On April 14, 2007, Norbert Link will give the sermon, titled, “Sin–Don’t Judge Too Harshly.”

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.

We have just observed the Passover and Days of Unleavened Bread.  These days remind us annually of Christ’s death–when He paid the penalty of our sins and reconciled us to God the Father. The world is cut off from God. But those reconciled with God are no longer cut off from God, as Christ’s shed blood is a sufficient payment for their sins. 

Jesus said, “No one can come to Me, except the Father who sent Me draws him” (John 6:44). Those specially chosen by God and drawn to Christ are instructed to put sin out of their lives, which is what the Days of Unleavened Bread represent.  Leaven puffs up, as do vanity and sin.  Leaven is a type of sin, and the putting out of the leaven pictures putting the “get” way out of our lives and turning to the “give” way.  This is the beginning of building into our lives holy, righteous, perfect, Godly character.

Beginning with the morrow after the Sabbath during the Feast of Unleavened Bread, we count 50 days to observe the Day of Pentecost, which means “count 50.” Originally this Feast was called the Feast of Firstfruits, portraying the first spiritual harvest of God’s begotten children.

Remember, Adam cut mankind off from God, and man must have contact with God the Father to receive His Holy Spirit.  The “tree of life” in the Garden of Eden meant that God freely offered Adam and all of humanity, the Holy Spirit, but Adam had to make a choice between accepting God’s gift and rejecting the tree of knowledge of good and evil.  As mentioned, the “tree of life” represented God’s Holy Spirit and the “give” way of life.  The other tree represented Satan’s “get” way of life. Adam chose the “get” way and was driven by God from the Garden of Eden, “lest he….take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever” (Genesis 3:22).  As a result, spiritual salvation was closed to all humanity except to those whom God predestined to be called in this day and age.

We are among those predestined to be called now!  We have been called to receive God’s Holy Spirit and  to overcome Satan, Satan’s world and our own human nature.  This requires effort, self-denial and will power.  The Holy Spirit makes us God’s begotten children–but we are not yet born into the God Family. God’s Holy Spirit gives us the ability to comprehend spiritual knowledge.  It is the love of God placed within us.  It is the spiritual power by which we can overcome, to turn away from and resist the “get” way, and turn to the “give” way.  It is the power by which we may develop holy, righteous, perfect character which is the purpose for God having created humanity in the first place–so that God could reproduce Himself through man.

Let us rejoice in this special calling we have been given.  Let’s not take for granted what the day of Pentecost is all about–a reminder to us every year that we are among those called to be a part of the FIRST small harvest. God calls us His “special people.” He offers us salvation, by calling us out of a world that has been cut off from God since the time of Adam.  But, we have been called for more than just our own spiritual salvation and the gift of eternal life.  We are called NOW to help in preparing for the Kingdom of God and backing up the great commission of proclaiming the true Gospel to the whole world.

“The Conscience of the Colonel”– How the U.S. Government Damaged Its Own Case

On March 31, 2007, The Wall Street Journal wrote an amazing and eye-opening lengthy article, which falls into the category of must-read publications, explaining the unusual decision of a veteran prosecutor to refuse to proceed with the prosecution of a case, based on legal and moral grounds. The paper titled the article, “The Conscience of the Colonel.”

We are quoting the following excerpts from the article:

“When the Pentagon needed someone to prosecute a Guantanamo Bay prisoner linked to 9/11, it turned to Lt. Col. V. Stuart Couch. A Marine Corps pilot and veteran prosecutor, Col. Couch brought a personal connection to the job: His old Marine buddy, Michael ‘Rocks’ Horrocks, was co-pilot on United 175, the second plane to strike the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001. The prisoner in question, Mohamedou Ould Slahi, had already been suspected of terrorist activity…

“But, nine months later, in what he calls the toughest decision of his military career, Col. Couch refused to proceed with the Slahi prosecution. The reason: He concluded that Mr. Slahi’s incriminating statements — the core of the government’s case — had been taken through torture, rendering them inadmissible under U.S. and international law…

“Guantanamo prosecutors estimate that at least 90% of cases depend on statements taken from prisoners, making the credibility of such evidence critical to any convictions. In Mr. Slahi’s case, Col. Couch would uncover evidence the prisoner had been beaten and exposed to psychological torture, including death threats and intimations that his mother would be raped in custody unless he cooperated…

“Col. Couch had his own misgivings. On his first visit to Guantanamo in October 2003, he recalls preparing to watch an interrogation of a detainee when he was distracted by heavy-metal music. Accompanied by an escort, he saw a prisoner shackled to a cell floor, rocking back and forth, mumbling as strobe lights flashed. Two men in civilian dress shut the cell door and told Col. Couch to move along. ‘Did you see that?’ he asked his escort. The escort replied: ‘Yeah, it’s approved,’ Col. Couch says. The treatment resembled the abuse he had been trained to resist if captured; he never expected Americans would be the ones employing it…

“By May 2004, Col. Couch had most of the picture relating to Mr. Slahi’s treatment, and faced a painful dilemma: Could he seek a conviction based on statements he thought were taken through torture, as permitted by President Bush’s November 2001 military commission order citing a ‘state of emergency?’ Or was he nonetheless bound by the Torture Convention, which bars using statements taken ‘as a result of torture…as evidence in any proceedings.’…

“In May 2004, at a meeting with the then-chief prosecutor, Army Col. Bob Swann, Col. Couch dropped his bombshell. He told Col. Swann that in addition to legal reasons, he was ‘morally opposed’ to the interrogation techniques ‘and for that reason alone refused to participate in [the Slahi] prosecution in any manner.’ An impassioned debate followed, the prosecutor recalls. Col. Swann said the Torture Convention didn’t apply to military commissions. Col. Couch asked his superior to cite legal precedent that would allow the president to disregard a treaty. The meeting ended when Col. Swann asked the prosecutor to turn over the Slahi files so the case could be reassigned, Col. Couch recalls…

“With the Slahi prosecution on ice, Col. Couch continued work on other cases — including another ‘varsity program’ prisoner, Mohammmed al-Qahtani, who, according to army report overseen by Gens. Schmidt and Furlow, had been made to wear women’s underwear, leashed, forced to perform dog tricks and berated as a homosexual. Col. Couch refused to use statements obtained during these interrogations. But he determined the prosecution could continue based on a separate source of evidence compiled by the FBI before Mr. Qahtani’s Guantanamo interrogation…

“In August 2006, [Col. Couch] took on a new assignment as a judge on the Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals. Col. Couch says he’s still frustrated that the actions of the U.S. government helped ruin the case against Mr. Slahi. ‘I’m hoping there’s some non-tainted evidence out there that can put the guy in the hole,’ he says.”

Iraq “Celebrates” Four-Year U.S. Liberation

The Associated Press reported on April 9:

“Tens of thousands of Shiites – a sea of women in black abayas and men waving Iraqi flags – rallied Monday to demand that U.S. forces leave their country. Some ripped apart American flags and tromped across a Stars and Stripes rug. The protesters marched about three miles between the holy cities of Kufa and Najaf to mark the fourth anniversary of the fall of Baghdad. In the capital, streets were silent and empty under a hastily imposed 24-hour driving ban. Radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr ordered up the march as a show of strength not only to Washington but to Iraq’s establishment Shiite ayatollahs as well…

“The fiery cleric owes much of his large following to the high esteem in which Shiites hold his father, Ayatollah Mohammed Sadiq al-Sadr, who was assassinated in 1999 by suspected agents of Saddam Hussein… Iraqi soldiers in uniform joined the crowd of marchers which stretched for at least three miles and was led by a dozen turbaned clerics, a Sunni Muslim among them.”

Der Spiegel Online added on April 10:

“German commentators are pessimistic about the future of the country… Monday marked the fourth anniversary of the fall of Saddam Hussein. But instead of celebrations, the tone in Iraq was set by angry anti-American protests. The powerful Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr called protests in the Shiite holy city of Najaf, south of Baghdad, on Monday. April 9 was the fourth anniversary of the tearing down of a giant statue of Saddam Hussein in Baghdad, which symbolized the end of the dictator’s regime… German commentators Tuesday felt that the demonstrations were a sign of increasing pessimism in Iraq over the country’s future…

“The center-right Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung writes: ‘Four years after the end of the Baath regime, most Iraqis are in no mood to celebrate. If one believes the latest surveys, more than three quarters of the population want the Americans and their allies to withdraw, and they have never been so pessimistic about the future…

“The center-left Süddeutsche Zeitung writes: ‘There is not the slightest chance that the Shiites will convert to the ideal which is wanted by the United States, namely that of a multi-denominational, multi-national Iraq…

“Conservative daily Die Welt writes: ‘(Iraq is) a country in civil war — four years after its liberation.'”

The EU and Britain

The Wall Street Journal wrote on April 4:

“On March 30, the EU’s foreign affairs ministers gathered in Bremen, Germany, to discuss Iran’s kidnapping of 15 British soldiers. The ministers refused to support the U.K. proposal to pressure the mullahs with the threat of revoking government export guarantees. Their joint declaration of course ‘deplores the continued arrest of 15 British citizens by Iran’ and ‘underlines the European Union’s unconditional support for the government of the United Kingdom.’ But that’s as far as their ‘unconditional support’ went. There was no diplomatic or economic boycott, not even the hint of one, let alone a military threat.

“The EU couldn’t muster the strength to support one of its most important member states. The lack of substance in the declaration stands in sharp contrast to the gravity of the incident. The British soldiers were in Iraqi waters and their presence was sanctioned by the United Nations Security Council.

“The Iranian leaders created this incident to test the will of the West and demonstrate their own power… The EU reacted as the mullahs expected: it did nothing. It wouldn’t even threaten ending export guarantees, although Europe could easily bear the possible loss of these sales that make up only 1.5% of its total exports. Europe chose instead to handle Iran with kid gloves, just as it has for years.”

In Townhall.com, Charles Krauthammer wrote on April 6:

“Iran has pulled off a tidy little success with its seizure and subsequent release of those 15 British sailors and marines: a pointed humiliation of Britain, with a bonus demonstration of Iran’s intention to push back against coalition challenges to its assets in Iraq. All with total impunity… The quid pro quos were not terribly subtle. An Iranian ‘diplomat’ who had been held for two months in Iraq is suddenly released. Equally suddenly, Iran is granted access to the five Iranian ‘consular officials’ — Revolutionary Guards who had been training Shiite militias to kill Americans and others — whom the U.S. had arrested in Irbil in January. There may have been other concessions we will never hear about… Where then was the EU? These 15 hostages, after all, are not just British citizens, but under the laws of Europe, citizens of Europe. Yet the EU lifted not a finger on their behalf…

“Iran’s shaky economy is highly dependent on European credits, trade and technology. Britain asked the EU to threaten to freeze exports, $18 billion a year of commerce. Iran would have lost its No. 1 trading partner. The EU refused.”

The article goes on to lament, as did the previous article of the Wall Street Journal, that Europe could not have acted as they are too diversified and politically incompetent to do so. However, that is NOT the real reason. The cause for EU’s inactivity and Britain’s isolation is to be seen in BIBLICAL PROPHECY. For more information, read our free booklet, “The Fall and Rise of Britain and America.” Also, please view our latest StandingWatch program on this issue, titled, “Why Britain’s Humiliation?” 

Not Much Sympathy for Britain

The Daily Mail wrote on April 6 about the lack of sympathy for Britain, after the release of the sailors from Iran. And the subsequent inappropriate conduct of some of the British sailors, offering their story to the press for money, did not help to change the world’s view. Due to the national and international outcry, the British government reportedly prohibited its sailors to “sell” their story–a forced reaction… “too little too late.”

The Daily Mail wrote:

“Sympathy for Britain was in short supply around the world yesterday…

“IN IRAN, newspapers reported the release of the 15 British hostages with glee. The conservative Resalat daily called the affair ‘a slap in the face’ for ‘those countries that think they can violate Iran’s territory’. The hardline Jam-e Jam declared: ‘Britain gave guarantees, soldiers were released. Iran could skillfully humiliate the West in this incident.’…

“IN SAUDI ARABIA, which has troubled relations with Iran, newspapers voiced the widespread suspicion that a deal had been struck over the 15 Britons. ‘Whatever spin the British may be putting on the release of their 15 naval personnel… the whole incident has become a triumph for the Iranians,’ said Arab News, an influential English language daily.

“IN THE U.S.,… The Wall Street Journal said the Iranian objective had been to humiliate Tony Blair…

“IN ISRAEL, a headline in the Jerusalem Post declared: ‘Iran Shows Up Britain’s Weakness.’…

“IN ITALY, the leading daily Corriere della Sera said in an editorial: ‘… it seems that Great Britain [has] negotiated a deal with Tehran.’

“IN HOLLAND, De Volkskrant agreed.

“IN FRANCE, influential broadsheet Le Figaro gloatingly told its readers of Britain’s sense of shame at the outcome of the hostage crisis. The paper showed front covers of… daily papers under the headline ‘Britain has been humiliated!’

“IN AUSTRALIA, the Sydney Morning Herald said the hostage saga had been ‘too horribly familiar’ and that Tony Blair’s protests seemed ‘hollow’ because he has supported the U.S. over Guantanamo and CIA renditions. In the case of the sailors there had been ‘release after coerced confessions and guilty pleas’.”

Iran Defies the World

Der Spiegel Online wrote on April 10:

“The international community has sharply condemned Iran for announcing on Monday, its ‘National Day of Nuclear Technology’, that it had begun industrial-scale nuclear fuel production. The move is a fresh snub to the UN Security Council.

“Iran’s ‘National Day of Nuclear Technology’ didn’t give the international community much to celebrate this year. Russia called Iran’s announcement that it had begun industrial-scale nuclear fuel production a ‘provocation,’ the United States said it was a further sign of Iran’s defiance of the international community, and the United Nations urged Iran to engage in dialogue.

“Tehran on Monday announced it had achieved a major expansion of uranium enrichment and begun operating 3,000 centrifuges — nearly 10 times the previously known number — in defiance of UN demands it halt its nuclear program or face increased sanctions…

“Iran’s announcement marks a shift from experimental atomic fuel work involving a few hundred centrifuges used for enriching uranium to a process that will involve thousands of machines. Western nations fear enrichment will bring Tehran closer to building atomic bombs. Iran, the world’s fourth-largest oil exporter, says it only wants the fuel to produce electricity so it can export more of its oil and gas. US analysts say 3,000 centrifuges are in theory enough to produce sufficient fissile material for a nuclear weapon, perhaps even within a year…

“The move showed Iran was ‘definitively going in the wrong direction,’ said the Foreign Ministry in Germany, which currently holds the European Union presidency. A foreign policy spokesman for Germany’s ruling conservative Christian Democrats, Eckart von Klaeden, said Iran posed the biggest threat to international security… Iran’s top nuclear negotiator, Ali Larijani, warned that if the UN imposes further sanctions, Iran may reconsider how much it cooperates with the UN’s nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. The IAEA has been conducting inspections at a number of Iran’s nuclear sites. Larijani… added that the West must accept that its nuclear program is a fact and rejected halting enrichment as a precondition for talks.”

More Bad News for the U.S. Dollar

WorldNetDaily wrote on April 11:

“While the world press has focused on Iran’s plans to move ahead with enriching uranium, Tehran continues to wage economic war against the U.S. dollar behind the scenes.

“Tehran has reached a decision to end all oil sales in dollars, according to statements by Iran’s central bank governor… in Kuala Lumpur at the end of last month. Zhuhai Zhenrong Trading, a Chinese state-run company that buys 240,000 barrels of oil per day from Iran, approximately 10 percent of Iran’s 2.2 million barrels per day total output, has confirmed a shift to the euro for its Iranian oil purchases…

“Meanwhile, China which now holds $1 trillion in foreign reserve holdings, announced March 20 it will no longer accumulate foreign exchange reserves. This is more bad news for the dollar, since approximately 70 percent of China’s $1 trillion in foreign reserve holdings are held in U.S. dollar assets… The dollar has lost 9 percent of its value against the euro in the last year and is down 35 percent against the euro in the last five years.”

China and Japan Want Reconciliation

AsiaNews.It wrote on April 11:

“Starting today through to April 13th the Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao is in Japan on a state visit which observers describe as a milestone in the journey towards reconciliation between East Asia’s two super powers… There are three events which give particular meaning to Wen’s trip to Japan: talks with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe; his speech to the Diet, the first ever made by a Chinese leader; his audience with the Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko at the imperial palace… The event is of great importance on a geopolitical level, both in an East Asian and world context.”

China and Japan will ultimately work closely together. In fact, according to Biblical prophecy, they will become part of a power bloc which will also be joined by Russia and India, among other Asian nations.

France, UK and Germany’s Increased Powers

The EUObserver wrote on April 5:

“Despite recent enlargement, the biggest EU states – France, the UK and Germany – have increased their power over EU decision-making, a Swedish study suggests. But Italy is punching below its weight, while sheer charisma helps some small EU countries boost their influence.

“The overcrowded negotiating table in the European Council – EU leaders’ meetings which normally take place four times a year – has made the bloc’s big players more eager to pool their powers in coalitions and bilateral agreements where size really matters, the report ‘Bargaining power in the European Council’ says… Despite the two recent enlargement rounds, France, Great Britain and Germany have grabbed more influence over EU decision-making, although formally, all member states have equal say, the report concludes.

“‘The European Council is a rather inhospitable environment for small and medium sized member states,’ the study’s author [Mr. Tallberg] stated in Brussels, explaining that the nature of the European Council, with negotiations carried out behind locked doors, offers greater leeway for power politics than any other EU institution. ‘The presidency gets together with the large member states and settles the matter among them, and then they ask the other states if they are in or not,’ Mr Tallberg explained.

“The report quotes Luxembourg prime minister Jean-Claude Juncker as saying that ‘greater member states have a greater say. We never admit it, of course, but one has to acknowledge that geography and demography are playing a role.’…

“Finally, an important factor for gaining bargaining power in the council is the personal qualities of EU leaders and their ability to generate authority, respect and trust among their European colleagues.”

The article also pointed out that presently, “Germany has relatively little say in matters of defence, due to its limited military capacity despite its position as the largest EU member state.” However, when a charismatic German or Austrian leader will arise on the world scene, that situation will dramatically change. For more information, please read our free booklet, “Europe in Prophecy.”

Do Millions of Bees Die Because of Pesticides?

AFP reported on April 6:

“US beekeepers have been stung in recent months by the mysterious disappearance of millions of bees threatening honey supplies as well as crops which depend on the insects for pollination. Bee numbers on parts of the east coast and in Texas have fallen by more than 70 percent, while California has seen colonies drop by 30 to 60 percent. According to estimates from the US Department of Agriculture, bees are vanishing across a total of 22 states, and for the time being no one really knows why…

“The situation is so bad, that beekeepers are now calling for some kind of government intervention, warning the flight of the bees could be catastrophic for crop growers. Domestic bees are essential for pollinating some 90 varieties of vegetables and fruits, such as apples, avocados, and blueberries and cherries…

“Scientists… believe… [that] a new kind of chemical product… could be weakening the insects’ immune systems. The finger of suspicion is being pointed at agriculture pesticides such as the widely-used neonicotinoides, which are already known to be poisonous to bees. France saw a huge fall in its bee population in the 1990s, blamed on the insecticide Gaucho which has now been banned in the country.”

If true, this would be another example of the incredible foolishness of man.

Politicians Influence and Respond to Second Part of UN Report on Global Warming

Der Spiegel Online wrote on April 6:

“Climate change in the coming century may lead to disasters ranging from famine in Africa to the thinning of Himalayan glaciers, according to the long-awaited second part of an extensive United Nations report on global warming. More than 100 countries represented in the UN’s panel on climate change spent a tense Thursday night in Brussels trying to agree unanimously on the language of a final draft.

“The report, prepared by more than 2,500 scientists for the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), provides the first confirmation from the entire international scientific community that the burning of fossil fuels by humans is one of the main culprits of global warming…

“The report claims that global warming will lead to desertification, droughts and rising seas and that those living in the tropics will be the worst hit — from sub-Saharan Africa to the Pacific islands. Billions could face water shortages, and ocean levels might rise for centuries to come. It could lead to a sharp drop in crop yields in Africa and bring heatwaves to Europe and North America. Europe’s Alpine glaciers will disappear and much of the coral that comprises Australia’s Great Barrier Reef will die from bleaching.

“The scientific conclusions — based on 29,000 sets of data — also said that up to 30 percent of the Earth’s species faced a higher risk of vanishing if global temperatures rise 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) above the average in the 1980s and ’90s…

“The contents of the report, most of which had already been leaked to the media in recent weeks, prompted political leaders to call for action, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel. ‘The report confirms that climate change is a fact,’ Merkel told the Munich daily Süddeutsche Zeitung. ‘That’s why we need quick and determined action to limit the rise in temperatures worldwide and reduce emissions of carbon dioxide. I will also address the issue at the G-8 summit. My aim is, insofar as possible, to involve all states in taking responsibility for climate protection.’

“Merkel said she hoped recent European Union actions might help to push China and the United States — the world’s two largest sources of greenhouse gases — to do more to reduce emissions. In March the EU’s 27 member states agreed [to] cut greenhouse gas emission by at least 20 percent from 1990 levels over the next 13 years. In addition, it agreed that at least one-fifth of all of the EU’s energy would come from renewable sources by 2020…

“Originally, the report was to be released on Friday morning at 10 a.m., but the presentation was delayed for hours as heated discussions continued as countries like China, Russia and the US continued to lobby for the removal of parts of the report. US delegates also opposed a passage warning of the prospects of ‘severe economic damage’ to parts of North America. But the main tension in Brussels between some authors of the report and some political representatives was not over the scientific findings, but over a 21-page summary that would be shown to policymakers.

“Earlier this week, the summary said scientists had ‘very high confidence’ that natural systems around the world ‘are being affected by regional climate changes, particularly temperature increases.’ ‘Very high confidence,’ in the language used by the report, translates to a 90 percent certainty. Delegates from China and Saudi Arabia lobbied for ‘high confidence’ instead, or 80 percent certainty — and after a dramatic hours-long protest by three scientists on Thursday night, the milder language went in. ‘The authors lost,’ said one of the scientists. ‘A lot of authors are not going to engage in the IPCC (International Panel on Climate Change) process anymore. I have had it with them,’ he told the Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

“Though Washington and Beijing ultimately succeeded in changing very little of the text, the political tug o’ war drew sharp criticism in Germany. ‘We are happy that we were able to prevent this kind of scientific vandalism in the end,’ Environment Minister Sigmar Gabriel told Reuters TV. ‘The people have a right to find out about the consequences that threaten them if we are unable to stop climate change.'”

Historic Cold Weather in Charlotte, N.C.

Charlotte.com reported on April 9:

“A historic cold weather outbreak shattered records this morning in Charlotte and elsewhere in the Carolinas, producing bone-chilling conditions for Easter sunrise services… The polar air outbreak that began Thursday reached the bottom this morning, when temperatures dropped to 21 degrees at 7 a.m. at Charlotte/Douglas International Airport. That not only broke the low-temperature record for the date, but it was the coldest for any April day in Charlotte history… Sleet fell Saturday afternoon in parts of Texas, including the Dallas and Austin metropolitan areas. It was the first time in 70 years that frozen precipitation fell in April in those areas.”

Quake Lifts Island Out of the Sea

AFP reported on April 7:

“The seismic jolt that unleashed the deadly Solomons tsunami this week lifted an entire island metres out of the sea, destroying some of the world’s most pristine coral reefs. In an instant, the grinding of the Earth’s tectonic plates in the 8.0 magnitude earthquake Monday forced the island of Ranongga up three metres (10 foot).

“Submerged reefs that once attracted scuba divers from around the globe lie exposed and dying after the quake raised the mountainous landmass, which is 32-kilometres (20-miles) long and 8-kilometres (5-miles) wide.”

This occurrence reminds us–as a very tiny and small forerunner–of prophesied powerful earthquakes in the future, when “every mountain and island” will be “moved out of its place” (Revelation 6:14; compare, too, Revelation 16:20).

A Spooky Apparition in Rome

The Daily Mail reported on March 30:

“When retired policeman Andy Key went on a trip to Rome, he was struck by the beauty of sunlight streaming through a window in the Vatican. As the Pope made an address nearby, he decided to capture the stunning image on his camera. But it was only when Mr Key, 48, and his wife Susan, 44, returned home and downloaded their photographs that they noticed a strange apparition in the picture.”

The article added: “Professional photographers have studied Mr Key’s photo and are at a loss to explain what may have caused the image.”

The article speculated that this “apparition” might have been the picture of an “guardian angel.” However, Key was also quoted as saying: “I snapped the picture and didn’t notice anything until I got home. It looks almost like a hologram. I thought it was really spooky.”

The article published several pictures of that “apparition.” We would agree that “spooky” would be the operative word. The Bible has much to say about “apparitions,” but they are not in any way connected with God’s holy angels. For more information, please read our free booklet, “Angels, Demons and the Spirit World.”

This is absolutely incorrect. Under the law, you are entitled to be excused from serving on a jury, if you have sincere religious convictions, based on the Bible, which prevent you from serving on a jury. You might be excused by a clerk, once you make your request in writing, or you may be required to appear before a judge to explain to him or her your sincere religious convictions. Our Q&A in Update # 66 (Update ending Friday, November 8, 2002), explains in detail the grounds for Biblical refusal to serve on a jury.

It is true that some clerks have taken the incorrect position that the law prohibits them to excuse you from serving because of religious reasons. However, once their misapplication of the law was explained to them, sincere Christians opposed to serving on the jury were ultimately excused.

To help you better understand the legal application of the issue, we are setting forth below excerpts from a letter with which we provide the courts in relevant cases. This document sets forth the legal rights of sincere Christians who refuse to serve on a jury because of their sincere religious convictions, which are based on Biblical grounds and the Church’s teachings. Please understand that a potential juror may be able to raise additional grounds justifying his excuse from jury duty, but we are limiting this discussion to excuse because of religious convictions:

“[The potential juror’s] convictions are in accordance with the Church’s teachings in this regard [of jury duty]. Further, based on [the potential juror’s] convictions, it is the Church’s position that [the potential juror] would sin if [the potential juror] were to serve on the jury, since the Bible teaches that everything, which is not of faith, is sin (Romans 14:23).

“I [a minister] also confirm that the Church of the Eternal God teaches its members against serving on a jury.

“In addition, a relevant case was decided several years ago. The Supreme Court for the state of Minnesota held that a member of the Worldwide Church of God (of which the Church of the Eternal God is an offspring), who had refused to serve on jury duty because of religious beliefs, was guilty of contempt for such refusal. The United States Supreme Court vacated the decision and remanded the case back to the Minnesota Supreme Court. The Minnesota Supreme Court, taking its cue from the United States Supreme Court, then reversed itself and held that the Church member would not be required to serve because of her religious conviction. The citations to the primary case are, In re Jenison, 375 U.S. 14, 84 S.Ct. 63, 11 L.ed. 2d 39 (1963), and In re Jenison, 125 N.W. 2d 588 (1963).

“Two other cases which are in agreement with the Jenison court are State vs. Everly, 146 S.E. 2d 705 (1966) (by the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia) and U.S. vs. Hillyard, 52 Fed.Sup. 612 (1943, E.D. Wash.).

“Section 204 of California Code of Civil Procedure [or relevant similar sections in other jurisdictions] does not prohibit you excusing a potential juror because of his or her religious convictions. It states that an eligible person ‘shall not be exempt from service as a trial juror by reason of occupation, race, color, religion, sex, national origin, or economic status, or for any other reason.’

“This law prohibits discrimination against potential jurors, who are willing to serve. This law is in compliance with the U.S. Constitution, prohibiting the states to discriminate against persons because of their race, color, religion, sex, national origin, economic status, or occupation. This law serves as a shield, but not as a sword. For instance, it prohibits a judge to excuse or disqualify a female black juror, because the judge only wants white male men on his jury. As stated, this law does not prohibit excusing a potential juror because of his or her religious conviction preventing the juror to serve on the jury—otherwise; it would be in violation of the US Constitution. It would also be inconsistent with the remainder of the statute, as it says that a juror cannot be excused ‘for any other reason,’ while that statute itself allows excuse under certain circumstances (for instance, if the juror is physically handicapped, too old, or if there is financial hardship).

“In this regard, notice should be taken of the following decisions:

“‘[W]here the [government] has in place a system of individual exemptions [as is the case in California regarding jury duty, such as disabled persons, financial hardship, etc.], it may not refuse to extend that system to cases of “religious hardship without compelling reason.”‘” Employment Division, Dept. of Human Resources of Oregon v. Smith, 494 U.S. 872, 884 (1990). See also, City of Chicago, 342 F.3d at 764. Such a refusal ‘tends to exhibit hostility, not neutrality, towards religion.’ Bowen v. Roy, 476 U.S. 693, 708 (1986).

“In addition, as [the potential juror] is religiously opposed to swearing, the courts have held that a person who is opposed to swearing, because of his or her religious convictions, cannot be forced to swear or raise his or her right hand. (Compare United States of America v. Looper, 419 F. 2d 1405 (1969); Gordon v. State of Idaho, 778 F. 2d 1397 (9th Cir. 1985). This is especially true regarding a ‘juror’s oath’ in light of a recent—highly publicized—decision of the Colorado Supreme Court to the effect that jurors are not permitted to resort to the Bible during jury deliberations. Other reported cases have made it clear that a potential juror must obey the judge’s instructions to the jury, even though they might violate a juror’s individual conscience, which [the potential juror] could not do.”

It is critical to fully understand this issue, and our strong recommendation is that you also thoroughly familiarize yourself with the Biblical teachings that lead Christians to avoid jury participation.

Lead Writer: Norbert Link

A new member letter was written and posted on the Web. In the letter, Brian Gale discusses the importance to treasure our precious knowledge of the annual Holy Days, and what they picture.

A new StandingWatch program was recorded and posted on Google Video. It is titled, “Why Britain’s Humiliation?” In the program, Norbert Link discusses the fact that the capture and subsequent release of 15 British sailors and marines was extremely embarrassing and humiliating for Great Britain, while Iran ended up victorious. The question is asked WHY it should be that Britain found itself all alone–with no real support from ANYONE.

On April 7, 2007, Kalon Mitchell and Michael Link will give split sermons, titled, “Human Nature” and “Hope, Faith and Love.” 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.

Monday, April 9, 2007, is the Last Day of Unleavened Bread. Norbert Link will give the sermon in the morning, titled, “How God Looks at Sin.”  Dave Harris will give the sermon in the afternoon, titled, “Walls.”

The services can be heard at www.cognetservices.org at 9:00 am and 2:00 pm Pacific Time (which is 11:00 am and 4:00 pm Central Time). Just click on Connect to Live Stream.

Observing the Feast of Unleavened Bread–like all of the Holy Days of God–pictures fulfillments both past, present and future. This specific period is a time when we are not to have leavening in our homes or in any of the food we eat. Leavening symbolizes sin in this circumstance (1 Corinthians 5:6-8; Galatians 5:9).

For the Israelites, coming out of slavery and idolatry–their “leavening”–was departure from Egypt. In turn, Egypt was a type of the world and its system that exists under the powerful influence of Satan. John drew a contrast between those called out of the world and those Satan rules: “We know that we are of God, and the WHOLE WORLD lies under the sway of the wicked one” (1 John 5:19).

Sin doesn’t just exist in small doses–it permeates our societies! Sin is a WAY OF LIFE for Satan and those he influences. What is sin? It is lawlessness–it is the breaking of and disobedience to God’s perfect laws (Compare 1 John 3:4). Even our dictionaries define sin as something “shameful, deplorable, or utterly wrong.”

No greater lie has been told by Satan than to convince mankind that they don’t have to obey God! This has been the case throughout history, and it is the circumstance that Jesus warned would overwhelm people just before His return: “‘And because  LAWLESSNESS WILL ABOUND, the love of many will grow cold'” (Matthew 24:12).

Sin destroys love, while obedience causes love to grow!

As we continue to observe this Feast of Unleavened Bread, let’s carry forward the true meaning of removing leavening by getting rid of sin as well! The way to do this is to diligently seek to obey God–to walk in the footsteps of Jesus Christ and to also live our lives without sin!

Two Highly Controversial US Supreme Court Decisions

— Bush Administration Loses on Global Warming…

In one controversial decision, the US Supreme Court disagreed with the Bush Administration on issues related to global warming.

Reuters reported on April 2:

“In a defeat for the Bush administration, the Supreme Court ruled on Monday that a U.S. government agency has the power to regulate greenhouse gas emissions that spur global warming. By a 5-4 vote, the nation’s highest court said the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency [EPA] ‘has offered no reasoned explanation’ for its refusal to regulate carbon dioxide and other emissions from new cars and trucks that contribute to climate change. The ruling in one of the most important environmental cases to reach the Supreme Court marked the first high court decision in a case involving global warming. President George W. Bush has opposed mandatory controls on greenhouse gases as harmful to the U.S. economy, and the administration has called for voluntary programs instead of regulation. The states and environmental groups that brought the lawsuit hailed the ruling…

“Writing for the court majority, Justice John Paul Stevens… said the EPA can avoid regulation only if it determined that the gases do not contribute to climate change or if it provided a reasonable explanation. ‘If the scientific uncertainty is so profound that it precludes EPA from making a reasoned judgment as to whether greenhouse cases contribute to global warming, EPA must say so,’ he said…

“The court’s four most conservative members — Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito, both Bush appointees, and Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas — dissented. They said the environmental groups and the states lacked the legal right to bring the lawsuit in the first place. ‘No matter how important the underlying policy issues at stake, this court has no business substituting its own desired outcome for the reasoned judgment of the responsible agency,’ Scalia wrote.”

— But Wins on “Enemy Combatants”…

In another highly controversial decision, which appears to be inconsistent with prior renderings of the same court, the US Supreme Court sided with the Bush Administration on issues related to the retention of alleged “enemy combatants” without indictment, due process or trial.

AFP reported on April 2:

‘The US Supreme Court Monday decided dozens of Guantanamo Bay prisoners had no right to challenge their detention in federal court, handing the Bush administration a major victory for its ‘war on terror’ legal strategy. Only three of the nine judges on the court said they would be prepared to examine the… petition [which] was filed on behalf of inmates of the Guantanamo camp in Cuba, who have little prospect of facing formal charges, a tribunal or a return to their home countries… Monday’s decision was the latest dramatic legal chapter in a fiery debate over the treatment of Guantanamo inmates that brought the ‘war on terror’ into conflict with civil liberties provisions of the US constitution.”

The Associated Press added on April 2:

“… none of the roughly 385 detainees has yet had a hearing in a civilian court challenging his detention because the administration has moved aggressively to limit the legal rights of prisoners it has labeled as enemy combatants… ‘This is a perfect example of justice delayed is justice denied,’ said Washington lawyer Tom Wilner, who has represented Guantanamo detainees since May 2002. ‘All these people ever wanted was a fair hearing.’… ‘We’re disappointed and for us this is a delay that is unconscionable,’ said Michael Ratner, president of the Center for Constitutional Rights, which has led the fight to gain court access for the detainees…

“In 2004, the justices ruled that the courts can hear the detainees’ cases, saying that prisoners under U.S. control have access to civilian courts, no matter where they are being held…

“In 2006, the justices ruled that President Bush’s plan for military war crimes trials, envisioned for a small number of Guantanamo Bay detainees, is illegal under U.S. and international law… After the justices’ ruling in 2006, CONGRESS… enacted the law which blocked detainees from coming into U.S. courts and established new rules for the military trials.”

Tsunami Devastates Solomon Islands

The Associated Press reported on April 2:

“Tsunamis triggered by an undersea earthquake crashed ashore in the Solomon Islands on Monday, wiping away entire villages and setting off alerts from Australia to Hawaii, officials said. At least 13 people were killed, and the prime minister warned that the toll would likely grow. In the South Pacific nation’s west, where the devastation appeared the most dense, there were reports of people being swept away as waves plowed up to a half-mile inland. The magnitude-8 quake — the strongest to hit the archipelago in more than three decades — was followed by more than two dozen aftershocks, including at least four of magnitude-6 or stronger…

“The magnitude-8 quake struck shortly after 7:39 a.m. six miles beneath the sea floor, about 215 miles northwest of the Solomons capital, Honiara, the U.S. Geological Survey said. Within five minutes, waves 10-16 feet tall roared ashore and went up to half a mile inland, inundating buildings and sending thousands fleeing for higher ground, witnesses said… The Solomon Islands is an impoverished archipelago of more than 200 islands northeast of Australia, with a population of about 552,000 people, that lies on the Pacific Basin’s so-called ‘Ring of Fire,’ an arc of volcanos and fault lines where quakes frequently happen. The last time a quake this strong struck the Solomon Islands was in 1971, when it was struck by a pair of magnitudes 8 and 8.1 temblors.

“Monday’s earthquake occurred when the Australian tectonic plate suddenly dived beneath the Pacific plate, said David Wald of the USGS National Earthquake Information Center in Colorado… In 2004, a magnitude-9 quake sent tsunami waves slamming into the coastlines of a dozen countries around the Indian Ocean’s rim, killing about 230,000 people.”

Europe Angry at USA and Australia

AFP reported on April 2:

“European anger at the United States and Australia, the only two major countries to reject the Kyoto Protocol on greenhouse gases, spilled over here on Monday as UN scientists prepared to deliver a damning report on climate change… As the four-day meeting got underway, European Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas spelt out the latest plans for cutting European Union (EU) greenhouse-gas emissions through ever-tighter, legally binding curbs. He compared that with the voluntary approach of the United States, which he bluntly named ‘the number one emitter in the world.’ ‘(The US) approach doesn’t help in reaching international agreement and doesn’t reduce (US) emissions, because they are right now 60 percent above the 1990 level,’ Dimas observed tartly… ‘We expect the US to come closer and NOT TO CONTINUE WITH A NEGATIVE ATTITUDE in international negotiations… it’s absolutely necessary that they move.’…

“The EU championed the Kyoto Protocol after it was abandoned by the United States in March 2001. It sets the only specific global target for reducing carbon emissions… the treaty has been almost crippled by the absence of the United States, which alone accounts for about a quarter of all this pollution. President George W. Bush, in one of his first acts in office, said he would not put the draft to the US Senate for ratification. Bush said US commitments under Kyoto were too costly and the accord was unfair, as only industrialised countries — and not fast-growing large developing ones such as China and India — are bound to make targeted cuts. Australia has followed the United States in refusing to ratify Kyoto… EU leaders last month vowed to unilaterally cut the 27-nation bloc’s emissions by 20 percent by 2020 compared with 1990 and deepen this to 30 percent if other partners follow suit. But, to EUROPEAN FRUSTRATION, that offer has so far found no echo — and the US-Australian pitch for a voluntary approach is seen in some quarters as a spoiling tactic.”

The Iran Crisis–Iran “Pardons” British Sailors

On April 4, The Associated Press reported about an announcement by the Iranian government to release 15 British sailors. The article explained:

“President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad defused a growing confrontation with Britain, announcing the surprise release of 15 captive British sailors Wednesday and then gleefully accepting the crew’s thanks and handshakes… The announcement in Tehran was a breakthrough in a crisis that had escalated over nearly two weeks, raising oil prices and fears of military conflict in the volatile region. The move to release the sailors suggested that Iran’s hard-line leadership decided it had shown its strength but did not want to push the standoff too far… Syria, Iran’s close ally, said it played a role in winning the release… Ahmadinejad… declared that even though Iran had the right to put the Britons on trial, he had ‘pardoned’ them to mark the March 30 birthday of the Prophet Muhammad and the coming Easter holidays… During Ahmadinejad’s news conference, the hardline president said Britain had sent a letter to the Iranian Foreign Ministry pledging that entering Iranian waters ‘will not happen again.’ … the standoff showed that Tehran has ways to push back after the U.S. and Britain beefed up their military presence in the Persian Gulf this year.”

In spite of the announcement of the release, the recent crisis has revealed remarkable frightening and embarrassing developments for Great Britain, Europe, as well as the United States, as the following articles show.

The Iran Crisis–Britain Left Without Real Support

On April 2, Der Spiegel Online discussed the controversy between Iran and Britain in its article, titled, “A Dangerous Game of Power and Propaganda.”

The magazine wrote:

“In the drama surrounding the 15 captured British sailors, Tehran is resorting to propaganda while London is relying on the West for support… British Prime Minister Tony Blair was quick to register his ‘disgust’ with the Iranians’ parading of his country’s sailors on television. He had frozen his government’s relations with Tehran the day before. On Sunday about 200 Iranian students threw firecrackers and bricks into the British embassy compound. On Monday Iranian television showed fresh footage of the naval personnel, saying they had all admitted to entering Iran illegally…

“Ali Larijani, the Iranian national security advisor, criticized London’s alarmism and called it ‘stupid and misplaced’ — as if hostage taking hasn’t already been a hallmark of Tehran’s foreign policy for decades. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad demanded an ‘apology.’ London, for its part, threatened Iran with more than just diplomatic action if it did not promptly release the British hostages. The markets, the most important seismograph when it comes to earthquakes on the international political front, reacted immediately, and the oil price began creeping back up to the $70 level.

“In the past this would have been enough to start a war, with one power provoking and another being forced to take action — if only to avoid losing face. In the last century, the game the Iranians were playing with the British at the mouth of the Shatt al-Arab would have been a classic maneuver designed to produce one outcome: war…

“British Prime Minister Tony Blair OUGHT TO HAVE NO TROUBLE GAINING ALLIES against a country under as much international pressure as Iran and securing the prompt release of the prisoners. BUT THIS ISN’T THE CASE, because the simple question the British face from enemies and, indirectly, from friends is this: Why exactly are you in the Gulf region in the first place? LIKE AN EVIL CURSE, the war George W. Bush and Blair launched against Iraq is heightening tensions throughout the region with each month that passes. Knowing that most countries question the legitimacy of the Western presence, Ahmadinejad can take full advantage of the crisis. That starts with no longer having to pay serious attention to threats from Bush or Blair, leaders generally regarded as too weak to engage in another showdown.

“Under these circumstances, it was to be expected that Blair and Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett believed, in the first days after the kidnapping incident, that bilateral contacts would be the best way to gain the prisoners’ release… But by Tuesday, the fifth day of the hostage crisis, the climate at home in Britain had changed. The London Times clamored over the ‘pusillanimous timidity of British officials and politicians, who have failed disgracefully to confront Iran with the ultimatum this flagrant aggression demands.’… Blair was in a tight spot. He had warned the Iranians against parading their hostages on TV, as they had done in a comparable case in 2004, but his warning merely encouraged the Iranians to do just that…

“By then the time to err on the side of caution had ended, at least for the British. London asked its European friends for their support, asked its Middle Eastern partners to mediate and even appealed to pro-Iranian groups Hezbollah and Hamas for their help. When the British asked the UN Security Council to condemn the kidnappings they were dealt their FIRST PAINFUL DEFEAT in the current crisis. Instead of complying with the British request, the Security Council merely voiced its ‘deep concern’ over the affair. Russia, a veto power, suggested that the two parties to the conflict return to bilateral negotiations. Nevertheless, at a meeting last Friday in Bremen, which had actually been convened to discuss tentative signs of improvement in the Middle East conflict, the EU foreign ministers lent their support to London and asked their chief diplomat Javier Solana to appeal to the Iranian president. However, NO ONE IN BREMEN MENTIONED ANYTHING ABOUT OTHER EU COUNTRIES FOLLOWING IN BRITAIN’S FOOTSTEPS AND PUTTING THEIR RELATIONS WITH IRAN ON ICE until the prisoners are released.”

The Iran Crisis–Prompted by USA?

Britain’s The Independent wrote on April 3, 2007:

“The botched US raid… led to the hostage crisis,” continuing: “How a bid to kidnap Iranian security officials sparked a diplomatic crisis.”

The newspaper pointed out:

“A failed American attempt to abduct two senior Iranian security officers on an OFFICIAL visit to northern Iraq was the starting pistol for a crisis that 10 weeks later led to Iranians seizing 15 British sailors and Marines… The aim of the raid, launched without informing the Kurdish authorities, was to seize two men at the very heart of the Iranian security establishment. Better understanding of the seriousness of the US action in Arbil – and the angry Iranian response to it – should have led Downing Street and the Ministry of Defence to realise that Iran was likely to retaliate against American or British forces such as highly vulnerable Navy search parties in the Gulf… The two men were in Kurdistan on an official visit during which they met the Iraqi President, Jalal Talabani, and later saw Massoud Barzani, the President of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), at his mountain headquarters overlooking Arbil… The attempt by the US to seize the two high-ranking Iranian security officers openly meeting with Iraqi leaders is somewhat as if Iran had tried to kidnap the heads of the CIA and MI6 while they were on an official visit to a country neighbouring Iran, such as Pakistan or Afghanistan…

“US officials in Washington subsequently claimed that the five Iranian officials they did seize, who have not been seen since, were ‘suspected of being closely tied to activities targeting Iraq and coalition forces’. This explanation never made much sense. No member of the US-led coalition has been killed in Arbil and there were no Sunni-Arab insurgents or Shia militiamen there.

“The raid on Arbil took place within hours of President George Bush making an address to the nation on 10 January in which he claimed: ‘Iran is providing material support for attacks on American troops.’ He identified Iran and Syria as America’s main enemies in Iraq though the four-year-old guerrilla war against US-led forces is being conducted by the strongly anti-Iranian Sunni-Arab community…

“The raid in Arbil was a FAR MORE SERIOUS AND AGGRESSIVE ACT. It was not carried out by proxies but by US forces directly. The abortive Arbil raid PROVOKED A DANGEROUS ESCALATION in the confrontation between the US and Iran which ultimately led to the capture of the 15 British sailors and Marines – apparently considered a more vulnerable coalition target than their American comrades.”

Is the USA Losing Another Ally?

The Australian News reported on April 2:

“One of the most enduring strategic relationships in the Middle East is showing signs of serious strain, after a series of public accusations and diplomatic snubs by Saudi Arabia against its erstwhile allies in Washington. The row came to a head last week when King Abdullah, the Saudi monarch, used his opening speech at the Arab League summit to CONDEMN THE OCCUPATION OF IRAQ AS ILLEGAL, and went on to declare that the ARAB WORLD WOULD NOT ALLOW FOREIGN FORCES TO DETERMINE THE FUTURE OF THE REGION… The Bush administration was put out by the comments from a ruler regarded as a close friend by George W. Bush and the President’s father, George Sr.

“… the clash over Iraq follows a spate of recent incidents suggesting the damage to the relationship extends beyond this issue. Prince Bandar bin Sultan, the Saudi national security adviser, flew to Washington last week to offer King Abdullah’s apologies that he would not be able to attend a state dinner in his honour at the White House this month. No reason was offered for the snub, but observers suggest the Saudis may be DISTANCING THEMSELVES FROM WASHINGTON in a bid to improve their standing in the region.”

Why do the USA and Great Britain find themselves–more and more–isolated and alone on the political world scene? You will find the surprising answers in our free booklet, “The Fall and Rise of Britain and America.”

Germany Sends Fighter Jets to Afghanistan

Der Spiegel Online wrote on April 3:

“Germany on Monday increased its contribution to the NATO force in Afghanistan by deploying six Tornado jets. The planes will be used for reconnaissance in southern Afghanistan, where the Taliban insurgency threatens international peacekeepers and Afghan citizens alike… Germany has refused to send Bundeswehr troops into southern Afghanistan — a stance that has at times drawn criticism from its international ISAF partners. A recent TNS poll taken for SPIEGEL showed that 57 percent of Germans believe the country should withdraw its troops from Afghanistan as soon as possible.

“With public support waning, [German Minister of Defense, Franz Josef ] Jung took pains Monday to express the restricted role the Tornados will play. The Tornados, he said, would aid in the fight against the Taliban, but he cautioned that efforts would be taken to ensure that the civilian population was not harmed in operations that benefited from the reconnaissance. And while the Tornados will be equipped with weapons, they will only be used in cases of self-defense.”

As in every war, such a “noble” position is simply impossible to maintain. There WILL be casualties, to be sure, and the big question is, how will the Germans react when that happens?

Crisis in Ukraine

Der Spiegel Online reported on April 3:

“Ukraine has plunged into its most serious political crisis since the 2004 Orange Revolution. A shaky truce between pro-Western and pro-Russian camps has broken after President Yushchenko ordered parliament to be dissolved… Ukraine’s simmering internal power struggle has escalated into a dangerous stand-off after PRO-WESTERN President Viktor Yushchenko signed a decree to dissolve parliament and called new elections, a decision the assembly said was akin to a coup.

“The United States called on both sides to remain calm as PRO-RUSSIAN Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych, supported by the parliament, urged Yushchenko to withdraw the decree or risk plunging the country into an uncertain future. Parliament says it will withhold government funding for the election, scheduled for May 27… ‘I have signed a decree today to disband parliament. I have taken this decision in line with the constitution,’ Yushchenko announced on Monday. ‘My actions were prompted by a crucial need to preserve the state, its sovereignty and territorial integrity.’ Parliament said the decree ‘bears all the signs of a step towards a coup d’etat’ and said the chamber would defy it…”

Very Active Hurricane Season Predicted

The Associated Press reported on April 3:

“The 2007 Atlantic hurricane season should be ‘very active,’ with nine hurricanes and a good chance that at least one major hurricane will hit the U.S. coast, a top researcher said Tuesday. Forecaster William Gray said he expects 17 named storms in all this year, five of them major hurricanes with sustained winds of 111 mph or greater. The probability of a major hurricane making landfall on the U.S. coast this year: 74 percent, compared with the average of 52 percent over the past century, he said.

“Last year, Gray’s forecast and government forecasts were higher than what the Atlantic hurricane season produced. There were 10 named Atlantic storms in 2006 and five hurricanes, two of them major, in what was considered a ‘near normal’ season. None of those hurricanes hit the U.S. Atlantic coast — only the 11th time that has occurred since 1945. The National Hurricane Center in Miami originally reported nine storms, but upgraded one storm after a post-season review.

“Gray’s research team at Colorado State University said an UNEXPECTED LATE EL NINO contributed to the calmer season last year. El Nino — a warming in the Pacific Ocean — has far-reaching effects that include changing wind patterns in the eastern Atlantic, which can disrupt the formation of hurricanes there.

“A weak to moderate El Nino occurred in December and January but dissipated rapidly, said Phil Klotzbach, a member of Gray’s team. ‘We do not think that’s going to be an inhibiting factor this year,’ Klotzbach said.

“The team’s forecasts are based on global oceanic and atmospheric conditions. The Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to Nov. 30, averages 9.6 named storms, 5.9 hurricanes and 2.3 intense hurricanes per year. The devastating 2005 season set a record with 28 named storms, 15 of them hurricanes. Four of those hurricanes hit the U.S. coast, the worst among them Katrina, which devastated New Orleans and leveled parts of the Gulf Coast region. Gray has spent more than 40 years in tropical weather research. He heads the Tropical Meteorology Project at Colorado State.”

Strange Beliefs of Orthodox Christianity

The Associated Press reported on April 2 about some rather strange comments by Pope Benedict XVI–leaving the reader wondering whether the pope was speaking “in jest”–or whether he was actually serious. In commenting on the anticipated declaration of sainthood of late Pope John Paul II, the news report stated:

“Pope Benedict XVI said Monday he can already hear the voice of John Paul II among the saints, indicating on the second anniversary of his predecessor’s death that he too was fully in favor of canonization… In the communion of saints, it seems we can hear the living voice of our beloved John Paul II, who from the house of his father, we are sure, continues to accompany the Church,’ Benedict said.”

The article continued pointing out additional rather strange-sounding requirements for becoming a Roman Catholic saint:

“On Monday, the congregation also received documentation concerning the purported miraculous recovery of a French nun, Sister Marie-Simon-Pierre, who says she was cured of Parkinson’s disease after she prayed to John Paul. The Vatican’s complicated saint-making procedures require that a miracle attributed to the candidate’s intercession be confirmed before beatification. A second miracle after beatification is necessary for canonization. The Congregation for the Causes of Saints will appoint medical experts to determine if there are medical explanations for the nun’s recovery. Theologians will then determine if the cure came as a result of prayer to John Paul. If panels of bishops and cardinals agree John Paul led a virtuous life and that the nun was indeed miraculously cured, they will forward the case to Benedict. He will then decide if his predecessor deserves to be beatified.”

All of this sounds rather incredible to a Christian believing in the literal teachings of the Bible. According to Scripture, a converted Christian is called a saint–while still alive (Psalm 16:3; Colossians 1:2). When he dies, he does not ascend to heaven (John 3:13; Acts 2:34), but he sleeps the sleep of death until his resurrection (1 Thessalonians 4:13-17; 1 Corinthians 15:51-52; John 5:28-29; Daniel 12:2). For more information, please read our free booklet, “Do We Have an Immortal Soul?”

It is important to understand exactly WHO did resurrect Jesus Christ, and that the Scripture reveals the truth in this matter.

First of all, in the referenced verse in John 2:19, Jesus, as He oftentimes did, taught by means of an allegory and in this example He spoke of His own body as symbolic of the Temple (verse 21). This especially poignant parable was given by Jesus as the Jews were assembling to observe the Passover (Compare verse 13). A few years later, when the Jews did arrest Jesus, false accusations were made by some who thought that Jesus had spoken of the literal Temple in Jerusalem (Compare Matthew 26:60-61 and Mark 14:57-59). Additionally, Jesus was mocked by some even as He was crucified–challenging Him about His statement concerning the “Temple”(Matthew 27:40 and Mark 15:29).

Further proof that Jesus was referring to His own body is borne out in the later teachings of the Church of God. We see that Paul instructed Christians in Corinth about the fact that God dwells in us through His Spirit: “Or do you not know that your body is the TEMPLE of the Holy Spirit [which] is in you, [which] you have from God, and you are not your own?” (1 Corinthians 6:19).

In looking closely at the words of Jesus, we see that the true meaning that He was conveying is more properly understood as “Kill Me and I will rise in three days!” In fact, the word translated “raise” is also defined broadly by “Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible” as “to waken”; to “rouse”; to “rise”; or to “stand.” For a thorough explanation of this Scripture, please review our Q&A on John 2:19, in Update #202.

However, Jesus did not state that He would resurrect Himself! He understood what was written about Himself, and He believed God: “For You will not leave my soul in Sheol, Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption” (Psalm 16:10).

Following the resurrection of Jesus, we find the testimony of Peter who also quotes from Psalm 16, and he clearly states that God the Father raised Jesus from the dead. Speaking of David, Peter further explains: “‘Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, He would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne, he, foreseeing this, spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ, that His soul was not left in Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption. THIS JESUS GOD HAS RAISED UP, of which we are all witnesses” (Acts 2:30-32). Also, note this powerful statement by Peter in verse 36: “‘Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ'” (Compare Acts 3:15; 4:10; 5:30; 13:30; 13:37; 17:30-31).

When Jesus was crucified, He died! He died as all die. He was not conscious or aware, and He certainly did not live in the realm of spirit–something that He relinquished in order to become human flesh (Compare Philippians 2:5-8; John 16:27-28).

Here is what Solomon said of the dead: “…But the dead know nothing” (Ecclesiastes 9:5); also: “Then the dust will return to the earth as it was, And the spirit will return to God who gave it” (Ecclesiastes 12:7). In this context, consider these words from Jesus as He was dying: “And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said, “Father, ‘into Your hands I commit My spirit.'” Having said this, He breathed His last” (Luke 23:46). For more detailed information about the Biblical teaching concerning death, please refer to our booklet, “Do We Have an Immortal Soul?”

Jesus testified that He died: “‘I am He who lives, AND WAS DEAD, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death'” (Revelation 1:18; compare Romans 5:9).

Jesus relied on His Father to save Him! Here is the record of Jesus’ attitude about death: “who in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications, with vehement cries and tears to Him WHO WAS ABLE TO SAVE HIM FROM DEATH, and was heard because of His godly fear” (Hebrews 5:7). Jesus was not able to save Himself from death–only His Father could do this!

Jesus willingly died, and He said this of Himself: “‘Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father'” (John 10:17-18). This power–which word should be rendered more accurately as “authority,”– “to take it again”–or better, “receive it again”–was because of His sinless life and the sure promises of God. Yet, it was, as so many Scriptures testify, God the Father who resurrected His Son. Note Galatians 1:1: “Paul, an apostle (not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised Him from the dead…” Also note Acts 2:24 which states of Christ: “‘whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it.'”

The penalty of sin is death: “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23). It is vital to believe that Jesus Christ did not commit sin, and this is the true testimony of the Word of God: “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21). John states: “And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin” (1 John 3:5).

Understanding and believing the plain teachings of the Bible about Jesus Christ–about His life and death and His present glorified existence–are crucial for those who claim to follow Jesus! John identified a core aspect of Christianity in this way: “By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world” (1 John 4:2-3).

Acknowledging that Jesus came in the flesh also includes recognizing that Jesus died, and that it was God’s power that restored Him to life (Compare John 17:5; Philippians 2:9-11).

The future of all Christians–that is, our own resurrection to eternal life–will follow the same pattern as established by Jesus Christ! In this fact, it is imperative that we understand and faithfully believe that God the Father raised His Son from death through the power of His Holy Spirit. Think about and deeply consider this statement in Romans 8:11:

“But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit [which] dwells in you.”

Lead Writer: Dave Harris

Norbert Link’s video sermon, “The Life of Gideon,” was posted on Google Video. You can easily find it by going to Google Video and by entering into the search option, “Bible Study Gideon.”

On March 31, 2007, Norbert Link will use the time for the sermonette and announcements to emphasize, among other things, the need to examine ourselves, individually and collectively, prior to Passover.

Bill Grams will give the sermon, titled, “Abomination of Desolation.”

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.

On Sunday evening, April 1, 2007, is Passover.

On Monday evening, April 2, 2007, is the Night to Be Much Observed.

On Tuesday, April 3, 2007, is the First Day of Unleavened Bread. Dave Harris will give the sermon in the morning, titled, “Understand Why!” Norbert Link will give the sermon in the afternoon, titled, “How Do You Look At Sin?”

The services can be heard at www.cognetservices.org at 9:00 am and 2:00 pm Pacific Time (which is 11:00 am and 4:00 pm Central Time). Just click on Connect to Live Stream.

Are you discouraged? Are you frustrated and doubtful–perhaps so much so that you–a baptized member of the Church–are wondering whether you should partake of the annual Passover service this year? Are you tempted to give up?

At the same time, do you neglect to analyze your life–how you are doing?

The few remaining days prior to Passover especially are a time of self-reflection and analysis. The letter to the Hebrews helps us in meeting this challenge. In that epistle, Paul gives all of us life-saving admonitions and encouragement. He begins in Hebrews 2:1, by uttering this sober warning: “Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away.”

Paul cautions us not to take the truth of God for granted. Rather, we are to take great pains to retain and apply what we have been taught from God’s Word. It IS possible just to drift–to lose interest in God’s Way of Life–to find, instead, pleasure and excitement in what this world has to offer.

Paul asks us to consider very carefully our own persuasion and conviction, as well as the consequence of neglecting what we believe, know and understand, when he poses the question, “… how shall we escape if we NEGLECT so great a salvation?” (Hebrews 2:3). He warns us not to harden our hearts towards God’s teaching, especially during times of trial (Hebrews 3:8); not to “become weary and discouraged” (Hebrews 12:3); not to develop “an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God” (Hebrews 3:12); and not to “refuse Him who speaks” (Hebrews 12:25).

Because–it IS possible to neglect God’s Word; to begin to disobey Him and to reject the truth; and to depart from God. Unfortunately, MANY–over the centuries–have done just that; and Paul warns us not to follow their bad and deadly example. He encourages us to “be DILIGENT to enter that rest” of the Kingdom of God, “lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience” (Hebrews 4:11). He repeats the same warning and encouragement in Hebrews 6:11-12: “And we desire that each one of you show the same DILIGENCE to the full assurance of hope until the end, that you do not become sluggish [or “lazy”]…”

Have you become sluggish or lazy, in studying God’s Word, applying what you understand, and obeying His voice? Or, are you diligently and continuously doing your job as a Christian? It is easy to become sluggish in respect to regular prayer, Bible study, meditation and occasional fasting. And the more we neglect these vital ingredients of a Christian life, the more we WILL develop a HABIT of neglect–until we might not be willing any more to listen to God’s Word, as explained to us by His ministers.

That is an awfully dangerous trap into which one can fall.

Paul admonishes us in Hebrews 10:35-36: “Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. For you have need of ENDURANCE, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise.” He continues to encourage us in Hebrews 12:1: “… to lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with ENDURANCE the race that is set before us.”

Some brethren did not want to hear Paul’s admonition and warning, as some today may not want to read the words of this Editorial. But rather than refusing to hear, Paul encourages us today, as he encouraged the brethren at his time: “And I appeal to you, brethren, bear with the word of exhortation” (Hebrews 13:22).

We must examine ourselves to see whether our heart is right with God. And if it is, we can and will find help in times of need, as Paul clearly says: “… let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water” (Hebrews 10:22; compare Hebrews 4:16).

We can and should encourage each other in the process of our perfection (compare Hebrews 10:24-25). We should be “looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God” (Hebrews 12:15). And so, Paul was confident that “we are not of those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul” (Hebrews 10:39).

Some, however, did fall away during Paul’s time; many did over the centuries; and some will still fall away before Christ returns. Let us therefore examine ourselves truthfully and with brutal honesty. And after “having done all to stand” (Ephesians 6:13), let us eat the bread and drink the wine this Sunday evening, symbolizing the body and blood of Jesus Christ’s supreme Sacrifice. When we do, we come “to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel” (Hebrews 12:24); and we ask God the Father to make us complete, “who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant” (Hebrews 13:20).

EUROPE IS DESTINED TO UNITE!!!

This past weekend, Europe celebrated its 50th anniversary in Germany’s capital, Berlin. Whether people hate or love it–ridicule or admire it–the world has never seen anything like it in recent history. Bible prophecy predicted thousands of years ago that we will experience in these last days a powerful European Union, ultimately consisting of 10 nations or GROUPS of nations.

All critics notwithstanding, this is PREDESTINED to happen. In fact, the Bible predicted that it would be the last or final revival of the ancient ROMAN Empire! We are seeing the BEGINNINGS of a modern unified continental Europe developing RIGHT NOW in front of our very eyes. The Bible also says that when these things occur, the RETURN OF JESUS CHRIST is fast approaching!

Incredible Achievements

On March 23, The Wall Street Journal published an article by Mr. Trichet, president of the European Central Bank:

“Is there today a better symbol of peaceful European unity than the single currency, the euro, shared by 13 countries, 317 million fellow citizens and a single market across the whole continent?… the most important milestone for European integration was the Treaty of Rome, signed 50 years ago this Sunday. The choice of Rome was symbolic. For a long time, the ‘Eternal City’ symbolized a united Europe… The Treaty of Rome was an unlikely achievement… Europe has achieved even more than the founding fathers of the Treaty of Rome could have hoped for… The Union has also moved into new areas, such as foreign policy, and police and judicial affairs.

“Europe has crowned its single market with a single currency… today our 317 million fellow citizens of the euro area walk around with a little piece of Europe in their pockets… We will never know how a Europe without the euro would have weathered events such as 9/11, the bursting of the high-tech bubble or the oil shock. Under the roof of the euro, we had no intra-European turbulence… Europe is both old and new. It has the wisdom of a 2,000-year experience and the energy of a 50-year entity, which is extremely young in historical terms… And I am confident Europe will surmount its present political difficulty as it has done in the past.”

European Unification will not stand still, nor will it be complacent with just economic progress. And as the following articles will show, it becomes more and more obvious–as predicted in the Holy Scriptures–that Germany will be leading the United Europe, and that Britain will NOT be a part of it.

A European Army

The Times wrote on March 24:

“Angela Merkel got Europe’s 50th birthday weekend off to a controversial start yesterday when she said that the creation of a European army should be a key goal in its next 50 years… Mrs Merkel said that peace could not be taken for granted despite Western Europe’s longest period without internal conflict and suggested that a common army could help to bind countries closer together. Her suggestion was shot down immediately by Britain.”

It is VERY unlikely that it will take Europe 50 years to create a European army. The Bible strongly indicates that a European army will be in existence much sooner than that.

Der Spiegel Online added in this regard, on March 23:

“The idea of a European military force is not a new one. Indeed, the EU has been attempting to intensify its cooperation on foreign policy for years. The EU constitution, which was torpedoed by France and the Netherlands in the spring of 2005, had envisioned creating the office of a European Minister for Foreign Affairs, and in autumn of 2006, Europe sent an EU force to help provide security for elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Still, the idea of European countries sending troops abroad as part of an EU force remains a controversial one.”

Was It Foreseeable?

Der Spiegel Online quoted Angela Merkel, as follows:

“Europe should also be proud that it offers ‘freedom, the rule of law, and security for almost 500 million people in Europe. Who would have predicted that, 50 years ago?'”

In fact, the BIBLE did predict this more than 2,000 years ago–and the Church of God, under its late Pastor General, Herbert W. Armstrong, has announced this very initial development for more than the last 50 years. However, the face of a peaceful Europe will change in due course. People did not listen in the past to God’s true ministers–will they listen now?

Britain Strongly Opposed

In spite of Tony Blair’s eggshell dance, opposition of the British people to a united Europe is well-known, and critical voices are increasing. On March 23, The Daily Mail published an article, titled: “50 years of surrender to the EU.” The British tabloid pointed out:

“The leaders of those six countries – Belgium, France, West Germany, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands – who met in Rome 50 years ago were well aware that what they were setting in train was intended eventually to grow into something very much more than a mere ‘common market’. Even then, as we see from the documents of that time, they dreamed that it would be just the first step on the road to an eventual ‘European government’… Today’s European Union now has almost all the attributes of a fully-fledged state – its own flag, anthem and passport, its own ‘citizenship’ and currency, its own vast body of laws, governing almost every area of life. It is even on the way to establishing its own armed forces and police…

“For decades [the EU leaders] had been managing stealthily to take away the powers of national governments, without ever asking the peoples of Europe whether this was what they wanted… in no country, it appears, is the EU more unpopular than Britain… However unpopular the EU may have become, not just in Britain but all across Europe, we are stuck with this weird political construct, which now rules over our lives to a far greater extent than most people are aware of.

“One of the subtlest strategies employed by the EU, as it has gradually taken over more and more power from national governments, has been the way it has left each country’s national institutions in place. Monarchies and presidencies, national parliaments, civil services and legal systems have all been left standing, looking outwardly as if not very much has changed. Yet over the decades they have all been gradually hollowed out from within. Today, over vast areas of each country’s national life, the power to decide policies and make laws no longer lies in national capitals. It has been transferred to our new ‘supranational’ centre of government in Brussels. And the clever thing is how successfully most of this has been kept out of sight…

“Step by step we have seen our politicians handing over to this weird new system of government control over almost every aspect of our national life, from the power to decide who can come to live and work in Britain to the way our judges now have to interpret the law in our courts. What in fact we have witnessed over the past 50 years, has been in effect an immense, slow-motion coup d’etat. Our power to govern ourselves has been stealthily handed over to an entirely new kind of ‘supranational’ government, over which we no longer have any meaningful democratic say… Although half a century later it no longer enjoys the support of even half the 490 million people who must now live under it, it seems there is now nothing we can do to change it.”

Germany New Leader of Europe

In spite of criticism regarding the proposed EU Constitution, and even the “Berlin Declaration,” a two-page document about Europe’s success story, which was issued on Sunday, it has become clear that Angela Merkel and Germany have emerged as Europe’s leaders, expected to bring about further European unification. Bild Online wrote on March 25, “Merkel is now Miss Europe,” adding, “Europe listens to Merkel.”

The Herald Tribune wrote on March 25:

“Chancellor Angela Merkel took center stage of European politics Sunday, putting Germany back in the lead of European integration on a day that two of the bloc’s most controversial leaders probably attended their last EU summit meeting. Britain’s Tony Blair, an Atlanticist, is expected to leave office in May, and President Jacques Chirac of France, a Gaullist, announced last week that he would not be running for re-election when French voters elect a new president in two rounds of voting in April and May. Their exit from EU politics leaves Merkel as one of the few European leaders who might be able to bridge the differences between London and Paris that have divided the entire bloc. Over the past five years, Blair and Chirac have clashed bitterly over the U.S war in Iraq, the structure of the EU budget, particularly its large subsidies for agriculture, and the future shape of Europe. But together, they also advanced Europe’s defense policy…

“Merkel’s personal reminiscences, combined with a steely determination to make the EU more democratic, more efficient and united, confirm Germany’s rediscovery of its original role inside the EU. Fifty years ago, Merkel’s ideological mentor, Konrad Adenauer, was in Rome to sign the treaty. As Germany’s first chancellor after World War II, Adenauer embraced France to end the centuries of distrust that had so often proved destructive. It was no coincidence that throughout the public celebrations over the weekend – on Saturday night during a concert by the Berlin Philharmonic and Sunday during the signing of the Berlin Declaration – Chirac was seated beside Merkel.”

The Associated Press added on March 25:

“European leaders took a small but significant step Sunday toward overhauling the EU — and finally lifting the bloc out of two years of confusion and hand-wringing over its failed draft constitution. Politely but firmly nudged by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the assembled presidents and prime ministers vowed to seek a treaty establishing ‘a renewed common basis’ for the 27-member bloc before the next European Parliament elections in 2009. Merkel, who had made badgering phone calls right up to the end, urged… to quickly organize a conference that would come up with the treaty — whether a constitution or under some other name. She said leaders should agree [and ‘must decide’] on the terms of the conference at a June summit — before her six-month EU presidency ends.”

Europe’s Future Plans

AFP wrote on March 25:

“German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the current EU president, said it was time to plot the way forward after the knock-out blow Dutch and French voters dealt a draft constitution in referendums in 2005. ‘We (Germany) are going to do everything that we can to prepare a roadmap,’ charting the way out of the political impasse over the constitution, Merkel told reporters after signing the declaration. Such a move could allow Portugal, which takes over the EU’s six-month rotating presidency in July, to call a meeting of member states to start drawing up a new treaty by the end of the year, she said. The aim would be to implement it before the 2009 European Parliament elections, she added… in interviews with German television, Merkel warned of the consequences of a second failure for any proposed European constitution… If this hurdle was not crossed, she continued, decision on internal security and the fight against terrorism would have to be approved unanimously. ‘We would not even be able to say how many commissioners the next Commission will have — we would not be able to pursue a dynamic policy.'”

The EUObserver added on March 25:

“The EU has marked its 50th anniversary with the adoption of the Berlin declaration in a ceremony in the German capital which saw EU leaders solemnly rise to hear Europe’s semi-official anthem, Beethoven’s Ode to Joy. The anthem sounded through the German Historical Museum in Berlin which was packed with EU leaders, their wives and other EU VIPs on Sunday (25 March). The Berlin declaration was read out in a somewhat low-profile fashion by ex-German TV presenter Jo Brauner, while it was being signed by German chancellor Angela Merkel, current EU president, as well as European Commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso and European Parliament president Hans-Gert Poettering. All three signatories in their speeches used the occasion not only to look back on 50 years of ‘Europe’ since the 1957 Rome treaty – but also to give a clear political touch to the festive event by calling for a new EU treaty…

“Italy’s prime minister Romano Prodi, who spoke as the leader of the country where the Rome treaty was signed, gave the strongest pro-constitution speech. It was also in Rome where the disputed EU constitution was signed in 2004. ‘To continue building, we now need new rules, but not starting from zero,’ he said. ‘The treaty signed in Rome in October 2004 forms a very solid basis… a text signed by the 27 heads of state and ratified by 18 countries.'”

A United Europe–by the People for the People?

The Wall Street Journal wrote on March 26 about the methods which Europe uses to govern. The article pointed out:

“The trouble began with German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s decision to draft the [Berlin] declaration in a style akin to classic 19th-century secret diplomacy. The Czech government complained that by Thursday it had seen just 40% of the text. Berlin’s covert operation contradicted the stated goal of producing a ‘people’s document,’ one that would be short and clear and express Europe’s common principles, values and challenges. Ms. Merkel eventually had to show her cards and it led to the usual compromises and obfuscations…

“In a newspaper interview last week, Ms. Merkel diagnosed a certain alienation between the EU and its citizens, the root cause of which she located in the people’s alleged impatience with the slow pace of decision making in Brussels. ‘To change that we need an EU constitutional treaty,’ she said. Come again? The chancellor wants to fight the citizens’ alienation by ignoring democratic votes that expressed that very alienation?

“The Dutch government, for one, didn’t think it was a good idea to defy its voters. And so the declaration was downgraded to say governments agreed to ‘placing the European Union on a renewed common basis before the European Parliament elections in 2009.’ So much for ‘short and clear.’ This is vague enough for both sides to claim victory. The constitution’s supporters will interpret the language as a coded go-ahead to push through the text within the next two years. For the skeptics, it is simply a reference to making institutional changes, such as streamlining voting procedures, that a larger EU requires.

“Absent, too, is any reference to further enlargement. The EU just expanded to 27 members and there is little appetite among some governments to let in more ‘foreigners.’ While Britain and Poland, for instance, would like to proceed, Germany and France are more wary, particularly of Turkey… the Berlin Declaration sounds more like a call for the kind of ‘privileged partnership’ Ms. Merkel is fond of offering to Turkey in lieu of full membership.

“Just like the moribund constitution, the Berlin Declaration remains a godless document, literally. Proposals for an Invocation Dei, most loudly advocated by Poland, were rejected in secular Europe. Not even a reference to Europe’s Judeo-Christian heritage was allowed, even though that wouldn’t have been so much a call for God or religion as a simple statement of fact about the Continent’s cultural roots.

“The topics that made it into the text were less controversial — the euro, the common market, social responsibility, human dignity, equal rights, resolving global conflicts peacefully, fighting poverty and climate change. Also — and unusual for such documents in Europe — ‘the people’ made it into the declaration.

“‘We the citizens of the European Union have united for the better,’ the document pronounced in a rare nod to the voters (and, without acknowledging it, the U.S. Constitution). Even so, the leaders who speak for Europe’s citizens technically weren’t even speaking for themselves. The original plan was for all 27 leaders to sign the declaration. In the end, only the hostess, Ms. Merkel, and the heads of the European Parliament and Commission put their names under the text. It’s not that there wasn’t enough space for all the signatures on the dotted line. It has more to do with plausible deniability. Even after all the haggling and compromising, many governments were still uncomfortable with the text. Without the signatures, the nonbinding birthday card is even more nonbinding.”

Europe’s Confidential Talks

The EUObserver reported on March 25:

“Angela Merkel has said she will continue to apply her strategy of reviving the EU constitution by holding confidential talks with national officials, despite criticism that the strategy impedes democratic debate… The Merkel strategy consists of holding limited consultations with so-called sherpas – member states officials holding behind-closed-doors talks with the German EU presidency… [Merkel said:] ‘What I want to avoid is that every time there is a draft document, and when one of the 27 [member states] makes a small amendment, there has to be a broad debate on every single little change, that it becomes a matter of prestige… The real issue will be implementation. It is not good enough to have 27 signatories on a paper that cannot be implemented,’ the chancellor stated…

“Meanwhile, eurosceptic and pro-democracy groups are gearing up to fight any rapid resurrection of the EU constitution without citizens having a say in it… Law professor Karl Albrecht Schachtschneider, himself a strong opponent of the constitution, in 2005 filed a lawsuit against the charter… before Germany’s national constitutional court in Karlsruhe. The court said last October it would not rule on whether the EU constitution was compatible with the German constitution until after a final decision had been taken on the overall fate of the document. This ruling has impeded German president Horst Koehler from signing the ratification bill which was passed by the German parliament, with the president’s signature necessary for final ratification.”

A Permanent European President

The Daily Express wrote on March 25:

“Tony Blair is secretly backing plans to create a permanent President of Europe, in a move that could see him go head to head for the job with bitter rival Jacques Chirac. Senior Brussels sources revealed that Mr Blair was backing the idea as European leaders gathered in Berlin last night to mark the European Union’s 50th anniversary… Kim Darroch, Mr Blair’s personal envoy to the EU, has been told to use the negotiations to press for a permanent EU president to replace the current system, in which the presidency rotates among the member states every six months.

“The Prime Minister would be one of the favourites for the job, which would go to a former EU leader. His main rival would be the outgoing French president Jacques Chirac, who has clashed with Mr Blair over the future of Europe many times during the past decade.

“Supporters of the idea claim that a permanent president would provide greater continuity than the current system. Critics claim it would create a powerbase for greater EU centralisation on issues like foreign policy and defence. The president would be appointed by other EU leaders, rather than being directly elected. Neil O’Brien, director of the independent think tank Open Europe, warned that the new president would inevitably gain more powers as time went on.

“Mr O’Brien said: ‘It is very hard to see how the president would be accountable to the people.'”

Britain–The Sick Family of Europe

The Daily Mail wrote on March 19:

“Social breakdown has turned Britain into the ‘sick family of Europe’ and promises to be the major battleground for the next election, David Cameron warned yesterday. Creaking public services, irresponsible parents and rampant crime have stretched society to breaking point, the Tory leader said… Recalling the criticisms levelled at Britain in the 1970s before Lady Thatcher took over, Mr Cameron said: ‘It’s not that Britain is the sick man of Europe. We’re becoming the sick family of Europe… We’ve got a tax system that doesn’t recognise marriage. A benefits system that does recognise marriage but penalises it. In fact it penalises any form of commitment between two people. What sort of system is it that pays people to live apart? It’s got to change.'”

The Pope Speaks Out

On March 26, The Vatican Information Service quoted Pope Benedict XVI, as follows:

“If, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome, the governments of the EU wish to ‘get closer’ to their citizens, how can they exclude such an essential element of European identity as Christianity, in which a vast majority of that people continue to identify themselves?… it is becoming ever more indispensable for Europe to avoid the pragmatic approach, so widespread today, that systematically justifies compromise on essential human values, as if the acceptance of a supposedly lesser evil were inevitable… In such a context protection must be afforded to conscientious objection [in cases where] fundamental human rights are violated… I know how difficult it is for Christians to defend this truth. … But do not tire and do not be discouraged! You know your task is to contribute to building, with God’s help, a new Europe, realistic but not cynical, rich in ideals and free of naive illusions, inspired by the perennial and life-giving truth of the Gospel.”

In addition, The Times reported on March 27:

“Hell is a place where sinners really do burn in an everlasting fire, and not just a religious symbol designed to galvanise the faithful, the Pope has said.  Addressing a parish gathering in a northern suburb of Rome, Benedict XVI said that in the modern world many people, including some believers, had forgotten that if they failed to ‘admit blame and promise to sin no more’, they risked ‘eternal damnation — the Inferno’. Hell ‘really exists and is eternal, even if nobody talks about it much any more’, he said. “

For a true understanding on the existence or non-existence of hell and an “eternal inferno,” please read our free booklet, “Do We Have an Immortal Soul?”

The US War Over Iraq Intensifies

The Associated Press reported on March 29:

“Senate Democrats ignored a veto threat and pushed through a bill Thursday requiring President Bush to start withdrawing troops from ‘the civil war in Iraq,’ dealing a rare, sharp rebuke to a wartime commander in chief. In a mostly party line 51-47 vote, the Senate signed off on a bill providing $122 billion to pay for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. It also orders Bush to begin withdrawing troops within 120 days of passage while setting a nonbinding goal of ending combat operations by March 31, 2008… The Senate vote marked its boldest challenge yet to the administration’s handling of a war, now in its fifth year, that has cost the lives of more than 3,200 American troops and more than $350 billion. In a show of support for the president, most Republicans opposed the measure, unwilling to back a troop withdrawal schedule despite the conflict’s widespread unpopularity…

“The House, also run by Democrats, narrowly passed similar legislation last week. Party leaders seem determined that the final bill negotiated between the two chambers will demand some sort of timetable for winding down the war — setting them on course for a veto showdown with the president… Democrats acknowledge they do not have enough support in Congress to override Bush’s veto, but say they will continue to ratchet up the pressure until he changes course.”

Ridiculous German Poll–USA More Dangerous Than Iran

On March 29, Der Spiegel Online published a biting and well-considered article, by Claus Christian Malzahn, the magazine’s Berlin bureau chief, about German hypocritical feelings of Anti-Americanism. The magazine advocated an immediate course of re-education of the German mind:

“Forty-eight percent of Germans think the United States is more dangerous than Iran, a new survey shows, with only 31 percent believing the opposite. Germans’ fundamental hypocrisy about the US suggests that it’s high time for a new bout of re-education.

“The Germans have believed in many things in the course of their recent history… they believed that Jews should be placed into ghettos and concentration camps because they were the enemies of the people. Then they believed… that the Third Reich would ultimately be victorious… They believed that the Berlin Wall would be there forever and that their pensions were safe… They even believed in a German victory at the soccer World Cup. Now they believe that the United States is a greater threat to world peace than Iran. This was the by-no-means-surprising result of a Forsa opinion poll commissioned by Stern magazine. Young Germans in particular — 57 percent of 18-to-29-year-olds, to be precise — said they considered the United States more dangerous than the religious regime in Iran.

“The German political establishment, which will no doubt loudly lament the result of the poll, is largely responsible for this wave of anti-Americanism. For years the country’s foreign ministers fed the Germans the fairy tale of what they called a ‘critical dialogue’ between Europe and Iran. It went something like this: If we are nice to the ayatollahs, cuddle up to them a bit and occasionally wag our fingers at them when they’ve been naughty, they’ll stop condemning their women to death for ‘unchaste behavior’ and they’ll stop building the atom bomb. That plan failed at some point — an outcome, incidentally, that Washington had long anticipated. Iran continues to work away unhindered on its nuclear program, and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad reacts to UN demands with an ostentatious show of ignorance. The UN gets upset and drafts a resolution.

“Another item on the Iranian president’s wish list is the annihilation of Israel. But that will take a bit longer. In the meantime, just to make sure it doesn’t get out of practice, the regime had 15 British soldiers kidnapped a few days ago. But it’s still all the Americans’ fault — that much is obvious…  Anti-Americanism is the wonder drug of German politics… Anti-Americanism is hypocrisy at its finest… Not a day passes in Germany when someone isn’t making the wildest claims, hurling the vilest insults or spreading the most outlandish conspiracy theories about the United States. But there’s no risk involved and it all serves mainly to boost the German feeling of self-righteousness…

“Today, when Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad talks about a world without Israel while dreaming of an atom bomb, it seems obvious that we — as Germans of all people — should be putting two and two together. Why shouldn’t Ahmadinejad mean what he says? But we Germans only know what we believe.”

Russia and China–A New Power Bloc

AFP reported on March 27:

“China and Russia signed four billion dollars’ worth of trade deals on Tuesday during a visit by Chinese President Hu Jintao… ‘For Russia, China has always been one of the most important economic partners in the world, and throughout recent years our business ties have steadily grown and strengthened,’ Putin said… The presidents oversaw the signing of 21 contracts, including an agreement by Russian state oil company Rosneft to supply jet fuel to China and long-term export contracts for Russian steel products… China’s chief interest in Russia, meanwhile, is securing more oil and gas to meet its huge energy needs. The Chinese president took a step in that direction on Monday by securing an agreement for increased deliveries of Russian oil by rail… Hu and Putin also talked up diplomatic ties between their countries, which have taken closely aligned positions in talks meant to end North Korea’s nuclear weapons programme and stem Iran’s nuclear ambitions. In a joint declaration on Monday, the two presidents said the standoff over Iran’s nuclear programme ‘should be resolved exclusively in a peaceful way,’ and welcomed the ‘positive dynamic’ in six-party talks aimed at curbing North Korea’s nuclear programme.”

Crisis With Iran Deepens

Reuters reported on March 29:

“The U.S. navy said on Thursday it had ordered an aircraft carrier to the Gulf to replace one of two patrolling the region, as the United States winds down naval war games on Iran’s doorstep. The Nimitz carrier strike group will sail from San Diego for the Gulf on Monday, a navy spokesman told Reuters, to replace the Dwight D. Eisenhower, as tensions mount between Iran and the West over captured British troops and Iran’s nuclear program… Strike groups typically include four or five frigates and destroyers and a submarine…

“The Eisenhower and fellow carrier John C. Stennis took part in this week’s U.S. war games, the largest in Gulf waters since 2003, when the U.S. led an invasion of Iraq… For the first time since the Iraq invasion four years ago, two U.S. aircraft carriers were deployed in the Gulf… Earlier in the day, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned the U.S. not to aggravate tensions with Iran with its naval presence in the Gulf… In February Iran said it had tested missiles that could ‘sink big warships’ in the Gulf. Britain, which maintains its 15 sailors were within Iraqi waters when captured by Iranian forces, wants U.N. Security Council members to endorse a statement that would ‘deplore’ their detention.”

The USA Is Pressing the Issue

AFP reported on March 23:

“The United States wants to reach an agreement by the end of the year on deploying anti-missile defences in eastern Europe, a senior US official said Friday, amid strenuous Russian objections to the plan… A total of 10 interceptor missiles and their accompanying radar would be deployed by about 2010… Washington says the system is aimed at guarding Europe against potential threats from states like Iran and North Korea.

“But Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the US plan threatened Russia and would undermine cooperation in the United Nations… In Poland, opposition leader Donald Tusk accused the government of caving in to US demands and ‘following policies without a clear vision of the consequences.’ [Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Mark] Pekala responded that the threat from Iran was ‘real and quite urgent’ as the Islamic republic ‘could have medium or long-range missile capacity to deliver a significant payload to parts of Europe or much farther by 2010 or 2015.’… Pekala said the Czech Republic and Poland were ‘strongly in favor’ of the system and of holding negotiations on the proposed deployment.”

Ethiopia Back in the News

AFP reported on March 22:

“Somali troops backed by Ethiopian tanks Thursday exchanged heavy mortar and machine-gun fire with insurgents for a second straight day in Mogadishu, leaving a trail of casualties and violence showing no sign of let-up… The latest fighting, in which Ethiopian tanks swung into action, was sparked by a government crackdown on the insurgents, many of whom are believed to be Islamists who have returned to the capital after being driven out with the help of Ethiopian forces late last year…

“Western intelligence agencies believe numerous Al-Qaeda operatives are hiding within the ranks of the Somali Islamists, a charge the Islamists vehemently reject. Early this month an Islamist website released an audio-taped message attributed to Ayro, who called on Somalis to attack and kill Ethiopian troops in Somalia.”

AFP reported on March 29:

“Seven Ethiopian soldiers were killed in heavy fighting on Thursday in the south of Mogadishu, and two of their bodies were dragged through the streets… Dozens of men and women pulled the bodies of two soldiers in the street, shouting ‘We will kill the Ethiopian troops’, while five other bodies in Ethiopian uniforms lay on the ground in the southern district of Shirkole. Nearby an Ethiopian military vehicle burned in the street. Loudspeakers had earlier transmitted calls for residents to come out and fight the Ethiopian troops backing Somalia’s transitional government… Ethiopian helicopters earlier fired missiles on mainly southern Mogadishu as heavy fighting across the Somali capital left 15 people dead in an offensive against insurgent fighters. The Ethiopians spearheaded the offensive, deploying tanks in neighbourhoods that have witnessed the most intense insurgent activity in recent months.”

Ethiopia–Future “King of the South”?

Daniel 11:40 speaks of a “king of the South,” at the time of the end, attacking or “pushing at” the “king of the North–a European power bloc. As we pointed out before, it is possible that this prophecy has ALREADY been fulfilled in its FINAL application. On the other hand, it is also possible that this prophecy is dual and still awaiting an ultimate fulfillment. In that case, based on Biblical and historical evidence, the future “king of the South” would be Ethiopia. The concept, which is taught by some, that it would be a confederation of Arab leaders, or Iraq, or Iran, does not seem to have any biblical or historical support.

In light of this conclusion, the article, as set forth below, contains several interesting pieces of information:

Der Spiegel Online wrote on March 28:

“Ethiopia’s Orthodox Christians are among the oldest Christian communities in the world. Their hymns and prayers have been preserved and passed down over the ages. But with its numerous religious holidays, the Christian tradition also worsens the country’s grinding poverty… Some 40 percent of the 68 million Ethiopians are Orthodox Christians… In the middle of the 4th century, King Ezana decided to become baptized. Just a few years later Christianity was proclaimed the state religion. Despite this, the Ethiopian Orthodox Church was headed for centuries by a metropolitan who was appointed by the Coptic patriarch of Alexandria. It wasn’t until the middle of the past century that the Ethiopian church became AUTONOMOUS and appointed its own patriarch in Addis Ababa. Alongside the 17 eparchies in Ethiopia, bishoprics in Nubia and in Jerusalem now fall under his aegis…

“The churches in Lalibela were built by a king of the same name – a contemporary of Genghis Khan and Barbarossa. He wanted to create a new Jerusalem, which Saladin reclaimed from the crusaders in 1187; denied access to the Holy Land, pilgrims from Ethiopia and the small Christian states along the Nile would be able to worship there. The stream bubbling past the city was christened the Jordan, and the hill overlooking it Mount Tabor… For centuries, Islamic conquests in neighboring regions isolated Ethiopia from the Christian world. Nevertheless, its Christian heritage – the prayers, the hymns and the liturgical language Ge’ez – was successfully preserved for centuries.

“The full glory of the Orthodox Eucharist is tangible in the churches of Lalibela, above all during the Timkat Festival which commemorates Christ’s baptism in the Jordan. On the eve of the event, underground processions wend their way to and through the churches, accompanied by the sound of bells and horns. Priests and deacons cloaked in beaded, darkhued velvet lead the way. On their heads they bear tabots, wooden tablets symbolizing the Ark of the Covenant. These are then placed in a large tent, outside which the faithful congregate, waiting the entire night to embrace the holy powers they believe invested in the tabots. The ritual is no less solemn or impressive than the anointing of a cardinal in the Vatican…

“The Orthodox calendar lists more than 150 holidays and 180 days of fasting, on which Christians are banned from working and limited to one meal… And the SABBATH is still celebrated in rural areas – a relic of the Salomonic dynasty which ruled Ethiopia from the 13th century and adopted numerous JEWISH CUSTOMS. The clergy in Addis Ababa, the country’s capital since the end of the 19th century, may be slowly losing its authority, but the priests in the highlands ENFORCE THE HOLIDAYS with an iron fist. Punishment inexorably follows any failure to comply. Not to mention the prospect of ending up in hell.

“Moreover, the church still DEFINES THE CALENDAR. The Ethiopian year has 12 months lasting 30 days, each plus five or six additional days. The patriarchy refuses to countenance change. The government has sought to adopt the modern Western calendar on several occasions, only to be stymied by the clergy. In practice, the separation of church and state has yet to be implemented. Christianity is also responsible for another phenomenon in Ethiopia: racial arrogance. Viewing their faith as SUPERIOR to Africa’s natural religions, Orthodox Christians regard themselves as a chosen people. In their minds, the portrayal – in the illustrations of the sacred books – of lighter-skinned people as the rulers of the Promised Land and the blacks as their servants is evidence of God’s will…

“Although the Organization for African Unity maintained its headquarters in Addis Ababa for decades and the African Union is now based there, Ethiopians do not see themselves as Africans…

“The Rastafarians from Shashemene, a small city 150 miles south of the capital, have escaped this discrimination; despite their color, they enjoy the full respect of the Christians. The Rastafarians established their colony in the 1960s, and some members later joined Ethiopia’s Orthodox Christian community. Their name is derived from the birth name of the Ethiopian emperor, Haile Selassie: Ras Tafari Makonnen. They revered him as the REINCARNATION OF JESUS CHRIST.”

Human “Science”–Where Will It End?

The Mail reported on March 24:

“Scientists have created the world’s first human-sheep chimera – which has the body of a sheep and half-human organs. The sheep have 15 per cent human cells and 85 per cent animal cells – and their evolution brings the prospect of animal organs being transplanted into humans one step closer… The process would involve extracting stem cells from the donor’s bone marrow and injecting them into the peritoneum of a sheep’s foetus. When the lamb is born, two months later, it would have a liver, heart, lungs and brain that are partly human and available for transplant…

“But the development is likely to revive criticisms about scientists playing God, with the possibility of silent viruses, which are harmless in animals, being introduced into the human race… Animal rights activists fear that if the cells get mixed together, they could end up with cellular fusion, creating a hybrid which would have the features and characteristics of both man and sheep.”

What April Fool’s Day Hoaxes May Do to Some

On March 29, AFP wrote about the ten “best” April Fool’s Day hoaxes. The following is a quite interesting one, as it shows how gullible people not only believe the hoax, but also imagine things, based on the hoax, which are simply non-existent:

“Noted British astronomer Patrick Moore announced on the radio in 1976 that at 9:47 am, a once-in-a-lifetime astronomical event, in which Pluto would pass behind Jupiter, would cause a gravitational alignment that would reduce the Earth’s gravity. Moore told listeners that if they jumped in the air at the exact moment of the planetary alignment, they would experience a floating sensation. Hundreds of people called in to report feeling the sensation.”

Incredible Interest in UFOs

The Associated Press reported on March 23, that “some 100,000 documents on supposed UFOs and sightings of other unexplained phenomena” are published on the Internet by the “French space agency.”

The article continued:

“France is the first country to put its entire weird sightings archive online… The first batch of archives went up on the agency’s Web site this week, drawing a server-busting wave of traffic… The archive includes police and expert reports, witness sketches (some are childlike doodlings), maps, photos and video and audio recordings. In all, the archive has some 1,650 cases on record and about 6,000 witness accounts… Only 9 percent of France’s strange phenomena have been fully explained… Experts found likely reasons for another 33 percent, and 30 percent could not be identified for lack of information. Other cases were impossible to crack…

“Among the unexplained cases, one of the most perplexing concerned a 1994 Air France flight. While flying over the Paris region, the crew noticed a large brown-red disk hovering on the horizon and constantly changing shape. The case ‘has never been explained to this day, and leaves the door open to all possible hypotheses,’ the agency wrote.”

It is possible that the false and demonically-inspired belief in the existence of intelligent alien life forms will influence the armies of this world to decide to fight the returning Jesus Christ (Revelation 19:11-21)–perhaps believing in the appearance of a hostile invader from outer space.

We have published several pieces of literature on this misunderstood topic, including a booklet, titled, “Don’t Keep Christmas,” and an Editorial, in Update #89, on the celebration of Easter.

In this Q&A, we would like to include several additional reasons, which clearly prove that it is absolutely WRONG for a true Christian to celebrate these holidays. These additional reasons are adopted from Professor Philippe Walter’s book, “Christianity–the Origins of a Pagan Religion,” copyright 2003, 2006. Walter is professor of medieval French literature, and has published numerous books on the Middle Ages. In his above-cited book, Walter makes several startling statements about the real origins of Easter and Christmas, as well as their customs.

It has been well-known that Halloween was originally referred to as “Samhain” (compare our Q&A on Halloween). It is celebrated today by the Roman Catholic Church on November 1 as “All Saints’ Day.” That is the time, according to pagan belief, “when the beings of the Otherworld have temporary permission to visit the living and is also the moment when the living gain furtive access to the Otherworld” (Walter, page 35). Walter explains that pagans believed in the Otherworld “as a place of choice for ghosts and is primarily the world of fairies” (page 36).

Less known, however, is the fact that certain rites and customs, which are celebrated on Christmas and Easter, have the same pagan origin of a supernatural belief in ghosts and fairies that leave the Otherworld on those days to visit the living.

Walter explains on page 52:

“For Christians, Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus… The commemoration of Christ’s birth on December 25 resulted from seasonal and mythological associations to pagan beliefs that are older than Christianity.”

Walter continues to explain the pagan belief that by the end of December and on “New Year’s Day” (January 1), “fairies… enter the homes of those who worship them… One must take pains to prepare the meal that should be offered to them in a clean and isolated room… the meal with fairies is also held at the birth of certain predestined children. This is why fairies show up on the night of the birth of heroes… Thus it seems entirely natural to fix the Nativity of Christ on this night of the Mothers (or night of the fairies) on which the birth of profane heroes was already celebrated. The setting of Christmas on December 25 seems a clear association with the pagan custom of attaching the fairy repast to the birth of an exceptional individual” (Walter, pages 55-56).

Walter asks the question whether “the Midnight Mass [which is celebrated on Christmas in the middle of the night] supplanted the pagan rite of a communion meal with beings from the Otherworld. The common presence of bread and wine both in the fairies’ meal and in the rite of Christian Communion serves to underscore a reference to the same sacred rite” (page 55).

Walter also points out the seeming incongruity between Judaism and orthodox Christianity, when Christians slaughter pigs and eat their flesh, including on Christmas. He states on pages 93-94: “… the saint [Saint Anthony] has always been depicted accompanied by one of these animals. It is indeed quite paradoxical to see a pig accompanying a saint of Paradise, for the Bible and the Koran have found no virtue in this animal and have saddled it with the most extreme taboos. As heir to the Hebrew scriptures, Christianity should have followed Judaism on this point, yet it did not… Merlin is accompanied by piglets, and these animals become the seer’s confidants… in making Saint Anthony a guardian of swineherds, Christianity was merely transferring the old beliefs of Indo-European paganism.”

Walter continues to explain, beginning on page 60, that “Santa Claus.. is simply the good natured avatar of a mythical figure… the beneficent… fairy figure from the Otherworld who periodically visits men to give them gifts.”

Regarding “Saint Nicholas,” whose day is sometimes celebrated on December 6, but who “merged” with Santa Claus into one personage, Walter states on page 67:

“The folklore of Santa Claus (who became Father Christmas) pushes to the forefront Saint Nicholas’s connection to the Otherworld. Indeed, Nicholas is a genie of passage.”

He concludes, on page 72: “Christmas clearly belongs to an enchanted time that allows the Otherworld to break into and enter the human world.”

Walter reaches the same conclusions regarding the celebration of Easter. He points out on pages 100-101:

“Easter can be understood as a date marking an intense circulation between the Otherworld and the human world… The Easter Bunny, for example, is a springtime reincarnation of [a mystical figure] and belongs among the host of magical animals that haunted the medieval imagination… its mystical role is much older than Christian civilization, for it can be found in ancient Buddhist and Chinese mythology. According to these myths, a rabbit lives on the moon, were he prepares food of immortality. Easter eggs seem analogous to this food… The druids of an earlier era also believed in the magical power of the egg…”

On page 122, Walter explains:

“Easter was thus a Christianized version of a double tradition: It constituted a Christian reply to the Jewish Passover and gave a Christian dimension to the great Celtic myths of passage to the Otherworld.”

The reasons, then, why true Christians must abstain from the observance of holidays such as Christmas and Easter, are manifold. Firstly, God told us not to worship Him in the way the pagans worshipped their gods, by adopting pagan customs and incorporating them in our worship. Deuteronomy 12:30-31 tells us:

“… take heed to yourself… that you do not inquire after their gods, saying, ‘How did these nations serve their gods? I also will do likewise.’ You shall not worship the LORD your God in that way; for every abomination to the LORD which He hates they have done to their gods…”

In addition, we have seen that many of those pagan customs are DIRECTLY related to the superstitious belief in spirits, ghosts, fairies and demons, who–according to that belief–leave the Otherworld and visit the living on certain days, including on the days of Christmas and Easter. These spirits are clearly demonical in nature, and Paul tells us that we must not have anything to do with demons and avoid them at all costs. He tells us NOT to observe religious rites, which are derived from pagan worship, so that we do not come in contact with demons. Note 1 Corinthians 10:20-22:

“… the things which the Gentiles sacrifice they sacrifice to demons and not to God, and I do not want you to have fellowship with demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the Lord’s table and of the table of demons. Or do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than He?”

This warning is far too serious than to be ignored!

Lead Writer: Norbert Link

A new booklet on God’s Fall Holy Days has entered the first review cycle.

A new StandingWatch program has been posted on the Web, titled, “50 Years of Europe–What’s Next?” In the program, Norbert Link discusses the fact that on March 24 and 25, 2007, Europe celebrated its 50th anniversary in Germany’s capital, Berlin. Even though Europe’s recent history has been an unparalleled story of success, many critics feel that Europe will never be able to unite totally. They don’t seem to realize that Europe is already a fully-fledged state–not unlike the USA. But Europe’s destiny is quite different from what many well-meaning European politicians might envision or desire.