democrats to cross it. In the end, most were unwilling to defy the ascendant movement…

“The vote fell one shy of the 60 needed to overcome the filibuster, with 14 Democrats joining all 45 Republicans in backing the project. In the near term, the vote means President Obama gets to avoid a difficult decision on whether to veto the bill. But Senate Republicans said he shouldn’t get too comfortable because they will pass a new version as soon as they take control of the chamber next year. Based on Tuesday’s vote and Senate balance next year, Republicans should have enough support to overcome a Democratic filibuster but not enough to override a presidential veto…

“State Department officials have been delaying a decision for years, trying to decide whether to approve the final permit that would allow the pipeline to cross the international boundary between Canada and the U.S., bringing crude from the oil deposits in the tar sands of Alberta to refineries in the U.S….”

The Immigration Debate: Amnesty—Yes or No?

On November 20, The Washington Times published an article with the following headline: “Obama Offers Amnesty to 5 Million Illegal Immigrants.”

The article continued:

“Brushing aside warnings from Republicans, President Obama announced Thursday night that he is granting legal status and work permits for nearly 5 million illegal immigrants, igniting a constitutional furor that amounted to a declaration of war against the incoming GOP majorities in Congress.

“In a prime-time address from the White House, Mr. Obama said his action is ‘lawful,’ and he dared Republican critics in Congress to counter him by passing a comprehensive legislation, which he said would be a permanent fix…

“Specifically, the president’s executive action will:

“–Create a new deferred deportation program for parents of U.S. citizens and lawful permanent resident children, if they have been in the country for more than five years. It will grant them work permits for three years if they pass background checks and pay back taxes and fees. In nearly all states, the people who are granted legal status will be entitled to driver’s licenses.

“–Expand protection from deportation to more ‘Dreamers,’ or people who came to the U.S. illegally as children, and grant more work permits to high-skilled workers.

“–Establish a new priority system for deporting illegal immigrants, requiring the Department of Homeland Security to focus on people serving jail time for criminal offenses.

“–Add more immigration judges to the border region so illegal immigrants who are deemed low-priority can be released more quickly, and recent border crossers and those with serious criminal records can be deported…

“The president said his executive action was ‘common sense,’ and rejected the characterization that he is granting amnesty… ‘Mass amnesty would be unfair,’ Mr. Obama said. ‘Mass deportation would be both impossible and contrary to our character. What I’m describing is accountability — a commonsense, middle ground approach: If you meet the criteria, you can come out of the shadows and get right with the law. If you’re a criminal, you’ll be deported. If you plan to enter the U.S. illegally, your chances of getting caught and sent back just went up.’

“Mr. Obama asserted that his action is similar to ‘the kinds of actions taken by every single Republican president and every Democratic president for the past half century.’

“Mr. Obama had resisted this type of executive action for years, and had repeatedly told immigrant-rights activists he didn’t have the authority to issue such a broad exemption from deportations. The White House has struggled to explain his new legal analysis, though they have assured reporters that Homeland Security and Justice Department lawyers have approved his decisions.”

Newsmax had reported on November 19: 

“A move by President Obama granting ‘amnesty’ to some illegal immigrants would ruin the chances of Congress acting on immigration and other issues, a spokesman for U.S. House Speaker John Boehner warned on Wednesday. ‘If “Emperor Obama” ignores the American people and announces an amnesty plan that he himself has said over and over again exceeds his constitutional authority, he will cement his legacy of lawlessness and ruin the chances for congressional action on this issue – and many others,’ Boehner spokesman Michael Steel said in a statement emailed to reporters.”

President Obama did announce what Republicans have termed as “amnesty,” even though the President rejected that characterization. It remains to be seen what Republicans will do now… if anything.

The Mormon Church—What You Might Not Have Known About It!

The New York Times wrote on November 10:

“Mormon leaders have acknowledged for the first time that the church’s founder and prophet, Joseph Smith, portrayed in church materials as a loyal partner to his loving spouse Emma, took as many as 40 wives, some already married and one only 14 years old… Many Mormons, especially those with polygamous ancestors, say they were well aware that Smith’s successor, Brigham Young, practiced polygamy when he led the flock in Salt Lake City. But they did not know the full truth about Smith…

“Smith probably did not have sexual relations with all of his wives, because some were ‘sealed’ to him only for the next life… The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, as the Mormon Church is formally known, has quietly posted 12 essays on its website over the last year on contentious topics such as the ban on blacks in the priesthood, which was lifted in 1978, and accounts of how Smith translated the Book of Mormon, the church’s sacred scripture.

“In 1890, under pressure by the American government, the church issued a manifesto formally ending polygamy. The church’s essay on this phase admits that some members and even leaders did not abandon the practice for years. But the church did renounce polygamy, and Mormons who refused to do the same eventually broke away and formed splinter churches, some that still exist…

“There remains one way in which polygamy is still a part of Mormon belief: The church teaches that a man who was “sealed” in marriage to his wife in a temple ritual, then loses his wife to death or divorce, can be sealed to a second wife and would be married to both wives in the afterlife…”

How the Book of Mormon Came Into Being

The following can be found on the official website of the Mormon Church, pertaining to the translation of the Book of Mormon:

“Joseph Smith reported that on the evening of September 21, 1823, while he prayed in the upper room of his parents’ small log home in Palmyra, New York, an angel who called himself Moroni appeared and told Joseph that ‘God had a work for [you] to do.’ He informed Joseph that ‘there was a book deposited, written upon gold plates, giving an account of the former inhabitants of this continent, and the source from whence they sprang.’ The book could be found in a hill not far from the Smith family farm. This was no ordinary history, for it contained ‘the fullness of the everlasting Gospel as delivered by the Savior.’

“The angel charged Joseph Smith to translate the book from the ancient language in which it was written. The young man, however, had very little formal education and was incapable of writing a book on his own, let alone translating an ancient book written from an unknown language, known in the Book of Mormon as ‘reformed Egyptian’ Joseph’s wife Emma insisted that, at the time of translation, Joseph ‘could neither write nor dictate a coherent and well-worded letter, let alone dictat[e] a book like the Book of Mormon.’

“Joseph received the plates in September 1827 and the following spring, in Harmony, Pennsylvania, began translating them in earnest, with Emma and his friend Martin Harris serving as his main scribes. The resulting English transcription, known as the Book of Lehi and referred to by Joseph Smith as written on 116 pages, was subsequently lost or stolen. As a result, Joseph Smith was rebuked by the Lord and lost the ability to translate for a short time.

“Joseph began translating again in 1829, and almost all of the present Book of Mormon text was translated during a three-month period between April and June of that year. His chief scribe during these months was Oliver Cowdery, a schoolteacher from Vermont who learned about the Book of Mormon while boarding with Joseph’s parents in Palmyra. Called by God in a vision, Cowdery traveled to Harmony to meet Joseph Smith and investigate further. Of his experience as scribe, Cowdery wrote, ‘These were days never to be forgotten—to sit under the sound of a voice dictated by the inspiration of heaven.’

“The manuscript that Joseph Smith dictated to Oliver Cowdery and others is known today as the original manuscript, about 28 percent of which still survives. This manuscript corroborates Joseph Smith’s statements that the manuscript was written within a short time frame and that it was dictated from another language. For example, it includes errors that suggest the scribe heard words incorrectly rather than misread words copied from another manuscript. In addition, some grammatical constructions that are more characteristic of Near Eastern languages than English appear in the original manuscript, suggesting that the base language of the translation was not English…

“Joseph Smith and his scribes wrote of two instruments used in translating the Book of Mormon. According to witnesses of the translation, when Joseph looked into the instruments, the words of scripture appeared in English. One instrument, called in the Book of Mormon the ‘interpreters,’ is better known to Latter-day Saints today as the ‘Urim and Thummim.’ Joseph found the interpreters buried in the hill with the plates. Those who saw the interpreters described them as a clear pair of stones bound together with a metal rim. The Book of Mormon referred to this instrument, together with its breastplate, as a device ‘kept and preserved by the hand of the Lord’ and ‘handed down from generation to generation, for the purpose of interpreting languages.’

“The other instrument, which Joseph Smith discovered in the ground years before he retrieved the gold plates, was a small oval stone, or ‘seer stone.’ As a young man during the 1820s, Joseph Smith, like others in his day, used a seer stone to look for lost objects and buried treasure. As Joseph grew to understand his prophetic calling, he learned that he could use this stone for the higher purpose of translating scripture.

“Apparently for convenience, Joseph often translated with the single seer stone rather than the two stones bound together to form the interpreters. These two instruments—the interpreters and the seer stone—were apparently interchangeable and worked in much the same way such that, in the course of time, Joseph Smith and his associates often used the term ‘Urim and Thummim’ to refer to the single stone as well as the interpreters…

“Joseph placed either the interpreters or the seer stone in a hat, pressed his face into the hat to block out extraneous light, and read aloud the English words that appeared on the instrument…

“Another scribe, Martin Harris sat across the table from Joseph Smith and wrote down the words Joseph dictated. Harris later related that as Joseph used the seer stone to translate, sentences appeared. Joseph read those sentences aloud, and after penning the words, Harris would say, ‘Written.’

“The principal scribe, Oliver Cowdery, testified under oath in 1831 that Joseph Smith ‘found with the plates, from which he translated his book, two transparent stones, resembling glass, set in silver bows. That by looking through these, he was able to read in English, the reformed Egyptian characters, which were engraven on the plates…’”

All of this, if true, sounds rather spooky and dangerously demonic. Inasmuch as the Book of Mormon, as it is known today, contains many Scriptural errors and false doctrinal teachings, contradicting the Bible, we know that it was not of godly origin. The narrative above, if accurate, seems to confirm even more clearly what its true origin has been. Insofar as the real Urim and Thummim are concerned, they had nothing to do with the gift of translating languages. Please read our Q&A titled, “What is known about the biblical ‘Urim and Thummim?’”

Al Sharpton’s Shaky History

The New York Times wrote on November 17:

“Mayor Bill de Blasio and Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo hailed him as a civil rights icon. President Obama sent an aide to read a message commending Mr. Sharpton’s ‘dedication to the righteous cause of perfecting our union.’ Major corporations sponsored the lavish affair. It was billed as a ‘party for a cause,’ in honor of Mr. Sharpton’s 60th birthday…

“Mr. Sharpton’s influence and visibility have reached new heights this year, fueled by his close relationships with the mayor and the president. Obscured in his ascent, however, has been his troubling financial past, which continues to shadow his present.

“Mr. Sharpton has regularly sidestepped the sorts of obligations most people see as inevitable, like taxes, rent and other bills. Records reviewed by The New York Times show more than $4.5 million in current state and federal tax liens against him and his for-profit businesses. And though he said in recent interviews that he was paying both down, his balance with the state, at least, has actually grown in recent years. His National Action Network appears to have been sustained for years by not paying federal payroll taxes on its employees.

“With the tax liability outstanding, Mr. Sharpton traveled first class and collected a sizable salary, the kind of practice by nonprofit groups that the United States Treasury’s inspector general for tax administration recently characterized as ‘abusive’ or ‘potentially criminal’ if the failure to turn over or collect taxes is willful.

“Mr. Sharpton and the National Action Network have repeatedly failed to pay travel agencies, hotels and landlords. He has leaned on the generosity of friends and sometimes even the organization, intermingling its finances with his own to cover his daughters’ private school tuition…

“He was among a small group at the White House when Mr. Obama announced his nomination of Loretta E. Lynch, the United States attorney for the Eastern District of New York, to become the next attorney general…

“Mr. Sharpton separated from his wife, Kathy, in 2004 and moved to an apartment in Manhattan. She stayed in the Brooklyn house owned by the Jordans. Once again, even though the landlord was a friend, problems arose paying the rent…”

Problems with Undercover Operations

The New York Times reported on November 15:

“The federal government has significantly expanded undercover operations in recent years, with officers from at least 40 agencies posing as business people, welfare recipients, political protesters and even doctors or ministers to ferret out wrongdoing, records and interviews show…

“But the broadened scope of undercover work, which can target specific individuals or categories of possible suspects, also raises concerns about civil liberties abuses and entrapment of unwitting targets. It has also resulted in hidden problems, with money gone missing, investigations compromised and agents sometimes left largely on their own for months… And in what became a major political scandal for the Obama administration, agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives allowed guns to slip into Mexico in 2011 in an operation known as Fast and Furious that involved undercover operations [resulting in the murder of innocent victims]…

“I.R.S. rules say that, with prior approval, ‘an undercover employee or cooperating private individual may pose as an attorney, physician, clergyman or member of the news media.’… Across the federal government, undercover work has become common enough that undercover agents sometimes find themselves investigating a supposed criminal who turns out to be someone from a different agency, law enforcement officials said. In a few situations, agents have even drawn their weapons on each other before realizing that both worked for the federal government…”

It was also stated in the article that the undercover activities of the government have to be, by necessity, “deceptive.”

Incompetent Child “Protective” Services

The website of benswann.com published the following article on November 15, referring to such actions as “legal kidnapping”:

“The safe place for Alex Hill, a 2-year-old from Cameron, Texas, turned out to be anything but that, when she was killed by her foster mother. After her father, Joshua Hill, admitted to using marijuana, Alex Hill was placed into foster care in early 2013. Her father told child welfare investigators that he smoked after the child was in bed at night. Her mother also has a medical condition that causes frequent seizures, so because of that, the toddler was removed from the house, despite appearing healthy and happy with her parents. Her foster mother, Sherill Small, was sentenced to life in prison for the July 2013 death of the girl. The girl’s parents, Hill and Mary Sweeny, reported bruises on their child during visitations.

“According to Fox 43, four months before Hill was set to regain custody he received a call that Alex was in the hospital.  Small admitted to police that she had slammed the child onto the floor, saying it was an accident. Alex’s autopsy revealed several bruises all around her body, and a medical examiner stated her head hit the floor so violently that she had ‘subdural hemorrhaging, subarachnoid hemorrhaging, and retinal hemorrhaging in both eyes,’ according to court testimony. Another disgusting part of this case, the foster parent’s husband, who lived in home while Alex was there, is a recovering crack cocaine addict and had multiple drug charges.”

How History Can Be “Modified”

AFP wrote on November 15:

“Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Saturday that the Americas were discovered by Muslims in the 12th century, nearly three centuries before Christopher Columbus set foot there… ‘Muslim sailors arrived in America from 1178. Columbus mentioned the existence of a mosque on a hill on the Cuban coast,’ Erdogan said. Erdogan said that Ankara was even prepared to build a mosque at the site mentioned by the Genoese explorer…

“History books say that Columbus set foot on the American continent in 1492 as he was seeking a new maritime route to India. A tiny minority of Muslim scholars have recently suggested a prior Muslim presence in the Americas, although no pre-Columbian ruin of an Islamic structure has ever been found. In a controversial article published in 1996, historian Youssef Mroueh refers to a diary entry from Columbus that mentions a mosque in Cuba. But the passage is widely understood to be a metaphorical reference to the shape of the landscape.”

There is really no evidence that Muslims set foot on American soil prior to Columbus. At the same time, it seems to be fairly established that long before Columbus, Swedish explorers and Vikings (descendants from the ancient Israelite tribes of Benjamin and Napthali) “discovered” America, including Norseman Leif Eriksson.

Muslim Prayers in the National Cathedral—Sacred Muslim Land Forever

Breitbart wrote on November 14:

“100 years ago today, the last Caliph, or emperor of Islam, declared the last Jihad against the infidel– and today is the first time ever that the National Cathedral in the nation’s capital will host Muslim prayers. Most American’s will have no idea that, as part of World War I, the then-Caliph of the Ottoman empire declared a Holy War against infidels, as was his right within sharia law and Islamic theology…  That statement by the last sitting head of what was the theocratic empire of Islam was the catalyst which led to religiously-fueled genocide against Christian Armenians and Assyrians…

“It is, of course, no accident that the 9/11 attacks, the worst terror attacks in world history, occurred exactly to the day in 1683 when the Islamic Ottoman forces were defeated outside the city walls of Vienna, the deepest the Islamic Caliphate’s forces made it into the heart of the Christian West… The fact that this event is occurring just as ancient Christian communities are being destroyed in the Middle East and ‘non-believers’ are being actually crucified by ISIS jihadists makes it all the more egregious.

“We know that the Episcopal church is in trouble with more conservative believers leaving in great numbers and the remaining adherents not exactly outdoing their Catholic cousins in terms of reproducing the next generation of believers. But I doubt they also understand the finer points of jihadist doctrine, one of which is that if a place of worship is used by Muslims for their prayers, that territory subsequently becomes part of Dar al Islam, sacred Muslim land. Forever.”

Newsmax added on November 17:

“Franklin Graham, son of ‘America’s Preacher’… Billy Graham, has slammed the Washington National Cathedral for allowing Muslims to hold their first prayer service there Friday…

“The Muslim prayer service, called a ‘Jummah’ or Friday call to prayer, was hosted by Ebrahim Rasool, the South African ambassador to the U.S., who is Muslim, and… Canon Gina Campbell, pastor of the cathedral, in cooperation with the All Dulles Area Muslim Society, Council on American-Islamic Relations, Islamic Society of North America, Muslim Public Affairs Council and The Nation’s Mosque…”

Church of England’s Women Bishops

BBC News reported on November 17:

“The Church of England will break with centuries of tradition on Monday when the general synod amends Church law to allow the appointment of female bishops…

“It was in July this year that the historic vote at the general synod in York took place – allowing women to wield real power in the Church after an earlier setback two years before when the synod voted no. After the change to canon law is made, the first female bishop in the Church of England can finally be appointed…”

Spend Time, Discipline, Set Right Examples, Pray and Read Bible With Your Children

CNS News wrote on November 19:

“World renowned evangelist… Billy Graham… said that our children are growing up in a ‘lawless and wicked age,’ infused with the ‘philosophy of the Devil, who says, “Do as you please.”’

“Further, rearing children in this culture is difficult because ‘we have taken God out of our educational systems and thought we could get away with it,’ said [Billy] Graham. ‘We have sown the wind, and we are now reaping the whirlwind. We have laughed at God, religion and the Bible.… Many Christian parents are becoming fearful that they cannot properly train their children in this lawless and wicked age… Many of our educational leaders sneer at the old-fashioned idea of God and a moral code. Movies feature sex, sin, crime and alcohol. Teenagers see these things portrayed alluringly on the screen and decide to go and try them. Newspapers have played up crime and sex until they seem glamorous to our young people’…

“One of the fundamental problems, according to [Billy] Graham, is the failure of parents to fight ‘the Devil in the home’ through discipline and, as a result, ‘children are allowed to go wild.’ Parents must spend time with their children, set a good example for them, discipline them, and teach them to ‘know God,’ said the pastor, who has five children and 19 grandchildren. ‘If you fail to discipline your children, you are breaking the laws, commandments and statutes of God,’ said [Billy] Graham.  ‘You are guilty not only of injuring the moral, spiritual and physical lives of your children, but of sinning against God. The Bible says that if you fail to discipline your children, you actually hate them.’

“The best way to influence your children, he added, is to set a good example because ‘the majority of children acquire the characteristics and habits of their parents.’ As for teaching your children to know God, [Billy] Graham said, ‘Very seldom do parents have trouble with children when the Bible is read regularly in the home, grace is said at the table and family prayers take place daily. Most trouble with teenagers comes from children reared in homes where prayer is neglected, the Bible is never opened and church attendance is spasmodic. Christ gives the moral stability, understanding, wisdom and patience needed to rear children.’”

The following reproduces the second part of a research paper which Norbert Link wrote in 1982 while studying as a married student at Ambassador College in Pasadena, California, setting forth proofs for the conclusion that the Neanderthal Man was in fact a modern human being (“Homo Sapiens”) and what needs to be understood regarding his alleged age.

It may be questionable, indeed, to make a certain distinction between animals and human beings in regard to several aspects. The fact that the Neanderthals used tools and weapons might not be considered as proof that he was human, because it is also known that apes [and monkeys] use sticks as weapons. But the scene would change fundamentally if it could be proved that the Neanderthals believed in religion, in life after death, in a supernatural being. No animal, lacking this certain non-physical element in its brain, which is called the “spirit in man,” is able to think about itself, its own future, life after its death. If we can prove that the Neanderthal believed in religion, then we can also prove that he was fully conscious and aware of his existence, that he had the “spirit in man,” and that he was a human being.

We know today that the Neanderthals were cannibals. They sometimes killed and ate one another. For example, in 1899 twenty Neanderthals were found at Krapina, [then called] Yugoslavia. Skulls had been smashed in and limbs had been split lengthwise, so that the marrow could be sucked out. Many scientists believe today that the Neanderthals were cannibals because of religious reasons. In some primitive societies today, natives believe that they can acquire strength and courage by eating the flesh of an enemy. In this connection, it is interesting to note that Neanderthals are believed to have eaten the brain of their strongest enemy, the cave bear. Other discoveries have shown that the Neanderthals widened the opening of the skull so that they could reach into it and scoop out the brains and eat them. This is exactly the same way in which modern cannibals perform.

In Italy, workmen found in a cave a single Neanderthal skull with a widened opening, surrounded by an oval ring of bones. It is also possible that the eating of Neanderthals were accompanied by a certain kind of bear ceremonies, described below. In 1965 bones of about twenty Neanderthals were found in a cave at Hortus, France. The human bones were mixed up with animal bones, as if the ancient inhabitants of the cave drew no distinction between eating human and animal flesh. Above Vaetis in the Tamina Valley,  there is a “dragon cave” in which large numbers of cave bear bones were found. The skulls and bones were laid in niches or stone chests. They were arranged in deliberate order and carefully covered with stone-slabs. Neanderthal men had decapitated the bears and then buried the whole heads. Sometimes thigh bones were thrust through the cavities in the skulls. Other finds have been made near Valden, Switzerland, and in Silesia. Some scientists assume that the Neanderthals performed solemn dances around the heads of the bears. Interestingly, such bear ceremonies and bear sacrifices occur to this day among certain tribes of Northeast Asia.  These are strong indications that Neanderthals were cannibals because of religious reasons. If so, they certainly were human beings.

But there is still another aspect which makes it quite impossible to believe that the Neanderthals were animals. Scientists agree that the Neanderthals have buried their own dead. Most scientists also agree that the burials were religiously motivated, for the “departed” were supplied with tools of stone and sometimes other goods. Some scientists think that these stone tools were meant to help the “soul” against the bears and other problems of the “afterlife.” For example, a skeleton of a sixteen year old Neanderthal youth was found in 1909. Typical artifacts had been laid aside the body, so that there was evidence of some form of ritual burial. One year before, in 1908, the Neanderthal skeleton near the village of La Chapelle-aux-Saints was found. It lay extended full length on its back, with the head pointing to the EAST (probably indicating some kind of sunrise worship). Beside it were artifacts and fragments of red ochre. Across the skull lay several limb bones of bison, one of which was still connected with some of the smaller bones of the foot and toes. From this it could be suggested that the flesh had been on the bones when they had been placed with the human body. Therefore, they were meant to provide the “soul” of the Neanderthal with food. The same custom is known about the old Egyptians.

These discoveries certainly show that the Neanderthal Man believed in some kind of life after death and, because there had to be someone who would grant him this future life, he also believed in a supernatural being or supernatural beings. Accordingly, Neanderthals were aware of themselves, lived on an incomparably higher level than animals and were, therefore, human beings.

Scholars of the Bible will ask: If the Neanderthal was human, how is itpossible that he was older than six thousand years, as science states, because God created man only about six-thousand years ago? This important question will be answered now.

It is true that scientists declare today that Neanderthals are 40,000 [or at least 30,000] years old. But it is also true that the only method which has been used in order to determine their age, was the carbon fourteen dating [the Radio-Carbon method]. Even the bristlecone pine tree-ring chronology, another method to determine the age of living or dead organisms, is based on the carbon fourteen dating. Therefore, we want to take a short look at this method in order to find out how it works and whether or not it is accurate.

The carbon fourteen dating is based on a simple process. Cosmic rays bombard the upper atmosphere with tremendous energy. These rays produce great numbers of fast-moving neutrons which collide with nitrogen atoms in the atmosphere. The bulk of these atoms are chemically transmuted into carbon fourteen. This carbon fourteen combines with oxygen – as does ordinary carbon – to produce carbon dioxide which is diffused through the atmosphere. This carbon dioxide contains radioactive carbon fourteen – it makes up a tiny fraction of all the carbon dioxide available to plants for photosynthesis. When the plants use carbon dioxide during photosynthesis, they automatically absorb this carbon fourteen. Afterwards these plants are eaten by animals and humans and therefore, carbon fourteen is added to their bodies, too. At death, however, an organism no longer takes in carbon fourteen. Instead, the amount possessed by this organism at death begins to decay. 

According to some authorities, every 5,730 years, and according to others, every 5,745 plus/minus 50 years, one half of the carbon fourteen decays and changes into nitrogen fourteen. During the next 5,730 years (or 5,745 plus/minus 50 years), half of the remaining carbon fourteen will decay – only one-fourth of the original amount will be left – and this process continues, until all carbon fourteen is decayed. Accordingly, by measuring the amount of remaining carbon fourteen in a dead organism, which was alive once, scientists are believed to be able to estimate when that organism died.

When Dr. Libby developed this method in the late 1940’s, he conducted experiments to discover the present production rate of radiocarbon. He first calculated the present average production rate of free neutrons in the outeratmosphere, then the present production rate of carbon fourteen. After this, he determined the average rate of decay of carbon fourteen in modern living organisms. Finally, he calculated the total present amount of carbon in the world’s exchange reservoir. At this point, he made the following assumption: If the production of carbon fourteen had proceeded at a constant rate for many thousands of years, then the amount of carbon fourteen present on the surface of the earth would have reached a constant value, because a condition had been established in which the rate of formation of carbon fourteen was equal to the rate with which it disappeared. Of course, this assumption was never proved.

Now we will see whether this method is accurate, although the proof for the basic assumption is lacking. It is clear that the dating would not be correct  if there were any change in the production rate of carbon fourteen – for example, a change caused through universal catastrophes. As a matter of fact, at least two worldwide catastrophes have occurred. The first catastrophe happened when Satan rebelled against God (Isaiah 14:12-14); this gigantic battle destroyed the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1:2) and with it, for example, the dinosaurs. The second universal catastrophe was the tremendous deluge in the days of Noah. It is quite obvious that a gigantic battle between spirit beings, which led to a demolition of the surface of many planets, could change the production rate of radiocarbon. But how could, on the other hand, the deluge alter this production rate?

Many scientists believe today that the earth was once surrounded by a shield of water vapor. The Bible, too, contains certain indications for this assumption. In Genesis 1:6-7, it is mentioned that God, when He renewed the “face of the earth” (Psalm 104:30), “divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament.” And in reference to the deluge the Bible states that “all the fountains of the great deep” were “broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened’ (Genesis 7:11). This shield of water vapor prevented that many cosmic rays could bombard the upper atmosphere. The situation changed, however, when the shield disappeared at the time of the deluge. But this happened only about 4,000 years ago and this means that the enormous amount of radiocarbon necessary for the establishment of the equilibrium was not reached and that the specific amount of radioactivity of living matter is much less than the rate of production calculated from the neutron intensity.

But there is still another aspect which shows that the carbon fourteen dating is not accurate. The method postulates that every organism assimilates the same rate of carbon fourteen independent of the environment in which that organism lives or had lived. Professor Melvin A. Cook [1968 Nitro-Nobel Gold Medal winner] has shown, however, that this assumption is wrong. He expressly stated:

“Living mollusks are sometimes found deficient in Carbon 14 to such an extent as to appear to have been dead as long as 3,000 years. This is due to carbonate-ion exchange in salt water in contact with old calcite and dolomite deposits. These mollusks are in an environment of old carbonates, and during their life cycle, they assimilate those carbonates that have no radiocarbon in them, rather than to be in steady state with the atmosphere. The reverse (dates that are too low) will also happen by involving carbonate-ion exchange in freshwater lakes which become high in alkalinity and thus tend to absorb carbon dioxide from the air to form new calcites and dolomites.”

Therefore, the only method being used to determine the age of the Neanderthals, the carbon fourteen dating, cannot be proved as being accurate. Accordingly, there exists no proof at all that the Neanderthals are older than 6,000 years.

My conclusion is that the Neanderthal was no animal. It is true that he probably was no representative of a culturally high-standing race; more likely the opposite is true in that he was a degenerated descendant of humanity, as a certain unnamed German anatomist had suspected when he wrote that the Neanderthal “may have been one of these wild men, half-crazed, half-idiotic, cruel and strong, who are always more or less to be found living on the outskirts of barbarous tribes.” But whatever the Neanderthals were, one thing is certain: They were distinctly human.

Even though this paper was written in 1982, and even though new discoveries of the Neanderthal Man were made, the premise and the substance of the paper are still very relevant and accurate today: God created modern man about 6,000 years ago, and the Neanderthal was a modern man. Science is wrong to assume that modern man—including the Neanderthal–is older than 6,000 years. Man did not evolve. Rather, he was instantaneously created by God. The concept of “human evolution” has been scientifically disproved. For more information, please read our free booklet, “The Theory of Evolution-a Fairy Tale for Adults”? 

Lead Writer: Norbert Link

We would like to once again express our gratitude to our listeners and viewers who contacted us to thank us for the StandingWatch programs. In addition, here are some more written comments we have received:

“I’ve watched your videos for sometime and have been a long time subscriber on YouTube and the only thing I dislike about the following, is that there isn’t enough.  I pray that you keep posting more and more videos. I would like to get a copy of both Germany in Prophecy and The Fall and Rise of Britain and America. If there are any additional copies that would help me spiritually grow and become closer to the one true God. I would love to have them.”

Comment from Germany (translation):

“I wish you and your church much strength and God’s blessing, and that you carry on, even though Satan is angry. I also appreciate that you continue to proclaim the Family of God and that we are to become God beings. That is not proclaimed by anyone else, except by your church. And I do see your biblical foundation, you do not just state something. We will win, and Satan will fail.”

Original German:

“Wünsche ihnen und ihrer Kirche viel Kraft und Gottes Segen, durchzuhalten, auch wenn Satan tobt.

“Ein Lob auch, dass sie das mit der Familie Gottes weiter verkünden und das wir Gottwesen werden sollen. Das verkündet nämlich niemand, außer ihrer Kirche. Und ich sehe ihre biblische Grundlage, sie reden nicht irgendwas daher.

“Wir werden siegen, und Satan wird versagen!”

From the UK:

“This is a message of encouragement for you to continue with your weekly `Standing Watch` programme. Your broadcasts are a valuable resource for those seeking to understand God`s word on a deeper level. It provides an unbiased view of the direction world events are taking us in and how we can prepare for the desperate times that lie in the not too distant future. What you have to say is often hard-hitting and unapologetic in manner, but in our present climate where people have become so dull of hearing, a person speaking up for what is right has to do so with a measure of authority. This is an area where you excel as a speaker and its something you must always use to the best possible effect in connection with your audience…”

We received several comments via the phone, including from North Carolina, Ohio and Quebec, Canada, expressing appreciation for our StandingWatch programs and pleading with us to continue. Some stated that they use the programs for Bible studies, that they pass the video programs on to others or that they encourage others to watch them.

“Raising Children in a Godless Age,” is a new StandingWatch Program, presented by Evangelist Norbert Link. Here is a summary:

In a remarkable article, Billy Graham explains why so many children grow up with a “Do as you please” philosophy, and as a result, they are “running wild.” He emphasizes the need for discipline and a good parental example, but liberal concepts and unbiblical actions of Child Protecting Services are not helping. A shocking video shows what happens when parents lie to their children and when children grow up without proper supervision and training. The Bible warns us that in this day and age, children will rule over their parents. We are offering our free booklet, “The Keys to Happy Marriages and Families.”

“Satan’s Anger and the Fall of America and the UK,” is another new StandingWatch Program, also presented by Evangelist Norbert Link. Here is a summary:

The leadership of America and the UK is being severely attacked by the German media. Bild asked President Obama to “pack his bags and leave.” Die Zeit wrote that Premier “Cameron’s panic damages Europe.” The US strategy in Iraq and Syria against ISIS is widely questioned, if not condemned. All of this points to the rapid downfall of America and Britain, as prophesied in the Bible. But many do not like to hear this warning and are trying to suppress the truth. Satan is indeed very angry, as he knows that he has just a very short time left. We are offering two free booklets on this program.

“Warum Verlässt Man Gottes Kirche?,” is the title of this week’s German sermon. In English, the title is, “Why People Leave God’s Church.”

“You Are Here,” is the tile of last week’s sermon, presented by Eric Rank and is now posted. Here is a summary:

The progression of a Christian’s calling is transformative. We begin a journey and take steps forward along the way. Whether our path leads us closer to God or further astray, we need to honestly evaluate where we are in our journey, make adjustments, and continue pressing on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

“Gods in Training,” a new TalkingPoints presentation by Pastor Rene Messier (2014 Feast of Tabernacles, Templin, Germany), is now posted.

by Cali Harris

A colleague I worked with more than eight years ago recently sent me an email and asked if I’d like to get coffee and catch up. I assumed he was simply interested in chatting about how our careers had progressed in the years we hadn’t seen each other.

When we sat down at the cafe, he revealed that he was looking to make a career transition. Although he enjoyed the work he did, he wanted to take on new challenges and stretch his skills. The reason he wanted to meet was not only to catch up, but to also ask me for advice on his career shift, as well as for introductions to other people who could help him. I was shocked! He is approximately 15 years my senior, has held high-level positions at the companies he has worked for, and is a talented individual. I couldn’t believe that he would come to me for advice.

It was certainly an honor to be a sounding board for his career ideas and to help him in any way I could. I can only guess that he reached out to me because he has followed my professional activities online and knew that I have a network of people who work in the field he wants to explore.

After our meeting, it struck me that helping people doesn’t happen on a one-way street. It might have been more predictable that I would have approached my more-experienced former colleague for his help in my career. Instead, he reached out to me for help. When he followed up via email to thank me for taking the time to meet, I had to reflect and consider what a great opportunity it is to be able to truly help someone—as others have so often helped me. 

On November 15, 2014, Eric Rank will give the sermon, titled, “You Are Here.”

The live services are available, over video and audio, at www.cognetservices.org (12:30 pm Pacific Time; 1:30 pm Mountain Time; 2:30 pm Central Time; 3:30 pm Eastern Time; 8:30 pm Greenwich Mean Time; 9:30 pm Central European Time). Just click on Connect to Live Stream.

We have heard it all before—we have read it all before—we are so familiar with it all—and then, when it happens, we are unprepared, astonished, dumbfounded and dismayed, and far too often, we react in just the wrong way.

I’m talking about Satan’s attacks and his evil devices, as well as our lack of discernment and closeness to God.

In the past, many fell for the Devil’s wrong teachings, which he brought into the Church of God through his human instruments. Unsuspecting and gullible Church “members” forsook the truth and followed errors. After all, how could those gifted and “friendly” ministers teach them anything wrong? So they listened to them and began to believe them—to their own hurt.

Others became upset about imagined or real offenses with their brethren. They did not realize that Satan was getting to them, and that God allowed this to see how strong they were to resist Satan and to stick to the truth and to the One who has all truth and inspires His TRUE servants to teach it in season and out of season. Many chose wrongly, left God’s true Church—the pillar and ground of the truth—and where are they today? Sadly, it is as if they had disappeared from the face of the earth.

Some few recognized the error of their way, repented and returned to the Body of Christ. When this happens, there is joy in heaven! Sadly, such right human conduct does not happen very often.

We can feel so righteous, so superior to others, so holy, just and good, that we can get offended if someone “less holy than us” makes mistakes or transgresses against us. Rather than repenting of our own sin of self-righteousness (which Herbert Armstrong described as the worst of all sins), tolerating and forgiving the other person’s weakness or shortcoming, we become indignant and think that we need to tell the whole world.

And when the “situation” is not “corrected” right away and in the manner in which we desire it, we leave God’s Church with anger and with a bad attitude. In all of this, we have been refusing to see the beam in our eye, while focusing solely on the imagined or real splinters in the eyes of our brethren. The terrible sin of self-righteousness and self-aggrandizement has won, and Satan delights in and celebrates his victory.

It is especially devastating and abominable when any one of us influences others to leave God’s Church with us. Certainly, everyone is responsible for his or her own decisions and ultimate fate, but woe unto anyone of us if we cause just one other person who believes in Christ to stumble. Christ said it would be better for us if a millstone were hung around our neck, and we were drowned in the depth of the sea!

Yes, offenses must come—it is impossible that they don’t—but they had better not come through us. Denying or justifying our bad influence on others (through what we say or what we do) will not save us in the Day of Judgment.

Sometimes people can get so frustrated with their lives and become so depressed that they face the real possibility of committing the unpardonable sin. They don’t seem to care enough to avoid this because they just want to be “freed” from their present distress. This very shortsighted approach is of course terribly dangerous and ungodly, and it is extremely foolish as well. 

When we leave God’s Church, we are cutting ourselves off from the vine—Jesus Christ, the Head of the Body. We will wither away and unless there is true godly repentance, we will ultimately be thrown into the fire to be burned up.

Thinking that we can solve or ignore our personal problems by just changing church organizations (even within the Body of Christ) is also useless and futile, because our problems will accompany us, no matter where we go. Unless we are willing to focus on, face and overcome OUR problems—not the problems of others—we are and will continue to be easy targets of Satan’s craftiness and deception.

We have heard the saying: “Never give up! Never surrender!” Far too many have done this. They have given in to Satan and his evil devices. Don’t you become one of his easy targets!

We begin with comments and reports pertaining to President Obama and American politics as well as America’s failing war against ISIS; continue with the UK’s ongoing troubles with the EU; address further developments regarding Russia and the Ukraine, the West and China; address the potential turmoil which Israel is facing within the next few months; discuss difficulties of the Evolution theory; and conclude with divisions within the Catholic Church and remarks from Pope Francis about true and false Christianity, which should also be applied to his church’s teachings, as well as the ongoing discussion whether or not Jesus was married and had children.

“Obama Should Pack His Bags and Leave”

The German mass tabloid Bild Online wrote on November 6:

“It would be best if [Obama] would pack his bags, leave the White House and move back to Chicago. What has gone so terribly wrong for the political Messiah? In one word: Everything! Obama did not make the world better, but he made it less American.

“Those who want to grasp dictatorial power are encouraged by his weakness. Those who want to live in freedom after the American example feel betrayed he wanted to be a good friend of the world, and he antagonized his most important allies from Berlin to Jerusalem. The only good news: The Obama tragedy will be over in 806 days. Too bad it is not over sooner.”

Obama–There Will Be No Troops on the Ground”—Except…

The Associated Press reported on November 7:

“A senior military official says that American military advisory teams will now go to Iraq’s western Anbar province where Islamic State militants have been gaining ground and slaying men, women and children. The teams are part of President Barack Obama’s new directive to expand the U.S. mission in Iraq by deploying another 1,500 U.S. troops to serve as advisers, trainers and security personnel. The official said it is likely that the bulk of the additional troops will be in Iraq by the end of the year. This would bring the total U.S. forces in Iraq to about 3,100, and would mark their first return to Anbar since the war ended.

“Obama is also asking Congress for more than $5 billion to help fund the fight. The White House says the troops won’t serve in a combat role, but will train, advise and assist Iraqi military and Kurdish forces fighting IS. White House press secretary Josh Earnest says Obama has also authorized the additional personnel to operate at Iraqi military facilities outside Baghdad and Erbil. Until now, U.S. troops have been operating a joint operation center setup with Iraqi forces there.”

Commentators expressed their fear that all of this might lead to another Vietnam with America again on the losing end. It was also criticized that there does not seem to exist any strategy and explanation of America’s clearly defined goals in Iraq and Syria; that everything is being decided ad hoc—on the spur of the moment; and that if Congress approves those measures, they bear the same culpability as the White House. Note also the next article.

America’s Mission in Iraq—Everything Going Wrong!

The Huffington Post wrote on November 11:

“In its early stages, I asked sarcastically, ‘What could possibly go wrong?’ As the mission enters its fourth month, the answer to that question is already grimly clear: just about everything. It may be time to ask, in all seriousness: What could possibly go right?…

“The latest American war was launched as a humanitarian mission. The goal of its first bombing runs was to save the Yazidis, a group few Americans had heard of until then, from genocide at the hands of the Islamic State (IS). Within weeks, however, a full-scale bombing campaign was underway against IS across Iraq and Syria with its own ‘coalition of the willing’ and 1,600 U.S. military personnel on the ground…

“The U.S. Department of State lists 60 participants in the coalition of nations behind the U.S. efforts against the Islamic State. Many of those countries (Somalia, Iceland, Croatia, and Taiwan, among them) have never been heard from again… There is no evidence that America’s Arab ‘allies’ like Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates, whose funding had long-helped extreme Syrian rebel groups, including IS, and whose early participation in a handful of air strikes was trumpeted as a triumph, are still flying.

“…in the end, the U.S. will either have to withdraw from Iraq yet again, or cede the western part of the country to IS, or place many, many boots on the ground…

“Al-Qaeda-linked fighters have just recently overrun key northern bastions previously controlled by U.S.-backed Syrian rebel groups and once again, as in Iraq, captured U.S. weapons have landed in the hands of extremists. Nothing has gone right for American hopes that moderate Syrian factions will provide significant aid in any imaginable future in the broader battle against IS…

“You don’t have to have a crystal ball to see the writing in the sand in Iraq and Syria. The military can already sense the coming failure that hangs like a miasma over Washington…”

We have said it many times before… America is not going to win this or any other war prior to Christ’s return.

One Curse After Another

Bloomberg News wrote on November 7:

“The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to consider a challenge to the subsidies that are a linchpin of President Barack Obama’s health-care overhaul, accepting a case that suddenly puts the law under a new legal cloud. Two years after upholding much of the law by a single vote, the justices today said they will hear a Republican-backed appeal targeting tax credits that have helped more than 4 million people afford insurance.

“A ruling blocking those credits might unravel the law, making other provisions ineffective and potentially destabilizing insurance markets in much of the country. The high court’s decision to hear the case comes days before the start of the law’s second open-enrollment season Nov. 15. A decision will come by June.

“The justices will consider an appeal filed by four Virginia residents seeking to block the subsidies in 36 states. The appeal says the Obama administration is engaging in a ‘gross distortion’ of the law’s wording by granting billions of dollars in tax credits to people in those states.

“A Supreme Court ruling against the administration would open a new period of uncertainty about the future of American health care. It would mean that more than half of the 7.3 million people who have bought Obamacare policies aren’t entitled to the subsidies they are receiving. The ripple effects might be even more dramatic. Without the tax credits, many of those people would find insurance so expensive that they would qualify for the law’s hardship exemption and no longer have to obtain a policy.

“That could raise coverage costs for insurers, forcing them to raise rates. Hospitals would be left to foot the bills for more uninsured patients.”

This is bad news either way. Obamacare is a curse for the American nation, but to repeal the tax credit provision would be an additional curse, as the astronomical rates of healthcare policies are already more than the average American can bear. To raise the rates even more would lead to the further destruction of the middle-class through America’s government and legal system.

No Discount–The UK Will Still Pay!

BBC News reported on November 7:

“George Osborne’s claim to have halved the UK’s £1.7bn EU budget surcharge has been challenged by his EU counterparts.

“The UK will pay two interest-free sums next year totalling £850m, instead of a larger lump sum by 1 December, after a rebate from Brussels due in 2016 appeared to have been brought forward. Mr Osborne argued the deal reached on Friday was a real result for Britain.

“But the Dutch finance minister said the UK would not get a discount. Shadow chancellor Ed Balls accused Mr Osborne of ‘spin’ and said it was ‘a diplomatic disaster for the government.’

“Under the initial plan, the UK was due to get a 1bn euros rebate in 2015-6 but it will be allowed to bring that forward to the second half of 2015 to reduce the surcharge. But its 2016 rebate will be 1bn euros smaller as a result.

“…foreign ministers questioned whether the UK’s contribution had changed. Ireland’s Finance Minister Michael Noonan said the UK would ‘pay the full amount’, and Hans Joerg Schelling, from Austria, said ‘the amount cannot be put in question’. Dutch finance minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem added: ‘The UK has … a rebate, which they have had for a very long time and of course this mechanism of rebate will also apply on the new contribution. So it’s not as if the British have been given a discount today.’

“And Eurosceptic Tory MEP Daniel Hannan suggested the deal achieved by the chancellor may not represent any reduction in the total amount. He said: ‘The EU sticks us with a bill. Ministers double it, apply the rebate, return to the original figure and claim victory. We’re meant to cheer? Britain is worse off in absolute terms, but a straw man has been knocked down.’

“UKIP leader Nigel Farage said Mr Osborne was ‘trying to spin his way out of disaster’, saying the UK was still going to pay the full £1.7bn.

“[Labour’s]  Mr Balls said: ‘By counting the rebate Britain was due anyway, they are desperately trying to claim that the backdated bill for £1.7bn has somehow been halved. But nobody will fall for this smoke and mirrors. The rebate was never in doubt and in fact was confirmed by the EU Budget Commissioner last month.’”

Die Zeit wrote on November 7:

“Cameron’s panic damages Europe. As Merkel became the strongest political in Europe, Cameron tries to make Merkel his strongest ally. But even as a closest ally, Markel cannot save the European skin of the British Premier.”

It reminds us of the Biblical prophecy—as a forerunner—that Ephraim (modern UK) will go to Assyria (modern Germany) for help, but Assyria cannot help them (compare Hosea 5:13)

Ukraine Under Attack?

Reuters reported on November 7:

“Ukraine’s military accused Russia on Friday of sending a column of 32 tanks and truckloads of troops into the country’s east to support pro-Russian separatists fighting government forces. A NATO military officer said on Friday the alliance had seen an increase in Russian troops and equipment along the border and was looking into reports of Russian tanks crossing into eastern Ukraine.”

Die Welt wrote on November 7:

“Moscow invades [east] Ukraine. Is the outbreak of war just a matter of time?”

America Russia’s Adversary?

The Financial Times wrote on November 10:

“According to Russian officials and security analysts, Moscow’s worst stand-off with the west since the end of the cold war has convinced Mr Putin’s government that it must moor its security interests to China because the Euro-Atlantic security architecture is broken beyond repair…

“Russian diplomats and analysts also said Moscow hoped to build the Shanghai Co-operation Organisation, founded by China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tadjikistan in 1996, into a more meaningful security alliance.

“In a speech last month that left western observers bewildered for its rabid anti-Americanism and its lack of proposals for a positive agenda, Mr Putin bemoaned what he described as the destruction of the mechanisms that used to govern international security affairs… He accused the US of creating a world order in which brute force could become the only means for resolving conflicts…

“Mr Putin is under no illusion that things will get any easier. The next US president is almost certain to be more hawkish towards Russia than Barack Obama…”

While Russia’s relationship with America and Europe is deteriorating, a strong alliance between Russia and China is being formed.

Israel Faces Tough Months

Reuters wrote on November 10:

“Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is trying to keep his fractious coalition together as talk of early elections grows, but in trying to bolster himself domestically he runs the risk of further alienating international partners.

“To satisfy restive far-right parties in his government, Netanyahu has promised more settlement on land the Palestinians seek for an independent state, greatly aggravating the United States and the European Union.

“And in an effort to keep ultra-nationalists sweet, he has not denounced their calls for Jewish prayer at Jerusalem’s holiest site, although he has said a decades-long ban on such prayer will not be changed.

“That cautious approach has harmed Israel’s ties with Jordan, which oversees the holy site – known to Muslims as Noble Sanctuary and Jews as Temple Mount – prompting Amman to withdraw its ambassador for the first time since a 1994 peace treaty.

“It has also fueled the worst violence Jerusalem has seen in a decade, with daily rioting in the mainly Arab east of the city and talk of a new Palestinian uprising. ‘From the outside, it’s hard to understand why he’s doing what he’s doing,’ says one European ambassador, expressing frustration at what he regards as Netanyahu’s stubbornness… That suggests the next half year could be a tumultuous period, with Netanyahu trying to keep his ever more demanding coalition partners onside, even if that means throwing them bones that alarm the Palestinians and international allies.

“The question is whether Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving prime minister since the first, David Ben-Gurion, can keep a handle on the growing unease his policy approach appears to be causing, or whether events might spiral out of control. With Sweden having last month become the first major Western country to recognize Palestine as an independent state, any miscalculation could provide other European countries with justifications to follow Sweden’s lead.

“And all the while, the Israeli prime minister is having to deal with a deepening security crisis as violence grows… And underpinning everything is the lack of any peace talks with the Palestinians. The last round broke off in April after months of largely fruitless sessions. Since then, relations between Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas have worsened markedly…

“It was only a few months ago that Netanyahu talked of a ‘new horizon’ in the Middle East, saying the threat from Islamic State meant that countries like Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Egypt shared an interest with Israel in defeating Islamist extremism. Now, however, with Jordan having withdrawn its ambassador and Egypt on edge about developments at the Noble Sanctuary, which contains al-Aqsa mosque and the Dome of the Rock, that new horizon is starting to look distant and cloudy.”

Evolution Backwards?

The Washington Post wrote on November 5:

“Researchers report that they’ve found the missing link between an ancient aquatic predator and its ancestors on land. Ichthyosaurs, the dolphin-like reptiles that lived in the sea during the time of the dinosaurs, evolved from terrestrial creatures that made their way back into the water over time. But the fossil record for the lineage has been spotty, without a clear link between land-based reptiles and the aquatic ichthyosaurs scientists know came after. Now, researchers report in Nature that they’ve found that link — an amphibious ancestor of the swimming ichthyosaurs named Cartorhynchus lenticarpus.

“Ocean-bound ichthyosaurs had very long snouts (leading to their frequent comparison to modern dolphins) that were made for capturing fish and squid. This new animal [Cartorhynchus lenticarpus] had a shorter snout — more like a land-based reptile. It also had large flippers and flexible wrists, which would have allowed it to flop around on land like a seal.

“One of the most important differences between this new ichthyosaur and its supposed descendants comes down to being big boned: When other vertebrates have evolved from land to sea living, they’ve gone through stages where they’re amphibious and heavy. Their thick bones probably allowed them to fight the power of strong coastal waves and stay grounded in shallow waters. Sure enough, this new fossil has much thicker bones than previously examined ichthyosaurs.

“The animal lived about 4 million years after the worst mass extinction in our planet’s history [It] was probably one of the first predators to appear after that extinction.”
 
Now, how did it appear? Out of thin air? In any event, this is another aspect of the incredibly juvenile fairy tale of the Evolution fantasy. According to that theory and the survival of the fittest idea, higher life forms developed from lower life forms—birds from reptiles, and mammals from fish and reptiles. Also, it is alleged that reptiles roaming the sea and the ocean evolved into a higher species of reptiles living on land.

But there has always been a problem with ocean-bound mammals, which the Evolution concept cannot explain. And now we are asked to believe that higher developed land-living reptiles “DE-volved” again into sea-living reptiles, turning the survival of the fittest concept on its head. Evolutionists, make up your minds! Please read our free booklet, “The Theory of Evolution—a Fairy Tale for Adults?”

Deep Divisions in the Catholic Church

The Washington Post wrote on November 10:

“Just a few years ago, former St. Louis Archbishop Raymond Leo Burke was riding high. A conservative leader in a conservative Catholic Church under a conservative pope, he seemed to fall into the Vatican’s favor after taking a few high-profile stands against the godless.

“The fights he picked always managed to make headlines. In 2004, the Wisconsin native said he would refuse to give pro-choice Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) communion. In 2007, he resigned from the board of a Catholic hospital after it invited Sheryl Crow, who is pro-choice, to play a benefit concert. And in 2009, he let the University of Notre Dame have it for giving President Obama an honorary degree.

“‘The proposed granting of an honorary doctorate at Notre Dame University to our president, who is so aggressively advancing an anti-life and anti-family agenda, is rightly the source of the greatest scandal,’ Burke said.

“The reward for this holy work? In 2008, Pope Benedict XVI made Burke head of the Vatican’s supreme court. In 2010, he made Burke a cardinal. 

“These were the good times. Then along came Francis — the freewheeling Argentine pope who loves gays, loves divorcees and hates income inequality. After a few high-profile disagreements with Burke, Francis made him patron of… a charity. The Associated Press called the office ‘largely ceremonial.’

“It was as if Chief Justice John Roberts had been sent to call balls and strikes at a little-league game. The Catholic News Service expounded upon the seriousness of Francis’s [demotion] of the 66-year-old cardinal:

“‘It is highly unusual for a pope to remove an official of Cardinal Burke’s stature and age without assigning him comparable responsibilities elsewhere…’

“‘Many have expressed their concerns to me,’ Burke said last week, as USA Today reported. ‘There is a strong sense that the church is like a ship without a rudder.’… For Francis, this seems to have been the last straw…  There are quite obviously deep divisions within the church. Archbishop Burke is one bishop who has chosen to confront them directly, as opposed to other bishops who may prefer to minimize them…”

“Pagan” Nominal Christians?

Breitbart wrote on November 7:

“Not all those who claim to be Christians really are, said Pope Francis Friday morning. Some are Christians ‘in name only,’ he said. ‘They bear the name of Christians but live a life of pagans.’

“In his homily at Mass, the Pope [said] that there have always been two types of Christian, those who truly followed Christ and those who only pretended to. At the time of Saint Paul, there were ‘worldly Christians, Christians in name only, with two or three Christian features, but nothing more.’ The Pope called this sort of people ‘Pagan Christians,’ whom St. Paul called ‘enemies of the cross of Christ.’

“‘In Paul’s time, the Pope said, the two groups of Christians ‘were in church together praised the Lord, and were called Christians.’ So what was the difference?, he asked. The second were ‘enemies of the cross of Christ.’

“The Pope went on to say that ‘even today there are many! We must be careful not to slip into the way of pagan Christians.’ These are the ones, he said, who are ‘pagans painted over with two brush strokes of Christianity, so they look like Christians, but are really pagans.’

“According to Francis, we all run the risk of becoming ‘Christians in appearance.’

“The Pope suggested that there are questions we can ask ourselves to know what sort of Christians we are. He said that all of us—the Pope included—need to ask ourselves: ‘How much worldliness is in me? How much paganism?’”.

These are good questions, but it is strange that they should be asked by the pope—the leader of the Roman Catholic Church. After all, it is the Roman Catholic Church which placed a Christian mantle over pagan concepts and worship practices.

For instance, the “Christian” celebrations of Sunday, Christmas and Easter are pagan to the core. They have NOTHING to do with the worship of Christ. In fact, God forbids us to worship Him in that way, saying that the pagans worshipped their sun and moon gods and goddesses on Sundays, Christmas and Easter, and that true Christians are NOT to worship the Father or Jesus Christ in that way or on those days.  For more information, please read our free booklet, “Don’t Keep Christmas.”

Was Jesus Married and Did He Have Children?

Beitbart reported on November 10:

“Did Jesus marry Mary Magdalene and have children? Although the Bible portrays Jesus as a single man, the idea that he may have had an earthly family continues to be a perennial favourite spawning numerous fictional works such as bestseller[s] The DaVinci Code and The Last Temptation of Christ, both of which were popular enough to be turned into Hollywood films.

“Now the authors of a new book, The Lost Gospel, claim to have uncovered real evidence that the marriage did indeed take place, and that Jesus had two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, the Daily Mail has reported.

“The book draws its conclusions from a text found in the British Library, where it has lain for 20 years after the British Museum moved it there. It was bought in 1847 from a dealer who claimed to have bought the manuscript, a Syriac text written on vellum, from the St Macarius Monastery in Egypt…

“The authors were easily able to decode the basic symbolism, but what the authors eventually discovered is as surprising as it ground-breaking: the confirmation of Jesus’ marriage to Mary Magdalene; the names of their two children; the towering presence of Mary Magdalene (who was a Gentile priestess), a serious plot on Jesus’ life in 19 C.E. prior to the crucifixion; an assassination plot against their children; Jesus’ connection to political figures at the highest level of the Roman Empire—Emperor Tiberius and his protégé Sejanus;  and a religious movement that antedates that of Paul—the Church of Mary Magdalene…

“But not everyone is convinced. Commenting on the publisher’s blurb, Mark Goodacre, Professor of New Testament and Christian Origins as Duke University said: ‘If there are some grounds for caution, one might see them in the idea that this work will provide ‘the confirmation of Jesus’ marriage to Mary Magdalene’. ‘Since there are no ancient sources that speak of Jesus’ marriage to Mary Magdalene, it is not clear at this stage how a newly discovered work could provide ‘confirmation’ of this. The note that she is a ‘Gentile priestess’ is curious and, one would have thought, makes it unlikely that the work goes back to the first century, so too the idea that they had two named children.’”

This whole concept is ridiculous. There have been many ancient manuscripts about Jesus, containing fairy tales and outright nonsense, which are in clear contradiction to the Holy Scriptures. Fabrications and forgeries already circulated at the time of Paul. We point out in our free booklet, “The Authority of the Bible,” that Peter, Paul and John canonized the Scriptures, and no mention is contained therein of any marriage between Jesus and Mary Magdalene, resulting in two sons, and that she was a Gentile priestess. On the other hand, the Bible does mention the marriage of the apostle Peter, his mother-in-law, and the fact that other apostles were married as well, and that their wives accompanied them on their travels, but no inkling of a wife is mentioned in regard to Christ.    

The following reproduces much of the first part of a research paper which Norbert Link wrote in 1982 while studying at Ambassador College in Pasadena, California. The relevance of the paper has not lost its impact, so we are bringing it to your attention at this point as a part of our ongoing series of articles on the creation of man and the pre-Adamic and post-Adamic world.

In 1856 the remains of a creature, later called “Homo Neanderthalensis”or the “Neanderthal Man,” were discovered in a cave in Western Germany. The remnants were carelessly dug up by two laborers so that many parts were lost. Only the skull and several parts of the skeleton were saved. Atonce a division arose in regard to the skull. Some scientists acknowledged it as modern and human and some thought it would belong to an unknown and primitive type of early man.

Even today, more than hundred years after this first discovery, the question still seems to be unanswered: Was the “Neanderthal” a human being as you and I or was he a primitive type of early man, not fully developed according to the evolution theory?

In order to answer this question, we have to recognize that scientific explanations in general may not be entirely correct. The Neanderthal is a good example which shows how interpretations of science can change.

The former belief of science was in many aspects different from what it is today. In the main two early discoveries of skeletons of the Neanderthal

Man led to the older scientific interpretations. The first find occurred – as mentioned above – in 1856. The surviving fragments were given to J.C.

Fuhlrott, founder of the Natural Science Society, who recognized a low skull with massive brows and bowed limbs, an ulna of the lower arm with an injury on it. He concluded that this skeleton was ‘antediluvian,’ that it was a fossil of a real man who had got washed into the cave by the Flood itself.

Professor Schaafhausen, however, anatomist at Bonn, who was asked to give his judgment next, stated that he was not sure at all that the skull was even ‘diluvial’; on the other hand, he felt that it must be older than such inhabitants of Europe as the Celts and the Germans. It is also interesting to note that Huxley, the great advocate of evolution, regarded the skeleton as one of modern man, as “Homo Sapiens.” Darwin kept silent. Only William King of Galway articulated his belief that the skeleton belonged to a primitive type of human and therefore named it “Homo Neanderthalensis.”

The next important discovery was made in 1908 in southern France. Three French priests had undertaken the excavation of a small cave near the village of La Chapelle-aux-Saints. Below the modern floor of the cave they found remains of a woolly rhinoceros, an extinct bison, a reindeer-and the skeleton of a Neanderthal-type man. The skeleton included the skull and most of the bones of the body. The remains of this skeleton were sent to the anatomist and paleontologist Marcellin Boule, director of the French Institute of Human Paleontology. He maintained that the body was that of an old man of the Neanderthal type and assigned its geological age to the Pleistocene period (120,000 – 10,000 B.C.). His memoir on this skeleton was published in 1908. In the main, he described it and with it the whole species of the Neanderthal Man as having massive brow ridges over the eyes and a puffing-out of the bone below the orbits, so that instead of a “canine fossa” there was a convexity. According to these examinations, the Neanderthal Man was viewed as a squat, stunted fellow about five feet one inch tall, or 155 cm. He was described as having a short, thick-set and coarsely built body and a shaggy covering of hair over most of the body.

However, since nearly thirty years [Note again: This article was written in 1982] we can find a changed scientific belief in the above-described appearance of the Neanderthals. This change started to take place in 1955, when William Strauss and A.J.E. Cave, professors of anatomy, re-examined the skeleton of La Chapelle-aux-Saints. They found that the forty-to fifty-year-old man was rotten with arthritis. The forward thrust of his head, noted by Professor Boule, was due to a wry neck, and the stunted stature and stooping posture were due to arthritic lesions in his vertebral column. Some scientists also realized that the great German pathologist Virchow had even stated in reference to the very first discovery of the Neanderthal Man in 1856 that this creature was a victim of disease and that he – Virchow – had upheld this conclusion for over thirty years.  At that time another important fact was brought back to mind, namely that the cranial capacity of that skull of La Chapelle-aux-Saints was very great, about 1,600 c.c., and that meant that the size of the Neanderthal’s brain was not less than that of modern man. Moreover, it was clearly asymmetric in the same way as that of modern man.

Since 1856, when the bones of the first Neanderthal Man were discovered, a very large number of remains of other creatures have been unearthed in caves of Europe, Asia and Africa. Among them are the Man of Spy, the Man of Krapina, the Man of Jersey, the La Guina Man, the Mousterian Man, the Peking Man, the Rhodesian Man and, of course, the Chapelle-aux-Saints Man. They all are classed together as the Neanderthal Man. Soon scientists realized that there was such variability in points of detail among the many known Neanderthal-type skulls that there was none that could be called “typical.” Therefore, many scientists believe today that the species had already divided up into a number of racial variants before the Neanderthal Man disappeared, comparable with the variants that can be seen in the races of living man today.  Some scientists go even further than that and state that the Neanderthal Man is no ancestor of the modern living man, but that he developed separately and independently of the modern man.

So, the scientific world today has no specific description of THE Neanderthal Man and it is not even sure that he was a forefather of modern man. However, most scientists profess that the Neanderthal was not a human being, although even this question is not kept without arguments. For example, Sir Arthur Keith, author of the book, “Antiquity of Man,” felt that the Neanderthal Man was certainly “not a dawn form of humanity.” And William Strauss and A.J.E. Cave wrote in their report about the fossil from La Chapelle-aux-Saints: “If he could be reincarnated and placed in a New York Subway – provided that he were bathed, shaved and dressed in modern clothing – it is doubtful whether he would attract any more attention than some of its other citizens.”

In recognition of this kind of confusion whether or not the Neanderthal man was a human being, we want to look very carefully at the archeological records discovered by scientists. Many scientists – and sometimes religious people as well – believe that the Neanderthals were no human beings. They feel that they are supported by some of the following discoveries.

The main argument for this belief refers to the primitive way in which Neanderthals lived. There is little doubt that they dwelled in caves which protected them from the cold during the cold seasons and that they hunted wild animals, either individually or collectively. When they had killed an animal, they used stones or stone tools to remove the skin and ate the meat raw or roasted over the fire, while they used the skin to cover their bodies and to sleep on. It is believed, too, that they ate carrion. But these facts do not prove by themselves that the Neanderthals were no human beings. Even today primitive tribes are known living in the same way the Neanderthals did-for example, the tribe of the Tasaday on the Philippine islands-and no scientist states that these people are not human.

Another argument why the Neanderthals are not considered as human beings is the assumption that their language capabilities were limited. Philip Lieberman and Edmund Crelin of Yale made a series of measurements of the skull of the fossil found at La Chapelle-aux-Saints. The measurements suggested that the Neanderthals lacked a modern pharynx and that they were unable to utter some vowel sounds or form some consonants. On the other hand, both scientists stated that Rhodesia Man, another creature of the Neanderthal race, had a slightly more modern pharynx. These controversial results do not prove that the Neanderthals were not human. First of all, do we know that the fossil from La Chapelle was representative for the whole race of the Neanderthals? As a matter of fact, this was not the case because the results were different in regard to the Rhodesia Man. Furthermore, these results prove that the Neanderthal Man could speak-and this is also true for the Chapelle-aux-Saints Man-although the vocabulary might have consisted of fewer consonants and vowel sounds. Therefore, limited language capabilities are also no proof for the assumption that Neanderthal Man was not human.

But there is still a third argument for this belief which is brought forth mainly by religiously-oriented people who state that the Bible mentions the Neanderthals as “nephilim” and distinguishes them herewith from the modern living man. In Genesis 6:4, the King James Version translates the Hebrew word “nephilim” with “giants” and reads: “There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came into the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.” It is considered that these “giants” were descendants from the ancient Neanderthal types, from “pre-Adamic races.”

According to this theory, the Neanderthals were creatures without the spirit in man, and that means without understanding; they were not fully conscious of their own self-existence as we are self-aware and conscious. In other words, without the spirit in man, the Neanderthals should have lived on the level with animals (1 Corinthians 2:11).

However, the following discoveries will prove that the Neanderthal lived beyond that level and, therefore, that he was a human being. 

This ends the first part of the research paper. We will reproduce the second part in the next Update, which will present proof as to why Neanderthal Man was indeed a modern human being or “homo sapiens,” and how this can be reconciled with science postulating that the Neanderthal Man was about 40,000 or at least 30,000 years old.

The interested reader is referred to two Q&A’s related to the subject. One Q&A addresses the question of the existence of “giants” in the past and perhaps today, and discusses the “nephilim” in Genesis 6:4. The second Q&A discusses the origin of the “nephilim” and answers the question whether angelic beings had intercourse with women and thereby produced giants.

At this point, we would also like to quote the following article from the Washington Post, dated June 19, 2014, which we cited in the Current

Events portion of our weekly Update #645, June 26, 2014:

“In a cave in northern Spain, a team of scientists has retrieved the remains of 28 prehistoric humans, members of an enigmatic species that could be described as a little bit Neanderthal. They had Neanderthal faces, with heavy brows and protruding noses. They had powerful mandibles and mouths that could open extremely wide, indicating that they used their teeth as gripping tools. But they didn’t have the large skulls or other robust skeletal features seen in the prototypical Neanderthals who, hundreds of millennia later, roamed Ice Age Europe. “The discovery does not dramatically change the general picture of human evolution, but it complicates it a bit, providing new evidence that there were many distinct, and largely isolated, human species existing simultaneously.

“[Scientists] think these proto-Neanderthals possessed the power of speech and lived in social groups. There are few human ancestors more intriguing than the Neanderthals, who could be described as the best example in the history of the planet of an intelligent species that has gone extinct. They had large craniums and larger brains than modern humans (although that doesn’t mean they were smarter). They existed as recently as about 30,000 years ago, when their kind disappears from the fossil record.

“How they died out, and why, and to what extent they may have interbred with anatomically modern humans is an ongoing source of debate and contentiousness among highly credentialed scientists. But as a species, the Neanderthal vanished. In their place came anatomically modern humans, who evolved in Africa and are the ancestors of everyone alive today.

“The Neanderthals, [one expert] said, ‘obviously were very intuitively smart. They were great toolmakers. They were ingenious. They were resourceful. They were living through difficult times.'”

How smart they were, and why they were indeed human beings, will be shown in the next installment.

(To Be Continued)

Lead Writer: Norbert Link 

A new member letter was written by Dave Harris. It will be sent out shortly. In the letter, Mr. Harris reminds us of the bad consequences of sin and disobedience, as well as the blessings for righteousness and obedience—collectively and individually. We will also enclose a copy of our new booklet, “When and How Will Christ Return?” 

We would like to thank all of our listeners and viewers who called in to thank us for the StandingWatch programs. In addition, here are some of the recent written comments we have received:

“Dear Evangelist Norbert Link and the Eternal Church of God. I live in the Philippines and I have just listened to your latest video about the Mid-term Elections. I listen to all of your videos and have downloaded many of them. For me personally, because I do not know what others believe or even think, Standing Watch is the best of the best. Please inform Evangelist Norbert Link.”

“It saddens me to realize how completely we have been hoodwinked. Your work is very much needed. It’s life changing & saving.”

“Dear friends at the Church of the Eternal God. Thank you for the internet simulcast of the Sabbath, and God’s annual Holy Days services. I really appreciate the time, effort and costs that it takes to prepare your sermon and sermonettes etc. and the set-up of TV cameras and sound equipment etc. Thanks again!”

“Zion—Vergangenheit, Gegenwart und Zukunft,” is the title of this week’s German sermon. The title in English is, “Zion—Past, Present and Future.”

“Appreciating Our Salvation,” the sermon presented by Robb Harris last Sabbath, in now posted. Here is a summary:

We have been given a wonderful opportunity to become members of God’s Family. That opportunity does not come without cost. Christ died to pave a way for our Salvation and we can show our appreciation by living as He lived—fulfilling God’s Will.

Sermons from Brian Gale and Rene Messier, which were given at the Feast in Germany, were posted on the British and Canadian Websites. They are:

Rene Messier, (Talking Points) “Rebuilding and Reclamation”.

Brian Gale (Global Trailer), “Do We Truly Realize What is Ahead?” and, “What We Can Look Forward To!”