On January 30, 2016, Norbert Link will be giving the sermon this Sabbath, and he will also use the sermonette and announcement time to speak on recent world events in the light of biblical prophecy. The Sermon Title is: “Scorn and Ridicule for God and His People.”

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

In August 2015, the BBC produced a series of three television programmes entitled, “Are Our Kids Tough Enough? – The Chinese School.”  Five teachers from China came to the UK and taught the Chinese method to a group of 50 students, aged 13-14, in a high achieving school in southern England.   We were told that this was because British pupils were falling behind on the international scene.

One Chinese teacher asked the class why the Chinese academic achievement was 3 years ahead of the UK.    She answered the question herself by saying that “discipline was really important; without discipline, you don’t learn well.”   That didn’t go down well with the English students and it was appalling to see the way the class reacted and behaved.   There were many aspects of this experiment that could be commented on, but had the basics been done in the first place, many of the problems that were so clearly seen would have never surfaced.   Those problems were a lack of parental training and correction, as well as the showing of disrespect.

The Chinese, from an early age, are taught to respect their parents, their teachers and their country.   It is clear to see that the average student in the UK doesn’t fit into that category.   We do have good students who have been well brought up by caring parents but so very many have had parents with poor parenting skills.   We must also add the fact that teachers are unable to do their job properly with children having the upper hand.

In the class of 50 that was shown, there was so much disrespect and ill-discipline that it was embarrassing.   There were, at different times, singing in class; one girl putting on her make up; another girl eating jelly; another one had the ubiquitous mobile phone in class; one boy had brought in a kettle and was drinking tea at the back of the class; there was talking and yawning and disrespect to the teachers and students not turning up for lessons but were playing outside, and much more.   All of this happened because the basics were missing.

The English teacher was sent in to see how the Chinese teacher taught and said that he wasn’t prepared for what he saw.   He said that they all ignored the teacher and he would be livid if students behaved like that in his class.   The school had to bring in the Head of School who was in charge of enforcing discipline – a position that would be redundant in China because the students are taught the right principles from a very early age.   He laid down the law to the class and they took notice of him and he asked them if there were any questions or if they had any issues with what he had said.   There were no takers.   As soon as this English teacher had gone, they were back to their worst and the Chinese teacher asked the class why.   One response was that “we’re frightened of him but we’re not frightened of you”.   Such disrespect.

In our secular society, God’s Word is usually seen as irrelevant or unnecessary but it actually contains gems of understanding that, if implemented, would ensure that society would be so much better ordered, disciplined and respectful.

In Proverbs 22:6 we read: “Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it.”   Installing good habits from an early age will produce massive life-long benefits.

In our liberal society, teachers are not allowed to use any corporal punishment and the students know that they have the upper hand.   One law firm states the legal position in the UK as follows: “So long as a parent uses what could in all circumstances be deemed reasonable force in the home, they are likely to be acting perfectly legally in the UK.”   What does God say about this?   Proverbs 23:13 gives us the answer: “Do not withhold correction from a child, For if you beat him with a rod, he will not die.”   We only have to look at history to know that this is correct; today with the liberal approach, we have huge problems.

Of course, as we point out in our booklet, “The Keys to Happy Marriages and Families,” “There is never a justification for physical abuse. On the other hand, to totally ban spanking and define it as physical abuse only shows how liberal and anti-biblical our Western society has become… As parents, we must be aware, though, that in certain countries, spanking is illegal, and could result in the authorities coming in and taking away our children. And even in countries where spanking is not illegal, many governmental officials look at such practice with great disfavor…

“Since using the rod is compared with prompt or early discipline, it is clear that this passage includes the concept of spanking, where and when appropriate. Of course, we don’t spank a teenager or an adult, so the spanking needs to be done early in the life of the child. But note, again, we discipline our children, because we LOVE them. If we discipline our children for any other reason, or because of any other motive, we do NOT follow God’s instructions. Spanking should never cause physical injury to a child. The intent is to break a rebellious spirit, not to bruise skin.”

Honouring parents is a biblical command (compare Exodus 20:12; Proverbs 1:8, Ephesians 6:1; Colossians 3:20).  But it is not just about honouring parents and teachers, but all people.   In Leviticus 19:32 we read: “You shall rise before the gray headed and honor the presence of an old man, and fear your God: I am the Lord.”

Had these biblical admonitions been implemented with children from a very early age, we would have a very different society today, but the basics have been missing.   It is because man thinks he knows better than God, we have the problems that we have today and this was so clearly seen in this BBC programme.

In the future, probably not too far away now, God’s Way will be the norm and man’s failed way will be consigned to the dustbin of history.

We begin with reports on the Middle East, including articles about and pertaining to Iran, Israel and Egypt.

We continue with shocking revelations about the migrant crisis in Germany and its undesired, but rather certain consequences; and address the role Islam might be playing in this context.

We are writing about events in Great Britain pertaining to ridiculous recommendations of “Christian” clergymen; and focus on the reactions of a lengthy British report by a former high court judge, charging Vladimir Putin with the “probable” order of murdering Alexander Litvinenko—a British citizen and former Russian spy—in the streets of London… allegedly in part for revealing extremely damaging personal facts about Putin. In spite of this, the British government under Mr. Cameron realizes their utter “helplessness” in the matter and seems to be willing to treat this report about a ten-year-long murder investigation as “murky water under the bridge.”

We report on developments pertaining to Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump; a new scandal in Texas involving Planned Parenthood; strong accusations against the FBI regarding the death of one protestor in Oregon; the spreading of the Zika virus in America and Europe; a new dangerous game for teens; and a serious locust plague in Argentina.

We conclude with astonishing revelations about the total lack of belief of young Icelanders in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, even though one of the ancient tribes of the House of Israel—Benjamin—settled in Iceland and can be found there today (as well as in Norway).

John Kerry Admits: US Money for Iran Might Be Used for Terrorist Attacks

JTA wrote on January 21:

“Secretary of State John Kerry said Iran would likely use some [U.S.] money freed by the lifting of sanctions for terrorism, but if it does, it will be subject to separate sanctions. ‘I think that some of it will end up in the hands of the IRGC or other entities, some of which are labeled terrorists,’ Kerry said Thursday at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, in an interview by CNBC reported by The Associated Press. The IRGC is an acronym for the Iran Revolutionary Guards Corps…”

IS Prepares Attacks Against Israel

The Economist wrote on January 23:

“IS has yet to attack Israel. Its main forces in southern Syria are about 80km (50 miles) from Israel’s borders. Last month, IS put out a recording… saying that ‘with the help of Allah we are getting closer to you every day. The Israelis will soon see us in Palestine.’ On January 18^th… the chief of staff of Israel’s armed forces, warned that ‘the success against IS raises the probability we will see them turning their gun-barrels towards us and also the Jordanians’.

“The most direct and likely avenue of attack is across Israel’s frontier with Syria. That is because the situation there is already chaotic; IS bases and civilian villages are close to Israel; and the terrain is mountainous…

“But IS may also choose other places from which to attack. Wilayat Sinai, which means the ‘Sinai province’ of IS, has been operating on Israel’s western border for five years. It declared allegiance to IS in late 2014 and claimed responsibility for blowing up a Russian airliner last October, killing 224 people. But it is embroiled in a bloody insurgency against Egypt’s security forces. Israel, which is discreetly providing the Egyptians with intelligence and military help, says that IS shares routes for smuggling arms and other supplies with Hamas, the Islamist group that controls Gaza. These could be used for launching future attacks on Israel.

“The Israelis are also worried that radical Palestinians who are citizens of Israel may be working for IS… ‘IS is here and it’s no secret,’ says Reuven Rivlin, Israel’s president. ‘I’m not talking about the borders of Israel, but about IS within. Research, arrests, witnesses, open and classified analysis all indicate clearly that IS’s popularity is growing and that even Israeli Arabs are actually joining up with it.’ Vigilance along Israel’s borders may not be enough.”

Violence in Israeli-Occupied West Bank

Reuters reported on January 23:

“A 13-year-old Palestinian girl was shot dead by an Israeli security guard she tried to stab at a settlement in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Israeli police said on Saturday. It was the latest fatality in an almost four-month-long surge of violence that has raised concern of wider escalation, a decade after the last Palestinian uprising subsided, and it followed two stabbings this week inside settlements carried out by Palestinian teenagers, according to Israeli authorities…

“Since the start of October, Israeli forces have killed at least 149 Palestinians, 95 of them assailants according to authorities. Most of the others have died in violent protests. Almost daily stabbings, shootings and car-ramming attacks by Palestinians have killed 25 Israelis and a U.S. citizen. Many of the Palestinian assailants have been teenagers.

“On Sunday, an Israeli mother of six was stabbed to death at her home in a West Bank settlement and a 15-year-old Palestinian was arrested for the attack. On Monday, Israeli troops shot and wounded a 17-year-old Palestinian who had stabbed and wounded a pregnant Israeli woman in a settlement.

“The bloodshed has been fueled by various factors including frustration over the 2014 collapse of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks and the growth of Jewish settlements on land Palestinians seek for an independent state. Palestinian leaders have said that with no breakthrough on the horizon, desperate youngsters see no future ahead. Israel says young Palestinians are being incited to violence by their leaders and Islamist groups that call for Israel’s destruction.”

Jews Leave France in Record Numbers

CNN reported on January 23:

“Nearly 8,000 French Jews moved to Israel in the year following the Charlie Hebdo attack, according to the Jewish Agency, which handles Jewish immigration, or aliyah, to Israel. The number of French Jews moving to Israel has doubled — and doubled again — in the past five years…

“Britain has the second-highest Jewish emigration from Western Europe, but the scale is much smaller. According to the Jewish Agency, 774 British Jews moved to Israel in 2015, less than one-tenth the number of French Jews… Many French Jews settle in Ashdod, a city in southern Israel known for its large French population… The Jewish Agency says violence is part — but not all — of the reason for French immigration…

“French Prime Minister Manuel Valls recently expressed the fear that an exodus of Jews would change the country for the worse. ‘Without the Jews, France is no longer France. It’s the oldest community. They have been French citizens since the French revolution’…

“But when the European Union studied the prevalence of anti-Semitism in 2013, it found that 74% of Jews in France avoid openly identifying themselves as Jewish at least some of the time, and more than a quarter of French Jews always do…”

State Repression in Egypt Greater Than under Nasser and Mubarak

The Guardian wrote on January 24:

“The scale of state repression in Egypt is greater today than it has been for generations, one of the country’s most prominent journalists and human rights advocates has told the Guardian. Hossam Bahgat, an investigative reporter who was recently detained by Egypt’s military intelligence agency, spoke out ahead of the fifth anniversary of the start of Egypt’s revolution on Monday – the run-up to which has seen an unprecedented crackdown by security forces against opposition and dissent.

“‘This is without doubt the worst we’ve ever seen,’ said Bahgat… ‘The level of repression now is significantly higher than it was under the Mubarak regime, and people from older generations say it is worse than even the worst periods of the 1950s and 1960s [under the rule of Gamal Abdel Nasser]’…

“Egypt under Sisi has jailed more journalists than any other country on earth bar China…”

Secret and Confidential Report Reveals Wide-Spread Sex Attacks and Thefts in Germany through Migrants

Deutsche Welle reported on January 23:

“Sex attacks and thefts like the ones that happened in Cologne on New Year’s Eve were also reported in 12 other German states, German media say. The information comes from a leaked report of the federal criminal police.

“The German broadcasters WDR and NDR, as well as the newspaper ‘Süddeutsche Zeitung’ on Saturday reported that the phenomenon of sexual violence paired with thievery was more widespread on New Year’s Eve than previously thought. They cited a confidential paper prepared for interior ministers by the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA). The report covered sexual offenses in public places in which the victims were also stolen from, including a type of con in which thieves approach victims and hug or otherwise surprise them, with the aim of distracting them in order to pick their pockets…

“The report, dated January 13, said Hamburg and North Rhine-Westphalia (the state where Cologne is located) reported the highest number of offenses. In Hamburg there were 195 complaints, most of them for sexual offenses. Investigators in North Rhine-Westphalia reported 1,076 crimes altogether, mainly in the cities of Cologne, Dusseldorf and Bielefeld. That number included 692 bodily harm or property offenses and 384 sexual offenses… Similar incidents were reported in Lower Saxony, Brandenburg, Saxony, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland, albeit on a much smaller scale…  Across the country the victims were almost [always] female and the suspects were men aged between about 17 and 30…

“The investigators concluded that the nature of the reported thefts was a new form of criminality which up until now had not been widely experienced across Germany. The report’s authors noted, however, that it provided only a snapshot of the situation, which continued to be ‘dynamic.’… Meanwhile, police investigating the Cologne attacks have enlisted the help of specialists from London. The so-called ‘super recognizers’ from Scotland Yard will assist in analyzing video footage from New Year’s Eve. Their ability to pick out faces in a crowd is considered superior to facial recognition software.”

Educating Migrants… by Sending Wrong Signals?

The Daily Mail reported on January 23:

“The spate of migrant sex attacks has led authorities across Europe to start handing out cartoon strips explaining to refugees why they should not assault women. The Austrian interior ministry has issued a ‘behaviour guide’, which includes drawings of a man hitting a woman – covered by a giant red cross – and an image of gay kissing, approved with a tick.

“Authorities in Lucerne in Switzerland plan to distribute a version of the leaflet at its carnival next month and said the decision was made in the wake of the Cologne sex attacks.”

WARNING! Despicable Migrant Acts Reported from Germany

The following reports are sickening, and the reader needs to be warned. But it would not be right to suppress them for the sake of “political correctness” or because of their offensive and explicit nature.

The Daily Mail wrote on January 24:

“Migrants have been banned from a historic swimming bath in Germany after a gang of men were caught on camera masturbating in a hot tub and sexually assaulting women. Several other men were seen ’emptying their bowels’ in the children’s end of the main swimming pool at the Johannisbad baths in Zwickau, Saxony.

“Management at the historic baths are reportedly no longer allowing migrants into the facilities following the allegations while some local swimmers have stayed away after the incidents… ‘the lifeguards have to protect women and girls from the asylum seekers. Young men wanted to forcibly penetrate the female changing room,’ [civilian servant Rainer Mr Kallweit] said, describing another incident at another swimming pool… Police have arrested several men in connection to the incident at the baths. The men have since been released.”

Breitbart added on January 22:

“The local radio station reports the actions of the migrants [have] caused ‘outrage’, and a number of sexual harassment(s) of women and girls by migrants has been reported. Migrants have now been banned from the pool until they can be educated at the migrant centres about ‘behaviour towards woman and girls in swimwear’ and the ‘user regulations of our baths’.

“This behaviour in Zwickau is not by any means unique in Germany. Breitbart London has reported on a number of sex attacks on children in swimming baths over the past week, with girls as young as 11 and boys as young as three being targeted by migrant gangs. On one occasion in Munich, a pair of young girls enjoying the waterslide at their local pool were groped, ‘allegedly under their bathing suits’, ‘and possibly raped’ by a gang of ‘refugees’.

“The men believed to be responsible, Syrian and Afghan asylum seekers, were arrested and released by police.”

Is Islam Partially to Be Blamed for Muslims’ Sexual Assaults?

Deutsche Welle wrote on January 24:

“Since the assaults on New Year’s Eve, some German media are inclined to blame Islam for the attacks on young women. They are not altogether wrong. And Islam also plays a role in this: not because it is based on an inherently sexist philosophy, but because it has a lack of hierarchical structure. To put it plainly: The vast majority of Muslims abhor what happened on New Year’s Eve. Nonetheless, the problem remains that the attacks have not been condemned at the highest level within Islam – nor can they be.

“As long as Sunnis in particular have no figure of authority comparable to the Catholic pope, and no interpretation of Islam that is binding for all believers, there will be an uncontrolled proliferation of theological interpretation.

“A look at Saudi Arabia, which sees itself as the leading power in the Sunni world, shows where this leads. Here, the religious scholar Muhammad Salih Al-Munajjid runs a Salafist website. Among sites of this kind, it is in the top ten in terms of the number of hits. Al-Munajjid was recently asked by a user whether it was permissible for married Muslims to have sex with so-called ‘slave girls’ – a euphemistic and cynical way of referring to Asian women who work in Saudi Arabia as housemaids. The religious scholar’s response: Yes, of course, no doubt about it.

“This kind of perverted theology of sex is also part of the contract for the terrorist organization calling itself ‘Islamic State.’ It permits its followers to rape women without fear of punishment – Christian and Yazidi women, and other captives, too. ‘IS’ members claim that they do this with Allah’s blessing…

“This is the flipside of the practice currently lauded in German Islamic scholarship as ‘the tolerance of ambiguity.’ The great freedom of interpretation enjoyed by even the most questionable imams can also lead down some very dark roads. This is why a large section of the German public is very worried.”

More Cover-Ups in Germany?

Breitbart wrote on January 27:

“The Russian foreign minister has become involved in an unusual democratic spat with Germany over the alleged cover-up of the gang rape of a 13 year old Russian citizen in Germany by ‘Arab-looking men’. German police have claimed the disappearance by the 13 year old daughter of a Russian migrant family for 30 hours on January 11th, and her use as a ‘sex slave’ by a trio of Arab men had been consensual, and no kidnap or rape had been involved.

“Russia disputes this version of events, with Russian media reporting the girl had been taken from her family and passed around the three men for hours on end. Sex with a 13 year old girl, whether consensual or not, is a crime in Germany, yet there have not yet been any arrests.

“The persistence of reports in the Russian media about the case has now led the Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov to become involved, accusing Germany of papering over the cracks and covering up her rape. Speaking at a press conference yesterday morning, Mr. Lavrov said of the young girl who has only been identified as ‘Lisa F.’, that she had ‘clearly not voluntarily disappeared for 30 hours’. Mr. Lavrov said the German authorities had in the past shown a tendency to ‘paint over the reality of domestic politics for reasons of political correctness’.

“The story, coming so soon after the mass sex assault and rape of European women by migrant males in Cologne and other German cities at New Year, and multiple molestations and rapes at swimming baths has excited Germany’s sizeable Russian migrant community. Thousands of Russian-German citizens rallied at the weekend in German cities… declaring solidarity with the girl and carrying banners declaring ‘stay away from our children’.

“The news story and alleged coverup is threatening to develop into a major diplomatic incident, after Mr. Lavrov’s involvement and a German lawyer filing charges against Russian state television. He accuses a journalist of the channel of making unproven assertions by reporting Germany is suffering from mass migrant rape, reports Der Spiegel.”

Germany’s AfD in Third Place

Deutsche Welle wrote on January 24:

“The German daily ‘Bild am Sonntag’ reported on Sunday that the populist right-wing [anti-Immigrant] Alternative for Germany (AfD) party has reached 10 percent for the first time in a recent poll. According to the article, 17 percent of men would vote for AfD while only 2 percent of women would do so.

“The Christian Democratic Union (CDU), the party of Chancellor Angela Merkel, saw its support fall by 2 percentage points to 36 percent. The Social Democrats (SPD), the CDU’s coalition partner, came in at 25 percent…

“A majority of Germans, meanwhile, said they disagreed with the decision to bar the AfD from televised debates in the states of Baden-Württemberg, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saxony-Anhalt. Of those polled, 53 percent of Germans polled said the party should be able to participate in the debates, while 34 percent said it shouldn’t.”

German Far-Right Internet Platform Banned and Administrators Arrested

The Associated Press reported on January 27:

“The German government on Wednesday banned a far-right Internet platform that it accused of spreading ‘racist, xenophobic, anti-Semitic, homophobic and anti-Islamic content,’ and federal prosecutors said two people were arrested… The two arrested people were the administrators of the Altermedia website and therefore responsible for its content, which included banned Nazi slogans and the denial of the Holocaust as well as incitement of violence against foreigners, the prosecutors’ office said.

“The server was located in Russia to prevent German authorities gaining access, it added… German security officials say that the far right has become much more savvy in using of the Internet and social media to push its message to a broader audience. The head of Germany’s domestic intelligence, Hans-Georg Maassen, told reporters Tuesday that ‘there is the danger of a gray zone developing between far-right extremists, right-wing conservatives and citizen protesters with significant potential for violence.’”

2016—a Difficult Year for Germany and Merkel

The Financial Times wrote on January 17:

“This is going to be a difficult year for Germany, one in which the policies of the past may turn out to be unsustainable. The most unsustainable of all was Angela Merkel’s invitation to open the doors to Syrian refugees without limitation. The German chancellor must either have misjudged the effect or acted recklessly — or both. A few months and 1m refugees later, the discontent is growing inside the Christian Democratic Union, her party, and in the country at large.

“Gerhard Schröder, her Social Democratic predecessor, last week came out against the policy with exactly the same arguments as the right-wingers in Ms Merkel’s own party: Germany cannot absorb such a large number. More than 1m refugees arrived in the country in 2015. It could be twice as many this year and the same again next — more if you include family members who will eventually follow.

“It is tempting to think of refugees and migrants as a new source of labour. But in this case this just is not true, at least not for now. The majority of those who arrive in Germany lack the skills needed in the local labour market. They will enter the low wage sector of the economy, and drive down wages, producing another deflationary shock. This is the last thing Germany and the eurozone need right now…

“The second challenge is the economic downturn in emerging markets. There are few large countries as dependent on the global economy as Germany, and few where there is so little awareness of that fact, at least in public debate…

“The third challenge for Germany in 2016 is the fallout from the Volkswagen emissions scandal. This could be the single biggest shock of all because Germany has been over-reliant on the car industry for far too long…

“Finally, 2016 promises to be the year of backlash against German dominance of the eurozone. That did not happen during the crisis. The leaders of the countries in the eurozone periphery kept their heads down…

“While most of the threats appear to be external, they are caused by domestic policy choices…”

Christian Clergymen to Wear Beards to Impress Muslims?

Daily Mail wrote on January 23:

“Clergymen should grow beards to emphasise their holiness to Muslims, the Bishop of London has suggested… Richard Chartres said the modern fashion for facial hair… would… be likely to impress those from Eastern cultures where wearing a beard could mark a man out as holy. He singled out two priests in Tower Hamlets… who have grown bushy beards… He said the desire of the clergy… to ‘reach out to the culture of the majority of their parishioners can only be applauded’.

“He went on to say that David Beckham – who he describes as the ‘nearest thing to a secular saint’ – has ‘stimulated countless imitators’.”

The Telegraph added on January 22:

“Now the fashion for beards has been given the blessing of the Church of England, after one of the country’s most senior clerics praised vicars who grow them to appeal to Muslim communities around them… In Islam beards are viewed as an ‘adornment’ and Muslim men are encouraged to wear them to honour the Prophet Mohammed.”

In Germany, some Muslims suggest or even “demand” that alcohol should be prohibited (at least in public places) so as to not to offend Muslims. In addition, some “demand” a special national Muslim “Holy Day.”

London No Longer Ethnically British

Daily Mail wrote on January 23:

“Since 2001, immigration has transformed the capital. More than half of Londoners are now not ethnically British…

“This week, it emerged that Brussels is attempting to blackmail Britain by saying that if we don’t take as many as 90,000 migrants a year, we will not be able to send failed asylum seekers back to safe countries on the Continent. Then came the story that a tribunal had ruled that a group of migrants in the Jungle camp in Calais had a ‘human right’ to join family members in Britain. It is a precedent that could have far-reaching implications.

“Aside from legal rulings, the truth is that much of our immigration policy is now dictated by criminal trafficking gangs who make a fortune smuggling people into Britain — not our elected leaders and certainly not voters and taxpayers. It is criminal gangs who decide who comes into the UK and in what numbers. They largely decide what happens to the migrants once they arrive…

“Uncontrolled immigration has changed London for ever. And, most shamefully, not one of our leaders has lifted a finger to stop it.”

Reports from Germany are reaching us stating that local governments are approaching home owners, inquiring of them whether they would want to house migrants. At this point, this would strictly be on a voluntary basis, and the government would pay a good sum of money to the landlords for providing housing to refugees.

“Shadow of Populism Hangs over Davos”

The Financial Times wrote on January 22:

“The populists are those political forces that advance ideas that are generally seen as dangerous or facile to those at Davos. These ideas include the US building a wall to keep out immigrants, Britain leaving the EU or anybody raising tariffs or dismissing climate change. And these forces are on the rise.

“The shadow of Donald Trump has loomed over Davos this year. So has the prospect that refugee flows into Europe will undermine centrist leaders such as Angela Merkel, the German chancellor. More broadly, those at Davos are aware that they increasingly represent the ‘unpopular’ — the business and political elites that are the targets of public anger and disillusionment…

“It is gradually dawning on people in the Swiss resort that either Mr Trump or Ted Cruz, the Texas senator, will probably win the Republican nomination, and that the ‘unthinkable’ — a Trump or Cruz victory in November’s presidential election — could happen…

“European politicians, meanwhile, are battling their own populists. Ms Merkel, who normally gives a warmly applauded speech at Davos, has had to stay at home this year to deal with the refugee crisis. In her absence, Joachim Gauck, Germany’s president, took to the stage to issue a thinly veiled attack on Ms Merkel’s refusal to put a numerical limit on the number of refugees Germany can accept. He argued that ‘if democrats do not want to talk about limitations then populists and xenophobes will’.

“Mr Gauck was not alone in his warnings about the political effects of refugee flows. Mark Rutte, the Dutch prime minister, warned that Europe has ‘six to eight weeks’ to stem the flow of migrants, before the pressure to reimpose frontier controls within the EU becomes irresistible.

“Meanwhile, Davos is also having to grapple with the idea that the UK might actually vote to leave the EU this year. David Cameron, the UK prime minister, on Thursday gave a confident speech in Davos, where most people are inclined to believe that Britain will ultimately vote to stay in the EU. But that confident stance involves dismissing recent opinion polls that suggest a British exit is quite likely…

“For the moment, the Davos mood on populism is more one of deep concern and uncertainty than full-blown panic. But the next 12 months will present a series of crucial tests. It is possible… that when the WEF gathers this time next year, Mr Trump will be US president, the UK will have voted to leave the EU and border controls will have been restored across Europe. Those developments would turn the Davos world upside down.”

Did Putin Order Litvinenko’s Murder?

Daily Mail wrote on January 20 and updated the article on January 22:

“Vladamir Putin may have ordered the murder of Alexander Litvinenko after he claimed the Russian President was a practising paedophile… Mr Litvinenko accused his rival of abusing children just weeks before two assassins slipped radioactive polonium 210 into his cup of tea in a London hotel in October 2006…

“Sir Robert Owen said today in a major report on his murder that Mr Putin ‘probably’ ordered it and admitted Litvinenko’s ‘highly personal attacks’ may be a motive for his death… His sensational report has sparked an international diplomatic row between Britain and Russia ignited today after an independent probe into the killing of Alexander Litvinenko said President Putin had ‘probably’ personally authorised the 2006 killing…

“Mr Litvinenko – who had accused the Russian president on his death bed – was killed by two FSB spies who slipped radioactive polonium 210 into his tea pot at a Mayfair hotel in central London, Sir Robert Owen said today in a major report.

“Prime Minister David Cameron today said the report outlined what happened was ‘absolutely appalling’ but he admitted the Syria crisis meant Britain had to have a relationship with Russia albeit one with ‘clear eyes and a cold heart’…

“Mr Litvinenko’s widow Marina urged Britain to impose sanctions on Russia as a result of the findings which today prompted the Russian Ambassador to claim there had been a ‘whitewash’ to cover up the ‘incompetence’ of the UK’s security services. Ambassador Alexander Yakovenko said it was ‘unacceptable’ for Britain to link Russia to a state-sponsored assassination…

“Just days before he fell ill, Litvinenko accused Mr Putin of responsibility for the murder of journalist Anna Politkovskaya. The report said there was ‘undoubtedly a personal dimension to antagonism’ between the two men…

“Mr Cameron will face growing calls to impose sanctions on high-profile individuals in Russia if the Kremlin refuses to extradite Andrey Lugovoy and Dmitry Kovtun, the alleged assassins…

“There is overwhelming evidence linking the pair to the murder but both deny any involvement and Russian President Mr Putin has so far refused to extradite them. The death of Litvinenko marked a post-Cold War low point in Anglo-Russian relations, and ties have never recovered…

“Shadow home secretary Andy Burnham said the killing of Mr Litvinenko using radioactive material exposed thousands of Londoners to unacceptable risk… ‘this is one of the most shocking and disturbing reports ever presented to this Parliament,’ he said. ‘It confirms that the Russian state at its highest level sanctioned the killing of a British citizen on the streets of our capital city and in so doing exposed thousands of Londoners to unacceptable levels of risk… Mr Burnham also said the UK should try to prevent Russia from staging the 2018 World Cup.”

The Daily Mail added in an article, dated January 22:

“Alexander Litvinenko claimed that Vladimir Putin had been caught on camera having sex with young boys, according to the inquiry into the spy’s murder. When the future Russian president was a student, he was filmed abusing children in a flat where another top politician had a threesome with prostitutes, Litvinenko wrote in a sensational web post.

“The wild claim is recorded in Sir Robert Owen’s inquiry report as part of a long list of allegations made by the assassinated spy against Mr Putin after he fled Russia and settled in Britain…”

A Helpless and Spineless British Government

In an accompanying article, dated January 22, Daily Mail published a strong editorial piece by Edward Lucas who writes for The Economist and is the author of “The New Cold War: How the Kremlin Menaces Both Russia and the West”:

“Russia has murdered a British citizen on the streets of London. It has blustered, gloated and lied. And we are not going to do much about it. That is the dismal upshot of the public inquiry into the poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko in 2006. What is abundantly clear is that the British Government is not going to respond properly to the outrageous behaviour of what is a rogue state in all but name…

“Russia is a highly bureaucratic and centralised country. It is inconceivable that anything as risky and important as the assassination of a British citizen, especially one working for MI6, would not be signed off at the highest level…

“Only when relations between the two countries cooled after Russia attacked Ukraine in 2014 did the [British] Government finally… agree to give Mrs Litvinenko and the other witnesses their day in court. Yet none of the evidence given to the inquiry will have come as a surprise to the authorities. Britain’s intelligence services are all too well-informed about the depravity, greed and murderous brutality that reign in the Kremlin.

“They report this in graphic detail to Mr Cameron and other leaders, to the point that the Prime Minister feels physically repelled by Mr Putin when he has to meet him in person…

“Our own diplomats see the naming and shaming of the Putin regime not as an opportunity to be exploited, but as an obstacle to be overcome. They believe that Russia’s help is indispensable in the attempt to start peace talks over Syria, where Mr Putin’s ally President Assad is benefiting from the Russian aggression against militant opposition armies. That is a catastrophically mistaken approach. If we want to bring the Assad regime to the negotiating table, we should be increasing pressure on its backers, such as Russia and Iran, not soft-soaping them.

“The Russian state murdered Mr Litvinenko to send a message to other Russians: do not defect; do not co-operate with Western spy agencies. If you do so, we will hunt you down and mete out a slow, agonising death. It was a message to Britain, too: Russia can do what it likes in the streets of our capital city. British citizenship bestows no protection.”

Britain Not Interested in Opening another Front over Murder of British Citizen

The Guardian wrote on January 21:

“From a British diplomatic point of view, the Litvinenko affair has long been viewed as murky water under the bridge… no one in British government circles needed a high court judge to convince them that Alexander Litvinenko’s murder might have happened with Vladimir Putin’s knowledge.

“The British government did not want Sir Robert Owen’s inquiry to be established in the first place and would certainly never have wanted its explosive findings, implicating the Russian president, to be published at such an excruciatingly sensitive time. As brutal as it may sound, Syria, Ukraine and the state of the world economy all take priority over a decade-old death…

“The British view is that, with existing sanctions against Russia over Ukraine retaining only fragile support in the EU, this is not the time to open another front.

“But one suspects David Cameron has learned a painful lesson. At the outset of his premiership, he believed he had struck a strong personal relationship with Putin. There was a belief Putin was not loyal to Assad. Now there is nothing but disillusionment. The prime minister is aware of the scale of Russian cybercrime, feels he was personally lied to over Ukraine and sees Putin’s defence of Assad as destructive…”

FBI Ready to Indict Clinton?

Newsmax wrote on January 25:

“The FBI is ready to indict Hillary Clinton and if its recommendation isn’t followed by the U.S. attorney general, the agency’s investigators plan to blow the whistle and go public with their findings, former U.S. House Majority leader Tom DeLay tells Newsmax TV…

“Clinton is under FBI investigation for her use of a private server to conduct confidential government business while she was secretary of state. But some Republicans fear any FBI recommendation that hurts Clinton will be squashed by the Obama administration…”

Fight Between Trump and Fox Escalates

The Washington Post wrote on January 27:

“Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump abruptly announced here Tuesday that he would not participate in Thursday’s scheduled debate, escalating his off-and-on feud with Fox News Channel and throwing the GOP campaign into turmoil. Trump’s assertion, which his campaign manager insisted was irreversible, came less than one week before the kickoff Iowa caucuses. He once again defied the conventional rules of politics, and used his power and prominence to shape the campaign agenda and conversation.

“So far, Trump’s untraditional moves have only expanded his support…

“The Republican debates have become must-see television, in part because of the allure of Trump’s star power and unpredictable candidacy. But he said Tuesday that he thinks Fox and other television networks have been taking advantage of him by selling advertisements for their debates at a high premium… Trump said he would instead host a competing event in the state designed to raise money for wounded veterans…

“Trump long has objected to the participation of Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly as one of the three moderators, claiming she has treated him unfairly with both her questioning of him at last August’s debate and her commentary since then. Trump also said that a ‘wise-guy press release’ that the network issued earlier on Tuesday belittling him was inappropriately antagonistic and childish.

“Fox’s statement said that network officials ‘had learned from a secret back channel that the Ayatollah and Putin both intend to treat Donald Trump unfairly when they meet with him if he becomes president.’ The statement added that Trump ‘has his own secret plan to replace the Cabinet with his Twitter followers to see if he should even go to those meetings.’ After reading it, Trump said: ‘I said, “Bye-bye.”’ ‘Fox is playing games,’ Trump said. ‘They can’t toy with me like they toy with everybody else. Let them have the debate. Let’s see how they do with the ratings.’ [According to a poll conducted by Fox News host Greta von Susteren, 83% of conservative viewers said that they would not watch the debate if Trump was not in it.]

“Earlier Tuesday, Fox News Channel Chairman and Chief Executive Roger Ailes said the network would defend Kelly even if it means losing Trump in the debate. In Iowa, Trump is in a fierce and increasingly nasty fight with Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas. Both men have traded places atop recent polls here, and the outcome of Monday’s caucuses could have a profound effect on the direction of the nominating contest. By announcing that he will not debate, Trump likely will dominate news coverage and deny Cruz and other opponents a face-to-face confrontation before Iowa Republicans go to caucus…

“The Republican National Committee, which sanctions and helps organize the official debates, vowed late Thursday not to intervene in Trump’s dispute with Fox…”

Newsmax added on January 27:

“There’s only one man at Fox News who Donald Trump reportedly would talk to about his bombshell decision to boycott… the debate — media mogul Rupert Murdoch. New York magazine reports the GOP presidential front-runner wasn’t taking calls from Fox News chairman and CEO Roger Ailes… ‘in recent months Murdoch has been attending news meetings at Fox in the wake of a health scare that forced Ailes to take an extended leave of absence,” the magazine reports. ‘Succession planning at Fox is very much on Murdoch’s agenda. If Ailes loses his grip on the Trump situation — and right now it looks like he is — Murdoch will have another reason to worry about the stability of his most valuable asset.’…

“New York also reports the network is now split over Fox News host and debate moderator Megyn Kelly — whom Trump has been vilifying ever since the first Fox News debate Aug. 6 — between allies like Brit Hume and conservative anchors who are angry ‘that Kelly has become the face of the network.’ The magazine reports one unnamed anchor was furious that Kelly hosted Michael Moore on her program Tuesday night — and that the lefty filmmaker defended her against Trump… The magazine reports even if Trump’s boycott backfires, however, ‘he’s already achieved a historic victory: exploding the myth that a Republican candidate can’t openly challenge Fox.’”

According to Bloomberg, January 27, “Trump isn’t the first top-tier presidential candidate to skip a debate. Ronald Reagan did not attend a Republican debate ahead of the 1980 Iowa caucuses, which he lost to George H.W. Bush. Reagan went on to the win the nomination and the presidency.”

Scandal in Texas

The website of chron.com reported on January 27:

“A grand jury convened to investigate whether a Houston Planned Parenthood clinic had sold the organs of aborted fetuses on Monday cleared the clinic and instead indicted the undercover videographers behind the allegations, surprising the officials who called for the probe and delighting supporters of the women’s health organization.

“The Harris County grand jury indicted David Daleiden and Sandra Merritt, both of California, on charges of tampering with a governmental record, a second-degree felony with a possible sentence of up to 20 years in prison. It also charged Daleiden, the leader of the videographers, with the same misdemeanor he had alleged – the purchase or sale of human organs, presumably because he had offered to buy in an attempt to provoke Planned Parenthood employees into saying they would sell…

“The videographers, who had posed as employees of a company that buys tissue and filmed interactions with Planned Parenthood executives, issued a statement saying they had not committed any crimes. ‘The Center for Medical Progress uses the same undercover techniques that investigative journalists have used for decades in exercising our First Amendment rights to freedom of speech and of the press, and follows all applicable laws,’ the statement said…”

The frustration of the American people with our system can be easily understood when, in a horrendous miscarriage of justice, the guilty are cleared and the innocent are indicted.

Violence and Death in Oregon

The Huffington Post reported on January 26:

“Ammon Bundy, leader of the month-long militant occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Burns, Oregon, was arrested Tuesday in a highway confrontation with law enforcement that killed one of his followers and wounded another… The FBI said the shootings happened when agents, along with Oregon state troopers, ‘began an enforcement action’ on Highway 395 to arrest people involved in the armed occupation on charges of conspiracy to impede federal officials from discharging their duties…

“The occupation was spearheaded by the Bundy brothers, sons of Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy, as a protest against the treatment of two local ranchers jailed for arson who were ordered to return to prison after a federal judge ruled their original sentences were not long enough. Occupiers also sought to put federal land under local control, ripping up government fences to make their point. The armed anti-government group had occupied a building in the Malheur refuge since early January…

“Oregon Gov. Kate Brown called on federal authorities to end the occupation last week, criticizing what appeared at the time to be the government’s lack of response. She said the militants had cost taxpayers nearly a half-million dollars. ‘This spectacle of lawlessness must end,’ Brown said at a press conference. ‘I will not stop insisting that federal officials enforce the law.’…”

Newsmax reported on January 27:

“Mel Bundy, brother of Oregon protest leader Ammon Bundy, claimed Wednesday that cops ‘murdered’ their group’s spokesman ‘in cold blood’ during a shootout late Tuesday that led to the arrest of eight people near the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. ‘LaVoy (Finicum) got out with his hands up in the air, up in the air, saying, “I don’t have a gun,”’ Bundy said in an exclusive interview on Newsmax TV’s prime time show Dennis Michael Lynch: Unfiltered.

“‘He had his hands on his head — and then they shot him. They started firing on him. They shot him. He went to the ground — and they shot him some more.’… ‘They killed LaVoy,’ Mel Bundy told Lynch. ‘Ammon wanted everybody to know, that he is an eyewitness of the murder of LaVoy Finicum. This is what he said: “They murdered him. They murdered him in cold blood. Get it out there. Tell the people what they did.”’

Coming… the Zika Virus

USA Today wrote on January 27:

“U.S. public health officials must prepare now for the inevitable arrival of Zika virus, a mosquito-borne infection that has spread to 21 countries in the Americas and poses particular danger to pregnant women, health experts said. The virus is expected to spread to the United States and every country in the Western hemisphere where the Aedes mosquitoes are known to live…  Aedes mosquitoes, which spread the virus, live in every Western hemisphere country but Canada and Chile.

“International air travel will help the virus spread quickly…  Zika doesn’t spread from person to person, but people infected while traveling can spread the virus in the USA if they are bitten by local mosquitoes, which then may spread the infection here… The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a travel alert, warning pregnant women to avoid travel to the 21 countries where Zika is spreading…

“Communities also need to ramp up their mosquito control efforts by spraying and getting rid of standing water… The government of El Salvador has urged women to postpone pregnancies for two years, a move that has been viewed as extreme by most people in the public health community. About half of pregnancies in the United States are unplanned. Scientists have known about Zika virus since the 1940s, but it was not considered a serious threat until a few months ago. That’s when Brazil reported an enormous increase in the number of babies born with microcephaly, a fetal defect that results in small heads and incomplete brain development…

“Scientists don’t know why Zika is spreading so quickly or why the outbreak has been particularly bad in Brazil…”

A Dangerous New Game for Teens?

The website of nbcsandiego reported on January 27:

“A dangerous new game becoming popular among teens sent a 14-year-old Washington resident to the hospital with 48 stitches, a shattered eye socket and a brain aneurism. [The teen] was severely injured playing the ‘Duct Tape Challenge,’ a trend circulating on social media in which the participant is taped up and is recorded on video trying to break free. Whoever removes the tape the fastest ‘wins’ the challenge…

“[He] was standing while taped up when he lost his balance. The fall caused [him] to hit his head… [He] suffered extensive facial injuries. After a three-hour surgery, [he] was left with metal plates and screws, and was on a temporary ventilator after the operation. His left eye socket shattered, and his facial injuries required 48 stitches and caused a substantial scar.

“Doctors are still unsure if [the teen] will be able to see out of his left eye… [The teen’s mother] who hadn’t heard of the ‘Duct Tape Challenge’ prior to her son’s injuries, wants to use [the teen’s] story as an opportunity to shed light on the dangers of these seemingly harmless viral games.”

Biggest Plague of Locusts in 60 Years in Argentina

The New York Times wrote on January 25:

“Farmers and fumigators in Argentina are running out of time as they scramble to control the country’s worst plague of locusts in more than half a century, officials warned on Monday… when they will then threaten to devour crops like sunflowers and cotton, and grasslands for cattle grazing. ‘It’s the worst explosion in the last 60 years,’ Diego Quiroga, the agriculture agency’s chief of vegetative protection, said in a telephone interview. ‘It’s impossible to eradicate; the plague has already established itself. We’re just acting to make sure it’s the smallest it can be and does the least damage possible.’

“Small pockets of locusts, which first appeared last June, at the start of winter in the Southern Hemisphere, have spread across an area of northern Argentina about the size of Delaware. The mild and rainy winter here created comfortable breeding conditions for the locusts; their surge outpaced the ability of the authorities to control the spread of the insects.

“Farmers last year reported locust clouds that were more than four miles long and nearly two miles high…”

Young Icelanders Do Not Believe in the God of the Bible

The Washington Post wrote on January 23:

“If you happen to have the chance to talk to young Icelanders about their religious beliefs, be prepared for a surprise. Exactly zero percent of respondents in a recent survey said they believe that God created the Earth. Only 20 years ago, nearly 90 percent of all Icelanders were religious believers. Today, less than 50 percent are…

“Iceland is distinct from much of the rest of the world… In the United States… 28 percent of Americans between 18 and 29 said they believed that God created ‘humans in present form within the last 10,000 years.’ The numbers might not be directly comparable because some Christians believe both in the Big Bang theory and God’s role. But even as the number of young believers in the United States declines, Christianity has maintained a strong influence there.

“So, why are young Icelanders so different from much of the rest of the world?… the Evangelical Lutheran Church is still the country’s declared state church. Solveig Anna Boasdottir, a professor at the Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies at the University of Iceland… said that about 40 percent of the country’s younger generation still consider themselves Christian — but none of them believe that God created the Earth…

“Most experts, however, would agree that… the Evangelical Lutheran Church’s influence is… rapidly diminishing in Iceland… As of last year, about 75 percent of Iceland’s inhabitants were registered members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church. However, as recent polls suggest, a significant number consider themselves to be non-believers or atheists…  all Icelanders — even atheists — have to pay a tax that is distributed among 40 religious institutions, including the Evangelical Lutheran Church…

“But last year, thousands of Icelanders suddenly joined the ancient Zuist movement — a religion centered on worshiping Sumerian gods. Within two weeks, almost one percent of the country’s population (about 3,000 people) had signed up. Some of the new Zuist members might have been less interested in the movement’s spiritual goals than in an announcement that the Zuist church would pay its members the amount of money they were taxed (about $80 per year).”

Following Viking explorations, Iceland was quickly settled by Norwegians, descendants of “Benjamin,” one of the “lost ten tribes” of the ancient House of Israel.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus Christ instructed His closest disciples and established some very foundational statements of Truth. Jesus Christ taught these things to them, knowing that His disciples would propagate His ministry and share the Truth with others. Among the many things that He taught that day, the following statement was included, “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men” (Matthew 5:13). To refer to people as “salt” may seem like an odd thing to say. What exactly did Jesus Christ mean, and what else can we learn from this symbolic teaching?

To say that His disciples are “the salt of the earth” turns out to be deeply meaningful when we understand more about the context of what was taught in the Sermon on the Mount and even more when we consider the qualities of salt. Taken together, this statement is an observation about the character development of a true Christian. More importantly, it is an admonition to be strong in our convictions and unashamed about the Truth.

As always, it is helpful to begin learning about Scripture in the right context. Preceding the declaration that His disciples are the salt of the earth, Jesus Christ teaches the beatitudes, which describe the various qualities of Christian character. He teaches about the poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers, and those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake (compare Matthew 5:3-10). The individuals expressing these qualities are called “blessed” by Jesus Christ. These are all qualities that describe humility, love of mankind, and love of God that Christians are supposed to develop. These also turn out to be qualities that the world despises and rejects. Living a Christian Way of Life with these character traits orients one against the ways of the world. As a result, being a Christian inherently involves imminent and continuing conflict with the world.

Following the description of many of the virtuous qualities of a Christian, Jesus goes on to say, “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.  Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Matthew 5:11-12). It naturally follows that if we are true Christians, the world will offer all kinds of trouble to us,  because there is enmity between the world and God (compare James 4:4). In light of this fact, Jesus Christ offers this warning, but also an encouragement. He makes it clear that it is not an easy thing to physically live in the world, but to separate one’s self from it spiritually by being obedient to God (compare Revelation 18:4, Jeremiah 51:45, John 17:16-17). This additional blessing following the beatitudes is directed personally to His disciples, reminding them to not lose heart when they eventually fall into trials of persecution as a result of their commitment to God.

Seeing that Jesus prefaces His teaching about being the salt of the earth by describing Christian qualities and encouraging His disciples to expect and endure persecution, how does this context add meaning to the statement about being the salt of the earth? From these Scriptures it is clear that being the salt of the earth involves having Christian character in such a way that the quality is pure, strong, and uncompromising. Just as salt that is left in the sun or otherwise exposed to harsh elements leeches and loses its natural qualities, a Christian may allow his or her virtuous character qualities to diminish when exposed to the contentious environment and pressures of the world. Also, just as the salt becomes worthless when it loses its natural qualities, Jesus applies the same condemnation in the context of the loss of Christian character in our lives. However, to be the salt of the earth means having character that is strong enough to stand up for the Truth and withstand its harsh, worldly environment, even though persecution may be the result.

Since the quality of salt is expressed by its saltiness, and the quality of a Christian is expressed by convictions affecting our actions, it is worth considering some of the qualities and uses of salt to add even more meaning to this Scripture.

At the time Jesus Christ spoke these words, salt was rare and very valuable. The following excerpt from an article titled “WHY Are Christians the ‘Salt of the Earth,’” published in the Good News in the February 1982 edition, explains more about this property.

“In Christ’s day salt was not as available as it is now. Salt was once so valuable that it was used to pay the wages of Roman soldiers. We get the English word salary from this ancient practice of paying with salt.

“Salt was also used as payment in buying and selling Greek slaves; today people sometimes ask whether a person is ‘worth his salt’ in evaluating him. The disciples would have understood the value and rarity of salt. So what did Christ mean when He called His disciples ‘salt’?

“Just this: God is not calling the whole world now, as Pastor General Herbert W. Armstrong has explained. ‘No man can come to me,’ Christ said, ‘except the Father which hath sent me draw him’ (John 6:44 [King James Version]).

“God is only working with a small group of people at this time. And God is only working with this ‘little flock’ (Luke 12:32) to get a specific job done — preaching the Gospel of the coming Kingdom of God in all the world for a witness to all nations (Matt. 24:14).

“In other words, true Christians are rare. God’s true people, in whom the Spirit of God resides (Rom. 8:9), are far fewer in number than this world’s ‘Christianity’ recognizes. Christians are basically sprinkled across the earth like you would sprinkle salt across food — sparingly. But what a difference they make in the world!

“So one thing we can learn from Christ’s metaphor of salt is that our calling and commission are unique, important and highly valuable. It is a rare opportunity indeed to be called of God in this age.”

In addition to the rare and precious quality of salt, the most notable property is its ability to enhance the flavor of food. By sprinkling salt onto our food, the character of that food tends to come alive and offer a more vibrant flavor. If we apply this concept to Christian living with Christian character, we find that life is more interesting and full of zeal to ourselves and to those we come in contact with. Godly character enhances life just as salt enhances the flavor of food.

Therefore, when a life is lived without the strength of Christian character, it is bland. Even more, living in such a way does not serve the Will of God. If we call ourselves “Christian” but fail to develop the right character qualities, we will meet the same end as the salt that cannot enhance the flavor of food. It will be thrown out as rubbish because it doesn’t glorify God.

This concept is reinforced by the Scripture that follows the declaration of disciples being the salt of the earth. In Matthew 5:14-16 we read, “‘You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.’” The point that Jesus makes is clear, that Christians are not to hide their Christianity! Being the salt of the earth means to develop and maintain strength in conviction to live according to God’s Will. Likewise, being a light to the world is the next step in the process, which is not to hide the good qualities that we develop.

When Jesus Christ called His disciples “the salt of the earth,” this was much more than an observation limited to His present audience. It extends to all true Christians – the rare few in the world – who are committed to converting their lives to be obedient to God. This is an instruction and an encouragement to not shy away or be ashamed of being a Christian, even in the face of persecution (compare 1 Peter 4:16). Being the salt of the earth means being confident of our calling and strong in our convictions so that we live in a way that glorifies God and His Truth.

Lead Writer: Eric Rank

Our new booklet, “Punishment for Our Sins,” has reached the first review cycle. We hope to be able to present printed copies to our members and subscribers before or at the time of the Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread.

“Close the Borders to all Refugees!” is the title of a new StandingWatch program, presented by Evangelist Norbert Link. Here is a summary:

Donald Trump’s demands to close American borders to all Muslims are echoed in Germany where several politicians are saying that “Germany should completely close its borders to refugees within the next two months for an unspecified period” if it is to solve the migrant crisis. Others insist that the number of migrants must be reduced drastically, while Austria announced that no migrant will be allowed anymore to come and stay in Austria. We are told that “Germany is boiling”; that there is “an apocalyptic mood in the media”; that Chancellor “Merkel is at the heart of the criticism”; and that “everyone is against the chancellor.” What does it all mean in the light of biblical prophecy for Europe and Germany? For answers, we are offering our free booklet, “The Ten European Revivals of the Ancient Roman Empire.”

A new Global Trailer, “Sickness and Health,” presented by Pastor Brian Gale, is now posted.

“Wieso ist Christus das Ende des Gesetzes?” is the title of a new German sermon for this coming Sabbath. Title in English: “Why Is Christ the End of the Law?”

“The Seal of God,” the sermonette presented last Sabbath by Kalon Mitchell, is now posted. Here is a summary:

God says He knows those who are His, because they have answered the call and are responding. But is this the only requirement that God requires of us? How do we think of our selves in regard to our calling? Are we active in drawing close to our Creator?

“Rumors and Conspiracies,” the sermon presented last Sabbath by Norbert Link, is now posted. Here is a summary:

Many believe in wild rumors and weird conspiracy theories. And even some in God’s Church can become easy targets, if they are not careful. We are called upon to come out of the Babylonian confusion of political propaganda and war hysteria, while rejecting unprovable concepts and speculations. Would we be guilty of lying if we were to propagate something which turns out to be false? Do we understand that many popular conspiracy theories were invented by Satan and his demons?

On January 23, 2016, Kalon Mitchell will present the sermonette, titled, “The Seal of God,” and Norbert Link will present the sermon, titled, “Rumors and Conspiracies.”

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

Are you a complainer?

The underlying reason for being labeled a complainer is that a person doesn’t get his or her own way in matters with others. Unfortunately, this approach turns into an attitude that spreads throughout one’s personality and actions.

Israel stands out as a stark example of complaining—against their leaders and even against God! As a nation, the children of Israel allowed their complaining to become infectious, and the consequences were devastating:

“But with most of them God was not well pleased, for their bodies were scattered in the wilderness. Now these things became our examples, to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted. And do not become idolaters as were some of them. As it is written, ‘The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.’ Nor let us commit sexual immorality, as some of them did, and in one day twenty-three thousand fell; nor let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed by serpents; nor complain, as some of them also complained, and were destroyed by the destroyer” (1 Corinthians 10:5-10).

It is easy to grumble, to become accusatory and critical, but this approach leads to bitterness. Being a complainer darkens the light which should show in our lives.

Christians have been given this challenge:

“Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life…” (Philippians 2:14-16).

Can we stop the complaining, please?

We are reporting on the ongoing debate regarding the “Natural Born Citizen” clause in the US Constitution and what it means for the eligibility of a Presidential candidate; we continue with the highly doubtful possibility that Hillary Clinton might be criminally charged for alleged “serious legal violations”; and we address the Iran “deal” which has led now to the lifting of sanctions and the forthcoming payment of billions of dollars to Iran, while especially Saudi Arabia is very unhappy about these developments.

Germany’s former President of Bavaria, Edmund Stoiber, is asking for the closure of Germany’s borders to all migrants, while Germany’s “apocalyptic mood” against Angela Merkel is “boiling over.”

The relationship between the EU and Israel is deteriorating in light of the EU’s position “that the lands Israel has occupied since the 1967 Middle East war – including the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights – are not part of the internationally recognized borders of Israel.”

Warnings are uttered that a coming recession will be worse than the one in 2008. We also report on rumors pertaining to President Obama’s alleged future plans; Vice President Biden’s outbursts in Davos; and the left-liberal state of California’s enactment of a law requiring “all California public school students to take sex education [classes] beginning in seventh grade.” These classes will apparently include the unbiblical teaching of “gender identity” and the liberal view on “sexual orientation.” At this point, the state allows concerned parents to “formally opt out by submitting a document to their school or district.”

We conclude with attempts by the Church of England, the Coptic Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church to universally “fix the date of Easter within the next five to 10 years.” We explain why Easter celebrations (regardless as to when they occur) are not in accordance with biblical teaching.

Ted Cruz Facing Serious Challenge over His Birth in Canada—Donald Trump Surging Ahead

On January 15, 2016, Newsmax reported:

“Sen. Ted Cruz’ ‘birther’ nightmare took a dramatic turn Friday after a Texas lawyer filed the first lawsuit challenging his eligibility to serve as president because he was born in Canada… The lawsuit… was filed in federal court in Texas Thursday and argues the question must be presented to the Supreme Court for a fair shake instead of left up to popular opinion. ‘This 229-year question has never been pled, presented to or finally decided by or resolved by the U.S. Supreme Court. Only the U.S. Supreme Court can finally decide, determine judicially and settle this issue now,’ the lawsuit states…

“Cruz, the son of an American mother and a Cuban father, was born in Canada… Cruz’s campaign insists he is eligible, but the suit argues that a United States president must be a ‘natural-born citizen’ — a term whose definition the Supreme Court hasn’t previously considered.”

Several legal scholars, including Harvard Professor Lawrence Tribe (who taught law to Barak Obama and Ted Cruz) concluded that the issue was far from clear. But it is not expected that the Supreme Court, even IF it was to hear the case, would decide against Cruz.

As one will recall, Barack Obama’s eligibility has been repeatedly questioned, based on the allegation that he was not born in the USA, but in Kenya or Indonesia. Even though short and long form “birth certificates” were produced, purportedly stating that he was born in Hawaii, that issue is far from settled, and despite the narrative of the mainstream media, nagging questions and inconsistencies remain, but they did not make any difference in the political field.

Express wrote on January 15:

“Mr Trump is one step closer to becoming the Republican Presidential candidate. According to a poll by the National Republican Senatorial Committee, 47.6 per cent believed Mr Trump won the debate [on January 14]… The front-runner and his nearest challenger Ted Cruz ended a longstanding truce with a series of bitter exchanges.  Just 34.6 per cent of voters believed Mr Cruz won the debate with the remaining five candidates trailing behind.

“… a quarter of Republicans think White House hopeful Mr Cruz is disqualified to serve as US president because he was born in Canada to an American mother and Cuban father… The birthright issue has dogged American politics before, in 2008 Republican nominee John McCain survived questions about his birth in Panama because he was born on a U.S. military installation there and it was judged to be U.S. soil. In 1967, Republican candidate George Romney faced questions about his birth in Mexico, but his candidacy never advanced far and the issue was abandoned.

“Mr Trump also defended his controversial call to ban Muslims from entering the U.S. He first called [for] a temporary ban on Muslims entering the country in the wake of the deadly attack in San Bernardino, California, which saw a Muslim couple shoot 14 people dead.” [All other candidates on stage disagreed with Donald Trump on this issue.]

Criminal Charges Against Hillary Clinton?

Newsmax reported on January 15:

“Two former U.S. Attorneys predict that [the] FBI has developed a strong case in its investigation of Hillary Clinton’s email server that will result in criminal charges…  ‘I expect the FBI to conclude the investigation within 60 to 90 days and make a recommendation to the Justice Department, and I believe they will recommend a series of charges involving the classified information,’ Joseph diGenova, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia during Ronald Reagan’s presidency, tells the Free Beacon.

“Matthew Whitaker, the former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Iowa in the George W. Bush administration agreed that the public evidence so far indicates ‘serious legal violations’ have been uncovered by the FBI’s look at whether classified information was mishandled by Clinton’s use of private email while she was Secretary of State, the Free Beacon reports.

“‘There’s got to be more that we don’t know,’ added Whitaker, who runs a watchdog group that has criticized Clinton. ‘I think that could be really incriminating evidence, if it’s like anything we’ve already seen.’”

Newsmax wrote on January 19:

“Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush told Newsmax TV Tuesday that he doubted whether Hillary Clinton would be indicted in the email scandal because ‘it’s the most politicized attorney general and Department of Justice in a long while.’ ‘I have doubts that they will do the right thing,’ Bush, who governed Florida from 1999 to 2007 [said]. ‘I think the process should go forward, but at a minimum she is not telling the truth.’”

It is highly doubtful that the FBI and the democratically-run Justice Department would bring criminal charges against Hillary Clinton. In the Democratic Debate on January 17, she had a heated exchange with Socialist Bernie Sanders who is surging in the polls and who is becoming a serious contender to Hillary Clinton, although few observers believe that he will win the Democratic nomination.

Iran is Sanctioned by USA and Receives Billions of Dollars

Breitbart wrote on January 18:

“Iran will ignore recently-passed U.S. sanctions against its ballistic missile program, the regime’s defense minister pledged on Monday, promising to unveil new homemade weapons systems in the near future… On Sunday, the U.S. Treasury Department announced it would impose sanctions against a number of individuals and organizations over Iran’s ballistic missile program…

“The new sanctions come as Iran is expected to receive tens of billions of dollars in frozen assets in accordance with the Iran nuclear deal… agreed upon by the regime in Tehran and the P5+1 world powers.

“On Sunday, Secretary of State John Kerry announced the U.S. had granted Iran $1.7 billion dollars, repaying the Ayatollah’s theocracy a $400 million dollar debt plus $1.3 billion in interest. Kerry called the payment a ‘fair settlement.’ President Obama agreed, claiming ‘the settlement could save us billions of dollars that could have been pursued by Iran.’”

Saudi Arabia Unhappy about Iran Deal and Lifting of Sanctions

The Guardian wrote on January 18:

“Saudi Arabia has never formally objected to the international deal restricting Iran’s nuclear programme and ending [international] sanctions [against Iran]. But it watched with anxiety and irritation as Barack Obama pursued the historic agreement… Billions of dollars were wiped off Saudi and other Gulf stocks the moment the Islamic republic returned to world oil markets – at time when low prices are taking a heavy toll on the Saudis and forcing them to undertake unprecedented economic reforms.

“Their larger fear is that Iran, flush with new revenues, will be emboldened to intensify its activities across an already violent and unstable Middle East. ‘Every country in the world is worried about this,’ Adel al-Jubeir, the Saudi foreign minister, said last week as sanctions were set to lift. ‘Iran’s record has been one of war and destruction, terrorism, destabilisation, interference in the affairs of other countries…’

“For similar reasons to Israel, Saudi Arabia has good reason to fear a resurgent post-sanctions Iran pursuing its policies unhindered across the region… The question is whether they risk, by maintaining their own hardline positions, turning that into a self-fulfilling prophecy.”

Germany’s Former President of Bavaria: “Close Borders to All Migrants”

Breitbart wrote on January 18:

“Germany should completely close its borders to refugees if it is to solve [the] migrant crisis, a former President of Bavaria has said. Edmund Stoiber (74) — an elder statesmen in the Christian Social Union (CSU), Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Bavarian sister party — said Germany had to change direction fast, and gave the Chancellor just two months to solve the problem. ‘Angela Merkel must now change her position, otherwise there will be disastrous consequences for Germany and Europe,’ Mr Stoiber said in an interview with Süddeutsche Zeitung. In what appeared to be an ultimatum, he added that if Mrs Merkel does [not] change her policy, there will be a ‘confrontation’ after local elections in March [when three German states will go to the polls]…

“The only solution that will likely make a difference, Mr Stoiber added, was for Germany to completely close its border to refugees for an unspecified period… If it does not take radical action, the rest of Europe will see the migrant crisis as a specifically German problem and will never reach an agreement to tackle it.

“Mr Stoiber is well-known for his outspoken conservatism as was regarded as a thorn in Angela Merkel’s side while he served as Bavarian President, despite being formally in electoral alliance with her. In 2002, he outmanoeuvred her to become the main centre-right candidate for Chancellor, but narrowly lost the subsequent election. He had already been calling for limited immigration long before the current migrant crisis began and staunchly opposed Turkey joining the European Union (EU), saying its Muslim culture was not compatible with European values.

“In 2004, Mr Stoiber even went as far as to call Turkey a threat to the EU’s very survival…”

A Press Release of the European Commission announced that on December 18, 2014, “the President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, appointed Dr Edmund Stoiber as Special Adviser on Better Regulation. In his new role, Dr Stoiber will in particular advise on how to cut red tape and reduce administrative burdens for small and medium sized enterprises to boost jobs, growth and investments in the EU.”

Gauck and Merkel vs. Stoiber

The Local wrote on January 20:

“Germany’s president [Joachim Gauck] said Wednesday it is ‘morally and politically necessary’ to limit Europe’s refugee influx, warning that failing to do so meant ceding ground to populists and extremists… Gauck stressed however that for Germany, the drastic action of slamming the door shut to refugees – as sought by populists and the far-right – was not an option. An isolation strategy is different from setting limits, he said…

“Like Gauck, Chancellor Angela Merkel has rebuffed calls to close the German borders…”

However, the EUobserver reported on January 19:

“Germany must… be ready to close its borders, German transport minister Alexander Dobrindt has said, in a direct challenge to chancellor Angela Merkel’s policy… Dobrindt is from the CSU, the Bavarian sister party of Merkel’s Christian democrat CDU, which has been critical of the chancellor’s policy from the start…

“On Sunday, Bild, Germany’s most popular daily, asked on its first page whether Merkel is ‘still the right one’… It concluded: ‘Merkel’s refugee policy [is] at the point of failure.’ 

“Coming from a newspaper known for its populist tendencies, but which has, overall, supported Merkel’s ‘Willkommenspolitik’ [the policy that everybody is welcome] the story could signal a change of fortune for the chancellor…

“Austria’s interior minister, Johanna Mikl-Leitner, has said that from the end of this week, she will let through only migrants who intend to seek asylum in Germany…”

Bild also wrote on January 21 that CSU-chief and President of Bavaria, Horst Seehofer,  threatened with a lawsuit to establish that only a certain number of migrants would be allowed to come to Germany. According to a recent poll, most Germans agree with Seehofer and propose 200,000 migrants.

Der Spiegel and Der Stern claim that it is the goal of the CSU to “overthrow” Merkel.

Everyone Against Merkel, While Germany Is Boiling

Deutsche Welle wrote on January 18:

“There is growing criticism of Angela Merkel in Germany. There are increasing indications that her own party is distancing itself from her. What is odd is the apocalyptic mood in the media…

“Germany is boiling. Much of the German media is boiling. More than a million refugees in the country and more and more problems, some predictable, some surprising and disturbing. The country is expressing opinions with a new dimension of harshness. And a sense of schadenfreude accompanies both the disastrous situation and the apocalyptic scenarios…

“Merkel, whose ‘humanitarian imperative’ opened up the (German) borders to refugees, is at the heart of the criticism – the degree of which is surprising, despite the drama… It’s everyone against the chancellor.”

For those who might not be entirely familiar with the German word “schadenfreude,” as quoted in the article above, its meaning is “a feeling of enjoyment that comes from seeing or hearing about the troubles of other people.”

Der Stern Online commented on January 20 that for the first time, Merkel pursues politics against the will of the people, reminding us of former Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder who tried the same on a different topic and failed in 2005. At that time, he asked the parliament for a vote of confidence and lost, and as a consequence, premature new elections were held, which resulted in Merkel’s victory against Schroeder. Germany is not due for national elections until 2017, but if Merkel were to ask for a vote of confidence and were to lose, things would be different, according to the magazine.

Time to “Reset” EU-Israeli Relationship?

JTA wrote on January 15:

“Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called for a ‘reset’ in relations with the European Union, accusing it, and Sweden in particular, of unfairly singling out Israel. In addition to attacking Brussels for its decision to label West Bank settlement goods, Netanyahu on Thursday for the first time publicly accused the E.U. of building ‘illegal constructions’ in the West Bank in an alleged bid to create ‘political realities’ there…

“He added that he had recently discussed the tense bilateral ties with the E.U.’s foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini…”

Deutsche Welle reported on January 18:

“EU Ministers have reiterated the bloc’s position that the lands Israel has occupied since the 1967 Middle East war – including the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights – are not part of the internationally recognized borders of Israel. Therefore, goods coming from those locations cannot be labeled ‘Made in Israel.’… The EU statement was positively received by Palestine, with chief negotiator Saeb Erekat calling it ‘a step forward towards accountability.’ He called on the EU to ‘take immediate steps, such as banning settlement products’.

“But Israel responded that the statement was discriminatory… ‘Out of about 200 border conflicts in the world, the European Union is choosing to discriminate only against Israel. This stance prevents the (European) Union from being a fair player in resolving the conflict,’ the Israeli Foreign Ministry said in a statement. Following the EU’s publication of the labeling guidelines, Israel suspended contact with EU bodies working on peace efforts with Palestine – bringing the Middle East peace process to a halt.”

The relationship between Europe and Israel is prophesied to deteriorate drastically.

“A Recession Worse than 2008 Is Coming”

CNBC wrote on January 15:

“… a recession has occurred in the U.S. about every five years, on average, since the end of WWII; and it has been seven years since the last one — we are overdue… this one will be worse. A major contributor for this imminent recession is the fallout from a faltering Chinese economy… But the debt debacle in China is not the primary catalyst for the next recession in the United States. It is the fact that equity prices and real estate values can no longer be supported by incomes and GDP.

“… the startling truth is that businesses, the federal government and the Federal Reserve have taken on a humongous amount of additional debt since 2007. Even household debt has increased back to its 2007 record of $14.1 trillion. Specifically, business debt during that time frame has grown from $10.1 trillion, to $12.6 trillion; the total national debt boomed from $9.2 trillion, to $18.9 trillion; and the Fed’s balance sheet has exploded from $880 billion to $4.5 trillion… the federal government’s debt has now soared to nearly 600 percent of total revenue…

“Therefore, this… by all accounts brutal upcoming recession [is inevitable]… the ability of government to save the markets and the economy this time around will be extremely difficult, if not impossible. Look for chaos in currency, bond and equity markets on an international scale throughout 2016. Indeed, it already has begun.”

The Telegraph wrote on January 19:

“The global financial system has become dangerously unstable and faces an avalanche of bankruptcies that will test social and political stability, a leading monetary theorist has warned. ‘The situation is worse than it was in 2007…’ said William White, the Swiss-based chairman of the OECD’s review committee and former chief economist of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS). ‘Debts have continued to build up over the last eight years and they have reached such levels in every part of the world that they have become a potent cause for mischief,’ he said…

“European banks have already admitted to $1 trillion of non-performing loans: they are heavily exposed to emerging markets and are almost certainly rolling over further bad debts that have never been disclosed.  The European banking system may have to be recapitalized on a scale yet unimagined, and new ‘bail-in’ rules mean that any deposit holder above the guarantee of €100,000 will have to help pay for it.

“The warnings have special resonance since Mr White was one of the very few voices in the central banking fraternity who stated loudly and clearly between 2005 and 2008 that Western finance was riding for a fall, and that the global economy was susceptible to a violent crisis…

“Mr White said the Fed is now in a horrible quandary… ‘It is a debt trap. Things are so bad that there is no right answer. If they raise rates it’ll be nasty. If they don’t raise rates, it just makes matters worse,’ he said…”

The Washington Post wrote on January 20:

“Queasy investors sent global markets plunging again Wednesday, stomping out recent meager gains and spotlighting fresh worries over cratering oil prices and signs of slowing international growth.”

Bloomberg added on January 20:

“US Stocks Sink With Markets Around the World as Rout Deepens… Turmoil returned to global markets as oil plunged and the Dow Jones Industrial Average sank more than 400 points, fueling a rush into haven assets.”

A New Job for President Obama?

The Washington Times wrote on January 12:

“… rumors are floating back from the Middle East that he is sounding out Democrats, Republicans and friends of the United Nations in the United States to help him get the job of secretary-general of the U.N. [Ban Ki-Moon term expires this year] and Mr. Obama is said to think he’s just the man to succeed him…

“The Kuwaiti daily Al-Jarida reports that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has heard the rumor and is recruiting the Persian Gulf states, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, new allies in fear of Iran, to cut the president off at the pass…

“The Jerusalem Post reports that its sources close to Mr. Netanyahu do not deny the speculation that the prime minister aims to ‘torpedo the Obama project.’ These friends say Mr. Netanyahu thinks Mr. Obama’s presidency has been characterized by moving closer to the Muslim Brotherhood, toppling the regime of Hosni Mubarak, and by attempts to ally himself with political Islam.

“Mr. Obama is said to think he can resolve the warfare between Shiites and Sunnis, between Persians and Arabs, Turks and Kurds, Copts and Salafists, and get the states of the United Nations to acclaim him as the messiah once envisioned for himself in Washington. Hope and change didn’t work there, but maybe it would at the U.N., where standards and expectations are lower. The secretary-general is appointed by the General Assembly on the recommendation of the Security Council, subject to the veto of any of the five permanent members of the Security Council. The general assembly, dominated by left-wing regimes that despise America and the democratic traditions it stands for, might happily support the ex-president who set out to cut America down to size.

“But China and Russia, both as permanent members of the U.N. Security Council have a veto over the secretary-general’s appointment, might not agree, leftist or not… The story might be just another imaginative fairy tale of the Arabian night. The Arab media is addicted to such tales. But Mr. Obama was once described by Bill Clinton as a fairy tale, too, and here he is, completing his second term, and Mr. Obama does not suffer excessive modesty…”

Biden Had It With Culture

The Huffington Post wrote on January 20:

“Vice President Joe Biden got visibly heated while discussing the importance of LGBT rights on Wednesday. Speaking at an LGBT rights roundtable at the annual World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, [he] lamented that openly gay and transgender people are still treated like second class citizens around the world. ‘LGBT people face violence, harassment, unequal treatment, mistreatment by cops, denial of health care, isolation — always in the name of culture. I’ve had it up to [here] with culture. I really mean it,’ he said, striking the table with his palms. ‘Culture never justifies rank, raw, discrimination or violation of human rights. There is no cultural justification. None. None. None.’

“Biden said that he has confronted at least four heads of state from countries where people face persecution over their sexuality. He didn’t say which leaders he spoke to, but at least 75 countries represented in Davos outlaw homosexuality.

“The vice president has been a vocal champion for gay rights during his time in the White House. In 2012, he publicly announced his support for same sex marriage — a move many suspected prompted a similar announcement three days later from President Barack Obama. Most recently, he helped the administration push comprehensive new legislation to protect LGBT people from discrimination…”

Vice President Biden, a practicing Catholic, does not seem to care about Judeo-Christian culture AND what the Bible has to say about the topic.

Sex Education Classes Required for California Public School Children

On January 13, KQED reported the following:

“A new state law in effect this year requires all California public school students to take sex education beginning in seventh grade. Parents who don’t want their kids to learn about issues like body image, contraception and HIV awareness and prevention will have to formally opt out by submitting a document to their school or district. For years, sex education has been optional. If parents wanted their children to take a sexual health class, they had to sign up for the instruction.

“The law, called the California Healthy Youth Act, attempts to standardize and update sex education in the state, which also now must include gender identity. San Francisco Unified has one of the most comprehensive sex education curriculums in the state, covering everything from sexual orientation to abusive relationships…

“The big question is how the state will monitor school districts, and whether there will be an uptick in families opting out. Camille Giglio, with the group California Right To Life, says this curriculum goes too far. ‘This comes into a whole new category of being forced to listen for six years to one version of so-called sexual health,’ Giglio said.”

This is another attempt by a left-liberal God-defying agenda to teach against the clear doctrines of the Bible.

“Easter Date to Be Fixed ‘Within Next Five to 10 Years’”

The Telegraph wrote on January 15:

“The date of Easter could be fixed within the next five to 10 years, the Archbishop of Canterbury has said…

“Anglicans are to join Copts and Catholics in talks to resolve the problem… The Pope has already signaled that he is open to changing the date of Easter so that Christians around the world could celebrate on the same day.

“The date of Easter depends on the phases of the moon. It is determined by the first full moon after the spring equinox and means Easter can fall anywhere between March 22 and April 25. The Easter Act of 1928 means it is already possible for the government to institute a permanent date….

“The leader of the Coptic Orthodox Church in the UK, Bishop Angaelos, said it would be a powerful demonstration of Christian unity if it could be achieved…

“The Coptic Easter falls on May 1 this year and can vary from the main western date by five weeks. Easter Sunday this year falls on 27 March, with Good Friday, 25 March, and Easter Monday, 28 March, both bank holidays. Next year Easter falls later, in the middle of April.”

It appears that “Christianity” is less concerned with what is perceived to be the correct timing of the most important festival of its creed, but more with “unity.” However, as pointed out below, the entire festival of Easter is in no way biblical.

In a related article, titled, “How Easter is calculated,” the Telegraph explained the following:

“Methods for calculating Easter are fiendishly complicated, in a uniquely baffling synthesis of mathematics, astronomy and theology. Because Christians believe that Jesus was crucified during the Jewish Passover festival, Easter is marked around that time. But by the end of the 2nd Century different Christian groups were already marking it on separate dates. The landmark Council of Nicea in 325AD, which set out the core Christian beliefs in a single creed, also attempted to standardise Easter.

“Since then it has generally been accepted as falling on the first Sunday following the first full moon after the spring equinox – which the Church approximated as March 21. But throughout the centuries disputes over the exact timing have been used as proxies for deeper power struggles. It effectively set the course of the history of the British Isles at the Synod of Whitby in 664AD when the preferred date of the Roman, rather than the Celtic church, became the standard. The decision is regarded as having brought Britain more firmly into the European sphere of influence – an issue still dominating the political agenda in the run up to the EU referendum.”

The Bible nowhere commands the observance of Easter, which was originally a pagan holiday in worship of the moon goddess Ishtar or Eastre. The Bible does not teach either that Jesus was crucified on a Friday and resurrected on a Sunday, as He proclaimed that He would be dead and in the grave for three days and three nights—72 hours (Matthew 12:38-40; compare John 11:9-10, defining the daylight portion of a day as including 12 hours, followed by the night portion of including another 12 hours).

The Bible commands the observance of Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread. The seven Days of Unleavened Bread immediately follow the Passover evening when Jesus was betrayed and arrested. For more information, please read our free booklet, “Man’s Holidays and God’s Holy Days.”

We find the following statement in Romans 10:4: “For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.”

Many use this Scripture for the false concept that Christ came to end or abolish the law, and that we are free to break the law (which, they claim, does not exist anymore for us), and that all we need in order to be righteous in the eyes of God is a belief in Christ.

It is true, of course, that with the death of Jesus Christ, the sacrificial system found its completion, so that we are no longer bound to keep Old Testament rituals, including animal sacrifices and physical circumcision. We are no longer under a temporary tutor of rituals which brought us to Christ (Galatians 3:24). Those ritual laws and sacrifices were added because of sin and transgressions until the Seed (Jesus Christ) would come (Galatians 3:19; Romans 5:20). Sin is the transgression of the law (1 John 3:4, Authorized Version). It is obvious then that Galatians speaks about two different sets of laws—the law of temporary rituals and sacrifices which was added and the permanent spiritual law which defines sin (Romans 7:14). While the ritual law has been fulfilled in Christ and is no longer in force and effect for us, the spiritual law (some call it moral law) is still binding and, as we will see, can be obeyed by us when the love of God and the faith of Christ reside in us and when we are following Christ’s lead.

The Bible makes it very clear that theoretical faith “in” Christ is not enough, and that we will not inherit salvation when we refuse to keep God’s spiritual law of the Ten Commandments. When a rich young ruler asked Christ what he needed to do to have eternal life (Matthew 19:16), Christ answered that in order to have eternal life, to enter the kingdom of God and to inherit salvation (compare verses 24, 25), he had to keep the commandments (verse 17), clarifying that He spoke about the Ten Commandments (verses 18-19).

James confirms the biblical teaching that we must still keep the Ten Commandments today, showing that even the violation of one of the Ten Commandments convicts us as transgressors of the law which will judge us. He says in James 2:8-12: “If you really fulfill the royal law according to Scripture, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself,’ you do well; but if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors. For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all. For He who said, ‘Do not commit adultery,’ also said, ‘Do not murder.’ Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty.”

It is absolutely false to say that Christ came to do away with the spiritual law of the Ten Commandments and the spiritual statutes and judgments which define and explain the Ten Commandments even further. For instance, the Fourth Commandment enjoins us to keep the Sabbath day holy (Exodus 20:8-11). But other passages show that God is not just talking about the weekly Sabbath day (the time from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset), but also seven annual Holy Days, which are also called “Sabbath” in Scripture (compare Leviticus 23:27, 32, 39, Authorized Version). Another example is the Seventh Commandment, prohibiting adultery (Exodus 20:14). Other Scriptures show that God does not only prohibit sexual relationships involving at least one married partner, but also fornication (sexual relationships between unmarried partners), as well as sexual sins such as homosexuality. The Ninth Commandment prohibits bearing false witness against our neighbor (Exodus 20:16), but this is not limited to giving false testimony in a court of law, but it also includes lying, slander, libel, false reports and spreading unsubstantiated rumors.

In addition, Christ made clear that not only the literal violation of one of the Ten Commandments (and of the statutes and judgments) constitutes sin, but that even the underlying motives and desires are already enough to convict us as transgressors of the law. For instance, not only is committing murder a violation of the Sixth Commandment and therefore sin, but anger and hatred (which could lead to literal murder) are already forbidden as well (Matthew 5:21-22; 1 John 2:11; 3:15). Not only is committing adultery sinful, but looking “at a woman to lust for her” already constitutes adultery with her in the heart (Matthew 5:27-28).

Christ came to exalt the law and make it more honorable (Isaiah 42:21). He did so by keeping it perfectly, without ever sinning; by emphasizing strongly that we must keep it today and revealing to us how it can be done; and by explaining the intent of the law. God shows us through the law that we must not only refrain from carrying out the literal act of a prohibition, but that we must already control our emotions and desires which, if unchecked, would lead to such literal violations. We read that out of the heart “proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies” (Matthew 15:19; compare also Mark 7:21-23).

Christ stated very forcefully that those who practice lawlessness and the transgression of the law will NOT inherit God’s Kingdom. He said in Matthew 7:21-23: “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who DOES the will of the Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!'” The Swiss Zuercher Bible says: “…you who practice what is against the law.”

John echoed Christ’s statements with these powerful words: “He who says, ‘I know Him,’ and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in Him” (1 John 2:4). He also said this: “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome” (1 John 5:3).

We will answer below how we can obtain the love of God—which keeps His commandments—and how it is actually possible to keep His commandments.

But first, let us explain what Paul meant in Romans 10:4 when he said that Christ was the “end of the law.” From what we have seen so far, this passage cannot mean that the spiritual law of the Ten Commandments and of the spiritual statutes and judgments has “ended” or has been done away with, so that it would not have any force and effect for us today.

The Greek word for “end” is “telos.” It can mean “end,” “goal,” “aim,” “purpose” and “result.” For instance, we read in 1 Timothy 1:5: “Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned.” It is obvious that this passage does not say that the commandment has been abolished. Just the opposite is expressed here: Its purpose or aim or goal is love out of a pure heart, as well as having a good conscience and unwavering faith.

Peter expressed exactly the same thought in 1 Peter 1:9 when he states that you will be “receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls.” Peter did not want to say that our faith would ever end [in fact, it never will end, compare 1 Corinthians 13:13]; rather, he stressed the point that the goal or aim of our faith is the inheritance of our salvation.

Another example can be seen in James 5:11 where we read: “Indeed we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord—that the Lord is compassionate and merciful.” Here, the word “end” is very clearly used as a description of God’s goal, aim or purpose: God intended to show Job through his trials that He was compassionate and merciful. God had to reveal to Job his sin of self-righteousness which had to be repented of, but throughout the book of Job, God showed His compassion and mercy with Job even when he began to launch some very harsh criticism against God.

Christ describes Himself as “the beginning and the end” (Revelation 21:6; 22:13). He did not mean to convey that He had a beginning or that He would cease to exist, but He wanted to show that nothing exists or came into existence without Him, and that His goal, purpose, aim and result will be accomplished. Nobody can prevent His Will from being carried out.

And so, the German Pattloch Bible renders the phrase in Romans 10:4 as follows: “Final goal [Endziel] of the law is Christ for righteousness for everyone who believes.”

This leads us to the question as to why is Christ the “end”—that is, the aim, goal or purpose—of the law “for righteousness to everyone who believes.”

Righteousness is defined as keeping God’s commandments (Deuteronomy 6:25). But we cannot keep God’s law, based on our own strength. We need Christ to make us righteous. When we sin, we commit unrighteousness (1 John 5:17), but when we repent and believe in Christ’s Sacrifice for the forgiveness of our sins, then we are washed clean and become righteous again. The law shows us what sin is (Romans 3:20; 7:7), but it does not make us righteous. Only God, through the Holy Spirit, can do this.

We read earlier (in 1 John 5:3) that this is the love of God that we keep His commandments. This is the case because His commandments define for us what God’s love is (Romans 13:8-10). When we love our neighbor, we fulfill the law which tells us how to love our neighbor (by not murdering him, stealing from him, committing adultery with his wife, lying to him, etc.). The Bible also shows us how we CAN receive the love of God (“This is what the love of God IS: keeping His commandments,” New Jerusalem Bible). Romans 5:5 tells us that “the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit [which] was given to us.”

The important point to realize is that Christ must make us righteous. It is actually Christ, dwelling in us through the Holy Spirit, who fulfills the law through us—if we allow Him to do so, and if we don’t resist His lead. Romans 8:3-4, 9 states:

“For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh [our flesh was too weak to keep it], God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit… Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ he is not His.”

The German Revised Luther Bible translates Romans 8:4: “…so that the righteousness, demanded by the Law, would be fulfilled in us.”

The Living Bible translates Romans 8:4: “So now we CAN obey God’s laws if we follow after the Holy Spirit and no longer obey the old evil nature within us…”

We can only keep the righteous requirements of the law, IF Christ lives in us through the Holy Spirit, and IF we follow Christ’s lead. When God’s Holy Spirit lives within us, then the love of God and the faith of Christ live within us. And THAT is what will make us righteous.

Romans 3:21–22 (Authorized Version) talks about the “righteousness of God which is by faith OF Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe.”

We need to believe in Jesus; that Jesus is the Son of God; that He died for us; that His Sacrifice forgives our sins and removes our death penalty (because the wages of sin is death, Romans 6:23)—but that belief is just the beginning. The faith necessary for salvation is Christ’s faith—the faith OF Christ—living in us and enabling us to keep the law.

The Bible teaches that the faith of Christ—Christ’s faith in us—makes us righteous. Those who believe in Christ must have the faith OF Christ living IN them.

Philippians 3:9 (Authorized Version) says: “… and be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through faith OF Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith.”

The faith of Christ in us is a living, obedient faith, which brings forth good works (James 2:20, 26). We are called upon to uphold the OBEDIENCE of the faith (Romans 1:5; 16:26). And remember: This IS the love of God (which is given to us by the Holy Spirit) that we keep His commandments.

All of this is expressed in Paul’s profound statement in Romans 10:4 that Christ is the real purpose of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. The law shows us what sin is, and Christ in us fulfills the law through us, thereby enabling us to obtain God’s righteousness, if we believe that Christ forgives us our sins (doing away with our unrighteousness) and that He, through the Holy Spirit in us, helps us to obey the righteous requirements of the law.

For more information, we recommend the study of our free booklets:

“Paul’s Letter to the Galatians–How to Understand it.”

“God’s Commanded Holy Days.”

“And Lawlessness Will Abound.”

“Old Testament Laws–Still Valid Today?”

Lead Writer: Norbert Link

A ministerial SKYPE meeting was conducted on Sunday morning, January 17, 2016. Editorial procedures, US Feast location and several other topics were discussed.

“Hohn und Spott für Gott und Sein Volk,” is the title of this week’s German sermon. Title in English: “Scorn and Ridicule for God and His People.”

“Beware of Distractions,” the sermonette presented last Sabbath by Mike Link, is now posted. Here is a summary:

There are many different types of distractions that could keep us from the Kingdom of God, if we are not careful. We need to be aware of what is truly important and what we need to keep our focus on if we want to be counted worthy.

“Have You Seen Satan? the sermon presented last Sabbath by Norbert Link, is now posted. Here is a summary:

Does the Bible tell us whether Satan and demons can make themselves visible to the human eye? Can they materialize and appear as humans, without being recognized as spirit beings? Should you try to contact aliens or the ghosts of deceived loved ones? How can you protect yourself against Satan and his fallen angels? What kind of activities are we to avoid at all costs? Should we stay away from demonic movies and video games, séances, Ouija boards, far-eastern meditation practices, haunted houses, chiropractors who use the Reiki method, and medical hypnosis?

On January 16, 2016, Michael Link will present the sermonette, titled, “Beware of Distractions,” and Norbert Link will present the sermon, titled, “Have You Seen Satan?”

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.

Anxiety is a peculiar thing. On the one hand, it is something that seems to be merely a state of mind as we cope with the difficulties managing stress and pressure that exist in our lives. On the other hand, it is a real phenomenon that elicits physical symptoms, making it much more than something that is “just in our heads.” For some people, anxiety can be crippling and prevent them from living their lives in a normal way. No matter the level of anxiety that one might experience, whether light or overbearing, I think it is safe to say that most would rather live without it!

What stands opposed to the heavy weight of anxiety is a lightness of being. This describes a state of mind that places the stressful burdens of our life into a perspective that limits the effect of unwarranted fear. Lightness of being describes the way that we react to pressure, by not taking consequence more seriously than we ought. This state of mind allows us to gain control over the circumstances of life, rather than allow circumstances to take control of us. With such a state of mind, we can find joy in the most trying of events.

The Bible has much to say about developing this state of mind. Philippians 4:6-7 summarizes this very succinctly, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Not only do we see the instruction to put anxiety in its place, we also learn about how to do it. We can achieve a peace of mind by placing our worries into the hands of God, through prayer, and by being thankful for all He does for us. Once we do this, the result is true relief from all kinds of stress and pressure. Obtaining the peace of God is a powerful thing when we manage to do it.

What strikes me the most about how this process works is the involvement of thankfulness. To offer thanksgiving for all things, especially the challenges that we might face, can be a difficult thing to do. However, when we know that God works in our lives, we also know that even the challenges we face are an opportunity for us to develop and grow. By offering thanks for everything and in our circumstances, we no longer have to worry about them, but we give them over to God so that He can help us out. The struggle to control the difficult circumstances in our lives, all by ourselves, is a significant contributor to the phenomena of anxiety. But when we cease worrying about those difficulties, and offer thanks to God instead, there is no more anxiety. What a relief!

With anxiety fading away and with fear returning to its proper place, contentment is an additional result. This all happens by inviting the peace of God into our lives to guard our minds and hearts through Jesus Christ. We are also reminded, “Now godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out” (1 Timothy 6:6-7). By reacting to the events we face in life with godliness, and being content about the outcome, what exactly do we gain? While it might not be anything physical that we can take with us when we die, the gain we obtain is a far greater gift than anything we might anxiously struggle for in this world. When we completely submit our lives to God, the gift we obtain is eternal life. God has given us an opportunity to place our burdens into His hands, and when we do that, we are relieved both in this life and in the eternal life to come. With God on our side, who can be against us? (Romans 8:31).

We begin with a plea by the New York Times for mass deportations in Germany and Angela Merkel’s resignation; continue with reports on Germany’s continuing massive cover-up pertaining to its migrant crisis and crimes perpetrated by refugees; and we quote European politicians to the effect that in their opinion, any hope for true integration of Islamic migrants into the European society is absolutely preposterous. For more information, please view our most recent StandingWatch program, “Germany’s Massive Cover Up of Migrant Violence.” You might also want to view again our previous StandingWatch program from October 2015, titled, “Germany’s Disastrous Migrant Crisis.” 

We warn that terrorists are concentrating on a repeat of their September 11, 2001 attack; but that this time, their main target will be Europe in 2016. We also report on a terror attack in Turkey.

We continue with the interesting role which Turkey is already playing on the world scene, pointing out that the Bible has much to say about Turkey’s future activities.

We speak on Vladimir Putin’s world view and President Obama’s 2016 State of the Union Address.

We discuss America’s and especially California’s massive cover-up and misrepresentations regarding mandatory vaccinations, while intentionally denying the proven fact of vaccines’ serious side effects, such as autism.

We speak of incredible and DANGEROUS mysticism in the Catholic Church, pertaining to photos, visions, dreams and messages of the “Virgin Mary,” and we conclude with an article about terrible scandals of jackpot fixing in the Powerball lottery, convicting the former security director of massive fraudulent conduct.

New York Times: Merkel Should Resign

On January 9, 2016, the New York Times wrote the following:

“For decades conservatives on both sides of the Atlantic have warned that Europe’s generous immigration policies, often pursued in defiance of ordinary Europeans’ wishes, threaten to destabilize the continent. The conservatives have made important points about the difficulty of assimilation, the threat of radicalization, and the likelihood of Paris-style and Cologne-style violence in European cities… Until recently, Europe’s assimilation challenge looked unpleasant but not insurmountable… With the current migration, though, we’re in uncharted territory. The issue isn’t just that immigrants are arriving in the hundreds of thousands rather than the tens of thousands. It’s that a huge proportion of them are teenage and twentysomething men… many of these men carry assumptions about women’s roles that are diametrically opposed to the values of contemporary Europe…

“If you believe that an aging, secularized, heretofore-mostly-homogeneous society is likely to peacefully absorb a migration of that size and scale of cultural difference, then you [are] a fool. Such a transformation promises increasing polarization among natives and new arrivals alike. It threatens not just a spike in terrorism but a rebirth of 1930s-style political violence…

“This need not happen. But prudence requires doing everything possible to prevent it. That means closing Germany’s borders to new arrivals for the time being. It means beginning an orderly deportation process for able-bodied young men. It means giving up the fond illusion that Germany’s past sins can be absolved with a reckless humanitarianism in the present.

“It means that Angela Merkel must go — so that her country, and the continent it bestrides, can avoid paying too high a price for her high-minded folly.”

Note this assessment of Pope Francis, as reported by NBC News on January 10:

“Pope Francis warned Monday that the recent influx of migrants risked overwhelming European values and traditions, but said he was confident the continent could successfully integrate the newcomers. In an annual address to diplomats at the Vatican City, the pontiff said the flood of new arrivals, mainly from the Middle East and Africa, was a major burden for Europe and had given rise to ‘significant’ fears over security and international terrorism…

“Despite the ‘inevitable difficulties’ in trying to absorb the migrants, who brought with them different cultures and traditions, the pope said he hoped European nations would prove capable of integrating and accepting the refugees.”

Official Lies in Germany

Deutsche Welle reported on January 8 about the suspension of Cologne’s police chief, following allegations he withheld information on the New Year’s Eve sexual assaults [by now, in excess of 500 complaints have been filed in Cologne]:

“The scandal over the New Year’s Eve attacks in Cologne has claimed a first political victim. And rightly so: There’s no justification for lying to the public and deliberately withholding facts…

“This has caused maximum social damage. The state needs the trust of its citizens. If people lose trust, the whole system erodes. And the hateful generalizations about foreigners, refugees and Muslims currently abounding on social networks are an indication of where that particular journey leads.

“Cologne’s police chief, Wolfgang Albers, the man responsible for security in Germany’s fourth-largest city, systematically lied to the public over a period of several days…

“New, shocking revelations about what happened on New Year’s Eve have come to light every day this week. On Tuesday, the police chief and the mayor held a press conference that was thin on information: Unfortunately, they didn’t know anything about the suspects and their ethnic origin, they were unable to make any arrests that night, and any victims who hadn’t already done so should report to the police. Who, by the way, did a fantastic job on New Year’s Eve and had everything under control, according to Albers.

“The police have reaped nothing but scorn and sharp criticism on social media for this portrayal – including from Germany’s interior minister. The officers who were working in downtown Cologne on New Year’s Eve couldn’t take it anymore. Internal reports and detailed accounts began making their way into the hands of journalists.

“And that information tells a different story: Around 100 people were stopped and checked or taken into police custody that night. The majority identified themselves with Syrian passports or asylum papers. Only a few of them had been in Germany for longer than three months, according to officers who were on duty. But that’s exactly what the mayor, prompted by the police chief, took issue with at the press conference on Tuesday: There was no evidence to suggest that the molesters were refugees, she said. But anyone who had access to internal police data banks knew even then that this was a lie…

“Lying can never be the answer, because the damage is even greater when the lie finally comes to light. Germany doesn’t need lies, but rather honesty in the debate about the massive challenges facing our country…

“It would be only honest, for example, to accept that we now have many young men living in this country who come from cultures where women who go out at night, who dance, who drink alcohol, who wear tight clothing and who don’t cover their hair are labeled whores. And that it will take much more than a language course or an Arabic translation of our constitution to integrate such men into our society.”

And so, Germany has her scapegoat: Cologne’s police chief Wolfgang Albers. But how many others have been directly or indirectly involved in this massive cover-up will perhaps remain an open secret for a long time. Many allegations have been made in Germany “that police and the media had colluded in an institutional cover-up over the Cologne attacks,” according to The Telegraph (as of January 8).

Angela Merkel had declared earlier that multi-culturism has failed. But on January 8, she stated, according to the EUobserver (January 8), that “‘the fundamentals of cultural co-existence’ must be discussed.” The magazine also pointed out that “Finnish police said that ‘widespread sexual harassment’ was reported in Helsinki during New Year’s celebrations on the city’s central square… ‘The suspects were asylum seekers…’”

Angela Merkel’s reflection might come much too late… and amounts to far too little. On January 8, The Telegraph quoted Robert Fico, the prime minister of Slovakia, as saying, “The idea of multicultural Europe has failed… The migrants cannot be integrated, it’s simply impossible.”

Please note the next articles as well.

Germany and the Migrant Crisis—A Country in Denial

The Daily Mail wrote on January 8:

“The attacks have sounded the alarm bell in Germany over the consequences of mass migration. A country dogged by guilt over its Nazi past, it has enjoyed its recent role as saviour of Europe, welcoming in foreigners from the war-divided Middle East and Africa’s poverty hotspots. When the migrants began arriving in their thousands each day last summer, there were welcoming parties across the country. ‘We love refugees!’ proclaimed banners outside reception centres.

“Yet that warm hospitality is now being replaced by fear, as a society renowned for its good order begins to buckle under the strain — and to worry if it has made a mistake.

“Figures this week revealed that 1.1 million newcomers registered for asylum in Germany in 2015. Many more — including potential jihadists and opportunists pretending to be refugees — are suspected of slipping in under the radar since August, when German Chancellor Angela Merkel controversially announced she would welcome all Syrian migrants who knocked on the door… German ministers say 3,200 migrants a day continue to enter the country…

“Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere admitted the New Year crimes against women by such large numbers of men from a migrant background were a ‘new departure’ for the country… the truth is the mass assaults have clear echoes of the sex crimes in Cairo’s Tahrir Square in Egypt in 2011, during celebrations welcoming the so-called Arab Spring, when groups of men violently harassed women…

“Many Germans, including some of the victims themselves, have accused authorities of a conspiracy of silence over the assaults to stop criticism of the mass immigration policy pursued by Mrs Merkel and her politically-correct supporters. The mainstream media in Germany has, until recently, toed the Government line; a top public broadcaster, ZDF, recently refused to run a segment about a rape case on its prime-time ‘crime-watch’ show because the ‘dark-skinned’ suspect was a migrant…

“Cracks only began to show just before New Year. Bild, Germany’s largest daily newspaper, broke ranks by accusing officials of conducting a campaign of deception on a ‘massive scale’ by burying bad news on migration. It reported that drug gangs involved in organised crime were actively recruiting newly-arrived migrants from the vast temporary camps where they live.

“The Cologne police force has also been accused of deliberately hushing up the New Year scandal. It issued an official press release the following day describing the celebrations as ‘exuberant, but mostly peaceful’. The release has since been retracted, and last night it emerged that police chief Wolfgang Albers is to resign. Broadcaster ZDF had to apologise for a ‘cover up’ after it failed to report the Cologne story for three days, even though it knew about it.

“And until Thursday, a week after the attacks, there had been silence from Mrs Merkel’s ministers about the backgrounds of the perpetrators. Initially, they insisted there was no evidence that new migrants were involved in the violence. A leaked police report which emerged 48 hours ago showed this was far from the truth. It revealed that one of the Cologne attackers said: ‘I am Syrian. You have to treat me kindly: Mrs Merkel invited me.’…

“The involvement by foreigners flies in the face of Germany’s PC lobby which has ruthlessly called critics of Merkel’s migration programme ‘Nazi’ or ‘racist’.

“Take 59-year-old Akif Pirincci, an outspoken Right-winger and German writer of Turkish origin, who has warned that Christian Germany is becoming Islamic. His books, one of which is called Germany Gone Mad, were best-sellers until last autumn, when big publishers and bookshops chose not to distribute them any more. It is the first time since the Nazi era that such censorship has occurred.

“In another controversy, Catholic journalist Matthias Matussek lost his job at the respected German newspaper Die Welt after he posted his views on November’s massacre in Paris on his personal Facebook page, saying mildly: ‘I think that the terror in Paris will move our (German) debate about open borders and … young Muslim men in our country in an entirely new and fresh direction.’…

“Andre Schulz, head of Germany’s criminal police association, said recently that in his experience 10 per cent of the migrants would turn to criminality, including theft, sexual assault or drug dealing. ‘The policy has been to leave the German population in the dark …ordinary citizens are being played for fools,’ he declared…

“Germany is having to confront the harsh result of welcoming in huge numbers of men from a culture which denigrates women and abhors the social rules of a modern European society. The European Commission estimates that three million more migrants — many of them ill-educated Muslim males who are illiterate even in their own Arab language — will arrive in the EU this year. The chances of successfully integrating them is next to nil.”

Schweiz Magazin and Blick.ch reported on January 7 that during New Year’s Eve, four Syrian immigrants (age 14-21) allegedly raped repeatedly two minor girls in Weil am Rhein in Germany, close to the Swiss border. Three of the alleged perpetrators were arrested; one is still at large. The 21-year old is a recognized refugee; his 15-year old brother has applied for asylum.

The man, boys and the girls knew each other to an extent; they all went to the apartment of the 21-year old refugee. According to Bild Online, the girls were then raped for hours in the apartment which is situated in a location with many migrants.

The Local reported on January 10 that the “man who attacked a Paris police station last week had lived in a centre for asylum-seekers in [Recklinghausen,] Germany. The individual was shot dead by French police on Thursday after he tried to storm a police station in northern Paris, brandishing a meat cleaver and wearing a fake suicide vest. The assault took place exactly one year since the start of a series of jihadist attacks in France, marked by the killing of 12 people at the Charlie Hebdo satirical magazine on January 7 2015…

“The news site Spiegel Online reported, meanwhile, that the man had already been classed by German police as a possible suspect after he posed at the refugee centre with an IS flag, but he disappeared in December… He had used different names in separate registrations with German authorities, and filed for asylum using the name Walid Salihi… The man had also given different nationalities at each registration, once saying he was Syrian, another time saying he was Moroccan, and on yet another occasion, Georgian.”…

… In Spite of the Evidence

The Local wrote on January 11:

“Ralf Jäger, the interior minister of North Rhine-Westphalia state, released initial findings of a criminal probe over the crime spree that has piled pressure on Chancellor Angela Merkel over her liberal stance towards refugees. ‘Witness accounts and the report by the (local) police as well as findings by the federal police indicate that nearly all the people who committed these crimes were of foreign origin,’ he said…

“Justice Minister Heiko Maas has said he believed the violence in the western city of Cologne was organised. ‘For such a horde of people to meet and commit such crimes, it has to have been planned somehow,’ he told Bild am Sonntag newspaper. ‘No one can tell me that this was not coordinated or planned. The suspicion is that a specific date and an expected crowd was picked,’ he said.

“Quoting confidential police reports, Bild am Sonntag said some North Africans had sent out calls using social networks for people to gather in Cologne on New Year’s Eve.”

Demonstrations in Germany Turn Somewhat Violent

Deutsche Welle reported on January 9:

“Police in the western German city of Cologne have broken up a protest by the ‘anti-Islamization’ group PEGIDA. Water cannons were used to disperse demonstrators protesting after the New Year’s Eve attacks on women…

“The demonstrators protesting against Germany’s current refugee policies, who numbered some 1,700 people according to police estimates [far less than expected by PEGIDA], were confronted by an estimated 1,300 [leftist] counter-demonstrators, who also gathered near the train station. More than 2,000 state and federal police were tasked with keeping the two groups apart… There were reports of several arrests, and a number of people were also injured, including with cuts to the face…

“Police said half of those attending the PEGIDA rally were football hooligans and right-wing extremists [It is unclear whether the police counted supporters of the local party “Partei Pro Köln” as right-wing extremists. That would be a mischaracterization. They are right-wing, but not right-wing extremists]. A spokeswoman said some of the hooligans were known to police and came from the eastern city of Dresden. Dresden is the center of PEGIDA’s activities.

“Earlier in the day, several hundred women gathered in front of the cathedral in Cologne, situated near the central train station where the attacks mostly took place, to protest against violence to women…”

As the Local pointed out, the violence was caused by hooligans and right-wing extremists, not necessarily by those supporting PEGIDA. It stated on January 9:

“The initially peaceful rally against a shocking spate of sexual assaults during New Year’s festivities in Cologne took an ugly turn when a group of far-right extremists began flinging projectiles at officers… A Pegida spokesman urged ‘all participants to go home.’ ‘The event is officially over,’ he said.

“Earlier, chanting ‘expulsion’, supporters of Pegida waved banners and signs bearing slogans like ‘Rapefugees not welcome’. They also took aim at Chancellor Angela Merkel, accusing her of allowing migrants to run rampage in Germany through her liberal stance towards those fleeing war…

“Pegida started life over a year ago as a xenophobic Facebook group, initially drawing just a few hundred protesters to demonstrations in the eastern city of Dresden before gaining strength, peaking with rallies of 25,000 people.

“Interest subsequently began to wane following overtly racist comments by founder Lutz Bachmann, and the surfacing of “selfies” in which he sported a Hitler moustache and hairstyle. But Pegida has seen a revival with the record influx of migrants to Germany.”

Increased Violence on the March in Germany

Deutsche Welle reported on January 11:

“According to police in the western German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, a group of about 20 people attacked six Pakistanis on Sunday evening, near Cologne’s central train station… Shortly after the first attack, a similar incident unfolded when a 39-year-old Syrian national was assaulted by a group of five people. Police said they were investigating grievous bodily harm, but could not confirm whether either of the attacks was racially motivated. It was also not initially clear whether the two were linked.

“Cologne tabloid ‘Express’ reported on Monday that a group of ‘bikers, hooligans and bouncers’ had used Facebook to plan a ‘human hunt’ to ‘clean up’ Cologne’s city center. Early on Monday, a police spokesperson was unable to confirm the reports. On Sunday afternoon, police had received tipoffs about ‘groups,’ which were ‘specifically looking for provocation,’ police said…”

In a related article, Deutsche Welle wrote on January 11:

“Thousands of Germans, particularly in Dusseldorf near Cologne, have joined Facebook groups claiming to promote vigilante city patrols in light of the Cologne assaults. The police have expressed their dismay at the idea… The Facebook group ‘One for all, all for one, Dusseldorf takes care of itself’ claims to be in contact with the police, and says it is ‘independent of political direction and religion. Any kind of racism and radicalism will not be tolerated. The point here is to show a peaceful sign that people can peacefully resolve crisis situations together.’… Similar Facebook initiatives have popped up for the southwestern city of Stuttgart, and Cologne itself – though that group says it does not promote vigilantism or patrols, but wants only to encourage citizens to be more careful.

“Yet despite their claims of peaceful intent, North Rhine-Westphalia’s anti-fascist collective has used the same social media platform to accuse the group of having a far-right, anti-immigrant agenda, and of ties to fascist soccer hooligans and Dügida – Dusseldorf’s iteration of the anti-Islamization PEGIDA movement.

“It is possible that far-right extremists have simply taken advantage of a peaceful call to exercise caution to gather and promote their agenda, but according to German daily ‘Frankfurter Allegemeine Zeitung’ Dusseldorf police are less than enthusiastic about their self-appointed ‘helpers.’ ‘The monopoly of power clearly lies with the state,’ in this case, a police spokesman told the newspaper, making it clear that anyone who partakes in vigilante activities is breaking the law and that such behavior will not be tolerated.”

Did Angela Markel Violate the German Constitution?

The Local wrote on January 13:

“Chancellor Angela Merkel overstepped her constitutional powers by letting over a million refugees into the country, one of Germany’s most senior former judges has said. ‘Going it alone was an act of self-empowerment,’ Michael Bertrams, who was president of North Rhine-Westphalia’s constitutional court from 1994 to 2013, wrote in the Kölnischer Stadt Anzeiger on Wednesday. Merkel’s policy of opening Germany’s doors to refugees was ‘full of empathy but lacking in a plan,’ the ex-judge said.

“All substantial decisions in a democracy lie in the hands of the people’s chosen representatives, he argues, pointing out that the constitutional court had decided that the parliament has the last word on decisions over whether the German army is sent to war. ‘If the military mission in Mali could only go ahead with the permission of the parliament, then it is certainly necessary when we are talking about taking in hundreds of thousands of refugees,’ the judge writes.

“Bertrams is the second constitutional judge to criticize Merkel’s refugee policy in a matter of days, after Udi Di Fabio announced on Tuesday that Bavaria has a right to take the government to court over its open-door policy. Di Fabio who sat on the federal constitutional court from 1999 to 2011, made the comments in a report he had been commissioned to write by the Bavarian state.”

The World View of Vladimir Putin

On January 11 and January 13, Bild Online published a rare interview with Vladimir Putin. We are bringing you the following excerpts:

“We have done everything wrong… From the beginning, we failed to overcome Europe’s division. 25 years ago, the Berlin Wall fell, but invisible walls were moved to the East of Europe. This has led to mutual misunderstandings and assignments of guilt. They are the cause of all crises ever since…

“Back in 2007, many people criticized me for my talk at the Munich Security Conference. But what did I say there? I merely pointed out that the former NATO Secretary General Manfred Wörner had guaranteed that NATO would not expand eastwards after the fall of the Wall. Many German politicians had also warned about such a step, for instance Egon Bahr… the states that were already in NATO, the member states, could also have… abstained from an expansion to the east… NATO and the USA wanted a complete victory over the Soviet Union. They wanted to sit on the throne in Europe alone…

“In 2009, US President Obama said that the missile defense only serves as protection from Iranian nuclear missiles. But now there is an international treaty with Iran that bans Tehran from developing a potential military nuclear project. The International Atomic Energy Agency is controlling this, the sanctions against Iran are lifted – but still the US are working on their missile defense system. Only recently a treaty with Spain was signed, a deployment in Romania is being prepared, the same will happen in Poland in 2018, and in Turkey, a radar unit is being installed…

“The mutual sympathy of our peoples is and will remain the foundation of our relations… Even with the help of anti-Russian propaganda in the mass media, Germany has not succeeded in damaging this sympathy… Germany’s media are heavily influenced by the country on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean… We had a very good situation in 2005. The common budget had a volume of 80 billion dollars per year. Thousands of jobs were created in Germany by Russian investments. At the same time, a large number of German companies invested in Russia. There were countless cultural and social contacts. And today? The trade volume is half as much, only about 40 billion Euros…

“I… remain close friends with Gerhard Schröder… I am the president of 146 million Russians. I have to represent their interests. We are willing to settle this without any conflicts and to search for compromises on the basis of international law…

“The nationalists’ coup in the Ukrainian capital of Kiev in February 2014 has hugely scared 2.5 million Russian people living on Crimea. So what did we do? We have not gone to war, we have not fired, not a single person was killed. Our soldiers have merely prevented the Ukrainian troops on Crimea from impeding the freedom of expression of the people. In the referendum – which was still decided to take place by the Crimea’s old parliament – the majority of citizens voted for belonging to Russia. This is democracy, the people’s will… According to the Charter of the United Nations, every people has the right to self-determination. Just take Kosovo: back then, UN bodies decided that Kosovo should become independent of Serbia and that the interests of Serbia’s central government had to be subordinated… if the Kosovars have the right to self-determination, why should people on Crimea not have it?… The Russian population is absolutely clear about the situation… the reunification of Crimea and Russia is just.

“The West’s sanctions are not aimed at helping Ukraine, but at geo-politically pushing Russia back… the sanctions are severely harming Russia. But the biggest harm is currently caused by the decline of the prices for energy. We suffer dangerous revenue losses in our export of oil and gas, which we can partly compensate for elsewhere… We are currently gradually stabilizing our economy. Last year, the gross domestic product had dropped by 3.8 per cent. Inflation is approximately 12.7 per cent. The trade balance, however, is still positive. For the first time in many years, we are exporting significantly more goods with a high added value, and we have more than 300 billion dollars in gold reserves. Several programs for modernizing the economy are being carried out…

“I have met [Angela Merkel] seven times last year, and we were calling each other on the phone at least 20 times. 2016 is the year of the German-Russian youth exchange, so the relations are moving on… I trust her, she is a very open person. She is also subject to certain constraints and limitations. But she is honestly trying to settle the crisis, also in the south-east of Ukraine. However, what the European Union is doing with those sanctions is nothing but a theatre of the absurd… The Chancellor and the European partners would be well-advised to address the problems in eastern Ukraine more thoroughly. Maybe they have too many domestic problems of their own at the moment. At least Germany and France have recently criticized that the Ukrainian central government has limited certain parts of the autonomy regulations to three years. They were supposed to last permanently.

“… we do not claim the role of a superpower for ourselves. That is far too expensive and unnecessary. We are still one of the leading economic nations in the world.. Russia would like to cooperate with NATO again… Now there is also a direct confrontation with a NATO state. Turkey has recently shot down a Russian jet fighter in the Turkish-Syrian border region. Can such an incident – accidentally, so to say – set the whole world on fire?… NATO… does not have to protect Turkey, and our problems with Turkey have nothing to do with the NATO membership of that country. The Turkish leadership had better apologize for shooting the plane down, which was clearly a war crime, instead of calling NATO’s headquarters… I very much hope that such events do not grow into large military conflicts. But if Russia’s interests and security are threatened, Russia will resist. Everyone needs to know that…

“I also think that President Assad has done much wrong over the course of this conflict. But the conflict would never have become so big if it had not been fueled by outside of Syria – with weapons, money, and fighters… we do not want Syria to end like Iraq or Libya…

“I do not want to speculate whether a full-blown conflict between [Saudi Arabia and Iran] is to be expected. Russia maintains very good relations with both – Iran as well as Saudi Arabia. But it was a mistake of the leaders in Saudi Arabia to execute the Shiite cleric. He was not fighting with arms in his hands…  on the other hand, it was also absolutely inappropriate to storm the Saudi Arabian embassy in Tehran…

“There is no uniform, global model for democracy. What you mean by democracy differs from county to country. This conception is different in India and in the USA and in Russia or Europe. In the USA, for example, twice in history a politician became President because he had more electoral votes, regardless of the fact that his competitor had more votes from the citizens. Does that mean the USA are not a democracy? Of course they are…”

European September 11 in the Making – 2015 “Just a Rehearsal”

AFP reported on January 9:

“Just a week into the year, France has already been rattled by an attempted attack on a police station, but counterterrorism officials have far graver fears for Europe in 2016. Last November’s attacks in Paris, in which 130 people were killed by Islamic State group jihadists, showed the trauma that could be caused by a group of men with Kalashnikov rifles, but experts fear it could be just the start.

“‘Unfortunately, I think 2015 was nothing,’ a counterterrorism official told AFP on condition of anonymity. ‘We are moving towards a European 9/11: simultaneous attacks on the same day in several countries, several places. A very coordinated thing. We know the terrorists are working on this,’ he added. He said the Islamic State group was recruiting and training Europeans ‘with the goal of sending them back to hit their countries of origin.’

“‘They have the necessary false documents, the mastery of the language, the sites, the weapons. We stop a lot of them, but it must be recognized that we are overwhelmed. Some will get through — some already have.’ Recent arrests of jihadists returning from Syria and Iraq have added to concerns, he said… ‘If the quality of the attackers improves, we will have a problem,’ he said, adding that there was a ‘terrible pessimism’ among security service professionals for 2016. ‘Maybe we will say that 2015 was just a rehearsal,’ he added.”

Turkey in the Mix

The New York Times wrote on January 8:

“As the Middle East has descended into bitter sectarian conflict in recent years, Turkey has tried to remain above the fray, posing as an honest broker and peacemaker. Increasingly, though, it is being drawn into the conflict, and its preferred status as disinterested mediator is slowly becoming untenable…

“Turkey, a Sunni-majority country, has pursued an aggressive foreign policy in the Middle East in recent years in an effort to expand its influence and to position itself as the region’s leader of Sunni Islam. In doing so, it has sought to occupy a middle ground in the dispute between Saudi Arabia and Iran. As a number of Sunni-led countries in the region, including Bahrain, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, sided with Saudi Arabia, Turkey sought to calm tensions by advocating dialogue and offering itself as a possible mediator…

“Turkey relies on Iran for natural gas imports, which have become more important in the wake of the breakdown in Ankara’s relations with Russia, another important energy supplier, over Turkey’s shooting down a Russian warplane in November. As Turkey seeks to navigate the growing Saudi-Iranian dispute, it is also in the midst of a broader shift in its foreign policy, with events pulling it back to its traditional relationship with the West. The migration crisis has brought it closer to the European Union, which has sought Turkey’s help in stemming the flow of refugees from Syria. The dispute over the Russian plane has forced Turkey to rely more heavily on its NATO allies. And Ankara is also in negotiations to restore diplomatic relations with Israel, which broke down in 2010 after Israeli commandos stormed an aid ship bound for the Gaza Strip from Turkey…

“Mr. Erdogan has seemed to be more pro-Saudi Arabia in his remarks. He has called out Iran for what he sees as a double standard: condemning the execution of the cleric while giving support to Mr. Assad, whose military campaign and indiscriminate bombings have been blamed for the deaths of tens of thousands of Syrian civilians… Mr. Erdogan dismissed the criticism directed toward Saudi Arabia over the execution, calling it, ‘an internal legal matter.’…”

For more information on the future of Turkey, please read our free booklet, “Middle Eastern and African Nations in Bible Prophecy.” 

Terrorism in Turkey

Deutsche Welle reported on January 13:

“According to Turkish media reports on Wednesday, the suicide bomber who killed 10 [German] tourists in Istanbul was registered in Turkey as a Syrian refugee [and] had entered Turkey from Syria as a refugee on January 5…

“Earlier on Wednesday, Turkish authorities announced that they had arrested one person in connection with the attack in the popular tourist area of Sultanahmet Square, home to the famous historic sites the Blue Mosque and the Hagia Sophia. Investigators have rounded up a further 68 individuals after the incident, but it was not clear how many were directly connected to the bombing

“Loyal to the ‘Islamic State’ (IS) terrorist group, Fadli detonated explosives near the ancient Egyptian Obelisk of Theodosius on Tuesday, making it the first time tourists have been deliberately targeted in Turkey following a string of IS-related attacks across the country over the last year…”

The attack was directed against a German travelling party scheduled to travel from Istanbul to Dubai. In addition to the ten German tourists who were killed, five are in intensive care.

“Jordan to Form Judicial Committee to ‘Inspect Israel’s Violations’ at Temple Mount”

The Jerusalem Post wrote on January 10:

“Jordan has been selected to establish an international judicial committee to inspect Israel’s ‘violations’ on the Temple Mount, the Amman-based daily Al-Rai reported on Sunday. This role was assigned to Jordan, which is recognized by many as the custodian of the holy places in Jerusalem, during a conference that took place recently in Egypt, assembling Arab judicial experts.

“Faisal Hizahi, an international judicial specialist, will chair the committee; he said it will inspect and document all the ‘violations’ that harm the holy places in Jerusalem, and initiate criminal procedures against Israel in the International Criminal Court at The Hague.

“In addition, Hizahi stated that the white paper submitted by the conference emphasized the central role of Jordan’s king, Abdullah II, in inspecting the ‘daily violations committed by Israel in Jerusalem’ and forming a united international stance toward them…

“Many Muslims see Jewish MKs’ visits to the Temple Mount as a sign of Israel’s intention to change the status quo there. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has insisted that Israel has no intention to change the status quo, under which Jews can visit the Temple Mount but cannot pray there.”

While this highlights only one move to try and contain Israel’s Temple-Mount presence, it is important to note that the effort to bring this to the Hague is one more step in turning the whole world against a Jewish Jerusalem. In addition, as we point out on page 16 of our free booklet, “Germany in Prophecy,”  Jordan will become part of a confederacy against “Israel”—apparently the descendants of the ancient houses of Israel and Judah.

President Obama’s State of the Union Address and the Republican Response

Breitbart wrote on January 13:

“President Barack Obama promised his final State of the Union address would be short. Dana Bash of CNN called it ‘low-energy.’ One thing it was not was accurate — or honest…

“[President Obama said:] ‘Anyone claiming that America’s economy is in decline is peddling fiction.’ … the truth is that despite the slow recovery–the slowest since World War II–labor force participation is the lowest it has been in decades. Wages are stagnant, household incomes still have not recovered from the recession, and young people see a bleak future…

“‘That’s what the Affordable Care Act is all about. It’s about filling the gaps in employer-based care so that when we lose a job, or go back to school, or start that new business, we’ll still have coverage.’ That is a cruel joke, given that Obamacare canceled insurance coverage for millions of Americans who did not change jobs. It also raised deductibles and premiums so high that many insurance companies are leaving the Obama exchanges totally…

“‘No nation dares to attack us or our allies because they know that’s the path to ruin.’ Of all the lies in Obama’s speech, this was undoubtedly the worst…

“‘We are training, arming, and supporting forces who are steadily reclaiming territory in Iraq and Syria [from Islamic State].’ The Obama administration’s attempt to train and arm Syrian rebels has been a disaster…

“‘Fifty years of isolating Cuba had failed to promote democracy, setting us back in Latin America.’ And a year of appeasement has not promoted democracy, either. The Castros remain firmly in power, and we are not helping the opposition. Worse, the Cuban regime continues to arrest thousands of political dissidents, to cozy up to enemies like Iran and North Korea, and to carry out provocative acts—such as stealing a U.S. Hellfire missile.

“Towards the end of his speech, Obama told one important truth: ‘There’s no doubt a president with the gifts of Lincoln or Roosevelt might have better bridged the divide.’ An unusual, but overdue, admission of guilt.”

In a related article, Breitbart wrote on January 13:

“Nikki Haley, the South Carolina governor hand-picked by House Speaker Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) and Senate Majority Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) to give the Republican response to President Obama’s State of the Union address, confirmed Wednesday morning that she did indeed target GOP frontrunner Donald Trump and that the speech was approved in advance by Republican leaders…

“If Haley wants to endorse a  GOP presidential candidate, hit the stump for that candidate, and rip into Donald Trump, no one is going to begrudge her that. But to use the State of the Union response to publicly attack her own frontrunner must be unprecedented, and certainly serves as more proof to Trump’s supporters that the Republican Establishment is much more interested in DC Media love than winning elections and advancing their legislative agenda.

“The eyes of the entire country were on Haley Tuesday night, and rather than use that time to make a case against the Democrats, Haley squandered it by attacking the frontrunner… Haley’s unconscionably selfish behavior reminds me of Chris Christie’s keynote address for Mitt Romney at the 2012 convention. Rather than make the case for Romney or against Obama, he used the opportunity to puff himself up.

“The GOP Establishment has lost the popular vote in 5 of the last 6 presidential elections… this suicidal Republican Establishment temple must come down and be ground into dust.”

USA and Its Vaccines—a Country in Denial

The following article appeared in August of 2014. It is now more relevant than ever, as the unfortunate mandatory vaccine regulations, signed into law by left-liberal and highly controversial California Governor Brown, became effective in the most liberal state of the nation, California, as of January 1, 2016. It abolishes religious exemptions and strictly limits medical exemptions, requiring currently 49 shots of over 16 different vaccines for most Californians before the age of six, in spite of the established danger of health-threatening side effects, such as autism. These side effects are being denied by the left-wing liberal mainstream media and doctors working for or supported by the pharmaceutical industry.

Natural News wrote on August 25, 2014:

“CDC scientist William Thompson has admitted to committing scientific fraud over the last ten years in conjunction with other CDC scientists. They retroactively altered study data to hide the proven fact that MMR vaccines cause a huge increase in autism risk in African-American children, and the CDC’s top criminal, Dr. Julie Gerberding, orchestrated the entire fraud.

“Now Rob Schneider, famous for his many roles in popular comedy movies, is urging the political leadership of California to investigate the fraud. More importantly, he also says he has a copy of ‘the original CDC report that was later suppressed and fraudulently changed.’…

“[Schneider wrote:] ‘This policy of one size fits all Vaccine schedule for every child is as absurd as giving the same eye prescription glasses to every child. The fact is EVERY CHILD IS DIFFERENT and there is currently NO SYSTEM or thought to which child could be more susceptible to adverse reactions including permanent injury and death from any Vaccine or Vaccine ingredients… As a concerned citizen of the State of California, I feel compelled to share with you proof the CDC committed fraud (I have copies of the original CDC report that was later suppressed and fraudulently changed). One disturbing disclosure, AFRICAN AMERICAN CHILDREN were and still are THREE HUNDRED AND FIFTY PERCENT more likely to develop Autism under the current Vaccine MMR schedule. This according to the original CDC study in 2001.

“My question to you and Governor Brown is, how many children in California in the last thirteen years since this report have been hurt? How many children in the US have been permanently damaged? Lastly, how many MORE children will be needlessly injured because of the bill Governor Brown signed?”

As we know, Governor Brown brushed those concerns aside and signed the law anyhow. One other extremely vocal opponent to this ridiculous law is world-known comedian Jim Carrey.

Creating Human-Animal Chimeras

Technology Review reported on January 6:

“… some U.S. research centers are moving ahead with attempts to grow human tissue inside pigs and sheep with the goal of creating hearts, livers, or other organs needed for transplants. The effort to incubate organs in farm animals is ethically charged because it involves adding human cells to animal embryos in ways that could blur the line between species.

“Last September, in a reversal of earlier policy, the National Institutes of Health announced it would not support studies involving such ‘human-animal chimeras’ until it had reviewed the scientific and social implications more closely… The NIH action was triggered after it learned that scientists had begun such experiments with support from other funding sources, including from California’s state stem-cell agency. The human-animal mixtures are being created by injecting human stem cells into days-old animal embryos, then gestating these in female livestock.

“… Technology Review estimates that about 20 pregnancies of pig-human or sheep-human chimeras have been established during the last 12 months in the U.S., though so far no scientific paper describing the work has been published, and none of the animals were brought to term…

“By modifying genes, scientists can now easily change the DNA in pig or sheep embryos so that they are genetically incapable of forming a specific tissue. Then, by adding stem cells from a person, they hope the human cells will take over the job of forming the missing organ, which could then be harvested from the animal for use in a transplant operation. ‘We can make an animal without a heart. We have engineered pigs that lack skeletal muscles and blood vessels,’ says Daniel Garry, a cardiologist who leads a chimera project at the University of Minnesota…

“Because chimeras could provide a new supply of organs for needy patients and also lead to basic discoveries, researchers including Garry say they intend to press forward despite the NIH position…

“The worry is that the animals might turn out to be a little too human for comfort, say ending up with human reproductive cells, patches of people hair, or just higher intelligence. ‘We are not near the island of Dr. Moreau, but science moves fast,’ NIH ethicist David Resnik said during the agency’s November meeting. ‘The specter of an intelligent mouse stuck in a laboratory somewhere screaming ‘I want to get out’ would be very troubling to people.’…

“Hiromitsu Nakauchi, a stem-cell biologist at Stanford University, began trying to make human-sheep chimeras this year… Other kinds of human-animal chimeras are already widely used in scientific research, including ‘humanized’ mice endowed with a human immune system. Such animals are created by adding bits of liver and thymus from a human fetus (collected after an abortion) to a mouse after it is born.

“The new line of research goes further because it involves placing human cells into an animal embryo at the very earliest stage… This process, called ‘embryo complementation,’ is significant because the human cells can multiply, specialize, and potentially contribute to any part of the animal’s body as it develops…

“The word chimera comes from the creature of Greek myth, part lion, part goat, and part snake.

“Pablo Ross, a veterinarian and developmental biologist at the University of California, Davis, [asks:] ‘What if the embryo that develops is mostly human? It’s something that we don’t expect, but no one has done this experiment, so we can’t rule it out.’”

Mysticism in the Catholic Church

Express wrote on January 8:

“… researchers are investigating a mystery photo which has been said to show the Virgin Mary appearing before an amphitheatre full of worshippers. The remarkable image appears to show the shape of the Virgin Mary appearing towards the front of a packed crowd, as if being beamed in from a source up above. It was taken at a mass held by a high-ranking Catholic priest who claimed to receive messages from the Madonna herself…

“The source claims the original snap was taken in 1994 during a huge Catholic mass called a cenacle given by Italian priest Father Stefano Gobbi at the Paolo Soleri Amphitheater, in Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA. Father Gobbi, who has toured the world, was encouraged by the then Pope and was scrutinised by the church over claims of having mystical dealings with the Virgin Mary… Father Gobbi died aged 80 on June 29 2011, but spent more than three decades holding special mass gatherings centring around the Virgin Mary.

“In his lifetime he ‘traveled the world holding Cenacles of Prayer on every continent’, according to an article on Father Gobbi by Colin Donovan, vice president for Theology, at the Global Catholic Network… According to Mr Donovan there had been some scrutiny of Father Gobbi’s ‘claims of mysticism’ high up in the Catholic Church. He added: ‘In the case of alleged mysticism there is always the possibility of mental illness, fraud, vivid imagination, or even the demonic…

“In his favour, however, are the opinion of his spiritual director, his own zeal to promote Consecration to the Immaculate Heart and fidelity to the Magisterium, the great numbers of lay, religious and priestly vocations strengthened, and in some cases saved, through the Marian Movement of Priests, and the good will shown him by very many members of the hierarchy, including the Pope, who has received him and encouraged him in his work on several occasions.’’

These developments are truly frightening as, if true, they are clearly NOT godly inspired. The Bible shows that many people will believe in “miracles,” not realizing that they are lying wonders, inspired by Satan the Devil and his demons.

Fraud in the Lottery…

The Washington Post wrote on January 10:

“… with the jackpot soaring to world record-breaking levels — standing at an estimated $1.3 billion as of Sunday night— Powerball hysteria is sweeping the United States… The U.S. saw Powerball sales of $277 million on Friday and more than $400 million were expected Saturday… In California, where total Powerball ticket sales usually average $1 million a day, they were selling at a rate of $2.8 million per hour…

“Those sales have soared despite a scandal that rocked the organization that runs the game — a five-year-old investigation into jackpot fixing in one state that grew to include at least four others. In the end, a Multi-State Lottery Association security expert was convicted of fraud and sentenced to a decade in prison and the man who ran Powerball since it began was quietly put on leave…

“In December 2010, a man walked into a Quik Trip convenience store on Des Moines’ north side and bought what would become the winning ticket in a Hot Lotto draw with a $16.5 million jackpot, according to court documents.

“The prize was unclaimed for nearly a year. In November 2011, a Canadian man contacted the Iowa Lottery claiming to be the winner. A month later, he said he was not the winner himself, but represented the anonymous winner. Later that month, a New York lawyer came forward to claim the prize for a Belize-based trust. No one involved could provide the basic details of the winner, information required by Iowa law. Eventually, the attorney withdrew the claim to the jackpot and the money went back to the states where the tickets were sold.

“… three years later, [investigators] released surveillance footage of a hooded man buying the winning ticket in the hopes that someone would recognize him. Several people identified him as Edward Tipton, Multi-State Lottery Association’s former security director. Tipton was charged with fraud almost exactly one year ago, on Jan. 15, 2015. Investigators argued that Tipton was able to secure the winning ticket for himself through self-destructing software he installed on lottery computers…  Tipton then allegedly filtered the ticket through a friend in Texas.

“Ultimately, he was found guilty of two counts of fraud last July and sentenced to 10 years in prison last September… In October, investigators alleged that Tipton also rigged a $4.8 million jackpot in Colorado in 2005 and a $2 million jackpot in Wisconsin in 2007. They have also investigated alleged rigging in Kansas and Oklahoma.

“After the investigation was expanded nationwide in early October, Multi-State’s executive director Charles Strutt — who had run Powerball since it was created — was quietly placed on indefinite administrative leave…  Strutt hopes to return to the job when the Tipton case ends.”

It is unlikely enough that one wins a Powerball jackpot, even if the game was fair. It may be more likely of being hit by lightning or an asteroid. But it makes matters worse when the game is blatantly unfair.

It should be common knowledge that casinos operate in a way which could easily be described as fraud, but since everybody knows or should know about it, it would be extremely difficult to win a court case, as one of the elements of fraud is misrepresentation… and if one knows that what is represented is fraudulent, then one cannot reasonably rely on it. For instance, one knows or should know that slot machines in casinos are fixed. Apparently, based on the article above, lotteries have been fixed too.

It has been proven that soccer games and boxing matches have been fixed to get an undue advantage in bets—referees were paid to let a certain team win; entire teams were paid to lose a game; and boxers were paid to lose a match. It is assumed that games in other sports are fixed too. The truth of the matter is that we are living in a dishonest and criminal world.

Throughout the history of mankind, many have sought to explain the world around us based upon human philosophies and ideals that are divorced from Godly understanding.  When man distances himself from God, he is left with his own self-centered view of the world. This mindset leads only in one direction—away from God. When man built the Tower of Babel, it was with a particular focus, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves…” (Genesis 11:4).  Man wasn’t glorifying God but was trying to elevate himself.

Today, many seek after far-fetched concepts for the very same reasons—to elevate and glorify man, not God.  It is easy to come across man-centered theories and many use the Bible as the basis for their arguments.  One current theory is the concept that the earth is not a spherical planet but a flat land mass encapsulated like a snow-globe.  This ideology also states that the sun, stars and planets revolve around the earth.  The flat-earth concept uses many Scriptures as evidence, but all of these supposed proofs are based upon false interpretation of the Bible.

While we won’t cover all Scriptures used by people believing in this theory, we will focus on some of the popular verses that are used most to postulate this theory.

The Bible is full of inspired poetry and it is important to understand how and why it was written in this form (see our booklet “Hidden Secrets in the Bible” for an explanation of biblical poetry). Many of these poetic Scriptures have been taken literally in order to demonstrate a particular belief.

For instance, we read the following:

“He raises the poor from the dust

And lifts the beggar from the ash heap,
To set them among princes
And make them inherit the throne of glory.

For the pillars of the earth are the LORD’S,
And He has set the world upon them” (1 Samuel 2:8).

Some have taken this to prove that the earth is flat based upon it being set on pillars.  But in verse 2 of the same chapter we read, “…Nor is there any rock like our God.”  Is God a physical rock?  Of course not!  Samuel was speaking of the unchanging character of God; and that God controls the physical creation by His Will.

Similarly, we read in Job 37:3:

“He sends it forth [thunder] under the whole heaven, His lightning to the ends of the earth.”

Some take this Scripture as further proof that the earth is flat because God’s lightning can be seen everywhere at once, to the ends of the earth.  Again, Job was speaking in poetic style.  In verse 1 of the same chapter Job begins by saying, “At this also my heart trembles, And leaps from its place.”  We understand that Job’s heart didn’t literally leap from his chest.  In his poetic style of writing, Job emphasized how awe inspiring and majestic God is.

The book of Psalm is a poetic book expounding on the greatness of God.  Almost all psalms offer some praise to God. But even these praises have been taken out of context to further the flat-earth concept:

“The LORD reigns, He is clothed with majesty; The LORD is clothed, He has girded Himself with strength. Surely the world is established so that it cannot be moved” (Psalm 93:1).

“Say among the nations, ‘The LORD reigns; The world also is firmly established. It shall not be moved; He shall judge the peoples righteously” (Psalm 96:10).

“You who laid the foundations of the earth, So that it should not be moved forever” (Psalm 104:5).

People use these Scriptures to further the idea that the earth is flat and unmoving. What these psalms are in fact stating is that God’s Plan for mankind is solid and immovable.  Nothing is going to change what God desires to accomplish.  The earth was created to serve His purpose, “…for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory…” (Hebrews 2:10).

The foundation spoken of by David is also spoken of throughout the New Testament:

“Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” (Matthew 25:34).

Paul also reiterated this idea, “For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 3:11).

The foundation consistently mentioned throughout the Bible speaks not to some pillars holding up a large land mass, but to the immutable plan of God for mankind.

The Bible is also full of messages delivered to God’s servants in the form of visions.  Some have taken these images and descriptions to prove their concept of what the earth looks like.

Reading of Nebuchadnezzar’s vision:

“These were the visions of my head while on my bed:

I was looking, and behold,
A tree in the midst of the earth,
And its height was great.
The tree grew and became strong;
Its height reached to the heavens,
And it could be seen to the ends of all the earth” (Daniel 4:10-11).

Some have hypothesized that this tree, being seen all over the earth, proves that the earth is flat.  If we continue reading, Daniel goes on to explain the meaning of this dream, and specifically this tree. Daniel 4:20, 22: “The tree that you saw, which grew and became strong, whose height reached to the heavens and which could be seen by all the earth… it is you, O king, who have grown and become strong; for your greatness has grown and reaches to the heavens, and your dominion to the end of the earth.”

Interpreting Scriptures, when taken out of context, can lead to false conclusions.  When Joshua lead Israel in battle, he prayed to God to lengthen the day as we read in Joshua 10:13:

“So the sun stood still,

And the moon stopped,
Till the people had revenge
Upon their enemies.

Is this not written in the Book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and did not hasten to go down for about a whole day.”

This Scripture has been used to show that the sun revolves around a flat earth, and not the earth around the sun.  What is not taken into account is the perspective of Joshua as he saw this taking place.  Joshua prayed for the sun to stay still, for the day to be lengthened, and it did.  When Israel looked up they would not have seen the sun traversing the sky as it normally did, but instead it would have stayed in the same place for all those hours.  Joshua prayed for a literal event to happen, and God answered that prayer.  How God caused this event to happen is beyond our understanding.  (Note also our Q&A on “Joshua’s long day.”). What IS important for us to understand is that this Scripture does not state the earth to be flat or the sun to be revolving around the earth.  Men have latched onto this Scripture and, tenuously, used it as proof of their misguided ideas.

One key concept often forgotten is that God is not limited by human reasoning.  Without God’s Spirit, we are unable to understand God’s Plan for mankind.  Paul understood this concept very well: “Therefore, since we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art and man’s devising” (Acts 17:29).  Paul also warned the Corinthians (and those of us reading his messages today) to be wary of man’s inclination to diminish Godly reasoning. “These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual” (1 Corinthians 2:13).  We must study the Bible and rely on prayer to the Father as our guide, not allowing the concepts of the unspiritual to cloud our understanding.

Lead Writer: Robb Harris

A new Member Letter (January 2016) has been written and sent to our subscribers. In this letter, Pastor Brian Gale notes that thirty years ago, Herbert W. Armstrong died. Mr. Gale reminds us that Mr. Armstrong’s impact and legacy stand as an example for those of us who now continue in the Work of God.

“Germany’s Massive Cover Up of Migrant Violence,” is the title of a new StandingWatch program, presented by Evangelist Norbert Link. Here is a summary:

Hundreds of German women filed complaints against hundreds of refugees and migrants-mainly Syrians and people of foreign North African and Arab origin. These women were molested and sexually abused at New Year’s Eve in Cologne and in other German cities. However, these despicable criminal activities which were apparently planned and coordinated, were intentionally covered up by the German media and governmental agencies. This program will present appalling facts showing that a massive cover-up has been systematically engaged in for quite a while, because of “political correctness.” Angela Merkel’s policy of “welcoming all Syrian migrants” has clearly failed, and the idea that hundreds of thousands of Muslim refugees could be integrated into German society has been labeled as foolish and impossible. The New York Times is asking for Merkel’s resignation; for closing Germany’s borders; and for mass deportations for foreign able-bodied male teenagers and young adults.

SW Talking Points: “Baptême — Une Exigence Pour Le Salut,” is the title of a new StandingWatch Talking Points, presented by Pastor Rene Messier. Here is an English summary of this presentation which offers our new French language booklet on baptism:

Is baptism necessary for salvation? Should you be baptized?  What is acceptable to God: immersion, watering, sprinkling?  Some think it’s not necessary for salvation. This booklet covers all of these details and what is truly acceptable to God.

SW Talking Points: “Biblical Prophecy — From Now Until Forever.” Here is a summary:

Conditions in the world are getting worse and we have been through the worst year for killings by terrorist since 9/11 in 2015 and things are not going to get better in 2016 and beyond. This booklets let’s you know in advance what to expect in the near and distant future so it’s important to read and heed.

“Strafe für unverbesserliche Sünder?” is the title of this week’s German sermon. Title in English: “Punishment for Incorrigible Sinners?”

“Before You Choose,” the sermonette presented last Sabbath by Dave Harris, is now posted. Here is a summary:

Christians have the opportunity to make good decisions every time! If, before choosing to do something with real personal impact and permanent lasting effects, we consider our options.

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

Science will try to explain the miracle of human life and all existence as a series of random events necessarily determined by all other random events preceding them. Such an explanation is not only nonsense, but it leaves life purposeless. To the contrary, the Bible clearly shows that God works with mankind on different scales to fulfill His great purpose and plan. If you have ever wondered about your true purpose in life, tune in to learn more!