On September 9, 2017, Michael Link will present the sermonette, titled, “Clean and Unclean,” and Norbert Link will present the sermon, titled, “What Satan CANNOT Do!”

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.

I was in the backyard and noticed that one of the squash plants in a planter looked somewhat bleak. Its leaves had drooped to the ground and were all withered. I thought the plant might have actually died, but I took the hose and gave it a good watering to see if that would help. When I looked at the plant on the next day, it had totally revived. The leaves were no longer drooping but were upright and looked good.

It is amazing what water will do to a plant. Water is a crucial element for human and plant survival. Humans consist of a little over 70% water. They can survive longer without food, when they have water, than without any food and water.

We have a garden which gets watered twice a day, but because of restrictions, the lawn only gets watered three times a week. We have a sprinkler in the garden which waters it but also some grass on each side. Since this grass is watered twice a day, it is much greener then the grass a little beyond it which only gets watered three times a week. We notice a big difference between well-watered grass and partly-watered grass. One is green and looks bright, while the other looks faded.

In the Millennium, a river of living water will flow from the temple in Jerusalem, which is mentioned in Ezekiel 47:1-9. These waters will be crystal clear and free of pollutants. They are not just healing waters but restorative waters in that they heal and also restore life, since all fish and many plants will have been destroyed just prior to Christ’s return.

Christ also mentions living waters in John 7:37-38: “On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, ‘If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, [which] those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.”

In the incident at the well, in John 4:7-14, Christ said that those who drink the water that He gives them shall become fountains of living waters leading to eternal life. He is referring to God‘s Spirit flowing from true Christians, manifesting the fruit of the Spirit as outlined in Galatians 5:22-23. The closer we are to God, the more these living waters will flow from us.

by Norbert Link

In this issue, we report on the frightening developments pertaining to North Korea and the extremely limited options which the USA seems to have—short of military actions—while China could do something about North Korea’s ongoing provocations, but seems to be unwilling to do so, due to its economic interests. We also quote several articles, asking the pertinent question as to whether the USA should even have any trade with China in the first place.

We are addressing some of America’s domestic problems, including outrageous fraudulent activities of employees of the Wells Fargo Bank; President Trump’s controversial announcement to cancel DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, commonly referred to as the “Dream Act” or “Dreamers”), and devastating natural disasters of wildfires and hurricanes. In this regard, please view our new StandingWatch program, “WHY Unprecedented Hurricanes and Wildfires?”

We focus on the hostile Brexit negotiations with no friendly relationship in sight; and speak on the insane nonsense of retailers in the UK [and elsewhere] to create genderless labels for young children to avoid enforcing gender stereotypes.

We speak on the upcoming parliamentary elections in Germany; address the interesting phenomenon of the multitude of “non-voters” in Germany; and point out that Europe seems to be unprepared militarily to meet any Russian aggression.

We conclude with an article about the surprising degree of agreement between Catholics and Protestants, which would have “shocked Christians of past centuries.”

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

USA Responds to Most Recent North Korean Provocations

The Associated Press wrote on September 3:

“North Korea claimed ‘perfect success’ in an underground test of what it called a hydrogen bomb — potentially vastly more destructive than an atomic bomb… The precise strength of the underground nuclear explosion had yet to be determined. South Korea’s weather agency said the artificial earthquake caused by the explosion was five times to six times stronger than tremors generated by the North’s previous five tests.”

The Telegraph added on September 4:

“America has warned that North Korea is ‘begging for war’… Nikki Haley, the US Ambassador to the United Nations, on Monday afternoon told an emergency meeting of the Security Council that ‘enough is enough’…

“Military leaders in South Korea claim to have seen indications that the North is preparing an attack and believe it has successfully miniaturised a nuclear weapon to fit onto an intercontinental ballistic missile.”

According to The Associated Press, dated September 3, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said on Sunday that “the U.S. will answer any North Korean threat with a ‘massive military response.’”

However, most feel that such a military response would be devastating for all sides concerned.

Newsmax reported on September 7:

“President Donald Trump has given military orders for U.S. forces to shoot down and destroy any missile launched from North Korea and moving towards the continental United States, Hawaii and Guam.”

China and USA Destined to Fail?

The Guardian wrote on September 3:

“Experts say Beijing is wary of placing too much pressure on Pyongyang for fear of causing regime collapse and a calamitous regional crisis that might ultimately bring US troops even closer to Chinese soil…

“Shen Dingli, an international relations expert from Shanghai’s Fudan University, said Sunday’s test underlined the futility of both Washington and Beijing’s policies towards North Korea… ‘North Korea will get nuclear weapons just like China did in the 1960s … China is destined to fail.’”

But there is another important reason as to why China is unwilling to put too much pressure on North Korea, as the next two articles show.

China COULD Stop North Korea… But Won’t!

Piers Morgan wrote in The Daily Mail, dated September 4:

“Jong-un must be stopped in his nuclear tracks, that much is clear… North Korea needs to be attacked financially in a way so devastating it is rendered economically impotent, and the most lethal administer of such an attack is its biggest trading partner, China.

“A staggering 90% of all North Korea’s trade is done with China. China has thus become the great enabler of the world’s most despotic regime. It is Chinese money that pays for much of North Korea’s military and it is therefore Chinese money that de facto fuels North Korea’s nuclear weapons program…

“[China] should cut off his crude oil supply. No modern military can function without oil; it is the very lifeblood of any armed force. This dramatic move, which would need Russia’s assistance, would also cripple North Korea’s economy…

“Donald Trump yesterday ramped up the pressure on China by threatening to stop US trade with any country who continues doing business with North Korea. China’s foreign ministry issued a statement branding such a move ‘unfair’. It read: ‘We cannot accept a situation in which, on the one hand we work to resolve this issue peacefully, but on the other hand, China’s own interests are subject to sanctions and are damaged. This is neither objective, nor is it fair.’…

“What is neither objective nor fair is China’s on-going pathetically supine weakness in dealing with North Korea… The biggest threat to world peace right now is North Korea and the one country that can most effectively neutralise this threat is China.”

With or Without North Korea… No Trade with China!

Breitbart wrote on September 4:

“America cannot morally justify trade with China…

“Critics will contend that the scale of America’s business ties to China are so astronomical – $648.2 billion in 2016… – that ending trade with China is impossible without a devastating effect on both economies…

“China… is one of the most egregious human rights violators in the world… Strict population control laws force women who become pregnant after having two children to undergo forced state abortions. Dissidents have reported being used for medical experiments, cut open, and forced to sell their organs for the government’s profit.

“‘Torture, disappearances, imprisoning peaceful advocates, destroying religious communities, internet censorship – President Xi has plenty to answer for on these subjects,’ Sophie Richardson, China director at Human Rights Watch, asserted in April.

“Since then, the U.S. State Department has released reports finding that China severely limits freedom of worship for citizens who do not want to pray at state-controlled temples and churches, whether Buddhist, Christian, or Muslim…

“Christians… face arrest, torture, and beatings if they do not belong to the ‘Three-Self Patriotic Church,’ the state-approved Christian institution. Many are arrested and tortured for starting ‘house churches,’ underground assemblies to study the Bible without a government-approved clergyman adding communist interpretations to their readings. The government has begun… bulldozing churches they can no longer control. This week, video surfaced of Chinese police officers beating priests who attempted to prevent the demolition of a church building…”

In this evil world, money rules. Sadly, the same terrible violations occur in Russia as well… But greed and fraudulent money transactions can also be found in the USA. Note the next article.

Wells Fargo’s Problems Much Worse

CNN wrote on August 30:

“Wells Fargo’s problems are worse than the bank previously admitted… Wells Fargo… now says it has found a total of up to 3.5 million potentially fake bank and credit card accounts, up from its earlier tally of approximately 2.1 million… About 190,000 accounts were slapped with unnecessary fees for these accounts [and 528,000] customers were… enrolled in online bill pay without their authorization…

“Wells Fargo said it will now pay a total of $6.1 million to refund customers for unauthorized bank and credit card accounts… The bank also promised to pay $910,000 to refund customers for the… improper online bill pay enrollments… Additionally, Wells Fargo has agreed to a $142 million national class action settlement to cover fake accounts that were opened back to 2002…

“In late July, Wells Fargo admitted to forcing up to 570,000 borrowers into unneeded auto insurance. About 20,000 of those customers may have had their cars repossessed due to these unnecessary insurance costs…”

Dreamers under Attack

The Guardian wrote on September 5:

“Donald Trump thrust the fate of nearly 800,000 young, undocumented migrants into uncertainty on Tuesday by terminating the Obama-era program that protects the so-called Dreamers from deportation. In response, Barack Obama said the decision was ‘self-defeating’ and contrary to ‘basic decency’…

“The 2012 policy known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (Daca) will be phased out by 5 March 2018, leaving Congress with six months to enact new protections for Dreamers through legislation. New applications will no longer be accepted, while those currently in the program will all lose their status by March 2020, with the first permits expiring in March 2018 – unless Congress passes legislation allowing the young immigrants to stay… Trump… said he had advised the Department of Homeland Security that Daca recipients were ‘not enforcement priorities [for deportation] unless they are criminals, are involved in criminal activity, or are members of a gang’…

“There are around 800,000 Daca recipients living in the US, who qualified by having been under the age of 31 as of 15 June 2012. Those applying were vetted for any criminal history or threat to national security and had to be students or have completed school or military service. Their status must be renewed every two years…

“In a conference call with reporters on Tuesday, senior DHS officials said they would allow anyone with a Daca permit expiring between now and 5 March to apply for a two-year renewal, so long as the application is submitted by 5 October. But other Dreamers whose permits do not expire within the next six months would be poised to lose their status as early as 5 March, exposing them to the threat of deportation. The administration also declared that new applications for Daca dated after 5 September will not be considered, shutting down access to the program for those who are not already beneficiaries.

“The specifics of what legislation Trump would be willing to sign to protect Dreamers remained unclear…  Trump’s decision was swiftly condemned by immigration advocates, business leaders and Democrats, while attorneys general from New York and Washington state said they would take legal action against the administration… ‘This is a sad day for our country,’ Facebook co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a statement…

“House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi accused Trump of committing ‘a deeply shameful act of political cowardice and a despicable assault on innocent young people in communities across America… The president’s cruel and heartless decision to start deporting Dreamers in six months demands an immediate response from the Republican Congress,’ she said.

“Republican House speaker Paul Ryan, who in recent days expressed his hope that Trump would not terminate Daca, responded to Tuesday’s announcement by characterizing Obama’s policy as ‘well-intentioned’ but ‘a clear abuse of executive authority [and] an attempt to create law out of thin air… Congress writes laws, not the president, and ending this program fulfills a promise that President Trump made to restore the proper role of the executive and legislative branches,’ Ryan said in a statement…

“The highly partisan atmosphere in Congress will make the passage of any legislation to protect Dreamers an uphill battle…”

Bild Online wrote the following on September 6:

“The Catholic Bishops conference in New York condemned the decision, stating that it showed a lack of mercy. It emphasized that the immigrants are children of God and welcome in the Catholic Church… Several of Trump’s conservative evangelical advisors rejected the decision as well.”

The undocumented migrants under DACA are those who came with their parents to this country, being, on an average, six years old, who have lived in this country for about 19 years on an average. Paul Ryan had promised repeatedly in public, including in a town hall meeting, that under Trump, dreamers would not be deported. President Trump stated that he will “revisit” the issue if Congress cannot pass legislation within six months.

Republican Governor John Kasich (Ohio), whose parents were of Czech and Croatian descent, made a most impassionate plea on CBS on September 6, blasting the decision and encouraged reasonable Republicans and Democrats in Congress to pass legislation within six hours… not within six months, while encouraging political radicals on both sides to step aside.  He stated that President Trump should have taken on the threats of certain governors to sue him if he would not cancel DACA, elaborating that he should have fought them in court, rather than giving in to their demands.  He also invited all Dreamers to come to Ohio, as his state values their contributions.

According to Der Stern, dated September 6, economic and Internet giants such as Apple, Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Netflix, Wells Fargo and General Motors condemned the decision, pointing at massive economic repercussions for the country. JTA added that many Jewish groups rejected the decision.

Trump Suffers Another Setback on His Travel Ban

Newsmax reported on September 7:

“President Donald Trump suffered another setback on his embattled travel ban, with an appeals panel leaving in… place a lower-court ruling that forces the administration to accept people with grandparents, cousins and other relatives in the U.S. Thursday’s decision… further frustrates the Trump administration as it heads toward an Oct. 10 showdown before the U.S. Supreme Court over the broader legality of the president’s executive order temporarily barring travelers from six mostly Muslim nations. The Ninth Circuit panel also said Trump was wrong in how he interpreted an earlier order by [the] high court to apply restrictions to thousands of refugees seeking entry into the U.S.”

Trump Angers and Upsets Republicans

The Week reported on September 7:

“President Trump surprised Democrats and infuriated Republicans on Wednesday when he agreed to a Democratic proposal to attach $7.9 billion in Hurricane Harvey aid to a three-month spending package and debt-limit increase. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) reluctantly agreed to the deal and turned it into legislation Wednesday night… The Senate is expected to approve the package as early as Friday, then it would go back to the House…”

Newsmax reported on September 7:

“President Donald Trump and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer have agreed to work toward a permanent repeal of the debt ceiling [removing] the requirement for Congress to repeatedly raise the debt ceiling, or the limit on federal borrowing…

“Such a measure would be very difficult for many Republicans in Congress to swallow… House Speaker Paul Ryan said on Thursday he opposes any effort to do away with the role of Congress in approving increases to the federal debt limit.”

The Opinion Page of The Washington Post published the following article on September 7:

“Trump’s betrayal of the Republican leaders should surprise no one…  First, Ryan tells reporters that a short-term, three-month extension on the debt ceiling, tied to relief funds for Hurricane Harvey… was ‘ridiculous and disgraceful.’ Then, in the Oval Office meeting, Trump stuns everyone by endorsing the Schumer-Pelosi plan — and agrees to work with the Democrats on repealing the debt ceiling altogether…

“Trump is many things, but he is not, nor has he ever been, a committed Republican. He seized control of the party in a hostile takeover. His campaign positions on trade, health care, entitlements and other issues bore no resemblance to GOP orthodoxy…  Ryan, McConnell and many of their Republican colleagues in Congress convinced themselves that Trump could be a useful instrument — that he would sign whatever legislation they sent him…”

Largest Wildfire in Los Angeles’ History

Reuters reported on September 2:

“A wildfire on the northern edge of Los Angeles rapidly grew on Saturday into what the mayor called the largest blaze in the city’s history…

“Wildfires in the U.S. West have burned more than 7.1 million acres (2.9 million hectares) since the beginning of the year, about 50 percent more than during the same time period in 2016…”

“Florida Declares State of Emergency as Caribbean Girds for Hurricane Irma”

 AFP wrote on September 5:

“Hurricane Irma surged to a dangerous ‘Category Four’ storm Monday as it churned toward the Leeward Islands, sparking alarm and alerts from the Caribbean to Florida, which declared an emergency…

“A Category Four storm [which was subsequently upgraded to a Category Five storm, see next article]… is capable of doing widespread major structural and infrastructure damage… Category four strength was the maximum attained by Hurricane Harvey, which recently devastated parts of Texas and Louisiana…”

USA Today wrote on September 6:

“Hurricane Irma, the most powerful Atlantic Ocean hurricane in recorded history, made its first landfall in the Caribbean early Wednesday as the Category 5 storm rolled toward a likely strike on the south Florida coast this weekend.

“The eye passed over Antigua and Barbuda around 2 a.m. ET. Residents said over local radio that phone lines went down as the eye passed. ‘May God protect us all,’ local authorities said… Gaston Browne, the prime minister of Antigua and Barbuda, tweeted the islands may have been spared the worst.

“Michel Magras, senator on the small French-speaking island of St.Barts, sent a text describing the ‘monster that passes over us’… ‘It is apocalyptic, a lot of damage, a lot of roofs torn off,’ he texted…

“The National Hurricane Center said Irma was maintaining sustained winds near 185 mph as it lashed the Leeward Islands with exceptionally strong winds and heavy rain and was heading west-northwest on a path toward Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Haiti and Cuba. It could reach Florida as early as Friday.”

Considering the wicked lifestyle of many people, we should not be surprised when we hear about terrible “natural” disasters. At the same time, many innocent people suffer as well. We need to pray to God to restore His Government on earth as soon as possible, which will ban Satan [the “monster” or the dragon, also called the serpent of old] and his demons—the real rulers of this present evil age—and which will end all misery and pain.

Brexit Negotiations… From Bad to Worse

Forbes wrote on August 31:

“The negotiations between the U.K. and the EU are going from bad to worse… the EU’s principal negotiator, Michel Barnier, lambasted the U.K.’s attitude…  he went on to complain about U.K. breaches of trust.

 “The first breach concerned citizens’ rights. Recently, the U.K.’s Home Office sent letters to over 100 EU/EEA citizens living in the UK, telling them to leave the country. As the UK has not yet left the EU, these letters were illegal. The Home Office quickly corrected its mistake, apologizing to the people concerned and telling them to put the letters in the bin. But according to M. Barnier, this is not the first time an incident like this has happened. ‘This reinforces the need to ensure that citizens’ rights are directly enforceable in front of national jurisdictions under the control of the European Court of Justice,’ he said. ‘This is a point on which we disagree today.’

“Today, and probably every day. Ending the direct jurisdiction of the ECJ in the U.K. is one of the U.K. Government’s ‘red lines.’ Its position paper on EU migrants is uncompromising: … ‘After we leave the EU, we will create new rights in U.K. law for qualifying EU citizens resident here before our exit. Those rights will be enforceable in the U.K. legal system and will provide legal guarantees for these EU citizens… The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) will not have jurisdiction in the U.K.’

“But M. Barnier’s comments are damning. They amount to condemnation of the entire U.K. justice system. If the U.K. courts cannot be trusted to enforce the rights of EU migrants living in the U.K., they cannot be trusted to enforce any other laws pertaining to the EU either…

“Barnier then went on to discuss what he regards as a second breach of trust, namely the U.K.’s behavior over the Brexit financial settlement:

“In July, the U.K. recognized that it has obligations beyond the Brexit date. But this week, the U.K. explained that these obligations will be limited to their last payment to the EU budget before departure…”

“The UK seems to have dug itself into a deep hole. This is not looking good…”

The Telegraph added on September 3:

“The EU’s chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier has [said] Brexit will be used to ‘teach the British people and others what leaving the EU means’. In highly inflammatory comments made to a conference in Italy on Saturday, Mr Barnier said it was his job to ‘educate’ the UK about the price of leaving the EU ‘club’. ‘There are extremely serious consequences of leaving the single market, and they haven’t been explained to the British people. We intend to teach people … what leaving the single market means.’”

The Brexit negotiations will indeed have devastating results for the UK.

Ditching “Boys” and “Girls” Labels to Avoid “Enforcing Gender Stereotypes”

The Daily Mail wrote on September 3:

“John Lewis has become the first major retailer to ditch ‘boys’ and ‘girls’ labels from its children’s clothing range. The chain has also removed ‘boys’ and ‘girls’ signs from its childrenswear departments to avoid ‘einforcing gender stereotypes’. Instead, new genderless labels say either ‘Boys & Girls’ or ‘Girls & Boys’, and are on all own-brand clothing from newborn to 14 years. Even floral dresses and skirts have unisex labels. The only exception is school uniforms, which will switch to unisex labels soon…

“Parents have praised John Lewis on social media for its move towards gender-neutral clothing… But the retailer faced accusations that it risked taking political correctness too far and was pandering to campaigners…

“Asda was pilloried for selling boys’ T-shirts with slogans such as ‘Future Scientist’, ‘Boys Will Be Boys’ and ‘Rock N Roll Star’ while putting logos such as ‘Ponies Rock’, ‘Pretty Rock’ and ‘Hey Cutie’ on its girls’ range. But critics pointed out that adult clothing sections differentiate between the sexes and questioned why childrenswear should not do the same.

“Tory MP Andrew Bridgen said: ‘I have no idea what would possess John Lewis to do this.’”

The use of the word “possess” is interesting. This is such blatant nonsense and ridiculous insanity, but it shows how stupid our Western societies have become.

Non-Voters in Germany

Deutsche Welle wrote on September 2:

“Like most democracies, Germany has a huge non-voting population. In 2009, more people didn’t vote at all than voted for Merkel’s conservatives… In Germany’s 1972 election, voter turnout was 91.1 percent. In the last two parliamentary elections in 2009 and 2013, only 70.8 and then 71.5 percent of citizens exercised their right to vote.

“… people were asked how they saw themselves, and one common trend among respondents was to reject the idea of being a ‘non-voter.’ Many claimed that they truly wanted to vote, but were taking an enforced break, waiting for a time when they could return to the urns…

“Peters [founder of the Non-Voters’ Party, stated:] ‘Merkel… has absolutely no concept of how to move forward. She lives this system, and she does very well in its confines. But it’s a case of a one-eyed king in the land of the blind.’”

To vote for a candidate in our corrupt political systems would indeed support the system, and even voting for a “lesser evil” means, giving our voice of support to something or someone evil. God’s people WILL vote or give their voice of approval to THE future true and righteous leader and KING when He sets up His Kingdom—Jesus Christ.

Merkel Wins TV Debate Against Schulz

Deutsche Welle wrote on September 3:

“Chancellor Angela Merkel made the more convincing case to lead Germany for the next four years… Forty-nine percent of viewers… viewed Merkel as more credible over the course of the debate, compared to just 29 percent who favored Social Democrat (SPD) candidate Schulz. More than half of those surveyed (55 percent) said the chancellor also outperformed her rival, compared to just 35 percent who thought Schulz came out on top.

“Merkel reportedly scored particularly high marks when it came to credibility, grasp of the issues and likability…

“Merkel [announced] that she will seek to end EU accession talks with Turkey… Merkel said ‘it is clear that Turkey should not become a member of the European Union.’ Merkel’s statement on Turkey came just minutes after Schulz said he would similarly move to halt Turkey’s EU membership talks were he elected chancellor. The chancellor said… that she didn’t ‘see (Turkey) ever joining and I had never believed that it would happen.’…

“Schulz said that US President Donald Trump’s ‘unpredictability’ made him the wrong person to deal with the rogue regime [of North Korea]. While she stressed that she disagreed with Trump on many issues, Merkel said the North Korean crisis was not something that could be solved with the US, adding that ‘one must say in the clearest terms that for us, there can only be a peaceful diplomatic solution.’…”

The Telegraph wrote on September 3:

“Angela Merkel was forced to defend her controversial decision to open Germany’s borders to more than 1m asylum-seekers on Sunday as she [came] under pressure in a televised election debate. Martin Schulz, the main challenger, accused the German chancellor of a ‘serious mistake’ with her ‘lone decision’ and said she should have worked with European allies to find a common approach.

“But a defiant Mrs Merkel insisted Germany had been faced with a ‘very dramatic situation’ and had no choice but to act… [While he] landed some telling blows against the long-serving chancellor, Mr Schulz failed to deliver the knock-out punch his campaign badly needed.”

Europe Unprepared for Russian Aggression

Politico wrote on September 3:

“The U.S. Army’s rapid reaction force in Europe is under-equipped, undermanned and inadequately organized to confront military aggression from Russia or its high-tech proxies…

“The analysis comes to light as Russia gears up for one of the largest military exercises in the post-Soviet era — a weeklong war game called Zapad that could involve as many as 100,000 troops and will be held later this month in Belarus…”

This is another reason why Europe will become more and more convinced in the “necessity” of creating its own army.

Catholic and Protestants Have Much in Common

On August 31, Christian Today wrote the following:

“Protestants and Catholics across the West now agree on so much… that Christians of past centuries would be shocked…

“In every European country surveyed, roughly nine-in-ten, or more, Protestants and Catholics say they are willing to accept members of the other tradition as neighbours, and large majorities of both groups say they would be willing to accept members of the other group into their families.

“For example, 98 per cent of German Protestants say they would accept Catholics as members of their family, and a similar share of German Catholics (97 per cent) say the same about Protestants.”

The Bible prophesies that the Protestant or Evangelical daughter churches will return to the fold of their “mother church”—the Roman Catholic Church.

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.

The Bible has nothing to say specifically about smoking, as during biblical times it was unknown. Let us quote briefly (and selectively) from the website healthliteracy.worlded.org which has this to say about the history of tobacco:

“Tobacco has a long history in the Americas. The Mayan Indians of Mexico carved drawings in stone showing tobacco use. These drawings date back to somewhere between 600 to 900 A.D. Tobacco was grown by American Indians before the Europeans came from England, Spain, France, and Italy to North America.

“Tobacco was the first crop grown for money in North America.  In 1612 the settlers of the first American colony in Jamestown, Virginia grew tobacco as a cash crop. It was their main source of money. Other cash crops were corn, cotton, wheat, sugar, and soya beans.  By the 1800’s, many people had begun using small amounts of tobacco. Some chewed it. Others smoked it occasionally in a pipe, or they hand-rolled a cigarette or cigar. On the average, people smoked about 40 cigarettes a year. The first commercial cigarettes were made in 1865 by Washington Duke on his 300-acre farm in Raleigh, North Carolina. His hand-rolled cigarettes were sold to soldiers at the end of the Civil War.

“It was not until James Bonsack invented the cigarette-making machine in 1881 that cigarette smoking became widespread.”

It will be self-evident that this was not a problem that Christians may have faced until the 19th century but it has subsequently become a problem for quite a number of those who have been called to God’s Way of Life. Today, people may smoke cigarettes, pipes or cigars or they may chew tobacco because they have become addicted to it; or because they feel depressed or suffer from anxiety and look for stress relief or a way to calm down. Also, they may smoke because they think this might help them to lose weight, or because their friends and relatives smoke. Whilst the Bible has nothing to say about a habit that would arise about 200 years or so ago, basic biblical principles apply.

Let us look, first of all, at some Scriptural principles.

In 1 Corinthians 3:16-17 we read the following: “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?  If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are.”

True Christians are those who have repented of their sins, believe in Jesus Christ’s Sacrifice and the gospel of the Kingdom of God, have been baptised by full immersion for the remission of their sins and have received the Holy Spirit by the laying on of hands of God’s true ministers (see Acts 2:38).   In such cases, the body is the temple of the Holy Spirit of God which we read about in Romans 12:1: “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.”   These principles are further reinforced in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 where we read: “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who (better “which”) is in you, whom (better “which”) you have from God, and you are not your own?   For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.”

It seems reasonable to assume that in a literal temple smoking would be prohibited and why should the body be any different when explained in the verses quoted above?   In all that we do, in all of our activities, our emphasis should be on honouring God, rather than ourselves.

As one commentator opined: “Does tobacco smoke coming out of your nostrils glorify God?   Does the smell of tobacco on your body offer a good testimony for Jesus Christ?”   The answer should be obvious.

However, this injunction is not to be limited to converted Christians. Someone who wants to become a Christian should take this principle to heart as well and not begin or continue with a habit which clearly violates God’s instructions of right living.

1 Corinthians 10:30-31 states the following: “But if I partake with thanks, why am I evil spoken of for the food over which I give thanks?   Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”   Can it be to the glory of God to inhale smoke with all of the health problems associated with it (to be covered later) and set a good example of Christian behaviour by breathing smoke over those close by?   In verse 32 we read: “Give no offence, either to the Jews or to the Greeks or to the church of God”, and there is no doubt that many would be offended in the world, let alone Church members.

On the website of the American Heart Association in an article entitled “Why is it so hard to quit?”, the following comments are made: “It’s hard to tackle the physical addiction to nicotine. Cigarettes contain nicotine, a highly addictive substance found naturally in tobacco.  It travels quickly to the brain when it is inhaled and can cause a feeling of temporary relaxation and/or stress relief. Nicotine can also elevate your mood and your heart rate. But this feeling is only temporary. After your body rids itself of the drug, you start to crave another cigarette.  Shortly after you finish smoking a cigarette, your body starts to show signs of withdrawal. You start to crave another cigarette to overcome these symptoms, starting a vicious cycle of dependency.”

Based on the above comments about addiction, Romans 6:16 ought to be taken very seriously: “Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?”   It can be very difficult to give up smoking as many find out when attempting to do so and it can enslave those who have this habit.   It can lead to lust for more of the same and thus it is breaking the 10th Commandment.   In Romans 6:12 we read: “Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts.”

Over the years there have been a few Church of God members who have smoked, even after baptism.   They know that it is wrong but the addictive nature of smoking can cause them great difficulty in giving up the habit.  In Romans 14:23 we read: “But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because he does not eat from faith; for whatever is not from faith is sin.”   By knowing that something is wrong but doing nothing about it, or trying to give up the habit and not succeeding, is sin.

The following quote is from Wikipedia: “A smoking ban in England, making it illegal to smoke in all enclosed work places in England, came into force on 1 July 2007 as a consequence of the Health Act 2006. Similar bans had already been introduced by the rest of the United Kingdom before this — Scotland on 26 March 2006, Wales on 2 April 2007 and Northern Ireland on 30 April 2007.” This all came about because of the serious health risks associated with smoking.

The health risks of smoking are many.   Smoking is one of the biggest causes of death and illness in the UK.   From the nhs.uk website is the following information:

“Every year around 100,000 people in the UK die from smoking, with many more living with debilitating smoking-related illnesses.  Smoking increases your risk of developing more than 50 serious health conditions. Some may be fatal and others can cause irreversible long-term damage to your health.

“Smoking causes about 90% of lung cancers. It also causes cancer in many other parts of the body, including the mouth, lips, throat, voice box (larynx), the oesophagus (the tube between your mouth and stomach), the bladder, kidney, liver, stomach and pancreas.  Smoking damages your heart and your blood circulation, increasing your risk of developing conditions such as coronary heart disease, heart attack, stroke, peripheral vascular disease (damaged blood vessels) and cerebrovascular disease (damaged arteries that supply blood to your brain).

“Smoking also damages your lungs, leading to conditions such as: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which incorporates bronchitis and emphysema and pneumonia.”

Reading all of those health risks, it is a wonder that anyone smokes at all, particularly a few Church members who have had this habit over the years.   But as this same website observes: “You can become ill if you smoke yourself or through other people’s smoke (passive smoking).   Second hand smoke comes from the tip of a lit cigarette and the smoke that the smoker breathes out. Breathing in second hand smoke – also known as passive smoking – increases your risk of getting the same health conditions as smokers. For example, breathing in second hand smoke increases a non-smoker’s risk of developing lung cancer by about a quarter.”

Those comments bring us on to further biblical principles that we should take seriously in all areas of our lives. This would certainly include those who smoke and here are the verses that talk about it:

In Mark 12:28-31 we read Jesus Christ’s reply to a question from a scribe:

“Then one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, perceiving that He had answered them well, asked Him, ‘Which is the first commandment of all?’ Jesus answered him, ‘The first of all the commandments is: “Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one.  And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.” This is the first commandment.  And the second, like it, is this: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” There is no other commandment greater than these.’”

We are told to love our neighbour and that is certainly not accomplished by smoking in the presence of others who may have personal health difficulties with cigarette smoke, whilst others may resent the smell of smoke on their own clothes even though they may be a non-smoker themselves.   Such action by a smoker is not looking to the best interests of others – just satisfying their own addiction to something that is a serious health hazard.   We read in other verses how we should have care and consideration for others as part of our Christian Way of Life.

These comments are directed to those self-centered individuals who smoke and who thereby violate God’s command of love towards themselves and their neighbours. When it comes to passive smoking, those who are potentially affected should try to do the best they can, within reason, to avoid becoming victims of second-hand smoking. We realize, of course, that this is not always entirely possible—for instance, when they are in a work environment where people may smoke or when they find themselves in other unavoidable situations, but they can always pray to God to give them wisdom and protection from physical harm.

In brief summary, there are enough principles to lead us to the conclusion that smoking is a sin and must not be a habit of any Church member and that it is also addictive and has numerous health risks both to the smoker and those who, in their company, become passive smokers.   We should be well aware of the effect that it can have on others both by example and by potential health risks even to non-smokers.   As a side issue, it is a waste of good money which could be spent more usefully elsewhere.

We are to follow the example of Jesus Christ and, based on the evidence of Scripture, He would not have smoked if cigarettes, cigars or pipes had been available in His day; nor would He have chewed tobacco.   That, together with all of the evidence in this Q&A, should be more than good enough to teach us that smoking is wrong and a sin. For further information, please view Norbert Link’s recent sermon, “What Does the Bible Say About Smoking?” 

Lead Writer: Brian Gale (United Kingdom)

compiled by Dave Harris

 A new Member Letter (September 2017) has been mailed to our subscribers and is now posted on our webpage. In this letter, Pastor Brian Gale points to the upcoming fall Holy Days with a heartfelt and sobering reminder of the many who are no longer observing any of God’s Holy Days.

“WHY Unprecedented Hurricanes and Wildfires?” is the new StandingWatch program, presented by Evangelist Norbert Link. Here is a summary:

Hurricane Harvey—a Category 4 Storm! Hurricane Irma—a Category 5 Storm and the most powerful Atlantic Ocean hurricane in recorded history… Largest wildfire in LA history… Wildfires in the U.S. West have burned 50 percent more than during the same period in 2016! WHY? Can all of these “natural disasters” be explained by mere coincidence? Or are spiritual reasons involved?

A Tech Team meeting was conducted on Sunday morning, September 3^rd, via SKYPE. Hosted by Eric Rank, items discussed included further development of the French web pages, podcasts, backup plans for our websites and various equipment needs both locally and for the Feast.

The US Feast Brochure (2017) and the German Feast Brochure (2017) are now posted on our websites.

We have recently added graphic accents to draw attention to what we feel are very important aspects of news articles and our own Editorials and Question and Answer features. We note the following comment received this week:

“The underlined portions are very visually appealing.”

Our 2018 Church Conference will be held in Fort Collins, Colorado, with arrival on April 18^th and departure on April 24^th.

“Du Sollst (Nicht) Begehren, Teil 1,” is the title of this Sabbath’s German sermon, presented by Norbert Link. Title in English: “You Shall (Not) Covet/Desire.”

“The Place,” last Sabbath’s sermonette presented by Dave Harris, is now posted. Here is a summary:

God puts great importance in the very specific instructions He has given concerning our worship of Him—locations are designated and even our individual roles are defined.

“Giving Up is Not Quitting!” last Sabbath’s sermon presented by Robb Harris, is now posted. Here is a summary:

We must be willing to give up everything our carnal eyes see as precious in order to gain what truly is important.  But giving up our old ways isn’t a one-time action as we begin our spiritual career.  We must purge, on a daily basis, anything that draws us nearer to our carnal desires and away from God.

Here are the dates for the 2017 Fall Holy Days:

Feast of Trumpets—September 21
Day of Atonement—September 30
Feast of Tabernacles—October 5-11
Last Great Day—October 12

The Place; Giving Up is Not Quitting! On September 2, 2017, Dave Harris will present the sermonette, titled, “The Place,” and Robb Harris will present the sermon, titled, “Giving Up Is Not Quitting!”

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.

The most recent event to captivate everyone’s attention here in the USA was the occurrence of the moon moving in front of the sun and blocking out light for a few minutes. But this is quickly fading away and attention is on the next event that will captivate people’s fleeting attention span—an “astronomical alignment” on September 23 is just around the corner (Ecclesiastes 1:9-11).

As the total solar eclipse was occurring on August 21, I went outside where I work and noticed all the people around me who had also come out to watch. It made me think of the Scripture where Christ talks about the end of this age and what it will be like. Matthew 24 extensively portrays days in the near future that are going to happen. Verses 29-31 talk about heavenly signs, even more stunning and breathtaking than what just happened.  Not that this recent occurrence and the coming event in September had or will have any relevance for Christ’s Second Coming, but I can just imagine people standing around in awe and fear when the prophesied heavenly signs do start to take place on a global scale.

We can predict when scientific events such as an eclipse are going to occur, but we cannot understand how to bring about peace. There is no end to the amount of physical knowledge that this world is able to produce. We keep inventing greater and greater things, but we cannot stop the inevitable from happening. Genesis 11:6 points out that man is able to accomplish incredible feats, but he is unable to answer or solve any of life’s true questions.

This world hates God, whether it realizes it or not. The false prophet and the beast will soon arise and captivate the nations to accomplish their will.

We are warned NOT to be captivated by Satan’s trickery (2 Thessalonians 2:9-11); rather, we are encouraged to continue loving the Truth and maintaining a close relationship with God (1 John 3:7-10, 19-20). We have heard this time and again, but what are we doing about it? How sure are we that we will be able to keep God’s commandments, statutes and judgments when this tumultuous time comes? Will we be able to stand or will we let other things come between us and God? The answer depends on how we act today, when we have the opportunity and the time to do so (Deuteronomy 8:1-20).

As we continue to watch the world around us implode, we know from Scripture the prophecies of the events which are going to happen. We have to stay captivated with the Truth and have a deep love of it if we wish to finish what we have started (Revelation 1:3; 2:10, 25; 3:11; 16:15; 22:7,12).  Now is the time to consider our ways and become wise, not being distracted and misled by foolish things. Zephaniah’s warning in chapter 1:14 should be a somber realization of what is going to occur in the not-too-distant future: “The great day of the LORD is near; It is near and hastens quickly. The noise of the day of the LORD is bitter; There the mighty men shall cry out.”

by Norbert Link

In this issue, we are reporting on the dire situation in and pertaining to the USA, with an unprecedented storm hitting Texas and further provocations from North Korea; the plight of most Americans who don’t experience a “booming” economy, but who have to live paycheck to paycheck; and the real danger of a stock market crash, mostly due to the lack of investors’ confidence in Donald Trump. We also report on Mexico’s “unnegotiable” positon that they will not pay for the Wall; filmmaker Michael Moore’s stunning (or not-so-stunning) predictions regarding Donald Trump; Sebastian Gorka’s departure from the White House; and President Trump’s controversial decision to pardon former Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio; and we analyze and disagree with a piece in the German left-liberal magazine, Der Spiegel, alleging that a Donald Trump could not rise in Germany. Please view our new StandingWatch program on this topic, titled, “The Important German Elections in September.”

In this context, we would like to state that we are not going to shy away from pointing out unpleasant developments in the USA and around the world, and this includes news which might not place President Trump or other governmental leaders in a flattering light. We emphasize that we do not have any political agenda, and that we are only reporting OBJECTIVELY what is happening, and that in the light of BIBLICAL PROPHECY. We are very careful in what we report, which is more fully explained in our “Acknowledgement and Disclaimer” statement at the bottom of this Current Events section.

We are not impressed by some who wrote us that we should only quote from conservative (right-wing) outlets. We cannot follow this “advice” as this would mean that in far too many cases, we would have to neglect reporting news which does not fit the “conservative” agenda. Furthermore, we are not intimidated by those who are “warning” us not to speak against Trump [what we are not doing anyhow], as in speaking against Trump, we would be speaking against God and against Christ. We realize that some pastors and religious “commentators” have made such preposterous claims, but we are shocked about such absolutely blasphemous and at the same time incredibly dangerous nonsense.

We continue with articles about the upcoming parliamentary election in Germany and a controversial visit of Jewish lawmakers to the Temple Mount; and we conclude with articles on ISIS’s plans in Spain and the dangers of flu vaccinations.

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

Historic Storm Hits Texas

The Associated Press wrote on August 27:

“Tropical Storm Harvey sent devastating floods pouring into the nation’s fourth-largest city [Houston] Sunday… ‘The breadth and intensity of this rainfall is beyond anything experienced before,’ the National Weather Service said in a statement… The system was the fiercest hurricane to hit the U.S. in 13 years and the strongest to strike Texas since 1961′s Hurricane Carla, the most powerful Texas hurricane on record.”

Deutsche Welle added on August 27:

“Waters are still rising in Texas as an unprecedented storm moves across the US state leaving thousands homeless. Damage from Hurricane Harvey may be as bad as Hurricane Katrina in 2005… It is the worst storm to hit the state in more than 50 years… The director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Brock Long, predicted that the aftermath would require FEMA’s involvement for years. ‘This disaster’s going to be a landmark event,’ Long said… It was the first big natural disaster for US President Donald Trump, who signed a disaster proclamation on Friday.”

These are strong descriptions of a terrible disaster. The damage and human suffering will be immense. Could it be that God allows these horrendous developments to strike the USA to wake all of us up?

Newsmax added on August 31:

“Soldiers and police in helicopters and high-water trucks rescued thousands of Texans stranded by floodwater from Hurricane Harvey on Thursday, which has killed dozens of people and displaced more than a million others as it drenches the Gulf Coast.

“Some 779,000 Texans have been ordered to evacuate their homes and another 980,000 fled voluntarily amid concerns that swollen reservoirs and rivers could bring new flooding…

“Gasoline futures soared more than 13 percent on Thursday, as almost a quarter of U.S. refining capacity had been knocked offline by the storm, raising fears of fuel shortages. About 189,000 homes and businesses remained without power.

“Moody’s Analytics estimated the economic cost from Harvey for southeastern Texas at $51 billion to $75 billion, ranking it among the costliest storms in American history…

“Early Thursday, explosions could be heard at a chemical plant in Crosby, Texas… failed in a truck storing volatile chemicals, which ignited as they warmed, sending smoke plumes 40-feet (12-meters) into the air…

“After the blasts, local and federal public safety officials, and company representatives insisted there was no risk to the public outside the 1.5-mile (2.4-km) safety perimeter, even though they said eight more trucks storing the same chemicals would eventually catch fire.”

Preventive Strike against North Korea?

The Week wrote on August 29:

“President Trump said ‘all options are on the table’ after North Korea fired three ballistic missiles over Japan on Monday. ‘The world has received North Korea’s latest message loud and clear,’ Trump said in a statement. ‘This regime signaled its contempt for its neighbors, for all members of the United Nations, and for minimum standards of acceptable international behavior.’

“Council on Foreign Relations President Richard Haass told Axios that North Korea’s test ‘raises the possibility that it cannot be assumed to act responsibly vis-a-vis anyone, including ourselves’ and ‘if we cannot make such an assumption, and if arms control fails to deliver, then a preventive strike becomes a serious option, notwithstanding its high risks and potential costs.’”

Living Paycheck to Paycheck in the USA

The website of msn.com wrote on August 24:

“Almost 8 out of 10 American workers say they live paycheck to paycheck to make ends meet… That can force people to take on debt or otherwise struggle when an unexpected bill arises. It also raises questions about the stability of the broader economy given that consumer spending accounts for more than two-thirds of activity…

“Inflation stood at 1.7 percent last month. That means workers’ ‘real’ wages were running only slightly ahead of inflation, another obstacle to putting money away…

“Almost one of 10 workers who earn more than six figures annually said they are living paycheck to paycheck… That may seem surprising, but families who live in regions with a high cost of living may feel almost as strapped as lower-income households…

“American households are still earning 2.4 percent below what they brought home at their income peaks in 1999. At the same time, expenses for food, fuel, education, housing and other costs have risen…

“Aside from the insecurity of living without a financial cushion, the phenomenon has another downside: It hampers Americans’ ability to save for retirement… more than half said they’d never cut back on their internet connection or mobile devices. That might seem like an extravagance to some, yet the truth is many Americans can’t work effectively without internet service at home or a smartphone, with employers increasingly expecting workers to check their email while they’re out of the office or be available for a call…”

Some problems result from a lack of financial education and management, as some spend too much instead of properly saving. On the other hand, it is a vicious and incurable cycle for many. The Bible prophesied that in these last days, “expensive times” will come.

Stock Market Loses Confidence

Newsmax wrote August 25:

“Spooked American investors pulled $2.6 billion from U.S. stocks during the last week as U.S. equity funds suffered their longest outflows streak since 2004, Bank of America Merrill Lynch data showed. Investors have been losing faith that President Donald Trump can deliver on his ambitious tax cut and spending campaign pledges…

“‘Since late June, investors have withdrawn $30 billion from U.S. funds while adding $36 billion to the rest of the world,’ said BAML’s analysts, citing inflows to emerging markets, Europe and Japan.”

The next economic crash seems to be inevitable.

No, Mexico Will NOT Pay for the Wall!

The Huffington Post wrote on August 28:

“In a statement released Sunday, Mexico’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the country would not ‘under any circumstances’ pay for the multibillion-dollar border wall. ‘As the Mexican government has always stated, our country will not pay, under any circumstances, for a wall or physical barrier built on U.S. territory along the Mexican border,’ the ministry said. ‘This statement is not part of a Mexican negotiating strategy, but rather a principle of national sovereignty and dignity.’

“The statement was released hours after Trump sent out a tweet asserting that Mexico, which he described as one of the ‘highest crime nations in the world,’ would pay for the border wall. This isn’t the first time he’s made such a claim. It’s unclear why Trump continues to insist that Mexico will pay for his wall when America’s southern neighbor has made it amply clear, on several occasions, that it has no intention of doing so. Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto has repeatedly said the country would not be footing the bill for the wall. And former President Vicente Fox has been even more explicit.

“While refuting Trump’s wall claim, the foreign ministry added in its statement that it had offered help to the U.S. government in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey. ‘The Mexican government takes this opportunity to express its full solidarity with the people and government of the United States as a result of the damages caused by Hurricane Harvey in Texas, and expresses that it has offered to provide help and cooperation to the US government in order to deal with the impact of this natural disaster — as good neighbors should always do in trying times,’ the statement said…”

Candidate Trump’s promise that Mexico will pay for the wall will be one of the many promises which President Trump will not be able to keep.

Michael Moore: Trump Will Be Re-Appointed in 2020

Fast Company wrote on August 28:

“Three weeks into the run of his anti-Trump Broadway show, ‘The Terms of My Surrender,’ filmmaker and activist Michael Moore tells Fast Company that the president will be reelected in 2020. ‘I should say re-appointed, because we will have an even larger population that will vote against him in 2020,’ Moore says. ‘But he will win those electoral states as it stands now.’”

We agree with Michael More that Trump would be re-elected or re-appointed in 2020.

“Sebastian Gorka Leaves White House for Breitbart News”

JTA wrote on August 27:

“White House adviser Sebastian Gorka, accused of having ties to far-right groups in Europe, has left the Trump administration… Gorka’s exit comes a week after White House chief strategist Stephen Bannon left his post… Bannon returned to his position as executive chairman of Breitbart News after leaving the White House. Gorka, former editor of Breitbart, said… that he would be returning to the website in some capacity.”

It is a mystery why President Trump appointed controversial Breitbart representatives such as Bannon or Gorka in the first place.

Presidential Pardon for Convicted Former Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio

NBCSanDiego wrote on August 25:

“President Donald Trump spared former Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio the prospect of serving jail time in granting the first pardon of his turbulent tenure, wiping away the lawman’s recent federal conviction stemming from his immigration patrols that focused on Latinos… Trump granted the pardon less than a month after a judge found Arpaio guilty of a misdemeanor contempt-of-court charge in a trial that was prosecuted by the president’s own Justice Department…

“GOP leaders were mixed in reacting to the pardon. Sen. John McCain criticized the move and said it undermines Trump’s ‘claim for the respect of rule of law as Mr. Arpaio has shown no remorse for his actions’…

“Trump issued the pardon seven months after taking office, though it is not unprecedented for a president to issue a pardon in their first year in office. George H. W. Bush granted clemency after seven months in office…

“It is not unheard of for a president to exercise his broad power to grant pardons without formal input from the Justice Department… President Bill Clinton ignited a major controversy on his final day in office with a last-minute pardon for fugitive financier Marc Rich, the ex-husband of a major Democratic fundraiser. Former President George W. Bush set off a political backlash over his decision to commute the prison sentence of I. Lewis ‘Scooter’ Libby on a perjury and obstruction of justice case that stemmed from a CIA leak. And Gerald Ford pardoned Richard Nixon for his involvement in the Watergate scandal just days after taking over [from] his predecessor…

“Prosecutors… were… recommended by the judge who presided over the profiling case, which began in the Bush administration. The judge in the profiling case was a Bush appointee… Lawyers in Trump’s Justice Department prosecuted the case during a five-day trial this summer, and the judge handed down the conviction last month…”

The Wall Street Journal wrote on August 26:

“House Speaker Paul Ryan on Saturday criticized President Donald Trump for pardoning a former Arizona sheriff, Joe Arpaio… The pardon is the latest point of friction between the president and Mr. Ryan, who have sparred periodically since the campaign. On Thursday, Mr. Trump sent a pair of tweets faulting Mr. Ryan and Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky for their legislative strategy in raising the debt ceiling…

“Other Republicans also criticized the pardon, including… Jeb Bush, the former Florida governor… Citing Mr. McCain’s statement [quoted in the previous article], Mr. Bush tweeted: ‘John McCain is right on the mark.’…”

Much of the criticism stems from the perception that Sheriff Arpaio violated the law and was rewarded for it by the President, as “the end justifies the means.”

US Closes Three Russian Diplomatic Facilities

The Washington Post wrote on August 31:

“The Trump administration has ordered three Russian diplomatic facilities in the United States closed following the expulsion of American diplomats from Russia…

“Last month, Russia demanded that the U.S. diplomatic presence there be reduced by hundreds of people. In retaliation, the State Department has ordered the Russian government to close its consulate general in San Francisco, a chancery annex in Washington, D.C., and a consular annex in New York City. These closures must be complete by Saturday.

“The diplomatic reprisals underscore the continued deterioration of relations between the ­nuclear-armed nations, with more acts of payback to come. And they appear to place President Trump’s hope for closer ties with Russia farther out of reach.”

Never a Trump in Germany?

Der Spiegel published a lengthy propagandistic article on August 23, arguing that a German Trump would be impossible or next to impossible. However, many of the arguments were flawed and misleading, but even then, the article shows, albeit unintentionally and inadvertently, that the possibility of a German Trump DOES exist and that it is NOT only a faint possibility. We are giving you a few excerpts to show why Germany’s self-assurances, as depicted by Der Spiegel, are on shaky ground.

“What is it that made the rise of a man like Trump possible in his own country, but impossible here?…

“Germany has a different concept of reality than the U.S., a clear separation between the spheres of dreams and politics…

“Germans once believed they had found a savior, but then he tried to destroy the world, and now their belief in salvation has vanished…

“In the U.S., it’s not only showbiz celebrities who stand good chances of coming to power, but also members of the country’s political dynasties — that is to say, the Kennedys, Bushes and Clintons [We could add the Roosevelt family as part of the “enriched dynasties” governing in the early 20^th century]… In Germany, these kinds of careers are basically impossible. The parties have almost complete control over the recruitment of political staff… Candidates are polished and schooled in the art of adaptation and compromise along the way… In the U.S., the individual may prevail, but in German politics it is the system that rules… The governing system in Germany is more stable, uniform and enduring…

“… there is no truly powerful right-wing medium in Germany. Therein also lies a problem that revealed itself during Germany’s crisis year of 2016 which saw a backlash against the hundreds of thousands of refugees that had entered the country the previous year. Some Germans feel that their understanding of reality, their view, isn’t represented in the media, and they feel shut out. Instead, they have turned to the internet, where political communication can take place without mediation from the media and the parties. At some point, that will create an opportunity in Germany for an individual, a freak or outsider, to turn him or herself into a political force independent of the system. It is here where the possibility arises, faint though it may still be, of a German Trump…

“The refugee crisis of autumn 2015 turned Germany into a new moral political superpower, albeit one that can only afford its pacifist inclinations because the Americans still provide Germany with security…

“Who could emerge as a German Trump? There are no men like him in the German political world…”

The opinion of Der Spiegel that a German Trump could not happen is illusionary and also, to a large extent, dangerous, as it is based on false assertions and concepts and erroneous conclusions. As the Bible tells us that ten nations or groups of nations will give their power and authority to a charismatic political European leader, the beast, so it is clearly foreseeable that Germany’s established parties will give their voice to one of their political leaders as well, or that a new popular party with a strong leader will arise (who will turn out to be the beast). Furthermore, we must not forget that the beast will be a person who will not be viewed originally as someone who should be occupying the office; that he will gain power through flattery, sinister schemes and intrigue; and that the world had looked at the person as being “dead” politically, and that they will marvel at his come-back. But the authors of the Der Spiegel article would not know any of this.

Germany Needs To Lead Europe Militarily

Express wrote on August 24:

“Germany should abandon its military reluctance and lead Europe, Angela Merkel has been told by a leading historian. In an article for Der Spiegel that would have been unthinkable a few short years ago – with  (while)  Germany’s reluctance to be a military power stems from its defeat in two world wars and the lingering legacy of the Nazi Holocaust – Polish-American historian Anne Applebaum said it was time for the nation to act…

“Trump may be an aberration, but he does reflect a very real American exhaustion, and real American doubt about the worth of the trans-Atlantic alliance. Germans should have a plan to deal with threats in America’s absence… ‘If Germany does not want a powerful army, it should still, as a matter of urgency, work with the institutions it has built, most notably the European Union, and especially with France… to create a multinational European force that can be deployed in defence of Europe’s borders, and in Europe’s name, at any time.”

Germany will lead Europe militarily, perhaps in collaboration with European countries such as France and others.

Merkel’s Refugee Policy

The Telegraph wrote on August 27:

“Harsher measures should be taken against asylum seekers if they take a holiday in their country of origin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said… The issue is… indicative of the tensions that have built in Germany as a result of the influx of refugees. Mrs Merkel said she has no regrets over her refugee policy, which saw Germany controversially open its doors to hundreds of thousands of refugees two years ago, despite the deep rifts the decision caused in her party…

“Just four weeks ahead of the German election, an Emnid opinion poll on Sunday suggested Merkel’s refugee policy was not likely to lose her the election, putting her Christian Democratic Union (CDU) 15 points ahead of the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD). However, 46 per cent of voters have yet to make up their minds, according to a survey for Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper.”

What the German Election Means for Europe

Politico wrote on August 28:

“Germany’s election on September 24 is not just about who will become chancellor — it will influence the future design of the European Union… Although Merkel has a comfortable poll lead… her conservatives will most likely need the support of at least one if not two other parties to govern. The same is true for Schulz’s Social Democrats (SPD), if the former European Parliament president defies expectations and overtakes Merkel.

“With six groups expected to enter the Bundestag, the business-friendly Free Democrats (FDP) and the Greens are potential coalition partners for the two big parties, while the far-left Die Linke and the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD)… are unlikely to be courted. It’s still possible there could be another ‘grand coalition’ between Merkel’s Christian Democrats (CDU) and their Bavarian sister party, the CSU, with Schulz’s SPD…

“All parties [except for Die Linke and AfD] support European cooperation… No matter who wins, expect them to push for a European defense union…

“Expect Germany to advocate a two-speed Europe during the next couple of years… The SPD wants a European finance minister… The conservatives are more cautious, speaking of ‘developing the eurozone further step-by-step… by creating its own monetary fund’… there is broad consensus in support of empowering certain member countries to integrate more deeply than others in a ‘two-speed Europe.’ While the SPD and FDP say this explicitly in their manifestos, the conservatives don’t mention it but have embraced such ideas in the past. The Greens are open to the idea, if only ‘as a temporary solution.’…

“All parties are sorry the U.K. is leaving the EU but want to make sure the Brits will be worse off after their departure. Don’t expect Germany to stick up for the U.K. during the negotiations. One way or another, all parties echo Berlin’s official position that in order to enjoy the privileges of the EU, countries need to respect all four of its guiding principles: free movement of goods, people, services, and capital…

“The Euroskeptic AfD suggest that unless the EU is reformed drastically, Germany should follow the British example and leave the bloc. This remains a fringe position in a country where, according to recent polls support for the EU is actually on the rise.”

No matter who wins the German election, the fulfillment of prophecies about a united Europe under German leadership will go forward.

Jewish Lawmakers Visit Temple Mount

Times of Israel wrote on August 29:

“Jordan condemned a visit by two Jewish lawmakers [MKs Yehuda Glick (Likud) and Shuli Moalem Refaeli (Jewish Home)] to the Temple Mount on Tuesday, saying Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to allow a one day ‘trial’ for Knesset members to enter the flashpoint holy site for the first time in nearly two years was ‘irresponsible.’…

“Under a decades-old agreement enforced by Israel, only Muslims are allowed to pray inside the compound, which is known to Arabs as Haram al-Sharif and which contains the Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aqsa Mosque…

“In 2014, a Palestinian terrorist attempted to assassinate Glick because of his Temple Mount activism. The shooter told Glick, right before pulling the trigger, that he was ‘an enemy of al-Aqsa.’…

“MK Ahmad Tibi, of the Joint (Arab) List, decried the visits of the Jewish MKs, calling them a ‘provocation’… He added that the right-wing Jewish lawmakers were seeking to change the status quo on the site…  Glick ‘stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque with a message of peace,’ said Tibi. ‘He calls for turning the site into what he calls the “third Temple,” in a message of peace…’”

We can only imagine how the Arab world will react when the Jews will begin bringing sacrifices on the Temple Mount and commence construction of the third Temple on the site.

ISIS’s Plans for Spain

PRI wrote on August 25:

“A week after the deadly attack in Barcelona, ISIS released a new propaganda video, saying it wants to restore al-Andalus to the Muslim world. Al-Andalus was the word for Muslim-ruled areas of Spain and Portugal in the Middle Ages.

“The Muslim invasion of Spain began at Gibraltar in 711 A.D., less than 80 years after the death of the Prophet Muhammad. In the preceding decades, Muslim armies had swept across North Africa, overthrowing or subduing Christian and pagan kingdoms and territories in their path. Spain was no different, and Muslim emirs soon established control of what’s now Portugal and most of Spain, except for a few mountainous districts of the far north. Muslim armies then invaded France until famously checked at Poitiers in 732 A.D…

“For many Muslims, this era represents a golden age for Islam, with similar strides in civilization taking place in Baghdad, Damascus and Cairo at the same time…

“Córdoba fell to the Christians in 1236, and by 1249 only the emirate of Granada remained. Granada itself finally fell in 1492, the same year Christopher Columbus sailed to America for the first time. The 700-year struggle to fight Muslim rule is known in Spain as La Reconquista — ‘The Reconquest’…

“…  persecution of non-Catholics began the so-called Spanish Inquisition. That’s chiefly remembered in Europe and the West for the persecution of Jews, but Muslims were just as vulnerable… in the early 1600s, the Spanish authorities implemented a policy of absolute intolerance… Anyone found to be practicing a faith other than Catholic Christianity after that date faced the risk of torture, imprisonment and death…

“[Isis terrorists] ‘play that up so they can have a narrative of victimhood, which draws people to their cause,’ says [Rukmini] Callimachi [of The New York Times].”

Terrible things have happened in the name of Christianity and Islam, as well as in the name of other religions. All are guilty, and history may have a strange way of repeating itself to an extent.

Dangerous Flu Vaccinations

The Website of EAWO wrote on August 26:

“In 2015, a whole new slew of flu vaccines found themselves getting approved by the Federal Drug Administration.  This isn’t an uncommon practice; most flu vaccines pass inspection every year.  It’s well known advice that has been passed down from doctor to patient that the flu vaccine is something that we all should get, but it has been quickly surfacing that what’s in the vaccines–especially those from 2015 and after–might actually be more damaging then simply rolling the dice on getting the flu.

“The ingredient that is getting the most flack is called an adjuvant.  The particular one involved is called Squalene, and it has been linked to auto-immune disease side effects.  In fact, it may have been used during chemical attacks in the Gulf War.  Symptoms include chronic fatigue, muscle aches, and neurologic damage. While it may be a contested subject, it remains that we aren’t really sure what’s going into these vaccines we’re being convinced should be used.

“Dr. Russell Blaylock, a neurosurgeon and author of ‘The Blaylock Wellness Report’ [wrote:] ‘Not only is the vaccine not safe, it doesn’t even work…The vaccine is completely worthless, and the government knows it… The government also says that every baby over the age of six months should have a vaccine, and they know it contains a dose of mercury that is toxic to the brain…They also know the studies have shown that the vaccination has zero — zero — effectiveness in children under five…

“For most people, flu vaccinations don’t prevent the flu but actually increase the odds of getting it. The mercury contained in flu shots is such a strong immune depressant that a flu shot suppresses immunity for several weeks…This makes people highly susceptible to catching the flu… Mercury overstimulates the brain for several years, and that activation is the cause of Alzheimer’s and other degenerative diseases. One study found that those who get the vaccine for three to five years increase their risk of Alzheimer’s disease 10-fold… Vaccinations are a pharmaceutical company’s dream. They have a product that both the government and the media will help them sell, and since vaccinations are protected, they can’t be sued if anyone has a complication…”

These are mind-boggling allegations, worthy of our contemplation.

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 a previous Q&A on wrath, we discussed the wrath of man which is actually the wrath of Satan. We also alluded to the fact that there is godly wrath or righteous indignation, but cautioned that even justified wrath ought to be short-lived as, due to Satan’s influence, even our righteous anger may become unrighteous.

In this Q&A, we will focus on godly wrath or righteous indignation and show the reason for such emotion.

God is slow to anger (Psalm 103:8). His anger only lasts for a moment (Psalm 30:5). Rather, He is merciful (same verse); ready to pardon and abundant in kindness (Nehemiah 9:17). He is full of compassion (Psalm 145:8) and He relents from doing harm (Joel 2:13; also compare Jonah 4:2 and Nahum 1:3).

At the same time, we do read about God’s wrath; and much can be found about it in the book of Revelation.

During the very last days, just prior to Christ’s return, people will say to the mountains and rocks: “Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne [God the Father] and from the wrath of the Lamb (Jesus Christ)! For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?” (Revelation 6:16-17). Later, holy angels will say to God the Father, the Lord God Almighty: “The nations were angry, and Your wrath has come… [that You] should destroy those who destroy the earth” (Revelation 11:18).

In Revelation 14:9-10, a mighty angel warned all of the end-time inhabitants of the earth not to follow the beast and the false prophet, as well as the powers which they will represent, saying this; “If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation…” We had seen in the Q&A on Satan’s wrath that Satan will persecute those who will not follow these God-defying Babylonian powers; and those who do will be punished by God’s wrath, which will be severe (note Revelation 14:19-20; 19:15).

God’s end-time wrath is many times described as occurring on the “day of the Lord” or the “Lord’s day” (Revelation 1:10) or the “great day of God Almighty” (Revelation 16:14) or, as we have seen above, “the great day of His wrath.” The seven last plagues of the seventh seal (consisting of the seven last trumpets) “complete” the “wrath of God” (Revelation 15:1). These seven last plagues (of the seventh trumpet) are also identified as “seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God” (Revelation 15:7; 16:1); and they are described in detail in Revelation 16:2-21; compare especially verse 19.

As we analyze many more Scriptures describing God’s fierce wrath on mankind, we must understand that God is angry with man because of man’s abominable sins and transgressions, as well as man’s hatred for God’s Law.

In Nahum 1:2 we read: “… The LORD avenges and is furious. The LORD will take vengeance on His adversaries, And He reserves wrath for His enemies.”

In a Q&A on Psalm 7:11, stating that “God is angry with the wicked every day,” we said this:

“The context of Psalm 7 shows that ‘Cush, a Benjamite,’ persecuted innocent David… Cush is a designation for King Saul. David expresses to God his innocence (vv. 3-5, 8), and asks God to take care of his situation. He points out that God will rise in His anger (verse 6), and that He ‘hath indignation every day’… The New King James Bible ADDED the words, ‘with the wicked,’ which do not appear in the original Hebrew. However, the addition is in accordance with the intended meaning…

“It is important to note WHY God is angry with the wicked. Verse 12 explains: ‘If he does not turn back [that is, if he does not repent of his evil deeds], He [God] will sharpen His sword.’ That is, God will fight against him, and his own evil and ‘violent dealing shall come down on his own crown’ (verse 16)…

“God is angry at sin and sinful, rebellious conduct. But God’s anger ceases when man repents of his sin. King Solomon understood that when man sins, God becomes angry with man and brings trouble upon him (compare 1 Kings 8:46). He also understood that when man sincerely repents of his evil deeds, God forgives and helps man out of trouble (vv. 47-50).

“There are many examples in the Bible, showing that God’s hot anger is kindled against man because of sin. As we saw, God became angry in Old Testament times (cp. Judges 2:11-14). Jesus Christ became angry too when He saw the hardness and stubbornness of the Pharisees who rebelled against God’s mercy and compassion for suffering people (cp. Mark 3:5).”

In Ezra 8:22, the priest Ezra proclaimed that God’s “power and wrath are against all those who forsake Him.” In 2 Chronicles 28:13, the prophet Obed warned the people of Israel, saying: “You intend to add to our sins and to our guilt; for our guilt is great, and there is fierce wrath against Israel.”

In Zechariah 7:9-14, the word of the LORD came to Zechariah with a dire pronouncement against, and a serious admonition for, the ancient houses of Israel and Judah:

“‘Execute true justice, Show mercy and compassion Everyone to his brother, Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, The alien or the poor. Let none of you plan evil in his heart Against his brother.’ But they refused to heed, shrugged their shoulders, and stopped their ears so that they could not hear. Yes, they made their hearts like flint, refusing to hear the law and the words which the LORD of hosts had sent by His Spirit through the former prophets, Thus great wrath came from the LORD of hosts. Therefore it happened, that just as He proclaimed and they would not hear, so they called out and I would not listen,’ says the LORD of hosts. ‘But I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations which they had not known…’”

In the book of Zephaniah, the end-time wrath of God is vividly described where it is referred to as the “day of the Lord.”

We read in Zephaniah 1:14-18:

“‘The great day of the LORD is near; It is near and hastens quickly, The noise of the day of the LORD is bitter; There the mighty men shall cry out. That day is a day of wrath, A day of trouble and distress, A day of devastation and desolation, A day of darkness and gloominess, A day of clouds and thick darkness, A day of trumpet and alarm Against the fortified cities And against the high towers. I will bring distress upon men, And they shall walk like blind men, Because they have sinned against the LORD; their blood shall be poured out like dust, And their flesh like refuse.’ Neither their silver nor their gold Shall be able to deliver them In the day of the LORD’S wrath; But the whole land shall be devoured By the fire of His jealousy, for He will make speedy riddance of all those who dwell in the land.”

Zephaniah 2:1-3 continues:

“Gather yourselves together, yes, gather together, O undesirable [shameless] nation, Before the day of the LORD’S anger comes upon you! Seek the LORD, all you meek of the earth, Who have upheld His justice. Seek righteousness, seek humility. It may be that you will be hidden in the day of the LORD’S anger.”

God’s fierce end-time wrath during the day of the LORD is further described in Zephaniah 3:8:

“Therefore wait for Me,’ says the LORD, ‘Until the day I rise up for plunder; My determination is to gather the nations To My assembly of kingdoms, To pour on them My indignation, All My fierce anger; All the earth shall be devoured With the fire of My jealousy.”‘ (This aspect of God’s wrath is explained in Zechariah 14:1-4, 12-15.)

In the above-mentioned Q&A on Psalm 7:11, we continued to state this:

“God will pour out His fierce anger on rebellious mankind, in an unparalleled way, in the not-too-distant future. We are told in Scripture that the day of the LORD is at hand—a time of God’s wrath and hot displeasure when God will intervene in human affairs and punish those who rebel against Him.

“Isaiah 13:9, 11, 13 says: ‘Behold, the day of the LORD comes, Cruel, with both wrath and fierce anger, To lay the land desolate; And He will destroy its sinners from it… “I will punish the world for its evil, And the wicked for their iniquity; I will halt the arrogance of the proud, And will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible… Therefore I will shake the heavens, And the earth will move out of her place, In the wrath of the LORD of hosts And in the day of His fierce anger.”‘

“Isaiah 66:15-17 includes additional aspects of God’s anger to be poured out on this world in a few years from now. Also, Micah 5:15 states: ‘And I will execute vengeance in anger and fury On the nations that have not heard [or obeyed, as the margin has it].’ …”

God’s warning must not be neglected or rejected. John the Baptist asked the hypocritical Pharisees and Sadducees who came to him for baptism, but they did it just for pretense: “Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance… every tree which does not bear fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire…” (Matthew 3:7-10).

John the Baptist also said this in John 3:36: “He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe [obey, compare RSV] the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”

Paul cautioned mankind, in Romans 2:5-6, 8-9:

“… in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent [unrepentant] heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God… [God] will render to each one according to his deeds… to those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness–indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish, on every soul of man who does evil…”

But for true Christians who are anxious to live a godly life, Paul has this encouraging promise in Romans 5:9:

“Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him (Jesus Christ).”

The gist of that last statement is repeated by Paul in 1 Thessalonians 1:10, where we read that we “wait for His Son from heaven, whom He [the Father] raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.” Paul adds in 1 Thessalonians 5:9: “For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Paul addressed the topic of God’s wrath on rebellious mankind throughout his letters. For a further example, note Ephesians 5:6:

“Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things (he listed many of those things in verses 3-5, including fornication, covetousness and foolish or ungodly talking) the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.” Compare also Colossians 3:6.

God’s wrath will be poured out very soon on unrepentant mankind, especially during the Day of the Lord just prior to Christ’s return. But most will not have committed the sin which cannot be forgiven (the unpardonable sin), and they will receive their opportunity of salvation during the Second Resurrection of the Great White Throne Judgment period (Revelation 20:11-12).

It is a different matter for true Christians who have received their opportunity for salvation in this day and age, and who walked away from it. For them, the wrath of God will have eternal consequences. In our above-mentioned Q&A on Psalm 7:11, we said this:

“God is also angry with those who refuse to respond to His call for salvation. In the parable of the Great Supper, in Luke 14, God is depicted as a man or master who gave a great supper and invited many people. But they all began to make excuses, refusing to attend the supper. In verse 21, we read that the master of the house became angry with those people. [We will not make a final judgment call regarding these people who excused themselves from attending the Great Supper. This is up to God, but the dire warning must not be overlooked, because God said in verse 24: “… none of those men who were invited shall taste my supper.”]

“God’s righteous indignation is directed at rebellious mankind who refuse to obey God and to repent of their evil and wicked deeds. This world will soon wake up to the fact that God CAN BE VERY ANGRY—and it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God (Hebrews 10:31).

“Those who permanently and rebelliously refuse to submit to God, even though they know better, will pay the price. Hebrews 10:26-27 says: ‘For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries.'”

Paul warns true Christians throughout the ages to look at the bad conduct of ancient Israel as an example. While God poured out His wrath on Israel so that they were not allowed to enter the Promised Land, true Christians, when they fall away, will face God’s wrath in the Judgment and will not be allowed to enter the Kingdom of God:

“Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: ‘Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, in the day of trial in the wilderness, Where your fathers tested Me, tried Me, And saw My works forty years. Therefore I was angry with that generation, And said, ‘They always go astray in their heart, And they have not known My ways.’ So I swore in My wrath, ‘they shall not enter My rest.’ Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God…

“Now with whom was He angry forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose corpses fell in the wilderness? And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who did not obey?… Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it… Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience…” (Hebrews 3:7-12, 17-18; 4:1, 11).

Lead Writer: Norbert Link

compiled by Dave Harris

“The Important German Elections in September” is the newest StandingWatch program, presented by Evangelist Norbert Link. Here is a summary:

The German magazine, Der Spiegel, wrote recently that a German Trump would be impossible. This opinion is clearly rejected by the Bible. The upcoming parliamentary German elections on September 24 might not produce right away a powerful leader, but critically important prophetic developments WILL take place.

The German AufPostenStehen version of this program was also recorded, titled, “Die wichtigen Wahlen im September.”

“Was Satan NICHT tun kann!,” is the title of this week’s German sermon, presented by Norbert Link. Title in English: “What Satan CANNOT Do!”

“One of Ten,” the sermonette presented last Sabbath by Dave Harris, is now posted. Here is a summary:

Jesus healed ten lepers but only one of the men came back to thank Him. Christians are to live always giving thanks, or do we take for granted the tremendous blessings we receive from God—do we forget to thank Him?

“Living Diligently,” the sermon presented last Sabbath by Eric Rank, is now posted. Here is a summary:

In this current age, when we are constantly bombarded with information designed to influence our thoughts and ideas, it is a huge challenge to stay focused on living a Christian life. How can we sharpen our focus, remove distractions, and succeed in our calling? By employing certain tools described in the Bible we can improve our ability to follow the perfect example of Christ, obey the commandments of God, and live a fulfilling life.

Here are the dates for the 2017 Fall Holy Days:

Feast of Trumpets—September 21
Day of Atonement—September 30
Feast of Tabernacles—October 5-11
Last Great Day—October 12

by Thilo Hanstein (Germany)

My wife Anita and I had the small desire to buy a used car, and we wanted a German car, a Mercedes with lots of extras. The search went on for a while, and we also traveled a lot of miles to look for vehicles. Finally, I saw a vehicle on the Internet for sale which was very close to us. Everything looked very good. No long journey and the car seemed perfect to me.

I personally went to the car dealer who was selling the car and made an appointment for a test drive, which he confirmed with me. I also made an appointment with a friend who owns a car workshop, to be able to assess the vehicle.

One day before the appointment, the dealer simply sold the vehicle without taking into account that he had an appointment with us for the test drive. I was a bit disappointed and angry because the car appeared perfect to me and I thought that I had reached an end to the search. I talked to him about it on the telephone and wanted to know why he did not honor my appointment. It did not really interest him. A little later, of course, I had to cancel the appointment with the workshop and explained to him briefly over text what had happened.

He wrote me an answer stating, among other things, the following sentence: “If something bad happens, something good may come of it!”

When I read this, I realized shortly afterwards that all our thinking is only short-sighted. God tells us: “Your thoughts are not my thoughts!” When we live in God’s Truth and when we place our whole life in God’s hands, He will protect us from harm; He will give us goods; and He will help us in all that we need and also fulfill our wishes.

And so, the search continued. We quickly found another car that had all the extras that Anita and I wanted—more than the previous car—and it was even much better maintained.

If something bad happens, something good may come of it!

On August 26, 2017, Dave Harris will present the sermonette, titled, “One of Ten,” and Eric Rank will present the sermon, titled, “Living Diligently.”

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.

This week, people traveled to the U.S. from around the world to experience a total eclipse passing over them. Across America, millions of people visited the path of totality—a 60- to 70-mile-wide ribbon of darkness stretching from Oregon to South Carolina.

During the “Great American Eclipse,” schools closed and businesses paused, all to view this rare phenomenon. Beyond the wonder of celestial events like an eclipse, some people reacted to the experience as intensely emotional, calling it breathtaking—even spiritual.

The time elapsing during totality (the moon completely blocking the face of the sun) was about two minutes for people as the eclipse occurred in their location.

There is an inescapable comparison to be made here between chasing darkness and seeking light. In fact, the Bible draws parallels between darkness and light in describing evil and good—falsehood and truth; and in being called out of Satan’s darkness into God’s marvelous light (compare Ephesians 6:12; 1 Peter 2:9).

Of the darkness of this age, Jesus said, “‘For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed’” (John 3:20). Then, in verse 21, He adds this challenge:

“But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.”

I have to wonder at the all-out commitment so many people made to view the eclipse and to “experience” the path of totality. This stands in such contrast to the seemingly irreparable division which now floods across our news day after day! It all comes down to the question of what are people really after—what do they truly seek?

There is most certainly a path of totality—spiritual darkness—covering the whole world at this time (Ephesians 6:12; 1 John 5:19). But this powerful darkness is yielding to the light of the coming Kingdom of God (2 Peter 1:19).

Perhaps we can take a lesson from the enthusiasm of the eclipse chasers. Should we not also make every provision to seek the light of God’s Kingdom and to preach the good news in all the world as a witness to all nations?

by Norbert Link

In this issue, we begin with speaking on developments pertaining to the USA and President Trump, including America’s dilemma in failing to score any international success; North Korea’s provocations; the continuing fear of a nuclear war between the USA and North Korea; President Trump’s isolation after the departure of Steve Bannon; and premature false rumors of Donald Trump’s impeachment or voluntary resignation.

We report on ridiculous and dangerous reactions to Charlottesville; speak on the new American strategy regarding Afghanistan, and warn of an impending market crash.

For many of the topics mentioned herein, please view our new StandingWatch program, “America’s Afghan War and Isolation.”

Turning to the UK and continental Europe, we speak on Queen Elizabeth’s intentions NOT to step down and report on anti-Semitism in the UK and in Spain; address the real reasons for the barbaric actions of ISIS fighters; and introduce to you Sebastian Kurz, the rising star in Austria and the “most recognizable face in Austrian politics.”

We speak on the battle between Martin Schulz and Angela Merkel regarding next month’s parliamentary elections in Germany and show that both competitors are “unified” in their opposition to Donald Trump; continue with the ongoing rift between Germany and Turkey and focus on the Temple Mount; developments in the Philippines; and contaminated pig meat in the UK.

We conclude with two articles on the solar eclipse in August and the astronomical alignment in September, pointing out that false prophetic predictions of fundamental “Christians” play right into the hands of Satan, the author of confusion.

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

America’s Dilemma

The Nation (a website maintained in Pakistan) wrote on August 19:

“American president Harry S Truman, when asked about the major achievement of his presidency, said, ‘We totally defeated our enemies and then brought them back to the community of nations.’…

“Reconstruction in Germany was carried out under the auspices of Marshall Plan. Japan rose from the ruins under the leadership of General Douglas MacArthur. In the current era, America invaded Afghanistan, ousted the Taliban regime and poured billions to reconstruct the war torn country but failed. Moreover, Washington toppled Saddam in the military offensive ‘Operation Enduring Freedom’; the aim of the invasion was to install democracy and neutralise alleged chemical weapons. America… failed miserably in Iraq and currently the country is the hotbed of regional proxy wars…

“The threat from North Korea is imminent. [The] United States has many options to act but there is hardly any option without the risk of destruction. If [the] United States launches a preemptive strike [then] there is no guarantee that it will neutralise all nuclear launching pads of North Korea and if it fails [then] the result of the Pyongyang nuclear retaliation will be devastating. North Korea has warned of a nuclear strike on Guam, a tiny island [which] is home to 165,000 people and thousands of US soldiers. The island historically acted as the permanent aircraft carrier for [the] US navy in [the] strategically important region of the Pacific Ocean… If a war escalates it will result in devastation and destruction. If [the] United States is able to defend itself from missiles, the chances of defending South Korea are minimal as Seoul is in the range of North Korean missiles…”

The article carried the headline, “America’s Retreat.” It is indeed true that America’s current role in the world has been one of defeat and failure.

“With Color and Fury, Anti-American Posters Appear in North Korea”

The New York Times wrote on August 19:

“The language on the North Korean posters is as bombastic as the images are eye-popping and the colors blindingly bright. One blue-lettered poster shows a barrage of missiles heading toward a map of the United States that is in flames. It boasts, ‘The entire mainland United States is within our range!’ Another says: ‘Military option. Preventive war. Sanctions.’ Then it shows red missiles emerging from a North Korean flag to slam into the United States Capitol and eviscerate the American flag. It carries the words: ‘The Korean answer!’

“A third poster displays a red missile mounted on a giant red tank. It lambastes United Nations sanctions and hails the North’s self-reliance with the words: ‘No one can stop our march forward!’ The posters and defiant slogans were unveiled this past week, the latest sign that tensions remain high between Washington and Pyongyang over the North’s nuclear ambitions and the sanctions imposed by other nations…

“The government in the North has long used posters and rallies to whip up anti-American sentiments and national fervor. They are mainly for domestic consumption. But these military-themed posters also send a message to President Kim Jong-un’s perceived enemies abroad…”

CNN added on August 20:

“North Korea warned Sunday that the upcoming US-South Korea military exercises are ‘reckless behavior driving the situation into the uncontrollable phase of a nuclear war.’  Pyongyang also declared that its army can target the United States anytime, and neither Guam, Hawaii nor the US mainland can ‘dodge the merciless strike.’”

Wars begin with words and propaganda, which can easily get out of hand. Note the next article.

Could Trump Ignite Nuclear War with North Korea?

The Huffington Post wrote on August 19:

“[Trump] raised the prospect of a preemptive strike [against North Korea], marking a radical departure from his predecessors who have always sought to avoid aggravating nuclear armed states… Instead of calming a situation which involves the lives of millions of people, Trump sought to escalate his rhetoric, and enter a dangerous game of nuclear brinkmanship with the mercurial Kim Jong Un.

“… we have certainly entered some dangerous territory. After all, as Trump’s domestic troubles escalate, he may look to military exploits overseas as a means of distraction. As Gideon Rachman writes in the FT, embattled governments are ‘more inclined to adventurism abroad: ‘The German government that led Europe into the first world war felt under acute threat from domestic political enemies. But on the day war broke out, an exultant Kaiser told a crowd: “I no longer recognize any parties or affiliations; today we are all German brothers.”’

“All of this inevitably leads one to question whether Trump could unwittingly ignite another world war. His recent actions towards North Korea illustrate how his erratic behaviour could provoke Kim, leading both sides to escalate out of control until the unthinkable happens…”

A nuclear war between the USA and North Korea is NOT impossible. Note the next article.

The Threat of Worldwide Nuclear War

On August 23, former German Foreign Minister and Vice Chancellor Joschka Fischer wrote in project-syndicate.org:

“As someone who was born in 1948, the risk of a nuclear World War III was a very real part of my childhood. That threat – or at least the threat of East and West Germany both being completely destroyed – persisted until the end of [the] Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet Union…

“As the current situation in North Korea shows, the nuclearization of East Asia or the Persian Gulf could pose a direct threat to world peace… Ultimately, there are no good options for responding to the North Korean threat… as the China-South Korea-Japan triangle has become the new power center of the twenty-first-century global economy, no country would be spared from the economic fallout…

“A North Korea with nuclear weapons and the means to use them would add pressure on South Korea and Japan to develop their own nuclear capacity, which they could easily do…

“The situation in Asia today has the nuclear attributes of the twentieth century and the national-power dynamics of the nineteenth century. That could prove to be a highly inflammatory cocktail…

“Instability within the US is cause for global concern. If the US can no longer be counted on to ensure world peace and stability, then… [we] will be left with a leadership vacuum, and nowhere is this more dangerous than with respect to nuclear proliferation.

“Another nuclear danger looms this fall. If the US Congress imposes new sanctions on Iran, the nuclear agreement between that country and the P5+1 (the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, plus Germany) could fail… All of this would be taking place in a region that is already riven by crises and wars. And, because Russia, China, and the Europeans would stick to the nuclear deal, the US would find itself alone and at odds with even its closest allies…”

What Joschka Fischer does not understand, and most politicians don’t understand it either, is that the power vacuum caused by the failing USA WILL be filled, but not by powers which most expect.

Trump’s Isolation

The website of npr published the following article on August 19:

“There is a telling photo that has gotten some attention in social media after Steve Bannon’s exit as President Trump’s chief strategist… It shows President Trump behind the desk in the Oval Office, surrounded by his top advisers… Vice President Pence and national security adviser Mike Flynn;… chief of staff Reince Priebus, chief strategist Steve Bannon and press secretary Sean Spicer. That was Jan. 28, eight days after Trump was inaugurated. Today, only Pence remains… It’s all a reminder… that for the many stories of palace intrigue in this White House, Trump is Trump. He makes the final call…

“Republican elected officials have broken with him post-Charlottesville, from Bob Corker in Tennessee questioning his ‘stability’ and ‘competence’ to South Carolina’s Tim Scott, the only black Republican in the Senate, saying the president’s ‘moral authority is compromised’…

“The ouster could mean less chaos in the White House, but more outside. Shortly after Bannon’s ouster, there were signs Trump could not only be fighting the mainstream media… but also the Breitbarts of the world… After news of Bannon’s exit, Breitbart editor Joel Pollak tweeted simply, #WAR. And a headline on Breitbart’s site was: ‘WITH STEVE BANNON GONE, DONALD TRUMP RISKS BECOMING ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER 2.0.’

“For his part, Bannon said Friday evening… ‘If there’s any confusion out there, let me clear it up: I’m leaving the White House and going to war for Trump against his opponents — on Capitol Hill, in the media, and in corporate America…’ He painted his exit in stark terms in an interview with the conservative outlet The Weekly Standard: ‘The Trump presidency that we fought for, and won, is over…’ However Bannon decides to fight, what is clear is he is not going quietly…”

It is not entirely clear on whose side Bannon will fight. Donald Trump tweeted on August 19: “Steve Bannon will be a tough and smart new voice at Breitbart News… maybe even better than ever before. Fake News needs the competition!”

Is Bannon Going to War Against Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner?

JTA wrote on August 21:

“Former White House chief strategist Stephen Bannon reportedly is ‘going to war’ against several White House targets, including Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, according to reports.

“A report Sunday evening in Vanity Fair… said that Bannon’s targets in the West Wing are the ‘globalists,’ identified as Ivanka Trump, Kushner and former Goldman Sachs president Gary Cohn, the chief economic adviser to Trump and director of the National Economic Council, as well as the ‘hawks,’ identified as National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster and his deputy, Dina Powell…

“An unnamed Bannon ally told Vanity Fair that [Bannon and Kushner] clashed fiercely on personnel decisions and policy debates, both domestic and international, many of which Bannon lost.

“Unnamed Bannon allies told the magazine that Bannon had lobbied the president ‘aggressively’ to move the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv, a move that they say was blocked by Kushner. The report also noted that Bannon stayed away during a May visit by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to the White House, texting to a friend that ‘I’m not going to breathe the same air as that terrorist.’

“On Sunday, the Breitbart website’s lead story was headlined ‘Report: Ivanka Trump Helped Push Steve Bannon Out Of The White House,’ based on a Daily Mail report that said ‘Trump’s daughter Ivanka pushed out Bannon because of his “far-right views” clashing with her Jewish faith.’

“Breitbart updated the article to say ‘A senior White House aide informed Breitbart News that the Daily Mail report was “totally false” and called into question the sources in the article of having any real knowledge of the Trump family.’”

Most Divided Administration in US History?

Daily Mail wrote on August 20:

“Steve Bannon has called President Donald Trump’s administration the most divided in history in a candid interview about policy divides in the White House and Republican Party. ‘No administration in history has been so divided among itself about the direction about where it should go,’ Bannon told the Washington Post on Saturday, one day after leaving the White House.

“Bannon said that Trump’s base is frustrated by Congressional foot-dragging on his campaign promises, including trade, immigration, and taxes… Media reports suggest that the ‘opposition’ consist of senior economic adviser Gary Cohn, Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and National Security Adviser HR McMaster, officials Bannon views as moderating forces in the West Wing steering the President away from a nationalist agenda…”

Rumors of Trump’s Demise Are Greatly Exaggerated

CNBC wrote on August 18:

“It may seem like all Americans are at least frustrated that President Trump often shoots himself in the foot with unnecessary comments and tweets. But this also exemplifies Trump’s fighting nature that so many voters clearly like. Many conservatives feel like they tried ‘nice’ before… but that still resulted in no real reduction in condemnation and bile from the left. For better or for worse…

“Both party establishments still need a vote-getting leader… He has enormous executive power at his fingertips… The U.S. is not a parliamentary democracy where individual leaders can be ousted with previously unscheduled votes of no confidence or by coalitions of once opposing parties that come together to form a new ruling majority.

“That leaves his die-hard opponents praying for long shot outcomes like impeachment or resignation. And those two possibilities aren’t demonstrably closer to reality today than they were [in the past]…”

President Trump won’t be impeached, nor will he resign voluntarily.

Public Stand of the Joint Chiefs of Staff against Their Commander in Chief

Haaretz wrote on August 20:

“This is unprecedented in U.S. history. Never before have the generals and admirals been so united. There was a ‘revolt of the admirals’ against the reduction of naval forces over air force bombers; and the Joint Chiefs of Staff worked together against Chairman Colin Powell and President George H.W. Bush on the issue of tactical nuclear weapons in the ground forces.

“But there is no precedent for this united front, a calculated provocation against the president who is capable – legally and temperamentally – of dismissing them all, even if it also means the resignation of Secretary of Defense James Mattis… This is a crisis of values the likes of which America has never known before, because it has never known a character like Trump.”

The revolt occurred because of President Trump’s comments pertaining to Charlottesville. This reaction by the chiefs of staff is uncalled for, but such opposition within the military against their leader could make any meaningful unified action against a foreign enemy much more difficult.

America’s New Strategy for “Lasting Peace in Afghanistan”

Fox News reported on August 23:

“President Trump’s comprehensive new strategy to achieve a ‘lasting peace’ in Afghanistan was enthusiastically received Tuesday by the government of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, which praised the increasing number of U.S. troops in the country as another way to strengthen weakened Afghan forces.

“Trump’s speech also created pressure on the Pakistani government, which the U.S. has long suspected of sponsoring terrorism in Afghanistan… Addressing a new plan for the 16-year conflict in Afghanistan Monday night, Trump asked India — Pakistan’s archrival — to help the U.S. economically in Afghanistan… ‘We have been paying Pakistan billions and billions of dollars at the same time they are housing the very terrorists that we are fighting,’ Trump also said.

“One senior intelligence official in Islamabad told Fox News, on the condition of anonymity, that, ‘U.S. failure in Afghanistan is evident as casualties of civilians and troops are at record-high level, they are finding a way to get out from Afghanistan, the U.S. can’t run away [from] the failures of their own policies of the Ghani-led government and are blaming Pakistan.’

“‘The U.S. wants a face-saving exit from Afghanistan, and sooner or later they will completely withdraw from Afghanistan, leaving the war-torn country mercilessly on its own fate,’ said Shahzad Chaudhary, a Pakistani defense analyst.”

The Week wrote on August 22:

“… in all likelihood, we are headed toward another disastrous troop surge that will end the way every previous attempt to ‘win’ in Afghanistan has ended: in failure…

“The United States has been fighting without interruption in Afghanistan since October of 2001, when George W. Bush launched a nimble invasion to dislodge the Taliban from power… Ever since, we have been waging what is essentially an unwinnable struggle against Taliban guerillas…”

The Week added on August 23:

“Many anti-war Americans have been sunk in despair over Afghanistan since Barack Obama announced his own troop surge back in 2009, which failed spectacularly just as Trump’s is 100 percent guaranteed to do…

“American troops… should be immediately withdrawn.

“Two years ago… [Afghanistan was] an awesomely corrupt basketcase. It had a fraud-ridden electoral system and ranked 172nd out of 176 countries on Transparency International’s corruption measure. It supplied most of the world’s raw opium, and the Taliban in effect controlled huge swathes of the country.

“Today, Afghanistan is up to a whopping 169^th place in the corruption rankings. In other areas, it’s doing even worse than before… the still-ongoing presence of American forces… inflames nationalist resentment. Trump’s announcement that he will ‘lift restrictions and expand authorities’… make this much worse…

“At some point the Afghan government will have to face the Taliban mostly on its own. More American troops can only delay the day of reckoning…”

No matter what arguments may be advanced for the necessity of war, the Bible tells us that war is a curse and will NEVER bring good and peaceful results.

University of Texas Removes Confederate Statues

The Week wrote on August 21:

“Late Sunday night, work crews removed four statues from a main mall on the University of Texas campus in Austin, three of them Confederate leaders and the fourth a former Texas governor. UT Austin President Greg Fenves said the three Confederate statues — two generals, Robert E. Lee and Albert Sidney Johnston, and Confederate postmaster general John Reagan — ‘run counter to the university’s core values.’ The events in Charlottesville last weekend, he added, ‘make it clear, now more than ever, that Confederate monuments have become symbols of modern white supremacy and neo-Nazism.’”

What utter nonsense and childish reaction! Insofar as General Robert E. Lee is concerned, he was married to George Washington’s granddaughter. It has been reported that he fought with the future General Ulysses S. Grant during the Mexican-American war. He believed slavery was a great evil and his wife broke the law by teaching slaves to read and write. He disliked the prospect of the South leaving the Union. After the Civil War, he became very popular with the Northern states and in 1962, the barracks at West Point were named in his honor.

Most Americans Opposed to Removal of Confederate Statues

Newsmax wrote on August 21:

“The Rasmussen Reports survey released Monday found 50 percent of registered voters agree with Trump’s tweet it is ‘sad to see the history and culture of our great country being ripped apart with the removal of our beautiful statues and monuments.’ According to the survey, 37 percent disagree with the tweet and 12 percent are undecided.

“On whether removal of the monuments will help race relations, 28 percent believe it will – but 39 percent think removal will only hurt relations. Twenty-six percent say removal would not have any impact…

“The findings come in the wake of a Reuters poll showing 54 percent of adults believe the Confederate statues ‘should remain in all public spaces’ while only 27 percent say they ‘should be removed from all public spaces.’”

Note the next article for another unwise response to the threat of neo-Nazism.

Removing Neo-Nazis from the Web Sets Dangerous Precedent

Fortune Magazine wrote on August 18:

“The Electronic Frontier Foundation, a digital advocacy group, has issued a lengthy statement critical of decisions by several web services companies which effectively removed the white supremacist publication The Daily Stormer from the web. The EFF argues that the decisions set a dangerous precedent that could threaten freedom of speech online.

“The Daily Stormer is a news and commentary operation aimed at neo-Nazis and white supremacists, and rooted in the meme- and troll-driven tactics of the so-called ‘alt-right.’ In response to the role of the Stormer in organizing last weekend’s deadly white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, the site’s domain registration was revoked, first by GoDaddy and then by Google. Security firm Cloudflare has also terminated the publication’s account. The site is no longer accessible through conventional web browsers.

“According to the EFF, the ability of domain registrars and security companies to unilaterally remove a site from the web—even one representing a reprehensible ideology—weakens freedom of speech online. ‘Any tactic used now to silence neo-Nazis will soon be used against others, including people whose opinions we agree with,’ the group writes…

“Cloudflare CEO Matthew Prince seems to agree, despite making the decision to suspend the Daily Stormer’s account. In an internal email, he described his own decision as ‘arbitrary’ and emotional, and acknowledged that he individually held too much power over content on the Internet…

“The Stormer has now moved to the so-called dark web, but the organization faces many new obstacles to spreading its message.

“Stormer’s Twitter and Facebook accounts have also been suspended, and companies from payment networks to music streaming sites are refusing their business.”

These developments do indeed set a dangerous presence and could very well constitute further threats for constitutionally protected free speech.

Market Crash in Less than a Year?

CNBC wrote on August 21:

“The former Republican Congressman from Texas [Ron Paul] believes escalating dysfunction in Washington will create even more pain for Wall Street. ‘A 50 percent pullback is conceivable,’ Paul said… ‘I don’t believe it’s ten years off. I don’t even believe it’s a year off.’ According to his calculations, it would cut the S&P 500 Index in half, to 1212, and the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average would collapse to 10,837.

“Paul noted that there’s a lot of chaos in Washington right now, with an ‘unpredictable president’ and those who are inclined to ‘tear him apart’ but if the market takes that big of a tumble, he doesn’t see it as Trump’s fault. ‘It’s all man-made. It’s not the fault of Donald Trump in the last week. If the market crashes tomorrow and we have a great depression, he didn’t do it in six months. It took more like six or ten years to cause all these problems that we’re facing,’ he said… ‘I see the foundation of our system built on sand, and a big wind comes along to blow it down,’ Paul said.”

Christ compared a person who listens to His words and does not do them as somebody who has built his house on sand, which will fall when the winds and rain come.

Bloomberg wrote on August 22:

“HSBC Holdings Plc, Citigroup Inc. and Morgan Stanley see mounting evidence that global markets are in the last stage of their rallies before a downturn in the business cycle.

“Analysts at the Wall Street behemoths cite signals including the breakdown of long-standing relationships between stocks, bonds and commodities as well as investors ignoring valuation fundamentals and data. It all means stock and credit markets are at risk of a painful drop…

“Citigroup analysts also say markets are on the cusp of entering a late-cycle peak before a recession that pushes stocks and bonds into a bear market.”

Queen Has No Intention of Stepping Down

The Times wrote on August 20:

“The Queen has no intention of stepping aside for Prince Charles and insists it is ‘duty first, nation first, I’m going to be there’…

“Royal insiders said the Queen, the world’s longest-reigning living monarch, remained as committed as ever to her duty. They dismiss claims that she will request that the Regency Act come into force in the foreseeable future. Neither Buckingham Palace nor Clarence House is planning for a regency…”

Queen Elizabeth sits currently on the throne of David, which will be transferred to Jerusalem and occupied by Christ after His return. We expect that Queen Elizabeth will be replaced by her son or grandson before Christ comes back.

Anti-Semitism in Britain…

The Jewish Press wrote on August 20:

“… one in three British Jews has become so fearful of mounting anti-Semitic crime and the failure to excise anti-Semites from politics that they have considered leaving Britain altogether…

“37% of UK Jews conceal their Jewish identity in public; 17% don’t feel welcome in their own country; in fact, only 59% of UK Jews say they feel welcome in the UK. 52% of British Jews said that the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is not doing enough to fight anti-Semitism, and only 39% of British Jews felt confident that anti-Semitic hate crime would be prosecuted. Also, more than 80% of British Jews believe the Labour Party is harboring anti-Semites in its ranks.”

Anti-Semitism in Spain…

The Independent wrote on August 20:

“Barcelona’s chief rabbi has urged Jews to move to Israel because “Europe is lost” to radical Islam. Meir Bar-Hen has been encouraging his congregation to flee Spain, which he called a ‘hub of Islamist terror for all of Europe.’

“The chief rabbi’s warning came after a terror attack in Barcelona left 13 people dead and over 120 wounded and was followed by another attack hours later that killed one person and injured others in the seaside town of Cambrils. Isis claimed responsibility for both attacks, which authorities believe were the work of a large terrorist cell that had been plotting for some time…

“[Bar-Hen’s] comments were at odds with the Federation of Jewish Communities of Spain, which said it had ‘full confidence in security forces who work daily to prevent fanatics and radical Muslims from inflicting pain and chaos on our cities.’”

ISIS Fighters Addicted to Dangerous Drug

The New York Post wrote on August 18:

“ISIS fighters have been using a drug called Captagon, dubbed ‘chemical courage,’ to stay alert in battle… Captagon… is highly addictive – and became illegal in most countries in 1986. Captagon keeps users awake for long periods of time. It also makes users feel energetic and happy… [it] produces ‘a kind of euphoria – you’re talkative, you don’t sleep, you don’t eat, you’re energetic.’

“It’s made cheaply, with a street value of between $5 and $19, in countries including Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey and Syria. Fake versions of the drug are also widely available…

“Addiction to Captagon is rife within the ranks of ISIS in Syria… Suicide bombers… are said to be pumped full of drugs before they are sent on a mission, giving them red eyes and a distinctive look of confusion. The drug turns the terrorists into ‘unforgiving killing machines,’ Arab News reports. The drugs often leave extremists suffering from a crippling addiction, further boosting their reliance on their cruel jihadi masters. According to reports, a growing number of demoralized Syrian citizens have also resorted to taking the drug.

“A massive shipment of the drug was seized in France for the first time earlier this year, sparking fears that ISIS could be forming Mafia-style organized crime gangs in the country…”

The use of mind-altering drugs and the demonic influence or demonic possession of insane ISIS fighters is a deadly combination.

Meet Austria’s Sebastian Kurz

Deutsche Welle wrote on August 20:

“To call Sebastian Kurz (30) ambitious would be an understatement akin to regarding a hurricane as a light drizzle. In 2013, he managed to become the youngest foreign minister in the world at the age of only 27. And earlier this year, he maneuvered to become chief of one of Austria’s strongest political parties, the conservative Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP).

“The ÖVP, which rules in coalition with the left-leaning Social Democrats (SPÖ), promptly called snap elections—to be held a year early, in October 2017… Kurz is aiming not only to become the youngest chancellor in the history of the republic, but to steer his country toward a more conservative migration policy, stop radical Islamist terrorism, ‘break apart the old system’ of politics and shift his nation into a more powerful position in Europe.

“… he is internationally the most recognizable face in Austrian politics – much more so than Chancellor Christian Kern…

“In an interview with Germany’s weekly Welt am Sonntag on Sunday, Kurz outlined his vision for the future should he win the chancellor’s seat in October, including ending the ‘chaos’ of NGOs getting involved in Europe’s migration wave… To stop the chaos, Kurz wants to end ‘economic migration’ to the EU, which he makes clear is different from those fleeing war and violence in countries like Syria…”

Austria will play an important role in European politics, and a person like Sebastian Kurz might very well be someone who might be taken note of.

Austria Sends Troops to Italian Border

The EUObserver wrote on August 17:

“Austria is sending soldiers to stop migrants coming from Italy, while Bulgaria has said the EU should ‘defend’ its borders by ‘force of arms’…. Austria, Denmark, Germany, Norway, and Sweden have the European Commission’s blessing to impose temporary border checks despite being part of Schengen, the passport-free travel zone in Europe.

“Italy and Greece are still the main route for asylum seekers and economic migrants trying to enter the EU… The EU border crackdown has been criticised on humanitarian grounds… The majority of those coming to Greece were fleeing the war in Syria. Many of those coming via Libya to Italy had fled poverty, but faced torture and sexual violence in Libyan detention camps…”

Europe feels threatened by the ongoing migration crisis and is willing to resort to armed forces to combat the influx.

Martin Schulz’s Stance on Military Spending and Nuclear Weapons

Reuters reported on August 23:

“The leader of Germany’s Social Democrats (SPD) pledged to have U.S. nuclear weapons withdrawn from German territory if, against the odds, he defeats Angela Merkel to become chancellor next month. Addressing a campaign rally in Trier late on Tuesday, SPD leader Martin Schulz also said he, unlike Merkel, would resist demands by U.S. President Donald Trump for NATO members to increase their defence spending…

“About 20 U.S. nuclear warheads are thought to be stationed at a military base in Buechel, in western Germany, according to unofficial estimates. The U.S. embassy in Berlin said it does not comment on nuclear weapons in Germany. Taking advantage of Trump’s extreme unpopularity in Germany, Schulz also said he would use the money Merkel had earmarked for increased military spending for other purposes…

“After 12 years in office, Merkel has become increasingly confident on the global stage. She has pushed for Germany to become more militarily self-reliant, partly in response to Trump’s hinting that he might abandon NATO allies if they do not spend more on defence…”

Schulz’s positions in these regards would not be in accordance with biblical prophecy.

Angela Merkel Responds to Donald Trump

Deutsche Welle wrote on August 23:

“German Chancellor Angela Merkel had some harsh words for US President Donald Trump… Speaking with reporters, she warned that Germany would not blindly [and ‘automatically’] follow the United States into a war with North Korea. She added that Trump’s ‘America First’ attitude was putting him at risk of decreasing his country’s importance on the world stage.

“‘An America that does not care about the rest of the world and just thinks about itself does not make for a big and great country,’ said the chancellor, contradicting the US president’s insistence that his isolationist policies will make the US ‘win’ against its rivals.”

Fight Between Turkey and Germany Intensifies

AFP wrote on August 20:

“Erdogan… caused consternation in Berlin by urging ethnic Turks in Germany to vote against both parties in Chancellor Angela Merkel’s ruling coalition in the September 24 legislative elections. Gabriel condemned Erdogan’s comments as an ‘unprecedented act of interference’ in Germany’s sovereignty…

“Analysts estimate that some 1.2 million people of Turkish origin will have the right to vote in the September polls as German citizens.”

The deteriorating relationship between Germany and Turkey totally destroys any realistic hope for Turkey to ever become a member of the EU.

Turkish Arrogance Reaches Spain through Dubious Interpol Activities

The EUObserver wrote on August 21:

“The arrest of a Turkish dissident has again highlighted the way rogue regimes use Interpol to hunt their enemies inside the EU. Armed police arrested Dogan Akhanli on Saturday (19 August) morning at his hotel in Granada, Spain, handcuffed him and drove him for questioning at a regional HQ. The 60-year old writer was later freed, but is not allowed to leave Spain until judges have decided whether to extradite him to Turkey…

“The Spanish police came after him because Turkey had filed a so called ‘red notice’ for his arrest as a terrorist with Interpol, an international police agency based in France. The writer, who is a critic of Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan and of Turkey’s denial of the Armenian Genocide, fled to Germany in the 1990s and later obtained German citizenship after being persecuted in his home country. ‘I thought I was safe in Europe. I thought Turkish arrogance cannot reach Europe, but probably this is not quite true,’ he said. ‘I find it a shame because Spanish democracy has experience with Franco and fascism and such tricks as have just been tried by Turkey,’ he said, referring to a former Spanish dictator…

“The Akhanli case is one of several in recent years to expose Interpol’s openness to political abuse. Germany itself, in 2015, arrested Ahmed Mansour, a journalist for the Al-Jazeera news agency, on the basis of an Interpol notice issued by the Egyptian regime. Belgium, last year, arrested Maxime Azadi, a Kurdish journalist on a Turkish Interpol request. Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Russia have routinely used Interpol red notices and so called ‘diffusions’ to hunt and harass political opponents in the EU.”

Deutsche Welle added on August 21:

‘It was unclear why Turkish authorities issued the arrest warrant, but [it was] suggested that Turkey had targeted the Cologne-based writer for advocating the recognition of Turkey’s mass killing of Armenians as genocide… Akhanli has lived in Germany since he fled Turkey in 1991 and has citizenship. He has written extensively on Turkey’s human rights record and the Armenian genocide…

“The relationship between Turkey and Germany has become increasingly strained following last year’s failed coup. Under a state of emergency, authorities have fired or suspended some 150,000 people and detained over 50,000 people. Those detained include German human rights activist Peter Steudtner and German-Turkish journalist Deniz Yucel. Turkey accuses Germany of supporting coup plotters and terrorists, charges that officials in Berlin vehemently denies.”

Jewish Visitors of Temple Mount Increase Drastically

The Jewish Press wrote on August 17:

“So far this year, 20,000 Jewish visitors have ascended to the Temple Mount. The record has been 20,060 Jewish visitors ascending to the Temple Mount within one year, and that was set during the first year of the liberation of the sacred site from Jordanian occupation. Last month saw more Jewish Israelis visit the Temple Mount in one month – approximately 3,200 – than in any other month since 1967.

“Jordan’s Foreign Affairs Minister Ayman Safadi described the visits to the Temple Mount by Israeli Jews as ‘extremists who stormed Al Aqsa’ in his speech last month to Muslim nations in Istanbul… Safadi warned at the gathering of Islamic nations that many more ‘crises’ can be expected ‘as a result of continued Israeli violations … if the occupation doesn’t end, if east Jerusalem is not independent and not the capital of the sovereign Palestinian state along the 1967 lines.’”

The Temple Mount will continue to be in the news, while Jordan’s position in the matter is abominable. It destroys any chance for meaningful peace negotiations.

Philippines Catholic Church vs. President Duterte

Deutsche Welle wrote on August 20:

“The head of the influential Catholic Church of the Philippines on Sunday sharply criticized President Rodrigo Duterte’s brutal war on drugs that has left dozens of people shot dead in the past week alone… The scale of the crackdown has brought renewed criticism of Duterte’s ruthless war against alleged drug dealers and users, even as the president praised police when they killed 32 drug suspects in a single day this week.

“Among those gunned downed by police over the past week was a 17-year-old whose death caused a public uproar after evidence emerged he may have been framed and killed by police. The highest-ranking Church official [Manila Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle] said in a statement, read at all Sunday masses across the predominately Catholic country, that those behind the deaths should stop wasting human lives…

“More than 2,000 people have been killed in drug-related crimes and some 11,000 other people murdered under mysterious circumstances. Critics blame the police for extrajudicial killings and using vigilante groups to go after suspected drug dealers or users. The government and police deny the allegations. Several allies of the president have started to voice concern over the scale of the drug war, even as Duterte remains popular and the public largely supports the crackdown…

“The president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines on Sunday echoed Tagle’s criticism and called for church bells to ring every night for 15 minutes over the next three months. ‘The sound of the bells is a wake-up call for a nation that no longer knows how to condole with the bereaved, that is cowardly to call out evil. The sound of the bells is a call to stop consenting to the killings!’ Archbishop Socrates Villegas said in a statement.”

The stance of the Roman Catholic Church in the Philippines is remarkable. The Church sides with most political leaders in the world who strongly condemn President Duterte’s conduct, which, as the article points out correctly, is very popular in the country.

 Pig Virus Spreads to Humans

The Sunday Times wrote on August 20:

“A leading British supermarket may unwittingly have infected thousands of people with a pig virus that causes liver cirrhosis and neurological damage… Hepatitis E (HEV) is transmitted by sausages and pork products from Europe, mainly Holland and Germany. UK pigs do not have the virus strain in question.

“Scientists… have traced the shopping habits of infected people and found that a common factor is consumption of own-brand sausages from ‘Supermarket X’… two separate sources said it was Tesco.”

The human consumption of pigs is prohibited by God in the Bible. Eating unclean meat, including pork, is hazardous to human health.

Ignorant “Fundamental Christians”

Express wrote on August 20:

“Monday’s total solar eclipse will be the first for 99 years to cross the US from coast to coast. The eclipse signals the end of days according to some fundamental Christians. Many fundamentalist Christians see this as a significant warning of the impending apocalypse, the second coming of Christ and the rapture. The ‘Great American Total Solar Eclipse’ as it is called is said to be a warning sign from God, as it allegedly fulfils a Bible prophecy. Pastor Paul Begley, host of the Coming Apocalypse radio show, said the eclipse could possibly fulfil a prophecy recorded in the book of Joel. This states: ‘The sun shall be turned to darkness before the Day of the Lord come.’…

“Writing for Unsealed.org, Gary Ray says the eclipse may mean that 2017 will mark the beginning of the Tribulation, a time the Bible describes as a period of conflict and suffering on a scale never experienced in mankind’s history. He said that another solar eclipse in seven years will slash across the US in the opposite direction from Texas to Maine, making an eclipse X over northern America.

“Scott Clarke of ERF Ministries believes the eclipse is intimately connected to a September 23 astronomical alignment. He says it involves the constellations Virgo and Leo, along with Mercury, Mars, Venus and Jupiter.  On that date, Jupiter will exit the lower part of Virgo (the virgin) in a way that Clarke says fulfils the ‘man child’ of Revelation 12 being birthed by the woman. He says Regulus and the other stars of Leo—along with the other three visible planets—comprise the ‘crown of twelve stars’ that Revelation 12:1 says will be upon the travailing woman’s head…”

All of this is complete and utter nonsense. The ignorance of these foolish and ungodly opinions is mind-boggling. The eclipse and the astronomical alignment have absolutely NO prophetic relevance. In addition, the Bible makes it very clear that the “heavenly signs,” when the sun shall be turned to darkness, will occur AFTER the great tribulation has begun… not before then. The Bible does not teach a rapture. And the book of Revelation does NOT describe in any way an astronomical alignment. Please view our StandingWatch program, “False Endtime Predictions for 2017.”

But also note the next article:

Are Solar Eclipses Proof of God?

Fox News wrote on August 20:

“So this sort of thing doesn’t happen anywhere else in our solar system. But our planet has just one moon that happens to be just the right size and just the right distance from Earth… Anywhere but here on this planet on Monday, the view of these two objects is nothing special… It’s almost as though what we will marvel at was artfully arranged specifically for our benefit…

“… the diameter of the sun… is precisely 864,576 miles. The diameter of the moon [is] listed at 2,159 miles… the distance from Earth to the sun… is generally given as 93 million miles… the distance from Earth to the moon… is given as 239,000 miles [on an average].

“… I divided the sun’s diameter (864,576) by the moon’s (2,159) and got 400.452… dividing the distance from the Earth to the sun (93,000,000) by the distance from the Earth to the moon (239,000)… yielded 389.121… Was the correlation in these ratios mere coincidence?… our planet has just one moon that happens to be just the right size and just the right distance from Earth.

“I found the precision necessary for all of this unbelievable… there was no way this could be a mere coincidence. It seemed almost planned. In fact, it seemed utterly planned, as all things of such precision must be. Three thousand years ago a man in Israel wrote:  ‘The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.’ That man didn’t have a telescope or a Brittanica, but he saw something many of us today still do not see. He saw a God behind it all. It may be true that seeing a Grand Designer behind these breath-taking events requires what we call a leap of faith; but it may also be true that seeing mere coincidence behind them requires an even greater leap of faith…”

These observations are very valid. They prove the existence of God. But the astronomical phenomena in August and September are NO PROPHETIC SIGNS for an impending end-time disaster.

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.

When God, through His Spirit, moved His servants to record their experiences into text, it wasn’t divided up into the form we use today. The original transcripts, as inspired by God, were written down and formed into books and subsequently divided into paragraphs by early Jews. The chapters and verses we are familiar with today came much later in the history of the Bible.

Chapters, as we have them now, didn’t appear in the biblical text until the beginning of the 13th century. Stephen Langton, an archbishop of Canterbury, was credited as first dividing the Bible into chapters. “The custom of referring to chapters when quoting from the Scriptures was rare before the twelfth century… Uniformity was introduced amid such chaotic conditions by the Paris scholars, notably, as it appears, by Stephen Langton… His system, which is substantially the one in use today, was adopted in the earliest printed editions of the Vulgate” (Metzgers, Early Versions of the New Testament). Others tried different means of dividing up the Bible this way, but his method stuck and is in use today.

The Old Testament chapters were first divided into verses in the mid 1400’s. “As for the verses, one Jewish teacher, Mordecai Nathan, divided the Old Testament manuscripts, written in Hebrew, beginning in 1445 A.D.” (www.biblestudy.org).

Further division of the New Testament didn’t occur until the 16th century. “Estienne divided the Christian Greek Scriptures, or what is called the New Testament, into a new set of numbered verses and combined them with those already in the Hebrew Bible. In 1553, he published the first complete Bible (an edition in French) with basically the same chapters and verses that most Bibles use today.” (Chapters and Verses—Who Put Them in the Bible? Retrieved from www.jw.org.)

It is important to understand that these divisions are not inspired by God. But these divisions can be a tool to open up deeper understanding of God’s Word. Paul shows the attitude we should have in our zeal to understand the Bible: “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15).

There are no examples in the Bible of chapters or verses being used, but biblical text was still often quoted or summarized. When confronting Satan, Matthew records the following, “But He [Christ] answered, ‘It is written, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God”’” (Matthew 4:4). Christ stated that “It is written” and was referencing a passage in Deuteronomy 8:3. Luke records Christ coming home to Nazareth, “…where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read. And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written…” (Luke 4:16-17). Christ went on to read the passage which is now referenced as Isaiah 61, verse 1 and part of verse 2. Christ then continued, “And He began to say to them, ‘Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing’” (Luke 4:21).

Throughout Christ’s ministry, He often quoted or paraphrased Scriptures.  He had no trouble recounting the correct passages because He studied and understood the true intent of all Scripture. Christ understood that the entire body of God’s Holy Word was necessary for the complete understanding leading to salvation. Isaiah was inspired to write, “For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little” (Isaiah 28:10). We must strive to follow Christ’s example, because properly applying all Scripture is a necessity if we desire Godly understanding.

Lead Writer: Robb Harris

compiled by Dave Harris

“America’s Afghan War and Isolation” is the newest StandingWatch program, presented by Evangelist Norbert Link. Here is a summary:

A “new strategy for lasting peace in Afghanistan” was announced, but how likely is it that we will ever see peace in that part of the world? Pakistan has reacted very aggressively to President Trump’s proposal, while a nuclear confrontation with North Korea is still looming. America’s allies are distancing themselves from the USA, and Stephen Bannon’s ouster and his “declaration of war,” coupled with a united revolt of US generals and admirals against the President, are of great concern.

Norbert Link recorded this week the Feast sermon for the Feast of Tabernacles 2017. It will be played at the Feast site in the USA and at other locations.

“Wie kann man die wahre Kirche Gottes finden?” will be the title of our newest Germanbooklet in preparation. This will be the German language version of our booklet, “How to Find the True Church of God,” which is being printed right now and which has been posted on our English websites. We plan to print the German booklet shortly and intend to distribute it at the Feast of Tabernacles, which will be held in Templin, Germany. We will send out copies in the mail after the Feast. The German booklet will also be posted on our German website.

“Der gerechte Zorn Gottes,” is the title of this Sabbath’s German sermon, presented by Norbert Link.

Title in English:  “The Righteous Wrath of God.”

“Gambling on Salvation,” the sermonette presented last Sabbath by Robb Harris, is now posted. Here is a summary:

We have a choice to grow or wane in our understanding of salvation. We must be satisfied in the knowledge God gives to us in order to achieve this reward. We are warned of an attitude of always seeking unprofitable knowledge and being content in this state. We must be wary of this attitude because it can cause us to lose out on our promise of salvation.

“The Power of Reconciliation (Part 1),” the sermon presented last Sabbath by Dave Harris, is now posted. Here is a summary:

Relationships between God and man have been broken by sin, but God has a plan for this! Mankind struggles to get along with one another, and there are ways to do this. In this first of two sermons, biblical principles for reconciling with others will be addressed.

Here are the dates for the 2017 Fall Holy Days:

Feast of Trumpets—September 21
Day of Atonement—September 30
Feast of Tabernacles—October 5-11
Last Great Day—October 12