Over the last few weeks in the UK, there has been an epidemic of lost data. In early December 2007, it was reported that two discs with details of 25 million child benefit claims had been lost in the mail. A leading politician stated that the missing 25 million details could be worth £1.5 billion to fraudsters. On December 17, a private contractor, working for the Driving Standards Agency, lost the personal details of 3 million people. The following day, the details of 4,000 patients went missing at the Stockport Primary Trust. And on January 18, 2008, it was revealed that the Ministry of Defense had lost details of 600,000 people. There have been quite a number of other cases, but the above examples serve to show the problems that are currently being experienced in the UK.

One of the areas that has come to the fore in recent years is the serious crime of identity fraud. This can be used, amongst other things, for bank accounts, national insurance numbers and fake passports. Confusion can abound about identity because of all of these problems.

But with God, there is no problem of fraudulent or lost data. Paul states in 1 Corinthians 2:11: “For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him?” That spirit in man, which enables human beings to understand, create, plan and reason and which separates man from animals, goes back to God when man dies (Ecclesiastes 12:7). God knows each one of us, and our data is stored by man’s spirit.

Man loses data and commits identity fraud, but with God it is an entirely different story. God neither loses data nor is He fooled by people changing their identity. Through the spirit in man that God gives to us, our true and unique identities are being preserved. Those who have no belief in God rely on fellow man who makes such a mess of just about everything he touches. How grateful we should be that we can trust entirely in the great, perfect, eternal Creator God. We know that through Him, our future is secure.

Bobby Fischer Died

Bobby Fischer, arguably the best chess player in the world, who reportedly had an IQ higher than that of Albert Einstein, died last Thursday in Iceland, at the age of 64. His bizarre and odd lifestyle was marked by anti-Semitic statements–including his denial of the Holocaust (although his mother was Jewish); a claim that his father Gerhardt was German when Fischer was born in 1943 (although the German government refused to grant him German citizenship); his public praise for the September 11th terrorist attack; his incarceration in Japan for nine months (due to an American warrant for his arrest, following a 1992 exhibition rematch against Boris Spassky on a Yugoslav resort island in violation of U.S. sanctions, and for trying to leave Japan with an invalid U.S. passport); and his migration to Iceland in 2005, after obtaining the citizenship of Iceland and repudiating his U.S. citizenship.

As could be predicted, some in the secular left-liberal national and international press resurrected the false claim that Fischer was a “member” of the Worldwide Church of God, under the late Herbert W. Armstrong. The truth is, Fischer never was a baptized member, although he was temporarily loosely affiliated with the Church.

One of the more spectacular and “telling” assertions about Fischer, the Church of God and the Bible, were found on the Internet, as follows:

“Ever since he won the championship, Fischer had been drifting quietly into seclusion, finding refuge in Herbert W. Armstrong’s Worldwide Church of God in Pasadena, a fundamentalist cult that observes Saturday as the Sabbath and believes in the Second Coming. After several years of serving as what is called a coworker — Fischer hadn’t been baptized — he left the church, too.”

Whoever the author is, his ignorance of the Bible is remarkable. Apparently, he does not believe in the Biblical doctrine of Christ’s Second Coming, nor does he know anything about the Sabbath. When would anyone keep the Biblical SABBATH except on SATURDAY? Those who refer to Sunday as the SABBATH only reveal their total LACK of understanding as to when the Biblical SABBATH is to be kept. Sadly, most people today do NOT know whether or when to observe God’s SABBATH. In order for you to understand the truth on this vital and SALVATIONAL matter, please read our free booklet, “God’s Commanded Holy Days.”

America For Sale?

The New York Times reported on January 20:

“Last May, a Saudi Arabian conglomerate bought a Massachusetts plastics maker. In November, a French company established a new factory in Adrian, Mich., adding 189 automotive jobs to an area accustomed to layoffs. In December, a British company bought a New Jersey maker of cough syrup.

“For much of the world, the United States is now ON SALE at discount prices. With credit tight, unemployment growing and worries mounting about a potential recession, American business and government leaders are courting foreign money to keep the economy growing. Foreign investors are buying aggressively, taking advantage of American duress and a weak dollar to snap up what many see as bargains, while making inroads to the world’s largest market.

“Last year, foreign investors poured a record $414 billion into securing stakes in American companies, factories and other properties through private deals and purchases of publicly traded stock… That was up 90 percent from the previous year and more than double the average for the last decade. It amounted to more than one-fourth of all announced deals for the year…

“During the first two weeks of this year, foreign businesses agreed to invest another $22.6 billion for stakes in American companies — more than half the value of all announced deals. If a recession now unfolds and the dollar drops further, the pace could accelerate, economists say.”

The accuracy of an Old Testament prophecy for our time–and especially for the USA–becomes more and more obvious. Deuteronomy 28:43-44 reads: “The alien who is among you shall rise higher and higher above you, and you shall come down lower and lower. He shall lend to you, but you shall not lend to him; he shall be the head, and you shall be the tail.”

For more information, please read our free booklet, “The Fall and Rise of Britain and America.”

Black Monday–Worldwide Stock Market Crash

The webpage of “thisislondon.co.uk” wrote on January 21:

“The stock market was in meltdown today as nearly £60billion was wiped off London shares as fears of a US recession sparked a global sell-off. The bloodbath saw the Footsie plummet by 5.5 per cent, losing 323.5 points…  its biggest one-day points drop since the September 11 terrorist attacks in 2001… It is also the worst start to the year for the stock market since records began in 1936… The falls followed Friday’s falls for the Dow Jones Industrial Average on Wall Street, when investors were left unimpressed by the US Government’s tax-relief plans to spur on the economy.”

The Associated Press added on January 21:

“Stocks fell sharply worldwide Monday following declines on Wall Street last week amid investor pessimism over the U.S. government’s stimulus plan to prevent a recession. U.S. markets were closed for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, but the downbeat mood from last week’s market declines there circled through Europe, Asia and the Americas. Britain’s benchmark FTSE-100 slumped 5.5 percent… France’s CAC-40 Index tumbled 6.8 percent…  and Germany’s blue-chip DAX 30 plunged 7.2 percent…

“In Asia, India’s benchmark stock index tumbled 7.4 percent, while Hong Kong’s blue-chip Hang Seng index plummeted 5.5 percent…, its biggest percentage drop since the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks. Canadian stocks fell as well, with the S&P/TSX composite index on the Toronto Stock Exchange down 4 percent in early afternoon trading. In Brazil, stocks plunged 6.9 percent on the main index of Sao Paulo’s Bovespa exchange.”

Der Spiegel Online wrote on January 21:

“In a sign of how badly Germany’s financial sector has been hit by subprime credit crisis, WestLB, the country’s third-largest regional bank, announced on Monday it would post a €1 billion euro ($1.47 billion) loss for 2007… it… didn’t rule out having to make further writedowns…

“Meanwhile, fears of a US recession led to sharp stock market losses on Monday with the German blue-chip DAX index falling as much as 7 percent, or more than 500 points, in hectic trading before stabilizing in late afternoon. It was the biggest daily decline since the September 11, 2001 attacks.

“‘There’s naked panic here — we’re seeing a classic crash,’ said one share trader. Analysts at JP Morgan Asset Management said investor sentiment had reached ‘panic level.’ Financial stocks were among the main losers, with Commerzbank and Deutsche Bank down around 6 percent in the wake of the WestLB loss announcement. Insurance and banking group Allianz fell 7 percent.”

Market Situation Not Much Better on Tuesday…

USA Today reported on Tuesday, January 22:

“The Bush administration and Congress moved with uncharacteristic speed Tuesday to devise a package of tax cuts and spending that could bring the economy back from the brink of recession…  it would take the Internal Revenue Service several months to send out rebate checks — probably in May or June. ‘It would be desirable if it could happen faster,’ [Peter] Orszag, [director of the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office,] said. ‘It is remarkable that the world’s leading economic power can’t get checks out the door faster than that.'”

Der Spiegel Online reported on January 22 about Germany’s reaction to the crash on Monday and the economic situation in the USA:

“Germany media commentators say the crash marks the end of a stock market party which had inflated prices and ignored the risks posed by the slowing US economy, the subprime credit crisis and surging energy prices… Business daily Handelsblatt writes: ‘Much evidence suggests that stock markets will remain turbulent in the next couple of weeks. Only really good news can haul us out of this slump in sentiment…

“Business daily Financial Times Deutschland writes: ‘The earth is quaking in the financial world and it can’t be foreseen when those tremors will be over. On the contrary… Being an exporting nation, Germany is strongly dependent on the world economy and the crisis has left deep scars in banks in this country… ‘

“Center-left Süddeutsche Zeitung writes: ‘Financial markets had divorced themselves from the real world; share prices rose unstoppably even though risks had long been lurking everywhere. Energy and raw materials? Kept getting more expensive. America’s economic upturn? Decidedly shaky. The dollar? About to tank. Everyone who wanted to could see these dangers; everyone who was half-way sober should have been careful in the last two or three years, and especially since last summer. But the stock market sometimes resembles a wild college party: Everyone’s drinking, so everyone joins in. And everyone ends up being so drunk that the whole event gets out of control. It’s quite possible that the worst is yet to come and that the stock market crash will continue in the coming months…’

“Conservative Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung writes:… ‘The financial market crisis which has spread from the banks to insurance companies is evidently far from over… Much suggests that the trend in international stock markets will continue to depend on what happens in the US…'”

Der Spiegel Online added on January 22:

“There was bad news too at the Bank of America, the second-largest American bank. The bank announced Tuesday that its fourth-quarter earnings had fallen by an enormous 95 percent. Net income at Bank of America fell to $268 million in the three months ended Dec. 31, down from $5.26 billion a year ago.”

… Or on Wednesday…

The Associated Press reported on Wednesday, January 23, 2008:

“Stocks extended their decline Wednesday, with investors uneasy after reports from big names like Apple Inc. and Motorola Inc. dashed any notion that the Federal Reserve’s emergency rate cut [an unprecedented 75-basis-point rate cut] could in short order patch up the economy… Wall Street’s latest slide occurred in tandem with a retrenchment in European markets, which fell after European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet appeared unmoved by the Federal Reserve’s decision to cut interest rates, according to Dow Jones Newswires. Some investors had hoped the ECB would signal willingness to cut rates. The Fed’s decision Tuesday to lower its federal funds rate by a steep 0.75 basis points to 3.5 percent eventually helped calm U.S. markets, but it remains clear that investors have doubts about the potency of the Fed action. Rate cuts typically take months to work their way into the economy.”

On Wednesday night, the Associated Press summarized the tumultuous day at Wall Street, as follows:

“It started with another stomach-turning drop at the open, and a loss of more than 300 points by midday. Then stocks changed course, raced higher and closed with a dramatic gain of nearly 300. This wasn’t just volatility. This was Wall Street whiplash.

“Amid tumbling housing prices, an ongoing credit crisis and growing fears of a recession, turbulence has become a hallmark of Wall Street in recent weeks. And after five straight days of pullbacks, analysts saw some positive signs in Wednesday’s trading… By day’s end, the Dow had swung 631.86 points from its low point to its high — the largest single-day turnaround in more than five years…

“Still, analysts were mindful that in recent months Wall Street has been known to soar one day and succumb the next, and that there are still many economic unknowns for the market to weather. And, given that stocks are so badly beaten down, bargain hunting played a part in Wednesday’s turnaround…

“Wall Street faces several months of uncertainty, with the bulk of fourth-quarter earnings reports still to come and economic reports likely to be disappointing. When it’s more clear companies and consumers are spending freely, investors might relax. However, with consumers burdened by debt and cutting back spending, it’s impossible to predict when that relief will come.”

… Or on Thursday…

In an unprecedented swift attempt to cope with the economic situation in the USA, President Bush and Congress announced on Thursday that a deal on an economic stimulus package had been reached. As the Associated Press reported on January 24:

“Democratic and Republican congressional leaders completed a deal Thursday with the White House on an economic stimulus package that would give most tax filers refunds… Congressional aides… said they hope the checks could go out as early as June.

“Individuals who pay income taxes would get up to $600, working couples $1,200 and those couples with children an additional $300 per child under the deal. Workers who make at least $3,000 but don’t pay taxes would get $300 rebates. The rebates would be limited to individuals whose income is $75,000 or less and working couples with incomes $150,000 or less.

“The rebate part of the plan would cost about $100 billion, aides said. The package also includes close to $50 billion in business tax cuts. The package would allow businesses to immediately write off 50 percent of purchases of plants and other capital equipment and permit small businesses to write off additional purchases of equipment…”

In spite of the announcement of a completed deal regarding the stimulus package, the financial turmoil at Wall Street continued on Thursday. The Associated Press reported on January 24:

“Wall Street sought to extend its gains Thursday, fluctuating as investors absorbed more bad news about bond insurers but received economic data that suggested the job market remains largely undented… Although investors were clearly interested in buying, there was little conviction behind the gains — the market is still searching for clues about the economy in hopes of determining if it might be bottoming or if it’s heading toward a recession… Given the market’s recent volatility, it remains less likely that even sizable gains or selloffs in stocks will hold as each session unfolds. A stunning turnaround Wednesday, while certainly a relief for many investors, illustrated the fractiousness that has settled into Wall Street in recent months…”

Preemptive Nuclear Strike by NATO?

The Telegraph wrote on January 22:

“Nato must prepare to launch pre-emptive nuclear attacks to ward off the use of weapons of mass destruction by its enemies, a group of former senior military officials has warned… the authors of the blueprint for reforming Nato include Lord Peter Inge, the former British chief of the defence staff and US General John Shalikashvili, the former Nato commander in Europe and chairman of the US joint chiefs of staff…

“The authors have proposed major changes to the way Nato operates, including abandoning consensus decision making so fast action can be taken without the threat of vetoes and caveats imposed by some nations. They also called for military action without ratification by the UN in cases where ‘immediate action is needed to protect large numbers of human beings’. The report was compiled after authors were briefed by senior serving military officials who are unable to speak publicly about their concerns with Nato’s military strategy… The other three authors are Klaus Naumann, a German former military commander, Henk van den Breemen, a former Dutch military official, and Jacques Lanxade, the former French admiral and chief of defence.”

The Bible predicts nuclear war in the future, which would destroy ALL HUMAN LIFE on this planet, if Christ would not intervene to stop this madness (Matthew 24:21-22).

Israel’s Blockade of Gaza

The Jerusalem Post wrote on January 23:

“Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians crossed into Egypt from Gaza on Wednesday after gunmen destroyed about two-thirds of the Gaza-Egypt border wall. Most of the Gazans returned after stocking up on food and other basic supplies that have become scarce due to the blockade imposed on the territory by Israel. UN personnel said they estimated the number of Palestinians who entered Egypt to be 350,000. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak announced that he had ordered his troops to allow Palestinians to cross into Egypt because they were starving… Mubarak also criticized Hamas for continuing to fire missiles into Israel, saying that it was not helping the situation. He said that he had been in contact with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and helped convince him to resume fuel shipments into Gaza…

“Israel is worried about the chaos on the Gaza-Egypt border, and expects Egypt to solve the problem… The chaotic scenes came on the sixth day of a complete closure of Gaza, imposed by Israel and backed by Egypt, in response to a spike in Gaza rocket attacks on Israeli border towns. Hamas has orchestrated daily demonstrations on the Gaza-Egypt border, in an apparent attempt to appeal to Arab public opinion and pressure Egypt to open the passage.”

AFP added on January 24 that “Palestinians swarmed out of Gaza into Egypt for a second consecutive day on Thursday to stock up on supplies after militants blew open the border of the Hamas-run territory.”

“Freedom” in Turkey?

The Associated Press reported on January 20:

“A Turkish court has again blocked access to the popular video-sharing Web site YouTube because of clips allegedly insulting the country’s founding father, according to reports Sunday. It was the second time Turkey banned the site because of clips deemed disrespectful to Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. It is illegal in Turkey to insult the revered figure, whose portrait still hangs in nearly all government offices nearly 70 years after his death. Users trying to access the Web site from Turkey were met with notices in English and Turkish saying it was banned under an Ankara court order issued Jan. 17.

“Last March, another court blocked access to YouTube for two days after a complaint that some clips insulted Ataturk, a war hero who founded Turkey from the ruins of the Ottoman Empire. The ban was lifted after YouTube removed the offending videos… The YouTube bans in Turkey have highlighted the country’s troubled record on free expression. Several prominent Turkish journalists and writers — including Nobel literature prize winner Orhan Pamuk — have been tried for allegedly insulting ‘Turkishness.'”

“Don’t Attack the Pope…”

AFP wrote on January 20:

“More than 100,000 people filled St Peter’s Square on Sunday in a show of support for Pope Benedict XVI after protests by scientists [prompted] him to cancel a university speech… The 80-year-old head of the Roman Catholic Church cancelled a planned speech at Rome’s La Sapienza university Thursday after dozens of professors and students protested his presence at the secular school…

“A Vatican spokesman put at 200,000 the number of pilgrims at the event — billed in the Italian media as ‘pope day’ — holding up banners with slogans such as ‘Holy Father We Love You’ and ‘Long Live Freedom of Thought.’ Tens of thousands more supporters watched video links of the event outside the Milan cathedral and in Verona, Italian media reported…

“Deputy Prime Minister Francesco Rutelli attended Sunday’s rally, as well as former justice minister Clemente Mastella, who resigned just last week to face corruption charges. University Minister Fabio Mussi raised a dissenting voice, saying the politicians’ presence at the event ‘smacked of exploitation.’…

“The incident [that is, the protest by scientists and students] ‘was a shock for most Italians, whatever their opinions on other subjects,’ said Marco Politi, a Vatican expert at the Italian daily La Repubblica. ‘In Italy, to attack the pope’s person … is to violate a taboo,’ Politi told AFP. But Paolo Flores D’Arcais, who writes for a prestigious philosophy magazine, MicroMega, said: ‘THIS IS THE WORLD UPSIDE DOWN. The pope … is posing as a victim. He’s the one who decided not to go to the university, where he could have spoken.’

“Students opposed to the pope’s visit staged ‘an anti-clergy week’ during which they showed a film on Galileo, the 17th-century physicist who fell foul of Church doctrine by insisting that the Earth orbits the Sun. Galileo was convicted of heresy by the Inquisition — the predecessor of the Vatican’s doctrinal watchdog, the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith, that the pope formerly headed as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger.”

As we reported in the Current Events section of our last week’s Update (#327), the concern of the professors and scientists–which AFP neglected to mention in the above-quoted article–was the pope’s APPROVAL of Galileo’s trial. We quoted the Catholic press agency, VIS, as follows: “The signatories of the petition take exception to a talk given by the then Cardinal Ratzinger in 1990, and in particular to a phrase he used on that occasion to the effect that ‘in Galileo’s time the Church remained much more faithful to reason than Galileo himself. The trial against Galileo was reasonable and just.'”

No Surprise–Another Political Crisis in Italy

CNN reported on January 23:

“Recent opinion poll analysis suggests Italians have lost confidence in all state institutions: the presidency, the parliament, the government, the judiciary and, yes, you guessed it, the church. The last thing this country needs at this time is another political crisis that would result in more instability and more dissatisfaction among people here. Yet this is exactly what is happening. After less than two years in office, Prime Minister Romano Prodi is fighting for his (political) survival. He has been doing so since he won the elections by a wafer thin majority in April 2006, but last week his minister of justice resigned amid corruption allegations (which he denied). He announced that his party, which has less than two percent of national representation and holds only three out of 315 senate seats, was pulling out.”

Reuters reported on January 24:

“Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi lost a confidence vote in the Senate on Thursday and went to hand his resignation to the president, prompting opposition leader Silvio Berlusconi to demand immediate elections…  But President Giorgio Napolitano may first appoint an interim government to reform a messy electoral system, which in 2006 landed Prodi with a tiny Senate majority and an unstable nine-party coalition ranging from Catholics to communists. Analysts said the demise of the 61st government since World War Two should not hurt economic growth prospects…”

 

German Carnival On Its Way

Der Spiegel Online wrote on January 21:

“Germany’s main carnival parade this year will poke fun at England for failing to qualify for the European Football Championship in June… Much of traditionally Catholic western and southern Germany comes to a standstill during the week before Lent. The season kicks off with ‘Old Wives’ Day’ when women cut off men’s ties in a symbolic castration ritual and storm town halls… If carnival is a religion, the residents of Cologne can be classified as extremists: The inebriated revelry can make the Munich Oktoberfest look like a tea party.”

Frankenstein in the Making?

The Daily Mail reported on January 17:

“A scientist has achieved a world first… by cloning himself. In a breakthrough certain to provoke an ethical furore, Samuel Wood created embryo copies of himself by placing his skin cells in a woman’s egg. The embryos were the first to be made from cells taken from adult humans… they survived for only five days and were smaller than a pinhead… critics fear the technology could be exploited by mavericks to clone babies and accused the scientists of reducing the miracle of human life to a factory of spare parts.

“Researchers from the Californian stem cell research company Stemagen employed the same technique used to make Dolly the sheep, the world’s first cloned mammal, to create the embryos… [Wood] is working on extracting stem cells from such embryos – a process that inevitably leads to the death of the embryo.

“John Smeaton, of the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children, said: ‘We have got scientists wandering around in an ethical wilderness, forgetting about matters of justice relating to our fellow human beings. We have people creating human beings with the intention of destroying them. That’s appalling.’

“And the Vatican condemned the cloning of human embryos, calling it the ‘worst type of exploitation of the human being’. ‘This ranks among the most morally illicit acts, ethically speaking,’ said… Elio Sgreccia, president of the Pontifical Academy for Life, the Vatican department that helps oversee the Church’s position on bioethics issues…

“Although Dr Wood’s team is the first to create human embryos from adult cells, human embryos have been cloned before. Scientists at Newcastle University created cloned human embryos in 2005 using cells from embryos rather than adults, seen as less useful in creating potential treatments…

“The news came as it was revealed that animal-human hybrid embryos will be created in British laboratories… Mr Smeaton said: ‘It is creating a category of beings regarded as sub-human who can be used as raw material to benefit other members of the human family. How wrong can something be before a scientist understands you cannot just do it because of the perceived good for human beings.'”

Is it justified to kill unborn embryos in order to save born humans? For this hotly debated issue, please make sure to view our recent StandingWatch program (#153), titled, “Abortion–Right or Wrong?”

America–The Whole Nation Is Sick (Isaiah 1:5-6)

LifeScience reported on January 8:

“The United States places last among 19 countries in deaths that could have been prevented by access to timely and effective healthcare, a new study finds.If the United States had performed as well as the top three countries out of the 19 industrialized countries in the study, there would be about 101,000 fewer U.S. deaths in the per year, the researchers estimate. The top performers: France, Japan, and Australia…

“In 1997–98 the U.S. ranked 15th out of 19 countries on the ‘mortality amenable to health care’ measure. However, by 2002–03 the U.S. fell to last place, with 109 deaths amenable to health care for every 100,000 people. In contrast, mortality rates per 100,000 people in the leading countries were: France (64), Japan (71), and Australia (71).

“The other countries included in the study were Austria, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom…

“In a 2006 study, infant mortality in the United States was found to be among the worst of all industrialized nations. Another study found Americans had a higher rate of sickness than the British in all categories studied.”

Even though the ancients in Old Testament times did swear, the New Testament tells us that we should not do so today.

We read Christ’s words in Matthew 5:33-37: “Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord.’ But I say to you, do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is God’s throne; nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black. But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one.”

James adds in James 5:12: “But above all, my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath. But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No,’ lest you fall into judgment.”

We note that Jesus, when here on earth as a human being, did not swear. We read in Matthew 26:63 that the high priest attempted to have Christ swear, when he said: “I put You under oath by the living God: Tell us if You are the Christ, the Son of God!”

Note HOW Christ responded, in verse 64: “It is as you said.” He did not answer by saying, “I swear,” but He confirmed–or we might say, “affirmed”– the accuracy of the high priest’s statement.

It is therefore correct that a Christian is permitted by God’s Word to affirm the truth. For instance, we read that Paul used a strong “affirmation” for the accuracy of his statements in Romans 9:1-2, when he said: “I tell the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Spirit, that I have great sorrow and a continual grief in my heart.”

He even called “God as witness against his soul,” when affirming the truth of his statement in 2 Corinthians 1:23: “Moreover I call God as witness against my soul, that to spare you I came no more to Corinth.”

Paul made a similar statement in Galatians 1:20: “Now concerning the things which I write to you, indeed, before God, I do not lie.”

However, as we can clearly see, Paul did not “swear” when he made those statements. Nor do we read that he raised his right hand in connection with his statements.

We do read, however, that angels, who are mightier than man and who are allowed to swear in the New Testament, raise their right hand (or even both hands) when they swear. This shows that raising the right hand is considered as a part of the act of swearing.

We read in Revelation 10:5-6 (New Revised Standard Version): “Then the angel whom I saw standing on the sea and the land raised his right hand to heaven and swore by him who lives forever and ever…”

The following commentaries confirm the fact that the right hand is raised in conjunction with swearing:

The commentary of Jamieson, Fausset and Brown gives the following explanation to Revelation 10:5-6: “It was customary to lift up the hand towards heaven, appealing to the God of truth, in taking a solemn oath.”

John Gill’s “Exposition of the Entire Bible” concurs and adds the following remarks to Revelation 10:5-6: “… lifted up his hand to heaven; the Oriental versions read, ‘his right hand’; and so [do][ some copies, and the Complutensian edition… the lifting up of the hand was a gesture used in swearing… so the Jews say… ‘the right hand’, or by the right hand… ‘this is an oath”, according to [Daniel 12:7] or whether the right hand or the left, is an oath, according to [Isaiah 62:8].”

Albert Barnes writes in his “Notes on the Bible” to Revelation 10:5-6: “… Lifted up his hand to heaven–The usual attitude in taking an oath, as if one called heaven to witness.”

The Jewish Tanakh rendition adds an interesting footnote to Genesis 14:22, where Abram said, “I swear to the LORD, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth (Tanakh).” The footnote reads in regard to the word “swear”: “Lit. ‘lift up my hand.'”

Based on the foregoing, members of the Church of the Eternal God and its corporate affiliates may affirm to tell the truth, but they should not swear or raise their right hand. We would also advise against including words in an affirmation that appeal to God, such as “so help me God,” or something to that effect, as to do so could lead to a violation of the Third Commandment (“You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain…”, compare Deuteronomy 5:11). It is much safer to abide by the clear instructions of Jesus and James, telling us not to swear (or affirm) by heaven or earth or Jerusalem, as all of these are in some way related to God, or not even by our own head, “nor by any other oath.”

Lead Writer: Norbert Link

A new StandingWatch program (#153) was posted on StandingWatch, Google Video and You Tube. It is titled, “Abortion–Right or Wrong?” In the program, Norbert Link asks the questions,  Is abortion always right–or is it always wrong? And if it is acceptable under certain circumstances, how old does the embryo or fetus have to be to make it right? Neither proponents of “pro choice” nor those of “pro life” seem to have the answers. Do you know the truth? Only God, in His Word, the Bible, can tell you.

The video recordings of Norbert Link’s sermons, “Tabernacle in the Wilderness, Part 1,” and “Interpersonal Relationships,” were posted on Google Video.

by John Amorelli

Recently, we had an ice storm with strong winds and heavy rainfall. My wife Louise and I heard a big “boom” outside during internet church services. It sounded like an explosion! We were both startled and didn’t know where the noise came from. We didn’t go outside to see what it was, due to the fact that it was night time, and we live in a dense 3-acre wooded area. The next day, I went outside to inspect the surroundings to see if the noise had come from our property. To my surprise, there was a big oak tree down on the ground, not far from the house!!! Apparently, the strong winds and rain had blown down the tree. The severe weather literally had torn the tree from its roots! The tree trunk was still intact. It was an amazing sight to recognize that this big tree had such a hard fall!

This made me think of my spiritual life. “Am I like this big oak tree?” I asked myself. Sometimes I think of myself as that big oak tree before its fall–being “spiritually” big and strong. The wind and the rain tested the strength of that tree and its root system. But, the severe weather was too much for that big tree to handle. Hence, the Big Fall!

No matter how spiritually big and strong I think I am, I know I am nothing without God and His Spirit. God must strengthen my foundation, enabling me to fight against the “severe weather” of this world. I never thought that big tree would fall! When tough trials come, I need to stay close to God and His way of life, because when I THINK I stand tall, I could have the BIG FALL!

On January 19, 2008, Norbert Link will give the sermon, titled, “Interpersonal Relationships.”

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.

One of the defining hallmarks of a Christian has to be his willingness to rise again after falling. As we walk the path of righteousness, there will be obstacles along the way. There is a good chance that, no matter how diligent we are, we will fall. This is not the end of the world. As much as we try to steady ourselves, we eventually will go down. The key is to get back up.

Proverbs 24:16 states, “For a righteous man may fall seven times And rise again….” The Christian has a duty to get back up. We are not allowed to wallow in pity or any other self deprecating behavior, but rather pull ourselves up by the bootstraps and move on.

This is made all the easier by the fact that we have a loving Father who will rescue us in our time of need. In Job 5:19 we find a complementary Scripture, “He shall deliver you in six troubles, Yes, in seven no evil shall touch you.” So, for all seven times that we fall into trouble, God will be there for us. All we need to do is avail ourselves of this option.

David explained: “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the LORD delivers him out of them all” (Psalms 34:19). Brethren and co-workers in Christ, let us continue to seek God while He may be found–in the good times and the bad; when we are up and when we are down. The biggest mistake that we can make may not be the one that caused us to fall, but the one that kept us from getting back up.

Is the USA Losing Economic World Dominance?

The Financial Times wrote on January 15:

“The US looks poised to lose its mantle as the world’s dominant financial market because of a rapid rise in the depth and maturity of markets in Europe, a study suggests. The change may have occurred already, not least because US markets are beset by credit woes, according to research by McKinsey Global Institute, a think-tank affiliated to the consultancy. ‘We think the differential growth rates are so significant that it is quite likely Europe has overtaken the US,’ said Diana Farrell, author of the report… In previous decades, most US policymakers and bankers assumed their domestic markets were the largest and most sophisticated in the world, and sought to export their model of financial capitalism to other parts of the globe. But the credit crisis has dented confidence in the health of America’s financial institutions and its model of finance. Meanwhile, since the launch of the single currency in 1999, European markets have been steadily growing in liquidity and size.”

“The US Is Headed Into a Recession”

Der Spiegel Online wrote on January 16:

“Fears continued to grow on Wednesday that the growing financial flu in the United States caused by the subprime mortgage crisis is spreading across the Atlantic. On Tuesday, investor Hypo Real Estate saw its market value drop by a massive €2 billion, or nearly a third, one of the biggest drops ever recorded of a firm listed in the DAX index of leading German firms… Meanwhile, conviction seems to be growing that the US is headed into a recession and that the effects could put the brakes on Germany’s recent economic boom. Last week Goldman Sachs said the US would go into a recession in 2008, but Merrill Lynch claims it has already arrived.”

US Inflation Rate Worst in 17 Years

The Associated Press reported on January 16:

“Higher costs for energy and food last year pushed inflation up by the largest amount in 17 years, even though prices generally remained tame outside of those two areas. Meanwhile, industrial output was flat in December, more evidence of a significant slowdown in the economy… Consumers felt the pain when they filled up their gas tanks or shopped for groceries…

“In a second report, the Federal Reserve said that output at the nation’s factories, mines and utilities showed no growth in December, adding to a string of weak economic reports showing that the economy was slowing at the end of last year.

“That weakness has shown up in the biggest one-month jump in unemployment since the 2001 terrorist attacks and billions of dollars in losses at many of the country’s biggest financial institutions. Citigroup Inc. reported Tuesday it had suffered a $10 billion loss for the last three months of 2007, reflecting bad bets on investments backed by subprime mortgages.

“The Dow Jones industrial average plunged by 277 points on Tuesday and fell even further on Wednesday as Intel reported weak earnings for the fourth quarter. The Dow was down by 26 points in late morning trading… The rising risk of a recession has prompted politicians to consider stimulus packages to give the economy a jump-start to either prevent a recession or at least mitigate its fallout… Workers’ wages failed to keep up with the higher inflation. Average weekly earnings, after adjusting for inflation, dropped by 0.9 percent in 2007, the biggest setback since a 1.5 percent fall in 2005.”

In addition, AFP reported on January 17 that “US financial services giant Merrill Lynch reported Thursday a 2007 net loss of 7.8 billion dollars amid heavy losses in financial products linked to the mortgage sector crunch.”

Bush Administration Supports “Reasonable” Gun Restrictions

On January 14, WorldNetDaily reported the following:

“Since ‘unrestricted’ private ownership of guns clearly threatens the public safety, the 2nd Amendment can be interpreted to allow a variety of gun restrictions, according to the Bush administration. The argument was delivered by U.S. Solicitor General Paul D. Clement in a brief filed with the U.S. Supreme Court in the ongoing arguments over the legality of a District of Columbia ban on handguns in homes, according to a report from the Los Angeles Times. Clement suggested that gun rights are limited and subject to ‘reasonable regulation’ and said all federal limits on guns should be upheld.

“‘Given the unquestionable threat to public safety that unrestricted private firearm possession would entail, various categories of firearm-related regulation are permitted by the 2nd Amendment,’ he wrote in the brief, the Times reported. He noted especially the federal ban on machine guns and those many other ‘particularly dangerous types of firearms,’ and endorsed restrictions on gun ownership by felons, those subject to restraining orders, drug users and ‘mental defectives.’ His arguments came in the closely watched Washington, D.C., ban that would prevent residents from keeping handguns in their homes for self-defense…

“The [second] amendment reads, ‘A well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.’ Clement is the Bush administration’s chief lawyer before the court, and submitted the arguments in the case that is to determine whether the D.C. limit is constitutional.

“He said the 2nd Amendment ‘protects an individual right to possess firearms, including for private purposes unrelated to militia operations,’ and noted the D.C. ban probably goes too far… He said the failing in the D.C. law is that it totally bans handguns in the homes of private citizens… The Justice Department long had endorsed gun controls until Attorney General John Ashcroft in 2001 switched the department’s position to support individual gun rights, the Times said.”

Bad Arab Reviews for President Bush in the Mideast

Time reported on January 16:

“The disparaging of President Bush’s eight-day tour of the Middle East by America’s staunchest opponents in the region was hardly unexpected. Iran’s foreign minister claimed it was designed to give Israel a green light ‘to perpetrate new crimes’ against Palestinians. Lebanon’s most senior Shi’ite cleric accused Bush of ‘war crimes.’ A prominent jihadist web site called the President ‘this criminal, butcher and murderer of our blood.’

“But Bush was also harshly criticized — albeit in more circumspect language — in countries with close ties to Washington, including some from the very countries that rolled out the red carpet for the visiting President. Commenting on the two main purposes of the tour, even the most liberal Arab press questioned the sincerity of Bush’s efforts to establish a Palestinian state and criticized his campaign to pressure Iran over its nuclear program… Perhaps the unkindest cut of all was an editorial in the Saudi Gazette, comparing back-to-back visits by Western leaders to Riyadh this week. ‘It would be difficult to argue that French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s visit to the Kingdom was not in almost every way a success,’ the paper said, adding, with an unmistakable swipe at Bush: ‘It’s refreshing to see a Western leader come to the Kingdom speaking of peace rather than just issuing warnings on the state of affairs in the region.’

“Bush’s efforts to rally an Arab coalition to isolate Iran in the Gulf seemed to fall flat. Only days after he visited Kuwait, liberated in 1991 by a coalition led by the President’s father, Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Mohammed Sabah al-Salem al-Sabah was standing beside Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki in Tehran, declaring: ‘My country knows who is our friend and who is our enemy, and Iran is our friend.’

“Seldom has an American President’s visit left the region so underwhelmed, confirming Bush’s huge unpopularity on the street and his sagging credibility among Arab leaders he counts as allies…

“Bush received his warmest welcome in Saudi Arabia, where King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz al-Saud accorded him an honor reserved for special friends by inviting him to his horse farm outside Riyadh. But the Saudis didn’t hesitate when it came to publicly disagreeing with Bush’s views on various Middle East matters. Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal, standing beside Secretary of State Condeleezza Rice, pointedly declined to endorse her call for more Arab gestures toward Israel or her relatively rosy assessment of political reconciliation in Iraq. After Bush jawboned the Saudis about increasing oil production to bring down oil prices, the Saudi oil minister shot back, ‘We will raise production when the market justifies it.’

“For Arabs, the biggest bone of contention, as it has been so often in the past, was Bush’s handling of the Palestinian issue… ‘We ought to be celebrating President George Bush’s declaration that a Palestinian state is “long overdue,”‘ said the Arab News in Jidda. ‘It is impossible to feel any excitement about Bush’s words, because no Palestinian, no Arab believes he will, or can, deliver. We have the Bush record with its damning testimony of failure and disaster. That is the reason for the skepticism and the cynicism.'”

Sarkozy Under Fire

Reuters reported on January 18:

“President Nicolas Sarkozy’s increasingly frequent and positive references to God and faith have drawn fire from critics who accuse him of violating France’s separation of church and state. Sarkozy, a taboo-breaker whose whirlwind love life has distracted the media for weeks, broke with traditional presidential reserve about religion to stress France’s Christian roots in a speech in a Rome basilica just before Christmas.
 
“In Riyadh on Monday, he hailed Islam as ‘one of the greatest and most beautiful civilisations the world has known’ and described his Saudi hosts as rulers who ‘appeal to the basic values of Islam to combat the fundamentalism that negates them’. His praise for a kingdom that enforces and propagates a strict version of Islam, during a visit aimed at securing lucrative export contracts, was the last straw for his critics…

“The twice-divorced president defines himself as a ‘cultural Catholic’, an infrequent churchgoer who says he values the moral and social role that religion can play in society.”

“Europe Is Becoming a Platform for Terrorists”

Reuters reported on January 16:

“Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said on Wednesday that one of the biggest threats to U.S. security may now come from within Europe. In an interview with BBC radio, Chertoff said that American authorities were becoming increasingly aware of a real risk of Europe becoming a ‘platform for terrorists’… Chertoff’s comments came after reports that British intelligence services are investigating an Islamist Web site which said that a branch of al Qaeda had been established in Britain. Security experts fear a posting on the site, urging young Muslim men to rise up against what it called infidels such as Prime Minister Gordon Brown and former Prime Minister Tony Blair, may be genuine.

“Chertoff said that while Washington had no plans to suspend a visa waiver program that allows most Europeans who travel to the United States as tourists to do so without a visa, authorities would like to step up advance checks on travelers. ‘We do want to elevate some of the security measures in the program,’ he said, proposing an advance travel authorization system which would require potential visitors to register online their intention to travel to America to allow authorities to clear them in advance.

“Chertoff also said that the absence of any attacks in the United States since September 11, 2001 had created ‘a certain sense of complacency’ which needed to be dispelled. ‘When I lift my eyes and look around the world and I look at what happens in Britain and Germany and Spain and Bali and Pakistan, I don’t see terrorism going away, I see an al Qaeda that’s emboldened,’ he said.”

Tony Blair–the New European President?

On January 12, the EUObserver wrote the following about speculations that Tony Blair might become the European President  in 2009:

“Even before the Lisbon Treaty was signed, speculation was rife as to who would be the first European president as proposed in the new document. Now it is signed and sealed, one man heads the list of potential candidates. The role, outlined in the treaty signed by the 27 member states at the end of last year, will replace the current system whereby each country assumes the rotating presidency for six months. The job, a two-and-a-half-year term, will be up for grabs in 2009 if the bloc’s 27 member states can keep to their timetable and individually ratify the treaty over the next year. It now appears that former British Prime Minister Tony Blair has taken an early lead…

“[French President] Sarkozy has made no secret of his admiration for Blair and was the first and most vocal advocate of his potential presidency. ‘He is a very remarkable man. He is the most European of Britons … it would be intelligent to think of him,’ Sarkozy said last year. The French president is not alone in thinking Blair would be a good candidate…

“Blair’s supporters also trumpet his close ties with the United States, which could help improve transatlantic relations, and his high international profile… One of Blair’s strongest skills is his public persona and his ability to work with diplomats of all levels and nations. The European president would also have to be a strong character to help define the job from that of the EU ‘High Representative’ for foreign affairs, a post also introduced in the treaty, and the European Commission president’s role. Blair has never had a problem with showing those around him who’s boss, with maybe the exception of the President of the United States.

“Blair’s close relationship with the United States, which his supporters say would be advantageous in the European president’s post, is also held up by those against him as a reason why he would not be the ideal candidate. Blair looked across the Atlantic instead of the English Channel when Iraq slipped towards war and many on the continent have not forgotten on which post Blair nailed his colors.

“While speculation grows, the man himself is said to be concentrating fully on his current job as the international community’s Middle East envoy without a thought for the position of European president. Anyone who has followed Blair’s career will find that very difficult to believe.”

It might be interesting to review Mr. Blair’s ancestry.

The Wickipedia Encyclopedia reports:

“Blair was born at the Queen Mary Maternity Home in Edinburgh, Scotland, on 6 May 1953, the second son of Leo and Hazel Blair [her maiden name was Corscadden]. Leo Blair, the illegitimate son of two English actors, had been adopted by a Glasgow shipyard worker named James Blair and his wife Mary as a baby. Hazel Corscadden was the daughter of George Corscadden, a butcher and Orangeman who had moved to Glasgow in 1916 but returned to (and died in) Ballyshannon in 1923, where his wife Sarah Margaret [her maiden name was Lipsett] gave birth to Blair’s mother Hazel above her family’s grocery shop. The Lipsett family in Donegal supposedly originated with a German Jewish immigrant to Ireland prior to the 18th century…”

Joerg Haider Back in the News

The Associated Press reported on January 14 (The article was re-published in The Moscow Times on January 16):

“Austrian right-wing politician Joerg Haider called on Saturday for an immediate moratorium on granting asylum to immigrants from Chechnya, blaming some already in the alpine country for violence and sex crimes. In a harshly worded statement, Haider — the former leader of the far-right Freedom Party — accused the Austrian government of carelessness in approving roughly 70 percent of all applications for asylum sought by people fleeing Chechnya.

“Haider accused Chechen asylum seekers of ‘excessive violence’ in the southern province of Carinthia, where he is governor, and blamed Chechens for a rise in rapes and other sexual assaults in the province of Upper Austria. Chechens, Haider said, have ‘a heightened potential for violence’ and should not be readily admitted into Austria… Haider said it was ‘incomprehensible’ that Austria granted asylum to more than 2,000 Chechens last year. At the same time, he said, neighboring nations such as Slovenia did not approve a single application.

“He said more Chechens were reaching Austria and applying for permission to stay now that European Union border controls have been dismantled along the country’s borders with relative EU newcomer nations Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia and the Czech Republic. Haider, who founded the somewhat more moderate Alliance for the Future of Austria in 2005, is best known for mocking Jews and praising some of Hitler’s policies while he was at the helm of the Freedom Party.”

Islam’s Teaching About Jesus Christ

AFP reported on January 13:

“A director who shares the ideas of Iran’s hardline president has produced what he says is the first film giving an Islamic view of Jesus Christ, in a bid to show the ‘common ground’ between Muslims and Christians. Nader Talebzadeh sees his movie, ‘Jesus, the Spirit of God,’ as an Islamic answer to Western productions like Mel Gibson’s 2004 blockbuster ‘The Passion of the Christ,’ which he praised as admirable but quite simply ‘wrong’… Islam sees Jesus as a prophet, not the [Son] of God, and does not believe he was crucified… The film, funded by state broadcasting, faded off the billboards but is far from dead, about to be recycled in a major 20 episode spin-off to be broadcast over state-run national television this year…

“[In the] movie, God saves Jesus, depicted as a fair-complexioned man with long hair and a beard, from crucifixion and takes him straight to heaven. ‘It is frankly said in the Koran that the person who was crucified was not Jesus’ but Judas, one of the 12 Apostles and the one the Bible holds betrayed Jesus to the Romans [Talebzadeh said]…

“In [the] film, it is Judas who is crucified. Islam sees Jesus as one of five great prophets — others being Noah, Moses and Abraham — sent to earth to announce the coming of Mohammed, the final prophet who spread the religion of Islam… Shiite Muslims, the majority in Iran, believe Jesus will accompany the Imam Mahdi when he reappears in a future apocalypse to save the world.

“… the TV version of [the] film will [allegedly] further explore the links between Jesus and the Mahdi — whose return Ahmadinejad has said his government, which came to power in 2005, is working to hasten.”

Austrian Politician Attacks Muhammad and Islam

Der Spiegel Online reported on January 14:

“Susanne Winter, a right-wing politician with the FPÖ party running for a city council seat in the city of Graz, blasted Muslims on Sunday, saying that ‘in today’s system’ the Prophet Muhammad would be considered a ‘child molester,’ apparently referring to his marriage to a six-year-old child. She also said that it is time for Islam to be ‘thrown back where it came from, behind the Mediterranean.’… she also claimed that Muhammad wrote the Koran in ‘epileptic fits.’

“In an interview with the daily Österreich published on Monday, Winter continued the onslaught saying that child abuse is ‘widespread’ among Muslim men and that Graz is facing a ‘tsunami of Muslim immigration.’ In 20 or 30 years, she warned, half of Austria’s population would be Muslim.

“Her comments have resulted in a storm of protest in Austria, with politicians and commentators of all stripes taking Winter and her party to task. Austrian prosecutors are also looking into the possibility of filing charges against the 50-year-old politician for incitement…

“But despite the strong reaction generated by Winter, such rhetoric is hardly foreign to political campaigns in Austria. Her party was brought to international prominence by Jörg Haider, the notoriously right-leaning politician who found success in the 1990s and earlier this decade with a mixture of xenophobia and nationalism. He has since moved on, but his rhetoric has remained the same. Campaigning recently for his new group, the Association for Austria’s Future (BZÖ), he said, ‘We are still allowed to say Gruss Gott,’ — the traditional Austrian greeting — ‘and don’t have to praise Allah.’…”

The Austrian Press Agency, NetWorld, reported on January 15 that Winter allegedly received death threats from a radical Islamic group, which is reportedly operating in Serbia. The group claims that Winter must be killed, and that every Muslim is entitled to kill Winter. In addition, a video surfaced on the Internet, which was later withdrawn by the Internet provider as inappropriate, showing a picture of the September 11th attack on New York, with an accompanying text, stating that something similar could also happen in Austria, and that Winter would be responsible.

NetWorld continued to state on January 16 that even several Habsburg emperors could be viewed as “child molesters”–if one was to follow Winter’s rationale. It was pointed out that in 1483, French Emperor Charles VIII married three-year-old Margaret of Austria, a daughter of Emperor Maxilimian. Further, in 1649, 14-year-old Maria Anna of Austria was married to her uncle, Spain’s King Philip of Spain; and in 1666, 15-year-old Margarita Teresa married her uncle, Emperor Leopold I.

German Head of Catholic Church Resigns

Deutsche Welle reported on January 16:

“Cardinal Karl Lehmann, the head of Germany’s Catholic Church, has announced that he will vacate his post on Feb. 18 [after having led the country’s bishops for over 20 years]. The sometimes controversial, but respected bishop is known to have had health problems last year… Considered to be a relatively liberal Catholic theologian, the cardinal… became deputy head of German bishops in 1985 and was appointed chairman in 1987. He has held that post longer than any other bishop.

“He is viewed as a moral authority in Germany, and became a symbol for the Catholic Church in the country. But he has not always appealed to everyone… Lehmann upset many Muslims last year, when he spoke out against Islam enjoying equal status to Christianity in Europe.”

Der Spiegel Online wrote on January 15 that Lehmann is one of the few church leaders who was not afraid to oppose Rome, and that his resignation signifies a loss for German Catholics. The magazine reported that he observed with concern the growth of the Catholic Church’s “Roman centralism.”

Church Trial Against Galileo “Reasonable and Just”?

VIS reported on January 16:

“The Pope will not make the visit he was scheduled to make tomorrow, 17 January, to Rome’s ‘La Sapienza’ University for the inauguration of the academic year, according to a communique released yesterday evening by the Holy See Press Office… The ‘events’ to which the note refers include a petition to the rector signed by 67 professors asking for the invitation to Benedict XVI to be withdrawn, and protests by groups of students who yesterday occupied the rector’s office to demand the right to demonstrate within the university campus on the day of the Pope’s visit.

“The signatories of the petition take exception to a talk given by the then Cardinal Ratzinger in 1990, and in particular to a phrase he used on that occasion to the effect that ‘in Galileo’s time the Church remained much more faithful to reason than Galileo himself. The trial against Galileo was reasonable and just.’ The future Pope’s remarks, a quote from a work by the philosopher of science Paul Feyerabend, were made in the context of a talk on the crisis of confidence in science, in which he used the example of changing attitudes towards the case of Galileo.”

Closer Ties Between China and Taiwan?

The Associated Press reported on January 12:

“Taiwan’s opposition Nationalist Party, which supports closer ties with mainland China, won a landslide victory in parliamentary elections Saturday in a major upset for President Chen Shui-bian. The opposition victory is a massive blow to Chen’s government, whose hard-line policies were aimed at formalizing de facto independence for Taiwan. Chen, who has been president for eight years, must step down after the presidential elections on March 22… A major election issue was the economy, political observers said. Salaries have remained stagnant and unemployment is high in one of the world’s top 20 economies, while the prices of consumer goods have soared — at the same time as China has enjoyed an economic boom.

“The Nationalists have promised to boost the economy by allowing Chinese tourists to visit the island and arranging direct flights between Taiwan and China… Initiatives that the Nationalists have stalled in recent years have [included] a multibillion-dollar sale of American weapons to the island. It could also see a thawing of the island’s often frosty relationship with China, with the Nationalists not dismissing the notion of possible reunification with the mainland — an issue of serious dispute since the unresolved civil war of the 1940s. China refuses to recognize Taiwan’s de facto independence from the mainland. Beijing’s attitude towards Taiwan has also been the source of tension with Washington for several decades.”

Cloned Animal Meat Safe for Consumption?

AFP reported on January 16:

“The US food safety authority on Tuesday approved meat and milk from cloned animals, clearing the way for them one day to appear on store shelves despite opposition on ethical and health grounds. ‘Meat and milk from clones of cattle, swine, and goats, and the offspring of clones from any species traditionally consumed as food, are as safe to eat as food from conventionally bred animals,’ Food and Drug Administration (FDA) official Randall Lutter told a news conference. Lutter said his agency would not require food made from cloned animals or their offspring to be specially labeled, but producers could apply for the right to label their foods ‘clone-free.’ The FDA however said it did not have enough information to rule on whether cloned sheep and other cloned animals were safe to eat…

“The European Commission has vowed to consult consumers before giving its own ruling in May. The European Food Safety Authority said meat and milk from healthy cattle and pig clones is probably safe for humans to eat…

“US senators last month passed a farm bill that included a measure requiring the FDA to delay its ruling until further studies are carried out. One of the sponsors of that measure, Maryland Senator Barbara Mikulski, accused the FDA of acting ‘recklessly’ on Tuesday. ‘Just because something was created in a lab, doesn’t mean we should have to eat it,’ she said in a statement… It will still be years before meat and milk from clones appears in US stores, reports say. The animals involved, clones of the highest quality beasts, are too valuable to slaughter or milk and better used for breeding.”

Ethics Violation of Cloned Food

The EUObserver reported on January 17:

“The European Commission’s advisory group [EGE] charged with consideration of ethics in science and technology has concluded that at present the production of cloned food cannot be justified. The [EGE] said Thursday (17 January) that due to the level of suffering of the mothers into which a cloned embryo is placed and the health problems of the animal clones themselves, the group ‘has doubts as to whether cloning animals for food supply is ethically justified.’

“Cloned animals are faced with a wide range of health problems, with a high death rate and a high incidence of disease. Clones commonly suffer from premature ageing; enlarged tongues; squashed faces; intestinal blockages; immune deficiencies; diabetes; heart, lung and liver damage; kidney failure; and brain abnormalities. Surrogate mothers are also burdened with significant suffering and a high death rate…”

First Human-Animal Embryo

Times on Line reported on January 17:

“Experiments to create Britain’s first embryos that merge human and animal material will begin within months after a Government watchdog today approved two research teams to carry out the controversial work. Scientists… will now inject human DNA into empty eggs from cows, to create embryos known as cytoplasmic hybrids…

“The experiments are intended to provide insights into diseases such as Parkinson’s and spinal muscular atrophy by producing stem cells containing genetic defects that contribute to these conditions. These will be used as cell models for investigating new approaches to treatment and for improving understanding of how embryonic stem cells develop. They will not be used in therapy, and it is illegal to implant them into the womb.”

Here Come the Human Clones…

The Associated Press reported in January 17:

“Scientists in California say they have produced embryos that are clones of two men, a potential step toward developing scientifically valuable stem cells.

“The new report documents embryos made with ordinary skin cells. But it’s not the first time human cloned embryos have been made. In 2005, for example, scientists in Britain reported using embryonic stem cells to produce a cloned embryo. It matured enough to produce stem cells, but none were extracted. Stem cells weren’t produced by the new embryos either, and because of that, experts reacted coolly to the research… Korean scientist Hwang Woo-suk claimed a few years ago that he’d created such cell lines, but that turned out to be a fraud…

“Scientists say stem cells from cloned embryos could provide a valuable tool for studying diseases, screening drugs and, perhaps someday, creating transplant material to treat conditions like diabetes and Parkinson’s disease. But critics raise objections. The process ‘involves creating human lives in the laboratory solely to destroy them for alleged benefit to others,’ said Richard Doerflinger, spokesman for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops… Other objections to cloning include concerns about health risks and exploitation if large numbers of women are asked to provide eggs.”

Jury Duty–Be Prepared At All Times

The San Diego Union Tribune wrote on January 12 about the jury selection process in St. Johnbury, Vermont. The article stated: “Faced with a shrunken jury pool, a judge resorted to some sidewalk justice in hopes of [filling] it out. [The Judge who was] discouraged when a 34-person pool of potential jurors for a sex case was reduced to 20 people, sent sheriff’s deputies into the street Wednesday to summon people to join them. Caledonia County uniformed deputies stopped people in front of the post office, asking if they lived in the county. Those who did and were 18 or older were given a summons to report to the courthouse.”

A member wrote us the following note: “I had this happen to me in Palacios Texas years ago, when I went to the post office to mail something.  Thankfully I was able to talk the sheriff out of it on the spot, as it turned out I had a dentist appointment at the time the court date was set!”

Another piece of disturbing news was reported from Colorado. 9News.com stated on January 17:

“They roamed the streets of Greeley Wednesday morning with stacks of paper and an eye out for people they could summon to emergency jury duty. Weld County and District Court staff handed subpoenas to more than 50 unsuspecting people, telling them they had to report for jury duty Wednesday morning because many of those summoned by mail did not show. Some of the people were just walking around town… [Court administrators] say this is the third time in the last two months they’ve had to take such extreme action.  Before December, they believe it had not happened in 15 years. Judges and administrators will be meeting to discuss what to do with all those no-shows.”

The Associated Press added in its article on January 17, which was posted on The Denver Post:

“With only 39 out of 200 people [summoned] for jury duty showing up Wednesday, court officials with emergency jury duty subpoenas headed to the street to randomly pick 50 people to serve on juries. Witnesses told television stations that administrators approached people walking on the sidewalk, at a grocery store and even a nearby gym, where people in their workout clothes headed to court under a threat of a contempt of court citation… Failing to show up for jury duty after getting a summons… could result in a contempt of court citation.”

We have already written about this subject in two previous Updates (Update #157 and #187). We explained that it has long been understood and taught by God’s Church that Christ’s message to the seven churches has at least a three-fold application. First, it relates to seven literal churches or church congregations in Asia Minor at the time of John. Then, it describes the history of the Church in seven distinct prophetic “Church eras” from the time of John until Christ’s return. And finally, it points out character traits of spiritual strength and weakness of God’s people throughout the existence of the New Testament Church. Christ’s message to the seven churches, although in some respects directed foremost to individual congregations and/or Church eras (Revelation 2:6, 10, 14-15, 20-23; 3:3, 10, 20) is, in its overall sense, meant for all Christians at all times (Revelation 2:7, 11, 17, 29; 3:5-6, 12-13, 21-22).

Regarding the understanding that Christ’s message ALSO includes seven church ERAS, please note the following interesting comments by Baptist minister, Dr. Lehman Strauss, “The Book of the Revelation,” copyright 1964, 1972, pages 33, 34, 45:

“… each church individually, and the seven churches combined, set forth prophetic anticipation. I see in them seven ages or stages in the life of the Church on earth, commencing with Pentecost… There is a prophetic picture of seven periods of the Church’s history on earth… The Laodicean letter, being the last of the seven, anticipates prophetically the end of the Church Age, that period immediately preceding the return of Christ… Our materialistic, inflationary times might well mark the end of the present age…”

In this Q&A, we are going to provide some additional information on Christ’s message to the seven churches. We will mainly emphasize the historical relevance and the application of Christ’s message to individual Christians. Although we will briefly mention the identity of the Church ERAS, please make sure to review again our previous Updates, #157 and #187, which address that aspect in much more detail.

In all of Christ’s messages to the seven churches, He emphasizes the fact that He knows their works. But this does not mean that He approves, in each case, of the particular works in question. After all, we can do good or bad works, and everyone will be judged “according to his work” (Revelation 22:12).

(1) Message to Ephesus (compare Revelation 2:1-7)

The city of Ephesus was the commercial center of Asia. Its temple of Diana was one of the “seven wonders” of the ancient world. At first, the Church brethren did not follow “false apostles” (compare Revelation 2:2: “… you cannot bear those who are evil.”). Strauss comments on page 36: “They were intolerant of sin. Today it makes little difference what people are like morally or spiritually, just so we get them into our church and on the membership roll to swell the number. The church at Ephesus was not concerned with the quantity of persons that were added, but rather with the quality.”

Nevertheless, they subsequently did tolerate false teachers such as the “Nicolaitans,” a sect believed by many to have advocated licentiousness as the proper way of life (Revelation 2:6). They had become weary and had lost their first love for Christ and His truth and were not as zealous anymore to resist error. That this could happen was partially due to constant persecution from the Romans under Emperor Domitian (whose statute was found in Ephesus and who called himself “god”) and the fact that they were meeting in their homes, or everywhere else they could—scattered congregations with their own pastorship, but without central leadership (compare Halley’s Bible Handbook, p. 701).

Historically, the New Testament Church was founded in Jerusalem and transferred later to the city of Pella, around 69 A.D. When Paul traveled to Europe, Ephesus became a second Headquarters. According to tradition, Paul and John died here.

(2) Message to Smyrna (compare Revelation 2:8-11)

Smyrna means “bitter.” And so, Christ addressed the Smyrna church as one finding itself in the midst of bitter sorrow and suffering.

Christ encouraged the church to “be faithful until death” (Revelation 2:10). The Greek word for faithful in this case signifies conviction–including the persuasion that with Christ, everything is possible, and there is never a compelling reason to give up.

Although Smyrna was a splendid city, the members themselves were poor (compare Revelation 2:9). Polycarp, the disciple of John, became later the leader of the Church in Smyrna, who refused, in 155 A.D., to renounce Christ and was martyred as a consequence. The persecution mentioned in Revelation 2:10 could refer to ten separate attempts to wipe out Christianity prompted by the edicts of ten different Roman rulers (Strauss, page 43). Or, it might refer to the persecution under Trajan which hit Smyrna extra hard. Historically, a ten year persecution against the Church (“ten” signifies in the Bible a period of testing and judgment) occurred under Diocletian and Galerius from 303 to 313 A.D. Subsequently, in 325 A.D., the observance of Passover was prohibited by Emperor Constantine, and in 365 A.D., Sabbath observance was outlawed as well. God’s true Church was forced to flee “into the wilderness” of little recognition in this world for about 1,260 years, to be able to observe God’s laws (Revelation 12:6).

Strauss makes the following comments regarding Constantine and the Catholic Church, on pages 55 and 56:

“Constantine… declared himself a Christian and Christianity to be the religion of the state. Christian leaders were invited to witness the wholesale baptism of whole regiments of soldiers in Constantine’s army. When later almost four hundred bishops met, Constantine was carried on a golden throne and he presided over the council as the recognized head of the church… Today the world is ready to accept the Roman Pope and be subject to him. The Roman Catholic Church claims to be of divine origin, but its ‘deeds’ and ‘doctrine’s are hated by Christ.”

(3) Message to Pergamos (Revelation 2:12-17)

A great altar of Zeus or Jupiter overlooked Pergamos. This town was also the seat of emperor worship. Christians refusing to worship pagan gods or the emperor would often times be killed (compare Revelation 2:13). In addition, Pergamos was a center of healing associated with the temple of Asclepius (or Esculapius) who was worshipped in the form of a serpent (one of the designations of Satan, compare Revelation 12:9).

Christ chided the Church at Pergamos for holding the doctrine of Balaam (Revelation 2:14; compare Jude 10-14; 2 Peter 2:15).

Notice these interesting comments by Strauss, pages 53-54: “Balaam conceived an evil scheme that was to produce the downfall of God’s people. When he concluded that he could not curse them, he proposed to corrupt them. He suggested that the Moabite girls should seduce the men of Israel by inviting them to participate in their idolatrous and immoral feasts. In this evil perpetration he succeeded (Numbers 25:1-3; cf. 31:16), and through this unholy alliance, this unequal yoke, this mixed marriage, Israel fell. Balaam had followed Satan’s old line. When the devil failed to wipe out the godly line through murder (Genesis 4), he resorted to mixture (Genesis 6). This was Balaamism, and it was this evil principle that came into the assembly at Pergamos.”

The Pergamos-era began about 650 A.D. under Constantine of Mananoli. He led hundreds of thousands of Christians who became known as “Paulicians.” A large portion of those were killed, as one author put it, “by hanging, fire and sword.”

(4) Message to Thyatira (compare Revelation 2:18-29)

The city of Thyatira was a commercial center and famous for its temple of Artemis or Diana. A mysterious figure, Jezebel, is
mentioned. Whether a literal woman, a symbolic reference to a great false church (compare Revelation 17) or a reference to the wife of ancient king Ahab, the thought conveyed here is that some in the Church of God had begun to engage in pagan worship of the sun god Baal and his “mother-wife”–the moon goddess Astarte or Isthar (compare 2 Kings 9:22)–including the observance of Sunday and Christmas and Easter celebrations, a doctrine or teaching referred to as the “depths of Satan” (Revelation 2: 24).

Strauss offers this interesting interpretation, on pages 66-67: “Even though the Bible is clear that a woman is in subjection to the man and that a woman is never to usurp authority over the man (1 Timothy 2:1-12), Romanism has reversed this order and millions of Roman Catholic men worship an image of Mary and offer prayers to her… The Jezebel of the last 1,500 years has not changed. Rome never does change. But this Babylon of prophecy will meet with divine judgment when the sovereign Head of the Church comes back to earth again…”

The Thyatira-era began around 1100 with Peter of Bruys in France. He would later become known as Peter Valdez or Peter Waldo, leader of the Waldensians. In the 12th century, Waldensians were known in about 22 European countries. In 1309, they appeared in the Netherlands, and a few years later, Waldensian leaders Walter the Lollard and his brother Raymond preached the gospel in Great Britain. In 1315, records report of 80,000 Waldensians in Bohemia. By 1539, their number had reached 800,000 in Europe.

(5) Message to Sardis (compare Revelation 3:1-6)

The city of Sardis had once been extremely wealthy under the legendary king Croesus. It was still famous in Roman times. Apparently many in Sardis converted to Christianity, but only few remained faithful. Most were, and would be, asleep (compare 1 Thessalonians 5:2).

Christ says in Revelation 3:4 that Sardis had “a few” which had not defiled their garments. Strauss writes, on page 74: “The sad contrast between the ‘many’ and the ‘few’ marks the twofold division of the human race. All men travel on one or the other of these two roads. Those who travel with the crowd and stand for nothing might find a certain feeling of security in doing what the majority do. But it is a false security. The fact that so many persons are doing the same thing does not make it right.”

Historically, the Sardis era began in 1664 when Stephen Mumford was sent by the Church of God in England to Newport, Rhode Island, to establish the mother church of the Church of God in the United States. In about 1860, the Church of God separated from the Adventist movement. Commencing in 1890, Spanish speaking congregations in Chile and Argentina began to keep God’s annual Holy Days.

(6) Message to Philadelphia (compare Revelation 3:7-13)

Philadelphia was a small town. The brethren had “little strength” (Revelation 3:8); they were humble and content in the midst of a corrupt society. This is the only Church with which Jesus does not find any fault. Christ, who has the key of David (Revelation 3:7; compare Isaiah 22: 20-22), promised them to keep them from persecution (Revelation 3:10), and to give them an open door (Revelation 3:8; compare 1 Corinthians 16:9).

Christ said to the church at Philadelphia (Revelation 3:8) that He knew their works, and He approved of them. Strauss explains correctly on page 91 that we “are saved by faith and not by works, but we are saved to work, and for our works we shall be rewarded (Ephesians 2:8-10).”

The Philadelphia ERA began in 1933 with Herbert W. Armstrong’s ministry which would increase in strength and power to become a worldwide work, well recognized by kings, presidents, heads of governments, and influential personalities in the fields of humanity, science and art. At the time of his death in 1986, Mr. Armstrong wondered in a prayer in the presence of the Advisory Counsel of Elders whether he was passing the baton to the Laodicea era. Subsequent events have answered this question in the affirmative.

(7) Message to Laodicea (compare Revelation 3:14-22)

Laodicea was a very prosperous city near Colossae. Christ alluded to this prosperity (compare Revelation 3:17), also by referring to fine wool and eye-salve, two of the town’s products (Revelation 3:18). The city was a banking center as well, and its water supply was channeled from hot springs some distance away, reaching the town “luke-warm” (Revelation 3:16).

Christ said in Revelation 3:15-16 that He wished the Laodiceans were either cold or hot, but that He will spew them out of His mouth, because they were lukewarm. Strauss explains, on pages 97 and 98: “This the Lord is saying to those at Laodicea that if, instead of being lukewarm, they were so cold as to feel the bitterness and severity of that coldness, they would flee to the true warmth of refuge. If we are really cold, and admit to the fact, our confession will lead to the removal of our sin… The Greek word for ‘hot’ … means ‘boiling hot’… the members in the church at Laodicea were not boiling hot; they were not ardent Christians. They had no enthusiasm, no emotion, no zeal, no urgency. It is possible to have a large measure of doctrinal correctness without the fire of spiritual fervor and affection…”

While all the other messages were directed to the angel [either a spirit being or a human church leader] of a particular city, this message is directed to the angel of the “Laodiceans,” [not Laodicea!], showing perhaps the “individuality” of the people. Halley (pp. 707-708) remarks, “Strange picture. A Church of Christ, with Christ Himself on the outside, asking to be let in to one of His own churches.” Eerdman’s Handbook to the Bible concurs, stating on p. 650, “The worst case of all seven is a church so self-satisfied as to be totally blind to its true condition. It is so far from what it should be that Jesus stands outside, knocking for admittance to the lives of individuals who call themselves Christians.”

The message to the Laodiceans should serve as a strong warning for us today who are living in the “Laodicea era.” Rather than keeping the doors of our hearts closed, denying entrance to Christ who stands outside knocking, refusing to follow Him and DO what He says, we should obey His command and embrace His promise to His true followers, as recorded in John 14:23: “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word, and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.”

History reveals, as does God’s infallible Word, that Jesus did indeed build His Church (compare Matthew 16:18); that commencing with the Day of Pentecost, as recorded in Acts 2, God separated individuals whom He called and to whom He gave His Holy Spirit; that throughout some two thousand years of subsequent history, the Church of God has existed–even though its identity has been often overshadowed by false churches; and that even now, in a time when Satan has caused a scattering of God’s people, Jesus Christ still works and rules as the living Head of the Church of God.

Lead Writer: Norbert Link

A new StandingWatch program (#152) was posted on StandingWatch, Google Video and You Tube. It is titled, “No–You Are NOT Born Again!” In the program, Norbert Link points out that many well-meaning Christians are convinced that they are born again. But none of them are–if you believe the words of Jesus Christ. He told Nicodemus, a Pharisee and a ruler of the Jews, in the book of John, chapter 3, that in order to be born again–in order to be able to see and enter the Kingdom of God–you must BE Spirit. But no Christian alive today IS a Spirit being; therefore, he could NOT have been born again! Why then is there so much confusion about the born-again concept?

The following video recording of Norbert Link’s recent sermon was posted on Google Video:

Bible Study — Do You Know the Year of Christ’s Return?

On January 12, 2008, Bill Grams will give the sermon, titled, “Answered Prayer.”

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.

Christ gave the disciples of His time the admonition to watch  (Mark 13:33), and He subsequently expanded this command to all of His disciples at all times  (Mark 13:37). Yet, what we see today is an array of people not following His instruction. Rather, they are focusing on peripheral areas, and not on the crucial aspects of what is happening in the world. 

Some are caught up in conspiracy theories; the Illuminati; a future world government originating with the United Nations; or the twenty richest people in the world who are believed to have some unrevealed plot to establish a world government. Even if there was an element of truth to some of the plans or plots of certain groups or organizations in this regard, this is not where events are going to eventually transpire. All of these theories are basically distractions to keep one’s mind away from the areas where prophecy will occur. Satan is doing a good job of keeping people’s minds–including the minds of some converted Christians–off from those critical areas.

Where many fail to watch and where the Bible clearly points to, is the development of a United  Europe. A strong political leader of German ancestry will emerge from within a United Europe, and a strong religious leader will arise in Rome. They comprise the “beast” and the “false prophet,” as they are called in Revelation 13:4-6, 11-16. They will be working together with the goal to dominate the world. They will be influenced and inspired to act by the powerful god of this world, Satan the devil. 

Another area where all these theories take one’s mind off, deals with future events in the Middle East. Europe and the Middle East are two of the predominant areas where prophecy will be fulfilled. World government truly is coming, but not in the form most believe. It is coming when Christ returns and when He establishes the Kingdom of God on this earth.

True Christians are told not only to watch, but they have the added responsibility of being involved. The Church of God has been given mainly two commissions–or two aspects of the Great Commission. First, it is to preach and publish the gospel of the Kingdom of God to the world, but only as a witness (Matthew 24:14; Mark 13:10, Authorized Version); that is, it is not to try to proselytize, browbeat, coerce, or use threats, but rather, it is to make the truth available. The Church’s second responsibility is to feed the flock or the sheep, as Christ told  Peter in John 21:15-17. These are the criteria by which the Church as a whole is judged.

Our individual responsibility is to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:18), and to support the efforts of the Church through our prayers, tithes and offerings, and through whatever physical help we might be able to give. Anything that distracts us from these clearly defined goals will only lead to our downfall as individual members of the Church. And if a Church organization was to fall into the trap of being distracted from its commission by ignoring parts of it, or by substituting it with something else, then it, too, will ultimately cease to be a tool in God’s hands, in furtherance of His plan–even though the organization itself might thrive and become increased in wealth, riches and prestige.

That’s why it is so important to focus on the task at hand and to watch with understanding and consider the signs of the time, rather than being distracted by the conspiracy theories offered by Satan. The key question is, are we watching and being involved, or are we focusing our attention in wrong areas, which will only diminish our abilities to remain focused on the important things and remain effective in what we are doing?

Worldwide Catastrophe Coming–The Fight For Food

The Financial Post wrote on January 4:

“A new crisis is emerging, a global food catastrophe that will reach further and be more crippling than anything the world has ever seen. The credit crunch and the reverberations of soaring oil prices around the world will pale in comparison to what is about to transpire, Donald Coxe, global portfolio strategist at BMO Financial Group said… ‘It’s not a matter of if, but when,’ he warned investors. ‘It’s going to hit this year hard.’

“Mr. Coxe said the sharp rise in raw food prices in the past year will intensify in the next few years amid increased demand for meat and dairy products from the growing middle classes of countries such as China and India as well as heavy demand from the biofuels industry… The impact of tighter food supply is already evident in raw food prices, which have risen 22% in the past year…

“At the centre of the imminent food catastrophe is corn – the main staple of the ethanol industry. The price of corn has risen about 44% over the past 15 months… This not only impacts the price of food products made using grains, but also the price of meat, with feed prices for livestock also increasing… 54% of the world’s corn supply [are] grown in America’s mid-west… The amount of U.S. grain currently stored for following seasons was the lowest on record, relative to consumption, he said.”

Scientists Fear Threat to Their Holy Cow of Evolution

AFP wrote on January 4:

“A day after ordained Baptist minister Mike Huckabee finished first in the opening round [in Iowa] to choose a Republican candidate for the White House, scientists warned Americans against electing a leader who doubts evolution. ‘The logic that convinces us that evolution is a fact is the same logic we use to say smoking is hazardous to your health or we have serious energy policy issues because of global warming,’ University of Michigan professor Gilbert Omenn told reporters at the launch of a book on evolution by the National Academy of Sciences… ‘I would worry that a president who didn’t believe in the evolution arguments wouldn’t believe in those other arguments either. This is a way of leading our country to ruin,’ added Omenn…”

We are not in politics; we are not endorsing a political candidate; and we are not commenting on the qualifications of Mike Huckabee or Barack Obama (the two winners in the Iowa caucus), or of John McCain and Hillary Clinton (the two winners in the New Hampshire caucus) or of any of the other candidates for president. In fact, we don’t vote in governmental elections, as this would be violating our conscience. But we ARE commissioned to uphold God’s Word, and so, we WILL comment on the incredible allegations of Prof. Omenn. All we can say is this:

Professor Omenn and all of his colleagues who CLAIM that evolution is a FACT, SHOULD KNOW THAT IT IS NOT! To make such an outrageous statement is in clear VIOLATION OF THE TRUTH. For more information as to how other SCIENTISTS ADMIT that evolution is NOT a fact–and by the very nature of the theory, it NEVER CAN BE CONSIDERED A FACT– please read our free booklet, “The Theory of Evolution–a Fairy Tale for Adults.”

The above-mentioned article continued:

“A poll conducted last year showed that two-thirds of Americans believe in creationism, or the theory that God created humans at a single point in time, while 53 percent believe that humans developed over millions of years from less advanced forms of life — the theory of evolution. Around a quarter of Americans said they believe in both.”

We’d like to add this additional comment: As a Christian, who believes in the inspiration of the Bible, one CANNOT believe in BOTH EVOLUTION AND CREATION. The theory of evolution, which is the atheist’s attempt to explain a creation without a Creator, is diametrically opposite to the Biblical account of man’s creation. Why do Christians think they must compromise with God’s Word, in order to appear “intellectual” and “intelligent,” by following the “foolishness” of this world and adopting the inventions of carnal minds which are hostile toward God?

Again, if you want to learn the plain truth on this matter, please read our aforementioned free booklet on the “Fairy Tale” of Evolution.

“America Is Confused About Its Own Course”

On January 10, 2008, Der Spiegel Online reported:

“Commentators writing in Germany’s main newspapers Thursday speculate about what the results [in New Hampshire] mean and Obama’s and McCain’s chances. The center-left Süddeutsche Zeitung writes: ‘The double comeback of the political veterans Clinton and McCain in New Hampshire reveals just one thing: America is confused about its own course. The nation wants to get away from George W. Bush, who continually divided not only the world but also his own people into good and evil and into left and right. But voters are still uncertainly groping for a balance between change and stability — in both parties. Hillary Clinton promises a break with Bush, but her person symbolizes a return to the 1990s. And the Republican John McCain, who would be 72 in January 2009 when he entered office as the oldest president in US history, is regarded by his fellow countrymen as a reliable hand at the wheel.”

“‘The question is where to go now: Back to the future, or forward into the past? But such phrases misjudge just how much Barack Obama, the loser of New Hampshire, has up until now been the winner of this election campaign. He articulates passionately the longing for fundamental change in Washington. … No matter what becomes of his ambition, the longer he survives, the easier it will be for the next president to liberate Washington from its sordid reflexes and its paralyzing self-blockade.’

“The center-right Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung writes: ‘The lesson of the New Hampshire primary … is that nothing is decided… Democratic voters want change — in style, content and personnel. The Republicans expect strong leadership and integrity from their standard-bearer. What both sides have in common — at least partially — is a dissatisfaction with the Bush administration. … Could McCain win against Obama or Clinton? Against the wife of the former president he would certainly have a chance. She polarizes voters — even with tears in her eyes.’

“The right-leaning Die Welt writes: ‘It wasn’t just her hesitant tears that helped Hillary Clinton to win in New Hampshire. Her success was also helped by distrust in the supposed savior Obama. Fresh-faced youth did not succeed against a hardened career woman this time — life experience, scars included, clearly count… Obama’s radical anti-Iraq card is not so successful in the end. While Obama would be unbeatable almost anywhere in Europe, it seems that things are a bit different in once-isolationist America: Here, ideas about change for the better and living in peace do not automatically stand in opposition to democracy’s expansive impulse.’ …

“The left-leaning Die Tageszeitung writes: ‘… Both Democratic candidates are becoming better and better through this head-to-head race — and increasing their chances of winning the actual election in November. And that is ultimately what it’s all about. Because after eight years of Bush, the idea of now having four years of the Mormon minister Romney, the Baptist preacher Huckabee or the Iraq warrior McCain is too terrible a prospect.'”

Does the Second Amendment Protect the Rights of Individuals to Bear Arms?

The Associated Press reported on January 4:

“[The] District of Columbia…  is seeking to preserve its three-decade ban on handgun possession after a federal appeals court ruled in March that the ban is an unconstitutional infringement on an individual’s right to keep and bear arms. The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to take the case, setting up what could be a landmark ruling on the scope of the Second Amendment. The court has not addressed the issue in a significant way for nearly 70 years…

“The primary issue is whether the right to keep and bear arms is an individual right or a collective right belonging to state militias. A majority of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled that the founding fathers intended the right apply to individuals and struck down the D.C. law, though it remains in effect while the case is on appeal. The district argues that the Second Amendment protects the right to keep and bear arms only in the context of an organized militia…

“The Supreme Court may hear arguments in the case in March. Because the case addresses not only the Second Amendment but also the peculiar status of the District of Columbia as a federal enclave, it is unclear whether the Supreme Court ruling will have a direct impact on the national gun-control issue.”

Will America Recover?

On January 6, 2008, the Washington Post published an editorial by George McGovern, former United States Representative, Senator, and Democratic presidential nominee. We are bringing you the following excerpts:

“The political scene is marked by narrow and sometimes superficial partisanship, especially among Republicans, and a lack of courage and statesmanship on the part of too many Democratic politicians… [The war against Iraq] has killed almost 4,000 Americans, left many times that number mentally or physically crippled, claimed the lives of an estimated 600,000 Iraqis… and laid waste their country. The financial cost to the United States is now $250 million a day and is expected to exceed a total of $1 trillion, most of which we have borrowed from the Chinese and others as our national debt has now climbed above $9 trillion — by far the highest in our national history…

“How could a once-admired, great nation fall into such a quagmire of killing, immorality and lawlessness?…

“When the Iraqi army marched into Kuwait in August 1990, President George H.W. Bush gathered the support of the entire world, including the United Nations, the European Union and most of the Arab League, to quickly expel Iraqi forces from Kuwait. The Saudis and Japanese paid most of the cost. Instead of getting bogged down in a costly occupation, the administration established a policy of containing the Baathist regime with international arms inspectors, no-fly zones and economic sanctions. Iraq was left as a stable country with little or no capacity to threaten others. Today… Iraq has become a breeding ground of terrorism and bloody civil strife…

“I believe we have a chance to heal the wounds the nation has suffered in the opening decade of the 21st century… At age 85, I won’t be around to witness the completion of the difficult rebuilding of our sorely damaged country, but I’d like to hold on long enough to see the healing begin. There has never been a day in my adult life when I would not have sacrificed that life to save the United States from genuine danger, such as the ones we faced when I served as a bomber pilot in World War II. We must be a great nation because from time to time, we make gigantic blunders, but so far, we have survived and recovered.”

Unfortunately, it does not appear, from Biblical prophecy, that the United States will greatly recover this time. For more information, please read our free booklet, “The Fall and Rise of Britain and America.”

U.S. Economy–“Not Just That Good”…?

The New York Times wrote on January 7:

“Dampening the administration’s customary upbeat tone on the economy, President Bush acknowledged Monday that the economic signs were ‘increasingly mixed,’ but he also suggested he would oppose Democratic initiatives to increase spending to head off a recession…

“Mr. Bush’s comments insured that the economy would become an even more central issue in the campaign and Washington as Democrats and Republicans scramble to figure out how to address rising oil prices, the home mortgage crisis, a weakening job market and recession fears. Mr. Bush, in his speech, told business leaders that… the nation faces economic uncertainty. Though Mr. Bush did not warn of a recession — as some economists have — his speech, coupled with a separate address in New York by the Treasury secretary, Henry M. Paulson Jr., was a marked shift from their most recent optimistic assessments… polls showing Americans are now more concerned with the economy than the war in Iraq…”

… Or REALLY Bad?

USA Today wrote on January 9:

“The economic news continues to get bleaker. Oil is near $100 a barrel, housing is weak, major employers such as Citigroup are eyeing big layoffs, and the stock market dropped again Tuesday. The whiff of recession is in the air. This being an election year, calls for government rescue plans are growing louder. The details are skeletal, but they’re taking predictable forms.

“Republicans are talking about new tax cuts and extension of President Bush’s earlier ones. Democrats are discussing spending increases, including grants to states and aid to homeowners. Voters should be wary of such proposals… This is not to say that the current downturn should be ignored. But the best weapon is the Federal Reserve’s ability to cut interest rates. Such monetary policy, as it’s called, is more effective and precise than the fiscal policies wielded by politicians.”

Close Call Between USA and Iran

ABC News reported on January 7:

“The standoff between three U.S. Navy ships and five Iranian speedboats in the Strait of Hormuz Sunday was one step away from turning violent. ‘They were a heartbeat from being blown up,’ a Pentagon official, speaking of the Iranians, told ABC News. According to the Navy intelligence report on the incident, the Iranians radioed, ‘I am coming at you. You will blow up in a couple of minutes.’ The Navy ships radioed back, presumably transmitting a warning.

“All three ships also engaged in ‘evasive action,’ and according to senior Pentagon officials, the ‘prepare-to-fire’ order had been given and the gun stations manned. Pentagon officials today expressed surprise the Navy ships allowed at least one of the Iranian speedboats to get so close — just 200 yards away — without firing… A Navy official told ABC News that while there have been similar incidents in the Gulf, Sunday’s differed because of the ‘aggressive actions’ taken by the Iranians. ‘I’ve never seen a provocation like this… in international waters,’ another military official who has served for more than 25 years said. The White House seconded that notion.”

President Bush Warns Iran

AFP wrote on January 9:

“US President George W. Bush issued a new warning to regional archfoe Iran on Wednesday as he began a Middle East tour under the shadow of a weekend naval face-off between the two countries. Bush threatened Iran with ‘serious consequences’ if it attacked US warships, saying ‘all options’ were on the table to protect US assets after Sunday’s standoff in the strategic Strait of Hormuz. Speaking in Jerusalem after talks with Israeli leaders, Bush also said that he remained convinced like them that Iran’s nuclear programme made it a threat to world peace, despite a recent US intelligent report that said Tehran abandoned an atomic weapons drive in 2003.”

Middle East Peace Treaty Within a Year?

The Associated Press reported on January 10, 2008:

“President Bush, summing up meetings with both sides in the Israeli-Palestinian dispute, said Thursday that a peace accord will require ‘painful political concessions’ by each. Resolving the status of Jerusalem will be hard, he said, and he called for the end of the ‘occupation’ of Arab land by the Israeli military… Bush is in the Mideast for eight days, trying to bolster his goal of achieving a long-elusive peace agreement by the end of his presidency in a year. Speaking at his hotel in Jerusalem, he said again that he thinks that is possible…

“Bush gave his most detailed summation yet of what a final peace should include, including U.S. expectations for the resolution of some of the hardest issues in the violent conflict, one of the world’s longest-running and most intractable… In his set of U.S. bottom lines were security for Israel, a ‘contiguous’ state for the Palestinians and the expectation that final borders will be negotiated to accommodate territorial changes since Israel’s formation 60 years ago… On borders, Bush said ‘any agreement will require adjustments’ to the lines drawn for Israel in the late 1940s. He was referring to Israeli neighborhoods on disputed lands that Israel would keep when an independent Palestinian state is formed…  ‘The point of departure for permanent status negotiations to realize this vision seems clear,’ he said. ‘There should be an end to the occupation that began in 1967. The agreement must establish a Palestine as a homeland for the Palestinian people just as Israel is a homeland for the Jewish people.’

“He offered no specifics to resolve the fact of disputed Jerusalem, but urged both sides to work toward a solution in what he said could be the most difficult issue to settle in a long list of difficult issues.”

AFP added on January 10:

“Underscoring scepticism about the prospects for peace, an opinion poll published in a Hebrew newspaper found that 77 percent of Israelis doubted that Bush’s visit would advance the negotiations.”

Cooling Off Between Poland and the USA

The Associated Press reported on January 7:

“Poland’s new prime minister broke from the staunchly pro-American stance of his predecessor, saying in comments published Monday he will not rush a decision on hosting a U.S. missile defense base. The tough line suggests the Bush administration’s clout with allies is weakening… Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk told the Polish edition of Newsweek… ‘Remember, the shield is supposed to defend America, not Poland.'”

German Immigrants Have Had Enough

On January 10, 2008, Der Spiegel Online reported the following:

“It was bound to happen. After weeks of being portrayed by Hesse Governor Roland Koch as being little better than uncivilized savages, Germany’s immigrants on Thursday struck back. In an open letter addressed to Chancellor Angela Merkel and to Koch — both of the conservative Christian Democrats — an association representing some 100 immigrant groups in Germany expressed its frustration at the populist tones coming from Koch, as he campaigns for re-election in a Jan. 27 state vote.

“‘Instead of open, constructive debate coupled with sober proposals based on the facts,’ the letter reads, ‘you are causing serious damage with your campaign polemic. A short-term success in a state election cannot be so valuable that it is worth feeding prejudice … with the effect of a further social split.’

“Koch began demanding that more action be taken against ‘criminal young foreigners’ after a Dec. 20 attack, perpetrated by a 20-year-old Turkish man born in Germany and a young immigrant from Greece, on an elderly man in the Munich subway. But many of his comments have seemed to veer away from the problem of youth violence in Germany and taken on racist overtones.

“He said ‘it must be clear that the slaughtering (of animals) in the kitchen … runs counter to our principles.’ He also said: ‘People who live in Germany must behave properly and refrain from using their fists. That’s how one behaves in a civilized country.’

“Those with foreign backgrounds in Germany have felt under attack by the blast of rhetoric and accuse Koch in Thursday’s letter of ‘tactical populism.’ The treatise also points out that many of those Koch has lumped together grew up in Germany…

“The left-leaning Social Democrats aren’t the only politicians to have mounted a counter-offensive — even members of Koch’s own party are less than impressed with his aggressive rhetoric… In Munich, meanwhile, anger is exploding over a campaign poster on display showing images of the Dec. 20 subway attack. The poster, displayed in support of the Christian Social Union — a sister party to the CDU that exists only in Bavaria — reads ‘No clemency for violent criminals’ across the top. In small print on a silhouette of the attack’s victim, it reads ‘so that you won’t be next.’ Munich Mayor Christian Ude, a Social Democrat, called the ad a ‘low point in democratic culture.'”

Fair Elections in Georgia?

The EUObserver wrote on January 7:

“Georgia president Mikhail Saakashvili was re-elected Sunday (6 January) in a move set to keep the country on its pro-EU and NATO course. But opposition leaders and Russia say the poll was fixed… The snap elections were held after street protests in November complaining about government corruption, which ended in a police crackdown that undermined Mr Saakashvili’s democratic credentials.

“European democracy watchdog [the OSCE] said Sunday’s poll was imperfect but ‘consistent with most international standards’ and ‘genuinely competitive.’ It also warned that Georgia faces ‘immense challenges’ in terms of future stability…

“‘Reports from mass media, NGOs and opposition representatives have been coming in on numerous violations of election laws by the authorities,’ the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement. ‘Assessments by western observers [the OSCE]…appear superficial.’ Mr Saakashvili took power in the 2003 Rose Revolution, which overthrew the country’s post-Soviet regime and saw it steer toward future EU and NATO membership in the teeth of Russian opposition.”

Der Spiegel Online added on January 7:

“The elections in Georgia came out well for President Saakashvili, as expected. Even without immediate evidence of fraud, though, trust in his government has eroded, and people are marching in the streets… German papers on Monday point out that Saakashvili — who cracked down violently on street protests last November, and managed to deny his opponents time on Georgian TV — may have found other ways besides vote-rigging to arrange a victory; and they worry that an ally of Washington may be slipping into totalitarianism.”

Strong Earthquake in Greece

AFP reported on January 6:

“An earthquake measuring 6.5 on the Richter scale jolted Greeks in the southern Peloponnese region from their beds Sunday but experts warned it could have spelt disaster if it had not been so deep. The powerful quake was felt throughout the country and even as far away as Rome, but there were no reports of casualties or major damage.

“‘We were very lucky… Greece escaped the worst because it was a medium depth earthquake,’ said Georges Stavrakakis, director of the geodynamics institute of the Athens observatory… Observatory spokesman Yannis Drakatos had said earlier: ‘The tremor occurred at a depth of more than 70 kilometres (45 miles) and that is why there have been no casualties.’… Stavrakakis said Greece’s last serious earthquake, which occurred near Athens on September 7, 1999, registered 5.9 on the Richter scale and left 143 people dead. Its epicentre was less than 30 km below the Earth’s surface. Greece is the European country most prone to earthquakes, with seismic activity here accounting for half of the continent’s tremors.”

Pakistan–From Bad to Worse

On January 10, 2008, Der Spiegel Online wrote:

“As Pakistan prepares to go to the polls in February, the tensions in the country are mounting. A new suicide attack on police officers on Thursday is the latest in a wave of bomb attacks in recent months while the country endures an ongoing political crisis. The assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto two weeks ago forced a delay in parliamentary elections, now the opposition is voicing concerns that the poll will be rigged.

“Thursday’s blast in the city of Lahore killed at least 22 people, all but two of whom were part of a group of police officers gathered outside of the city’s High Court ahead of an anti-government protest rally by lawyers. The suicide attacker arrived at the court on a motorbike, then walked up to the police and blew himself up, the police reported. The explosion also injured around 60 people.

“The security forces had been braced for violence in Pakistan as Muharram, a month-long Islamic period of mourning, commences on Thursday — a time that has become a lightening rod for sectarian violence in recent years. However, the authorities had been mainly expecting attacks in the northwestern part of the country, where Sunni sectarian militants are active and where Shiite processions have been attacked in previous years. Lahore, on the other hand, is a city that is home to many of the country’s elite, particularly army officers, and it is in Punjab, the country’s most populous and richest province…

“On Tuesday Bhutto’s son, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari told reporters in London that only a United Nations investigation [of his mother’s death] would satisfy him. ‘We do not believe that an investigation under the authority of the Pakistani government has the necessary transparency,’ said Zardari, who was chosen as chairman of his mother’s party after her death, despite the fact that he is a 19-year-old student. ‘I fear for my country,’ he said at the press conference.”

Ongoing Violence in Kenya

Der Spiegel Online wrote on January 7:

“The outbreak of violence in Kenya during the past few days is not just the result of election fraud. Tribal rivalries, the social marginalization of entire ethnic groups and the shameless abuse of power are the root causes for the bloody tragedy. [President] Kibaki heads a highly corrupt cabinet, with almost all ministerial posts held by members of the Kikuyu people. Though the country’s largest ethnic group, the Kikuyu still make up only about 20 percent of the population. They have dominated Kenya for decades, which has translated into their receiving the best jobs, the best roads in the regions where they live and the best health care. Kenya’s founding father, Jomo Kenyatta, was a Kikuyu, as is Mwai Kibaki, the country’s third president since Kenyan independence.

“The European Union election monitoring group, headed by German politician Alexander Graf Lambsdorff, also confirmed that the presidential election was a farce. ‘The 2007 general elections have fallen short of key international and regional standards for democratic elections,’ he said. Voter turnout was reported at an impossible 115 percent in at least one polling location. And in at least two districts there were wide disparities between the results of the local vote count and those later announced by the Kenyan election commission in the capital Nairobi. The changes were in the president’s favor in each case.

“Challenger Odinga soon accused Kibaki of election fraud, arguing that his Orange Democratic Movement’s (ODM) landslide victory in the parliamentary election that took place on the same day supported his claims… Odinga is a member of the Luo ethnic group, which represents roughly one-tenth of Kenya’s population. The Kikuyu live in the center of the country, in the region surrounding Mount Kenya, while the Luo are concentrated along the shores of Lake Victoria in western Kenya. They have felt discriminated against by the Kikuyu for decades. In 1969, a Kikuyu murdered Tom Mboya, a prominent Luo politician, and the Luo have never forgotten his assassination.

“Odinga is a tall, charismatic man. He studied in the eastern German cities of Leipzig and Magdeburg in the 1960s and speaks fluent German. His father was the country’s vice-president under Kenyatta. After Kibaki had himself sworn in at a hastily staged ceremony in the garden of the official presidential residence, the Nairobi State House, Odinga also proclaimed himself president. The dispute led to clashes between anti-government protestors and the police in the streets of Nairobi, where barricades were set up and businesses looted. Dozens died in the unrest…

“It is unlikely that Kibaki will be able to ignore international pressure for long. Even the Americans, who prematurely congratulated him on his election victory, were quick to withdraw their statement. Although Washington sees Kibaki as a loyal ally in the war against terrorism, it distanced itself from the autocratic ruler in the wake of growing protests against the president…”

Rampant Smuggling of Radioactive Material

ABC News reported on January 4:

“In a troubling disclosure, the Russian Federal Customs Service has revealed that authorities thwarted more than 850 attempts to smuggle highly radioactive materials in and out of Russia in 2007. Eighty-five percent of these smuggling attempts were going into the country, and 15 percent were going out. The figures are likely to fuel fears about how many illegal exports were not detected, and what the potential dangers of such radioactive materials can be.”

Britain’s Jack Straw Under Religious Fire

The Daily Mail wrote on January 9:

“Church leaders yesterday warned that new gay hate laws threaten to stop Christians speaking of their beliefs. Both Church of England and Roman Catholic bishops [said that] Christians should be allowed to hold open discussions about sexuality and they must be permitted to criticise homosexual behaviour and lifestyles… The bishops also said that the new law which will make it a crime to harass or bully anyone because of their sexuality will also have a general chilling effect on free speech. Police are already ‘over-zealous’ in cracking down on Christians who stand up for their traditional views, they said…

“The move from two biggest and most influential churches came amid a Cabinet split over the hate crime amendment proposed by Justice Minister Jack Straw to the Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill, which goes before Parliament next month… Mr Straw’s law would make it a crime to stir up hatred on grounds of sexual orientation. It would carry a maximum penalty of seven years in jail for those found guilty – a longer sentence than the five years handed down to a typical rapist… Leaders of the gay pressure group Stonewall, which has been highly influential in drawing up the new law, have said that it will permit religious leaders to continue to express their views on homosexuality provided they are ‘temperate’ and ‘polite.'”

666 and the Church of England

AFP wrote on January 10:

“Eyebrows were raised in the House of Commons on Thursday when a motion calling for the Church of England to be disestablished was listed with the number 666, symbol of the AntiChrist. ‘This number is supposed to be the mark of the Devil. It looks as though God or the Devil have been moving in mysterious ways,’ said Bob Russell, a Liberal Democrat MP among those proposing the motion for debate. ‘What is even stranger is that this motion was tabled last night when MPs were debating blasphemy,’ he added.

“The motion calls for an end to the formal link between Church and State in England — embodied in the monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, who is both head of state and head of the Church of England. The number 666 is referred to in the Book of [Revelation] in the Bible: ‘Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast for it is the number of a man; and his number is six hundred, three score and six.’

“‘It is… incredible that a motion like this should have, by chance, acquired this significant number,’ said Russell. Under the rules of the House of Commons the motion by backbenchers has little chance of actually being debated in parliament.”

The Russian Orthodox Church and the West

On January 10, 2008, Der Spiegel Online published an interview with Metropolitan Kyrill, foreign minister of the Russian Orthodox Church and the possible successor to Patriarch Alexy II. We are bringing you the following excerpts from his statements, especially as they relate to homosexuality, the evolution theory, and the relationship between the Roman Catholic Church and the Russian Orthodox Church:

“[The West] distorts the boundary between good and evil, between sin and sanctity. Even adultery is apparently no longer considered a sin, despite the fact that every adulterer senses that he has done something wrong. But human beings have a conscience. That’s something even the Marxists were unable to eliminate. They had an explanation for everything, a self-contained philosophy [which determined conscience] — just as your philosophers in Germany say, the conscience is the result of cultural development. But whether you are in Papua New Guinea, Munich or Novosibirsk in Siberia, the principles are the same everywhere: Thou shall not steal, thou shall not kill… The Bible calls it [homosexuality] a sin. But we do not condemn these people. The church is opposed to these people being persecuted or offended. But why should sin be propagated? The gay parade is a blatant display of sodomy. In that case, we might as well promote other sins, as has long been the case on television. This degenerates public morality. It is the church’s job to call a sin a sin. Otherwise it no longer serves a purpose. Unfortunately, the tendency in today’s world is to champion the freedom of choice, while freedom from evil is virtually forgotten…

“We are talking about morals. They want us to believe that morality is relative. But that’s completely untrue. The communists said that good is what is good for the working class. That was relative morality — and 60 million people were exterminated. Hitler claimed that what is good is what is good for greater Germany. That too cost millions of lives. Morality is either absolute or it doesn’t exist at all. If you can justify homosexuality, why not pedophilia?… In a few years, they’ll tell you that 12-year-old girls used to be children, but that they are now much further developed. Twenty years ago, no one would have dreamed that Germany would pass a law one day that recognizes homosexual marriages. But now that too has been accepted… Nowadays many pursue the logic that everything they want ought to be good and justified. We are too quick to treat emotions that ultimately harm us as natural needs. When moral foundations are shaken, we unleash our instincts… The difference between men and animals is that men can control their drives…

“[Regarding Darwin and the evolution theory] no one has provided precise proof of the transition from one species to another. It would be wrong to treat Darwin’s theory as the only correct one. It is the leading theory today, but it could be replaced by another theory tomorrow. There was also a time when Marxism considered itself the only correct and scientifically justified theory…

“The division [between the Roman Catholic Church and the Russian Orthodox Church]  is a consequence of human sin. In this respect it resembles a divorce. The Christian West and the Christian East parted ways because they believed that they didn’t need each other anymore. Reunification can only [be] achieved through spiritual rapprochement. It doesn’t matter how many documents we sign. Unless we have the feeling that we love each other, that we are one family, and that each member needs the other, it will not materialize… Our relations have improved since Benedict became pope. He has removed the issue of a visit to Moscow from the agenda. This sort of visit would not have solved any problems, but it would have provoked new ones. Many of the faithful in Russia mistrust Catholics. This is a legacy of the wars and of proselytization efforts in the 17th and 18th centuries.”

Many have been confused about the scroll with seven seals (compare Revelation 5:1), and they have tried to attach human interpretations to them. But John saw, in a vision, that no one was able to break and explain the seven seals, except for the Lamb, Jesus Christ (compare Revelation 5:3, 5-7, 9; 6:1). We therefore need to turn to Jesus Christ’s Words in order to understand the seven seals. And IF we accept the explanations of Jesus, as written, then the meaning becomes very clear.

The first six of the seven seals are all recorded in Revelation 6. When Christ opens the first four seals, described in Revelation 6:2-8, John sees in the vision the famous four horsemen of the Apocalypse which kill “a fourth of the earth” with “sword, hunger, death and by the beasts of the earth” (Revelation 6:8). When comparing Revelation 6:2-8 with Matthew 24:4-7 and Luke 21:8-11, then the meaning of the four horsemen or the first four seals becomes clear:

(1) The FIRST SEAL (Revelation 6:2) — RELIGIOUS DECEPTION (compare Matthew 24:3-5; Luke 21:8).

(2) The SECOND SEAL (Revelation 6:3-4) — WAR (compare Matthew 24:6-7; Luke 21:9).

(3) The THIRD SEAL (Revelation 6:5-6) — FAMINE (compare Matthew 24:7; Luke 21:11)

(4) The FOURTH SEAL (Revelation 6:7-8) — PESTILENCE (compare Matthew 24:7; Luke 21:11).

Oftentimes religious deception leads to wars, directly or indirectly. Wars, in turn, lead to famine and diseases. Historically, the Black Death alone killed upwards of one third of the people living in Europe in the 14th century. The Spanish flu pandemic lasted from March, 1918, to June, 1920, spreading even to the Arctic and remote Pacific islands. While older estimates put the number of killed at 40–50 million people, current estimates are that 50 million to 100 million people worldwide died, possibly more than that taken by the Black Death.

(5) The FIFTH SEAL (Revelation 6:9-11) — THE GREAT TRIBULATION

After the four horsemen have begun their terrible ride, organized and worldwide martyrdom of true Christians will occur next, depicted by the fifth seal (compare Matthew 24:9-12; Mark 13:11-13; Luke 21:12-19). The fifth seal describes a vision, as do the other seals. The four horsemen do not REALLY ride–they REPRESENT certain events, which will take place on this earth. In the same way, the “souls under the altar” are not really alive and do not really cry to God with a loud voice—as the “dry bones” in Ezekiel’s vision in Ezekiel 37:11 did not really speak either, neither did Abel’s shed blood (Genesis 4:10).

At the same time of this religious persecution, the modern nations and peoples of Judah and of the house of Israel (the English-speaking nations of the USA, Great Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and others) will be attacked and destroyed in war, mainly by a European power bloc, during the “Great Tribulation” (Matthew 24:15-28; Mark 13:14-20; Luke 21:20-24; Daniel 12:1; Jeremiah 30:10; Hosea 9:3; 13: 16; Amos 6:7; 7:17).

The Great Tribulation is Satan’s wrath directed against true Christians–spiritual Israelites–and the modern houses of Israel and Judah.

(6) The SIXTH SEAL (Revelation 6:12-14) — COSMIC DISTURBANCES or HEAVENLY SIGNS

After the Great Tribulation has begun, the sixth seal is opened—picturing “heavenly signs” or cosmic disturbances which are introduced by a great earthquake (Revelation 6:12-14; Luke 21:25-26; Matthew 24:29).

These cosmic disturbances PRECEDE and will be followed by the “Day of the Lord,” the seventh seal. Revelation 6:17 refers to it as the “great day of His wrath.” Compare Joel 2:30-31; 3: 14-15. This time span, which will begin prior to Christ’s return, is described as a time of Godly retribution (Isaiah 2:10-21; 13:6-16; Zephaniah 1:14-18).

Before God pours out His wrath on unrepentant mankind during the Day of the Lord, God’s servants will be sealed to be protected from the time to come (Revelation 7:1-3; compare Ezekiel 9:4; see also Revelation 9:4). First 144,000 will be sealed—12,000 out of each tribe of Israel (Revelation 7:4-8; compare Revelation 14:1-5), excluding Dan (compare Judges 18:30; Deuteronomy 29:17-20; Genesis 49:18). After that, John sees a great multitude which “no one could number,” from “all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues,” standing before the Lamb with white garments (Revelation 7:9). They “came out of the great tribulation… and washed their robes and made them white” (Revelation 7:14). If they CAME OUT of THE Great Tribulation (as it says in the Greek), then they must have been in it.

While some Christians will be protected here on earth–not in heaven–from the Great Tribulation (compare Revelation 3:10; Revelation 12:14; see also Luke 21:36; Proverbs 14:26), others will have to go through it, to be purified (Revelation 12:17; compare 1. Corinthians 11:32). But all true Christians who survive that time of trouble will be protected from God’s wrath to come.

(7) The SEVENTH SEAL:

The SEVENTH seal consists of SEVEN TRUMPETS, which are blown by seven angels (Revelation 8:2, 6). The first FOUR trumpets are described in Revelation 8:7-12.

(7.1) The FIRST TRUMPET

It describes, what appears to be, a firestorm destroying one third of all trees and of the grass (compare Revelation 8:7)

(7.2) The SECOND TRUMPET

It depicts, what appears to be, a huge burning meteorite falling into the sea, destroying one third of all sea creatures and one third of all the ocean ships (Revelation 8:8-9).

(7.3) The THIRD TRUMPET

It describes, what appears to be, another huge fiery comet or asteroid, destroying or poisoning one third of all the sweet drinking water (Revelation 8:10-11).

(7.4) The FOURTH TRUMPET

It brings further cosmic disturbances, blocking one third of the light of the sun, moon and stars (Revelation 8:12-13).

Revelation 8:13 speaks of the last three remaining trumpets as the last “three woes”—because of their great and extreme severity.

(7.5) The FIFTH TRUMPET (the “first woe”)

The first of the last three woes—or the fifth trumpet—is described in Revelation 9:1-12. It identifies the final resurrection of the Roman Empire, coming out of a “bottomless pit” (Revelation 9:1-3, compare Revelation 11:7; 17:8), an end-time European power bloc, referred to as the “beast” elsewhere. It is depicted to be at war with other nations. Its instruments of war are symbolically portrayed as “locusts” (Revelation 9:3) or helicopters, causing pain and harm on humans for five months, without killing them (Revelation 9:4-5, 10). The real ruler of this power bloc is “the angel of the bottomless pit” (Revelation 9:11)–Satan the devil. This war occurs after the Great Tribulation—after the time of war between Europe and the modern nations of the houses of Israel and Judah. By that time, the modern nations of the houses of Israel and Judah will already be destroyed, and their surviving people will have become captives of this European power. The war depicted in Revelation 9 is alluded to more fully in Daniel 11, commencing with verse 41.

(7.6) The SIXTH TRUMPET (the “second woe”)

Revelation 9:13-21 describes the second woe or the sixth trumpet—the appearance of an invading army of 200 million soldiers (Revelation 9:16) from the east (Revelation 9:14)–shortly after Europe’s invasion of the Middle East (Daniel 11:41-43, 45)–to kill “a third of mankind” (Revelation 9:15). Apparently, this is the second stage of a total world war between, at that time, mainly the European power bloc and a power bloc of eastern nations (compare Revelation 9:17 with Joel 2: 4). This second stage is also alluded to in Daniel 11:44.

(7.7) The SEVENTH TRUMPET (the “third woe”)

The third woe or the seventh trumpet is not described until Revelation 16. Previous chapters are interludes—flashbacks—setting the stage for the climax of the last or seventh trumpet, as identified in Revelation 16 (compare Revelation 10:7).

The seventh trumpet of the seventh seal consists of SEVEN LAST PLAGUES, which are described in Revelation 16:1-21. Seven angels pour out these seven last plagues, also referred to as the seven bowls of the wrath of God (Revelation 15:7; 16:1).

(7.7.1) The FIRST OF THE SEVEN LAST PLAGUES or bowls:

It causes “a foul and loathsome sore” on those who worship the beast and its image, and who have accepted the mark of the beast (Revelation 16:2).

(7.7.2) The SECOND OF THE SEVEN LAST PLAGUES or bowls:

It causes every living creature in the sea to die (Revelation 16:3).

(7.7.3) The THIRD OF THE SEVEN LAST PLAGUES or bowls:

It causes the sweet water supply to become “blood”—that is, undrinkable (Revelation 16:4-7).

(7.7.4) The FOURTH OF THE SEVEN LAST PLAGUES or bowls:

It brings about increased solar radiation which horribly scorches mankind. Despite this punishment from God for their sins, man will not repent, but rather blaspheme God (Revelation 16:8-9).

(7.7.5) The FIFTH OF THE SEVEN LAST PLAGUES or bowls:

It causes total darkness to cover the Headquarters of the beast—again, people will blaspheme God and will refuse to repent even then (Revelation 16:10-11).

(7.7.6) The SIXTH OF THE SEVEN LAST PLAGUES or bowls:

It will dry up the waters of the “great river Euphrates” (Revelation 16:12) to enable the “kings from the east” to advance to the place of “Armageddon” (Revelation 16:16) to “gather” there in preparation for “the battle of that great day of God Almighty” (Revelation 16:14, 16). These kings from the east, as well as all the other kings of the earth, will be influenced by Satan and the demonically possessed beast and the false prophet (Revelation 16:13-14). All of them will gather at “Armageddon” or the “hill of Megiddo” (“har” meaning “hill” in Hebrew), about 55 miles or 90 kilometers north of Jerusalem, and about 15 miles or 25 kilometers inland from the Mediterranean Sea. Megiddo is a huge mound with a commanding view of the long and fertile valley of Jezreel—an ideal place for armies gathering there. Then, they will converge from there on Jerusalem to fight the returning Christ. We don’t read that there will be a battle at Armageddon—the battle will be fought farther south in the valley of Jehoshaphat, which is called today the “Kidron Valley,” bordering Jerusalem on the east.

(7.7.7) The SEVENTH OF THE SEVEN LAST PLAGUES or bowls:

It causes a tremendous earthquake to shake the earth “as had not occurred since men were on the earth” (Revelation 16:17-18; compare Isaiah 2:12-19; 13:6-13; 24:1-20), causing the “great city” of Jerusalem to be “divided into three parts” and “all the cities of the nations” to fall (Revelation 16:19). Further, every island disappears, and mountains are leveled (Revelation 16:20). A great hail of tremendous size destroys everything in its path. Again, man will not repent, but blaspheme God because of the hail (Revelation 16:21).

To obtain the entire picture of the events at the time of Christ’s return, we need to consider additional passages.

The battle in the valley of Jehoshaphat and the mighty earthquake are more fully described in the nineteenth chapter of the book of Revelation, which describes the return of Jesus Christ (Chapters 17 and 18 are again interludes—flashbacks—setting the stage for the climax of the destruction of this world’s civilization–called “Babylon”–which is being dominated or influenced by a military-economic and religious power).

Chapter 19 describes the returning Jesus Christ, riding on a white horse, to establish the government of God here on earth (Revelation 19:6, 11, 14-15).

When the seventh angel sounds and when Christ returns, the saints–converted Christians–will be resurrected to immortality, if they have died, or they will be changed to immortality, if they are still alive (1 Corinthians 15:50-56; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18). They will at that time be born again and inherit salvation, by entering the Kingdom or very Family of God. They will meet Christ in the air and descend with Him on that same day on the Mount of Olives. Zechariah 14:3-5 indicates that, apparently due to the great earthquake of the seventh bowl, mentioned in Revelation 16:17-18, the Mount of Olives shall split in two, making a very large valley, where the final battle of God Almighty will take place.

Christ will overcome the armies which will be trying to fight Him, as well as the modern leaders of modern “Babylon”–the military ruler (“the beast”) and the religious leader (“the false prophet”) (compare Revelation 19:19-21). The destruction of the armies is more fully described in Zechariah 14:12, 15. The beast and the false prophet will be cast into “the lake of fire burning with brimstone” (Revelation 19:20).

Revelation 19:7-9 also states that Christ will come to “marry” His “wife”—His Church—and that those are blessed “who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” Other passages shed more light on this marriage and the marriage supper, compare Matthew 22:1-14; 25:1-13; Luke 12:35-38; 13: 25-30.

Beginning with Revelation 20, further events are described, which will occur after Christ has returned to this earth. An angel will bind and imprison Satan and his demons for 1000 years or a “millennium,” so that Satan cannot deceive mankind during that period (Revelation 20:1-4; compare also Revelation 12:9). The immortal saints will rule with and under Christ on and over this earth for those thousand years (Revelation 20: 5-6; Daniel 7: 22, 27). The results of this rulership will be peace, prosperity and a correct understanding of God and His ways (Isaiah 2:2-4; 9: 6-7; 11:1-10; 35:1-10; Amos 9:13-15; Micah 4:1-5). Ultimately, the saints will reign under God “for ever and ever” (Revelation 22:5).

To summarize, here are the seven seals of the book of Revelation, as follows:

(1) The FIRST SEAL (Revelation 6:2) — RELIGIOUS DECEPTION

(2) The SECOND SEAL (Revelation 6:3-4) — WAR

(3) The THIRD SEAL (Revelation 6:5-6) — FAMINE

(4) The FOURTH SEAL (Revelation 6:7-8) — PESTILENCE

(5) The FIFTH SEAL (Revelation 6:9-11) — THE GREAT TRIBULATION of spiritual and physical Israel

(6) The SIXTH SEAL (Revelation 6:12-14) — COSMIC DISTURBANCES or HEAVENLY SIGNS

(7) The SEVENTH SEAL consists of SEVEN TRUMPETS (Revelation 8:2, 6)

(7.1) The FIRST TRUMPET destroys one third of all trees and of the grass (compare Revelation 8:7)

(7.2) The SECOND TRUMPET destroys one third of all sea creatures and of all the ocean ships (Revelation 8:8-9)

(7.3) The THIRD TRUMPET poisons one third of all the sweet drinking water (Revelation 8:10-11)

(7.4) The FOURTH TRUMPET blocks one third of the light of the sun, moon and stars (Revelation 8:12-13)

(7.5) The FIFTH TRUMPET (the “first woe”) depicts a war caused by Europe (Revelation 9:1-12)

(7.6) The SIXTH TRUMPET (the “second woe”) depicts retaliating Asian powers (Revelation 9:16)

(7.7) The SEVENTH TRUMPET (the “third woe”) consists of SEVEN LAST PLAGUES (Revelation 16:1)

(7.7.1) The FIRST PLAGUE causes “a foul and loathsome sore” (Revelation 16: 2)

(7.7.2) The SECOND PLAGUE causes every living creature in the sea to die (Revelation 16:3)

(7.7.3) The THIRD PLAGUE causes the sweet water supply to become “blood” (Revelation 16:4-7)

(7.7.4) The FOURTH PLAGUE scorches mankind (Revelation 16:8-9)

(7.7.5) The FIFTH PLAGUE causes total darkness (Revelation 16:10-11)

(7.7.6) The SIXTH PLAGUE prepares for “Armageddon” (Revelation 16:16)

(7.7.7) The SEVENTH PLAGUE causes the greatest earthquake of all time (Revelation 16:17-18)

We do not know the exact time of Christ’s return, and it is unbiblical to try to figure out the year of His Second Coming; but we can say that, based on world conditions in the light of Biblical prophecy, Christ’s return is near (Please listen to Norbert Link’s recent sermon on this topic, which is dated December 29, 2007, titled, “Do You Know the Year of Christ’s Return?”) The events connected with the seven seals, as described in the Book of Revelation, will take place very shortly. Once these prophetic events begin, they will be fulfilled in just a few years. Here is what Jesus stated: “Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till ALL THESE THINGS TAKE PLACE” (Matthew 24:34).

Also, to the generation who lives to face these horrific times, Jesus Christ warns: “Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory… Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man” (Luke 21:27, 36).

Lead Writer: Norbert Link

Michael Link and Noelle Jacobs would like to announce that they plan to get married in Ramona, California, on June 29, 2008.

The draft of the new booklet on “Man’s Holidays and God’s Holy Days” has entered the second review cycle.

A new StandingWatch program (#151) was posted on StandingWatch, Google Video and YouTube. It is titled, “What IS the Kingdom of God?, Part 2.” In the program, Norbert Link is asking the following questions: Is the gospel message just about Jesus Christ, or is it Christ’s message about the Kingdom of God? IS God a Family, or does He just HAVE a family? Is it the potential of man to become God or just a spirit being, higher than angels, but lower than God? What DOES your BIBLE say about these questions?

The following video recordings of Norbert Link’s recent sermons have been posted on Google Video:

“Was the California Wild Fire Caused by God?,” dated November 3, 2007
“Image Which Speaks,” dated September 13, 2007
“The Tabernacle in the Wilderness, Part 3,” dated September 1, 2007

Set forth below are statistics of recent viewings and downloads of several of our video-recorded sermons (plus one video-ad), which were placed on Google Video:

Bible Study — The Books of Ezra & Nehemiah, Part 1 — 1584 viewings, 66 downloads
Bible Study — Christian Suffering — 1573 viewings, 62 downloads
Bible Study — The Books of Ezra & Nehemiah, Part 2 — 708 viewings,  23 downloads
Bible Study — Sin, a powerful enemy — 450 viewings,  32 downloads
Bible Study — The Life of Gideon — 392 viewings, 21 downloads
Bible Study — Jonah Speaks to Us  — 387 viewings, 18 downloads
Bible Study — How to Have a Successful Lasting Marriage — 376 viewings, 44 downloads
Bible Study — Day of Atonement : Mystery of the Atonement Rituals — 261 viewings
Bible Study — Flee Idolatry! — 203 viewings, 13 downloads
Bible Study — How to Be Truly Successful! — 131 viewings, 18 downloads
Bible Study — Why the Sacrifices? — 115 viewings, 3 downloads
Bible Study — Sin: How Do You Look At It? — 102 viewings, 10 downloads
Bible Study — Human Suffering: (FREE Booklet)– 78 viewings, 5 downloads
Bible Study — What the Sacrifices May Teach You – Part 3 — 41 viewings, 7 downloads
Bible Study — The Tabernacle in the Wilderness, Part 2 — 12 viewings

Total: 6413 viewings,  322 downloads

We are in the planning stages of our annual conference, which will be held in California and begin on Friday, March 28, 2008, and which will last until and including Wednesday, April 2, 2008 (with Sunday, March 30, 2008, being set aside for a church outing/activity). Please feel free to send us any questions or suggestions for discussion during the conference, which might be helpful for the furtherance of our overall two-fold commission to preach the gospel and to feed the flock.

by Manuela Mitchell

While growing up, I could never deny the fact that I was always a little more different than the rest of the general public. My best friends consisted of various creatures with fur, feathers and scales.  Just about everyone thought I was weird for having such a fascination with animals. Some considered me strange for claiming that I could communicate with them, but they could never justify why animals bonded with me so much.  (For those of you wondering…, I can communicate with animals; and they can communicate with me. It’s because I’ve spent so much time with them that I am able to read their body language and behavior–as they read mine on a daily basis).

I was made fun of a lot; and I missed out on quite a few people and social activities with people. At times, I wanted to change so much that I told myself I would try to like animals less and pay less attention to them. I would try hard to fit in and be like “normal” people. Then I realized that nobody was or is normal. I realized that change is ok as long as there is a valid reason. Trying to change a God-given gift is impossible. Being young, I never asked for the ability to help animals, or read them, or even like them. I was born with the basics and, growing up with those tools and God’s gift, I have become someone who cares for animals and educates people about them as a hobby and profession.

In this physical lifetime, God has given us special talents that help us for the near future. I believe that these talents or gifts which we have received now, will somehow be used later in much greater ways. Even though I can’t communicate now with animals verbally, it’s because of who I am that God may grant me that opportunity.