On August 25, 2007, Norbert Link will give the sermon, titled, “The Tabernacle in the Wilderness, Part 2.”

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.

Most of us have appreciated during our travels beautiful natural lakes in various parts of the world, which are a product of the Creator God. We have marveled at the splendor of the color of the water, especially of those glacier lakes, and we have been awed by their beauty and their natural surroundings. Most of us have also seen man-made lakes, which are not so awesome, because they came into existence, perhaps, as a result of the building of dams or other man-made projects. The beaches of those lakes are not as nice, and the bottoms are usually filled with stumps from trees that have been cut off. The fish have been added. All of this shows that we cannot improve on perfection.

The same could be said about the seventh-day Sabbath. The Sabbath was a part of God’s perfect creation, established at the re-creation of the surface of the earth, as well as the creation of man, close to six thousand years ago. Christ said  in Mark 2:27: “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.”  The Sabbath is an opportunity to rest from our labors, to worship our Creator,  and to appreciate His creation.

Some have abandoned the Sabbath and replaced it with Sunday, or they have never understood that the Sabbath is the designated day by God Almighty. Sunday is a product of man–not God. It was adopted by the churches of this world as if they could somehow improve on perfection. But they cannot!

The question is, why would we reject perfection and settle for the imperfect? Why would we want to worship our Creator with a man-made product, rather than a God-made product?

Which, do you suppose, is inferior–that which is created by God, or that which was established by man, without the advice of or blessing from God? Which, do you suppose, is superior–that which was created by God or that which was substituted by man?

Here is the real issue: Are we going to follow the traditions of man or the explicit inductions of the Creator God? God made the Sabbath for man–not Sunday. While the Sabbath reflects God’s perfection, Sunday is nothing else but a man-made tradition–a cheap substitute inspired by none other than the god of this world–Satan the devil.

All of us need to answer consistently the following question: Is our worship based on man-made or God-made injunctions? Is it based on God’s perfect law, or on man’s imperfect standards? The choice to do right is ours!

Most Americans in the Dark

On August 22, AFP published the following shocking article:

“Two-thirds of US adults admit to being in the dark about political issues outside the United States, and only a third are well-versed in US politics, the results of a poll published Tuesday showed… Global political knowledge was miniscule, with just three percent of women and 14 percent of men saying they are extremely knowledgeable on world politics.

“One reason for the knowledge gap is lack of interest, according to the poll. Well over half (57 percent) say they do not like learning about political issues in other countries…”

No wonder that the Bible predicts that the development of earthshaking political events, involving and caused by foreign powers, will take the vast majority of Americans, as well as the entire world, by utter surprise. Almost 2,000 years ago, Jesus Christ warned of the following, in Matthew 24:38-39, pertaining to our time:

“For as in the days before the flood [at the time of Noah, verse 37], they were eating and drinking, marrying and given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and DID NOT KNOW until the flood came and took them all away, so ALSO will the coming of the Son of Man be.”

Paul echoed Christ’s warning for us today, in 1 Thessalonians 5:1-4:

“But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you. For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. For when they say, ‘Peace and safety!’ then SUDDEN DESTRUCTION comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they SHALL NOT ESCAPE. But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief.”

For more information, please view regularly our Internet-video programs, titled, “StandingWatch,” and please read our free booklets, “The Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord,” and “Europe in Prophecy.”

Iraq in the News–Like Vietnam?

CNN reported on August 17:

“The number of coalition military deaths in the war in Iraq has reached 4,000… Most of the fatalities throughout the Iraq war have been U.S. military service members, with 3,705 deaths. That number also includes seven civilians working for the Pentagon.The nearly 300 others hail from countries, such as Italy, Poland and Ukraine, that have supported the U.S. effort, which began in March 2003.”

AFP reported on August 21:

“Iraqi political progress has been ‘extremely disappointing,’ the US ambassador in Baghdad said on Tuesday, two weeks before he and the top American military commander in Iraq are to report to Congress. Ryan Crocker warned that US support for the crumbling government of Shiite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki was not ‘a blank cheque,’ delivering his most outspoken criticism to date. His comments came as Maliki held talks in Syria, one of Washington’s arch foes, in a bid to win support from Iraq’s neighbours to try to end the deadly violence engulfing the country.”

AFP added on August 22:

“US President George W. Bush in a speech on Wednesday will warn that a US withdrawal from Iraq could produce a catastrophe similar to what occurred in Southeast Asia after US forces left Vietnam… Bush’s speech ties anti-war forces in the Vietnam era to the hundreds of thousands of people killed in the aftermath of the US pull-out, and hints at a parallel disaster in Iraq if US forces leave too soon.

“‘Many argued that if we pulled out, there would be no consequences for the Vietnamese people,’ he said according to the advance transcript. ‘The world would learn just how costly these misimpressions would be. In Cambodia, the Khmer Rouge began a murderous rule in which hundreds of thousands of Cambodians died by starvation, torture, or execution. In Vietnam, former American allies, government workers, intellectuals, and businessmen were sent off to prison camps, where tens of thousands perished. Hundreds of thousands more fled the country on rickety boats, many of them going to their graves in the South China Sea,’ Bush said, pleading for patience with the US-led security crackdown in Iraq…

“‘There was another price to our withdrawal from Vietnam, and we can hear it in the words of the enemy we face in today’s struggle — Al-Qaeda,’ Bush said, pointing to speeches by Osama bin Laden and his number two Ayman al-Zawahiri in which they mention Vietnam in connection with US government weakness. ‘Whatever your position in that debate, one unmistakable legacy of Vietnam is that the price of America’s withdrawal was paid by millions of innocent citizens whose agonies would add to our vocabulary new terms like “boat people,” “re-education camps,” and “killing fields.”‘”

President Bush’s comparison prompted sharp criticism from politicians, newscasters and historians. In NBC’s Today Show, Tim Russert stated on August 23 that President Bush’s equation was very risky as in the public mind, Vietnam was wrong and a lost war. He continued that historians point out that it was the Vietnam war–and not the US withdrawal–which CREATED the problems.

USA Today wrote on August 23:

“The president is drawing ‘the wrong lesson from history,’ said Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass. The United States lost in Vietnam, he said, ‘because our troops were trapped in a distant country we did not understand, supporting a government that lacked sufficient legitimacy with its people.’

“Military gains in Iraq are being wasted because Iraq’s government ‘is failing miserably,’ said Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, a Missouri Democrat. The U.S. military, he said, can only do so much, and if the Iraqis want democracy, ‘they must fight for it.'”

Military and/or political solutions will not end our problems in and with Iraq–simply because God has begun to withdraw His blessings from the USA. The reasons for this development are clearly described in our free booklet, “The Fall and Rise of Britain and America.”

America’s Grim Economic Future

The International Herald Tribune wrote on August 17:

“The U.S. economy, once the envy of the world, is now viewed across the globe with suspicion. America has become shackled by an immovable mountain of debt that endangers its prosperity and threatens to bring the rest of the world economy crashing down with it.

“The ongoing sub-prime mortgage crisis, a result of irresponsible lending policies designed to generate commissions for unscrupulous brokers, presages far deeper problems in a U.S. economy…

“As a banker working in the heart of the Muslim world, I have been amazed by the depth and breadth of anti-Americanism, even among U.S. allies, manifested in reactions ranging from fierce anger to stoic fatalism. Muslims outside the United States interpret America’s policies in the Middle East not as an effort to spread democracy but as a blatant neocolonialist attempt to solve its economic problems by force. Arabs and Persians alike argue that America’s fiscal irresponsibility has forced the nation to seek solutions through military aggression. Many believe that America’s misguided adventure in Iraq was a desperate attempt to capture both a reliable source of cheap oil and a major export market for the United States…

“… the Chinese… have threatened to retaliate against proposed U.S. trade sanctions by reducing their $1.3 trillion in dollar holdings. The U.S. debt situation is so grave that the Chinese would not even need to ‘dump dollars’ to precipitate a meltdown but could simply refuse to extend further credit… China has the far stronger hand… American economic decadence has become a source of Russian strength.

“What have Americans gained from their nation’s mountain of debt? A crumbling infrastructure, a manufacturing base that has declined 60 percent since World War II, a rise in the wealth gap, the lowest consumer-savings rate since the depths of the Great Depression, 50 million Americans without health insurance, an educational system in decline and a shrinking dollar that makes foreign travel a luxury…

“Current tensions between the United States and the rest of the world will continue as long as America’s military bark is louder than its economic bite… LET US HOPE AMERICA HEEDS THE WARNINGS…”

Terrible Weather Conditions in Mexico and the USA

The New York Times wrote on August 22:

“After hammering Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula with blistering winds and heavy rain on Tuesday, a weakened Hurricane Dean was moving to strike again this afternoon as it rolled across the Bay of Campeche toward Mexico’s Gulf coast…

“On Tuesday, on its path across the Yucatán, it was rated as the ninth-strongest hurricane on record in the Atlantic. As a Category 5 storm, with winds in excess of 165 miles per hour, it ripped roofs off homes, flooded streets, downed power lines and snapped trees. It missed the prime tourist spots of the Mayan Riviera but caused damage in Chetumal, the state capital… [which] took the brunt of the storm. Streets were inundated and debris was everywhere. Hundreds of trees lay strewn along major thoroughfares, and thousands of people were without power and running water.”

The Associated Press reported on August 23:

“Dean hit the mainland as a Category 2 storm after regaining some of the force it unleashed on the Yucatan. Its first strike on the peninsula Tuesday as a Category 5 tempest with 165 mph winds was the THIRD MOST INTENSE Atlantic hurricane ever to make landfall.”

It added:

“Dean slammed into Mexico for the second time… Wednesday with top sustained winds of 100 mph. Its center hit the tourism and fishing town of Tecolutla. The wide storm’s hurricane-force winds lashed at a 60-mile stretch of the Mexican coast in Veracruz state.”

It also said that “The remnants of Hurricane Dean dumped heavy rain across central Mexico on Thursday, drenching mudslide-prone mountains as it pushed its way inland…”

In a related article, The New York Times reported on August 22:

“The death toll from two storm systems — one in the Upper Midwest and the remnants of Tropical Storm Erin in Texas and Oklahoma — reached 22 on Tuesday… In Wisconsin and Minnesota, thousands of homes were damaged… Flooding remained a problem Wednesday in parts of Ohio… In northern Iowa, widespread flooding continued as thunderstorms dumped more heavy rain across the already water-logged region Wednesday. Strong wind damaged buildings, and some roads and homes were underwater.”

The Associated Press added on August 23:

“More than 1,000 people were flooded out of their homes Thursday after heavy rain that swamped communities across the Midwest sent Ohio’s rivers spilling over their banks… A powerful thunderstorm hit Chicago with 50 mph wind late Wednesday, and another storm system was moving over Iowa and southern Minnesota on Thursday.”

Two Years and One Billion Dollars Later, New Orleans Still at Great Risk

Der Spiegel Online wrote on August 17:

“New Orleans remains a very risky place to live… The entire flood system still provides much less protection than New Orleans needs, and the pre-Katrina patchwork of levees, floodwalls and gates that a Corps of Engineers investigation called ‘a system in name only’ is still just that.

“… the city still lacks a system that can stand up to that 1-in-100 storm, let alone one like Hurricane Katrina, which the corps calls a 1-in-396 storm. The work that could build the more robust system – originally estimated at $7 billion, and now at least twice that – will not be completed until 2011 at the earliest, and experts agree that even that level of protection will be less than the city needs.”

“There Will Be an Attack on Iran!”

Time wrote on August 18:

“Reports that the Bush Administration will put Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on the terrorism list can be read in one of two ways: it’s either more bluster or, ominously, a wind-up for a strike on Iran. Officials I talk to in Washington vote for a hit on the IRGC, maybe within the next six months. And they think that as long as we have bombers and missiles in the air, we will hit Iran’s nuclear facilities…

“As with Saddam and his imagined WMD, the Administration’s case against the IRGC is circumstantial. The U.S. military suspects but cannot prove that the IRGC is the main supplier of sophisticated improvised explosive devices to insurgents killing our forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. The most sophisticated version, explosive formed projectiles or shape charges, are capable of penetrating the armor of an Abrams tank, disabling the tank and killing the crew…

“A second part of the Administration’s case against the IRGC is that the IRGC has had a long, established history of killing Americans, starting with the attack on the Marines in Beirut in 1983. And that’s not to mention it was the IRGC that backed Hizballah in its thirty-four day war against Israel last year. The feeling in the Administration is that we should have taken care of the IRGC a long, long time ago…

“And what do we do if… a strike on Iran unifies Iranians behind the regime? An Administration official told me it’s not even a consideration. ‘… There will be an attack on Iran.'”

Russia Continues to Threaten the West

The Los Angeles Times wrote on August 18:

“Russian President Vladimir V. Putin on Friday announced reinstatement of the Soviet-era practice of having nuclear bombers routinely make long-distance flights that bring them within striking distance of the United States and its allies.

“‘Today just after midnight, 14 strategic missile aircraft, with support and fuel planes, took off from seven airfields across Russia,’ Putin said in televised remarks. ‘Combat duty began in which a total of 20 planes are taking part. From today, combat duty of this kind will be carried out on a regular basis.’… Putin’s announcement came at the end of a joint military exercise conducted by about 6,000 troops from Russia, China and four Central Asian states. Analysts said the exercise was meant to send a signal to the West that it should not try to interfere in the affairs of the participating countries.

“The resumption of regular strategic bomber flights… reflected Russia’s growing economic strength, with high oil prices boosting the country’s ability to spend money on its military. Routine bomber flights were discontinued in 1992… Russian strategic bombers can carry nuclear cruise missiles with ranges of at least 1,800 miles.”

The Daily Mail added on August 18, under its headline, “Return to the Cold War”:

“Vladimir Putin has sent a series of potent political signals to Gordon Brown and other Western leaders that he is determined to restore Russia’s global clout. The Kremlin leader ordered his troops to stage a massive show of force through unprecedented joint operations with the Chinese military. He also revived the Soviet-era practice of sending bomber aircraft on long-range flights far beyond his country’s own territory. And finally Mr Putin ordered that the BBC World Service be blocked from FM radio in Russia. All three steps are chilling echoes of the Cold War and come as relations between the Kremlin and the West are at their lowest since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991.

“The symbolic decision to remove the BBC World Service from FM radio… came as a shock… The BBC will still be available in Russia on other wavelengths, but most listeners prefer to tune in to the higher-quality FM transmission… Critics accuse the Putin government of stifling the media as part of a broader effort to increase the Kremlin’s control over Russian politics. The authorities last year dramatically curtailed the number of stations broadcasting Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and Voice of America news programmes.”

AFP continued to report on August 21:

“President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday pushed Russia’s military aviation industry as a global leader, just days after announcing the resumption of Cold War-era strategic bomber flights. ‘Russia has the task of retaining its leadership in fighting, military technology,” Putin said at the opening of the Maks 2007 airshow… [Russia has] already signed contracts worth 2.5 billion dollars this year for military aircraft and… it [is] supplying the air forces of China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia and Venezuela.

“Russian arms exports have surged since the industrial slump that followed the Soviet collapse in 1991. Russia’s moves to regain Soviet-era markets in Asia, the Middle East and South America have raised hackles in Washington. But William Hobbins, commander of US air forces in Europe, who also attended the airshow on Tuesday, praised Russia’s military aircraft production and said air force cooperation between the two countries was strong.”

The Horrors of this World… Female Circumcision

Reuters reported on August 20:

“It was a routine procedure undertaken by thousands of Egyptian girls every year, but something went wrong and Budour Ahmed Shaker died while having her genitals cut in a rite known locally as ‘purification’. The death of the 11-year-old schoolgirl at a private clinic in the Egyptian village Mughagha in June prompted the government to outlaw the custom of female genital mutilation, which is so widespread in Egypt that 95 percent of the country’s women are estimated to have undergone the procedure. But the ban may be hard to enforce and activists fear the practice may go underground as the vast majority of Egyptian families still view circumcision as necessary to protect girls’ chastity. Most girls are cut by the time they reach puberty.

“Even in Mughagha, a village of low rise houses hemming the Nile, many women and girls say they want the procedure to be allowed but under more stringent medical supervision… The only girl who spoke against the practice was shouted down by her classmates until she conceded that genital cutting was a necessity. ‘No one can get married without it,’ said the girl…

“In Egypt, the cutting is done on both Muslim and Christian girls… Outside of Egypt and Sudan to the south, the practice is extremely rare elsewhere in most of the Arab world but is common in Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia.”

WHO Warns the World

AFP wrote on August 23:

“The World Health Organisation on Thursday warned that a new deadly infectious disease like AIDS or Ebola is bound to appear in the 21st century… Since the 1970s, new diseases have been identified at the ‘unprecedented’ rate of one or more per year… Other centuries-old threats such as influenza, malaria and tuberculosis, were also thriving due to a combination of biological mutations, rising resistance to antibiotics and weak health systems…

“The report stressed that health threats were no longer easily confined within a country but could spread around the world swiftly, partly due to the expansion in passenger air travel over the past half century and to trade. It also underlined the threat from food-borne diseases, chemical, biological or nuclear accidents or attacks and industrial pollution…”

Jesus Christ clearly predicted that in these end times, there will be worldwide “pestilences” or disease epidemics (cp. Matthew 24:7; Luke 21:11; see also Revelation 6:7-8).

Seif al-Islam Qaddafi Warns Europe

Sofia News Agency wrote on August 22:

“Seif al-Islam Qaddafi, the Libyan leader’s son, has warned European countries with military engagements in Iraq and Afghanistan of the inevitable risk of more Islamic extremists terror attacks. ‘The only solution to contain radicalism is the rapid departure of Western troops from Iraq as well as Afghanistan, and a solution to the Palestinian question,’ Seif al-Islam said, as quoted by the Austria Press Agency.

“Talking in Austria, where he is paying a visit at the invitation of Joerg Haider, former leader of the rightist Freedom Party, he said that even offers of economic or humanitarian assistance could subject Western nations to strikes by extremists. According to him radical Islam is invading Europe by recruiting young Muslims who are open to the message of militancy.”

Austria Warns the USA

The Associated Press reported on August 23:

“Austria’s defense minister said a planned U.S. missile shield defense system in eastern Europe was a ‘provocation,’ and called on Washington to abandon the project… Norbert Darabos told Die Presse that U.S. officials should instead seek a compromise with those who oppose the system, including Russia and some in Europe… He reportedly accused Washington of ‘unnecessarily reviving old Cold War debates.’

“The United States argues that the system, which would include 10 interceptor missiles in Poland and a radar based in the Czech Republic, would help guard against a potential threat from Iran. Russia has voiced outrage at the plans and warned it could spark a new arms race. Opposition also remains high in the two former Soviet satellites, both of which are now members of NATO and the European Union.”

EU vs. USA

The EUObserver reported on August 22:

“The European Union has strongly criticised death penalties carried out in Texas, calling on its authorities to halt the 400th execution in the US state. But Texas officials indicated that Europeans should mind their own business.”

The article continued:

“‘We believe that elimination of the death penalty is fundamental to the protection of human dignity, and to the progressive development of human rights. We further consider this punishment to be cruel and inhumane,’ Lisbon stated on behalf of the EU…

“Commenting on the EU’s appeal to call off [Ray Conner’s] death sentence [for killing a grocery store clerk in 1998], Governor Perry replied that it would be a ‘just and appropriate’ punishment for the murderer… ‘Two hundred and thirty years ago, our forefathers fought a war to throw off the yoke of a European monarch and gain the freedom of self-determination,’ he pointed out, adding ‘While we respect our friends in Europe, Texans are doing just fine governing Texas.’

“Texas has carried out about a third of around 1,100 executions that have taken place in the US since the country’s Supreme Court lifted a ban on death penalty in 1976… For its part, the EU has abolished capital punishment throughout its 27 member states. The same principle is also applied across the wider Council of Europe organisation which links together 47 countries across the European continent.

“In February, the EU’s legislature adopted a resolution calling for a global moratorium on the death penalty, with several member states – particularly Italy – lobbying for the same initiative through the United Nations General Assembly. The death penalty is currently legal in 68 countries, although 30 of them have not used it for at least ten years.”

In Matthew 18:20, Christ said: “For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.” It is important to note the context. Christ’s comments in verse 20 follow the description of the proper procedure for conflict resolution between brethren. At least two of our Updates address this issue, including the fact that Christ gave the final authority to the ministry, to disfellowship or excommunicate an unrepentant brother or sister –and not to the entire membership. Verse 20 must be read in this context–it does not address at all the question of Church attendance.

The Nelson Study Bible explains:

“The passage [in Matthew 18:19, 20] specifically refers to church DISCIPLINE. It is a promise for guidance for the two or three who confront, and a promise for the church to claim wisdom, and restoration for the erring brother.”

We explained the following in a Q&A on conflict resolution:

“We have always understood and taught, and the Church of the Eternal God and its corporate international affiliates uphold and teach this understanding, that the reference to ‘the church’ in Matthew 18:17 is the ‘ministry,’ not the entire Church congregation (Please see Q&A in Update #147). The Church congregation was, in a sense, already involved, in a representative capacity, in the persons of the witnesses. Matthew 18:17 continues: ‘… But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector.’

“That is, the ministry will have to make the decision in such a case to temporarily suspend or even disfellowship the person until he shows real and sincere repentance. At that point, depending on the gravity of the situation and in a rare case, the local Church congregation or even the entire Church might have to be told.

“How can we be sure that the ministry will make the correct decision in such cases? By having seen to it, that the proper procedure has been followed, as discussed and set forth in Scripture, and by praying to God for wisdom to render the right decision.

“Matthew 18:18-20 tells us:

“‘Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you [the ministry, now called upon to render a decision] bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Again I say to you that if two of you [in the ministry] agree on earth concerning anything that they ask [including wisdom to make right decisions], it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. For where two or three [ministers] are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.’

“God, through His Holy Spirit, will give His ministers the discernment, if they are close to God and diligent in following the Biblical procedure for conflict resolution, to see what needs to be done in a given case (compare John 20:21-23). And if God should reveal to His ministry that the accusations against a member were false, then the ministry will have to deal with the accuser (compare Deuteronomy 19:15-21). Many times, accusations and problems develop because of misunderstandings. That is why two members need first to talk about those problems ALONE, IN PRIVATE and ONLY between themselves.”

We also wrote, in Update #147:

“The Bible does not teach that God’s Church be ruled by democracy. Rather, God’s government is that of a hierarchy — with God the Father above all. God’s Church is administered by His ministers, with love and mercy, but with the authority to rebuke and correct, if need be. Local ‘Church’ groups which have disassociated themselves from the ministry to ‘rule’ themselves and to independently administer their own affairs are in clear violation of God’s command that His Church be administered through His ministry. This is also true for those ‘Church’ groups that are being ‘administered’ by self-proclaimed or ‘elected’ ministers, not approved by God (compare 2 Timothy 4:3-5; 3 John 9-10).”

Although some commentaries and those who reject the concept of “organized religion” and who believe in “individual Christianity” claim that Matthew 18:20 declares fellowshipping with the Church of God and attending Church services as being obsolete, this is clearly not the Biblical teaching. Christ gave ministers to the Church to enable the membership to grow into the fullness of Christ (cp. Ephesians 4:11-16). Paul warns those who forsake assembling together, that they are risking to lose their very salvation (cp. Hebrews 10:24-31). Those who might be scattered still need to be a part of the true Church of God. Since Christ is the Head of the Church, His Body, and since His Body is organized (cp. 1 Corinthians 12:18, 24-25, 27-28), those who have cut themselves off from that Body will wither away (cp. John 15:1-6). Scattered brethren, for whom it is impossible to physically attend Church services, must still be a part of organized services, for instance, by listening to live Internet services–or, if this is not possible–by listening to sermons which are posted on the Internet, or which can be received on audio cassettes. They also must make every effort to study the written Church material provided to them, to strengthen them in the truth–avoiding dissident material from false “brethren” or self-proclaimed “ministers,” who are disseminating unbiblical concepts.

The Broadman Bible Commentary wrote this regarding Matthew 18:20:

“This paragraph provides the model for church DISCIPLINE, including motive, spirit, and basic procedure… this is to be understood as assurance of divine presence and help as Christ’s people undertake the difficult work of the care of one another, even to the extent of corrective and redemptive discipline for the erring… A rabbinical teaching… spoke of the Shekinah, the presence of God, as being with those occupied with the words of the Torah (Law)…”

The Forerunner Commentary explains the passage of Matthew 18:20 in a straight-forward way:

“Many stay-at-home members use this verse to justify not fellowshipping with a larger organization. On the surface, it seems to support their argument. However, we must look at it in context… The context of the entire chapter is interpersonal relations and offenses… If the offender will not listen…, the offense should be taken to… the church… The very context assumes the existence of a larger group… In 1 Corinthians 5, Paul shows how this works in practical application when a church member was unabashedly committing sexual sins. Notice that Paul had ministerial, hierarchical authority over the Gentile church in Corinth… Did he allow every group of two or three in the congregation to make a judgment? How would God have bound the conflicting judgments that surely would have arisen between the people of varying levels of understanding and maturity in Corinth? The church would have been divided… had Paul not exercised his authority… This misapplication and twisting of this one scripture automatically repudiates any authority God placed in an ordained ministry.”

One of our Q&A’s, explaining Acts 14:23, discusses the role of the ministry and includes many Biblical examples to prove that God has ordained the ministry for His Church–requiring both the existence of the Church of God–the Body of Christ–AND of the ministry. In addition, Q&A #213 addresses the question whether “independents” will be saved.

To use Matthew 18:20 as justification for staying at home, rather than attending Church services, if possible, and for cutting himself or herself off from the Church of God, is NOT in accordance with Biblical teaching. Sooner or later, scattered brethren and those whom God may call, if they are yielding to God’s lead, will be guided to spiritually connect with the Church of God.

Lead Writer: Norbert Link

A new StandingWatch program (#134) has been recorded and will be posted shortly. It is titled, “America–Wake Up!” In the program, Norbert Link discusses the fact that most cannot imagine that America could be defeated by a foreign enemy. But God says otherwise. And we had better listen to God’s warnings and make amends.

In the USA, we sent a special letter to, by now, 155 people who requested our booklet, “The Mysteries of the Bible,” which is being advertised on the Internet.

Would you say that God is happy with the progress we have made over the years since we were called and baptized?  This is as good a time as any for us to examine ourselves even more diligently as we approach Christ’s return and the dawn of His and our rule over this earth in the “Millennium.” We must do this to be certain that our spiritual progress is not falling behind, because, most importantly, it is on the basis of that progress we shall be judged and rewarded accordingly.

When we first took up a job in the early years of our working career, the manager would occasionally check up on us to see if we were making any progress. A word of encouragement, and some extra help now and then in getting over any problems we may have encountered would eventually secure our position. Conversely, if we neglected our responsibilities or settled back into a lackadaisical mood we would most likely have found ourselves without that job. And so it is with our spiritual endeavors. We cannot afford to become lethargic.

There are, of course, a number of areas where we are expected to make progress. What about “redeeming the time, because the days are evil” (Ephesians 5:15-16)? And we can say that again! “Redeeming the time” might include, perhaps, restoring lost effort as a result of our inaction or neglect in serving the Work of God and in our relationship with the brethren.

What about daily prayer? Have we been remiss in this most vital area?  And are we keeping the Ten Commandments—all of them? We  understand, of course, that it is impossible for any one of us to keep consistently all of the Ten Commandments, even though we eagerly desire to do so, without the help of the Holy Spirit. And certainly I speak from experience. You won’t see a halo over my head! Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, was well aware of this enigma when he told us that what he should not do, he did, and what he should have done, he didn’t. We all have that sort of problem from time to time, for none of us is perfect. But being less than perfect is no excuse for being less than enthusiastic in following through with our baptismal commitment, and that entails consistent spiritual progress in keeping God’s Law more and more perfectly.

This term “progress” in our case can be directly related to “bearing fruit,” and Christ warns us that those who do not bear fruit, He takes away; and that those who do bear fruit, He prunes (compare John 15:2). Sometimes that pruning takes the form of Godly chastisement or correction. Most of us have experienced that over the years.

Another facet of making progress in our spiritual life is to examine ourselves whether we are [still] in the faith unless we become disqualified (compare 2 Corinthians 13:5). That faith, of course, comes through Jesus Christ. In fact, it is the faith OF Christ that must dwell in us. To be “in the faith” is to give ourselves over completely to the way God wants us to be.

There is no other acceptable alternative for us than to “stick with it”—to progress spiritually, if we hope to make it into the Kingdom. And we cannot—must not—afford to be sanctimonious in the sense that “we’ve made it and we can just sit back and wait for Christ’s return.” Some have fallen into that trap and they are no longer members of God’s Church–the Body of Christ.

We are all expected by God, and rightfully so, to make the effort to grow spiritually in the process of acquiring holy righteous character—the supreme purpose of God calling us. Otherwise, why are we here in the Body of Christ? God has tremendous blessings in mind for each one of us who “endure to the end” through the trials which confront us from time to time–trials that test our spiritual progress as well as the genuineness of our faith.

As Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 15:58: “…be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labour [your spiritual progress] is not in vain in the Lord.”  The Millennium waits for us, and we owe it to God and to ourselves to manifest that progress while we look forward to an everlasting future as Kings, Priests and Judges in God’s soon-coming Kingdom.

Strong European Reactions to Rove’s Impending Resignation

Der Spiegel Online wrote on August 14:

“Karl Rove, Bush’s most important advisor and often called ‘Bush’s Brain,’ has announced his resignation. He leaves behind over a decade of success as a Republican strategist — and a number of enemies…

“The center-left Süddeutsche Zeitung writes:

“‘Karl Rove is often described as the most important presidential adviser of all time, as a sinister Machiavelli, as a brutal political strategist, as the brain of George W. Bush…. Now, at the end of Bush’s presidency, the chief architect of the last seven years will have to answer many unpleasant questions. Little has remained of Rove’s grand predictions of decades-long Republican dominance, of the decline of the Democrats, of an eternal alliance between the rich, the right wing and the religious.

“‘Rove did what politicians have done since the days of Cicero — he constructed majorities by polarizing, by emotionalizing, awakening national pathos and creating dependency. But Rove was no Cicero, he wasn’t even a Clinton because he shunned the public and only felt comfortable among like-minded people. That’s cowardly but common among people who only see things in black and white and divide people into friend or foe.

“‘That’s why Rove is leaving behind only a weak legacy: There’s no trace of a coherent ideology, of an enduring dogma worth preserving. The Republicans face a heap of rubble. No domestic policy agenda, an unpopular war in Iraq, a president lacking approval, a defeat in mid-term elections and not very promising presidential candidates for the 2008 election year.’

“Vienna’s Der Standard writes:

“‘It’s not just his enemies, who see him as diabolical, who are convinced that his fingers were in every mess that took place in Washington in the last six and a half years…. George W. Bush always forgave Rove, because he has his fellow Texan to thank for everything. Rove has managed Bush’s election campaigns since 1978. He helped him with the Texas gubernatorial election in 1994. He also brought Bush presidential success in the 2000 and 2004 elections…. For a long time people have been saying that this administration is a lame duck. With the departure of ‘Bush’s Brain’ it is clear that this presidency has reached its end, well before its time.'”

Democrats On the War Path

Der Spiegel Online wrote on August 14:

“The American people may want to get rid of Bush, but they in no way want to risk losing the war on terror. The consequences: America’s Democrats are seeking to position themselves as being more hawkish than the Republicans and Congress has just approved the biggest military budget ever…

“The wind has shifted in Washington. America, not just its president, is at war. The Democrats are still critical of the failed Iraq campaign, but they are no longer opposed to the ‘War on Terror’ in general. It has been accepted, and not just as a metaphor… The president is not faulted for his declaration of war against the terrorists, but he is blamed for having botched the war in Iraq. Ninety-two percent of Americans are opposed to an immediate withdrawal from Iraq, and a majority doesn’t want to see the US’s special detention camp at Guantanamo Bay closed… The candidate Americans elect to be their next president in November 2008 will serve a parallel role as commander-in-chief of the US military, a position that affords the president virtually totalitarian powers to shape policy…

“Anyone who hopes to win the support of middle America — geographically, sociologically and politically — has to perform a balancing act of appearing capable of leading the country in war while at the same time not coming across as too eager to fight. Americans want a strong leader, a tough decision maker, not an adventurer. The worst charge one could hurl at a presidential candidate these days is that he or she is soft on terrorism.

“In this atmosphere, even the Democratic presidential candidates are lining up to show their support for the troops… Many Americans now despise Bush, who not only fabricated the reasons for going to war in the first place (‘weapons of mass destruction’) but also falsely claimed, with his now-famous ‘Mission Accomplished’ speech, that the war had ended when in fact it had not. Nevertheless, Americans are still loath to admit defeat.

“This is precisely what distinguishes Europeans from Americans. After experiencing the horrors of two world wars, the nations on the Old Continent prefer the power of diplomacy. The Americans favor the power of force, even in its crudest form, which explains why US military might is so superior to that of all other nations. The country spends 10 times as much on its military budget as Great Britain… Even the American left, which refers to itself as ‘liberal,’ has no fundamental objection to the men and women in uniform. Indeed, US liberals are especially fond of a strategy Germans consider obscene: preventive war.”

The U.S. Draft–When They Say, “No! No!”…

AFP wrote on August 13:

“The Pentagon sharply rejected Monday a key general’s assertion that a return to the military draft has always been ‘an option on the table’ and should be considered.

“‘I can tell you emphatically that there is absolutely no consideration being given to reinstituting the draft,’ said Bryan Whitman, a Pentagon spokesman. ‘The all-volunteer force has surpassed all expectations of its founders.’

“Lieutenant General Douglas Lute, a White House deputy national security adviser, discussed the draft in a radio interview Friday in which he said military leaders were right to be concerned about the impact of repeated deployments on military morale and readiness. Lute, who is in charge of coordinating the US war effort in Iraq, said the all-volunteer military is serving ‘exceedingly well’ and the administration has not decided it needs to be replaced with a draft. But he said, ‘I think it makes sense to certainly consider it, and I can tell you, this has always been an option on the table.’…

“Reinstating the draft has become a virtual taboo since it was ended in 1973 near the end of the Vietnam War, and replaced with a smaller, better paid all-volunteer force. The US military found that it preferred voluntary service to universal conscription because it drew better educated, more highly motivated recruits looking to make a career of the military.”

Strong Earthquake Hits Peru

AFP reported on August 16:

“A powerful earthquake has devastated several Peruvian cities, killing at least 337 people and forcing the government to declare a state of emergency on Thursday. The quake was the deadliest to hit the country in nearly 40 years. As many as 1,000 people were injured and tens of thousands of panicked residents flocked onto the streets fearing more tremors, after the 7.9-magnitude quake rattled the country for two terrifying minutes late Wednesday. The towns of Pisco, Chincha, and other areas in Peru’s southern coastal region were reported to be in ruins.”

Overdue Earthquake in California– What If… ?

DailyBulletin.com wrote on August 11:

“Scientists for the first time are figuring out in great detail just how bad it will be when the southern section of the San Andreas Fault, roughly between Palmdale and the Salton Sea, cuts loose…

“While 300 miles of the northern fault ripped in 1906, killing an estimated 3,000 people in San Francisco, and the middle part shook during the powerful 1857 Fort Tejon earthquake, the southern section of the fault hasn’t popped since the late 1600s.

“There were six earthquakes in the 900 years before that, and none in the past 300… meaning the most devastating disaster in 100 years is long overdue.

“That’s why scientists got funding last year to study a potential magnitude 7.8 quake that would originate near the Salton Sea and race 200 miles up the fault to Lake Hughes, just west of Lancaster.

“That’s about the same distance San Francisco was from the epicenter of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. That magnitude 6.9 quake knocked down a freeway, severely damaged the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge and killed 63 people.

“A 7.8 quake would shake nearly 10 times harder. And it would shake for minutes. The magnitude 6.7 1994 Northridge quake lasted only seven seconds but killed 60 people…  What has surprised scientists is the level of destruction the earthquake would cause in Los Angeles, even though the fault is 60 miles away…

“Among the consequences:

“Thousands die, depending on what time of day the quake hits. Hundreds or thousands of older buildings collapse. Skyscrapers in downtown Los Angeles could be badly damaged and some may fall. The 15 Freeway through the Cajon Pass will be severed, stranding tens of thousands of High Desert commuters. The 10 Freeway between Banning and Desert Hot Springs will be cut, possibly in several locations. The 14 Freeway north of Palmdale will be cut. Some communities could go months without water.

“Small businesses may fail if water and other utilities aren’t quickly restored. Pipelines will be severed, triggering fires and interrupting supplies. Older hospitals may suffer damage, causing remaining hospitals to be swamped with casualties.”

No “Church” Besides the Roman Catholic Church?

The Vatican’s official website published the following clarification, on June 29, 2007, regarding the Catholic Church’s position that it is the only and true Church of God. It was pointed out:

“Christ ‘established here on earth’ only one Church and instituted it as a ‘visible and spiritual community’ that from its beginning and throughout the centuries has always existed and will always exist, and in which alone are found all the elements that Christ himself instituted… This one Church of Christ, which we confess in the Creed as one, holy, catholic and apostolic… subsists in the Catholic Church, governed by the successor of Peter and the Bishops in communion with him…

“It is possible, according to Catholic doctrine, to affirm correctly that the Church of Christ is present and operative in the churches and ecclesial Communities not yet fully in communion with the Catholic Church, on account of the elements of sanctification and truth that are present in them… Nevertheless, the word ‘subsists’ can only be attributed to the Catholic Church alone precisely because it refers to the mark of unity that we profess in the symbols of the faith…

“It is through the celebration of the Eucharist of the Lord in each of these Churches that the Church of God is built up and grows in stature… However, since communion with the Catholic Church, the visible head of which is the Bishop of Rome and the Successor of Peter, is not some external complement to a particular Church but rather one of its internal constitutive principles, these venerable Christian communities lack something in their condition as particular churches…

“According to Catholic doctrine, these Communities do not enjoy apostolic succession in the sacrament of Orders, and are, therefore, deprived of a constitutive element of the Church. These ecclesial Communities which, specifically because of the absence of the sacramental priesthood, have not preserved the genuine and integral substance of the Eucharistic Mystery… cannot, according to Catholic doctrine, be called ‘Churches’ in the proper sense…”

For an evaluation of the claims and nature of the Roman Catholic Church, please read our free booklet, “Europe in Prophecy.” Also, make sure to watch our recent StandingWatch program, “Why Do You Keep Sunday?”

U.S. Financial Mortgage Quake Reaches Europe and the Entire World

Der Spiegel Online wrote on August 10:

“Germany had been hit by a version of the crisis that surprised French investors on Thursday, sending stock markets from New York to Tokyo into unexpected dives. Debts arising from America’s so-called subprime mortgage sector had just caused IKB to falter…

“The epicenter of this financial quake is the United States. Hardly a day passes now when an American mortgage lender or hedge fund doesn’t go belly-up. The world’s equity markets first plunged in response to the crisis in mid-July. Germany’s leading stock index, the Dax, lost over ten percent in a matter of days, and America’s Dow Jones dropped six percent.

“Another round of panic hit world markets this week after a French bank, BNP Paribas, had to freeze three investment funds worth €2.76 billion ($3.79 billion) because of American mortgage debts. The Dow Jones fell three percent on Thursday, and central banks in the US, Europe and Japan have injected money markets with billions of dollars to ease credit jitters…

“Rising house prices in America started a craze for ‘subprime’ mortgages, or housing loans offered to homebuyers below the prime lending rate. Typically these loans involve a low-rate grace period before a higher rate comes into effect. And as long as housing prices boomed, debts associated with these mortgages could be packaged as attractive investment vehicles for big institutions. But now the market has stalled and abundant credit for such risky investments has dried up — and anyone, apparently, can run into trouble.”

The EuObserver added on August 10:

“The European Central Bank (ECB) has poured around €95 billion into the eurozone banking system to calm market jitters following a credit crunch in the US market over high-risk mortgages… This is the first time the ECB has felt compelled to intervene in the markets since the days following the terrorist attacks in the US in September 2001. The move was prompted after investors panicked about the potential losses from the US subprime sector…”

AFP reported on August 16:

“World leaders on Thursday insisted that the US credit crunch would not cause an economic crisis but stock markets across the world plummeted yet again as investors remained unconvinced… stock markets… tumbled yet again, wiping tens of billions of dollars off share values in Asia and Europe. From London to Hong Kong, Tokyo and Sydney weary traders’ screens were awash with red again…

“Investors are worried about a global credit squeeze as more banks and investment funds around the world reveal their exposure to the slumping US subprime, or high-risk, home loan sector… Central banks across the world have since last week pumped tens of billions of dollars into the banking system, offering loans at lower rates to commercial banks to forestall a credit crunch that could damage economic growth. The Bank of Japan said Thursday it would inject a further 400 billion yen (3.4 billion dollars) into the system to calm frayed nerves…”

Anti-American Central Asian Summit

Bloomberg reported on August 16:

“Russia and China today host Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at a summit of a Central Asian security club [Shanghai Cooperation Organization, or  SCO] designed to counter U.S. influence in the region… Afghan President Hamid Karzai, whose country is battling a resurgent Taliban, is a guest at the summit… The SCO in 2005 called for a timetable to end the U.S. military presence in Central Asia. Within six months, Uzbekistan ordered out U.S. forces stationed at its Khanabad airbase…

“In another unwelcome development for the Americans, Turkmenistan’s President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov also accepted an invitation to attend the summit…

“Along with Iran, Pakistan, India and Mongolia have observer status in the six-member group [Its six members include Russia and China, as well as the four Central Asian states of Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Tajikistan].”

Georgia Asks EU For Help Against Russia

The EUObserver wrote on August 8:

“Accusing Russia of committing an ‘act of aggression’ against Georgia by firing a guided missile into its territory, Tbilisi said the EU should not appease Moscow, but send a ‘strong and clear-cut’ message of condemnation.

“‘This is not Georgia’s problem. This is a problem for European security and safety’, Georgia’s president Mikhail Saakashvili told Reuters news agency on Tuesday (7 August). Mr Saakashvili drew a parallel with the systematic cyber-attacks against Estonia’s government and private websites earlier this year – something Tallinn claimed had been orchestrated by Moscow…

“Georgian authorities claimed the missile had been fired by a Russian jet from a base in the North Caucasus – an accusation Moscow has strongly denied… The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the world’s largest regional security organization, said it was ‘deeply concerned about the incident’ and appealed to ‘all parties to address this serious issue with restraint’… The incident has further increased the existing tension in relations between Russia and Georgia, a part of the Soviet Union between 1922 and 1991.”

“Peace, Peace”–And There Is No Peace

Reuters reported on August 16:

“The United States sealed a deal on Thursday to provide Israel with $30 billion in defense grants over the next decade, a 25 percent boost that Washington describes as strengthening a regional bulwark against Iran. At a signing ceremony in Jerusalem, U.S. Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns said the United States would help Israel maintain a military advantage over foes ranging from Iran and Syria to their proxies in Lebanon and Palestinian territories.

“‘There is no question that, from an American point of view, the Middle East is a more dangerous region now even than it was 10 or 20 years ago and that Israel is facing a growing threat. It’s immediate and it’s also long-term,’ Burns told reporters. ‘The United States faces many of the same threats from the same organizations and countries as Israel does, and so we felt this was the right level of assistance.’

“The Bush administration said last month that it would also offer weapons worth $20 billion to Saudi Arabia and other allied Gulf states. Egypt stands to get $13 billion in defense assistance over the next decade, similar to present levels.

“The package — which awaits approval in the U.S. Congress — is designed to reassure Israel and Sunni Muslim Gulf nations of Washington’s commitment to the Middle East despite its problems in Iraq, as well as to strengthen them in the face of the growing clout of Shi’ite Iran and its nuclear program…

“Burns said the new aid to Israel, which currently receives $2.4 billion in annual military grants, would not be conditioned on diplomatic progress or concessions though ‘one of the major priorities for our government … will be to help push forward a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians.’…

“Assumed to have the Middle East’s only atomic arsenal, Israel has vowed to prevent Iran, its arch-enemy, from acquiring the bomb. Iran denies its nuclear program has military aims… Israel is the only recipient of U.S. defense grants allowed to spend some of them — 26.3 percent — on domestic arms firms.”

“Peace, Peace”–And There Is No Peace

Reuters reported on August 16:

“The United States sealed a deal on Thursday to provide Israel with $30 billion in defense grants over the next decade, a 25 percent boost that Washington describes as strengthening a regional bulwark against Iran. At a signing ceremony in Jerusalem, U.S. Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns said the United States would help Israel maintain a military advantage over foes ranging from Iran and Syria to their proxies in Lebanon and Palestinian territories.

“‘There is no question that, from an American point of view, the Middle East is a more dangerous region now even than it was 10 or 20 years ago and that Israel is facing a growing threat. It’s immediate and it’s also long-term,’ Burns told reporters. ‘The United States faces many of the same threats from the same organizations and countries as Israel does, and so we felt this was the right level of assistance.’

“The Bush administration said last month that it would also offer weapons worth $20 billion to Saudi Arabia and other allied Gulf states. Egypt stands to get $13 billion in defense assistance over the next decade, similar to present levels.

“The package — which awaits approval in the U.S. Congress — is designed to reassure Israel and Sunni Muslim Gulf nations of Washington’s commitment to the Middle East despite its problems in Iraq, as well as to strengthen them in the face of the growing clout of Shi’ite Iran and its nuclear program…

“Burns said the new aid to Israel, which currently receives $2.4 billion in annual military grants, would not be conditioned on diplomatic progress or concessions though ‘one of the major priorities for our government … will be to help push forward a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians.’…

“Assumed to have the Middle East’s only atomic arsenal, Israel has vowed to prevent Iran, its arch-enemy, from acquiring the bomb. Iran denies its nuclear program has military aims… Israel is the only recipient of U.S. defense grants allowed to spend some of them — 26.3 percent — on domestic arms firms.”

Einstein’s Theory of Relativity Disproved?

 The Telegraph reported on August 16:

“A pair of German physicists claim to have broken the speed of light – an achievement that would undermine our entire understanding of space and time. According to Einstein’s special theory of relativity, it would require an infinite amount of energy to propel an object at more than 186,000 miles per second. However, Dr Gunter Nimtz and Dr Alfons Stahlhofen, of the University of Koblenz, say they may have breached a key tenet of that theory.

“The pair say they have conducted an experiment in which microwave photons – energetic packets of light – travelled ‘instantaneously’ between a pair of prisms that had been moved up to 3ft apart. Being able to travel faster than the speed of light would lead to a wide variety of bizarre consequences. For instance, an astronaut moving faster than it would theoretically arrive at a destination before leaving. The scientists were investigating a phenomenon called quantum tunnelling, which allows sub-atomic particles to break apparently unbreakable laws.”

The question of God’s omnipresence has puzzled men for centuries and millennia, and diverse and sometimes incredible answers have been proposed.

One common idea in Orthodox Christianity is that God, as a Spirit being, is everywhere, as allegedly, Spirit has no form or shape–no limitations–no “parts.” God is understood to be–even though proponents of that idea would oppose such wording–a formless or shapeless “blob”–permeating everything.

This idea is clearly unbiblical. God HAS form and shape. God said that Moses saw the glorified “form” of the LORD (compare Numbers 12:8). God, when creating man, said that man was to be made in accordance with the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1:26-27; 9:6). God is described as having a head, arms, a body, feet, eyes and hair, among other aspects. Man is made in the physical form of God–he is a physical reflection, if you please, of the Spirit Beings, God the Father and Jesus Christ the Son. Please also note that Christ is described as the [Spirit] image of God the Father (2 Corinthians 4:4). He looks like God the Father; that is why He could say, even when He was here on earth in human form; “He who has seen Me has seen the Father” (John 14:9). In that same way–on a physical level–man is made in the image of God.

Given the fact that God has form and shape, He IS therefore at one given moment in only one place at one specific time. This means, when He is sitting on His throne in heaven, He is therefore not at that very same moment on earth, or on planet Mars, or in another galaxy billions of light-years away. This is why we read that God came down from heaven to walk on earth; that Jesus Christ, after His resurrection to a Spirit Being, ascended to heaven; that He was brought before God the Father in heaven to receive kingship and power; and that He will return to this earth, in power and glory, to rule all nations. Of course, we must also understand that God CAN “travel” from one place to another within a “split second.” But as we will see, when God is at a certain place, at that very same moment, He cannot be–as a Person–at a different place at the same time.

And still, it IS correct that God IS omnipresent–that is, that He is everywhere at all times, and NOTHING escapes His attention or is hidden from His eyes (Matthew 6:18).

Let us understand how this is possible.

David gives us the answer to this puzzle, which most professing Christians simply do NOT understand. He writes in Psalm 139:1-2:

“LORD, You have searched me and known me, You know my sitting down and my rising up; You understand my thought AFAR OFF.”

David knew that God could be “afar off,” and still understand all of his thoughts. How? Continuing in verses 3-6:

“You comprehend my path and my lying down, And are acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word on my tongue, But behold, O Lord, You know it altogether. You have hedged me behind and before. And laid your hand upon me [i.e., He has given him protection and security]. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; It is high, I cannot attain it.”

But David did not conclude that God’s miraculous omnipresence was due to God being everywhere like a form- and shapeless blob; he knew better than that. And so, he continues to explain HOW God is omnipresent, beginning with verse 7:

“Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from your presence?”

Here is the answer! God the Father and Jesus Christ are both Spirit beings. They both have form and shape, composed of Spirit. But the Holy Spirit is NOT a being–rather, it is the power emanating from God (compare Micah 3:8; Luke 4:14). It is through the POWER of God’s Holy Spirit that things are created. And God’s Holy Spirit does not have form and shape–God’s Holy Spirit does not exist in a bodily form. When God gave His Holy Spirit to the disciples gathered in Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost, there was a representative appearance in the form of “tongues as of fire” (compare Acts 2:3). However, the Holy Spirit was also here represented by a sound, “… as of a rushing mighty wind” (verse 2). These accompanying manifestations were given as signs to accompany this glorious event of the giving of God’s power and nature–His own Holy Spirit!

God’s Holy Spirit is everywhere. It is true that we read of another incidence when John the Baptist saw the Holy Spirit descending “like a dove” on Jesus Christ, Mark 1:10. This, however, was just a vision from God, showing John that Jesus was the Messiah and the Son of God, compare John 1:29-34.

God, a Spirit being, Who has form and shape, is everywhere through His Spirit. And so, David continues to meditate on this fact, as follows, in verses 8-12:

“If I ascend into heaven, You are there [through the Spirit of God]; If I make my bed in hell [Hebrew sheol, the grave], behold, you are there [through God’s Spirit]. If I take the wings of the morning, And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, Even there your hand shall lead me [through God’s Holy Spirit], And your right hand shall hold me. If I say, ‘Surely the darkness shall fall on me,’ Even the night shall be light upon me; Indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You, But the night shines as the day; The darkness and the light are both alike to You.”

We read in Genesis 1:1-3: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was [better: became] without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the SPIRIT OF GOD was hovering over the face of the waters. Then God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light.”

God the Father gave the command, Jesus Christ, the Son, the Word of God, spoke the word, gave the order, and created light through the power of the Holy Spirit (compare Psalm 104:30: “You send forth your Spirit, they are created.”). We read that God the Father created everything through Jesus Christ (Colossians 1:15-17; Hebrews 1:1-2), and Christ did so by using the power of His Holy Spirit to accomplish this. Job 26:13 says: “By His Spirit He [God] adorned the heavens.” In that sense, the “Spirit of God has made [Elihu], And the breath of the Almighty [gave him] life” (Job 33:4). God’s Spirit can be compared with breath or wind. Note that the New Jerusalem Bible translates Genesis 1:2 as, “…with a divine wind sweeping over the waters.” God’s Holy Spirit emanates from God. It is not a person, but the power of God–and through the Holy Spirit, God is and can be everywhere at all times.

An additional piece of this marvelous truth is that God lives in converted Christians through His Holy Spirit–the Spirit of God the Father AND of Jesus Christ the Son. This is HOW God–both the Father and the Son–can dwell in thousands of Christians all at the same time (John 14:23)–through His Spirit (compare Romans 8:9-11, 14-15; Galatians 4:6).

Turning now to Genesis 3:8-11, we find that God–actually in the Person of Jesus Christ, as no man has ever seen the Father (John 1:18; 6:46)–“walked” in the Garden of Eden. That must be understood quite literally. At that moment in time, Christ appeared to Adam and Eve in a physical manifestation, but through His Spirit, He was still everywhere. [Later, we find that Christ appeared to Abraham and Sarah, together with two angels, manifesting themselves “as” humans, to eat and to speak with them about their future son and to warn Abraham of the impending destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah (compare Genesis 18:1-2, 13, 16-33; 19:1).]

When God asked Adam in Genesis 3:11, whether he had eaten from the tree of knowledge, that is not to be misunderstood in the sense that God did not know this. He most certainly did–nothing is hidden from His eyes–but God engaged Adam in a dialogue to see how he would react. He gave Adam a chance to express his sorrow and grief–to express repentance for what he had done; instead, Adam chose to blame Eve and God for his sin (compare verse 12: “The WOMAN whom YOU GAVE to be with me, SHE gave me of the tree, and I ate.”).

To summarize, God the Father and Jesus Christ DO have form and shape. They exist as Spirit beings. Jesus revealed this key understanding that “God is Spirit…” (John 4:24). As the record of the Bible shows, Jesus–along with other Spirit composed beings, that is, God’s holy angels–manifested themselves at times in human form. While the Bible does not teach that God’s angels are omnipresent, it is clearly revealed that through the Holy Spirit of God, emanating from both the Father and the Son, God IS omnipresent.

For more information, please read our free booklets: “Is God a Trinity?”, “God Is A Family,” and “Angels, Demons and the Spirit World.”

Lead Writer: Norbert Link

As of Thursday morning, we have received, in the USA, 156 requests for our booklet, “Mysteries of the Bible,” as advertised on the Internet. In addition, Canada received 39 requests (25 from Canada, 13 from Nigeria and 1 from Malaysia). A special letter has been sent by now to about 135 people in the USA, requesting the booklet, explaining briefly some of the projects of the Church.

We sent the following announcement to our entire Update list, pertaining to our recent StandingWatch program, No. 133:

God Warns America!

Many American Presidents realized that God gave us this land, as well as power and wealth, but that He can take all of it away from us, if we continue to disobey Him. All optimistic viewpoints aside, God warns us that terrorism and nuclear attacks on American soil will lay waste our cities, and will make our land desolate–unless we repent! View this now on Google Video.

The program has also been posted on our StandingWatch Website.

by Cali Harris (24)

Recently, I have been getting to know a woman my age who grew up going to several different mainstream “Christian” churches, and she now attends a non-denominational group on Sundays. As our friendship has developed, she has become comfortable asking questions about what I believe, including about the Sabbath, the Holy Days, and prayer. She has asked several keen and specific questions—the kinds of questions that challenge me to think carefully about how to answer. I was absolutely astonished in our last conversation when she told me that I was an inspiration and example to her. “Wow,” I thought, “What an immense responsibility!”

In each instance that she asked a thought-provoking question, I recognized that I had a couple of choices in how to respond. One choice would be to feel bogged down by the weight of this responsibility: What if I don’t give a complete answer? What if some of the things I say, when I hang out with her, are a poor reflection of Christian love? What if I’m too drained at times to ensure that all of my actions reflect a Christian attitude? Simply put, what if I turn out to be a poor example of a Christian?

I realized another possible choice would be to jump at the chance to shine as brightly as I am able. Even what may seem to be the smallest words and actions could have a significant impact on her and others. I have come to realize more and more that I am an example of Christianity, even when I’m not thinking about it—and maybe especially when I’m not thinking about it!

On August 11, 2007, Kalon Mitchell and Michael Link will give split sermons, titled, “Acceptance” and “Think Before You Act!”

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.

Are you blessed? Do you even consider yourself blessed? By what standard could you come to the conclusion that you are among those who could say, “I am blessed”?

We are coming up to that very special time of the year when, at the Feast of Tabernacles, little children are brought forward to be specially blessed through prayer to God and the laying on of hands by the ministry. This practice is based on the Biblical example established by Jesus Christ, and as we find recorded in Matthew 19:13-15; Mark 10:13-16 and Luke 18:15-17.

In what way were those children “blessed” by the actions of Jesus Christ?

Jesus, by blessing the little children who were brought to Him, asked that God would help and watch over them. Implicit in His actions was the fact that God responded by having those children set apart for His unique care. Exactly how all that played out largely depended on the choices the children made throughout their lifetimes.

We can understand how blessings from God are given by considering Adam and Eve. God richly and abundantly blessed them with every physical need, and He offered them the opportunity to be even further blessed with His gift of eternal life. However, both Adam and Eve rejected God’s blessings through their disobedience to Him! By their own actions, they cut themselves off from the blessings of God.

Throughout the Word of God there are stories of individuals who received God’s blessings as well as of those who lost them. Obedience to God is the pivotal issue for having and keeping the blessings that God gives.

In our own time, we have witnessed people who have been tremendously blessed by God but who have rejected His blessings. How? They have rejected His calling, along with the priceless atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ and the unparalleled gift of God’s Holy Spirit–and they have turned back to this world and its ways. No longer are they set apart from this world to receive the continuing blessings of God!

As these Fall Holy Days approach, let’s make it a point to come before God to thank Him for all that He does for us. Thank Him for the richness of His blessings that are truly brim full and running over–blessings that we have now and blessings that we shall have through His immutable promises.

Let me ask one more time, Are YOU blessed?

Here is the answer, from Psalm 128:1: “Blessed is every one who fears the LORD, Who walks in His ways.”

160,000 U.S. Road Bridges In Danger of Collapse

The Minneapolis disaster could have been avoided. And future disasters, which appear inevitable, might also be prevented if billions of dollars, which are being wasted, for instance in Iraq (see our reports in this issue), would be used to repair damaged bridges, tunnels, dams and dikes. Unfortunately, as press reports point out, such a drastic and immediate change in thinking is not to be expected from any political party or leader.

On August 3, 2007, Der Spiegel Online wrote:

“The Minneapolis bridge disaster is no isolated incident but a warning signal: More than 160,000 road bridges in the USA are considered to be in danger of collapse. Highways, tunnels, dams and dykes are in such miserable condition that engineers have long been ringing the alarm — so far in vain.

“On April 5, 1987 the Schoharie Creek Bridge in New York state collapsed. The 35-meter-wide highway bridge had only recently been examined. Nevertheless it suddenly gave way, caved in and fell crashing into the river. Five vehicles fell into the river 25 meters below, and ten people died.

“The tragic sequence of events bears grisly similarities to the collapse of the Interstate 35W bridge in Minneapolis Wednesday, more than 20 years later. The causes of the accident also seem identical after the preliminary investigation: Wear and tear, obsolescence, carelessness, sloppiness.

“It doesn’t surprise experts. ‘The crumbling state of our infrastructure poses a real threat to public safety and the nation’s economy,’ Bill Marcuson, the president of the American Society Of Civil Engineers (ASCE), wrote on his ASCE blog just a few days before the most recent disaster. ‘Financing the urgently needed repairs must become a priority for our nation’s leaders.’ In total, ASCE calculates, at least $1.6 trillion must be invested in order to avoid further disasters like the one that happened this week in Minneapolis.

“Take America’s bridges, for example… Repairing all of America’s bridges would take at least 20 years and would eat up some $10 billion — money which NO ONE WANTS TO SPEND.

“America’s road tunnels are not in any better condition — even the brand new ones… The situation is much worse with the approximately 83,000 dams and dykes in the US. The catastrophe of Hurricane Katrina, which two years ago brought down the inadequate dyke system around New Orleans and caused over 1,800 deaths, revealed problems which are not limited to storm-prone Louisiana. According to the ASCE, the number of ‘unsafe’ dams and dykes has increased by a third to over 3,500 country-wide since 1998. Worryingly, ‘the number of dams identified as unsafe is increasing at a faster rate than those being repaired,’ according to the ASCE.”

The Superstitious Belief in Reincarnation

The following reads like a fairy tale. But sadly, many millions of people believe in the unbiblical concept of reincarnation–so much so that even atheist leaders try to capitalize on it.

Times on Line wrote on August 4:

“Tibet’s living Buddhas have been banned from reincarnation without permission from China’s atheist leaders… ‘The so-called reincarnated living Buddha without government approval is illegal and invalid,’ according to the order, which comes into effect on September 1. The 14-part regulation… is aimed at limiting the influence of Tibet’s exiled god-king, the Dalai Lama, and at preventing the re-incarnation of the 72-year-old monk without approval from Beijing…

“China already insists that only the Government can approve the appointments of Tibet’s two most important monks, the Dalai Lama and the Panchen Lama. The Dalai Lama’s announcement in May 1995 that a search inside Tibet… had identified the 11th reincarnation of the Panchen Lama, who died in 1989, enraged Beijing… Several sets of rules on seeking out ‘soul boys’ were promulgated in 1995… All Tibetans believe in reincarnation, but only the holiest or most outstanding individuals are believed to be recognisable — a tulku, or apparent body… The search for a reincarnation is a mystical process involving clues left by the deceased and visions among leading monks on where to look.”

Foot and Mouth Disease in Britain

The Associated Press reported on August 4:

“Britain imposed a voluntary ban on exports of livestock and livestock products [because of an outbreak of the foot-and-mouth disease]… The ministry said the ban applied to animals with cloven hooves such as cows, sheep and pigs. It covers live animals, carcasses, meat and milk and is effective immediately… ‘Our first priority has been to act quickly and decisively,’ said [Prime Minister Gordon] Brown, who cut short a summer holiday to deal with the crisis, which prompted a European Union ban [on] livestock imports from Britain… Japan said earlier that it had banned British pork imports. Beef imports from Britain have been banned in Japan since the outbreak of mad cow disease in the 1990s.”

These outbreaks of diseases, affecting livestock, must have a devastating effect on the British economy.

Iraq’s Ongoing Collapse

The following report reveals the utter failure of the United States to try to create a better, safer and more prosperous Iraq for the Iraqi people.

AFP wrote on August 7:

“As Iraqis queue miserably for food and water, or swelter in homes and hospitals without electricity, Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki’s coalition government is collapsing around him. The latest boycott — by four ministers from a non-sectarian party — brought to 17 the number of members of the Shiite-led coalition to have walked out, tendered their resignations or withdrawn from cabinet meetings… But Maliki further alienated himself from his Sunni political opponents — whose inclusion in government the Americans see as crucial to ending Iraq’s civil conflicts — by accusing them of being insincere and irresponsible… Since the US-led invasion of March 2003, Iraq has plunged into an abyss of overlapping civil conflicts that have divided its rival religious and ethnic communities, and left tens of thousands of civilians dead…

“But in the unbearable heat of Iraq, where temperatures frequently reach 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit) in summer, many ordinary people are more frustrated with the lack of basic services than political squabbling. Last week, a report by Stuart Bowen, the US chief inspector of Iraqi reconstruction, painted a DAMNING PICTURE OF GOVERNMENT FAILURE, and described the effects of corruption as being akin to a ‘second insurgency’. Baghdad residents say they are sleeping on hard floors or roofs, suffering interminably without fans or air-conditioning, being forced to buy bottled water or drink contaminated water from purification plants without power.

“One of the lucky ones with a job in a country where unemployment stands at well over 50 percent, Yasser Ghazi said he still can’t afford to operate a generator to fill the gaps between the paltry few hours of electricity a day. ‘My sister is pregnant. I sent her with my mother, an old woman, to Syria to give birth because there’s no electricity or clean water. There’s not even a good hospital,’ said Ghazi…”

Weapons Given to Iraq Are Missing

The following report sounds incredible, but it appears to be grim reality in a world which lives and dies by the sword.

The Washington Post wrote on August 6:

“The Pentagon has lost track of about 190,000 AK-47 assault rifles and pistols given to Iraqi security forces in 2004 and 2005, according to a new government report, raising fears that some of those weapons have fallen into the hands of insurgents fighting U.S. forces in Iraq.

“The author of the report from the Government Accountability Office says U.S. military officials do not know what happened to 30 percent of the weapons the United States distributed to Iraqi forces from 2004 through early this year as part of an effort to train and equip the troops.

“The United States has spent $19.2 billion trying to develop Iraqi security forces since 2003, the GAO said, including at least $2.8 billion to buy and deliver equipment. But the GAO said weapons distribution was haphazard and rushed and failed to follow established procedures, particularly from 2004 to 2005

“… the inability of the United States to track weapons with tools such as serial numbers makes it nearly impossible for the U.S. military to know whether it is battling an enemy equipped by American taxpayers.”

Democratic-Led Congress Approves New U.S. Wiretapping Law

This next story sounds equally unbelievable. It, too, is grim reality, showing the extreme influence and power of political pressure on all politicians, irrespective of party affiliation.

The New York Times wrote on August 6:

“President Bush signed into law on Sunday legislation that broadly expanded the government’s authority to eavesdrop on the international telephone calls and e-mail messages of American citizens without warrants… For example, if a person in Indianapolis calls someone in London, the National Security Agency can eavesdrop on that conversation without a warrant, as long as the N.S.A.’s target is the person in London…

“The legislation to change the surveillance act was rushed through both the House and Senate in the last days before the August recess began… In fact, pressure from the telecommunications companies on the Bush administration has apparently played a major hidden role in the political battle over the surveillance issue over the past few months… Those companies were facing major lawsuits for having secretly cooperated with the warrantless wiretapping program, and now wanted greater legal protections before cooperating further.”

Joint Military Exercise of China and Russia

The Times wrote on August 6:

“Russian and Chinese troops are joining forces this week in the first military exercises by an international organisation that is regarded in some quarters as a potential rival to Nato… Scores of Russian and Chinese aircraft begin joint exercises tomorrow before a week of military manoeuvres from Thursday that will include Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan. At least 6,500 troops are involved in what is described as an antiterror exercise…

“MPs on the Foreign Affairs Select Committee expressed fears last year that the West could be on a collision course in the struggle for energy resources with ‘an authoritarian bloc opposed to democracy’ that was based on an alliance between China and Russia. A newly assertive Russia, flush with oil and gas revenues, is moving rapidly to increase its military capability amid tensions with the West over missile defence and Nato expansion. Almost £100 billion has been set aside for rearmament over the next eight years.”

As the Bible foretells, Russia and China, as well as other Far Eastern countries, WILL become a military threat to the West, especially continental Europe.

The New European Superstate

The Daily Mail wrote on August 6:

“… the idea that we [Great Britain] should give up the power to make our own foreign policy in favour of an EU foreign ministry, with its own diplomatic service, is not even half of what this new [European] treaty proposes. Ploughing through its 145 dense pages, what we see emerging is nothing less than the grand design whereby Europe is to be given a new form of supranational government, with far more powers over the lives of the EU’s 480 million citizens than will remain with any national government.

“Nothing reveals this more vividly than the extraordinary new status to be given at the centre of this new government to a body known as the European Council. It is this body that has already agreed [on] the exact wording of the new treaty, and which has, in effect, ordered that it should be rammed through in less than three months without a word being changed. This in itself is wholly without precedent. All the previous treaties which built up the powers of the EU resulted from months of negotiation between national governments. But on this treaty, governments are given no choice. They are obliged simply to accept what they were told to accept by the European Council in June.

“… What is this mysterious body, the European Council? It has, in fact, been taking shape and waxing in importance for more than 30 years. Its meetings are normally described by the media as ‘summits’… Under the new treaty… the Council’s role is to act as the Cabinet of the new ‘government of Europe’. For a start, presiding over its meetings will be a new permanent President of Europe, serving for up to five years (who may also be president of the European Commission). Alongside him, acting as the Union’s foreign minister, will be… the official who will in effect be foreign secretary for all the EU’s 27 members, including Britain.

“But there is another highly significant change in the role of the European Council, which can only be grasped by looking at the treaty’s small print. Until now, when prime ministers attended a meeting of the Council, they spoke on behalf of their own country. However, when the Council becomes a ‘Union institution’, its members will no longer be allowed to do this. Like the members of all other Union institutions, their first loyalty must now be to the Union… And as the new treaty makes clear, the Union will now have the power to decide policy on almost every conceivable issue, from foreign and defence policy to how national economies should be run… The EU will be allowed [to]take new powers over anything it wants, in accordance with those new all-embracing ‘objectives of the Union’… What all this amounts to is that the EU finally wishes to set itself up as the supreme government of Britain and 26 other countries, with virtually UNLIMITED POWERS over every aspect of our lives. This is nothing less than an astonishing coup d’etat.”

A European Superstate is in the making… and no human being will be able to stop it!  For more information, read our free booklet, “Europe in Prophecy.”

Travelers from US Face EU Crackdown

More controversies are developing between the USA and the EU.

The Financial Times wrote on August 7:

“US business travellers and tourists flying to the European Union are facing the threat of the same laborious registration requirements that Washington has demanded of Europeans in the latest US security crackdown. In its first reaction to the new US visa law, the European Commission said it was ‘considering’ a so-called electronic traveller authorisation scheme – similar to the American plan – that would require foreigners heading to the EU to give notice of their travel plans before departure. The threat has been conveyed to senior US officials and lawmakers, with one letter sent last month stressing that a European system would ‘of course operate on a reciprocal basis’… the idea had received ‘new impetus’ by the adoption of a US counter-terrorism bill last week that requires travellers to give US authorities at least 48 hours’ notice of their plans to visit the country.

“George W. Bush, US president, signed the law last Friday in spite of [sharp criticism from and] repeated appeals by the Commission and European business groups to reconsider the measures. The law will tighten scrutiny of travellers from the 26 developed countries whose citizens do not at present require visas to enter the US, including Britain, France, German and most other western European countries… “

Floods Across South Asia Affect Millions

AFP wrote on August 6:

“Many of the millions of people forced from their homes by floods across South Asia were desperate for food and drinking water on Monday as aid workers and army battled to reach them. The flooding, described as the heaviest to hit the region in decades, has affected 31 million people and killed more than 1,600 others in India, Bangladesh and Nepal since monsoon rains began pouring down in June.

“India’s northern Bihar state has been hit hardest by the disaster, and some of the growing number of people marooned by the swirling waters have resorted to fighting for emergency food supplies. The state’s disaster management chief, Manoj Srivastava, put the total number of flood-affected at 11.5 million… ‘This has been an unprecedented flood,’ Srivastava said. ‘The data shows in Bihar in several districts the rainfall has been 250 to 300 percent higher than the average for the last 30 years.'”

The astounding truth is, YES! There are a multitude of prophetic statements throughout the Word of God that very specifically speak of our day–the generation living just before the promised return of Jesus Christ! However, many who claim to be ministers, teachers or students of the Bible dismiss much of the Old Testament as irrelevant and outdated–especially when it comes to prophetic sections.

Isaiah prophesied before the FIRST national captivity of the ten tribes who bore the name, House of Israel. These ten tribes were led into captivity around 722-721 B.C. 2 Kings 17 provides details about how God removed these rebellious tribes from the land of Israel by the hand of the king of Assyria. However, Isaiah prophesied about this captivity years earlier, at the time of King Uzziah. There is a generally accepted date identified by the death of King Uzziah [Azariah] of 740 B.C., and we find that Isaiah mentions this event in association with his calling as a prophet (Compare Isaiah 6:1). Furthermore, Isaiah begins his book: “The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jothan, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah” (Isaiah 1:1). These kings reigned in Judah from approximately 792 to 686 B.C.

Although Isaiah evidently lived in Judah, he, nonetheless, also prophesied to the northern kingdom of Israel–the ten tribes of the House of Israel. His prophecies went far beyond his lifetime. They transcended the ancient captivity of either the House of Israel or the House of Judah! The remarkable Messianic prophecies from the Book of Isaiah served as a basis for what Jesus read concerning Himself in His hometown of Nazareth. Luke 4:16-20 recounts this occurrence, and in verse 21, Jesus is quoted: “‘… Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.'”

Another account in John 12:37-40 quotes some of Isaiah’s prophecies about Jesus, and in verse 41, John states: “These things Isaiah said when he saw His glory and spoke of Him.” We should note that these events were over 600 years following the lifetime of Isaiah. So we see by these examples that Isaiah’s prophetic work was intended for times far ahead of his own life.

But did it all stop with Christ’s first appearance when He came in the flesh to die for mankind? Do the prophecies in Isaiah apply in our time?

One poignant example is found in Isaiah 2:2-4:

“Now it shall come to pass in the LATTER DAYS that the mountain of the LORD’S house Shall be established on the top of the mountains, And shall be exalted above the hills; And all nations shall flow to it. Many people shall come and say, ‘Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, To the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, And we shall walk in His paths.’ For out of Zion shall go forth the law, And the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. He shall judge between the nations, And rebuke many people; They shall beat their swords into plowshares, And their spears into pruning hooks; Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, Neither shall they learn war anymore.”

The time and events spoken of in this marvelous prophecy have not come to pass–there is yet a future fulfillment to occur!

Just as Isaiah warned of captivity for the houses of Israel and Judah in the past, and those events occurred, so he speaks of a future captivity for the modern houses of Israel and Judah. Note this sobering prophecy given in Isaiah 11:11-12: “It shall come to pass IN THAT DAY That the LORD shall set His hand AGAIN THE SECOND TIME To recover the remnant of His people who are left… He will set up a banner for the nations, And will assemble the outcasts of Israel, And gather together the dispersed of Judah From the four corners of the earth.”

The Biblical term “In that Day” ALWAYS refers to a time just prior to the return of Jesus Christ (even though it can include a time subsequent to the return of Christ). For proof, read our free booklet, “The Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord.” Just as in the former times, so now, in our generation, the words of warning that God has inspired are rejected by nations that should know better! Please consider what God has so powerfully recorded for our day through Isaiah:

“Now go, write it before them on a tablet, And note it on a scroll, THAT IT MAY BE FOR TIME TO COME, FOREVER AND EVER: That this is a rebellious people, Lying children, Children who will not hear the law of the LORD; Who say to the seers, ‘Do not see,’ And to the prophets, ‘Do not prophesy to us right things; Speak to us smooth things, prophesy deceits. Get out of the way, Turn aside from the path, Cause the Holy One of Israel To cease from before us'” (Isaiah 30:8-11).

By contrast, the prophet Ezekiel began to see visions from God when he was among the Jews taken captive by the Babylonians. That Jewish captivity occurred many years after the captivity of the House of Israel: “On the fifth day of the month which was in the fifth year of King Jehoiachin’s captivity, the word of the LORD came expressly to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the River Chebar…” (Ezekiel 1:2-3).

The date described in these opening verses of the book of Ezekiel is approximately 593 B.C. The temple and the city of Jerusalem were destroyed in 586 B.C. This destruction occurred following several years of plundering wars fought in the land of Judah.

With this background, take note of the remarkable commission given by God to Ezekiel: “And He said to me: ‘Son of man, I am sending you TO THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL, to a rebellious nation that has rebelled against Me; they and their fathers have transgressed against Me to this very day'” (Ezekiel 2:3); Also, “Then He said to me: ‘Son of man, GO TO THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL and speak with My words to them'” (Ezekiel 3:4).

As we have already established, the House of Israel had been taken captive by the Assyrians more than 120 years earlier! In effect, the House of Israel at that time had ceased to exist as an identifiable nation that Ezekiel could then contact with this message from God. Moreover, Ezekiel was himself a captive of the Babylonians, incapable of going to the House of Israel.

Chapter 33 of Ezekiel adds even more instructions from God: “‘So you, son of man: I have made you a WATCHMAN FOR THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL; therefore you shall hear a word from My mouth and warn them for Me'” (Verse 7; Compare Ezekiel 3:17).

To some extent, Ezekiel’s message was heard among his fellow captive Jews, but throughout his writings, the people of Judah, Israel and the nations are being warned! This warning includes the message that God will again punish the modern Houses of Israel and Judah and that they will again suffer national destruction and horrible captivity! This is for an impending future time, and that time is closing upon the modern nations of Israel (especially Ephraim and Manasseh–descendants of Joseph, the son of Jacob, or “Israel”. The descendants of Ephraim and Manasseh have been identified today as the modern nations of the British Empire and the United States of America). Ezekiel’s message is also addressed to the modern nation or House of Judah, which man calls Israel today. (Please read our free booklet, titled “The Fall and Rise of Britain and America,” for a much more detailed account of what is prophesied to happen to these nations.)

Another momentous prophecy awaits fulfillment, and we find it recorded in Ezekiel 39:22-23:

“‘So the house of Israel shall know that I am the LORD their God from that day forward. The Gentiles shall know that the house of Israel went into CAPTIVITY for their iniquity; because they were unfaithful to Me, therefore I hid My face from them. I gave them into the hand of their enemies, and they all fell by the sword.'”

And, in Ezekiel 37, we see a prophecy that has never found fulfillment concerning the Houses of Israel and Judah once again becoming one nation–with one king:

“‘Then say to them, “Thus says the LORD GOD: ‘Surely I will take the children of Israel from among the nations, wherever they have gone, and will gather them from every side and bring them into their own land; and I will make them ONE NATION in the land, on the mountains of Israel; and ONE KING shall be king over them all; they shall no longer be two nations, nor shall they ever be divided into two kingdoms again'”‘” (Verses 21-22); Verse 24 adds: “‘”‘David My servant shall be king over them, and they shall all have one shepherd; they shall also walk in My judgments and observe My statutes, and do them.”‘”‘

Biblical prophecy points to these future events with absolute certainty! Many prophecies are finding fulfillment in our day–prophecies that herald the looming end of this age and the emergence of the glorious Kingdom of God.

As we consider these prophecies–both watching and preparing for the times we now live in as well as future events, let’s pay close attention to what God IS REVEALING.

In Isaiah’s time, the people who heard his message said: “‘…Tomorrow will be as today. And much more abundant'” (Isaiah 56:12); When Ezekiel prophesied, here is how his message was viewed: “‘”…The vision that he sees is for many days from now, and he prophesies of times far off”” (Ezekiel 12:27).

Here is how Peter sums it up: “knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, and saying, ‘Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation'” (2 Peter 3:3-4).

For the scoffers, the prophecies of Isaiah, Ezekiel and all of God’s prophets will have little impact! But will they have impact for us?

Lead Writer: Dave Harris

A new StandingWatch program (#132) was placed on Google Video, titled, “Why Do You Keep Sunday?” In the 10-minute program, Norbert Link discusses the origins of Sunday keeping and asks the challenging question whether God is pleased with such religious worship.