On July 24, 2010, Norbert Link will give the sermon, titled, “To the Ephesians, Part 6.”

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

How should you and how do you react when another person hurts you and deeply offends you?

Fortunately for us, our private, most intimate thoughts in these kinds of situations rarely become public. Unfortunately, sometimes they do!

Wanting retribution, payback or even taking vengeance might be the all-too-human recourse. However, we who walk as Christians are enjoined by a much different provision: “Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, ‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord” (Romans 12:19).

How did Jesus Christ apply and live by this command? Quite simply, He approached everything He did with an attitude of love—outgoing concern even for those who mistreated Him and then even caused His death. Furthermore, He left it to God—He submitted Himself completely to God’s perfect Will, to God’s promise of ultimate justice!

The Church of God was founded with procedures that govern the relationships we all have—whether among the body of believers or those who are on the outside. Ask yourself (please, make this very, very personal): “Am I taking from God what is His? Am I trying to get back at someone for something that they did to me? Is there a person or are there people to whom I would wish harm or even death?”

Consider once again Romans 12:17-21, but this time in its broader context:

“Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceable with all men. Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, ‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord. Therefore ‘If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink; For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.’ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

Just imagine that an example such as this might help someone to change, to be sorry, to right his or her way of living! Just think about the impact that godly love might have on someone who isn’t obedient to God. In fact, it is our opportunity to perhaps even assist God in that which is His ultimate goal for humankind:

“The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9).

We begin reporting on the “miraculous” economic recovery of Germany and the euro. Notwithstanding all gainsayers and self-proclaimed prophets who declared and still declare Europe’s and Germany’s economic collapse, Germany is once again the “number one in Europe”–signifying an end-time development which the Church of God has announced for more than seventy years. And while the EU becomes more assertive in political matters, Angela Merkel is being pushed into isolation, and her days of political survival may be numbered. It will be interesting to see who might replace her in the office of German Chancellor.

In other news, the British paper, The Telegraph, published a biting editorial listing President Obama’s failures; USA Today voiced the opinion that the special relationship between the USA and Britain is over; and unless repealed soon, Obamacare is visibly becoming a nightmare and surely a contributing factor to this nation’s economic downfall. BP’s attempts to stop the Oil Spill may or may not be successful; and an unsettling report in the Washington Post reveals the extent of incredible and problematic secrecy within the US government.

The sex scandal in the Catholic Church–and now also in the Lutheran Church–is continuing, and the Vatican is scrambling to undo damage caused by the announcement of its new rules, which view the ordination of women as priests and the sexual abuse of minors by clerics as “crimes.” An interesting article by the New York Times discusses the weekly Sabbath–but unfortunately, it confuses the “Christian” Sabbath–Sunday–with the “Jewish” Sabbath. If we follow the Bible, then there is only ONE weekly Sabbath–and it is neither called the Jewish nor the Christian Sabbath. Rather, God established His Sabbath and He made it holy. It is the time from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset. God, through the Lord Jesus Christ, made the Sabbath for man, when He made man (Genesis 2:2-3; Exodus 20:8-11; Mark 2:27; John 1:1-3, 14; Colossians 1:16).

While a report shows that the situation in Afghanistan is deteriorating, we conclude with an article in the New York Times, reporting on soldiers who want to become conscientious objectors. As the paper points out correctly, they will only be recognized when they are “conscientiously opposed to participating in war in any form, based on a sincerely held religious, moral or ethical belief. And the person must have had a change of heart since joining the military, when the person signed a form saying he or she was not a conscientious objector and did not intend to become one.” With that standard, those won’t qualify who want to become conscientious objectors because they are only opposed to homosexuals serving in the army, or who are only opposed to fighting in certain wars. 

Merkel in China

Deutsche Welle reported on July 16:

“Chancellor Angela Merkel said the EU is not yet ready to recognize China as a fully fledged market economy after a meeting with Prime Minister Wen Jiabao in Beijing on Friday… Wen said China would continue to invest in the euro as part of its currency reserves… Merkel described China’s commitment to the currency as a ‘very important signal.’

“‘We support the fact that the EU and the IMF have taken collective measures to ensure the stability of the eurozone,’ Wen said in their joint press conference…

“After spending two days in Russia overseeing major business deals between Russia and Germany, Merkel is in China on the second stop of her five-day trip… ‘The relations between China and Germany haven’t been that stable in the last two years,’ said Adrienne Woltersdorf, head of Deutsche Welle’s Chinese service. ‘I think Angela Merkel is mainly there to stress the economic aspect of the two countries’ relations…’, she adds.

“A delegation of 25 top-ranking German business leaders is accompanying Merkel on her trade-focused trip. Daimler, one of the firms represented on the trip, has signed a joint enterprise deal with China’s Beiqi Foton, allowing the German auto giant a foothold in the growing Chinese heavy goods vehicle market… Engineering company Siemens has also sealed a deal with the Shanghai Electric Power Generation Equipment Company – founding a joint venture to manufacture steam and gas turbines, and also involving cooperation in the renewable energies sector.

“A German tech company is also looking to work together with a Chinese company to produce a GPS system for monitoring CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere.

“Meanwhile, the governments in Berlin and Beijing are signing a host of bilateral deals to cooperate in areas ranging from plant safety and chemicals management to preserving water resources, energy-saving, electric mobility, and renewable energies.

“While business deals shall remain in focus during Merkel’s talks with Chinese leaders, the environment, the Korean peninsula, Iran and Afghanistan are also said to be on the agenda… China is Germany’s largest trading partner in Asia, and Germany is the biggest European trading partner for China. Bilateral trade was valued at 82 billion euros ($105.7 billion) last year, accounting for more than a quarter of the total trade between China and the EU…”

“Germany’s New Economic Miracle”

Der Spiegel Online wrote on July 19:

“During the worst of the global financial meltdown, Berlin pumped tens of billions of euros into the economy and spent hundreds of billions propping up German banks. Now, the country is reaping the benefits as Germany is once again Europe’s economic motor…

“Peter Löscher, the CEO of electronics giant Siemens, was sitting on a throne-like chair in the governor’s palace in the central Russian city of Yekaterinburg… Siemens had secured Russian orders worth about €4 billion ($5.2 billion)…

“The German economy has indeed come roaring back to life this summer. Two years after the outbreak of the financial crisis, the auto industry is adding extra shifts once again. The machine building, electronics and chemical industries are all reporting a rapidly growing number of orders. Total unemployment is expected to drop below the 2.8 million mark this fall, the lowest level since 1991.

“For the first time in decades, the former ‘sick man of Europe’ is back to being an engine for economic growth. According to an internal government assessment, the country’s gross domestic product increased by more than 1.5 percent in the second quarter of this year… If the trend continues, say the experts, the German economy will grow by well over 2 percent this year, or almost twice as much as in most neighboring countries. Economists are already proclaiming a second economic miracle, while a former French foreign minister is complaining that Germany is ‘number one in Europe’ once again.”

Merkel in Isolation

Deutsche Welle reported on July 18:

“The popular 55-year-old mayor of Germany’s second largest city, a state in its own right, is… the latest in a line of leading members of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Party (CDU) to throw in the towel…

“Merkel’s popularity has sunk to its lowest level since she was elected chancellor in 2005, and an exodus of senior CDU politicians has hardly helped steady the ship as she walks the tightrope of trying to cement Germany’s economic recovery while simultaneously cutting national public spending.

“Von Beust is the sixth Christian Democrat state premier to leave his post in the last 10 months. Although Christian Wulff quit his job in Lower Saxony to be promoted to the role of German president, he was replacing perhaps the highest profile CDU-affiliated deserter of all, former President Horst Koehler…”

Deutsche Welle added on July 19:

“Von Beust claims his resignation was motivated only by personal reasons, but it came on the same day as his Hamburg government – a rare coalition between Christian Democrats and Greens – was defeated in a high-profile school reform referendum… In truth, the political fallout from von Beust’s resignation is difficult to measure as yet… ]Merkel] hardly has any real deputies left…”

Der Spiegel Online added on July 19:

“The resignation of Hamburg Mayor Ole von Beust has dealt German Chancellor Angela Merkel yet another blow… German commentators on Monday wonder what the future holds…

“The left-leaning Berliner Zeitung writes: ‘… The CDU is threatened with the kind of erosion within the party base that plagued the Social Democrats in the last decade. … Beust’s departure has sweeping ramifications for the chancellor. It shows that it is not just the party base that is crumbling, but also the perspectives for Merkel’s style of politics. No other politician better embodies the idea of a modern conservative who can be attractive to urban voters than prudent Beust…'”

The Comeback of the Euro

Der Spiegel Online wrote on July 16 that the confidence in the euro was returning that it was celebrating a “resurrection” or a “revival.” The magazine continued that even though the danger was “not totally averted,” the euro was at times higher than 1.30 dollars. It also wrote that the recovery happened “surprisingly quick,” since “experts” had prognosticated a grim future for the euro.

According to the Financial Forecast Center, dated July 22, the value of the euro is perceived to steadily increase in comparison with the US dollar, from, on an average, 1.27 in July to 1.3 in September; 1.32 in October; and 1.37 in January.

Europe Has Their Say

Haaretz reported on July 16:

“Israel should ease its Gaza blockade further and allow Palestinians to resume exports from the territory, the European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton said on Sunday during a visit to the Hamas-controlled enclave.

“‘The position of the EU is very clear: We want the opportunity for people to be able to move around freely or to see goods not only coming into Gaza but exports coming out of Gaza,’ Catherine Ashton told a news conference… The EU plans to offer 22 million euros in grants to some 900 Gaza businesses to help them start up again.”

Europe a Force for Peace in the Middle East?

On July 22, Deutsche Welle published an interview with “Veteran German politician Hans-Gert Poettering,” who is “currently in charge of the European Parliament’s working group for the Middle East.” We are bringing you the following excerpts:

“‘In politics more generally, and especially in the Middle East, we can never abandon hope of an eventual solution. To give an example: The European Union recently celebrated the 60th anniversary of the Robert Schuman Declaration from May 9, 1950. This sparked the process of reconciliation in Europe. At the time it seemed unthinkable that the peoples of Europe – and especially the French and German populations – could put their differences behind them and build a united Europe, but the process turned out to be very successful. If there is the necessary goodwill, something similar could be achieved in the Middle East.

“The European Union in particular must be a strong motor driving towards this goal… a two-state solution is possible… And we can never cease in our efforts to achieve this, the EU must do its part along with the US, Russia and the UN… we can’t give Hamas the cold-shoulder. That’s why other bodies – albeit not the European Union – are negotiating with Hamas, with Israel’s support. Egypt is an important actor in this process… The EU already provides a lot of money for both the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. However, we need to go beyond humanitarian aid… There must be possibilities for development in Gaza once again. And if that can be achieved, it will also improve the prospects for peace in the region.”

“Mr. Cameron, Don’t Follow Mr. Obama”

On July 16, in light of British Prime Minister Cameron’s visit this week to the USA, The Telegraph published the following editorial by Peggy Noonan, a columnist for the ‘Wall Street Journal’ and speechwriter for President Ronald Reagan:

“Dear Mr Cameron… Do not imitate Mr Obama. He has been a disappointment; learn from his mistakes… In Mr Obama’s poll numbers this week, CBS News reports 13 per cent of the people think his economic leadership has bettered their lives. That means 87 per cent do not – that is rather a lot. The Rasmussen Reports’ daily tracking poll yesterday showed 43 per cent strongly disapprove of his leadership and 26 strongly approve. This is low…

“Here are the things he got wrong. In the middle of an economic crash, and in the middle of record-breaking federal budgets and budget deficits, Mr Obama started a new entitlement. This struck people, by which I mean almost everyone, as off-point. We are in a crisis, part of the crisis involves spending money we don’t have, and our answer is to spend more? It wasn’t a policy, it was a non sequitur.

“Moreover, the President’s decision to focus his entire first year on health care, when the voters were focused on the economy, on unemployment, on deficits, demonstrated, in the end unhappily for him and frustratingly for his fellow citizens, that he simply wasn’t thinking about what they were thinking about…

“To make it all worse, just before he went down the health care pass, he put forward, and saw passed, a stimulus Bill that shockingly – I am not being ironic – could not draw the support of a single Republican congressman. Not one… Finally, he confused business with Wall Street…

“Advice on your visit? Love America. It not only deserves it, at the moment it needs it. Our morale is low… speak of your love for this great nation. We don’t, not in a deep way and not enough. Even our President doesn’t. He tries, but he can’t get it right because it’s all so abstract to him. He associates patriotism with nationalism. But patriotism springs from legitimate love and gratitude, nationalism from shallow aggression and conceit. Obama confuses the two, can’t get them straight in his head…”

The difference between patriotism and nationalism is very well put. While the one is right and Godly, the other one is wrong and Satanic.

US-GB Relationship No Longer that Special

USA Today published the following opinion on July 21:

“As British Prime Minister David Cameron set off for his visit to the USA this week, he said Britain was not dependent upon America and did not owe it ‘blind loyalty.’ This comes, of course, in the wake of months of President Obama’s tongue-lashing of ‘British Petroleum’ — a name BP had not used for many years. The British people took the president’s words very much amiss, suspicious that he was unfairly singling out BP for blame as a proxy for bashing Britain itself.

“The British public sourly noted that the role of the two U.S. firms involved in the managing of the Deepwater Horizon rig was ignored, as was the fact that 39% of BP is owned by Americans. The president’s aggressive rhetoric… was blamed for wiping billions of pounds off the company’s value. This directly threatened British pension funds, which are heavily reliant on the company’s dividend payments.

“But there was also something rather deeper and more atavistic in the British response. Obama’s aggression seemed to bring to the fore a British resentment of the U.S. that is never far from the surface. This comprises a toxic mixture of intellectual snobbery; a historic fury at America’s late entry into World War II, after which it was perceived to lay claim to the glory; and perhaps most important of all, a DEEP ENVY of American wealth and power by a country that decades ago lost not only its empire but also its cultural way and sense of purpose.

“Nevertheless, Britain has some cause for complaint from the disdain that Obama has displayed well before the Gulf oil spill. First, he pointedly returned to the British Embassy the bust of Winston Churchill that a previous government had bequeathed to the White House as a gift; then he sided with Argentina in its calls for U.N.-brokered negotiations with Britain over the Falkland Islands.

“His perceived scapegoating of BP blew the cap off this deep well of bubbling British national affront. A YouGov poll conducted in June found that only 54% of British respondents said they felt favorably toward the United States — down from 66% one month previously. When asked specifically about how Obama’s handling of the BP oil spill had affected the relationship between Britain and the U.S., 64% said it had weakened it. And 45% said they thought that the relationship has gotten worse since Obama took office in November 2008 — a dramatic increase from the 25% who responded this way the previous month.

“As a result, Cameron was criticized for backing the president in his attack on BP for failing to stem the flow of oil, saying he understood Obama’s ‘frustration.’ This was almost certainly because, although he is a Conservative leader, Cameron has taken his party to the left by adopting a green and anti-Big Business agenda.

“With feeling in Britain running so high, however, eventually Cameron did publicly warn that BP’s survival was important, and he was credited here with getting the U.S. president to agree that the oil giant must not go under. Even though the sound and fury over the disaster has calmed, however, the ‘special relationship’ between Britain and the United States has not returned to normal. Something has changed. And the situation is replete with irony.

“When President Obama was elected, the British were delighted. They believed he would usher in a repudiation of the George W. Bush years and end what they saw as America’s tendency to throw its weight around the world… Yet even though they have become disillusioned with Obama, the agenda with which they associate him — to end American exceptionalism — is gathering steam in the U.K. It is hard to overestimate the poisonous belief that Britain was dragged on America’s coattails into wars in Iraq and Afghanistan that were against its national interest…

“In part, the Cameron/Liberal Democrat coalition government is reacting to the public’s anti-Americanism. But it also seems to have concluded that Obama is a weak president who has proved indecisive against his country’s enemies while lashing out at its allies.”

ObamaCare–Lost in Taxation

The Wall Street Journal wrote on July 17:

“National Taxpayer Advocate Nina Olson, who operates inside the IRS, highlighted the agency’s new mission in her annual report to Congress last week… with ObamaCare, the agency is now responsible for ‘the most extensive social benefit program the IRS has been asked to implement in recent history.’ And without ‘sufficient funding’ it won’t be able to discharge these new duties.

“That wouldn’t be tragic, given that those new duties include audits to determine who has the insurance ‘as required by law’ and collecting penalties from Americans who don’t. Companies that don’t sponsor health plans will also be punished. This crackdown will ‘involve nearly every division and function of the IRS,’ Ms. Olson reports…

“Republicans argued during the health debate that the IRS would have to hire hundreds of new agents and staff to enforce ObamaCare. They were brushed off by Democrats and the press corps as if they believed the President was born on the moon. The IRS says it hasn’t figured out how much extra money and manpower it will need but admits that both numbers are greater than zero.

“Ms. Olson also exposed a damaging provision that she estimates will hit some 30 million sole proprietorships and subchapter S corporations, two million farms and one million charities and other tax-exempt organizations. Prior to ObamaCare, businesses only had to tell the IRS the value of services they purchase. But starting in 2013 they will also have to report the value of goods they buy from a single vendor that total more than $600 annually—including office supplies and the like… Ms. Olson says that the tracking costs for small businesses will be ‘disproportionate as compared with any resulting improvement in tax compliance’…

“In a Monday letter, even Democratic Senators Mark Begich (Alaska), Ben Nelson (Nebraska), Jeanne Shaheen (New Hampshire) and Evan Bayh (Indiana) denounce this new ‘burden’ on small businesses and insist that the IRS use its discretion to find ‘better ways to structure this reporting requirement.’ In other words, they want regulators to fix one problem among many that all four Senators created by voting for ObamaCare.

“We never thought anyone would be nostalgic for the tax system of a few months ago, but post-ObamaCare, here we are.”

Unless repealed, ObamaCare will prove to become a nightmare for this country, and it will greatly contribute to its economic downfall.

BP Successful?—Not So Fast!

Reuters reported on July 19:

“Engineers monitoring BP’s damaged well in the Gulf of Mexico detected seepage on the ocean floor that could mean problems with the cap that has stopped oil from gushing into the water… The worst oil spill in U.S. history has caused an economic and environmental disaster in five states along the Gulf Coast, hurt President Barack Obama’s approval ratings and complicated traditionally close ties with Britain.”

Bild Online added on July 19:

“There are fresh problems for BP in the fight against the Gulf of Mexico oil spill disaster: The US government has said there might be a new leak in the vicinity of the capped well. Engineers have reportedly discovered seepage on the sea floor, and there are also ‘undetermined anomalies’ at the top of the leak source. Latest results from recordings indicated an increase in hydrocarbons rising from the seabed, according to US officials. Since hydrocarbons occur in crude oil, this has sparked fears of a possible leak…

“Experts had previously been surprised by the test results because the pressure at which the oil gushes from the spring was lower than expected. This may indicate a previously unknown leak, or it could be a sign that even more oil has flowed into the sea than previously feared… Since the accident on the ‘Deepwater Horizon’ drilling rig on April 20, up to 8,200 tonnes of crude oil flowed into the sea every day. It is the worst oil spill in US history.”

These articles show again man’s inability to deal with his Frankenstein monster. Man’s pride, vanity and greed would ultimately cause the utter destruction of this planet, unless God would intervene in time to prevent the unthinkable to occur.

Top Secret America

The Washington Post wrote on July 19:

“The top-secret world the government created in response to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, has become so large, so unwieldy and so secretive that no one knows how much money it costs, how many people it employs, how many programs exist within it or exactly how many agencies do the same work. These are some of the findings of a two-year investigation by The Washington Post that discovered what amounts to an alternative geography of the United States, a Top Secret America hidden from public view and lacking in thorough oversight. After nine years of unprecedented spending and growth, the result is that the system put in place to keep the United States safe is so massive that its effectiveness is impossible to determine.

“The investigation’s other findings include:

“Some 1,271 government organizations and 1,931 private companies work on programs related to counterterrorism, homeland security and intelligence in about 10,000 locations across the United States. An estimated 854,000 people, nearly 1.5 times as many people as live in Washington, D.C., hold top-secret security clearances. In Washington and the surrounding area, 33 building complexes for top-secret intelligence work are under construction or have been built since September 2001. Together they occupy the equivalent of almost three Pentagons or 22 U.S. Capitol buildings – about 17 million square feet of space.

“Many security and intelligence agencies do the same work, creating redundancy and waste. For example, 51 federal organizations and military commands, operating in 15 U.S. cities, track the flow of money to and from terrorist networks. Analysts who make sense of documents and conversations obtained by foreign and domestic spying share their judgment by publishing 50,000 intelligence reports each year – a volume so large that many are routinely ignored…

“In the Department of Defense, where more than two-thirds of the intelligence programs reside, only a handful of senior officials – called Super Users – have the ability to even know about all the department’s activities. But as two of the Super Users indicated in interviews, there is simply no way they can keep up with the nation’s most sensitive work…

“The U.S. intelligence budget is vast, publicly announced last year as $75 billion, 21/2 times the size it was on Sept. 10, 2001. But the figure doesn’t include many military activities or domestic counterterrorism programs.

“At least 20 percent of the government organizations that exist to fend off terrorist threats were established or refashioned in the wake of 9/11. Many that existed before the attacks grew to historic proportions as the Bush administration and Congress gave agencies more money than they were capable of responsibly spending.”

This is a frightening report. The left hand does not know what the right hand is doing… and the public most certainly has no clue what their government is up to. Based on the history and “accomplishments” of our past and current governments, this is indeed terribly unsettling. As God says: Trust no man–and don’t have any trust or confidence in your political leaders!

The Vatican’s Mixed Signals

Reuters reported on July 15:

“The Vatican on Friday denied accusations that it viewed the ordination of women as priests and the sexual abuse of minors by clerics as equally criminal.

“On Thursday, the Vatican issued a document making sweeping revisions to its laws on sexual abuse, extending the period in which charges can be filed against priests in church courts and broadening the use of fast-track procedures to defrock them. But while it dealt mostly with pedophilia, it also codified the ‘attempted ordination of a woman’ to the priesthood as one of the most serious crimes against Church law…

“But Monsignor Charles Scicluna, an official in the Vatican’s doctrinal department, said there was no attempt to make women’s ordination and pedophilia comparable crimes under canon (Church) law… They are in the same document but this does not put them on the same level or assign them the same gravity,’ said Scicluna, who helped formulate the revisions…

“While sexual abuse was a ‘crime against morality,’ the attempt to ordain a woman was a ‘crime against a sacrament,’ he said, referring to Holy Orders (the priesthood). The revisions also updated crimes against the faith such as heresy. ‘This should not be interpreted as considering all these crimes to be equal,’ he said. ‘They are crimes of a different nature’…

“Jon O’Brien, president of the U.S.-based group Catholics for Choice, said the Vatican ‘feels threatened’ by a growing movement in the Church that is in favor of a female priesthood… ‘If there is an opportunity for authorities in the Vatican to shoot themselves in the foot, they do so in both feet,’ O’Brien told Reuters.”

However, the Vatican seemed to have said the exact opposite in a prior press release. USA Today had reported on July 14:

“The Vatican issued a revised set of in-house rules Thursday to respond to clerical sex abuse, targeting priests who molest the mentally disabled as well as children and priests who use child pornography, but making few substantive changes to existing practice… One new element included lists the attempted ordination of women as a ‘grave crime’ subject to the same set of procedures and punishments meted out for sex abuse… despite arguments that grouping the two in the same document would imply equating them…

“Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI have said the question of ordaining women priests… is not up for discussion. The Vatican in 2007 issued a decree saying the attempted ordination of women would result in automatic excommunication for the woman and the priest who tries to ordain her. That is repeated in the new document, adding that the priest can also be punished by being defrocked.

“At a briefing Thursday, Scicluna defended the inclusion of both sex abuse and ordination of women in the same document as a way of codifying two of the most serious canonical crimes against sacraments and morals that the congregation deals with. ‘They are grave, but on different levels,’ he said, and noted that the document also lists crimes against the sacraments including apostasy, heresy and schism for the first time.”

Sexual Abuse in the Lutheran Church

The Local reported on July 16:

“The world’s first female Lutheran bishop resigned Friday after abuse accusations in her diocese of Hamburg, the latest casualty of a scandal to have rocked Christian churches in Germany. Maria Jepsen, 65, came under fire for bungling the case of a pastor accused of abusing young boys and girls in the 1970s and 1980s.

“She reportedly knew for several years about the case but failed to act… In 1992, Jepsen became the first woman to be appointed as a Lutheran bishop and was subsequently elected to a second 10-year term in 2002.”

The Bible predicts that the Catholic Church and the Lutheran Church will ultimately reunite. It is interesting to see that they are already “united” in their history of sexual child abuse through their priests or pastors, and in their unwillingness to deal with the problem.

What’s Wrong with the Sabbath?

The New York Times wrote on July 16:

“There are people for whom the Sabbath never went away — Seventh-day Adventists, Hutterites, Jews whose fathers and mothers never stopped walking in the ways of their fathers and mothers. And then there are the rest of us. The Sabbath, Jewish or Christian, is a distant memory for many Americans, the recollection of a quaintly tranquil day when stores were closed, streets were quiet and festive dinners were had. The Sabbath would seem to have no place in our busy, beeping world. The very word tastes musty in the mouth, as if it were a relic from another place and time.

“But what if you wanted to revive something like the Sabbath today? What if you coveted some of that sweetness and slowness and went looking for ways to get it? What would you do? Would you commit yourself to the Sabbath’s rituals and laws? Would you transform yourself into an Orthodox Jew or latter-day Puritan? How much would you be willing to change?…”

Sadly, the author is confused regarding “the Jewish Sabbath” and “the Christian Sabbath.” The true Sabbath is God’s Sabbath, which is to be kept from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset. It was made for man, not only for the Jew and not only for the Christian. For more information, please read our free booklet, “God’s Commanded Holy Days.”

Situation Deteriorating in Afghanistan

Bild Online wrote on July 16:

“Germany’s Defence Minister was at the centre of a scare after heavy fighting in Afghanistan forced a trip to visit troops to be aborted – after his helicopter had taken off!… Guttenberg said: ‘This shows how unpredictable the situation here is at the moment.’ Landing in the disputed area would have been life threatening. The incident involved some of the heaviest fighting between Germans and the Taliban in recent weeks. And it was further proof that the situation in Kunduz and in the Baghlan region has been sharply deteriorating since the beginning of the year…

“Guttenberg will not shy away from the visit in Afghanistan, however. He has been to the war zone several times since he took office to show the fighting troops his solidarity. More often than any Defence Minister before him! He also wouldn’t shrink back from being deployed to Afghanistan… Guttenberg served his military service with the Gebirgsjäger (Mountain Huntsmen) in Mittenwald, Bavaria. He is currently a reserve sergeant.”

It will have to be seen how long the German government will support its war in Afghanistan, given the overwhelming disapproval of the German people.

The “Afghanistan Conference”

Der Spiegel Online wrote on July 21:

“The last few months have been the most violent in the nine-year-old war against the Taliban in Afghanistan and Karzai has proven unable to gain the upper hand against corruption despite repeated pledges to fight the scourge. Tuesday’s conference seemed to reflect such doubts, with NATO allies declining to subscribe to a strict timeline for withdrawal and likewise remaining vague about the much-touted handover of security responsibility. Indeed, the only solid commitment made was that of adjusting how foreign aid gets distributed to Afghanistan. Fifty percent of funding from abroad will now be funnelled through the state budget rather than being sent directly to Kabul ministries, as has been the practice thus far.

“Still, there is a growing domestic pressure for countries involved in Afghanistan to begin withdrawing their troops. US President Barack Obama pledged last year that he would begin looking for ways to reduce the US presence in Afghanistan. And pressure for withdrawal is becoming difficult to ignore in a number of European capitals as well…

“The center-right Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung writes: ‘The conference in Kabul was said to stand for transition. It refers to the Afghan government’s aim to take over control of the country’s security and reconstruction step by step — once foreign troops begin departing the country next year. Tuesday’s conference named 2014 as the end point of that transition. That, though, is likely to remain in the realm of fantasy… Corruption in Afghanistan is endemic…’

“The left-leaning Berliner Zeitung writes: ‘… Afghanistan’s military and police forces are far, far away from being able to stand on their own two feet. It is unclear just what the military support, promised by NATO, is to look like. And nobody believes that the omnipresent corruption will disappear by 2014.’

“Conservative Die Welt writes: ‘The specification of 2014 as the date by which Afghanistan will take over responsibility for its own security was first and foremost an effort to mollify the Western public who have become increasingly tired of the war. It has little to do with a realistic assessment of the situation in Afghanistan… For the Taliban, there is little motivation to lay down their weapons and become a constructive partner for peace as envisioned by the West. On the contrary, they see victory — both ideologically and militarily — as being increasingly within their grasp.’

“The Financial Times Deutschland writes: ‘… In Germany, the US and elsewhere, voters are tired of the war in Afghanistan… The security situation in Afghanistan… is so [unstable] that a few years will likely not be enough to build up the Afghan military and police forces to the strength necessary.'”

Conscientious Objectors in the Military

The New York Times wrote on July 16:

” Answering the G.I. Rights Hotline for the last 11 years, J. E. McNeil has counseled thousands of soldiers who want to become conscientious objectors and get out of the service. But when the House of Representatives voted May 27 to allow the repeal of the ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy, paving the way for gay men and lesbians in the military to be open about their sexual orientation, Ms. McNeil got a hot-line call that raised a new issue: the caller said he considered homosexuality an abomination and wanted to be a conscientious objector because he could not serve in the military alongside gay soldiers… 

“For Ms. McNeil, a Quaker lawyer committed to helping anyone with valid legal grounds get out of the military, the call presented a legal and personal conundrum… Ms. McNeil concluded that there was no legal basis for a conscientious objector claim. The legal standard, she said, is that the person must be conscientiously opposed to participating in war in any form, based on a sincerely held religious, moral or ethical belief. And the person must have had a change of heart since joining the military, when the person signed a form saying he or she was not a conscientious objector and did not intend to become one.”

This is correct, based on the legal, and more importantly, on the godly standpoint. As true Christians, we must be conscientiously opposed to any of this world’s war which are fought by human beings, however “just” and “necessary” they might appear to the human mind. For more information, please read our free booklet, “Should You Fight in War?”

Even though most scholars feel that the prophet Habakkuk ministered during the “death throes” of the ancient nation of Judah–just prior to their Babylonian captivity–nothing is known about the prophet, including his age or his family.

It is clear, however, that Habakkuk’s writings are not limited to the time of ancient Judah. Rather, the book of Habakkuk is a prophecy about our times today. For instance, we read in Habakkuk 2:1-3:

“I will stand my watch And set myself on the rampart, And watch to see what He will say to me, And what I will answer when I am corrected. Then the LORD answered me and said: ‘Write the vision And make it plain on tablets, That he may run who reads it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time; But AT THE END it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; Because it will surely come, It will not tarry.”

Another prophecy regarding God’s final wrath and the beginning of the Millennium can be found in Habakkuk 2:14-16:

“‘For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, As the waters cover the sea. Woe to him who gives drink to his neighbor, Pressing him to your bottle, Even to make him drunk, That you may look on his nakedness! You are filled with shame instead of glory. You also–drink! And be exposed as uncircumcised! The CUP OF THE LORD’s right hand will be turned against you, And utter shame will be on your glory!'”

For the end-time fulfillment of these prophecies, compare Isaiah 11:9 regarding the Millennium, and Revelation 17:1-6; 18:1-8; 14:8; regarding God’s final wrath on modern Babylon.

Another prophecy, describing the Second Coming of the Messiah to destroy those who destroy the earth and to fight those who are willing to fight Him (compare Revelation 11:18; 19:11-16, 19, 21), can be found in Habakkuk 3:3, 4, 6, 10, 12-13, 15-16:

“God came from Teman… His brightness was like the light… He stood and measured the earth; He looked and startled the nations… The mountains saw You and trembled… You marched through the land in indignation; You trampled [or threshed] the nations in anger. You went forth for the salvation of Your people… You walked through the sea with Your horses… When I heard, my body trembled… That I might rest [or be protected] in the day of trouble, When he [a military leader] comes up to the people, He will invade them with his troops…”

With this background, let us now focus on Habakkuk 1:5, which quotes the words of God, as follows:

“‘Look among the nations and watch–Be utterly astonished! For I will work a work in your days Which you would not believe, though it were told you.”

That this prophecy is not limited to the days of ancient Habakkuk, can be seen by the fact that Paul later quotes these words and applies them as a warning to the people in his time and age who would reject the gospel message. We read in Acts 13:32-41:

“‘And we declare to you glad tidings–that promise which was made to the fathers. God has fulfilled this for us their children, in that He raised up Jesus… David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell asleep, was buried with his fathers, and saw corruption; but He whom God raised up saw no corruption. Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through this Man is preached to you the forgiveness of sins; and by Him everyone who believes is justified from all things from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses. BEWARE therefore, lest what has been spoken in the prophets COME UPON YOU: “Behold, you despisers, Marvel and perish! For I work a work in your days, A work which you will by no means believe, Though one were to declare it to you.'””

Paul quotes Habakkuk’s prophecy as a warning to the people of his time, indicating that the final fulfillment is still in the future. Indeed, this is true. We read in Matthew 24:14 that the gospel of the kingdom will again be preached in the end time–as it was preached at the time of the early apostles — just prior to the return of Jesus Christ (compare Mark 13:10; 16:15-16). It will be then that the prophecy of Habakkuk will find its ultimate fulfillment. In that context, we read in Habakkuk 3:2: “O LORD, I have heard your speech and was afraid; O LORD, REVIVE YOUR WORK in the midst of the years! In the midst of the years make it known; In wrath remember mercy.”

God also said through Habakkuk that His work–the end-time preaching of the gospel–would be powerful, but short. Romans 9:28 confirms this, saying: “For He will finish the work and cut it short in righteousness, Because the LORD will make a SHORT WORK upon the earth.”

People will be surprised when they see the revival of God’s work in its full dimensions. To His servants, God says today: Stand watch and make plain what you see!

But Paul quoted the passage in Romans 9:28 in connection with the end-time punishment and subsequent salvation of the children of Israel, compare verse 27: “Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, The remnant will be saved.”

And so, Habakkuk makes the same connection. When he speaks in Habakkuk 1:5 of the work that God would work in our days which “you would not believe, though it were told you,” he continues to describe, in symbolic terms, modern warfare and the destruction of the modern houses of Israel and Judah (Our free booklet, “The Fall and Rise of Britain and America,” explains in detail the identity of the modern descendants of the ancient houses of Israel and Judah). We read, beginning in Habakkuk 1:6:

“For indeed I am raising up the Chaldeans, A bitter and hasty nation Which marches through the breadth of the earth, To possess dwelling places that are not theirs. They are terrible and dreadful… Their horses also are SWIFTER than LEOPARDS, And more fierce than evening wolves. Their chargers [literally, horsemen] charge ahead; Their cavalry comes from afar; They FLY as the EAGLE that hastens to eat. They all come for violence… They gather captives like sand. They scoff at kings…”

Even though a partial fulfillment of this prophecy can be seen in ancient Judah’s captivity through the Babylonians, due to Judah’s transgressions (compare verse 4), Habakkuk’s prophecy of Babylonian warfare is clearly awaiting an end-time fulfillment, COINCIDING with the powerful, but short, revival of the preaching of the gospel. The Bible prophesies that modern Babylon will rise one last time in Europe as the seventh and very SHORT-lived resurrection of the ancient “Holy Roman Empire”–a combination of church and state, when the (religious) fallen woman will be once more riding the (political and military) beast (compare again Revelation 17, especially verses 10 and 12).

God will use modern Babylon in a literal SWIFT blitzkrieg to punish the modern houses of Israel and Judah for their transgressions (compare also Isaiah 29:13-14). But God will then punish modern Babylon (Habakkuk 2:8)–a system less righteous than modern Israel and Judah (compare Habakkuk 1:12-13). In ancient times, the Chaldeans were Babylon’s religious leaders, astrologers and magicians. John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible says about the ancient Chaldeans:

“A people still of late mean and low, famous only for their soothsaying, divination, and judicial astrology; but now become a powerful and warlike people, rising up under the permission of Providence to universal monarchy, and who would quickly add Judea to the rest of their dominions…”

Isaiah 23:13 tells us that the ancient Assyrians founded the land of the Chaldeans. And it will be the modern Assyrians–mainly the German-speaking peoples–who will lead the final resurrection of the “Holy Roman Empire” (For instance, the German Otto the Great and the Austrian Charles V. were previous Emperors of the “Holy Roman Empire” or “the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation.” Arguably this is also true for Charlemagne or Charles the Great, who was crowned as Emperor in the German city of Aachen and who is viewed [by the Germans] as a German and [by the French] as a French. In addition, the collaboration of Hitler and Mussolini with several popes constituted the sixth revival of the “Holy Roman Empire”).

We are seeing right now the beginning stages of this final revival in Europe (compare our free booklet, “Europe in Prophecy”). God tells us that the end-time revival of His work–of the preaching of His gospel–will go hand in hand with it. In both cases, people will be astonished when they finally realize what is happening.

Looking at the signs of the time, we should understand that Christ’s return is near. How much more effort should we exert, then, to make sure that we are found worthy servants, doing the work of God.

Lead Writer: Norbert Link

A new StandingWatch program was posted on the Web, titled,  Our Economic Demise–Why?:  The economic downfall of Great Britain and the USA is inevitable, and the Bible has long ago prophesied that it would occur. Why is this going to happen, and what are the spiritual reasons for it?

A new German sermon was posted on the Web, titled, “Sex in der Bibel, Teil 2” (“Sex in the Bible, Part 2”).

Our booklet, “Europe in Prophecy,” has been translated into German. It will soon be finalized and posted on the German Web (www.aufpostenstehen.de). Translation work into German is also being conducted for our booklets, “Are You Predestined to Be Saved?” “Baptism–a Requirement for Salvation” and “Jesus Christ–A Great Mystery.”

Bill Koeneke (Great Britain)

I confess!  One of my problems is putting up with other people—not all people, mind you—and not all the time, but I find it difficult to cope especially with the unthinking, arrogant person. And yes, I am meeting such people from time to time.

For example, I have a problem with those young mothers who propel their baby buggies at 10 mph aimed straight at me without any discernable intention of altering course!  As a result I am faced with a challenge: Do I alter my course and give way, or do I invite the lady to slow down and alter her course by standing my ground? Decision-making on my part! And then there are those who walk four-abreast on a narrow pavement and likewise aimed directly at my approach with no apparent intention of giving way.  So occasionally I come to a dead stop, effectively forcing them to split up and allow me through.

Where I live in the south of England, there are many elderly retirees [like me], and quite a number of them drive a battery-driven mobility scooter on the pavement. Too dangerous to drive them in the road, yet woe unto the pedestrians! And more woe when these pseudo race-track enthusiasts team up two-abreast! There have been occasional accidents where the injured party was pummelled by one of these rather heavy vehicles, ending up in hospital with a smashed foot or deep vein thrombosis in their right leg!  What upsets me most, however, are bicycle riders on the pavement (where they shouldn’t be), silently zooming up from behind without bell or horn to warn me, and who are seemingly oblivious that they are about to scare the life out of my fragile body! So far I’ve managed to escape injury, but only narrowly.  Rarely do any of these incidents evoke an apology.

So I have to remind myself, in view of my calling, that I need to be patient with these people and give way to prevent a nasty argument or injury. And not surprisingly, it takes a lot of patience for me to live up to this Godly responsibility.

My problem in all this is that I effectively quell the light I should be shining when I’m faced with this trinity of insolence, the “me-myself-and-I” syndrome and sometimes loud-mouthed profanity, all of which seem to prevail in our society today. So, what’s the solution for me when I experience such provocations?  Blurt out something like “Hey buddy. You weren’t brought up very well!” or keep my tongue in cheek? The answer is obvious: Keep my tongue in cheek, and exercise a kindly portion of forgiveness and lots of patience. That’s the Godly way.

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.