Update 1128

On September 14, 2024, Dave Harris will present the sermonette, titled, “How Do We Ask?” and Eric Rank will present the sermon, titled, “Yesterday, Today, and Forever.”

The live services are available, over video and audio, at http://eternalgod.org/live-services/ (12:30 pm Pacific Time; 1:30 pm Mountain Time; 2:30 pm Central Time; 3:30 pm Eastern Time; 8:30 pm Greenwich Mean Time; 9:30 pm Central European Time). Just click on Connect to Live Stream.

Jesus Christ warned us that in these last days, Satan’s attempts to deceive mankind will reach unparalleled proportions. Christ told us that many would believe Satan’s delusions, lies, great signs and lying wonders (Matthew 24:11; Revelation 13:13; 2 Thessalonians 2:9-11), and He even said that we must take heed that no one deceives us (Matthew 24:4), and that even we, the elect, must be careful not to be deceived (Matthew 24:24).

One of those demonic deceptions, especially for professing nominal Christians, is the Shroud of Turin. It is claimed that it is the burial cloth of Jesus Christ, and that it is imprinted with the image of the body and face of Jesus. We have published numerous articles proving that this Shroud does NOT depict Jesus Christ.

For instance, we wrote in “Is the Shroud of Turin Authentic?” https://www.eternalgod.org/is-the-shroud-of-turin-authentic/: “John 19:40 shows that Christ was [bound] in linen CLOTHES and that John 11:44 describes the custom of Jewish burials in using several CLOTHES and binding them about the dead body, in addition to the dead person’s face being wrapped with or in a cloth (a head swath)…” We have also pointed out that “the results of carbon-14 tests in 1988 suggested the shroud was no older than the 13th century [and] that the ‘calendar age range assigned to the shroud cloth, with a 95% confidence level, is from 1260 to 1390 A.D.’”

Recently, articles have been stating that “Italian researchers used specialist x-ray technology to examine the linen sheet and determine its age [suggesting] the cloth was made around 2,000 years ago” and that the “carbon dating was unreliable” (The Sun, dated August 20). More importantly, the study claims that the “Shroud contains evidence of a real person with real blood and other bodily effluents” (Newsmax, dated September 5).

There are at least two irrefutable biblical proofs establishing that the Shroud of Turin—whatever it might be—could not possibly be a genuine depiction of Jesus Christ, but that it is a sophisticated Satanic fabrication to uphold long-standing errors taught by orthodox Christianity.

The Daily Express got Midjourney AI to provide a glimpse of a face that could be in the Shroud. The image shows a man with a long beard and long hair, similar to how Jesus is usually depicted. The only problem is, Jesus did not wear long hair. This AI depiction is a Satanic attempt to present a false Jesus to the world. Previously, Israeli and British forensic anthropologists and computer programmers created Christ’s face featured in “Popular Mechanics,” a 1.2 million-circulation magazine. They did not mean to imply that Christ actually looked the way the magazine cover portrayed Him, as they used the skull of a Jew from the first century — not, of course, the actual skull of Jesus. They nevertheless determined that Christ did not wear long hair. Other experts agree with that conclusion.

Jesus looked like an ordinary Jew; Judas had to identify Him to the soldiers. He was a Nazarene (having grown up in the city of Nazareth; Matthew 2:23), but He was not a “Nazarite.” It is true that “Nazirites” did not cut their hair, but they were also prohibited from drinking any wine or touching a dead body (Numbers 6:4–6). Christ, however, did drink wine (Luke 22:14–18; Matthew 11:19), and He did touch dead bodies (Luke 8:51–55). If He had been a Nazarite, He would have sinned against the Law of God. But He said that He had kept His Father’s commandments (John 15:10), including all ritual laws still in force and effect at His time.

In addition, Paul told us in 1 Corinthians 11:2–16 that a man is not to wear “long hair,” and that even nature teaches us that wearing long hair is a “dishonor” to or “shameful” for a man. Christ would have most certainly not behaved in a way which would have dishonored His Father (compare John 8:49). So, the Shroud of Turin does NOT depict Jesus Christ, even for this reason alone.

More proof in this regard is given in our free booklet, “Do You Know the Jesus of the Bible?”  

But there is another biblical reason totally debunking the idea that the Shroud of Turin could be a genuine depiction of Jesus.

Newsmax wrote on September 5 that according to the new study, there are “‘[b]loodstained marks all over the body image which are consistent with pre-crucifixion flagellation, bloodstained marks on the head that are consistent with a ‘crown’ of thorns, blood marks on the hand and feet that are consistent with crucifixion and the bloodstain on the chest that evidences a post-mortem wound that corresponds with the post-mortem spear wound that Christ received as is described in the Bible.”

The problem is, the Jesus of the Bible did NOT receive a “post-mortem spear wound.”

We pointed out in our Q&A, “How, exactly, did Jesus Christ die? Why did a soldier pierce Him with a spear when He was already dead?”:

“When we read Matthew’s account, in the New King James Bible, we will not find exactly how Christ died. The reason is that this translation omits a crucial verse, at the end of Matthew 27:49. Several translations, as well as many old manuscripts, have retained this missing verse. For instance, verses 49 and 50 read in the Moffat translation: ‘But the others said, “Stop, let us see if Elijah does come to save him!” (Seizing a lance, another pricked [better, pierced] his side, and out came water and blood.) Jesus again uttered a loud scream, and gave up his spirit.’…

“We need to take note of an additional passage in John’s account. We read in John 19:32–34: ‘Then the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and of the other who was crucified with Him. But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs. But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out.’

“This Scripture, the way it is rendered, seems to say that the soldier pierced Christ’s side after He had already died. However, the word ‘pierced’ is in the aorist tense in the original Greek, designating a kind of action, not the time of action. It describes an action done at a single moment, and not continuously, but it does not tell us when the action takes place. Only the context can make this clear. Therefore, in John 19:34, the passage could also be correctly translated as, ‘But one of the soldiers HAD PIERCED His side with a spear.’ From the missing verse in Matthew 27:49, we know that John 19:34 has to be translated, in fact, in the past tense.”

Much more evidence is given in our free booklet, “Jesus Christ–A Great Mystery“, proving that Jesus died at the moment when a soldier pierced His side. He did NOT receive a post-mortem wound.

The Shroud of Turin is a demonic fake, designed to deceive professing Christians and the entire world. Appearing to “confirm” the biblical account, it in reality distorts and falsifies it. It is also important to realize that virtually all depictions of Christ do not accurately reflect His appearance as a human being on earth. He did not wear long flowing hair, and He did not look like a woman. He was a carpenter, a builder, and He was also the leader of former fishermen. Even His hair color was probably not blond—as depicted in most paintings—but black, as the Hebrew people at the time of Christ were recognized as having predominantly black hair.

But most importantly, we should not have pictures of Christ to begin with. Christ was God in the flesh, and Deuteronomy 4:15-16 tells us:

“Take careful heed to yourselves, for you saw no form when the LORD spoke to you at Horeb out of the midst of the fire, lest you act corruptly and make for yourselves a carved image in the form of any figure: the likeness of male or female…’

Paul tells us that we are not to “know” Christ “according to the flesh.” We read in 2 Corinthians 5:16 (Phillips translation): “… even though we knew Christ as a man, we do not know him like that any longer.”

We do not know how Christ really looked as a Man, but we DO know that He did NOT look like the figure on the Shroud of Turin. It is dangerous to focus on images and pictures of Christ and think that in some way those portrayals may accurately represent how Christ might have looked. We are to focus on Christ as He is now—a powerful Spirit being! To get a correct portrayal of Christ’s present appearance, please read Revelation 1:14–16. Christ has white hair, as white as wool or snow, and His eyes are like flames of fire, while His face shines like the sun in full strength! THAT is the Jesus Christ of the Bible—God the Son—who is worthy of worship!

And NO picture or image could portray Him in THAT way!

by Norbert Link

We are addressing the debate between Trump and Harris [please view our new StandingWatch program, titled, “The Biggest Loser in the Trump/Harris Debate”, political turmoil and the citizens’ justified dissatisfaction with their incompetent governments in Germany and France; speak of the dire state of the UK’s Royal Navy and British trans madness; and address troublesome and interesting developments in the USA.

In other news, we speak about Russia’s new threats which should not be taken lightly, the Shroud of Turin (also note the Editorial in this Update); perverse parental conduct; and the dream to send man to planet Mars.

The Trump-Harris Debate: Three Against One

The New York Post Editorial Board wrote on September 11:

“Donald Trump got to Kamala Harris’ core problem in his debate close, waving off all her promises about what she’d do in office: ‘Why hasn’t she done it already?’ Hard to think of a better riposte… Harris had a pretty smooth night: She did her homework for once, including prepping lines guaranteed to get under Trump’s skin — some of which plainly did put him off-balance.

“And of course she had backup from the moderators, ABC’s David Muir and Linsey Davis — who targeted far more questions at Trump than at Harris, and all of their ‘fact-checking.’ Worse: Whenever she started to babble in trying to defend her own record, they rescued her by changing the subject. And by changing it again whenever Trump was truly on a roll…

“Trump was erratic — notably taking her bait when she claimed people walked out of his rallies and when she fictionalized his remarkable business success… [Harris] needs to take more risks, and on less friendly ground, or she’s still headed for defeat.”

This was to be expected… that is why Harris refused to have a debate with Trump moderated by Fox News.

The Rigged Debate

The New York Post added on September 11:

“When Trump argued that crime in the US is increasing because of migrants allowed into the country on Harris’ watch, ‘World News Tonight’ anchor David Muir interjected: ‘President Trump, as you know, the FBI says overall violent crime is actually coming down.’ Trump fired back with his own fact check that ‘they didn’t include the cities with the worst crime,’ referencing the omission of data from Los Angeles, New York City and Chicago…

“At another point, ‘World News Tonight Sunday’ host Linsey Davis intervened after Trump made reference to former Virginia Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam’s 2019 remarks about aborting babies after birth… ‘There is no state in this country where it is legal to kill a baby after it’s born,’ stated Davis after Trump concluded, drawing howls from conservatives who noted that six states and the District of Columbia currently do not place any limits on the procedure…

“Trump allies and Republican commentators were left fuming and compiling a long list of missed opportunities for Muir and Davis to rebuke Harris… ‘David Muir is out of control,’ tweeted Judicial Watch president Tom Fitton, writing, ‘It isn’t ‘fact-checking,’ it is attacking.’ Rep. Mike Waltz (R-Fla.) tweeted, ‘ABC News has refused to “fact-check” Kamala Harris on lying about Trump’s positions on: – Project 2025 – Charlottesville comments – ‘Bloodbath’ comments – IVF.’”

For the moderators to state that violent crime is down in the USA is ludicrous, and to falsely claim that no state allows killing a baby after birth is appalling and unjustifiable. Those moderators need to go.

Breitbart wrote on September 11:

“Vice President Kamala Harris issued a slew of false claims and hoaxes that ABC debate moderators did not fact check during Tuesday’s debate against former President Donald Trump.” Breitbart then listed “and rebutted 21 false claims and hoaxes that Harris uttered on live television, in front of millions of Americans.” https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2024/09/10/21-kamala-harris-false-claims-hoaxes-that-debate-moderators-did-not-fact-check/

Fox News wrote on September 11:

“The biggest loser in the… presidential debate… was ABC News… The moderators, David Muir and Linsey Davis, embarrassed themselves and their network by, among other things, fact-checking Trump in real time on more than one occasion – sometimes incorrectly – while allowing Harris to spout serial lies and distortions. .. Trump, on the other hand, failed to prosecute his case. While Harris appeared over-prepared and practiced, with ready-to-go gestures and studied mannerisms, Trump was clearly under-prepared. It is frustrating to his supporters, because he has the facts on his side…. But instead of forcefully arguing about his successes, he meandered. And, he forgot to smile.”

Trump did not do too well, as even conservative commentators acknowledged:

“Let’s make no mistake. Trump had a bad night,” Fox News host Brit Hume said. “We just heard so many of the old grievances that we all know aren’t winners politically.”

“Trump lost the debate, and whining about the moderators doesn’t change it,” conservative radio host Erick Erickson wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

“Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said afterward that the former president’s debate team should be fired and that Trump was unprepared, calling the debate a “disaster.” 

Deutsche Welle wrote on September 11:

“… the consensus among pundits and pollsters appears to be that Harris narrowly won the night. But whether this makes a difference in the election, just under two months away, is less clear.”

The liberal left-wing media went over the top again, as can be expected. The Drudge Report wrote: “The Night Trump Lost it all… The Worst Performance of his Career.”

Trump Falls For Harris’ Provocations

Die Welt wrote on September 11:

“What impression did Harris leave? A surprisingly good one… Above all, she didn’t let Trump bother her at all. Unlike in the past, she did not resort to making condescending gestures or comments towards Trump. However, her lecture repeatedly had a tiring pastoral quality.

“What impression did Trump make? He performed poorly compared to the disciplined and concise Harris. Even arch-Trump fans like a Fox host said Trump had ‘missed some opportunities.’

“Initially, Trump was good at countering Harris’ attacks. On several occasions he did not answer questions from ABC journalists, but instead responded directly to an attack from Harris. Sometimes Trump scored a direct hit, for example when Harris tried to interrupt him… But Harris increasingly succeeded in irritating Trump. For example, when she claimed that his campaign appearances were boring and that people were leaving early in droves. Instead of shrugging off the comment, Trump went on a tirade that his rallies are ‘the biggest in history because people want their country back.’

“Can this duel decide the election? Absolutely not. Harris may have been able to win over voters tonight. But the race is so close that a single evening of television probably won’t give the Democrats the large number of undecided votes they need to win the election. The TV duel was therefore a stage victory for Harris. But nothing more.”

Bild Online wrote on September 11:

“Kamala Harris’s tactics worked in the first presidential debate last night in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She skillfully infuriated Donald Trump and stayed cool herself… Trump provided her with plenty of templates. Especially when it came to immigration, actually a possible winning issue for the Republican, Harris hit a sore spot: Trump’s vanity. ‘I invite you to go to one of Donald Trump’s events,’ she said to the millions of TV viewers… ‘You’ll notice that people leave his rallies early out of exhaustion and boredom.’ Sentences which were practiced before and which were the core of her tactics. The ex-president’s eyes first narrowed, then anger flared up. Trump took Harris’ bait and chose to talk about his events instead of migration…’

“The Democrats were euphoric after the debate. Trump’s Republicans practiced damage control. BUT: Hillary Clinton also clearly won her first debate against Trump in 2016…”

Immigrants Eat Pets?

The Daily Mail wrote on September 11:

“One of the stranger moments of last night’s fiery presidential debate… came when the former president ranted about Haitian migrants ‘eating pets’ in Springfield, Ohio… The claims, dismissed during the debate by the Vice President as ‘unbelievable and extreme’, have electrified the American political debate. 

“While city officials and law enforcement officers in Springfield say there have been no credible reports to suggest they are true, some fed-up residents maintain that it’s a problem… One aggrieved man made the claim during a city commission meeting last month to address the influx of legal Haitian immigrants – which has revitalized the local economy, but also sparked controversy among locals. ‘I really challenge you guys to get out here and do something,’ he told the meeting. ‘These Haitians are running into trash cans, running into buildings, they’re flipping cars in the middle of the streets. ‘They’re in the park, grabbing up ducks by their neck, and cutting their head off and walking off with them. They’re eating them.’…

“During last night’s debate, ABC’s David Muir told Trump there had been no credible reports of pets being stolen and eaten. Trump shot back to say he did not necessarily believe what city officials were saying…

“[A Facebook] post combined a screenshot of an earlier Facebook post from a Springfield community group, in which one user made an alarming claim that cats and dogs were being strung up to eat by Haitian migrants, with an image of an unidentified man carrying what appeared to be the corpses of two geese.  The Facebook post read: ‘My neighbor informed me that her daughter’s friend had lost her cat… One day she came home from work, as soon as she stepped out of her car, looked towards a neighbor’s house, where Haitians live & saw her cat hanging from a branch, like you’d do a deer for butchering, & they were carving it up to eat. I’ve been told they are doing this to dogs, they have been doing it at Snyder Park with the ducks & geese.’

“The unsubstantiated story, when paired with the image of an unidentified man, spread like wildfire across X, garnering millions upon millions of views.  Its influence was confirmed when Republican vice-presidential candidate JD Vance amplified the narrative about ‘Haitian illegal immigrants’ in a September 9 post on X that said: ‘Reports now show that people have had their pets abducted and eaten by people who shouldn’t be in this country.’ The VP hopeful later walked back his claims in a following post, writing: ‘It’s possible, of course, that all of these rumors will turn out to be false.’…

“Vance was by no means the only prominent Republican shared posts parroting the narrative on migrants eating pets and Springfield wildlife. Among them was Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who posted a photo of kittens with a caption that said to vote for Trump ‘So Haitian immigrants don’t eat us.’…”

However, usually, where there is smoke, there might be fire.

Kamala Harris the Next President? A Frightening Scenario!

Daily Mail published the following article on September 9 by Charlie Spiering, which was written BEFORE the debate:

“As a seasoned political journalist and author of Amateur Hour: Kamala Harris In The White House – a comprehensive investigation into how this eccentric San ­Francisco attorney was fast-tracked to becoming potentially the next leader of the free world – I find the lack of scrutiny applied to this ­shallow and desperate political ­figure to be maddening. Since winning the nomination, ‘Calamity Kamala’… did nothing to enhance her authority. Senior Democrats in Washington tell me that her ­campaign is increasingly riven and dysfunctional.…

“In my opinion she combines naked political ambition with an instinctive cunning, a lack of scruples and a willingness to jump on every fashionable bandwagon… It is genuinely alarming that with the world in turmoil, from war in Ukraine to escalating conflict in the Middle East, this comparative ­novice could soon be in power…. The West is confronted by an array of tyrants and terrorists, but our destiny could be imminently in the hands of an amateur...

“Harris’s parents divorced when she was seven and she was largely raised by her Hindu mother, with her Jamaican-born father ­working as a senior professor at Stanford University. This mixed-race upbringing has been useful for her career amid the American Left’s fanatical embrace of identity politics…

“By rights, the presidency should be a step too far for a candidate of her ­calibre.  But there is no predicting the American electorate – and I fear the prospect of this individual becoming president is all too likely – and all too terrifying.”

Sentence Delayed in Trump’s “Total Fraud” Case

Newsmax wrote on September 8:

“New York Judge Juan Merchan decided to delay former President Donald Trump’s sentencing on his New York business records convictions until after the election to allow himself more flexibility in sentencing the GOP nominee, Alan Dershowitz, Harvard Law professor emeritus, told Newsmax Sunday… ‘I think he’s going to say this conviction warrants imprisonment… Of course it doesn’t. It warrants nothing, but I think that’s what he’s going to do or give him a probationary sentence and home confinement.’…

“Dershowitz argued that the case against Trump is a ‘total fraud’ and the judge and prosecutors should be ‘disciplined’ for bringing the case to court… ‘ I am probably the most experienced criminal lawyer in this country with 60 years of teaching, practicing, and writing about criminal law. I don’t understand the charges.’… Dershowitz said Sunday that the charges would be misdemeanors that would be barred by the statute of limitations, but ‘they magically tried to turn it into a felony.’ ‘It’s the most absurd criminal charge I’ve seen in my 60 years of being an expert in criminal law,’ said Dershowitz. ‘And if I can’t figure it out, how do you expect the defendant, a nonlawyer like Donald Trump, to understand that?…it’s an outrage to every American.’”

Can Germany’s Far-Right Win Across the Country?

The Week UK wrote on September 7:

“A startling AfD triumph in eastern Germany’s regional elections lays bare the fragility of the country’s mismatched coalition government. A far-right party has won a regional election in Germany for the first time since the Second World War. The Alternative for Germany (AfD) party took 32.8% of the vote in the poll in the eastern state of Thuringia on Sunday, giving it a clear win over the conservative CDU, which came second with 23.6%. In neighbouring Saxony, the CDU defeated the AfD by just 31.9% to 30.6%.

“Björn Höcke, the AfD leader in Thuringia… hailed the victory as ‘historic’ and warned rival parties against excluding it from any coalition deals in the regional parliament. Chancellor Olaf Scholz, whose SPD party was trounced in both states, urged other parties to govern without the AfD, which he accused of ‘ruining our country’s reputation’… [Even though it is Scholz and his incompetent bickering government who have been completely running the country’s reputation.]

“The results have ‘sent shockwaves of fear and despair across Europe’. It was especially humiliating for Scholz, says the Times.  His governing coalition has proved ‘one of the weakest in the Federal Republic’s history’ [probably THE weakest] and all three of the mismatched parties within it fared badly. The results prompted Scholz to hold urgent talks with other party leaders on how to form state governments without the AfD – and even on ‘how to hold together his fractious coalition’.

“A former history teacher, [Höcke] has criticised Germany for dwelling on the crimes of the Holocaust; he seems to model his rhetoric on Hitler’s; his young supporters call themselves the ‘Höcke Youth’, an echo of the Hitler Youth; and members of his own party have tried to expel him for being too extreme. Yet none of that deterred voters in Thuringia, who have gifted him an extraordinary personal triumph… the AfD’s tough message on migration, and its calls to end the war in Ukraine, appealed to voters anxious about rising energy prices, and about Germany’s ailing economy.

“Scholz has tried to combat the AfD by echoing its hardline rhetoric… in the wake of the Solingen terror attack, he proposed tightening border controls and stepped up deportations of asylum seekers. But that strategy isn’t working. Why? Because voters in places such as Thuringia are frustrated about more than migration and war, said… Der Spiegel. When roads and bridges are dilapidated and ‘every train ride is a lottery’, a feeling takes hold that ‘nothing works anymore’, and that nobody in Berlin cares. It’s this sense of hopelessness that mainstream parties must address if they are to halt the AfD’s rise.”

Germany is more than ready for a new government. However, nobody seems to be on the horizon who could substantially change the dire situation. But that person LIVES, and will manifest himself in due time.

Germany Now Greece’s Most Important Economic Partner

Deutsche Welle wrote on September 7:

“Germany is the ‘honored country’ at this year’s Thessaloniki International Fair, which kicks off this Saturday in Greece’s second city. Not so long ago, this would have been unthinkable. At the peak of Greece’s sovereign debt crisis in 2014 and 2015, Greece teetered on the brink of leaving the eurozone currency union… Banks were nationalized, companies folded and [many] Greeks blamed the austerity measures, which they felt had been dictated by Berlin… A decade later and much has changed in the economic relations between these two EU members.

“In February 2024, Deutsche Bank reported that Greece had made an ‘astonishing economic comeback’…  The modernization of 14 regional airports by Fraport Greece, a subsidiary of the German airport operator Fraport AG, is seen as one of the country’s model investment projects… the Fraport investment was a success, specifically because the Germans invested in smaller airports, thereby attracting even more visitors to Greece… Despite all the tension between the two countries during the Greek sovereign debt crisis, Germany is now Greece’s most important economic partner and a major market for Greek exports.

“And it works both ways: Products that are ‘Made in Germany’ are in great demand in Greece. Indeed, when it comes to imports, Germany is still right at the top of Greece’s list.”

The improved relationship between Germany and Greece is remarkable, as according to the Bible, the two countries will cooperate and work together in the future… much to the detriment of the Jewish people.

More Dictatorial Measures in Germany?

Deutsche Welle wrote on September 8:

“Interior Minister Nancy Faeser’s proposal is reminiscent of a method practiced by the ‘the Stasi,’ the Ministry for State Security of the former communist East Germany, whose secret police infiltrated the homes of suspected regime opponents in order to tap their phones… Now… Faeser wants to empower investigators to use the method once again. However,… the German parliament must first give its approval. The Interior Minister is proposing to allow the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) to enter terrorism suspects’ homes in order to install spy software on their smartphones and computers...

“It is unlikely that the neoliberal… FDP… will agree to government-authorized secret home break-ins, as defending citizens’ rights is at the heart of the party’s trademark… At the moment, German security authorities are allowed to tap suspicious persons’ electronic devices without breaking into their homes, under certain circumstances — using remote forensic software to obtain data from suspects’ devices without them noticing. German police have been allowed to use this method to monitor suspects’ homes as part of ‘online searches’ since 2017. However, every single such action must first be approved by a court — or in especially urgent cases, by a public prosecutor’s office…

“But online searches have always been controversial. One 2008 Federal Constitutional Court ruling was considered groundbreaking, which stated that online searches are only permitted if human life or the state itself is at risk.

“So covert searches are supposed to be an absolute exception when fighting crime in Germany. Open raids on homes, on the other hand, are a normal part of everyday police work. They, too, can only be carried out on the order of a court or a public prosecutor’s office [However, judging by Faeser’s recent deplorable conduct, such orders seem to be easily obtainable.] As a rule, searches are undertaken in the suspect’s presence.

“Some raids make news headlines. A recent example of this was when the home of the head of the German… Comcast magazine… was searched  to secure evidence. The magazine had been banned by Interior Minister Nancy Faeser in July 2024. But then the Federal Administrative Court allowed Elsässer to continue publishing because the court had doubts about the proportionality of the ban, on whether it impinges on freedom of the press and freedom of opinion.

“Despite the partial victory for magazine publisher Elsässer, his house could still be ‘secretly’ searched — theoretically — because in 2021 Compact was classified as a ‘confirmed right-wing extremist’ publication by Germany’s Office for the Protection of the Constitution [a seemingly phony decision]. That designation authorizes so-called ‘undercover investigations,’ which can include ‘entering a person’s home’ — but only remotely.

“Justice Minister Marco Buschmann (FDP), rejected Faeser’s new proposal on X: ‘There will be no authorization given to secretly snoop in people’s homes. We don’t do that in a constitutional state. That would be an absolute breach of taboo,’ he wrote… He urges proportionality, warning that, ‘If a law allows the state to secretly break into a home to search it, many people will lose their trust in the rule of law.’”

Absolutely! In addition, such governmental actions would not be limited to suspected terrorists and “right-wing extremists.” Everyone would be in danger of governmental despotism. Sadly, it WILL come to that.

Macron’s Dubious Role in the Telegram Affair

Politico wrote on September 7:

“One of the first things Pavel Durov did when he was arrested on Aug. 24 at Paris’ Le Bourget airport was to tell the police he had flown to France to have dinner with President Emmanuel Macron… Macron’s office said the president had been unaware of Durov’s arrival and staying at his vacation home in a northern France beach town when the arrest was made… Much of the speculation about the reasons for Durov’s detention swirled around allegations that France was seeking to censor a platform known for its commitment to privacy…

“Durov’s arrest presents a challenge for France, which faces accusations of seeking to suppress free speech on platforms like Telegram, and for Macron, who has a long-standing relationship with the tech tycoon.  There is growing public speculation about whether Durov’s arrest may have deeper motivations — namely, a possible effort by Western powers to assert control over Telegram…

“According to a French security expert who requested anonymity, landing at Le Bourget airport is akin to knocking on the front door and saying, ‘it’s me.’…

“In addition to being both a French and Russian citizen, Durov is also a citizen of the United Arab Emirates, where he resides and operates Telegram, as well as the Caribbean island state of Saint Kitts and Nevis, which grants citizenship in exchange for investment. Both Russia and the United Arab Emirates offered Durov diplomatic assistance — which he declined…

“… he does have a relationship with the French president that goes back to the early days of Macron’s presidency when he was going to great lengths to entice global tech leaders to invest in France. As part of that effort, Macron offered Durov French citizenship. ‘We made the decision in 2018 I believe — it is a decision I fully take ownership of,’ Macron said during a trip to Serbia on Aug. 29… Durov was officially granted citizenship in 2021, according to the French official journal.”

Durov’s arrest and “detention” in France is more than suspicious, and Macron’s role in this is certainly very dubious.

Unstable France in Uproar

ABC News wrote on September 7:

“Thousands of protesters took to the streets across France on Saturday, responding to a call from a far-left party leader who criticized as a power grab the president’s appointment of a conservative new prime minister, Michel Barnier. The protests are a direct challenge to President Emmanuel Macron’s decision to bypass a prime minister from the far-left bloc following a deeply dividing legislative election in July. The left, particularly the France Unbowed party, views Barnier’s conservative background as rejecting the electorate’s will, further intensifying the EU’s second economy’s already charged political atmosphere.

“Jordan Bardella, leader of the far-right National Rally (RN), warned that Barnier was ‘under surveillance’ by his party as well…

“Barnier, 73, is the oldest of the 26 prime ministers that have served modern France’s Fifth Republic. He replaces the youngest, Gabriel Attal, who was 34 when he was appointed just eight months ago. Attal was forced to resign after Macron’s centrist government suffered a major defeat in the July snap legislative elections. Macron called the election in the hopes of securing a clear mandate, but it instead produced a hung parliament, leaving the president without a legislative majority and plunging his administration into turmoil.

“Attal was also France’s first openly gay prime minister. French media and some of Macron’s opponents, who immediately criticized Barnier’s appointment, quickly dug up that, when serving in parliament in 1981, the new prime minister had been among 155 lawmakers who voted against a law that decriminalized homosexuality. Though Barnier brings five decades of political experience, his appointment offers no guarantee of resolving the crisis. His challenge is immense: He must form a government that can navigate a fractured National Assembly, where the political spectrum is deeply divided between the far left, far right, and Macron’s weakened centrist bloc. The outcome of the snap poll, far from providing clarity, has only served to destabilize both the country and Macron’s grip on power.

“The president’s decision to turn to Barnier, a seasoned political operator with deep ties to the European Union, is seen as an attempt to bring stability to French politics. And Barnier, who gained prominence as the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, has faced daunting tasks before. Critics say Macron, elected on the promise of a break from the old political order, now finds himself battling the instability he once promised to overcome…”

France in Turmoil

AFP wrote on September 8:

“French conservative leader Marine Le Pen on Sunday urged President Emmanuel Macron to hold a referendum on key issues such as immigration, suggesting that giving the French a direct vote might help break the political deadlock… analysts say the country is set for a period of instability, with Barnier’s hold on power seen as fragile and dependent on support from Le Pen’s eurosceptic, anti-immigration National Rally (RN) party, which is the largest party in the new National Assembly.

“More than 100,000 left-wing demonstrators rallied across France on Saturday to protest against his nomination and denounce Macron’s ‘power grab’. Le Pen, who leads RN lawmakers in parliament, has said her party would not be part of the new cabinet… Le Pen also indicated she would watch Barnier’s every move. ‘If, in the coming weeks, the French are once again forgotten or mistreated, we will not hesitate to censure the government,’ she added… The left-wing coalition has also vowed to topple Barnier with a no-confidence motion…”

As the Bible says, France (Reuben) is as unstable as water…

Royal Navy in Utterly Dire State

Daily Mail wrote on September 6:

“The ‘utterly dire’ state of the Royal Navy fleet can be revealed today, with not one of its six attack submarines at sea. Only nine out of 25 warships and attack – as opposed to nuclear – submarines are active or deployed.  The rest of the fleet has racked up a staggering 30 years of missed days at sea as vessels are either broken down, being modified or undergoing trials. The shocking figures, confirmed by Navy sources, emerged as fears intensify over the future of the Armed Forces.

“Despite the threat posed by Russia, instability in the Middle East and the rise of China, the new Government is making defence cuts. Retired Rear Admiral Chris Parry said last night: ‘This situation is utterly dire – we haven’t got enough ships to protect our aircraft carriers and we haven’t got any attack submarines to protect our nuclear deterrent.’ It is understood that shortages of engineers and dry-dock facilities are exacerbating the situation.

“The worst offenders in the naval fleet are assault ship HMS Bulwark and destroyer HMS Daring – which have both been inactive for more than seven years…. Most alarmingly, the shortage of attack submarines has apparently led to US submarines being called on to protect the UK’s ‘bomber’ submarines.”

Great Britain’s “glory days” are long past…

“Trans Madness”

The Sun wrote on September 6:

“DO those who have convinced confused teenagers to change gender, sometimes tearing apart their loving families in the process, never worry about the appalling harm they have done?

“… These kids have been encouraged online or by classmates to believe they were born in the wrong body. Being trans became fashionable on social media.

“Professionals, possessed of the liberal-Left’s arrogant moral certitude, couldn’t wait to steer them towards life-changing decisions about their bodies, ­brainwashing them about their ‘true’ identity while shoving their worried parents out of the way…  Anyone dissenting from all this is instantly branded a ‘transphobe’.”

Such terrible developments in our “civilized” “enlightened” Western societies!

Unparalleled US National Debt

The Daily Hodl wrote on September 7:

“The US national debt has ballooned by over half a trillion dollars in just three months… America’s national debt jumped from $34,635,364,143,328 on June 3rd to $35,319,686,640,609 on September 3rd – a surge of $684,322,497,000. The massive rise is coming just over a month after the US national debt crossed the $35 trillion mark. The US credit rating giant Fitch continues to sound the alarm on the growing debt and deficit… ‘The government has failed to meaningfully tackle large fiscal deficits, the growing debt burden and looming increases in spending associated with an aging population.’

“The rating giant notes that… trust in the US and the dollar may erode if the country continues to rely on debt to fund expenses. Last year, Fitch downgraded the long-term rating for the US from the ‘AAA’ gold standard to ‘AA+,’ citing expected fiscal deterioration over the coming years.”

Such debt is unsustainable, especially because the trust in the USA and the dollar WILL erode.

American Citizen Shot and Killed by Israel

Newsmax wrote on September 6:

“The White House announced it is requesting an investigation after an American woman was shot and killed by Israeli troops… ‘We are deeply disturbed by the tragic death of an American citizen, Aysenur Egzi Eygi, today in the West Bank and our hearts go out to her family and loved ones,’ White House National Security Council spokesman Sean Savett said in a statement. ‘We have reached out to the government of Israel to ask for more information and request an investigation into the incident.’

“Eygi had been attending a protest against Israeli settlements in the northern West Bank, according to reports. The Israel Defense Forces said it opened fire ‘toward a main instigator of violent activity who hurled rocks at the force and posed a threat to them.’ ‘The details of the incident and the circumstances in which she was hit are under review,’ the Israel Defense Force said.

“Eygi had dual citizenship with Turkey. Turkey President Recep Erdogan said he condemned ‘barbaric intervention against a civilian protest against the occupation in the West Bank,’ in a statement. Two doctors on the scene said she was shot in the head. ‘We tried to save the American citizen, we tried to revive the heart for several stages, but unfortunately, we did not succeed in restoring the heart to function,’ one of the doctors told the AP. A month ago, American citizen Amado Sison was shot in the leg by Israeli forces, he said, as he tried to flee tear gas and live fire.”

The Associated Press wrote on September 10:

“The Israeli military said it ‘expresses its deepest regret’ after its inquiry ‘found that it is highly likely that [the American/Turkish  protestor] was hit indirectly and unintentionally by (Israeli army) fire which was not aimed at her, but aimed at the key instigator of the riot.’

“… U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken condemned the killing as ‘unprovoked and unjustified’ while speaking Tuesday at a news conference in London….”

The shaky relationship between the USA and Israel will continue to deteriorate. Archenemy Turkey, of course, uses the opportunity to continue its hateful expressions against Israel.

USA Unprepared for World War III

The New York Post wrote on September 6:

“The U.S. is treading on ground not seen since World War II, according to Fox News senior strategic analyst and retired four-star Gen. Jack Keane, who warned that ‘we’re on a pathway’ to a third world war. His comments come amid conflicts in the Middle East and Europe and growing tension in the Pacific, and echoes former President Trump’s warning that the U.S. is ‘heading into World War III territory.’

“Keane told FOX… that a recent congressional commission on the Biden administration’s national defense strategy that he took part in revealed that the threat of another major war is very real. According to the recent commission,… the U.S. faces the ‘most serious’ and ‘most challenging’ threats since 1945, including the potential for a ‘near-term major war.’ It also found that… ‘the U.S. military lacks both the capabilities and the capacity required to be confident it can deter and prevail in combat.’

“Keane pointed out that there was a change in the behavior of U.S. adversaries that occurred between the Biden and Trump administrations. ‘What has fundamentally changed from one administration to the other is Russia, China, Iran and North Korea working together, collaborating, coordinating, and truly helping each other,’ he stressed… Keane reiterated the commission’s conclusion that the U.S. has ‘not seen a period of time like this since World War II’ and warned of what may be to come….”

Ultimately, the trumpet of war will sound in America, and nobody will fight.

All in Favor of IVF?

The New York Post wrote on September 8:

“Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz ripped into Sen. JD Vance and former president Donald Trump at a LGBTQ+ advocacy group Saturday, speaking about the importance of fertility treatment access without acknowledging Trump’s recent pledge to make IVF treatments free…  Vance was met with renewed scrutiny early September after reports circulated that he endorsed a Heritage Foundation report that proposed sweeping restrictions to abortions and fertility treatments.

“Access to IVF has been in the news since February when the conservative Alabama Supreme Court issued a ruling that would have basically ended access to IVF treatment. Since then, Republicans have been distancing themselves from the decision while Democrats have been using the issue to attack GOP rivals. Last month Trump pledged to expand access to in-vitro fertilization treatment through a combination of both insurance mandates and government funding, even though some conservative supporters oppose the move…

“Walz is viewed as an LGBTQ ally, with Minnesota enacting laws protecting access to gender-affirming health care and abortion, as well as banning conversion therapy.”

Please note our recent StandingWatch program, “What Does God Say About Abortion and IVF?” 

Parent Responsible for Child’s Criminal Conduct?

Fox News wrote on September 6:

“Georgia is one of at least 42 states and Washington, D.C., to have laws allowing parents to be held criminally responsible for their children’s actions… Colin Gray, 54, faces multiple charges over the alleged actions of his son, Colt Gray, 14, who is accused of killing four people and injuring nine others in a shooting at Apalachee High School on Wednesday. The charges against Colin Gray include four counts of involuntary manslaughter, two counts of second-degree murder and eight counts of cruelty to children.

“Authorities said the elder Gray knowingly allowed his son to possess a weapon.

“The parental responsibility laws vary from state to state, with some focusing on parental negligence in preventing a child’s access to firearms, while others address broader forms of delinquent behavior…  Georgia’s law allows for parents to face criminal liability if they are found to have contributed to their child’s delinquent behavior through neglect or failure to properly supervise. If a parent in Georgia knowingly allows a child to gain access to firearms or engages in reckless behavior that leads to harm, for example, they can face criminal charges, including involuntary manslaughter or child cruelty.”

Dr. Ben Carlson Appointed as National Faith Chairman by Trump  

Breitbart wrote on September 6:

“Dr. Ben Carson announced that he was ‘honored to serve as the national faith chairman’ for former President Donald Trump and his campaign… Trump added that Carson would ‘work with leaders of the faith community on behalf of the campaign to promote the protection of religious freedom’ in the United States…

“After Trump was elected president in 2016, Carson joined the Trump administration as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)… while serving in this role, Carson was invited by Trump to offer a prayer during the beginning of a cabinet meeting: During his prayer, Carson observed that ‘separation of church and state means that the church does not dominate the state, and it means the state does not dominate the church.’

“Carson has also spoken out against abortion. While speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in 2019, he spoke about his time working as a neurosurgeon and how he had operated on prematurely born babies, explaining that ‘they can feel’ and ‘can react.’”

On October 29, 2015, The Times of Israel wrote the following about Carson’s faith—an interesting mixture of truth and error:

“When Joe Lieberman became the first observant Jew with a reasonable chance at being president – after Al Gore named him his vice presidential running mate in 2000 – he faced a host of questions about how his Sabbath observance might impact his presidential duties. Now that Ben Carson, a Seventh Day Adventist, has emerged at the top of the polls in the Republican presidential primary, he’s facing similar questions about his religion. So far, Carson’s faith — which, like Judaism, celebrates the Sabbath on Saturday and abjures eating the non-kosher animals listed in the Book of Leviticus — hasn’t been an impediment to his campaign. The neurosurgeon-turned-candidate doesn’t seem to be a Sabbath-observer in the strictest sense: He has held campaign rallies on Saturday and made Saturday stops on book tours. But Carson says he tries to respect the day of rest. ‘Sabbath is still a precious day for us. We go to church as often as we can,’ he [said]. ‘ Even if we’re on the road we treat it as a different day than all the others.’

“While the religion shares some commonalities with Judaism, Adventists believe the second coming of Jesus may be imminent. The Adventist church also focuses on health and wellness, and members are encouraged, but not required, to forgo alcohol, tobacco and meat. Carson is on a mostly vegetarian diet, but he does eat milk and egg products and occasionally chicken… Carson frequently cites his faith as the reason for his policy positions. On taxation, for example, Carson has proposed a tithing system… ‘Now we don’t necessarily have to do it 10 percent, but it’s the principle,’ Carson said in a 2013 speech…

“Like many other Christian candidates, he also cites religion for his opposition to abortion, including in cases of rape or incest (though not if the mother’s life is in jeopardy). ‘All you have to do is go and look up the many stories of people who have led very useful lives who were the result of rape or incest,’ he told NBC’s ‘Meet the Press’…

“Carson… suggested in September that he’d have trouble with a Muslim in the White House, saying that any Muslim who became president would have to reject certain tenets of Islam that are incompatible with the presidency… He also believes Jews shouldn’t take offense if someone wishes them a ‘Merry Christmas’ ‘That’s a salutation of greeting, of goodwill. We’ve got to get over this sensitivity.’

“More controversially, Carson suggested in a new book and in interviews in early October that gun control was partially responsible for Hitler’s slaughter of Europe’s Jews, allowing the Nazis to ‘carry out their evil intentions with relatively little resistance.’ His comments came as part of his reaction to the deadly mass shooting at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Ore., after which Carson argued that better armed citizens, rather than gun control, is the best way to stop such mass killings.

“Several weeks later, Carson defended his comments, saying on ‘Meet the Press,’ ‘I’ve heard from many people in the Jewish community, including rabbis, who said, “You’re spot on. You are exactly right.’”

“Like many devout believers of all faiths, Carson attributes his successes in life to God. ‘There’s no question God sets these things up. My whole life, I feel, has been orchestrated by him,’ Carson said in 2013. ‘We always have to remember that no matter what’s going on, no matter how much of a spotlight we have, that all of that comes from God and everything we do should reflect glory on his name.’”

Can you determine for yourself from the Bible where Carlson is right… and where he is wrong?

Europe Without US Help?

Sky News wrote on September 6:

“Polls indicate the race for the White House has become much closer since the decision by current incumbent Joe Biden to drop out, but there remains a very real prospect that Donald Trump could win a second term as US president. Such an eventuality would have repercussions way beyond American soil, with analysts suggesting it could be pivotal for the war in Ukraine… [Experts also say] a Trump victory may leave Europe ‘in a tight spot’ – and urged leaders in the continent to begin planning for that result…

“[It was pointed] out that Trump has warned that he would immediately cut all US aid to Kyiv [he later said he would grant Ukraine money in form of repayable loans] and demand a quick end to the war, which would likely require Ukraine to cede a significant part of its territory to Russia… Trump has long questioned the value of NATO, so it is not inconceivable that he would strip back the US commitment to defend Europe… Trump could act quickly, by vowing never to order US troops to fight for Europe. Europe, as a result, would be forced to confront a security crisis on a scale it has not faced since World War II…”

Without any question, the situation pertaining to Ukraine and Europe would drastically change if Trump were to be elected.

An Unholy Alliance of Western Leaders

The Ron Paul Institute wrote on September 10:

“As should be clear to all now, ‘war’ has broken out. There is no need for further pretence about it. Rather, there is evident glee at the prospect of a crackdown on the ‘Far-Right’ and its internet users: i.e. those who spread ‘disinformation’ or mal-information… There will be prosecutions, convictions, and fines for cyber ‘actors’…  There is an unholy alliance of western leaders – Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholtz – whose hatred of what they call populism is undisguised. In his recent visits to Berlin and Paris, Starmer constantly referred to the threat posed by populism…  These days virtually every political problem is blamed on populism …

“The war, for the moment, is targeted at the ‘unaccountable’ billionaires: Pavel Durov, Elon Musk, and his ‘X’ platform. The survival or not of Elon Musk will be crucial to the course of this aspect of the war: The EU’s Digital Service Act was always conceived to serve as ‘Brutus’ to Musk’s ‘Caesar’…”

EU vs. Google and Apple

Deutsche Welle wrote on September 10:

“The European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled on Tuesday that Google had violated antitrust laws and that Apple needed to pay the EU €13 billion ($14.3 billion) in back taxes… Google was fined €2.4 billion, but had appealed to the ECJ, which has now upheld the fine…

“Europe’s case against Apple began in 2016… The EU has long demanded that Apple pay back billions of taxes for two Irish subsidies that the company argues are primarily taxable in the United States. Arguing that they were being subjected to double taxation…

“Both the judgments against Google and Apple are final and cannot be overturned… Apple…  said in a statement: ‘The European Commission is trying to retroactively change the rules and ignore that, as required by international tax law, our income was already subject to taxes in the US.’”

Europe’s fight against American companies is clearly in full swing.

Renewed Russian Threats

Express wrote on September 6:

“Putin has once again threatened the use of nuclear weapons after accusing Ukraine of attacking a power plant in the Kursk region…  Speaking at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok on Thursday, Putin said: ‘One can only imagine what will happen if we strike back; what will happen in Europe.’…

“Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has also sent a warning to the US over reports that Washington could supply long-range weapons to Ukraine to enable them to strike territory deep within Russia…”

Words and more words… but very often, words lead to wars.

The Shroud of Turin—NOT a Depiction of Jesus

Newsmax wrote on September 5:

“The blood stains on the Shroud of Turin are consistent with the description of torture and crucifixion of Jesus Christ in the Gospels, a new scientific study from Italy finds… Fanti’s and several other scientific inquiries have confirmed that the Shroud contains evidence of a real person with real blood and other bodily effluents. Fanti says the findings indicate the cloth was used on someone with bloody injuries, rather than forged using ink, dye, paint, or other techniques.

“The 14-foot-by-4-foot Shroud of Turin is imprinted with an image of the body and face of a man wearing a ‘crown of thorns’ from a plant, and is covered in bloodstains… Materials that were typical in ancient Jerusalem also were discovered, the study says, suggesting the shroud may have originated in the region and not in Europe where many skeptics think it was created as a medieval forgery…

“‘Bloodstained marks all over the body image which are consistent with pre-crucifixion flagellation, bloodstained marks on the head that are consistent with a ‘crown’ of thorns, blood marks on the hand and feet that are consistent with crucifixion and the bloodstain on the chest that evidences a post-mortem wound that corresponds with the post-mortem spear wound that Christ received as is described in the Bible.”

The Shroud does not depict Jesus Christ. For more information, please read our Editorial in this issue.

Parents Sell Their Children For Covid Tests

Report 24 wrote on September 4:

“In fact, a disturbing number of parents decided to have their children vaccinated [against Covid-19] without knowing the exact side effects and potential subsequent damage. But even worse: The pharmaceutical companies also needed parents or guardians for the clinical trials, who exposed their charges to the associated risks. If you look at the ‘expenses’ for this, you will notice: babies and children can be had cheaply…

“According to this, a study on Covid vaccinations for babies has been running in Lincoln (Nebraska) since January 2023, in which healthy infants aged 12 weeks to 6 months are given an experimental vaccine in order to then examine a possible immune reaction via a blood sample. The compensation ‘for time and travel’ is ‘up to 1,800 dollars’…

“Do these parents feel like heroes when they let Big Pharma tell them that they are allowing unsafe and as yet unexplored substances to be injected into their offspring for the common good, the ‘greater good’? Who is attracted by sentences like ‘Your baby could be part of important research for an investigational vaccine against the coronavirus (COVID-19)’?…

“No less perverse seems the vaccination study for children that was previously conducted in Lincoln, starting in late summer 2022… This study was aimed at children – as compensation for participation over two years, parents were promised ‘more than $3,000’…

“It was [a study that] aimed at babies from six months, toddlers up to five years and children up to eleven years… The consequences of a failed vaccine test are unlikely to have been explained to the young participants; young children also have no idea what a lifelong motor or cognitive disability would mean for them.

“The extent to which sacrificing a child who can never give ‘informed consent’ is morally justifiable in the context of clinical trials is an ethical question that Big Pharma is unlikely to care much about. The fact that parents are giving up their own children and exposing them to risks because they do not question the narrative of the ultimately dangerous Covid-19 or the practices of the pharmaceutical industry, for which profit has always been the top priority, should certainly give us food for thought…”

This is tragic and terrible indeed.

Sending Man to Mars?

The Sun wrote on September 9:

“THE man behind SpaceX, Elon Musk, has pledged to take humans to Mars in just four years’ time onboard his Starship mega-rocket. The eccentric billionaire, who also owns Tesla and X, said Starship’s first [uncrewed] flight to Mars will occur in two years’ time, when the next Earth-Mars transfer window opens. Earth-Mars transfer launch windows occur every 26 months… Musk doesn’t just have hopes of taking Earthlings to the Red Planet, but of building a Martian metropolis there, too. ‘Flight rate will grow exponentially from there, with the goal of building a self-sustaining city in about 20 years,’ he added in the same post…

“Starship, at nearly 400ft tall, with 33 engines, is the tallest rocket ever leave the ground… the first stage of Starship, known as the Super Heavy booster, is the most powerful rocket ever built… Starship is being developed as part of a $1.15 billion contract with Nasa to deliver astronauts to the Moon in the US space agency’s Artemis programme…

“The newly declared timeline came just a day after China unveiled plans for a crewed mission to Mars in 2033…  Under President Xi Jinping, China spent roughly $14 billion (11.2 billion) on its ambitious space programme in 2023… The US space agency has dominated the industry so far, though has only recently swallowed the bitter pill of scrapping the Viper Moon mission after $450 million had already been spent, citing spiralling costs and delays…”

What possible benefit to mankind could there be in sending expensive rockets and men to Mars? Sadly, none whatsoever, while these amounts of money could be used for worthwhile purposes.

Acknowledgement and Disclaimer:

These Current Events are compiled and commented on by Norbert Link. We gratefully acknowledge the many contributions of news articles from our readership. The publication of articles in this section is not to be viewed as an endorsement or approval as to contents or accuracy of the selected articles, but they are published for the purpose of pointing at worldwide developments in the light of biblical end-time prophecy and godly instruction. Our own comments are provided in italics.

In October 2022, Antonio Pagliarulo wrote a piece on the nbcnews.com website under the heading “Why paganism and witchcraft are making a comeback” and below are a few excerpts:

“Two weeks ago, in the run-up to Halloween, I visited Salem, Massachusetts, for the first time since the pandemic began. In renewing my annual Halloween pilgrimage, I was bowled over by what I found in the Witch City: bigger crowds, longer lines and a wider and welcome array of merchandise geared toward many different religious traditions and ethnic identities.   

“Amid the curious crowds in black capes and conical hats, bags overflowing with DIY spell kits and candles to enhance prosperity, I overheard the same question: Is magic really real?

“Witchcraft, which includes Wicca, paganism, folk magic and other New Age traditions, is one of the fastest-growing spiritual paths in America.

“For me, the answer is yes. 

“I am one of a million-plus Americans who — whether proudly, secretly or dabbling through the power of consumerism — practice some form of witchcraft. Witchcraft, which includes Wicca, paganism, folk magic, and other New Age traditions, is one of the fastest growing spiritual paths in America.

“In 1990, Trinity College in Connecticut estimated there were 8,000 adherents to Wicca.  In 2008, the U.S. Census Bureau figure was 342,000.  A 2014 Pew Research Center study increased that projection several times over in assessing that 0.4% of Americans identified as pagan, Wiccan or New Age. (Most modern pagan worship, of which Wicca is one type, draws on pre-Christian traditions in revering nature.) By 2050, it said, the number of Americans practicing “other religions” — faiths outside Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism — would triple “due largely to switching into other religions (such as Wicca and pagan religions).

“The precise number of witches in America is difficult to determine because many practitioners are solitary and, either by choice or circumstance, do not openly identify as such. But the growth is evident, especially to those who’ve made it their life’s work to study the community.

“‘It’s clearly increasing,’ said Helen A. Berger, who is one of the foremost academic experts on contemporary witchcraft and paganism in America and draws knowledge about its appeal from surveys she’s co-conducted on the pagan community.”

If the writer’s assertion that “I am one of a million-plus Americans who practice some form of witchcraft” is correct, then those involved in just this one country is far larger than the true Church of God has ever been in its nearly 2,000-year history! Jesus said, as recorded in Luke 12:32: “Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”  The followers of Jesus, the early Christians, were a little flock then and as history shows, has continued to be so down through the ages to the present day.

God doesn’t need huge numbers to do His Work.  In the case of Gideon in Judges 7, we read: “And the LORD said to Gideon, ‘The people who are with you are too many for Me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel claim glory for itself against Me, saying, “My own hand has saved me”’ (verse 2).  They whittled the number down from 32,000 to 10,000 and then down to 300 which was a reduction of more than 99%.  With this tiny number, God led the Israelites to win a stunning victory and shows that when He is involved, nothing can stand against Him.

Taken from the website paganfederation.org under the heading “What Paganism Is,” we read the following definition:

“Paganism is the ancestral religion of the whole of humanity. This ancient religious outlook remains active throughout much of the world today, both in complex civilisations such as Japan and India, and in less complex tribal societies world-wide. It was the outlook of the European religions of classical antiquity – Persia, Egypt, Greece and Rome – as well as of their ‘barbarian’ neighbours on the northern fringes, and its European form is re-emerging into explicit awareness in the modern West as the articulation of urgent contemporary religious priorities.

“The Pagan outlook can be seen as threefold. Its adherents venerate Nature and worship many deities, both goddesses and gods.”

This is totally at odds with what true Christianity is all about.   The Bible gives us the definition of a true Christian:

Acts 2:38 states: “Then Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

Acts 4:12 states: “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

Acts 5:32 states: “And we are His witnesses to these things, and so also is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him.”

And so, putting these three Scriptures together, a true Christian has to repent, be baptised, receive God’s Holy Spirit and keep the Law of God which will help him to obey God.  And, tellingly, there is no salvation in any other, meaning that the Christian faith is exclusive and all other religions are false.  For more information, please see our Q&A entitled: “What is a True Christian?”

On the BBC website, we read:

“The Pagan celebration of Winter Solstice (also known as Yule) is one of the oldest winter celebrations in the world.

“Ancient people were hunters and spent most of their time outdoors. The seasons and weather played a very important part in their lives. Because of this many ancient people had a great reverence for, and even worshipped the sun. The Norsemen of Northern Europe saw the sun as a wheel that changed the seasons. It was from the word for this wheel, houl, that the word yule is thought to have come. At mid-winter the Norsemen lit bonfires, told stories and drank sweet ale.

“The ancient Romans also held a festival to celebrate the rebirth of the year. Saturnalia ran for seven days from the 17th of December. It was a time when the ordinary rules were turned upside down. Men dressed as women and masters dressed as servants. The festival also involved decorating houses with greenery, lighting candles, holding processions and giving presents.

“The Winter Solstice falls on the shortest day of the year (21st December) and was celebrated in Britain long before the arrival of Christianity. The Druids (Celtic priests) would cut the mistletoe that grew on the oak tree and give it as a blessing. Oaks were seen as sacred and the winter fruit of the mistletoe was a symbol of life in the dark winter months.

“It was also the Druids who began the tradition of the yule log. The Celts thought that the sun stood still for twelve days in the middle of winter and during this time a log was lit to conquer the darkness, banish evil spirits and bring luck for the coming year.

“Many of these customs are still followed today. They have been incorporated into the Christian and secular celebrations of Christmas.”

On the website ukpagancouncil.org are the following details:

“The UK Pagan Council is one of the UK’s largest pagan organisations and is here to provide an effective and friendly focal point for whole UK pagan community or those aspiring to pagan way of life.

“The UK Pagan Council is open to any pagans and witches who follow any number of different pagan paths, including Eclectic, Alexandrian, Gardnerian, Wiccan, Druid and many more.

“If you are Pagan, but not a practicing witch, you are welcome to join our community, as many have done so already. There is something for everyone.

“The site features an online social network, online chat, groups, UK Covens Database, UK Moots Database, campaigns, UK and global events, an Agony Witch page, forums, blogs, an online Book of Shadows and much more.”

On another website, paganfed.org, is more information about paganism: “The site features an online social network, online chat, groups, UK Covens Database, UK Moots Database, campaigns, UK and global events, an Agony Witch page, forums, blogs, an online Book of Shadows and much more.

The website whatchristianswanttoknow.com gives additional information on this matter:

“The word ‘pagan’ originally meant a ‘region delimited by markers,’ like a city or a state or even a region that was easily marked off. Now it literally means anyone else’s religion or belief system that rests outside of their own religion. In other words, to the Orthodox Jews, Muslims are pagans, and to the Muslims, the Jews are pagans…and just about every other religion classifies those outside of their own beliefs as pagan or sometimes, referred to as heathen.

“The difference is, heathen are not particularly religious, but pagans are known for the elaborate rituals, ceremonies, and other practices that involve worship of their god or gods (whichever the case may be). Even though this word is no longer commonly used today, if you called someone a pagan in ancient times, you really weren’t identifying them as a religious group or community, but using it as a derogatory term or slang that essentially said, ‘They’re unbelievers…they’re hopeless…they’re dogs.’”

Wikipedia has this to say about modern paganism in the United States: “(It) is represented by widely different movements and organizations. The largest modern pagan (also known as neo-pagan) religious movement is Wicca, followed by Neodruidism. Both of these religions or spiritual paths were introduced during the 1950s and 1960s from Great Britain. Germanic Neopaganism (also known as Heathenry) and Kemetism appeared in the US in the early 1970s. Hellenic Neopaganism appeared in the 1990s.”

whatchristianswanttoknow.com tells us: “Paganism is making a very strong comeback. What attracts so many is their spirituality and carte blanche philosophy for no limits to the human mind. It comes striking close to self-worship because worshiping nature is essentially, worshiping self, as the ‘self is part of the whole.’ Some of the harder edged pagan religions almost see those who do good as evil and those who do evil as good, so paganism isn’t just one belief, it is like the word religion, meaning there are many different belief systems that fall under paganism, such as the Wicca, Witchcraft, Zoroastrianism, Celtic, Druids, and all other sorts of neo-paganisms.

“Some are listed under ‘Spirituality’ in publications and on websites. Some of these have been around for thousands of years, while most of the others are recent human inventions. Let’s be clear. If these are not for God, then they are against God, and we should stay as far away from these as possible… Paganism is growing stronger and stronger, and our children and grandchildren are more at risk than when we were a child.”

(To be continued)

Lead Writer: Brian Gale (United Kingdom)

compiled by Dave Harris

“The Biggest Loser in the Trump/Harris Debate,” is the title of a new StandingWatch program, presented by Evangelist Norbert Link. Here is the summary:

Who lost the most? Was it Trump? Harris? Their ABC Moderators? The Mass Media? Or perhaps something else?

“Der größte Verlierer in der Trump/Harris Debatte,” is the title of a new AufPostenStehen program, presented by Norbert Link. This video covers the same topic as described above.

A new Member Letter (September 2024) has been posted. Pastor Rene Messier reflects on the impact of the death of those close to us, while encouraging that we consider our own relationship with God—especially in accomplishing our part in God’s Work.

“Who Is Jesus Christ?—His Many Descriptions in the Bible!” is the title of our newest booklet, which is currently being reviewed.

A Tech Team Meeting was conducted on Sunday, September 8, 2024. Hosted by Eric Rank, we discussed the improvement in our ad campaign responses, Feast plans and broadcast issues.

“Begreifen SIE eigentlich den Sinn IHRES Lebens?” is the title of this Sabbath’s new German sermon, presented by Norbert Link. Title in English: Do YOU Actually Understand the Purpose of YOUR Life?

“Die Entscheidung liegt bei uns!” last Sabbath’s German sermonette presented by Robert Indlekofer, is now posted. Title in English: “The Decision is Ours!” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hj8mcY0HBI  

“Covid – A Precursor of Future Events?”, last Sabbath’s sermonette presented by Brian Gale, is now posted. Here is the summary:

We have seen what great havoc was caused by Covid- and this was just a foretaste of what is to come during the Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord.

“The Coming End of the World,” last Sabbath’s sermon presented by Norbert Link, is now posted. Here is the summary:

Does the Bible really describe the coming end of the world? And if so, how and why would this happen? What would be the consequences? Would humanity’s depraved lifestyle have anything to do with it? And wouldn’t there be a way out and survival for anyone? If so, who would be protected from destruction?