On February 25, 2017, Kalon Mitchell will present the sermonette, titled, “Lost Innocence,” and Norbert Link will present the sermon, titled, “Coming and Going.”

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.

As my wife and I have welcomed our second son into the world, I was struck with many emotions when I first heard his cry, and subsequently, when I was able to hold him and look at him. I would think that for most parents, there is no love that quite compares with being able to hold your child in your arms. God has truly designed an amazing way to keep the human race growing. There are so many things that science has taught us about this process, but there is also so much that we may never fully understand until we are God beings and can totally comprehend all of God’s knowledge.  In Psalm 139:13-16, David contemplated the reality of the conception and birth of a child, and he gave thanks to God for this. All of creation is an amazing example of God’s power, strength, foresight and love.

God wants to enlarge His spiritual Family through man. As the Bible shows, He started this growth process with two physical human beings. His command to them was to be fruitful and multiply. Genesis 1:28 reveals that this process of human creation is a blessing. In addition, Psalm 82:6 makes clear that God has planned from the outset that man should become God. But 1 Corinthians 15:49-50 shows us that we, as physical human beings, cannot become God beings. Something else is needed.

One of the most famous Scriptures is John 3:16, which states “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” This Scripture is part of God’s plan for us. Without this ultimate Sacrifice, both on the part of God the Father and Christ His Son, there would be no way for us to become Spirit beings.

God loves His creation. Genesis 1:31 tells us: “Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good.”  And yet, people have been trying to ignore and reject God (Romans 1:20-21). Some have even denied His very existence. But God will still carry out His plan and give everyone a fair opportunity to become a part of His Family.

The fact that God is recreating Himself is basic knowledge that the Church of God has been teaching for a long time. Please read any of our free literature on this subject, as well as one of our Q&A’s for a more in-depth analysis, titled, “When we are born-again members of the God Family, what will we be, and what powers and abilities will we have?”.

God’s ultimate plan for ALL of humanity is reaching its tipping point. God has truly shown us that He loves all people, and that He wants the best for everyone. But due to Satan’s evil deception and man’s ignorance and selfishness, chastisement and education are necessary before man is able to comprehend his ultimate potential.

The question is, what do we want for ourselves? What do we want for others? What are we willing to do about it? God wants us to be His children—obedient and willing to do without question what He commands, so that we can make it into the Kingdom of God and help others to reach their incredible potential as well. Our time is short. Let us be obedient children.

We begin with reports from regions in the Arctic and all over Europe regarding the detection of radio-active isotopes (Iodine 131), which could result, for example, from nuclear tests, operational reactors or submarines, or nuclear wastelands.

We continue with ongoing European concerns about the USA, describe Europe’s “bewilderment”; Europe’s rejection of American demands to increase NATO defense spending; the verbal attacks of the EU Council President; and President Trump’s “fight” with Sweden over a bogus claim.

We speak on our political climate which, according to some observers, parallels developments in Nazi Germany; address evolution and creation and the Trump Administration’s  revocation of federal guidelines “protecting” transgender students; and we report on outraged Fox News moderators who strongly criticize President Trump regarding comments made during a “press conference” and on Twitter. We also publish an article predicting a showdown between President Trump and US car maker Ford.

We continue with several reports about new directives by the Trump Administration pertaining to illegal immigrants, which have already created much controversy in the USA and Mexico.

We speak on growing anti-Semitism in the USA; President Trump’s condemnation of the same; and Iran’s declared goal to eradicate and annihilate the state of Israel.

We point out Germany’s search for a new identity; publish an article on Germany’s rising star, Martin Schulz; speak on the effort of leading European countries to design Europe’s future and Scotland’s inevitable departure from the EU; and we conclude with disconcerting reports about our dangerous modern fascination with Artificial Intelligence.

Nuclear Incidents in the Arctic?

The Drive wrote on February 19:

“There have been rumblings regarding some sort of nuclear incident—or possibly incidents—in the Arctic over the last month. Multiple reports, some of them from official monitoring organizations, have reported iodine 131—a radioactive isotope often associated with nuclear fission—has been detected via air sampling stations throughout the region.

“The first detection of the isotope came during the second week of January, via an air sampling station located in Svanhovd, on Norway’s border with Russia’s Kola Peninsula. Within days, air sampling stations as far south as Spain also detected the presence of small amounts of the isotope. The fact that iodine-131 has a half-life of just eight days would point to the release occurring just days earlier, and not being a remnant of a past nuclear event.

“Because of the low levels of concentration, there is no health risk to the public or the environment, at least on a wide scale…

“After weeks without answers, the story seemed to pass as a peculiarity… until Friday when the US dispatched its WC-135 Constant Phoenix atmospheric testing aircraft to Europe without explanation. The highly unique aircraft are specifically designed to respond to nuclear incidents—especially those that include the detonation of nuclear warheads…

“You can check twitter to see loads of people claiming this is proof that the Russians have restarted nuclear weapons testing at Novaya Zemlya near the Arctic… There has been some talk about even the US restarting its nuclear testing under President Trump…

“A more likely possibility is that some sort of limited nuclear material storage, research, or power generation incident has occurred. Russia uses nuclear propulsion for many of its active submarines as well as its Kirov class battlecruisers and its icebreakers. Russia also uses nuclear power in the arctic region for multiple applications. Not just that, but Russia’s northerly naval bases near the arctic are nuclear graveyards of the Cold War. Hulls of decommissioned nuclear submarines sit idle still waiting to be denuclearized and disposed of. Many have said that over the decades following the end of the Cold War, these vessels are just an accident waiting to happen…

“The Arctic is also dotted with other Cold War relics that relied on nuclear power to function, these include Russia’s nuclear lighthouses and outposts. And this is just what you can see, below the surface, hulks of sunken nuclear vessels and other waste still pose a major threat to the environment. It is not really a question of if they will do harm, but when.

“During the Cold War, Russia dumped all types of nuclear waste in the Kara Sea, including an estimated 17,000 containers and 19 vessels full of radioactive waste. The USSR also pitched 14 nuclear reactors, some with spent fuel rods, into the same body of water and other forms of lower-level nuclear waste was just poured directly into the sea. The Russian submarine K-27, which was scuttled in the Kola Sea, is said to be literally a ticking time bomb. That is just that one area, and other areas in the region, such as the Barents Sea (K-159) and Norwegian Sea (K-278), also have abandoned nuclear submarines and who knows what else lining the sea floor. Even the US left its own portion of nuclear waste in the northern latitudes, such as the once secret reactor at Camp Century, in Greenland, although this is minuscule compared to what the Soviets left behind.

“With all this in mind, if there was a peculiar release of iodine-131 into the atmosphere, it is much more likely to have come from the nuclear wasteland that the Soviet Union created, or from operational reactors in the region, and not from some sort of clandestine atomic testing. That doesn’t mean it is impossible, just highly unlikely. There is even a possibility that it didn’t come from Russia at all, and was leaked by a reactor in Europe or elsewhere. Still, with the Arctic likely becoming a key battleground of the future… suspicions surrounding Russia’s true intentions in the region are at an all-time high…”

Radioactive Iodine 131 All Over Europe

The Sun wrote on February 20:

“Dangerous radioactive particles have been detected in seven different European countries and scientists can’t explain where they have come from. Traces of Iodine-131 were spotted in Norway, Finland, Poland, Czech Republic, Germany, France and Spain in January, but the public were not immediately alerted. These radioactive particles are produced by atomic bomb explosions or nuclear disasters such as Chernobyl or Fukushima. They appear to be emanating from Eastern Europe, but experts have not been able to say exactly what produced them…

“The particles could [have] been produced by Russian nuclear submarines. Scientists detected the highest number of particles in Poland, although still not enough to spark a public health emergency.”

Bewildered Europe Wonders About Chaotic White House and Contradictory Messages

Bloomberg wrote on February 19:

“… for many of the Europeans… the perception of chaos in Washington also raised an equally unsettling question: How much should Europe start doing on its own?… Chancellor Angela Merkel called for increased military integration between Germany and France. With the U.K. negotiating to leave the EU, a major hurdle to long-shelved projects for creating a consolidated military command and even centralized funding will also be removed…”

“Mike Pence Widens US Rift with Europe over Nato Defence Spending”

The Guardian wrote on February 18:

“The US vice-president has delivered the most uncompromising message yet from the Trump administration to Nato allies that they have to step up financial contributions towards defence spending.  On his first visit to Europe since taking office, Mike Pence said ‘some of our largest allies do not have a credible path’ towards paying their share of Nato’s financial burden. Although he did not name individual countries, his targets included Germany, France and Italy. ‘The time has come to do more,’ he said. This section of his speech to the Munich security conference… was greeted with lukewarm applause.

“He was speaking immediately after the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, made it clear she would not be bullied by the US over defence spending. She said Germany had made a promise to increase defence over the next decade and would fulfil that commitment rather than be forced into the faster rises that Trump is looking for…

“In a thinly veiled warning, Pence said that while the US was bound by Nato’s article five – an attack on one member would be an attack on all – he also reminded the audience that article three contained a commitment to sharing the financial burden, echoing Trump’s warning last year that he did not feel bound to come to the defence of countries that did not pay their share.  Pence peppered his speech with regular references to Trump, stressing that he was delivering messages from the president…

“Pence also attempted to square the contradictory comments made by Trump towards Russia. While the US wanted a new relationship with Russia, he said that the US expected Russia to honour the 2015 Minsk peace agreement aimed at ending violence in Ukraine.

“With Pence in the room, [Merkel] avoided direct references to Trump even though many of her comments during her speech and in a question-and-answer session afterwards were aimed at him. Asked about attacks on the media, Merkel said: ‘Freedom of the press is a pillar of democracy.'”

Der Stern commented on February 18: “The performances of Pence and Merkel looked like the clash of two different worlds. Since this weekend, we know from the mouth of Mike Pence that payday is drawing near. The times will get more unpleasant.”

Europeans Challenge President Trump

The Telegraph wrote on February 17:

“European leaders have pushed back at Donald Trump’s ultimatum that they increase defence spending or risk America scaling back its commitment to Transatlantic protection… The president of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker… said countries must not cave in to US demands… Mr Juncker said he was ‘very much against letting ourselves be pushed into’ an increase in defence spending. He said: ‘I don’t like our American friends narrowing down this concept of security to the military… If you look at what Europe is doing in defence, plus development aid, plus humanitarian aid, the comparison with the United States looks rather different. Modern politics cannot just be about raising defence spending.’…

“Meanwhile Germany’s defence minister, Ursula von der Leyen, acknowledged that her country would in [the] future be unable to step back and rely on American protection… But she also had a message for Donald Trump, warning him that he could not put European allies on an equal footing with an aggressive Russia. She said: ‘Our American friends know well that their tone on Europe and Nato has a direct influence on the cohesion of our continent… There cannot be a policy of equidistance to allies and to those who openly question our values, our borders and international law.’”

EU Council President Attacks Donald Trump

Express wrote on February 20:

“The EU Council president (Donald Tusk) railed against ‘brute force, egoism and arrogance’ in a series of jaw-dropping remarks which will be interpreted as a very thinly veiled assault on the Republican commander-in-chief. Polish eurocrat Mr Tusk admitted that nobody could ‘pretend that everything is as it used to be’ following months of verbal attacks from the Republican’s administration which have met with furious responses in European capitals. And in an extraordinary press conference following talks with Vice-President Mike Pence the top Brussels official effectively admitted that trans-Atlantic relations are in the gutter following the election of Mr Trump.

“In an exchange surely unprecedented in recent EU-US history he railed against the new US President’s ‘surprising opinions’ on European integration and said he had directly challenged his second-in-command over the administration’s hostility towards the bloc. The remarks came after signs earlier emerged of the gaping chasm emerging between the two sides as France railed against a speech the Republican gave to delegates in Munich in which he did not even mention the EU.

“Mr Tusk made no attempt to hide Europe’s dismay at the election of Mr Trump, and instead harked back to better times for trans-Atlantic relations under his predecessors Barack Obama and Ronald Reagan…”

Subsequently, Mike Pence was asked in a press conference what America will do if Europe does not fulfill America’s demands of contributing more to NATO’s defense costs. The journalist raised the question in regard to a comment that Europe must do so, “or else.” Mike Pence refused to explain what was meant by that comment and said that the future will have to provide the answer.

And Now: President Trump’s Fight with Sweden

Deutsche Welle reported on February 20:

“US President Donald Trump has tried to clarify his comments about a non-existent terror incident in Sweden. He said his remarks referred to a television report on immigrants. ‘You look at what’s happening last night in Sweden. Sweden. Who would believe this? Sweden,’ Trump said. ‘They took in large numbers. They’re having problems like they never thought possible,’ he continued, implying the country had been the victim of a terrorist attack… Former Swedish foreign minister Carl Bildt was… asking ‘what has he been smoking? Questions abound.’

“On Sunday, Trump tweeted that his statement was in reference to a Fox News report on immigrants and Sweden. On Friday, the network had aired an interview with documentary film maker Ami Horowitz about the alleged effects of immigration in Sweden. A number of officials have dismissed the documentary which alleges a rise in violent crime after a rise in the number of refugees coming to the country. Official statistics show that Sweden’s crime rate has fallen since 2005 even as it has taken in hundreds of thousands of immigrants.

“Trump took to Twitter again on Monday, attempting to shift focus back to Sweden’s ability to integrate immigrants. ‘The FAKE NEWS media is trying to say that large scale immigration in Sweden is working out just beautifully. NOT!’ the president wrote.

“With a population of around 9.5 million, Sweden has taken in nearly 200,000 refugees, mainly from Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq. The policy has meant the Scandinavian country has taken in more refugees per capita than any other European nation.

“The Swedish Embassy to the US tweeted on Sunday that it looked ‘forward to informing the US administration about Swedish immigration and integration policies.’ As part of the online responder to Trump’s comments, there has been a search for actual events in Sweden last Friday… They ranged from preliminary rounds for Sweden’s entry to the Eurovision Song Contest to a bad snowstorm.”

Bild Online wrote on February 20 that the Fox Report “Tucker Carlson Tonight” and its interview with Ami Horowitz, which President Trump was apparently referring to, was filled with inaccuracies, conspiracies and fake news. The paper quoted Ylva Johansson, Swedish Minister for Labor, saying that the whole world listens to President Trump when he speaks, and that he has therefore an obligation to explain what he means, when he comments “about Sweden in a manner which we don’t understand.”  

The story is also big news in Britain. The Telegraph published a lengthy and detailed story on February 20 with the title, “Last Night In Sweden: Celebrities and the Swedish Mock Donald Trump’s Bizarre Claims.”

The Independent added on February 20 that President Trump “admitted he was talking about a widely debunked Fox News report he had seen on television the night before… News of Mr Horowitz’s documentary made headlines last year when he told conservative outlets such as Breitbart News that there were Muslim ‘no-go zones’ in Europe…”

Subsequently, some news agencies published a few selected articles to the effect that there was some violence in Sweden, allegedly involving refugees. But these articles did by no means support the claim that terrorist activities were rampant in the country.   

John McCain Compares Today’s Atmosphere to Nazi Years

Newsmax wrote on February 17:

“Arizona Sen. John McCain delivered a series of blows to President Donald Trump Friday during a speech in Germany, and at one point he compared today’s political atmosphere to the Nazi years of the 1930s and 1940s…

“While making his case, McCain… mentioned Ewald-Heinrich von Kleist. Von Kleist was part of the group that plotted to assassinate Adolf Hitler in 1944. ‘What would von Kleist’s generation say if they saw our world today?’ McCain asked. ‘I fear that much about it would be all too familiar for them… They would be alarmed by the hardening resentment we see toward immigrants, and refugees, and minority groups, especially Muslims… They would be alarmed by the growing inability, and even unwillingness, to separate truth from lies. They would be alarmed that more and more of our fellow citizens seem to be flirting with authoritarianism…'”

Mike Pence and the Ignorance of Darwinists and Evolutionists

The following was an absolutely appalling and mean-spirited article, attacking Vice President Mike Pence’s belief in the Bible and upholding Darwin’s nonsensical evolution hypothesis. We chose to ignore most of it. But, the following inadvertent admissions are revealing:

The Daily Beast wrote on February 17:

“The vice president dodges the question of whether he believes in evolution but he has his own version of intelligent design… ‘The Bible tells us that God created man in His own image, male and female; He created them,’ Pence has said. ‘And I believe that God created the known universe, the earth and everything in it including man, and I also believe that some day, scientists will come to see that only the theory of intelligent design provides an even remotely rational explanation for the known universe.’

“Pence also argued that evolution should not be taught in schools without a parallel commentary of Biblical explanations as being equally valid…

“Darwin himself was an agnostic. Whether he actually believed that the hidden architecture of life that he had described for the first time had divine origin doesn’t really matter… All of which makes it strange that anyone today would think it reasonable to persist, as Pence does, with the idea of ‘intelligent design.’ Indeed, Darwin saw that idea coming and dealt with it dismissively: ‘It is so easy to hide our ignorance under such expressions as the ‘plan of creation’ ‘unity of design’ etc and to think that we give an explanation when we only re-state a fact.’’

Of course, Darwin did not state any “fact” supporting his fairy tale of evolution.

On a related subject, The Telegraph reported on February 22 that “life may have evolved on at least three planets within a newly discovered solar system that is 39 light years from Earth… Astronomers… have detected no less than seven roughly Earth-sized worlds orbiting a dwarf star in the system… Three of the new planets are said to be particularly promising because they could sustain oceans. [A Nasa spokesperson said:] ‘This gives us a hint that finding a second Earth is not a matter of “if”, but “when’”.

This is further nonsense, because Evolution did not create life anywhere in the universe. GOD created life, but there is no hint in the Bible that He created physical life anywhere else but on planet earth.

Trump Administration Lifts Federal Guidelines “Protecting” Transgender Students

The Associated Press wrote on February 22:

“The Trump administration on Wednesday ended federal protections for transgender students that instructed schools to allow them to use bathrooms and locker rooms matching their gender identities. Stepping into an emotional national debate, the administration came down on the side of states’ rights, lifting federal guidelines that had been issued by the Obama administration…

“Without the Obama directive, it will be up to states and school districts to interpret federal anti-discrimination law and determine whether students should have access to restrooms in accordance with their expressed gender identity and not just their biological sex… the [Obama] guidance carried no force of law. But transgender rights advocates say it was useful and necessary to protect students from discrimination. Opponents argued it was federal overreach and violated the safety and privacy of other students…

“Conservative activists hailed the change, saying the Obama directives were illegal and violated the rights of fixed-gender students, especially girls who did not feel safe changing clothes or using restrooms next to anatomical males…

“Legal experts said the change in position could impact pending court cases involving the federal sex discrimination law, including a case to be heard by the Supreme Court in March involving Gavin Grimm, a transgender teen who was denied bathroom access in Virginia…

“Fifteen states have explicit protections for transgender students in their state laws, and many individual school districts in other states have adopted policies that cover such students on the basis of their gender identity…”

The left-liberal agenda, which protects and supports young boys declaring to be girls and therefore demanding access to girls’ locker rooms and showers, is a blatant abomination in God’s eyes.

Fox News Anchor Shepard Smith Stands Up to Donald Trump’s “Crazy” Press Conference

Yahoo! News reported on February 16:

“Shepard Smith, the Fox News anchor, on Thursday afternoon seemed to have had enough of Donald Trump’s slams at the media as peddlers of ‘fake news’ — or, when it comes to CNN, ‘very fake news.’ ‘It is crazy what we are watching every day, it is absolutely crazy,’ Smith said. ‘He keeps repeating ridiculous throwaway lines that are not true at all and sort of avoiding this issue of Russia as if we are some kind of fools for asking the question.’

“Smith then started to look into the camera and added, ‘Really? Your opposition was hacked, and the Russians were responsible for it, and your people were on the phone on the same day it was happening, and we are fools for asking those questions? No sir, we are not fools for asking those questions, and we demand to know the answer to this question. You owe this to the American people.’…

“As long as Trump’s press conference was… it was dominated by Trump’s attacks on the media…

“Smith’s reference to ‘ridiculous throwaway lines’ may not have just referred to Trump’s ‘fake news’ and ‘fake media’ catchphrases, but his fixation on the size of his electoral college victory. When Trump boasted that his 306 electoral votes (actually 304) was the largest since Ronald Reagan, reporters corrected him. Barack Obama got more in 2012 in 2008, as did George H.W. Bush in 1988 — facts that are easily verified by a Google search…

“CNN’s Jake Tapper, in his own state of disbelief about the press conference, also looked into the camera on Thursday and said, ‘President Trump… You legitimately won the presidency. Now get to work and stop whining about it.’”

Shepard Smith has all along been making critical and challenging comments about Mr. Trump. Subsequently, outraged hard-core Trump supporters demanded the resignation of Shepard Smith for “daring” to stand up to the President. They reject any news article from the “left-liberal” press, criticizing Mr. Trump, and appreciate more the likes of Sean Hannity, a Fox News conservative political commentator, who with total acceptance and uncritical approval supports everything which Mr. Trump says or does.  It is interesting that highly-praised and long-time moderators such as Megyn Kelly or Greta von Susteren have left Fox News. (Megyn joined NBC News, and Greta has a new show on MSNBC, called “For the Record.”).

In addition to Shepard Smith, another Fox News “icon,” (according to Der Stern), Chris Wallace, strongly rebuked Donald Trump in an interview with White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, saying that President Trump went too far for stating that the media is America’s enemy.

Showdown Between Ford and Donald Trump?

AFP wrote on February 17:

“US car maker Ford is sticking with a plan to open two auto-parts plants in Mexico this year, despite earlier announcing it had scrapped plans for a separate factory there. Ford without warning last month canceled plans to build a $1.6 billion project in San Luis Potosi, an auto-making area in central Mexico. Gabriel Lopez, president and CEO of Ford Mexico, said however that this did not affect two other projects it has under way in the country since 2015, which are scheduled to begin production this year.

“The plants… will make engines and transmissions. They will supply Ford factories in the United States, South America, Europe and Asia. The two facilities will cost about $2.5 billion and employ some 3,800 people…

“Ford is one of several US companies under pressure from the country’s new President Donald Trump. He has offered inducements to keep some US manufacturers in the United States, and threatened others with punishing tariffs if they go. Ford has been operating in Mexico for about 90 years. It currently employs around 9,000 workers in Mexico, according to Lopez.”

New “Trump Directives” Create Panic in Mexico

The Associated Press wrote on February 22:

“Mexicans fear deportee and refugee camps could be popping up along their northern border under the Trump administration’s plan to start deporting to Mexico all Latin Americans and others who entered the U.S. illegally through this country. Previous U.S. policy called for only Mexican citizens to be sent to Mexico. Migrants known as ‘OTMs’ — Other Than Mexicans — got flown back to their homelands. Now, under a sweeping rewrite of enforcement policies announced Tuesday by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, migrants might be dumped over the border into a violence-plagued land where they have no ties while their asylum claims or deportation proceedings are heard in the United States. U.S. officials didn’t say what Mexico would be expected to do with them.

“The only consensus so far in Mexico about the new policies of President Donald Trump is that the country isn’t remotely prepared… It’s unclear whether the United States has the authority to force Mexico to accept third-country nationals. The DHS memo calls for the department to provide an account of U.S. aid to Mexico, a possible signal that Trump plans to use that funding to get Mexico to accept the foreigners…”

The Guardian added on February 22 that “Mexico has indicated it would not accept the Trump administration’s new immigration proposals, saying it would go to the United Nations to defend the rights of immigrants in the US.”

Deutsche Welle added on February 23:

“US officials met with Mexican officials to affirm positive relations, but success was limited. The US Homeland Security chief said immigration operations would not use ‘military force,’ contradicting the president…

“Trump [had] described a sweeping campaign of deportation across the US as a ‘military operation.’ However, Kelly appeared to undermine Trump’s remarks, telling a press conference that ‘there will be no use of military force for immigration operations.’ ‘There will be no, repeat, no mass deportations,’ Kelly said…”

“New Trump Immigration Orders Target Nearly All Illegal Immigrants in US”

Deutsche Welle reported on February 22:

“Nearly all of the United States’ 11 million illegal immigrants can be subject to deportation under the Trump administration’s new immigration guidelines released on Tuesday… Under the previous president, illegal immigrants not linked to serious crime… were not targeted for deportation. Both the Obama and George W. Bush administrations also attempted to create an immigration framework that would allow long-term undocumented immigrants to remain in the United States.

“The new memos pave the way for mass deportation that critics say will uproot families and damage economies…”

ACLU Will Challenge Trump’s New Immigration Directives

The Associated Press reported on February 21:

“Any immigrant who is in the country illegally and is charged or convicted of any offense, or even suspected of a crime, will now be an enforcement priority… That could include people [with a traffic violation or] arrested for shoplifting or minor offenses — or simply having crossed the border illegally… Overstaying a visa is a civil, not criminal, offense. Those who do so are not specifically included in the priority list but, under the memos, they are still more likely to face deportation than they had been before…

“The American Civil Liberties Union said it would challenge the directives. ‘These memos confirm that the Trump administration is willing to trample on due process, human decency, the well-being of our communities, and even protections for vulnerable children, in pursuit of a hyper-aggressive mass deportation policy,’ said Omar Jadwat, director of the ACLU’s Immigrants’ Rights Project…

“The directives do not affect President Barack Obama’s program that has protected more than 750,000 young immigrants from deportation. The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals remains in place, though participants could be deported if they commit crimes or otherwise are deemed to be threats to public safety or national security, according to the department… The directives indicate that some young people caught crossing the border illegally by themselves may not be eligible for special legal protections if they are reunited with parents in the United States. And those parents or other relatives that the government believes helped the children would face criminal and immigration investigations…”

Jewish Groups Oppose President Trump’s New Immigration Directives

The Times of Israel wrote on February 22:

“Jewish groups expressed alarm… ‘These new rules are extremely ill-advised and counter to our values as a nation that has always served as a beacon of hope for people around the world,’ Anti-Defamation League head Jonathan Greenblatt said in a statement.

“‘The guidelines released today treat vulnerable people, many of whom are unaccompanied children and asylum seekers, like criminals,’ warned Mark Hetfield, president of the Jewish refugee rights group HIAS…”

Immigrants Seek to Naturalize

The Associated Press reported on February 21:

“Since last month, immigrants have been rushing to prepare applications to become U.S. citizens… The growing interest in citizenship follows a surge in naturalization applications last year amid Trump’s anti-immigrant campaign rhetoric and ahead of a December increase in filing fees. Nearly 1 million people applied to naturalize during the 2016 fiscal year, the largest number in nine years…

“Immigrants historically have sought citizenship for the many new opportunities it brings: the ability to vote, better job prospects, an American passport for travel, bringing relatives here from overseas. This year, it’s more about fear in a Trump administration… For years, immigrant advocates have urged lawful permanent residents, also known as green card holders, to naturalize, which would protect them from deportation were they ever convicted of a crime…”

Jewish Alumni Implore Jared Kushner to Change His Father-in-Law’s Mindset on Immigration

JTA wrote on February 21:

“Some 180 alumni and former staff of a New Jersey yeshiva high school implored graduate Jared Kushner to use his influence with President Donald Trump, his father-in-law, to ease the path for refugees coming to the United States… Kushner’s grandparents were Holocaust survivors who came to the United States after spending over three years in a displaced persons camp in Italy.

“‘Like you, many of us are the children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren of those who escaped to this country when the lands of their birth promised almost certain death; like those of your grandparents, many of their parents, siblings and extended families did not make it to our shores and perished in the Holocaust…’

“The letter references the Torah calling on Jews ‘to love and welcome the stranger, for we too were once strangers in Egypt.’ ‘We implore you, as a Jew and as a graduate of an institution that instilled you with Jewish values, to exercise the influence and access you have to annals of power to ensure others don’t suffer the same fate as millions of our co-religionists. We ask you to ensure they gain the second chance our grandparents received to succeed and thrive in America,’ it concluded.”

Will Mr. Kushner respond to this plea, and will President Trump listen?

President Trump Decries Threats against Jewish Centers

JTA wrote on February 21:

“President Donald Trump denounced anti-Semitism a day after bomb threats were made to 11 Jewish community centers across the country and a large-scale cemetery was vandalized in the St. Louis area. Under pressure to condemn anti-Semitism in the wake of what has been called an uptick in incidents since he was elected, Trump told MSNBC on Tuesday morning, ‘Anti-Semitism is horrible and it’s going to stop, and it has to stop.’…

“Jewish groups and political leaders have called on Trump to speak out against anti-Semitism, especially after four waves of bomb threats called in to dozens of JCCs across the country in the past five weeks. After yesterday’s bomb threat hoaxes were reported, officials at various Jewish groups, including the American Jewish Committee, the Anti-Defamation League and the Zionist Organization of America, issued remarks urging the president to make a personal condemnation of anti-Semitism.”

In a related article, JTA wrote on February 21:

“That it took so long for Trump to condemn anti-Semitism after twice being asked about it last week, and coming on the heels of a White House International Holocaust Remembrance Day statement that somehow omitted any mention of the Jews, was ‘mind-boggling’ to many groups…”

Stephen Bannon’s Beliefs and the Possibility of Civil War in the USA

Business Insider wrote on February 21:

“In a revealing interview, historian Neil Howe candidly discusses his perspective on Steve Bannon, the former head of the website Breitbart News who is now President Donald Trump’s chief strategist. Bannon is a proponent of the theory that history generally moves in 80-year cycles, with each cycle ending in a crisis that destroys the old order and ushers in something new…

“In widely reported remarks, Bannon believes the US has had three ‘turnings’ — the American Revolution, the Civil War, and the Great Depression/World War II — and is now in the midst of another emanating from the 2008 financial crisis…

“In the wide-ranging interview, Howe also detailed his own views about the possibility of civil war in America by discussing the mood in the US just before the Civil War in 1859: ‘Right up to the end, no one really realistically thought that actual war would happen. It just seemed incredible.’”

Holy Intifada Against Israel?

The Times of Israel wrote on February 21:

“Calling Israel a ‘cancerous tumor,’ Iran’s supreme leader on Tuesday expressed support for a ‘holy intifada’ to eradicate the Jewish state, arguing that the international community is headed toward confrontation with the ‘Zionist regime.’… ‘The people of Palestine have no option other than keeping the flames of fighting alight by relying on Allah the Exalted and by relying on their innate capabilities, as they have genuinely done so until today,’ said Khamenei…

“A wave of terrorism some called a third intifada, which began last year and manifested itself mainly in stabbings and vehicular attacks against Israelis troops and civilians, is ‘moving forward in a bright and hopeful manner,’ the ayatollah declared. ‘And by Allah’s permission, we will see that this intifada will begin a very important chapter in the history of fighting and that it will inflict another defeat on that usurping regime.’… The supreme leader declared the Palestinian plight as ‘the most important issue in the world of Islam and as the pivot of unity for all Muslims and all liberated individuals in the world.’”

Germany Searches for a Common Identity

MSN wrote on February 17:

“Since World War II, trying to define the German national identity, much less celebrate it, has been taboo. Doing so was seen as a possible step toward the kind of nationalism that once enabled the Nazi regime. Flags were frowned upon, as was standing for the national anthem.

“But spurred by a sense of lost control over the country’s borders, economy and politics, many Germans are reaching for a shared identity but finding only an empty space. Into that vacuum slipped the Alternative for Germany, known by its German initials, AfD, the nation’s fastest-growing party with recent polls showing support at 12 percent, ahead of some mainstream parties. Only the AfD, whose populism puts it far outside of mainstream political norms, is openly promising to fulfill a desire for patriotism that would be routine in most other countries…

“The AfD, despite its rapid growth, remains a minority party… But as mainstream parties become more focused on defending against the far-right upstarts, the AfD’s populist agenda is trickling into their policies and messaging… Chancellor Angela Merkel opened her re-election bid in December by announcing a more populist agenda. She took a harder line on immigration and called for a ban on Islamic veils that cover the full face, saying they ‘do not belong to us’ and should be ‘forbidden wherever that is legally possible.’”

Martin Schulz, the “left Trump”

The Local wrote on February 21:

“The leader of Germany’s Social Democrats, Martin Schulz, could beat Chancellor Angela Merkel in September elections according to recent polls, thanks to a leftist programme that has earned him accusations of veering toward populism.  After years of languishing in Merkel’s shadow, Germany’s traditional workers’ party is almost giddy with excitement these days, hoping their new leader can end the decade-long reign of the ‘queen of Europe’. Schulz, the former president of the European Parliament, on Monday attacked a holy cow of his party, criticising the sweeping labour and social welfare reforms pushed through under former SPD chancellor Gerhard Schröder between 2003 and 2005…

“‘The Robin Hood of the SPD’, ran a comment in business daily Handelsblatt. ‘Martin Schulz changes the course of the Social Democratic Party to the left’… Schulz unashamedly shifts the SPD – the party more than 150 year old and now a junior partner in a ‘grand coalition’ government with Merkel’s conservatives – to the left, more in line with Britain’s Labour Party under Jeremy Corbyn or the French Socialists under presidential hopeful Benoit Hamon. Schulz has been applauded by the German far-left party Die Linke. It has signalled it is now far more open to entering a left-wing coalition with the SPD after the September election, which would likely also have to include the ecologist Greens party.

“Criticism has rained down all the harder from the right. One of the leaders of Merkel’s Christian Democrats, Michael Fuchs, has accused Schulz of employing ‘social-populism’. Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble accused the SPD candidate of using ‘demagoguery’ by depicting as catastrophic the situation of workers in Germany while making fiscally irresponsible promises. ‘It’s almost word-for-word Trump,’ Schäuble told news weekly Der Spiegel in a recent interview…

“The newcomer can also count on a degree of voter fatigue with Merkel, who has been in power for over a decade, and has been weakened by the refugee crisis… A poll published Sunday by the Bild am Sonntag newspaper gave the SPD 33 percent support – one point ahead of Merkel’s party.”

Germany, France, Italy and Spain to Discuss Europe’s Future

Euractiv wrote on February 20:

“French President François Hollande said yesterday… there would be a summit in Versailles with the leaders of Germany, Italy and Spain on 6 March to prepare reforms for the European Union ahead of the 60th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome on 25 March. ‘It’s not about deciding between the four of us what Europe should be… but we are four important countries and it is up to us [to] say what we want to do with the others, together,’ Hollande said at a news conference alongside Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy in Malaga.

“On the occasion of the 60^th anniversary of the Rome Treaties, EU leaders will hold a summit expected to finalise the formulation of a vision for the future of the Union after Brexit. The first two discussions were held at the EU informal summit in Bratislava on 16 September 2016 and at the Malta summit on 3 February. Rajoy and his Italian colleague Paiolo Gentiloni met on 27 January and discussed the EU summit in Rome this coming March to mark the 60th anniversary of the signing of the treaty establishing the European Economic Community.

“France, Germany and Italy are founding members of the EU, while Spain joined in 1986. The future of Europe has been discussed at various formats, including at ministerial level between the foreign ministers of the six founding members of the European Union, Germany, France, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. But EU countries outside this group decried the gatherings.”

No Set of Circumstances in which Scotland Will Stay in the EU

The Telegraph wrote on February 21:

“Scotland will be outside of the EU regardless of the terms of the UK’s Brexit deal or whether Nicola Sturgeon [First Minister of Scotland] wins a second independence referendum, David Mundell will tell MSPs this week. The Scottish Secretary will tell a meeting of Holyrood’s Europe and external relations committee on Wednesday that there is ‘no set of circumstances’ in which Scotland will stay within the EU when the UK leaves. Even if there was a vote for independence, he will say Scotland would have to apply for EU membership from scratch and advised against making ‘easy assumptions’ about how long this would take and the terms that would be offered by Brussels.

“… His intervention will come after an analysis published by two academics concluded that it would take a minimum of five to six years after an independence referendum for Scotland to become an EU member state…”

The New World of AI

The website of newatlas.com reported the following on February 16:

“The European Parliament has voted on a resolution to regulate the development of artificial intelligence and robotics across the European Union… the proposed rules include establishing ethical standards for… artificial intelligence, and introducing an insurance scheme to cover liability for accidents involving driverless cars…

“There still is a bit of a process before any hard and fast laws are established, with the proposals now moving through to the executive branch of the Union, the European Commission. The Commission is not legally obliged to institute the Parliament’s recommendations but it must state fair reasons for anything that’s rejected.”

The Potential Curse of AI

The New York Post wrote on February 17:

“Tech billionaire Elon Musk believes artificial intelligence could be catastrophic for humanity who are set to become a cyborg race which will have to grapple with 15 percent of the global workforce being without a job… self-driven cars were just 10 years away from usurping human driven vehicles completely…

“[He said:] ‘Make sure researchers don’t get carried away – scientists get so engrossed in their work they don’t realize what they are doing.’… Musk also discussed how he saw human beings as already being ‘cyborgs’ as we become more and more dependent on technology.”

Robots Take Over…

The San Diego Tribune wrote on February 20:

“The wave of automation that swept away tens of thousands of American manufacturing and office jobs during the past two decades is now washing over the armed forces, putting both rear-echelon and front-line positions in jeopardy… The U.S. military is very likely to pursue forms of automation that… remove soldiers from non-combat deployments where they might face risk from adversaries on fluid battlefields, such as in transportation… Driver-less vehicles poised to take taxi, train and truck driver jobs in the civilian sector also could nab many combat-support slots in the Army.

“Warehouse robots that scoot goods to delivery vans could run the same chores inside Air Force ordnance and supply units. New machines that can scan, collate and analyze hundreds of thousands of pages of legal documents in a day might outperform Navy legal researchers. Nurses, physicians and corpsmen could face competition from computers designed to diagnose diseases and assist in the operating room. Frogmen might no longer need to rip out sea mines by hand — robots could do that for them…

“… warships [are] increasingly designed to… reduce the number of sailors required for operations… The highly automated guided-missile destroyer Zumwalt that arrived in San Diego in December carries 147 sailors — half the crew that runs similar warships — and deploys up to three drone MQ-8 Fire Scout helicopters to find targets, map terrain and sniff out bad weather. The Office of Naval Research and the Pentagon’s Strategic Capabilities Office continue to experiment with what futurists call a ‘ghost fleet’ of unmanned but networked surface and underwater boats — and their flying drone cousins overhead.

“Tomorrow’s sailors could begin to encounter what scores of bookkeepers, cashiers, telephone operators and automotive assembly line workers already faced in the past two decades as increasingly fast and cheap software and automated machinery replaced some of their tasks in factories and offices. And that trend isn’t diminishing.  Advances in artificial intelligence, software and robotics threaten nearly half of all American civilian jobs during the next several decades… While such cuts might hit low-wage manual laborers the hardest, the cheap cost of high-speed computing also will slash many ‘high-income cognitive jobs’ while triggering the ‘hollowing-out of middle-income routine jobs’…

“In the United States, the push to automate blue-collar trades accelerated after the 2009 global financial crisis. American factories installed 27,500 units in 2015, triple the number six years earlier… They also bought 60,000 robots between 2010 and 2015, second only to China’s nearly 90,000 units.”

Throughout the Bible, we read many examples in which God spoke to mankind through dreams.  Can we expect that God will also speak to us in dreams and visions at some point?  While it is possible, we must guard our minds and not assume our dreams are a message from God.

There is ample evidence of God using dreams to talk to His servants.  These examples, as the Bible plainly describes, were for very specific reasons.  We also see a few examples of God speaking to those who weren’t His followers as a means to indirectly interact with His servants for an explicit purpose.  When Abraham journeyed into Gerar and met king Abimelech, Abraham lied and stated Sarah was his sister. Abimelech brought her to his house, but before he unknowingly sinned by “touching” her, God came to Abimelech, “…in a dream by night, and said to him, ‘Indeed you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is a man’s wife’ ” (Genesis 20:3).  Because of Abraham’s deceit, God stepped in to save a whole household from death.

We also see another example of God warning carnal men not just for a follower, but for His very Son.  Herod was intent on killing the young Christ and instructed the wise men to return to him with news.  After finding the Christ child, God came to the wise men, “Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way” (Matthew 2:12; compare also Matthew 27:19 for another example).

When Gideon went to war with the Midianites, it was with a very small army of three hundred.  God spoke to both Gideon and his men for the purpose of emboldening them.  God said to Gideon, “Arise, go down against the camp, for I have delivered it into your hand. But if you are afraid to go down, go down to the camp with Purah your servant, and you shall hear what they say; and afterward your hands shall be strengthened to go down against the camp” (Judges 7:9-11).  Shortly thereafter, Gideon followed God’s command and went down to the camp; “And when Gideon had come, there was a man telling a dream to his companion…  And so it was, when Gideon heard the telling of the dream and its interpretation…  He returned to the camp of Israel, and said, ‘Arise, for the LORD has delivered the camp of Midian into your hand’ ” (Judges 7:13,15).

We can see from these few examples that God was speaking through dreams to further His Will.  It is also important to understand that while dreams or visions from God were given to many individuals, the ability to interpret is from Godly inspiration. When Joseph heard the butler and baker discussing their dreams, he correctly understood where understanding came from: “So Joseph said to them, ‘Do not interpretations belong to God?’ ” (Genesis 40:8).  Daniel was able to explain Nebuchadnezzar’s dream because, “As for these four young men, God gave them knowledge and skill in all literature and wisdom; and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams” (Daniel 1:17).

There are many more examples of God interacting with mankind through dreams and visions.  We must be careful not to assume that is the method He chooses to communicate with us today. We read in Hebrews the way in which we are to receive instruction: “God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son” (Hebrews 1:1-2). We have the inspired words of the Bible to guide us through every part of our Christian lives.  It should be in that resource that we diligently search for answers.

Generally, God does not use dreams today to communicate with us. The Bible describes dreams in many places as futile and meaningless. Psalm 73:20 says: “As a dream when one awakes, so LORD, when You awake, You shall despise their image.” Ecclesiastes 5:3, 7 adds: “For a dream comes through much activity, And a fool’s voice is known by his many words… For in the multitude of dreams and many words there is also vanity. But fear God.” Finally, Isaiah 29:7-8 describes the futility of dreams in these words: “The multitude of all the nations who fight against Ariel  (Jerusalem), Even all who fight against her and her fortress, And distress her, Shall be as a dream of a night vision. It shall even be as when a hungry man dreams, And look—he eats; But he awakes, and his soul is still empty; Or as when a thirsty man dreams, And look—he drinks; But he awakes, and indeed he is faint, And his soul still craves; So the multitude of all the nations shall be, who fight against Mount Zion.”

When God spoke through the prophets, He laid out a clear explanation for how His people should seek after Him.  “If there arises among you a prophet or a dreamer of dreams, and he gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or the wonder comes to pass, of which he spoke to you, saying, ‘Let us go after other gods’—which you have not known—‘and let us serve them,’ you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams, for the LORD your God is testing you to know whether you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. You shall walk after the LORD your God and fear Him, and keep His commandments and obey His voice; you shall serve Him and hold fast to Him” (Deuteronomy 13:1-5).  Our hearts will be tested on God’s Commandments and His Voice—written down in His inspired words.

Believing in and relying on dreams could be deceitful and dangerous. Jeremiah 23:25-27 warns us: “I have heard what the prophets have said who prophesy lies in My name, saying, ‘I have dreamed, I have dreamed!’ How long will this be in the heart of the prophets who prophesy lies? Indeed they are prophets of the deceit of their own heart, who try to make My people forget My name by their dreams which everyone tells his neighbor, as their fathers forgot My name for Baal.” Compare also Jeremiah 29:8 and Zechariah 10:2.

Christ warned of a negative disposition we could get into, resulting in our inability to understand the Plan of God.  This wasn’t due to a lack of dreams or visions, but a failure to read the Scriptures.  “Hypocrites! You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times. A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah” (Matthew 16:3-4).

In the past, dreams were used mightily, as they will be in the end time, to further God’s Purpose (Acts 2:17; Joel 2:18).  But we must first fulfill His Will by seeking what is laid before us in the Holy Scripture.  It is after all “…given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

Lead Writer: Robb Harris

A new Member Letter (February 2017) has been written by Michael Link. In this letter world conditions with biblical implications are highlighted along with our need to be truly ready in spite of all the distractions which confront us. Along with this letter, a copy of our newest booklet, “The Fall and Rise of the Jewish People.” has now been mailed to our subscribers in the United States. Subscribers in other countries will receive their copy shortly.

A new video clip advertising our new booklet, “The Fall and Rise of the Jewish People,” has been produced by Michael Link.

“Worldwide Anti-Semitism on the Rise,” is the title of a new StandingWatch program, presented by Evangelist Norbert Link. Here is a summary:

Even though anti-Semitism has been a terrible phenomenon for many centuries, it is clearly on the rise in the USA and around the world. President Trump righty condemned this horrible phenomenon. Middle Eastern nations are not Israel’s friends, and neither are the Europeans. What will happen if Israel insists on a one-state solution; on Jerusalem as Israel’s eternal capital; and on further Jewish settlements in “occupied” territories? Will a Third Temple be built in Jerusalem prior to Christ’s return? What would be the reaction of the world, and especially the Europeans? Our new free booklet, “The Fall and Rise of the Jewish People,” will give you the answers to these and many more questions. A special video at the end of this program provides you with more important information.

We are greatly pleased to announce the baptism of Frank Bruno following Sabbath services last week. Frank and Shelly Bruno, along with their two boys, live in Boulder, Colorado.

“Kommen und Gehen,” is the title of this Sabbath’s new German sermon. Title in English: “Coming and Going.”

“The Hurdle of Sinfulness,” the sermonette presented last Sabbath by Robb Harris, is now posted.

“The Little Things,” the sermon presented last Sabbath by Eric Rank, is now posted. Here is a summary:

Common sense might bring one to conclude that if we are called to fulfill God’s great plan, our human achievements and abilities must also be great and powerful. However, just the opposite is true. Throughout the Bible, God accomplishes great things by means of the small and seemingly insignificant. Little things in the right context work together to produce faith in us, glorify God, and fulfill His awesome plan.

The Church Conference for 2017 will be conducted in Escondido, California, with arrivals on March 23 and ending on March 28.

On February 18, 2017, Robb Harris will present the sermonette, titled, “The Hurdle of Sinfulness,” and Eric Rank will present the sermon, titled, “The Little Things.”

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.

Are there really any consequences for how we live? In the great scheme of things, does it actually matter whether or not we follow a code of conduct—especially, one established by God? Consider what God set before His people, Israel:

“‘I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; that you may love the LORD your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days; and that you may dwell in the land which the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them’” (Deuteronomy 30:19-20).

The Bible reveals that very few of the Israelites made the right choice, and the underlying reason is summed up in the last chapter of the Book of Judges: “In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (Judges 21:25). Government was missing and people became a law unto themselves.

In a time of Israel’s abject paganism (and this is prophetically picturing our day), Jeremiah was inspired to write:

“O LORD, I know the way of man is not in himself; It is not in man who walks to direct his own steps. O LORD, correct me, but with justice; Not in Your anger, lest You bring me to nothing” (Jeremiah 10:23-24).

But who will take correction? Surely, all of the Old Testament was written for carnal people, but I am a Christian, one might say. I can figure things out on my own, because I have been baptized and I have God’s Holy Spirit—Jesus Christ lives in me!

Tragically, the rebellious attitude which corrupted and defiled the people of God in ancient times still remains! However, Christians—above all people—are expected to be led by God. That leading from God will include correction:

“And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons: ‘My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD, Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; For whom the LORD loves He chastens, And scourges every son whom He receives.’ If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten?… Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it” (Hebrews 12:5-7, 11).

How, then, do Christians receive correction? Does God send an angel or a prophet to rebuke you? Does Jesus Christ appear in a vision to warn you? Even though those things have occurred in times past, people still chose their own paths.

Today, Christians receive correction through the Word of God by obeying what is revealed, but there is more. God has established His Church, led by Jesus Christ, to administer God’s government among Christians—and that includes correction.  Additionally—and this is critically important—each one of us must willingly receive correction by submitting ourselves to the clear understanding of God’s Will.

Life and death are set before us. We, as Christians, are making a choice of eternal death or eternal life! What matters for us is that we choose eternal life—and that might just be determined by how we receive correction from God!

We begin with further developments regarding President Trump’s travel ban for citizens from seven predominantly Muslim countries; quote a report to the effect that those countries did produce terrorists on American soil; speak on Melania Trump’s immigration lawyer; point out Mexico’s reaction to a highly controversial deportation of an illegal Mexican citizen with a criminal conviction (which is being challenged in court); and point out that the costs for the proposed border wall between the USA and Mexico might be much higher and a lot more time consuming than previously thought.

We continue with a proposed weapons deal between America and Saudi Arabia; the diminishing popularity of President Trump; and an alarming article about a fight between President Trump and the Intelligence Community, which, if true, would be extremely dangerous for national security. We speak about the resignation of National Security Advisor Michael Flynn and the relationship between the USA and Israel. We also read about serious warnings of the coming collapse of the United States; incredible methods by U.S. intelligence agencies to gather important information; and America’s unprepared military in case of an attack. (Note our new StandingWatch program, “Germany to Fill the Military Void?”).

Turning to Europe, we report on alarming developments regarding the alleged unpreparedness of the British Royal Navy; Germany’s controversial actions pertaining to the sale of weapons; and Europe’s move towards further unification. We also report on the prevention of a terror attack in France; the approval of a Muslim ban by a majority of Europeans; the election of a new German President (who is described as anti-Trump); and the astonishing rise of Martin Schulz, who is becoming a serious challenger to Angela Merkel as new Chancellor, and who has been described as the German Trump.

We speak on North Korea’s missile test and China’s expulsion of Christian missionaries; and we conclude with an article, describing the ridiculous belief of gullible conspirators in the end of the world in October through the collision between the earth and a hypothetical mysterious star in October 2017.

Staying the Enforcement of Travel Ban Not the Final Word

On February 9, Lawfareblog.com published the following article:

“Today’s 9th Circuit decision is a bit less of a big deal than it will play in the press tomorrow… This case is about two big questions, only one of which the panel’s per curiam today even mentions. The first question is how broad the president’s authority is to limit admissions from the relevant seven countries—and to what extent that authority is limited by constitutional law—under a statute that gives him the sweeping power to do this:

“(f) Suspension of entry or imposition of restrictions by President

“‘Whenever the President finds that the entry of any aliens or of any class of aliens into the United States would be detrimental to the interests of the United States, he may by proclamation, and for such period as he shall deem necessary, suspend the entry of all aliens or any class of aliens as immigrants or nonimmigrants, or impose on the entry of aliens any restrictions he may deem to be appropriate.’

“Remarkably, in the entire opinion, the panel did not bother even to cite this statute, which forms the principal statutory basis for the executive order (see Sections 3(c), 5(c), and 5(d) of the order). That’s a pretty big omission over 29 pages, including several pages devoted to determining the government’s likelihood of success on the merits of the case.

“The other question, one the panel does discuss, is the extent to which the repeated and overt invocations of the most invidious motivations on the part of the President himself, his campaign, his adviser, and his Twitter feed will render an otherwise valid exercise of this power invalid…

“The Ninth Circuit is correct to leave the TRO in place, in my view, for the simple reason that there is no cause to plunge the country into turmoil again while the courts address the merits of these matters over the next few weeks…  it’s worth emphasizing that the grounds on which this order was fought are not the grounds on which the merits fight will happen…”

It is legally not compelling to rely on the above-quoted statute (Section 212(f) of the INA, 8 U.S.C. 1182(f), “Suspension of entry or imposition of restrictions by President”), giving the President the right to suspend the entry of all aliens or any class of aliens or impose restrictions he may deem appropriate. The reason is that if it is argued that this statute gives the President the right to circumvent, ignore or violate constitutionally guaranteed rights of individuals, then it would be unconstitutional on its face. A statute can also be viewed as unconstitutional if it is applied in an unconstitutional way. This was one of the issues the 9^th Circuit Court of Appeals had to focus on, and since the Court concluded that there is a great likelihood that the President’s Executive Order, as applied under the statute, would for example violate due process, it did not even have to discuss the statute as such.

Also, as the New York Times pointed out in an article, dated January 28, in its analysis of the Executive Order, the Order may violate 8 U.S. Code § 1152 that bars discrimination “in the issuance of an immigrant visa because of the person’s race, sex, nationality, place of birth or place of residence.” Jennifer Chacon, a law professor at the University of California, Irvine, said that a challenge to the executive order based on the later law’s equal-protection principles was the most promising line of attack. In an opinion article in The New York Times, David J. Bier, an immigration policy analyst at the Cato Institute, a libertarian group, said Mr. Trump had at least violated the spirit of the later law. ‘Even if courts do find wiggle room here, discretion can be taken too far,’ Mr. Bier wrote. ‘If Mr. Trump can legally ban an entire region of the world, he would render Congress’s vision of unbiased legal immigration a dead letter.’”

However, Newsmax stated on February 8:

“President Donald Trump will lose the appeal on the nationwide ban on his travel executive order — but he will prevail before the Supreme Court, famed civil-rights attorney Alan Dershowitz told Newsmax TV on Wednesday. ‘I do not believe that this order constitutes a violation of the establishment clause of the Constitution,’ the Harvard Law School professor emeritus told ‘Newsmax Prime’ host J.D. Hayworth. ‘The fact that they picked seven Muslim states, those are the states that have high levels of terrorism… So, I think that the Trump administration will ultimately win on that issue, at least as it relates to people who have never been in the United States,’ Dershowitz concluded.”

That will remain to be seen and is far from certain, nor is Dershowitz’ opinion legally compelling. In any event, Dershowitz by-steps one of the most important issues, when singling out persons “who have never been in the United States.” The 9^th Circuit Court of Appeals spent much of its opinion on people, however, who HAVE been in the USA LEGALLY, or who were in the process of entering the USA with LEGAL visas.

Report: Countries in the Travel Ban DID Produce Terrorists

Newsmax reported on February 11:

“Since the 9/11 attacks, 72 people coming from the seven Middle Eastern countries named in President Donald Trump’s executive order on travel and refugees have been convicted on terrorism charges according to a new report released Saturday. According to the nonpartisan Center for Immigration Studies, the report stands ‘in stark contrast to the assertions by the Ninth Circuit judges who have blocked the president’s order on the basis that there is no evidence showing a risk to the United States in allowing aliens from these seven terror-associated countries to come in.’

“At least 17 of those who have been convicted claimed to be refugees, while three came into the United States as students. Twenty-five more eventually became American citizens, the report shows. Jessica Vaughan, the center’s director of policy studies, said she based the report on information from a report in 2016 from the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Immigration and the National Interest…

“Out of the 72 from Trump’s targeted states, the persons arrested on terrorism charges lived in at least 16 different states, with the most living in New York, which had 10; Minnesota and California had eight each; and Michigan, six. Minnesota, along with Washington, were the states that sued to block the travel ban order, and the report revealed at least two of those convicted were from Washington.”

Trump Announces Replacement Ban by Next Week

Newsmax wrote on February 16:

“President Donald Trump’s administration said in court documents on Thursday it wants an end to the legal fight over its ban on travelers from seven predominantly Muslim nations and will issue a replacement ban as it strives to protect the nation.

“Details of the new proposal were not provided in the filing or at a wide-ranging news conference by Trump. But lawyers for the administration said in the filing that a ban that focuses solely on foreigners who have never entered the U.S. — instead of green card holders already in the U.S. or who have traveled abroad and want to return — would pose no legal difficulties.”

Melania Trump’s Immigration Lawyer: “Travel Ban Is Wrong; Melania Is Like Esther”

The Times of Israel wrote on February 10:

“So far Attorney Michael Wildes has escaped President Donald Trump’s wrath.  An immigration lawyer, Wildes is speaking out against Trump’s January 27 executive order that banned immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim majority nations. While Wildes is certainly not the only one to oppose the president’s order, he isn’t just any immigration lawyer: He represents First Lady Melania Trump in immigration matters.  ‘She was very respectful and understood my position. She is not only First Lady; she is a lady of the first order. I think America is going to come to appreciate her,’ said the 52-year-old lawyer in a telephone interview with The Times of Israel. ‘I liken her to Queen Esther; she has the ear of the president. She is an immigrant herself,’ said Wildes.

“Even so, Wildes, who is conservative Democrat, said he couldn’t remain silent in good [conscience]. ‘I feel the president is a patriot but I just wish the [language of the] order was more restrictive, that it had excluded green card holders, those with permanent residency,’ Wildes said…

“A managing partner at Wildes and Weinberg Law Office in New York City, Wildes focuses solely on immigration. The firm, founded by his father Leon Wildes, represents Trump Models, President Trump’s NY modeling agency and secures visas for models in the Miss Universe pageants. The first also helps students, business people, and physicians navigate US immigration laws.

“When Wildes heard about the order he said he ‘was concerned… I had one client, an Iranian doctor who treats children, who was doing cancer surgery in Italy. He couldn’t get back…’  Wildes’ Sudanese brain surgeon client said he wasn’t able to make it to the airport to greet his parents, who are permanent residents. He was nervous and asked Wildes to send lawyers to JFK. Wildes, in addition to being the mayor of Englewood, New Jersey for two terms, has served as a federal prosecutor. He made a few phone calls to former colleagues, a letter was drafted and the parents ‘were given every courtesy,’ he said, and entered the US without incident.

“For Wildes, representing immigrants goes to the core of who he is, as an American and as a Jew. On one side his grandparents came from Poland and Russia, on the other from Liechtenstein. Wildes was raised in a Modern Orthodox household… Until the First Lady, the firm’s most famous client was John Lennon. Wilde’s father represented him in 1970 when Richard Nixon wanted to deport the Beatle for his political activism. Today the song ‘Imagine’ plays when callers are put on hold at Wildes and Weinberg.

“Trump approached Wildes last September when questions surfaced regarding Melania Trump’s immigration to the US. She released a letter, signed by Wildes that unequivocally denied allegations she worked illegally in the US before acquiring the right work visa. However, two months after that letter was published, the Associated Press reported that in the nearly two months before Trump received her work visas, the First Lady was paid for 10 modeling assignments.

“Wildes continues to represent Trump on immigration matters as well as in a $150 million libel lawsuit against the Daily Mail. He also represents her parents Viktor and Amalija Knaus, who live in Trump Tower. Wildes wouldn’t clarify their immigration status, saying only ‘they are here.’

“As for the executive order, Wildes agrees the nation must be protected. Yet, the current list of seven nations appears arbitrary and ill conceived, he said. It neither includes Indonesia or Saudi Arabia, the origins of 16 of the 19 hijackers in the 2001 World Trade Center attacks. Trump and the majority of GOP members of Congress argue the executive order will keep terrorists from flooding the country.

“However, it must be noted the US knows precisely who gets resettled here, according to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees. The less than one percent of refugees chosen for permanent resettlement in a new country are already required to go through an arduous vetting process, according to Chris Boain, spokesperson for the UNHCR. It takes between 18 and 24 months to go through the US process, which includes background checks by government multiple agencies. Individuals don’t reach that point until after UNHCR or another international agency does an initial vetting that lasts several weeks to several months, according to the UNHCR. Additionally, the majority of these refugees, including Syrian refugees, must submit biometric data, including retinal scans and fingerprints. This information is collected from virtually all Syrians four-years-old and above. Only then will the UN refer the refugee to a county for resettlement, according to the UNHCR.

“However, Wildes said there are countries where the vetting procedures need to be tightened. ‘In a nutshell there are countries where law enforcement is not as it should be and biometric data can be purchased and dummied up,’ Wildes said. Even so, Wildes said he finds the order wrong.

“He isn’t alone. On Tuesday several refugee organizations joined the fight. HIAS, the global Jewish nonprofit that protects refugees, initiated a legal challenge against the order. ‘As an organization that has long partnered with the US government, litigation is unprecedented for HIAS, but we feel we have no other choice,’ said HIAS President and CEO Mark Hetfield. ‘We cannot remain silent as Muslim refugees are turned away just for being Muslim, just as we could not stand idly by when the US turned away Jewish refugees fleeing Germany during the 1930s and 40s. Our history and our values, as Jews and as Americans, require us to fight this illegal and immoral new policy with every tool at our disposal — including litigation,’ said Hetfield.”

Let us hope that Melania Trump is indeed like Esther and has the ear of her husband.

Mexico Warns Its Citizens Living in the USA against Trump’s Immigration Policies

CNN wrote on February 10:

“Mexico warned its citizens living in the United States on Friday to ‘take precautions’ and remain in contact with consular officials a day after the deportation of an undocumented mother following a routine visit with US immigration authorities… ‘The case… illustrates a new reality for the Mexican community living in the United States, facing the most severe implementation of immigration control measures,’ Mexico’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement Friday.

“Mexican consulates ‘have intensified their work of protecting fellow nationals, foreseeing more severe immigration measures to be implemented by the authorities of this country, and possible violations to constitutional precepts during such operations and problems with due process,’ the statement said.

“On Wednesday, Garcia de Rayos made her eighth visit to the immigration office since her 2008 arrest and conviction for using a fake Social Security number. After each previous meeting, the married mother of two was released and went back to her family, but this week she was detained and deported within 24 hours to her native Mexico. Her attorney said the deportation was a direct result of President Donald Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration. US immigration officials said there was nothing special about her case — she committed a crime and her deportation order was enforced…”

The New York Times wrote on February 10:

“By no standard of common sense or decency should Guadalupe García de Rayos have been a priority for deportation. Ms. Rayos, a 35-year-old mother of two, was arrested on Wednesday by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Phoenix. On Thursday she was deported to Mexico, a country she left 21 years ago. Her devastated family, including her American-born children, remains in the United States.

“President Trump persists in the absurd claim that America will be safe and great again only after an assault on ‘bad dudes’ and ‘criminal aliens,’ whom he has promised to arrest and remove by the millions. But Ms. Rayos fits no such definition and was no threat, though she had been living in the United States illegally since she was 14. She had been known to the authorities since she was caught in a workplace raid in Phoenix in 2008. In the years since, she would check in regularly with immigration officials, who chose not to deport her, having more important things to do.

“Mr. Trump ran for office promising to eliminate such discretion and replace it with heedless and pointless enforcement. His campaign amplified the nativist passions of his supporters and hard-line advisers, including the man who is now his right hand in the Justice Department, Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

“What was always most alarming about Mr. Trump’s posturing on immigration wasn’t the wall, which will never be built in the way he describes it. It is instead the prospect of ramped-up enforcement that promises to increase misery on both sides of the border… the brutal idiocy of it all.

“Mr. Trump, or the ideologues who speak into his ear and guide his pen, came up with executive orders the first week of his presidency that vastly expanded the universe of potential deportation targets to include anyone found guilty of any offense, no matter how old or minor, and people accused of crimes but not convicted…

“Mr. Trump’s federal force… threatens to return America to a disgraceful era of workplace raids, indiscriminate sweeps and mass arrests. This will fix nothing…”

USA Today wrote on February 8:

“Garcia de Rayos came to the U.S. in 1996, when she was 14. In 2008, she was swept up in one of former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s work-site raids targeting the Golfland Entertainment Centers, which operated several water and mini-golf parks. Sheriff’s deputies seized hundreds of employment records and later arrested Garcia de Rayos at her house in Mesa. She pleaded guilty to a charge of criminal impersonation, a Class 6 felony, the lowest level.

“As a result of the charge, Garcia de Rayos was then turned over to ICE, Ybarra-Maldonado said. She spent six months in ICE custody at the Eloy Detention Center, he said. In 2013, an immigration judge found Garcia de Rayos had no legal stance to remain in the U.S. and issued a voluntary departure instructing her to leave the country, Ybarra-Maldonado said. After Garcia de Rayos appealed the voluntary departure, ICE gave her an order of supervision instructing her to check in yearly, and then every six months, Ybarra-Maldonado said.

“Garcia de Rayos was scheduled for her six month check-in Wednesday but instead of being told to come back in six months, she was taken into custody, he said. Ybarra-Maldonado immediately filed documents asking ICE to stay her deportation, on the grounds that she has lived in the U.S. since she was 14, has two children who are U.S. citizens, and she is fighting to have her felony conviction thrown out on the grounds that Arpaio’s work-site raids were unconstitutional.”

Bild Online strongly condemned this action. The mass tabloid pointed out that the lady was married in Arizona, and her husband and their two American children (14 and 16), who had never been in Mexico, were waiting outside the immigration building when it became clear to them that their wife and mother would not return to them. Her attorney stated that her deportation has nothing to do with national security, but that it was just for the purpose of destroying families. The attorney stated that this is a prime example of a failed immigration policy, which will lead to more illegality, as illegal immigrants will from now on no longer report to the immigration offices, but they will rather try to find shelter in churches and other safe places.

This is indeed just one example of an immigration policy which has gone awfully wrong, if judged based on godly standards.

Report: Trump’s Wall Extremely Costly and Time-Consuming

Reuters reported on February 9:

“President Donald Trump’s ‘wall’ along the U.S.-Mexico border would be a series of fences and walls that would cost as much as $21.6 billion, and take more than three years to construct, based on a U.S. Department of Homeland Security internal report seen by Reuters on Thursday…

“The plan lays out what it would take to seal the border in three phases of construction of fences and walls covering just over 1,250 miles (2,000 km) by the end of 2020… The report said the first phase would be the smallest, targeting sections covering 26 miles (42 km) near San Diego, California; El Paso, Texas; and in Texas’s Rio Grande Valley. The report assumes DHS would get funding from Congress by April or May, giving the department sufficient time to secure contractors and begin construction by September. Trump has said Congress should fund the wall upfront, but that Mexico will reimburse U.S. taxpayers. Mexico has said it will not pay…

“Bernstein Research, an investment research group that tracks material costs, has said that uncertainties around the project could drive its cost up to as much as $25 billion.

“The second phase of construction proposed in the report would cover 151 miles (242 km) of border in and around the Rio Grande Valley; Laredo, Texas; Tucson, Arizona; El Paso, Texas and Big Bend, Texas. The third phase would cover an unspecified 1,080 miles (1,728 km), essentially sealing off the entire U.S.-Mexico border.

“… A source familiar with the plans said DHS may have to go to court to seek eminent domain in order to acquire some of the private land needed to cover the final and most ambitious phase.

“The first phase, estimated to cost only $360 million, could be a relatively easy way for Trump to satisfy supporters eager to see him make good on his campaign promises to limit illegal migration. But the rest of the construction will be markedly more expensive, covering a much larger stretch of land, much of it privately owned or inaccessible by road. In addition to seeking eminent domain and environmental waivers, the U.S. government would also have to meet the requirements of the International Boundary and Water Commission, a U.S.-Mexico pact over shared waters. The report estimated that agreement alone could bring the cost from $11 million per mile to $15 million per mile in one area.”

US Weapons Deal with Saudi Arabia

 Mic Network Inc wrote on February 10:

“As President Donald Trump spent this week bitterly defending his temporarily blocked de facto Muslim ban, his administration is reportedly preparing a big arms deal with Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia was notably excluded from Trump’s controversial immigration ban, which barred U.S. entry to nationals from seven Muslim-majority countries and refugees.

“… the majority of people killed in domestic terrorist attacks were killed by Saudis… The White House has been tightlipped about the alleged arms deal, but unnamed government officials involved directly in the reported deal told the Washington Times Tuesday that a major sale of arms to Saudi Arabia was imminent.

“Saudi Arabia is reportedly set to buy a $300 million precision-guided missile technology package from the United States — a deal confirmed by anonymous Congressional sources.

“The U.S. has a long history of making billion dollar arms deals with Saudi Arabia, and America’s key ally, the United Kingdom, continues to sell arms to the oil-rich Arab nation, a decision currently under judicial review…

“Saudi terrorists have been responsible for the vast majority of people who have died in terrorist attacks committed on U.S. soil. Between 1975 and 2015, there have been 40 successful terrorists on U.S. soil, according to the think tank Cato Institute. Nineteen of those were responsible for executing 9/11, 15 of whom were from Saudi Arabia. With 2,983 deaths from 9/11, the 15 Saudi nationals killed an average of 2,355 people. However, the remaining 25 terrorists over the 40 year period were collectively responsible for an average of 669 deaths… Supporting and encouraging Saudi Arabia’s military might has major implications for the world and regional stability — that means it unavoidably has implications for national security too.”

Only 29 Percent of Americans Think Trump Is Respected by Foreign Leaders

Vox wrote on February 10:

“… a new Gallup poll shows that by a stunning 29-67 margin, Americans think foreign leaders don’t have much respect for Trump. That’s dramatically worse than Americans’ assessment of the state of American leadership under either Barack Obama or George W. Bush.”

War Between the US Intelligence Community and President Trump?

The Observer (a British paper, which has been linked by the German magazine, Der Stern) wrote on February 12:

 “… the still-forming Trump administration is already doing serious harm to America’s longstanding global intelligence partnerships. In particular, fears that the White House is too friendly to Moscow are causing close allies to curtail some of their espionage relationships with Washington—a development with grave implications for international security, particularly in the all-important realm of counterterrorism.

“Now those concerns are causing problems much closer to home—in fact, inside the Beltway itself. Our Intelligence Community is so worried by the unprecedented problems of the Trump administration—not only do senior officials possess troubling ties to the Kremlin, there are nagging questions about basic competence regarding Team Trump—that it is beginning to withhold intelligence from a White House which our spies do not trust. That the IC has ample grounds for concern is demonstrated by almost daily revelations of major problems inside the White House, a mere three weeks after the inauguration. The president has repeatedly gone out of his way to antagonize our spies, mocking them and demeaning their work, and Trump’s personal national security guru can’t seem to keep his story straight on vital issues.

“That’s Mike Flynn, the retired Army three-star general who now heads the National Security Council. Widely disliked in Washington for his brash personality and preference for conspiracy-theorizing over intelligence facts, Flynn was fired as head of the Defense Intelligence Agency for managerial incompetence and poor judgment—flaws he has brought to the far more powerful and political NSC.

“Flynn’s problems with the truth have been laid bare by the growing scandal about his dealings with Moscow. Strange ties to the Kremlin, including Vladimir Putin himself, have dogged Flynn since he left DIA, and concerns about his judgment have risen considerably since it was revealed that after the November 8 election, Flynn repeatedly called the Russian embassy in Washington to discuss the transition. The White House has denied that anything substantive came up in conversations between Flynn and Sergei Kislyak, the Russian ambassador.

“That was a lie, as confirmed by an extensively sourced bombshell report in The Washington Post, which makes clear that Flynn grossly misrepresented his numerous conversations with Kislyak—which turn out to have happened before the election too, part of a regular dialogue with the Russian embassy. To call such an arrangement highly unusual in American politics would be very charitable.

“In particular, Flynn and Kislyak discussed the possible lifting of the sanctions President Obama placed on Russia and its intelligence services late last year in retaliation for the Kremlin’s meddling in our 2016 election. In public, Flynn repeatedly denied that any talk of sanctions occurred during his conversations with Russia’s ambassador. Worse, he apparently lied in private too, including to Vice President Mike Pence, who when this scandal broke last month publicly denied that Flynn conducted any sanctions talk with Kislyak. Pence and his staff are reported to be very upset with the national security adviser, who played the vice president for a fool.

“It’s debatable whether Flynn broke any laws by conducting unofficial diplomacy with Moscow, then lying about it, and he has now adopted the customary Beltway dodge about the affair, ditching his previous denials in favor of professing he has ‘no recollection of discussing sanctions,’ adding that he ‘couldn’t be certain that the topic never came up.’ That’s not good enough anymore, since the IC knows exactly what Flynn and Kislyak discussed…

“A new report by CNN indicates that important parts of the infamous spy dossier that professed to shed light on President Trump’s shady Moscow ties have been corroborated by communications intercepts… This is bad news for the White House, which has already lashed out in angry panic, with Press Secretary Sean Spicer stating, ‘We continue to be disgusted by CNN’s fake news reporting.’ That is hardly a denial, of course, and I can confirm from my friends still serving in the IC that the… dossier… is damning for the administration. Our spies have had enough of these shady Russian connections—and they are starting to push back…

“A senior National Security Agency official explained that NSA was systematically holding back some of the ‘good stuff’ from the White House, in an unprecedented move. For decades, NSA has prepared special reports for the president’s eyes only, containing enormously sensitive intelligence. In the last three weeks, however, NSA has ceased doing this… NSA doesn’t appear to be the only agency withholding intelligence from the administration out of security fears…

“None of this has happened in Washington before. A White House with unsettling links to Moscow wasn’t something anybody in the Pentagon or the Intelligence Community even considered a possibility until a few months ago… This is a risky situation, particularly since President Trump is prone to creating crises foreign and domestic with his incautious tweets. In the event of a serious international crisis of the sort which eventually befalls almost every administration, the White House will need the best intelligence possible to prevent war, possibly even nuclear war. It may not get the information it needs in that hour of crisis, and for that it has nobody to blame but itself.”

Michael Flynn Resigns

The Daily Mail wrote on February 15:

“President Donald Trump said Wednesday that his recently resigned National Security Advisor Michael Flynn was torpedoed by Democratic partisans who ‘illegally leaked’ intelligence material in order to harm him. Appearing in a joint press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said ‘the fake media’ had fomented a scandal that wouldn’t exist but for angry Democrats who were acting out in the wake of an embarrassing loss in November’s presidential election. ‘General Flynn is a wonderful man,’ Trump said. ‘I think he’s been treated very, very unfairly by the media – as I call it, the fake media, in many cases.’ ‘From intelligence, papers are being leaked, things are being leaked,’ Trump complained. ‘It’s a criminal action – a criminal act. And it’s been going on for a long time, before me, but now it’s really going on.’ …

“The president’s comments came after a morning tweet-storm attacking his own intelligence agencies by saying malicious leakers had touched off a tempest by suggesting he and his aides had improper contact with the Russian government during his presidential campaign. ‘The real scandal here is that classified information is illegally given out by “intelligence” like candy. Very un-American!’ he tweeted. The president faces accusations that he was needlessly sympathetic to Moscow, along with renewed suspicions that his foreign policy was informed by threats of blackmail from Vladimir Putin’s government.’

In addition, the President faces accusations that he knew about Flynn’s conduct and left his Vice-President in the dark, who embarrassed myself by repeating Flynn’s denial on public television.  

The Times of Israel wrote on February 15:

“Questions about the Trump administration’s ties to Russia are hardly going to disappear with the firing of national security adviser Michael Flynn. Investigations are underway, and more are likely by the new administration and on Capitol Hill. US agencies, including the FBI, have been probing Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. And three congressional committees are conducting their own investigations that include looking at contacts between Russian officials and members of the Trump campaign and administration.

“This isn’t the first time Trump has distanced himself from an adviser in light of a relationships with Moscow. In late August, Paul Manafort resigned as Trump’s campaign chairman after disclosures by The Associated Press about his firm’s covert lobbying on behalf of the former pro-Russian ruling political party in Ukraine. Trump’s own ties to Russia have been questioned in light of his friendly posture toward the long-time US adversary and reluctance to criticize President Vladimir Putin…

“On Tuesday, Republican leaders focused on the idea that Flynn misled Vice President Mike Pence about the nature of his contacts with the Russian ambassador… The Justice Department had warned the White House late last month that Flynn could be at risk for blackmail because of contradictions between his public depictions of the calls with the Russian ambassador and what intelligence officials knew about the conversations… Flynn did not concede any wrongdoing in his resignation letter, saying merely that he ‘inadvertently briefed the vice president elect and others with incomplete information regarding my phone calls with the Russian ambassador.’

“… Republican Lindsey Graham, who is leading a Senate judiciary subcommittee investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election, echoed… concerns about whether Flynn was acting alone and without direction in his contacts… ‘I think most Americans have a right to know whether or not this was a General Flynn rogue maneuver, or was he basically speaking for somebody else in the White House,’ Graham told CNN Tuesday.”

USA Does No Longer Insist on Two-State Solution

The Guardian wrote on February 15:

“In a single sentence, and without detailed elaboration, Donald Trump has casually discarded decades of US diplomacy – pursued by both Democratic and Republican administrations – on the Middle East peace process. Standing alongside the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, at the White House, the US president declared himself unconcerned whether negotiations should be aimed at the two-state solution, which has long been guaranteed by Washington. Instead, Trump indicated that it would be left to Israelis and Palestinians to sort out the ‘ultimate deal’ he had once promised he would make. ‘I’m looking at two-state and one-state and I like the one that both parties like. I’m very happy with the one that both parties like,’ Trump said…”

The Europeans are strongly committed to a two-state solution. A one-state solution would be totally unacceptable to them.

Deutsche Welle wrote on February 15:

“Germany has reaffirmed its support of a two-state solution in the Middle East after reports the US was open to alternatives… The head of a German parliamentary committee on foreign affairs, Norbert Röttgen, was quoted by ‘Die Welt’ newspaper as saying ‘the two-state solution is the only way Israel can remain a democratic and a Jewish state at the same time.’ Niels Annen, foreign policy spokesperson for the Social Democrats in parliament, told the same paper that if the alleged shift in the US stance on Israel was indeed true, ‘it would torpedo the efforts of the United Nations and cause a break in German-American Middle East policy.’…

“Shimon Stein, a former Israeli ambassador to Germany, told the Bayerischer Rundfunk public broadcaster that abandoning the two-state solution was ‘unrealistic’ and ‘a lot of blood would be shed’ before both sides finally end up returning to the two-state solution. A spokesperson for the EU’s foreign policy official, Federica Mogherini, also reaffirmed the EU’s support for the two-state solution. The two-state solution is seen by many as the only way to achieve lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians in the Middle East. However, Israel’s policy of expanding settlements under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has put it at odds with the international community – including the United States – making a two-state solution a difficult prospect for the time being.”

One-State Solution Absurd and Dangerous

The Times of Israel wrote on February 16:

“In a barrage of editorials, the New York Times, Washington Post, and Los Angeles Times described Trump’s statements as ‘nonsensical’ and the idea of a one state solution as ‘absurd,’ and said that by withdrawing from decades-old US policy the president was instead increasing the chances of violent conflict…

“‘He offered no details on any peace initiative, and the vagueness of his remarks suggests he has no inkling of how to move forward. His willingness, however, to lend credence to those who would deny a separate state to the Palestinians will certainly make peace harder to achieve,’ the editorial board [of the New York Times] wrote…

“The Washington Post described Trump’s shift in policy as ‘a dangerous retreat’ that made the chances for peace even less likely ‘and increased the chances that one of the few relatively peaceful corners of the region will return to conflict.’… Trump… is being ‘naïve’ and is setting himself up for ‘diplomatic failure,’ the paper wrote.

“… The LA Times said that Trump had ‘demolished’ the two-state solution and described the idea of Israelis and Palestinians agreeing to a one-state outcome ‘absurd.’ ‘A single state that would be agreeable to both sides isn’t the “ultimate deal” of Trump’s imaginings; it’s the ultimate fantasy,’ the newspaper said.

“Netanyahu… indicated a willingness to consider the US president’s call to rein in settlement construction. Later, however, Netanyahu’s office issued a statement saying he did no such thing.”

The Coming Collapse of the USA and the Resurgent Powers of Other Nations

The Bookings Institution wrote on February 10:

“… the declining will and capacity of the United States and its allies to maintain the present world order… will reach the moment at which the existing order collapses and the world descends into a phase of brutal anarchy, as it has three times in the past two centuries. The cost of that descent, in lives and treasure, in lost freedoms and lost hope, will be staggering…

“History shows that world orders do collapse, however, and when they do it is often unexpected, rapid, and violent. The late 18th century was the high point of the Enlightenment in Europe, before the continent fell suddenly into the abyss of the Napoleonic Wars. In the first decade of the 20th century, the world’s smartest minds predicted an end to great-power conflict… The most devastating war in history came four years later. The apparent calm of the postwar 1920s became the crisis-ridden 1930s and then another world war.

“Where exactly we are in this classic scenario today… is, as always, impossible to know. Are we three years away from a global crisis, or 15? That we are somewhere on that path, however, is unmistakable. And while it is too soon to know what effect Donald Trump’s presidency will have on these trends, early signs suggest that the new administration is more likely to hasten us toward crisis than slow or reverse these trends… For the moment, he seems not to have thought much about the future ramifications of his rhetoric and his actions…

“Now, the question is whether the United States is willing to continue upholding the order that it created and which depends entirely on American power or whether Americans are prepared to take the risk — if they even understand the risk — of letting the order collapse into chaos and conflict. That willingness has been in doubt for some time, well before the election of Trump and even before the election of Barack Obama. Increasingly in the quarter century after the end of the Cold War, Americans have been wondering why they bear such an unusual and outsized responsibility for preserving global order when their own interests are not always clearly served — and when the United States seems to be making all the sacrifices while others benefit…

“Germany, the aggrieved victim of Versailles, did not satisfy itself by bringing the Germans of the Sudetenland back into the fold. They demanded much more, and they could not persuade the democratic powers to give them what they wanted without resorting to war…

“… unsettled, disordered conditions produced the fertile ground for the two destructive world wars of the first half of the 20th century. The collapse of the British-dominated world order on the oceans, the disruption of the uneasy balance of power on the European continent as a powerful unified Germany took shape, and the rise of Japanese power in East Asia all contributed to a highly competitive international environment in which dissatisfied great powers took the opportunity to pursue their ambitions in the absence of any power or group of powers to unite in checking them. The result was an unprecedented global calamity and death on an epic scale.

“It has been the great accomplishment of the U.S.-led world order in the 70 years since the end of World War II that this kind of competition has been held in check and great power conflicts have been avoided. It will be more than a shame if Americans were to destroy what they created — and not because it was no longer possible to sustain but simply because they chose to stop trying.”

Hard To Believe–USA Used Psychics to Try to Locate American Hostages

The Miami Herald wrote on February 10:

“The dozens of American diplomats taken hostage by revolutionary students who seized the U.S. embassy in Iran in 1979 may have had some secret company during their 15-month captivity: U.S. intelligence agencies had a squad of military-trained psychics using ESP to watch them, according to declassified documents in a newly available CIA database. In an operation code-named Grill Flame, half a dozen psychics working inside a dimly lit room in an ancient building in Fort Meade, Maryland, on more than 200 occasions tried to peer through the ether to see where the hostages were being held, how closely they were guarded and the state of their health.

“Officially, the psychics worked for U.S. Army intelligence. But the documents in the CIA database make it clear their efforts were monitored — and supported — by a wide array of government intelligence agencies as well as top commanders at the Pentagon. They were even consulted before the super-secret U.S. military raid that attempted to free the hostages in April 1980, which ended in disaster when a plane and a helicopter collided at a desert staging area…

“Edwin May, a physicist who oversaw parapsychology research for government intelligence agencies for 20 years [said]: ‘The psychics were able to tell, in some cases, where the hostages were moved to. They were able to see the degree of their health…. If you can sit in Fort Meade and describe the health of hostages who are going to be released, so that the right doctors can be on hand, that’s very helpful.’

“Others are more skeptical, to put it mildly. ‘The intelligence agencies might as well get a crystal ball out and stare into space and hope they see something,’ said James Randi, a former professional magician who turned his career into debunking ESP and psychics. ‘It’s a huge waste of time and money…’

“Operation Grill Flame was just one part of a broader U.S. intelligence project involving psychics and ESP that continued for 20 years. It… carried out 26,000 telepathic forays by 227 psychics before the government shut it down in 1995… in the fall of 1979… six [psychics] were put to work looking for a missing U.S. Navy plane. On Sept. 4, 1979, the psychics were able to pinpoint the location of the missing plane to within 15 miles.

“Other details of the search for the plane are blacked out in CIA documents, but Jimmy Carter, who was president at the time, may have been alluding to it in an interview he gave 12 years ago. ‘We had a plane go down in the Central African Republic — a twin-engine plane, small plane. And we couldn’t find it,’ even with satellite photography, Carter said. ‘So the director of the CIA came and told me that he had contacted a woman in California that claimed to have supernatural capabilities. And she went in a trance, and she wrote down latitudes and longitudes, and we sent our satellite over that latitude and longitude, and there was the plane.’…”

We know that Satan and his demons are ruling this world, but sometimes, we may be astonished of their methods in doing so, and how receptive even our governments might be to their influence.

America Unprepared Militarily to Defend Itself at Home and Abroad

The Daily Signal wrote on February 10:

“This week on Capitol Hill, several top U.S. military leaders from across the armed services presented a sobering case to Congress: U.S. military readiness is the lowest it has been in decades, leaving it unprepared to defend America’s interests at home and abroad…

“According to multiple reports just this week, about two-thirds of the Navy’s fighter/attack aircraft and more than half of the Marine Corps’ total aircraft fleet are unable to even get off the ground. These problems are merely the tip of the iceberg. The American people can expect to hear more accounts like these in the coming months as we learn more about the declining state of U.S. military readiness…”

“Britain’s Entire Fleet of Attack Submarines Are ‘Out of Action’”

The Telegraph wrote on February 10:

“The Ministry of Defence have denied that the Royal Navy’s fleet of attack submarines are all currently out of action. Britain’s seven ‘hunter-killer’ vessels were reported to be ‘non-operational’ as they undergo repairs and maintenance. However, an MOD source told the Telegraph the reports were ‘categorically not true.’ Theresa May was said to have been kept in the dark by Defence chiefs, the Sun reported. A Whitehall source told the newspaper: ‘No one is being honest about the scandal.’

“It was reported that five of the fleet, including one of the new type, are having refits or maintenance after breaking down. Sources said the three new Astute class subs, which cost £1.2billion each, are beset by technical problems… It comes after Britain’s ability to defend itself against a major military attack was called into question after an investigation found Navy warships are so loud they can be heard 100 miles away by Russian submarines.

“A Royal Navy spokesman said: ‘We don’t comment on specific submarine operations. Britain has a world-class fleet, the Royal Navy continues to meet all of its operational tasking, deploying globally on operations and protecting our national interests as Britain steps up around the world.’’

If you want to believe that…

German Army Leading NATO Army in Europe?

The EUObserver wrote on February 10:

“German defence minister Ursula von der Leyen [stated that the] longer term strategy would turn the Bundeswehr into the leading Nato army in Europe, with small countries integrating their military forces into the German command structures, reports German daily FAZ.”

Will Germany Fill the Military Void?

The Local wrote on February 15:

“After less than a month of life with the Trump administration, it is still far from clear how Washington now sees NATO and the defence of Europe. On Tuesday US Defence Secretary James Mattis described NATO as “the most successful military alliance in history” on his way to a meeting of defence ministers in Brussels. But his boss in the White House has repeatedly called the alliance’s continued utility into question and has called on other member states to do more,,,

“As the largest economy in Europe, and the powerbroker in the EU, Germany is the obvious NATO partner to step into the breach, should the US draw back.In late January and early February, hundreds of German soldiers landed in Lithuania to head up a deployment of a 1,200-strong battalion that will include forces from several NATO members.

“Germany’s Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen, who was at the base to welcome the troops, said that ‘it sends a clear and important message to all: NATO stands strong and united.’ It was one of several headlines over recent months that suggest Berlin is taking its military commitments more seriously. In May 2016, the Defence Ministry announced that it was adding thousands of new soldiers to its ranks and increasing its spending by billions. It was the second year in a row that an increase in defence spending was announced, after continual cuts since the end of the Cold War. ‘It is clear to Germany that we need to contribute more to the NATO alliance,’ a spokesman for the Defence Ministry told The Local on Tuesday. But he also stressed the contribution the Bundeswehr (German military) is already making to European security.

“As well as the troop commitment in Lithuania, Germany is a key contributor to the Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF) – a highly mobile force of 5,000 soldiers set up to deter a Russian assault on smaller NATO members. The German airforce has also been involved in policing air space over the Baltic region, while contributing ‘significantly’ to Multinational Corps Northeast (a military cooperation with Poland and Denmark), the spokesman added.”

Disgrace: German Weapons End Up in the Hands of “Child Soldiers”

The Local wrote on February 10:

“A new report by the German Alliance for Child Soldiers and other non-profits found that there are currently around 250,000 child soldiers in at least 20 conflict-ridden countries who are forced to spy, fight, carry supplies and even be sex slaves. And often German arms end up in these child soldiers’ hands. ‘The study proves that Germany delivers small weapons of the deadliest kind to many conflict regions – also those where child soldiers are deployed, for example in the Middle East, India, Pakistan or the Philippines,’ said Ralf Willinger, children’s rights expert and spokesman for the child soldiers alliance, in a statement. ‘Germany is thus jointly responsible for the escalation of armed conflicts and the suffering of children in these countries.’

“Germany exported €47 million-worth of small arms in 2016 – €15 million more than the year before, the study notes – an increase of nearly 50 percent. More than a third of these exports end up going to countries outside of the EU or NATO. German law forbids the export of weapons to conflict-torn countries, but the report says weapons still manage to cross borders illegally. On top of that, German weapons may be licensed to be produced in other countries, but where they go afterwards becomes unclear…

“[The report] also calls for Germany to lift its own military recruitment age to 18. Germany allows 17-year-olds to join the Bundeswehr with parental permission, though they are limited to using weapons during training, and are not sent on international missions…”

EU Warns Trump Not to Interfere

The Times of Israel wrote on February 10:

“EU foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini warned Donald Trump’s administration Friday not to ‘interfere’ in European politics, in an apparent reference to the US president’s praise of Brexit. ‘We do not interfere in US politics… And Europeans expect that America does not interfere in European politics,’ said Mogherini…

“Trump’s election dismayed many European leaders, who see him as dangerously naive about the threat posed by Russia and fear his victory will inspire Europe’s own far-right populist parties. ‘Europeans feel and believe that their interest[s] are better protected and promoted through our union,’ Mogherini said. ‘The European Union is here to stay.’”

A European Nuclear Superpower—Yes or No?

The Telegraph wrote on February 9:

“The German government has been forced to deny it is interested in acquiring nuclear weapons amid calls for it to lead a European ‘nuclear superpower’… The highly unusual statement comes amid growing calls for the European Union to invest in its own nuclear deterrent… Spiegel magazine has questioned whether it is time for Germany to acquire its own nuclear weapons. And the Financial Times has called for Germany to ‘think the unthinkable’ on the issue…

“Roderich Kiesewetter, an MP and former army colonel who is foreign policy spokesman for Mrs Merkel’s party, has called for Germany to take a leading role in setting up a European nuclear deterrent… he wants Germany to pay for the UK and France, Europe’s two existing nuclear powers, to increase their arsenals in order to provide a ‘nuclear shield’ for the continent… ‘Europe must start planning for its own security in case the Americans sharply raise the cost of defending the continent, or decide to leave completely,’ he said.

“Others believe the UK is not a viable partner in the light of Brexit, and have called for any such plan to focus on France. ‘If the US is no longer prepared to do its part of the nuclear deterrence, Germany and France will have to fill this vacuum,’ Gustav Gressel of the European Council on Foreign Relations said.”

Canada Supports Strong EU

Deutsche Welle wrote on February 15:

“Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau hailed the European Union as a bastion of international partnership on Thursday. In a speech to the European Parliament in Strasbourg, Trudeau made it clear that Canada sought to distance itself from the protectionism promoted by US President Donald Trump and post-Brexit vote Britain. ‘You are a vital player in addressing the challenges that we collectively face as an international community,’ he told lawmakers. ‘Indeed, the whole world benefits from a strong EU.’

“The prime minister then called on the EU and Canada to take center stage in the global economy: ‘We know that, in these times, we must choose to lead the international economy, not simply be subject to its whims… Canada knows that an effective European voice on the global stage isn’t just preferable, it’s essential,’ he added, calling the bloc a ‘truly remarkable achievement and unprecedented model for peaceful cooperation.’

“Trudeau’s talk came just one day after the European Union backed a controversial free-trade deal with Canada, commonly known as CETA. Not only does the move show a stark contrast to the policies of President Trump, who withdrew from the proposed trans-Pacific free trade deal TTP, it illustrates Canada’s drive to pivot away from complete reliance on trade with its neighbor to the south… The Canadian leader gave his speech fresh from a trip to Washington, where he and President Trump attempted to bridge their many differences, even as Trump threatens to scrap the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).”

France Prevents Possible Terror Attack

The Associated Press wrote on February 10:

“Anti-terrorism forces arrested four people Friday in southern France, including a 16-year-old girl, and uncovered a makeshift laboratory with the explosive TATP and other ingredients for fabricating a bomb. France’s top security official said the raid thwarted an ‘imminent attack.’ A police official said the teen had pledged loyalty to the Islamic State group in a recent video.

“The prosecutor’s office said around 70 grams (2.5 ounces) of TATP were seized in the Montpellier-area home of a 20-year-old man, along with a liter each of acetone, oxygenated water and sulfuric acid. TATP, which can be made from readily available materials, was used in the deadly November 2015 attacks in Paris and the March 2016 attack in Brussels carried out by Islamic State extremists.

“Two other men were arrested, a 33-year-old and a 26-year-old… The police official… said one of the suspects was believed to be planning a suicide attack but that the investigation had not yet uncovered a specific target. He said one person in the group had tried to reach Syria in 2015 and was known to intelligence services. The group — notably the girl — attracted new attention with their social media postings, he said…

“France is still under a state of emergency after several deadly attacks in 2015 and 2016.”

Most Europeans for a Muslim Travel Ban

Deutsche Welle reported on February 9:

“A new survey by London think tank Chatham House reveals that the majority of Europeans oppose Muslim immigration, Germans included. There is no country polled in which support for Muslim immigration surpasses opposition…

“The survey was carried out in Belgium, Germany, Greece, Spain, France, Italy, Austria, Great Britain, Hungary and Poland. Some countries, like France, Belgium and Great Britain, have relatively large Muslim minorities, while others, like Poland or Hungary, have practically none. This difference is not reflected in the opinion of Muslim immigrants… It is also clear that in all of these countries, the right-wing populist parties are strong and in some cases, make up the government. The most pro-Muslim immigrant country was Spain, where 41 percent of the population opposed the survey statement…”

Germany’s New President

 AFP wrote on February 12:

“Billed as Germany’s ‘anti-Trump,’ center-left former foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier was elected Sunday as the new ceremonial head of state. The 61-year-old, who regularly polls as Germany’s most popular politician, will represent the EU’s top economy abroad and act as a kind of moral arbiter for the nation…

“Steinmeier is one of Germany’s best-known politicians, having twice served as top diplomat under Merkel for a total of seven years. Though the trained lawyer is usually measured in his speech, in the thick of last year’s US election campaign Steinmeier labeled Donald Trump a ‘hate preacher.’… “

Martin Schulz the German Donald Trump?

Deutsche Welle wrote on February 10:

“Germany’s finance minister [Wolfgang Schäuble] compared the rival SPD’s candidate for chancellor, Martin Schulz, to US President Trump… Schäuble, who is a member of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU), called Social Democrat (SPD) Martin Schulz ‘Trump, almost word-for-word’ in an interview with ‘Der Spiegel.’ He also accused the former president of the European Parliament of trying to ride a similar wave of populism that put the real estate mogul in the White House…

“‘If Schulz allows his supporters to use the slogan “Make Europe Great Again,” then he is Trump almost word-for-word,’ said Schäuble, referencing the use of the slogan and the hashtag #MEGA by a small group of Schulz supporters on the website Reddit. Schäuble continued, ‘in a time when populism is seducing people the world over, politicians should not speak like Mr. Schulz. If he wants to fight populism, as he claims, he should take note of these facts.’

“Schulz has himself expressed his distaste for the US president’s bombastic rhetoric, calling Trump ‘dangerous to democracy’ and accusing him of ‘playing with the security of the Western world.’”

North Korea’s Missile Test

Newsmax reported on February 13:

“North Korea’s missile that it claims it tested over the weekend is designed to launch from a submarine… Officials said the KN-11-mod-2 missile was launched in the northwest region of North Korea Saturday evening and traveled around 300 miles into the Sea of Japan. The missile test this weekend happened around the same time as Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s appearance in the U.S. with President Donald Trump.

“The missile traveled farther than any other missile that North Korea has launched… The launch was a ‘clear grave threat to our national security,’ Capt. Jeff Davis said, according to Fox News. Kim Jong Un, North Korea’s 33-year-old dictator, witnessed the launch in person, officials said…”

China Expels Christian Missionaries

Reuters reported on February 10:

“China has expelled 32 South Korean Christian missionaries… amid diplomatic tension between the two countries over the planned deployment of a U.S. missile defense system in the South. The 32 were based in China’s northeastern Yanji region near the border with North Korea, many of whom had worked there more than a decade…  they were expelled in January… four people, including a Korean missionary and a Korean-American pastor, were apprehended by Chinese police in a Yanji hotel on Feb. 9…

“China’s Communist Party says it protects freedom of religion, but keeps a tight rein on religious activities and allows only officially recognized religious institutions.”

More Nonsense from End-of-the-World Conspirators

The Daily Mail wrote on February 11:

“The world could be set to end in October this year, when a giant mysterious planet collides with our own – according to a conspiracy theorist. David Meade, author of the book ‘Planet X – The 2017 Arrival’, believes a star, which he calls ‘a binary twin of our sun’, is coming ‘at us towards the south pole’. He says the star will bring with it ‘seven orbiting bodies’, including Nibiru, a large, blue planet that he also refers to as Planet X hurtling towards our planet.

“Nibiru, sometimes referred to as Planet X, is a hypothesised planet on the edge of our solar system. Nibiru is a different planet to the Planet Nine, which is also sometimes referred to as Planet X, that was proposed by astronomers in Caltech in January last year.

“Conspiracy theorists believe the gravitational influence of the ‘rogue planet’ Nibiru disrupted the orbits of other planets hundreds of years ago… David Meade believes the planet is set to hit into our planet in October this year, after being driven here by the gravitational pull from a ‘binary star’ twinned with the sun – of which there is no evidence.

“He says the star is difficult to spot because of the angle it is approaching Earth… The scientific community does not agree Nibiru exists. ‘Nibiru and other stories about wayward planets are an internet hoax,’ Nasa has said previously… Nibiru was widely predicted to hit our planet in December 2015, and before that in September. It was also predicted to smash into our planet to coincide with the Mayan apocalypse that did not occur in 2012. Even before that it was predicted Nibiru it would destroy the world in 2003.”

How gullible can people be to believe such nonsense? Even the admission is telling that the “star” is difficult to spot.

In this series, we have been pointing out many of our doctrines and practices, which, if taken together, clearly distinguish us from virtually every other Christian organization. In this last installment, we will discuss further defining aspects of our teaching and understanding.

Very few believe the Bible when it tells us what man is.

We say in our Statement of Beliefs, under “Human’s Mortal Nature”:

“We believe that humans are mortal and subject to death, and that they can only obtain immortality through a gift from God.”

When man (“the soul”) dies, he (“it”) is dead (Ezekiel 18:4, 20; Psalm 22:29, Authorized Version). To become alive again, he (“the soul”) must be resurrected from the dead (Revelation 20:4). Man has no consciousness in death (Psalm 6:5; 115:17; 146:4; Ecclesiastes 9:10; Isaiah 38:18-19).

At this point, the only MAN who has obtained immortality through the resurrection from the dead (Romans 1:3-4) is Jesus Christ (1 Timothy 6:14-16; compare Titus 2:13; 1 John 5:20; Revelation 1:18). But God offers all of mankind eternal life and immortality. Romans 6:23 tells us that eternal life is the gift of God. Those who accept and obey Christ and receive God’s Holy Spirit will inherit eternal life at the time of Christ’s return to this earth (Mark 10:29-30; John 10:27-28; 17:1-2).  Others will be given this opportunity later, in the Millennium and during the Great White Throne Judgment period.

But God will only give us eternal life if we obey Him, and He will not give us immortality if we refuse to obey Him (Romans 2:5-11). John 3:36 says, in the Revised Standard Version: “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; he who does NOT OBEY the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God rests upon him.” God won’t even give us His Holy Spirit—the guarantee or down payment for eternal life (Ephesians 1:13-14)—if we show Him that we do not want to be obedient to Him (Acts 5:32). It is the clear teaching throughout the Bible that we must obey God (Romans 1:5; 16:26; Acts 6:7). We are still obligated to uphold God’s Law (Matthew 19:17; Hebrews 5:8-9; John 15:10, 14). This means, for example, that we observe God’s weekly and annual Holy Days, and that we REFUSE to observe those days in God’s honor which are of pagan origin. God tells us clearly not to worship Him in the way in which pagans worshipped their gods (Deuteronomy 12:29-32).

It can be easily ascertained that many religious holidays of orthodox Christianity are of pagan origin. This includes the celebrations of Sunday, Christmas, Easter (“Good Friday” and “Easter Sunday”), New Year’s Day and Valentine’s Day. Additional unbiblical “Christian” holidays with incorrect teachings attached to them include Catholic holidays such as Epiphany, Ash Wednesday, Palm Sunday, Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and All Saint’s Day (which was adopted from the Satanic festival of Halloween), just to name a few. The biblical teaching is clear: We are to keep ONLY those days as RELIGIOUS days of worship which are commanded in the Bible, and we are not to ADD religious days of worship which are not commanded in Scripture and which are contrary to biblical teachings. The same applies to days and seasons which might not be designated as Christian holidays per se, but which are observed by the “Christian” world, even though they are pagan in nature, such as St. Patrick’s Day and Carnival celebrations, as well as school preparations for the Easter and Christmas holidays.

We also reject the concept of the Evolution Theory which postulates that we are, in effect, part of the animal kingdom. God created animals “according to their kind”—the animal kind—but He created man after the God kind. We read in Acts 17:28-29, in the translation of the new Luther Bible of 2009, that man is “of the God kind” (“von Gottes Art”). Man is not an animal. Every human being receives, at the moment of conception, a human spirit, and it is because of the human spirit that we can explain the vast difference between humans and animals.

We say in our Statement of Beliefs, under “Human Spirit”:

“We believe that every human being has in himself or herself a ‘human spirit’ given by God, that distinguishes man from animals (1 Corinthians 2:11), and that goes back to God when man dies (Ecclesiastes 12:7).”

In the book of Isaiah, we are told that each human being has a spirit within him: “Thus says God the LORD, Who created the heavens and stretched them out, Who spread forth the earth and that which comes from it, Who gives breath to the people on it, And spirit to those who walk on it” (Isaiah 42:5).

We read in Zechariah 12:1: “…Thus says the LORD, who stretches out the heavens, lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him.” When the spirit of man leaves a person, that person is dead. James 2:26 says, “For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.”

When a person dies and his spirit returns to God, that spirit does not continue to live consciously, apart from the body. Rather, God “stores” it, so to speak, in heaven, until He unites it at the time of the resurrection of man with a new spiritual or physical body. The human spirit is not an immortal soul. It does not continue to live when the human being dies. The concept that man’s soul is immortal is as wrong as the concept that man’s spirit continues to live consciously after death.

When a person dies, his body returns to dust. But the spirit of man in him has recorded the appearance of the person, the personality and the personal attributes, and at the time of the resurrection, God gives the spirit of that person back into the newly created Spirit-composed or physical body.

The spirit in man is not the same as the Holy Spirit, either. The Bible distinguishes clearly between the spirit in man and the Holy Spirit. God gives to everyone the spirit of man at the time of conception, while He only grants His Holy Spirit to those whom He specifically calls.

Paul says in Romans 8:14-16, “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption [sonship] by [which] we cry out, Abba, Father. The Spirit [itself] bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.”

Paul speaks very clearly about two spirits—the spirit of man and the Holy Spirit. Notice 1 Corinthians 2:11 and 14, “For what man knows the things of man except the spirit of the man which is in him. Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God… But the natural man [a person who has the spirit of man, but who does not have the Holy Spirit of God] does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.”

It is the gift of the Holy Spirit which distinguishes a converted person from a carnally-minded individual. And it is the spirit in man which distinguishes man from animals. Inasmuch as man is not an animal, God has decreed that man is permitted to eat animal meat. If man was an animal, then man would clearly be prohibited from doing so, as God condemns cannibalism. Some Scriptures which clearly disapprove of cannibalism and show how much God abhors it, describing it as a curse, can be found in Deuteronomy 28:52-57; Jeremiah 19:1-9; Lamentations 2:19-21; 4:10-11; and Ezekiel 5:7-10.

But not every animal is fit for human consumption.

We say in our Statement of Beliefs, under “Unclean Meats”:

“We believe that we are to refrain from eating meats which the Bible instructs not to eat and designates as unclean in passages such as Leviticus 11:1-47; Deuteronomy 14:3-20; and Acts 10:1-21, 28.”

We have published a list, setting forth clean animals, which can be eaten, and unclean animals, which must not be eaten. https://www.eternalgod.org/q-a-3192/

God does not teach us that we must be vegetarians, but He does not compel us to eat meat. The same applies to alcohol, which is not mandated for us (except for a small portion at the time of the Passover). On the other hand, Christ and His disciples ate meat (Luke 22:13-15) and drank wine (Matthew 11:19), and Paul admonished Timothy to drink a little wine—not just water—because of his frequent infirmities (1 Timothy 5:23). It would be clearly WRONG to be a vegetarian because of religious reasons, as this idea is of demonic origin (compare 1 Timothy 4:1-3; see discussion below). On the other hand, God did not suddenly make unclean meat fit for human consumption. [This is another proof that cannibalism is prohibited, because even IF we were to say that man was an animal (allegedly a “mammal” according to science), man would not qualify as a “clean” being fit for consumption, since only mammals can be eaten which divide the hoof, having cloven hooves and chewing the cud (Leviticus 11:3).]

Some turn to several Scriptures to “prove” that all animal flesh can be eaten, including frogs, scorpions, snails, snakes, crabs, dogs, horses, skunks, pigs or rats, just to name a few.

One of those passages is Genesis 9:3, which says that God has given man as “food” “every moving thing that lives” “even as the green herbs.”  Some claim that prior to this time, humans did not eat animal meat (compare Genesis 1:29, even though this passage does not specifically prohibit the consumption of meat). In any event, beginning with Noah, God allowed expressly the consumption of animal meat which is clean, wholesome and fit for food. The comparison with “green herbs” makes clear that neither unhealthy or poisonous green herbs were included in God’s permission, nor animal meat which is unclean and unfit for human consumption.

Please note that just prior to the Flood, Noah had been instructed to take clean and unclean animals into the ark (Genesis 7:2). Did God abolish this distinction right after the Flood?

Matthew Poole’s Commentary points out that God’s permission to eat all meat includes “… an exception to be gathered both from the nature of the thing, and from the distinction of clean and unclean beasts, mentioned before and afterwards… [Excluded is also the consumption] of those creatures which either died of themselves, or were killed by wild beasts, which is here forbidden implicitly, and afterwards expressly. See Exodus 22:31 Leviticus 22:8.”

The Pulpit Commentary agrees. It quotes the statements in the above-stated commentary with approval and adds: “Though the distinction between unclean and clean animals as to food, afterwards laid down in the Mosaic code (Leviticus 11:1-31), is not mentioned here, it does not follow that it was either unknown to the writer or unpracticed by the men before the Flood.”

This understanding is clearly correct. The opposite interpretation makes no sense, as one would be compelled to say that God gave His people permission at the time of Noah to eat unclean animals, only to revoke that permission at the time of Moses, when the consumption of unclean animal meat was clearly and expressly prohibited.

Another passage which is quoted to “prove” that all animals are clean today, and fit for human consumption, is Mark 7:19. The Authorized Version translates Mark 7:19 as follows: “… it entereth not into his heart, but into the belly, and goeth out into the draught, PURGING all meats…”

Christ was addressing a situation where a little bit of dirt might have been attached to our hands or the CLEAN food. When we eat this, it does not defile us inwardly, as it is eliminated out of the body into the draught. The clean food will be “cleansed,” in that little particles of dirt will be eliminated out of the body.

Another “proof text” is Acts 10. In that passage, Peter had a vision, seeing a great sheet of clean and unclean animals, and a voice asking him to eat. Peter refused and did not eat, although the voice told him that he should not call common what God had cleansed (verse 15). Subsequently, Peter went to the Gentiles—normally treated as common or unclean by the Jews—and baptized them. When confronted by the disciples, who were, at that time, exclusively of Jewish background and descent, Peter explained the meaning of the vision. It had nothing to do with declaring unclean animals as appropriate for human consumption. Rather, Peter said, in verse 28: “… God has shown me that I should not call any MAN common or unclean.” And so, the disciples recognized the purpose of the vision—to show the New Testament Church that God had “granted to the GENTILES repentance to life” (Acts 11:18).

1 Timothy 4:1-5 is also used to “prove” that all animal flesh can be eaten. This passage talks about the false teaching that we must abstain from FOOD which God has sanctified and created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. God never created unclean animals for food. The distinction between clean and unclean animals already existed under Noah, long before Moses. It still existed long after Christ’s death when Peter refused to eat unclean meat, and it will still exist at the time of Christ’s return, as God will punish those who consume the flesh of pigs and other unclean animals, calling such a practice “abominable” (compare Isaiah 65:2-7; 66:17).

In 1 Timothy 4:1-5, Paul is not permitting the consumption of the meat of unclean animals, but rather, he addresses those false preachers who teach against the consumption of the meat of CLEAN animals for religious reasons. Paul is condemning the concept of that version of vegetarianism that is taught by people believing that they must not eat meat because they perceive it to be holy. (We might think of the belief in “holy” cows in certain parts of the world.) God says through Paul that every creature CREATED FOR FOOD (verse 3) is good and can be eaten, AS IT IS SANCTIFIED BY THE WORD OF GOD (verse 5). God’s Word, the Bible, never sanctified or set aside for consumption unclean animals, but it DOES sanctify or set aside for consumption the meat of every CLEAN animal. We are permitted to eat the flesh of clean animals with thanksgiving, for we believe God and His Word, and we know the truth (verse 3). And such consumption is good (verse 4) and also sanctified by prayer (verse 5), as we thank God (verse 4) and ask Him to bless the food and to set it aside for the nourishing of our bodies.

God still requires of us that we abstain from consuming the meat of UNCLEAN animals. But this does not necessarily include the use of medicines, vitamins and mineral supplements derived from unclean animals, and the use of gelatin products, which might be derived from parts of unclean animals; while the prohibition of consuming certain parts of clean animals, such as fat and blood, is still valid for us today. We are not to consume blood, see Genesis 9:4 and Acts 15:20. However, this prohibition does not include, for example, blood transfusions. Animal fat refers to the fatty portion of the meat (Leviticus 3:17; 7:23, 25) which can be easily separated from the lean portion. It does of course not refer to “fatty” food such as butter or cheese (compare Genesis 18:8; Isaiah 7:15; and 2 Samuel 17:27-29; all in the Authorized Version).

Finally, some turn to Hebrews 13:9 and claim that this passage permits the consumption of all animal meat. The passage says: “Do not be carried about [away] with various and strange doctrines. For it is good that the heart be established by grace, not with foods [or meat] which have not profited those who have been occupied with them.”

Paul addresses the fact that various and strange doctrines had been added. These rules did not originate with God’s Law, but with human traditions and ideas. Doctrines pertaining to the distinction of clean and unclean meats were not “strange” to God or the Hebrews. Rather, the Jews were very familiar with these teachings. Paul was addressing traditional Jewish teaching and traditions (outside the pages of the Old Testament) and the concepts of pagan or “Gnostic” teachers who were trying to convince the Hebrews to adopt “new” or “strange” ideas regarding food or meat. Men, under demonic influence, had added the concepts of rejecting some meats that God created as clean or proper for human consumption, while allowing the consumption of animal flesh that God has specifically prohibited.

For more information on the issues which were discussed in this installment, please read or order the following free literature:

“Do We Have an Immortal Soul?”

“Is that in the Bible? Man’s Holidays and God’s Holy Days”

“Don’t Keep Christmas”

“The Theory of Evolution—a Fairy Tale for Adults?”

“Old Testament Laws—Still Valid Today?”

In this seven-part series, we have shown you that and how we are different from other Christian organizations. We have explained that our teachings and practices are based on and derived from the Bible. Will you, the reader, follow the example of the people of Berea, who “were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so” (Acts 17:11)? When they did, “many of them believed” (verse 12).

Lead Writer: Norbert Link

Kalon and Manuela Mitchell are proud to announce the birth of their son Levi Emerson. He was born on February 16, 2017, 11 pounds 12 oz, 22 inches at 4:30pm.

“Germany to Fill the Military Void?” is the title of a new StandingWatch program, presented by Evangelist Norbert Link. Here is a summary:

We have told you for decades that the relationship between the USA and Europe under German leadership will become more and more fragile, and that a united Europe will step into the breach when the USA draws back, declines and collapses. Recent events and biblical prophecy prove the accuracy of our assertions. Are you AWARE as to what is happening before your very eyes?

“Wer war und ist der wahre Jesus?” is the title of the new German APS, which introduces the new printed German booklet, “Do You know the Jesus of the Bible?”, and which incorporates a new video on the topic, created by Mike Link. Title in English: “Who was and is the real Jesus?”

“Die Natur des Menschen–Warum die Kirche des Ewigen Gottes? Teil 7,” is the title of this Sabbath’s German sermon. Title in English: The Nature of Man—Why the Church of the Eternal God? Part 7.

“The Long Game,” the sermonette presented last Sabbath by Eric Rank, is now posted. Here is a summary:

To be a Christian involves having a special vision that seems foolish when measured by worldly standards. Whereas the goals that are set by worldly measures seek a short-term outcome with a temporary duration, the goals of a Christian are long-term and eternal. The actions we take today must be directed towards the ultimate long-term outcome that God plans for each of us.

“Empowering Our Relationship with God,” the sermon presented last Sabbath by Robb Harris, is now posted. Here is a summary:

God has made many promises to His faithful followers.  We can be assured of these promises because His every utterance is truth!  What are we doing then to make that  truth a reality in our lives?

The Church Conference for 2017 will be conducted in Escondido, California, with arrivals on March 23 and ending on March 28.