Update 261

On September 16, 2006, Dave Harris will give the sermon, titled, “True Worshippers.”

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

Recently, my wife and I acquired a new puppy–an eight-week-old
Chihuahua. We already owned a thirteen-year-old miniature Yorkshire
Terrier, but as she was getting quite old, we thought a new arrival
might perk her up. This episode got me thinking about a number of
analogies to the life of a true Christian. Sounds strange, doesn’t it,
but we can learn lessons in everything we do and are involved in.

I
meditated about how reliant dogs are on their new owner; how much they
put their trust in him; how vulnerable they can be, particularly if the
owner doesn’t have their best interests at heart; how they need
training; and also, how they look to their new owners for leadership.

Notice
how these concepts can apply to us, spiritually. On a spiritual plane,
we are to be totally reliant on God. He created us and for those in the
Church, He has called us to His way of life and a wonderful future in
the Kingdom of God if we endure to the end. By putting our trust in
Him, we can have peace of mind, knowing that God has our welfare and
well being at heart.  We can be very vulnerable, but only if our
reliance and trust in Him is less than required. The great God does
have our best interests at heart–that is why He has called us into His
Family. Finally, with the leadership that He shows, we know that we are
in safe hands.

We should take very seriously the care that we can
have for our animals. But how much more care is God showing to all of
us who have the potential to be in His Family. To achieve our potential
will be the greatest prize of all!

German Troops in Lebanon

As Reuters reported on September 13, 2006, “Germany’s cabinet approved plans on Wednesday to send naval and air forces to Lebanon… Up to 2,400 German personnel will patrol the Lebanese coast to prevent weapons reaching Hizbollah, enforcing the terms of a truce which ended the month-long war… ‘Sending troops to the Middle East is for us a historic decision,’ Chancellor Angela Merkel said.”

Deutsche Welle added: “Defence Minister Franz Josef Jung said Germany would lead the marine component of the UN force and has been given ‘a robust but not aggressive mandate’ to patrol Lebanon’s coast. ‘We will control the whole of Lebanon’s waters, within 50 nautical miles of the coast. We will have the right to use force against vessels that show resistance,’ he said. Two frigates, four fast patrol boats, two supply ships, one tender, and two helicopters will be deployed by Germany in cooperation with naval forces being sent by the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway and Denmark, said Merkel and Jung. Merkel… said a Lebanese naval liaison officer would be aboard one of the German ships ‘but there would be no chance for a veto’ from the Lebanese. German naval vessels would then be able to take up position off the Lebanese coast by early October. Germany is also providing a small number of border police and customs officials to be stationed at Beirut International Airport to supervise incoming cargo.”

The German Parliament must still approve the deployment. It is to vote next week. Since Merkel’s conservatives and their Social Democrat coalition partners hold a large majority, an affirmation of the German cabinet’s decision is expected.

Der Spiegel Online added that the German government foresees its military intervention in Lebanon to last “for many years,” even though Germany’s current mandate will expire on August 31, 2007. According to the magazine, Merkel stated that this is the beginning of a “far-reaching German engagement in the region.” It was further pointed out that the employment of its troops will cost Germany 46 million euros in 2006 and 147 million euros in 2007. It was stressed that the German navy will function in cooperation with the Lebanese navy, but Germany is authorized to act on its own, if need be.

In order to learn more about the prophetic significance of German troops in the Middle East, please read our free booklet, “Europe in Prophecy.”

Leave It to Iran?

USA Today reported on September 13 that “U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said Wednesday that most leaders in the Middle East believe the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq and its aftermath [is] ‘a real disaster.’ Annan said the United States was now in the difficult position where ‘it cannot stay and it cannot leave.’ He said the leaders he spoke to on his recent trip to the Middle East fell into two camps: Some believed the United States cannot walk away from Iraq, while others, such as Iran, said it should leave and they would help stabilize the country.”

The Associated Press reported on September 13 that “Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki made his first official visit to Iran, a close ally, asking the Islamic regime on Tuesday to crack down on al-Qaida militants infiltrating his country and seeking new deals to help Iraq’s troubled oil industry. The visit reflected the complex relationship between Iran, a mostly Shiite Muslim country, and Iraq’s government, now dominated in the post-Saddam Hussein era by Shiite allies of Tehran. Since Saddam’s fall in 2003, Iraq has sought better relations with Iran… The two enjoy increasingly strong ties that include new oil cooperation. Iraq has already turned to Iran for help with a chronic shortage of petroleum goods, reaching a deal last month to import Iranian gasoline, kerosene and cooking fuel. Iraqi officials said al-Maliki’s visit and other recent exchanges could improve the cooperation.”

Strong Words From Netanyahu

On September 13, ynetnews.com reported that Israel’s Knesset member Benjamin Netanyahu said: “Al-Qaeda can’t develop nuclear weapons, while the militant Shiite movement is galloping forward towards developing nuclear terror… Hitler went out on a world campaign first, and then tried to get nuclear weapons. Iran is trying to get nuclear arms first. Therefore from that perspective, it is much more dangerous… Hitler was defeated because he could not develop weapons of mass destruction. But Iran stands close to developing nuclear weapons. Does the world understand? In Europe, where I returned from, there are glimpses of understanding… International terrorism is a mistaken term, not because it doesn’t exist, but because the problem is international militant Islam. That is the movement… that operates terror on the international level, and that is the movement that is preparing the ultimate terror, nuclear terrorism…”

The German Pope in Germany

Benedict XVI’s second visit to Germany, as Pope, was not just meant to be a vacation. The Associated Press of September 9 reported:

“Benedict’s election aroused mixed feelings in Germany–the now largely secular land of the Protestant Reformation, and home to a shrinking and distinctly liberal Catholic Church. But there is also strong pride in the German pope, particularly in Bavaria. Munich’s Abendzeitung newspaper devoted its front page to a photo of a smiling Benedict under the headline ‘Welcome home!’ The Munich edition of the mass-circulation Bild daily’s front page said: ‘Benedict, we love YOU.’

AFP added on September 11: “In European countries like Germany, the number of churchgoers has dwindled in recent years and papal authority has been questioned. While his visit is partly a trip down memory lane, Benedict is keen to try to halt the decline of religious observance in his native Germany. Recent figures indicate some 100,000 people turn their back on the Church in Germany annually.”

Der Stern stated on September 12 that both German President Horst Koehler and Bavaria’s Prime Minister, Edmund Stoiber, asked the Pope to set clearer signals in support of the ecumenical movement, in order to unify the Catholic and Protestant Churches. Koehler, a Protestant, and Stoiber, a Catholic, encouraged the Pope to empathize the similarities between the two big churches, rather than the issues which separate them. The Pope told Koehler that he will take Koehler’s prayer for unity back to Rome, stating, according to Der Spiegel Online of September 9, that “we will attempt to reach unity with our hearts and with our intellects.” Bavaria’s Interior Minister, Guenther Beckstein, participated with Stoiber at a Mass, conducted by the Pope. Beckstein, a Protestant, stated that “especially during the ‘Lord’s Supper,’ the separation between the two big Christian churches becomes, sadly, very obvious.”

It is presently the official position of the Catholic Church that no Protestant is permitted to participate at Catholic “communion” or the “Lord’s Supper.”

In other news, Der Spiegel Online reported on September 12 that during his visit, “Pope Benedict XVI prayed at the statue of the Black Madonna, one of Germany’s holiest sites.” The statue is situated in the town of Altötting, where the Pope “had worshipped as a child. Legend has it that a three-year-old girl was brought back to life after drowning when her mother put her before the wooden Madonna in 1489.”

In a related article of September 12, Der Spiegel Online quoted the Pope, stating that he was pleading with the “mother of God” to receive her blessing for the Church worldwide, and for all people of good will.

The Associated Press reported on September 9: “German President Horst Koehler and Chancellor Angela Merkel greeted the pontiff ahead of his ride to the city’s central Marienplatz square, where he was to offer a prayer at its 17th-century statue of the Virgin Mary, the patroness of Bavaria — Germany’s Roman Catholic heartland.”

In a veiled attack on evolution, the Pope made the following comments, according to The Associated Press of September 12:

“Benedict in his sermon scoffed at the idea of a ‘mathematically ordered cosmos’ without any hand of God. He said this would mean ‘nothing more than a chance result of evolution. We believe in God… This is a fundamental decision on our part.'”

The Catholic religion has embraced many teachings which are not derived from the Bible, but from pagan cultures and philosophies. Our free booklet, “Don’t Keep Christmas,” proves this fact beyond doubt. The Bible also prophesies that the Catholic and the Protestant Churches will unite. But this temporary and passing unification will not be pleasing to God.

U.S. Sanctions Against North Korea?

The Associated Press reported on September 12 that “The United States is moving to impose sanctions on North Korea for test-launching a series of missiles in July, a senior South Korean official said Tuesday. South Korea’s main news agency reported, meanwhile, that the North had rejected an offer for direct talks with the U.S. over its nuclear program… South Korea’s main spy agency has said the communist regime [of North Korea] could test a nuclear device at any time… Many experts believe the North has enough radioactive material to build at least a half-dozen nuclear weapons.”

Germany Remembers September 11, 2001

Der Spiegel Online made the following comments on September 11, 2006, describing how the world has changed for the worse since September 11, 2001:

“‘Nine-Eleven’ has entered the English language as a metaphor, an abbreviation even bigger than a millennial milestone: 9/11 broke through Fortress America, turning it into another country. George W. Bush has tried to turn the planet into another world. And failed.”

The article continued:

“… At first the United States and Europe closed ranks; yet soon amity turned to enmity in one of the worst ideological conflicts the two continents have ever seen. The United States, by its own definition not an imperial power… considered itself ‘at war.’ To wage its ‘war against terror,’ the U.S. president availed himself of immense powers both at home and abroad. He suspended many of the civil rights that his nation had always cherished, and elevated the ‘preemptive strike’ to a divine doctrine: America had every right to launch an unprovoked attack against any country suspected of abetting terrorists.

“The United States squandered the international sympathy and solidarity showered upon it in the immediate aftermath of September 11. Even in Tehran, people had spontaneously taken to the streets, while the French newspaper Le Monde had declared: ‘We are all Americans.’ But the Bush administration decided to go it alone: it scoffed at traditional alliances and institutions like the United Nations, and arbitrarily ignored international law…

“The dreams of swift strikes and longlasting victories in the war against terror are in tatters, along with illusions of regime change in the Middle East. Much has changed over the past five years, but little has improved. The world has become a more violent and complex place. Osama bin Laden, who has declared war on the West in general and the U.S. superpower in particular, is still at large–presumably hiding out along the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan… The United States now has credibility issues that are both political and moral, and a superpower status that rests solely on arms supremacy. The nation is light years ahead when it comes to investing in military might; in the list of big spenders, it devotes more funds to weapons than the next 10 countries combined…

“Today other countries in other regions are making world history. The Asian century is dawning at this very moment. India, and above all China, are experiencing dramatic economic booms, and styling themselves America’s peers on the world political stage… The winners of the American war are outside Iraq, and one of them is Osama bin Laden. For al Qaeda, Iraq has become the Afghanistan of the 1990s: the battlefield in its jihad against an infidel superpower. Iran, ironically enough, is another of the winners–and didn’t have to lift a finger. Having seen its arch-enemy Saddam toppled, Teheran is happily picking up the pieces.

“Iran’s influence is spreading in southern Iraq where the Shiites form the majority. The longer the war lasts, the greater the political spoils for the mullahs. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a man with apocalyptic visions, has replaced the mild-mannered Mohammad Khatami as president. While a debilitated America falters, Iran is developing the technology to build nuclear weapons, and is well on the way to becoming the region’s dominant power.

“… Of the many depressing statistics from the president’s second term, this is probably his most depressing: More than 50 percent of Americans now consider George W. Bush ‘dishonest.’ Such huge credibility gaps are rare in U.S. politics… In their joint study conducted for Foreign Policy and the highly respected think tank ‘Center for American Progress,’ 84 percent disagreed with Bush’s statement that the United States was winning the war against terrorism. Eighty-six percent said they thought the world was a more dangerous place. Only 10 percent were expecting positives from the Iraq war. A devastating indictment. ‘The Worst President in History?’ the U.S. magazine Rolling Stone asked pointedly on a cover in May…

“Five years after 9/11, a new international order is emerging. While the United States can still boast the greatest economic and military might on the planet, claims of unipolarity and American hegemony are no longer credible. The rise of China and India as major powers and Russia’s return to the major political leagues cannot be denied. And lesser powers are emerging as well, small and mid-sized players, public and private, each of them vying for influence… This world is fragmented, labyrinthine and unpredictable.”

Our free booklets, “The Fall and Rise of Britain and America,” and “The Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord,” give detailed information as to what is prophesied to happen soon in the USA, Great Britain, continental Europe, the Middle East, and the rest of the world.

Germans Angry With America

Der Spiegel Online reported on September 11 about the view of the German press toward the USA:

“As German commentators reflect on the events and aftermath of 9/11 five years later, there is a strangely forceful consensus: the US was right to force the Taliban from power and it was right to strengthen security, even at the cost of some personal liberties. But there is also broad agreement that Washington’s anti-terror policy is deeply flawed in Iraq and in its willingness to sacrifice fundamental rights of its own citizens as well as largely ignore international law. Germans and most Europeans are angry about Guantanamo, about secret CIA prisons, and the president’s continued use of incendiary rhetoric such as referring to the terrorists as ‘Islamic fascists.’ Before Bush launched the war against Iraq, Germany raised its voice in opposition and said the US would ignite a wildfire with no plan for putting out the flames. The tone of Monday’s editorials in German newspapers feel sadly vindicated by the events of the past five years.”

Virtually Untreatable Tuberculosis

The BBC reported on September 6: “A ‘virtually untreatable’ form of TB has emerged, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Extreme drug resistant TB… has been seen worldwide, including in the US, Eastern Europe and Africa… TB presently causes about 1.7 million deaths a year worldwide, but researchers are worried about the emergence of strains that are resistant to drugs. Drug resistance is caused by poor TB control, through taking the wrong types of drugs for the incorrect duration.”

A “New Vision” for Europe

On September 8, the EUOberserver reported about the European vision of French interior minister and presidential hopeful Nicolas Sarkozy, proposing “radical EU reforms such as getting the European Commission president to pick his own commissioners and cross-border European Parliament elections–but first he wants a new EU ‘mini treaty.'”

The article continued: “Mr Sarkozy already caused some alarm in small and mid-size member states last year by proposing that the EU’s ‘big six’ should together take up a leading role in the union–an idea which he repeated on Friday… France and Germany should pioneer… with cross-border political platforms in the 2009 elections… The ‘mini treaty’ would include key parts of the constitution such as its voting rights provisions and plans to create an EU foreign minister, on which there is a ‘large consensus. It would provide a way out for those countries that voted “no” without humiliating those who voted “yes”‘, he said, adding that the French EU presidency in 2009 should finalise the text. On enlargement… he said that Turkey should stay out. ‘We should now say who is European and who isn’t,’ he said.”

Europe will unite soon–and it is most likely that ten core nations or groups of nations–not just six– will ultimately lead the rest of continental Europe, under the strong leadership of a German or Austrian political personage, called the “beast” in Biblical prophecy.

An important key to use when studying God’s Word is to understand
WHY God has inspired certain stories: “Now all these things happened to
them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom
the ends of the ages have come” (1 Corinthians 10:11). Read the context
of this quote in verses 1 through 13, and you will understand that God
used their examples as a warning to others. He also revealed very
detailed information about Moses for the purpose of instruction: “And
Moses indeed was faithful in all His house as a servant, for a
testimony of those things which would be spoken afterward” (Hebrews
3:5).

In Biblical accounts, what is recorded represents the
actual circumstances and actions of people. The fact that God has
chosen to show examples that involved all kinds of human behavior does
not mean that He necessarily sanctions what was done! Rather, the Bible
tells the story of both faithful, obedient people and of those who
rebelled against God.

Concerning prophetesses, the Bible
reveals that certain women spoke in exactly the same fashion as any
number of prophets through whom God revealed both His will and future
events. The first prophetess mentioned in Scripture is Miriam, the
sister of Moses and Aaron (Exodus 15:20). Furthermore, we have this
testimony from God: “…And I SENT before you Moses, Aaron, and Miriam”
(Micah 6:4). Another prophetess, written about in Judges, chapters 4
and 5, is Deborah:

“Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of
Lapidoth, was judging Israel at that time. And she would sit under the
palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the mountains of
Ephraim. And the children of Israel came up to her for judgment”
(Judges 4:4-5).

Reading further, we find that Deborah conveyed
God’s will to Barak, stating that he should lead some of the tribes of
Israel into battle against their Canaanite oppressors (Judges 4:6-14).
At that time, Deborah was esteemed as God’s representative. Note how
Barak viewed her counsel: “And Barak said to her, ‘If you will go with
me, then I will go; but if you will not go with me, I will not go!'”
(Judges 4:8).

Here is Deborah’s response: “So she said, ‘I will
surely go with you; nevertheless there will be no glory for you in the
journey you are taking, for the LORD will sell Sisera into the hand of
a woman.’ Then Deborah arose and went with Barak to Kedesh” (Judges
4:9).

This exchange between Barak and Deborah depicts the
prevailing attitude in Israel during the period of the judges:
“…everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (Judges 17:6; 21:25).
The people of Israel underwent a cycle of oppression and deliverance,
because they would rebel against God and begin to fall into worshipping
false gods time and time again. When they cried out to God, He would
deliver them through the leadership of someone He specially chose. This
lasted until the time of Samuel and until Israel rejected God and
demanded to have a king like the nations around them (Compare 1 Samuel
8:19).

In a time when the nation of Judah began to turn to God
through King Josiah, inquiry of God was made through a faithful woman
on behalf of the king and the nation: “So Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam,
Achbor, Shaphan, and Asaiah went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of
Shallum the son of Tikvah, the son of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe.
(She dwelt in Jerusalem in the Second Quarter.) And they spoke with
her” (2 Kings 22:14). As it is recorded in verses 15-20 of 2 Kings 22,
Huldah conveyed God’s response.

When some of Judah returned to
Jerusalem following national captivity, Nehemiah’s leadership to
rebuild the wall of Jerusalem faced constant resistance. Among those
who contended against Nehemiah was a prophetess who proclaimed false
messages. Here is what Nehemiah recorded: “My God, remember Tobiah and
Sanballat, according to these their works, and the prophetess Noadiah
and the rest of the prophets who would have made me afraid” (Nehemiah
6:14).

God differentiates between women who act and speak on His
behalf and those who falsely establish themselves by their own
inspiration: “‘Likewise, son of man, set your face against the
daughters of your people, who prophesy out of their own heart; prophesy
against them… Because with lies you have made the heart of the
righteous sad, whom I have not made sad; and you have strengthened the
hands of the wicked, so that he does not turn from his wicked way to
save his life. Therefore you shall no longer envision futility nor
practice divination; for I will deliver My people out of your hand, and
you shall know that I am the LORD'” (Ezekiel 13:17, 22-23).

We
then see from Scripture that just as there are true and false prophets,
there are also prophetesses designated by God, and there are those who
appoint themselves through lies and evil practices!

In the time
shortly following the birth of Jesus, another faithful woman specially
chosen by God is identified: “Now there was one, Anna, a prophetess,
the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age,
and had lived with a husband seven years from her virginity; and this
woman was a widow of about eighty-four years, who did not depart from
the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day. And
coming in that instant she gave thanks to [God], and spoke of Him to
all those who looked for redemption in Jerusalem” (Luke 2:36-38).

As
we have seen from the examples in God’s Word, some dedicated, faithful
women have been chosen by God for unique service to Him. In the case of
Deborah, it appears that no man at that time had the kind of
faith necessary to serve as judge to Israel. Huldah the prophetess was
faithful to God while the nation of Judah was steeped in false worship,
and she was able to provide God’s encouragement to Josiah and other
national leaders as they sought to repent and turn Judah back to
following God. Anna, as a very elderly woman, was blessed to see the
Messiah and to testify of His presence in that generation.

An
interesting prophecy in the Book of Joel further reveals God’s actions
regarding the men and women who will serve Him: “‘And it shall come to
pass afterward That I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons
and your daughters shall prophesy, Your old men shall dream dreams,
Your young men shall see visions. And also on My menservants and on My
maidservants I will pour out my Spirit in those days'” (Joel 2:28-29).
Peter adds this to his quoting of Joel 2, verse 29: “And they shall
prophesy” (Acts 2:18).

Because of God’s Spirit being poured out
on both men and women, some among them spoke through the inspiration of
God. Certain individuals spoke of God’s will and of future events
revealed by God. We see other examples of this when Hannah prayed (1
Samuel 2:1-10) and in the statements made by Elizabeth to Mary (Luke
1:41-45).

Although we don’t have a record of what they prophesied
about, we do know that the four daughters of Philip spoke under God’s
inspiration (Compare Acts 21:9). Consider the kind of family that they
were a part of–here is the record in Acts: “On the next day we who
were Paul’s companions departed and came to Caesarea, and entered the
house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven, and stayed
with him” (Acts 21:8). Philip was one of the seven deacons ordained as
the Church of God began to multiply following the Day of Pentecost
(Compare Acts 6:1-7). He was later raised in rank to the office of
Evangelist (Acts 21:8; also, compare Ephesians 4:11-13).

However,
Philip’s daughters were not ministers! Neither are they called
prophetesses. The Bible only says that they “prophesied.” There is no
Biblical record that women were called or ordained to an office of
prophetess in the New Testament Church. In fact, God does not permit a
woman to preach or to prophesy in Church services. Paul makes this
statement: “And I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority
over a man, but to be in silence” (1 Timothy 2:12). Also, Paul
explains: “Let your women keep silent in the churches, for they are not
permitted to speak; but they are to be submissive, as the law also
says” (1 Corinthians 14:34).

For more information about this important Biblical teaching, please read pages 13-15 of our free booklet, “The Keys to Happy Marriages and Families!”

When
Apollos first preached about Jesus Christ, “…he knew only the baptism
of John” (Acts 18:25). Note the approach taken by a faithful husband
and wife who were members of God’s Church: “So he began to speak boldly
in the synagogue. When Aquila and Priscilla heard him, they took him
aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately” (Acts
18:26).

Aquila and his wife Priscilla had a PRIVATE discussion
with Apollos. They both explained to him things of Christianity that he
had not yet learned. In that sense, Priscilla was involved in teaching
something to Apollos; however, Priscilla did not do this acting as a
minister, nor did she do this publicly.

Based on a careful and
comparative reading of various translations in 1 Timothy 3 and 5, and
in consideration of the broad Biblical statements and examples, the
Church of the Eternal God and its corporate affiliates follow the long
established practice of the Church of God, under Herbert W. Armstrong,
and ordain women to the office of “deaconess.” In Romans 16:1-2, we
read in the NKJV: “I commend to you Phoebe our sister, who is a SERVANT
of the church in Cenchrea, that you may receive her in the Lord in a
manner worthy of the saints, and assist her in whatever business she
has need of you; for indeed she has been a helper of many and of myself
also.” The RSV translates the word servant as “deaconess.” “Diakonos”
is the masculine form and gives credence to the idea that Phoebe was a
deaconess. Otherwise, Paul would have used a feminine form for servant.

Men
have served as prophets and women as prophetesses, as the Word of God
clearly illustrates. In the Church of God, today, men may still be
called to be prophets (among other offices)–which is by ordination
(Compare Acts 11:28; 21:10-11; 1 Corinthians 12:27-28; Ephesians 4:11;
Hebrews 5:4). Women, such as the four daughters of Philip, may also be
chosen to speak prophetically through the outpouring of God’s Holy
Spirit, but not in Church services, and not as ordained ministers or as
ordained prophetesses. The ONLY ordained office within the Church of
God that is held by women is that of DEACONESS–an appointment based on
solid maturity and selfless service.

In considering how God
administers His government, remember: “There is neither Jew nor Greek,
there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for
you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28). In the future, we
will all be born-again children of God through whom He will continue to
build His unending Kingdom!

Let us attentively serve God in whatever capacity He has called us in this present time!

Lead Writer: Dave Harris

Our new book on prayer, titled, “Teach Us to Pray,” has been posted on the Web.

Our
new speaking schedule for the month of October, including on the Day of
Atonement and during the Feast of Tabernacles, has been posted on the
Web.

Our new booklet on suffering has reached the second review cycle.

A new StandingWatch program was recorded last Friday and has been posted on the Web. It is titled: “Turkey in Prophecy.”

Set forth below is a summary of the program:

Turkey,
the first and so far only Muslim nation with diplomatic ties to the
state of Israel, has pledged to send 1,000 troops to Lebanon to support
Europe’s somewhat futile attempt to create lasting peace in the Middle
East. This development is noteworthy, as biblical prophecy has much to
say about Turkey’s future role and engagement in that part of the
world. In order to understand the Biblical pronouncements, one must
know, of course, where Turkey is mentioned in Scripture.