On May 27, 2023, Brian Gale will present the sermonette, titled, “Consider the Firefly,” and Norbert Link will present the sermon, titled, “A New Creation Through God’s Spirit of Power.”

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.

PENTECOST, Sunday, May 28, 2023: Live services will be broadcast at 12:30 pm Pacific Time. Dave Harris will present the Offertory, titled, “Extra,” and Eric Rank will present the sermon, titled, “The Firstfruits.”

What if we were no longer tested by God?

Most of us, if not all, have realized and understood how hard life can be as a true Christian, although we are not to be ungrateful for what God does for us.

God called us through His grace out of this corrupt world, to have no longer any part in its sins, because God wants to bestow on us the most beautiful eternal life.

Therefore, we should have understood that we are only pilgrims or aliens in this world, who are on the way to enter the glory of God very soon. But it depends on us, on each one of us, whether we become or are worthy to inherit the Kingdom of God. Nobody can take away the sins of anybody else or live their life. Everyone is responsible for himself or herself!

At times, life can appear to us as a torment, filled with suffering, drenched in resentment and despair. And then we might ask ourselves, “How long do I have to watch this suffering or endure it myself?” And if not remedied immediately, one might ask, “What have I done wrong to have to experience such plagues?”

Questions upon questions, which seem to have no answer. At the same time, the answer might be right in front of us, but we may not always want to admit it and ignore it instead; because we no longer want to be confronted with these problems around us or in ourselves, since problems may not give us any joy. However, there is an answer for many problems, and the greatest answer for some of our problems is “chastening!”

Paul told the Hebrews: “Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it” (Hebrews 12:11).

Peter also tells us something very crucial: “Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy” (1 Peter 4:12-13).

Peter then goes on to say: “For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God?” (1 Peter 4:17).

Enduring trials or chastening means, being obedient to God and Jesus Christ. We constantly point out that it is not an easy path, but it gives us peace and happiness, joy, and true friends. And if we all try a little harder, perhaps one can share the burden with someone else. As Paul put it in such a beautiful way:

“Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2).

One does not always have to stand alone with one’s worries, one’s trials or chastisements; it is good if we can help, support, and share each other’s burdens.

Then again, what if we were no longer tested by God?

Solomon wrote in Proverbs 15:10: “Harsh discipline is for him who forsakes the way, And he who hates correction will die.”

And Paul knew perfectly well: “But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons” (Hebrews 12:8).

So, if we are suffering, it may very well be that God wants to test and educate us, and to strengthen us for the hard times that are soon to come. God treats us in the way children should be educated. For this we can and must be grateful as well.

Initial Translation: Daniel Blasinger

by Norbert Link

We begin with a telling report about the decreasing belief of many Americans in the existence of God; the ongoing collapse of America’s bank branches; the fight surrounding the debt ceiling; a ridiculous “travel advisory” for Florida; DeSantis’ “disastrous” announcement that he will be running for President; and the unrepentant conduct of the FBI; as well as “Biden’s major mistake.”

We continue with another turn-around by America and Western nations regarding military and financial help for Ukraine in the face of increasing objection; and Hungary’s fierce stance against the EU. We also address the most recent secretive Bilderberg meeting in Portugal.

We speak on further plans for the erection of the Third Temple in Jerusalem and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir’s controversial visit to the Temple Mount. Please view in this regard our new StandingWatch program, titled, “More Plans for the Third Temple.”

We address further worldwide efforts to move away from the US dollar and report on a new constitution for the “Vatican City State.”

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

Faith Declines in the USA

The Hill wrote on May 22:

“Only half of Americans now say they are sure God exists… Not quite 50 percent of Americans say they have no doubt about the existence of God, according to the 2022 survey… As recently as 2008, the share of sure-believers topped 60 percent…

“That is not to say Americans are not spiritual. Nearly three-quarters of people believe in life after death…

“Mainline Protestantism, the backbone of faith in many American communities, is ‘collapsing’… nearly 15 percent of the population reports no religious upbringing…”

With these figures, there is no wonder that the USA is collapsing.

US Bank Branches Collapse

MSN wrote on May 21:

“Bank branches are going the way of video stores and pay telephone booths, and there’s nothing financial consumers can do about it.

“In Philadelphia, Wells Fargo has closed 17% of its local bank branches since 2020. Regional kingpin PNC is not far behind, shuttering 15% of its branches in the Philadelphia area… Bank of America has gotten into the act, closing 5% of its physical locations in the region, as well.

“Big banks are closing branches in New Jersey, Maryland, Ohio, Washington, D.C., Illinois, and Michigan, as well as out west in Nevada, California, and Arizona… If the trend of current bank branch closings continues there may be no bank branches left in 10 years…

“This aggressive drawdown of in-person service will have negative consequences everywhere – but especially in rural, lower-income, and majority-minority communities…”

It’s plain stupidity. Whatever ignorant, corrupt and greedy people and companies can do to accelerate the downfall of the USA!!!

The Fight Surrounding the Debt Ceiling

AFP wrote on May 24:

“The White House and Congressional Republicans are still locked in crunch talks to try and avert the first debt default in US history, which Treasury officials have warned could come as soon as June 1. The U.S. borrows more than it brings in through taxes, and so Congress periodically has to authorize an increase to the US debt limit, known as the debt ceiling, which currently sits at more than $31 trillion.

“While the probability that policymakers fail to lift or suspend the debt ceiling remains low, the risks of the United States stumbling into a situation where it cannot meet all its financial obligations — known as the ‘X-date’, rises with every day that passes.

“If the US Treasury hits the debt ceiling and — as many analysts predict — it prioritizes debt repayments, it will be forced to pause spending on federal programs that provide crucial financial support to tens of millions of Americans… Deferring payments, even for a few days, could have severe consequences for Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid programs which help tens of millions of people with pension and healthcare costs…

“On June 1, for instance, the Treasury is due to make a payment of $47 billion to Medicare providers, with $25 billion in Social Security payments due the following day. Further such payments are scheduled over the next few days. Past and present military personnel would also likely be hit if the US misses the X-date, as a large share of their pay and benefits are paid on the first of the month…

“Pausing or delaying payments may help the US government survive a few days on the other side of the X-date, but it will only work for so long. If the tug-of-war between Republicans and Democrats continues, the federal government may need to consider an even less palatable scenario: choosing which bills to pay and which to skip. Such an eventuality could have severe knock-on effects for the most vulnerable Americans, including pensions going unpaid, healthcare providers refusing to take care of patients with Medicare or Medicaid, and insurance premiums rising…

“With many of the Treasury’s options after the X-date unpalatable to politicians on both sides of the aisle, both parties are backing the talks between Biden and McCarthy, and hoping negotiators can secure a deal before then.”

Fox News added on May 24:

“It appears very unlikely there is any chance to get a deal on the debt ceiling over the next couple of days.”

“Travel Advisory for Florida”?

Newsmax wrote on May 21:

“The NAACP, the liberal civil rights organization, over the weekend issued a travel advisory for Florida warning potential tourists that recent laws and policies championed by DeSantis and Florida’s Republican-held supermajorities in the state legislature are ‘openly hostile toward African Americans, people of color, and LGBTQ+ individuals.’

“The move appears part of a growing leftwing effort to censor and boycott government states, organizations and companies that disagree with woke ESG and other ‘inclusion’ policies.

“‘What a joke,’ DeSantis said in response during a speech Sunday. ‘We’ll see how effective that is. You know, just remember, during COVID, these people would be on CNN and all this stuff, slamming Florida, saying we were so bad, don’t go to Florida, and then they would end of being spotted on the beach somewhere, vacationing in Florida.’…

“The NAACP… joined the League of United Latin American Citizens… and Equality Florida, a gay rights advocacy group, in issuing travel advisories… The liberal civil rights organizations also said DeSantis’ efforts to ban promotion of gay and transsexual lifestyles in elementary schools contributed to their decision.”

This is SO ludicrous and blatantly hypocritical! BUT, the promotion of gay and transsexual lifestyles in elementary schools should be banned!

DeSantis Announced His Candidacy for President

The Associated Press reported on May 24:

“Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis launched his 2024 presidential campaign on Wednesday with firm words but a disastrous Twitter announcement that did little to counter criticism that the 44-year-old Republican may not be ready to take on former President Donald Trump. While he tried to project confidence, DeSantis’ unusual decision to announce his campaign in an online conversation with Twitter CEO Elon Musk ultimately backfired. The audio stream crashed repeatedly, making it virtually impossible for most users to hear the new presidential candidate in real time…

“In choosing Twitter on Wednesday evening, DeSantis tried to take a page out of the playbook that helped turn businessman-TV celebrity Trump into a political star. It did not go as planned…

“DeSantis, who likely would not have become the Florida governor without Trump’s endorsement, has adopted the former president’s fiery personality, his populist policies and even some of his rhetoric and mannerisms… Aware of DeSantis’ draw, Trump has been almost singularly focused on undermining his political appeal for months. Trump and his team believe that DeSantis may be Trump’s only legitimate threat for the nomination….”

At this point, Trump has a 31-point lead over DeSantis. According to CNN, 53 percent of Republicans support Trump.

Unrepentant FBI Gets an “F”

On May 21, the New York Post published the following article by Miranda Devine:

“It’s been a horrendous week for the FBI. With its credibility already at rock bottom, each day brought a fresh scandal, and yet from the bureau’s unctuous public statements, there is no remorse…

“Here are the top scandals of the week:

“1) The Durham report. Here is the official record, for the history books, that the FBI’s ‘Russia collusion’ investigation was cooked up by Hillary Clinton to denigrate Donald Trump by tying him to Russia ‘as a means of distracting the public from her use of a private email server’ — and that, despite knowing it was bogus, the FBI went ahead and launched the ill-fated Crossfire Hurricane investigation, while dropping four probes into the Clinton Foundation…

“2) On Thursday, three wrongfully suspended FBI employees testified to the House weaponization subcommittee about the shocking abuses they observed, and the vicious retaliation they suffered from the bureau after they made protected whistleblower complaints… The three men accused the FBI of targeting Catholics, pro-life groups and parents attending school board meetings; of cooking the books on domestic terrorism; of unconstitutionally using SWAT teams to intimidate nonviolent January 6 suspects; of investigating Americans for nothing more than taking a bus to Washington to hear their president speak; of coercing Bank of America to turn over credit card transactions of anyone who came to Washington on Jan. 6, 2021, whether they went to the Capitol or not…

“3) On Friday, a FISA court order revealed that the FBI has been misusing a surveillance tool almost 300,000 times in 2020-2021, including doing 23,000 searches on Jan. 6 suspects and 20,000 searches on a congressional candidate’s donors. The FBI also refused to comply with a subpoena from the House Oversight Committee to hand over a document alleging that Joe Biden accepted bribes to change US policy while he was VP. 

“In the light of just one week of FBI shame, the latest Harvard Harris Poll showing deep public mistrust in the FBI comes as no surprise. Not only do 69% of voters believe the FBI violated its own standards in the Russia collusion probe, 70% are concerned that the bureau will interfere in future elections. 

“The FBI is out of control and everyone knows it.”

It would be high time to get rid of the FBI altogether. In the world tomorrow, organizations such as the FBI will not be allowed anymore to exist.

Biden’s Major Mistake?

MSN wrote on May 19:

“… the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and Joe Biden want South Carolina to hold the first primary in 2024, but New Hampshire has a law that says it is the rightful first primary. Now it looks like Joe Biden may not even be on the ballot in New Hampshire and that could allow Democrat White House hopefuls Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Marianne Williamson to be potential winners of the primary. That would be a big embarrassment for the president…

“… the Biden campaign tried to reward South Carolina Democrats for giving the president his critical primary victory in 2020 that launched him successfully toward the nomination. He and the DNC want South Carolina to hold the first primary and then New Hampshire and Nevada to have their contests on the same day a week later. However, the governor and legislators from the Granite State… say they will not change the law that requires New Hampshire to hold the first presidential primary.

“There’s a June deadline for alleviating this mess, but Democrats in New Hampshire show no signs of changing the statute that requires New Hampshire to be first. Now members of the DNC are thinking of giving New Hampshire more time to decide to do the ‘right thing’ and give in to the ‘wisdom’ of national Democrats. New Hampshire Democrats are indignant. They are going first… and if the DNC wants to have Biden on the ballot, they need to back off and let New Hampshire do what is required by law…’

It would be ironic if Joe Biden would not even be on New Hampshire’s ballot, due to the DNC’s political maneuvering.

F16 Fighter Jets for Ukraine

Business Insider wrote on May 21:

“President Joe Biden said he received ‘flat assurance’ from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that Ukraine would not use F-16 fighter jets to attack Russian territory… It’s the latest development marking a drastic shift by US President Joe Biden and US officials, who have long rejected authorizing F-16s in Ukraine…  on Friday, the US authorized Western allies to provide F-16 jets to Ukraine to defend itself, assist in training pilots, and possibly send fighter jets from American stockpiles… Earlier this week, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced the UK and the Netherlands would build an ‘international coalition’ to help the country procure the fighter jets…

“The US president also announced another $375 million in military assistance to Ukraine to help support its long-running and bloody battle with Putin’s regime.”

These “flat assurances” are of course ridiculous. Biden’s constant change of position is embarrassing and worrisome at the same time. Germany’s inconsequential Chancellor Olaf Scholz jumped on the bandwagon after his “mentor” Biden had a “change of heart”…

Fox News wrote on May 24:

“A drone attack on the Kremlin earlier this month was most likely orchestrated by Ukraine, which has conducted a series of attacks on Russian targets, U.S. officials said.  Russia has claimed Ukrainian forces attempted to kill President Vladimir Putin in the failed attack on May 3.

“Two drones were used in the ‘assassination attempt’ at the president’s residence within the Kremlin compound, but were disabled by Russian defense systems, Russia said.”

Russia Warns USA and Europe

Newsweek wrote on May 20:

“Russia has warned that the Western supply of F-16 jets to Ukraine presents ‘colossal risks’ following the announcement that the U.S. had agreed that Kyiv could receive the aircraft it has long called for… the F-16s can launch precision bombs guided by laser and are more adept at targeting and destroying enemy ground-based radars.

“Former British intelligence officer Philip Ingram told Newsweek that the F-16 announcement was significant, ‘but it is unlikely we will see them being used in the conflict before the winter… It takes months to convert trained pilots to fly and fight them but it is showing that the West is in for the long haul when it comes to supporting Ukraine,’ he said. ‘They will be in for decisive Ukrainian attacks in 2024…’”

… with no end in sight? But the end is already predetermined… if one understands biblical prophecy.

More Help for Ukraine

Breitbart added on May 20:

“This package [of $375 million in military assistance] is being sent on top of an extra $3 billion worth of aid allocated to Ukraine earlier this month due to a so-called ‘accounting error’.  In total, according to the Keil Institute, the U.S. taxpayer has so far paid $46.6 billion in weapons shipments to Ukraine, $26.4 billion in financial aid and $2.9 billion in humanitarian help since last year’s invasion by Russia. The U.S. government under Biden has committed to far more spending on the war-torn country, however, having already committed to over $113 billion, more than the military budget of most nations.

“The staggering amount of cash sent to the former Soviet state for military hardware, weapons, and ammo from America is more than that sent from all the European nations combined, despite the conflict being on the EU’s doorstep…”

Biden’s Ukraine Debacle?

In his latest weekly column, Ron Paul wrote on May 22:

“When the smoke finally clears, President Biden’s Ukraine debacle will go down – along with Afghanistan and Iraq – as one of the greatest foreign policy disasters in US history. Hundreds of thousands have been killed on both sides…

“With Russian control established in the strategic city of Bakhmut over the weekend, the… Ukraine project…  looks to be progressing rapidly toward failure…  when it comes to endless spending on Project Ukraine, with a few exceptions the two parties are in lockstep. At least when looking at Republican party leadership… After all, 20 years fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan got us…the Taliban in Afghanistan! With a cost of perhaps three trillion dollars. But the military-industrial complex and the think tanks pushing war and the mainstream media glorifying war all got paid well…

“The mainstream media is in a panic over the fact that of the $48 billion appropriated for Ukraine, only $6 billion remains. That won’t be enough to sustain ‘Project Ukraine’ for more than a few weeks… the tide of US public opinion is turning overwhelmingly against [giving] more money  [to Ukraine]…”

Sadly, the glorification of war, resulting in the death of many people and the wasting of much money, has never resulted in lasting peace.

Hungary Threatens to Block EU Attempts to Send More Weapons to Ukraine

Breitbart wrote on May 21:

“Hungarian government officials have expressed their fury at Ukraine in recent days, decrying the country as being ‘hostile’ after the country’s alleged plans to blow up an oil pipeline leaked in the Washington Post last week.

“As detailed by the leaks, Zelensky has reportedly been considering an attack on Russia’s Druzhba pipeline that supplies oil to Hungary in what would appear to be an attempt to sabotage the country.

“Kyiv has also blacklisted Hungarian bank OTP, listing the firm as a sponsor of Russia’s invasion, causing further anger in Budapest.

“According to a report by the Associated Press, senior officials in the Hungarian government say that they are blocking EU attempts to send more weapons and ammo to Ukraine in retaliation for the blacklisting. ‘We cannot support the allocation of another half a billion euros from the European Peace Facility for arms transfers to Ukraine, and we will not give it the green light as long as OTP is on this particular list,’ the country’s Foreign Minister, Peter Szijjarto, remarked, decrying the singling out of OTP as ‘scandalous and unacceptable’.

“He also denounced Zelensky’s alleged plans to blow up the Druzhba pipeline, saying overall that there was evidence that ‘Ukraine is behaving more and more hostile towards Hungary… such a threat is obviously against Hungary’s sovereignty because the security of the energy supply is a matter of sovereignty… Therefore, if someone calls for Hungary’s energy supply to be made impossible, they are in effect attacking Hungary’s sovereignty.’

“Responding to Hungary’s threat of blocking further aid to Ukraine, one anonymous EU diplomat reportedly told The Guardian that the feud between the two nations comes at a critical time of the conflict…”

The Infamous Secret Bilderberg Meeting

The Dossier wrote on May 18:

“The world’s most powerful and influential geopolitical voices are meeting from Thursday to Sunday in Portugal to navigate several global crises (many of which they’ve helped to facilitate), and oddly enough, the corporate media has no interest in reporting on this secretive gathering of powerful figures.

“The attendees list for this year’s infamous Bilderberg Meetings has just been released, and just like years prior, global heavyweights inundate the 2023 roster. The list includes America and Europe’s top spy chiefs, several heads of state, and some of the world’s most powerful business executives…

“As The Dossier explained in our piece Wednesday: ‘Although it is significantly staffed by publicly elected officials, the discussions that happen during Bilderberg conferences remain a closely guarded secret. Unsurprisingly, this has led many to suspect that the powerful globalist ideologues who attend these closed-door wargaming discussions are up to no good. Organizers defend the secretive nature of the conference by claiming that it allows attendees to speak informally among peers.’

“Bilderberg meetings are held under Chatham House rules, which means that participants ‘are free to use the information received, but neither the identity nor the affiliation of the speaker(s) nor of any other participant may be revealed.’… There remains a media blackout of the Bilderberg Meeting this weekend in the corporate press…”

WHY is this the case???

More Plans for the Third Temple

On May 17, i24 NEWS reported the following:

“Haim Dotan, an acclaimed architect who has won several international awards and also serves as a professor of architecture at leading institutes in China, recently became involved in the ambitious project of designing the third Jewish temple in Jerusalem.

“Known for his extravagant projects, such as the Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon Glass Bridge in China – renowned as the tallest glass-bottomed bridge in the world – Dotan last year joined the right-wing activist and literature scholar Professor Hillel Weiss and pitched a session of the Jerusalem International Conference…

“The conference, scheduled to take place this summer in Jerusalem, will be organized by the Yad Ben Zvi Institute, a prestigious research center in Israel. Dotan’s pitch, ‘Building Jerusalem, the temple city, and the road to peace,’ was divided into three sections. 

“The first was dedicated to the transportation and economy of the future ‘temple city’ of the Israeli capital. The next pitch, entitled ‘From Vision to Practice,’ described future plans for the Jerusalem of the Third Temple era, inspired by biblical sources…

“Several questions remain open in the proposal: Who would be in charge of the new temple? What would happen to the Al Aqsa Mosque, one of the most sacred sites in Islam, located on the Temple Mount? What would the consequences of rebuilding a new Jewish temple be amid the complex flashpoint geopolitical atmosphere of the Middle East? The fact that a prestigious architect – who is secular and doesn’t have any political background – is involved in such a project makes this case all the more interesting, if not more tangible.

“Plans to rebuild the third Jewish Temple on the Temple Mount, the holiest site in Judaism and the third holiest in Islam, are not new but have mostly faced strong resistance. In 1990, a deadly riot erupted on the Mount after a fringe Jewish group tried to lay the cornerstone of a third temple…”

Still, a Third Temple is prophesied to be built in Jerusalem prior to Christ’s return.

Ben Gvir Condemned for Visiting the Temple Mount

Times of Israel wrote on May 21:

“National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir visited the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem Sunday, declaring it a demonstration of Israel’s ownership of the flashpoint holy site and drawing fierce condemnations from Jordan, Egypt and other Arab states… ‘We are in charge here,’ Ben Gvir declared as he toured the site. ‘I am happy to go up to the Temple Mount, the most important place for the Jewish people.’…

“Palestinian Authority presidential spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh called Ben-Gvir’s visit a ‘blatant attack’ on the Al-Aksa Mosque on the Temple Mount. Jordan’s Foreign Ministry called it ‘a provocative step that is condemned, and a dangerous and unacceptable escalation.’ Neighboring Egypt, which like Jordan has a peace treaty with Israel, also issued a condemnation.

“The United Arab Emirates Foreign Ministry slammed the ‘storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque’… Turkey also called Ben Gvir’s visit a ‘storming’ of the site… The foreign ministries of Qatar and Saudi Arabia, which do not have relations with Israel, also released statements fiercely denouncing Ben-Gvir’s trip…”

Naturally, the Biden Administration condemned the move as well. Note the next article.

Biden vs. Israel

Israel 365 News wrote on May 22:

“Rabbi Shimshon Elbaum noted the significance of Ben-Gvir’s visit, saying, ‘[It] gives meaning to the slogan “The Temple Mount is in our hands” which recently turned 56 years old.’…

“The US State Department released a statement saying [the visit] was ‘provocative’… ‘The United States stands firmly… for the preservation of the status quo with respect to holy sites in Jerusalem,’ White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said at a White House briefing. ‘Any unilateral action that jeopardizes the status quo is unacceptable.’ Jean-Pierre did not explain why a Jew visiting the Temple Mount jeopardized the status quo…

“Hamas, the elected government in Gaza, published a declaration in response that called for an armed response from Arabs living in Israel…”

JTA wrote on May 22:

“Matthew Miller, the State Department spokesman,… also said the Biden Administration was ‘deeply troubled’ by an Israeli decision on Sunday to allow the return of settlers to a segment of the northern West Bank evacuated in 2005 along with settlements in the Gaza Strip… The Biden administration rebuked Israel two months ago for passing legislation that paved the way toward Sunday’s decision… ‘Advancing Israeli settlements in the West Bank is an obstacle to the achievement of a two-state solution,’ [according to Miller].

“Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is leading a government with far-right partners in senior roles, including Ben-Gvir, which has been a sticking point with the Biden administration. President Joe Biden has rejected appeals by Netanyahu to invite him to Washington for a White House visit in part because of the actions and rhetoric of Ben-Gvir and others in the far-right bloc.”

The relationship between Biden and Israel continues to deteriorate.

Kenya in Support of Israel

Israel 365 News wrote on May 22:

“Dennis Nthumbi, an evangelical Christian and senior adviser to Kenya’s president, was part of President William Ruto’s delegation when he visited Israel in May. The delegation made headlines when they prayed at the Western Wall, a visit not all political guests choose to make. Nthumbi said in a prayer that the people of Kenya and Israel ‘be united in peace as one people at the Kotel [Western Wall].’ 

“Kenya does not officially recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, but Nthumbi referred to the city as

such. Perhaps even more controversial was the location of his announcement: the Temple Mount, where he was accompanied by former Knesset member and Temple Mount Advocate Rabbi Yehudah Glick one week ago. ‘The fact that the Temple Mount is not accessible to people of all faiths should not be tolerated.. ‘It is time that the veil of hypocrisy be lifted, and the issue faced head-on.’”

While Kenya speaks out, the USA and Europe remain silent.

Israel Must Attack Iran?

Israel Today wrote on May 21:

“Israel’s economy minister and the former mayor of Jerusalem, Nir Barkat, told Channel 14 News at the weekend that it was time to adopt the policy of former US President John F. Kennedy in regards to rocket attacks on the Jewish state. Barkat noted that during the Cuban missile crisis of 1962, Kennedy warned that a single missile fired from Cuba toward the United States would result in an American missile strike on Moscow…

“Israel, insisted Barkat, needs to start doing the same in response to rocket attacks from Lebanon and Gaza. It’s Iran pulling the strings, so why waste time, resources and political capital on operations against Hezbollah and Hamas? That’s just what the ayatollahs want. Instead, Barkat suggested that the next rocket from either of those territories should result in an Israeli missile hitting Tehran.”

A war between Iran and Israel might very well break out.

The Move Away from the US Dollar

Deutsche Welle wrote on May 20:

“Anyone in Iraq who wanted to buy a car or a house this week got a nasty shock. Last Sunday, the Iraqi government announced a ban on doing personal or business deals in US dollars… For decades, the US dollar has been the best currency to have in the Middle East if you don’t have enough dirhams, dinars, riyals or pounds on hand…

“Many Iraqi politicians have complained [that] their country is too dependent on the US dollar… In February… Iraq said it would do business with China using the yuan instead of dollars…

“Earlier this year, Saudi Arabia’s finance minister said his country was also ‘open’ to selling oil using different currencies, including the euro and the Chinese yuan. The United Arab Emirates has said it will work with India, using the Indian rupee.  Last year, Egypt announced plans to issue bonds — financial securities that help governments raise money — in Chinese yuan. It had already issued bonds in Japanese yen.

“Additionally, several Middle Eastern nations — Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Algeria and Bahrain — have said they want to join the geopolitical bloc known as BRICS, an acronym for Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. Russia has already said that at an upcoming June meeting, the alliance will discuss the creation of a new kind of currency for cross-border trade between members. [According to other sources, this will be discussed in August].

“Since 2021, the UAE has also been part of a pilot project run by the Switzerland-based Bank for International Settlements, a kind of central bank for central banks. This project looks at digital, cross-border payments that might bypass the dollar. Other participants are Thailand, Hong Kong and China… US dollars now make up about 58% of official foreign reserves globally, Bloomberg reported in its story, a fall from 73% in 2001. In the late 1970s, it was 85%…”

Bitcoin.com wrote on May 18:

“Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has announced that Venezuela will shift away from using U.S. dollars in trade, emphasizing that the de-dollarization process is ‘inevitable.’…  Commending Zimbabwe for its initiative to issue gold-backed digital currency, he said, ‘Many alternative initiatives to the dollar are emerging in the world…’

“The Venezuelan president, who previously expressed support for Latin America to have one single currency… condemned ‘the political use’ of the dollar as the world’s reserve currency and its associated financial system by the U.S. to sanction countries, naming China, Russia, India, Iran, Turkey, Venezuela, and Cuba in particular…

“A growing number of countries other than the BRICS nations are pushing to use local currencies instead of the USD. Ten Southeast Asian countries, members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), recently agreed to ‘encourage the use of local currencies for economic and financial transactions.’…”

Sadly, this process of de-dollarization will continue…

The New Constitution of the Vatican City State

CNA wrote on May 18:

“… the new law leaves no doubt that the civil government remains very much an absolute monarchy, with the supreme pontiff possessing all ‘legislative, executive, and judicial powers.’…

“Francis’ new constitution is the third Fundamental Law since 1929, the year in which the Vatican City State was founded with the Lateran Treaty… with Pope Francis’ new Fundamental Law, the pope returns to the center of everything… the centralization of the pope’s authority is highlighted in the new constitution by the fact that power is reserved to the pope while other entities are assigned only functions…

“Under the new law, a three-year financial plan approved by the commission is to be submitted ‘directly for the approval of the Supreme Pontiff’ without going through the Vatican economic bodies or the Secretariat of State, as the old law required…

“The Vatican City State remains, in the end, the pope’s domain. Nonetheless, the new law suggests that the city-state is no longer merely considered a support to the Holy See but an entity closer to the secular and modern states, as it has never been in the past…”

The centralization of the pope’s authority and the Vatican City State being patterned after secular states are interesting in light of Revelation 13:11-18.

Acknowledgement and Disclaimer

These Current Events are compiled and commented on by Norbert Link. We gratefully acknowledge the many contributions of news articles from our readership. The publication of articles in this section is not to be viewed as an endorsement or approval as to contents or accuracy of the selected articles, but they are published for the purpose of pointing at worldwide developments in the light of biblical end-time prophecy and godly instruction. Our own comments are provided in italics.

There are many different ways that God addresses the members of His Church. Beginning with the twelve that Jesus called, in the New Testament all of those that were a part of God’s Church were termed disciples. The meaning of disciple is a “follower or pupil of a teacher, leader or philosopher.”

Another term Jesus used was brethren, both as a part of a physical family, and as a member of His Church. Using this term, the Church is referred to as a family relationship. We read this in Hebrews 2:10-12: “For it was fitting for Him,” (Jesus), “for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. For both He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of one, for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren, saying: ‘I will declare Your name to My brethren; in the midst of the assembly I will sing praise to You.’”

While Jesus calls us brethren, we read in 2 Corinthians 6:18 about God the Father: “I will be a Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters, says the LORD Almighty.” This is certainly a family relationship.

Jesus also used the term friends for His disciples as we read in John 15:14-15: “You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you.” The term friend is also used of Abraham. As we read in Isaiah 41:8, “But you, Israel, are My servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, The descendants of Abraham My friend.”

So, God’s people are His family and friends. However, there is one person in the Bible whom God addresses in a unique way, and that, of course, was David.

This expression was first mentioned in 1 Samuel chapter 13 after king Saul did not wait for Samuel to arrive and instead made an offering on his own authority and hence disobeyed the commandment of God. 1 Samuel 13:14 reads, “But now your kingdom shall not continue. The LORD has sought for Himself a man after His own heart, and the LORD has commanded him to be commander over His people, because you have not kept what the LORD commanded you.”

So, God saw that king Saul had failed in this requirement for obedience to God. And this was only one of the many times Saul failed to obey God.

This expression “A man after My own heart” is also found quoted in Acts 13:22 where Paul, in the local synagogue at Antioch, was relating the history of the children of Israel leading up to the coming of a Savior, that is, Jesus. Acts 13:22 states: “And when He had removed him, He raised up for them David as king, to whom He also gave testimony and said, ‘I have found David, the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart, who will do all My will.’” This passage adds “Who will do all My will” to the statement in 1 Samuel 13:14.

At the time God said this, David was assumed to have been around eighteen years old, but his thoughts while shepherding would have given God a very good idea of David’s character. In fact, many of the Psalms reflect on how David thought about God.

One Psalm in particular shows that David understood the purpose God had in mind for man. This would reflect how David thought while he was shepherding in his earlier days. Psalm 8:3-6 reads: “When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, The moon and the stars, which You have ordained, What is man that You are mindful of him, And the son of man that You visit him? For you have made him a little lower than the angels, and You have crowned with glory and honor. You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet.”

As well as reflecting on God’s purpose for man, David had a great love for God’s law. A good example of that is in Psalm 119:47-48: “And I will delight myself in Your commandments, Which I love. My hands also I will lift up to your commandments, Which I love. And I will meditate on Your statutes.”

Another characteristic David had was a great faith and confidence in God. When he was about to face Goliath, he was certain that God would deliver him. There was no wavering or doubt. 1 Samuel 17:37 states: “Moreover David said, ‘The LORD, who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.’ And Saul said to David, ‘Go, and the LORD be with you!’”

A further characteristic was his thankfulness toward God. A typical example among many is Psalm 69:30. “I will praise the name of God with a song, And will magnify Him with thanksgiving.”

David himself was humble. He had had great success in battle but when he was offered Saul’s daughter to be his wife, his response was, “Does it seem to you a light thing to be a king’s son-in-law, seeing I am a poor and lightly esteemed man?” (See 1 Samuel 18:23.) He was still humble at the end of his life. In 1 Chronicles 17:16-17 we see David’s humble attitude after God had refused to allow him to build God’s temple: “Then king David went in and sat before the LORD; and he said: ‘Who am I, O LORD God? And what is my house, that You have brought me this far? And yet this was a small thing in Your sight, O God; and You have also spoken of Your servant’s house for a great while to come, and have regarded me according to the rank of a man of high degree, O LORD God.’”

And at times when he made serious mistakes that cost the lives of others, he had the integrity to take responsibility for his actions. When Saul killed the priests in the town of Nob by means of Doeg, David acknowledged that his action had caused their deaths. 1 Samuel 22:21-22. “And Abiathar told David that Saul had killed the LORD’s priests. So David said to Abiathar, ‘I knew that day, when Doeg the Edomite was there, that he would surely tell Saul. I have caused the death of all the persons of your father’s house.’” 

But even with God’s appreciation of him, David made a number of mistakes in his life, some very costly both to himself and the children of Israel. One of these mistakes was when he committed adultery with Uriah’s wife, Bathsheba, and when he subsequently murdered Uriah the Hittite. This event cost the life of Uriah and some other valiant men who died during this murder. 2 Samuel 11:17 states: “Then the men of the city came out and fought with Joab. And some of the people of the servants of David fell; and Uriah the Hittite died also.” The son born because of this adultery also died soon after his birth.

Another very costly mistake was when king David numbered the armies of Israel. Even Joab suggested to David that this was not a good idea. 2 Samuel 24:3 reads: “And Joab said to the king, ‘Now may the LORD your God add to the people a hundred times more than there are, and may the eyes of the lord my king see it. But why does the lord my king desire this thing?’” This numbering of Israel cost the lives of seventy thousand men. Again, David acknowledged it was his fault that these people died (see 2 Samuel 24:17).

When David was offered Saul’s daughter, Saul required a dowry of one hundred Philistine foreskins for her hand in marriage, thinking David would be killed while killing Philistines to collect these foreskins. 1 Samuel 18:25 states: “Then Saul said, ‘Thus you shall say to David: “The king does not desire any dowry but one hundred foreskins of the Philistines, to take vengeance on the king’s enemies.”’ But Saul thought to make David fall by the hand of the Philistines.” David, in response, killed two hundred Philistines and presented their foreskins to king Saul. 

As described later, he was a man who had shed blood many times and as such God did not want him to build the temple of God. This is explained in 1 Chronicles 22:7-8. “And David said to Solomon: ‘My son, as for me, it was in my mind to build a house to the name of the LORD my God; but the word of the LORD came to me, saying, “You have shed much blood and have made great wars; you shall not build a house for My name, because you have shed much blood on the earth in My sight.”’” It was left to Solomon to build the house of God.

There was even an example where David was going to kill all the men of a family of the rich man Nabal. David and his men had protected Nabal’s livestock while they were avoiding king Saul. David sent his men to ask Nabal to share some of his meat with them. Nabal refused, and insulted David, which made David so angry that he was prepared to kill all the men of the household of Nabal. However, Abigail, Nabal’s wife, heard this and came to meet David with a gift of food and pleaded with David not to kill them all. She reminded him of how he would feel in the future if he went ahead with his plan. 1 Samuel 25:30-31 shows her reasoning: “And it shall come to pass, when the LORD has done for my lord according to all the good that He has spoken concerning you, and has appointed you ruler over Israel, that this will be no grief to you, nor offense of heart to my lord, either that you have shed blood without cause, or that my lord has avenged himself. But when the LORD has dealt well with my lord, then remember your maidservant.” 

David took heed of her pleading, and did not kill all the men which in some ways was similar to when Moses pleaded with God not to destroy the Israelites after the incident of the golden calf. Exodus 32:11-12 shows this pleading: “Then Moses pleaded with the LORD his God, and said: ‘LORD, why does Your wrath burn hot against Your people whom You have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? Why should the Egyptians speak, and say, “He brought them out to harm them, to kill them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth”? Turn from Your fierce wrath, and relent from this harm to Your people.’” Exodus 32:14 shows us the result of this pleading: “So the LORD relented from the harm which He said He would do to His people.” In both the case of David and of God, they listened to the pleading and did not kill those they were intending to.

So, what did king David do that gave him the title of a man after God’s own heart? After all, he was even promised that his kingdom would last forever (compare 2 Samuel 7:16), and we read in the books of the prophets, that he would ultimately rule over all the tribes of Israel.

There were at least three particular events in David’s life that showed God that he had the potential to rule forever.

As was related previously, it is generally believed that Samuel anointed David king when he was about 18 years old. For much of the next 12 years, David was hiding from Saul in the wilderness, or outside of Israel, so he would not be killed. Saul had already made a number of attempts to kill David. David did not know how long this trial would last, or what event would end it, but had faith in God that God would keep His promise that he would be king one day.

To show the importance of this time in David’s life, God used most of sixteen chapters in the book of 1 Samuel to describe it. With such a large amount written, it is obvious that God thought this time in David’s life was very important for our understanding.

The first mentioned is when Saul took 3000 chosen men to capture David in the wilderness of En Gedi. This is probably quite a few years into the 12-year trial that David was experiencing. 

Beginning in 1 Samuel 24:1-6, we read: “Now it happened, when Saul had returned from following the Philistines, that it was told him, saying, ‘Take note! David is in the wilderness of En Gedi.’ Then Saul took three thousand chosen men from all Israel, and went to seek David and his men on the Rocks of the Wild Goats. So he came to the sheepfolds by the road, where there was a cave; and Saul went in to attend to his needs. (David and his men were staying in the recesses of the cave.) Then the men of David said to him, ‘This is the day of which the LORD said to you, “Behold, I will deliver your enemy into your hand, that you may do to him as it seems good to you.”’” Actually, the LORD had not told David this, but his men were encouraging him to end his trial. If he killed Saul, he would no longer be an outcast and could take up the position of king immediately. 

Continuing: “And David arose and secretly cut off a corner of Saul’s robe. Now it happened afterward that David’s heart troubled him because he had cut Saul’s robe. And he said to his men, ‘The LORD forbid that I should do this thing to my master, the LORD’s anointed, to stretch out my hand against him, seeing he is the anointed of the LORD.” David used the term “The LORD’s anointed” twice in one sentence, probably reminding even himself that Saul was the LORD’s anointed.

After Saul went on his way, David followed him, probably at a considerable distance since he could not trust him, and said tactfully in 1 Samuel 24:9. “…‘Why do you listen to the words of men who say, “Indeed David seeks your harm?”’” They both knew that it was Saul and not his men who thought David was an opponent to Saul. 1 Samuel 24:12 shows David’s attitude when he said, “Let the LORD judge between you and me, and let the LORD avenge me on you. But my hand shall not be against you.” He trusted God and did not get ahead of God’s Will. He had steadfast faith in God’s promise. He knew if God said He would do something; He would do it. The question he had was when?

At the end of this encounter, Saul admitted that he was wrong, and asked David not to cut off his descendants when he became king. 1 Samuel 24:22 informs us, “So David swore to Saul. And Saul went home, but David and his men went up to the stronghold.” Even though Saul admitted error, David still did not trust him.

The next event occurred sometime later when Saul and his three thousand chosen men went to the wilderness of Ziph chasing David to kill him.  David saw where Saul and his men were encamped, with Saul in the midst, surrounded by his men.

1 Samuel 26:6-10 reads: “Then David answered, and said to Ahimelech the Hittite and to Abishai the son of Zeruiah, brother of Joab, saying, ‘Who will go down with me to Saul in the camp?’ And Abishai said, ‘I will go down with you.’ So David and Abishai came to the people by night; and there Saul lay sleeping within the camp, with his spear stuck in the ground by his head. And Abner and the people lay all around him. Then Abishai said to David, ‘God has delivered your enemy into your hand this day. Now therefore, please, let me strike him at once with the spear, right to the earth; and I will not have to strike him a second time!’ But David said to Abishai, ‘Do not destroy him, for who can stretch out his hand against the LORD’s anointed, and be guiltless?’ David said furthermore, ‘As the LORD lives, The LORD shall strike him, or his day shall come to die, or he shall go out to battle and perish. The LORD forbid that I should stretch out my hand against the LORD’s anointed….’”

It is stated later that a deep sleep from the LORD had fallen on them (compare 1 Samuel 26:12, last part).

David went to the other side, a great distance between them and called out to Abner, and woke up the camp of Saul. It was a great distance because David still did not trust Saul. He did not know how Saul would react to being woken up. David then explained to Saul once again that he could have killed him, but refused to do so (verse 23). In 1 Samuel 26:25, last part, we read: “So David went on his way, and Saul returned to his place.” David still could not go home to be with his family.

The last event referring to Saul and David is recorded in a long passage in 2 Samuel, chapter 1. When king Saul and his son Jonathan were killed in battle, David did not rejoice at the news, but actually executed the man who claimed to have killed Saul and was after a reward. David understood the principle in Proverbs 24:17-18. “Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, And do not let your heart be glad when he stumbles, Lest the LORD see it and it displease Him, And He turn away His wrath from him.”

David actually lamented over the death of Saul (who was also his father-in-law) and Jonathan (who was his best friend), and he composed the Song of the Bow to be taught to the children of Judah.

There is actually a principle that before a man can be allowed to rule, he must be able to be ruled. David learned this for around twelve years while he was fleeing for his life. He honored Saul as his king even though he could not trust him. God had already rejected Saul as king, and David had already been anointed as future king (compare 1 Samuel 16:1). Still, David did not take the kingdom from Saul by force, but he waited for God to deal with Saul.

Yes, David committed some terrible sins that cost many lives. After he killed Uriah the Hittite, God told him he would not have peace for all his physical life and even some from his own house would rise against him. Even sin repented of may still involve consequences.

But David repented wholeheartedly each time and God accepted his repentance and totally forgave him. 

Luke adds something in the book of Acts 13:22 which we can re-read: “And when He had removed him, He raised up for them David as king, to whom also He gave testimony and said, ‘I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart, who will do all My will.’”

Even though David sinned, he repented wholeheartedly (compare Psalm 51). His heart was loyal to God, which cannot be said about many subsequent kings (compare 1 Kings 11:4; 15:3). 

So ultimately, God’s belief in David proved to be correct. David had shown by his actions and repentance that he was a man after God’s own heart.

To sum up, David had a number of characteristics which were pleasing to God. He had total faith in God to protect him as shown in the example of Goliath. He trusted God in that what God had promised He would perform, that David, one day, would be ruling as king. He never pre-empted God. He had love for Saul and Jonathan. He was humble to the end of his life. Because of his integrity, he took ownership of his mistakes, and repented thoroughly and asked for God’s forgiveness, and at all times he worshipped God, as we see in his writings. And what would be difficult for many under the circumstances, David addressed Saul as “My lord the king” (see 1 Samuel 24:8). Considering he was speaking to the one who was trying to kill him, this shows a great respect for the authority God had placed over him.

So when we study David’s life and how he interacted with God during it, we can see that he was, indeed, a man after God’s heart and did all that was expected of him. By his faith and actions, he set an example for all of us of the kind of attitude that is required to be a man after God’s own heart.

Lead Writer: Paul Niehoff (Australia)

compiled by Dave Harris

“More Plans for the Third Temple,” is the title of a new StandingWatch program, presented by Evangelist Norbert Link. Here is a summary:

An acclaimed architect becomes involved in the ambitious project of designing the third temple in Jerusalem; a controversial minister visits the Temple Mount and declares Israel’s ownership of the site where the first and second temple stood; and a red heifer appears to be qualified, according to Jewish Orthodox views, to be sacrificed in a year and a half on the Mount of Olives by “pure” priests. Do these developments point at the coming of the Messiah?

“Was es bedeutet, der Erste zu sein” is the title of the new German sermon for this Sabbath, presented by Michael Link. Title in English: “What It Means to Be the First.”

“Eine neue Schöpfung durch Gottes Geist der Kraft,“ is the title of the new German sermon for Pentecost, presented by Norbert Link. Title in English: “A New Creation Through God’s Spirit of Power.”

“Das wahre Fundament,” the sermonette presented last Sabbath in Germany by Robert Muhr, is now posted. Title in English: “The Real Foundation.”

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

Having the right kind of faith is a prerequisite to living a life that pleases God and a requirement for salvation. On the face of it, one might think that the importance of faith means that it is an attribute reserved for the most serious of situations. However, faith in God to carry out His will ought to penetrate every single aspect of our lives – even in the seemingly small and insignificant events.

“Are You Watching?” the sermon presented last Sabbath by Dave Harris, is now posted. Here is a summary:

People are about to face the end of this age and the unprecedented events revealed in the Word of God. Are you watching and will you be among the very, very few who will be judged ready for what is coming?

On May 20, 2023, Eric Rank will present the sermonette, titled, “Faith in the Little Things,” and Dave Harris will present the sermon, titled, “Are You Watching?”

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

We are living today in a very uncertain world. It is a world with wars occurring in Ukraine and Sudan and rumours of a potential war with China over Taiwan. There is a disagreement over the lifting of the US federal debt ceiling between the White House and Congress which has the potential of causing severe economic problems. And there are also forecasts of further pandemics. Then there is a concern about who will be the next president of the USA and what will he do? Will he improve matters or make them worse?

How can we have confidence living in this world? In reality, there is only one Being we can rely upon, and that is our God and the promises He has made. We can look at some of them here and we can also look at the examples of the apostles and understand why they never gave up till their death. And, of course, we need to remember that when God makes a promise, He does not withdraw it. Numbers 23:19 informs us that, “God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?”

When the children of Israel were about to enter the Promised Land, knowing that there were strong nations occupying the land, God encouraged them by saying: “Be strong and of good courage, do not fear or be afraid of them; for the LORD your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you” (Deuteronomy 31:6).

There are many other promises for God protecting us and providing for us which would greatly expand the Editorial if they were all listed. But there is one that is particularly encouraging to those of us of a more mature age. That’s found in Isaiah 46:3-4: “Listen to Me, O house of Jacob, And all the remnant of the house of Israel, Who have been upheld by Me from birth, Who have been carried from the womb: Even to your old age, I am He, And even to grey hairs I will carry you! I have made, and I will bear; Even I will carry, and will deliver you.” This passage has similarities to the poem “Footprints in the Sand” which is quite well-known.

Some of God’s people who had severe trials were the apostles. We read about much of what Paul went through in 2 Corinthians 11:23-27. Peter and other apostles were imprisoned and beaten for doing the Work of God. That is related to the early chapters of the book of Acts. So why were they willing to go through this punishment? What Paul wrote, possibly in the midst of him doing his part of God’s Work, in Romans 8:18, gives us the reason: “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.” Also, in his last epistle, just before his martyrdom, 2 Timothy 4:7-8, we read, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only, but also to all who have loved His appearing.”

So, in his writings, the apostle Paul is encouraging us to look to the wonderful future God has promised us. The apostle Peter also encourages us as his time to die was approaching. He acknowledges this in 2 Peter 1:14, “…knowing that shortly I must put off my tent, just as our Lord Jesus Christ showed me.” A nice way to say that he would soon die. Later in the same book, Peter reminds us to look toward the future. We read in 2 Peter 3:13, “Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.”

There will be trials and difficulties ahead, but we can hold onto the promise in Hebrews 13:5-6: “….For He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’ So we may boldly say: ‘The LORD is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?’”

So, we must all look to the future in God’s Kingdom when all the difficulties of this life will be behind us, and we will consider them totally insignificant compared with the wonderful eternal life God has in store for us.

by Norbert Link

We begin with developments in Turkey which will have significant importance for the entire world; continue with the rocky relationship between Ukraine and Germany; quote interesting warnings from Viktor Orbán, Prime Minister of Hungary, regarding the unification of Europe; and address French President Macron’s alarming viewpoint which may or may not be shared by some of the European nations.

We speak on the growing military collaboration between Russia and China; the Durham report; and we conclude with an article about the “curse of conscription.”

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

Elections in Turkey

The Huffington Post wrote on May 12:

“Voters are headed to the polls this Sunday in Turkey for the country’s general election, which has been described as the most consequential global election contest of the year. The stakes are incredibly high for the country and the world, and for incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is narrowly trailing in the polls as he seeks a third term. The head of the Justice and Development Party, or AKP, has been in power for over 20 years and is the country’s longest-serving leader.

“But the stakes are also high for the opposition, which at last appears to have a real shot at victory… Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the leader of the center-left Republican People’s Party, or CHP, was picked to face off with Erdogan by the Table of Six, a coalition made up of six opposition parties… The election is tight, but Erdogan is currently behind in the polls…  If no candidate secures 50% of the vote in the first round, there will be a runoff contest on May 28…

“Voters are increasingly turning on Erdogan due to the failed response to the deadly earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria and killed over 50,000 people earlier this year — the majority in Turkey… The government has been criticized for taking too long to deploy the military and rescue teams to some of the most affected areas after the earthquake. The several buildings that collapsed also exposed the cozy relationship the government had with many construction companies and the lack of enforcement of building regulations despite its pledge to deliver safe housing.

“Many voters are also unhappy with Erdogan’s handling of the economy. He made the unorthodox decision to cut interest rates at a time when most governments and central banks around the world are raising them in response to inflation. That caused the value of the country’s currency, the Turkish lira, to tumble, meaning many Turks can barely afford everyday goods…

“Many voters, including religious conservatives, may not be ready to turn their backs on the current president, and others may think he is more tested than the alternative…

“Turkey has seen a steady erosion of media freedom and political expression under Erdogan…  In the aftermath of the earthquake, the country’s media regulator sought to fine three broadcasters who were critical of Erdogan for their coverage of the natural disaster response. Independent journalists have also been slapped with fines and criminal investigations… Erdogan has also tried to jail his political opponents and those critical of his government…”

That Erdogan has acted as an autocratic ruler is beyond doubt.

Why Does the Outcome Matter to the World?

In a related article, The Huffington Post wrote on May 12:

“Erdogan, a Putin ally, reportedly helped the Kremlin get past some sanctions last year. Turkish companies exported goods to at least 10 Russian companies that were sanctioned by the U.S. for their role in the war… The two countries maintain an important relationship as it relates to energy supplies and Russia is also building Turkey’s first nuclear plant, which is set to be ready next year. An Erdogan defeat could mean the country would reassess its ties to the Kremlin, but not necessarily fully sever them.

“Erdogan has stalled NATO expansion efforts and is currently blocking Sweden’s entry…

“The outcome of the election could also have repercussions for the European Union. While Turkey at one point gained candidate status and was engaged in talks to join the bloc, those negotiations were put on hold for a number of reasons… some officials worry that a Kilicdaroglu win would reignite ascension talks at a time when some member countries appear weary of what the potential entry of a huge country would mean…

“The U.S. and Turkey have also had a tense relationship in recent years, triggered by Ankara’s decision to buy missile defense systems from Russia…  Kilicdaroglu… didn’t clarify how the relationship between the two NATO countries would be repaired.”

Prophetically, Turkey (biblical Edom) will align with Europe against Israel (the state of Israel and also perhaps the USA). The Bible does not indicate a strong end-time military alliance between Turkey and Russia. For more information on Turkey’s future, please read chapter 6 of our free booklet, “Middle Eastern and African Nations in Bible Prophecy.”

Runoff Election on May 28

Reuters reported on May 13:

“Turkey headed for a runoff vote after President Tayyip Erdogan led over his opposition rival Kemal Kilicdaroglu in Sunday’s election but fell short of an outright majority to extend his 20-year rule of the NATO-member country. Neither Erdogan nor Kilicdaroglu cleared the 50% threshold needed to avoid a second round, to be held on May 28, in an election seen as a verdict on Erdogan’s increasingly authoritarian path.

“The presidential vote will decide not only who leads Turkey but also whether it reverts to a more secular, democratic path, how it will handle its severe cost of living crisis, and manage key relations with Russia, the Middle East and the West…

“With almost 97% of ballot boxes counted, Erdogan led with 49.39% of votes and Kilicdaroglu had 44.92%, according to state-owned news agency Anadolu… The results reflected deep polarization in a country at a political crossroads. The vote was set to hand Erdogan’s ruling alliance a majority in parliament, giving him a potential edge heading into the runoff…

“A third nationalist presidential candidate, Sinan Ogan, stood at 5.3% of the vote. He could be a ‘kingmaker’ in the runoff…”

Shockingly, almost 80% of Turks living in Germany voted for Erdogan.

Is Germany Really Ukraine’s “True Friend”?

AFP wrote on May 14:

“Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday called Germany a ‘true friend and reliable ally’ in his country’s battle against Russia… Zelenskyy’s trip to Germany follows meetings in Rome with Italian leaders and the pope, and comes as Kyiv is preparing a much-anticipated counter-offensive… Once accused of reticence in supplying military gear to Ukraine, Germany has since become a major contributor of tanks, rockets and anti-missile systems.

“On the occasion of Zelenskyy’s visit, Berlin unveiled its biggest armaments package for Ukraine yet, including tanks, missile defence systems and combat vehicles worth 2.7 billion euros… He is also expected to head to the western German city of Aachen, which this year is awarding him and the Ukrainian people the Charlemagne prize — an honour awarded for efforts to foster European unity…

“Zelenskyy’s visit rounds off over a year of choppy relations with Germany… Early on in the conflict, Kyiv had accused Germany of being too accommodating to Russian President Vladimir Putin, while Berlin’s reliance on Russian energy had proved tricky…

“Britain this week announced it was sending Storm Shadow missiles, becoming the first country to send longer-range arms to Kyiv. Russia described it as ‘an extremely hostile step’ and on Saturday accused Kyiv of using the British missiles to target civilian sites in eastern Ukraine, wounding six children. In Rome, Zelenskyy said he discussed with Pope Francis the fate of ‘tens of thousands of children’ that Kyiv says were deported to Russia, as well as his plans for peace…”

The Associated Press added on May 14:

“While German leaders have expressed strong backing for Ukraine, German voters are divided on whether the country should provide further weapons, particularly advanced fighter jets of the kind Kyiv is asking its allies for.”

Die Welt wrote on May 14:

“Germany was a difficult ally for Ukraine for a long time… It was only under pressure from the USA that Scholz gave in and promised self-propelled howitzers and multiple rocket launchers… The Chancellor also categorically refused the western tanks that Kiev had requested just a few months after the start of the war, for almost a year with varying reasons. Only when the pressure from the allies became too great, did he forge a tank coalition at the beginning of the year, which has now promised 70 modern Leopard 2 tanks and over 100 Leopard 1 tanks, some of which have been delivered…

“The new, cooperative style… could also make it more difficult than before to refuse further requests from Ukraine. Ukraine is working on ‘creating a fighter jet coalition,’ Zelenskyy says on Sunday. He will also contact the German side for this. Scholz looks stoically straight ahead and repeats the types of weapons that are currently being delivered. ‘That’s what Germany is concentrating on,’ says the Chancellor… He emphasized twice that Germany is now in second place in the arms supplier ranking… For Zelenskyj… that is not enough. ‘We hope that Germany will become our biggest supporter,’ he says… The sentence that Ukraine must win did not cross Scholz’s lips that day either.”

Germany’s conduct towards Russia and Ukraine has been more than duplicitous. Often, a far-too-rosy picture of the current friendly relationship between Germany and Ukraine is being presented.

Deutsche Welle wrote on May 17:

“Germany says it cannot join an international coalition to provide Ukraine with air combat capabilities. ‘We cannot play an active role in such an alliance, in such a coalition, because we have neither the training capacities, the competencies or the planes,’ German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said after meeting his British counterpart in Berlin.

“British Defense Minister Ben Wallace said the UK won’t donate fighter aircraft, but ‘what we can, obviously contribute, is training and support, again, within limits because we don’t have F16 pilots.’”

In fact, Germany has declared that it will NOT provide Ukraine with fighter jets. It stated that the US would have to make the decision.

Once Germany’s faltering and failing government is replaced, things will again dramatically change. Please view our recent StandingWatch program, “Is Europe REALLY Supporting Ukraine?” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0F5GQZZQ5g

To Strike Or Not to Strike?

The Guardian added on May 14:

“Zelenskiy stressed that while Kyiv would discuss peace initiatives from other states, any proposals had to be based on Ukraine’s position and its peace plan… Kyiv has previously said it wants to regain every part of its land currently occupied by Russian forces and it will not be willing to make territorial concessions. Moscow says it controls the Crimean peninsula and four other Ukraine regions: Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Luhansk and Donetsk.”

Express added on May 14:

“The Ukrainian president told reporters [in Berlin] on Sunday that his country had no plans to attack Russian territory, and was only interested in regaining occupied land. Top secret US documents leaked online said Zelensky had proposed ‘strikes in Russia’ and attacks on the invader’s soil so his country would be in a better position to negotiate peace.

“In one classified file seen by the Washington Post, Zelensky also suggested Ukraine could ‘blow up’ a vital pipeline between NATO member Hungary and Russia. Another intelligence document seen by the Post revealed that President Zelensky wanted to attack ‘unspecified locals in Rostov,’ a Russian city near the Ukrainian border…”

It is sometimes difficult to ascertain who is telling the truth.

Viktor Orbán Compares the EU Project with Hitler’s Power Plans

Der Spiegel wrote on May 12:

“Viktor Orbán, Prime Minister of Hungary, compared the EU’s European unification project with Adolf Hitler’s plans for rule. Since the end of the Roman Empire, there have been efforts to restore the empire to its territory, said the right-wing populist in the western Hungarian city of Veszprem. ‘Byzantium, Charlemagne, (the German Emperor) Otto, Napoleon and Hitler – they all dreamed of European unity, on different bases.’

“Today is no different,” Orbán added. ‘The separate national existence and the idea of ​​the empire are present at the same time. National culture and European values. Sovereignty and – as they put it in Brussels – the ‘ever closer union’. The latter term… is in the preamble of the EU Basic Treaty of Lisbon, which applies to all member states.

“Hungary joined the EU in 2004. Orbán, who has governed his country in a more or less authoritarian manner since 2010, has repeatedly fought against the obligations arising from EU membership… Regarding the head of government’s recent derailment, Hungarian opposition leader Ferenc Gyurcsàny said: ‘This person is sick.’ To mention Hitler together with the European idea is ‘a sick, disgusting thought’…”

Orbán described accurately most of the European revivals of the Roman Empire. He missed Charles V., as well as three barbarian nations prior to Emperor Justinian (referred to by Orbán as “Byzantium”). The final and last revival will indeed turn out to be an autocratic, anti-democratic military power bloc. For more information, please read our free booklet, “Europe in Prophecy.”

EU Must Be “Christian”

Hungary Today wrote on May 9:

“The Hungarian government is working every day to make Europe Christian, the Justice Minister said in Budapest on Monday. The minister referred to the words of Robert Schuman, one of the founding fathers of the European Union, who said that Europe will either be Christian or it will not be. Judit Varga said that what is successful in Hungary ‘can also be successful on a large scale in Europe,’ which is why conservative values are being upheld…

“Hungary celebrates peace and unity in Europe on May 9, the day commemorating the Schuman declaration, which is seen as the beginning of the road to the EU…”

The question is, WHAT kind of Christianity will Europe embrace? It will NOT be the Christianity of the Bible.

France vs. the USA

Modern Diplomacy wrote on May 13:

“Macron’s visit to Beijing stirred up controversy, causing divisions within the European Union and between EU countries and the United States. His comments on the need for Europe to achieve strategic independence from America were met with surprise and criticism from some EU countries and the US, who accused him of promoting Gaullism and ingratitude towards America’s contributions to the West, including France.

“Macron believes that the real battle for Europe lies in establishing itself as a powerful political, economic, and military bloc alongside the major global players such as the US, Russia, and China. He views the conflict in Ukraine as a systematic assault on Europe, which underscores the need for Europe to act in its own interests rather than those of others.

“During his visit, Macron reaffirmed France’s support for the ‘one China’ policy, recognizing Beijing as the sole legitimate representative of China and Taiwan as an inalienable part of China. He urged Europeans to adopt an independent stance on the Taiwan issue, calling for peaceful resolution based on Beijing’s proposal of ‘one country, two systems.’…

“President Macron appears to have had enough of the internal protests in France, which have been fueled by the country’s poor economic conditions, high prices, energy losses, and other issues. He believes that the United States bears a significant responsibility for these problems, particularly after canceling the French Australian submarine deal worth an estimated 35 billion euros. The US persuaded Australia to build nuclear-powered submarines under a new deal with the US and Britain, known as Aukus, causing France to suffer significant financial losses…

“During the war in Ukraine, the US requested that European countries participate in the economic blockade on Moscow and not buy gas from Russia in exchange for America’s pledge to supply European countries with gas. However, the price of American gas was significantly higher than that of Russian gas, leading to additional burdens on the French citizen…

“Since becoming president in 2017, Macron has called for strengthening Europe to lead the world by forming a unified European force. He has advocated for the formation of a European army, so that Europe would not remain dependent on NATO, which today consists of 30 European countries as well as America. He believes that leadership should be in European hands, specifically in the hands of France, due to its significant role in the international arena and extensive colonial history. In 2019, Macron declared NATO clinically dead and advocated for seeking another form of alliance in which Europe would have a leading position…

“French support for Ukraine in its war against Moscow was limited compared to that of other European countries. As a result, some European countries, particularly Western European countries, severely criticized Macron for seeking Chinese President Xi’s intervention and employing his relationship with Moscow to persuade it to find a peaceful solution to the Ukraine crisis…

“The United States believes that any international system will have only one seat for the European continent, which will most likely go to Germany. Germany seeks to rebuild its military force, allocating an additional budget of 100 billion euros to make its army the largest and strongest in Europe. Additionally, the German economy is the largest on the European continent, contributing 27% of all European industries, followed by Italy with 16% and France with only 11%… It appears that French-American relations will not easily return to their previous state… France has taken practical steps towards distancing itself from its alliance with the US in favor of its own interests, particularly in cooperation with Beijing…

“Macron’s statement on the importance of reducing dependence on the US dollar was seen as a stab by Washington, leading to great indignation in Eastern and Central Europe and parts of Western Europe, where countries felt that his statements were focused on France, not the EU. Hungary’s Prime Minister was seemingly the only leader to support Macron, and he also supported Russia in its war against Ukraine, questioning the usefulness of Western sanctions imposed on Moscow…”

Even though some European nations may not like Macron’s assertions, they may not really disagree with him. In any event, France is a far-too-powerful country in Europe just to be ignored. Ultimately, Macron’s viewpoints will prevail.

Growing Military Collaboration Between Russia and China

ABC News wrote on May 13:

“Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi expressed concern Saturday about Russian and Chinese military cooperation in Asia and said the security situation in Europe could not be separated from that in the Indo-Pacific region… Japan firmly backs Ukraine in the war but China says it remains neutral while declaring a ‘no limits’ relationship with Moscow and blaming the U.S. and NATO for provoking the conflict…

“‘China and Russia are strengthening their military collaboration, including joint flights of their bombers and joint naval exercises in the vicinity of Japan,’ Hayahshi said. China, which claims most of the South China Sea as well as Japanese-held islands in the East China Sea, says it has the right to defend its sovereignty and development interests.

“Hayashi also warned that North Korea was ‘escalating provocations’ in the region by conducting ballistic missile launches ‘with a frequency and in a manner that are unprecedented.’… Some of the Indo-Pacific countries, including India and Pakistan, have called for an end to the Ukraine war but stopped short of condemning Russia for it…”

The Bible prophesies that a mighty power bloc, hostile towards Europe, will develop in the Far East, called the “kings of the East,” and all indications are that countries such as Russia, China, North Korea and India will be part of that bloc. Other countries, such as Iran, will support this bloc. The future role of Japan is less clear.

Release of Durham Report—“FBI Acted Improperly”

Breitbart wrote on May 15:

“The long-awaited report by Special Counsel John Durham tasked to look into the FBI’s investigation of the Trump campaign for Russian collusion was released Monday…

“Durham’s 300-page report found a damning conclusion: ‘Based on the review of Crossfire Hurricane and related intelligence activities, we conclude that the Department and the FBI failed to uphold their important mission of strict fidelity to the law in connection with certain events and activities described in this report. Our investigation also revealed that senior FBI personnel displayed a serious lack of analytical rigor towards the information that they received, especially information received from politically affiliated persons and entities,’ Durham’s report said, in apparent reference to the Hillary Clinton’ [campaign]…

“Durham said the Justice Department and FBI acted without ‘appropriate objectivity or restraint in pursuing allegations of collusion or conspiracy between a U.S. political campaign and a foreign power,’ he said. He also said the FBI used a different standard when it came to looking at Clinton’s campaign…

“Democrat members of Congress such as Reps. Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Eric Swalwell also repeatedly claimed there was evidence of collusion, but failed to produce any. Earlier this year, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy kicked both members off the House Intelligence Committee due to their repeated and unfounded accusations of collusion, as well as an alleged sexual relationship with a Chinese spy in Swalwell’s case….”

Fox News added on May 17:

“The Wall Street Journal Editorial Board condemned the FBI and its media allies for pushing the Russia collusion narrative against former President Donald Trump during his 2016 presidential campaign and the years following his election. After consulting Special Counsel John Durham’s final 306-page report on the Russian collusion probe that dropped this week, the board claimed it ‘makes clear that a partisan FBI became a funnel for disinformation from the Hillary Clinton campaign through a secret investigation the bureau never should have launched.’

“The board declared that Durham’s report is ‘a damning account of the corruption of the FBI and its accomplices,’ and claimed it ‘gives a fuller picture of the FBI’s complicity under former director James Comey and deputy Andrew McCabe.’… In conclusion, the Wall Street Journal called the ‘Russia collusion [a] fabrication and deceptive sale to the public’ a ‘travesty that shouldn’t be forgotten.’ 

The corruption and the political role of the Justice Department, the FBI and the left-wing mass media are appalling.

The Curse of Conscription

The Future of Freedom Foundation published the following article on May 12:

“One of the interesting aspects of the Russia-Ukraine war is that the regimes in both countries have resorted to conscription to get soldiers to ‘serve their country.’…

“With conscription, the state commands a citizen to report to a military facility, where he is forced to become an employee of the state, at a wage set by the state. Even worse, his forced labor consists of killing people. Thus, conscription is really just a fancy form of military slavery because the citizen is being forced to provide his time and labor in the killing service of the state.

“One might be tempted to conclude that the United States is different from Russia and Ukraine. Not so. Just like those two countries, the U.S. government also relies on conscription… U.S. officials are not currently conscripting people but that simply is because they… have been successful in inducing a sufficient number of men and women to voluntarily ‘serve their country.’ But the fact is that there is a system of conscription in place here at home, just as there is in Russia and Ukraine. That’s why young men are required to register for the draft when they reach the age of 18.

“If anyone fails or refuses to do so, he will be arrested, prosecuted, convicted, and incarcerated. That’s what they did to draft resisters during the Vietnam War. Mohammad Ali was a good example of how they target people who refuse to comply with their system of involuntary servitude.

“Make no mistake about it: If the Pentagon and the CIA succeed in embroiling the United States in a war with Russia or China or both, U.S. officials will not hesitate to do what Russia and Ukraine are doing. They will immediately resort to conscripting both American men and women to ‘serve their country.’…”

Conscription may not be enforced on the American people because of a war between the USA and Russia and China (neither one is prophesied), but because of a coming war with Europe (which IS prophesied). Conscientious objectors had better be prepared, and their time of preparation is now.

Acknowledgement and Disclaimer

These Current Events are compiled and commented on by Norbert Link. We gratefully acknowledge the many contributions of news articles from our readership. The publication of articles in this section is not to be viewed as an endorsement or approval as to contents or accuracy of the selected articles, but they are published for the purpose of pointing at worldwide developments in the light of biblical end-time prophecy and godly instruction. Our own comments are provided in italics.

In the previous two Q&As, we discussed God’s love towards all men. Subsequently, further questions arose which deserve answers.

For instance, since Christ died for the world and for us when we were still sinners, why do we read that He gave His blood for many for the remission of sins, but not for all?

Christ shed His blood for many [not all] for the remission of sins because He KNEW that some would not accept His Sacrifice, rebel against Him, commit the unpardonable sin, and end up in the lake of fire. So insofar as those people are concerned, His blood does not cover them, as they reject it. That is why the Bible says that He died for MANY for the remission of sins, not for all, because some would not repent and therefore would not receive remission of sins.

Matthew 26:28 says specifically: “For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.” Matthew 20:28 adds: “… the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” The ransom is for those who will repent and accept His Sacrifice. Christ did not give His life as a ransom for those who would reject His Sacrifice.

Hebrews 9:27-28 reads: “And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.”

Please note, Christ did not bear the sins of all, but of many. Those are exempted who would refuse to repent.

On the other hand, it was and is God’s and Christ’s desire for “all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4). And so, we read in Hebrews 2:9:

“But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone.”

Christ died for all people, potentially. Nobody HAD to fail. Nobody was “predestined” to commit the unpardonable sin. It is strictly man’s choice. But out of God’s “unconditional love” for all mankind, Christ died so that all could come to Him and could receive forgiveness of sin. He died to be able to offer salvation to everyone. God would call them in their due time (prior to Christ’s return, during the Millennium or during the Great White Throne Judgment period) and offer them the opportunity to accept Christ as their personal Savior (as in no one else is there salvation, compare Acts 4:12). At the same time, He knew that some would reject the offer—even though He did not know who exactly that would be, as He has decided NOT to know who would commit the unpardonable sin. But THAT some would commit it, is clear from Scripture, as the Bible foretells that some would be thrown into the lake of fire. For those, He did not give His blood for the remission of their sins.

Likewise, we read in Titus 2:11: “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men.” Yes, God’s grace appeared to all men, but all would not accept that precious gift. Ultimately, many would, but not all.

We also should focus on John 3:16, in context. It is true that Christ died for the world, living in sin, but He did not die for the world so that the world would continue to live in sin: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

After Christ gave His life, He wanted that those whom He would call—now or later—to believe in Him. Their faith was supposed to be obedient faith (Romans 1:5). And in loving God, by keeping His commandments, they would keep themselves in the love of God (Jude 21). They would not continue to live a disobedient lifestyle, as expressed by John in 1 John 3:17: “But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?”

As we said in our previous Q&A:

“We should be able to see that God expects of us to respond to His ‘unconditional’ love towards us (‘unconditional’ at the time when Christ died for us while we were yet sinners) by rejecting sin and by showing love towards God and our neighbor. God’s love is defined as keeping His commandments (1 John 5:3), and as we just read above in 1 John 3:17, we can lose God’s love in us due to our conduct. God’s love, once ‘unconditional’ at and before the beginning of our journey towards eternal life, has very clearly become ‘conditional.’

“We must DO something to ‘keep ourselves in the love of God’ (Jude 21). We read Christ’s words in John 14:21: ‘He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.’”

God’s love for us can also be seen when He disciplines us. That could be described as “tough love”—love which corrects us. His goal is for us to become God beings, and His correction is necessary to achieve that goal. Job had to go through many trials, pain and suffering, because he did not see himself as God saw him. His self-righteousness, had it not been repented of, would have kept him out of the Kingdom of God, but it was difficult for him to recognize how self-righteous he was. Only through God’s correction was he able to do so.

James 5:10-11 tells us: “My brethren, take the prophets, who spoke in the name of the Lord, as an example of suffering and patience. 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 very compassionate and merciful.”

God’s compassion and mercy was shown by the fact that He was willing to deal with Job, in spite of his at harsh words against God at times, thinking that he was more righteous than God, and that God dealt unjustly with him.

And so, when we are corrected by God, it is because He loves us and wants us to be in His Kingdom.

Hebrews 12:4-6 states:

“And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons: ‘My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD, Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; For whom the LORD loves He chastens, And scourges every son whom He receives.’”

Verse 10 explains the reason why God corrects us:

“For they [that is, our human fathers, see verse 9]  indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness.”

Christ also tells those Church members in need of repentance in Revelation 3:19: “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent.”

God knows that we could lose salvation. Even though that will be ultimately our decision, God is willing to do everything for us to prevent that from happening. Hebrews 2:1-4 says:

“Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away. For if the word spoken through angels proved steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just reward, how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him, God also bearing witness both with signs and wonders, with various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to His own will?”

Also, notice Philippians 2:12-13:

“Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.”

We see here God’s involvement in our lives. He is willing to do everything which we allow Him to do to ensure that we make it into His Kingdom. But Paul continues to remind us of our responsibility, in Philippians 2:14-16:

“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, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or labored in vain.”

So, we see that God and Christ rebuke and chasten us because of love. They correct us because they want us to be in God’s Kingdom and share in God’s glory, becoming part of God’s holiness.

We need to contrast this with the fate of the unrepentant sinner who has committed the unpardonable sin.

We said in our previous Q&A:  

“As we have seen, even the destruction of the sinner in the lake of fire reflects God’s love in that He does not want him to be tormented forever in an ever-burning hell, but it is obviously not a reflection of God’s ‘unconditional’ love which would allow us to live in sin and to do whatever we want to do, with the attitude: ‘God loves me, no matter what I do.’”

We must understand this statement in its proper context. God’s love and His righteousness do not tolerate or justify an unrepentant sinner’s continued ungodly lifestyle. God sees how much suffering and pain for others the sinner’s conduct causes. And so, we read in John 3:36 (Revised Standard Version): “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; he who does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God rests upon him.” Romans 1:18 adds: “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness…”

And so, we read the following alarming pronouncement by Christ in Matthew 24:48-51:

“But if that evil servant says in his heart, ‘My master is delaying his coming,’ and begins to beat his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunkards, the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him and at an hour that he is not aware of, and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

This evil servant is one who has committed the unpardonable sin, and whose fate it is to be thrown into the lake of fire where there is wailing and gnashing of teeth (compare Matthew 13:41-42, 49-50). But before he ends up in the lake of fire, he will be “cut in two.” This “correction” is not for the purpose of leading him towards salvation; rather, it is punishment for his evil deeds with which he influenced and tortured others, without a willingness to repent. His punishment reflects God’s love for others, as well as His righteousness, which demands that the sinner has to pay. It is clearly NOT a reflection of God’s “unconditional” love for the incorrigible sinner.

We state the following in our free booklet, “Punishment for Our Sins”, when addressing Christ’s statement that the evil servant will be “cut in two,” and after quoting numerous commentaries attempting to explain this phrase:

“… the wicked servant will receive some kind of physical and psychological punishment before he is thrown into the lake of fire with the hypocrites and the unbelievers. We do not know exactly what that punishment will be, but it is clear from Scripture that the punishment of the incorrigible sinners will include torment and fearful expectation BEFORE their existence ends. It will be much more severe than just a fleeting moment of annihilation in the Gehenna fire. They will receive ‘heavy stripes’ or ‘scourging’… including ‘stripes’ of a psychological nature.

“When those who commit the unpardonable sin stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ, they will be confronted with the terrible deeds, which they had committed, but they will not feel any remorse. They will refuse to repent of their wicked conduct. Filled with wrath and hate, they will hear Jesus Christ’s words condemning them to punishment and eternal death, and they will be tormented by the realization that they ARE going to receive ‘stripes’ and that they will be subsequently destroyed forever. Because of this, their hate and rage will even increase. Their wicked nature and conduct will be manifested in front of everyone. There will never be any doubt about God’s unfailing justice and just punishment.”

Nothing else would reflect or manifest God’s righteousness. These people had lost God’s love which had been poured in their hearts by the Holy Spirit (Romans 5:5). They had chosen the way of hate and unrighteousness. Christ who gave His life for them when they were still sinners will not have “unconditional” love for them when they are to be punished for their wickedness in the Third Resurrection which is the second death (Revelation 20:14).

And so, God loved mankind unconditionally when He gave His Son to die for them [potentially, each and every one of them], but it became very much conditional, based on how man responded when he or she was called. And if they reject God’s love—not that anyone would have to; it is strictly their choice—and if they “sin willfully after [they] have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries” (Hebrews 10:26-27).

Lead Writer: Norbert Link

compiled by Dave Harris

“Hat Gott bedingungslose Liebe für alle Menschen?” is the title of this Sabbath’s new German sermon, presented by Norbert Link. Title in English: “Does God Have Unconditional Love for Everyone?”

“In mir hat er nichts,” last Sabbath’s German sermonette presented by Jens Herrmann, is now posted. Title in English: “In Me He Has Nothing.”

“Liebt Gott wirklich ALLE Menschen?” last Sabbath’s German sermon by Norbert Link, is now posted. Title in English: “Does God Really Love ALL people?”

“Europe’s Revival and French Hostility Towards America—Comments on News and Prophecy, May 13, 2023,” the first message presented last Sabbath by Norbert Link, is now posted. Here is a summary:

What can we glean from the coronation of King Charles III, including the stone of destine; the veneration of the cross; and the role of the Catholic Church? What lessons can we draw from the burning of books in Nazi Germany in 1933? Why did the Prime Minister of Hungary compare the EU’s European unification project with Adolf Hitler’s plans for rule? Why does it appear that the French-American relations have become hostile again? And what is to be said about existing or coming conscription in Russia, Ukraine and the USA to get soldiers to serve, kill and die for their country?

“God’s Call for Repentant Change,” last Sabbath’s sermon presented by Norbert Link, is now posted. Here is a summary:

Why is it necessary to repent, turn around, change our way of thinking and become a totally new creation? True repentance, in leaving behind our “dead works,” is oftentimes not that easy.  To admit that one has done wrong or has been wrong, can be terribly difficult. The same is true when we are called upon to admit that we are not as righteous as we had thought to be. But God commands us to repent and to return to Him; to reject the broad way of the world, leading to condemnation and death; and to choose and walk instead the small and narrow way, leading to eternal life. 

Spring Holy  Day: Pentecost—May 28, 2023.

On May 13, 2023, Norbert Link will present “Comments on News and Prophecy—May 13, 2023,” and the sermon, titled, “God’s Call for Repentant Change.”

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.

Recently, I had to train an employee in our company, or rather, I had tried to train him. And whenever I explained something to him, he said: “I KNOW.” Regardless of what I told him, he responded with two words: “I KNOW.” It was quite annoying to me, because he never did it right, even though he knew perfectly well how to do it, or how he should do it.

And what about us?

·     I know I am harsh, brusque and unkind!

·     I know that’s wrong, but…

·     I know I am rebellious, not submitting to my husband.

·     I know I do not pay enough attention to my wife!

·     I know my home is dirty, but…

·     I know I should pray.

·     I know I need to study … but too many other things interfere.

·     I know… I KNOW… I KNOW!!

Does that sound familiar to us? Is that something we know?

We have been blessed with the most precious knowledge, the greatest laws, ways of life and purpose ever given to a people. God has begotten us with His Holy Spirit! The ultimate goal is to become a God being. Think about it! We are to become God.

How hard are we trying, considering what we know? Are we eager, growing and overcoming? Or are we slow, lazy, sluggish, stagnant, passive and compromising with sin?

Do we know good things we should do, but do not do them?

How does God look at this? What does God say? James 4:17 reads, “Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.”

So, if we say, “I know”, and do not act on that knowledge, we are sinners! Do we realize that we could just say as easily, “I sin,” as saying, “I know I should do good, but I don’t”?

In Matthew 25:24-30, we find the parable about the servant who KNEW what to do!!! It states:

“Then he who had received the one talent came and said, ‘Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed. And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours.’ But his lord answered and said to him, ‘You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed. So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest. Therefore take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents. For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’”

He might as well have said: “I knew you were asking me to overcome, Lord, but I just didn’t get around to doing it.”

Let’s think about that attitude for a moment! He was lazy, wicked, fearful, stubborn, rebellious, proud, accusing God of being unjust, justifying himself, deceiving himself and going his own carnal way.

Let us consider. Because he knew and did not make even the smallest effort necessary, he lost his eternal life and his reward. He was cast into the outer darkness… the wages of sin is death!

Why do we have this attitude? Why do we say we know we are sinning and make no effort to change even though we know we MUST change? What are we waiting for? For God to perform a miracle on us, to strengthen us without us having to do anything?

God will not change anyone in this way!

Christ had to pray with vehement cries and tears to overcome the flesh and never sin.

In Philippians 4:13, the Apostle Paul said: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

Let us note here that things are done through Christ; not that Christ did everything!

Instead of us perhaps saying, “I know I’m sinning, but I can’t change”, let’s pause for a moment and say: “I know this is sin and I WILL change!”

Let us repent and stop sinning. Let us try harder and God will help us to change and overcome.

In 1 John 2:3, we read: “Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments.”

This requires a supreme effort on our part. This includes daily prayer and Bible study, rooting out sin, maintaining good relationships in our family, with the brethren and between husband and wife.

Let us put our whole heart into overcoming and doing God’s Work.

That is the way for us to be assured that we know Christ: When we do the things that He commands us to do. So let us really work to eradicate the things we know are sins and do the good we know we should do.

Let’s not procrastinate any longer… let us do it NOW! Then we will know for sure that we will be in the Kingdom of God: “He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son” (Revelation 21:7).

Initial Translation: Daniel Blasinger

by Norbert Link

We begin—how could it be different?—with reports on the coronation of King Charles III. Steering away from the enthusiasm and patriotic, if not nationalistic glorification of the events, we are asking some rather troublesome questions regarding idolatry and blasphemy which exemplify why God is NOT happy with the UK. For a thorough explanation as to how God defines and views idolatry and blasphemy, please read our free booklet, “The Ten Commandments.”

We also speak about the power of the Pope and incredible blasphemous developments in the USA. We continue with America’s labor market; a worldwide financial bank crisis; Joe Biden’s denial when speaking about his son Hunter; Biden as the “news media evader”; a court’s decision to find Trump liable in a sexual abuse case; and further “uncomfortable” warnings from Robert F Kennedy, Jr.

Please view our StandingWatch program in this regard, titled, “Should Robert F Kennedy Jr. Be Censored?”

We continue with Russia’s “victory celebration”; Tucker Carlson’s announcement that he will launch a new show on Twitter; and we address Europe’s goal to create a powerful army; blasphemous events at the EU Parliament; Hungary’s longing for the return of Donald Trump; Europe’s ban on Ukrainian grain [compare our new StandingWatch program, titled, “Is Europe REALLY Supporting Ukraine?“]; a warning against censoring or even banning or burning books; and the readmission of Syria into the Arab League.

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

Stone of Destiny Welcomed to the Abbey

westminster-abbey.org wrote on April 29:

“A service to mark the arrival of the Stone of Destiny at Westminster Abbey was held on Saturday 29th April. The stone, an ancient symbol of Scotland’s monarchy, will play a central role in the Coronation of HM The King in the Abbey on 6th May.

“The Stone of Destiny was for centuries used in the inauguration of Scotland’s kings. In 1296, King Edward I brought the stone to Westminster. He placed it within the Coronation Chair, the oak seat he commissioned in 1300-1301 and which has been the centrepiece of coronations for more than 700 years. 

“In 1996, the UK government announced that stone was to be returned to Scotland, but would come back to the Abbey for coronations. It has travelled from its home in the Crown Room at Edinburgh Castle where it is visited by millions of people each year.

“Today’s service was conducted by the Dean of Westminster, the Very Reverend Dr David Hoyle… Among those speaking at the service was the Right Honourable The Lord Lyon King of Arms, who said in his address: ‘The Stone was taken from its place in the Abbey of Scone to this Abbey Church in 1296 by command of King Edward I in an act of enmity. It was returned to Scotland in 1996 by command of Her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in an act of amity and now comes again to this place by command of King Charles III as an act of unity and a symbol of friendship.’”

To conduct a religious service for the “stone of destiny” borders on idolatry. Note our two Q&As on the stone of destiny. https://www.eternalgod.org/what-do-we-know-of-the-stone-of-destiny-part-1/ and https://www.eternalgod.org/what-do-we-know-of-the-stone-of-destiny-part-2/

The Veneration of the Cross

The New York Times wrote on May 5:

“The coronation of King Charles III on Saturday will feature a processional cross containing what are said to be two pieces of the cross on which Jesus was crucified. Pope Francis recently gave the pieces to the new British monarch. These ‘fragments of the Relic of the True Cross’ were donated by the Vatican in early April ‘as an ecumenical gesture,’ the Vatican spokesman, Matteo Bruni, said in a statement. The pieces were set, under glass, at the center of a cross that was commissioned by Charles, as Prince of Wales, to celebrate the centenary of the Church in Wales, which split off from the Church of England in 1920.

“Of the many Christian relics that have been venerated over the centuries, the True Cross has been among the most important. The first historical references to it date to the fourth century, and adoration of the relic grew over the centuries — as did the number of fragments said to be from the cross. The theologian John Calvin wrote in a 1543 treatise, ‘If we were to collect all these pieces of the True Cross exhibited in various parts, they would form a whole ship’s cargo’…

“The legend that Helena, the mother of the Roman emperor Constantine who decriminalized Christianity in 313, brought pieces of the cross back from the Holy Land, became wrapped up in the Roman Catholic Church’s efforts to give political legitimacy to Christian rulers. Charlemagne, the first Holy Roman Emperor, sought relics of the cross for his cathedral at Aachen…

“It became common practice for European rulers to ask the pope in power for fragments of the cross, which the Holy See safeguarded in several locations in Rome… The Vatican did not say where the fragments given to King Charles had come from.

“After the coronation, the processional cross… will be shared between the Anglican and Catholic Churches in Wales…”

The veneration of the cross constitutes idolatry and blasphemy. Please read our Q&A on the use of crosses . Also, please read our two Q&As on the origin of the sign of the cross. https://www.eternalgod.org/what-is-the-origin-of-the-sign-of-the-cross-should-christians-make-the-sign-of-the-cross-part-1/ and https://www.eternalgod.org/what-is-the-origin-of-the-sign-of-the-cross-should-christians-make-the-sign-of-the-cross-part-2/

Changed Words, But No Change in Substance

Daily Mail wrote on May 6:

“The words of the Homage of the People were toned down at the eleventh hour… For the first time in history, every citizen of the UK and all the other nations of which the monarch is head of state had been asked to ‘make their homage in heart and voice to their undoubted King’. It was to make the ceremony more of a ‘People’s Coronation’, as previously only members of the aristocracy were called upon to make such a pledge. 

“But Charles reportedly approved the last-minute change which came after a string of commentators criticised the new addition as divisive.

“The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, will now ‘invite’ a show of support from the congregation rather than a ‘call’ to those in the Abbey and elsewhere to swear allegiance to the King…”

But they were still supposed to, and they did say:

“I swear that I will pay true allegiance to Your Majesty, and to your heirs and successors, according to the Law. So help me God.”

Swearing allegiance to a man, according to the law of man (which would supersede the law of God), constitutes idolatry and blasphemy.

Many more problems were present during the ceremony. As we previously reported, the fragrant chrism oil that was used to anoint King Charles during his coronation was “made sacred” in Jerusalem. A ceremony took place in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, where the “holy oil” was consecrated by the Patriarch of Jerusalem, Theophilos III, and the Anglican archbishop in Jerusalem, Hosam Naoum. It had been created using olives harvested from two groves on the Mount of Olives, at the Monastery of Mary Magdalene and the Monastery of the Ascension (compare the Guardian, May 3, 2023).

It is true that we read that God anointed David with His holy oil (Psalm 89:20), but the oil with which King Charles III was anointed did not become holy when in a religious ceremony, the oil was consecrated and “made sacred” by Eastern Orthodox and Anglican figure heads; this borders on idolatry and blasphemy.

The entire ceremony crowning King Charles III and his wife Camilla had little, if anything, to do with a service which would have been pleasing to God. The service was also permeated with false religious doctrines and practices. For instance, apart from praying to the Trinity, the Archbishop of Canterbury spoke at one time about the “Father of the Holy Spirit.”

What is important for us to recognize is that another Jewish descendant of David sits on the Throne of David, according to God’s unconditional promise to David that he would never lack a descendant to sit on his throne. This recognition has no bearing on the King’s righteousness and the righteousness of the clergy, the politicians and the people. In fact, God is very angry with the sins of the UK, including the sin of false worship and idolatry, and punishment is looming.

The Power of the Pope

Crux wrote on May 7:

“When King Charles III and Queen Consort Camilla were crowned yesterday, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s Secretary of State, was on hand in Westminster Abbey to represent Pope Francis and the Holy See… he’s considered a contender to become pope himself someday…

“Popes haven’t been crowned since 1963, when Paul VI became the last pontiff to don the papal regalia in a coronation ceremony… in theory a future pontiff could decide to resurrect the triregnum, the three-tiered tiara with which popes were once invested to symbolize their role as ‘father of princes and kings’…

“A pope is still a temporal monarch, albeit over an extremely small state… Francis still is invested with the power to decide all matters, secular and spiritual, within the Vatican’s territory, from doctrine to traffic laws. In ecclesiastical terms the pope’s authority certainly remains absolute. Canon 882 of the Code of Canon Law makes it clear: ‘The Roman Pontiff, by reason of his office as Vicar of Christ, and as pastor of the entire Church has full, supreme, and universal power over the whole Church, a power which he can always exercise unhindered.’”

The Catholic Church and the Church of England are not that different, as the coronation service of King Charles III clearly showed, which was “Catholic” to the core. The difference is the role of the Pope who was replaced in England with the King. Henry VIII broke with the Pope and the Roman Church simply because Pope Clement VII refused to grant him annulment of his marriage to Katherine of Aragon so he could wed Anne von Kleefes. The desire of the Roman Church to bring the Church of England (one of the daughter churches) back into the fold of the “mother church” has become obvious in recent years.

“Jesus Values” Not Welcome

On May 6, 2023, Fox News reported the following:

“An Arizona School District settled a religious discrimination case Thursday two months after it was accused of illegally terminating a contract while its members blasted the Christian ‘Jesus’ values of a university… On Wednesday evening, the board restored a contract with the university…

“Alliance Defending Freedom, who represented the university, said the school board ‘showed blatant hostility to ACU’s beliefs’ when it questioned how one could ‘be committed to Jesus Christ’ and yet, at the same time, respect LGBTQ students and board members.

“[One] School board member… blasted the university for ‘teaching with a Biblical lens.’”

One thing is clear: If you are committed to Jesus Christ and His teachings, you cannot at the same time believe in the correctness of the LGBTQ movement.

Unemployment Down, But Is This Really Good News?

Thomson/Reuters wrote on May 5:

“U.S. employers boosted hiring in April while raising wages for workers, pointing to sustained labor market strength that could see the Federal Reserve keeping interest rates higher for some time…

“The Fed raised its benchmark overnight interest rate by another 25 basis points to the 5.00%-5.25% range on Wednesday… Fed has hiked its policy rate by 500 basis points since March 2022.

“Some economists… believe that the labor market is overstating the health of the economy, pointing to the divergence between consumer spending and job gains as well as a continued decline in worker productivity. Consumer spending stalled in February and March. Productivity has declined on a year-year basis for five straight quarters, the longest such stretch since the government started tracking the series in 1948.

“Economists also noted that job growth was becoming more concentrated in the leisure and hospitality industry as well as state and local governments… With risks of a recession mounting… the hiring landscape could change quickly…”

Worldwide Financial Bank Crisis

LifeSiteNews wrote on May 8:

“With almost eight months left to run in 2023, this year’s banking collapses already eclipse those of the financial crisis of 2008 – and 2009 – combined… Collectively, the three big banks that have collapsed in 2023 had more assets than all 25 banks that collapsed in 2008 did… Signature Bank, New York, NY and Silicon Valley Bank, Santa Clara, CA collapsed in March 2023, joined by First Republic Bank, San Francisco on May 1.

“… The tree is rotten from the roots… At present, confidence in banks is falling all over the West… Even if only half of uninsured depositors decide to withdraw, almost 190 banks with assets of $300 billion are at a potential risk of impairment…  if a bank run begins in these… institutions, it is likely to lead to a far greater crisis…

“Overall, the outlook for the U.S. banking sector looks dire…

“Reuters reports that billions have been withdrawn from U.K. and European banks by depositors, fearing a repeat of the meltdown of Credit Suisse. The crisis in confidence is not limited to the USA… Four major banks in Britain reported losses from two to eleven billion pounds over the first three months of 2023, with German and French deposits showing falls of up to 8 percent…

“The practice of information warfare is universally degrading. Both the banks and President Joe Biden have reassured the public there is no cause for concern. These remarks must be understood in the context that rumors – especially of the truth – can be fatal to confidence in banks. 

“The truth of the matter is that printing money backed by promises on debt is a fools’ bargain…

“It is astonishing to see the West once again threatened by a major financial crisis…”

Joe Biden: “My Son Did Nothing Wrong!”

Professor John Turley wrote on May 6:

“During an interview with MSNBC Ruhle asked, ‘Sir, there is something personal that’s affecting you. Your son — while there [are] no ties to you — could be charged by your Department of Justice. How will that impact your presidency?’

Biden answered, ‘First of all, my son’s done nothing wrong. I trust him. I have faith in him. And it impacts my presidency by making me feel proud of him.’…

“Yet, there are mounting allegations over the President’s involvement… and recent allegations of potential criminal conduct by the President… the Justice Department and the media have worked tirelessly to avoid ties between Hunter Biden’s foreign dealings and the President…

“The media continues to struggle to avoid even referencing the allegations against the Bidens…  That is why it was hardly surprising that Ruhle also did not press Biden on his continued false claims of not knowing anything about his son’s business interests despite pictures and a tape recording that clearly refute those denials.

“Ruhle also ignored Biden’s absurd claim that Hunter did ‘nothing wrong.’ Obviously, he has done a great number of ‘wrong things’ from tax violations to gun violations to prostitution violations to a massive corruption scandal. Yet, once again, Biden went unchallenged. There was not even the slightest pushback to ask if Biden seriously did not view these actions as wrong in any way.”

Fox News contributor and New York Post journalist Miranda Devine warned that Biden is setting the stage for pardoning his son Hunter if he was to be indicted and convicted of numerous crimes.

Biden a News Media Evader

The left-wing Washington Post editorial board slammed Biden for not doing more press conferences, calling him a ‘news media evader.’ Here are excerpts from the board’s opinion, entitled “Biden no longer does press conferences. That’s not acceptable,” continuing:

“President Biden hasn’t dropped the microphone; he appears to have lost it. Mr. Biden is turning into a news media evader, and it’s harmful to his presidency and the nation. In the past 100 years, only Presidents Richard M. Nixon and Ronald Reagan averaged fewer news conferences than Mr. Biden…

“The president and his team promised transparency. Instead, he is stonewalling the media… Taking questions from the media promotes public accountability. It also shows that the president is willing to defend his positions and instills confidence that he can do the job. It is widely known that Mr. Biden is gaffe-prone and that news conferences are not his forte. But as he runs for a second term, he should be eager to show he can handle all aspects of the job…”

Trump Found Liable in Sexual Abuse Case

Breitbart wrote on May 9:

“A jury in New York found former President Donald Trump liable Tuesday for sexual abuse and battery of writer E. Jean Carroll three decades ago, though not liable for rape, and awarded $5 million in civil damages against him.

“The jury also found Trump defamed Ms. Carroll in his reactions to her lawsuit, which was encouraged by anti-Trump lawyer George Conway and backed by Democrat mega-donor Reid Hoffman, an associate of the late convicted sex criminal Jeffrey Epstein. The jury reached its decision after a few hours of deliberations, after a trial in which U.S. Judge Lewis Kaplan, a Bill Clinton appointee, allowed character evidence, including the infamous Access Hollywood tape, to be used.

“Trump decided not to testify in his own defense. Instead, video of his deposition in the case was played, in which he said he did not recall Ms. Carroll and that he would not have been attracted to her (or her lawyer)…

“… the judge controversially allowed other women to testify that they had similar experiences with Trump. Typically, such evidence of character — purporting to prove that a defendant committed a specific act based on an alleged propensity to commit similar acts — is inadmissible except in a few very specific circumstances.

“Because the case was not a criminal case, the plaintiff’s legal team was allowed to comment negatively on Trump’s refusal to testify, and the jury was allowed to draw negative inferences from it.

“Former President Trump reacted on Truth Social, his social media platform, saying: ‘I HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA WHO THIS WOMAN IS. THIS VERDICT IS A DISGRACE – A CONTINUATION OF THE GREATEST WITCH HUNT OF ALL TIME!’…. Trump is planning to appeal the jury’s decision.”

The Daily Mail added on May 9:

“Trump… insisted he was denied a fair trial by a biased Manhattan jury and judge… Manhattan is a staunchly Democrat borough, and the former president is widely loathed in his hometown. ‘What else can you expect from a Trump-hating, Clinton-appointed judge, who went out of his way to ensure the result of this trial was as negative as it could possibly be,’ he asked. ‘Speaking to and in control of a jury from an anti-Trump area, which is probably the worst place in the United States for me to get a fair trial. We’ll be appealing this decision…’

“Trump’s comments echo those of his attorney, Joe Tacopina, who said outside court on Tuesday that a Manhattan jury was ‘always’ going to rule against Trump… There is no possibility of Trump being charged with attacking Carroll, as the legal time limit has long since passed.

“For similar reasons, she initially filed her civil case as a defamation lawsuit, saying Trump’s derogatory denials had subjected her to hatred, shredded her reputation and harmed her career. Last fall New York state gave people a chance to sue over sexual assault allegations that would otherwise be too old. Carroll was one of the first to file…”

What more needs to be said?

Robert Kennedy Jr. Favored by the Public

Newsmax wrote on May 5:

“There’s a high likelihood President Joe Biden may not be able to run again in 2024, but Democrats [the DNC or the Democratic National Committee] and the ‘propaganda fake news’ are ignoring Robert Kennedy Jr., a Democratic contender, says former Rep. Devin Nunes… ‘Kennedy is … at 16% of that poll you put on the screen. But I’ve actually seen him at 20% in other polls. And that didn’t bode well, considering that the fake news has totally ignored that Kennedy is even running,’ Nunes said Friday…

‘That tells you there’s something going on underneath in the Democratic Party, where you have 16[%] to 20% of them — with virtually no news coverage — that wants to vote for Kennedy,’ he added…

“Last week, a Fox News poll showed him at 19%. A survey from YouGov published a few weeks ago tested Kennedy’s image alongside a dozen other political figures, including Biden, former President Donald Trump, and other congressional leaders. Nearly half of Americans had a favorable view of him (48%) compared with just 28% unfavorable.”

Kennedy Not to Join Trump

 Newsmax reported on May 10:

“Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. shot down speculation Wednesday on whether he would join former President Donald Trump on a ticket for the 2024 election. ‘Just to quell any speculation, UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES will I join Donald Trump on an electoral ticket,’ Kennedy tweeted. ‘Our positions on certain fundamental issues, our approaches to governance, and our philosophies of leadership could not be further apart.’…

“Kennedy’s comments come a day after a Rasmussen Reports survey found a majority of Democratic voters would back President Joe Biden for the party’s 2024 nomination, despite their ‘admiration’ for Kennedy…

Reaction to Kennedy’s tweet poured in from across the Twittersphere, with many asking him to reconsider…”

Kennedy Warns of Financial Censorship

Fox News reported on May 5:

“Robert F. Kennedy Jr., promised Thursday to protect Americans from ‘financial censorship’ if elected president, arguing that financial companies acting out of ‘fear’ of the government pose a threat to freedom that transcends partisanship…

“Kennedy… accused western governments of ‘financial censorship of political enemies’ during the COVID-19 pandemic. In a Twitter thread, he pointed to the Canadian government’s financial sanctions against ‘Freedom Convoy’ protesters, comparing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s actions to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s freezing of assets belonging to opposition leader Alexei Navalny. ‘It’s not outlandish to imagine that even here in America, your bank account could one day be frozen because of your politics, or comments you’ve made on social media,’ Kennedy wrote. 

“‘After all, in 2010, Paypal, Visa, and Mastercard suspended WikiLeaks, at the behest of the U.S. State Department. GoFundMe blocked U.S. accounts from sending funds to Canadian truckers… backing down only when faced with a lawsuit. PayPal modified their acceptable use policy to fine users $2,500 for spreading what they deemed to be misinformation, a change they rescinded under pressure. Nonetheless, thousands of customers are currently suing PayPal for the arbitrary seizure of their accounts,’ he continued.”

In addition, Kennedy “blames the CIA for the Nov. 22, 1963, assassination of his uncle, President John F. Kennedy — proclaiming it ‘beyond a reasonable doubt.’… ‘The evidence is overwhelming that the CIA was involved in the murder, and in the cover-up.’ The US government’s official investigation… concluded Lee Harvey Oswald acted as a lone wolf in the fatal shooting, and that there was no credible evidence he was part of a conspiracy to assassinate the 35th president” (The New York Post, dated May 7).

That Oswald did NOT act alone should be obvious from all the available evidence.

Kennedy’s Take on the Russian-Ukrainian War

Modern Diplomacy wrote on May 8:

[In an interview, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. said the following:]

“Let’s be honest: it’s a US war against Russia… President Biden has said that… his intention [is] to get rid of Vladimir Putin. His Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, in April 2022, said that our purpose here is to exhaust the Russian army… The commander of the special forces unit in the Ukraine… has said 80% of his troops are dead or are wounded and they cannot rebuild the unit. Right now, the Russians are killing Ukrainians at a ratio of either 1:5 or 1:8, depending on what data you believe.

“We need to remove our Aegis missile systems, which house the Tomahawk missiles — nuclear missiles — from 70 miles from the Russian border. When the Russians put nuclear missiles on Cuba, 1,500 miles from Washington DC, we were ready to invade them, and we would have invaded them if they hadn’t removed them. The way they got removed ultimately is: my uncle and father made a deal with Ambassador Brennan and Khrushchev, who they had a close relationship with and they could talk directly to at that point. The deal was: ‘we will remove our Jupiter missiles from Turkey, on your border, because we know that’s intolerable to you.’

“Russia has been invaded twice in the previous 100 years [Actually, Russia was invaded at least three times by European forces]. One could see why they wouldn’t want nuclear missile systems in hostile countries on their border…  my uncle always said, if you want to actually achieve peace, you’ve got to put yourself in the other guy’s shoes and you’ve got to figure out the local pressures on him too…

“What happened in the Ukraine is that the US supported essentially a coup d’etat in 2014, against the democratically-elected government of Ukraine…”

Russia’s Victory Celebration

Thomson/Reuters wrote on May 9:

“Putin has repeatedly likened the war in Ukraine… to the challenge Moscow faced when Adolf Hitler invaded the Soviet Union in 1941…

“The Soviet Union lost 27 million people in World War Two, including many millions in Ukraine, but eventually pushed Nazi forces back to Berlin, where Hitler committed suicide and the red Soviet Victory Banner was raised over the Reichstag in 1945…

“As many as 354,000 Russian and Ukrainian soldiers have been killed or injured in the Ukraine war, which is now in its 15th month and could well grind on well beyond 2023…

“This anniversary falls less than a week after Russia accused Ukraine of attacking the Kremlin citadel with two drones in an attempt to kill Putin. Kyiv has denied any involvement…

“Along with the 1812 defeat of French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, the crushing of Nazi Germany is Russia’s most revered military triumph, though both catastrophic invasions from the west left Russia deeply sensitive about its Western borders.”

Tucker Carlson to Launch His Own Show on Twitter

The Daily Mail wrote on May 9:

“… the fired Fox News host revealed he is relaunching his show on Twitter. The ousted television host made the announcement in a three-minute video posted to his Twitter page on Tuesday, in which he slammed the mainstream media and said anyone who tries to tell the truth ‘will be fired.’

“Sources close to Carlson have previously said he is preparing for ‘war’ against the network (Fox News) as he fights to be released from his $25 million-a-year contract, which prevented him from joining rival networks or starting one of his own.

“But Musk on Tuesday denied any special agreement had been reached with Carlson. ‘I also want to be clear that we have not signed a deal of any kind whatsoever. Tucker is subject to the same rules & rewards of all content creators,’ Musk tweeted, in response to Carlson’s video.”

Axios added on May 9:

“Carlson… accused the network Tuesday of fraud and breach of contract — and made a host of document demands that could precede legal action… The aggressive letter from his lawyers to Fox positions Carlson to argue that the noncompete provision in his contract is no longer valid — freeing him to launch his own competing show or media enterprise…

“The Twitter move would seem to technically violate Carlson’s contract with Fox, but his lawyers’ letter effectively holds that Fox breached the contract first…”

The Danger of the EU Army

The European Conservative wrote on May 5:

“Before the 2016 EU referendum, leading Remainers insisted that we Brexiteers were ‘dangerous fantasists’ when we warned about the rise of a European Union army. But as the EU accelerates its drive towards a militarised supra-state, we are surely entitled to ask: who are the dangerous fantasists now?

“When European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker called for a Europe-wide security force in 2015, Leave campaigners led by then-UKIP leader Nigel Farage MEP seized upon it as proof that they had been right all along…

“Arch-Remainer Nick Clegg… declared that ‘Jean-Claude Juncker and Nigel Farage are both dangerous fantasists when it comes to this issue. It’s not going to happen.’…

“Meanwhile the forward charge towards a militarised EU has accelerated… Just this week, Brussels unveiled its plan to pump €500 million into European factories producing ammunition shells… European Commission industry chief Thierry Breton urged European manufacturers to get into ‘war economy mode.’

“This is the third of EU leaders’ current three tracks for increased military spending. Track two commits the EU to spend €1 billion on procuring arms and missiles over the next year…

“Russia’s invasion of Ukraine provides EU leaders with a plausible pretext for their new ‘war economy’ policies. But… they have been working to turn their dream of a centralised EU security policy into reality for many years: from Juncker’s call for an EU army in 2015, through Chancellor Merkel and President Macron’s explicit endorsement of that idea in 2018, to the EU’s 2022 ‘Military Mobility 2.0’ action plan for the rapid movement of large-scale forces. If it wasn’t for the all-too-real war in Ukraine, they would no doubt have found some other excuse…

“EU member states are now faced with the real prospect of security forces armed and commanded from Brussels. They may have to ask the question that we Brexiteers posed to British voters: in a democracy, who do you want to decide if you go to war? Your elected national government, or a centralised, militarised EU super-state?”

Such a centralized, militarized EU super-state IS prophesied to happen. Please read our free booklet, “The Ten European Revivals of the Ancient Roman Empire.”

European Parliament Displays Jesus with Gay Sadomasochistic Slaves

Fox News reported on May 7:

“Conservative European politicians raged over artwork at the European Parliament in Brussels that depicted Jesus Christ delivering the Sermon on the Mount while surrounded by gay men dressed in leather BDSM outfits. The image, which was part of a photography exhibition by lesbian Swedish artist Elisabeth Ohlson that ran in a restricted part of the EU Parliament building from May 2 to 5, was an attempt to display Jesus as supportive of LGBTQ rights, the artist said…

“Another piece of Ohlson’s work featured in the exhibit depicted a naked Black man in the position of Christ on the cross while a naked White man cradled him…

“The art had previously been rejected for display at the EU Parliament in the early 2000s.

“The art drew condemnation from some Italian, Spanish and Polish members of European Parliament, who described the work as blasphemous...

“Ohlson has stoked outrage before…  She toured Sweden in 1998 with a series titled ‘Ecce Homo,’ which displayed images of Jesus featuring themes promoting homosexuality, transgenderism and BDSM fetishism.”

This is SO blasphemous!

Hungary Wants Trump to Return as President

Newsmax wrote on May 5:

“Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban is calling for former President Donald Trump to return to the White House… ‘I’m sure if President Trump were president today, there’d be no war inflicting Europe and Ukraine,’ he continued…

“Earlier this month, Orban urged the former president to ‘keep on fighting’ amid intense legal battles surrounding the Stormy Daniels payment and other controversies.

“In a similar vein, last year Trump praised and endorsed the Hungarian leader as he was seeking a fourth successive term as prime minister against a united opposition. Orban won the election by a 20-percentage-point margin, 54% to 34%…

“Orban has faced some criticism from within the European Union for his populist beliefs…”

Last week’s CBS News and YouGov poll found Trump on top of the field at 58%, a 35-percentage-point lead over DeSantis at 22%. Former United States Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley came in at 4%. Former Vice President Mike Pence tied with entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy at 5%.

EU Bans Ukrainian Grain

Deutsche Welle wrote on May 7:

“An agreement signed by Ukraine and Russia last year, mediated by Turkey, on a Black Sea grain corridor has been poorly implemented. Ukrainian grain exports via the sea route have repeatedly come to a standstill. This has caused the price of Ukrainian grain to drop and fluctuate considerably.

“Large-scale grain deliveries from Ukraine to the European Union only became possible after Russia’s invasion… Just over a year ago, Brussels abolished tariffs and import quotas for Ukrainian agricultural products as a sign of solidarity and as an effort to buoy up Ukraine’s economy.

“On April 7, 2023, however, Poland unilaterally imposed import bans on Ukrainian grains after mass protests by farmers there over falling prices… This was quickly followed by similar bans in Hungary, Slovakia and Bulgaria. In late April, the EU Commission retroactively legalized this ban, which has now also been extended to include Romania and covers wheat, corn, rapeseed, sunflower seeds and sunflower oil.

“At the same time, the EU Commission emphasized that the transit of Ukrainian grain through these nations to third countries remains permitted. The restrictions initially apply until June 5, after which they can be extended indefinitely…

“Because of the EU import bans, 12 to 15 million tons of grain from last year’s harvest will remain in Ukrainian silos… For Ukrainian farmers, this uncertainty in relations with European business partners is even worse than current financial setbacks… Tensions with the EU weaken Ukraine, making the country even more vulnerable to Russian blackmail…”

It is obvious that Ukrainians are not happy with Europe’s anti-Ukrainian position.

Once You Start Burning (or Prohibiting) Books…

Deutsche Welle wrote on May 9:

“On a rainy night in May, German writer Erich Kästner [“The Parent Trap”] stands among NAZI SA officers and onlookers before a burning pyre that illuminates Berlin’s Opernplatz, now called Bebelplatz. Men in black SA uniforms throw piles of books on to the fire. Kästner listens as his name is shouted into a microphone: ‘Against decadence and moral decay! For discipline and decency in family and state! I hand over to the flames the writings of Heinrich Mann, Ernst Glaeser and Erich Kästner!”…

“It’s the night of May 10, 1933. In Berlin and in 21 other cities in Germany, bonfires are fed with books. It’s an act of barbarism that continues to reverberate to this day…

“Many of the writers and intellectuals whose books were burned had already left Germany by that point… By the time the Nazis seized power and Adolf Hitler became chancellor, on January 30, 1933, it was clear to them that they had no future in Germany… By May 1933, more than 200 writers had been blacklisted; a year later, more than 3,500 written works had been banned…

“Erich Kästner was possibly the only author to witness the burning of his own books on the night of May 10, 1933…He… remained in Germany, somehow keeping his head above water over the next years. As a non-Jew, he was able to survive the period until the end of the Nazi dictatorship in 1945…

“What is today Bebelplatz in Berlin features a memorial to the book burnings, a 1995 work by Israeli sculptor Micha Ullmann titled, ‘The Empty Library’… A plaque nearby says, ‘Where books are burned, eventually people will also be burned.’ 

“Those words, written by the German-Jewish poet Heinrich Heine in 1820, became horrifying reality in Nazi Germany… his words referred to book burnings in medieval Spain.

“The Nazis were by no means the inventors of this barbaric act, which has a long tradition. Books (and people) were burned across the centuries-long histories of both Christianity and Islam, as well as in ancient Greece and China, and in more recent times, in Iran and Russia.

“Authoritarian regimes all over the world fear the power held by the free word to call their dominance into question — and in the case of the Nazis, so much so that among the works they burned on May 10, 1933, were those by Heinrich Heine, more than 70 years after the poet died in exile in Paris.”

And today, every time we hear about prohibiting or censuring books or free speech, we should take note and wake up.

Syria Readmitted

Reuters wrote on May 7:

“The Arab League readmitted Syria on Sunday after more than a decade of suspension, consolidating a regional push to normalise ties with President Bashar al-Assad in a move criticised by Washington.

“The decision said Syria could resume its participation in Arab League meetings immediately… Russia, an Assad ally, hailed Syria’s readmission.”

The Arab world, in opposition to Israel, is coming together.

Acknowledgement and Disclaimer

These Current Events are compiled and commented on by Norbert Link. We gratefully acknowledge the many contributions of news articles from our readership. The publication of articles in this section is not to be viewed as an endorsement or approval as to contents or accuracy of the selected articles, but they are published for the purpose of pointing at worldwide developments in the light of biblical end-time prophecy and godly instruction. Our own comments are provided in italics.

How does God’s love manifest itself in the concept of the “Second Resurrection”?

Revelation 20:5, 11-12 describes the SECOND Resurrection: “But the REST OF THE DEAD [who were not in the FIRST Resurrection which granted eternal life] did not live again UNTIL the thousand years [the Millennium] were finished… Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it… And I saw the dead, small and great, STANDING before God… And the dead were JUDGED…”

The “Second” Resurrection or the Great White Throne Judgment describes a resurrection to physical life of those who had not been called before. Ezekiel 37 pictures the resurrection of the entire house of Israel to PHYSICAL life . We see in Ezekiel 37:14 that the Holy Spirit is offered to the resurrected Israelites–obviously after they have repented of their sins. The people of the house of Israel will know God and begin to live a life pleasing to God. If they overcome and endure, they will receive immortality (compare Romans 11:32; Romans 11:26).

Other passages describe the physical resurrection of Gentiles (compare Matthew 12:38-42; Matthew 11:20-24).

Isaiah 65:20-25 indicates that there will be an allotted time span of 100 years during which those who are brought back to physical life can qualify for eternal life. If they do, they will be changed to immortality at the end of that judgment period (Hebrews 9:27; Ecclesiastes 12:14; Matthew 12:36).

It is true that today, only very few—those who are called in this day and age–are written in the “Book of Life.” We read in Revelation 3:5: “He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I [Jesus Christ] will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.” True Christians are written down in a particular book—the Book of Life—and they will not be erased from it as long as they continue to overcome.

Those written in the Book of Life are those very few who have been called since the time of Adam. For the rest of mankind, their names are NOT yet written in the Book of Life, but for those living in the Millennium and for those in the Second Resurrection, their names CAN be written in the Book of Life, as it will be OPEN to them at that time. Up until then, it has only been OPENED to those who have been predestined to be saved prior to Christ’s Second Coming. As long as their names ARE written (and not blotted out) in the Book of Life, their inheritance of ETERNAL life is guaranteed.

But again, that does not diminish God’s Love for all the others, because their names can also be written in the Book of Life, when their time has arrived.

Revelation 20:4-5, 11-12 states that the Second Resurrection will occur 1,000 years AFTER the First Resurrection. We read that those in the Second Resurrection will STAND before God and His Great White Throne. We also read: “… And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and BOOKS WERE OPENED. And ANOTHER BOOK was opened, which is the BOOK OF LIFE. And the dead were JUDGED according to their works, by the things WHICH WERE WRITTEN IN THE BOOKS.”

The Holy Spirit will be offered and the Book of Life will be opened to ALL who will rise in the Great White Throne Judgment. For these people, the Holy Spirit had never been available before (they were cut off from the Tree of Life, symbolizing the Holy Spirit), and the Book of Life had not been opened to them. But when the fulfillment of the events arrives, then their time of salvation has come.

It is true that some will end up in the lake of fire. But even this does not prove God’s hatred for them. Sadly, there are those who have had their opportunity to choose righteousness and accept God’s love, but instead they have committed the “unpardonable sin.” They knew and understood perfectly well that they had to submit to Christ, but they refused to do so. They became bitter, hateful, resentful and malicious. They made the unchangeable decision NEVER to repent. If a person has reached that stage that he cannot repent, because he has made the final decision NOT to WANT to repent, then God will not force repentance on such a person. God grants repentance, but a person must want to receive it. A person, though, who maliciously rejects Christ, would only continue to live in misery and pain–and that is why God will save such a person from eternal misery, by DESTROYING him or her in a lake of fire.

God is “…not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9); and, God “…desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4). Yet, God will not force people to choose life– even though He will give all an opportunity for eternal life in His Kingdom.

Some will have committed the unpardonable sin. They will be destroyed by fire: “‘But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death’” (Revelation 21:8).

To destroy someone and end his or her life in the lake of fire does not prove that God does not love them. It is because of His love for them that He frees them from their misery, rather than letting them live for all eternity in a state of hatred, rebellion and refusal to live God’s Way of Life, which is a Way of Love [which can be defined as outgoing concern for the good and welfare of others.]. People who fall into that category who are HATING God (compare Romans 1:30), UNWILLING to repent, while gnashing their teeth in anger and wrath (compare Matthew 13: 41-42; 24:48-51) and telling God, in so many words, “to go to hell.”

What we have discussed so far can be summarized by the fact that God IS Love (1 John 4:8, 16); and that love is of or from God (1 John 4:7). Can it therefore be said that God has “unconditional” love for the sinner—that He loves the sinner before he repents of his sins, and that He will always love him, even if he refuses, with hate, to repent and submit to God?

We should note that the term “unconditional love” can nowhere be found in the Bible.

gotquestions.org describes the concept of “unconditional love” as follows:

“Despite the hostility and enmity we have toward God… God revealed His love toward us in the giving of His Son, Jesus Christ, as the propitiation (the appeasement of God’s righteous wrath) for our sins. God did not wait for us to better ourselves as a condition of atoning for our sin.”

To interject here, that statement is clearly false. God does not atone for or forgive our sins when we do not repent. Continuing:

“This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his… only [begotten] Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins” (1 John 4:9-10).

“It is important to note that God’s love is a love that initiates; it is never a response. That is precisely what makes it unconditional. If God’s love were conditional, then we would have to do something to earn or merit it. We would have to somehow appease His wrath or cleanse ourselves of sin before God would be able to love us. But that is not the biblical message. The biblical message—the gospel—is that God, motivated by love, moved unconditionally to save His people from their sin.

“Also important is the fact that God’s unconditional love does not mean… that God will never discipline His children. To ignore God’s merciful love, to reject the Savior who bought us (2 Peter 2:1), is to subject ourselves to God’s wrath for eternity (Romans 1:18), not His love. For a child of God to willfully disobey God is to invite the Father’s correction (Hebrews 12:5-11).”

The comments above contain Truth and error. The Truth is that God loved us and that Christ died for us BEFORE we loved Him or obeyed Him. God so loved the world that Christ died for the world (John 3:16)—a world being cut off from God—so that the world could come to God, believe, repent and ultimately obtain everlasting life (same verse).

We read in Romans 5:8: “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

In other words, God loved the world and us who were part of the world, and Christ died for the world in anticipation of a response from the world. Christ did not die for the world and us so that the world and we could continue in sin and rebellion against God. This is shown by the fact that Christ said in Matthew 26:27-28:

“Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, ‘Drink from it, all of you. For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.’”

Notice, He did not say that His blood would be shed for all for the remission of sins. He knew that some would NOT accept His Sacrifice but steadfastly and permanently refuse to accept it. Christ did not shed His blood for them. Compare also Matthew 20:28.

We must DO something to “keep ourselves in the love of God” (Jude 21). We read Christ’s words in John 14:21: “He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.”

We don’t know and love God  when we refuse to keep His commandments (also compare 1 John 2:4). Of course, when we slip and are overtaken by a trespass, and repent, God will forgive us. We are still on the right path towards the Kingdom of God, and 1 John 3:1-2 still applies to us, which says:

“Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.”

But also notice what we read in the following verses:

“(3) And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure. (4) Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness [better: “transgresseth  also the law”; Authorized Version], and sin is lawlessness [“the transgression of the law,” Authorized Version]. (5) And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin… (8) He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil… (10) In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother. (11) For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another, (12) not as Cain who was of the wicked one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his works were evil and his brother’s righteous. (13) Do not marvel, my brethren, if the world hates you. (14) We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death. (15) Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. (16) By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. (17) But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him? (18) My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth.”

We should be able to see that God expects of us to respond to His “unconditional” love towards us (“unconditional” at the time when Christ died for us while we were yet sinners) by rejecting sin and by showing love towards God and our neighbor. God’s love is defined as keeping His commandments (1 John 5:3), and as we just read above in 1 John 3:17, we can lose God’s love in us due to our conduct. God’s love, once “unconditional” at and before the beginning of our journey towards eternal life, has very clearly become “conditional.” When we lose our “first love” and don’t repent, Christ “will come quickly to remove [our] lampstand from its place” (Revelation 2:4-5). When we live in an habitual way of sinning AFTER having known the Truth, no forgiveness is possible, as the sinner refuses to repent (Hebrews 6:4-8; 10:26-31).

As we have seen, even the destruction of the sinner in the lake of fire reflects God’s love in that He does not want him to be tormented forever in an ever-burning hell, but it is obviously not a reflection of God’s “unconditional” love which would allow us to live in sin and to do whatever we want to do, with the attitude: “God loves me, no matter what I do.”

If we want to attach labels to God’s love in response to our wrong conduct, we might speak of “tough love.” Compelling Truth wrote:

“‘Tough love’ is willingness to do the ‘tough’ things out of a heart of love… Biblical examples of tough love include Nathan confronting King David about his sin… and various proverbs about disciplining children…

“When King David committed adultery and had his lover’s husband killed, the prophet Nathan was the only one who confronted him about his sin… Nathan spoke the truth to David in such a way that David became immediately repentant. This is tough love.”

And so, God shows “tough love” for us if there is a need for correction. He is not showing “unconditional” love at that moment by saying: “I will let them do what they want to do, because of my unconditional love for them.” That idea is false and related to the wrong concept that no matter what we do, we are already saved. We CAN lose our salvation (compare Philippians 2:12; Hebrews 2:1-4), and in that sense, we can lose God’s love in us when we rebel and turn against Him, while hating and despising Him, without a desire to return to Him.

On the other hand, as long as we are on the right path, we have this assurance of God’s love for us, in Romans 8:28-39:

“(28) And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose… (31) If God is for us, who can be against us?… (35) Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?… (38) For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, (39) nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Lead Writer: Norbert Link

compiled by Dave Harris

“Is Europe REALLY Supporting Ukraine?” is the title of a new StandingWatch program, presented by Evangelist Norbert Link. Here is a summary:

Even though many think that Ukraine will win the war with the support of its American and European allies, the Bible does not confirm this conclusion. Reports about the current war situation are inconsistent, and Europe’s financial and military support of Ukraine is far inferior to that of the USA. Germany in particular is still trying to appease Russia. Europe’s recent ban on Ukrainian grain and its efforts to become a centralized, militarized EU Superstate are more than telling as to Europe’s true goals.

A new Member Letter (May 2023) has been posted and mailed to our subscribers. Pastor Michael Link presents an overview of our recent Ministerial / Church Conference. In particular, he pointed to our role in doing the Work of God with purpose and unity. His letter covers many topics brought forward in this Conference.

“Liebt Gott wirklich ALLE Menschen?” is the title for this Sabbath’s new German sermon presented by Norbert Link. Title in English: “Does God Really Love ALL people?”

“Geduld ist eine Tugend,” last Sabbath’s first split-sermon in Germany presented by Mike Richter, is now posted. Title in English: “Patience is a Virtue.”

“Von Ewigkeit zu Ewigkeit,” last Sabbath’s second split-sermon in Germany presented by Daniel Blasinger, is now posted. Title in English: “From Eternity to Eternity.”

“To Be First,” last Sabbath’s first split-sermon presented by Michael Link, is now posted. Here is a summary:

Do we desire to be first, to run the race worthy of obtaining the prize?  What is required of us to achieve this?

“What’s Age Got to Do with It?” last Sabbath’s second split-sermon presented by Kalon Mitchell, is now posted.

Spring Holy  Day: Pentecost—May 28, 2023.