Current Events

Resurrection of the Body?

On April 5, 2006, Scripps Howard News Service reported that “Most Americans don’t believe they will experience a resurrection of their bodies when they die, putting them at odds with a core teaching of Christianity.” The report continued that this poll “put Americans in conflict with both the Nicene Creed and the Apostles’ Creed, ancient statements of faith meant to unify Christian belief. The Nicene Creed, adopted in 325 at the First Council of Nicea under Roman Emperor Constantine, concludes with the famous words: ‘We look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. Amen.’  Similarly, the Apostles’ Creed professes a belief in ‘the resurrection of the body.’ Only 36 percent of the 1,007 adults interviewed a month ago by the Scripps Survey Research Center at Ohio University said ‘yes’ to the question: ‘Do you believe that, after you die, your physical body will be resurrected someday?’ Fifty-four percent said they do not believe and 10 percent were undecided.”

The article continued:

“‘I don’t know what to make of this,’ said retired Episcopal Bishop John Shelby Spong, author of ‘Resurrection: Myth or Reality’… ‘Maybe the old Greek idea of an immortal soul has taken over and the idea of a resurrected body has fallen into disrepute’… Robert Wuthnow, director of the Center for the Study of Religion at Princeton University, said the poll seems to have broken new ground in understanding America’s popular theology. ‘This is definitely interesting. I haven’t seen a similar question asked before,’ Wuthnow said. ‘In a way, though, it doesn’t surprise me. I can think of interpretations of the creeds that would suggest a spiritual resurrection rather than one of the physical body.'”

The poll reflects the confusion of Christian believers pertaining to the teachings of their churches. Of course, the confusion started already with orthodox Christianity’s “explanations,” as stated especially in the “Apostle’s Creed.” The Bible nowhere teaches the resurrection of the physical body of those who die in Christ. In fact, that would be quite an impossibility, as the physical body decays. Paul teaches that we will be resurrected with a spiritual body (1 Corinthians 15:35-37, 44). Correctly understood, the orthodox Christian teaching of the resurrection of our physical bodies is plainly false. And so is the teaching of an immortal soul. No wonder, then, that most Americans are confused about these vital issues. But theologians should not be “surprised” about this confusion; rather, they should blame themselves as the confusion results from their own wrong teachings.

For more information, please read our free booklet, “Do You Have an Immortal Soul?”

The “Gospel of Judas”

On April 5, 2006, Zenit published an interesting article about the so-called “Gospel of Judas,” stating that “The National Geographic Society has announced its intentions to publish an English translation of an ancient text… later this month. The 31-page manuscript, written in Coptic, purportedly surfaced in Geneva in 1983 and has only been translated now. ZENIT asked… Thomas D. Williams, dean of theology at the Regina Apostolorum university in Rome, to comment on the relevance of the discovery.” Here are excerpts from Mr.Williams’ thoughtful comments:

“Though the manuscript still must be authenticated, it likely represents a fourth- or fifth-century text, and is a copy of an earlier document produced by a Gnostic sect called the Cainites. The document paints Judas Iscariot in a positive light, and describes him as obeying a divine ordinance in handing over Jesus to the authorities for the salvation of the world. It may well be a copy of the ‘Gospel of Judas’ referred to by St. Irenaeus of Lyons in his work ‘Against the Heresies,’ written around A.D. 180… The Gnostic gospels, of which there are many besides this one, are not Christian documents per se, since they proceed from a syncretistic sect that incorporated elements from different religions, including Christianity. From the moment of their appearance, the Christian community rejected these documents because of their incompatibility with the Christian faith… To put a historical perspective on things, that would be like you or me writing a text now on the American Civil War and having that text later used as a primary historical source on the war….

“Such theories regarding Judas are certainly not new. It’s enough to remember the 1973 play ‘Jesus Christ Superstar,’ where Judas sings, ‘I have no thought at all about my own reward. I really didn’t come here of my own accord,’ or Taylor Caldwell’s 1977 novel ‘I, Judas.’ The enormous economic success of ‘The Da Vinci Code’ has undoubtedly stirred up the pot, and provided financial incentive for theories of this sort. Michael Baigent, author of ‘Holy Blood, Holy Grail,’ now has a book out called ‘The Jesus Papers,’ which recycles the old story that Jesus survived the crucifixion. And a newly released ‘scientific’ study asserts that meteorological conditions could have been such that Jesus really walked on ice, when the Gospels say he walked on water. Basically, for those who reject outright the possibility of miracles, any theory, outlandish as it may be, trumps Christian claims.”

It is, in fact, true that people with itching ears like to listen to anything BUT the Holy Bible. There is a reason for the antagonistic approach of many Christian “believers” toward the one and only book, which should be the very foundation of their Christian belief. For answers to these puzzling questions, please watch our new StandingWatch program, titled, “Da Vinci, Judas and a Fish.”

Italian Election Results

Der Spiegel Online, in collaboration with The New York Times, published the following editorial on April 12: “Italian elections did not used to be like this–so closely fought, so ideologically polarized–in short, so like the American presidential elections of 2004 and 2000… But that was before the era of Silvio Berlusconi, the center-right politician, showman and self-made billionaire who came into this week’s election as Italy’s longest continuously serving prime minister since World War II. After a long Monday night of seesawing returns, Italians awoke Tuesday to hear that Mr. Berlusconi had lost, by the narrowest of margins, to Romano Prodi, a center-left politician and economist. Mr. Prodi is Mr. Berlusconi’s opposite in almost every way… But the slimness of that majority will make it harder for the new government to push through the fiscal, labor market and regulatory reforms that Italy badly needs to revive its flagging economy and provide for its aging population.”

AFP reported on April 11 that with the election of Prodi, Bush was stripped “of another Iraqi war ally in Silvio Berlusconi, with staunch US partner Tony Blair barely holding on in Britain. Pro-war supporters had already departed in Spain and Portugal… Anti-Iraq sentiment has also colored the political landscape for other US allies, such as Poland, where a recent poll showed that 72 percent of Poles wanted their remaining 900 troops pulled out.

France, Italy and Germany

Der Spiegel Online published an article on April 11, discussing the overall situation in Europe in light of recent developments in Italy, France and Germany. It was stated: “How times have changed. Just a few months ago, Germany was still regarded as the ‘sick man’ of Europe, incapable of modernizing its once-proud economy… Things might not be exactly rosy in Germany, but some of the country’s neighbors now seem in far worse shape. The French government’s failure to implement its youth jobs law [and the announcement by President Chirac that, due to pressure from French students and unions, the proposed labor law will not become effective in France] and the emergence of what looks set to be a fragile, Socialist-led government in Italy is making Germany look positively dynamic by comparison. As students and trade unions staged parades across France on Tuesday to celebrate their victory, commentators said the center-right government’s withdrawal of the hated First Job Contract in response to weeks of strikes and mass demonstrations had killed off any prospect of reform until after the presidential election in 2007… In Italy, after a night of confusion over who had won in the closest election in modern Italian history, Romano Prodi claimed victory over Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and pledged to form a ‘strong’ government, Italy’s 61st since World War Two. But his wafer-thin margin — 25,000 votes out of some 38 million cast — raised the prospect of political deadlock that would prevent him from cutting the budget deficit and revamping the country’s bloated welfare system. ‘The threat of a stalemate, the worst possible scenario, has emerged and clouds the future with uncertainty,’ bank UniCredit Banca Mobiliare said in a note to investors as share prices fell on the Milan Stock Exchange.

“Germany began tackling reforms three years ago under then-chancellor Gerhard Schröder… The measures were highly unpopular, but the people protested in a very orderly and, well, German, fashion. Punctually on every Monday evening during the summer of 2004, months before the most hard-hitting measures were to be implemented, tens of thousands would gather in cities, mostly in eastern Germany where unemployment is highest. They chanted ‘We Are The People’ and blew whistles, and would march through town to squares where union leaders and left-wing politicians riled against the reforms. Then they would roll up their banners and go home quietly. No violence. No general strike. No one seemed to consider staging a protest on a Tuesday, or a Wednesday maybe… Not so in France, where street protests, often violent, are part of the political process. Some 3,400 people were arrested during nationwide protests against the First Job Contract, with which President Jacques Chirac and Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin wanted to combat youth unemployment by making it easier for employers to hire and fire workers aged 26 or under.

“Participation in nationwide demonstrations twice exceeded a million people during a period where the situation intensified after trade unions began organizing a series of national strikes… The climbdown has dented Villepin’s chances of running for the presidency in 2007. In Germany, Schröder’s reforms ultimately ended his political career after a series of regional election defeats forced him to call an early general election for last September, which he lost to conservative challenger Angela Merkel. But Merkel campaigned on even tougher changes, and has begun to discuss reform of the health care system in her right-left coalition with Schröder’s Social Democrats. While unemployment hasn’t started coming down yet, business and consumer confidence is improving, boosted by the prospect of the World Cup in June. ‘I wouldn’t go as far as to say Germany is the reform engine of Europe, but it is making slow progress,’ said Deutsche Bank’s Bielmeier.”

Again, we see how Germany is emerging as Europe’s leader! This is clearly in accordance with Biblical predictions. Please read our free booklet, “Europe in Prophecy.”

U.S. Politics In Iraq

According to an article of April 11, which was posted on mlabelle@argusleader.com, “Newt Gingrich, the former Republican Speaker of the House, told students and faculty at the University of South Dakota Monday that the United States should pull out of Iraq and leave a small force there, just as it did post-war in Korea and Germany. ‘It was an enormous mistake for us to try to occupy that country after June of 2003,’ Gingrich said during a question-and-answer session at the school. ‘We have to pull back, and we have to recognize it.’… [Referring to the situation with Iran,] Gingrich told the students their generation was entering a dangerous period–just as dangerous or more than that of the Cold War.”

On April 10, UPI quoted former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell as follows: “We made some serious mistakes in the immediate aftermath of the fall of Baghdad… We didn’t have enough troops on the ground. We didn’t impose our will. And as a result, an insurgency got started, and … it got out of control.” The article continued to present Powell’s position, which appeared to be quite different from Gingrich’s, as follows: “The retired general said as a result, the United States is morally obliged to ‘stick with the people of Iraq’ for as long as it takes to restore order…” America’s leading role in the world is gradually diminishing. For information on further prophesied developments, please read our free booklet, “The Fall and Rise of Britain and America.”

Nuclear War With Iran?

The national and international community reacted with horror about revelations in “The New Yorker” that allegedly some in the Bush Administration are considering dropping nuclear bombs on Iran. The newspaper, which was written by respected veteran reporter Seymour M. Hersh, published the article on April 10. (Hersh was the first who published the ground-breaking news about torture of Iraqi prisoners in the US military prison in Abu Ghraib). The report included the following excerpts:

“The Bush Administration… has… intensified planning for a possible major air attack… There is a growing conviction among members of the United States military, and in the international community, that President Bush’s ultimate goal in the nuclear confrontation with Iran is regime change… One of the military’s initial option plans, as presented to the White House by the Pentagon this winter, calls for the use of a bunker-buster tactical nuclear weapon, such as the B61-11, against underground nuclear sites… The lack of reliable intelligence leaves military planners, given the goal of totally destroying the sites, little choice but to consider the use of tactical nuclear weapons. ‘Every other option, in the view of the nuclear weaponeers, would leave a gap,’ the former senior intelligence official said. ‘”Decisive” is the key word of the Air Force’s planning. It’s a tough decision. But we made it in Japan.’ He went on, ‘Nuclear planners go through extensive training and learn the technical details of damage and fallout—we’re talking about mushroom clouds, radiation, mass casualties, and contamination over years”…

“The attention given to the nuclear option has created serious misgivings inside the offices of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, he added, and some officers have talked about resigning. Late this winter, the Joint Chiefs of Staff sought to remove the nuclear option from the evolving war plans for Iran—WITHOUT SUCCESS, the former intelligence official said… The Pentagon adviser on the war on terror confirmed that some in the Administration were looking seriously at this option… The matter may soon reach a decisive point, he said, because the Joint Chiefs had agreed to give President Bush a formal recommendation stating that they are strongly opposed to considering the nuclear option for Iran…”

The article continued:

“The Administration’s case against Iran is compromised by its history of promoting false intelligence on Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction… The Europeans are rattled, however, by their growing perception that President Bush and Vice-President Dick Cheney believe a bombing campaign will be needed, and that their real goal is regime change… Tony Blair, the British Prime Minister, was George Bush’s most dependable ally in the year leading up to the 2003 invasion of Iraq. But he and his party have been racked by a series of financial scandals, and his popularity is at a low point…”

The Washington Post confirmed some of the information in “The New Yorker” in an independent piece over the weekend. While British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw immediately rejected the reports in an interview with BBC as “completely nuts,” the Pentagon, according to Reuters of April 9, “WITHOUT DENYING THE REPORT, reiterated that it was pursuing a diplomatic solution to the nuclear row.” This reaction in a very half-hazard way prompted Der Spiegel Online to comment on April 9 that it poured even more fuel into the fire–especially in the Italian press. Even Straw’s additional comments to the BBC did not sound too re-assuring. According to Reuters, he stated: “Britain, Washington’s closest European ally, would not accept a pre-emptive strike against Iran… But if Iran were to attack Israel or to attack or THREATEN its neighbors, ‘that’s a very different circumstance,’… adding that Israel would have a right to self-defence if attacked.”

According to Straw, the mere THREAT of an attack would be sufficient justification for Israel to carry out a pre-emptive strike. This double-talk opened even wider the floodgates of speculations and fear of a potential nuclear war!

Somewhat belated, President Bush responded on April 10 to the reports. According to the Associated Press, “President Bush said Monday that force is not necessarily required to stop Iran from having a nuclear weapon, and he dismissed reports of plans for a military attack against Tehran as ‘wild speculation.'”

On the other hand, AFP reported on April 10 that “White House spokesman Scott McClellan said however that Bush is not taking the military option off the table.”

Iran’s reactions to the reports were forthcoming.

On April 11, 2006, AFP stated that “President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad vowed he will not back down ‘one iota’ over Iran’s nuclear programme.” Taking a somewhat inconsistent position, “Iran has dismissed any talk of an attack against it as ‘psychological warfare,'” while an Iranian army chief of staff, General Abdolrahim Mousavi, said that “Iran was ‘vigilant’ and ready to fight back. ‘We know America’s nature, and we are keeping enemy movements under surveillance. We are aware of their oppressive actions and goals against the Muslim nations,’ he added.”

The reports and reactions have, of course, given oil companies with record gross earnings in 2005 a welcome opportunity to try to make more money. As AFP reported on April 11, “World oil prices rose Monday, hovering around 68.0 dollars per barrel on market jitters over a potential military conflict between the United States and Iran, dealers said.” Focus Online added on April 11 that an increase of gas prices will also occur in Europe.

To top it all off, Iran announced on April 11 that they successfully enriched uranium for the first time–which is necessary to build an atomic bomb. According to an article posted on April 11 by usinfo.state.gov, “the Iranian regime is ‘moving in the wrong direction,’ White House press secretary Scott McClellan said.” He added: “‘This is a regime that has a long history of hiding its nuclear activities from the international community, and refusing to comply with its international obligations. Defiant statements and actions only further isolate the regime from the rest of the world, and further isolate the Iranian people.'”

Der Stern Online stated in its commentary on April 12 that Iran is miscalculating the situation. “With their provocations, they will not enforce concessions, but war.”

These are indeed frightening times. The Bible, sadly, predicts that just prior to the return of Christ, this world WILL experience nuclear war. For more information, please read our free booklet, “The Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord.”

Update 239

Temptations

On April 15, 2006, Norbert Link will give the sermon, discussing “temptations.”

The services can be heard at www.cognetservices.org at 12:30 pm Pacific Time (which is 2:30 pm Central Time). Just click on Connect to Live Stream.

On Wednesday, April 19, 2006, is the Last Day of Unleavened Bread. Robb Harris will be giving the sermon in the morning from Colorado, and Edwin Pope will give the sermon in the afternoon from San Diego.

The services can be heard at www.cognetservices.org at 9:00 am and 1:30 pm Pacific Time (which is 11:00 am and 3:30 pm Central Time). Just click on Connect to Live Stream.

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Appreciation

by Rene Messier (Canada)

One of the characteristics of this end time generation is a distinct
lack of appreciation, as mentioned in 2 Timothy 3:1-5: “But know this,
that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers
of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers,
disobedient to parents, UNTHANKFUL, unholy, unloving, unforgiving,
slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors,
headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,
having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people
turn away!”

This seems to be the plight of modern times in this
hustle and bustle “dog-eating-dog” world we live in. There is a real
lack of appreciation for so many of our blessings. It seems the more
one has in the way of possessions, the less one is appreciative.

We
have just come through a time of self-examination as we prepared for
the Passover. As we consider the great sacrifice of our Lord and
Savior, Who sacrificed Himself for all of us, giving His life for our
sins; our lives should be devoted to God’s Way of sacrifice and of
giving, rather than to the selfish approach of this world. Paul
succinctly put it in perspective, in Romans 5:8: “But God demonstrates
His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ
died for us.”

Not only did Christ die for all of us while we were
still sinners, but if you were the only person on the earth, He would
still have died for you. Christ is your personal Savior, as He is
mine–and He is potentially the Savior of all of mankind.

As we
are concentrating on putting sin out of our lives, and conducting our
lives in a Godly manner, it is important  that we remember
Christ’s great Sacrifice for us. It is also critical, especially at
this time, to be truly appreciative of the fact that because of what
Christ did and does for us, God the Father is granting us the
opportunity to become members of His very Family in the future.

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Resurrection of the Body?

On April 5, 2006, Scripps Howard News Service reported that “Most Americans don’t believe they will experience a resurrection of their bodies when they die, putting them at odds with a core teaching of Christianity.” The report continued that this poll “put Americans in conflict with both the Nicene Creed and the Apostles’ Creed, ancient statements of faith meant to unify Christian belief. The Nicene Creed, adopted in 325 at the First Council of Nicea under Roman Emperor Constantine, concludes with the famous words: ‘We look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. Amen.’  Similarly, the Apostles’ Creed professes a belief in ‘the resurrection of the body.’ Only 36 percent of the 1,007 adults interviewed a month ago by the Scripps Survey Research Center at Ohio University said ‘yes’ to the question: ‘Do you believe that, after you die, your physical body will be resurrected someday?’ Fifty-four percent said they do not believe and 10 percent were undecided.”

The article continued:

“‘I don’t know what to make of this,’ said retired Episcopal Bishop John Shelby Spong, author of ‘Resurrection: Myth or Reality’… ‘Maybe the old Greek idea of an immortal soul has taken over and the idea of a resurrected body has fallen into disrepute’… Robert Wuthnow, director of the Center for the Study of Religion at Princeton University, said the poll seems to have broken new ground in understanding America’s popular theology. ‘This is definitely interesting. I haven’t seen a similar question asked before,’ Wuthnow said. ‘In a way, though, it doesn’t surprise me. I can think of interpretations of the creeds that would suggest a spiritual resurrection rather than one of the physical body.'”

The poll reflects the confusion of Christian believers pertaining to the teachings of their churches. Of course, the confusion started already with orthodox Christianity’s “explanations,” as stated especially in the “Apostle’s Creed.” The Bible nowhere teaches the resurrection of the physical body of those who die in Christ. In fact, that would be quite an impossibility, as the physical body decays. Paul teaches that we will be resurrected with a spiritual body (1 Corinthians 15:35-37, 44). Correctly understood, the orthodox Christian teaching of the resurrection of our physical bodies is plainly false. And so is the teaching of an immortal soul. No wonder, then, that most Americans are confused about these vital issues. But theologians should not be “surprised” about this confusion; rather, they should blame themselves as the confusion results from their own wrong teachings.

For more information, please read our free booklet, “Do You Have an Immortal Soul?”

The “Gospel of Judas”

On April 5, 2006, Zenit published an interesting article about the so-called “Gospel of Judas,” stating that “The National Geographic Society has announced its intentions to publish an English translation of an ancient text… later this month. The 31-page manuscript, written in Coptic, purportedly surfaced in Geneva in 1983 and has only been translated now. ZENIT asked… Thomas D. Williams, dean of theology at the Regina Apostolorum university in Rome, to comment on the relevance of the discovery.” Here are excerpts from Mr.Williams’ thoughtful comments:

“Though the manuscript still must be authenticated, it likely represents a fourth- or fifth-century text, and is a copy of an earlier document produced by a Gnostic sect called the Cainites. The document paints Judas Iscariot in a positive light, and describes him as obeying a divine ordinance in handing over Jesus to the authorities for the salvation of the world. It may well be a copy of the ‘Gospel of Judas’ referred to by St. Irenaeus of Lyons in his work ‘Against the Heresies,’ written around A.D. 180… The Gnostic gospels, of which there are many besides this one, are not Christian documents per se, since they proceed from a syncretistic sect that incorporated elements from different religions, including Christianity. From the moment of their appearance, the Christian community rejected these documents because of their incompatibility with the Christian faith… To put a historical perspective on things, that would be like you or me writing a text now on the American Civil War and having that text later used as a primary historical source on the war….

“Such theories regarding Judas are certainly not new. It’s enough to remember the 1973 play ‘Jesus Christ Superstar,’ where Judas sings, ‘I have no thought at all about my own reward. I really didn’t come here of my own accord,’ or Taylor Caldwell’s 1977 novel ‘I, Judas.’ The enormous economic success of ‘The Da Vinci Code’ has undoubtedly stirred up the pot, and provided financial incentive for theories of this sort. Michael Baigent, author of ‘Holy Blood, Holy Grail,’ now has a book out called ‘The Jesus Papers,’ which recycles the old story that Jesus survived the crucifixion. And a newly released ‘scientific’ study asserts that meteorological conditions could have been such that Jesus really walked on ice, when the Gospels say he walked on water. Basically, for those who reject outright the possibility of miracles, any theory, outlandish as it may be, trumps Christian claims.”

It is, in fact, true that people with itching ears like to listen to anything BUT the Holy Bible. There is a reason for the antagonistic approach of many Christian “believers” toward the one and only book, which should be the very foundation of their Christian belief. For answers to these puzzling questions, please watch our new StandingWatch program, titled, “Da Vinci, Judas and a Fish.”

Italian Election Results

Der Spiegel Online, in collaboration with The New York Times, published the following editorial on April 12: “Italian elections did not used to be like this–so closely fought, so ideologically polarized–in short, so like the American presidential elections of 2004 and 2000… But that was before the era of Silvio Berlusconi, the center-right politician, showman and self-made billionaire who came into this week’s election as Italy’s longest continuously serving prime minister since World War II. After a long Monday night of seesawing returns, Italians awoke Tuesday to hear that Mr. Berlusconi had lost, by the narrowest of margins, to Romano Prodi, a center-left politician and economist. Mr. Prodi is Mr. Berlusconi’s opposite in almost every way… But the slimness of that majority will make it harder for the new government to push through the fiscal, labor market and regulatory reforms that Italy badly needs to revive its flagging economy and provide for its aging population.”

AFP reported on April 11 that with the election of Prodi, Bush was stripped “of another Iraqi war ally in Silvio Berlusconi, with staunch US partner Tony Blair barely holding on in Britain. Pro-war supporters had already departed in Spain and Portugal… Anti-Iraq sentiment has also colored the political landscape for other US allies, such as Poland, where a recent poll showed that 72 percent of Poles wanted their remaining 900 troops pulled out.

France, Italy and Germany

Der Spiegel Online published an article on April 11, discussing the overall situation in Europe in light of recent developments in Italy, France and Germany. It was stated: “How times have changed. Just a few months ago, Germany was still regarded as the ‘sick man’ of Europe, incapable of modernizing its once-proud economy… Things might not be exactly rosy in Germany, but some of the country’s neighbors now seem in far worse shape. The French government’s failure to implement its youth jobs law [and the announcement by President Chirac that, due to pressure from French students and unions, the proposed labor law will not become effective in France] and the emergence of what looks set to be a fragile, Socialist-led government in Italy is making Germany look positively dynamic by comparison. As students and trade unions staged parades across France on Tuesday to celebrate their victory, commentators said the center-right government’s withdrawal of the hated First Job Contract in response to weeks of strikes and mass demonstrations had killed off any prospect of reform until after the presidential election in 2007… In Italy, after a night of confusion over who had won in the closest election in modern Italian history, Romano Prodi claimed victory over Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and pledged to form a ‘strong’ government, Italy’s 61st since World War Two. But his wafer-thin margin — 25,000 votes out of some 38 million cast — raised the prospect of political deadlock that would prevent him from cutting the budget deficit and revamping the country’s bloated welfare system. ‘The threat of a stalemate, the worst possible scenario, has emerged and clouds the future with uncertainty,’ bank UniCredit Banca Mobiliare said in a note to investors as share prices fell on the Milan Stock Exchange.

“Germany began tackling reforms three years ago under then-chancellor Gerhard Schröder… The measures were highly unpopular, but the people protested in a very orderly and, well, German, fashion. Punctually on every Monday evening during the summer of 2004, months before the most hard-hitting measures were to be implemented, tens of thousands would gather in cities, mostly in eastern Germany where unemployment is highest. They chanted ‘We Are The People’ and blew whistles, and would march through town to squares where union leaders and left-wing politicians riled against the reforms. Then they would roll up their banners and go home quietly. No violence. No general strike. No one seemed to consider staging a protest on a Tuesday, or a Wednesday maybe… Not so in France, where street protests, often violent, are part of the political process. Some 3,400 people were arrested during nationwide protests against the First Job Contract, with which President Jacques Chirac and Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin wanted to combat youth unemployment by making it easier for employers to hire and fire workers aged 26 or under.

“Participation in nationwide demonstrations twice exceeded a million people during a period where the situation intensified after trade unions began organizing a series of national strikes… The climbdown has dented Villepin’s chances of running for the presidency in 2007. In Germany, Schröder’s reforms ultimately ended his political career after a series of regional election defeats forced him to call an early general election for last September, which he lost to conservative challenger Angela Merkel. But Merkel campaigned on even tougher changes, and has begun to discuss reform of the health care system in her right-left coalition with Schröder’s Social Democrats. While unemployment hasn’t started coming down yet, business and consumer confidence is improving, boosted by the prospect of the World Cup in June. ‘I wouldn’t go as far as to say Germany is the reform engine of Europe, but it is making slow progress,’ said Deutsche Bank’s Bielmeier.”

Again, we see how Germany is emerging as Europe’s leader! This is clearly in accordance with Biblical predictions. Please read our free booklet, “Europe in Prophecy.”

U.S. Politics In Iraq

According to an article of April 11, which was posted on mlabelle@argusleader.com, “Newt Gingrich, the former Republican Speaker of the House, told students and faculty at the University of South Dakota Monday that the United States should pull out of Iraq and leave a small force there, just as it did post-war in Korea and Germany. ‘It was an enormous mistake for us to try to occupy that country after June of 2003,’ Gingrich said during a question-and-answer session at the school. ‘We have to pull back, and we have to recognize it.’… [Referring to the situation with Iran,] Gingrich told the students their generation was entering a dangerous period–just as dangerous or more than that of the Cold War.”

On April 10, UPI quoted former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell as follows: “We made some serious mistakes in the immediate aftermath of the fall of Baghdad… We didn’t have enough troops on the ground. We didn’t impose our will. And as a result, an insurgency got started, and … it got out of control.” The article continued to present Powell’s position, which appeared to be quite different from Gingrich’s, as follows: “The retired general said as a result, the United States is morally obliged to ‘stick with the people of Iraq’ for as long as it takes to restore order…” America’s leading role in the world is gradually diminishing. For information on further prophesied developments, please read our free booklet, “The Fall and Rise of Britain and America.”

Nuclear War With Iran?

The national and international community reacted with horror about revelations in “The New Yorker” that allegedly some in the Bush Administration are considering dropping nuclear bombs on Iran. The newspaper, which was written by respected veteran reporter Seymour M. Hersh, published the article on April 10. (Hersh was the first who published the ground-breaking news about torture of Iraqi prisoners in the US military prison in Abu Ghraib). The report included the following excerpts:

“The Bush Administration… has… intensified planning for a possible major air attack… There is a growing conviction among members of the United States military, and in the international community, that President Bush’s ultimate goal in the nuclear confrontation with Iran is regime change… One of the military’s initial option plans, as presented to the White House by the Pentagon this winter, calls for the use of a bunker-buster tactical nuclear weapon, such as the B61-11, against underground nuclear sites… The lack of reliable intelligence leaves military planners, given the goal of totally destroying the sites, little choice but to consider the use of tactical nuclear weapons. ‘Every other option, in the view of the nuclear weaponeers, would leave a gap,’ the former senior intelligence official said. ‘”Decisive” is the key word of the Air Force’s planning. It’s a tough decision. But we made it in Japan.’ He went on, ‘Nuclear planners go through extensive training and learn the technical details of damage and fallout—we’re talking about mushroom clouds, radiation, mass casualties, and contamination over years”…

“The attention given to the nuclear option has created serious misgivings inside the offices of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, he added, and some officers have talked about resigning. Late this winter, the Joint Chiefs of Staff sought to remove the nuclear option from the evolving war plans for Iran—WITHOUT SUCCESS, the former intelligence official said… The Pentagon adviser on the war on terror confirmed that some in the Administration were looking seriously at this option… The matter may soon reach a decisive point, he said, because the Joint Chiefs had agreed to give President Bush a formal recommendation stating that they are strongly opposed to considering the nuclear option for Iran…”

The article continued:

“The Administration’s case against Iran is compromised by its history of promoting false intelligence on Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction… The Europeans are rattled, however, by their growing perception that President Bush and Vice-President Dick Cheney believe a bombing campaign will be needed, and that their real goal is regime change… Tony Blair, the British Prime Minister, was George Bush’s most dependable ally in the year leading up to the 2003 invasion of Iraq. But he and his party have been racked by a series of financial scandals, and his popularity is at a low point…”

The Washington Post confirmed some of the information in “The New Yorker” in an independent piece over the weekend. While British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw immediately rejected the reports in an interview with BBC as “completely nuts,” the Pentagon, according to Reuters of April 9, “WITHOUT DENYING THE REPORT, reiterated that it was pursuing a diplomatic solution to the nuclear row.” This reaction in a very half-hazard way prompted Der Spiegel Online to comment on April 9 that it poured even more fuel into the fire–especially in the Italian press. Even Straw’s additional comments to the BBC did not sound too re-assuring. According to Reuters, he stated: “Britain, Washington’s closest European ally, would not accept a pre-emptive strike against Iran… But if Iran were to attack Israel or to attack or THREATEN its neighbors, ‘that’s a very different circumstance,’… adding that Israel would have a right to self-defence if attacked.”

According to Straw, the mere THREAT of an attack would be sufficient justification for Israel to carry out a pre-emptive strike. This double-talk opened even wider the floodgates of speculations and fear of a potential nuclear war!

Somewhat belated, President Bush responded on April 10 to the reports. According to the Associated Press, “President Bush said Monday that force is not necessarily required to stop Iran from having a nuclear weapon, and he dismissed reports of plans for a military attack against Tehran as ‘wild speculation.'”

On the other hand, AFP reported on April 10 that “White House spokesman Scott McClellan said however that Bush is not taking the military option off the table.”

Iran’s reactions to the reports were forthcoming.

On April 11, 2006, AFP stated that “President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad vowed he will not back down ‘one iota’ over Iran’s nuclear programme.” Taking a somewhat inconsistent position, “Iran has dismissed any talk of an attack against it as ‘psychological warfare,'” while an Iranian army chief of staff, General Abdolrahim Mousavi, said that “Iran was ‘vigilant’ and ready to fight back. ‘We know America’s nature, and we are keeping enemy movements under surveillance. We are aware of their oppressive actions and goals against the Muslim nations,’ he added.”

The reports and reactions have, of course, given oil companies with record gross earnings in 2005 a welcome opportunity to try to make more money. As AFP reported on April 11, “World oil prices rose Monday, hovering around 68.0 dollars per barrel on market jitters over a potential military conflict between the United States and Iran, dealers said.” Focus Online added on April 11 that an increase of gas prices will also occur in Europe.

To top it all off, Iran announced on April 11 that they successfully enriched uranium for the first time–which is necessary to build an atomic bomb. According to an article posted on April 11 by usinfo.state.gov, “the Iranian regime is ‘moving in the wrong direction,’ White House press secretary Scott McClellan said.” He added: “‘This is a regime that has a long history of hiding its nuclear activities from the international community, and refusing to comply with its international obligations. Defiant statements and actions only further isolate the regime from the rest of the world, and further isolate the Iranian people.'”

Der Stern Online stated in its commentary on April 12 that Iran is miscalculating the situation. “With their provocations, they will not enforce concessions, but war.”

These are indeed frightening times. The Bible, sadly, predicts that just prior to the return of Christ, this world WILL experience nuclear war. For more information, please read our free booklet, “The Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord.”

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Would you please explain the concept of "original sin" in light of Romans 5:12, 19?

Before analyzing the passage in Romans 5:12, 19, let us very briefly
discuss the concept of “original sin.” It was developed by Augustine,
based on a wrong translation of the Greek text in Romans 5. The
Broadman Bible Commentary points out, in Vol. 10, on page 195:
“Augustine, who knew very little Greek, followed the Latin
translation… and, on the basis of this mistranslation, developed his
doctrine of original sin, understood as inherited guilt, and the result
was a lurid picture of unbaptized infants in limbo. It is significant
that even Roman Catholic scholars, plagued most by this disaster, are
now saying bluntly the doctrine is not in Scripture.”

Simply put,
the concept of the original sin holds that we all “inherited” guilt or
transgression from Adam and Eve who “originally” sinned. According to
that concept, we inherited eternal death–which is the penalty for sin
(compare Romans 6:23)–even though we ourselves did nothing to deserve
this penalty. In other words, Adam and Eve’s original sin was somehow
arbitrarily transmitted to all, down to the last baby born before
Christ returns. From this UNBIBLICAL concept derived additional ideas,
namely:

— the Catholic concept that a baby must be baptized to
be freed from the “inherited” guilt and penalty for the original sin of
Adam and Eve (Biblical baptism is not for babies or children, however,
as clearly explained in our booklet, “Baptism–a Requirement for
Salvation”
).

— the Catholic concept of the “immaculate
conception” — the idea that Mary had to be free from original sin from
the moment of her conception, as otherwise Jesus had to have been born
with inherited guilt and transgression. As sex in marriage is
considered by the Catholic Church as less than ideal, the further
concept was developed that Mary remained a perpetual virgin even after
Christ’s birth. (This concept is unbiblical, as explained in our
booklet, “Jesus Christ–a Great Mystery.”)

The wrong concept of the inherited “original sin” is described by the Nelson Study Bible, as follows:

“Through
[Adam] sin entered the world. Sin brought death. The result is that
death is now a universal experience… In Adam, we all sinned… The
result is physical and spiritual death for everyone. From Adam we
inherited a sin nature. Furthermore, as a result of our sin in Adam, we
face a common judgment–death.” The commentary goes on to say that
Adam’s sin “brought death upon us all,” and that it is not necessary
that we sinned individually.

This concept is blatantly wrong and unbiblical.

Romans
5:12, 19 is used as the proof verse of original sin. It reads, “…
through one man sin entered in the world, and death through sin, and
thus death spread to all men… by one man’s disobedience many
were made sinners…”

However, this passage does not tell us that
we are guilty of eternal death, just because of Adam’s sin, and without
any personal responsibility. Rather, an important part of the Scripture
was left out in the above quote. Romans 5:12 reads, in its entirety:
“Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death
through sin, and thus death [the penalty for sin] spread to all men,
BECAUSE ALL SINNED…”

This passage does not say that all sinned
only “in Adam”– that is, that only Adam sinned, and that his sin was
somehow transferred to all. Rather, the passage says that all have
sinned, individually. Romans 5:14 says that “death reigned from Adam to
Moses, even over those who had not sinned according to the LIKENESS of
the transgression of Adam.” But, they DID sin. Verse 13 says that sin
is not imputed when there is no law. Since death reigned from Adam to
Moses, and beyond, there WAS a law, and sin WAS imputed. Sin is the
transgression of the law (1 John 3:4, Authorized Version), and the
penalty for sin is death (Romans 6:23). Romans 3:23 tells us that “ALL
have sinned [not just Adam] and fall short of the glory of God.” And
Romans 14:12 makes it clear that we will have to give account to God
for what WE have done–we don’t have to give account for the sin of our
forefather Adam.

The idea that eternal death reigned over us even
though we did not sin, individually, is absolutely unbiblical and
misrepresents God’s very character. God is fair. If He was to hold us
responsible and make us pay for something we did not do, He would be
terribly UNFAIR.

We read in Ezekiel 18:20: “The soul who sins
shall die. The son shall NOT BEAR THE GUILT OF THE FATHER [or his
forefather Adam, who is the “father” of the human race, see Luke
3:23-38].” This text PROVES that the concept of the inherited original
sin is FALSE.

In an old article by Herbert W. Armstrong, titled, “Are People Lost Because of Adam’s Sin?,” it is stated:

“”…
it says in plain language that death passed on upon all men because all
have sinned. The death penalty is passed upon you–it is passed upon
everyone of us, because we have sinned–because we have lived the wrong
way and have not turned to God. The Scripture does not say that the
penalty of Adam’s sin is eternal death for you and me–but the penalty
for your sin, of my sin, of our sins, is death! But God so loved this
world that he gave his only begotten son, Jesus Christ, that whosoever
believeth on him should not perish, but should have the gift of eternal
life (John 3:16). The way is to repent– to repent of sin– and
acknowledge Jesus Christ as personal Savior.”

But Adam and Eve’s
sin DID do something to this world. The concept of “inherited” original
sin is clearly wrong–but notice what DID happen when they sinned. In a
brief article in the Plain Truth magazine of September 1963, the
following is accurately explained:

“… Adam and Eve… sinned.
They were driven from the Garden of Eden. By sinning, they cut
themselves off from the guidance, authority and knowledge of God (Gen.
3:24). Adam not only cut himself off–he was responsible for cutting
his children off–from the help and instruction of God. Even his own
son became a murderer (Gen. 4:8)… So Adam’s sin was unique in that it
was the first human sin–it was he who cut man off from God… We have
not been forced to sin because Adam sinned!”

But the sad fact is
that we all followed Adam’s wrong example: We all sinned and brought
upon us the penalty of ETERNAL death, and so we read that “by the one
man’s offense many died” (Romans 5:15), and “by one man’s disobedience
many were made sinners” (Romans 5:19).

As we sinned by following
Adam’s example, we can live righteously by following Christ’s example.
We read that through one Man’s obedience [that is, the obedience of
Jesus Christ who never sinned and who never disobeyed God’s law] many
will be made righteous (Romans 5:19). However, this does not happen
automatically. As Adam’s sin and the consequential death penalty were
not automatically transferred on us via “original sin,” without any
individual responsibility, Christ’s obedience and His righteousness are
not just automatically transferred on us without individual
responsibility, either. Rather, we must repent of our sins and believe
in Christ’s Sacrifice and His gospel message, in order to obtain
forgiveness of our sins, so that we can be freed from the death
penalty. Following this, we are to be baptized into His death (Romans
6:3). We are not to continue in sin (Romans 6:1) after we have died to
sin (Romans 6:2). Rather, after having been baptized and “raised from
the [spiritual] dead,” we are to “walk in newness of life” (Romans
6:4). Christ only became the author of eternal salvation to all “who
OBEY Him” (Hebrews 5:9).

We are responsible for our actions. We
can continue living in sin, by following Adam’s example, or we can
begin and continue to live in righteousness, by following Christ’s
example. The choice is ours.

Lead Writer: Norbert Link

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Preaching the Gospel and Feeding the Flock

A new StandingWatch program was posted on the Web. It is titled, “Da
Vinci, Judas and a Fish.” It discusses the common source and origin of
the Da Vinci Code, the “Gospel of Judas” and the Theory of Evolution,
which just announced that the fossil of a shallow water fish allegedly
constitutes the “missing link” between fish and land animals.

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How This Work is Financed

This Update is an official publication by the ministry of the Church of the Eternal God in the United States of America; the Church of God, a Christian Fellowship in Canada; and the Global Church of God in the United Kingdom.

Editorial Team: Norbert Link, Dave Harris, Rene Messier, Brian Gale, Johanna Link, Eric Rank, Michael Link, Anna Link, Kalon Mitchell, Manuela Mitchell, Dawn Thompson

Technical Team: Eric Rank, Shana Rank

Our activities and literature, including booklets, weekly updates, sermons on CD and video and audio broadcasts, are provided free of charge. They are made possible by the tithes, offerings and contributions of Church members and others who have elected to support this Work.

While we do not solicit the general public for funds, contributions are gratefully welcomed and are tax-deductible in the U.S. and Canada.

Donations can be sent to the following addresses:

United States: Church of the Eternal God, P.O. Box 270519, San Diego, CA 92198

Canada: Church of God, ACF, Box 1480, Summerland, B.C. V0H 1Z0

United Kingdom: Global Church of God, PO Box 44, MABLETHORPE, LN12 9AN, United Kingdom

Current Events

USA Prepares For War With Iran

On April 2, 2006, The Sunday Telegraph reported about secret talks between the British government and military leaders pertaining to a military strike against Iran. The paper explained the reasons for these talks, as follows:

“It is believed that an American-led attack… is ‘INEVITABLE’ if Teheran’s leaders fail to comply with United Nations demands to freeze their uranium enrichment programme… The United States government is hopeful that the military operation will be a multinational mission, but defence chiefs believe that the Bush administration is prepared to launch the attack on its own or with the assistance of Israel, if there is little international support.”

The article continued:

“British military chiefs believe an attack would be limited to a series of air strikes against nuclear plants–a land assault is not being considered at the moment. But confirmation that Britain has started contingency planning will undermine the claim last month by Jack Straw, the Foreign Secretary, that a military attack against Iran was ‘inconceivable’… At the centre of the crisis is Washington’s fear that an Iranian nuclear weapon could be used against Israel or US forces in the region, such as the American air base at Incirlik in Turkey. The UN also believes that the production of a bomb could… lead to further destabilisation in the Middle East, which would result in Egypt, Syria and Saudi Arabia all developing nuclear weapons programmes… There are thought to be at least eight known sites within Iran involved in the production of nuclear materials, although it is generally accepted that there are many more secret installations.”

Keep your eyes on the Middle East. The Bible is very clear that traumatic events will occur in that often hostile part of the world. For more information, please read our free booklet, “The Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord.”

Iran Prepares For War With USA

The Associated Press reported on April 5, 2006, that Iran claimed it had successfully test-fired a “top secret” missile, the third in a week. According to the article, “the report called the missile an ‘ultra-horizon’ weapon and said it could be fired from all military helicopters and jet fighters.”

The article went on to explain:
“The tests came amid war games being held since Friday… At the same time, the head of the Revolutionary Guards, Gen. Yahya Rahim Safavi, said the United States must recognize Iran as a ‘big, regional power.’ Speaking on state television, Safavi said Iran could use the Straits of Hormuz to apply pressure on foreign powers. About two-fifths of the world’s oil supplies pass through the 34-mile-wide entrance to the Gulf… On Tuesday, Safavi called for FOREIGN FORCES TO LEAVE THE REGION. The U.S. 5th Fleet is based in Bahrain. That same day, Iran tested a new surface-to-sea radar-avoiding missile equipped with remote-control and searching systems, state TV reported. It said the new missile, called Kowsar, was a medium-range weapon that Iran could mass-produce. It also said the Kowsar’s guidance system could not be scrambled, and it had been designed to sink ships. On Friday, Iran tested the Fajr-3, a missile that it said can avoid radar and hit several targets simultaneously using multiple warheads. Iran also has tested what it calls two new torpedoes. One of the torpedoes, unveiled Monday, was tested in the Straits of Hormuz. That seemed to be a CLEAR WARNING TO THE UNITED STATES that Iran believes it has the capability to disable oil tankers moving through the Gulf.”

These are frightening reports. Jesus warned that at the time just prior to His return, which He called the “beginning of sorrows,” “you will hear of wars and rumors of wars” (Matthew 24:6, 8). When Christians find themselves surrounded by fear, terror and aggression, they might be tempted to fight for their country–especially against non-Christian enemies. But would this be God’s solution? For more information, please read our free booklet, “Should You Fight in War?”

Iraq Without New Government

AFP reported on April 3 that “US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and British counterpart Jack Straw wound up two days of intensive talks with Iraqi leaders pressing them to speed up the formation of a new government but without any indication of a breakthrough. More than three months after legislative elections, they urged Iraqi leaders to overcome their differences and choose a strong figure to unify the country and restore stability… Their visit in the midst of a POLITICAL VACUUM in the war-torn country brought on by the lack of a new government came even as the dominant conservative Shiite coalition has asked US LEADERS TO STOP MEDDLING IN IRAQI AFFAIRS.”

The article continued: “For the United States, a national unity government is the key for an eventual withdrawal of coalition troops from Iraq, with high political stakes for the Bush administration. Polls show two-thirds of Americans opposed to his handling of Iraq, where more than 2,300 US troops have died, and the war [will likely be] a key issue in congressional elections in November.”

Even though the United States and Great Britain fought for Iraq and lost thousands of troops in the process, there is little gratitude in the world for their endeavor. In fact, it appears that their actions have not accomplished much for Iraq in the eyes of many commentators and reporters, as well as a majority of American citizens. These astonishing developments were prophesied in the Bible, and there is a reason for them. If you want to know the reason, please read our free booklet, “The Fall and Rise of Britain and America.”

Europe And The Vatican

According to an article by EUObserver, which was published on March 31, “Pope Benedict XVI has joined forces with the conservative European People’s Party to highlight Christian values as the core of the European project… the Pope urged the politicians to prove their commitment to the Christian heritage by not supporting policies that counter basic principles.”

The article continued:

“In a list of examples, [the Pope] mentioned ‘the protection of life in all its stages, from the first moment of conception until natural death,’ as well as ‘recognition and promotion of the natural structure of the family–as a union between a man and a woman based on marriage.’… The leader of the European Parliament’s EPP-ED group, Hans-Gert Pottering, noted in his speech to the Pope and participants in the audience that the group had fought to get a reference to God in the European Constitution. ‘Although we were not successful, the final text does embody essential Christian values. The EPP-ED Group, as an advocate of Judaeo-Christian values, is determined about the spiritual and moral dimension of the European project,’ he said.”

The Vatican will play an influential and dominant role regarding the ultimate European UNIFICATION of ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN “core” member states. History and the Bible show that the Roman Catholic Church was a part of several European unifications of the past, which were known, among others, as “the Holy Roman Empire,” or “the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation.” They included revivals of the European Empire under German or Austrian leaders such as Charlemagne, Otto the Great or Charles V. (The concept, however, which is proclaimed by some today, that the Protestant German Empire under Otto von Bismarck, called the “Second Reich,” constituted a revival of the Holy Roman Empire, is clearly erroneous.) The Bible predicts that a final resurrection of the Holy Roman Empire will occur, consisting of ten “core” nations or groups of nations. For more information, please read our free booklet, “Europe in Prophecy.”

Rice’s Unsuccessful Trip To England

AFP reported on April 1 about a less-than-successful trip of Condoleezza Rice to England. In fact, her visit seemed to have been “cursed” in a multiplicity of ways. The article explained that her trip was “a public relations nightmare on which little has gone completely as planned.” It continued:

“Rice came to northwest England on what was supposed to be a feel-good visit to Straw’s constituency to repay his October trip to her home state of Alabama. But the journey was plagued by problems from the start. Hopes of meeting former Beatle Paul McCartney fell through, a mosque withdrew its invitation and a local luminary lined up to host a concert in nearby Liverpool pulled out as a political statement. She visited a school in this community that is 25 percent Muslim, but many of the children were kept home for the day by protesting parents. Others cut classes to join the protests. Rice was supposed to attend a local football match but it was moved to Monday night for better television coverage. So a brief ceremony to present her with a jersey took place in an empty 32,000-seat stadium. The unflaggingly acerbic British press was less than kind to Rice on her visit to the United States’ staunchest wartime ally, taking off on her fashion choices as well as her politics… On a trip designed as diplomatic puffery, Rice also managed to make some unwanted headlines with an admission at a foreign policy forum Friday that the United States had made ‘thousands’ of tactical errors in Iraq. The offhand comment sent her spokesman scrambling to call reporters with assurances she was just speaking figuratively. Too late: the remark made the lead of all three international wire services and the front page of the Washington Post.”

Governmental representatives of the United States of America are not even praised by their own allies, the British– let alone by the rest of the world. Why should this be the case? The Bible tells us, and our free booklet, “The Fall and Rise of Britain and America” gives you the answer.

Evolution’s Downfall or Resurrection?

The Associated Press reported on April 2, 2006, about a prognosis by mathematician and Intelligent Design proponent William Dembski to the effect that the “Evolution theory” is “on her last legs.” According to Dembski,”all the debate in this country over evolution won’t matter in a decade. By then, he says, the theory of evolution put forth by Charles Darwin 150 years ago will be dead… Dembski is one of the country’s leading proponents of intelligent design, which asserts that certain features of living organisms are best explained by an intelligent cause. The ideas put forth by Dembski’s movement have piqued the interest of some school boards, churches and politicians–including Kentucky’s governor and President Bush… Dembski, who holds a Ph.D. in mathematics and philosophy, teaches a course on intelligent design at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville. He calls Darwinian evolution ‘viscerally unacceptable’ to most Americans… Kentucky Gov. Ernie Fletcher called design by an intelligent source a ‘self-evident truth’ in his annual State of the Commonwealth address in January. Fletcher has said he would encourage schools to teach the concept.”

The article continued to explain that the “debate [between Evolution and Intelligent Design] is fueled by a belief that Darwinian evolution is linked to atheism, said Eugenie Scott, director of the National Center for Science Education and a former UK professor… Dembski said: ‘I guess I would say that even though intelligent design has a long way to go, it seems to me evolutionary theory is so problematic that just about any alternative that’s scientific, or has the possibility (of being scientific) should be allowed on the table.'”

Even though the concept of “Intelligent Design” is not providing us with the correct answers as to the origin of life, it has at least highlighted the untenable position of Darwin and his followers that all life “evolved” accidentally from an organic soup of gases which accidentally developed.

The Evolution theory is false. This is not changed by the “fact” that some scientists discover, from time to time, fossils which they claim to be “missing links”–allegedly proving that fish developed into reptiles, reptiles into birds, birds into mammals, and mammals into humans. The press just reported that scientists “have caught a fossil fish in the act of adapting toward a life on land” (The Associated Press, dated April 5, 2006). The Guardian gloated on April 7: “Scientists have made one of the most important fossil finds in history: a missing link between fish and land animals, showing how creatures first walked out of the water and on to dry land more than 375m years ago.” They later admit, however, that the “fish” was only “on the verge of the transition from water to land.” This, of course, is mere conjecture and speculation.

Scientists called the fossil “Tiktaalik,” meaning, “a large, shallow-water fish.” They actually tell us that land animals (and therefore man) evolved from fish. This is ridiculous. The existence of an extinct fish-like creature which lived in shallow water proves nothing. We have living animals today which exist on land and in the water, such as seals. The crucial issue is this: IF fish developed into land animals, to better adapt to their environment, why are there still fish living today? If birds developed into mammals, why do we still have living birds? According to the evolutionary concept, they should all have been extinct.

God calls all such ideas “foolishness.” Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, speaks about the “wise” of this world in Romans 1:20, when he states: “For since the creation of the world His [God’s] invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse.” For a full explanation, please read our free booklet, “Evolution–A Fairy Tale for Adults.”

Update 238

As We Examine Ourselves…

On April 8, 2006, Edwin Pope will give the sermon, titled, “As We Examine Ourselves…”

The services can be heard at www.cognetservices.org at 12:30 pm Pacific Time (which is 2:30 pm Central Time). Just click on Connect to Live Stream.

On
Tuesday evening, April 11, 2006, is Passover. If you are a baptized
member of the Church of God and won’t be able to attend local services,
but want to keep the PASSOVER AT HOME, please read the SPECIAL
ANNOUNCEMENTS regarding this in this Update, under “Feasts.”

On Wednesday evening, April 12, 2006, is the Night to Be Much Observed.

On
Thursday, April 13, 2006, is the First Day of Unleavened Bread. Rene
Messier will be giving the sermon in the morning from Oregon, and Dave
Harris will give the sermon in the afternoon from Colorado.

The
services can be heard at www.cognetservices.org at 9:00 am and 1:30 pm
Pacific Time (which is 11:00 am and 3:30 pm Central Time). Just click
on Connect to Live Stream.

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Thank You!

by Dave Harris

A quite remarkable statement is found in chapter five of Acts. It
has to do with how the founding apostles reacted upon being threatened,
imprisoned and then beaten–all for teaching in the name of Jesus
Christ: “So they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing
that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name” (Acts 5:41).

One
of those apostles, Peter, reminds us of the approach we are to have:
“Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let
him glorify God in this matter” (1 Peter 4:16).

This teaching lies at the heart of Christianity, because it is the way in which Jesus lived His life.

Rejoicing
and glorifying God in the face of persecutions is, undoubtedly, a great
challenge for Christians, but what happens when we suffer for our own
mistakes? What kind of attitude must we show when we are corrected?

When
things just don’t go well in our lives, do we become discouraged? We
all do, but we must never give up–even if our trials seem
overwhelming. Consider what is said in Hebrews: “‘My son, do not
despise the chastening of the LORD, Nor be discouraged when you are
rebuked by Him; for whom the LORD loves He chastens, And scourges every
son whom He receives'” (Hebrews 12:5-6).

When we make mistakes,
God–because He loves us–will discipline us! He does this in order
that we can complete our calling and “…that we may be partakers of
His holiness” (Hebrews 12:10). God has very specifically chosen to call
each one of us at this time! He is offering us an opportunity to be in
the first resurrection, called “a better resurrection” (Hebrews 11:35),
because those who attain this will not be subject to destruction, that
is, the second death (Compare Revelation 20:4-6).

Because we have
been given this incomparable calling, God is working with us to insure
our success. That means there will be times when we will have to face
and endure correction: “Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the
present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable
fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it” (Hebrews
12:11).

James addresses this aspect of our calling with a
stunning challenge: “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into
various trials” (James 1:2).

When you become discouraged, when
life seems to overwhelm, when there just appears to be no help–take it
to God! Take time to realize that God is still there for you and with
you–regardless of whether you are suffering as a Christian or you are
being corrected.

What are we to say in times such as these? As
paradoxical as it might appear to others, our response should be one of
gratitude to God. You might consider starting your conversation with
God with these words–Thank You! Thank You! Thank You!

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USA Prepares For War With Iran

On April 2, 2006, The Sunday Telegraph reported about secret talks between the British government and military leaders pertaining to a military strike against Iran. The paper explained the reasons for these talks, as follows:

“It is believed that an American-led attack… is ‘INEVITABLE’ if Teheran’s leaders fail to comply with United Nations demands to freeze their uranium enrichment programme… The United States government is hopeful that the military operation will be a multinational mission, but defence chiefs believe that the Bush administration is prepared to launch the attack on its own or with the assistance of Israel, if there is little international support.”

The article continued:

“British military chiefs believe an attack would be limited to a series of air strikes against nuclear plants–a land assault is not being considered at the moment. But confirmation that Britain has started contingency planning will undermine the claim last month by Jack Straw, the Foreign Secretary, that a military attack against Iran was ‘inconceivable’… At the centre of the crisis is Washington’s fear that an Iranian nuclear weapon could be used against Israel or US forces in the region, such as the American air base at Incirlik in Turkey. The UN also believes that the production of a bomb could… lead to further destabilisation in the Middle East, which would result in Egypt, Syria and Saudi Arabia all developing nuclear weapons programmes… There are thought to be at least eight known sites within Iran involved in the production of nuclear materials, although it is generally accepted that there are many more secret installations.”

Keep your eyes on the Middle East. The Bible is very clear that traumatic events will occur in that often hostile part of the world. For more information, please read our free booklet, “The Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord.”

Iran Prepares For War With USA

The Associated Press reported on April 5, 2006, that Iran claimed it had successfully test-fired a “top secret” missile, the third in a week. According to the article, “the report called the missile an ‘ultra-horizon’ weapon and said it could be fired from all military helicopters and jet fighters.”

The article went on to explain:
“The tests came amid war games being held since Friday… At the same time, the head of the Revolutionary Guards, Gen. Yahya Rahim Safavi, said the United States must recognize Iran as a ‘big, regional power.’ Speaking on state television, Safavi said Iran could use the Straits of Hormuz to apply pressure on foreign powers. About two-fifths of the world’s oil supplies pass through the 34-mile-wide entrance to the Gulf… On Tuesday, Safavi called for FOREIGN FORCES TO LEAVE THE REGION. The U.S. 5th Fleet is based in Bahrain. That same day, Iran tested a new surface-to-sea radar-avoiding missile equipped with remote-control and searching systems, state TV reported. It said the new missile, called Kowsar, was a medium-range weapon that Iran could mass-produce. It also said the Kowsar’s guidance system could not be scrambled, and it had been designed to sink ships. On Friday, Iran tested the Fajr-3, a missile that it said can avoid radar and hit several targets simultaneously using multiple warheads. Iran also has tested what it calls two new torpedoes. One of the torpedoes, unveiled Monday, was tested in the Straits of Hormuz. That seemed to be a CLEAR WARNING TO THE UNITED STATES that Iran believes it has the capability to disable oil tankers moving through the Gulf.”

These are frightening reports. Jesus warned that at the time just prior to His return, which He called the “beginning of sorrows,” “you will hear of wars and rumors of wars” (Matthew 24:6, 8). When Christians find themselves surrounded by fear, terror and aggression, they might be tempted to fight for their country–especially against non-Christian enemies. But would this be God’s solution? For more information, please read our free booklet, “Should You Fight in War?”

Iraq Without New Government

AFP reported on April 3 that “US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and British counterpart Jack Straw wound up two days of intensive talks with Iraqi leaders pressing them to speed up the formation of a new government but without any indication of a breakthrough. More than three months after legislative elections, they urged Iraqi leaders to overcome their differences and choose a strong figure to unify the country and restore stability… Their visit in the midst of a POLITICAL VACUUM in the war-torn country brought on by the lack of a new government came even as the dominant conservative Shiite coalition has asked US LEADERS TO STOP MEDDLING IN IRAQI AFFAIRS.”

The article continued: “For the United States, a national unity government is the key for an eventual withdrawal of coalition troops from Iraq, with high political stakes for the Bush administration. Polls show two-thirds of Americans opposed to his handling of Iraq, where more than 2,300 US troops have died, and the war [will likely be] a key issue in congressional elections in November.”

Even though the United States and Great Britain fought for Iraq and lost thousands of troops in the process, there is little gratitude in the world for their endeavor. In fact, it appears that their actions have not accomplished much for Iraq in the eyes of many commentators and reporters, as well as a majority of American citizens. These astonishing developments were prophesied in the Bible, and there is a reason for them. If you want to know the reason, please read our free booklet, “The Fall and Rise of Britain and America.”

Europe And The Vatican

According to an article by EUObserver, which was published on March 31, “Pope Benedict XVI has joined forces with the conservative European People’s Party to highlight Christian values as the core of the European project… the Pope urged the politicians to prove their commitment to the Christian heritage by not supporting policies that counter basic principles.”

The article continued:

“In a list of examples, [the Pope] mentioned ‘the protection of life in all its stages, from the first moment of conception until natural death,’ as well as ‘recognition and promotion of the natural structure of the family–as a union between a man and a woman based on marriage.’… The leader of the European Parliament’s EPP-ED group, Hans-Gert Pottering, noted in his speech to the Pope and participants in the audience that the group had fought to get a reference to God in the European Constitution. ‘Although we were not successful, the final text does embody essential Christian values. The EPP-ED Group, as an advocate of Judaeo-Christian values, is determined about the spiritual and moral dimension of the European project,’ he said.”

The Vatican will play an influential and dominant role regarding the ultimate European UNIFICATION of ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN “core” member states. History and the Bible show that the Roman Catholic Church was a part of several European unifications of the past, which were known, among others, as “the Holy Roman Empire,” or “the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation.” They included revivals of the European Empire under German or Austrian leaders such as Charlemagne, Otto the Great or Charles V. (The concept, however, which is proclaimed by some today, that the Protestant German Empire under Otto von Bismarck, called the “Second Reich,” constituted a revival of the Holy Roman Empire, is clearly erroneous.) The Bible predicts that a final resurrection of the Holy Roman Empire will occur, consisting of ten “core” nations or groups of nations. For more information, please read our free booklet, “Europe in Prophecy.”

Rice’s Unsuccessful Trip To England

AFP reported on April 1 about a less-than-successful trip of Condoleezza Rice to England. In fact, her visit seemed to have been “cursed” in a multiplicity of ways. The article explained that her trip was “a public relations nightmare on which little has gone completely as planned.” It continued:

“Rice came to northwest England on what was supposed to be a feel-good visit to Straw’s constituency to repay his October trip to her home state of Alabama. But the journey was plagued by problems from the start. Hopes of meeting former Beatle Paul McCartney fell through, a mosque withdrew its invitation and a local luminary lined up to host a concert in nearby Liverpool pulled out as a political statement. She visited a school in this community that is 25 percent Muslim, but many of the children were kept home for the day by protesting parents. Others cut classes to join the protests. Rice was supposed to attend a local football match but it was moved to Monday night for better television coverage. So a brief ceremony to present her with a jersey took place in an empty 32,000-seat stadium. The unflaggingly acerbic British press was less than kind to Rice on her visit to the United States’ staunchest wartime ally, taking off on her fashion choices as well as her politics… On a trip designed as diplomatic puffery, Rice also managed to make some unwanted headlines with an admission at a foreign policy forum Friday that the United States had made ‘thousands’ of tactical errors in Iraq. The offhand comment sent her spokesman scrambling to call reporters with assurances she was just speaking figuratively. Too late: the remark made the lead of all three international wire services and the front page of the Washington Post.”

Governmental representatives of the United States of America are not even praised by their own allies, the British– let alone by the rest of the world. Why should this be the case? The Bible tells us, and our free booklet, “The Fall and Rise of Britain and America” gives you the answer.

Evolution’s Downfall or Resurrection?

The Associated Press reported on April 2, 2006, about a prognosis by mathematician and Intelligent Design proponent William Dembski to the effect that the “Evolution theory” is “on her last legs.” According to Dembski,”all the debate in this country over evolution won’t matter in a decade. By then, he says, the theory of evolution put forth by Charles Darwin 150 years ago will be dead… Dembski is one of the country’s leading proponents of intelligent design, which asserts that certain features of living organisms are best explained by an intelligent cause. The ideas put forth by Dembski’s movement have piqued the interest of some school boards, churches and politicians–including Kentucky’s governor and President Bush… Dembski, who holds a Ph.D. in mathematics and philosophy, teaches a course on intelligent design at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville. He calls Darwinian evolution ‘viscerally unacceptable’ to most Americans… Kentucky Gov. Ernie Fletcher called design by an intelligent source a ‘self-evident truth’ in his annual State of the Commonwealth address in January. Fletcher has said he would encourage schools to teach the concept.”

The article continued to explain that the “debate [between Evolution and Intelligent Design] is fueled by a belief that Darwinian evolution is linked to atheism, said Eugenie Scott, director of the National Center for Science Education and a former UK professor… Dembski said: ‘I guess I would say that even though intelligent design has a long way to go, it seems to me evolutionary theory is so problematic that just about any alternative that’s scientific, or has the possibility (of being scientific) should be allowed on the table.'”

Even though the concept of “Intelligent Design” is not providing us with the correct answers as to the origin of life, it has at least highlighted the untenable position of Darwin and his followers that all life “evolved” accidentally from an organic soup of gases which accidentally developed.

The Evolution theory is false. This is not changed by the “fact” that some scientists discover, from time to time, fossils which they claim to be “missing links”–allegedly proving that fish developed into reptiles, reptiles into birds, birds into mammals, and mammals into humans. The press just reported that scientists “have caught a fossil fish in the act of adapting toward a life on land” (The Associated Press, dated April 5, 2006). The Guardian gloated on April 7: “Scientists have made one of the most important fossil finds in history: a missing link between fish and land animals, showing how creatures first walked out of the water and on to dry land more than 375m years ago.” They later admit, however, that the “fish” was only “on the verge of the transition from water to land.” This, of course, is mere conjecture and speculation.

Scientists called the fossil “Tiktaalik,” meaning, “a large, shallow-water fish.” They actually tell us that land animals (and therefore man) evolved from fish. This is ridiculous. The existence of an extinct fish-like creature which lived in shallow water proves nothing. We have living animals today which exist on land and in the water, such as seals. The crucial issue is this: IF fish developed into land animals, to better adapt to their environment, why are there still fish living today? If birds developed into mammals, why do we still have living birds? According to the evolutionary concept, they should all have been extinct.

God calls all such ideas “foolishness.” Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, speaks about the “wise” of this world in Romans 1:20, when he states: “For since the creation of the world His [God’s] invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse.” For a full explanation, please read our free booklet, “Evolution–A Fairy Tale for Adults.”

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In the Q&A Update #237 the statement is made, "Otherwise, we would be eating and drinking 'judgment' to ourselves, which might result in sickness and death ([1 Corinthians 11] verses 29-30)." Does this mean that by taking the Lord's Sacrifice in an unworthy manner, the consequences might result in physical sickness and death? Are we not all unworthy?

It is true that we are all “unworthy” in comparison with God the
Father and the Sacrifice of Jesus Christ, but this is not what Paul is
addressing. Rather, Paul speaks about the manner in which we partake of
the Passover–and yes, if we partake of the Passover in an unworthy
manner, and if we, especially, fail to discern the Body of Christ which
was beaten for our healing from our sicknesses, then prolonged sickness
and even death might be the consequence.

It is important to study
the context of these verses as found in 1 Corinthians 11:17 through 34.
Paul very emphatically corrected those in Corinth who had been treating
the Passover in an irreverent and self-centered manner. He mentions
that there were divisions within the Church (verses 18-19). Beginning
with the early chapters of 1 Corinthians, Paul strongly warns against
the divisions that were arising–especially those that were created by
some members who focused on the personalities of various ministers
(Compare 1 Corinthians 1:11-13; 3:1-23).

Paul took issue with the
conduct of those who were assembling for what should have been the
observance commanded by Jesus Christ through the symbols He instituted
surrounding Passover. Note what Paul had already written to the
Corinthians regarding their allowance of sexual immorality. He
illustrates their problem through the Days of Unleavened Bread: “Your
glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the
whole lump? Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new
lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover,
was sacrificed for us. Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old
leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the
unleavened bread of sincerity and truth” (1 Corinthians 5:6-8).

Here
is what Paul states in 1 Corinthians 11:20: “Therefore when you come
together in one place, it is not to eat the Lord’s Supper.” We
understand this verse to say that they could not and should not try to
eat the Lord’s Supper, as the Passover is not the Lord’s Supper. Paul
was chastising them for trying to eat a supper or a meal, rather than
just partaking of the symbols of bread and wine in a worthy manner. (We
address this issue in Update #88 in the Q&A, pointing out that we
are not to partake of the Lord’s Supper or a meal, but of the Passover
symbols. Also, we explain this distinction again in Update #189,
under “Feasts,” titled, “Is Passover the Lord’s Supper?”) He plainly
chastises the Church for assembling in a way that nullified the intent
and example of observing the New Testament Passover as instituted by
Jesus Christ. Paul challenges their practice of using this time for a
common meal; of getting drunk; and of adding to the division between
members who were wealthy and poor because of their degenerated
observance of the Passover.

In verses 23 through 26 of 1
Corinthians 11, Paul carefully reminds the Church of the correct way to
observe this time–not as a riotous, self-indulgent meal, but as a
meaningful reminder of the glorious sacrifice made by Jesus on behalf
of mankind. In verse 26, Paul states: “For as often as you eat this
bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.”
The correct observance of these symbols, along with observing the time
established by God for the Passover, is to be faithfully followed by
the New Testament Church (Compare Exodus 12; Leviticus 23). As we see
from verse 23, Jesus instituted the symbols at this same specified time
as an example for the Church (Compare John 13).

Next, Paul gives
a powerful warning that no Christian should take lightly: “Therefore
whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy
manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord” (1 Corinthians
11:27); continuing in verses 29-30: “For he who eats and drinks in an
unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the
Lord’s body. For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many
sleep [are dead].”

Although the application is much broader, we
may, nonetheless, apply what is stated in Hebrews concerning those who
take for granted the inestimable sacrifice of Jesus Christ: “For if we
sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there
no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful
expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the
adversaries. Anyone who has rejected Moses’ law dies without mercy on
the testimony of two or three witnesses. Of how much worse punishment,
do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of
God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was
sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace?” (Hebrews
10:26-29).

Paul warned the Church at Corinth that their actions
were seriously and dangerously wrong! Like the message in Hebrews, the
people in Corinth were treating the Passover as a “common thing”–that
is, just another meal, and, even worse, as an activity of the Church in
which rebellious actions were taking place. We find an Old Testament
parallel in the story of the golden calf. In their idolatry, the
children of Israel made a proclamation that their observance was “a
feast to the LORD” (Exodus 32:5). They brought upon themselves both an
immediate penalty of death for some (Verse 28) and a future punishment
for their sin (Verses 34-35).

Disobeying God will lead to death.
The only exception is through repentance and forgiveness, and our
repentance and God’s forgiveness are only possible because of the death
of Jesus Christ in our place. He paid the ultimate penalty, and His
sacrifice is not a meaningless ritual. The Passover must not be taken
lightly–rather, we are to approach this observance carefully through a
personal reflection and self-examination.

In another letter to
the Corinthians, Paul states: “Examine yourselves as to whether you are
in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus
Christ is in you?–unless indeed you are disqualified” (2 Corinthians
13:5). This is essentially what he had told them to do regarding the
Passover Christ established: “But let a man examine himself, and so let
him eat of the bread and drink of the cup” (1 Corinthians 11:28);
Continuing in verses 31-32: “For if we would judge ourselves, we would
not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord,
that we may not be condemned with the world.”

Being “chastened by
the Lord” is exactly the purpose that was accomplished through Paul’s
writing. It applied to the members in Corinth, and it applies to us,
today. We are to examine ourselves in order to properly take the
Passover–to do as Jesus Christ commanded. Indeed, some, both then and
even now, have failed to properly discern the Lord’s body–which was
beaten for our healing–and they might thereby have suffered the
consequence of physical sickness and perhaps even death. They,
like Israel of old, have brought upon themselves penalties for their
sins. We can avoid these consequences if we seek to zealously obey what
God has commanded!

This is not to say–by any means–that every
Church member who is suffering from an illness is being punished by God
because of a lack of discernment of Christ’s body. As we explain in our
booklet, “Sickness and Healing–What the Bible Tells Us,”
the reasons for sickness and disease are manifold, and they might have
nothing to do at all with any ungodly conduct of the sick person. All
Paul is saying in 1 Corinthians 11 is that sickness COULD be the result
of partaking of the Passover in an unworthy manner, by not discerning
the beaten body of Christ and the fact that we are healed “by His
stripes” (Isaiah 53:5; compare Matthew 8:16-17).

Even though we
are asked to examine ourselves, Paul also says that we ARE to take the
Passover, if we are baptized members of the Church of God. When we
examine ourselves and when we hear sermons telling us of our ongoing
need to overcome, we must not become so discouraged that we don’t want
to take the Passover! Rather, examining ourselves should serve as the
preparation God wants for us. Once we do, we are to focus on Jesus
Christ–He is our Passover! Just as He set us an example, let us also
keep the Passover in the manner that is truly pleasing to God!

Lead Writers: Dave Harris and Norbert Link

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Preaching the Gospel and Feeding the Flock

A new member letter
has been written and sent out via mail. It has also been posted on the
Web. In the letter, Edwin Pope discusses important principles regarding
Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread. Also included is a write-up
about our recent Church conference. The write-up was submitted to the
Journal for publication.

The new StandingWatch program, “Uproar in France,” was posted on the Web.

We
received this update from Rey Coria in the Philippines: “I’m happy to
inform you that we had distributed your booklet “Are you Predestined to
be Saved”
to some old-time members. We had positive feedback from them.
In fact, we photocopy that booklet along with other booklets for
distribution. I would like to wish you in advance a happy Days of
Unleavened Bread. We’re preparing for the Passover season. Give our
regards to all of you.”

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God Understands

by Phyllis Bourque

Many years ago, as a new 28-year-old
convert, and the mother of a newborn and a toddler of 18 months, it was
no small challenge to get ready for church. My mate was not being
called as I was, and so Sabbath preparations rested entirely on me. One
particular Sabbath, the children were fussy, I was tired, and it was
raining…all good reasons to stay home, or so my still somewhat
“Protestant mind” thought.  Missing church that day didn’t seem as
big to me as the hassle of getting everything ready to go. So, I stayed
home.

The next week when I went to church, many of the ladies
flocked around me, very interested in my well-being and the children,
as was their custom. They mentioned how they had missed us the last
Sabbath and wondered if any of us had been sick. I explained that such
was not the case, but that the challenge of getting the children ready
to go out on a rainy day was a bit more than I could handle. And then I
said, “….but God understands.”

An elder’s wife among the group
quickly spoke up and said, “Oh, He understands, alright. He understands
where your heart is.”  Her words were well-chosen and very
powerful, and they echo in my mind to this day.  I came to realize
then how my actions were related to my conviction.

In the ensuing
years, I have been faced with diverse trials–trials that I never could
have predicted, nor would I have chosen had I known the details ahead
of time. But through those trials, God has given me ample opportunities
to learn much-needed lessons in order to grow in my conversion, showing
Him where my heart was and is, as I go through those trials. I
certainly cannot claim perfection in this area, but I keep trying, and
those very powerful words from a friend have been helpful along the way.

Yes,
God does understand where our heart is.  Every day we show Him
where it is, in what we think, in what we say, and, most of all, in
what we do.

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How This Work is Financed

This Update is an official publication by the ministry of the Church of the Eternal God in the United States of America; the Church of God, a Christian Fellowship in Canada; and the Global Church of God in the United Kingdom.

Editorial Team: Norbert Link, Dave Harris, Rene Messier, Brian Gale, Johanna Link, Eric Rank, Michael Link, Anna Link, Kalon Mitchell, Manuela Mitchell, Dawn Thompson

Technical Team: Eric Rank, Shana Rank

Our activities and literature, including booklets, weekly updates, sermons on CD and video and audio broadcasts, are provided free of charge. They are made possible by the tithes, offerings and contributions of Church members and others who have elected to support this Work.

While we do not solicit the general public for funds, contributions are gratefully welcomed and are tax-deductible in the U.S. and Canada.

Donations can be sent to the following addresses:

United States: Church of the Eternal God, P.O. Box 270519, San Diego, CA 92198

Canada: Church of God, ACF, Box 1480, Summerland, B.C. V0H 1Z0

United Kingdom: Global Church of God, PO Box 44, MABLETHORPE, LN12 9AN, United Kingdom

The Power of the Tongue

If we want to be righteous people, we must control the use of our tongues. Although no man can tame the tongue, God can, but we must let Him do it. If we keep saying wrong things, then there is something wrong with our hearts–with the way we think–the way our minds function. There are numerous principles in the Bible, showing us what to say and what not to say. There is also a strong connection between slander and wrong judgment. And, to use foul language or certain euphemisms is just another way of misusing our tongues. Death and life are in the power of our tongues. How we use them can make all the difference– for us and for others.
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Current Events

Demonstrations in France

The ongoing demonstrations in France over a new proposed labor law have brought into focus a perceived need for change in France, as well as in Europe. The events in France only highlight a feeling of unrest and uncertainty in continental Europe as a whole. The following articles also show a European mindset which is totally different from American standards. Again, we see how little Americans know about, or understand, Europeans.

The EUObserver reported on March 29:

“More than 1 million people are estimated to have taken to the streets on Tuesday (28 March) to try and get the French government to back down on a controversial new youth employment law. Many schools, universities, government offices and shops were closed as trade unions joined forces with students. Student leaders claimed it was the largest turnout since protests against the law started earlier this month, with the strike causing travel chaos throughout the country… prime minister Dominique de Villepin made it clear in parliament that he will not withdraw the law… which makes it easier for employers to end job contracts for those under 26 years of age at any time during a two year trial period. The employer can terminate a contract without having to offer an explanation or give prior warning. The government insists that this will encourage employers to hire more young people while students say it will erode job stability. The demonstrations are being seen as a major test of Mr de Villepin’s prime ministerial credentials.”

Der Spiegel Online added the following on March 29:

“France is moving headlong toward a crisis… The center-left Süddeutsche Zeitung… [is] not optimistic about what it sees. ‘At the beginning it was just a conflict over an employment law, now it’s become a government crisis, and if it continues for a little while longer, then France will experience a crisis of state.’ The paper sees the country hopelessly split between the right and the left, with both sides more concerned about scoring political points than about the well-being of the country as a whole. ‘The socialists have only joined the demonstrators this time out of opportunism, without having any ideas of their own to reduce unemployment.’ The shocking part, the paper says, is that President Jacques Chirac, elected with an unprecedented 80 percent majority four years ago, has become completely helpless in the face of the series of crises France has faced in the past 12 months. ‘Never has a president, never has a government, done so little with such a large majority.’…

“The right-leaning Die Welt… sees the strikes as little more than whining for a WORLD THAT NO LONGER EXISTS… A ‘virus of DENYING REALITY’ is spreading throughout Europe, the paper argues. It’s not the systems that are too rigid, rather ‘now we can see that it’s the people who are inflexible.’ The financial daily Handelsblatt, finally, looks at what the strikes mean for President Chirac. No matter what happens, the paper points out, Chirac will be the loser. Should he capitulate to the protesters and withdraw the law, Villepin would likely resign, endangering any chance Chirac has of ‘improving on his rather meager list of accomplishments as head of state.’ If, on the other hand, Villepin manages to weather the storm, it will be virtually impossible to introduce any further reforms to the labor market that the two had been planning, ‘because the social climate in the country will remain poisoned for the foreseeable future.'”

The Associated Press added the following comments, on March 29:

“In much of Europe, the idea that a company can dismiss workers just because profits are sagging is UNACCEPTABLE, AN AFFRONT TO MODERN VALUES [This is quite a different viewpoint than the commonly accepted model in the USA]. Yet economists say that even if the AMERICAN MODEL–under which layoffs are common–WOULD NEVER FLY HERE, reforms to Europe’s labor laws are crucial to the continent’s economic health. The battle in France over a new labor law is just the loudest and latest sign that the EUROPEAN SYSTEM IS AILING. The question of how to cure it is prompting soul-searching and underscoring divisions across the continent. AT STAKE IS EUROPE’S VISION OF ITSELF. Is it the world’s epicenter of enlightened ideas, or an economic heavyweight? Can it be both?… The European Union has had little luck stepping into the fray. One of the most divisive EU debates of late was over a law that would have allowed companies to operate under the labor regulations of their home country while doing business in another EU country. It was struck down last month. “In the United States and Britain, young people frequently jump from job to job. To dismiss an employee, companies can often just say, ‘You’re fired.’ [AGAIN, WE SEE QUITE A DIFFERENT MENTALITY BETWEEN THE USA AND THE UK ON THE ONE HAND, AND CONTINENTAL EUROPE ON THE OTHER. BOTH POWER BLOCS SIMPLY DO NOT THINK ALIKE.] But in France [as well as in Germany, for example], workers who land a coveted permanent contract can plan to stay at their jobs until retirement. To fire most employees, companies not only have to give at least three months notice, pay fines to the state and up to three years of severance–they also have to convince a judge that the dismissal is justified, something they don’t always manage to do. The French government says these rules are crippling and at fault for persistent unemployment, and devised a law in January that eases them. The most prickly part of the law, the so-called first job contract, allows employers to fire workers under age 26 without reason during the first two years on the job.”

The article continued:

“Part of Europe’s challenge is getting its growing numbers of immigrants into the work force. The French jobs law is aimed partly at immigrant youth, who face unemployment rates as high as 50 percent… Already, without a permanent job in France, it’s nearly impossible to rent an apartment, buy a house or earn a bank loan. [OF COURSE, IN THIS REGARD, THE SITUATION IN THE UNITED STATES IS NOT ANY BETTER, PERHAPS A LOT WORSE.] As a result, many French youth live with their parents throughout their 20s, drifting among unpaid internships, temporary jobs and the unemployment line… public workers in southwestern Germany have been striking for eight weeks over an attempt to extend working hours. Job protections have been a major campaign issue ahead of Italian elections next month. More than half of Italian college students consider a job-for-life either fundamental or very important…”

Europeans are unhappy about these current conditions. They will not wait MUCH LONGER to FORCE their leaders to not only talk about the problems, but to DO something about them. They will most certainly not be satisfied with a labor law and conditions patterned after the “American” model. And even though most European leaders might not be able or willing to follow suit, ONE charismatic leader WILL–in the not-too-distant future.

U.S. Immigrants–Criminals or Americans?

America has been caught by surprise about unprecedented demonstrations by mainly the Hispanic community pertaining to a highly controversial proposed new Immigration Law. The following articles address the real present and future problems that the USA is facing, and they point out the sometimes unrealized fact that America would probably stop functioning without its illegal immigrants!

Der Spiegel Online stated on March 29:

“The German press loves bashing US President George W. Bush and usually, they find it not terribly difficult given the consensus on this side of the Atlantic that US foreign policy since Sept. 11, 2001 has been a complete disaster. But the recent US-wide debate on American immigration law is not proving to be quite as clear cut — and it is producing a deep split in the Republican Party. On the one hand, there is a Republican fraction — to which Bush belongs — which would like to see the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants currently in the United States be granted work visas with an option of becoming full citizens later. A bill reflecting this viewpoint — supported by Democrats led by Senator Edward Kennedy — was passed by the Republican-controlled Senate on Monday. But a second group of Republicans would like to see illegal immigration cracked down on in the form of strong measures taken to prevent it. This group — which helped push a bill through the House of Representatives in December — would like to see illegal immigrants criminalized and sent home. The two laws will now have to be reconciled. Many conservative Republicans are criticizing the proposed reform as a slippery slope towards an amnesty for illegal immigrants and — given the fact that fully 11.7 percent of the US population was foreign born in 2003 — as a threat to the national identity of the USA.

“Left-leaning daily Berliner Zeitung [points out] that the massive contribution of illegal immigrants to the US economy is an UNDENIABLE REALITY [as was the case in Germany in the 60’s, when guest workers from Turkey and other nations were invited to come into the country to temporarily work there]. ‘Deport the illegal immigrants and the country would PROBABLY STOP FUNCTIONING,’ the editors write, going on to note that while they feel the reform proposal is laudable, polls show that the majority of US citizens does not support it… Editorials in two other German papers [Financial Times and Süddeutsche Zeitung] reflect not so much on the specific debate over efforts to reform US immigration law, but rather on the difficulties faced by the president and his party in general. Not only are Bush’s poll ratings abysmal, but for the first time in his over five years in office, Bush has gotten rid of one of his closest aides, White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card… who resigned on Tuesday…”

AFP reported on March 29 that “More than 36,000  [Los Angeles] students walked out of class to protest on Monday and more than 11,000 boycotted on Tuesday, prompting education chiefs and police to warn that pupils who skip class would be punished as truants if they failed to show up for class… While Los Angeles has been the focus of the student protests against the proposed immigration law, similar walkouts have taken place across California as well as in the states of Texas and Nevada in recent days. Saturday, 500,000 demonstrators brought Los Angeles to a standstill by staging ONE OF THE BIGGEST DEMONSTRATIONS IN RECENT US HISTORY against the proposed crackdown, while 50,000 people protested Monday in the northeastern US auto-making capital of Detroit over the issue…

“The US House of Representatives in December passed a bill that would make illegal entry in the United States a CRIME and heavily penalise EMPLOYERS of undocumented workers [as well as requiring CHURCHES to check the LEGAL STATUS of people they want to HELP], opening the floodwaters of protest in the Hispanic community, the largest US minority group… The hardline plans have sparked anger among the more than 32 million people of Hispanic cultural origin in the United States, who make up more than 12 percent of the population and wield growing political and economic clout. Hispanic community leaders said they were planning a massive countrywide Hispanic boycott of US life on May 1 that will be dubbed ‘A day without Latinos or a day without immigrants.'”

Israeli Election

Israel’s recent elections have shown that Israelis are more interested in the solutions of their own problems than in pursuing an unrealistic “peace” process. The following article also shows the grave mistrust of Israeli citizens in their political leaders–a phenomenon which is mirrored in most countries in the Western World.

On March 29, Der Spiegel Online reported the following about the election results in Israel: “The Israelis have turned their BACK ON THE PEACE PROCESS. The days when the left dreamed of the ‘New Middle East’ are over. Instead of negotiating about future co-existence with the Palestinians, the Israelis want a divorce, once and for all. They’re not aiming for peace… The so-called security fence is aimed at separating the two peoples from one another. How the Palestinians are supposed to survive when they are cut off from the outside world is of no interest in Israel. Instead of looking out for their Palestinian neighbors, Israelis want their government to fight poverty in their own country. Israel’s focus is turning inwards.

“But what’s most astonishing is that despite the dramatic changes now faced by the country and the whole region, almost 40 percent of eligible voters stayed at home. The lack of interest isn’t just explained by the absence of strong, charismatic personalities following the departure of Ariel Sharon. In the eyes of many Israelis POLITICS IS SUCH A DIRTY BUSINESS THAT THEY WANT NO PART IN IT, not even from a distance. The names of many politicians have been cited in connection with corruption cases. Some parliamentarians will even have to go to jail soon, among them the son of Ariel Sharon.”

Hamas Takes Power

After some delay, Hamas took power. The future for peace in the Middle East looks grimmer than ever.

The Associated Press reported on March 29:

“Hamas formally took power Wednesday, and the newly installed prime minister [Islmail Haniyeh] pledged to cooperate with President Mahmoud Abbas, head of the defeated Fatah party… Haniyeh said he and Abbas would confront ‘Israeli aggression against the people’ as well as internal chaos. He called Hamas’ assumption of power ‘a great moment.’ The swearing-in ceremony, which came just a day after Israel’s national election, ended a two-month transition period of ambiguity since Hamas’ election victory in January. The 24-member Cabinet includes 14 ministers who served time in Israeli prisons.

“With a Hamas government installed, the LINES OF CONFRONTATION WITH ISRAEL ARE CLEARLY DRAWN. Hamas insists it will not soften its VIOLENT IDEOLOGY toward the Jewish state. Israel’s presumed prime minister-designate, Ehud Olmert, has countered that if Hamas will not bend, he will set the borders of a Palestinian state by himself and keep large areas of the West Bank. With Hamas at the helm, the Palestinian Authority also faces a crippling international economic boycott. Canada announced it was suspending assistance to the Palestinian Authority, with Hamas calling the decision hasty and unfair…”

Israel May Be Next al-Qaida Battleground

As if Hamas’ radical stance was not enough, suspicion is mounting that al-Qaida is concentrating on Israel as their new battle field. The Associated Press reported on March 22: “Signs are mounting that al-Qaida terrorists are setting their sights on Israel and the Palestinian territories as their next jihad battleground. Israel has indicted two West Bank militants for al-Qaida membership, Egypt arrested operatives trying to cross into Israel and a Palestinian security official has acknowledged al-Qaida is ‘organizing cells and gathering supporters.’… Palestinians in the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and Lebanon have established contacts with al-Qaida followers… a major concern is al-Qaida’s activities in Israel’s neighbors, especially Jordan… Some Israeli officials have expressed concern that al-Qaida operatives from Egypt may have entered Gaza after Israel withdrew from the coastal strip last summer.”

Afghan Christian Given Asylum in Italy

Abdul Rahman fled Afghanistan after his release from prison (due to some concocted rationale of “insufficient evidence” and “suspected mental illness”) and found asylum in Italy. The Western World can sigh a temporary sigh of relief. But the sign is deceitful. Afghanistan’s problems have not been solved by any stretch of the imagination. Afghanistan’s future does not give room for much optimism.

The Associated Press reported on March 29:

“The Afghan man who faced the death penalty for converting from Islam to Christianity received asylum in Italy Wednesday, despite requests by lawmakers in Afghanistan that he be barred from fleeing the conservative Muslim country. Abdul Rahman arrived in Rome days after he was freed from a high-security prison… after a court dropped charges of apostasy against him for lack of evidence and suspected mental illness. The case has attracted wide attention in the West and led to calls by the U.S. and other governments for the Afghan government to protect the 41-year-old convert. It also inspired an appeal by Pope Benedict XVI to Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai and efforts by the United Nations to find a country to take him in after Muslim clerics in Afghanistan threatened his life, saying his conversion was a ‘betrayal to Islam.’ Rahman was in the care of Italy’s Interior Ministry, Premier Silvio Berlusconi said Wednesday evening. ‘He is already in Italy,’ he said… The premier declined to release more details. The Interior Ministry said Rahman was ‘UNDER PROTECTION.'”

“Afghanistan’s new parliament debated Rahman’s case Wednesday and DEMANDED HE BE BARRED FROM LEAVING THE COUNTRY. But no formal vote was taken on the issue. Some 500 Afghans, including Muslim leaders and students, also gathered at a mosque in the southern town of Qalat… to demand the convert be forced to return to Islam or be killed… Germany, where Rahman once lived, praised the Italian move. ‘This is a humanitarian signal and we welcome it,’ German government spokesman Thomas Steg said.”

Even though Rahman lives in MORE OR LESS relative safety, the terrible status quo in Afghanistan has not changed. In fact, nothing has changed. Women are still being persecuted on a daily basis, and any Afghan who is charged with converting from Islam to Christianity will face the same ordeal which Rahman did. Afghanistan is, by no stretch of the imagination, a “free” country.

As Deutsche Welle wrote on March 23:

“Starting in 2004, Afghanistan — with Western help — ushered in a new reformed constitution, after which it elected a new parliament and created a Supreme Court and an independent legal system — steps considered essential in what the US administration calls ‘nation-building.’ But, experts warn about the dangers of flaunting Afghanistan as a poster-child for spreading democracy to former totalitarian countries. More than four years after the fall of the Taliban, the country remains riddled with corruption and cronyism linked to the country’s administrative system and $2.8 billion… drug industry. ‘One shouldn’t forget that [Afghan President Hamid] Karzai had to make several concessions to ultra-conservatives in drawing up the constitution,’ said Citha Maass, Afghanistan expert at the Berlin-based German Institute for International and Security Affairs. Maass pointed out that the Rahman case highlighted the contradictions in Afghanistan’s constitution, which enshrines religious freedom on the one hand and upholds the supremacy of Islamic Sharia law on the other… The Afghanistan expert also pointed out that recent protests over controversial cartoons published in European newspapers HAD BEEN THE MOST VIOLENT IN AFGHANISTAN.”

Afghanistan Fighting Deadliest in Months

The ongoing problems in Afghanistan were highlighted on Wednesday, March 29, when The Associated Press reported:

“Taliban rebels launched a large-scale attack on a coalition military base Wednesday in southern Afghanistan [in Helmand], killing an American and a Canadian soldier but losing 32 of their own in a fierce American-led retaliation. The fighting was THE DEADLIEST in months and reflected a GROWING INTENSITY OF MILITANT ATTACKS after the Taliban warned of a renewed offensive this year, more than four years after the hard-line militia was ousted by U.S.-led airstrikes… It was not clear if Wednesday’s violence was linked to the DRUG TRADE. Helmand is Afghanistan’s main opium poppy-growing region and fears of widespread violence have risen since an aggressive poppy eradication campaign started in recent weeks. Helmand’s rugged mountains also are popular hiding places for Taliban rebels, many of whom are believed to slip back and forth across the province’s largely UNGUARDED BORDER WITH PAKISTAN. The attack on the base came a day after a roadside bomb killed six Afghan soldiers on a road in the province, and four private security workers–a Namibian and three Afghans–were killed elsewhere in the south in attacks blamed on Taliban rebels.”

Christ's Sacrifice and YOU

Baptized members of the Church of God will soon partake of the
annual Passover symbols of bread and wine to reflect on the death of
Christ and to renew their commitment to God to continue living the Way
of Life to which they have been called. When meditating about the
Sacrifice which Jesus was willing to make for us, we need to realize,
in a very PERSONAL way, its tremendous meaning and greatness.

We
need to understand that Jesus Christ is God now and that He was God
since all eternity. He never had a beginning. But He was willing to
temporarily set aside His divinity and BECOME a man–like you and I are
human beings today. He was willing to face the possibility of ETERNAL
death. He was willing to carry out the fight of overcoming sin in the
flesh. He knew and was fully convinced that He could never slip–not
just once–and He was willing to take the risk of failing. He knew full
well that one sin would end it all for Him, as the penalty for sin is
eternal death (Romans 6:23), which would have also applied to Christ
Himself if He had sinned. He knew that in case of sinning just once, He
would never again be united with His Father in a glorified state, which
He had enjoyed before He became a human being.

Why did He do
it? He did not have to do it. Nobody forced Him to do it. He lived with
the Father in the spirit realm of unspeakable happiness and joy. He
could have remained in that state forever.

But He did not. He
BECAME a man! And He did it for you and for me. God the Father GAVE His
Son, Jesus Christ, for you and for me! Both understood and consented
that Christ would have to live as a human being for 33 1/2 years, and
that He would have to ultimately DIE a terrible death on the cross–for
you and for me!

We must understand that Christ’s death was the
ONLY way to pay the penalty for YOUR sins and for my sins–because, as
stated, the penalty for sin is ETERNAL death. Without the shedding of
blood, there is no forgiveness of sin (Hebrews 9:22). And so, Christ
who, as God, had created man, would die for man–and His death would be
much more precious than the death of all of mankind combined. The
Creator of man would die for His creation. He was willing to die for
rebellious and disobedient man so that man, upon repentance and the
receipt of the Holy Spirit, could be freed from death and live forever.

God
the Father and Jesus Christ made this Sacrifice willingly, freely and
joyfully! Hebrews 12:2 tells us that Jesus, the author and finisher of
our faith, endured the cross and despised the shame “for the joy that
was set before Him.” He looked at the future, while He was suffering
and dying on the cross–He saw in His mind the millions and potential
billions of people who would ultimately enjoy with Him the glory of
being immortal sons and daughters in His Father’s Kingdom. He saw you
and me next to Him in the Family of God. That is why He was willing to
do what He did.

How much do we thank God the Father and Jesus
Christ for this Sacrifice? How diligent are we NOT to sin so that we
don’t have to remind God over and over again of the actual events of
Christ’s suffering and death–what He went through? It is true, of
course, that when we sin, we can and should come before God’s throne in
heaven, in repentance, and ask for forgiveness. When we slip and fall,
God is true and faithful to forgive us upon repentance, and the blood
of Christ will cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). But
this is not to be understood as a license to sin–or, that we can look
at sin in a casual way. We are commanded NOT to sin (1 John 2:1). We
need to fully realize that every time we appear before God, while
repenting of our newly committed sins and confessing them to Him, we
remind Him of the terrible ordeal that Christ went through, in order to
make our forgiveness possible.  And much worse yet, if we become
so casual and indifferent to sin that we don’t see the need anymore to
repent; if we, instead, proceed to sin WILLFULLY, trampling the Son of
God underfoot, counting the blood of the New Covenant by which we were
sanctified or set aside for a holy purpose a common or unimportant
thing; then we are again deserving the punishment of eternal death
(Hebrews 10:29). Because, we crucify again the Son of God for ourselves
and put Him again to an open shame (Hebrews 6:6).

When you and
I partake of the Passover in less than two weeks from now, we need to
reflect on the great Sacrifice of Jesus Christ which He brought for us.
Don’t ever take it lightly. Christ DIED for YOU–so that YOU, having
died to sins, can and might live for HIM in righteousness (1 Peter
2:24).

Update 237

The Power of the Tongue

On April 1, 2006, Norbert Link will give the sermon, titled, “The Power of the Tongue.”

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.

Back to top

Christ's Sacrifice and YOU

by Norbert Link

Baptized members of the Church of God will soon partake of the
annual Passover symbols of bread and wine to reflect on the death of
Christ and to renew their commitment to God to continue living the Way
of Life to which they have been called. When meditating about the
Sacrifice which Jesus was willing to make for us, we need to realize,
in a very PERSONAL way, its tremendous meaning and greatness.

We
need to understand that Jesus Christ is God now and that He was God
since all eternity. He never had a beginning. But He was willing to
temporarily set aside His divinity and BECOME a man–like you and I are
human beings today. He was willing to face the possibility of ETERNAL
death. He was willing to carry out the fight of overcoming sin in the
flesh. He knew and was fully convinced that He could never slip–not
just once–and He was willing to take the risk of failing. He knew full
well that one sin would end it all for Him, as the penalty for sin is
eternal death (Romans 6:23), which would have also applied to Christ
Himself if He had sinned. He knew that in case of sinning just once, He
would never again be united with His Father in a glorified state, which
He had enjoyed before He became a human being.

Why did He do
it? He did not have to do it. Nobody forced Him to do it. He lived with
the Father in the spirit realm of unspeakable happiness and joy. He
could have remained in that state forever.

But He did not. He
BECAME a man! And He did it for you and for me. God the Father GAVE His
Son, Jesus Christ, for you and for me! Both understood and consented
that Christ would have to live as a human being for 33 1/2 years, and
that He would have to ultimately DIE a terrible death on the cross–for
you and for me!

We must understand that Christ’s death was the
ONLY way to pay the penalty for YOUR sins and for my sins–because, as
stated, the penalty for sin is ETERNAL death. Without the shedding of
blood, there is no forgiveness of sin (Hebrews 9:22). And so, Christ
who, as God, had created man, would die for man–and His death would be
much more precious than the death of all of mankind combined. The
Creator of man would die for His creation. He was willing to die for
rebellious and disobedient man so that man, upon repentance and the
receipt of the Holy Spirit, could be freed from death and live forever.

God
the Father and Jesus Christ made this Sacrifice willingly, freely and
joyfully! Hebrews 12:2 tells us that Jesus, the author and finisher of
our faith, endured the cross and despised the shame “for the joy that
was set before Him.” He looked at the future, while He was suffering
and dying on the cross–He saw in His mind the millions and potential
billions of people who would ultimately enjoy with Him the glory of
being immortal sons and daughters in His Father’s Kingdom. He saw you
and me next to Him in the Family of God. That is why He was willing to
do what He did.

How much do we thank God the Father and Jesus
Christ for this Sacrifice? How diligent are we NOT to sin so that we
don’t have to remind God over and over again of the actual events of
Christ’s suffering and death–what He went through? It is true, of
course, that when we sin, we can and should come before God’s throne in
heaven, in repentance, and ask for forgiveness. When we slip and fall,
God is true and faithful to forgive us upon repentance, and the blood
of Christ will cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). But
this is not to be understood as a license to sin–or, that we can look
at sin in a casual way. We are commanded NOT to sin (1 John 2:1). We
need to fully realize that every time we appear before God, while
repenting of our newly committed sins and confessing them to Him, we
remind Him of the terrible ordeal that Christ went through, in order to
make our forgiveness possible.  And much worse yet, if we become
so casual and indifferent to sin that we don’t see the need anymore to
repent; if we, instead, proceed to sin WILLFULLY, trampling the Son of
God underfoot, counting the blood of the New Covenant by which we were
sanctified or set aside for a holy purpose a common or unimportant
thing; then we are again deserving the punishment of eternal death
(Hebrews 10:29). Because, we crucify again the Son of God for ourselves
and put Him again to an open shame (Hebrews 6:6).

When you and
I partake of the Passover in less than two weeks from now, we need to
reflect on the great Sacrifice of Jesus Christ which He brought for us.
Don’t ever take it lightly. Christ DIED for YOU–so that YOU, having
died to sins, can and might live for HIM in righteousness (1 Peter
2:24).

Back to top

Demonstrations in France

The ongoing demonstrations in France over a new proposed labor law have brought into focus a perceived need for change in France, as well as in Europe. The events in France only highlight a feeling of unrest and uncertainty in continental Europe as a whole. The following articles also show a European mindset which is totally different from American standards. Again, we see how little Americans know about, or understand, Europeans.

The EUObserver reported on March 29:

“More than 1 million people are estimated to have taken to the streets on Tuesday (28 March) to try and get the French government to back down on a controversial new youth employment law. Many schools, universities, government offices and shops were closed as trade unions joined forces with students. Student leaders claimed it was the largest turnout since protests against the law started earlier this month, with the strike causing travel chaos throughout the country… prime minister Dominique de Villepin made it clear in parliament that he will not withdraw the law… which makes it easier for employers to end job contracts for those under 26 years of age at any time during a two year trial period. The employer can terminate a contract without having to offer an explanation or give prior warning. The government insists that this will encourage employers to hire more young people while students say it will erode job stability. The demonstrations are being seen as a major test of Mr de Villepin’s prime ministerial credentials.”

Der Spiegel Online added the following on March 29:

“France is moving headlong toward a crisis… The center-left Süddeutsche Zeitung… [is] not optimistic about what it sees. ‘At the beginning it was just a conflict over an employment law, now it’s become a government crisis, and if it continues for a little while longer, then France will experience a crisis of state.’ The paper sees the country hopelessly split between the right and the left, with both sides more concerned about scoring political points than about the well-being of the country as a whole. ‘The socialists have only joined the demonstrators this time out of opportunism, without having any ideas of their own to reduce unemployment.’ The shocking part, the paper says, is that President Jacques Chirac, elected with an unprecedented 80 percent majority four years ago, has become completely helpless in the face of the series of crises France has faced in the past 12 months. ‘Never has a president, never has a government, done so little with such a large majority.’…

“The right-leaning Die Welt… sees the strikes as little more than whining for a WORLD THAT NO LONGER EXISTS… A ‘virus of DENYING REALITY’ is spreading throughout Europe, the paper argues. It’s not the systems that are too rigid, rather ‘now we can see that it’s the people who are inflexible.’ The financial daily Handelsblatt, finally, looks at what the strikes mean for President Chirac. No matter what happens, the paper points out, Chirac will be the loser. Should he capitulate to the protesters and withdraw the law, Villepin would likely resign, endangering any chance Chirac has of ‘improving on his rather meager list of accomplishments as head of state.’ If, on the other hand, Villepin manages to weather the storm, it will be virtually impossible to introduce any further reforms to the labor market that the two had been planning, ‘because the social climate in the country will remain poisoned for the foreseeable future.'”

The Associated Press added the following comments, on March 29:

“In much of Europe, the idea that a company can dismiss workers just because profits are sagging is UNACCEPTABLE, AN AFFRONT TO MODERN VALUES [This is quite a different viewpoint than the commonly accepted model in the USA]. Yet economists say that even if the AMERICAN MODEL–under which layoffs are common–WOULD NEVER FLY HERE, reforms to Europe’s labor laws are crucial to the continent’s economic health. The battle in France over a new labor law is just the loudest and latest sign that the EUROPEAN SYSTEM IS AILING. The question of how to cure it is prompting soul-searching and underscoring divisions across the continent. AT STAKE IS EUROPE’S VISION OF ITSELF. Is it the world’s epicenter of enlightened ideas, or an economic heavyweight? Can it be both?… The European Union has had little luck stepping into the fray. One of the most divisive EU debates of late was over a law that would have allowed companies to operate under the labor regulations of their home country while doing business in another EU country. It was struck down last month. “In the United States and Britain, young people frequently jump from job to job. To dismiss an employee, companies can often just say, ‘You’re fired.’ [AGAIN, WE SEE QUITE A DIFFERENT MENTALITY BETWEEN THE USA AND THE UK ON THE ONE HAND, AND CONTINENTAL EUROPE ON THE OTHER. BOTH POWER BLOCS SIMPLY DO NOT THINK ALIKE.] But in France [as well as in Germany, for example], workers who land a coveted permanent contract can plan to stay at their jobs until retirement. To fire most employees, companies not only have to give at least three months notice, pay fines to the state and up to three years of severance–they also have to convince a judge that the dismissal is justified, something they don’t always manage to do. The French government says these rules are crippling and at fault for persistent unemployment, and devised a law in January that eases them. The most prickly part of the law, the so-called first job contract, allows employers to fire workers under age 26 without reason during the first two years on the job.”

The article continued:

“Part of Europe’s challenge is getting its growing numbers of immigrants into the work force. The French jobs law is aimed partly at immigrant youth, who face unemployment rates as high as 50 percent… Already, without a permanent job in France, it’s nearly impossible to rent an apartment, buy a house or earn a bank loan. [OF COURSE, IN THIS REGARD, THE SITUATION IN THE UNITED STATES IS NOT ANY BETTER, PERHAPS A LOT WORSE.] As a result, many French youth live with their parents throughout their 20s, drifting among unpaid internships, temporary jobs and the unemployment line… public workers in southwestern Germany have been striking for eight weeks over an attempt to extend working hours. Job protections have been a major campaign issue ahead of Italian elections next month. More than half of Italian college students consider a job-for-life either fundamental or very important…”

Europeans are unhappy about these current conditions. They will not wait MUCH LONGER to FORCE their leaders to not only talk about the problems, but to DO something about them. They will most certainly not be satisfied with a labor law and conditions patterned after the “American” model. And even though most European leaders might not be able or willing to follow suit, ONE charismatic leader WILL–in the not-too-distant future.

U.S. Immigrants–Criminals or Americans?

America has been caught by surprise about unprecedented demonstrations by mainly the Hispanic community pertaining to a highly controversial proposed new Immigration Law. The following articles address the real present and future problems that the USA is facing, and they point out the sometimes unrealized fact that America would probably stop functioning without its illegal immigrants!

Der Spiegel Online stated on March 29:

“The German press loves bashing US President George W. Bush and usually, they find it not terribly difficult given the consensus on this side of the Atlantic that US foreign policy since Sept. 11, 2001 has been a complete disaster. But the recent US-wide debate on American immigration law is not proving to be quite as clear cut — and it is producing a deep split in the Republican Party. On the one hand, there is a Republican fraction — to which Bush belongs — which would like to see the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants currently in the United States be granted work visas with an option of becoming full citizens later. A bill reflecting this viewpoint — supported by Democrats led by Senator Edward Kennedy — was passed by the Republican-controlled Senate on Monday. But a second group of Republicans would like to see illegal immigration cracked down on in the form of strong measures taken to prevent it. This group — which helped push a bill through the House of Representatives in December — would like to see illegal immigrants criminalized and sent home. The two laws will now have to be reconciled. Many conservative Republicans are criticizing the proposed reform as a slippery slope towards an amnesty for illegal immigrants and — given the fact that fully 11.7 percent of the US population was foreign born in 2003 — as a threat to the national identity of the USA.

“Left-leaning daily Berliner Zeitung [points out] that the massive contribution of illegal immigrants to the US economy is an UNDENIABLE REALITY [as was the case in Germany in the 60’s, when guest workers from Turkey and other nations were invited to come into the country to temporarily work there]. ‘Deport the illegal immigrants and the country would PROBABLY STOP FUNCTIONING,’ the editors write, going on to note that while they feel the reform proposal is laudable, polls show that the majority of US citizens does not support it… Editorials in two other German papers [Financial Times and Süddeutsche Zeitung] reflect not so much on the specific debate over efforts to reform US immigration law, but rather on the difficulties faced by the president and his party in general. Not only are Bush’s poll ratings abysmal, but for the first time in his over five years in office, Bush has gotten rid of one of his closest aides, White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card… who resigned on Tuesday…”

AFP reported on March 29 that “More than 36,000  [Los Angeles] students walked out of class to protest on Monday and more than 11,000 boycotted on Tuesday, prompting education chiefs and police to warn that pupils who skip class would be punished as truants if they failed to show up for class… While Los Angeles has been the focus of the student protests against the proposed immigration law, similar walkouts have taken place across California as well as in the states of Texas and Nevada in recent days. Saturday, 500,000 demonstrators brought Los Angeles to a standstill by staging ONE OF THE BIGGEST DEMONSTRATIONS IN RECENT US HISTORY against the proposed crackdown, while 50,000 people protested Monday in the northeastern US auto-making capital of Detroit over the issue…

“The US House of Representatives in December passed a bill that would make illegal entry in the United States a CRIME and heavily penalise EMPLOYERS of undocumented workers [as well as requiring CHURCHES to check the LEGAL STATUS of people they want to HELP], opening the floodwaters of protest in the Hispanic community, the largest US minority group… The hardline plans have sparked anger among the more than 32 million people of Hispanic cultural origin in the United States, who make up more than 12 percent of the population and wield growing political and economic clout. Hispanic community leaders said they were planning a massive countrywide Hispanic boycott of US life on May 1 that will be dubbed ‘A day without Latinos or a day without immigrants.'”

Israeli Election

Israel’s recent elections have shown that Israelis are more interested in the solutions of their own problems than in pursuing an unrealistic “peace” process. The following article also shows the grave mistrust of Israeli citizens in their political leaders–a phenomenon which is mirrored in most countries in the Western World.

On March 29, Der Spiegel Online reported the following about the election results in Israel: “The Israelis have turned their BACK ON THE PEACE PROCESS. The days when the left dreamed of the ‘New Middle East’ are over. Instead of negotiating about future co-existence with the Palestinians, the Israelis want a divorce, once and for all. They’re not aiming for peace… The so-called security fence is aimed at separating the two peoples from one another. How the Palestinians are supposed to survive when they are cut off from the outside world is of no interest in Israel. Instead of looking out for their Palestinian neighbors, Israelis want their government to fight poverty in their own country. Israel’s focus is turning inwards.

“But what’s most astonishing is that despite the dramatic changes now faced by the country and the whole region, almost 40 percent of eligible voters stayed at home. The lack of interest isn’t just explained by the absence of strong, charismatic personalities following the departure of Ariel Sharon. In the eyes of many Israelis POLITICS IS SUCH A DIRTY BUSINESS THAT THEY WANT NO PART IN IT, not even from a distance. The names of many politicians have been cited in connection with corruption cases. Some parliamentarians will even have to go to jail soon, among them the son of Ariel Sharon.”

Hamas Takes Power

After some delay, Hamas took power. The future for peace in the Middle East looks grimmer than ever.

The Associated Press reported on March 29:

“Hamas formally took power Wednesday, and the newly installed prime minister [Islmail Haniyeh] pledged to cooperate with President Mahmoud Abbas, head of the defeated Fatah party… Haniyeh said he and Abbas would confront ‘Israeli aggression against the people’ as well as internal chaos. He called Hamas’ assumption of power ‘a great moment.’ The swearing-in ceremony, which came just a day after Israel’s national election, ended a two-month transition period of ambiguity since Hamas’ election victory in January. The 24-member Cabinet includes 14 ministers who served time in Israeli prisons.

“With a Hamas government installed, the LINES OF CONFRONTATION WITH ISRAEL ARE CLEARLY DRAWN. Hamas insists it will not soften its VIOLENT IDEOLOGY toward the Jewish state. Israel’s presumed prime minister-designate, Ehud Olmert, has countered that if Hamas will not bend, he will set the borders of a Palestinian state by himself and keep large areas of the West Bank. With Hamas at the helm, the Palestinian Authority also faces a crippling international economic boycott. Canada announced it was suspending assistance to the Palestinian Authority, with Hamas calling the decision hasty and unfair…”

Israel May Be Next al-Qaida Battleground

As if Hamas’ radical stance was not enough, suspicion is mounting that al-Qaida is concentrating on Israel as their new battle field. The Associated Press reported on March 22: “Signs are mounting that al-Qaida terrorists are setting their sights on Israel and the Palestinian territories as their next jihad battleground. Israel has indicted two West Bank militants for al-Qaida membership, Egypt arrested operatives trying to cross into Israel and a Palestinian security official has acknowledged al-Qaida is ‘organizing cells and gathering supporters.’… Palestinians in the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and Lebanon have established contacts with al-Qaida followers… a major concern is al-Qaida’s activities in Israel’s neighbors, especially Jordan… Some Israeli officials have expressed concern that al-Qaida operatives from Egypt may have entered Gaza after Israel withdrew from the coastal strip last summer.”

Afghan Christian Given Asylum in Italy

Abdul Rahman fled Afghanistan after his release from prison (due to some concocted rationale of “insufficient evidence” and “suspected mental illness”) and found asylum in Italy. The Western World can sigh a temporary sigh of relief. But the sign is deceitful. Afghanistan’s problems have not been solved by any stretch of the imagination. Afghanistan’s future does not give room for much optimism.

The Associated Press reported on March 29:

“The Afghan man who faced the death penalty for converting from Islam to Christianity received asylum in Italy Wednesday, despite requests by lawmakers in Afghanistan that he be barred from fleeing the conservative Muslim country. Abdul Rahman arrived in Rome days after he was freed from a high-security prison… after a court dropped charges of apostasy against him for lack of evidence and suspected mental illness. The case has attracted wide attention in the West and led to calls by the U.S. and other governments for the Afghan government to protect the 41-year-old convert. It also inspired an appeal by Pope Benedict XVI to Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai and efforts by the United Nations to find a country to take him in after Muslim clerics in Afghanistan threatened his life, saying his conversion was a ‘betrayal to Islam.’ Rahman was in the care of Italy’s Interior Ministry, Premier Silvio Berlusconi said Wednesday evening. ‘He is already in Italy,’ he said… The premier declined to release more details. The Interior Ministry said Rahman was ‘UNDER PROTECTION.'”

“Afghanistan’s new parliament debated Rahman’s case Wednesday and DEMANDED HE BE BARRED FROM LEAVING THE COUNTRY. But no formal vote was taken on the issue. Some 500 Afghans, including Muslim leaders and students, also gathered at a mosque in the southern town of Qalat… to demand the convert be forced to return to Islam or be killed… Germany, where Rahman once lived, praised the Italian move. ‘This is a humanitarian signal and we welcome it,’ German government spokesman Thomas Steg said.”

Even though Rahman lives in MORE OR LESS relative safety, the terrible status quo in Afghanistan has not changed. In fact, nothing has changed. Women are still being persecuted on a daily basis, and any Afghan who is charged with converting from Islam to Christianity will face the same ordeal which Rahman did. Afghanistan is, by no stretch of the imagination, a “free” country.

As Deutsche Welle wrote on March 23:

“Starting in 2004, Afghanistan — with Western help — ushered in a new reformed constitution, after which it elected a new parliament and created a Supreme Court and an independent legal system — steps considered essential in what the US administration calls ‘nation-building.’ But, experts warn about the dangers of flaunting Afghanistan as a poster-child for spreading democracy to former totalitarian countries. More than four years after the fall of the Taliban, the country remains riddled with corruption and cronyism linked to the country’s administrative system and $2.8 billion… drug industry. ‘One shouldn’t forget that [Afghan President Hamid] Karzai had to make several concessions to ultra-conservatives in drawing up the constitution,’ said Citha Maass, Afghanistan expert at the Berlin-based German Institute for International and Security Affairs. Maass pointed out that the Rahman case highlighted the contradictions in Afghanistan’s constitution, which enshrines religious freedom on the one hand and upholds the supremacy of Islamic Sharia law on the other… The Afghanistan expert also pointed out that recent protests over controversial cartoons published in European newspapers HAD BEEN THE MOST VIOLENT IN AFGHANISTAN.”

Afghanistan Fighting Deadliest in Months

The ongoing problems in Afghanistan were highlighted on Wednesday, March 29, when The Associated Press reported:

“Taliban rebels launched a large-scale attack on a coalition military base Wednesday in southern Afghanistan [in Helmand], killing an American and a Canadian soldier but losing 32 of their own in a fierce American-led retaliation. The fighting was THE DEADLIEST in months and reflected a GROWING INTENSITY OF MILITANT ATTACKS after the Taliban warned of a renewed offensive this year, more than four years after the hard-line militia was ousted by U.S.-led airstrikes… It was not clear if Wednesday’s violence was linked to the DRUG TRADE. Helmand is Afghanistan’s main opium poppy-growing region and fears of widespread violence have risen since an aggressive poppy eradication campaign started in recent weeks. Helmand’s rugged mountains also are popular hiding places for Taliban rebels, many of whom are believed to slip back and forth across the province’s largely UNGUARDED BORDER WITH PAKISTAN. The attack on the base came a day after a roadside bomb killed six Afghan soldiers on a road in the province, and four private security workers–a Namibian and three Afghans–were killed elsewhere in the south in attacks blamed on Taliban rebels.”

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What is a true Christian?

Many have attempted to “define” who or what is a true Christian.
However, far too often, a totally false explanation has been offered.
For example, some would say that somebody is a Christian who is a
member of a “Christian” church. Others claim that one is a Christian if
he or she believes in Jesus Christ. Still others state that one becomes
a Christian if he or she is baptized into a Church organization,
perhaps even as an infant.

What is the Biblical truth on the
matter? It is important that you understand, because otherwise you have
no immediate hope for your future. We read that there is no salvation
in any other but in Jesus Christ (Acts 4:12). In order to be saved, you
must be a follower of Christ–a true Christian.

First of all,
the word “Christian” is only used three times in Scripture, namely in
Acts 11:26; Acts 26:28; and 1 Peter 4:16. In all these cases, the word
applied to God’s disciples–true followers of Christ–who were innocent
of evil doing and who had to be willing to suffer for Jesus Christ–as
“Christians.”

A definition of a true Christian is given in Romans 8:9:

“But
you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit if indeed the Spirit of God
dwells in you. Now if anyone does NOT HAVE THE SPIRIT OF CHRIST, HE IS
NOT HIS.”

A true Christian, then, is one in whom Christ’s Spirit
dwells. And when Christ’s Spirit, which is also the Spirit of God the
Father, dwells in a Christian, the individual will live and think in a
certain way, as Romans 8:4-7 explains:

“… that the righteous
requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not WALK
according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who live
according to the flesh SET THEIR MINDS on the things of the
flesh, but those who LIVE according to the Spirit, the things of the
Spirit. For to be carnally [or fleshly] minded is death, but to be
spiritually MINDED is life and peace. Because the carnal [or fleshly] mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God,
nor indeed can be.”

When the Spirit of Christ lives in a person,
he or she will have the MIND OF CHRIST (Philippians 2:5), which
includes the desire to keep the law of God–the Ten Commandments (John
15:10). Christ’s Spirit will help us not to sin–and sin is the
transgression of God’s Law (1 John 3:4, Authorized Version).

When
we keep God’s law, we will love our fellow man (Galatians 5:14). When
we are being led by the Spirit (Galatians 5:18), we will not fulfill
the lusts of the flesh (verse 16). And as a consequence, we will bring
forth in our lives the fruit of the Spirit, which is “love, joy, peace,
longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness,
self-control” (verses 22-23).

1 John 2:3 tells us that we know
God the Father and Jesus Christ “if we keep His commandments.” Verse 4
continues: “He who says, ‘I know Him’ [that is, I belong to Him, I am a
Christian], and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the
truth is not in him.” God’s Holy Spirit is a Spirit of truth (compare 1
Peter 1:22)–therefore, if the truth is not in such a person, then
Christ’s Spirit is not in him.

In order to receive God’s Spirit,
we must first repent of our sins–what we have done and what we are;
that is, we must repent or feel deeply sorry about the fact that we
have followed our carnal human natures and sinned (Acts 2:38). When we
repent of sin, we repent of having transgressed God’s law, and we begin
to keep God’s law. This can also be described as “conversion” or
“change”–by ceasing to walk in the way of breaking God’s law and by
beginning to walk in the way of keeping it. Acts 3:19 says: “Repent
therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out.” And
Acts 26:20 describes, in Paul’s own words, how he “declared… to the
Gentiles, that they should repent, turn to God, and do works befitting
repentance.”

We must also believe in the Sacrifice of Jesus
Christ; that is, that His death paid for the penalty of our sins, as
well as the gospel message which Christ proclaimed (Mark 1:15). And we
must be properly baptized as an outward sign of our repentance and
faith (Acts 2:38).

How many well-meaning people actually
repented of their sins BEFORE they were baptized? How many well-meaning
people understood before their baptism that they must keep God’s law,
including the commandment to keep the Sabbath; in fact, that they must
already show God, by their conduct, that they are willing to obey Him,
before they become baptized (Acts 5:32)? If these requirements were not
fulfilled, they would not have received Christ’s Spirit, and they would
not be “Christians” according to the Biblical definition.

But
even those who were baptized, as adults, after they felt sorry for
their sins, are called upon to examine themselves whether they are
REALLY true Christians–true followers of Christ. We read in 2
Corinthians 13:5: “EXAMINE yourselves as to whether you are in the
faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ
is in you?–unless indeed you are disqualified.”

Many have proven
to fall into that last category. They THOUGHT they had genuinely
repented of their sins, before they became baptized, but, in fact, they
never had. They THOUGHT they had become true Christians, but the Bible
and history tell a different story. John states in 1 John 2:19: “They
went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us,
they would have continued with us; but they went out that they might be
made manifest, that none of them were of us.” Jude describes those
people who might even ATTEND Church services with true Christians as
“sensual [or worldly] persons, who cause division, NOT HAVING THE
SPIRIT” (Jude 19).

1 John 3:10 tells us that if we are
Christians–true followers and children of God–we will practice
righteousness. That is, we will live a righteous life, which is
well-pleasing to God. The one who does not practice righteousness is
“not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother.” But the one who
“keeps His commandments abides in Him, and HE IN HIM. And by this we
know that He abides in us, by the SPIRIT [which] HE HAS GIVEN US” (1
John 3:24).

Once we are properly baptized, we are commanded by
God to partake of the annual Passover, by eating a piece of unleavened
bread and by drinking a small amount of red wine, symbolizing the body
and blood of Jesus Christ who died for our sins (1 Corinthians
11:23-26). But before doing so, we must EXAMINE ourselves whether we
fully understand the deep significance of Christ’s Sacrifice, so that
we don’t eat this bread and drink this cup of the Lord “in an unworthy
manner,” without “discerning the Lord’s body” (1 Corinthians 11:27-28).
Otherwise, we would be eating and drinking “judgment” to ourselves,
which might even result in sickness and death (verses 29-30). Compare
the Q&A in Update #224 on, “Discerning the Lord’s Body.”

To
be a true Christian, then, is a LIFE-LONG commitment to God and His way
of life. We are never to become indifferent about our calling and give
up. The LIVING Jesus Christ resides in a true Christian, through His
Spirit, leading the way, and the Christian must follow Him (compare
Revelation 14:4). We are to “sanctify the Lord God in [our] hearts” (1
Peter 3:15); that is, we are to set aside for Christ a place in our
hearts so that He CAN live in us and lead us.

Again, we ask: How
many well-meaning people qualify as true Christians according to this
Biblical definition? And most importantly for you is this question: Do
YOU qualify? Are YOU a true Christian?

For more information, please read our free booklets, “Baptism–A Requirement for Salvation?” and “And Lawlessness Will Abound…”

Lead Writer: Norbert Link

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Preaching the Gospel and Feeding the Flock

A new Member Letter is being completed and will be sent out early next week in time to
arrive prior to Passover. In the letter, J. Edwin Pope discusses
important principles about Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread.

A new StandingWatch program was posted on the Web, titled, “Afghanistan’s Radical Islam.”

Another StandingWatch program was recorded this week and will be posted shortly. It is titled, “Uproar in France.”

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How This Work is Financed

This Update is an official publication by the ministry of the Church of the Eternal God in the United States of America; the Church of God, a Christian Fellowship in Canada; and the Global Church of God in the United Kingdom.

Editorial Team: Norbert Link, Dave Harris, Rene Messier, Brian Gale, Johanna Link, Eric Rank, Michael Link, Anna Link, Kalon Mitchell, Manuela Mitchell, Dawn Thompson

Technical Team: Eric Rank, Shana Rank

Our activities and literature, including booklets, weekly updates, sermons on CD and video and audio broadcasts, are provided free of charge. They are made possible by the tithes, offerings and contributions of Church members and others who have elected to support this Work.

While we do not solicit the general public for funds, contributions are gratefully welcomed and are tax-deductible in the U.S. and Canada.

Donations can be sent to the following addresses:

United States: Church of the Eternal God, P.O. Box 270519, San Diego, CA 92198

Canada: Church of God, ACF, Box 1480, Summerland, B.C. V0H 1Z0

United Kingdom: Global Church of God, PO Box 44, MABLETHORPE, LN12 9AN, United Kingdom

Current Events

Afghanistan’s Religious “Freedom”

On March 20, 2006, The Arizona Republic published an article about an abominable situation in Afghanistan. This is the same country which Western powers decided to set free from tyranny and terrorism and to guarantee those freedoms which Western citizens treasure dearly, including the freedom of speech and religion. However, we see today the influence of former war lords and drug traffickers in Afghanistan, as well as unspeakable religious tyranny, which is legally sanctioned and promoted:

“An Afghan man is being prosecuted in a Kabul court and could be sentenced to death on a charge of converting from Islam to Christianity, a crime under this country’s Islamic laws… The defendant… was arrested last month [with a Bible in his possession] after his family accused him of becoming a Christian [and] was charged with rejecting Islam. During a one-day hearing, the defendant confessed that he converted from Islam to Christianity 16 years ago … ‘We are not against any particular religion in the world. But in Afghanistan, this sort of thing is against the law,’ the judge said… the prosecutor.. said he had offered to drop the charges if [the defendant] converted back to Islam, but he refused… ‘We are Muslims, and becoming a Christian is against our laws [the prosecutor said]. He must get the death penalty.'”

When reading that his own family accused the defendant and reported him to the authorities, we are reminded of a Biblical prophecy telling us that at the very end, true Christians “will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, relatives and friends; and they will put some of [them] to death” (Luke 21:16).

On March 21, 2006, globeandmail.com added the following:

“If sentenced to death, Mr. Rahman has two avenues of appeal: to the Provincial Court and to the Supreme Court. The death sentence also would need President Hamid Karzai’s approval to be carried out. [Karzai could change the death sentence to life in prison. Whether he would do so or whether he would bow to the pressure of radicals, will remain to be seen]… The trial is believed to be the first of its kind in Afghanistan and highlights a struggle between religious conservatives and reformists over what shape Islam should take four years after the ouster from Afghanistan of the fundamentalist Taliban regime. It also reveals the friction between Islamic and statutory law. Both are affirmed in the country’s draft constitution, which says Islam is the religion of Afghanistan but also mentions the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which ensures freedom of religion. Afghanistan is a conservative Islamic country. About 99 per cent of its 28 million people are Muslim and the rest are mainly Hindu.

“A Christian aid worker in Kabul, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, said there is no reliable figure for the number of Christians in the country, although it is believed to be only in the dozens or low hundreds. He said few admit their faith because of fear of retribution and there are no known Afghan churches.”

AFP reported on March 22: “International pressure is mounting on Afghanistan… Washington says it is watching closely how Kabul deals with Rahman, 41, who is believed to be the first convert accused in Afghanistan under strict Islamic Sharia law for refusing to become Muslim again. Germany, where Rahman reportedly lived for nine years before returning to his war-scarred homeland, has called on Afghan President Hamid Karzai to step in and save him.”

The Associated Press stated on March 22, 2006 that “German Roman Catholic Cardinal Karl Lehmann said the trial sent an ‘alarming signal’ about freedom of worship in Afghanistan.”

When will the Western powers begin to retaliate against the persecution of their religious faith? Even though “freedom of religion” is guaranteed in the draft Afghan constitution, it appears that it is only applied to the “freedom” of Muslims to follow the Koran and, in effect, to suppress Christianity. As Der Spiegel Online reported on March 21, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier reminded the government of Afghanistan of their duty to guarantee “religious freedom.” The Afghan government responded that they will not intervene in the case, as this was a matter of the judicial branch. According to the magazine, Afghanistan’s judges are still the same old conservative hardliners that existed five years ago. Insofar, nothing has changed since the “liberation” of Afghanistan. Some “cautious” German politicians are concerned about the “sensitivities” in Afghanistan, as the situation could “explode.”

Nicholas Burns, U.S. under secretary of state for political affairs, reportedly agreed. According to AFP of March 22, he “suggested that Washington would not try to impose its will in the controversial case.”

However, President Bush used much stronger words. According to The Associated Press of March 22, he stated: “We expect them to honor the universal principle of freedom… I’m troubled when I hear, deeply troubled when I hear, the fact that a person who converted away from Islam may be held to account. That’s not the universal application of the values that I talked about. I look forward to working with the government of that country to make sure that people are protected in their capacity to worship.”

Other governmental officials from Germany state that Afghanistan’s conduct must be condemned by the international community, and that all European financial support for the country must immediately cease unless it changes. According to News Networld of March 22, the Afghan government responded by accusing Germany of “blackmail.”

In another bizarre twist of events, “Afghanistan said that a man facing the death penalty for converting from Islam to Christianity might be mentally unfit to stand trial, as international pressure over the case mounted… Observers said the court’s announcement may be a sign that Afghanistan is seeking a way out of an increasingly embarrassing issue for US-backed President Hamid Karzai” (AFP, March 22, 2006).

Of course, such a “cop-out” would not solve anything. What happens next time when another Afghan Muslim is accused of converting to Christianity? Or, are the Afghan authorities prepared to declare every Muslim as insane who converts to Christianity?

In addition, Afghan Muslim clerics have taken an unmistakable stance on the situation. As The Associated Press reported on March 23, “[Four] Senior Muslim clerics [in Kabul] said Thursday that an Afghan man on trial for converting from Islam to Christianity should be killed regardless of whether a court decides to free him… ‘He is not crazy. He went in front of the media and confessed to being a Christian,’ said Hamidullah, chief cleric at Haji Yacob Mosque. ‘The government is scared of the international community. But the people will kill him if he is freed.’ ‘He is not mad. The government is playing games. The people will not be fooled,’ said Abdul Raoulf, cleric at Herati Mosque. ‘This is humiliating for Islam. … Cut off his head.’ Raoulf is considered a moderate cleric in Afghanistan. He was jailed three times for criticizing the Taliban’s policies before the hard-line regime was ousted by US-led forces in 2001.”

Der Spiegel Online published the following biting and thought-provoking commentary on March 23:

“A few caricatures in a Dutch newspaper caused bloody riots in the Muslim world. But now an Afghan man has been sentenced to death for converting to Christianity. Afghanistan has told the West it should mind its own business. Come again?”

The magazine continued: “German liberty has not arrived [and] radical Islam has remained… Afghanistan is no properly democratic state. The fact that a Muslim is now facing the death penalty because of his conversion to Christianity shows how far this country still is from guaranteeing its citizens the most basic rights. In neighboring Pakistan, an ally in the war on terror, the situation is hardly any better. There Christians, who make up between five and 10 percent of the p
opulation, live in ghettos, faced with the constant threat of violence. Many Christians living in Islamic countries exist in a state of religious apartheid. The response to Western criticism of the Kabul verdict is being dismissed as a case of foreigners ‘meddling’ in Afghanistan’s ‘domestic affairs.’ This means it’s high time to send a clearer message. It’s not just about Abdul Rahman, who has chosen to become a Christian for reasons that are no one’s business but his own. It’s also about the women locked away in Afghan prisons for having been accused of adultery. It’s about female students who can’t walk down the street by themselves because a few male illiterates might get it into their heads to attack them. And it’s about the many hundreds of thousands of Afghan women forced to live their lives behind walls — without access to education, without the right to happiness. There is a good chance that President Hamid Karzai will pardon Abdul Rahman, as he has many of the imprisoned women, who are often convicted on bogus adultery charges made up by men who simply want to get rid of them. But this is not about mercy; it’s about basic human rights. The West should insist on nothing less. “This is in no way merely a domestic matter — it is a question of the validity of international human rights. When a Danish newspaper published a few more or less idiotic cartoons, Islamic rage flared up. Now that human lives and basic rights are at issue, we’re hearing statements that could just as easily have been made during the Cold War. Back then, the phrase ‘domestic affairs’ was invoked by the Soviet empire every time the West criticized its human rights record. What concerns Abdul Rahman and the women of Afghanistan concerns us too. And if the German army can’t defend this kind of liberty in the Hindukush, then it should leave. Our soldiers have sworn allegiance to the rights enshrined in the German constitution; there’s no reason to turn these soldiers into toothless operetta characters.”

We are observing another example of an outright war–at this time being fought with words–between Islam and Christianity. According to Biblical prophecy, Europe WILL ultimately accept the challenge and begin to act–and when doing so, IT will, in turn, become dictatorial in its approach with religions other than “orthodox” Christianity. Sadly, religious persecution will be the consequence. For more information, please read our free booklet, “Europe in Prophecy.”

Austria’s Schüssel on European Unification

During a SPIEGEL Interview on March 20, Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel stated the following about European unification:

“… the discussion about European identity is critical if we want to get to the bottom of discontent in Europe. What do our citizens find at fault in Europe, in its institutions? For the first time, we are now talking about issues like Europe’s geographic borders and, as was discussed in the European Parliament last week, the question of the EU’s capacity to accept new members. If you don’t see this as progress, I can’t help you. In my view, it’s a positive sign that we don’t immediately have the fitting answer for every question. We have to think about things for a while before we can provide the right answers. Where should the journey be going? Who assumes responsibility?… The Austrians aren’t against the EU… The main issue is European harmony, which emanates from Europe’s diversity of opinion, and indeed its diversity per se. This is our strength, which, admittedly, needs a little work. We have to be more self-confident about projecting the ‘European way of life’ to the rest of the world. It’s far more attractive than the American model, for example. We have a more effective balance among economic performance, social cohesiveness and environmental sustainability. We should embrace this tremendous aura and not call it into doubt… We just happen to need more of Europe in some areas. In foreign policy, for example, or in the coordination of a joint energy policy. We need less small-mindedness in these areas. In other areas, the regions need to be strengthened. In many cases, a national state is too small to deal with the biggest problems… The only way to bring peace to a region plagued by bloody wars and forced expulsions until not too long ago is to offer it the prospects of EU membership. We must tell them that they will be part of us sooner or later. “

The magazine also published the following exchange:

“Der Spiegel: In other words, a future Europe would feature stronger local and regional competencies and a common European foreign policy and defense policy. Wouldn’t this ultimately spell the demise of the nation-state?

“Schüssel: No, nation-states will retain their positions, otherwise none of this will work. The nation-states must make Europe their top priority, and must feel responsible for this European being. We have to nurture this little plant.”

As the Bible clearly states, Europe will unite soon and become a mighty power bloc. For more information, please read our free booklet, “Europe in Prophecy.”

China, Japan and Russia

The Bible prophesies that a mighty power bloc, consisting of countries such as Russia, China and Japan, among others, will become an economic, political and even military challenge to Europe and the Western Word. The following recent reports are interesting in light of these predictions:

On March 23, the China Daily reported: “China and Russia are important partners in economic and technological development, President Hu Jintao and visiting Russian President Vladimir Putin stressed yesterday… In a speech, Putin highlighted Sino-Russian energy co-operation, saying that Russia has become China’s fifth-largest energy supplier. On Tuesday, the two countries signed three deals on oil and natural gas supplies… Trade volume between China and Russia has been increasing rapidly in recent years and exceeded US$29 billion last year.”

Reuters reported on March 23: “China said on Thursday, a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin left Beijing, that Beijing and Moscow are in accord on Iran’s nuclear standoff with the West. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Wednesday criticized a draft U.N. Security Council statement aimed at pressuring Iran to stop enriching uranium.”

AFP reported on March 23: “Senior US officials have urged Japan to halt development of a massive oil field with Iran amid concern that revenue from the project could fuel the Islamic state’s nuclear drive, a report said… The US embassy told AFP Japan was aware of US opposition to investment in Iran but declined to comment on whether Washington has pressured Tokyo to stop the Azadegan project… But a Japanese foreign ministry spokeswoman said Japan ‘is holding no concrete talks with the United States’ on the future of the project. ‘The Azadegan oil development is a very important project for us in terms of stable energy supply. We will cope with the matter squarely as nuclear non-proliferation and stable supply of crude oil are both important,’ she said. Japan has walked a tightrope on the Iranian crisis, supporting US and European calls for Tehran to give up its nuclear program while trying not to jeopardize its close commercial ties with the Islamic regime. Japan defied the United States in 2004 by signing the contract to develop Azadegan, considered one of the world’s biggest untapped oil reserves.”

For more information on the future of China, Russia and Japan, as mentioned in the Bible, please read our free booklet, “The Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord.”

America’s Incredible Debt to Foreign Powers

On March 17, 2006, The Times published the following article:

“If you are worried about how much you owe on your credit cards, this might put things in perspective: America’s national debt limit was increased yesterday to $9 trillion… enough to buy Buckingham Palace 9,000 times… The increase, passed by Congress, allows the Government to borrow another $781 billion (£447 billion), increasing the national debt limit–the maximum America can borrow–from $8 trillion and $184 billion to $8 trillion and $961 billion. If the debt ceiling, which is set by Congress, had not been raised by March 24, the Administration would not have been able to borrow more money and the US would have begun to default on its domestic and foreign obligations, an untenable consequence… The national debt is the total amount owed by the Government… America has had a national debt since 1791, when it was $75 million. Today it rises by that amount every hour.”

The article explained the enormity of a sum of $9 Trillion:

“[It]… equates to $1,500 for every man, woman and child in the world… it would buy all the tea in the world for the next 2,000 years… [it is] enough to solve the Palestinian crisis by rehousing every Israeli and Palestinian family… [it would] build 28 Eiffel Towers–constructed out of gold.”

The article made the additional striking observation:

“Nearly half the publicly owed debt is held by foreigners. Japan is the biggest creditor, at $668 billion. China, the second-biggest, recently increased its stake by $40 billion to $263 billion…”

We see Biblical prophecy being fulfilled before our very eyes. God prophesied thousands of years ago that in these end times, foreigners would control and rule over the USA (compare Deuteronomy 28:43-44). We are observing the beginning of this development, because, as the Bible says, the borrower is the servant or slave to the lender (compare Proverbs 22:7). The following words by Alice Rivlin, a former budget director for Bill Clinton, are quite remarkable, as quoted in the above-stated article: “We used to have much less held by foreigners. It makes you much more vulnerable to people’s agendas.” Ultimately, the USA which is already, to an extent, a slave to the lender, will even become defeated in an outright war by a foreign enemy and it will become QUITE LITERALLY enslaved (Deuteronomy 28:47-50, 52). 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.”

Update 236

Eternal Death

On March 25, 2006, Dave Harris will give the sermon, titled, “Eternal Death.”

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.

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The Love of Many Will Grow Cold

by Brian Gale (United Kingdom)

Very often the big events in Biblical prophecy are the ones that
catch the eye, excite the imagination and stir the blood. Into this
category, events that may immediately spring to mind may be, amongst
many others, the formation of the nations in Europe as a forerunner to
the Beast power; the Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord; and the
fate of the incorrigible wicked. While it is understandable that such
events can set the pulses racing, there are other prophecies that may
be somewhat overlooked but have great significance at this time.

One
such prophecy is found in Matthew 24:12: “And because lawlessness will
abound, the love of many will grow cold.” This is addressing those in
the Church who at one time had the love of God, but who had begun to
let it slip. That’s why it says that the love of God will grow or
become cold–so it was hot at one time. We also read in the book of
Revelation that the first era of the Church had lost their first love.
The love of many growing cold–NOW–is really quite scary because of
the problems that will emanate. We read in verse 10 that “…many will
be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another.” And
why? Because lawlessness will abound! The true Church of God has always
been a Church that has taught and kept the law of God, but we have
seen, in recent times, incorporated Church organizations blown to the
four corners of the earth because of lawless teaching and behavior. The
pull of the world seemed to have been far too strong for too many who
should have known better.

Why does love grow cold? Because of not
keeping the law of God and because of apathy, hostility and
carelessness! In John 16:1-2, we find these chilling verses: “These
things I have spoken to you, that you should not be made to stumble.
They will put you out of the synagogues; yes, the time is coming that
whoever kills you will think that he offers God service.”

We
read about people whose love will grow cold and who will, as a
consequence, hate and kill, supposedly, in God’s service. These are
spine chilling verses, but how is this possible? Perhaps we can find
the answer in Matthew 13:24-30, which is the parable of the wheat and
tares. Verse 30 offers more than a clue: “Let both grow together until
the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers,
‘First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them,
but gather the wheat into my barn.'” Wheat and tares grow up together
in the Church. Events over millennia culminating in more recent times
have shown the accuracy of these prophesied events–and there is, no
doubt, more of the same to come and probably with increasing intensity.
And, it stands to reason that the tares will be participating in the
killing of God’s people–the wheat.

In less than three weeks,
baptized members of the Church of God will be taking the Passover.
Verses in Matthew 5:23-24 are among those that will show God whether we
are serious: “Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there
remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift
there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your
brother, and then come and offer your gift.” If we follow this
instruction, it will show God that we mean business and clearly
indicate our love for others.

Studying prophecy is a fascinating
subject–but we should ONLY engage in it for the ultimate purpose of
acquiring and living God’s love in us. We must be very careful that
God’s love does not grow cold in US. The time just prior to Passover is
a good occasion to reflect on this vital truth.

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Afghanistan’s Religious “Freedom”

On March 20, 2006, The Arizona Republic published an article about an abominable situation in Afghanistan. This is the same country which Western powers decided to set free from tyranny and terrorism and to guarantee those freedoms which Western citizens treasure dearly, including the freedom of speech and religion. However, we see today the influence of former war lords and drug traffickers in Afghanistan, as well as unspeakable religious tyranny, which is legally sanctioned and promoted:

“An Afghan man is being prosecuted in a Kabul court and could be sentenced to death on a charge of converting from Islam to Christianity, a crime under this country’s Islamic laws… The defendant… was arrested last month [with a Bible in his possession] after his family accused him of becoming a Christian [and] was charged with rejecting Islam. During a one-day hearing, the defendant confessed that he converted from Islam to Christianity 16 years ago … ‘We are not against any particular religion in the world. But in Afghanistan, this sort of thing is against the law,’ the judge said… the prosecutor.. said he had offered to drop the charges if [the defendant] converted back to Islam, but he refused… ‘We are Muslims, and becoming a Christian is against our laws [the prosecutor said]. He must get the death penalty.'”

When reading that his own family accused the defendant and reported him to the authorities, we are reminded of a Biblical prophecy telling us that at the very end, true Christians “will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, relatives and friends; and they will put some of [them] to death” (Luke 21:16).

On March 21, 2006, globeandmail.com added the following:

“If sentenced to death, Mr. Rahman has two avenues of appeal: to the Provincial Court and to the Supreme Court. The death sentence also would need President Hamid Karzai’s approval to be carried out. [Karzai could change the death sentence to life in prison. Whether he would do so or whether he would bow to the pressure of radicals, will remain to be seen]… The trial is believed to be the first of its kind in Afghanistan and highlights a struggle between religious conservatives and reformists over what shape Islam should take four years after the ouster from Afghanistan of the fundamentalist Taliban regime. It also reveals the friction between Islamic and statutory law. Both are affirmed in the country’s draft constitution, which says Islam is the religion of Afghanistan but also mentions the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which ensures freedom of religion. Afghanistan is a conservative Islamic country. About 99 per cent of its 28 million people are Muslim and the rest are mainly Hindu.

“A Christian aid worker in Kabul, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, said there is no reliable figure for the number of Christians in the country, although it is believed to be only in the dozens or low hundreds. He said few admit their faith because of fear of retribution and there are no known Afghan churches.”

AFP reported on March 22: “International pressure is mounting on Afghanistan… Washington says it is watching closely how Kabul deals with Rahman, 41, who is believed to be the first convert accused in Afghanistan under strict Islamic Sharia law for refusing to become Muslim again. Germany, where Rahman reportedly lived for nine years before returning to his war-scarred homeland, has called on Afghan President Hamid Karzai to step in and save him.”

The Associated Press stated on March 22, 2006 that “German Roman Catholic Cardinal Karl Lehmann said the trial sent an ‘alarming signal’ about freedom of worship in Afghanistan.”

When will the Western powers begin to retaliate against the persecution of their religious faith? Even though “freedom of religion” is guaranteed in the draft Afghan constitution, it appears that it is only applied to the “freedom” of Muslims to follow the Koran and, in effect, to suppress Christianity. As Der Spiegel Online reported on March 21, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier reminded the government of Afghanistan of their duty to guarantee “religious freedom.” The Afghan government responded that they will not intervene in the case, as this was a matter of the judicial branch. According to the magazine, Afghanistan’s judges are still the same old conservative hardliners that existed five years ago. Insofar, nothing has changed since the “liberation” of Afghanistan. Some “cautious” German politicians are concerned about the “sensitivities” in Afghanistan, as the situation could “explode.”

Nicholas Burns, U.S. under secretary of state for political affairs, reportedly agreed. According to AFP of March 22, he “suggested that Washington would not try to impose its will in the controversial case.”

However, President Bush used much stronger words. According to The Associated Press of March 22, he stated: “We expect them to honor the universal principle of freedom… I’m troubled when I hear, deeply troubled when I hear, the fact that a person who converted away from Islam may be held to account. That’s not the universal application of the values that I talked about. I look forward to working with the government of that country to make sure that people are protected in their capacity to worship.”

Other governmental officials from Germany state that Afghanistan’s conduct must be condemned by the international community, and that all European financial support for the country must immediately cease unless it changes. According to News Networld of March 22, the Afghan government responded by accusing Germany of “blackmail.”

In another bizarre twist of events, “Afghanistan said that a man facing the death penalty for converting from Islam to Christianity might be mentally unfit to stand trial, as international pressure over the case mounted… Observers said the court’s announcement may be a sign that Afghanistan is seeking a way out of an increasingly embarrassing issue for US-backed President Hamid Karzai” (AFP, March 22, 2006).

Of course, such a “cop-out” would not solve anything. What happens next time when another Afghan Muslim is accused of converting to Christianity? Or, are the Afghan authorities prepared to declare every Muslim as insane who converts to Christianity?

In addition, Afghan Muslim clerics have taken an unmistakable stance on the situation. As The Associated Press reported on March 23, “[Four] Senior Muslim clerics [in Kabul] said Thursday that an Afghan man on trial for converting from Islam to Christianity should be killed regardless of whether a court decides to free him… ‘He is not crazy. He went in front of the media and confessed to being a Christian,’ said Hamidullah, chief cleric at Haji Yacob Mosque. ‘The government is scared of the international community. But the people will kill him if he is freed.’ ‘He is not mad. The government is playing games. The people will not be fooled,’ said Abdul Raoulf, cleric at Herati Mosque. ‘This is humiliating for Islam. … Cut off his head.’ Raoulf is considered a moderate cleric in Afghanistan. He was jailed three times for criticizing the Taliban’s policies before the hard-line regime was ousted by US-led forces in 2001.”

Der Spiegel Online published the following biting and thought-provoking commentary on March 23:

“A few caricatures in a Dutch newspaper caused bloody riots in the Muslim world. But now an Afghan man has been sentenced to death for converting to Christianity. Afghanistan has told the West it should mind its own business. Come again?”

The magazine continued: “German liberty has not arrived [and] radical Islam has remained… Afghanistan is no properly democratic state. The fact that a Muslim is now facing the death penalty because of his conversion to Christianity shows how far this country still is from guaranteeing its citizens the most basic rights. In neighboring Pakistan, an ally in the war on terror, the situation is hardly any better. There Christians, who make up between five and 10 percent of the p
opulation, live in ghettos, faced with the constant threat of violence. Many Christians living in Islamic countries exist in a state of religious apartheid. The response to Western criticism of the Kabul verdict is being dismissed as a case of foreigners ‘meddling’ in Afghanistan’s ‘domestic affairs.’ This means it’s high time to send a clearer message. It’s not just about Abdul Rahman, who has chosen to become a Christian for reasons that are no one’s business but his own. It’s also about the women locked away in Afghan prisons for having been accused of adultery. It’s about female students who can’t walk down the street by themselves because a few male illiterates might get it into their heads to attack them. And it’s about the many hundreds of thousands of Afghan women forced to live their lives behind walls — without access to education, without the right to happiness. There is a good chance that President Hamid Karzai will pardon Abdul Rahman, as he has many of the imprisoned women, who are often convicted on bogus adultery charges made up by men who simply want to get rid of them. But this is not about mercy; it’s about basic human rights. The West should insist on nothing less. “This is in no way merely a domestic matter — it is a question of the validity of international human rights. When a Danish newspaper published a few more or less idiotic cartoons, Islamic rage flared up. Now that human lives and basic rights are at issue, we’re hearing statements that could just as easily have been made during the Cold War. Back then, the phrase ‘domestic affairs’ was invoked by the Soviet empire every time the West criticized its human rights record. What concerns Abdul Rahman and the women of Afghanistan concerns us too. And if the German army can’t defend this kind of liberty in the Hindukush, then it should leave. Our soldiers have sworn allegiance to the rights enshrined in the German constitution; there’s no reason to turn these soldiers into toothless operetta characters.”

We are observing another example of an outright war–at this time being fought with words–between Islam and Christianity. According to Biblical prophecy, Europe WILL ultimately accept the challenge and begin to act–and when doing so, IT will, in turn, become dictatorial in its approach with religions other than “orthodox” Christianity. Sadly, religious persecution will be the consequence. For more information, please read our free booklet, “Europe in Prophecy.”

Austria’s Schüssel on European Unification

During a SPIEGEL Interview on March 20, Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel stated the following about European unification:

“… the discussion about European identity is critical if we want to get to the bottom of discontent in Europe. What do our citizens find at fault in Europe, in its institutions? For the first time, we are now talking about issues like Europe’s geographic borders and, as was discussed in the European Parliament last week, the question of the EU’s capacity to accept new members. If you don’t see this as progress, I can’t help you. In my view, it’s a positive sign that we don’t immediately have the fitting answer for every question. We have to think about things for a while before we can provide the right answers. Where should the journey be going? Who assumes responsibility?… The Austrians aren’t against the EU… The main issue is European harmony, which emanates from Europe’s diversity of opinion, and indeed its diversity per se. This is our strength, which, admittedly, needs a little work. We have to be more self-confident about projecting the ‘European way of life’ to the rest of the world. It’s far more attractive than the American model, for example. We have a more effective balance among economic performance, social cohesiveness and environmental sustainability. We should embrace this tremendous aura and not call it into doubt… We just happen to need more of Europe in some areas. In foreign policy, for example, or in the coordination of a joint energy policy. We need less small-mindedness in these areas. In other areas, the regions need to be strengthened. In many cases, a national state is too small to deal with the biggest problems… The only way to bring peace to a region plagued by bloody wars and forced expulsions until not too long ago is to offer it the prospects of EU membership. We must tell them that they will be part of us sooner or later. “

The magazine also published the following exchange:

“Der Spiegel: In other words, a future Europe would feature stronger local and regional competencies and a common European foreign policy and defense policy. Wouldn’t this ultimately spell the demise of the nation-state?

“Schüssel: No, nation-states will retain their positions, otherwise none of this will work. The nation-states must make Europe their top priority, and must feel responsible for this European being. We have to nurture this little plant.”

As the Bible clearly states, Europe will unite soon and become a mighty power bloc. For more information, please read our free booklet, “Europe in Prophecy.”

China, Japan and Russia

The Bible prophesies that a mighty power bloc, consisting of countries such as Russia, China and Japan, among others, will become an economic, political and even military challenge to Europe and the Western Word. The following recent reports are interesting in light of these predictions:

On March 23, the China Daily reported: “China and Russia are important partners in economic and technological development, President Hu Jintao and visiting Russian President Vladimir Putin stressed yesterday… In a speech, Putin highlighted Sino-Russian energy co-operation, saying that Russia has become China’s fifth-largest energy supplier. On Tuesday, the two countries signed three deals on oil and natural gas supplies… Trade volume between China and Russia has been increasing rapidly in recent years and exceeded US$29 billion last year.”

Reuters reported on March 23: “China said on Thursday, a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin left Beijing, that Beijing and Moscow are in accord on Iran’s nuclear standoff with the West. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Wednesday criticized a draft U.N. Security Council statement aimed at pressuring Iran to stop enriching uranium.”

AFP reported on March 23: “Senior US officials have urged Japan to halt development of a massive oil field with Iran amid concern that revenue from the project could fuel the Islamic state’s nuclear drive, a report said… The US embassy told AFP Japan was aware of US opposition to investment in Iran but declined to comment on whether Washington has pressured Tokyo to stop the Azadegan project… But a Japanese foreign ministry spokeswoman said Japan ‘is holding no concrete talks with the United States’ on the future of the project. ‘The Azadegan oil development is a very important project for us in terms of stable energy supply. We will cope with the matter squarely as nuclear non-proliferation and stable supply of crude oil are both important,’ she said. Japan has walked a tightrope on the Iranian crisis, supporting US and European calls for Tehran to give up its nuclear program while trying not to jeopardize its close commercial ties with the Islamic regime. Japan defied the United States in 2004 by signing the contract to develop Azadegan, considered one of the world’s biggest untapped oil reserves.”

For more information on the future of China, Russia and Japan, as mentioned in the Bible, please read our free booklet, “The Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord.”

America’s Incredible Debt to Foreign Powers

On March 17, 2006, The Times published the following article:

“If you are worried about how much you owe on your credit cards, this might put things in perspective: America’s national debt limit was increased yesterday to $9 trillion… enough to buy Buckingham Palace 9,000 times… The increase, passed by Congress, allows the Government to borrow another $781 billion (£447 billion), increasing the national debt limit–the maximum America can borrow–from $8 trillion and $184 billion to $8 trillion and $961 billion. If the debt ceiling, which is set by Congress, had not been raised by March 24, the Administration would not have been able to borrow more money and the US would have begun to default on its domestic and foreign obligations, an untenable consequence… The national debt is the total amount owed by the Government… America has had a national debt since 1791, when it was $75 million. Today it rises by that amount every hour.”

The article explained the enormity of a sum of $9 Trillion:

“[It]… equates to $1,500 for every man, woman and child in the world… it would buy all the tea in the world for the next 2,000 years… [it is] enough to solve the Palestinian crisis by rehousing every Israeli and Palestinian family… [it would] build 28 Eiffel Towers–constructed out of gold.”

The article made the additional striking observation:

“Nearly half the publicly owed debt is held by foreigners. Japan is the biggest creditor, at $668 billion. China, the second-biggest, recently increased its stake by $40 billion to $263 billion…”

We see Biblical prophecy being fulfilled before our very eyes. God prophesied thousands of years ago that in these end times, foreigners would control and rule over the USA (compare Deuteronomy 28:43-44). We are observing the beginning of this development, because, as the Bible says, the borrower is the servant or slave to the lender (compare Proverbs 22:7). The following words by Alice Rivlin, a former budget director for Bill Clinton, are quite remarkable, as quoted in the above-stated article: “We used to have much less held by foreigners. It makes you much more vulnerable to people’s agendas.” Ultimately, the USA which is already, to an extent, a slave to the lender, will even become defeated in an outright war by a foreign enemy and it will become QUITE LITERALLY enslaved (Deuteronomy 28:47-50, 52). 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.”

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Does Revelation 3:14 teach that God the Father created Jesus Christ, and that Christ had a beginning?

The Bible teaches that God had no beginning, but that He has always
existed. We read that God created all things; that is, human beings,
animals and all physical things, as well as angelic beings and all
spiritual “things.” However, God is not just one Person, but a Family,
presently consisting of God the Father and Jesus Christ the Son. We
read that God created everything through Jesus Christ (Colossians
1:15-17)–proving that God the Father and Jesus Christ existed before
there was anything else. Hebrews 1:1-2 tells us that God the Father
created “the worlds” through His Son, Jesus Christ. John 1:1 says that
the “Word”–Jesus Christ (compare Revelation 19:13)–was “in the
beginning” with God and that the Word WAS God. John 1:3 tells us that
“all things” were made through Him, and “without Him nothing was made
that was made.”

Some
claim that God the Father first created His
Son, Jesus Christ, and proceeded afterwards to create everything else
through Christ. They say that the Word was created, and when that
happened, there were no days or time created, so Christ had no
beginning of days as such. This is not, however, what the Bible
teaches.

Micah 5:2 talks about the coming Messiah when it states “But you,
Bethlehem Ephrathah, Though you are little among the thousands of
Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be Ruler in
Israel, WHOSE GOINGS FORTH ARE FROM OF OLD, FROM EVERLASTING.”

Isaiah 9:6 states: “For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is
given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will
be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince
of Peace.” According to Young’s Analytical Concordance to the Bible
Concordance, the Hebrew for “Father” can also convey the meaning of
“ancestor, source, inventor.”

In
Hebrews 7:1-10, we are introduced to the Son, Jesus Christ, who was
known as the High Priest Melchizedek at the time of Abraham (When
Christ was here on earth as a human being, born as a man, He confirmed
that He actually met Abraham in His prior life as an immortal God
being, compare John 8:56-58).

Note how the Son of God or Melchizedek is described:

— Hebrews 7:1: He was the Priest of the Most High God–God the Father, who is higher than Christ (1 Corinthians 11:3).
— Hebrews 7:3: He was “without father, without mother, without
genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life.” Christ
said later that He is the One who “was and who is to come, the
Almighty” (Revelation 1:8).
— Hebrews 7:3: When He appeared as Melchizedek, He was made like, or
better, He was “resembling” (compare Revised Standard Version) or
“bearing the likeness of” (compare Revised English Bible) the “Son of
God”–that is, the Son of God, Jesus Christ, manifested Himself as a
human being, as He did on other occasions in the Old Testament (for
instance, He and two angels appeared to Abraham before Sodom and
Gomorrah were destroyed, Genesis 18:1-2, 13, 16-17; 19:1).
— Hebrews 7:3: The One known as Melchizedek and the Son of God, Jesus
Christ, “remains a priest continually.” He is still alive, confirming
what Christ said in Revelation 1:18: “I am He who lives, and was dead
(and in the grave for 72 hours), and behold, I am alive forevermore.”
— Hebrews 7:8: He was not a “mortal man” but someone who still “lives” today.

Accepting
the clear Biblical testimony, we must conclude that Jesus Christ, as a
Spirit being and as the second member of the God Family, has always
lived together with God the Father. He had no beginning.

How
then are we to understand Revelation 3:14 which says that Christ is
“the Beginning of the creation of God”? Since the Bible does not
contradict itself, we can rule out the idea that God the Father created
Christ so that Christ became the very first act–the “beginning”–of
God’s creation. What, then, is the meaning of the verse?

Let us note how other translations render this verse:

— New International Version: “the ruler of God’s creation”
— Living Bible: “the primeval source of God’s creation”
— New Revised Standard Version: “the origin of God’s creation”
— Revised English Bible: “the source of God’s creation”
— New Jerusalem Bible: “the Principle of God’s creation”

Please also note the following statements from a few commentaries:

— The Broadman Bible Commentary gives the following explanation:

“‘The
beginning of God’s creation’ is not easy to interpret. If taken to mean
that Christ was the first creature, then one has ignored the
Christology of Revelation… Beckwith translated this phrase ‘the one
from whom creation took its beginning.’ Another good translation is
‘who is the origin of all that God has created.’… God is the primary
source (4:11; 10:6), and Christ is the agent of creation as in John 1:3
(see Col. 1:16; Heb. 1:2). The letter to Colossae was intended by Paul
for Laodicea also (Col. 4:16). He spoke of Christ as the agent of
creation, and this is probably the intent of the writer of Revelation.”

— The Nelson Study Bible states:

“…
the Beginning, meaning the ‘First Place’ or ‘The Ruler.’… The phrase
about creation has been interpreted by some to teach that Jesus is the
first being that God created. This is certainly not required by Greek
grammar, and is contrary to other biblical passages. Christ is
described in other passages of the New Testament as eternal (see John
1:1-1) and as being God Himself (see John 8:58; Phil. 2:6; Titus 2:13).
Revelation speaks of Him as the First and the Last, the Alpha and
Omega, the Beginning and the End. In fact, the Greek phrase in this
verse can be translated in a more active sense, so as to read, ‘the One
who begins the creation of God.'”

— The “New Bible Commentary: Revised” adds the following:

“…
the title ‘the beginning of God’s creation’ (better translated ‘the
principle’ or ‘source’ of creation) exalts Christ as Creator above the
proud but puny creatures that boast in their self-sufficiency.”


The Commentary of Jamiesson, Fausset and Brown agrees, pointing out:
“‘beginning of the creation of God’–not he whom God created first, but
as in Colossians 1:15-18… the Beginner of all creation, its
originating instrument. All creation would not be represented adoring
Him, if He were but one of themselves. He being the Creator is a strong
guarantee for His faithfulness as ‘the Witness and Amen.'”

The
foregoing has also been the established understanding of the Church of
God. In a letter from the Worldwide Church of God, dated January 1988,
it is stated: “The correct meaning of the phrase ‘the beginning of the
creation of God’ is the BEGINNER of all creation. It refers to ITS
ORIGINATING INSTRUMENT (see Colossians 1:15-17). Jesus is the Head and
Governor of all creatures; He is the King of creation… The Bible
tells us plainly that Jesus… had no beginning of days… He… was
the Creator of all things that were made… He was with the Father in
the beginning, and all things were made by Him… He has always
existed.”

In a number of Church of God publications, the eternal
nature of Christ was emphasized and has, historically, been the
understanding of the Church. In Herbert Armstrong’s article, “Is Jesus
God?” dated 1958, it is stated on page 1: “Therefore, Jesus who is and
was God, who has always existed (John 1:1-2) was actually made flesh
(v14).” The Bible Correspondence Course, Lesson 13, “Who and What Is
God?” stated on page 5: “Christ, when He was ‘the Word,’ was an
immortal being who had always existed–there had never been a time when
He did not exist–He was literally without ‘beginning of days.'” And in
the booklet, “Why Humanity Cannot Solve Its Evils,” it is stated on
page 3: “In order of time sequence the first revelation of who and what
is God is found in John 1:1, ‘In the beginning was the Word.’ This
‘Word’ was a personage, eternally self-existent.”

In Revelation
22:13, Christ refers to himself as the “beginning [arche] and the end
[telos].” If “beginning” suggests that there was a time when Christ did
not exist, but that He came into existence as the first being of God’s
creation, does “end” indicate that there will be a point at which He
will no longer exist? That would be a ridiculous suggestion!

Based
on all the biblical evidence, we can dogmatically state that Jesus
Christ had NO beginning. Rather, He is the BEGINNER of God’s creation:
God the Father created everything through Jesus Christ, who existed
since all eternity. For more information, please read our free
booklets, “God is a Family” and “Jesus Christ–A Great Mystery.”

Lead Writer: Norbert Link

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Preaching the Gospel and Feeding the Flock

We recently began to place most of our StandingWatch
programs on “Google Video.” We are very encouraged by the responses.
The most watched programs were, “What Is Happening in Germany?”,
“Ghosts of Departed Ones?”, “Europe and the Middle East,” “The Pope is
Dead–What Is Next?” and “Germany in Prophecy.”

We have also
started an advertisement campaign on the Internet, by placing an ad
next to Google searches. When someone searches for a certain
expression, the ad will appear next to or above the search results. The
overall average click through rate (somebody sees the ad and clicks on
it) was 5.2%, but at times it reached 7.7 %.

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How This Work is Financed

This Update is an official publication by the ministry of the Church of the Eternal God in the United States of America; the Church of God, a Christian Fellowship in Canada; and the Global Church of God in the United Kingdom.

Editorial Team: Norbert Link, Dave Harris, Rene Messier, Brian Gale, Johanna Link, Eric Rank, Michael Link, Anna Link, Kalon Mitchell, Manuela Mitchell, Dawn Thompson

Technical Team: Eric Rank, Shana Rank

Our activities and literature, including booklets, weekly updates, sermons on CD and video and audio broadcasts, are provided free of charge. They are made possible by the tithes, offerings and contributions of Church members and others who have elected to support this Work.

While we do not solicit the general public for funds, contributions are gratefully welcomed and are tax-deductible in the U.S. and Canada.

Donations can be sent to the following addresses:

United States: Church of the Eternal God, P.O. Box 270519, San Diego, CA 92198

Canada: Church of God, ACF, Box 1480, Summerland, B.C. V0H 1Z0

United Kingdom: Global Church of God, PO Box 44, MABLETHORPE, LN12 9AN, United Kingdom

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