On January 29, 2011, Kalon Mitchell and Norbert Link will give split sermons, titled, respectively, “John 17” and “Paul’s Letter to the Philippians.”

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.

For the recent State of the Union address an appeal was made amongst Democratic and Republican senators and representatives to walk across the party aisle and sit together.  This effort was meant as a symbolic gesture to show the country that elected officials could act in a unified manner.  While it was acknowledged by some that this act “might be little more than a nod to civility at a time of rancorous political discourse,” it was intended as a start to a more civilized dialog between parties.

Minutes after the president’s speech, opposing party members gave their rebuttal to points brought up in the presidential address.  For the foreseeable near-future, TV and radio pundits will be dissecting the speeches in even greater detail, debating (ad nauseum) how either party might help or hurt America’s future.

Man-made unity at its best!

It’s tempting to jump into current political discourse and feed upon the vitriol that emanates over our airwaves.  But ALL of this comes from one source, “according to the prince of the power of the air” (Ephesians 2:2).  What Satan broadcasts is not the foundation that builds us into future sons and daughters of God, but is instead “the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience” (Ephesians 2:2).

We know from God’s interaction with the city of Nineveh that a whole nation was capable of repenting and changing—this is God’s desire, to bring “many sons to glory” (Hebrews 2:10).  God wasn’t interested in the politics of Nineveh, nor their immigration policies or their health care plans.

Far from it!  Jonah was sent to “cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before Me” (Jonah 1:2).  Despite their wickedness the entire city repented and God held back their destruction.  Unlike Nineveh our society still refuses to repent.

A leading conservative pundit said of the president after his first year in office, “The fact that his agenda has totally failed this year is the best thing that could have happened to this country… I thank God every day that it is going down the tubes.”

God is not pulling for the left, right or center of any aisle—these are ideals and constructs of man.  Man’s attempts all strive, but all fail—without God’s Spirit—to achieve unity and peace. We must constantly ask ourselves, what does God think?  What is His Will?  And we must pray for THAT Will to be done.

It’s God’s Will ALONE that allows this universe to exist.  And only with His Will can lasting unity take place.

We begin reporting on the most recent terror attack at Moscow’s airport, including the Russian government’s reaction and the long history of violence in that part of the world. Focusing on the volatile and unstable conditions in certain countries, we publish articles on Tunisia, Egypt and Lebanon, showing Europe’s increasing influence and involvement, as well as the marginal impact of the United States.

Concentrating on domestic issues within the United States, we report on the still missing and apparently non-existing long-form birth certificate of President Obama; claims of ongoing torture; and the pitiful prayer to “Father Sky” and “Mother Earth” at the memorial service in Tucson, Arizona.

Turning our attention to additional religious issues, we speak of the Adventists’ position on abortion; the Catholic Church’s stance on celibacy; and the Vatican’s cover-up of crimes by pedophile priests.

We conclude with an eye-opening UN report, stating that 2010 was the deadliest year in at least two decades, and warning that worse natural disasters are to come.

Terror Attacks in Russia

Deutsche Welle reported on January 25:

“Russian security officials suspect militants from the country’s Muslim-majority North Caucasus region in the planning and execution of Monday’s deadly bombing at Moscow’s Domodedovo Airport. The state-run news agency RIA Novosti quoted an unnamed security official as saying a female suicide bomber may have carried out the attack, and that the bombing ‘followed the classic scheme’ of terrorists from the North Caucasus… Russia’s Emergency Ministry published a preliminary casualty list on Tuesday, saying eight foreign citizens were killed in the attack… The total death toll stands at 35, while more than 100 were wounded.

“Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Tuesday said he held the management of Domodedovo Airport, the country’s busiest, partially accountable for security breaches that allowed the attack to happen…

“The airport bombing recalled another attack in Moscow on March 29 last year, when two female suicide bombers carried out dual bombings on the city’s metro and killed 40. The attack was blamed on so-called ‘Black Widows’ – women from the North Caucasus who volunteered for suicide bombings after their militant husbands were killed in fighting with Russian security forces. Russia has been fighting for stability and control in the North Caucasus for years. Then-President Vladimir Putin launched a war in late 1999 to defeat a rebellious government in semi-autonomous Chechnya.
 
“Putin succeeded in establishing a pro-Moscow government in the regional capital Grozny, but since then the insurgency has continued and spread to neighboring Ingushetia and Dagestan. Terrorist attacks by rebels from the North Caucasus are causing some concern ahead of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, a resort city located at the edge of the Caucasus and claimed by some rebels as part of its future Islamic state.”

The Associated Press added on January 25:

“Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin vowed ‘retribution is inevitable’ for the suicide bombing… Putin has built much of his reputation on harsh statements, but he did not elaborate on what kind of retribution he had planned…

“Putin rose to power largely on his tough-against-terror image, including a famous vow that Chechen rebels would be hunted down and killed ‘in the outhouse.’ But despite launching the second Russia-Chechnya war and pushing harsh against suspected rebels, he was unable to wipe out the Chechen insurgency during his 2000-2008 presidency.”

As observers may recall, Vladimir Putin’s “war” with Chechnya, including civilians, women and children, was extremely brutal and inhumane. Since war always breeds more war, and violence produces more violence, the current problems are not surprising.  Of course, terrorist attacks against innocent travelers are to be sharply condemned, but so is the hypocrisy of the Russian government’s “reactions” to those actions. Mr. Putin is again placing the world on notice as to his intentions; however, the world is not listening. For more information, you might want to read our free booklet, “Should YOU Fight in War?”

Opportunity for Europe

On January 25, Der Spiegel Online  published an interview with Alvaro de Vasconcelos, head of the European Union Institute for Security, pertaining to the ongoing turmoil in Tunisia. We are bringing you the following interesting excerpts from the interview:

“SPIEGEL ONLINE: ‘The EU hasn’t exactly excelled itself in its handling of Tunisia. The deposed president, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, was fawned over for decades as the supposed guarantor of political stability, while the EU simply turned a blind eye to torture and repression. Do you regard Europe as being complicit?’

“Alvaro de Vasconcelos: ‘I have to agree there. The European Union, and especially the member states geographically closest to Tunisia, accepted Ben Ali’s regime for far too long. They saw the status quo as a safer option than experiments with democracy. The underlying reason for this is the Europeans’ fear that Islamists could gain power. Many still consider authoritarian Arab regimes to be the lesser evil… In fairness, we have to acknowledge that nearly all the EU’s members discussed the “Tunisian model,” with its mixture of authoritarian rule and halfway solid economic development, as a model for success… But no one in Europe or North Africa can do this seriously anymore after the revolution in Tunisia…

“’The EU needs to urge its neighbors to pursue both economic stability and political modernization in equal measures… The European Neighborhood Policy is at its core a highly effective tool for bringing the south and east closer to the EU… There’s a real chance for democracy here [in Tunisia], but also the risk that the revolution could fail. The country is in turmoil, and much depends on Europe during this phase. The EU should consider Tunisia its highest strategic priority… There’s a great deal Europe can do. For example, we can help in setting up political parties, just as Germany helped after the toppling of the Salazar and Franco regimes in Portugal and Spain. We can also provide financial assistance. Tunisia is extremely dependent on economic conditions in Europe, which is why it also experienced shockwaves from the euro crisis. One possibility is emergency aid, to be increased depending on progress. Giving such aid might seem a hard sell given the current financial situation, but we shouldn’t forget what is at stake here.’”

Europe will get more and more involved in world affairs, including the Middle East. For more information, please read our free booklet, “Europe in Prophecy.”

Germany Unmoved by Egypt’s “Demands“

The Local wrote on January 24:

“Egypt’s antiquities chief said Monday that Cairo has demanded that Germany return the 3,400 year-old bust of fabled Queen Nefertiti, 98 years after it was uncovered on the banks of the Nile. Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities head, Zahi Hawass, announced an ‘official request’ for the bust’s return, backed by Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif and Culture Minister Faruq Hosni.

“The demand was sent in a letter to Hermann Parzinger, president of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, the governing body of the Neues Museum in Berlin where the piece has pride of place, he said. But the German government, which has always refused to return the bust, unearthed in 1912 by German archaeologist Ludwig Borchardt, was unmoved.

“’This is not an official request. An official request is a request from one government to another,’ foreign ministry spokesman Andreas Peschke told a regular government briefing in Berlin. He added that the position of the German government was ‘unchanged and not new’…

“Cairo began to demand the restitution of the Pharaonic-era statue back in the 1930s, but successive German governments have insisted the piece was bought legally by the Prussian state, and that there are documents to prove it.

“Nefertiti, renowned as one of history’s great beauties, was the wife of Pharaoh Akhenaton, remembered for having converted his kingdom to monotheism with the worship of one sun god, Aton. The bust is at the top of a ‘wish list’ of five major artifacts exhibited abroad that Egypt wants returned as part of its cultural heritage… Hawass… asked that ‘this unique treasure be returned to the possession of its rightful owners, the Egyptian people.’”

The Bible tells us that Germany will enter into a confederacy with certain Middle Eastern countries, against Israel, but interestingly, Egypt will not be part of that confederacy (Psalm 83:3-8). We also read that a united Europe, under German leadership, will invade Egypt (Daniel 11:42). The relationship between Germany and Egypt is bound to deteriorate.

Ongoing Protests in Egypt

The Associated Press reported on January 26, 2011:

“Thousands of Egyptians vented their rage against President Hosni Mubarak’s autocratic government in a second day of protests Wednesday that defied a ban on public gatherings. Baton-wielding police responded with tear gas and beatings in a crackdown that showed zero tolerance for dissent. Egypt’s largest anti-government protests in years echoed the uprising in Tunisia, threatening to destabilize the leadership of the most important U.S. ally in the Arab world. The ability of the protesters to sustain the momentum for two days in the face of such a heavy-handed police response was a rare feat in this country…

“Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton called on Egypt to adopt broad reforms and not crack down on the anti-government crowds… Still, there was no indication that Mubarak, who has ruled with an iron fist for nearly 30 years, intends to relinquish power or make democratic or economic concessions, and no sign he would rein in his security forces… Parliamentary elections in November were widely decried as fraudulent, rigged to allow candidates from Mubarak’s ruling National Democratic Party to win all but a small fraction of the chamber’s 318 seats…

“German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle invoked Tunisia Wednesday, saying the unrest in Egypt ‘underlines the necessity of democratization, of respect for human and civil rights. We are seeing in the last few weeks that a country’s stability is not endangered by granting civil rights. It is through the refusal of civil and human rights that societies become unstable,’ he said.”

Deutsche Welle added on January 26:

“Despite the strong show of defiance, Clara O’Donnell at the Center for European Reform, a London-based think-tank, believes the opposition lacks a unifying leader to rally behind and push for real change. ‘There is a big challenge to bring the opposition together in Egypt as there is no one key leader among them,’ she told Deutsche Welle. ‘So these are headless protests in a way and it makes it hard to imagine these protests leading anywhere, especially a Tunisia-style overthrow.’

“Almut Möller, the head of program at the Alfred von Oppenheim Center for European Policy Studies at the German Council on Foreign Relations, agrees that Egypt is unlikely to follow Tunisia’s lead to the same conclusion. But she believes Egypt is still entering a time of great uncertainty…

‘”The European Union has called the protests “a signal” of the Egyptian people’s “wish for political change” and urged the Mubarak regime to respect and protect the right of citizens to express their aspirations in peaceful demonstrations… There are concerns about the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt but there are far more dangerous groups there who could exploit a more open society. The EU is wary of that.'”

Der Spiegel Online wrote on January 27:

“Egypt entered another day of unrest on Thursday, as calls for the end of the authoritarian regime of President Hosni Mubarak continue. Protests against the regime have been raging since Tuesday, and have left at least four people dead and seen over 1,000 people arrested…

“While the US has urged Cairo to implement reform for years, it has tolerated the human rights and other abuses there, due to the country’s strategic importance in the region, particularly its role as an intermediary in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Last year, Egypt received more than $1.5 billion from the US in economic support and military assistance.

“The left-leaning Die Tageszeitung writes: ‘… Egypt is the most important US ally in the region apart from Israel. Representatives from the government in Washington practically have a seat at the cabinet table in Cairo. What is being discussed behind closed doors will be the decisive factor, not the official announcements from Washington…’

 “The left-leaning Berliner Zeitung writes: ‘Egypt has long been regarded as a powder keg. And while Islamists play no role socially or politically in Tunisia, in Egypt they are the strongest opposition force. They control important economic positions and operate a tight network of charitable institutions, which makes them so popular among the poorer sectors of society. It is hard to imagine an united opposition like that in Tunisia. In addition, Egypt has the strongest army in the Arab region, is a regional power and an important pillar of American Middle East policy…

“’Just as the strike by dockworkers in Gdansk in 1980 lead to the founding of Solidarity and the beginning of a process that culminated in the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the Soviet Union, so the Tunisian revolution could in a decade be looked back upon as the signal for the emancipation of the Arab world from autocratic rulers. That is the optimistic hypothesis. The alternative: Islamist movements profit from the ossification of the regimes and the paralysis of society.’”

The second less “optimistic” proposal is much more likely to occur, based on biblical prophecy.

Hezbollah Chooses New Lebanese Prime Minister

The New York Times wrote on January 24:

“A prime minister chosen by Hezbollah and its allies won enough support on Monday to form Lebanon’s government, unleashing angry protests, realigning politics and culminating the generation-long ascent of the Shiite Muslim movement from shadowy militant group to the country’s pre-eminent political and military force.

“Hezbollah’s success served as a stark measure of the shifting constellation of power in this part of the Middle East, where the influence of the United States and its Arab allies — Egypt and Saudi Arabia — is seen by politicians and diplomats as receding, while Iran and Syria have become more assertive.

“American diplomats tried to forestall the triumph of Hezbollah’s candidate, Najib Miqati… But the symbolism of Hezbollah’s choosing Lebanon’s prime minister was vast, potentially serving as the beginning of a new era for a combustible country whose conflicts have long entangled the United States, Iran and Syria. A practical impact may be the realignment of Lebanon away from the United States, which treated the government of Prime Minister Saad Hariri as an ally…

“By nightfall, angry opponents of Hezbollah took to the streets in parts of Beirut, Tripoli and other cities, burning tires, shouting slogans and offering at least an image of what many feared Hezbollah’s victory might unleash: strife among communities in a country almost evenly divided over questions of foreign patrons; posture toward Israel; and the relative power of Lebanon’s Shiite Muslims, represented by Hezbollah, and its Sunni foes…

“Israel, with which Hezbollah fought a month-long war in 2006, has warned of the implications of the new cabinet. In a radio interview, Vice Prime Minister Silvan Shalom described it as effectively ‘an Iranian government on Israel’s northern border.’”

MSNBC added on January 25:

“Hezbollah’s control over the government for the first time will sound alarm bells in Washington and Israel and raise concerns in moderate Sunni Arab states.”

The powder keg in the Middle East is bound to explode soon. It is interesting to see how American influence in that part of the world is more and more decreasing.

No Obama Long-Form Birth Certificate Exists

WorldNetDaily wrote on January 24:

“Former Hawaii elections clerk Tim Adams has now signed an affidavit swearing he was told by his supervisors in Hawaii that no long-form, hospital-generated birth certificate existed for Barack Obama Jr. in Hawaii and that neither Queens Medical Center nor Kapi’olani Medical Center in Honolulu had any record of Obama having been born in their medical facilities…

“‘Senior officers in the City and County of Honolulu Elections Division told me on multiple occasions that no Hawaii long-form, hospital-generated birth certificate existed for Senator Obama in the Hawaii Department of Health,’ Adams’ affidavit reads, ‘and there was no record that any such document had ever been on file in the Hawaii Department of Health or any other branch or department of the Hawaii government.’ In a recorded telephone interview, Adams told WND that it was common knowledge among election officials where he worked that no long-form, hospital-generated birth certificate could be found at the Hawaii Department of Health…

“Moreover, Adams was told that neither Queens Memorial Hospital nor Kapi’olani Medical Center had any records of Obama’s birth at their medical facilities. ‘We called the two hospitals in Honolulu: Queens and Kapi’olani,’ Adams stressed. ‘Neither of them have any records that Barack Obama was born there’…

“Moreover, Adams claims, the Hawaii government was engaged in a cover-up designed to tell the American public through the Obama-supporting mainstream media that Obama was born in Hawaii, even though no long-form, hospital-generated birth certificate for Obama could be found on record in the Hawaii Department of Health… Nor does Adams feel the short-form Certification of Live Birth is authoritative documentation proving that Obama was born in Hawaii.

“’My basic assumption is that he wasn’t born there,’ Adams said. ‘Certifications of Live Birth were given to people who were born at home, or to people who were born overseas and whose parents brought them back to the islands. If his parents were U.S. citizens, or if one parent was a U.S. citizen, as was the case with Obama, the family would apply for a Hawaiian birth certificate when the parents came back from overseas. That’s normally how you would have gotten on [a Certification of Live Birth] in the 1960s.’”

The White House is anxious to belittle and ridicule “birthers” who question the constitutional legitimacy of President Obama’s presidency, as it has not been established that he is a naturally-born citizen. For instance, Politico 44 reported on January 24:

“[During] Monday’s White House briefing with press secretary Robert Gibbs… Gibbs snuck a jab at the so-called birthers who don’t believe Obama was born in Hawaii. ‘I think rational people have — have long ago, many when they first heard and saw the president, come to the conclusion of his citizenship,’ he said.”

Really? The truth is, pertinent nagging questions regarding Mr. Obama’s eligibility as President are not going away.

Ongoing Torture in the USA?

Regarding Bradley Manning’s incarceration for allegedly disseminating classified documents to Wikileaks, the Guardian wrote on January 24, 2011:

“Amnesty International has put out a statement protesting Manning’s treatment in pre-trial detention. ‘We’re concerned that the conditions inflicted on Bradley Manning are unnecessarily severe and amount to inhumane treatment by the US authorities. Manning has not been convicted of any offense, but military authorities appear to be using all available means to punish him while in detention. This undermines the United States’ commitment to the principle of the presumption of innocence’…”

Der Stern Online added on January 24: “This sounds like Guantanamo. Manning is allegedly deprived of sleep. More than 30,000 people have signed an Online petition, protesting against the manner of Manning’s detention.”

Those reports do not help to establish President Obama’s and America’s reputation as being fair, democratic and law-abiding. The ghost of Guantanamo is again raising its ugly head.

The Spirit of Antichrist Is Everywhere…

Newsmax wrote on January 21:

“Franklin Graham says just mentioning the name Jesus Christ in the public square is increasingly frowned upon and warns: ‘The spirit of anti-Christ is everywhere.’ The… son of beloved evangelist Dr. Billy Graham voiced his dismay at the rapid secularization of society… Graham, who was banned from a Pentagon national day of Prayer event last year for expressing his opinions about Islam, told students: ‘Even in our government today, you can’t pray to Jesus in many public meetings. You can pray to God or a god. You can mention Buddha or the name of Muhammad — but you can’t pray to Jesus Christ.’

“The president and CEO of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association criticized the recent memorial service for the Tucson shooting victims. Unlike the memorials held after the Oklahoma City bombing and 9/11, he said, the Tucson program did not include an official prayer or mention of God… The one religious dedication on the program came from a member of the Pascua Yaqui tribe, who delivered a peroration that among other things called out to ‘Father Sky, where we get our masculine energy’ and ‘Mother Earth, where we get our feminine energy’…

“’How sad,’ the Graham op-ed stated. ‘Father Sky and Mother Earth can do nothing to comfort Capt. Mark Kelly, who had been at the bedside of his wife, Rep. Giffords, wondering if she’d ever leave her bed. Or Mary Stoddard, who was only alive because her husband sacrificed his life by shielding her with his body. Or the family, classmates, teammates and friends of little Christina, whose life was snuffed out before she could play another season of Little League’… Graham predicted the persecution of Christians will get worse in coming years…”

For more information, please listen to our new StandingWatch program, “Arizona’s Real Murderer.”

Adventists “Pro Choice”

The Washington Post wrote on January 24:

“Christians of all denominations are gathering on the National Mall today to protest the 38th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion nationwide. But one denomination that may be sparsely represented is Seventh-day Adventists whose large worldwide network of 170 hospitals allows elective abortions… Adventists resemble many conservative Protestant denominations as they believe in divinely inspired Scripture, six literal days of Creation, justification by faith and baptism by immersion.

“Their distinctive rites include worshiping on Saturday, the seventh day of the week as opposed to Sunday, an emphasis on the Second Coming of Christ and an emphasis on following Jewish dietary laws concerning abstinence from pork, shellfish and other foods proscribed as ‘unclean’ in the Old Testament. The denomination is known for its emphasis on health. Alcohol and tobacco are prohibited and many Adventists are vegetarians. But the denomination may be the only theologically conservative Protestant group that allows elective abortions. Many of their own members didn’t know that their worldwide hospital network performed the procedure…”

This is indeed a sad testimony. Elective abortion is wrong. For more information, please read our free booklet, “Are You Already Born Again?”

Celibacy a “Great Good” or a “Great Evil”?

Deutsche Welle reported on January 25:

“A handful of Catholic German politicians have sparked renewed debate over the ordination of married priests. Eight members of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) urged the German Bishops’ Conference to consider allowing married men into the priesthood… The letter – signed by Bundestag President Norbert Lammert, Education Minister Annette Schavan and former state premiers Bernhard Vogel, Erwin Teufel and Deiter Althaus – stated it was ‘of urgent importance, in light of the worrying and growing shortage of priests, that Germany’s bishops take on the ordination of “viri probati” [“established men”] as their own cause.’ The letter continued: ‘The reasons for adhering to the long-standing tradition, though it was not irrefutably decreed by Christ, are in part justified, yet they do not weigh as heavily in our consideration as the dire needs of priestless congregations, which are no longer able to hold Sunday Mass.’…

“Meanwhile, CDU parliamentarian Patrick Sensburg, along with several other CDU politicians, expressed opposition to the letter and support of priests’ celibacy. Sensburg, who called celibacy a ‘great good’ said it would be ‘quite a pity’ to burden Pope Benedict XVI’s September visit to Germany with a ‘separate path for Germany.’

“German [Catholic] lay groups did show their support for the proposed reform, despite a less than enthusiastic response from the Bishops’ Conference… Since 2009, the Catholic Church has allowed the ordination of some married Anglican priests who decide to convert to Catholicism.”

Forced celibacy is wrong and unbiblical. It is also partially responsible for the ongoing sexual abuse of boys, being perpetrated within the Roman Catholic clergy. In this context, make sure to read the next article. Also, for more information, please read our free booklet, “The Keys to Happy Marriages and Families.”

Vatican Covered Up Crimes by Pedophile Priests

The Associated Press reported on January 18:

“A 1997 letter from the Vatican warned Ireland’s Catholic bishops not to report all suspected child-abuse cases to police — a disclosure that victims’ groups described as ‘the smoking gun’ needed to show that the church enforced a worldwide culture of covering up crimes by pedophile priests.

“The newly revealed letter, obtained by Irish broadcasters RTE and provided to The Associated Press, documents the Vatican’s rejection of a 1996 Irish church initiative to begin helping police identify pedophile priests following Ireland’s first wave of publicly disclosed lawsuits. The letter undermines persistent Vatican claims, particularly when seeking to defend itself in U.S. lawsuits, that Rome never instructed local bishops to withhold evidence or suspicion of crimes from police…

“Child-abuse activists in Ireland said the 1997 letter demonstrates that the protection of pedophile priests from criminal investigation was not only sanctioned by Vatican leaders but ordered… Today, the Vatican’s child-protection policies remain in legal limbo. The Vatican does advise bishops worldwide to report crimes to police — in a legally nonbinding guide on its website. This recourse is omitted from the official legal advice provided by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and updated last summer. That powerful policymaking body continues to stress the secrecy of canon law.”

Natural Disasters… Worse to Come…

Deutsche Welle wrote on January 24:

“Natural disasters killed almost 300,000 people and harmed nearly 208 million others in 2010, a report by a UN agency has found. It was the deadliest year in at least two decades, and the report warns of worse to come… The Americas headed the list of the world’s worst affected continents for the first time, as Haiti’s earthquake caused 75 percent of the deaths with about 222,500 fatalities. Europe was next with Russia’s heat wave claiming some 56,000 deaths in 2010.

“Other extreme climate events in Europe included storm Xynthia in February, heavy floods in France in June and the extreme weather conditions all over Europe in December. Asia was hit by fewer disasters but was the most-affected region, accounting for 89 percent of all people affected by disasters in 2010. Five out of the top ten disasters happened in China, Pakistan and Indonesia. Altogether, the disasters and disaster relief cost nearly $110 billion (81 billion euros).”

Jesus spoke of terrible natural disasters prior to His return, calling them the beginning of sorrows. For more information, please read our free booklet, “Is That in the Bible?—The Mysteries of the Book of Revelation.”

We have seen in previous Q&As that it is indeed the potential of man to become God—a full-fledged God being in the Family of God. This teaching was already revealed in Old Testament times, even though most did not comprehend what was actually said. As you will recall, in the very beginning of man’s creation, God (“Elohim” in Hebrew), said: “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our Likeness” (Genesis 1:26). To be created in the image and likeness of God means, ultimately, to become God (1 Corinthians 15:49; Psalm 17:15). Also, the book of Psalms speaks of men as (potential) gods. Psalm 82:6 reads: “I said, ‘You are gods, And all of you are children of the Most High.’” Jesus used this passage to prove that He was the Son of God (John 10:31-39). We also read that men will come to worship true Christians (Revelation 3:9). No man nor powerful angels, but only God is worthy of worship (Acts 10:25-26; Revelation 19:10; 22:8-9).

The context of Isaiah 43:10 shows that God speaks of idols which pagans worship, and sadly, Israel had begun to adopt such pagan worship as well, as our modern non-Christian and Christian nations do today. In the context of idolatry, God says in Isaiah 43:12: “I have declared and saved, I have proclaimed, And there was no FOREIGN GOD among you.”

God’s statements in Isaiah 43:10 that there was no God “formed” before the true God, and that there will be no other God after Him, refers to foreign gods OUTSIDE THE GOD FAMILY. As we saw in the last Q&A on Isaiah 45:5, even though the LORD said, “I am God, and there is no other,” this did not mean that God is only one Being. Rather, God has always existed and presently consists of TWO glorified God beings—the Father and the Son, Jesus Christ—but true converted Christians are also already part of the God Family. They are not yet glorified and born again, but they have been begotten into the Family of God. They ARE already the children of God (1 John 3:1-2), and they will be LIKE or by nature EQUAL WITH God and Jesus Christ, when they will be born into the God Family at the time of Christ’s return. They will be fully Spirit, fully God–no more flesh and blood (Romans 8:19-30; 1 Corinthians 15:50-54; John 3:3, 5-8).

What then, is the exact meaning of Isaiah 43:10? As mentioned, God is not negating the fact that He is enlarging His Family, but He is emphasizing that no one outside His Family can make any claim of being or becoming God. Many human leaders asserted that they were God or “gods” or divine, and in the future, two powerful individuals will make similar false claims. In addition, many non-Christians and nominal Christians worship “deities” or “saints” or the “Virgin Mary,” but God says that none of them must be worshipped.

Please notice what is prophesied to occur in the not-too-distant future. The beast (a political and military leader) as well as the false prophet—a religious leader, who is also associated with the “image of the beast”–will be worshipped by most people, implying that they will be considered as “gods” (Revelation 13:4, 12, 15; 14:11).

We read that the beast, also referred to as the king of the North, will “magnify himself above every god, shall speak blasphemies against the God of gods… He shall regard neither the God of his fathers… nor regard any god; for he shall exalt himself above them all. But in their place he shall honor a god of fortresses; and a god which his fathers did not know he shall honor with gold and silver… Thus he shall act against the strongest fortresses with a foreign god, which he shall acknowledge, and advance its glory…” (Daniel 11:36-39).

The beast and the false prophet will work together. The beast, himself claiming to be divine, will honor and acknowledge (not necessarily “worship”) the false prophet as a foreign god. Both of them will claim to be gods or divine.

In fact, the false prophet, also referred to as the “man of sin” or the ”lawless one” in 2 Thessalonians 2:3, 8, will sit “as God in the temple of God” ( a future temple in Jerusalem), “showing himself” or proclaiming that he is God (verse 4). This false religious leader is also described in Ezekiel 28, where he is called the “PRINCE of Tyre” (verse 2). It says there that his heart will be lifted up, and he claims: “I am a god, I sit in the midst of gods” (same verse). But God answers him; “Yet you are a man, and not a god” (same verse). He also tells him about his death, asking, “Will you say before him [better: “before Him”] who slays you, ‘I am a god’? But you shall be a man and not a god” (verse 9).

Of course, the false prophet operates under the direct influence and possession of Satan the devil. Satan is referred to as the “KING of Tyre” (Ezekiel 28:12). When he was known as the cherub Lucifer, he became proud and decided that he wanted to replace the true God and become (like) the Most High and a god or God himself (Ezekiel 28:12-17; Isaiah 14:12-15). And it is Satan the devil who will give his power and authority to the beast and the false prophet (Revelation 13:4; 12:9).

But we also read that God will destroy the beast and the false prophet in the lake of fire—these “gods” will die, because they are mere men, and God is much more powerful than they. And God will also deal with Satan who uses them (Romans 16:20; Revelation 20:1-3, 7-10).

Returning to Isaiah 43:10, many commentaries understand that in that passage, God is not addressing His relationship with His followers and their potential, but His relationship with foreign gods and idols.

Barnes’ Notes on the Bible has the following comment:

“[The Israelites] were his witnesses, because, first, he had given [to] them predictions of future events which had been literally fulfilled: secondly, by his power of delivering them so often manifested, he had shown that he was a God able to save. Neither of these had been done by the idol-gods… Yahweh says that he was the first being. He derived his existence from no one. Perhaps the Hebrew will bear a little more emphasis than is conveyed by our translation. ‘Before me, God was not formed,’ implying that he was God, and that he existed anterior to all other beings. It was an opinion among the Greeks, that the same gods had not always reigned, but that the more ancient divinities had been expelled by the more modern. It is possible that some such opinion may have prevailed in the oriental idolatry, and that God here means to say, in opposition to that, that he had not succeeded any other God in his kingdom. His dominion was original, underived, and independent.

“’Neither shall there be after me’ – He would never cease to live; he would never vacate his throne for another. This expression is equivalent to that which occurs in the Book of Revelation, ‘I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last’ (Revelation 1:11), and it is remarkable that this language, which obviously implies eternity, and which in Isaiah is used expressly to prove the divinity of Yahweh, is, in the passage referred to in the Book of Revelation, applied no less unequivocally to the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible adds: “…’before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me’; intimating that idols were formed by the hands of men, and yet none of these were formed before him, and therefore could make no pretensions to deity, or to an equality with him; nor should any be formed afterwards, that could be put in competition with him…”

Wesley’s Notes read: “The gods of the Heathens neither had a being before me nor shall continue after me: whereas the Lord is God from everlasting to everlasting; but these pretenders are but of yesterday. And withal he calls them formed gods, in a way of contempt, and to shew the ridiculousness of their pretence.”

The Jamieson, Fausset and Brown commentary states: “’formed’–before I existed none of the false gods were formed. ‘Formed’ applies to the idols, not to God.”

Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary adds: “The idols were but of yesterday, new gods that came newly up (Deuteronomy 32:17); but the God of Israel was from everlasting… ‘there was no God formed before me, nor shall be after me.’ The idols were gods formed (dii facti-made gods, or rather fictitii-fictitious); by nature they were no gods, Galatians 4:8… God will have a being to eternity, and will be worshipped and glorified when idols are famished and abolished and idolatry shall be no more.”

In conclusion, God warns all of us not to worship or pray to any idols or gods, but to strictly and exclusively worship the true God—God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ. We are not to worship anyone or anything outside the God Family. In His timeless Ten Commandments, God tells us: “I am the LORD your God… You shall have no other gods before Me” (Exodus 20:2-3).

But God IS a Family and He enlarges His Family through man. Right now, the only Man who was born into the God Family is Jesus Christ. No one else has yet been born again, and so no man—dead or alive—is to be worshipped or prayed to. However, true Christians will become Spirit-born God beings and members of the Family of God at the time of Christ’s return; but even then, they will always be under God the Father and Jesus Christ, the FIRSTBORN among many brethren (Romans 8:29). God the Father will always be our God (Revelation 21:3), and we, as God’s servants, will always serve Him, reigning under Him forever and ever (Micah 4:5; Revelation 22:3-5).

Lead Writer: Norbert Link

A new StandingWatch program, titled, “Arizona’s Real Murderer,” was posted on the Web. The program discusses the fact that some on the political left were anxious to blame some on the right for the terrible mass shooting in Arizona. This absurd and baseless accusation negates the real causes for such horrendous crimes. But our sophisticated Western World is unwilling to consider the evil influence of the powers of darkness, while moving farther and farther away from the true God of the Bible.

A new German StandingWatch (“AufPostenStehen”) program was posted on the Web, titled, “Warum das Massensterben von Voegeln und Fischen?” (“Why the Mass Deaths of Birds and Fish?”)

A new German sermon was posted on the Web, titled, “Erkenntnis und Wissen.” It deals with the first letter of John and discusses certain aspects of true knowledge and the wrong concepts of Gnosticism.

We miss something if our manner, outlook and standards all mirror the times in which we live. Doing so would mean that we are living as a part of this world—that we are not different from everyone else.
 
But we are!
 
Here is what Jesus Christ stated—both about His disciples and Himself: “‘They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world’” (John 17:16).
 
However, we know that Jesus Christ was born in the nation of Judah and except for those who knew Him personally, He blended in with the people of His time–so much so that it was necessary for Judas, in betraying Him, to identify Him from among His disciples (compare Matthew 26:47-49).
 
What Jesus had that totally separated Him from both His countrymen and the rest of the world was His membership in the Family of God—from which He also drew His citizenship (compare John 8:23;18:36).
 
Christians, those converted individuals who have been called by God to come out of this world, are now also citizens of God’s Kingdom (compare Philippians 3:20); we are “ambassadors for Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:20); we are to live “as sojourners and pilgrims” (1 Peter 2:11); and, we are not to misuse this world (compare 1 Corinthians 7:31).
 
As such, we have a different status than those among whom we are to live. We have been given the gift of God’s Holy Spirit, and “now we are children of God” (1 John 3:2). Along with our RIGHTS to the promises of God, we also have DUTIES, and if we fulfill them, then we will be unmistakably different—a stark contrast to an age that is writhing in its own, final death-throes!

We begin with reporting on Chinese President Hu Jintao’s visit to Washington and discussing the fragile relationship between China and the USA; speak of the ongoing mystery of President Obama’s birth place; and point out a new, but largely ignored twist in the Arizona shooting.

Focusing on Europe, we report on the EU’s “vision” of being a “Fatherland of peace”; emphasize German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s commitment to the euro; and show ongoing anti-American feelings in Europe, and especially in Germany.

Speaking of religious and social issues, we report on the Catholic Church’s bizarre plan to beatify Pope John Paul II; explain the unbiblical reasons for the abandonment of the weekly Sabbath; and discuss the continuing mysterious deaths of many animals—including cattle.

We conclude with reporting on developments in the USA pertaining to “Obamacare,” which might not be good for the country in the long run.

China vs. the USA

Der Spiegel Online wrote on January 19:

“When US President Barack Obama took office two years ago, among the many hopes riding on him was an improvement in US relations with China… But instead of a new era of harmony between the major powers, the opposite has happened. US-Chinese relations are currently tenser than they have been in years. Chief among the many bones of contention is bilateral trade. American politicians accuse China of keeping its currency undervalued against the dollar to make its exports artificially cheap.

“Meanwhile Beijing, which has huge foreign currency reserves, has been flexing its burgeoning economic might by buying up European sovereign debt, ostensibly to help the euro zone overcome its current woes. Observers believe that China is keen to diversify its investments as a result of economic trouble in the US; it already owns massive amounts of American debt. Washington is also eyeing China’s ongoing military expansion with concern. Beijing’s recent unveiling of a new stealth plane was just the latest sign that China’s armed forces are becoming increasingly powerful. America’s ally Taiwan, which Beijing considers a breakaway province, also remains a contentious issue between the two countries…

“The countries are also divided over issues of democracy and human rights. Obama’s support for the winner of the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize, Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo, is unlikely to have won him many friends in Beijing. The US is also concerned about China’s growing influence in Africa, where Beijing has been trying to secure access to raw materials, and is frustrated that the Chinese leadership has not done more to reign in its unruly ally North Korea.

“Hence the four-day visit of Chinese President Hu Jintao to Washington is being closely watched… The lavish reception that the US is laying on for Hu shows how important the trip is to Obama. Progress on the fundamental issues that divide the rival powers seems unlikely, however, and the main aim of the meeting appears to be a thawing in the frosty atmosphere… German commentators ponder the future of the US-China relationship and wonder how the new world order will function once Washington has to share power with Beijing.

“The center-right Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung writes: ‘The two nuclear powers must find a way in which they can build trust and avoid misunderstandings… Weakened by the financial crisis, America is seen — at least partially — as a superpower in decline. In contrast, China, whose economy is now the world’s second largest, is regarded as the savior of the global economy.’

“The conservative Die Welt writes: ‘… They know that they need each other, but at the same time they are also rivals competing for the riches and loyalties of the Pacific Rim. They are separated by the question of who will inherit the Earth. For today, the answer is the US. But how long will that last? And how will America share the role of the world’s leading power, moderate the ensuing conflicts and achieve the transformation from hegemony to a new balance of powers? And what will this mean for the Europeans, including Russia, in terms of equilibrium and their influence?’

“The left-leaning Berliner Zeitung writes: ‘… Obama… cannot afford a rift with China; he needs Beijing’s vote on the Security Council to impose further sanctions against Iran, just as he needs its influence in North Korea… Even if Europe does not want a new world order based on the G-2, no one wants a power struggle between the US and China whose consequences cannot be predicted.’”

As the old saying goes, man thinks, and God directs. The Bible has prophesied that an altogether different picture will emerge. The influence of the United States will continue to decline, while China, Russia, India, Japan and other Far Eastern countries will build a strong confederacy. At the same time, Europe will emerge as the most powerful entity in the world, and a military conflict between these two new power blocs (Far Eastern countries and Europe) will become a certainty. For more information, please read our free booklet, “The Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord.”

Mysteries Regarding President Obama’s Birthplace Continue

WorldNetDaily wrote on January 18:

“Hawaii Gov. Neil Abercrombie suggested in an interview published yesterday that a long-form, hospital-generated birth certificate for Barack Obama may not exist within the vital records maintained by the Hawaii Department of Health… For seemingly the first time, Abercrombie frankly acknowledged that presidential politics motivated his search for Obama birth records, implying that failure to resolve the questions that remain unanswered about the president about his birth [and] early life may damage his chance for re-election…

“So far, the only birth document available on Obama is a Hawaii Certification of Live Birth that first appeared on the Internet during the 2008 presidential campaign. It was posted by two purportedly independent websites that have displayed a strong partisan bias for Obama… the Hawaii Department of Health has refused to authenticate the [same]…

“…in 1961, Obama’s grandparents, Stanley and Madelyn Dunham, could have made an in-person report of a Hawaii birth even if the infant Barack Obama Jr. had been foreign-born. Similarly, the newspaper announcements of Obama’s birth do not prove he was born in Hawaii, since they could have been triggered by the grandparents registering the birth as Hawaiian, even if the baby was born elsewhere… the address reported in the newspaper birth announcements was the home of the grandparents…

“Tim Adams, a former senior elections clerk for the city and county of Honolulu in 2008 has maintained that there is no long-form, hospital-generated birth certificate on file with the Hawaii Department of Health and that neither Honolulu hospital, Queens Medical Center or Kapiolani Medical Center, have any record that Obama was born there.”

Whether the existence or non-existence of a long form birth certificate will have any influence on the President’s re-election appears to be highly doubtful. Sadly, most Americans don’t seem to care about the requirements and injunctions of their own Constitution; otherwise, the outcry over the lack of evidence that the President is actually eligible for the office he occupies would be deafening and ongoing. Not only the left-liberal press, but also many “conservative” voices seem to have no interest whatsoever of entering into the “debate.”

New Twist in Arizona Shooting

The Washington Post reported on January 16:

“One of the Arizona shooting victims was arrested Saturday and then taken for a psychiatric evaluation after authorities said he took a picture of a tea party leader at [a] televised town hall meeting and yelled: ‘you’re dead.’

“James Eric Fuller, 63, [a left-liberal “activist”] objected to something Trent Humphries said during the forum taped for a special edition of ABC’s ‘This Week’… [Fuller] was in the front row and apparently became upset when [it was] suggested that any conversations about gun control should be delayed until all the dead were buried…”

This story was virtually suppressed by the left-liberal American media, as it does not fit into the paradigm of those who claim that the Tea Party movement and Sarah Palin were somehow responsible for Jared Loughner’s mass murders. As we show in our last Update, the real culprit must be seen in forces which most people do not even want to consider.

Europe—the “Fatherland of Peace”

The EUObserver wrote on January 17:

“EU Council President Herman Van Rompuy has issued a robust defence of the European Union in the face of growing ‘suspicion and fear’, arguing that the bloc must not be seen as a new ‘Moscow’, but instead, the ‘Fatherland of peace.’ … The President said… said that the EU was responsible for hastening the demise of the Soviet Union…

“While in Berlin last November, he issued a stark warning against the forces of nationalism, euro-scepticism and populism:  ‘… Fear leads to egoism, egoism leads to nationalism, and nationalism leads to war… ‘I sometimes explain that the enlargement of the European Union with the countries of Eastern and Central Europe in and after 2004 is not a bureaucratic process, driven by “Brussels”, but that enlargement should rather be seen as a deeply political enterprise, driven by a great historic event: the end of the Cold War and the unification of the European continent’… He said the coming year must see a deepening of the single market…”

President Van Rompuy’s stunning allegation that the EU was responsible for hastening the demise of the Soviet Union carries with it the germ of future conflict, and the Bible shows that a military confrontation between the EU and Russia will ensue in the not-too-distant future. The illusionary claim that the EU is the “Fatherland of peace” is also remarkable in light of Paul’s warning in 1 Thessalonians 5:1-6:

“But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you. For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. For when they say, ‘Peace and safety!’ then sudden destruction comes upon them as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape. But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief… therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober.”

“Keeping the Euro”

Der Spiegel Online wrote on January 19:

“Chancellor Angela Merkel has categorically stated that Germany will not abandon the euro and reintroduce the deutsche mark…

“’There can be no return to the deutsche mark,’ she said, adding that Germany would ‘continue to do everything necessary to guarantee a stable euro.’ She told the magazine [“Der Stern”] that, while she took citizens’ concerns very seriously, she was convinced that ‘we in Germany can handle everything.’

“She expressed strong support for the common European currency and dismissed talk of splitting the euro zone into economically stronger northern countries and weaker southern countries. ‘Not on my watch. On behalf of Germany I say a clear “no”’…

“On the subject of France’s demands for a so-called European economic government, Merkel said that the leaders of the EU’s 27 member states had already said in February 2010 that they saw themselves as an economic government…”

The unification of Europe is unstoppable, and the euro will continue to become the most powerful currency in the world—much more powerful than America’s or China’s currencies. The Bible also prophesies that ten core nations or groups of nations will emerge WITHIN—not outside—the EU. And, that these nations will transfer dictatorial powers to a political and military European leader, setting in motion the final stages of the last revival of the ancient Roman Empire. For more information, please read our free booklet, “Is That in the Bible?—The Mysteries of the Book of Revelation.”

Anti-Americanism in Germany

The following provocative article was first published in Der Tagesspiegel and then re-published in The Local. The warnings contained in the article should not be readily dismissed. When political agendas, restrictions of individual liberties, and pre-conceived prejudices are at play, all of us suffer.

The Local wrote on January 17:

“Germans certainly love freedom of thought, and if they could turn those thoughts into actions, the country would have become a foreigner-free zone a long time ago. But Germans are not so keen on freedom of speech, which is why they limit it with all kinds of laws. And they welcome any opportunity to plead for more restrictions and regulations.

“The latest of these opportunities is the horrific attack in Tucson, Arizona on US Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. The shooting has been used as a chance to crow about the ‘climate of hate’ in the United States, regardless of the question of what exactly motivated a man to kill six people and wound 14 others. This satisfies two German urges at once.

“Firstly, it gives them a chance to exercise their wonted anti-Americanism, which has been stifled since the inauguration of President Barack Obama. Now it can run riot again, not with the despised and derided George W. Bush, but by targeting Sarah Palin and the Tea Party movement. The German pressure cooker, long bubbling with accusations of Yankee gun-loving, the death penalty, evangelical Christianity, and rabid anti-government rhetoric, has finally found a way to blow off steam. Apparently the revival of ‘Evil America’ has been bursting to get out [for] quite some time…

“Secondly, the assertions of a ‘climate of hate’ in the United States have fed the conviction that freedom of speech can be a little too free – in other words, that the rigid German model is superior to the libertarian American approach. This assertion is good for German self-satisfaction. It pacifies them… Just as the now discredited Senator Joseph McCarthy pursued alleged communists in the 1950s, today’s German witch hunters are hunting the likes of Palin and the Tea Party for causing the tragedy in Tucson…

“We should be… worried about Germany (and Europe). Here, freedom is still a luxury. One can almost feel the subliminal desire to use the Tucson attack to finally ban public appearances by Thilo Sarrazin [who wrote a book speaking out against Islamic influence in Germany.]”

Dead Pope Works Miracles?

On January 14, BBC News published the following incredible story. Sadly, many gullible and deceived people will believe it, and so the heretical concept that those who have died can work miracles from heaven will spread:

“Pope Benedict XVI has formally approved a miracle attributed to his late predecessor, paving the way to John Paul II’s beatification on 1 May… John Paul II died in 2005 after a papacy of nearly 27 years. The Vatican credits him with the miraculous cure of a nun said to have had Parkinson’s Disease.

“Church officials believe that the Polish pope, who himself suffered from the condition, interceded for the miraculous cure of Sister Marie Simon-Pierre, a Frenchwoman in her late forties. She has said her illness inexplicably disappeared two months after John Paul II’s death, after she and her fellow nuns had prayed to him.

“Church-appointed doctors agreed that there was no medical explanation for the curing of the nun, although last year there were some doubts about the validity of the miracle… Up to a million people are expected to gather in Rome for the beatification… In order for John Paul II to be canonised as a saint, a second miracle would have to be verified following the beatification.”

Please note that these miracles must occur AFTER the death of the pope, to give “evidence” to the idea that the dead pope (or his “immortal soul”) went to heaven and is answering prayers, which were directed to him (!), by working miracles. This unbiblical concept is rejected in Scripture for numerous reasons. If you want to learn more about the TRUTH, please read our free booklet, “Do We Have an Immortal Soul?”

Why NOT the Sabbath?

WorldNetDaily wrote on January 15:

“It’s perhaps one of the most interesting aspects of not only the Holy Bible, but also the history of mankind and Christianity…It was first mentioned the day after the first man, Adam, was created, as God set apart the seventh day of the week from the other six. And it is so important, God made it one of the famous Ten Commandments, telling us to remember the Sabbath, to keep it holy and not do any work that day.

“But this day of rest that was observed for thousands of years on the seventh day of the week, Saturday, has mysteriously been transformed into a special reverence for the first day of the week, Sunday. In fact, if you ask Christians today, ‘Which day is the Sabbath of God?’ most will undoubtedly answer ‘Sunday.’

“Just how did this enigmatic change take place? …

“In the archives and libraries of international scholarship… researchers have discovered the secret strategies that changed the Christian day of rest on Saturday to the primary day of worship on Sunday… One novel approach took the form of a letter, a letter that supposedly came directly from heaven… It was actually a fraudulent epistle demanding the rigorous observance of Sunday, an example of the heavy-handed attempts to manipulate the consciences of medieval Christians… The promotion of Sunday, commonly called ‘the Lord’s Day,’ was an integral part of the Reformation-era conflict over Church authority.”

That the Roman Catholic Church “changed” the Sabbath to Sunday, without any biblical or divine backing whatsoever, cannot be denied. It was done for two reasons—to embrace Sunday-worshipping pagans into their fellowship, and to distance themselves from the Jews, due to blatant anti-Semitic feelings. God does not endorse this unauthorized “change”; in fact, He condemns it. For more information, please read our free booklets, “Europe in Prophecy” and “God’s Commanded Holy Days.”

Now—Cattle Dying…

Wsaw.com reported on January 17:

“The 200 dead cattle were discovered on a farm field on 4th Street in Amherst [Wisconsin], Sunday, the bodies were taken out in semi-loads to be disposed of. The farm’s veterinarian says preliminary results show the animals died of acute interstitial pneumonia, also known as AIP. Samples from the dead animals were sent to Madison for testing.

“The vet says the steers began to die early last week, with the last dying Saturday. The animals started showing symptoms of illness and then died within 12 hours. The vet says animals didn’t respond to treatment… The cattle on the farm are not quarantined.”

For further information, please view our StandingWatch program, “Birds And Fish Will Waste Away.”

House Repeals New Healthcare Law…

The Los Angeles Times wrote on January 20, 2011:

“House Republicans passed a largely symbolic resolution Wednesday to repeal the nation’s new healthcare law, fulfilling a top campaign promise and setting the stage for a renewed battle in the Senate. The Senate showdown… promises to be substantially messier and more drawn-out than the debate just completed in the House. The result could be a return to bitter partisan gridlock ahead of a budget confrontation in March, when the healthcare law repeal could become intertwined with a debate over federal spending.

“House Republican lawmakers, who hold a commanding majority, passed their two-page repeal resolution 245 to 189 after less than two days of floor debate. Three Democrats joined all 242 Republicans in support of the repeal resolution… In the Senate, Republicans will have to use contentious procedural maneuvers to pressure Democrats to vote on a repeal measure. Democrats retain a 53-47 edge in the Senate, counting two independents who caucus with them, and Democratic leaders firmly oppose repeal…

“Independent voters, who were crucial to GOP electoral gains in November, do not want years of gridlock that produce no alternative to the current healthcare law…”

USA Today added on January 20:

“House Republicans will move ahead today with an effort to replace parts of the nation’s health care law after easily passing legislation to repeal the measure. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid… has vowed the repeal legislation will go nowhere in the Senate… President Obama has said he’ll veto the bill that aims to overturn one of his proudest achievements.

“Still, GOP committee chairmen in the House will outline their plans today to replace the law with proposals to lower health-care costs, expand access to coverage and protect the doctor-patient relationship… congressional Republicans will look for leadership from GOP governors, who control a majority of the nation’s states. Already, half the states have joined lawsuits filed by states such as Florida and Virginia to overturn the law’s mandate that all Americans obtain health insurance coverage.”

In Isaiah 45, “the LORD” (“Yahweh” in Hebrew) speaks to Cyrus and tells him that he will be an instrument in God’s hands to fulfill His Will. He specifically prophesies that and how Cyrus will conquer Babylon (compare verse 1) and that he will allow Jerusalem to be rebuilt and Judah to be released from captivity (compare verse 13). He also emphasizes that Cyrus did not know God, when He called him for his special mission (verses 3-5).

It appears that Cyrus was an idol worshipper of the Persian sun god Mythra (whose day of worship was Sunday, and whose birthday was celebrated on December 25). He apparently also worshipped the Babylonian god Marduk. It is in that context, that the LORD (“Yahweh”) says: “I am the LORD, and there is no other; There is no God besides Me” (verse 5, compare verse 6).

It is true that Yahweh’s comments are more encompassing than just referring to Cyrus. He repeats His claim that He is God, and that there is no other God besides Him, in several verses throughout the chapter (verses 14, 18, 21, 22; compare also Isaiah 46:9).

All these passages deal with the true God in contrast with false “gods” or idols. The “LORD” is stating that He created the universe and everything that exists; that He is carrying out His Will and that His prophecies will come to pass; and that no other “god” had or will have any part in any of this. But does this mean, as some have suggested, that Isaiah taught that there was only one God Being—the “LORD”?

We have seen in previous Q&As that God is a Family, consisting of two Beings. We also pointed out in our booklet, “The Book of Zechariah—Prophecies for Today,” that the “LORD” (“Yahweh”) can refer to any one of the two Beings within the God Family. Although normally referring to Jesus Christ, it can also refer to God the Father.

It is therefore obvious that when the LORD says that He is “God,” and that there is no other, this must be referring to either one and including both of the two Personages, who are both identified as “LORD.” The word for “God” is “elohim” in the Hebrew, describing a (family) unit. Remember, God (“elohim”) said in the beginning: “Let US make man in OUR image, according to OUR likeness…” (Genesis 1:26). Here, God (“elohim”) is used as a plural word, describing a unity of more than one being.

The LORD—whether the reference is to the Father or to the Son—is declaring that He—as the representative of the God Family—is the Creator of the heavens and the earth. (We discussed before that God the Father created everything through Jesus Christ, compare Colossians 1:12-16). No other god or idol must be worshipped or thought of as having participated in any creation process. But as we saw in a previous Q&A on Deuteronomy 6:4, the Father and the Son are “one”—totally unified in approach, purpose and goal—so that when the One speaks, He speaks likewise for the Other.

Several commentaries have clearly understood that the passages in Isaiah 45, as quoted above, do not teach that God consists of only one person. For example, we read in Isaiah 45:22 that Yahweh says: “Look to Me, and be saved, All you ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other.”

Clarke’s Commentary to the Bible states:

“This verse and the following contain a plain prediction of the universal spread of the knowledge of God through Christ; and so the Targum appears to have understood it; see Romans 14:11; Philippians 2:10. The reading of the Targum is remarkable, viz., … look to my Word, … the Lord Jesus.”

To explain in passing, “Targum” is defined as, “Any of several Aramaic translations or paraphrasings of the Old Testament” (The American Heritage Dictionary, copyright 1992). The above quote from Isaiah 45 is an adaptation from such Aramaic paraphrased translations of the original Hebrew Old Testament. Aramaic was the commonly spoken language in Judah during the time of Jesus.

Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible adds:

“’Look unto me,’…. And not to idols, nor to any creature, nor to the works of your hands… all must be looked off of, and Christ only looked unto… He is to be looked unto as the Son of God, whose glory is the glory of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth; as the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world; as the only Mediator between God and man; as the Saviour and Redeemer…’for I am God, and there is none else’; and so mighty to save, able to save to the uttermost, all that come to him, and to God by him, be they where they will; since he is truly God…”

These commentaries explain that Yahweh, who is speaking here, is actually Jesus Christ; they also understand that Christ is God—but not the only God Being, of course, because the FATHER later impregnated Mary with the Christ child through the power of the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:30-35).

Christ—Yahweh—exclaims that He is God, and there is no other—not in reference to God the Father, but in reference to pagan idols and gods who were invented through the maneuvering and under the influence of Satan the devil to create a substitute for Jesus Christ. That is the reason why pagans believed in Savior “sun-gods,” such as Mythra or Attis, who died around Easter time, on a Friday, and who were believed to have come back to life on a Sunday.

Sadly, orthodox Christianity absorbed those pagan concepts and applied them to Christ, claiming that Christ was born on December 25; that He was crucified on a Friday and resurrected on a Sunday; and that He must be worshipped today on a Sunday. All these unbiblical practices and beliefs are of pagan origin, and the Bible strongly condemns this kind of syncretism (Deuteronomy 12:29-32).

Likewise, we read in Isaiah 46:9, that Yahweh says: “Remember the former things of old, For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me.”

Again, this is not teaching that there is only one God Being, but that we must not worship any pagan gods, as they are of no relevance.

Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible remarks:

“Remember the former things of old… which are so many proofs of the true deity of the God of Israel, in opposition to the idols of the Gentiles…”

In conclusion, Isaiah does not teach that there is only one God Being, but that both the Father and the Son, referred to as “Yahweh,” are members of the one true God Family. Isaiah also teaches that no “god” or “idol” must be viewed as a helpful way to salvation; rather, whatever is not of, or belonging to the true God, is to be avoided and rejected.

Lead Writer: Norbert Link

Our newest (32nd) booklet, “Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians,” was sent out this week to our readership, together with a cover letter.

A new German sermon was recorded this week and will be posted shortly on the Web, titled, “Die Welt der Daemonen, Teil 3” [“The World of Demons, Part 3”].

Norbert Link’s video-recorded sermon, “Babylon’s False Prophet,” was posted on the Web.