On November 25, 2006, Norbert Link is scheduled to give the sermon,
beginning a two-part series on the books of Ezra and Nehemiah.

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 are wishing all of you a meaningful Thanksgiving Day weekend.

Drifting means to be carried along by a force, such as water or air.
That is a different action than deliberately choosing a direction and
maintaining it–regardless of extraneous influences.

Paul spoke
about drifting in the context of God’s Church. After introducing why
there are appointed offices within the Church, he adds this underlying
objective: “that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and
carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in
the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting” (Ephesians 4:14).

Time
and again, Christians are warned to not allow themselves to just drift
along in their lives. Ask: “Do I drift from one Sabbath to the next;
from one Holy Day to the next–without a true sense of personal focus?”
We have to do more than just “show up!”

Jesus Christ warned His
Church of a very dangerous condition of drifting–that is of ceasing to
watch, of not staying ready and engaged in the calling of God. In His
parable of the ten virgins, Jesus said, “‘they ALL slumbered and
slept’” (Matthew 25:5).

None of us wants to apply this to
ourselves–or, at least, we don’t want to be guilty of this right now!
How can we know that we are awake and ready and not asleep?

Stop
drifting! Look closely; examine yourself by the light of God’s Word!
Here is something else Paul presented–both a goal and a way to reach
that goal so that we are not merely adrift as Christians:

“…speaking the truth in love, [that we] may grow up in all things into Him who is the head–Christ” (Ephesians 4:15).

USA, Israel and Australia vs. the Rest of the World

UPI reported on November 18:

“Israel’s ambassador walked out on the United Nations session that resulted in a strong call to Israel to end its military operations in the Gaza Strip. The 192-member General Assembly voted Friday night 156-7, with six abstentions, in favor of the non-binding resolution in an emergency special session. The United States, Israel and Australia voted against the document, while all the European Union members supported it after last-minute changes were made to soften the tone. Israeli Ambassador Dan Gillerman conducted a news conference nearby and blasted the session as a ‘farce’ and a ‘circus.’ U.S. Ambassador John Bolton called the resolution ‘one-sided’ and said its adoption would only ‘increase tension and serve the interests of those hostile to Israel and that do not accept Israel’s right to exist.'”

Little Positive Change in the Middle East

Der Spiegel Online reported on November 21 about the popularity of President George W. Bush and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, as well as the current unchanged situation in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip:

“Both men have enjoyed few successes recently. Olmert is just as unpopular in Israel as Bush is in the United States. He has only been in office since last spring, and he has been isolated since the invasion of Lebanon…
“Israel made a number of mistakes in rapid succession, mistakes for which Bush’s America, with its theory of war as a suitable tool for bringing about change, is partly responsible. The invasion in Lebanon was based on the illusion that Hezbollah, under its leader Hassan Nasrallah, could be dealt a devastating and possibly quick military defeat. But when faced with large numbers of civilian casualties, Olmert was eventually forced to agree to a cease-fire. An international force has now been deployed to the region to keep the peace, but Israel has little confidence in its effectiveness, as evidenced by Israeli military aircraft routinely flying over German ships and ignoring Lebanon’s territorial sovereignty. In taking such action, the Olmert administration is in violation of United Nations resolutions.

“Little has changed in the Gaza Strip. Palestinian militants are still firing Qassam rockets into Israel, but their range and availability have increased, thereby increasing the risk of Israelis being killed or wounded. The rocket attacks are met with retaliatory action by the Israeli air force and army. In an inadvertent attack on Nov. 8, the Israelis ended up massacring 19 civilians, including women and small children, in the town of Beit Hanoun in the Gaza Strip…

“The Iraq war has only exacerbated the problem, because it has fueled the rise of the radical Hamas in Palestine and Hezbollah in Lebanon — and, of course, Iran’s push to become a nuclear power. Israel still has the monopoly on nuclear weapons in the region, although it has never admitted to being a nuclear power… With the military deprived of its mystique, the people disappointed and the administration weakened, Israel now even faces the prospect of waning support from its traditional ally, the US.”

Anti-Syrian Minister Murdered in Lebanon

AFP reported on November 21:

“Lebanese Industry Minister Pierre Gemayel has been assassinated in a northern Beirut suburb in the latest in a spate of attacks to target anti-Syrian politicians… The head of the anti-Syrian majority in parliament, Saad Hariri, interrupted a press conference to accuse the Syrian regime of ‘trying to kill every free person’ in Lebanon. ‘The cycle (of killings) has resumed,’ he said. He was referring to a spate of assassinations and attempts in the past two years. These included the murder of his own father, five-time premier Rafiq Hariri, in a massive bomb blast on the Beirut seafront in February last year… The Syrian regime has denied links with the attacks.”

Britain’s Intervention in Iraq a “Disaster”?

The Daily Mail reported on November 18:

“Tony Blair admitted that British intervention in Iraq has been a disaster last night–sending shockwaves through Westminster. In his frankest admission about the war to date, Mr Blair admitted that Western forces have been powerless to stop the descent into violence… Challenged by veteran interviewer Sir David Frost that the Western invasion of Iraq has ‘so far been pretty much of a disaster’, Mr Blair said: ‘It has.’ … In a chilling warning to those who want Britain to cut and run from the foreign adventures that have characterised Mr Blair’s premiership he warned that Britain would be involved in the Middle East on a ‘generational’ basis, though he stressed he did not expect British troops to remain in countries like Iraq and Afghanistan for a generation… The Prime Minister used his interview to again offer a partnership with Iraq’s neighbours Iran and Syria but warned that they are not yet doing enough to warrant a friendly relationship.”  

Downing Street was quick to respond to Blair’s interview. As AFP reported on November 18:

“Downing Street has moved swiftly to dampen an apparent overnight admission by British Prime Minister Tony Blair that the US-led invasion of Iraq had been a disaster…  Downing Street insisted Saturday that Blair’s comments had been misrepresented. ‘The Prime Minister does not use the word disaster,’ a spokesperson told AFP. ‘What he does is set out that the violence in Iraq is of course hugely regrettable, tragic and very very difficult, but that this violence is a result of malicious external intervention, not some planning error three years ago.’… A spokesperson for the main opposition Conservative Party added that the Prime Minister’s comments highlighted the need for an inquiry into how Britain joined the war in Iraq.”

How Kissinger Sees It…

The Associated Press reported on November 20, 2006:

“Military victory is no longer possible in Iraq, former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger said in a television interview broadcast Sunday. Kissinger presented a bleak vision of Iraq, saying the U.S. government must enter into dialogue with Iraq’s regional neighbors–including Iran–if progress is to be made in the region. ‘If you mean by “military victory” an Iraqi government that can be established and whose writ runs across the whole country, that gets the civil war under control and sectarian violence under control in a time period that the political processes of the democracies will support, I don’t believe that is possible,’ he told the British Broadcasting Corp.

“But Kissinger, an architect of the Vietnam war who has advised President Bush about Iraq, warned against a rapid withdrawal of coalition troops, saying it could destabilize Iraq’s neighbors and cause a long-lasting conflict. ‘A dramatic collapse of Iraq–whatever we think about how the situation was created–would have disastrous consequences for which we would pay for many years and which would bring us back, one way or another, into the region,’ he said.”

Australian Drought

Der Spiegel Online reported on November 21, 2006:

“Farmers in Australia are suffering their fifth year of continuous drought — and the summer hasn’t even started yet. Now, farms along the Murray River have been cut off… And there is little Australia can do… over 50 percent of the country’s agricultural land has now been declared drought-stricken… The drought has got so bad that officials are now talking about the worst dry spell in 100 years on the continent… More and more farmers are giving up hope and a wave of farmer suicides has hit the country, with a farmer taking his life every four days. The rate is already twice the national average… The situation has even shocked the government in Canberra out of their stubborn position on global warming. ‘Certainly, it has taken people beyond the denial phase on climate change,’ Senator Bill Heffernan told the International Herald Tribune recently. ‘For the first time, the cities are focused on their worries about the future of water supply. Everyone has taken for granted that you turn the tap on and water comes out. I think they now can see that that might not necessarily continue to be the case.”

Ethiopia’s Rare Lions Are Being Killed

The Associated Press reported on November 22:

“Rare Abyssinian lion cubs are being poisoned at a zoo because staff cannot afford to keep them… Ethiopia’s lions, famous for their black manes, are the country’s national symbol and adorn statues and the local currency. Wildlife experts estimate that only 1,000 Ethiopian lions, which are smaller than other lions, remain in the wild… it costs around $6,000 a month to run the zoo, but it only receives $5,000 in revenues from entrance fees… the poisoning has been going on [for] at least two years…The zoo is a popular local attraction, although poor facilities have led to concerns by international wildlife organizations. It was built in 1948 by Emperor Haile Selassie and currently has 16 adult lions and five cubs.”

How is Germany’s Angela Merkel Doing?

AFP reported on November 19, 2006:

“German Chancellor Angela Merkel has had a testing first year in charge, holding together a fractious coalition government, presiding over a fall in unemployment and thawing relations with Washington. Merkel came to power last November 22 after a messy, inconclusive election eventually produced a negotiated compromise — she would rule over the unusual combination of her conservative Christian Democrats and the left-leaning Social Democrats of her predecessor Gerhard Schroeder… As Germany’s first woman leader, Merkel has led the so-called grand coalition to major policy decisions, reforming the funding of the healthcare system and raising the retirement age while tinkering with the tax system. Unemployment, which bubbled ominously around the five-million mark before the election, fell in October to its lowest level in four years at around four million and debt is down too.

“But a panel of company bosses polled by the Allensbach research institute found that 55 percent of them believed the economic recovery had nothing to do with the work of the government. ‘After five lean years, Germany is for once enjoying the sweet side of the business cycle. It won’t last forever,’ said Bank of America analyst Holger Schmieding. Worse, he suggested, is that ‘the cyclical upswing has sapped the appetite in Berlin for tackling the really unpopular issues.’ While the infighting between right and left within her government has restricted her room to manoeuvre at home, Merkel has been able to express herself in the field of foreign policy…

“The US-German relationship was severely strained by Schroeder’s outspoken opposition to the Iraq war, but Merkel has made it work again and she was instrumental in ensuring Germany leads the naval component of the peacekeeping force after the Lebanon-Israel war. Her surprisingly high profile abroad saw the pastor’s daughter from the former East Germany voted the world’s most powerful woman by Forbes magazine. Yet Merkel has enjoyed a year of two halves — riding a wave of popularity in the first six months, almost drowning in the cross-party bickering over the healthcare reforms in the second. Surveys now show only a third of the country supports her conservatives, their lowest score since 2000. And with Germany set to take over the presidency of the Group of Eight most industrialised nations and the European Union on January 1, Merkel will find dangers lurking around every corner.”

Der Spiegel Online wrote on November 20, 2006:

“It’s been one year since Chancellor Angela Merkel came to office at the head of a grand coalition of her conservatives and the center-left Social Democrats. How has she done? Conservative Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung writes: ‘There’s no mood of celebration on the first anniversary of the grand coalition. There’s general disappointment that this alliance didn’t use its big majorities in the Bundestag and Bundesrat to achieve great things. Even its members don’t deny this. But they never announced gigantic plans in the first place… The weight of the grand coalitions’ seats has proved to be an optical illusion. Even the chancellor’s own party is divided on many issues.'”

The Unspeakable Horrors of the Holocaust

The Associated Press reported on November 19 about the terrible reality of the Holocaust during World War II. Even though the appalling fact of the Holocaust has been firmly established and verified, some still deny its existence, or the gravity of the same. The following article of the Associated Press should put any doubts to rest and remind the world of the unspeakable atrocities man has been willing–and is still willing–to inflict upon his fellow man:

“The 21-year-old Russian sat before a clerk of the U.S. Army Judge Advocate’s office, describing the furnaces at Auschwitz, the Nazi death camp where he had been a prisoner until a few weeks previously. ‘I saw with my own eyes how thousands of Jews were gassed daily and thrown by the hundreds into pits where Jews were burning,’ he said. ‘I saw how little children were killed with sticks and thrown into the fire,’ he continued. Blood flowed in gutters, and ‘Jews were thrown in and died there’; more were taken off trucks and cast alive into the flames.

“Today the Holocaust is known in dense and painful detail. Yet the young Russian’s words leap off the faded, onionskin page with a rawness that transports the reader back to April 1945, when World War II was still raging… The two pages of testimony, in a file randomly plucked off a shelf, are among millions of documents held by the International Tracing Service, or ITS, an arm of the International Committee of the Red Cross.

“This vast archive–16 miles of files in six nondescript buildings in a German spa town–contains the fullest records of Nazi persecutions in existence. But because of concerns about the victims’ privacy, the ITS has kept the files closed to the public for half a century, doling out information in minimal amounts to survivors or their descendants on a strict need-to-know basis. This policy, which has generated much ill-feeling among Holocaust survivors and researchers, is about to change.

“In May, after years of pressure from the United States and survivors’ groups, the 11 countries overseeing the archive agreed to unseal the files for scholars as well as victims and their families. In recent weeks the ITS’ interim director, Jean-Luc Blondel, has been to Washington, The Hague and to the Buchenwald memorial with a new message of cooperation with other Holocaust institutions and governments. ITS has allowed Paul Shapiro, of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, to look at the files and has also given The Associated Press extensive access on condition no names from the files are revealed unless they have been identified in other sources.

“‘This is powerful stuff,’ said Shapiro, leafing through the file containing the Russian’s statement and some 200 other testimonies that take the reader into the belly of Hitler’s death machine– its camps, inmates, commandants, executioners and trusted inmates used as low-level guards and known as kapos. ‘If you sat here for a day and read these files, you’d get a picture of what it was really like in the camps, how people were treated…’

“Another subject is the sheer scope of the Holocaust system. The files will support new research from other sources showing that the network of concentration camps, ghettos and labor camps was nearly three times more extensive than previously thought. Postwar historians estimated about 5,000 to 7,000 detention sites. But after the Cold War ended, records began pouring out of the former communist nations of East Europe. More sites were disclosed in the last six years in claims by 1.6 million people for slave labor reparations from a $6.6 billion fund financed by the German government and some 3,000 industries. ‘We have identified somewhere in the neighborhood of 20,000 camps and ghettos of various categories,’ said Geoffrey Megargee of the Holocaust Museum in Washington, who is compiling a seven-volume encyclopedia of these detention centers… Between 1933 to 1945, the Nazi persecution grew to assembly-line proportions, slaughtering 6 million Jews and an equal number of Gypsies, homosexuals, mental patients, political prisoners and other ‘undesirables.’ Tens of millions were conscripted as forced laborers.

“To operate history’s greatest slaughter, the Nazis created a bureaucracy that meticulously recorded the arrest, movement and death of each victim. Sometimes even the lice plucked from heads in concentration camps were counted. But as the pace of genocide stepped up, unknown numbers were marched directly from trains to gas chambers without being registered. In the war’s final months, the bookkeeping collapsed, though the extermination continued. What documents survived Nazi attempts to destroy them were collected by the Allies to help people find missing relatives… Some 50 million pages–scraps of paper, transport lists, registration books, labor documents, medical and death registers–make reference to 17.5 million individuals caught up in the machinery of persecution, displacement and death.”

Violent Games Blamed for German School Attack

Reuters reported on November 21:

“Leading German lawmakers demanded a crackdown on violent computer and simulated war games on Tuesday over concerns that they may have helped inspire a young man to attack his former school with guns and explosives. The masked 18-year-old man stormed the Scholl secondary school on Monday in the western German town of Emsdetten, wounding as many as 27 people before committing suicide. The young man, identified only as Bastian B., was known to authorities and due in court on Tuesday for weapons violations, local police said. According to German media reports, he had a fondness for war simulation and computer games.

“Wolfgang Bosbach, the deputy head of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats (CDU) in parliament, said it was time to consider banning games that simulate wanton killing. ‘We need effective guidelines to protect children from exposure to different types of media, but we don’t need (simulated) killer games that can lead to brutalisation,’ Bosbach was quoted on the Netzeitung news Web site as saying. Bosbach added that scientific studies have shown violent games have disturbing effects on some children.

“Christa Stewens, family minister for the conservative-led state of Bavaria, called for a nationwide ban on war games like paintball and laser tag, in which players hunt down and pretend to kill each other with guns firing paint balls or laser beams. ‘The federal government must finally ban (simulated) killer games… Bavaria has had such a ban in place since 2002,’ Stewens said in a statement. She added that children should also be prevented from playing violent computer games. The federal government has so far refused to ban such games.”

That violent computer and other games may have a contributing role in brutal and senseless murders cannot be denied. However, the real problem lies much deeper. To gain a thorough understanding of the matter, please read our free booklets, “Should You Fight in War?” and “The Keys to Happy Marriages and Families.”

Is Europe Going To Leap Ahead?

The EUobserver reported on November 20:

“Several former EU politicians have called for a ‘leap’ on the European political scene to create enough impetus to see through institutional reform in the bloc by 2009. A joint declaration, published in Florence on Friday (17 November) urges member states to ‘get back on the path to reform of the European institutions.’ Signed, amongst others, by Valery Giscard d’Estaing, the architect of the frozen EU constitution, ex-German foreign minister Joschka Fischer and the former presidents of Italy and Portugal, the text calls for a ‘political leap by all the parties concerned so that the new process is concluded at the time of the new European parliament in spring 2009.’

“Going into detail, it says that the whole of the first and second parts of the constitution–dealing with the values and aims of the bloc as well as the fundamental rights of citizens–should be kept and that the contentious parts of the third section–detailing the policies of the EU–should be clarified… Talk about reviving the EU institutional reform process–put off track by the rejection of the European constitution by French and Dutch voters last year–has gone up a notch recently. This is mainly due to the twin prospect of the German EU presidency in the first half of next year as well as French elections in April–with only a concerted effort by Berlin and Paris thought to be enough to get reform back at the top of the bloc’s political agenda…

“Germany has made progress on the constitution–calling for an ‘ambitious’ text–one of the main issues of its six-month stint at the helm of the EU. Now it is waiting to hear what Paris has to offer… For its part, Germany is planning to have a concrete timetable on the constitution and institutional reform on the table by an EU leaders summit in June–with a view to bringing the reform process to fruition in 2009.”

Remnants of Lost Ten Tribes in India?

The Scotsman reported on November 21:

“A group of 51 Indians who claim to be descendants of one of the ten lost biblical tribes were on their way to Israel last night, in what is viewed by their supporters as a fulfillment of prophecy. They were converted to Judaism in India by rabbis after Israel’s chief rabbinate last year recognized about 7,000 people from the remote north-eastern states of Mizoram and Minapur who claim ancient Israelite ancestry through belonging to the Bnei Menashe, one of the ten tribes that were lost after being exiled by the Assyrians in 586BC. Michael Jankelowitz, spokesman for the Jerusalem-based Jewish Agency, which is co-ordinating the Indians’ arrival, said ‘they have lived a Jewish way of life for decades’ including by keeping Saturday as the Sabbath and observing Jewish dietary laws…

“Some researchers say certain practices involving animal sacrifice were similar to ancient Hebrew traditions, while an ancient song among one tribe talked of crossing the Red Sea… Exiled from ancient Israel by the Assyrian empire around 730BC, the tribe was apparently forced east and travelled through Afghanistan and China before settling in what is now India’s north-east.

“On the way, they forgot their language, their history and most of their traditions… Among the clues… were traditions resembling those of the ancient Israelites, including having places of refuge for those who had killed someone by mistake. [They] also practised circumcision, albeit with sharpened flint rather than a knife… By Rabbi Avihayil’s estimate, there are tens of millions of descendants of the lost tribes of Israel living in [other parts of the world].”

We can safely say that the group of 51 Indians are NOT descendants of the ancient tribe of Manasseh, as these descendants migrated westward–not eastward–after the Assyrian captivity, and settled in Europe and ultimately in the United States. However, many people had come in contact with the Israelites before and after their captivity, so it stands to reason that they adopted some of the Israelite laws and cultures–something that God had prophesied would happen, to an extent. For more information, please read our free booklets, “The Fall and Rise of Britain and America,” and “The Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord.” We have also still available for distribution some copies of the full-color booklet, “America and Britain in Prophecy…,” which was written by Raymond McNair.

The Catholic Position

VIS reported on November 17:

“… at one of the regular meetings of the heads of dicasteries of the Roman Curia… [the] value of the choice of priestly celibacy [compulsory refusal to marry] in accordance with Catholic tradition was reaffirmed…  [The Pope also stressed that] ‘the aim of the ecumenical movement remains unchanged: the visible unity of the Church. … Vatican Council II considered the re-establishment of full unity among all Christians as one of its principal concerns. It is also my concern… The eastern and western parts of Europe are coming closer together, and this encourages Churches to coordinate their efforts to safeguard the Christian tradition.’… In this context [of the ecumenical movement], the [Pope] mentioned ‘the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification,’ signed with the World Lutheran Federation, and to which the World Methodist Council has also given its approval.”

Internet Libel Law

The Associated Press reported on November 20:

“Websites that publish inflammatory information written by other parties cannot be sued for libel, the California Supreme Court ruled Monday. The ruling in favour of free online expression was a victory for a San Diego woman who was sued by two doctors for posting an allegedly libelous e-mail on two websites. Some of the Internet’s biggest names, including Amazon.com, America Online Inc., EBay Inc., Google Inc., Microsoft Corp and Yahoo Inc., took the defendant’s side out of concern a ruling against her would expose them to liability. In reversing an appellate court’s decision, the state Supreme Court ruled that the Communications Decency Act of 1996 provides broad immunity from defamation lawsuits for people who publish information on the Internet that was gathered from another source.

“‘The prospect of blanket immunity for those who intentionally redistribute defamatory statements on the Internet has disturbing implications,’ Associate Justice Carol Corrigan wrote in the majority opinion. ‘Nevertheless … statutory immunity serves to protect online freedom of expression and to encourage self-regulation, as Congress intended.’ Unless the U.S. Congress revises the existing law, people who claim they were defamed in an Internet posting can only seek damages from the original source of the statement, the court ruled.”

When trying to understand Biblical prophecy, it is critical that we are familiar with the meaning of certain key prophetic phrases. For instance, all these terms listed in the Question have a FUTURE prophetic application. This means that when we read a passage in the Old or New Testament, which uses one of these phrases, we should recognize that the passage refers to the future!

Here is an overview of the meaning of these phrases:

The LATTER DAYS

When we come across the term “the latter days” (in Hebrew, “acharith” for “latter”), we are being introduced to events which will happen at the end of this age or present civilization, including the first resurrection or the “resurrection of the just,” and the beginning of the Millennium.

After a powerful Spirit being had given Daniel an important vision, he told him, in Daniel 10:14: “Now I have come to make you understand what will happen to your people in the LATTER DAYS, for the vision refers to many days yet to come.” Ancient King Nebuchadnezzar had a dream once, and Daniel told him, in Daniel 2:28: “But there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the LATTER DAYS.” The events pictured in his dream would culminate in the return of Jesus Christ and the establishment of the Kingdom of God here on earth (Daniel 2:44-45).

We read in Jeremiah 23:20: “The anger of the LORD will not turn back Until He has executed and performed the thoughts of His heart. In the LATTER DAYS you will understand it perfectly.”

The LAST DAYS

When we find the term “the last days,” as used in several translations, including the Authorized Version and the New King James Bible, we should realize that this term–and its meaning–is closely related to the term, “the latter days.” In the Hebrew, the words for “last” are either “acharith” (same as for “the latter days”) or “acharon,” and in Greek, the word is, “eschatos.” This phrase describes basically the same time period as the term, “the latter days.”

We read in Isaiah 2:2-4 about the time of the Millennium, when God HAS established the Kingdom of God on this earth. It says: “Now it shall come to pass in the LATTER DAYS [Authorized Version: “LAST DAYS”; in Hebrew, “acharith” for “last”], That the mountain of the LORD’s house Shall be established on the top of the mountains, And shall be exalted above the hills; And all nations shall flow to it. Many people shall come and say, ‘Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, To the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, And we shall walk in His paths.’ For out of Zion shall go forth the law, And the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. He shall judge between the nations, And rebuke many people; They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, Neither shall they learn war anymore.”

We read in Job 19:25 (Authorized Version): “For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the LATTER DAY upon the earth.” In the Hebrew, the word for “latter” is “acharon,” so that the entire phrase can also be translated as “He shall stand at the LAST DAY upon the earth.”

We read in 2 Timothy 3:1: “But know this, that in the LAST DAYS perilous times will come…” The Greek word for “last” is “eschatos.” It is also used in John 11:24: “Martha said to Him, ‘I know that he [Lazarus] will rise again in the resurrection at the LAST DAY.”

The TIME OF THE END

When the term, “the time of the end,” is used (in Hebrew, “eth” for “time” and “qets” for “end”), it describes the end of this age, culminating in the return of Christ and the establishment of the Kingdom of God here on earth.

We read in Daniel 12:4, 9, 13: “‘But you, Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book until the TIME OF THE END; many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase…’ And he said, ‘Go your way, Daniel, for the words are closed up and sealed till the TIME OF THE END… But you, go your way till the end; for you shall rest, and will arise to your inheritance at the end of the days.'”

The END OF THE WORLD or AGE

Some translate the phrase “end of the age” in the New Testament as “end of the world.” In Greek, the word for “end” is “sunteleia,” meaning “full end.” The phrase actually refers to the end of this present age (in Greek, the word for age is “aion”), and the beginning of a better world or age to come, under the rulership of God.

We read in Matthew 24:3, that the disciples asked Christ: “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the END OF THE AGE [Authorized Version: END OF THE WORLD]?”

In Matthew 28:19-20, Christ promised His disciples to be with them “always, even to the END OF THE AGE.” And we read in Matthew 13:49-50: “So will it be at the END OF THE AGE. The angels will come forth, separate the wicked from among the just, and cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.”

The DAY OF THE LORD

The term “day of the Lord” refers to God’s end-time intervention in the affairs of this world, just prior to the establishment of His Kingdom here on earth, and it also describes events at and after Christ’s return. A full explanation can be found in our free booklet, “The Great Tribulation and the Day of the LORD.” Please also note our Q&A in Update #139 on the “difference” between the great tribulation and the day of the Lord.

Concerning the beginning of the day of the Lord, we read in Zephaniah 1:14-17: “The great DAY OF THE LORD is near; It is near and hastens quickly. The noise of the DAY OF THE LORD is bitter… that day is a day of wrath, A day of trouble and distress, A day of devastation and desolation, A day of darkness and gloominess, A day of clouds and thick darkness, A day of trumpet and alarm Against the fortified cities And against the high towers. I will bring distress upon men, And they shall walk like blind men, Because they have sinned against the LORD.”

We also read in Zephaniah 2:3: “Seek the LORD, all you meek of the earth, Who have upheld His justice. Seek righteousness, seek humility. It may be that you will be hidden In the DAY OF THE LORD’s anger.”

The day of the Lord describes the time when God begins to intervene in human affairs, but it also includes God’s rule from that time forward. We read in 2 Peter 3:10: “But the DAY OF THE LORD will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise [this will happen more than 1,100 years after Christ’s return, compare Revelation 20:4-6, 11-15; 21:1], and the elements will melt away with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.”

IN THAT DAY

When the terms “in that day” or “that day” are used, they refer to the time just prior to and at Christ’s return, and they also may include the time after Christ has returned. They are virtually synonymous with the term, “the day of the Lord.”

We read in Isaiah 2:10-12, 20-21: “Enter into the rock, and hide in the dust, From the terror of the LORD And the glory of His majesty. The lofty looks of man shall be bowed down, And the LORD alone shall be exalted IN THAT DAY. For the DAY OF THE LORD of hosts shall come upon everything proud and lofty… IN THAT DAY a man will cast away his idols of silver And his idols of gold, Which they made, each for himself to worship, To the moles and bats, To go into the clefts of the rocks, From the terror of the LORD And the glory of His majesty, When He arises to shake the earth mightily.”

TIME OF JACOB’S TROUBLE

The term, “the time of Jacob’s trouble,” refers to the time of the beginning of the great tribulation, which is followed by heavenly signs and the beginning of the day of the Lord. While the day of the Lord is described, in its beginning stages, as the wrath of God, the great tribulation is described as Satan’s wrath against God’s people (compare Revelation 12:12-17). However, the great tribulation and the day of the Lord “overlap” for approximately one year; that is, the great tribulation begins about 2 1/2 years before the day of the Lord, but it
will be ongoing for approximately another year, together with the day of the Lord, until the return of Christ who will cut short the great tribulation (Matthew 24:21-22).

We read in Jeremiah 30:7-9: “‘Alas! For that day is great, So that none is like it; And it is the TIME OF JACOB’S TROUBLE, But he shall be saved out of it. For it shall come to pass IN THAT DAY,’ says the LORD of hosts, ‘That I will break his yoke from your neck, and will burst your bonds; Foreigners shall no more enslave them. But they shall serve the LORD their God, And David their king, Whom I will raise up for them.'”

This is a prophetic passage regarding the modern descendants of the house of Israel or Jacob. To learn about their identity, please read our free booklet, “The Fall and Rise of Britain and America.”

Regarding the time sequence, let us notice Joel 2:30-31: “And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth: Blood and fire and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, And the moon into blood, BEFORE the coming of the great and awesome DAY OF THE LORD.”

All these terms describe still future events. It is important that we understand them correctly, so that we can know what is prophesied to happen in our times.

Lead Writer: Norbert Link

A new StandingWatch program was recorded, titled, “Nuclear Terrorism.” Set forth below is a brief summary of the program:

During
a Senate hearing on November 16, 2006, it was pointed out that the
threat of nuclear terrorism is real. It is not a question of “if,” but
only of “when.” Are you prepared to face devastating destruction in
this country and around the world? And why would God let it happen?

The
video-recorded version of Norbert Link’s latest sermon, “Christian
Suffering,” was placed on Google Video (The audio version was placed,
as usual, on our Web site).

On November 18, 2006, Dave Harris will give the sermon, titled, “When Change Comes.”

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.

Sometimes, when we study God’s Word, we might just be reading over a
particular statement, without pausing to deeply reflect on it and
meditate about the meaning. One of these passages might be Philippians
4:5, which reads, in the New King James Bible, “Let your gentleness be
known to all men. The Lord is at hand.”

The connection between
these two sentences should be very clear for us today: As Christ’s
return is imminent, and as “we all” and “each of us” will have to
“stand before the judgment seat of Christ” to “give account” for what
we did in this life (compare Romans 14:10-12), we need to make an extra
effort and concentrate on exemplifying “gentleness” to all with whom we
come in contact. But what, exactly, is meant with the word,
“gentleness”?

The Broadman Bible Commentary points out that the
Greek word “has no single equivalent in English.” It seems to be
describing a variety of characteristics. In addition to “gentleness,”
many translate this word as “moderation.” Others say, “graciousness,”
“forbearance,” “thoughtfulness” or “considerateness [for others].” Some
point out that the meaning of the word includes “yieldedness” or
“pliability” — the ability to be easily entreated. Especially German
translations render the word also as “compassion, kindness, tenderness,
tolerance, mercy, leniency, indulgence” and, most interestingly
perhaps, “helpfulness.” J.B. Philips translates, “Have a reputation of
gentleness.” Knox says, “Give proof to all of your courtesy.” And David
Stern translates: “Let everyone see how reasonable and gentle you are.”

Without
doubt, all these expressions are vital ingredients of the Christian
character. As true followers of God the Father and Jesus Christ, we
must continuously strive to incorporate these godly character traits in
our lives.

And so, we need to examine ourselves to see how well
we are doing (compare 1 Corinthians 12:28; 2 Corinthians 13:5). If we
are lacking in anything, we need to pray, in faith, to God for help to
improve, and He will GIVE us the petitions of our heart (compare James
1:5; 1 John 5:14-15).

For instance, let us ask ourselves how
“gentle” we are towards others. The Nelson Study Bible states that the
word “gentleness” “identifies a person who manifests a calmness and
fairness of spirit. A person who is gentle is willing to sacrifice his
or her personal rights to show consideration for others.” The
Commentary of Jamieson, Fausset and Brown adds a very important and
relevant caution. It equates the concept of “gentleness” or
“moderation” with “considerateness for others, not urging one’s own
rights to the uttermost, but waiving a part… let nothing inconsistent
with ‘moderation’ be seen.”

Henry’s Commentary agrees and adds:
“In things indifferent do not run into extremes; judge charitably
concerning one another. Some understand it of the patient bearing of
afflictions.”

As Christians, we must strive to become
considerate of the need of others, and we must act with a spirit of
gentleness; “easy to be intreated”(James 3:17, Authorized Version);
“without murmuring and disputings” (Philippians 2:14, Authorized
Version). We should be “moderate”–staying away from extreme viewpoints
which we are anxious to “share” with others. Rather, we are to
familiarize ourselves with the need of our fellow man, at times
VOLUNTEERING to help, rather than always waiting until we may be asked
for assistance. Christ came to SERVE, not to be served. As His
followers, we must strive to do likewise. We have to have the mind of
Christ (Philippians 2:5), who LOOKED OUT for the interests of others
(verse 4). We are God’s “workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good
works, which God PREPARED BEFOREHAND that we should walk in them”
(Ephesians 2:10).

Even though we are asked to do good to all men,
“AS WE HAVE OPPORTUNITY,” we are to concern ourselves especially with
those “of the household of faith” (Galatians 6:10). God poured out His
love in our hearts by His Holy Spirit (Romans 5:5)–and God’s love is
outgoing concern for the good, welfare and benefit of others. It
describes a way of GIVING and SHARING with others. Peter tells us,
“…love one another FERVENTLY with a pure heart” (1 Peter 1:22). And
John encourages us, not only to love “in word,” but also “in deed” (1
John 3:18). We are to love, give and help from a pure heart (compare 1
Timothy 1:5), making our gentleness known to all men–and especially to
our brethren in Christ. THEN all will know that we are Christ’s
disciples, when we have and show the “gentleness” of love for one
another (John 13:35).

New Chaos for Lebanon?

On November 13, The Australian reported the following about developments in Lebanon:

“The prospect of renewed chaos loomed over Lebanon at the weekend after the Hezbollah movement and its Shia allies quit the Government, plunging the country into a political crisis that could quickly spill into the streets. The resignations of all five Shia ministers–two from Hezbollah, two from the Amal movement and one independent–from the cabinet of Prime Minister Fuad Siniora were announced hours after the collapse of high-stakes talks aimed at soothing rising sectarian tensions in the wake of the devastating war with Israel last summer… the withdrawal of the Shia ministers effectively ended Shia representation in the coalition governing the country, threatening Lebanon with a period of renewed political uncertainty and potential civil strife at a time when it is still struggling to recover from the ruin inflicted during the war.”

Lebanese Guerrillas Are Back

Britain’s Sunday Times reported on November 12:

“Four months after Israel launched its onslaught against Hezbollah, the Lebanese guerrillas are back in south Lebanon stronger than ever and armed with more rockets than they had before the conflict, according to Israeli intelligence. During the month-long war, which began on July 12, Hezbollah fired 200 to 250 rockets a day into Israel, killing 43 civilians and terrorising much of the north of the country.

“‘Since the ceasefire, additional rockets, weapons and military equipment have reached Hezbollah,’ said an Israeli intelligence officer. ‘We assume they now have about 20,000 rockets of all ranges–a bit more than they had before July 12.’ Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah, has confirmed the Israeli estimate. In a recent interview with al-Manar, the Hezbollah television station, he claimed his organisation had restocked its arsenal and now held at least 30,000 rockets, sufficient for five months of war… The Israeli military estimates that at least 5,000 rockets are hidden in secret shelters along the border, which it failed to find before the ceasefire came into effect on August 14.”

Iran Wants Israel’s Destruction

On November 15, 2006, ynet published the following report:

“Iranian newspapers Kehyan and Resalat have urged Muslims around the world to prepare for a ‘great war’ to destroy the State of Israel… ‘Hizbullah destroyed at least half of Israel in the Lebanon war… Now only half the path (to its destruction) remains,’ an editorial in the conservative Keyhan newspaper declared. ‘It was proven that, by means of an offensive operation that need not be equal to Israel’s moves, it is possible to neutralize the Zionist navy,’ the article said triumphantly. It continued: ‘Just as in one 33-day war more than 50 percent of Israel was destroyed, and the hope of its supporters for the continued life of this regime was broken, it is likely that in the next battle, the second half will also collapse. On that day… Jordan will not be able to prevent the Jordanian Islamists from operating through the long Jordan-Palestine border, and the millions of Egyptian Islamists… will not let the Sinai-Israel border remain quiet, and the Syrian Golan Heights will not remain as a (mere) observer of the battle. That day is not so far off.'”

“The Resalat newspaper struck a similarly bellicose tone with an editorial entitled ‘Preparations for the Great War.’… It added: ‘For the first time in the 60 years of its disgraceful life, the Zionist regime–the West’s beloved in the Middle East–tasted the taste of defeat, and the citizens of this regime trembled at the menace of Hizbullah’s missiles… The nation of Muslims must prepare for the great war, so as to completely wipe out the Zionist regime, and remove this cancerous growth. Like the Imam (Ayatollah) Khomeini said: ‘Israel must collapse.'”

No Condemnation for Israel

The Los Angeles Times reported on November 13:

“The United States vetoed a Security Council resolution Saturday that would have condemned Israel’s military actions in the Gaza Strip and demanded a withdrawal of Israeli troops. The resolution, sponsored by Qatar after an Israeli attack last week killed 18 civilians in the town of Beit Hanoun, received 10 votes in favor and four abstentions, but was killed by the U.S. veto [In the vote, the four countries which abstained were Britain, Denmark, Japan and Slovakia. The ten countries which were in favor were: Argentina, China, Congo, France, Ghana, Greece, Peru, Russia, Qatar and Tanzania.].”

The article continued:

“The U.S. veto highlights the difficulty of achieving Security Council accord on taking any action on the Israeli-Palestinian issue. The United States, a close ally of Israel, contends that resolution of the conflict should be handled by the peace intermediaries known as the quartet–the U.S., Russia, the European Union and the U.N. Washington almost always rejects resolutions related to Israel that don’t mention Palestinian provocation or contain a denunciation of terrorism. The veto Saturday by the U.S. was its fourth in three years on the issue. The U.S. vetoed a similar resolution in July that sought to condemn Israeli military operations in Gaza after the capture of an Israeli soldier by Palestinian militants, calling it ‘unbalanced.’ The other permanent members–Britain, France, Russia and China–say the long-standing conflict is a clear matter of peace and security that should be handled by the council…

“Israel apologized for the civilian deaths, saying that they had been caused by a ‘technical error’ but that its army would continue to defend the country against rocket attacks launched from Gaza… British Deputy Ambassador Karen Pierce condemned the Israeli attacks, saying, ‘It is hard to see what this action was meant to achieve and how it can be justified.’ But she said Britain abstained because it did not consider the resolution to be ‘sufficiently balanced nor to reflect the complexity of the current situation.'”

Any Solutions for Iraq?

The “State-South Carolina,” as posted by topix.net, wrote on November 11:

“What a difference a day makes. On Monday [of last week] those who questioned the wisdom or competence of Bush foreign policy were being dismissed by Republicans as ‘defeatocrats.’ Only last week President Bush vowed to keep Don Rumsfeld on as secretary of defense until 2008. Then, on Tuesday, the public registered a stunning vote of no confidence in Bush foreign policy–driven by dissatisfaction with Iraq. Democrats will control the House and the Senate. On Wednesday–before the results were even final–the president dumped Rumsfeld. And Bush talked repeatedly about ‘bipartisanship’ and the need to find ‘common ground’ with Democrats.

“It may be too late for even sincere bipartisanship to save Bush’s Iraq venture…  The president still makes key decisions. And his decisions over the past three years have left only bad options in Iraq… [But] Republicans unhappy with Bush foreign policy are now free to join Democratic counterparts in seeking a way out of the Iraq trap… at this point there are no miracles available to rescue Iraq policy…”

The article concludes: “Whether Bush and the Democrats can work together in a bipartisan fashion is far from certain.”

Iraq Is “Not Winnable”

On November 13, Der Spiegel Online published an interview with Richard Haass, president of the Council on Foreign Relations. According to the magazine, “A widely respected foreign policy expert, Haass warns that the Middle East could become dangerous for years to come.”

Set forth below are excerpts from his interesting interview:

“Iraq was a war of choice that proved to be much more difficult and expensive than Americans bargained for… I can’t think of a time when the United States has faced so many difficult challenges at once. What makes it worse is we are facing them at a time when we are increasingly stretched militarily. We are divided politically. We are stretched also economically, and there is a good deal of anti-Americanism in the world. It’s a very bad combination…

“I believe largely because of the American decision to go to war in Iraq and how it has been carried out, as well as the emphasis on promoting democracy and a lack of any serious energy policy, the Middle East has considerably grown worse. It’s one of history’s ironies that the first war in Iraq, a war of necessity, marked the beginning of the American era in the Middle East and the second Iraq war, a war of choice, has precipitated its end…

“Visions of a new Middle East that is peaceful, prosperous and democratic will not be realized. Much more likely is the emergence of a new Middle East that will cause great harm to itself and the world. Iran will be a powerful state in the region, a classical imperial power. No viable peace process between Israel and the Palestinians is likely for the foreseeable future. Militias will emerge throughout the region, terrorism will grow in sophistication, tensions between Sunni and Shia will increase, causing problems in countries with divided societies, such as Bahrain, Lebanon and Saudi Arabia. Islam will fill the political and intellectual vacuum. Iraq at best will remain messy for years to come, with a weak central government, a divided society and sectarian violence. At worst, it will become a failed state racked by all-out civil war that will draw in its neighbors…

“The Iraq situation is not winnable in any meaningful sense of the word ‘winnable.’… The war is one the American people weren’t quite prepared for: They had not been told it was going to be that difficult and expensive. After the military battlefield phase, they thought it was going to be easy. So this has proven shocking. Nearly 3,000 Americans have lost their lives. Maybe 15,000 – 20,000 Americans have been wounded. Hundreds and hundreds of billions of dollars have been spent. It has been disruptive on many levels. The danger is that the United States now will be weary of intervening elsewhere, like the cat that once sat on a hot stove and will never sit on any stove again… There is no doubt that the world needs the United States.”

When asked, ” What could Europe do?,” Haass replied:

“The one-word answer is: More… One wants Europe to be more internationally oriented. If you could make a criticism that the United States has under-used the diplomatic tool, Europeans often under-use other tools… What Europeans have control over is not American foreign policy. What they have control over is their own capacity and willingness to act — and that is what they ought to focus on.”

Iraq’s “Thanks”

On November 14, Der Spiegel Online published an interview with Iraq’s health minister, Ali al-Shameri. In the interview, the following startling and revealing statements were made by al-Shameri:

“The Americans are the reason for the disaster in our country. Rumsfeld made many mistakes, and we are pleased to see him go. The Americans understand nothing about Iraq. They are not protecting us, but just themselves… The Iraqi government must be able to act as a sovereign body. We want to deploy our police and military forces the way we think is right. So far we have always had to ask the Americans. Personally, I would have no objection to their leaving the country tomorrow. In any event, in the future we must tie the presence of their troops to conditions… The Americans must leave the cities and withdraw to their bases. They should only come when they are needed and called for…

“The ordinary citizens, including the Sunnis, want the Americans to go. But those in the government and in political groups are now worried about their jobs. They get their support from Arab countries. As a result, more and more suicide bombers are coming into our country… Iran is a friend, but we receive neither weapons nor money from them, not even medications, which we urgently need… Both Iran and the Arabs should stay out of the affairs of Iraq… About 100 people die every day as a result of violence, and three times as many are wounded. Doctors are being threatened and are fleeing the country. Of a total of 18,000 doctors, the best — close to a thousand — have already left the country. I don’t have enough hospitals and far too few beds. We are running out of strength, both financially and otherwise, and we will not be able to survive much longer.”

Germans Dissatisfied With Democracy

Der Spiegel Online reported on November 3:

“In a survey released on Thursday evening by the German public television station ARD, 51 percent of the 1,500 people surveyed answered negatively to the question, ‘Are you satisfied with how democracy functions in Germany?’ It’s the lowest result since the station began asking the question in 1997… Similarly, the number of Germans who say that the situation in the country is ‘unjust’ continues to rise. Only 27 percent regard the current situation in Germany as ‘just’, with 66 percent disagreeing… The high levels of German dissatisfaction with the functioning of the country’s democracy could well be due to the current political atmosphere in Germany. One year after welcoming Angela Merkel and her grand coalition — the pairing of the Social Democrats with the conservatives — to power, Germans are increasingly dissatisfied with the government’s work. Only 27 percent think the current government is doing better than ex-chancellor Gerhard Schröder’s government. And with the grand coalition looking increasingly unwieldy, it may be some time before Germans cheer up again.”

America Lacks Faith in God

On November 9, WorldNetDaily wrote about America’s lack of faith and trust in God.  Although we don’t agree with much of the article, the point that the U.S.–as a nation–lacks faith in the true God of the Bible is very well taken. We are quoting the following excerpts from the article:

“You say we also believe in God today? No, we don’t–not as a nation… Today, America and Europe are being transformed by Islam because there is a spiritual vacuum in these once-Christian lands. Especially in Britain and Europe, where the Islamic invasion is already well advanced, analysts concede it’s simply a matter of time before some of these nations have Muslim majorities… The Netherlands’ justice minister, Piet Hein Donner, recently announced he would let Shariah law take over his European nation–already rapidly filling up with Muslims–if the majority votes for it… The French are so terrified of the Muslims that comprise 10 percent of their population that Parisian police won’t even venture into Muslim communities on the outskirts of the capital city… What about America? Though the percentage of Muslims in this huge nation is much lower than in Europe, radical Islam already has a powerful foothold in many parts of American society… We need to wake up and remember who we really are. We need to realize the bottom-line reality that man is a spiritual creature, and that he will have faith, one way or the other. If he doesn’t embrace true faith, he will embrace false faith… When God withheld His protection from ancient Israel because of the disobedience and faithlessness of His people, there was only one possible solution: They had to repent of their pride and folly and come back to Him. Do we somehow expect the Almighty to grant a different remedy to us?”

The answer is that the bride will ultimately involve many more
than those who are given eternal life in the first resurrection. A
review of this topic will reveal just what the Bible means when it
refers to the “bride.”

First of all, Jesus Christ is presented as
the bridegroom in many examples. Even at His appearance as a human and
before His death, Jesus spoke of Himself as the “bridegroom” (Luke
5:34-35). In this account, Jesus taught that He would be taken away and
that no “marriage” would be consummated at that time.

Note, as
well, that Jesus gave a parable indicating that He, as the bridegroom,
would return (Compare Matthew 25:1-13). In this story, Jesus began His
teaching with these very important words: “‘The kingdom of heaven shall
be LIKENED to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the
bridegroom’” (Matthew 25:1).

Jesus presented this example of
bridegroom and virgins (that is, the bride) to instruct His Church to
be ready for His return. Most importantly, the Church was to remain
vigilant and not let God’s Holy Spirit (the “oil” for their lamps) fade
out of their lives! He would only marry those who were ready.

John
the Baptist also referred to Jesus as the bridegroom (Compare John
3:29).In his statement, John attested to the fact that Jesus was the
Christ, and that he (John) was serving as if he were the friend in a
marriage ceremony. This is, of course, just an analogy, as John will be
in the first resurrection and therefore part of the bride.

In a
deeply symbolic series of statements, Paul instructs married members of
the Church to love their mates (Compare Ephesians 5:22-33). He draws on
the selfless example of Christ’s love for His Church to make his point.
Then, he mentions a profound truth about marriage, calling it “a great
mystery” (Verse 32).

Why is it a mystery? Because it is a truth
hidden in the plan of God—hidden to those not called by God! Yet, God’s
Church understands this mystery: Jesus Christ will marry His Church
(Compare, especially, verses 25-27)! Note what Paul also stated in this
connection: “For I am jealous for you with godly jealousy. For I have
betrothed you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin
to Christ” (2 Corinthians 11:2). It is important to understand the
concept of “betrothal.” That concept is fully explained in our booklet,
“And Lawlessness Will Abound…”, on pages 47 and 56-59.

Betrothal
describes a binding agreement or covenant of engagement, which could
only be annulled or dissolved through divorce, but it does not describe
the consummation of the marriage. As will be shown, God’s “betrothal”
is not limited to those who will be in the first resurrection. The
above-quoted booklet also explains that the New Covenant IS a marriage
agreement between Christ and His disciples–but it is not limited,
either, to those who will be in the first resurrection; rather, it will
also apply to those who will live in the Millennium and during the
Great White Throne Judgment, and who will become converted at that time
(For more information on that aspect of God’s great Master Plan, please
read, “God’s Commanded Holy Days.”)

In the many examples where
the Church is referred to as a “virgin,” the intent is one of our
spiritual condition. It is important that we not deduce an entire
teaching from a symbolic phrase! This vital key for understanding is to
look to Scripture for the meaning behind difficult verses, parables and
symbolic analogies.

However, the fact remains that Jesus Christ
will marry His Church! We find this specifically promised in Revelation
19. Verse 7 states: “‘Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory,
for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself
ready.’” Understand that the wife spoken of here is comprised of ALL
the saints—ALL those counted worthy for the first resurrection.
Christians, who live just before Christ’s return, also must be
prepared—just as the parable of the ten virgins in Matthew 25 so
clearly teaches.

Now carefully consider what is stated in
Revelation 19:8: “And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine
linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is THE RIGHTEOUS ACTS of
the saints.” The focus for who will be in this wedding ceremony centers
on those who are righteous—that is, those who obey God! Here we gain
insight to the fact that Christ will marry those who live righteous
lives—something only possible through having the help of God’s Holy
Spirit!

In the Old Testament, God says that He is Husband to
Israel: “‘For your Maker is your husband, The LORD of hosts is His
name; And your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel; He is called the God
of the whole earth’” (Isaiah 54:5). Even as Israel rejected God, He
reminded them of Who He was: “‘Return, O backsliding children,’ says
the LORD; ‘for I am married to you…’ (Jeremiah 3:14).

In a
moving outpouring of God’s love for Jerusalem–here, a type of all
Israel–He speaks of how He chose and tenderly loved her and made her
His: “‘…Yes, I swore an oath to you and entered into a covenant with
you, and you became Mine,’ says the Lord God” (Ezekiel 16:8). In verses
32 and 38 of this chapter, God charges Jerusalem of being “‘…an
adulterous wife’” and compares it with “‘…women who break wedlock.’”

Speaking
to Israel of a future time—a time when God will establish His Kingdom
on the earth: “‘And it shall be, IN THAT DAY,’ Says the LORD, ‘That you
will call Me “My Husband…”’” (Hosea 2:16). Then, in verses 19-20, we
find that God promises to join Israel to Himself in an unending
marriage: “‘I WILL BETROTH YOU TO ME FOREVER; Yes, I will betroth you
to Me In righteousness and justice, In lovingkindness and mercy; I will
betroth you to Me in faithfulness, And you shall know the LORD.’” It is
important to realize that God will “betroth” Israel in the
future–AFTER Christ’s return and the FIRST resurrection. This shows
that the “bride” cannot only include those in the first resurrection.

The
qualities of the bride in this marriage are: righteousness; justice;
lovingkindness; mercy; and faithfulness. These are fruits of God’s Holy
Spirit—fruits that Christians, the saints, the bride of Christ, are to
possess (Compare Galatians 5:22-23).

We have seen that the Church
of God is called a “bride.” Also, God’s Word reveals that He addresses
Himself as a Husband to Israel and that He will marry her forever in
the future, after Israel’s conversion! Furthermore, the Bible also
speaks of a “bride” in an even greater context:

“Then one of the
seven angels who had the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues
came to me and talked with me, saying, ‘Come, I will show you the
bride, the Lamb’s wife.’ And he carried me away in the Spirit to a
great and high mountain, and showed me the great city, the holy
Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God” (Revelation 21:9-10).

Earlier,
in Revelation 21, verse 2, we find this overview: “Then I, John, saw
the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God,
prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.”

Please note that
the holy city, spoken of as the “bride,” will descend to this earth
after the first resurrection, the Millennium and the Great White Throne
Judgment. At that time, the heavenly Jerusalem, placed on earth, is
compared with the bride; that is, it will be comprised of ALL of God’s
saints. Most commentaries understand this analogy. For example,
Jamieson, Fausset and Brown say that the bride in Revelation 21:2 is
“made up of the blessed citizens of the ‘holy city,'” and the Ryrie
Study Bible states that “the heavenly city [when here on earth] will be
the abode of all the saints, the bride of Christ…” Again, we see that
the “bride” includes more than just the saints of the first
resurrection.

In this most remarkable look into the future, God
has revealed that ALL of mankind who become truly converted and become
Christ-like will be joined to Him and His family: “‘HE WHO OVERCOMES
shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My
son’” (Revelation 21:7).

Mankind was created to become members of
God’s Family! As children of God—described as sons of God and brethren
of Christ (Compare Hebrews 2)—mankind also is offered a role with
Christ described as being His “bride.” We are to become helpers
“comparable to [H]im,” as the first woman was created to be a helper,
comparable to the husband (Compare Genesis 2:18). We are to become
united in a permanent relationship within the Family of God!

Jesus
prayed a remarkable prayer to His Father, which is recorded in John 17.
Jesus asked for something that is—when we understand it—the most
extraordinary of relationships. Note, in particular, verses 11 and
20-26. Jesus specifically asked that His followers might be ONE as both
He and the Father are ONE. Genesis 2:24 states of the married
relationship between man and woman: “Therefore a man shall leave his
father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become ONE
FLESH.”

We must understand the significance of what Peter stated:
“Then Peter opened his mouth and said: ‘In truth I perceive that God
shows no partiality. But in every nation whoever fears Him and works
righteousness is accepted by Him’” (Acts 10:34-35; Also, compare Romans
2:11; Galatians 2:6; Colossians 3:23-25; 1 Peter 1:17).

Our
understanding about who the bride is must be supported by all of the
relevant Scriptures. Remember, God desires that all men should be saved
(Compare 1 Timothy 2:4; 2 Peter 3:9). Also, consider what Jesus Christ
taught about those who would be saved—about those who would, indeed,
become His spiritual bride: “‘And indeed there are last who will be
first, and there are first who will be last’” (Luke 13:30).

Finally,
in some of the very last words of the Bible, this heartening plea is
made—it is as if those who now rest among the spiritual virgins
awaiting the marriage of the Lamb speak to us: “And the Spirit and the
BRIDE say, ‘Come!’ And let him who hears say, ‘Come!’ And let him who
thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely”
(Revelation 22:17).

Lead Writers: Dave Harris and Norbert Link

The text for our new booklet on suffering was sent to our Graphics Designer, Shelly Bruno, for finalization.

A new StandingWatch program was recorded, titled, “What’s in Store for America?” Set forth below is a brief summary of the program:

“Saddam
Hussein was convicted and sentenced to death by an Iraqi court. While
the U.S. welcomed and supported the sentence, the Europeans were united
in their opposition to it. The Iraqi court rendered the judgment at the
eve of the U.S. Midterm Elections, but it did not help President Bush
and the Republicans. Democrats have gained a convincing majority in
both the House and the Senate. In the wake of the election, Secretary
of Defense Don Rumsfeld resigned. However, most observers feel that
this power shift and Rumsfeld’s resignation will not substantially
change American politics in Iraq. Does the Bible have anything to say
about the future of America?”

On November 11, 2006, Norbert Link will give the sermon, addressing the topic of Christian suffering.

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.

The tiny, landlocked nation of Bhutan, sandwiched between Tibet and
India in the Himalayas, has a philosophy that could be taken straight
from the pages of the Bible. In a Buddhist country of around 700,000
people, King Jigme Singye Wangchuck decreed, when he ascended the
throne in 1972, that instead of seeking a gross national product, the
official goal was to enjoy gross national happiness.

A journalist
with the Bhutan Broadcasting Service made the following observation
about the King’s edict: “He basically meant, let my people be happy,
you know. And how do you be happy? Well, if kids go to school, kids
that live healthy, and if the forests are there, you take them out on
walks on the weekends.”   And that, he agreed, is the
opposite of a consumer society. Selfishness is exactly what “gross
national happiness” is trying to avoid–the excesses of consumerism
experienced by many nations of the world.

Gross National Product
(GNP) measures only the sum total of material production and exchange
in any country and was never intended to be a measure of actual
well-being.  An international conference on Gross National
Happiness, hosted by the Bhutan government in the capital city of
Thimphu in 2004, attracted 82 eminent participants from 20 countries.
This conference showed that basic happiness can be measured since it
pertains to quality of nutrition, housing, education, health care and
community life.

During the last few weeks, the true Church of God
has been keeping God’s autumnal Feast Days as part of the Holy Day
calendar. There will be much happiness when the Feast of Trumpets (kept
on 23rd September this year) becomes reality as Christ returns to the
earth to set up the Kingdom of God. Ten days later (2nd October), the
Church kept the Day of Atonement which heralds the putting away of
Satan for 1,000 years. As our adversary, and the one who has caused so
much suffering during the last 6,000 years is banished, there will be
much rejoicing and happiness at this event. And then, four days later,
the Feast of Tabernacles (7th to 13th October in 2006) was kept for
seven days which represents Christ’s millennial rule on earth, followed
by the Last Great Day (14th October in 2006) which foreshadows a time
during which all who have not previously been given an opportunity to
accept or reject God’s calling will be given their first opportunity
(see our free booklet “God’s Commanded Holy Days”).

These
events will provide the answer to all of the world’s ills. And the
praiseworthy efforts of Bhutan will be completely overshadowed by the
perfect rule of Christ over all the earth. This will bring happiness on
a scale previously unrealized during man’s 6,000 years of misrule. And
Gross National Happiness will be the order of the day!

Special Report on Iraq

The former Iraqi dictator, Saddam Hussein, and six subordinates were convicted and sentenced Sunday for the 1982 killings of 148 people in a single Shiite town after an attempt on his life there. The death sentences automatically go to a nine-judge appeals panel, which has unlimited time to review the case. If the verdicts and sentences are upheld, the executions must be carried out within 30 days. The Iraqi president Jalal Talabani said Monday that he wouldn’t sign Saddam’s death sentence. However, he emphasized that his personal signature was not necessary for it to be carried out. Saddam Hussein was appearing in court again on Tuesday in a separate genocide trial investigating the Anfal campaign of 1987-88 during which up to 180,000 Kurds died.

The worldwide reaction to Saddam’s death penalty was mixed and brought into focus the failed attempts of the United States to bring peace and democracy to Iraq, as well as the American inability to prove the accuracy of the stated reasons for beginning the war in the first place. Der Spiegel Online wrote on November 7 that “Europe [was] united in opposition” to the verdict.

World Leaders Say Their Peace

The Associated Press wrote the following on November 5 about the reactions of world leaders to Saddam’s conviction and sentence:

“… The White House praised the Iraqi judicial system and denied the U.S. had been ‘scheming’ to have the historic verdict announced two days before American midterm elections, widely seen as a referendum on the Bush administration’s policy in Iraq… symbolic of the split between the United States and many of its traditional allies over the Iraq war, many European nations voiced opposition to the death sentences in the case, including France, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Sweden… Lost in the drama of Sunday’s death sentence was any mention of the failed search for the alleged weapons of mass destruction that Bush said led the United States to invade and occupy Iraq in March 2003.”

In a related article, The Associated Press stated: “At the Vatican, Cardinal Renato Martino, Pope Benedict XVI’s top prelate for justice issues, called the sentence a throwback to ‘eye for an eye’ vengeance… Intervening militarily was ‘a grave error,’ said Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, whose country withdrew its troops from Iraq, contending that conditions there have worsened since the U.S.-led invasion… The Council of Europe called it ‘futile and wrong’ to execute Saddam… Iran, which fought an eight-year war against Saddam’s Iraq and is a bitter opponent of the United States, praised the death sentence.”

Reuters added in its article of November 5:

“The European Union urged Iraq on Sunday not to carry out the death sentence… ‘The EU opposes capital punishment in all cases and under all circumstances, and it should not be carried out in this case either,’ Finland, current holder of the rotating EU presidency, said in a statement…

Der Spiegel Online wrote on November 6:

“The conviction of Saddam Hussein is dividing the world… Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi said: ‘The condemnation reflects the judgment of the entire international community. But however ferocious a crime may be, our traditions and our ethics distance us from the concept of a death penalty.’ German Chancellor Angela Merkel pointed out that the EU opposes the death sentence. ‘But it’s right and important that the courts deal with Saddam Hussein’s deeds.'”

The magazine also reported that the Foreign Ministers of Italy and France appealed to the Iraqi government not to execute Saddam. Surprisingly, even Tony Blair, when pressed by journalists, commented that “he was against the death penalty, including against Saddam Hussein… thereby rejecting the position of his war-ally, George W. Bush.” In typical political fashion he went on to say, however, that the issue was an internal Iraqi affair.

This last sentiment was echoed by the U.S. government. According to AFP of November 7, “US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice rejected criticism from European and other allies over the death sentence… ‘This is not something for Americans or, frankly, Europeans to comment on. I think this is something for Iraqis to decide,’ Rice said in a television interview… Rice also angrily rejected suggestions Washington had manipulated the timing of the Saddam verdict, which came two days before crucial US elections.”

A.P. added on November 6 that due to the verdict, “the divide between Shiite and Sunni” in Iraq was “widening.”  It also mentioned in its article of November 5 that “Shiites and Kurds, who had been tormented and killed in the tens of thousands under Saddam’s iron rule, erupted in celebration–but looked ahead fearfully for a potential backlash from the Sunni insurgency that some believe could be a final shove into all-out civil war.” AFP commented on November 7 that “The verdict served only to deepen Iraq’s bitter religious divide.”

Strong Accusations from Human Rights Groups

Reuters stated on November 5: “Human rights groups and legal experts have called the year-long trial, during which three defence lawyers were killed, deeply flawed.” According to The Associated Press, Amnesty International actually said it “deplored” the sentence, and condemned the trial as a “shabby affair, marred by serious flaws” which had not met basic international standards. According to Der Spiegel Online, dated November 7, “A United Nations legal expert has likewise urged the Iraqi government not to carry out the death sentence. Leandro Despouy, the UN special investigator on the independence of judges and lawyers, questioned the fairness of the trial and called for an international tribunal to either retry Saddam or handle the appeals process.”

What The International Press Thinks…

The reaction of the international press to the verdict was sharply divided as well. As AFP pointed out on November 6, “The world’s media has been torn between applause for the death penalty given dictator Saddam Hussein and warnings that killing him would only exacerbate divisions threatening to destroy Iraq.” The article continued:

“The New York Times called for Saddam’s execution to be deferred, saying his trial had given Iraq ‘neither the full justice nor the full fairness it deserved’… Europe’s press reaction broadly reflected where the countries or individual newspapers stood on the Iraq invasion. ‘It’s a shame the verdict can give the impression of legitimizing a military intervention taken under false pretexts, when it should be before all else a founding act for a state based on the rule of law after 24 years of dictatorship,’ said Le Figaro in France, a fierce critic of the war.

“In Britain, the main US ally in the Iraq invasion, the response ranged between the tabloid Sun’s gloating over Saddam’s ‘fitting’ sentence to strong criticism in the broadsheets.The Guardian said that if ‘a new Iraq is to ever … emerge from the ruins of the old, eschewing judicial murder would be a good start.’ The Independent lamented that the trial had ‘solved nothing, ended nothing, healed nothing.’

“Some European papers saw the trial as a missed opportunity, arguing that hearings under an international tribunal would have delivered justice better, while the faulted process in Iraq was only likely to fuel fighting. The Berliner Zeitung said it should have been a ‘historic chance’ to learn about the brutalities of Saddam’s rule and help the nation move on. ‘Instead of that, the trial was manipulated by the occupational forces.'”

Schröder’s Point of View on Iraq

In his memoirs, which were published at the end of October, former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder recalls the difficult period during the run-up to the Iraq war. On November 6, Der Spiegel Online introduced excerpts from Schröder’s book as follows:

“The trans-Atlantic Ice Age was intense. German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder and US President George W. Bush — close allies during the post-Sept. 11 offensive in Afghanistan — had nothing but disdain for each other when it came to Iraq. On Aug. 1, 2002 Schröder elected to take the final step in severing his relationship to the president. With an eye on autumn elections, he promised that Germany would not take part in a US-led military ‘adventure’ in Iraq. The statement marked the start of a major diplomatic rift between Washington and Berlin — one that is still being mended today.”

One can safely say that without the Iraq war, the relationship between the United States and Germany would have been much better.

Der Spiegel Online continued as follows:

“Cheney gave a firebrand speech on Aug. 26, 2002 in Tennessee that Schröder describes in his memoir as a ‘tough one,’ a ‘carefully prepared bit of agitation for the coming conflict.’ Cheney infamously claimed that ‘only idiots or cowards could possibly believe’ the invasion was avoidable. With US special forces unable to capture al-Qaida head Osama bin Laden, Schröder suggests the CIA was eager to shift focus to Saddam Hussein — America’s ‘sworn enemy’ in Cheney’s words. ‘To justify this change in strategy,’ he writes, ‘Cheney turned mere assumptions into certainties.’ Cheney also predicted in the speech that Saddam’s collapse would give people a chance to ‘promote values that can bring lasting peace’ and that the people of Basra and Baghdad would cheer the American soldiers when they arrived. ‘What a string of miscalculations!’ Schröder writes. ‘Cheney was never held accountable for any of these mistakes — or perhaps they were deliberate distortions?'”

The magazine went on to point out:

“During those crucial months, the United Nations’ chief weapons inspector, Hans Blix, was busy criss-crossing Iraq with his team searching fruitlessly for weapons of mass destruction. Schröder says that Blix’s inspection reports had often been used in top-level discussions about Iraq in Berlin. He describes the results of Blix’s work as clear: ‘There were no traces of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.’ The ex-chancellor describes Blix as having maintained a ‘stoic and unwavering stance’ during his thorough inspections and writes that he ‘continue(s) to respect’ that work today. Schröder also found the political campaign waged against Blix by the Bush administration to be deeply troubling…

“Jan. 30, 2003 proved to be a watershed day for European Union relations. Under domestic pressure at home in a country where the majority opposed an Iraq war, Tony Blair’s government sought signatures of prime ministers of seven other European countries for a letter that offered indirect support for the imminent invasion of Iraq. The letter served as a snub for Germany, France and other Western European Countries that had been critical of the calls for war. ‘As much as I could understand the new EU members from Eastern Europe who, for historical reasons, wanted to take sides with the United States, I was equally unable to recognize any even remotely equivalent legitimacy behind the other EU states signing the document.’ The letter, published in newspapers across Europe, drove a wedge between EU countries and spoiled hopes for a common European foreign policy. Three of the signatories were new EU member states from Eastern Europe. ‘What an opportunity we missed with all these quarrels!,’ he laments. ‘A united European stance could have contributed to dissuading America from making a fatal mistake.’

“On Feb. 5, Colin Powell gave his famous speech before the UN in which he laid out the case for the invasion of Iraq. It was only after this that France officially teamed with Berlin and became part of the anti-war alliance… Days later, millions took to the streets across Europe and the world to protest the coming war — including a half million in Berlin…

“Looking to the current state of affairs in Iraq, Schröder sees the recent rebellion of top retired US military generals as a sign that ‘Americans are beginning to deal with the lack of rationality within the government and among its representatives.’ Schröder ventures that the time to start thinking about a pullout has arrived. ‘Perhaps the time has come to encourage the United States to leave Iraq. However, this would require immense strategic preparation that would have to enable all parties involved to save face, and would also include safe withdrawal of the troops.’ This, he argues, would require a ‘peace initiative that takes away support for the terrorists and discourages them.’ He argues the US will be unable to achieve this on its own. ‘Europe and, if possible, another worldwide coalition, including the Arab countries and Israel, would have to be involved. We must begin paving the way now, otherwise we run the risk of terrorists establishing additional footholds worldwide. If that happens, there will be more at stake than a trans-Atlantic spat.'”

Iraq has become an absolutely unbearable burden for the United States and its very few allies–much worse, in a sense, than Vietnam, as the dangers involved are so much greater. The whole world might be set on fire because of an idle attempt to bring democracy to a terribly divided country. Swift concerted action is necessary, but, as Schröder rightly fears, very unlikely. Please make sure to read our member letter, dated November 8, 2006, which discusses the fiasco in Iraq and the reasons for it in more detail.

A Major Catastrophe Is Imminent

Der Spiegel Online wrote on November 6:

“Vesuvius has been quiet for the last 62 years — and that’s cause for concern. Italian authorities are preparing for the next eruption of the most dangerous volcano in the world.”

The magazine continued:

“The ground south of Mt. Vesuvius has been shaken by tremors 52 times during the last 24 hours… Three hundred tons of sulfur dioxide have spewed out of the crater. Other ominous signs of an impending catastrophe are mounting: The coast guard has sighted gaseous bubbles in the sea, and dead fish are floating on the waves. The water in the boroughs of Ercolano and Torre del Greco tastes sourer and sourer. And, as if that weren’t enough, GPS stations have observed that the ground in the region is rising — by no less than 20 centimetres (8 inches) in a single day. ‘No doubt about it, the magma is rising,’ [Italian researcher Franco] Barberi concludes…  Barberi speaks of a ‘dramatic acceleration of events.’ The evacuation has to begin immediately, he says — tonight…

“Nowhere else on the planet do so many people live in the death zone… Some 55,000 people live by the foot of Vesuvius — in towns that have crept farther and farther upward along the volcano’s fertile slopes during the past decades. Hardly any other region of Europe is as densely populated — and construction work is ongoing. Fifty thousand new buildings were built here during the past 20 years — even including a hospital in the town of Torre Annunziata… Vesuvius has been slumbering for 62 years now — and that’s a bad sign, according to the volcanologists. After all, each of the volcano’s major eruptions occurred at the end of such a calm period. The rule of thumb seems to be: The longer the volcano remains outwardly peaceful, the worse the disaster being prepared in its innards.”

In this context, you might want to view one of our older StandingWatch programs, titled, “The Last Days of Pompeii.”

Worst Drought in 1,000 Years

AFP reported on November 7 that “The world’s driest inhabited continent was in the grip of the worst drought in 1,000 years, a river management expert told Australia’s political leaders… The drought has already been described variously as the worst in living memory, the worst in a century and the worst since white settlement more than two centuries ago… statistics showed that the country’s most important river system, within the Murray-Darling Basin, could run out of water in six months, after six years of drought. About 30 rivers and hundreds of tributaries run across the basin, which feeds about 70 per cent of Australia’s irrigated farmlands.”

America’s Midterm Elections

American Voters Send A Clear Message!

Democrats ousted Republicans from power in the House of Representatives in Tuesday’s midterm elections. They also took the Senate with a majority of 51 seats, including two independents who said that they would work with the Democrats.

The Washington Post commented that the Democrats did not win the midterm elections, but that the Republicans lost.

Some of the noteworthy developments are:

Minneapolis’ Democrat Keith Ellison has become the first Muslim to win a seat in the US Congress; and California’s House Democrat Leader Nancy Pelosi is set to be the first female speaker of the House. The most noted Republican who won a convincing re-election as California’s Governor was Arnold Schwarzenegger. Many observers feel that his land-slide victory was largely due to his recent willingness to distance himself from President Bush on issues such as global warming, setting aside partisan differences, and to concentrate on working together with Democrats to try to solve California’s mounting problems.

Also, in the wake of the elections, having come under much criticism and having lost more and more support even within the military, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld resigned on Wednesday, to be replaced by Dr. Robert Gates. Gates is former CIA Chief (1991-1993), and currently President of Texas A&M University. He was selected in order to bring, in the words of President Bush, “a fresh perspective.” Although he changed his mind regarding Rumsfeld, having stated just before the elections that Rumsfeld would stay in office, President Bush reiterated on Wednesday during a press conference that Vice-President Cheney would remain Vice-President for the next two years.

When asked to comment on the election results, President Bush said that he had thought that the American people would have known the importance of security. “But, ” he added, “the people have spoken.”

According to commentators, American voters, disappointed with President Bush’s overall job performance, as well as upset about scandals, ethic problems and corruption in the House and Congress, sent a clear message to both Republicans and Democrats, which is: “Stop bickering and attacking each other, but get something done, including on hotly debated ethical issues and health care.” And: “Solve the debacle in Iraq!” These are tough demands, given the political climate in Washington and the fact that most Democrats had voted for the war in Iraq.

Der Spiegel Online reported on November 8:

“Exit polls showed that 42 percent of voters called corruption an extremely important issue in their choices at the polls, followed by terrorism at 40 percent, the economy at 39 percent and the war in Iraq at 37 percent… Karsten Voigt, a German government adviser on German-American relations, said the election outcome meant Bush would be forced to seek consensus positions with the Democrats on key issues including Iraq. ‘…the mere fact that they won seats will shift the debate there and the president will have to take account of that,’ said Voigt. He added that he didn’t think a majority of Democrats backed an immediate withdrawal from Iraq, though. ‘There are no good options for America in Iraq, only a range of options that are less bad,’ said Voigt, a member of the center-left Social Democrats.”

What Will the Democrats Do?

On the eve of the US Midterm elections, Der Spiegel Online wrote on November 7:

“It’s almost a foregone conclusion that the Democrats are going to win back the House of Representatives — and maybe even the Senate [which they did]. But what will the Democrats do with their victory?… Congressional elections are often a reflection of the White House’s popularity, and right now, a failing policy in Iraq and abundant political scandals are casting a dark shadow over the Republican Party…

“[The] center-left daily Süddeutsche Zeitung… cautions the [Democratic] party to wield its power thoughtfully. Two years from now, when the Americans go to the polls again and look at what Democrats have done with their mandate, their typical refrain of ‘we wanted to but couldn’t’ will not be good enough. A difficult balancing act lies ahead. Democrats will have to become an effective ‘counterweight to the president,’ but they’ll also have to ‘prove their willingness to cooperate.’ The paper suggests Democrats resist the temptation to exact revenge on a President that has proven so divisive. Instead, they should focus on the central question of Iraq and suggest a timetable for the withdrawal of troops. Democrats, writes the editor, ‘must prove they deserve America’s trust.’

“The conservative Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung makes little effort to downplay the US Midterm elections, referring to Tuesday as ‘World Voting Day.’ Europeans so desperately want the Democrats to win — and the image of ‘Bush as the enemy’ has become so deeply ingrained in the European conscience — that they are starting to believe a real shift in power is happening. Not so fast, writes the daily. ‘Whether this is actually the end of Republican dominance will only be seen in two years,’ when Democrats will have to answer for their time in power. Iraq is certainly the core issue in the campaign, but Democrats can’t forget the domestic issues — like corruption and pension reform — that need to be tackled. Many say the American political system is paralyzed when the White House and Congress are controlled by different parties. But with respect to American democracy, writes the paper, it wouldn’t be all that bad.

“Conservative daily Die Welt would like to remind its readers that America is the only superpower in the world. So, those Europeans who fantasize about an ‘alternative model to America,’ need to stop dreaming. Regardless of the outcome of the US Midterm elections, the US’s role in the world will not change. A Democratic victory will not lead to withdrawal from Iraq, and the threats from rogue states Iran and North Korea do not depend on who controls the US Congress. This, writes the paper, ‘Europe likes to forget.'”

AFP wrote on November 8:

“Victorious Democrats were quick to throw their newfound political weight behind demands that President George W. Bush change course in Iraq… But the opposition politicians [Democrats]… have offered few clear ideas for how to deal with the disastrous situation in the country US troops invaded more than three years ago… they appear almost as divided as Republicans over how to resolve the crisis.”

And Here We Go Again…

To end this week’s Current Events section with a laughable example of scientific “intelligent reasoning,” The Associated Press reported that “Japanese researchers said Sunday that a bottlenose dolphin captured last month has an extra set of fins that could be the remains of hind legs, a discovery that may provide further evidence that ocean-dwelling mammals once lived on land… Fossil remains show dolphins and whales were four-footed land animals about 50 million years ago and share the same common ancestor as hippos and deer. Scientists believe they later transitioned to an aquatic lifestyle and their hind limbs disappeared.”

This is utter nonsense, of course. No “evolution” from sea animals to land animals to sea animals took place. It is amazing that scientists teaching this concept seem to be unwilling to ask and answer the pertinent question: If animal life developed in the ocean, as they contend, and if fish developed into sea-living reptiles, which then moved to land to evolve into birds and mammals, in order to become more adaptable to their environment, why in the world would those land animals then decide to move back into the sea, in order to give up their sophisticated characteristics that they developed as land animals? This makes no sense, does it?

For more information on the utter ridiculousness of the whole evolutionary concept, which is being taught to our poor children in school, please read our free booklet, “The Theory of Evolution–a Fairy Tale for Adults?”

In Matthew 5:21-22, Jesus speaks about literal murder as well as feelings and expressions of hate. The passage reads as follows:

“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’ But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ [Margin: Lit, in Aram., Empty head] shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell [Margin: Gr. Gehenna] fire.”

As seen above, the New King James Bible, as well as most translations, render the last expression as “fool.” However, as this word is understood today by the common reader, it does not seem to be much worse than the term “Raca” (i.e., “empty head”). Why, then, the strong difference in potential judgment?  Some commentaries and
translations admit that they don’t really know what the word means, which they render “fool.” Some say, one cannot translate this word.

Others equate the word for “fool” with “child of hell” or “profane.” Some say, “godless person,” or, “go to hell.” Vine’s Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words feels, the word means, “a morally worthless person.”

An interesting possibility is proposed by the Lamsa Bible, which renders the passage in this way:

“You have heard that it was said to those who were before you, You shall not kill, and whoever kills is guilty before the court. But I say to you that whoever becomes angry with his brother for no reason is guilty before the court; and whoever should say to his brother, Raca (which means, I spit on you) is guilty before the congregation; and whoever says to his brother, you are effeminate [Footnote: Aramaic, brutish; abnormal. We might want to add here that the word “effeminate” conveys the thought of being “womanly” or “unmanly”–a sexual reference to homosexuality], is condemned to hell fire.”

Throughout the Bible, the concept of a “fool” is equated with one who denies the existence of God or His role in man’s life. In Romans 1:21-22, 26-27, Paul explains the truth that man, when acting and being foolish, may engage, in some cases, in the practice of homosexuality: “… although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their FOOLISH hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became FOOLS [Note that this is not the same word as the one used in Matthew 5:22, but it conveys a similar concept]… For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the women, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful…”

The Nelson Study Bible gives the following explanation to Matthew 5:21-22:

“‘You have heard’ refers to the teaching of various rabbis rather than to that of Moses. Jesus was questioning the interpretation of the Jewish scholars, not the Old Testament itself. The scribes and Pharisees said that a person who referred to another as Raca, meaning empty head, was in danger of being sued for libel before the council (or the
Sanhedrin). On the other hand, Jesus said that whoever calls another a fool will have to answer to God. That is not to say that calling someone a fool will condemn a believer to eternal punishment in hell. Rather Jesus was saying that to utter such words is to place oneself in a worse condition at the time of judgment (see 1 Cor. 3:12-15).”

We might note, in this context, Christ’s warning in Matthew 12:36-37:

“But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

Matthew Henry makes the following well-considered comments to Matthew 5:21-22:

“The laws of God are not novel, upstart laws, but were delivered to them of old time; they are ancient laws, but of that nature as never to be antiquated nor grow obsolete. Killing is here forbidden, killing ourselves, killing any other, directly or indirectly, or being any way accessory to it. The law of God, the God of life, is a hedge of protection about our lives.”

We remark, in passing, that these comments do not leave any room and do not give any exception or justification for killing in war. God considers killing in WAR as MURDER as much as any other intentional killing of a human being, including abortion and suicide (Please read our free booklets, “Should YOU Fight in War?” and “Are You Already Born Again?”). To continue with Henry’s comments:

“[The Jewish teachers contended that] the law… was only external, and forbade no more than the act of murder, and laid no restraint upon the inward lusts, from which ‘wars and fightings come’ [compare James 4:1-2]. This was indeed the fundamental error of the Jewish teachers, that the divine law prohibited only the sinful act, not the sinful thought… Christ tells them that ‘rash anger’ is ‘heart-murder’ (v. 22)… he that is thus angry [please note here that righteous indignation is excluded, i.e. godly anger with cause; compare Mark 3:5], would kill if he could… he has taken the first step towards it… He tells them, that giving opprobrious [i.e., showing scorn or reproach; abusive] language to our brother is tongue-murder, calling him ‘Raca,’ and ‘Thou fool’… ‘Raca’ is a scornful word, and comes from pride, ‘Thou empty fellow.’… ‘Thou fool,’ is a spiteful word, and comes from hatred; looking upon him, not only as mean and not to be honoured, but as vile and not to be loved… ‘he that is angry with his brother shall be in danger of the judgment’ and anger of God; he that calls him ‘Raca, shall be in danger of the council,’ of being punished by the Sanhedrin for reviling an Israelite; ‘but whosoever saith, Thou fool,’ thou profane person, thou child of hell, ‘shall be in danger of hell-fire,’ to which he condemns his brother. Christ would thus show which sin was most sinful, by showing which it was the punishment whereof was most dreadful.”

Jamieson, Fausset and Brown likewise point out in their “Commentary on the Whole Bible,” that Christ, as the “Lawgiver and the Judge,” gave the “true sense” of the law against murder, explaining with an “authoritative tone” the “deep rich of the commandment.” The violation of the commandment, “Thou shalt not kill,” leads to “judgment,” that is, “to the sentence of those inferior courts of judicature which were established in all the principal towns, in compliance with Deuteronomy 16:16. Thus was this commandment reduced, from a holy law of the
heart-searching God, to a mere criminal statute, taking cognizance only to outward actions.”

The commentary continues to explain that Christ focused on the heart and mind of the perpetrator.  We might add that John later explained: “Whoever hates his brother IS a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him” (1 John 3:15).

Jamieson, Fausset and Brown also take the position that all three punishments, listed in Matthew 5:21-22, are references to “divine retribution… though this is expressed by an ALLUSION to Jewish tribunals. The ‘judgment’… was the lowest of these; the ‘council,’ or ‘Sanhedrin,’–which sat at Jerusalem–was the highest; while the word used for ‘hell fire’ [in Greek: Gehenna fire] contains an allusion to the ‘valley of the son of Hinnom’ (Josh. 18:16). In this valley the Jews, when steeped in idolatry, went [to] the length of burning their children to Molech ‘on the high places of Tophet’–in consequence of which good Josiah defiled it, to prevent the repetition of such abominations (II Kings 23:10); and from that time forward… a fire was kept burning in it to consume the carrion and all kinds of
impurities that collected about the capital.”

The commentary continues to explain that the ancients understood that “the final punishment of the [unrepentant] wicked [was] described in the Old Testament by alluding to this valley of Tophet or Hinnom (Isa. 30:33; 66:24).”

In other words, Christ’s allusion to punishment in Gehenna–elsewhere described as the lake of fire (Revelation 20:14-15), which will DESTROY or “BURN UP” the wicked [compare Malachi 4:1]–has reference to those who maliciously refuse to repent of their evil ways. Christ said that EVERY sin can and will be forgiven man, upon repentance, except the sin against the Holy Spirit (Matthew 12:31-32). If we reject the workings of the Holy Spirit in our lives, we reject God’s power in us which could change us. Permanent refusal to change is tantamount to sin against God and His Spirit. For instance, if we refuse to overcome hate toward others, God’s Holy Spirit, dwelling in us, will ultimately leave us (compare again 1 John 3:15).

To understand why it is so serious to call a brother a “fool”–the meaning of which might include a “child of hell” or an “effeminate,” that is, a sexually abnormal person–is because it is the fate of those kinds of people to end up in the lake of fire, unless they repent (compare Revelation 21:8; 22:15). It is a serious matter to falsely call a brother or a sister in Christ a sexually immoral person or a “dog,” i.e., a homosexual. This is not to say that we must blind our eyes to true facts. Paul was not afraid to point out that some, including in the church, were–or had been–sexually “abnormal” (compare 1 Corinthians 6:9-11; 5:9-13). However, Christ warned us not to make incorrect charges of immoral conduct against others, and especially our brethren, because of motivation of hate and malice.

To conclude, we want to quote from the following helpful analysis, found in The Broadman Bible Commentary:

“Jesus traced sin back to disposition, attitude, or intention. The overt act of murder has its root in anger, hostility or contempt for another. Jesus cited anger…, insulting one’s brother… and calling another fool… as being crimes for which one is [or should be] brought before the court (local court of 23 persons), the Sanhedrin (highest ruling body of the Jews), or for which he is liable to Gehenna. No court seeks to convict a person on the grounds of feeling or attitude, but feelings of anger or contempt are as dangerous as are the outward crimes for which one is brought into the courts or considered liable to hell [i.e. Gehenna fire–that is, ultimate extinction]. Jesus’ words… are to be understood as radical protests and warnings against wrong feelings toward another… That Jesus had his own community in mind is reflected in the recurrence of ‘his brother,’ a term reserved in Matthew for a Christian brother. Anger and contempt are not only self-destructive but destroy the fellowship of the church.”

Lead Writer: Norbert Link

A new member letter
was written and sent out on Wednesday, November 8. You can find a copy
of the letter on the Web. In the letter, Norbert Link discusses some of
the reasons why God’s Church is not voting in governmental elections,
encouraging all of us to keep watching world conditions and to keep
praying. We enclosed with the letter a copy of our booklet, “Teach Us to Pray.”

A new StandingWatch
program was recorded and placed on our Webpage and also on Google
Video. It is titled: “Germany In Trouble!” Set forth is a brief summary
of the program:

“Just to name a few of the mounting problems of
Germany’s Grand Coalition: The travesty in Afghanistan, involving
scandalous photos of German troops; Israel’s attack on German aircraft
and vessels in the Middle East; Lebanon’s position that Germany cannot
operate in the region without prior approval in certain circumstances;
the charge that the German government misrepresented the true scope of
authority and responsibility of German marines in the region; Germany’s
failure to implement an acceptable social welfare system; and President
Koehler’s refusal to sign legislation to privatize German airlines…
What does it all mean for the development of Biblical prophecy?”

The
video-recorded version of Norbert Link’s latest sermon, “Jonah Speaks
to Us,” was placed on Google Video (The audio version was placed, as
usual, on our Webpage).