On November 20, 2010, Eric Rank will give the sermon, titled, “Why Do We Do It?”

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.

How can an ancient book, written more than 1900 years ago, possibly have relevance in our lives today? Look at where we are now – we are the most advanced society that has ever lived. How is it then that the Bible could remotely be applicable to us today?

Actually, there are several ways in which it is meaningful. Firstly, this book of books is replete with timeless principles of living that ensure that we can live a happy, full and blessed life.

There is profitable instruction throughout its pages in regard to how to do this. There are tried and true laws of health, diet, cleanliness, morality, relationships and many others that are there for us to glean.

The reason that this is still pertinent, is because in all that we have accomplished, we, as a people, have not changed nor have we been able to conquer our own human nature autonomously. Our character, the way we are and how we act, has remained the same.

This being the case, the God who made us and knows us, understands exactly what we need to have a good life. Because of this, the instruction that was given millennia ago, has not needed to change and is as appropriate for us today as the day it was written.

Secondly, there are prophecies that have yet to come about. The ones that have, are a proof of the veracity of the Word of God. The rest are now being fulfilled before our very eyes and will continue to come to pass in the near future.

As what God has foretold comes to fruition, it will announce His coming Kingdom and bring many to repentance. His Purpose will surely be seen as the Way to follow and to be.

The Bible shows the Plan of God and how we can live a better life right now. How could the Bible be any more relevant? 

The G-20 summit turned out to be a terrible embarrassment for President Obama and the USA. National and international reports agree that America failed in an unprecedented way–and that America’s influence in the world is shrinking. Fears of a trade war are felt–but we are also reminded that fears of a nuclear war are as real; and the incredible tragedy is that such a war could be caused by human or technical error.

Mysterious occurrences over California, reminiscent of a missile, coupled with the steadfast flimsy denial of the US government of possessing any knowledge, and the strange crippling of a US based cruise ship, are fuelling these fears.

While Russia is pursuing its national interests, by seeking alliances with the USA, Europe and China, and while France is moving to the right, President Bush’s selective memoirs continue to alienate Europe and the USA. The situation in Iraq and in the Middle East in general is as volatile as ever, with Iran trying to establish itself as the master over Syria and other nations.

Europe is facing another crisis, but we can safely say that the euro is here to stay. However, we also know that in the not-too-distant future, a core Europe of ten nations or groups of nations will emerge. This may very well happen because of internal strife and external threats.

We conclude with articles about superstitions within the Greek Orthodox Church; current and past turmoil within the Catholic Church, which shed interesting light on pertinent biblical prophecies; as well as a new locust plague in Australia.

Merkel Wins Against Obama

Der Spiegel Online wrote on November 12:

“Germany successfully managed to thwart US demands for rigid rules on trade imbalances… [Merkel] enjoyed a preliminary VICTORY in the dispute with the United States over trade imbalances. The American demand for binding limits to be placed on countries with major trade surpluses — a demand aimed clearly at Germany and China — has been taken off the agenda for now… Obama has emerged as one of the LOSERS of the Seoul summit.”

USA Jealous of Germany

The Local reported on November 18:

“… rather than welcome the success of its European partner, US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has suggested that Germany’s trade surplus be capped: in other words, that exports be banned if they go above a certain level. He is supported by voices from EU headquarters in Brussels and Germany’s socialist Left party. This is an odd coalition of free trade opponents, but they are united by one thing: envy.

“US President Barack Obama adopted his finance minister’s proposal ahead of the G20 in Seoul, South Korea last week, but fortunately Chancellor Angela Merkel resisted his pressuring. After all, she is in a strong position: the Americans are criticizing Germany for what it is apparently doing right.

“Success breeds resentment, and it’s no surprise that German opposition parties and certain nations are grinding their teeth, because the German example puts pressure on their leaders to explain themselves. But why are Germans themselves not more proud of the achievements they have helped produce?

“Even as their country has escaped the maelstrom of the crisis – and with an even healthier job market than before – Germans are lost in raging debates about disillusionment with politics, a crisis in democracy, deep social insecurity and other supposed anxieties of the zeitgeist… While life expectancy rises every year, so does anxiety about chemicals in food, healthy diets and fitness. Will Germans ever be relaxed and satisfied?…”

“Embarrassment in Seoul”

The Wall Street Journal wrote on November 13:

“Has there ever been a major economic summit where a U.S. President and his Treasury Secretary were as thoroughly rebuffed as they were at this week’s G-20 meeting in Seoul? We can’t think of one. President Obama failed to achieve any of his main goals while getting pounded by other world leaders for failing U.S. policies and lagging growth.

“The root of this embarrassment is political and intellectual: Rather than leading the world from a position of strength, Mr. Obama and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner came to Seoul blaming the rest of the world for U.S. economic weakness. America’s problem, in their view, is the export and exchange rate policies of the Germans, Chinese or Brazilians. And the U.S. solution is to have the Fed print enough money to devalue the dollar so America can grow by stealing demand from the rest of the world.

“But why should anyone heed this U.S. refrain? The Germans are growing rapidly after having rejected Mr. Geithner’s advice in 2009 to join the U.S. stimulus spending blowout. China is also growing smartly having rejected counsel from three U.S. Administrations to abandon its currency discipline. The U.K. and even France are pursuing more fiscal restraint…

“The American FAILURE was most acute on trade, as the U.S. and South Korea couldn’t agree on a bilateral pact that the two countries had signed three years ago… Mr. Obama’s negotiators left Seoul empty-handed… faltering American influence will produce a vacuum in which every nation can seek narrow advantage…”

America’s Shrinking Influence in the World

CNN wrote on November 12:

“Opening The New York Times on Friday morning, I blinked. The headline on its lead story, spread over two columns, blared out, ‘Obama’s Economic View Is Rejected on World Stage.’

“Whether or not you like this president, the headline should make every American wince. Yes, other presidents have experienced setbacks, but it has been a long time since any of them has been so publicly rebuffed in a gathering of the world’s major nations. Indeed, since World War II, our presidents have dominated the world’s economic decision-making…

“There is a suggestion coming from the White House that the press is being unduly dramatic in its reporting on these setbacks. But is this believable about The New York Times? Hardly. No, what we have here is something more serious: not only a president who is personally weakened by elections at home but a proud NATION that is also WEAKENED in the eyes of the world.

“For too long, the U.S. has been seen by a growing number of other nations as acting recklessly with our finances. Within less than a generation, we have fallen from being the world’s biggest creditor to the world’s biggest debtor. Fingers are also pointed at us for CAUSING the Great Recession.

“We increasingly face a stark choice: Either we get our economic house in order or we will lose much of our influence — and our leadership — on the world stage.”

Sadly, the USA will lose much more than just leadership and influence on the world scene. Europe epically feels more and more provoked by American politics and its perceived “arrogance,” and the time will come when it will “retaliate” and pay back in no uncertain terms. For more information, please read our free booklet, “The Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord.”

Fear of Trade War

Fox News wrote on November 11:

“The world’s economies stand on the brink of a trade war… A dispute over whether China and the United States are manipulating their currencies is threatening to resurrect destructive protectionist policies like those that worsened the Great Depression. The biggest fear is that trade barriers will send the global economy back into recession…

“A full-blown trade war could lead countries to erect punitive barriers to imports — a replay of what happened in the 1930s. A law the United States passed in 1930 that raised tariffs on imports is widely thought to have DEEPENED the Great Depression by stifling trade.”

Real Threat of Nuclear War

The Pravda reported on October 28:

“On October 23rd, the United States lost the control over a part of its nuclear arsenal for 45 minutes. The news was made public several days later… Needless to say that the incident… has caused quite an uproar in the world taking into consideration the fact that the missiles can turn a large country into radioactive ruins. The 13,000-kilometer range missiles are capable of striking targets in practically any part of the globe. They are the only land-based ICBMs of the United States…

“The incident… means that we can not exclude an unauthorized launch of ICBMs. The Americans failed to control the operation of electric cables, but what about the complicated informational systems? It is an open secret that hackers can easily overcome all possible and impossible barriers today, hacking into computer systems of NASA and the Pentagon. Can we say for sure that there will be no unauthorized launch of missiles in this or that country some day? It is obvious that such a perspective poses a very serious threat to the whole world.

“‘Nobody wants to be the first to use nuclear arms today, but in case of unauthorized launch a country may provoke an act of retaliation,’ Anatoly Tsyganok, an expert with the Institute for Political and Military Analysis told Pravda.Ru.

“One should bear in mind the so-called human factor… There was a case when a [U.S.] sergeant, being in a state of mental stress, fired his gun at a nuclear warhead. Thus, the joke about a drunk sergeant who pressed the red button and then asked where Belgium went, does not seem to be funny.

“We have to admit that the issue of technical security of strategic arms is a very relevant one for Russia too. Vladimir Yakovlev, the former commander of Russian strategic missile troops, stated back in 1998 that about two-thirds of missile complexes and control systems in the arsenal of the forces were beyond their warranty life spans. Many experts admit that nothing has changed for the better since then. That is why Russia should learn from US mistakes.”

California’s Mysterious Missile

The Pravda wrote on November 11:

“It lit up the sky in the Pacific. On film and seen by many witnesses, a missile was sighted over California. On the film, you can see the unexplained contrail. The launch occurred about 35 miles out at sea, west of Los Angeles and north of Catalina Island. Oddly enough, all witnesses, without exception, described it as a missile. Anyone who has seen a live and in person missile or spacecraft launch will clearly recognize the contrail left by the flying object.

“CBS affiliate KCBS television caught the launch on camera and reported that military officials were ‘tight-lipped over the nature of the projectile.’ NORAD (North American Aerospace Defense Command) were at a loss to explain the sighting. They doubted that it was a missile of foreign origin. Even though missile tests are frequently conducted in the area, there were no tests being done at the time, nor by the Navy or Vandenburg Air Force Base.”

In light of the US military’s denial of any knowledge and its rather flimsy explanation of an “optical illusion” or an “airplane,” and the rather mysterious crippling of the cruise ship Carnival Splendor, conspiracy theories have been circulating on the Internet. One version, contained in a report, which was allegedly prepared for Prime Minister Putin by Director Anatoly Perminov of the Russian Federal Space Agency, reportedly claims that, based on findings of an Akron-1 military satellite monitoring the western coastal regions of North America, the cruise ship was attacked by a Chinese submarine, patrolling approximately 200 kilometers off the US coast, through an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) as part of a Chinese test, and that the subsequent missile was fired on the submarine, as an act of retaliation, by a US Navy Ohio-Class submarine operating off the coast of California.

With the US government’s steadfast refusal to reveal what happened, such allegations–whether true or false–are not surprising, and they again severely damage any national or international confidence in the veracity of the U.S. leadership.

Russia’s National Interests

Deutsche Welle wrote on November 15:

“Flush with cash from booming oil and gas exports, Moscow unilaterally pursued Russian national interests during Vladimir Putin’s tenure as president. In the process, Russia’s relationship with the West deteriorated to a historic low point. But then the economic crisis hit. Energy prices collapsed and Russia’s rapid growth ground to a halt.

“After Dmitry Medvedev assumed the presidency in 2008, Moscow sought to jumpstart the slumping Russian economy through so-called ‘modernization alliances’ with the US and the EU. Yet at the same time, the oil-rich country began consolidating its ‘strategic partnership’ with an oil-hungry China. Russia wanted to pursue its national interests in economic modernization and growth and knew that it needed both the West and China in these endeavors…

“Moscow’s relationship with the West has a long history of ambivalence. Culturally tied to Europe, yet also influenced by Asia, Russia sits awkwardly between two worlds… a Euro-Atlantic security community is not the only game in town. Russia is hedging its bets and forging a strategic partnership with China, as well… On the international stage, Russia and China share a similar worldview. They both prioritize national sovereignty and the pursuit of national interests over liberal values, such as democracy and human rights…”

History repeats itself. There was a time when Russia and Germany were allies (compare the Hitler-Stalin non-aggression pact); when Russia and the USA were allies (against Germany and Japan); and when Russia and China were allies (against Germany and Japan). The Bible prophesies that there will be no lasting pact between Russia and the USA–nor between Russia and Europe–but that a pact will be made between Russia, China and other Far Eastern nations, with Iran becoming a part of that alliance.

Sarkozy’s Maneuver

Deutsche Welle wrote on November 14:

“Following the resignation of French Prime Minister Francois Fillon’s administration on Saturday, Fillon unveiled a reshuffled cabinet on Sunday. He was put back in his post as prime minister by President Nicolas Sarkozy earlier in the day…

“While many of the resigned cabinet members were brought back in the shake-up, some new faces have shifted the cabinet slightly to the right… Observers consider the new cabinet a political maneuver to put Sarkozy in a better position for re-election in 2012…

“Opposition Socialist Party leader Martine Aubry criticized the new cabinet, saying Sarkozy did not implement the political change the French people want. ‘The president has brought back the same prime minister to carry on the same politics,’ Aubry said…”

France is moving “slightly to the right”–and the tendency is that other European nations will follow.

President Bush’s Selective Memoirs

Der Spiegel Online wrote on November 14, 2010:

“George W. Bush has written his selective memoirs, in which he accuses Gerhard Schröder of breaking a promise. In truth, Bush strung along the then-German chancellor with unfounded promises, even as his administration was already preparing for the disastrous Iraq war…

“That episode took place on Jan. 31, 2002, a date that has taken on near-historic significance after the fact. The former US president argues that [a] deep rift between the United States and Germany over the campaign against Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein was created on that day. In his just-published memoirs, Bush mentions the meeting and accuses Schröder of breaking his promise.

“According to Bush, it was on that day that the German chancellor had promised him that his country would support Bush in a war against Iraq, just as it had in Afghanistan. Bush claims that Schröder distanced himself from that pledge later on, during the next election campaign… Not true, says Schröder, who insists that he never made any such commitment to Bush or broke his word. Indeed, Schröder says, Bush is ‘not telling the truth’ in his memoirs…

“Ironically, both men are right and wrong at the same time. They lied with the truth, because they avoided speaking openly with one another. They behaved this way because their interests were not compatible…

“Schröder is right in saying that Bush didn’t tell the truth on that Jan. 31. The president claimed that plans for war were not on the table, and yet the military’s first draft of the war plans were already on his desk more than four weeks earlier. He claimed that he was ‘determined to make diplomacy work,’ and yet he had already decided in favor of regime change in Baghdad. He promised to consult with the Europeans before making a decision, but unlike the Europeans, Bush’s idea of consulting with his allies did not involve a discussion of the pros and cons of intervention in Iraq. Instead, he was only interested in their answer to a simple question: Are you with us or against us?

“But Schröder didn’t tell the whole truth, either. It’s hard to believe that the chancellor would have received an unconditional majority vote in the Bundestag for a war against Iraq. The vote on a German military contribution in Afghanistan, which was in fact uncontroversial, passed the Bundestag by a slim margin of 336 to 326. Four Green Party politicians had voted against German involvement in the conflict, while nine others made it clear that they were supporting the administration of Chancellor Schröder and Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer with great reluctance, and that they would withdraw their support in the event of an invasion of Iraq…

“The predictions coming from Europe’s war skeptics eventually came true, when reality shattered the superpower’s illusions. Blair, who also exhibited unqualified solidarity in Iraq, became a hated figure in his country. In Germany, however, Schröder and Fischer won the election, as they had hoped, because of their opposition to the Iraq adventure.”

Even though Gerhard Schroeder and Joschka Fisher seemed to have acted because of self-serving motives in order to stay in power, the Iraq war was a disaster which alienated the relationship between Europe and the USA, causing great damage in that regard. George Bush’s ongoing insistence that the war was justified sounds shallow in the light of subsequent and even current events, as the next article shows.

New Fragile and Shaky “Government” in Iraq

Der Spiegel Online wrote on November 12:

“It has been eight months since the elections, but on Thursday, Iraqi leaders finally agreed on a power-sharing deal and established a government. But the coalition is shaky at best and German commentators are not optimistic about its staying power…

“‘Today is a day of victory, the victory of the free Iraqi will,’ said Jalal Talabani, the Kurdish leader who was elected on Thursday by parliament to a second term as the country’s president. The power-sharing agreement foresees Shiite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki staying on for a second term. Significant posts, however, have been given to the Sunni-backed party of Ayad Allawi, which narrowly won the most seats in the March 7 vote but which fell shy of a majority…

“Still, while there was widespread relief that the country had put an end to months of bickering, optimism was in short supply. Indeed, by the time Talabani addressed parliament on Thursday following his re-election, 57 Sunni lawmakers had already walked out, showing that the power-sharing deal is fragile at best. The Sunnis — less numerous in Iraq than Maliki’s Shiite backers and under-represented in the country’s power structures since the US invasion — have already begun accusing Maliki of having broken promises made during negotiations…

“The US had been hoping for a greater Sunni role, in part to thwart attempts by largely Shiite Iran to gain influence in Iraq. Instead, the Shiite Maliki has been returned to his post — largely as a result of support from the anti-US cleric Muqtada al-Sadr…

“The center-left Süddeutsche Zeitung writes: ‘… The Iraqi democracy, introduced forcefully by the Americans in 2003, doesn’t quite work — yet. Voters have demonstrated their sense of duty, but their representatives have abused their trust. The new government of national unity now faces a test of character — and one should not bet on a positive outcome’…

“The left-leaning daily Die Tageszeitung writes: ‘… For a politician who was nothing but a compromise candidate four years ago, it is an impressive victory [for Maliki]. For democracy in Iraq, however, it is extremely damaging. Maliki has demonstrated that, even in the “new Iraq,” rulers cling to power no matter what the voters decide.'”

The American invasion in Iraq for the purpose of bringing democracy to that country was an utter failure. Weapons of mass destruction–the alleged reason for the war–were not found, but there are still many voices today, claiming that the Iraq war was justified. However, millions of dollars and thousands of lives have been wasted in this futile endeavor, which has not brought about more peace or security to the world, nor even to Iraq itself.

Is Assad Iran’s Slave?

Y-Net News wrote on November 11:

“In Islam, slavery was institutionalized and promoted as a necessity during wars. We find throughout our history, during al-Foutouhat (Conquests), many occasions upon which the ‘enemy’ was subjected to servitude by a Muslim master abiding by his Koranic beliefs.

“Even today, we see its enduring finger prints in Islamic societies in the form of sex trade, premature forced marriages, abusive household masters, female mutilations, etc… But we also witness slavery today in Machiavellian form across many Islamic societies in the Middle East. On that basis, there is ample evidence to suggest that Assad has become Iran’s Arab slave.

“In 2000, Assad ascended to power at the age of 34. While still learning how to use power, he was supposedly attacking the greatest power in Iraq with suicide missions. Given his background as a trained healthcare provider, it is quite a stretch to think he was capable of such a bold policy without Iranian assistance and help.

“Another factor is the futility of the US State Department to peel Assad from Ahmadinejad… That failure remains a mystery to many who are still scratching their heads. If you add, as well, how Assad has yielded to Hezbollah in Lebanon, one cannot but come to the same conclusion of how an Arab slave functions under the Iranian grip…

“Ahmadinejad asked for and received a long list of demands to include weapon delivery to Hezbollah, a big footprint of Iranian military and religious assets and symbols inside Syria, a NATO-like weapon exchange program to include storage and upgrade of missile systems to protect Iran, and more importantly, a Hezbollah footprint inside Syria just in case Assad turns his back on Iran…”

The Middle East is in turmoil, and peace negotiations and peace talks won’t change that. However, the Bible shows that Europe–not the USA–will intervene militarily in the region to impose “peace” on the peoples. This event will signalize the beginning of the prophesied Great Tribulation. The next article is very interesting in this regard.

EU Must Establish Common Defense Policies

The Financial Times wrote on November 14:

“The 27 member states of the European Union must ‘grow up’ and establish far better co-ordination of their national defence policies if they want to cope with the inevitable withdrawal of US forces from Europe’s land mass, Finland’s foreign minister has warned… ‘The US is starting to flirt with other partners than the Europeans. The EU is not as sexy as it once was. We are like a grumpy old couple. We’ve been together for 60 years. We nag at each other. We might have the same values but America is starting to look elsewhere… If the Americans are looking elsewhere then we have to start… coming up with European solutions.'”

EU in Financial Crisis

The following articles describe the most recent economic crisis within the EU. Some feel and hope that it signals the end of the euro. They are mistaken. There is no way that Europe will forsake their common currency. But it is also important to realize that a core Europe of ten nations or groups of nations will still have to emerge. The Bible clearly prophesies this. And internal European crises–coupled with external perceived or real threats–may lead to this necessary event.

The Daily Telegraph wrote on November 15:

“The euro is facing an unprecedented crisis after another country indicated on Monday night that it was at a ‘high risk’ of requiring an international bail-out. Portugal became the latest European nation to admit it was on the brink of seeking help from Brussels after Ireland confirmed it had begun preliminary talks over its debt problems. Greece also disclosed that its economic problems are even worse than previously thought.

“Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, raised the spectre of the euro collapsing as she warned: ‘If the euro fails, then Europe fails’… David Cameron said he was thankful that Britain had not joined the euro, but indicated his displeasure that taxpayers in this country face a pounds 7 billion liability in any bail-out package…

“Ireland has resisted growing international pressure to accept EU financial assistance amid concerns that this would lead to a surrender of political and economic sovereignty. However, the German government is expected to signal that Ireland may have to accept a pounds 77 billion bail-out, along with a loss of economic and political independence, as the price of preserving the euro. Mrs Merkel said that the single currency was ‘the glue that holds Europe together’.”

Der Spiegel Online wrote on November 16:

“EU President Herman van Rompuy was even more stark on Tuesday in a speech in Brussels. ‘We’re in a survival crisis,’ he said. ‘We all have to work together in order to survive with the euro zone, because if we don’t survive with the euro zone, we will not survive with the European Union.’ But, he added, ‘I’m very confident we will overcome this.'”

Deutsche Welle wrote on November 15:

“Germany benefits enormously from the single currency, as 40 percent of its exports go to other eurozone members, and having one currency eliminates fluctuations in exchange rates…”

Süddeutsche Zeitung wrote on November 17:

“Speculators like nothing more than when members of a currency union openly show discord — that opens up chances to make a profit. In order to avoid a new escalation, the governments have to now appear united. EU President of the Council Herman Van Rompuy was right when he said Europe was going through a survival crisis, and that the euro weaknesses could spread to become the writing on the wall for the entire EU. A united front includes a commitment to solid economic activity, something that was not so customary in Greece up to now. And it includes giving the Irish money quickly if it is needed…

“Merkel is… totally right. … And the mistrust in Ireland’s ailing banks has a much more detrimental effect on Ireland’s credit worthiness than the German initiative to clean up the euro in the longterm. The Greeks and the Irish should stop bashing those who want to help them. … And it is clear that Germany would bear the greatest burden in that case.”

Financial Times Deutschland wrote on November 17:

“One should finally face the truth and confront the looming insolvency of Greece and Ireland. … Accepting reality means accepting insolvency and solving the problem. And there are, in principle, two choices: Either leaving the euro zone with a view to re-entering later or a managed insolvency. The later will be the preferred solution, politically and economically.”

Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung wrote on November 17:

“If the currency union were to fail, then the economic and political costs would be enormous. We should all be concerned about the historic consequences.”

Die Welt wrote on November 17:

“The unthinkable has happened. The euro, the common currency and pride of the Europeans, is suspiciously close to the abyss. Europe is in the deepest crisis since its foundation. The community began as a project for peace and reconciliation… The EU of today is like a club of 27 egotists, that are somehow connected through technocratic procedures and the competition for the biggest slice of the European wealth cake. Europe is exhausted. It lacks strength, ideas, a common purpose and an identity.

“It could only come to this because the EU elites have failed for years and have not met their responsibilities. The debt mountains and the serious breaches of simple economic rules could only have occurred as a result of selfish calculation on the part of EU member state governments. Now decisiveness, solidarity and political leadership are required. A politics of business as usual has slammed up against the wall. But will the politicians be able to change their spots?”

Der Spiegel Online wrote on November 17:

“Luxembourg’s Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker, the head of the Eurogroup of finance ministers, asserted that they would defend the euro by any means… Merkel… attempted to strike a calming note. ‘I do not believe that the euro zone is at risk, but we are experiencing turbulence and situations of a kind that I would never have dreamed of a year and a half ago,’ she told the German public broadcaster ARD.”

Deutsche Welle wrote on November 18:

“… the Irish government, banks and companies owe foreign investors $731 billion (540 billion euros). Banks in Britain hold the highest stake with $149 billion, followed by Germany with $138 billion, the United States with $69 billion, Belgium with $54 billion and France with $50 billion.

“Should the Irish banking system or the government – which has heavily invested in bank bailouts – become unable to pay their creditors, British and German banks would be left with the greatest risk of losses and depreciations…

“Great Britain, Germany and France all have a vested interest in the financial stability of Ireland, as well as the other problem states of Portugal, Greece and Spain.”

These facts alone strongly suggest that Europe will not forsake Ireland.

Superstitions Within the Greek Orthodox Church

AFP wrote on November 17:

“Senior clerics in Greece have told the state in no uncertain terms that vigilance is required to prevent the antichrist from making a manifestation on new ID cards to be issued next year. The authorities must ensure that the cards contain no mention of the number 666, which in Greek Orthodox tradition is associated with the antichrist, the Church of Greece said in a statement.

“‘In no way should the ‘citizen card’ contain the number 666, either in visible or invisible manner,” the Holy Synod, governing council of the Church of Greece, said after a meeting between canon scholars, legal experts, computer specialists and government officials… The Church is officially part of the state in Greece.

“Frequently criticised as backward and superstitious by liberal circles, Orthodox custodians strongly adhere to tradition surrounding the number 666, which appears in the biblical Book of Revelation, believed to have been written by the Apostle John in the first century AD. Also known as the figure of the Beast, the number has led ultra orthodox clerics to oppose the use of bar codes on goods, as well as electronic checks carried out under the border-free Schengen Area of which Greece is a member…”

The number 666 is indeed associated with the end-time “beast”–a military and political European leader still to manifest himself on the world scene. But the book of Revelation tells us that this is the number of a man which needs to be “calculated” or “counted” (compare Revelation 13:18, especially in the Authorized Version). The superstitious belief that it can be easily ascertained by just finding it on an identity card or a microchip does not only contradict Scripture; but it is also dangerous as it detracts from the real meaning of the Word of God.

Turmoil in the Catholic Church

USA Today wrote on November 11:

“He calls AIDS a form of ‘justice’ for homosexuals and wants retired pedophile priests to go unpunished. He says women who have an abortion will be greeted in the afterlife by their unborn child crying ‘Momma!’ Archbishop Andre Leonard, 70, was plucked from a sleepy Belgian citadel-town by Pope Benedict XVI in January to energize the country’s Roman Catholic faithful and reverse 30 years of liberalism. The appointment was in line with Benedict’s policy of putting tradition-minded and conservative bishops in important dioceses.
 
“But since taking office, Leonard’s hardline views have added turmoil to a church already mired in an abuse scandal. And, privately, some Vatican officials are expressing concern about an ever-worsening public relations disaster. The controversy turned into a very public revolt last week when his spokesman resigned, saying he could no longer morally defend Leonard…

“Leonard’s views — and the way he delivers them so stridently — are riling the Catholic base, but they dovetail with church teachings that homosexual acts are ‘intrinsically disordered’ and that women who abort babies are sinners. Also, the Vatican admits it has no tolerance for pedophiles, but rarely subjects elderly pedophile priests to full canonical trials, instead telling them to live out their years in prayer and penance…

“Two of Belgium’s 10 bishops have publicly challenged Leonard. Unusually, Belgian Premier Yves Leterme, a Catholic, also condemned him… Leonard… refused to back off from his view that AIDS is punishment for a promiscuous lifestyle. Writing on his archdiocese’s website, he drew parallels with people who continue to smoke despite seeing clear health warnings on cigarette packs.

“Leonard… holds a philosophy degree from the Leuven Catholic University and did theological studies at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, a Jesuit school. He was also a member of the International Theological Commission, which then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger — now Pope Benedict XVI — headed as prefect of the Vatican’s orthodoxy office.”

The fact that Pope Benedict XVI appointed Archbishop Andre Leonard as the head of the Catholic Church in Belgium, knowing full well of his views, shows that the Roman church is trying to bring back conservative views. Anyone who thinks that the Roman church will become more liberal in their views, is clearly mistaken.

Did the Vatican Order Murder of Pope John Paul II?

The Pravda wrote on November 11:

“The Turkish terrorist Mehmet Ali Agca, who on May 13, 1981 shot Pope John Paul II in Rome, Italy, said in a statement to Turkish television that the order to kill the leader of the Roman Catholic Church came from the Vatican itself. Ali Agca was released on January 18 this year after spending 30 years in prison for the attempted assassination of Pope John Paul II in 1981, and the murder of Turkish journalist Abdil Ipecki in 1979…

“In a statement shortly after trying to kill the pope, Agca said he acted alone. This newest statement is one of several contradictory statements he has made since 1983, when he was pardoned by John Paul II when he visited him in prison. Today, Ali Agca is 52 and suffers from mental problems, analysts said. Shortly after being released, he said he was ‘the second Jesus Christ’ and he ‘is rewriting the Bible.’ In the midst of disconnected sentences released from the prison, Agca said: ‘I am the eternal Christ.’

“Previously, Ali Agca said he was connected to a group and blamed the Palestinian secret service in Bulgaria for the attempted assassination of Pope John Paul II…

“The release of Ali Agca rekindled the mystery surrounding the causes that were behind the attempted assassination of Pope John Paul II, which have never been clarified. The truth is that after three investigations and the trials of three Bulgarians and four Turks, these links to the crime were never proven.

“On a visit to Bulgaria carried out in 2002, John Paul II said he did not believe that this Balkan state was involved in the attempted murder. After his meeting with the Turk in prison in 1983, John Paul II said that Agca had little military training and did not believe that he acted alone. In a statement issued through his lawyers, Agca said in the coming weeks all doubts will be cleared up about the attempt to assassinate Pope John Paul II, including those relating to the possible involvement of the Soviet and Bulgarian governments.”

In addition, there are of course ongoing persistent rumors (which are even believed by some, if not many Catholics) that officials within the Vatican might have been involved with causing the untimely death of Pope John Paul I in 1978, who was only in office for one month, and who was subsequently succeeded by John Paul II. Also, it has been recently revealed that Adolf Hitler wanted to kill Pius XII, even though he and Benito Mussolini collaborated with him. At the same time, Pius XII was apparently convinced that Hitler was possessed and allegedly attempted to exorcise the demon.

Historically, this strange hate-love relationship between church and state is nothing new, nor are internal power struggles within the leadership of the Catholic Church uncommon (At times, the Roman Church had two or even three competing popes at the same time, all claiming to be the rightful successor on the papal throne.) The Bible shows that in the endtime, the leading nations in Europe will “hate” the Roman Church and “eat its flesh”–apparently confiscating the Catholic Church’s earthly possessions and treasures (compare Revelation 17:16)–something which Hitler had already planned to do on a large scale after the end of the war.

Locusts Invade Melbourne

IOL News reported on November 12:

“Melbourne commuters marvelled on Friday at locusts landing on the streets of Australia’s second-biggest city… Abundant rainfall in the south-east of the continent has provided ideal breeding for the formation of swarms that can number 50 million and devastate crops as well as pester motorists and pilots.

“With the WORST plague in 30 years predicted as the southern hemisphere summer hots up, the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) warned pilots that swarms made flying hazardous…”

As we explained in previous Q&As, (Who Was Jesus When On Earth?, What Was Jesus Before His Birth as a Man?, and Is Jesus God?) Jesus Christ–the Word or Logos or Son of God–was “WITH” God since all eternity, and He also “WAS” God. The difficulty in understanding this fact may be easily resolved when we recognize that the word “God” is a NAME that can refer to both the Father and the Son. It is, in fact, a FAMILY name. Ephesians 3:14–15 confirms this truth, telling us that it is “the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole FAMILY in heaven and earth is NAMED.”

Note, too, how the New International Version renders Hebrews 2:11: “Both the one who makes men holy and those who are made holy ARE of the same FAMILY.”

In addition, the German Menge Bible includes in the annotation to Ephesians 2:19 that the term “household of God” means “members of the FAMILY of God” (in German, “Mitglieder der Gottesfamilie”).

In a subsequent Q&A, we will discuss the awesome and little-understood truth that it is man’s potential to ENTER the very FAMILY of God.

Most people do not realize that God IS a Family. However, the Bible clearly reveals this truth.

For instance, in the Hebrew, the word for “God” is many times “Elohim,” but it is a word with plural meaning. That is the reason why we read that God (“Elohim”) said in Genesis 1:26 : “Let US make man in OUR image, after OUR likeness.” And God also said in Genesis 3:22: “Behold the man has become like one of US, to know good and evil…”

Please note what we wrote in our free booklet, “God Is a Family”:

“The very Hebrew word translated ‘God’ in Genesis 1:26 reveals that God consists of more than one person. That Hebrew word is ‘Elohim,’ which can be used as a plural word. It can be singular in grammar, but plural in meaning. For example, some English words that are singular in grammar are ‘church,’ ‘club,’ ‘family,’ ‘school,’ ‘government,’ or ‘nation.’ However, these words are all plural in meaning, or at least, the plural meaning is included… Unless there is more than one person, it is not considered a family, or a nation, or a church, etc.

“The same is true for the Hebrew word ‘Elohim.’ Grammatically, it can be a singular word, but it can have a plural meaning… many commentaries… explain that the Hebrew word ‘Elohim’ is the plural form of the singular Hebrew words ‘El’ or ‘Eloah,’ concluding that many theologians have understood this to refer to a plurality within the Godhead… there are several words in the Hebrew, all ending with ‘-im,’ which are derived from a grammatically singular word that conveys plural meaning. One of these words is ‘Cherubim,’ the plural form of ‘Cherub.’… Other words are… ‘mayim,’ meaning ‘water.’ The concept of water, in particular, is very interesting, as it can refer to a single drop of water or to a vast ocean. We understand though that it is the same kind of water in either case, and it is always referred to as ‘water.’ In that sense, water is both singular and plural… the same is true for the word ‘Elohim’…

“We also need to remember that the word ‘Elohim,’ or ‘God,’ can refer to either one of the two beings in the Godhead. Each one is called, and referred to as ‘Elohim,’ or ‘God.’ In Genesis 1:26, God, or ‘Elohim,’ says, ‘Let US make man in OUR image.’ One God being speaks to the other God being, referring to both of them as ‘Us’… and we… know from the New Testament that God the Father created everything through Jesus Christ.”

This truth that God the Father created everything through Jesus Christ is confirmed in many New Testament Scriptures (Compare Ephesians 3:9; Hebrews 1:1-2; Colossians 1:16). In this regard, please review again our previous Q&A’s, quoted above.

Continuing with our booklet, “God Is A Family”:

“God the Father said to Christ, ‘Let Us make man in Our image’… It was Christ, then, who did the actual work of creating man, and He created man in His image. Remember, though, that Christ is also the image of the Father (compare 2 Corinthians 4:3–4 and Colossians 1:15). Therefore, when Christ created man in His image, He also created man in the image of the Father. [Note, too, that Christ told His disciple Philip in John 14:9: “He who has seen Me has seen the Father.” God the Father and Jesus Christ the Son look the same.] Man, then, was created in the image of GOD—in the image of both God the Father and God the Son…

“Ecclesiastes 12:1 reads, ‘Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth.’ In the original Hebrew, the word for ‘Creator’ is in the plural, which should be translated as ‘Creators.’ Both the Father and the Son are Creators. God the Father created everything, including man, through Jesus Christ…

“We find a similar statement in Job 35:10, ‘But no one says, Where is God my Maker…?’ In the original, it says, ‘Where is God my Makers?’…”

It is also interesting to note, in this context, that BOTH the Father AND the Son dwell IN a converted Christian (John 14:23) through the Holy Spirit, which emanates from BOTH the Father AND the Son (Romans 8:9; John 14:26; Galatians 4:6). In a subsequent Q&A, we will discuss who and what IS the Holy Spirit.

We have already pointed out in previous Q&As, quoted above, that Jesus Christ was the “I am”– the Eternal or Ever-living One. HE was the God of the Old Testament, dealing directly with the people, speaking to them and even manifesting Himself to them. It had to be Christ who did this, because He Himself said that no one has ever seen the form of “God” (the Father) or heard the voice of God (the Father). (Compare again John 1:18; 5:37; 6:46; 1 John 4:12).

The Jews thought that they worshipped the Father, erroneously thinking that He was the God of the Old Testament. That is why we read that Christ came to REVEAL the Father to them (Matthew 11:27; Luke 10:22). The Jews thought they knew the Father, not realizing that the God of the Old Testament was Jesus Christ—not God the Father.

It is important to understand, however, that God the Father is, always was and always will be the HIGHEST in the Godhead. As we state in our booklet, “God Is A Family”:

“In fact, we read that God the Father created everything THROUGH Jesus Christ—so the highest God being created everything, including the spiritual world, through a God being ‘lower’ than He.”

Jesus confirmed this fact when He stated in John 14:28: “The Father is greater than I.” After His resurrection, He told Mary: “I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to MY GOD and your God” (John 20:17). In Ephesians 1:17, Paul refers to the Father as the “GOD of our Lord Jesus Christ.” And Luke 1:32 refers to Christ as the Son of the HIGHEST.

Note, for additional proof, the following statements in our free booklet, “God Is a Family:”

“It is He [Christ] who created man, but in doing so, He followed the instruction of God the Father, who is the Highest in the God Family (compare 1 Corinthians 3:23; 1 Corinthians 11: 3; 1 Corinthians 15:20–28; John 14:28)… Several decades after the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, we find a statement that was recorded by John, an apostle of Jesus Christ: ‘The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which GOD GAVE HIM to show His servants—things which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John’ (Revelation 1:1). Jesus is not doing this by Himself. Rather, the revelation is received from God the Father, and Christ, as Spokesman for the Family of God, then sends it through His angel to John.

“We read in 1 Corinthians 15:24, 27–28, ‘Then comes the end, when He [Christ] delivers the kingdom to God the Father… For “He [the Father] has put all things under His [Christ’s] feet.” But when He says “all things are put under Him,” it is evident that He who put all things under Him is excepted. Now when all things are made subject to Him, then the Son Himself will also be subject to Him who put all things under Him, that God may be all in all.’” The head of Christ is and will be—and always has been—God the Father…”

The understanding that God the Father is the HIGHEST within the God Family is also important for the reason that we are commanded to pray to God the Father. As we point out in our free booklet, “Teach Us to Pray”:

“Jesus teaches that we should address our prayers to the Father… When Jesus and His disciples had come to a certain city in Samaria, He discussed the subject of worship with a Gentile woman from the area. Jesus stated: ‘… the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth’ (John 4:21-24)…

“He told His disciples that, following His death and resurrection, they were to pray to the Father–asking in the name of Jesus Christ (compare John 15:16; 16:23). Jesus opened the way for His followers to pray directly to the Father…

“The Book of Hebrews… reveals that Jesus Christ opened the way to the Father, and that He continues as High Priest on our behalf when we come before God the Father in prayer… As the Scriptures show, Christ Himself directed us to pray to the Father—the HIGHEST BEING in the God Family.”

Both the Father and the Son have been GOD–members within the God FAMILY–since all eternity. And as we will discuss in subsequent Q&As, it is the Will of GOD to enlarge His Family–through man.

Lead Writer: Norbert Link

A new StandingWatch program was posted on the Web, titled, “Our National Decline–Why?”

A new member letter by Dave Harris was sent out and posted on the Web.

A new German sermon was posted on the Web, titled, ‘“Bund und Gesetz, Teil 2” (Covenant and Law, Part 2″).

On November 13, 2010, Dave Harris will give the sermon, titled, “Doing the Will of God.”

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.

Somebody once said, “Any old dead fish could swim downstream, but it takes a live one to swim upstream.”  The reason is, going upstream takes effort.

You have to overcome the downward resistance of the water current working against you; you have to deal with a certain volume of water; and, of course, you have to fight against the speed of the current. Likewise, an automobile transmission in neutral will not move the vehicle forward, but rather just spins its gears unless they are engaged.

All of this is similar to our Christian walk. Unless we make an effort, we cannot swim upstream, and unless we are engaged, we are just spinning our gears with no forward motion.

It is really important to focus on the reason why we are called today in the first place, in order to stay engaged. Were we called only to save our own skins? Not at all.

You might want to consider Christ’s words in Luke 21:36: “Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.” This verse has to be balanced with something else Christ said in Mark  8:35: “For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it.”

A soldier engaged in an intense battle with the enemy is more concerned with defeating and overcoming that enemy than saving his own skin. He is focused on achieving the purpose for his fighting; and that is, to win against and conquer his enemy.

As true Christians, we are not to fight in war, but we still have a purpose to fulfill. As soldiers of Christ, we must preach and publish the gospel (good news) of the future Kingdom of God and to utter a warning to a deceived and dying world. At that same time, we must keep ourselves unspotted from the world and defeat our spiritual enemy–Satan the devil and his demonic forces.

If our focus is only to save our own skin, then we could lose our salvation in the process. This is a serious matter.

Every Christian is engaged in a deadly battle against Satan’s efforts to thwart the Work of God. The more he can delay, slow down or impede the process  of preaching the gospel, the longer he maintains his deceptive rule over this world.

Our focus and desire should be to shorten his reign as the current god of this age. The big question is, are we engaged in the process to help make this happen, or are we like dead fish, floating downstream, or with the transmission in neutral?

We always have a choice. Let us choose to be fully engaged in doing the Work of the Eternal God.

We report on the financial crisis in the USA and its fiscal policy, which has been criticized as a terrible and extremely dangerous failure, with potentially horrendous results for the USA and the global market. Germany especially is reacting with outright anger and condemnation, calling the USA hypocritical and a violator of international agreements. The ghostly serpent of “bank holidays,” as instituted in the 1930s, is again raising its ugly head.

In spite of many concerned voices inside and outside the USA, warning of the current political and economic direction which the USA is pursuing, it appears that no course adjustment is forthcoming. Not unlike the superstitious confidence in the “unsinkable” Titanic, our government leaders still seem to believe that we will prevail in the end, no matter how questionable our policies are and how dark the future appears. The Bible warns of “foolish prophets” who envision futility and who speak nonsense, while neglecting to turn to God and His words (Ezekiel 13:1-14).  

Focusing on Europe, anger and anti-Americanism are also renewed and deepened due to former President Bush’s new book; the EU President warns of war because of rising European nationalism; Germany says she is willing to use military means in defense of economic interests; voices ask whether French democracy is in jeopardy due to the government’s self-serving politics; and Italy’s immorality in government circles is exposed.

We conclude with a brief excerpt showing that peace in the Middle East is as illusive as ever.

The Dollar’s Inevitable Decline

The Telegraph wrote on November 6:

“The Fed’s ‘QE2’ risks accelerating the demise of the dollar-based currency system, perhaps leading to an unstable tripod with the euro and yuan, or a hybrid gold standard, or a multi-metal ‘bancor’ along lines proposed by John Maynard Keynes in the 1940s.

“China’s commerce ministry fired an irate broadside against Washington on Monday. ‘The continued and drastic US dollar depreciation recently has led countries including Japan, South Korea, and Thailand to intervene in the currency market, intensifying a “currency war”. In the mid-term, the US dollar will continue to weaken and gaming between major currencies will escalate,’ it said…

“As this anti-dollar revolt gathers momentum worldwide, the US risks losing its ‘exorbitant privilege’ of currency hegemony – to use the term of Charles de Gaulle.”

The US is also risking to lose whatever influence in the world it may still have.

Dollar in Danger of Losing 20 Percent of Its Value

Reuters reported on November 1:

“The dollar is in danger of losing 20 percent of its value over the next few years if the Federal Reserve continues unconventional monetary easing, Bill Gross, the manager of the world’s largest mutual fund, said on Monday…

“‘QEII not only produces more dollars but it also lowers the yield that investors earn on them and makes foreigners, which is the key link to the currencies… less willing to hold dollars in current form or at current prices,’ Gross added… ‘The fundamental problem here is that our labor… relative to developing economy labor is so mismatched—China can do it so much more cheaply,’ he said.”

As this article and the next ones show, the attempt to cure the fragile US economy with poisonous medications is doomed to failure.

Poison as a Cure?

Bloomberg wrote on November 5:

“Michael Burry, the former hedge-fund manager who predicted the housing market’s plunge, said Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke is trying to use ‘poison as the cure’ by pumping more cash into the economy to spur growth. Bernanke’s Fed pledged this week to use $600 billion in additional Treasury purchases to help lower a 9.6 percent unemployment rate, close to a 26-year high, and to avert deflation.

“The attempt to bolster growth is reminiscent of Alan Greenspan’s actions to revive the economy after 2001, Burry said in a telephone interview from Cupertino, California. The former Fed chairman helped create an unsustainable boom in U.S. property prices with his policies, leading to the worst global financial crisis since the Great Depression, he said.”

The US policy will not prevail or bring success, since God is not in it . As we, as a nation, have been turning our backs on the true God, He will not bless our efforts.

Inflation Due to Wrong US Policy?

CNBC wrote on November 4:

“Investors should brace for a much weaker dollar… said Merk, chairman and chief investment officer of Merk Investments, of Portland, Maine. Merk spoke the day after the Fed said it will be embarking on a program to buy $600 billion in Treasuries in an effort  to pump up the economy by increasing liquidity. Critics say the program, also known as quantitative easing, will further devalue the dollar and ultimately create inflation. ‘It’s with the best of intentions but I think it’s a very, very wrong policy,’ Merk said in an interview.

“Consumers should prepare for another turn of events like the spring of 2008, when oil prices soared to $147 a barrel and gas at the pump was more than $4 a gallon… ‘There’s no such thing anymore as a safe asset. Cash is no longer safe,’ he said.”

“Recession Shadows America’s Middle Class”

On November 10, Der Spiegel Online reported the following:

“American society is breaking apart. Millions of people have lost their jobs and fallen into poverty. Among them, for the first time, are many middle-class families…

“Pam Brown is one of millions of Americans who, during the recession, tumbled from their idyllic middle-class existence to near-poverty — or beyond. For many, like Brown, the downfall is a Kafkaesque odyssey, a humiliation hard to comprehend. Help is not in sight: their government and their society have abandoned them.

“Wall Street is preoccupied with chasing new profits again. Yet for large sections of the nation, that old myth of working your way up, of bootstrap success and its ultimate prize, homeownership, has evaporated. The middle class, the America’s backbone, is crumbling. The American Dream has turned into a nightmare.

“Last year the US poverty rate reached 14.3 percent, 1.1 percent higher than in 2008. Almost five million Americans skidded below the poverty line ($22,050 annual income for a family of four), many from hitherto sheltered circles, where poverty was a foreign word. The number of long-term unemployed keeps rising. Worst off are families with children. Every fifth child in the US lives in poverty today…

“‘Nothing’s going to happen,’ Curtis Skinner, head of Family Economic Security at the National Center for Children in Poverty (NCCP), told SPIEGEL ONLINE. The political swing to the right, Skinner fears, is ‘extremely hurtful’ and ‘absolutely disastrous’ to the interest of the weakest…

“Bill Clinton’s ‘Welfare Reform’ of 1996 privatized welfare in the US, turning it into a for-profit business. Nowadays, welfare seekers have to adhere to such strict criteria that ‘a large number of applicants will have their applications denied, mainly because of purported non-compliance with certain requirements,’ the FPWA recently found in a study. Many others would just give up…

“Economists claim things are looking up. Brown doesn’t feel much of that. To this day she spends up to eight hours a day, several days a week, in the waiting room of a ‘Job Center,’ her neatly printed resume in her bag, only to be sent to dead-end training programs and interviews leading to nothing… In the meantime, she feels treated like cattle. ‘They don’t know what to do with educated people like me,’ she says of her overwhelmed social workers… She would be homeless if it weren’t for her lenient landlady. But the house is up for sale, and she isn’t sure how the next owner will handle it. Brown is terrified of homeless shelters. Just the other day she went to visit a girlfriend in a shelter: ‘It was like jail, with steel bars and a curfew.’ Her friend had lost her home in spite of her MBA…”

“Bank Holidays” Not Without Precedence

The Tonka Report wrote on November 5:

“With the world on the verge of a currency war as the Federal Reserve follows through on its dollar-killing quantitative easing program, rumors are once again swirling of a ‘bank holiday,’ during which US citizens will be prevented from withdrawing money or at least limited in the amount of the withdrawal they can make…

“Bank holidays are not without precedent in the United States. On March 5 1933, newly elected Franklin Roosevelt declared a ‘bank holiday’ that lasted four days, during which he rammed through the Emergency Banking Act which granted FDR near dictatorial control over the dealings of banks. The Act also forced every citizen and business in the country to relinquish their gold in exchange for paper currency. The 1933 bank holiday served as a face-saving mechanism for many financial institutions – thousands of them never reopened after the closure period had ended.

“… the debate is no longer about whether the US financial system and the dollar will come crashing down or not, but if that inevitable process will be characterized as a sudden collapse or death by a thousand cuts. The latter seems to be more likely, with a few lurches and leaps along the way…

“The blame for this turmoil can be laid firmly at the feet of Bernanke, acting at the behest of the Fed’s owners, who having promised in June last year that they would not monetize the debt of the U.S. government, have now embarked upon a ‘mad experiment’ that will precipitate ‘the collapse of the US dollar paper standard’…

“So while the happy clappers on Wall Street are drunkenly celebrating the fact that their artificially inflated stock market is surging solely as a result of the value of the dollar being eviscerated, Main Street is hunkering down for a long winter, beset by worries about hyperinflation, rising food prices and gas price hikes, as oil follows gold’s meteoric rise, again solely as a result of the Fed’s decision to debase the greenback.”

The present situation in the USA is filled with so much doubt, concern and uncertainty that even “bank holidays” are not dismissed any more as unrealistic nightmare scenarios. 

Germany Angry With USA

As the following articles show, Germany is angry with the USA, and it expresses her anger with America’s politics in no uncertain terms, accusing the USA of duplicity, arrogance and hypocrisy–let alone the charge that it will not only hurt itself, but that it may also jeopardize the entire global economy. The relationship between the USA and continental Europe–especially Germany–is predestined to deteriorate, as we explain in our free booklets, “Europe in Prophecy” and “The Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord.”

USA in Breach of International Agreement?

Deutsche Welle wrote on November 5:

“The US central bank’s decision to buy additional government bonds in an effort to stimulate the economy is a breach of international agreements, German Finance Minister Schaeuble said on Thursday evening… [It] contradicts an agreement made by G20 leaders, Schaeuble said… Schaeuble said he would not let Germany’s opposition to the Fed’s action get pushed to the back burner and that the issue would be addressed during the G20 summit in South Korea next week…

“Schaeuble’s harsh assessment was supported by leading economists. The Fed runs the risk of causing long-term damage, said Michael Huether, director of the Cologne-based Institute for Economic Research (IW). The acquisition of government bonds by the Fed is a fundamental regulative sin, he said, and it would do nothing to solve the structural problems in the US economy…

“Internationally, the German politicians were joined by Brazilian and Chinese officials in their criticism of the US plan to buy government bonds. ‘Everybody wants the US economy to recover, but it does no good at all to just throw dollars from a helicopter,’ said Brazilian Finance Minister Guido Mantega.”

“USA At A Loss”

The Local added on November 5:

“Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble removed his diplomatic gloves on Friday, blasting the United States’ decision to go ahead with a massive economic stimulus measure that could harm Germany. Using unusually strong language, Schäuble said that the Federal Reserve Bank’s attempt to stimulate the US economy with a €600 billion cash injection did not make sense.

“’With all due respect, my impression is that the United States are at a loss,’ he said… Schäuble began his assault on Thursday night, when he told broadcaster ZDF that the Fed had already pumped ‘an endless amount of money’ into the US economy with ‘horrendous’ results.”

USA Hypocritical?

The Financial Times wrote on November 7:

“Germany has put itself on a collision course with the US over the global economy, after its finance minister launched an extraordinary attack on policies being pursued in Washington. Wolfgang Schäuble accused the US of undermining its policymaking credibility, increasing global economic uncertainty and of hypocrisy over exchange rates. The US economic growth model was in a ‘deep crisis,’ he also warned over the weekend.”

“Many Reasons for America’s Problems”

On November 8, Der Spiegel Online published an interview with Wolfgang Schäuble. We are bringing you the following excerpts from his comments:

“‘The United States lived on borrowed money for too long, inflating its financial sector unnecessarily and neglecting its small and mid-sized industrial companies. There are many reasons for America’s problems… I seriously doubt that it makes sense to pump unlimited amounts of money into the markets. There is no lack of liquidity in the US economy, which is why I don’t recognize the economic argument behind this measure…

“‘The Fed’s decisions bring more uncertainty to the global economy. They make it more difficult to achieve a reasonable balance between industrialized and emerging economies, and they undermine the US’s credibility when it comes to fiscal policy. It’s inconsistent for the Americans to accuse the Chinese of manipulating exchange rates and then to artificially depress the dollar exchange rate by printing money.'”

There are indeed MANY reasons for America’s problems–not only in the economic sector–and we discuss these reasons in our free booklet, “The Fall and Rise of Britain and America.”

“The Atlantic Rift Grew Wider”

Reuters reported on November 10:

“Germany’s undiplomatic outbursts against U.S. policy, calling it ‘clueless’… show growing estrangement on economics as America’s focus shifts away from transatlantic ties to domestic challenges and Asia.

“‘The Atlantic is getting wider,’ said Anton Boerner, head of Germany’s Foreign Trade Association, who spoke of a ‘creeping alienation’ between America and Europe, which has been exacerbated by the global financial crisis.

“Germany and the United States often criticize each other’s approaches to aiding economic recovery, with U.S. calls for more expansive policy falling on deaf ears in fiscally disciplined Germany. But Berlin has taken the rhetoric to a new level… One regional German paper, the Hannoversche Allgemeine, came to the conclusion that ‘never before has the Merkel government had such a direct confrontation with the United States.’

“Merkel’s center-left predecessor Gerhard Schroeder came into conflict with President George W. Bush for criticizing the war in Iraq. The arrival of conservative Merkel raised great hopes in Washington and she got on well personally with Bush… But the chancellor and Bush’s successor Barack Obama have always had a difficult time communicating… Merkel has doggedly refused U.S. overtures to fire up domestic economic demand in Germany.

“‘On economic policy there is no dissonance with Europe as a whole, but rather with successful EU states like Germany,’ said Hans-Ulrich Klose, head of German cooperation with Washington and deputy head of parliament’s foreign affairs committee… ‘But the danger is that anti-American sentiment in Germany could grow,’ said Klose.”

Der Spiegel Online wrote on November 11:

“The days of close cooperation among the world’s big 20 economic powers may have ended. With the economic recovery, displays of envy and egotism have reared up at this year’s G-20 summit in Seoul. German Chancellor Angela Merkel is on a confrontation course with Washington over trade policy… Washington has accused governments with large trade surpluses of seeking growth in their own economies at the expense of other nations… The criticism has been directed largely at China and Germany… The harsh tone used by US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner recently in making the American case has led to resentment in Berlin and Beijing…

“Notably, Merkel left Germany with well-rehearsed words of praise for the Chinese… Of course, Berlin would rather stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Washington. But the unspoken message was clear: Drive us into a corner, and we’ll find other powerful allies.

“So in Seoul, the Americans appear to be on trial. They haven’t yet brought their economy into line and they still sit on a gigantic state deficit of $1.3 trillion (just under €1 trillion)…”

In a related article, Der Spiegel Online reported on November 11 that a meeting in Seoul before the summit between Merkel and Obama was “extremely frosty” and that the differences between Germany and the USA became “surprisingly” visible, and in the most obvious way. Further, the magazine stated that Obama suffered another set-back since he was unable to secure a trade agreement with South Korea.

“Washington Worries About New Power Couple”

The New York Times wrote on November 9:

“…rarely, in fact, have two men reached the pinnacle in Washington with so little in common. With Mr. Boehner about to become the speaker of the House, the nation’s two most powerful leaders [Obama and Boehner] open this new era with little connection other than a shared fondness for golf and a weakness for cigarettes…  The gulf in background, temperament, personality and philosophy make for an uncertain two years as they try to figure out whether they can work together…

“So far, at least, Mr. Obama and Mr. Boehner have spent virtually no time together and have made little effort to forge a bond. Aides said they could not recall a single one-on-one meeting or substantive phone call… As a result, it may be hard for Mr. Obama to reach out to the emboldened House Republicans… Mr. Obama and Mr. Boehner seem to have been talking past each other since the election last week, with Mr. Boehner claiming a mandate to reverse administration policies and Mr. Obama claiming a mandate to work together.”

California’s Ticking Time Bomb

The Los Angeles Times wrote on November 9:

“With the mid-term elections behind us and pundits offering opinions on what it all means, there is a ticking time bomb that further threatens California’s precarious budget situation and economic recovery for business, large and small. The issue regarding the solvency of the unemployment insurance fund was largely ignored by both gubernatorial candidates and the legislature during the recent budget deliberations. Unfortunately for all Californians, and particularly California employers, the failure to act will have serious consequences for business and unemployed workers.

“On a daily basis, California is borrowing $40 million a day from the federal government for payment of unemployment insurance benefits. California already owes the federal government $8.6 billion and that figure will exceed $10 billion by the end of this year. The state’s California Employment Development Department estimates that the deficit will total $16 billion in 2012. By the end of September 2011, California will owe the federal government $362 million for accumulated interest on the loan.”

Bush’s Memoirs Cause Outcry in Europe

Deutsche Welle reported on November 10:

“The 43rd US president’s apparent mission to have his two terms in the White House reassessed and his reputation rehabilitated through his new book, ‘Decision Points,’ has many Europeans shaking their heads. And it’s not just the most inflammatory excerpts – such as Bush’s assertion that water-boarding of terror suspects saved lives – that are causing an outcry…

“If Bush’s single-minded and heavy-handed approach to Afghanistan and Iraq in the wake of the terror attacks of 9/11 were damaging to his relations with his European allies at the time, his newly released memoirs appear to be giving European readers the chance [to] get angry all over again…

“The Bush legacy is still powerfully felt in the United States: the armed forces are embroiled in the two wars he started; the financial system is struggling to pull out of an overwhelming crisis, and politicians are scrambling to rebuild their credibility on the world stage… But the ripples from his eight-year presidency continue to be felt in Europe as well. Under his leadership, decades of trust and cooperation between the US and European governments was damaged.

“According to Thomas Klau, a Transatlantic Relations expert at the European Council for Foreign Relations, the memoir provides new fodder for Europeans who are skeptical about the US political system. ‘Europeans, and Germans in particular, are still amazed that the US political system has the potential to elect such an incompetent leader who has no respect for Western values,’ Klau said. ‘While Obama gave some hope, the Germans are now saddened to see that a discredited party such as the Republicans can be re-elected as the majority in the House of Representatives.’ Germans see the Republican mid-term victory as proof that ‘the US system and electorate has a very short memory and very little wisdom’…

“So far, European reaction to the Bush memoirs has been heavily affected by comments in the book that seem to advocate torture… Moreover, Bush ‘made bold statements’ that the information gained from water-boarding stopped an attack on London – a claim the UK refutes… The response to his memoirs suggests that the damage Bush did to his country’s reputation in Europe remains severe… Bush may have come out with his book to try and put the record straight in his own words. But in doing so, at least in Europe, it appears that he has taken a big stick to a hornet’s nest of his own making.”

EU President Warns of War…

The EUObserver wrote on November 10:

“EU Council President Herman Van Rompuy has issued a stark warning against growing nationalism, populism and anti-democratic forces across the EU, suggesting that the threat to peace in Europe remains a key issue…

“The president was speaking in the German capital on the Schicksalstag, or ‘fateful day,’ the anniversary of five pivotal events in the nation’s history: the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the fall of the monarchy in 1918, but also the Beer Hall Putsch in 1923, Kristallnacht in 1938 and the execution of a leader of the 1848 revolutions in the German states.

“Quoting wartime US president Franklin Roosevelt, he said that the ‘biggest enemy of Europe today is fear,’ and that this ultimately could lead to war. ‘Fear leads to egoism, egoism leads to nationalism, and nationalism leads to war,’ he said.”

Germany To Use Military in Defense of Economic Interests

Der Spiegel Online wrote on November 10:

“Earlier this year, then German President Horst Köhler provoked a storm of controversy when he said that military deployments were necessary to protect German economic interests. His remarks, made during a trip to Afghanistan, triggered consternation and sharp criticism in the media. Ultimately, he resigned as a result. Now German Defense Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg has echoed those sentiments.

“Speaking at a security conference in Berlin on Tuesday, Guttenberg said that Germany should be prepared to use its military to secure trade routes, for example against piracy… Commenting on Köhler’s decision to step down in May, the minister said: ‘I ask myself to this day what was so audacious about his comments’…

“He also referred to the competing demands for raw materials of emerging nations and the industrialized world, which could raise questions of strategic importance for German security. ‘The securing of trade routes and sources of raw materials have without a doubt to be considered from military and global strategic viewpoints,’ he [said].”

Deutsche Welle added on November 10:

“The German government has decided to extend three military operations abroad, promising to supply up to 3,000 soldiers in three separate international missions.

“In the biggest such mission, German marines will continue their involvement in the European Union’s anti-piracy operation. The so-called ‘Atalanta Mission’ targets Somali pirates threatening ships in the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean, one of the most important trade routes between Asia and Europe. There are currently 320 German marines participating in the operation off the Horn of Africa. Germany may now deploy a maximum of 1,400 troops in the mission.

“At present there are no German troops actively participating in NATO’s ‘Active Endeavour’ operation in the Mediterranean. However, this week, the German frigate Bremen will be sent to the area to make its contribution to the anti-terror mission. The NATO operation, first devised after the September 11 attacks on the United States, is designed to prevent terrorists from crossing the Mediterranean into Europe. The German cabinet has agreed to maintain its pledge of 700 German troops for the mission.

“Meanwhile there are currently 115 German peacekeeping soldiers stationed in Bosnia. The cabinet agreed to maintain the maximum number of German troops taking part in the EU mission in the country at 900…”

French Democracy in Jeopardy?

Der Spiegel Online wrote on November 10:

“French President Nicolas Sarkozy allegedly ordered France’s domestic intelligence agency to spy on journalists who annoyed him. The opposition is now demanding an investigation. Is French democracy in jeopardy?…

“Sarkozy’s fellow conservatives like to point out that François Mitterrand, the former Socialist president, had a department at the Elysée dedicated solely to his own affairs, and that among its responsibilities was listening in on the telephone conversations of journalists. This so-called ‘cabinet noir’ was only exposed a few years later, when its members were put on trial. But Sarkozy is apparently going one step further and secretly exploiting the police and intelligence service for his own purposes, justifying his actions by arguing that the state is in jeopardy…

“Last week, the administration was also forced to admit that — in the interest of the state, of course — a public prosecutor who had been decorated by Sarkozy had ordered intelligence agents to examine telephone communications between two Le Monde editors and a judge… Such revelations make it increasingly difficult to believe the many official denials of wrongdoing. Likewise, Sarkozy’s adversaries point to a series of bizarre burglaries…

“Olivier Metzner, a Paris-based attorney… is worried about the threat posed to French democracy if the government decides to ‘send out agents to steal the computers of journalists who are looking into the affair’…

“Sarkozy has figured out how to gain control over the entire public broadcasting system. For example, when appointing directors of radio and television stations, Sarkozy has shown a clear preference for friends and trusted associates. And they repay the president with loyalty, as can be gathered from a recent incident at France Inter, a major public radio channel, when two comedians were shown the door after making fun of the government. Under these conditions, it’s hardly surprising that there aren’t many members of the media still willing to criticize the administration. Indeed, a major shift has now taken place in the French media landscape, and it is now online publications… who have alone assumed the mantle of uncovering scandals.”

Italy’s Immorality

Der Spiegel Online wrote on November 10:

“Pious Christians regard him as sick but many ordinary Italians are cheering him on. Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi may grope his way from one scandal to the next, but issues of morality are not likely to cause his downfall.

“Should 74-year-olds be hosting group sex parties? Absolutely. And should they also be in charge of the government affairs of a core European Union country? Silvio Berlusconi would answer this question enthusiastically in the affirmative…

“Once again, Berlusconi finds himself at the center of a scandal that involves underage women, prostitution and the abuse of power…

“Rome has long been full of rumors about sex parties at the prime minister’s house, Villa Arcore near Milan, lavish affairs complete with half-naked young women and lap dancers, wine, drugs and seafood, Neapolitan songs performed by the master of the house, repeated hymn-like invocations (‘Thank God for Silvio’), and all of it surrounding a golden throne…

“Meanwhile, the opposition doesn’t exactly occupy a moral high ground. Berlusconi’s publications reported with relish on how former Prime Minister Romano Prodi’s spokesman was photographed conversing with a transvestite back in 2007. And the center-left coalition lost control of the Lazio region when its president was caught being driven in his official car to a rendezvous with a Brazilian transvestite…”

… And There is No Peace…

The New York Times wrote on November 9:

“President Obama’s criticism of new Israeli housing plans for East Jerusalem, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s even sharper retort, have thrown the Middle East peace talks into jeopardy, with the dispute over Jewish settlements looming as a seemingly insuperable hurdle…”

We have discussed in previous Q&As http://www.eternalgod.org/qa/9508 http://www.eternalgod.org/qa/9483 that Jesus Christ was God before He came to this earth, and that He is God today. From this it follows that He was and had to be God–the “Immanuel” or “God with us”–when He came to this earth during His First Coming. As we saw in the last Q&A, He confirmed this fact to the Jews at His time, when He called Himself the “I am”–the Everlasting One–the God of the Old Testament.

But in what way was He God, when He was here on earth? The fact that He was God since all eternity–with no beginning and uncreated–has confused many who think that He was still “fully God”–as well as “fully man”–when He came to this earth. Of course, one cannot be fully something and fully something else, if these two characteristics are incompatible. And indeed, being fully God and fully man would be inconsistent.

What then, was Jesus Christ, when He came to this earth?

We are discussing this question in much detail in our free booklet, “Jesus Christ–A Great Mystery.” We would recommend that you read the entire booklet, and for the purpose of this Q&A, pages 7-22. Because of space limitations, we can only quote here pertinent excerpts and highlights, summarizing the biblical understanding as to who and what Jesus was, when He was here on earth:

“Notice the clear revelation of this mystery in John 1:14: ‘And the Word [the ‘Word’ referring to Jesus Christ, Who in the beginning was God and was with God the Father, John 1:1–2] BECAME flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth’…

“God clearly tells us that the Word—Jesus Christ—who was God before His human birth, BECAME flesh. Christ came in the flesh by BECOMING flesh. This means that He became totally and fully flesh and blood, like you and I! This is CRUCIAL for you to understand! When Christ BECAME flesh, He was no longer Spirit. He was no longer fully God, because He had become fully man!…

“When Mary became pregnant with Jesus, how did that happen? We read that the Holy Spirit of God, the Father, came upon her—that the power of God overshadowed her (Luke 1:35). From this we can understand that through the Holy Spirit, God, the Father, changed the all-powerful Spirit being, Jesus Christ, into a tiny physical human sperm, fertilizing the egg in the womb of Mary, thus impregnating her. The fetus grew within Mary’s womb like any other human fetus. Jesus was born as a little baby like every other human baby. He was fully flesh, just like you and I are fully flesh…”

The Bible teaches clearly that Jesus Christ–the God of the Old Testament–“emptied” Himself and became a human being. We read in Philippians 2:6-7, in the Revised Standard Version:

“[Jesus Christ]… though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped (better: retained), but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men…”

The New International Version renders the phrase in verse 7 as follows: “…taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness…”

The New Jerusalem Bible leaves no doubt in its translation as to what Jesus became:

“… he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, becoming as human beings are; and being in every way like a human being…”

In spite of these powerful words, most commentaries simply deny what is being said here, and resort to some incredible “explanation” as to what this passage allegedly means. Listen to these astonishing statements by the Nelson Study Bible:

“This phrase can be translated ‘He emptied Himself.’ Christ did this by taking on the form of a servant, a mere man. In doing this, He did not empty Himself of any part of His essence as God. Instead He gave up His privileges as God and took upon himself existence as a man. While remaining completely God, He became completely human.”

This is utter nonsense. As mentioned, you cannot be completely something and be completely the exact opposite at the same time.

The Bible is very clear that Christ emptied Himself of existing as a Spirit Being, and He emptied Himself of the glory that He had before the world was (compare John 17:5). He BECAME a human being. He was no longer “completely” or “fully” God–rather, He had become “completely” or “fully” man.

We read, for instance, that man–flesh and blood–cannot inherit the Kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 15:50). We also read that we must be born again in order to enter the Kingdom of God (John 3:5), and that flesh and blood cannot even see the Kingdom of God (John 3:3). In order to be IN the Kingdom of God, one must BE Spirit (John 3:6). Jesus came in the flesh; He WAS flesh, when He was here on earth. He became born again at the time of His resurrection as a Spirit Being–no longer flesh and blood–and it was THEN that He entered the Kingdom or Family of God as a glorified Spirit Being. He was NOT (yet) in the Kingdom of God when He was here on earth as a man. It is true that some of His disciples saw Him on the mount of transfiguration as a glorified Being in the Kingdom of God–together with glorified Moses and Elijah–but that was in a vision, picturing what would occur in the future.

We continue quoting from our free booklet, “Jesus Christ–A Great Mystery”:

“Christ had God’s Holy Spirit dwelling within Him… He had God’s Spirit without measure or limit—given at conception—which is how He was able to overcome sin in the flesh… Jesus said that He could do nothing of Himself (John 5:19, 30). When in the Garden of Gethsemane, He prayed to God, the Father, for strength and God sent an angel to strengthen Him. He knew that the Father could do everything and that nothing was impossible for the Father (Luke 22:40–46; Matthew 26:39–42)…

“It was absolutely NECESSARY for Christ to become FULLY MAN, because only in that way could He become the Savior of man. Notice this in 1 Corinthians 15:21: ‘For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead.’… We read that Christ was DEAD. HE HIMSELF had died—the person that He was—the Son of God Who had become Man. Revelation 1:18 confirms that HE was dead, not just a part of Him…

“Philippians 2:8 adds that ‘He humbled himself and became obedient to the point of DEATH, even the death of the cross.’ … Romans 14:9 adds: ‘For to this end Christ DIED and rose and LIVED AGAIN, that He might be Lord of both the dead and the living.’…

“Hebrews 2:9 teaches very powerfully that Christ died just as all humans die. In fact, He HAD to die that way in order to ‘…taste death for everyone.’ We read: ‘But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone.’

“The only way that Christ—who had been GOD since all eternity—could die, was to become flesh. When He became flesh, He was totally human!… When Christ became flesh, He gave up all of His divine attributes and powers. Simply put, He became a man so that He could die! He was no longer a Spirit being, He was no longer God as we think of God, since God, a Spirit being, cannot die (compare Luke 20:35–36; Isaiah 57:15; 1 Timothy 6:16; 1 Timothy 1:17)…

“Christ became flesh so that He could overcome sin in the flesh. He had to prove that it is possible for man, with the help of God’s Holy Spirit within him, to overcome sin!…

“Christ was tempted in all points, as we are, but He stayed sinless (Hebrews 4:15, ‘[He] was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.’). He overcame sin in the flesh, resisting temptation (Revelation 3:21). God, a powerful perfect Spirit being—cannot be tempted (compare James 1:13). But we read that Christ WAS tempted. This proves that He was not the all-powerful perfect Spirit being when He was here on this earth that He HAD been prior to His birth as a human being…

“Romans 8:3 tells us: ‘For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh [human beings, all by themselves, without God’s Spirit dwelling in them, are too weak to keep the law], God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh.’ In other words, He OVERCAME SIN as a human being.”

“… why, then, do we read that Christ would be called ‘Immanuel,’ which means, ‘God with us’ (Matthew 1:23)?…

“Christ had been an immortal God being. He was changed into a human being, but He was still the same personage He had been since all eternity. Christ, who became human, was still the personage He had always been. He was still the one who had previously met with Abraham, the one who created Adam and Eve, and the one who spoke to Moses face-to-face. He lived as a human being—growing as children do, developing into a young man, and then becoming a rabbi, or teacher, in Judah. But He was still the same individual that He had always been. He had been an immortal God being and He knew that He would become an immortal God being again, subject to qualifying by being and remaining sinless… Christ, when He was here on earth, was, quite literally, Immanuel, or, ‘God with us.’…

“Christ was God Eternal, who BECAME man, so that man COULD ultimately become God! Christ was tempted, He suffered, and He died as a man.

“Who IS Christ now? Christ is God. Christ, the man, was resurrected by God, the Father, as the mighty and powerful God being that He had always been before His days in the flesh. He is now the mighty God for whom we wait to bring us redemption, salvation, and eternal life in the very Kingdom of God (Titus 2:11–14)!”

Christ–very God–became man so that you and I could become God. That is quite a thought to ponder. In subsequent Q&As, we will discuss and explain the very fact that it is the potential of man to become a mighty God being.

Lead Writer: Norbert Link

A new StandingWatch program, titled, “Now–A Change for the USA?”, was posted on the Web . The corresponding German AufPostenStehen program, titled, “Braucht die EU Deutschlands Fuehrung” (“Does the EU Need Germany’s Leadership”) was also posted on the Web.

Norbert Link’s video-recorded sermon, “Conquering Discouragement,” was posted on the Web.

Norbert Link’s new video-recorded German sermon, “Bund und Gesetz, Teil 1” (“Covenant and Law, Part 1”) was posted on the Web.

by Eric Rank

As the dark of night falls ever earlier with the onset of winter, I become more aware of the stars above. On clear nights, the stars form an absolute spectacle. Indeed, there can be no question for me that the heavens declare the glory of God.

On occasion, I take some time to look up and see. Inevitably, the longer I crane my neck and ponder, the smaller and more insignificant I feel. In fact, the longer I watch the sky, the more insignificant this entire age of humanity feels. Since God created this entire universe, with trillions of stars, each a million times as large as the Earth, how can this planet, and me as a speck residing on it, amount to anything that matters?

When considering the impact that my physical life will have on the history of the world, and the importance of my current problems, it is true — none of these things amount to anything. To quote a wise man in this regard, all is vanity. While on the face of it, this can be disheartening, it is also a source of comfort. Understanding what is not important gives me the freedom to focus on the things which are. As small as my life may be, there is a greater scope for me to consider.

The Bible clearly shows me that there is another principle at work. While my physical accomplishments and trials are absolutely insignificant in the grand scheme of things, my life is critically important in God’s plan. The same God who created the vast heavens above has called me to be part of His Family and rule in His Kingdom. While the life I lead today may be nothing compared to the greatness of the universe, the life I lead for tomorrow is of  great value to the God who created it. How much more fascinating is this for me than even the depths of the universe!