On Saturday, December 13, 2008, Norbert Link will give the sermon, titled, respectively, “Live in Peace.”

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.

We read in Deuteronomy 31:6-7 that Moses turned his leadership of Israel over to Joshua. In that transition he told Joshua to be “strong and of good courage.” God repeats these same instructions in Joshua 1:7:

“Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go.”

Joshua was to place his full trust in God.

These days we see people putting their trust in various places–frankly, in just about anything. They may put their trust in money, which Christ warned against (Mark 10:24); or, they may put their trust in other human beings (but compare Micah 7:5). But these areas of trust cannot hold up to the passage of time.

Where can we put our trust and not have it fail? Who is it that will never let us down?

The answer, of course, is God. But it may not be that simple. Isn’t it interesting that in times of national disaster, we may hear people talk about God. And they may start “praying.” Unfortunately, many fail to realize that this is not real trust. One cannot go on ignoring that there is a God–let alone the one and only TRUE God–and then expect Him to help in times of devastation.

We read in the book of Judges that the children of Israel did this dance over and over again. They would face calamity, “repent” and feel sorry for their circumstances, but after God had saved them, they would return to their old ways. The problem was that they “trusted” in God only at certain times. Their “trust” was only temporary and self-serving.

Really trusting in God was not easy for the children of Israel, partly because they did not have God’s Holy Spirit to help guide them. When they did have dedicated leaders, they followed their good example. But they did not endure. When the righteous leaders died, they forgot all about their own righteousness.

What about today? All of us who are being led by the Holy Spirit should be able to put our trust in God with no problem, right? In a perfect world this might be true. Unfortunately, Satan is the ruler and god of this world, and he tries to get us to doubt God. Christ said that trusting in God and walking the straight and narrow way would not be easy (compare Matthew 7:13-14). He said that His true disciples would be persecuted and would have trials. But He also said that there is nothing that God cannot help us through.

Where is it that we put our real and enduring trust? Will we put it in the money and people of this world? Or will we put it in God, the One who created this world and sustains it? It’s our choice. We are to choose wisely.  Proverbs 3:5-7 gives all of us this lasting admonition: “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths. Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the LORD and depart from evil.”

Nuclear War in the Middle East–Soon?

Haaretz.com reported on December 12:

“U.S. President-elect Barack Obama’s administration will offer Israel a ‘nuclear umbrella’ against the threat of a nuclear attack by Iran, a well-placed American source said earlier this week. The source, who is close to the new administration, said the U.S. will declare that an attack on Israel by Tehran would result in a devastating U.S. nuclear response against Iran.

“But America’s nuclear guarantee to Israel could also be interpreted as a sign the U.S. believes Iran will eventually acquire nuclear arms. Secretary of state-designate Hillary Clinton had raised the idea of a nuclear guarantee to Israel during her campaign for the Democratic Party’s nomination for the presidency…

“Granting Israel a nuclear guarantee essentially suggests the U.S. is willing to come to terms with a nuclear Iran. For its part, Israel opposes any such development… ‘What is the significance of such guarantee when it comes from those who hesitated to deal with a non-nuclear Iran?’ asked a senior Israeli security source. ‘What kind of credibility would this [guarantee have] when Iran is nuclear-capable?’

“The same source noted that the fact that there is talk about the possibility of a nuclear Iran undermines efforts to prevent Tehran from acquiring such arms. A senior Bush administration source said that the proposal for an American nuclear umbrella for Israel was ridiculous and lacked credibility. ‘Who will convince the citizen in Kansas that the U.S. needs to get mixed up in a nuclear war because Haifa was bombed? And what is the point of an American response, after Israel’s cities are destroyed in an Iranian nuclear strike?’

“The current debate is taking place in light of the Military Intelligence assessment that Iran has passed beyond the point of no return, and has mastered the technology of uranium enrichment. The decision to proceed toward the development of nuclear arms is now purely a matter for Iran’s leaders to decide.”

On October 10, 2008, the paper had speculated what Iran’s next move might be, stating:

“French agencies are divided over what Iran is likely to do once it has this uranium. One view is that the Iranians will immediately make a nuclear bomb, in order to demonstrate their capability. The other is that Iran will continue enriching uranium without making a bomb – at least until it has enough enriched uranium for several bombs.”

“Now For a World Government”

The Financial Times wrote on December 8:

“I have never believed that there is a secret United Nations plot to take over the US. I have never seen black helicopters hovering in the sky above Montana. But, for the first time in my life, I think the formation of some sort of world government is plausible. A ‘world government’ would involve much more than co-operation between nations. It would be an entity with state-like characteristics, backed by a body of laws.

“The European Union has already set up a continental government for 27 countries, which could be a model. The EU has a supreme court, a currency, thousands of pages of law, a large civil service and the ability to deploy military force. So could the European model go global? There are three reasons for thinking that it might.

“First, it is increasingly clear that the most difficult issues facing national governments are international in nature: there is global warming, a global financial crisis and a ‘global war on terror’.

“Second, it could be done… Geoffrey Blainey, an eminent Australian historian, has written: ‘For the first time in human history, world government of some sort is now possible.’ Mr Blainey foresees an attempt to form a world government at some point in the next two centuries, which is an unusually long time horizon for the average newspaper column.

“But – the third point – a change in the political atmosphere suggests that ‘global governance’ could come much sooner than that. The financial crisis and climate change are pushing national governments towards global solutions, even in countries such as China and the US that are traditionally fierce guardians of national sovereignty.

“… it seems, everything is in place. For the first time… there is an argument, an opportunity and a means to make serious steps towards a world government…”

World government, in one form or another, will come. First, man will attempt to create it (Revelation 13:3-9; 17:1-2; 18:3), but his temporary success will end in war and total disaster, as well as terrible worldwide destruction (Matthew 24:21-22). The Bible does say, however, that Jesus Christ will intervene and set up a peaceful world government which will never be destroyed–and of His government and peace there will be no end (Isaiah 9:6-7).

Growing Fault Lines Between Europe and USA

On December 9, the Asia Times Online published a highly controversial article–in fact, much of what was written must be rejected as propaganda. However, the following comments are worth quoting:

“North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) ministers in Brussels have decided to ignore the wishes of the United States and delay the admission of Georgia and the Ukraine, in effect indefinitely, in what the George W Bush administration is sheepishly trying to claim is a positive ‘compromise’. The decision follows the alarm which peaked among European Union member states last August over the prospect of having to go to war with Russia…

“The decision deepens growing fault lines across the Atlantic, and next year will be clearly more turbulent even than 2008 in terms of global geopolitics. The Brussels decision is even more remarkable if taken as indication of Washington’s diminishing power over European NATO members… Washington has undergone a stunning setback in its agenda of encircling Russia with NATO. Despite the fact that president-elect Obama retained Bush Administration Defense Secretary Robert Gates, and named a person to be Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, who has strongly supported bringing Georgia and Ukraine into NATO, key European NATO members, led by Germany and France, blocked what must be a unanimous membership decision.”

“War of Words” Between Britain and Germany

Deutsche Welle reported on December 11:

“Angela Merkel may have shrugged off the apparent snub of not being invited to Monday’s mini-summit between Britain and France but it is unlikely that new comments from the British government will be dismissed as easily.

“The simmering war of words between Berlin and Downing Street heated up Thursday as both Merkel and Prime Minister Gordon Brown prepared to fly to Brussels for a crucial EU summit.

“Responding to claims by German finance minister Peer Steinbrueck that Britain’s conversion from economic and financial prudence to heavy state borrowing was… of ‘breathtaking’ proportions, representatives of Brown’s government said that Germany’s ability to respond effectively to the global economic downturn was being hampered by domestic politics…

“Steinbrueck criticized the 2.5 percent cut in Value Added Tax (VAT), to 15 percent, introduced by the British government from December 1 in an outspoken interview with US magazine Newsweek. ‘All this will do is raise Britain’s debt to a level that will take a whole generation to work off,’ Steinbrueck said, echoing criticism leveled at Brown by the Conservative opposition in Britain…

“Speculation of a rift increased this week after Merkel — in charge of Europe’s biggest economy — was left out of the London summit on Monday involving Brown, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and European Commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso.”

Welt On Line wrote on December 11:

“German Finance Minister Peer Steinbrueck has criticised countries for rushing through what he called crass and untested economic rescue packages at a ‘breathtaking and depressing’ pace. Steinbrueck particularly singled out British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, accusing him of switching to economic policies that would saddle a generation with debt…”

Owner of Los Angeles Times and KTLA Channel 5 Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy

The Los Angeles Times reported on December 9:

“Tribune Co., the owner of the Los Angeles Times, KTLA Channel 5 and dozens of other daily newspapers and television stations across the country, filed Monday for bankruptcy protection from creditors, in the latest indication of deteriorating economics for the news business…

“In recent weeks, the McClatchy newspaper chain put its Miami Herald up for sale, the Christian Science Monitor said it would abandon daily print publication in favor of Web operation, the Philadelphia Inquirer and Minneapolis Star-Tribune have flirted with or entered default, and the New York Times said it would mortgage its headquarters skyscraper in midtown Manhattan to help cover operating costs.”

Politics at Its Worst

The Chicago Tribune wrote on December 9:

“Gov. Rod Blagojevich and his chief of staff, John Harris, were arrested by FBI agents [but later released on bail] on federal corruption charges Tuesday morning… In one charge related to the appointment of a senator to replace Barack Obama, prosecutors allege that Blagojevich sought appointment for himself as secretary of Health and Human Services in the new Obama administration, or a lucrative job with a union, in exchange for appointing a union-preferred candidate.

“Another charge alleges Blagojevich and Harris conspired to demand the firing of Chicago Tribune editorial board members responsible for editorials critical of him in exchange for state help with the sale of Wrigley Field, the Chicago Cubs baseball stadium owned by Tribune Co. Blagojevich and Harris, along with others, obtained and sought to gain financial benefits for the governor, members of his family and his campaign fund in exchange for appointments to state boards and commissions, state jobs and state contracts, according to the charges.

“‘The breadth of corruption laid out in these charges is staggering,’ U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald said in a statement…”

Corruption in US Politics–Nothing New

USA Today reported on December 11:

“Its largest city is legendary for machine-style politics and its elected leaders have been under investigation for years, but by one measure, Illinois is not even close to the nation’s most-corrupt state…

“On a per-capita basis… Illinois ranks 18th for the number of public corruption convictions the federal government has won from 1998 through 2007…

“Louisiana, Alaska and North Dakota all fared worse than the Land of Lincoln… The analysis does not include corruption cases handled by state law enforcement and it considers only convictions. Corruption may run more rampant in some states but go undetected…

“New York… is ranked just after Illinois for corruption convictions…”

Did Barack Obama Know?

ABC News wrote on December 9:

“‘Obviously like the rest of the people of Illinois I am saddened and sobered by the news that came out of the US attorney’s office today,’ said President-elect Obama this afternoon in Chicago, speaking of the criminal complaint against Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich for corruption… Asked what contact he’d had with the governor’s office about his replacement in the Senate, President-elect Obama today said ‘I had no contact with the governor or his office and so we were not, I was not aware of what was happening.’

“But on November 23, 2008, his senior adviser David Axelrod appeared on Fox News Chicago and said something quite different. While insisting that the President-elect had not expressed a favorite to replace him, and his inclination was to avoid being a ‘kingmaker,’ Axelrod said, ‘I know he’s talked to the governor and there are a whole range of names many of which have surfaced, and I think he has a fondness for a lot of them.’…

“Axelrod this evening issued a statement saying, ‘I was mistaken when I told an interviewer last month that the President-elect has spoken directly to Governor Blagojevich about the Senate vacancy. They did not then or at any time discuss the subject.’

“There are no allegations that President-elect Obama or anyone close to him had anything to do with any of the crimes Gov. Blagojevich is accused of having committed…

“But there remain questions about how Blagojevich knew that Mr. Obama was not willing to give him anything in exchange for the Senate seat — with whom was Blagojevich speaking? Did that person report the governor to the authorities? And, it should be pointed out, Mr. Obama has a relationship with Mr. Blagojevich, having not only endorsed Blagojevich in 2002 and 2006, but having served as a top adviser to the Illinois governor in his first 2002 run for the state house…”

Consequences of Political Scandal in Illinois Widen

The Los Angeles Times wrote on December 11:

“Barack Obama and federal lawmakers maneuvered Wednesday to force Illinois Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich to step down after his arrest in a payoff scandal and prevent him from naming the president-elect’s successor in the Senate… Majority Leader Harry Reid… and others said the Senate might block any Blagojevich appointee from taking office.

“A leading contender for the seat, Rep. Jesse L. Jackson Jr…. said Wednesday that he would meet with prosecutors this week to share what he knew about the case. Jackson, who denied wrongdoing, has hired a Chicago lawyer to represent him.

“The congressman… has been widely reported to be the man named in an FBI affidavit as ‘Senate Candidate 5’… In wiretapped conversations, the governor said allies of ‘Senate Candidate 5’ had promised to raise as much as $1 million for him in a ‘pay-to-play’ trade for the appointment, the FBI said…

“Obama called on state lawmakers to ‘put in place a process to select a new senator that will have the trust and confidence of the people of Illinois.’ The Legislature plans to convene Monday to pass a bill calling for a special election to fill Obama’s Senate seat. In theory, Blagojevich could veto the measure, and lawmakers could enact it through an override.”

2008 Nobel Economics Prize Recipient Predicts End of Major U.S. Auto Companies

Welt On Line reported on December 8:

“Paul Krugman, [economics professor at Princeton University and columnist for The New York Times and] winner of the 2008 Nobel economics prize, said on Sunday policy makers would be unable to prevent the global economic crisis from inflicting serious damage… ‘The simple mechanics of producing a rescue for the world economy are very hard. The pace at which things are getting worse is so great that it’s difficult to see how rescue measures can come… Even with the best of understanding it can’t come fast enough to prevent a great deal of damage… I’m very worried what next year will look like.’…

“Krugman also said he doubted the U.S. auto sector would survive in the long run…  ‘It’s…the unwillingness, I believe a correct lack of willingness, to accept the failure of a large industrial sector — even if it’s an industrial sector in decline — in the midst of a very very severe recession. In the end these companies will probably disappear.’…”

Bailouts for the Auto Industry…

Newmax wrote on December 8:

“With congressional Democrats and the Bush administration agreeing in principle during the weekend to drop a few billion on General Motors and Chrysler, all signs point to a government-backed auto industry bailout [and] an unprecedented investment in private industry…

“Ford’s chief executive Alan Mulally earned $22 million in total compensation last year – a year that helped push the company toward oblivion…  Plenty other uniquely American industries are taking it on the chin, and no one is calling for a bailout of those sectors… the high end of the bailout range keeps them [the Big Three] in business for about a year. Then what? Without major changes in their business model, they’ll simply be coming back to Washington with their hands out again.

“… this current ‘bailout’ bears no resemblance to the rescue of Chrysler in 1980. In 1980, Congress passed, and President Carter signed, a law giving a U.S. government guarantee of a private $1.5 billion loan to Chrysler. Not one dollar of taxpayer funds was ever used in the deal…”

… Maybe Not…

The Associated Press reported on December 11:

“A House-passed bill to speed $14 billion in loans to Detroit’s automakers stands on shaky ground in a bailout-weary Congress, undermined by Republican opposition that could derail the emergency aid in the Senate.

“Republicans are challenging lame-duck President George W. Bush on the proposal, arguing that any support for the domestic auto industry should carry significant concessions from autoworkers and creditors and reject tougher environmental rules imposed by House Democrats.

“The House approved the plan late Wednesday on a vote of 237-170. It would infuse money within days into cash-starved General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC. Ford Motor Co., which has said it has enough cash to make it through 2009, would also be eligible for federal aid.

“Supporters cited dire warnings from GM and Chrysler executives, who have said they could run out of cash within weeks, and concerns that a carmaker collapse would erase tens of thousands of jobs and jolt an already bleak economy.

“Democrats and the Bush White House hoped the Senate would vote on the legislation as early as Thursday. But based on concerns raised by GOP senators – and a still-uncertain level of support even among Democrats – they had a lot of work to do.

“A leading Senate Republican opponent said Thursday that he cannot back spending $14 billion of taxpayer money on a plan that would call for a restructuring of the industry, but which fails to detail just how that would be accomplished…

“The measure’s murky outlook reflected the difficulty of approving another federal financial rescue on the heels of the deeply unpopular, $700 billion Wall Street bailout, as the clock ticks down on the current Congress and Bush’s influence is at a low ebb… Opposition wasn’t limited to Republicans… The automakers initially asked Congress for $25 billion, then returned two weeks later to plead for as much as $34 billion…”

Grim Outlook for US Economy

The following facts, as reported in the quoted article below, should serve as a wake-up call for those who didn’t or don’t expect the U.S. economy to face tough times ahead. Even the article’s use of words such as “unexpected” or “more than expected,” in relationship to bad developments within our economy, shows how little our financial experts are in touch with reality.

The Associated Press reported on December 11:

“New claims for jobless benefits rose more than expected last week, exceeding even gloomy expectations for an economy stuck in a recession that seems to be deepening… New jobless claims last week reached their highest level since November 1982, though the labor force has grown by about half since then… Also Thursday, the U.S. trade deficit rose unexpectedly in October as a spreading global recession dampened sales of U.S. products overseas…

“In just the first two months of the budget year that started Oct. 1, the budget deficit totaled $401.6 billion, nearly matching the record gap of $455 billion posted for all of last year… Economists expect the deficit will top $1 trillion in the current budget year, which would be a post-World War II high when measured as a percentage of the economy…

“The Labor Department said last week that employers cut a net total of 533,000 jobs in November and the unemployment rate reached 6.7 percent, a 15-year high. The rate would have been higher, except that more than 400,000 Americans gave up looking for a new job and weren’t counted in the labor force.

“Companies have eliminated a net total of 1.9 million jobs this year, and some economists project the total cuts could reach 3 million by the spring of 2010.”

Bleak Outlook for World Economy

The Telegraph wrote on December 9:

“Politicians must prepare themselves for the possibility that global economic growth shrinks for the first time since the Second World War, according to the World Bank. In comments which underline the scale of the international recession, the Washington-based institution said even as things stand growth next year will be the worst since comparable records began in 1970… The warning will be seen as a final blow for those who held out hope that some countries would be insulated from the recession…

“As the recession spreads far beyond the borders of the United States, both rich and poor countries will suffer a slump of unprecedented scale, the Bank said in its latest review of the world’s economic prospects. Global trade, the real engine of wealth generation, will contract for the first time since 1982. “

Cybersecurity One of Most Urgent National Security Problems

DailyTech wrote on December 9:

“A new report issued by the Center for Strategic and International Studies urges President-elect Barack Obama to create a new White House department aimed at protecting U.S. cyber interests from hackers and other foreign agents. ‘America’s failure to protect cyberspace is one of the most urgent national security problems facing the new administration that will take office in January 2009,’ the report states.  Cyber safety is ‘a battle fought mainly in the shadows.  It is a battle we are losing’…

“‘The United States must treat cybersecurity as one of the most important national security challenges it faces,’ according to the report… the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has not been able to properly secure U.S. government computers from cyber attacks, and should no longer have the responsibility.  DHS isn’t suited to handle technology issues, as the agency uses ‘archaic’ methods that cannot keep up with new attacks.”

President Bush Confused About the Bible

The New York Times reported on December 8:

“President George W. Bush said his belief that God created the world is not incompatible with scientific proof of evolution… ‘I think you can have both… I think that God created the earth, created the world; I think the creation of the world is so mysterious it requires something as large as an [A]lmighty and I don’t think it’s incompatible with the scientific proof that there is evolution… I happen to believe that evolution doesn’t fully explain the mystery of life.’

“Interviewer Cynthia McFadden asked Bush if the Bible was literally true… ‘Probably not. … No, I’m not a literalist, but I think you can learn a lot from it… the important lesson is “God sent a son”‘… The president also said that he prays to the same God as those with different religious beliefs.”

Tensions Are Mounting Between India and Pakistan

AFP wrote on December 9:

“Pakistan said Tuesday it would not hand over suspects in the Mumbai [formerly Bombay] terror strikes to India and warned that while it wanted peace with its neighbour, it was ready for war if New Delhi decided to attack.

“The remarks came as Indian police on Tuesday released the names of nine suspected gunmen killed in the carnage, reiterating that all of them came from Pakistan.

“Tensions have been mounting between the nuclear-armed neighbours after India said it was keeping all options open following last month’s attacks on its financial capital, where 172 people were killed and more than 300 wounded…

“Indian officials say the hardline Lashkar-e-Taiba group, which is based in Pakistan despite being banned by the government, is behind the bloodshed, and Indian media have suggested there could be Indian strikes on militant camps…

“The minister said India’s demands for the extradition of suspects in the Mumbai attacks were out of the question and that Pakistan, which has arrested 16 people since Saturday, would keep them on home soil…

“India and Pakistan have fought three wars since independence from Britain and nearly came to a fourth in 2001 after an attack on the Indian parliament that was blamed on Lashkar-e-Taiba…”

Greece’s Worst Civil Unrest in Decades

Deutsche Welle reported on December 8:

“Rioting and protests over the shooting of a teenager by police continued to spread across Greece Monday, leaving authorities frustrated by their inability to stop the country’s worst civil unrest in decades…

“Hundreds of students, armed with fire bombs and stones, clashed with police and smashed storefronts in the northern port city of Thessaloniki on Monday while gangs of youths attacked police stations and government buildings in Athens. From the northern city of Veria to the central city of Trikala, students battled riot police who retaliated by firing tear gas. On Crete, gangs of high school students threw chairs, wood and rocks at security forces…

“Confrontations between protesters and police also broke out in Berlin, London and Cyprus as youths occupied Greek diplomatic missions… University professors [in Greece] meanwhile began a three-day walkout on Monday and tens of thousands of students refused… to attend classes, in protest.”

Der Spiegel Online described the situation in Greece on December 9 as the “Nightmare before Christmas.”

It added on December 11:

“As Greece entered its sixth day of unrest sparked by the police shooting of a 15-year-old boy, violence spread to other parts of Europe on Thursday. Solidarity protests in cities including Rome, Madrid and Copenhagen turned into skirmishes between demonstrators [mainly left-wing radicals] and police.”

Bible translations are most certainly the way we can understand the Word of God in our own language. The Bible offers proof of this fact, and it further reveals additional keys that will determine whether or not we have true understanding of what is written.

On the Day of Pentecost, miraculous events took place that included the giving of God’s Holy Spirit. Note what occurred:

“And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with OTHER TONGUES, as the Spirit gave them utterance. And there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven. And when this sound occurred, the multitude came together, and were confused, because everyone HEARD THEM SPEAK IN HIS OWN LANGUAGE. Then they were all amazed and marveled, saying to one another, ‘Look, are not all these who speak Galileans? And how is it that we hear, EACH IN OUR OWN LANGUAGE IN WHICH WE WERE BORN? Parthians and Medes and Elamites, those dwelling in Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya adjoining Cyrene, visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs—we hear them speaking IN OUR OWN TONGUES the wonderful works of God.’ So they were all amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, ‘Whatever could this mean?’” (Acts 2:4-12).

What those assembled heard was the Gospel being preached. They heard the truth of God in their own language, and as the account shows, there were many who came from other countries and who spoke other languages.

The very fact that God caused this miracle in order to teach His truth also places great importance on the fact that people would be able to understand God’s Word as it was taught in their own native tongue.

Remember, it is God Who first caused a mixture of languages to be spoken (compare Genesis 11:7, 9).

At different times various disciples spoke in tongues (compare Acts 10:46; 19:6); that is, God supernaturally enabled them on those occasions to speak in another human tongue or language which they had not studied before. These miraculous occurrences served to reinforce what happened on the Day of Pentecost—that the Gospel would be able to be taught in all of the world and in all languages.

Paul had apparently studied many different languages and was able to speak and understand them (compare 1 Corinthians 14:18)—including Hebrew, the ancient language used by the religious leaders of Judah (compare Acts 21:37-40). However, he made a point of explaining that the spoken words should be easy to understand:

“There are, it may be, so many kinds of languages in the world, and none of them is without significance. Therefore, if I do not know the meaning of the language, I shall be a foreigner to him who speaks, and he who speaks will be a foreigner to me” (1 Corinthians 14:10-11).

At the present time, no original manuscripts of the Bible in either Hebrew or Greek are extant. Rather, we have faithfully preserved copies that have survived impossible odds over many, many centuries! None of the original writings from any of the writers of the New or Old Testament are available today. And, yet, we do have the Bible, and we have it, partly because it was translated into understandable languages.

An example is the Septuagint, a Greek translation from the Hebrew that was popular among Greek-speaking Jews around the time of Christ. It contains more books than the accepted Hebrew (Masoretic) text, but through careful scholarship, those have been classified as apocryphal and are not a part of the accepted books that comprise the Old Testament—at least, among translations that follow the pattern of those such as the Authorized or King James Version. One reason is that the apocrypha contradict the inspired and preserved Word of God–and God’s Word cannot and does not contain errors or contradictions (compare John 10:35).

Early Christians were more familiar with the Greek and Aramaic languages than that of Hebrew. The online encyclopedia, Wikipedia, in an article about the New Testament, points out: “The common languages spoken by both Jews and Gentiles in the Holy Land at the time of Jesus were Aramaic, Koine Greek, and to a limited extent a colloquial dialect of Mishnaic Hebrew. Despite this, it is generally believed that the original text of the New Testament was most likely written in Koine Greek, the vernacular dialect in 1st century Roman provinces of the Eastern Mediterranean, and later translated into other languages, most notably, Latin, Syriac, and Coptic.”

Bible translation has occupied entire lifetimes of countless individuals, and it has been the focus of various religious organizations as well as kings and governments. Translations available to us, today, fall into three general categories: (1.) a literal, word for word translation from the earliest known copies in Hebrew and Greek into modern languages–such as The Authorized Version and The New King James Bible; (2.) so called “thought for thought” translations, or, dynamic-equivalent versions, that focus on contemporary language usage in equivalent words and phrases–such as The New International Version; (3.) paraphrased editions that attempt to restate words and phrases with the introduction of added statements–such as The Living Bible.

While using all three types of translations when studying the Bible can be beneficial, only literally translated editions—such as the New King James Version (for English)—should be depended on for doctrinal clarity. But even they may contain errors due to inaccurate translations, and it is therefore necessary and important that a faithful minister of God explains and corrects such errors (compare Romans 10:14-15). Study Bibles providing added cross references and historical explanations along with Bible Dictionaries also are helpful aids and can be very useful.

Undoubtedly, our resources for Bible study are virtually unlimited. We have computer programs that make commentaries and the myriad of translations instantly accessible in a variety of languages. For example, www.searchgodsword.com along with www.e-sword.com and www.biblegateway.com are some of the sites that expand our ability to research the Word of God.

Yet for all of these remarkable resources, to truly understand the original meaning of Scripture, another dimension must be available to us!

We must stand in awe of the true Author of the Bible, for it is God Who has both inspired and then preserved His Word throughout man’s history. His Word also reveals the starting point for anyone who seeks to know about God and what He has written:

“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; A good understanding have all those who do His commandments” (Psalm 111:10).

Obedience to God is the unfaltering key that we must have if we really do want to understand. In addition, God decides WHEN to reveal certain aspects of His understanding:

Daniel was told by Michael, an archangel and spirit being of immense power and responsibility before God, to, “‘…Go your way, Daniel, for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end’” (Daniel 12:9). Daniel wrote what he saw, but, at that time, he didn’t understand—nor could he! (verse 8). Compare also Matthew 13:16-17 and Ephesians 3:8-12.

More is explained by Peter about the fact that the Word of God has been preserved to reveal God’s Will at the times of His choosing: “Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you, searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ [which] was in them was indicating when [it] testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. To them it was revealed that, not to themselves, but to us they were ministering the things which now have been reported to you through those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven–things which angels desire to look into” (1 Peter 1:10-12).

Please also note–in passing–that “no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:20-21). Compare also Psalm 45:1.

In another example, we find that the disciples of Jesus Christ–those who had followed Him throughout His ministry–did not understand certain prophecies in the Old Testament about Christ until He opened their minds: ”And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures” (Luke 24:45).

On the other hand, Peter testified at one time that Jesus was “‘…the Christ, the Son of the living God’” (Matthew 16:16). How did he know? Jesus explained to him: “‘…Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father, who is in heaven’” (verse 17).

Paul understood that the record of God’s Word holds a tremendous purpose and that God is communicating to us through it: “Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come” (1 Corinthians 10:11).

In the book of Revelation, we find this explanation about the purpose of the Book: “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants—things which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John, who bore witness to the word of God, and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, to all things that he saw. Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near” (Revelation 1:1-3).

Consider how few really do understand the book of Revelation or any of the books of the Bible! While estimates range into the billions of Bibles that have been printed and distributed all over the earth in all the major languages, still, understanding remains the issue, because people are not willing to obey what God says (compare John 7:17).

God can reveal His Will to you! He can do it through the voice of a true minister; through the example of a true follower of Christ; or, through His written Word—and even through words written about the Bible! To help you understand the momentous times we are now living in–called the “end of the age” in the Bible, please read our free booklet, titled, “Is That in the Bible?–The Mysteries of the Book of Revelation.”

Lead Writers: Dave Harris and Norbert Link

US Contributions for 2008:

Donations and contributions received with letters postmarked in 2008 AND with enclosed written checks, dated in 2008, will be included in the detailed donation receipts for 2008. These receipts will be printed and sent out in mid-January of 2009. Cash contributions must also be received prior to January 1, 2009 (or, if sent by letter, the letter must be postmarked in 2008), in order to be included in the donation receipts for 2008. All contributions not falling into the categories described above will not be included in the donation receipts for 2008.

New StandingWatch programs and German translation:

A new StandingWatch program was posted on StandingWatch, Google Video and YouTube. It is titled, “No Christmas in the Early Church.” In the program, Norbert Link asks the following questions: Why did Christians fail to observe Christmas until the fourth century? Why did, at times, England and the USA outlaw Christmas celebrations? Why and when was December 25 chosen as the birthday of Christ? What does the Christmas tree have to do with the birth of Jesus? The answers might surprise and challenge you.

Norbert Link recorded a German version of the program on Christmas, which will be posted shortly on You Tube and our German Website, “AufPostenStehen.”

In addition, the new German translation of our booklet on Christmas was also posted on our German Website.

Recent comments from our StandingWatch viewers:

— Personally I take offense to people celebrating this pagan holiday and pretending that my Lord has anything to do with it. The word Christ means “anointed one or messiah”– now tell me how you can have an “anointed one” tree?

— We live in a blind and weak society. Blind because we refuse to see the truth, and weak because some see the truth and refuse to live by it.

— The origins of Christmas and other man-made holidays are so easy to find, but people really don’t want to know the truth. They would rather engage in holiday activities for the sheer entertainment and self-indulgence than adhere to God’s Word.

On Saturday, December 6, 2008, Dave Harris will give the sermon, titled, “The Forgotten God.”

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

What does it really mean to “come out of this world” and to “be different”?

We know what it does NOT mean: We are not to leave this world physically–by hiding in a monastery somewhere and having no contact with other people of different mindsets. We know that Christ taught us just the opposite. He told us to go INTO the world with His message about the kingdom of God–to be a light to the world–to show by example HOW to live a righteous life even within an unrighteous environment.

This is why attitudes such as–“Depart from me, I’m holier than you”–or–“Unless you join my organization, you are ostracized”–are so terribly wrong. To think that someone must belong to “us” in order to be saved from harm–and unless they do, we must have no contact with them–only displays a total lack of spiritual understanding. To even go so far as to include our own relatives in the category of “excommunicated” or “disfellowshipped” persons –only because they don’t (want to) belong to us–shows an unchristian and ungodly mindset, void of the workings of the Holy Spirit.

On the other hand, we must be careful that the world does not negatively affect us. We are to spiritually “come out of Babylon,” so that we don’t partake of her sins. We must “flee” fornication, adultery and wrong worship. We are not to participate in religious services where false ideas are preached. God is the author of truth. If wrong doctrines are disseminated, you can rest assured that they don’t come from God. That is why we are to TEST the spirits to see whether they indeed reflect pure and sound teachings.

As you can see, this requires of us to walk a fine line. Even though we are to live IN this world, we are not to be part OF it. We are not to be unequally yoked together with unbelievers who practice unrighteousness. We are not to participate in the customs of this world. In refusing to do so, we will encounter difficulties and outright hostilities from others. Even though we are told to strive to live in peace with everyone, we will be persecuted if we uphold the righteousness of God. But really, we have no choice in the matter.

We must obey God rather than man. This includes for us, not to participate in Sunday worship and Christmas celebrations. It includes not to join the military and police force, and to refrain from fighting in the wars of this world. It includes our refusal to serve on a jury and to vote in governmental elections. Instead, we keep the weekly Sabbath and the annual Holy Days, tithe faithfully and only eat clean food. As can be easily seen, this kind of conduct WILL prompt consternation, bewilderment and sometimes persecution and hate in some of our relatives and friends. But this is part of God’s command to come out of this world and to be separate. Not that we force the issue and provoke unnecessary discussions with those who don’t understand–but many times, the issue will be forced upon us merely by the fact that they observe us striving to do what is right.

Nowadays, the refusal to keep Christmas is equated by some as unpatriotic conduct. So is, of course, the refusal to support and fight the wars of our country, and to participate in its political campaigns. This wrong mindset can affect us in the Church, if we are not careful.

A minister recently wrote: “If indeed this is a government of the people, then we are responsible for what the government does, at least to the extent of our vote or lack thereof… Called for jury duty, I simply have to be honest and truthful with the facts. It would be my responsibility to protect the innocent and punish the guilty. One’s responsibility as a part of the government, however temporary, is not the same as one’s responsibility as a private Christian. I think that is the main flaw in the old… argument against voting, jury duty, serving in law enforcement or military service.”

This reasoning reflects a total lack of understanding of how the government and jury duty work–showing an extremely naive and uneducated mindset regarding those issues. As ambassadors for Christ, we are to show the world a better way. We are not to try to make this a better place–knowing that only God can and will do this. We are to announce to this world God’s soon-coming solutions to our problems–and voting in governmental elections, condemning someone as a juror or killing our fellow man in times of peace or war, are most certainly not part of our responsibilities today.

As individual Christians, we must show love and mercy to everyone–and we must do good to all, as much as it depends on us. To separate ourselves from our fellow man with a self-righteous and pharisaical mind-set is contrary to God’s explicit commands. But so is a desire to be a part of this world and to live like all the others do. It’s often a fine line, and only the wisdom of God will show us where to draw that line.

Will USA Invade Pakistan?

Der Spiegel Online wrote on November 29:

“Mumbai a terror zone, and India bitterly points its finger at Pakistan… Pakistan is nearly a failed state — and a US invasion under President Obama can’t be ruled out…

“The murderers expressly went after Britons, Americans and Jews… The crimes bear the clear and bloody fingerprints of militant, political Islamism… It’s obvious the terrorists follow the ideology of al-Qaida, though it’s unclear whether the head of that organization gave orders for this mission…

“For years a kind of death industry has been taking hold in Pakistan’s tribal areas. There are hundreds of Koranic schools which could better be described as cadet schools for Islamists… The idea is to condition or brainwash them. The goal is jihad…

“The Pakistani government has long ago given up control of this region… The state is as good as bankrupt. Its political leadership is either corrupt or — when it comes to the military-intelligence service complex — almost without influence. And somewhere in Pakistan, nuclear weapons are stored…

“Barack… Obama was open about bringing military intervention in the tribal areas into the discussion. Strengthening the US presence there seems, in any case, a firm part of Obama’s agenda. The planned American withdrawal from Iraq could — in a worst-case scenario — be followed by an invasion of Pakistan…”

Iran–Barack Obama’s Hornet’s Nest

The Times wrote on December 3:

“Iran poses the greatest foreign policy challenge to Barack Obama… with Tehran on course to produce a nuclear bomb in the first year of an Obama administration, a coalition of top think-tanks gave warning yesterday…

“Gary Samore, one of the authors, said that [a] ‘hornet’s nest’ [is] facing the President-elect in the Middle East… The report paints a grim picture of the problems in the region…”

Der Spiegel Online wrote on December 1:

“The world may be focused on Iraq, Afghanistan, and terror in India, but experts say the biggest foreign policy challenge for the next US president will be dealing with Iran. Obama has promised a new approach — but the risk of failure is great… Iran now has access to more than 630 kilograms of slightly enriched uranium, is building more and more centrifuges for enrichment, and is barely cooperating with inspectors. A successful nuclear test from Tehran is imaginable within a year…

“Iran has proceeded with its atomic plans so effectively that their success now seems virtually unstoppable… Even a possible first strike from Israel is now out [of] the question in the White House — although, according to Haaretz, Israel’s national security council wants to present a paper in December with plans for attacking Iran.”

Israel Prepares Strike Against Iran

The Jerusalem Post reported on December 4:

“The IDF is drawing up options for a strike on Iranian nuclear facilities that do not include coordination with the United States… While its preference is to coordinate with the US, defense officials have said Israel is preparing a wide range of options for such an operation… Israeli officials have said it would be difficult, but not impossible, to launch a strike against Iran without receiving codes from the US Air Force, which controls Iraqi airspace. Israel also asked for the codes in 1991 during the First Gulf War, but the US refused…

“Several news reports have claimed recently that US President George W. Bush has refused to give Israel a green light for an attack on Iranian facilities. One such report, published in September in Britain’s Guardian newspaper, claimed that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert requested a green light to attack Iran in May but was refused by Bush…

“On Monday, Teheran dismissed the possibility of an Israeli strike, saying it didn’t take Israel seriously.”

USA Can Expect Terrorist Attack Before 2013

The Associated Press reported on December 1:

“The United States can expect a terrorist attack using nuclear or more likely biological weapons before 2013, reports a bipartisan commission in a study… The commission believes biological weapons are more likely to be obtained and used before nuclear or radioactive weapons because nuclear facilities are more carefully guarded…

“Al-Qaida remains the only terrorist group judged to be actively intent on conducting a nuclear attack against the United States, the report notes. It is not yet capable of building such a weapon and has yet to obtain one. But that could change if a nuclear weapons engineer or scientist were recruited to al-Qaida’s cause, the report warns. The report says the potential nexus of terrorism, nuclear and biological weapons is especially acute in Pakistan.”

“Hillary Clinton–No Hope for Change in the Middle East”

Die Welt On Line reported on December 1:

“Obama’s choice of Hillary Clinton as secretary of state gladdens Israel, but does not overjoy Arabs and Iranians keen for a new start after eight years of perceived U.S. policy calamities. Clinton talked tough when running to be the Democratic presidential candidate, decrying her rival’s ‘naive’ call for direct talks with foes such as Iran and North Korea and vowing to ‘obliterate’ Iran if it attacked Israel…

“Obama and Clinton are inheriting a distinctly gloomy outlook for progress towards settling the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and Washington’s Arab allies are not expecting a new dawn…”

President Bush’s Biggest Regret of All His Presidency

ABC News reported on December 1:

“Looking back on his eight years in the White House, President George W. Bush pinpointed incorrect intelligence that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction as ‘biggest regret of all the presidency. I think I was unprepared for war,’ Bush told ABC News…  Bush, who has been a stalwart defender of the war in Iraq and maintaining U.S. troop presence there, said, in retrospect, the war exceeded his expectations…

“‘A lot of people put their reputations on the line and said the weapons of mass destruction is a reason to remove Saddam Hussein,’ Bush said. ‘It wasn’t just people in my administration. A lot of members in Congress, prior to my arrival in Washington, D.C., during the debate on Iraq, a lot of leaders of nations around the world were all looking at the same intelligence…’ Bush declined to ‘speculate’ on whether he would still have gone to war if he knew Hussein didn’t have weapons of mass destruction.”

No End in Sight for Iraq War?

The New York Times wrote on December 4:

“On the campaign trail, Senator Barack Obama offered a pledge that electrified and motivated his liberal base, vowing to ‘end the war’ in Iraq. But as he moves closer to the White House, President-elect Obama is making clearer than ever that tens of thousands of American troops will be left behind in Iraq, even if he can make good on his campaign promise to pull all combat forces out within 16 months…

“To date, there has been no significant criticism from the antiwar left of the Democratic Party of the prospect that Mr. Obama will keep tens of thousands of troops in Iraq for at least several years to come.”

Will Britain Adopt the Euro?–Highly Unlikely

The Daily Mail reported on December 2:

“Lord Mandelson was at the centre of a row last night over ‘secret’ plans to ditch the pound after an explosive claim that Britain is ready to join the euro. The European Commission president… Jose Manuel Barroso said he had held private conversations with ‘the people who count in Britain’ and knew that they were ready to move into the euro-zone…

“Lord Mandelson was the loudest cheerleader for the single currency during his stints in Tony Blair’s Cabinet… But now he appears at odds with his new boss Gordon Brown. Downing Street denied there had been any policy shift and said it had ‘no plans’ to ditch the pound. Sources said the suggestion that Britain was ready to enter was ‘wishful thinking’.

“Mr Barroso’s remarks led to a backlash in Westminster. Shadow foreign secretary William Hague pledged that there were ‘no circumstances’ in which a Conservative government would propose joining the euro.”

Merkel Under Attack in the Face of Financial Turmoil

Even though Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel seems to have the best approach and insight into the current financial crises, she is being criticized by commentators and governmental leaders alike, as she avoids to becoming infected by the worldwide “financial bailout” disease.

Der Spiegel Online wrote on December 2:

“Media commentators are criticizing Chancellor Angela Merkel’s steadfast refusal to take more drastic action to avert recession in Germany…

“Left-wing Berliner Zeitung writes, ‘Angela Merkel is really lucky. She’s lucky that no one in her party is brave enough to run against her…’ The center-left Süddeutsche Zeitung [writes]… ‘Chancellor Merkel, in pointing to the fundamental causes behind the financial crisis, said “one can’t continually live beyond one’s means”… She said nothing in response to the proposals from French President Nicolas Sarkozy and nothing to the plans of British Prime Minister Gordon Brown…’

“The center-right Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, however, offered a note of support: ‘Merkel is behaving like a doctor who knows her patient is seriously ill but doesn’t yet know what therapy will work best. So she wants to calm the patient for the time being, to see how the first weak dose of medicine will work. That’s what the rescue package agreed in October is supposed to do. It hasn’t yet taken effect. That’s why Merkel wants to wait and see how the crisis develops…

“‘The chancellor is taking a risk. She’s in danger of being perceived afterwards as someone who recognized the crisis but didn’t do enough to fight it. The voters will punish [any] hesitation at the general election next September…'”

For more information, please watch our StandingWatch program: “Insane–Bailouts Topping $8.5 Trillion.” StandingWatch Google Video YouTube.

USA in Recession Since December 2007!!!

In spite of consistent and persistent denials of the U.S. government, it was now finally openly admitted that the U.S. has been in recession for A YEAR.

CNN reported on December 1:

“The National Bureau of Economic Research said Monday that the U.S. has been in a recession since December 2007, making official what most Americans have already believed about the state of the economy… The current recession is one of the longest downturns since the Great Depression of the 1930’s. The last two recessions (1990-1991 and 2001) lasted eight months each, and only two of the 10 previous post-Depression downturns lasted as long as a full year…

“In a statement, White House Deputy Press Secretary Tony Fratto said that even though the recession is now official, it is more important to focus on the steps being taken to fix the economy… Nonetheless, several economists said the real concern is that there is no end in sight for the downturn. Some suggested that the best case scenario for the economy is that it would reach bottom in the second quarter of 2009. And even if that happens, that would still make this recession the longest since the Great Depression.”

Financial Scholar Bernanke out of Touch with Reality

AFP reported on December 1 that “Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke said Monday the current economic situation bears ‘no comparison’ to the much deeper crisis of the 1930s Great Depression.” However, President Bush contradicted Bernanke with statements he himself had made earlier. The news agency continued:

“‘Well, you hear a lot of loose talk, but let me just … say, as a scholar of the Great Depression… there’s no comparison,’ Bernanke said… President George W. Bush said in an interview released Monday that Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson warned him weeks ago that bold action was needed to avert a new Great Depression. ‘I can remember sitting in the Roosevelt Room with Hank Paulson and Ben Bernanke and others, and they said to me that if we don’t act boldly, Mr. President, we could be in a depression greater than the Great Depression,’ Bush told ABC News.”

So, no comparison, Mr. Bernanke? Get real, please!

While Home Values Decrease, Property Taxes on the Rise

USA Today reported on December 3:

“Property taxes are rising across the USA despite the steepest drop in home values since the Great Depression. Home values dropped 17% in the third quarter compared with the same period in 2007… At the same time, property tax collections across the USA rose 3.1%…  State and local governments are on track to collect more than $400 billion in property taxes this year, the most ever. One reason: Laws in most states that prevent big tax hikes when property values soar also block big tax drops when values sink…

“Most states cap how fast taxes rise in boom times. In bad times, the same laws keep taxes from falling… Arizona, California, Florida and Nevada — the four states hit hardest when overheated real estate markets crashed and triggered waves of foreclosures — all have tax laws that work this way… Most states are slow to change the assessed value of homes.”

More Governmental Attempts to Help the Housing Market?

The Financial Times wrote on December 4:

“The US Treasury is working on a new plan to help revive the ailing housing market by reducing mortgage rates on new home loans… The plan, which is at preliminary stages and could change, would involve using government-sponsored mortgage financiers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to push down rates on 30-year mortgages to as low as 4.5 per cent, or almost a full percentage point lower than current levels…

“But while lower mortgage rates should help to ease the rapid falls in US home prices and reduce the cost of monthly loan payments for millions of people, they may not help homeowners facing foreclosure, market participants say.”

“The Great Depression Ahead”

The Wall Street Digest wrote on December 2:

“The Next Great Depression will begin to unfold by mid-2010… Harry Dent’s latest book ‘The Great Depression Ahead’ will be released in December. Every investor should read this book for information on what to expect in the years ahead and how to survive the coming deflation. According to Dent, ‘By mid-2010 the long term baby boom trend of spending will slow down and create a greater crisis in economic growth, home values, derivatives and the banking system…’

“Any substantial recovery will be met by rising inflationary pressures, rising interest rates and mortgage rates, and rising commodity prices that will create the next bubble and crisis. Long-term interest rates–that are way below inflation rates now–will accelerate dramatically towards 7 percent plus 30-year Treasury rates and 9 percent plus 30-year fixed mortgage rates if there is a recovery… That would kill any chance of a housing recovery and put the banks and the economy back into a major crisis again…

“However, deflationary psychology is a far more difficult challenge: ‘Why purchase a home today when it will be cheaper tomorrow or next year?’ During the 2010- 2012 deflationary environment, the price of virtually everything will be declining, including stock prices, real estate, and commodities… Falling home prices continue to produce foreclosures and defaulting debt, which banks and financial institutions must write-off. Home prices peaked in June of 2005 and they are still falling. I do not see a bottom in home prices until perhaps 2013-2015… Four percent 30-year Treasuries could go to 7 percent plus by early 2010 and that means 9 percent plus 30-year mortgage rates!”

Please make sure to watch our eight-month-old StandingWatch program, “Coming–The Great Depression?”

California in DEEP Trouble

The Los Angeles Times reported on December 2:

“Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger ordered the new Legislature in to work on its first day, declaring a fiscal emergency Monday in response to the state’s deteriorating finances… But even as Schwarzenegger warned that California could run out of cash within two months, there was little indication that the Capitol’s partisan gridlock has waned enough to allow for an easy resolution to the state’s $28-billion budget gap.

“Republican lawmakers, who last week blocked a Democratic proposal to cut billions of dollars from schools, healthcare and welfare programs while tripling the vehicle license fee, quickly reiterated their opposition to any new taxes, which both Schwarzenegger and Democrats say are indispensable. Democratic legislators again dismissed some of Schwarzenegger’s proposals to ease labor rules on business in order to boost the economy…”

Germany Prevents Georgia and Ukraine from Becoming NATO Members

On December 3, 2008, Die Welt On Line reported the following:

“Foreign ministers of NATO members meeting in Brussels Dec. 2-3 have said that Georgia and Ukraine are not yet ready for beginning the process towards membership in the Atlantic Alliance…

“Before the December meeting of NATO foreign ministers… a dispute broke out within the Alliance over the enlargement question. The United States had suggested that the MAP [Membership Action Plan] was not a necessary precondition for Georgia and Ukraine to join the organization. This was interpreted by numerous NATO states as an attempt by the United States to inappropriately accelerate the entry of both countries to the Alliance.

“Several NATO countries, including Germany, have insisted on the standard procedure. Germany has said that not going through MAP would ‘set a dangerous precedent.’ A country undergoing the MAP process must fulfil requirements in areas including human rights, democratic control of the military, and free and fair elections…

“President Mikheil Saakashvili recently said in a teleconference that Georgia would not insist on going through MAP on its path to membership. The main goal of his foreign policy, then as now, he said, was simply to join NATO as soon as possible. He regretted that ‘skeptics like Germany’ were making this more difficult, he said.”

Krampus–The Demonic Alter Ego of “St. Nicholas”

Der Spiegel Online wrote on December 2:

“In Austria, Santa keeps track of who’s been naughty and nice — and [unleashes] a 7-foot-tall horned devil on the naughty. He’s called the Krampus… he roams rural Austria clad in chains and carrying a stick, terrifying misbehaving children on Dec. 5, the night before St. Nicholas’ Day…

“Krampus is very old indeed. Some say the tradition stems back to the pre-Christian era, and that the Krampus known and feared by Austrians today is a version of an ancient god incorporated into Christian holidays. There’s no doubt that today the frightening figure is an integral part of Christmas celebrations in some parts of Austria and Hungary…”

The online edition of the magazine published numerous pictures of Krampus “impersonations” by Austrians, and the following statements were made beneath those photographs:

“Krampus comes to Austria: On Dec. 5, men dressed in frightening goat masks roam villages terrifying children and spanking girls… Begun centuries ago, Krampus is considered St. Nicholas’s alter ego. If jolly St. Nick rewards children with presents, Krampus comes to terrify them… Austria’s Christmas devil has long horns, a goat-like face and cloven hoofs.”

In Germany, the figure of Krampus finds its counterpart in “Knecht Ruprecht”–a demonic personage accompanying “St. Nicholas”. He performs the same function as the Austrian Krampus, terrifying and punishing children. For more information, please read our free booklet, “Don’t Keep Christmas.”

As we will see, there is no biblical evidence, which would support this conclusion. We should, first of all, notice, that Christ did NOT say that Peter would be the first Pope. A Scripture sometimes quoted for this assumption is Matthew 16:18. We discussed this passage in a previous Q&A, as follows:

“Christ said to Peter, beginning in Matthew 16:18: ‘And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it…’

“The word ‘Peter,’ i.e., ‘petros’ in Greek, means ‘a little stone.’ The ‘rock,’ on which Christ would build His church, is ‘petra’ in Greek, meaning a solid rock. Christ was not saying here that Christ would build the church on ‘Peter,’ but on THE ROCK — Christ Himself. It is CHRIST who is identified as ‘THE ROCK’ in passages such as 1 Corinthians 10:4. Peter, as well as the other apostles, in addition to the prophets, are part of the foundation, but Christ is the CHIEF cornerstone (Ephesians 2:20). The Church is built on Christ, who is the LIVING Head of the Church (Ephesians 4:15). That is why the ‘gates of Hades’ or ‘Death’ cannot overcome or defeat it. Christ, as the LIVING Head of the Church — as the foundation of the Church — has overcome death, having the ‘key of Hades and of Death’ (Revelation 1:18). Paul explains that no one can lay a foundation other than the one that is laid, which is Christ (1 Corinthians 3:11).

“Unger’s Bible Handbook agrees, as follows: ‘”Thou art Peter [petros, a stone] and upon this rock [petra, great ledge of rock] I will build my church (cf. 1 Pet 2:4-6, where the apostle made it clear he was never to be thought of as ‘the rock’).”‘

“The Broadman Bible commentary points out:

“‘In the Greek text, two forms appear in “you are Peter” [Petros], and “on this rock” [petra]… The masculine form, Petros [and]… the feminine form, petra… If [Peter] is the rock, it is strange that the impersonal “this rock” follows the personal “you are.”… Although Peter and all the apostles (Eph. 2:20; Rev. 21:14) were in some sense the foundation upon which the church was built, the New Testament never allows this in an absolute sense. Jesus Himself is “the rock” upon which the church is built… there could be a church without Peter, none without Christ. Peter is neither the head nor the foundation of the church. Jesus founded it; it stands or falls with [Him]; and [He] is yet its living Lord and head.'”

As mentioned by Unger, above, Peter referred to CHRIST as the “chief cornerstone” and as a “ROCK of offense” in 1 Peter 2:4-8. He did not imply that he, Peter, was the rock on which the Church was built.

But what else can be said about the idea that Peter was the first Bishop of Rome and the first Pope?

Scripture fails to confirm that Peter was even sent to Rome to minister in that area–which is in contradiction, of course, to the human tradition which places him in Rome as its first Bishop.

The Encyclopedia Britannica, Vol. 9, 1967 edition, states under the subheading, “Tradition of Peter in Rome”: “The problems surrounding the residence… of Peter are the most complicated of all those encountered in the study of the New Testament and the early Church. The absence of any reference in (the books of) Acts or Romans to a residence in Rome gives pause but is not conclusive…”

However, an honest evaluation of the New Testament Scriptures leads to the conclusive conclusion that Peter was not in Rome to establish and teach the church there.

We read in Galatians 2:7-9 that Paul had been entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised (Gentiles, including those living in Rome, who were physically uncircumcised) just as Peter had been entrusted with the gospel to the circumcised (Jews who were physically circumcised). Paul writes:

“… when they [the apostles in Jerusalem, see verse 1] saw that the gospel for the uncircumcision had been committed to me, as the gospel for the circumcised was to Peter (for He who worked effectively in Peter for the apostleship to the circumcised also worked effectively in me toward the Gentiles), and when James, Cephas [Peter], and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that had been given to me, they gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised…”

Rome was essentially Gentile–even though some Jews resided there–and it was Paul, then, who went to Rome. It is true, however, that Peter was led to OPEN the way to salvation to be offered to Gentiles, by baptizing Cornelius, following a miraculous vision (compare Acts 11).

Paul confirms in Romans 15:16-20 that he was a minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, and that he made it “his aim to preach the gospel, not where Christ WAS named, lest I should build on another man’s foundation” (verse 20). Paul is telling us here that he would not want to establish or lead a church which was already being led by another apostle, including Peter. He emphasizes the same principle in 2 Corinthians 10:13-16. When Paul was in Rome, he preached to the Gentiles there. He tells us in 2 Timothy 4:11, while imprisoned in Rome, that ONLY Luke was with him. Peter is not mentioned, which would be strange, if Peter was in Rome at that time. The same can be said regarding Paul’s additional “prison epistles” which were written during his first imprisonment in Rome (about 60-62 A.D.)–Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians and Philemon. No mention of Peter can be found in these letters.

In Romans 1:7, Paul addressed his letter to all of God’s beloved in Rome, without mentioning Peter. In Romans 16, he again addressed greetings to twenty-nine specific persons–in some cases their collective households–but again, he failed to mention Peter. Paul wrote the letter to the Romans about 57 A.D.–probably from Corinth. And even though tradition tells us that Peter had established the church at Rome in the 40’s A.D., we find no mention of Peter in Paul’s letter to the Romans.

It is also noteworthy what is stated Acts 28:22. Jewish leaders residing in Rome asked Paul about the gospel, when he had been brought as a prisoner to that city: “‘But we desire to hear from you what you think; for concerning this sect, we know that it is spoken against everywhere.’ So when they had appointed him a day, many came to him at his lodging, to whom he explained and solemnly testified of the kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus from both the LAW of Moses and the Prophets, from morning till evening.”

When the Jews disagreed amongst themselves, after having heard this message, Paul announced to them that he would now preach the gospel to the Gentiles in Rome, which he apparently did for two years (verses 24-31). This passage tells us that, even though they had heard about the sect of the Christians, they had not been taught the gospel when Paul arrived in Rome. This shows that Peter could not have been there for 12 years, prior to Paul’s arrival, to preach the gospel in Rome.

It is for these reasons that Henry Chadwick concluded in his book, “The Early Church,” Volume 1, 1967, page 18, that the idea that Peter was in Rome for twenty-five years is merely a third-century legend.

If Peter, then, was not in Rome, where was he? In Acts 12 we see that Peter was cast into prison by King Herod in Judea around 50 A.D. After his miraculous release, we are told that he met Paul in Antioch (Syria) around 50-56 A.D. (compare Galatians 2:11). Still later, around 64 A.D., he resided in Babylon (1 Peter 5:13). Many Jews lived there at that time. Tradition, however, puts Peter in Rome during all this time, and some commentaries equate “Babylon” in 1 Peter 5:13 with the city of Rome. This, however, is in error. While John refers to Babylon, meaning the city of Rome, in the prophetic book of Revelation (compare Revelation, chapters 17 and 18), Peter actually resided in the literal city of Babylon at the time of his writing.

John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible points out:

“Some, by ‘Babylon’, understand Rome, which is so called, in a figurative sense, in the book of the Revelations… but that Peter was at Rome, when he wrote this epistle, cannot be proved, nor any reason be given why the proper name of the place should be concealed, and a figurative one expressed. It is best therefore to understand it literally, of Babylon in Assyria, the metropolis of the dispersion of the Jews, and the centre of it… there were great numbers [of Jews] which continued here, from the time of the captivity, who returned not with Ezra; and these are said by the Jews… to be of the purest blood: many of the Jewish doctors lived here; they had three famous universities in this country, and here their Talmud was written, called from hence… Babylonian.”

The commentary of Jamieson, Fausset and Brown agrees and adds:

“Babylon was the center from which the Asiatic dispersion whom Peter addresses was derived. Philo [The Embassy to Gaius, 36] and Josephus [Antiquities, 15.2.2; 23.12] inform us that Babylon contained a great many Jews in the apostolic age (whereas those at Rome were comparatively few, about eight thousand [Josephus, Antiquities, 17.11]); so it would naturally be visited by the apostle of the circumcision… Clement of Rome… mentions Paul and Peter together, but makes it as a distinguishing circumstance of Paul, that he preached both in the East and West, implying that Peter never was in the West. In 2 Peter 1:14, [Peter] says, ‘I must shortly put off this tabernacle,’ implying his martyrdom was near, yet he makes no allusion to Rome, or any intention of his visiting it.”

Based on the information provided in this Q&A, there should be no dispute concerning Peter’s position within the Church of God and the fact that Peter was not the head of the Church. Nor should there really be any dispute that Peter never even resided in Rome for many years; nor, that he occupied the position of Bishop of Rome or the title of Pope.

Lead Writers: Norbert Link and Bill Koeneke

We are sad to report that Terry McGuire, a long-time faithful Church member in England, died Thursday morning after a short battle with cancer. This was not the outcome we all hoped and prayed for, but we must submit to God’s Will. Thank you all for your prayers.

Terry’s last interview for the StandingWatch program (“Comfort in Terminal Sickness”), which was recorded during the Feast of Tabernacles in October, can be watched on StandingWatch, Google Video and YouTube.

A new StandingWatch program was posted on StandingWatch, Google Video and YouTube. It is titled, “Insane–Bailouts Topping $8.5 Trillion.” In the program, Norbert Link asks the question: What else must happen before we realize that our leaders don’t seem to have a clue as to how to solve our financial problems–that we are facing an inevitable and unparalleled disaster, unless we change course immediately? It is as if a spirit of intoxication had swept the land. Don’t you become victim of it. There are solutions, but you won’t find them in the political arena.

The following new sermon was posted on Google Video and on our Websites:

Norbert Link, “Bible Study–When the Sons of God Saw The Daughters of Men,” November 29, 2008

We received the following comment to the above-mentioned sermon from a prospective member:

“This last Sabbath, Mr. Norbert Link tackled one of the most important issues and it is about the interpretation of Genesis 6. We were very glad to hear all angles and interpretations about the former and the book of Enoch. Yes, Mr. Link perfectly explained all about the mistranslation of Genesis 6 and the erroneous information about the book of Enoch. Most people will disagree with it, but what can we do, it is what it is. It is the truth. I had asked so many pastors regarding the subject and had [received] so many different interpretations.”

We are currently advertising, for the month of December, the following booklets over the Internet:

USA:

Human Suffering–Why…and How Much Longer?
And Lawlessness Will Abound
Don’t Keep Christmas

With the booklet on Christmas, we also offer the following additional booklets:

Angels, Demons and the Spirit World
Jesus Christ–A Great Mystery
God’s Commanded Holy Days

Canada:

And Lawlessness Will Abound

With that booklet, we are also offering:

Angels, Demons and the Spirit World
The Gospel of the Kingdom of God
Jesus Christ–A Great Mystery

Great Britain and Europe:

Europe in Prophecy
Don’t Keep Christmas

With the booklet on Christmas, we are also offering:

Angels, Demons and the Spirit World
God’s Commanded Holy Days
Jesus Christ–a Great Mystery

by Aaron Hooper

In the world of school and work that I often find myself in, it is sometimes very easy for me to lose the sense of urgency concerning the end times which are quickly approaching. Most people don’t really believe that we will see an end to the great United States of America or even that things could possibly get worse. Some, though, do have a sense that things may be coming to a head, but put their stock in the 2012 date of the Mayan calendar.

I was recently talking to a friend in my literature class, and he too felt that, for the most part, people just go on as if nothing is even happening in the world. He doesn’t believe in God or the Bible, but even though, he still realizes what is going on and that we are in for some tough times ahead.

I ask myself, what can I really do, though? In the Updates and during Sabbath services, I hear more and more about the troubled times in which we live. Does it become easier and less sensational the more I hear about it? Do I just “wait for it” and take it as it comes? The time is fast approaching when many will wish they were closer to God, as they will have absolutely no one to turn to.

I often wish that I was closer to God, and I know that I come up very short. The things that I need to do to learn about and draw near to our merciful Father are so very simple — they sometimes appear too simple. It is just a matter of doing it. As these days become shorter and the world becomes less stable, it is ever more important that I really make a conscious and daily effort to draw near to our heavenly Creator.

On Saturday, November 29, 2008, Norbert Link will give the sermon, titled, “When the Sons of God Saw the Daughters of Men…”

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.

We are living in a world that can be very discouraging and depressing, and a word of encouragement can be very uplifting. One lady sends in her tithes every week together with a note of encouragement, often along the lines of, “You are always in my prayers for the great work you are doing. God bless each and every one of you as you go about His great work. May God bless you all greatly and guide and inspire you. You are all doing a fantastic job.” Encouraging words indeed!

In Acts 4:36 we read that “Joses who was also named Barnabas by the apostles (which is translated Son of Encouragement)…”   This is the first time in the Bible that he is mentioned. It shows his outstanding example of generosity when he sold a field that he owned and then took the money to the apostles to distribute to those in need (verse 37).

In Acts 9:26-27, Barnabas is seen encouraging the apostle Paul. He even took him to the apostles in Jerusalem for an introduction.   Two chapters later he encouraged new believers in Antioch (compare Acts 11:22-24). 

It has been said that encouragement is the greatest tool available to adults to boost children’s self-esteem. The psychologist Rudolph Dreikers once said, “Like a plant needs water children need encouragement.” It is through encouragement that we lead others to achieve greater things than they thought possible.

Do we encourage others? Is this part of our Christian way of life? It certainly should be! Hebrews 10:24 states, “And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works.” In a world of doom and gloom, a word of encouragement can work wonders. As the saying goes: “Flatter me, and I may not believe you. Criticize me, and I may not like you. Ignore me, and I may not forgive you. Encourage me, and I will not forget you.”

We kept the autumnal Feast days not too long ago. This should have been a time of great encouragement for all of God’s people and a time when, hopefully, we encouraged each other. These autumnal Holy Days picture Christ’s return, Satan being banished for a 1,000 years and the institution of God’s Kingdom on earth. What a future God’s people have to look forward to and a time when encouragement, not doom and gloom, will be the order of the day! 

Will the US Fall for Russia’s Blackmail Attempts?

Deutsche Welle reported on November 24:

“Russia is prepared to make plans to deploy missiles in its Kaliningrad exclave ‘disappear’ if the US drops plans to base part of its missile defence system in Poland and the Czech Republic, Russia’s prime minister says.

“If the new administration of US president-elect Barack Obama drops deployment plans for a missile shield in what Russia considers to be within its sphere of influence, then ‘questions of our retaliatory measures will disappear by themselves,’ Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin told journalists at a forum in St Petersburg on Monday, Nov. 24. Putin is considered by many to have the last say on Russian foreign policy.”

The Russian Bear Is Marching Again…

AFP reported on November 24:

“Russian warships approached Venezuela Monday for upcoming joint maneuvers — Moscow’s first military presence in the region since the Cold War — as Washington closely monitored the situation. Venezuelan defense officials said the ships, including the nuclear-powered cruiser Peter the Great and destroyer Admiral Chabankenko, would arrive on Tuesday. The joint exercises were to coincide with a two-day visit by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev to Venezuela, the strongest US critic in the region. Medvedev was due to arrive Wednesday and meet fiercely anti-liberal President Hugo Chavez on Thursday, before heading to communist Cuba.

“Analysts see Medvedev as bringing a defiant message to Washington’s doorstep, in the wake of Russian outrage at US plans to install a strategic missile shield in Poland and the Czech Republic, and support for the brief Georgia war in August. The maneuvers will start on Wednesday in port and take place at sea on December 1…”

… While U.S. Influence in the Region Declines…

The Associated Press reported on November 27:

“Russian President Dmitry Medvedev agreed to help start a nuclear energy program in Venezuela and said Moscow is willing to participate in a socialist trade bloc in Latin America led by President Hugo Chavez.

“Medvedev used his visit to Venezuela—the first by a Russian president—to extend Moscow’s reach into Latin America and deepen trade and military ties. Chavez denied trying to provoke the United States, but he welcomed Russia’s growing presence in Latin America as a reflection of declining U.S. influence.”

Americans and British Targeted in India’s Terror Attack

The Los Angeles Times wrote on November 27:

“The sophistication of Wednesday’s assault in Mumbai and the targeting of U.S. and British citizens are the hallmarks of groups affiliated with Al Qaeda, but an array of other organizations have launched attacks in India and may also have played a role, officials and counter-terrorism experts said.

“Experts cautioned that it was too early to fix responsibility for the coordinated attacks that killed [hundreds] of people [and injured more than 300] at a pair of luxury hotels, two hospitals, a train station and an upscale restaurant. They said the group that claimed responsibility, the Deccan Mujahedin, was unknown…

“Instead of the bombings that are the trademark of Al Qaeda, the attackers Wednesday appeared to use mostly automatic weapons and grenades, and they reportedly took hostages. But they showed sophistication and ambition by storming five-star hotels during the peak of the tourist season in a clear attempt to target Westerners… The choice of India for such an assault could reflect the fact that increased security has made Western countries more difficult to hit, while India’s increasingly close alliance with the U.S. makes it a more desirable target… The attackers reportedly inquired specifically about the whereabouts of British and American citizens…

“Al Qaeda has urged its followers to launch attacks in India in recent years, especially as the government established closer ties with the United States. And Washington has accused some members of Pakistan’s spy agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence, of playing a role in this year’s attack on the Indian Embassy in Afghanistan, where India is increasingly active.”

US Prepared to “Lend” More Than $7.4 TRILLION

Bloomberg reported on November 24:

“The U.S. government is prepared to lend more than $7.4 trillion on behalf of American taxpayers, or half the value of everything produced in the nation last year, to rescue the financial system since the credit markets seized up 15 months ago. The unprecedented pledge of funds includes $2.8 trillion already tapped by financial institutions in the biggest response to an economic emergency since [President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s  New Deal of the 1930s, when almost 10,000 banks failed and there was no mechanism to bolster them with cash]…

“The worst financial crisis in two generations has erased $23 trillion, or 38 percent, of the value of the world’s companies and brought down three of the biggest Wall Street firms… The money that’s been pledged is equivalent to $24,000 for every man, woman and child in the country. It’s nine times what the U.S. has spent so far on wars in Iraq and Afghanistan…”

Citigroup “Rescue” for $326 Billion–and People Don’t Like It

AFP wrote on November 24:

“The US government vowed Monday to safeguard the ailing economy, after stepping in to guarantee over 300 billion dollars in potential losses at Citigroup and pump 20 billion more into the financial giant…

“Citigroup, which last month reported a third-quarter loss of 2.8 billion dollars its fourth straight quarter in the red, will issue seven billion dollars in preferred stock to the US Treasury and the FDIC as payment for the 306 billion dollar guarantee.”

Reuters reported on November 26:

“The bailout of Citigroup has made people in New York angrier than they were about any of the other government rescues of financial institutions this year…

“‘They were bailed out before, this is the second bailout, so what’s going on? Are they going to ask for another bailout soon?’ asked Cheril Nichols, a 50-year-old nurse from New Jersey. ‘It is wasteful, very wasteful,’ said retiree William Dwyer, 70… ‘This is not the right thing to do. They (the U.S. government) should help the people, not the big companies,’ said Renu Malconi, 38, from New Jersey… ‘It’s ridiculous. If I did as poorly as they did in my job, I would be out of the job, so why are they not accountable?’ said Mike Delibero, an IT salesman.

“The frustration on the streets of New York was echoed by two of New York’s major daily newspapers, The Wall Street Journal and The New York Post, which slammed the board of Citigroup on Tuesday with calls for all or many of its directors to quit or be removed. The Post on Wednesday ran a series of letters from readers, all of them harshly criticizing the bailout and Citigroup’s former and current executives and board members.

“High salaries, seven-figure bonuses and an agreement for the bank to pay $400 million to name the New York Mets baseball team’s new stadium Citi Field haven’t helped sentiment.”

… And Another $800 Billion for Bad Mortgage and Securities Purchases…

AFP reported on November 25:

“US authorities launched fresh efforts Tuesday to unfreeze credit and limit the economic downturn with programs to buy up to 800 billion dollars in mortgage- and asset-backed securities. The initiatives call for up to 600 billion dollars in Federal Reserve purchases of mortgage securities, and a separate 200 billion dollars for asset-backed securities to help get credit to consumers…

“The US central bank said it would launch purchases of up to 100 billion dollars of obligations of housing-related government-sponsored enterprises including Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in the next week, and buy another 500 billion dollars in a process started by the end of this year. Separately, the Fed said it would launch a program to buy up to 200 billion dollars in asset-backed securities — backed by student loans, auto loans, credit card loans, and other loans — in a further effort to unclog frozen credit markets.”

Still Not Enough!… Recovery Package for Another $700 Billion in the Making…

The Associated Press reported on November 25:

“President-elect Barack Obama wants to project fiscal restraint even as his economic team assembles a massive recovery package… Economists from across the political spectrum… have put the size of an economic recovery package as high as $700 billion over two years… Obama is already starting in the red. The federal government reported a record deficit of $237.2 billion in October, which reflected only a portion of the $700 billion Congress approved last month to rescue the financial markets.”

Is the US Heading for Collapse?

The Drudge Report stated on November 25:

“A leading Russian political analyst has said the economic turmoil in the United States has confirmed his long-held view that the country is heading for collapse… Professor Igor Panarin said… ‘The dollar is not secured by anything. The country’s foreign debt has grown like an avalanche, even though in the early 1980s there was no debt. By 1998… it had exceeded $2 trillion. Now it is more than 11 trillion. This is a pyramid that can only collapse’…

“When asked when the U.S. economy would collapse, Panarin said: ‘It is already collapsing. Due to the financial crisis, three of the largest and oldest five banks on Wall Street have already ceased to exist, and two are barely surviving. Their losses are the biggest in history. Now what we will see is a change in the regulatory system on a global financial scale: America will no longer be the world’s financial regulator’…”

Chief Rabbis Call for Mass Prayer Because of Financial Crisis

The Jerusalem Post reported on November 25:

“The country’s chief rabbis are calling for a mass prayer rally Thursday [Thursday will be celebrated in the USA as Thanksgiving Day] in the hope that heavenly intervention will stem the global financial crisis. With Jewish philanthropists reeling and Israeli businesses preparing to make major layoffs, Chief Ashkenazi Rabbi Yona Metzger and Chief Sephardi Rabbi Shlomo Amar have decided that this Thursday, the first day of the Jewish month of Kislev, will be a special day of prayer.

“‘Education and Torah institutions are failing to make ends meet, and many are in danger of closure,’ wrote the two rabbis in a statement. ‘Factories and businesses are firing workers, and many household heads are no longer able to support their families. Therefore, we call on the public to pray one hour before mincha [the afternoon prayer] on Thursday in synagogues across the nation.’

“Religious institutions have been among the hardest hit by the economic downturn. Many are totally dependent on foreign donations. In recent weeks, the heads of some of the largest kollels have complained that they have returned empty-handed from fundraising campaigns in the US and Europe, saying philanthropists hurt by the financial crisis are no longer willing to make contributions.”

Grim Economic Outlook for Europe in 2009

Deutsche Welle reported on November 23:

“German Chancellor Angela Merkel has warned of a grim 2009 economic outlook as Europe’s largest economy slips into recession. Merkel said in the Welt am Sonntag newspaper that her grand coalition government was divided over the right medicine for the country.

“Merkel rejected calls by business leaders to slash taxes, saying they would remain off the table until after the September 2009 general election. But Merkel’s economics minister, Michael Glos, said a stimulus package put together earlier this month was only the beginning, if Germany wished to protect itself against global financial turmoil.”

“Merkel Criticises US Over Crisis”

The Financial Times wrote on November 26:

“Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, turned the tables on her international critics on Wednesday by accusing the US and other governments of making ‘cheap money’ a central tool of their economic management, thus planting the seeds of a similar crisis in five years.

“’Excessively cheap money in the US was a driver of today’s crisis,’ she told the German parliament. ‘I am deeply concerned about whether we are now reinforcing this trend through measures being adopted in the US and elsewhere and whether we could find ourselves in five years facing the exact same crisis.’

“There have been calls from outside Germany for it to beef up fiscal support, but Ms Merkel has been wary of raising public borrowing to stimulate demand, fearing that the extra income could boost Germans’ savings rate, which is already high.”

“As Financial Crisis Grows, EU Emerges Stronger”

Der Spiegel Online wrote on November 27:

“The global financial crisis creates new losers each day. So far, though, the EU is looking like a winner. For many countries along the continent’s northern edge, euro-skepticism is a luxury they can no longer afford. Will 2008 be remembered as the year that killed the euro-skeptics?…  Now, from Iceland to the Czech Republic, previously wary populations are warming to the EU, heaping praise on the very Brussels-based behemoth they had spent so many years deriding…

“The most obvious way the financial crisis has strengthened the image of the EU among the less-than-faithful is by making the euro look like a safehaven. Denmark, one of the few countries that deliberately opted out of the euro, may now be regretting its decision…

“Of all the countries on Europe’s periphery, perhaps none has experienced as pronounced a shift in EU sentiment as Iceland, a nation which, not coincidentally, also serves as Ground Zero for the financial crisis. Since January, Iceland’s currency has lost nearly half its value against the euro, plunging the country’s economy into chaos… the surge in EU support suggests that Icelanders have lost faith in their own government…

“By rejecting the Lisbon treaty in a referendum in June, the people of Ireland brought the EU to its knees. Now, after a bruising ride on the financial crisis roller coaster, they might be the ones that get the EU back on its feet…

“The EU might not be out of the woods yet, but it is in a considerably stronger position heading into 2009 than many feared would be the case six months ago… Europe’s dream of ever-closer union might be happen sooner than we think.”

“Is Britain Going Bankrupt?”

The British paper, The Telegraph, wrote on November 24:

“There is now a palpable fear that global investors may start to shun British debt as the budget deficit rockets to £118bn… The cost of insuring against the bankruptcy of the British state has broken out – upwards – over the last month…

“Alistair Darling has had to admit that the British economy faces the most sudden economic collapse since World War Two, and the worst budget deficit of any major country in the world… Should we be worried? Yes… Britain will have to borrow £450bn over the next five years. This is an utter fiasco…”

How Much Longer Will Britain Stay in the EU?

On November 20, The Daily Mail reported the following:

“The European Union is costing Britain a staggering £106,000 a minute, a think-tank has revealed. As the UK teeters on the brink of what experts predict will be the most serious financial crisis since the Great Depression, the Government has surrendered £55.8 billion to Brussels this year. That is equivalent to paying a whopping £900 for every man, woman and child in the country.”

Controversial Leader Next European President

The New York Times wrote on November 25:

“Mr. Klaus, the 67-year-old president of the Czech Republic… blamed what he calls the misguided fight against global warming for contributing to the international financial crisis, branded Al Gore an ‘apostle of arrogance’ for his role in that fight, and accused the European Union of acting like a Communist state. Now the Czech Republic is about to assume the rotating presidency of the European Union…

“To supporters, Mr. Klaus is a brave, lone crusader, a defender of liberty, the only European leader in the mold of the formidable Margaret Thatcher… To his many critics, he is a cynical populist, a hardheaded pragmatist… As a former finance minister and prime minister, he is credited with presiding over the peaceful 1993 split of Czechoslovakia into two states and helping to transform the Czech Republic into one of the former Soviet bloc’s most successful economies…

“While even many of the world’s most ardent free marketeers acknowledged the need for the recent coordinated bailout of European banks, Mr. Klaus lambasted it as irresponsible protectionism… A fervent critic of the environmental movement, he has called global warming a dangerous ‘myth’… he is a vocal opponent of the Lisbon Treaty, which aims to help Europe become more of an international player, but which he argues will strip countries of sovereignty…

“And while other European leaders have criticized a newly assertive Russia, Mr. Klaus has forged close ties with Prime Minister Vladimir V. Putin and recently distanced himself from the Czech government’s criticism of Russia over the war with Georgia in August.”

Major Earthquake Expected in Southern and Midwestern US

Reuters reported on November 20:

“People in a vast seismic zone in the southern and midwestern United States would face catastrophic damage if a major earthquake struck there… The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)… predicted a large earthquake would cause ‘widespread and catastrophic physical damage’ across Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri and Tennessee — home to some 44 million people. Tennessee is likely to be hardest hit… In Tennessee alone, it forecast hundreds of collapsed bridges, tens of thousands of severely damaged buildings and a half a million households without water…

“The zone, named for the town of New Madrid in Missouri’s southeast corner, is subject to frequent mild earthquakes. Experts have long tried to predict the likelihood of a major quake like those that struck in 1811 and 1812. These shifted the course of the Mississippi River and rang church bells on the East Coast but caused few deaths amid a sparse population. ‘People who live in these areas and the people who build in these areas certainly need to take into better account that at some time there is … expected to be a catastrophic earthquake in that area, and they’d better be prepared for it,’ said FEMA spokesperson Mary Margaret Walker.”

The Commercialism of Christmas

The Daily Mail wrote on November 24:

“Now the Church of England has joined the chorus of those who want to revolutionise Christmas with a call for people to send fewer cards… [It] launched a campaign for people to celebrate the season this year by cutting up their credit cards…

“Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams is among the leading clerics who – while they are strongly in favour of preserving the importance of Christmas as a Christian festival – are deeply anxious at the commercialism and high spending that goes with the holiday…

“In a new book, Do Nothing: Christmas is Coming, Dr Cottrell said: ‘It might be the season of goodwill, but it feels like the last straw on an already over-burdened camel’… The bishop also suggested that families should give up the ‘monstrous burden’ of giving presents they cannot afford.”

Reuters reported on November 24:

“Germans are trying to shut out the financial crisis by taking comfort in traditional festivities, and there is an acute shortage of Santas to entertain children at shopping centers, Christmas markets and private parties.

“‘Being Santa is not an easy job,’ Jens Wittenberger, in charge of Santa Claus recruitment at the Jobcafe Munich, told Reuters Monday. ‘To be honest, not many people have what it takes to be a good Father Christmas… You can’t have your Santa drive up in a car,’ said Wittenberger. ‘Every child knows that Santa travels in a sleigh pulled by reindeer so we don’t want to disappoint anybody.’ Santas are told to park their car a few streets away and walk… ‘Santas can make up to 60 euros ($75) an hour,’ he said.”

Yoga Blasphemous?

Die Welt Online reported on November 22:

“A top Islamic council in mostly Muslim Malaysia told Muslims on Saturday to avoid yoga because it uses Hindu prayers and encourages a union with God that is blasphemous. ‘There are other ways to get exercise and a peace of mind,’ council chairman Abdul Shukor Husin told reporters… ‘You can go cycling, swimming and eat less fatty food.’

“‘For us, yoga can destroy a Muslim’s faith. But this is not a matter for the non-Muslims to be concerned about because it’s not imposed on them. We are looking out for the Muslim community,’ he said, noting Egypt and Singapore had issued similar rulings.”

Increased Belief in Paranormal Concepts

LifeScience.com reported on November 24:

“More people believe in aliens and ghosts than in God, a new survey finds, according to a British newspaper. The survey, however, was done by a marketing firm in conjunction with the release of an X-Files DVD, and details of how the poll was conducted were not reported in the Daily Mail. Survey questions, depending on how they are written, can greatly skew results, along with how subjects are sampled.

“That said, the poll of 3,000 people found that 58 percent believe in the supernatural, including paranormal encounters, while 54 percent believe God exists. Women were more likely than men to believe in the supernatural and were also more likely to visit a medium…

“A survey of U.S. college students done in 2006 found 23 percent of freshmen had a general belief in paranormal concepts – from astrology to communicating with the dead. Interestingly, the number jumped to 31 percent among seniors and 34 percent among graduate students.”

To properly understand what Paul is saying–and what he is not saying–let us read the entire passage of 1 Timothy 2:1-7, in context:

“(1) Therefore, I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions and giving of thanks be made for ALL MEN, (2) for kings and all who are in authority, THAT WE MAY LEAD A QUIET AND PEACEABLE LIFE in all godliness and reverence. (3) For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, (4) who desires ALL MEN to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth, (5) For there is ONE God and ONE Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, (6) who gave Himself a ransom FOR ALL, to be testified in due time, (7) for which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle–I am speaking the truth in Christ and not lying–a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.”

As this passage clearly shows, we are to pray for governmental leaders, regardless of whether they behave and rule righteously or unrighteously. But how, exactly, are we to pray for them?

The Life Application Bible explains:

“Paul’s command to pray for kings was remarkable considering that Nero, a notoriously cruel ruler, was emperor at this time (A.D. 54-68). When Paul wrote this letter, persecution was a growing threat to believers. Later, when Nero needed a scapegoat for the great fire that destroyed much of Rome in A.D. 64, he blamed the Roman Christians so as to take the focus off himself. Then persecution erupted throughout the Roman empire. Not only were Christians denied certain privileges in society, some were even publicly butchered, burned, or fed to animals…

“When our lives are going along peacefully and quietly, it is difficult to remember to pray for those in authority, because we often take good government for granted. It’s easier to remember to pray when we experience problems. But we should pray for those in authority around the world so that their societies will be conducive to the spread of the gospel.”

This is a correct statement. True Christians ARE to pray that God would influence leaders, especially in societies hostile to Christianity, to allow the unhindered and unrestricted preaching of the true gospel (compare 2 Thessalonians 3:1). Paul is not telling us here that we are to necessarily pray for the conversion of these leaders–God will convert people in His due time–but that they be motivated to make decisions allowing us to lead peaceful and quiet lives. We are not asked to pray that God would reward evil leaders for and in their sins.

We are to pray even for our enemies (compare Matthew 5:44)–not, that they will be blessed in their sins, but that they perhaps come to the understanding of the truth and change their way of life (compare Romans 12:20). The king of Nineveh and the entire city-state repented of their evil deeds, when they heard Jonah’s warning–and as a consequence, they were spared from destruction. Jonah should have prayed for such a change in the minds of the people–but he did not. This should be a lesson for us today, not to act and think as Jonah did at that time.

There are occasions, of course, when we are not to pray for the benefit and welfare of a particular governmental leader. After God rejected King Saul, He told Samuel to cease mourning for the king (compare 1 Samuel 16:1).

At the same time, we are asked to pray with thanksgiving. This may be easy to do when we are living in peace. It is more difficult to do so when we are encountering persecution. But still, we need to include in our supplications and intercessions the giving of thanks in and even for those circumstances. We know that nothing just happens in our lives of which God is unaware. Whatever God allows to happen in our lives is for a reason. We read that God will see to it that even our enemies make peace with us when our ways are pleasing to God (compare Proverbs 16:7). If our enemies don’t make peace with us, then, perhaps, our ways are not as pleasing to God as we may think. Also, we are asked to be joyful in persecution, as we know that our reward will be great in heaven (Matthew 5:10-12). There are many reasons why we can be thankful even in adverse circumstances. For more information, please read our free booklets, “Teach Us to Pray” and “Human Suffering–Why and How Much Longer?”

The following commentaries explain quite succinctly how to pray for governmental leaders–and WHY. As we will see, Paul emphasizes the outcome of our prayers–to be able to lead quiet and peaceful lives in furtherance of the preaching of the gospel and walking the way of God.

John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible states that Paul is asking Christians to pray for “supreme governors, as the emperor of Rome, and kings of particular nations; and for all sub-governors, or inferior magistrates, as procurators or governors of provinces, and proconsuls, and the like; all that were in high places, and acted under the authority of those that were supreme.”

The commentary continues to explain the phrase, “that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life, in all godliness and honesty,” in the following way:

“… which does not merely design the end [or goal, purpose, aim] of civil government by kings and magistrates, which is to preserve the peace and quiet of the commonwealth; to protect the persons and properties of men, that they may possess their own undisturbed; and to secure to them their civil and religious rights and liberties… nor does this clause only point out the duty of saints to live peaceably under the government they are, and not disturb it… but also expresses the thing to be prayed for; and the sense is, that since the hearts of kings are in the hands of the Lord, and he can turn them as he pleases, prayer should be made to him for them [kings, etc.], that he [God] would… bring them [kings] to the knowledge of the truth, [which] they now persecuted; or at least so dispose their hearts and minds, that they might stop the persecution, and so saints might live peaceably under them…”

Vincent’s Word Studies adds that we are to pray for governmental leaders that we may lead a “quiet and peaceable life,” by explaining that “quiet” arises “from the absence of outward disturbance,” while “peaceable” or “with tranquility” arises “from within.”

Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible points out:

“The design of the Christian religion is to promote prayer; and the disciples of Christ must be praying people. Pray always with all prayer [Ephesians 6:18]. There must be prayers for ourselves in the first place; this is implied here. We must also pray for all men, for the world of mankind in general, for particular persons who need or desire our prayers…

“Pray for kings…; though the kings at this time were heathens, enemies to Christianity, and persecutors of Christians, yet they must pray for them, because it is for the public good that there should be civil government, and proper persons entrusted with the administration of it, for whom therefore we ought to pray, yea, though we ourselves suffer under them… [We] must not plot against them… and give thanks for them and for the benefit we have under their government…

“Here we see what we must desire for kings, that God will so turn their hearts, and direct them and make use of them, that we under them may lead a quiet and peaceable life… Here we have our duty as Christians summed up in two words: godliness, that is, the right worshipping of God; and honesty, that is, a good conduct towards all men…

“The Jews at Babylon were commanded to seek the peace of the city whither the Lord had caused them to be carried captives, and to pray to the Lord for it; for in the peace thereof they should have peace [Jeremiah 29:7]…

“As a reason why we should in our prayers concern ourselves for all men, he [Paul] shows God’s love to mankind in general… God will have all men to be saved; he desires not the death and destruction of any [Ezekiel 33:11], but the welfare and salvation of all. Not that he has decreed the salvation of all, for then all men would be saved; but he has a good will to the salvation of all, and none perish but by their own fault… There is one Mediator, and that mediator gave himself a ransom for all.”

Adam Clarke’s Commentary on the Bible states:

“… As it is a positive maxim of Christianity to pray for all secular governors, so it has ever been the practice of Christians… Indeed they prayed even for those by whom they were persecuted. If the state be not in safety, the individual cannot be secure; self-preservation, therefore, should lead men to pray for the government under which they live. Rebellions and insurrections seldom terminate even in political good; and even where the government is radically bad, revolutions themselves are most precarious and hazardous. They who wish such commotions would not be quiet under the most mild and benevolent government…

“Good rulers have power to do much good; we pray that their authority may be ever preserved and well directed. Bad rulers have power to do much evil; we pray that they may be prevented from thus using their power. So that, whether the rulers be good or bad, prayer for them is the positive duty of all Christians; and the answer to their prayers, in either [case], will be the means of their being enabled to lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.”

Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible writes:

“… while all people should be the subjects of prayer, those should be particularly remembered before the throne of grace who are in authority. The reason is, that so much depends on their character and plans; that the security of life, liberty, and property, depends so much on them. God has power to influence their hearts, and to incline them to [do] what is just and equal; and hence we should pray that a divine influence may descend upon them. The salvation of a king is of itself of no more importance than that of a peasant or a slave; but the welfare of thousands may depend on him, and hence he should be made the special subject of prayer.”

The commentary continues that we ought to pray for governmental leaders so “That their hearts may be so inclined to what is right that they may protect us in the enjoyment of religion, and that we may not be opposed or harassed by persecution.”

The Broadman Bible Commentary explains:

“Prayer for the emperor contrasted with worship of him. The practice reflected Christian fidelity to established institutions and the belief that power for orderly government came from God…”

For more information on this vital issue–how and in what way power for orderly government is derived from God–please read our Q&A on Romans 13:3.

The Broadman Bible Commentary continues:

“The aim of the prayer would be not the conversion of the emperor but the welfare of the state, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life, godly and respectful in every way.”

In conclusion, we are instructed to include governmental leaders in our prayers so that we may be able to lead quiet and peaceable lives, enabling us to preach the gospel of the peaceful Kingdom of God in all the world as a witness. We are not asked to pray for the conversion of our leaders, but rather, that they may be motivated not to persecute us or to cease from their persecution. Instead of praying for a violent overthrow of our government, we are to pray that God will influence our leaders to do good and refrain from evil. Anarchy, insurrections and revolutions don’t establish peace, but they are, by their very nature, hazardous and violent. Our prayers for governmental leaders with the goal of leading peaceful lives would also include praying that, subject to God’s Will, our leaders do not decide to go to war, and that they are motivated to end whatever wars their nations might be engaged in.

We are to pray always and without ceasing, including on behalf of our leaders and even our enemies, so that we may be allowed to lead peaceful lives. In this world of hatred, violence and war, such kinds of prayers are necessary and very pleasing to God.

Lead Writer: Norbert Link

A new member letter was written for December. In the letter, Dave Harris discusses several prophecies dealing with the future of the USA and Britain, as well as the endtime Church of God, and concludes with a challenging warning for God’s people.

The following new sermon was posted on Google Video and on our Website:

Norbert Link, “Bible Study–Stubbornness, a Sure Way to Destruction,” November 15, 2008

Set forth below are recent comments from our readers and StandingWatch viewers:

I have watched the standingwatch.org website. It’s really a great blessing for us as we could understand about the prophecies in the Bible. I just want to have a copy of The Gospel of the Kingdom of God. And if you can send some more booklets which may be helpful to us, please do send us, so that we can spread the word. (Viewer from England)

Circuit City is closing hundreds of their stores. When that happens. people will lose their jobs. When people lose their jobs, they have no money to spend. When they don’t have money to spend, companies will have to go bankrupt or just close down their businesses (Viewer from the USA)

Thank you for your lovely teaching about the word of God, more especially the teachings of holy days of God. I have been a member of… conference church but I have never heard this wonderful teaching [as explained on] your web site [church of the eternal God]. Friends, because of this truth which I have found on your web and I believe that even if I can take this teaching to the church…, I know they will reject the message, but the coming Sabbath I will give it a trial to see if they will accept your message, and I will let you know next week. Be continually blessed in the Christ, and I request you to send to me the literature of [Mr. Herbert W.] Armstrong to help me to understand more of the truth (“Elder” from Kenya)

I want to thank you for all the strength you give me in my knowing [for] sure that Jesus Christ is my only savior (Reader from Holland)