On September 17, 2016, Norbert Link will present the sermonette, titled, “Angels Among Us?,” and Kalon Mitchell will present the sermon, titled, “Knowledge and Wisdom.”
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.
A highly controversial and speculative piece about the alleged “inside job” of the September 11 attack was published in the respected scientific magazine, “Europhysics News,” Volume 47, Number 4, July-August 2016, which was authored by four writers. The Editors noted the following: “This feature is somewhat different from our usual purely scientific articles, in that it contains some speculation. However, given the timing and the importance of the issue, we consider that this feature is sufficiently technical and interesting to merit publication for our readers. Obviously, the content of this article is the responsibility of the authors.”
These authors included Steven Jones, a “former full professor of physics at Brigham Young University.” (According to Der Stern, dated September 9, 2016, this Mormon university dismissed him in 2006 when he began to propagate the 9-11 conspiracy theory). Another author was (retired) Robert Korol, “a professor emeritus of civil engineering at McMaster University in Ontario, Canada”; Anthony Szamboti, “a mechanical design engineer,” and Ted Walter “who holds a Master of Public Policy degree from the University of California, Berkeley” (compare Europhysics News’ annotation.)
The article caught attention in obscure pseudo-scientific and occult publications, but also in the German magazine “Der Stern” (as mentioned above). However, that magazine made it clear that the article presented nothing new and that it was just a repetition of the old conspiracy concepts (especially the so-called “False Flag Theory,” according to which the attack was “instigated” to justify military intervention in the Middle East.)
On the other hand, the idea of an “inside job” continues to be believed in by many people, including by at least more than 30% of Germans.
Die Welt ran an article on September 9, discussing the many aspects of the conspiracy theory and concluded that “doubts in the official explanation are groundless.”
On September 7, Esquire published a convincing article with the headline, “Disproving 9 of the Biggest 9/11 Conspiracy Theories.” In the article, it was stated:
“There are still plenty of 9/11 conspiracy theorists, and no matter what you tell them, they will tell you the attacks on September 11, 2001 did not happen the way our government or our media claim. Conspiracy theorists will tell you it was an inside job. They will tell you the government let it happen. They will tell you the buildings couldn’t have fallen that way, or the Air Force could have stopped the whole thing if they wanted to.
“There are an untold number of theories about what really happened that day. They are the subject of a well-known documentary film, and they have spawned countless websites. Most of them are weird, and some are almost comical. But exploring these theories involves venturing into the darkest corners of our imagination, where confusion and despair bleed into reactionary paranoia, and the enduring sacrifice of the innocent people who died that day is almost cheapened by slander and suspicion.”
How “dark” these theories are can be seen by an article of Bild Online, stating that one “unexplained” occurrence was the observance of “ghosts” right after the attack, “helping with searching for survivors.”
We are bringing you excerpts from the Esquire article, focusing on the two most common “beliefs” in a conspiracy:
“The theory: The fuel from the planes that hit the World Trade Center could not have caused the buildings’ structural failures, because no kerosene fire burns hot enough—2,750 degrees Fahrenheit—to melt their steel frames. The debunk: Jet fuel burns at 800 to 1,500 degrees, Popular Mechanics notes—not hot enough to melt the steel frames. But the frames did not even need to fully melt for the buildings to collapse; they just had to weaken significantly. Steel loses about half its strength at 1,100 degrees, and moreover, the fuel wasn’t the only source of fire. The combustible material inside the buildings (rugs, curtains, furniture, paper) brought the temperature up to 1,832 degrees in some places…
“The theory: An addendum to the previous theory, many theorists believe that controlled explosions, not the planes, brought down the towers. Among the evidence cited: Puffs of dust shot out horizontally as the buildings fell, and the initial damage was too widespread (particularly to lower floors) to have been caused by the jets. The debunk: A spring 2005 report by the National Institute of Standards and Technology found that plane debris ‘sliced through the utility shafts at the North Tower’s core,’ Popular Mechanics reports, ‘creating a conduit for burning jet fuel—and fiery destruction throughout the building.’ The blaze exploded down the elevator shafts, disabling them and causing damage (and killing people) all the way to the lobby below, long before the towers collapsed. The puffs of dust were the result of each floor bearing down on the one below ‘with pulverizing force’ as the buildings fell, in what is known as ‘pancaking.’ That force caused the air between floors to shoot out with formidable speed and power, creating the bursting clouds of dust…”
From all the evidence available, the Church of the Eternal God and its international affiliates have concluded a long time ago that 9/11 was NOT an “inside job,” but that it was a terrorist attack of 19 hijackers. Ideas to the contrary have been convincingly debunked.
Newsmax wrote on September 9:
“Rep. Pete King took a victory lap Friday as the House passed a bill allowing 9/11 victims and their families to sue the Saudi Arabian government. The House passed the measure by overwhelming margin on a voice vote, confirming a similar Senate vote in May… ‘The Saudi government employs many former government officials and they tried to stop [the bill] at every turn,’ he said.
“The bill goes to President Obama’s desk for signature. The Obama administration has vigorously opposed the bill and already has signaled a veto is coming. But some question whether the president will veto a bill that will likely be overridden by Congress. It took nearly 15 years after the worst assault on U.S. soil by a foreign aggressor.
“Since then 9/11 families and other groups have complained of Saudi involvement in the attacks — 15 of the 19 perpetrators were Saudi nationals – and have argued for the right to sue and legally explore the involvement of this foreign power. The bill amends a 1976 law that grants foreign states immunity from lawsuits in the U.S.
“The new law provides that Americans can sue if any nation was directly involved in terror attacks against U.S. nationals…
“The September 11, 2001, attacks killed 2,966 people, and injured more than 6,000. Of those killed, the majority — 2,606 — died in New York’s World Trade Center and the surrounding area…”
The Washington Post wrote on September 9:
“North Korea defiantly celebrated its fifth nuclear test Friday, claiming that it can now make warheads small enough to fit onto a missile and warning its ‘enemies’ — specifically the United States — that it has the ability to counter any attack… the test appeared to mark another step toward North Korea’s goal of putting a nuclear warhead on a weapon capable of reaching the mainland United States…
“The U.S. Geological Survey detected an artificial 5.3-magnitude earthquake near North Korea’s nuclear test site at 9 a.m. local time on Friday, a national holiday marking the 68th anniversary of the formation of the communist regime by Kim Il Sung, the current leader’s grandfather. ‘This is clearly a nuclear test,’ said Jeffrey Lewis, director of the East Asia nonproliferation program at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies in Monterey, Calif. He estimated the size at between 10 and 20 kilotons. The North’s last nuclear test, carried out in January, was about six kilotons…
“In a White House statement Friday, Obama called the test ‘a grave threat’ to regional and international security and noted Pyongyang’s claims to be developing nuclear warheads capable of hitting the United States and its allies…”
The New York Times wrote on September 9:
“North Korea’s latest test of an atomic weapon leaves the United States with an uncomfortable choice: Stick with a policy of incremental sanctions that has clearly failed to stop the country’s nuclear advances, or pick among alternatives that range from the highly risky to the repugnant.
“A hard embargo, in which Washington and its allies block all shipping into and out of North Korea and seek to paralyze its finances, risks confrontations that allies in Asia fear could quickly escalate into war. But restarting talks on the North’s terms would reward the defiance of its young leader, Kim Jong-un, with no guarantee that he will dismantle the nuclear program irrevocably…
“For more than seven years, President Obama has adopted a policy of gradually escalating sanctions that the White House once called ‘strategic patience.’ But the test on Friday — the North’s fifth and most powerful blast yet, perhaps with nearly twice the strength of its last one — eliminates any doubt that that approach has failed and that the North has mastered the basics of detonating a nuclear weapon… American experts warn that it is speeding toward a day when it will be able to threaten the West Coast of the United States and perhaps the entire country.
“… an agreement between the United States and South Korea to deploy an advanced missile defense system in the South, has inflamed China… In both South Korea and Japan, a small but increasingly vocal minority has begun to advocate developing nuclear weapons to counter the North instead of relying on the United States…”
Newsmax wrote on September 9:
“Hillary Clinton has been struck by coughing attacks, leading to a resurfacing of speculation about her health…
“Concerns about Hillary Clinton’s health are ‘serious—could be disqualifying for the position of President of the U.S.,’ say nearly 71 percent of 250 physicians responding to an informal internet survey by the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS). About 20 percent said concerns were ‘likely overblown, but should be addressed as by full release of medical records.’ Only 2.7 percent responded that they were ‘just a political attack: I have confidence in the letter from her physician and see no cause for concern.’”
Breitbart wrote on September 14:
“Doctors are raising concerns about Hillary Clinton’s recent pneumonia diagnosis and treatment, suggesting a case of the disease that causes a patient to collapse should be treated more seriously… Clinton’s campaign initially left the press in the dark about what occurred at the 9-11 ceremony, but nearly two hours later, the campaign blamed Clinton’s health episode on the former first lady being overheated. Later in the evening, Clinton’s doctor Lisa Bardack issued an official statement, explaining that Clinton had been overheated and dehydrated. The statement revealed Clinton had been diagnosed with pneumonia on Friday…”
The New York Post wrote on September 12:
“Hillary Clinton was headed to an emergency room following her frightening collapse at the Sept. 11 memorial ceremony – but detoured to daughter Chelsea Clinton’s apartment to keep details of her medical treatment under wraps, The Post has learned.
“Secret Service protocol called for the Democratic presidential nominee to be rushed to a state-designated Level I Trauma Center in the wake of her Sunday morning health crisis, sources said. In Manhattan, that would be Bellevue Hospital. But a campaign operative decided to change course to avoid having Clinton seen by doctors, nurses and other medical workers who could leak details to reporters, according to a source.”
On September 8, The Denver Post Editorial Board published the following article:
“Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton used Denver-based Platte River Networks to host private her e-mail when she was secretary of state. The latest controversy involving Hillary Clinton’s decision to run her State Department e-mail through private servers contains a hard-to-believe shocker that ought to give reasonable people pause.
“Her supporters will join her campaign in decrying a ‘conspiracy’ to spoil her presidential aspirations. But really, how can an objective observer not find problems with this latest story, which suggests a dark conspiracy indeed: An errant engineer decides on his own volition to delete e-mails from her private account after a congressional committee orders them preserved?…
“The FBI said that in December 2014 a top Clinton aide told Denver-based Platte River Networks to destroy an archive of e-mails from her private server, but the company failed to do so. Then, after The New York Times reported in early March 2015 details of then-Secretary Clinton’s use of a private server, the House committee investigating the deadly attacks on the American embassy in Benghazi, Libya, ordered that her e-mails be preserved, and subpoenaed those related to the attack. Three weeks later, the story goes, the engineer responsible for deleting Clinton’s archive suddenly remembered the failed duty, and acted on it by deleting the e-mails with a program (wonderfully named BleachBit) that apparently rendered most of them unreadable.
“Around the time of the engineer’s sudden remembrance, the FBI said, Platte River officials joined a conference call with a longtime Clinton aide and personal lawyer. But when the FBI tried to look into this call, they met with frustration. Platte River’s attorney told the engineer who did the deed to claim attorney-client privilege.
“That just looks awful. So little wonder the Republican chairman of the House committee investigating Clinton’s e-mail arrangement – Utah’s Jason Chaffetz- has asked federal prosecutors to investigate whether she or others were involved in the decision to destroy those e-mails following the preservation order.
“Given that FBI director James Comey’s decision to clear Clinton of wrongdoing in the e-mail scandal came with his unusual denunciation of her actions as ‘extremely careless,’ the information from the bureau’s summary of its investigation doesn’t sit well. It’s reasonable to ask why the FBI didn’t look deeper. It’s reasonable to ask why the engineer would act if, as the logic of the cover story must argue, the e-mails were simply personal notes about yoga appointments and being a grandmother.
“No wonder Chaffetz would seek to dig in. He’s asking the Justice Department ‘to investigate and determine whether Secretary Clinton or her employees and contractors violated statutes that prohibit destruction of records, obstruction of congressional inquiries and concealment of cover-up of evidence material to a congressional committee.’…
“We worry that Chaffetz is right on this one. Something about this story feels whitewashed – or maybe bleached out is the better term for it now.”
There seems to be little doubt about this; and the FBI’s and the Justice Department’s decision not to prosecute Hillary Clinton is really unbelievable. Note the next two articles.
The New York Times wrote on September 8:
“A computer specialist who deleted Hillary Clinton’s emails despite orders from Congress to preserve them was given immunity by the Justice Department during its investigation into her personal email account… Mr. Combetta is one of at least two people who were given immunity by the Justice Department as part of the investigation. The other was Bryan Pagliano, a former campaign staff member for Mrs. Clinton’s 2008 presidential campaign, who was granted immunity in exchange for answering questions about how he set up a server in Mrs. Clinton’s home in Chappaqua, N.Y., around the time she became secretary of state in 2009.
“The F.B.I. described the deletions by Mr. Combetta in a summary of its investigation into Mrs. Clinton’s account that was released last Friday. The documents blacked out the specialist’s name, but the law enforcement official and others familiar with the case identified the employee as Mr. Combetta. They spoke on the condition of anonymity because they did not want to be identified discussing matters that were supposed to remain confidential.
“Brian Fallon, a spokesman for Mrs. Clinton’s presidential campaign, said that the deletions by the specialist, who worked for a Colorado company called Platte River Networks, had already been ‘thoroughly examined by the F.B.I. prior to its decision to close out this case. As the F.B.I.’s report notes… neither Hillary Clinton nor her attorneys had knowledge of the Platte River Network employee’s actions. It appears he acted on his own and against guidance given by both Clinton’s and Platte River’s attorneys to retain all data in compliance with a congressional preservation request.’… According to the F.B.I. documents, Mr. Combetta told the bureau in February that he did not recall deleting the emails. But in May, he told a different story… [He had] said [he] realized that he had not followed a December 2014 order from Mrs. Clinton’s lawyers to have the emails deleted. Mr. Combetta then used a program called BleachBit to delete the messages, the bureau said.
“In Mr. Combetta’s first interview with the F.B.I. in February, he said he did not recall seeing the preservation order from the Benghazi committee, which Mrs. Clinton’s lawyer, Cheryl D. Mills, had sent to Platte River. But in his May interview, he said that at the time he made the deletions ‘he was aware of the existence of the preservation request and the fact that it meant he should not disturb Clinton’s email data’ on the Platte River server.”
Newsmax added on September 14:
“House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz was clearly frustrated on Wednesday after a former Hillary Clinton aide was a no-show at a hearing on Tuesday, even though he had been served with a subpoena… Bryan Pagliano, who had helped maintain Clinton’s private email server, has been granted immunity by the Justice Department and already invoked his Fifth Amendment rights not to incriminate himself twice on the matter… Just one of the five witnesses called, Justin Cooper, a former White House aide to President Bill Clinton, testified and answered questions for nearly two hours. The other three invoked their Fifth Amendment rights [not to discriminate themselves.].”
Combetta and Pagliano got immunity; others refuse to testify; and so, Hillary Clinton is still not being prosecuted.
The Washington Post wrote on September 9:
“In an interview Thursday, Donald Trump was asked what surprised him most about the American press. ‘Well, I think the dishonesty of the media,’ the Republican presidential hopeful responded, with little hesitation. ‘The media has been unbelievably dishonest.’ That Trump has an unfavorable view of American journalism will surprise few…
“But his outlet for venting this frustration may have been more surprising. Trump’s comments came during an interview with Larry King that was aired on RT America — part of a state-owned Russian media organization that critics accuse of propagandistic aims and poor journalistic standards… Originally known as Russia Today, the organization was founded in December 2005 as an English-language television network… To get a sense of this style of programming, consider this: Julian Assange was given his own show on RT for a few months in 2012. His first guest was Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah.
“RT America began airing Larry King’s interview show, ‘Politicking,’ after CNN dropped him in 2010… Last July, it hired Ed Schultz after MSNBC canceled his low-rated program, ‘The Ed Show,’ after six years… The network also airs a weekly debate and interview show hosted by Jesse Ventura, the former professional wrestler and governor of Minnesota… It also has a deeply conspiratorial side, providing airtime to the notion that the 9/11 attacks were engineered by the government…
“Trump’s interview with RT comes at a time of heightened concerns about Russia’s alleged interference in the upcoming U.S. election. Russia is suspected of involvement in a hack of the Democratic National Committee email system and subsequent leak. (Mr. Trump stated that he does not believe so and that this was probably made up by the Democrats.) The United States is investigating what it thinks could be a wider Russian plan to disrupt the November elections. To complicate matters further, Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin have made a number of seemingly admiring comments about each other. During an NBC presidential forum Wednesday evening, Trump said the Russian president had been more of a leader than President Obama. In other comments, he has jokingly suggested that Russia should hack the email of his Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton.”
Donald Trump’s granting of an interview to a media outlet which is controlled by the Russian government raises more than just an eyebrow.
The Times of Israel wrote on September 9:
“When images of Donald Trump sporting a Jewish prayer shawl during his September 3 visit to a Detroit black church hit the web, the reactions on social media ranged from amusement to shock, and, in some cases, outrage. ‘You guys, a Jewish prayer shawl – a tallit – is a ritual garment. Meant to be worn only by Jews. This is the worst kind of appropriation,’ declared Conservative Rabbi Danya Rutenberg on Twitter. ‘Wait, did Donald Trump get bar mitzvahed?’ asked The Guardian’s Ben Jacobs, while The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg observed that the anti-Semitic alt-right movement supporting the real estate mogul must be ‘paralyzed by this photograph.’
“But for the pastor [Wayne Jackson] who presented Trump with the tallit, wearing the traditional Jewish garment is standard practice at the congregation he leads, the Great Faith Ministries International… In fact, there are other Jewish traditions the congregation observes. It was no accident Trump visited for a ceremony on a Saturday rather than the normal Sunday church service. ‘We do worship on the sabbath, because I do recognize the holy days,’ Jackson said…
“Great Faith Ministries, which Jackson leads, follows a Pentecostal tradition in which it is common for clergy and worshippers to wear the religious garment with fringes hanging from each of its four corners… Jackson is known to be a proponent of ‘prosperity theology,’ which entails the belief among certain sects of Christianity that an individual’s financial standing and physical condition come from the will of God, and that proper faith will tip the scales in their favor…
“At the service, Jackson not only gave Trump the tallit, but also a Jewish Heritage Study Bible, which the bishop said talks about the foundation of the Christian faith. ‘You know, a lot of Christians who sit in church don’t even know that the foundation of the Christian faith goes back to God’s covenant with Abraham,’ Jackson said…
“John Hagee, the televangelist Christian leader and pastor of a mega-church in San Antonio, Texas, has worn [the tallit] on multiple occasions, and a number of evangelical churches throughout the country sell them in their gift shops. Jackson also stressed: ‘This was nothing to be offensive. I love Israel. I support Israel. I love the people of God. The prayer shawl was meant to do nothing but to show the power of the holy spirit.’… The Christian leader said that bestowing the candidate with the garment was also intended to shore up his feeling for the Jewish state. ‘You know, this man may carry the government on his shoulders. Who knows? He may be the most powerful man in the world, if he becomes the president. And we want him to love the nation of Israel… It was all about the love that was displayed in that service. it was the love there in that room that had Donald Trump leave feeling the love of Yeshua [Jesus].’”
These are very alarming developments. Many of the “Messianic Jewish” concepts, as displayed in the article and claimed to be of Pentecostal origin, are not biblical and do much more harm than good. We address many aspects of false “Messianic Jewish” teachings and practices in our free booklet, “Old Testament Laws—Still Valid Today.” In regard to the use of the word “Yeshua,” please also note our recent Q&A, titled, “Should We Use Hebrew Expressions in Our Worship of God?”
WorldNetDaily wrote on September 10, 2016:
“President Obama’s transgender agenda has taken huge leaps forward in the last year or so. There have been orders for public building managers, for colleges and even for public schools to allow a male who says he’s female to use locker rooms and restrooms set aside for women… Now a second state has decided that churches, too, are bound by the agenda.
“The Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination this month released a ‘Gender Identity Guidance’ that imposes its demands on society… ‘Under [the law] places of public accommodation may not discriminate against, or restrict a person from services because of that person’s gender identity. For example, a hotel or motel may not refuse to book a room for a person because of the person’s gender identity,’ the state threatens. It continues, ‘Even a church could be seen as a place of public accommodation if it holds a secular event, such as a spaghetti supper, that is open to the general public.’
“The demands include having church officials, and even members, use whatever pronouns a person would demand, irrespective of their actual gender…
“[In Iowa], a church sued the state in federal court, demanding that officials withdraw their threats of prosecution because of the content of the church’s sermons, specifically what is said about homosexuality, same-sex ‘marriage,’ transgenderism and other related topics… That case erupted when the state’s Civil Rights Commission first claimed the authority to control the content of sermons and then to define what’s religious. At issue is the state’s nondiscrimination requirements that specify any ‘public accommodation’ can be ordered not to say anything that might make a homosexual or a transgender feel ‘unwelcome,’ such as even reading from the Bible a condemnation of such behavior…
“The Iowa Civil Rights Act bans places of ‘public accommodation’ from expressing their views on human sexuality if they would ‘directly or indirectly’ make ‘persons of any particular … gender identity’ feel ‘unwelcome.’ The state claims churches are a ‘public accommodation.’”
PJ Media wrote on September 9:
“Contrary to many scientific studies (pediatricians have even called youth transgenderism ‘child abuse’), [transgender ideology] argues that people who identify with the gender opposite their biological sex should be encouraged to do so, even to the extent of undergoing ‘gender re-affirming surgery.’ This is a fancy name for bodily mutilation which causes even more confusion than before.”
This dangerous set of law manifests the anti-biblical approach of the liberal agenda.
Reuters wrote on September 10:
“Germany’s interior minister has warned that the country is home to more than 500 Islamic militants who could be capable of carrying out assaults on their own or as members of ‘hit teams.’… He said another 360 ‘relevant’ people were known to police because of their close proximity to the potential attackers…
“‘The hit teams are secretly smuggled into Europe and prepare their actions without being noticed, as we saw with the attacks in Paris and Brussels,’ he added. ‘But it’s even more difficult to uncover the fanatical lone wolves. Unfortunately, there is a real and present danger from both threats.’”
Deutsche Welle reported on September 13:
“A new NATO initiative hopes to stop jihadi militants in the Mediterranean Sea. The German military is pitching in to help via major troop commitments to the yearlong mission… [It will] have powers to search vessels suspected of harboring terrorists… Operation Sea Guardian also hopes to curb human trafficking and arms smuggling while assisting the European Union’s border agency, Frontex.
“Germany is expected to join the NATO operation, and could contribute up to 650 soldiers to the international mission in Mediterranean waters… The deployment is regarded as part of a broader shift in Germany to expand its military role in Europe and NATO…”
The Local wrote on September 10:
“France and Germany are preparing joint proposals for a ‘more active and more useful’ European defence policy, the French defence ministry told AFP on Friday… The Franco-German document proposes the establishment of a European defence headquarters, a common satellite surveillance system and the sharing of logistics and military medical resources… There would be a tighter circle of EU members for some defence projects where it proves impossible to gain agreement from all…
“There is also a suggestion for better use of Eurocorps, an intergovernmental military body that has France and Germany at its centre. Belgium, Spain and Luxembourg are members of the Strasbourg-based Eurocorps, set up for rapid deployment to hotspots. The EU has already been involved in the training of foreign armies, as part of conflict resolution, and might become involved in financing their equipment.
“The bloc could also become engaged in research and development, to strengthen the European defence industry. The discussions are in part due to the June vote by Britain to leave the EU. According to [German defence minister] von der Leyen, London had long ‘paralysed’ European efforts to have a more closely integrated security policy.”
BBC News wrote on September 14:
“The European Union needs a military headquarters to work towards a common military force, the Commission president [Jean-Claude Juncker] has told MEPs in Strasbourg… Mr Juncker said a common military force ‘should be in complement to Nato’… A European Defence Fund would stimulate military research and development, he said…
“All EU members have military forces; most are also members of Nato; and several have extensive experience of operations abroad, from peace-keeping to war-fighting. The real question is how to organise these component parts to get greater security. Mr Juncker insists that the EU must have a role here. He wants to improve EU command and control facilities and appears to be suggesting that EU civil and military aspects of a given mission should be run out of the same headquarters…
“Since 2003 the EU has launched some 30 civilian and military operations in Europe, Africa and Asia – under the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP). Sixteen are still going on, including six military operations…
“[Juncker] urged a renewed focus on the EU as a ‘driving force that can bring about unification, for instance in Cyprus’…
“Anti-EU MEPs lined up to criticise Mr Juncker’s rallying cry: UKIP leader Nigel Farage said it was ‘the usual recipe: more Europe, in this particular case, more military Europe’.”
Deutsche Welle wrote on September 12:
“Austria’s presidential election, originally set for October 2, will be pushed back, Interior Minister Wolfgang Sobotka said on Monday. The decision came after a number of voters planning to vote by mail complained the seals for the ballot forms were faulty… The new round of voting is set to take place on December 4.
“This was the latest problem to beset the race for Austria’s head of state… the election became the subject of intense international interest when it was first contested last spring, as Austria came without 31,000 votes of being the first country in western Europe to elect a far-right leader since World War II.
“Austria holds presidential elections every six years, and goes to a second-round run off vote if no candidate garners more than 50 percent in the first ballot. Norbert Hofer of the right-wing Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) came in less than a percentage point behind Green-party affiliated candidate Alexander Van der Bellen in May’s run-off. However, Austria’s highest court annulled that vote in June and called for a new election after it emerged that thousands of absentee ballots had been counted incorrectly.
“The FPÖ is one of a number of parties in western Europe using anti-immigrant rhetoric to gain steam during the continent’s refugee crisis. It is part of a European parliamentary group chaired by Marine Le Pen of France’s National Front as well as members of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party and Britain’s right-wing populist UKIP.”
Reuters reported on September 8:
“Ireland’s government won strong backing from parliament for its appeal against a 13-billion-euro back tax bill the European Commission ordered it to collect from Apple, following 12 hours of debate on Wednesday. Ireland’s fragile coalition overcame initial misgivings from independent members of cabinet to join Apple last week in fighting the ruling that Ireland granted state aid to the company through undue and selective tax benefit.
“The government says Ireland did not give favorable tax treatment to Apple and that no state aid was provided, and it won a motion to endorse its position in parliament by 93 votes to 36. ‘The picture of Ireland painted by the Commission in its decision, as a country prepared to play fast and loose with the law to gain unfair advantage, could not be more damaging or further from the truth,’ Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny told lawmakers. ‘This is not a Commission finding that stands by a small country that has played by the rules. It cannot be allowed to stand.’”
This will make the EU not too happy. The EU Commission has been under constant criticism for its sometimes highly controversial political decisions.
On September 7, Norbert and Michael Link saw the printer to approve the mock-up version of our new booklet, “God’s Law… or God’s Grace?” Printed copies will be available at our Feast sites for those attending the Feast of Tabernacles and it is now posted on our website.
“Election Debacle for Angela Merkel… What’s Next?,” is the title of a new StandingWatch program, presented by Evangelist Norbert Link. Here is a summary:
In a catastrophic state election, Chancellor Merkel’s party (CDU) suffered a devastating defeat, while the anti-immigrant and anti-Islam party (AfD) enjoyed an unprecedented success. Merkel is blamed for the debacle, but stubbornly refuses to change her migrant policy. Minorities are deeply concerned about the AfD, and Merkel’s Bavarian sister party (CSU) under Premier Host Seehofer is willing to even go a step further than the AfD. What does all of this mean in the light of biblical prophecy? Will emerging nationalism in Germany and Europe destroy the European unification project, or is just the opposite true?
“Nicht Aufgeben Und den Mut Verlieren,” is the title of this Sabbath’s new German sermon. Title in English: “Don’t Give Up and Lose Courage.”
“Are You A Humble Person?,” the sermonette presented last Sabbath by Dave Harris, is now posted. Here is a summary:
Humility is a growth characteristic for Christians, and it is an attitude we must choose to live by!
“Racing After Endurance,” the sermon presented last Sabbath by Robb Harris, is now posted. Here is a summary:
We are promised eternal life if we are willing to endure until the end. But what is our finish line? What part do we have in determining when our endurance is sufficient enough to please God?
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
On September 10, 2016, Robb Harris will present the sermonette, titled, “The Challenge,” and Eric Rank will present the sermon, titled, “By Design.”
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.
We begin with the stunning state election victory of Germany’s anti-immigration party AfD and Angela Merkel’s disastrous debacle; and we cite articles about possible consequences for Chancellor Merkel, Germany’s political landscape and even the established main parties in Europe. We also show that minorities, including the Jewish community, are deeply concerned about AfD’s victory. Please view our new StandingWatch program, titled, “Election Debacle for Angela Merkel…What’s Next?”
We speak on Turkey’s ongoing dictatorial methods; and we report on troubling developments in and pertaining to the UK.
We continue with the insignificant and irrelevant role which President Obama is playing on the world stage, as could be seen in events occurring and comments made at the G20 summit in China. We speak on stunning “ransom” money payments by the USA to Iran; and report on the national anthem protests by a black and another gay American athlete.
We speak on an ill-advised recommendation by Ben Carson to Donald Trump regarding the controversial “birther” debate pertaining to Barack Obama; and we conclude with an article about the dates and moderators for the upcoming US Presidential debates and the historical roles which these kinds of debates have played in the past; as well as a controversial huge pipeline project.
BBC News reported on September 5:
“Angela Merkel’s ruling CDU party has been beaten into third place by an anti-immigrant and anti-Islam party in elections in a north-eastern German state. The Alternative fuer Deutschland (AfD) party took just under 21% of the vote behind the centre-left SPD’s 30%. The German chancellor’s CDU was backed by only 19% of voters, its worst ever result in the state. The vote was seen as a key test before German parliamentary elections in 2017.
“Before the vote in Mecklenburg-West Pomerania, in the former East Germany, all of Germany’s other parties ruled out forming a governing coalition with the AfD. But the party, formed only three years ago, is already represented in nine of Germany’s 16 state parliaments.
“One leading CDU politician called the result catastrophic, while another, Wolfgang Bosbach, said the arrival of hundreds of thousands of migrants without documents had ‘put the wind in the AfD’s sails’. This is humiliating for Angela Merkel – not least because this was on home turf…
“Alternative fuer Deutschland’s anti immigrant and increasingly strident anti-Islam message has a powerful appeal to people concerned about integration and worried about domestic security. It doesn’t look good for Mrs Merkel. Her approval ratings are at a five-year low. But… there is no serious contender waiting in the wings to replace her.
“BBC Berlin correspondent Damien McGuinness says that following her political embarrassment, Mrs Merkel will now come under greater pressure to change her welcoming position on refugees. Addressing supporters, local AfD leader Leif-Erik Holm said: ‘Perhaps this is the beginning of the end of Angela Merkel’s chancellorship today.’… ‘How many more electoral disasters can Merkel take?’ wonders tabloid Bild, and predicts that temporarily pacified opposition to Mrs Merkel’s line inside her conservative bloc could erupt with full force… An article in Sueddeutsche Zeitung predicts an ‘autumn of discontent’ for the chancellor…
“But a commentary in news magazine Der Spiegel believes that while the election is a ‘debacle’ for Ms Merkel, her job is not on the line quite yet. Some also think it’s not all just about Mrs Merkel. A commentary in Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung argues that voters are angry at ‘(almost) all’ mainstream parties, and not just the Christian Democrats…”
This distrust of all the established parties may give way to the rise of a charismatic personage in Germany who will galvanize the masses and offer them ”solutions” for the many problems they are facing.
Deutsche Welle wrote on September 6:
“After the CDU’s electoral defeat in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, tensions in the CDU-CSU union have intensified. Bavarian State Premier Horst Seehofer has blamed Merkel’s refugee policy for the AfD’s success… Seehofer has been a long-time vocal critic of Merkel’s open-door policy since the chancellor allowed some 1 million refugees to cross Germany’s borders last year… ‘Confidence [in the government] is dwindling rapidly,’ said Seehofer…
“Merkel defended her government’s handling of the refugee crisis on Monday…”
The Local wrote on September 8:
“The CSU are a political anomaly in Germany, only standing for election in Bavaria, where the CDU have no presence. The two parties have always had an alliance at the federal level… Securing the support of the CSU leader is key for a CDU chief who is seeking the chancellorship.”
This stubborn refusal to accept responsibility and admit grave error might very well lead to Angela Merkel’s complete downfall.
Deutsche Welle wrote on September 8:
“Merkel’s words have fallen upon deaf ears in the CSU, whose party line appears to be more radical than the AfD’s…
“The conflict in Germany’s conservative camp has entered a new round. Angela Merkel shouts unmistakably in the direction of Bavarian State Premier Horst Seehofer and his CSU party: Tone it down, otherwise the populists win and we will lose our orientation if we start following the AfD’s lead, language-wise.
“The next day, the press has a CSU paper [that…] doesn’t care one iota about what the chancellor wants… The paper not only agrees with the AfD party platform on many points, but it even goes one step farther… on the topic of dual citizenship. The Bavarian party wants to make exceptions: ‘Migrants from our Western Christian cultural circle should be given priority.’
“Even the AfD wasn’t able to escalate matters to this level at its own convention…
“The CSU was dissatisfied with Merkel’s European approach to refugee policies from the beginning and wanted tougher national measures. The CSU’s second motive is fear of the AfD… Thirdly, the mood among the CSU base and in Bavaria is critical of Merkel… And finally, the Bavarians see what their neighbors in Vienna, Budapest and Bratislava – who are counting on closing the door to outsiders – are doing…
“[Merkel’s] call in the Bundestag didn’t even last a few hours. Her power has diminished again.”
In a related article, Deutsche Welle wrote on September 8:
“Also proposed is… a ban on body-obscuring burqas… The burqa was described as the ‘uniform of Islamism.’ Also contained in the CSU draft was a rejection of ‘special swimming times for Muslims’… ‘A nation must decide itself who it admits – that is not decided by the migrants,’ the CSU draft said, while adding ‘we are opposed to our world-open country being changed by immigration and refugee flows. Germany must remain Germany.'”
Deutsche Welle wrote on September 5:
“Right-wing populists across Europe cheered the strong showing of the Alternative for Germany (AfD)… ‘All victories of patriotic and EU-critical parties are helping freedom loving people and parties all over Europe,’ Geert Wilders, the founder and leader of the right-wing Party for Freedom (PVV), told DW in an email statement. ‘No one will be able to stop the Patriotic Spring, and the old times where the ruling political elite – like Merkel, Hollande, Rutte and others – could bypass and ignore the common people on issues such as immigration, asylum and EU-policy are definitely over. Their soon-to-come political end is the start of a new political wave of patriotism, national sovereignty and the end of cultural relativism.’
“France’s Marine Le Pen tweeted, ‘What was impossible yesterday has become possible: the AfD patriots have swept away Merkel’s party!’ Those sentiments were echoed by leaders of anti-European Union and anti-immigration parties in Austria and Italy as well.
“Can such statements be taken at face value? Does the fact that the AfD took 20.8 percent of the vote in Sunday’s poll represent a victory for right-wing populists on the continent as a whole? ‘Definitely,’ Alexander Häusler, a sociologist and expert on right-wing populism at Düsseldorf University, told DW. ‘The other right-wing populist parties in Europe were looking for a partner in Germany. Now with the electoral success of the AfD, they have one. A gap in the political landscape, if you will, has been closed.’…
“Given the deep-seated social problems and frustrations that motivate people to vote for right-wing populist parties, it is unlikely the movement will dissipate any time soon in either Germany, or Europe as a whole… Le Pen currently leads polls in France, which has a national election next year, attracting as much as 30 percent of electoral support. Having a like-minded partner in Germany can only bolster her campaign to become the next French president. Wilders will also hope for a boost ahead of the Netherlands’ national vote on March 15, 2017. So they and right-wing populist leaders in other European countries will be paying close attention to other upcoming local German elections in Berlin on September 18 and in North Rhine-Westphalia on May 14, 2017…”
The Local wrote on September 5:
“Since the results were announced, minority groups have… been reacting with concern over the far-right party’s success. ‘That an extreme-right party which blatantly incites hatred against minorities in a disgusting way can rise unhindered in our country is a nightmare come true,’ Charlotte Knobloch, President of the Jewish Community of Munich and Upper Bavaria (IKG), said on Monday… ‘It is pathetic when a party – in which xenophobia, antisemitism, racism, homophobia, historical denialism and conspiracy theories are the basis for argument – can become such a strong social and political influence,’ she said.
“Knobloch warned that, in collaboration with other far-right parties, the AfD had the strength to threaten Germany’s democratic foundations…
“The AfD was founded in 2013 as a eurosceptic party that advocated a return to the Deutsche Mark, but it has since shifted to become a mainly anti-immigration and Islamophobic party. It has grown strongly even as its top members have sparked outrage with insulting remarks, including one disparaging star footballer Jerome Boateng, who is of German and Ghanaian descent.
“The right-wing populist party is the first to establish itself in the German political landscape since the Second World War, after decades in which no such party crossed the five percent hurdle to enter national parliament. At national level, it is now polling at 14 percent according to a September survey, a gain of 10 points in the year since Merkel threw open German borders to a mass influx of asylum seekers.”
Deutsche Welle wrote on September 7:
“Austria’s interior minister [Wolfgang Sobotka] has threatened Hungary with a lawsuit if Budapest refuses to take back migrants. Hungary, in turn, has blamed bad policy in Germany, Austria and Greece for Europe’s migrant crisis…
“Tensions over immigration are high ahead of October 2 presidential elections in Austria… The presidential vote could see the anti-immigration, far-right Freedom Party take over the presidency in Vienna.”
Deutsche Welle reported on September 6:
“Turkish authorities have confiscated footage of an interview with Turkish Minister of Youth and Sports, Akif Cagatay Kilic, filmed for DW’s show ‘Conflict Zone.’ The action has prompted an outcry over press freedom.
“The interview at the center of the controversy took place with DW host Michel Friedman in Ankara on Monday evening. Friedman asked Turkish Minister of Youth and Sports, Akif Cagatay Kilic, about the July coup attempt as well as the mass layoffs and arrests that took place in its aftermath. He also asked about the media situation in Turkey and the position of women in Turkish society, before asking Kilic elaborate on several controversial statements made by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on these subjects.
“Immediately following the interview, Kilic excused himself from the room. No sooner had the minister left, [than] his press officer announced that DW would not be allowed to broadcast the interview. When Friedman and his editorial colleague protested, the video material was confiscated by employees of the ministry… ‘This is proof that freedom of the press in Turkey is very restricted,’ Friedman said. ‘The incident is very disturbing. If the foreign media is already been treated in this manner, one could well imagine how difficult it is right now for Turkish journalists.’…
“The German Journalists Union (DJV) called for an immediate release of the video. ‘That is the most severe offense against press freedom, like we only know from dictatorships,’ criticized DJV Chairman Frank Überall…
“Despite several repeated requests for the release of the video footage, Turkey’s decision remained unchanged…”
Turkey has become an absolute dictatorship, and the German government’s policy of appeasing Erdogan is shameful. But prophecy reveals that a dictatorial Turkey will collaborate with a future European dictatorship in their mutual fight against Israel.
The Times wrote on September 8:
“Former communist states are planning to exploit the fallout of Brexit with a ‘counter-revolution’ designed to block migrant deals and assert the power of national governments over Brussels.
“Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, an influential diplomatic European Union bloc known as the Visegrad Group, will lobby together at a summit next week to ensure that national governments are put back in the EU’s driving seat.
“The summit will gather all EU leaders, excluding Theresa May, in Slovakia’s capital to forge a new vision of Europe…”
Deutsche Welle reported on September 9:
“French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said on Thursday that three women aged between 19 and 39 were arrested in connection with the discovery of six gas cylinders in the French capital on Sunday. Cazeneuve said the suspects were ‘radicalized fanatics’ who were preparing ‘new violent … and imminent actions.’…
“A police officer also suffered a knife wound during the arrest… Four other people – two brothers and their girlfriends – were already arrested earlier in the week.
“The first couple to be arrested – a 34-year-old man and a 29-year-old woman – are known to the security services for links to radical Islamists. More people are still being sought in the Notre Dame case, the prosecutor’s office said…”
The Daily Mail wrote on September 4:
“Barack Obama yesterday said the UK can expect no special favours on a trade deal with America after voting to leave the EU. The President stepped up his controversial cautions about Brexit – and suggested Britain’s relationship with the United States risked ‘unravelling’ in the wake of the referendum. Mr Obama caused anger at the height of the referendum campaign when he used a visit to London to warn voters that the UK would go to ‘the back of the queue’ in negotiating a new trade deal if it opted for Brexit. He hinted again yesterday that any deal was likely to take time – with potentially serious consequences for UK-US trade in the meantime…
“Speaking after an hour-long meeting with Theresa May at the G20 summit in China, Mr Obama bridled at suggestions he had threatened to ‘punish’ Britain for leaving the EU. He said he and Mrs May had confirmed the ‘very special relationship’ between the two countries, but added that he still believed the Brexit vote was a mistake, which could cost Britain dearly…
“Former Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith said of Mr Obama’s comments: ‘Who cares what he says? He’s going. Bye bye.’ Jacob Rees-Mogg, another Eurosceptic Tory MP, added: ‘Fortunately, he is yesterday’s man and will no longer be President early next year… These comments tell us all we need to know about how President Obama has never been a friend of ours.’…
“Meanwhile, the Prime Minister rebuffed overtures from Vladimir Putin to reset the UK’s frosty economic relations with Russia. She challenged the Russian President over Moscow’s intervention in Syria and warned him there could not be ‘business as usual’ in the relationship between the UK and the Kremlin…”
The Bible shows that even the friendship between the USA, the UK and Israel will deteriorate.
Breitbart wrote on September 7:
“Just two months after voting to leave the European Union (EU), the UK has announced the construction of a ‘great wall’ near its most porous border in Calais, to keep illegal migrants out. The UK’s southern border checks are conducted in northern France and attempted illegal crossings have more than quadrupled in recent years. UK Border Force guards on French soil stopped 84,088 illegal immigrants last year, figures released last month show.
“The new 13-foot (4 metre) high wall will be built of smooth concrete, making it hard to climb, and will line the roads into the port town of Calais where the entrance to the channel tunnel also sits. ‘We are going to start building this big, new wall as part of the £17 million package we are doing with the French,’ the UK’s immigration minister Robert Goodwill told a parliamentary committee yesterday, the Telegraph reports. ‘People are still getting through,’ he added. ‘We’ve done the fence, now we’re doing the wall’.”
This wall could be symbolic for the UK’s isolation from continental Europe.
The Independent wrote on September 4:
“Britain is now the second biggest arms dealer in the world, official government figures show…
“Since 2010 Britain has also sold arms to 39 of the 51 countries ranked ‘not free’ on the Freedom House ‘Freedom in the world’ report, and 22 of the 30 countries on the UK Government’s own human rights watch list. A full two-thirds of UK weapons over this period were sold to Middle Eastern countries, where instability has fed into increased risk of terror threats to Britain and across the West… the UK has sold more arms than Russia, China, or France on average over the last 10 years. Only the United States is a bigger exporter…”
This is a very sad record…
The website of pinknews.co.uk wrote on September 6:
“Fourteen Church of England clergy members have revealed that they secretly married their same-sex partners in defiance of the Archbishop of Canterbury. The revelation was made in an open letter published today. Some of the signatories were already open about being in same-sex relationships, but others came out in the letter.
“The open letter called for ‘diversity’ in the church, the same week it was revealed that the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby was already aware that a bishop is in a same-sex relationship… The letter says: ‘We encourage you to be bold … to what you know to be increasingly the direction of travel, not just in our church but in many churches in this country… We will be praying for the College of Bishops as it meets this month. We appreciate the time may not yet be right for a change in the church’s official understanding of marriage, but it is time to respect that a diversity of theology within the church now exists and many in our parishes have already made the move. We hope for an outcome that will enable those who wish to do so to celebrate publicly where we see God at work in the lives of our congregations without fear and in openness.’…
“Colin Coward of Changing Attitude added that ten serving bishops are also in same-sex relationships or are gay or bisexual. One of the first clergy to marry his same-sex partner, Andrew Foreshew-Cain… warned that gay members of the Church will not back down on the issue. He told the Times: ‘We are now going to keep pushing for the next and the next and the next [step] until we get full equality in the church. We are not going away’…”
And so they will continue to push and push and push, until the indifferent majority gets tired and gives in to a vocal minority.
The Local wrote on September 7:
“Germany on Wednesday warned Britain against negotiating free trade deals with non-EU member states before it quits the bloc, after Prime Minister Theresa May sought to drum up commerce agreements during a G20 summit in China… [Germany stated that] ‘it is clear that an EU member state cannot hold bilateral talks on free trade deals with non-EU states as long as it remains a member of the EU’.”
Even though the UK might think that they can find help and support from Germany, they will become bitterly disappointed.
Express wrote on September 8:
“EUROCRAT Donald Tusk has urged Theresa May to begin Brexit talks as soon as possible… In a sign that Brussels may be losing patience with Mrs May’s dithering over Brexit, Mr Tusk said it was a ‘crucial time’ for the UK and the EU… Mr Tusk said: ‘To put it simply, the ball is now in your court…’
“The Prime Minister yesterday told MPs she was seeking ‘the right deal’ on trade in goods and services after Britain withdraws from the EU. But she refused to say whether she wanted the UK to remain in the European single market…
“In response, the Prime Minister and her ministers were accused of ‘waffle’ by Scottish National Party Westminster leader Angus Robertson. The Liberal Democrats’ Tim Farron said: ‘This Government isn’t concealing its hand. It hasn’t got a hand or, it would appear, a clue.’ And under-fire Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn accused the Government of issuing ‘contradictory messages’ on Brexit.
“Earlier this week Mrs May slapped down Brexit Secretary David Davis for suggesting continued membership of the single market was ‘very improbable’… In response, the Prime Minister’s spokesman insisted Mr Davis he was giving a personal opinion rather than outlining Government policy.”
The Guardian wrote on September 4:
“China’s leaders have been accused of delivering a calculated diplomatic snub to Barack Obama after the US president was not provided with a staircase to leave his plane during his chaotic arrival in Hangzhou before the start of the G20.
“Chinese authorities have rolled out the red carpet for leaders including India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, the South Korean president, Park Geun-hye, Brazil’s president, Michel Temer, and the British prime minister, Theresa May, who touched down on Sunday morning.
“But the leader of the world’s largest economy, who is on his final tour of Asia, was forced to disembark from Air Force One through a little-used exit in the plane’s belly after no rolling staircase was provided when he landed in the eastern Chinese city on Saturday afternoon. When Obama did find his way on to a red carpet on the tarmac below there were heated altercations between US and Chinese officials, with one Chinese official caught on video shouting: ‘This is our country! This is our airport!’ ‘The reception that President Obama and his staff got when they arrived here Saturday afternoon was bruising, even by Chinese standards,’ the New York Times reported.
“Jorge Guajardo, Mexico’s former ambassador to China, said he was convinced Obama’s treatment was part of a calculated snub. ‘These things do not happen by mistake. Not with the Chinese,’ Guajardo… told the Guardian… Guajardo added: ‘It’s a snub. It’s a way of saying: “You know, you’re not that special to us.”’…
“Bill Bishop, a China expert… agreed that Obama’s welcome looked suspiciously like a deliberate slight intended ‘to make the Americans look diminished and weak’.
“It sure looks like a straight-up snub,” Bishop said. “This clearly plays very much into the [idea]: ‘Look, we can make the American president go out of the ass of the plane.’”…
“Obama’s unconventional welcome… were a reminder of the underlying tensions. The Washington Post said Obama’s bumpy landing in China was ‘a fitting reflection of how the relationship between these two world powers has become frayed and fraught with frustration’… Official statements issued by both sides on Saturday, as the pair held more than four hours of bilateral meetings, hinted at some of the disagreements between the world’s two largest economies…
“Bishop said: ‘Other than in climate, in most areas of the US-China relationship there is increasing amounts of friction and some actually increasingly quite hot friction around the South China Sea and some of these military [interactions] in the region. The US is looking a little weak and a little tired and I think [Beijing is] happy to put anybody in their place when they can. I think they see the opportunity to make Obama look weak,’ he added…”
The Sun wrote on September 5:
“PRESIDENT Obama shared a tense exchange with Russian premier Vladimir Putin at the G20 summit in China this morning as the two failed to agree over a ceasefire in Syria. They were pictured shaking hands in an icy encounter at the gathering of leaders from the world’s twenty biggest economies in Hangzou. It comes after weeks of talks between US and Russian diplomats have failed to turn up an agreement on bringing peace to the war-torn country.
“Russia is firmly backing barrel-bombing dictator Bashar Al-Assad, providing military assistance and war planes. America is on the side of what it calls ‘moderate’ anti-Assad rebels and Kurdish forces leading the ground fight against ISIS…”
Deutsche Welle reported on September 7:
“A Russian fighter jet has flown within 3 meters of a US Navy surveillance aircraft over the Black Sea. As tension in Ukraine reflares, alongside the ongoing Syria quagmire, US-Russian relations need no such flashpoints… Moscow said the intercept was conducted ‘in strict accordance with international rules’ because the Americans were trying to snoop on Russian army exercises…
“According to the US, the Russian jet conducted four intercepts of the Poseidon and the one that was considered unsafe lasted about 19 minutes… In a dramatic incident earlier this year, Russian jets buzzed over the USS Donald Cook in the Baltic Sea, coming within 10 meters of the warship.
“Relations between Russia and the West are at their worst since the Cold War…”
Newsmax wrote on September 7:
“The Obama administration delivered $1.3 billion more in cash to Iran earlier this year after the initial and infamous $400 million ‘ransom’ payment, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday. The Journal reported that lawmakers were briefed Tuesday about the payments, months after the U.S. sent a total of $1.7 billion in non-U.S. currency to Iran from Jan. 17 through Feb. 5.
“The subsequent $1.3 billion was transferred in the same way as the initial $400 million – to an Iranian cargo plane in Switzerland.
“Lawmakers were livid to learn of the initial payment, which coincided with Iran’s release of five American prisoners. When pressed, officials have since acknowledged the initial $400 million was used as leverage to guarantee their release, which many have called a ransom payment, a charge the president continues to deny.
“The news of the additional $1.3 billion prompted Florida Sen. Marco Rubio’s pledge to introduce legislation to block any further payments to Iran. Titled the No Ransom Payments Act, it would also require Iran to return the funds it has already received…
“Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s campaign launched an attack on the Obama administration Wednesday after a report revealed it has paid Iran a total $1.7 billion in cash to settle an old military transaction… ‘President Obama’s secret $400 million ransom payment to Iran already set an incredibly dangerous precedent, and news that it was followed by two more plane loads of cash only makes this blunder even worse,’ Trump’s senior communications adviser Jason Miller said in a statement… ‘The United States should not be helping fund the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism…’”
The Trump campaign states the obvious, but who in the Obama Administration is listening?
The New York Post wrote on September 5:
“President Obama on Monday defended San Francisco 49ers backup quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s decision not to stand during the playing of the national anthem… The president added, ‘I don’t doubt his sincerity. I think he cares about some real, legitimate issues that have to be talked about. And if nothing else, he’s generated some conversation around some topics that need to be talked about…’
“Kaepernick has refused to stand for the pre-game playing of the national anthem, citing racial injustice and the oppression of minorities in America… Obama… praised the 28-year-old [black] professional athlete for speaking out… Obama didn’t encourage standing for the playing of the national anthem…”
This is quite a divisive position to take for an American President!
Breitbart wrote on September 5:
“U.S. Women’s National Team member Megan Rapinoe refused to stand during the national anthem before a Seattle Reign game against the Chicago Red Stars in Illinois. The teams played to a 2-2 stalemate. Just over 3,000 people attended the match. ‘It was very intentional,’ Rapinoe told American Soccer Now. ‘It was a little nod to [Colin] Kaepernick and everything that he’s standing for right now. I think it’s actually pretty disgusting the way he was treated and the way that a lot of the media has covered it…’
“Rapinoe called herself ‘disgusted’ by the ‘overtly racist’ reception to Kaepernick’s protest…
“Rapinoe won a gold medal at the 2012 London Olympics and played a crucial role in securing a victory for the American women at the 2015 World Cup… ‘Being a gay American, I know what it means to look at the flag and not have it protect all of your liberties,’ she told American Soccer Now. ‘… It’s important to have white people stand in support of people of color on this…’”
Minorities become more and more vocal in this country, while the vast majority is pressured into silence.
Newsmax wrote on September 6:
“Ben Carson said Tuesday that Donald Trump should ‘absolutely’ apologize for insinuating that President Barack Obama wasn’t born in the United States. In an interview on CNN’s ‘The Lead,’ the former GOP presidential primary candidate, who now is a Trump supporter, said Trump’s appeal among African-American voters could be improved with a mea culpa pursuing the birther issue…
“The issue continues to dog Trump; on Monday, he refused to give a definitive yes or no about whether he believes the president was born in the United States. In 2011 while under fire from Trump, Obama produced his long-form birth certificate to prove he was born in Hawaii…”
Why Ben Carson would make such an unreasonable recommendation is difficult to understand and can only be explained with a desire to attract black voters. The question as to whether or not Barack Obama was really born in Hawaii is far from settled; much credible evidence exists suggesting the opposite (the so-called long-form birth certificate, which is actually only a copy, has been termed as dubious at best). It would be a fundamental mistake for Donald Trump to “absolutely apologize” to President Obama for “insinuating” that he was not born in the USA… which he might not have been…
The New York Times wrote on September 2:
“Lester Holt, Martha Raddatz, Anderson Cooper and Chris Wallace have been selected to moderate this year’s presidential debates, the Commission on Presidential Debates announced on Friday. Mr. Holt, the anchor of the ‘NBC Nightly News,’ will moderate the first debate on Sept. 26; Ms. Raddatz of ABC and Mr. Cooper of CNN will moderate the town hall debate on Oct. 9; and Mr. Wallace of Fox News will handle the final debate on Oct. 19… Additionally, the CBS News correspondent Elaine Quijano will moderate the vice-presidential debate on Oct. 4…
“Debates have allowed challengers and relative political newcomers to reach out to reluctant voters, providing reassurance about their qualifications. Barack Obama and Bill Clinton helped put to rest questions about their preparedness for the presidency in confident debate exchanges, and George W. Bush defied the caricature of himself as a lightweight by holding his own against Al Gore. Even Mitt Romney, who ultimately lost to Mr. Obama, shook up the 2012 race late in the season by routing the president in their first debate.
“Mr. Trump, facing significant skepticism among voters about his character and temperament, will be aiming for a similarly forceful performance. But Mrs. Clinton is one of the most practiced debaters in modern politics, after two campaigns for the Senate and the presidency, and she is perceived to have a considerable advantage…
“Presidential debates… draw enormous ratings themselves, far greater than the 21 million average for Sunday Night Football games, the highest rated regular programming in television. The first presidential debate in the 2012 election drew around 70 million viewers… Ratings records have been set going back to August 2015: The first Republican debate attracted 24 million viewers, the highest rated non-sports cable event in history. Democratic debates similarly broke viewing records for the party.”
On September 3, 2016, the website theearthchild.co.za published the following article:
“Right now the largest Native American PROTECT (not PROTEST) in history is happening in the Dakota’s… the US Government is taking control of Native American lands and forcing them to allow oil developers to drill on their land and move oil via pipelines. From watching what happened with the Tar Sands of Canada, we can get a good glimpse at what the land will look like after they’re done with it. Running through a similar pathway as that of the well-known failed Keystone XL project, the Bakken Pipeline would run across the Ogallala aquifer and the Mississippi rivers through sovereign Native lands… to take natural resources from the US and sell them to Asian and European markets…
“Dating back to 1989, the Exxon Valdez oil disaster springs to mind when we mention the last 30 years of history regarding production and distribution of oil… the Bakken pipeline is slated to be the largest oil line coming out of North Dakota’s Bakken oil fields, among the nation’s most active due to the fracking boom. The line would move up to 570,000 barrels of sweet crude oil daily through the Dakotas, Iowa, and Illinois. The nearly $3.8 billion pipeline is slated to cross multiple watersheds in its more than 1,150 mile course… critics say the pipeline brings the threat of spill damage to thousands of miles of fertile farmland, forests, and rivers… Most of the affected land is farmland, but the project does run through wildlife areas and major waterways like the Mississippi, and the Missouri, the longest river in North America.
“Would you instill your trust in America’s track records relating to oil disasters? Could we even remotely lay our trust in the very government and private industry when it comes to running major rivers and watersheds? Just imagine the possibilities of water contamination in areas spread over Texas to North Dakota!”
Something to think about…
| Live Services | The Challenge; By Design |
|---|---|
| Editorial | Threat and Reaction |
| Current Events | This Week in the News |
| Q&A | How Are We to Keep the Sabbath? (Part 2) |
| The Work | Preaching the Gospel and Feeding the Flock |
On September 10, 2016, Robb Harris will present the sermonette, titled, “The Challenge,” and Eric Rank will present the sermon, titled, “By Design.”
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.
by Eric Rank
Last week there was a credible threat of a violent attack targeting some of the federal agencies close to the one that I work with. Nearby in Fort Collins an entire campus of federal offices was shut down, forcing hundreds of employees to be turned away from work. As the news broke in my office, very little information was known, and what was known was delivered through a wide variety of different sources. The rumors made quite a swirl throughout the morning – some made it sound like the threat was imminent, and others made it sound fictional.
My own work place was in a different, but related federal facility than the one directly threatened, but everyone that we work with still had to make a decision about what to do for themselves. On the one hand, the threat seemed remote and unrealistic, but on the other hand, our office seemed like it could be a legitimate target. In the interest of playing it safe, dozens of people working in a different branch in the building were sent home. It was a surreal moment as I contemplated how to handle the situation for myself and the team that I manage. It was truly difficult to judge from the information that we had if this was a threat that was credible enough for us to take drastic actions.
Fortunately, nothing significant came from this event, and normal life resumed the following day. But to me, this event was a reminder of how quickly and unexpectedly something serious can occur in the world we live in and trigger panic. As the anniversary of the tragic September 11th attacks approaches this year, I recall what that day was like. It was just like any other day. I went to work for the day, just as I normally did, and by the time I had arrived two jets had crashed into the twin towers in New York City. In that ten minute commute, the world had changed. But it was going to be “just another day.”
The event last week also reminded me of even more important things, which are recorded in God’s Word. As comfortable as we may be in this modern age, a simple catastrophic event, or even a rumor of an event, can strike as quickly and unexpectedly as a bolt of lightning. And so we have been warned, “For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. For when they say, ‘Peace and safety!’ then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape. But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief” (1 Thessalonians 5:2-4). Even though the day of the Lord will come as a thief, when we may be having an otherwise regular day, it is also something that we have been made aware of far ahead of time. We may be surprised at how unpredictably the events might unfold, but we will not be caught completely off-guard if we pay attention to warnings and watch for the signs of the times, as the Bible instructs.
Even if the events of fulfilled prophecy happen on a day when we have not planned for a catastrophic event to occur, we can rest assured that the instructions that we have in the Bible will successfully guide us. The only thing that we can do is rely on God’s protection. We cannot, and must not, rely on our own wit or strength to protect us. “But let all those rejoice who put their trust in You; Let them ever shout for joy, because You defend them; Let those also who love Your name Be joyful in You. For You, O LORD, will bless the righteous; With favor You will surround him as with a shield” (Psalm 5:11-12). When catastrophe strikes and threatens our safety and well-being, we can and must have faith in God to lead us to safety.
Last week as I contemplated how to respond to a threat of a violent attack, the thought that I need to rely on God—and only God—tempered every fear that I had. I wasn’t sure what judgment was right, but I was unwavering in my confidence that God would offer protection in the time of need.
We begin with the stunning state election victory of Germany’s anti-immigration party AfD and Angela Merkel’s disastrous debacle; and we cite articles about possible consequences for Chancellor Merkel, Germany’s political landscape and even the established main parties in Europe. We also show that minorities, including the Jewish community, are deeply concerned about AfD’s victory. Please view our new StandingWatch program, titled, “Election Debacle for Angela Merkel…What’s Next?”
We speak on Turkey’s ongoing dictatorial methods; and we report on troubling developments in and pertaining to the UK.
We continue with the insignificant and irrelevant role which President Obama is playing on the world stage, as could be seen in events occurring and comments made at the G20 summit in China. We speak on stunning “ransom” money payments by the USA to Iran; and report on the national anthem protests by a black and another gay American athlete.
We speak on an ill-advised recommendation by Ben Carson to Donald Trump regarding the controversial “birther” debate pertaining to Barack Obama; and we conclude with an article about the dates and moderators for the upcoming US Presidential debates and the historical roles which these kinds of debates have played in the past; as well as a controversial huge pipeline project.
BBC News reported on September 5:
“Angela Merkel’s ruling CDU party has been beaten into third place by an anti-immigrant and anti-Islam party in elections in a north-eastern German state. The Alternative fuer Deutschland (AfD) party took just under 21% of the vote behind the centre-left SPD’s 30%. The German chancellor’s CDU was backed by only 19% of voters, its worst ever result in the state. The vote was seen as a key test before German parliamentary elections in 2017.
“Before the vote in Mecklenburg-West Pomerania, in the former East Germany, all of Germany’s other parties ruled out forming a governing coalition with the AfD. But the party, formed only three years ago, is already represented in nine of Germany’s 16 state parliaments.
“One leading CDU politician called the result catastrophic, while another, Wolfgang Bosbach, said the arrival of hundreds of thousands of migrants without documents had ‘put the wind in the AfD’s sails’. This is humiliating for Angela Merkel – not least because this was on home turf…
“Alternative fuer Deutschland’s anti immigrant and increasingly strident anti-Islam message has a powerful appeal to people concerned about integration and worried about domestic security. It doesn’t look good for Mrs Merkel. Her approval ratings are at a five-year low. But… there is no serious contender waiting in the wings to replace her.
“BBC Berlin correspondent Damien McGuinness says that following her political embarrassment, Mrs Merkel will now come under greater pressure to change her welcoming position on refugees. Addressing supporters, local AfD leader Leif-Erik Holm said: ‘Perhaps this is the beginning of the end of Angela Merkel’s chancellorship today.’… ‘How many more electoral disasters can Merkel take?’ wonders tabloid Bild, and predicts that temporarily pacified opposition to Mrs Merkel’s line inside her conservative bloc could erupt with full force… An article in Sueddeutsche Zeitung predicts an ‘autumn of discontent’ for the chancellor…
“But a commentary in news magazine Der Spiegel believes that while the election is a ‘debacle’ for Ms Merkel, her job is not on the line quite yet. Some also think it’s not all just about Mrs Merkel. A commentary in Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung argues that voters are angry at ‘(almost) all’ mainstream parties, and not just the Christian Democrats…”
This distrust of all the established parties may give way to the rise of a charismatic personage in Germany who will galvanize the masses and offer them ”solutions” for the many problems they are facing.
Deutsche Welle wrote on September 6:
“After the CDU’s electoral defeat in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, tensions in the CDU-CSU union have intensified. Bavarian State Premier Horst Seehofer has blamed Merkel’s refugee policy for the AfD’s success… Seehofer has been a long-time vocal critic of Merkel’s open-door policy since the chancellor allowed some 1 million refugees to cross Germany’s borders last year… ‘Confidence [in the government] is dwindling rapidly,’ said Seehofer…
“Merkel defended her government’s handling of the refugee crisis on Monday…”
The Local wrote on September 8:
“The CSU are a political anomaly in Germany, only standing for election in Bavaria, where the CDU have no presence. The two parties have always had an alliance at the federal level… Securing the support of the CSU leader is key for a CDU chief who is seeking the chancellorship.”
This stubborn refusal to accept responsibility and admit grave error might very well lead to Angela Merkel’s complete downfall.
Deutsche Welle wrote on September 8:
“Merkel’s words have fallen upon deaf ears in the CSU, whose party line appears to be more radical than the AfD’s…
“The conflict in Germany’s conservative camp has entered a new round. Angela Merkel shouts unmistakably in the direction of Bavarian State Premier Horst Seehofer and his CSU party: Tone it down, otherwise the populists win and we will lose our orientation if we start following the AfD’s lead, language-wise.
“The next day, the press has a CSU paper [that…] doesn’t care one iota about what the chancellor wants… The paper not only agrees with the AfD party platform on many points, but it even goes one step farther… on the topic of dual citizenship. The Bavarian party wants to make exceptions: ‘Migrants from our Western Christian cultural circle should be given priority.’
“Even the AfD wasn’t able to escalate matters to this level at its own convention…
“The CSU was dissatisfied with Merkel’s European approach to refugee policies from the beginning and wanted tougher national measures. The CSU’s second motive is fear of the AfD… Thirdly, the mood among the CSU base and in Bavaria is critical of Merkel… And finally, the Bavarians see what their neighbors in Vienna, Budapest and Bratislava – who are counting on closing the door to outsiders – are doing…
“[Merkel’s] call in the Bundestag didn’t even last a few hours. Her power has diminished again.”
In a related article, Deutsche Welle wrote on September 8:
“Also proposed is… a ban on body-obscuring burqas… The burqa was described as the ‘uniform of Islamism.’ Also contained in the CSU draft was a rejection of ‘special swimming times for Muslims’… ‘A nation must decide itself who it admits – that is not decided by the migrants,’ the CSU draft said, while adding ‘we are opposed to our world-open country being changed by immigration and refugee flows. Germany must remain Germany.'”
Deutsche Welle wrote on September 5:
“Right-wing populists across Europe cheered the strong showing of the Alternative for Germany (AfD)… ‘All victories of patriotic and EU-critical parties are helping freedom loving people and parties all over Europe,’ Geert Wilders, the founder and leader of the right-wing Party for Freedom (PVV), told DW in an email statement. ‘No one will be able to stop the Patriotic Spring, and the old times where the ruling political elite – like Merkel, Hollande, Rutte and others – could bypass and ignore the common people on issues such as immigration, asylum and EU-policy are definitely over. Their soon-to-come political end is the start of a new political wave of patriotism, national sovereignty and the end of cultural relativism.’
“France’s Marine Le Pen tweeted, ‘What was impossible yesterday has become possible: the AfD patriots have swept away Merkel’s party!’ Those sentiments were echoed by leaders of anti-European Union and anti-immigration parties in Austria and Italy as well.
“Can such statements be taken at face value? Does the fact that the AfD took 20.8 percent of the vote in Sunday’s poll represent a victory for right-wing populists on the continent as a whole? ‘Definitely,’ Alexander Häusler, a sociologist and expert on right-wing populism at Düsseldorf University, told DW. ‘The other right-wing populist parties in Europe were looking for a partner in Germany. Now with the electoral success of the AfD, they have one. A gap in the political landscape, if you will, has been closed.’…
“Given the deep-seated social problems and frustrations that motivate people to vote for right-wing populist parties, it is unlikely the movement will dissipate any time soon in either Germany, or Europe as a whole… Le Pen currently leads polls in France, which has a national election next year, attracting as much as 30 percent of electoral support. Having a like-minded partner in Germany can only bolster her campaign to become the next French president. Wilders will also hope for a boost ahead of the Netherlands’ national vote on March 15, 2017. So they and right-wing populist leaders in other European countries will be paying close attention to other upcoming local German elections in Berlin on September 18 and in North Rhine-Westphalia on May 14, 2017…”
The Local wrote on September 5:
“Since the results were announced, minority groups have… been reacting with concern over the far-right party’s success. ‘That an extreme-right party which blatantly incites hatred against minorities in a disgusting way can rise unhindered in our country is a nightmare come true,’ Charlotte Knobloch, President of the Jewish Community of Munich and Upper Bavaria (IKG), said on Monday… ‘It is pathetic when a party – in which xenophobia, antisemitism, racism, homophobia, historical denialism and conspiracy theories are the basis for argument – can become such a strong social and political influence,’ she said.
“Knobloch warned that, in collaboration with other far-right parties, the AfD had the strength to threaten Germany’s democratic foundations…
“The AfD was founded in 2013 as a eurosceptic party that advocated a return to the Deutsche Mark, but it has since shifted to become a mainly anti-immigration and Islamophobic party. It has grown strongly even as its top members have sparked outrage with insulting remarks, including one disparaging star footballer Jerome Boateng, who is of German and Ghanaian descent.
“The right-wing populist party is the first to establish itself in the German political landscape since the Second World War, after decades in which no such party crossed the five percent hurdle to enter national parliament. At national level, it is now polling at 14 percent according to a September survey, a gain of 10 points in the year since Merkel threw open German borders to a mass influx of asylum seekers.”
Deutsche Welle wrote on September 7:
“Austria’s interior minister [Wolfgang Sobotka] has threatened Hungary with a lawsuit if Budapest refuses to take back migrants. Hungary, in turn, has blamed bad policy in Germany, Austria and Greece for Europe’s migrant crisis…
“Tensions over immigration are high ahead of October 2 presidential elections in Austria… The presidential vote could see the anti-immigration, far-right Freedom Party take over the presidency in Vienna.”
Deutsche Welle reported on September 6:
“Turkish authorities have confiscated footage of an interview with Turkish Minister of Youth and Sports, Akif Cagatay Kilic, filmed for DW’s show ‘Conflict Zone.’ The action has prompted an outcry over press freedom.
“The interview at the center of the controversy took place with DW host Michel Friedman in Ankara on Monday evening. Friedman asked Turkish Minister of Youth and Sports, Akif Cagatay Kilic, about the July coup attempt as well as the mass layoffs and arrests that took place in its aftermath. He also asked about the media situation in Turkey and the position of women in Turkish society, before asking Kilic elaborate on several controversial statements made by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on these subjects.
“Immediately following the interview, Kilic excused himself from the room. No sooner had the minister left, [than] his press officer announced that DW would not be allowed to broadcast the interview. When Friedman and his editorial colleague protested, the video material was confiscated by employees of the ministry… ‘This is proof that freedom of the press in Turkey is very restricted,’ Friedman said. ‘The incident is very disturbing. If the foreign media is already been treated in this manner, one could well imagine how difficult it is right now for Turkish journalists.’…
“The German Journalists Union (DJV) called for an immediate release of the video. ‘That is the most severe offense against press freedom, like we only know from dictatorships,’ criticized DJV Chairman Frank Überall…
“Despite several repeated requests for the release of the video footage, Turkey’s decision remained unchanged…”
Turkey has become an absolute dictatorship, and the German government’s policy of appeasing Erdogan is shameful. But prophecy reveals that a dictatorial Turkey will collaborate with a future European dictatorship in their mutual fight against Israel.
The Times wrote on September 8:
“Former communist states are planning to exploit the fallout of Brexit with a ‘counter-revolution’ designed to block migrant deals and assert the power of national governments over Brussels.
“Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, an influential diplomatic European Union bloc known as the Visegrad Group, will lobby together at a summit next week to ensure that national governments are put back in the EU’s driving seat.
“The summit will gather all EU leaders, excluding Theresa May, in Slovakia’s capital to forge a new vision of Europe…”
Deutsche Welle reported on September 9:
“French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said on Thursday that three women aged between 19 and 39 were arrested in connection with the discovery of six gas cylinders in the French capital on Sunday. Cazeneuve said the suspects were ‘radicalized fanatics’ who were preparing ‘new violent … and imminent actions.’…
“A police officer also suffered a knife wound during the arrest… Four other people – two brothers and their girlfriends – were already arrested earlier in the week.
“The first couple to be arrested – a 34-year-old man and a 29-year-old woman – are known to the security services for links to radical Islamists. More people are still being sought in the Notre Dame case, the prosecutor’s office said…”
The Daily Mail wrote on September 4:
“Barack Obama yesterday said the UK can expect no special favours on a trade deal with America after voting to leave the EU. The President stepped up his controversial cautions about Brexit – and suggested Britain’s relationship with the United States risked ‘unravelling’ in the wake of the referendum. Mr Obama caused anger at the height of the referendum campaign when he used a visit to London to warn voters that the UK would go to ‘the back of the queue’ in negotiating a new trade deal if it opted for Brexit. He hinted again yesterday that any deal was likely to take time – with potentially serious consequences for UK-US trade in the meantime…
“Speaking after an hour-long meeting with Theresa May at the G20 summit in China, Mr Obama bridled at suggestions he had threatened to ‘punish’ Britain for leaving the EU. He said he and Mrs May had confirmed the ‘very special relationship’ between the two countries, but added that he still believed the Brexit vote was a mistake, which could cost Britain dearly…
“Former Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith said of Mr Obama’s comments: ‘Who cares what he says? He’s going. Bye bye.’ Jacob Rees-Mogg, another Eurosceptic Tory MP, added: ‘Fortunately, he is yesterday’s man and will no longer be President early next year… These comments tell us all we need to know about how President Obama has never been a friend of ours.’…
“Meanwhile, the Prime Minister rebuffed overtures from Vladimir Putin to reset the UK’s frosty economic relations with Russia. She challenged the Russian President over Moscow’s intervention in Syria and warned him there could not be ‘business as usual’ in the relationship between the UK and the Kremlin…”
The Bible shows that even the friendship between the USA, the UK and Israel will deteriorate.
Breitbart wrote on September 7:
“Just two months after voting to leave the European Union (EU), the UK has announced the construction of a ‘great wall’ near its most porous border in Calais, to keep illegal migrants out. The UK’s southern border checks are conducted in northern France and attempted illegal crossings have more than quadrupled in recent years. UK Border Force guards on French soil stopped 84,088 illegal immigrants last year, figures released last month show.
“The new 13-foot (4 metre) high wall will be built of smooth concrete, making it hard to climb, and will line the roads into the port town of Calais where the entrance to the channel tunnel also sits. ‘We are going to start building this big, new wall as part of the £17 million package we are doing with the French,’ the UK’s immigration minister Robert Goodwill told a parliamentary committee yesterday, the Telegraph reports. ‘People are still getting through,’ he added. ‘We’ve done the fence, now we’re doing the wall’.”
This wall could be symbolic for the UK’s isolation from continental Europe.
The Independent wrote on September 4:
“Britain is now the second biggest arms dealer in the world, official government figures show…
“Since 2010 Britain has also sold arms to 39 of the 51 countries ranked ‘not free’ on the Freedom House ‘Freedom in the world’ report, and 22 of the 30 countries on the UK Government’s own human rights watch list. A full two-thirds of UK weapons over this period were sold to Middle Eastern countries, where instability has fed into increased risk of terror threats to Britain and across the West… the UK has sold more arms than Russia, China, or France on average over the last 10 years. Only the United States is a bigger exporter…”
This is a very sad record…
The website of pinknews.co.uk wrote on September 6:
“Fourteen Church of England clergy members have revealed that they secretly married their same-sex partners in defiance of the Archbishop of Canterbury. The revelation was made in an open letter published today. Some of the signatories were already open about being in same-sex relationships, but others came out in the letter.
“The open letter called for ‘diversity’ in the church, the same week it was revealed that the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby was already aware that a bishop is in a same-sex relationship… The letter says: ‘We encourage you to be bold … to what you know to be increasingly the direction of travel, not just in our church but in many churches in this country… We will be praying for the College of Bishops as it meets this month. We appreciate the time may not yet be right for a change in the church’s official understanding of marriage, but it is time to respect that a diversity of theology within the church now exists and many in our parishes have already made the move. We hope for an outcome that will enable those who wish to do so to celebrate publicly where we see God at work in the lives of our congregations without fear and in openness.’…
“Colin Coward of Changing Attitude added that ten serving bishops are also in same-sex relationships or are gay or bisexual. One of the first clergy to marry his same-sex partner, Andrew Foreshew-Cain… warned that gay members of the Church will not back down on the issue. He told the Times: ‘We are now going to keep pushing for the next and the next and the next [step] until we get full equality in the church. We are not going away’…”
And so they will continue to push and push and push, until the indifferent majority gets tired and gives in to a vocal minority.
The Local wrote on September 7:
“Germany on Wednesday warned Britain against negotiating free trade deals with non-EU member states before it quits the bloc, after Prime Minister Theresa May sought to drum up commerce agreements during a G20 summit in China… [Germany stated that] ‘it is clear that an EU member state cannot hold bilateral talks on free trade deals with non-EU states as long as it remains a member of the EU’.”
Even though the UK might think that they can find help and support from Germany, they will become bitterly disappointed.
Express wrote on September 8:
“EUROCRAT Donald Tusk has urged Theresa May to begin Brexit talks as soon as possible… In a sign that Brussels may be losing patience with Mrs May’s dithering over Brexit, Mr Tusk said it was a ‘crucial time’ for the UK and the EU… Mr Tusk said: ‘To put it simply, the ball is now in your court…’
“The Prime Minister yesterday told MPs she was seeking ‘the right deal’ on trade in goods and services after Britain withdraws from the EU. But she refused to say whether she wanted the UK to remain in the European single market…
“In response, the Prime Minister and her ministers were accused of ‘waffle’ by Scottish National Party Westminster leader Angus Robertson. The Liberal Democrats’ Tim Farron said: ‘This Government isn’t concealing its hand. It hasn’t got a hand or, it would appear, a clue.’ And under-fire Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn accused the Government of issuing ‘contradictory messages’ on Brexit.
“Earlier this week Mrs May slapped down Brexit Secretary David Davis for suggesting continued membership of the single market was ‘very improbable’… In response, the Prime Minister’s spokesman insisted Mr Davis he was giving a personal opinion rather than outlining Government policy.”
The Guardian wrote on September 4:
“China’s leaders have been accused of delivering a calculated diplomatic snub to Barack Obama after the US president was not provided with a staircase to leave his plane during his chaotic arrival in Hangzhou before the start of the G20.
“Chinese authorities have rolled out the red carpet for leaders including India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, the South Korean president, Park Geun-hye, Brazil’s president, Michel Temer, and the British prime minister, Theresa May, who touched down on Sunday morning.
“But the leader of the world’s largest economy, who is on his final tour of Asia, was forced to disembark from Air Force One through a little-used exit in the plane’s belly after no rolling staircase was provided when he landed in the eastern Chinese city on Saturday afternoon. When Obama did find his way on to a red carpet on the tarmac below there were heated altercations between US and Chinese officials, with one Chinese official caught on video shouting: ‘This is our country! This is our airport!’ ‘The reception that President Obama and his staff got when they arrived here Saturday afternoon was bruising, even by Chinese standards,’ the New York Times reported.
“Jorge Guajardo, Mexico’s former ambassador to China, said he was convinced Obama’s treatment was part of a calculated snub. ‘These things do not happen by mistake. Not with the Chinese,’ Guajardo… told the Guardian… Guajardo added: ‘It’s a snub. It’s a way of saying: “You know, you’re not that special to us.”’…
“Bill Bishop, a China expert… agreed that Obama’s welcome looked suspiciously like a deliberate slight intended ‘to make the Americans look diminished and weak’.
“It sure looks like a straight-up snub,” Bishop said. “This clearly plays very much into the [idea]: ‘Look, we can make the American president go out of the ass of the plane.’”…
“Obama’s unconventional welcome… were a reminder of the underlying tensions. The Washington Post said Obama’s bumpy landing in China was ‘a fitting reflection of how the relationship between these two world powers has become frayed and fraught with frustration’… Official statements issued by both sides on Saturday, as the pair held more than four hours of bilateral meetings, hinted at some of the disagreements between the world’s two largest economies…
“Bishop said: ‘Other than in climate, in most areas of the US-China relationship there is increasing amounts of friction and some actually increasingly quite hot friction around the South China Sea and some of these military [interactions] in the region. The US is looking a little weak and a little tired and I think [Beijing is] happy to put anybody in their place when they can. I think they see the opportunity to make Obama look weak,’ he added…”
The Sun wrote on September 5:
“PRESIDENT Obama shared a tense exchange with Russian premier Vladimir Putin at the G20 summit in China this morning as the two failed to agree over a ceasefire in Syria. They were pictured shaking hands in an icy encounter at the gathering of leaders from the world’s twenty biggest economies in Hangzou. It comes after weeks of talks between US and Russian diplomats have failed to turn up an agreement on bringing peace to the war-torn country.
“Russia is firmly backing barrel-bombing dictator Bashar Al-Assad, providing military assistance and war planes. America is on the side of what it calls ‘moderate’ anti-Assad rebels and Kurdish forces leading the ground fight against ISIS…”
Deutsche Welle reported on September 7:
“A Russian fighter jet has flown within 3 meters of a US Navy surveillance aircraft over the Black Sea. As tension in Ukraine reflares, alongside the ongoing Syria quagmire, US-Russian relations need no such flashpoints… Moscow said the intercept was conducted ‘in strict accordance with international rules’ because the Americans were trying to snoop on Russian army exercises…
“According to the US, the Russian jet conducted four intercepts of the Poseidon and the one that was considered unsafe lasted about 19 minutes… In a dramatic incident earlier this year, Russian jets buzzed over the USS Donald Cook in the Baltic Sea, coming within 10 meters of the warship.
“Relations between Russia and the West are at their worst since the Cold War…”
Newsmax wrote on September 7:
“The Obama administration delivered $1.3 billion more in cash to Iran earlier this year after the initial and infamous $400 million ‘ransom’ payment, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday. The Journal reported that lawmakers were briefed Tuesday about the payments, months after the U.S. sent a total of $1.7 billion in non-U.S. currency to Iran from Jan. 17 through Feb. 5.
“The subsequent $1.3 billion was transferred in the same way as the initial $400 million – to an Iranian cargo plane in Switzerland.
“Lawmakers were livid to learn of the initial payment, which coincided with Iran’s release of five American prisoners. When pressed, officials have since acknowledged the initial $400 million was used as leverage to guarantee their release, which many have called a ransom payment, a charge the president continues to deny.
“The news of the additional $1.3 billion prompted Florida Sen. Marco Rubio’s pledge to introduce legislation to block any further payments to Iran. Titled the No Ransom Payments Act, it would also require Iran to return the funds it has already received…
“Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s campaign launched an attack on the Obama administration Wednesday after a report revealed it has paid Iran a total $1.7 billion in cash to settle an old military transaction… ‘President Obama’s secret $400 million ransom payment to Iran already set an incredibly dangerous precedent, and news that it was followed by two more plane loads of cash only makes this blunder even worse,’ Trump’s senior communications adviser Jason Miller said in a statement… ‘The United States should not be helping fund the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism…’”
The Trump campaign states the obvious, but who in the Obama Administration is listening?
The New York Post wrote on September 5:
“President Obama on Monday defended San Francisco 49ers backup quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s decision not to stand during the playing of the national anthem… The president added, ‘I don’t doubt his sincerity. I think he cares about some real, legitimate issues that have to be talked about. And if nothing else, he’s generated some conversation around some topics that need to be talked about…’
“Kaepernick has refused to stand for the pre-game playing of the national anthem, citing racial injustice and the oppression of minorities in America… Obama… praised the 28-year-old [black] professional athlete for speaking out… Obama didn’t encourage standing for the playing of the national anthem…”
This is quite a divisive position to take for an American President!
Breitbart wrote on September 5:
“U.S. Women’s National Team member Megan Rapinoe refused to stand during the national anthem before a Seattle Reign game against the Chicago Red Stars in Illinois. The teams played to a 2-2 stalemate. Just over 3,000 people attended the match. ‘It was very intentional,’ Rapinoe told American Soccer Now. ‘It was a little nod to [Colin] Kaepernick and everything that he’s standing for right now. I think it’s actually pretty disgusting the way he was treated and the way that a lot of the media has covered it…’
“Rapinoe called herself ‘disgusted’ by the ‘overtly racist’ reception to Kaepernick’s protest…
“Rapinoe won a gold medal at the 2012 London Olympics and played a crucial role in securing a victory for the American women at the 2015 World Cup… ‘Being a gay American, I know what it means to look at the flag and not have it protect all of your liberties,’ she told American Soccer Now. ‘… It’s important to have white people stand in support of people of color on this…’”
Minorities become more and more vocal in this country, while the vast majority is pressured into silence.
Newsmax wrote on September 6:
“Ben Carson said Tuesday that Donald Trump should ‘absolutely’ apologize for insinuating that President Barack Obama wasn’t born in the United States. In an interview on CNN’s ‘The Lead,’ the former GOP presidential primary candidate, who now is a Trump supporter, said Trump’s appeal among African-American voters could be improved with a mea culpa pursuing the birther issue…
“The issue continues to dog Trump; on Monday, he refused to give a definitive yes or no about whether he believes the president was born in the United States. In 2011 while under fire from Trump, Obama produced his long-form birth certificate to prove he was born in Hawaii…”
Why Ben Carson would make such an unreasonable recommendation is difficult to understand and can only be explained with a desire to attract black voters. The question as to whether or not Barack Obama was really born in Hawaii is far from settled; much credible evidence exists suggesting the opposite (the so-called long-form birth certificate, which is actually only a copy, has been termed as dubious at best). It would be a fundamental mistake for Donald Trump to “absolutely apologize” to President Obama for “insinuating” that he was not born in the USA… which he might not have been…
The New York Times wrote on September 2:
“Lester Holt, Martha Raddatz, Anderson Cooper and Chris Wallace have been selected to moderate this year’s presidential debates, the Commission on Presidential Debates announced on Friday. Mr. Holt, the anchor of the ‘NBC Nightly News,’ will moderate the first debate on Sept. 26; Ms. Raddatz of ABC and Mr. Cooper of CNN will moderate the town hall debate on Oct. 9; and Mr. Wallace of Fox News will handle the final debate on Oct. 19… Additionally, the CBS News correspondent Elaine Quijano will moderate the vice-presidential debate on Oct. 4…
“Debates have allowed challengers and relative political newcomers to reach out to reluctant voters, providing reassurance about their qualifications. Barack Obama and Bill Clinton helped put to rest questions about their preparedness for the presidency in confident debate exchanges, and George W. Bush defied the caricature of himself as a lightweight by holding his own against Al Gore. Even Mitt Romney, who ultimately lost to Mr. Obama, shook up the 2012 race late in the season by routing the president in their first debate.
“Mr. Trump, facing significant skepticism among voters about his character and temperament, will be aiming for a similarly forceful performance. But Mrs. Clinton is one of the most practiced debaters in modern politics, after two campaigns for the Senate and the presidency, and she is perceived to have a considerable advantage…
“Presidential debates… draw enormous ratings themselves, far greater than the 21 million average for Sunday Night Football games, the highest rated regular programming in television. The first presidential debate in the 2012 election drew around 70 million viewers… Ratings records have been set going back to August 2015: The first Republican debate attracted 24 million viewers, the highest rated non-sports cable event in history. Democratic debates similarly broke viewing records for the party.”
On September 3, 2016, the website theearthchild.co.za published the following article:
“Right now the largest Native American PROTECT (not PROTEST) in history is happening in the Dakota’s… the US Government is taking control of Native American lands and forcing them to allow oil developers to drill on their land and move oil via pipelines. From watching what happened with the Tar Sands of Canada, we can get a good glimpse at what the land will look like after they’re done with it. Running through a similar pathway as that of the well-known failed Keystone XL project, the Bakken Pipeline would run across the Ogallala aquifer and the Mississippi rivers through sovereign Native lands… to take natural resources from the US and sell them to Asian and European markets…
“Dating back to 1989, the Exxon Valdez oil disaster springs to mind when we mention the last 30 years of history regarding production and distribution of oil… the Bakken pipeline is slated to be the largest oil line coming out of North Dakota’s Bakken oil fields, among the nation’s most active due to the fracking boom. The line would move up to 570,000 barrels of sweet crude oil daily through the Dakotas, Iowa, and Illinois. The nearly $3.8 billion pipeline is slated to cross multiple watersheds in its more than 1,150 mile course… critics say the pipeline brings the threat of spill damage to thousands of miles of fertile farmland, forests, and rivers… Most of the affected land is farmland, but the project does run through wildlife areas and major waterways like the Mississippi, and the Missouri, the longest river in North America.
“Would you instill your trust in America’s track records relating to oil disasters? Could we even remotely lay our trust in the very government and private industry when it comes to running major rivers and watersheds? Just imagine the possibilities of water contamination in areas spread over Texas to North Dakota!”
Something to think about…
In the first installment of this series, we addressed questions related to God’s command not to do “work” on the Sabbath; not to pursue our own “pleasure”; and not to engage in “business.” In this installment, we will concentrate on the question as to whether it is permissible to eat out in a restaurant on the Sabbath. We addressed this question in a previous Q&A, stating the following:
“The Church of the Eternal God in the USA and its corporate affiliates in Canada and Great Britain have consistently taught that it is not wrong to eat out on the weekly Sabbath or annual Holy Days (which are also called ‘Sabbaths’ in the Bible), depending on the circumstances. At the same time, we must always keep firmly in mind that whatever we do or say or think on the Sabbath should be in realization of the fact that we are spending time that God has set aside for a holy purpose (Isaiah 58:13-14)… This is not to say, however, that a Christian should engage in shopping on the Sabbath [but see our comments below], except in a real emergency… Nor should this… be used as justification or an excuse for a refusal to prepare for the Sabbath on the previous day…
“If Church members today eat occasionally in a nice, quiet restaurant on the Sabbath or a Holy Day after Church services, for instance, while, at the same time fellowshipping with other brethren and speaking about the things that pertain to God, then we must not condemn them for that. For instance, Church members might be traveling for quite a distance to attend Church services, looking forward to spending additional time with their brethren after services…
“This teaching, that it is not wrong to eat out on the Sabbath, is in accordance with the long-held understanding of the Church of God. In a letter from the Letter Answering Department of the Worldwide Church of God, dated October 1988, this understanding was correctly explained, as follows: ‘The Church has long taught that it is not wrong to eat out on the weekly Sabbath occasionally or on the annual Holy Days, depending upon one’s circumstances and preferences. Those waiters, waitresses, chefs, and the like, who may serve in a restaurant, are not our ‘servants’ in the way described in the Fourth Commandment. They are the employees of the owner of the restaurant. They would be working regardless of whether or not we ate there. God does not hold us responsible for their working on the Sabbath just because we use their services — unless we are the only ones who ever ate in that restaurant on the Sabbath. Obviously, we make up a very small portion of the customers served in restaurants on the Sabbath or Holy Days. Further, eating out occasionally on the Sabbath can enhance spiritual fellowship with brethren and allow family members more time to be with one another.’
“Mr. Armstrong, the late human leader of the Church of God, who died in 1986, explained once during a Bible study that he did not feel that it was inappropriate to go to a restaurant on a Sabbath… [since] eating or not eating did not stop the cooks and servers at a restaurant from working on the Sabbath… He would go out on a Friday night if he had guests, and if he had served his guests in his house, it would have meant a lot of work for Mr. Armstrong’s housekeeper and cook.
“The Church of God in Germany published a booklet in the early 70’s, titled ‘Gottes Sabbat–ein Tag der Freude’ (‘God’s Sabbath — A Day of Joy’). It reflected the Church’s understanding on the issue, and stated: ‘In Matthew 12:1-5, Christ shows clearly that it is not prohibited to acquire food on the Sabbath, when one is hungry and has nothing to eat. If one is not at home, it is not wrong to go to a restaurant on the Sabbath. There are people who do not have the means of cooking at home. In such cases it is permissible to buy food on the Sabbath.’…”
Some have no problem with going to a restaurant on the Sabbath to be with Church members, but reject the concept that when they get together for a picnic after Church services, some participating members, who have been traveling from a distance, go to a shop to buy some beer or some sandwiches for the picnic. Some may object to others stopping at a coffee shop on their way to Church services to drink coffee there or eat a sandwich, but they have no problem with buying coffee at the hotel where they are meeting, or at a restaurant where they might meet after services. We must not have double standards. If one set of actions is accepted, why not the other set? In addition, we do not know why the member would stop at a coffee shop on his way to services. Maybe, his family situation is such that he would rather enjoy peace at the coffee shop than having coffee at home, where he might be facing antagonism and rejection because of the Sabbath. As mentioned before, these are questions which must be answered pursuant to personal choices and convictions. It is not for us to condemn or criticize those who might not act in a way which we might approve or disapprove.
To continue with the above-mentioned Q&A:
“[In years when] the Passover evening falls on the Sabbath… work will have to be done during the ceremony. In addition, the Night to Be Much Observed falls [in such a] year on an annual Holy Day, following a weekly Sabbath. Some members of the Church of the Eternal God keep the Night to Be Much Observed in a nice, quiet restaurant, so as to reduce the work load on the women that night. Otherwise, the ladies would have to work during the weekly Sabbath to prepare meals for the evening. To prepare meals on Friday might pose several problems, as Friday, being the preparation day for the Sabbath, should be spent more properly to spiritually prepare for the Passover evening (in addition to finishing removing all leavening from the house, which must be completed [in such a] year by Friday evening).
“In the early 70’s, it was the practice of the Church of God in Germany to meet together in a restaurant during the Night to Be Much Observed. This was always a most inspiring experience, and rightly observed, did not at all take away from the spirit of that occasion…”
The Church of the Eternal God in Germany has followed this example for several years, with great success. In addition, Church members meet for at least eight days in rented facilities during the Feast of Tabernacles and the Last Great Day. Some might object to this, claiming they can’t rent rooms at an hotel, as this would include renting on the weekly Sabbath and two annual Holy Days. They would rather stay home and just attend services. However, in doing so, they would violate God’s command to stay during the entire Feast of Tabernacles in temporary dwellings (excluding some extraordinary personal circumstances).
To elaborate on this, we should take note of the following comments from our free booklet, “God’s Commanded Holy Days“:
“God instructs us [in Exodus 35:3] not to kindle a fire for the purpose of working. He is not talking about kindling a fire to warm ourselves, or to cook a meal, or, as some interpret this today, to turn on a light switch. In the original Hebrew, the thought is conveyed of ‘kindling a consuming fire.’ The context in which this command was given was the work of building the tabernacle (compare Exodus 35:10–19)… heavy baking or boiling should be done on Friday, but… it is not prohibited to ‘kindle a fire’ to cook or heat a meal on the Sabbath day… ‘Customary work,’ by Biblical definition, does not include kindling a fire to warm oneself or cooking or heating a meal, and it does not include the bringing of sacrifices by the priests…
“[In Nehemiah 13:15-22], we see a description of a very common practice in our Western world today—a farmer’s market being conducted on the Sabbath. People were carrying burdens into the city to sell them there. But God did not—and does not—approve of such practices. If we want to be God’s people, we are not to participate in such activities… Further, the command against carrying burdens applies foremost, as we have seen, to carrying merchandise to be sold. This does not mean, however, that we should engage in the work of moving our belongings from one house to another on the Sabbath, except, of course, in a real emergency…
“Christ did not do His customary work as a carpenter—but He did do the work of God, that is, He did do good things on the Sabbath, including healing people…”
We may want to clarify here that this does not justify the work of a Church member as a doctor or a nurse on the Sabbath, since this is their customary work. This would also include an employed caretaker in a hospital or convalescent home for the elderly. In those cases, they need to find a replacement for their work on the Sabbath, as everyone needs to do, who does customary work.
Continuing with quoting from our above-mentioned booklet:
“Since both the weekly Sabbath and the annual Holy Days are Feast days, the Christians in Colossae kept them of course as FEAST days. They would eat and drink on those days (except, of course, during the ‘Fast’—on the Day of Atonement). Some, though, apparently criticized them for that, teaching that no eating and drinking should take place on any of those days.
“Colossians 2:16, correctly translated from the Greek, states: ‘Let no one judge you regarding eating and drinking.’ Paul is addressing here the ACT of eating and drinking, not the KIND of food and drink being partaken of. Some critics felt, however, that Christians should fast on those days, rather than eating or drinking anything… Rather than agreeing with these human ideas, Paul states that this kind of philosophy is useless and is a doctrine of man that is derived from the ‘principles of this world.’ He specifically condemns such teaching in Colossians 2:8: ‘Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ.’
“Some were apparently trying to introduce those philosophies into the Church, especially pertaining to how to keep the Sabbath and the Holy Days. Paul, in addressing these attempts, essentially told the Colossians: ‘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.'”
The Church has resolved that the Sabbath should be kept as a Feast day, with eating and drinking. Occasional fasting on the Sabbath may be in order, but it should not become a habit. In addition, the Church has also resolved that it is not wrong, in certain circumstances, to eat out in a restaurant on the Sabbath.
In the next installment, we will begin to address God’s teaching on Church attendance.
(To be Continued)
Lead Writer: Norbert Link
On September 7, Norbert and Michael Link saw the printer to approve the mock-up version of our new booklet, “God’s Law… or God’s Grace?” Printed copies will be available at our Feast sites for those attending the Feast of Tabernacles and it is now posted on our website.
“Election Debacle for Angela Merkel… What’s Next?,” is the title of a new StandingWatch program, presented by Evangelist Norbert Link. Here is a summary:
In a catastrophic state election, Chancellor Merkel’s party (CDU) suffered a devastating defeat, while the anti-immigrant and anti-Islam party (AfD) enjoyed an unprecedented success. Merkel is blamed for the debacle, but stubbornly refuses to change her migrant policy. Minorities are deeply concerned about the AfD, and Merkel’s Bavarian sister party (CSU) under Premier Host Seehofer is willing to even go a step further than the AfD. What does all of this mean in the light of biblical prophecy? Will emerging nationalism in Germany and Europe destroy the European unification project, or is just the opposite true?
“Nicht Aufgeben Und den Mut Verlieren,” is the title of this Sabbath’s new German sermon. Title in English: “Don’t Give Up and Lose Courage.”
“Are You A Humble Person?,” the sermonette presented last Sabbath by Dave Harris, is now posted. Here is a summary:
Humility is a growth characteristic for Christians, and it is an attitude we must choose to live by!
“Racing After Endurance,” the sermon presented last Sabbath by Robb Harris, is now posted. Here is a summary:
We are promised eternal life if we are willing to endure until the end. But what is our finish line? What part do we have in determining when our endurance is sufficient enough to please God?
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
This Update is an official publication by the ministry of the Church of the Eternal God in the United States of America; the Church of God, a Christian Fellowship in Canada; and the Global Church of God in the United Kingdom.
Editorial Team: Norbert Link, Dave Harris, Rene Messier, Brian Gale, Johanna Link, Eric Rank, Michael Link, Anna Link, Kalon Mitchell, Manuela Mitchell, Dawn Thompson
Technical Team: Eric Rank, Shana Rank
Our activities and literature, including booklets, weekly updates, sermons on CD are provided free of charge. They are made possible by the tithes, offerings and contributions of Church members and others who have elected to support this Work.
While we do not solicit the general public for funds, contributions are gratefully welcomed and are tax-deductible in the U.S. and Canada.
Donations can be sent to the following addresses:
United States: Church of the Eternal God, P.O. Box 270519, San Diego, CA 92198
Canada: Church of God, ACF, Box 1480, Summerland, B.C. V0H 1Z0
United Kingdom: Global Church of God, PO Box 44, MABLETHORPE, LN12 9AN, United Kingdom
The website of webmarketshop.com wrote the following on August 26:
“War is one of humanity’s constants. No matter how enlightened we become or how much our technology changes, we’ll still spend our time killing one another. As such, it is inevitable that today’s younger generation will experience war. The only question is when.
“These 10 examples of war could well blow up within the next few years. Some are regional, some are global. Some are small, some are big. The only constant is how horrifying these conflicts could potentially be.
“A China-Russo war over Siberia would be devastating and have only two possible outcomes. Either the Chinese army would decimate Russia or Moscow would unleash nuclear war. Either way, the death toll would be catastrophic…
“After Putin’s annexation of Crimea, Europe has been jumpy about the possibility of war with Russia. According to the former deputy NATO commander, Sir Alexander Richard Shirreff, it’s a virtual certainty… The initial battle for the Baltics alone could kill tens of thousands. Chillingly, Shirreff believes Russia would threaten to launch nukes if NATO tried to intervene, threatening millions of lives…
“This summer, a high-ranking North Korean diplomat in London defected to South Korea. It was just the latest in a string of incidents that point to the imminent collapse of the Kim Jong Un regime. Kim has alienated powerful allies such as China… Cheap smartphone technology has allowed his people to see life on the outside for the first time. Meanwhile, the country is preparing for shortages that could make the 1994 famine look like a stroll in the park. The result could be a revolution unlike anything the DPRK has seen. People could take to the streets, the army could split into warring factions, and all hell could be unleashed…
“ISIS… jihadists will take the fight directly to Europe… France and Belgium would be the main targets, followed by Germany and the UK. No city would be safe. Politicians would be paralyzed. There would be bloodshed and mayhem…
“… hungry, embattled residents of Venezuela could well take up arms. Mass defections from the police and military are possible. Neighboring right-wing governments may stick their oar in, as might left-wing groups like Colombia’s ELN. Such a toxic mix could quickly spiral into utter chaos… If Latin American history is anything to go by, such a move would likely lead to repression and bloodshed on a horrifying scale…
“The Cultural Revolution under Chairman Mao was eye-wateringly brutal. Approximately 1.5 million people died. Millions more were tortured and mutilated… China has a long history of peasant rebellions. Mao himself was brought to power in one which killed eight million. A few decades earlier, the Boxer Rebellion led to more than 100,000 deaths. A few decades before that, the Taiping Rebellion killed 20–30 million and possibly as many as 70 million… China is already wracked with 500 protests every day. Every year, around 100,000 riots break out. Leaders are corrupt. The young talk of a new uprising. If the next financial crisis devastates their living standards, we could see another orgy of cataclysmic bloodletting…
“In the 1990s, the world watched in horror as Bosnia disintegrated. Around 100,000 died as civilians were ethnically cleansed from their homelands. The 1995 Dayton Accords stopped the bloodshed by creating two ‘states within a state’: Bosnia and Herzegovina for the Bosniaks and Croats, Republika Srpska for the Serbs. The trouble is the new state was inherently unstable. Divided along ethnic lines, it created a world of increasing tensions, bitter grievances, and desire for vengeance… Ethnic Serbs will hold a referendum on whether to secede from Bosnia. The result of a probable ‘yes’ vote? An unwanted sequel to Bosnia´s horrifying civil war…
“Saudi Arabia got off lightly in the Arab Spring. As dictators fell in Tunisia and Egypt, as Syria burned and Libya imploded, Saudi Arabia´s royals managed to cling to power… conditions in Saudi Arabia are now similar to those preceding the Egyptian revolution. The nation is ready to explode… The minority Shia population is rioting. ISIS is attacking. The war in Yemen is going badly. It’s easy to imagine a revolution springing from this discontent. If it does, it could be another Egypt, another Libya, or another Syria…
“In winter 2008, the world nearly ended. That year, a standoff between Pakistan and India over state-sponsored terrorism nearly escalated into nuclear war. In the end, urgent global diplomacy cooled things down… If things go differently next time, we could see the end of the world. An Indo-Pak nuclear war would see Delhi, Mumbai, Karachi, and Islamabad go up in flames. Tens of millions would perish in an inferno. The nuclear winter would destroy crops across Asia, leading to mass famines. An estimated two billion people could die. So what could trigger such a terrifying conflict? The disputed region of Kashmir, unstable Pakistan becoming a failed state, or Pakistan-linked terror attacks on India. In short, there are too many potential triggers for comfort…
“The only thing scarier than Pakistan and India going toe to toe would be China and the US doing the same. Especially if it was in a conflict that pulled in countries like the Philippines, South Korea, Japan, and more. Welcome to the South China Sea, the region most likely to trigger World War III… If this does escalate into a war, all bets are off. The whole world would get involved, and millions would die…”
Christ warned that in these end times, we will hear of wars and rumors of wars, and that nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom. The second horseman of the Apocalypse is identified as war, but Christ also says that when we hear of wars and RUMORS of wars, we should not be troubled; for such things must happen, but the end is not yet (Mark 13:7). Rather, these would be just the beginning of sorrows (Matthew 24:8).
It is interesting that some of the wars mentioned in the article above will not occur, but that on the other hand, some of the wars which the Bible clearly predicts are not mentioned in the article. Hostile actions which will lead to the beginning of the Great Tribulation and nuclear World War III are European attacks on the USA, the UK and the state of Israel. In addition, the Bible does speak of military confrontations between Europe and Russia, China and other Far Eastern nations.
The Daily Mail wrote on August 27:
“The father of a young boy taken to Syria by his British mother has spoken of his shock at seeing a video which apparently shows his son executing a captured prisoner. The distraught man, who has not seen his son for three years, said the boy was ‘brainwashed’ by his mother, Sally Jones, after being taken by her to join Islamic State. The 47-year-old mother of two, from Chatham, Kent, was declared one of the world’s most wanted terrorists by the UN after she fled to Syria with her youngest son JoJo, then aged 10, in 2013. Now the father believes it may be his son in a chilling propaganda video released on Friday showing five boys murdering a group of captured Kurdish fighters.
“Last night the man, who has asked not to be named to protect his safety, said: ‘He was brilliant, just a normal boy – always chasing bugs, going down the park. I have had to block it out. It’s been hard, we just have to carry on. It’s disgusting he’s been brainwashed.’
“Jones gave birth to JoJo in Kent in 2004 but split from his father shortly afterwards. She then converted to Islam… After their split, Jones married an Islamic radical 25 years her junior, changed JoJo’s name to Hamza, and the three of them fled to Syria…”
These are terrible and inhumane examples of demonically inspired and possessed ISIS murderers and their evil and rotten tactics.
The Local wrote on August 26:
“Eastern EU countries on Friday pushed for the bloc to create a joint army as they met with Germany for talks on sketching Europe’s post-Brexit future. ‘We must prioritise security, and let’s start by building a common European army,’ Hungary’s rightwing prime minister, Viktor Orban, said at talks with Czech, German, Polish and Slovak leaders… Leftist Czech Premier Bohuslav Sobotka, for his part, said that ‘we should also begin a discussion about creating a common European army.’
“German Chancellor Angela Merkel also supported the idea of stronger security but urged caution on how plans were translated into acts. ‘Security is a fundamental issue… we can do more together in the areas of security and defence,’ she said… In an early response to Britain’s shock vote to exit the EU, Poland’s powerful rightwing leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski called for EU institutional reforms that would forge a confederation of nation states under a president in charge of a powerful common military…
“However, the concept of a common army is a thorny issue within the European Union (EU). All five EU countries at Friday’s Warsaw talks are also members of the 28-member NATO Western defence alliance. But six of the EU’s 27 post-Brexit membership do not belong to NATO: Austria, Cyprus, Finland, Ireland, Malta and Sweden.
“EU and NATO ties with Russia plunged to their lowest point since the Cold War after Moscow’s 2014 annexation of the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine. The Kremlin’s sabre-rattling in the Baltic region has also spooked NATO and EU members there…”
The European Army is destined to become reality.
Express wrote on August 30:
“A FEDERALIST blueprint to turn Europe into a superstate with its own government, army and paramilitary police force has been unveiled by a top Brussels politician. The sinister plot involves sidelining individual countries by removing them from the decision-making process and banning member states from opting out of unpopular policies like the Schengen zone and the Euro.
“It comes as federalists in Brussels look to take advantage of Brexit to force home their long-cherished dream of a United States of Europe… Belgian MEP Guy Verhofstadt, the leader of the liberals in the European parliament, has launched the six point plan which he hopes to start implementing within six months…
“He also calls for radical reform of the European Commission, which makes Brussels law, to turn it into a ‘small European government’ made up of 12 ministers… And Verhofstadt says the new government should be handed the powers currently exercised by the European Council…
“The proposals are likely to cause fury across the EU as they would effectively neutralise member states’ influence on decision making, taking away their veto and leaving all the power in the hands of Brussels bureaucrats and MEPs.
“Elsewhere in his superstate blueprint the arch-federalist calls for the creation of a European FBI which would have the power to launch police operations in any member state, operating above and beyond the local authorities. And he calls once again for the creation of an EU border force and coastguard to take over control of policing the continent’s frontiers from national governments… To that end Verhofstadt reiterates controversial calls for a European Army which have already been repeatedly made by his boss, Brussels chief Jean-Claude Juncker, and are believed to be favoured by German leader Angela Merkel.
“The liberal MEP claims that the creation of a Brussels force is the ‘only way’ to defeat Islamic State (ISIS) and convince NATO allies including the US that Europeans are playing their part on the global stage… ‘The only way to protect Europe is to build a strong and united defence… Only a European army with a unity in command will increase our capacity to defend ourselves. Only then will we be capable to defeat ISIS, only then can we stand up to Putin again and only then will we possess a credible alternative for the Americans.’…
“His proposal is likely to cause alarm in a number of countries, including Sweden and Denmark which are not in the Euro and Ireland which is not part of the Schengen free movement zone.
“The veteran MEP says Brussels should end the current system of opt-ins and opt-outs which has created a ‘Europe a la carte’ and blames Britain for being a bulwark against federalisation. And he compares the current situation to an America where California had its own currency or where Florida refused to participate in the FBI, describing the EU as ‘not a real union’.
“Instead, member states should be given an ultimatum to either accept all the terms the Brussels club lays down or leave and become an ‘associate member’ with access only to the single market…”
Time wrote on August 26:
“The Pentagon has spent billions of dollars since 2001 funneling roughly more than a million assault rifles, pistols, shotguns, and machine guns into Iraq and Afghanistan, helping to fuel lasting conflict there, according to a new report by a London-based nonprofit research and advocacy group Action on Armed Violence.
“At least 949,582 of these small arms were given to security forces in Iraq, and at least 503,328 small arms were given to local forces in Afghanistan, the group said. They called this an ‘under-estimate’ based on the information they were able to acquire.
“If the figures are correct, the US exports amounted to more than one small arm for each member of Afghanistan’s security forces, which totaled roughly 355,000 soldiers, police, and airmen in February 2015, according to a NATO operational update on the force. The number of armaments sent to Iraq also vastly exceeded the current size of that country’s active military and paramilitaries – 209,000, according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies’ 2016 Military Balance report.
“Until now, the Pentagon hasn’t published such a tally of its own, so the group’s researchers spent a year scouring multiple databases to arrive at its estimate: a general Pentagon contract list, a government-wide contracting list, and multiple government reports on military spending. They finally calculated that the overall value of the contractually-agreed small arms shipments, just to those two countries, was roughly $2.16 billion.
“U.S. intelligence reports and eyewitnesses have previously said that a significant fraction of the U.S.-financed arms were either lost or stolen, and that many wound up in the hands of forces opposed to US interests, including terrorist groups such as the Islamic State, or ISIS.
“In 2007, for example, the General Accountability Office said the coalition forces in Iraq could not account for 190,000 U.S.-supplied weapons. A July 2014 audit by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction sharply criticized the Pentagon for not paying adequate attention to the fate of weaponry sent to Afghanistan, citing rampant discrepancies in records of gun serial numbers and other problems. In many instances over the past two years, U.S.-advised forces in those two countries have engaged in protracted clashes with terrorists equipped with captured caches of U.S. small arms, as well as U.S. tanks, artillery, and armored personnel carriers.
“‘There are direct and real consequences,’ said Iain Overton, a veteran investigative journalist who is the group’s director, including ‘a destabilized Middle East.’ He said Americans believe ‘that good guys with guns will get rid of bad buys with guns but that system doesn’t work when you throw guns into lawless, anarchic societies.’…
“The United States is not the only country that provided weapons to Iraq and Afghani forces that went missing over the past fifteen years, and not the only one to have exported weapons that specifically ended up in the hands of terrorists. In 2014, the Center for Public Integrity reported that fighters associated with the Islamic State had acquired or seized weapons from at least 21 countries, including the United States, China, Russia, and several Balkan states.
“‘A significant percentage of these weapons will go into the environment and eventually end up in the hands of the Taliban, ISIS’ and other non-state actors, says Ed Laurance, an expert on armed violence and professor of international policy and development at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey. ‘Ammunition comes in, it goes out. Terrorists can get it, civilians can get it… It’s impossible to keep track of [small arms]’ because the environments are so insecure.”
Deutsche Welle wrote on August 28:
“Free trade negotiations between the European Union and the United States have failed, according to Germany’s Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel. After three years of talks, an agreement has yet to be reached. Discussions on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) have been unsuccessful, [Gabriel] said on Sunday… If agreed upon, TTIP would create the world’s largest free trade zone containing 800 million people… Gabriel, who also heads the Social Democrats (SPD), noted that after 14 rounds of talks, the two sides have yet to agree on even one chapter out of the 27 being discussed. One of the reasons given for the breakdown in negotiations was that ‘we Europeans did not want to subject ourselves to American demands,’ Gabriel said.
“In contrast to his TTIP stance, Gabriel defended the EU’s free trade agreement with Canada, called the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA.)… Many Germans continue to harbor suspicions against the TTIP and CETA… German trade unions and other organizations have called for a massive rally across German cities on September 17 to protest the two trade agreements…”
Newsmax wrote on August 31:
“Only a few hours after meeting in Mexico City with Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto, Donald Trump announced an immigration plan Wednesday in Arizona anchored by ‘a great wall along the Southern border’ — that Mexico will pay for — a zero-tolerance policy for criminal illegals and no legalization or amnesty for as many as 11 million aliens in the United States… ‘They don’t know it yet, but they’re going to pay for the wall,’ he said…
“Trump also doubled down on many of his previous immigration policies, vowing to create a ‘deportation task force’ within U.S. Immigrations and Custom Enforcement that would include a tripling of enforcement officers and the hiring of 5,000 more border patrol agents.
“He said the new task force would be ‘focused on identifying and quickly removing the dangerous criminal illegal immigrants in America who have evaded justice, just like Hillary Clinton has evaded justice. Maybe, they’ll be able to deport her,’ Trump said.
“The Republican nominee’s long-awaited speech followed a meeting in Mexico City with President Pena Nieto, after which Trump said that he was interested in ‘improving’ NAFTA and that the U.S. had a ‘right … to build a physical barrier or wall on any of its borders.’
“His remarks also came after more than a year of fiery rhetoric slamming Hispanics and illegal immigrants, vowing to build a wall on the U.S. border — and having Mexico pay for it — and promising to create a ‘deportation force’ to remove more than 11 million aliens from the United States. In recent weeks, however, Trump has been accused of softening his position — though the nominee last week ruled out legalization and amnesty and reiterated his pledge to build the wall.
“The core objective of Trump’s immigration policy was that the United States has the ‘right as a sovereign nation to choose immigrants that we think are the likeliest to thrive and flourish and love us. We also have to be honest about the fact that not everyone who seeks to join our country will be able to successfully assimilate,’ Trump told supporters…
“Other core elements of Trump’s 10-point plan include ending ICE’s catch-and-release policy for illegals at the border; implementing ‘extreme vetting’; suspending visa applications from countries — Syria and Libya, for instance — where screening is insufficient; and creating a visa tracking system to prevent overstays.
“Trump also plans to create a nationwide e-verify system that would also bar illegals from obtaining public benefits; revoke President Barack Obama’s executive immigration actions; and renegotiate the North American Free-Trade Agreement…
“For the illegals already in the United States, Trump declared that their only option is to return to their native countries and apply for citizenship. ‘Those who leave under this system, they’ll have to apply under the terms and limits that will be applied in the future,’ he said. ‘We will break the cycle of amnesty and illegal immigration… Our message to the world will be this: You cannot obtain legal status or become a citizen of the United States by illegally entering our country…”
Zero Hedge wrote in August 26:
“South Carolina Representative Trey Gowdy appeared on Fox News today and disclosed new details about the Clinton email scandal that seem to indicate intent to destroy evidence… Gowdy reveals that Clinton used ‘BleachBit’ to erase the ‘personal’ emails from her private server.
“For those not familiar with the software, BleachBit is intended to help users delete files in a way to ‘prevent recovery’ and ‘hide traces of files deleted.’ Per the BleachBit website: ‘Beyond simply deleting files, BleachBit includes advanced features such as shredding files to prevent recovery, wiping free disk space to hide traces of files deleted by other applications, and vacuuming Firefox to make it faster.’
“During his appearance on Fox, Gowdy clearly indicates that Clinton’s use of BleachBit undermines her claims that she only deleted innocuous ‘personal’ emails from her private server. ‘If she considered them to be personal, then she and her lawyers had those emails deleted. They didn’t just push the delete button… You don’t use BleachBit for yoga emails… When you’re using BleachBit, it is something you really do not want the world to see.’
“Gowdy also questioned whether Hillary considered ‘Clinton Foundation’ emails to be ‘personal’ and, if not, asked why the FBI’s investigation revealed minimal emails about Foundation-related topics.”
However, as it was pointed out on the Fox Business Channel on August 26, none of this will convince Clinton supporters NOT to vote for Hillary Clinton. Decency and a desire for trustworthiness do not seem to exist in politics; rather, willful ignorance and blindness, illogical reasoning, name-calling, accusations, the ridiculous hope for a human Messiah and other utopian pipe dreams seem to determine the “votes” of the American people in presidential elections.
LifeNews.com reported on August 29:
“A small group of Catholics protested peacefully on Sunday outside the Catholic Church where Hillary Clinton’s vice presidential running mate attends. Tim Kaine, Clinton’s vice presidential pick and a U.S. Senator for Virginia, often says he is a Catholic and ‘personally pro-life,’ but his actions show otherwise. Kaine has a 100-percent pro-abortion voting record from Planned Parenthood so far in 2016… One protester’s sign read ‘You can’t be Catholic and pro-abortion,’ while another described him as a ‘CINO,’ or Catholic in name only…
“As LifeNews previously reported, Kaine said he is a ‘strong supporter of Roe v. Wade.’ He also has refused to say whether he would vote to force taxpayers to fund abortions – a goal both for his running mate and the whole Democratic Party. As a U.S. Senator, Kaine voted to allow government funding of abortion providers, and he voted against legislation to require an abortionist to notify at least one parent before performing an abortion on a minor girl from another state.
“Kaine took his most extreme pro-abortion action yet with his recent co-sponsorship of the so-called ‘Women’s Health Protection Act’ (S.217), known to pro-lifers as the ‘Abortion Without Limits Until Birth Act.’ This bill would nullify nearly all existing state and federal limitations on regulation of abortion, and prohibit states from enacting meaningful pro-life laws in the future. This revamped version of the long-stalled ‘Freedom of Choice Act’ is a priority of the pro-abortion forces in Washington, D.C.
“Recently, Washington, DC-based Fr. Thomas Petri sent out a series of tweets addressing the Catholic candidate’s pro-abortion views – with one saying Kaine should not present himself for communion in his church. That was after a Catholic bishop admonished Kaine, saying that he can’t reconcile his Catholic faith with abortion.
“His running mate Hillary Clinton’s position is even more extreme. Clinton has said in various interviews that an unborn child just hours before birth has no Constitutional rights. In February, Clinton defended the gruesome partial-birth abortion procedure. She also said she wants to overturn the Hyde Amendment and force taxpayers to pay for abortions, including late-term abortions.”
The Washington Post wrote on August 30:
“On Tuesday morning, the governing body of the European Union ruled that one of its members, Ireland, had broken its rules by allowing U.S.-based Apple Inc. to pay a tax rate of 1 percent — and sometimes as little as .0005 percent. Ireland’s regular tax rate is 12.5 percent, and E.U. rules state that members can’t give special benefits to individual companies — even the most highly valued company in the world. Under the E.U. ruling, Apple would be required to pay Ireland more than $14.5 billion in back taxes. Both Apple and the Irish government plan to appeal.
“That is a huge amount of money for a small country like Ireland, which suffered terribly after the 2008 financial crisis and required a massive bailout from the E.U… The sum is roughly equal to Ireland’s entire health budget, to put it in perspective.
“Others, however, see the ruling as exactly why Ireland — just like the United Kingdom did with its Brexit vote — needs to leave an interventionist, anti-sovereignty European Union. To put the question a different way: Did Apple, in collusion with the Irish government, rip off the Irish public by arranging a huge tax break? Or did the European Union just undermine Ireland’s economic model and strip the country of its competitive advantage, risking Ireland’s long-term growth?
“Much of the debate across the Irish Sea in Britain during the lead-up to the referendum on E.U. membership in June centered on the idea that bureaucrats with no allegiance to Britain were sitting in Brussels and writing their laws. Proponents of a ‘Brexit’ argued that leaving the E.U. would allow the country to ‘take back control’ of its economy and borders…”
The Telegraph added on August 30:
“Britain could cut corporation tax to attract major international companies under plans being considered by Theresa May after Apple was hit with a record tax bill by Brussels. Downing Street said it would ‘welcome’ Apple to the UK after the European Commission took the extraordinary step of hitting the company with an £11billion fine.”
The Associated Press wrote on August 26:
“Turkey opened one of the world’s largest bridges Friday designed to allow traffic to cross the Bosphorus Strait between Europe and Asia and ease congestion in Istanbul. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan oversaw a ceremony inaugurating the $3 billion Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge, which is touted by its Turko-Italian developers as the world’s broadest suspension bridge at 58.4 meters (192 feet) wide.
“The toll bridge, spanning 1,408 meters (4,620 feet) over the Bosphorus, features 10 lanes, including two rail lines. At 322 meters (1,056 feet), officials say the bridge’s 322-meter (1,056-foot) towers are also the tallest in the world. It becomes Istanbul’s third bridge spanning the strategic strait. ‘This bridge upon which we look with pride will hopefully be a pioneer for many things. … We will be proud of it, you will see. International movies will be filmed here, you will see,’ Erdogan told the audience, among them the king of Bahrain, dignitaries from several other countries and hundreds of citizens.”
The Washington Post wrote on August 27:
“It’s called the Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge in honor of the ninth Ottoman emperor, Selim I, a monarch who earned the sobriquet Selim the Grim for his years of military campaigning and severe rule. In 2013, when the name was announced at a groundbreaking ceremony, it sparked a great deal of controversy. Selim I is famed for his conquests to the east in the early 16th century, extending the Ottoman Empire’s dominion over Egypt and the Holy Lands while also pushing against the Safavid Empire in what’s now Iran…
“Selim’s wars had a sectarian dimension. In particular, the emperor is believed to have ordered the slaughter of tens of thousands of Alevis, a minority sect linked to Shiism and steeped in Sufi and rural Anatolian traditions…
“Erdogan… is interested in creating a legacy that perhaps even transcends that of Ataturk and has sought, in ways big and small, to rehabilitate or resurrect Ottoman history to suit his narrative in power. In the wake of last month’s failed coup attempt, the debate over the bridge’s name almost seems quaint…”
The Star wrote on August 26:
“In a general election last month, many Australians were stunned by the success of One Nation, whose blatantly anti-Muslim policies appealed to many voters who felt threatened by immigration — even in a wealthy country with a far more generous social security net than the United States and few illegal immigrants. The party helmed by Hanson, who is famous in Australia for her fiery red hair and tortured syntax, has emerged with four seats in the finely balanced Senate, where the ruling Liberal-National coalition lacks a majority and is under huge political pressure to speed economic growth. The government is likely to need One Nation to pass laws fought by the Labor Party opposition and the Australian Greens party.
“Negotiating with One Nation could put the prime minister, Liberal Party leader Malcolm Turnbull, in an awkward position. The former Goldman Sachs investment banker is a liberal on many social issues — he is a strong supporter of legalizing same-sex marriage, for example — which frequently puts him at odds with the conservative wing of his party…
“Australia is one of the world’s most peaceful and socially harmonious immigrant-driven countries, and terrorist attacks are extremely rare. Nonetheless, cultural and racial differences between the 1.5 per cent of the population who are Muslim and the white Christian majority receive a lot of attention and contribute to a perception among some Australians that they are being overwhelmed by a hostile religion. One Nation plays to those fears. Its policies and rhetoric echo those of Trump and the UK Independence Party, which successfully championed the recent vote to take Britain out of the European Union. ‘Australia for Australians,’ One Nation’s website proclaims.
“The party wants an inquiry into whether Islam is a religion or an ideology, an end to Muslim immigration, a ban on the burqa in public, surveillance in all mosques and Islamic schools, no new mosques and the end of halal certification of food. It is skeptical about global warming…”
The Independent wrote on August 26:
“Sweden used to be one of Europe’s most popular destinations for migrants, with the number of asylum applications doubling between 2014 and 2015 to more than 160,000. A high success rate – 55 per cent of claims were accepted in 2015 – combined with generous welfare benefits for asylum seekers, and a comparatively welcoming population, made the country extremely popular with people fleeing war and persecution, and left the Scandinavian nation with the second highest number of refugees per capita in Europe.
“But for many asylum seekers who arrived during the influx last year, Sweden has proved less of a utopia than they hoped. Many faced a long, cold winter in political limbo, camped out in makeshift accommodation while the state struggled to cope with the large number of new claims. Less than 500 of the 160,000 arrivals have managed to secure jobs… the Swedish Migration Agency, a government department responsible for processing claims, introduced tougher rules at the start of 2016, designed to deter and keep out asylum seekers. New border controls were brought in, as were stricter rules surrounding family reunion. Housing was withdrawn for failed asylum seekers and plans announced to expand immigration detention.
“The Swedish public also appear to… have become more hostile to migrants. A survey released in February showed immigration was the main concern for 40 per cent of Swedes, above worries about failing schools, joblessness and welfare. The change was the biggest opinion swing in the poll’s history. ‘Most Swedes are not racist,’ said Ylva Johansson, the Minister for Employment and Integration. ‘But when there is this special asylum housing when they cannot work, and cannot be part of society this is really a tension. This is a dangerous situation; we have a lot of people in no-man’s land … living outside society.’”
“Sweden’s statistics, however, have to be viewed in the context of less refugees entering Europe overall in 2016 than in 2015. The Balkan route has essentially been closed off by the EU-Turkey deal, which forces migrants to return to Turkey unless they want to claim asylum in Greece, which would stop them travelling onwards to countries in northern Europe…
“2016 has been the deadliest year so far for refugees trying to reach Europe, aid workers have said, telling The Independent in July they are frustrated at moves within the EU to keep more refugees out and to block off entry routes…”
The Sunday Express wrote on August 27:
“Austria has launched a blistering attack on Angela Merkel accusing her of trying to stoke more mass migration and ordering her to close Germany’s borders immediately. Vienna’s defence minister Hans Peter Doskozil said the controversial Chancellor was ‘encouraging’ more asylum seekers from the Middle East to flock to Europe in a provocative outburst. The stinging slap down comes amid disintegrating relations between the two neighbours over the migrant crisis, with Austria repeatedly accusing Germany and Mrs Merkel of sparking the refugee chaos.
“Vienna has been locked in a power struggle with Berlin and Brussels over its controversial migration policies, which include limiting the daily number of asylum applications it will process. And Mr Doskozil upped the ante against Mrs Merkel, saying that she must stop repeating her infamous ‘Wir schaffen das’ – ‘We can do this’ – slogan which he said was only encouraging more migrant chaos…
“He added: ‘We will not accept that this encouragement puts Austria into a position that then makes more refugees want to go from Italy via Austria to Germany while Germany closes its borders at the same time. We decided that waving them through is no longer possible, and that is a good thing!’
“Asked what retaliatory measures Austria would take if there was another mass migrant rush for Europe, the defence minister replied that he would effectively seal up Italy by closing the Brenner Pass border between the two countries…
“Europe has been in the grip of a huge migrant crisis over the last 18 months, with more than a million migrants arriving on the continent in 2015 alone. A controversial migrant pact with Turkey has helped reduce numbers flooding into Greece but that is now under severe pressure and could collapse amid deteriorating relations between Brussels and Ankara. As a result many migrant smugglers are now targeting Italy, via Libya, as an alternative route across the Mediterranean. However, this sea crossing is much more perilous and thousands have died at sea over the last 18 months in what aid groups have described as a human tragedy.”
Reuters reported on August 28:
“German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s domestic popularity has declined, a poll showed on Sunday, with 50 percent of Germans against her serving a fourth term in office after a federal election next year. Support for Merkel has weakened after a string of violent attacks on civilians in July, three of which were carried out by asylum seekers. Of those, two were claimed by Islamic State. This has raised opposition to Merkel’s open-door migrant policy, which allowed hundreds of thousands from the Middle East, Africa and elsewhere into Germany last year.
“Half of the… people questioned… were against Merkel staying in office beyond the 2017 election, with 42 percent wanting her to remain. In November, the last time Bild am Sonntag commissioned a survey on the issue, 45 percent had been in favor of Merkel serving a fourth term, with 48 percent against.”
Deutsche Welle reported on August 26:
“A large majority of Germans reject the burqa. Some 81 percent of respondents in a representative survey conducted by polling institute Infratest dimap are in favor of banning the Islamic veil, which covers women completely from head to toe, in some public places. More than half of Germans have an even more extreme view – 51 percent were in favor of banning the burqa entirely…
“Amid the renewed debate in Germany, some conservative politicians in the country are calling for a ‘burqa ban.’ State interior ministers of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) want to ban veils like the burqa and the niqab in public places including schools, public authorities, court rooms and in traffic…. The ministers also discussed prohibiting the veils altogether…
“Several Islamic scholars in Germany agree. They say the burqa and the niqab are not required in their religion and believe that the extreme veils hinder integration. Aziz Fooladvand, a Bonn sociologist and Islamic Studies scholar, told DW that facial coverings are common only in very strict interpretations of Sunni Islam, such as that practiced in Saudi Arabia. But in Egypt, for example, wearing a niqab is generally frowned upon. Bassam Tibi, a former professor of international relations at the University of Göttingen, calls himself a ‘European Muslim’ and says that he supports an open, liberal Islam. In an August op-ed for popular German tabloid ‘Bild,’ he wrote that he fully supported a burqa ban…”
The Guardian wrote on August 26:
“Nicolas Sarkozy says he will impose a nationwide ban on burkinis if re-elected to the presidency in 2017, positioning himself as a strong defender of French values and tough on immigration… Taking a hard line on the burkini debate that has agitated France over recent weeks, Sarkozy said that the full-body swimwear should be banned from beaches across the country…
“Sarkozy is seeking to win back votes from the far-right FN, whose rising popularity mirrors that of populist politicians in other countries that have appealed to voters concerned about globalisation and immigration, such as Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump in the US and the leaders of Britain’s Brexit campaign…
“For months Sarkozy lagged in opinion polls behind Alain Juppé, the centrist former prime minister, but his popularity, which had already started improving with party sympathisers in June, rose after Islamist attacks on a Bastille Day crowd in Nice and on a priest in Normandy…”
Politico wrote on August 26:
“The Dutch far-right Freedom Party will run in the country’s parliamentary elections next year on a platform seeking to ban some of the key tenets of Islam, according to a manifesto published by its leader Geert Wilders Thursday. In its five-year plan for 2017-2021, the Freedom Party pledges to reverse the ‘Islamization’ of the Netherlands by implementing measures such as closing mosques and Islamic schools, securing borders, banning the Koran, closing asylum seeker centers, banning Muslim migrants and forbidding women from wearing headscarves.
“Wilders’ party also supports holding a Brexit-style referendum for the Netherlands to leave the European Union. Other promises include more funding for police and defense and eliminating foreign aid. The plan, which is just one page, comes ahead of the next parliamentary elections, scheduled for March 2017… An IPSOS poll predicted this month that the Freedom Party could be the most represented party in the Dutch parliament, snatching 25 to 30 seats, up from the 12 it currently has…”
Time wrote on August 29:
“A single lightning strike is believed to have killed more than 300 reindeer in Norway. A total of 323 reindeer were found dead in the southern part of Norway on the Hardangervidda plateau, a press release from the Norwegian Environment Agency said. Among the 323 killed were 70 calves. An official from the Norwegian Nature Inspectorate discovered their carcasses during a routine inspection on Friday.
“Officials said they believe the herd of reindeer was killed by lightning strike as they huddled together during a heavy thunderstorm…”
Breitbart wrote on September 1:
“In his message for the ‘World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation’ Thursday, Pope Francis said that human-induced global warming, as well as a loss of biodiversity are ‘sins’ against God, which must be atoned for…
“Among these [‘atoning actions’] are ‘avoiding the use of plastic and paper, reducing water consumption, separating refuse, cooking only what can reasonably be consumed, showing care for other living beings, using public transport or car-pooling, planting trees, turning off unnecessary lights, or any number of other practices.’”
Christian News wrote on August 20:
“The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) voted overwhelmingly last week to approve a declaration of unity with the Roman Catholic Church in an endeavor to ‘enumerate the many points of agreement between Lutherans and Catholics’—a move that some state is contrary to biblical Christianity…
“While this month’s ELCA declaration notes points of agreement between evangelical Lutherans and Roman Catholics, it also outlines several areas where differences remain between the two entities. The document explains that Roman Catholics believe in transubstantiation, while Lutherans do not believe that communion is transformed ‘into the [actual] substance of the body and blood of Christ.’ It also notes that Lutherans question the global papacy, which Roman Catholics assert is of the succession of Peter…
“Mike Gendron, a former Roman Catholic who now leads Proclaiming the Gospel Ministries, [an] organization dedicated to evangelizing Catholics, said that the ECLA is in error in seeking to find common ground with Roman Catholicism despite… doctrinal disparities.
“‘By seeking unity with the Catholic religion they are departing from the biblical faith of the Reformers,’ he told Christian News Network. “They need to know that there can never be biblical unity between Roman Catholics and denominations which uphold the gospel of God’…
“Gendron said that unity simply for the sake of unity is contrary to the Scriptures… ‘Religious unity is a work of Satan who uses man’s prideful ambitions and biblical ignorance and to unite the world,’ he stated. ‘Those who engage in spiritual enterprises with apostate Roman Catholicism, without confronting their error, give credibility to their heresies’…”
Newsmax reported on August 26:
“A U.S. judge on Friday blocked the University of North Carolina from enforcing a state law requiring transgender people to use single-sex restrooms and locker rooms that correspond to the gender on their birth certificate. U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Schroeder’s order granting a preliminary injunction applies only to the three transgender plaintiffs named in a lawsuit challenging the measure…
“The judge, an appointee of Republican former President George W. Bush, heard oral arguments in the case… Lawyers for Republican Governor Pat McCrory and other Republican lawmakers who support the measure said it offered common-sense protection of state residents’ privacy and safety…
“The U.S. Justice Department and the American Civil Liberties Union, which sued the state on behalf of three transgender people, called the law stigmatizing and unconstitutional.
“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… Debates about which public restroom facilities they and transgender children should use have divided courts, state legislatures and schools.”
Breitbart wrote on August 23:
“The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in San Francisco on August 23 upheld California’s wildly controversial Senate Bill 1172 that bars licensed counselors — including pastors — from assisting youth who want to change or reduce their same-sex attractions. The law also prohibits any counseling that would steer youth away from gender confusion. Pacific Justice Institute filed suit against SB 1172 in 2012…
“Pacific Justice’s lead plaintiff is both a pastor and a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist who oversees a counseling ministry in his church. Pacific Justice pointed out that the SB 1172 if applied would [be] reaching over the walls of a church to prohibit what could be said during counseling by a pastor who is also a trained marriage and family therapist.
“According to the law, ‘California has a compelling interest in protecting the physical and psychological well-being of minors, including lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth, and in protecting its minors against exposure to serious harms caused by sexual orientation change efforts … … Under no circumstances shall a mental health provider engage in sexual orientation change efforts with a patient under 18 years of age.’
“But the Ninth Circuit today waved away concerns about California interfering with pastors’ religious practice, while also declining to address legal decisions that previously rejected state interference with church counseling.
“Pacific Justice had also pointed out to the court, that dozens of transcript passages from SB 1172’s legislative record show the legislation is meant as a clear and direct attack against conservative religious viewpoints. According to Pacific Justice attorney Kevin Snider, who argued the Ninth Circuit case, ‘The court today simply rewrote legislative history to avoid the uncomfortable reality that the California Legislature unabashedly targeted religious beliefs with this bill.’
“Brad Dacus, president of Pacific Justice Institute, commented: ‘We are deeply disappointed by today’s ruling because it represents a giant step backwards for religious freedom. A government that can tell a pastor what he can and cannot say during counseling is a government that can tell a pastor what parts of the Bible are off-limits. The court also reminded us today that this law lays the groundwork for further restrictions on parental rights.’
“Pacific Justice is currently reviewing all its options with their clients, including a potential appeal to the Supreme Court.”
California’s law (SB 1172), as applied, is unconstitutional on its face. The attack of the Legislature and the Court system on religious freedom, parental rights and the separation between church and state is unconscionable. Note the next article for another unconditional California law.
The Los Angeles Times wrote on August 26:
“A federal judge has denied a request for a preliminary injunction against a new law that requires children in California’s public and private schools to be vaccinated unless they have a medical waiver from a licensed doctor. In an order released Friday afternoon, U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw in San Diego wrote that state Legislatures have ‘a long history of requiring children to be vaccinated as a condition to school enrollment, and for as many years, both state and federal courts have upheld those requirements against constitutional challenge.’
“In July, a group of parents and advocacy groups filed a federal lawsuit asking for the injunction. It is trying to block the California law’s elimination of personal belief exemptions, which previously allowed parents to enroll their children even if they weren’t up-to-date on the full vaccination schedule as published by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.”
The wording of the District Court’s decision, as quoted, is historically and legally inaccurate and blatantly misleading. The law in question, only granting exemptions for ill-defined “medical reasons,” seems to be unconstitutional ON ITS FACE. However, to reach the US Supreme Court, even IF they were to uphold the Constitution, will be an expensive, laborious and time-consuming task.
The Local wrote on August 27:
“A music teacher from North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) has been found guilty of ‘holding people against their will’ after he made some naughty stay kids back after class. The 50-year-old was ordered by the court to attend classes on how to better deal with difficult children. If he fails to attend the classes, he could face a fine of €1,000, reports Spiegel.
“The reason for Wednesday’s conviction on a count of ‘robbery of freedom’ was the teacher’s decision to make disruptive pupils write out a Wikipedia entry on a musician after class. The pupils were then told to hand in their work one by one, but were not allowed to leave the classroom by the teacher, sat in the doorway with a guitar across his knees…
“According to the law in NRW, teachers are allowed to give pupils detention, but only after notifying parents.”
| Live Services | Are You a Humble Person?; Racing After Endurance |
|---|---|
| Editorial | Are You REALLY Keeping God’s Sabbath? |
| Current Events | This Week in the News |
| Q&A | How Are We to Keep the Sabbath? (Part 1) |
| The Work | Preaching the Gospel and Feeding the Flock |
On September 3, 2016, Dave Harris will present the sermonette, titled, “Are You a Humble Person?,” and Robb Harris will present the sermon, titled, “Racing After Endurance.”
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.
by Norbert Link
With this Update, we will begin to publish several Q&As, discussing the important question pertaining to the manner in which we ought to keep the weekly Sabbath. It is not enough to know about God’s sanctified day; it is also necessary to observe it in the right way. God’s Sabbath was made for MAN (Mark 2:27), and God expects MAN to keep it. The Ten Commandments are still in force and effect, and the Fourth Commandment still reads, “REMEMBER the Sabbath day, to KEEP it holy” (Exodus 20:8).
God’s people know that the Sabbath is the time span from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset, even though some misguided religious teachers claim erroneously that the biblical Sabbath is “Sunday.” However, “Sunday” has always been described in the Bible as the “first day of the week,” while the Sabbath has always been identified as the “seventh” or “last day of the week,” when God completed the days of recreation (Genesis 2:2-3; Exodus 20:11).
But does God really care whether His Sabbath is kept today? And if He demands that one day is observed in His honor, isn’t it enough to just keep one day (any day) out of seven?
In my recent sermon, “Why Will God Punish America?”, it was explained why God punished Israel and Judah in Old Testament times; and since God does not change and is not a respecter of persons, He will punish the modern descendants of the ancient houses of Israel and Judah for the same reasons. God’s people know that these descendants can be found today in the USA, Canada, the UK, Australia, New Zealand and other English-speaking nations. In addition, God will also punish the ENTIRE world for their disobedience of His Law.
The cause for God’s wrath toward mankind has not changed. Idolatry and the breaking of His Sabbath were and are two of the foremost reasons why God did punish and will punish the ancient and modern houses of Israel and Judah. Of course, other reasons existed and exist as well, showing the perversion and appalling ungodliness of Israel, Judah and the entire world, which are, for example, evidenced by the murder of innocent people (including through abortions of unborn children or the killing of innocent civilians in war); wrong political alliances; elections or appointments of leaders contrary to God’s standards; removing ancient landmarks (by illegally occupying territories); national pride, dishonesty and the spreading of lies; the rejection of God’s Law and His warning of impending disaster; adultery and fornication (including homosexuality and other sexual practices which are not condoned by God); false religions, sorceries and hypocritical religious conduct; and even the consumption of unclean meat.
All these reasons, and many more, were discussed in the above-mentioned sermon, and biblical proof was presented for each of these reasons.
But as mentioned, the violation of the Sabbath was and is a very important cause for God’s punishment. Sadly, most people do not ascribe any relevance to God’s command to keep the Sabbath day holy. Even though God’s people know about this command, some may disobey it in practical application. They might not know HOW to observe it—which activities are permitted on the Sabbath, and which are to be avoided. Some might be too strict, prohibiting activities which God allows; and others may have become too liberal, engaging in activities which they should not participate in.
We hope that you will carefully read our Q&A’s on this very important, but sometimes grossly misunderstood subject, in order to escape God’s punishment for the violation of His Sabbath day.
We begin with a series of articles about the possibility of ten horrifying future wars; (please view our new StandingWatch program, “Fear of Nuclear War”); the horrible brain-washing of a child by a murderous ISIS fanatical mother; the push for a European army; and the incredibly illogical policy of allowing weapons to fall into the hands of terrorists.
We continue reporting on failed trade negotiations between Europe and America; Donald Trump’s proposed immigration policy; and Hillary Clinton’s unusual and highly suspicious “precautions” of “super-deleting” thousands of e-mails.
We speak on Turkey’s new $3 billion bridge and its very divisive name; and report on several countries’ “fight” with Muslim asylum seekers and the rejection of burqas, including Australia, Sweden, Austria, Germany, France and The Netherlands.
We conclude with several examples of unconscionable court decisions in the USA and Germany, pertaining to the nonsense of transgender bathrooms; blatant violations of the rights of parents and ministers; an attack on the separation between church and state; incredible restrictions for teachers; and ridiculous mandatory vaccinations for school children.
The website of webmarketshop.com wrote the following on August 26:
“War is one of humanity’s constants. No matter how enlightened we become or how much our technology changes, we’ll still spend our time killing one another. As such, it is inevitable that today’s younger generation will experience war. The only question is when.
“These 10 examples of war could well blow up within the next few years. Some are regional, some are global. Some are small, some are big. The only constant is how horrifying these conflicts could potentially be.
“A China-Russo war over Siberia would be devastating and have only two possible outcomes. Either the Chinese army would decimate Russia or Moscow would unleash nuclear war. Either way, the death toll would be catastrophic…
“After Putin’s annexation of Crimea, Europe has been jumpy about the possibility of war with Russia. According to the former deputy NATO commander, Sir Alexander Richard Shirreff, it’s a virtual certainty… The initial battle for the Baltics alone could kill tens of thousands. Chillingly, Shirreff believes Russia would threaten to launch nukes if NATO tried to intervene, threatening millions of lives…
“This summer, a high-ranking North Korean diplomat in London defected to South Korea. It was just the latest in a string of incidents that point to the imminent collapse of the Kim Jong Un regime. Kim has alienated powerful allies such as China… Cheap smartphone technology has allowed his people to see life on the outside for the first time. Meanwhile, the country is preparing for shortages that could make the 1994 famine look like a stroll in the park. The result could be a revolution unlike anything the DPRK has seen. People could take to the streets, the army could split into warring factions, and all hell could be unleashed…
“ISIS… jihadists will take the fight directly to Europe… France and Belgium would be the main targets, followed by Germany and the UK. No city would be safe. Politicians would be paralyzed. There would be bloodshed and mayhem…
“… hungry, embattled residents of Venezuela could well take up arms. Mass defections from the police and military are possible. Neighboring right-wing governments may stick their oar in, as might left-wing groups like Colombia’s ELN. Such a toxic mix could quickly spiral into utter chaos… If Latin American history is anything to go by, such a move would likely lead to repression and bloodshed on a horrifying scale…
“The Cultural Revolution under Chairman Mao was eye-wateringly brutal. Approximately 1.5 million people died. Millions more were tortured and mutilated… China has a long history of peasant rebellions. Mao himself was brought to power in one which killed eight million. A few decades earlier, the Boxer Rebellion led to more than 100,000 deaths. A few decades before that, the Taiping Rebellion killed 20–30 million and possibly as many as 70 million… China is already wracked with 500 protests every day. Every year, around 100,000 riots break out. Leaders are corrupt. The young talk of a new uprising. If the next financial crisis devastates their living standards, we could see another orgy of cataclysmic bloodletting…
“In the 1990s, the world watched in horror as Bosnia disintegrated. Around 100,000 died as civilians were ethnically cleansed from their homelands. The 1995 Dayton Accords stopped the bloodshed by creating two ‘states within a state’: Bosnia and Herzegovina for the Bosniaks and Croats, Republika Srpska for the Serbs. The trouble is the new state was inherently unstable. Divided along ethnic lines, it created a world of increasing tensions, bitter grievances, and desire for vengeance… Ethnic Serbs will hold a referendum on whether to secede from Bosnia. The result of a probable ‘yes’ vote? An unwanted sequel to Bosnia´s horrifying civil war…
“Saudi Arabia got off lightly in the Arab Spring. As dictators fell in Tunisia and Egypt, as Syria burned and Libya imploded, Saudi Arabia´s royals managed to cling to power… conditions in Saudi Arabia are now similar to those preceding the Egyptian revolution. The nation is ready to explode… The minority Shia population is rioting. ISIS is attacking. The war in Yemen is going badly. It’s easy to imagine a revolution springing from this discontent. If it does, it could be another Egypt, another Libya, or another Syria…
“In winter 2008, the world nearly ended. That year, a standoff between Pakistan and India over state-sponsored terrorism nearly escalated into nuclear war. In the end, urgent global diplomacy cooled things down… If things go differently next time, we could see the end of the world. An Indo-Pak nuclear war would see Delhi, Mumbai, Karachi, and Islamabad go up in flames. Tens of millions would perish in an inferno. The nuclear winter would destroy crops across Asia, leading to mass famines. An estimated two billion people could die. So what could trigger such a terrifying conflict? The disputed region of Kashmir, unstable Pakistan becoming a failed state, or Pakistan-linked terror attacks on India. In short, there are too many potential triggers for comfort…
“The only thing scarier than Pakistan and India going toe to toe would be China and the US doing the same. Especially if it was in a conflict that pulled in countries like the Philippines, South Korea, Japan, and more. Welcome to the South China Sea, the region most likely to trigger World War III… If this does escalate into a war, all bets are off. The whole world would get involved, and millions would die…”
Christ warned that in these end times, we will hear of wars and rumors of wars, and that nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom. The second horseman of the Apocalypse is identified as war, but Christ also says that when we hear of wars and RUMORS of wars, we should not be troubled; for such things must happen, but the end is not yet (Mark 13:7). Rather, these would be just the beginning of sorrows (Matthew 24:8).
It is interesting that some of the wars mentioned in the article above will not occur, but that on the other hand, some of the wars which the Bible clearly predicts are not mentioned in the article. Hostile actions which will lead to the beginning of the Great Tribulation and nuclear World War III are European attacks on the USA, the UK and the state of Israel. In addition, the Bible does speak of military confrontations between Europe and Russia, China and other Far Eastern nations.
The Daily Mail wrote on August 27:
“The father of a young boy taken to Syria by his British mother has spoken of his shock at seeing a video which apparently shows his son executing a captured prisoner. The distraught man, who has not seen his son for three years, said the boy was ‘brainwashed’ by his mother, Sally Jones, after being taken by her to join Islamic State. The 47-year-old mother of two, from Chatham, Kent, was declared one of the world’s most wanted terrorists by the UN after she fled to Syria with her youngest son JoJo, then aged 10, in 2013. Now the father believes it may be his son in a chilling propaganda video released on Friday showing five boys murdering a group of captured Kurdish fighters.
“Last night the man, who has asked not to be named to protect his safety, said: ‘He was brilliant, just a normal boy – always chasing bugs, going down the park. I have had to block it out. It’s been hard, we just have to carry on. It’s disgusting he’s been brainwashed.’
“Jones gave birth to JoJo in Kent in 2004 but split from his father shortly afterwards. She then converted to Islam… After their split, Jones married an Islamic radical 25 years her junior, changed JoJo’s name to Hamza, and the three of them fled to Syria…”
These are terrible and inhumane examples of demonically inspired and possessed ISIS murderers and their evil and rotten tactics.
The Local wrote on August 26:
“Eastern EU countries on Friday pushed for the bloc to create a joint army as they met with Germany for talks on sketching Europe’s post-Brexit future. ‘We must prioritise security, and let’s start by building a common European army,’ Hungary’s rightwing prime minister, Viktor Orban, said at talks with Czech, German, Polish and Slovak leaders… Leftist Czech Premier Bohuslav Sobotka, for his part, said that ‘we should also begin a discussion about creating a common European army.’
“German Chancellor Angela Merkel also supported the idea of stronger security but urged caution on how plans were translated into acts. ‘Security is a fundamental issue… we can do more together in the areas of security and defence,’ she said… In an early response to Britain’s shock vote to exit the EU, Poland’s powerful rightwing leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski called for EU institutional reforms that would forge a confederation of nation states under a president in charge of a powerful common military…
“However, the concept of a common army is a thorny issue within the European Union (EU). All five EU countries at Friday’s Warsaw talks are also members of the 28-member NATO Western defence alliance. But six of the EU’s 27 post-Brexit membership do not belong to NATO: Austria, Cyprus, Finland, Ireland, Malta and Sweden.
“EU and NATO ties with Russia plunged to their lowest point since the Cold War after Moscow’s 2014 annexation of the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine. The Kremlin’s sabre-rattling in the Baltic region has also spooked NATO and EU members there…”
The European Army is destined to become reality.
Express wrote on August 30:
“A FEDERALIST blueprint to turn Europe into a superstate with its own government, army and paramilitary police force has been unveiled by a top Brussels politician. The sinister plot involves sidelining individual countries by removing them from the decision-making process and banning member states from opting out of unpopular policies like the Schengen zone and the Euro.
“It comes as federalists in Brussels look to take advantage of Brexit to force home their long-cherished dream of a United States of Europe… Belgian MEP Guy Verhofstadt, the leader of the liberals in the European parliament, has launched the six point plan which he hopes to start implementing within six months…
“He also calls for radical reform of the European Commission, which makes Brussels law, to turn it into a ‘small European government’ made up of 12 ministers… And Verhofstadt says the new government should be handed the powers currently exercised by the European Council…
“The proposals are likely to cause fury across the EU as they would effectively neutralise member states’ influence on decision making, taking away their veto and leaving all the power in the hands of Brussels bureaucrats and MEPs.
“Elsewhere in his superstate blueprint the arch-federalist calls for the creation of a European FBI which would have the power to launch police operations in any member state, operating above and beyond the local authorities. And he calls once again for the creation of an EU border force and coastguard to take over control of policing the continent’s frontiers from national governments… To that end Verhofstadt reiterates controversial calls for a European Army which have already been repeatedly made by his boss, Brussels chief Jean-Claude Juncker, and are believed to be favoured by German leader Angela Merkel.
“The liberal MEP claims that the creation of a Brussels force is the ‘only way’ to defeat Islamic State (ISIS) and convince NATO allies including the US that Europeans are playing their part on the global stage… ‘The only way to protect Europe is to build a strong and united defence… Only a European army with a unity in command will increase our capacity to defend ourselves. Only then will we be capable to defeat ISIS, only then can we stand up to Putin again and only then will we possess a credible alternative for the Americans.’…
“His proposal is likely to cause alarm in a number of countries, including Sweden and Denmark which are not in the Euro and Ireland which is not part of the Schengen free movement zone.
“The veteran MEP says Brussels should end the current system of opt-ins and opt-outs which has created a ‘Europe a la carte’ and blames Britain for being a bulwark against federalisation. And he compares the current situation to an America where California had its own currency or where Florida refused to participate in the FBI, describing the EU as ‘not a real union’.
“Instead, member states should be given an ultimatum to either accept all the terms the Brussels club lays down or leave and become an ‘associate member’ with access only to the single market…”
Time wrote on August 26:
“The Pentagon has spent billions of dollars since 2001 funneling roughly more than a million assault rifles, pistols, shotguns, and machine guns into Iraq and Afghanistan, helping to fuel lasting conflict there, according to a new report by a London-based nonprofit research and advocacy group Action on Armed Violence.
“At least 949,582 of these small arms were given to security forces in Iraq, and at least 503,328 small arms were given to local forces in Afghanistan, the group said. They called this an ‘under-estimate’ based on the information they were able to acquire.
“If the figures are correct, the US exports amounted to more than one small arm for each member of Afghanistan’s security forces, which totaled roughly 355,000 soldiers, police, and airmen in February 2015, according to a NATO operational update on the force. The number of armaments sent to Iraq also vastly exceeded the current size of that country’s active military and paramilitaries – 209,000, according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies’ 2016 Military Balance report.
“Until now, the Pentagon hasn’t published such a tally of its own, so the group’s researchers spent a year scouring multiple databases to arrive at its estimate: a general Pentagon contract list, a government-wide contracting list, and multiple government reports on military spending. They finally calculated that the overall value of the contractually-agreed small arms shipments, just to those two countries, was roughly $2.16 billion.
“U.S. intelligence reports and eyewitnesses have previously said that a significant fraction of the U.S.-financed arms were either lost or stolen, and that many wound up in the hands of forces opposed to US interests, including terrorist groups such as the Islamic State, or ISIS.
“In 2007, for example, the General Accountability Office said the coalition forces in Iraq could not account for 190,000 U.S.-supplied weapons. A July 2014 audit by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction sharply criticized the Pentagon for not paying adequate attention to the fate of weaponry sent to Afghanistan, citing rampant discrepancies in records of gun serial numbers and other problems. In many instances over the past two years, U.S.-advised forces in those two countries have engaged in protracted clashes with terrorists equipped with captured caches of U.S. small arms, as well as U.S. tanks, artillery, and armored personnel carriers.
“‘There are direct and real consequences,’ said Iain Overton, a veteran investigative journalist who is the group’s director, including ‘a destabilized Middle East.’ He said Americans believe ‘that good guys with guns will get rid of bad buys with guns but that system doesn’t work when you throw guns into lawless, anarchic societies.’…
“The United States is not the only country that provided weapons to Iraq and Afghani forces that went missing over the past fifteen years, and not the only one to have exported weapons that specifically ended up in the hands of terrorists. In 2014, the Center for Public Integrity reported that fighters associated with the Islamic State had acquired or seized weapons from at least 21 countries, including the United States, China, Russia, and several Balkan states.
“‘A significant percentage of these weapons will go into the environment and eventually end up in the hands of the Taliban, ISIS’ and other non-state actors, says Ed Laurance, an expert on armed violence and professor of international policy and development at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey. ‘Ammunition comes in, it goes out. Terrorists can get it, civilians can get it… It’s impossible to keep track of [small arms]’ because the environments are so insecure.”
Deutsche Welle wrote on August 28:
“Free trade negotiations between the European Union and the United States have failed, according to Germany’s Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel. After three years of talks, an agreement has yet to be reached. Discussions on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) have been unsuccessful, [Gabriel] said on Sunday… If agreed upon, TTIP would create the world’s largest free trade zone containing 800 million people… Gabriel, who also heads the Social Democrats (SPD), noted that after 14 rounds of talks, the two sides have yet to agree on even one chapter out of the 27 being discussed. One of the reasons given for the breakdown in negotiations was that ‘we Europeans did not want to subject ourselves to American demands,’ Gabriel said.
“In contrast to his TTIP stance, Gabriel defended the EU’s free trade agreement with Canada, called the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA.)… Many Germans continue to harbor suspicions against the TTIP and CETA… German trade unions and other organizations have called for a massive rally across German cities on September 17 to protest the two trade agreements…”
Newsmax wrote on August 31:
“Only a few hours after meeting in Mexico City with Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto, Donald Trump announced an immigration plan Wednesday in Arizona anchored by ‘a great wall along the Southern border’ — that Mexico will pay for — a zero-tolerance policy for criminal illegals and no legalization or amnesty for as many as 11 million aliens in the United States… ‘They don’t know it yet, but they’re going to pay for the wall,’ he said…
“Trump also doubled down on many of his previous immigration policies, vowing to create a ‘deportation task force’ within U.S. Immigrations and Custom Enforcement that would include a tripling of enforcement officers and the hiring of 5,000 more border patrol agents.
“He said the new task force would be ‘focused on identifying and quickly removing the dangerous criminal illegal immigrants in America who have evaded justice, just like Hillary Clinton has evaded justice. Maybe, they’ll be able to deport her,’ Trump said.
“The Republican nominee’s long-awaited speech followed a meeting in Mexico City with President Pena Nieto, after which Trump said that he was interested in ‘improving’ NAFTA and that the U.S. had a ‘right … to build a physical barrier or wall on any of its borders.’
“His remarks also came after more than a year of fiery rhetoric slamming Hispanics and illegal immigrants, vowing to build a wall on the U.S. border — and having Mexico pay for it — and promising to create a ‘deportation force’ to remove more than 11 million aliens from the United States. In recent weeks, however, Trump has been accused of softening his position — though the nominee last week ruled out legalization and amnesty and reiterated his pledge to build the wall.
“The core objective of Trump’s immigration policy was that the United States has the ‘right as a sovereign nation to choose immigrants that we think are the likeliest to thrive and flourish and love us. We also have to be honest about the fact that not everyone who seeks to join our country will be able to successfully assimilate,’ Trump told supporters…
“Other core elements of Trump’s 10-point plan include ending ICE’s catch-and-release policy for illegals at the border; implementing ‘extreme vetting’; suspending visa applications from countries — Syria and Libya, for instance — where screening is insufficient; and creating a visa tracking system to prevent overstays.
“Trump also plans to create a nationwide e-verify system that would also bar illegals from obtaining public benefits; revoke President Barack Obama’s executive immigration actions; and renegotiate the North American Free-Trade Agreement…
“For the illegals already in the United States, Trump declared that their only option is to return to their native countries and apply for citizenship. ‘Those who leave under this system, they’ll have to apply under the terms and limits that will be applied in the future,’ he said. ‘We will break the cycle of amnesty and illegal immigration… Our message to the world will be this: You cannot obtain legal status or become a citizen of the United States by illegally entering our country…”
Zero Hedge wrote in August 26:
“South Carolina Representative Trey Gowdy appeared on Fox News today and disclosed new details about the Clinton email scandal that seem to indicate intent to destroy evidence… Gowdy reveals that Clinton used ‘BleachBit’ to erase the ‘personal’ emails from her private server.
“For those not familiar with the software, BleachBit is intended to help users delete files in a way to ‘prevent recovery’ and ‘hide traces of files deleted.’ Per the BleachBit website: ‘Beyond simply deleting files, BleachBit includes advanced features such as shredding files to prevent recovery, wiping free disk space to hide traces of files deleted by other applications, and vacuuming Firefox to make it faster.’
“During his appearance on Fox, Gowdy clearly indicates that Clinton’s use of BleachBit undermines her claims that she only deleted innocuous ‘personal’ emails from her private server. ‘If she considered them to be personal, then she and her lawyers had those emails deleted. They didn’t just push the delete button… You don’t use BleachBit for yoga emails… When you’re using BleachBit, it is something you really do not want the world to see.’
“Gowdy also questioned whether Hillary considered ‘Clinton Foundation’ emails to be ‘personal’ and, if not, asked why the FBI’s investigation revealed minimal emails about Foundation-related topics.”
However, as it was pointed out on the Fox Business Channel on August 26, none of this will convince Clinton supporters NOT to vote for Hillary Clinton. Decency and a desire for trustworthiness do not seem to exist in politics; rather, willful ignorance and blindness, illogical reasoning, name-calling, accusations, the ridiculous hope for a human Messiah and other utopian pipe dreams seem to determine the “votes” of the American people in presidential elections.
LifeNews.com reported on August 29:
“A small group of Catholics protested peacefully on Sunday outside the Catholic Church where Hillary Clinton’s vice presidential running mate attends. Tim Kaine, Clinton’s vice presidential pick and a U.S. Senator for Virginia, often says he is a Catholic and ‘personally pro-life,’ but his actions show otherwise. Kaine has a 100-percent pro-abortion voting record from Planned Parenthood so far in 2016… One protester’s sign read ‘You can’t be Catholic and pro-abortion,’ while another described him as a ‘CINO,’ or Catholic in name only…
“As LifeNews previously reported, Kaine said he is a ‘strong supporter of Roe v. Wade.’ He also has refused to say whether he would vote to force taxpayers to fund abortions – a goal both for his running mate and the whole Democratic Party. As a U.S. Senator, Kaine voted to allow government funding of abortion providers, and he voted against legislation to require an abortionist to notify at least one parent before performing an abortion on a minor girl from another state.
“Kaine took his most extreme pro-abortion action yet with his recent co-sponsorship of the so-called ‘Women’s Health Protection Act’ (S.217), known to pro-lifers as the ‘Abortion Without Limits Until Birth Act.’ This bill would nullify nearly all existing state and federal limitations on regulation of abortion, and prohibit states from enacting meaningful pro-life laws in the future. This revamped version of the long-stalled ‘Freedom of Choice Act’ is a priority of the pro-abortion forces in Washington, D.C.
“Recently, Washington, DC-based Fr. Thomas Petri sent out a series of tweets addressing the Catholic candidate’s pro-abortion views – with one saying Kaine should not present himself for communion in his church. That was after a Catholic bishop admonished Kaine, saying that he can’t reconcile his Catholic faith with abortion.
“His running mate Hillary Clinton’s position is even more extreme. Clinton has said in various interviews that an unborn child just hours before birth has no Constitutional rights. In February, Clinton defended the gruesome partial-birth abortion procedure. She also said she wants to overturn the Hyde Amendment and force taxpayers to pay for abortions, including late-term abortions.”
The Washington Post wrote on August 30:
“On Tuesday morning, the governing body of the European Union ruled that one of its members, Ireland, had broken its rules by allowing U.S.-based Apple Inc. to pay a tax rate of 1 percent — and sometimes as little as .0005 percent. Ireland’s regular tax rate is 12.5 percent, and E.U. rules state that members can’t give special benefits to individual companies — even the most highly valued company in the world. Under the E.U. ruling, Apple would be required to pay Ireland more than $14.5 billion in back taxes. Both Apple and the Irish government plan to appeal.
“That is a huge amount of money for a small country like Ireland, which suffered terribly after the 2008 financial crisis and required a massive bailout from the E.U… The sum is roughly equal to Ireland’s entire health budget, to put it in perspective.
“Others, however, see the ruling as exactly why Ireland — just like the United Kingdom did with its Brexit vote — needs to leave an interventionist, anti-sovereignty European Union. To put the question a different way: Did Apple, in collusion with the Irish government, rip off the Irish public by arranging a huge tax break? Or did the European Union just undermine Ireland’s economic model and strip the country of its competitive advantage, risking Ireland’s long-term growth?
“Much of the debate across the Irish Sea in Britain during the lead-up to the referendum on E.U. membership in June centered on the idea that bureaucrats with no allegiance to Britain were sitting in Brussels and writing their laws. Proponents of a ‘Brexit’ argued that leaving the E.U. would allow the country to ‘take back control’ of its economy and borders…”
The Telegraph added on August 30:
“Britain could cut corporation tax to attract major international companies under plans being considered by Theresa May after Apple was hit with a record tax bill by Brussels. Downing Street said it would ‘welcome’ Apple to the UK after the European Commission took the extraordinary step of hitting the company with an £11billion fine.”
The Associated Press wrote on August 26:
“Turkey opened one of the world’s largest bridges Friday designed to allow traffic to cross the Bosphorus Strait between Europe and Asia and ease congestion in Istanbul. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan oversaw a ceremony inaugurating the $3 billion Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge, which is touted by its Turko-Italian developers as the world’s broadest suspension bridge at 58.4 meters (192 feet) wide.
“The toll bridge, spanning 1,408 meters (4,620 feet) over the Bosphorus, features 10 lanes, including two rail lines. At 322 meters (1,056 feet), officials say the bridge’s 322-meter (1,056-foot) towers are also the tallest in the world. It becomes Istanbul’s third bridge spanning the strategic strait. ‘This bridge upon which we look with pride will hopefully be a pioneer for many things. … We will be proud of it, you will see. International movies will be filmed here, you will see,’ Erdogan told the audience, among them the king of Bahrain, dignitaries from several other countries and hundreds of citizens.”
The Washington Post wrote on August 27:
“It’s called the Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge in honor of the ninth Ottoman emperor, Selim I, a monarch who earned the sobriquet Selim the Grim for his years of military campaigning and severe rule. In 2013, when the name was announced at a groundbreaking ceremony, it sparked a great deal of controversy. Selim I is famed for his conquests to the east in the early 16th century, extending the Ottoman Empire’s dominion over Egypt and the Holy Lands while also pushing against the Safavid Empire in what’s now Iran…
“Selim’s wars had a sectarian dimension. In particular, the emperor is believed to have ordered the slaughter of tens of thousands of Alevis, a minority sect linked to Shiism and steeped in Sufi and rural Anatolian traditions…
“Erdogan… is interested in creating a legacy that perhaps even transcends that of Ataturk and has sought, in ways big and small, to rehabilitate or resurrect Ottoman history to suit his narrative in power. In the wake of last month’s failed coup attempt, the debate over the bridge’s name almost seems quaint…”
The Star wrote on August 26:
“In a general election last month, many Australians were stunned by the success of One Nation, whose blatantly anti-Muslim policies appealed to many voters who felt threatened by immigration — even in a wealthy country with a far more generous social security net than the United States and few illegal immigrants. The party helmed by Hanson, who is famous in Australia for her fiery red hair and tortured syntax, has emerged with four seats in the finely balanced Senate, where the ruling Liberal-National coalition lacks a majority and is under huge political pressure to speed economic growth. The government is likely to need One Nation to pass laws fought by the Labor Party opposition and the Australian Greens party.
“Negotiating with One Nation could put the prime minister, Liberal Party leader Malcolm Turnbull, in an awkward position. The former Goldman Sachs investment banker is a liberal on many social issues — he is a strong supporter of legalizing same-sex marriage, for example — which frequently puts him at odds with the conservative wing of his party…
“Australia is one of the world’s most peaceful and socially harmonious immigrant-driven countries, and terrorist attacks are extremely rare. Nonetheless, cultural and racial differences between the 1.5 per cent of the population who are Muslim and the white Christian majority receive a lot of attention and contribute to a perception among some Australians that they are being overwhelmed by a hostile religion. One Nation plays to those fears. Its policies and rhetoric echo those of Trump and the UK Independence Party, which successfully championed the recent vote to take Britain out of the European Union. ‘Australia for Australians,’ One Nation’s website proclaims.
“The party wants an inquiry into whether Islam is a religion or an ideology, an end to Muslim immigration, a ban on the burqa in public, surveillance in all mosques and Islamic schools, no new mosques and the end of halal certification of food. It is skeptical about global warming…”
The Independent wrote on August 26:
“Sweden used to be one of Europe’s most popular destinations for migrants, with the number of asylum applications doubling between 2014 and 2015 to more than 160,000. A high success rate – 55 per cent of claims were accepted in 2015 – combined with generous welfare benefits for asylum seekers, and a comparatively welcoming population, made the country extremely popular with people fleeing war and persecution, and left the Scandinavian nation with the second highest number of refugees per capita in Europe.
“But for many asylum seekers who arrived during the influx last year, Sweden has proved less of a utopia than they hoped. Many faced a long, cold winter in political limbo, camped out in makeshift accommodation while the state struggled to cope with the large number of new claims. Less than 500 of the 160,000 arrivals have managed to secure jobs… the Swedish Migration Agency, a government department responsible for processing claims, introduced tougher rules at the start of 2016, designed to deter and keep out asylum seekers. New border controls were brought in, as were stricter rules surrounding family reunion. Housing was withdrawn for failed asylum seekers and plans announced to expand immigration detention.
“The Swedish public also appear to… have become more hostile to migrants. A survey released in February showed immigration was the main concern for 40 per cent of Swedes, above worries about failing schools, joblessness and welfare. The change was the biggest opinion swing in the poll’s history. ‘Most Swedes are not racist,’ said Ylva Johansson, the Minister for Employment and Integration. ‘But when there is this special asylum housing when they cannot work, and cannot be part of society this is really a tension. This is a dangerous situation; we have a lot of people in no-man’s land … living outside society.’”
“Sweden’s statistics, however, have to be viewed in the context of less refugees entering Europe overall in 2016 than in 2015. The Balkan route has essentially been closed off by the EU-Turkey deal, which forces migrants to return to Turkey unless they want to claim asylum in Greece, which would stop them travelling onwards to countries in northern Europe…
“2016 has been the deadliest year so far for refugees trying to reach Europe, aid workers have said, telling The Independent in July they are frustrated at moves within the EU to keep more refugees out and to block off entry routes…”
The Sunday Express wrote on August 27:
“Austria has launched a blistering attack on Angela Merkel accusing her of trying to stoke more mass migration and ordering her to close Germany’s borders immediately. Vienna’s defence minister Hans Peter Doskozil said the controversial Chancellor was ‘encouraging’ more asylum seekers from the Middle East to flock to Europe in a provocative outburst. The stinging slap down comes amid disintegrating relations between the two neighbours over the migrant crisis, with Austria repeatedly accusing Germany and Mrs Merkel of sparking the refugee chaos.
“Vienna has been locked in a power struggle with Berlin and Brussels over its controversial migration policies, which include limiting the daily number of asylum applications it will process. And Mr Doskozil upped the ante against Mrs Merkel, saying that she must stop repeating her infamous ‘Wir schaffen das’ – ‘We can do this’ – slogan which he said was only encouraging more migrant chaos…
“He added: ‘We will not accept that this encouragement puts Austria into a position that then makes more refugees want to go from Italy via Austria to Germany while Germany closes its borders at the same time. We decided that waving them through is no longer possible, and that is a good thing!’
“Asked what retaliatory measures Austria would take if there was another mass migrant rush for Europe, the defence minister replied that he would effectively seal up Italy by closing the Brenner Pass border between the two countries…
“Europe has been in the grip of a huge migrant crisis over the last 18 months, with more than a million migrants arriving on the continent in 2015 alone. A controversial migrant pact with Turkey has helped reduce numbers flooding into Greece but that is now under severe pressure and could collapse amid deteriorating relations between Brussels and Ankara. As a result many migrant smugglers are now targeting Italy, via Libya, as an alternative route across the Mediterranean. However, this sea crossing is much more perilous and thousands have died at sea over the last 18 months in what aid groups have described as a human tragedy.”
Reuters reported on August 28:
“German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s domestic popularity has declined, a poll showed on Sunday, with 50 percent of Germans against her serving a fourth term in office after a federal election next year. Support for Merkel has weakened after a string of violent attacks on civilians in July, three of which were carried out by asylum seekers. Of those, two were claimed by Islamic State. This has raised opposition to Merkel’s open-door migrant policy, which allowed hundreds of thousands from the Middle East, Africa and elsewhere into Germany last year.
“Half of the… people questioned… were against Merkel staying in office beyond the 2017 election, with 42 percent wanting her to remain. In November, the last time Bild am Sonntag commissioned a survey on the issue, 45 percent had been in favor of Merkel serving a fourth term, with 48 percent against.”
Deutsche Welle reported on August 26:
“A large majority of Germans reject the burqa. Some 81 percent of respondents in a representative survey conducted by polling institute Infratest dimap are in favor of banning the Islamic veil, which covers women completely from head to toe, in some public places. More than half of Germans have an even more extreme view – 51 percent were in favor of banning the burqa entirely…
“Amid the renewed debate in Germany, some conservative politicians in the country are calling for a ‘burqa ban.’ State interior ministers of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) want to ban veils like the burqa and the niqab in public places including schools, public authorities, court rooms and in traffic…. The ministers also discussed prohibiting the veils altogether…
“Several Islamic scholars in Germany agree. They say the burqa and the niqab are not required in their religion and believe that the extreme veils hinder integration. Aziz Fooladvand, a Bonn sociologist and Islamic Studies scholar, told DW that facial coverings are common only in very strict interpretations of Sunni Islam, such as that practiced in Saudi Arabia. But in Egypt, for example, wearing a niqab is generally frowned upon. Bassam Tibi, a former professor of international relations at the University of Göttingen, calls himself a ‘European Muslim’ and says that he supports an open, liberal Islam. In an August op-ed for popular German tabloid ‘Bild,’ he wrote that he fully supported a burqa ban…”
The Guardian wrote on August 26:
“Nicolas Sarkozy says he will impose a nationwide ban on burkinis if re-elected to the presidency in 2017, positioning himself as a strong defender of French values and tough on immigration… Taking a hard line on the burkini debate that has agitated France over recent weeks, Sarkozy said that the full-body swimwear should be banned from beaches across the country…
“Sarkozy is seeking to win back votes from the far-right FN, whose rising popularity mirrors that of populist politicians in other countries that have appealed to voters concerned about globalisation and immigration, such as Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump in the US and the leaders of Britain’s Brexit campaign…
“For months Sarkozy lagged in opinion polls behind Alain Juppé, the centrist former prime minister, but his popularity, which had already started improving with party sympathisers in June, rose after Islamist attacks on a Bastille Day crowd in Nice and on a priest in Normandy…”
Politico wrote on August 26:
“The Dutch far-right Freedom Party will run in the country’s parliamentary elections next year on a platform seeking to ban some of the key tenets of Islam, according to a manifesto published by its leader Geert Wilders Thursday. In its five-year plan for 2017-2021, the Freedom Party pledges to reverse the ‘Islamization’ of the Netherlands by implementing measures such as closing mosques and Islamic schools, securing borders, banning the Koran, closing asylum seeker centers, banning Muslim migrants and forbidding women from wearing headscarves.
“Wilders’ party also supports holding a Brexit-style referendum for the Netherlands to leave the European Union. Other promises include more funding for police and defense and eliminating foreign aid. The plan, which is just one page, comes ahead of the next parliamentary elections, scheduled for March 2017… An IPSOS poll predicted this month that the Freedom Party could be the most represented party in the Dutch parliament, snatching 25 to 30 seats, up from the 12 it currently has…”
Time wrote on August 29:
“A single lightning strike is believed to have killed more than 300 reindeer in Norway. A total of 323 reindeer were found dead in the southern part of Norway on the Hardangervidda plateau, a press release from the Norwegian Environment Agency said. Among the 323 killed were 70 calves. An official from the Norwegian Nature Inspectorate discovered their carcasses during a routine inspection on Friday.
“Officials said they believe the herd of reindeer was killed by lightning strike as they huddled together during a heavy thunderstorm…”
Breitbart wrote on September 1:
“In his message for the ‘World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation’ Thursday, Pope Francis said that human-induced global warming, as well as a loss of biodiversity are ‘sins’ against God, which must be atoned for…
“Among these [‘atoning actions’] are ‘avoiding the use of plastic and paper, reducing water consumption, separating refuse, cooking only what can reasonably be consumed, showing care for other living beings, using public transport or car-pooling, planting trees, turning off unnecessary lights, or any number of other practices.’”
Christian News wrote on August 20:
“The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) voted overwhelmingly last week to approve a declaration of unity with the Roman Catholic Church in an endeavor to ‘enumerate the many points of agreement between Lutherans and Catholics’—a move that some state is contrary to biblical Christianity…
“While this month’s ELCA declaration notes points of agreement between evangelical Lutherans and Roman Catholics, it also outlines several areas where differences remain between the two entities. The document explains that Roman Catholics believe in transubstantiation, while Lutherans do not believe that communion is transformed ‘into the [actual] substance of the body and blood of Christ.’ It also notes that Lutherans question the global papacy, which Roman Catholics assert is of the succession of Peter…
“Mike Gendron, a former Roman Catholic who now leads Proclaiming the Gospel Ministries, [an] organization dedicated to evangelizing Catholics, said that the ECLA is in error in seeking to find common ground with Roman Catholicism despite… doctrinal disparities.
“‘By seeking unity with the Catholic religion they are departing from the biblical faith of the Reformers,’ he told Christian News Network. “They need to know that there can never be biblical unity between Roman Catholics and denominations which uphold the gospel of God’…
“Gendron said that unity simply for the sake of unity is contrary to the Scriptures… ‘Religious unity is a work of Satan who uses man’s prideful ambitions and biblical ignorance and to unite the world,’ he stated. ‘Those who engage in spiritual enterprises with apostate Roman Catholicism, without confronting their error, give credibility to their heresies’…”
Newsmax reported on August 26:
“A U.S. judge on Friday blocked the University of North Carolina from enforcing a state law requiring transgender people to use single-sex restrooms and locker rooms that correspond to the gender on their birth certificate. U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Schroeder’s order granting a preliminary injunction applies only to the three transgender plaintiffs named in a lawsuit challenging the measure…
“The judge, an appointee of Republican former President George W. Bush, heard oral arguments in the case… Lawyers for Republican Governor Pat McCrory and other Republican lawmakers who support the measure said it offered common-sense protection of state residents’ privacy and safety…
“The U.S. Justice Department and the American Civil Liberties Union, which sued the state on behalf of three transgender people, called the law stigmatizing and unconstitutional.
“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… Debates about which public restroom facilities they and transgender children should use have divided courts, state legislatures and schools.”
Breitbart wrote on August 23:
“The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in San Francisco on August 23 upheld California’s wildly controversial Senate Bill 1172 that bars licensed counselors — including pastors — from assisting youth who want to change or reduce their same-sex attractions. The law also prohibits any counseling that would steer youth away from gender confusion. Pacific Justice Institute filed suit against SB 1172 in 2012…
“Pacific Justice’s lead plaintiff is both a pastor and a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist who oversees a counseling ministry in his church. Pacific Justice pointed out that the SB 1172 if applied would [be] reaching over the walls of a church to prohibit what could be said during counseling by a pastor who is also a trained marriage and family therapist.
“According to the law, ‘California has a compelling interest in protecting the physical and psychological well-being of minors, including lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth, and in protecting its minors against exposure to serious harms caused by sexual orientation change efforts … … Under no circumstances shall a mental health provider engage in sexual orientation change efforts with a patient under 18 years of age.’
“But the Ninth Circuit today waved away concerns about California interfering with pastors’ religious practice, while also declining to address legal decisions that previously rejected state interference with church counseling.
“Pacific Justice had also pointed out to the court, that dozens of transcript passages from SB 1172’s legislative record show the legislation is meant as a clear and direct attack against conservative religious viewpoints. According to Pacific Justice attorney Kevin Snider, who argued the Ninth Circuit case, ‘The court today simply rewrote legislative history to avoid the uncomfortable reality that the California Legislature unabashedly targeted religious beliefs with this bill.’
“Brad Dacus, president of Pacific Justice Institute, commented: ‘We are deeply disappointed by today’s ruling because it represents a giant step backwards for religious freedom. A government that can tell a pastor what he can and cannot say during counseling is a government that can tell a pastor what parts of the Bible are off-limits. The court also reminded us today that this law lays the groundwork for further restrictions on parental rights.’
“Pacific Justice is currently reviewing all its options with their clients, including a potential appeal to the Supreme Court.”
California’s law (SB 1172), as applied, is unconstitutional on its face. The attack of the Legislature and the Court system on religious freedom, parental rights and the separation between church and state is unconscionable. Note the next article for another unconditional California law.
The Los Angeles Times wrote on August 26:
“A federal judge has denied a request for a preliminary injunction against a new law that requires children in California’s public and private schools to be vaccinated unless they have a medical waiver from a licensed doctor. In an order released Friday afternoon, U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw in San Diego wrote that state Legislatures have ‘a long history of requiring children to be vaccinated as a condition to school enrollment, and for as many years, both state and federal courts have upheld those requirements against constitutional challenge.’
“In July, a group of parents and advocacy groups filed a federal lawsuit asking for the injunction. It is trying to block the California law’s elimination of personal belief exemptions, which previously allowed parents to enroll their children even if they weren’t up-to-date on the full vaccination schedule as published by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.”
The wording of the District Court’s decision, as quoted, is historically and legally inaccurate and blatantly misleading. The law in question, only granting exemptions for ill-defined “medical reasons,” seems to be unconstitutional ON ITS FACE. However, to reach the US Supreme Court, even IF they were to uphold the Constitution, will be an expensive, laborious and time-consuming task.
The Local wrote on August 27:
“A music teacher from North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) has been found guilty of ‘holding people against their will’ after he made some naughty stay kids back after class. The 50-year-old was ordered by the court to attend classes on how to better deal with difficult children. If he fails to attend the classes, he could face a fine of €1,000, reports Spiegel.
“The reason for Wednesday’s conviction on a count of ‘robbery of freedom’ was the teacher’s decision to make disruptive pupils write out a Wikipedia entry on a musician after class. The pupils were then told to hand in their work one by one, but were not allowed to leave the classroom by the teacher, sat in the doorway with a guitar across his knees…
“According to the law in NRW, teachers are allowed to give pupils detention, but only after notifying parents.”
True Christians know and have proven for themselves from the pages of the Bible THAT they are still duty-bound today to keep the weekly Sabbath–the time from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset–as it is holy time. But often questions may arise as to HOW to keep the Sabbath. Are there any principles or passages in the Bible which tell us what kind of activities are permitted, and which are prohibited? Are we told how to apply those passages and concepts practically, in an individual situation?
In this new series, we will address many of those questions which have puzzled and perplexed Christians for decades. We will begin with quoting statements which we have made through the years in our literature regarding proper Sabbath observance. In this installment and the next one, we will concentrate primarily on God’s command not to do “work” on the Sabbath; not to pursue our own “pleasure”; not to engage in “business”; and we will discuss whether or not we should eat out in a restaurant on the Sabbath. We will address and answer specific questions which we may not have addressed before in writing.
We stated the following in our Q&A on Mark 2:27-28:
“The Fourth Commandment says very clearly that we are not to do servile or customary work on the Sabbath (Exodus 20:8-11; Deuteronomy 5:12-15). As God rested on the seventh day from His ordinary work of creating plants, animals and men, so we are to rest from our ordinary labor and to be spiritually refreshed on the Sabbath.
“Jesus said that the Sabbath was made for man. It was God’s gift to man. It was not supposed to be a burden, but a blessing. As God blessed and sanctified for holy use the seventh day (Genesis 2:3), He did so for man, so man will be blessed when he properly keeps and enjoys the seventh day.
“However, the Pharisees at the time of Jesus Christ had made a burden out of the Sabbath… they criticized the disciples of Christ for plucking the heads of grain on the Sabbath, to satisfy their hunger (Mark 2:23-24; Matthew 12:1-2). It was their position that they should rather go hungry than to pluck a few heads of grain, falsely interpreting such conduct as prohibited ‘harvesting.’ …
“Christ placed mercy over strict pharisaical restrictions, pointing out that David ate from the showbread of the [tabernacle], when he was hungry, although it was not ‘lawful’ for him to eat it (Matthew 12:3-4). But Christ did not condemn David for this. He also taught that the priests in the temple had to fulfill their responsibilities on the Sabbath, which—according to pharisaical consequential reasoning–would have been tantamount to ‘breaking’ or ‘profaning’ the Sabbath, but Christ said they were ‘blameless’ in doing so (Matthew 12:5). When today God’s ministers ‘work’ on the Sabbath in preparing and delivering sermons, they are equally blameless and guiltless.
“On the other hand, Christ did not teach that we can violate God’s Sabbath by just trampling it under foot—by working in our jobs to earn a living and by pursuing our own pleasures and hobbies. Isaiah 58:13 states to you (according to the New International Version) that you are to ‘keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath and from doing as you please on my holy day’ and to ‘call the Sabbath a delight and the LORD’s holy day honorable’ and to ‘honor it by not doing as you please or speaking idle words.’ The Living Bible clarifies that ‘doing as you please’ refers to ‘your own fun and business.’”
We also stated the following in our free booklet, “God’s Commanded Holy Days“:
“When we keep the Sabbath, it will be noticeable to those with whom we have close relationships—our family, friends, neighbors, and co-workers. Our lack of participation in sports, school or college events that are scheduled on the Sabbath, as well as not going to theaters or working on the Sabbath, will become very obvious, and so these people will come to realize our commitment to God…”
To elaborate at this point, it is obvious that we must not work on the Sabbath to earn money, and if we operate our own business, we need to close it during the Sabbath. This would mean that we could not keep it open for our employees to run the business and keep the money for themselves. The same principle would apply for a business “partnership.” First of all, we would strongly recommend against a business partnership between a Church member and an “unbeliever” who does not believe in the Sabbath. In any event, a Church member could not agree that his partner operates the business on the Sabbath, even if he was to forgo any share of proceeds received on the Sabbath. As a partner, he would still be responsible for the operation of his business on the Sabbath. The situation would be different, if a Church member was an employee and would not work on the Sabbath for the business, even if the business was to stay open on that day.
A related question may arise when Christians rent out their houses or apartments. It is obvious that they cannot demand from their renters to leave the house on Fridays and return on Sundays. Once houses or apartments are rented out, the owners are no longer responsible for the conduct of their renters (as long as it is not illegal). It would be advisable, however, to carefully scrutinize prospective renters to guarantee that they are not engaging in conduct which would have to be rejected by a Church member. One might say that since no profit may be earned on the Sabbath, a landlord could not rent out a house or apartment since the rent would always include the time for the weekly and annual Sabbaths. Therefore, some have suggested that a Church member could or should never rent out a house or apartment, or should never begin to run a motel or a hotel, or if he had done so, to sell such an establishment.
This seems to be too restrictive. We read in the parable about the merciful Samaritan that he took care of the man fallen under the robbers; that he brought him to an inn; and that he paid the innkeeper for weeks (including the Sabbaths), until he returned. We also read that during the time of taxation (which fell apparently during the fall festivals), no room was found in the inn for Mary and Joseph, showing that inns were rented out in Judea, and they would have been rented out for profit. It is up to the individual Church member to determine how to calculate the rent, keeping the Sabbath question in mind, but it would be too restrictive to demand that he could not rent out his house or apartment.
Addressing activities of “pleasure” and “sports,” it would generally be ill advised to attend a birthday party or parties in general on the Sabbath; especially, if the parties involve unconverted family members or unbelieving friends. Even driving to such parties on the Sabbath (although one may attend after the Sabbath) might create a problem, depending on how long one may be on the road. It would always be better to ask for accommodation, explaining to the relatives and friends that the Sabbath was not really the day when one would want to attend, and whether the event could not be held on another day, such as Sunday. But as in so many cases, this would have to be a personal decision, based on the circumstances, the persons involved, and one’s own conscience. We must not neglect the fact, however, that the Sabbath is holy time to be dedicated to God.
This means that we may even have to look much more carefully at weddings and wedding receptions on the Sabbath, for both Church members and non-members (given the enormous work involved for Church members if they need to prepare for those occasions). The same general considerations would apply as discussed above regarding birthday parties and other parties. One would need to ask why one would want to conduct a wedding on the Sabbath in the first place, and if arrangements couldn’t be made to conduct it on a different day. Again, whether one would want to conduct or attend a wedding on the Sabbath would have to be a personal decision, based on the circumstances, the persons involved, and one’s own conscience.
To be clear, we do not say that it would be prohibited spending time together with unconverted parents or family members on the Sabbath, including for coffee or a meal.
Regarding sporting events, it should be obvious that we would not watch a football game, a basketball game or a soccer game on the Sabbath. Neither would we participate in such games; which is not to say that we could not “kick the ball around” for a short while with our children or grandchildren. We would also not go to an amusement park or a sporting event or a theater on the Sabbath, but how would we feel if a Church member would drop off or pick up their unbelieving relatives at an amusement park, a sporting event or a theater on his or her way to or from Church services? First of all, it is not our task to condemn anyone, but in case of a request for counseling, we would need to carefully evaluate the individual circumstances, taking into consideration the family situation and other aspects.
The same is true when a Church member is asked by his parents who are returning from vacation to pick them up at the airport on the Sabbath. Again, it would be advisable to explain to the parents ahead of time that the scheduling of the trip should be made in such a way that the flight does not fall on the Sabbath, but circumstances might have existed when such scheduling was not possible.
It would also be advisable for a Church member not to fly at all on the Sabbath, for any reason, if it can be avoided. Experience has shown that flights on the Sabbath are simply not the best way of keeping the Sabbath (especially considering the time at the airport, including security procedures, before entering or after leaving the plane).
It would not be wrong to view certain TV programs or Internet postings on the Sabbath, which would inform us about world news or which would show us God’s beauty of creation; nor would it be wrong to go to a park for a picnic after Church services, or drive to a beautiful scenery (watching the ocean, a waterfall, a forest etc.).
In the next installment, we will answer the question as to whether it is permissible to eat out in a restaurant on the Sabbath.
(To be Continued)
Lead Writer: Norbert Link
“God’s Law… or God’s Grace?,” our new booklet, in now posted and has been sent to our printer. Printed copies will be available for those attending the Feast of Tabernacles, and mailings will be done following the Feast to those who are on our mailing list.
“Fear of Nuclear War,” is the title of a new StandingWatch program, presented by Evangelist Norbert Link. Here is a summary:
Almost 2,000 years ago, the disciples asked Christ what would be the sign of His coming and the end of the world. Christ warned that there would be wars and rumors of wars prior to His return, and that they would increase in intensity. A website introduced ten scenarios of likely wars with devastating consequences, but they missed completely the ONE nuclear confrontation which will trigger World War III and the Great Tribulation. Why is it important that YOU and your loved ones understand?
“Die Angst vor nuklearem Weltkrieg,” is the title of a new AufPostenStehen program, presented by Evangelist Norbert Link. This covers the same material in German as the English program described above.
“Endzeitprophezeiungen für die 12 Stämme Israels,” is the title of this Sabbath’s new German sermon. Title in English: “End-time Prophecies for the 12 Tribes of Israel.”
“Opposites Don’t Attract,” the sermonette presented last Sabbath by Michael Link, is now posted. Here is a summary:
Because of ignorance and uncertainty, thinking that “the law” has been done away with, we have what we have today: people doing as they please, keeping holidays which are not from God, abusing their bodies in ways which are shameful in God’s eyes, giving into sin and deceit, and forsaking God’s specific commands on how to live a Godly life. What does the Bible actually say when it comes to “the law” and in what way are we to do the opposite from what the world in general justifies in their own eyes?
“Holy Sabbath Convocations,” the sermon presented last Sabbath by Norbert Link, is now posted. Here is a summary:
How are we to observe the Sabbath… especially during Church services? How should our children behave? Why should they even be present in Church services? What should they do during services? Does it make a difference whether we participate in person or over the Internet?
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
This Update is an official publication by the ministry of the Church of the Eternal God in the United States of America; the Church of God, a Christian Fellowship in Canada; and the Global Church of God in the United Kingdom.
Editorial Team: Norbert Link, Dave Harris, Rene Messier, Brian Gale, Johanna Link, Eric Rank, Michael Link, Anna Link, Kalon Mitchell, Manuela Mitchell, Dawn Thompson
Technical Team: Eric Rank, Shana Rank
Our activities and literature, including booklets, weekly updates, sermons on CD are provided free of charge. They are made possible by the tithes, offerings and contributions of Church members and others who have elected to support this Work.
While we do not solicit the general public for funds, contributions are gratefully welcomed and are tax-deductible in the U.S. and Canada.
Donations can be sent to the following addresses:
United States: Church of the Eternal God, P.O. Box 270519, San Diego, CA 92198
Canada: Church of God, ACF, Box 1480, Summerland, B.C. V0H 1Z0
United Kingdom: Global Church of God, PO Box 44, MABLETHORPE, LN12 9AN, United Kingdom
“God’s Law… or God’s Grace?,” our new booklet, in now posted and has been sent to our printer. Printed copies will be available for those attending the Feast of Tabernacles, and mailings will be done following the Feast to those who are on our mailing list.
“Fear of Nuclear War,” is the title of a new StandingWatch program, presented by Evangelist Norbert Link. Here is a summary:
Almost 2,000 years ago, the disciples asked Christ what would be the sign of His coming and the end of the world. Christ warned that there would be wars and rumors of wars prior to His return, and that they would increase in intensity. A website introduced ten scenarios of likely wars with devastating consequences, but they missed completely the ONE nuclear confrontation which will trigger World War III and the Great Tribulation. Why is it important that YOU and your loved ones understand?
“Die Angst vor nuklearem Weltkrieg,” is the title of a new AufPostenStehen program, presented by Evangelist Norbert Link. This covers the same material in German as the English program described above.
“Endzeitprophezeiungen für die 12 Stämme Israels,” is the title of this Sabbath’s new German sermon. Title in English: “End-time Prophecies for the 12 Tribes of Israel.”
“Opposites Don’t Attract,” the sermonette presented last Sabbath by Michael Link, is now posted. Here is a summary:
Because of ignorance and uncertainty, thinking that “the law” has been done away with, we have what we have today: people doing as they please, keeping holidays which are not from God, abusing their bodies in ways which are shameful in God’s eyes, giving into sin and deceit, and forsaking God’s specific commands on how to live a Godly life. What does the Bible actually say when it comes to “the law” and in what way are we to do the opposite from what the world in general justifies in their own eyes?
“Holy Sabbath Convocations,” the sermon presented last Sabbath by Norbert Link, is now posted. Here is a summary:
How are we to observe the Sabbath… especially during Church services? How should our children behave? Why should they even be present in Church services? What should they do during services? Does it make a difference whether we participate in person or over the Internet?
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
