The “fatal sequence” of an empire is most commonly attributed to Alexander Fraser Tytler. It states that a nation progresses as follows:

          From Bondage to Spiritual Faith
          From Spiritual Faith to Great Courage
          From Courage to Liberty
          From Liberty to Abundance
          From Abundance to Selfishness
          From Selfishness to Complacency
          From Complacency to Apathy
          From Apathy to Dependency
          From Dependency back into Bondage

There may be debate as to whether they all have followed this course, but when looking at it, there are some undeniable accuracies. For some time now the English speaking countries have been the dominant empires. So this begs the question, where might we be in Tytler’s cycle?

If we are honest, we would have to say that we are near the end… in more ways than one. We are near the end of the list as well as being near “The End.” The Bible long ago predicted that the end-times would come and that there would be indicators that we are living in those times. Those events are presently happening all around us, and harbingers of future events are becoming clearer every day.

There is no question that these prophecies are going to take place and this present day empire will come to an end. This WILL happen! What is not clear is whether we as individuals will get caught up in the surge and suffer the same fate.

What are our tendencies? Is it to head towards bondage and away from godliness? Or is it to head towards spirituality and away from carnality? As we live in this world and walk through it, is the world wearing off on us or are we wearing off on it?

In the parable of the sower, Christians are warned about “the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches” (Matthew 13:22)–that they will choke off the Word of God and cause us to become unfruitful. If we succumb to these temptations, then we are in danger of receiving a great trial and tribulation (Matthew 24:21) to help get us back on the track.

We have been given a tremendous blessing in the calling and knowledge that has been bestowed upon us. Matthew 13:16-17 says: “But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear; for assuredly, I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.”

God brought us out of bondage and led us to the spiritual faith of Christ where He has given us courage, liberty and abundance in His way of life. Now we must be ever vigilant not to be caught in the vicious circle that leads back to the ignominy of bondage. Where are we in this “fatal sequence”?

America’s Recession Deepens

Reuters reported on November 19:

“Consumer prices fell at a record pace in October and new-home building slumped to fresh lows, according to government reports on Wednesday that suggested the economy likely is already in a recession that may be long and deep.”

The Associated Press added on November 19:

“Consumer prices plunged by the largest amount in the past 61 years in October… With the economy sliding into a recession and mortgage foreclosures continuing to rise to record levels, there was little prospect of a rebound any time soon…”

The New York Times wrote on November 19:

“Shares on Wall Street closed at their lowest levels in five years on Wednesday as hope dimmed in Washington for an emergency bailout of the auto industry. The late-day sell-off came in frenzy amid growing fears of deflation.

“The Dow Jones settled below 8,000 for the first time since 2003…  All corners of the market were down, but the financial, transportation and consumer sectors took the heaviest blows. Financial stocks were down an average of 9 percent over the day, and the banking giant Citigroup dropped 22 percent.

“Auto shares fell as the leaders of the three American automakers reprised their appearance on Capitol Hill to discuss an emergency bailout and the threat of bankruptcy. General Motors was down 10 percent, to $2.78 a share, and the Ford Motor Company was down 24 percent, to $1.27. By late Wednesday, it seemed clear the automakers would leave Washington without the $25 billion in federal aid the companies contend is critical to their long-term survival.”

Reuters reported on November 20:

“The U.S. financial system still needs at least $1 trillion to $1.2 trillion of tangible common equity to restore confidence and improve liquidity in the credit markets, Friedman Billings Ramsey analyst Paul Miller said. Eight financial companies — Citigroup Inc, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs Group Inc, Wells Fargo & Co, JPMorgan Chase & Co, American International Group Inc, Bank of America Corp and GE Financial — are in greatest need of capital, he said… Currently, the U.S. financial system has $37 trillion of debt outstanding, he noted…”

Obama’s Promises Unrealizable

Der Spiegel Online wrote on November 19:

“By some estimates the total cost of Barack Obama’s campaign promises could come to $2 trillion. The new president will have to disappoint many of his voters — or resign himself to an enormous government deficit…

“During the campaign, he repeated his mantra — ‘Yes, we can’ — several times daily. But now it will be more important for Obama to know when to say ‘no’… Time is running short… The new president can hardly expect any tailwind from the economy. A wave of layoffs has begun to accelerate at an incredible rate, destroying 17,000 jobs in January, 62,000 in June and 240,000 in October. Experts say that America could see next year’s unemployment rate rise to twice the 2007 rate…”

Catholic Cardinal Says, Future with Obama Will Be Catastrophic

Zenit wrote on November 19:

“The decline in respect for human life has had ‘catastrophic effects’ on the unity and integrity of the United States, which are evidenced by the presidential election, says a Vatican official [Baltimore-native Cardinal James Stafford, major penitentiary of the Apostolic Penitentiary]… “‘On Nov. 4, 2008, America suffered a cultural earthquake,’ continued the cardinal. He pointed out that president-elect Barack Obama campaigned on an ‘extremist anti-life platform,’ and described him as ‘aggressive, disruptive and apocalyptic.’

“Now Catholics will experience the Agony of the Garden through the next few years of Obama’s presidency, the cardinal said, and will have to endure the ‘hot, angry tears of betrayal.’ … Cardinal Stafford served as the archbishop of Denver for 10 years before being called to Rome.”

Europe Needs to Get Its House in Order

Deutsche Welle wrote on November 18:

“Congratulations Mr. President … Here is our Agenda… Barack Obama’s election has created a ground swelling of excitement in Europe. In an effort to revitalize transatlantic relations, several issues need to be addressed. First and foremost, Europe needs to get its own house in order if it expects the new President to heed its calls for greater cooperation.

“The global Obamania hype has reached European soil. Expectations are gigantic. But the fate of the transatlantic relationship does not solely depend on Barack Obama. Its fate will rather be decided by the way Europeans react to and interact with the new US President, as well as to what extent they are willing and able to set an agenda and contribute to its implementation.

“The current, rather passive, European approach concerning the future of transatlantic relations is founded on a substantial strategic deficit within most EU member states’ capitals. It limits Europeans to being spectators and passive bystanders instead of being proactive, contributing partners. Consequently, two things need to change if the EU’s role within the transatlantic partnership is to be saved from marginalization.

“First, the US needs to give up its reluctance to accept the reality of a multipolar world order. Second, the EU needs to become a credible partner for Washington, capable of dealing with the major tasks of our time… it is primarily the European Union that holds the key to this development… Military force no longer represents the core element of political power…”

The Failed G-20 Summit

Der Spiegel Online wrote on November 18:

“At the financial summit in Washington, the international community was unduly respectful of the United States, neglecting to probe more deeply into the reasons for the crisis… The closing statements of the meeting, which had already been written before the dinner, absolved the United States of any blame. Suddenly the financial crisis had become nationless, which, given what has happened in the US real estate market, the business practices on Wall Street and the fact that American financial regulators have looked the other way for years, could be counted as a final coup for the Bush administration.”

In a related article, the magazine wrote on November 17:

“In the end, delegates to the financial summit of industrial and emerging economies delivered a closing statement without any concrete decisions. Host Bush has nothing left to say as the world eagerly awaits his successor Obama…

“This time around, it was primarily a meeting of either outgoing or politically weakened statesmen and women. Bush is a lame duck. A number of European leaders had just spent the week announcing that their economies had entered a recession. Russia has lost political influence as a result of plunging oil prices. And none of them saw the crisis coming…”

World Economy Looks Gloomier Than “Expected”

Deutsche Welle reported on November 20:

“A world economic confidence index released Thursday dropped to its lowest level in 20 years amid further news of heavy losses on global markets and an ongoing crisis among the world’s carmakers. The index, drawn up by German institute Ifo, was released as fears of a looming global economic recession grow… ‘Altogether the data points to a global recession,’ the institute said… adding that expectations for the coming six months have worsened further…

“France’s PSA Peugeot Citroen announced it would cut 3,550 jobs, and Britain’s Rolls-Royce, which is also a maker of plane engines, said it would cut up to 2,000 jobs worldwide. While in Japan, Isuzu Motors said it would cut 1,400 jobs… In the US, the chiefs of General Motors, Ford and Chrysler warned of a ‘catastrophic collapse’ of the industry if the government did not approve multibillion-dollar loans for the auto giants.”

Gigantic European Bail-Out Plan in the Making?

The EUObserver reported on November 20:

“A massive €130 billion prime-the-pump operation to stimulate the European economy is currently being planned by the European Commission. First revealed by German weekly Der Spiegel’s online edition, the EU executive is constructing a package that would see each of the 27 member states commit one percent of their GDP to fiscal stimulus measures to pull the bloc out of its downturn and stave off the greater threat of deflation…

“The move may run into resistance from some member states, whose public finances have little room to manoeuvre without borrowing the money for such an initiative, particularly at a time when the economic crisis is putting pressure on government revenues. Until now, Germany has strongly resisted pan-European measures, although it has already adopted domestic stimulus measures amounting to €32 billion over two years – equivalent to just over one percent of GDP…

“A stimulus package of such size would be a major turnaround for most European leaders… the downturn has been of so considerable a scale and speed – the eurozone officially entered its first-ever recession last Friday – that liberal hostility to government intervention is crumbling across the board.”

Iran’s Production of Uranium Too Close for Comfort?

Bloomberg reported on November 20:

“Iran has produced the minimum amount of low-enriched uranium needed to make a bomb if it was processed to weapons grade, a scenario that would first require the expulsion of UN inspectors, arms-control experts said. ‘There is definitely cause for concern,’ Andreas Persbo, a senior researcher… said.

“… analysts estimate that it would take Iran at least one year to make enough bomb-grade uranium, if it were to leave the treaty and reconfigure its enrichment facilities. Their comments followed a New York Times report today in which experts were cited as saying that yesterday’s IAEA report shows Iran has enough enriched uranium to make a bomb if the country breaches its treaty obligations and masters the design of a warhead.”

The Jerusalem Post added on November 20:

“One must not forget that the enriched uranium is low grade. For now, it can be used for nuclear power plants. However, it can be further refined into higher grade uranium. To do that, enrichment facilities at Natanz would have to go through major visible reconfigurations. For example, all the piping infrastructure will have to be redone. This would make it very difficult for Iran to hide from the IAEA inspectors.

“Unless, that is, there are secret facilities where the low enriched uranium is purified, away from the eyes and knowledge of the IAEA. And this is very possible… With Russia and China refusing to back further sanctions, all that remains diplomatically is for incoming President Barack Obama to try and use direct negotiations. Unless there is a miracle and the Russians and Chinese join in, there is little else that can be done diplomatically…

“If talks fail, the US could also take unilateral sanctions, the most powerful of which could be sanctions against the Iranian Central Bank (Bank Markazi). With oil prices falling, and reports that Iran will face a $60 billion budget deficit next year, this may force Ayatollah Khamenei to take negotiations seriously. One can not also help but notice that such reports help those who want a military solution. This may not be around the corner; however, it is there. Even when Obama enters office.”

The World’s Fight Against Somalia’s Pirates

Deutsche Welle wrote on November 19:

“Efforts by the European Union and NATO to fight pirates off the coast of Somalia have proven futile. With a limited mandate, their ships cannot keep armed bandits from seizing merchant vessels and taking hostages… Although NATO, European and US vessels are stationed in the region, they are helpless in effectively battling the increasing problem of piracy…

“NATO has four ships on patrol in the waters off Somalia, with two protecting UN food aid convoys to the troubled Horn of Africa country. The mission, NATO’s first-ever against pirates, ends in mid-December when the more extensive European Union operation ‘Atalanta’ begins…

“Given that the pirates in the region are well-armed with grenades, heavy machine guns and rocket-launchers, most foreign navies have steered clear of direct confrontation once ships have been hijacked, for fear of putting hostages at risk. Somalia’s vast coastline is also virtually impossible to monitor completely, even for modern warships.”

The Los Angeles Times wrote on November 19:

“An Indian warship patrolling the treacherous waters off the Horn of Africa destroyed a suspected pirate ship late Tuesday, at least the second time in a week that India’s armed forces have unleashed military force to combat piracy amid a surge in maritime lawlessness… Along with the U.S., Russia and European nations, India is among the naval forces patrolling the Gulf of Aden…

“Concern over piracy surged after audacious bandits Saturday hijacked a gigantic 1,000-foot tanker loaded with at least $100 million worth of crude oil and moored it near a pirate’s haven off the coast of Somalia. The pirates aboard the tanker, the Sirius Star, today demanded money in exchange for the $120-million ship, its crew and cargo…

“The U.S. military said it could take only limited steps to intervene and thwart pirates. Maritime experts say international law on jurisdiction regarding pirates is murky…

“But New Delhi has apparently taken a different approach. Last week, Indian marine commandos on a helicopter swooped in on the scene of a hijacking to fend off pirates assailing an Indian commercial ship. Two suspected pirates were killed in a shootout with British commandos defending a Danish vessel this month…

“More than 90 ships have been hijacked by pirates this year off the Horn of Africa… today’s pirates are tough young criminals armed with AK-47s and dressed in camouflage… modern piracy [is described] as ‘ruthless, high-level organized crime.'”

“Absurdistan Along the Horn of Africa”

Der Spiegel Online wrote on November 20:

“Just a few weeks before the EU anti-pirate mission is set to deploy, German officials are still unsure how much military force they are allowed to use against Somali raiders. Politicians are frustrated by the indecision and, on Thursday, German commentators joined the fray.

“… the EU will begin its own military mission, dubbed ‘Atalanta,’ in early December… the German government claims that it is bound by a treaty it signed in 1994 that strictly defines the scope of military encounters on the high seas. According to the terms of that convention, German ships may have to wait until pirates openly demonstrate aggression before they’re permitted to act in self-defense; and they may be required to cease their attacks as soon as pirates have gained control of another ship…

“The business daily Handelsblatt writes: ‘The pirates on the Horn of Africa are steering attention to another German farce…’

“The left-leaning Berliner Zeitung writes: ‘Piracy can only be challenged from land. It’s only when Somalia has a fully functioning government that the pirate dens will be cleared out… It’s only when Somali has a competent coast guard that one of Africa’s longest coastal stretches will be brought under control. But instead of that, the world is only talking about defending the attacks from the sea. The West is exclusively defending itself and its economic interests.'”

Prince Charles–The Defender of WHAT Faith?

The Telegraph reported on November 14:

“The Prince of Wales, who is 60 today, is planning a symbolic change when he becomes King by taking the title Defender OF FAITH to reflect Britain’s multicultural society… The Prince caused controversy within the Anglican church when he floated the idea several years ago of becoming Defender of THE FAITHS in an attempt to embrace the other religions in Britain…

“The Monarch has been known by the title Defender of THE FAITH ever since the title was bestowed on Henry VIII by the Pope in 1521 for his early support for Roman Catholicism… Vernon Bogdanor, the constitutionalist who is Professor of Government at Oxford University, said: ‘In 1952, when the Queen came to the throne, it was very much an Anglican society. The Prince of Wales will become head of a nation which is multi-denominational. The Prince has said that he wants to be seen as a defender of all religious faiths and not just the Anglican church but the Coronation is an Anglican ceremony. Any change would require legislation.’

“Professor Bogdanor said that after the Coronation, which will take place at Westminster Abbey, it was plausible that a second service would be held for other denominations and faiths, such as the Muslims and Hindus…”

When Mammoths Walk(ed) the Earth…

The Associated Press reported on November 19:

“Bringing ‘Jurassic Park’ one step closer to reality, scientists have deciphered much of the genetic code of the woolly mammoth, a feat they say could allow them to recreate the shaggy, prehistoric beast in as little as a decade or two. The project marks the first time researchers have spelled out the DNA of an extinct species, and it raised the possibility that other ancient animals such as mastodons and sabertooth tigers might someday walk the Earth again.

“‘It could be done. The question is, just because we might be able to do it one day, should we do it?’ asked Stephan Schuster, a Penn State University biochemist and co-author of the new research. ‘I would be surprised to see if it would take more than 10 or 20 years to do it.'”

For further information, you may want to listen to or view Norbert Link’s two-part series on the “Biblical World of Animals.” Audio and video versions are posted on our Website (www.eternalgod.org under Audio); additional video versions are posted on Google Video, as follows:

“Bible Study–The Biblical World of Animals, Part 1,” October 25, 2008

“Bible Study–The Biblical World of Animals, Part 2,” November 1, 2008

Numerous passages in the book of Zechariah and in other places in the Old and New Testament reveal that the city of Jerusalem will be facing a terrible time of destruction, but that it also will be subsequently blessed beyond human comprehension.

Jesus stated in Luke 21 that Jerusalem will be surrounded by Gentile armies which will make the city “desolate” (verse 20). He added that the city will be “trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled” (verse 24). We read in Daniel 11:41 that the “king of the North” — a military leader — will “enter the Glorious Land” and “plant the tents of his palace between the seas and the glorious holy mountain” (verse 45)–apparently establishing the city of Jerusalem as his new headquarters.

Paul adds in 2 Thessalonians 2:4 that the “man of sin” or the “lawless one” — a religious leader — will sit “as God in the temple of God,” claiming to be God. His powers will be given to him by Satan (verse 9). This passage indicates that a physical temple will be built in Jerusalem, and that the “lawless one” will be sitting in that temple. That an end-time temple may be built can also be seen in Zechariah 6:15.

Revelation 11:1-2 seems to confirm that a physical temple will be built in Jerusalem, and that the Gentiles will tread the holy city underfoot for forty-two months–that is, for three-and-a-half years. They will kill God’s “two witnesses” in Jerusalem–a city which by that time is compared with the city of Sodom (verse 8). But God will resurrect the two witnesses, and an earthquake will strike the city, destroying a tenth part of it, and 7,000 people will die in that earthquake (verse 13).

We also read that sacrifices will be given in Jerusalem until the king of the North, the man of sin and the Gentile armies take them away (Daniel 11:31; 8:9-14).

Joel 3:2, 11-14 reveals that at the time of Jesus Christ’s return, ALL nations–that is, their armies–will move to the Valley of Jehoshaphat, outside Jerusalem, in order to fight there. Revelation 16:14, 16 tells us that they will first assemble at a place called Armageddon–but according to the book of Joel, they will then move towards Jerusalem. At that time, the modern nations of Israel and Judah will have already been defeated in war and have become captives of Gentile powers (Joel 3:1, 6; compare Jeremiah 30:10). The book of Joel informs us further that Jesus Christ will return to Jerusalem to fight for it–and THEN “Jerusalem shall be holy” (verse 17). He and His saints will overcome all of God’s enemies, including the king of the North, the man of sin and their armies–their attempt to fight Christ and His saints will be defeated (Revelation 17:14).

With this brief background, let us now focus on what is stated in the book of Zechariah, regarding the end-time fate of Jerusalem.

The LORD or Jesus Christ, the Messiah, tells us that He will return to Jerusalem with mercy, and that His house shall be built in it (Zechariah 1:16). He assures us that Jerusalem will be inhabited without walls–that is, it will be peaceful (2:4). When God dwells in Jerusalem, it shall be called the “City of Truth, The Mountain of the LORD of hosts, The Holy Mountain'” (8:3). Then, “Old men and old women shall again sit In the streets of Jerusalem… The streets of the city Shall be full of boys and girls Playing in its streets…” (8:4-5). The captives of Israel and Judah will be brought back to Jerusalem “from the land of the east and from the land of the west… And they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. They shall be My people, And I will be their God, In truth and righteousness” (8:7-8).

As the modern nations of Israel and Judah will become a curse among the nations just prior to Christ’s return, so they will become a blessing when Christ saves them (8:13). Christ is determined to do good to Jerusalem in the end (8:15). Then, “many peoples and strong nations Shall come to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem And to pray before the LORD” (8:22). The Jews will be respected at that time–rather than still harboring anti-Semitic feelings, Gentile nations will ask the Jewish people to show them the way to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (8:23).

In Zechariah 9:9-10, we read about Christ’s first AND second coming to Jerusalem. At His first coming, He rode peacefully on a donkey (verse 9). At His second coming, He will also bring peace to the city–by DESTROYING all the weapons of war (verse 10)–and–as we will see–by DESTROYING those who want to destroy the city.

Just prior to His return, Christ will make Jerusalem a cup of drunkenness to all the surrounding peoples, when they lay siege against it (12:2). Verses 3 and 4 tell us: “And it shall happen in that day that I will make Jerusalem a very heavy stone for all peoples; all who would heave it away will surely be cut in pieces, though all nations of the earth are gathered against it. In that day… I will strike every horse with confusion, and its rider with madness… and will strike every horse of the peoples [soldiers] with blindness.”

Verses 8, 9 and 11 continue: “In that day the LORD will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem… It shall be in that day that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem… In that day there shall be great mourning in Jerusalem…”

When Christ returns to Jerusalem, He will “cut off the names of the idols from the land” and He will “cause the [false] prophets and the unclean spirit to depart from the land” (13:2). We also read that two-thirds of all the inhabitants of the land of Judah will die, and that the remaining one-third will be refined in fire–that is, they will repent during the “Great Tribulation” and the “Day of the Lord,” and become converted (13:8-9).

The last chapter of the book of Zechariah (chapter 14) gives us, without doubt, the great crescendo or final climax of the fate of the city of Jerusalem–picturing first its terrible future destruction, and then its subsequent glorious destiny.

Note these highlights from chapter 14, which bring into focus, in a coordinated fashion, the various statements quoted in this Q&A pertaining to Jerusalem’s future:

“(1) Behold, the day of the LORD is coming, And your spoil will be divided in your midst. (2) For I will gather all the nations to battle against Jerusalem; The city shall be taken, the houses rifled, And the women ravished. Half of the city shall go into captivity, But the remnant of the people shall not be cut off from the city. (3) Then the LORD will go forth And fight against those nations, As He fights in the day of battle. (4) And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, Which faces Jerusalem on the east. And the Mount of Olives shall be split in two, From east to west, Making a very large valley… (5) Then you shall flee through my mountain valley… As you fled from the earthquake In the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Thus the LORD my God will come, And all the saints with [Him]… (7) It shall be one day Which is known to the LORD [God the Father]…

“(12) And this shall be the plague with which the LORD will strike all the people who fought against Jerusalem: Their flesh shall dissolve while they stand on their feet, Their eyes shall dissolve in their sockets, And their tongue shall dissolve in their mouths. (13) It shall come to pass in that day That a great panic from the LORD will be among them. Everyone will… raise his hand against his neighbor’s hand; (14) Judah will also fight at [better: against] Jerusalem [speaking of those Jews who escaped captivity by supporting the Gentile armies, compare Daniel 11:32]… (15) Such also shall be the plague On the horse and the mule, On the camel and the donkey, And on all the cattle that will be in those [military] camps. So shall this plague be.”

But Christ also tells us in the 14th chapter of the book of Zechariah what will happen AFTER His return–when He begins to RULE in Jerusalem, sitting on the throne of David (compare Luke 1:31-33):

“(8) And in that day it shall be that living waters shall flow from Jerusalem… (9) And the LORD shall be King over all the earth… (10) Jerusalem shall be raised up and inhabited in her place… (11) The people shall dwell in it; And no longer shall there be utter destruction, But Jerusalem shall be inhabited… (16) And it shall come to pass that everyone who is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. (17) And it shall be that whichever of the families of the earth do not come up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, on them there will be no rain. (18) If the family of Egypt will not come up and enter in, they shall have no rain; they shall receive the plague with which the LORD strikes the nations who do not come up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. (19) This shall be the punishment of Egypt and the punishment of all the nations that do not come up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles.

“(20) In that day ‘HOLINESS TO THE LORD’ shall be engraved on the bells of the horses… (21) Yes, every pot in Jerusalem and Judah shall be holiness to the LORD of hosts. Everyone who sacrifices shall come and take them and cook in them. In that day there shall no longer be a Canaanite [an unconverted, rebellious person] in the house of the LORD of hosts.”

The entire book of Zechariah, all its visions and prophecies, point at this most important event in the history of man–the return of Jesus Christ, the Messiah. He will come to establish the righteous and peaceful Kingdom of God on this war-stricken earth. May God speed THAT day, and let us pray, “Your Kingdom COME,” while making sure that we are coming out of spiritual Babylon, lest we “share in her sins, and lest [we] receive of her plagues” (Revelation 18:4).

Lead Writer: Norbert Link

Set forth below are recent comments from our StandingWatch viewers:

It all comes down to one word: greed. Man can get away with greed for a while but it will catch up to you, and it did, worldwide! It is good to know that a better and “greed-less” future is coming!

God’s will shall be done regardless of who is the president, I did not vote for [Obama] or McCain.

On Saturday, November 15, 2008, Norbert Link will give the sermon from Oregon, titled, “Stubbornness–A Sure Way to Destruction.”

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

The fact that God cares for us and is involved in our lives to the smallest and infinite details was “driven home” to me on the way back from the Feast of Tabernacles. Like many of you, my wife Delia and I had to “drive home” after a most inspiring and fulfilling Feast. We had a safe and uneventful trip except for two incidents:

We stopped for a break about twenty miles north of Yakima, Washington. I parked our van on the edge of the paved parking area, and we went into the gas station store. When we got back in the van, it would not start. I lifted the hood to see if I could find anything wrong, tapped on the battery, and tried again to start the van, but to no avail. We then both prayed to God for His assistance in this matter. I went back inside the store and asked a driver of a Pepsi delivery truck, if he had jumper cables, so I could start the van. He said he had none, so I bought a small wrench, took the cables off the battery, cleaned them off and tried again. The van did not start. I went back into the store. The driver was still there. He suggested to go across the street to another gas station to see if I could find someone who had jumper cables.

I followed his advice and approached two men in a pickup truck to see if they had jumper cables. They said they did not have any. At this time I looked over my shoulder and noticed a man at the pumps, trying to start his small truck. I went over and commented that it looked like he was having some problems. He said the battery was weak and wouldn’t start his truck.

I went back to talk to the two men in the pickup truck and then I noticed the man who could not start his truck speaking on a cell phone, so I went back to talk to him. He said a friend from a company not far away was coming to jump-start his car. I asked if he could send him over to our van across the street after he was done, since I also needed a jump-start. I walked back to our van and Delia asked me what was happening. I told her the story and no sooner had I finished when a man came over with a power pack and started my van. I thanked him, and we were again on our way.

When we got to Wenatchee, we stopped for a bite to eat and sure enough, when I tried to start the van, it would not work. I was feeling a little more confident this time and got out just when a truck pulled in with two men in it. I walked over and found out from the driver that he had jumper cables. I asked if he could get my van going, and he did. On our way home, we marveled how God had worked things out for us to bring us back safely. The next day I jump-started my van and took it to a repair shop. After testing the battery, I was told that it was no good. I bought a new one, and our van has been working fine ever since.

Christ said in Hebrews 13:5: “… I will NEVER leave you nor forsake you.” This promise was “driven home” to me when we “drove home” from the Feast. No matter what the trial; no matter what the test; no matter how severe or minute–we can have confidence that He is there; that He cares for us; and that He intervenes for us when we ask Him.

USA–Is the “Last Best Hope on Earth” Gone?

The British paper, The Daily Mail, wrote on November 8:

“The swooning frenzy over the choice of Barack Obama as President of the United States must be one of the most absurd waves of self-deception and swirling fantasy ever to sweep through an advanced civilisation… This is a cult like the one which grew up around Princess Diana, bereft of reason and hostile to facts…

“Proper books, recording his sordid associates, his cowardly voting record, his astonishingly militant commitment to unrestricted abortion and his blundering trip to Africa, are little-read and hard to find… one of his alarmingly close associates, a state-subsidised slum landlord called Tony Rezko, has been convicted on fraud and corruption charges.

“… the US is just as segregated as it was before Martin Luther King – in schools, streets, neighbourhoods, holidays… Mr Obama, thanks mainly to the now-departed grandmother he alternately praised as a saint and denounced as a racial bigot, has the huge advantages of an expensive private education. He did not have to grow up in the badlands of useless schools, shattered families and gangs which are the lot of so many young black men of his generation.

“If the nonsensical claims made for this election were true, then every positive discrimination programme aimed at helping black people into jobs they otherwise wouldn’t get should be abandoned forthwith. Nothing of the kind will happen. On the contrary, there will probably be more of them. And if those who voted for Obama were all proving their anti-racist nobility, that presumably means that those many millions who didn’t vote for him were proving themselves to be hopeless bigots. This is obviously untrue…

“The United States, having for the most part a deeply conservative people, had until now just about stood out against many of the mistakes which have ruined so much of the rest of the world. Suspicious of welfare addiction, feeble justice and high taxes, totally committed to preserving its own national sovereignty, unabashedly Christian in a world part secular and part Muslim, suspicious of the Great Global Warming panic, it was unique.

“These strengths had been fading for some time, mainly due to poorly controlled mass immigration and to the march of political correctness. They had also been weakened by the failure of America’s conservative party – the Republicans – to fight on the cultural and moral fronts. They preferred to posture on the world stage. Scared of confronting Left-wing teachers and sexual revolutionaries at home, they could order soldiers to be brave on their behalf in far-off deserts. And now the US, like Britain before it, has begun the long slow descent into the Third World. How sad. Where now is our last best hope on Earth?”

“Will the Real Barack Obama Now Finally Stand Up?”

The British paper, The Independent, wrote on November 10:

“What is a strong way of saying ‘ecstatic enthusiasm’? No President has ever had such a hyperbolic welcome. The Second Coming would have been greeted in more measured terms. Then again, much of the reportage assumed that this was a secular Second Coming: a rebirth of America. Thus far, it has been impossible to fault Mr Obama. He has certainly displayed magnanimity in victory.

“… [at] some stage, the hard work will have to begin, the hard decisions will force their way on to the agenda. The Russians have already made it plain that they do not share in the global euphoria. While everyone else expresses hope, they exploit weakness. Nor is it likely that Iran, North Korea, al-Qa’ida and the Taliban will be asking for tickets to the inauguration. Then there is the little matter of the economy. No president since Abraham Lincoln has taken office in such troubled circumstances – and even Lincoln only had one enormous problem…

“His victory has at least two fascinating aspects. First, he will be much the least experienced occupier of the White House in the era of the imperial presidency. Second, no one knows what he believes. In every previous presidential campaign, there were moments of political nakedness, when the voters were able to see the candidate as he really was. Mr Obama kept his clothes on.

“We know that he had one of the most left-wing voting records in the Senate… His speeches are absolutely no guide. Mr Obama is an orator, but thus far, he has used that gift to create a cloud of exaltation. There are hardly any arguments…

“The most alarming aspect of the current economic crisis is that none of the experts seem to understand it. So how can anyone tell when it is going to end?…

“Mr Obama was right to insist that Wall Street cannot prosper if Main Street is suffering. But a healthy financial sector is vital… Many Congressional Democrats are economic ignoramuses with all the wrong instincts. If they had their way, there would be a forest of new regulations… But the world needs a strong Wall St. It is to be hoped that President Obama understands this. A president who tells blacks that the Civil Rights era belongs to history while reassuring American bankers: that is not how most of Mr Obama’s followers expect him to behave. But greatness is not to be found by pandering to followers’ illusions…

“Thus far – the cliché is inescapable – the Obama story has been stranger than fiction. Yet the real drama has still to begin.”

Will Guantanamo Bay Prison Be Shut… and Then What?

The Independent wrote on November 10:

“Mr Obama has a long-standing commitment to shut down Guantanamo, which has become a symbol of injustice for human rights campaigners, and a lightning rod for anti-US criticism since it opened eight years ago. Closing the prison, which is on a part of Cuba leased to the US, will bring to an end one of the most poisonous legacies of the Bush administration while sending a signal that the ‘war on terror’ is under more enlightened management.

“During his election campaign, Mr Obama described Guantanamo and the CIA’s secret prisons around the world as a ‘sad chapter in American history’. Other aspects of Mr Bush’s ‘war on terror’ will also demand Mr Obama’s urgent attention such as yesterday’s revelation by the New York Times that the US military has, during the past four years, conducted up to a dozen secret raids in Pakistan and other countries not at war with the US. Mr Obama has previously said he would approve such raids against enemies such as Osama bin Laden if… no other option was available.

“Mr Obama’s plans for Guantanamo inmates should see most detainees, against whom there is little or no evidence, being released to their home countries after years in legal limbo. Others will face prosecution in US criminal courts. One problem… those courts will face is deciding whether evidence from anonymous intelligence sources or obtained without any legal process can be taken into account. Some Guantanamo inmates suffered torture or other abusive treatment at the hands of CIA interrogators either at the prison or after they were picked up in security sweeps in Afghanistan or Pakistan. A few have been through the controversial military commissions process, from which even prosecutors have resigned. The US Supreme Court has several times rebuked the Bush administration for its handling of the detainees…

“Republicans will strongly oppose bringing terrorism suspects to the US. Many Democrats oppose the creation of a new court system on US soil that will have fewer rights for suspects than at present.

“Laurence Tribe, a Harvard law professor who is acting as a legal adviser to the Obama team, said at the weekend that ‘theoretical’ plans for Guantanamo would now become more focused because closing the prison is a top priority. But he also predicted that transferring suspected terrorists to US soil will be a cause of controversy. ‘I think the answer is going to be, they can be as securely guarded on US soil as anywhere else,’ Mr Tribe said. ‘We can’t put people in a dungeon forever without processing whether they deserve to be there.’…

“Lawyers representing clients at Guantanamo Bay such as Marc Falkoff point out that only a dozen or so detainees are known to be avowed terrorists… ‘Most of the detainees are goat herders, or Arabs who volunteered to help the Taliban, but they are not hardcore terrorists. The real problem is getting their home countries to accept them back.'”

How American Muslims View Barack Obama

USA Today reported on November 7:

“After months of balancing their support for the presidential candidate with concerns that their allegiance could do more harm than good, millions of relieved American Muslims cheered the election of the son of a Muslim immigrant whose middle name is Hussein.

“Record numbers of U.S. Muslims had cast their votes, boosted by registration drives held by the Muslim American Society Freedom Foundation, which targeted swing-state residents. MAS Freedom estimates that about 70,000 Muslims voted in Virginia, a state that had not backed a Democratic president in more than 40 years, and which Barack Obama won by fewer than 160,000 votes…

“The Muslim community has mobilized greatly since 2000, when most of its voters — with the exception of African American Muslims — had supported George W. Bush. Ultimately dismayed by the president’s post-9/11 policies, they began swinging Democratic in 2004… Early estimates indicate that between 70 and 90% of Muslim voters supported Obama this year…

“Throughout the party primaries and the general election, Muslims had to temper their political activism against a smear campaign calling Obama a ‘secret Muslim,’ based on his father’s Kenyan roots. These efforts ultimately backfired; Jen’nan Read, a Duke University sociology professor, said the rumors helped galvanize Muslims and other offended Americans to fight back.

“But some Muslims were more frustrated that Obama’s campaign, which responded to the accusations by highlighting the candidate’s Christian faith, did not also state that there is nothing wrong with being a Muslim American — an anti-Islamophobia point finally made in Gen. Colin Powell’s mid-October endorsement. They also complained when Obama volunteers moved two headscarf-wearing Muslim women out of a background shot at a Detroit rally last summer, prompting the campaign to apologize.

“‘They were disappointed,’ Read said. ‘But they were also disappointed by the past eight years of George Bush, and more disappointed in that than in (Obama’s) campaign strategy.’ Rumors of Obama’s Muslim ties, and the possible implications for U.S.-Israel relations, also fueled an unusually tough battle for the Jewish vote. But ultimately, about 78% of Jews supported Obama — slightly higher than their 2004 votes for John Kerry, although the Republican Jewish Coalition noted that this did not reach their support for either Bill Clinton or Al Gore…

“In terms of immediate goals for the next White House resident, the Muslim community now wants to see Obama fulfill his promise to withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq, and to take a more balanced approach when dealing with turmoil in Pakistan and the Middle East…”

Gov. Schwarzenegger’s Position on Same-Sex Marriage “Evolving”

The Los Angeles Times reported on November 10:

“Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Sunday expressed hope that the California Supreme Court would overturn Proposition 8, the ballot initiative that outlawed same-sex marriage. He also predicted that the 18,000 gay and lesbian couples who have already wed would not see their marriages nullified by the initiative. ‘It’s unfortunate, obviously, but it’s not the end,’ Schwarzenegger said…

“With his favorable comments toward gay marriage, the governor’s thinking appears to have evolved on the issue. In past statements, he has said he believes that marriage should be between a man and a woman and has rejected legislation authorizing same-sex marriage. Yet he has also said he would not care if same-sex marriages were legal, saying he believed that such an important societal issue should be determined by the voters or the courts. Schwarzenegger publicly opposed Proposition 8, which amends the state Constitution to declare that ‘only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California.’

“On Sunday, he urged backers of gay marriage to follow the lesson he learned as a bodybuilder trying to lift weights that were too heavy for him at first. ‘I learned that you should never ever give up. . . . They should never give up. They should be on it and on it until they get it done’…

“Schwarzenegger’s comments came as protesters took to the streets for a fifth day in a row, sometimes marching to [and protesting against] Catholic and Mormon churches that supported passage of the ballot measure…

“Some churches… assailed Proposition 8 as discriminatory. ‘We will continue to bless same-sex unions here until we can legally celebrate same-sex unions again,’… [Pastor] Ed Bacon told 1,000 congregants during Sunday services at All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena, which has blessed same-sex unions for 16 years… [He said:] “In the eyes of God, these people are married.”

The Associated Press added on November 10:

“Speaking on CNN’s ‘Late Edition’ Sunday, Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger expressed disappointment at Proposition 8’s passage. ‘It is unfortunate,’ Schwarzenegger said. ‘But it is not the end because I think this will go back into the courts. … It’s the same as in the 1948 case when blacks and whites were not allowed to marry. This falls into the same category.'”

Circuit City Files for Bankruptcy

The Associated Press reported on November 10:

“Circuit City Stores Inc. filed for bankruptcy protection on Monday heading into the busy holiday season as analysts question whether the nation’s second-biggest electronics retailer will be able to survive… The company also said it cut 700 more jobs at its headquarters, after announcing a week ago that it would close 20 percent of its stores and lay off thousands of workers.

“Circuit City filed for Chapter 11 protection, which will allow it to hold off creditors and continue operations while it develops a reorganization plan. Its Canadian operations also filed for similar protection.”

AIG’s Bailout Keeps Climbing…

Bloomberg reported on November 10:

“American International Group Inc. got a $150 billion government rescue package, almost doubling the initial bailout of less than two months ago… The move extends the government’s reach into the financial system amid the worst economic crisis in 75 years…”

Troubled Banks Continue to Lobby

USA Today wrote on November 7:

“Nineteen banks taking taxpayer money from the Treasury Department have spent $32.4 million lobbying the federal government during the first nine months of this year, their lobbying disclosure reports show. Combined, the Treasury is investing in the banks $159 billion from the $700 billion financial rescue package approved by Congress last month. None of the banks has indicated it plans to stop lobbying.”

In an accompanying article, the newspaper listed some of the larger banks in question, including Merrill Lynch, Bank of America, Citigroup, JP Morgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Capital One.

70 Years Ago–Germany’s Kristallnacht

AFP reported on November 9:

“Germany marked Sunday [November 9] the 70th anniversary of the Kristallnacht [“the Night of Broken Glass”] pogrom, a prelude to the Holocaust, with solemn ceremonies throughout the country and celebrations of the rebirth of Jewish life here. Chancellor Angela Merkel and Jewish leaders gathered at Germany’s biggest synagogue to pay tribute to the victims of Kristallnacht on November 9-10, 1938, and to the revival of a Jewish community against all odds…

“The pogrom… saw Nazi thugs plunder Jewish businesses throughout Germany, torch some 300 synagogues and round up some 30,000 Jewish men for deportation to concentration camps. Some 90 Jews were killed in the orgy of violence, whose pretext was the murder of German diplomat Ernst vom Rath in Paris by a student, Herschel Grynspan, who sought revenge for the expulsion of his family from Germany with about 15,000 other Polish Jews…

“Historians say the Nazis tested the German public’s reaction to the spasm of anti-Semitic violence and the lack of public outcry led them to press on, culminating in the extermination campaign launched three years later…

“After national unification in 1990, Germany began accepting Jewish immigrants from the former Soviet states and the country now has one of the fastest growing Jewish communities in the world with some 110,000 members… Because it shares the same date [November 9], the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 was also marked Sunday at low-key events ahead of the 20th anniversary next year.”

Welt-On-Line added on November 9:

“German-born Pope Benedict voiced on Sunday his lingering pain over the night 70 years ago when the Nazis whipped up anti-Jewish riots in a pogrom known as the ‘Kristallnacht’, a harbinger of the Holocaust… ‘Still today I feel pain over what happened in those tragic events, whose memory must serve to ensure such horrors are never repeated and that we strive, on every level, against all forms of anti-Semitism and discrimination … ,’ said the pope. ‘I invite people to pray for the victims of that night and to join me in expressing profound solidarity with the Jewish world,’ the pontiff told crowds at the Vatican…

“Pope Benedict, born Joseph Ratzinger in Bavaria in 1927, was forced to join the Hitler Youth as a teenager, though both his parents opposed the Nazis. Earlier this year the pontiff spoke in New York about his teenage years being ‘marred by a sinister regime’…”

Holocaust Survivors Ask Vatican to Freeze Sainthood Procedure for Pope Pius XII

Reuters wrote on November 10:

“One of the most influential groups of Holocaust survivors accused Nazi-era Pope Pius XII on Monday of keeping ‘silent in the face of absolute evil’ and asked the Vatican to freeze his sainthood process…

“Elan Steinberg, the group’s vice president [and director emeritus of the World Jewish Congress], said in a statement: ‘There were many individuals and representatives of the Church whose shining heroism during the terrible years of the Holocaust should be recognized, but Pope Pius was not among them… ‘

“Some Jews have accused Pius, who reigned from 1939 to 1958, of turning a blind eye to the Holocaust. The Vatican says he worked silently behind the scenes and helped save many Jews… Pius was guilty of ‘public silence in the face of absolute evil,’ Steinberg said.

“‘During World War II, despite pleas and reports from other Church leaders and the Allies, Pope Pius failed to even once publicly and explicitly denounce the Nazi crimes against the Jews,’ he said. Differences over Pius’s role haunted Catholic-Jewish relations. Some Catholics recently pushed for the Pope to speed up his sainthood process and some Jews want it put on hold until Vatican archives are opened in about seven years…

“Steinberg said the Vatican should instead look to Pope John XXIII (1958-1963), who helped save Jews and who reported to the Vatican on Nazi plans to exterminate the Jews when he was a bishop and the Vatican’s wartime representative in Turkey.”

Billy Graham No Longer Pastor to President

USA Today and The Associated Press reported on November 7:

“Billy Graham’s work as a pastor to presidents is coming to an end, but he is praying for Barack Obama as the next U.S. leader begins his work, Graham’s son said Friday on the ailing evangelist’s 90th birthday… Graham’s views of the world are still respected in White House circles. Republican presidential candidate John McCain visited Graham at his mountainside home during the campaign, and Obama tried to meet Graham but wasn’t able to do so because of the preacher’s poor health.

“Though never partisan in his preaching, Billy Graham is a registered Democrat. His son expressed concern about Obama’s views on abortion and gay marriage — an issue Franklin Graham raised in a meeting with the Illinois senator — saying that he and his father are conservatives who believe the Bible speaks clearly on those issues.

“‘President-elect Obama heard our position,’ Franklin Graham said. ‘And I told him that this was very difficult for us and hard for us. It’s a moral issue that we just can’t back down on. But he’s our president-elect, and those positions that he holds that are contrary to Biblical teaching, I hope that God will change his heart…’ Obama favors abortion rights, and does not support a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage…

“His days at 90 are a stark contrast to Graham’s days as a globe-trotting evangelist — a ministry that put him behind the pulpit to speak with 215 million people in more than 185 countries and placed him in the confidence of some of the world’s most powerful people.”

Robert Schuller Ousts His Son–Does Not Want to Preach What Is Sin

The Los Angeles Times reported on October 27:

“The schism between… Robert H. Schuller and his son at Orange County’s Crystal Cathedral arose over a disagreement about broadening the church’s long-running television show, ‘Hour of Power,’ beyond a single personality — a move opposed by the younger Schuller, pastors involved in the matter said Sunday. The elder Schuller announced Saturday that he was removing his son… Robert A. Schuller, as the show’s only preacher three years after turning the program over to him. The show will now be hosted by different pastors, and even businessmen, from around the country and Latin America…

“Schuller built his worldwide ministry over a half century on the psychology of positive thinking and appealing to people turned off by the formality of traditional faiths. In contrast, his son’s sermons have been full of direct references to the Bible. ‘I was called to start a mission, not a church,’ Schuller told his audience Sunday. ‘There is a difference. . . . You don’t try to preach . . . what is sin and what isn’t sin. A mission is a place where you ask nonbelievers to come and find faith and hope and feel love. We’re a mission first, a church second.’… ‘I love my son and am proud of my son,’ he said, adding that the younger Schuller will continue to work as a Crystal Cathedral senior pastor.”

Pope Condemns Trade in Human Organs

Reuters reported on November 7:

“Pope Benedict condemned the trade in human organs as an abomination Friday and urged caution in removing organs for transplant from dying donors who might not actually yet be dead… Buying and selling of human organs is a lucrative business for suppliers and countries that allow foreign ‘transplant tourists’ to have operations they cannot get at home. Organs are often bought from poor peasants and sometimes harvested from condemned prisoners…

“A recent article in the Vatican daily L’Osservatore Romano challenged the medical consensus that brain death marks the death of a person. Since the brain can die before other organs, this allows doctors to harvest organs for transplant… The Vatican has long accepted the brain death criterion. Rejecting it now could force Catholic hospitals to revert to the cardiac death rule, leaving many fewer organs for transplant.”

Life Begins at Defined Moment of Conception

On November 7, 2008, Zenit published an interview with scientist Maureen Condic who holds that human life begins at a defined moment of conception. Condic is an associate professor of neurobiology and anatomy at the University of Utah School of Medicine. She received her doctorate in neurobiology from the University of California, Berkely. Her teaching focuses primarily on embryonic development, and she directs the University of Utah School of Medicine’s course in human embryology.

In the interview, Condic stated the following:

“… resolving when human life begins has important implications for a number of controversial political topics, including abortion and human embryonic stem cell research… The central question of ‘when does human life begin’ can be stated in a somewhat different way: When do sperm and egg cease to be, and what kind of thing takes their place once they cease to be?…

“[My] conclusion [is] that a new human organism comes into existence at the moment of sperm-egg fusion… a scientific analysis of the best available data does not support the conclusion that fertilization is a ‘process’; it supports the conclusion that fertilization is an event that takes less than a second to complete. The events of the first 24 hours following sperm-egg fusion are clearly unique, but they are also clearly acts of a human organism, not acts of a mere human cell.”

The question of the ultimate destiny of Satan and demons has been hotly debated for centuries and even millennia. However, just based on the revelation of the Bible, we cannot conclude that Satan and his fallen angels will ever cease to exist. If they will, then the Bible has simply not revealed that to us. What is revealed points clearly at a never-ending life of Satan and his demons, cut off from God and existing in the blackness of spiritual darkness forever.

We explain the fate of Satan and his demons in more detail in our free booklet, “Angels, Demons and the Spirit World,” on pages 51 and 52. We are quoting below a few excerpts:

“… The angels who sinned are presently in chains of darkness, to be reserved for future judgment (2 Peter 2:4; Jude 6). They are living today in a state of darkness. They are spiritually imprisoned by their own perversions… Satan’s spiritual torment, and that of his angels, will continue. After a time period called the Great White Throne Judgment, Satan and his demons will be cast into the lake of fire, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever (Revelation 20:10; Matthew 25:41). Their torment will be spiritual, as they will see all of their evil works destroyed by fire (compare 2 Peter 3:10–13), and their influence on others will be gone forever. Their final fate might be revealed in Jude 13, referring to ‘wandering stars for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever.’ Compare, too, 2 Peter 2:17. God knows what is in store for them, and so do they.”

We need to realize that Satan and his demons are fallen ANGELS–and angels CANNOT die (compare Luke 20:36). As invisible spirit beings (Colossians 1:16), both God’s righteous angels and the rebellious angels are “ETERNAL” (2 Corinthians 4:18)–that is, they are created spirit beings, incapable of dying. When God gives us ETERNAL life, we will live forever. There is never a possibility to lose our eternal destiny–because God has promised it to us, and God cannot lie.

Some have speculated that Satan will cease to exist, claiming that God will change him from a spirit being into a mortal being, who is then capable of dying. However, there is no biblical evidence that God will do this; nor, that this could be done. God is faithful to His own word–and He declared through Jesus Christ that angels cannot die. Nowhere does the Bible say that angels or demons CAN die; nowhere is it mentioned that any angel or demon EVER died; and nowhere do we find it expressed that an angel or a demon EVER changed into a physical being. (We find that God’s angels materialized on occasion, appearing in a human form–but they did not CHANGE into a human being. We also find, however, that Satan and his demons were deprived of that ability. This is fully explained in our booklet, “Angels, Demons and the Spirit World,” on pages 42-44.)

Some have pointed out that God cannot die, either, but that Jesus Christ–the God of the Old Testament–became a man so that He could die. This is true–Christ divested Himself of His divinity–He, who had been a God being, chose to BECOME flesh for the purpose of death. But note HOW this was done. Christ was conceived in the womb of a human mother–the virgin Mary. God the Father did not simply change Him from a God being into a man by fiat–Christ became a man by being conceived of God’s Holy Spirit, and He was then nurtured in the womb, until the day of His birth as a little baby. If we allow the Bible to tell us HOW God changed a spirit being into a physical being–the only time this EVER happened, based on the Scriptural record–then here is the answer. However, nowhere does the Bible as much as suggest that God will do with Satan, as He did with Christ. Surely, God will not change Satan into a physical being by having him conceived in the womb of a woman. It is interesting that Hollywood movies portray this kind of diabolical scenario–something which was undoubtedly inspired by Satan himself. He might want to WISH this to happen–but God will NOT allow it.

Some have pointed at a passage in Ezekiel 28 which describes the fall of Lucifer, who became Satan. They say that this passage shows that Satan will be burned up and that he will therefore cease to exist.

However, we need to understand that Ezekiel 28 speaks about a human being, as well as Satan. In Ezekiel 28:1-10, God addresses the “PRINCE of Tyre” (verse 2), a mighty human leader. Beginning with verse 11 and until verse 17, God then addresses the real power behind that human leader–Satan the devil, who is identified in verse 12 as the “KING of Tyre.” But beginning in verse 18, God returns to the description of the prince of Tyre–the human leader–and it is the human leader who will be “devoured” and “turned… to ashes,” and he “will be no more forever” (verse 19).

We see a similar way of describing a human leader, and the spiritual power behind the leader, in Isaiah 14. Beginning in verse 3, God addresses the human king of Babylon (see verse 4). But beginning in verse 12, God speaks of the fall of Lucifer or Satan–the one giving his power and authority to the king of Babylon. But commencing in verse 16, God returns to the description and fate of the human king, addressing him in verse 16 as “the MAN who made the earth tremble…” He is a human being with children (verse 21), and he will not be buried, but he will be cast out of his GRAVE, as he disgraced the land (verses 19, 20). Clearly, God is here no longer talking about a spirit being, but He returns to the description of the physical king of Babylon, whom He had originally addressed in that chapter.

Returning to Ezekiel 28, we find that God said in verse 16 to Lucifer: “And you sinned; Therefore I cast you as a profane thing Out of the mountain of God; And I DESTROYED you, O covering cherub, From the midst of the fiery stones.” Some claim that this passage proves that Satan will be “destroyed” in the sense of “annihilated.”

However, that is not the meaning of “destroyed” in that context. Please note that God speaks about the fall of Lucifer which occurred BEFORE the creation of man. It was already at THAT time that God “destroyed” him “from the midst of the fiery stones.” But Satan did not cease to exist at that time. He is still around today–and he will be around at the end of the Millennium, to deceive the nations (Revelation 20:7-10). All Ezekiel 28:16 is telling us is that God did not allow Lucifer any longer to dwell with Him on the mountain of God–in heaven. He was no longer allowed to fulfill any holy administrative functions in the service of God. Rather, he FELL down from heaven to this earth like lightning (Luke 10:18).

Even though the Hebrew word for “destroy,” “abad,” can have the meaning, by implication, of “perish,” it can also mean “wander away” or “to lose oneself.” Judging from the context and in light of the remainder of the Bible, it is clear that the meaning here is not, “cease to exist.” The New International Version translates, “… I EXPELLED you, O guardian cherub, from among the fiery stones.” Other translations say here, “drove out.”

Some have pointed at a question by demons at the time of Jesus, when they asked Him: “Did you come to destroy us?” (compare Mark 1:24; Luke 4:34). They have concluded that this shows that demons know that they will be annihilated. This is, however, not what the passages indicate–apart from the fact that the Greek word for “destroy,” apollu,” can ALSO mean, “to lose off or away.”

John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible comments that the context of the passages does not mean, “… to annihilate them, but either to turn them out of the bodies of men, which to them was a sort of a destruction of them, and was really a destroying that power, which they had for some time exercised over men; or to shut them up in… prison…, and inflict that full punishment on them, which is in reserve for them…”

Adam Clarke’s Commentary on the Bible adds: “We may suppose this spirit to have felt and spoken thus: ‘Is this the time of which it hath been predicted, that in it the Messiah should destroy all that power which we have usurped and exercised over the bodies and souls of men?'”

The Jamieson, Fausset and Brown Commentary adds that the feared “destruction” refers to the power or the works of the demons, and does not imply that they themselves will be annihilated: “Conscious, too, that their power was but permitted and temporary, and perceiving in Him, perhaps, the woman’s Seed that was to bruise the head and destroy the works of the devil, they regard His approach to them on this occasion as a signal to let go their grasp of this miserable victim.”

The demons KNEW that their fate was not one of annihilation. Rather, we read that they asked Christ whether He had come to “torment” them “before the time” (Matthew 8:29).

To quote again from page 51 of our afore-mentioned booklet, “Angels, Demons and the Spirit World”:

“Luke 8:31 adds that they begged Christ not to command them ‘to go out into the abyss.’ At this point in time, they are not yet in that ‘abyss.’ Satan is not in it either; rather, he will be placed in it at the beginning of the Millennium (Revelation 20:1-3, 7—the word ‘abyss’ is translated there as ‘bottomless pit’). What is the ‘abyss?’ The word is used in Romans 10:7, where we read, ‘Who will descend into the abyss? (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).’

“In Romans 10, the ‘abyss’ is used as an analogy in association with the dead who are buried. It is also used as an analogy in Luke 8 and in Revelation 20. When Satan and his demons will be placed in the ‘abyss’ at the beginning of the Millennium, they will be as good as dead—unable to influence and deceive the nations any longer during that time period (compare Revelation 20:3). The fact that they won’t be able to destroy others will give them spiritual torment—that is why they asked Christ whether He had come to torment them before ‘the time.'”

Viewing all of the Scriptures in context, and based on what IS revealed in the Bible, we conclude that the fate of Satan and his demons is NOT one of annihilation or extinction; rather, it appears that they will become “wandering stars for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever” (Jude 13).

Lead Writer: Norbert Link

New Sermons posted on Google Video:

Norbert Link, “Bible Study–The Biblical World of Animals, Part 1,” October 25, 2008

Norbert Link, “Bible Study–The Biblical World of Animals, Part 2,” November 1, 2008

A new StandingWatch program was posted on StandingWatch, Google Video and YouTube. It is titled, “Can Mr. Obama Deliver and Save Us?”  In the program, Norbert Link points out that the world reacted with great euphoria and optimism to Barack Obama’s “historic election” as the 44th President of the USA. International governmental leaders and reporters expressed hope for “change” and the “dawn of a new era.” But can Mr. Obama fulfill his promises in light of unparalleled “seismic challenges”? Guantanamo Bay, Iraq, terrorism, climate change, Afghanistan, Iran, healthcare, unemployment, financial recession and depression are just some of the issues to be addressed. Is our hope and trust in a human leader totally misplaced?

A new StandingWatch program in the German language was posted on AufPostenStehen and YouTube. In the program, Norbert Link discusses the question whether abortion is EVER justified, and when the life of a human being begins.

Recent Comments from our StandingWatch viewers:

Mr Obama is faced with very challenging problems for the nation of USA. Like you say, his success and that of the country depends on obedience and TRUST in God. For example, think of how much money could be reallocated from the defense budget if the nation had faith and trusted in God for deliverance. Imagine what the healthcare industry would look like if all trusted God for healing. Unfortunately, these concepts are so foreign to most and seem ridiculous.

I think everyone will sober up when he starts appointing his cabinet. Things are going to start getting very strange after that. We will see how far left this country can go. Check Mr Obama’s voting record. Left always, more than anyone else in the senate ever.

It looks like the American way of life — including greed, which you rightly point out — is no longer serving us well. It’s comforting to know there’s a better future ahead.

wow these are the events of before and to world war 2 all over again 🙁

It is true that things are not going to get better, no matter who the president is and no matter what type of “solution” is going to be tossed out there. You are right when you say how the Bible prophesies what is going to happen, what is happening right now in the world. All hope is not lost however, thanks to these informative programs on what we all NEED to be doing! Well Done!!

As you have recommended watching the [StandingWatch program] “Comfort in terminal sickness”, I did and I believe it is true and it is also biblical that the fervent prayer of the believers in Christ will help heal a sick person… I am no longer interested in physical healing. I am more interested in my own spiritual healing and my family’s salvation. Pray for our salvation. Salvation is to me more important than physical healing. Physical healing will come second, after spiritual healing and salvation. That is what I am looking for. I know that my time will end soon. The degeneration has already reached my neck. I know that it will just be a matter of time before it reaches my brain and I will lose my mobility at first… We know now that becoming a true Christian is not that easy. It takes time and effort to become one with God. I am more concerned about my family than myself.

Continue enjoying your “punchy” deliveries on StandingWatch.

by Simon Akl

The Feast of Tabernacles has come and gone, and I am now back to my everyday life of school and work. The amount of school work that was awaiting me seemed to be insurmountable. With all the usual school distractions it is very easy to become overwhelmed and stressed out. However, the Feast was a reminder of the need to prioritize what should be important in my life.

It allowed me to take a step back and realize how many of the tasks that I view as large mountains are really a small drop in the ocean compared to God’s plan. Focusing on more important reasons behind my purpose and existence helps me put everything in perspective and reduces some of the daily obstacles that I am confronted with. I find that some of the toughest times of trials and tribulations tend to come right after the Feast. They tend to divert me and force me to forget about all the great lessons that I have just finished learning during the Feast. They tend to depress me when thinking about the tough time that I am about to face.

It is important for me to always keep the right mindset and focus to keep reminding myself of what truly is important. Satan does whatever he can to knock me off the righteous path and deceive me. That is why I constantly have to try and refresh my thoughts with lessons that I have learned while at the Feast, as well as trying to apply them in my everyday life.

On Saturday, November 8, 2008, Dave Harris will give the sermon, titled, “The Will of God.”

The services can be heard at www.cognetservices.org at 12:30 pm Pacific Time (which is 2:30 pm Central Time). Just click on Connect to Live Stream.

What is persistency? It is defined as continuing firmly or obstinately in a course of action, in spite of difficulty or opposition. It is a habitual behavior pattern, continuing to exist or endure, or occurring repeatedly over a prolonged period.

How persistent are we in prayer? Whenever we ask God for something, does He answer right away?  Sometimes He may, but often times He won’t.  That does not mean however that we should stop trying.  If we know that it’s for a good cause, then we continue to ask, and we are always thankful. Colossians 4:2 tells us that we must continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving.
 
Persistency pays off. We do pray about the same things over and over again, don’t we? However, our prayers shouldn’t be vain repetitions–just words coming out of our mouths, a script that we read every day–but we pray about such things that we care for. When one of us is sick, do we pray once about it, or do we pray continuously until he or she is healthy?  Even then we don’t stop praying because we thank God and ask Him to continue to be with that individual, to keep him or her strong and healthy. When we love somebody, do we tell that person once that we love them or do we tell them repeatedly?

How persistent are we in our Bible study? Yes, we can come up with excuses for not being diligent and persistent in this regard. We are all very preoccupied in our busy lives, but as we continuously hear about the importance of Bible study, even 10 minutes of meaningful study is very fruitful. We just have to make it a habit! 

Prayer and Bible study are part of our tools to live our lives successfully. How persistent are we in running our spiritual race? 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 admonishes us to run our spiritual race “in such a way” that we “may obtain” the prize.

Our zeal for God’s Kingdom must be continuing. We must have zeal to win. We have to have faith and trust that we can finish the race. We have to believe in God and what He promises us, and that we can always go to God for help in times of need, so that we can be successful.

Let us imagine a physical race, and let us compare it with our spiritual calling. Before we may run a big race, there are certain fears that we must overcome. We have to stay focused, not becoming distracted by our surroundings. We have to make sure that we are attentive because a false start could get us disqualified. One false start gives us a warning, but now we have extra pressure built upon us, because one more false start, and we’re out of the race. As we run our race, we have to look straight ahead. We must not look back, but we must stay on course by not drifting from side to side, into someone else’s path. We must stay on our own path.  Now we run as hard and as fast as we can, giving it our all, striving for that finish line and obtaining that prize. Finishing the race is what’s important. We don’t give up.

But, as opposed to a physical race, where only the top three will receive medals, the spiritual race rewards all those who finish, who never give up, but who have been approved, as it says in James 1:12. Is this the attitude we have so we can obtain our prize? Are we this dedicated when it comes to God’s plan for us?

We have to be persistent in whatever we do, and especially in spiritual matters which are very important to God. We must always remember that all the blessings that we receive and all that we have comes from God. So, let’s be thankful and do what God requires of us. Let us continue to be persistent in all things, including in our prayers and Bible study, so we can finally receive the ultimate prize.

Barack Obama Wins US Election–and the World Hopes for Real Change

Deutsche Welle reported on November 5:

“Democrat Barack Obama has won the US presidential election by a large margin. Voter turnout at 64 percent was the highest since World War II. Speaking to supporters in Chicago, the president-elect promised a new direction for the country, and reached out to supporters of his opponent, Republican Senator John McCain. Outgoing President, George W. Bush, congratulated John McCain for the campaign he conducted with Governor Sarah Palin. Obama, who takes office in eleven weeks, will be the first African American president in US history. He has won 28 states to win 349 Electoral College votes, far more than the 270 he needed…”

“World leaders have hailed Barack Obama’s victory in the US presidential election as ‘the dawn of a new era’ and called for the global superpower to change the way it does business. German Chancellor Angela Merkel congratulated Obama for what she called his ‘historic victory’. French President Nicolas Sarkozy, whose country holds the European Union’s rotating presidency, extended his ‘warmest  congratulations.’ Kenya, the birthplace of Obama’s father, declared a national holiday to welcome the world’s first, black US president.”

The EUObserver reported on November 5:

“… Brussels urged for a ‘new deal in a new world’ under the leadership of Barack Obama. ‘This is a time for a renewed commitment between Europe and the United States of America,’ European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said… [He] assured the US President-elect of his support when both Brussels and Washington will ‘face together the many challenges ahead of us’…

“French President Nicolas Sarkozy whose country is currently chairing the EU congratulated him for the ‘brilliant victory,’ noting ‘By choosing you, the American nation has chosen change, openness and optimism.’

“‘It would give an excellent message to the people of the EU if Barack Obama were to make a speech in the European Parliament during his first visit to Europe,’ the parliament’s president, Hans Gert Poettering, said in his statement of congratulation. ‘This way he could address the almost 500 million citizens of the European Union,’ he added.”

The Difficult Road Ahead for President-Elect Barack Obama

The New York Times wrote on November 5:

“No president since before Barack Obama was born has ascended to the Oval Office confronted by the accumulation of seismic challenges awaiting him… On the shoulders of a 47-year-old first-term senator, with the power of inspiration yet no real executive experience, now falls the responsibility of prosecuting two wars, protecting the nation from terrorist threat and stitching back together a shredded economy…

“What kind of decision maker and leader Mr. Obama will be remains unclear even to many of his supporters…

“Whatever collaboration there may be in the short term, Mr. Obama represents the end of the Bush era in the long term. Yet he will find himself dealing with the Bush legacy for years to come. He promised on the campaign trail to close the detention facility at the United States naval base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, but analysts in both parties expect that to be more difficult than he imagines. He will inherit a deficit that could approach $1 trillion next year, which could curtail his ambitions, like expanding health care coverage…

“Mr. Obama’s soaring speeches have created such a well of anticipation that there is a deep danger of letdown. He talked during the campaign of a ‘new politics’ bringing Republicans and Democrats together. But if he really works with Republicans to find common ground on issues like Iraq, terrorism and climate change, he risks alienating his liberal base…

“‘There’s always some surprise that you can’t plan for,’ said Nancy E. Soderberg, a top national security aide under Mr. Clinton. She recalled the first President George Bush’s decision to send troops into Somalia just before handing over the Oval Office to Mr. Clinton…”

The Los Angeles Times added on November 4:

“The nation is in dire economic straits… The new president will focus first on stabilizing the economy… he will probably defer some of his biggest, most controversial goals until later — a decision that may send some of his liberal supporters into postelection depression…”

The Associated Press wrote on November 5:

“No president since Franklin D. Roosevelt has faced economic and financial market crises so dire and so urgent as Obama confronts now. And Obama also must deal with wars in Iraq, which he has promised to end, and in Afghanistan, where he plans to send U.S. reinforcements. He may have headaches with his own Democrats on war issues. Liberal Democrats want immediate withdrawal from Iraq, and may balk at sending more troops to Afghanistan…

“With election-reinforced majorities in both the House and the Senate, the Democrats are in full command of the government. They will have an effective Senate majority of at least 56 seats, counting two independents who have sided with them… [but] it takes 60 votes to end debate and force action. That will remain an obstacle…

“Bush is the past. Obama is the future, and it begins now, in troubled times, for a president-elect with a costly agenda of promises that would be difficult to deliver in far better economic circumstances.”

The Bush Legacy–“The Era of American Leadership Is Over”

On October 30, Der Spiegel Online published an article, which gave an interesting assessment of the USA. We are setting forth below excerpts from the article, which accurately describe how most Germans and Europeans look today at President Bush, his administration and the country as a whole. The big question is, will the new U.S. administration under President Obama be able to substantially change European perceptions of the USA?

Der Spiegel Online wrote:

“In his two terms in the White House, US President George W. Bush has presided over a precipitous fall in America’s reputation around the world. History is likely to judge him a failure. Now, his successor will have to dig the US out of a deep hole… Rarely has the decline of a nation… been so strikingly documented… Never before have such low approval ratings been measured for a US president than for Bush in his last few months. They are currently at between 19 and 20 percent. More than four out of five Americans believe that the nation is ‘headed in the wrong direction’… After seven years of Republican dominance in Washington, Bush’s fellow Republicans now avoid him like the plague…

“Iraq is the gaping foreign policy wound, even if the level of violence in Baghdad and some provinces has declined. The war violated international law, divided the allies and wounded the Americans in terms of their value system and self-respect. Over and above the enormous financial cost, the war has been the source of great human tragedy. More than 4,000 American soldiers and an estimated more than 100,000 Iraqi civilians have died, while more than four million Iraqi men, women and children have been forced to flee their country.

“There will always be debates over whether it made sense to bring down the brutal regime of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein with military force and become an occupying power. There is much to suggest that it was the wrong choice. It undermined America’s political standing (while bolstering Iran’s influence as a regional power) and, even among US allies, fueled the suspicion that Washington was solely interested in oil and military bases… There is ‘no longer the slightest doubt,’ writes The New Yorker, that the Bush administration lied to and manipulated the American public to gain support for the invasion of Iraq. It is also considered indisputable fact today that the conduct of the war was incompetent…

“Another ugly blemish on the Bush administration is the disgrace of human rights violations in Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib. The administration bears responsibility — as it does for the scandalous weakening of prohibitions on torture, a move that is simply incompatible with a country based on the rule of law. The man in charge at the White House is believed to have directly approved the practice of waterboarding, which simulates the sensation of drowning in its victims…

“The domestic consequences of the Bush years have also been catastrophic. The national debt has almost doubled, to an inconceivable $10 trillion (€7.75 trillion). The number of Americans without health insurance rose by over eight million to 47 million, while the number of those living below the poverty line grew by almost six million. Bush’s tax breaks for the country’s wealthiest citizens have made America’s already extreme social disparities even more glaring…

“The well-known British philosopher and author John Gray… notes: ‘The era of American global leadership, reaching back to the Second World War, is over’…”

U.S. Treasury Keeps Borrowing Over a Trillion Dollars

The speed with which the U.S. Treasury keeps borrowing astronomical amounts of money is frightening. It seems like every sense for balance has been tossed aside. How long do we have to watch until we realize that the American Titanic is hopelessly sailing full steam ahead against its providential deadly ice berg?

AFP reported on November 3:

“The US Treasury said Monday it would seek to borrow a record 550 billion dollars in the October-December period to help stabilize the financial sector hammered by the global credit crisis. The fourth-quarter borrowing estimate was substantially higher than the 408 billion dollars announced in July, and is a record high for quarterly estimates… The Treasury said the federal government had borrowed 530 billion dollars from the markets in the third quarter.”

EU at Brink of Recession

Deutsche Welle reported on November 3:

“The European Union’s economy is set to grind to a halt in 2009 and only start picking up in 2010 as the financial crisis takes its toll on one of the world’s major economic blocs. There is a ‘real risk’ of the world’s largest economy sliding into recession, officials warned… While they make for bleak reading, the EU’s 2009 figures are better than those of the United States and Japan…

“Of the EU’s four biggest economies, Britain is almost certain of facing a full-blown recession in 2009, with its gross domestic product shrinking by 1 per cent. Germany, France and Italy are all expected to post zero growth rates next year… Among the EU member states expected to feel the full pain of the downturn are… Ireland, Estonia and Latvia… Spain, the EU’s fifth-biggest economy and formerly one of its strongest economic performers, is also set to tip into recession… France… is expected to see its deficit hit the 3 per cent of GDP upper limit this year and to exceed this limit in 2010…

“The grim economic outlook comes as Europe’s top banks revealed how much they were being squeezed of profits by the credit crunch. Germany’s second-biggest bank, Commerzbank, said Monday it had lost 285 million euros and would seek an 8.2 billion euro ($10.5 billion) ‘stabilization’ injection from the government and another 15 billion euro to secure financing. French bank Societe Generale registered an 83.7 percent drop in third-quarter net profit after being hit hard by the collapse of US lender Lehman Brothers. Britain’s biggest home lender HBOS Plc reported it could lose as much as 5 billion pounds from risky assets and bad loans.”

Greater EU Political Role in the World

The EUObserver wrote on November 4:

“The EU has in a letter to the next US president appealed for a greater European role on the world stage, more engagement with a resurgent Russia and more emphasis on peacemaking in Afghanistan and the Middle East… The letter urges the new US administration to put the Middle East peace process at the top of its agenda and foresees a ‘useful role’ for the EU as co-guarantors of a future Israeli-Palestinian accord…

“The US remains critical of Germany’s reluctance to commit troops to combat zones in southern Afghanistan, while the former-communist EU states are concerned by France’s Russia-friendly tone.”

Russia vs. the West

The Times wrote on November 5:

“President Dmitri Medvedev took advantage of the euphoria in America today to order the deployment of missiles inside Europe as a response to US plans for a missile defence shield. Speaking within hours of Barack Obama’s election as the new US President, Mr Medvedev announced that Russia would base Iskander missiles in its Baltic exclave of Kaliningrad next to the border with Poland…

“His announcement prompted a burst of applause from government ministers and parliamentary deputies assembled in the Kremlin. The President failed to congratulate Mr Obama or even to mention him by name during his 85-minute state of the nation address televised live across Russia. Instead… [he] accused the West of seeking to encircle Russia and blamed the US for encouraging Georgia’s ‘barbaric aggression’ in the war over South Ossetia in August. He issued a warning that Russia would ‘not back down in the Caucasus’…

“Mr Medvedev blamed the US for the global financial crisis, saying that the rest of the world had been ‘dragged down with it into recession’. He claimed that the era of American domination after the collapse of the Soviet Union was now over.”

How Ministers of Religion Get Involved in Politics

Surely, one should not have expected too much, if anything, from the American propaganda associated with the circus of its presidential elections. Exaggerations and misrepresentations were common-place, and the Hollywood-type showmanship of America’s candidates and their political supporters were big entertainment. And famous and not-so-famous entertainers were anxious to throw their weight behind a particular candidate–as if this would mean anything.

But when ministers of religion–who are supposed to keep their noses out of the political arena–began to compare a presidential candidate with Moses, then something is for sure morbid and rotten. It reminds us of Austrian priests and bishops who praised Hitler as the new Savior and asked Austrian Catholics to vote for him and the Anschluss [“Union”]. It reminds us how the popes crowned the emperors of the Holy Roman Empire. When religions and religious representatives get involved in politics, it has ALWAYS resulted in political disaster.

The Telegraph reported on November 3:

“Adulation of the Democratic nominee is building to a crescendo. Offering a prayer before a rally in Columbus, Ohio today, Cornal Garnett Henning, an AME [American Methodist Episcopal Church] bishop for parts of Ohio, West Virginia and Pennsylvania, compared him to Moses and Martin Luther King in the same breath. He thanked God for having ‘given us a Moses and a Martin called Barack Obama’ and asked the Almighty to ‘grant that we together… may have the will to bring about the change we need’ and ensure that ‘those who cast their sacred vote will not be deprived this right’…

“As I left the rally, there was a man chatting into his cell phone while selling clothing that offered a modified version of the national motto of the United States, substituting the candidate’s name in place of that of the Almighty. ‘In Obama We Trust’, proclaimed his t-shirts.”

Such misplaced trust in ANY political candidate or president is a major reason WHY America is going down–and WHY its status of a respected superpower is a thing of the past. For more information, please read our free booklet, “The Fall and Rise of Britain and America.”

More Religious Confusion

A striking example of the hopeless confusion among some American “preachers” and “prophets” can be seen in the following article, published by the Salt Lake Tribune, dated October 30. The mistakes and errors contained in the preaching of some of those ministers are too numerous to mention, but here are some excerpts:

“Some Web sites and conservative Christians have tried to argue that Obama could be the foretold Antichrist… Tim LaHaye, co-author of the millennial Left Behind series, told the Wall Street Journal that he recognized allusions to his work in the ad but comparisons between Obama and the Antichrist were incorrect. ‘The Antichrist isn’t going to be an American, so it can’t possibly be Obama. The Bible makes it clear he will be from an obscure place, like Romania,’ the 82-year-old author told the paper…”

The Bible makes it clear that there will be NO rapture, as postulated in the Left Behind series, and that there is not even an “Antichrist” per se. Rather, the Bible speaks of the “spirit of antichrist” and “many antichrists.” However, it does talk about a military leader–the “beast”– and a religious leader–“the false prophet.” It is true that the “beast” won’t be an American, but neither will he be from an obscure country, “like Romania.” For further information, please read our free booklet, “Europe in Prophecy.”

Will There Be a Black Pope?

Times on Line wrote on November 6:

“The election of Barack Obama as the first African-American US President could pave the way for the election of the first black Pope, according to a leading black American Catholic. Wilton Daniel Gregory, 60, the Archbishop of Atlanta, said that in the past Pope Benedict XVI had himself suggested that the election of a black pontiff would ‘send a splendid signal to the world’ about the universal Church.

“Archbishop Gregory, who in 2001 became the first African American to head the US Bishops Conference… said that recent Popes, beginning with John XXIII and Paul VI, had brought prelates ‘from all nations and races’ to Rome to take up senior positions in the Curia, the Vatican hierarchy… Archbishop Gregory said that the next time cardinals gathered to elect a Pope they could ‘in their wisdom’ choose an African pontiff…”

Evolution in Harmony With Creation?–NO WAY!!!

On November 3, 2008, Zenit reported the following:

“There is no incompatibility between the scientific theory of evolution and the Christian understanding of creation, says the archbishop of Vienna, Cardinal Christoph Schönborn… Citing various addresses from Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, before and after his election as Pope, the Austrian cardinal explained that ‘there are many proofs in favor of evolution.’ Nevertheless, he stressed, ‘though this theory enriches our knowledge of life, it doesn’t respond to the great philosophical question: Where does everything come from and how did this everything take a path until coming to be man?’…

“In the same vein, Bishop Marcelo Sánchez Sorondo, chancellor of the Pontifical Academy of the Sciences, explained to Vatican Radio that the theory of evolution is even closer to the biblical account of creation than many other theories. ‘Considering the fact that the Bible presents us with a God who created the world in seven days, the idea of a progressive creation is introduced,’ he explained. ‘In this sense, it is closer than, for example, the theories of the ancient Greeks, who thought of an eternal and cyclical world.'”

The plain truth is: Both Cardinal Schönborn and Bishop Sorondo are WRONG. There is no conceivable way to harmonize the biblical account of creation with the theory of evolution. To do so would require an interpretation of the Scriptures completely contrary to their expressed statements. For more information, please read our free booklet, “The Theory of Evolution–A Fairy Tale for Adults?”

“Frozen Mice Cloned – Are Woolly Mammoths Next?”

Will the Jurassic Park of Michael Crichton (1942-2008) become reality after all? And is the world watching helplessly and indifferently how some of its scientists may bring it to the brink of utter disaster?

Reuters reported on November 3, 2008:

“Japanese scientists have cloned mice whose bodies were frozen for… 16 years and said on Monday it may be possible to use the technique to resurrect mammoths and other extinct species… Mammoths may be the extinct animals that scientists would be most likely to try to clone, as many of the animals have been found preserved in ice. In July 2007 Russian scientists discovered the body of a baby mammoth frozen in the Arctic Yamalo-Nenetsk region…”
AFP added on November 4:

“The scientists extracted a cell nucleus from an organ of the dead mouse and planted it into an egg of another mouse which was alive, leading to the birth of the cloned mouse, the researchers said… The cloned mouse was able to reproduce with a female mouse, it added.

“But the researchers said tough challenges remain ahead on how to restore extinct animals, which would require breeding with animals that are still alive. To revive a mammoth, researchers would need to find a way to implant a cell nucleus of a mammoth into the egg of an elephant and then implant the embryo into an elephant’s uterus, it said.”

Ban on Same-Sex Marriages in California

The Associated Press reported on November 5:

“In an election otherwise full of liberal triumphs, the gay rights movement suffered a stunning defeat as California voters approved a ban on same-sex marriages that overrides a recent court decision legalizing them. The constitutional amendment… will limit marriage to heterosexual couples, the first time such a vote has taken place in a state where gay unions are legal.

“Gay-rights activists had a rough election elsewhere as well. Ban-gay-marriage amendments were approved in Arizona and Florida, and Arkansas voters approved a measure banning unmarried couples from serving as adoptive or foster parents. Supporters made clear that gays and lesbians were their main target…

“Similar bans had prevailed in 27 states before Tuesday’s elections, but none were in California’s situation—with about 18,000 gay couples married since a state Supreme Court ruling in May. The state attorney general, Jerry Brown, has said those marriages will remain valid, although legal challenges are possible…

“Elsewhere, voters in Colorado and South Dakota rejected measures that could have led to sweeping bans of abortion, and Washington became only the second state—after Oregon—to offer terminally ill people the option of physician-assisted suicide. A first-of-its-kind measure in Colorado, which was defeated soundly, would have defined life as beginning at conception. Its opponents said the proposal could lead to the outlawing of some types of birth control as well as abortion. The South Dakota measure would have banned abortions except in cases of rape, incest and serious health threat to the mother…

“Two animal-welfare measures passed—a ban on dog racing in Massachusetts, and a proposition in California that outlaws cramped cages for egg-laying chickens…”

As we mentioned in previous Q&A’s, the visions in the book of Zechariah relate foremost to our days–even though some of them might also refer to initial and preliminary fulfillments at the time of Zechariah.

Zechariah 4:1-14 reads as follows:

“(1) Now the angel who talked with me came back and wakened me, as a man who is wakened out of his sleep. (2) And he said to me, ‘What do you see?’ So I said, ‘I am looking, and there is a lampstand of solid gold with a bowl on top of it, and on the stand seven lamps with seven pipes to the seven lamps. (3) Two olive trees are by it, one at the right of the bowl and the other at its left.’ (4) So I answered and spoke to the angel who talked with me, saying, ‘What are these, my lord?’ (5) Then the angel who talked with me answered and said to me, ‘Do you not know what these are?’ And I said, ‘No, my lord.’ (6) So he answered and said to me: ‘This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: “Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,” Says the LORD of hosts. (7) “Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain! And he shall bring forth the capstone With shouts of ‘Grace, grace to it!'”‘ (8) Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying, (9) ‘The hands of Zerubbabel Have laid the foundation of this temple; His hands shall also finish it. Then you will know That the LORD of hosts has sent Me to you. (10) For who has despised the day of small things? For these seven rejoice to see The plumbline in the hand of Zerubbabel. They are the eyes of the LORD, Which scan to and fro throughout the whole earth.’ (11) Then I answered and said to him, ‘What are these two olive trees–at the right of the lampstand and at its left?’ (12) And I further answered and said to him, ‘What are these two olive branches that drip into the receptacles of the two gold pipes from which the golden oil drains?’ (13) Then he answered me and said, ‘Do you not know what these are?’ And I said, ‘No, my lord.’ (14) So he said, ‘These are the two anointed ones, who stand beside the Lord of the whole earth.'”

1) General Overview of the Meaning of the Vision

John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible contains the following remarks: “… this [vision] represents, under the type of Zerubbabel building the temple, the building of the church by Christ; and which is done and finished, not by might or power of man, but by the Spirit, notwithstanding all opposition, and contempt of it… The temple was a type of the church, and Zerubbabel a type of Christ…”

A similar comment can be found in Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible:

“For though in the first instance the words, ‘the hands of Zerubbabel etc.,’ relate to the building of the material temple, and announce its completion through Zerubbabel, yet the inference, ‘and thou shalt know that the Lord of hosts hath sent me unto you,’ shows that the meaning is not exhausted thereby, but that here too this building is mentioned only as a type of the building of the spiritual temple; and the completion of the typical temple is but a pledge of the completion of the true temple [the Church of God, compare 1 Corinthians 3:16; 2 Corinthians 6:16; Ephesians 2:19-22]…”

2) The Great Mountain

Regarding the great mountain in verse 7, which will become a plain, John Gill points out:

“This is said in reference to those who opposed the building of the temple, as Sanballat, and others; or the Persian monarchy, and Babylon the capital of it; a mountain being a symbol of a kingdom, or capital city; so Babylon is called… hence the Targum paraphrases the words thus, ‘how art thou accounted a foolish kingdom before Zerubbabel!’ and may denote the opposition made to Christ, and to the building of his church…. and may include all the enemies of the church and people of God, as sin, Satan, and the world; who, though they may look like high and great mountains, and make much opposition, and throw many difficulties in their way, yet in the issue will [be] of no avail…”

3) The Seven Eyes of God and the Lampstand

The seven eyes of God (verse 10) are seven angelic beings which are also mentioned in Revelation 5:6. Please note that Zechariah 1:8 describes four of these seven angels. They are also referred to as seven lamps on the lampstand (verse 2). The tabernacle had a seven-branched lampstand–that is, a lampstand with seven lamps (Exodus 25:31-37). Solomon’s Temple had several lampstands (1 Kings 7:49). A similar description is found in Revelation 1:20, where seven angels are described as seven stars in Christ’s hands, functioning as ministering spirits for seven churches. These seven churches are described as seven lampstands.

As we explain in our free booklet, “The Sacrificial System and the Tabernacle in the Wilderness,” on pages 35 and 36, the lampstand typifies Christ, the Light of the world. It also symbolizes the Church of God and every single converted Church member. The oil for the lampstand symbolizes God’s Holy Spirit. Christians must continuously make use of its power (2 Timothy 1:6).

4) “The LORD Sent Me”

We read in verse 9 that the LORD says that the LORD sent Him to the people. This shows that the designation, the “LORD,” can refer to either one of the two God beings–also known as the Father and the Son. Here, the Son, Jesus Christ, is saying that the FATHER sent Him (that is, Christ) to the people.

5) The Capstone

Verse 7 speaks of a capstone (or “headstone” in the Authorized Version). This is the last stone to be placed in the building. It is remarkable that the pyramid is the only building where the cornerstone is identical with the capstone. Jesus Christ is the chief cornerstone (Ephesians 2:20; 1 Peter 2:6)–and He is also referred to here as the capstone, showing that the temple is built through Him. He is the beginning and the end (Revelation 1:8)–the very foundation on which the temple–physical and spiritual–must be built. Verse 9 says that Zerubbabel laid the foundation–but “no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 3:11).

The pyramid also describes the governmental hierarchical structure within the God Family. God the Father is over all. Under Him is Jesus Christ. Converted Christians will be changed into Spirit beings at the time of Christ’s return, and they will rule with and UNDER Christ for a thousand years. And so, God’s Church today is also hierarchically structured. Jesus Christ, the HEAD of the Church, ordains and GIVES ministers to the Church to guide and lead the membership (Ephesians 4:11-16).

6) The Temple

Even though the vision is talking about the construction of a physical temple at the time of Zerubbabel, it also applies to the end time. As explained above, one application must be seen in the reference to the spiritual temple–the Church. But it is also possible that another physical temple will be built prior to Christ’s return–and that a modern “Zerubbabel” will be used in some way for the accomplishment of that task.

7) The Two Olive Trees

The two olive trees, as mentioned in verses 11 and 12, have dual or even triple application.

The commentary of Jamieson, Fausset and Brown points out:

“Primarily, the ‘two’ refer to [the high priest] Joshua and [to the governor] Zerubbabel. God… at each of the transition periods of the world’s history has sent great men to guide the Church. So the two witnesses shall appear before the destruction of Antichrist… in [Revelation] 11:3, 4, the ‘two witnesses’ are identified with the two olive trees and the two candlesticks.”

The Ryrie Study Bible adds:

“Joshua and Zerubbabel witnessed to [God’s] power in seeing to the completion of the Temple [in 516 B.C., Ezra 6:14, 15]; and in the Tribulation days two mighty witnesses will yet arise (Rev. 11:4). All true witness must be done in the power of the Spirit.”

The New Scofield Reference Edition adds the following:

“The two olive trees represent Joshua and Zerubbabel, whose witness in that day is the prototype of the two witnesses of [Revelation] 11:3-12. Actually no human being can be the real source of the power that actuates God’s witness. It is only as Joshua [after his cleansing, as described in Zechariah 3], Zerubbabel, or any other human being represents Christ, the true Priest-King, that he fulfills this vision. In their fullest significance the two olive trees speak of Christ, the LORD’s Priest-King (cp. Ps. 110:4).”

The Broadman Bible Commentary contains the following annotation:

“It is proper to identify these two servants with Zerubbabel… and Joshua… Both are directly involved in serving the Lord’s kingdom. These two are the current representatives of a long line of promise… The ‘sons of oil’ (anointed)… are those who serve the cause of the Lord’s presence among his people. They are the ones who build the house… and who are the servants of holiness which must surround the place where the Lord dwells…

“The genuine servants stand to the right and to the left of God [the new King James Bible says, “beside,” in verse 14], who rules over the whole earth… The vision should be seen in the general messianic frame of Zechariah’s prophecy. The Lord is returning to Zion and will set up his kingdom there. In so doing he is fulfilling all the promises made to Israel and to David. This act is not only a comfort for Israel, but a key factor in… his reign for the whole earth…”

The construction of the temple will be accomplished through the power of the Holy Spirit (verse 6). Please recall that the two olive trees are also called, “anointed ones.” They are anointed or set aside by God to fulfill His task for them–and they have to do it by yielding to the power of the Holy Spirit.

8) Conclusion

In conclusion, Zechariah’s vision of the lampstand and olive trees does not only relate to the time of Zerubbabel and Joshua, but also points at events at the time of the return of Jesus Christ–the Messiah. Christ–the Head of the Church–is the Lampstand who gives us light, strength and understanding through the Holy Spirit. At the very end, two remarkable persons will appear on the world scene–called the “two witnesses”–and perform mighty works in the service of God. Religious, political and military forces, under the influence of Satan, will oppose them and ultimately kill them–but God will resurrect them through the power of His Holy Spirit (Revelation 11:11-14). For more information on the function and identity of the two witnesses, please read our new free booklet, “Is That in The Bible?–The Mysteries of the Book of Revelation.”

The end-time destroying mountain or “great millstone” of the Babylonian system will be defeated by the power of God (compare Jeremiah 51:25-26; Revelation 18:21). At that time, God will set up His Kingdom here on earth which will never be defeated, and “Of the increase of HIS government and peace There will be no end… The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this” (Isaiah 9:7).

Lead Writer: Norbert Link

A new member letter by the ministry was sent out this week, and it is also posted on the Web. In the letter, the ministry is reminiscing on the Feast of Tabernacles in England and Arizona, while reflecting on the months ahead. A copy of our new book, “Is That in the Bible?–The Mysteries of the Book of Revelation!” was enclosed in the mailing for all those who had not already received their copy.

A new StandingWatch program was posted on StandingWatch, Google Video and YouTube. It is titled, “No Way Out of Worldwide Financial Crisis?” In the program, Norbert Link discusses the following: Even though governments try to deal with the worldwide recession and looming depression, it seems to get worse by the day. Now we are told that we should not expect any relief for several years–if at all. The USA and Britain seem to be the leading casualties in the crisis, which has been called by financial experts as a “once-in-a century credit tsunami” and “the worst financial crisis in human history.” Bail-out plans and guarantees are not even meant to provide lasting solutions. Why is that? What brought us into this unparalleled mess? And are there really NO solutions at all?