On September 2, 2006, Bill Grams will give the sermon, titled, “Noah–Life and Times.”

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.

As we rapidly approach the time of year God has set apart for His
Fall festivals, how excited are we that we have been blessed with such
awesome knowledge; knowledge which reveals many details of God’s great
plan for all of humanity; knowledge of plans He will see completed
according to His faithful Word; events which will change forever the
course of the world and universe?

No doubt, when we first learned
of God’s intent of fulfilling His awesome plans–events which will
astound this world–it was difficult for us to contain this knowledge
within ourselves! We had an urgent need to tell all we had learned to
family, friends, and yes, even everyday acquaintances.

As time
passed and we all grew in the knowledge of God’s Holy Days, we came to
realize even more the significance of these precious days! Leviticus 26
reveals tremendous blessings for all who will walk in God’s Law, His
Statutes (which include God’s Holy Days), and His Judgments; while
revealing in the same set of Scriptures retributions which will surely
come on Israel and on all the nations of the world who fail to follow
these instructions! 

Deuteronomy 16 gives an outline of
all of God’s annual festivals wherein God instructs us to observe these
days and to rejoice therein! We observe these days for the purpose of
honoring our God, showing respect for Him and His instructions, and to
learn even more of Him and His Way–something impossible for anyone who
observes the holidays of this world ever to achieve.

Yet, with
many who once knew and observed these days, this enthusiasm has waned
over time, with the result that many of these no longer observe God’s
wonderful commands relative to His Holy Days! Many of these today are
no longer faithful in following God’s tithing laws (which include funds
to attend the festivals, funds to assist the less fortunate in
attending the festivals and funds to help in providing facilities
needed to observe the festivals, as God instructs in His Word). We
know, of course, that some do not have the financial resources to
attend God’s festivals.

Such lack of obedience to God’s
instructions demonstrates a total lack of enthusiasm in following God’s
Way, and in participating in His very important and significant Holy
Days.

How seriously do we take God’s commands relative to His festival season?

Powerless America!

Der Spiegel Online published this week a thought-provoking article on Europe, the United States, Israel, Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon and Iran. This article is almost prophetic. It addressed the continuing downfall and defeat of the United States of America and Israel, as well as the growing influence of Muslim nations and Europe’s goal to create “peace” in the Middle East.

In referring to Iran, the article was titled, “The Spider’s Web.” It stated:

“More people than ever are dying in Iraq while the United States looks on powerlessly. In the wake of its invasion of Lebanon, Israel is riven with self-doubt, while Europe tries to establish peace. But there is one country that is benefiting from every crisis in the region: Iran… Thousands have died in Iraq in recent weeks, far more than those killed in Israel’s invasion of Lebanon, which has dominated this summer’s headlines. The world seems to have grown weary of the misery, the mounting death toll and the bad news constantly coming out of Baghdad or the Sunni triangle, which has been poisoning the Middle East since the spring of 2003. Amr Mussa, Secretary General of the Arab League, once warned that a war in Iraq would open ‘the door to hell.’ Who would disagree with him today?… Meanwhile, Washington continues to indulge in rosy rhetoric about the ‘new Middle East’ it claims to have created… ‘I’m confident in our capacity to leave behind a better world,’ announced US President George W. Bush, sounding more defiant than triumphant…

“Nothing seems to be going well at the moment for the United States, the superpower with its vastly superior military might. The Taliban is on the rise again in Afghanistan, Iraq is in the throes of civil war and Washington’s reputation in the region has plunged to [an] historic low, its authority as a broker in the region’s conflict frittered away for now — and probably for a long time to come… Israel, the US’s staunchest ally in the region, isn’t faring any better. Far from achieving any of its war objectives, the country has only managed to bomb Lebanon’s remarkable ‘Cedar Revolution’ into distant memory. Israel seems determined to repeat the Americans’ mistakes. It became involved in an asymmetrical war against [the] terrorist organization Hezbollah, and its bombardment of areas filled with civilians has done nothing but strengthen the adversary it tried to destroy. In Lebanon, an international force numbering several thousand, initially under French leadership, will be expected to secure the peace, apparently with a far-reaching mandate, the details of which are being worked out.

“But everything seems to be going well at the moment for America’s greatest foe, the government of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. It has crafted a finely woven web of relationships stretching from Ankara in Turkey to the Gulf and on to Russia, India and China. And what the regime hasn’t developed itself seems to be falling into its lap. The United States has done Iran a favor by eliminating its two worst enemies, the Taliban in Afghanistan and Saddam in Iraq. The US ambassador to Iraq, Zalmay Khalilzad, jokes that he’ll send Tehran the bill one day. Iran has also emerged as a winner in the Iraq war, without having fired a single shot. Whether in Baghdad, Beirut or Kabul, everything is going according to the Iranians’ wishes — badly, that is…

“Iran, like a spider in a web, [is] steadily collecting its prey, and has become astoundingly weighty in the process. Despite a general lack of clarity over its domestic situation, the regime deals with the rest of the world with the gravitas of a major power… The Islamic Republic has established itself as a regional power, even without nuclear weapons. According to a recent report by Chatham House, a British think tank, Iran has more influence in Iraq than the United States does. Although the Americans have 135,000 troops stationed there, Iran controls the Shiite militias, whose membership numbers in the hundreds of thousands. ‘The debate is over,’ says Kenneth Pollack, a Middle East expert who once supported the war. ‘By any definition, Iraq is in a state of civil war.’ … One hundred thousand Arabs have fled from the Kurds in northern Iraq, 200,000 Sunnis from war-torn regions in the west, and between 50,000 and 100,000 Shiites from mixed districts in central Iraq… Now more than ever, Iran, 17 years after the death of Ayatollah Khomeini, is the opinion leader in the anti-American and anti-Israeli discourse raging in the Islamic world…

“It appears that President Bush is now ready to listen. Iranian-born Vali Nasr, who teaches political science at the Naval Postgraduate Academy in Monterrey, California, recently explained the situation to Bush… According to Nasr, America, by marching into Iraq, destroyed the Sunni wall that had kept the mullahs in check. ‘This genie won’t go back into the bottle,’ he told the US president, adding that the old allies of the US have lost control of the region. How can America regain control?”

America’s military and political influence is shrinking–in spite of a German press release that Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld allegedly said on August 29 that America would be capable, militarily, to deal with Iran. America’s declining role in the world is just the beginning of prophetic developments which will surely come to pass. For more information, please read our free booklets, “The Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord,” and, “The Fall and Rise of Britain and America.”

U.S. Plains Withering in Drought

UPI reported on August 29:

“Five U.S. Plains states are experiencing a drought that has been setting records, decimating crops and careers for ranchers, The New York Times reports. The drought affecting North and South Dakota, Montana, Nebraska and Wyoming is the result of several years of dry conditions and a winter with little snow, climatologists with the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln told the newspaper. South Dakota Gov. Michael Rounds has requested 51 of the state’s 66 counties be designated a federal agricultural disaster area, as sunflower, corn and pasture grasses have withered and died.”

Iran Won’t Concede!

On August 26, The Associated Press reported:

“An Iranian plant that produces heavy water officially went into operation on Saturday, despite U.N. demands that Tehran stop the activity because it can be used to develop a nuclear bomb… Mohammed Saeedi, the deputy head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, said the heavy water plant is ‘one of the biggest nuclear projects’ in the country… He said the plant will be used in the pharmaceutical field and in diagnosing cancer…”

On August 29, Der Spiegel Online reported about Iran’s most recent defiance, showing that Iran will not concede. Will the world respond to Iran’s relentless search for power? And if so, how? The magazine stated:

“At a wide-ranging press conference only two days ahead of a United Nations deadline calling for Iran to suspend uranium enrichment for its controversial nuclear program, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad made clear that Tehran would not ‘bow to threats and ultimatums’ made by the international community… Prior to Ahmadinejad’s press conference, Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani said on Monday that Iran’s efforts to master the nuclear fuel cycle were ‘irreversible’ — similar to previous comments made by the country’s supreme religious leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Washington is pushing for quick action at the Security Council if Iran fails to comply with the UN deadline. However, it remains to be seen if the world body can stick to a unified line, since both China and Russia are seen as being reluctant to harm their considerable economic interests in Iran by slapping harsh sanctions on Tehran.”

The German daily, Die Welt, wrote this week: “Washington will have a difficult time taking unilateral action if the Council shies away from imposing sanctions. The only thing that remains to be negotiated — that has become clear after the verbal muscle-flexing and theatrical self-portrayal — is whether and how the international community will accompany Iran’s genesis as a nuclear power while exerting some control. The alternative is war.”

Will America Have to Go Alone Against Iran?

The LA Times reported on August 26:

“With increasing signs that several fellow Security Council members may stall a United States push to penalize Iran for its nuclear enrichment program, Bush administration officials have indicated that they are prepared to form an independent coalition to freeze Iranian assets and restrict trade. The strategy, analysts say, reflects not only long-standing U.S. frustration with the Security Council’s inaction on Iran, but also the current weakness of Washington’s position because of its controversial role in a series of conflicts in the Middle East, most recently in Lebanon.

“Despite assurances from Russia and China in July that they would support initial sanctions against Iran if it failed to suspend aspects of its nuclear program, Russia seemed to backtrack… Under U.S. terrorism laws, Washington could ramp up its own sanctions, including financial constraints on Tehran and interception of missile and nuclear materials en route to Iran, [U.S. Ambassador John] Bolton said, and the U.S. is encouraging other countries to follow suit… He said Washington was focusing on European and Japanese banks to restrict business with Iran, because most of Tehran’s transactions are done in U.S. dollars, euros, British pounds and yen.”

America’s Options for Iran — “All of Them Bad!”

On August 24, David Horovitz wrote the following in “the Jerusalem Post”:

“Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, if he ever became the supreme decision maker in his country, would ‘sacrifice half of Iran for the sake of eliminating Israel,’ Giora Eiland, Israel’s former national security adviser [said]. At present, Eiland stressed, the ultimate decision maker in Iran was Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, 67, whom he said was ‘more reasonable.’ But, Eiland went on, ‘if Ahmadinejad were to succeed him–and he has a reasonable chance of doing so–then we’d be in a highly dangerous situation.’ The 49-year-old Iranian president, he said, ‘has a religious conviction that Israel’s demise is essential to the restoration of Muslim glory, that the Zionist thorn in the heart of the Islamic nations must be removed. And he will pay almost any price to right the perceived historic wrong. If he becomes the supreme leader and has a nuclear capability, that’s a real threat.’

“In facing up to Iran’s nuclear ambitions, Eiland said the United States had three possible courses of action, ‘all of them bad,’ and that a decision could not be postponed for too long, ‘since delay, too, is a decision of sorts.’ The first option was ‘to give up’–to accept that Iran was going nuclear and try to make the best of it… Washington’s second option was to launch a last-ditch effort at diplomatic action, he said… The third option, said Eiland, was a military operation… this would be action that would have to be taken within months…”

German Troops in Southern Afghanistan?

Der Spiegel Online reported on August 29 about the German reaction to pressures from its allies to send German troops into southern Afghanistan:

“With growing unrest and fighting in southern Afghanistan, a major debate is shaping up in Germany over whether Bundeswehr army soldiers should be dispatched to the region… The conservative Die Welt writes that current developments are ‘forcing Germans to face a reality about the Bundeswehr’s foreign deployments that they didn’t take seriously before.’ And that’s that deployments aren’t just simple peacekeeping operations — they could put soldiers in harm’s way at any time. ‘If German soldiers are deployed to southern Afghanistan, they could face Taliban fighters,” the paper writes. “The perils facing German troops in Congo, where they are providing election security, was demonstrated a few days ago by a shootout in Khinshasa.’…

“The left-leaning Berliner Zeitung uses the debate over a southern Afghanistan deployment as the jumping off point for a bigger issue: the lack of a vision for the Bundeswehr. Since 1992, a total of 150,000 German soldiers have participated in missions abroad — sometimes for humanitarian reasons, at times for combat. But it is still unclear under what criteria Germany sends troops abroad. ‘There is no recognizable strategy whatsoever,’ the paper complains. ‘What German interests are represented in Afghanistan, in Congo and, in the future, in the Middle East?’ The paper says its almost laughable that a country with Germany’s economic might has already reached its military limit with less than 10,000 of its 260,000 troops being deployed abroad. ‘If Germany is going to have an army that gets its orders from parliament,’ the paper argues, ‘then parliament is going to have to take its job seriously. It has to provide a definition of the Bundeswehr’s actual role: It’s obviously no more than an army of self-defense at the moment. But should it become an army of intervention?’ The paper then calls on the government to develop a clear German policy that can determine whether a deployment of troops makes sense or not.”

As Biblical prophecy reveals, Germany will soon have a powerful army, and it will be used as an “army of intervention”–not only as an “army of self-defense.” For more information, please read our free booklet, “Europe in Prophecy.”

“More France Means Less Europe”

On August 25, Germany’s conservative daily, Die Welt, published a guest commentary by Dominique Moisi, one of the founders of the French Institute for International Relations (IFRI). According to Der Spiegel Online, summarizing the editorial, “Moisi argues that the conflict in Lebanon has ‘widened the emotional gap between Europe and the United States that began to open up with the beginning of the war in Iraq.’ The United States ‘may not be convinced of the tactical choices made by Israel’s Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and his administration,’ Moisi writes, ‘but the Americans still believe that there was no choice but to conduct this war — just as with the 1982 war in Lebanon.’ On the other hand, the ‘majority of Europeans’ view the war ‘as an operation that was useless from Israel’s point of view, and which could trigger a clash of civilizations between Islam and the West.’…

“[According to Moisi] ‘Spain and Italy have become more critical of Israel, and they’ve also moved closer to France.’ That this last country should be playing an increasingly central role in the debate over the UN peacekeeping mandate in Lebanon is not a good thing, in Moisi’s view: France’s decisions are dictated less by a clear strategy than by the country’s need to retain political ‘credibility’ and its ‘reputation for being a country that doesn’t shy from military intervention.’ Moisi also suggests that ‘more France’ means ‘less Europe,’ or that France’s tendency to take over the reins when it comes to intervention in the Middle East reflects the absence of a consistent EU policy.”

Europe Asked to Act More Decisively!

The EUObserver reported on August 28:

“The Middle East crisis has exposed weaknesses in EU foreign policy with the 25-member bloc reacting too slowly to stop the destruction of Lebanon, president Jacques Chirac said at an annual gathering of top French diplomats in Paris on Monday… ‘The future of the European project is today predicated on Europe’s ability to be a leading political player,’ the president added… The EU’s so-called high representative on foreign affairs, Javier Solana, flew to Lebanon at the height of the conflict in July but the Finnish EU presidency all-but-ignored Mr Chirac’s 20 July plea to give the unofficial EU foreign minister special powers in this case. Speaking at the time, EU diplomats said the UK was unwilling to let Mr Solana negotiate for the whole bloc because there was no unanimity on how to handle the crisis, while other EU states were afraid of losing control in foreign policy areas… ‘In a few short days we saw Lebanon laid to waste, its people battered, 15 years of [diplomatic] effort laid to waste,’ Mr Chirac said.”

European Policy Needs Cohesiveness!

Der Spiegel Online wrote on August 28 about the German perception that Europe’s and Germany’s foreign policy flip-flops. The magazine pointed out:

“The EU has long indicated it wants to play a larger role in world events. But this episode [pertaining to Lebanon] shows Europe still lacks the cohesion and decisiveness in foreign policy, German commentators [said] on Monday.

“Business daily Financial Times Deutschland… singled out France for its waffling on the number of troops it was going to send… In short, the paper writes: ‘The EU has taken on a big responsibility with its participation. Now it must show that it can live up to it.’ Left-leaning Berliner Zeitung says Germany is making itself part of the problem in the Middle East conflict by first rejecting any deployment that could bring its troops into confrontation with Israeli soldiers and then stressing that its navy will use force to stop arms shipments to Hezbolla.'”

Terrorists in Turkey

Der Spiegel Online reported on August 29 about the most recent horrible terror attacks in Turkey by Kurdish extremists, suggesting that more terrible attacks will follow. The magazine stated:

“Several bombs rocked Turkey’s Mediterranean coast and Istanbul late Sunday and Monday, causing at least three deaths and injuring many more. But the toll could have been even higher: Police have reportedly foiled another attack in the western port city Izmir after arresting a member of the banned Kurdish Workers Party (PKK)… The Kurdistan Liberation Hawks (TAK), believed to be tied to the PKK, claimed responsibility for the bombings… The TAK made clear that it was targeting Turkey’s tourist industry to further its separatist cause for the country’s sizable Kurdish minority. ‘We have warned the public of Turkey and the international public before, Turkey is not a safe country, tourists shouldn’t come,’ the group said in a statement on its Web site… The TAK tactic of trying to damage Turkey’s tourist industry, an important part of the country’s economy, could have serious repercussions for the number of foreign visitors… Turkey’s tourist industry, which brings in $18 billion each year, has already been hit this year by other militant attacks and a bird flu outbreak.”

Catholic Church Questions Theory of Evolution

The Guardian Unlimited reported on August 28 about a remarkable development within the Catholic Church, which is apparently willing to review its stance regarding creation and evolution. For decades, the Catholic Church followed the influence of intellectual science to postulate that the concept of evolution was more than a hypothesis. But this erroneous position might perhaps be revised. The article stated:

“Philosophers, scientists and other intellectuals close to Pope Benedict will gather at his summer palace outside Rome this week for intensive discussions that could herald a fundamental shift in the Vatican’s view of evolution. There have been growing signs the Pope is considering aligning his church more closely with the theory of ‘intelligent design’ taught in some US states. Advocates of the theory argue that some features of the universe and nature are so complex that they must have been designed by a higher intelligence. Critics say it is a disguise for creationism.

“A prominent anti-evolutionist and Roman Catholic scientist, Dominique Tassot, told the US National Catholic Reporter that this week’s meeting was ‘to give a broader extension to the debate. Even if [the Pope] knows where he wants to go, and I believe he does, it will take time. Most Catholic intellectuals today are convinced that evolution is obviously true because most scientists say so.’… The Pope also raised the issue in the inaugural sermon of his pontificate, saying: ‘We are not the accidental product, without meaning, of evolution.'”

For more information, please read our free booklet, “The Theory of Evolution–a Fairy Tale for Adults.”

Europe Needs Christians!

On August 27, the Catholic news agency, Zenit, published an interview with Hans Maier, retired professor of Munich’s Ludwig-Maximilians University. Maier was minister of Education and Culture in Bavaria from 1970 to 1986, and president of the Central Committee of German Catholics from 1976 to 1988. He has written some 30 books, including “Democracy in the Church?” (1970), in which he collaborated with Joseph Ratzinger, now Benedict XVI.

In the interview, Maier advocated the concept that Europe needs united and active Christians, and that Europe does not need the import of Arab Muslims. He stated:

“… there are common foundations and principles, manifested in the cultural specificities of each nation. And these unifying principles are Roman law, which led Europe to develop an efficient juridical culture; the Judeo-Christian belief in one God, which has imprinted itself on institutions and thought… We cannot say that Europe is only Christian, but the Judeo-Christian heritage profoundly influenced its cultural and political soul. To import in Europe the same Islam that has been structured in Arab countries would mean the suppression of present-day Europe to create another, radically different continent. This does not mean that we cannot have a Euro-Islam, an Islam adapted to Europe. But it presupposes on the part of Muslims respect for religious freedom, pluralism of thought and the distinction between religion and politics. It requires that the mullahs accept to live their faith along with the Jewish synagogues and Christian cathedrals. It is a process of transformation and maturation to which we must call Muslims, if they wish to be part of this Europe of ours…

“Freedom is something typically European, and I would also say, typically Christian. The contribution made by Christianity to the development of freedom as well as of democracy, is very strong. As for the rest, the totalitarianisms of the 20th century, Communism, and Fascism especially in their National-Socialist expression, are the substitute introduced when there was an attempt to suppress [the Judeo-Christian] religion in Europe… the roots of modern democracy [are] not by accident… Christian roots… Christians are called to unite, to seek ties with others. It must never be forgotten that one of the factors that led to the affirmation of Nazism in Germany was the division between Catholics and Protestants, who were unable to form a common front.”

A Christian European Constitution

Bild Online reported on August 29 about a formal visit between Pope Benedict XVI and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, daughter of a Protestant minister. During the visit, Merkel promised that she would strongly advocate that Christianity is firmly rooted in the European Constitution, as “Christianity has formed essentially our European history.” The Pope is scheduled to visit Bavaria on September 8.

An important tool in understanding a particular passage in Scripture
is to look at the passage in context, as well as in the light of other
Scriptures. In John 9, Christ healed a man on the Sabbath who had been
born blind. The Pharisees and the Jews accused Christ of breaking the
Sabbath and concluded that He was not from God (verse 16) and a
“sinner” (verse 24, in Greek, “hamartolos”). In response, the healed
man said: “Now we know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is
a worshipper of God and does His will, He hears him… If this Man were
not from God, He could no nothing” (verses 31, 33).

As a
consequence, he was put out of the synagogue (verse 34), and Christ
later told some of the Pharisees that they were not blind, but that
their unrepented sin remained (verses 40-41).

The Pharisees had
made terrible accusations against Jesus. They had accused Him of
casting out demons with the help of Beelzebub, the “ruler of the
demons”–another designation for Satan (Matthew 12:24). Some even
claimed that He was possessed by Satan (Mark 3:22). Christ warned them
in that context that they were in danger of committing the unpardonable
sin, which cannot be forgiven, for they were blaspheming God’s Holy
Spirit dwelling in Christ (Matthew 12:31-32; Mark 3:28-30).

When
the Pharisees, Scribes and other leading Jews accused Christ of being a
“sinner,” they did not just refer to Him as One who might occasionally
sin. They were implying that He was influenced or even possessed by
Satan, and that He did miracles through demonic powers. Paul later
said, in Galatians 2:15, that “we… are Jews by nature, and not
sinners of the Gentiles,” which do not know God. In addition, as we
will see, when Christ was called a “sinner,” He was also accused of
having a depraved character and of deliberately and intentionally
rejecting God.

In the majority of cases, the Greek word for
“sinner” is used to describe those who are practicing, as a way of
life, a depraved and ungodly lifestyle. Christ was “betrayed into the
hands of sinners” (Matthew 26:45). He ate with “publicans and sinners”
(Matthew 9:10-11), because He had come to call “sinners” to repentance
(Mark 2:16-17). He said that God’s angels in heaven would rejoice over
a “sinner” who repents (Luke 15:10). Christ came into the world to
“save sinners” (1 Timothy 1:15). He warned His true disciples not to be
ashamed of Him and His words in this adulterous and sinful generation
(Mark 8:38)–literally, in this “generation of sinners.” Peter
would later ask: “If the righteous one is scarcely saved, Where will
the ungodly and the sinner appear?” (1 Peter 4:18). A woman who
anointed Christ’s feet with fragrant oil was a well-known
“sinner”–apparently a prostitute (Luke 7:37-39).

Paul places
“sinners” in the same category as “the lawless and insubordinate… the
ungodly… the unholy and profane,… the murderers of fathers and
murderers of mothers… manslayers…, fornicators,… sodomites…
kidnappers…, liars… [and] perjurers” (1 Timothy 1:9-10). He also
stated that he was a “chief” sinner (1 Timothy 1:15), as he had
persecuted the Church of God. Peter adds that even converted Israelites
“spent enough of our past lifetime in doing the will of the Gentiles
[the “sinners”]–when we walked in lewdness, lusts, drunkenness,
revelries, drinking parties, and abominable idolatries” (1 Peter 4:3).

The
implication is that Jesus, when He was called a “sinner,” was accused
of being a “pervert” and a “bastard,” born of fornication (John 8:41),
influenced and possessed by Satan the devil and his demons (John 7:20;
8:48, 52; 10:20).The man who was healed of his blindness responded that
Jesus could not have been guilty of such accusations, because if He was
such a “sinner,” God would not have heard Him and used Him to heal his
eyes.

The Bible does not teach that God does not hear us when we
slip and fall occasionally, committing a sin because of weakness or
neglect. All of us sin occasionally (1 John 1: 8). We are told that if
we sin, we can repent of and confess our sin to God, and ask God for
forgiveness, and “He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and
cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). This shows that God
WILL HEAR us when we pray to Him, even though we have sinned.

However,
Isaiah 59:2-3 tells us that God does not hear us when we live in
iniquity and when we are unwilling to repent of it: “But your
iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden
His face from you, So that He will not hear. For your hands are defiled
with blood, And your fingers with iniquity; Your lips have spoken lies,
Your tongue has muttered perversity.” God says in Isaiah 1:15: “Even
though you make many prayers, I will not hear. Your hands are full of
blood.”

God clearly states in Micah 3:4: “Then they will cry to
the LORD, But He will not hear them; He will even hide His face from
them at that time, Because they have been evil in their deeds.” Verse 2
explains that they “hate good and love evil” and that they steal and
rob mercilessly from the people.

David understood that if he “had
cherished iniquity in [his] heart, the Lord would not have listened” to
his prayers (Psalm 66:18, Revised Standard Version).

God told
Jeremiah that He would not hear those who rebelled against God and who
continued to live in rebellion: “Do not pray for this people, for their
good. When they fast, I will not hear their cry… But I will consume
them by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence” (Jeremiah
14:11-12). In fact, the prayers of those who REFUSE to listen to God
and to obey His law are called an abomination (Proverbs 28:9). God will
NOT LISTEN to prayers of people who REFUSE to hear His law (Zechariah
7:11-13).

The way to be heard on high is to “Seek the LORD…
[and to] Call upon Him… [and to] Let the wicked forsake his way, And
the unrighteous man his thoughts; Let him return to the LORD, And He
will have mercy on Him” (Isaiah 55:6-7).

God may hear the
prayers of people whom He did not call to salvation at this time, when
He sees genuine remorse on their part. He listened to the prayer of the
Ninivites and spared their city (Jonah 3:5-10). Jesus confirmed later
that their “repentance” was sufficient for God to relent from the
disaster that He had intended to bring upon them (Matthew 12:41).

Christ
listened to the prayer of a Gentile woman and healed her young
daughter, by casting out a demon, when He saw her faith (Mark 7:25-30).
In that case, we don’t even know whether she was conscious of, and
whether she had repented of her sins, but God honored her faith in Him.
God says that until He calls someone to repentance, He overlooks the
time of ignorance (Acts 17:30), but even then, He desires that people
“seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him,
though He is not far from each one of us” (Acts 17:27).

Someone
who is looking to God and who is trying to do what is right, as much as
he or she understands it, might very well be heard by God. Christ
healed many people who had faith in Him, even though they did not
understand many things about God and His Way of Life. But once God
calls us to salvation, He expects of us to respond to His call, repent,
get to know Him and His Way better, and to obey Him. We have to forsake
the ways of this world and choose to live God’s Way of Life. 1 John
3:22 says: “And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep
His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight.”
And 1 John 5:14 adds: “Now this is the confidence that we have in Him,
that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.”

However,
if we continue to openly rebel against God; refuse to listen to Him and
His Word; refuse to repent of our sins; refuse to keep His law and to
be obedient to Him; then God will not listen to our prayers. If we want
to remain “sinners,” even though we have been taught the truth–if we
choose to continue to follow the dictates and devices of our own evil
heart–then we cannot expect to be heard on high.

Lead Writer: Norbert Link

In our effort to participate in fulfilling the Church’s commission,
as much as God gives us the means to do so, to preach the gospel in all
the world as a witness and to warn of pending disaster, we have
launched a German website in Germany, under http://aufpostenstehen.de.
Several additional new German entries, which are in preparation, will
be posted soon on the Website.

A new StandingWatch program was recorded and has been posted on the Web. It is titled: “Terrorism in Germany.”

Set forth below is a summary of the program:

Germany
is not immune from terrorist attacks. Fanatical terrorists might strike
anywhere–any time. If they had been successful in their foiled attempt
in late July to blow up several trains in Germany, hundreds of innocent
passengers would have been killed. In the meantime, several
suspects–Lebanese students living in Germany–were apprehended, but
the German government is convinced that they acted with the help of a
terrorist group in Germany, with connections to terrorist organizations
overseas. Germans are on edge and wondering, what is going to happen
next. And more importantly, will their government be able to protect
them from terrorists?

On August 26, 2006, Edwin Pope will give the sermon, titled, “… A New Creation.”

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.

It was a warm summer morning in 1930, as the nearly destitute man
walked along the rail track. The sun was beginning to get hot as he
strolled slowly along, small beads of perspiration forming on his
forehead. He thought that the heat was nothing compared to the pangs of
hunger he felt from not eating for the last two days. As he walked
along, he thought how nice it would be to have a decent meal–something
he had not enjoyed for a long time. He prayed silently, “Lord, it would
sure be appreciated if you could somehow fill my need at this
time.” Something suddenly caught his eye, glistening in the
sunlight on the ground. Stopping he looked, then bent down to pick up a
brand new fifty cent piece that someone had dropped on the ground. A
lump swelled in his throat with gladness and joy at the thought of the
fine meal this could buy him in the town just a few miles ahead. As he
walked along, clutching his new found treasure, he came across a
trestle which crossed a river almost a quarter of a mile long. About
half way across he lost his footing. As he fell forward and opened his
hand to break his fall, the fifty cent piece bounced off the track and
fell between the rail ties. He watched as it slowly turned,
flickering sunlight as it did, then slipping into the river, lost
forever. The man looked up to heaven and said, “Lord I thank you that I
still have my appetite.”

Although this is just a story, it
reflects a genuine spirit of gratitude–something sadly lacking in this
day and age. Let us look at how Paul described this end time
generation, in 2 Timothy 3:2: “For men will be lovers of themselves,
lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents,
UNTHANKFUL, unholy…”

Even though this typifies our generation today, were people filled with gratitude in the past?

Let
us consider what happened in Christ’s time. Luke 17:11-13 tells us:
“Now it happened as He went to Jerusalem that He passed through the
midst of Samaria and Galilee. Then as He entered a certain village,
there met Him ten men who were lepers, who stood afar off. And they
lifted up their voices and said, ‘Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!'”

All
ten lepers were healed by Christ, but what happened? Verses 15-17
continue: “And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned,
and with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at His
feet, giving Him thanks… So Jesus answered and said, ‘Were there not
ten cleansed? But where are the nine? Were there not any found who
returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?'”

The
foreigner happened to be a Samaritan (verse 16). The Jews looked down
on Samaritans as being inferior. However, only the Samaritan was
willing to thank God. This proves that not too much has changed in two
thousand years.

What about us?

Are we grateful for our
precious calling–the pearl of great price which has been bestowed upon
us by God through His great mercy–or do we just take it for granted?
Are we grateful for the sacrifice of our Lord and Savior, making it
possible to enter that great future kingdom? In less than two months we
will be gathering together, where God has placed His name, to celebrate
the Feast of Tabernacles, picturing the wonderful world tomorrow and
our part in ruling with and under Christ, our beloved High Priest and
King. How grateful are we to be allowed this tremendous opportunity of
experiencing a foretaste of that future world? Let us never forget the
blessings we have and the opportunities we will have in the future, and
let us express daily a genuine attitude of gratitude for all God is
doing and will do in our lives.

Terrorists Strike in Germany

Some thought that Germany might be somewhat protected from terrorist activity. They were wrong. More than two weeks ago, Germany awoke to the cruel reality that fanatical terrorists might strike anywhere–any time. If they had been successful in their foiled attempt to blow up several trains, hundreds of innocent passengers would have been killed. As AFP put it: “The bombs were set to detonate 10 minutes before their arrival in the western cities of Hamm, near Dortmund, and Koblenz, but a technical fault prevented an almost certain bloodbath.” Both main suspects–students from Lebanon–were arrested; one in Germany, the other one, who escaped to Lebanon, in Tripoli. All clues point at a terror cell in Germany, with connections to Lebanon and al-Quida.

On August 19, Bild Online reported that the first captured suspect is a Lebanese student living in the German city of Kiel. The paper said that he is apparently a member of an Islamic network, and the two suspects were not acting alone, but as a part of a group with terrorist background. It is feared that the arrest of the one suspect will lead to retaliation from Islamic perpetrators.

Der Spiegel Online reported on August 19, that two train stations in Kiel, Germany, were closed from 4:00 am until 9:00 pm on Saturday because of suspected terrorist activity. In addition, trains were stopped and travelers were stranded for hours. The magazine also stated that in the past (Mohammed) Atta, the terrorist from New York, had been seen in the German city of Kiel.

On August 22, 2006, Der Spiegel Online added the following comments: “German authorities have identified the second suspect involved in last month’s failed plot to bomb trains. He is believed to be 20 years old and from Lebanon, like the first suspect, a 21- year- old student, who was arrested last Saturday… German Interior Minister Wolfgang Schäuble said fears of a possible terror attack were ‘unfortunately very real.’ He added that the motive of the two attackers remained unclear. However, a resident of the student dormitory where [the first arrested suspect] resided in Kiel told SPIEGEL ONLINE the student had told residents that his brother, a member of the Lebanese army, had been killed in an Israeli airstrike on the Beirut Airport.”

AFP added on August 22: “Berlin daily Der Tagesspiegel reported that some of [the first suspect’s] relatives had links to the banned Islamic extremist group Hizb ut-Tahrir and that the 21-year-old was believed to have been radicalized by the organization, which strives to create an Islamic state.”

Der Spiegel Online reported on August 24 about the capture of the second suspect: “The search for a suspect accused of plotting a terrorist attack in Germany ended on Thursday after he was taken into custody in the northern Lebanese town of Tripoli. While German officials said he turned himself in to police, the Lebanese authorities said he was lured to the city and then arrested… [The] 20-year-old Lebanese citizen who had been living in Cologne [Germany], is thought to be involved in a plot to blow up two trains in western Germany on July 31. According to the Associated Press, the Lebanese anti-terrorism police acted on information from Interpol while searching for [the suspect] for almost a week in northern Lebanon. German federal prosecutors want him for several counts of attempted murder and membership in a terrorist organization.”

AFP added on August 24: “The German government said the plotters… had almost certainly acted with the help of a terrorist group. The plot has put the country on edge, reminding Germans that three of the hijackers in the September 11 attacks, including ringleader Mohammed Atta, lived as students in Hamburg for years without arousing suspicion.”

Lebanon’s Fragile Peace

The Associated Press reported on August 19:

“Israeli commandos raided a Hezbollah stronghold deep inside Lebanon Saturday, sparking a fierce clash with militants that left one Israeli soldier dead. Lebanon called the raid a ‘flagrant violation’ of the U.N.-brokered cease-fire, while Israel said it was aimed at disrupting arms smuggling from Iran and Syria. Lebanese Defense Minister Elias Murr threatened to halt the army’s deployment in south Lebanon if the United Nations does not take up the issue of the raid. A stop to the deployment would deeply damage efforts to move in an international force to strengthen the cease-fire… The fighting… highlighted the fragility of the 6-day-old truce as the United Nations pleaded for nations to contribute to an international peacekeeping force due to patrol southern Lebanon.

“Under the cease-fire terms, Israel has said it will conduct defensive operations if its troops are threatened. But the raid took place far from positions of Israeli troops in southern Lebanon. The cease-fire resolution talks about an end to weapons shipments to Hezbollah as part of a long-term end to the conflict–but does not immediately require it…”

It was also reported by the Arab paper, Aljazeera, on August 19 that “Israeli soldiers have detained the Palestinian deputy prime minister, the latest step in a continuing crackdown against the ruling Hamas party… An Israeli army spokesman confirmed that troops had taken al-Shaer into custody, saying it was ‘due to his membership of a terrorist organisation’… With al-Shaer’s arrest, four members of the Hamas-dominated Palestinian cabinet and about 28 Hamas members of parliament are in Israeli custody.”

Please make sure to tune in to our StandingWatch program, titled, “What’s Next for Lebanon?”

Situation in Lebanon Explosive

The Associated Press reported on August 23:

“Israel’s foreign minister on Wednesday called the situation in Lebanon ‘explosive’ and urged the international community to work quickly to deploy peacekeeping troops there… Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Saniora urged the United States to help end Israel’s sea and air blockade… France and other European countries have been demanding a clear mandate from the U.N. mission that gives their soldiers the right to defend themselves without dragging them into the conflict… Meanwhile, the shaky cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah was tested Wednesday as the Israeli army fired artillery into a disputed border region in response to what it said was an attack from inside Lebanon. An Israeli soldier was killed in a separate incident, the army said…”

The Associated Press reported in August 24:

“Israeli forces crossed into the Gaza Strip early Thursday in a raid that captured a local Hamas militant leader and left his brother dead near a Gaza border town… As the forces–backed by tanks and helicopter gunships–moved into the area of Abasan and took up positions on rooftops, militants began firing at them, sparking gunbattles that wounded two militants… The violence came as Israel continued its offensive in the Gaza Strip, which it began June 28, three days after Hamas-linked militants tunneled into Israel, attacked an Israeli army post and captured a soldier… Israel said it would maintain its offensive until [the soldier] was released and militants ceased firing rockets into Israel.”

Syria Rejects UN Forces at its Border

Der Spiegel Online reported on August 23:

“As one of Hezbollah’s strongest international supporters, many had hoped that Syria could be a partner in delivering peace between Israel and the Lebanon-based Islamic extremist group. But comments made by the country’s president, Bashar Assad, muted those hopes on Tuesday. Speaking in harsh tones, Assad said his country would not accept the stationing of troops from a United Nations security force along the border between Syria and Lebanon… Assad described the plans as a ‘hostile act.'”

AFP added on August 24:

“Syria has threatened to close its border with Lebanon if UN peacekeepers are deployed there, further complicating the struggle by world powers to agree on the makeup and role of a force to police a fragile ceasefire. The warning came as EU diplomats met in Brussels for a second day Thursday… A partial breakthrough seemed to emerge Thursday, when officials in Paris announced that France might send ‘hundreds more’ troops to join the 400 it already has in Lebanon. Following talks Wednesday in Helsinki with Syrian counterpart Walid Muallem, Finnish Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja said ‘they will close the frontier for all traffic (if) the UN troops will be deployed’ along the border.”

Did Israel Commit War Crimes?

Der Spiegel Online reported on August 23:

“… the human rights organization Amnesty International on Wednesday accused Israel of having committed war crimes by deliberately destroying Lebanon’s civilian infrastructure and indiscriminate bombing that led to a high number of civilian casualties. ‘The scale of destruction was just extraordinary,’ Amnesty Researcher Donatella Rovera said, according to AP. ‘There is clear evidence of disproportionate and indiscriminate attacks.’ The organization encouraged the UN to investigate whether Israel or Hezbollah had violated international law.

“Israel denied the charges. ‘Unlike Hezbollah,’ said Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev, ‘we did not deliberately target the Lebanese population. On the contrary, under very difficult circumstances, we tried to be as surgical as is humanly possible in targeting the Hezbollah terrorist organization.’ The Israeli army has also defended itself, issuing statements that it warned civilians in Lebanon that bombings would take place. Israel also accused Hezbollah of firing rockets at locations near civilian institutions.

“Amnesty International claims that more than 1,100 Lebanese were killed during the five-week war. One-third were reportedly children. An estimated 160 Israelis were killed in combat or as the result of Hezbollah rocket attacks.”

How To Respond to Iran?

Der Spiegel Online reported on August 23 about the reaction of the German press to Iran’s nebulous response to the UN’s demands to stop its nuclear program. The magazine wrote: “Iran says it’s ready for ‘serious negotiations’ about its controversial nuclear ambitions. But the country’s hard-liners aren’t prepared to give up uranium enrichment. What should be the international community’s next move?”

It continued:

“The conservative daily Die Welt has considerable doubts that Tehran is honestly willing to negotiate. ‘Suddenly Iran is in a hurry. And what have they done up till now? Correct: They have not been serious about talks, they have stalled for time, and they duped the international community,’ writes the paper. The West will now have to quickly determine if Tehran truly wants to return to the negotiating table. ‘If not — and nothing yet has shown that Tehran can be convinced to give up its uranium enrichment program — then the Security Council will have to place sanctions on the country.’ Failing to do so, argues Die Welt, would harm the UN’s credibility. ‘But the Council isn’t united. China’s and Russia’s interests are in conflict with Washington’s uncompromising course. Iran has always successfully exploited just that,’ writes the paper…

“The left-wing Berliner Zeitung places blame for any impasse on both Tehran and Washington, calling Iran’s response a ‘tactical answer to a tactical offer.’ The paper — no friend of the Bush administration — argues that the United States has put something on the table that Iran cannot agree to by making stopping uranium enrichment a condition and not a goal of further negotiations. ‘The political intention is clear. Iran should be able to be blamed for any coming escalation,’ opines the editorial after cynically implying that Washington only sees the Middle East as a vast market for oil and natural gas.

“The business daily Handelsblatt believes the dispute has reached a key turning point. ‘Until now the goal was to keep (Iran) from building a nuclear bomb with economic and political incentives,’ writes the paper. ‘Moving forward, however, the Europeans and Americans will have to discuss sanctions.’ Since Tehran doesn’t appear willing to give up its enrichment activities, the international community has little choice but to respond with the possibility of meting out punishment… Though the paper argues that the mullahs need to be firmly shown just how far they will be allowed to go, it is also concerned that the dispute could create divisions between the European Union and America…”

Ahmadinejad’s Thirst for Destruction

On August 22, the British paper, The Daily Mail, published an eye-opening article, titled, “Why this man should give us all nightmares.”

The paper explained what motivates Iran’s President to engage in his well-documented irate behavior. The answers are frightening and justify, indeed, the headline of the article.

It was stated:

“Why shouldn’t Iran have nuclear weapons? We [in Great Britain] have them, so has America, France, Russia, Israel, China, Pakistan, India and possibly North Korea. So why make such a fuss about Iran?… The mullah-mafia lied through their teeth for 18 years, denying they had a nuclear programme, despite their obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. And all the evidence shows that they are lying now when they say they only want nuclear power for ‘peaceful energy purposes’, despite sitting on some of the largest oil reserves in the world. But, alas, there’s nothing which we would recognise as ‘reasonable’ about President Ahmadinejad, the small, bearded blacksmith’s son from the slums of Tehran–who denies the existence of the Holocaust, promises to ‘wipe Israel off the map’ and who, moreover, urges Iranians to ‘prepare to take over the world’. The UN gave him until August 31 to reply to its package of proposals designed to stop his nuclear programme. Significantly he chose yesterday to, in effect, reject the UN ultimatum because yesterday was a sacred day in the Islamic calendar. It is the day on which the Prophet Mohammed made his miraculous night flight from Jerusalem to heaven and back on Buraq, the winged horse.

“As one Iranian exile told me yesterday: ‘The trouble with you secular people is that you don’t realise how firmly Ahmadinejad believes–literally–in things like the winged horse. By choosing this date for his decision, he is telling his followers that he is going to obey his religious duty. ‘And he believes that his religious duty is to create chaos and bloodshed in the “infidel” world, in order to hasten the return of the Mahdi–the Hidden Imam. So don’t expect him to behave, in your eyes, “reasonably”.’

“So who is this Hidden Imam? He was a direct descendant of the Prophet Mohammed who, at the age of five, disappeared down a well around AD 940. He will only return after a period of utter chaos and bloodshed, whereupon peace, justice and Islam will reign worldwide. When I was in Tehran, Ahmadinejad was its mayor, and an Iranian friend with links to the city council told me: ‘He’s instructed the council to build a grand avenue to prepare for the Mahdi’s return’…

“On coming to power, in order to hasten the return of the Hidden Imam, the Iranian President allocated the equivalent of £10m for the building of a blue-tiled mosque at Jamkaran, south of the capital, where the five-year-old Hidden Imam was said to have disappeared down the well… the President’s apocalyptic mindset ‘makes you very strong. If I think the Mahdi will come in two, three, or four years, why should I be soft? Now is the time to stand strong, to be hard’… nuclear-weapon technology in the hands of an Iranian President obsessed with ‘ fruitcake theology’ and the destruction of all ‘infidels’ is something which should keep us all awake at night.”

The REAL Federal Deficit

On August 4, 2006, USA Today published an alarming and thought-provoking article about the REAL federal deficit. The article claimed that the official figures published for the public are intentionally kept far too low, stating:

“The federal government keeps two sets of books. The set the government promotes to the public has a healthier bottom line: a $318 billion deficit in 2005. The set the government doesn’t talk about is the audited financial statement produced by the government’s accountants following standard accounting rules. It reports a more ominous financial picture: a $760 billion deficit for 2005. If Social Security and Medicare were included… the federal deficit would have been $3.5 trillion… Last year, the audited statement produced by the accountants said the government ran a deficit equal to $6,700 for every American household. The number given to the public put the deficit at $2,800 per household…

“The government has run a deficit of $2.9 trillion since 1997… Congress and the president are able to report a lower deficit mostly because they don’t count the growing burden of future pensions and medical care for federal retirees and military personnel. These obligations are so large and are growing so fast that budget surpluses of the late 1990s actually were deficits when the costs are included. The Clinton administration reported a surplus of $559 billion in its final four budget years. The audited numbers showed a deficit of $484 billion…” But it gets even more frightening. USA Today continued to explain the rationale WHY the retirement programs, Medicare and Social Security, are not included in the official government publications. But this reason is not in any way good news:

“The retirement programs do ‘not represent a legal obligation because Congress has the authority to increase or reduce social insurance benefits at any time,’ wrote Clay Johnson III, then acting director of the president’s Office of Management Budget, in a letter to the board in May… Social Security chief actuary Stephen Goss says it would be a mistake to apply accrual accounting to Social Security and Medicare. These programs are not pensions or legally binding federal obligations, although many people view them that way, he says. Social Security and Medicare are pay-as-you-go programs and should be treated like food stamps and fighter jets, not like a Treasury bond that must be repaid in the future, he adds…”

America’s Power Pushed Back

New America Media reported on August 18:

“American power is being pushed back on several fronts. Both the nuclear deal [with India] and the American setbacks in world politics are aspects of a breakdown in the post-1989 unipolar order…

“America remains tied down in Iraq. The drain of American capabilities and prestige in Iraq has rendered it unable to prevent adverse trends elsewhere. The jihadis are rising in Afghanistan, and America has no reserves available to throw into the battle. Iran is gaining confidence in its ability to pursue its nuclear program, and North Korea is defying America and Japan with its missile tests. What makes these last two trends possible is the growing power and assertiveness of Russia and China. Their refusal to bow to Western pressure in the UN Security Council has disabled the United States, European Union, and Japan from mobilizing pressure on Iran and North Korea…”

America in Need of Marines

CNN reported on August 23:

“President Bush has authorized the U.S. Marine Corps to recall 2,500 troops to active duty because there are not enough volunteers returning for duty in Afghanistan and Iraq… The recall was authorized last month, and will begin in spring 2007 to fill positions for upcoming rotations… there is a shortfall of about 1,200 Marines needed to fill positions in upcoming unit deployments… Tours for recalled Marines could last 12 to 18 months… Though the initial recall is for 2,500 troops, there is no cap on how many could be called up in the future… The Marines recalled more than 2,600 troops in the early days of the Iraq war. The Army has recalled about 10,000 soldiers since September 11, 2001, the majority of those coming in 2004 to help in Iraq.”

Morning-After Pill Kills Innocent Human Life!

The Catholic news agency, Zenit, reported on August 21:

“President George Bush said he supports restricted access to the ‘morning-after’ pill for minors, disturbing some pro-lifers who want the potentially abortion-causing drug banned altogether… LifeSite… quoted Father Thomas Euteneuer, president of Human Life International, as saying: ‘President Bush’s implied support for the abortion-causing drug… is completely inconsistent with his recent veto of the embryonic stem cell research [ESCR] funding bill. What the president apparently fails to realize is that [the drug] kills the same innocent unborn children that the ESCR process does.’… The U.S. bishops’ conference opposes making [the drug] available over-the-counter on several grounds, including its abortifacient potential and its implications for informed consent.

“In a statement today, Judie Brown, president of American Life League, lamented Bush’s comments. ‘It is no secret that [the drug] can and does take the lives of newly conceived babies in the days immediately following fertilization,’ said Brown. ‘The drug’s own manufacturer recognizes this fact; so why can’t the rest of the pro-life community and our self-professed pro-life president recognize it as well? President Bush is showing inconsistency in his support for life.'”

Catholic Church vs. Madonna

The controversial British mass tabloid, The Sun News, reported on August 22 about pressures by the Catholic Church to prosecute singer and entertainer Madonna for alleged attacks on the Catholic religion. The tabloid stated:

“Prosecutors in Germany said they have decided against opening an investigation into the mock crucifixion scene performed by Madonna at her weekend concert. A crowd of about 45,000 packed Duesseldorf’s LTU Arena on Sunday night to watch the first of two German concerts on the singer’s worldwide ‘Confessions’ tour. The scene–in which Madonna rises from the stage on a mirrored cross while wearing a crown of fake thorns to sing ‘Live to Tell’–drew criticism from religious leaders in Italy earlier this month, who condemned it as an act of hostility toward the Roman Catholic Church.”

Recently, Bavaria’s leader, Edmund Stoiber, demanded in relationship to another alleged attack on the Catholic religion in Germany, to enact German laws which would make it easier to prosecute those vocally opposed to the Catholic religion.

Dark Matter–Yes or No?

On August 22, The Register reported the following:

“NASA says it now has the first direct evidence for the existence of dark matter, thanks to observations of a huge, intergalactic collision. Researchers… have been watching two galactic clusters collide, an event they say is the most energetic in the universe, ever, apart from the Big Bang… Most of the matter in the universe is thought to be so-called dark matter. It gets its name because it is effectively invisible, and until now its existence could only be inferred from its gravitational effects. The term was invented to account for the fact that despite not having enough mass to hold themselves together under their own gravity, galaxies still spectacularly failed to tear themselves apart. Astronomers reasoned that something invisible, but massive, must be holding things together. Hence, dark matter. However, not all scientists agree (and when do they ever?). Some alternative theories have been put forward, but NASA says only dark matter can explain the observations here.”

Scientists have come forward with all kind of scientific explanations as to how the universe came into being, and how it is sustained. Most of those ideas are wrong. The Bible, however, gives us very clear answers, but most scientists are unwilling to consider those. Hebrews 1:1-2 explains (New International Version):

“In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe.”

Verse 3 continues (Revised English Bible): “… he sustains the universe by his word of power.”

Doesn’t an active Creator and living Sustainer of the universe, who is identified as the “light” shining “in the darkness” (John 1:5), sound much more plausible to explain the continued existence of the universe, than some kind of dead dark matter?

For more information, please read our free booklet: “The Theory of Evolution–a Fairy Tale for Adults.”

Certainly not. Our free booklet, “Baptism–A Requirement for Salvation,”
explains in detail that only adult LIVING persons are to be baptized,
after they repent of their sins and believe in the Sacrifice of Jesus
Christ. A person who has died, cannot repent and believe in anything,
as long as he is dead. The reason is that a dead person knows nothing
(Ecclesiastes 9:5). Our free booklet, “Do We Have an Immortal Soul?,”
explains that a person who dies is without consciousness–he or his
soul does not go to heaven or hell, because he–the person–IS the
soul. As long as he is alive, he is a living soul, and when he dies, he
has become a dead soul.

As Romans 6:3-4 explains, baptism–the
total immersion of the person under water–points at the figurative
death of the person. He “dies,” spiritually speaking, in the watery
grave. His old man dies (verse 6), and a new man arises out of the
watery grave (Colossians 3:9-10). In a sense, the new man is
“resurrected,” figuratively speaking, from the spiritual dead.

With
this background, let us review Paul’s saying in 1 Corinthians 15:29,
which reads: “Otherwise, what will they do who are baptized for the
dead, if the dead do not rise at all? Why then are they baptized for
the dead?”

Paul was contending with those in Corinth who claimed
that there was no resurrection from the dead. He asked in verse 12:
“Now if Christ is preached that He has been raised from the dead, how
do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?” He
continues to explain that there is indeed a resurrection from the
dead–in fact, there is more than just one resurrection. Paul states
that every human being will be resurrected, but in a particular order
or time sequence (verses 20-24). In Revelation 20:5, the “first
resurrection” of the saints is mentioned. The same passage explains
that some will be resurrected at Christ’s coming, and many will be
resurrected 1,000 years later. For more information on this vital
subject, please read our free booklet, “God’s Commanded Holy Days.”

As
an additional argument for the resurrection FROM the dead, Paul
mentioned the resurrection FOR the dead (verse 29). Several attempts
have been advanced to explain what Paul might have meant with his
statement.

One major modern denomination preaches and practices
“baptism for the dead”–by baptizing people for their dead relatives.
This practice is not based on God’s Holy Word. Baptism only makes
sense when and so long as the person to be baptized is ALIVE. Baptism
for a dead person, that is, vicariously, derivatively or by proxy,
accomplishes nothing. God does not want us to become baptized “for” or
on behalf of somebody else. Baptism is an individual personal decision
and an individual act–our righteousness in baptism cannot be
transferred to another person. Christ never sinned–still, He was
baptized by John the Baptist to “fulfill all righteousness”
(Matthew 3:15). He gave us an example to follow His footsteps. Christ
did not get baptized FOR others–and so, He expects each and every one
of His disciples to get baptized him- or herself. After all, each and
every one of us will have to give account, individually, for what he or
she has done (Romans 14:12).

However, some commentaries advance
the idea that a few within the Corinthian Church might have been
involved in the practice of getting baptized for a dead relative.

For
instance, the Nelson Study Bible writes: “It may be that some of the
Corinthians had for some reason been baptized for others who had died
without baptism. Paul… used ‘they’ rather than ‘we’ when speaking of
it… To deny the resurrection, as the Corinthians did, and yet be
involved in such baptism activities made no sense.”

It is
important to note that Paul spoke of “them,” who were involved in the
practice. When speaking of true Christians, including those in the
Corinthian Church, he used the words “you,” “we,” “our” and “us”
(verses 12, 14, 15, 17, 19, 30, 34). This seems to indicate that the
practice, which Paul was addressing, without approving of it, was done
OUTSIDE of the Church, even though the Corinthians were familiar with
it.

The Commentary of Jamieson, Fausset and Brown points at the
same distinction, explaining that Paul talked about those who engaged
in the practice in the “third person; a class distinct from that in
which the apostle places himself, ‘we’ (v. 30), first person.” The
commentary continues to stress that some “Marcionites adopted the
practice at a later period, probably from taking [and misapplying] this
passage…, but, generally, it was unknown in the Church.”

Even
without focusing on the use of different pronouns (like “them” and
“we”), the New Bible Commentary: Revised adds another possibility as to
how to understand this passage:

“… The Greek can also mean
‘baptized because of the dead,’ i.e. the reference is to the baptism of
those influenced by the testimony of a Christian who had recently died,
and in the hope of being re-united with him at the resurrection.”

In
the entire fifteenth chapter of 1 Corinthians, Paul spoke about the
hope of the resurrection. It is interesting that in the phrase in verse
29 (“baptized for the dead”), the word “for” is “huper” in the original
Greek. This word can also mean, “for the hope of” or “for the
realization of” (compare, The Analytical Greek Lexicon). For instance,
in Philippians 2:13, we read: “…for it is God who works in you both
to will and to do FOR [Greek: huper] His good pleasure.” The intended
meaning is: “for the realization of His good pleasure.”

In the
same way, 1 Corinthians 15:29 can be translated: “Otherwise, what will
they do who are baptized for [the realization of, or the hope of] the
dead, if the dead do not rise at all? Why then are they baptized for
[the realization of, or the hope of] the dead?”

When people were
baptized, they were not dead, but still alive. At the time of their
baptism, they were looking forward to their resurrection. Baptism was
the first necessary step toward the realization of their goal–the
resurrection of the dead. Without that hope, there would not have been
a reason to be baptized in the first place. Subsequently those who were
baptized died, sleeping in their graves and awaiting, in hope, so to
speak, their resurrection from the dead.

Whatever Paul had in
mind, when referring to the “resurrection for the dead,” it is clear
from the rest of the Bible, that God’s Church is not to engage in the
practice of actually conducting baptisms “by proxy”– of baptizing one
person on behalf of or instead of another dead relative. God does not
accept such “derivative” or “vicarious” baptisms.

Lead Writer: Norbert Link

The draft of a new booklet on suffering is almost completed and has entered the first review cycle. In the booklet, Norbert Link
addresses the question why there is so much suffering in the world, and
why even true Christians suffer today. The booklet will also offer
great hope for the not-too-distant future.

A new StandingWatch program has been posted on the Web. It was recorded on Friday, August 18, and is titled: “What’s Next for Lebanon?”

Set forth below is a summary of the program:

The
warfare between Israel and Hezbollah has come to a standstill. Does
this mean that we will enjoy lasting peace in Lebanon and the Middle
East? Based on the situation in the Middle East, some preachers and
evangelists tell us that Christ could come back tonight. Would this be
possible? The answer to both questions is: Absolutely not!

by Shana Rank

I wasn’t always as responsible as I am today.
Responsibility grows as I grow. When I was very young I was taught to
straighten my toys and make my bed. As I got a little older–emptying
the dishwasher, doing homework and taking care of myself were among
some of the added duties–none of which were very difficult in the
grand scheme of things.

Now as an adult I juggle many
responsibilities, one being my 3 month old son. I try my best to meet
all of his needs and wants because he cannot take care of himself. It
is a joy and pleasure to watch him grow.

As a Christian, it is my
responsibility to grow and challenge myself in all aspects of daily
life. It is also my responsibility to nurture and care for the Spirit
God has granted me. I often contemplate the hurdles I’ve encountered as
a youngster until now—serving as a measure of steady progress. With
God’s help I can learn more about His master plan and how I will
someday fit into it; but I must be the one to move forward, and
especially to grow.

On August 19, 2006, Dave Harris will give the sermon, titled, “Unless YOU Repent.”

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.

When we wake every morning, is it with a heart that longs to seek
after God’s Will, or with an attitude that we merely TRY not to break
His Laws?  The American Heritage Dictionary states:  “Observe
stresses compliance or respectful adherence to that which is
prescribed…” and “Celebrate emphasizes observance in the form of
rejoicing or festivity…”

As growing and persevering Christians we
are required to observe God’s Laws and His Way of Life.  But what
has the day-to-day “grind” of continued observance done to our
hearts?  Does the “first love” attitude still resound in it? 
Or have we become so battle-hardened through years of enduring, that we
no longer see the joy that this way of life brings?

We live in an
age in which our lifestyle is becoming more and more disliked. 
It’s easy to quietly endure, show few outward signs and hope no one
notices our unpopular beliefs.  But in trying to stay a “quiet
Christian,” are we still reflecting the attitude of the Being we
profess to follow? 

Christ said of King David that he was
a “man after My own heart” (Acts 13:22).  One such example of this
attitude occurred when David returned to Jerusalem with the Ark of the
Covenant: “… And Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David,
and said, ‘How glorious was the king of Israel today, uncovering
himself today in the eyes of the maids of his servants, as one of the
base fellows shamelessly uncovers himself!’  So David said to
Michal, ‘It was before the LORD…. Therefore I will play music before
the LORD. And I will be even more undignified than this, and will be
humble in my own sight…'” (2 Samuel 6:20-22).

David’s response,
when confronted with negative views of what he was doing, wasn’t to
quietly hide himself away.  On the CONTRARY!  He said he
would celebrate even more.

Likewise, we must strive to celebrate
this way of life more so, as the world around us darkens to God’s
truth.  When confronted with embarrassment because we stand out
from the crowd, we must know that God isn’t embarrassed. God isn’t
viewing us with disdain because of our perceived archaic beliefs. 
In fact, He might just be saying to you and me: “YOU are a person after
My own heart!”

Peace in the Middle East–No Way!

In this special report, we are publishing articles with all kinds of different political view points, shapes and colors about the current crisis situation in the Middle East. We do not necessarily agree with the quoted material and the opinions contained therein, but the following facts are clear: Israel has not accomplished its goals; Hezbollah has become much more popular in the Arab world; Europe is willing to send troops into Lebanon; the future in Lebanon is still very uncertain; and the United States of America and Israel find themselves all alone. And this means, lasting peace is more elusive than ever in that war-torn region.

These trends and developments have been prophesied. Please read our free booklet: “The Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord.”

A New War Just a Matter of Time?

Bild Online wrote on August 14: “Since yesterday, 7:00 am, the weapons are silent. Did Israel win the war?”

The paper, which is friendly toward Israel, continued:

“Israel has won, but they are not the victors. Israel did not achieve all of its goals… The two captured soldiers are sill captured… the international community, especially the UN, has failed… Is the next war against Israel just a matter of time?… “

The paper also asked what the war did for Hezbollah, and stated:

“Hezbollah has shown a military strength succeeding the expectations of many, including many in Israel. Hezbollah leader Nasrallah claims that he is more popular in the country than Lebanese Prime Minister, Fonad Siniora.”

Will Israel Withdraw?

Reuters reported on August 16:

“Israel could withdraw its forces from southern Lebanon within 10 days, but only if the Lebanese army deploys quickly in the area, Israel’s army chief of staff, Dan Halutz, said… ‘If the Lebanese army does not move down within a number of days to the south … the way I see it, we must stop our withdrawal,’ Halutz added… Halutz… had been quoted earlier as saying Israel was prepared to keep troops in southern Lebanon for months if it takes that long for an international force to deploy… ‘We must check matters one by one and correct them quickly. I do not rule out the possibility that the situation could explode and we, as an army, must be ready,’ he said [on Wednesday].”

Hezbollah Won’t Disarm

The Jerusalem Post reported on August 16:

“The issue of disarmament is not on the agenda, senior Hizbullah official Hassan Fadlallah said on Wednesday, jeopardizing the fragile cease-fire in the region. The UN cease-fire resolution clearly states that the area south of the Litani river must be demilitarized. According to Fadlallah, who spoke with al-Jazeera, Hizbullah will not evacuate its operatives from southern Lebanon since they are the ones who populate the region. ‘Any such withdrawal means the evacuation of southern Lebanon,’ he said.”

Who Will Disarm Hezbollah?

Der Spiegel Online asked on August 16: “Who Will Disarm Hezbollah?” The magazine continued:

“The cease-fire resolution passed by the Security Council last Friday does not outline what kind of mandate a UN force in southern Lebanon might be equipped with. And many countries have said they are reluctant to pledge troops before such a mandate exists… The UN hopes to eventually assemble a force of 15,000 troops to assist the Lebanese force in enforcing the cease-fire, and aims at sending some 3,500 troops within the next week to 10 days. France has indicated its willingness to send a sizable force, as have Italy, Spain, Malaysia and Indonesia [as well as Turkey]. A number of other mostly European countries have also voiced interest in helping out, but none have made official pledges. German politicians continued their wrangling over the issue on Tuesday and Wednesday.”

The article continued:

“Hezbollah… sees itself as the winner of the war with Israel. Indeed, the group has taken the lead in rebuilding efforts in southern Lebanon, going door to door to ask returning residents what they need and trying to pave the way for a return to normal life… It could take up to a year for the United Nations to establish a full, 15,000-troop force in southern Lebanon… With Israel beginning its withdrawal, however, a rapid deployment is necessary.”

Lebanon’s Army Unwilling to Fight Hezbollah

Der Spiegel Online reported on August 17:

“… the Lebanese army began deploying troops in the southern part of the country on Thursday as part of the UN-brokered cease-fire plan to end fighting between Israel and Islamic extremist group Hezbollah. For decades, the Lebanese army has had little or no influence south of the Litani River. The border region’s true powerbrokers have been Hezbollah and Israel — the two opposing sides that the deployment of Lebanese soldiers and tanks in southern Lebanon is meant to keep from fighting. But it remains to be seen if the Lebanese government in Beirut can truly expand its control to its southern border with Israel, especially since the Islamist outfit Hezbollah appears far from willing to cede power or disarm. Lebanon’s cabinet on Wednesday backed the deployment of troops south of the Litani River, but the government — which includes ministers from Hezbollah’s political wing — said soldiers would not confront militia members of the Shiite extremist group…”

The magazine continued:

“However, establishing Lebanese army control in the south is a key part of the UN cease-fire that stopped over a month of heavy fighting between Israeli forces and Hezbollah. The government troops will have to bridge a period until a more robust UN peacekeeping force can be sent to the region to help stabilize the fragile peace. According to the UN cease-fire agreement that took hold on Monday, Israel will transfer control of its positions in southern Lebanon to the UN forces, which would then turn them over to the Lebanese army… Many local residents seemed pleased the Lebanese army had returned, even if they are unprepared to face down Hezbollah… But it remains to be seen if Israel will be content with a still-armed Hezbollah sitting on its northern border. Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev said Israel expected Lebanon to fully follow the UN plan. ‘That resolution clearly calls for the creation of a Hezbollah-free zone south of the Litani River, and anything less would mean that the resolution is not being implemented,’ he said.”

What Germans Think About a UN Army

On August 15, Der Spiegel Online discussed the reaction of the German press to the creation of a UN army:

“The international force, being assembled to strengthen the small United Nations mission that is currently in southern Lebanon, is… taking shape slowly… The German press on Tuesday is urging speed.

“Left-leaning Die Tageszeitung… stresses, the cease-fire only has a chance of success ‘if UN troops are stationed in southern Lebanon within the next couple of days — not weeks.’ Additionally, these troops will need to be strong enough to ‘keep both conflicting parties from active fighting.’…

“According to the conservative daily Die Welt, ‘there is no cause for optimism’ for those familiar with the less-than-successful track record of UN troops. ‘Aside from the East Timor operation, most blue helmet missions can be classified as failures,’ the paper laments. The UN and the members of the Security Council carry part of the blame for this war; about two years ago they called for Hezbollah to be disarmed and then left it up to Lebanon to do the job. If something is to come out of a new mission, one ‘must send an army that will not hesitate to fight.’ And what’s more: ‘They need to be ready for a confrontation on the scale of the Americans’ war on terror in Afghanistan.’ Hezbollah will not willingly give up its weapons. But ‘Europe seems to want to avoid all of this’ and simply ‘wish the Lebanese well.'”

German Troops for Lebanon?

On August 15, Der Spiegel Online discussed the reaction of the German press to the concept of sending German troops into Lebanon:

“The Financial Times Deutschland [thinks that there] are real reasons for Germany to get involved in settling the Lebanese conflict…, stating, ‘ it would be disastrous for the entire region as well as for Europe, if Hezbollah succeeded in rising even stronger out of the ruins of Beirut.’… Berlin would do itself no favors were it to ‘focus on keeping out of it and making nice with all of the conflicting parties.’

“The center-right Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung emphasizes… [that] Germany is wary of putting itself in a position where it may be forced to fight Israeli troops; and even if Germany doesn’t get involved, the mere willingness to support military action ‘is a further … step on the way to emancipation from self-inflicted restraints of foreign policy involvement.’

“Business daily Handelsblatt goes a bit further in looking at how the current situation — and the possibility of Germany sending troops to the Middle East — will test the relationship between the two countries. On the one hand, Germany’s history — and constitution — requires a ‘special relationship’ between Germany and Israel. But since 1967, German public opinion has changed dramatically from being pro-Israeli to being anti-Zionist. ‘Along with that comes a strong antipathy towards America.’ In addition, even as the US has followed a strongly pro-Israeli foreign policy, ‘the European Union has followed a different path.’ But that different path cannot blind the Europeans to the danger facing Israel ‘when Hezbollah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad and their sponsors aim at the heart of Israel.'”

BBC News added the following on August 17:

“Germany is waiting to hear precisely what the mandate of the UN force for Lebanon will be before it decides what role to play in it. Party leaders in the ruling coalition said on Wednesday they had agreed in principle on contributing to the planned international force. But sensitivities about Germany’s past make some politicians uneasy about the idea of German troops facing Israelis. Germany may help in humanitarian work and securing the Lebanon-Syria border. ‘Many questions are still open,’ said government spokesman Thomas Steg… Any cabinet decision to send troops would still have to be approved by parliament. Coalition officials said they were considering providing naval patrols or police to help secure the Lebanon-Syria border.”

The article continued:

“Germany has sent 7,700 soldiers overseas already to serve with international forces in Afghanistan, the Balkans and DR Congo. Edmund Stoiber, head of the conservative Bavarian CSU party allied to Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats, firmly opposed any deployment of German combat troops. He said his Christian Social Union ‘will never vote for a combat operation for German soldiers in the buffer zone between Hezbollah and the Israeli border.'”

The US and Israel Stand Alone

On August 15, Der Spiegel Online published an interview with former President Jimmy Carter, addressing the current Middle Eastern crisis:

“I don’t think that Israel has any legal or moral justification for their massive bombing of the entire nation of Lebanon. What happened is that Israel is holding almost 10,000 prisoners, so when the militants in Lebanon or in Gaza take one or two soldiers, Israel looks upon this as a justification for an attack on the civilian population of Lebanon and Gaza…  I think that at this moment the United States and Israel probably stand more alone than our country has in generations.”

Iran and Syria Praise Hezbollah–and Incur German Wrath

The Associated Press reported on August 15:

“Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Tuesday that Hezbollah has ‘hoisted the banner of victory’ over Israel and toppled U.S.-led plans for the Middle East. Hezbollah’s main backers–Iran and Syria–struck nearly identical tones a day after a cease-fire took effect in Lebanon: heaping praise on the guerrillas as perceived victors for the Islamic world and claiming that Western influence in the region was dealt a serious blow.”

Reuters added on August 15:

“Assad said in a speech to the Syrian Journalists Union on Tuesday: ‘It is evident that after six years of this (US) administration that there is no peace and there will be none in the foreseeable future… The Israeli leadership is in front of an historic crossroads. Either it moves toward peace and gives back rights or face constant instability until an (Arab) generation comes and puts an end to the issue.'”

As a consequence, according to Reuters, “German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier cancelled a [planned] trip to Syria on Tuesday… ‘The speech today by Syrian President Assad is a negative contribution that is not in any way justified in view of the current challenges and opportunities in the Middle East,’ Steinmeier said in a statement… Steinmeier left on Monday for his third trip to the Middle East since hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah fighters in Lebanon erupted.”

Special Report on the Middle East

Last week, Mathias Dapfner, CEO of the Axel Stronger AG and publisher of the right-wing mass tabloid, Bild, as well as the daily, Die Welt, wrote in an editorial in Welt am Sonntag against the concept that Hezbollah, Iran and other controversial nations must be “appeased.” He also strongly advocated European action:

“Appeasement cost millions of Jews and non-Jews their lives, as England and France, allies at the time, negotiated and hesitated too long before they noticed that Hitler had to be fought, not bound to toothless agreements. Appeasement legitimized and stabilized Communism in the Soviet Union, then East Germany, then all the rest of Eastern Europe, where for decades, inhuman suppressive, murderous governments were glorified as the ideologically correct alternative to all other possibilities.

“Appeasement crippled Europe when genocide ran rampant in Kosovo, and although we had absolute proof of ongoing mass-murder, we Europeans debated and debated and debated, and were still debating when finally the Americans had to come from halfway around the world, into Europe yet again, and do our work for us. Rather than protecting democracy in the Middle East, European Appeasement, camouflaged behind the fuzzy word ‘equidistance,’ now countenances suicide bombings in Israel by fundamentalist Palestinians.

“Appeasement generates a mentality that allows Europe to ignore nearly 500,000 victims of Saddam’s torture and murder machinery and, motivated by the self-righteousness of the peace movement, has the gall to issue bad grades to George Bush… Even as it is uncovered that the loudest critics of the American action in Iraq made illicit billions, no, TENS of billions, in the corrupt U.N. Oil-for-Food program.

“And now we are faced with a particularly grotesque form of appeasement. How is Germany reacting to the escalating violence by Islamic Fundamentalists in Holland and elsewhere? By suggesting that we really should have a ‘Muslim Holiday’ in Germany? I wish I were joking, but I am not. A substantial fraction of our… Government, and if the polls are to be believed, the German people, actually believe that creating an Official State ‘Muslim Holiday’ will somehow spare us from the wrath of the fanatical Islamists. One cannot help but recall Britain’s Neville Chamberlain waving the laughable treaty signed by Adolph Hitler and declaring European ‘Peace in our time’.

“What else has to happen before the European public and its political leadership get it?… Only two recent American Presidents had the courage needed for Anti-appeasement: Reagan and Bush. His American critics may quibble over the details, but we Europeans know the truth. We saw it first hand: Ronald Reagan ended the Cold War, freeing half of the German people from nearly 50 years of terror and virtual slavery. And Bush, supported only by the Social Democrat Blair, acting on moral conviction, recognized the danger in the Islamic War against Democracy… [We] listen to TV pastors preach about the need to ‘reach out to terrorists. To understand and forgive’. These days, Europe reminds me of an old woman who, with shaking hands, frantically hides her last pieces of jewelry when she notices a robber breaking into a neighbor’s house. Appeasement? Europe, thy name is Cowardice.”

War With Iran Is Coming

On August 10, 2006, TIA Daily published a provocative article with the catching headline, “Five Minutes to Midnight.” Even though some, if not much, of the article is to be viewed as propaganda for the purpose of advocating war with Iran, some of the statements are noteworthy. We quote selected excerpts, as follows:

“It is, indeed, ‘five minutes to midnight’–not just for Israel, but for the West. The time is very short now before we will have to confront Iran… We can’t avoid this war, because Iran won’t let us avoid it. That is the real analogy to the 1930s. Hitler came to power espousing the goal of German world domination, openly promising to conquer neighboring nations through military force and to persecute and murder Europe’s Jews. He predicted that the free nations of the world would be too weak–too morally weak–to stand up to him, and European and American leaders spent the 1930s reinforcing that impression. So Hitler kept advancing–the militarization of the Rhineland in 1936, the Spanish bombing campaign in 1937, the annexation of Austria and the invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1938, the invasion of Poland in 1939–until the West finally, belated[ly] decided there was no alternative but war.

“That is what is playing out today. Iran’s theocracy has chosen, as the nation’s new president, a religious fanatic who believes in the impending, apocalyptic triumph of Islam over the infidels. He openly proclaims his desire to create an Iranian-led Axis that will unite the Middle East in the battle against America, and he proclaims his desire to ‘wipe Israel off the map,’ telling an audience of Muslim leaders that ‘the main solution’ to the conflict in Lebanon is ‘the elimination of the Zionist regime.'”

Haider’s Tirades

The European Jewish Press reported on August 13:

“Tension between Austria’s far right-wing strongman Joerg Haider and the president of the country’s Jewish Community (IKG) has intensified after the two clashed over the Hezbollah-Israeli conflict. Far-right leader Haider said that IKG President Ariel Muzicant belonged to ‘those Zionist provocateurs in the West who defend the murder of dozens of children and hundreds of civilians and the destruction of bridges in order to stop people from fleeing and aid getting in, as well as the killing of UN soldiers, and with it justify a senseless war by Israel’. He added that ‘Muzicant’s credo and that of the Israeli warmongers in the Middle East’ is ‘an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, instead of finding a peaceful solution without further violence,’ the respected daily ‘Die Presse’ reported…

“Haider’s tirade came after Muzicant criticised the ‘one-sidedness’ of discussions in Austria about the conflict. And he said politicians were trying to ‘use the tragedy in the Middle East for their own election purposes’, which he described as ‘tasteless’… Opposition towards Israel in Austria is mounting…”

The Risk of Nuclear Energy

On August 7, 2006, Der Spiegel Online raised some critical questions regarding the “vulnerability inherent in the process of producing nuclear energy.” In the article, titled, “How Close Did Sweden Come to Disaster?”, it is stated:

“The culprit was as simple as it was troubling: a short-circuit. But that short-circuit caused an electricity failure that nearly led to [a] catastrophe at Sweden’s Forsmark 1 nuclear reactor. Nearly two weeks ago, around noon on July 25, a power outage occured at Forsmark, throwing the plant’s control room into a state of chaos. As the power failed, so did two of the plant’s four emergency backup generators. The numbers on the controls started to go berserk, and it took a full 23 minutes before the workers, who for a time had no idea what was happening inside the reactor, were able to bring Forsmark 1 back under control.

“Describing the mishap, the environmental organization Greenpeace wrote that the events at Forsmark were comparable to a ‘ghost ship,’ with nobody at the rudder… Swedish nuclear expert Lars-Olov Högland, who served as chief of construction for Vattenfall until 1986, put it far more dramatically. ‘It was pure luck that there was not a meltdown,’ he said. ‘It was the worst incident since Chernobyl and Harrisburg,’ a reference to the 1979 meltdown at Three-Mile Island in Pennsylvania.

“… the incident shows yet again how vulnerable nuclear power plants are to a failure in electricity systems. ‘Nuclear power plants can quickly spin out of control and lead to meltdowns if short circuits or even power surges occur,’ warned Henrik Paulitz, of the German chapter of the group International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War. Paulitz also took the opportunity to point out that Germany’s nuclear plants haven’t been immune to problems either. They included a power failure at Germany’s Biblis B nuclear reactor on Feb. 8, 2004. ‘And that was just because the weather was bad and there was a short in the power line,’ he recalled. Less than a decade earlier, in 1986, lightning disrupted operations at the plant. And in 1992, at a plant in Philippsburg, Germany, a defective electrical component caused an incident that had similarities with the July 25 incident in Sweden.”

Abortion and Confused World Religions

On August 13, 2006, USA Today published a lengthy article on the view point of influential religions on abortion. The emerging picture is one of utter confusion. If we follow God’s authoritative Holy Word, the Bible, we must conclude that abortion is ALWAYS wrong and NEVER justified, and that human life begins with the moment of conception. (For more information, please read our free booklet, “Are You Already Born Again?”) We are reproducing the following excerpts from the article in USA Today:

“Roman Catholicism:

“The popes have taught that abortion is always forbidden, and the church hierarchy has held to a doctrine that strongly opposes it. Even so, grounds for permitting abortion exist in the Catholic tradition, and many Catholic theological authorities permit abortion in a variety of situations. There is even a pro-choice Catholic saint, the 15th century archbishop of Florence, St. Antoninus. He approved of early abortions when needed to save the life of the mother, a huge category in his day. There is thus no one Catholic view.

“Protestantism:

“Conservative Protestants usually condemn abortion, but Protestants are largely open to a moral choice on abortion. The Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice reports that some abortion rights are accepted within denominations, including Baptists, Disciples of Christ, Quakers, the Episcopal and Presbyterian churches, Methodists, United Church of Christ and Unitarian churches. The United Methodist General Conference was typical of mainline Protestant churches when it rejected ‘simplistic answers to the problem of abortion which, on the one hand, regard all abortions as murders, or, on the other hand, regard all abortions as procedures without moral significance.’

“Judaism:

“Because of the survival challenges Jews have faced historically, Judaism places great stress on children as a blessing. Nonetheless, as Orthodox theologian Laurie Zoloth says, ‘Abortion appears as an option for Jewish women from the earliest sources of the Bible and Mishnaic commentary.’ According to most Jewish authorities, the fetus does not have the status of a nefesh, a person, until the head emerges in the birthing process. This does not mean, however, that late-term abortions would be deemed acceptable in all circumstances. In some cases, performing an abortion is even considered a mitzvah, a sacred duty, not a ‘lesser evil.’

“Islam:

“Like all religions, it highly prizes fertility. Even so, Islam believes that we are obligated by God not to overpopulate. As Islamic scholar Azizah al-Hibri says, ‘The majority of Muslim scholars permit abortion, although they differ on the stage of fetal development beyond which it becomes prohibited.’ After 120 days, abortion is permissible only to save the mother’s life, where the pregnancy is harming an already suckling child, or when it is known that the fetus is malformed. Though the various schools of Islam differ on the time in which an abortion is permitted, al-Hibri says all “permit abortion for exigencies such as saving the mother’s life.'”

Although in most cases, human anger is wrong, there is nothing wrong with godly indignation or wrath, which is always righteous. But we need to understand the nature of godly anger, and against whom or what it is directed.

The context of Psalm 7 shows that “Cush, a Benjamite,” persecuted innocent David. According to the Soncino commentary, Cush is a designation for King Saul. David expresses to God his innocence (vv. 3-5, 8), and asks God to take care of his situation. He points out that God will rise in His anger (verse 6), and that He “hath indignation every day” (according to Soncino). The New King James Bible ADDED the words, “with the wicked,” which do not appear in the original Hebrew. However, the addition is in accordance with the intended meaning.
Soncino explains:

“He [David] removes the false impression he may have created in the foregoing that God had been indifferent to what had happened to him, and that he called upon Him to adjudicate because He had failed to do so. He admits that God is indignant with the wicked every day, constantly.”

It is important to note WHY God is angry with the wicked. Verse 12 explains: “If he does not turn back [that is, if he does not repent of his evil deeds], He [God] will sharpen His sword.” That is, God will fight against him, and his own evil and “violent dealing shall come down on his own crown” (verse 16).

Psalm 7 expresses and describes an important character trait of God: God is slow to anger (Psalm 103:8) and ready to pardon or to forgive (Nehemiah 9:17). God’s anger only lasts just for a moment (Psalm 30:5). However, God’s patience is not without limit. God is angry at sin and sinful, rebellious conduct. But God’s anger ceases when man repents of his sin.

King Solomon understood that when man sins, God becomes angry with man and brings trouble upon him (compare 1 Kings 8:46). He also understood that when man sincerely repents of his evil deeds, God forgives and helps man out of trouble (vv. 47-50).

There are many examples in the Bible, showing that God’s hot anger is kindled against man because of sin. As we saw, God became angry in Old Testament times (cp. Judges 2:11-14). Jesus Christ became angry too when He saw the hardness and stubbornness of the Pharisees who rebelled against God’s mercy and compassion for suffering people (cp. Mark 3:5). And God will pour out His fierce anger on rebellious mankind, in an unparalleled way, in the not-too-distant future.

We are told in Scripture that the day of the LORD is at hand—a time of God’s wrath and hot displeasure when God will intervene in human affairs and punish those who rebel against Him.

Isaiah 13:9, 11, 13 says: “Behold, the day of the LORD comes, Cruel, with both wrath and fierce anger, To lay the land desolate; And He will destroy its sinners from it… ‘I will punish the world for its evil, And the wicked for their iniquity; I will halt the arrogance of the proud, And will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible… Therefore I will shake the heavens, And the earth will move out of her place, In the wrath of the LORD of hosts And in the day of His fierce anger.’”

Isaiah 66:15-17 includes additional aspects of God’s anger to be poured out on this world in a few years from now. Also, Micah 5:15 states: “And I will execute vengeance in anger and fury On the nations that have not heard [or obeyed, as the margin has it].”

God is angry with wicked people every day who refuse to repent, and who, instead, harm others. We read in Revelation 11:18: “The nations were angry, and Your wrath has come… that you should destroy those who destroy the earth.”

God is also angry with those who refuse to respond to His call for salvation. In the parable of the Great Supper, in Luke 14, God is depicted as a man or master who gave a great supper and invited many people. But they all began to make excuses, refusing to attend the supper. In verse 21, we read that the master of the house became angry with those people.

God’s righteous indignation is directed at rebellious mankind who refuse to obey God and to repent of their evil and wicked deeds. This world will soon wake up to the fact that God CAN BE VERY ANGRY—and it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God (Hebrews 10:31). Those who permanently and rebelliously refuse to submit to God, even though they know better, will pay the price. Hebrews 10:26-27 says:

“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.”

Shortly after the “day of the LORD” has begun, Jesus Christ will return to this earth, to establish the Kingdom and government of God. He will come to reward the righteous and to punish the wicked who do not know and obey God and His Word (2 Thessalonians 1:3-8). We need to make sure that we don’t belong to those with whom God is angry “every day.”

Lead Writer: Norbert Link

A new member letter has been written and sent out. It is also posted
on the Web. In the letter, Brian Gale addresses the importance of watching
current world events, in light of Biblical prophecy, and, most
importantly, our own personal spiritual condition.

Our new book
on Prayer has been sent to our graphic designer, Shelly Bruno, for
finalization and forwarding to the printer in Canada.

A new StandingWatch program has been posted on the Web. It is titled: “Terrorism and Your Protection!”

Set forth below is a summary of the program:

Terrorists
were plotting to destroy, with liquid explosives, several airplanes
flying from England to America. Fortunately, governmental agencies
intervened before the plot could be carried out. What prompts
terrorists–in this case presumably fanatic radical Muslims–to commit
suicide and mass murder? As a consequence to this recent plot to kill
innocent people, new stringent restrictions were implemented for all
travelers, but the security levels differ from country to country. Why
these inconsistencies? And can those restrictions really give us safety
and security?

On August 12, 2006, Norbert Link will give the sermon, titled, “Why Not Heaven, Part 2.”

The first part of this two-part series was given on March 4, 2006, and is posted on the Web.

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.

WHY would someone cry?

There are many reasons–some cry for
great loss or for fear, and some cry in a crowning moment of joy! Jesus
Christ experienced this emotion, and we find a record of at least two
occurrences in His life when He, also, wept.

In one instance,
Jesus shed tears as Martha, Mary and their friends mourned the death of
their brother, Lazarus. In the record of this account, found in John
11, it is shown that Jesus was very close to these people–they were
His friends: “Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus” (verse
5). Even knowing that He would resurrect Lazarus through the power of
God, Jesus was deeply moved and felt empathy for those who were so
distraught over their loss (John 11:35).

Another time, the Bible
also records that Jesus wept: “Now as He drew near, He saw the city and
wept over it” (Luke 19:41). In this case, Jesus clearly understood the
horrific future that lay ahead for Jerusalem and its people. He knew
that His countrymen were about to face God’s punishment for their sins,
and even though He also knew that His fellow Jews would seek His death,
He agonized over what they were about to suffer.

In a similar
way, we who are ambassadors of Jesus Christ know what lies in store for
this world! We also know that our fellow citizens–even those who call
themselves “Christians”–may soon seek to kill some of us (Compare
Matthew 24:9-10). Nonetheless, we must do as Jesus did and that is to
deeply love and care for even those who would stand as our enemies
(Compare Matthew 5:43-48).

We live in the beginning events of the
end of this age–in a time of “wars and rumors of wars” (Matthew 24:6).
As we watch unspeakable savagery and violence filling the earth, we
might become calloused and hardened to the barrage of news events that
report nothing but greater and greater turmoil all over the world, but
we must not!

Ours is the ONLY message of hope. It is the GOOD
NEWS of God–of the fact that He will intervene by sending Jesus Christ
to SAVE THIS WORLD! As we deliver this truth, some of us will face an
increasing onslaught of terrible trials both personally and in our
communities and nations.

Stay tender hearted! Care deeply!
Recognize, as Jesus did, that there does arise–even a time to cry
(Ecclesiastes 3:4; Romans 12:15).

Mass Murder on an Unimaginable Scale!

BBC News reported early Thursday morning of yet another terrorist plan: “A plot to blow up planes in flight from the UK to the US and commit ‘mass murder on an unimaginable scale’ has been disrupted, Scotland Yard has said.”

The article pointed out that 21 individuals have been arrested. Widespread news coverage also indicated that other suspects were being sought. Additionally, fear of alternate plans by embedded terrorists cells has been voiced.

This latest plot has had immediate and wide-ranging consequences. Bloomberg.com reports: “European airline schedules were disrupted and passengers inconvenienced after U.K. anti-terror police said they foiled a plan to blow up airliners traveling to the U.S. and imposed travel restrictions.

“Delays and cancellations were most severe at London Heathrow Airport, Europe’s busiest. Flights from European destinations were canceled and some outbound flights were dropped as well. Extra security procedures are causing serious delays on the ground. British Airways Plc canceled all short-haul Heathrow flights.”

In the U.S., stringent new security checks were implemented forcing travelers to avoid many carry-on items. Lines at terminals–both pedestrian and automobile–grew ponderously across North America.

Indeed, nations all over the planet are being affected by this latest terrorist plot. The relative safety and freedom to travel that was enjoyed in the recent past has been severely damaged. People are fearful, and these events are evidence of prophetic warnings found in the Bible. For more information , please read our booklet, “The Fall and Rise of Britain and America.”

Earthquake Changed Earth’s Gravity

UPI reported on August 3:

“U.S. scientists say they’ve determined Earth’s gravity changed as a result of the giant 2004 Sumatran earthquake… The 9.1-magnitude December 2004 Sumatra-Andaman earthquake in the Indian Ocean produced a tsunami that killed approximately 230,000 people, while displacing more than 1 million others. The event followed the slipping of two continental plates under the seafloor that raised [the] ocean bed in the region by several feet for thousands of square miles.”

The earthquakes, which we have been experiencing so far, are only tiny forerunners of earthquakes which are prophesied to occur in the future. For instance, we read in Revelation 16:18, 20:

“…and there was a great earthquake, such a mighty and great earthquake as had not occurred since men were on the earth… Then every island fled away, and the mountains were not found…”

Shiites Against Israel and the USA

The Associated Press reported on August 4:

“Hundreds of thousands of Shiites chanting ‘Death to Israel’ and ‘Death to America’ marched through the streets of Baghdad’s biggest Shiite district Friday in a massive show of support for Hezbollah in its battle against Israel… The demonstration was the biggest in the Middle East in support of Hezbollah since Israel launched its attacks against the guerrillas in Lebanon on July 12. The protest was organized by radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr… Al-Sadr followers painted U.S. and Israeli flags on the main road leading to the rally site, and demonstrators stepped on them–a gesture of contempt in Iraq. Alongside the painted flags was written: ‘These are the terrorists.’ “Protesters set fire to American and Israeli flags, as well as effigies of President George W. Bush and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, showing the men with Dracula teeth… Iraqi government television said the Defense Ministry had approved the demonstration, a sign of the public anger over Israel’s offensive in Lebanon and of al-Sadr’s stature as a major player in Iraqi politics… Although the rally was about Hezbollah, it was also a show of strength by al-Sadr…”

The wrath of the Muslim world is turning against Israel and the United States of America. To understand why, please read our free booklets, “The Fall and Rise of Britain and America,” and “The Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord.”

Civil War in Iraq

The BBC stated on August 3:

“Civil war is a more likely outcome in Iraq than democracy, Britain’s outgoing ambassador in Baghdad has warned Tony Blair in a confidential memo. William Patey, who left the Iraqi capital last week, also predicted the break-up of Iraq along ethnic lines… BBC correspondent Paul Wood said although the document does not contradict government denials that civil war is imminent, ‘it is a devastating official assessment of the prospects for a peaceful Iraq, and stands in stark contrast to the public rhetoric’…

“Talking about the Shia militias blamed for many killings, Mr Patey added: ‘If we are to avoid a descent into civil war and anarchy then preventing the Jaish al-Mahdi (the Mahdi Army) from developing into a state within a state, as Hezbollah has done in Lebanon, will be a priority.’ The cable says that ‘the next six months are crucial’–an assessment which is shared by the coalition’s military commanders. Senior military sources told the BBC it was ‘make or break’ time in Iraq. The Americans are sending thousands of extra troops to Baghdad, starting next week. “

A King of Germany?

Bild Online reported on August 4, that the respectable Count of Wuerttemberg, Carl Herzog von Wuerttemberg, recommended that Germany embrace a monarchy under a German king. He stated that for him, the monarchy is the best form of government. He added that a king, who would be ruling for life, could accomplish much more than temporary politicians. He also recommended that the new king should be Georg Friedrich Ferdinand von Preußen (30). He would not only be King, but also Emperor (Kaiser), as his great-great-grandfather was Germany’s last Emperor, Kaiser Wilhelm II., who reigned from 1888 to 1918.

If one is tempted to dismiss this idea as too far-fetched, let’s consider that the Minister President of Baden-Wuerttemberg, Günther Oettinger (52, CDU), showed sympathy for the concept. He was quoted by Bild Online as saying: “I can understand this idea. If we had a king, we could rule under him in a democratic fashion.”

Although it is not necessary for the fulfillment of Biblical prophecy that Germany, as well as other European countries, will be ruled again by literal kings or even emperors, this possibility cannot be ruled out. Revelation 17:12 talks about a coming United States of Europe, comparing its ten leaders with ten horns. The passage states: “The ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have received no kingdom as yet, but they receive authority for one hour as kings with the beast [a future European military leader].” The next verse predicts that these ten kings–European leaders who MIGHT be literal kings or emperors–“will give their power and authority to the beast.”

For more information, please read our free booklet, “Europe in Prophecy.”

Germans Interested in Islam

WorldNetDaily reported on August 5:

“More and more Germans are converting to Islam. Last year approximately 4,000 persons became Muslims. According to the Central Islam-Institute in Soest, the numbers have been rising since the turn of the century. Up to the year 2000 the annual number of conversions stagnated at 300, but it has been rising ever since…  there are 3.2 million Muslims in Germany. Most of them are Turkish immigrants… Currently there are 143 full-fledged mosques, with 128 more in the planning or building stages. In addition Muslims gather in 2,600 prayer and meeting places…”

The article continued to state:

“Approximately two-thirds of the 82 million inhabitants [of Germany] are church members. The Protestant Churches have 25.6 million members and the Roman Catholic Church 25.8 million. Approximately 500,000 Germans belong to smaller, often evangelical churches such as Baptists or Pentecostals… It has been noted by the churches that interest in religion is rising in Germany, but it is not focused on Christianity. Today, the citizens in Martin Luther’s home country are equally fascinated by esoteric practices, Buddhism and Islam.”

Today, German “Christianity” is evenly divided between Catholicism and Protestantism, and some Germans are looking for alternatives by embracing non-Christian religions. But in the near future, the religion of Germany–as well as of Europe and the entire world–will become united under the influence of one strong religious power. Revelation 17:18 explains that a worldwide religion, symbolized by a woman who is also identified as a city built on seven hills (verse 9), will reign “over the kings of the earth.” We are also told in the same chapter that she will sit “on many waters” (verse 1), which are “peoples, multitudes, nations and tongues” (verse 15).

Hell On Earth–Again?

WorldNetNews reported on August 7:

“As tens of thousands of people gathered at Hiroshima in Japan to mark the 61st anniversary of the day an atomic bomb created ‘hell on Earth’, Iran yesterday rejected a United Nations resolution calling for Tehran to halt its nuclear programme. Iran said it would expand its efforts to develop nuclear power, which the United States and Europe fear is aimed at making a bomb, and warned that any UN sanctions aimed at halting its uranium enrichment would bring a ‘painful’ response, possibly including a cut in oil exports.

“The news came amid reports that Iran had tried to import bomb-making uranium from the African mine that produced the material used to make the Second World War Hiroshima bomb, which killed 140,000 people. Speaking from near the epicentre of the devastating blast, Tadatoshi Akiba, the mayor of Hiroshima, called for the destruction of all nuclear weapons and expressed concern that a growing number of countries were developing them… A bell rang at 8:15am, marking the time when an American B-29 bomber, Enola Gay, dropped its deadly payload on Hiroshima on 6 August, 1945. It was the first atomic bomb ever used in war.”

The sad news is that we will experience NUCLEAR WAR in the future! Man has not learned the bitter lessons from history, and so he is bound to repeat his past mistakes. In fact, man’s futile attempts to bring peace through war–including nuclear war–will result in the potential destruction of this earth and the potential annihilation of mankind. Christ said that if He was not to return to end the madness of human endeavors, no human being would be saved alive (Matthew 24:21-22). But the good news is that Christ will return to save us from ourselves, by destroying those who destroy the earth (Revelation 11:18). For more information, please read our free booklet, “The Gospel of the Kingdom of God.”

Israel’s Leading Author Speaks Out

On August 7, 2006, Der Spiegel Online published an interview with Israel’s leading author, Meir Shalev. Shalev is the son of poet Itzhak Shalev. He studied psychology at the Hebrew University and has produced and hosted several radio and television programs; he is also a regular columnist in the Israeli press. Apart from his novels, some of which have been bestsellers abroad as well as in Israel, Shalev writes books for children and non-fiction. Shalev has received the Bernstein Prize (1989) and the Juliet Club Prize (Italy, 1999). His work has been translated into over 20 languages.

In the interview, Shalev discussed the situation in the Middle East, as follows:

“The cause of the war was a just one, but the conduct has not been. And by this I do not just mean the tragedy of Qana, but also what already happened in the first days: Attacking Beirut like this, killing civilians in Lebanon. From the very first day we should have limited ourselves to attacks against the Hezbollah strongholds along the Israeli-Lebanese border… (Hezbollah leader) Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah drives everybody crazy in Israel… Even if they [the Israelis] warn the people, many people are not able to leave their towns, especially since roads, bridges, ports and the airport have been destroyed. But it is not only a question of morality. These Lebanese are going to be our neighbors forever, but many people are now against Israel. These citizens would support us if we had conducted our fight with the Hezbollah in a more measured way…

“Many Lebanese people were against the Hezbollah. It is a danger to their whole country, especially in a city like Beirut which is very open and liberal. Because the fundamentalists one day will try to forbid this Western way of life. At the beginning of the war you could see from the declarations of various Lebanese leaders that even they were quite satisfied that Israel took care of the Hezbollah. But we went into Lebanon like angry bulls into the arena, attacking anything that moves… In a true democracy, a leader with enough self-assurance does not talk the way [Israel’s Prime Minister] Olmert does… Olmert should have defined the objectives of the war from the beginning. But all he said was: ‘We will be victorious’ without defining what victory means. Also with defense minister Amir Peretz we cannot win… Olmert and Peretz behave like two bullies in a pub… Despite that, we will win at the end, because the Israeli society is smarter than its political leaders.”

The bitter lesson of history is that human wars don’t bring lasting peace. Mankind, including the intellectuals, politicians and brilliant minds of this world, has not yet understood this godly wisdom, erroneously believing that human violence works. But Jesus Christ told us: “Put your sword in its place, for ALL who take the sword will PERISH by the sword!” (Matthew 26:52). Revelation 13:10 confirms that those who kill with the sword “must be killed with the sword.” The passage continues to tell us that we can only deal correctly with challenging situations, when we have “the patience and the faith of the saints.”

The time will come when Christ will rule on this earth, teaching man that human wars don’t bring peace. At that time, “they shall beat their swords into plowshares, And their spears into pruning hooks; Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, Neither shall they LEARN WAR anymore” (Isaiah 2:4).

Christ is already teaching those who have open ears and eyes and who are WILLING to LISTEN to God, that human wars are WRONG. For more information, please read our free booklet, “Should YOU Fight in War?”

Proposed UN Security Council Resolution

Der Spiegel Online reported on August 7:

“The UN Security Council resolution drafted by the United States and France at the weekend calls for Hezbollah to stop all hostile operations and for Israel to stop its military drive into Lebanon. But already being questioned by other Security Council members, the proposal would allow Israel to strike back if Hezbollah were to break a cease-fire. Other Council members have suggested amendments because they feel the draft doesn’t take enough account of Lebanon’s concerns. Lebanon has urged the Council to revise the resolution to demand that Israel pull its forces out of the country once hostilities end and hand over its positions to UN peacekeepers. The draft makes no mention of an Israeli withdrawal…

“Left-wing Die Tageszeitung calls the draft resolution a diplomatic victory for the United States and Israel, but adds that it won’t do much good… The newspaper predicts: ‘The war will continue, despite or because of this resolution. The Shiite militia will nurture its role as resistance army against the invaders and will go on fighting. Even after almost four weeks of fighting it still has enough… fighters. And Israel will continue to justify further offensives by saying they are in reaction to these attacks, but is really fighting to decimate the ranks of Hezbollah…’

“Conservative Die Welt writes that if the Security Council had taken its last Lebanon resolution seriously, Hezbollah wouldn’t have any rockets now. ‘But the UN left it to Israel to put Resolution 1559 into force and disarm Hezbollah. Now it has a war on its hands.’ The paper adds: ‘Perhaps the new document will fare better than 1559. It won’t do any harm. It might end up bringing a peace force into Lebanon. But caution is warranted here too. The soldiers mustn’t operate like the current blue helmets in Lebanon who were smoking and playing cards while Hezbollah fired off rockets and abducted Israelis.’ “Center-left daily Süddeutsche Zeitung writes that America has undermined its credibility in the region by waging, and losing, the war in Iraq. ‘America’s weakness has laden Europe with new, unanticipated burdens. Take Lebanon for example: helping to rebuild it will not only cost French, Italians or Germans money but will also cost some of their soldiers’ lives.'”

Austrian Governor vs. Jewish Community

On August 8, The Gulf Times published an article about an ongoing controversy in Austria between Carinthian Governor Joerg Haider and Jewish Community president Ariel Muzicant. The article stated:

“Without naming Haider directly, Muzicant charged in the government paper Wiener Zeitung on Sunday that in Austria, ‘anti-Semites’ were commenting on the ‘tragedy in the Middle East’ by accusing Israel of ‘war crimes’ even though they knew better. These same people regarded the date of the Nazi capitulation, May 8, 1945, as the beginning of Allied ‘occupation’. They also had difficulties putting up a few bilingual signs, Muzicant said, referring to a struggle between Haider and the Supreme Court, with the governor resisting rulings for more German-Slovenian urban signs in his province.

“Haider reacted promptly. He accused Muzicant of being ‘among those Zionist provocateurs in the West who defend the murder of dozens of children and hundreds of civilians, the blowing up of bridges to cut off flight and aid routes, and the killing of UN soldiers, and thereby justify a senseless war by Israel’. Haider earlier demanded the expulsion of the Israeli ambassador in Vienna, and war-crimes trials for ‘warmongers in Israel.'”

Israel Accused of Preventing Humanitarian Aid

The German press, including Der Stern Online and Der Spiegel Online, have accused Israel of deliberately preventing humanitarian aid and food supplies from reaching the Lebanese people. On August 7, Der Stern ran an article, titled, “Israel Prohibits Humanitarian Aid.” It continued to allege that Israel revoked any permission to humanitarian aid organizations, such as the Red Cross, to distribute food and medical supplies to civilians in southern Lebanon, and tons of food and supplies have been stored at harbors for several days. The Red Cross also charged Israel with having broken their word to provide humanitarian aid organizations with military protection. According to the Red Cross, there are presently 100,000 civilians in southern Lebanon and up to 67,000 civilians in Tyre, who are in dire need of food and medical supplies. It is also charged that Israel prohibited a Greek ship with food and medical supplies to enter the harbor of Tyre.

Der Spiegel Online added on August 8 in its article, titled, “Helpers Accuse Israel of Massive Obstruction,” that Israel is deliberately sabotaging any attempts to bring food or medical supplies into places like Tyre, which has been totally isolated from the outside world.

Whether these reports are true or not, they will assist in turning world opinion against Israel. Ultimately, Israel might find itself in a totally isolated position–a development which is strongly indicated to happen in Biblical prophecy.

VJ Day in Japan

On August 9, The Times Online published an article about Japan’s forthcoming VJ Day on August 15. It was stated:

“There are still six days to go until August 15, the anniversary of Japan’s surrender in the Second World War, and already the right-wing activists are out on the streets in their pseudo-military uniforms emblazoned with the Japanese imperial symbol of the rising sun… It is against this backdrop that the outgoing Prime Minister of Japan, Junichiro Koizumi, has said that he is minded to keep the promise he made during his 2001 election campaign to visit the Yasukuni war shrine on August 15. Mr Koizumi has visited the shrine five times during his tenure as PM, and on each occasion it has sparked a fairly serious international reaction–particularly in China, where there was rioting, and in South Korea, both of which countries suffered badly from Japanese imperialism. None of those visits was, however, made on the actual anniversary of VJ Day, Japan’s surrender, as Mr Koizumi promised he would if he became Prime Minister. Were he to do it, it would be a real bonus for the right-wingers, as most previous PMs have studiously avoided visiting Yasukuni.”

The article continued:

“Japan was fascinated to read leaked memos in the last three weeks that finally explained the reason why neither the current Japanese Emperor, nor Emperor Hirohito, who died in 1989, have visited Yasukuni since 1978. In the memos, Hirohito is quoted in conversation with his chief chamberlain, saying that he can’t understand why the High Priest has recently decided to incorporate into the shrine the names of 14 Class A war criminals convicted at these trials–Japan’s equivalent of Nuremberg–as this has posed a real problem and made a visit unpalatable. Mr Koizumi is stepping down as PM next month, so he has six days in which to decide whether to keep his promise.”

No, it does not mean that at all. Quite to the contrary, we are
clearly told in Scripture, so that we CAN know, what our destiny is. We
read in Ephesians 3:14-19 that it is our destiny to become spirit
members within the Family of God, and that we KNOW that we are to be
filled with “all the fullness of God.”

1 John 3:2 does not tell
us something different. In fact, this passage CONFIRMS, rightly
understood, that we DO know what our destiny is. When we read this
passage in context, it states:

“Beloved, now we are children of
God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we KNOW
that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as
He is.”

This passage tells us that we KNOW that when Christ is
revealed or manifested at His Second Coming, we will be LIKE Him.
Christ will return in glory (Matthew 24:30), and so we, too, will
appear or be manifested with Him in glory (Romans 8:17). Right now, we
are not yet filled with God’s glory, as we are still flesh and blood.
That is, it has not yet been revealed or manifested what we shall be,
because we are not yet powerful glorious God beings. But we do KNOW
that we will be glorious God beings–at the time of Christ’s return.

Notice the following Scriptures which make this understanding perfectly clear:

(1)
We read in 1 John 3:2 about the time when Christ is revealed. We read
about Christ’s revelation–talking about His RETURN–in many additional
places:

— 2 Thessalonians 1:7-8 says that when Christ is
“revealed from heaven with His mighty angels,” He will take vengeance
on those who disobey God.

— 1 Peter 4:13 tells us that when Christ’s glory is “revealed,” we will also be glad with exceeding joy.

— Luke 17:30 compares the time when Christ is “revealed” at His return with the time of Noah and Lot (verses 26-29).

(2)
We also read in 1 John 3:2 that when Christ is “revealed,” we will be
LIKE Him. That is, when Christ is revealed in glory, we, too, will be
revealed in glory. Again, note the following additional passages:

—
Romans 8:29 tells us that God “predestined us to be conformed to the
image of His Son,” with the ultimate goal of our glorification (verse
30).

— 1 Corinthians 15:49 adds that we “shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man”–Jesus Christ.

— Philippians 3:21 says that Christ will “transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body.”

So,
we have been TOLD WHAT we will be! But it has not been revealed yet–as
we have not been revealed or manifested yet in power and glory. But we
KNOW that we WILL be REVEALED or manifested as born-again God beings in
the near future. Notice Paul’s words in Romans 8:18-19:

“For I
consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be
compared with the GLORY which shall be REVEALED in us. For the earnest
expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the REVELATION of the
sons of God.”

Again, when is our glorious revelation going to
take place? At the time of Christ’s Second Coming! Note Colossians 3:4,
as it is correctly translated from the original Greek:

” When
Christ who is our life is manifested [or revealed], then you also will
be manifested [or revealed] with Him in glory” (compare Elberfelder
Uebersetzung). The New Revised Standard Version and the Revised English
Bible translate accurately: “When Christ who is your life is revealed,
then you also will be revealed with him in glory.”

Other
translations say, “when Christ… appears, then you also will appear
with Him in glory,” giving thereby the intended meaning that Christ’s
revelation will occur when He appears at His Second Coming. But all
renderings make it clear that we will be revealed or appear with Him in
glory, when He is revealed or appears. That is why we are to eagerly
wait “for the REVELATION of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians
1:7).

We can and do know our potential. That knowledge has been
revealed to us by God, but it has not been revealed yet to the world,
as we are still flesh and blood–not yet immortal God beings. Rather
than teaching us that we cannot know what we will be, 1 John 3:2 tells
us the exact opposite: We can and do know our potential, but the
manifestation of our potential has not occurred yet. That is, we are
not yet glorified! But when the glorified Jesus Christ is “revealed” or
appears at His Second Coming (1 John 2:28), we KNOW that we will also
appear with Him in glory–provided, however, that we have remained
faithful to God and His Son, Jesus Christ.

For more information on our destiny, please read our free booklets, “The Mysteries of the Bible,” “God Is a Family,” and “The Gospel of the Kingdom of God.”

Lead Writer: Norbert Link

Shelly and Frank Bruno, of Boulder, Colorado, have announced the
forthcoming birth of their first child, and would appreciate prayers for a healthy pregnancy. The due date is March of 2007.
Our congratulations to the Bruno family.

by Shelly Bruno

When I was in college I formulated ideas about
what I wanted to do with my life after graduation. It wasn’t too
detailed—just a basic timeframe for what I wanted and when I wanted to
achieve it. It goes something like this:

Graduate, focus on career
Marry at 28
Have kids around 30
Raise kids
Resume work when kids are in school
Focus on artistic career for retirement

So far my timing hasn’t really worked out—things didn’t happen when I
planned. The older I get the more I realize that my timing isn’t as
important to God as it is to me. He hears my requests, but He grants
them according to His plan for me. That was the case with having kids.
I had almost given up on the idea of having children even though I
continued to ask. And when I was starting to think the answer was no—it
turned out to be a surprising yes! This happened later in my life than
I imagined. And I have to wonder what crossed Sarah’s mind when she was
expecting a child much later than she had thought. God had a definite
plan for her life, and I take comfort in the fact that He has a plan
for mine.

So as I continue looking ahead to the rest of my
list, I’m going to focus more on God’s plan and timing for my life. He
knows far better than I do what is best for me and when the time is
right. I can be sure that with God in charge of the plan, everything
will work out.