On July 23, 2011, Norbert Link will give the sermon, titled, “Beware of Compromise!”

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.

Are you rich, or are you poor? Does your answer change depending on the person asking the question? What kind of criteria do you use to measure your level of wealth? Do you count the sum of the value of your possessions? Do you count the number of cars you own, or the square footage of your home? Or do you count something else?
 
No matter what the criteria, when we answer the question of whether we are rich or poor, we base it on some evaluation of what we have or what we do not have. The United States of America, by measure of gross domestic product, is the richest country in the world. One might think that such a country would not have problems paying its bills. However, in the Current Events today, we read about the grim reality that without drastic measures, this country will fail to make payments on its loans in the coming weeks.
 
How can such a prosperous and powerful country fall so dramatically into a state of massive financial delinquency? Stated differently, how can a country so rich be so poor? While the passage does not strictly apply to the debt crisis of the United States, Revelation 3:17-18 explains a similar paradox. Speaking of the Laodiceans, Christ says: “‘Because you say, “I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing” — and do not know that you are wretched, poor, blind and naked — I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich…’”
 
In this example, placed in the Bible for us, we learn that carnal pride in material success is a direct cause of true poverty. The only way to become truly rich is by working towards perfection, following the righteous instructions of God. Quite simply, we become poor when we turn from God. When we place our hearts and confidence in the material wealth we might accumulate, rather than what is spiritually important, we are investing in worthless assets. God instructs us to lay up treasures in heaven (Matthew 6:19-21), and not to invest in things which perish (John 6:27), placing value in the things of this world, which have no real and lasting value.
 
If turning away from God causes us to be poor, what happens when we do the opposite? How do we change when we turn our ways towards God? The answer is just as simple. When we fear the LORD, we prosper (compare Psalm 25:12-13). The eternal life and rewards written about in the Bible are the goals we should be working for. This is only attainable through faith and obedience, and bearing fruit with the talents that we have been provided (compare Matthew 25:14-30).

The Bible clearly states that material goods and worldly possessions are of no ultimate value, and that a heart working to overcome the world through God’s faith, righteousness and Godly obedience produces true profit. With the Holy Spirit of God, the greatest investment known to man has been placed in our possession. With this in mind, I’ll ask you one last question: How does it feel to be rich?

We start reporting on the ongoing discussions pertaining to the US debt crisis, which has placed the USA in a very bad light across Europe. German papers don’t seem to differentiate between Republicans, Democrats or the Obama Administration, placing blame on all of them for playing with fire.

On the other hand, some Americans point out that President Obama’s threat to withhold social security payments appears to be tantamount to an idle and highly inappropriate threat.

A stunning article by the British paper, Express, predicts that a European anti-democratic superpower will be established very soon, while Britain won’t be part of it. At the same time, voices are being heard advocating Pope John Paul II to become the religious patron of a united Europe.

Celebrations occurred this week in Germany, remembering the failed attempt to kill Adolf Hitler. And in a seeming paradox, the right-wing anti-Muslim Austrian FPÖ party is engaged in activities and mediations in authoritarian Muslim countries, such as Libya and Syria; while the British media scandal widens and widens…

We report on famine in Somalia, and our last article reports on surprising topographic consequences of powerful earthquakes… and the Bible predicts that the past is just a small foretaste of what the future will bring.

Is USA Holding World Hostage?

Der Spiegel Online wrote on July 15:

“With no solution to the US debt crisis in sight, the rest of the world is starting to get nervous. German commentators urge congressional leaders to get their act together. A US default would have catastrophic consequences, they warn… This time it is the United States, the world’s largest economy, that is at risk of going bust.

“The US needs to raise its debt ceiling, currently set at $14.3 trillion (€10.1 trillion), by Aug. 2, otherwise the country will run out of money. But negotiations between President Barack Obama and top Republicans and Democrats have so far failed to make progress… Financial markets, which have previously viewed the negotiations with calm, are beginning to get nervous amid fears that Republicans and Democrats may be unable to reach an agreement by Aug. 2. Any default on the part of the US could have incalculable effects on global financial markets and could hurt the fragile recovery in the US…

“The center-right Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung writes: ‘… A US default and a lower credit rating would … send stock prices through the floor and could choke off America’s economic recovery — with global repercussions. The politicians in Washington are playing with fire…’

“The center-left Süddeutsche Zeitung writes: ‘…Nobody can imagine what the repercussions might be if the unthinkable happens and the US is suddenly no longer a safe haven for investors. Anything is possible, from a small, barely perceptible amount of turbulence in the financial markets to a global panic. Congress should think carefully about what it is doing.’

“The conservative Die Welt writes: ‘In this period of competing debt crises, America and Europe are looking at each other in amazement, with each side understanding less and less about what is happening on the other side of the Atlantic. While Europe’s chaos is obvious to the Europeans and the rest of the world, there are few signs of self-doubt or self-awareness in the US. In the middle of the poker game between the two political parties to prevent a national default on Aug. 2, polls show that 77 percent of Americans believe that they live in the world’s greatest system of government. Just as many are convinced that life is only worth living as an American…’

“The business daily Handelsblatt writes: ‘Washington still considers a default to be unimaginable. Obama does not want to go down in history as the president who bankrupted America, so the only alternative is another unsavory deal… The debt limit will be raised again just before the impending volcanic eruption, exacerbating the problem and postponing an attempt to solve the problem (of the US’s enormous debt) to the next, not too distant deadline. Investors are also counting on this scenario. That is the only explanation for the relative calm on the market for US government bonds. That will change if the European Union crisis countries manage to sort out their finances, while the US continues with its debt delusions…’

“The mass-circulation Bild writes: ‘Playing poker is part of politics, as is theatrical posturing. That’s fair enough. But what America is currently exhibiting is the worst kind of absurd theatrics. And the whole world is being held hostage. Irrespective of what the correct fiscal and economic policy should be for the most powerful country on earth, it’s simply not possible to stop taking on new debt overnight. Most importantly, the Republicans have turned a dispute over a technicality into a religious war, which no longer has any relation to a reasonable dispute between the elected government and the opposition. If it continues like this, the US will be bankrupt within a few days. It would cause a global shockwave like the one which followed the Lehman bankruptcy in 2008, which triggered the worst economic crisis since the war. Except it would be much worse than the Lehman bankruptcy. The political climate in the US has been poisoned to a degree that is hard for us (Germans) to imagine. But we should all fear the consequences.’”

Europe’s anger towards the USA intensifies. Even though it may not realize it yet, self-confident America is no longer in a position to just ignore the rest of the world. The Bible says that it will pay deeply for its pride and haughtiness.

Read and Weep

CNN Money wrote on July 20:

“Hoping Aug. 2 will come and go uneventfully? Read Wednesday’s comments from Philadelphia Fed President Charles Plosser and weep. Plosser… says the Federal Reserve is gearing up for a possible U.S. default should the loons in Congress fail to raise the debt ceiling. He stresses… that he isn’t predicting this baleful outcome, but he doesn’t underplay how quickly a default might spin out of control. The Fed, after all, is the government’s clearing bank. The process of deciding which checks to honor and which to bounce sounds a bit daunting, considering the scale of the government’s checkbook…

“There is also the question of whether the Fed, or anyone else for that matter, will continue treating Treasury debt as acceptable as collateral for loans backing all manner of things – Fed loans, brokerage accounts, you name it… The discussion at the Fed… highlights the possibility, however slim, that financial markets could utterly break down, and take the economy down with them, as lenders decide to shun government bonds as collateral till the U.S. budget debacle is cleared up. That means no lending, more or less. The credit crunch after the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy would seem like a fond memory after the economic plunge that would follow a mass rejection of Treasury debt as collateral. Those are among the ‘catastrophic’ effects Ben Bernanke has noted now and again, and if Plosser doesn’t go quite that far he doesn’t exactly do anything to put the mind at ease, either.”

Cheap Trick?

Newsmax reported on July 17:

“GOP leaders simply need to look at history to realize why they must reject Democratic pleas for tax hikes and focus on spending cuts to reduce the deficit, Texas Rep. Louie Gohmert tells Newsmax.TV in an exclusive interview… President Barack Obama wants a deal that will not include any spending cuts at all until after the next election. And that means they will never happen, Gohmert said… ‘After 1986, that tax reform that Reagan did – he was promised all kinds of tax cuts in return for what was done to the tax code. Well the cuts didn’t come,’ said Gohmert…

“Gohmert also said the president’s claim that Social Security payments may not be made after the Treasury’s Aug. 2 deadline for an agreement on raising the debt ceiling was bogus. ‘The fact is there’s $2.6 trillion in Treasury notes in the Social Security trust fund,’ he said. ‘There is enough money to pay every social security check for at least three years.’ And he said the seniors should stop worrying that they will not be getting their checks, as non-payment would be illegal…”

This position seems to be correct. The scare tactics might or might not work… but it’s a very dangerous play with fire. According to Republican Presidential candidate Ron Paul, the USA will default in any event as “the debt is unsustainable,” as Real Clear Politics reported on July 19.

Obama’s Long Term Birth Certificate a Forgery?

WorldNetDaily wrote on July 17:

“Unless the typewriter used to type Barack Obama’s purported Hawaiian ‘Certificate of Live Birth’ in 1961 was magically capable of producing different size and shaped images with the exact same key, the document released by the White House April 27 is a forgery, says a professional typographer with 50 years experience. ‘Steel-stamped letters do not expand to larger sizes and morph into different styles of type,’ retired New York City typographer Paul Irey told WND… it would be impossible for the different letters that appear in the Obama birth certificate to have been typed by one typewriter, according to Irey.

“‘These are irrefutable proofs of forgery,’ he said. His newest analysis suggests the document was assembled from images of letters or words taken from other documents. ‘The forger who produced the Obama Hawaii long-form birth certificate may have thought that all typewriter typeface styles were alike,’ he said. ‘To get his letters, the forger must have understood that he needed to copy the old typewriter styles,’ he continued. ‘So the forger probably scanned a bunch of old birth certificates, without realizing that the letters in the old files were from different typewriter styles. That’s why the letters in the forged document do not match each other.’”

America’s Era in Space Ends…

The Telegraph wrote on July 21:

“I’ve been gripped by the Nasa feed of the last space shuttle returning to earth… At one level, it is easy to wonder quite why $180 billion has been spent on keeping an out-of-date white elephant in the air. But a few weeks ago when Prof Brian Cox gave a show-stopper of a lecture at Hay in which he included a picture of the distant speck of Earth taken by Voyager from the edge of the solar system, I was reminded of the irresistible attraction of this greatest of human adventures.

“… the manned space flight programme was a way for the US to assert its confidence and demonstrate its will to do anything required to be number one… with the idea of American exceptionalism under review and the US losing its mojo, we should not underestimate the capacity for this moment to be a blow to American morale.”

Is Mormonism Christian?

The Washington Post wrote on July 18:

“A Fox News host said Sunday that Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney is ‘obviously not … a Christian,’ a view that, if widely held, may have repercussions for the Mormon candidate’s election odds…

“The question of whether or not Mormons are considered ‘Christians’ is sensitive and controversial… About one in five Republicans, or 18 percent, said they would not vote for a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. … About the same proportion of independents said they would oppose a Mormon, while a larger number of Democrats, about 27 percent, said they were opposed, according to the poll.

“Catholic and Protestant churches believe that Mormons errantly revere the Book of Mormon and the teachings of LDS leaders and prophets such as Joseph Smith. To non-Mormons, the Latter-day Saint revelations are extra-biblical, even heretical, though in recent months a number of prominent Christian leaders and thinkers have defended Mormonism’s values…”

Powerful Europe Without Britain

The British paper, Express, wrote on July 13:

“First for the rather dramatic bad news: a United States of Europe will come into being by the end of the year, perhaps even by the end of the summer.  Now for the good news: Britain won’t be part of it…. A rational response would be to allow all these countries to re-establish their former currencies and let devaluation shrink their debts and kickstart growth. But there is an iron will among the Eurocrats not to let that happen because if it does then the dream of a federal Europe will be gone forever.

“So in Brussels and Berlin and Paris work is already proceeding apace on a plan to solve the failure of partial economic integration (monetary union) by leaping into full integration (fiscal union).  Fiscal union will mean centrally imposed public spending controls and, crucially, the acceptance that the treasuries of all eurozone countries will have ultimate liability for each other’s debts…

“But the cost in terms of lost democracy would be enormous… Their democracies will be hollowed out as all important economic decisions will require the consent of unelected officials in Brussels or Frankfurt (where the European Central Bank is based) with no recourse to domestic opinion…

“To convince German public opinion to take on this new guarantor duty, Germany will have to become the dominant force behind monetary and fiscal policy throughout the eurozone. It will, however reluctantly, have gained greater European domination through financial measures [than] it ever [has gained] by force of arms…

“… if the eurozone creates a United States of Europe while we obtain more independence from Brussels, then what argument can there be against Britain leaving the European Union altogether?… Our EU membership will be rendered almost meaningless by a wholly integrated core from which we are mercifully excluded… As our political class desperately resists demands for a referendum on departing from the EU, a startling new possibility is emerging: that well before we see Britain leaving Europe, we are going to see much of Europe leaving Britain.”

This article is almost prophetic. And it finds support in other publications. Die Welt wrote on July 17: “The Euro is not dead. It has a constructional mistake, which must be corrected. The monetary union has to become a fiscal union…” The Bible shows that an autocratic super power—the United States of Europe—will emerge, and all indications are that Great Britain won’t be part of it; in fact, core Europe will become very hostile towards it.

Britain Again the Odd Man Out

The EUObserver wrote on July 19:

“British foreign minister William Hague on Monday (18 July) said his country would ‘never’ agree to the idea of a single EU military headquarters to replace the command centres scattered around five member states… Ashton said that the British rebuke ‘did not come as a surprise to me. This is the same position as the previous British government,’ she explained…

“Initially a French pet project, the idea of establishing a single operational headquarters was written into the Ashton report as part of ‘different options’ being explored by ‘most member states’ on how to make the bloc’s common and foreign security policy more effective… Asked if she will now bin the plan of having a single command structure, Ashton said: ‘We continue to explore what we might be able to do, but I am conscious you can’t do much when unanimity of member states is required’…

“Commenting on the ‘excellent’ proposal, French minister Alain Juppe said it was a pity the British government did not show more flexibility. ‘A very large majority was in favour of the proposal of an EU military headquarters, pushed by the “Weimar countries,”’ he said, in reference to Poland, France and Germany. The single headquarters system would replace the current command structure which sees the EU military missions run out of national centres in Britain, France, Germany, Greece and Italy.”

We would predict that such a single European military headquarters will be established—at the latest, after Great Britain has exited the EU.

Euro Rises, Gold Falls

Reuters reported on July 21:

“World stocks and the euro rose on Thursday after news of a plan to use the European bailout fund to make cheap loans to Greece and other heavily indebted governments in the euro zone. The new proposal from a summit of European leaders in Brussels reduced fears the debt crisis would spread to other euro zone countries and led traders to cut holdings of gold and U.S. and German government bonds.

“The European Financial Stability Facility, the zone’s bailout fund, will provide loans to Greece, Ireland and Portugal at a lower interest rate and for longer maturities, according to draft summit conclusions seen by Reuters.

“In the currency market, the euro rose to a two-week high. It gained 1.1 percent to $1.4367, erasing losses. While stocks and the euro rose, gold and U.S. and German government bond prices fell.”

Pope John Paul II to Become Patron of United Europe?

Zenit reported on July 13:

“‘Blinded by progress and well-being, the men of today are only interested in material goods and forget God, or live as if he didn’t exist,’ the archbishop [Dominique Mamberti] said. He recommended taking inspiration from the example of St. Benedict, patron of Europe… Hanna Suchocka, Polish ambassador to the Holy See… expressed the wish that the Polish Pope [“Blessed John Paul II”] will be considered by all as the ‘patron of a united Europe able to breathe fully with her two lungs.’”

The religious aspect of the unification of Europe must not be overlooked. The Bible shows that religion will play a tremendously important role in the formation of the United States of Europe.

The Failed Attempt to Kill Hitler

Deutsche Welle reported on July 20, 2011:

“On July 20, 1944, Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg, an aristocratic colonel in the Nazi army, took the fate of the German people into his own hands. Increasingly disillusioned with Hitler’s campaign in the war, Stauffenberg and numerous other co-conspirators within the German military, including Friedrich Olbricht and Henning von Tresckow, plotted to assassinate the dictator and seize the reins of power.  Shortly after noon on a hot summer day, Stauffenberg smuggled an explosives-filled briefcase into a meeting at Hitler’s ‘Wolf’s Lair’ hideaway (in what is today Poland), where the dictator was seated around a large wooden table with 22 other Nazi officials.
 
“Stauffenberg placed the briefcase under the table, made an excuse to leave, and watched the explosion from afar as he raced towards his getaway car. Confident he had completed his mission and an impending coup would soon place him and like-minded co-conspirators in power, Stauffenberg made haste to return to Berlin.  But, in what is largely viewed as one of the greatest tragedies in history, things did not work out that way. Miraculously, Hitler survived the blast that killed four others, and the opposition’s poor planning, lack of support and hesitation at crucial moments played into the Führer’s hands. By midnight – just twelve hours later – Hitler had regained the upper hand and squashed the rebellion. Stauffenberg and three others were executed by firing squad in Berlin. In the coming weeks, an additional 140 people implicated in the plot were killed and more than 5,000 conspirators and political opponents were rounded-up.
 
“Had Stauffenberg been successful, the final phase of the war would certainly have gone differently. The fact remains that more people died between the July assassination attempt and the end of the war than in the four-and-a-half years prior to that. Few doubt that Hitler’s demise would not have seriously affected the German army’s ability to go on fighting, if not ended hostilities sooner and saved thousands of lives. Yet, Stauffenberg’s place in history as a hero of the German resistance has not been so easily established.
 
“In the initial decade after the end of the war, the German public largely viewed him as a traitor. His wife was denied a pension, and no memorials were erected to mark the bravery of those within Hitler’s own military establishment who risked their lives to set the country on a different course. In the 1960’s, as a younger generation of Germans confronted their parents over their country’s Nazi past, Stauffenberg was not necessarily rehabilitated into an honorable symbol of the German resistance. Some were suspicious of his motives, accusing him of acting more out of self-interest, and less out of benevolent concern for the plight of the Jews and other victims of Nazi war crimes…
 
“But as the 60th anniversary of the assassination attempt approached, a number of new films, documentaries and books enlivened the debate and once again drew attention to Stauffenberg and his band of subversives… According to Johannes Tuchel, Director of the German Resistance Memorial Center in Berlin, most Germans were – implicitly, at least – Hitler supporters… The German Resistance Memorial Center in Berlin features exhibitions on Stauffenberg, as well as others like the ‘White Rose’ student movement which sprung up in Munich. But Tuchel is careful not to exaggerate the size of the resistance, pointing out that Hitler’s opponents – those willing to take action – were always in the minority… ”

The somewhat misunderstood role of Adolf Hitler is explained in our free booklet, “Europe in Prophecy.”

Austria’s Right-Wing Party Intervenes in Libya and Syria

Der Spiegel Online reported on July 15:

“An emissary of the right-wing populist Austrian Freedom Party [FPÖ] is currently in Libya at the invitation of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi. The relationship between the party and the dictator has a history… The FPÖ, one of several right-wing populist parties gaining in popularity across Europe, is viewed with distaste by many for its strident opposition to Austria’s Muslim immigrant population. The party is also deeply skeptical of the European Union and efforts to prop up the common currency… But it is also no secret that Strache’s party has long had close ties to the Gadhafi clan…

“In a conversation with SPIEGEL ONLINE, Strache insisted that ‘we are not interested in pushing ourselves into the limelight. We have contacts in this region and we are happy to be of help.’ But with his party neck and neck with Austria’s center-left Social Democrats at the top of opinion polls, evidence of the FPÖ’s ability to play a role on the international stage certainly wouldn’t hurt ahead of 2013 general elections.

“Furthermore, the party has something of a tradition of pushing for a role in mediating international conflicts, particularly in North Africa and the Middle East. In 2002, [former FPÖ leader Joerg] Haider made headlines by flying to Iraq for a controversial visit with dictator Saddam Hussein. In the same year, Haider founded the Austrian-Libyan Society… in the hopes that it could contribute to the Middle East peace process. He also pushed his way into negotiations surrounding the 2007 release of five Bulgarian nurses who had been arrested in Libya years earlier…

“The FPÖ’s mediation endeavors this year have not been limited to…Tripoli. With pro-democracy protests in Syria having turned bloody in recent months, Strache and other FPÖ leaders have become active there too. In May, a group of opposition leaders travelled to Vienna at Strache’s invitation.  Efforts at becoming involved in negotiations there are ongoing. ‘We are engaged in intensive discussions to see how we can be of use as mediators in Syria,’ Strache said.”

This is quite a remarkable revelation. A right-wing anti-Muslim Austrian party which was looked upon as destined to die after Joerg Haider’s death seems to exert quite some influence in unstable authoritarian Muslim countries such as Libya and Syria.

“Turkey Can Never Be an Equal Partner in the EU”

Der Spiegel Online wrote on July 20:

“The ongoing dispute over divided Cyprus may escalate problems between Turkey and the European Union after Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan threatened to freeze EU relations when the Greek Cypriots take on the rotating presidency in 2012. The move only serves to further disqualify Turkey’s plans to join the EU, German conservatives say…

“Turkey’s threats may seem hollow when it comes to the process of joining the EU. Negotiations have been stalled for some time, with no real movement in more than a year. The country formally began talks to join the EU in 2005, but key members have major reservations about accepting the Muslim-majority nation. Germany is among the countries skeptical of Turkey’s EU qualifications, and conservatives in the southern state of Bavaria were quick to accept Turkey’s threat, saying it showed the country was not ready for membership anyway.

“‘Those who refuse to hold talks with a member state are snubbing the entire EU,’ said Stefan Müller, a senior member of the conservative Christian Social Union (CSU), the Bavarian sister party to Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union. Erdogan has proven that ‘he doesn’t shy away from attempts at blackmail in the interest of political power,’ Müller told the daily Rheinische Post. He said that fact further disqualifies Turkey’s plans to join the bloc. ‘They can never be an equal partner in the EU,’ he said.”

For more information on Turkey’s future, please read our three-part series in our recent Q&As. http://www.eternalgod.org/qa/10394  http://www.eternalgod.org/qa/10415 http://www.eternalgod.org/qa/10437

Britain’s Media Scandal Widens and Widens…

The Washington Post reported on July 18:

“Prime Minister David Cameron on Monday faced a deepening political crisis over his relationships with tainted figures in Rupert Murdoch’s media empire, with the British leader cutting short an official visit to Africa in an attempt to staunch the escalating fallout of the phone hacking scandal at home…

“One day after the head of Scotland Yard resigned, one of his key deputies, the embattled John Yates, followed suit, with calls growing for a broader house cleaning at the 51,000-member police force. Another power player claimed by the scandal [is] Rebekah Brooks, a former top Murdoch executive who was arrested Sunday and released on bail after nine hours of questioning…

“On Monday, Ed Miliband, head of the opposition Labor Party, stopped short of directly calling for the prime minister to resign. But he insisted the questions swirling around Cameron had left him ‘unable to provide the leadership the country needs.’ He again called on Cameron — who was forced to call a special session of Parliament for Wednesday to address the scandal — to more fully explain his decision to fill the job of communication director at No. 10 Downing Street with Andy Coulson, the former editor of Murdoch’s now-shuttered News of the World. Coulson, who resigned in January as the scandal intensified, was arrested last week in connection with illicit news-gathering.

“In another development Monday, the Guardian newspaper reported that Sean Hoare, a former reporter for News Corp. papers who first alleged that Coulson was aware of phone hacking by his staff, had been found dead. Police said the death of the man identified by the paper as Hoare was ‘not thought to be suspicious,’ the Guardian said…”

In the light and context of Britain’s widening scandal, the allegation of the police that the death of the involved reporter is not suspicious, appears to be very suspicious.

On July 20, 2011, Der Spiegel wrote:

“‘The most humble day of my career.’ That was how media mogul Rupert Murdoch described his appearance before the British House of Commons’ media committee on Tuesday… The 80-year-old CEO of News Corp seemed confused and overwhelmed at times during the grueling hearing, which lasted around three hours, but refused to accept any responsibility for wrongdoing…

“The Financial Times Deutschland writes: ‘…the powerful media tycoon, who politicians had sought to woo for years, had to make a humiliating appearance on the politicians’ home turf. It was the politicians who were now dictating the rules to the man who had dictated the rules for decades… It would be wrong to believe that Britain made a big step forward in dealing with the scandal on Tuesday. In that respect, the country is still just at the beginning.’

“The center-right Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung writes: ‘… The sleaze is so widespread that even high-ranking police officers have had to resign. Even Prime Minister Cameron, who apparently was not always in full possession of his senses when it came to choosing his associates, is facing calls for his resignation’…

“The business daily Handelsblatt writes: ‘… News Corporation is the world’s second largest media group. But Murdoch’s life’s work can only survive if he goes.’”

For more information and an in-depth analysis of the biblical reasons for this mess, please view our latest StandingWatch program, “Britain’s Watergate Scandal…Why?”. Please also note the next article.

“Is Britain More Corrupt Than It Thinks?”

Reuters reported on July 20:

“Britons love to lecture the world about integrity and the rule of law, but the News of the World phone hacking scandal has laid bare a web of collusion between money, power, media and the police. Far from the innocent, upright democracy of its self-image, Britain is showing a seamy side that anti-corruption campaigners say is getting worse and may be politically explosive as society becomes more unequal due to the financial and economic crises… London offers a haven for oligarchs and despots, a place where foreign media magnates have bought access to and influence over the government.

“The scandal engulfing Rupert Murdoch’s media empire has already destroyed a newspaper, cost two top police officers their jobs, seen the arrest of powerful media figures and embarrassed the prime minister and political elite. But it points to a bigger problem in British society — overly cozy relationships among elites that are ethically dangerous, even when they do not involve outright criminality…

“When power elites in the Middle East looked for somewhere to send their money during the ‘Arab Spring’ uprisings this year, wealth managers told Reuters London was the prime beneficiary. Much may have been legitimately earned, some almost certainly not… John Bassett… a senior fellow at the Royal United Services Institute… says that coming after the financial and economic crises the hacking scandal ‘has revitalized the narrative of a corrupt elite. The long-term result is likely to be a further erosion in the credibility of the British establishment, particularly the media and police, in the eyes of citizens.’”

Famine in Somalia

On July 20, BBC News wrote:

“The United Nations has declared a famine in two areas of southern Somalia as the region suffers the worst drought in more than half a century… It is the first time that the country has seen famine in 19 years… An estimated 10 million people have been affected in East Africa by the worst drought in more than half a century. More than 166,000 desperate Somalis are estimated to have fled their country to neighbouring Kenya or Ethiopia… Drought, conflict and poverty have now combined to produce the necessary conditions for famine. Those conditions include more than 30% of children being acutely malnourished, and four children out of every 10,000 dying daily.

“‘Across the country nearly half of the Somali population – 3.7 million people – are now in crisis, of whom an estimated 2.8 million people are in the south,’ said a statement by the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs for Somalia…

“In a separate development, Amnesty International says children in Somalia are being systematically recruited as child soldiers by militant groups such as al-Shabab.”

In an accompanying article, BBC News wrote on July 20:

“Most major aid agencies… only describe a crisis as a famine when the situation on the ground reaches level five on the Integrated Phase Classification (IPC) system. This means: at least 20% of the population has access to fewer than 2,100 kilocalories of food a day; acute malnutrition in more than 30% of children; two deaths per 10,000 people, or four child deaths per 10,000 children every day.

“It is usually up to governments to declare a famine. But in the case of Somalia, the UN stepped in because of the lack of central government… The word famine is politically contentious, and governments also shy away from using it. Ireland, Russia and Ethiopia have at various times struggled to move away from their image as famine-ravaged countries…”

Earthquakes Make Rivers and Lakes Disappear or “Create” New Ones

Yahoo News reported on July 14:

“Following a series of moderate earthquakes that struck the country Tuesday, residents around the Guacalito River in Costa Rica discovered that the river had disappeared. Earthquake-report.com reported that sometime after the earthquakes, villagers living near the river, which is located near Armenia de Upala, discovered that the river was dry… An entire body of water disappears? Strange but true, and this isn’t the first time this odd event has happened…

“Most recently… an entire reservoir in Huntsbury, New Zealand, that was filled with 36 million liters of water disappeared following a 6.3 magnitude earthquake. The reservoir water disappeared after the earthquake struck Christchurch Feb. 22. A body of water disappearing is not unusual, nor is it unheard of for an earthquake to change the shape and form of bodies of water. There have also been numerous examples of seismic activity creating new bodies of water.

“In 1959, the largest earthquake to strike Montana — a 7.3 magnitude temblor — caused a landslide to dam the Madison River just below Hebgen Dam, thus creating a new body of water that became Hebgen Dam, or ‘Quake Lake.’ The historic New Madrid earthquakes in the central United States created a lake in northwestern Tennessee in 1812. Reelfoot Lake was formed during the Feb. 7, 1812, earthquake that was one of several to strike the region during the winter of 1811 and 1812. That earthquake, which is estimated to have been at least 7.0 in magnitude or higher, caused subsidence along the Reelfoot River, dropping a 13,000 acre area of land between 4 and 19 feet. This area filled with water to become Reelfoot Lake.”

The Bible prophesies that mighty earthquakes will have tremendous effects on the topography of our earth; compare, for just one of many examples, Revelation 16:18-21.

There are different schools of thought in the “Christian” world that seem to teach that a powerful and influential Muslim person will claim in the end time to be the Mahdi, trying to unify much of the Muslim and Arab world under his leadership. Some claim that the king of the South, mentioned in Daniel 11, will be that person; others claim that the “beast” in the book of Revelation, whom they very often mislabel as the “Antichrist,” will be that Mahdi.

Before discussing what the Bible says on that issue, let us review how the Muslim world looks at the Mahdi whom they expect to appear (Over the centuries, many have claimed to be the Mahdi, but so far, nobody [with one possible exception, see below] has been accepted by the Muslim world as the end-time Mahdi—for the obvious reason that nobody has fulfilled the predictions of the Koran, associated with the coming of the final Mahdi).

The Wikipedia Encyclopedia summarizes the Muslim expectations of a future Mahdi, as follows:

“In Sunni and Shia eschatology, the Mahdi (… the “Guided One”) is the prophesied redeemer of Islam who will stay on Earth for seven, nine or nineteen years (according to various interpretations) before the Day of Judgment (… literally, the Day of Resurrection), and, alongside Jesus, will rid the world of wrongdoing, injustice and tyranny…

“The following beliefs concerning the Mahdi are shared by both Sunni and Shia Muslims… The Mahdi will be a descendant of Muhammad of the line of Fatimah… He will have the same name as Muhammad. He will be a forerunner to Jesus’ Islamic Rule. His coming will be accompanied by the raising of a Black Standard [the historical flag flown by Muhammad in Islamic tradition]. His coming will be accompanied by the appearance of the Masih ad-Dajjal (Antichrist). There will be a lunar and solar eclipse within the same month of Ramadan. A star with a luminous tail will rise from the East before the coming of the Mahdi…

“Shia Muslims believe that the Mahdi is Muhammad al-Mahdi, the Twelfth Imam, who was born in 869 CE and was hidden by God at the age of five (874 CE). He is still alive but has been in occultation, ‘awaiting the time that God has decreed for his return’… [He] will return as the Mahdi with ‘a company of his chosen ones,’ and his enemies will be led by the one-eyed Antichrist and the Sufyani. [In an accompanying article, the Wikipedia Encyclopedia explains: “[The] ‘Sufyani’ will be one of many Muslim tyrants that the Mahdi will have to face in the Middle East… he… will spread corruption and mischief on the earth before the Mahdi. He will be such a tyrant that he will kill the children and rip out the bellies of women. The Sufyani will murder those from the household of the Prophet and will rule over Syria. When he hears about the Mahdi, he will send an army to seize and kill him. However the earth will swallow this army before it even reaches the Mahdi.” However, in the somewhat contradictory main article, the encyclopedia continues:] The two armies will fight ‘one final apocalyptic battle’ where the Mahdi and his forces will prevail over evil. After the Mahdi has ruled Earth for a number of years, Isa [Jesus] will return…

“… among the most commonly reported signs that presage the advent of the Mahdi in Shia Islam are the following:

“The Muslims will throw off the reins and take possession of their land, throwing out the authority of the foreigners. There will be a great conflict in the land of Syria, until it is destroyed. Death and fear will afflict the people of Baghdad and Iraq…

“Of those Sunnis that hold to the existence of the Mahdi, some believe the Mahdi will be an ordinary man, born to an ordinary woman. The Prophet Muhammad said: ‘The world will not come to an end until the Arabs are ruled by a man from my family whose name is the same as mine and whose father’s name is the same as my father’s… He will rule for seven or eight years…’

“Among those Islamic scholars who wholly reject the Mahdi doctrine… Sir Muhammad Iqbal wrote: ‘…the concept of the Mahdi… is a completely Iranian… perception. This concept has no link to the Qur’an, Islam and Arabic perceptions…’

“In their book, Al Mahdi and the End of Time, Muhammad ibn Izzat and Muhammad Arif, two well-known Egyptian authors, identify the Mahdi in the Book of Revelation… In one place, they write, ‘I find the Mahdi recorded in the books of the Prophets… For instance, the Book of Revelation says: “And I saw and behold a white horse. He that sat on him […] went forth conquering and to conquer.”’ Ibn Izzat and Arif then go on to say: ‘It is clear that this man is the Mahdi who will ride the white horse and judge by the Qur’an (with justice) and with whom will be men with marks of prostration (zabiba) on their foreheads.’”

In an accompanying article, the Wikipedia Encyclopedia describes “zabiba” as “a prayer bump,” stating, “A prayer bump or prayer scar, also known as a zabiba/zebiba/zebibah (‘raisin’ in Arabic), is a mark on the forehead of a Muslim, apparently due to the friction generated from the contact of the forehead with the prayer mat. Islam generally requires its adherents to pray five times a day (known as salah), which involves kneeling on a prayer mat and touching the ground with one’s forehead. When done for extended periods of time, a prayer bump may develop. Some Muslims may consider the presence of a prayer bump to be a sign of religious dedication and piety.”

Even though much confusion seems to surround the Muslim concept of a future Mahdi, it appears that the overall accepted belief within the Sunni and Shia religion (by those who believe in the coming of a Mahdi) is that he will precede the coming of Jesus; that he will begin to establish the Muslim religion over all the world (although it seems to be unclear whether the universal Muslim religion will be based on the Shia or Sunni interpretations of the Koran); that he will rule the world for at least seven years prior to the “Day of Judgment” or the “Day of Resurrection”; and that Christ, upon His return, will judge and rule the world on the basis of the Koran.

In addition, according to Sunni belief, the Mahdi will fight against the “Antichrist” [the Masih ad-Dajjal] and another Muslim dictator from Syria [the Sufyani], and as a consequence, Syria will be destroyed, and Iraq severely punished.

So that there is no misunderstanding, Jesus is quite differently described in Muslim thought and the Koran, as the Jesus taught in the Holy Scriptures of the Bible. Please note the following comments, quoted from the Wikipedia Encyclopedia, showing the irreconcilable differences between Muslim and Christian beliefs, pertaining to Jesus Christ:

“The belief in Jesus… is required in Islam, and a requirement of being a Muslim. The Qur’an… states that Jesus was born to Mary as the result of virginal conception… Jesus was not crucified but instead, he was raised up by God unto the heavens. This ‘raising’ is understood to mean through bodily ascension… Jesus is considered to have been a Muslim… Islam rejects the… view that Jesus was God incarnate or the son of God, that he was ever crucified or resurrected or that he ever atoned for the sins of mankind… The Qur’an… states that Jesus was created from the act of God’s will. The Qur’an compares this miraculous creation of Jesus with the creation of Adam… Islamic texts categorically deny the idea of crucifixion or death attributed to Jesus by the Bible… there has been unanimous agreement amongst Islamic scholars in denying the crucifixion…

“Muslims believe that Isa (Jesus) will return at a time close to the end of the world… Jesus’ descent will be in the midst of wars fought by the Mahdi… the redeemer of Islam, against the Antichrist… and his followers… Jesus will descend at the point of a white arcade, east of Damascus, dressed in yellow robes – his head anointed. He will then join the Mahdi in his war against the Antichrist. Jesus, considered as a Muslim, will abide by the Islamic teachings. Eventually… there will be one community, that of Islam… After the death of the Mahdi, Jesus will assume leadership… Jesus’ rule is said to be around forty years, after which he will die. Muslims will then… bury him in the city Medina in a grave left vacant beside Muhammad…

“Jesus is described by various means in the Qur’an. The most common reference to Jesus occurs in the form of ‘Ibn Maryam’ (son of Mary), sometimes preceded with another title. Jesus is also recognised as a prophet (nabi) and messenger (rasul) of God… Another title frequently mentioned is al-Masi?, which translates to ‘the Messiah’. This does not correspond to the Christian concept of Messiah, as Islam regards all prophets, including Jesus, to be mortal and without any share in divinity…

“Islamic texts regard Jesus as a righteous messenger of God, and reject the idea of him being God or the begotten Son of God. According to Islamic scriptures, the belief that Jesus is God or [the] Son of God is shirk, or… the sole unpardonable sin…

“Muslims believe that Jesus was a precursor to Muhammad, and that he announced the latter’s coming. They base this on a verse of the Qur’an wherein Jesus speaks of a messenger to appear after him named Ahmad. Islam associates Ahmad with Muhammad… Muslims also assert that evidence of Jesus’ pronouncement is present in the New Testament, citing the mention of the Paraclete whose coming is foretold in the Gospel of John” [There, of course, Jesus speaks of the coming of the Holy Spirit—the “paracletos” or comforter—but Muslims refer this to the coming of Muhammad].

As mentioned, some Christian groups predict the coming of a Muslim Mahdi, who will commence to unify the Arab world. Some even claim that that Mahdi will be the “beast” or the “Antichrist.” They are obviously influenced by the Muslim concept that in the future, the Masih ad-Dajjal (“Antichrist”) and the “Sufyani” (ruling in Syria) will establish themselves as false leaders in the Muslim world. However, from a biblical standpoint, none of these concepts are correct. The beast (many times wrongly referred to as the “Antichrist”) and the false prophet will not be Arabs or powerful persons arising in the Middle East, but they will be military and religious leaders in Europe. Biblically, these leaders will apparently be in power for about three-and-a-half years—not for seven years, as some falsely claim.

The Bible says nothing about a political or religious Arab leader, called the “Mahdi,” who will unite many Muslim nations and attempt to establish the Muslim religion in all the world. This is strictly a Muslim concept, which may be part and parcel of all the other confusing and fanciful inaccuracies that are believed and taught by Muslims, as relating to Jesus Christ, the divine Son of God. (It is interesting that Muslims consider the belief in Christ’s divinity as the sole unpardonable sin, while the Bible forcefully teaches that no one–including Muslims–can inherit salvation and eternal life, unless they believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God and the Savior of mankind.)

Rather than teaching the establishment of the Muslim religion over this world, the Bible says that a powerful religious organization, claiming to be “Christian,” will become a world-ruling power, which will attempt to convert everyone to its main religious doctrines and which will persecute those who refuse to accept its system. It is described in the book of Revelation (chapter 17) as “Babylon” and as a beast with two horns like a lamb, speaking like a dragon (Revelation 13:11).

Some other Christian groups believe that a final king of the South, as spoken of in the book of Daniel, chapter 11, will arise one more time in the Middle East or in Africa, who will “push at” the king of the North—the future military leader of the “Babylonian system” or the final revival of the ancient Roman Empire—the “beast” of the book of Revelation, who is also identified as King Jareb of Assyria (modern Germany). As we pointed out in a previous Q&A on Egypt, it is by no means certain that there will still be a future king of the South, but it is of course possible. As the ninth revival of the ancient Roman Empire, under Mussolini, was comprised of several nations and powers, including Hitler’s Germany, and as the final revival of the king of the North will consist of ten European nations or groups of nations, under Assyrian leadership, so if there is to be a future king of the South, he might very well constitute a coalition of Middle Eastern nations, under Ethiopian leadership (note that previously, the king of the South was King Menelik of Ethiopia, and later, at the time of Benito Mussolini’s occupation of Ethiopia, it was Emperor Haile Selassie).

What needs to be remembered, however, is that Ethiopia is and has been a “Christian” country, having adopted “Christianity” as its official religion, and that a majority of Ethiopians are “Christians.” Only one-third of the population are Muslims. It would be difficult to conceive that if there was a final king of the South, under Ethiopian lead, he would be a Muslim Mahdi, trying to unite Arab and Muslim nations to form a Muslim power bloc. At the same time, it is interesting to note that, according to the Wikipedia Encyclopedia, the late emperor of Ethiopia, Haile Selassie, was referred to by some of his supporters as the Mahdi, due to his direct lineage to the prophet Mohammed. Other supporters referred to him as the biblical Messiah. He himself remained an Ethiopian Orthodox Christian throughout his life.

In conclusion, the Bible nowhere says that a Muslim Mahdi will appear in the Middle East or elsewhere, in an attempt to unite Arab and Muslim nations (which would also require healing the long-time animosity between Shias and Sunnis) and to establish a power bloc, ruled by the Muslim religion. Nothing is said in the Bible about the religious identity of a future king of the South (if there still is one), but given the fact that “Christian” Ethiopia would have to play a predominant role in the configuration of a power bloc being led by a future king of the South, it is difficult to imagine that he would be a Muslim Mahdi, who would be accepted by both Shias and Sunnis, trying to unite the Muslim world in an attempt to establish the Muslim faith as the sole accepted religion in all the world.

Lead Writer: Norbert Link

A new StandingWatch program was posted on our Web site (www.standingwatch.org) and on YouTube, titled, “Britain’s Watergate Scandal… Why?” The ongoing blagging and hacking scandal surrounding Rupert Murdoch and his British subsidiaries, threatening the very survival of Britain’s power structure, including Prime Minister David Cameron, has shocked the British public and the world. How did we get there, and more importantly, why is it happening? Why are some saying that Great Britain’s entire democratic system is rotten and a farce? How can the Bible help us understand why we are plagued with these kinds of crimes?

A new German sermon was posted on the Web, titled, “Wie Zuverlaessig Ist die Bibel?, Teil 2” [“How Reliable Is the Bible?, Part 2?”]

Please feel free to proceed with making reservations for the Feast of Tabernacles 2011 with the Hilton Garden Inn at 601 James Way, Pismo Beach, CA 93449. When you call under 1-805-773-6020, please make sure that you mention that you are attending the Feast convention of the Church of the Eternal God. Further information is available on our Web site (www.eternalgod.org), under “Feasts.”

by Bill Koeneke

With regard to my previous Forum and those events in my life, which clearly indicated that I had been predestined and foreknown as one of those whom God would eventually call and in the meantime would protect from the vagaries of time and chance, I offer one additional incident that proves the point.

In 1952 I took a week’s holiday in Bermuda, flying from New York. On the way back I flew on one of BOAC’s Stratacruisers.  On the plane were Shirley Temple and her husband (surname Black). I recognized her immediately, but of course she didn’t know me from Adam. Having worked in a cinema for 5 years, I had seen a number of her films. On returning home about halfway to New York, we hit a rather violent storm. The plane was jumping up and down like a yo-yo. Dishes and silverware and some luggage and other things were flying about the cabin. Really quite scary! Suddenly the plane was hit by a bolt of lightning, and the whole inside of the cabin lit up like a fluorescent bulb!!  I probably thought, “This is it!” However within ten minutes or so, we plunged through that storm into calmer weather and landed safely in New York. Whew!

On hindsight it has become obvious to me, once again I had been protected from premature death, and for that I offer God my heartfelt thanks for His very special blessing—and so should we all in the face of our individual experiences as we carry out our special mission of doing the Work of God under the cloak of His protective arm.

On July 16, 2011, Robb Harris will give the sermon, titled, “Rebellion.”

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.

In my last member letter, dated June 23, 2011, I wrote that God works out His plan for true Christians, and that “in retrospect, they will understand that God’s Way was indeed the right one.” In fact, they were predestined, before the world began, to be called for salvation in this day and age. God knew them before they were born; He saw them in their mother’s womb; and He was determined to direct their path.

When I look back at my life, I can see now more clearly God’s guiding hands, even though I might not have seen them at first. As a Church member in Germany, I became more and more frustrated with my studies of man’s law. As a consequence, I did not perform very well at that time. The ministry counseled me to continue wholeheartedly with what I had started. When I heeded that advice, I began to do much better—especially on my last test in that particular semester, because I had just “happened” to study the very material the previous night, which I was examined on the next day.

I graduated, passed my first legal exam, concluded my two year practical training and passed my second legal exam, and I began then to practice law as an attorney. But deep inside, I knew that this was not what I had envisioned to do for the rest of my life, and sharing my concerns with my wife, she contacted the German Church Office. Although there was no job opening there, we learned that the Legal Department of the Church’s Headquarters in the USA was looking for a person trained in the law who could help with international legal matters.

And so, my wife, our nine-month old son, and I moved to the USA, originally for two years, to study at the Church’s Theological College and to work for the Legal Department. But our stay would not last for just the two years. In due time, the Legal Office offered me a full-time job and requested that I “take the bar” in the USA and become an attorney licensed to practice here—which I did, just in time to meet the requirements for obtaining a green card (that is, to become a permanent resident), leading ultimately to my naturalization.

Subsequently, while continuing to work for  the Legal Department, the Church’s German Work and the TV Department asked me to provide the main voice as a voice-over speaker for German TV programs, and we produced in excess of 100 German TV programs. But when the apostasy in my Church had reached a point which had become unbearable for my wife and me, I resigned and we joined a smaller Church of God organization which was committed to continue in the teachings which we all had learned and believed.

In due time, a split occurred in our new group, and while the majority established their own organization, we continued for a while until the majority revealed that it was determined to merge with a much larger Church organization. Since we—the minority again—were not convinced that that was the right path for us, we resigned, and organized the Church of the Eternal God in the USA. Church organizations in Canada and Great Britain also joined with us. At that time, most did not give us a chance for survival. But we have been in operation for ten years by now, and we have every reason to believe that our existence will continue–as long as God allows us to be of service to Him.

I believe that God has been guiding and training me all along. My training in writing and speaking has helped me in my present task as the presenter of our American StandingWatch and German AufPostenStehen programs; as a writer for the Church’s literature; as an ordained minister, being able to deliver sermons in English and German; and as a licensed attorney, being in a position to help those in the Church who are in need of legal assistance.

Looking back on my life in Germany, how little could I have known where God would be leading me. And quite frankly, when trying to look into the future, I still only “see  in a mirror, dimly” (1 Corinthians 13:12). Who is to say what is ahead for me in this life, and for my wife and family, my brethren, my friends…

I don’t know. But one thing I do know—and this applies to each and every one of those whom God has called and is calling at this time! When we are submitting to our loving and all-knowing Father and His Son Jesus Christ, we will be led in the way that we are supposed to go. Challenges will come; and our patience and trust may be severely tested. We may have questions without answers. We may not know exactly what we should do. But we need to stay close to Him who does know. We must want to remain clay in the hands of our Potter (Isaiah 64:8). And as long as we want God to train and guide and protect us, He surely will do so (Psalm 139:9-10).

We begin reporting on Britain’s ongoing and ever-deepening “blagging” and bribery media scandal, and new staggering information is revealed almost on a daily basis.

We continue focusing on America’s debt crisis; the seemingly irreconcilable positions of the Democrats and the Republicans, which mainly seem to be dictated by political considerations; the pressure of the IMF on the USA; and the ongoing difficulties of Europe’s economy, with special emphasis on Italy and Spain.

Frustrated Egyptians still hope that their country may see true reforms; Iran continues to show its true colors of autocratic Islamic dictatorship; and the situation in Syria is escalating. Germany is busy selling its weapons all over the world, with the resulting paradox that in Libya, three hostile parties use German weapons to fight each other. Germany’s good qualities are so often misused for wrong purposes, and its misguided zeal might do more harm than good, as our report on the conviction of a UK bishop shows who denied aspects of the Holocaust.

We report on the German memorial service for the late Otto von Habsburg; speak about the controversy between Denmark and Germany; continue with a report of a most recent national poll showing that by now, most Americans approve of same-sex marriages; list another example as to why true Christians should not serve on a jury, and conclude with a report on famine and disease epidemics in Africa.

Britain’s Blagging and Bribery Scandal

Deutsche Welle reported on July 8:

“The former editor of the News of the World, and former aide to Prime Minister David Cameron, has been arrested in London over phone hacking allegations… Coulson has close links to Prime Minister David Cameron and was a key figure in last year’s Conservative election campaign. Coulson was forced to quit as Cameron’s communications chief in January after the phone hacking allegations resurfaced. Cameron has come under fire for hiring Coulson shortly after he resigned as News of the World editor in 2007… In a further twist, British police on Friday re-arrested the paper’s former royal editor Clive Goodman over allegations of corruption. Goodman was jailed for four months in 2007 for hacking into phone messages from the royal household…

“Cameron on Friday called for a new system of press regulation in the wake of the closure of the News of the World newspaper. He also promised a full inquiry into the phone-hacking scandal gripping the British media… Cameron is also friends with Rebekah Brooks, Coulson’s predecessor as editor of the popular Sunday paper. She is now chief executive of News International and a close confidante of Rupert Murdoch, the Australian-born media tycoon. Cameron said Friday that he would have accepted her resignation, had it been offered to him. Murdoch’s media empire spans the globe, and includes Fox Television and the Wall Street Journal in the United States, along with major broadcasting operations in Australia and Asia… [According to Deutsche Welle, Murdoch also owns News International which operates The Sun, The Times and The Sunday Times.]

“On Thursday, News Corp announced that Sunday’s edition of the News of the World would be the last. It is the bestselling Sunday newspaper in the country, selling some 2.7 million copies a week, and has been published for 168 years… The News of the World has been at the center of phone-hacking claims for several years. The targets included the royal family, celebrities and politicians. But it was the allegations that journalists hacked into the cell phones of victims of crime, terror attacks and the relatives of British soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan that sparked a public outcry, alienating readers and advertisers.”

BBC wrote on July 11:

“The Sunday Times is alleged to have targeted the personal information of the former Prime Minister Gordon Brown at the time he was chancellor, a BBC investigation has found… The Browns also fear medical records relating to their son Fraser, whom the Sun revealed in 2006 had cystic fibrosis, may have been obtained…
 
“Blagging, or ‘knowingly or recklessly obtaining or disclosing personal data or information without the consent of the data controller’ has been illegal since 1998. A blagger alleged to be acting for the Sunday Times posed as Brown and obtained details of his Abbey National account in January 2000… The Abbey National said to Mr Brown’s lawyer it was a ‘well-orchestrated scheme of deception.’”

The London Evening Standard wrote on July 11:

“Personal details about the Queen and her closest aides were sold to the News of the World by corrupt royal protection officers…The information included phone numbers and tips about the movements and activities of the Queen, Prince Philip and staff in a serious breach of national security…

“Around half a dozen emails indicating payments totalling more than £100,000 by News of the World journalists to corrupt Met officers were found… Several police officers and a number of other current or former News of the World staff are expected to be arrested over the coming weeks over the bribery scandal.”

The UK press is filled with reports on the British scandal—which some have already described as the “British Watergate.” The German paper, Die Welt, wrote on July 11 that Britain’s Premier David Cameron is affected by the scandal and is quick to distance himself from it—while fighting for his political survival.

UK Government vs. Murdoch

The Associated Press reported on July 12:

“The cozy relationship that Rupert Murdoch long enjoyed with the British power structure came to an abrupt end Tuesday, just as he needed it to complete one of his biggest media buys ever. The billionaire… suddenly faces stiff government opposition to his bid for total control of a much more lucrative property: the satellite British Sky Broadcasting company. The news came in a stunning announcement from Prime Minister David Cameron’s office that the government will support a motion calling on Murdoch and his News Corp. to withdraw the $12 billion bid for BSkyB.

“Cameron’s turnabout means the Australian-born Murdoch, who held great influence in British politics no matter who ran the government, suddenly finds all three major political parties lined up against him. He’s even been asked to appear before lawmakers next week to answer questions about the conduct of News International, Murdoch’s UK company…”

Murdoch Withdraws Bid for BSkyB

The New York Times wrote on July 13:

“In a stunning reversal after days of building scandal surrounding its British newspaper operations, Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation announced on Wednesday that it was withdrawing a $12 billion bid to take over the shares it does not already own in Britain’s main satellite television broadcaster. The withdrawal from the bid for complete control of British Sky Broadcasting, also known as BSkyB, represented the most severe damage inflicted so far on Mr. Murdoch’s corporate ambitions by a crisis which erupted only 10 days ago with reports that The News of the World tabloid ordered the hacking of the voice mail of Milly Dowler, a 13-year-old girl abducted and murdered in 2002. Since then, virtually every day has brought dizzying new disclosure and developments, culminating in News Corporation’s announcement on Wednesday…

“Only hours before the announcement, Prime Minister David Cameron had sought to distance himself from Mr. Murdoch and had urged him to drop the bid for BSkyB, reversing his previous support… The scandal has also convulsed the British politicians, press and police…[G]iven Mr. [Murdoch’s] erstwhile towering influence in British public life, the scandal has also cast unusually sharp light into a world of cozy relationships between political and corporate leaders and senior police officers.

“On Wednesday, Mr. Cameron offered details for the first time of a broad inquiry into those relationships to be led by a senior judge, Lord Justice Brian Leveson. Mr. Cameron told Parliament that it would have the power to summon witnesses to testify under oath. The announcement came as Mr. Cameron fought to recover the initiative in a scandal that has turned into potentially the most damaging crisis of his time in office, partly because of his own close relationship with senior figures in Mr. Murdoch’s British subsidiary…”

German Press Attacks British Democracy—“It’s a Farce”

Der Spiegel Online wrote on July 14:

“As the News of the World phone hacking scandal continues to unfold, there are indications that it extends beyond the press to the police and even the government. German papers on Thursday write that the situation reveals grave problems within Britain’s democratic system…

“Conservative daily Die Welt writes:

“‘There is more rotten in the state of Great Britain than is dreamt of in our philosophy. And more than just in the media, whose reputation has sunk to an all-time low through the revelations about the Sunday scandal paper News of the World. But this is about more than that. The complicity of some Scotland Yard officials with the surveillance methods of the Murdoch empire are also damaging trust in the country’s law enforcement… It’s a nation under shock. Too much institutional erosion was simply ignored…’

“Left-leaning daily Die Tageszeitung writes:

“‘The News of the World case has shown the British public that their democracy is a farce, with power-hungry politicians who bow to the most loathsome tabloids and money-grubbing police who hide the crimes of these papers. The investigations that Prime Minister Cameron has called for make sense only when they include all sides and lead to consequences. Most of the investigations to date … give no cause for optimism.’”

America’s Debt Ceiling Crisis

The Associated Press reported on July 11:

“Call it eliminating an unfair break, or removing an unjust loophole, or even ‘taking a balanced approach.’ Just don’t call it raising taxes. As they work toward a must-do deal with Republicans on paring trillions from the deficit in order to raise the nation’s debt limit, President Barack Obama and Democrats are saying almost anything to avoid the politically toxic pronouncement that they want to increase taxes. Republicans, for their part, are just as quick to declare elimination of the most rarefied corporate benefit a job-killing tax hike on the American people. It’s all about winning the public relations debate over the debt limit, and in turn, perhaps, gaining a more politically advantageous outcome in the resulting deal itself…

“Taxes are hardly the only issue going through the partisan spin cycle — and emerging virtually unrecognizable — as the days tick down to an Aug. 2 deadline to raise the federal government’s borrowing limit or face unprecedented default. Take Social Security. Obama is insisting he won’t agree to ‘slash’ benefits — a vague word the White House refuses to define, thus leaving room for benefits to be cut without ever saying it…”

What an interesting testimony on the duplicity of politics.

More Taxes?

The Wall Street Journal added on July 11:

“So the fondest Washington hopes for a grand debt-limit deal have broken down over taxes. House Speaker John Boehner said late Saturday that he couldn’t move ahead with a $4 trillion deal because President Obama was insisting on a $1 trillion tax increase, and the White House quickly denounced House Republicans…

“How dare Republicans not agree to break their campaign promises and raise taxes when the jobless rate is 9.2% and President Obama’s economic recovery is in jeopardy? We think Mr. Boehner is making the sensible choice. No one wants to reform the tax code more than we do, but passing a $1 trillion tax increase first on the promise of tax reform later is a political trap…

“Keep in mind that Mr. Obama has already signed the largest tax increase since 1993… Starting in 2013, the bill adds an additional 0.9% to the 2.9% Medicare tax for singles who earn more than $200,000 and couples making more than $250,000. For [the] first time, the bill also applies Medicare’s 2.9% payroll tax rate to investment income, including dividends, interest income and capital gains…  And don’t forget a new annual fee on health insurance providers starting in 2014 and estimated to raise $60 billion. This tax, like many others on this list, will be passed along to consumers in higher health-care costs…

“Mr. Obama is now pushing to reduce the payroll tax by two-percentage points for another year to boost the economy, but he’s already built in a big increase in that same payroll tax for 2013. So if a payroll tax cut creates jobs this year, why doesn’t a payroll tax increase destroy jobs after 2013?…

“Last November Republicans won the House and landslide gains in many states in large part because of the deep unpopularity of the stimulus and ObamaCare. Mr. Boehner has a mandate for spending cuts and repealing the Affordable Care Act. If Republicans instead agree to raise taxes in return for future spending cuts that may or may not happen, they will simply be the tax collectors for Mr. Obama’s much expanded entitlement society.”

It is curious that the Weekly Standard reminded its readership on July 11 that President Obama had said in August of 2009 that “raising taxes in a recession is a bad idea.” How many times have politicians promised us that there would be no new taxes, only to subsequently break those promises? Just think of President Bush Sr.’s famous claim, when running for office, “Read my lips, no new taxes,” which he subsequently violated, when he was in office. How can anyone have any trust and confidence in any one of our present or future political leaders? The answer is, we cannot, and we should not even try to do so. This is not God’s world, but it is ruled by Satan the devil, the god of this world and the prince of the power of the earth–the liar from the beginning, who has deceived the whole world. This includes every country. But God has given us a promise that we CAN rely on. He will soon send His Son Jesus Christ back to this earth, to replace all corrupt human leadership. He will restore the Kingdom of God on this earth and rule this world with fairness, equity and righteousness. Self-seeking incompetent politicians will finally become a fading memory of the distant past.

IMF Pressures USA

The Associated Press reported on July 10:

“The International Monetary Fund’s new chief foresees ‘real nasty consequences’ for the U.S. and global economies if the U.S. fails to raise its borrowing limit. Christine Lagarde, the first woman to head the global lending institution, said in an interview broadcast Sunday that it would cause interest rates to rise and stock markets to fall. That would threaten an important IMF goal, which is preserving stability in the world economy, she said. The U.S. borrowing limit is $14.3 trillion. Obama administration officials say the U.S. would begin to default without an agreement by Aug. 2…

“Republicans are insisting on deep spending cuts as a condition of voting in favor of raising the debt ceiling. Obama and congressional Democrats are insisting that more tax revenue should be part of the mix… The IMF has 187 member nations and lends money to countries with troubled finances.”

The IMF’s goal is to dominate the economic world. In the future, we will see more and more pressure exerted by the IMF on countries like the USA or Great Britain.

Cut Off Social Security Checks First?

The Associated Press reported on July 11:

“A government report Friday saying the economy created far fewer jobs than expected in June compounded fears that the U.S. economy was in even worse shape than previously thought. The unemployment rate rose to 9.2%. Weekend budget talks between Republicans and Democrats stalled, raising the possibility that the U.S. might reach its debt limit before a deal to raise that ceiling and make spending cuts is in place. That could mean the government might miss a debt payment for the first time in history, although it’s more likely other payments, like social security or military pay, would be skipped first.”

Reuters reported on July 12:

“President Barack Obama raised the stakes in the third straight day of budget talks Tuesday by warning that senior citizens and veterans may suffer first if the debt ceiling is not raised by Aug. 2… Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said a ‘real solution’ to the U.S. debt problem was unlikely while Obama was in office… Obama said in an interview with U.S. television network CBS that checks to recipients of the Social Security retirement program may not go out in early August if he and congressional leaders do not agree on a debt deal… Failure to seal a deal by Aug. 2 could… put the United States at risk of another recession…

“Obama’s warning that senior citizens… could suffer first if a deal is not reached could give lawmakers a nudge ahead of 2012 elections. Seniors punished Democrats last year for including Medicare cuts in their healthcare package and then turned on Republicans in a special New York election this year over a Republican plan to overhaul the healthcare program for the elderly. It also evoked memories of the debt limit crisis of 1996 when Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin warned he would not be able to send out Social Security pension checks the next month if the ceiling were not raised. The Republican-controlled House immediately voted to allow the government to issue more debt to make those Social Security payments.”

While Europe and the USA battle with their economies, Europe will recover and/or stay strong, while the USA will not. It would be a crying shame if, in light of all the wasteful spending of the US government, they would indeed begin cutting social security payments. For our international readers, Social Security benefits are not akin to discretionary Welfare, but they have been earned by Americans during their working life, and should be considered vested and irrevocable.

The question we need to ask is simply this: Whose fault is it that that the prospect of insolvency looms for the USA? Certainly not the fault of the senior citizens, but mainly of the former and current US governments which have overextended themselves by wasting borrowed money for at least unnecessary and at worst ungodly projects. And raising the debt ceiling and allowing for even more borrowing will only make matters worse.

Companies Flee California

CNN Money wrote on July 12:

“Buffeted by high taxes, strict regulations and uncertain state budgets, a growing number of California companies are seeking friendlier business environments outside of the Golden State. And governors around the country, smelling blood in the water, have stepped up their courtship of California companies… Companies are ‘disinvesting’ in California at a rate five times greater than just two years ago… This includes leaving altogether, establishing divisions elsewhere or opting not to set up shop in California…

“The state has been ranked by Chief Executive magazine as the worst place to do business for seven years. ‘California, once a business friendly state, continues to conduct a war on its own economy,’ the magazine wrote… The most popular places to go? Texas, Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, Utah, Virginia and North Carolina… All rank in the Top 13 places to do business, according to Chief Executive.”

Having created the mess in the first place, it is high time for California’s government to wake up. So far, this has not happened—but perhaps with the handwriting on the wall, someone will have enough sense to DO something about it.

Italy Next?

The Local wrote on July 11:

“German Chancellor Angela Merkel called Monday on the parliament in Rome to approve government spending cuts so as to end speculation Italy could become the next casualty of the eurozone debt crisis… ‘I have full confidence that the Italian government will pass exactly such a budget. I spoke yesterday (Sunday) by phone with Italian Prime Minister (Silvio Berlusconi) about precisely this topic… The euro itself is stable, but in some countries there is a debt problem,’ Merkel said.

“Berlusconi’s government has earmarked about €40 billion ($56.5 billion) in savings over the next four years to stabilise the country’s public finances… Rome has already pushed through spending cuts of €25 billion for 2011-12 and the latest package should reduce the budget deficit to just 0.2 percent of output by 2014 from 4.6 percent last year…

“Speculation has risen in recent days that Italy, which has the eurozone’s third-biggest economy, could follow Greece, Ireland and Portugal in needing outside help. Italy’s accumulated public debt is equal to about 120 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), one of the highest rates in the world. Borrowing costs on Italian debt reached record levels on Monday.”

Whatever the immediate outcome may be, it is very clear from the Bible that Italy will not forsake the euro, but rather, that it will be among the prophesied ten core nations or groups of nations leading Europe. In all likelihood, we can say the same about Spain (see one of our subsequent articles).

Italy in Turmoil—End of the Road for Berlusconi?

Der Spiegel Online wrote on July 12:

“Italy is used to crises — the government is rudderless, the economy is stagnant and Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is mired in scandals. Now the country may become embroiled in the euro crisis, and its fate lies in the hands of its finance minister. Berlusconi, for his part, faces the ruins of his political career… After a black Friday and a black Monday the nation initially seemed to be facing a black Tuesday…

“This turmoil coincided with the auction on Tuesday of almost €7 billion worth of 12-month bills. If the sale had failed, or if it had even been undersubscribed, the markets may have panicked. But the whole issue found buyers, albeit at significantly higher interest rates. The gross yield on the bills rose to 3.67 percent from 2.15 percent at the previous auction in June. The Milan bourse breathed a sigh of relief and was in positive territory for several hours — but it is likely to remain a rollercoaster in the coming weeks…

“Economists interviewed on television on Tuesday kept on repeating the mantra that ‘Italy isn’t Greece or Portugal,’ and ‘Italy’s economic fundamentals aren’t that bad.’ And it’s true: no real estate bubble has collapsed in the country, banks aren’t battling enormous sums of toxic investments and new state debt is well below that of France, for example. Italy’s unemployment rate is at 9 percent, miles away from Spain’s 20 percent. The country — the third-largest economy in the EU — has a solid industry structure, mainly thanks to tens of thousands of small and mid-size businesses, which still earn billions each year through exports.

“On Tuesday, though, the country’s politicians managed to send a signal of determination — led by the opposition… All three opposition parties in parliament pledged not to stand in the way of the passage of a package of austerity measures within the next week. They won’t vote in favor, but they vowed not to slow down the bill with a slew of amendment requests. Furthermore, even the final passage of a budget this Sunday is now seen as a possibility.

“It is partly for this reason that the situation on the Milan stock exchange relaxed on Tuesday. Furthermore, the risk premium on Italian bonds dropped again and is now back to just three percentage points higher than the German benchmark. But the opposition also made it clear that they see this as Berlusconi’s last battle. Massimo D’Alema, head of the leftist Democratic Party, said that once the austerity package is passed, Berlusconi should ‘go immediately’ and make room for a new government aimed at improving the country’s financial health.

“And Berlusconi himself? Little had been heard from him for the last four days — until Tuesday afternoon. His coalition, he said, is ‘unified and determined.’ He said he welcomed the conciliatory gestures from the opposition — and said nothing at all about a possible resignation. But in the end, his future lies more in the hands of the financial markets than it does with the Italian parliament. Any additional signs of investor distrust could signal the end of the road for Berlusconi.”

Deutsche Welle added on July 12:

“… the Italian markets launched a surprising rally after nose-diving in early trading to end up almost breaking even. The Italian recovery surprised many, considering that the European Union finance ministers’ summit in Brussels was primarily focusing on the possibility of Italy becoming the latest eurozone country to need some form of financial assistance…

“At their summit in Brussels on Monday, Eurozone finance ministers had already indicated a willingness to expand the size and scope of the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF), as well as proposing complimentary measures like lowering interest rates or extending the maturity on loans for particularly hard-hit countries like Greece… Over the past fourteen months, the eurozone and sometimes other EU partners – with the help of the International Monetary Fund – have been forced to offer emergency loans packages to Greece, Ireland and Portugal…

“The EFSF currently has a theoretical lending capacity of 440 billion euros, and despite the pledge to bolster this, politicians have not offered any concrete increased figures. ‘If we stand together, no country will be at risk. We will do everything possible so that there is neither a risk of contagion nor a default by a member state of the eurozone,’ Luxembourg’s Finance Minister Luc Frieden said in Brussels. ‘It will be difficult to convince the markets, but we all agree that everything has to be done to ensure the stability of the eurozone.’”

Europe Demands Urgent Clampdown on Rating Agencies

Deutsche Welle reported on July 12:

“As EU finance ministers met in Brussels, concern was spreading that Italy could soon become the latest casualty of the debt crisis. Italian and other European stocks suffered heavy losses, especially in the banking sector, reflecting worries that Italy’s financial stability is at risk… Borrowing rates for Italy and Spain rose to the highest levels since the eurozone was created, and in the case of Spain, to the highest level since 1997. The euro fell sharply against the US dollar as investors lost faith in the single currency.

“But politicians were quick to quell rumors that Italy could become the latest country to seek an EU bailout. German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble offered reassurance that the debt crisis had not spread further. ‘It is true that Italy has to take difficult budget decisions, but the Italian finance minister has made very convincing proposals and I’m sure they will make the right decisions,’ he said. ‘Italy is on the right track.’

“Schäuble was among several top European politicians to suggest that rating agencies such as Standard and Poor’s, Moody’s and Fitch were partly responsible for fueling uncertainty over Italy’s financial status. He said that verification was needed ‘to check if there is abusive behavior’ by the agencies. ‘We need to examine the possibilities of smashing the rating agency oligopoly,’ Schäuble said. 

“In response, EU officials in Brussels called for an urgent clampdown on rating agencies, suggesting a ban on ratings for countries covered by international rescue packages such as Greece.” 

Europe’s road towards more and more autocratic and dictatorial measures should be carefully observed.

Europe Must Finally Lead

Der Spiegel Online wrote on July 13:

“The euro crisis appears to have entered a turbulent new phase, as the European Union hesitates on approving a second bailout for Greece and the risk of contagion seems ever larger. Italy has slid into speculators’ crosshairs this week amid fears that its debt mountain, equivalent to 120 percent of its gross domestic product, has grown too big to handle. Observers say the country — the third-largest economy in the euro zone — is too big to be bailed out. On top of that, the rating agency Moody’s has now downgraded Ireland’s debt to junk status, following its downgrade of Portugal last week.

“It seems that the time has come for decisive action on the part of Europe’s leaders. But precisely that is missing… The markets are reacting nervously to the uncertainty. The euro fell to its lowest level against the dollar in four months, and Italian stocks have taken a beating. The country’s main share index fell by as much as 4 percent on Tuesday before recovering… German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble… insisted that the EU was on the correct path to stemming the debt crisis…

“The conservative Die Welt writes:

“‘The fact that important European leaders have still not realized the full extent of the problem is having a catastrophic effect. Chancellor Angela Merkel, for example, temporarily neglected the euro crisis for weeks and focused on the so-called energy revolution, which could easily have waited another month or two. And now, when things are heating up because Italy is under pressure, Merkel has gone to Africa. As an economic powerhouse, Germany profits from the euro zone more than any other country. But Merkel is visiting Kenya, Angola and Nigeria rather than taking the lead in Europe and saving our domestic market. One can only hope that the powerful turbulence on the capital markets has woken up the chancellor and her colleagues. It will take more to get this crisis under control than a decision by euro-zone finance ministers to approve the new euro rescue package. … Instead of disappearing for their summer vacation, Europe’s leaders must now sit down and negotiate — and not only next weekend, but until they have found a convincing result and have regained their ability to take action.’”

When even a conservative and CDU-friendly paper such as Die Welt attacks Chancellor Angela Merkel for lacking in decisive leadership, we know that she is in deep political trouble.

Egypt’s Increasing Frustration

Reuters wrote on July 10:

“Anger has been rising against what many Egyptians see as the reluctance of the military council to deliver on the demands of protesters who ousted Hosni Mubarak in February… A speech by Prime Minister Essam Sharaf on Saturday that promised action but was thin on detail only stoked frustrations… Analysts said the army-appointed government needed to act quickly if it wanted to avoid a further escalation, even if some of the aspirations for change were unreasonably high.

“Some chanted for Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi to go. Tantawi, who now leads the military council in charge of Egypt, was Mubarak’s defense minister for two decades. The army has pledged to hand power to civilians soon and has scheduled parliamentary elections for September.

“The prime minister has come in for increasingly tough criticism. His appointment in March was initially welcomed as the former minister had joined protesters in Tahrir even when Mubarak was still in office. Now, activists say he has failed to act firmly as a mediator between protesters and the army.”

As we feared from the outset, Egypt is far off from becoming a democracy.

Dictatorial Iran

Newsmax reported on July 7:

“A U.S. State Department official expressed outrage and pressed Iran to reverse a court decision that gives an Iranian pastor an outrageous, and suicidal, choice: Reject his Christian faith, or die. The 32-year-old pastor, Yosef Nadarkhani, was arrested in October 2009 for apostasy because he objected to the teaching of Islam to Christian children at Iranian schools. He was sentenced to death by hanging late last year, a verdict that he appealed to Iran’s Supreme Court… Now, it appears that the Gilan court will ‘question the defendant again in order to determine whether he believes in Islam or not. If he is a Muslim, Yosef Nadarkhani must be released. If it is determined that he is a Christian, he may repent from his faith. Otherwise, if he insists on his beliefs, the death penalty must be carried out,’ CNSNews [states]…

“And the advocacy group Christian Solidarity Worldwide said, that, despite reports that the death sentence had been reversed, ‘in reality the Supreme Court appears to have added a precondition requiring him to renounce his faith, or face execution’…  Nadarkhani… was born to Muslim parents and Islamic law dictates that a child of Muslim parents is considered to be a Muslim. Although apostasy is not an offense in the Iranian penal code, CNSNews reports that Iran’s constitution includes a clause demanding that, if a basis for a judicial ruling does not exist in the law, judges must turn to ‘reliable Islamic sources or a valid fatwa.’”

Fundamentalist Muslims all over the world demand the right to practice their religion, while they are persecuting those of other convictions, especially those who believe in the one and only true God—God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ.

USA vs. Syria

The New York Times wrote on July 12:

“The Obama administration, after weeks of urging Syria to carry out democratic reforms and end a brutal crackdown, has now turned decisively against President Bashar al-Assad, saying that he has lost legitimacy and that it has no interest in Mr. Assad keeping his grip on power. President Obama… stopped short of demanding that Mr. Assad step down. But administration officials said the president may take that step in coming days, as he did with Libya’s leader, Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi, much earlier in that country’s popular uprising.

“Mr. Obama’s comments, and even stronger ones by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Monday, showed that the administration has now concluded that Mr. Assad is no more willing or capable than Colonel Qaddafi of opening a dialogue with protesters or overseeing a political transformation. The turning point in the administration’s public posture came after angry crowds attacked and vandalized the United States Embassy in Damascus, and the residence of Ambassador Robert Ford, after his visit to Hama, the hub of the current protests and site of a bloody crackdown by Mr. Assad’s father in 1982.

“But administration officials said the shift has been weeks in the making, as Mr. Assad’s government has continued to harass and jail demonstrators, quash peaceful protests, and clamp down attempts to organize a political opposition. The crackdown has also begun to threaten regional stability with thousands of Syrian refugees fleeing across the northern border into Turkey…

“Administration officials said they had no choice in Libya: Colonel Qaddafi is notoriously unpredictable, and had threatened to send his troops house-to-house in Benghazi, killing his opponents. In Syria’s case, there is no military remedy. NATO nations have no interest in acting in Syria, and there is no chance of a United Nations Security Council resolution equivalent to the one that NATO is enforcing in Libya. Russia has made clear it would reject any resolution condemning Mr. Assad…

“Still, until recently some American officials argued they were better off with Mr. Assad in power than with a power vacuum that could threaten the stability of Lebanon and security of Israel, and might be filled by Iran…”

Arab World Disappointed in Obama’s USA

The National Journal wrote on July 14:

“When President Bush left office, 9 percent of Egyptians had a favorable attitude towards the United States. After Barack Obama was elected, that number jumped to 30 percent. But today, only 5 percent of Egyptians surveyed said they have a favorable opinion of the United States and its president. Similar figures in Morocco, Jordan, and the United Arab Emirates illustrate that the initial optimism in the region has been eclipsed by a widespread sense of disappointment.”

Germany’s Weapon Industry

Der Spiegel Online wrote on July 12, 2011:

“Germany is in third place among the world’s biggest weapons suppliers, behind only the big guns of Russia and the United States and in front of France and Great Britain. Its arms are coveted around the world… The United States military is generally only allowed to order armaments from domestic suppliers. But even it makes an exception when it comes to Germany: For their tanks, they order the smooth-bore guns made by Rheinmetall because they are more precise than those developed in the US.

“The international arms industry doesn’t face crises; crises are its business. In 2010, global arms expenditures rose to $1.63 trillion (€1.14 trillion). This represents a growth of 56 percent over the last decade… Indeed, almost one-tenth of all the money generated by global weapons exports ends up in the pockets of the German defense industry.

“But what is it about the German arms industry that has made it so successful?… Like most other German arms companies, Rheinmetall has adapted its business to fit changing times. A decade ago, the companies primarily supplied Germany’s military, the Bundeswehr. But these days, roughly 70 percent of their products are sold to foreign clients.

“German arms companies enjoy a reputation for delivering high-tech weapons of the highest quality. For example, the ThyssenKrupp submarines outfitted with fuel cells are considered the best in the world because they are practically undetectable… The companies are also profiting from how military conflicts have changed… These days, fighting is conducted in many places at the same time and often by small units. This type of fighting calls for high-tech solutions, including drones, satellites, radars and electronic gadgetry. Much of this is based on technology in fields where Germany’s companies are among the world’s leaders…

“Since 2000, Saudi Arabia has numbered among Germany’s top 20 clients for… missile parts, machine guns, munitions and artillery shells… When the UN Security Council voted on whether to establish a no-fly zone in Libya, Germany abstained. The stated reason for the abstention was the desire to not have German soldiers participate in the war. Despite this desire, however, Germany is still playing a role in the fighting, with ‘Made in Germany’ written on many of the weapons used — by both sides… NATO troops also rely on German technology in the form of the ‘Eurofighters’… the fact that three parties involved in the fighting are all using weapons made in Germany shows the fundamental problem of these kinds of arms export policies…”

Sadly, Germany’s good qualities of organization, production of high-quality items and its highly sophisticated technology, are so often misused in this evil world for ungodly and deplorable purposes. This can also be seen in a subsequent article on German laws regarding the Holocaust, showing Germany’s misguided zeal.

More German Weapons Deals—With Angola

Deutsche Welle reported on July 14:

“German Chancellor Angela Merkel announced on Wednesday that Germany was prepared to sell six to eight patrol boats to Angola as part of an international cooperation deal… In return, the chancellor suggested that the patrol boats could protect Angola’s borders, the security of which is essential for regional stability… But Merkel’s offer of military equipment was met with widespread condemnation in Berlin…

“In the past, Angola has courted both China and western nations as they competed for contracts and access to the country’s oil resource. According to the Angolan investment agency, trade between Germany and Angola currently stands at around 400 million euros ($566 million). As the first German leader to visit Angola, however, Merkel was keen to boost economic ties further.”

German Court Upholds Holocaust Denial Verdict Against UK Bishop

The Local wrote on July 11:

“A German appeals court on Monday upheld renegade British bishop Richard Williamson’s conviction for Holocaust denial, but reduced the fine ordered by a lower court to €6,500 ($9,262). Williamson, 71, who was not in court, had appealed his conviction by a court in Regensburg, southern Germany, for denying key facts about the Holocaust in an interview he gave to Swedish television in Regensburg in 2008…

“Lawyers for London-based Williamson did not deny the statements made by the bishop, a member of the breakaway ultra-conservative Catholic fraternity the Saint Pius X Society, but stressed that in Sweden such opinions could be freely voiced. In Germany it is an offence to deny that the Nazis murdered six million Jews during World War II. Williamson told Swedish television that ‘200,000 to 300,000 Jews perished in Nazi concentration camps’ and disputed the existence of the gas chambers. In April 2010, Williamson, who now lives in London, was fined €10,000 by the lower court, reduced from an earlier fine of €12,000 he had refused to pay, for inciting racial hatred.”

The controversial German law of penalizing those who execute their right to free speech and falsely deny aspects of the Holocaust is bound to backfire one of these days.

Denmark on Collision Course with Germany and Europe

Der Spiegel Online wrote on July 12:

“…the right-wing populist Danish party’s beliefs are currently damaging the country’s relationship with the European Union– and neighboring Germany in particular. The anti-immigration party managed to get the reintroduction of border controls passed by demanding the new policy in exchange for its support for the government’s 2020 budget reform plan. Danish Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen’s center-right government, which does not have the majority, would likely collapse without DF’s support.

“But many politicians within the EU argue that the new customs checkpoints, erected last week along the country’s borders with Germany and Sweden, are a violation of the Schengen Agreement, which established border-free travel in Europe in 1985.

“… [DF] party criticism of Berlin and Brussels has taken on an unusually aggressive tone. ‘All of the ideological guns are pointed at us,’ [party co-founder and leader Pia] Kjaersgaard cursed last week. ‘Germany is playing the role of bad cop — it has mustered all the ministers and ambassadors it can find in the attack on Denmark’… Her parliamentary group colleague and pastor Jesper Langballe agreed. Germany is a ‘neurotic nation’ and is constantly pursued by the shadows of its past, he said last week. In a ‘desperate attempt to repress the Nazi era,’ Berlin is using the European Union as a ‘supranational monster’ attempting to ‘play fireman against the flames of nationalism,’ he added.”

It is only a matter of time, it seems, when Denmark will leave—or is asked to leave—the EU.

“Farewell to Europe’s Last Emperor”

Zenit wrote on July 11:

“Benedict XVI sent his condolences to the family of Otto von Habsburg, the last crown prince of Austria, Hungary, Croatia and Bohemia… Also known as Archduke Otto of Austria, Otto was the eldest son of Blessed Charles I of Austria, the last emperor of Austria-Hungary…

“Benedict XVI stated in his message, sent Sunday to Karl von Habsburg, that Otto had ‘been a witness to the changing face of Europe. Trusting in God and aware of a significant heritage,’ the Pope added, Otto had ‘been a committed European tirelessly working for freedom, for the unity of peoples and for a just order in this continent. With deepest sympathy have I learned about the passing of your father, His Royal Highness Archduke Otto of Austria,’ the Pontiff wrote…

“The funeral for Archduke Otto of Austria is scheduled for July 16 in Vienna, Austria. The Pope named Cardinal Christoph Schönborn as [the] delegate to the funeral. … Otto’s father, Charles I, died in 1922, leaving his eldest son as pretender to the imperial throne. In 2004, Pope John Paul II beatified his father…

“During World War II, Otto was a fearless critic of the Nazi party in Germany. Upon annexing Austria, Adolf Hitler had not only ordered the death of Otto von Habsburg, but also revoked his citizenship, as well as the citizenship of the imperial royal family. Otto, who was left stateless, spent the better part of World War II in the United States, and he wouldn’t regain his citizenship until 1965. In the 1960s, [he renounced] his claim to the Austrian throne… Otto was an organizer of the Pan-European Picnic at the Hungary-Austria border on Aug. 19, 1989, which allowed some 700 East Germans to escape to the West, and is considered a turning point in the collapse of the Iron Curtain that divided Europe. Otto’s wife, Regina, died last year. He is survived by a brother, Felix, seven children, 22 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.”

Bild On Line reported on July 11:

“Today, Munich said farewell to Otto von Habsburg (98)—son of the last emperor of Austria and king of Hungary. ‘Thank you for what you did for your family, for this country, for Europe and also for the church,’ said Cardinal Reinhard Marx, Archbishop of Munich… the Cardinal honored [von Habsburg] as a great European and a convicted Christian… The memorial service was attended by Habsburg’s seven children [as well as representatives of the German parliament]. The congregation sang [Franz Josef] Haydn’s Kaiserlied.”

The website, allmusic.com, published the following comments regarding the “Kaiserlied,” which, by the way, is being sung today in many U.S,. churches under the title, “Glorious Things of Thee Are Spoken,” with the English words written by John Newton:

“…when the French Revolution effectively destroyed the Bourbon dynasty by beheading its king and queen, [it] created the first modern nation. And it wasn’t long before a national anthem followed: The bloodthirsty ‘La Marseilles’ became the marching song for the Grande armee as it conquered continental Europe. Seeing the effect ‘La Marseilles’ had on the population in general and the army in particular, the British responded with their ‘God Save the King,’ a drinking song pressed into service for the patriotic cause.

“Austria was luckier in its choice of [a] national anthem. In early 1797, Franz Joseph, Count Saurau, commissioned Franz Josef Haydn, considered the greatest living Austrian composer, to write a hymn for the birthday of the Austrian Emperor Franz II. Based on a Croatian folk tune ‘Zalostna Zarucnice’ (The Sad Bride), Haydn quickly wrote the tune to the words ‘Gott Erhalte Franz den Kaiser’ (‘God Save Franz the Emperor’) and the piece proved an immediate and lasting success. The tune is instantly memorable with deeply moving harmonies and a simple and effective rhythm. Soon, the Kaiserlied appeared on all manner of arrangements for every conceivable assortment of instruments and voices… The hymn was later adapted by the German poet… Hoffmann von Fallersleben for his Deutschlandlied…”

Europe’s and Germany’s love for royals is interesting in light of the fact that the Bible predicts that ten European “kings” will come to power in these last days. Even though the reference to “kings” could just mean, “rulers” or “autocratic rulers,” it could also refer to literal kings or emperors.

Most Americans Support Gay Marriage

USA Today wrote on July 11:

“…now that the gay marriage legalization trend is becoming a fact of life in several states, millions of Americans, like the New York state senators who changed their vote to okay the law, have changed their minds on the issue.

“A Gallup Poll this summer found that for the first time most Americans (53%) support gay marriage. That’s up from 42% in 2004 when Massachusetts first legalized the shift. And somewhere in that shifting statistic is Jeff Angelo of Ames, Iowa — a straight, Republican, married-with-three-kids Christian mid-westerner who changed his mind.

“In 2006 when Angelo was in the state legislature, he led a push for a constitutional amendment that would ban same-sex marriage. It failed. In the years since, Angelo says, ‘I came to see gay couples as outstanding friends, citizens and neighbors. They’re no threat to community or marriage in this country.’ In June, Angelo founded Iowa Republicans for Freedom to rally social and political conservatives to support gay marriage. Says Angelo: ‘The GOP stands for limited government. It should not be telling people who they cannot marry.’”

While a majority of Americans seem to support gay marriages, politicians compromise their own convictions to suddenly support them as well. Our Q&A in this Update shows what God thinks of such kind of compromise.

Why Not to Serve on a Jury

There are of course many BIBLICAL reasons why a true Christian ought not to serve on a jury. Here is just another example which could be added to the list:

Mail On Line wrote on July 12:

“A juror in the Casey Anthony trial has told how she received death threats and has been unable to work since she was cleared of murder. The woman, known only as juror number 12,  left her job and went into hiding fearing co-workers would ‘want her head on a platter’. Her husband said before leaving she told him: ‘I’d rather go to jail than sit on a jury like this again.’…

“The sensational trial of Casey Anthony sparked outrage across the U.S. when she was acquitted of murdering her two-year-old daughter Caylee. She had been accused of drugging her young daughter, suffocating her and dumping her body in overgrown woodland…

“A jury of seven woman and five men took ten hours to clear Anthony of charges of first-degree murder, aggravated child abuse and aggravated manslaughter of a child. She smiled as she was given the verdict at Orange County Courtroom in Orlando, Florida after one of the most controversial verdicts in recent history.

“Furious spectators compared the verdict to that in the OJ Simpson case, however some jurors have publicly defended the decision. One… said there was not evidence to convict the 25-year-old mother. She said: ‘I did not say she was innocent, I just said there was not enough evidence. If you cannot prove what the crime was, you cannot determine what the punishment should be’… Another… said the jury only saw evidence that Anthony was a good mother… ‘The first number of witnesses were Casey’s [friends] and every time that they said they saw Casey with Caylee, it was a loving relationship and no one provided evidence to the contrary.’”

Famine and Disease Epidemics

The Telegraph wrote on July 11:

“The worst drought in over half a century has hit parts of East Africa affecting more than 10 million people. Thousands of families have travelled for days across scorched scrubland from Somalia to Kenya, including barefoot children with no food or water after their crops and livestock were destroyed by drought. More than 10 million people have been affected across the Horn of Africa. Acute malnutrition has reached 37% in some parts of north east Kenya and child refugees from Somalia are dying of causes related to malnutrition either during the journey or very shortly after arrival at aid camps.”

Jesus Christ prophesied that in these last days, we will hear more and more of worldwide famine and disease epidemics.

The short answer is that it most certainly is not acceptable for a true Christian to compromise his or her Christian beliefs for any reason whatsoever.

What is compromise? A compromise is an agreement (or proposed agreement) to accept a situation in which the parties get variations from what they originally sought, to achieve a compatible outcome. It can also be defined as an amicable agreement between parties in controversy, to settle their differences by mutual concession.

Actually, to reach such an agreement can be acceptable if this applies to decisions that don’t apply to God, His Word and His Way of Life, and that do not require the violation of our standards, conscience or conviction. For example, a married couple may want to spend a particular day together but with different pursuits. Therefore, a mutual agreement has to be reached between the two parties. But coming to a consensus in such a case is not a problem because God’s Law and His Way are not violated—quite to the contrary, we read that we should not look only at our needs and desires, but also at the desires and needs of others, and that we should treat others better than ourselves. In addition, in Romans 12:18 we read the following: “If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.” That may mean giving in, at times, in order to get along, without having to violate any of God’s standards or our own convictions.

On the other hand, politicians can spend much of their time compromising and horse-trading in order to get as near as possible to their particular objectives. When they thereby violate what they truly believe in, as they often do, then such compromise is unacceptable. Sadly, many politicians today do not even have strong convictions to begin with, and so they are willing to flip-flop when it serves their purposes.

There is one Person in the universe with whom we cannot compromise. God Almighty will never allow compromise with His Will and His Way, and His followers must do neither. Good intentions are no substitute for correct and Godly behaviour! No compromise must be the watchword when it comes to Godly and righteous behaviour.

Although Uzzah was well intentioned, he lost his life because what he did was not in accordance with God’s instructions (2 Samuel 6:7).

After Solomon became accustomed to foreign gods (1 Kings 11:1-9), they found public acceptance when he built high places for Chemosh and Molech, and for all the other gods of his foreign wives. One commentary states that “these shrines were stationed on the hill (possibly the Mount of Olives) that is before Jerusalem, the city where Solomon had built the house for Jehovah.” In spite of subsequent reformations of Asa and Hezekiah, these high places were permitted to stand approximately three hundred years until the reign of Josiah. The effects of Solomon’s compromise were seen for about 300 years.

Aaron made the golden calf upon the insistence of the children of Israel, when he should have held fast against their wrong desires. We read in Exodus 32:35: “So the LORD plagued the people because of what they had done with the calf which Aaron made.” Again, Aaron’s compromise produced disastrous results.

Saul also compromised and was rejected as king when he offered a burnt offering instead of waiting for Samuel as he was instructed (1 Samuel 13). He also failed to utterly destroy the Amalekites as instructed (1 Samuel 15); and to make matters worse, he consulted a medium – the witch of Endor (1 Samuel 28)–which he knew was wrong. He engaged in compromise after compromise after compromise, and so it is no wonder that he was rejected by God!

But because concession and compromise can begin in small, insignificant ways, it is easy to underestimate the potential for damage. These lessons from the Old Testament are there for our admonition (1 Corinthians 10:11).

Some compromise their standards because of peer pressure or simply to get ahead in the workplace—they may seek profit, a business promotion, or a larger salary. There are men and women who concede inappropriately because of doubt or spiritual weakness; they lack the necessary faith in God’s power and support, or maybe they are too impatient to wait for God’s perfect timing. Some may yield because they are discouraged; others, because they are proud. Any form of sin or weakness makes us more susceptible to compromise.

Lowering our standards weakens our character; reduces the effectiveness of our personal example; and can hinder our prayer life. Compromise will also corrupt our thinking. While we may believe we are making accommodations in just one area, every aspect of our life can be affected.

If we have compromised on a principle that should have been non-negotiable, we may cease to think in terms of right and wrong. Then we can easily grow defensive about concessions we have made in our faith and behavior. This may result in us distancing ourselves from God, becoming out of touch with Him, His Word and our calling, and it can produce fruit not in keeping with the life of a true Christian. In the end, people may well regard us as untrustworthy. Compromisers eventually destroy themselves.

One of the great problems with early “Christianity” was the problem of syncretism. Syncretism has been defined as the attempt to reconcile disparate, even opposing, beliefs and to meld practices of various schools of thought. If you look at mainstream Christianity, unfortunately, it is full of compromises. It celebrates days that are not biblical, but pagan in origin, such as Christmas, Easter, New Year’s Day and Halloween. At the same time, it ignores God’s annual Feast days. Compromise is evident everywhere, and we must not be involved in such practices. The celebrations of Christmas and Easter are classic examples of the early church accommodating other beliefs in order to attract followers. They compromised by accommodating paganism. They ignored clear biblical teaching which resulted in compromise. They reduced the three days and three nights during which Jesus Christ was dead in the grave, to half that amount of time which, again, was compromise in order to attract pagans who believed that their “savior” had been killed on a Friday and brought back to life on a Sunday.

What about us today? Do we compromise on tithing, for example? Do we eat unclean foods so that we do not “offend” others? Do we compromise by doing things on the weekly Sabbath that are not appropriate? Do we compromise to please family, friends or our employers? If we do, in any of those or other areas, we could be on a slippery path because we usually excuse ourselves for doing so. And having done it once, next time it gets that bit easier. Compromise, in the wrong areas, can be a deadly problem. God expects us to be non-compromisers with His Truth and His Word–something that worldly religion simply doesn’t understand.

In Revelation 2:12-17 we read a few verses about “the Compromising Church” – the church at Pergamos. They had compromised with idol sacrifice and sexual immorality – and they were told to repent. On the other hand, there are many fine examples of non-compromise, including Joseph (Genesis 39) and Daniel (Daniel 1) where we see good outcomes to non-compromise, because they stayed true to their convictions which were based on the Law of God.

What characterizes the Christian who stands firm? The committed believer has strong convictions about the Bible and a sturdy faith in God’s promises. His discerning spirit helps him to distinguish between what is right and what is wrong and unacceptable–and he has the courage to remain steadfast and secure with the truth that he has learned, and in his relationship with God. The non-compromiser has a clear sense of direction in life and is governed by principle rather than preference. He shuns compromise because he is motivated by receiving approval from God, rather than the applause from men.

One tiny concession, on the face of it, may appear insignificant. But as any soldier knows (and we are soldiers of Jesus Christ, compare 2 Timothy 2:3), the slightest move in the wrong direction can be fatal. Compromising Godly principles is no small matter for the believer. It is a spiritual error that can pull us further and further from God until we are in over our heads and too weak to struggle. Holding firm to God’s Truth can require tremendous resolution. All true Christians are called upon, sooner or later, to stand up for their beliefs or to fall for Satan’s deceptions.

Andrew Carnegie, the 19th century Scottish-born American Industrialist and Philanthropist, said: “Compromise is but the sacrifice of one right or good in the hope of retaining another – too often ending in the loss of both.”

In Revelation 3:7-13, we read the message to the church at Philadelphia. We are told in verse 11 to “Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown.” We can’t hold fast if we compromise. Those who compromise will fall short of what is required of them, and those who compromise with God’s Law and His Way of Life will not inherit the promise of eternal life.

Christ was uncompromising in every area of His life. We, as members of Christ’s spiritual Body—of God’s true Church–and as followers of the Messiah, must be exactly the same, making sure that no compromise is entertained when it comes to our Christian life, the keeping of God’s Commandments and doing exactly what we are instructed to do!

Lead Writer: Brian Gale (United Kingdom)

A new member letter was written and mailed out, and posted on the Web. In the letter, Mr. Brian Gale discusses what the future holds, including the approaching terrible night before the bright new day.

A new StandingWatch program was posted on our Web site (www.aufpostenstehen.org) and on YouTube, titled, “The US of Gloom on its Fourth of July.” America’s Fourth of July celebrations were accompanied by unparalleled uncertainty, self-doubt, pessimism and disillusionment. Trust in the government, Congress, the opposition, the economy, big business, the churches and the media is at an all-time low. The stimulus package was a colossal failure and resulted in higher national debt, which is now $14.5 trillion dollars. At the same time, as the Wall Street Journal wrote, Germany is sitting on top of the world. What does this all mean in the light of biblical prophecy?

Norbert Link’s video-recorded sermon, “Confidence in the Bible,” was posted on our Web site (www.eternalgod.org) and on YouTube .

A new AufPostenStehen program was posted on our Web site (www.aufpostenstehen.de) and on YouTube, titled, “Deutschlands weltweite Waffengeschaefte” [“Germany’s Worldwide Weapons Transactions”]

A new German sermon was posted on the Web, titled, “Wie Zuverlaessig Ist die Bibel?” [“How Reliable Is the Bible?”]

Please feel free to proceed with making reservations for the Feast of Tabernacles 2011 with the Hilton Garden Inn at 601 James Way, Pismo Beach, CA 93449. When you call under 1-805-773-6020, please make sure that you mention that you are attending the Feast convention of the Church of the Eternal God. Further information is available on our Web site (www.eternalgod.org), under “Feasts.”

by Michael Link

A question I have asked myself in the past few months has simply been, “What’s the delay?”  The reason for this is the anticipation and desire I’ve been personally longing for to start a new chapter in my life – where my hard work and persistence will finally pay off.  It has always been a dream of mine to pursue an actual “career” when it comes to music; however, it was difficult for me to fathom the idea of how this would ultimately work out, especially in this society and the stereotypical atmosphere that the music industry portrays.  The question I had then was, “How?”

Great things have happened in the past few months, and it has been an amazing journey thus far, especially since the time of being “discovered,” by a person who could turn my dreams into reality.  The big test in all of this was my first priority – my beliefs, and that compromising against my faith would be out of the question.  I made that clear from the outset, by being completely honest and upfront, explaining what I believe since I know who has given me my talents in the first place.  If I were to slip up, even just once, my dreams would be in jeopardy. 

The response I received was everything I hoped for and our relationship became even stronger as a result.  Excitement was building as plans were being discussed, which would involve an extensive process and time line to bring this project into fruition.  In order for that to happen, the necessary funding would have to be available first.

Everything seemed to go according to plan and I was ready to go.  And then–the delay… The question was and still is, When is GOD ready?  I have to respect the fact that God has this all figured out, and He knows when it’s time.  Yes, I was getting a little impatient, and it was discomforting not knowing when this would all come about.  With planning comes patience and my patience was and still is being tested.  Everything is still according to plan, with the exception of the timeline, and knowing that God is extremely patient, I will continue to be so until He is ready and His Will is done.