On July 17, Robb Harris and Dave Harris will give split sermons, titled, respectively, “Charity” and “When You are Converted.”

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.

The company that I work for as a store manager hires another company to inspect our stores. This inspection is unscheduled and very rigorous, and stores usually score in the mid 80’s to 90’s. When the company conducts their unannounced inspection, they want to catch you off guard, so you have to consistently ensure that your store is clean and ready, and that it manifests outstanding personal performance.

Over the last few months, many stores within the San Diego area have been having their inspections, but I hadn’t received mine until last week.

A few weeks ago I was on a conference call with my Regional Director and two District Managers, inquiring whether I was ready for the upcoming inspection. We went over a list of the top 20 most missed areas in stores. Near the end of the phone call the Regional Director asked me what score I would receive if my store was to be audited that day. I told him we would receive close to a hundred percent.

Last Thursday morning, I specifically asked God to please send us the inspection soon, as I felt good about where my store was in regard to its cleanliness status. I also asked Him to help us to achieve a good score. As I arrived at work and started my day, I told the employees that we would get audited that day. They laughed, and we went through the day, doing the things we needed to do.

As I had reached the end of my shift, clocked out and sat there, waiting for a drink to be made for me, I saw a lady in a blue shirt walk into our store, wearing a badge. My heart skipped a beat! Our inspection had actually arrived virtually at the last minute and on the very same day when I had earnestly prayed about it. I introduced myself to the lady as the store manager. She went ahead and started the inspection, as I waited nervously, saying quiet prayers. She finally came back to me with the result–an amazing 97%–which will greatly contribute to a year’s end bonus in addition to the bonus that I had recently received. As my wife has just delivered our baby, any additional income is helpful.

I can’t help but comparing our lives with this inspection. We have to be constantly cleaning, evaluating and eliminating the dirt in our lives. We don’t know the exact time when Christ will return, even though we do know that the time is near. If we give up and stop trying because it seems to be too hard and not worth the battle, then we will definitely lose out. And when the “inspection” comes, our score won’t be great. We can’t be like the unprofitable servant, burying his talent and not putting it to work. We must bear fruit. Otherwise, we would be like Peter before his conversion, when he walked on water for a short while, but when he focused on the wind and the roaring waves, his faith diminished and he sank.

If we are persistent, look to God and put our faith and confidence in Him, we will never have to worry about failing and about not making it. Christ told us that we can have total trust in Him, as He won’t let us down. 1 Peter 5:7 tells us to cast “all your cares upon Him, for He cares for you.”

How strongly do we believe this Scripture? Or the one in Hebrews 4:16, which says: “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we  may obtain MERCY and find GRACE to help in time of need”? Our time of need is now! Satan is walking about like a roaring lion, with great wrath, seeking whom he may destroy and devour (1 Peter 5:8). He will try to discourage us and to cast doubt and despair, attempting to convince us that we should give up. We must resist him by being steadfast in the faith (verse 9).

When we submit to God, Satan will flee from us (James 4:7). When we stay close to God, He WILL help us (compare Matthew 17:20; 6:30-33). Isaiah 55:6 warns us to seek God while He may be found. Our faithful prayers are not in vain. God hears them. And He may answer in most unexpected, surprising and unannounced ways. We just have to have the patience and the faith that He will intervene for us in His time.

We begin with reports about Great Britain–including the Oil Spill disaster in the Gulf, which affects more and more BP’s survival and the entire British economy, and the turmoil within the Anglican Church, indicating a potential mass exodus to the Catholic Church, which becomes more and more “bold” in its position regarding its ongoing sex scandal, ruling that a Catholic monk in Bavaria who admitted to wrongdoing “did nothing wrong.” The Catholic Church is also engaged in additional battles–including in its fight against ordination of women priests and the legalization of same-sex marriages (which occurred this week in Argentina). The Roman Church seems to be losing right now—but it will soon surprise the world.

While White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said that NASA Administrator Charles Bolden “must have misspoken” when he reported that one of his top priorities, as given to him by President Obama, was to reach out to Muslim countries, Europe is becoming more and more determined to prevent its European Muslims from inflicting their life style on others.

The Swiss decision to free Roman Polanski and not to extradite him to the USA was met with approval and applause by Europeans and condemnation by the USA. While the relationship between the USA and Europe is constantly deteriorating and the EU is continuing to flex its political muscles, we are being warned that the US national debt is destroying the country from within like cancer. And not unlike Catholic priests who are unwilling to report their pedophile counterparts, many US doctors refuse to speak out against their incompetent colleagues.

Israel admits to some wrongdoing during their recent raid on the Gaza flotilla, and a bomb attack in Uganda by a Somali Islamist group, foremost targeting Ethiopians, brings into focus the volatile situation in that part of the world.

We conclude with ridiculous concepts by the world’s “most intelligent” scientist who is now explaining what aliens look like–for instance those living on planet Jupiter. Truly, this world’s wisdom IS foolishness with God.

Gulf Oil Spill Spells Disaster for Great Britain

Der Spiegel Online wrote on July 13:

“With the oil continuing to flow into the Gulf of Mexico, BP is facing ever greater challenges. Already, the company has lost half its market value. Should it be unable to cap the leaking well soon, the British oil giant may be forced to sell [off] assets. That could spell disaster for Great Britain.

“Such a crash has never before been seen. Fewer than 12 weeks ago, the multinational oil giant BP still held an uncontested fourth place on the list of the world’s largest companies. Its impressive balance sheet boasted annual sales of roughly $246 billion (€195 billion), a market value of more than $190 billion and after-tax profits of almost $17 billion. Indeed, insurance companies, retirement funds and pension funds worldwide viewed BP as a safe haven, an almost risk-free investment in an otherwise turbulent market. The company, many believed, would have no trouble weathering even the severest of crises. BP’s global earnings appeared safe, its cash and petroleum reserves seemed impervious.

“But April 20, the day that the company’s Deepwater Horizon oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico exploded, marked an end to the once unshakable faith the financial markets had in the oil giant. The company has made several attempts to staunch the ensuing leak, all of which have failed… Few are holding their breaths. Experts estimate that more than 60,000 barrels of crude oil are surging out of the well and into the Gulf of Mexico each day. Already, the accident is one of the largest environmental catastrophes in US history — one that will have immeasurable effects on wildlife, eco-systems and the economy. Experts have estimated that it will cost more than €60 billion to repair the damages.

“With every extra day that goes by without a solution to the gushing oil, the threat facing the environment, and BP itself, increases. Bankruptcy is no longer seen as an impossibility… For Great Britain, the crash of its largest company has been a disaster, particularly given the timing — concurrent with Prime Minister David Cameron’s deep spending cuts in an effort to bring down the country’s substantial budget deficit and sovereign debt… The 10,000 British jobs BP provides isn’t the only issue. BP pays out nearly €7 billion each year in taxes and fees to the British state. Likewise, the company owns large segments of the country’s energy infrastructure…

“Even more ominous, however, is the fact that a significant chunk of British pensions depend on BP’s well-being. Whether directly or via large private-equity funds, many Britons own a piece of the company. Their pension funds have taken a serious hit from the company’s precipitous drop in value and missed dividend payments. London Mayor Boris Johnson has warned that the oil giant’s financial problems have become an issue of ‘national concern’…

“Just how far BP’s reputation has fallen among Americans can be seen from a recent survey jointly conducted by the Wall Street Journal and the television broadcaster NBC. BP landed just three percentages points higher than ex-Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein on a scale measuring public approval. The reasons for BP’s unpopularity are not difficult to find: disregard of safety measures mandated for deep-sea drilling; insufficient emergency response plans; and repeatedly unfulfilled promises by Tony Hayward that the leak would be rapidly staunched…

“The company estimates the oil will be stopped by late July or, at the latest, early August… Chances are, however, that the [new] effort [the so-called complicated “bottom-kill” method] won’t succeed on the first try — and the operation could also fail completely. That, of course, would be the worst-possible scenario for the environment. It would also mean that BP would likely be forced to sell off lucrative oil fields and gas station chains, such as Aral, at discount prices. Such a scenario may also include a bankruptcy declaration for the company’s US subsidiary or even a partial nationalization in Great Britain.”

The Associated Press reported on July 15:

“The oil has stopped. For now. After 85 days and up to 184 million gallons, BP finally gained control over one of America’s biggest environmental catastrophes Thursday by placing a carefully fitted cap over a runaway geyser that has been gushing crude into the Gulf of Mexico since early spring.

“Though a temporary fix, the accomplishment was greeted with hope, high expectations — and, in many cases along the beleaguered coastline, disbelief…

“If the cap holds, if the sea floor doesn’t crack and if the relief wells being prepared are completed successfully, this could be the beginning of the end for the spill. But that’s a lot of ifs, and no one was declaring any sort of victory beyond the moment…”

The Bible prophesies that the USA and Britain will fall together. Please read our free booklet, “The Fall and Rise of Britain and America.”

Church of England Faces Turmoil

BBC wrote on July 12:

“The Church of England’s ruling body [the General Synod] has decided that women bishops should be allowed, but there are further steps to take before they can be ordained… The law must now receive approval from a majority of the Church’s 44 diocesan synods, before returning to the General Synod. It must then receive a two-thirds majority at the General Synod before receiving parliamentary approval and the Royal Assent… Although the proposal gained a majority of votes in the synod as a whole, it failed because clergy – who vote separately from lay people and bishops – defeated it by just five votes…

“Campaigner Christina Rees, a member of the General Synod and chairwoman of Women in the Church, told the Press Association the synod’s decision on Monday was ‘a wonderful outcome’… But traditionalists have warned that the decision could result in many of them leaving the Church of England… David Houlding, a leading member of the Catholic Group on the General Synod, said he was concerned and he felt as if traditionalists were running out of options… ‘The scope for remaining in the Church of England is getting more and more narrow and the options are rapidly closing.'”

CNN added on July 12:

“The Church of England first began ordaining women as priests in 1994 and has been debating whether they should become bishops since 2005. But the issue, along with the debate over the ordination of gay priests, has put a serious strain on the 77-million-member Anglican Communion worldwide.

“The Catholic Church has reached out to disaffected Anglicans, raising the possibility that conservatives could leave en masse. The General Synod rejected a compromise backed by the nominal head of the church, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, over the weekend, with priests rejecting the measure despite the support of bishops and lay leaders.”

More and more of the clergy of the Church of England will migrate to and be embraced by the Roman Catholic Church. Recently, a married Protestant pastor with children converted to Catholicism and was permitted by the Catholic Church in Germany to continue in his office as (now) Catholic pastor, without having to separate from his wife and family.

“Monk Did Nothing Wrong…”

The Local wrote on July 13:

“A German Benedictine Abbot who resigned in February amid the Catholic child abuse scandal for failing to properly report abuse accusations is already set to return to his former post… Barnabas Bögle, 53, has been elected by the 45 voting monks of the Ettal Abbey in Bavaria, which was rocked by allegations of abuse, to return… The decision must still be approved by the Vatican.

“In recent weeks, Church authorities in Rome decreed there was no reason not to hold a re-election for Bögle, as well as for the head of the Ettal school and priory, Maurus Kraß, who also resigned in February. A Vatican committee had come to the conclusion that the former leaders of the abbey had done nothing wrong in their statements regarding the abuse scandal, the paper reported.

“The abbey is seeking approval from the Bavarian Education Ministry to have Kraß reinstated as head of the school. The two men resigned under pressure from the Archbishop of Munich and Freising after it emerged that there had been sexual, physical and psychological abuse happening at the abbey’s boarding school for decades. At the time, both admitted that regulations on reporting accusations of abuse had not been followed. At least 20 former and current students at Ettal made accusations of abuse.”

Even though they admitted to wrongdoing, the Vatican concluded that they did nothing wrong.

New Catholic Church Law Does “Not Go Far Enough”

The New York Times reported on July 15:

“In its most significant revision to church law since a sex abuse crisis hit the United States a decade ago and roared back from remission in Europe this spring, the Vatican on Thursday issued new internal rules making it easier to discipline priests who have sexually abused minors. But in a move that infuriated victims’ groups and put United States bishops on the defensive, it also codified ‘the attempted ordination of women’ to the priesthood as one of the church’s most grave crimes, along with heresy, schism and pedophilia.

“In its revision, the Vatican doubled the statute of limitations in abuse cases from 10 to 20 years from the victim’s 18th birthday and added possession of child pornography and the sexual abuse of mentally disabled adults to the list of crimes handled by the Vatican’s doctrinal office, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith… But the revision fell short of the hopes of many advocates for victims of priestly abuse: It does not contain measures to hold bishops accountable for abuse by priests on their watch, nor does it require mandatory reporting of sex abuse to civil authorities even in countries where it is not required by civil law…

“Critics immediately said the revisions announced on Thursday did not go far enough. ‘History has shown that church abuse policies are rarely followed. But even if these new guidelines are obeyed, their impact on the ongoing crisis is likely to be insignificant. Defrocking a predator, by definition, is too late,’ SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, said in a statement.

“Bishopaccountability.org, which tracks cases of sex abuse by priests cases worldwide, said the changes ‘amount to administrative tinkering of a secretive internal process. Given his authority, Benedict could implement meaningful change,’ the group said in a statement.

“‘He could direct bishops to report every allegation of child sexual abuse to the police, regardless of whether civil law requires them to do so. He could threaten punishment of any bishop or church official who enables or fails to stop a child-molesting priest.’ It added, ‘It’s disturbing that the new rules merely will extend the statutes of limitations rather than eliminate them altogether.’”

Argentina Legalizes Same-Sex Marriages

The Los Angeles Times reported on July 15:

“Argentina legalized same-sex marriage Thursday, becoming the first country in Latin America to declare that gays and lesbians have all the legal rights, responsibilities and protections that marriage brings to heterosexual couples… The law is sure to bring a wave of marriages by gays and lesbians who have found Buenos Aires to be a welcoming place to live…

“The approval came despite a concerted campaign by the Roman Catholic Church and evangelical groups, which drew 60,000 people to march on Congress and urged parents in churches and schools to work against passage…

“Same-sex civil unions have been legalized in Uruguay and some states in Mexico and Brazil. Colombia’s Constitutional Court granted same-sex couples inheritance rights and allowed them to add their partners to health insurance plans. Mexico City went further, legalizing gay marriage and launching tourism campaigns to encourage foreigners to come and wed.

“Argentina now becomes the first country in Latin America to legalize same-sex marriage nationwide, granting gays and lesbians all the same rights and responsibilities that heterosexuals have. These include many more rights than civil unions, including adopting children and inheriting wealth.

“Gay rights advocates said Argentina’s historic step adds momentum to similar efforts around the world… But many Argentines remain firmly opposed to the idea of gay marriage…

“The president, who helped the law’s chances by bringing two senators opposed to gay marriage with her on a state visit to China, spoke out from there against the Catholic Church’s campaign and the tone she said some religious groups have taken. ‘It’s very worrisome to hear words like “God’s war” or “the devil’s project,” things that recall the times of the Inquisition,’ she said…”

US Debt–“Cancer Which Destroys from Within”…

The Associated Press reported on July 12:

“The heads of President Barack Obama’s national debt commission painted a gloomy picture as the United States struggles to get its spending under control… The nation’s total federal debt next year is expected to exceed $14 trillion — about $47,000 for every U.S. resident.

“‘This debt is like a cancer,’ Bowles [Democrat Erskine Bowles, former White House chief of staff under Bill Clinton] said Sunday in a sober presentation… ‘It is truly going to destroy the country from within.’

“Simpson [former Republican Senator from Wyoming, Alan Simpson] said the entirety of the nation’s current discretionary spending is consumed by the Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security programs. ‘The rest of the federal government, including fighting two wars, homeland security, education, art, culture, you name it, veterans, the whole rest of the discretionary budget, is being financed by China and other countries,’ said Simpson. China alone currently holds $920 billion in U.S. IOUs.

“Bowles said if the U.S. makes no changes it will be spending $2 trillion by 2020 just for interest on the national debt.”

The Silent Doctors…

NPR wrote on July 14:

“If a doctor consistently prescribes the wrong meds or arrives drunk to work, you’d hope that his peers would pipe up… But the responses of nearly 2,000 doctors to a recent national survey show the professional watchdog system is nowhere near perfect. More than a third of docs don’t think they’re responsible for reporting those who aren’t fit to practice… And only 69 percent of the docs who knew about an impaired or incompetent colleague reported them…

“What holds doctors back? The most common reason — given 19 percent of the time by doctors who said they were aware of a problem doctor — is that they thought someone else was on top of it. After that 15 percent of the respondents figured nothing would happen anyway. Fear of retribution was also a factor, cited by 12 percent of these doctors…

“In smaller practices, doctors are very dependent on referrals, so they may worry that if they report a colleague they’ll face some kind of retribution. Their number of referrals or professional reputation might suffer… states vary widely on how they deal with incompetent physicians. Only some states mandate reporting requirements.”

Lame Excuse–NASA Spokesman Must Have “Misspoken”

Fox News reported on July 12:

“White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said Monday that NASA Administrator Charles Bolden must have misspoken when he told Al Jazeera last month that one of his top priorities is to reach out to Muslim countries. ‘That was not his task and that’s not the task of NASA,’ Gibbs said. Bolden, though, said last month in the interview that it was President Obama who gave him that task. He made a similar claim in February.

“The White House also backed up Bolden last week when his remarks first stirred controversy. A White House spokesman last Tuesday said Obama wants NASA to engage with the world’s best scientists and that to meet that challenge, NASA must ‘partner with countries around the world like Russia and Japan, as well as collaboration with Israel and with many Muslim-majority countries’…

“The Muslim comments were met with a wall of criticism last week from conservatives and former NASA officials who said that while Muslim-nation outreach is laudable, it should not be a NASA priority.”

Robert Gibb’s statements sound rather hollow in light of Charles Bolden’s repeated assertions to the contrary…

France’s Fight Against Burqa

USA Today reported on July 13:

“France’s lower house of parliament has approved a ban on burqa-like Islamic veils, a move that is popular among French voters despite serious concerns from Muslim groups and human rights advocates. There were 336 votes for the bill and just one against at the National Assembly. Most members of the main opposition group, the Socialist Party, refused to participate in the vote.

“Following Tuesday’s vote, the ban on face-covering veils will go in September to the Senate, where it also is likely to pass. Its biggest hurdle will likely come after that, when France’s constitutional watchdog scrutinizes it…

“The issue is potent in Europe: Several other countries have similar proposals in the works, including Belgium and Spain, and they are closely watching the bill’s progress in France. France has Europe’s largest Muslim population, estimated to be about 5 million of the country’s 64 million people…

“The legislation would forbid face-covering Muslim veils in all public places in France — even in the street. It calls for —150 ($185) fines or citizenship classes, or both. The bill is also aimed at husbands and fathers — anyone convicted of forcing someone else to wear the garb risks a year of prison and a —30,000 ($38,000) fine, with both penalties doubled if the victim is a minor.”

A clash between Europe and the Muslim world is slowly developing, which is prophesied to occur and which will end up in war, in accordance with Daniel 11:42-43.

Polanski Free–Obama Has Egg on His Face

BBC News reported on July 12:

“Authorities in Switzerland have decided not to extradite film director Roman Polanski to the US to face sentencing for a case dating back to 1977. Polanski, aged 76, has been under house arrest in his Swiss chalet since December 2009 pending the decision. The filmmaker is wanted in California over a conviction for unlawful sex with a 13-year-old girl. The US was ‘deeply disappointed’ with the decision, a senior justice department official said… The justice ministry said that the US authorities had failed to provide confidential testimony about Polanski’s original sentencing procedure…

“In 1978, he pleaded guilty to unlawful sex following a plea bargain. He served 42 days in a US prison. He has always maintained he was promised a short sentence, but he fled the US after hearing rumours that the judge was about to re-sentence him for a much longer term. He has never returned to the US… The [Swiss] justice ministry added that… national interests were taken into consideration in the decision. A Swiss official said the US cannot appeal the decision…

“Polanski’s wife, French actress Emmanuelle Seigner, said she was overjoyed at the decision. She said: ‘It is with great pleasure that I have just learned of my husband’s release. For me and for my children it is the end of a nightmare that has lasted more than nine months…’

“Polanski’s release was also welcomed by French politicians and artists. ‘The great Franco-Polish director will from now on be able to rejoin his friends and family and work fully on his artistic projects,’ French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said. The Polish foreign ministry also welcomed the Swiss decision.”

German Reaction to Polanski’s Freedom

Der Spiegel Online wrote on July 13:

“Should the Swiss have freed famed director Roman Polanski from house arrest and denied a US extradition request? Many in the US are outraged by Monday’s decision. But some German commentators think it was the right thing to do… The surprise Swiss decision has left US officials fuming…

“The center-left Süddeutsche Zeitung writes: ‘The Swiss… were under enormous pressure. The US insisted on co-operation — they had another fight with Bern too: A tax evasion dispute involving Swiss banking giant UBS, and they could apply the thumbscrews if need be. Meanwhile France, the chosen home of the director, has always asked why the Swiss were the executors of American justice…

“‘The Swiss had been searching for some judicial lever in the conflict that would allow them to reject the extradition order. They found it in the form of documents that had not been turned over by the US. Also contributing to the decision was the length of time Polanski had already been in custody, both now and when he was originally arrested, as well as doubts about the correctness of the original US trial. And last but not least, there was the question of whom the resurrection of the 33-year-old criminal procedure would really benefit’…

“The left-leaning Berliner Zeitung writes: ‘The situation with Polanski is more than just awkward. It is tragic. … The fact remains that Roman Polanski sexually abused a 13-year-old girl in Los Angeles in 1977 and escaped punishment by fleeing to Europe. Therefore he is an offender — even if he is an offender that the victim has long since, publicly, forgiven. But Polanski is also a victim. He only escaped the Nazi persecution of the Jews because he went into hiding: His mother died in Auschwitz. In the US in 1969, his pregnant wife, Sharon Tate, was murdered by followers of Charles Manson’s cult.”

“‘Racism will only be overcome when one’s ethnic origins no longer play a part. But that will never happen. So in order to assess any situation we must also consider biographical information in context. Yesterday the Swiss decided to release Polanski from house arrest and not to extradite him to the US. A good decision — particularly when one considers how many Jews fleeing from the Nazis were turned away at the Swiss borders and how many Jewish assets were never revealed because of Swiss banking secrecy…'”

The most interesting aspect of this tragedy is that Europe is willing to stand up to America, and America must grudgingly concede defeat…

EU-USA Disagreements

Fox News reported on July 15:

“Europe’s disappointment with President Barack Obama’s presidency was laid bare Thursday as the EU’s most senior figure called for a dramatic effort to revive transatlantic relations. The President of the European Commission said the new era at the White House was in danger of becoming a ‘missed opportunity’ for Europe. José Manuel Barroso said the EU-U.S. relationship was not living up to its potential. The criticism follows a series of fundamental disagreements on how to deal with the economic crisis, climate change and trad reform.

“The feelings of a deepening rift are mutual. Senior U.S. figures said Obama could never live up to Europe’s sky-high expectations. Barroso revealed his frustrations with Washington during a wideranging interview in which he also admitted that the euro had acted like a ‘sleeping pill,’ luring some countries to the edge of economic disaster with an ‘illusion of prosperity.’ It has been a fractious few months for EU-U.S. relations, culminating in a fundamental clash of ideas at the G20 summit between Europe’s austerity strategy for ending the economic crisis and Obama’s call to maintain fiscal stimulus…

“The U.S. defended itself forcefully against claims that it had neglected Europe… The view from Washington is that communication with Europe on a range of crucial issues is difficult because the EU still lacks ‘a clear foreign policy apparatus.’”

Soon, the USA might not have that kind of an excuse again for its deteriorating relationship with the EU, as the next article shows.

Soon–EU’s New Powers at the UN

The EUObserrver reported on July 15:

“European Council President Herman Van Rompuy will in future be able to address the UN chamber no differently from US President Barack Obama or Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmedinejad under draft reforms agreed by member states… An EU diplomat said the idea behind the changes is to boost the profile of the EU as an entity in itself at the international level…

“Britain’s EU minister, David Lidington, in the UK ministerial letter said however that the move should not be interpreted as undermining Britain’s permanent seat on the UN Security Council… The new rights flow from changes established by the EU’s Lisbon Treaty, which entered into force last December. ‘The Lisbon Treaty established new structures for the management of the EU’s external relations,’ Mr Lidington explained.”

Gaza Raid–Israel Partially to Be Blamed

BBC reported on July 13:

“An Israeli military inquiry into the naval raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla says commandos were under-prepared and mistakes were made at a senior level. The report says the operation suffered from flawed intelligence-gathering and inadequate planning. But it also praised the commandos involved and found the use of force had been the only way to stop the flotilla. Eight Turks and one Turkish-American died in the naval raid in international waters, which provoked a major outcry.

“The report criticised the operation’s planners for not having a back-up plan in the event of violence. But it also said the mission had not been a failure and did not recommend any dismissals. It said there had been a lack of co-ordination between military and intelligence bodies, and preparations for the 31 May takeover of the ships had been inadequate… its findings that serious mistakes were made confirm that questions also need to be asked of Israel’s political leaders, who approved the operation…

“The operation prompted an international backlash and has severely strained Israel’s relations with its once-close Muslim ally Turkey. Amid the criticism, Israel eased its land blockade on the Gaza Strip, allowing most civilian goods through. The naval blockade remains in place. Israel says it is necessary to keep weapons from reaching the Islamist Hamas movement, which controls Gaza.”

Bomb Attack Directed Against Ethiopia

BBC reported on July 12:

“The Somali Islamist group al-Shabab has said it was behind twin blasts which hit the Ugandan capital Kampala on Sunday, killing 74 people. In a statement in Mogadishu, spokesman for the group Sheikh Ali Mohamud Rage threatened more attacks. Police said the bombings targeted football fans watching the World Cup final…

“The explosions, which also injured about 70 people, ripped through a rugby club and an Ethiopian restaurant… at least 60 Ugandans were killed in the explosions… an Irish woman was among those who died at the restaurant. California-based aid group Invisible Children, which helps child soldiers, said one of its workers, Nate Henn, 25, was among those killed at the rugby club. Officials said the dead and wounded also included Ethiopian, Eritrean, Indian and Congolese nationals…

“The attack on the Ethiopian restaurant also fits in with al-Shabab’s regional policy. Addis Ababa backs Somalia’s government against the rebels. And Ethiopian troops invaded Somalia in 2006 to oust an Islamist movement, stoking an insurgency that still rages. BBC East Africa correspondent Peter Greste says security services across the region will now be reassessing how they can protect themselves from a force that has proven itself willing and capable of striking outside Somalia’s borders.

“Many – if not most – of those killed and injured in the Kampala blasts were foreign nationals… At least three Americans, members of a Church group from Pennsylvania, were wounded at the Ethiopian restaurant… US President Barack Obama said the explosions were ‘deplorable and cowardly’. The African Union has said the attacks will not affect its summit, which is due to be held in Kampala later this month.”

Again and again, Ethiopia is somehow making the news. And as it is being pushed, it might very well react by pushing…

What the “Smartest Man on Earth” Thinks…

On July 13, Bild Online reported the following:

“They hunt using poisonous stings, make their own light through bioluminescence and can transform lightning into energy for their bodies: This is what astrophysicist Stephen Hawking (68), the smartest man in the world, thinks aliens would look like! He developed the research for a documentary film for the Discovery Channel… Hawking determined shape and behaviour of the theoretically possible creatures by combining conditions on different planets, including their geology, climates and atmosphere…

Alien creature with huge trunk by Stephen Hawking

“This creature uses its massive trunk to cling to steep rock faces while it eats moss and grass.

Bioluminescent octo alien

“This bioluminescent ‘octo alien’ would be capable of living in a salt sea on Jupiter.

Predator aliens with poisonous stings

“These small predators leap from rocks and numb their prey with their poisonous stings… An extendable skin fold allows them to sail through the air towards their victims.”

This is of course all based on the ungodly theory of the evolution idea. What does the Bible say? “For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God” (1 Corinthians 3:19). For more information, please read our free booklet, “The Theory of Evolution–a Fairy Tale for Adults.”

When Jesus was dying a terrible death on the cross, He cried out, just before He died, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (Matthew 27:46). Did He really mean it? Did the Father forsake Him at that moment? If so, why? And if not, why would Jesus have uttered those words?

Some, not understanding the significance and deep meaning of Christ’s words, say that He just shouted out these words to fulfill a prophecy from Psalm 22:1. They contend that Jesus repeated the words written down by David in the Old Testament, just to show that He was the Messiah.

Even though Jesus had inspired David to pen down these words, which WERE pointing at the time of His crucifixion, this does not mean that they are not to be understood quite literally, and that the Father did not in fact forsake Jesus at that moment. If He did not, then both the prophecy written down in the book of Psalms, referring to Christ, and Christ’s words, while hanging on the cross, would constitute a lie. If the Father did not forsake Christ at that moment, then Christ was saying something which did not occur–and no “interpretation” to the contrary could do away with the fact that Jesus would have lied at that moment.

This, of course, is impossible, as Jesus never lied, since He never sinned (1 Peter 2:22; Hebrews 4:15), and lying is sinning (Colossians 3:9; 1 John 1:6; 2:21; Revelation 21:27; 22:15).

Having clearly ruled out the possibility that the Father did NOT forsake Christ on the cross, let us now explain WHY and in what way the Father HAD to forsake Jesus.

This is what we wrote in the last Q&A:

“It is true that for a brief moment the Father forsook Christ on the cross (Matthew 27:46). This happened just before Christ died (see verse 50), because at that time, He was carrying, symbolically, the sins of all of mankind (compare John 1:29), and the Father, being of purer eyes than to behold iniquity (Habakkuk 1:13), turned His eyes from Christ, as unrepented sin separates us from God (Isaiah 59:1-2)…”

Again, we ask, how and why, exactly, did the Father forsake Christ? God–both the divine Father and the divine Son–cannot look on iniquity. This is not to say that they are not aware of the sins of the world–they most certainly are–but it means that sin separates us from God and that God will turn away from us if He sees unrepented sin in our lives–sins which we are unwilling to repent of.

Notice what we read in Deuteronomy 23:9-14:

“When the army goes out against your enemies [as true Christians, we are today engaged in a constant spiritual battle with Satan the devil, as well as the world and our own selfish and carnal desires], then keep yourself from every wicked thing… you shall have a place outside the camp, where you may go out; and you shall have an implement among your equipment, and when you sit down outside, you shall dig with it and turn and cover your refuse. For the LORD your God WALKS IN THE MIDST OF YOUR CAMP [today, both the Father and the Son live IN us through the Holy Spirit, compare John 14:23], to deliver you and give your enemies over to you; therefore your camp shall be holy, that He may SEE NO UNCLEAN THING AMONG YOU, AND TURN AWAY FROM YOU.”

Interestingly, we understand that it was Jesus Christ, as a divine being in the God Family, who spoke these words, but He spoke them in obedience to the Father’s Will (compare John 14:24). As divine God beings, both the Father and the Son are of purer eyes than to behold iniquity–that is why the world is cut off from God, and why only those who repent of their sins can come to God. Of course, this is not to say that God is not aware of our sins, but His eyes can’t stand them. Even in the flesh, the human being Jesus Christ–who was fully man (John 1:14)–cautioned everyone to forsake sin–to sin no more–to repent to avoid perishment. When Peter sinned against Christ, adopting Satan’s thoughts, Christ told Him, “Get behind me, Satan.” When Peter denied Him, Jesus looked at him–not at his sin, but at him–to lead him to repentance. And Peter did repent.

At the time of Jesus’ death, He carried on His shoulders the load of the sins of the world. Think about it! He carried all the terrible crimes, abominations and perversions which the world committed since creation–including the very sins which caused God to bring the flood on this earth and to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, as well as sins which were so terrible that God said He never considered the possibility that man would commit those (compare Jeremiah 19:4-5; 32:35).

Jesus took all of these sins for which man is responsible and placed them willingly on His shoulders. The Bible says that when He did this, He BECAME sin and a CURSE for us.

Notice what we wrote in our free booklet, “Jesus Christ–A Great Mystery“:

“In order to come to the point of DYING for our SINS—to be a perfect sacrifice that the Father would accept—Christ had to fulfill certain requirements, as follows:

“1. He had to become a human being. Galatians 4:4–5 explains that He had to be born of a woman; that is, He had to become flesh and blood, a human being. Spirit beings do not and cannot die.

“2. He had to become sin for us, as 2 Corinthians 5: 21 explains. This does not mean that He sinned while He was human. But it does mean that He BECAME sin, that He personified sin in the Father’s eyes, so that His shed blood could COVER sin and wipe it away. He—the Lamb of God—placed our sins on Himself, and He, in that sense, BECAME THOSE SINS. In God’s eyes, when Christ was killed, all those sins were eradicated with Him.

“3. He had to become a curse for us, as Galatians 3:13 points out. He became a curse for us when He was crucified. In becoming a curse for us, He freed us from the curse that we were under. When we violated God’s law and sinned, the curse of the law—the death penalty—was upon us. Notice that when we sin, we are placed under the curse of the law. Galatians 3:10 tells us: ‘Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them.’ James 2:10 adds: ‘For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.’ When we break one of God’s commandments, we are guilty of transgressing God’s law, and the curse of God’s law—the death penalty for sin—is upon us. If this curse were not removed, we would die the second death—eternal death. Notice this in the sobering example given by Christ in Matthew 25:41–46 where Christ is referring to people who have sinned, because when they had the ability to help others in need, they actually held back and refused to extend the needed help. They apparently sinned willfully and maliciously, so that their penalty—their curse—was eternal death in gehenna fire. But Christ became that curse for us so that the curse CAN be removed from us, IF, and WHEN we repent and claim His perfect sacrifice.

“4. He had to come in the form of sinful flesh, as Romans 8:3 explains: ‘For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh [humans were too weak to keep it], God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh.’ Christ was a human being, like you and I. He was exposed to the same human temptations that confront us. He had the same human nature that we have. He was in the form of sinful flesh. He did not sin, but His sinful flesh tempted Him many times to sin. However, Christ overcame His sinful desires, and by doing so, He ‘condemned sin in His flesh,’ that is, He showed that man, with the help of God’s Spirit within him, can overcome sin. He came, as a human being, ‘on account of sin.’ He had to, and did, overcome sin IN THE FLESH.

“5. Christ had to experience being separated from God the Father. Matthew 27:45–46 records that just prior to Christ’s death, while hanging on the cross, He asked the Father: ‘My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?’ Yes, indeed, WHY?

“WHY did God forsake Him? Before we answer that, we need to understand what sin does to us. Isaiah 59:1–2 explains that our sins, unrepented of, separate us from God. God will not hear our prayers if we live in sin. It can be compared with a wall between God and us.

“Habakkuk 1:13 adds that God cannot look on, or accept, wickedness. Good and evil are not compatible, and God, who is good, cannot and will not accept evil. So, God does not regard the prayers of an unrepentant sinner. Deuteronomy 23:12–14 explains the principle that God does not want to see something unclean in a person. If the uncleanness is not taken care of, He will turn away from us and forsake us. Finally, Psalm 5:5 points out that God will not allow a boastful evil person to stand before Him. God will not hear somebody who is proud about his or her sins and who is not willing to repent of them.

“But why did God forsake Christ who never sinned, who was never boastful or unclean or wicked or evil?

“We know already that Christ had become sin for us, that the curse of the law for our sins was upon Him when He was crucified. We also read that at the time of His crucifixion, just prior to His death, something remarkable happened. We are told that it became DARK over all the land from the sixth to the ninth hour. What is the significance of this period of darkness?

“Darkness symbolizes sin, as many Scriptures reveal (Compare Romans 13:12; Ephesians 5:8–14). When Christ had all the sins of mankind placed upon Him, thereby having ‘become’ sin, in that sense, He had to experience separation from God, the Father! God, the Father saw all of the sins of man placed on His Son and He could not look at them. His eyes were ‘purer than to behold’ those sins. Remember, those sins included mass murders, rapes, terrible wars, tortures, sorceries, demonic idolatries, holocausts, martyrdom of the saints—all of the wicked, evil, rotten, despicable and deplorable abominations man has done, and continues to do—and all of these were placed on Christ!

“Christ was WILLING to offer Himself as this sacrifice for us. And the Father was WILLING to have His Son go through this ordeal, knowing that He would have to withdraw from Him at the time of Christ’s death.

“And what a sacrifice it was! Christ, who had been forsaken by everybody, had always found comfort in the fact that God, the Father, would never forsake Him (compare John 16:32). But at that moment in time, God, the Father, would HAVE TO FORSAKE HIM, not because of anything that Christ had done, but because of what WE had done and would still do.”

The fact that the Father quite literally forsook Jesus Christ has been consistently taught by the Church of God, under its late human leader, Herbert W. Armstrong (who died in 1986). This fact has also been overwhelmingly accepted by biblical commentaries.

The Ryrie Study Bible writes:

“This cry may reflect the desertion Jesus felt as He was bearing the sins of the world (2 Cor. 5:21).”

The Nelson Study Bible adds:

“The duplication of ‘My God, My God’ indicates Jesus’ deep sorrow. The fact that Jesus spoke in Aramaic, the tongue of His birth, may be another sign of the extreme stress He was encountering…”

Dummelow, A Commentary on the Holy Bible, states:

“Upon the cross Jesus was making atonement for the sins of the world, ‘bearing our sins in [His] own body on the tree,’ for upon Him was laid ‘the iniquity of us all.’ He was so closely identified with the race which He came to save, that He felt the burden of its sin, and cried as the Representative of Humanity… The Lord was forsaken, that we might not be forsaken; He was forsaken that we might be delivered from our sins and from eternal death…”

J.H. Blunt, The Annotated Bible, offers the following additional thoughts:

“The cry reveals to us the depth and intensity of Christ’s sufferings [on the cross]… At that time fell upon our Blessed Savior the full burden of the sin which He had come to bear that He might save man from its consequences. [He] was made an offering for sin… [He was made] sin for us Who knew no sin… [He was] being made a curse for us… Who.. bare our sins in His own body on the tree… At that time the chastisement of our peace was upon Him… so that He felt the Divine anger towards sinners… [He] was for a [short] time banished from the Presence of God, as bearing the punishment of sin… At last the anguish of those hours of darkness concentrated itself into the words which, like these, had been spoken prophetically in His name by David… and in which our Lord spoke as the Representative of all sinners, ‘The rebukes of them that rebuke Thee have fallen upon Me’ [Psalm 69:9].”

Note the following remarks by Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible:

“… our Lord Jesus was, in his sufferings, for a time, forsaken by his Father. So he saith himself, who we are sure was under no mistake concerning his own case…Christ was made Sin for us, a Curse for us… Christ’s being forsaken of his Father was the most grievous of his sufferings, and that which he complained most of… when his Father stood at a distance, he cried out thus.”

John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible adds:

“He calls him his God, not as he was God, but as he was man… When he is said to be ‘forsaken’ of God… he made not this expostulation out of ignorance: he knew the reason of it, and that it was not out of personal disrespect to him, or for any sin of his own; or because he was not a righteous, but a wicked man… but because he stood in the legal place, and stead of sinners… the heinousness of sin may be learnt from hence, which not only… separates, with respect to communion, between God and his children; but even caused him to hide his face from his own Son, whilst he was bearing, and suffering for, the sins of his people…”

Albert Barnes’ Note on the Bible states:

“This expression is one denoting intense suffering. It has been difficult to understand in what sense Jesus was ‘forsaken by God.’ It is certain that God approved his work. It is certain that he was innocent. He had done nothing to forfeit the favor of God. As his own Son – holy, harmless, undefiled, and obedient – God still loved him. In either of these senses God could not have forsaken him…

“Isaiah tells us… that ‘he bore our griefs and carried our sorrows; that he was wounded for our transgressions, and bruised for our iniquities; that the chastisement of our peace was laid upon him; that by his stripes we are healed.’ He hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us… he was made a sin-offering… he died in our place, on our account, that he might bring us near to God. It was this, doubtless, which caused his intense sufferings. It was the manifestation of God’s hatred of sin… that he experienced in that dread hour. It was suffering endured by Him that was due to us, and suffering by which, and by which alone, we can be saved from eternal death.”

To deny the fact that Jesus Christ HAD TO BE forsaken–and that He WAS forsaken by God the Father for a very short time, is tantamount to failing to appreciate the seriousness and magnitude of the Sacrifice of the Father and the Son. It is tantamount to not appreciating what the Father did [forsaking His own Son] and what the Son endured [being forsaken for a short time by His Father]. They did it for us, so that we could have forgiveness of sin. Denying this fact is tantamount to limiting and belittling the Father’s and Christ’s Sacrifice and to perhaps become slack in motivation to overcome sin. It is a dangerous thought pattern that must be repented of immediately.

Lead Writer: Norbert Link

A new StandingWatch program was posted on the Web, titled, Our Great Depression and Healthcare Debacle:  Alarmed financial experts are telling us that we are entering another Great Depression–or that we are already in it — while outrageous and costly provisions within the new healthcare law come to light. Why are we experiencing such an unparalleled economic disaster?

A new German AufPostenStehen was posted on the Web, titled, “Obamas Misserfolge” [“Obama’s Failures”].

A new German sermon was posted on the Web, titled “Sex in der Bibel, Teil 1” [“Sex in the Bible, Part 1”].

On Sunday 11th July, the FIFA Football World Cup final will take place. Many nations played in qualifying matches around the world with the result that the top 32 nations participated in South Africa.

The over-riding opinion on sport seems to be that it can bring nations together and provide an opportunity to work together for good through this medium. That can be true, but it can also have the damaging effect that many professional sports stars are, today, far from being good role models, and they often act, instead, irresponsibly both on and off the field of play.

Football today — or “soccer” for our American readers — has become a modern “god” with millions of followers around the world, and what players do on the pitch in the UK or continental Europe, as well as in many African and South American nations, is copied by millions of young people during Sunday morning games. Abusing the referee, vile language, dissent and general argument and trying to injure opponents, while pretending innocence are just some of the behaviours that are copied by the young, and not so young, as they mimic those they look up to!

When England was eliminated by Germany, the wrath of the English press and media was meted out mercilessly on the manager and the players. I am sure that this was also the case in the French and Italian press as their highly fancied teams were knocked out in the first round. And in each country, as their team was eliminated, there would have been, to one extent or another, an enquiry or recriminations as to why they didn’t do better. The worst in human nature appeared from every nook and cranny in the land!

Whilst sport can indeed bring people together to enjoy either playing or watching, it can also bring out the worst in human nature in many different ways.

A caution must be given to a true Christian who plays sports — or is a fan of sports: He or she is not to allow this to become an idol. In 1 John 5:21, it states: “Little children, keep yourselves from idols.” We must never allow any sport to become more important to us than our relationship with God. This would include, then, not to watch a football game or any other game of sports, on the Sabbath–which is God’s HOLY day–no matter how “important” or “critical” that game might appear to be.

In 1 Corinthians 9:24-27, the apostle Paul addresses the issue of striving for a crown by using the analogy of running a race. The “KJV Commentary” states: “The Isthmian games were an athletic event known to all of his readers, held on alternate summers within the vicinity of Corinth. It was an event not to be missed by anyone of importance in all parts of Greece.” Of course, in running a race there can only be one winner, but we are running the Christian race and we can all be winners!

Whatever the sport–football, basketball, rugby, tennis, cricket, golf, athletics or any number of other activities–we have to ensure that we are not caught up in the “zeitgeist”– “the spirit of the times” or “the spirit of the age.” Sports in general, and football or basketball in particular, can be interesting and  entertaining, but we must always make sure that they are kept in perspective.  Unfortunately, football is a new religion in many places for many people. But we must be different. God must be first in our life (Exodus 20:3; Matthew 6:24; 19:16-22; Luke 14:26); not sport, sports stars or any other celebrity.

I have to confess that when England lost to Germany I was disappointed with their display, but that was it. It was just a game of football. In the context of a Christian’s life, it really didn’t register as anything of lasting importance. Others who make a “god” of a sport or sports stars, will inevitably be let down at some stage. But God never lets us down, and we should try and emulate that by never letting God down.

Our attitude on such matters says a lot about our relationship with God, and the level of our conversion.

Alarmed expert voices are telling us that we are about to enter another Great Depression–or, that we are already in it, and have been for a while. We are also reporting about outrageous and costly provisions within the new U.S. healthcare law and the fact that President Obama is on a collision course with the U.S. Supreme Court. 

While the leaders of the USA and Israel deny any frictions or rifts between them, the opposite should be obvious. And while Iran is facing new sanctions (sort of) from the USA and Europe, China and the Gulf seem to have other ideas. 

With the Polish Presidential election of the EU’s “dream candidate,” Poland’s future as part of the EU and the Eurozone seems secured. While life for Angela Merkel has become more difficult due to a change of leadership in Germany’s most populous state, leading perhaps soon to a change in the chancelorship in Berlin, no changes can be observed in the Catholic Church’s position toward their ongoing and widening sex scandal or the continuing dangerous endeavor of deepwater drilling.

The Great Depression–Coming?

CNBC wrote on July 5:

“The Dow Jones Industrial Average is repeating a pattern that appeared just before markets fell during the Great Depression, Daryl Guppy, CEO at Guppytraders.com, told CNBC Monday.

“Those who don’t remember history are doomed to repeat it” there was a head and shoulders pattern that developed before the Depression in 1929, then with the recovery in 1930 we had another head and shoulders pattern that preceded a fall in the market, and in the current Dow situation we see an exact repeat of that environment,’ Guppy said.” 

“The Dow retreated 457.33 points, or 4.5 percent last week, to close at 9,686 Friday. Guppy said a Dow fall below 9,800 confirmed the head and shoulders pattern.”

You might want to listen to our StandingWatch program from two years ago, titled, “Coming–The Great Depression?“

Also, you might want to listen to our StandingWatch program from one-and-a-half years ago, titled, “After the Great Crash of 2008.”

USA Still Trapped in Depression

The Telegraph wrote on July 6:

“With the US trapped in depression, this really is starting to feel like 1932. The US workforce shrank by 652,000 in June, one of the sharpest contractions ever… Wages are flirting with deflation. ‘The economy is still in the gravitational pull of the Great Recession,’ said Robert Reich, former US labour secretary. ‘All the booster rockets for getting us beyond it are failing. Home sales are down. Retail sales are down. Factory orders in May suffered their biggest tumble since March of last year. So what are we doing about it? Less than nothing,’ he said. 

“California is tightening faster than Greece… Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is cutting pay for 200,000 state workers to the minimum wage of $7.25 an hour to cover his $19bn (£15bn) deficit. Can Illinois be far behind? The state has a deficit of $12bn and is $5bn in arrears to schools, nursing homes, child care centres, and prisons. ‘It is getting worse every single day,’ said state comptroller Daniel Hynes. ‘We are not paying bills for absolutely essential services. That is obscene.’ 

“Roughly a million Americans have dropped out of the jobs market altogether over the past two months. That is the only reason why the headline unemployment rate is not exploding to a post-war high. Let us be honest. The US is still trapped in depression a full 18 months into zero interest rates… Eight million jobs have been lost. The average time needed to find a job has risen to a record 35.2 weeks. Nothing like this has been seen before in the post-war era…

“Republicans on Capitol Hill are filibustering a bill to extend the dole for up to 1.2m jobless facing an imminent cut-off. Dean Heller from Nevada called them ‘hobos’. This really is starting to feel like 1932. Washington’s fiscal stimulus is draining away… The housing market is already crumbling as government props are pulled away. The expiry of homebuyers’ tax credit led to a 30pc fall in the number of buyers signing contracts in May. ‘It is cataclysmic,’ said David Bloom from HSBC. 

“Federal tax rises are automatically baked into the pie… The states and counties may have to cut as much as $180bn. Investors are starting to chew over the awful possibility that America’s recovery will stall just as Asia hits the buffers. China’s manufacturing index has been falling since January, with a downward lurch in June to 50.4, just above the break-even line of 50. Momentum seems to be flagging everywhere, whether in Australian building permits, Turkish exports, or Japanese industrial output. 

“On Friday, Jacques Cailloux from RBS put out a ‘double-dip alert’ for Europe [in 2011]… The Fed is already eyeing the printing press again… Last week the Bank for International Settlements called for combined fiscal and monetary tightening, lending its great authority to the forces of debt-deflation and mass unemployment. If even the BIS has lost the plot, God help us.”

God will only help us if we change our ways and repent of our many sins. It is unlikely that this will happen on a grand and national scale. And so, with disaster looming, irresponsible fiscal policies and a helpless and clueless leadership, the downfall of the USA is inevitable. The next two articles on healthcare should speak for themselves…

President Obama’s Healthcare Bill and New Taxes

For most Americans, it is totally unclear what the new healthcare bill will accomplish for them… if anything… but one thing is certain: They will have to pay much higher taxes to finance it. ATR reported on July 2:

“As the nation prepares to celebrate Independence Day with parades and barbecues, America’s veterans face a new tax on prosthetic limbs and other vital medical devices. The health care overhaul passed by Congress and signed into law by President Obama earlier this year contains a new tax on medical devices such as prosthetic limbs, pacemakers, and wheelchairs.  This tax, which its proponents claim will raise $20 billion over the next ten years, contains no exemption for the nation’s 22 million veterans.  In fact, Senate Democrats specifically refused to exempt veterans from the tax.

“On March 24 2010, Senate Democrats rejected an amendment offered by Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) to the healthcare bill.  This amendment (SA 3644) would have prevented the medical device tax from hitting veterans covered by the Veterans Healthcare Program or TRICARE for Life.  This amendment was rejected by a vote of 44-54. All but five Democrat senators voted in favor of retaining the tax for veterans.

“The medical device tax was one of over twenty new or higher taxes in President Barack Obama’s healthcare overhaul.  This permanent new tax is being collected now.

“‘On March 24, Senate Democrats had the opportunity to exempt our veterans from Obamacare’s new tax on medical devices such as prosthetic limbs.  But 54 Democrats voted against the measure.  They chose to side with the tax-and-spend crowd in Washington over our wounded warriors,’ said Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform.  ‘This is one of the many reasons Harry Reid and the Democrats did not want Americans to read the 2,500 page health care bill before it was passed.'”

In light of the foregoing, it almost appears like irony when reading the following address by President Obama, which was circulated over the Internet, pertaining to the 4th of July celebrations:

“As we celebrate the profound pride of being American, today is a time to honor the women and men in our armed forces, whose immeasurable bravery and sacrifice have made our country what it is today. That sacrifice is shared with husbands and wives, with sons and daughters, with fathers and mothers, who are asked to wait at home as their loved ones protect our nation. Their heroism, too, has helped pave the path of our freedom.

“Even before we moved into the White House, Michelle was a champion for those military families. She has witnessed their struggles, and she has made it her personal mission to fight for them. On this Fourth of July, she recorded a personal message, commemorating our nation’s birthday and paying tribute to these families.”

Outrageous Regulations in the New HealthCare Bill

We recently received a memo advising us that under the new healthcare bill, “starting in 2011… your W-2 tax form sent by your employer will be increased to show the value of whatever health insurance you are given by the company… you will be required to pay taxes on a large sum of money that you have never seen… This is how the government is going to buy insurance for 15% that don’t have insurance and it’s only part of the tax increases… Under TITLE IX REVENUE PROVISIONS- SUBTITLE A: REVENUE OFFSET  PROVISIONS – (sec. 9001, as modified by sec. 10901) Sec.9002 [it states that that law] ‘requires employers to include in the W-2 form of each employee the aggregate cost of applicable employer sponsored group health coverage that is excludable from the employee’s gross income.'”

We investigated further and were advised by a competent life and health insurance agent that the above is correct, adding: “This was sold as a cost savings to the population on their health insurance. Unfortunately, the initial impact was a raise in cost, not only on the tax issue but because companies cannot exclude people who are seriously ill, so everyone else must pay more to cover them. 

“They did everything wrong on this bill and nothing right. If you are a young person and don’t think you need coverage, the penalty you have to pay is so small that there is little to no incentive to buy insurance unless there is a serious health issue, which you can now buy because they can’t refuse you. It is filled with political patronage, and does nothing to solve the reason that health insurance is so high–the rising cost of care! Things like, being able to buy insurance across state lines, if you live in a state where health insurance is high, because of state mandates is still not allowed. But the big one, capping awards for malpractice, would solve a huge cost problem because doctors wouldn’t have to order unnecessary expensive tests, to protect themselves from suits in the event a case went bad. If awards were capped, they wouldn’t have to charge as much because their malpractice insurance rates would be reasonable.”

To top it all off, a video-recorded comment by Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House, is being circulated on YouTube, stating: “But we have to pass this [healthcare bill] so that you can find out what is in it…”

Well, we are finding out, step by step, and the results are appalling…

Obama vs. Supreme Court

The Los Angeles Times reported on July 6:

“The Supreme Court wrapped up its term last week after landmark decisions protecting the right to have a gun and the right of corporations to spend freely on elections. But the year’s most important moment may have come on the January evening when the justices gathered at the Capitol for President Obama’s State of the Union address. They had no warning about what was coming.

“Obama and his advisors had weighed how to respond to the court’s ruling the week before, which gave corporations the same free-spending rights as ordinary Americans… Some advisors counseled caution, but the president opted to criticize the conservative justices in the uncomfortable spotlight of national television as Senate Democrats roared their approval. 

“Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. is still angered by what he saw as a highly partisan insult to the independent judiciary. The incident put a public spotlight on the deep divide between the Obama White House and the Roberts court, one that could have a profound effect in the years ahead… Many legal experts foresee a clash between Obama’s… agenda and the conservative court…

“Already, the healthcare overhaul law… is under attack in the courts. Republican attorneys general from 20 states have sued, insisting the law and its mandate to buy health insurance exceed Congress’ power and trample on states’ rights. Two weeks ago, a federal judge in New Orleans ruled Obama had overstepped his authority by ordering a six-month moratorium on deep-water drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. On another front, the administration says it will soon go to court in Phoenix seeking to block Arizona’s controversial immigration law, which is due to take effect July 29. Republican Gov. Jan Brewer said Arizona would go to the Supreme Court, if necessary, to preserve the law.

“As chief justice, Roberts has steered the court on a conservative course… McConnell, … law professor, said the administration’s broad set of regulatory moves made a clash almost inevitable.”

“The President Without a Country”

On June 6, 2010, WorldNetDaily published a commentary by famous entertainer and TV evangelist Pat Boone. We are quoting the following excerpts:

“‘We’re no longer a Christian nation.’ — President Barack Obama, June 2007… ‘You might say that America is a Muslim nation.’ — President Barack Obama, Egypt 2009… reading and hearing the audacious, shocking statements of the man who was recently elected our president — a young black man living the impossible dream of millions of young Americans, past and present, black and white — I want to ask him, ‘Just what country do you think you’re president of?’

“You surely can’t be referring to the United States of America, can you? America is emphatically a Christian nation, and has been from its inception! Seventy percent of her citizens identify themselves as Christian. The Declaration of Independence and our Constitution were framed, written and ratified by Christians. It’s because this was, and is, a nation built on and guided by Judeo-Christian biblical principles that you, sir, have had the inestimable privilege of being elected her president. 

“You studied law at Harvard, didn’t you, sir? You taught constitutional law in Chicago? Did you not ever read the statement of John Jay, the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and an author of the landmark ‘Federalist Papers’: ‘Providence has given to our people the choice of their rulers — and it is the duty, as well as the privilege and interest of our Christian nation — to select and prefer Christians for their rulers’? 

“In your studies, you surely must have read the decision of the Supreme Court in 1892: ‘Our lives and our institutions must necessarily be based upon and embody the teachings of the Redeemer of mankind. It is impossible that it should be otherwise; and in this sense and to this extent our civilization and our institutions are emphatically Christian’…

“… how did you come up with the ridiculous, alarming notion that we might be ‘considered a Muslim nation’? Is it because there are some 2 million or more Muslims living here, trying to be good Americans? Out of a current population of over 300 million, 70 percent of whom are Christians? Does that make us, by any rational definition, a ‘Muslim nation’? 

“Why are we not, then, a ‘Chinese nation’? A ‘Korean nation’? Even a ‘Vietnamese nation’? There are even more of these distinct groups in America than Muslims. And if the distinction you’re trying to make is a religious one, why is America not ‘a Jewish nation’? There’s actually a case to be made for the latter, because our Constitution — and the success of our Revolution and founding — owe a deep debt to our Jewish brothers…

“It seems increasingly and painfully obvious that you are more influenced by your upbringing and questionable education than most suspected. If you consider yourself the president of a people who are ‘no longer Christian’… and might even be ‘considered Muslim’ — you are president of a country most Americans don’t recognize. Could it be you are a president without a country?”

NASA’s Foremost Mission–Improve Relationships with Muslims

Fox News reported on July 5:

“NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said in a recent interview that his ‘foremost’ mission as the head of America’s space exploration agency is to improve relations with the Muslim world… ‘When I became the NASA administrator — or before I became the NASA administrator — he [President Obama] charged me with three things. One was he wanted me to help re-inspire children to want to get into science and math, he wanted me to expand our international relationships, and third, and perhaps foremost, he wanted me to find a way to reach out to the Muslim world and engage much more with dominantly Muslim nations to help them feel good about their historic contribution to science … and math and engineering,’ Bolden said in the interview.” 

Frictions Between USA and Israel

“It was only one paragraph buried deep in the most plain-vanilla kind of diplomatic document, 40 pages of dry language committing 189 nations to a world free of nuclear weapons. But it has become the latest source of friction between Israel and the United States in a relationship that has lurched from crisis to crisis over the last few months. 

“At a meeting to review the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty in May, the United States yielded to demands by Arab nations that the final document urge Israel to sign the treaty — a way of spotlighting its historically undeclared nuclear weapons. Israel believed it had assurances from the Obama administration that it would reject efforts to include such a reference, an Israeli official said, and it saw this as another sign of unreliability by its most important ally.

“… some analysts said the nuclear nonproliferation issue symbolizes why Israel remains insecure about the intentions of the Obama administration. In addition to singling out Israel, the document, which has captured relatively little public attention, calls for a regional conference in 2012 to lay the groundwork for a nuclear-free zone in the Middle East. Israel, whose nuclear arsenal is one of the world’s worst-kept secrets, would be on the hot seat at such a meeting.”

Rift? What Rift?

The Telegraph reported on July 6:

Barack Obama yesterday backed calls by Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli premier, to resume direct peace talks with the Palestinians as both men hailed the “unbreakable” bond between the United States and Israel… The effusive language and a warm handshake before the cameras that lasted several seconds was in striking contrast to the coolness of their last meeting when the Israeli leader and his aides were left alone in the West Wing as Mr Obama dined privately. .

“This time, Mr Obama lavished praise on Mr Netanyahu and said that the relationship between the US and Israel was ‘unbreakable’ and enduring. Mr Netanyahu denounced reports of a US-Israeli rift as ‘flat wrong’. Mr Obama said… he was convinced that Mr Netanyahu ‘wants peace’ in the Middle East and was ‘willing to take risks for peace’. The US would never ask Israel to ‘take any steps that would undermine its security interests,’ he said.”

The future will tell how reliable that promise is…

Sanctions Against Iran

The Financial Times wrote on July 2:

“Lloyd’s of London, the insurance market, is restricting cover for any ships carrying petroleum to Iran. President Barack Obama signed new sanctions legislation into law on Thursday night. Lloyd’s said it would move to ensure its members complied with the US rules, the toughest unilateral measures taken against Iran in over a decade…

“International companies that defy the unilateral measures could be barred from conducting any transactions with US banks and have their US assets frozen, as well as being denied US government contracts. The sanctions take aim at companies providing Iran with petroleum and the underwriters of those shipments. They also target international banks that trade with Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps, or with 16 blacklisted Iranian banks. Because of limited refining capacity, Iran depends on imported petroleum to meet between a quarter and a third of its domestic consumption… This time, the EU’s three leading powers — Germany, France and Britain — all support tougher sanctions against Iran.

“Iran will now find it harder and more expensive to secure supplies of petroleum. But the biggest future impact of the legislation may be to limit international banks from dealing with Iran. Many European banks have pulled out, but others, notably those from China and the Gulf, continue to do extensive business in the country…

“The legislation allows Mr Obama to grant a waiver for sanctions on a case-by-case basis for a maximum of twelve months, if he deems this vital for US interests and if the home country of the company concerned cooperates with the US on Iran policy — as is true of the UK.”

This leaves quite some room for political maneuverings…

US Attack on Iran?

Newsmax reported on July 7:

“The United States may be forced to launch an attack on Iran’s nuclear weapons facilities if diplomatic efforts and economic sanctions against the Islamic Republic fail, Sen. Joseph Lieberman said Wednesday after a meeting with Israeli officials in Jerusalem. Appearing at a news conference with Sens. Lindsey Graham and John McCain, Lieberman was unusually harsh in his assessment of the Iranian threat. There is a broad consensus in Congress that military force can be used if necessary to stop Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, he said… this is one of the few times an official of Lieberman’s standing has explicitly used the term ‘military action’ while in Israel, The Jerusalem Post reported.

“The group also addressed President Barack Obama’s fence-mending meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the worsening situation with relations with Turkey, whose Islamic government is steadily moving away from the West to a closer relationship with Iran, according to experts…

“Iranian officials, meanwhile, said Wednesday that sanctions could slow down its nuclear progress. It was the first time Tehran has acknowledged the measures might have some bite, according to Reuters.”

Poland’s Future

Der Spiegel Online wrote on July 5:

“Poland’s new President Bronislaw Komorowski is a close friend and political ally of Prime Minister Donald Tusk and his election is bound to clear the way for tough reforms in Poland… Bronislaw Komorowski… had won the second round of the presidential election with just over 50 percent of the votes…

“Jaroslaw Kaczynski just barely missed out on replacing his twin brother Lech, who died in the terrible air crash near Smolensk in April. Lech never made things easy for Tusk. He wanted to have an equal say in foreign policy and often put a halt to legislation with his veto. Now the way is clear for Tusk…

“From the point of view of Poland’s neighbors the new constellation in Warsaw is positive. Tusk and Komorowski are in favor of a conciliatory approach toward both the Germans and the Russians. They are, to be sure, opposed to the planned Berlin museum to commemorate Germans expelled from Polish territory after World War II. They are also against the Baltic Sea pipeline between Russia and Germany. But they are much less shrill about their opposition than the Kaczynskis were… Since Tusk has been in power, the tone between the two neighbors has been much more respectful. 

“The prime minister and his new president also have an unambiguously positive relationship to the EU. They are in favor of Poland adopting the euro as its currency as soon as possible. Lech Kaczynski and his brother were always torn on the issue. On the one hand, they acknowledged that Poland was doing well within the EU, but on the other hand they feared that the country could fall under the influence of the hegemonic power of Germany or that Brussels would destroy Poland’s national character with directives on issues like gay marriage, for example. That made Poland under the Kaczynskis an uncomfortable, demanding partner, one that often enraged those attending meetings in Brussels.”

The EUObserver commented on July 5 that “EU’s dream candidate wins Polish election.” It appears certain that Poland, a predominantly Catholic country, will soon adopt the euro. 

Life More Difficult for Chancellor Merkel

Deutsche Welle reported on July 6:

“Nearly two months after a general election in the western German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, the Social Democrats and the Green Party have sealed their coalition agreement to form a minority government. Hannelore Kraft, head of the Social Democrats in the state, is expected to be elected as premier next week. This will make her the first woman to hold the post in Germany’s most populous state. Following the election, the Social Democrats and the Greens are just one seat short of an absolute majority in the state assembly in Dusseldorf. 

“Coalition talks with the Christian Democrats and the Free Democrats failed. The minority coalition in North Rhine-Westphalia will alter the political balance in the Bundesrat, Germany’s upper house of parliament, making life more difficult for Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government in Berlin. Until now, Merkel’s center-right coalition has held the majority both in parliament and in the upper house. But the new government in North Rhine-Westphalia means that any bill that needs to pass the Bundesrat will need approval from the center-left opposition.”

It appears the days of the present Merkel-Westerwelle coalition are numbered, and that perhaps the time for a charismatic influential leader in Germany is drawing nearer. 

Catholic Church–No Change

Der Spiegel Online wrote on July 6:

“This spring, it looked as though the Catholic Church was finally going to confront charges of sexual abuse head on. Following recent police raids in Belgium, however, the Vatican has once again closed ranks. In the internal Holy See debate, the conservatives have regained the upper hand…

“Even if the raid in Belgium was inappropriate, it is another indication that the scandal-ridden Catholic Church can no longer expect leniency — neither in Belgium nor in the US, where a week ago Monday the Supreme Court ruled that the Vatican enjoys no immunity in cases of alleged molestation by priests. The ruling means that, in theory, even Pope Benedict XVI could be taken to court…

“It had taken months for Pope Benedict XVI to comment on the abuse scandals in Ireland and Germany… But now that secular investigators have decided to take action, he has condemned the ‘surprising and regretful’ circumstances of the Belgian raid… Benedict’s allies in Rome wasted no time in ensuring that relations between the Catholic Church and the secular world took another turn for the worse…

“After a brief period of remorse, it looks as if everything is back to business as usual at the Vatican. Little appears to have changed…

“First Ireland, then the US, Germany, Austria and now Belgium — the Catholic map of the world is rapidly filling with countries where new cases of abuse continue to surface. It has long ago become a global problem, but the Vatican under Benedict XVI is reacting at its own pace… Only the pope is allowed to reprove a cardinal — no one else.

“German bishops Robert Zollitsch and Reinhard Marx were also given a dressing down. Benedict reproaches them for not being tender enough with their fellow bishop Walter Mixa when he came under fire amid allegations of violence towards children in his care… He announced that, ‘following a period of healing and reconciliation,’ Bishop Mixa, like other retired bishops, would again be available for pastoral duties.”

Dangerous Deepwater Drilling

Der Spiegel Online wrote on June 28:

“Last week the beleagured oil industry fought back: Despite the flow of crude oil still spoiling the Gulf of Mexico, they successfully protested a US moratorium on deepwater drilling. They’re determined to continue exploration on oil’s final frontier — using high-tech methods they have not mastered…

“Ten weeks after the drilling platform disaster and oil continues to flow into the Gulf of Mexico. So far, according to some estimates, ten times more oil has leaked into the water than spilled from the Exxon Valdez when it struck an Alaskan reef in 1989…

“On Wednesday Norway tendered licenses for oil exploration in 94 sectors of the North Sea. A day before, the shareholders of the Brazilian oil company Petrobras approved a stock offer worth up to Ä68 billion ($83.2 billion), the largest in history. Petrobras will use this gigantic influx of capital to explore deepwater oil fields off the shore of Rio de Janeiro. And off the coast of… Newfoundland, in Canada, Chevron has started work on a borehole at depths of 2,600 meters below the ocean surface — over 1,000 meters deeper than the hole that the ill-fated Deepwater Horizon had drilled…

“Deepwater oil exploration will go on, because this is where most of the new sources of oil are being found… Only 3 percent of worldwide oil production originated from the deep sea in 2002; that fraction will rise to 10 percent in two years… The Gulf of Mexico and the Brazilian and West African coasts make up a ‘golden triangle’ of deepwater oil exploration with enormous, if still undeveloped, potential…

“A few thousand meters down and the pressure is so great that… water pressure simply crushes machinery… Breakdowns with hydraulics are… an everyday occurrence… at those depths… The water is also very cold, around 2 degrees Celsius (35.6 degrees Fahrenheit). At such temperatures the gas that is almost always present in oil fields forms hydrates, as well as ice crystals, and these can block pipes… In the ‘golden triangle,’ the oil often lies under layers of salt, kilometers deep. These blanket the oil reserves, and they also muffle the seismic-pulse technology which engineers normally use to find oil… 

“Drilling blind is dangerous, because the engineers are forced to calculate the pressure in the chambers where the oil will be found. The coveted resource sits in porous rock reservoirs, similar to sponges. The first time the drill hits one of these deposits the pressure of the oil flowing upwards must be equal to the pressure of the oil underneath. It is like walking a tight rope — to get the desired result specialists inject the holes with drilling mud, made of water, clay, barite and other ingredients. Should the engineers not add enough pressure, the oil can spurt out violently, causing a much-dreaded blow out. 

“Another potential deepwater drilling catastrophe: The ground underwater is still relatively young, and therefore contains many gas bubbles. Should the drill bit hit one of these bubbles, the whole thing could go up — this is what is called a ‘gas kick’…

“And all the while, crude oil continues to flow into the Gulf of Mexico. And there could be worse to come… the oil flow and the attempts to prevent it may have damaged the pipelines at the oil source. In which case gas and oil could start coming up through the sea floor… [In that case] drilling to relieve pressure would be in vain. 

“The emergency plan BP has provided may indicate the level of concern the petroleum giant has about such horror scenarios. The plan says walruses must be protected, even though walruses don’t live in the Gulf of Mexico. The company also promises advice from an expert, Peter Lutz. In case of catastrophe, the biologist from Boca Raton, Florida, can help assess damages to the environment. But the originators of the emergency plan at BP had evidently not spoken to that particular expert for some time; Professor Lutz died of cancer five years ago.”

Even though this might be difficult for us to understand, God does indeed suffer and experience mental pain when He sees that we suffer. Every loving father or brother would feel mental anguish when he observes that his children or brethren suffer innocently or because they go the wrong way and inflict pain upon themselves as a consequence. Even more so, God the Father and Jesus Christ the Son–the firstborn among many brethren–suffer when they see that we experience pain and anguish and despair.

As we will see, God the Father suffered when Jesus Christ had to endure torture and an excruciating death on the cross. We must never forget that God the Father GAVE His Son to die for us. Both the Father and the Son gave the supreme Sacrifice for the sins of man, so that the world would not have to perish, but could inherit eternal life (John 3:16).

We all know that Jesus Christ is our Savior. Many biblical passages prove this fact. He suffered in the flesh and died for us so that we can have everlasting life (compare Luke 2:11; John 4:42; Acts 5:31; 13:23; Philippians 3:20; 2 Timothy 1:10; Titus 1:4; 2:13; 2 Peter 1:11; 1 John 4:14).

But God the Father is ALSO called our Savior (1 Timothy 1:1; 2:3-6; Titus 3:4-6; Jude 24-25). This is the case because by giving His Son to die for the world, God the Father made salvation possible for mankind. 2 Corinthians 5:19 tells us that the Father was “in” Christ–and so, He experienced mental suffering when His Son suffered. Notice what we wrote in our Q&A on Zechariah 12:10 (which passage states that people “will look on Me whom they have pierced; they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn…”):

“… the Father suffered when Christ suffered. Even though Jesus Christ was pierced, it was God the Father who GAVE His only begotten Son to DIE for the world (John 3:16). We read that the Father was IN the Son (2 Corinthians 5:19). He experienced the Son’s suffering as well. When the Son was pierced, the Father was pierced too in that sense–God the Father who loved the Son felt the pain and suffering of His Son; He suffered WITH Christ; He felt the piercing as Christ did. Today, in the same way, both the Father and the Son feel also our pain and suffering when we go through severe trials (compare 2 Corinthians 1:5).”

It is true that for a brief moment the Father forsook Christ on the cross (Matthew 27:46). This happened just before Christ died (see verse 50), because at that time, He was carrying, symbolically, the sins of all of mankind (compare John 1:29), and the Father, being of purer eyes than to behold iniquity (Habakkuk 1:13), turned His eyes from Christ, as unrepented sin separates us from God (Isaiah 59:1-2). But as mentioned, this only lasted for a short moment. Apart from this, the Father was with Christ and in Christ throughout His human life (John 16:32), including during His trial, torture and the hours of His crucifixion. As Jesus suffered in the flesh, the Father suffered with Him in the Spirit.

Christ had not committed any sin. He was not punished for any sin of His own. As His loving Father, God suffered with Him, experiencing the pain when His innocent Son was rejected by man, and when He was brutally beaten and murdered, to give His life for the sins of the world.

God the Father and Jesus Christ suffer with us today, when we are suffering innocently. As the Father lived in Christ, so the Father and Christ live today in us through the Holy Spirit (John 17:20-21). God never feels indifferent about our suffering. We read that the death of His saints is precious in His sight (Psalm 116:15).

The Old Testament confirms the fact that God grieves when His children suffer. This is the case when they suffer innocently–for righteousness’ sake–or when they suffer because of their sins.

Notice Judges 10:15-16 (Authorized Version):

“And the children of Israel said unto the LORD, We have sinned: do thou unto us whatsoever seemeth good unto thee; deliver us only, we pray thee, this day. And they put away the strange gods from among them, and served the LORD: and his soul was GRIEVED for the misery of Israel.”

Note, too, this remarkable statement in Isaiah 63:7-9:

“I will mention the lovingkindness of the LORD And the praise of the LORD, According to all that the LORD has bestowed on us, And the great goodness toward the house of Israel, Which He has bestowed on them according to His mercies, According to the multitude of His lovingkindnesses. For He said, ‘Surely they are My people, Children who will not lie.’ So He became their Savior. In all their affliction HE WAS AFFLICTED, and the Angel of His Presence saved them; In His love and in His pity He redeemed them; And He bore them and carried them All the days of old.”

Sadly, ancient Israel did not repay God in kind. Rather, we read in verse 10: “But they rebelled and GRIEVED His Holy Spirit; So He turned Himself against them as an enemy, And He fought against them.”

In Isaiah 65:2-3, we read more about the fact that God suffers or is hurt when we sin. He says: “I have stretched out My hands all day long to a rebellious people, Who walk in a way that is not good, According to their own thoughts; A people who provoke Me to anger continually to the face…” Luther renders the phrase, “who provoke Me to anger” as, “who HURT me.” Menge says: “who continuously provoke me in a HURTFUL way.”

God suffers spiritually and mentally when He sees us turning from His commandments and going the wrong way, knowing that this will cause us pain and misery. We read that God chastens every son whom He accepts and receives (Hebrews 12:5-6). He wants us to learn not to sin, but to live righteously. Jesus reiterates too that He rebukes and chastens us because He loves us (Revelation 3:19).

When people do not respond to God’s love and correction, He is grieved. We read in Psalm 95:10: “For forty years I was GRIEVED with that generation, And I said, ‘It is a people who go astray in their hearts, And they do not know My ways.’ So I swore in My wrath, ‘They shall not enter My rest.'” Compare, too, Psalm 78:40.

Continued disobedience and rebellion caused God to repent or regret or feel “sorry” that He had made man, being “grieved in His heart” (Genesis 6:6). Even then, we should always remember God’s great love and mercy for man (compare Exodus 34:6-7; Numbers 14:18; Psalm 86:5, 15; Romans 9:22).

As God suffers when He sees man–His creation–sinning, so we, in whom God’s Spirit dwells, must have the same compassionate and grieving attitude towards others who go the wrong way, because they have not yet realized that in doing so, they are bringing misery upon themselves (compare Jeremiah 8:21). We read in Amos 6:6 that God is angry with those who “drink wine from bowls, And anoint [themselves] with the best ointments, But are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph.” Compare, too, Ezekiel 9:3-4.

And so, we must never cease, but we are rather to increase in our efforts to preach the gospel of the kingdom of God in all the world as a witness, knowing that this is a necessary requirement for Jesus Christ to return (Matthew 24:14; Mark 13:10) and to set up the kingdom of God here on earth, when there will be no more misery and pain.

Lead Writer: Norbert Link

A new member letter was sent out this week and posted on the Web. In the letter, Brian Gale describes the horrible situation in Great Britain and elsewhere and reminds us of the conditions in the world to come.

A new StandingWatch program was posted on the Web, titled, Babylon and the Mark of the Beast: What is Mystery, Babylon the Great–the fallen woman riding a scarlet-colored beast with seven heads and ten horns? Is it America or Islam?  What is the mark of the beast which one must have to be able to buy or sell? Is it an electronic chip? Most people are totally confused when it comes to the biblical meaning of these concepts.

Norbert Link’s video-recorded sermon, “To the Ephesians, Part 5,” has been posted on the Web. 

Norbert Link’s video-recorded German sermon, “Der Tag des Herrn” [“The Day of the Lord”] has been posted on the Web.

On July 3, 2010, Norbert Link will give the sermon, titled, “To the Ephesians, Part 5.”

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.

Often when playing golf with others, I hear them exclaim, “That’s not where I was aiming,” as their ball goes flying off the fairway into some danger.  The problem is that the ball went EXACTLY where they were aiming, just not where they were intending. Their feet, body, club, hands, etc. were all set up in such a way that the shot never had a chance of ending up where they wanted it to, but did end up literally where it was aligned.

When we look at where we are in life, are we where we want to be with our job, family, relationships, church, God, etc.?  No?  Are we at a point along the line that we were aiming? Yes!  As we go through life, sometimes we find ourselves somewhere where we never wanted to be.  If we are honest in our assessment of all the choices we have made, then we are EXACTLY at a point along these lines.

When driving a golf ball, if the hit is only a few degrees off of the intended mark, this can spell trouble.  The longer the drive, the further off course it can be.  The longer we continue to head in a wrong direction, even if it is unintentional, the farther we get from our original goal.

One of the interesting aspects of golf though, is that there are several chances to get it up on the green and into the hole.  If a mistake is made and the golfer has gone askew off the target, there is an opportunity to reassess the situation and get back on track with the next shot.

We can do the same as we endeavor to walk down the Path.  If we look up today and find ourselves off the road we had been traveling, even slightly, we have been afforded the opportunity to also make adjustments and zero in on our Ultimate Goal.  The sooner we do this and the more accurately we hone in, the better off we are going to be, and the more likely we will not only hit where we were aiming, but where we intended also.

We report on the devastating economic situation in the USA and around the world and quote warning voices that we might be “in the early stages of a third depression,” and that we ought to prepare for a “post US-dollar world.” The US Congress is about to enact sweeping financial legislation, which might have a serious negative effect on the US economy, and the US Supreme Court ruled that all Americans have a fundamental right to bear arms. While some applaud the decision as having confirmed constitutional rights, others warn of the inherent dangers of further violence in this country. At the same time, a proposed wide-ranging cybersecurity bill might severely limit constitutional rights of private citizens.

Over 850 Jewish rabbis issued a statement opposing the appointment of Jewish Elena Kagan as a new member of the U.S. Supreme Court, as they feel that she “turns traditional Judaism on its head.” Der Spiegel analyzes what may be behind President Obama’s appointment of David Petraeus as new commander in Afghanistan and concludes that the surprising appointment “holds unmistakable risks for Obama.”

Focusing on the G-20 meeting in Toronto, Canada, we report on the incredible waste of money spent on security and the inconsequential “decisions” which were reached at the summit. While the disagreement between the USA and Europe–and Germany in particular–is “set to continue,” President Obama’s performance at the summit has been characterized as “a setback on the global stage.”

We are reporting on Germany’s rocky election of their new President and the adverse consequences for the current German government, and point out that Turkey has begun to retaliate against Israel, and that we can expect further concerted action against the Jewish state.   

We are addressing religious confusion, including those who misinterpret the identity of the woman riding the beast in Revelation 17, and we show the scientific confusion of those who make the false claim that “the human foetus [fetus] cannot feel pain before 24 weeks,” concluding that “anaesthetics for the foetus are not needed when it is terminated.” In addition to this claim being outrageous, as the scientific evidence is such that babies in the mother’s womb do feel pain, at least between the eighth and twelfth week, and that a nine-week old baby resists being “terminated,” this horrible proposition also totally ignores the fact that abortion is murder.

We conclude with a report on the ongoing crisis of the Catholic Church and controversial action by the country of Belgium against the church.

“The Third Depression”

The New York Times wrote on June 27:

“Recessions are common; depressions are rare. As far as I can tell, there were only two eras in economic history that were widely described as ‘depressions’ at the time: the years of deflation and instability that followed the Panic of 1873 and the years of mass unemployment that followed the financial crisis of 1929-31…

“We are now, I fear, in the early stages of a third depression… the cost — to the world economy and, above all, to the millions of lives blighted by the absence of jobs — will… be immense. And this third depression will be primarily a failure of policy. Around the world — most recently at last weekend’s deeply discouraging G-20 meeting — governments are obsessing about inflation when the real threat is deflation, preaching the need for belt-tightening when the real problem is inadequate spending…

“After all, unemployment — especially long-term unemployment — remains at levels that would have been considered catastrophic not long ago, and shows no sign of coming down rapidly. And both the United States and Europe are well on their way toward Japan-style deflationary traps.
 
“In the face of this grim picture, you might have expected policy makers to realize that they haven’t yet done enough to promote recovery. But no… It’s almost as if the financial markets understand what policy makers seemingly don’t: that while long-term fiscal responsibility is important, slashing spending in the midst of a depression, which deepens that depression and paves the way for deflation, is actually self-defeating…

“And who will pay the price… ? The answer is, tens of millions of unemployed workers, many of whom will go jobless for years, and some of whom will never work again.”

You might want to watch (again) our StandingWatch program from over two years ago (April 11, 2008), titled, “Coming… The Great Depression?…”

Prepare for a “Post-U.S. Dollar World”

Kitco/The Global Investor wrote on June 25:

“… the US benefits from its reserve-currency status, allowing it to accumulate unsustainable debts for an unusually long period without the immediate repercussions of inflation or higher borrowing costs. But this false sense of security may be setting us up for a truly monumental crash. There is fresh evidence that time is running out for the dollar-centric global monetary order. In fact, central banks outside the US are already making swift and discrete preparation for a post-dollar era.

“To begin, the People’s Bank of China has just this week decided to permit a wider trading range between the yuan and the dollar. This is the first step toward ending the infernal yuan-dollar peg… Just days before China’s announcement, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev rattled his monetary sabre by telling the press of his intention to lead the world toward a new monetary order based on a broad basket of currencies. Giving strength to his claim, the Central Bank of Russia announced that it would be adding Canadian and Australian dollars to its reserves for the first time…

“Speaking of Europe, the major powers there are moving toward a post-dollar world by rejecting President Obama’s calls to jump on America’s debt grenade… dollar strength is largely seen as a function of euro weakness… Europe has higher priorities than being America’s fall guy. Led by an ever-bolder Germany, the European states are wisely choosing not to throw themselves on our funeral pyre, but to wisely clean house in anticipation of China’s rise.

“In another ominous sign for the dollar, the Financial Times reported Wednesday that after two decades as net sellers of gold, foreign central banks have now become net buyers… more than half of central bank officials… didn’t think the dollar would be the world’s reserve in 2035. Among the predicted replacements were Asian currencies and the euro, but – by far – the favorite was gold. This is supported by Monday’s revelation by the Saudi central bank that it had covertly doubled its gold reserves, just about a year after China made a similar admission… this is compelling evidence that foreign governments are… quietly preparing for the dollar’s almost-inevitable devaluation…

“The newspapers are now riddled with hints that foreign governments have lost faith in Washington and the dollar reserve system…”

Dollar Should Be Replaced…

CNN reported on June 29:

“The dollar is an unreliable international currency and should be replaced by a more stable system, the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs said in a report released Tuesday. The use of the dollar for international trade came under increasing scrutiny when the U.S. economy fell into recession.

“‘The dollar has proved not to be a stable store of value, which is a requisite for a stable reserve currency,’ the report said… The World Economic and Social Survey 2010 is supporting a proposal long advocated by the International Monetary Fund to create a standardized international system for liquidity transfer.”

“Biggest Reform of US Financial Regulations”

What may at first glance be a supportable U.S. bill related to US and international banks might have serious repercussions for the US economy.

BBC News wrote on June 25:

“The US Congress has all but finalised the biggest reform of US financial regulation since the Great Depression… Agreement was reached to impose strict limits on banks’ ability to take risky speculative bets on markets…

“Make no mistake, some on Wall Street feel they’ve dodged a bullet. However much their revenues will be hurt by the new laws’ provisions, things could have been much worse. Fuelled by deep public rage at banks that nearly destroyed the US economy, lawmakers seriously considered much more drastic action than this.

“The Brown Kaufman amendment in the Senate would have limited the size and leverage of banks. Needless to say the giants of Wall Street were appalled at that prospect. And who helped kill that amendment? The Obama administration itself. So it’s worth bearing in mind that up to a point he has actually also been Wall Street’s protector…

“Agreement was also reached on higher capital requirements for banks. This means banks will either need to do less risky lending, or they will have to raise more money from shareholders to hold in reserve against loan losses, or both. However, congressmen conceded a five-year transition period for banks to meet the new capital rules, and they exempted smaller banks – with less than $15bn in assets – from the rules altogether…

“But banks will still be banned from dealing in credit default swaps unless they do so through the safety of a financial exchange. This measure will severely curtail one of the most profitable activities of the big international banks when they do business in the US.”

Supreme Court Affirms Gun Rights

In a five-to-four decision, the Supreme Court ruled that all Americans have a fundamental right to bear arms. That four judges ruled against this conclusion shows that the rationale adopted by the majority is not as compelling as one might think. Also, to a large extent, the majority’s opinion is quite evasive and in-conclusive. However, in the opinion of some, in a time of upheaval, this controversial decision could prove to be counter-productive and contribute to further violence in our nation.

The Washington Post wrote on June 28:

“The Supreme Court ruled for the first time Monday that the Second Amendment provides all Americans a fundamental right to bear arms, a long-sought victory for gun rights advocates who have chafed at federal, state and local efforts to restrict gun ownership.

“The court was considering a restrictive handgun law in Chicago and one of its suburbs that was similar to the District law that it ruled against in 2008. The 5 to 4 decision does not strike any other gun control measures currently in place, but it provides a legal basis for challenges across the country where gun owners think that government has been too restrictive…

“The victory might be more symbolic than substantive, at least initially. Few cities have laws as restrictive as those in Chicago and Washington. Alito [Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr., writing for the majority] said government can restrict gun ownership in certain instances but did not elaborate on what those would be. That will be determined in future litigation…

“The guns case was the logical sequel to the court’s 5 to 4 decision in District of Columbia v. Heller. That decision established for the first time that the Second Amendment’s ‘right to keep and bear arms’ referred to an individual right, not one related to military service. But the decision that there is a right to keep a gun in one’s home did not extend beyond the federal government and its enclaves such as Washington. Gun rights activists immediately filed suit against the handgun restrictions in Chicago and the suburb of Oak Park…

“The court’s decision means that the enigmatically worded Second Amendment — ‘A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed’ — identifies an individual right to gun ownership, like the freedom of speech, that cannot be unduly restricted by Congress, state laws or city ordinances.

“Also voting in the majority were [in addition to Alto] Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justices Antonin Scalia, Anthony M. Kennedy and Clarence Thomas. Justice Stephen G. Breyer objected to the majority decision… Joining him with dissenting votes were John Paul Stevens, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor. Stevens wrote his own dissent and did not join Breyer’s.”

 

Less and Less Democracy in the USA…

TechWorld wrote on June 25:

“A US Senate committee has approved a wide-ranging cybersecurity bill that some critics have suggested would give the US president the authority to shut down parts of the Internet during a cyberattack. Senator Joe Lieberman and other bill sponsors have refuted the charges… The bill next moves to the Senate floor for a vote, which has not yet been scheduled.

“The bill, introduced earlier this month, would establish a White House Office for Cyberspace Policy and a National Center for Cybersecurity and Communications… The bill also would allow the US president to take emergency actions to protect critical parts of the Internet, including ordering owners of critical infrastructure to implement emergency response plans, during a cyber-emergency. The president would need congressional approval to extend a national cyber-emergency beyond 120 days… The legislation would give the US Department of Homeland Security authority that it does not now have to respond to cyber-attacks… Other sponsors of the bill are Senators Susan Collins, a Maine Republican, and Tom Carper, a Delaware Democrat.

“One critic said Thursday that the bill will hurt the nation’s security, not help it. Security products operate in a competitive market that works best without heavy government intervention, said Wayne Crews, vice president for policy and director of technology studies at the Competitive Enterprise Institute…

“On Wednesday, 24 privacy and civil liberties groups sent a letter raising concerns about the legislation to the sponsors. The bill gives the new National Center for Cybersecurity and Communications ‘significant authority’ over critical infrastructure, but doesn’t define what critical infrastructure is covered, the letter said.

“Without a definition of critical infrastructure there are concerns that ‘it includes elements of the Internet that Americans rely on every day to engage in free speech and to access information,’ said the letter, signed by the Center for Democracy and Technology, the American Civil Liberties Union, the Electronic Frontier Foundation and other groups. ‘Changes are needed to ensure that cybersecurity measures do not unnecessarily infringe on free speech, privacy, and other civil liberties interests,’ the letter added.”

Elena Kagan “Not Kosher”?

CNS wrote on June 25:

“Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan is ‘not kosher’–meaning she is not fit to serve on the court–according to more than 850 Orthodox members of the Rabbinical Alliance of America. That’s the term the rabbis used about Kagan in a press release issued Thursday…
 
“Rabbi Yehuda Levin, spokesman for the alliance, told CNSNews.com on Thursday that ‘a great deal has been made about the fact that she would be the second Jewish woman on the court, and we want to signal to people across the country that we take no pride in this… We feel that Elena Kagan turns traditional Judaism on its head–from a concept of a nation of priests and holy people, she is turning it into, “Let’s homosexualize every segment of society. And by the way, partial-birth babies have no right to be delivered.”‘
 
“In a statement issued Thursday, the rabbinical alliance called on the Senate Judiciary Committee to refuse to confirm Kagan to succeed the outgoing Justice John Paul Stevens. ‘It is clear from Ms. Kagan’s record on issues such as abortion-on-demand, partial-birth-abortion, the radical homosexual and lesbian agenda, the “supremacy” of the anti-family panoply over religious liberties of biblical adherents, et. al., that she will function as a flame-throwing radical, hastening society’s already steep decline into Sodom and Gomorrah,” the rabbis said in the statement.
 
“Levin told CNSNews.com that his fellow rabbis–and hundreds of thousands of Orthodox and traditional Jews–are puzzled at the president’s choice of Kagan.”

“Obama’s War”

Der Spiegel Online wrote on June 28:

“With the dismissal of his commander in Afghanistan, Stanley McChrystal, and the appointment of David Petraeus as his successor, US President Barack Obama has tied the success of his presidency to progress in the war in Afghanistan…

“Petraeus was probably the most unlikely candidate for the position, because, in complying with Obama’s request, he is not only taking a step down in the hierarchy to run the war from Kabul. Petraeus has political talents, and some say that [he] could even run against Obama as the Republican presidential candidate in 2012. If he had any such intentions, taking a step that aligns him more closely with Obama would not have been expedient. For the president, it was a successful coup that hardly anyone had expected. The Washington Post offered sardonic praise for the president…

“Is this the break Obama has been waiting for, a ‘stroke of brilliance, an unassailable move, politically and strategically,’ as Fred Kaplan writes in the online magazine Slate? Or has Obama just become even more embroiled in a war that could already be unwinnable? In appointing Petraeus to [succeed] McChrystal, Obama has chosen the strongest proponent of the troop surge strategy. But if the war continues to drag on, he will come to be seen as a war president and, when he runs for reelection, could have trouble gaining the support of voters who already hold it against him that the Afghanistan campaign has already lasted longer than World War II…

“The war in Afghanistan is not just controversial among Americans. There are growing doubts among Obama’s allies over whether they should continue to support the war in central Asia by sending their own troops…

“With his decisive move, Obama undoubtedly scored an important victory at home. Petraeus is America’s most popular general and uncontroversial across the political spectrum. Even Obama’s Republican adversary John McCain praised the president’s decision… Newsweek wrote: ‘By replacing a general who was universally criticized with a general who almost can’t be criticized, President Obama pulled a political masterstroke’…

“Afghanistan is a long way from peace. In June alone, coalition troops had lost 80 soldiers by last Friday, making it the bloodiest month in a war that has been raging for almost nine years. In the Rolling Stone article, a close advisor to McChrystal is quoted as saying that the mission there is ‘not going to look like a win, smell like a win or taste like a win.’

“There is also mounting concern among other senior US military leaders over whether America has enough patience for a mission… especially with the prospect of growing American losses in the coming months… In the controversial Rolling Stones article by author Michael Hastings, soldiers, in particular, openly complain about their situation, mostly about being ordered not to shoot, even in menacing situations, so as to protect innocent civilians… But Petraeus supports the strategy, which is why his appointment also holds unmistakable risks for Obama. The president and his commander have signed a pact…”

The war in Afghanistan has been and will continue to be a disaster for the USA. More lives will be lost, and no success is in sight. The war was lost before it started.

Why Are We in Afghanistan?

Der Spiegel Online wrote on July 1:

“NATO has sent tens of thousands of troops to Afghanistan and spent tens of billions of euros. But why?…

“Obama felt trapped by his political position, by his generals and by abstract theories of contemporary foreign policy. He would not want to be perceived as weak on national security. His would not want to be distracted from his focus on health care reform. And he himself had long justified the withdrawal from Iraq on the grounds that Afghanistan was the ‘good war,’ vital to US national security — one which could have been won had resources not been diverted to Iraq…

“General Stanley McChrystal… with the implicit consent of Centcom commander General David Petraeus, had publicly declared in the autumn of 2009 that he needed 40,000 more troops… Ultimately, the president succumbed… Just as 8th century Mahayana Buddhists invented world after world, filling them with their distinctive demons and bodhisattvas, our think tanks and governments have also developed their own metaphysical structures…

“These theories can be made to seem absurd and indeed future generations may wonder, as we do about 8th century mysticism, why the beliefs of so many powerful and intelligent people were shaped by such eccentric systems… Take, for example, the master-concept behind Obama’s surge, namely that in order to prevent Afghanistan posing a terrorist threat it was necessary to launch full-spectrum counter-insurgency operations… 20 years from now, we may struggle to explain why we once felt Afghanistan required the deployment of 100,000 troops or the spending $100 billion each year — why it required far more resources and attention than its more powerful and populous neighbors Iran or Pakistan…

“European countries feel trapped by their relationship with NATO and the United States. Holbrooke and Obama feel trapped by the position of American generals. And everyone — politicians, generals, diplomats and journalist — feels trapped by our grand theories and beset by the guilt of having already lost over a thousand NATO lives, spent a hundred billion dollars and made a number of promises to Afghans and the West which we are unlikely to be able to keep.

“So powerful are these cultural assumptions, these historical and economic forces and these psychological tendencies, that even if every world leader privately concluded the operation was unlikely to succeed, it is almost impossible to imagine the US or its allies halting the counter-insurgency in Afghanistan in the years to come. Roman Emperor Frederick Barbarossa may have been in a similar position during the Third Crusade. Former US President Lyndon B. Johnson certainly was in 1963. Europe is simply in Afghanistan because America is there. America is there just because it is. And all our policy debates are scholastic dialectics to justify this singular but not entirely comprehensible fact.”

And even though the Afghan war will continue to be a disaster, it will go on, simply because man’s heart is set on war–not peace.

The G-20 Summit–What a Waste of Money

The New York Times reported on June 26:

“Few Canadians expected that hosting world leaders at back-to-back summit meetings here this weekend would be cheap or convenient… But it is the cost of providing security that has elicited gasps. The latest government estimate is $897 million for the three days of summitry. That comes to about $12 million per hour, nearly what the government spends per year in the war in Afghanistan…

“Ever since the infamous Battle in Seattle, the World Trade Organization summit meeting there in 1999 in which violent street protests led to 600 arrests and $3 million in property damage, security has been a prime concern for international summit meetings and the costs have soared.

“But critics point out that Canada has spent several times the amount other recent summit meeting hosts have spent on security. The security costs for the Group of 20 meeting last year in Pittsburgh, for example, was estimated to be a total of $95 million, according to a study by Canada’s Parliamentary Budget Officer. The previous record was the 2008 Group of 20 meeting in Hokkaido, Japan, which cost $345 million for security, the report said.”

Within a few years, those measures will no longer be necessary. No more fear of violent attacks–and no more need of G-20 meetings which don’t produce any solutions anyhow. If you wonder why we can say this, please read our free booklets, “The Gospel of the Kingdom of God” and “Human Suffering–Why… and How Much Longer?”

USA vs. Europe

Der Spiegel Online wrote on June 26:

“The US has heavily criticized German austerity measures in recent days. Now, Germany’s finance minister [Wolfgang Schäuble] has fired back, warning against becoming addicted to deficit spending and noting that history has made the country extremely wary of national debt and inflation…

“Merkel’s finance minister also pointed out that ‘while US policymakers like to focus on short-term corrective measures, we take the longer view and are, therefore, more preoccupied with the implications of excessive deficits and the dangers of high inflation.’ Schäuble remarked that, while US economic history has taught the country to be wary of deflation, Germany’s history has resulted in widespread fear of deficits and inflation.

“Schäuble’s remarks were just the latest in a trans-Atlantic back-and-forth that has continued all week. US President Barack Obama’s letter to G-20 leaders, in which he wrote, ‘I am concerned about weak private sector demand and continued heavy reliance on exports by some countries with already large external surpluses,’ kicked off the debate late last week. Most interpreted the line as a warning directed at Berlin.

“Merkel has since been energetic in her defense of Berlin’s focus on debt and deficit reduction, telling German public broadcaster ARD on Thursday that ‘I don’t think we should relent’… Berlin has received support in recent days from European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet… European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso also backed up the German chancellor…”

What Came Out of the G-20 Summit?

Not much, if anything. Deutsche Welle reported on June 28:

“Considering the financial cost of the meeting, the results were weak… The summit was preceded by the rolling thunder of discord; America versus Germany, spending versus austerity… In the final analysis, the players find themselves on virgin political soil. No one can come up with the ultimate solution, because every country is faced with different conditions. Thus, the debate has no winners and no losers – and that was the big surprise that came out of Toronto.

“But the financial crisis pushed other important topics – like climate change, say, or the fight against poverty and hunger – right off the agenda.  At this point, even the wealthy nations themselves are admitting that they haven’t kept their promises to poorer countries… It is miserable to see how much money wealthy countries are willing and able to throw around in order to keep their own heads above water. And that was the big disappointment that came out of Toronto…

“In any case, the real litmus test for the G20 still lies ahead, since many of the important decisions for a new world financial order were pushed back to the coming summit in South Korea…”

Obama’s Setback on the Global Stage

Der Spiegel Online wrote on June 28:

“The G-20 summit in Toronto ended with yet more vague promises. The rich nations pledged to slash their budget deficits, without making any real commitments. The result is a setback for President Obama, who failed to find support for new stimulus programs in Europe… The expectations for the Toronto meeting had been low — and they were not exceeded…

“At first glance, the promises of the G-20 nations, which were meeting in this format for the fourth time, sounded impressive. National deficits will be ‘at least’ halved by 2013, according to the summit’s closing statement. But the agreement has no teeth, given that it does not foresee any binding mechanisms to make sure that the commitment is kept…

“The G-20 is now threatening to become a club of members that blame each other for their problems. Even before the summit, the Europeans had reacted with annoyance to Washington’s lectures… The dispute, it seems, is set to continue… In the US, the unemployment rate has so far refused to budge from 10 percent — a level that is unusually high for the US. The number of long-term unemployed is growing. Obama wants to create jobs, no matter what the cost, and he has little time to reflect on his setback on the global stage.”

The New German President

Deutsche Welle reported on June 30:

“Germany has a new president, and it’s the man everyone expected, Christian Wulff. However, the manner in which Wulff won was anything but convincing, and points to frictions within Germany’s ruling coalition… In the first two rounds, Wulff had failed to reach the required threshold of 623. This came as a shock; Merkel’s ruling center-right coalition had an absolute majority within the 1,244-seat voting assembly, so their candidate Wulff was guaranteed an immediate victory if their politicians toed the party line. Some, however, did not, despite appeals from senior party members.”

On June 30, Der Spiegel Online published an article, titled, “Merkel’s Disaster–Botched Presidential Election Strains Germany’s Government.” The article continued:

“The rebellion in the first two rounds of the presidential election on Wednesday amounts to the biggest setback of Angela Merkel’s career. The chancellor’s candidate came through in the third round, but the political damage will linger… It is a fiasco for her and her government… It is a rebellion that Merkel and her ranks only managed to contain in the last moment. Had they not been successful, Berlin’s political scene would have quickly become unrecognizable… She benefited from the fact that everyone knew the third round was a matter of political life and death for her government. Anyone who voted against Wulff was voting for the end of Merkel’s chancellorship…

“It cannot be hidden that Angela Merkel, on this Wednesday, suffered the biggest debacle of her political career… Merkel completely misjudged the mood in the country when she picked career politician Wulff. She made the mistake of being guided purely by self-interest and the interests of her party. Her motto was: first the party, then the nation… The political damage for the chancellor is enormous…

“The double blows of the first two votes will loom over the government’s work in the future. The coalition parties are already casting blame at each other for the debacle. Who is responsible for the failures of the first two rounds? The atmosphere of distrust will worsen, and doubts about the leadership abilities of Merkel and FDP leader Guido Westerwelle will continue to increase dramatically… Few would be surprised if Merkel’s coalition government were to end soon. Maybe not this year, but perhaps next year with a number of state elections looming.”

What a Debacle…

On July 1, Der Spiegel Online reported on the reaction of the German media to the election debacle of the new German President:

“Germany’s governing coalition is desperately trying to limit the damage inflicted by the disastrous presidential election on Wednesday. Commentators place the blame… squarely on the shoulders of Chancellor Merkel and some wonder if her days are numbered… Wednesday’s presidential election turned into a debacle for Chancellor Angela Merkel…

“The embarassing nine-hour marathon session in the Federal Assembly, made up of Bundestag members and an equal number of delegates from Germany’s 16 states, has, say many, further weakened the standing of the chancellor and called into question her leadership abilities… The fact that so many members of her coalition broke ranks on Wednesday is a significant blow for Merkel…

“The center-left Süddeutsche Zeitung writes: ‘This wasn’t just an election day, it was a day of reckoning for Merkel. It was the day that members of the coalitions settled scores with the chancellor. … Angela Merkel wasn’t standing for election but she was the loser on the day. She used the country’s highest office for her power games and got entangled by her own reputed shrewdness.

“‘Merkel’s motive in choosing Wulff has increased the loss of trust in her government. She sought to silence a potential opponent within the party and sought to misuse the highest office in the country. She has been seen through. This Federal Assembly became Merkel’s writing on the wall… Next year’s state elections in Baden-Württemberg, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saxony-Anhalt could become her Waterloo.’

“The conservative Die Welt writes: ‘Christian Wulff himself is not really to blame for the misery of his presidential campaign. It is the chancellor and her political allies who share most of the responsibility. They didn’t listen to the signals coming from the nomination of Gauck. This omission was just one example of a political style of sticking within the inner circle… The fact that so many people saw the election marathon as a way to teach Merkel a lesson is her own fault.’

“The business daily Handelsblatt writes: ‘… Merkel and her weak deputy chancellor Guido Westerwelle have to recognize that after their coalition’s poor start and the defeat in North Rhine-Westphalia, their government has now reached a new low point. One could almost feel sorry for Wulff. During the dramatic election he had to pay the price for the many grievances Merkel’s opponents have with her. This speaks volumes about the dwindling and fragile support Merkel has in her own party… Merkel and Westerwelle… are now fighting for their political survival’…

“The left-leaning Berliner Zeitung writes: ‘Wulff is a president from society’s center. A Christian Democrat, but not an arch conservative, rather one with liberal attitudes… Divorced, remarried, a father again later in life, he knows the problems of the patchwork family. But can he bring impetus to the presidency?… Can he give orientation in times of global crisis, in questions of war and peace? And can the new president become a moral authority in society. It is difficult to imagine any of this. The skepticism about Christian Wulff remains, particularly after yesterday’s false start.'”

Turkey vs. Israel

BBC reported on June 28:

“Turkey has barred an Israeli military flight from Turkish airspace, in apparent retaliation for Israel’s raid on an aid convoy bound for Gaza… The banned flight was carrying Israeli officers to Poland to tour Auschwitz. The plane was denied permission to cross Turkish airspace and was therefore forced to fly an alternative route…

“Turkey, one of the first countries to recognise the state of Israel, signed two military co-operation agreements in 1996, on joint military training and arms sales. Since then Israeli aircraft have used Turkish airspace for exercises, and there have been several joint military ventures. Israeli firms won contracts to modernise Turkish aircraft and tanks and Turkey agreed to buy 10 Israeli Heron pilotless aircraft. By some estimates military contracts have made up more than half of the total trade between the two countries over the past 14 years.

“Ties deteriorated sharply after the Israeli operation against Gaza in 2008. The government of PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan is more sympathetic to the Palestinian cause than its predecessors. Israeli aircraft were barred from joint exercises with other US allies in Turkey last year. Turkey announced that all military co-operation would be reviewed following the flotilla raid… this particular flight was banned purely because it had been the first such request from Israel and had nothing to do with the nature of the flight. Civilian flights are unaffected.

“Reports first surfaced in the Israeli newspaper Yediot Ahronot that an Israeli military cargo plane, carrying more than 100 officers on their way to Auschwitz, was barred from Turkish airspace. At the G20 summit in Toronto, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan was asked by a reporter if the ban was related to the flotilla raid. Mr Erdogan confirmed that ‘we started the ban after these events’, according to a report by Turkish news agency Anatolia.”

Religious Confusion Galore

WorldNetDaily published an incredibly inaccurate article pertaining to biblical prophecy. We are publishing excerpts from this article to show the magnitude of confusion in religious circles, and we are WARNING our readership at the same time not to fall for it or even elements contained therein. We repeat, the following excerpts are UNBIBLICAL, MISLEADING AND PLAIN WRONG. If you want to learn the truth, please read our free booklets, “Europe in Prophecy,” and “Is That in the Bible–The Mysteries of the Book of Revelation.”

Here is what WorldNetDaily dared to “report,” publishing an article by self-proclaimed prophet Joel Richardson:

“One of the greatest prophetic mysteries of the Bible is the identity of a woman referred to as ‘the Great Prostitute’ found in Revelation 17 and 18. The woman is also referred to as ‘Mystery Babylon.’ She is initially portrayed as riding a seven-headed beast, but later this very same beast turns on her, ‘devours her and burns her with fire’… The seventh and final head to follow the Roman Empire was the Islamic Empire that consisted of the various Islamic dynasties culminating in the Islamic Ottoman Empire… today, the anti-Semitic beast empire of the earth is the Islamic Empire.

“As the spiritual and economic capital of the reigning anti-Semitic beast empire of our day, Saudi Arabia/Mecca may be identified as the Great Prostitute of Revelation 17 and 18… As I have traveled the nation, after teaching on this subject, I’ve yet to meet anyone who has rejected the idea outright. Saudi Arabia fulfills every last Scriptural description of the Prostitute to a T…”

As stated, this is utter nonsense. The Islamic world, including Saudi Arabia, have NOTHING to do with Mystery Babylon, as described in Revelation 17 and 18. But Richardson’s misleading statements seem to sway some, if not many. We have news for Richardson’s nonsense: We ARE rejecting it outright, as must everyone who understands biblical prophecy, which Richardson and WND do not.

Abortion is Murder

On June 25, the Telegraph published a highly controversial and factually inaccurate article on abortion; but even if factually correct, the article would have still missed the most important issue that abortion is murder under any circumstances.

The article’s headline reads as follows: “Foetus ‘cannot feel pain before 24 weeks.'”

It continued: “The human foetus cannot feel pain before 24 weeks, according to an official review of scientific evidence, contradicting one argument that anti-abortion campaigners have used for reducing the termination limit. Nerve endings in the brain are not sufficiently formed to enable pain to be felt before 24 weeks, according to the report by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists [sic], which had been commissioned by the Department of Health. The report said: ‘It can be concluded that the foetus cannot experience pain in any sense prior to this gestation.’

“Professor Allan Templeton, president of the Royal College, who chaired the review, told The Times that research put forward by anti-abortion campaigners that the human foetus did feel pain at or before 24 weeks was based on evidence from premature babies. This did not apply to the foetus in the womb, he said. A second finding is that the foetus is naturally sedated and unconscious in the womb, leading the panel to advise that anaesthetics for the foetus are not needed when it is terminated.”

We must say that these “findings” are absolutely false and clearly contradicted by the FACTS. We discuss these facts in our free booklet, “Are You Already Born Again?”, on page 14. The scientific evidence is such that the babies in the womb of the mother feel pain between the eighth and twelfth week. A nine-week old baby resists being murdered by the doctor!!!

Rome’s Morals Less Shocking Than Today?

It is amazing that the same paper, The Telegraph, published the following article on the same day, June 25, apparently unable to see any connections between Rome’s murder of its babies and our murders today of our (aborted) babies:

“Dozens of unwanted babies born during Roman times were murdered and buried on the site of a Roman brothel in Buckinghamshire, archaeologists suspect. An extensive study of a mass burial at a Roman villa in the Thames Valley suggests that the 97 children all died at 40 weeks gestation, or very soon after birth. The archaeologists believe that locals may have been killing and burying unwanted babies on the site in Hambleden, Buckinghamshire.

“Unwanted pregnancies were common in Roman brothels due to little contraception and Romans also considered infanticide less shocking than it is today.”

Hospitals Under Attack

CNN reported on July 1:

“A Missouri VA hospital is under fire because it may have exposed more than 1,800 veterans to life-threatening diseases such as hepatitis and HIV… after visiting the medical center for dental work… The issue stems from a failure to clean dental instruments properly… Dr. Gina Michael, the association chief of staff at the hospital, told the affiliate that some dental technicians broke protocol by handwashing tools before putting them in cleaning machines…

“This is not the first time this year a hospital has been in hot water for not following proper procedures. In June, Palomar Hospital in San Diego, California, has sent certified letters to 3,400 patients who underwent colonoscopy and other similar procedures, informing the patients that there may be a potential of infection from items used and reused in the procedures.”

Belgium vs. Catholic Church

BBC News reported on June 27:

“Pope Benedict has joined mounting Vatican criticism of raids by Belgian police investigating alleged child sex abuse, calling them ‘deplorable’. In a message to Belgian bishops, the pope expressed solidarity ‘in this moment of sadness’.

“Several buildings were searched in raids targeting a retired archbishop and the graves of two prelates. Belgium’s justice minister has responded to the criticism robustly, saying normal procedures were followed… Mr De Clerck said the Vatican’s reaction had been excessive as it was based on false information…

“Police in Leuven, central Belgium, on Thursday seized nearly 500 files and a computer from the offices of a Church commission investigating allegations of sex abuse. They also searched the Church’s headquarters and the Brussels archdiocese in Mechelen, north of the Belgian capital. Belgium’s bishops, who were holding a meeting at the time of the raids, were kept incommunicado for nine hours while the searches were conducted.

“On Saturday Vatican officials compared the raids and investigation into allegations of child sex abuse with the treatment of the Church under communist rule. Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Vatican Secretary of State… alleged that the Belgian bishops were left all day without food or drink, although this was later strongly denied by the Belgian justice minister.

“The Vatican has summoned the Belgian ambassador to the Holy See to voice its anger at the incident. The Catholic Church in Belgium has apologised for its silence on abuse cases in the past. The church was rocked in April when the Bishop of Bruges, Roger Vangheluwe, resigned and admitted to sexual abuse before and after becoming a bishop.”

Actions like these by the Belgium government will help, rather than hurt, the popularity of the Roman Catholic Church.

The answer is yes. She was that very same person. And this is significant, as we will see.

To begin with, we should mention that Christ’s genealogy, as set forth in Matthew 1:1-17, is different, to an extent, from the genealogy as set forth in Luke 3:23-38. The reason is that the genealogy in Matthew “is traced through Joseph, Jesus’ legal (though not natural) father, and it establishes His claim and right to the throne of David (1:6). The genealogy in Luke 3:23-38 is evidently that of Mary…” (compare Ryrie Study Bible).

There can be no doubt that the woman Rahab, who is described in the book of Joshua as protecting and rescuing the Israelite spies in the city of Jericho, was a harlot (see our Q&A on this topic).

In that above-mentioned Q&A, we are also saying that “Rahab later married Salmon and brought forth Boaz. Boaz married Ruth and brought forth Obed. Obed, in turn, brought forth Jesse, the father of David (compare Matthew 1:5-6). David became the forefather of Joseph, the husband of Mary, and of Mary herself… “

We also said:

“The only women specifically mentioned by name in the genealogy of Jesus, as recorded in Matthew 1, besides Rahab, are Mary, the wife of Joseph (verse 16), who was a righteous woman; Tamar, the daughter in law of Judah (verse 3), who played the HARLOT with him since he had broken his promise to give her one of his sons in marriage (compare Genesis 38:1-30); and Ruth, a non-Israelite from the tribe of Moab (verse 5). One more woman is mentioned, without naming her directly, in verse 6, where we read: ‘David the king begot Solomon by her [who had been the wife] of Uriah.’ This refers to Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah, whom David had killed, after Bathsheba became pregnant as a result of David’s adulterous affair with her.

“All of these women are listed in the genealogy of Jesus, the stepson and foster child of Joseph. They are listed because they deserved to be listed–not because of their weaknesses and sins, but because of their subsequent repentance and faith. Rahab is no exception. She clearly was a harlot and she was known as such, but she acted upon faith, repented and changed her lifestyle, and she is today memorialized in God’s Word as one of the ancestors of Jesus’ stepfather Joseph. In addition, she was an ancestor of Mary, the mother of Jesus–which means that Jesus Christ was a direct descendant of Rahab! (Compare Luke 3:32 with Matthew 1:5, showing that Boaz, an ancestor of King David, was the son of Salmon and Rahab). Most importantly, however, is the fact that she will be in the first resurrection (Hebrews 11:31, 39-40).”

This conclusion is, as far as we can see, supported overwhelmingly by the most respected commentaries.

The New Bible Commentary:Revised states regarding Matthew 1:5: “Rahab had been a harlot and was a foreigner (Jos. 2).”

The Nelson Study Bible agrees, saying that Rahab, mentioned in Matthew 1:5, was “the Canaanite harlot of Jericho (Josh. 2).”

The commentary by Dummelow states: “Contrary to Jewish custom… Matthew introduces into his genealogy four women, Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and Bathsheba. Of these, two (Rahab and Ruth) were Gentiles, and three were guilty of gross sins… Jewish Christians instead of regarding Gentile converts with contempt, should be proud of them, as their ancestors were of Rahab and Ruth, who, on becoming proselytes, were accounted mothers in Israel…”

The Life Application Bible writes to Christ’s genealogy in Matthew 1: “Some were heroes of faith–like Abraham, Isaac, Ruth, and David. Some had shady reputations–like Rahab and Tamar. Many were very ordinary–like Hezron, Ram, Nahshon, and Akim. And others were evil–like Manasseh and Abijah. God’s work in history is not limited by human failures or sins, and he works through ordinary people…”

The Jamieson Fausset and Brown commentary states:

“Four women are here introduced; two of them Gentiles by birth – Rachab and Ruth; and three of them with a blot at their names in the Old Testament – Thamar, Rachab, and Bath-sheba. This feature in the present genealogy – herein differing from that given by Luke – comes well from him who styles himself in his list of the Twelve, what none of the other lists do, ‘Matthew the publican’; as if thereby to hold forth, at the very outset, the unsearchable riches of that grace which could not only fetch in ‘them that are afar off,’ but teach down even to ‘publicans and harlots,’ and raise them to ‘sit with the princes of his people.’… It will be observed that Rachab is here represented as the great-grandmother of David (see Ruth 4:20-22; 1 Chronicles 2:11-15) – a thing not beyond possibility indeed…”

Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible adds:

“There are four women, and but four, named in this genealogy; two of them were originally strangers to the commonwealth of Israel, Rachab a Canaanitess, and a harlot besides, and Ruth the Moabitess; for in Jesus Christ there is neither Greek, nor Jew; those that are strangers and foreigners are welcome, in Christ, to the citizenship of the saints. The other two were adulteresses, Tamar and Bathsheba…”

The Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge supports the conclusion as well that the harlot Rahab was indeed the same person as the one listed in Matthew 1.

John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible reads:

“That Salmon begat Boaz, is affirmed in [Ruth 4:21] but it is not there said, nor any where else in the Old Testament, as here, that he begat him of Rahab, that is, of Rahab the harlot. This the Evangelist had from tradition, or from the Jewish records. That the Messiah was to spring from Boaz is asserted by the Jewish writers… and they also own that Rahab was married to a prince in Israel, which some say… was Joshua: they pretend that she was ten years of age when the Israelites came out of Egypt; that she played the harlot all the forty years they were in the wilderness, and was married to Joshua upon the destruction of Jericho.

“To excuse this marriage with a Canaanitish woman, they tell us, she was not of the seven nations with whom marriage was forbid; and moreover, that she became a proselyte when the spies were received by her: they own that some very great persons of their nation sprung from her, as Jeremiah, Maaseiah, Hanameel, Shallum, Baruch, Ezekiel, Neriah, Seraiah, and Huldah the prophetess. The truth of the matter is, she became the wife of Salmon, or Salma, as he is called [1 Chronicles 2:11]. And in the Targum on Ruth 4:20 [it] is said [that Salmon was] of Bethlehem; he was the son of Nahshon or Naasson, a famous prince in Judah, and the head and captain of the tribe [Numbers 1:7, 12]. And from Rahab sprung the Messiah, another instance of a Gentile in the genealogy of Christ…”

Rahab became indeed the wife of Salmon, and they brought forth Boaz, the later husband of Ruth.

The New International Version translates Matthew 1:5-6: “Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab, Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth, Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of King David…”

The Living Bible states: “Salmon was the father of Boaz (Rahab was his mother)…”

The Jerusalem Bible states: “Salmon fathered Boaz, whose mother was Rahab…”

Therefore, there should not be any doubt that the harlot Rahab was indeed an ancestor of Jesus Christ.

Lead Writer: Norbert Link

A new StandingWatch program was posted on the Web, titled, “America–Wake Up or Perish!” Problems without solutions… war in Afghanistan; leaking oil in the Gulf of about 2.5 million gallons a day; almost 10 percent unemployment nationwide; sales of new homes drop to lowest level in four decades; rising government indebtedness; and dismantling of America’s family values and democratic system… the list is endless. WHY? Why is it that virtually no politician, no newscaster and no religious commentator is pointing at the only solution for our nation?

Norbert Link’s video-recorded sermon, “To the Ephesians, Part 4,” was posted on the Web.

In response to our ongoing Internet advertising campaign, we have sent out in the USA about 100 copies of our free booklet, “Do We Have an Immortal Soul?”

A new German sermon was posted on the Web, titled, “Die Oelbergprophezeiung” [“The Olivet Prophecy.”]