Current Events

Utter US Failure in Afghanistan

Foreign Policy wrote on February 23:

“If observers had any doubts about the failure of the U.S. counterinsurgency strategy in Afghanistan, the past several days should have put them to rest. Since Feb. 21, anti-U.S. protests have erupted in virtually every major Afghan city over the revelation that American personnel had burned Qurans at Bagram Airfield, the largest U.S. installation in the country. The demonstrations have at times turned violent… This wave of protest is just the latest example of how the United States has botched its attempt to win ‘hearts and minds’ in Afghanistan…

“But that’s not the message you would hear from U.S. officials… public statements made from podiums in Washington and Kabul bear little resemblance to the reality of the Afghan war… the U.S. military leadership’s glowing descriptions of progress against the Taliban insurgency did not jibe with the accounts of American soldiers on the front lines of the war… U.S. officials have so thoroughly misinformed the American public ‘that the truth has become unrecognizable’ and ‘deception [has] reach[ed] an intolerable low’ [according to inside reports of Lt. Col. Daniel L. Davis]…

“U.S. officials work to spin a failing war as a success story…  As Davis wrote, Gen. David Petraeus’s testimony to the Senate Armed Forces Committee on March 15, 2011, is a textbook example of how the military misled the U.S. public… American troops are also increasingly cynical about the mission to prop up the profoundly corrupt Afghan government. Working day in and day out with Afghan officials whom they knew often funneled American taxpayer dollars to the Taliban, U.S. soldiers and civilian officials were guaranteed to experience cognitive dissonance…”

WorldNetDaily wrote on February 29:

“In a development that could chill the dedication of every soldier in the field, the U.S. government has refused to deny reports by the government of Afghanistan that NATO has agreed to have the soldiers who burned copies of the Quran face trial…

“It appears that the soldiers may not have violated Islamic law at all by their burning of the Qurans. In a PBS interview, Imam Jihad Turk, director of religious affairs at the Islamic Center of Southern California, said it was acceptable to burn the Quran if it was in a state of ‘disrepair.’ ‘When Muslims want to respectfully dispose of a text of the Quran that is no longer usable, we will burn it…’”

To please fanatical fundamentalist Afghans who have murdered American soldiers in “retaliation,” by now turning some US soldiers over to the Afghan government for trial would be an absolute outcry and constitute total derogation and dereliction of US authority.

The USA Is in DEEP Financial Trouble – Per Capita Government Debt Worse Than Greece

The Weekly Standard wrote on February 23:

“The office of Senator Jeff Sessions, ranking member on the Senate Budget Committee, sends along [a] chart, showing that ‘America’s Per Capita Government Debt [Is] Worse Than Greece,’ as well as Ireland, Italy, France, Portugal, and Spain…”

Sky-Rocketing Personal Debts

The New York Post wrote on February 26:

“More American households are falling back into the debt hole, this time without the safety net of home values to help bail them out… Last year, total US consumer debt reached its highest point in a decade… In December 2011, the total consumer debt… rose by some 9.3 percent to $2.498 trillion… These numbers… mean that many middle-class Americans are taking big risks. In a weak economy with high unemployment… many people with big card balances become vulnerable to financial catastrophe.”

Terrible Prospects of Rising Gas Prices

Reuters reported on February 26:

“A jump in energy prices is jamming the slow-turning cogs of an economic recovery in the West, but that may be nothing compared to the economic shock an Israeli attack on Iran would cause.

“Oil rose to a 10-month high above $125 a barrel Friday, prompting responses from policymakers around the world including U.S. President Barack Obama, watching U.S. gasoline prices follow crude to push toward $4 a gallon in an election year.”

More Bad News—Now Rising Water Bills

The Examiner wrote on February 27:

“First high gas prices, now water. A shocking new report about the nation’s crumbling drinking water system says that Americans should expect their bills to double or triple to cover repairs just to keep their faucets pouring. That means adding up to $900 a year more for water, nearly equal the amount of the newly extended payroll tax cut… Families can expect to pay at least $300-$550 more for water in taxes and fees just to keep their current systems operating. Add growth and improved systems, and that bill jumps to $900 for a family of three… Currently, Americans pay about $400 a month in water taxes and fees…”

Economist Warns—Recession Unavoidable

CNN wrote on February 24:

“While most economists have stopped worrying that the U.S. will fall into a double-dip recession, one influential economist maintains his position that the nation won’t be able to avoid a new downturn. Lakshman Achuthan, co-founder of the Economic Cycle Research Institute, said on Friday that his research firm is sticking with the forecast it made in September: A new recession is inevitable…

“ECRI is one of the more widely respected firms on economic recessions, as it has never been wrong when forecasting that a recession would start, or failed to predict a recession well before it was widely accepted. Achuthan predicts the recession will happen even without a new shock to the economy, such as a spike in oil and gas prices… If those things occur, he says they will simply make an inevitable recession more painful. In fact, Achuthan said data gathered since his September forecast only confirms his view that economic growth has slowed to such a degree that a downturn is now unavoidable, likely by late summer…

“Achuthan’s views are not widely accepted… But more than 50 years of economic data followed by his firm has shown him that when underlying growth slows to this degree, a recession always follows.”

More “Doomsayers” Give Grim Warnings of Coming Crash

USA Today wrote on February 27:

“Behind the mainstream Wall Street happy talk about more stable financial markets and an improving economy are grim warnings of tough times ahead from a small cadre of doomsayers who warn that the worst of the financial crisis is still to come. Harry Dent, author of the new book The Great Crash Ahead, says another stock market crash is coming due to a bad ending to the global debt bubble… [a] crash is coming in 2013 or 2014, he warns. ‘This will be a repeat of 2008-09, only bigger, when it finally hits…’

“Gerald Celente, a trend forecaster at the Trends Research Institute, says Americans should brace themselves for an ‘economic 9/11’ due to policymakers’ inability to solve the world’s financial and economic woes. The coming meltdown, he predicts, will lead to growing social unrest and anti-government sentiment, a U.S. dollar with far less purchasing power and more people out of work. Celente won’t rule out another financial panic that could spark enough fear to cause a run on the nation’s banks by depositors. That risk could cause the government to invoke ‘economic martial law’ and call a ‘bank holiday’ and close banks as it did during the Great Depression…

“Robert Prechter, author of Conquer the Crash, first published in 2002 and updated in 2009, is still bearish. He says today’s economy has similarities to the Great Depression and warns that 1930s-style deflation is still poised to cause financial havoc. Prechter predicts that the major U.S. stock indexes, such as the Dow Jones industrials and Standard & Poor’s 500, will plunge below their bear market lows hit in March 2009 during the last financial crisis. The brief recovery will fail as it did in the 1930s, he says. If he’s right, stocks would lose more than half of their value. These dire forecasts differ sharply with the brighter outlooks being espoused by the bulls, or optimists, on Wall Street. Recent stock performance and fresh readings on the economy also suggest a future that is less gloomy than the doomsayers predict.”

Sadly, as the Bible clearly shows, the “bulls” or optimists on Wall Street are wrong, and the “doomsayers” are correct. But as the next articles show, Britain is facing equally tough times.

British Government Out of Money

The Telegraph reported on February 27:

“In a stark warning ahead of next month’s Budget, the [British] Chancellor said there was little the Coalition could do to stimulate the economy. Mr Osborne made it clear that due to the [perilous] state of the public finances the best hope for economic growth was to encourage businesses to flourish and hire more workers. ‘The British Government has run out of money because all the money was spent in the good years,’ the Chancellor said. ‘The money and the investment and the jobs need to come from the private sector.’”

New Virus Threatens Survival of Many British Farms

The Telegraph reported on February 27:

“Thousands of lambs have been killed by a new virus that is threatening the survival of many British farms. The Schmallenberg virus causes lambs to be born dead or with serious deformities such as fused limbs and twisted necks, which mean they cannot survive. Scientists are urgently trying to find out how the disease, which also affects cattle, spreads and how to fight it, as the number of farms affected increases by the day.  So far, 74 farms across southern and eastern England have been hit by the virus, which arrived in this country in January. A thousand farms in Europe have reported cases since the first signs of the virus were seen in the German town of Schmallenberg last summer.

“The National Farmers Union has called it a potential ‘catastrophe’ and warned farmers to be vigilant. ‘This is a ticking time bomb,’ said Alastair Mackintosh, of the NFU… Infected ewes do not show any symptoms of the virus until they give birth, with horrific results…

“Farmers fear the disease may spread to larger flocks in the north of England, Wales and Scotland. In Europe, Germany, Holland and France have suffered worst, while recent cases have been reported in Italy and Luxembourg… There are also fears that the virus may be seen later this year among cows, which have a longer gestation period… there is no vaccine, and Defra says a ban on imports would not work, because the disease ‘is already here’…

“The AHVLA identifies Schmallenberg as one of a group of viruses ‘typically primarily spread by biting insect vectors, such as midges and mosquitoes, although the routes of Schmallenberg virus transmission have not yet been confirmed. The potential for direct transmission (ie direct from one animal to another) is therefore, as yet, unknown.’”

The economic problems should not be underestimated, either. The Telegraph wrote:

“On the Continent, some farms have lost half of their lambs. So far the worst hit in Britain have lost 20 per cent… Approximately 16 million lambs are born in Britain every year and sell at market for about £100 each. The effect of the disease on farms that are already struggling in the downturn could be severe.

“‘For any business to lose 20 per cent of your stock would be a huge blow… For a farmer to lose 20 per cent of your flock is catastrophic. If it was 50 per cent you would be put out of action…’ [said Alastair Mackintosh, of the National Farmers Union].”

German Parliament Approves Greek Bailout Against the Will of the People

BBC News reported on February 27:

“German MPs have voted by 496 to 90 to back the second EU/IMF bailout for Greece. Chancellor Angela Merkel had urged them to back the deal, while conceding there was ‘no 100% guarantee’ it would work… Germany will have to pay more than any other country for the 130bn euro ($173bn; £110bn) package, agreed by eurozone states last week. Although the Bundestag (lower house) had the power to block the bailout, it was always expected to go through because of the support of two opposition parties, the Social Democrats (SPD) and Greens…

“Under the front-page headline ‘Stop’, Germany’s mass circulation Bild newspaper made a direct appeal to parliament: ‘Don’t keep on going the wrong way.’ An opinion poll for Bild’s Sunday edition suggested that 62% of those surveyed wanted MPs to vote against the package… Mrs Merkel told the Bundestag that she was aware that people were concerned that Greece was a ‘hopeless case’ and that the eurozone would be better off without it. But she had come to the conclusion that ‘the opportunities of this new package outweighed the risks. No-one can predict what the repercussions of a disorderly default would be for all of us and also for the people of Germany.’”

Bild wrote on February 27:

“Against its better judgment, Europe is pouring money into a bottomless barrel. Europe can only master this crisis if it does what most experts have long been demanding. The Greek economy can only become competitive and resume growth with its own currency — not with the strong euro. Continuing with the old recipes won’t work. That is why today’s parliamentary vote [is] bad for Greece, bad for Germany and bad for Europe.”

The Berliner Zeitung wrote on February 27:

“Let’s remain realistic. Greece won’t manage to get back on its feet even with the second bailout package. The planned debt cut won’t be enough, the reforms aren’t getting underway and the country is breaking down under the weight of the austerity programs… A Greek exit from the euro zone would not end the EU’s solidarity with Greece. That’s because Greece could still count on help from its EU partners. The rescue could end up being cheaper and — far more importantly — less painful for the Greeks.”

Der Spiegel Online added on February 27:

“In a slight setback for Angela Merkel, the chancellor failed to secure an absolute majority within her own government coalition. A total of 304 members of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), its Bavarian sister party the Christian Social Union (CSU) and the Free Democratic Party (FDP) voted in favor of the bailout, but 311 were required for a majority. Within the CDU/CSU bloc, 13 politicians rejected the bailout, with four members of the FDP joining them to oppose it. Ultimately, Merkel had to rely on opposition support.”

One must ask how long the German Parliament and Government can proceed as they do in light of growing opposition from the people. And as the next article shows, the criticism and verbal attacks on the “German villain” will not convince many Germans that continuing to help those ungrateful countries is the best course of action.

Germany—The New Villain

Der Spiegel Online wrote on February 27:

“The German parliament… approve[d] a new multibillion euro bailout package for Greece on Monday, but instead of thanks, southern Europeans are expressing their dislike of us. Germans will have to get used to their new role: We have become the Americans of Europe…

“Sentiment towards the Germans isn’t very good… right now. Hardly a day goes by without Chancellor Angela Merkel being depicted in a Nazi uniform somewhere. Swastikas are a common sight as well. It doesn’t seem to help at all that we faithfully approve one aid package after the other… A good deal of the €130 billion [which were] approved by the German parliament on Monday will never be seen again. But if you read the editorial pages of newspapers in the crisis regions, for whom this money is intended, you would be led to believe that we are out to achieve what our grandfathers failed to do 70 years ago…

“It won’t be long before they start burning German flags. But wait, they’re already doing that. Previously we had only known that from Arab countries, where the youth would take every opportunity to run through the streets to rage against that great Satan, the USA. But that’s how things go when others consider a country to be too successful, too self-confident and too strong. We’ve now become the Americans of Europe. The role reversal won’t be an easy one either — it is already safe to say that today. We Germans are accustomed to having people admire us for our efficiency and industriousness — and not to hate us for it.

“But before we complain too much about all this ingratitude, we should remind ourselves that we ourselves spent years passing the buck. As long as the global villain was America, the Germans joined in when it came to feeling good at the expense of others. The Americans also had every reason to expect a little more gratitude — after all, it was their soldiers who had to intervene when a dictator somewhere lived out his bloody fantasies while the international community stood by wringing its hands.

“People came to secretly rely on the USA as a global cop in the same way that Germany’s neighbors are now expecting the Germans to save the euro. Unfortunately, however, the feeling of inferiority can be just as vicious as that of superiority. Of course, one can try to make oneself seem smaller than one really is. But this self-denial doesn’t work. The Americans weren’t much more popular under Jimmy Carter than they were under Ronald Reagan… Obama’s election also didn’t do a whole lot to help the US’ image in the longer term. A giant can’t conceal his size for long… We will probably just have to get used to the fact that, for a time, Germany won’t be very popular in some countries in Europe…”

It is interesting that Germany is now described negatively as the “America of Europe”—showing the deep and ongoing antagonism of many Europeans towards America. These feelings are neither grateful nor justified.

“The Evil Spirits of the Past… Can Always Return”

Der Spiegel Online wrote on February 28:

“Former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, one of the architects of the European single currency, has stepped into the German debate about the wisdom of providing Greece with further aid. On Tuesday, he urged Germany to stay committed to European unity, which he said remained a matter of war and peace, even 67 years after the end of World War II… Kohl repeated his mantra that the euro was about nothing less than preventing war…

“‘The evil spirits of the past have by no means been banished, they can always return. That means: Europe remains a question of war and peace and the desire for peace remains the driving force behind European integration,’ wrote Kohl… ‘Europe is our future,’ Kohl wrote. ‘There is no alternative to Europe. We have every reason to be optimistic that our Europe will emerge strengthened from this current crisis — if we want it to. Let us not be misled.’”

Germany the Unquestioned Boss of Europe

The Los Angeles Times wrote on February 27:

“For nearly 70 years, Germany’s grand national ambition has basically been not to have one. After losing two world wars and carrying out a horrific genocide, the country set to working its way back into the European fold, content to focus on rebuilding its shattered economy while dutifully leaving continental leadership to the likes of France. The plan has been a roaring success — so much so that, in one of history’s great ironies, Germany today finds itself right back where it wasn’t supposed to be: dominating Europe.

“As the region’s richest, most populous nation, with control over purse strings rather than panzers, Germany is the unquestioned boss amid Europe’s stubborn debt crisis and deepening economic malaise… Potentially the fate of the global economy now lies in Germany’s hands as it heads the effort to keep heavily indebted Greece (where people mutter about a ‘Fourth Reich’) from going under and pulling down other Eurozone countries with it. On Monday, Chancellor Angela Merkel successfully steered approval for a $175-billion Greek bailout through the German Parliament, a deeply divisive measure for German taxpayers who will foot more than half the bill.

“Even so, President Obama and other world leaders are urging Germany to contribute even more to a permanent European bailout fund that might stanch the debt crisis…

“The leadership role thrust onto Germany is turning out to be a minefield in many ways, complicated by the nation’s past. Berlin is caught in a classic damned-if-you-do, damned-if-you-don’t position, its every move fodder for critics eager to spot signs either of Teutonic belligerence or a failure to exercise power responsibly… The plan that Europe is pursuing to save the euro currency bears an unmistakably German stamp… Despite the growing chorus of detractors and indicators showing that austerity is strangling economic growth in ailing nations, Merkel has refused to yield, and no fellow European leader has been strong enough to overrule her.

“‘She’s the queen of Europe,’ said Josef Joffe, editor of the newspaper Die Zeit. Gone are the days when Germany was considered an economic giant but a political dwarf, as the cliche had it, Joffe said. ‘In an age where economic power suddenly moves to the fore, as it has in the last 18 months, the economic giant also becomes a political giant.’”

Coming–New War in the Middle East…

Fox News wrote on February 25:

“An Israeli pre-emptive attack on Iran’s nuclear sites could draw the U.S. into a new Middle East conflict, a prospect dreaded by a war-weary Pentagon wary of new entanglements. That could mean pressing into service the top tier of American firepower — warplanes, warships, special operations forces and possibly airborne infantry — with unpredictable outcomes in one of the world’s most volatile regions.”

The Guardian wrote on February 25:

“Iran has warned Israel against mounting an attack on its nuclear facilities amid rising international tension over its uranium enrichment programme. General Ahmad Vahidi issued a statement warning Israel that an attack would lead to the collapse of the Jewish state.”

The Economist wrote on February 25:

“The crisis has been a long time coming… Israel has nuclear weapons itself, including submarine-based weapons that could posthumously annihilate any aggressor who destroyed the country. But this deterrent is not enough to stop Israelis from seeing a nuclear Iran as the precursor to a second holocaust. The problem is that military action will not necessarily bring about what Israel wants—and could, in the medium to long term, make matters worse…

“Then there is the American presidential election. Like the Bush administration before it, Barack Obama’s White House sees Iran’s nuclear ambitions as a huge concern. But it worries that the consequences of an attack on Iran, whether by Israel or America, are unpredictable and scary: oil prices would rocket—at least for a while—endangering the economic recovery; allies in the Gulf already shaken by the Arab spring could be further destabilised; jihadist terrorism could be re-energised…

“But the election may give Binyamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, something to bargain with. In the face of a hawkish Republican rival and in front of an electorate that is in parts fiercely pro-Israel, Mr Obama may feel he has to welcome, or even build on, an Israeli fait accompli in a way he would not have done earlier…”

It is so sad that the American election should have any influence on a decision whether or not to go to war—but sadly, in this politically motivated climate, the question of right or wrong far too often escapes the decision-making process. In fact, A-7 News reported on March 1, 2012 that “U.S. military officials say that America is preparing a plan to strike Iranian nuclear targets in the event that sanctions fail to persuade Tehran to halt its hurtle towards atomic development.”

Israel Won’t Inform USA Ahead of Military Action Against Iran

The Associated Press reported on February 27:

“Israeli officials said that if they eventually decide a strike is necessary, they would keep the Americans in the dark to decrease the likelihood that the United States would be held responsible for failing to stop Israel’s potential attack… But the apparent decision to keep the United States in the dark also stems from Israel’s frustration with the White House… they became convinced the Americans would neither take military action, nor go along with unilateral action by Israel against Iran. The Israelis concluded they would have to conduct a strike unilaterally…”

Clashes at the Temple Mount

The Jerusalem Post wrote on February 24:

“A Palestinian protester died after being shot in the chest at the Kalandia checkpoint near Jerusalem as clashes with police beginning at the Temple Mount spread through the area… Security forces used force to disperse hundreds of Muslim worshipers at the Temple Mount on Friday who rioted and threw stones following a tense week in the Old City… A number of youth barricaded themselves inside the mosque during the rioting, and dozens of police who responded to the incident used stun grenades and other riot control methods to disperse the crowd…

“A website called ‘Our Temple Mount’ has publicized a number of events at the Temple Mount encouraging religious Jews to go up to the site in order to exercise Jewish sovereignty over the religious area. The site advocates for destroying any Muslim buildings in order to rebuild the Third Temple…

“On Sunday, a group of approximately 50 Arabs threw stones at Christian tourists and police patrols, prompted by reports in the Jordanian press of more attempts by right-wing activists to ascend to the Temple Mount. Police arrested 24 people during the day on Sunday in connection with the stone throwing…”

Fundamental radicals, including Arabs and Israelis and even some “Christian” organizations, are playing with fire which could ignite the entire region.

North Korea—Cautious Optimism?

Deutsche Welle reported on March 1:

“The sudden agreement between the US and North Korea over its nuclear program was a positive surprise to many, but the reaction in Washington is still cautious… With the new bilateral agreement, North Korea has agreed to stop nuclear testing, stop building long-range missiles and stop enriching uranium, and has promised to allow inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to visit its Yongbyon nuclear research center… The US has taken care to say that the 240,000 tons of humanitarian aid being shipped to North Korea is not a reward for its statement on the nuclear program… few people believe that North Korea really will give up its nuclear ambitions.”

“How Do You Clean Up After a Nuclear Disaster?”

PBS reported on February 28:

“The events last March in Japan couldn’t have presented Japan with a more difficult task. After record-setting earthquake, a massive tsunami and a nuclear disaster comparable in scale only to the 1986 Chernobyl meltdown, how do you wrap your head around making once-vibrant villages habitable again? Where do you even begin?… Currently, there’s a 20 km (12 mile) exclusion zone around Fukushima Daiichi. No one is allowed to live inside it, and workers are bused in at all hours of the day and night to work at the plant. The goal is for the 80,000 or so residents forced to evacuate to eventually be able to return.

“Decontamination has never been done on such a large scale before. The only other nuclear accident to be rated a 7, the highest on the international scale, was Chernobyl in 1986 in Ukraine. In that case, the decision was made to evacuate the area — about 20 miles surrounding the plant — permanently. A protective sarcophagus was built around the plant, which is currently being updated because the original is crumbling…

“First you have to stabilize the nuclear reactors while limiting the release of radioactive materials. In part this requires keeping the nuclear fuel cool, until temperatures in the reactors reach 100 degrees Celsius or below — a point known as ‘cold shutdown.’ Three reactors at Fukushima Daiichi reached this mark last December, though because of leaks, a half-million liters of water is still being pumped in each day.

“Because of the initial flooding after the tsunami, and the gallons and gallons of water injected into the reactors, there was — and likely still is — radioactive water in the reactors. A lot of it…

 “Even if Japan’s nuclear crisis is contained, its earthquake and tsunami now seem certain to be, economically speaking, among the worst national disasters in history… [an] estimate right after the disaster placed the cost closer to 25 trillion yen, or $300 billion — four times the cost of cleaning up after Hurricane Katrina. In addition, containing and cleaning any radioactive material could cost $10 billion alone…

“Removing fuel that has melted in the Fukushima Daichii reactors will likely take 25 years. Decommissioning the plant will add another five to 10 years to this process… Japan’s government is currently working to establish long-term storage facilities, which will last about 30 years, but it estimates that their construction will take at least three more years…”

This article is astounding! The amount of time and the cost for this clean-up are staggering. It gives us a glimpse as to the momentous task ahead of us, after Christ has returned, to deal with the nuclear devastation which this world will have brought upon itself.

“Yoga Began as a Sex Cult”

The New York Times wrote on February 27:

“The wholesome image of yoga took a hit in the past few weeks as a rising star of the discipline came tumbling back to earth. After accusations of sexual impropriety with female students, John Friend, the founder of Anusara, one of the world’s fastest-growing styles, told followers that he was stepping down for an indefinite period of ‘self-reflection, therapy and personal retreat’…  this is hardly the first time that yoga’s enlightened facade has been cracked by sexual scandal. Why does yoga produce so many philanderers? And why do the resulting uproars leave so many people shocked and distraught?

“One factor is ignorance. Yoga teachers and how-to books seldom mention that the discipline began as a sex cult — an omission that leaves many practitioners open to libidinal surprise. Hatha yoga — the parent of the styles now practiced around the globe — began as a branch of Tantra. In medieval India, Tantra devotees sought to fuse the male and female aspects of the cosmos into a blissful state of consciousness.

“The rites of Tantric cults, while often steeped in symbolism, could also include group and individual sex… Candidates for worship included actresses and prostitutes, as well as the sisters of practitioners. Hatha originated as a way to speed the Tantric agenda. It used poses, deep breathing and stimulating acts — including intercourse — to hasten rapturous bliss. In time, Tantra and Hatha developed bad reputations. The main charge was that practitioners indulged in sexual debauchery under the pretext of spirituality.

“Early in the 20th century, the founders of modern yoga worked hard to remove the Tantric stain… modern practitioners have embraced a whitewashed simulacrum of Hatha. But over the decades, many have discovered from personal experience that the practice can fan the sexual flames…Since the baby boomers discovered yoga, the arousal, sweating, heavy breathing and states of undress that characterize yoga classes have led to predictable results. In 1995, sex between students and teachers became so prevalent that the California Yoga Teachers Association deplored it as immoral and called for high standards…

“If yoga can arouse everyday practitioners, it apparently has similar, if not greater, effects on gurus — often charming extroverts in excellent physical condition, some enthusiastic for veneration…

“Swami Muktananda (1908-82) was an Indian man of great charisma who favored dark glasses and gaudy robes. At the height of his fame, around 1980, he attracted many thousands of devotees — including movie stars and political celebrities — and succeeded in setting up a network of hundreds of ashrams and meditation centers around the globe. He kept his main shrines in California and New York. In late 1981, when a senior aide charged that the venerated yogi was in fact a serial philanderer and sexual hypocrite who used threats of violence to hide his duplicity, Mr. Muktananda defended himself as a persecuted saint, and soon died of heart failure…

“Another case involved Swami Rama (1925-96), a tall man with a strikingly handsome face. In 1994, one of his victims filed a lawsuit charging that he had initiated abuse at his Pennsylvania ashram when she was 19. In 1997, shortly after his death, a jury awarded the woman nearly $2 million in compensatory and punitive damages.

“So, too, former devotees at Kripalu, a Berkshires ashram, won more than $2.5 million after its longtime guru — a man who gave impassioned talks on the spiritual value of chastity — confessed to multiple affairs…”

The article speaks for itself…

Homeschooling in Canada Must Not Tell It as It Is

LifeSiteNews reported on February 28:

“Homeschooling families will soon be forbidden from teaching that homosexual sex is sinful as part of their schooling program, according to the government of Alberta, Canada. Under the province’s Education Act, homeschoolers and religious schools will be banned from ‘disrespecting’ people’s differences…  ‘Whatever the nature of schooling – homeschool, private school, Catholic school – we do not tolerate disrespect for differences,’ said Donna McColl, Lukaszuk’s assistant director of communications. ‘You can affirm the family’s ideology in your family life, you just can’t do it as part of your educational study and instruction.’

“…when McColl was asked… to explain the distinction between homeschoolers’ education and their family life, she replied that the question involved ‘real nuances’ and said she would need to get back to reporter with specifics… In 2009, the Alberta Human Rights Act was amended to classify marriage as an institution between two ‘persons,’ rather than a man and a woman.”

Google In Breach of EU Privacy Laws?

BBC News reported on March 1:

“Changes made by Google to its privacy policy are in breach of European law, the EU’s justice commissioner has said… The policy change, implemented on Thursday, means private data collected by one Google service can be shared with its other platforms including YouTube, Gmail and Blogger…

“Google… went ahead with the changes despite warnings from the EU earlier this week. Data regulators in France had cast doubt on the legality of the move and launched a Europe-wide investigation. More than 60 sets of guidelines for its individual Google-owned sites were merged into a single policy for all of its services. It means browsing data and web history, which is gathered when a user is signed in with a Google account, can be shared across all of the websites…”

Dawkins and Williams Terribly Wrong

The Telegraph wrote on February 24:

“Richard Dawkins… is regarded as the most famous atheist in the world but last night [he] admitted he could not be sure that God does not exist. He told the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, that he preferred to call himself an agnostic rather than an atheist… For an hour and 20 minutes the two men… discussed ‘The nature of human beings and the question of their ultimate origin’ touching on the meaning of consciousness, the evolution…

“Prof Dawkins told him: ‘What I can’t understand is why you can’t see the extraordinary beauty of the idea that life started from nothing – that is such a staggering, elegant, beautiful thing, why would you want to clutter it up with something so messy as a God?’ Dr Williams replied that he ‘entirely agreed’ with the ‘beauty’ of Prof Dawkins’s argument but added: ‘I’m not talking about God as an extra who you shoehorn on to that’…

“During a wide-ranging discussion the Archbishop also said that he believed that human beings had evolved from non-human ancestors but were nevertheless ‘in the image of God’. He also said that the explanation for the creation of the world in the Book of Genesis could not be taken literally. ‘The writers of the Bible, inspired as I believe they were, they were nonetheless not inspired to do 21st Century physics,’ he said.”

That the leader of the Anglican Church should deny the Genesis account and accept instead the false teaching of the evolution theory shows once more the terrible state of affairs of our “Christian” world, which is rejecting the Word of God so that it can uphold its own traditions. But neither Atheists and Agnostics, nor “Christian” leaders seem to understand that their denial of God’s Word is at least partially responsible for the lack of standards and morals with which we are confronted today. Please view our new StandingWatch program on this often-overlooked connection, titled, “Religious and Scientific Deceptions”

Human Life Begins at Conception

The New American wrote on February 20:

“Lawmakers in Virginia and Oklahoma approved ‘personhood’ legislation last week to recognize that human life begins at conception, drawing praise from pro-life activists and fury from abortion advocates. Analysts say neither of the bills would immediately ban abortions, but a prohibition would kick in if and when the Supreme Court’s Roe vs. Wade ruling is undone…

“Both Colorado and Mississippi held popular elections to decide whether to amend their state constitutions to legally recognize the personhood of unborn children. Those measures failed.

“… state legislatures across America have been taking more and more action in recent years to protect the unborn… Americans overwhelmingly support restrictions on abortion… it appears increasingly likely that America’s four decades of legalized abortion will come to an end sooner or later…”

The question of when human life begins is not just a theoretical concept which can be used, at will,  in political campaigns in order to gain votes. It is a fundamentally important question. When human life begins with conception—which it does!—then every act to destroy such conceived life is murder, as it is the killing of helpless innocent human life. This does not only include abortion for ANY reason, but also the taking of contraceptives after conception. It seems that very few agree with God’s Word that the taking of innocent helpless human life is ALWAYS wrong—under ANY circumstance. This truth includes so many facets of life—for instance the killing of innocent civilians in war. Since every war leads to the killing of innocent people, every war, fought by humans, is wrong for that reason alone. This is not only true for aggressive or preemptive wars, but also for so-called defensive wars, even though “Christian” churches may justify those. As no political candidate or governmental leader holds such wide-ranging, godly positions, we feel compelled not to vote for ANY political candidate for THAT reason alone… but there exists a myriad of additional reasons as well.

This Week in the News

We begin with a troubling report on America’s war in Afghanistan, which claims that the US military and the government have consistently misled the American public about the true conditions on the ground. We continue with frightening articles on the terrible state of affairs of the American economy, and even though optimists proclaim a bright future, several analysts predict another recession.

We also point out that Britain faces similar dire conditions; that the government is out of money; and that a devastating new virus is killing British lambs with potentially terrible consequences for the farmers.

Turning to the European continent, the German Parliament approved another bail-out for Greece AGAINST the wish of the majority of the German people, and in spite of its generosity, Germany is being libeled and slandered by the Greek media and the Greek people, which the Germans will not tolerate for much longer.

Focusing on the Middle East, the sabre rattling in preparation of a coming war in the Middle East must not be ignored, and as so often, politics and fanaticism seem to have again the upper hand—not what may be the right or wrong course of action. But God has long determined the outcome of any such war, which would have critical prophetic consequences.

After speaking on North Korea and Japan, we continue with reports on Yoga and Homeschooling in Canada; a possible violation of privacy rights in Europe; an article about hopelessly false and ignorant concepts by most famous atheist Richard Dawkins and the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, about the origin of life; and we conclude with a discussion on when human life begins. Sadly, even those who believe that human life begins with conception are unwilling to draw the correct practical consequences from such knowledge.

Update 531

Can YOU Take It?

by Dave Harris

Is correction merely an unpleasant enduring of punishment, or do you willingly and humbly accept correction as a means of improvement?
 
A recurring theme arises in the Bible–it is what God did, does now and will continue to do to correct His people. That fact has pivotal ramifications for each one of us!
 
It is quite plain, based on the many accounts preserved in the Word of God, that mankind has stubbornly rebelled against God through disobedience to His laws. In spite of His instructions and patient warnings, people seem to–for the most part–reject God’s correction. One such example is that of the people of Judah, who simply went too far in their prideful dismissal of God:
 
“And the LORD God of their fathers sent warnings to them by His messengers, rising up early and sending them, because He had compassion on His people and on His dwelling place. But they mocked the messengers of God, despised His words, and scoffed at His prophets, until the wrath of the LORD arose against His people, till there was no remedy” (2 Chronicles 36:15-16; compare also 2 Kings 17 regarding Israel’s rebellion and the terrible penalty brought upon themselves).
 
We also know that in the future, God will punish the entire earth (Isaiah 26:21)–He will send His Son Jesus Christ to accomplish this. Even during this dramatic confrontation between God and mankind, most will continue to resist God and utterly refuse to repent (compare Revelation 9:20-21; 16:9, 11).
 
Both from history and from prophecy, then, we have clear and unambiguous examples of defiant human beings who neither would nor will listen to God’s warnings–but what about right now?
 
When a sermon is presented; an article written; counsel given or any number of opportunities arise to be reminded of God’s Will–are we going to be the exception and actually make it personal and improve?
 
No clearer message, no more urgent admonishment calls to us from God than that given to the Church of God in Laodicea, “‘As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent'” (Revelation 3:19).
 
This is correction for the people of God from Jesus Christ, the One Who is our Lord and Master–can YOU take it?

Back to top

We begin with a troubling report on America’s war in Afghanistan, which claims that the US military and the government have consistently misled the American public about the true conditions on the ground. We continue with frightening articles on the terrible state of affairs of the American economy, and even though optimists proclaim a bright future, several analysts predict another recession.

We also point out that Britain faces similar dire conditions; that the government is out of money; and that a devastating new virus is killing British lambs with potentially terrible consequences for the farmers.

Turning to the European continent, the German Parliament approved another bail-out for Greece AGAINST the wish of the majority of the German people, and in spite of its generosity, Germany is being libeled and slandered by the Greek media and the Greek people, which the Germans will not tolerate for much longer.

Focusing on the Middle East, the sabre rattling in preparation of a coming war in the Middle East must not be ignored, and as so often, politics and fanaticism seem to have again the upper hand—not what may be the right or wrong course of action. But God has long determined the outcome of any such war, which would have critical prophetic consequences.

After speaking on North Korea and Japan, we continue with reports on Yoga and Homeschooling in Canada; a possible violation of privacy rights in Europe; an article about hopelessly false and ignorant concepts by most famous atheist Richard Dawkins and the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, about the origin of life; and we conclude with a discussion on when human life begins. Sadly, even those who believe that human life begins with conception are unwilling to draw the correct practical consequences from such knowledge.

Back to top

Utter US Failure in Afghanistan

Foreign Policy wrote on February 23:

“If observers had any doubts about the failure of the U.S. counterinsurgency strategy in Afghanistan, the past several days should have put them to rest. Since Feb. 21, anti-U.S. protests have erupted in virtually every major Afghan city over the revelation that American personnel had burned Qurans at Bagram Airfield, the largest U.S. installation in the country. The demonstrations have at times turned violent… This wave of protest is just the latest example of how the United States has botched its attempt to win ‘hearts and minds’ in Afghanistan…

“But that’s not the message you would hear from U.S. officials… public statements made from podiums in Washington and Kabul bear little resemblance to the reality of the Afghan war… the U.S. military leadership’s glowing descriptions of progress against the Taliban insurgency did not jibe with the accounts of American soldiers on the front lines of the war… U.S. officials have so thoroughly misinformed the American public ‘that the truth has become unrecognizable’ and ‘deception [has] reach[ed] an intolerable low’ [according to inside reports of Lt. Col. Daniel L. Davis]…

“U.S. officials work to spin a failing war as a success story…  As Davis wrote, Gen. David Petraeus’s testimony to the Senate Armed Forces Committee on March 15, 2011, is a textbook example of how the military misled the U.S. public… American troops are also increasingly cynical about the mission to prop up the profoundly corrupt Afghan government. Working day in and day out with Afghan officials whom they knew often funneled American taxpayer dollars to the Taliban, U.S. soldiers and civilian officials were guaranteed to experience cognitive dissonance…”

WorldNetDaily wrote on February 29:

“In a development that could chill the dedication of every soldier in the field, the U.S. government has refused to deny reports by the government of Afghanistan that NATO has agreed to have the soldiers who burned copies of the Quran face trial…

“It appears that the soldiers may not have violated Islamic law at all by their burning of the Qurans. In a PBS interview, Imam Jihad Turk, director of religious affairs at the Islamic Center of Southern California, said it was acceptable to burn the Quran if it was in a state of ‘disrepair.’ ‘When Muslims want to respectfully dispose of a text of the Quran that is no longer usable, we will burn it…’”

To please fanatical fundamentalist Afghans who have murdered American soldiers in “retaliation,” by now turning some US soldiers over to the Afghan government for trial would be an absolute outcry and constitute total derogation and dereliction of US authority.

The USA Is in DEEP Financial Trouble – Per Capita Government Debt Worse Than Greece

The Weekly Standard wrote on February 23:

“The office of Senator Jeff Sessions, ranking member on the Senate Budget Committee, sends along [a] chart, showing that ‘America’s Per Capita Government Debt [Is] Worse Than Greece,’ as well as Ireland, Italy, France, Portugal, and Spain…”

Sky-Rocketing Personal Debts

The New York Post wrote on February 26:

“More American households are falling back into the debt hole, this time without the safety net of home values to help bail them out… Last year, total US consumer debt reached its highest point in a decade… In December 2011, the total consumer debt… rose by some 9.3 percent to $2.498 trillion… These numbers… mean that many middle-class Americans are taking big risks. In a weak economy with high unemployment… many people with big card balances become vulnerable to financial catastrophe.”

Terrible Prospects of Rising Gas Prices

Reuters reported on February 26:

“A jump in energy prices is jamming the slow-turning cogs of an economic recovery in the West, but that may be nothing compared to the economic shock an Israeli attack on Iran would cause.

“Oil rose to a 10-month high above $125 a barrel Friday, prompting responses from policymakers around the world including U.S. President Barack Obama, watching U.S. gasoline prices follow crude to push toward $4 a gallon in an election year.”

More Bad News—Now Rising Water Bills

The Examiner wrote on February 27:

“First high gas prices, now water. A shocking new report about the nation’s crumbling drinking water system says that Americans should expect their bills to double or triple to cover repairs just to keep their faucets pouring. That means adding up to $900 a year more for water, nearly equal the amount of the newly extended payroll tax cut… Families can expect to pay at least $300-$550 more for water in taxes and fees just to keep their current systems operating. Add growth and improved systems, and that bill jumps to $900 for a family of three… Currently, Americans pay about $400 a month in water taxes and fees…”

Economist Warns—Recession Unavoidable

CNN wrote on February 24:

“While most economists have stopped worrying that the U.S. will fall into a double-dip recession, one influential economist maintains his position that the nation won’t be able to avoid a new downturn. Lakshman Achuthan, co-founder of the Economic Cycle Research Institute, said on Friday that his research firm is sticking with the forecast it made in September: A new recession is inevitable…

“ECRI is one of the more widely respected firms on economic recessions, as it has never been wrong when forecasting that a recession would start, or failed to predict a recession well before it was widely accepted. Achuthan predicts the recession will happen even without a new shock to the economy, such as a spike in oil and gas prices… If those things occur, he says they will simply make an inevitable recession more painful. In fact, Achuthan said data gathered since his September forecast only confirms his view that economic growth has slowed to such a degree that a downturn is now unavoidable, likely by late summer…

“Achuthan’s views are not widely accepted… But more than 50 years of economic data followed by his firm has shown him that when underlying growth slows to this degree, a recession always follows.”

More “Doomsayers” Give Grim Warnings of Coming Crash

USA Today wrote on February 27:

“Behind the mainstream Wall Street happy talk about more stable financial markets and an improving economy are grim warnings of tough times ahead from a small cadre of doomsayers who warn that the worst of the financial crisis is still to come. Harry Dent, author of the new book The Great Crash Ahead, says another stock market crash is coming due to a bad ending to the global debt bubble… [a] crash is coming in 2013 or 2014, he warns. ‘This will be a repeat of 2008-09, only bigger, when it finally hits…’

“Gerald Celente, a trend forecaster at the Trends Research Institute, says Americans should brace themselves for an ‘economic 9/11’ due to policymakers’ inability to solve the world’s financial and economic woes. The coming meltdown, he predicts, will lead to growing social unrest and anti-government sentiment, a U.S. dollar with far less purchasing power and more people out of work. Celente won’t rule out another financial panic that could spark enough fear to cause a run on the nation’s banks by depositors. That risk could cause the government to invoke ‘economic martial law’ and call a ‘bank holiday’ and close banks as it did during the Great Depression…

“Robert Prechter, author of Conquer the Crash, first published in 2002 and updated in 2009, is still bearish. He says today’s economy has similarities to the Great Depression and warns that 1930s-style deflation is still poised to cause financial havoc. Prechter predicts that the major U.S. stock indexes, such as the Dow Jones industrials and Standard & Poor’s 500, will plunge below their bear market lows hit in March 2009 during the last financial crisis. The brief recovery will fail as it did in the 1930s, he says. If he’s right, stocks would lose more than half of their value. These dire forecasts differ sharply with the brighter outlooks being espoused by the bulls, or optimists, on Wall Street. Recent stock performance and fresh readings on the economy also suggest a future that is less gloomy than the doomsayers predict.”

Sadly, as the Bible clearly shows, the “bulls” or optimists on Wall Street are wrong, and the “doomsayers” are correct. But as the next articles show, Britain is facing equally tough times.

British Government Out of Money

The Telegraph reported on February 27:

“In a stark warning ahead of next month’s Budget, the [British] Chancellor said there was little the Coalition could do to stimulate the economy. Mr Osborne made it clear that due to the [perilous] state of the public finances the best hope for economic growth was to encourage businesses to flourish and hire more workers. ‘The British Government has run out of money because all the money was spent in the good years,’ the Chancellor said. ‘The money and the investment and the jobs need to come from the private sector.’”

New Virus Threatens Survival of Many British Farms

The Telegraph reported on February 27:

“Thousands of lambs have been killed by a new virus that is threatening the survival of many British farms. The Schmallenberg virus causes lambs to be born dead or with serious deformities such as fused limbs and twisted necks, which mean they cannot survive. Scientists are urgently trying to find out how the disease, which also affects cattle, spreads and how to fight it, as the number of farms affected increases by the day.  So far, 74 farms across southern and eastern England have been hit by the virus, which arrived in this country in January. A thousand farms in Europe have reported cases since the first signs of the virus were seen in the German town of Schmallenberg last summer.

“The National Farmers Union has called it a potential ‘catastrophe’ and warned farmers to be vigilant. ‘This is a ticking time bomb,’ said Alastair Mackintosh, of the NFU… Infected ewes do not show any symptoms of the virus until they give birth, with horrific results…

“Farmers fear the disease may spread to larger flocks in the north of England, Wales and Scotland. In Europe, Germany, Holland and France have suffered worst, while recent cases have been reported in Italy and Luxembourg… There are also fears that the virus may be seen later this year among cows, which have a longer gestation period… there is no vaccine, and Defra says a ban on imports would not work, because the disease ‘is already here’…

“The AHVLA identifies Schmallenberg as one of a group of viruses ‘typically primarily spread by biting insect vectors, such as midges and mosquitoes, although the routes of Schmallenberg virus transmission have not yet been confirmed. The potential for direct transmission (ie direct from one animal to another) is therefore, as yet, unknown.’”

The economic problems should not be underestimated, either. The Telegraph wrote:

“On the Continent, some farms have lost half of their lambs. So far the worst hit in Britain have lost 20 per cent… Approximately 16 million lambs are born in Britain every year and sell at market for about £100 each. The effect of the disease on farms that are already struggling in the downturn could be severe.

“‘For any business to lose 20 per cent of your stock would be a huge blow… For a farmer to lose 20 per cent of your flock is catastrophic. If it was 50 per cent you would be put out of action…’ [said Alastair Mackintosh, of the National Farmers Union].”

German Parliament Approves Greek Bailout Against the Will of the People

BBC News reported on February 27:

“German MPs have voted by 496 to 90 to back the second EU/IMF bailout for Greece. Chancellor Angela Merkel had urged them to back the deal, while conceding there was ‘no 100% guarantee’ it would work… Germany will have to pay more than any other country for the 130bn euro ($173bn; £110bn) package, agreed by eurozone states last week. Although the Bundestag (lower house) had the power to block the bailout, it was always expected to go through because of the support of two opposition parties, the Social Democrats (SPD) and Greens…

“Under the front-page headline ‘Stop’, Germany’s mass circulation Bild newspaper made a direct appeal to parliament: ‘Don’t keep on going the wrong way.’ An opinion poll for Bild’s Sunday edition suggested that 62% of those surveyed wanted MPs to vote against the package… Mrs Merkel told the Bundestag that she was aware that people were concerned that Greece was a ‘hopeless case’ and that the eurozone would be better off without it. But she had come to the conclusion that ‘the opportunities of this new package outweighed the risks. No-one can predict what the repercussions of a disorderly default would be for all of us and also for the people of Germany.’”

Bild wrote on February 27:

“Against its better judgment, Europe is pouring money into a bottomless barrel. Europe can only master this crisis if it does what most experts have long been demanding. The Greek economy can only become competitive and resume growth with its own currency — not with the strong euro. Continuing with the old recipes won’t work. That is why today’s parliamentary vote [is] bad for Greece, bad for Germany and bad for Europe.”

The Berliner Zeitung wrote on February 27:

“Let’s remain realistic. Greece won’t manage to get back on its feet even with the second bailout package. The planned debt cut won’t be enough, the reforms aren’t getting underway and the country is breaking down under the weight of the austerity programs… A Greek exit from the euro zone would not end the EU’s solidarity with Greece. That’s because Greece could still count on help from its EU partners. The rescue could end up being cheaper and — far more importantly — less painful for the Greeks.”

Der Spiegel Online added on February 27:

“In a slight setback for Angela Merkel, the chancellor failed to secure an absolute majority within her own government coalition. A total of 304 members of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), its Bavarian sister party the Christian Social Union (CSU) and the Free Democratic Party (FDP) voted in favor of the bailout, but 311 were required for a majority. Within the CDU/CSU bloc, 13 politicians rejected the bailout, with four members of the FDP joining them to oppose it. Ultimately, Merkel had to rely on opposition support.”

One must ask how long the German Parliament and Government can proceed as they do in light of growing opposition from the people. And as the next article shows, the criticism and verbal attacks on the “German villain” will not convince many Germans that continuing to help those ungrateful countries is the best course of action.

Germany—The New Villain

Der Spiegel Online wrote on February 27:

“The German parliament… approve[d] a new multibillion euro bailout package for Greece on Monday, but instead of thanks, southern Europeans are expressing their dislike of us. Germans will have to get used to their new role: We have become the Americans of Europe…

“Sentiment towards the Germans isn’t very good… right now. Hardly a day goes by without Chancellor Angela Merkel being depicted in a Nazi uniform somewhere. Swastikas are a common sight as well. It doesn’t seem to help at all that we faithfully approve one aid package after the other… A good deal of the €130 billion [which were] approved by the German parliament on Monday will never be seen again. But if you read the editorial pages of newspapers in the crisis regions, for whom this money is intended, you would be led to believe that we are out to achieve what our grandfathers failed to do 70 years ago…

“It won’t be long before they start burning German flags. But wait, they’re already doing that. Previously we had only known that from Arab countries, where the youth would take every opportunity to run through the streets to rage against that great Satan, the USA. But that’s how things go when others consider a country to be too successful, too self-confident and too strong. We’ve now become the Americans of Europe. The role reversal won’t be an easy one either — it is already safe to say that today. We Germans are accustomed to having people admire us for our efficiency and industriousness — and not to hate us for it.

“But before we complain too much about all this ingratitude, we should remind ourselves that we ourselves spent years passing the buck. As long as the global villain was America, the Germans joined in when it came to feeling good at the expense of others. The Americans also had every reason to expect a little more gratitude — after all, it was their soldiers who had to intervene when a dictator somewhere lived out his bloody fantasies while the international community stood by wringing its hands.

“People came to secretly rely on the USA as a global cop in the same way that Germany’s neighbors are now expecting the Germans to save the euro. Unfortunately, however, the feeling of inferiority can be just as vicious as that of superiority. Of course, one can try to make oneself seem smaller than one really is. But this self-denial doesn’t work. The Americans weren’t much more popular under Jimmy Carter than they were under Ronald Reagan… Obama’s election also didn’t do a whole lot to help the US’ image in the longer term. A giant can’t conceal his size for long… We will probably just have to get used to the fact that, for a time, Germany won’t be very popular in some countries in Europe…”

It is interesting that Germany is now described negatively as the “America of Europe”—showing the deep and ongoing antagonism of many Europeans towards America. These feelings are neither grateful nor justified.

“The Evil Spirits of the Past… Can Always Return”

Der Spiegel Online wrote on February 28:

“Former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, one of the architects of the European single currency, has stepped into the German debate about the wisdom of providing Greece with further aid. On Tuesday, he urged Germany to stay committed to European unity, which he said remained a matter of war and peace, even 67 years after the end of World War II… Kohl repeated his mantra that the euro was about nothing less than preventing war…

“‘The evil spirits of the past have by no means been banished, they can always return. That means: Europe remains a question of war and peace and the desire for peace remains the driving force behind European integration,’ wrote Kohl… ‘Europe is our future,’ Kohl wrote. ‘There is no alternative to Europe. We have every reason to be optimistic that our Europe will emerge strengthened from this current crisis — if we want it to. Let us not be misled.’”

Germany the Unquestioned Boss of Europe

The Los Angeles Times wrote on February 27:

“For nearly 70 years, Germany’s grand national ambition has basically been not to have one. After losing two world wars and carrying out a horrific genocide, the country set to working its way back into the European fold, content to focus on rebuilding its shattered economy while dutifully leaving continental leadership to the likes of France. The plan has been a roaring success — so much so that, in one of history’s great ironies, Germany today finds itself right back where it wasn’t supposed to be: dominating Europe.

“As the region’s richest, most populous nation, with control over purse strings rather than panzers, Germany is the unquestioned boss amid Europe’s stubborn debt crisis and deepening economic malaise… Potentially the fate of the global economy now lies in Germany’s hands as it heads the effort to keep heavily indebted Greece (where people mutter about a ‘Fourth Reich’) from going under and pulling down other Eurozone countries with it. On Monday, Chancellor Angela Merkel successfully steered approval for a $175-billion Greek bailout through the German Parliament, a deeply divisive measure for German taxpayers who will foot more than half the bill.

“Even so, President Obama and other world leaders are urging Germany to contribute even more to a permanent European bailout fund that might stanch the debt crisis…

“The leadership role thrust onto Germany is turning out to be a minefield in many ways, complicated by the nation’s past. Berlin is caught in a classic damned-if-you-do, damned-if-you-don’t position, its every move fodder for critics eager to spot signs either of Teutonic belligerence or a failure to exercise power responsibly… The plan that Europe is pursuing to save the euro currency bears an unmistakably German stamp… Despite the growing chorus of detractors and indicators showing that austerity is strangling economic growth in ailing nations, Merkel has refused to yield, and no fellow European leader has been strong enough to overrule her.

“‘She’s the queen of Europe,’ said Josef Joffe, editor of the newspaper Die Zeit. Gone are the days when Germany was considered an economic giant but a political dwarf, as the cliche had it, Joffe said. ‘In an age where economic power suddenly moves to the fore, as it has in the last 18 months, the economic giant also becomes a political giant.’”

Coming–New War in the Middle East…

Fox News wrote on February 25:

“An Israeli pre-emptive attack on Iran’s nuclear sites could draw the U.S. into a new Middle East conflict, a prospect dreaded by a war-weary Pentagon wary of new entanglements. That could mean pressing into service the top tier of American firepower — warplanes, warships, special operations forces and possibly airborne infantry — with unpredictable outcomes in one of the world’s most volatile regions.”

The Guardian wrote on February 25:

“Iran has warned Israel against mounting an attack on its nuclear facilities amid rising international tension over its uranium enrichment programme. General Ahmad Vahidi issued a statement warning Israel that an attack would lead to the collapse of the Jewish state.”

The Economist wrote on February 25:

“The crisis has been a long time coming… Israel has nuclear weapons itself, including submarine-based weapons that could posthumously annihilate any aggressor who destroyed the country. But this deterrent is not enough to stop Israelis from seeing a nuclear Iran as the precursor to a second holocaust. The problem is that military action will not necessarily bring about what Israel wants—and could, in the medium to long term, make matters worse…

“Then there is the American presidential election. Like the Bush administration before it, Barack Obama’s White House sees Iran’s nuclear ambitions as a huge concern. But it worries that the consequences of an attack on Iran, whether by Israel or America, are unpredictable and scary: oil prices would rocket—at least for a while—endangering the economic recovery; allies in the Gulf already shaken by the Arab spring could be further destabilised; jihadist terrorism could be re-energised…

“But the election may give Binyamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, something to bargain with. In the face of a hawkish Republican rival and in front of an electorate that is in parts fiercely pro-Israel, Mr Obama may feel he has to welcome, or even build on, an Israeli fait accompli in a way he would not have done earlier…”

It is so sad that the American election should have any influence on a decision whether or not to go to war—but sadly, in this politically motivated climate, the question of right or wrong far too often escapes the decision-making process. In fact, A-7 News reported on March 1, 2012 that “U.S. military officials say that America is preparing a plan to strike Iranian nuclear targets in the event that sanctions fail to persuade Tehran to halt its hurtle towards atomic development.”

Israel Won’t Inform USA Ahead of Military Action Against Iran

The Associated Press reported on February 27:

“Israeli officials said that if they eventually decide a strike is necessary, they would keep the Americans in the dark to decrease the likelihood that the United States would be held responsible for failing to stop Israel’s potential attack… But the apparent decision to keep the United States in the dark also stems from Israel’s frustration with the White House… they became convinced the Americans would neither take military action, nor go along with unilateral action by Israel against Iran. The Israelis concluded they would have to conduct a strike unilaterally…”

Clashes at the Temple Mount

The Jerusalem Post wrote on February 24:

“A Palestinian protester died after being shot in the chest at the Kalandia checkpoint near Jerusalem as clashes with police beginning at the Temple Mount spread through the area… Security forces used force to disperse hundreds of Muslim worshipers at the Temple Mount on Friday who rioted and threw stones following a tense week in the Old City… A number of youth barricaded themselves inside the mosque during the rioting, and dozens of police who responded to the incident used stun grenades and other riot control methods to disperse the crowd…

“A website called ‘Our Temple Mount’ has publicized a number of events at the Temple Mount encouraging religious Jews to go up to the site in order to exercise Jewish sovereignty over the religious area. The site advocates for destroying any Muslim buildings in order to rebuild the Third Temple…

“On Sunday, a group of approximately 50 Arabs threw stones at Christian tourists and police patrols, prompted by reports in the Jordanian press of more attempts by right-wing activists to ascend to the Temple Mount. Police arrested 24 people during the day on Sunday in connection with the stone throwing…”

Fundamental radicals, including Arabs and Israelis and even some “Christian” organizations, are playing with fire which could ignite the entire region.

North Korea—Cautious Optimism?

Deutsche Welle reported on March 1:

“The sudden agreement between the US and North Korea over its nuclear program was a positive surprise to many, but the reaction in Washington is still cautious… With the new bilateral agreement, North Korea has agreed to stop nuclear testing, stop building long-range missiles and stop enriching uranium, and has promised to allow inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to visit its Yongbyon nuclear research center… The US has taken care to say that the 240,000 tons of humanitarian aid being shipped to North Korea is not a reward for its statement on the nuclear program… few people believe that North Korea really will give up its nuclear ambitions.”

“How Do You Clean Up After a Nuclear Disaster?”

PBS reported on February 28:

“The events last March in Japan couldn’t have presented Japan with a more difficult task. After record-setting earthquake, a massive tsunami and a nuclear disaster comparable in scale only to the 1986 Chernobyl meltdown, how do you wrap your head around making once-vibrant villages habitable again? Where do you even begin?… Currently, there’s a 20 km (12 mile) exclusion zone around Fukushima Daiichi. No one is allowed to live inside it, and workers are bused in at all hours of the day and night to work at the plant. The goal is for the 80,000 or so residents forced to evacuate to eventually be able to return.

“Decontamination has never been done on such a large scale before. The only other nuclear accident to be rated a 7, the highest on the international scale, was Chernobyl in 1986 in Ukraine. In that case, the decision was made to evacuate the area — about 20 miles surrounding the plant — permanently. A protective sarcophagus was built around the plant, which is currently being updated because the original is crumbling…

“First you have to stabilize the nuclear reactors while limiting the release of radioactive materials. In part this requires keeping the nuclear fuel cool, until temperatures in the reactors reach 100 degrees Celsius or below — a point known as ‘cold shutdown.’ Three reactors at Fukushima Daiichi reached this mark last December, though because of leaks, a half-million liters of water is still being pumped in each day.

“Because of the initial flooding after the tsunami, and the gallons and gallons of water injected into the reactors, there was — and likely still is — radioactive water in the reactors. A lot of it…

 “Even if Japan’s nuclear crisis is contained, its earthquake and tsunami now seem certain to be, economically speaking, among the worst national disasters in history… [an] estimate right after the disaster placed the cost closer to 25 trillion yen, or $300 billion — four times the cost of cleaning up after Hurricane Katrina. In addition, containing and cleaning any radioactive material could cost $10 billion alone…

“Removing fuel that has melted in the Fukushima Daichii reactors will likely take 25 years. Decommissioning the plant will add another five to 10 years to this process… Japan’s government is currently working to establish long-term storage facilities, which will last about 30 years, but it estimates that their construction will take at least three more years…”

This article is astounding! The amount of time and the cost for this clean-up are staggering. It gives us a glimpse as to the momentous task ahead of us, after Christ has returned, to deal with the nuclear devastation which this world will have brought upon itself.

“Yoga Began as a Sex Cult”

The New York Times wrote on February 27:

“The wholesome image of yoga took a hit in the past few weeks as a rising star of the discipline came tumbling back to earth. After accusations of sexual impropriety with female students, John Friend, the founder of Anusara, one of the world’s fastest-growing styles, told followers that he was stepping down for an indefinite period of ‘self-reflection, therapy and personal retreat’…  this is hardly the first time that yoga’s enlightened facade has been cracked by sexual scandal. Why does yoga produce so many philanderers? And why do the resulting uproars leave so many people shocked and distraught?

“One factor is ignorance. Yoga teachers and how-to books seldom mention that the discipline began as a sex cult — an omission that leaves many practitioners open to libidinal surprise. Hatha yoga — the parent of the styles now practiced around the globe — began as a branch of Tantra. In medieval India, Tantra devotees sought to fuse the male and female aspects of the cosmos into a blissful state of consciousness.

“The rites of Tantric cults, while often steeped in symbolism, could also include group and individual sex… Candidates for worship included actresses and prostitutes, as well as the sisters of practitioners. Hatha originated as a way to speed the Tantric agenda. It used poses, deep breathing and stimulating acts — including intercourse — to hasten rapturous bliss. In time, Tantra and Hatha developed bad reputations. The main charge was that practitioners indulged in sexual debauchery under the pretext of spirituality.

“Early in the 20th century, the founders of modern yoga worked hard to remove the Tantric stain… modern practitioners have embraced a whitewashed simulacrum of Hatha. But over the decades, many have discovered from personal experience that the practice can fan the sexual flames…Since the baby boomers discovered yoga, the arousal, sweating, heavy breathing and states of undress that characterize yoga classes have led to predictable results. In 1995, sex between students and teachers became so prevalent that the California Yoga Teachers Association deplored it as immoral and called for high standards…

“If yoga can arouse everyday practitioners, it apparently has similar, if not greater, effects on gurus — often charming extroverts in excellent physical condition, some enthusiastic for veneration…

“Swami Muktananda (1908-82) was an Indian man of great charisma who favored dark glasses and gaudy robes. At the height of his fame, around 1980, he attracted many thousands of devotees — including movie stars and political celebrities — and succeeded in setting up a network of hundreds of ashrams and meditation centers around the globe. He kept his main shrines in California and New York. In late 1981, when a senior aide charged that the venerated yogi was in fact a serial philanderer and sexual hypocrite who used threats of violence to hide his duplicity, Mr. Muktananda defended himself as a persecuted saint, and soon died of heart failure…

“Another case involved Swami Rama (1925-96), a tall man with a strikingly handsome face. In 1994, one of his victims filed a lawsuit charging that he had initiated abuse at his Pennsylvania ashram when she was 19. In 1997, shortly after his death, a jury awarded the woman nearly $2 million in compensatory and punitive damages.

“So, too, former devotees at Kripalu, a Berkshires ashram, won more than $2.5 million after its longtime guru — a man who gave impassioned talks on the spiritual value of chastity — confessed to multiple affairs…”

The article speaks for itself…

Homeschooling in Canada Must Not Tell It as It Is

LifeSiteNews reported on February 28:

“Homeschooling families will soon be forbidden from teaching that homosexual sex is sinful as part of their schooling program, according to the government of Alberta, Canada. Under the province’s Education Act, homeschoolers and religious schools will be banned from ‘disrespecting’ people’s differences…  ‘Whatever the nature of schooling – homeschool, private school, Catholic school – we do not tolerate disrespect for differences,’ said Donna McColl, Lukaszuk’s assistant director of communications. ‘You can affirm the family’s ideology in your family life, you just can’t do it as part of your educational study and instruction.’

“…when McColl was asked… to explain the distinction between homeschoolers’ education and their family life, she replied that the question involved ‘real nuances’ and said she would need to get back to reporter with specifics… In 2009, the Alberta Human Rights Act was amended to classify marriage as an institution between two ‘persons,’ rather than a man and a woman.”

Google In Breach of EU Privacy Laws?

BBC News reported on March 1:

“Changes made by Google to its privacy policy are in breach of European law, the EU’s justice commissioner has said… The policy change, implemented on Thursday, means private data collected by one Google service can be shared with its other platforms including YouTube, Gmail and Blogger…

“Google… went ahead with the changes despite warnings from the EU earlier this week. Data regulators in France had cast doubt on the legality of the move and launched a Europe-wide investigation. More than 60 sets of guidelines for its individual Google-owned sites were merged into a single policy for all of its services. It means browsing data and web history, which is gathered when a user is signed in with a Google account, can be shared across all of the websites…”

Dawkins and Williams Terribly Wrong

The Telegraph wrote on February 24:

“Richard Dawkins… is regarded as the most famous atheist in the world but last night [he] admitted he could not be sure that God does not exist. He told the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, that he preferred to call himself an agnostic rather than an atheist… For an hour and 20 minutes the two men… discussed ‘The nature of human beings and the question of their ultimate origin’ touching on the meaning of consciousness, the evolution…

“Prof Dawkins told him: ‘What I can’t understand is why you can’t see the extraordinary beauty of the idea that life started from nothing – that is such a staggering, elegant, beautiful thing, why would you want to clutter it up with something so messy as a God?’ Dr Williams replied that he ‘entirely agreed’ with the ‘beauty’ of Prof Dawkins’s argument but added: ‘I’m not talking about God as an extra who you shoehorn on to that’…

“During a wide-ranging discussion the Archbishop also said that he believed that human beings had evolved from non-human ancestors but were nevertheless ‘in the image of God’. He also said that the explanation for the creation of the world in the Book of Genesis could not be taken literally. ‘The writers of the Bible, inspired as I believe they were, they were nonetheless not inspired to do 21st Century physics,’ he said.”

That the leader of the Anglican Church should deny the Genesis account and accept instead the false teaching of the evolution theory shows once more the terrible state of affairs of our “Christian” world, which is rejecting the Word of God so that it can uphold its own traditions. But neither Atheists and Agnostics, nor “Christian” leaders seem to understand that their denial of God’s Word is at least partially responsible for the lack of standards and morals with which we are confronted today. Please view our new StandingWatch program on this often-overlooked connection, titled, “Religious and Scientific Deceptions”

Human Life Begins at Conception

The New American wrote on February 20:

“Lawmakers in Virginia and Oklahoma approved ‘personhood’ legislation last week to recognize that human life begins at conception, drawing praise from pro-life activists and fury from abortion advocates. Analysts say neither of the bills would immediately ban abortions, but a prohibition would kick in if and when the Supreme Court’s Roe vs. Wade ruling is undone…

“Both Colorado and Mississippi held popular elections to decide whether to amend their state constitutions to legally recognize the personhood of unborn children. Those measures failed.

“… state legislatures across America have been taking more and more action in recent years to protect the unborn… Americans overwhelmingly support restrictions on abortion… it appears increasingly likely that America’s four decades of legalized abortion will come to an end sooner or later…”

The question of when human life begins is not just a theoretical concept which can be used, at will,  in political campaigns in order to gain votes. It is a fundamentally important question. When human life begins with conception—which it does!—then every act to destroy such conceived life is murder, as it is the killing of helpless innocent human life. This does not only include abortion for ANY reason, but also the taking of contraceptives after conception. It seems that very few agree with God’s Word that the taking of innocent helpless human life is ALWAYS wrong—under ANY circumstance. This truth includes so many facets of life—for instance the killing of innocent civilians in war. Since every war leads to the killing of innocent people, every war, fought by humans, is wrong for that reason alone. This is not only true for aggressive or preemptive wars, but also for so-called defensive wars, even though “Christian” churches may justify those. As no political candidate or governmental leader holds such wide-ranging, godly positions, we feel compelled not to vote for ANY political candidate for THAT reason alone… but there exists a myriad of additional reasons as well.

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Does Ezekiel 38 describe events before, during or after the Millennium?

The events described in Ezekiel 38 and 39 will occur after Christ’s return, at the very beginning of His rule over mankind—not 1,000 years later. In a previous Q&A, we discussed the fact that Jesus Christ will have to complete 3 ½ years of His public ministry to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, before His rule over all nations in the Millennium can really begin to flourish. We saw that Christ will free the modern descendants of the houses of Israel and Judah from captivity and bring them into the Promised Land. They will build the waste cities and inhabit them, live in peace and safety, and God will forgive all their iniquities and enter with them into the conditions of the new covenant.

To live God’s way of life is a learning process. For instance, we read in the book of Isaiah, that Gentile nations will hear about the law of God which will be taught by Christ in Jerusalem, and they will flock there to learn God’s laws as well (Isaiah 2:1-3). They will reach the point when they do not want to learn war anymore (verse 4). We also read that some nations will at first refuse to live by God’s law to observe His annual holy days (Zechariah 14:16-19). So Jesus will have to deal with all these problems.

We must view the events described in Ezekiel 38 and 39 in this light. We read that a great army from mostly Far Eastern countries will try to fight against the modern descendants of the houses of Israel and Judah who had returned to the Promised Land and who will be living peacefully. God will allow those Gentile nations to advance against Jerusalem for several reasons. He will show these nations that He is LORD and that war and rebellion will not be permitted under Christ’s rule—so He will deal with those hostile armies very quickly. Also note that these events will apparently take place during the remaining 3 ½ years of Christ’s public ministry to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. This ministry will include, first and foremost, the important teaching that man is not to fight in war—ever. Before Israel can become an example of peaceful coexistence with other nations, it has to learn and embrace this understanding itself. After all, Israel has been a war-waging nation throughout most of its existence, without ever really trusting in God that He would fight their battles for them. Christ told Peter to put his sword away (Matthew 26:52), and this is the same teaching which Christ will bring to all of the survivors of Israel and Judah, as well as to the rest of the world.

We published a Q&A on the timing of the events, as described in the 38th and 39th chapters of the book of Ezekiel. Let us quote here from this Q&A:

“Ezekiel 38:8, 16, tells us that the events will occur ‘in the latter years’ or in the ‘latter days.’ Verse 8 emphasizes that it will happen at the time when those living in the land have been ‘brought back from the sword and gathered from among many people.’ We are also told that ‘they were brought out of the nations’ and led to ‘the mountains of Israel, which had long been desolate.’ It is emphasized that they are NOW dwelling ‘safely.’ Verse 12 also reiterates that these former ‘waste places’ are ‘again inhabited,’ and that the people of Israel, who were gathered from the nations, ‘have acquired livestock and goods.’ Since there will be no desolate mountains of Israel throughout the Millennium, and since the people of Israel have been living in safety during the Millennium, and since they were gathered out of the nations and brought to the Promised Land at the time of Christ’s return, it is clear that the events described in Ezekiel 38 and 39 do not occur 1,000 years AFTER Christ’s return.”

At the same time, it is evident that these events do NOT take place PRIOR to Christ’s return. Continuing with our Q&A on Ezekiel 38 and 39:

“We read in Ezekiel 38:11 that the people of Israel will live in ‘unwalled villages’; that they are a ‘peaceful people, who dwell safely,’ ‘without walls, and having neither bars nor gates.’ This shows that the events will not occur PRIOR to Christ’s return, as the modern descendants of the houses of Israel and Judah — mainly the USA, Great Britain, Canada and the state of Israel–do not live in peace today, and they will not live in peace, without walls, bars or gates, prior to Christ’s return (For proof, please read our free booklets, ‘The Fall and Rise of Britain and America,’ and ‘The Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord.’)… Also, Ezekiel 38:8 refers to the ‘mountains of Israel’ where the modern houses of Israel and Judah will live at that time–but the modern house of Israel does not presently reside there at all, nor will they live there prior to Christ’s return.”

To fully grasp the importance of the events, which are described in Ezekiel 38 and 39, we must realize that God will be intervening very mightily. He will show mankind that He does not need their help in fighting against His enemies, as Moses told the Israelites at the time of their Exodus from Egypt: “The LORD will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace” (Exodus 14:14).

We say in our Q&A on Ezekiel 38 and 39:

“Ezekiel 39 emphasizes in numerous places that God will destroy the invading army, and that because of God’s intervention, the nations, and especially the nation of Israel, will know that He is the Lord. Verse 22 states: ‘So the house of Israel shall know that I am the LORD their God from that day forward.’ This is clearly a reference to the BEGINNING of the Millennium–not to the END when God has ruled over the world and Israel for 1,000 years. Verses 23-29 add that the Gentiles will know by then that ‘the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity’–a reference to the coming slavery of the modern house of Israel, prior to Christ’s return. Christ will free the modern nations of Israel and Judah out of their slavery when He returns–not 1,000 years later (compare verses 25, 27-28). It is THEN that God will begin to convert the survivors of the modern houses of Israel and Judah (verse 29)–not 1,000 years later.”

In our Q&A on the timing of the events in Ezekiel 38 and 39, we also identify the Gentile nations mentioned in these passages which will build a coalition against Israel and Judah. They include peoples from China, Russia, Iran, Libya, Ethiopia, India, Pakistan, as well as peoples from the vast regions in northern Eurasia extending from the Baltic to the Pacific. As we put it in our Q&A, “But when they attack, GOD will do the fighting for His people… He would do the same for our peoples today, if we would only let Him do so, submit to HIM and be obedient to His commands.”

We also briefly allude to another attack of hostile armies against the camp of the saints in Jerusalem at the very END of the Millennium, stating the following:

“A similar… attack on Jerusalem will occur about 1,000 years later, after Satan has been ‘released from his prison’… He will ‘go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle, whose number is as the sand of the sea’ (Revelation 20:7-8). As they did 1,000 years earlier, they will try to conquer Jerusalem, but God will destroy them (verse 9). Again, no human being will fight against those warring and attacking nations–it will be GOD who will do the fighting for His people. This is the last time that we read that humans–deceived by Satan the devil–will fight. Satan will be removed forever, unable to deceive humans anymore to fight and kill in war. Ultimately, ‘God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away’ (Revelation 21:4).”

At the beginning of the Millennium, after Christ has returned and while He is fulfilling the remaining 3 ½ years of His public ministry, hostile nations will try to attack Israel and Judah because they still have Satanically-inspired feelings and habits to contend with. When moving ahead 1,000 years, the peoples in the Millennium did not know Satan and his demons who were imprisoned during that time. They were unaware of Satan and his evil devices. Once he is released from prison for a short while, he goes out to deceive the nations, as he deceived Eve in the Garden of Eden. And as Eve fell for Satan, so will those people, choosing to believe Satan rather than God. Having lived all this time in a peaceful “Garden of Eden,” they still want to believe Satan. This shows us how powerful Satan is, and we must never underestimate him. Today, he is still very much free, roaming around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he can devour (1 Peter 5:8). But God will make a quick end to Satan’s influence then, as He promised to do for us now, if we are submitting to God and let Him fight our battles (James 4:7; Romans 16:20).

Lead Writer: Norbert Link

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Preaching the Gospel and Feeding the Flock

New Video Programs

A new StandingWatch program was posted on YouTube and on our Website www.standingwatch.org. It is titled, “Religious and Scientific Deceptions.” In a recent public debate on the origin of life between the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, and the most famous atheist, Richard Dawkins, both gentlemen presented utterly false ideas. The wrong concept that man has evolved from non-humans, whether by accident or with godly involvement, rejects God’s Word and has contributed to a world without true moral and ethical standards.

A new German sermon was posted on YouTube, titled, “Weinen Hat Seine Zeit!” (“A Time to Weep”).

New Radio Programs

Three new radio programs (Numbers 15, 16 and 17) were recorded this week, titled, “Why Did the Father Forsake Christ?”, “Was Christ a Hippie?” and “Why No Moral Standards?”
They will be broadcast, respectively, beginning Sunday, April 8, 15 and 22, 2012. Our radio broadcasts are being posted on our Website, www.standingwatch.org.

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How This Work is Financed

This Update is an official publication by the ministry of the Church of the Eternal God in the United States of America; the Church of God, a Christian Fellowship in Canada; and the Global Church of God in the United Kingdom.

Editorial Team: Norbert Link, Dave Harris, Rene Messier, Brian Gale, Johanna Link, Eric Rank, Michael Link, Anna Link, Kalon Mitchell, Manuela Mitchell, Dawn Thompson

Technical Team: Eric Rank, Shana Rank

Our activities and literature, including booklets, weekly updates, sermons on CD are provided free of charge. They are made possible by the tithes, offerings and contributions of Church members and others who have elected to support this Work.

While we do not solicit the general public for funds, contributions are gratefully welcomed and are tax-deductible in the U.S. and Canada.

Donations can be sent to the following addresses:

United States: Church of the Eternal God, P.O. Box 270519, San Diego, CA 92198

Canada: Church of God, ACF, Box 1480, Summerland, B.C. V0H 1Z0

United Kingdom: Global Church of God, PO Box 44, MABLETHORPE, LN12 9AN, United Kingdom

Warnings of a Great Crash in 2012

In spite of optimistic viewpoints, some experts warn that a recession or a depression may be inevitable and could strike as early as by late summer of 2012. US government debt is worse than Greece, while Europeans pour bailout money into a bottomless barrel. Many Americans live far beyond their means and become vulnerable to financial catastrophe. Gas prices and water bills are on the rise, and a more than likely attack on Iran will make a bad economic situation more painful. The British Government has run out of money. Is there any hope for us in light of these grim realities?

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A Time To Weep

The Christian life includes times of weeping and mourning. Christ said that we are blessed when we mourn and weep now. It is important to understand why and under what circumstances we will and ought to mourn. Ecclesiastes tells us that there is a purpose for weeping and mourning. What is it?

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Current Events

German President Resigns in Disgrace

The Local reported on February 17:

“German President Christian Wulff resigned in disgrace on Friday, finally bowing to pressure and a lack of trust on the back of months of revelations about blurred lines between personal, business and political advantage… the next president will be Germany’s third within two years… Wulff has been under increasing pressure to resign since last December when details of a soft loan of €500,000 he got from the wife of a businessman but did not declare, became public…

“Wulff himself was a controversial candidate who Merkel pushed into office in the face of opposition from within her own party’s ranks. He took over after his predecessor Horst Köhler resigned in May 2010 after making comments which appeared to justify Germany taking military action to defend its economic interests… The German constitution says that should a president resign or be prevented from carrying out his duties, his office should be filled by the president of the upper house of parliament, the Bundesrat – currently Christian Social Union leader Horst Seehofer. The enormous Federal Convention which elects the president, must meet at the latest 30 days after a resignation to start voting on candidates…”

It was announced that the vote will take place on March 18.

Der Spiegel Online added on February 17:

“Following the announcement by prosecutors that they would seek to lift his immunity, German President Christian Wulff announced Friday morning he would resign as the country’s head of state… The resignation of Wulff, Merkel’s handpicked president, is likely to come as a blow to the chancellor and her party in the run-up to state elections in Schleswig-Holstein and Saarland… At the center of the probe are allegations that a film producer had paid for a vacation in a luxury hotel for Wulff during his time as head of a state government. Wulff has denied the allegation, saying he repaid the filmmaker in cash…”

German Parties Pick New President

BBC News reported on February 19:

“German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said she backs [independent] Joachim Gauck, a [Lutheran] pastor and former East German rights activist, to be the country’s next president. Mr Gauck was proposed by the opposition Social Democrats and Greens after Christian Wulff quit as president on Friday over corruption allegations. Mrs Merkel opposed Mr Gauck for the presidency in 2010, instead supporting her ally Mr Wulff. Germany’s president has a largely ceremonial, but influential, role. With the backing of all the major parties, Mr Gauck’s election to the position next month should be a formality…

“The 72-year-old Mr Gauck is well known for his work as a dissident in East Germany and for running the archives on the Stasi secret police after the Berlin Wall came down, exposing its crimes… ‘Let’s not forget that we have churchmen like Gauck to thank for the success of East Germany’s peaceful revolution,’ [Angela Merkel] said. Mrs Merkel is herself the daughter of a Protestant pastor and, like Mr Gauck, grew up in the former East Germany… But the affair has come at a bad time for Mrs Merkel, who is trying to steer a way through the eurozone crisis…”

It is interesting that Angela Markel should emphasize the important role of the Lutheran Church in respect to the developments in East Germany, leading to the fall of the Berlin Wall. At the same time, it is well-known what important role the Catholic Church under its (then) Polish pope played in respect to the fall of the Iron Curtain.

Deutsche Welle wrote on February 19:

“Having lived under the dictatorship of East Germany and been forced to look on as his father was shipped to a Soviet gulag for four years, Gauck has dedicated his life to promoting freedom… Due to his family background and because he was not a member of East Germany’s official socialist youth association, Gauck was denied the opportunity to study German language and literature at university. Instead, he took up theology in 1958, and he began work as a Lutheran pastor in 1965… When the religious community took on a central role in promoting democracy in the former East Germany in 1989, it was Gauck who helped lead the popular movement New Forum in Rostock and who held the religious ceremonies that often preceded large-scale demonstrations on the streets of East German cities…

“Gauck’s role investigating the Stasi has made him unpopular in some parts of the Left party, a successor to the former East German communist party. When he ultimately lost out on being appointed president to Wulff in 2010, Left party leader Gesine Lötzsch called Gauck a ‘man of the past’ who did not ‘set a path for the future’… While the Left party has consistently refused to support Gauck’s candidacy for the president’s office, Germany’s other parties have regularly backed him… During the two days of tense discussions following Wulff’s resignation, Gauck was the only person to receive the support of the FDP, the junior partner in Merkel’s governing coalition, as well as the SPD and Greens. Gauck also enjoys the support of the German population. Two polls published Sunday showed voters would like to see Gauck move into Bellevue Palace, the president’s official residence…”

After many past disappointments, Germans are looking for a decent and trustworthy person to lead them. Not everyone is happy with the most recent choice of Joachim Gauck as new President. The skeptic Twitter community is rather opposed to him, especially because the big German parties support him. Also, Pastor Gauck has been separated [but not divorced] from his wife and mother of their four children for many years, while being together with another woman for 12 years. The German news media is asking the question whether Gauck will now divorce and marry his companion, before they are moving together into Bellevue Palace. Of course, Germany’s Foreign Minister, Guido Westerwelle, a practicing homosexual, does not see the need for this discussion. Sadly, in the future, a charismatic person will arise who will seemingly support all the right values, and the people will love him. But he will be a wolf in sheep’s clothing. He is identified as “the beast” in the Bible.

Merkel’s Bitter Defeat—FDP Guilty of Blackmail?

Der Spiegel Online wrote on February 20:

“In accepting the opposition’s candidate for the next German president, Angela Merkel has suffered the bitterest defeat of her chancellorship. Her junior coalition partner, the FDP, teamed up with the two main opposition parties to push through their choice. The ignominious defeat could mark a turning point for the German chancellor…

“In the ad hoc alliance between the SPD, Greens and the FDP, three parties have come together to oppose the chancellor… Now the three parties, which could conceivably join forces to form a coalition government after the 2013 election, have gone their own way.The trio has outfoxed the arch-strategist Merkel. The chancellor and CDU leader has become more isolated since the weekend — and weaker.”

In a related article, Der Spiegel Online added on February 20:

“The conflict over the choice of Gauck is likely to have repercussions within Merkel’s coalition. Sources in the conservatives told the AFP news agency on Sunday evening that resentment at the FDP would probably have effects on the coalition’s cooperation in the future. SPD politicians could scarcely contain their delight at the split within the government. ‘That was by no means amicable,’ said the SPD’s general secretary, Andrea Nahles, on Sunday evening, describing the conservatives’ concession to the FDP. ‘Amazingly enough, it wasn’t the FDP that was toppled, but the chancellor.’”

The Local wrote on February 21:

“Joachim Gauck’s nomination for the German presidency nearly brought down Angela Merkel’s coalition government, with her Christian Democratic Union accusing their junior partners the Free Democrats of blackmail. The fallout from the row between the CDU and the FDP spilled into public after stories emerged of a stormy meeting between the coalition partners as the decision was being made on Sunday. According to media reports, Chancellor Merkel was incensed after she only heard of the FDP’s decision to back Gauck via the news wires…

“Volker Kauder, head of the CDU’s parliamentary faction was said to have been particularly infuriated, because he had a reputation for defending the shaky alliance with the Free Democrats… FDP leader Philipp Rösler, who is also vice chancellor and economy minister, told Die Welt on Tuesday that the conservatives had seriously threatened to bring down the government. ‘The (CDU) mentioned ending the coalition several times,’ he said… Deputy parliamentary leader Michael Kretschmer called the FDP’s behaviour a ‘flagrant breach of trust’… For a party still languishing in the opinion polls, the long-term effect on the FDP could be devastating.”

The Role of the German President

Deutsche Welle wrote on February 17:

“The resignation of German President Christian Wulff has once again called into question the role of the president. DW takes a look at Germany’s highest office, which plays a largely ceremonial role… Compared with leaders of other countries, the German president has few opportunities to influence day-to-day politics in his or her country. The president represents Germany in matters of international law, and at official gatherings…

“The president signs laws because without that signature they cannot take effect. But it is up for debate exactly how much the president can verify the content of a law, or stop its execution. Some say a president can only make sure that the formalistic lawmaking process has been followed, while others say he or she has the ability to review a law’s contents.

“Part of the president’s job is to propose a chancellor to the lower house of parliament, the Bundestag. He appoints and fires the chancellor based on suggestions made by the Bundestag. Likewise, he can appoint and fire cabinet ministers based on the chancellor’s recommendation. The president can also pardon criminals…

“Unlike in the US, France or Austria, the German president is not elected directly by the people. He is elected by a committee, the Federal Convention, consisting of members of the Bundestag and the same number of delegates sent from the state parliaments. The president has a term of five years, and can only be re-elected once. Any German citizen over the age of 40 is able to become president.

“Why does the German president play a mainly ceremonial role? The reason is that during the Weimar Republic, the period that led up to Nazi Germany, the president had wide-reaching powers. He could annul basic laws and rule with emergency law. These factors played a large role in Hitler’s rise to power…”

However, under certain circumstances, these wide-ranging powers are now vested in Germany’s Chancellor….

Euro Ministers Agree on Greece Bailout

Reuters reported on February 21:

“Euro zone finance ministers agreed a 130-billion-euro ($172 billion) rescue for Greece on Tuesday to avert an imminent chaotic default after forcing Athens to commit to unpopular cuts and private bondholders to take bigger losses. The complex deal wrought in overnight negotiations buys time to stabilize the 17-nation currency bloc and strengthen its financial firewalls, but it leaves deep doubts about Greece’s ability to recover and avoid default in the longer term… Greece will be placed under permanent surveillance by an increased European presence on the ground, and it will have to deposit funds to service its debt in a special account to guarantee repayments.

“The 5 a.m. deal (0400 GMT) was hailed as a step forward for Greece, but experts warned that Athens will need more help to bring its debts down to the level envisaged in the bailout and will remain worryingly ‘accident prone’ in coming years… Greece will struggle for years without economic growth. The austerity measures imposed on Athens are widely disliked among the population and will put pressure on politicians who must contest an election expected in April… An opinion poll taken just before the Brussels deal showed that support for the two mainstream parties backing the rescue had fallen to an all-time low while leftist, anti-bailout parties showed gains…

“Parliaments in three countries that have been most critical of bailouts – Germany, the Netherlands and Finland – must now approve the package. German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble, who caused an outcry by suggesting that Greece was a ‘bottomless pit,’ said he was confident it would be passed… Many economists question whether Greece can pay off even a reduced debt burden, suggesting the deal may only delay a deeper default by a few months…

“A return to economic growth in Greece could take as much as a decade, a prospect that brought thousands onto the streets of Athens to protest on Sunday. The cuts will deepen a recession already in its fifth year, hurting government revenues. ‘We sowed the wind, now we reap the whirlwind,’ said Vassilis Korkidis, head of the Greek Commerce Confederation. ‘The new bailout is selling us time and hope at a very high price, while it doggedly continues to impose harsh austerity measures that keep us in a long and deep recession.’”

The EUObserver added on February 21:

“Eurozone countries have been quick to pat themselves on the back for greenlighting a second bailout for embattled Greece, but the deal is dependent on a wholesale change to Greek society while the rewards in terms of economic growth and employment remain a long way off… The changes – required to cover a fiscal gap of 5 percent in 2013 and 2014 and make the country competitive – imply a thorough change to society, business and administration in Greece.

“Specifically, the country still needs to make it easier to hire and fire people, needs to start means-testing family allowances, reduce supplementary pensions, reduce public investment, decrease wages to special sectors such as the police and military, close or merge government ministries, cut electoral spending, clean up the system for health reimbursements, cut the minimum wage and renegotiate collective agreement with unions. The government also needs tackle what is seen as endemic tax evasion, although officials admit that this is a devil’s quest as the more recession bites the less still is incentive to pay state dues.

“This comes on top of the measures required for the first bailout which saw major pension reform, opening up of professions, and wage reductions – the combination of which has created a new poor in Greece and driven thousands to the streets in protest… Wages are expected to decrease by a further 15 percent over the coming three years… Meanwhile, unemployment has shot up from 9 percent in 2009 to above 18 percent now. The joblessness rate is expected to start decreasing only in 2014. A year later it is expected to still rest around 15 percent.

“…the agreement was political. The actual measures… still have to be enforced…”

The EUObserver wrote on February 22:

“One of the many loose ends to the Greek bail-out agreed in the early hours of Tuesday (21 February) is the lack of a firm commitment from the International Monetary Fund, pending a decision by eurozone leaders next week to merge the firepower of two bail-out funds…”

Military Attack on Iran Inevitable?

The Guardian wrote on February 18:

“The Middle East could be the battleground for a new cold war, if Iran succeeds in acquiring nuclear weapons, Britain’s foreign secretary has warned. William Hague said the world would face the most serious round of nuclear proliferation since the invention of the atomic bomb, which would be a ‘disaster in world affairs’…

“Hague’s desire to give economic sanctions time to work is reflected in Washington. However, officials in key parts of the Obama administration are increasingly convinced that sanctions will not deter Tehran from pursuing its nuclear programme. They believe the US will be left with no option but to launch an attack on Iran or watch Israel do so.”

The Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) wrote on February 18:

“[The] Head of [the] Russian Strategic Research Center for Contemporary Religions and Politics, Maxim Shochenko, said on Saturday [the] US and EU policy of banning Iranian oil is an already failed project… He told IRNA that Iran is cooperating with different countries in this field with many states eying Iranian oil; therefore the US politically-motivated move would bear no fruits for America. Shochenko said Western powers cannot understand the realities in Iran as [an] energy-rich country… He described economic sanctions and [an] oil embargo against Iran as a failed project and said China, India, Turkey and Japan are the main buyers of Iranian crude…”

In spite of the expressed optimism of American and European leaders, these sanctions will not work at all. The reason is that Iran’s leadership is determined to bring about upheaval and war to make possible the return of their Mahdi, as they see it.

Fox News reported on February 19:

“The U.S. and Britain on Sunday urged Israel not to attack Iran’s nuclear program as the White House’s national security adviser arrived in the region, reflecting growing international jitters that the Israelis are poised to strike.

“In their warnings, both the chairman of the U.S. joint chiefs of staff, Gen. Martin Dempsey, and British Foreign Secretary William Hague said an Israeli attack on Iran would have grave consequences for the entire region and urged Israel to give international sanctions against Tehran more time to work…”

Haaretz added on February 20:

“Visits to Jerusalem by senior U.S. officials this week reflect a growing concern in Washington over the possibility that Israel will decide to attack nuclear sites in Iran. The Americans are particularly worried about the hawkish line that Defense Minister Ehud Barak has adopted on the matter… Washington, like Jerusalem, appears to be under the impression that Barak will play a key role in Netanyahu’s decision-making. According to various assessments, in the constellation of forces within the senior forum of eight capital ministers, Barak represents the hawkish camp…”

Haaretz wrote on February 21:

“Iran would take pre-emptive action against its enemies if it felt its national interests were endangered, the deputy head of the Islamic Republic’s armed forces was quoted by a semi-official news agency as saying on Tuesday… Iran is facing growing international pressure and isolation over its disputed nuclear activity. Expanded Western sanctions aim to block its economically vital oil exports and Tehran has said it could retaliate by shutting the Strait of Hormuz shipping lane vital to global energy supplies.

“Earlier Tuesday, Haaretz reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Ehud Barak and other senior officials had protested over recent comments by senior American officials critical of any Israeli attack on Iran, saying this criticism ‘served Iran’s interests.’ A senior Israeli official said Netanyahu and Barak told Tom Donilon, U.S. national security adviser who has been in Israel this week, of their dissatisfaction with the interview given by Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the US joint chiefs of staff, to CNN on Sunday.

“Dempsey said ‘I don’t think a wise thing at this moment is for Israel to launch a military attack on Iran,’ and a strike ‘would be destabilizing’ and ‘not prudent.’ Dempsey said the United States has so far not been able to persuade Israel not to attack Iran…”

We are seeing divisions develop between Israel on the one hand, and America and Europe on the other hand. It is interesting that Isaiah 9:21 speaks of contentions between modern-day Ephraim (mainly Great Britain), Manasseh (the USA) and Judah (the state of Israel).

Iran Continues Their Provocations

VOA News reported on February 18:

“Iranian warships have passed through Egypt’s Suez Canal and entered the Mediterranean Sea… the passage… was only the second made by Iranian ships since the 1979 Islamic Revolution… The Suez canal cuts through Egypt and allows shipping to pass between the Middle East to Europe.”

AFP added on February 18:

“Iranian naval forces are composed of small units, including speedboats equipped with missiles, which operate in the Gulf and are under the command of the Revolutionary Guards. The navy, using small frigates, destroyers, and three Russian-made Kilo class submarines, oversees high seas missions in the Gulf of Oman and Gulf of Aden. It now permanently has at least two vessels in those areas to escort merchant ships, and has been involved in more than 100 confrontations with armed pirates, according to the navy commander in December.”

The Associated Press wrote on February 19:

“Iran has halted oil shipments to Britain and France, the Oil Ministry said Sunday, in an apparent pre-emptive blow against the European Union after the bloc imposed sanctions on Iran’s crucial fuel exports. The EU imposed tough sanctions against Iran last month, which included a freeze of the country’s central bank assets and an oil embargo set to begin in July. Iran’s Oil Minister Rostam Qassemi had warned earlier this month that Tehran could cut off oil exports to ‘hostile’ European nations. The 27-nation EU accounts for about 18 percent of Iran’s oil exports. However, the Iranian action was not likely to have any significant direct impact on European supplies because both Britain and France had already moved last year to sharply curtail oil purchases from Tehran to less than 3 percent of their daily needs…”

Der Spiegel Online wrote on February 23:

“Inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency had been hoping to be allowed access to a suspicious facility southeast of Tehran, but the visit was pronounced a failure… The failed inspection visit is the latest setback in international efforts to force Iran to come clean about its nuclear program. Tehran continues to insist the program is exclusively civilian in nature. But an IAEA report issued last November, which for the first time voiced the agency’s strong suspicion that Iran was working towards the construction of atomic weapons, has led the West to redouble its efforts to isolate the country…

“The left-leaning daily Die Tageszeitung writes: ‘Whatever the reasons were for Tehran’s lack of cooperation with the IAEA mission, they have played into the hands of all those who are calling for air strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities, whether they are in Israel, in the US Republican Party, or elsewhere. The danger of crisis has become greater as a result…’

“The left-leaning Berlin daily Berliner Zeitung writes: ‘The inspection ritual in Iran hasn’t changed for 10 years, no matter what threats the West makes or how biting their sanctions are… the current regime will make no concessions in the atomic dispute… Particularly given that Israel has nuclear weapons and is threatening with a military strike. As a result, we will experience the (non-)inspection ritual again and again — until Iran has the bomb.’”

The developments pertaining to Iran are of great concern. Experts have said that if Iran were to close the Strait of Hormuz or if Israel were to attack Iran, the average price for regular gas at American gas stations could rise this summer to 5 or 6 dollars, and that such rising gas prices would be partially due to the greed of gas companies which, according to news analyst and commentator Lou Dobbs, have exported surplus refined oil to countries like China, and because we can expect the usual greed of suppliers to make a buck and bleed their customers. Please also note the next article, which sheds a flickering light on America’s oil-exporting allies.

Bad News on the Oil Market?

CNBC wrote on February 19:

“The world’s top oil exporter, Saudi Arabia, appears to have cut both its oil production and export in December… For the third month in a row, no details were available for the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Libya, the immediate reasons for which are unclear.

“Together with other Gulf oil exporters, the UAE has been in focus as a possible source of alternative supply for at least some of Iran’s crude… Iraq, another frequently-cited supplier to make up for part of the Iranian oil shortfall following European Union sanctions, reported no major changes to its supply and export regime…”

Somewhat inconsistently and contradictory, Reuters reported the following on February 19:

“Iran was supplying more than 700,000 barrels per day (bpd) to the EU plus Turkey in 2011, industry sources said. By the start of this year imports had sunk to about 650,000 bpd as some customers cut back in anticipation of an EU ban. Saudi Arabia says it is prepared to supply extra oil either by topping up existing term contracts or by making rare spot market sales.”

It was reported that at some gas stations in Florida, the price for regular gasoline has already reached 6.00 dollars a gallon.

New Mideast War Is Coming Soon

Newsmax reported on February 20:

“From Tunis to Tripoli to Cairo to Damascus, what seems real one day is no longer the next. Policymakers in Western capitals agree that Syrian President Bashar Assad’s suppression of dissent, with a toll of 6,000 dead so far — and still climbing — makes him the war criminal… In Libya, liberation from Moammar Gadhafi’s 40-year-tyranny gradually morphed into inter-tribal warfare… Thousands of Russian surface-to-air missiles bought by Ghadafi’s regime and other weapons lay abandoned in the desert, available to any terrorist group with plans to down commercial aircraft anywhere in the world…

“In Cairo, a new parliament dominated by fundamentalists of the Muslim Brotherhood, with 47 percent of the seats, appeared shaken while trying to project a moderate image for their western interlocutors. Salafists, or Muslim extremists who rooted for the late Osama Bin Laden, emerged from the most recent ballot count with 25 percent of the new parliament. Together, with 72 percent of Parliament, these two branches of Islam will dominate constitutional reform. Liquor, women with uncovered heads or in swimsuits on the beaches of the Mediterranean and Red Sea will be officially banned…

“As the Arab world continued to unravel, the Iranian nuclear crisis had a near-monopoly of front-page news… One nuclear missile obliterating Tel Aviv or Jerusalem would be a global catastrophe. Israel would survive, but Iran would cease to exist as a nation hours later. Israel’s fighter bombers with air-to-air refueling tankers have been on instant standby for months. Violating the air space of other countries wouldn’t even be a consideration…

“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu believes his country cannot wait for Iran to produce its first nuclear weapon… Obama knows that the United States will be drawn automatically into the conflict as Iran unleashes its asymmetrical retaliatory capabilities up and down the Persian Gulf, including the Strait of Hormuz, through which passes 20 percent of the world’s oil consumption… The October surprise: The United States will be in its third war in 10 years.”

“Assad Must Go”

The New York Times reported on February 23:

“A United Nations panel concluded on Thursday that ‘gross human rights violations’ had been ordered by the Syrian authorities as state policy at ‘the highest levels of the armed forces and the government,’ amounting to crimes against humanity… Syrian security forces continued to bombard areas of Homs, a city in central Syria, for a 20th successive day, despite a growing outcry and international calls for the creation of humanitarian corridors to reach the sick, the wounded and the frail. The 72-page report, which was delivered to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva, said that the insurgent Free Syrian Army, made up of defectors from forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad, had also committed abuses, but those were ‘not comparable in scale and organization to those carried out by the state.’…

“The foreign ministers of several European and Arab countries met in London on Thursday ahead of the international ‘friends of Syria’ meeting in Tunis on Friday to discuss ways to bolster Syria’s opposition forces… The United Nations report argued that Syria was now ‘on the brink’ of civil war… The document spoke of torture and killing of civilians…

“Among the scores of people that activist groups reported killed by rockets and bombs through the day on Wednesday, two were Western journalists, the veteran American war correspondent Marie Colvin, who had been working for The Sunday Times of London, and a young French photographer, Rémi Ochlik. The two had been working in a makeshift media center that was destroyed in the assault, raising suspicions that Syrian security forces might have identified its location by tracing satellite signals. Experts say that such tracking is possible with sophisticated equipment.

“The killings provoked an outcry, with powerful media figures and European politicians calling on Syrian forces to permit the retrieval of the bodies and to allow the Red Cross to enter areas where civilians say they are under relentless siege, running short of food and medical supplies. At least two other journalists were wounded on Wednesday and their newspapers in London and Paris said they were trying to find ways to rescue them. The French prime minister, François Fillon, identified one of the wounded journalists as Edith Bouvier, a 31-year-old freelancer for the daily newspaper Le Figaro…

“Late Wednesday, British officials summoned the Syrian ambassador, Sami Khiyami, to protest the continued attacks on Homs…  the Foreign Ministry in Damascus on Thursday rejected ‘all statements that hold Syria accountable for the death of journalists who infiltrated Syria at their own risk without the Syrian authorities’ knowledge of their entry and whereabouts.’ Speaking on the BBC on Thursday, Foreign Secretary William Hague of Britain said that ‘people have been dying in their thousands, that continues. The Assad regime has continued to act seemingly with impunity.’ There would also be further steps at the United Nations to put pressure on Mr. Assad, even though Russia and China have combined to block Western and Arab League efforts to force him from power.

“Russia has said it will not attend the Tunisia meeting and news reports on Thursday said China had not committed itself to attending, blunting the gathering’s chances of securing strong action against Mr. Assad’s government.  Activists, civilian journalists and foreign correspondents who have snuck into Syria have infuriated the authorities and foiled the government’s efforts to control the coverage of clashes, which have claimed thousands of Syrian lives in the last year and which Mr. Assad portrays as caused by an armed insurgency.  Last week, Anthony Shadid, a correspondent for The New York Times, died of an apparent asthma attack in Syria on Thursday after spending nearly a week reporting covertly in the northern area of Idlib, near the Turkish border…  the latest deaths of journalists, on top of the agonizing civilian toll, focused a new wave of international revulsion and anger on Mr. Assad and the Syria government. President Nicolas Sarkozy of France said the killings showed that ‘enough is enough, this regime must go. There is no reason why Syrians should not have the right to live their lives, to freely choose their destiny.’”

It’s Not That Funny…

The Associated Press reported on February 18:

“Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul warned the U.S. [that] … we’re slipping into a fascist system where it’s a combination of government and big business and authoritarian rule and the suppression of the individual rights of each and every American citizen.’…

“Paul repeatedly denounced President Barack Obama’s recent enactment of a law requiring military custody of anyone suspected to be associated with al-Qaida and involved in planning an attack on the U.S…”

Although Ron Paul is sometimes described as the “funny uncle,” who does not really seem to have any chance of becoming the nominated Republican candidate, some of his viewpoints should not be rejected off hand. Conversely, the current four Republican candidates are attacking themselves personally with ever-increasing force, while no one seems to be emerging as the clear leader. There is great concern amongst Republicans that none of them could defeat President Obama in the next election (according to a newscast by MSNBC on February 22, 2012, current poll numbers suggest that President Obama would defeat any one of the Republican candidates). Therefore, the German press is speculating whether the Republicans will choose a new candidate, and some wonder whether this candidate could be former Florida’s governor Jeb Bush. Bild Online asks in its article of February 23, 2012: “Will it be another Bush in the end?” The paper states that rumors have it that additional candidates could be Indiana’s governor, Mitch Daniels, or New Jersey’s governor, Chris Christie.

Center for NATO Missile Defense Shield in Germany

Deutsche Welle reported on February 16:

“While the US is withdrawing combat troops from Europe, the center for NATO’s missile defense shield will be based in Germany… The US state deficit is forcing Washington to reduce military spending by $487 billion (370 billion euros) over the next decade. Some $525 billion is still earmarked for the US defense budget this year. The missions in Iraq and Afghanistan have cost the American taxpayer dearly… the army is to be downsized from 570,000 to 490,000 personnel…

“The US wants to downsize two combat brigades, notably in Germany… German Defense Minister Thomas de Maizière emphasized in Brussels that the US still views NATO as the most important military alliance: ‘The withdrawal of some 35,000-40,000 US soldiers from Germany is not dramatic. Europe remains the biggest base for US soldiers abroad. There is no reason whatsoever to doubt NATO’s commitment and America’s bond with Europe.’

“After the end of the Cold War… the US reduced the number of their troops in Europe from 230,000 to 81,000… Establishing the center for NATO’s planned missile defense shield in Ramstein, in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate, was not meant as a compensation for the planned troop withdrawal, say NATO officials. US Air Forces in Europe and NATO’s Allied Air Command already had their headquarters in Ramstein and it was therefore only logical to base the missile defense shield there as well…

“With cuts in the US defense budget, NATO diplomats are expecting that Europeans will be confronted with new tasks and will no longer be able to rely on the Americans stepping in automatically with regard to security issues in future. US Defense Secrety Leon Panetta, however, stressed that cost saving measures would not impede the US’ ability to provide security around the globe and fight two potential adversaries – Iran and North Korea, should it come to that – at the same time.”

While the USA is withdrawing its troops worldwide, including in Germany, US Air Forces in Europe and NATO’s Allied Air Command maintain their headquarters in Germany, and they are also going to establish there the center for NATO’s missile defense shield. This should make us think…

More Bad News for the USA

Reuters reported on February 21:

“About 2,000 Afghans protested outside the main U.S. military base in [Bagram, in] Afghanistan on Tuesday over a report that foreign soldiers improperly disposed of copies of the Koran… NATO’s top general in Afghanistan attempted to contain fury over the incident, which could be a public relations disaster for the U.S. military as it tries to pacify the country ahead of the withdrawal of foreign combat troops in 2014…

“‘We Afghans don’t want these Christians and infidels, they are the enemy of our soil, our honor and our Koran,’ said… one of the protesters. ‘I urge all Muslims to sacrifice themselves in order to pull out these troops from this soil.’ The Afghan Taliban also strongly condemned the incident. ‘Since the invasion of Afghanistan by the animal Americans, this is almost the 10th time that they have degraded the holiest values of Muslims,’ said [a] Taliban spokesman…

“Bagram also houses a prison for Afghans detained by American forces. The center has caused resentment among Afghans because of reports of torture and ill-treatment of suspected Taliban prisoners, with President Hamid Karzai demanding the transfer of prisoners to Afghan security.

“Winning the hearts and minds of Afghans is critical to U.S. efforts to defeating the Taliban, but critics say Western forces often fail to grasp Afghanistan’s religious and cultural sensitivities… The Koran is the holy book of Islam [and] any hint that Western forces are showing it disrespect could deepen resentment over their presence in Afghanistan… Protests raged for three days across Afghanistan in April last year after a U.S. pastor burned a Koran in Florida…”

BBC News reported on February 23:

“President Barack Obama has apologised to the Afghan people for the burning of Korans by American troops at a US base. In a letter to President Hamid Karzai, Mr Obama expressed his ‘deep regret’ and said the incident earlier this week was a genuine mistake.

“Demonstrations against the desecration have continued for a third day across northern and eastern Afghanistan. Two US soldiers and two Afghans were killed in an attack on a military base. Elsewhere there were four other deaths. On Wednesday, another seven people were killed and dozens injured in protests… In addition to those killed, many people have been injured in the protests, some of them critically, while armed men on Thursday also attacked at least two military installations.

“Crowds shouting ‘death to Obama’ have been throwing stones and setting fire to the US flag. Meanwhile the Taliban have called on Afghans to kill and beat all invading forces in revenge for ‘insulting’ the Koran… many officials sympathise with the outrage the US has provoked across the country… Friday prayers may spark more tensions, depending on the tone set by religious leaders.”

Pope Appoints Twelve New Cardinals

The Associated Press reported on February 18:

“Pope Benedict XVI on Saturday brought 22 new Catholic churchmen into the elite club of cardinals who will elect his successor… each of the new cardinals did make a solemn pledge to keep church secrets upon accepting their new title, ring and three-pointed red hat, or biretta, from the pope. Reciting the cardinals’ traditional oath of loyalty, each one pledged to remain faithful to the church and to ‘not to make known to anyone matters entrusted to me in confidence, the disclosure of which could bring damage or dishonor to [the] Holy Church.’

“Benedict was wheeled into St. Peter’s Basilica aboard the moving platform he has been using for several months to spare him the long walk down the center aisle. Benedict, who turns 85 in April, spoke in a strong voice as he told the cardinals they will be called upon to advise him on the problems facing the church.

“In remarks at the start of the service, Benedict recalled that the red color of the three-pointed hat, or biretta, and the scarlet cassock that cardinals wear symbolizes the blood that cardinals must be willing to shed to remain faithful to the church… As of Saturday, Italy will have 30 cardinals out of the 125 under age 80… The consistory class of 2012 is heavily European, reinforcing Europe’s dominance of the College of Cardinals…”

The Bible identifies and associates the color of scarlet quite differently in Revelation 17:4. Also, what kind of disclosure of information, obtained in confidence, would bring “damage or dishonor” to the Catholic Church?

Intended Role of the Holy Roman Emperor

Zenit wrote on February 17:

“Medieval Europe saw the Church increasing[ly] hemmed in by secular powers, in particular by the Holy Roman Emperor, the most powerful man in the world of that age. The role of the Holy Roman Emperor had been established in 800 as a protector of the Church’s person, property and liberties, but by the 11th century the emperor interfered regularly in Church matters, even appointing bishops, and he expected to have a role in electing the Roman Pontiff.

“… on Easter of 1059, Pope Nicholas II issued the papal bull In Nomine Domini, in the presence of 113 bishops gathered in Rome… This bull put the election of the pope into the hands of the cardinals who would be assembled in Rome, and was the equivalent to a declaration of independence… By the 12th century, the College of Cardinals had grown to include men from all over Europe…”

Even though history reveals a close collaboration between church and state during Europe’s different revivals of the Holy Roman Empire, it is also true that many times, a battle for supremacy was fought between church and state. Such a battle is prophesied to repeat itself, after a strong unification between state and church has occurred. The next article may give us a glimpse as to what may happen on a large scale (compare Revelation 17:16). For more information, please read our free booklets, “Europe in Prophecy” and “Is That in the Bible? The Mysteries of the Book of Revelation.”

This Won’t Make the Catholic Church Happy

The EUObserver wrote on February 17:

“The Italian technocrat government of Mario Monti has announced plans forcing the [Catholic] church to pay property tax on buildings used for commercial purposes. The tax is estimated to raise revenues of minimum €500 million, with the Catholic Church being one of Italy’s largest private real estate holders…”

We Are All Catholics Now?

On February 19, the Washington Post published an editorial by controversial newscaster Glenn Beck. IF we take Beck by his words, it’s a terribly unbalanced article. Note the following excerpts:

“I am a proud member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but today, I call myself a Catholic. Why? Because the state is telling the Catholic Church to violate its principles and teachings. So if you are a person of faith, you must call yourself a Catholic.

“Today, the Catholic Church is defending a historic American freedom. We tend to forget that many of America’s earliest European settlers were religious refugees. Europe was not a kind place to the faithful if the state didn’t approve: Jews in Spain, Puritans in England, Protestants in France and so on. You were cast out, or worse.

“Our Founding Fathers remembered this. They knew if you can’t serve God as you choose, you are not free. And so they enshrined that right in the First Amendment of the Constitution: The state ‘shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…’

“This is why Americans are offended by the ruling from the White House that would force church-run institutions to pay for birth control and morning-after pills, which are tantamount to abortion…

“Many people – including those who use contraception and abortion – respect those whose faith teaches them that God wants them to do or not do certain things. They recognize such faith in themselves. Some people don’t drink alcohol. Some don’t eat pork. Some people wear a hijab. Some work in soup kitchens. Some tithe 10 percent of their income. All because God tells them to…

“Because when the state comes against the Catholics, or the Jews, or the Muslims, or the Pentecostals, or the Mormons or those of any other faith – exotic or familiar – we must all stand up as one: We are all Catholics now… this struggle is similar to the fight against anti-Semitism.

“… when it comes to the separation of church and state, we need absolutes. The state needs to be free from the church, and the church from the state. The state has no right to say how much religion any American can practice. It’s our right, and it is the first one our Founding Fathers protected.”

This polemic article raises all kinds of problematic questions. According to Beck’s rationale, the state could not prohibit murder, racial persecution or even child sacrifice because of religious conviction and practice. This is of course total nonsense.

German-Israeli Relationship

Deutsche Welle reported on February 21, 2012:

“Nitzan Horowitz likes to remember the summer of 2006, when he covered the Football World Cup from Germany as a reporter for Israeli television… He beseeched his countrymen not to be afraid of images on television showing Germans waving flags…  Today, Horowitz is a member of the Israeli parliament for the Meretz party… ‘I think today, Germany is an anchor of democracy,’ he told DW. ‘Not just in Europe, but in the whole world.’ Germany, he says, is a strong, democratic and stable state that sets a good example for other countries…’

“But Michael Wolffsohn, a German-Israeli historian, doesn’t share Horowitz’s point of view. ‘There is no friendship between Germany and Israel,’ he said in a recent interview. Wolffsohn says opinion polls show the gap between the countries has increased since 1981, when a fierce controversy between then-leaders Menachem Begin and Helmut Schmidt concerning planned German arms sales to Saudi Arabia led to a profound break in relations… Today, Wolffsohn says Israel ranks as one of the most unpopular states in the world in the eyes of the German public…

“Would Germany, for example, back Israel if the Israeli army attacked Iran in an attempt to stop the country from developing its nuclear program?… Gadi Algazi, a historian who lives in Tel Aviv, would rather not see Germany on the side of Israel in any potential attack on Iran. A military strike against Iran’s nuclear program would be devastating, he says, adding that Germany should never support such a political solution…

“Carlo Strenger, a Swiss psychoanalyst and author, has come under fire for his criticism of Israeli politics… He understands that, due to the shared history, it may be difficult for German politicians to criticize Israel. In this respect, he admires German Chancellor Angela Merkel: while she does not attempt to hide Germany’s past, neither does she shrink from legitimate criticism…”

The Sabbath Controversy

Haaretz reported on February 22:

“Tel Aviv Chief Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau issued a harsh response on Tuesday to the city council’s decision to allow public transportation to operate on Shabbat. The council’s decision was decided by a majority vote on Monday. In a letter published on Tuesday morning, Lau wrote that he was ‘filled with a feeling of deep disappointment and pain’ upon hearing of the council’s decision, and called on Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai and the ministers of transportation and the interior to cancel it. ‘This is a severe blow to the holiness of the Shabbat, which is a remnant of Creation, a reminder of the Exodus from Egypt, a day of rest for every worker and a day of spiritual ascension and the unity of the family,’ he added…

“Among Israeli cities, only Haifa and Eilat are currently allowed to operate public transportation on Shabbat, the Jewish day of rest. Tel Aviv transportation authority head Moshe Tiomkin said on Tuesday that, despite the council’s decision, he did not expect the move to succeed… The Transportation Ministry issued a statement in response, saying, ‘There is a decades-old status quo regarding operation of public transportation on Shabbat, and the Transportation Ministry does not intend to violate it.’”

Scientists Playing God

Der Spiegel wrote on February 17:

“Should scientists be allowed to create extremely aggressive and highly infectious influenza viruses? Dutch virologists have done it …

“Fouchier is attracting so much attention because he has created a new organism. And although it is tiny, if it escaped from his laboratory it would claim far more human lives than an exploding nuclear power plant. The pathogen is a new mutation of the feared bird flu virus, H5N1. In nature, this virus, which kills one of every two people infected, has not yet been transmitted from humans to humans… Fouchier’s ferrets, animals that most closely resemble humans when it comes to influenza, transmitted the virus to each other without direct contact, through tiny droplets of saliva and mucus.

“Many scientists are particularly impressed by the fact that, at almost the same time, another research team also managed to produce a bird flu virus that could be transmitted via airborne respiratory droplets. To achieve this, virologist Yoshihiro Kawaoka of the University of Wisconsin combined the avian flu virus with the swine flu virus. The newly created superbug is highly infectious…

“Similarly controversial experiments have also been conducted with other pathogens… In 2001, a mouse pox virus that was 100-percent fatal was accidentally created in an Australian laboratory… The influenza virus that caused the devastating Spanish Flu in 1918 has been completely recreated… The ‘Russian flu’ of 1977 may have been triggered by a lab virus. SARS, a respiratory disease, almost returned when laboratory workers became infected with the coronavirus during their work. A scientist in Chicago even died of SARS in 2009.

“Hundreds of new virus laboratories have been established worldwide in recent years, and highly dangerous pathogens are used in a large share of these laboratories. ‘The risk of a virus being released accidentally is considerable,’ says [an expert].”

Such “scientific” conduct is so irresponsible, that one has a hard time believing it. No wonder that God tells us that He will come to “destroy those who destroy the earth” (Revelation 11:18).

Massive Rise in Antibiotic-Resistant Blood Poisoning

The Independent wrote on February 20:

“Britain is facing a ‘massive’ rise in antibiotic-resistant blood poisoning caused by the bacterium E.coli – bringing closer the spectre of diseases that are impossible to treat. Experts say the growth of antibiotic resistance now poses as great a threat to global health as the emergence of new diseases such as Aids and pandemic flu… an estimated 25,000 people die each year in the European Union from antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections…”

Everything Goes…?

The Daily Mail wrote on February 20

“A powerful denunciation of David Cameron’s plans to legalise gay marriage is made today by former Archbishop of Canterbury Lord Carey. In an article for the Daily Mail, Lord Carey says the proposal to change the status of marriage ‘constitutes one of the greatest political power grabs in history’. He is backing a new grassroots organisation, the Coalition For Marriage (C4M), which opposes the redefinition of marriage to include same sex couples.”

Leviticus 18:22 states: “You shall not lie with a male as with a woman. It is an abomination.” In the New Testament, 1 Corinthians 6:9 confirms: “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators nor … adulterers, nor homosexuals [those submitting to homosexuals], nor sodomites [male homosexuals] … will inherit the kingdom of God.”

The Telegraph stated on February 20:

“[A] five [year old boy], has been living as a girl for more than a year – after he first refused to live as a boy when he turned three… he has Gender Identity Disorder (GID)… [He]  is one of the youngest in Britain ever to be diagnosed with GID – meaning he feels like he’s a girl trapped in a boy’s body…. [The parents say the boy] used to be a ‘normal’ little boy… but suddenly at the end of 2010, he decided he wanted to live as a girl. He became obsessed with [a] girly kids’ TV character… and started dressing in girl’s clothing… [A] dedicated specialists explained to [the parents] that gender identity disorder is a conflict between a person’s actual physical gender and the gender that person identifies himself or herself as.”

The Associated Press wrote on February 20:

“A small but growing number of teens and even younger children who think they were born the wrong sex are getting support from parents and from doctors who give them sex-changing treatments… An 8-year-old second-grader in Los Angeles is a typical patient. Born a girl, the child announced at 18 months, ‘I a boy’ and has stuck with that belief. The family was shocked but now refers to the child as a boy and is watching for the first signs of puberty to begin treatment… Doctors who provide the treatment say withholding it would be more harmful…

“Guidelines from the Endocrine Society endorse transgender hormone treatment but say it should not be given before puberty begins. At that point, the guidelines recommend puberty-blocking drugs until age 16, [many times in monthly $1,000 injections or implants imbedded in the arm], then lifelong sex-changing hormones with monitoring for potential health risks… a Texas doctor says he’s also provided sex-changing treatment to an increasing number of children; so has a clinic at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles where the 8-year-old is a patient…

“The idea is to give these children time to mature emotionally and make sure they want to proceed with a permanent sex change… boys switching to girls will develop breasts and girls transitioning to boys will be flat-chested if puberty is blocked and sex-hormones started soon enough… Sex hormones, especially in high doses when used long-term, can have serious side effects, including blood clots and cancer…”

The Bible calls such conduct an abomination. Deuteronomy 22:5 prohibits cross-dressing and the practice of living as a transvestite, which would most certainly include sex changes, stating: “A woman shall not wear anything that pertains to a man, nor shall a man put on a woman’s garment, for all who do so are an abomination to the LORD your God.”

The New York Times wrote on February 19:

“As of 2009, more than half of all children born to women under 30 were born to unmarried women. Unmarried mothers, in some areas, have become the norm… Fifty-three percent of all children born to women under 30 is an awful lot of children born outside of what’s been considered, for more than a handful of years, the most stable family structure… The young parents of Lorain (Cleveland, Ohio) said their reliance on the government safety net encouraged them to stay single and that they didn’t trust their youthful peers to be reliable partners…

“Researchers have consistently found that children born outside marriage face elevated risks of falling into poverty, failing in school or suffering emotional and behavioral problems … co-habitation arrangements in the United States are more than twice as likely to dissolve than marriages… Overwhelmingly, the more educated you are, the more likely you are to marry before having children. Bearing children outside of wedlock is a trend that’s most strongly affecting young adults who are already at an economic disadvantage… The further we go in this direction, the more single parents (mostly mothers, but not all) will find themselves and their children living without the stability and security that helps build a happy family life. It’s hard not to think of this as a problem.”

Mail On Line added on February 19:

“More than half of births to American women younger than 30 are outside marriage… And across all ages, a staggering four in ten women are not married when they have children… Fifty years ago, a third of American marriages were sparked by a pregnancy. In the mid-1990s, a third of Americans were born outside marriage. Now, it is 41 per cent and 53 per cent for children born to women under 30. Nearly three quarters of black children are born outside marriage compared with half of Latino babies and 29 per cent of whites. There is also an education divide, with 92 per cent of college-educated women married when they give birth compared with 43 per cent of women with a high school diploma or less.”

God created the institution of marriage between a man and a woman. Christ said in Matthew 19:4-6: “‘Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning made them male and female, and said, for this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. So, then, they are no longer two but one flesh…’” Galatians 5:19-21 adds that those who defile the marriage by practicing adultery, or by practicing sexual relationships outside marriage (“fornication”), will not be given eternal life: “Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are, adultery, fornication… of which I tell you … that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.”

This Week in the News

We report on the resignation of the German President and the nomination of his successor; comment on the latest EU-Greece bailout deal; address the increasingly troublesome developments pertaining to Iran and Syria and the strong possibility of a new Mideast war; speak of domestic and international activities of the USA; address the nomination of twelve Catholic cardinals and relate other information regarding the historical and prophesied unification of political and religious Europe; address German-Israeli relationship and a new Sabbath controversy; report on scientific “accomplishments,” which have the potential of destroying mankind; and conclude with a series of articles on marriage and “alternative” relationships, including the rapid increase of babies being born out of wedlock, the trend to legalize same-sex “marriages,” and the troubling phenomenon of children and teens, being diagnosed as suffering from “Gender Identity Disorder.”

Have You Ever…?

Have you ever slipped? Did you have moments when you felt you just could not go on? Did you withdraw? Were you ready to throw in the towel? Did you lose your way?

If so, you might be surprised to learn that you would not have been alone. Many great heroes in the Bible experienced feelings of doubt, frustration, disappointment and disillusionment. What matters in such moments is how we deal with them. Remember, even the righteous may fall seven times and rise again (Proverbs 24:16). True friends can help in the process.

One of the great inspired writings in God’s Word is the gospel record of Mark. Even though the Bible does not specifically say that Mark penned the account, numerous documents from the early Church unanimously identify him as the author, and they tell us that it was Peter who more or less dictated the account to Mark (compare 1 Peter 5:13, where Peter calls Mark affectionately “my son”). Mark was actually the Roman surname of his Hebrew name John, and Peter had known Mark or John Mark for a long time (Acts 12:12). It seemed that Mark had significant contact with Peter and the other leaders within the Jerusalem church. Mark might have been the “certain young man” who left his linen cloth and fled naked from the soldiers when Christ was arrested (Mark 14:51-52).

Mark was a cousin of Barnabas (Colossians 4:10). He accompanied Paul and Barnabas on their early missionary travels (Acts 12:25). Later, Paul referred to Mark as one of his fellow laborers (Philemon 23-24), who was useful to him in the ministry (2 Timothy 4:11).

But after Paul and Barnabas had been ordained as apostles and went on a missionary journey, John Mark decided not to continue with them on their journey, but to return to Jerusalem (Acts 13:13). We are not told why Mark made this decision, and we can surmise from other passages that Paul was not pleased with Mark’s conduct. It is implied in Scripture that for whatever unknown reasons, Mark was not willing to fulfill the need of the Work at the time. And so we read that on a later occasion, a strong controversy arose between Paul and Barnabas over Mark and his prior departure.

Acts 15:36-41 states: “Then after some days Paul said to Barnabas, ‘Let us now go back and visit our brethren in every city where we have preached the word of the Lord, and see how they are doing.’ Now Barnabas was determined to take with them John called Mark. But Paul insisted that they should not take with them the one who had departed from them in Pamphylia, and had not gone with them to the work. Then the contention became so sharp that they parted from one another. And so Barnabas took Mark and sailed to Cyprus; but Paul chose Silas and departed, being commended by the brethren to the grace of God. And he went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.”

However, the Bible does not specifically comment on who was to blame for this rather strong contention and the subsequent parting of the ways between Paul and Barnabas. When reading between the lines and considering other passages, it appears that Barnabas was correct in trying to give Mark another opportunity. Barnabas was a very compassionate man, “a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith” (Acts 11:24), and it was he who brought Paul to the early apostles, who were concerned about Paul’s true conversion, due to his prior terrible acts (Acts 9:26-27). So it appears that Paul could and should have followed Barnabas’ example and grant the same mercy to Mark, which he himself had received. But we know that later, Paul and Mark worked together again, and as we have seen, Mark became a fellow laborer in the Work and useful to Paul’s ministry.

Let us assume for a moment that things had turned out differently; that both Paul and Barnabas had refused to take Mark with them on further travels; that Mark had become deeply disappointed with them, and as a consequence, that he had even forsaken the faith.

For one, he would not have used the information received from Peter to pen his gospel record, and we would not have today important information about the ministry of Jesus Christ. Mark would not have been a useful tool in God’s ministry, undoubtedly helping some, if not many, to come to the true faith.

Fortunately, Mark did not give up. He continued in the faith. He did not harbor any grudges against Paul, and he did not allow a spirit of resentment and lack of forgiveness to settle in his mind. Rather, he became one of the giants in the Bible.

Have you ever felt like giving up? Are you feeling like that right now? If so, think of Mark. He repented of what he might have done wrong, and pressed forward toward the goal of eternal life in the Kingdom of God. He did not allow anything or anyone to stand in the way. And that is what we must do… always…

Update 530

A Time to Weep…

On February 25, 2012, Norbert Link will give the sermon, titled, “A Time to Weep…”

The services can be heard at www.cognetservices.org (12:30 pm Pacific Time; 1:30 pm Mountain Time; 2:30 pm Central Time; 3:30 pm Eastern Time). Just click on Connect to Live Stream.

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Have You Ever…?

by Norbert Link

Have you ever slipped? Did you have moments when you felt you just could not go on? Did you withdraw? Were you ready to throw in the towel? Did you lose your way?

If so, you might be surprised to learn that you would not have been alone. Many great heroes in the Bible experienced feelings of doubt, frustration, disappointment and disillusionment. What matters in such moments is how we deal with them. Remember, even the righteous may fall seven times and rise again (Proverbs 24:16). True friends can help in the process.

One of the great inspired writings in God’s Word is the gospel record of Mark. Even though the Bible does not specifically say that Mark penned the account, numerous documents from the early Church unanimously identify him as the author, and they tell us that it was Peter who more or less dictated the account to Mark (compare 1 Peter 5:13, where Peter calls Mark affectionately “my son”). Mark was actually the Roman surname of his Hebrew name John, and Peter had known Mark or John Mark for a long time (Acts 12:12). It seemed that Mark had significant contact with Peter and the other leaders within the Jerusalem church. Mark might have been the “certain young man” who left his linen cloth and fled naked from the soldiers when Christ was arrested (Mark 14:51-52).

Mark was a cousin of Barnabas (Colossians 4:10). He accompanied Paul and Barnabas on their early missionary travels (Acts 12:25). Later, Paul referred to Mark as one of his fellow laborers (Philemon 23-24), who was useful to him in the ministry (2 Timothy 4:11).

But after Paul and Barnabas had been ordained as apostles and went on a missionary journey, John Mark decided not to continue with them on their journey, but to return to Jerusalem (Acts 13:13). We are not told why Mark made this decision, and we can surmise from other passages that Paul was not pleased with Mark’s conduct. It is implied in Scripture that for whatever unknown reasons, Mark was not willing to fulfill the need of the Work at the time. And so we read that on a later occasion, a strong controversy arose between Paul and Barnabas over Mark and his prior departure.

Acts 15:36-41 states: “Then after some days Paul said to Barnabas, ‘Let us now go back and visit our brethren in every city where we have preached the word of the Lord, and see how they are doing.’ Now Barnabas was determined to take with them John called Mark. But Paul insisted that they should not take with them the one who had departed from them in Pamphylia, and had not gone with them to the work. Then the contention became so sharp that they parted from one another. And so Barnabas took Mark and sailed to Cyprus; but Paul chose Silas and departed, being commended by the brethren to the grace of God. And he went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.”

However, the Bible does not specifically comment on who was to blame for this rather strong contention and the subsequent parting of the ways between Paul and Barnabas. When reading between the lines and considering other passages, it appears that Barnabas was correct in trying to give Mark another opportunity. Barnabas was a very compassionate man, “a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith” (Acts 11:24), and it was he who brought Paul to the early apostles, who were concerned about Paul’s true conversion, due to his prior terrible acts (Acts 9:26-27). So it appears that Paul could and should have followed Barnabas’ example and grant the same mercy to Mark, which he himself had received. But we know that later, Paul and Mark worked together again, and as we have seen, Mark became a fellow laborer in the Work and useful to Paul’s ministry.

Let us assume for a moment that things had turned out differently; that both Paul and Barnabas had refused to take Mark with them on further travels; that Mark had become deeply disappointed with them, and as a consequence, that he had even forsaken the faith.

For one, he would not have used the information received from Peter to pen his gospel record, and we would not have today important information about the ministry of Jesus Christ. Mark would not have been a useful tool in God’s ministry, undoubtedly helping some, if not many, to come to the true faith.

Fortunately, Mark did not give up. He continued in the faith. He did not harbor any grudges against Paul, and he did not allow a spirit of resentment and lack of forgiveness to settle in his mind. Rather, he became one of the giants in the Bible.

Have you ever felt like giving up? Are you feeling like that right now? If so, think of Mark. He repented of what he might have done wrong, and pressed forward toward the goal of eternal life in the Kingdom of God. He did not allow anything or anyone to stand in the way. And that is what we must do… always…

Back to top

We report on the resignation of the German President and the nomination of his successor; comment on the latest EU-Greece bailout deal; address the increasingly troublesome developments pertaining to Iran and Syria and the strong possibility of a new Mideast war; speak of domestic and international activities of the USA; address the nomination of twelve Catholic cardinals and relate other information regarding the historical and prophesied unification of political and religious Europe; address German-Israeli relationship and a new Sabbath controversy; report on scientific “accomplishments,” which have the potential of destroying mankind; and conclude with a series of articles on marriage and “alternative” relationships, including the rapid increase of babies being born out of wedlock, the trend to legalize same-sex “marriages,” and the troubling phenomenon of children and teens, being diagnosed as suffering from “Gender Identity Disorder.”

Back to top

German President Resigns in Disgrace

The Local reported on February 17:

“German President Christian Wulff resigned in disgrace on Friday, finally bowing to pressure and a lack of trust on the back of months of revelations about blurred lines between personal, business and political advantage… the next president will be Germany’s third within two years… Wulff has been under increasing pressure to resign since last December when details of a soft loan of €500,000 he got from the wife of a businessman but did not declare, became public…

“Wulff himself was a controversial candidate who Merkel pushed into office in the face of opposition from within her own party’s ranks. He took over after his predecessor Horst Köhler resigned in May 2010 after making comments which appeared to justify Germany taking military action to defend its economic interests… The German constitution says that should a president resign or be prevented from carrying out his duties, his office should be filled by the president of the upper house of parliament, the Bundesrat – currently Christian Social Union leader Horst Seehofer. The enormous Federal Convention which elects the president, must meet at the latest 30 days after a resignation to start voting on candidates…”

It was announced that the vote will take place on March 18.

Der Spiegel Online added on February 17:

“Following the announcement by prosecutors that they would seek to lift his immunity, German President Christian Wulff announced Friday morning he would resign as the country’s head of state… The resignation of Wulff, Merkel’s handpicked president, is likely to come as a blow to the chancellor and her party in the run-up to state elections in Schleswig-Holstein and Saarland… At the center of the probe are allegations that a film producer had paid for a vacation in a luxury hotel for Wulff during his time as head of a state government. Wulff has denied the allegation, saying he repaid the filmmaker in cash…”

German Parties Pick New President

BBC News reported on February 19:

“German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said she backs [independent] Joachim Gauck, a [Lutheran] pastor and former East German rights activist, to be the country’s next president. Mr Gauck was proposed by the opposition Social Democrats and Greens after Christian Wulff quit as president on Friday over corruption allegations. Mrs Merkel opposed Mr Gauck for the presidency in 2010, instead supporting her ally Mr Wulff. Germany’s president has a largely ceremonial, but influential, role. With the backing of all the major parties, Mr Gauck’s election to the position next month should be a formality…

“The 72-year-old Mr Gauck is well known for his work as a dissident in East Germany and for running the archives on the Stasi secret police after the Berlin Wall came down, exposing its crimes… ‘Let’s not forget that we have churchmen like Gauck to thank for the success of East Germany’s peaceful revolution,’ [Angela Merkel] said. Mrs Merkel is herself the daughter of a Protestant pastor and, like Mr Gauck, grew up in the former East Germany… But the affair has come at a bad time for Mrs Merkel, who is trying to steer a way through the eurozone crisis…”

It is interesting that Angela Markel should emphasize the important role of the Lutheran Church in respect to the developments in East Germany, leading to the fall of the Berlin Wall. At the same time, it is well-known what important role the Catholic Church under its (then) Polish pope played in respect to the fall of the Iron Curtain.

Deutsche Welle wrote on February 19:

“Having lived under the dictatorship of East Germany and been forced to look on as his father was shipped to a Soviet gulag for four years, Gauck has dedicated his life to promoting freedom… Due to his family background and because he was not a member of East Germany’s official socialist youth association, Gauck was denied the opportunity to study German language and literature at university. Instead, he took up theology in 1958, and he began work as a Lutheran pastor in 1965… When the religious community took on a central role in promoting democracy in the former East Germany in 1989, it was Gauck who helped lead the popular movement New Forum in Rostock and who held the religious ceremonies that often preceded large-scale demonstrations on the streets of East German cities…

“Gauck’s role investigating the Stasi has made him unpopular in some parts of the Left party, a successor to the former East German communist party. When he ultimately lost out on being appointed president to Wulff in 2010, Left party leader Gesine Lötzsch called Gauck a ‘man of the past’ who did not ‘set a path for the future’… While the Left party has consistently refused to support Gauck’s candidacy for the president’s office, Germany’s other parties have regularly backed him… During the two days of tense discussions following Wulff’s resignation, Gauck was the only person to receive the support of the FDP, the junior partner in Merkel’s governing coalition, as well as the SPD and Greens. Gauck also enjoys the support of the German population. Two polls published Sunday showed voters would like to see Gauck move into Bellevue Palace, the president’s official residence…”

After many past disappointments, Germans are looking for a decent and trustworthy person to lead them. Not everyone is happy with the most recent choice of Joachim Gauck as new President. The skeptic Twitter community is rather opposed to him, especially because the big German parties support him. Also, Pastor Gauck has been separated [but not divorced] from his wife and mother of their four children for many years, while being together with another woman for 12 years. The German news media is asking the question whether Gauck will now divorce and marry his companion, before they are moving together into Bellevue Palace. Of course, Germany’s Foreign Minister, Guido Westerwelle, a practicing homosexual, does not see the need for this discussion. Sadly, in the future, a charismatic person will arise who will seemingly support all the right values, and the people will love him. But he will be a wolf in sheep’s clothing. He is identified as “the beast” in the Bible.

Merkel’s Bitter Defeat—FDP Guilty of Blackmail?

Der Spiegel Online wrote on February 20:

“In accepting the opposition’s candidate for the next German president, Angela Merkel has suffered the bitterest defeat of her chancellorship. Her junior coalition partner, the FDP, teamed up with the two main opposition parties to push through their choice. The ignominious defeat could mark a turning point for the German chancellor…

“In the ad hoc alliance between the SPD, Greens and the FDP, three parties have come together to oppose the chancellor… Now the three parties, which could conceivably join forces to form a coalition government after the 2013 election, have gone their own way.The trio has outfoxed the arch-strategist Merkel. The chancellor and CDU leader has become more isolated since the weekend — and weaker.”

In a related article, Der Spiegel Online added on February 20:

“The conflict over the choice of Gauck is likely to have repercussions within Merkel’s coalition. Sources in the conservatives told the AFP news agency on Sunday evening that resentment at the FDP would probably have effects on the coalition’s cooperation in the future. SPD politicians could scarcely contain their delight at the split within the government. ‘That was by no means amicable,’ said the SPD’s general secretary, Andrea Nahles, on Sunday evening, describing the conservatives’ concession to the FDP. ‘Amazingly enough, it wasn’t the FDP that was toppled, but the chancellor.’”

The Local wrote on February 21:

“Joachim Gauck’s nomination for the German presidency nearly brought down Angela Merkel’s coalition government, with her Christian Democratic Union accusing their junior partners the Free Democrats of blackmail. The fallout from the row between the CDU and the FDP spilled into public after stories emerged of a stormy meeting between the coalition partners as the decision was being made on Sunday. According to media reports, Chancellor Merkel was incensed after she only heard of the FDP’s decision to back Gauck via the news wires…

“Volker Kauder, head of the CDU’s parliamentary faction was said to have been particularly infuriated, because he had a reputation for defending the shaky alliance with the Free Democrats… FDP leader Philipp Rösler, who is also vice chancellor and economy minister, told Die Welt on Tuesday that the conservatives had seriously threatened to bring down the government. ‘The (CDU) mentioned ending the coalition several times,’ he said… Deputy parliamentary leader Michael Kretschmer called the FDP’s behaviour a ‘flagrant breach of trust’… For a party still languishing in the opinion polls, the long-term effect on the FDP could be devastating.”

The Role of the German President

Deutsche Welle wrote on February 17:

“The resignation of German President Christian Wulff has once again called into question the role of the president. DW takes a look at Germany’s highest office, which plays a largely ceremonial role… Compared with leaders of other countries, the German president has few opportunities to influence day-to-day politics in his or her country. The president represents Germany in matters of international law, and at official gatherings…

“The president signs laws because without that signature they cannot take effect. But it is up for debate exactly how much the president can verify the content of a law, or stop its execution. Some say a president can only make sure that the formalistic lawmaking process has been followed, while others say he or she has the ability to review a law’s contents.

“Part of the president’s job is to propose a chancellor to the lower house of parliament, the Bundestag. He appoints and fires the chancellor based on suggestions made by the Bundestag. Likewise, he can appoint and fire cabinet ministers based on the chancellor’s recommendation. The president can also pardon criminals…

“Unlike in the US, France or Austria, the German president is not elected directly by the people. He is elected by a committee, the Federal Convention, consisting of members of the Bundestag and the same number of delegates sent from the state parliaments. The president has a term of five years, and can only be re-elected once. Any German citizen over the age of 40 is able to become president.

“Why does the German president play a mainly ceremonial role? The reason is that during the Weimar Republic, the period that led up to Nazi Germany, the president had wide-reaching powers. He could annul basic laws and rule with emergency law. These factors played a large role in Hitler’s rise to power…”

However, under certain circumstances, these wide-ranging powers are now vested in Germany’s Chancellor….

Euro Ministers Agree on Greece Bailout

Reuters reported on February 21:

“Euro zone finance ministers agreed a 130-billion-euro ($172 billion) rescue for Greece on Tuesday to avert an imminent chaotic default after forcing Athens to commit to unpopular cuts and private bondholders to take bigger losses. The complex deal wrought in overnight negotiations buys time to stabilize the 17-nation currency bloc and strengthen its financial firewalls, but it leaves deep doubts about Greece’s ability to recover and avoid default in the longer term… Greece will be placed under permanent surveillance by an increased European presence on the ground, and it will have to deposit funds to service its debt in a special account to guarantee repayments.

“The 5 a.m. deal (0400 GMT) was hailed as a step forward for Greece, but experts warned that Athens will need more help to bring its debts down to the level envisaged in the bailout and will remain worryingly ‘accident prone’ in coming years… Greece will struggle for years without economic growth. The austerity measures imposed on Athens are widely disliked among the population and will put pressure on politicians who must contest an election expected in April… An opinion poll taken just before the Brussels deal showed that support for the two mainstream parties backing the rescue had fallen to an all-time low while leftist, anti-bailout parties showed gains…

“Parliaments in three countries that have been most critical of bailouts – Germany, the Netherlands and Finland – must now approve the package. German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble, who caused an outcry by suggesting that Greece was a ‘bottomless pit,’ said he was confident it would be passed… Many economists question whether Greece can pay off even a reduced debt burden, suggesting the deal may only delay a deeper default by a few months…

“A return to economic growth in Greece could take as much as a decade, a prospect that brought thousands onto the streets of Athens to protest on Sunday. The cuts will deepen a recession already in its fifth year, hurting government revenues. ‘We sowed the wind, now we reap the whirlwind,’ said Vassilis Korkidis, head of the Greek Commerce Confederation. ‘The new bailout is selling us time and hope at a very high price, while it doggedly continues to impose harsh austerity measures that keep us in a long and deep recession.’”

The EUObserver added on February 21:

“Eurozone countries have been quick to pat themselves on the back for greenlighting a second bailout for embattled Greece, but the deal is dependent on a wholesale change to Greek society while the rewards in terms of economic growth and employment remain a long way off… The changes – required to cover a fiscal gap of 5 percent in 2013 and 2014 and make the country competitive – imply a thorough change to society, business and administration in Greece.

“Specifically, the country still needs to make it easier to hire and fire people, needs to start means-testing family allowances, reduce supplementary pensions, reduce public investment, decrease wages to special sectors such as the police and military, close or merge government ministries, cut electoral spending, clean up the system for health reimbursements, cut the minimum wage and renegotiate collective agreement with unions. The government also needs tackle what is seen as endemic tax evasion, although officials admit that this is a devil’s quest as the more recession bites the less still is incentive to pay state dues.

“This comes on top of the measures required for the first bailout which saw major pension reform, opening up of professions, and wage reductions – the combination of which has created a new poor in Greece and driven thousands to the streets in protest… Wages are expected to decrease by a further 15 percent over the coming three years… Meanwhile, unemployment has shot up from 9 percent in 2009 to above 18 percent now. The joblessness rate is expected to start decreasing only in 2014. A year later it is expected to still rest around 15 percent.

“…the agreement was political. The actual measures… still have to be enforced…”

The EUObserver wrote on February 22:

“One of the many loose ends to the Greek bail-out agreed in the early hours of Tuesday (21 February) is the lack of a firm commitment from the International Monetary Fund, pending a decision by eurozone leaders next week to merge the firepower of two bail-out funds…”

Military Attack on Iran Inevitable?

The Guardian wrote on February 18:

“The Middle East could be the battleground for a new cold war, if Iran succeeds in acquiring nuclear weapons, Britain’s foreign secretary has warned. William Hague said the world would face the most serious round of nuclear proliferation since the invention of the atomic bomb, which would be a ‘disaster in world affairs’…

“Hague’s desire to give economic sanctions time to work is reflected in Washington. However, officials in key parts of the Obama administration are increasingly convinced that sanctions will not deter Tehran from pursuing its nuclear programme. They believe the US will be left with no option but to launch an attack on Iran or watch Israel do so.”

The Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) wrote on February 18:

“[The] Head of [the] Russian Strategic Research Center for Contemporary Religions and Politics, Maxim Shochenko, said on Saturday [the] US and EU policy of banning Iranian oil is an already failed project… He told IRNA that Iran is cooperating with different countries in this field with many states eying Iranian oil; therefore the US politically-motivated move would bear no fruits for America. Shochenko said Western powers cannot understand the realities in Iran as [an] energy-rich country… He described economic sanctions and [an] oil embargo against Iran as a failed project and said China, India, Turkey and Japan are the main buyers of Iranian crude…”

In spite of the expressed optimism of American and European leaders, these sanctions will not work at all. The reason is that Iran’s leadership is determined to bring about upheaval and war to make possible the return of their Mahdi, as they see it.

Fox News reported on February 19:

“The U.S. and Britain on Sunday urged Israel not to attack Iran’s nuclear program as the White House’s national security adviser arrived in the region, reflecting growing international jitters that the Israelis are poised to strike.

“In their warnings, both the chairman of the U.S. joint chiefs of staff, Gen. Martin Dempsey, and British Foreign Secretary William Hague said an Israeli attack on Iran would have grave consequences for the entire region and urged Israel to give international sanctions against Tehran more time to work…”

Haaretz added on February 20:

“Visits to Jerusalem by senior U.S. officials this week reflect a growing concern in Washington over the possibility that Israel will decide to attack nuclear sites in Iran. The Americans are particularly worried about the hawkish line that Defense Minister Ehud Barak has adopted on the matter… Washington, like Jerusalem, appears to be under the impression that Barak will play a key role in Netanyahu’s decision-making. According to various assessments, in the constellation of forces within the senior forum of eight capital ministers, Barak represents the hawkish camp…”

Haaretz wrote on February 21:

“Iran would take pre-emptive action against its enemies if it felt its national interests were endangered, the deputy head of the Islamic Republic’s armed forces was quoted by a semi-official news agency as saying on Tuesday… Iran is facing growing international pressure and isolation over its disputed nuclear activity. Expanded Western sanctions aim to block its economically vital oil exports and Tehran has said it could retaliate by shutting the Strait of Hormuz shipping lane vital to global energy supplies.

“Earlier Tuesday, Haaretz reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Ehud Barak and other senior officials had protested over recent comments by senior American officials critical of any Israeli attack on Iran, saying this criticism ‘served Iran’s interests.’ A senior Israeli official said Netanyahu and Barak told Tom Donilon, U.S. national security adviser who has been in Israel this week, of their dissatisfaction with the interview given by Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the US joint chiefs of staff, to CNN on Sunday.

“Dempsey said ‘I don’t think a wise thing at this moment is for Israel to launch a military attack on Iran,’ and a strike ‘would be destabilizing’ and ‘not prudent.’ Dempsey said the United States has so far not been able to persuade Israel not to attack Iran…”

We are seeing divisions develop between Israel on the one hand, and America and Europe on the other hand. It is interesting that Isaiah 9:21 speaks of contentions between modern-day Ephraim (mainly Great Britain), Manasseh (the USA) and Judah (the state of Israel).

Iran Continues Their Provocations

VOA News reported on February 18:

“Iranian warships have passed through Egypt’s Suez Canal and entered the Mediterranean Sea… the passage… was only the second made by Iranian ships since the 1979 Islamic Revolution… The Suez canal cuts through Egypt and allows shipping to pass between the Middle East to Europe.”

AFP added on February 18:

“Iranian naval forces are composed of small units, including speedboats equipped with missiles, which operate in the Gulf and are under the command of the Revolutionary Guards. The navy, using small frigates, destroyers, and three Russian-made Kilo class submarines, oversees high seas missions in the Gulf of Oman and Gulf of Aden. It now permanently has at least two vessels in those areas to escort merchant ships, and has been involved in more than 100 confrontations with armed pirates, according to the navy commander in December.”

The Associated Press wrote on February 19:

“Iran has halted oil shipments to Britain and France, the Oil Ministry said Sunday, in an apparent pre-emptive blow against the European Union after the bloc imposed sanctions on Iran’s crucial fuel exports. The EU imposed tough sanctions against Iran last month, which included a freeze of the country’s central bank assets and an oil embargo set to begin in July. Iran’s Oil Minister Rostam Qassemi had warned earlier this month that Tehran could cut off oil exports to ‘hostile’ European nations. The 27-nation EU accounts for about 18 percent of Iran’s oil exports. However, the Iranian action was not likely to have any significant direct impact on European supplies because both Britain and France had already moved last year to sharply curtail oil purchases from Tehran to less than 3 percent of their daily needs…”

Der Spiegel Online wrote on February 23:

“Inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency had been hoping to be allowed access to a suspicious facility southeast of Tehran, but the visit was pronounced a failure… The failed inspection visit is the latest setback in international efforts to force Iran to come clean about its nuclear program. Tehran continues to insist the program is exclusively civilian in nature. But an IAEA report issued last November, which for the first time voiced the agency’s strong suspicion that Iran was working towards the construction of atomic weapons, has led the West to redouble its efforts to isolate the country…

“The left-leaning daily Die Tageszeitung writes: ‘Whatever the reasons were for Tehran’s lack of cooperation with the IAEA mission, they have played into the hands of all those who are calling for air strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities, whether they are in Israel, in the US Republican Party, or elsewhere. The danger of crisis has become greater as a result…’

“The left-leaning Berlin daily Berliner Zeitung writes: ‘The inspection ritual in Iran hasn’t changed for 10 years, no matter what threats the West makes or how biting their sanctions are… the current regime will make no concessions in the atomic dispute… Particularly given that Israel has nuclear weapons and is threatening with a military strike. As a result, we will experience the (non-)inspection ritual again and again — until Iran has the bomb.’”

The developments pertaining to Iran are of great concern. Experts have said that if Iran were to close the Strait of Hormuz or if Israel were to attack Iran, the average price for regular gas at American gas stations could rise this summer to 5 or 6 dollars, and that such rising gas prices would be partially due to the greed of gas companies which, according to news analyst and commentator Lou Dobbs, have exported surplus refined oil to countries like China, and because we can expect the usual greed of suppliers to make a buck and bleed their customers. Please also note the next article, which sheds a flickering light on America’s oil-exporting allies.

Bad News on the Oil Market?

CNBC wrote on February 19:

“The world’s top oil exporter, Saudi Arabia, appears to have cut both its oil production and export in December… For the third month in a row, no details were available for the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Libya, the immediate reasons for which are unclear.

“Together with other Gulf oil exporters, the UAE has been in focus as a possible source of alternative supply for at least some of Iran’s crude… Iraq, another frequently-cited supplier to make up for part of the Iranian oil shortfall following European Union sanctions, reported no major changes to its supply and export regime…”

Somewhat inconsistently and contradictory, Reuters reported the following on February 19:

“Iran was supplying more than 700,000 barrels per day (bpd) to the EU plus Turkey in 2011, industry sources said. By the start of this year imports had sunk to about 650,000 bpd as some customers cut back in anticipation of an EU ban. Saudi Arabia says it is prepared to supply extra oil either by topping up existing term contracts or by making rare spot market sales.”

It was reported that at some gas stations in Florida, the price for regular gasoline has already reached 6.00 dollars a gallon.

New Mideast War Is Coming Soon

Newsmax reported on February 20:

“From Tunis to Tripoli to Cairo to Damascus, what seems real one day is no longer the next. Policymakers in Western capitals agree that Syrian President Bashar Assad’s suppression of dissent, with a toll of 6,000 dead so far — and still climbing — makes him the war criminal… In Libya, liberation from Moammar Gadhafi’s 40-year-tyranny gradually morphed into inter-tribal warfare… Thousands of Russian surface-to-air missiles bought by Ghadafi’s regime and other weapons lay abandoned in the desert, available to any terrorist group with plans to down commercial aircraft anywhere in the world…

“In Cairo, a new parliament dominated by fundamentalists of the Muslim Brotherhood, with 47 percent of the seats, appeared shaken while trying to project a moderate image for their western interlocutors. Salafists, or Muslim extremists who rooted for the late Osama Bin Laden, emerged from the most recent ballot count with 25 percent of the new parliament. Together, with 72 percent of Parliament, these two branches of Islam will dominate constitutional reform. Liquor, women with uncovered heads or in swimsuits on the beaches of the Mediterranean and Red Sea will be officially banned…

“As the Arab world continued to unravel, the Iranian nuclear crisis had a near-monopoly of front-page news… One nuclear missile obliterating Tel Aviv or Jerusalem would be a global catastrophe. Israel would survive, but Iran would cease to exist as a nation hours later. Israel’s fighter bombers with air-to-air refueling tankers have been on instant standby for months. Violating the air space of other countries wouldn’t even be a consideration…

“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu believes his country cannot wait for Iran to produce its first nuclear weapon… Obama knows that the United States will be drawn automatically into the conflict as Iran unleashes its asymmetrical retaliatory capabilities up and down the Persian Gulf, including the Strait of Hormuz, through which passes 20 percent of the world’s oil consumption… The October surprise: The United States will be in its third war in 10 years.”

“Assad Must Go”

The New York Times reported on February 23:

“A United Nations panel concluded on Thursday that ‘gross human rights violations’ had been ordered by the Syrian authorities as state policy at ‘the highest levels of the armed forces and the government,’ amounting to crimes against humanity… Syrian security forces continued to bombard areas of Homs, a city in central Syria, for a 20th successive day, despite a growing outcry and international calls for the creation of humanitarian corridors to reach the sick, the wounded and the frail. The 72-page report, which was delivered to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva, said that the insurgent Free Syrian Army, made up of defectors from forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad, had also committed abuses, but those were ‘not comparable in scale and organization to those carried out by the state.’…

“The foreign ministers of several European and Arab countries met in London on Thursday ahead of the international ‘friends of Syria’ meeting in Tunis on Friday to discuss ways to bolster Syria’s opposition forces… The United Nations report argued that Syria was now ‘on the brink’ of civil war… The document spoke of torture and killing of civilians…

“Among the scores of people that activist groups reported killed by rockets and bombs through the day on Wednesday, two were Western journalists, the veteran American war correspondent Marie Colvin, who had been working for The Sunday Times of London, and a young French photographer, Rémi Ochlik. The two had been working in a makeshift media center that was destroyed in the assault, raising suspicions that Syrian security forces might have identified its location by tracing satellite signals. Experts say that such tracking is possible with sophisticated equipment.

“The killings provoked an outcry, with powerful media figures and European politicians calling on Syrian forces to permit the retrieval of the bodies and to allow the Red Cross to enter areas where civilians say they are under relentless siege, running short of food and medical supplies. At least two other journalists were wounded on Wednesday and their newspapers in London and Paris said they were trying to find ways to rescue them. The French prime minister, François Fillon, identified one of the wounded journalists as Edith Bouvier, a 31-year-old freelancer for the daily newspaper Le Figaro…

“Late Wednesday, British officials summoned the Syrian ambassador, Sami Khiyami, to protest the continued attacks on Homs…  the Foreign Ministry in Damascus on Thursday rejected ‘all statements that hold Syria accountable for the death of journalists who infiltrated Syria at their own risk without the Syrian authorities’ knowledge of their entry and whereabouts.’ Speaking on the BBC on Thursday, Foreign Secretary William Hague of Britain said that ‘people have been dying in their thousands, that continues. The Assad regime has continued to act seemingly with impunity.’ There would also be further steps at the United Nations to put pressure on Mr. Assad, even though Russia and China have combined to block Western and Arab League efforts to force him from power.

“Russia has said it will not attend the Tunisia meeting and news reports on Thursday said China had not committed itself to attending, blunting the gathering’s chances of securing strong action against Mr. Assad’s government.  Activists, civilian journalists and foreign correspondents who have snuck into Syria have infuriated the authorities and foiled the government’s efforts to control the coverage of clashes, which have claimed thousands of Syrian lives in the last year and which Mr. Assad portrays as caused by an armed insurgency.  Last week, Anthony Shadid, a correspondent for The New York Times, died of an apparent asthma attack in Syria on Thursday after spending nearly a week reporting covertly in the northern area of Idlib, near the Turkish border…  the latest deaths of journalists, on top of the agonizing civilian toll, focused a new wave of international revulsion and anger on Mr. Assad and the Syria government. President Nicolas Sarkozy of France said the killings showed that ‘enough is enough, this regime must go. There is no reason why Syrians should not have the right to live their lives, to freely choose their destiny.’”

It’s Not That Funny…

The Associated Press reported on February 18:

“Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul warned the U.S. [that] … we’re slipping into a fascist system where it’s a combination of government and big business and authoritarian rule and the suppression of the individual rights of each and every American citizen.’…

“Paul repeatedly denounced President Barack Obama’s recent enactment of a law requiring military custody of anyone suspected to be associated with al-Qaida and involved in planning an attack on the U.S…”

Although Ron Paul is sometimes described as the “funny uncle,” who does not really seem to have any chance of becoming the nominated Republican candidate, some of his viewpoints should not be rejected off hand. Conversely, the current four Republican candidates are attacking themselves personally with ever-increasing force, while no one seems to be emerging as the clear leader. There is great concern amongst Republicans that none of them could defeat President Obama in the next election (according to a newscast by MSNBC on February 22, 2012, current poll numbers suggest that President Obama would defeat any one of the Republican candidates). Therefore, the German press is speculating whether the Republicans will choose a new candidate, and some wonder whether this candidate could be former Florida’s governor Jeb Bush. Bild Online asks in its article of February 23, 2012: “Will it be another Bush in the end?” The paper states that rumors have it that additional candidates could be Indiana’s governor, Mitch Daniels, or New Jersey’s governor, Chris Christie.

Center for NATO Missile Defense Shield in Germany

Deutsche Welle reported on February 16:

“While the US is withdrawing combat troops from Europe, the center for NATO’s missile defense shield will be based in Germany… The US state deficit is forcing Washington to reduce military spending by $487 billion (370 billion euros) over the next decade. Some $525 billion is still earmarked for the US defense budget this year. The missions in Iraq and Afghanistan have cost the American taxpayer dearly… the army is to be downsized from 570,000 to 490,000 personnel…

“The US wants to downsize two combat brigades, notably in Germany… German Defense Minister Thomas de Maizière emphasized in Brussels that the US still views NATO as the most important military alliance: ‘The withdrawal of some 35,000-40,000 US soldiers from Germany is not dramatic. Europe remains the biggest base for US soldiers abroad. There is no reason whatsoever to doubt NATO’s commitment and America’s bond with Europe.’

“After the end of the Cold War… the US reduced the number of their troops in Europe from 230,000 to 81,000… Establishing the center for NATO’s planned missile defense shield in Ramstein, in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate, was not meant as a compensation for the planned troop withdrawal, say NATO officials. US Air Forces in Europe and NATO’s Allied Air Command already had their headquarters in Ramstein and it was therefore only logical to base the missile defense shield there as well…

“With cuts in the US defense budget, NATO diplomats are expecting that Europeans will be confronted with new tasks and will no longer be able to rely on the Americans stepping in automatically with regard to security issues in future. US Defense Secrety Leon Panetta, however, stressed that cost saving measures would not impede the US’ ability to provide security around the globe and fight two potential adversaries – Iran and North Korea, should it come to that – at the same time.”

While the USA is withdrawing its troops worldwide, including in Germany, US Air Forces in Europe and NATO’s Allied Air Command maintain their headquarters in Germany, and they are also going to establish there the center for NATO’s missile defense shield. This should make us think…

More Bad News for the USA

Reuters reported on February 21:

“About 2,000 Afghans protested outside the main U.S. military base in [Bagram, in] Afghanistan on Tuesday over a report that foreign soldiers improperly disposed of copies of the Koran… NATO’s top general in Afghanistan attempted to contain fury over the incident, which could be a public relations disaster for the U.S. military as it tries to pacify the country ahead of the withdrawal of foreign combat troops in 2014…

“‘We Afghans don’t want these Christians and infidels, they are the enemy of our soil, our honor and our Koran,’ said… one of the protesters. ‘I urge all Muslims to sacrifice themselves in order to pull out these troops from this soil.’ The Afghan Taliban also strongly condemned the incident. ‘Since the invasion of Afghanistan by the animal Americans, this is almost the 10th time that they have degraded the holiest values of Muslims,’ said [a] Taliban spokesman…

“Bagram also houses a prison for Afghans detained by American forces. The center has caused resentment among Afghans because of reports of torture and ill-treatment of suspected Taliban prisoners, with President Hamid Karzai demanding the transfer of prisoners to Afghan security.

“Winning the hearts and minds of Afghans is critical to U.S. efforts to defeating the Taliban, but critics say Western forces often fail to grasp Afghanistan’s religious and cultural sensitivities… The Koran is the holy book of Islam [and] any hint that Western forces are showing it disrespect could deepen resentment over their presence in Afghanistan… Protests raged for three days across Afghanistan in April last year after a U.S. pastor burned a Koran in Florida…”

BBC News reported on February 23:

“President Barack Obama has apologised to the Afghan people for the burning of Korans by American troops at a US base. In a letter to President Hamid Karzai, Mr Obama expressed his ‘deep regret’ and said the incident earlier this week was a genuine mistake.

“Demonstrations against the desecration have continued for a third day across northern and eastern Afghanistan. Two US soldiers and two Afghans were killed in an attack on a military base. Elsewhere there were four other deaths. On Wednesday, another seven people were killed and dozens injured in protests… In addition to those killed, many people have been injured in the protests, some of them critically, while armed men on Thursday also attacked at least two military installations.

“Crowds shouting ‘death to Obama’ have been throwing stones and setting fire to the US flag. Meanwhile the Taliban have called on Afghans to kill and beat all invading forces in revenge for ‘insulting’ the Koran… many officials sympathise with the outrage the US has provoked across the country… Friday prayers may spark more tensions, depending on the tone set by religious leaders.”

Pope Appoints Twelve New Cardinals

The Associated Press reported on February 18:

“Pope Benedict XVI on Saturday brought 22 new Catholic churchmen into the elite club of cardinals who will elect his successor… each of the new cardinals did make a solemn pledge to keep church secrets upon accepting their new title, ring and three-pointed red hat, or biretta, from the pope. Reciting the cardinals’ traditional oath of loyalty, each one pledged to remain faithful to the church and to ‘not to make known to anyone matters entrusted to me in confidence, the disclosure of which could bring damage or dishonor to [the] Holy Church.’

“Benedict was wheeled into St. Peter’s Basilica aboard the moving platform he has been using for several months to spare him the long walk down the center aisle. Benedict, who turns 85 in April, spoke in a strong voice as he told the cardinals they will be called upon to advise him on the problems facing the church.

“In remarks at the start of the service, Benedict recalled that the red color of the three-pointed hat, or biretta, and the scarlet cassock that cardinals wear symbolizes the blood that cardinals must be willing to shed to remain faithful to the church… As of Saturday, Italy will have 30 cardinals out of the 125 under age 80… The consistory class of 2012 is heavily European, reinforcing Europe’s dominance of the College of Cardinals…”

The Bible identifies and associates the color of scarlet quite differently in Revelation 17:4. Also, what kind of disclosure of information, obtained in confidence, would bring “damage or dishonor” to the Catholic Church?

Intended Role of the Holy Roman Emperor

Zenit wrote on February 17:

“Medieval Europe saw the Church increasing[ly] hemmed in by secular powers, in particular by the Holy Roman Emperor, the most powerful man in the world of that age. The role of the Holy Roman Emperor had been established in 800 as a protector of the Church’s person, property and liberties, but by the 11th century the emperor interfered regularly in Church matters, even appointing bishops, and he expected to have a role in electing the Roman Pontiff.

“… on Easter of 1059, Pope Nicholas II issued the papal bull In Nomine Domini, in the presence of 113 bishops gathered in Rome… This bull put the election of the pope into the hands of the cardinals who would be assembled in Rome, and was the equivalent to a declaration of independence… By the 12th century, the College of Cardinals had grown to include men from all over Europe…”

Even though history reveals a close collaboration between church and state during Europe’s different revivals of the Holy Roman Empire, it is also true that many times, a battle for supremacy was fought between church and state. Such a battle is prophesied to repeat itself, after a strong unification between state and church has occurred. The next article may give us a glimpse as to what may happen on a large scale (compare Revelation 17:16). For more information, please read our free booklets, “Europe in Prophecy” and “Is That in the Bible? The Mysteries of the Book of Revelation.”

This Won’t Make the Catholic Church Happy

The EUObserver wrote on February 17:

“The Italian technocrat government of Mario Monti has announced plans forcing the [Catholic] church to pay property tax on buildings used for commercial purposes. The tax is estimated to raise revenues of minimum €500 million, with the Catholic Church being one of Italy’s largest private real estate holders…”

We Are All Catholics Now?

On February 19, the Washington Post published an editorial by controversial newscaster Glenn Beck. IF we take Beck by his words, it’s a terribly unbalanced article. Note the following excerpts:

“I am a proud member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but today, I call myself a Catholic. Why? Because the state is telling the Catholic Church to violate its principles and teachings. So if you are a person of faith, you must call yourself a Catholic.

“Today, the Catholic Church is defending a historic American freedom. We tend to forget that many of America’s earliest European settlers were religious refugees. Europe was not a kind place to the faithful if the state didn’t approve: Jews in Spain, Puritans in England, Protestants in France and so on. You were cast out, or worse.

“Our Founding Fathers remembered this. They knew if you can’t serve God as you choose, you are not free. And so they enshrined that right in the First Amendment of the Constitution: The state ‘shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…’

“This is why Americans are offended by the ruling from the White House that would force church-run institutions to pay for birth control and morning-after pills, which are tantamount to abortion…

“Many people – including those who use contraception and abortion – respect those whose faith teaches them that God wants them to do or not do certain things. They recognize such faith in themselves. Some people don’t drink alcohol. Some don’t eat pork. Some people wear a hijab. Some work in soup kitchens. Some tithe 10 percent of their income. All because God tells them to…

“Because when the state comes against the Catholics, or the Jews, or the Muslims, or the Pentecostals, or the Mormons or those of any other faith – exotic or familiar – we must all stand up as one: We are all Catholics now… this struggle is similar to the fight against anti-Semitism.

“… when it comes to the separation of church and state, we need absolutes. The state needs to be free from the church, and the church from the state. The state has no right to say how much religion any American can practice. It’s our right, and it is the first one our Founding Fathers protected.”

This polemic article raises all kinds of problematic questions. According to Beck’s rationale, the state could not prohibit murder, racial persecution or even child sacrifice because of religious conviction and practice. This is of course total nonsense.

German-Israeli Relationship

Deutsche Welle reported on February 21, 2012:

“Nitzan Horowitz likes to remember the summer of 2006, when he covered the Football World Cup from Germany as a reporter for Israeli television… He beseeched his countrymen not to be afraid of images on television showing Germans waving flags…  Today, Horowitz is a member of the Israeli parliament for the Meretz party… ‘I think today, Germany is an anchor of democracy,’ he told DW. ‘Not just in Europe, but in the whole world.’ Germany, he says, is a strong, democratic and stable state that sets a good example for other countries…’

“But Michael Wolffsohn, a German-Israeli historian, doesn’t share Horowitz’s point of view. ‘There is no friendship between Germany and Israel,’ he said in a recent interview. Wolffsohn says opinion polls show the gap between the countries has increased since 1981, when a fierce controversy between then-leaders Menachem Begin and Helmut Schmidt concerning planned German arms sales to Saudi Arabia led to a profound break in relations… Today, Wolffsohn says Israel ranks as one of the most unpopular states in the world in the eyes of the German public…

“Would Germany, for example, back Israel if the Israeli army attacked Iran in an attempt to stop the country from developing its nuclear program?… Gadi Algazi, a historian who lives in Tel Aviv, would rather not see Germany on the side of Israel in any potential attack on Iran. A military strike against Iran’s nuclear program would be devastating, he says, adding that Germany should never support such a political solution…

“Carlo Strenger, a Swiss psychoanalyst and author, has come under fire for his criticism of Israeli politics… He understands that, due to the shared history, it may be difficult for German politicians to criticize Israel. In this respect, he admires German Chancellor Angela Merkel: while she does not attempt to hide Germany’s past, neither does she shrink from legitimate criticism…”

The Sabbath Controversy

Haaretz reported on February 22:

“Tel Aviv Chief Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau issued a harsh response on Tuesday to the city council’s decision to allow public transportation to operate on Shabbat. The council’s decision was decided by a majority vote on Monday. In a letter published on Tuesday morning, Lau wrote that he was ‘filled with a feeling of deep disappointment and pain’ upon hearing of the council’s decision, and called on Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai and the ministers of transportation and the interior to cancel it. ‘This is a severe blow to the holiness of the Shabbat, which is a remnant of Creation, a reminder of the Exodus from Egypt, a day of rest for every worker and a day of spiritual ascension and the unity of the family,’ he added…

“Among Israeli cities, only Haifa and Eilat are currently allowed to operate public transportation on Shabbat, the Jewish day of rest. Tel Aviv transportation authority head Moshe Tiomkin said on Tuesday that, despite the council’s decision, he did not expect the move to succeed… The Transportation Ministry issued a statement in response, saying, ‘There is a decades-old status quo regarding operation of public transportation on Shabbat, and the Transportation Ministry does not intend to violate it.’”

Scientists Playing God

Der Spiegel wrote on February 17:

“Should scientists be allowed to create extremely aggressive and highly infectious influenza viruses? Dutch virologists have done it …

“Fouchier is attracting so much attention because he has created a new organism. And although it is tiny, if it escaped from his laboratory it would claim far more human lives than an exploding nuclear power plant. The pathogen is a new mutation of the feared bird flu virus, H5N1. In nature, this virus, which kills one of every two people infected, has not yet been transmitted from humans to humans… Fouchier’s ferrets, animals that most closely resemble humans when it comes to influenza, transmitted the virus to each other without direct contact, through tiny droplets of saliva and mucus.

“Many scientists are particularly impressed by the fact that, at almost the same time, another research team also managed to produce a bird flu virus that could be transmitted via airborne respiratory droplets. To achieve this, virologist Yoshihiro Kawaoka of the University of Wisconsin combined the avian flu virus with the swine flu virus. The newly created superbug is highly infectious…

“Similarly controversial experiments have also been conducted with other pathogens… In 2001, a mouse pox virus that was 100-percent fatal was accidentally created in an Australian laboratory… The influenza virus that caused the devastating Spanish Flu in 1918 has been completely recreated… The ‘Russian flu’ of 1977 may have been triggered by a lab virus. SARS, a respiratory disease, almost returned when laboratory workers became infected with the coronavirus during their work. A scientist in Chicago even died of SARS in 2009.

“Hundreds of new virus laboratories have been established worldwide in recent years, and highly dangerous pathogens are used in a large share of these laboratories. ‘The risk of a virus being released accidentally is considerable,’ says [an expert].”

Such “scientific” conduct is so irresponsible, that one has a hard time believing it. No wonder that God tells us that He will come to “destroy those who destroy the earth” (Revelation 11:18).

Massive Rise in Antibiotic-Resistant Blood Poisoning

The Independent wrote on February 20:

“Britain is facing a ‘massive’ rise in antibiotic-resistant blood poisoning caused by the bacterium E.coli – bringing closer the spectre of diseases that are impossible to treat. Experts say the growth of antibiotic resistance now poses as great a threat to global health as the emergence of new diseases such as Aids and pandemic flu… an estimated 25,000 people die each year in the European Union from antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections…”

Everything Goes…?

The Daily Mail wrote on February 20

“A powerful denunciation of David Cameron’s plans to legalise gay marriage is made today by former Archbishop of Canterbury Lord Carey. In an article for the Daily Mail, Lord Carey says the proposal to change the status of marriage ‘constitutes one of the greatest political power grabs in history’. He is backing a new grassroots organisation, the Coalition For Marriage (C4M), which opposes the redefinition of marriage to include same sex couples.”

Leviticus 18:22 states: “You shall not lie with a male as with a woman. It is an abomination.” In the New Testament, 1 Corinthians 6:9 confirms: “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators nor … adulterers, nor homosexuals [those submitting to homosexuals], nor sodomites [male homosexuals] … will inherit the kingdom of God.”

The Telegraph stated on February 20:

“[A] five [year old boy], has been living as a girl for more than a year – after he first refused to live as a boy when he turned three… he has Gender Identity Disorder (GID)… [He]  is one of the youngest in Britain ever to be diagnosed with GID – meaning he feels like he’s a girl trapped in a boy’s body…. [The parents say the boy] used to be a ‘normal’ little boy… but suddenly at the end of 2010, he decided he wanted to live as a girl. He became obsessed with [a] girly kids’ TV character… and started dressing in girl’s clothing… [A] dedicated specialists explained to [the parents] that gender identity disorder is a conflict between a person’s actual physical gender and the gender that person identifies himself or herself as.”

The Associated Press wrote on February 20:

“A small but growing number of teens and even younger children who think they were born the wrong sex are getting support from parents and from doctors who give them sex-changing treatments… An 8-year-old second-grader in Los Angeles is a typical patient. Born a girl, the child announced at 18 months, ‘I a boy’ and has stuck with that belief. The family was shocked but now refers to the child as a boy and is watching for the first signs of puberty to begin treatment… Doctors who provide the treatment say withholding it would be more harmful…

“Guidelines from the Endocrine Society endorse transgender hormone treatment but say it should not be given before puberty begins. At that point, the guidelines recommend puberty-blocking drugs until age 16, [many times in monthly $1,000 injections or implants imbedded in the arm], then lifelong sex-changing hormones with monitoring for potential health risks… a Texas doctor says he’s also provided sex-changing treatment to an increasing number of children; so has a clinic at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles where the 8-year-old is a patient…

“The idea is to give these children time to mature emotionally and make sure they want to proceed with a permanent sex change… boys switching to girls will develop breasts and girls transitioning to boys will be flat-chested if puberty is blocked and sex-hormones started soon enough… Sex hormones, especially in high doses when used long-term, can have serious side effects, including blood clots and cancer…”

The Bible calls such conduct an abomination. Deuteronomy 22:5 prohibits cross-dressing and the practice of living as a transvestite, which would most certainly include sex changes, stating: “A woman shall not wear anything that pertains to a man, nor shall a man put on a woman’s garment, for all who do so are an abomination to the LORD your God.”

The New York Times wrote on February 19:

“As of 2009, more than half of all children born to women under 30 were born to unmarried women. Unmarried mothers, in some areas, have become the norm… Fifty-three percent of all children born to women under 30 is an awful lot of children born outside of what’s been considered, for more than a handful of years, the most stable family structure… The young parents of Lorain (Cleveland, Ohio) said their reliance on the government safety net encouraged them to stay single and that they didn’t trust their youthful peers to be reliable partners…

“Researchers have consistently found that children born outside marriage face elevated risks of falling into poverty, failing in school or suffering emotional and behavioral problems … co-habitation arrangements in the United States are more than twice as likely to dissolve than marriages… Overwhelmingly, the more educated you are, the more likely you are to marry before having children. Bearing children outside of wedlock is a trend that’s most strongly affecting young adults who are already at an economic disadvantage… The further we go in this direction, the more single parents (mostly mothers, but not all) will find themselves and their children living without the stability and security that helps build a happy family life. It’s hard not to think of this as a problem.”

Mail On Line added on February 19:

“More than half of births to American women younger than 30 are outside marriage… And across all ages, a staggering four in ten women are not married when they have children… Fifty years ago, a third of American marriages were sparked by a pregnancy. In the mid-1990s, a third of Americans were born outside marriage. Now, it is 41 per cent and 53 per cent for children born to women under 30. Nearly three quarters of black children are born outside marriage compared with half of Latino babies and 29 per cent of whites. There is also an education divide, with 92 per cent of college-educated women married when they give birth compared with 43 per cent of women with a high school diploma or less.”

God created the institution of marriage between a man and a woman. Christ said in Matthew 19:4-6: “‘Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning made them male and female, and said, for this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. So, then, they are no longer two but one flesh…’” Galatians 5:19-21 adds that those who defile the marriage by practicing adultery, or by practicing sexual relationships outside marriage (“fornication”), will not be given eternal life: “Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are, adultery, fornication… of which I tell you … that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.”

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What will Jesus do after Satan has been banished?

In a previous Q&A on Daniel 9, we explained that Jesus, the Messiah, would be cut off after His public ministry, but not for Himself (verse 26); and that He will confirm a covenant for a week; but that in the middle of the week, He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering (verse 27). We explained that Jesus Christ was killed quite literally in the middle of the week—on a Wednesday—in 31 A.D. In addition, we showed that He began His public ministry of one prophetic week [of seven prophetic days or seven literal years, applying the principle of “one day for one year” (Numbers 14:34; Ezekiel 4:3-6)], but that He was killed or cut off after 3 ½ years of His public ministry. He began preaching publically in the year of 27 A.D., and He died 3 ½ years later. When He died, He did away with the need for sacrifices and offerings, as they are no longer required today. Also, He confirmed the New Covenant through His death, after having preached about it for 3 ½ years. He will continue the missing 3 ½ years of His public ministry after His return.

To quote from our above-mentioned Q&A, which in turn quoted from literature by the Worldwide Church of God under its late leader, Herbert W. Armstrong (who died in 1986):

“‘Jesus Christ is the minister of the New Covenant (Hebrews 8:6)… He was to CONFIRM the covenant for one “week” (Daniel 9:26-27)… His ministry was to be cut in HALF (verse 27); and… Christ will COMPLETE His work of confirming the New Covenant in the future (Same verse; also Hebrews 8:10 and Jeremiah 31:31-34)…  A “day” in the prophecy of Daniel 9:27 represents a year in fulfillment (Num. 14:34; Ezek. 4:3-6). Christ ministered three-and-a-half years — ONE HALF of this prophetical “week.” For three-and-one-half years He CONFIRMED — spelled out the TERMS of — THE NEW COVENANT with His disciples who recorded them for us today. By dying for our sins in the MIDST OF the “week,” He put the final STAMP on the covenant and made it binding with His blood. Through Him, ALL PEOPLE can now enter into the New Covenant and become HEIRS “according to the promise” which God made to Abraham (Gal. 3:29). But Daniel 9:26-27 reveals that there yet REMAINS three-and-one-half years of Christ’s ministry to be FULFILLED! Let’s understand. When Jesus returns to this earth He will FULFILL the covenant He made with Abraham. Abraham and his SPIRITUAL seed through Christ will then inherit the world and eternal life.’”

What will Jesus Christ do during those 3 ½ years of His ministry, which need to complete the seven years of His public ministry?

One clue is His statement to the original apostles and others that He was sent to the lost sheep of the house of Israel (Matthew 15:24). When here on earth during the time of His first coming, He did not go to preach and confirm the New Covenant, including the physical and spiritual blessings contained therein, to any of the lost tribes of Israel, except for the Jews– those from the house of Judah (please recall that the 12 tribes of Israel or Jacob consisted and consist of many tribes which were and still are scattered in many areas in the world.) Later, Christ’s original apostles would go to preach to all of the lost tribes of the house of Israel (Matthew 10:5-6; compare James 1:1; 1 Peter 1:1), but Christ Himself did not do so during His public ministry. But He will do this after His return, during the 3 ½ years of His ministry which will have to be completed.

As we explained in a previous Q&A on the Great Tribulation, both the house of Judah (the Jews) and the house of Israel (consisting of the USA, Great Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and other English-speaking nations) will have been defeated in a war with Europe and will be suffering under the yoke of captivity. Upon His return, Christ will begin to free those captives and bring them back to the Promised Land, to settle them there and to use them to build the ruins and restore the waste places. Please note how this Exodus from captivity is described, and how it is compared many times with the ancient Exodus from Egyptian slavery. Some who understand that Christ will free the slaves of Israel from captivity and bring them to the Promised Land might think that this will happen in an instant, supernaturally—that they may be somehow transported through the air from one place to another. But this is not how the Bible describes the coming Exodus.

Isaiah 27:13 tells us the following, using the phrase “in that day,” which always describes a time in the future, beginning with about one year prior to Christ’s return:

“So it shall be in that day: The great trumpet will be blown; They will come, who are about to perish in the land of Assyria. And they who are outcasts in the land of Egypt, and shall worship the LORD in the holy mount at Jerusalem.”

Since Jesus will not free the captives of Israel and Judah until after His return, we know that the great trumpet referred to in this passage must be the seventh and last trumpet. There can only be ONE last trumpet. But how exactly will the former slaves of Israel and Judah reach the point when they will be willing to worship the true God?

Isaiah 11:11, 16 sheds more light on this question, stating: “It shall come to pass in that day That the LORD shall set His hand again the SECOND time to recover the remnant of His people who are left, From Assyria (Germany) and Egypt, From Pathros (upper Egypt) and Cush (Ethiopia), From Elam (Persia or Iran) and Shinar (part of Babylon), From Hamath (descendants of Ham’s son Canaan) and the islands of the sea (including the British isles)… There will be a highway for the remnant of His people Who will be left from Assyria. AS IT WAS FOR ISRAEL IN THE DAY THAT HE CAME UP FROM THE LAND OF EGYPT.”

Further facts are given to us in Isaiah 51:10-11: “Are You not the One who DRIED UP THE SEA, The waters of the great deep; That made the depths of the sea a road for the redeemed to cross over, SO the ransomed of the LORD SHALL RETURN, and come to Zion with singing, With everlasting joy on their heads. They shall obtain joy and gladness; sorrow and sighing shall flee away.”

From these passages, it appears that many of the freed captives will WALK to the Promised Land—but not directly and immediately, as will be explained below. In any event, this journey will undoubtedly take some time, and to some extent, the LORD—Jesus Christ—will have an active part in this.

Jeremiah continues comparing the ancient Exodus from Egypt with Israel’s and Judah’s future Exodus.

We read in Jeremiah 16:14-15: “‘Therefore behold, the days are coming,’ says the LORD, ‘that it shall no more be said, “The LORD lives who brought up the children of Israel from the land of Egypt,” but, “The LORD lives who brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north and from all the lands where He had driven them.’ For I will bring them back into their land which I gave to their fathers.’”

Jeremiah 23:7-8 makes clear that an end-time Exodus of the modern house of Israel is being referred to: “‘Therefore, behold, the days are coming,’ says the LORD, ‘that they shall no longer say, “as the LORD lives who brought up the children of Israel from the land of Egypt,” but, “As the LORD lives who brought up and LED the DESCENDANTS OF THE HOUSE of Israel from the north country and from all the countries where I had driven them. And they shall dwell in their own land.’”

Even though one will emphasize the coming Exodus over the previous one, the parallels between both are obvious. Note Micah 7:14-15: “Shepherd Your people with Your staff, The flock of Your heritage… As in the days when you came out of the land of Egypt, I will show them wonders.”

What wonders God will work at that time is not clearly revealed, except that He will apparently again create a way through the sea to enable the Israelites to cross it on their way to the Promised Land.

Notice, too, Jeremiah 46:27: “But do not fear, O My servant Jacob, And do not be dismayed, O Israel! For behold, I will save you from afar, And your offspring from the land of their captivity; Jacob shall return, have rest and be at ease; No one shall make him afraid.”

BOTH houses of Israel and Judah will return TOGETHER to the Promised Land. Jeremiah 3:18 states: “In those days the house of Judah shall WALK WITH the house of Israel, and they shall come TOGETHER out of the land of the north to the land that I have given as an inheritance to your fathers.”

This is also confirmed in Jeremiah 30:3, 8-10: “‘For behold, the days are coming,’ says the LORD, ‘that I will bring back from captivity My people Israel AND Judah,’ says the LORD, ‘And I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it.’… ‘For it shall come to pass in that day,’ says the LORD of hosts, ‘That I will break his yoke from your neck, And will burst your bonds; Foreigners shall no more enslave them. But they shall serve the LORD their God, And David their king, Whom I will raise up for them. Therefore, do not fear, O My servant Jacob,’ says the LORD, ‘Nor be dismayed, O Israel; for behold, I will save you from afar, And your seed from the land of their captivity…’”

As David will be resurrected at the time of Christ’s Return, this is clearly a prophecy for the future. We seem to be reading more about the resurrected King David in Micah 2:12-13: “I will surely assemble all of you, O Jacob, I will surely gather the remnant of Israel; I will put them together like sheep of the fold, Like a flock in the midst of their pasture; they shall make a loud noise because of so many people. The one who breaks open will come up before them; they will break out, Pass through the gate, and go out by it; THEIR KING will pass before them, WITH THE LORD at their head.”

So we see that when Jesus Christ begins to gather the remnant of the captives of Israel and Judah to bring them back to the Promised Land, He will apparently be accompanied by the resurrected and immortal King David. Hosea 3:4-5 says that the modern houses of Israel and Judah had been without a king for “many days” or about at least 3 ½ years, during the time of the Great Tribulation, when they will be in captivity (recall that as of now, the tribe of Ephraim is being ruled by a monarch — Queen Elizabeth of Great Britain, but if she is not alive at that time, it would be a king (Charles is the heir apparent)):

“For the children of Israel shall abide many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred pillar, without ephod or teraphim. Afterward the children of Israel shall return and seek the LORD their God and David their king. They shall fear the LORD and His goodness in the latter days.”

Here we see that when the captives are freed, they will seek God and King David.

Jeremiah 50:4-8 confirms this: “‘In those days and in that time,’ says the LORD, ‘The children of Israel shall come, They and the children of Judah together; With continual weeping they shall come, And seek the LORD their God. They shall ask the way to Zion, with their faces toward it, saying, Come and let us join ourselves to the LORD In a perpetual covenant That will not be forgotten.’”

When the freed captives of Israel and Judah are looking for God and King David, help will be given to them. Strangers will even participate in that process.

Isaiah 14:1-3 states:

“For the LORD will have mercy on Jacob, and will still choose Israel, and settle them in their own land. The strangers will be joined with them, and they will cling to the house of Jacob. Then people WILL TAKE THEM AND BRING THEM TO THEIR PLACE, and the house of Israel will possess them for servants and maids in the land of the LORD…”  (For an in-depth discussion of this Scripture and the question, whether or not there will be slavery in the Millennium, please read our Q&A on that topic.)

But before they are allowed to enter the Promised Land, Christ will have to fulfill an important part of His public ministry. Since they will all be held by their captors in different places around the world, it will be necessary that on their way to seek God and King David, they will first move or be led to a certain place to be gathered there. This will be a place in the wilderness.

Ezekiel 20:34-38, 42-44 states: “I will bring you out from the peoples and gather you out of the countries where you are scattered, with a mighty hand, with an outstretched arm, and with fury poured out. And I will bring you into the WILDERNESS of the peoples, and there I will plead My case with you face to face, Just as I pleaded My case with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so I will plead My case with you,’ says the LORD God. ‘I will make you pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant. I will purge the rebels from among you, and those who transgress against Me… they shall not enter the land of Israel… Then you shall know that I am the LORD, when I bring you into the land of Israel, into the country for which I raised My hand in an oath to give to your fathers. And there you shall remember your ways and all your doings with which you were defiled; and you shall loathe yourselves in your own sight because of all the evils that you have committed. Then you shall know that I am the LORD, when I have dealt with you for My name’s sake, not according to your wicked ways nor according to your corrupt doings, O house of Israel,’ says the LORD God.”

So we see that Christ (and apparently King David at His side) will bring the people into the wilderness and meet them there to teach them and show them their iniquity and sin. The people will repent—as we will discuss below, they already commenced repenting, while still in captivity, but repentance is a process and requires time. While in the wilderness, notice what else is revealed in Hosea 12:9: “But I am the LORD your God, Ever since the land of Egypt; I will again make you dwell in tents, As in the days of the appointed feast.”

Israel in particular will be taught that God’s annual festivals are still binding today, and they will be keeping them. But as mentioned, Israel will already begin to repent while still in captivity. Notice Deuteronomy 30:1-6, 8:

“Now it shall come to pass, when all these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse which I have set before you, and you call them to mind among all the nations where the LORD your God drives you, and you return to the LORD your God and obey His voice, according to all that I command you today, you and your children, with all your heart and with all your soul, that the LORD your God will bring you back from captivity, and have compassion on you, and gather you again from all the nations where the LORD your God has scattered you. If any of you are driven out to the farthest parts under heaven, from there the LORD your God will gather you, and from there He will bring you. Then the LORD your God will bring you to the land which your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it. He shall prosper you and multiply you more than your fathers. And the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live… And you will again obey the voice of the LORD and do all His commandments which I command you today…”

Once they show a willingness to obey God, He will bring them back into the Promised Land, and it is there that their conversion will continue until they are ultimately ready to be changed into immortal Spirit beings.

Ezekiel 36:24-28 describes their conversion and receipt of the Holy Spirit:

“For I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land. Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh  and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them. Then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; you shall be My people, and I will be your God.”

Jeremiah 32:37-40 adds:

“Behold, I will gather them out of all countries where I have driven them in My anger, in My fury, and in great wrath; I will bring them back to this place, and I will cause them to dwell safely. They shall be My people, and I will be their God; then I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear Me forever, for the good of them and their children after them. And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from doing them good; but I will put My fear in their hearts so that they will not depart from Me.”  

What will they physically do after they have returned to the Promised Land? 

Amos 9:14 tells us: “‘I will bring back the captives of My people Israel; they shall build the waste cities and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and drink wine from them; They shall also make gardens and eat fruit from them. I will plant them in their land, And no longer shall they be pulled up From the land I have given them,’ says the LORD your God.”

Jeremiah 33:7-8 confirms:

“And I will cause the captives of Judah and the captives of Israel to return, and will rebuild those places as at the first. I will cleanse them from all their iniquity by which they have sinned against Me, and I will pardon all their iniquities by which they have sinned and by which they have transgressed against Me.”

But before the Millennium of universal peace and happiness can really begin to flourish, another striking event will take place, showing that it is not that easy to unlearn old habits. This important, but often misunderstood event will be discussed, in context, in a subsequent Q&A.

Lead Writer: Norbert Link

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Preaching the Gospel and Feeding the Flock

Feast of Tabernacles 2012 Reservation

The Feast of Tabernacles and the Last Great Day will be kept in 2012 from the evening of Sunday, September 30, 2012, until and including Monday, October 8, 2012.

Individual reservations for the Feast 2012 with the Hilton Garden Inn in Pismo Beach, California, can commence on Friday, February 24, 2012. The hotel has been provided with a list of our members who are planning to attend. Those who have committed to attending with us have been individually contacted. However, everyone will still need to contact the hotel to make his or her individual reservation. When you call the hotel, please make sure that you mention that you are attending the Feast convention of the Church of the Eternal God.

Accommodation and services are at:

Hilton Garden Inn
601 James Way,
Pismo Beach, CA 93449

Tel: 1-800-773-6020

The hotel is offering us a reduced rate of $109.00 per night for a deluxe room. The reduced rate applies for the days of the Feast and also for up to four additional days just before and two days after the Feast. An additional 10% occupancy tax and 1% city tourism assessment applies to this rate. The rooms do not have kitchenettes, but they all have a microwave and a fridge, and a little counter area where one could fix a meal. The hotel is pet-free, but they would allow service/therapy dogs. They also have rooms for handicapped people.

The deluxe rooms are very spacious (approximately 300 square feet) and quite adequate for just a couple with one child. They have also a sleeper couch. Each deluxe room has a sink in the toilet area and another sink outside the toilet.

There is (wireless) Internet access throughout the hotel, including in the meeting hall (“the Mission Room”), which will hold up to 100 people. We will be having the meeting hall for the entire time, with a 24 hour-hold.

They are offering two free hot breakfasts each day per room (children under 12 eat free). The hotel is only five years old, and was extensively remodeled last year. The rooms are insulated to avoid any noise from the outside. They have a pool (heated throughout the year), a nice pool area, and an exercise room. The closest beach is 5 minutes away, and the area has many restaurants and shopping opportunities. Avila Beach with fire pits is about 10 or 15 minutes away.

Thank you very much for your prayers and continued cooperation–to assure that the Feast 2012 will be the best Feast ever (so far)…

For any other information, please contact Norbert or Johanna Link.

New Video Programs

A new StandingWatch program was posted on YouTube and on our Website www.standingwatch.org. It is titled, “The Truth About Marriage.” Can there be marriage between members of the same gender? Should people live together before they get married? Should one get married at all? If married, can they ever get a divorce? Did God establish marriage just for the purpose of procreation? Are contraceptives wrong? Did Mary remain a virgin until she died? Who told man that his natural state in marriage was sinful and dirty, and that Adam and Eve had to be ashamed of it?

A new German AufPostenStehen program was posted on YouTube and our Website, www.aufpostenstehen.de , titled, “Die Wahrheit ueber die Ehe” (“The Truth about Marriage”).

A new German sermon was posted on YouTube, titled, “Satans Gericht” (“Satan’s Judgment”).

New Radio Programs

Two new radio programs (Numbers 13 and 14) were recorded this week, titled, “What God Says About Marriage” and “Will Russia Attack Israel?” They will be broadcast, respectively, beginning Sunday, March 25, 2012,  and April 1, 2012. Our radio broadcasts are being posted on our Website, www.standingwatch.org.

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Day by Day

by Michael Link

After having been placed on a leave of absence from my job for three months, I returned to my work. However, my thought had been to start focusing on my music career by going into the studio with my band to record our first album, essentially being “hired” by the one who had discovered us. During that time it did not materialize, and I couldn’t understand what the reason was, but the time off proved to be of some value.

I was able to spend quality time with my son who is now a year old. My availability opened up to being able to help out more in other ways, whether it was for the church, for the family, and even for myself, by doing things I couldn’t otherwise have done as much. 

As I returned to work, I had to realize certain factors.  First of all, I still had a job and having been off work temporarily was a nice blessing as well. On the other hand, my benefits had run out during my time off, since the accumulation of funds into our health savings account had ceased and the money that was left in the account had been spent.

Right now, I am facing a day by day situation. In all honesty, that is really all I can say since my dream is very much alive, when it comes to the music, but the only unsure issue in my mind is the timing. I know that God is very much involved when it comes to that.  I may not know the actual reason behind the delay, but He does, and I have to continue to respect it, as I continue to pray His Will to be done.  Patience and faith is a continuous process that I can’t let go of and with certain matters in life that I don’t have answers for at this moment, this is exactly what I have to do – take it day by day.

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How This Work is Financed

This Update is an official publication by the ministry of the Church of the Eternal God in the United States of America; the Church of God, a Christian Fellowship in Canada; and the Global Church of God in the United Kingdom.

Editorial Team: Norbert Link, Dave Harris, Rene Messier, Brian Gale, Johanna Link, Eric Rank, Michael Link, Anna Link, Kalon Mitchell, Manuela Mitchell, Dawn Thompson

Technical Team: Eric Rank, Shana Rank

Our activities and literature, including booklets, weekly updates, sermons on CD are provided free of charge. They are made possible by the tithes, offerings and contributions of Church members and others who have elected to support this Work.

While we do not solicit the general public for funds, contributions are gratefully welcomed and are tax-deductible in the U.S. and Canada.

Donations can be sent to the following addresses:

United States: Church of the Eternal God, P.O. Box 270519, San Diego, CA 92198

Canada: Church of God, ACF, Box 1480, Summerland, B.C. V0H 1Z0

United Kingdom: Global Church of God, PO Box 44, MABLETHORPE, LN12 9AN, United Kingdom

Religious and Scientific Deceptions

In a recent public debate on the origin of life between the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, and the most famous atheist, Richard Dawkins, both gentlemen presented utterly false ideas. The wrong concept that man has evolved from non-humans, whether by accident or with godly involvement, rejects God’s Word and has contributed to a world without true moral and ethical standards.

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