On October 8, 2016, Michael Link will present the sermonette, titled, “In God’s Hands,” and Norbert Link will present the sermon, titled, “No More Separation.”

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

The Day of Atonement will be observed on Wednesday, October 12, 2016. We will have live services at 12:30 pm Pacific Time. Robb Harris will present the Offertory, and Dave Harris will present the sermon, titled, “Reaching Atonement.”

The recent disclosure of Donald Trump’s tax records have rattled a hornet’s nest of opinions in the media, demonstrating, once again, just how far man has separated himself from God.

While our nation grumbles over how much Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump have paid in taxes, one glaring point is lost: to our knowledge, most of the citizens have failed to acknowledge God through tithing!

Paul warned, “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life” (Galatians 6:7-8).

God warned ancient Israel of the consequences of rejecting His leadership and instead desiring a King to rule over them. He warned the people that the King would demand payment of high taxes, but this would not abolish the duty of the people to pay God’s tithe. Today, we are still living under those consequences which God articulated to Samuel, “but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them” (1 Samuel 8:7).

The requirement of tithing has never changed. Man is still obliged to give to God His portion. Malachi makes a comparison when we reject this command, “Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, ‘In what way have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings. You are cursed with a curse, for you have robbed Me, Even this whole nation” (Malachi 3:8-9).

In addition, God requires more than just the mere act of tithing. As the Pharisees were sorting out their tithe, making sure to give no more or no less than required, He chastised them for their lack of understanding, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone. Blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!” (Matthew 23:23-24).

For those that do joyfully and properly tithe with the right attitude, Malachi continues, “Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, That there may be food in My house, And try Me now in this,” Says the Lord of hosts, “If I will not open for you the windows of heaven And pour out for you such blessing That there will not be room enough to receive it” (Malachi 3:10).

God desires the very best for us. All we have to give up is our greed—a task insurmountable for many in this world today. Rejoice that we are so blessed to understand and take part in tithing to God.

We begin with an insightful article on Europe’s future and Hungary’s invalid referendum against the EU migration policy; and focus in detail on the terrible events in Syria and especially the city of Aleppo, showing Russia’s increased involvement and America’s utter helplessness; and Russia’s threat of nuclear World War III. [Please view our new StandingWatch program on this topic, titled, “Russia Threatens America with Nuclear War.”]

We speak on the terrible disaster of Obamacare which punishes hard-working American citizens, rather than helping them; and review a stunning revelation by the late Shimon Peres pertaining to Israel’s nuclear weapons.

We focus on the mass media’s coverage of the American presidential election campaigns, which can only be described as extremely hypocritical; showing once again why we are not to vote or participate in any way in this ungodly process.

In the last part of this section, we quote several articles on developments pertaining to Pope Francis and the Catholic Church. Especially noteworthy is the pope’s strong (and correct) stance on the “gender theory,” which he describes as a “great enemy” of marriage.

Europe’s Future

The Christian Science Monitor wrote on October 1:

“Across the Continent, the basic question – what is Europe? – is being asked in living rooms, corporate suites, and government cubicles with more urgency than at any time since World War II. Buffeted by fundamental changes – the decision by Britain to leave the EU, the continuing torrent of refugees, the inexorable rise of far-right political parties, and the threat posed by a resurgent Russia – the EU is confronting a historic crisis of cohesion and identity.

“Many experts fully expect the EU to survive. They believe this is simply the latest in a recurring cycle of challenges. Others think the EU will be a weakened and much less unified bloc of nations in the future – and possibly a much smaller one as well.

“While comparisons of the current period are made with the run-up to World War II, when a depression made Europe ripe for fascism, or with the disruptive globalization that preceded World War I, many dismiss the notion that Europe is about to face anything as cataclysmic. But there is no doubt that Europe finds itself at a hinge moment – one that will have significant implications for the world’s largest trading bloc as well as for the Western world and the kind of democracy it espouses…

“Later in the fall, Austrian voters could very well elect the EU’s first far-right head of state…

“While German residents debate the philosophical underpinnings of Europe, bureaucrats in Brussels are working out the details of something that will hold far more practical implications for the future of Europe – Britain’s pending divorce from the EU. The EU just held its first summit in Bratislava, Slovakia, on Sept. 16 to discuss where the bloc is going from here, without the British leader, new Prime Minister Theresa May.

“In their vote to leave the EU in June, most who were in favor of leaving weren’t motivated by the desire to dismantle Europe. Instead they were driven by a heady mix of defiance and pride over issues of identity and sovereignty and frustration over their own economic plight… Britain, of course, has always been a hesitant European partner. It joined the bloc only in 1973, after its empire was largely a footnote in history and its economy was reeling from deindustrialization. Under leaders from Winston Churchill to Margaret Thatcher, Britain has always had a fraught relationship with continental Europe.

“But the decision to definitively leave the EU surprised even the ‘Leave’ campaign… Various opinion surveys from Denmark to Finland showed desire for similar referendums plummeting after Brexit… the risk of copycat exit movements remains, especially if populists gain ground in countries where euroskepticism is highest…

“Europe… has been shaken out of complacency, given a glimpse into the consequences of not responding to the issues Europeans care most about. That includes fortifying exterior borders to make Europe more secure, bringing order to the refugee crisis, generating jobs (especially for European youth)…

“As populism has grown across the West, many fault mainstream politicians for failing to respond – for either just pandering to the populist vote or for failing to convince Europeans to believe in the EU decades after peace has held… eventually politicians will have to integrate the economic system further…The question of unity lies at the heart of the problems facing mainstream politicians in Europe, who have to balance national interest against the greater good of the EU project…

“After successive terrorist attacks by Islamist-inspired perpetrators – in France, Belgium, and this summer in Germany for the first time – Muslims have said that they feel pushed away. This could become one of Europe’s biggest problems, as alienation breeds radicalization… Many residents feel insecure… and refugees and asylum-seekers have played a role in the terror hitting Europe. Bans on burqas – and burkinis at beaches in France – epitomize the public debate playing out…

“Germany’s Angela Merkel, whose leadership is crucial to the future of Europe… faces rising opposition [at home]. Last month, her center-right party lost elections to the populist Alternative for Germany in her home district in northeastern Germany…“German author Andre Wilkens… believes Germany is central to Europe’s future…”

According to the Bible, out of the EU and the Eurozone, ten nations or groups of nations will arise very soon, and they will give their power and authority to a charismatic political leader of German (or Austrian) descent. Indeed, Germany and Germany’s leadership are central and crucial to Europe’s future. Please read our free booklet, “The Ten European Revivals of the Ancient Roman Empire.”

Hungarians Reject EU Migrant Policy in an Invalid Referendum

Deutsche Welle wrote on October 2:

“Citizens in Hungary have voted in a controversial referendum to reject the European Union’s plan to distribute migrants across the bloc. However, data from the National Election Office’s special referendum website suggest the number of voters was less than 50 percent, invalidating the result…

“More than 98 percent… rejected the EU’s migrant quota, while 1.7 percent voted in favor of it… Prime Minister Viktor Orban said the results needed to be taken into account by EU decision-makers. ‘Thirteen years after a large majority of Hungarians voted at a referendum to join the European Union, today Hungarians made their voices heard again in a European issue,’ Orban told a news conference in the capital, Budapest…

“Eastern European countries, including Hungary, Slovakia and Poland, have vehemently opposed accepting migrants. Hungary has refused to accept even one of the 1,294 refugees allotted to it and has instead filed a legal case against the EU, together with Slovakia.”

Aleppo Under Siege

Reuters reported on October 1:

“Russian war planes struck rebel-held areas north of Aleppo on Saturday as the [Syrian] army shelled the besieged old quarter in a major offensive… Russia was reported on Friday to be sending more warplanes to Syria to ramp up its air campaign as the United States said it had not yet given up on finding a diplomatic resolution. The latest strikes come 10 days into a Russian-backed Syrian government offensive to capture eastern Aleppo and crush the last urban stronghold of a revolt against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad that began in 2011…

“The army, aided by hundreds of Iranian-backed militias who have arrived in Aleppo, have backed up the air campaign with a ground offensive on several frontlines to break rebel defenses inside the city… Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov… criticized Washington’s failure to separate moderate rebel groups from those the Russians call terrorists…

“The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based group that monitors the war… said warplanes struck a field hospital in the heavily bombed rebel-held al Sakhour district in the second such strike on one of four such medical facilities targeted in the last few days… Hundreds of people have been killed in the bombing and many hundreds more wounded, with little access to treatment in hospitals that lack basic supplies… Washington, Britain and other allies have condemned the Russian bombing campaign, with the U.S envoy to the U.N. last week calling Russia’s actions in Syria ‘barbarism’ not counter-terrorism…

“Russia joined the war exactly a year ago, tipping the balance of power in favor of Assad, who is also supported by Iranian ground forces and Shi’ite militia from Lebanon and Iraq.”

Deutsche Welle added on October 1:

“British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said Moscow risked becoming an international pariah if its bombing continued. But Moscow and Damascus appear unperturbed by Western outrage over the relentless bombardments [which] UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon denounced as ‘war crimes.’… Casualties are mounting on both sides of the divided city. About 1.2 million people are facing daily rocket fire by the rebels, while 250,000 civilians are under siege by the Syrian army in the east of the city, which is held by rebels…

“The medical charity Doctors Without Borders has described the indiscriminate bombing of eastern Aleppo by Syrian and Russian forces as a ‘bloodbath.’… Aleppo was Syria’s largest city and commercial hub before civil war broke out in 2011. The city has been divided into government and opposition sectors for the past four years.”

Why Does Russia Support Assad?

Deutsche Welle wrote on October 1:

“For over five years now – but especially since Russia launched its airstrikes in 2015 – many world leaders have asked why the country continues to stand by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Theories abound, but none of those really explains Russia’s massive engagement and its willingness to eat the monetary, military and diplomatic costs.

“One theory is that President Vladimir Putin wants to maintain Syria’s port of Tartus as Russia’s only direct access to the Mediterranean Sea. Another is that Putin wants to show that he is willing to counter all civil society uprisings and revolts and that by supporting Assad he is sending signals to opposition movements in Russia. Or maybe Putin is striving for political stability in the Middle East in order to prevent extremists from spreading to Russia and neighboring countries. The prevailing theory, however, is that Putin wants to prove that Russia is a superpower just like the United States…

“A year ago, Russia began its airstrikes on Syria. The attacks targeted everyone who was labeled a ‘terrorist’ by the governments of Russia and Syria…  The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reports that the airstrikes have killed almost 9,500 people – including at least 3,800 civilians, 900 of whom were children…

“Russia’s open entry into the war was harshly criticized by officials from the United States and EU – including German leaders. ‘Anyone… who drops bunker-busting bombs on residential buildings is committing war crimes,’ Omid Nouripour, of the Greens, told the  public broadcaster Deutschlandfunk. Nouripour also accused Russia and the Assad regime of ruthlessness in their fight for the eastern part of Aleppo…”

Russia Warns of Nuclear World War III

The Sun wrote on October 5, 2016:

“A RUSSIAN newspaper fears a Third World War with the US over Syria. Tabloid Moskovsky Komsomolets predicts a ‘direct military confrontation’ on par with the Cuban Missile Crisis. The US suspended contact with Russia over Syria on Monday. Secretary of State John Kerry has been enraged by  airstrikes on rebel-controlled areas of Aleppo…”

Metro.co.uk wrote on Oct. 4, 2016:

“As tensions rise in the Middle East, an official TV channel in Russia has issued a chilling warning that war with the West could be imminent. Zvezda, a nationwide TV service run by the country’s Ministry of Defence, said last week, ‘Schizophrenics from America are sharpening nuclear weapons for Moscow.’… Both Russia and NATO are still in the position to unleash global-scale nuclear attacks – and the weapons are armed and ready…

“What would a nuclear blast actually do?… What observers fear is a military or political confrontation which builds up tensions around a nuclear missile attack – possibly leading one side to fire.

“Hydrogen bombs would destroy most civilian buildings in a 10-mile radius (based on a 20-megaton weapon exploding 3.3 miles above the ground)… The effects on people nearby would be even more frightening, with a blast killing thousands or millions instantly, followed by poisoning from radioactive fallout from the blast.

“Witnesses of the Hiroshima attack said that people near the centre of the blast ‘vanished’. … William Burchett said, ‘Of thousands of others, nearer the centre of the explosion, there was no trace. They vanished. The theory in Hiroshima is that the atomic heat was so great that they burned instantly to ashes – except that there were no ashes.’”

The Federalist Paper Project wrote on October 5:

“[Zvezda] breathlessly reported that underground nuclear bunkers had been built to house 12 million people – enough to house the entire population of Moscow… Russia’s nuclear stockpile is the largest in the world with 8,400 warheads compared to America’s 7,500…

“The Russians have also launched a nationwide civil defense training exercise in preparation for an all-out war with the West. The Independent reports: “Lasting three days, the exercise being run by the Ministry for Civil Defence, Emergencies and Elimination of Consequences of Natural Disasters (EMERCOM) will involve 200,000 emergency personnel and the co-operation of 40 million civilians.”

[The Daily Mail added on October 5 that “Russia is evacuating more than 40million people in drills to prepare for nuclear war.”]

“In their doomsday broadcast, they told viewers that the United States would ‘Face terrible, tectonic’ consequences if they took action against the Syrian regime.”

Flashback: Russia’s New Naval Doctrine Endangers Georgia

On September 8, 2016, Georgia Today wrote the following:

“Due to the strained relations between the West and Russia, including an ongoing economic war between the EU and the USA and Russia via a sanction policy and ever worsening confrontation between NATO and Russia via the constant flexing of ‘military muscles’ between competing forces, there is many a thing a little country like Georgia has to think of. In that scope, one of the dangerous ‘combat zones’ is thought to be the Black Sea Basin…

“The Russian policy-makers seek to regain the status-quo through domination in the basin by controlling three key points: Crimea, the mouths of the Danube and the Bosphorus [sic].

“Considering the latest events, Russia has partially achieved its strategic goals – first occupying and then annexing Crimea and reinforcing military positions in the peninsula, with the creation of the so-called ‘Mediterranean Task Force’ within the Black Sea Fleet, and detachment of combat ships and boats for the Mediterranean Sea and the Gulf region to pursue its second objective of obtaining control over the Bosphorus…

“With this reinforcement of its naval forces, Russia is not so far away from securing the third pillar of its strategy – the mouth of the Danube. Before that, however, in order to better reinforce its presence in the Black Sea basin, the Russian authority announced that 30 new ships are to be added to the Black Sea Fleet… Georgia is in a dangerous position due to… its sea ports that Russia will need badly to establish its hegemony…”

Outrageous Obamacare Penalizes Hard-Working Americans

The Washington Free Beacon wrote on September 26:

“Nearly 8.1 million taxpayers paid $1,694,088,000 in Obamacare penalties for not having health insurance in 2014, the first year the penalty was in effect, according to the most recent data from the Internal Revenue Service. ‘Beginning in 2014, the Affordable Care Act required that individuals must have had health care coverage, qualified for a health coverage exemption, or made a shared responsibility payment with a tax return,’ the IRS said…

“IRS Commissioner John Koskinen told lawmakers in 2015 that preliminary data from the IRS found that approximately 7.5 million taxpayers paid a total of $1.5 billion in penalties. This means about 560,000 more taxpayers paid about $200 million more in penalties than was previously reported.

“In 2014, individuals were required to pay either a flat penalty of $95 for each uninsured adult or one percent of their household’s adjusted gross income in excess of the threshold for mandatory tax filing, whichever is greater. In 2016, those penalties rose to a flat fee of $695 or 2.5 percent of the AGI measure.

“Around four million individuals are estimated to pay $4 billion in penalties this year, according to the Congressional Budget Office. The budget office projects that $5 billion will be collected each year from 2017 to 2024… Sen. Tom Cotton (R., Ark.) [said:] ‘Obamacare penalizes taxpayers who can no longer afford insurance that Obamacare made unaffordable… The legacy of Obamacare is skyrocketing premiums, unaffordable deductibles, the destruction of the individual insurance market, and tax penalties on Obamacare’s victims.’”

This “penalty” or “tax,” which was unconstitutionally held by the US Supreme Court to be constitutional, is really a shameful governmental and judicial attack on the freedom and liberty (and the money) of hard-working American citizens.

Israel Has the Bomb… and Shimon Peres Helped Develop It

Daily Mail wrote on October 2:

“The secret of whether Israel has the nuclear bomb has finally been exposed – after former president Shimon Peres admitted from beyond the grave that he helped develop an atomic weapons programme. Israeli leaders have always refused to admit having a nuclear arsenal, preferring to keep enemies in doubt.

“But in a remarkable interview recorded just before his death last Thursday at the age of 93, the veteran statesman not only confirmed the nuclear capability – but also admitted that he was its architect. The candid confession follows decades of speculation over whether Israel had managed to build a bomb at its Dimona plant in the Negev desert, which officials insist is used simply for scientific research…

“Peres, one of the founding fathers of Israel in 1948, revealed he persuaded President Ben Gurion to develop a nuclear reactor in 1955, fearing a threat from neighbouring Iran… It is understood, although unconfirmed, that the country’s first bomb was created in 1966…

“Israeli media are forbidden from reporting on their country’s nuclear ambitions, and politicians refuse to discuss it. Yet external observers estimate that the country has about 80 nuclear weapons.”

From this it follows that at this point, Israel is apparently the only country in the Middle East which possesses nuclear weapons. But countries like Iran and others are very desirous of obtaining the bomb.

USA Today Breaks a 34-Year Old Tradition

On September 30, 2016, USA Today published the following article by its Editorial Board:

“In the 34-year history of USA TODAY, the Editorial Board has never taken sides in the presidential race. Instead, we’ve expressed opinions about the major issues and haven’t presumed to tell our readers, who have a variety of priorities and values, which choice is best for them… We’ve never seen reason to alter our approach. Until now. This year, the choice isn’t between two capable major party nominees who happen to have significant ideological differences. This year, one of the candidates – Republican nominee Donald Trump – is, by unanimous consensus of the Editorial Board, unfit for the presidency.

“From the day he declared his candidacy 15 months ago through this week’s first presidential debate, Trump has demonstrated repeatedly that he lacks the temperament, knowledge, steadiness and honesty that America needs from its presidents. Whether through indifference or ignorance, Trump has betrayed fundamental commitments made by all presidents since the end of World War II. These commitments include unwavering support for NATO allies, steadfast opposition to Russian aggression, and the absolute certainty that the United States will make good on its debts. He has expressed troubling admiration for authoritarian leaders and scant regard for constitutional protections…

“A list prepared by NBC details 124 shifts by Trump on 20 major issues since shortly before he entered the race… In a Wall Street Journal column this month, Robert Gates, the highly respected former Defense secretary who served presidents of both parties over a half-century, described Trump as ‘beyond repair.’… His proposals for mass deportations and religious tests are unworkable and contrary to America’s ideals…

“The Editorial Board does not have a consensus for a Clinton endorsement. Some of us… believe she’d serve the nation ably as its president. Other board members have serious reservations about Clinton’s sense of entitlement, her lack of candor and her extreme carelessness in handling classified information…”

The article paints a really bad picture of Donald Trump, and we did not even quote most of the rather outrageous statements. On the other hand, the article is far too condescending towards the many serious problems associated with Hillary Clinton. It then asks the question, “Where does that leave us?” The answer should be obvious. The USA is left with a terrible future, no matter who will win the Presidency. That is WHY members of the Church of God do not… or ought not… vote in presidential elections like the next one.

Germany Highly Critical of Trump

Deutsche Welle wrote on October 1:

“In an internal paper drawn up by the German Economy Ministry, experts say the US economy would suffer if Donald Trump were elected president. The weekly news magazine Spiegel quoted the paper as saying that the United States could expect ‘a shrinking GDP, fewer jobs and higher unemployment’ if the Republican candidate were to triumph in November.

“… the Economy Ministry reports that his plans would violate both US and international law. The experts, who directly advise Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel, the possible 2017 chancellor candidate for the Social Democrats (SPD), wrote that Trump’s ideas were ‘impossible to put into practice’ and ‘no basis for a realistic economic policy.’ The criticism is the latest instance in which prominent German government officials and employees have voiced dismay at Trump.

“Trump is massively unpopular in Germany and most of Europe… German politicians, including Gabriel, were extraordinarily frank in criticizing the Republican. ‘Trump has no plan for the United States – to say nothing of the great challenges of international politics,’ Gabriel said on Tuesday in the wake of the first US presidential debate…  Other SPD and left-wing politicians echoed those sentiments. That was hardly surprising. After all, German Foreign Minister Frank Walter Steinmeier, of the SPD, went so far as call Trump a ‘preacher of hate’ in August.

“What’s remarkable is how much criticism Trump has attracted from German conservatives. ‘You have to look at his character, and that promises nothing good,’ Norbert Röttgen, the chairman of the Bundestag’s Committee on Foreign Affairs, said in an unusually blistering statement after the debate. He is a member of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservative Christian Democratic Union.

“But Spiegel also reported that… Markus Ederer, the state secretary of the German Foreign Ministry, has met with Trump advisers to talk about foreign policy issues, particularly NATO. Trump has been critical of the status quo within the military alliance and has called for members, including Germany, to bear more of the costs for the joint defense, insinuating that US troops could be withdrawn from Europe if his demands weren’t met…”

Germany would clearly prefer Hillary Clinton to become the next American President. However, since the relationship between the USA and Europe, under German leadership, will drastically deteriorate in the near future, Germany might not get her wish.

New York Times Hypocritical on Trump Tax Issue?

Breitbart wrote on October 2:

“The New York Times has excited the Clinton campaign and the rest of the media with a revelation that Republican nominee Donald Trump declared a $916 million loss in 1995 that might have resulted in him not paying taxes in some subsequent years [some claim, for 18 years]. The implication, reinforced by CNN’s Jake Tapper on State of the Union on Sunday morning, is that Trump ‘avoided’ paying taxes, when in fact his tax liability was zero.

“But the Times itself has ‘avoided’ paying taxes — in 2014, for example. As Forbes noted at the time: ‘… for tax year 2014, The New York Times paid no taxes and got an income tax refund of $3.5 million even though they had a pre-tax profit of $29.9 million in 2014. In other words, their post-tax profit was higher than their pre-tax profit…’

“New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani defended Trump on Sunday, telling NBC News’ Meet the Press that Trump was a ‘genius’ in business who was simply doing what the tax code allows every American to do by counting losses against tax liabilities, and bouncing back from failure to success. That would include the New York Times — which, however, is still struggling.

“As Jazz Shaw of HotAir.com notes, the Times — or whoever was its source — likely obtained Trump’s tax document illegally. The ongoing IRS scandal, in which the federal government targeted conservative organizations, involved several cases in which the agency illegally shared taxpayer information with other branches of government, and in one case leaked taxpayer information to a conservative organization’s political opponents. In 2008, the confidential tax information of Joe ‘the Plumber’ Wurzelbacher, who emerged as a critic of then-Sen. Barack Obama, was leaked illegally by an Ohio state official…

“The news comes just a few weeks after in early September the New York Times’ executive editor Dean Baquet said he would go to jail to print Trump’s tax returns, even if he obtained them illegally… He made the remark during a Harvard University forum Sunday, when he was asked about the legal risks tied to publishing a leaked or hacked copy of Trump’s taxes…

“Washington Post editor Bob Woodward…  also said he would go to jail too over it. ‘Some things you have to do. Dean is exactly right. This defines Donald Trump,’ Woodward said.”

These hypocritical statements of intent to commit crimes are outrageous.

Zero Hedge wrote on October 2:

“With the leaked 1995 Trump tax returns ‘scandal’ focused on the billionaire’s yuuge ‘net operating loss’ and how it might have ‘legally’ enabled him to pay no taxes for years, we now discover none other than Hillary Rodham Clinton utilized a $700,000 ‘loss’ to avoid paying some taxes in 2015… While not on the scale of Trump’s business ‘operating loss’, Hillary Clinton… like many ‘wealthy’ individuals is taking advantage of a legal scheme to use historical losses to avoid paying current taxes.”

Such hypocritical conduct by the New York Times and Hillary Clinton is outrageous. The Bible tells us to pay our taxes, but it does not command us to pay “taxes” which we don’t owe.

Deaconesses in the Early Church

Catholic Culture wrote on September 29:

“Nearly two months after Pope Francis instituted a commission to study women and the diaconate, L’Osservatore Romano has published an article on deaconesses and the early Church. Carlo Carletti, an archaeology professor at the University of Bari, said that the starting point for any examination of the topic is Romans 16:1, in which… Paul refers to ‘our sister Phoebe, a deaconess.’

“Of the 30 inscriptions that refer to deaconesses, said Carletti, 25 have been found in Asia Minor (in modern-day Turkey). Carletti attributes this geographical concentration to the legacy of Paul, who included women in his missionary activity.”

The Bible does indeed provide for the ordination of women as deaconesses, but not for the purpose of preaching. Paul makes it very clear that women are not to preach in church, and they are not to be ordained as elders or ministers, pastors or bishops.

Pope Celebrates with Assyrian-Chaldean Diaspora

Zenit reported on September 30:

“The final official stop on Pope Francis’ first day in Georgia was a visit to the Church of St. Shemon Bar Sabbae to meet with the Assyrian-Chaldean community. He was welcomed by the Patriarch of Babylon of the Chaldeans… [Francis] proceeded in procession to the Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament among the faithful of the Assyrian-Chaldean diaspora. After a song and a prayer in Aramaic, the Pope recited a Prayer for Peace.”

Some ancient Assyrians can be found today in diverse areas, but most live in Germany and Austria. Please read our free booklet, “Germany in Prophecy.”

Pope Francis and “Jewish” Holy Days

Zenit reported on October 1:

“Pope Francis has sent a message to Riccardo De Segni, Chief Rabbi of the Jewish community in Rome, the most ancient in the world, on the occasion of the Jewish New Year (Rosh Hashanah…), Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement) and Sukkot (the Feast of Tabernacles), celebrated this month.

“Rosh Hashanah begins Sunday evening and concludes Tuesday. Yom Kippur begins the evening of Oct. 11, and Sukkot the evening of Oct. 16. ‘I am particularly glad to convey my warmest wishes to you and the Jewish community of Rome. My sentiment extends also to Jewish communities throughout the world, in the hope that the upcoming festivities may be harbingers of abundant blessings to all. May the Almighty grant peace and the tireless wish to promote it. In His eternal mercy, may He grant hope and serenity in our times and strengthen the cordial bonds of friendship between us.’”

Note that the Jews erroneously keep the Feast of Trumpets (“Rosh Hashanah”) on two days, whereas the Bible only commands the celebration of one day.

Poland Rejects Ban on Abortion Bill

The Telegraph wrote on October 6:

“Poland’s parliament has voted to reject a bill proposing a near-total ban on abortion, inflicting the first serious defeat on the country’s ruling socially conservative government since it came to power last year.  An overwhelming majority of MPs voted to kill the bill on Thursday morning after a passionate and at times chaotic debate that had been continued from the previous night. However, the ruling Law and Justice party has said it will continue to pursue a tightening of the country’s abortion law, though not to the degree outlined in the now dead bill.

“The bill would have tightened Poland’s already strict abortion law by outlawing the practice, even if the pregnancy was the result of rape and incest, and would have imposed tough prison sentences on anybody who carried out a termination. [The bill] had won the unofficial backing of Law and Justice, which has always portrayed itself as a guardian of Roman Catholic values and the Church’s position in majority Catholic Polish society.

“But the proposed legislation triggered huge public anger. On Monday, an estimated 100,000 women took to the streets in a series of protests across the country, while many more went on strike, in a demonstration of outrage caught the government off guard, prompting a U-turn.  Scores of Law and Justice politicians decided to reject the bill on Thursday, many of them reversing their earlier decision to approve it during its first reading in parliament in September…

“The rejection of the bill came as a bitter blow to its proponents. ‘A nation that kills its own children is a nation without a future,’ said Joanna Banasiuk, an advocate of the bill. ‘What has happened? This is the same project that recently received the enthusiastic support of the state.'”

Gender Theory To Destroy Marriage

On October 2, Breitbart reported:

“On Saturday, Pope Francis called gender theory a ‘great enemy’ of marriage, adding that the ideology of gender is part of a global war of ideas out to destroy traditional marriage… Francis said that today we are witnessing a ‘global war to destroy marriage’ in which gender theory places a key role, fighting ‘not with weapons, but with ideas.’…

“The Pope has been an outspoken critic of LGBT agitators’ efforts to impose same-sex marriage and theories of gender fluidity that divorce gender from biological sexual differences… It is unacceptable that ‘international bodies should make financial aid to poor countries dependent on the introduction of laws to establish “marriage” between persons of the same sex,’ he said… Efforts to cancel out sexual differences based in anatomy are a symptom of a sick society…

“… the American College of Pediatricians issued a position paper warning that gender ideology is harmful to children. Failing to identify with one’s biological sex signals a psychological disorder,… the physicians argued… ‘When an otherwise healthy biological boy believes he is a girl, or an otherwise healthy biological girl believes she is a boy, an objective psychological problem exists that lies in the mind not the body…’”

Please see our Q&A in this issue about the biblical viewpoint on the transgender debate.

Before we look at the Bible’s straightforward answers to this subject, let us first of all look at the current state of affairs in society today. There is no doubt that there are those who espouse a very liberal approach, perhaps none more so than those who are involved with the gender agenda which includes many sexual variations and perversions.

In an article in the Brighton Argus newspaper (UK) on 28th January 2016, Brighton school children were asked to choose from a list of terms to describe their gender.  The selection list included: “Agender,” “All genders,” “Androgynous,” “Bi-gender,” “Boy,” “Demi-boy,” “Demi-girl,” “Female,” “Gender fluid,” “Gender nonconforming,” “Genderqueer,” “Girl,” “In the middle of boy and girl,” “Intersex,” “Male,” “Non-binary,” “Not sure,” “Others (please state),” “Rather not say,” “Tomboy,” “Trans-boy,” “Trans-girl,” Tri-gender,” “Young man” and “Young woman.”

On the 20^th April 2016, the Daily Mail reported that “the proposed national survey was linked from the website of the Children’s Commissioner for England, Anne Longfield, and was forwarded to some schools by local councils. It later emerged that the survey had been withdrawn. Anyway it was only a draft.”

You can be assured that in the current climate of “diversity and anything goes,” this will appear again at some time in the future as the liberal agenda increases its momentum as we plunge headlong through a moral crisis that will only be solved by the return of Jesus Christ.

Christian Institute Deputy Director Simon Calvert maintains that “there are simply two sexes — not 20-plus genders — and that the survey only incited confusion and jesting. [Giving children so many options will spur answers] across the spectrum — not least from kids who want to make fun of the whole thing,” Calvert contends. “But for some children, it will be profoundly confusing to find out that there are adults who don’t seem to know that boys are boys and girls are girls. The British Christian leader insists that the distinctions given in the Bible about human sexuality are those given by God to safeguard them from falling into all types of deviant attitudes, behaviors, and lifestyles.”

In our Update 686 on May 1^st 2015 we published the following:

“America’s Descent into the Abyss of Sexual Perversion.

“CNN wrote on April 23:

“It’s only April, but 2015 may be remembered as the year the term ‘transgender’ fully entered mainstream consciousness.  In January, President Obama condemned the persecution of ‘people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender,’ becoming the first president to utter the word in a State of the Union address…

“Transgender is an umbrella term for people whose gender identity — their internal, personal sense of being a man or a woman — differs from what’s typically associated with their sex at birth. Some transgender people alter their bodies through hormones and or surgery, although many don’t…”

In another article on the same subject, we commented that “the very concept of ‘transgender’ is an abomination in the eyes of God.”

In our Update 751 on September 2^nd 2016, we quoted a Newsmax report under the headline, “Transgender Bathroom ‘Rights’ Upheld by Bush-Appointed Judge,” part of which stated:

“Bathroom access has become a flashpoint in the legal and cultural battle over transgender rights in the United States.  An estimated 0.6 percent of U.S. adults identify as transgender…”

In his StandingWatch programme of 16^th September 2016 entitled “America’s Persecution of Churches”, Mr Norbert Link repeated this percentage of 0.6 percent people – but look at the pressure from such a small group!

An updated article, written in the Wall Street Journal on May 13, 2016, entitled “Transgender Surgery Isn’t the Solution – A drastic physical change doesn’t address underlying psycho-social troubles,” Dr Paul McHugh, former psychiatrist in chief at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, USA, examined the matter and here are a few excerpts from that article:

“….policy makers and the media are doing no favors either to the public or the transgendered by treating their confusions as a right in need of defending rather than as a mental disorder that deserves understanding, treatment and prevention. This intensely felt sense of being transgendered constitutes a mental disorder in two respects. The first is that the idea of sex misalignment is simply mistaken—it does not correspond with physical reality. The second is that it can lead to grim psychological outcomes.

“For the transgendered, this argument holds that one’s feeling of ‘gender’ is a conscious, subjective sense that, being in one’s mind, cannot be questioned by others. The individual often seeks not just society’s tolerance of this ‘personal truth’ but affirmation of it. Here rests the support for ‘transgender equality,’ the demands for government payment for medical and surgical treatments, and for access to all sex-based public roles and privileges.

“You won’t hear it from those championing transgender equality, but controlled and follow-up studies reveal fundamental problems with this movement. When children who reported transgender feelings were tracked without medical or surgical treatment at both Vanderbilt University and London’s Portman Clinic, 70%-80% of them spontaneously lost those feelings. Some 25% did have persisting feelings; what differentiates those individuals remains to be discerned.

“At the heart of the problem is confusion over the nature of the transgendered. ‘Sex change’ is biologically impossible. People who undergo sex-reassignment surgery do not change from men to women or vice versa. Rather, they become feminized men or masculinized women. Claiming that this is [a] civil-rights matter and encouraging surgical intervention is in reality to collaborate with and promote a mental disorder.”

You can read the article in its entirety at http://www.wsj.com/articles/paul-mchugh-transgender-surgery-isnt-the-solution-1402615120

In short, Dr McHugh opined that the transgender issue was a mental disorder.   It seems that, like many other sexual orientations, it may have become a fashionable thing to do.   We must never underestimate the power of peer pressure.

The Bible is very clear on this matter.   In Genesis 1:27-28, we read the following:

^“So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.  Then God blessed them, and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.’”

God created male and female – two genders with no other variation – and told them to be fruitful and multiply.   That cannot happen with a number of the wrong sexual practices that exist today.   In Genesis 5:2 we read confirmation of the instruction in Genesis 1:27-28: “He created them male and female, and blessed them and called them Mankind in the day they were created.”

Jesus Christ also confirmed this God-ordained order as we read in Matthew 19:4-6: “And He answered and said to them, ‘Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning “made them male and female,” and said, “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh”?   So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.’”

One commentator online wrote: “My gender is part of my created identity; it is God’s plan for my life. It is not fluid or changeable. It is fixed. Just as a dog cannot be changed into a cat or a fish into a bird, a man cannot be changed into a woman, or vice versa, because gender is a fundamental aspect of creation.”

In Deuteronomy 22:5 we read: “A woman shall not wear anything that pertains to a man, nor shall a man put on a woman’s garment, for all who do so are an abomination to the Lord your God.” An abomination is a thing that causes disgust or loathing.  Synonyms are: atrocity, disgrace, horror, obscenity, outrage, curse, torment, evil, crime, monstrosity, violation. God does not mince His words.

God talks about His wrath on unrighteousness in Romans 1:24-32: “Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.   For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due.  And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting;  being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them.”

There is a lot in this passage but it can be very briefly summarised by saying that those who practice any of these sins are deserving of death along with those who approve of such practices.   We have been warned!

In 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 is further admonition for those who have ears to hear: “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.”

Sexual sins are clearly mentioned here and those involved with transgender issues had better be careful as we have seen from this and other passages. There is only one way of proper sexual conduct, and that is between a man and a woman who are married to each other, and God allows no other variation.

What we always have to remember is that Satan is the author of confusion, but 1 Corinthians 14:33 states: “For God is not the author of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints.” Having to select from 20 plus definitions to define gender is confusion especially for the young mind, but God has made the whole process simple by creating man and woman with no other acceptable variations.

As we race towards the end of this age, Satan will become more and more accusatory and dangerous as we read in Revelation 12:9-12: “So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, ‘Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down.  And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death. Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time.’”

It is a sad fact that today the biblical approach is one that is scorned and disregarded, which is very dangerous to do. We should have love and concern for those who are engaged in these practices, loving the sinner but hating the sin. God instructs us in His way which is always for our own good and we ignore it at our peril.   Transgender practices, along with many other sexual sins, are not to be part of any true Christian’s life.   Such practices will not be allowed in the Kingdom of God and that should be enough proof for anyone with an open mind and a willing heart.

Lead Writer: Brian Gale (United Kingdom)

A new Member Letter (October 2016) has been written and mailed to our subscribers. In this letter, Pastor Dave Harris asks Christians whether or not they are ready and watching for the return of Jesus Christ.

A brochure for the 2016 US Feast of Tabernacles has been produced and is now posted.

“Russia Threatens America with Nuclear War” is the title of a new StandingWatch program, presented by Evangelist Norbert Link. Here is a summary:

The Russian media, which is sponsored by the government, “issued a chilling warning” that nuclear war with the West “could be imminent.” We must not take these warnings lightly, because events in Russia show that Mr. Putin is very serious. According to the Bible, there WILL be a nuclear Third World War, with catastrophic consequences for the entire planet. God tells us who will be involved, as friends and as enemies.

“Increased Demonism in the USA,” is the title of another new StandingWatch program, presented by Evangelist Norbert Link. Here is a summary:

Exorcisms, demonism and paganism are on the rise in the USA, and most are totally unaware of this disturbing fact. Many engage in satanic activities, without realizing the dangers. The Telegraph published an article on September 26, 2016, reporting on these frightening developments in the USA. At the same time, Roman Catholic “exorcists” engage in equally objectionable conduct, based on wrong doctrines, ideologies and mysticism. This program shows you the deception and explains the biblical truth.

“Wie Man Gottes Heilige Feiertage Hält,” is the title of this coming Sabbath’s German sermon. It is based on the series of articles regarding the Sabbath which we published in our recent weekly Updates. Title in English: “How to Keep God’s Holy Days.”

“Gottes Feste dem Geiste nach,” is the title of the German sermon presented on the Feast of Trumpets. Title in English: “God’s Holy Days according to the Spirit.”

“Too Much Stuff,” the afternoon offertory for the Feast of Trumpets presented by Kalon Mitchell, is now posted. Here is a summary:

We live in a country that has been richly blessed over the last few decades. But as our riches have grown so has our attitude against obeying God as we have become a self-reliant people. What does God have to say on this subject? Should He be involved in how we live? What exactly is it that we are striving for?

“God’s Holy Days According to the Spirit,” the afternoon sermon for the Feast of Trumpets presented by Norbert Link, is now posted. Here is a summary:

The weekly Sabbath and the annual Holy Days are still to be observed today by true Christians, but they do so according to the Spirit, without applying the letter about sacrifices, washings and Jewish traditions. The shadow of temporary rituals is of symbolic significance for us today.

“God’s Protection,” the morning sermonette for the Feast of Trumpets presented by Eric Rank, is now posted. Here is a summary:

With so much trouble in the world today and in the future to come, mere thoughts of danger might invoke anxiety and inspire fear. However, God promises protection in the most dire of circumstances, but not to everyone. How can this divine protection from God be obtained?

“You Have Been Warned,” the morning sermon for the Feast of Trumpets presented by Dave Harris, is now posted. Here is a summary:

We grow use to warnings, and it is easy to think that they don’t really apply to us. That attitude becomes tragic when the warnings are from God—for His warnings are a matter of life and death!

“What do you Seek?,” the sermonette presented last Sabbath by Eric Rank, is now posted. Here is a summary:

If we want to find the answers that will lead us to eternal life, we need to ask the right questions. What are the kind of questions that Christians need to ask? How are we to respond once we learn the answers?  By actively seeking the will of God to be done, we will obtain the greatest gift ever offered to mankind.

“Desire Godly Vision,” the sermon presented last Sabbath by Robb Harris, is now posted. Here is a summary:

So much in this world clouds our vision to what is true and important. We can easily have our senses dulled, to the point of spiritual blindness—if we allow ourselves to seek after ungodly pursuits. We must strive to keep the beacon of God’s Truth ahead of us and guiding us always.

Here are the dates for the remaining 2016 Fall Holy Days:

October 12—Day of Atonement
October 17 through October 23—Feast of Tabernacles
October 24—Last Great Day

On October 1, 2016, Eric Rank will present the sermonette, titled, “What Do You Seek?”, and Robb Harris will present the sermon, titled, “Desire Godly Vision.”

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

The Feast of Trumpets will be observed on Monday, October 3, 2016. We will have live services at 10:00 am Pacific Time and at 2:00 pm Pacific Time.

In the morning, Eric Rank will present the sermonette, titled, “God’s Protection,” and the sermon will be presented by Dave Harris, titled, “You Have Been Warned”; In the afternoon, Kalon Mitchell will present the offertory, and Norbert Link will present the sermon, titled, “God’s Holy Days According to the Spirit.”

A campaign called, “National Back To Church Sunday,” was recently promoted in the U.S. with the goal of inviting people back to church again. Another appeal regularly seen in the media is, “attend the church of your choice.”

While some might respond to these slogans, their actions would not improve their relationship with God, for their whole premise is founded on falsehood (compare Matthew 7:21-23). For the people who have truly been called by God and then have engaged themselves in compromise, there is a much more definitive and somber rallying cry given to members of the Church of God.

Jude puts it this way:

“Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints” (verse 3).

Jude’s letter was written in the later decades of the first generation of the Church of God—a time of wholesale apostasy.

Jesus addressed those who had left their first love; who suffered great persecution; who embraced vile doctrines; who were letting the truth of God die; who had only a little strength; and who, filled with self-righteousness, had lost their zeal for obeying God. These warnings are found in Revelation, chapters 2 and 3, and all members of the Church of God are responsible to heed His admonitions.

Paul was inspired to address the way the truth of God would be rejected in our time—the “last days”:

“For the time will come when they will not endure SOUND DOCTRINE, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables” (2 Timothy 4:3-4).

Do you embrace sound doctrines which can be clearly proven from the Word of God? When you listen to sermonettes or sermons, read booklets and articles, fellowship with brethren—is it all based on the doctrines of truth, those only found in the Bible? Or do you harbor a private interpretation—a pet theory which the Church of God does not teach?

With this Update, we are presenting the fifth and final installment of a series, “How Are We to Keep the Sabbath?” Just as Jude did, so are we “exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.”

Knowledge of the weekly Sabbath and annual Holy Days must not be taken for granted—they ARE part of the faith. Keeping them as God has commanded IS sound doctrine, and if you aren’t, if you have become lax and permissive, don’t close your eyes and ears to God’s counsel:

“Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?–unless indeed you are disqualified” (2 Corinthians 13:5).

We begin with articles containing troublesome accusations against the FBI and the Justice Department pertaining to an alleged “cover-up” of Hillary Clinton’s email scandal; and we continue with the congressional override of President Obama’s vetoing a bill that allows families of 9-11 victims to sue the government of Saudi Arabia; and the President’s unwanted legacy of populism.

It was reported that Donald Trump (who might be of German descent) was the recipient of an “unexpected” honor from a “former” political rival and of “strong concerns” from one of the greatest Jewish veteran actors of our time. We also cover the reactions to the first presidential debate, declaring overwhelmingly that Hillary Clinton won against Donald Trump who rambled frequently and who gave embarrassing answers pertaining to the “birther” controversy. In this context, please view our StandingWatch program, “Trump’s Birther Movement—Why It Still Matters.” On the other hand, according to Forbes, Trump’s criticism of China was correct.

We address the frightening manifestations of paganism and demonic influence in the USA; address findings that divorce and mixed marriages are highly responsible for the lack of religion in children; speak on the ongoing deteriorating relationship between the German and Turkish governments; Italy’s vision of an EU Army; Russia’s military influence across Asia; the desire of the Philippines to have closer ties with Russia and China; erupting violence at the “tomb of Joseph”; the death of former Israeli President Shimon Peres, the last surviving founding father of the state of Israel; and new discoveries regarding Petra.

We conclude with a remarkable interview with a Dutch primatologist and ethologist, addressing animal behavior in the face of death and important distinctions between animals and humans.

“The FBI Investigation of EmailGate Was a Sham”

On September 25, The Observer published the following article by John Schindler, “a security expert and former National Security Agency analyst and counterintelligence officer. A specialist in espionage and terrorism, he’s also been a Navy officer and a War College professor”:

“From the moment the EmailGate scandal went public more than a year ago, it was obvious that the Federal Bureau of Investigation never had much enthusiasm for prosecuting Hillary Clinton or her friends. Under President Obama, the FBI grew so politicized that it became impossible for the Bureau to do its job – at least where high-ranking Democrats are concerned…

“Redacted FBI documents from that investigation… revealed that Hillary Clinton either willfully lied to the Bureau, repeatedly, about her email habits as secretary of state, or she is far too dumb to be our commander-in-chief. Worse, the FBI completely ignored the appearance of highly classified signals intelligence in Hillary’s email, including information lifted verbatim from above-Top Secret NSA reports back in 2011. This crime, representing the worst compromise of classified information in EmailGate – that the public knows of, at least – was somehow deemed so uninteresting that nobody at the FBI bothered to ask anybody on Team Clinton about it.

“This stunning omission appears highly curious to anybody versed in counterintelligence matters, not least since during Obama’s presidency, the FBI has prosecuted Americans for compromising information far less classified than what Clinton and her staff exposed on Hillary ‘unclassified’ email server of bathroom infamy.

“This week, however, we learned that there is actually no mystery at all here. The FBI was never able to get enough traction in its investigation of EmailGate to prosecute anybody since the Bureau had already granted immunity to key players in that scandal. Granting immunity is a standard practice in investigations, and is sometimes unavoidable. Giving a pass to Bryan Pagliano, Hillary’s IT guru who set up her email and server, made some sense since he understands what happened here, technically speaking, and otherwise is a small fish. The wisdom of giving him a pass now seems debatable, though, since Pagliano has twice refused to testify before Congress about his part in EmailGate, blowing off subpoenas. Just this week the House Oversight Committee recommended that Pagliano be cited for contempt of Congress for his repeated no-shows. That vote was on strictly partisan lines, with not a single Democrat on the committee finding Pagliano’s ignoring of Congressional subpoenas to be worthy of censure.

“Now it turns out the FBI granted immunity to much bigger fish in the Clinton political tank. Three more people got a pass from the Bureau in exchange for their cooperation: Hillary lawyer Heather Samuelson, State Department IT boss John Bental, and – by far the most consequential – Cheryl Mills…  Mills served as the State Department’s Chief of Staff and Counselor throughout Hillary’s tenure as our nation’s top diplomat. Granting her immunity in EmailGate, given her deep involvement in that scandal – including the destruction of tens of thousands of emails so they could not be handed over to the FBI – now seems curious, to say the least, particularly because Mills sat in on Hillary’s chat with the Bureau regarding EmailGate.

“This was in fact so highly irregular that Jason Chaffetz, chair of the House Oversight Committee, pronounced himself ‘absolutely stunned’ by the FBI’s granting of immunity to Cheryl Mills – which he learned of only on Friday… Not to mention that Mills has a longstanding and well-deserved reputation in Washington for helping the Clintons dodge investigation after investigation… ‘The whole thing stinks,’ explained a retired FBI senior official who professed dismay about the state of his former employer. ‘This was impossible in my time, unthinkable,’ he rued…

“How exactly Cheryl Mills got immunity, and what its terms were, is the long-awaited ‘smoking gun’ in EmailGate, the clear indication that, despite countless man-hours expended on the year-long investigation, James Comey and his FBI never had any intention of prosecuting Hillary Clinton – or anyone – for her mishandling of classified information as secretary of state. Why Comey decided to give Mills a get-out-of-jail-free card is something that needs proper investigation. This is raw, naked politics in all its ugly and cynical glory. Corruption is the tamest word to describe this sort of dirty backroom deal which makes average Americans despise politics and politicians altogether…

“Most intriguing… is the revelation that Hillary was communicating with President Obama via personal email, and he was using an alias. The alias he used with Hillary, and apparently others, was withheld by the FBI… What is odd… is the fact that Obama previously told the media that he only learned of Hillary’s irregular email and server arrangements from ‘news reports.’ How the president failed to notice that he was emailing his top diplomat at her personal, clintonmail.com address, not a state.gov account, particularly when they were discussing official business, is something Congress may want to find out – since certainly the FBI won’t…

“For Hillary Clinton, winning that election may be a legal necessity to protect her from prosecution. Congress, animated by these latest revelations of illegality and corruption, will now pursue her with vigor, while an FBI in the hands of Donald Trump seems likely to show an interest in EmailGate which the Bureau never possessed under President Obama…”

The following sentence demands repetition: “Corruption is the tamest word to describe this sort of dirty backroom deal which makes average Americans despise politics and politicians altogether.” And they have every right to do so.

“State Department Aided and Abetted Clinton Email Cover-Up”

Newsmax wrote on September 25:

“There was a cover-up when it came to Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server, and the State Department ‘aided and abetted that cover-up,’ Rep. Trey Gowdy, who chairs the House’s Select Committee on Benghazi, said Sunday. Gowdy said that arrangement went on to allow Clinton to keep her emails for two more years after she left office… ‘The Department of Justice gives out any immunity. The FBI doesn’t immunize anyone… Someone in the Department of Justice had to decide to pass out these immunity agreements…’

“Political commentator Charles Krauthammer… said he thinks Gowdy is ‘absolutely right’ with his claims… ‘All you had to do was issue a subpoena and since it came from the Department of Justice . . . it was understood from the beginning by the Department of Justice and the White House, the legacy of the president was going to hang on her winning reelection and that there was no way they were going to prosecute her.’”

President Obama Supports Saudi Arabia and Vetoes Bill

The Associated Press reported on September 23:

“President Barack Obama has vetoed a bill that would have allowed the families of 9/11 victims to sue the government of Saudi Arabia. The move sets Obama up for a possible first veto override by Congress. Both chambers passed the bill by voice vote. The House sent Obama the bill just before the 15th anniversary of the attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania on Sept. 11, 2001.

“Obama says the bill would ‘upset longstanding international principles regarding sovereign immunity.’ The bill would have given 9/11 families the right to sue in U.S. court for any role that elements of the Saudi government may have played in the attacks. Fifteen of the 19 men who carried out the attacks were Saudi nationals.”

Congress Overrides President Obama’s Veto

Newsmax reported on September 28:

“Republicans Wednesday cheered the congressional override of President Barack Obama’s veto of legislation that would allow families of Sept. 11 victims to sue Saudi Arabia over the attacks — with former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani congratulating legislators for ‘righting that terrible wrong.’ ‘President Obama’s veto of the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act was an insult to the families of those we lost on 9/11,’ Giuliani said… ‘The failure of Hillary Clinton’s running mate Tim Kaine, who was obviously afraid to show up to work today and stand with these Americans, is a disgrace… ‘I will never forget that tragic day, nor the thousands who were lost… ,’ said Giuliani, who governed the city during the attacks…

“Both the House and the Senate voted decisively to reverse Obama’s decision to scuttle the legislation, handing him the first override of his presidency. Democrats in both chambers abandoned President Obama and joined Republicans in large numbers despite warnings from the president and top national security officials that flaws in the bill could put U.S. interests, troops, and intelligence personnel at risk.

“The Senate vote was 97-1. The House vote a few hours later was 348-77. Lawmakers said their priority was the 9/11 victims and their families, not Saudi Arabia…”

Obama’s Legacy–Populism

The National wrote on September 22:

“In his final address to the United Nations, United States president Barack Obama warned the assembled leaders that the liberal world order was under threat from what he called ‘crude populism’. In words which could apply equally to Donald Trump, the Republican candidate to succeed him as president, and Russia’s Vladimir Putin. Mr Obama said that some were arguing that the future favours the strong man. ‘History shows that strong men are then left with two paths: permanent crackdown, which sparks strife at home, or scapegoating enemies abroad, which can lead to war.’

“In some ways Mr Obama is ending his two terms in the White House in the same way he began. He set out to open a new page in the Middle East, reversing the Bush era’s imperial expansion, and with a view to make peace with Iran and reset relations with Russia. So joyous was the mood in Europe at that time that the president was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on the basis of his fine words. He would be shocked to learn that the legacy of his administration may turn out to be something quite other than what he set out to do – the rise of populism around the world…

“In a forthcoming book, What Is Populism?, politics professor Jan-Werner Muller argues that not all attackers of the status quo are populists. Real populists are [those] who claim that they, and only they, represent the people… while their opponents are dupes or traitors, and the country is better off without them… This is not to say their arguments are without merit. The American political landscape is manipulated by huge corporations and wealthy individuals with vast lobbying power.

“Abroad, the ‘strong men’ denounced by Mr Obama are not doing too badly. Mr Putin has perfected what the Russians call the “political technologies” to stay in power and manage the challenges of low oil prices and sanctions far better than predicted. Hungary, where prime minister Victor Orban’s ‘Christian-national’ state is denounced in Brussels as a violation of European values, is the darling of the bond dealers.

“Populism stole up on the world during Obama’s presidency. It is not what he wanted… but that may be the legacy of his time in office.”

Trump Greatly Honored

Breitbart wrote on September 23:

“Donald Trump responded late Friday afternoon to the announcement that Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) said he would be voting for him. ‘I am greatly honored by the endorsement of Senator Cruz. We have fought the battle and he was a tough and brilliant opponent,’ Trump responded in a press release Friday afternoon. ‘I look forward to working with him for many years to come in order to make America great again.’

“After not endorsing Trump during his speech at the Republican National Convention, Cruz decided to announce he would be voting for the Republican nominee via Facebook on Friday. ‘After many months of careful consideration, of prayer and searching my own conscience, I have decided that on Election Day, I will vote for the Republican nominee, Donald Trump,’ Cruz wrote. ‘I’ve made this decision for two reasons,’ he continued. ‘First, last year, I promised to support the Republican nominee. And I intend to keep my word. Second, even though I have had areas of significant disagreement with our nominee, by any measure Hillary Clinton is wholly unacceptable…'”

Kirk Douglas Compares Donald Trump with Hitler

JTA wrote on September 21:

“Actor Kirk Douglas suggested he sees similarities between Donald Trump and Adolf Hitler, in an op-ed published months before his 100th birthday. ‘I have always been deeply proud to be an American. In the time I have left, I pray that will never change,’ Douglas wrote in the article… While not mentioning the Republican nominee by name, the Jewish actor quoted directly from a recent speech by Trump, in which he argued for ideological screening tests for potential immigrants. ‘These are not the American values that we fought in World War II to protect,’ Douglas wrote.

“The 99-year-old actor, who starred in countless Hollywood hits beginning in the 1940s, compared Trump’s policy proposals to those of Hitler, saying the Republican nominee’s words ‘could also have been spoken in 1933,’ the year the Nazi leader became Chancellor of Germany. ‘I’ve also lived through the horrors of a Great Depression and two World Wars, the second of which was started by a man who promised that he would restore his country… to its former greatness,’ Douglas wrote, drawing links to Trump’s slogan, ‘Make America Great Again.’

“In the op-ed, Douglas recalled the challenges his parents faced, when moving to the U.S. from Russia, as certain groups, including Jews, ‘felt the stigma of being treated as aliens, as foreigners who would never become “real Americans.”’”

Flashback – Donald Trump of German Descent?

Bustle wrote on February 29, 2016:

“… the Trump surname has actually quite a few branches throughout central and southern Germany…

“In fact, one such Drumpf named Hanns was a lawyer back in 1608… he lived in the village of Kallstadt during the Thirty Years’ War. The village was burned down about five times and 40 percent of the villagers were killed. One of his surviving descendants was a winegrower named John Philip Trump…

“Donald Trump’s own grandfather, Friedrich, had regained the last name Drumpf… altering it upon his relocation to the U.S. He entered in 1885 during the height of German-to-U.S. migration… He… eventually returned to Germany to get married. Though he later attempted to repatriate with his wife, Germany… accused him of dodging the draft, sending him back to the U.S. from whence he came…”

The First American Presidential Debate—Trump Lost, and Clinton Won

On September 28, Piers Morgan wrote the following for MailOnline:

“Hillary Clinton won. No ifs, no buts, she had the better of Donald Trump in last night’s eagerly awaited first presidential TV debate. Yes, I know most online polls had Trump winning, but to believe that is to look at a black sky and say the sun’s out. Clinton stayed cool, calm, collected and rode Trump’s aggression and bombast with skill and good humour… It was the best I’ve seen Clinton perform in any debate and a reminder that she remains a formidable candidate.

“By contrast I thought Trump, by his own debate standards, was disappointing…  For a man who has displayed a rare marketing genius in this race for hammering home simple, powerful messages, Trump’s rhetoric was oddly lacking in clarity. He let her off the hook about her biggest vulnerability – the email scandal. ‘I made a mistake,’ she said, trying to head it off at the get go. To which I expected Trump to reply, ‘No, you did it deliberately to conceal classified material from the American people’ and then go hard after her about the FBI’s damning verdict that she was ‘extremely careless.’ Instead, he rambled for a bit until the debate moved on…

“Incredibly, Trump never even mentioned Hillary’s recent disgraceful ‘basket of deplorables’ slur, the controversy-mired Clinton Foundation, the Benghazi terror attack or her lucrative ties to Wall Street. All of which have been hugely popular themes at his stump rallies and would have been easy home runs for him both with the audience in the room and the tens of millions watching at home.

“It wasn’t all bad for Trump by any means. He was strong in the first half hour, especially on the economy where he won the argument with Clinton.

“… overall Trump did a perfectly competent if not compelling job. He got through the 90 minutes without making a serious gaffe. He demonstrably wasn’t the hideous Hitler-like monster as many in the media have absurdly been trying to caricature him in recent weeks. Clinton, for all her artful jabbing and ducking, never landed a killer KO punch that might have depth-charged his whole campaign. There was no smoking factual gun, no ferociously sweaty Nixon-esque face, no ‘You’re no Jack Kennedy’ zinger to change the whole complexion of the race. Trump can therefore dust himself down, comforted by the knowledge that he got beaten on points not had his lights turned out.

“I suspect he will be very different at the second debate in ten days-time. More direct, more brutal, more effective… There’s plenty of time for him to sort himself out and work out a new game plan to take Hillary down in the next two match ups… But this will have been a big wake-up call for him. Trump doesn’t like losing. Which is why even when he loses, like last night, he defiantly pretends he hasn’t.

“Hillary and Bill are two of the most experienced political bruisers in America and for them both, this presidential race is the final ride at the biggest of all rodeos. I doubt Trump will lose any support after this debate, but I doubt he’ll gain much from the large group of undecideds either…

‘What we didn’t see last night is how Hillary would react to proper punches landing about issues where she has real vulnerability – delivered with surgical precision by a candidate who has spent the past 16 months knocking opponents over like Mike Tyson in a sparring session. As you always told me on Celebrity Apprentice, Mr Trump: ‘Go hard, or go home.’”

One of the most embarrassing moments for Trump was when he rambled regarding the highly controversial wording of the moderator’s question pertaining to the “birther movement” and his support of the “lie” that Mr. Obama was not born in the USA. He gave NO plausible answer for his “sudden change of heart,” and that was such a pitiful performance.

German Press: Trump Lost

Deutsche Welle wrote on September 27:

“The first Hillary Clinton-Donald Trump debate attracted major attention in the German media. And commentators were nearly unanimous in concluding that the Democrat came out on top. The headline in the news magazine ‘Der Spiegel’ could hardly have been less ambiguous. ‘Hillary Clinton gives Donald Trump a clinic,’ wrote the editors…

“The headline in the ‘Süddeutsche Zeitung’ newspaper was equally sarcastic: ‘The bar was set low, but Trump knocked it down…  the Republican definitely had his worst debate performance of the entire election season while the Democrat had perhaps the best one of her entire career.’…

“‘At times, Trump seemed liked a badly raised child,’ wrote the ‘Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung’ (FAZ) newspaper…

“The vast majority of Germans and German journalists would prefer to see a Clinton rather than a Trump presidency, and there was an unmistakable note of schadenfreude at Trump’s perceived poor performance… the FAZ wrote [:] ‘After this encounter, the Clinton campaign should pick up speed. All the way to the White House? The United States’ allies and partners around the world surely would have no complaints, if that were the case.’”

How Trump Became “the Winner”

Deutsche Welle wrote on September 27:

“Trump has said he won the first presidential debate after a number of online polls determined him the winner. But, as DW’s Social Media team found out, most voters were strident Trump supporters. After a record 80 million people tuned in to watch the first presidential debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, the general verdict was that Clinton came out on top. A CNN/ORC snap poll showed that 62 percent of respondents declared Clinton the winner, against 27 percent for Trump. This was the only poll that gathered a sample of respondents that was representative of the American public…

“Meanwhile, in numerous polls conducted on social media by news organizations, including Deutsche Welle, Trump came out the outright victor. Other news organizations, such as CNBC, Time magazine and ABC News, also saw similar results on their social media polls. Deutsche Welle’s Social Media team investigated who was voting in the polls and found that an overwhelming number were stringent Trump supporters. Such online polls are completely open to anyone and, unlike scientifically conducted polls, do not seek a representative sample of respondents.

“As it turned out, Trump supporters jumped on to these online polls and voted in droves after pro-Trump groups on online community websites such as Reddit and 4chan posted links to around 70 different online polls… Trump shared the results across his social media feeds. The former real estate mogul also told Fox News on Tuesday morning, ‘I won every single poll other than CNN, and not many people are watching CNN.’…

“DW’s Carl Nasman told DW News that these results matter, ‘because the average social media user doesn’t know that these polls are not scientific and might confuse them for something that is conducted in a scientific manner.’”

Trump Is Right on China

Forbes wrote on September 27:

“Everyone knows the U.S. has lost jobs to China. Everyone knows China has become the world’s manufacturer. But not everyone knows how they did it… China’s biggest and most effective tool is and always has been its currency. China ascended to the second largest economy in the world over the past two decades by massively devaluing its currency… China trashed its currency for economic advantage—and it worked, big time. And it worked because the rest of the world stood by and let it happen.

“For the next decade, the Chinese pegged its currency against the dollar at 8.29 yuan per dollar (a dollar buys 8.29 yuan). With the massive devaluation of the 1980s into the early 1990s, and then the peg through 2005, the Chinese economy exploded in size. It enabled China to corner the world’s export market, and suck jobs and foreign currency out of the developed world. This is precisely what Donald Trump is alluding to when he says ‘China is stealing from us.’

“China’s economy went from $350 billion to $3.5 trillion through 2005… And because they’ve undercut the world on price, they’ve become the world’s Wal-Mart (sellers to everyone) and have accumulated a mountain for foreign currency as a result. China is the holder of the largest foreign currency reserves in the world, at more than $3 trillion dollars (mostly U.S. dollars). What do they do with those dollars? They buy U.S. Treasuries, keeping rates low, so that U.S. consumers can borrow cheap and buy more of their goods—adding to their mountain of currency reserves, adding to their wealth and depleting the U.S. of wealth (and the cycle continues).

“… the Chinese economy has ascended to the second largest economy in the world now—on pace to the biggest soon… China’s currency is a bigger threat, at this stage, than just the emergence of China as an economic power… The current global imbalances are the underlying cause of the global financial crisis, and China’s currency is at the heart of it… Historically that’s a recipe for disaster, economically and geopolitically.”

Exorcism and Paganism in the USA

The Telegraph wrote on September 26:

“Pope Francis… appears to have no problem reminding Catholics that ‘Satan is real’… In the US, over the last decade, television shows depicting reported paranormal events and possession as well as books and films about exorcism and the supernatural have proliferated in the cultural mainstream… ‘Reliance on pagan activities can create a situation in which evil is invited in,’ observes [a Catholic “exorcist”].  In his experience, the most common occult activity is using a Ouija board to summon the dead… ‘evil can be invited in directly or indirectly. A lot of people have contacted me and said something like, “We were playing with a Ouija board and all of a sudden our friend starting speaking in this crazy language that we didn’t understand. And strange things started happening – things moving in the house.”’

“Other pagan activities could include séances, and mediums; reading Tarot cards; casting spells and curses through witches and warlocks, and worshipping Satan and other demons. [Some believe] that such activities are in full force in the US.”

However, the “exorcisms” practiced by the Roman Catholic Church must be rejected. Some of the reasons for this rejection are stated in the article:

“In [a Catholic exorcist’s experience], a possessed person always has a tribe of demons, not just one. And sometimes not just demons but the disembodied spirits of dead human souls are attached to the afflicted person as well. Dead souls will always reveal their names when asked and that is one way to differentiate them from demons… the reaction of a disembodied spirit and the reaction of a demon are very different most of the time… ‘Most of the time a demon’s goal is to take the person to Hell that they are attached to. The demon wants the person to commit suicide. In the case of demonic possession, a suicide would be viewed as a state of diminished capacity under Church doctrine.’ The Rite is conducted in Latin, the most hated language to demons… the exorcism process takes a minimum of six months… One of [this particular exorcist’s] most difficult cases was a man who had been the subject of multiple curses and occult activity while he was still in the womb. According to Church doctrine, until a person reaches the age of seven, he cannot exercise free will.”

All of this [including the false concept of “dead souls”; “hell”; the length of time for “exorcisms”; demon possession in the mother’s womb; no free will by a person under seven, etc. etc.] is totally contradicted by the Bible. For more information, please read our free booklets, “Angels, Demons and the Spirit World” and “The Mysteries of the Book of Revelation.”

Fox 12 Oregon reported on September 27:

“… a local satanic group just got the go-ahead to hold an after-school program at Sacramento Elementary School in the Parkrose School District. Organizers say their goal isn’t to encourage devil worship, but to offer children an alternative to a Christian group that also meets there.”

Divorce and Mixed Marriages Highly Responsible for Lack of Religion

The Washington Post wrote on September 27:

“Two widely recognized trends in American society might have something to do with each other. Divorce rates climbed to the highest levels ever in the 1980s, when about half of all marriages ended in divorce. And in the present day, Americans are rapidly becoming less religious. Since 1972, the share of Americans who say they do not adhere to any particular religion has increased from 5 percent of the population to 25 percent.

“Could those two trends be related? A new study from the Public Religion Research Institute says yes. The children of divorced parents have grown up to be adults of no religion. People whose parents divorced when they were children are significantly more likely to grow up not to be religious as adults, the study found. Thirty-five percent of the children of divorced parents told pollsters they are now nonreligious, compared with 23 percent of people whose parents were married when they were children…

“Andrew Root, a professor at Luther Seminary… was not surprised to hear about the study’s findings… Root said churches are not doing enough to speak directly to the concerns of children in those situations, so the kids lose faith in the ability of the church to help them. He said that when the divorce rate climbed in the 1980s, many members of the clergy, especially mainline Protestant pastors, stopped speaking out against divorce so as not to alienate struggling congregants…

“The new study, which asked many questions about nonreligious Americans’ beliefs about faith, touched on other consequences of parents’ marriages as well. It showed, as other research has demonstrated, that children raised by parents who have two different religions, grow up more likely to have no religion at all.”

Germany Sues Turkey

The Washington Post wrote on September 26:

“German state-funded broadcaster Deutsche Welle has filed a lawsuit against the Turkish Ministry of Youth and Sports in a development that could have wider implications for relations between the two countries. DW announced Monday that it had taken the decision after a videotaped interview it conducted with Turkish Sports Minister Akif Cagatay Kilic on Sept. 5 was allegedly confiscated by Turkish authorities the same day. Turkey first denied those allegations. But DW stuck to its claims and gave the ministry repeated deadlines to hand over the material before it took legal steps Monday.

“According to DW, its host discussed issues, such as the recent coup attempt, ‘press freedom and the status of women.’ Turkish officials insisted that the footage should not be aired, before confiscating the tapes, the German channel said…

“The German government has backed the efforts undertaken by its international broadcaster to get back its footage… Relations among Turkey and European countries, including Germany, are increasingly strained. Turkey complains that Europe has not made a significant effort to condemn the July coup attempt, and has protested being tasked with absorbing Syrian refugees without being granted the concessions it had hoped for from the European Union…

“Germany is a particular case, nonetheless: About 3 million Turkish immigrants live in the country. Half hold Turkish citizenship and are allowed to vote in Turkish elections. Turkish citizens living in Germany voted overwhelmingly for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Justice and Development (AKP) party in elections last year. The importance of Erdogan’s AKP to Turkish immigrants living in Germany has worried politicians in Europe’s economic powerhouse. German authorities have noticed a rise in violent clashes between Turkish AKP supporters living in Germany and Kurdish immigrants or members of the Gulen movement — tensions that have mainly spilled over from Turkey, officials said. Erdogan has publicly accused the Gulen movement (named after self-exiled, U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen) of organizing the July coup attempt and has arrested thousands of its alleged members in Turkey.

“Turkish citizens started arriving in Germany as “guest workers” at the beginning of the 1960s. Originally invited with the goal of filling job vacancies, many of them never returned to their country of origin. Tensions became particularly apparent in June, when the German Parliament recognized the Armenian ‘genocide’ — a decision that resulted in Turkey’s withdrawing its ambassador to Germany. Other nations have also described the massacre of 1 million to 1.5 million Armenians living in the Ottoman Empire in 1915 as a genocide, but none of them are home to such a significant Turkish minority as Germany…”

Even though Turkey will collaborate with the EU over issues pertaining to the future rejection of the USA and the state of Israel, it is highly unlikely that Turkey will ever become a member of the EU.

“Italy Lays out ‘Vision’ of EU Army”

The EUObserver wrote on September 26:

“Italy has laid out plans for the creation of a ‘European force’ that goes beyond Franco-German proposals on defence integration.  It said in an informal paper… that the EU should create a ‘powerful and usable European Force that can also be employed in support to Nato or UN operations’”.

Russia’s Growing Influence Across Asia

Express wrote on September 26:

“Russia has sent a chilling warning to the West that its influence is spreading across Asia with the announcement of a two-week military drill with Pakistan. For the first time in modern history the two Cold War enemies will be conducting training exercises together… The exercise will take place in a mountainous area in the eastern Punjab province of Pakistan, intended to demonstrate to the world the shifting alliances in South Asia and the resurgence of Russian influence in the region. The exercise also sends a message of defiance to America, which has also seen relations with Pakistan cool over recent years… last year Pakistan bought four Mi-35 attack helicopters from Russia in the first military deal of its kind between them…

“The military exercise comes as troops in Russia’s far east performed a test launch of the Iskander-M missile system. The weapon, a mobile ballistic missile system, is designed to hit targets on the ground targets at from more than 300 miles away… [it] could hit targets as far away as eastern Germany, the entire Baltic region and Poland, as well as parts of Sweden. But experts say the targets it will cover can be struck by longer-range Russian missiles anyway.

“Relations between Russia and the West have plunged to their lowest point since the Cold War in recent months. Both sides have ramped up their defence spending, missile programmes and defensive shields as Europe enters what many observers believe is a new Cold War.”

Philippines Wants Closer Ties with Russia and China

Flipborad.com wrote on September 25:

“Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said Monday that he’s interested in offering trade alliances and long-term land leases to China and Russia. Duterte said he realized he’d be ‘crossing the Rubicon’ with the U.S., his country’s close ally and former colonial ruler. ‘I am not really going to break ties’ with the U.S., Duterte said, but he indicated he’d be willing to forge closer economic relationships with the other side of ‘the ideological barrier.’

“The Associated Press reports that Duterte would be offering countries in China and Russia the ability to lease land in the Philippines for more than a century. Duterte told reporters that he would be traveling to China soon and would meet with President Xi Jinping. He also said he’d already opened up a conversation with Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, speaking with him during a summit in Laos earlier this month…

“Asked by a reporter what he meant by crossing the Rubicon, he said it was ‘a point of no return.’ He said the problem was that the Philippines’ mutual defense treaty with the U.S. does not guarantee that Washington will come to the Philippines’ defense if it is attacked because the U.S. president would need the approval of Congress…

“The U.S. and its former colony have a long and complicated relationship. The U.S. recognized the Philippines’ independence and established diplomatic ties in 1946, and both nations signed a mutual defense treaty in 1951. The U.S. has traditionally been the Philippines’ largest foreign investor. For decades, the U.S. maintained large military bases there, but amid growing anti-American sentiment, the Philippines voted to push the U.S. bases out in the early ’90s.

“More recently, the U.S. military presence in the Philippines has grown again — although permanent bases have not returned — as some Filipino leaders have grown increasingly wary about the conflict over the South China Sea. But since Duterte took office this summer, he has called for the withdrawal of U.S. military advisers and said the Philippines will no longer conduct joint patrols with the U.S. Navy. He has also insulted President Obama and the U.S. ambassador in Manila.

“Duterte has prompted international criticism for pursuing a harsh crackdown on the drug trade in the Philippines, one that has left thousands of people dead. Some of Duterte’s headline-grabbing insults have been defiant reactions to criticism — real or hypothetical — over an initiative that many say violates human rights. But as Michael Sullivan recently reported for NPR, the president and his bloody war on drugs remain popular within the Philippines.”

Violence at Joseph’s Tomb

JTA wrote on September 22:

“Rioting Palestinians attacked Israeli soldiers and worshippers visiting Joseph’s Tomb in Nablus in the West Bank… The Palestinians threw rocks and firebombs at the soldiers guarding the [700] worshippers, as well as at the tomb… No damage or injuries were reported…

“The tomb is located in an area of the West Bank that is under the exclusive military and civilian control of the Palestinian Authority. On Sept. 1, an Israeli soldier was shot by live fire that came from the nearby Balata refugee camp while protecting worshippers at the site.

“Joseph’s Tomb is also holy to Muslims and Christians. Israeli Jews must receive permission to visit the purported burial place of the Jewish patriarch; the visits must be coordinated with the Israel Defense Forces. Under the 1993 Oslo Accords, the site was to remain under Israeli control, but the Israeli army evacuated the premises in October 2000 during the second intifada and the tomb was burnt down by Palestinians. It was renovated and restored, but then torched and vandalized again last October. Jewish worshippers… make monthly nocturnal pilgrimages to the refurbished site.”

“Former Israeli President Shimon Peres Dies”

Deutsche Welle wrote on September 28:

“World leaders are paying tribute to the former Israeli president and prime minister, who has died at the age of 93 after suffering a stroke two weeks ago. He was the last surviving founding father of the state of Israel… Peres’ body will lie in state at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, on Thursday before a state funeral in Jerusalem on Friday. Pope Francis, US President Barack Obama, and Prince Charles are among the dozens of foreign dignitaries expected to attend…

“Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed ‘deep personal sadness,’ calling Peres a ‘man of vision.’ German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier paid tribute to Peres as an architect of the ‘unique friendship between Israel and Germany’ after World War II…

“Born in Poland in 1923, Peres emigrated to what was then British-mandated Palestine when he was 11. He served as prime minister for eight months after the assassination of Premier Yitzhak Rabin in 1995 and also for a brief term between 1984 and 1986… He later was elected Israel’s ninth president, serving between 2007 and 2014.

“Together with Yasser Arafat and Yitzhak Rabin, Shimon Peres was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1994 ‘for their efforts to create peace in the Middle East’ after signing the 1993 interim Oslo peace accords, which envisioned an independent Palestinian state.”

New Discoveries About Petra

Haaretz reported on September 25:

“Recent excavations at Petra have revealed a startlingly advanced irrigation system and water storage system that enabled the desert city’s people to survive – and to maintain a magnificent garden featuring fountains, ponds and a huge swimming pool…

“Petra is perhaps best known for its sandstone canyon that leads directly to Al Khazneh, The Treasury, seen in the climax to ‘Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade’ where the hero archaeologists, played by Harrison Ford and Sean Connery, ride out of the canyon and into the Treasury in their quest for the Holy Grail.

“However, 2,000 years ago, Petra was renowned for completely different reasons. It was one of the most famous water stops in the Middle East, where camel caravan routes linked distant cities. Now archaeologists are discovering the Nabataean capital, situated in the southwestern deserts of Jordan, once was adorned with an exquisite, artificially irrigated garden. It featured paths likely shaded by vines, trees and date palms, and grasses, which were cultivated next to a huge, 44-meter wide swimming pool…

“The intricate system of channels, ceramic pipelines, underground cisterns and water tanks, which also filtered the water, allowed the people of Petra to cultivate crops, harvest fruit, produce wine and olive oil as well as build a lavish garden with a monumental open air pool in the middle of the desert…

“The gardens were practically a miracle. Petra only gets 10 to 15 centimeters of rain a year (now in the era of climate change, it may get even less). That’s just 4 to 6 inches. Without developing techniques to channel, purify and even pressurize and store water, Petra could not have existed. As was done in Jerusalem too, for instance, the people of Petra carved out channels, reservoirs, and cisterns from the solid rock, even ‘tanks’ that purified water. Practically every drop of rain that fell around Petra was collected and conserved, and springs were channeled to pipes that emptied into literally hundreds of cisterns carved underground, ensuring a reliable supply of drinking and bathing water in the heart of the desert, regardless of the season…

“The citizens of Petra not only knew how to work with water, they were also masters at masonry. The very name Petra, which means ‘Mass of Rock,’ summons up visions of stone. And Petra was indeed a city of stone, unlike any other in the Roman world. The Nabataeans painstakingly carved their houses, tombs, and temples out of the solid rock. The red sandstone mountains in which Petra was nestled were perfectly suited for this, and by the first century C.E., a monumental city had arisen in the middle of the desert.

“Perhaps the most visually stunning testimony of the Nabatean mastery over stone is the Treasury, an imposing structure carved out of a massive cliff. The structure was named after the huge stone urn that crowns the building and that supposedly stored gold and precious stones. The urn is actually made out of solid stone. However, whatever Steven Spielberg imagined, the structure does not lead into a deep labyrinth that hides the Holy Grail. Instead the Treasury holds a relatively small hall once used as a royal tomb…”

Do Animals Mourn Their Dead?

On September 21, Deutsche Welle published an article with the following introduction:

“Whales, chimps, dogs – animals seem to suffer when they lose a beloved companion or offspring. Do animals understand death, and do they grieve like humans? Or are we just projecting our understanding on their behavior?”

Deutsche Welle continued by publishing an interview with “Frans de Waal, a Dutch primatologist and ethologist. He is professor of Primate Behavior in the Emory University psychology department in Atlanta, US, and director of the Living Links Center at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center. He works mostly with chimpanzees and bonobos and is author of several books including ‘Chimpanzee Politics’ and ‘Our Inner Ape.’”

We are bringing you the following excerpts from Professor de Waal’s statements:

“Typical grieving happens with mothers and offspring in mammals. Usually, you find grieving with animals who have individual attachments… All mammals have these bonds to some degree, all birds as well, as birds are very often pair-bonded. If the partner dies, they are very affected by it… There was the dog Hachiko in Tokyo in Japan. After his boss died, the dog came to the train with which he normally arrived – for about 10 years. Whenever you have attachments, be it between a dog and a human or a cat and a human, you can have grieving…

“‘Mourn like humans do’ is a big statement. They are distressed. With primates like chimpanzees, it is not unusual that if one of the primates in a group dies the others stop eating for a couple of days. They become completely silent, they stare at the body for a long time, they try to revive the body… If it is a very important partner like your best friend or your offspring then it can last much longer, it may last for years. I knew a female who lost an offspring and for months was sort of crying about it. It has a very long-term effect…

“With primates we often have the impression that they specifically remember the individual… The one thing about death that primates certainly understand is the permanency. That once an individual is dead, they don’t move anymore, they’re dead…

“Some bonobos found a very dangerous snake in the forest and were very scared of it, poking it with sticks. At some point, the alpha female, which is dominant over the male, took the snake by the tail, hit it against the ground and killed it. From that moment on, the young bonobos picked up the snake, hung it around their necks, walked around with [it] and started to play with it. That indicates that they know that it’s a dangerous animal that you should be very careful of – but once it is dead, you can play with it…

“Some birds who mate for life sometimes even stop eating and die if their partner dies. This is true for geese but also for many songbirds, they have long-term bonds… I would say [the same about] elephants, because they go back to the bones of the ones that they have lost. If an elephant dies… the other elephants inspect the bones of the dead elephant if they can find them. I’m not sure, though, if anyone has done research on whether the elephants return just to any bones or bones of specific individuals that they have known… They go back to the bones, a bit like us going to a graveyard.

When asked, “Do some animals also bury their dead by digging a grave?”, he answered:

“No, they don’t dig a grave. It is possible that they throw stuff over their dead in order to cover the body. That appears to be like an anti-predator defense, in a sense that a smelling body would attract predators and scavengers. But I don’t know if they do that systematically.”

When asked, “Digging a grave is a typically human thing then?,” he answered:

“Yes, that’s for sure.”

These statements are in agreement with our teaching in our free booklet, “Heavens and Earth… Before and After the First Man!”

In the first four installments of this series, we addressed questions related to God’s command not to do “work” on the Sabbath; not to pursue our own “pleasure”; not to engage in “business”; whether it is permissible to eat out in a restaurant on the Sabbath; and attendance of and proper appearance in our Church worship services. In this final installment, we will address proper conduct during our Church services.

We need to understand that God has given His Church the responsibility to teach His law, including proper conduct during Sabbath services. In 1 Timothy 3:15, Paul tells Timothy: “I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground (or foundation) of the truth.” We are not to “despise the church of God” through improper conduct (compare 1 Corinthians 11:22).

God expects of members and attendees to KNOW how to conduct themselves in Church services, which are sacred convocations or assemblies, and to realize that God is to be “greatly feared,” respected, hallowed and “to be held in reverence” “in the assembly of the saints” (Psalm 89:7).

It should go without saying that we are not to come to services “drunk” (compare 1 Corinthians 11:21); nor should we even think of taking a break during services “for a cigarette.” But although we may not get drunk or smoke just before or during Sabbath services, if we have done so the night before, this will become obvious to the entire congregation (the smell of smoky garments cannot be hidden, nor the face of a person recovering from drunkenness). Even apart from Church services, getting drunk or smoking is sinful behavior and must be overcome. This means, we must work on getting rid of sin in our lives. Even if we appear properly dressed in Sabbath services, God will still not accept us if we show Him throughout the week that we are not serious about overcoming our sins and living His Way of Life (compare Isaiah 1:12, 16).

Paul had to deal with a terrible situation in the Corinthian Church, when he chided the members as follows: “I do not praise you, since you come together not for the better but for the worse. For first of all, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you…” (1 Corinthians 11:17-18). It is critical that Church members, who assemble on the Sabbath, do not have any unresolved problems between them.

In a Q&A on proper appearance and conduct in our worship services, we stated the following:

“It is critically important to understand that we appear in front of God during the entirety of our worship service; and this means that every aspect of the service is to reflect our worship of God. This is true whether we are attending together with our brethren in a Church hall, or whether we are, due to necessity, listening in to live Church services from our homes. This means we stand up respectfully and humbly when participating in the opening or closing prayer, and we stand up and participate joyfully in the singing of the congregational hymns [in the Church hall AND at home].

“We concentrate on and listen carefully to the messages (including the announcements, as well as the sermonette and sermon). It is understood, of course, that parents will have to take care of their babies and young children, which might even require at times to take them out of the Church hall, when they get too loud and disturb others. But apart from these sometimes inevitable distractions, there is no excuse for not paying close and undivided attention to services. It would be highly inappropriate to engage in jokes or unnecessary conversation during services (except for unavoidable situations, such as when our technical staff may at times have to communicate with each other to make sure that the services are being properly broadcast, etc.). It would also be offensive to God if someone were to get up during services (whether in a Church hall or at home) [to engage in unnecessary conduct]…

“In services, most of us do not have many opportunities to audibly participate, except for saying ‘Amen’ to the opening and closing prayers, after having listened carefully and attentively to every word of the prayers, and for singing joyfully during the song service. We cannot overemphasize the importance of participation in the song service with all of our heart, concentrating on each word which we are singing, and agreeing with it completely, knowing that we are not doing so to impress others, but because we are worshipping God when we sing out loud [compare Psalm 26:12; 149:1].

“Church services ARE FORMAL WORSHIP services, in dedication to God and in fellowship with His holy people, and all of us must always keep this in mind throughout the entirety of the service…”

As mentioned, these statements also apply when we are participating in live services over the Internet. Even though we might be in the privacy of our homes, we should not think that we can therefore dishonor the sacred nature of services by “doing our own thing.” While no other human being might see us, God does, and He evaluates us as to how sincere and committed we are to Him and the holiness of His Sabbath days. In fact, when we attend Sabbath services, either in person or via the Internet, we are appearing before God and His heavenly throne and majestic surroundings, as we read in Hebrews 12:18-24. The New International Version renders verse 23: “You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly.” The Living Bible speaks of “the gathering of countless happy angels”; the New American Bible refers to the angels “in festal gathering”; and the New Jerusalem Bible states that angels “have gathered for the festival.”

1 Peter 1:10-12 states that angels “desire to look into” the things which are revealed to the Church of God; and Ephesians 3:8-10 adds that God reveals the truth to His Church, which proclaims it, including in Sabbath services, to angels and humans. God and His angels observe whether we eagerly and regularly attend Church services; whether we listen diligently and attentively to the messages and the prayers; and whether we participate whole-heartedly in the song service (perhaps even conducting at times special music).

These principles apply to our children and teens as well. When they are old enough, they should listen to the messages, and their parents should also teach them at home about God’s Way of Life (Deuteronomy 6:6-7; 32:46). Jesus was 12 years old when He was in the Temple, “listening to [the teachers] and asking them questions,” so that all “were astonished at His understanding and answers” (Luke 2:46-47). Our children and teens should be willing to listen and to learn (Proverbs 4:1-4; 5:7-14). They should rise up for (and, if possible, participate in) the song service and they should stand and listen to the opening and closing prayers (unless for little children who might be sleeping during services).

Our children and teens should not be doing school work or reading books or comics during Sabbath services, nor should they entertain themselves with video games during services. If they are old enough to read books, then they are also old enough to listen to the messages (they might even be old enough to read the Scriptures in their own Bibles together with the ministers who might read them from the pulpit).

Parents ought to supervise their children before, during and after services. Generally, our children should be sitting together with their parents. If, on occasion, they may want to sit together with another child, then at least one parent should be sitting with them; children should not be sitting together by themselves. They should also be responsible enough, if they have to go to the restroom during services, to immediately return to services; otherwise, a parent should accompany the child to and from the restroom. When the Church meets in a hotel, it is very important that children are not left to themselves before and after services (compare Proverbs 29:15), as disturbing or loud conduct and running in the hall ways of the hotel could even cause the Church to lose the opportunity of renting at the facility; in any event, it would not give a good impression to others when our children were to behave improperly.

At the same time, we must not forget that the Sabbath and the annual Holy Days are FEAST Days, as we explain in our free booklet, “God’s Commanded Holy Days.” We point out that Paul essentially told the members in Colossians 2:16-17: “Let no one judge you for keeping the Sabbath or the Holy Days with eating and drinking, rather than fasting, but let the Church determine or resolve this.”

Paul made clear that the Church is to resolve, settle or decide in what way we are to observe the Sabbath, which would also include our conduct during Sabbath services. Church members should not listen to those outside the Church or to attendees with different and strange ideas; nor should they devise their own concepts as to how to keep the Sabbath and how to observe Church services. Rather, they should listen to the Church leadership for the explanation and resolution of these questions, including administrative decisions in “gray” areas which may need clarification.

In conclusion, it is very important to God THAT and HOW we appear before Him in Sabbath services (that is, with clean garments AND clean hearts); and HOW we behave in God’s sacred assemblies—understanding how to conduct ourselves in the house of God.

Lead Writer: Norbert Link

For your reference, here is a listing of the five Q&A’s dealing with observing the Sabbath and Holy Days:

How Are We to Keep the Sabbath? (Part 1: Working, Business and Pursuing Our Own Pleasures on the Sabbath?)

How Are We to Keep the Sabbath? (Part 2: Dining at a Restaurant on the Sabbath?)

How Are We to Keep the Sabbath? (Part 3: God’s Teaching on Church Attendance)

How Are We to Keep the Sabbath? (Part 4: Guidelines for Proper Appearance in our Worship Services)

How Are We to Keep the Sabbath? (Part 5: Proper Conduct During Church Services)

“Trump’s Birther Movement–Why It Still Matters!,” is the title of a new StandingWatch program, presented by Evangelist Norbert Link. Here is a summary:

After years of criticism, Donald Trump stated last week, without any explanation, that President Barack Obama was born in the United States. Subsequently, he seemed to reverse that statement. Serious doubts remain, and the issue is far from resolved. Why does it matter? What is the assessment of many legal scholars IF it should be shown that Mr. Obama was not born in Hawaii?

“In der Welt Habt Ihr Angst,” is the title of this Sabbath’s German sermon. Title in English: “In the World You Have Anguish.”

“Gottes Feste dem Geiste nach,” is the title of the German sermon for the Feast of Trumpets. Title in English: “God’s Holy Days According to the Spirit.”

A new German member letter by Norbert Link was sent out this week via email, comparing the horrible situation in the world with the peaceful time of the Millennium, and encouraging our members and co-workers to prepare for the annual Holy Days.

“Let Us Make Man in Our Image,” the title of last Sabbath’s sermonette presented by Norbert Link, is now posted. Here is a summary:

Why did God create man? Why did He create man in His image, according to His likeness? Who and what is God? Why are we called God’s children? What is the Kingdom of God, and how can we enter it?

“Fight Our Fears,” the title of last Sabbath’s sermon presented by Michael Link, is now posted. Here is a summary:

There are many different types of fear that people all over the world suffer from. Do we have a fear and is there anything that we fear in particular? Do we fear God and how do we fear Him? There are examples in the Bible of those who had fear but how were they able to overcome it?

Here are the dates for the 2016 Fall Holy Days:

October 3—Feast of Trumpets
October 12—Day of Atonement
October 17 through October 23—Feast of Tabernacles
October 24—Last Great Day