On April 1, 2023, Michael Link will present the sermonette, titled, “Clean or Dirty?” and Brian Gale will present the sermon, titled, “The Passover and Humility.”

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.

April 6, 2023, is the First Day of Unleavened Bread. We will present live services (note the time table above). The Offertory will be presented by Eric Rank, and the sermon, titled, “Why Christians Must Observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread,” will be presented by Dave Harris.

PLEASE NOTE: Due to observing Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread, we will not publish the Update again until April 21, 2023.

Why would Paul admonish us to conduct a self-examination prior to taking the Passover?

He says in 1 Corinthians 11:28: “But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup.”

It is important to stop on occasion and analyze our progress as Christians and our relationship with God to maintain the goal of walking in the footsteps of Christ, our perfect example, who never sinned, and to understand that sin acts as a barrier in our relationship with God.

It is a perfect time to do that prior to taking the Passover which we are admonished to take in a worthy manner, according to the instructions from God through Paul.

Since even a little sin will corrupt the individual just as a little leaven leavens the whole lump, we have to be cognizant of this fact and make a genuine effort to get rid of sin and replace the void left from that removal with righteousness.

It is amazing how a little sin can become not that big a deal in our minds; yet, we must deal with it or it will deal with us. A stain on a carpet might be delayed in being cleaned up because we may think it is not a major issue. The longer we put it off, the more it is accepted. Later, it just becomes part of the decor. We must never allow sin in our lives not to be dealt with, so that it just becomes a decor.

Sin by itself will not just disappear on its own. Satan is smart enough to know that if he can get us to just compromise a little bit with God’s laws and not deal with it, he has taken hold of us. Realize that he would like all of us to fail in our journey into the Kingdom of God and to become born-again members of the God Family.

Killing us physically does not remove salvation from us, but failure to put sin out without repenting and getting rid of it can be our ultimate downfall.

At times, little sins can go unnoticed until we do a complete analysis. I remember a minister in the 80s, relating to my wife and me that during the Days of Unleavened Bread, he and his wife were sitting in their living room.

Years ago, some houses had a ledge to put small ornaments and knickknacks about a foot from the ceiling and about eight inches to a foot deep. They were sitting there, looking at the figurines and ornaments and something caught both their eyes.  It was the top of their wedding cake with a small man and woman on top dressed in wedding clothing which had been up there for years. The thought came to mind that they never checked it since at times the top is made of cake and the cardboard or wood is sometimes decorated with the figurines on top. They took it down to check it and to their dismay, they found it to be cake, with leavening in it which had been there in full view since they were baptized. This is like sin, which might be in front of our eyes, but we sometimes fail to see it.

The importance of examining ourselves thoroughly cannot be stressed enough, especially at this time of year. Let us therefore ensure we conduct that examination, clean ourselves up by repenting of our sins, and partake of the Passover in a worthy manner.

By Norbert Link

We begin with the canceled trip of King Charles to France, due to the dangerous situation in France which is “descending into anarchy”; speak on the likelihood of a terrorist attack in the UK.; the arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin; Germany’s intolerance and war against anti-war activists; the fear of nuclear war on German soil; alleged war crimes of Russia and Ukraine; Russia’s tactical weapons in Belarus; and Germany’s ridiculous immigration laws.

We report on Putin’s meeting with Xi Jinping and Biden’s meeting with Trudeau; Trump’s outbursts, his colossal blunders during the Covid pandemic, the question of whether he could run the country while in prison, and his rally in Texas.

We address the senseless and horrific murder in Nashville which was committed by a transgender female shooter, who wanted to be a man and was described as having suffered from an “emotional disorder” (which does not even come close to addressing the real causes of her insane conduct); Biden’s embarrassing and insensitive response; and Netanyahu’s suspension of his judicial reform package.

We conclude with the liberal movement in the German Catholic church.

King Charles’s France Visit Postponed

BBC News wrote on March 24:

“King Charles III’s state visit to France has been postponed after a request by President Emmanuel Macron, Downing Street says. The president said ‘we would not be sensible and would lack common sense’ to go ahead after unions called a day of pension protests during the visit [The retirement age is supposed to be raised from 62 to 64 without a parliamentary vote]. The trip to Paris and Bordeaux had been due to begin on Sunday. But both cities were caught up in violence on Thursday, some of the worst since demonstrations began in January…

“The decision is a significant loss of face for France and for President Macron. This was supposed to have been a showcase for France, introducing the new monarch to the best of French life and cementing a newly awakened friendship. But the protests made the trip impossible…

“This was a hugely important trip for the King: a first state visit, and to one of the UK’s closest and oldest allies… It may have been a joint decision [to cancel the visit] with the UK government, but he was the one under pressure…

“The King and Camilla were due to travel from France to Germany on Wednesday. Charles’s first state visit will instead begin in Berlin.”

The statement that France is one of the UK’s closest allies is a joke. France and the UK have never been close allies.

Express added on March 24:

“Royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams said… ‘The postponement of King Charles’s state visit to France, the first of his reign, marks a humiliation for President Macron. The country is descending into anarchy and it was clearly impossible to guarantee the safety of the royal party and to keep to any set schedule where security could be relied on.’”

Words about France’s descent “into anarchy” remind us of terrible events during the “French Revolution.”

Terrorist Attack Likely or Highly Likely in the UK

The Daily Mail wrote on March 28:

“The Northern Ireland terrorism threat level has been raised to ‘severe’ – meaning an attack is considered highly likely. The news comes ahead of a series of events to mark the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement – with US President Joe Biden due to visit in the middle of next month.

“Sectarian tensions have been rising for some time, with the most high-profile incident being the attempted murder of Detective Chief Inspector John Caldwell in Omagh last month.

“The situation has threatened to snowball against the backdrop of the row over post-Brexit rules. The DUP has been refusing to participate in power-sharing in protest at the Protocol – with Rishi Sunak’s new Windsor Framework package so far not succeeding in bringing them back to Stormont…

“The threat level for the rest of the UK remains at ‘substantial’, meaning an attack is considered ‘likely’.”

ICC Arrest Warrant for Putin and the Consequences

Breitbart wrote on March 24:

“Following remarks by the German government that if Vladimir Putin happened to visit their country they would be obliged to arrest him, Medvedev railed during a press event: ‘let’s imagine that it has happened. The incumbent head of a nuclear country arrives in, say, Germany and is arrested. What does it mean? A declaration of war against Russia. In such a case, all our weapons will target the Bundestag, the [German] Chancellor’s office and so on’…

“While it is unlikely Vladimir Putin will find himself in Germany — or any other European Union nation — by choice in the near term, he is due to visit South Africa for the BRICS summit in August. South Africa is a signatory to the ICC  [International Criminal Court] and therefore legally obliged to execute arrest warrants. However,… they have ignored this before, arguing that visiting heads of state — even if they have outstanding ICC warrants — have diplomatic immunity…

“While Russia’s threats to bomb the Netherlands for hosting the ICC, and any country that would try to serve the warrant, is extreme, it is not far away from the threats the United States [not recognizing the ICC] has made against that same court in the past. While threatening to arrest judges who attempt to investigate alleged U.S. war crimes in Afghanistan is a bold enough move, there is also the American Service-Members’ Protection Act on the books. Passed in 2002 and better known as the ‘Hague Invention Act,’ the Bush-era law empowers the President to use any means necessary to release U.S. citizens imprisoned by the ICC, including invading The Hague, which is the administrative capital of NATO member the Netherlands.”

If Germany’s government is stupid enough to make these kinds of threats against Putin, they should not be surprised about the reaction. Of course, Austria even tops Germany in stupidity, as the next article shows.

Now Austria

Report 24 wrote on March 25:

“As soon as Sigi Maurer (Greens) casually declared war on Russia in a press conference, the Ministry of Justice (Greens) also said that Russian President Vladimir Putin would of course be arrested [in Austria]. Former Russian President Medvedev explained to Germany only yesterday that such an action would be considered as an act of war and would result in the immediate bombing of Berlin…

“The arrest warrant against Putin is ridiculous in itself, because the court in The Hague, which feels responsible, is not recognized by Russia, the USA, or about half of the countries in the world. This did not prevent Germany or the USA from enthusiastic applauding the arrest warrant…

“Actually [the Greens] should act in accordance with the constitution and the law in the exercise of their state offices – i.e. neutrally. But instead they joined Germany’s threat… it is clear that the offer to bomb the German capital also applies to the capital of Austria…”

According to the Bible, Russia WILL ultimately destroy Berlin (and perhaps Vienna).

Germany’s War Against Antiwar Activists

The Ron Paul Institute wrote on March 22:

“Article 5 of the Basic Law grants individuals the right to express opinions, but there are numerous limitations in the Criminal Code, with punishment for ‘inciting hatred,’ racism, anti-Semitism and prison terms for Holocaust denial. Also prohibited are propaganda or symbols of ‘unconstitutional’ organizations, disparagement of the State and its symbols, blasphemy against established religions and especially failure to respect ‘human dignity.’

“Of course, what matters in all these laws is how they are interpreted. The ban on ‘rewarding and approving crimes’ (Section 140), that was originally intended to apply to convictions for violent civil crimes, has now been extended to the geopolitical sphere, namely, outlawing ‘approval or support’ of what it terms ‘aggressive war.’ 

“Antiwar activist Heinrich Bücker’s speech in Berlin last June 22 calling for good relations with Russia on the anniversary of the 1941 Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union was condemned by a Berlin court for ‘approving Russia’s crime of invasion.’…

“Needless to say, Germans were never threatened with criminal prosecution for approving the US invasions of Vietnam, Iraq or Afghanistan, much less the totally aggressive and illegal 1999 bombing of Serbia, in which they enthusiastically took part. Widely celebrated as a laudable act of humanitarianism, that bombing campaign, killing civilians and destroying infrastructure, forced Serbia to allow NATO to occupy its province of Kosovo, where the Americans built themselves a huge military base. Ethnic Albanian rebels declared independence and thousands of non-Albanians were driven out…”

Germany is marching again to the tune of war.

Nuclear War on German Soil?

Deutsche Welle wrote on March 24:

“If the Cold War had gone nuclear, it would have likely begun on German soil…  Germany… faces the direct risk of nuclear escalation. Former West Germany has been home to a strong pacifist movement, while many in former East Germany hold a less hostile view of Russia…

“Germany’s opposition to nuclear weapons competes with the expectation that it supports the security status quo. NATO nuclear sharing — the US-led military alliance’s long-standing policy that permits the stationing of US nuclear weapons on non-US territory — means German warplanes could carry them in the event of nuclear war.

“As many as 20 such warheads remain at the Büchel Air Base in western Germany…”

Sadly, ultimately, there WILL BE nuclear war on German soil.

Both Russia and Ukraine Guilty of War Crimes?

Breitbart wrote on March 25:

“The Russian and Ukrainian armed forces have been accused of torturing and executing prisoners of war over the past year by the United Nations, which said that such actions could amount to war crimes. A report from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) claimed that both Russia and Ukraine have engaged in the summary execution of prisoners of war, which contravenes numerous international human rights laws and treaties on war.

“The OHCHR said that they documented cases of summary executions of at least 25 Russian prisoners of war (POWs) under the authority of Ukrainian forces… The UN body went on to claim to have documented poor treatment of POWs at eight of the 31 transit or permanent camps run by the Ukrainian government, in which they found documented cases of torture and other forms of poor treatment of Russian prisoners, including so-called ‘welcome beatings’ in a prison in Dnipro from March to May 2022…

“Through investigative efforts, including interviewing Ukrainian POWs who were released from Russian captivity, the UN said that they found evidence of the summary executions of 15 POWs at the hands of the Russian armed forces or the Wagner Group mercenary organisation or other contracting groups. They went on to claim evidence of POWs being used as human shields, the death of two wounded prisoners for lack of medical attention, and the use of torture to extract information…

“While often lauded by the West, Ukrainians have previously been accused of wrongdoing in the war by Amnesty International, who alleged that they were unnecessarily endangering the lives of civilians by establishing military bases in residential areas including schools and hospitals, as well as launching attacks from heavily populated civilian areas in attempts to deter retaliation from the Russians…”

War is a cruel and inhumane curse. In every major war, war crimes will always be committed by all parties.

Russia Places Tactical Nuclear Weapons in Belarus

Deutsche Welle wrote on March 25:

“The Russian leader said he struck a deal with his Belarusian counterpart to station tactical nuclear weapons on its territory, making it the first time Moscow has based the arms outside the country since the mid-1990s.

“‘We agreed with Lukashenko that we could place tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus without violating the nonproliferation regime,’ Putin said, according to the TASS report. ‘There is nothing unusual here either: The United States has been doing this for decades. They have long placed their tactical nuclear weapons on the territory of their allies,’ Putin added.”

Putin is correct in that analysis.

Germany’s Immigration Laws

Deutsche Welle wrote on March 21:

“A prerequisite for a visa to join a spouse in Germany is reaching a basic level of German language competency in listening, speaking, reading, and writing — called A1 on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages… if somebody does not live in Germany and knows nothing of everyday life there, it is not so easy for them to answer questions about it…  Each year, more than 10,000 spouses have failed to pass the required language exams abroad and consequently cannot join their partners who are living in Germany…

“In 2022, more than a third of the students from the 30 most important countries of origin failed their A1 test. No language test means no visa. The German Foreign Office told DW that each year for the past few years, between 8,000 and 10,000 visa applications for spouse reunification have been rejected or withdrawn.

“In December, Germany’s government decided to relax the rules but only for skilled personnel. Their spouses can come to Germany without a language test. If [a spouse] were a Greek or Romanian national, if [he or] she came from Brazil, El Salvador, or Korea, [he or] she could bring her husband [or his wife] live with [him or] her without him [or her] passing the A1 language test.

“Spouses of citizens from EU member states and selected other countries are allowed to enter Germany without having to prove their German language competency beforehand. The same applies to spouses of recognized refugees, researchers, self-employed or highly qualified people, and, most recently, skilled professionals, even if neither of them speaks German.”

This bureaucratic lunacy is hard to swallow.

Biden and Trudeau vs. Putin and Xi Jinping

Thomson/Reuters wrote on March 24:

“President Joe Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau presented a united front on Friday against authoritarian regimes as Biden visited the Canadian capital days after the leaders of China and Russia held a Moscow summit… There, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin professed friendship and pledged closer ties…

“At a joint news conference with Trudeau, Biden questioned the level of China and Russia’s cooperation, noting that China has not provided weapons to Russia for use against Ukraine… Addressing Canada’s parliament, Biden said that, as NATO members, the two countries would ‘defend every inch of NATO territory.’”

Two dictators in the Western world unite against two dictators in the East… and do not see that their star is fading while the star in the East is rising… and alarmingly so. Note the next article.

Biden in Denial

Newsmax wrote on March 25:

“President Joe Biden and his administration don’t want to acknowledge the growing danger of Russia and China joining forces or the fact that they and their proxies, Iran, North Korea, Pakistan, and Algeria have formed a ‘ new axis,’ Asia expert Gordon Chang told Newsmax on Saturday… ‘China has been providing lethal assistance to Russia from the beginning of its war against Ukraine, as well as ‘financing this war…’

“Iran is also an issue, considering its partnership with China, said Chang. ‘Iran-backed groups attacked Americans,’ he said. ‘They killed a contractor, wounded five Americans. We’ve got to remember that this is China working through Iran… China’s been flooding the region with weapons through Iran. And so we’ve got to ask the question: Is China killing Americans through Iran?’…”

One must indeed be blind not to see the—biblically prophesied—developing unification of the “kings of the East.”

Trump’s Rage

The New York Post wrote on March 24:

“Donald Trump on Friday threatened ‘death and destruction’ if he’s criminally charged in New York — writing the shocking social media warning after posting an image of himself holding a baseball bat next to Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s head. ‘They are HUMAN SCUM!’ the 76-year-old former president raged in one post asking why Bragg ‘refuses to do the right thing and “call it a day?”’…

“Trump… kept on raging until the early hours of Friday with continued incendiary name-calling. ‘What kind of person can charge another person, in this case a former President of the United States, who got more votes than any sitting President in history, and leading candidate (by far!) for the Republican Party nomination, with a Crime, when it is known by all that NO Crime has been committed, & also known that potential death & destruction in such a false charge could be catastrophic for our Country?’ he asked just after 1 a.m. ‘Why & who would do such a thing? Only a degenerate psychopath that truely [sic] hates the USA!’

“He continued posting until 2 a.m. — then started again after 9 a.m., writing: ‘PROSECUTORIAL MISCONDUCT!’…

“George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley, who testified for Trump’s defense during his first impeachment for pressuring Ukraine to investigate the Biden family, has repeatedly sought to warn the former president of threatening postings…”

According to some reports, Trump subsequently deleted his post showing him holding a baseball bat.

The American Thinker wrote on March 25:

Donald Trump has shot himself in the foot… At least, he realized it, and deleted a Truth Social posting in which he had a picture of himself holding a baseball bat next to a picture of the corpulent DA… My friend and colleague Andrea Widburg notes that the picture automatically appeared when Trump used a National File article containing it…

“I am afraid that when you have to explain, you are losing. Trump owns Truth Social, and can be expected to understand how images appear. I don’t know how long it took him to delete the post, but it appears that it was not immediate, when he discovered that he had inadvertently posted a questionable image…

“Equally counter-productive was his threat of ‘death and destruction.’… I don’t see this post on Truth Social as accomplishing anything for Trump, and harming himself with people that might be persuaded to support him. Worst of all, he has reinforced the ‘insurrection’ narrative.” 

Still, many feel that the whole affair will help Trump. Bild Online wrote on March 24: „Es scheint bereits fast so, als würde Trump immer irgendwie zuletzt lachen …“ [„It almost appears as if somehow Trump would always laugh in the end…”]

Trump’s Colossal Blunder

The Brownstone Institute wrote on March 24:

“An enduring mystery for three years is how Donald Trump came to be the president who shut down American society for what turned out to be a manageable respiratory virus, setting off an unspeakable crisis with waves of destructive fallout that continue to this day… On March 9, 2020, Trump was still of the opinion that the virus could be handled by normal means. Two days later, he changed his tune. He was ready to use the full power of the federal government in a war on the virus… It was only a week later when Trump issued the edict to close all ‘indoor and outdoor venues where people congregate,’ initiating the biggest regime change in US history that flew in the face of all rights and liberties Americans had previously taken for granted… This action confounded critics on all sides. 

“A month later, Trump said his decision to have ‘turned off’ the economy saved millions of lives, later even claiming to have saved billions. He has yet to admit error. Even as late as June 23rd of that year, Trump was demanding credit for having followed all of Fauci’s recommendations… Something about this story has never really added up. How could one person have been so persuaded by a handful of others such as Fauci, Birx, Pence, and Kushner and his friends? He surely had other sources of information – some other scenario or intelligence – that fed into his disastrous decision…

“On the 12th, Trump shut all travel from Europe, the UK, and Australia, causing huge human pile-ups at international airports…”

We may never know in this lifetime who influenced Trump to make these terribly wrong and disastrous decisions… In addition, Trump’s advocacy of “his” experimental and untested vaccines contributed to a climate of terrible persecution of those who voiced concerns. Of course, under the Biden Administration, the persecution of the “pandemic of the unvaccinated” has continued with full rage.

Running the Country from Prison

The New York Post wrote on March 25:

“Former President Donald Trump could run for the White House — even if he is convicted and sent to prison… It wouldn’t be the first time a major campaign was staged from behind bars.

“In 1920, Socialist candidate Eugene V. Debs launched a White House run and garnered nearly a million votes while incarcerated at the federal pen in Atlanta. Debs had been convicted of sedition in 1918 for protesting US involvement in World War I. He was sentenced to 10 years, but that was commuted to time served in 1921 by President Harding…

“In more recent times, former Ohio Rep. James Traficant — who was expelled from the House in 2002 after being convicted in federal court of racketeering, bribery and tax evasion — staged an unsuccessful run for his old seat while incarcerated at Allenwood federal prison in White Deer, PA…

“‘If Trump is in jail, he could run, as Debs did; and if that happens, the uproar over it will surely be exploited by the government, to stoke more rage and panic over “domestic terrorism.” In short, it won’t end well,’ said NYU professor Mark Crispin Miller.”

What a spectacle that would be! But it may not come to that. Note the next article.

Donald Trump INDICTED!

The Associated Press reported on Marcy 30, 2023:

“Donald Trump has been indicted by a Manhattan grand jury, prosecutors and defense lawyers said Thursday, making him the first former U.S. president to face a criminal charge and jolting his bid to retake the White House next year.

“The charges remained under seal late Thursday, but the investigation centered on payments made during the 2016 presidential campaign to silence claims of an extramarital sexual encounter. Prosecutors said they were working to coordinate Trump’s surrender, which could happen early next week, but they did not say whether they intended to seek prison time in the event of a conviction.”

The implications of this indictment and the potential for civil unrest may spin out of control, and a broken America grows more and more divided!

Trump’s First Rally of His 2024 Republican Presidential Campaign

Newsmax wrote on March 25:

“Former President Donald Trump returned to the campaign rally trail Saturday night in Waco, Texas, saying ‘2024 is the final battle’… Trump delivered his pointed rebuke of all his opposing forces, including ‘stupid warmongers,’ open-border fanatics, radical left Democrats, and anti-Trump Republicans. ‘When this election is over, I will be the president of the United States, you will be vindicated and proud, and the thugs and criminals who are corrupting our justice system will be defeated, discredited, and totally disgraced,’ Trump said…

“Trump denounced the forces working against him as anti-America. ‘For seven years, you and I have been taking on the corrupt, rotten, and sinister forces trying to destroy America… they do get closer and closer with rigged elections… We’ve been the ones in this fight, standing up to the globalists and standing up to the Marxists and communists. That’s what they are.’”

The New York Post quoted Trump as saying the following during his rally:

“‘Either we surrender to the demonic forces demolishing our country, or we defeat them in a landslide,’ Trump warned. ‘Either the deep state destroys America, or we destroy the deep state.’”

The reference to demonic forces is telling, as it is indeed Satan and his demons who rule this evil world; and Jesus did not refute Satan’s claim that the authority over all kingdoms has been given to him (Luke 4:5-6).

Transgender Murders Six People at School in Nashville

“Six people – including three children – are dead after a transgender female shooter opened fire at a private school in Nashville, killing three nine-year-old children and three staff members. The shooter was 28-year-old Audrey Hale, who at one time attended the school. 

“Police said she identified as transgender [meaning, the biologically born woman thought she was a man], and online profiles show Audrey used ‘he/him’ pronouns. At around 10.13am, she opened fire at The Covenant School, shooting and killing nine-year-old Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs and William Kinney.  Scruggs was the daughter of Chad Scruggs, the pastor at the affiliated presbyterian church. 

“Substitute teacher Cynthia Peak, 61, head of school Katherine Koonce, 60, and custodian Mike Hill, 61, were also killed…

“It’s unclear what Hale’s motive was… she had detailed, drawn maps of the school and had been surveilling it, according to police… It’s unclear how she gained access to the building. Police say all of the doors were locked. Police arrived at the scene and heard the gunshots coming from the 2nd floor. By 10.27am, she had been shot dead. She was armed with two assault-style rifles and a handgun…”

Horrible! Demons are having a field day, but just about no one seems to see the connection and connect the dots. Rather, we are informed that the murderer was suffering from “an emotional disorder.”

Additionally, the stupidity of the mass media seems to know no bounds. Breitbart reported on March 28:

“The New York Times and USA Today complied with radical gender ideology by apologizing for correctly identifying the Nashville Christian School shooting suspect as a woman.”

In other words, they correctly identified her as a woman, but then apologized, as they felt they should have referred to her as a man.

Biden’s Performance—Insensitive and Embarrassing

Fox News wrote on March 27:

“President Biden was criticized Monday for his response to the Nashville school shooting after he joked that he only made a public appearance because he heard there would be ice cream before discussing the tragedy that claimed the lives of three adults and three children at an elementary school earlier in the day.

“‘My name is Joe Biden. I’m Dr. Jill Biden’s husband,’ Biden said from the White House’s East Room in his first public appearance since a 28-year-old woman shot and killed three students and three teachers at a Christian private school in Nashville. ‘I eat Jeni’s ice cream — chocolate chip. I came down because I heard there was chocolate chip ice cream,’ he continued. ‘By the way, I have a whole refrigerator full upstairs,’ he added. ‘You think I’m kidding? I’m not,’ Biden told the crowd.

“Biden later called the shooting ‘sick’ and ‘heartbreaking’ while demanding Congress do more to ‘stop the gun violence.’ But critics went after the president for the inappropriate reaction and seemingly playful tone while addressing the tragedy. ‘To say that he misunderstood the moment would be an understatement,’ former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie told Fox News later Monday. ‘You know, the president is watching, you’d hope before he comes down there, the awful scenes from the shooting and the reactions of family members and friends of people in that school. And to be coming down, joking about the fact that he’s Jill Biden’s husband and looking for chocolate chip ice cream is hardly the way to start it,’ Christie said… ‘And so there’s no room to joke in that circumstance at all. And certainly not from the President of the United States.’…

“Christie said the president committed the ‘second-worst thing to do’ in a circumstance like this one by invoking the political card (of gun control)  while parents and students across the country grapple with the impact of the horrific shooting… ‘Nobody in their right mind goes into that school and kills three young children and three adults helping to teach those children.’”

Biden is an embarrassment for the USA… and that puts it mildly. The question is being asked whether he is indeed mentally able to run the USA. And to be sure, the shooter was not a person in his or her right mind. Rather, he or she clearly gave in to demonic influence, if not possession.

Netanyahu Suspends Judicial Reform

The Jerusalem Post wrote on March 27:

“Prime Minister Netanyahu Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Monday evening that he was temporarily freezing the bill that would alter the makeup of the Judicial Appointments Committee… [which has] thrown the country into turmoil and unprecedented civil unrest…

“Netanyahu said that either way, his government would bring a reform that will ‘return the balance that was lost between the [government] branches’…

“The prime minister added that the country was on a ‘dangerous path,’ and that he would not allow it to descend into civil war.”

The Associated Press added on March 27:

“The plan would give Netanyahu, who is on trial on corruption charges, and his allies the final say in appointing the nation’s judges. It would also give parliament, which is controlled by his allies, authority to overturn Supreme Court decisions and limit the court’s ability to review laws.”

 Dissident German Bishops

 Reuters wrote on March 24:

“Pope Francis should take disciplinary action against German bishops who support same-sex unions and hold other ‘heretical’ views, a top conservative cardinal said in an interview published on Friday.

“The German Catholic church is discussing a series of reforms, including on homosexuality, women priests and priestly celibacy, as part of its so-called Synodal Path.

“Speaking to La Repubblica newspaper, Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Mueller said some of the bishops taking part in the process have approved ‘heretical texts’ and should be tried under canon law… The cardinal, himself a German bishop, said allowing gay couples to have their union blessed by a priest goes ‘directly against Catholic faith… Blessing homosexual couples is a blasphemy’…

“In July, the Vatican tried to slam the brakes on the German Synodal Path movement, saying it risked causing a schism in the universal Church…”

 Please see our new StandingWatch program, “Catholic Church in Turmoil.”

 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.

Some can indeed be engaging in the process of “majoring in the minors.” Before we address the practical application of some areas, we need to stress that in God’s eyes, a sin is a sin, whether we consider it as “major” or “minor.”

In our Q&A, “Are there sins which are more serious than others? Are all of God’s Laws equal in importance?”, we state the following:

“We need to understand that Christ died for our sins, and sin is defined as the transgression of God’s law (1 John 3:4, Authorized Version). In that sense, all of God’s spiritual commandments are of equal importance, as Christ died for each and every one of our sins… The wages for each and every sin is the second death (Romans 6:23). At the same time, each sin, which is truly repented of, will be forgiven (1 John 1:7, 9)…

“This does not mean that in God’s eyes, some sins are not more serious than others… Certain sins could more easily than others lead to an attitude of defiance of God and perhaps even to a complete rejection of God and His way of life… There are sins–although they will be forgiven upon true repentance–which are more grievous and weigh more heavily in God’s eyes than other sins…

“It is true that we must strive to obey ALL of God’s laws, but the Bible makes it clear that we must not try to ‘major in the minors,’ while neglecting the majors. For instance, even though tithing is clearly still a commandment that must be obeyed by true Christians today, Christ emphasized that there are ‘weightier matters of the law,’ namely justice, mercy, faith, and the love of God (compare Matthew 23:23; Luke 11:42). He said that while we must tithe, we must not leave undone the weightier matters of the law.

“Christ made it very clear that He did not come to do away with even ‘the least’ of the commandments of God (Matthew 5:17-19), and that the one who teaches contrariwise will be called the ‘least’ in the Kingdom of God. But He also explained that there is no commandment ‘greater’ than the injunction to love God and to love our neighbor (Mark 12:28-31).

“We read that this IS the love of God that we keep His commandments (1 John 5:3). It IS important to be ‘faithful in what is least,’ because this shows God that such a person will also be faithful ‘in much’–and vice versa (Luke 16:10). But we are also told that godly love is the greatest of all of the characteristics of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 13:13), and that no one has ‘greater love’ than he who lays down his life for his friends (John 15:13).

“All these passages show that in God’s eyes, there are commandments within the law which are greater than others…

“No sin and no commandment of God is unimportant. Christ died for our sins–whether small or big. But we must realize that in God’s eyes, there are distinctions regarding the weight of our sins and His laws. Let us strive, foremost, to attain to the weightier matters of the law, desiring the greater spiritual gifts (compare 1 Corinthians 12:31). We must especially concentrate on avoiding to sin against those weightier matters, and it would be extremely dangerous to do so defiantly and presumptuously.”

That then leads us to the question as to whether a certain conduct or action is sinful. Many have created a catalog of “sins,” referring to actions which might not be sinful at all in God’s eyes. They are quite literally trying to major in the minors, as the Pharisees were guilty of doing.

The right kind of Sabbath keeping is a good example. It is clear that we must observe the Sabbath by “resting”; that is, by refraining from our usual labor and from carrying heavy burdens and, instead, by worshipping God and attending worship services on that day. It is also clear that we are not to engage in buying or selling, but how is this to be applied in certain circumstances?

We state this in our free booklet, “God’s Commanded Holy Days”:

“The Pharisees totally misinterpreted the prohibition against carrying burdens on the Sabbath. They decreed that a person was guilty of breaking the Sabbath if he carried a sheet of paper, or any food that weighed as much as a dried fig, or if he carried more than one swallow of milk, or enough oil to anoint a small part of the body. If a fire broke out in a person’s home on the Sabbath, he could carry out only the necessary food to be consumed on the Sabbath. This meant that if the fire broke out at the beginning of the Sabbath—right after sunset—the person could take out enough food for three meals; but if the fire broke out on the afternoon of the Sabbath, he could only take out enough food for one meal. The rest could not be carried out and had to be left behind, to burn with the building. Further, only necessary clothes could be taken out of a burning house on the Sabbath.”

We might not have these kinds of rules for correct Sabbath keeping, but we might have enacted other rules, which are quite contrary to the official teaching of the Church of the Eternal God. One of these self-made rules might be that it is sinful to eat in a restaurant or in a hotel on the Sabbath—something that the Church does NOT teach, and which it has never taught. In a letter from the Letter Answering Department of the Worldwide Church of God, dated October 1988, this understanding was correctly explained, as follows:

“The Church has long taught that it is not wrong to eat out on the weekly Sabbath occasionally or on the annual Holy Days, depending upon one’s circumstances and preferences. Those waiters, waitresses, chefs, and the like, who may serve in a restaurant, are not our ‘servants’ in the way described in the Fourth Commandment. They are the employees of the owner of the restaurant. They would be working regardless of whether or not we ate there. God does not hold us responsible for their working on the Sabbath just because we use their services — unless we are the only ones who ever ate in that restaurant on the Sabbath. Obviously, we make up a very small portion of the customers served in restaurants on the Sabbath or Holy Days. Further, eating out occasionally on the Sabbath can enhance spiritual fellowship with brethren and allow family members more time to be with one another.”

The Church of God in Germany published a booklet in the early 70’s, titled “Gottes Sabbat–ein Tag der Freude” (“God’s Sabbath — A Day of Joy”). It reflected the Church’s understanding on the issue, and stated: “In Matthew 12:1-5, Christ shows clearly that it is not prohibited to acquire food on the Sabbath, when one is hungry and has nothing to eat. If one is not at home, it is not wrong to go to a restaurant on the Sabbath. There are people who do not have the means of cooking at home. In such cases it is permissible to buy food on the Sabbath.”

Another conclusion would lead to ridiculous consequences. We could not stay at a hotel during the Sabbath, as we would pay for the hotel’s services during that time (including eating complimentary breakfasts, room cleaning, using electricity), and we could never use public transportation to get to services.

Some have said that we can eat out on an annual Holy Day, or on a weekly Sabbath, when we are traveling, but that we cannot eat out on a weekly Sabbath, when we are “within our gates.” However, there is no Scriptural evidence supporting this claim.

The concept of majoring in the minors can also apply in other ways, when considering proper Sabbath keeping.  In our free booklet, “How to Keep the Sabbath,” we state:

“Some have no problem with going to a restaurant on the Sabbath to be with Church members, but reject the concept that when they get together for a picnic after Church services, some participating members, who have been traveling from a distance, go to a shop to buy some beer or some sandwiches for the picnic. Some may object to others stopping at a coffee shop on their way to Church services to drink coffee there or eat a sandwich, but they have no problem with buying coffee at the hotel where they are meeting, or at a restaurant where they might meet after services. We must not have double standards. If one set of actions is accepted, why not the other set? In addition, we do not know why the member would stop at a coffee shop on his way to services. Maybe, his family situation is such that he would rather enjoy peace at the coffee shop than having coffee at home, where he might be facing antagonism and rejection because of the Sabbath. As mentioned before, these are questions which must be answered pursuant to personal choices and convictions. It is not for us to condemn or criticize those who might not act in a way which we might approve or disapprove.”

Another example of majoring in the minors might be in relationship to deleavening our homes before the Days of Unleavened Bread.  

Again, it is clear that we have to physically deleaven our belongings before the Days of Unleavened Bread, and that we have to refrain from eating leavened products during that time [however, this does not apply to beverages or items which are not meant for human consumption].

As we explain in our free booklet, “The Meaning of God’s Spring Holy Days,” “[w]hen used in connection with the Days of Unleavened bread, leaven symbolizes sin. Christ spoke of the ‘leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees’ (Matthew 16:6, 11), which He described as their wrong and sinful ‘doctrine’ (verse 12). He also equated the ‘leaven of the Pharisees’ with the sin of ‘hypocrisy’ (Luke 12:1). As sin may begin small and spreads, so does leaven. Paul warns us twice that ‘a little leaven leavens the whole lump’ (1 Corinthians 5:6; Galatians 5:9). During the seven Days of Unleavened Bread, we are reminded that we are to overcome sin and leave it behind, pictured by removing and not eating leavened food. We are then to replace sin with righteousness, pictured by the consumption of unleavened products…

“Paul told the Corinthians to keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread with the ‘unleavened bread of sincerity and truth’ (1 Corinthians 5:7–8). He admonished them that, even though they were physically ‘unleavened’ (verse 7)—keeping the Feast of Unleavened Bread and removing all leavened products from their houses—they also had to behave with a spiritually unleavened mind, by removing not just physical leaven, but also the spiritual leaven of sin from their lives.”

Considering this, we might ask ourselves the question, what is more important? Is it more important in God’s eyes to do away with the physical leaven in our houses, or the spiritual leaven in our hearts and lives? The answer should be obvious, and Christ’s admonition regarding tithing applies as well in this context. We are to do the one, while not neglecting the weightier matters of the law. When we just take great effort to find every single last crumb of leavened bread in the hidden corners of our homes or cars, while forgetting the spiritual meaning, we have missed the point and majoring in the minors.

Another good example of wrong priorities can be seen when considering eating unclean food. No doubt, God prohibits us to consume unclean meat; it is an abomination in His eyes to do so. But again, we can lose proper balance if we go too far in establishing self-made rules.

In our Q&A, “Can we consume food that contains unclean insects?”, we say the following:

“We feel that, generally, food that is labeled with unclean ingredients, which do not go through an ‘alteration’ process, unlike gelatin products, should be avoided. That is, when we can, we should avoid them—looking at labels when available and asking when possible, just as we inquire at Mexican restaurants whether the beans are made with lard (pig fat); or as we inquire in Thai, Chinese and Vietnamese restaurants whether their dishes are made with oyster sauce.

“However, to really know exactly what is in the food we eat is hard to tell. When it comes to foods and drinks that say ‘may contain’ certain ingredients, it isn’t very clear and again poses the question, how do we really know what’s in there and how far do we want to go asking for an ingredient list wherever we eat? We need to take a balanced approach… and ultimately, the decision is up to us individually whether, and in what circumstances, to partake of the products, keeping in mind that we must never eat or drink or do anything that violates our conscience if we feel that we would be compromising with the Word of God. However, having done our part, we leave the rest to God who can also protect us if we eat something inadvertently which happens to be unclean.

“We should also understand that in such a case, we do not sin or become ‘unclean’ in the eyes of God (compare Mark 7:15-19; note that the last clause in verse 19 should be translated: ‘…it is eliminated into the sewer which purifies all foods.’ Compare also Matthew 15:17-20).”

Spending hours on the Internet or in a grocery store to study labels “ad infinitum” is most certainly not what God has in mind for us.

We should remember that Paul tells us in Romans 14:17 that the Kingdom of God “is not a matter of eating or drinking” (New International Version); this is not the major focus of God’s teaching.

Christ warns us in Matthew 23:24 not to become “blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel.”

Another example where we can easily lose balance and try to major in the minors is the question about  what kind of sports a Christian can practice. In our Q&A, we discuss the difference between violent sports and games and those which are not.  Addressing the issue of chess, we said:

“… some say that playing chess is wrong since it is a game of war.  We have never taught this in the Church, and many Church members are or were very good chess players. Even though world chess champion Bobby Fisher was never a member of the Worldwide Church of God, he showed some interest at one time and volunteered to play chess with many Ambassador College students. (He was an extremely talented chess player, and he played simultaneously numerous games with different students. At the same time, his fascination with chess caused him to be unbalanced.).”

In that series of Q&As on sports, we give several examples as to what is clearly appropriate, and what might not be. But again, proper balance and avoiding majoring in the minors are all-important.

Actually, the list of examples in all kinds of areas of life could be endless. For some, physical exercise might be THE priority in their lives, and even though it says that physical exercise profits a little (note our Q&A on 1 Timothy 4:8) it also says that godliness—the spiritual aspect—is profitable for all things. As the Living Bible puts it: “Bodily exercise is alright, but spiritual exercise is much more important.”

Some may think and advocate that buying a lottery ticket or spending a few dollars at a slot machine are terrible sins, while they may see nothing wrong with gambling with thousands upon thousands of dollars at the stock market.

Some may advocate refusing to watch Television and they may even advocate removing a TV set from their homes, but they may have no problem with surfing on the internet for countless hours. Some may advocate their own rules of “healthy living” by concluding that coffee, alcohol, clean meat, cheese, butter and salt are unhealthy and must be avoided, while the Bible says nothing of the kind. Some may advocate refusing to consult medical doctors while advocating and propagating the effectiveness of homeopathy. Some may recommend spending endless hours to devise prophetic charts and timelines to figure out when Christ will return, even though Christ told us that no one knows the time, and that He will return when we do NOT expect it.

And we could list many more examples.

Some say, members must follow their conscience, and they must never violate it, as this would be sin (compare Romans 14:23). This is true, but here is an important caveat, as we explain in our Q&A, “How do we address the objections and convictions of individual church members?”

“It is clear from Scripture that we must not violate our conscience IF it is NOT in contradiction to what the Bible prohibits or demands. At the same time, we are NOT to follow our conscience if this would violate biblical injunctions. For instance, we must never follow our conscience when it ‘commands’ us to kill (such as, defeating our enemy in war); or to vote in governmental elections (to ‘improve’ the situation in our country); or to commit adultery with our neighbor’s wife (because she feels unloved by her husband); or to violate the Sabbath (as we ‘must’ work to feed our family); or to attend Christmas celebrations (so as not to offend our relatives and friends). Likewise, we must never follow our conscience by not doing what we are commanded to do…

“It would be advisable… to review the Scriptures to see whether your conscience is based on the Bible or merely on man-made traditions… Two principles are to be emphasized in this context.

“First, it is not wrong or against Church teaching, which is based on the Bible, to eat out in a restaurant on the Sabbath. This has been a very contentious issue for some who have tried to enforce their personal contrary opinion on the entire Church.

“Second, the individual member must evaluate his or her stance to see whether he or she is in line with Church teaching. As God’s true Church has been given the authority from God to bind and to loose, which includes decisions pertaining to biblical principles in ‘gray’ areas, the individual member is to review his conscientious position to see whether it should be maintained.

“We need to address a third principle. That is, the Church is not to forego a certain practice, which is based on the Bible, just because an individual member has a different ‘conviction.’ In other words, the Church is under NO obligation to cater to such opinions by individual members. We have seen over the years that some Christians have developed their own personal opinions, calling them conviction and arguing that the Church must follow and adopt them for the individual’s benefit…

“Some may like certain types of music, while others may not care for them. But the mere fact that one Christian might not like or object to a certain type of music is not a compelling reason for other Christians to refrain from listening to or playing such music… But this does not mean… that the Church would need to forego an entire musical presentation during a social event because one member might be offended by some of the music which might be played or performed at that event… if the Church concludes that such an event is appropriate, then the member would be well advised to critically evaluate his or her contrary ‘conviction.’

“When addressing Sabbath activities, the Church is under no obligation to forego eating in a restaurant on the Sabbath… only because one member would have a problem of conscience with such activity. A big problem ensues if the Church decides to meet in a restaurant for the Night to Be Much Observed (which always falls on an annual Sabbath—the First Day of Unleavened Bread). In that case, the member will have to make a decision as to whether to follow the Church’s directive or his or her own conscience. Again, in this case, the member would need to carefully evaluate whether his or her ‘conscience’ is in accordance with Scriptural injunctions and teachings (which it would not be); and whether he or she might become guilty of causing division by his or her disagreement.

“Some new members, especially because of their religious background, might reject dancing or playing cards, chess or video games. Again, it would be important for the members to review their conscience (since it is based on erroneous thinking, as the Bible does not prohibit such activities), but it most certainly would not be the duty of the Church to cancel a dance activity or a fun and game night because of the ‘conscience’ of that particular member…

“Especially when addressing… movies, the scale of potential ‘offenses’ could be huge. Some might only watch movies which are rated G, and some have refused watching cartoons in which animals ‘speak.’ These ‘convictions’ can never be the basis for other members as to what to watch or not to watch; nor for the Church to decide as to what movies to watch or show during a social Church gathering…’

The conclusion of the matter is this: Let us not attempt to major in the minors. Let us not establish rules in our minds which we elevate to unjustified importance, even though they are not established by God. And finally, let us not judge others for their behavior which may not be in agreement with our ideas of proper conduct. Rather, let us concentrate on what is most important in the eyes of God, by majoring in the majors.

Lead Writer: Norbert Link

compiled by Dave Harris

Brian and Jill Gale have arrived in California from England to participate in the Passover and Days of Unleavened Bread, along with the upcoming Church Conference. Norbert and Johanna Link traveled to Germany this week to be with the brethren for Passover and for the Days of Unleavened Bread.

“The Rise and Fall of Germany and Europe,” our new booklet written by Evangelist Norbert Link, has been sent to graphic artist, Shelly Bruno, in preparation for printing.

“Sind Sie vorbereitet?” is the German sermon presented by Michael Link for this Sabbath.  Title in English: “Are You Prepared?”

“Würdig leben,” the sermonette presented last Sabbath in Germany by Johann Schell, is now posted. Title in English: “Live Worthy.”

“Passiver/Aktiver Glaube,” the sermon presented last Sabbath in Germany by Christoph Sperzel, is now posted. Title in English: “Passive/Active Faith.”

“What If Trump and Putin Were Arrested?—Comments on News and Prophecy, March 25, 2023,” the first message last Sabbath was presented by Norbert Link, and it is now posted. Here is a summary:

If Donald Trump were ever convicted and imprisoned, could he still run for the Presidency; could he be elected; and could he still operate as President from prison? If Vladimir Putin was ever arrested in a foreign country, such as Germany or Austria, due to the arrest warrant of the International Criminal Court, what did Russia say it would do to those countries? In other news, we address the postponement of the visit of King Charles in France due to France’s “descent into anarchy”; problems the Biden family is facing; the ongoing bank debacle; calls for the removal of Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell; and the liberal “reform” movement of the German Catholic church.

“God’s Knowledge in Your Life,” the sermon presented last Sabbath by Norbert Link, is now posted. Here is a summary:

God is willing to reveal His knowledge to you which is opposed to the so-called wisdom of this world, but are you willing to reject this world’s silly philosophies and rather accept and act upon the knowledge of God? And how careful are you not to lose the understanding which God has given to you, while at the same time growing and increasing in His knowledge?

Spring Holy Days: Passover—April 5, 2023 (observed the evening before); Feast of Unleavened Bread—April 6-12, 2023; Pentecost—May 28, 2023.

2023 Ministerial Conference: April 27, 28 and 30, 2023.

On March 25, 2023, Norbert  Link will present “Comments on News and Prophecy, March 25, 2023,” and the sermon, titled, “God’s Knowledge in Your Life.”

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

In our Current Events section of Update #1062, dated March 17, 2023, we published an article by the New York Post of March 11, 2023, under the following headline: “US Government as ‘Obstructionist’ as China?”

In the article, we quoted Kentucky Senator Rand Paul as follows: “I think it will be more difficult for them [the government and the health experts and scientists] the next time they try this [impose restrictions], because the evidence is pretty much in. None of the things they did to slow down the spread of the disease worked… In the end, everybody got COVID whether they stood on stickers six feet apart from each other or not.”

He continued: “People need to resist… When the government tells you, you can’t go to church, your government says, you can’t go to the gym, your government says, you can’t go to a restaurant or you can’t go to a hotel — we need to resist that.”

But how are we to resist?  Surely not by violent means, and Paul did not even suggest that. And further, WILL it be more difficult to convince people to follow the “restrictions” which will be imposed, no doubt, when the next real or imagined pandemic hits?

In the Current Events of this week’s Update, we are publishing an article by the Dossier which was released on or about March 14, 2023, under the headline, “Covid Hysteria… Courage vs. Cowards.”

In the article, the author writes:

“When I look back at the times of Covid hysteria, I think most about… what separates courageous people from cowards. These past three years served as a good reminder that true courage is an isolating experience. It is both difficult to possess and retain… Cowardice, unlike courage, is encouraged, rewarded, and it comes easily.

“In the face of a government declared ‘national emergency,’ so many decided to take the coward’s route in the form of compliance, submission, and even taking to targeting the regime-declared ‘enemies’ of society. To be a good citizen, all you had to do was sit down, shut up, wear your submission mask, shutter your family business, carry your movement pass with you, and be up to date on your experimental pharmaceuticals. In exchange, society rewarded the coward class with opportunity, public praise, and a Good Citizen stamp of approval.

“After all, it is an enormously difficult task to swim upstream. It is much easier just to blend in… Courageous people stick to their principles despite the vast majority of the population — and even those closest to them — declaring them a problem, or something much worse. Courage is unique because it is almost impossible to be courageous and popular at the same time…

“When the forces for tyranny rear their ugly heads for the next manufactured crisis in the not so distant future, courageous citizens will once more be called upon to thwart their ambitions.”

In this context, I want to focus in this Editorial on our duty as true Christians to attend the worship services of God’s Church, in person, whenever possible, including the weekly Sabbath and the annual Holy Days and Festivals. This also means for properly baptized Church members to attend in person, whenever possible, the annual Passover evening with the footwashing ceremony and the partaking of bread and wine as symbols for Christ’s broken body and His shed blood. It takes courage to do so, when the government tells you that you must stay home and that you must not assemble with others of like mind to celebrate and observe those most holy occasions. Make no mistake, the government will try again, and your courage will be tested.

This is what we wrote in our free booklet, “Obeying God Rather Than Men”, under the headline, “What the Mark of the Beast Means For Us Today”:

“True Christians understand that the Sabbath and the Holy Days must be kept, and that they must not instead accept the mark of the beast by worshipping on Sunday and pagan holidays, and by refusing to worship on God’s weekly and annual Sabbaths. 

“But how does this play out in practice when the government prohibits Christian churches to meet and assemble on the Sabbath? They might not even place this prohibition under a religious mantle, but they might give some other reasons, such as the outbreak of a pandemic that would require people to stay at home. The weekly Sabbath and the annual Holy Days are commanded biblical holy assemblies or holy convocations (compare Leviticus 23). We should ask ourselves whether refusing to follow God’s command, because the government says so, would be pleasing to God (compare Hebrews 10:25; the Living Bible states: ‘Let us not neglect our church meetings, as some people do, but encourage and warn each other, especially now that the day of his coming back again is drawing near’)…

“In this day and age, we have the means of broadcasting sermons live over the Internet to the homes of Church members, which we can resort to on a temporary basis, when physical person-to-person meetings and assemblies with the brethren are not possible. But what happens if a government would prohibit such services as well? How far would we go to follow governmental rules which would prohibit religious services in any manner and of any kind?

“Christians in the early Church were forced to meet in secret, in catacombs, in order to escape the fury of the Roman government. When they were caught, they were severely punished, but they were willing to obey God rather than men.”

They were courageous enough to follow and obey God, even if that meant punishment, incarceration, and worse. Would we be willing today to follow their example, resist governmental restrictions and obey God rather than men?

By Norbert Link

We begin with reporting on the attempt by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg to manufacture a case against Donald Trump which has no chance of success, except perhaps initially in the corrupt legal system of New York. The American public is already on edge because of the perception that the legal system is politicized  and weaponized. Republicans are up in arms and investigating whether the prosecutor himself is in violation of the law, rather than Trump. In any event, the whole “political circus” only helps Trump, and according to observers, his road to the presidency in 2024 has now been guaranteed.

We also speak on the “coincidence” that this “legally pathetic” witch hunt against Trump is occurring at a time when the Biden family are in deep trouble due to evidence that they received over a million dollars from accounts linked to Hunter Biden’s Chinese business dealings—something which Joe Biden and his son Hunter have consistently denied.

We report that most GOP voters are against deeper involvement in the Ukraine war; the failure of woke banks [please view our recent StandingWatch program, titled, “What Does The Biggest Bank Failure Since The Great Recession Mean To You?”]; the international arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin; the revelation that the EU foreign police chief is not welcome in Israel; covid hysteria and new “discoveries” of a possible culprit; the insane propagation of the consumption of bugs; the extraordinary success of the pro-farmer movement in the Netherlands; and the controversy between German bishops and the Vatican and further paganism entering the Catholic Church. Please note our new StandingWatch program, titled, “Catholic Church in Turmoil.”

Indictment Coming?

Fox News wrote on March 17:

“Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung reacted to the news [of a possible indictment against Trump, BEFORE Trump’s announcement, see below] by… calling [Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s]investigation a ‘witch hunt’ and accusing him of being in the pocket of President Biden and ‘radical Democrats.’… ‘This is happening because President Trump is leading in the polls by a large margin against both Democrats and Republicans, and there’s never been anything so blatant in American political history.’…

“‘Everyone knows it’s a sham. In fact, the Department of Justice stocked the DA’s office with top people from DC to help “Get Trump” at a local level. Americans will not tolerate Radical Left Democrats turning our justice system into an injustice system to influence a presidential election, which is all they want to do…’

“The potential indictment stems from the yearslong investigation surrounding Trump’s alleged hush money scandal involving porn star Stormy Daniels. Towards the end of the 2016 presidential campaign, Trump’s then-lawyer Michael Cohen sent $130,000 to Daniels to prevent her from disclosing her 2006 affair with Trump. Trump reimbursed Cohen through installments.”

As the following articles show, this is indeed a witch hunt against Trump which, from a legal standpoint, is destined to failure… but in light of a deeply corrupt “justice” system in New York, which lets criminals go free and goes after others because of hatred for a person who is supposed to be innocent unless proven guilty, and strictly because of political considerations, one never knows. Former mayor Giuliani stated in an interview on March 19 that the conduct by the prosecution in New York is reminiscent of East Germany before the unification of Germany, and must be described as fascist.  

To Be Arrested?

Trump wrote on March 18 on his website “Truth Social” [we refrained from correcting his typographical errors in the post]:

“OUR NATION IS NOW THIRD WORLD & DYING. THE AMERICAN DREAM IS DEAD! THE RADICAL LEFT ANARCHISTS HAVE STOLLEN OUR PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION, AND WITH IT, THE HEART OF OUR OUR COUNTRY. AMERICAN PATRIOTS ARE BEING ARRESTED & HELD IN CAPTIVITY LIKE ANIMALS, WHILE CRIMINALS & LEFTIST THUGS ARE ALLOWED TO ROAM THE STREETS, KILLING & BURNING WITH NO RETRIBUTION. MILLIONS ARE FLOODING THROUGH OUR OPEN BOARDERS, MANY FROM PRISONS & MENTAL INSTITUTIONS. CRIME & INFLATION ARE DESTROYING OUR VERY WAY OF LIFE…

“NOW ILLEGAL LEAKS FROM A CORRUPT & HIGHLY POLITICAL MANHATTAN DISTRICT ATTORNEYS OFFICE, WHICH HAS ALLOWED NEW RECORDS TO BE SET IN VIOLENT CRIME & WHOSE LEADER IS FUNDED BY GEORGE SOROS, INDICATE THAT, WITH NO CRIME BEING ABLE TO BE PROVEN, & BASED ON AN OLD & FULLY DEBUNKED (BY NUMEROUS OTHER PROSECUTORS!) FAIRYTALE, THE FAR & AWAY LEADING REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE & FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, WILL BE ARRESTED ON TUESDAY OF NEXT WEEK. PROTEST, TAKE OUR NATION BACK!”

In a post later in the day, Trump wrote:

“THEY’RE KILLING OUR NATION AS WE SIT BACK & WATCH. WE MUST SAVE AMERICA!PROTEST, PROTEST, PROTEST!!!”

Trump wrote on Sunday, March 19:

“IT IS THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY OF MANHATTAN WHO IS BREAKING THE LAW BY USING THE FAKE AND FULLY DISCREDITED TESTIMONY (EVEN BY THE SDNY!) OF A CONVICTED LIAR, FELON AND JAILBIRD, MICHAEL COHEN, TO INCREDIBLY PERSECUTE, PROSECUTE, AND INDICT A FORMER PRESIDENT, AND NOW LEADING (BY FAR!) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE, FOR A CRIME THAT DOESN’T EXIST… ALVIN BRAGG SHOULD BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR THE CRIME OF ‘INTERFERENCE IN A PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION’…”

Subsequently, Newsmax wrote on March 20:

“A law enforcement source told Fox News Monday that authorities do not expect former President Donald Trump to face arraignment until next week…”

The Daily Mail added on March 21 that an indictment WAS expected this week, but that Trump, who presently lives in Florida, won’t appear before a judge in New York until next week.

Legally Pathetic

Breitbart wrote on March 18:

“In an opinion article published in the Hill Saturday, [Professor Jonathan] Turley wrote that the case was ‘legally pathetic’…

“‘While we still do not know the specific state charges in the anticipated indictment, the most-discussed would fall under Section 175 for falsifying business records, based on the claim that Trump used legal expenses to conceal the alleged hush-payments that were supposedly used to violate federal election laws… A Section 175 charge would normally be a misdemeanor. The only way to convert it into a Class E felony requires a showing that the ‘intent to defraud includes an intent to commit another crime or to aid or conceal the commission thereof.’ That other crime would appear to be the federal election violations which the Justice Department previously declined to charge.’

“He added that Bragg’s office could not prosecute the charge as a misdemeanor, as the statute of limitations is two years. He would have to pursue a felony…”

Timing Suspect in a Political Circus

Newsmax wrote on March 18:

“Regardless of former President Donald Trump’s arrest for a ‘hypercreative’ prosecution, Democrats leading this charge will not stop him from running for president, according to legal expert Alan Dershowitz [who is a self-proclaimed liberal Democrat who has not voted for Trump in the past and said he will not do so next time either]. ‘They’re going to want to make this [a] political circus; in the end, it will help Trump politically… And remember that it doesn’t matter if he’s indicted or even convicted or even in prison: He can still run for president and serve as president. The state can’t stop it and the Legislature can’t stop it. It’s in the Constitution.’…

“The timing is also suspect, Dershowitz noted, as allegations of influence peddling against the Biden family has reached a crescendo [note articles below]… ‘This [is] purely, purely political… There is no basis for this prosecution… the prosecution itself is an unrighteous prosecution… It’s an example of the conversation between the head of the KGB and Stalin, where the KGB guy said to Stalin: “Show me the man, and I’ll find you the crime”…

“‘… in New York you can indict a ham sandwich if you’re the grand jury, and probably convict the ham sandwich if his name is Trump, because the jury pool will be so dramatically opposed to Trump. This is a very bad day for America…’”

No wonder Americans are upset about this politically-driven circus. Note the next article.

America in Turmoil

The Daily Mail wrote on March 19:

“Trump supporters are pushing for a ‘MAGA moat’ around Mar-a-Lago to prevent the former president from being arrested… Among those calling for action are political commentator Mike Cernovich and radio host Stew Peters. Cernovich, for his part, demanded that DeSantis refuse to extradite the former president…

“Political strategist and former radio host Joey M. also tweeted ‘if DeSantis signs that extradition request, his political career as we know it would be over… If he doesn’t sign them, he becomes a hero to MAGA and possibly becomes the de facto nominee for 2024 – or mends fences with Trump and forms a unity ticket with himself as VP. ‘

“Meanwhile, Peters tweeted ‘if Ron DeSantis is the conservative hero he projects himself to be he should REFUSE to honor the arrest warrant for President-in-exile Trump and send the Florida National Guard to Mar-a-Lago to ensure Trump’s protection. Anything less proves DeSantis is a fraud.’

“There are also similar reports of people calling to surround Mar-a-Lago or block traffic to prevent the former president’s arrest, with many already descending on the Florida estate to protest — as others gather around the New York City Trump Tower…

“The Florida governor is so far one of the few Republicans who have not spoken out about Trump’s pending indictment [but see an article below], with even House Speaker Kevin McCarthy denouncing it on Twitter. ‘Here we go again — an outrageous abuse of power by a radical DA who lets violent criminals walk as he pursues political vengeance against President Trump,’ the California representative wrote, referring to Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.

“McCarthy then vowed to direct any relevant committees to investigate whether federal funding is being used to ‘subvert our democracy by interfering in elections with politically-motivated prosecutions.’ [Breitbart wrote on March 19: “House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) on Sunday said Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is ‘abusing his office’ by going after former President Donald Trump, while Democrats, including Bragg, are allowing crime to run rampant. ‘Alvin Bragg is abusing his office to target President Trump while he’s reduced a majority of felonies, including violent crimes, to misdemeanors. He has different rules for political opponents,’ McCarthy said on Twitter.” Bragg also announced that he will NOT prosecute armed robberies!!!]

“Controversial Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene also said Trump will ‘win even bigger’ than he already was going to in 2024 if Bragg indicts him and he ‘did nothing wrong.’… MAGA Sen. JD Vance, meanwhile, noted that he has been asked whether he will take away his endorsement of Trump in 2024. ‘The answer is:… no,’ he said. ‘A politically-motivated prosecution makes the argument for Trump even stronger. We simply don’t have a real country if justice depends on politics.’

“And Rep. Elise Stefanik, the chair of the House Republican Conference, said in a statement that the ‘Radical Left’ will have Trump arrested because they know they cannot defeat him.’ She said that is ‘un-American’ and reaches a ‘dangerous new low of Third World countries.’ ‘What the corrupt Leftist prosecutors like Alvin Bragg and their Socialist allies fail to understand is that America First Patriots have never been so energized to exercise their constitutional rights to peacefully organize and VOTE at the ballot box to save our great Republic.’…

“Sen. Lindsey Graham also said… Saturday that Bragg has ‘done more’ to get Trump re-elected than any one… in the country. ‘They’re making stuff up that they never used against anybody because they hate Trump,’ he said…  Former Vice President Mike Pence also stuck up for his former boss in an interview with reporters Saturday, saying: ‘The idea of indicting a president of the United States is deeply troubling to me as it is to tens of millions of Americans – and particularly happening in what appears to be a politically charged environment in New York, where the attorney general and other elected officials literally campaigned on a pledge to prosecute the former president.’…

“And even Republican presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy said Trump being indicted would be a ‘national disaster.’… He explained that indicting Trump will only undermine Americans’ trust in the electoral system… ‘Our entire country is skating on thin ice right now and we cannot afford to politicize the justice system, or else we will reach our breaking point,’ he warned.”

Breitbart added on March 18:

“Former President Donald Trump will win reelection in a ‘landslide victory’ if he is handcuffed and arrested next week, Elon Musk [who is supporting DeSantis]… predicted in a tweet…”

Blitz added on March 18:

“The Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation [Dmitry Medvedev] turned to the people of the United States and advised the citizens of the country to end the rule of the incumbent President Joe Biden [and to “destroy the tyranny of Washington,” according to Express, dated March 19, adding: ‘‘The jerks in Europe wanted to arrest someone else [referring to Putin, see below], and on March 21 they will arrest their own in America,’ he said on Telegram.”

Bragg to Testify Under Oath

Fox News wrote on March 20:

“The House Judiciary Committee is demanding that Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg testify before Congress in the wake of his ‘unprecedented abuse of prosecutorial authority’…  Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, sent a letter… to Bragg Monday morning demanding his testimony. The letter was also signed by House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., and House Committee on Administration Chairman Brian Steil, R-Wis…

“The statute of limitations on a matter of ‘falsifying business records,’ which Jordan said ‘would ordinarily be a misdemeanor subject to a two-year statute of limitations,’ would have ‘expired long ago.’ ‘State law, however, allows a district attorney to “elevate nominal misdemeanor conduct” to a felony charge if the “intent to defraud includes an intent to commit another crime or to aid or conceal the commission thereof,”’ Jordan wrote, noting that showing would extend the statute of limitations to five years…

“‘The only potential speculated crime that could be alleged here would be a violation of campaign finance law, according to one scholar, a charge that the Justice Department has already declined to bring,’ Jordan wrote… ‘In addition to the novel and untested legal theory, your star witness for this prosecution has a serious credibility problem—a problem that you have reportedly recognized,’ Jordan wrote. ‘This case relies heavily on the testimony of Michael Cohen, a convicted perjurer with a demonstrable prejudice against President Trump… In 2019, when he testified before Democrats on the House Oversight Committee to aid their fruitless investigation into President Trump, Cohen lied again—six times,’ Jordan said…

“Jordan went on to slam Bragg, saying his ‘progressive criminal justice policies that allow career ‘criminals to run the streets’ of Manhattan requires congressional scrutiny about how public safety funds appropriated by Congress are implemented by local law-enforcement agencies.’…

“Jordan is demanding that Bragg turn over records and communications between Manhattan DA office and the Justice Department referring to the Manhattan DA’s investigation of Trump; all communications sent by and received from the ex-prosecutors Dunne and Pomerantz; and all documents and communications referring or relating to the Manhattan district attorney’s office’s receipt and use of federal funds. Jordan demanded that Bragg contact the House Judiciary Committee to schedule his transcribed interview by March 23 at 10:00 a.m. Jordan demanded those records be turned over to the committee by the same day.”

Breitbart wrote on March 20:

“Jordan told Politico: ‘Bragg is a George Soros-backed crazy left wing prosecutor who is presiding in Manhattan where crime is on the rise and is doing this as a purely political sham.’”

DeSantis Goes on Record

Newsmax wrote on March 20:

“Florida GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday denounced the ‘manufactured circus’ behind Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s investigation of former President Donald Trump, rebuking him as a George Soros-funded prosecutor.

“Further, the governor, while answering a question from Newsmax’s Leo Feldman during a press briefing Monday, said he will not become involved in anything to do with a potential arrest of Trump, whose Mar-a-Lago home is in his state… DeSantis, meanwhile, said he is not ‘aware of anything’ when it comes to communications between law enforcement officials in Florida and New York authorities, should Trump be indicted and refuse to go north for his arraignment…

“‘I do know this, the Manhattan District Attorney is a Soros-funded prosecutor, so he like other Soros-funded prosecutors weaponize their office to impose a political agenda at the expense of the rule of law and public safety. He has downgraded over 50% of the felonies to misdemeanors. He says he doesn’t even want to have jail time for the vast majority of crime. So what we’ve seen in Manhattan is the crime rate go up and citizens become less safe.

“‘… you have a prosecutor who is ignoring crimes happening every single day in his jurisdiction and he chooses to go back many, many years ago to use what something about porn star hush-money payments, that’s an example of using a political agenda and weaponizing the office… New Yorkers and ordinary Americans in various jurisdictions… get victimized every day because of the reckless political agenda these Soros-funded prosecutions bring to the job. These Soros-funded district attorneys are a menace to society…’”

Left-liberal Jews have objected to references to Soros-funded political candidates as “antisemitic.”

Jail for the DA?

The Hill wrote on March 21:

“Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) on Tuesday [tweeted:] ‘A Trump indictment would be a disgusting abuse of power. The DA should be put in jail.’”

Public on Edge

Professor Jonathan Turley wrote on March 21:

“Bragg will have to convince a court that Trump paid the hush money for the sole purpose of the election. As a married man and television celebrity, Trump had other reasons to try to avoid a scandal …This is a patently political prosecution… Indeed, voters could well view the election as a vote against the establishment and the media — the very thing that got Trump elected in 2016…

“Then there is the question of a self-pardon. I have long maintained that a president can pardon himself…

“Bragg is releasing this case into a public that is already on edge. Polls show that a large number of Americans believe that the legal system is being politicized and hold both state and federal government in suspicion. A fifth of Americans now view the government as the greatest threat facing the nation…  53 percent in one poll agreed with the statement that the FBI acts like ‘Biden’s Gestapo.’… [Bragg] could single handily reanimate the presidency of Donald J. Trump.’”

Cohen a Serial Liar

Fox News wrote on March 20:

“Robert Costello, the former legal advisor to ex-Trump attorney Michael Cohen, appeared before the grand jury in the Manhattan District Attorney’s investigation into former President Trump Monday, and testified that Cohen is a ‘serial liar’…

“Costello said he testified to the grand jury Monday that Trump did not know about the payments made by Cohen to Stormy Daniels…. ‘There can be no doubt in anyone’s mind that Michael Cohen has great difficulty telling the truth,’ Costello said. ‘He is, after all a convicted perjurer, and our track record with Mr. Cohen convinced us that he was a serial liar.’…”

The case against Trump hinges mainly on the “trustworthiness” of Cohen. The New York Times said that Costello had this to say after his testimony: ‘I told the grand jury that this guy couldn’t tell the truth if you put a gun to his head.’”

Chaos at Court

The New York Post wrote on March 22:

“The Manhattan grand jury hearing evidence against former President Donald Trump in the Stormy Daniels ‘hush money’ case didn’t reconvene Wednesday as scheduled… The afternoon session was unexpectedly [cancelled] by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg… The move… came because an unidentified witness was unable to appear, sources said. The witness is believed to be someone who will rebut Monday’s testimony from lawyer… Robert Costello, sources said.

“Wednesday’s turn of events came as a source with ties to the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office told The Post that DA Alvin Bragg was concerned following Costello’s testimony. ‘The last thing he wants is for the grand jury to vote against him,’ the source said. ‘He wants a no-doubt-about-it case. He is pressuring the “Trump obsessed” to step up and prove the case.’

“A source inside Bragg’s office also said a substantial number of assistant district attorneys were ‘shaking their heads’ over Bragg’s decision to pursue Trump, 76. ‘They don’t understand how this case is going forward,’ the source said. ‘These ADAs are not fans of Trump but they are professional lawyers and know the law.’

“Fox News also reported ‘major dissension’ inside Bragg’s office, with one source saying the ‘weakness’ of the evidence against Trump was posing problems for prosecutors….”

Cohen Lied

The New York Post wrote on March 22:

“A newly surfaced letter from 2018 shows Michael Cohen lying to federal election officials about his infamous $130,000 payment to porn star Stormy Daniels… In it, Cohen told the Federal Election Commission that he ‘used his own personal funds to facilitate a payment of $130,000 to Ms. Stephanie Clifford,’ aka Daniels, in 2016. ‘Neither the Trump Organization nor the Trump campaign was a party to the transaction with Ms. Clifford, and neither reimbursed Mr. Cohen for the payment directly or indirectly,’ Cohen lawyer Stephen Ryan wrote on Feb. 8, 2018….”

Major Dissension

Fox News wrote on March 23:

“A Manhattan grand jury will not hear testimony, deliberate or vote on the hush-money case against former President Donald Trump on Thursday… Since the grand jury does not sit on Fridays, a vote on the Trump case is not expected this week…”

A Sideshow Gift for Biden

Miranda Devine of The New York post wrote on March 19:

“… the story took the spotlight off the bombshell bank records released the previous day by the House Oversight Committee, showing $1,065,000 had been funneled from a Chinese energy company, through Biden intimate Rob Walker, to four immediate family members of Joe Biden—his son Hunter, brother James, and Hallie Biden, the widow of his late son Beau, who also is Hunter’s former lover [and] an as-yet-unidentified family member, listed only on bank wires as ‘Biden.’ 

“Comer’s team has subpoenaed further bank records and is expected to reveal the identity of that mystery person… In anyone’s language, that is a huge story. Even the New York Times had to cover it…

“So for the Democrats’ spin machine, it was time for a Trump scandal… Enter Bragg, the George Soros-funded, soft-on-crime DA who has been talking about Trump being indicted on something or other since at least 2019, and who made ‘Get Trump’ a part of his election campaign. 

“His case is a joke. The allegation is that Trump falsified business records by concealing a $130,000 payment to porn star Stormy Daniels that was made by his estranged former lawyer Michael Cohen in 2016. Everything rests on the word of Cohen, a convicted perjurer, who testified before Bragg’s grand jury for three hours last Monday, and then again on Wednesday. Before that, he had been in for interviews with the DA’s office at least 19 times…

“If a legal witch hunt is the Democrats’ plan to win in 2024, it just shows how desperate they are. Why don’t they try winning elections the old-fashioned way, by presenting candidates and policies worthy of voters’ approval instead of perverting the justice system in the pursuit of power?”

But presenting a qualified candidate and acceptable policies is the big challenge for Democrats.

It Does Not Look Good for the Biden Family

The New York Post wrote on March 18:

‘CNN news anchor Erin Burnett admitted that evidence revealing that the Biden family received over a million dollars from accounts linked to Hunter Biden’s Chinese business dealings does not ‘look good’ for the president’s family…

“House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky) revealed on Thursday that on March 1, 2017 — just weeks after Joe Biden left office as Barack Obama’s VP— State Energy HK Limited, a firm affiliated with Chinese Communist Party-backed energy company CEFC China Energy, wired $3 million to Biden family associate Rob Walker. Walker then proceeded to dish out the money to a number of Biden associates and members of the Biden family, including Hunter Biden, the president’s brother James Biden and his late son Beau Biden’s widow Hallie Biden.

“The windfall was subsequently divvied up over a period of about three months to at least three members of the Biden clan, and two Biden family associates.  Here’s how the $3 million from China was distributed, according to Comer (R-Ky.):  James Gilliar: $1,065,000; John ‘Rob’ Walker: $869,308; Hunter Biden: $610,692; James Biden: $360,000; Hallie Biden: $25,000; Unknown Biden: $70,000.”

The “unknown Biden” could be the most interesting one. According to former mayor Giuliani, this is just the tip of the iceberg, and much more will be revealed, including the contents of Hunter Biden’s laptop. The impression exists that the expected indictment of Trump and the revelation regarding the Biden family is not a mere coincidence.

Joe Biden Denies Payments to Family Despite Bank Records

Fox News wrote on March 18:

“President Biden denied that his family received more than $1 million in payments from accounts related to Hunter Biden’s business associate Rob Walker and their Chinese business ventures in 2017, even though financial records indicate otherwise… A spokesperson for Hunter Biden’s legal team confirmed the payments Thursday but emphasized that the recipients’ accounts ‘belonged to Hunter, his uncle and Hallie – nobody else.’ However, Biden denied that the payments were made when confronted by a reporter on the White House lawn Friday…

“Republican lawmakers say they are probing whether the Biden family leveraged Joe Biden’s former position as vice president to make lucrative deals with foreign nationals. The White House in a statement did not deny the findings, but blasted the committee’s investigation into the Biden family… Hunter Biden’s legal team accused Republicans of pushing a ‘baseless right-wing conspiracy theory,’ even as they confirmed that the payments had happened…”

Joe Biden denies what has been admitted by his son’s legal team which, while on the other hand, presents a ridiculous “defense.”

Majority of GOP Voters Against Supporting Ukraine

LifeSiteNews wrote on March 17:

“A new poll released Thursday verifies a significant trend among Republican voters against deeper involvement in the Ukraine war… The IPSOS-Axios poll reveals that only 42% of Republicans ‘support providing weapons and financial support to Ukraine,’ meaning a full 58% do not.”

The time will come when the USA will cease supporting Ukraine, and then, core Europe will follow suit, bringing about the prophesied “unification” in some way of Russia and Ukraine.

Newsmax Back on Direct TV

Breitbart wrote on March 22:

“Newsmax is returning to DirecTV, after the satellite giant dropped the conservative news and commentary channel from its lineup in January…

“DirecTV dropping Newsmax caused an uproar among Republican lawmakers, who threatened hearings and fumed about conservative censorship. DirecTV had previously dropped One America News Network in April 2022.”

Woke Banks Fail

Daily Mail wrote on March 15:

“Woke Silicon Valley Bank donated over $73 million to Black Lives Matter-related social justice groups in the years before it collapsed, while failed Signature Bank gave $850,000…

“Both banks had touted their efforts to improve diversity among their staff and address social issues.”

It has been suggested that the reason why the Biden Administration is bailing out these two banks [sometimes referred to as “Biden’s banks] is because they followed the “woke” agenda of radical Democrats, while picking and choosing which other banks may be bailed out—leaving the impression that failing Republican-run banks might not be helped.

Interest Rates Raised Once Again

Breitbart wrote on March 22:

“The Federal Reserve continued to increase interest rates by [a] quarter of percent (25 basis points) on Wednesday…

“The Fed was stuck between a rock and a hard place. With the Fed increasing interest rates, banks could likely continue to struggle with liquidity and perhaps cause more bank failures. Not raising the interest rate would likely fuel inflation that previous interest rate hikes were intended to reduce…”

Powell to Be Removed?

Breitbart wrote on March 22:

“Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) said Wednesday on CNN’s ‘The Lead’ that Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell should be removed because he is ‘trying to drive’ the U.S. economy into a recession.

“During a discussion about Powell raising interest rates, anchor Jake Tapper asked, ‘Have you ever directly told President Biden that you think he should fire the chair, Jerome Powell? And who would you like to see replace him?’

“Warren said, ‘So, I’m not going to talk about private conversations, but what I will say is I made it very clear as publicly as humanly possible that I didn’t think that he should be reconfirmed as chair of the Fed. And I think he’s doing a really terrible job.’

“Tapper asked, ‘Do you think the United States is headed for a recession?’ Warren said, ‘I think that that is where Jerome Powell is trying to drive it… I said five years ago I think he a dangerous man to have in this job.’”

Arrest Warrant for Putin

The Associated Press wrote on March 17:

‘The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant Friday for Russian President Vladimir Putin, accusing him of the war crime of illegally deporting hundreds of children from Ukraine. The bold legal move will obligate the court’s 123 member states to arrest Putin and transfer him to The Hague for trial if he sets foot on their territory… the Kremlin branded the court decision as ‘null and void.’

“Neither Russia nor Ukraine are members of the ICC, although Kyiv granted it jurisdiction to prosecute crimes committed on its territory. [Under the Rome Statute, the] tribunal has no police force of its own and relies on member states to make arrests…

“Stephen Rapp, U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for War Crimes Issues under former president Barack Obama, said: ‘This makes Putin a pariah. If he travels he risks arrest. This never goes away. Russia cannot gain relief from sanctions without compliance with the warrants.’…”

The Daily Mail added on March 17:

“[The Rome] Statute – from which the ICC draws its authority – precludes trials being held in absentia, meaning Putin would have to be tried in person. But while the likelihood of Putin’s arrest remains highly unlikely, it is not entirely impossible… Putin will not be arrested in or extradited from Russian territory, but has made trips abroad since the outbreak of the war in February last year.

“In June, he travelled to Tajikistan and Turkmenistan before visiting Iran the following month. [He] also travelled to Uzbekistan in September, Kazakhstan in October and Armenia in November, as well as Kyrgyzstan and Belarus in December. Of these countries, only Tajikistan is a member of the ICC and party to the Rome Statute and Putin may avoid entering the country again on that basis.

“But while non-members have no obligation under the statute to cooperate with the ICC, they will be encouraged to do so… If the United Nations Security Council triggers the ICC’s jurisdiction over a situation, the country has a duty to cooperate regardless of whether they are a member of the Rome Statute.”

Deutsche Welle wrote on March 23:

“Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has warned that any attempt to arrest Vladimir Putin [in Germany] would be seen as ‘a declaration of war… ‘And, in that case, all our assets — all our missiles etc. — would fly to the Bundestag, to the chancellor’s office.’”

EU Foreign Police Chief Not Welcome in Israel

The Associated Press wrote on March 15:

“Israel has signaled to the European Union’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, that he is not welcome to visit following critical comments he made about Israeli policies in the occupied West Bank, Israeli officials said Wednesday. The incident marked the latest sign of deteriorating relations between Israel’s new far-right government and some of its closest allies…

“In Brussels, European Commission spokesperson Peter Stano said Borrell had not been prevented from entering Israel because he has not been trying to visit… He added that Borrell’s comments reflected the official positions of the 27-nation EU…  The United States, Israel’s closest ally, has criticized Israeli settlement announcements by Netanyahu’s government and ongoing settler violence against Palestinians…”

Europe, under German leadership, will totally turn against Israel.

Israel Adopts New Incapacity Law for Prime Ministers

Newsmax wrote on March 23:

“Israel ratified a law on Thursday limiting the circumstances in which a prime minister can be removed, despite worries… that it may be meant to shield the incumbent Benjamin Netanyahu from any fallout from his corruption trials…

“By a 61-to-47 final vote, the Knesset approved the bill under which prime ministers can be deemed unfit – and compelled to step aside – either if they or three-quarters of cabinet ministers declare them so on physical or psychological grounds.”

Covid Hysteria… Courage vs. Cowards

The Dossier published the following article on or about March 17:

“When I look back at the times of Covid hysteria, I think most about outliers and rule followers, and what separates courageous people from cowards. These past three years served as a good reminder that true courage is an isolating experience. It is both difficult to possess and retain, and regularly interpreted by one’s peers as both peculiar and dangerous. Courage is special because it is a unique trait that separates the man from the mob… in late 2019, when push came to shove, the vast majority of our population submitted to the regime… Cowardice, unlike courage, is encouraged, rewarded, and it comes easily. 

“In the face of a government declared ‘national emergency,’ so many decided to take the coward’s route in the form of compliance, submission, and even taking to targeting the regime-declared ‘enemies’ of society. To be a good citizen, all you had to do was sit down, shut up, wear your submission mask, shutter your family business, carry your movement pass with you, and be up to date on your experimental pharmaceuticals. In exchange, society rewarded the coward class with opportunity, public praise, and a Good Citizen stamp of approval.

“After all, it is an enormously difficult task to swim upstream. It is much easier just to blend in… Courageous people stick to their principles despite the vast majority of the population — and even those closest to them — declaring them a problem, or something much worse. Courage is unique because it is almost impossible to be courageous and popular at the same time. If courage were popular, it wouldn’t be brave. If courage was common, it wouldn’t be courageous…

“When the forces for tyranny rear their ugly heads for the next manufactured crisis in the not so distant future, courageous citizens will once more be called upon to thwart their ambitions.”

Note our Editorial in this Update.

Wuhan Market Raccoon Dogs

Newsmax wrote on March 17:

“Genetic data found in a Wuhan, China seafood market shortly after it was shut down in early January 2020 has linked the coronavirus with raccoon dogs, a fox-related animal that was being sold there at the time, according to a new report from a team of international virus experts.

“The swabs were taken around the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market after authorities in China ordered it closed because they suspected it was connected to the then-new coronavirus outbreak… it doesn’t prove conclusively that a raccoon dog was infected, and even if it was, that it spread the virus to people, as another animal could have spread the disease to people, who then gave it to the raccoon dog.

“But raccoon dogs are known to be able to transmit the coronavirus and as they deposited genetic signatures in the same places where the virus material was left, it shows consistencies with what would be a scenario in which humans were infected by wild animals, the report said.

“The new evidence is being released just weeks after an intelligence assessment from the U.S. Department of Energy pointed to the theory that the COVID-19 pandemic originated from a leak at the Wuhan Institute of Virology.

“However, it is also being considered as the first tangible evidence concerning how the virus could have spread to people through wild animals, and suggest that scientists in China may have not given a complete accounting of evidence about how the virus spread at the seafood market…”

The New York Post added on March 17:

“Three years after COVID-19 brought the world to its knees, the scientific community remains bitterly divided over the origins of the virus, despite the growing consensus that it was manufactured inside the Wuhan Institute of Virology during gain-of-function research.

“But a new analysis of genetic material from the infamous Wuhan wet market points to a new unlikely culprit — the raccoon dog. Analysis of genetic sequences collected from the market in January 2020 shows that raccoon dogs being illegally sold at the [Market] may have been carrying and shedding the virus at the outbreak of the pandemic, according to a wild new report in the Atlantic.

“However, researchers who conducted the analysis have expressed caution about their own findings, which do not conclusively prove that raccoon dogs were the original host of the virus… Indeed, as the New York Times [wrote:] ‘The jumbling together of genetic material from the virus and the animal does not prove that a raccoon dog itself was infected. And even if a raccoon dog had been infected, it would not be clear that the animal had spread the virus to people.’”

Whatever the Truth, the consumption of unclean animals such as the raccoon dog is a horrible abomination in the eyes of God. Note the next article in this context.

Extra Credit for Kids Eating Bugs

LifeSiteNews wrote on March 17:

“Kim Cutler, a teacher at Spring Canyon Middle School [in Utah], assigned sixth grade English students an essay titled ‘Why Americans Should Be Eating Bugs?’ According to the parameters of the assignment, students were supposed to write an essay arguing that people should eat bugs rather than cows as their primary source of protein as cows produce methane that damages the ozone layer. Students were not allowed to disagree with the assignment’s argument.

“In addition to the essay, Cutler gave students the opportunity to receive extra credit by eating grasshoppers that the school district, Nebo School District, bought from a commercial website.

“A student in the class, Saige Wright,… asked Cutler why students could not argue against the essay’s premise, Cutler responded by saying, ‘Because we don’t have any evidence for it… There’s only one right answer to this essay…’

“This is not the first time a school offered students bugs to eat for the sake of climate change. As of last October, over 1,000 schools in Australia started offering corn chips laced with insect protein…

“Eating bugs has also been encouraged by the World Economic Forum (WEF), with the organization arguing that ‘we need to give insects the role they deserve in our food systems.’

“Microsoft founder Bill Gates, who… in 2019 invested… into an insect-farming start-up, last year stated that ‘all rich countries should move to 100% synthetic beef.’”

The left-wing extreme indoctrination of our kids in schools is appalling.

Tremendous Success of the Pro-Farmer Movement in The Netherlands

Breitbart wrote on March 20:

“The anti-Great Reset, pro-farmer BoerBurgerBeweging (BBB) movement appears to have won even more seats in the Dutch senate than expected, with the globalist coalition government losing heavily.

“The BoerBurgerBeweging (Farmer-Citizen Movement) was founded to represent the interests of Dutch farmers facing severe difficulties or being closed down altogether as a result of Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s efforts to implement European Union-mandated curbs on the use of nitrogen fertilisers, in order to serve the bloc’s climate change green agenda.

“Initially a protest movement, the BBB has been involved in many major demonstrations, often involving tractors, in the Netherlands — but it arrived as a political force in the country’s recent regional government elections for the first time, which also determine the make-up of the First Chamber of the States General — the upper house or senate of the Dutch legislature… the Farmer-Citizen Movement’s success was greater than polls initially suggested, with it being due to claim 17 seats in the Senate and become by far the largest party there…

“The precarious four-party coalition government of the supposedly ‘centre-right’ Prime Minister Mark Rutte, meanwhile, appears to have suffered somewhat worse losses than expected, with [suggestions] they will be unable to achieve a majority even with the support of the Labour Party and the Greens…”

German Bishops vs. the Vatican

LifeSiteNews wrote on March 15:

“Bishop Georg Bätzing, the head of the German bishops’ conference (DBK), said that they will implement ‘blessings’ of same-sex couples in Germany, regardless of what the Vatican says…

“On March 10, the same day that Bätzing made these remarks in the interview with ZDF, the members of the Synodal Way voted overwhelmingly in favor of a document containing ‘blessings’ for same-sex couples, as well as for the divorced and ‘re-married,’ in a move putting them in direct opposition to Catholic teaching…

“[Bätzing] added that ‘we have heard today from the Belgian Church that this has already been implemented there and that it has even been agreed upon with Rome.’ 

“While Pope Francis has been ambiguous on the subject, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith did issue a document in 2021 confirming that the Catholic Church does not have the authority to bless same-sex unions.

“The interviewer confronted Bätzing with criticism from the former secretary of Pope Benedict XVI, Archbishop Georg Gänswein, who said that he is worried that the German Catholic Church is ‘saying goodbye’ to union with the universal Catholic Church. ‘Those who speak of division perhaps hope to get something out of it,’ the head of the German bishops’ conference responded. ‘We do not speak of it, we do not want it and we will remain in unity with the large Catholic Church.’”

But deeds speak louder than words…

More Paganism in the Catholic Church

LifeSiteNews wrote on March 17:

“… Now it is another form of paganism that is being promoted by Rome. The ancient Mayan religion is permeated by polytheism (the earth, the sun, the moon, and animals are all regarded as being gods), by animism (belief that objects and creatures have a soul), by the belief in communication with one’s ancestors (and even worshipping them), and by human sacrifice (to include women and children) as part of its worship… many of these idolatrous elements will be included in this new rite of Mass…

“The revival of Mayan practices and symbols… is seen as a return to ‘pre-Columbian’ traditions, that is, pre-Christian. But for these theologians, however, there is no real contradiction between these two religions… Bishop Ruiz pointed out that the God venerated in Indian theology was not different from the Jesus worshipped in Catholicism… the author describes the incorporation of ancient religious rituals into Catholic practices without seeing a contradiction…

“Very important to these practices also, is the Mayan Altar — an altar that is dedicated to the gods and beliefs of the Mayan religion… pine needles or boughs… are placed around the altar. As one description of the Mayan meaning of pine needles explains, they ‘are the portal to the other world…’ Problematic also is the use of a shell, as can be seen being used in different liturgies in the diocese… The shell is a Mayan practice of communicating with the spirits of their ancestors. [It is also contended that] we are to encounter ‘Mother Earth’ as a goddess…

“Rattles… are also ways to call the ancestors to communicate with the living.

“… many Mayan elements… were included in the Mass of Pope Francis when he came to visit the diocese on February 15, 2016…

“Bartolomé Espinosa Vázquez, an expert in the Mayan culture and a member of the South Team of the diocese, was responsible for installing the altar that was placed during the official ceremony held on January 25, 2022… Some of Espinosa Vázquez’ explanations of the Mayan Altar speak for themselves:… ‘When we blow the shell we are calling the spirit of our ancestors… The burning of copal is believed to call upon the God Tlaloc and the goddess Chalchiuhtlicue. Both of these dieties were associated with fertility and creation’…”

Trying to communicate with the dead is a horrible sin, as it may bring us into contact with demons. The Catholic Church has, from the outset, practiced syncretism—the inclusion of pagan elements in their worship system.  Days like Christmas and Easter are clearly of pagan origin. Therefore, further inclusion of pagan customs, beliefs and practices should not be surprising.

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.

The book of 2 Peter is addressed to Christians who are called out of the world and who understand the promise made to them to become glorified members of God’s Family (compare 2 Peter 1:1-4). Even though this letter was written to the early members of the Church of God, it also directly applies to Christians throughout the ages. Peter writes to encourage the readers to develop their conversion by producing spiritual fruits. He then makes a summary statement, “Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble; for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 1:10-11). This raises a question that all Christians need to answer for themselves, “How can I make my calling and election sure?”

It is a privilege to be called in this age. Even though the plan of God involves bringing many to salvation, there are only a few who are called now. In our booklet, “Are You Predestined to be Saved?” we highlight the fact that only a relatively few number of people are called today.

“The Bible teaches that in this day and age, God calls just very few to salvation. Those who respond to the call and become converted are referred to as the firstfruits (compare James 1:18; Revelation 14:4). Some try to defeat the Biblical concept of predestination, as explained in this booklet, by stating that God does not know ahead of time whom He will call and choose. Rather, they claim that God ‘calls’ many, based on their prior conduct in this life, and that He then decides to choose or accept those who respond to His call, while rejecting those who reject His call.

“However, those who are truly called today have been first foreknown and predestined by God (Romans 8:28). They were singled out BEFORE they did right or wrong—that is, they were NOT called because of their works (compare Romans 9:11; 2 Timothy 1:8–9). Those who are truly called are also chosen and faithful (compare Revelation 17:14). The Bible does not teach that God calls many today to salvation, but that most reject their calling and that only a few will respond and become chosen and faithful. If that were true, then those who have rejected their spiritual calling to eternal salvation would have committed the unpardonable sin—and this is decisively not correct. Today, God only calls and chooses the few (compare 1 Corinthians 1:26–29), and when He brings them to true conversion, they, for the most part, will stay loyal to Him (although it is possible, that some, who are truly called to salvation, will commit the unpardonable sin).”

This passage should help us understand how special it is to be among the called and elect today. Knowing that we have such a tremendous opportunity to understand and live by the Truth should motivate us to take advantage of the gift of the Holy Spirit with which we have been entrusted. To be in a position to “make our call and election sure” is very special. Therefore, it is vital to clearly understand what it takes to follow through with our calling and succeed in fulfilling the plan that God has in store for us individually.

The instructions that Peter writes preceding the admonition to make our call and election sure serve as a good starting point. He describes the general characteristics to develop on our Christian journey. Diligence, faith, virtue, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love serve as the essential building blocks of spiritual fruit (compare 2 Peter 1:5-9). The application of those efforts is also important to consider. The objects of our faith, virtue, knowledge, and so on matter! To what end should we direct our efforts to make our call and election sure?

There are three things that this Q&A will focus on directing our efforts towards which will help bring fruit to maturity. The first is about staying grounded in the Truth. The second is to maintain endurance. The third is to repent from sin by becoming and staying obedient to God’s commandments. The parable of the sower gives us valuable lessons. But first, let us understand that even though four categories of people are described in that parable, only the people of the fourth category were called for salvation. We write in our free booklet, “Are You Predestined to be Saved?”:

“In the parable with the sower, in Matthew 13:18–23, four types of people are mentioned who all hear the Word of God. But only one person accepts the Word and produces fruit (verse 23), while the other three give up and fall away. Does this mean that all of them were truly called by God to salvation? And—that God was caught by surprise when the first three fell away, although He had predestined them to be called in this day and age? Hardly! God very well knew that only the fourth person would respond and continue in His calling, as God knows the hearts and minds of people. Only the fourth person was predestined to be called and chosen in this life.”

Still, the reaction of the first three categories of people who heard God’s Word can show us how we, who are called for salvation, must not behave, while the reaction of the fourth category illustrates to us how we are to behave in response to God’s calling.

In the first example, we read about a lack of diligence to develop knowledge and understanding of the Truth. “When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside” (Matthew 13:19). Applying this to us who are called to salvation, when we first hear the Word of God, it might be a challenge to believe what we hear because it is so contrary to the teachings of the world! But if we don’t completely understand something at first, it should compel us to dig in and learn more about it. If we willingly neglect to learn more about the instruction of the Bible when something doesn’t make perfect sense right away, the Truth could eventually be “snatched” away from us. To prevent that from happening, we need to be dedicated to continual learning. Responding to God’s calling involves diligence in studying and learning so that we develop knowledge and understanding of the Truth.

We must have an open mind to believe what the Bible instructs. The Bereans give us a great example to follow. “Then the brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea. When they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews.   These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so. Therefore many of them believed, and also not a few of the Greeks, prominent women as well as men” (Acts 17:10-12). In this example, the love for the Truth is clearly evident. When the Bereans received the instruction from Paul and Silas, they got busy researching to make sure they understood the Truth comprehensively. This is our job too.

Having a love for the Truth also factors into the development of our understanding. Without having a love for the Truth, we will not care enough about it to dedicate ourselves to learning. To be on guard against the evil powers of the world now and in the future, having love for the Truth is essential. We know that a time will come when deception will abound upon the earth, even more than today. The ones who do not have a love for the Truth will be deceived and fall away because the passing pleasures of sin are too compelling (compare 2 Thessalonians 2:9-12). When we love the Truth, we care enough to develop our understanding of it, and also become compelled to live by it. The Truth forms the foundation for correctly developing the fruit of the Spirit.

In the second example in the parable of the sower, we see a failure that comes from a lack of endurance. “But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles” (Matthew 13:20-21). Truly, the teaching of the Bible is very exciting! For some, the excitement that initially comes at the start does not develop any further. In those circumstances, the willingness to live by God’s Word ceases and becomes unfruitful. This can also happen to those who are called. When trials come, they lack the endurance to continue to accept and live by the Truth with a joyful heart. 

When we are called by God, it is for a grand purpose – to live as glorified members of His Family. With such an eternal end result, endurance is absolutely essential. To stop in the development of Christian character after the excitement fades leaves the opportunity of a lifetime unfulfilled. “Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward.   For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise: ‘For yet a little while, And He who is coming will come and will not tarry. Now the just shall live by faith; But if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him.’ But we are not of those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul” (Hebrews 10:35-39). In this passage, we see the contrast between Christian endurance and drawing back into the world. The warning is that when we don’t have endurance, we put ourselves in a precarious position, at risk of failing to live in accordance with our call. Working towards an eternal result requires that we continue our efforts until the time of fulfillment – a lifetime endeavor!

The third aspect of making our call and election sure involves applying these aspects in practical ways in our life. We must work to overcome the world and the way of sin. Returning to the parable of the sower, we can see the attribute of the final failure. “Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful” (Matthew 13:22). In this example, the ones who receive the word do not apply the teachings of the Bible to repent. But rather, the carnal pleasures of sin prevent these people from developing the spiritual fruit required of a Christian and draws them back into the world. To some, sin has too great of an influence, causing them to neglect the requirement to live righteously. For those who are called to salvation, they must continue to live a life of repentance even after their baptism.

Repentance from sin and overcoming the world put the love of the Truth into practice. This is how we truly develop the spiritual fruit required of us. If we love the Christian Way of Life, even at the threat of rejection from the world, we choose to actively please God with the way we live. It brings God an abundance of joy to see people repent from sin and choose obedience when faced with the temptations of the world (compare Luke 15:10). Obedience is absolutely essential for Christians who desire to make their calling and election sure.

Answering the calling from God the Father who draws us to Jesus  Christ involves  continuously making tremendous changes in life (compare John 6:44-45, John 6:65, John 14:6). It takes a life-long commitment to learn the Truth and live the way of righteousness, following the example of Christ. This is not to say that Christians must live a perfect life in order to make their call and election sure. As human beings, we will slip from time to time. While we do not try to sin and make every effort not to sin, we will still stumble (compare Romans 7:15-25, 1 John 1:8). When that happens and we realize what we have done, we confess our sins, and God will forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). We put our endurance to work and repent because we love the Truth. To answer our calling, we demonstrate an attitude of perseverance to live in a way that pleases God, because we love Him and His commandments. “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome” (1 John 5:3). By continually working to understand and live by the Truth, endure in our adherence to those teachings, and overcome the sin, we will receive the promise, having an entrance supplied to us abundantly into the everlasting Kingdom of God.

The fourth category of people mentioned in the parable of the sower are the only ones who ARE called for salvation in this life, who have a good ground or a willingness to accept God’s Word; who hear and understand God’s Word; and who act upon that understanding in obeying God’s Word, thereby producing fruit. But even then, some produce more fruit than others; and their reward will be in accordance with their works.

Lead Writer: Eric Rank

compiled by Dave Harris

“Catholic Church in Turmoil,” the newest StandingWatch program and presented by Evangelist Norbert Link, is now posted. Here is a summary:

Many are concerned that the German Catholic Church will split from Rome. The German bishops are determined to pursue certain “reforms” regardless of what the Vatican says. Others in the Catholic Church are worried that pagan practices and customs are invited into the Church. What could this all mean?

“Die Katholische Kirche in Unruhe,” a new AufPostenStehen program presented by Norbert Link, covers the same topic as described above, in German.

“What Does The Biggest Bank Failure Since The Great Recession Mean To You?” is the title of a new StandingWatch program, presented by Evangelist Norbert Link. Here is a summary:

Suddenly, American banks are collapsing or are in great danger. Some constitute the biggest failure since the Great Recession in 2008 and the second and third largest bank failure in U.S. history.  European banks are affected too. Some speak of a coming recession, if not depression, more powerful than that of 1929. Does this mean that we must live in constant fear of financial ruin and disaster, or can we have trust in God that He will protect and take care of us, if we do our part?

“Auszeit vor Gott—legitim oder riskant?” the sermon presented last Sabbath in Germany by Thilo Hanstein, is now posted. Title in English: “Time Out Before God, Legitimate or Risky?”

“Was vor mir liegt,” the sermonette presented last Sabbath in Germany by Christian Mrosek, is now posted. Title in English: “What Lies Ahead?”

“Let’s Make a Deal,” the sermonette presented last Sabbath by Michael Link, is now posted. Here is a summary:

There are many kinds of deals that are made for various reasons. Throughout the Bible, we read stories about deals being made, oftentimes by those who try to get something in return, which can be good or bad “deals.” What can we learn from these and what is the greatest deal that we can make for the best possible outcome?

“When the Going Gets Tough – The Tough Get Going,” the sermon presented last Sabbath by Kalon Mitchell, is now posted. Here is a summary:

In the coming weeks, months and years we are going to be challenged on multiple fronts. The Bible’s warnings about a Christian’s life are stark. How do we plan on getting through these times? How are we going to react? We are going to have to be tough in ways that we may not be currently prepared for. What can we do to prepare now? 

Spring Holy Days: Passover—April 5, 2023 (observed the evening before); Feast of Unleavened Bread—April 6-12, 2023; Pentecost—May 28, 2023.

2023 Ministerial Conference: April 27, 28 and 30, 2023.

On March 18, 2023, Michael Link will present the sermonette, titled, “Let’s Make a Deal,” and Kalon Mitchell will present the sermon, titled, “When the Going Gets Tough-the Tough Get Going.”

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

The Apostle Paul writes: “If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men” (Romans 12:18). One of the ways in which we can “live peaceably with all men” is to not live with resentment against others.

We bear a great responsibility before God as His emissaries of Christianity, and central to our role is that we must be willing to forgive. Here is what Jesus taught in this regard:

“‘For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses’” (Matthew 6:14-15).

We have all seen people who seethe with bitter resentment and who hold grudges sometimes for years. That kind of mental state is overpowering and dangerous, because it, like a cancer, can supplant righteous character. Oftentimes, animosity between people grows because steps are not taken to quickly resolve contentious issues. Jesus gave the following admonition for how members of the Church of God should deal with offenses, but the principle applies broadly:

“‘Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother’” (Matthew 18:15).

Where does the responsibility fall in being a forgiver? Quite obviously, in the example above, it took the part of both the offended and offender to work out the problem. That is the way The Parable of the Lost Son is represented, also, but note how willingly receptive the Father is toward the return of his now repentant son:

“And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him” (Luke 15:20).

If we are to be a godly forgiver, let’s not make it hard for others, with whom we may have problems, to approach us. Rather, we need to remember how openly God receives us when we often turn to Him asking for His forgiveness of our sins, for this is what He promises: “As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us” (Psalm 103:12).

Passover is ahead of us, and we are instructed to examine ourselves beforehand (1 Corinthians 11:28). One way to do so is to consider how well we are doing at being a forgiver of others. From the most minor of offenses to the greatest ones we encounter, are we able and willing to forgive?

Because of the supreme and selfless Sacrifice of Jesus Christ on our behalf, we have found and continue to find forgiveness with God.

Let’s be like God the Father and Jesus Christ—let us be a forgiver!

By Norbert Link

We speak about Donald Trump’s plans which he announced in an interview to end the Ukrainian-Russian war, which Fox News chose not to air; address Donald Trump’s and Ron DeSantis’ further statements on Ukraine; report on Poland’s military ambitions which might or might not come to pass; point out the shocking development in Germany, revealing that most Germans are now in favor of conscription; speak on the early retirement of German General Eberhard Zorn for giving an assessment of the Ukraine situation which runs counter to the government’s official narrative; and address the terrible mass shooting in Hamburg by a mentally sick and in all likelihood demonically possessed murderer. We also point out further evidence of Europe’s dictatorship.

We speak on Saudi Arabia’s desire to “normalize” ties with Israel and the USA, while at the same time, it wants to “restore” ties with Iran with the help of China. We also report on the emergence of the “Kings of the East” and the alleged “meddling” of the USA in Israeli elections.

We continue with the largest US bank failure since the Great Recession in 2008 and the worldwide panic as a consequence; warn about the dangers ofOuija boards; and address discussions about the origin of the Coronavirus and the incredible autocratic restrictions to “defeat” it; especially in California which used unconstitutional measures to suppress church services; point out further cover-ups regarding the suspicious financial dealings of the Biden family and the destruction of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline; and we conclude with Democratic attempts to guarantee abortions nationwide until the time of birth of the innocent child.

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

How Trump Would End the Russian-Ukrainian War

Insider wrote on March 8:

“Fox News cut out comments by former President Donald Trump in which he said he would have considered letting Russia have parts of Ukraine as part of a peace deal between the nations. In an interview on Fox News host Sean Hannity’s radio show on Monday, which is not broadcast by Fox, Trump revealed how he would try and broker a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine in the wake of Russia’s invasion last year. Trump has claimed he can quickly bring an end to the war as he seeks election again in 2024. 

“In the interview, he boasted of how Russia would not have dared to launch an attack during his presidency, and added: ‘I could have negotiated. At worst, I could’ve made a deal to take over something, there are certain areas that are Russian-speaking areas, frankly, but you could’ve worked a deal.’

“The Daily Beast’s Justin Baragona reported that when Hannity played excerpts from the interview later that day on his prime time Fox News show, the part where Trump suggests he may have backed an agreement handing parts of Ukraine to Russia was edited out, with the excerpt cutting out after Trump says ‘I could’ve negotiated.’

“Fox pointed Insider to the fact that the Trump comments were part of a 22-minute radio interview on a separate platform that was edited down to a 2 minute clip as part of the usual editorial process.

“Russia annexed swaths of east Ukraine and the Crimea peninsula in 2014, two years before Trump became president, and last year launched a wider invasion aimed at toppling the Ukrainian government in Kyiv. The annexations and invasion have been condemned as illegal by the international community, and Ukraine says that the only conditions under which it would negotiate were if Russia withdrew from its territory.

“Trump last year praised Putin for being ‘smart’ in seeking to invade Ukraine, and declaring large swaths of it ‘independent’ as a prelude to illegally annexing it. Trump has long drawn criticism for his refusal to criticize Russian aggression, as well as his comments about the authoritarian president, Vladimir Putin.

“As president, he famously sided with Putin at a 2018 summit in questioning his own intelligence agencies’ assessment that Russia had meddled in the 2016 election…”

This “solution” would most certainly be rejected by Ukraine.

Trump: Only I Can Prevent World War III

Breitbart wrote on March 15:

“Former President Donald Trump told Iowans Monday night that he is the only candidate who could ‘prevent World War III’ as the war between Russia and Ukraine rages on… Trump pledged to have a deal reached between Russia and Ukraine as president-elect before his term even starts if he wins in 2024…

“He added that he believes the war would never have occurred if he were in the Oval Office. In Trump’s eyes, the Biden Administration’s disastrous Afghanistan withdrawal, which resulted in the deaths of 13 American servicemembers, showed weakness to Russian President Vladamir Putin and marked an opening for him to invade Ukraine… In his view, the Biden Administration could catapult America into a third world war… Trump emphasized that a third world war would likely be nuclear, and subsequently catastrophic on a global scale…

“Trump remains the front-runner in the Republican primary field. A Morning Consult poll released Tuesday shows Trump leading his next closest potential competitor, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), by 24 percentage points in a crowded field…”

A nuclear war between Russia and the USA is not prophesied in the Bible. But a nuclear war WILL take place, with other major actors involved.

Ron DeSantis: Helping Ukraine Not in US National Interest

Newsmax wrote on March 14:

“Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis says protecting Ukraine against Russia’s invasion is not one of America’s ‘vital national interests’ in the face of more pressing issues closer to home.

“In a statement broadcast on Monday’s ‘Tucker Carlson Tonight,’ DeSantis, a potential 2024 GOP presidential candidate, countered President Joe Biden’s oft-repeated vow that the United States’ support of Kyiv is ‘unwavering’ and will continue for as long as needed. ‘While the U.S. has many vital national interests — securing our borders, addressing the crisis of readiness within our military, achieving energy security and independence, and checking the economic, cultural, and military power of the Chinese Communist Party — becoming further entangled in a territorial dispute between Ukraine and Russia is not one of them,’ DeSantis said in the statement.

“DeSantis said Biden administration’s policies ‘have driven Russia into a de facto alliance with China.’ … DeSantis said Americans ‘are also entitled to know how the billions of U.S. taxpayer dollars are being utilized in Ukraine… We cannot prioritize intervention in an escalating foreign war over the defense of our own homeland, especially as tens of thousands of Americans are dying every year from narcotics smuggled across our open border and our weapons arsenals critical for our own security are rapidly being depleted.’

“…trying to remove Russian President Vladimir Putin from power ‘would greatly increase the stakes of the conflict, making the use of nuclear weapons more likely,’ DeSantis argued… ‘History indicates that Putin’s successor, in this hypothetical, would likely be even more ruthless. The costs to achieve such a dubious outcome could become astronomical.’”

American (and European) support for Ukraine against Russia will diminish in time.

Poland’s Military Ambitions

The Telegraph wrote on March 11:

“Warsaw is embarking on its biggest re-armament drive in 50 years in response to the growing threat posed by Russia… This year it will spend 4 percent of its GDP on defence, an amount double the Nato requirement…  it has placed orders for 1,000 K2 main battle tanks from South Korea, and 250 brand new M1A2 SEPv3 Abram tanks from the US. This will turn Poland into the owner of Europe’s biggest tank force, dwarfing the UK’s fleet of 227.

“Its artillery will be bolstered by the arrival of 600 K9s, 18 HIMARS launchers with 9,000 rockets, and 288 K239 Chunmoo MRL systems from South Korea. Over 1,000 Polish-made Borsuk infantry fighting vehicles will carry Polish troops into battle, while air cover will come from 96 AH-64E Apache helicopters bought from the US, and 48 FA-50 combat aircraft now on order from South Korea… All of this will be underscored by plans to double the size of the Polish Army to 300,000, which would turn Poland into Europe’s biggest military power, in terms of manpower, west of Ukraine…

“This level of spending is not without risks. ‘I fear that all of this spending could drain the budget, if not properly managed’ said Magdalena Jakubowska, a defence expert and vice president of Res Publica-Visegrad Insight, a foundation covering Central European politics. ‘The public may not be aware that there may well have to be cuts to certain—civilian projects. We’ve had stable economic growth for the past few years, but now we are close to a recession. If we don’t boost the economy with the EU money (from a pandemic recovery fund), which we still have not got, then the situation could become critical.’

“The European Commission has denied Poland access to around £30 billion in grants and cheap loans from the EU’s post-pandemic Recovery and Resilience Facility owing to a dispute over the rule of law. The Polish government has introduced legislation that might resolve the deadlock but for the time being the money remains out of reach…

“To help Poland, last year, the US Congress approved $288.6 million (£239 million) in military financing to ‘deter and defend’ against the increased threat from Russia. The cash will help but with inflation running at around 17 per cent in Poland and economic growth slowing the defence budget could become difficult to meet.”

Regardless, Poland seems to be destined to play an important role in the future.

Shocking… Most Germans Want a Return to Conscription

The Times wrote on March 9:

“A clear majority of German voters would like to see conscription brought back, 12 years after it was effectively abolished [but see comment below by Deutsche Welle], according to a poll… Several leading politicians in Berlin have spoken out in favour of resurrecting Wehrpflicht [conscription], under which all young men were obliged to serve for at least six months in the armed forces or in a ‘civil protection’ organisation [Zivildienst] such as the ambulance or disaster relief services…

“While Olaf Scholz, the chancellor, has dismissed the idea of a return to conscription, other senior figures in his Social Democratic Party (SPD) argue that it would improve the resilience of German society and help to fix shortfalls in army recruitment. It seems that most of the electorate agree. A poll of 1,000 voters by Ipsos Mori found that 61 per cent wanted the re-establishment of military service, with only 29 per cent opposed.

“The idea was popular across the entire political spectrum and most strongly favoured by supporters of the centre-left SPD and the right-wing populist Alternative for Germany (AfD). Even a narrow majority of voters aligned with the far-left Die Linke party liked it.”

Deutsche Welle added on March 10:

“Strictly speaking, Germany did not abolish its military service rules in 2011. It put them on ice indefinitely until a time of national emergency or an attack on Germany.”

As we have predicted, Germany’s militaristic nature will be revived. Let us hope for those who want to follow God’s anti-war doctrine, that this poll is terribly wrong and in no way reliable, at least for the time being.

German General Eberhard Zorn Sent into Early Retirement

Deutsche Welle wrote on March 13:

“German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has named Major General Carsten Breuer as the new head of Germany’s armed forces… Breuer, 59, is replacing General Eberhard Zorn, 63… Breuer gained renown for leading Germany’s pandemic crisis response team from November 2021 to 2022. His ascent to the role of ‘general inspector’ of the Bundeswehr will make him the highest-ranking soldier in the country…

“Zorn was criticized after giving an interview in September in which he suggested that Ukraine would not be able to counter attacks by Russian forces… He told Focus magazine that Ukraine was mounting ‘counter-attacks, with which one can win back places or individual areas of the frontlines, but not push Russia back over a broad front.’

“German media reported that Zorn will be sent into early retirement on Thursday. The replacement of Germany’s top military official comes just months after former Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht was forced to resign and was replaced by Pistorius in January. Breuer is set to also function as a decision-maker in the defense ministry as well as serving as a military advisor to Chancellor Olaf Scholz.”

It appears, one cannot say anything in the Bundeswehr which is not in conformity with the official “narrative,” without being criticized, censured or sent into early retirement. And of course, the German mass media keeps jumping on the bandwagon. In the above quoted article, left-wing Deutsche Welle also said that Zorn’s analysis was “flawed.” But who is to say? Based on biblical prophecy, Zorn’s analysis was right on and not flawed at all. On the other hand, the German response to the Corona pandemic crisis, under Major Breuer, was most certainly terribly flawed; in fact, it was an incompetent catastrophe.

Jehovah’s Witness Hall Shooting in Hamburg

Deutsche Welle wrote on March 10:

“Police, prosecutors and state officials provided details on Friday about a rampage the night before at the Jehovah’s Witness Kingdom Hall in the northern German city of Hamburg… Four men and two women aged between 33 and 60 were killed in the shooting. They were all German citizens. An unborn baby was among those pronounced dead. Eight people were wounded, four of them seriously. Of those injured, there were six women and two men, police said.

“Police identified the gunman as Philipp F., a 35-year-old German citizen… The gunman killed himself after police stormed the building… He was a former member of the Jehovah’s Witnesses… he had a weapons license and legally owned a semi-automatic pistol… The motive for Philipp F.’s rampage is not known, though any political motive has been ruled out… Police said they had an anonymous tip alleging Philipp F. was possibly suffering from a psychological disorder and should not be in possession of firearms. Based on the tip, authorities made an unannounced visit to his home and in the course of their conversation did not see a cause for concern…

“When armed police entered the building, they saw the gunman run upstairs, where he was later found dead… Police did not fire their weapons in the building… Philipp F. was found carrying two magazines with 15 bullets each, as well as 20 loaded magazines in a backpack… Authorities searched the perpetrator’s home and found hundreds of bullets. They confiscated a computer and other documents that are being evaluated…

“Grote, the regional interior minister, called it the ‘worst crime in our city’s recent history’… German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called the shooting a ‘brutal act of violence’ and said his thoughts were with the ‘victims and their families. And with the security forces who have faced a difficult operation.’

“German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said his thoughts were with the victims and their families… French President Emmanuel Macron tweeted to say, ‘Terrible news from Hamburg. I extend France’s condolences to the relatives of the victims and to all our German friends. Our thoughts are with you.’…

“Jehovah’s Witnesses, which has about 8.7 million members around the world, are part of an international church founded in the United States in the 19th century. They have roughly 170,000 members in Germany and are headquartered in Warwick, New York. The pacifist religious group’s practices include a refusal to bear arms, receive blood transfusions, salute a national flag or participate in secular government.”

Hamburg Police Failed to Intervene

The Guardian added on March 10:

“‘He is a former member of Jehovah’s Witness who left the community voluntarily about a year and a half ago but apparently not on good terms,’ said Thomas Radszuweit, Hamburg’s head of state security.

“Questions are being raised as to why he was not stopped. The suspect had a gun permit as a marksman since December 2022 and was in legal possession of a Heckler & Koch P30. But in January an anonymous letter was received suggesting he might be suffering from an undiagnosed psychological illness and that he had indicated a ‘particular anger against religious members or against the Jehovah’s Witnesses and his former employer’.

“During a subsequent unannounced visit on 7 February at his apartment in the Altona district of western Hamburg, Fusz was said to be cooperative and convinced officers that there was no cause for concern. He was merely given a verbal warning for not keeping his weapon in his safe…”

To Revise Germany’s Gun Laws?

Deutsche Welle wrote on March 11:

“A debate has erupted in Germany over the effectiveness of the country’s gun control laws after this week’s mass shooting… in the northern city of Hamburg… On Saturday, several German politicians demanded urgent reviews of restrictions on weapons ownership… At present, Germany requires only those under 25 to undergo medical or psychological assessments before being granted a gun license…

“Other politicians were keen to avoid a knee-jerk reaction, saying that current legislation is already strong enough…

“Interior Minister Nancy Faeser had already presented a draft of new gun control legislation in January, prompted by recent deadly shooting incidents in Germany.

“The perpetrator of the 2020 Hanau shooting was a schizophrenic far-right extremist who was found to have legally owned several pistols. Eleven people were killed and five others were wounded in the rampage at a shisha bar, another bar and a kiosk.

“The gunman behind the Halle shooting in October 2019 built his own firearms, some with plastic parts from a 3D printer. Two people were killed and two others injured near a synagogue…

“However, the murder weapon used in Hamburg, a semi-automatic pistol, would not fall under the ban. The alleged perpetrator was registered as a sports shooter and legally owned the weapon.”

He allegedly obtained the gun license in December of 2022, more than a year after he had left the Jehovah’s Witnesses. As you will recall, Nancy Faeser has a controversial past in regard to, among other things, her ”performance” related to the alleged but debunked coup by some older people who have been falsely accused of trying to take over the German government.

The Guardian added on March 11:

“Though Germany has some of the strictest gun laws in Europe, it has a high per capita ratio of firearms. Around a million people legally own a total of more than 5 million guns. Most of them are sport shooters, hunters or foresters, but while violence remains rare, an average of 155 people are killed by gunfire every year.”

In a climate where a majority of Germans support conscription or “mandatory slavery” (compare our Update from last week), stricter gun laws will most certainly not help.

Europe’s Insane Green Building Rules

Breitbart wrote on March 15:

“The European Parliament has passed a resolution that will see ‘insane’ green building rules forced onto individual EU member states… internal resistance to the green agenda rework was not enough from preventing it from passing a vote by the EU parliament, with 343 members voting in favour, compared to the 216 who voted against. Its passing was celebrated by hard left-Irish progressive Ciarán Cuffe, with the member of Ireland’s floundering Green Party being central in pushing the hardline rework through parliament…

“Opponents of the measure have described it as being an overly bureaucratic measure that unjustifiably takes power away from individual nation-states. ‘Increasingly rampant, gluttonous and unrestrained, the EU is encroaching on the competences of the member states,’ Markus Buchheit, an Alternative for Germany (AfD) MEP, said in a statement to Breitbart Europe describing the new rules as ‘insane’…

“The AfD are far from the only group staunchly opposed to the EU’s newly proposed building regulations, with members of other political groups in Europe also coming out to condemn the bill. Politicians from Italy in particular have seemingly shown the most resistance to the new measures…”

Apart from the ridiculous influence of left-wing fanatics, this article shows that Europe is becoming [or continues to be] a dictatorship, dismissing concerns of member states.

Saudi Arabia’s Desire to “Normalize” Ties with Israel and USA?

Israel 365 News wrote on March 10:

“Saudi Arabia says it will normalize ties with Israel if the United States provides it with security pledges and helps build out its civilian nuclear program… The two Saudi demands are viewed as ‘daunting obstacles’ to a deal…

“In terms of security guarantees, Saudi Arabia has asked before and been rejected by presidents from both parties. And U.S. and Israeli officials fear that helping Saudi Arabia with a nuclear program for nonmilitary uses could lead it to develop its own nuclear weapon and spark an arms race with Iran…

“[Saudi Arabia] has been reluctant to openly sign an agreement with Israel, fearing a backlash from other Arab states and its own population…”

It does not appear that those attempts to “normalize” ties with Israel and the USA will be successful.

Iran and Saudi Arabia Restore Ties

The Associated Press wrote on March 10:

“Iran and Saudi Arabia on Friday agreed to reestablish diplomatic relations and reopen embassies after years of tensions between the two countries, including a devastating attack on the heart of the kingdom’s oil production attributed to Tehran.

“The deal, struck in Beijing this week amid its ceremonial National People’s Congress, represents a major diplomatic victory for the Chinese as Gulf states perceive the United States slowly withdrawing from the wider Middle East. It also comes as diplomats have been trying to end a yearslong war in Yemen, a conflict in which both Iran and Saudi Arabia are deeply entrenched…”

The Guardian added on March 10:

“Iran and Saudi Arabia [are] the two great oil-producing rivals of the Middle East.. The rivalry between predominantly Shia Iran and Sunni Saudi Arabia has dominated Middle East politics in recent years, spreading into Syria, Iraq, Lebanon and Yemen… The agreement has potentially wide implications for the Iran nuclear deal and the civil war in Yemen, where the two sides are locked in a proxy war, and shows the new determination of Saudi Arabia to conduct a foreign policy independent of the west…

“The deal could, however, have implications for a US-led effort to isolate Iran economically through sanctions. If there is a genuine warming of Saudi relations with Tehran, one consequence is likely to be Saudi investment inside Iran… the deal will cause concern among many Israeli politicians who have sought global isolation for its arch-enemy Iran. Naftali Bennett, the former Israeli prime minister, described the pact as a ‘serious and dangerous’ development and a ‘fatal blow to the effort to create a regional alliance’ against the Islamic Republic.”

The New York Post published on March 11 an article with the following headline: “China becomes the broker while Joe Biden is still the joker.” It continued:

“Even The New York Times, usually a mouthpiece for the Biden administration, echoed the grim assessment, saying China’s role displayed President Xi Jinping’s ‘ambition of offering an alternative to a US-led world order.’ …

“The pact immediately set off a blame game, with an unidentified member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government pointing at both the Biden White House and the previous Israeli government, according to The Times of Israel… saying,  ‘There was a feeling of American and Israeli weakness, so Saudi Arabia turned to other channels.’”

It is an undeniable fact that America’s status as the superpower in the world is diminishing.

China, Russia, Iran and Others Participate in Joint Naval Exercises

Breitbart wrote on March 15:

“Warships from China, Iran, and Russia joined together Wednesday to begin naval drills in the Gulf of Oman and near the strategic Strait of Hormuz, China’s Defense Ministry announced. AP reports other countries will also provide naval support in the ‘Security Bond-2023’ exercises, the ministry said without elaborating. Iran, Pakistan, Oman and the United Arab Emirates all have coastline along the waters lying at the mouth of the Persian Gulf…

“AP further sets out the exercises scheduled for Wednesday through Sunday come amid heightened tensions between the U.S. and China over a range of issues, including China’s refusal to criticize Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine and continuing support for the Russian economy. They follow years of other tensions between NATO countries and regional rivals…

“Regional rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran last week agreed to restore diplomatic relations in an agreement that was brokered by China — a major blow to U.S. efforts to maintain a united front in the Middle East against the Tehran regime…”

The Kings of the East are coming together.

USA Meddles in Israeli Elections

Israel 365 News wrote on March 9:

“Police clashed with anti-government protesters who attempted to shut down the Ayalon Highway in Tel Aviv on Thursday. As some recent reports have highlighted, some of the funding for the protests and the organizations behind them comes from foreign sources, including the US State Department. 

“One of the major organizations behind the protests is the Movement for Quality Government (MQG)… which has received over $38,000 in funding from the US State Department… MQG is primarily funded by the New Israel Fund, a US NGO that funds many anti-Israel organizations that promote a narrative portraying Israel as an apartheid state…

“MQG received grants of around $10,000 to $15,000 dollars in 2020, 2021, and 2022. In each of those years, the State Department under President Biden was listed as the group’s sole foreign donor. The grant information does not show State Department funding before 2020…

“The US Democratic party has a long history of meddling in Israeli politics and elections, most notably in opposition to Netanyahu. V15, which stands for Victory 15, was established during the 2015 elections with the stated goal of opposing Netanyahu. V15 was aided by One Voice,  an NGO that supports the creation of an ‘independent and viable Palestine’ alongside Israel, which assigned Jeremy Bird, a field director in both of President Barack Obama’s winning White House runs, with the task…

“But even before Obama, Democrat presidents worked to influence Israeli elections… former-President Bill Clinton admitted working to help Shimon Peres in his unsuccessful run against Netanyahu in 1996…”

While America is condemning Russia for meddling in America’s election, it is doing the same in other countries, such as Israel.

Money Is Not Wealth!

The Ron Paul Institute wrote on March 9:

“… governments print money to pay for wars. America was effectively born into debt during the Revolutionary War, and borrowed/printed money for every war thereafter…

“The fundamental reality is that more money does not create any new goods or services in the economy. Money is not wealth. Wealth is productive capacity; the ability to create actual goods and services. Germany and the European Central Bank can create euro stretching to the moon, but that will not produce a single missile or aircraft for the Ukrainians.

“Actual production requires the allocation of real resources and real capital. Resource allocation requires choices, whether made by political edict or in the marketplace. In both cases there are inherent opportunity costs to not allocating those resources and capital to other uses.

“Politics doesn’t magically eliminate tradeoffs. Resources are scarce even when money is not… money creation is not magic. It certainly does not create any new wealth, and in fact destroys wealth by directing resources toward inherently inefficient (nonmarket) uses…

“Progressives of all political stripes would happily put America and the West on a permanent wartime footing… Inequality, climate change, racism, transphobia, pandemics, and a host of other issues—none of which ever should have been politicized—are now tantamount to battlefields. War costs money, and magic economics wants us to believe national treasuries and central banks can foot any bill…”

Very true. See the next article.

Largest US Bank Failure Since Great Recession in 2008

CNBC wrote on March 10:

“Financial regulators have closed Silicon Valley Bank and taken control of its deposits, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. announced Friday, in what is the largest U.S. bank failure since the global financial crisis more than a decade ago…

“The FDIC’s standard insurance covers up to $250,000 per depositor, per bank, for each account ownership category…”

Breitbart added on March 10:

“The sudden implosion of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) is sending shock waves through the financial system and the technology sector. SVB plays a central role in the start-up economy of San Francisco…

“The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) said that all insured depositors will have full access to their insured deposits, but that might not be as reassuring as it sounds. Bloomberg reports that more than 93 percent of SVB deposits are uninsured.”

The Guardian wrote on March 10:

“… the troubles have raised broader fears that the recent increases in US interest rates have affected the value of other banks’ bond portfolios, which tend to fall in price when interest rates rise. The collapse of Silicon Valley pushed shares of almost all financial institutions lower on Friday.

“Silicon Valley Bank’s failure arrived with incredible speed, with some industry analysts on Friday suggesting it was a good company and still probably a wise investment…”

The New York Post added on March 10:

“The sudden collapse of a little-known, California-based tech lender fueled market chaos on Friday and sparked fears of a wider contagion that some experts worry could upend the US banking sector…  The bank’s rapid descent into insolvency sparked a sharp selloff in US stocks – with the nation’s four largest banks losing a combined $52 billion in market capitalization.”

Tip of the Iceberg?

Business Insider wrote on March 11:

“The bank’s collapse was a byproduct of the Federal Reserve’s hiking of interest rates by 1,700% in less than a year. Once risk-free Treasurys started generating more attractive returns than what SVB was offering, people started withdrawing their money, and the bank needed a quick way to pay them. They were ultimately forced to sell their loan portfolio at a huge loss.

“The chaotic episode showed that the Fed’s aggressive interest rate hiking regime could upend institutions that were once thought to be relatively stable…

“There are already two recent high-profile examples not specific to the banking system, but still indicative of the pressure being caused by higher rates.

“The first has been the collapse of the cryptocurrency market. Since the Fed started raising interest rates in March 2021, bitcoin — formerly a highly touted inflation hedge — has plunged more than 65%… There’s also been the double-digit decline in high-growth tech stocks over the same period.

“The big questions now become what rate-sensitive areas will be next to feel the pain…”

The Daily Mail wrote on March 12:

“Chancellor Jeremy Hunt today warned of a ‘serious risk’ to top British firms following the shock failure of a major US bank…”

Finbold wrote on March 11:

“The United States financial system has been rattled by the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SBV) and Silvergate Bank within 48 hours as economic uncertainty prevails. Therefore, some financial sector players project that the situation will likely worsen in the coming days. In particular, [bestselling author] Robert Kiyosaki has warned that a third lender will likely follow suit. He stressed that the situation would positively impact precious metals in a tweet on March 10.

“… economist and crypto-skeptic Peter Schiff has stated that the U.S. banking system is on the verge of experiencing a ‘much bigger collapse’ compared to the 2008 crisis. On March 10, Schiff cautioned that mass withdrawals would trigger failures.”

US Government Gives Guarantees to Depositors

The Associated Press wrote on March 13:

“The U.S. government took extraordinary steps Sunday to stop a potential banking crisis after the historic failure of Silicon Valley Bank, assuring all depositors at the failed institution that they could access all their money quickly, even as another major bank was shut down.

“The announcement came amid fears that the factors that caused the Santa Clara, Californian-based bank to fail could spread. Regulators had worked all weekend to try to find a buyer for the bank, which was the second-largest bank failure in history. Those efforts appeared to have failed Sunday.

“In a sign of how fast the financial bleeding was occurring, regulators announced that New York-based Signature Bank had also failed and was being seized on Sunday. At more than $110 billion in assets, Signature Bank is the third-largest bank failure in U.S. history.”

Before that announcement by the US government, it was stated that it would NOT bail out the bank. Now, the obvious switch in position is explained by saying the government does not bail out the bank, but just the depositors. In reality, it is of course a bailout.

Worldwide Panic Sets In

The Associated Press reported on March 15:

“Stocks are back to falling on Wall Street Wednesday as worries worsen about the strength of banks on both sides of the Atlantic…

“Credit Suisse has been fighting troubles for years… Its shares in Switzerland sank more than 28% following reports that its top shareholder won’t pump more money into its investment.

“Wall Street’s harsh spotlight has intensified across the banking industry recently on worries about what may crack next following the second- and third-largest bank failures in U.S. history last week. Stocks of U.S. banks tumbled again Wednesday after enjoying a brief, one-day respite on Tuesday.

“The heaviest losses were focused on smaller and mid-size banks, which are seen as more at risk of having customers try to pull their money out en masse…  Much of the damage is seen as the result of the Federal Reserve’s fastest barrage of hikes to interest rates in decades. The Fed has pulled its key overnight rate to a range of 4.50% to 4.75%, up from virtually zero at the start of last year, in hopes of driving down painfully high inflation. Higher rates can tame inflation by slowing the economy, but they raise the risk of a recession later on. They also hurt prices for stocks, bonds and other investments. That latter factor was one of the issues hurting Silicon Valley Bank, which collapsed Friday, because high rates forced down the value of its bond investments.

“The U.S. government announced a plan late Sunday to protect depositors at Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, which regulators shut on Sunday, in hopes of shoring up confidence in the banking industry. But markets have since swung from fear to calm and back again. Some of this week’s wildest action has been in the bond market, where traders are rushing to guess what all the chaos will mean for future Fed action…

“In Europe, indexes tumbled on weakness from banks…”

Trump Blames Biden for the Bank Failure, Predicts Great Depression

Newsweek wrote on March 12:

“On Sunday, Trump posted about the collapse of SVB on his social media platform, Truth Social, blaming the situation on the economic policies of President Joe Biden, adding that further financial calamities are on the horizon. ‘With what is happening to our economy, and with the proposals being made on the LARGEST AND DUMBEST TAX INCREASE IN THE HISTORY OF THE USA, TIMES FIVE, JOE BIDEN WILL GO DOWN AS THE HERBERT HOOVER OF THE MODRRN [sic] AGE… WE WILL HAVE A GREAT DEPRESSION FAR BIGGER AND MORE POWERFUL THAN THAT OF 1929. AS PROOF, THE BANKS ARE ALREADY STARTING TO COLLAPSE!!!”

“Trump’s communications team also issued a statement to Fox News Digital a few hours after his post to Truth Social, reiterating the claim that the collapse was caused by Democratic policies. ‘Out-of-control Democrats and the Biden administration have pathetically continued to try to blame President Trump for their failures with desperate lies, such as the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) spy balloons, the train derailment in East Palestine, and now the collapse of SVB,’ Trump spokesman Steven Chueng told the outlet.”

Democrats have blamed Trump for the collapse, due to a bill Trump signed into law in 2018 that cut regulations and mandatory oversight from the Federal Reserve for mid-level and regional banks with assets over $250 billion (up from the previous limit of $50 billion in assets).

The Danger of Ouija Boards

Fox News wrote on March 9:

“Twenty-eight schoolgirls were hospitalized with anxiety attacks after allegedly playing with Ouija boards at their school in Colombia… The girls reportedly suffered signs of fainting, anxiety and other symptoms at the Galeras Educational Institution in Galeras…

“Ouija boards, created in the U.S. in 1886, are often referred to as spirit or talking boards. They are believed to be a way for the living to communicate with the dead…

“In November 2022, 11 teenagers were found collapsed after using a Ouija board at another school in Colombia…”  

Clearly, the use of Ouija Boards can lead to communication with demons.

“What You Can’t Say on YouTube”

The Atlantic wrote on March 10:

“YouTube’s list of content guidelines manages to be both exhaustive and nebulous… YouTube operates a three-strike policy for infractions: The first strike is a warning; the second prevents creators from making new posts for a week; and the third (if received within 90 days of the second) gets the channel banned… YouTube uses artificial intelligence to enforce its guidelines. Bots scan auto-generated transcripts and flag individual words and phrases as problematic…

“In January, Florida’s Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, announced that Rumble was now his ‘video-sharing service of choice’ for press conferences because he had been ‘silenced’ by Google over his YouTube claims about the coronavirus pandemic…”

“Corona” is definitely a word that YouTube does not like, but there are many more restrictions on YouTube. For instance, the mere suggestion that the 2020 election might perhaps have been rigged will incur the anger of YouTube censorship.

US Government as “Obstructionist” as China?

The New York Post wrote on March 11:

“‘We complain that the Chinese government is opaque and obstructionist — and that’s true,’ Sen. Ran Paul told The Post. ‘But we’re getting the same sort of difficulties from our government.’

“Since COVID-19 emerged in early 2020, Paul has spearheaded a battle to hold America’s public health apparatus to account. The Kentucky senator has taken center stage, fighting lockdown policies, demanding schools to be reopened and grilling officials on the senate floor. He’s also clashed repeatedly and passionately with recently-retired National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director Dr. Anthony Fauci.

“A few questions have been central to their standoff: Did COVID-19 leak from a lab in Wuhan? And did Fauci and the American medical establishment help fund dangerous gain-of-function research that caused the pandemic?

“Despite years-long resistance  that the lab-leak theory was a dangerous and even racist conspiracy theory, more and more institutions are now coming out in favor of it. Late last month, the Department of Energy joined the FBI in deeming a lab leak the likely origin of COVID-19. For Paul, the conclusion is vindicating… But he’s also frustrated. The senator said he knew the classified conclusion of the Energy Department’s investigation for about a month before it was leaked to the press in late February. ‘Because it’s classified, then I can’t do my due diligence of oversight,’ he explained. ‘I can’t announce it to the public. And so we end up relying on all the leaks to the media, which are illegal.’

“Paul said too much crucial information still remains under lock and key, leaving the American people in the dark about COVID-19’s origins. ‘The over-classification problem is stymying the investigation,’ he added. ‘Our government has reams of classified material that all point towards the COVID virus originating in the lab in Wuhan.’…

“He told The Post he’s sent 28 letters to eight different governmental agencies to demand more information about NIH and HHS grants that may have funded gain-of-function research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology — but to no avail. ‘I’ve gotten virtually zero information,’ Paul said. ‘They’re not willing to tell someone who represents the state who they gave the money to.’

“Newly released emails from the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic show that Fauci ordered, edited and approved a February 2020 paper published in the Nature Medicine journal, which deemed the lab-leak theory null and was touted as definitive evidence that COVID-19 jumped naturally to humans from an animal. Paul said the emails reveal that Dr. Fauci created ‘an orchestrated consensus’ to cover his own tracks and to tarnish his opponents… ‘and that you’re a conspiracy theorist if you argue that this virus might have come from a lab,’ Paul said.

“Now, his next battle with Fauci is getting to the bottom of whether [he] receives royalties from vaccine manufacturers… a 1980s law protects public health officials like Fauci from having to [divulge their income sources]…

“According to the senator, getting to the bottom of the pandemic’s origins is crucial for preventing another disaster… ‘And we need to look at this type of research both in our country and around the world.’

“Looking back, Paul added, public health officials destroyed the public’s trust in them… ‘I think what’s happened now is people have seen that [Fauci] was a doctor who was trying to cover his tracks. He is a public health official who had funded dangerous research in China that in all likelihood led to the pandemic.’… As of 2022, only 29% of Americans have a great deal of confidence in medical scientists to act in the public’s interest. ‘I think it’s government dishonesty that has led to most of the distrust,’ the senator said… ‘I think it will be more difficult for them the next time they try this, because the evidence is pretty much in. None of the things they did to slow down the spread of the disease worked,’ Paul said. ‘In the end, everybody got COVID whether they stood on stickers six feet apart from each other or not.’…

“‘People need to resist,’ he said. ‘When the government tells you you can’t go to church, your government says you can’t go to the gym, your government says you can’t go to a restaurant or you can’t go to a hotel — we need to resist that.’”

Amen! You MUST obey God rather than man.

The Cover-Up of Suspicious Activities by the Biden Family

Professor Jonathan Turley wrote on his website on March 14:

“For years, members of Congress have asked for access to suspicious activity reports (SARs) related to the Biden family’s foreign business deals. Those efforts were cut off by the Biden Administration and the Democratically controlled houses of Congress. Even after the GOP took over the House, however, the Treasury Department continued to refuse to turn over the SARs. While the GOP had to threaten hearings with Treasury officials, the department has finally relented. It now appears that time is up for Hunter Biden on the SARs fight and it could finally answer a number of questions over the alleged influence peddling of the Biden family. It may also put pressure on the Delaware US Attorney David Weiss, who is looking into possible criminal conduct by Hunter Biden.

“I previously wrote about how few people in Washington are eager to expose the influence peddling by the Biden family… even by the corrupt standards of this city, the Bidens took influence peddling to an unprecedented level in raking in millions from foreign interests, including some with alleged ties to foreign intelligence.

“The least eager group to see these transactions may be the media, which not only buried the Hunter Biden story but has shown remarkable disinterest in these allegations… Imagine what the media would have done with even one of these deals with foreign political or influence figures if a Trump child was the recipient. The genius of the Biden influence peddling operation was to make the media an early and active participant. They became invested in the denial over two years of belittling or dismissing the story…

“It is not clear what these SARs will reveal, but the effort to prevent any congressional investigation is striking…”

This collaborated cover-up by the government and the media is not the only one, to be sure. Note the next article.

The Destruction of the Nord Stream 2 Pipeline

The Ron Paul Institute wrote on March 15:

“History has dealt a tough hand to the administration of US President Joe Biden, who openly confessed his intent to ‘bring an end’ to the Nord Stream pipeline system which delivered Russian natural gas to Europe through four pipelines (Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2, consisting of two pipelines each).

“Since then, the Biden White House was compelled to deny the president’s stated intent after an explosive report by Pulitzer-Prize winning investigative journalist Seymour Hersh detailed damning information which, if true (and there is no reason to suspect it’s not) casts the responsibility for a series of underwater explosions that took place on Sept. 26, 2022, on Biden himself.

“Hersh’s report was ignored by the mainstream media in the United States, with neither The New York Times, for whom Seymour Hersh wrote on national security issues for many years, nor The Washington Post even hinting that the greatest living investigative journalist had broken a blockbuster story.

“Enter the ‘Andromeda’— a Bavaria C50 15-meter (49-foot) yacht based out of the German Baltic port city of Rostock… The boat was ‘a yacht rented from a company based in Poland, apparently owned by two Ukrainians.’ According to the story, ‘the secret operation at sea was carried out by a team of six people.’ According to the German reporting, the team — five men, consisting of a ship captain, two primary divers, two supporting divers and a female doctor — used the Andromeda to transport the team, along with the explosives used to destroy the pipelines, to the scene of the crime. The boat was returned to Rostock in ‘an uncleaned condition,’ allowing German law enforcement officials, who carried out a search of the vessel between Jan. 8-11, to detect ‘traces of explosives’ on a table in the ship’s cabin.

“The same day the German reporting on the new Nord Stream attack narrative broke, The New York Times ran a first-page story… [quoting Biden saying that he denied any involvement]…  The problem with both the German reporting and that of The New York Times… is that the Andromeda narrative doesn’t hold water.

“Take, for instance,… the tale… that has four allegedly Ukraine-affiliated divers defy physiology by conducting dives that would require the use of a decompression chamber for them to survive an ascent of 240 feet (the depth of the Nord Stream pipelines that were destroyed)… decompression takes approximately one day per 100 feet of seawater plus a day. This means that the team of divers would have required three days of decompression per dive. But to decompress, one needs a decompression chamber. For a dive involving two divers, the Andromeda would have to have been outfitted with either a two-person Class A decompression chamber, or two single-person Class B chambers, as well as the number of large oxygen bottles needed to operate these chambers over time… Simply put — no decompression chamber, no dive, no story.

“… The charge would have to be prepared by qualified explosives experts and ideally tested prior to being employed operationally to validate the design and functionality of the device. These are not tasks undertaken by a small ad hoc team of Ukrainian underwater saboteurs, but rather state-sponsored actors with access to military grade explosives and testing facilities…

“The German government’s crude effort to manufacture an alternative narrative regarding who attacked the Nord Stream pipeline fails the smell test…  Moreover, the fact that the US intelligence community was quick to leak information about the German investigation to The New York Times appears to be de facto evidence of US complicity in this cover up. And the reason for this cover up is quite clear: the Germans and Americans both fear the reporting being done by Hersh.”

There is much speculation about the identity of the perpetrators who destroyed the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. But whatever the truth, it seems to be certain that a massive cover-up is taking place.

Shameful California Conduct Towards Churches

LifeSiteNews reported on March 10:

“Members of a Christian church in California’s Santa Clara County were hit with hefty fines and surveilled via stakeouts, cell phone monitoring, and other measures ‘reminiscent of totalitarian regimes’ after their church defied the county’s draconian COVID-19 lockdown rules in 2020, according to a March 5 report by independent journalist David Zweig.

“San Jose’s Calvary Christian Fellowship, headed by pastor Mike McClure, openly defied the Silicon Valley county’s harsh lockdown rules in May 2020 after initially complying with them, Zweig reported. ‘After two months of isolation, many congregants were teetering toward despair,’ Zweig said, noting that the church’s decision to buck the county’s mandate to lock down provided congregants with much-needed ‘mental, spiritual, and physical’ assistance.

“The Christian community’s defiance of the COVID mandates soon made it a thorn in the county’s side. Santa Clara reportedly began slamming the church with fine after fine for such violations as failure to social distance, to wear masks, and even failure to comply with the county’s rules against singing.

“Zweig said the county ended up ‘levying more than $2 million in fines against Calvary’ and implementing a ‘multi-faceted surveillance program of the church and its members,’ a ‘spy operation’ that ‘included stakeouts, forced in-person monitoring of prayer groups and other intimate activities, and tracking the cellular mobility data of churchgoers.’…

“According to court filings, officers took meticulous note of the churchgoers’ ordinary behavior that ran afoul of the county’s new COVID mandates. Enforcers of the county’s rules reported the number of cars in the parking lot, whether or not masks were being worn, and even instances of hugging… When officers were granted access to the church by a court order later in the year, they began entering the church and writing up detailed notes on the behavior and compliance of churchgoers attending mom’s groups, baptisms, Bible studies, and Sunday services…

“Officials even employed cell phone monitoring technology to track the violators…

“The report noted that the county dropped its gathering-violations complaint against Calvary after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2021 that California’s ban on church assemblies during the pandemic was unconstitutional. However, it’s still seeking $2.78 million from Calvary for its mask violations in a court case expected to conclude in the upcoming months.”

Let us remind our readers that these horrific UNCONSTITUTIONAL measures against that church were not taken in an authoritarian country such as Russia or China, but in California. This is shameful and appallingly disgusting indeed.

Democrats Want to Legalize Abortion Nationwide Up to Birth

LifeNews reported on March 9:

“A group of U.S. Senate Democrats reintroduced legislation Wednesday that would force every state to legalize the killing of unborn babies for basically any reason up to birth… ‘Abortion is health care. Period,’ said U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wisconsin, one of the lead sponsors… Other lead sponsors include retiring U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-California, and Richard Blumenthal, D-Connecticut. Joe Biden previously has expressed support for the legislation as well.

“Democrat leaders and many mainstream news outlets have portrayed the bill as an effort to simply ‘codify the right to an abortion’ in response to the U.S. Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade. But pro-life leaders warn it would go beyond Roe and get rid of almost all laws that protect unborn babies.

“Blumenthal [described] the life-saving Dobbs v. Jackson ruling as a ‘death sentence’ for women because, in some states, elective abortions are now banned…

“However, pro-life leaders say the bill really would force taxpayers to fund abortions, end bans on late-term abortions on viable unborn babies, eliminate parental consent for minors and informed consent requirements for every woman seeking an abortion, and force doctors and nurses to lose their jobs and Catholic hospitals potentially to lose public funds unless they perform elective abortions.

“Numerous past attempts to pass the bill have failed in Congress, and polls consistently show that a strong majority of Americans oppose such extreme pro-abortion legislation… 69 percent of Americans want abortions banned or limited. Additionally, 60 percent oppose using tax dollars to pay for abortions…  25 polls that show public support for pro-life laws.”

What is WRONG with these people who advocate the murder of innocent children???

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.

The question refers to Proverbs 23:23 which reads: “Buy the truth, and do not sell it, Also wisdom and instruction and understanding.”

Before we review and answer the question, it is important to clarify our teaching and understanding about faith and works.

Over the years, the true Church of God has been falsely accused of teaching that works are necessary for salvation; not, that it is a free gift from God.   This is a case of either misunderstanding or deliberately avoiding that which we have made clear over many decades.  Let us make this again abundantly clear NOW!

The Word of God dogmatically states that salvation cannot be earned through works.    We read in Ephesians 2:8-9: “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” 

We read in Romans 6:23: “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” The footnote of the New King James Bible states, “free gift.”

In Acts 2:38-40, we read: “Then Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.’ And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, ‘Be saved from this perverse generation.’”

In short, we believe that salvation and eternal life are NOT earned in this life – they are free gifts of God. However, our reward is dependent on our works. In the Kingdom of God, when we have eternal life, we will be rewarded according to how we lived and how well we did with what God had entrusted us.

In the Parable of the Ten Minas (or pounds) in Luke 19:11-27, we read about a man of noble birth (verse 12) who went to a distant country to become appointed king and then to return.   This was obviously a parable that Jesus gave about Himself and His followers.  They were given ten minas to put this money to work in His absence (verse 13).   The first two “traded” with the money but the third one didn’t (verses 16-24) which clearly shows that we have to be about our Father’s business and the reward will be to those who do that, and those that don’t, who should have known better, will lose out.  (See also the Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25).

Faith and works are thoroughly covered in James 2:14-26 showing that both are necessary.

In our booklet “The Meaning of God’s Fall Holy Days,” we read on page 43 the following: “Verses 11 and 12 (of Revelation) describe the SECOND resurrection—the resurrection of those who will live again AFTER the thousand years are finished—the time which Paul called ‘the end’: ‘Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. 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.”  

Let us all be about our Father’s business (as was Jesus at the age of 12 as we read in Luke 2:41-50), living the life to which we have been called, keeping God’s Commandments and being obedient to Him and His Way so that we will receive the GIFT of eternal life and be rewarded with these words of Jesus when the Day comes: “Well done, good and faithful servant” (compare Matthew 25:21). He tells us in Revelation 22:12: “And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work.”

Having set the record straight as above, let us now answer the question that was asked.

The phrase “to buy the truth” is an interesting one.   The Berean Bible Society has these interesting comments to make:

“Every true Christian should understand that the truth costs. If you don’t think so, make it your own, value it, defend it, stand for it, and see if it doesn’t cost. Before you are through it may cost you far more than you had thought — hours of ease and pleasure, friends and money. Yes, the truth costs. Salvation is gloriously free but the truth costs — that is, if you want it for yourself. Many who know the truth won’t buy it. They won’t pay what it costs to say: ‘This is what I believe. This is my conviction.’ The truth isn’t worth that much to them.” 

How true this is.   How many people have asked for a minister to visit them only to find that the price they would have to pay is far too much for them?   The keeping of the weekly and annual Sabbaths are very often an obstacle that many are not prepared to come to terms with.   There may be other stumbling blocks that would seem difficult to overcome.   We see such a situation in Matthew 19:16-22:

^“Now behold, one came and said to Him, ‘Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?’ So He said to him, ‘Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.’ He said to Him, ‘Which ones?’ Jesus said, ‘“You shall not murder,” “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not bear false witness,” “Honor your father and your mother,” and, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”’

“The young man said to Him, ‘All these things I have kept from my youth. What do I still lack?’ Jesus said to him, ‘If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.’ But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.”

In this particular case, it wasn’t the Sabbath that was a stumbling block but his “great possessions.”  In our Q&A: “Did Christ really offer the rich ruler a ministerial position? (compare Luke 18:18-23),” we conclude by stating the following:

“Returning to Christ’s statement to the rich ruler to follow Him, it appears that He was indeed willing to call him into the ministry, but sadly, the ruler loved money more than God and he rejected this unique opportunity to follow Christ as a minister and to perhaps later become even one of His apostles. In refusing to accept his ministerial calling, Christ pointed out that it will be very difficult for a rich person to even enter the kingdom of God (Luke 18:25-26; Mark 10:23-25).”

The Sabbath, the annual Holy Days, wealth and other things have stopped many from following God.   Anything that comes before God is breaking the first Commandment which simply says: “You shall have no other gods before Me” (Exodus 20:3).

But in Proverbs 23:23, God’s Word urges us: “Buy the truth!” Not, “Buy it if you can get it at a bargain; if the price is not too great.” No, “Buy the truth!” Buy it at any price. It is worth far more than anything you can give in exchange for it. And when you have bought it: “sell it not.” How many, alas, have bought the truth only to sell out again! 

Isaiah 55:1 is instructive. In the New King James Bible, the headline is given: “An Invitation to Abundant Life.”  The passage reads:

“Ho! Everyone who thirsts, Come to the waters; And you who have no money, Come, buy and eat. Yes, come, buy wine and milk Without money and without price.”

“Buy” can mean “to acquire.”   One commentator stated that “In the original Hebrew, the word translated as ‘buy’ here means ‘to get something, often through one’s efforts or as compensation’ which is pretty much the same as acquire.

Also, we read in Revelation 22:17: “And the Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come!’ And let him who hears say, ‘Come!’ And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely.” (Compare also John 4:10).

However, certain “things” cannot be purchased with money or otherwise. We may recall in Acts 8:18-20 that Simon the Sorcerer offered money for a gift that he coveted:

^“And when Simon saw that through the laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Spirit was given, he offered them money, saying, ‘Give me this power also, that anyone on whom I lay hands may receive the Holy Spirit.’ But Peter said to him, ‘Your money perish with you, because you thought that the gift of God could be purchased with money!’”

Some may think that if something is free that it doesn’t cost anything—or that just anybody can obtain it. Both buy and acquire indicate that a person has to make an effort, or give up something in order to get or acquire something that he considers valuable.   And when God calls us, we have to give up the world and its ways.

As we have already pointed out, the gift of Jesus Christ is not available to be purchased and cannot be bought by anyone. Jesus came to offer Himself for the sins of the world and is God’s free gift that can never be purchased. There is no way that we can “buy” or earn our way into His presence, into His Family.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Commentary says this about the Truth: “Procure it at any cost: part with it on no consideration.” 

The Pulpit Commentary has this to say about Proverbs 23:23: “Buy the truth, and sell it not (comp. Proverbs 4:5, 7; Proverbs 16:16). Consider truth as a thing of the highest value, and spare no pains, cost, or sacrifice to obtain it, and, when gotten, keep it safe; do not barter it for earthly profit or the pleasures of sense; do not be reasoned out of it, or laughed out of it; ‘sell it not,’ do not part with it for any consideration.”

Matthew Henry’s Commentary’s contribution reads as follows:

“The gracious Saviour who purchased pardon and peace for his people, with all the affection of a tender parent, counsels us to hear and be wise, and is ready to guide our hearts in his way. Here we have an earnest call to young people, to attend to the advice of their godly parents. If the heart be guided, the steps will be guided. Buy the truth, and sell it not; be willing to part with anything for it. Do not part with it for pleasures, honours, riches, or anything in this world. The heart is what the great God requires. We must not think to divide the heart between God and the world; he will have all or none.”

Biblestudytools.com gives a comprehensive and lengthy view of how important buying the truth is:

“‘buying’ it supposes a person to have some knowledge of it, of the excellency, usefulness, and importance of it; and shows that he sets a value upon it, and has a high esteem for it: it is to be understood of his using all means and taking great pains to acquire it; such as reading the word, meditating upon it, attending on the public ministry, and fervent and frequent prayer for it, and a greater degree of knowledge of it; yea, it signifies a person’s parting with everything for it that is required; as with his former errors he has been brought up in, or has imbibed; with his good name and reputation, being willing to be accounted a fool or a madman, and an enthusiast, or anything for the sake of it; and even with life itself, when called for; and such a man will strive and contend for it, stand fast in it, and hold it fast, and not let it go, which is meant by ‘selling’ it; truth is not to be sold upon any account, or for anything whatever; it is not to be slighted and neglected; it should not be parted with neither for the riches, and honours, and pleasures of this life, nor for the sake of a good name among men, nor for the sake of peace, nor for the avoiding of persecution; it should be abode by, and not departed from, though the greater number is against it, and they the riots, the wise, and learned; and though it may be traduced as novel, irrational, and licentious, and be attended with affliction, that is, buy these also, and sell them no.”

It then goes on to show that buying it does not have to be a financial transaction: “it is to be prized above everything; it is the principal thing, and should be got; all means should be used to obtain it; it may be bought without money; it should be asked of God, who gives it liberally, and, being had, should be held fast:”

We know that we cannot buy the Truth, the Holy Spirit, or salvation.   They are not for sale; they are free gifts from God.  The NET Bible translation is: “Acquire truth and do not sell it–wisdom, and discipline, and understanding.” 

The passage in Proverbs 23:23 and many other Scriptures also explain why we do not charge for our literature. Please read the following Q&A in its entirety. https://www.eternalgod.org/why-do-you-not-charge-for-your-literature-and-your-other-services/

Proverbs 23:23 is a vital piece of understanding for the true Christian: “Buy (acquire) the truth, and do not sell it, Also wisdom and instruction and understanding.”   And we can do nothing less! 

Lead Writer: Brian Gale (United Kingdom)

compiled by Dave Harris

Our website, www.eternalgod.org, has been updated! Earlier this past week, Eric Rank, our Tech Team Leader, culminated months’-long plans to refresh many programming needs in order that our software is updated to industry standards. The results present our webpages more clearly and with better accessibility.

“Durch Leid zum Erfolg,” the sermonette presented last Sabbath in Germany by Dmitrij Niemann, is now posted. Title in English: “Through Suffering to Success.”

“Accomplish Small Things,” the sermonette presented last Sabbath by Kalon Mitchell, is now posted. Here is a summary:

In the world, the goal for humans it seems, is to accomplish as much as is possible. There are some humans who seem to be able to do it all, accomplishing great milestones and leaving amazing legacies. How do we stack up as Christians? What can we accomplish in this lifetime? Does it matter what we accomplish? What does God think?

“Are You Prepared?,” the sermon presented last Sabbath by Michael Link, is now posted. Here is a summary:

Will you be ready when Christ returns?  Are you strong enough and are you prepared when the moment arises when we need to “evacuate” in the end time?  What do we need to do now to be prepared?

Spring Holy Days: Passover—April 5, 2023 (observed the evening before); Feast of Unleavened Bread—April 6-12, 2023; Pentecost—May 28, 2023.

2023 Ministerial Conference: April 27-28 and April 30, 2023