On January 5, 2008, Dave Harris will give the sermon, titled, “To Be Spiritually Minded.”

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.

Paul asked the question in 1 Corinthians 5:6-7: “…Do you not know that a little leaven [notice the word “little”] leavens the whole lump? Therefore purge out the old leaven…” From this and other Scriptures we see that at times, leaven pictures sin. Purging out is of necessity a daily process of change—of persistent commitment to the responsibilities of our calling, including repentance from sin. Just a little leaven is all it takes to manifest sin. Paul tells us further in Romans 12:2 that we should not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of our mind; i.e., by focusing on change. That transformation is the process of turning away from what is not acceptable in God’s eyes. It is an ongoing aspect of our everyday life. This can only be done through the help of the Holy Spirit.

This act of change starts in our mind. Aside from repenting of sin, there are other areas we may need to focus on, including our attitude, our prayer life, endurance in the face of trials, and faith. There should be no question that the outcome of our lives over the next few years depends on our willingness to continue to change—to shift our attitude and our actions in line with God’s ways. Unfortunately, it seems so easy to do otherwise. However, we either accept God’s ways and adhere to them, or we are on the road to failure. It is that serious.

Man’s value systems are geared around a kind of trinity of the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life (compare 1 John 2:16). That pretty well sums up the scope of man’s sins, doesn’t it? Lust and pride. While converted Christians are changing, they are still in that process of perfecting their lives.

Can we think of anything in our life that might well be holding us back from complete harmony with God? We need to think hard about that. It will take some honest self-examination as we match our life against God’s Word.

Paul congratulated the Church at Corinth on their conduct of change by stressing their diligence, their clearing of themselves, their fear, vehement desire, zeal, and their vindication  (compare 2 Corinthians 7:11). If Paul was alive today, could he say that about all of us?

We need to focus on positive change, of turning around from this world’s ways, from unrighteousness, and from obsession with physical things, to unconditional surrender of our life and of our will to God. Nothing else will work to guarantee our future. God knows our frame, and He has given us His Holy Spirit to help us along the way. He wants us to succeed. Dare we let Him down?  Dare we let ourselves down? There really is no other acceptable alternative, is there?

It has been said correctly that when our reason becomes sufficient we can change. What greater reason could we have to focus on change than what lies up ahead for us?

2007–A Year of Failure For the West

Der Spiegel Online wrote on December 28, 2007:

“Ongoing difficulties in Iraq. A Taliban offensive in Afghanistan. And now the assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto in Pakistan. For the West, 2007 has been a year of failure and missteps… The Thursday assassination of Benazir Bhutto is a huge, shocking and possibly even historic triumph for the enemies of democracy. Even worse, the attack was the gruesome culmination of what has been a successful year for them.

“It is also not reaching too far to say that the shots that fatally wounded Bhutto in Rawalpindi Thursday also killed off any hope that the Islamic world could find peace of its own accord in the foreseeable future.

“The West, too, is more troubled than it has been for a long time. The dismay in the corridors of government is genuine. US President George W. Bush’s statement, which lasted little more than a minute, was eloquent testimony to his speechlessness. This world power has rarely looked so powerless — and Bush has rarely looked so helpless…

“Bush will not be in a position to do much to end this conflict. He is a war president and an unsuccessful one at that. Even if he talks about diplomacy, it sounds like preparation for war. His partners in Berlin, Paris and London will have to act cleverly in this difficult situation. Any belligerence or crowing must be avoided so as to not damage the Western position as a whole. As strange as it might sound, this beleaguered president must be ushered into retirement with dignity and civility… The classic military intervention — Bush’s formula against the danger of terrorism — has not been successful up to now and will not be so in the future. And the situation in nuclear-armed Pakistan is clearly not one where any sort of military operation should be considered…

“But does that mean we should capitulate? Should the West sit on the sidelines sipping tea? Absolutely not.

“The West has to protect itself and its people with everything modern technology has placed at its disposal… And perhaps it is once again time for European diplomacy to open up a new way of seeing things to the Americans. In the altercation with the Soviet Union and the communist bloc, Europe found success. Many in the US were set on a confrontational course while Europeans preferred an easing of tensions. It was the English Prime Minister Winston Churchill, just eight years after World War II ended, who voiced his conviction that, wherever possible, a measured, more patient and less aggressive foreign policy was the way to go.”

Bhutto’s Assassination–the “Coup De Grace” to American Policy

The New York Times wrote on December 31, 2007:

“The assassination of Benazir Bhutto has given the coup de grâce to the botched American attempt to manage a nuclear-armed Islamic state. In recent years, Pakistan has been the home of banks that wired money for the 9/11 plot, been the chief source of illicit nuclear proliferation, offered a tribal-area haven for planners of worldwide terrorism, abetted the reconstitution of the Taliban and educated many a suicide bomber in Islamic religious schools. At the same time, President Pervez Musharraf, in power since a 1999 coup, has received about $10 billion in U.S. aid, much of it to reinforce the Pakistani military in fighting Al Qaeda, the Taliban and global jihadism in South Waziristan and other tribal areas. If a U.S. policy was ever broken, this is it.

“… the United States, out of misplaced deference to Musharraf, failed to secure Bhutto the protection she was demanding. Her husband, Asif Ali Zardari, visited the United States shortly before her death to plead for help, but was denied the meetings he sought at the top levels of the State Department… Bhutto’s loss is devastating, comparable with Yitzhak Rabin’s. Her Kennedylike family tragedy leaves the fathomless void of what might have been.”

Who Caused Bhutto’s Death?

The Telegraph wrote on December 28, 2007:

“The burial of Benzair Bhutto was today marred by heavy violence across Pakistan as a bitter row broke out over how she died… As hundreds of thousands mourned the murdered opposition leader, the country’s Interior Ministry claimed she had died from hitting her vehicle’s sunroof when she tried to duck after a suicide attack… But the explanation was ridiculed by Farooq Naik, Miss Bhutto’s top lawyer and a senior official in her Pakistan People’s Party. ‘It is baseless. It is a pack of lies,’ he said. ‘Two bullets hit her, one in the abdomen and one in the head. It was a serious security lapse.'”

More Unrest in Pakistan

Der Spiegel Online wrote on January 2, 2008:

“The unrest that followed the assassination of Benazir Bhutto has prompted Pakistan’s electoral commission to delay elections until Feb. 18. Opposition parties had demanded the poll go ahead on Jan. 8 and now warn that there could be more riots.

“Opposition parties in Pakistan cried foul on Wednesday after it was announced that parliamentary elections will be postponed until Feb. 18. The official line is that the delay was necessary following the unrest that erupted after opposition leader Benazir Bhutto was assassinated last Thursday… The opposition accused the authorities of using delaying tactics to avoid a defeat for the ruling party, which is closely allied to President Pervez Musharraf. Bhutto’s Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) had been hoping to reap a strong sympathy vote in the wake of her murder… “The government had initially blamed the killing on radical Islamists linked to al-Qaida but many Pakistanis suspect the security forces of having had a hand in the assassination. The government insistence that Bhutto died by hitting her head on the lever of the sunroof of her car was widely derided. The PPP insists she died from gunshot wounds.”

Der Spiegel Online added in a related article on January 2:

“Al-Qaida, the secret service or a contract killer sent by President Musharraf? A gun shot, bomb shrapnel or a fatal blow to the head? Wild theories about the death of Benazir Bhutto are making the rounds in Pakistan — and are becoming levers of political power. The news from the United States caused quite a stir: Hillary Clinton, a Democratic candidate for the US presidency, hinted on Sunday that the Pakistani military could be behind last week’s assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto. Previously, she said in an interview that ‘there was no reason to trust the Pakistani government.'”

China–the World’s New Economic and Military Superpower

The Independent wrote on January 1, 2008:

“Here comes the world’s newest superpower. The rest of the world is gloomily contemplating economic slowdown and even recession. Not in Beijing. China is set to make 2008 the year it asserts its status as a global colossus by flexing frightening economic muscle on international markets, enjoying unprecedented levels of domestic consumption and showcasing itself to a watching world with a glittering £20bn Olympic Games…
 
“Britain will feel the full power of the new superpower’s confidence. This month, for the first time, China’s state-controlled banks will begin spending some of its $1.33trn (£670bn) in foreign currency reserves on London’s financial markets… But while some may question Beijing’s political motives, there is no doubt that China has arrived as serious power-broker. Last year, it surpassed America as the greatest driver of global economic demand. It is also widely predicted to overtake Germany as the world’s third largest economy this year.”

The Wall Street Journal added on January 2, 2008:

“Beijing’s military has also started to boast about its new weapons and war-fighting capabilities. Peace Mission 2007, cooperative military exercises in Central Asia in August, was China’s first large-scale foreign military deployment, and recent military maneuvers, apparently rehearsals to take Taiwan and disputed islands in the South China Sea, were remarkable in scope and sophistication… China’s military assertiveness has been matched by tougher diplomacy. Last year, a series of high-level meetings showed that Beijing has moved closer to Moscow to cement their ‘friendship for generations’ and confirm their opposition to American initiatives, especially to stop the Iranian nuclear program.

“China’s sustained campaign against German Chancellor Angela Merkel for meeting the Dalai Lama in September is also notably intense. China even threatened military and political responses over economic disputes… at last month’s session of the ‘Strategic Economic Dialogue,’ the high-level talks between the U.S. and China.”

For China’s prophetic role in the near future, please read the Q&A in this Update.

Unrest in Kenya

Der Spiegel Online wrote on January 2, 2008:

“The unrest in Kenya following the disputed election victory of President Mwai Kibaki is escalating into a tribal war. On Tuesday more than 40 people, many of them children, burned to death in a church after seeking refuge from machete-wielding members of another tribe. The carnage is starting to remind observers of the Rwandan genocide of 1994… Ever since President Mwai Kibaki, a Kikuyu, had himself declared the winner in an election that was obviously manipulated, the tribes of this east African country are at war.

“… the German head of the European Union’s election monitoring mission, Alexander Graf Lambsdorff, is about to hold a news conference. Some 150 observers monitored this election debacle. The Kenyans have been eagerly awaiting the Europeans’ verdict on the election for days… Lambsdorff’s assessment is devastating. ‘The elections did not meet international standards of democracy,’ says Lambsdorff. He said EU monitors detected irregularities in two electoral districts where Kibaki won. In each of those two districts, the governing PNU ended up with 20,000 more votes than it received at the first count, said Lambsdorff.  In five electoral districts, members of the EU mission were barred from the vote count, and in some regions the voter turnout was unusually high. ‘We have doubts about these elections,’ Lambsdorff concluded.

“Mwai Kibaki now looks isolated. On Sunday evening… he was hastily sworn in for a second term in a televised ceremony… But the United States, Kenya’s partner in the war on terror, has now distanced itself from him. After the US had initially congratulated Kibaki on his victory, State Department deputy spokesman Tom Casey said Washington had serious concerns about the vote count.”

Germany’s Immigration Problems

Der Spiegel Online wrote on January 2, 2008:

“An assault by two foreign youths on a German pensioner has triggered conservative calls for a crackdown on ‘criminal young foreigners’ and exposed deeply entrenched xenophobia that casts doubt on this country’s ability ever to fully integrate its 15 million inhabitants with an immigrant background. The 76-year-old pensioner suffered a fractured skull when he was beaten by a 20-year-old Turkish man born in Germany and a 17-year-old immigrant from Greece on December 20 after he asked them to stop smoking on a subway train in Munich, where smoking is forbidden. The pensioner recovered after a spell in hospital and recalls how they spat at him and called him a ‘… German’ before kicking him in the head. Police arrested the attackers shortly afterwards…

“[Hesse state premier Roland Koch stated] that Germany wasn’t a classic country of immigration such as Canada or Australia. ‘In our country we don’t get many cultures meeting to form a new one. Germany has had a Christian-Occidental culture for centuries. Foreigners who don’t stick to our rules don’t belong here.’ His quote ‘We have too many criminal young foreigners’ made a banner front-page headline in Bild on Friday. The paper praised him in an editorial on Wednesday, writing: ‘At last our politicians are quarrelling about the really important issues — the safety of our citizens! Fear of crime and violence by foreign criminals [have] been accompanying us on bus and subway journeys for a long time.’

“Koch’s comments fuelled conservative calls for ‘foreign’ criminals to be expelled from Germany and were echoed by Volker Kauder, head of the conservative parliamentary group in the federal parliament and a close ally of [German Chancellor Angela] Merkel. Kauder told ‘Bild am Sonntag’ that crime by foreigners had ‘been a taboo in Germany’ for too long. ‘We need education camps for hard cases, closed institutions with an overall concept for therapy. Foreigners aren’t our enemies, but criminals are — and we can no longer afford to accept their mocking laughter’…

“Representatives from ethnic minorities say Koch’s comments reveal a key obstacle to integration in Germany. People living here are still widely labelled ‘foreigners’ even if they were born in Germany, even if they have German passports, and especially if they are dark-skinned…

“Criticizing immigration can be a vote-winner in Germany. Koch has successfully tapped the issue before, winning a 1999 state election after he launched a petition against government plans to introduce dual citizenship for foreign citizens living in Germany. The current conservative premier of North Rhine-Westphalia, Jürgen Rüttgers, launched a campaign in 2000 against proposed ‘green cards’ for Indian software engineers. The slogan of his campaign to give precedence to homegrown talent over skilled foreign workers was ‘Kinder Statt Inder’ — ‘Children Instead of Indians.’ In many other Western countries, a slogan like that from a mainstream politician would have killed off his career. Yet Rüttgers now runs Germany’s most populous state.

“Merkel herself suggested in a party conference speech last month that mosque minarets should be no higher than church steeples, following local resistance in several German cities to the construction of new mosques.”

Political Crisis Between France and Syria

AFP reported on January 2, 2008:

“Foreign Minister Walid Muallem announced on Wednesday that Syria was breaking off contacts with France on the political crisis in Lebanon, responding to a similar gesture by Paris three days ago. ‘Syria has decided to cease Franco-Syrian cooperation on the Lebanese crisis,’ the minister told a press conference in Damascus. He said Syria had been surprised by President Nicolas Sarkozy’s announcement on Sunday that France was cutting contacts, as it came just two days after Damascus had reached agreement with Paris on a comprehensive deal to end the crisis…

“Sarkozy accused Syria on Sunday of failing to match its words about wanting a settlement to the crisis in Lebanon with deeds on the ground. France ‘will have no more contact with Syria … until we have proof of Syrian willingness to let Lebanon appoint a president by consensus,’ he said. The French foreign ministry reiterated that position on Wednesday.”

Cyprus and Malta Adopt the Euro

The EUObserver wrote on January 1, 2008:

“The European currency is today replacing the national currencies of the two Mediterranean islands of Malta and Cyprus, bringing the number of EU states using the euro to 15 out of the 27 member states… They will add around 1.2 million people to the euro zone – some 800,000 Cypriots and around 400,000 Maltese – bringing the number of those EU citizens using the euro as a national currency to 320 million out of the EU’s total 495-million large population… Of the remaining 12 countries currently not in the euro zone, only the UK and Denmark have chosen not to adopt the European currency for reasons of economic sovereignty [while the other 10 countries have not made yet a final decision on that issue].”

Further Decline of the U.S. Dollar in the Future?

Bloomberg.com wrote on January 1, 2008:

“The dollar may extend a two-year decline against the euro on speculation a slowing economy will make U.S. assets less attractive to investors… The unemployment rate probably increased last month to the highest since July 2006…

“‘The U.S. economy will be pushed close to the recession level,” said Greg Salvaggio, vice president of capital markets in Washington… ‘There will be further dollar weakness in early 2008.” The dollar lost 9.5 percent against the euro in 2007, dropping to $1.4588, following a 10.2 percent drop in 2006…”

In addition, The Financial Times reported that Wall Street had the worst start to a New Year in 25 years. It wrote on January 2, 2008: “US blue-chip stocks on Wednesday suffered the worst start to a new year in 25 years after an index of manufacturing fell sharply, raising fears that the US economy is slowing more than expected.”

“Prosperity Gospel” Under Attack

The Associated Press reported on December 28, 2007:

“The probe by Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa, the ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, has brought new scrutiny to the underlying belief that brings in millions of dollars and fills churches from Atlanta to Los Angeles — the ‘Gospel of Prosperity,’ or the notion that God wants to bless the faithful with earthly riches. All six ministries under investigation preach the prosperity gospel to varying degrees.

“Proponents call it a biblically sound message of hope. Others say it is a distortion that makes evangelists rich and preys on the vulnerable…

“Grassley is asking the ministries for financial records on salaries, spending practices, private jets and other perks. The investigation… has some wondering whether the prosperity gospel is facing a day of reckoning… Prosperity preachers say that it isn’t all about money — that God’s blessings extend to health, relationships and being well-off enough to help others. They have Bible verses at the ready to make their case… Critics acknowledge the idea that God wants to bless his followers has a Biblical basis, but say prosperity preachers take verses out of context…”

Even though we are not going to comment on the accuracy or inaccuracy of the “Prosperity Gospel”–whatever that (unbiblical) term may mean–it cannot be denied that God promises physical blessings to those who obey Him (compare, for example, Malachi 3:8-10). But generally speaking, governmental investigations of any Christian church, which might be conducted because of ulterior motives and/or which might attack or question Biblical truth, should be of great concern to all Christians.

Mary–the Mother of God and of the Church?

VIS wrote on January 2, 2008:

“At the first general audience of 2008… the Pope dedicated his catechesis to the Virgin Mary’s title of Mother of God… [He] recalled that ‘Theotokos’ or ‘Mother of God’ was ‘the title officially attributed to Mary in the fifth century, at the Council of Ephesus of 431’…. Following the Council of Ephesus, ‘Marian devotion underwent an enormous expansion, and many churches dedicated to the Mother of God were built… ‘All the other titles attributed to the Virgin Mary have their foundation in her vocation as Mother of the Redeemer’, he said: the Immaculate Conception, the Assumption, and Mother of the Mystical Body of Christ which is the Church. ‘It was right, then, that on 21 November 1964, during Vatican Council II, Paul VI solemnly attributed to Mary the title of “Mother of the Church.”‘”

These chapters describe an attack of Gentile countries against “Israel.” Some have concluded that this attack will occur PRIOR to the return of Jesus Christ. Others believe that it is the same attack which is described in the 20th chapter of the book of Revelation; that is, at the END of the Millennium or about 1,000 years AFTER Christ’s return.

The truth is, however, that the events described in Ezekiel 38 and 39 will occur AT THE VERY BEGINNING of the Millennium–shortly AFTER Christ has returned. The attack mentioned in the 20th chapter of the book of Revelation is a different attack, which will occur approximately 1,000 years later. In fact, as we will see, the Bible records that there will be at least THREE future attacks on Jerusalem–the first one at the time of Christ’s return; the second one at the beginning of the Millennium; and the third one at the end of the Millennium.

Let us carefully review the context of Ezekiel 38 and 39.

Ezekiel 38:8, 16, tells us that the events will occur “in the latter years” or in the “latter days.” Verse 8 emphasizes that it will happen at the time when those living in the land have been “brought back from the sword and gathered from among many people.” We are also told that “they were brought out of the nations” and led to “the mountains of Israel, which had long been desolate.” It is emphasized that they are NOW dwelling “safely.” Verse 12 also reiterates that these former “waste places” are “again inhabited,” and that the people of Israel, who were gathered from the nations, “have acquired livestock and goods.”

Since there will be no desolate mountains of Israel throughout the Millennium, and since the people of Israel have been living in safety during the Millennium, and since they were gathered out of the nations and brought to the Promised Land at the time of Christ’s return, it is clear that the events described in Ezekiel 38 and 39 do not occur 1,000 years AFTER Christ’s return.

Other passages confirm this conclusion:

Ezekiel 38:10, 14, 19 and Ezekiel 39:11 refer to the time in question as “in that day.” Normally, this phrase refers to the time just prior to or just subsequent to Christ’s return.

We read in Ezekiel 38:11 that the people of Israel will live in “unwalled villages”; that they are a “peaceful people, who dwell safely,” “without walls, and having neither bars nor gates.” This shows that the events will not occur PRIOR to Christ’s return, as the modern descendants of the houses of Israel and Judah — mainly the USA, Great Britain, Canada and the state of Israel–do not live in peace today, and they will not live in peace, without walls, bars or gates, prior to Christ’s return (For proof, please read our free booklets, “The Fall and Rise of Britain and America,” and “The Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord.”). Christ said that at the time of His return, there would be great tribulation–so great that no human being would be saved alive, unless He was to return to shorten those terrible days (Matthew 24:21). Also, Ezekiel 38:8 refers to the “mountains of Israel” where the modern houses of Israel and Judah will live at that time–but the modern house of Israel does not presently reside there at all, nor will they live there prior to Christ’s return.

Ezekiel 39 emphasizes in numerous places that God will destroy the invading army, and that because of God’s intervention, the nations, and especially the nation of Israel, will know that He is the Lord. Verse 22 states: “So the house of Israel shall know that I am the LORD their God from that day forward.” This is clearly a reference to the BEGINNING of the Millennium– not to the END when God has ruled over the world and Israel for 1,000 years. Verses 23-29 add that the Gentiles will know by then that “the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity”–a reference to the coming slavery of the modern house of Israel, prior to Christ’s return. Christ will free the modern nations of Israel and Judah out of their slavery when He returns–not 1,000 years later (compare verses 25, 27-28). It is THEN that God will begin to convert the survivors of the modern houses of Israel and Judah (verse 29)–not 1,000 years later.

Let us also briefly discuss the identity of the nations that will try to conquer and destroy the modern peoples of Israel and Judah. Ezekiel 38:2-3, 5, 6 lists “Gog, the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal,” as well as “Persia, Ethiopia and Libya,” and “Gomer and… the house of Togormah.”

“Gog” means “mountain” or “high” and seems to be a reference to a commander (compare also verse 7). Magog has been understood as a reference to the Mongols–or more generally, China; and “Rosh,” meaning “blond,” to the White Russians. “Meshech” is another designation for the city of Moscow, and “Tubal” for the city of Tobolsk. Meshech and Tubal, being sons of Japheth–the father of the Eurasian peoples–and brothers of Gomer and Magog (compare Genesis 10:2), seem to refer here to the Great Russians. Included in this entire description are the vast regions in northern Eurasia extending from the Baltic to the Pacific.

Persia designates modern Iran; and Ethiopia (“Cush” in Hebrew) includes the people of the state of Ethiopia, but also peoples in Central and Southern India and parts of Sri Lanka. Cush’s sons, Seba and Raamah (Genesis 10:7), and Raamah’s son Sheba (same verse), were later worshipped by Hindus as the gods Shiva and Ramah. Libya (“Put” in Hebrew) includes the people of the state of Libya, as well as people from Northern and Central India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

Gomer seems to designate the peoples from Asian steppes and deserts, including people from the region of Mongolia. Finally, the reference to “Togarmah from the far north” (Ezekiel 38:6) has been understood as a reference to the people living in Siberia.

For more information on the Biblical origin and identity of modern nations and peoples, please see the Q&A in Update #126 (“Identity of Biblical Nations”).

What we find described, then, in Ezekiel 38 and 39, is an attack by a huge army composed of many Eurasian peoples at the beginning of the Millennium. This army will try to conquer and destroy the nations of the modern houses of Israel and Judah who will by then live in the Promised Land. At that time, the Eurasian army under the leadership of “Gog,” will “ascend, coming like a storm, covering the land like a cloud, you and all your troops and many peoples with you” (Ezekiel 38:9). This power bloc is beginning to form in front of our very eyes right now.

But when they attack, GOD will do the fighting for His people. Remember, the nations of this world who will be taught by God will not WANT to learn war any more, but desire to live in peace (Isaiah 2:1-4). And so, GOD will do the fighting for them (Ezekiel 38:21-22). He would do the same for our peoples today, if we would only let Him do so, submit to HIM and be obedient to His commands.

It is true that “kings from the east” and their armies will fight against Christ AT His return, but they will be defeated. Some have wondered how the Eurasian peoples could muster another great army shortly AFTER Christ destroyed their army. They claim that the army which Christ will destroy at His return will consist of “two hundred million.” However, this is not what the Bible says.

We read in Revelation 9:14, 16, that “four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates” were released, and that the number of the army, which will at THAT time be fighting against a resurrected or revived Roman Empire in EUROPE, will be two hundred million. That war is also alluded to in Daniel 11:44-45. (For further information, please read our free booklet, “Europe in Prophecy.”).

However, we read in Revelation 16:12, that SUBSEQUENTLY, an angel will pour out “his bowl on the great river Euphrates,” and that its water will be “dried up, so that the way of the kings from the east might be prepared.” We are informed, in verses 13-14, that Satan and his demons will “gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty,” in addition to “the kings of the earth and of the whole world.” That place, where the armies will be gathered, is called Armageddon (verse 16). However, we do not read here that the kings from the east will appear at Armageddon with an army of two hundred million. We are not told how big their army is going to be AT THAT TIME.

In addition, no war will take place at Armageddon. The reference to the proverbial WAR at Armageddon is unbiblical. Armageddon (meaning Har Megiddo, and describing a great valley several miles away from Jerusalem) is just the place where the armies will meet. They will then move towards Jerusalem. The actual battle will take place just outside the city.

That battle is described in Revelation 19:19-21: “And I saw the beast [a military European leader], the kings of the earth [including the kings from the east], and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him who sat on the horse [Jesus Christ] and against His army [His angels]. Then the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet [a European religious leader]… And the rest were killed with the sword which proceeded from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse…”

Another reference to that great battle can be found in the book of Joel. We read there that God will “GATHER all nations, And bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat” (Joel 3:2). We read in Joel 3:16 that at that time, “The LORD also will roar from Zion, And utter His voice from Jerusalem.”

A reference to that battle is also contained in Revelation 14:19-20, where we read: “So the angel thrust his sickle into the earth and gathered the wine of the earth, and threw it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. And the winepress was trampled outside the city, and blood came out of the winepress, up to the horses’ bridles, for one thousand six hundred furlongs [Lit., stadia, about 184 miles in all].” The same terminology is used in Revelation 19:15, describing the return of Jesus Christ: “… He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.”

In addition, Zechariah 14:2 says that Christ will GATHER all the nations to battle against Jerusalem, and verse 3 adds that He will fight against those nations, when His feet stand on the Mount of Olives. Verse 12 tells us about the plague with which God will strike all the people who fought against Jerusalem–their flesh, their eyes and their tongue will dissolve while they stand on their feet. We don’t know how many people will be fighting against Christ. In any event, there will be people LEFT who will not be destroyed at that time (compare verse 16).

Regardless of HOW it is possible that the Eurasian peoples will be able to attack Jerusalem at the beginning of the Millennium–after a previous battle involving them and destroying their army had taken place at the time of Christ’s return–it is clear that they will do so. At that time, God will again supernaturally intervene and destroy those nations, as we read in the 38th and 39th chapters of the book of Ezekiel.

A similar [third] attack on Jerusalem will occur about 1,000 years later, after Satan has been “released from his prison.” While Satan was imprisoned, unable to deceive the nations, this world enjoyed 1,000 years of peace. But with Satan being released for a short while, things will change. He will “go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle, whose number is as the sand of the sea” (Revelation 20:7-8). As they did 1,000 years earlier, they will try to conquer Jerusalem, but God will destroy them (verse 9). Again, no human being will fight against those warring and attacking nations–it will be GOD who will do the fighting for His people.

This is the last time that we read that humans–deceived by Satan the devil–will fight. Satan will be removed forever, unable to deceive humans anymore to fight and kill in war. Ultimately, “God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away” (Revelation 21:4).

Lead Writer: Norbert Link

A new member letter has been written. In the letter, Brian Gale contrasts the present terrible conditions of this world with the wonderful future which awaits us.

The text for our new booklet on the Sacrifices and the Tabernacle in the Wilderness has been sent to Shelly Bruno for finalization.

A new StandingWatch program (#150) has been posted on StandingWatch, Google Video and YouTube. It is titled, “What IS the Kingdom of God?, Part 1.”

In the program, Norbert Link explains that Christ said the blessed of His Father were to inherit the kingdom prepared for them since the foundation of the world. What did He mean by that? WHAT are we to inherit? HOW has it been PREPARED for us? WHY was MAN created in the first place? And WHO, exactly, created man?

Since we posted our StandingWatch programs on Google Video a few months ago, we are pleased to announce the following statistics: Our program, “America’s Illegal Aliens” was viewed 5,849 times; followed by “666, the Beast and Antichrist” (viewed 4,313 times); “Is Nuclear War Coming?” (viewed 3,404 times); “American Hiroshima” (2,295 times); “America’s Latest Phone Scandal” (1,637 times); “To Spank or Not to Spank” (1,620 views); “Ghosts of Departed Ones” (1,618 views); and “USA–The Fading Superpower” (1,581 views). Additional programs were viewed on Google Video from 1,505 times on downward.

As of December 28, the program, “Are You An Alcoholic?” received the most views (72) on You Tube (we began posting our programs on You Tube about two weeks ago).

Since October 13, 2007, the programs on “Britain and America”; “Why Keep Sunday?”; “The Law of God”; “Christmas”; “Mystery of Revelation”; and “Halloween” received the most views on our StandingWatch Website (from 163 to 83).

On December 29, 2007, Norbert Link will give the sermon, titled, “Do You Know the Year of Christ’s Return?”

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.

You could just quit! Among our options is to give up, to throw in the towel or to weakly accept defeat.

Being called by God leads us into a very challenging way of living. We are instructed to seek  the perfection of God; that is, we are to live our lives overcoming imperfection (compare Matthew 5:48).

This is not easy! In fact, the struggle is, as we say, 24/7–night and day, every day! Jesus stated this concept a little bit differently, but the impact of what He said is also all-consuming: “‘Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it'” (Matthew 7:13-14).

Don’t expect it to be easy, but at the same time, don’t expect to fail–do not approach life with a defeatist attitude. That mind-set is the ultimate tool of Satan!

Paul reassured himself and us with this inspiring truth:

“What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written: ‘For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.’ Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:31-39).

Can you do this–can you believe that God has called you with His personal conviction that you can be a part of His Family and that His limitless power is available to assure that you will have a place in His Kingdom?

Finally, let me ask, “What can you do?” Let us all answer as Paul answered: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13).

Benazir Bhutto Murdered

Recently, nothing but bad news has surfaced from Pakistan, one of the world’s nuclear powers. But on Thursday, December 27, the announcement that former premier and opposition leader Benazir Bhutto was assassinated during a campaign rally has topped it all.

Pakistan–the world’s “most dangerous” country–is in turmoil. January elections in Pakistan are “as good as dead.” These are some of the comments from Der Spiegel Online, dated December 27.

The world is alarmed and in shock. Strong condemnations against the cowardly act of a suicide assassin were heard from almost every corner. But depending on who was really behind this murderous attack, the repercussions for Pakistan and the world might far exceed the imaginable. The Bible strongly suggests that Pakistan will not remain for long an ally of the USA. Momentous events are beginning to take shape, which will lead to a world quite different from the one we know today.

AFP wrote on December 27:

“Pakistani opposition leader and former premier Benazir Bhutto was assassinated in a suicide attack on Thursday, plunging the nation into turmoil less than two weeks before elections. She had just addressed a campaign rally for the parliamentary vote when an attacker shot her in the neck before blowing himself up at a park in the northern city of Rawalpindi…

“President Pervez Musharraf called on the country to stay peaceful ‘so that the evil designs of terrorists can be defeated,’ state television reported… There was no claim of responsibility for the attack, but Bhutto had accused elements in the intelligence services of trying to kill her. She also said she had received death threats from Islamic militant groups including Al-Qaeda.”

The Associated Press added on December 27:

“Her death threw the campaign for critical Jan. 8 parliamentary elections into chaos and stoked fears of mass protests and violence across the nuclear-armed nation, an important U.S. ally in the war on terrorism. At least 20 others were also killed in the attack…”

The British tabloid, The Sun, added:

“Next to President Pervez Musharraf, Bhutto, 54, was the best known political figure in the country, serving two terms as prime minister between 1988 and 1996.”

USA Today reported on December 27:

“Violence also hit another top opposition leader on Thursday. Four workers in former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League were shot dead at a rally in Rawalpindi and eight others were injured…”

Really Bad News for the USA

The Associated Press stated on December 27:

“[President Bush’s] appearance [expressing his condolences and his outrage over the assassination] came as U.S. officials here struggled to cope with the immense policy implications of the assassination on relations with a nuclear-armed country that has received billions of dollars in American financial assistance and is an ally in the war on terrorism…

“The United States had been at the forefront of foreign powers trying to arrange reconciliation between Bhutto and Musharraf, who under heavy U.S. pressure resigned as army chief and earlier this month lifted a state of emergency, in the hope it would put Pakistan back on the road to democracy. Bhutto’s return to the country after years in exile and the ability of her party to contest free and fair elections had been a cornerstone of Bush’s policy in Pakistan, where U.S. officials had watched Musharraf’s growing authoritarianism with increasing unease.

“Those concerns were compounded by the rising threat from al-Qaida and Taliban extremists, particularly in Pakistan’s largely ungoverned tribal areas bordering Afghanistan despite the fact that Washington had pumped nearly $10 billion in aid into the country since Musharraf became an indispensable counterterrorism ally after Sept. 11, 2001…

“Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden of Delaware, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said, ‘I am convinced Ms. Bhutto would have won free and fair elections next week… This fall… I twice urged President Musharraf to provide better security for Ms. Bhutto and other political leaders.’ He said ‘the failure to protect Ms. Bhutto raises a lot of hard questions for the government and security services that must be answered.'”

Who Killed Benazir Bhutto?

On December 27, Times On Line discussed the prime suspects in Bhutto’s assassination. The paper stated:

“The main suspects in Benazir Bhutto’s assassination are the Pakistani and foreign Islamist militants who saw her as a heretic and an American stooge and had repeatedly threatened to kill her. But fingers will also be pointed at Inter-Services Intelligence [ISI] , the agency that has had close ties to the Islamists since the 1970s and has been used by successive Pakistani leaders to suppress political opposition.

“Ms Bhutto narrowly escaped an assassination attempt in October, when a suicide bomber killed about 140 people at a rally in the port city of Karachi to welcome her back from eight years in exile. Earlier that month, two militant warlords based in Pakistan’s lawless northwestern areas, near the border with Afghanistan, had threatened to kill her on her return.

“One was Baitullah Mehsud, a top commander fighting the Pakistani army in the tribal region of South Waziristan. He has close ties to al Qaeda and the Afghan Taleban. The other was Haji Omar, the ‘amir’ or leader of the Pakistani Taleban, who is also from South Waziristan and fought against the Soviets with the Mujahideen in Afghanistan…

“[Bhutto] accused Pakistani authorities of not providing her with sufficient security and hinted that they may have been complicit in the bomb attack [in October]. Asif Ali Zardari, her husband, directly accused the ISI of being involved in that attempt on her life. Mrs Bhutto stopped short of blaming the Government directly, saying that she had more to fear from unidentified members of a power structure that she described as allies of the ‘forces of militancy’.

“Analysts say that President Musharraf himself is unlikely to have ordered her assassination, but that elements of the army and intelligence service would have stood to lose money and power if she had become Prime Minister. The ISI, in particular, includes some Islamists who became radicalised while running the American-funded campaign against the Soviets in Afghanistan and remained fiercely opposed to Ms Bhutto on principle. Saudi Arabia, which has strong influence in Pakistan, is also thought to frown on Ms Bhutto as being too secular and Westernised…”

“Europe Just Got Bigger”

Der Spiegel Online reported on December 21:

“Europe just got bigger. At one minute after midnight local time on early Friday morning, border controls vanished for nine more European Union members, many of them former members of the Soviet Bloc. Fireworks, cheers, music and speeches throughout the morning welcomed the expansion, which means that travelers can move from the far corners of Estonia all the way to the Atlantic coast in Portugal without once encountering a border guard. ‘This is an especially beautiful moment,’ said German Chancellor Angela Merkel… ‘It is a source of great pleasure that coming generations will experience open borders as the European normalcy.’…

“Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia and Malta all joined the so-called Schengen zone, as the open-border area is known… There are now 24 countries — including two non-EU states, Norway and Iceland — populated by 400 million people in the border-free travel zone… Most of those countries entering Schengen on Friday were behind the Iron Curtain just 20 years ago. The opening of the border between Germany and Poland — one of the most contested in the past centuries of European history — was of particularly symbolic importance.”

… But Is it All Good News?

The EUObserver added on December 21:

“Land and sea border checks… are now abolished, while air borders are set to follow on 30 March 2008. Practically it means that as of today, ‘people can travel hassle-free between 24 countries of the Schengen area without internal land and sea border controls- from Portugal to Poland and from Greece to Finland’, EU justice commissioner Franco Frattini said in a statement. ‘An area of 24 countries without internal borders is a unique and historical achievement. I feel very proud and privileged to have been involved in making it happen’, he added…

“However, some were more enthusiastic than others. While Slovaks were celebrating until late in the night on Friday at the country’s border with ‘old’ member state Austria, no celebrations could be noted on the Austrian side. A recent poll carried out in Austria showed 75% of its citizens opposed the lifting of barriers, according to the BBC…

“European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso said: ‘Together we have overcome border controls as man-made obstacles to peace, freedom and unity in Europe’…

“The Schengen area was established in 1985 and named after the small Luxembourg village where it was signed by Germany, the Benelux countries and France. The nine new countries joined the 15 others already in Schengen – thirteen EU states excluding the UK and Ireland which preferred to stay out, but including Norway and Iceland.

“Non-EU member Switzerland is also to become a member of the Schengen area next year, while three EU states – Cyprus, Bulgaria and Romania — have still to meet the necessary requirements. It is not yet known when they will join the EU’s borderless zone, but Cyprus is expected to do so around 2009, while Bulgaria and Romania are hoping to follow suit by 2011.”

It’s not all good news–by any means. For further information as to what IS prophesied to happen soon in Europe, please read our free booklet, “Europe in Prophecy.”

The Ever-Shrinking U.S. Dollar

The Washington Post wrote on December 24:

“The sharp decline of the U.S. dollar since 2000… marks a shift for Americans in the global economy. In times of strength, a mightier dollar allowed Americans to feed their insatiable appetite for foreign goods at cheap prices while providing Yankees abroad with virtually unrivaled economic clout. But now, as the United States struggles to fend off a recession, observers say the less lofty dollar is having both a tangible and intangible diminishing effect.

“‘The dollar was the dominant force in world economics for 100 years — we had no competition,’ said C. Fred Bergsten, an American economist… ‘There was no other economy close to the size of the United States. But all that is now changing.’ The dollar is down more than 40 percent against the euro over the past seven years, taking a particularly sharp drop last month.

“… for untold millions worldwide, the weak dollar has emerged as a troubling dark spot… some countries have begun to diversify their dollar holdings… In May, Kuwait dropped its currency peg to the dollar and other oil-rich Gulf states have threatened to follow. Perhaps most telling: In recent months, the euro surpassed the dollar as the currency with the largest global circulation…

“The chink in the dollar’s armor has dealt a blow to American pride — at least to the kind of pride that comes with buying power. Nowhere is that more visible than with Americans overseas… ‘Every time the euro increases by 10 cents towards the dollar we lose $1 billion in our operations,’ said an Airbus official at the company’s headquarters in Toulouse, France. ‘Aircraft are sold in U.S. dollars, but most of our production costs are paid in euros.’…

“The dramatic surge in oil revenue along with the weakening dollar has sparked a rise in inflation in the Gulf states — hurting most those who have the least. In recent months, it has wiped out much of the gains from years of hard labor for the thousands of South Asian workers who moved to Dubai for a piece of its multibillion-dollar construction boom… some in China are turning their noses up at the dollar. Lin Jing, a sales manager… said [his] company has begun to demand euros from its overseas customers instead of dollars. ‘The use of euros enables us to shy away from losses caused by the conversion between the [Chinese currency] and the weakened dollar,’ he said.”

America’s Housing Saga Worst Since Great Depression

The Washington Times wrote on December 26:

“This year’s housing bust is shaping up to be one of historic proportions. Sales and construction have sunk to levels not seen since the 1990 savings and loan crisis, while foreclosures and price drops are the largest since the Great Depression — and expected to get worse next year. Many parallels can be seen with earlier housing debacles. Each episode had some combination of easy money, loose lending, greed and fraud that turned a housing boom into a speculative bubble. But few housing bubbles have ended so badly as the one today, when the nation is confronting the prospect of mass foreclosures and family dislocations…

“The whole mess threatens to sink the broader economy the longer it wreaks havoc on consumer confidence and spending power… The housing saga is far from over, many analysts say. With millions more mortgages resetting in the next two years, many more people could lose their homes. Banks, securities firms and investors could foot another $300 billion in losses, by some estimates. If consumers are daunted by bleak housing news and their loss of wealth and spending power, they could capitulate and send the economy into a recession, economists say…”

How Europe Views the American Presidential Election

Der Spiegel Online wrote on December 24:

“The United States is a country that likes to explain democracy to other nations. It is also a country that starts wars to bring democracy to the world. It allows the candidates for its highest office, the presidency, to spend a year and a half campaigning, leaving no stone unturned as it delves into their past…

“And then there is Iowa. Iowa — a flat state of corn, cows and the occasional small town. Iowa, a sparsely populated state in the US Midwest, is home to 2,982,000 people, 94 percent of them white. Astonishing things have been happening in Iowa in recent weeks: Hillary Clinton knocking on the doors of hog farmers and smiling timidly; Rudy Giuliani helping an elderly woman cross the street; Mitt Romney telling a joke; Barack Obama standing in the lobby of a Des Moines hotel whistling a tune; Fred Thompson looking awake.

“The American presidential election campaign is heating up. Although the general election isn’t until November 2008, Iowa residents of both major political parties will be the first, on Jan. 3, to cast their votes to determine which Democrat and which Republican will make the final run for the White House. Voters in New Hampshire, South Carolina and the rest of the 50 states will follow suit in the days and months ahead…

“Of course, it is by no means certain that the Democrats will still be ahead when the general election rolls around in just under a year. But it looks that way for the moment, at least, partly because current President George W. Bush is so unpopular and partly because American voters are confronted with an unusually weak collection of candidates for the Republican nomination…

“A preliminary decision — nothing more, nothing less — will be made here in Iowa on Jan. 3. The real race begins after that.”

However, the magazine added:

“It could snow on Jan. 3, a Thursday. And there will be football on TV — both could reduce voter turnout. No more than 100,000 votes are up for grabs for each party in Iowa, and only 3,000 to 4,000 votes will decide whether Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama, the two leading Democratic candidates, will win the state’s important first-in-the-nation primary election. Winning in Iowa is… traditionally a tremendous boost for a candidate. Conversely, candidates who fail to place a strong second or third in the state are often finished.”

Putin Person of the Year? — Get Real!

Time Magazine chose Vladimir Putin as the person of the year. An odd choice–to put it mildly. On December 20, U.S. News and World Report published the following commentary by senior writer Michael Barone. Although we do not agree with all of his comments, they nevertheless make interesting reading:

“Time magazine has chosen Vladimir Putin as the person of the year. This strikes me as an odd choice. Yes, Putin has been an important player on the international stage; yes, he has frustrated American efforts to stop Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons; yes, he has been more intransigent on asserting Russian power on the ‘near abroad,’ the former Soviet republics, which, like Ukraine, Georgia, and the Baltics, seek to take a different course. But he has been doing these things for years, and he has made no important advances, at best incremental progress, in calendar year 2007…

“To be sure, Time did not always name those admired by its founder, Henry Luce, a liberal Republican and interventionist in the run-up to World War II. For 1942, it named Joseph Stalin for the Soviets’ successful resistance to the Nazi invasion that began in 1941, but it had also… named Stalin as the man of the year in 1939, because the Hitler-Stalin pact agreed to in August 1939 enabled Adolf Hitler to invade Poland without serious opposition. Indeed, Time also named Hitler man of the year for 1938, when he got Britain and France to appease him by destroying the power of Czechoslovakia to resist conquest…

“It hailed Richard Nixon as the man of the year for 1971, for the opening to China, which is hard to quarrel with, whatever your ideological orientation. Nixon set a new policy for China that has been followed, more or less, by every administration since (though denounced by most presidential nominees since). The post-Luce Time was quick to notice the turn in China policy made by Teng Hsiao-P’ing (as he was then transliterated), man of the year for 1978, and gave him the honor again, this time as Deng Xiao Ping, in 1985. Time has often honored winning presidential candidates who had not seemed such likely winners the year before, bestowing the man of the year designation on Ronald Reagan for 1980, for example. But, oddly, it honored him and Soviet leader Yuri Andropov as co-men of the year for 1983, though they never met and never negotiated…

“Time left no doubt of where it stood. Mikhail Gorbachev was the man of the year for 1987, an eminently defensible choice, but he was also 1989 declared man of the decade for 1989—an echo of Time’s declaration for 1950 that Winston Churchill was the man of the half-century. There’s just a tad bit of difference here: Churchill won, and Gorbachev lost. The man of the decade of the 1980s who prevailed and triumphed was Ronald Reagan…

“When I started off in journalism, at the Harvard Crimson in 1963, Henry Luce and Time were considered a prime example of slanted journalism, tilted toward Republicans and against Democrats, toward liberal Republicans and against conservative Republicans, tilted toward Catholics (Luce’s wife Claire Boothe Luce was a Catholic convert, and Luce produced hugely favorable coverage of his friend Joseph Kennedy’s children and of the Catholic Diems in Vietnam; it turns out the coverage of the Kennedys was inflated…)

“Now Time is slanted to the left… The men of the year for 1993 were the ‘peacemakers’ Nelson Mandela, F. W. de Klerk, Yitzhak Rabin, and Yasser Arafat. Quiz question: Which name doesn’t belong on this list? Or 1998 men of the year Bill Clinton and Kenneth Starr, as odd and ill-assorted a pair as Andropov and Reagan…

“Which brings us back to the person of the year for 2007, Vladimir Putin. Yes, he’s a consequential figure, who has just nominated a successor who looks like his pawn… But Russia ain’t what it was when Time saw Ronald Reagan and Yuri Andropov as a dynamic duo. And who are Time’s runners-up? Al Gore, who exaggerated the IPCC climate forecast by a factor of 20 to say that New York and London would be flooded by global warming (they weren’t in the 13th century, when the weather was a lot warmer than it is now). J. K. Rowling, who has made millions writing books that children and adults love to read; all power to her, but she’s not exerting the kind of influence over human affairs that Hitler did in 1938 and Stalin did in 1939…”

“Defense” Cooperation Between Russian and Iran

The Associated Press and the International Herald Tribune reported on December 24:

“Iran and Russia discussed defense cooperation… as ties between the two countries have been increasingly flourishing… In early 2007, Iran received advanced Russian air defense missile system under a US$700 million contract signed in 2005. Russia has provided Iran with military products such Kilo-Class submarines, MIG and Sukhoi military planes and bombers in the past decades. Relations between Iran and Russia have been growing closer in recent months, climaxed by a historical visit by Russian President Vladimir Putin to Tehran in October. Russia is also putting the finishing touches on a 1,000-megawatt nuclear power plant in Bushehr, located in southern Iran. Iran received the first shipment of nuclear fuel from Russia last week, paving the way for the startup of its reactor in 2008.”

Tony Blair’s “Conversion” to Catholicism

The Associated Press reported on December 23:

“Former Prime Minister Tony Blair has left the Church of England and converted to Catholicism, the faith of his wife and children. Blair converted during a Mass Friday night at the private London chapel of Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor, the head of the Catholic Church in England and Wales… Blair had been a regular worshipper at Mass with his family and in recent months had been following a program leading to his reception into the church… In England’s last census, 72 percent of people identified themselves as Christian. Many are Anglicans affiliated with the Church of England, which was created by royal proclamation during the 16th century after King Henry VIII — who married six times — broke ties with the Roman Catholic Church in a dispute over divorce.”

Tony Blair–How Catholics Are “Made”

The Daily Mail wrote on December 23:

“Tony Blair was challenged yesterday to explain his record on abortion, embryo testing and gay rights after announcing that he had converted to Catholicism. Some Catholics condemned his previous support for causes which were apparently inconsistent with Church doctrine. But they drew a rebuke from senior figures in the Church, who said the Pope’s welcome for the new recruit was the final word. Sources said Mr Blair’s conversion ‘is not retrospective’ and that he does not have to account for his actions and beliefs in the past…

“John Smeaton, of the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children, said: ‘During his premiership Tony Blair became one of the world’s most significant architects of the culture of death, promoting abortion, experimentation on unborn embryos, including cloned embryos, and euthanasia by neglect. SPUC is writing to Tony Blair to ask him whether he has repented of the anti-life positions he has so openly advocated.’

“Former Tory minister Ann Widdecombe, herself a convert, raised Mr Blair’s previous support for embryo research, gay ‘marriage’ and abortion, saying: ‘My question would be, has he changed his mind?’ Former Labour minister Peter Kilfoyle, a Catholic, said: ‘If he showed just one ounce of contrition over Iraq, then he would be closer to the body of morality that is the Catholic Church.'”

Roman Catholic Church Dominant Religious Group in Britain

The Sunday Telegraph wrote on December 23:

“Roman Catholics have overtaken Anglicans as the country’s dominant religious group. More people attend Mass every Sunday than worship with the Church of England, figures seen by The Sunday Telegraph show… The rise of Catholicism has been bolstered by an influx of immigrants from eastern Europe [especially Poland] and Africa.”

The Daily Mail added on December 23:

“The arrival of more than 600,000 Poles since their country joined the EU in 2004 appears to have dramatically slowed the long-term decline in congregations at Catholic churches. Roman Catholics who attend Mass have outnumbered Church of England congregations on Sunday mornings for some years…”

Sarkozy–a “Cultural Catholic”

The International Herald Tribune reported on December 21:

“President Nicolas Sarkozy has broken a French taboo by urging a more active role for religion in public life, but stopped well short of the American-style mix of faith and politics his critics say he wants to copy. A twice-divorced ‘cultural Catholic’, Sarkozy used a visit to the Vatican on Thursday to declare France was rooted in Christianity and needed Catholics to be more active in public life because faith helped give meaning to life…

“In its front-page cartoon on Friday, the Paris daily Le Monde showed Sarkozy dressed as a bishop, with President George Bush shouldering a cross and an American flag and confessing to Pope Benedict: ‘I think this guy is stealing my job.’…

“In his speech accepting the canon’s title, an honour given to French leaders since the 17th century, Sarkozy made repeated references to France’s Christian roots — a link that Paris refused to have mentioned in Europe’s planned constitution… Sarkozy said France needed ‘convinced Catholics who are not afraid to say who they are and what they believe.’

“RTL radio commentator Serge July noted the Catholic Church in France has criticised Sarkozy’s crackdown on immigration and plans to drop most restrictions on Sunday shopping.”

Christmas–“Christianized” Paganism

The Associated Press reported on December 22, 2007:

“The church where the tradition of celebrating Christmas on Dec. 25 may have begun was built near a pagan shrine as part of an effort to spread Christianity, a leading Italian scholar says… In 325, [Constantine] convened the Council of Nicaea, which fixed the dates of important Christian festivals. It opted to mark Christmas… on Dec. 25 to coincide with the Roman festival celebrating the birth of the sun god, Andrea Carandini, a professor of archaeology at Rome’s La Sapienza University, told reporters Friday… ‘The church was built to Christianize these pagan places of worship,’ he said… Rome’s archaeological superintendent Angelo Bottini, who did not take part in Carandini’s research, said that hypothesis was ‘evocative and coherent’ and ‘helps us understand the mechanisms of the passage from paganism to Christianity.'”

How New York Invented Modern-Day Christmas

The Daily News reported on December 23:

“Christmas was originally a combination of the day of worship of the birth of Christ and the Roman winter solstice festival called the Saturnalia. The latter was a very raucous, townwide affair, and its raunchy and riotous ways persisted until nearly modern times. Then the Puritans outlawed Christmas altogether…

“It was New York City that changed all that, pioneering the family — and very child-centered — holiday that has since spread around the world. This is not surprising, perhaps, seeing that Santa Claus is New York’s patron saint. No, really. The Dutch ship that brought the first settlers to Manhattan was named for St. Nicholas, the patron saint of old Amsterdam as well as children.  It was long a Dutch tradition for children to get presents on St. Nicholas Day, Dec. 6, often put in their shoes or stockings for them to find in the morning… Often these presents came on Christmas instead of St. Nicholas Day.

“Then, around the turn of the 19th century, New York’s emerging literary establishment created much of the folklore of the modern Christmas. Washington Irving wrote about St. Nicholas (‘Sinterklaes’ in one Dutch form of the name, soon anglicized to ‘Santa Claus’)… In 1821, an American children’s book called ‘The Children’s Friend’ changed Santa’s horse and wagon to a reindeer and sleigh… At first, there was no single, standard image of Santa Claus. But in the 1860s, the great American political cartoonist Thomas Nast contributed drawings… to Harper’s Weekly — a New York publication, of course — that fixed to the present day the image of Santa Claus as a jolly, bearded, fat man in a fur-trimmed cap…

“By the 20th century, the New York-inspired American Christmas traditions were hallowed ones. But New Yorkers kept adding to them anyway. In 1940, Irving Berlin wrote what has become the most popular Christmas song of all time, ‘White Christmas.’ Nine years later, Robert May and his New Yorker brother-in-law, the composer Johnny Marks, added a ninth reindeer to Santa’s sleigh, Rudolph.

“It is, perhaps, a sign of New York City’s incomparable multiethnic synergy, which reaches right back to the present-seeking children of Dutch days, that both Marks and Berlin were, of course, Jewish.”

Where Do Santa’s Elves Come From?

On December 22, Yahoo published the following as the best answer to the question where Santa’s elves come from. It stated:

“The Santa Claus story is of MIXED background–combining Germanic mythology and folktales with Christian stories about one or more church leaders (the source of the name Saint Nicholas). The elves appear to come from a Germanic folktale that was brought into the mix. Here is the story, according to Wikipedia:

“‘Another early folk tale, originating among the Germanic tribes, tells of a holy man (sometimes Saint Nicholas), and a demon (sometimes the Devil, Krampus, or a troll). The story states that the land was terrorized by a monster who at night would slither down the chimneys and slaughter children (disembowelling them or stuffing them up the flue, or keeping them in a sack to eat later). The holy man sought out the demon, and tricked it with blessed or magical shackles (in some versions the same shackles that imprisoned Christ prior to the crucifixion, in other versions the shackles were those used to hold St. Peter or Paul of Tarsus); the demon was trapped and forced to obey the saint’s orders. The saint ordered him to go to each house and make amends, by delivering gifts to the children. Depending on the version, the saint either made the demon fulfil this task every year, or the demon was so disgusted by the act of good will that it chose to be sent back to Hell. Yet other versions have the demon reform under the saint’s orders, and go on to recruit other elves and imps into helping him, thus becoming Santa Claus.'”

A “holy man” commands a demon to do good deeds? Very unlikely–unless the “holy man” is a “demon” himself… In any event, this story shows that the gifts for children were made by demons… and that Santa Claus was originally a demon… AND, that also the elves were apparently demons as well…

When the Wise Men Visited Jesus

The Grayson County News Gazette re-told the “Christmas story” in one of its articles, published on December 24. The following admission is quite striking:

“After Jesus’ birth, Herod was king of Judea. At this time wise men (Magi) from the east saw a star, they came in search, knowing the star signified the birth of the king of the Jews. The wise men came to the Jewish rulers in Jerusalem and asked where the Christ was to be born. The rulers explained, “In Bethlehem in Judea,” referring to Micah 5:2. Herod secretly met with the Magi and asked them to report back after they had found the child. Herod told the Magi that he too wanted to go and worship the babe. But secretly Herod was plotting to kill the child. So the wise men continued to follow the star in search of the new born king and found Jesus with his mother in Bethlehem. (Most likely Jesus was already two years of age by this time.).”

Christmas and the “Child Jesus”

The Associated Press reported on December 25:

“Pope Benedict XVI issued a Christmas Day appeal Tuesday to political leaders around the globe to find the ‘wisdom and courage’ to end bloody conflicts in Darfur, Iraq, Afghanistan and Congo… Wearing gold-embroidered vestments and a bejeweled bishops’ hat, or miter, Benedict urged the crowd to rejoice over the celebration of Jesus Christ’s birth, which he said he hoped would bring consolation to all people ‘who live in the darkness of poverty, injustice and war.’… ‘May the child Jesus bring relief to those who are suffering and may he bestow upon political leaders the wisdom and courage to seek and find humane, just and lasting solutions,’ he said… He said he hoped Christmas would bring consolation to ‘those who are still denied their legitimate aspirations for a more secure existence, for health, education, stable employment, for fuller participation in civil and political responsibilities, free from oppression and protected from conditions that offend human dignity.'”

What is striking is, among other things, the plea that the “Child Jesus” would bring relief. Jesus Christ is NOT a Child anymore–He is an all-powerful GOD being–the LIVING KING of kings and the LORD of lords–our mighty High priest and Savior. But this is exactly one of the problems with Christmas and its traditions–to think of our Maker and Creator (compare John 1:1-3, 14) as a helpless young little child in a manger. For more information about the REAL Jesus, please read our free booklet, “Jesus Christ–A Great Mystery.”

Christ–The “Sun” Rising From the East?

The Catholic News Services (CNS) reported on December 27:

“The newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano, asked Msgr. Marini to explain why the crucifix, the symbol of Christ’s death, was being given such prominence even at midnight Mass when the church was celebrating Christ’s birth.

“‘The position of the cross at the center of the altar indicates the centrality of the crucifix in the Eucharistic celebration and the exact orientation the entire assembly is called to have during the eucharistic liturgy… Salvation comes from the Lord. He is the east, the sun that rises, the one whom we all must watch,’ Msgr. Marini said. In his 2000 book, ‘The Spirit of the Liturgy,’ Pope Benedict argued that facing the east while praying is a physical expression of turning toward God, toward the sun that rises for the salvation of all men and women.

“‘Where a direct, common turning toward the east is not possible, the cross can serve as the interior “east” of the faith. It should stand in the middle of the altar and be the common point of focus for both priest and praying community,’ he wrote.”

The Bible has some strong words to say about those who worship the sun (or Jesus “as” the sun) rising from the east. Ezekiel 8:15-17 reads:

“Then He said to me, ‘Have you seen this, O son of man? Turn again, you will see greater abominations than these.’ So He brought me into the inner court of the LORD’s house; and there, at the door of the temple of the LORD, between the porch and the altar, were about twenty-five men with their backs toward the temple of the LORD  and THEIR FACES TOWARD THE EAST, and they were WORSHIPPING THE SUN TOWARD THE EAST.”

Matthew 22:23-30 reads:

“The same day the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Him and asked Him, saying, ‘Teacher, Moses said that if a man dies, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife and raise up offspring for his brother. Now there were with us seven brothers. The first died after he had married, and having no offspring, left his wife to his brother. Likewise the second also, and the third, even to the seventh. Last of all the woman died also. Therefore, in the resurrection, whose wife of the seven will she be? For they all had her?’ Jesus answered and said to them, ‘You are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God. For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels of God in heaven. But concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God, saying, “I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob”? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.’ And when the multitude heard this, they were astonished at His teaching.”

It is important to realize that Jesus answered the Sadducees and that He responded to their wrong concepts pertaining to the resurrection. We might say, Jesus answered a fool according to his folly (compare Proverbs 26:5).

Adam Clarke’s Commentary on the Bible explains that the “Sadducees had their origin and name from one Sadoc, a disciple of Antigonus of Socho, president of the Sanhedrin, and teacher of the law in one of the great divinity schools in Jerusalem, about 264 years before the incarnation… Sadoc [taught that] there was no resurrection of the dead, nor angel, nor spirit, in the invisible world… [The Sadducees] received only the five books of Moses, and rejected all unwritten traditions.”

From this background, we must understand correctly to whom Christ was speaking and what He was saying–and we must take note of what He was NOT saying. He responded to the assertion of the Sadducees that there was no resurrection by pointing out that there WAS a resurrection to ETERNAL LIFE. Please note carefully that He was not addressing other resurrections to physical life–both past and future. (For more information on the THREE resurrections, as taught in Scripture, please read our free booklets, “Do We Have an Immortal Soul?” and “God’s Commanded Holy Days.” Please read also our Q&A in Update #316 on the three resurrections.)

Notice that the parallel passage in Luke 20:27-40 makes clear that Jesus was only addressing the resurrection to eternal life.

He said in verses 34-36: “..’ The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage. But those who are COUNTED WORTHY to attain that age, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage; NOR CAN THEY DIE ANYMORE, for they are equal to the angels and are SONS OF GOD, being sons of the resurrection.”

When addressing the resurrection to immortality–also called the FIRST resurrection in the Bible (compare Revelation 20:4-5)–Jesus explained that those who will be in THAT resurrection, will be SPIRIT beings (like angels are spirit beings) who don’t marry in the way physical human beings do. In making this comparison, He told the Sadducees that angels DO exist, and that the righteous will be LIKE angels–as they will be Spirit beings. He did not teach that the righteous will BECOME angels; rather, that they will be higher than angels, as He called them SONS of the resurrection (compare Hebrews 2:10). Normally, angels are not called sons, but ministering spirits to assist the SONS of God to inherit salvation (compare Hebrews 1:14). Paul would later say that the sons of God will “judge angels” (compare 1 Corinthians 6:3). For further information, please read our free booklet, “Angels, Demons and the Spirit World.”

Notice how Jesus continued His response to the Sadducees, as recorded in the parallel account, in Luke 20:37: “But even Moses showed in the burning bush passage that THE DEAD ARE RAISED, when he called the Lord ‘the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ For He is not the God of the dead but of the living, for all live in Him.”

As the Sadducees did not believe in the inspiration of the Old Testament apart from the first five books of Moses, Jesus quoted, as proof for a resurrection, from the first five books of Moses, mentioning the burning bush episode, as recorded in the book of Exodus. He continued to say that God was the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and that God was not the God of the dead, but of the living.

Some commentaries erroneously conclude that Jesus was saying here that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were ALIVE when Jesus spoke these words–and that Jesus was therefore upholding the concept of the immortal soul which teaches that the immortal soul goes to heaven when man dies–a teaching which the Sadducees rejected.

However, Jesus did not believe in the false concept of the immortal soul. He taught that death was a sleep out of which man must be awakened (compare John 11:11-14, 43-44). He said to the Sadducees that God is a God of the living, because He will awaken Abraham, Isaac and Jacob out of their sleep of death through a resurrection from the dead. Remember, Jesus answered the Sadducees who did not believe in the resurrection. He proved that there is a resurrection from the dead by saying that God is the God of the living. The dead will live because God WILL RAISE them up in the resurrection (compare John 5:25, 28-29)–and God looks at future events, which are certain, as if they had already occurred. (Compare Romans 4:17, in the Living Bible: “That is what the Scriptures mean when they say that God made Abraham the father of many nations. God will accept all people in every nation who trust God as Abraham did. And this promise is from God himself, who makes the dead alive again and speaks of future events with as much certainty as though they were already past.”)

But let us also consider resurrections to physical life. Jesus taught such resurrections as well, but He did not address those in His response to the Sadducees. Jesus resurrected Lazarus to physical life, and He taught that many will be resurrected to physical life in the future. The Bible refers to that resurrection of billions of people as the “Great White Throne Judgment” (Revelation 20:11-12; compare also Revelation 20:5).

The question may be asked: What will happen to a woman who was married to several husbands and who will be resurrected to physical life, together with all those former husbands, in the Great White Throne Judgment resurrection? Would God consider her married to any or all of those former husbands? The answer would be clearly, no. When a husband dies, the wife is no longer “bound” or married to him. Since in the example of the Sadducees, all husbands died before the woman did, she was not “bound” or married to any of them at the time of her death. But even if she had died before her last husband, she still would not be considered married to him at the time of her resurrection–as the last husband would also have died subsequently.

Paul says in Romans 7:1-2:

“Or do you not know, brethren (for I speak to those who know the law), that the law has dominion over a man as long as he lives? For the woman who has a husband is bound by the law to her husband as long as he lives. But if the husband dies, she is released from the law of her husband.”

A married couple would not be considered married to each other in the First Resurrection to immortal life. Nor would they be considered married in the Second Resurrection to physical life, because by virtue of their death, their physical marriage arrangement was dissolved.

Would they be able, though, to marry (again) in the Second Resurrection? The Bible does not expressly say that marriages will not take place during the time period of the Second Resurrection–the Great White Throne Judgment–but it is highly unlikely that they will, as one important reason for marriage is producing physical offspring. It does not appear from Scripture that new babies will be born in the Second Resurrection. The Great White Throne Judgment period will pertain to those who HAD lived before, without having been given the opportunity to accept Jesus Christ as their personal Savior, and who will then be given that opportunity.

In conclusion, Christ reproved the Sadducees in many different ways, teaching and confirming the concept of the resurrection of the dead. He limited His answer to the FIRST resurrection of the righteous. He did not teach the false concept of an immortal soul, but He did teach that the righteous, who DIED, will be RAISED to immortal life through a resurrection.

Lead Writer: Norbert Link

US Contributions for 2007:

Donations and contributions received with letters postmarked in 2007 AND with enclosed written checks, dated in 2007, will be included in the detailed donation receipts for 2007. These receipts will be printed and sent out in mid-January of 2008. Cash contributions must also be received prior to January 1, 2008 (or, if sent by letter, the letter must be postmarked in 2007), in order to be included in the donation receipts for 2007. All contributions not falling into the categories described above will not be included in the donation receipts for 2007.

A new StandingWatch program was posted on StandingWatch and Google Video. It is titled, “What Is the True Gospel?, Part 2”

In the program, Norbert Link discusses that Christ came to preach the gospel of the Kingdom of God. He commissioned His Church to preach it today, and He said that its worldwide proclamation would be the sign for His Second Coming and the end of this present civilization. But why does Christ tell you to seek the Kingdom of God–to become worthy to inherit it and to enter it? And once you are in the Kingdom of God, what will you do then?

On December 22, 2007, Michael Link will give the sermon, titled, “Liars Beware!”

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.

(Español: Navidad – ¿Secular o cristiana?)

Recently, a minister of one of the Sabbath-keeping Church of God organizations was quoted in the press as saying that Christmas was a “secular holiday.”  Subsequently, the Catholic News Agency (CNA) reported that, according to the Pope, Christmas was “a Christian feast.” To explain its “Christian nature,” the Pope stated that Christmas “symbols, especially the Nativity scene and the tree hung with gifts, are important references to the great mystery of the Incarnation and the Birth of Jesus.” He added that the “ancient fir” or Christmas tree “is an important symbol of Christ’s Nativity because with its evergreen leaves it recalls the life that does not die.”

So who is right–newscasters and commentators who refer to Christmas as a “secular” or “national holiday,” or religious leaders who emphasize the “Christian nature” of Christmas? Surprising to many, perhaps, the answer is, neither is correct.

Christmas is not a secular holiday. It is clearly religious–even though in our modern civilized Western world, commercialism and other mundane secular activities may have, in many cases, covered or hidden the religious nature and character of Christmas. But to say that the second-most important feast of orthodox Christianity (Easter being regarded as the most important feast) is merely a secular observance, misunderstands the roots and origins of Christmas–and plays into the hands of advocates who want to keep Christmas celebrations alive even amongst those who object to them on religious grounds.

Christmas is not a Christian Holy Day either–at least not in the way in which the Bible defines true Christianity. A true Christian is one in whom Christ’s Spirit dwells (Romans 8:9)–a true Christian obeys Christ (John 15:14), believes and abides in His Word and follows His lead (John 8:31; 1 Peter 2:21). And Christ–the spoken and written Word of God (John 1:1, 14; 1 John 1:1-3; Revelation 19:1-3)–commanded His followers NOT to keep Christmas. The reasons for this prohibition are many, as fully explained in our free booklet, “Don’t Keep Christmas.”

Christmas is a religious holiday, all right–but it is pagan to the core. It did not originate with Christ’s birth. Gentiles already observed it in honor of their pagan gods long before Christ’s First Coming. The ancient Christmas tree was used in those pagan celebrations for the purpose of worshipping pagan gods. In fact, pagans believed that their particular god changed into a tree–that he was living in that tree–hence the decoration of the fir tree with gifts in honor of that pagan god (who was known in different cultures under different names, such as Mythra, Attis, Dionysus, Marduk, Baal and Nimrod). These are FACTS–if one cares to know. And the Bible condemns and ridicules the Gentile custom of cutting a tree and decorating it with gold and silver (compare Jeremiah 10:1-5).

The truth is the truth–and no label, pro or con, changes the facts. Christmas is not a secular or national holiday, but it is a religious festival; however, it is pagan, not truly Christian. To use pagan practices, in honor of pagan gods, and apply them to the worship of Christ is in direct violation of Christ’s explicit commands (compare Deuteronomy 12:29-32). Christ said that we worship Him in vain, if we do this (compare Mark 7:6-9).

Here is your challenge: Whom do you want to believe–a man and man-made traditions… or the Jesus Christ of your Bible? For a true Christian, the answer should be obvious.

The Climate Conference On Bali–“A Disaster”

The German paper, Die Tageszeitung, wrote on December 17: “The Bali climate conference will enter the history books — as a disaster.”

What has happened? Didn’t the world celebrate Bali as a success? Maybe at first–but not anymore.

What has come out of Bali is simply this: America is perceived to have failed in any leadership role, and Germany and Europe are becoming the leaders which the USA has refused to provide.

Success On Bali?–No Way!

On December 15, the press enthusiastically reported about a breakthrough at Bali’s climate change conference. But the reports were premature, and satisfaction was short-lived.

Der Spiegel Online wrote on December 15:

“There were tears, boos and, at the end, even hugs: After a long struggle, the delegates at the UN climate conference on Bali finally managed to agree on a roadmap for fighting climate change. Despite the lack of concrete targets, most considered the deal a success… The last-minute deal came on Saturday after the US delegation made a U-turn in a final negotiating session…

“Paula Dobriansky, leader of the US delegation, and her colleague James Connaughton found themselves the targets of naked animosity. When Dobriansky announced that the US would not sign up for the Bali roadmap, boos echoed through the room. The Americans were sharply attacked by several delegations. ‘If you’re not willing to lead, please get out of the way,’ said a US environmental activist representing Papua New Guinea.

“Other opponents of binding targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, such as Japan or Russia, failed to come to the US delegation’s defense. Left isolated, the American delegation gave in and agreed to the roadmap. ‘We will go forward and join consensus,’ said Dobriansky. This time the delegation was rewarded with a standing ovation from some participants.

“German Environment Minister Sigmar Gabriel told reporters he was on the verge of sending a mobile phone text message to Chancellor Angela Merkel, asking her to intervene with the White House, when the US delegation reversed their position.”

Is It Up to Germany and Europe to Save the World?…

However, only two days later, international enthusiasm was replaced with frustration and anger towards the United States.

Der Spiegel Online wrote on December 17:

“It took just hours for the White House to begin back-pedalling on the Bali climate negotiations breakthrough. One minute, US head of delegation Paula Dobriansky was agreeing to a blueprint for a new international accord to replace the expiring Kyoto Protocol. The next minute, the White House press secretary released a statement indicating that Washington has ‘serious concerns’ about the agreement reached on the Indonesian island of Bali.”

In addition to the isolation of the United States, the eyes of the world focus now on GERMANY and EUROPE to lead. Der Spiegel Online continued:

“German media commentators say Washington is increasingly isolated in one of the most pressing problems facing humanity, and that it’s up to the Europeans to save the world… Business daily Financial Times Deutschland writes: ‘… The most important driving force behind protection remains a credible pioneer. Only if a group of industrial nations forges ahead and shows that climate-friendly technology can be profitable will others follow. Germany and Europe have taken on this pioneering role once and for all. That is good news from the climate conference.'”

… Or, Will America Still Be Able to Lead in the Future?

On December 17, The New York Times acknowledged the lack of American leadership in Bali, but was hopeful that the USA will provide leadership in the future. The article stated:

“In Bali, where delegates from 187 countries met to begin framing a new global warming treaty, America’s negotiators were in full foot-dragging mode, acting as spoilers rather than providing the leadership the world needs… Despite pleas from their European allies, the Americans flatly rejected the idea of setting even provisional targets for reductions in greenhouse gases. And they refused to give what the rest of the world wanted most: an unambiguous commitment to reducing America’s own emissions. Without that, there is little hope that other large emitters, including China, will change their ways…

“The decision to maintain the tax breaks was particularly shameful. Blessed by $90-a-barrel oil, the companies are rolling in profits, and there is no evidence to support the claim that they need these breaks to be able to explore for new resources. Yet the White House had the gall to argue that the breaks are necessary to protect consumers at the pump, and the Senate was craven enough to go along.

“This Senate will have another chance to provide the American leadership the world needs on climate change. An ambitious bipartisan bill aimed at cutting America’s greenhouse gas emissions by 70 percent by midcentury has been approved by a Senate committee and may come to the floor next year. Though the bill is far from perfect and will provoke intense debate, it could offer a measure of redemption for the administration’s embarrassing failure in Bali.”

European Sanctions Against the USA Because of Climate Change?

The International Herald Tribune reported on December 18:

“The Social Democrats are calling for sanctions on energy-intensive U.S. export products if the Bush administration continues to obstruct international agreements on climate protection, the party’s leading environmental expert said Tuesday. The move, after the United Nations climate conference last week in Bali, Indonesia, has won strong support from the Greens and other leftist groupings in the European Parliament. Those factions will renew their bid to impose such levies when the Parliament reconvenes next month. It also signals a big effort by the Social Democrats to take the initiative on the environment and perhaps reshape it as a foreign policy issue that could affect relations between Berlin and Washington…

“‘Merkel has made climate change a big issue and has tried to bring the Bush administration on board, so far without success,’ said Ulrich Kelber, deputy parliamentary leader of the Social Democrats and an environmental expert… ‘We cannot let the U.S. continue to block multilateral agreements, as it tried with Kyoto, or weaken them, as it did in Bali,’ he said… ‘The U.S. is a major part of the problem. Levying special taxes or sanctions on energy-intensive U.S. products, such as steel and aluminum, which are exported to Europe, could be the first step,’ Kelber said.”

Scientists Disagree on “Man-Made Global Warming”

On December 20, the Drudge Report published the following article, which appeared on the Website of the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (epw.senate.gov):

“Over 400 prominent scientists from more than two dozen countries recently voiced significant objections to major aspects of the so-called ‘consensus’ on man-made global warming. These scientists, many of whom are current and former participants in the UN IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), criticized the climate claims made by the UN IPCC and former Vice President Al Gore. The new report issued by the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee’s office of the GOP Ranking Member details the views of the scientists, the overwhelming majority of whom spoke out in 2007. 

“Even some in the establishment media now appear to be taking notice of the growing number of skeptical scientists. In October, the Washington Post Staff Writer Juliet Eilperin conceded the obvious, writing that climate skeptics ‘appear to be expanding rather than shrinking.’ Many scientists from around the world have dubbed 2007 as the year man-made global warming fears ‘bites the dust.’

“This blockbuster Senate report lists the scientists by name, country of residence, and academic/institutional affiliation.  It also features their own words, biographies, and weblinks to their peer reviewed studies and original source materials as gathered from public statements, various news outlets, and websites in 2007. This new ‘consensus busters’ report is poised to redefine the debate.

  “Many of the scientists featured in this report consistently stated that numerous colleagues shared their views, but they will not speak out publicly for fear of retribution. Atmospheric scientist Dr. Nathan Paldor, Professor of Dynamical Meteorology and Physical Oceanography at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, author of almost 70 peer-reviewed studies, explains how many of his fellow scientists have been intimidated. ‘Many of my colleagues with whom I spoke share these views and report on their inability to publish their skepticism in the scientific or public media,’ Paldor wrote…

“This new report details how teams of international scientists are dissenting from the UN IPCC’s view of climate science. In such nations as Germany, Brazil, the Netherlands, Russia, New Zealand and France, scientists banded together in 2007 to oppose climate alarmism. In addition, over 100 prominent international scientists sent an open letter in December 2007 to the UN stating attempts to control climate were ‘futile.'”

Is US Economy Headed Towards Full-Blown Recession?

The Sydney Morning Herald wrote on December 16:

“The chairman of investment bank Morgan Stanley’s Asian arm, Stephen Roach, says the United States economy is headed towards recession and the rest of the world should be concerned… ‘What is interesting, and potentially disturbing, is that the rest of the world doesn’t seem to think this is a big deal any more,’ he said… Mr Roach said the US was the world’s biggest consumer economy at US $9.5 trillion, compared to China at $1 trillion and India at $650 billion… He said growth in Asia was vigorous but was export-led, and the end game of the Asian growth machine was directed at US consumers. The new consumers in China and India would not be able to offset falls in US consumption.”

In addition, The Associated Press reported on December 18:

“Housing construction [in the USA] fell in November and single-family activity dropped to the lowest level in more than 16 years as a severe housing slump showed no signs of a turnaround… Construction of single-family homes fell by 5.5 percent to an annual rate of 829,000 units, the lowest level since April 1991…

“In a bad sign for future activity, the government reported that applications for building permits fell for a sixth straight month, dropping by 1.5 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.15 million units, the slowest pace for building permits since June 1993…

“The slump has raised concerns that the economy could be pushed into a full-blown recession. Starting this summer, some of the nation’s largest banks and investment firms have declared multibillion-dollar losses stemming from a surge of defaults on subprime mortgages, loans offered to borrowers with weak credit histories… The concern is that the rising number of mortgage defaults will dump even more homes on an already glutted market.”

Vaccinations–Pro…

On December 15, 2007, The Courier-Post reported the following:

“Despite vocal protests from several statewide parents’ organizations, New Jersey became the first state in the country Friday to require annual flu shots for preschoolers. Along with the flu vaccine, State Health and Senior Services Commissioner Fred Jacobs signed off on adding three other required vaccinations. Preschoolers will be required to receive immunizations for pneumonia and the flu, while sixth-graders will get shots for meningitis and a booster for tetanus and whooping cough…

“Sue Collins, co-founder of the New Jersey Alliance for Informed Choice in Vaccination, said that by mandating the vaccines, the state thinks ‘the government knows New Jersey’s children better than their parents do. Parents no longer seem to have a say what medical procedures their children get’…

“Children in the state already are required to receive vaccinations for nine diseases by the age of 2, and some of those require multiple doses. Exemptions can only be given for medical reasons or religious objections. In addition, some parents protested the flu shots because some brands still contain the mercury-based preservative thimersol…”

… And Con…

Time Magazine wrote on December 13:

“Merck announced that it is voluntarily recalling 1 million doses of two common childhood vaccines, routinely given to children under 5… Merck is pulling… a vaccine that protects against infection with haemophilus influenzae type B (Hib), the bacteria that causes meningitis, pneumonia, and bloodstream infections. The COMVAX vaccine protects against haemophilius B and hepatitis B, a virus that can cause liver disease… During a routine inspection of their manufacturing process, Merck officials found that some equipment was contaminated with a bacteria…”

The magazine’s further comments are quite revealing and contradict New Jersey’s official state policy, as referred to in the previous article:

“If children can’t get immunized, is there a danger that we will see more meningitis outbreaks? Probably not. Immunization rates are so high in the U.S. — 94% of toddlers are up to date on their Hib vaccinations — that it would take some time for a widespread infection to take hold.”

Soon to Come–Major Earthquake in Israel

AFP wrote on December 17:

“As if political instability and rampant insecurity in the Middle East are not worrying enough, Israeli experts are warning that a major earthquake could strike the region at any time. Three minor quakes over the past month have served as a reminder that Israel and the West Bank sit atop one of the most sensitive fault lines in the world, where earthquakes have a history of causing havoc…

“Under that assessment, Israel and the Palestinian territories should brace for a major earthquake soon, as the last one happened 80 years ago, on July 11, 1927, in British mandate Palestine when 300 people were killed in Jerusalem and Jericho. A similar quake measuring seven on the Richter scale and with an epicentre in the Hula Valley, today in northern Israel up from the Sea of Galilee, devastated the town of Safed and killed some 4,000 people in 1837…

“The Lod institute estimates that if a magnitude seven earthquake strikes the northern Jordan Valley or the Dead Sea, between 8,200 and 9,500 people could be killed, more than 20,000 injured and more than 20,000 left homeless… Jewish historian Flavius Josephus, who saw Jerusalem fall to the invading Romans in 70 AD, also wrote that around 30,000 people perished in an earthquake whose epicentre was in the region of the Dead Sea in 31 BC.”

The Bible predicts that in the not-too-distant future, a major earthquake will destroy parts of the city of Jerusalem and kill 7,000 people (compare Revelation 11:13).

How China Poisons Its People

Der Spiegel Online reported on December 18:

“Chinese journalist Zhou Qing, a critic of the regime, unearthed political dynamite in his two-year investigation of China’s food industry. He interviewed grocers, restaurant owners, farmers and food factory managers for an exposé for which he won a prize as part of the German ‘Lettre Ulysses Award for the Art of Reportage’ in 2006.

“His book is a dark account of a ruthless food mafia that stops at nothing to maximize its profits, for example by using contraceptives to accelerate the growth of fish stocks, lengthening the shelf-life of cucumbers with highly toxic pesticide DDT, using hormones and poisoned salt in food production and putting absurd amounts of antibiotics in meat…

“Zhou said uncontrolled greed had caused a food disaster of unimaginable proportions. ‘I can only warn you never to go in a restaurant.’ The danger of food producers being taken to task for their actions is slight. Everything disappears in China’s endless bureaucracy, he said.

“Zhou’s claims may sound exaggerated, but they’re borne out by recent developments. In early December the Shanghai city council slapped an export ban on products made by the Shanghai Mellin Food Company after cancer-causing substances were found in its pork products. In July the former director of the state food and drug supervisory authority… was executed after being convicted of taking bribes to award licences for forged drugs, some of which had lethal side effects…

“The children are the biggest sufferers, said Zhou. Poisoned baby food has led to severe diseases and physical deformities. Zhou writes that 200,000 to 400,000 people fall victim to poisoned food each year. A third of cancer cases, which are increasing at double-digit rates, can be attributed to food, he writes.”

Food In Short Supply

The International Herald Tribune reported on December 17:

“In an ‘unforeseen and unprecedented’ shift, the world food supply is dwindling rapidly and food prices are soaring to historic levels, the top food and agriculture official of the United Nations warned Monday. The changes created ‘a very serious risk that fewer people will be able to get food,’ particularly in the developing world, said Jacques Diouf, head of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization…
 
“World wheat stores declined 11 percent this year, to the lowest level since 1980. That corresponds to 12 weeks of the world’s total consumption – much less than the average of 18 weeks consumption in storage during the period 2000-2005. There are only 8 weeks of corn left, down from 11 weeks in the earlier period. Prices of wheat and oilseeds are at record highs, Diouf said Monday. Wheat prices have risen by $130 per ton, or 52 percent, since a year ago. U.S. wheat futures broke $10 a bushel for the first time Monday, the agricultural equivalent of $100 a barrel oil… To make matters worse, high oil prices have doubled shipping costs in the past year, putting enormous stress on poor nations that need to import food as well as the humanitarian agencies that provide it…

“Part of the current problem is an outgrowth of prosperity. More people in the world now eat meat, diverting grain from humans to livestock. A more complicated issue is the use of crops to make biofuels, which are often heavily subsidized. A major factor in rising corn prices globally is that many farmers in the United States are now selling their corn to make subsidized ethanol.”

Over 12 Million New Cancer Cases in 2007

AFP reported on December 17:

“More than 12 million new cases of cancer will have been diagnosed around the world in 2007 and 20,000 people a day, or 7.6 million people, will have died from the disease… According to Monday’s report ‘Global Cancer Facts and Figures,’ some 5.4 million cancer cases and 2.9 million deaths will occur in industrialized countries… Some 6.7 million cancer cases and 4.7 million deaths will take place in developing nations, with lung, stomach and liver cancer being most prevalent in men, and women suffering most from breast, uterine and stomach cancer… ‘This cancer burden is also increasing as people in the developing countries adopt western lifestyles such as cigarette smoking, higher consumption of saturated fat and calorie-dense foods, and reduced physical activity,’ said [the report]…

“The report also contains a special focus on smoking called ‘The Tobacco Epidemic’ which predicts that more than a billion people will die from smoking-related diseases in the 21st century — most in developing countries. This compares to about 100 million deaths from smoking around the world in the 20th century.

“About five million people died around the world from tobacco use in 2000, of which 30 percent [1.42 million] contracted cancer, of whom 850,000 had lung cancer… If the trend continues, there will be about two billion smokers around the world by 2030 of which half will die from smoking-related illnesses if they don’t quit.”

First Joint Military Exercise Between China and India

The Times of India wrote on December 19:

“India and China are getting ready for a unique game, where observers and the audience will count for more than the actual players. The two nations are set to hold their first joint military exercise from December 21 ending a year of both distrust and intense parleys to build friendship. Just about 80 soldiers from each side will participate in the five-day anti-terrorism drill scheduled to take place in the picturesque mountain ranges of Yunnan close to the provincial capital of Kunming. They will be led by a company commander, usually an officer of the rank of Major, from each side.

“The key to the exercise is not the actual players in the drill but senior military officers observing the game from the sidelines. These observers will use the opportunity to [gauge] the operational methods and capabilities of the armed forces. A crucial input would be the capability to handle surprises, which is the main tool in the hands of terrorists. ‘The purpose is to feel each other [out] and see if we can work together in [the] future. The key word is inter-operability. We would be in better equipped just in case the military of the two countries need to fight terrorists in future,’ a senior defense ministry official told TNN over phone from Delhi.”

Hungary First to Ratify New EU Treaty

The EUObserver reported on December 18:

“Hungary on Monday… became the first of the 27 member states to ratify the bloc’s new treaty, making the move just days after the document was formally signed off by EU leaders… Reacting to the vote, Hungary’s prime minister praised the ‘historic achievement’ of his country. In taking the ratification step so quickly, Budapest has stolen the crown from Poland and France, both of whom had indicated they were aiming to be the first…

“The new EU treaty takes on most of the features of the rejected European constitution, including a foreign policy chief, a long-term president of the EU, a binding citizens rights charter as well as cutting down on the areas where member states have a right to veto. The new institutional rules, six years in the making, were signed off in a formal ceremony on Thursday (13 December) in the Portuguese capital of Lisbon…

“Each member state has to ratify the treaty for it to come into force, with governments aiming to get it in place by early 2009. Ireland is the only country to have a referendum on the document, while the British government is undergoing strong pressure from opposition conservatives to hold a popular vote. Mr Sarkozy has sidestepped the awkward question of why French voters will not be having a second say on the treaty by suggesting that if France had a referendum then the British government would be forced to follow suit, resulting in a probable rejection of the document.”

Russia Delivers Nuclear Fuel to Iranian Power Plant

The New York Times reported on December 18:

“The United States lost a long battle when Russia, as it announced on Monday, delivered nuclear fuel to an Iranian power plant that is at the center of an international dispute over its nuclear program… from the American standpoint, the timing could not have been worse, coming just two weeks after the release of a United States intelligence estimate that concluded that Iran stopped its nuclear weapons program in 2003…

“Russia’s decision to deliver fuel to Bushehr further encourages Iran, several administration officials and European diplomats said privately… Iran said it had no intention of suspending its uranium enrichment just because it had received the fuel shipment for Bushehr, and it even confirmed that it intended to enrich uranium for another new nuclear power plant in the south of the country…”

Putin Will Stay in Power

As if there was any doubt regarding the intentions of power-hungry Vladimir Putin, he has now confirmed what everybody suspected; that is, he WILL stay in power. The only question remains, exactly HOW will he do it?

The EUObserver wrote on December 18:

“Russian president Vladimir Putin seems set to retain power even after his second presidential term expires next year, as he has accepted an offer to serve as prime minister. ‘If citizens show trust in Dmitry Medvedev and elect him president, I will be ready to head the government without changing the institutional powers of the president and government”, Mr Putin said on Monday… The power-sharing deal ends speculation on whether the current Russian leader would resort to changing the constitution, which currently bars him from seeking a third presidential term.

“It remains unclear, however, what role Mr Putin will play on the country’s political scene… According to Leonid Gozman from the opposition Union of Right Forces party, the deal will see a strengthening of the prime minister’s role at the expense of the president’s. ‘It means either there will be a transfer of functions from the president to the premier or Putin will think of something else, for example, either becoming general secretary of United Russia or changing the constitution to create the position of spiritual leader of the nation’, Mr Gozman was cited as saying by AP.

“Analysts also took a critical tone, with Konstantin Remuchukov from the daily Nezavisimaya Gazeta saying ‘It means one thing: Putin’s team will remain in power’. ‘This is not an election but the distribution of roles within a single team. There has never before been such a situation in Russia’, he added.”

Nativity Scenes Nothing But Human Legends

The Telegraph reported on December 20 about the well-known fact that the “nativity scenes,” as prominently pictured at Christmas time, are nothing but human legends. The article stated:

“The Archbishop of Canterbury said yesterday that the Christmas story of the Three Wise Men was nothing but a ‘legend’. Dr Rowan Williams has claimed… there was certainly nothing to prove there were three of them [the Magis] or that they were kings. He said the only reference to the wise men from the East was in Matthew’s gospel and the details were very vague.

“Dr Williams said: ‘Matthew’s gospel says they are astrologers, wise men, priests from somewhere outside the Roman Empire, that’s all we’re really told. It works quite well as legend.’ The Archbishop went on to dispel other details of the Christmas story, adding that there were probably no asses or oxen in the stable.

“He argued that Christmas cards which showed the Virgin Mary cradling the baby Jesus, flanked by shepherds and wise men, were misleading. As for the scenes that depicted snow falling in Bethlehem, the Archbishop said the chance of this was ‘very unlikely’. In a final blow to the traditional nativity story, Dr Williams concluded that Jesus was probably not born in December at all. He said: ‘Christmas was when it was because it fitted well with the winter festival.'”

Of course, Dr. Williams is right, as any true scholar of the Christmas legend will have to admit. For more information, please read our free booklet, “Don’t Keep Christmas.”

“Why Don’t We Just Call Off Christmas?”

The Christian Science Monitor wrote on December 18:

“My best Christmas as an adult was one I spent in the hospital. That was where our first child was born, on Dec. 21. As his mother recuperated, our new little family observed the holidays in her room, cut off from the frenzied world outside, enjoying one another’s company, and only occasionally being reminded of what we were missing by muted sounds of revelry down at the nurses’ station. Being in the hospital gave us an impeccable excuse not to ‘celebrate.’ We had no parties to attend, no cards to mail, no last-minute gifts to buy, no crowds to brave. It was wonderful.

“That experience left me wondering about the current state of year-end holidays. Whose needs are they meeting? A majority of us? Anything like a majority? If Christmas were put to a vote this year, would it pass? That vote would have to be secret, of course… But I keep wondering: If given the opportunity to vote Christmas up or down, anonymously, in a private booth – would a majority check the Yes box?

“Stress is as common as chimney stockings during the modern Yuletide. ‘How to Survive the Holidays’ workshops are more common than roving carolers. Magazine articles on ‘Coping With Holiday Anxiety’ and ‘How to Conquer Holiday Blues’ are a year-end staple. As Dec. 25 approaches, the police warn us to be on the lookout for drivers drunk from reveling, firefighters issue cautions about miswired lights, and hospitals plead for blood because their usual donors are distracted by the duties of the season.

“You’d think we’d learn. You’d think I would. I’d love to reclaim the many hours my wife and I have spent making up gift lists, then scurrying about frantically after work and on weekends hoping against hope to find the ‘right’ present for people we love, or at least get them something. On two different occasions I’ve had to sort through the effects of my late grandmother and my aunt. Both had drawers filled with Christmas presents in original boxes, many still half-wrapped, all with labels intact. These gifts had been opened, examined, and set aside. Some of them were from me…

“As if it weren’t bad enough that our Christmas rituals are obsolete, they’re also obligatory. You simply cannot avoid the occasion. Oh, you can. You could join a year’s end tour of Papua New Guinea. Or take to your bed for a week. One woman I know tries to schedule medical procedures for late December so she has a good excuse for avoiding Christmas festivities. Most of us aren’t that resourceful, however. We just muddle through. And keep smiling. And pray that it will soon be over. So why don’t we just call it off?…”

Good questions! And the answers might surprise you. In fact, we SHOULD call it off! For more information, please read our free booklet, mentioned above, “Don’t Keep Christmas.”

No Christmas Presents

The Wall Street Journal wrote on December 20:

“People work hard for their money, and then they throw it away like this. And it adds up. In total, holiday spending this year will add up to about $475 billion… Our national savings rate is pitiful. Most people, including many high earners, are woefully unprepared for any kind of retirement. Or even for putting their kids through college… ‘I’m at the point where in my family none of the adults exchange presents anymore,’ says Jan Geiger, a financial planner in Atlanta, Georgia, and author of Get Your Assets In Gear. ‘We’ve all basically decided that most of what you get is a waste of money.'”

More Evolutionary Nonsense

Der Spiegel Online “reported” on December 20 about more aspects of the evolutionary fairy tale. If one is gullible enough to believe it, the latest “findings” of “scientists” “prove” the evolutionary claim that mammals and whales had a common ancestor. Here are experts from the “news” article:

“A new paper by a team of US evolutionary biologists in the journal Nature claims that whales and land mammals share a common ancestor — a miniature deer that sprung into the water to escape being eaten 50 million years ago. Based on an extensive fossil record, biologists agree that whales evolved from land mammals. But the exact evolutionary link between the two was never clear.

“Now a paper in the journal Nature has provided possible answers: Researchers in the US believe that the ur-whale was actually a raccoon-sized deer. In the report published Thursday, anatomy professor Hans Thewissen from the Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine argues that the whale’s land-based origins are anatomically evident in the fossils of a prehistoric animal called an Indohyus. The raccoon-sized animal lived some 48 million years ago in what is now Kashmir, between India and Pakistan.”

At least, Der Spiegel Online was willing to admit that this new “finding” was met with skepticism from some other scientists. The article continued to “explain”:

“Naturally, not everyone is convinced. A professor of functional anatomy and evolution at Johns Hopkins University, Kenneth Rose, told the Associated Press that Thewissen and his colleagues had not provided enough evidence to merit the conclusions drawn about Indohyus…”

This whole scenario is complete and utter nonsense. We might call it an assault on intelligence and the truth. For more information, please read our free booklet, “The Theory of Evolution–a Fairy Tale for Adults.”

Be Thankful That You Live in the USA

We might complain about our Western “free” societies, and there is indeed much to complain about. But just imagine, for a moment, you would live in a more restricted environment, such as Saudi Arabia, for example–especially, if you are a woman. The following article, which was published by AFP on December 17, might just give us an idea how thankful we should be to live in countries such as the United States:

“King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia pardoned a teenage girl sentenced to six months in jail and 200 lashes after being gang raped in a decision swiftly welcomed by Washington on Monday… The girl, who was 18 at the time she was raped, was attacked at knifepoint by seven men after she was found in a car with a male companion who was not a relative, in breach of strict Saudi law. The king also pardoned the male companion, the justice minister announced…

“In October 2006, a judge sentenced her to 90 lashes for being with the man — a taboo in the conservative Muslim kingdom which imposes segregation of the sexes. She appealed against the sentence but despite her ordeal the court ruled that her punishment should be increased to 200 lashes and a six-month jail term. The judges decided to punish the girl further for ‘her attempt to aggravate and influence the judiciary through the media’…

“The rapists were initially sentenced to one to five years in jail, but those terms were also toughened in November to between two and nine years. A rape conviction carries the death penalty in Saudi Arabia, but the court did not impose it due to the ‘lack of witnesses’ and the ‘absence of confessions,’ the justice ministry said last month. The girl’s husband praised the king for granting the pardon…

“Women in oil-rich Saudi Arabia live under restrictions imposed by a rigid interpretation of Islam and stringent tradition. They must be covered from head to toe in public and are not permitted to drive. Furthermore, they need a ‘mahram’ or a guardian — a husband or close male relative if they are widowed or single — in order to apply for and obtain a passport. Political constraints also mean that Saudi women are totally absent from the Shura (consultative) Council, whose members are appointed by the king, and were barred from landmark municipal elections in 2005.”

They should not.

New Year’s Day celebrations are linked to pagan customs and even demonic activities. Professor Philippe Walter’s book, “Christianity—the Origins of a Pagan Religion,” copyright 2003, 2006, makes several startling statements about the real origins of New Year’s Day, as well as its customs.

Walter explains the pagan belief that by the end of December and on “New Year’s Day” (January 1), “fairies… enter the homes of those who worship them… One must take pains to prepare the meal that should be offered to them in a clean and isolated room…”

A German magazine, PM, wrote the following about New Year’s Day, and the customs associated with New Year’s Day, in an article, titled, “What is special about New Year’s?”:

“There is no objective reason, why January 1 is a better day for the New Year than any other day. The Macedonians began the new year in the autumn, and the ancient Greeks in the middle of the summer, at a new moon.

“January 1 as the beginning of the New Year goes back to Roman arbitrariness. Consul Fulvius Nobilor was prevented in 153 B.C., because of a war, to begin his rulership on March 15, which had been the day of the New Year up until then. Therefore, the Consul transferred the day of the New Year to January 1, which was more convenient to him.

“This date was accepted by Julius Caesar and has endured, thanks to the Julian calendar, as it was favorable towards new beginnings. After all, the double-faced Roman God Janus was the protector of the month of January. Pope Gregory XIII, who corrected the Julian Calendar for us, maintained January 1 as New Year’s Day. But the Chinese and the Arabs still determine New Year’s today by using the moon-calendar. And according to the Jews, New Year’s – Rosh Ha-Shanah – is in September/October. The civil celebrations of New Year’s took place for a long time on January 6, the [perceived] day of the [so-called] holy three kings.”

The Bible makes it clear that a new year begins in the spring–not in the midst of winter or in the autumn (compare Exodus 12:1-2). For instance, in 2007, the New Year began on March 21, according to the Hebrew calendar, and in 2008, it will begin on April 6. But the Bible does not command us to celebrate the New Year according to the Hebrew calendar.

The article in the P.M. continued:

“In 1742, a decree of the Pope transferred church celebrations of the New Year to January 1; at the same time, this day was declared to be a fast day, in order to counteract the ‘unchristian’ actions between the two years. For between Christmas and January 6, the ghosts became active. When winter storms howled around the houses of the Germanic tribes, Wotan’s [Wodan’s] wild hunt was present—a frightening train of gods, demons and ghosts of the dead… These ghosts were driven away with big fires and cracks of whips. The ancient placed sacrificial offerings and gifts for the demons in front of their doors… Christianity could not eradicate those pagan customs. Quite to the contrary… The cracks of whips changed with the invention of black powder to fireworks….”

“Why do we still have to drive away – symbolically – ghosts with mortar shots and rockets? Why do we still maintain those New Year’s rites? Psychologists explain this with…the power of tradition, with superstition…This word reminds us of what is ‘standing above,’ what is ‘still there’, what has endured from the pagan past and from the ancient fears of man.”

The article also explained that in Munich, Germany, “Christian” celebrations are held on New Year’s Day with choirs and trumpets to “awake the new sun.”

Another source from the Internet tells us that rituals on New Year’s Day included purgations, purifications, exorcisms, extinguishing and rekindling fires and masked processions. Often exorcisms and purgations were performed with much noise as if to scare away the evil spirits. In China, Ying, the forces of light, fought Yang, the forces of darkness, with cymbals, noisemakers, and firecrackers.

It should be easily seen WHY it is wrong for TRUE Christians to participate in New Year’s Day’s customs.

Lead Writer: Norbert Link

A new StandingWatch program was posted on StandingWatch, Google Video, and You Tube. It is titled, “What Is the True Gospel?” In the program, Norbert Link is asking the audience: Did you know that the true gospel was suppressed and that the apostle Paul explained that some had already begun at his time to proclaim another gospel and another Jesus? But Paul placed a curse on those who did. Today, almost nobody knows what the true gospel is. Do you know? Don’t be too sure!

This weekend, Rene and Delia Messier will be visiting our brethren in Oregon. Please pray for safe travel.