Update 950

On December 5, 2020, Norbert Link will present “Comments on News and Prophecy (December 5, 2020),” and Mike Link will present the sermon, titled, “That Which is Certain.”

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.

In the past months, half of the U.S. population has earnestly proclaimed the need for political change of the current administration.  In the previous election, this same sentiment drove the population to elect our current president.  Previous to that, President Obama based his campaign on “Change”.

This sentiment is nothing new in the ushering in of new administrations and is the foundation used to create that change.  What is noteworthy, especially in recent elections, is the impassioned desire of people to create these changes.  An amazing amount of money and time is spent in these endeavors, and for the party that loses an election, those resources are seemingly squandered.

In the bigger picture that God’s elect understand, we know that the world’s political infighting is all dross. But seeing the fervent desire of so many for temporary and unattained change should prompt us to question our passion for lasting change.

In so much darkness, it’s not always evident if our lights have dimmed.  Our zeal for the lasting change that only God can bring about can grow into an attitude of complacency.  We adhere to the law and look to our future with God but without zeal.  This attitude is prophesied for our generation.  Christ warns that we can become “wretched, miserable, poor, blind and naked…” and He says to those with that attitude to “…be zealous and repent” (Revelation 3:18, 19).

The Church has always fought against this attitude, but this mindset is even more encompassing in these end times.  Without question, the world will drag us down with its Satanically inspired doctrines and erroneous passions. Keeping our lights bright takes enthusiasm, not just adherence, to God’s principles.

Paul encouraged the Church at Corinth to fight this same battle.  “Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:16-18).

We will be beaten down (mentally and possibly even physically) for our love of the Truth.  All of those of The Way experience hatred from the world.  Remember Peter and those apostles with him, after being jailed and released, were “rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name.”  They didn’t cower and hide the Truth but instead “…did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ” (Acts 5:41-42).  Change is going to happen because God’s Plan for mankind is real.  Let’s keep that hunger for life everlasting always before our eyes.

by Norbert Link

We begin with further developments on the hotly-contested US election, due to alleged voter fraud and appalling “manipulations” and “irregularities.”

We continue with the assassination of a top scientist in Iran; the speculations as to who was responsible for the killing; and the potential consequences for the Middle East.

We also address the opposition to and the physically and spiritually damaging consequences of lockdowns; the unreliability of coronavirus tests; and the polarization of mask-wearing and other alleged “means” of combating the coronavirus; as well as a new vaccine against the pandemic.

Regarding our articles on voter fraud and the coronavirus lockdowns and restrictions, please watch our recent presentation, titled, “Expose the Many Lies to My People!”

Throughout this section, we have underlined pertinent statements in the quoted articles, for the convenience and quick overview of the reader.

Trump Speaks Out

Fox News reported on November 29:

“President Trump blasted judges’ rejections of his legal challenges to 2020 election results… ‘We’re not allowed to put in our proof. They say you don’t have standing… I would like to file one nice big beautiful lawsuit, talking about this and many other things, with tremendous proof. We have affidavits, we have hundreds and hundreds of affidavits… You mean as president of the United States, I don’t have standing? What kind of a court system is this?’…

“Trump said the Supreme Court needs to be ‘willing to make a real big decision… The problem is, it’s hard to get into the Supreme Court’… ‘We’re trying to put the evidence in, and the judges won’t allow us to do it… My mind will not change in six months. There was tremendous cheating here’…”

He also said that the FBI and the Department of Justice were “missing in action” on claims of massive fraud in the 2020 election.

CNN and other left-wing outlets condemned Trump’s remarks right away, spinning their false narrative that his allegations are baseless and without evidence.

Daily Mail added on December 2:

“President Donald Trump released a… 46-minute video that he posted on Facebook where he called for the election to be ‘overturned’ and admitted his remarks would be ‘disparaged.’…

“At one point, he held up a chart purporting to show a scheme to steal an election… He made repeated claims of fraud, dead people voting, mysterious anomalies in voting machines, and alleged corruption in big cities with Democratic votes that went for Joe Biden…

“He pointed to ‘unexpected success all over the country and right here in Washington,’ saying: ‘It is statistically impossible that the person – me – that led the charge lost. The greatest pollsters… that are fair and honest, [he] said “We can’t understand a thing like this…’

“Trump… called the election a ‘total catastrophe’ and said the results couldn’t be trusted. He complained about ‘machinery that was stopped during certain parts of the evening miraculously to open with more votes.’ ‘Many people in the media and even judges so far have refused to accept it. They know it’s true… But they refuse to say: you’re right. Our country needs somebody to say you’re right,’ he said…

“’Maybe you’ll have a revote, but I don’t think that’s appropriate. When those votes are corrupt, when they’re irregular, when they get caught, they’re terminated, and I very easily win,’ Trump said. Earlier Wednesday, former Trump national security advisor Mike Flynn blasted out an article that called on Trump to declare martial law and have the military oversee a revote.”

In the article, Flynn wrote, according to the Daily Mail:

“When the legislators, courts and/or Congress fail to do their duty under the 12th Amendment, you must be ready Mr. President to immediately declare a limited form of Martial Law, and temporarily suspend the Constitution and civilian control of these federal elections, for the sole purpose of having the military oversee a national re-vote… You must also act, like Lincoln did, to silence the destructive media’s one-sided propaganda designed and proven to influence the election outcome, and end the unlawful censorship of Big Tech, to restore the confidence of the American People in our electoral process or we cannot continue as a nation. Failure to do so could result in massive violence and destruction on a level not seen since the Civil War. Limited Martial Law is clearly a better option than Civil War!‘”

Are we coming to this?

What’s Going on in Georgia?

“Fox News wrote on November 30:

“President Trump called on Republican Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp to override Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger on matching signatures during the state’s recount, in a tweet Monday. Raffensperger has said that matching the signature on the outer envelope to the absentee ballot on the inside is impossible, because the ballots are separated from the envelopes when they are opened to protect voter privacy. The Trump campaign, which formally asked for a recount Nov. 22, says that ‘without signature-matching, this recount would be a sham and again allow for illegal votes to be counted.’… ‘Why won’t Governor [Kemp] use his emergency powers, which can be easily done, to overrule his obstinate Secretary of State, and do a match of signatures on envelopes,’ Trump tweeted Monday…

“Georgia Sens. Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue, two Republicans involved in runoff races, have backed the president’s signature-matching demands and called for Raffensperger’s resignation. But emergency rules that were adopted ahead of the presidential election explicitly require… that ballots be separated from their envelopes so they cannot possibly be joined back together…”

Fishy!

Iran and China Behind the Voter Fraud?

Newsmax reported on November 27:

“An analysis by a onetime military intelligence analyst whose name was redacted in an affidavit with lawyer attorney Sidney Powell’s lawsuit against Michigan officials insists there’s ‘unambiguous evidence’ that Dominion Voter Systems servers were accessible to and were ‘compromised by rogue actors, such as Iran and China.’ … a separate complaint in Georgia expands on the assertion…

“The analyst, who allegedly claimed to have ‘extensive experience as a white hat hacker used by some of the top election specialists in the world,’ said that they scanned Dominion network nodes and found a number of interrelationships with foreign entities, including access to Dominion’s server by a network from Hunan, China. Another review is said to have confirmed links to an Iranian IP address. The analyst said the findings represent a ‘complete failure’ on the part of Dominion to provide ‘basic cyber security.’”

Brazil Does Not Recognize Biden Victory

The Associated Press wrote on November 29:

“Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro… said Sunday he’ll wait a little longer before recognizing the U.S. election victory of Joe Biden…

“‘I have my sources of information that there really was a lot of fraud there,’ he said. ‘Nobody talks about that. If it was enough to define (victory) for one or the other, I don’t know.’”

Why is it, then, that the left-wing mainstream media totally denies that there was or could have been fraud? The answer should be self-evident.

Newt Gingrich: Democrats Stole the Election—Biggest Presidential Theft since 1824

Newsmax wrote on November 26:

“Election officials in Democratic strongholds of Pennsylvania ‘exceeded their authority in order to give voters preferential treatment,’ but their work was sloppy and lazy and the courts ‘’need to stop them from destroying more evidence,’’ former House Speaker Newt Gingrich writes in a column for The Epoch Times.  Gingrich… said officials in certain counties used ‘a variety of illegal practices that were used to inflate the number of votes received by Democrat presidential candidate Joe Biden, including disparate treatment of voters based on where they live and outright manipulation of Pennsylvania’s voter registration system by partisan activities.’

“‘Specifically, election workers illegally “pre-canvassed” mail-in ballots to determine whether they were missing a secrecy envelope or failed to include necessary information,’ writes Gingrich. ‘When ballots were found to be flawed, voters were given an opportunity to correct, or “cure,” their ballots to make sure they counted. In at least some cases, Democrat Party officials were even given lists of voters to contact about curing their ballots.’

“Gingrich said Democrat Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar, specifically, issued guidance authorizing the illegal practices ‘despite lacking the statutory authority to do so.’”

Breitbart added on November 28:

“‘The more data comes out on vote anomalies that clearly are not legitimate the more it looks like 2020 may be the biggest Presidential theft since Adams and Clay robbed Andrew Jackson in 1824,’ the former House speaker said… Gingrich encouraged Republican state legislators to read an analysis from Patrick Basham, founding Director of the Democracy Institute and senior fellow of the Cato Institute. Basham lists ten ‘peculiarities’ which he believes lack ‘compelling explanations,’ including swing states halting their ballot counts on election night and removing observers, statistically abnormal vote counts, and ‘historically low absentee ballot rejection rates.’

“Basham makes clear the election was almost certainly stolen in 5 states. Every American should be worried by the theft,” he added…”

He also stated the following in a roundtable discussion, according to Newsmax, dated November 29:

“Not only do you have crooked politicians running crooked elections, but you have crooked . . . Internet companies deliberately censoring and biasing… I never thought it would be this corrupt… [The prospective Biden administration] may be the most corrupt administration since Harding in 1921… The Hunter Biden stuff is real… The amount of money coming out of China, Russia and Ukraine is real. The degree to which all of that has been covered up is real. I think all of us have to recognize how serious a problem this is.”

What a politically-corrupt country the USA has become!

How the Mainstream Press Damages Trust in America’s Democracy

The Future of Freedom Foundation wrote on December 2:

“While President Trump continues to maintain that the presidential election was marred by massive fraud, the mainstream press continues to maintain that Trump’s charges are ‘false’ and ‘baseless’ and that his allegations are damaging trust in America’s democratic electoral system. Actually, however, it’s the other way around: It’s the mainstream press, owing to its extreme deferential attitude toward the Washington, D.C., establishment, that has severely damaged trust in America’s democratic system…

“The problem with the mainstream press in the Trump-Biden race is the speed by which it concluded that the 2020 presidential election was not marred by fraud. It reached its conclusion before the election was even over… the mainstream press reached its conclusions immediately and never conducted any independent investigation…

“That’s where the mainstream press has failed America and has severely damaged America’s democratic system. It has essentially become a loyal lapdog of the Washington, D.C., establishment, never daring to challenge it, question, or investigate it at a fundamental level. That’s why people don’t trust the mainstream press. That’s one big reason why mainstream papers have lost massive numbers of subscribers.

“… when there are extreme anomalies with respect to votes, as there have been in the Trump-Biden race, it is incumbent on an independent press to severely scrutinize them. Extreme anomalies, of course, don’t equate to fraud but they do equate — or should equate — to the need for extremely careful scrutiny to ensure that there is no fraud…

“Of course, the passive and deferential nature of the mainstream press has been going on for much longer than the 2020 presidential race. One of the best examples is the Kennedy assassination. From the time Kennedy was declared dead, the mainstream press has always automatically accepted the official version of events of the national-security establishment, never daring to conduct independent investigations into whether that version was false and baseless…

“Many years ago, the American people discovered the existence of Operation Mockingbird, a secret illegal operation of the CIA to convert journalists in the mainstream press into CIA assets and operatives. Mainstream journalists who were asked to serve loved it and considered it a great honor to secretly serve the national-security establishment.

“… the entire mainstream press has willingly made itself a de facto asset of the national-security state. The American people have been left without an independent mainstream press whose mission is to keep the government honest… In the process, the mainstream press has done a tremendous disservice to the American people and to America’s democratic processes by abdicating its responsibility to be a watchdog, not a lapdog, to the Washington, D.C., establishment.”

Why this Election Must Be Investigated

MSES.ORG wrote on November 27:

“There’s at least one good reason to support Donald Trump’s ongoing lawsuits challenging the election results in several states: the US foreign policy establishment doesn’t want you to. As Newsweek reported last week, ‘A group of more than 100 national security experts’ from Republican administrations have condemned the president’s challenges to some states’ vote-counting process. These ‘experts’ are claiming these legal efforts ‘undermine democracy’ and ‘risk long-term damage’ to the nation’s institutions…

“More reasonable people… should see the value and necessity of a slow, thorough, and public legal examination of the election. Regardless of how one feels about Donald Trump, anyone who values fair play, honesty, and the votes of legal voters should want thorough audits and investigations… After all, whenever political power is at stake, there is no reason whatsoever to assume honesty and integrity are guiding the actions of all involved.

“Fraud occurs with every election, of course. Anyone who claims any election contains no fraud lives in a fantasy land, or is lying. Voter fraud exists anywhere that votes are cast. Anecdotes of fraud in this election are plentiful… The question is whether or not this sort of thing is widespread enough to change the outcome. In a number of lawsuits, the Trump campaign has suggested that it has been widespread…

In this Satanically-ruled world of lies and deceits, we might never find out the full Truth as to what has happened. 

Barr Sees no Evidence???

CNN wrote on December 2:

“William Barr has been somewhat of a hero in the right-wing media universe… But his celebrity status took a hit on Tuesday when he undercut President Trump’s… contention that there was massive voter fraud in the 2020 election. Speaking to the Associated Press, Barr said that, ‘to date, we have not seen fraud on a scale that could have effected a different outcome in the election.’…

“Fox Business host Lou Dobbs… attacked Barr in brutal terms on his show. ‘For the attorney general of the United States to make that statement — he is either a liar or a fool or both,’ Dobbs said. Dobbs then went further, suggesting Barr was ‘perhaps compromised.’ He characterized Barr as having ‘appeared to join in with the radical Dems and the deep-state and the resistance.’

“Newsmax host Greg Kelly… went after Barr on his show. ‘Some of us are wondering if he is a warrior with the Constitution or if he’s just a bureaucrat,’ Kelly said. Kelly added that he ‘can’t believe’ if Barr ‘looked for voter fraud he wouldn’t find any.’ And Mark Levin said he ‘regret[ted] to say’ that Barr’s comments were ‘misleading.’…

“The Gateway Pundit, a fringe website which Trump has repeatedly promoted, published a post that said Barr had revealed himself as ‘totally deaf, dumb and blind.’… It concluded, ‘…  Our days of tolerating betrayal are over.’”

 A DOJ spokesperson said in a subsequent statement: “Some media outlets have incorrectly reported that the Department has concluded its investigation of election fraud and announced an affirmative finding of no fraud in the election. That is not what… the Attorney General stated. The Department will continue to receive and vigorously pursue all specific and credible allegations of fraud as expeditiously as possible.”

Breitbart added on December 2:

“The Trump Legal Team, led by Rudy Giuliani and Jenna Ellis, said…”

“’With all due respect to the Attorney General, there hasn’t been any semblance of a Department of Justice investigation. We have gathered ample evidence of illegal voting in at least six states, which they have not examined. We have many witnesses swearing under oath they saw crimes being committed in connection with voter fraud. As far as we know, not a single one has been interviewed by the DOJ. The Justice Department also hasn’t audited any voting machines or used their subpoena powers to determine the truth.’

“They added they would ‘continue our pursuit of the truth through the judicial system and state legislatures, and continue toward the Constitution’s mandate and ensuring that every legal vote is counted and every illegal vote is not.’ ‘Again, with the greatest respect to the Attorney General, his opinion appears to be without any knowledge or investigation of the substantial irregularities and evidence of systemic fraud,’ Giuliani and Ellis said.”

In light of the seemingly overwhelming evidence of voter fraud and voter “irregularities,” Barr’s remarks are really astounding.

Iranian Scientist “Assassinated”

Fox News wrote on November 27:

“An Iranian scientist dubbed the leader of Tehran’s military nuclear program [Mohsen Fakhrizadeh] until it was ended in the early 2000s was… killed on Friday… Fakhrizadeh led Iran’s so-called ‘Amad,’ or ‘Hope,’ program, which Israel and the West described as a military operation to build a nuke… Fakhrizadeh’s death will be another major blow to the Tehran regime, which has struggled amid ‘maximum pressure’ from the Trump administration and saw the U.S. leave the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and impose waves of sanctions on the Islamic dictatorship.

“Last year, the U.S. took out Iranian General Qassem Soleimani in a strike in what the Trump administration described as an act of self-defense against an ‘imminent’ attack. Axios reported this week that Israel Defense Forces have been preparing for the possibility that the U.S. military will strike Iran during the last two months of President Trump’s time in office. It comes a week after the New York Times reported that Trump asked senior advisers about his options to strike Iran’s main nuclear site after international inspectors reported details about a significant increase in… Iran’s stockpile of nuclear material. “

“Iran’s foreign [minister] Javad Zarif… blamed Israel for the attack, writing on Twitter: “Terrorists murdered an eminent Iranian scientist today. This cowardice—with serious indications of Israeli role—shows desperate warmongering of perpetrators. Iran calls on int’l community—and especially EU—to end their shameful double standards & condemn this act of state terror.”

Israel and USA Responsible?

The Jerusalem Post added on November 27:

“Two years after Israeli PM Netanyahu first named Mohsen Fakhrizadeh as the father of Iran’s nuclear project, he’s been assassinated near Tehran… Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned in 2018 of Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, who many referred to as the ‘father’ of Iran’s nuclear weapons project. But over the course of two years, no one remembered that name…

“Netanyahu made the comment when he divulged that Israel had obtained 100,000 files from Iran’s secret nuclear archives. He said that Fakhrizadeh, a brigadier general in Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps and a professor of physics at the Guard’s Imam Hussein University, played a central role in the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program… Fakhirzadeh returned to drive Iran’s nuclear program, Project Amad, specifically to develop nuclear warheads for the multitudes of ballistic missiles the Islamic republic already possesses… in 2013 Fakhrizadeh had attended a North Korean nuclear weapons test. The New York Times in 2014 compared him to Robert Oppenheimer, the father of the American nuclear bomb…

“Several Iranian nuclear scientists have been assassinated over the years, but Fakhrizadeh was by far the most important nuclear scientist to be assassinated to date. He was so important that it was not until Netanyahu showed his picture, there were no photographs available of him and Iranian authorities even denied numerous requests from the Atomic Energy Agency to interview him. It was an effort by Iran to protect him from assassins, a sort of protective shield around him. Until today…

“Senior Israeli officials have met with their American counterparts several times in recent weeks, with the two sides… discussing the threat posed by Iran… Israel has warned repeatedly about Tehran’s nuclear ambitions and has pledged to never allow it to obtain such weapons which can threaten the Jewish State. Israel considers Iran’s nuclear program as the number one concern…

“Over the summer, shortly after the opening of the Strategy and Third-Circle Directorate, Iran was hit by a number of mysterious blasts-specifically sites connected to the country’s missile and nuclear project… His death is also a major signal that Israel and the United States will not give up on preventing the country from obtaining such weaponry. The message is clear: Remember, no nuclear scientist is safe.”

Newsmax added on November 27:

“Iran said Israel and the U.S. were likely behind the assassination… and vowed revenge, sharply escalating tensions in the Persian Gulf…”

Express wrote on November 27:

“The apparent assassination [of] a scientist believed to be masterminding Iran’s push to build nuclear weapons has triggered a furious reaction from Tehran, with a senior military chief pointing the finger at Israel and warning of ‘full-blown war’… Iran swiftly… suggested [Israel] had acted with the blessing of US President Donald Trump. Irrespective of who was behind the attack, it is guaranteed to escalate already raised tensions between Tehran and Washington…”

Fox News reported on November 28:

“The European Union has strongly condemned the killing of a top Iranian nuclear scientist, calling it a ‘criminal act.’

Not surprisingly, so have the United Kingdom, Turkey, some Arab States and the UN (compare Times of Israel, November 29).

Going out with a Bang?

The Guardian wrote on November 28:

“The assassination of the country’s top nuclear expert raises fears that the outgoing US president is determined to take further action… Speculation that Trump might soon initiate or support some kind of attack on Iran, overt or covert, kinetic or cyber, had swirled across the Middle East in the wake of last weekend’s unprecedented meeting in Saudi Arabia between Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, US secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, and the Saudi crown prince…  What the three men discussed remains a closely guarded secret, a fact that has only served to encourage conspiracy claims. In the absence of an official statement, it’s suggested they may have agreed to intensify efforts to provoke and weaken the Tehran regime. Any ensuing retaliation by Iran might then potentially be used to justify an attack on its nuclear facilities…

“Iran’s leaders have little doubt that Israel, with a probable green light from Washington, was behind the assassination… Was the assassination a one-off designed to damage Iran’s nuclear programme? Or could all this be a prelude to something more strategically explosive as Trump strives to secure his wished-for legacy as scourge of Iran and saviour of Israel?…

“It’s a fateful moment for the entire Middle East… Trump… may be tempted to go out with a bang.”

Why the Assassination NOW?

 The Washington Post wrote on November 30:

“Commentators… have moved on to asking what Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hoped to achieve. Did he seek to draw Tehran into a military response that would, in turn, justify an American assault on Iran’s nuclear program in the waning weeks of the Trump administration? To spoil conditions for the diplomatic reset that President-elect Joe Biden is expected to seek with Iran? Or did Netanyahu simply seize an opportunity to take out Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, the brains of Iran’s nuclear program who topped Israel’s target list, in hopes that Iran would show restraint in its response, as it has since the attack?

“Each theory — or combination of them — has its proponents among Israel’s national security veterans and analysts… Netanyahu is wary of Biden’s promise to offer Iran ‘a diplomatic path’ back to compliance and, by some accounts, he is pushing Trump to strike a decisive blow against Iran’s nuclear program…

“The sophistication of the assassination, which has been attributed variously to a squad of hit men, car bomb and satellite controlled superweapon, was of the type that takes months of planning. If an opportunity arose to pull the trigger, Netanyahu may have given the okay despite the tensions of the moment, not in an effort to ramp them up.

“Israel is bracing for a counterattack in any case. Its embassies are on alert. The Israeli Defense Ministry is coordinating with the United Arab Emirates in the expectation that thousands of Israeli tourists about to descend on Dubai and Abu Dhabi — following the signing of the Israeli-UAE peace accords — are potential targets for an Iranian attack, according to Israel’s Channel 12 News… As Iran buries its slain nuclear scientist, leaders vow revenge and no negotiations with the West.”

Interesting scenarios. They all point to more turmoil in the Middle East.

Iran Wants to Play Hardball

 JTA wrote on December 2:

 “Iran’s parliament passed a law on Wednesday aimed at pressuring President-elect Joe Biden to reenter the Iran nuclear deal almost as soon as he assumes office.

“The bill gives the United States until early February to lift sanctions imposed by President Donald Trump after abandoning the 2015 agreement more than two years ago. Otherwise, Iran will ban entry to international nuclear inspectors and increase uranium enrichment to a level closer to weapons-ready…

“The law, passed by the majority hard-liner parliament, was spurred in part by the assassination last week of Iran’s top nuclear scientist…”

And So Does Israel

AFP wrote on December 2:

 “Israel received the first of its new missile boats on Wednesday, with a top naval officer telling AFP the fleet upgrade ‘dramatically’ improves the country’s ability to counter regional rivals, including Iran. The procurement of four naval vessels and three submarines from German industrial giant Thyssenkrupp has been the subject of long-running corruption probes involving top allies of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. But graft allegations aside, the ships themselves form a key part of a major naval upgrade in the Jewish state, Israel’s head of naval operations… The vessels — Saar 6-class corvettes — are equipped with… the (most) sophisticated radar on board any vessel in the world…”

The Spiritual Harm of Lockdowns

Mises.org wrote on November 28:

“More and more states have begun to once again impose ruinous lockdowns. The media and Twitter are filled with self-righteous scolds shrieking about the impending doom of families gathering together for Thanksgiving… If such people had their way, everyone would remain under veritable house arrest and not see anyone else for months or even years… That such ideas are even being considered demonstrates just how out of touch with human reality much of our ‘expert’ class and their hordes of lemming-like followers are…

“Nearly every culture and religion throughout human history has held that humans are both material and spiritual beings. However, living in the secular age as we do, the material aspect of our existence has supplanted the spiritual to such an extent that it is barely recognized to exist… Humans are social beings…

“There are few events more brimming with the spiritual unity of the attendees than a wedding, a celebration of the literal unity of two persons as one in the presence of their friends and loved ones with feasting, singing, and dancing. Yet how many weddings have been canceled or celebrated in private this year thanks to lockdowns? How many shared meals have not been eaten? Dances left undanced, songs left unsung, conversations not had? How many parents and grandparents in nursing homes did not get to see their loved ones before they departed this earth? How many children have suffered in front of a screen alone all day?…

“…Suicide rates are up all around the country, in some places as much as 70 percent compared to the same time last year. Military suicides are up 20 percent. Drug overdose deaths are on track to reach an all-time high. The RAND Corporation has found an upswing in heavy drinking this year. The Associated Press reports on the horrific conditions in nursing homes around the country that may have led to the deaths of tens of thousands of residents in excruciating and horrific circumstances, as their families have been forbidden from caring for them. What’s more, it seems many patients simply withered away, their spirits broken from being locked in veritable solitary confinement with no contact with friends or family for months.

“Medical central planning that doesn’t even recognize the spiritual and social aspect of human existence has caused the deaths of untold numbers of people around the country, perhaps more than the virus itself in the long run.

“Our vaunted leaders may act like pure materialists when it comes to their dictatorial decrees obliterating society and our very humanity, but on some level they obviously understand the importance of their own spiritual health. Why else would the leaders of California be breaking their own rules to dine at luxurious restaurants or flying to Hawaii for meetings and not be content with takeout and Zoom like the rest of us peasants? But what else can be expected from a system of top-down control?

“…Just as we have material needs that central planners cannot anticipate, so too do we have spiritual needs that can only be filled in a myriad of ways that central planners cannot plan for, especially when they don’t even recognize they are needs at all. When they are not fulfilled, our physical health suffers just as assuredly as if we had a virus. The social and communal aspects of human life, whether a holiday dinner with family, going to church, having a wedding, or even the mundane relations of everyday life are not mere luxuries that can be dispensed with, they are human life itself. People must be free to navigate these difficult times armed with the knowledge of their circumstances that only they possess.”

Deutsche Welle wrote on November 29:

“Domestic abuse spikes during the holidays and the coronavirus lockdown will only make things worse. One quarter of all women experience abuse in their lives, and lockdown measures are making it harder to get help. [They] have led to increased incidences of abuse as couples and families are further isolated from the outside world. Now, observers fear a combination of the two will have grave consequences.

“Social distancing measures have also  made it more difficult for victims of abuse to seek help and extricate themselves from torturous relationships…”

The Political Transformation of Mask-Wearing

The American Institute for Economic Research wrote on November 30:

“The speed with which mask-wearing among the general public transitioned from unheard of to a moral necessity struck me as suspicious. After all, if the science was as airtight as those around me claimed, surely masks would have been recommended by January or February, not to mention during prior infectious disease outbreaks such as the 2009 swine flu. It seemed unlikely that the scientific proof became incontrovertible sometime between late February and late March, particularly in the absence of any new evidence surfacing during that time period…

“To conclude on the basis of low death rates in several countries that masks prevent coronavirus transmission is patently absurd, illogical, and unscientific… it is obvious that the issue has become so politicized that mainstream media outlets, politicians, and even scientists seize upon the slightest bit of favorable evidence, dismiss out of hand anything that conflicts with their theory, and most egregiously of all misrepresent the data, to support the conclusion that masks worn by asymptomatic people prevent coronavirus transmission.

“And masks are only one part of this story: school closures, lockdowns, and social distancing all have been dogmatically embraced as a means of controlling infection. The substantial evidence that these mechanisms are not effective, particularly beyond their duration, has been automatically rejected for too long. This is not science: it is politics, and those within the profession who have refused to examine their confirmation biases, or manipulated the evidence to score political points, are utterly unqualified for the job.”

Amen to that!

Rock Music Legends Stand Up to Lockdowns

Breitbart wrote on November 27:

“Rock music legends Van Morrison and Eric Clapton have teamed up for ‘Stand and Deliver,’ a song that takes coronavirus lockdowns to task. ‘There are many of us who support Van and his endeavors to save live music; he is an inspiration,’ Clapton said according to Variety. ‘We must stand up and be counted because we need to find a way out of this mess. The alternative is not worth thinking about. Live music might never recover.’ Clapton also said that the end of live entertainment due to coronavirus lockdowns is ‘deeply upsetting.’…

“Van Morrison has already released several songs that are critical of the lockdowns, including ‘Born To Be Free,’ ‘As I Walked Out,’ and ‘No More Lockdown.’ Morrison’s criticism of lockdowns has stirred controversy in certain circles, especially among government officials. The ‘Moondance’ singer recently drew criticism from Northern Ireland’s health minister Robin Swann who called the protest songs ‘dangerous.’”

What is dangerous are the ill-conceived lockdowns.

The Ron Paul Institute added on November 28:

“Clapton and Morrison have moved beyond joint condemnation of some of [the] draconian measures taken in the name of countering coronavirus. They have joined in a musical collaboration to record a song that challenges these measures. Sales of the song will raise money for Morrison’s charity helping financially harmed musicians. The song ‘Stand and Deliver,’ written by Morrison and performed by Clapton, will be available on December 4.”

Covid-19 PCR Tests Unreliable

RT wrote on November 27:

“Earlier this month, Portuguese judges upheld a decision from a lower court that found the forced quarantine of four holidaymakers to be unlawful. The case centred on the reliability (or lack thereof) of Covid-19 PCR tests. The verdict, delivered on November 11, followed an appeal against a writ of habeas corpus filed by four Germans against the Azores Regional Health Authority. This body had been appealing a ruling from a lower court which had found in favour of the tourists, who claimed that they were illegally confined to a hotel without their consent. The tourists were ordered to stay in the hotel over the summer after one of them tested positive for coronavirus in a PCR test – the other three were labelled close contacts and therefore made to quarantine as well.

“The deliberation of the Lisbon Appeal Court is comprehensive and fascinating. It ruled that the Azores Regional Health Authority had violated both Portuguese and international law by confining the Germans to the hotel… They were also scathing about the reliability of the PCR (polymerase chain reaction) test, the most commonly used check for Covid. The conclusion of their 34-page ruling included the following: ‘In view of current scientific evidence, this test shows itself to be unable to determine beyond reasonable doubt that such positivity corresponds, in fact, to the infection of a person by the SARS-CoV-2 virus.’

“In the eyes of this court, then, a positive test does not correspond to a Covid case. The two most important reasons for this, said the judges, are that, ‘the test’s reliability depends on the number of cycles used’ and that ‘the test’s reliability depends on the viral load present.’ In other words, there are simply too many unknowns surrounding PCR testing… This is not the first challenge to the credibility of PCR tests… Earlier this year, data from three US states – New York, Nevada and Massachusetts – showed that when the amount of the virus found in a person was taken into account, up to 90 percent of people who tested positive could actually have been negative, as they may have been carrying only tiny amounts of the virus…

“It is a sad indictment of our mainstream media that such a landmark ruling, of such obvious and pressing international importance, has been roundly ignored… Testing, especially PCR testing, is the basis for the entire house of cards of Covid restrictions that are wreaking havoc worldwide. From testing comes case numbers. From case numbers come the ‘R number,’ the rate at which a carrier infects others. From the ‘dreaded’ R number comes the lockdowns and the restrictions, such as England’s new and baffling tiered restrictions that come into force next week…”

So, the whole world, being deceived by Satan the Devil, seems to have it upside-down.

Covid-19 Vaccinations

Algora published on November 22 the following article by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., vaccine injury lawyer and son of the former U.S. Attorney General under his brother President John F. Kennedy:

“I would like to draw your attention urgently to important issues related to the next Covid-19 vaccination. For the first time in the history of vaccination, the so-called last generation mRNA vaccines intervene directly in the genetic material of the patient and therefore alter the individual genetic material, which represents the genetic manipulation, something that was already forbidden and until then considered criminal.

“This intervention can be compared to genetically manipulated food, which is also highly controversial. Even if the media and politicians currently trivialize the problem and even stupidly call for a new type of vaccine to return to normality, this vaccination is problematic in terms of health, morality and ethics, and also in terms of genetic damage that, unlike the damage caused by previous vaccines, will be irreversible and irreparable.

“Dear patients, after an unprecedented mRNA vaccine, you will no longer be able to treat the vaccine symptoms in a complementary way. They will have to live with the consequences, because they can no longer be cured simply by removing toxins from the human body, just as a person with a genetic defect like Down syndrome, Klinefelter syndrome, Turner syndrome, genetic cardiac arrest, hemophilia, cystic fibrosis, Rett syndrome, etc.), because the genetic defect is forever!

“This means clearly: if a vaccination symptom develops after an mRNA vaccination, neither I nor any other therapist can help you, because the damage caused by the vaccination will be genetically irreversible. In my opinion, these new vaccines represent a crime against humanity that has never been committed in such a big way in history. As Dr. Wolfgang Wodarg, an experienced doctor, said: In fact, this ‘promising vaccine’ for the vast majority of people should be FORBIDDEN, because it is genetic manipulation!

“The vaccine, developed and endorsed by Anthony Fauci and funded by Bill Gates, uses experimental mRNA technology. Three of the 15 human guinea pigs (20%) experienced a ‘serious adverse event’.”

“Spahn Lashes out at Britain”

Express wrote on December 2:

“[Germany’s health minister] Jens Spahn dismissed suggestions that the UK had benefited from a speedy approvals process thanks to Brexit, and pointed out that the vaccine developed by Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech is a European-made product. His slap down comes after Mr Hancock claimed the UK had been able to push ahead of the pack in the race for an approved vaccine and ‘not go at the pace of the Europeans’ due to the fact it is no longer a member of the bloc. But Mr Spahn told reporters at an EU briefing on Wednesday that while Britain had been the first to approve the vaccine, he was optimistic that the European Medicines Agency would soon follow… Mr Spahn said he felt proud that a German company had played a central role in developing the COVID-19 jab.

“Mr Spahn said member states had the option of going it alone on the path towards a vaccine. But he said governments including Angela Merkel’s had opted to stick with the EU pack which effectively means they will have to wait longer for the green light. Mr Spahn explained: ‘It’s very important we do this to help promote trust and confidence in this authorisation.’ … Eurocrats admitted the EU’s medicines watchdog will not be able to approve the jab until the end of December at the earliest – weeks after Britain is set to begin administering the vaccine…

“He stressed he was not the only official irritated at Britons celebrating being the first to approve as a national triumph.”

Apart from the political maneuverings, the real question is: How SAFE is this vaccine? Reading the previous article, it does not appear to be very safe at all!

The Ron Paul Institute wrote on December 3:

 “Like so many other ‘crises’ that preceded it, the Covid-19 ‘pandemic’ has provided fertile territory for the authoritarians who seize any opportunity to destroy freedom and liberty under the false claim of ‘keeping us safe.’ The PATRIOT Act passed after 9/11 was supposed to do the same thing: keep us safe by targeting the terrorists who wanted to kill us. But [the] Patriot] Act was designed to view us as the enemy, to be spied on, tracked, and harassed. The Covid ‘crisis’ and coming vaccine will be the same. Will Americans resist?… And an LA County mayor claims anyone without a mask is a ‘domestic terrorist.’”

 In this context, “Joe Biden said during an interview Thursday that he plans to ask the American public to wear masks for 100 days, starting the day he is inaugurated” (Fox News, dated December 3). Biden has also asked Dr. Anthony Fauci to “serve as a chief medical adviser and member of Biden’s COVID-19 response team once his administration begins” (The Week, dated December 3).

 Words fail. 

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 the previous parts of this series, we began to discuss many concepts taught by the Roman Catholic church, related to their doctrine of indulgences. We saw that indulgences are required, according to Catholic tradition and theology, to ensure that help and assistance is given in Purgatory (a place that doesn’t exist and has no validity from Scripture), so that humans can go to Heaven (which Scripture clearly shows is not the place for the dead, nor is Hell, as commonly understood in orthodox Christianity!)  We also pointed out that the idea of indulgences applies in different ways: It addresses those who are in “Purgatory” (or “Hell”) and for whom prayers and “indulgences” are given by the living or the “saints in Heaven”, so that they can be freed from Purgatory (or Hell); and it can apply to people in this life who give indulgences (for themselves) so that they do not have to suffer in Purgatory (or Hell) for as long as they otherwise would have to.

We also began to discuss the concept of partial indulgences (removing part of the “temporal” punishment due to sin), and of plenary indulgences (removing all temporal punishment due to sin). We also saw that the Catholic church teaches that indulgences “cannot remit the eternal penalty of hell. Once a person is in hell, no amount of indulgences will ever change that fact. The only way to avoid hell is by appealing to God’s eternal mercy while still alive.”

With this background, we will continue to discuss the FALSE concept of indulgences and explain and prove further from the Bible WHY it is false.

On the website https://www.catholic.com/tract/myths-about-indulgences, we read the following:

“How many of one’s temporal penalties can be remitted?

“Potentially, all of them. The Church recognizes that Christ and the saints are interested in helping penitents deal with the aftermath of their sins, as indicated by the fact they always pray for us (Heb. 7:25, Rev. 5:8). Fulfilling its role in the administration of temporal penalties, the Church draws upon the rich supply of rewards God chose to bestow on the saints, who pleased him, and on his Son, who pleased him most of all.”

Both Scriptures mentioned above have nothing to do with indulgences [or the “saints in heaven” praying for the living or for those who are “suffering in purgatory or hell”]. Hebrews 7:25 is an affirmation of the fact that Jesus Christ is our High Priest and shows that we don’t need to use a Catholic priest to have access to God the Father. In 1 Timothy 2:5 we read: “For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus…”

We read in Wikipedia: “Absolution is an integral part of the Sacrament of Penance in Roman Catholicism. The penitent makes a sacramental confession of all mortal sins to a priest and prays an act of contrition (a genre of prayers). The priest then assigns a penance and imparts absolution in the name of the Trinity, on behalf of Christ Himself, using a fixed sacramental formula.”

The Catholic church believes that a Catholic priest can give absolution to a dying person but this is not biblical. Only God can forgive sins upon true repentance (see Luke 5:21 and Mark 2:7). We read that absolution, in the ecclesiastical sense, implies a remission of sin or its penalties. In the Roman Catholic church the power to absolve is vested in the priest as we read above, and he assigns a penance! However, we are NOT to confess our sins to a priest, but to God.

Also, this absolution is made in the name of the Trinity which is yet another non-biblical error.  There is nothing biblical about this approach at all.

As we have seen, the Bible does not teach the Trinity. God is a Family, consisting of God the Father (the Highest in the Godhead), and of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. The Holy Spirit is NOT a Person or part of the Trinity, but the POWER emanating from the Father AND the Son, and it is through the power of the Holy Spirit that both the Father and the Son can live and dwell in a converted Christian. God wants to enlarge His Family, and those who have received the Holy Spirit upon proper baptism are BEGOTTEN children of God. They will become BORN AGAIN children of God at the time of their resurrection or change to eternal life. THEN they will enter God’s Family as immortal God beings. The Trinity, which is an unalterable and closed concept without the possibility of access into the Kingdom and Family of God, DENIES this important doctrine and is therefore blasphemous.

The above-cited website continues:

“The rewards on which the Church draws are infinite because Christ is God, so the rewards he accrued are infinite and never can be exhausted. The rewards of the saints are added to Christ’s—not because anything is lacking in his, but because it is fitting that they be united with his rewards as the saints are united with him. Although immense, their rewards are finite, but his are infinite.”

We don’t even try to “explain” this unintelligible babbling. Continuing:

“If the Church has the resources to wipe out everyone’s temporal penalties, why doesn’t it do so?

“Because God does not wish this to be done. God himself instituted the pattern of temporal penalties being left behind. They fulfill valid functions, one of them disciplinary. If a child were never disciplined, he would never learn obedience. God disciplines us as his children — ‘the Lord disciplines him whom he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives’ (Heb. 12:6) — so some temporal penalties must remain.

“The Church cannot wipe out everyone’s temporal punishments because their remission depends on the dispositions of the persons who suffer those temporal punishments. Just as repentance and faith are needed for the remission of eternal penalties, so they are needed for the remission of temporal penalties. Pope Paul VI stated, ‘Indulgences cannot be gained without a sincere conversion of outlook and unity with God’ (Indulgentarium Doctrina 11).”

These “explanations” are likewise convoluted and confusing. As we pointed out in the last instalment, the Catholic church’s teaching on having to endure temporal punishment (the time a person is being tortured in Purgatory) is blatantly wrong. But what can be gleaned from them is this:

The Roman Catholic church takes too much upon itself, erroneously thinking that it has power to do such things which it does not. In our Q&A, “Was the Apostle Peter the first Bishop of Rome and the first Pope?,” we write as follows (where we also point out that Peter was NOT the first Pope but even if he had been, he would not have been given that kind of authority which popes are claiming for themselves):

“The word ‘Peter,’ i.e., ‘petros’ in Greek, means ‘a little stone.’ The ‘rock,’ on which Christ would build His church, is ‘petra’ in Greek, meaning a solid rock. Christ was not saying here that Christ would build the church on ‘Peter,’ but on THE ROCK — Christ Himself. It is CHRIST who is identified as ‘THE ROCK’ in passages such as 1 Corinthians 10:4. Peter, as well as the other apostles, in addition to the prophets, are part of the foundation, but Christ is the CHIEF cornerstone (Ephesians 2:20). The Church is built on Christ, who is the LIVING Head of the Church (Ephesians 4:15).”

Continuing:

“How does one determine by what amount penalties have been lessened?

“Before Vatican II each indulgence was said to remove a certain number of “days” from one’s discipline—for instance, an act might gain “300 days’ indulgence”—but the use of the term “days” confused people, giving them the mistaken impression that in purgatory time as we know it still exists and that we can calculate our “good time” in a mechanical way. The number of days associated with indulgences actually never meant that that much “time” would be taken off one’s stay in purgatory. Instead, it meant that an indefinite but partial (not complete) amount of remission would be granted, proportionate to what ancient Christians would have received for performing that many days’ penance.

“To overcome the confusion Paul VI issued a revision of the handbook (Enchiridion is the formal name) of indulgences. Today, numbers of days are not associated with indulgences. They are either plenary or partial.”

To be clear, the above “explanation” only attempts to confuse the Catholic church’s teaching even more. As we pointed out in our series, it is CLEARLY the Roman Catholic church’s teaching that indulgences are given for the purpose of shortening the TIME a sinner suffers in Purgatory. The above-cited “explanation” is hopelessly convoluted, and if it is supposed to convey that indulgences are not meant to shorten the time of suffering in Purgatory, it is incorrect, but it shows that even Catholics do not understand their own teaching.

The Catholic church and the Pope can continue to make explanations of an absurd doctrine which has no biblical basis and “blind” their faithful, but Purgatory and indulgences make a mockery of the truth which the Bible reveals to those with eyes to see.

Continuing with the above-cited Website:

“What’s the difference between a partial and a plenary indulgence?

“An indulgence is partial or plenary according as it removes either part or all of the temporal punishment due to sin (Indulgentarium Doctrina 2, 3). Only God knows exactly how efficacious any particular partial indulgence is or whether a plenary indulgence was received at all.”

Again, the same false and blasphemous concept is conveyed here that God tortures a person who died and dwells in Purgatory.

“Don’t indulgences duplicate or even negate the work of Christ?

“Despite the biblical underpinnings of indulgences, some are sharply critical of them and insist the doctrine supplants the work of Christ and turns us into our own saviors. This objection results from confusion about the nature of indulgences and about how Christ’s work is applied to us.

“Indulgences apply only to temporal penalties, not to eternal ones. The Bible indicates that these penalties may remain after a sin has been forgiven and that God lessens these penalties as rewards to those who have pleased him. Since the Bible indicates this, Christ’s work cannot be said to have been supplanted by indulgences.

“The merits of Christ, since they are infinite, comprise most of those in the treasury of merits. By applying these to believers, the Church acts as Christ’s servant in the application of what he has done for us, and we know from Scripture that Christ’s work is applied to us over time and not in one big lump (Phil. 2:12, 1 Pet. 1:9).”

What the above-cited statement misunderstands is the concept of giving an account to God, which DOES occur after a person has been resurrected back to life. But this has nothing to do with remaining penalties after sins have been forgiven. For a thorough explanation, please read our free booklet, “Punishment for Our Sins.”

A key concept in the quoted statement above is that “Indulgences apply only to temporal penalties, not to eternal ones”. The Bible reveals, when properly understood, that “temporal penalties”, the sowing and reaping principle, is something that a true Christian has to be cognisant of in this life now. No intervention by a large church can countermand this. When we have fallen short and sin, as we often do, we repent personally, not through some human church representative, but to God to ask for forgiveness. It is a personal matter as repentance can only come from the individual concerned.

Continuing:

“Isn’t it better to put all of the emphasis on Christ alone?

“If we ignore the fact of indulgences, we neglect what Christ does through us, and we fail to recognize the value of what he has done in us. Paul used this very sort of language: ‘Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I complete what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church’ (Col. 1:24).

“Even though Christ’s sufferings were superabundant (far more than needed to pay for anything), Paul spoke of completing what was ‘lacking’ in Christ’s sufferings. If this mode of speech was permissible for Paul, it is permissible for us.

“Catholics should not be defensive about indulgences. They are based on principles straight from the Bible. Pope Paul VI declared, ‘[T]he Church invites all its children to think over and weigh up in their minds as well as they can how the use of indulgences benefits their lives and all Christian society. . . . Supported by these truths, holy Mother Church again recommends the practice of indulgences to the faithful’ (Indulgentarium Doctrina, 9, 11).”

We have already explained WHY much of what is written above is blatantly wrong. But one aspect needs our comment. The statement above claims that indulgences benefit all involved, as they somehow relate to completing what is lacking in Christ’s suffering. Apart from the fact that this concept would be totally contradictory from a Roman Catholic teaching’s standpoint (as indulgences would prevent such completion), Paul is drawing an analogy, stating that as Christ suffered, so he must too, and that he has to complete the suffering allotted to him, also for the sake of the members—he would stay a bit longer with them rather than dying soon–—but he refers to THIS life, not to some sort of an “afterlife.”

Continuing:

“How to Gain an Indulgence

“To gain any indulgence you must be a Catholic in order to be under the Church’s jurisdiction, and you must be in a state of grace because apart from God’s grace none of your actions are fundamentally pleasing to God (meritorious). You also must have at least the habitual intention of gaining an indulgence by the act performed.

“To gain a partial indulgence, you must perform with a contrite heart the act to which the indulgence is attached. To gain a plenary indulgence you must perform the act with a contrite heart, plus you must go to confession (one confession may suffice for several plenary indulgences), receive Holy Communion, and pray for the pope’s intentions. The final condition is that you must be free from all attachment to sin, including venial sin. If you attempt to receive a plenary indulgence, but are unable to meet the last condition, a partial indulgence is received instead.

“Below are indulgences listed in the Handbook of Indulgences (New York: Catholic Book Publishing, 1991):

“An act of spiritual communion, expressed in any devout formula whatsoever, is endowed with a partial indulgence.

“A partial indulgence is granted the Christian faithful who devoutly spend time in mental prayer.

“A plenary indulgence is granted when the rosary is recited in a church or oratory or when it is recited in a family, a religious community, or a pious association. A partial indulgence is granted for its recitation in all other circumstances.

“A partial indulgence is granted the Christian faithful who read sacred Scripture with the veneration due God’s word and as a form of spiritual reading. The indulgence will be a plenary one when such reading is done for at least one-half hour [provided the other conditions are met].

“A partial indulgence is granted to the Christian faithful who devoutly sign themselves with the cross while saying the customary formula: “In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.”

“In summary, the practice of indulgences neither takes away nor adds to the work of Christ. It is his work, through his body the Church, raising up children in his own likeness.”

However, the concept of indulgences CLEARLY DESTROYS the Work of Christ, both adding to or taking away from the Truth. We can see how much ridiculous human thinking and reasoning has gone into coming up with a non-biblical doctrine. First, one must be a Catholic to gain any indulgence (It does not matter to us as indulgences are a human invention anyhow and in contraction to God’s Word.)  Apart from the ridiculous distinction between plenary and partial indulgences, just looking at the listed indulgences above is an apt testimony to (ungodly) requirements that have just been arbitrarily thought up by some human being without any underlying biblical instruction or godly understanding or authority. For example, the place and circumstances of praying the rosary (an ungodly and pagan practice) is to decide whether one receives a plenary or partial indulgence. Also, the last one quoted above talks about signing with the cross [a pagan symbol and a pagan practice] while saying a prescribed formula. There is nothing in God’s Word that approves such an approach but is simply concocted out of the mind of man. In fact, Christ condemns such kind of “worship.”

In Matthew 6:7, Christ warns us against meaningless repetitions (like praying the rosary which is also vain and meaningless as Mary is dead and in the grave): “But when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many [repetitious] words.”

Christ also told us this, in Matthew 15:9: “And in vain do they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.” In Mark 7:9, He added: “All too well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition.”

How can one honestly deny the fact that the concept of indulgences is a human tradition which is contradicted by God’s Word and which rejects God’s commandment to worship Him in spirit and in TRUTH (John 4:24)?

(To be continued)

Lead Writers: Brian Gale (United Kingdom) and Norbert Link

compiled by Dave Harris

“Wollen wir Gott wirklich in allem folgen?” is the title of this Sabbath’s new German sermon, presented by Norbert Link. Title in English: “Do We Really Want to Follow God in Everything?”

“Werden unsere Gebete bei Gott Gehör finden?” is the title of a split sermon presented last Sabbath in Germany by Christoph Sperzel. Title in English: “Will Our Prayers be Heard by God?”

“Beherrsche Deinen Unmut,” is the title of a split sermon presented last Sabbath in Germany by Thilo Hanstein. Title in English: “Control Your Displeasure.”

“Expose the Many Lies to My People!” the first message presented last Sabbath by Norbert Link, is now posted. Here is a summary:

This world is in Satan’s clutches. The Church’s responsibility is to announce as a witness the soon-coming rule of Christ on and over this earth, and, in the meantime, to cry aloud and show the people their sins. As sin is the transgression of the law, the Church must preach love towards God and love towards neighbor.  We do not love God if we practice false worship, and we do not love neighbor if we lie to him. This presentation exposes lies by scientists and the mass media in many different areas—the lie of evolution; lies in connection with the coronavirus and man-made climate change; and lies pertaining to the US election, including the false designation of Joe Biden as President-elect and the denial of voter fraud.

“Draw Close to God,” the sermon presented last Sabbath by Rene Messier, is now posted. Here is a summary:

This sermon points out the importance of utilizing the tools God has given us to maintain a close relationship with Him, as we enter a difficult time in human history just prior to the great tribulation.