On September 10, 2005, Edwin Pope will give the sermon, titled, “Does Your Life Reflect Christ?”

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

Most Christians have read the Bible, heard homilies preached from it and have studied topics contained therein. They have put an incredible amount of time into poring over the Scriptures of the Bible and have proved it to be the true Word of God. But have they considered all the other religious tomes of the world? Have they gone through the Koran, the Book of Mormon, the Analects of Confucius, the Bhagavad-Gita or any one of the other texts that religions around the world hold sacred? Have they validated the authenticity of these works? Have they given each writing due diligence?

If we did do this, we would not have time to do anything else. So what is the answer? Well, there is a shortcut that can be used to figure out whether we need to give credence to Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, or Xxxxxism. This also applies to the many different -isms of “Christianity,” as well as any followers of the Bible. It is found in Galatians 1:8-9, which states:

“But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed.”

This is the simple and straightforward answer. If ANYONE brings ANYTHING other than the Gospel Christ delivered — reject them out of hand. Do they preach the Sabbath and Holy Days? If they don’t, you will virtually eliminate most all other “gospels.” Do they advocate transgressing God’s commandment against killing under any circumstances? Then we do not need to read their litany of literature. If they do not live by and teach every Word of God, they are not preaching the same Gospel, and there is no need to go any further.

If a group deviates, or their “sacred” digests add or take away from the good news that we know to be the Gospel, this is the different Gospel alluded to in Galatians 1:6–from which we need to turn away.

For more information about the true Gospel of Jesus Christ, please read our booklet, “The Gospel of the Kingdom of God.”

Hurricane Katrina–God’s Wrath on Man?

Some have wondered and commented about the possibility that Hurricane Katrina was a direct outpouring of God’s Wrath on the people of New Orleans and other devastated areas–that God decided to punish the affected people for their sins. Based on the biblical evidence, we don’t believe that God “singled out” New Orleans, the rest of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. Rather, Christ said that the people on whom the tower of Siloam fell were not worse sinners than others, and He told His listener (and He is warning all of us today) that if they (and we) don’t repent, they (and we) will all LIKEWISE perish (compare Luke 13:4-5). Hurricane Katrina was a warning, no doubt (as we pointed out in our last StandingWatch program, titled, “More Disasters Will Strike…”). On the other hand, the time when GOD specifically pours out His plagues has not yet come. So far, it is still Satan who rules this world, but he can only do, of course, what God allows him to do. The Great Tribulation, still to come, which will begin BEFORE the Day of the Lord [which is also called the Day of God’s Wrath] constitutes “SATAN’S wrath” (compare Revelation 6:9-11, and the insert chapter of Revelation 12, especially verse 12). GOD’S Wrath will FOLLOW the Great Tribulation and the “Heavenly Signs” (compare Revelation 6:12-17).

When reading this week’s Current Events section, reporting on Hurricane Katrina, we should notice several disturbing thoughts for sure– the continuing downfall of the United States of America, its decreasing reputation and prestige in the world and the world’s assessment of blame on the leadership of the USA. We are publishing the following comments FOR THE PURPOSE OF INFORMING OUR READERSHIP ABOUT THE PROPHESIED ONGOING DETERIORATION BETWEEN THE USA AND THE REST OF THE WORLD–ESPECIALLY EUROPE. (You might want to read our free booklets, “The Fall and Rise of Britain and America” and “Europe in Prophecy,” which are posted on the Web.)

Reuters reported on September 2, 2005:

“The world has watched amazed as the planet’s only superpower struggles with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, with some saying the chaos has exposed flaws and deep divisions in American society… ‘Anarchy in the USA’ declared Britain’s best-selling newspaper The Sun. ‘Apocalypse Now’ headlined Germany’s Handelsblatt daily…
“Many newspapers highlighted criticism of local and state authorities and of President Bush. Some compared the sputtering relief effort with the massive amounts of money and resources poured into the war in Iraq.

“‘A modern metropolis sinking in water and into anarchy — it is a really cruel spectacle for a champion of security like Bush,’ France’s left-leaning Liberation newspaper said… Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn, in a veiled criticism of U.S. political thought, said the disaster showed the need for a strong state that could help poor people.”

More Reactions From the International Press–Has the Time of Reckoning Come?

The International press has been openly attacking the Bush Administration, alleging that it is incompetent, and that it is bringing shame on America.

When reading the following excerpts, these Scriptures about modern America (and Britain) might come to mind:

Ezekiel 22:4: “….You have caused your days to draw near, and have come to the end of your years; therefore I have made you a reproach to the nations, and a mockery to all countries.”

Ezekiel 22:5: “Those near and those far from you will mock you as infamous and full of tumult.”

The conservative German mass tabloid, Bild Online, wrote on Sunday, September 4, 2005:

“In addition to the suffering, there is ANGER against Bush. SHAME, shame for America. Citizens and politicians are abhorred about the mistakes of the crisis management. They allege that Bush has failed.” The paper concluded: “US actor Pierce Brosnan (‘James Bond’) attacked Bush directly. He said in Deauville (France): ‘I don’t know whether this man is really concerned about America. He will have to answer for a lot of things.'”

LA Provence (Marseille, France) stated that the time will come when one must ask questions of an “indifferent president who seems to be more concerned about Iraq than his own people.”

Le Monde (France) wrote: “The superpower … is INCAPABLE of handling a national catastrophe of such proportions. A discussion is underway in the USA whether it makes sense to spend hundreds of millions of dollars in Iraq, while there is inability to help its own citizens at home. Hurricane Katrina could become an historical (event) such as September 11… After Katrina, the world holds out its hand to a HUMILIATED America.”

Die Sonntagszeitung (Zurich) wrote: “President Bush will have to give an account to his own people, and to the rest of the world…These natural catastrophes cannot be viewed any longer as mere coincidences.”

La Repubblica (Rome) said: “We are seeing an AMERICAN POMPEII, which has been left to itself, and which is SLOWLY DYING.”

Il Messagero (Rome) stated that the mightiest army in the world could do nothing to prevent September 11, and that the biggest and most sophisticated technology could do nothing to prevent the disaster of Hurricane Katrina.

The Sunday Times (England) commented on Sunday, September 4, 2005: “This time, America’s vulnerability is coupled with incompetence… The only superpower in the world appears like an average Third World Country during a crisis.”

The Observer (England) wrote early September: “The conclusion that the leadership has failed tremendously is inescapable… President Bush did not immediately end his vacation, and when he spoke to the nation, he did not make it clear that he understood the severity of the situation.”

The Daily Mail (England) wrote on September 3, 2005, about the “humbling of a superpower,” pointing out: “Like some lurid scene from an apocalyptic disaster movie, a world-famous city is overwhelmed by the awesome forces of nature. Familiar landmarks lie half-submerged in a toxic swamp of polluted water. Thousands are feared dead. Images of desperate people smashing through the roofs of their homes to escape the floods fill our TV screens. But this is no Hollywood blockbuster. This is New Orleans today. The most exotic, un-American corner of the United States has fallen victim to a cataclysm that almost defies belief. A city the size of Sheffield will soon be lying completely empty, its residents fled, evacuated, or drowned. While Washington struggles to respond to the storm that has humbled the most powerful nation on the planet, we should perhaps reflect on how quickly the thin veneer of civilisation can be stripped away…

“Perhaps we shouldn’t be so surprised. George Bush, so decisive when it came to launching an illegal war on Iraq, froze like a rabbit in the headlamps… Now back in Washington, the President finds his reckless adventure in Iraq coming back to haunt him. The National Guard, the part-time soldiers whose prime role is to provide emergency services in natural disasters, have in large part been deployed overseas. Five thousand members of the Louisiana National Guard who should be spearheading the rescue effort watch the disaster unfold from their HQ – Camp Liberty, west of Baghdad. Equipment that could have been so valuable in the rescue operations is parked in depots there. The same is happening across all the neighbouring states, leaving Washington bereft of vital manpower as it grapples with the greatest homeland crisis in memory. Here is a superpower that can crush at will a tinpot dictatorship–but then becomes so bogged down in the grisly aftermath of war that it finds itself unable to respond anything like adequately to the plight of tens of thousands of its own citizens engulfed by a natural calamity. President Bush, his ratings already in free-fall, could pay a high price indeed for his military folly.”

The Independent (England), a conservative paper, wrote on Sunday, September 4, 2005: “New Orleans will have to be abandoned for at least nine months, and many of its people will remain homeless for up to two years, the US government believes. The bleak assessment will deepen the biggest crisis faced by President George Bush, who last week called the devastation of Hurricane Katrina a ‘temporary disruption’… The President is now facing a political hurricane of his own, with gathering criticism, even from inside his own party, for failing to heed warnings of the city’s vulnerability, cutting spending on its defences to pay for the wars on terror and in Iraq, and responding sluggishly to the worst natural catastrophe ever to hit his country… The criticism is all the sharper because the President did nothing to alter his holiday schedule for 48 hours. Vice-President Dick Cheney remains on holiday in Wyoming [as of the date of the publication].”

The Independent (England) wrote in another article, published on September 4, 2005: “Vital measures to protect New Orleans from ‘catastrophic’ hurricane damage were scrapped by the Bush administration to pay for its wars on terror and in Iraq, despite official warnings of impending disaster. Funding for flood prevention was slashed by 80 per cent, work on strengthening levees to protect the city was stopped for the first time in 37 years, and planning for housing stranded citizens and evacuating refugees from the Superdome were crippled. Yet the administration HAD BEEN WARNED repeatedly of the dangers by its own officials. In early 2001, at the start of Mr Bush’s presidency, his Government’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) warned that a HURRICANE HITTING NEW ORLEANS would be the DEADLIEST OF THE THREE MOST LIKELY CATASTROPHES facing America; the others were a MASSIVE SAN FRANCISCO EARTHQUAKE and, PROPHETICALLY, A TERRORIST ATTACK ON NEW YORK… Natural and man-made defences have long been neglected. A 10-year plan to strengthen levees after a 1965 hurricane was never completed. But the skimping has worsened since President Bush’s election, particularly after 11 September. Federal spending on flood control in south-east Louisiana has been cut by almost half since 2001.”

Der Spiegel Online republished, on September 3, 2005, an article which had been published in the New York Times, titled, “THE UNITED STATES OF SHAME.” It stated: “Stuff happens. And when you combine limited government with incompetent government, lethal stuff happens. America is once more plunged into a snake pit of anarchy, death, looting, raping, marauding thugs, suffering innocents, a shattered infrastructure, a gutted police force, insufficient troop levels and criminally negligent government planning. But this time it’s happening in America…

“Who on earth could have known that New Orleans’s sinking levees were at risk from a strong hurricane? Anybody who bothered to read the endless warnings over the years about the Big Easy’s uneasy fishbowl… Not only was the
money depleted by the Bush folly in Iraq; 30 percent of the National Guard and about half its equipment are in Iraq… Michael Brown… in charge of FEMA… admitted he didn’t know until Thursday that there were 15,000 desperate, dehydrated, hungry, angry, dying victims of Katrina in the New Orleans Convention Center…. When the president and vice president rashly shook off our allies and our respect for international law to pursue a war built on lies, when they sanctioned torture, they SHOOK THE FAITH OF THE WORLD IN AMERICAN IDEALS. When they were deaf for so long to the horrific misery and cries for help of the victims in New Orleans–most of them poor and black, like those stuck at the back of the evacuation line yesterday while 700 guests and employees of the Hyatt Hotel were bused out first–they SHOOK THE FAITH OF ALL AMERICANS IN AMERICAN IDEALS. AND MADE US ASHAMED. WHO ARE WE IF WE CAN’T TAKE CARE OF OUR OWN?”

On September 7, 2005, The Associated Press published an article with the headline: “Europeans Wonder About Slow Katrina Relief.” The article stated: “For four days, a C-130 transport plane ready to lift supplies to Katrina victims has stood idle at an air base in Sweden. The aid includes a water purification system that may be urgently needed amid signs deadly diseases could be spreading through fetid pools in New Orleans. The one thing that stands in the way of takeoff? Approval by U.S. officials. Although some foreign aid is on the way to the U.S., many international donors are complaining of frustration that bureaucratic entanglements are hindering shipments to the United States… The United States has accepted offers of nearly $1 billion in assistance from some 95 countries, said Harry K. Thomas Jr., the State Department’s executive secretary. One of those rejected came from Iran… because it was conditional… But Poland, Austria and Norway said they had not heard back on their aid offers, and countries outside Europe said they were also waiting for replies.”

The article continued:

“The global mobilization has been accompanied by widespread surprise at the mayhem in New Orleans. People around the world have been shocked by the images of the devastation, and also by the looting and disorder that followed and the perceived shortcomings in the response by U.S. authorities. ‘We have all watched as a large part of the United States fell from a First World society into Third World death, chaos and social breakdown,’ historian J.L. Granastein, a fellow of the Canadian Defense and Foreign Affairs Institute, wrote in Canada’s The Globe and Mail. Fintan O’Toole, writing in The Irish Times, said the disaster revealed ‘the underlying nature of a troubled country. When America looks at the huge expanse of filthy, fetid water that has drowned New Orleans, it becomes a mirror in which it finally sees the scars on its own face. The scars of poverty, of racism, of ideological zealotry, of public corruption and of environmental degradation, usually concealed by a cosmetic media, become visible,’ he wrote.”

According to AFP, China’s “most important state-run newspaper has accused US President George W. Bush and his administration of ‘negligence of duty’ in its response to the disaster wrought by Hurricane Katrina.” The article, which was published on September 8, 2005, continued: “‘… ever since “September 11″, the Congress had cut anti-flood allocation to Louisiana, which later became a main reason for the slow rescue work this time,’ said the officially controlled [Communist] paper. ‘In the face of the hurricane, Americans accepted the challenge but failed to beat it off. This is really a shame on the United States.’ It said the anarchy and chaos seen in New Orleans after the hurricane looked to the world like America was ‘fighting a city war at home.’ ‘New Orleans has become Baghdad,’ it said… ‘it revealed the fragility of American society, as well as despair and disorder in a state of anarchy.'”

America Needs Help!

MSNBC.com published the following article on September 7, 2005:

“From Germany, 25 tons of food rations and more on the way. Mexico sent bottled water. And from France, Red Cross workers flew to Baton Rouge to join in the relief effort. But big is too small a word to describe the international response to Hurricane Katrina–more than 60 nations have reached out and responded to America’s call for help. And it doesn’t capture the SHOCK that other countries have over the images that have emerged from the Gulf Coast. Here in Britain and elsewhere newspaper editorials are asking why the world’s only superpower APPEARS SO HELPLESS. The Independent newspaper in Britain declared on its front page Tuesday that people were dying because they were poor… And all across Europe people are talking about HOW AMERICA COULD GET IT SO WRONG. In the Middle East satellite news channels came up with an answer. In a word: ‘Iraq.’… Several Arab networks claim American can’t fight a war in Iraq and battle storm damage at home. One commentator said the natural disaster has put Iraq as the number-one issue in the United States, saying, ‘most Americans are drawing a link between the Iraq war and the delay in rescue efforts.’… The criticism from those with an agenda was predictable. Still there was GENUINE DISMAY from Arab countries expecting the U.S. to at least take care of their own. Egyptian newspapers called it SHOCKING that America was incapable of handling the disaster… At the London School of Economics, Professor Rodney Baker said the disaster has ALTERED AMERICA’S IMAGE.”

The article continued:

“But rich or poor, nations are lining up to help. How about the image of Afghanistan pledging a hundred thousand dollars? Or that Singaporeans are now flying rescue helicopters over New Orleans? Or that Sri Lanka, itself a victim of a national disaster during the tsunami, offered $25,000 to the Red Cross, all it could afford? So nations with little to offer give what they can PERHAPS IN RECOGNITION OF AMERICA’S LONG HISTORY OF GENEROSITY IN TIMES OF NEED.”

Horror Statistics and Facts

The Independent (England) wrote on September 4, 2005: “In New Orleans, fires burn amid a sea of sewage and uncounted corpses. Across the coast of the southern United States, up to 10,000 are killed, hundreds of thousands displaced, and nearly every shred of civilisation removed.”

The Associated Press wrote on September 4, 2005, that “Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt said Sunday the death toll from Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath is in the thousands, the first time a federal official has acknowledged what many had feared.”

AFP wrote on September 2, 2005: “US Senator David Vitter said that the death toll from Hurricane Katrina could top 10,000 in Louisiana alone.”

On September 2, 2005, The Huffington Post published an editorial by Randall Robinson, a social justice advocate and author whose works include, “The Debt–What America Owes to Blacks”: “It is reported that black hurricane victims in New Orleans have begun eating corpses to survive. Four days after the storm, thousands of blacks in New Orleans are dying like dogs.”

Incredible Lack of US Reserves of Crude and Heating Oil

Reuters reported on September 2, 2005:

“France, Germany, Spain and Italy [who have “SUBSTANTIAL emergency reserves”] declared they were ready to send fuel across the Atlantic… EU nations have watched in horror as the world’s richest country struggles with the aftermath of Katrina. Thousands are feared dead and troops in the flooded city of New Orleans have been told to shoot-to-kill to crack down on looting. Gasoline prices have soared by nearly a fifth over the past week and President George W. Bush has urged Americans to go easy on fuel… the United States has ONLY emergency reserves of crude and a SMALL stockpile of heating oil… ” The article pointed out, too, that “Europe’s pledge of gasoline may carry a POLITICAL PRICE for Washington.”

Need for Repentance

On September 3, 2005, WorldNetDaily published a statement by Billy Graham on the catastrophe in New Orleans. Although it proves to be a mixture of truth and error–in fact, more error than truth–we are quoting Graham, with approval, as follows:

“The disaster of Hurricane Katrina may be the worst tragedy America has known since the Civil War. The aftermath has almost been frightening… The tragedy is so overwhelming that it is beyond comprehension… The flood of refugees may be one of the greatest challenges our society has ever faced. It is clear that it will take years for thousands of lives to return to normal… Times like this will make us react in one of two ways: Either we will become bitter and angry–or we will realize our need of God and turn to Him in faith and trust… May this tragedy make each of us realize our need of God, and may we turn to Christ in repentance and faith and find our hope in Him.”

California Next?

The Los Angeles Times reported on September 8, 2005:

“U.S. Geological Survey seismologist Lucy Jones remembers attending an emergency training session in August 2001 with the Federal Emergency Management Agency that discussed the three most likely catastrophes to strike the United States. First on the list was a terrorist attack in New York. Second was a super-strength hurricane hitting New Orleans. Third was a major earthquake on the San Andreas fault. Now that the first two have come to pass, she and other earthquake experts are using the devastating aftermath of Hurricane Katrina as an opportunity to reassess how California would handle a major temblor… officials believe that a major temblor could cause the level of destruction and disruption [in California, especially Los Angeles] seen over the last week on the Gulf Coast…

“There are about 40,000 structures in California made from ‘non-ductile reinforced concrete,’ a rigid substance susceptible to cracking… A state study published last year on hazard reduction paints a sobering picture of California’s earthquake danger. About 62% of the population lives in a zone of high earthquake danger, including 100% of the population of Ventura County, 99% of Los Angeles County and 92% of Riverside County… One of the biggest concerns of seismic safety officials is the fate of hospitals… About 78% of hospitals have at least one building deemed at risk… A 2002 state study found that more than 7,500 school buildings across California are expected to ‘perform poorly’ in a major temblor… About 60% of Southern California’s water is imported from outside the region in three major aqueducts that cross the San Andreas fault, making them particularly vulnerable to major earthquake damage… Major gas lines also come into Southern California over the San Andreas at several points.”

Iraq in the News

The Catholic paper, Zenit, published the following article on September 2, 2005:

“The archbishop of Baghdad warns that there are ‘serious risks’ of civil war in Iraq… tensions are rising as the Shiites and the Sunnis fight over the future constitution. ‘We are still in great chaos, but perhaps this word does not express the daily tragedy of the situation… The chaos is fueled, in fact, by violence, which I would not describe as “blind,” as it seems to be very well planned and, therefore, perverse.’… Democracy ‘might come soon, but it might never come,’ continued the archbishop.”

TV Debate in Germany

As The Associated Press reported on September 4, 2005, “Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder reminded Germans of his opposition to the U.S.-led war in Iraq and his challenger Angela Merkel focused on unemployment, as the two squared off Sunday in a key televised debate [the only one agreed to by both parties] two weeks ahead of elections. The 90-minute debate, broadcast live during prime time, offered the beleaguered Schroeder an opportunity to showcase his strong television skills as polls give Merkel’s conservative Christian Democrats a double-digit advantage over his Social Democrats. Polls found that the media-savvy Schroeder performed better–an outcome that had been widely predicted… A poll of 1,276 people carried out for ARD television after the debate found that 49 percent believed Schroeder fared better overall, against 33 percent for Merkel.”

As Bild Online explained, 57 percent felt that Schroeder was more competent than Merkel; only 34 percent favored Merkel. 56 percent had more sympathy for Schroeder than for Merkel; only 34 percent favored Merkel. According to a poll for ZDF television, 48 percent believed that Schroeder was the victor of the debate; only 28 percent felt that Merkel had fared better.

It will have to be seen, what impact, if any, the TV debate will have on the governmental election on September 18, 2005.

Europe’s Galileo Satellite Navigation System

As Reuters reported on September 7, 2005, “India joined Europe’s Galileo satellite navigation system on Wednesday, becoming the fourth non-EU country to join the program that rivals the U.S. Global Positioning System. Galileo is Europe’s plan to create its own global navigation satellite system, with uses ranging from helping motorists navigate electronic maps to assisting search-and-rescue operations. It is scheduled to go into service in 2008 and eventually will have 30 satellites orbiting almost 24,000 km (15,000 miles) above the earth… China, Israel and Ukraine have already joined Galileo and talks were also underway with Argentina, Brazil, Morocco, Mexico, Norway [and] Chile… The project is meant to rival the U.S. Global Positioning System.”

Europe’s new navigation system is a big step towards independence from the US satellite system, which could also be used, of course, for military purposes.

We are told, in Genesis 4:1-2, of two sons born to Adam and Eve, i.e., Cain and Abel; and of the respective relationships of these two sons with God. This is a very familiar story to all. But once the story of Abel’s death through the wicked hands of Cain is told in the first fifteen verses of Genesis, chapter 4, we read in Genesis 4:16-17 of Cain moving to the east of Eden and of the conception of his wife.

In this short historical account of events, it is not revealed to us how much time elapsed, nor are we told of the time sequence of the events recorded in the verses that follow. We only know that the human race continued to increase over the face of the earth.

Genesis 3:20 explains this question in part, quite succinctly: “And Adam called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living.” Although we don’t fully comprehend how God guided the increase of humans on the earth, it is apparent that His purpose was to establish the entire human population through Adam and Eve. Eve, herself, was created from the rib of Adam (Compare Genesis 2:22-23). In the recent emergence of science, we understand that cloning can actually be used to reproduce life forms. Of course, much more was involved when God first formed man of the dust of the ground and created mankind, both male and female.

It is clear from Scripture that Adam and Eve had children other than Cain and Abel. We read of Seth being begotten when Adam was 130 years old (Genesis 5:3); and we see in the very next verse that Adam lived another 800 years and begat sons and daughters. The total number of sons and daughters, who were begotten of Adam over his 930 years total, is not revealed to us.

Thus, Adam and Eve were the first man and woman on the earth and Scripture reveals they were created by God. Scripture does not reveal that any other human beings were so created. In Genesis 1:28 God commanded the man and woman to “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over… every living thing that moves on the earth.” Adam and Eve were the ones who were to multiply, and it was their offspring who were to fill the earth–God did not create any other human being in the way that He created Adam and Eve.

Beyond the genetic, social and moral problems arising from inbreeding in modern times, we know that God places tremendous importance on the family structure. In reviewing the New Testament record, we note that Paul admonished the Church of God at Corinth that: “It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and such sexual immorality as is not even named among the Gentiles–that a man has his father’s wife” (1 Corinthians 5:1). This Scripture does not expressly say that this relationship existed between a mother and her son, although this is possible; but it may also imply that the relationship was between the young man and his step-mother. The issue would then be one of morality–not genetics.

Returning to the Old Testament times of Adam and Eve, and based on all the revealed information we have, we must conclude that Cain married a female descendant of Adam–perhaps one of Adam’s daughters, or even one of Cain’s nieces. We understand that God had not declared such a union to be contrary to His will at that time. As newly created, physically perfect human beings, a danger of genetic problems did not really exist. Notice in Genesis 20:12 that Abraham explains to Abimelech that Sarah, in addition to being his wife, was his sister, the daughter of his father, but not the daughter of his mother (i.e., his half-sister). Even though Abram had married his half-sister, that of itself is not conclusive evidence that such a marriage was permitted. Abram could have sinned by marrying Sarai, but we don’t read that God condemned him for that.

In light of the fact that God commanded Adam and Eve to multiply, and that God expected Adam and Eve’s descendants to multiply; we must conclude that it was not wrong, at the time of Adam and Eve, nor during Noah’s time (compare Genesis 9:1), to marry someone closely related by blood–a practice which God would later expressly prohibit.

That God directly intervened in man’s populating the earth is clearly evident from the fact that God controlled the lifespan of mankind. However, Genesis 6, verses 1 and 2, indicates that the family structure was already in jeopardy–it appears that the people of this later time were marrying in ways that would be very harmful to mankind. The key issue here is that mankind was marrying whomever he wanted–implying rejection of God’s commands.

However, God did bless marriages with children. Note, for example, that God granted Abraham and Sarah the child Isaac. At this point marrying within families (a relative) under certain circumstances was still allowed. When the lineage of Abraham and Sarah through Isaac grew into the nation of Israel, God established laws to govern them, including laws that specifically set limits on whom one could marry and how the family was to be structured.

Apparently, certain laws governing incest did not become established until the time of Moses. Any such requirement of God is not revealed until Leviticus 18:6-17, where God described–from that time forward–those type actions as “wickedness.” Verses 9 and 11 specifically forbid marriage with one’s step-sister, or with one’s half-sister, and verse 6 forbids incest between father and daughter and between a brother and his full sister (compare The Nelson Study Bible, comments to verses 6, 9 and 11).

It does appear, therefore, that Cain did in fact marry a female descendant of Adam, perhaps one of his sisters or nieces. And it is evident from the Biblical facts that all of mankind is descended from Adam and Eve.

Lead Writer: Edwin Pope

A new StandingWatch program was posted on the Web, titled, “More Disasters Will Strike…

On September 3, 2005, Dave Harris will give the sermon, titled, “I Also Will Keep You.”

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 God calls an individual to His Way, revealing to such a person Who He is; and when God opens that person’s mind to His Truth, resulting in that person’s repentance of his/her past sins and acceptance of Jesus Christ as his/her personal Savior; following baptism, such a person receives God’s Holy Spirit at the laying on of hands of God’s ministry. What does God then require of such person?

Is there a benchmark, a standard whereby one can know and understand that if he/she is diligent in maintaining such a standard, God will be pleased with that life? And if there is such a benchmark, can it be found in God’s Holy Scriptures, showing God’s clear and precise statement of His expectations of such a person?

The answer to those questions is, of course, an emphatic yes! One doesn’t have to go to the New Testament to find such a clear, precise statement. It can be found all the way back in the book of Deuteronomy as God was dealing with His chosen people, Israel! Since God does not change, His requirement of ancient Israel is the same requirement He has for you and me in this day. This spiritual requirement is found in Deuteronomy 10:12-13, where God plainly reveals what He expects of His chosen people, including you and me:

1) To fear the LORD your God.

2) To walk in all His Ways and to love Him.

3) To serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.

4) And, to keep the commandments of the Lord and His statutes… for your good.

Much of God’s Word reveals to us instructions as to how we can accomplish these tasks in a way that is pleasing to our God. These requirements by God of you and me must become our number one priority during this physical life, as exemplified in the physical life of Jesus Christ. If we will be diligent in our approach to fulfilling these requirements, God will ensure through His Spirit our ultimate success!

Hurricane Katrina’s Devastation

Early reports suggest that Hurricane Katrina might prove to be the deadliest and costliest natural disaster in the history of the nation. The city of New Orleans–
sometimes called the “most European of all American cities”–has now been compared with Hiroshima and Baghdad. The situation in New Orleans has been described as “chaotic.” The sufferings of the survivors are beyond comprehension. According to President Bush, it will take years to rebuild the destroyed areas. Der Spiegel Online published articles with the following headlines: “This Is Judgment Day”; “Can This Still Be Coincidence?”; and “The Smell of the Apocalypse.” Due to the devastation, the production of oil and of agricultural commodities has been greatly affected. In some states in the USA, prices for gasoline are approaching previously unthinkable heights.The hurricane’s devastation might push the nation’s fragile economy into recession. In addition, the city of Los Angeles is waiting for the overdue “big one”–an earthquake which might create even worse damage than the hurricane’s devastation in New Orleans. During the night of August 31, 2005, Southern California was rattled again by several earthquakes–including one with the magnitude of 4.5 on the Richter Scale. Are we seeing the beginning of the end for this great country?

The Economist reported on August 30, 2005:

“Besides its devastating cost in lives, Katrina could push the American economy–maybe even the world economy–into recession. Around four-fifths of New Orleans was under water on Tuesday August 30th, the day after Hurricane Katrina slammed into Louisiana, with winds roaring up to 140mph. Much of the city is below sea level and its levees–an ageing system of earthworks and pumping stations designed to hold the waters back–could not resist Katrina’s might. ‘The devastation is greater than our worst fears,’ said Louisiana’s governor, Kathleen Blanco… As the hurricane travelled on across Mississippi, Tennessee and Alabama, it left a trail of death and devastation…

“More worrisome still is the toll of disease. Floodwaters may be contaminated with a toxic mix of industrial chemicals and raw sewage…

“… Nor will the effects of Hurricane Katrina be limited to the Gulf Coast and the offices of a few agitated insurers. Analysts are busy rewriting their forecasts of America’s fourth-quarter GDP growth to take into account the expected economic repercussions of the devastation. The affected area’s ports move a large fraction of the nation’s imports–including critical oil and gas supplies–as well as roughly half its exports of agricultural commodities like corn and soyabeans…

“Chief among the worries is the oil industry. The Gulf of Mexico provides about a tenth of all the crude oil consumed in America; and almost half of the petrol produced in the country comes from refineries in the states along the gulf’s shores. Oil companies are busy assessing how much damage was done to drilling rigs, refineries and port facilities; but even if the infrastructure is largely intact, shipping delays threaten to idle refinery production. This is bad news considering that refineries have been running flat out in recent months to keep up with high demand… If Katrina has damaged America’s capacity to pump and refine oil, forcing Americans to shop abroad for more fuel to feed their gluttonous appetites, it could be a long cold winter for everyone.”

Reuters reported on August 31, 2005:

“In the aftermath of Katrina, some 95 percent of U.S. oil and natural gas production in the Gulf of Mexico and nine refineries along the coast remained shut down. Several crude pipelines on the Gulf Coast also remained out of service due to power outages, damage and flooding, creating further headaches for an industry that has been badly strained by the storm. What’s more, the Energy Department said Port Fourchon in Louisiana, which handles a large share of U.S. crude oil and natural gas imports, was severely damaged by Hurricane Katrina and is cut off by floodwaters.”

The Associated Press reported on August 31, 2005:

“From papal prayers to telegrams from China, the world reacted with an outpouring of compassion Wednesday for the victims of Hurricane Katrina in messages tinged by SHOCK THAT A DISASTER OF THIS SCALE COULD OCCUR IN THE UNITED STATES… The storm was seen as an equalizer–proof that any country, weak or strong, can be victimized by a natural disaster. Images of flood-ravaged New Orleans earned particular sympathy in central Europe, where dozens died in raging floodwaters only days ago.”

In a related article, The Associated Press stated:

“Hurricane Katrina probably killed thousands of people in New Orleans, the mayor said Wednesday… If the mayor’s estimate holds true, it would make Katrina the NATION’S DEADLIEST HURRICANE SINCE 1900, when a storm in Galveston, Texas, killed between 6,000 and 12,000 people. The death toll in the San Francisco earthquake and the resulting fire has been put at anywhere from about 500 to 6,000.”

In a third article, the Associated Press stated: “Hurricane Katrina could cost the insurance industry up to $25 billion in claims, which would make it THE COSTLIEST STORM IN THE NATION’S HISTORY… That means Katrina could prove more costly than record-setting Hurricane Andrew in 1992, which caused some $15.5 billion in insured losses. Adjusted for inflation, Andrew’s cost would be nearly $21 billion today. The figures do not cover property that isn’t insured, which could add billions to the total. The Insurance Information Institute said that in Andrew’s case, the uninsured losses may have approached $16 billion.”

CNN.com reported on August 31, 2005:

“New Orleans resembled A WAR ZONE more than a modern American metropolis Tuesday, as Gulf Coast communities struggled to deal with the devastating aftermath of Hurricane Katrina… New Orleans was left with no power, no drinking water, dwindling food supplies, widespread looting, smoke rising on the horizon and the sounds of gunfire. At least one large building was ablaze Tuesday… Katrina has inflicted more damage to Mississippi beach towns than did Hurricane Camille, and its death toll is likely to be higher, the state’s governor said Tuesday.”

The Financial Times commented on August 31, 2005, that “The damage from Hurricane Katrina has been worse than expected, initial assessments showed on Tuesday, prompting a new rise in oil prices to record levels and raising concerns about the cost of insurance in the Gulf of Mexico.”

Historical Proof for the Bible

The Los Angeles Times reported on August 9, 2005, that the Biblical Pool of Siloam was uncovered in Jerusalem. The Pool served as a gathering place for ancient Jews making pilgrimages and is the site, according to the Gospel of John, where Jesus cured a blind man. The article pointed out:

“The pool was fed by the now famous Hezekiah’s Tunnel and is ‘a much grander affair’ than archeologists previously believed…, said Hershel Shanks, editor of the Biblical Archaeology Review, which reported the find Monday.”

The article also explained the ignorance of certain scholars. It stated: “‘Scholars have said that there wasn’t a Pool of Siloam and that John was using a religious conceit’ to illustrate a point, said New Testament scholar James H. Charlesworth of the Princeton Theological Seminary. ‘Now we have found the Pool of Siloam… exactly where John said it was.’ A gospel that was thought [by ignorant men] to be ‘pure theology is now shown to be grounded in history,’ he said… The pool of Jesus’ time was built early in the 1st century BC and was destroyed by the future Roman Emperor Titus about AD 70.”

The fact that the pool of Siloam did exist, shows–once again–the accuracy of the Bible. It also condemns the futile attempts of Bible critics to discredit the Word of God, thereby deceiving and misleading people to believe that they don’t have to be obedient to Biblical injunctions. They will have to give account for their ERROR when their day of judgment comes.

Atheistic Scientists

On August 23, 2005, The New York Times published another interesting article about the appalling position of some leading scientists, openly denying the existence of God. The article, titled, “Scientists Speak Up on Mix of God and Science,” pointed out:

“At a recent scientific conference at City College of New York, a student in the audience rose to ask the panelists an unexpected question: ‘Can you be a good scientist and believe in God?’ Reaction from one of the panelists, all Nobel laureates, was quick and sharp. ‘No!’ declared Herbert A. Hauptman, who shared the chemistry prize in 1985 for his work on the structure of crystals. Belief in the supernatural, especially belief in God, is not only incompatible with good science, Dr. Hauptman declared, ‘this kind of belief is damaging to the well-being of the human race.'”

On the other hand, a growing number of scientists say that they believe in God–although most of them don’t want to talk about it. One believing scientist said that many reject the idea of a belief in God “because of pride in the idea that science is the ultimate source of intellectual meaning.”

The article stated:

“According to a much-discussed survey reported in the journal Nature in 1997, 40 percent of biologists, physicists and mathematicians said they believed in God–and not just a nonspecific transcendental presence but, as the survey put it, a God to whom one may pray ‘in expectation of receiving an answer.'”

However, the article continued:

“Others play down those results. They note that when Dr. Larson [Edward J. Larson of the University of Georgia] put part of the same survey to ‘leading scientists’ – in this case, members of the National Academy of Sciences, perhaps the nation’s most eminent scientific organization – fewer than 10 percent professed belief in a personal God or human immortality.” Also, many scientists seem to believe in a God “who is behind the laws of nature but who is not intervening.”

When reading this, one is reminded of the pointed statements by Paul, in Romans 1:18-20, 22: “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse… Professing to be wise, they became fools.”

Afghanistan’s Schizophrenic War

On August 17, 2005, Der Spiegel Online reported about the “Schizophrenic War” in Afghanistan. The magazine pointed out that Afghanistan is anything but a success story. It was explained:

“While the drug squads and social workers continue their desperate battle against heroin on the home front, German troops stationed in Afghanistan can do little more than stand by and watch as poppy cultivation expands dramatically. Almost 90 percent of the world’s opium comes from the fields of the Hindu Kush region where the Bundeswehr is stationed.”

The magazine continued to point out:

“In 2004, production increased by 17 percent to 4,200 tons. The area of land used for the cultivation of poppies, the opium plant, expanded by 64 percent, now encompassing 131,000 hectares.

“[German] Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer has stated that ‘the mandate of the German forces does not include combating drugs.’ Poppy fields are not to be burned, nor are laboratories to be destroyed.”

The reason for this policy is, in part, not to anger the drug lords (whose support against the Taliban the Allies need). The consequence is, according to the article, that opium is now readily available in Germany, in part as a direct consequence of the “won” war in Afghanistan. And so, we see again that war is dirty business–and when it comes to Afghanistan, quite literally, it seems.

U.S. Real Estate Market in Danger

On August 26, 2005, Market Watch published the following article about the fragile real estate market in the United States: “In his sharpest warning to date about rising home prices, Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said the housing boom is an economic imbalance that could end badly… National housing prices have risen 12.5% in the past year through the first quarter, government data show.”

In a related article of The Associated Press, which was published on August 27, 2005, it was warned that “a chorus of economists, government officials and elected leaders both conservative and liberal is warning that America’s nonstop borrowing has put the nation on the road to a major fiscal disaster–one that could unleash plummeting home values, rocketing interest rates, lost jobs, stagnating wages and threats to government services ranging from health care to law enforcement… Many people take comfort in the rising value of their homes, and its spurred record home-building and buying, with new construction making places like Las Vegas the fastest-growing in the nation. But a home translates into wealth only when you sell it–and there’s a vigorous debate over whether the housing boom is becoming a bubble that will burst.”

Actually, the Bible is very clear as to the meaning of this word. However, orthodox Christianity, and especially Catholicism, have distorted the meaning and have adopted a concept of a “saint,” which is in total opposition to the Biblical teaching.

The “Christian” world thinks that a saint is a very special kind of a Christian; usually one who has died, went to heaven, and who is now interceding before God on our behalf. The “Convert’s Catechism of Catholic Doctrine,” by Peter Geiermann, edited 1946, defines a “saint” as “one whose soul is in heaven” (page 111).

The “Catechism of the Catholic Church,” edited 1994, states under No. 828: “By canonizing some of the faithful, i.e., by solemnly proclaiming that they practiced heroic virtue and lived in fidelity to God’s grace, the [Catholic] church recognizes the power of the spirit of holiness within her and sustains the hope of believers by proposing the saints to them as models AND INTERCESSORS.”

The “Concise Catholic Dictionary”, by Reynolds and Rosemary Ekstrom, edited 1988, states on pages 134-135:

“Early followers of Christ… sometimes referred to other Christians as saints, but eventually (!) the word saints applied only to those in heaven… The [Catholic] church teaches that the saints in heaven can intercede on behalf of those on earth (these saints are often prayed to for help)… The church has traditionally taught that everyone in heaven (!) is a saint–not just those who have been canonized”
(emphasis supplied).

Further, in order to be “officially recognized” as a “saint,” the Catholic Church “requires the authentication of miracles wrought by, or through the intercession of, the person whose virtues are under debate. [These miracles] must be established by testimony of the countrymen of the reputed saint” (“The Catholic Dictionary,” article, “Canonization,” page 115).

We should realize that the worship of saints is closely associated with the pagan belief of ancestor worship. The Catholic Dictionary points out in its article, “Canonization,” on page 114: “Roman citizens brought the images of their distinguished ancestors in their villas. In China the worship of ancestors is to this day the most living portion of this popular religion.”

The “New Question Box–Catholic Life for the Nineties,” by John Dietzen, ed. 1988, states on pages 495 and 496: “The saints, including our own relatives and friends who have died and are with God, are united in some mysterious way by God’s providence. Since they are with God, it is only natural and profoundly Christian that we ask their help and prayers for anything important to us.”

However, such practice is not “profoundly Christian,” but since it is associated with paganism, it is, therefore, “profoundly pagan.”

Before explaining the biblical concept of a saint, let us clarify what a saint is NOT: As we pointed out in the Q&A of Update #205, the Bible does not teach that a person, including a Christian, goes to heaven when he dies. Neither does the “soul” of the Christian “go to heaven,” as the Bible does not teach at all the concept of an “immortal soul.” Rather, the human being IS the soul, and when the person dies, the soul dies (compare Ezekiel 18:4). A dead person is without consciousness, until Christ gives LIFE to the dead person in a resurrection FROM the dead. The Bible likens “death” to a “dreamless “sleep.” (Compare, for Biblical proof, our free booklet, “Do We Have An Immortal Soul?”) In addition, one does not have to be able to perform miracles to be recognized in the Bible as a saint. For instance, John the Baptist “performed no sign” (John 10:41), but Christ said that “among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist” (Matthew 11:11).

When the Bible speaks about saints, it addresses LIVING Christians. Paul wrote to “the saints and faithful brethren in Christ who ARE in Colosse” (Colossians 1:2). He also wrote to the “saints who ARE in Ephesus” (Ephesians 1:1), or to “ALL the saints in Christ Jesus who ARE in Philippi” (Philippians 1:1). He was not addressing Christians whom the church would “declare” to be “saints” after their death. He also wrote, in Romans 16:15: “Greet Philologus and Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas, and all the saints who ARE with them.” In 1 Corinthians 16:1, he spoke about “the collection for the saints,” who were, at the time, in need of physical help. In Acts 26:10, Paul is quoted as saying: “This I also did in Jerusalem, and many of the saints I shut up in prison… and when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them.” (Compare, too, Acts 9:13.)

We also read, in Daniel 7:25, that a future false religious leader will “persecute the saints of the Most High.” But the system which he represents will be severely punished by God. We read that the “angel of the water” will say to God: “You are righteous, O Lord, The One who is and who was and who is to be, Because You have judged these things. For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, And you have given them blood to drink. For it is their just due” (Revelation 16:5-6).

Notice this! Christians are called saints in the Bible BEFORE they die. We are told, in Psalm 116:15: “Precious in the sight of the LORD is the DEATH of His saints.”

According to the Bible, a saint is a person who is “holy” or “sanctified”; that is, he is set aside or set apart for a special purpose. Once a person is “sanctified,” he is “holy” — or a saint. The word “saint” refers to LIVING people–not dead ones. Notice Revelation 14:12, which addresses living Christians: “Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.”

W.E. Vine explains in “Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words,” that the word “saint,” as used in the New Testament, is derived from the Greek word, “hagios,” meaning “holy.” He states that it is used for “believers… It designates all such and is not applied merely to persons of exceptional holiness, or to those who, having died, were characterized by exceptional acts of saintliness. See especially 2 Thess 1:10, where ‘His saints’ are also described as ‘them that believed,’ i.e., the whole number of the redeemed…”

A saint is an obedient Christian. He has been set aside, by God, to BECOME a born-again member in the very Family of God. He is a child of God, but in no way is he to be worshipped or prayed to (compare Acts 10:25-26; 14:8-18).

In summary, there are no “saints” in heaven. Psalm 16:3 tells us that the “saints… are on the earth.” Therefore, it is useless and wrong to pray to “saints,” as they are dead and in the grave, unable to hear our prayers, and unable to help us. They cannot “intercede” for us–there is only one intercessor or mediator between God and man–Jesus Christ (compare 1 Timothy 2:5-6; see our free booklet, “Is God a Trinity?”).

The Bible says that you are a saint, if you are a converted Christian. But it is not your destiny to go to heaven when you die. For more information about the REAL potential and future of a true Christian–a “saint”–please read, “The Gospel of the Kingdom of God.”

Lead Writer: Norbert Link

A new StandingWatch program, titled, “Returning To Our Christian Roots,” was placed on the Web.

Our new booklet on Predestination and related topics has entered the first review cycle.

by Aaron Hooper (20)

Imagine trying to explain to an ant that if they live a righteous life and, in the end, are counted ‘faithful in the small things,’ you will make them into a human after they die. Imagine trying to explain to them the value of being human, or what it is like, though they have no idea of what it is like to be that ‘big’ and probably cannot understand through their ‘puny’ little eyes, what humans are.

The truth is, ants are more inherently selfless than we humans are, and don’t need us to teach them how to live their life. Solomon even admonishes us to consider their ways, and to learn from them.

Surely, such is the relationship between God and man (and how difficult it is to understand the things of God!), though the scale of God is much greater than the difference between human and ant. In fact, we are not much bigger than the ants when placed next to the INFINITE God, much as a pebble and a grain of sand are similar in comparison to the earth.

We are, however, not ‘god’ to the ants, because (1) we cannot see them all at once (2) we cannot rightly judge their thoughts or actions (3) we cannot make them live, or resurrect them to life… and the list goes on. The analogy is simply to illustrate the AWESOME MAGNITUDE of God and how infinitesimal we are.

There is a lot to be learned from the “faith” of ants, how they take action (without forethought of the benefit to themselves) to aid the larger purpose about them, without knowing what that purpose is or how it works, and having no promise or reward after they die. We should all the more put our minds towards diligently working towards the awesome purpose and the perfect plan that God has designed for us.

On August 27, 2005, Norbert Link will give the sermon, titled, “How Assertive Are You?”

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.

I recently corresponded with a person I have known for some time. He doesn’t support any group and is, for all intents and purposes, an independent. When I mentioned that to him, he said that was a phrase coined by Mr. Armstrong, as if, therefore, it had to be wrong. The person felt this way: “I am a believer. I am a part of the spiritual body of believers.” The question is, is that enough? After all, demons also believe, yet they tremble. James 2:19 says: “You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe–and tremble!”

I felt somewhat frustrated by our discourse in certain matters and made this observation: Independents seem to believe that a miraculous metamorphosis occurs in their minds. They think that their biblical knowledge undergoes exponential growth to the point where they no longer need a minister to tell them what the Bible teaches, or to correct and exhort them. They are quite content to stay home, to support no group in particular, and to think everything is just fine.

Notice, however, what Ephesians 4:11-13 says: “And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ…”

Please notice that this growth is achieved by GOD, using His ministry. We are further admonished in Hebrews 10:25, not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together. These clear admonitions apparently fall on deaf ears when it comes to some independents.

This is what Mr. Armstrong thought about independents: “What about a single member, ‘a joint, or part,’ going off by itself–or following a man instead of the Church of God that is in direct continuous succession from the apostolic Church founded by Christ, in A.D.31? He is like a joint or a piece of wood or stone, entirely outside of, and therefore no part of the body of Christ that shall marry Christ” (The Incredible Human Potential, ed.1978., pp.123, 124-125).

When we look at the original independent, it was none other than Satan, whose line of reasoning followed a path similar to this: “I was put in charge of the earth and I really don’t like being directed on how to run my show. I have pondered this deeply and really feel that the way of get is superior to the way of give. My mind is so increased with knowledge of this new understanding that I will share it with my leaders who will pass it on to their followers. This way of get must be imposed on God and the rest of the angels who just don’t get it. The time has come to make war against the Creator God to take over the universe and to impose my great understanding and knowledge on Him and His angels. He must be deposed of His power and rulership, to enable me to carry out my plans.”

The rest is history.

God placed His ministry in His Church for the benefit of the whole body. Let us never think that we would be better off as independents! Rather, let each of us–as members of the body–grow in grace and knowledge, in willing participation and in a growing understanding of this vital endtime work of God’s Church!

Special Report on Pope Benedict’s Visit to Germany

Germany Before Pope’s Visit

Der Spiegel Online reported on August 15, 2005, about the faith and belief system of Germans. The article was published BEFORE Pope Benedict XVI visited Cologne during the World Youth Day. The article pointed out:

“The churches are empty, the politicians are non-believers and the people in the east are complete strangers to God… Most Germans have developed their own private concept of faith. For them, the Big Bang has replaced the myh of creation, while catastrophic climate change is their new apocalypse. And depending on where they are in life, they enjoy small servings of ecstasy in the form of sex & drugs & rock ‘n’ roll or a concert subscription for two. At best, they pray on Wednesdays and Sundays, when the lottery numbers are announced… Germany is not a godless country — on the contrary, it has many gods… Two-thirds of young people say that it’s cool to believe in something. Religious symbols and emblems are hot items in youth culture — a cross dangling from their necks… Faith, at least the kind of faith being taught in the Catholic and even the Protestant Church, is a minority position in Germany. The Infratest survey conducted for SPIEGEL revealed that even those who consider themselves religious are often considerably at odds with the church’s positions. Just under two-thirds of Catholics — and less than half of all Protestants — believe in life after death, a central tenet of Christianity. Twenty-seven percent of the faithful say that God is not all-powerful, a concept that also deeply contradicts Christian teachings…”

The article also pointed out that “Thirty-eight percent of Germans now say that when a person dies, he is not judged by his maker, but comes back to live another life on earth — they believe in the Buddhist idea of reincarnation.”

It continued:

“In 2003, 180,000 Protestants left the church. Only 60,000 joined… [T]he number of Catholics has decreased every year since 1974. The latest figures for 2003 show that around 65,000 more Catholics were buried as were baptized. Far more people leave the church than enter it… The [Catholic] church has very little following in eastern Germany. But even in the German parliament the pope’s supporters are few and far between. He can only really count on two members from small constituencies to vote in line with Catholic dogma. Unlike in Italy and in Poland, no German political parties follow the Vatican line in their decision-making process.”

However, the magazine continued to point out that the current situation “may be changing. Even in the German parliament, there are signs of a shift… The taboo on religion is being whittled away by the success of George W. Bush’s last election campaign, which concentrated on values, and of course by Rome’s religious upswing. Even [Protestant] Angela Merkel, the opposition candidate for German elections, joined the mass pilgrimage to St. Peter’s Square after the death of John Paul II. She saw how hundreds of thousands of pope followers waited in line for 11, 12 or 13 hours to say goodbye to the pope. And it appears that she returned from Rome rather taken with Catholicism.”

Germany During Pope’s Visit

Reuters reported on August 19, 2005:

“Pope Benedict, making a historic visit on Friday to a synagogue once destroyed by the Nazis, said Christians and Jews must join forces so the ‘insane racist ideology’ that led to the Holocaust never resurfaces… Many Jews say Pius, Pope from 1939 to 1958, turned a deaf ear to the Holocaust. The Vatican says he worked behind the scenes to save Jews and did not speak out more forcefully for fear of instigating Nazi reprisals.”

The German magazine Focus emphasized, however, in its article of August 19, 2005, that Pope Benedict refused to address the culpability of the Catholic Church or Christians in general who were partially responsible for the rise of Anti-Semitism in Germany. Nevertheless, as AFP reported, “By its conclusion, the leader of Germany’s Jewish community Paul Spiegel said he was ‘extremely impressed by what he [the pope] said and how he said it.'”

On August 20, 2005, The Associated Press reported:

“Benedict began his day by meeting in private with [German Chancellor Gerhard] Schroeder. He also met with Angela Merkel, Schroeder’s conservative challenger in Sept. 18 national elections. Afterward, Merkel, leader of the Christian Democratic Union and the daughter of a Protestant minister, said: ‘It was a great joy to see the Holy Father. It was great to meet a German pope on German soil.’ Schroeder, also Protestant, as are about a third of Germans, had no immediate public comment.”

AFP reported on Sunday, August 20, 2005:

“Pope Benedict XVI issued a ringing back-to-basics call to young Catholics at a giant open-air mass attended by over a million young pilgrims at the Catholic World Youth day festival… Some 700,000 had attended a prayer-vigil with Benedict the night before, but the World Youth Day organisers said the numbers had swelled to ‘more than one million’ by Sunday’s mass… The young crowd gave Benedict a noisy reception under a huge canopy of swirling flags when he arrived aboard his popemobile, waving and blessing the crowd… Benedict urged the young Catholics to keep God at the centre of their lives and underlined the importance of Sunday mass and receiving Holy Communion… Unusually for a pope, he even used the phrase ‘nuclear fission’ to describe the spiritual effect of receiving Holy Communion, in which Catholics believe bread and wine blessed by a priest is turned into the body and blood of Christ in imitation of the Last Supper. Benedict was due to return to Rome on Sunday evening at the end of what is being seen as a highly successful visit during which he also met German Jewish and Muslim leaders… [On] Saturday he urged Muslim leaders to do more to combat the ‘cruel fanaticism’ of terrorism that aimed to poison ties between Christians and Muslims.”

Deutsche Welle reported on August 20, 2005:

“Early in the day, the pope was reported to have told German politicians he was in favor of introducing Islamic instruction into the German school curriculum as an equal to the currently Catholic and Protestant religion courses provided… Several German bishops have called for placing Islam on an equal footing with Christianity in schools…”

The Boston Globe reported on August 19:

“Pope Benedict XVI, the first German pontiff in centuries, yesterday triumphantly returned to his homeland, cruising up the Rhine through a city and a vast crowd packed with reminders of Germany’s troubled past and its hopeful future. Thousands of young Germans donned buttons declaring ‘Wir Sind Papst,’ literally ‘We are pope,’ [a slogan coined by the daily tabloid, “Bild”] reflecting the burst of national pride that the election of a German cardinal as pope, and the arrival of hundreds of thousands of young people here for World Youth Day, has occasioned in a nation still at times uncomfortable with expressions of nationalism… As a cardinal, with the name Joseph Ratzinger, Benedict was highly controversial in his native Germany, where much of the church is more liberal than the new pope. But the nation has embraced him as a symbol, even if many do not agree with every element of his theology — the tone of the press coverage here has been jubilant, even as German Catholics, like others in Europe, are increasingly unlikely to attend church…

“Benedict, who is from Bavaria but spent time here in the Rhineland as a theology professor at the University of Bonn, shared briefly in the patriotism at the airport arrival ceremony. ‘With deep joy I find myself for the first time after my election to the Chair of Peter in my beloved homeland, in Germany,’ he said… ‘With deep emotion I thank God who has enabled me to begin my pastoral visits outside Italy with this visit to the nation of my birth.’…

“[F]or many, Benedict’s theological views are beside the point. ‘Germany is among the least religious countries in Europe today, but his election is a great source of national pride — the fact that he was elected to this post is more significant than the fact that he is Catholic,’ said Daniel Levy, an assistant professor of sociology at Stony Brook University. ‘The truth is that the man has been living in Rome for 25 years, so he’s much more of a cosmopolitan clergyman than he is a German, but he’s going to be appropriated as a German, and one who stands for a universal set of values.'”

Germany After Pope’s Visit

On August 22, 2005, Zenit published the following headlines: “German Press Upbeat on Benedict XVI’s Impact. Just About All Show Youth Day in Positive Light.” The article pointed out: “The German press took note of the unexpected impact that Benedict XVI made on young people, judging by the headlines at newsstands in the city center…”

On August 24, 2005, The Associated Press published Pope Benedict’s reflections on his visit to Germany. The article stated:

“Benedict also referred to his meeting with Protestant and Orthodox Christian representatives, saying it was significant that it was held in Germany–the birthplace of the Protestant Reformation. ‘The role of Germany in ecumenical dialogue is important both for the sad story of the divisions as well as for the significant role it has played in the path of reconciliation,’ he said.”

To Conclude:

Many Germans will follow the pope, even though they might not agree or even understand his doctrinal positions. In fact, even many Catholic lay members have really no concept of some of the official teachings of Roman Catholicism. As the Bible reveals, other factors will determine and persuade many Germans, as well as many people in other Catholic and Protestant countries, to follow enthusiastically the head of the Catholic Church. We are seeing the beginning of this process right now.

Internet Space for Europe

On August 18, 2005, the EUobserver reported about European developments regarding the Internet, as follows:

“After more than seven years of preparation, European companies and individuals can soon start to pre-register new .eu internet domain names… companies with registered national and EU trademarks, public bodies and those with rights acquired by use will have the exclusive right to gain the domain name equivalent to their trademark… The commission, which is conducting the whole process, hopes to create a new ‘Internet space’ for Europe, as opposed to domains such as .com or .org, mainly registered in the US and bound by its laws.”

England and Denmark vs. Euro

On August 19, 2005, the EUobserver reported about a further trend in England and Denmark to reject the euro. The article pointed out:

“For the first time since 1971, the Royal Mint is preparing to redesign British coins. The plans, announced on Thursday (18 August), have sparked claims from the Vote No campaign that the government has ruled out joining the eurozone, the Financial Times reports.”

The article also stated: “Meanwhile, in Denmark, which is also not a member of the eurozone, the likelihood of joining the single currency also appears to be dropping. Earlier this month, Danish polls revealed record low support for joining euro.”

Memorial for Evicted Germans?

On August 18, 2005, the EUobserver reported about the expulsion of Germans from Eastern Europe after World War II. The article explained:

“Germany’s would-be chancellor Angela Merkel has angered Poles with her support for controversial plans to build a memorial to the nine million Germans expelled from Eastern Europe after WWII… The idea to publicly recognise the violence carried out against the Germans fleeing from the countries the Nazi had occupied between 1939 and 1945 has caused concerns in both Poland and the Czech Republic.”

This discussion is sadly reminiscent of the current expulsion of Jewish settlers in lands occupied by the Israelis. Forced evictions of people–most of them innocent and having acted in good faith, who have lived most of their lives in certain regions–is often a terrible and tragic consequence of the horrors of war.

Germany’s Economy on a Rebound

The Economist, the influential British weekly, wrote in the cover story of its latest edition:

“In the past five years, Germany, long the most costly place in Europe in which to do business, has won a new competitive edge over France, Italy, the Netherlands and even Britain.”

The magazine continued: “Given this corporate turnaround and strong export performance, it is not surprising that both profits and the stockmarket have been rising sharply. More significantly, recent surveys of business confidence have been encouraging… With unemployment now starting to come down, consumer confidence looks set to revive too… This suggests that domestic demand, the weakest link in the German economy, may be poised for a rebound… The story from Germany is about to become surprisingly good.”

New German Elections in September

The Associated Press reported on August 25, 2005: “Germany’s highest court ruled Thursday that federal elections can go ahead as planned Sept. 18, dismissing complaints against the early vote from two lawmakers. The Federal Constitutional Court’s 7-1 decision removed the final obstacle to Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder’s drive to hold elections a year ahead of schedule. Campaigning is already in full swing…”

The article continued: “President Horst Koehler set the ballot for Sept. 18 after Schroeder deliberately lost a vote of confidence in parliament’s lower house in July. Under the German constitution, the president can dissolve parliament and set early elections if the government convinces him that it no longer has a stable majority. Social Democrat lawmaker Jelena Hoffmann and Werner Schulz from Schroeder’s coalition partner, the Greens, argued that Schroeder still has the support of their two parties and the vote of no confidence should not count,” as it violated the spirit of the German Constitution.

The decision of seven judges to allow for new elections (only one judge dissented) was expected, although some legal commentaries question its legality, pointing out that the decision was motivated and dictated by what most politicians and most German citizens wanted, rather than by what the law regulates, under the German Constitution. Bild Online stated that the political career of the two plaintiffs (Hoffmann and Schulz) is over. If so, they paid the price for following their conscience. For that, they must be congratulated.

Pagan Goddess Asked For Help

Reuters reported on August 19, 2005, about attempts in Thailand to deal with the aftermaths of the recent tsunami, killing thousands of people. The article wrote:

“With Asian tourists still shunning its southern beaches, Thailand is calling in a revered Chinese sea goddess to ward off the restive spirits of the thousands who died in last December’s tsunami. A statue of Godmother Ruby, known as Mazu in Chinese, will be brought to the Thai island of Phuket from the Chinese coastal province of Fujian next month for ghost-clearing rites… Mazu, a Taoist goddess of the sea, has a huge following among fishermen and shipworkers in coastal provinces of southern China and Taiwan.”

One is reminded of a prophecy in Revelation 9:20: “But the rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, that they should not worship demons, and idols of gold, silver, brass, stone, and wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk.”

Gaza Evictions

The Contra Costa Times reported on August 22, 2005, that “Settlers from the last remaining Jewish community in Gaza were being driven out of the Palestinian territory as Israel brought down the curtain on its 38-year occupation… bulldozers were demolishing empty settler homes in other parts of Gaza… Prime Minister Ariel Sharon… who declared only three years ago that Netzarim was as integral a part of Israel as Tel Aviv, has become the settlers’ number one enemy by forcing them out of their homes… Sharon’s disengagement plan has raised international hopes of a genuine revival of the moribund Middle East peace process, left in tatters by five years of Israeli-Palestinian violence. However Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas has said Israel can only prove it was serious about peace if it stopped its West Bank settlement programme, something Sharon has vowed to continue.”

AFP reported on August 23:

“Israel completed its evacuation of parts of the occupied Palestinian territories after the last hardline resistance to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s historic pullout crumbled. A day after the last settlers were cleared out of the Gaza Strip, army and police evacuated the radical settlements of Homesh and Sanur in the northern West Bank, an area Jews say was promised to them by God but regarded by Palestinians as an integral part of their promised future state… Sharon, when in opposition, had urged settlers to ‘seize the hills’. But he now argues it is unrealistic to expect such isolated settlements as Sanur and Homesh, which lie close to the flashpoint West Bank city of Jenin, can remain part of Israel in any final status agreement. He applied the same logic to the Gaza pullout which was completed two weeks ahead of schedule on Monday when the community of Netzarim was evacuated.”

WorldNetDaily reported this week:

“Iran is taking great interest in Gaza as the Israelis complete their disengagement… Tehran is funding plans for a flotilla of ships to repatriate the territory with Palestinian terrorists from Lebanon and elsewhere, working with Fatah dissidents to undermine the Palestinian Authority and spearheading an effort to make the Gaza Strip a beachhead of Islamist terrorism within six months.”

Plague of Frogs in France

The Independent published an interesting article on Sunday, August 21, 2005, about a plague of frogs in France. When reading the article, one is reminded of the Biblical plague of frogs in ancient Egypt. It was stated:

“A campaign in France to exterminate frogs may sound like the beginning of a civil war, but these are no ordinary frogs… the most intensive effort so far [is underway] to terminate a plague of giant Californian bullfrogs which is threatening to disrupt the ecology of the Gironde, Dordogne and several other départements. The aggressive and voracious bullfrog (Rana catesbeiana), introduced illegally 37 years ago, can grow to more than 4lbs in weight and almost 2ft long. It consumes other frogs, fish, lizards and even small birds… Destroying the frogs is not easy, however. The Gironde fisheries protection association attacked a pond full of bullfrogs with electricity a few years ago. The frogs fought back. The hunters battled with them for two hours. They killed just one frog before they gave up. Assaults on the frogs have also been made with nets and by draining ponds, to little effect.”

The article continued to explain that the most effective way to kill the frogs is by shooting them with rifles at night, but it added: “Even so, experimental attacks on ponds and lakes over the past 11 months have killed only 120 frogs. A much bigger offensive, starting this weekend, aims to exterminate all the bullfrogs in France within five to 10 years.”

Televangelist Controversial–Again

As The Associated Press reported on August 23, “Religious broadcaster Pat Robertson suggested on-air that American operatives assassinate Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez to stop his country from becoming ‘a launching pad for communist infiltration and Muslim extremism… We don’t need another $200 billion war to get rid of one, you know, strong-arm dictator,’ he continued. ‘It’s a whole lot easier to have some of the covert operatives do the job and then get it over with.'”

The article also explained that “Robertson has made controversial statements in the past. In October 2003, he suggested that the State Department be blown up with a nuclear device. He has also said that feminism encourages women to ‘kill their children, practice witchcraft, destroy capitalism and become lesbians.'”

On August 24, The Associated Press continued its report, as follows:

“Venezuela condemned American religious broadcaster Pat Robertson for suggesting President Hugo Chavez should be killed, saying he committed a crime that is punishable in the United States. Officials in Washington distanced themselves from Robertson, saying his statements did not reflect the position of the U.S. government.”

The article continued: “Political assassination was made off-limits by former President Ford in an executive order in the mid-1970s.”

Some religious leaders began, with half-hearted, carefully worded statements, to somewhat distance themselves from Robertson’s comments, reasoning that he spoke as a citizen in a political context. However, in most cases, clear words or positions were missing. Robertson himself apologized for his statements, saying that he spoke out of frustration.

The problem is, of course, that most religious leaders refuse to follow the clear Biblical teachings on war. If they allow for wars under certain circumstances, why then would Robertson be so wrong with his opinion, as originally voiced? Please read our free booklet, “Should You Fight in War?”, to learn God’s way of thinking on this grossly misunderstood subject.

Extreme Weather in Europe

On August 23, 2005, AFP reported about extreme weather conditions in Europe. The article explained:

“Rescue workers struggled to contain floods that left a trail of death and destruction across parts of central Europe, as parched Spain and Portugal in contrast battled dozens of raging wildfires… three days of torrential downpours in central and eastern Switzerland turned Alpine streams into raging torrents and triggered flooding around the country’s lakes… Floods also hit Austria…, Bulgaria and southern Germany… In Germany, flooding was worst surrounding the popular Alpine ski resort of Garmisch-Partenkirchen in Bavaria. The town, where 105 liters per cubic metre fell overnight, was almost completely cut off.”

The article continued:

“But it was a far different story in Portugal and Spain, ravaged by wildfires and the worst drought since the mid-1940s. Nearly 3,000 firefighters and soldiers battled dozens of blazes in Portugal… Portuguese forces were backed by nine firefighting planes and helicopters rushed in from five fellow European Union nations — France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands — after Lisbon appealed for help… In Spain’s northwestern Galicia province, firefighters battled 24 blazes, including one that has burned for three days near Santiago de Compostela.”

In Matthew 24:7, Jesus Christ speaks about end-time events and warns His listeners: “For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there shall be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places.”

In Matthew 24:7, and in the parallel Scriptures of Mark 13:8 and Luke 21:11, the Greek word for “earthquakes” is “seismos,” meaning, according to Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance, No. 4578, “a commotion, i.e. (of the air) a gale, (of the ground) an earthquake–earthquake, tempest.”

The word “Seismology”–the study of earthquakes — is derived from the Greek, “seismos.” But in the Bible, the Greek word “seismos” applies also to a tempest in the air. For instance, note Matthew 8:24, which reads: “And suddenly a great tempest arose on the sea, so that that the boat was covered with the waves. But He [Christ] was asleep.” The Greek word for “tempest” is “seismos”–the same word as used in Matthew 24:7, which is translated there as “earthquakes.” In Matthew 8:24, it was not a small tempest, but “a great tempest,” which arose on the sea.

Let us compare the passage of Matthew 8:24 with the parallel account in Mark 4:37-38: “…And a great windstorm arose; and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. But He was in the stern, asleep on the pillow.” Notice also the parallel passage in Luke 8:23: “But as they sailed He fell asleep. And a windstorm came down on the lake; and they were filling with water, and were in jeopardy.”

The Greek word for “windstorm” is “lailaps,” meaning a “whirlwind… storm, tempest” (Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance, No. 2978) or, as Thayer’s Greek Definition of the Bible puts it:

“1) a whirlwind, a tempestuous wind… 2) a violent attack of wind, a squall… never a single gust nor a steady blowing wind, however violent, but a storm breaking forth from black thunder clouds in furious gusts, with floods of rain, and throwing everything topsy-turvy.”

Reading together the accounts of Matthew, Mark and Luke, we see that there was a great and violent storm on the lake. This whirlwind, “lailaps” in Mark and Luke, was called a “seismos” in Matthew; that is, a tempest in the air. The Greek word “seismos” applies to both an earthquake and a violent storm. When Christ prophesied about “seismos” for the end-time, He did not only prophesy about “earthquakes,” but also about violent tempests in the air; that is, storms, hurricanes and typhoons, i.e., strong whirlwinds.

Christ’s predictions are coming to pass today. We read and hear more and more about hurricanes, typhoons, storms and tempests in diverse places, as well as earthquakes.

In his book, written in 1999, “Apocalypse–A Natural History of Global Disasters”, Bill McGuire, Professor of Geohazards and Director of the Benfield Greig Hazard Research Centre at University College London, says this about hurricanes:

“Wind-storms, particularly hurricanes, constitute one of the most destructive of all geophysical hazards… The Saffir-Simpson Scale classifies hurricanes in terms of categories ranging from 1 to 5, largely based upon the average and peak strengths of the winds” (p.32, “Atmospheric hazards”).

For instance, hurricane Andrew, which struck Miami in August of 1992, was a category 5 hurricane–its winds had an average speed of 250 to 300 kilometers per hour. The costs of the devastation from the hurricane were US $32 billion. Bill McGuire states: “Hurricane Andrew was the second-most expensive disaster in the history of the country.”

He continues: “In recent years, the numbers of hurricanes have been increasing, and there are now some 40 per cent more intense hurricanes than there were 30 years ago. Worryingly, this does not seem to be a blip, but part of a continuing trend caused by global warming… In order for a hurricane to form, the sea-surface temperature in the spawning grounds must be at least 26°c. However, recent scientific research has revealed not only that sea-surface temperatures are rising, but also that, for every 1°c rise, more hurricanes can be expected. In the Eastern Atlantic, for example, sea-surface temperatures of 27°c will generate, on average, one or two hurricanes a year, while a rise to 28°c will result in seven or eight… With the global-warming trend set to continue for at least another 50 years, whatever we do today to reduce ‘greenhouse gas’ emissions, the prospects for hurricane-prone regions look increasingly bleak” (p.34).

Additionally, McGuire makes the following startling statements:

“Where there is wind there is often rain, and where that rain is torrential and persistent it will not be long before floods follow… The intensity of rainfall during a tropical storm can be almost unbelievable. In 1970, on the island of Guadeloupe in the Caribbean, for example, nearly 4cm of rain fell in only 1 minute, while on the French island of Réunion in the Indian Ocean nearly 4m of rain fell in a single 24-hour period in March 1952… Flood disasters are on the increase world-wide… In any single year, floods may affect upwards of 100 million people world-wide, killing up to 20,000…” (p.35, “Hydrological Hazards”).

He states on page 38: “…despite many initiatives designed to better understand geophysical hazards and their effect, natural disasters have not only continued unabated but have actually increased in both number and impact” (“Geophysical hazards and the human race”).

Natural disasters are on the increase worldwide–not only earthquakes, but also hurricanes, volcanic eruptions and other natural and man-made devastations. Science confirms today how accurate Christ’s “Olivet Prophecy” is. In the future we will be witnessing all over the world more and more violent, powerful and destructive earthquakes, as well as tsunamis, terrible storms, heavy rainfalls and landslides.

When these events occur with more and more frequency and powerful devastation, we KNOW that the time of Christ’s return is near. He foretold us in Luke 21:25-28:

“And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring; men’s hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. Now when these things BEGIN to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption DRAWS NEAR.”

Lead Writer: J. Peeters

A new StandingWatch program, titled, “Safe Air Traffic?”, was placed on the Web.

Our new booklet, titled, “The Fall and Rise of Britain and America,” was sent to the printer in England. It was also posted on the Web.

A new booklet is being written, discussing concepts such as predestination, prophecy, God’s heavenly books, the unpardonable sin, and related topics.

We are pleased to announce that Betty Bourland was baptized on Saturday, August 20, 2005. Edwin Pope officiated over the baptism ceremony, which was conducted in Ramona in the presence of several Church members.

In a technical update for the months of January until July, 2005, it was pointed out that the unique visitors (each individual person or group of persons is an “individual visitor,” regardless of how many times the Website is visited) for the US Websites (COG NetServices; Church of Eternal God; and StandingWatch) have either been consistent (with the highest number of 236 in June for COG, and of 2040 in May for CEG), or they have shown a steady growth for StandingWatch (with the highest number of 203 in July).

We have recently begun to video-record sermons given in San Diego. Paul Voss, a long-time deacon in the San Diego congregation, has recorded 20 video sermons thus far. Ten sermons have been mailed to England, four with four DVDs each, and six with two DVDs each. DVDs were also sent to congregations in the US.

On August 20, 2005, Edwin Pope will give the sermon, titled, “Do Not Quench The Holy Spirit.”

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.

In several references in the Book of Acts, Christianity is simply called “the Way” (Compare Acts 9:2; 19:9, 23; 22:4; 24:14, 22).

It is a fact that those who heard the gospel, who repented, who were baptized and who received God’s Holy Spirit became very different people. They changed their patterns of living by turning whole-heartedly to God. In doing this, they stood out from others–from the religious Jews and from the pagan peoples of the Roman Empire.

It isn’t really so different in our day! If we truly live as Christians, our way of living will not be in harmony with those who are unconverted. Peter addresses this: “For we have spent enough of our past lifetime in doing the will of the Gentiles [or, the world]–when we walked in lewdness, lusts, drunkenness, revelries, drinking parties, and abominable idolatries. In regard to these, they think it strange that you do not run with them in the same flood of dissipation, speaking evil of you” (1 Peter 4:3-4).

Jesus explains that His followers are lights in a world of darkness. He teaches that each should “‘Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven'” (Matthew 5:16). That “light” is the fruit of God’s Holy Spirit in each of our lives (Compare Galatians 5:22-23). The difference is made even more profound for us in living “the Way”– as we are instructed: “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:5).

Thinking as Jesus thought means ALWAYS seeking to do the will of our Father (Compare John 5:19; 5:30; 6:38; 8:28-29; 12:49-50; 14:10). In Hebrews, the incomparable mission for Jesus Christ when He came into the world is summarized: “‘Then I said, “Behold, I have come–In the volume of the book it is written of Me–To do Your will, O God”‘” (Hebrews 10:7).

Only the precious few have ever fully and unconditionally committed themselves to God and to “the Way” of His Son. Those who have–and those who do–have this remarkable promise indelibly recorded in the Word of God: “‘Those who are wise shall shine Like the brightness of the firmament, And those who turn many to righteousness Like the stars forever and ever”‘ (Daniel 12:3).

Venezuela Threatens USA

“Agence France Presse” (AFP) reported on August 16, 2005, that “Venezuela’s energy minister, Rafael Ramirez, said that Caracas is ‘ready and willing’ to cut off its oil supply to the United States, if there are any signs of aggression from the superpower toward his country… On Sunday, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez threatened to end oil exports to the United States if Washington did not stop its ‘aggressions.’… Washington’s attacks could provoke ‘something more serious: These two daily boats full of Venezuelan oil could head another way instead of going to the United States,’ warned Chavez, whose country is the fourth-largest provider of oil to the United States, supplying some 1.5 million barrels a day… Ramirez made a similar statement on Tuesday, declaring that Caracas, the only Latin American member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, had other clients to court, including China.”

The article continued:

“Chavez has become an increasingly outspoken critic of the United States, and accuses Washington of planning attacks against Venezuela, while the United States has accused Venezuela of funding efforts to destabilize Latin American neighbors and allowing weapons to cross into Colombia, whose government is battling a leftist insurgency.”

Airline Crashes on the Rise?

This week the world witnessed at least two tragic airplane crashes, causing many people to wonder how safe airline travel really is these days. Interestingly, the most recent accident occurred in Venezuela. The Associated Press reported on August 16, 2005:

“A chartered jet filled with tourists returning home to the French Caribbean island of Martinique crashed Tuesday in western Venezuela, killing all 160 people on board. The plane plunged to the ground after the pilot reported both engines had failed, officials said… The crash was the deadliest in Venezuelan history… the death toll surpassed a 1969 crash in Venezuela that killed 155, including 71 victims on the ground… The plane was carrying 152 tourists from Martinique, including a 21-month-old child, returning home after a week in Panama, officials said. All eight Colombian crew members also were killed.”

The article continued:

“The crash came only two days after a Cypriot airliner plunged into the mountains north of Athens, Greece, killing all 121 people aboard. Both jets were flying for new, low-cost regional carriers that are springing up around the world as governments deregulate air travel.”

Germany’s Newest Election Campaign

The EUobserver reported on August 15 about the German election campaign, as follows:

“German Chancellor Gerhard Schroder on Saturday (13 August) kicked off his electoral campaign by warning the US that it should not use military force against Iran. Speaking at a political rally in his native Hanover ahead of next month’s election, the German leader said Germany’s ‘friends’ in Europe and the US must maintain a strong position while negotiating with Iran over its nuclear programme. ‘But take the military options off of the table; we have seen that they’re not suitable,’ he added. This was an apparent reference to a statement by US president George W. Bush on Israeli television the day before that ‘all options are on the table’ with regards to Iran. Mr Schroder said that no one was interested in letting Iran become a nuclear power, but that the ongoing dispute must be resolved by developing a ‘strong negotiating position’ using peaceful means. ‘For that reason I can definitely rule out that a government under my leadership would participate in that,’ he said… His comments have awakened a sense of deja vu. Three years ago, when running for re-election, strong statements he made against the ‘military misadventures’ in Iraq were widely believed to have contributed to him being elected Chancellor once again.”

The Associated Press added the following information in its article of August 13, 2005:

“Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder opened his campaign Saturday for next month’s national election seeking to rejuvenate his beleaguered center-left party by taking a swipe at U.S. military aggressiveness and the verbal gaffes of a conservative opposition leader… Schroeder won new support by ratcheting up his criticisms of the…U.S.-led invasion of Iraq and donning high galoshes to visit flooded cities in the depressed east… The chancellor also turned his attention to turmoil within the opposition, attacking Christian Democrat leader Angela Merkel, who hopes to replace him, and her ally Edmund Stoiber, head of a Bavarian sister party who questioned the intelligence of voters in eastern Germany… Merkel found herself immediately on the defensive seeking to control the damage caused by Stoiber’s remarks… Stoiber, the governor of Bavaria, said at a rally that he didn’t want the former communist east to swing the Sept. 18 election–a reference to the voters in six eastern states who helped return Schroeder to office in 2002 when Stoiber was the conservatives’ candidate for chancellor. ‘Unfortunately, we don’t have such intelligent citizens everywhere as we do in Bavaria,’ said Stoiber.”

Earthquake in Japan

The Associated Press reported on August 16, 2005, about Japan’s most recent earthquake:

“The earthquake was powerful enough to sway skyscrapers 185 miles away in Tokyo. And with an estimated magnitude of 7.2, it had the potential to cause catastrophic damage. But this time, Japan got lucky. No one died in the quake that rocked a wide swath of northern Japan on Tuesday… Still, the jolt underscored the fragility of the lifelines of even the most modern, quake-resistant cities. It forced highways and railroads to close, leaving tens of thousands of people stranded, and 17,000 households lost electricity. And with Tokyo overdue for a major quake of its own, it was a psychological jolt for many.”

The article continued to explain:

“Japan sits at the juncture of four tectonic plates–or moving slabs of the earth’s outer crust–and is one of the world’s most quake-prone regions. There have been several recent strong quakes in Japan. The biggest, at magnitude 6.0, shook the Tokyo area on July 23, injuring more than two dozen people and suspending flights and trains for hours… The Dec. 26 Indian Ocean earthquake with a magnitude estimated at 9.1 to 9.3 and the tsunami it triggered killed more than 176,000 people in 11 countries, and left half a million homeless in Indonesia alone.”

The German Pope and His Native Country

The Independent (UK) wrote on August 16:

“Pope Benedict XVI’s return to his German homeland later this week has been billed as a visit to a godless country in which more people trust the police and the nation’s largest supermarket chain than the head of the Roman Catholic Church… In an interview with Vatican Radio yesterday he said he hoped his appearance would ‘spark a wave of new faith among young people’… However, much of Germany’s media poured cold water on the Pope’s aspirations. Der Spiegel devoted its front cover to the visit and carried the headline: ‘Believers – desperately sought. The Pope’s homecoming to an un-Christian country.”

The article continued to explain correctly:

“Some of the difficulty stems from the reputation Benedict earned in Germany prior to his election. As Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, he was known as a severe enforcer of Catholic orthodoxy – at odds with modern Germans and their acceptance of birth control, homosexuality and sex outside marriage. The other problem is a steady decline in the number of people attending mass. Hundreds of Catholic, and Protestant, churches have been turned into shops, pubs and cinemas in attempts to find worthwhile uses for the buildings. The dilemma has worsened since reunification and the addition to the population of some 17 million Communist-educated and largely agnostic or atheist former East Germans.”

Bible prophecy shows that in the not-too-distant future, this picture will change considerably. Most of the German people will become strong followers of the pope.

On August 18, 2005, The Associated Press reported:

“Benedict XVI arrived Thursday in his native Germany to cheers from youthful pilgrims on his first foreign trip as pope, a journey that will emphasize outreach to Jews and Muslims and evangelizing a Europe that has drifted from its Christian heritage… The strong wind knocked off the pope’s white skullcap as he got off the plane, blowing it back inside the cabin. He reached for it in vain and decided to go on with the ceremonial welcome hatless. The wind also toppled the World Youth Day cross from the bow of a cruise ship he was to ride on, breaking one of its arms. The cross was first used during World Youth Day in 2000 in Rome and has been carried around the world by Catholic youth groups, including to the site of the World Trade Center attacks in New York. Workers were busy repairing it.”

The article continued:

“Benedict landed to a subdued arrival, compared with some of the greetings received by his charismatic predecessor, John Paul II. He skipped John Paul’s custom of kissing the ground, and only a few hundred enthusiastic admirers were brought to the airport. Thousands more, however, cheered as they watched on a large television screen in front of Cologne’s famed cathedral, erupting in shouts as his plane landed. More than 400,000 pilgrims registered ahead of time, organizers said, and up to 1 million people are expected for an open-air Mass by Benedict on Sunday. Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and President Horst Koehler greeted Benedict on the red carpet as he descended from the plane, which had German and Vatican flags hanging from the cockpit windows.”

The fact that both the German Chancellor and the German President officially welcomed Pope Benedict XVI shows that they don’t consider the pope as just a religious figure, but also, as he is indeed, the head of a political state–the Vatican.

Russia’s and China’s Joint Military Exercises

The Washington Post reported on August 16, 2005, about joint military exercises between Russia and China. The paper stated:

“Russia and China will hold their first ever joint military exercises this week as the once wary neighbors demonstrate their willingness to cooperate in the face of the U.S. military presence in Central Asia… The two countries have held exercises before with other Central Asian republics, but this week’s maneuvers are the first bilateral exercises…

“The two countries have invited observers from the Central Asian republics of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, which together with Russia and China form the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. That group recently called on the United States to set a timetable to withdraw its forces from bases in Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, which are used to support military operations in Afghanistan. The Uzbek authorities later gave U.S. forces 180 days to pull out, after the United States criticized the Uzbek government for suppressing demonstrators in the city of Andijan in May, leaving hundreds dead, according to human rights groups…”

The article continued to point out:

“Toward the end of the exercise, the Russians will deploy strategic, long-range bombers, capable of carrying nuclear weapons, which will fire cruise missiles at targets on the surface of the sea… Russia is trying to interest the Chinese in nuclear submarines and strategic bombers, which [Alexander] Golts [a military analyst and journalist in Moscow] said, could be deployed against the U.S. fleet in the Pacific. Golts said Russia was eager to lock in new contracts quickly, to hedge against the European Union lifting an arms embargo it imposed on China after the 1989 crackdown on protesters in Tiananmen Square. The U.S. Defense Department has warned the European Union that lifting the embargo would bring ‘serious and numerous’ consequences.”

Russia’s Bird Flu Epidemic

“Russia cordoned off roads and slaughtered hundreds of birds on Monday to contain the advance of a bird flu epidemic toward Western Europe… The outbreak, previously confined to five remote areas of Siberia, has now struck a major industrial region — Chelyabinsk in the Ural mountains, which separate Asia from Europe… Chelyabinsk… lies about 1,000 km (600 miles) from the region where the first flu outbreak was reported. Although no humans have yet been affected, there are fears the disease could spread to humans on the Eurasian landmass, possibly unleashing a global influenza pandemic.”

Der Stern Online reported on August 18, 2005, that the German government fears that the bird flu epidemic will reach Europe and Germany, and that they are “preparing for the worst.”

Nuclear Terrorist Attacks Certain

On August 11, 2005, WorldNetDaily reported the following:

“In the 2004 presidential debate, President Bush and Senator John Kerry both agreed on one thing–that the possibility of nuclear terrorism was, ‘the single most serious threat to the U.S. national security.’ Former Central Intelligence Agency Director George Tenet said: ‘Al-Qaida continues to pursue its strategic goal of obtaining nuclear weapons.’ His successor at the CIA, Porter Goss, said: ‘It may only be a matter of time before al-Qaida or another group attempts to use chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear devices.’ FBI Director Bob Mueller said: ‘Intelligence continues to show al-Qaida’s clear intention to obtain and ultimately use some form of chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear material in its attacks against the United States.’ A CIA Counterterrorism Center expert said: ‘Al-Qaida probably has access to nuclear expertise and facilities, and there is the real possibility of the group developing a crude nuclear device.’

“The Robb-Silberman Commission put together by President Bush said in its report: ‘The U.S. intelligence community has assessed that al-Qaida was capable of fabricating at least a crude nuclear device if it could obtain the requisite nuclear material.’ Vice President Dick Cheney has warned: ‘The biggest threat we face now as a nation is the possibility of terrorists ending up in the middle of one of our cities with deadlier weapons than have ever before been used against us–biological agents or a nuclear weapon or a chemical weapon of some kind, to be able to threaten the lives of hundreds of thousands of Americans.’ Warren Buffett said: ‘We’re going to have something in the way of a major nuclear event in this country. It will happen. Whether it will happen in 10 years or 10 minutes, or 50 years … it’s virtually a certainty.'”

Will the Messiah Be Born?

On August 12, 2005, WorldNetDaily published the following article:

“Russian Chief Rabbi Berel Lazar believes the Earth will soon see the coming [of the] Messiah to judge all mankind. ‘We know that he is very near at hand, but he needs not only to be born but also to come,’ Lazar told the Gazeta daily. ‘The Messiah may well have been born already, but unless he is ordered by God he cannot reveal himself with God’s help and change the world for the better.'”

This idea, as expressed by Rabbi Lazar, is based on the erroneous belief that the Messiah still has to be born as a human being, as the Jewish people reject the truth that Jesus Christ was already born as the Messiah, almost 2,000 years ago. The Bible–both the Old and the New Testament–teach that the Messiah will appear TWICE–first as a human being (which has already happened), and then as GOD. The SECOND Coming of the Messiah, the “LORD of lords and KING of kings,” is indeed near.

The tragic erroneous belief that the Messiah must still be born as a human being might inadvertently support the rise and acceptance of Antichrist, also known as the “false prophet.” The Bible predicts that a human will be born in the end time, PRETENDING to be Christ, but deceiving most people. It is highly probable that that individual has already been born and that he will manifest himself on the world scene in the very near future.

Famine in Africa

On August 10, 2005, MSNBC.COM published this shocking article about famine and sickness in many African countries. It stated:

“Mali, one of the world’s poorest countries, usually has trouble ensuring all its people are fed. Hunger is worse than ever this year in Mali and across chronically dry West Africa because of a locust invasion last year, followed by drought. Niger, Burkina Faso and Mauritania also are affected. An estimated 1.5 million of Mali’s 11 million people are said to be facing hunger, including an estimated 144,000 children suffering malnutrition… the solution to chronic malnutrition across West Africa is education first, then economic development. Children at greatest risk are those recently weaned from mothers who aren’t sure what kinds of solid foods to give to their babies, particularly in times like these when creating a balanced diet is even more difficult.”

New Terrorist Attacks on September 11, 2005?

The Sunday Times published a frightening article on Sunday, August 14, stating: “American intelligence chiefs have warned that Al-Qaeda terrorists are plotting to drive hijacked fuel tankers into petrol stations in an effort to cause mass casualties in London and US cities in the next few weeks.The leaked warning, contained in a bulletin issued by the US Department for Homeland Security last week, says the attacks aim to create catastrophic damage at about the time of the fourth anniversary of the September 11 attacks on New York and Washington.”

The New York Times published a similar article on August 12, 2005, stating:

“A group of F.B.I. counterterrorism analysts warned this week of possible terrorist attacks in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago around Sept. 11, but officials cautioned on Thursday that they were skeptical about the seriousness of the threat. The warning grew out of intelligence developed from an overseas source indicating that terrorists might seek to steal fuel tanker trucks in order to inflict ‘mass casualties’ by staging an anniversary attack, officials said… Domestic security officials have long thought that tanker trucks could be used in terrorist attacks. New York, Los Angeles and Chicago are considered at the top of potential targets, along with Washington and Las Vegas, because of their size, high profiles, symbolic value and past plots by Al Qaeda… [The report] also warned that terrorists would seek to hijack gasoline tankers or trucks hauling oxygen and ram them into a gasoline station to cause major explosions.”

It is correct that 2 Peter 2:6-8 refers to “righteous Lot,” and describes him, by extension, as a “godly” person. The entire passage reads: “[Since God turned] the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them to destruction, making them an example to those who afterward would live ungodly; and delivered righteous Lot, who was oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked (for that righteous man, dwelling among them, tormented his righteous soul from day to day by seeing and hearing their lawless deeds)–then the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment.”

We must not forget that God spared Lot because He would not destroy the righteous with the wicked (compare Genesis 18:23). The two angels could not find ten righteous in Sodom (compare Genesis 18:32). Only Lot was willing to give them shelter, when they appeared in Sodom as strangers, while “all the people from every quarter” surrounded Lot’s house (Genesis 19:4), to “know them carnally” (verse 5). They did not realize, of course, that the men were angels. Since the Bible says that all of the men were present to act “wickedly” (verse 7), this might even suggest that Lot’s sons-in-law were present as well. Still, the angels were willing to spare Lot’s wife, Lot’s daughters, and even Lot’s sons-in-law (verse 12-15). There is no indication that Lot’s wife, his daughters or his sons-in-law were righteous, but God wanted to spare them for Lot’s sake. However, the sons-in-law did not flee and were consumed, and Lot’s wife died, too, when she looked back, as she apparently did not really want to leave Sodom (Genesis 19:26; compare Luke 17:28-33). We also get the impression from the account in Genesis that God spared Lot, to an extent, because of His righteous servant Abraham (compare Genesis 19:29), implying that Lot was not as righteous as Abraham.

Nevertheless, Lot, too, is described as righteous. However, the fact that Lot is described in that way–in comparison with the wickedness of his surroundings–does not mean that he was without fault or sin. Lot sinned when he greedily chose for himself the seemingly best part of the land of Canaan, “the plain of Jordan,” even though God had promised all of this land to Abraham (compare Genesis 13:7-13). Lot sinned greatly and horribly when he was suggesting to the homosexual citizens of Sodom to commit fornication with his two virgin daughters, to protect the two strangers in his house (compare Genesis 19:8). And he sinned when he allowed his daughters to make him drunk with wine, so that they could have offspring with him (compare Genesis 19:30-38).

However, Lot is still called “righteous” by God, as God looks foremost at the heart and the motive of a person. God forgives sins upon repentance, and He judges us mercifully, when our hearts are right. David SINNED horribly at times; for instance, when he committed adultery with Bathsheba and had her husband Uriah murdered in war. But God forgave him his sins, when he repented. He called David a man after His own HEART. The prostitute Rahab SINNED when she lied about the spies, but she did so because she wanted to save the spies. Lot SINNED when he was willing to turn over his daughters to the wicked men of Sodom, but he did so because he wanted to protect the strangers under his roof, fulfilling God’s command of hospitality and all that it entails.

This does not excuse Lot. But it also shows the great mercy of God who is willing to forgive us our unrighteousness, upon repentance, and to focus, instead, on our righteousness. Peter describes Lot as “just” or “righteous,” because he “tormented his righteous soul from day to day by seeing and hearing their lawless deeds” (2 Peter 2:8) — even though he might not have always known how to ACT righteously.

In Ezekiel 9:1-11, we find a similar example involving those who are protected from harm because of their righteousness. In this passage, God commands His angels to slay the wicked, but to spare those in Jerusalem “who sigh and cry over all the abominations that are done within it” (verse 4). Again, God is focusing primarily on the hearts and motives of His people. This does not mean that God tolerates or even justifies wrongdoing–but He understands that the flesh is weak. That is why we need God’s help DAILY to make us righteous–both in motive and in conduct–by forgiving us our sins, upon genuine repentance, and by cleansing us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). When we confess and leave behind our unrighteousness, as Lot did, God forgives and forgets about it, while focusing instead on our righteousness.

Lead Writer: Norbert Link

A new StandingWatch program will be recorded on Friday.

The Global Church of God in England celebrates their 10th anniversary on 20th August 2005. They had their inaugural service on the 19th August 1995 with 11 in attendance. This was held in the home of Brian and Jill Gale and continued for 3 months until a suitable hall was found. On 11th November 1995, services were transferred to the Friends Meeting House (Quakers) in Derby where they have been held, with very few exceptions, ever since.

Bob Devine, the Pastor at Derby since the inception of the Church, died prematurely in early 2002 and has been sadly missed. There have been many visitors in the last 10 years, and 212 different people have attended–some of whom also attended the Feast of Tabernacles in England. Brian Gale was ordained a deacon at Pentecost in 1996 by Evangelist Colin Adair and Elder Bob Devine. He was later ordained an Elder at the Feast of Tabernacles 2002 by Evangelist Norbert Link. The current deacon is Michael Downs who was ordained on January 31st 2004 by Norbert Link, who was the guest speaker at Derby on that Sabbath, and Brian Gale. Whilst the current congregation is small, they are holding fast diligently to the truth.

Open Doors
by Cali Harris (22)

It was a normal Monday morning recently when I went to work as a host at the restaurant where I am employed. I have always felt very blessed to have a great job, especially one where the Sabbath and Holy Days are not a problem. Lately, however, I have been interested in finding more challenging work. A few hours into my shift, my manager came up to the host stand and told me that the restaurant’s current sales manager was leaving the company.

Then, my manager offered me the open position! Right in front of me was an open door.

I could immediately close the door, turn around, and walk away from the opportunity, worried I may not have the skills necessary to do the job. Or I could leave the door open and deliberate for weeks, wondering whether or not this is a responsibility I really feel like taking on.

OR, I could walk confidently through the open door, having faith in God that this job is His answer to my prayers. Despite my nervousness I did walk through the open door; I saw it as a blessing and felt assured that God would guide me along the way. God opened the door for me, but I had to choose to faithfully walk through it.

Making a big decision–or walking through an open door–is sometimes a doubt-filled, stressful process. But if we are continually striving to build our relationship with God, then we can walk boldly through open doors!