The building of the Third Temple on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem is about to begin. Some claim that there will be no physical Temple, and that biblical references to the Temple strictly refer to the Church of God. This sermon will show from the Bible why this opinion is incorrect. We will also show who will be involved in the building of the Third Temple, and what will happen when the Temple has been erected.
Norbert Link
Current Events
by Norbert Link
We begin with serious reports about the new coronavirus which originated in China, apparently due to irresponsible and sickening human conduct, and which has by now spread to many countries around the world; report on several powerful earthquakes which struck within the last few days; point out that American troops were injured during the missile strikes by Iran on a base in Iraq, “totally belying President Donald Trump’s initial claim that no Americans were harmed” and prompting the largest Veterans organization in the USA to demand an apology from Trump for belittling the injuries.
We continue to speak on the explosive situation in Iraq and Iran and on Trump’s “deal of the century” peace plan which is dead on arrival, with absolutely NO chance for success.
We speak on Russia’s ongoing persecution of religious minorities; and address the rocky relationship between the UK and the EU which made Brexit inevitable. For much more information on this development, please view our new StandingWatch program, titled, “BREXIT DONE! The UK GONE! Was It Inevitable?”
We address an unusual locust plague in parts of Africa; an interesting development in Germany’s Protestant Church regarding Carnival celebrations for children; the continuing rivalry between Pope Benedict and Pope Francis and their respective supporters.
We speak on corrupt Italy; right-wing extremism in Germany and the failure to learn from history; and the startling announcement that the doomsday clock has moved within 100 seconds of midnight (midnight meaning the end of the world as we know it).
We speak on Trump’s participation in the anti-abortion “March to Life,” during which he gave lip service to the opposition of abortion (but not totally); while scoring a victory by the Republican majority within the Supreme Court pertaining to his unchristian immigration policy about the new “public charge rule.”
We conclude with a remarkable article about the Third Temple and the developing history of Muslim thinking regarding Jerusalem and the Temple Mount.
Throughout this section, we have underlined pertinent statements in the quoted articles, for the convenience and quick overview of the reader.
What does the Bible say about worldwide plagues and pandemics in the end time?
We have warned time and again of worldwide plagues and disease epidemics which will come upon mankind in these last days.
We said the following in our Q&A on the events foretold by Jesus Christ in Matthew 24:
“The third horse of the Apocalypse (mainly famine) is followed, according to Revelation 6:7-8, by a pale horse, and the rider’s name is ‘Death,’ and ‘Hades’ or ‘the Grave’ follows him. Christ says in Matthew 24:7 that famines will be followed by pestilences [see also Luke 21:11]… Historically, the Black Death alone killed upwards of one-third of the people living in Europe in the 14th century. The Spanish flu pandemic lasted from March, 1918, to June, 1920, spreading even to the Arctic and remote Pacific islands… estimates put the number of those who were killed at 40 to 50 million people…
“Revelation 6:8 adds that one-fourth of mankind will be killed by the four horsemen of the Apocalypse, and that these killings will be carried out with the sword (political and also religiously-motivated wars), with hunger (a result of famine), with death (resulting from pestilences), and also with the beasts of the earth. Many times, contagious diseases are communicated by sick animals carrying deadly viruses (remember the Ebola virus, the bird flu or the mad cow disease)…”
Contagious diseases may also be communicated by animals that are not even sick, but which are called unclean in the Bible. These animals were not created for human consumption, but it is interesting that many diseases and epidemics originated with the human consumption of such unclean animals, including monkeys, pigs, camels, civet cats, bats and snakes.
A deadly coronavirus has now spread from China to many countries around the world. This new virus originated apparently at Wuhan’s seafood market which sold live koalas, snakes, rats, bats and wolf pups to locals to eat. It has also been suggested that the virus had been manufactured in Chinese laboratories and then “escaped” by infecting animals, such as bats or snakes.
We also said this in one of our Q&As on Matthew 24:35:
“At this moment in time, we have not yet seen the beginning of the Great Tribulation, but we have been witnessing ever-increasing religious deception, wars, earthquakes, famines and disease epidemics–events which are described by Christ as the ‘beginning of sorrows’ (Matthew 24:8). These will become more and more visible and frightening in the years to come.
“We do not know the exact time of Christ’s return, but based on the parable of the fig tree, we CAN say that we ARE living today in the very last generation, and that Christ WILL return BEFORE this present generation has ‘passed away.’ It is therefore important for us to watch and pray, and to be ‘ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an HOUR [we] do NOT expect’ (Matthew 24:44).”
In the book of Revelation, God describes in detail how end-time plagues causing sickness and disease will be poured out on mankind. It is very possible that some of those plagues or disease epidemics speak of chemical-biological weapons and viruses which have been created in scientists’ laboratories.
Revelation 9:5-6 speaks about a European power causing great physical torment on others:
“And they were not given authority to kill them, but to torment them for five months. Their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it strikes a man. In those days men will seek death and will not find it; they will desire to die, and death will flee from them…”
Revelation 16:2, 11 speaks about God’s punishment through seven angels on those who follow the beast—an evil future military European leader—and the entire Babylonian system:
“So the first went and poured out his bowl upon the earth, and a foul and loathsome sore came upon the men who had the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image… They blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and did not repent of their deeds.”
In Revelation 18:4, God warns His people not to be a part of the Babylonian system so that they would not become a victim of the plagues (including terrible diseases and pandemics) which God will pour out on it:
“And I heard another voice from heaven saying, ‘Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues.’”
Another very sobering warning of God can be found in Revelation 22:18-19:
“For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.”
In addition, God warned especially the ancient Israelites and their modern descendants that He would inflict them with serious and incurable plagues, diseases, epidemics and pandemics if they were to forsake Him. And we should note that modern Israelites can be found in large numbers today in countries such as the USA, the UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Zimbabwe, as well as in many parts of Europe, and of course in the state of Israel.
God says in Leviticus 26:16, 25:
“I will even appoint terror over you, wasting disease and fever which shall consume the eyes and cause sorrow of heart… when you are gathered together within your cities I will send pestilence among you…”
A vivid description can also be found in Deuteronomy 28:21-22, 27-28, 35, 58-61:
“The LORD will make the plague cling to you until He has consumed you from the land which you are going to possess. The LORD will strike you with consumption, with fever, with inflammation, with severe burning fever, with the sword, with scorching, and with mildew; they shall pursue you until you perish…
“The LORD will strike you with the boils of Egypt, with tumors, with the scab, and with the itch, from which you cannot be healed. The LORD will strike you with madness and blindness and confusion of heart… The LORD will strike you in the knees and on the legs with severe boils which cannot be healed, and from the sole of your foot to the top of your head…
“If you do not carefully observe all the words of this law that are written in this book, that you may fear this glorious and awesome name, THE LORD YOUR GOD, then the LORD will bring upon you and your descendants extraordinary plagues–great and prolonged plagues–and serious and prolonged sicknesses. Moreover He will bring back on you all the diseases of Egypt, of which you were afraid, and they shall cling to you. Also every sickness and every plague, which is not written in this Book of the Law, will the LORD bring upon you until you are destroyed.”
You can find additional sober warnings of epidemics and pandemics for the disobedient and rebellious end-time Houses of Israel and Judah in passages such as Jeremiah 14:12; 24:10; 29:17-19; 34:17; as well as in Ezekiel 5:12, 17; 6:11-12; 7:14-15; 12:16; 33:26-29.
As we have seen, terrible diseases and pandemics will afflict all of mankind—not just the modern descendants of the ancient House of Israel. This entire world lives in total rebellion to God and His Laws. It is described as an evil world which is ruled by Satan the Devil. And since God is not a respecter of persons (Acts 10:34), His end-time warnings of epidemics and pandemics include all nations and peoples.
In fact, many of those diseases might start in “Gentile” nations and spread from there to the countries which are occupied by modern Israelites. This had already occurred in the past, when diseases originated in Africa (AIDS) or China (SARS), from which they spread to other continents and nations, including Israelite nations.
And so, God warns the modern descendants of the ancient Houses of Israel and Judah of terrible pandemics which will afflict them. True Christians are spiritual Jews and Israelites. But these terrible pandemics do not have to affect them, because God is promising protection to His people who stay faithful and loyal to Him.
For instance, we read about such a promise to His people in Psalm 91:3-11:
“Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler And from the perilous pestilence… You shall not be afraid of… the pestilence that walks in darkness… Because you have made the LORD, who is my refuge, Even the Most High, your dwelling place, No evil shall befall you, Nor shall any plague come near your dwelling; For He shall give His angels charge over you, To keep you in all your ways.”
He gave that same (timeless) promise already to ancient Israel, as we read in Exodus 15:26:
“If you diligently heed the voice of the LORD your God and do what is right in His sight, give ear to His commandments and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians. For I am the LORD who heals you.”
Note, too, His promise to His people in Deuteronomy 7:15, if they were to obey Him:
“And the LORD will take away from you all sickness, and will afflict you with none of the terrible diseases of Egypt which you have known, but will lay them on all those who hate you.” (But also note the sober warning in Ezekiel 14:19-20).
This does not mean, of course, that true Christians could never become sick. This important and oftentimes misunderstood subject is discussed, at length and in great detail, in our free booklet, “Sickness and Healing—What the Bible Tells Us.”
But it has been a remarkable experience within the Church of God that God’s ministers who fulfill God’s commands to anoint those who are sick (compare James 5:14) have not contracted a contagious disease for which and when they anoint the sick person, as God has been protecting His ministers who faithfully follow His directions in this regard.
The wonderful news is that in a few years from now, we will not hear anything anymore about the spread of diseases, sicknesses, epidemics and pandemics.
In a Q&A, discussing the conditions on earth AFTER Christ’s return, we stated:
“In the Millennium, sick, injured and impaired people will be healed, and there will be no more sickness and disease (Isaiah 33:24; Isaiah 35:3-6; Jeremiah 30:17).”
Man will learn God’s Way of Life, and when they do and live by it, they will reap the blessings for obedience. Man will never again play God by creating deadly viruses in laboratories, and they will never again defy God by eating the meat of unclean animals which were never created for human consumption, but which are harmful to human health, causing all kinds of diseases.
What a wonderful time that will be when horrible news of sicknesses and diseases will have become a thing of the past.
Lead Writer: Norbert Link
BREXIT DONE! The UK GONE! Was It Inevitable?
The UK formally leaves the European Union on Friday night, January 31, 2020. HISTORY HAS BEEN MADE. But the UK will enter a hotly contested transition period of 11 months during which the UK will have to continue to obey EU rules and pay money to the EU. Other obligations and restrictions apply as well.
One British paper wrote: “Could it have worked?… Or was it always doomed to failure?… Was it sheer bad luck and timing?” The Truth is, Brexit was inevitable. It was preordained to happen. The EU-UK cooperation was “doomed to failure.” The Bible says so, but why?
China’s Killer Coronavirus – Comments on News and Prophecy (January 25, 2020)
The Chinese virus has spread from unclean animals to humans, and has reached by now Hong Kong, Japan, Vietnam, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Australia, Saudi Arabia, USA, and France. Experts say that Britain is on the brink of an epidemic. Over 56 million Chinese are on lockdown. No vaccine exists at the moment. An ominous warning 3 months ago predicts the death of 60 million people.
Current Events
by Norbert Link
We begin with reporting on the deteriorating relationship between Europe, on the one hand, and the UK and the USA on the other hand, with no realistic prospects that the situation might improve. We also show Europe’s desire to become more active in military matters, especially in the Middle East.
We continue with addressing interesting developments regarding Jerusalem and the Al Aqsa mosque [please view our new StandingWatch program, titled, “China’s Deadly Virus and other Prophetic Events”; growing world-wide anti-Semitism in the light of the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp; and Turkey’s plans for Libya and Israel.
We conclude with the spread of a deadly virus originating in China [please view our StandingWatch program, mentioned above]; the dire situation in Australia; and interesting developments within the Catholic Church, pertaining to German Cardinal Reinhard Marx.
Throughout this section, we have underlined pertinent statements in the quoted articles, for the convenience and quick overview of the reader.
China’s Deadly Virus and other Prophetic Events
In light of the outbreak of a deadly virus in China, affecting humans all over the globe, why does God place a curse on those who eat or distribute unclean meat for human consumption? Why is Europe so angry with America over the assassination of an Iranian mass murderer, and why the tumult involving the Al Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem? All of this has to do with end-time biblical prophecies, and we can expect their fulfillment in 2020 and beyond, indicating the soon-coming return of Jesus Christ. Please stay tuned for an important announcement at the end of this program.
Two Popes Fighting Each Other–Comments on News and Prophecy (January 18, 2020)
If you are tempted to give up because of your problems, don’t! Yes, the world is getting darker, with unparalleled worldwide debt; unusual volcano and earthquake activities; Europe’s stance against Trump; the Middle East in turmoil; loss of moral values, even in Israel; and two popes fighting each other. But all of this only shows how close we are to the return of Jesus Christ.
Current Events
by Norbert Link
We report on explosive events in and pertaining to Iraq and Iran; Germany’s dubious role in handling or mishandling the situation in the Middle East; Angela Merkel’s far-too-cozy relationship with Vladimir Putin (please see our new StandingWatch program, titled, “Does Germany Have Nuclear Weapons?”); and the resignation of the entire Russian government after Putin’s latest attempt of a power grab.
We speak on the concern of a break-up of the UK; and the world’s unparalleled debt load.
We address the controversy between “the two popes” and conclude with an interesting article on volcanoes and earthquakes.
Throughout this section, we have underlined pertinent statements in the quoted articles, for the convenience and quick overview of the reader.
Be Alert and Go On Without Fear!
In my last Editorial, dated November 15 (Update #899), I spoke about the fact that “time is running out.” I warned that while we see end-time prophecies being fulfilled before our very eyes, some members of the Church of God lose heart and walk away, thereby forgetting Christ’s admonition to hold fast what they have so that they don’t lose their crown (Revelation 3:11).
I continued with the same theme in my last Member Letter, dated December 17, 2019, quoting news headlines in 2019 and showing how close we are to the Great Tribulation. On December 19, we produced a StandingWatch program, titled, “What’s Ahead for 2020.”
Now notice what all has happened already in 2020: The British parliament decided that Brexit will take place on January 31, 2020, causing further disagreements and upheaval between Britain and Europe; Australia’s devastating and deadly wildfires seem to have no end; turmoil and fear of a worldwide war, stemming from America’s conduct pertaining to Iraq, Iran and the entire Middle East, captivated the headlines in early January; and the demands for American withdrawal in that part of the world get louder. Then, after Putin’s attempted power grab, the entire Russian government resigned.
In this issue, we report on the strange and cozy relationship between Merkel and Putin, in defiance of and in opposition to the USA; the virtually unknown German access to America’s nuclear weapons; and the open disagreement between the two popes. Understanding prophecy, we know what all these developments mean.
We can’t be like the proverbial scoffers who deny the obvious, but we must realize that time is indeed short, and we must be sure that we don’t lose our focus for what is really important. Priorities can become mixed up in our lives, but when they do, we might become like the five foolish virgins who do not have enough oil in their lamps and are not ready when the cry is heard at midnight. We are close to midnight now, and warning cries are going out; and we all must work on establishing a sure and lasting relationship with God. Nothing else could be more important. The Bible warns us of the many distractions in this day and age which can influence us to lose sight of what needs to be our main focus: Things like working on our own house, while God’s house lies in ruins; the pleasures of life; our hobbies; “having to” deal with difficulties caused by others; the search for a mate; the desire for riches and physical possessions… the list could be endless. None of that will help us to make it into the Kingdom of God. Ultimately, it is our righteous character which will last and which we will “take with us” when we die… nothing else will.
At the same time, we must be careful in a different way. We must work on being ready today SPIRITUALLY, while planning to have an entire life before us PHYSICALLY. We must not fall into the trap of becoming indifferent to our physical obligations and responsibilities. We are told that we must work… if we refuse to do so, we should not be allowed to eat either. And that means that we must be diligent, reliable and responsible in our job. We are to take care of our household, our children, our mates; otherwise we are denying the faith and become worse than unbelievers. We have to look after the interests and needs of others… not just of our own. We have to care for our physical possessions and must not neglect them… but none of that should take first priority in our lives. We are to plan for the future, including financially… while realizing that our plans might not be what God has in store for us. We must always be willing to submit to and accept the Will of God.
Also, we must not become discouraged and fearful when realizing that the time of trouble is at hand. Fear and anxiety destroy faith and trust. When looking at what is going on around us and forgetting God, then we will become extremely worried and unable to function properly and productively. Christ told us that when we have our priorities straight—when we seek first the Kingdom of God and God’s righteousness, then we do not have to have anxious thoughts, because we know that God will give us what we need. He will never leave us nor forsake us. He will be with us always; until the very end. Remember, fear is not in love, but perfect love casts out fear. And we are to become perfect, as our Father in heaven is perfect.
I have always found words like the following very encouraging when I go through difficult times in my life. This kind of attitude is not normal to man; it can only be developed when God is on our side and when we draw near to Him… especially in times of need. We all must do this, when we face uncertainty, difficulties and trouble—when we consider the world in which we live:
“God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, Even though the earth be removed, And though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; Though its waters roar and be troubled, Though the mountains shake with its swelling… The LORD of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our refuge… Be still, and know that I am God…” (Psalm 46:1-3, 7, 10).
“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me” (Psalm 23:4).
“Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, And whose hope is the LORD. For he… will not fear when heat comes… And will not be anxious in the year of drought, Nor will cease from yielding fruit” (Jeremiah 17:7-8).
Christ tells us: “Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom” (Luke 12:32).
Considering this, let us go on with boldness, confidence and faith in these troublesome days; let us fulfill our individual and collective responsibilities, while keeping our priorities in check; and let us watch and heed world events in the light of biblical prophecies, which should motivate us to draw closer to God, and this so much the more as we see that the Day is fast approaching.
