On May 21, 2022, Eric Rank will present the sermonette, titled, “Much Will Be Required,” and Dave Harris will present the sermon, titled, “The Realm of God.”

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 story of Cain and Abel in the book of Genesis is well known to many people in the world.  The huge majority if asked, religious or not, have at one point or another heard or read about this story; however, most would probably not recognize the meaning and symbolism it holds for us today.

To begin, let us look at the kind of work differentiated between both Cain and Abel.  Abel’s line of work was very symbolic since he was a keeper of sheep and we know how David was a shepherd and how Jesus many times was referred to as a keeper of sheep. This showed how He cares for the Church and His people by looking after them, watching over them, loving them, and feeding them. He is using today the ministry in God’s church for this task as well, showing compassion and love for others, a giving attitude and even the willingness to give one’s life for the flock if the circumstance arises.

Cain’s line of work was quite different.  It was very labor-intensive by raising fruits and vegetables.  His type was predicted already by God in Genesis 3:17-19 and how there was much work involved to provide food.

In Genesis 4:3, we read about the process of time, the end of days, which could signify the end of agriculture and the beginning of Autumn.  Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible states that this might refer to the time “after harvest, after the fruits of the earth were gathered in, and so a proper season to bring an offering to the Lord, in gratitude for the plenty of good things they had been favoured with.” Their offerings would then be symbolic of the Feast of Tabernacles where we also give up offerings to God. This shows the brothers might have appeared before God at a precise time near the Autumn of the year, which could mean that they were told by God when to bring the offerings.

Now when it came to what was given, we read in verses 3-5 that God approved Abel’s offering but not Cain’s, and as a result, Cain became angry.  He had the wrong attitude since his offering was not from the heart, and in verse 7 God makes it clear what Cain should do: “If you do well shall you not be accepted? And if you do not well, sin lies at the door.”

The Jamieson, Fausset and Brown Commentary states the following:

“… sin lieth at the door—sin, that is, a sin offering—a common meaning of the word in Scripture (as in Ho[sea] 4:8; 2Co[rinthians] 5:21; Heb[rews] 9:28). The purport of the divine rebuke to Cain was this, ‘Why art thou angry, as if unjustly treated? If thou doest well (that is, wert innocent and sinless) a thank offering would have been accepted as a token of thy dependence as a creature. But as thou doest not well (that is, art a sinner), a sin offering is necessary, by bringing which thou wouldest have met with acceptance and retained the honors of thy birthright.’ This language implies that previous instructions had been given as to the mode of worship; Abel offered through faith (Heb[rews] 11:4).”

In other words, the phrase in verse 7 could be understood to convey the following thought:

“If you do well, shall you not be accepted [in the future and bring the proper sacrifice]? And if you do not well, sin [a sin offering] lies at the door.”

God was really being compassionate with Cain here, giving him another chance, showing that He had mercy. If Cain would repent and still bring the proper offering (“if you do well”), then he would be accepted; but if he did not do so, then “sin [a sin offering] lies at the door.”  At the end of verse 7, Cain would have to gain control over sin, over his mistakes, by an offering provided by God, which was a noble gesture of grace on God’s part. Yet in spite of this act of mercy, Cain did not accept God’s grace of supplying a sin-offering for him to conquer sin. He responded with something terrible and in no way in accordance with God’s command.  He offered up his own brother, as stated in verses 8-9.  The sin of murder continued with lying.

The Jamieson, Fausset and Brown Commentary includes these additional remarks:

“If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted?—A better rendering is, ‘Shalt thou not have the excellency’? which is the true sense of the words referring to the high privileges and authority belonging to the first-born in patriarchal times….  it was Cain’s conviction, that this honor had been withdrawn from him, by the rejection of his sacrifice, and conferred on his younger brother—hence the secret flame of jealousy, which kindled into a settled hatred and fell revenge.”

Cain had his chance and he blew it, and as a result, he was now to be sent away from the land (verses 10-12).  He was to be a wanderer — one without a fixed dwelling place.  Yet Cain considered this punishment to be harsh, more than he could handle (verses 13-14).  Cain’s punishment involved him being “driven out” from the land he formerly tilled, and away from the “face” of God.  However, Cain did not show any remorse for what he had done, by killing his brother, and he didn’t repent of that sin.  God could have killed him right there on the spot but He chose to spare his life, even preventing others from killing him (verse 15), perhaps still giving him a chance to think about what he had done, so his heart could change, but that didn’t seem to be the case.

We saw here how one brother was more righteous than the other and also more giving, especially in the heart, while the other brother was not.   Because God was more accepting of Abel’s offering, rather than Cain’s, jealously crept in and got the better of him, thus resorting to murder – the first recorded murder in the Bible (1 John 3:12).  As a consequence, his life would prove to be very difficult and his blessings would be taken away.  Being righteous could very well have its sacrifices.  Because Abel was willing to do what God wanted and to please God rather than pleasing man, his life was given up, just as Christ’s life was given up as a sacrifice for us so that we can be saved.

God could have intervened on Abel’s behalf but He let it happen since He had something better in store for him anyway.  Life is only temporary.  Abel was righteous in God’s eyes, and he will be in God’s Kingdom.  This was a good lesson for mankind. Human nature is carnal and hostile towards God. We read about what happened to Adam and Eve, and how easy it is for sin to take over.

In this world today, we should have the attitude that Abel had by pleasing God rather than man.  We in the church will be hated by others because of our beliefs, and the end time prophecies tell us how the church will be persecuted for righteousness sake.  Those who hate God and disobey His laws will have their reward, which isn’t a pleasant one by any means.  And those who love God and obey His laws will also have their reward, blessings beyond what the human mind can even comprehend.

by Norbert Link

In this issue, we publish many warnings of a coming nuclear war between Russia and the West, in light of developments pertaining to Russia, Ukraine, Finland and Sweden. Even though the Bible does NOT prophesy a nuclear war between Russia and the West at this time, nuclear war between Europe and the USA and the United Kingdom IS prophesied, which will be FOLLOWED by nuclear war between Russia, China and other Far Eastern nations (the “kings of the East”) and a united Europe under the dictatorship of the “beast”. Sadly, most observers do not understand any of this and are thereby totally ignorant as to what is and will be happening soon. At the same time, demands for restrictions of free speech in the USA are getting louder, also and especially in light of the Buffalo massacre. Please view our new message, “Biden’s Ministry of Truth and Consequences of the Ukraine War—Comments on News and Prophecy, May 14, 2022” .

We also focus on Israel and Iran; the ongoing downfall of Germany’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz; a “promise” by Dr. Fauci that may sound to be too good to be true; a new ridiculous definition of “woman”; and some sad “accomplishments” by the United Kingdom.

Threats of Nuclear War

Express wrote on May 13:

“Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of Russia Dmitry Medvedev said… NATO support [for Ukraine] will make a direct conflict between the alliance and Moscow more likely. He also warned that this could even result in a full-blown nuclear war…. This comes as NATO looks set to welcome Finland and Sweden as new members in a move that has appeared to rub Moscow the wrong way. The Kremlin warned it ‘will be forced to take retaliatory steps, both of a military-technical and other nature’ if the Nordic NATO plans materialize…

“Putin already put his nuclear forces on high alert back in March, sparking fears of a nuclear war. He has also been unveiling some terrifying weapons in his 6,000 strong arsenal. This includes the Sarmat II, dubbed Satan II by the West. This is an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) capable of carrying 10 or more nuclear warheads and can hit targets in the US and Europe.”

Turkey Might Veto

Express wrote on May 13:

“Turkish President [Tayyip Erdoan] argued Finland’s plan to apply for NATO membership, and the expectation that Sweden will follow, would bring about the expansion of the alliance that Russian President Vladimir Putin aimed to prevent from happening by invading Ukraine… Saying it was a mistake for NATO to accept Greece as a member in the past, he added: ‘As Turkey, we don’t want to repeat similar mistakes.’… Mr Erdoğan then said: ‘Furthermore, Scandinavian countries are guesthouses for terrorist organisations. They are even members of the parliament in some countries. It is not possible for us to be in favour.’

“Mr Erdoğan’s comments were primarily directed at the militant group the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which Turkey regards as a terrorist organisation, although they appeared to encompass the communities of Kurdish origin in Scandinavia as a whole. Sweden has a large Kurdish diaspora, with the community considered to be one of the largest outside of the Middle East…. any decision on enlargement [of NATO] must be made by unanimous agreement of its members, a single country opposing a nation’s bid to join could block the membership from unfolding.”

The Associated Press added on May 16:

“Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday ratcheted up his objection to Sweden and Finland joining NATO… [He] said Swedish and Finnish officials — who are expected in Turkey next week — should not bother to come if they hope to convince Ankara into relaxing its objections to their membership.”

Deutsche Welle wrote on May 18:

“Turkey on Wednesday stopped NATO members from starting talks on the bids launched by Finland and Sweden to join the alliance… Helsinki and Sweden handed their official bid to NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg on Wednesday morning… other members of the alliance have given their full backing to the Nordic countries and remain optimistic that they can overcome Turkey’s objections. They hope to complete the process in six months rather than the usual 12 months.”

Turkey is the second-largest military in NATO. It joined NATO 70 years ago. Article 5 of NATO’s founding treaty says an attack on any NATO country should be seen as an attack on all. While Sweden and Finland have long had close relations with NATO, they are not covered by its security guarantee.

Russia Feels Threatened

Deutsche Welle wrote on May 13:

“If [Sweden] formally joins NATO, it will end over 200 years of Swedish non-alignment. It would be a severe setback for Russian President Vladimir Putin… NATO’s land border with Russia is set to more than double if Finland and Sweden submit their membership applications.

“Such an expansion by the Western military alliance would leave Russia surrounded by NATO countries in the Baltic Sea and the Arctic.”

Finland to Join

Deutsche Welle reported on May 14:

“Finland’s ruling Social Democrats backed a proposal on Saturday to apply for NATO membership… The party followed in the footsteps of Prime Minister Sanna Marin, who released a joint statement with President Sauli Niinisto on Thursday saying Finland must join the alliance ‘without delay.’… With the majority of Parliament backing membership, an official application is expected within days…

“The Kremlin’s response to the Finnish president was that any move to abandon Finland’s historically neutral stance would be a mistake. Putin said Russia posed no threat to Finland, but that membership in NATO could negatively affect the countries’ relations. The Kremlin cut off Russian electricity supplies to Finland on Friday night after the firm supplying the electricity, RAO Nordic, complained of payment arrears. Russia provided about 10% of Finland’s electricity, but this has largely been covered by imports from Sweden.

“NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg has previously said both Finland and Sweden would be welcomed into the alliance ‘with open arms.’”

On Tuesday, May 17, Finland’s legislature approved the country’s bid for NATO membership with 188 votes in favor and eight against. The vote in Parliament was seen a formality. Deutsche Welle wrote:

“The vote clears the way for a Finnish application for membership in the Western defense alliance. President Niinisto will now have to sign the application and hand it in to NATO’s headquarters in Brussels… .German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has said Germany will increase military cooperation with Sweden and Finland during the application process… Finland joining NATO would be the  biggest security policy shift for the country since after World War II, after which the country adopted a policy of military nonalignment and neutrality.

“Finland shares a 1,300-kilometer (800-mile) long border with Russia, and Moscow has strongly opposed its membership in NATO. Neutral Finland was invaded by the Soviet Union in 1939 and fought two wars against it during the course of World War II. It ultimately lost large chunks of the eastern Karelia province to the Soviet Union and had to pay reparations.”

On Sunday, Sweden’s governing party backed a plan to join NATO.  Axios wrote that “Sweden’s Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson announced Monday that her government will formally apply to join NATO”, continuing: “Sweden does not share a border with Russia but has long feared the possibility of Moscow invading Gotland — a strategically located island in the Baltic Sea viewed as critical to the defense of the region.”

The Sun reported on May 16 that as a consequence, “Russia has started deploying nuclear missiles toward its border with Finland.”

Russia Accepts the Challenge

Express wrote on May 14:

“Sergei Lavrov… told a Russian audience:  ‘The collective West has declared total hybrid war on us and it is hard to predict how long all this will last but it is clear the consequences will be felt by everyone, without exception. We did everything to avoid a direct clash – but now that the challenge has been thrown down, we of course accept it.’…

“Efforts by the West to isolate Russia were doomed to fail, Mr Lavrov claimed, while pointing to the importance of Russia’s relations with China, India, Algeria and Gulf states. His comments come two days after Boris Johnson travelled to Finland and Sweden to sign security pacts with the two Scandinavian nations, which pledge military assistance if either party is attacked…

“As well as threats of cyber warfare, concerns have been raised that Russia may resort to chemical or biological weapons. It has already hinted at using its nuclear option. Russia is also not averse to targeted attacks on individuals on foreign soil, including in the UK: the Russian Government has already been blamed for the poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko in London and the attempted poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal.”

Where Do the $56 Billion Go?

The Dossier wrote on May 14:

“The United States has now delegated some $56 billion… ‘for Ukraine’, but hardly any of it is actually going to the Ukrainian people… If you think the people of Ukraine are going to see one dime of this money, think again. Not even the ‘humanitarian aid’ portions of the assistance will reach the Ukrainian people…

“… the majority of the funds from the latest $40 billion behemoth will be used to supply weapons purchase orders, and resupply weapons that were already sent to Ukraine, which arrived with a seeming back room deal to add to the deep pockets of the weapons manufacturers back home.”

Freakish NBC Program… Simulation of US War with China

The Ron Paul Institute wrote on May 18:

“NBC’s Meet the Press just aired an absolutely freakish segment in which the influential narrative management firm Center for a New American Security (CNAS) ran war games simulating a direct US hot war with China. CNAS is funded by the Pentagon and by military-industrial complex corporations Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, and Lockheed Martin, as well as the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office, which as Antiwar’s Dave DeCamp notes is the de facto Taiwanese embassy in the US.

“The war game simulates a conflict over Taiwan which we are informed is set in the year 2027, in which China launches strikes on the US military in order to open the way to an invasion of the island. We are not told why there needs to be a specific year inserted into mainstream American consciousness about when we can expect such a conflict, but then we are also not told why NBC is platforming a war machine think tank’s simulation of a military conflict with China at all.

“It happens that the Center for a New American Security was the home of the man assigned by the Biden administration to lead the Pentagon task force responsible for re-evaluating the administration’s posture toward China. That man, Ely Ratner, is on record saying that the Trump administration was insufficiently hawkish toward China. Ratner is now the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs in the Biden administration…

“It also happens that CNAS co-founder Michele Flournoy, who appeared in the Meet the Press war games segment… wrote… in 2020… that the US needed to develop ‘the capability to credibly threaten to sink all of China’s military vessels, submarines, and merchant ships in the South China Sea within 72 hours.’…

“It also happens that CNAS is routinely cited by the mass media as an authoritative source on all things China and Russia, with no mention ever made of the conflict of interest arising from their war machine funding… citing war machine-funded think tanks as expert analysis without even disclosing their financial conflict of interest is plainly journalistic malpractice. But it happens all the time in the mass media anyway, because the mass media exist to circulate propaganda, not journalism.

“This is getting so, so crazy… the mass media are now openly teaming up with war machine think tanks to begin seeding the normalization of a hot war with China into the minds of the public… The mass-scale psychological manipulation is getting more and more overt and more and more shameless.

“This is headed somewhere very, very bad. Hopefully humanity wakes up in time to stop these lunatics from driving us off a precipice from which there is no return.”

More Violence in Israel

The Evening Standard wrote on May 13:

“Israeli police clashed with Palestinian mourners packed around the coffin of killed Al Jazeera reporter Shireen Abu Akleh at the start of her funeral procession in Jerusalem on Friday… The violent scenes underlined the growing anger over Ms Abu Akleh’s killing which has threatened to add further fuel to an already raging conflict. Ms Abu Akleh, who had covered Palestinian affairs and the Middle East for more than two decades, was shot while reporting on an Israeli raid in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday.

“Palestinian authorities described Ms Abu Akleh’s killing as an assassination by Israeli forces. Israel’s government initially suggested Palestinian fire might have been to blame, but officials have also said they could not rule out it was Israeli gunfire that killed her… The inquiry has raised two possibilities, the military said in a statement. The first, that Ms Abu Akleh was hit by Palestinian militants who fired dozens of bullets toward Israeli military vehicles, ‘which is also the direction where Ms. Abu Akleh was.’ The second, that an Israeli soldier returning fire from a jeep toward a gunman had inadvertently hit her…

“Ms Abu Akleh’s death has drawn widespread condemnation. Video footage from the moments after she was shot showed the 51-year-old wearing a blue vest marked ‘Press’… Israel, which has voiced regret at Ms Abu Akleh’s death, has proposed a joint investigation with the Palestinians, asking them to provide the bullet for examination. The Palestinians have rejected the Israeli request. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday said Israel was fully responsible and called for an international investigation.”

Bogus Charges Against Netanyahu?

Breitbart wrote on May 16:

“Former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gloated Monday as the prosecution in his corruption trial asked the court for permission to amend its indictment against him when a key witness backtracked on his earlier testimony against him. ‘In your face,’ Netanyahu told reporters.

“He faces three charges, which have been described by critics from the beginning as bogus, and as an apparent effort by Netanyahu’s political enemies in the Israeli legal fraternity to remove him from power…

“The prosecution has… been clouded by revelations that state investigators unlawfully hacked Netanyahu’s phone and those of his associates in an effort to spy on him and use damaging personal information to turn witnesses against him. Netanyahu has refused to accept any plea deals and has insisted on proving his innocence. The prosecution has stumbled as the post-Netanyahu government, a ragtag coalition led by former aide Naftali Bennet, has moved closer to internal collapse.”

Iran May Already Have Nukes

Israel 365 wrote on May 16:

“‘Washington’s bipartisan consensus is that Iran does not yet have nuclear weapons or missiles capable of threatening the United States with a nuclear attack,’ wrote Peter Vincent Pry, the EMP Task Force on National and Homeland Security executive director. ‘But some Israeli analysts and some highly credible U.S. experts disagree with the “consensus view.’”…

“‘Assessments that Iran does not yet have nuclear weapons assume erroneously: our intelligence is perfect, Iran’s civilian nuclear program is all there is, and no clandestine nuclear weapons program exists in Iran’s numerous underground military facilities — including unaccounted uranium and plutonium facilities for fueling nuclear weapons, as in North Korea,’ the report warns…

“Washington’s intelligence assessments that Tehran ‘suspended its nuclear-weapons program in 2003 are contradicted,’ the group cautions, ‘both by Iran’s nuclear archives, stolen by Israel in 2018, indicating Iran’s ongoing nuclear-weapons program (reported at several sites in 2006, 2017, and 2019) and by Iran’s rapid resumption of enriching uranium to prohibited levels. This demonstrates an existing capability to quickly produce weapons-grade uranium.’…

“‘Iran is a threshold nuclear weapons state,’ Pry concludes. ‘Prudence would dictate regarding Iran as a de facto nuclear threat.’”

Blow to Olaf Scholz in North Rhine-Westphalia (NW)

Deutsche Welle wrote on May 15:

“In a blow to Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s SPD party, voters backed the conservatives, CDU, in an election Germany’s most populous state. The Greens meanwhile more than doubled the number of votes they received…. In Germany’s federal system, state lawmakers hold a considerable amount of power and the election in NRW was considered an important bellwether  for Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s ruling SPD party…. Around 13 million people were eligible to vote, making it the biggest election in Germany this year,  and one of the most important outside of the general election…

“The victory will be seen as an important boost for the CDU, relegated to the opposition in last year’s election after 16 years in power under Merkel… The CDU has tried to recover from its big defeat in last year’s general election by gaining ground in regional governments. Just last week, voters in the northern state of Schleswig-Holstein delivered a landslide victory in the CDU….”

According to Bild Online, this was the biggest defeat ever for the SPD in NRW. Bild blamed Scholz for the disaster for his indecisiveness and lack of clarity.

Fauci “Promises” to Resign, if…

Breitbart wrote on May 16:

“[Fauci] used an interview on CNN to reveal he does not want to serve under the former president if he is re-elected in 2024 and would likely resign… Fauci’s antipathy towards Trump was made plain on notable occasions, none more so than when he accused the former president of ‘poisoning the well’ on vaccinations…

“Previous to that he questioned the Trump administration’s vaccine rollout efficiency and publicly called into question Trump’s ability to deliver on his promises to protect all Americans during the height of the coronavirus pandemic… Fauci said, ‘the divisiveness during the Trump administration’ made his job difficult… ‘I had to be publicly correcting misrepresentation on the part of the president and on the part of people in the administration.’

“Fauci, 82, has been the director of the National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases since 1984. He was appointed as Chief Medical Advisor to the Biden administration in 2021.”

Fox News added on May 16:

“Many conservatives expressed relief on Sunday when Dr. Anthony Fauci declared he would not stick around as chief medical adviser at the White House if… Trump wins the 2024 election… Fauci has emerged as a symbol of COVID-era lockdowns and restrictions in the eyes of many Trump supporters… [Many stated that] this was the best possible endorsement for Trump in 2024…”

Due to Fauci’s many failed predictions, wrong and dangerous advice and false promises, his resignation has been long overdue. Of course, Trump should have fired him when he had the chance.

WHO to Get Universal Powers

 Israel 365 wrote on May 18:

“In four days, the World Health Organization will vote on resolutions that will give them emergency powers over any country they choose [by unilaterally declaring a health emergency in that country]. The Biden administration initiated the measures but kept them under wraps until just a few weeks ago when the vote was a foregone conclusion. It was recently revealed that Israel fell into lockstep, backing the measure…  

“If passed, the resolutions will go into effect in November.  [They] will empower WHO’s Director-General to declare health emergencies or crises in any nation and do so unilaterally and against the opposition of the target nation. The Director-General will be able to declare these health crises based merely on his personal opinion or consideration that there is a potential or possible threat to other nations.”

It seems that Biden is doing whatever he can to destroy the USA.

Buffalo Massacre Used as Alibi to Restrict Freedom of Speech

Law Professor Jonathan Turley wrote on May 16 (reprinted by the Ron Paul Institute):

“Politicians have long viewed tragedies and crises as opportunities not to be ‘wasted.’… Governor Kathy Hochul (D-NY) adopted the same approach to the massacre in Buffalo in renewing calls for censorship on the Internet…

“As it became more likely that Elon Musk could buy Twitter, there was a notable shift in the comments of pro-censorship figures. Hillary Clinton went to Twitter to call on the European Union to quickly pass the Digital Services Act in Europe to force censorship ‘before it’s too late.’…

“At the same time, the United Kingdom is pushing its own Online Safety Act and recently Musk was summoned to Parliament to answer for his alarming suggestion of restoring free speech on social media… It is threatening to take ten percent of the company’s profits if Musk does not censor users.

“Now, Hochul is trying to rally voters to the cause of censorship in the wake of the Buffalo tragedy. To defend free speech in response to such a call is to risk being denounced as supporting violent extremists or dishonoring the fallen.

“The government would then be able to determine what constitutes ‘unfettered sharing of hate information on the internet.’ Indeed, the Biden Administration already created a Disinformation Governance Board that is ready to start that work with great eagerness. It may be a bitter pill for some who value free speech, but it is hard to defend the abstraction of free speech in the aftermath of a massacre. That is why this is a crisis that cannot be wasted. As the Biden’s Administration’s ‘Mary Poppins of Disinformation’ might say, a crisis ‘helps the censorship medicine go down in a most delightful way.’”

Perhaps she is going to release another childish song on video. Please spare us!

Disinformation Governance Board “Paused” – Janowicz Resigns

The New York Post wrote on May 19:

“Despite calling The Post’s reporting on Hunter Biden’s laptop a ‘Trump campaign product’ and blasting Republican concerns about the teaching of ‘critical race theory’ in public schools as ‘weaponizing people’s emotion,’ the now-former head of the Biden administration’s short-lived disinformation board is denying she has a pro-Democrat bias.

“Nina Janowicz made the far-fetched claim to MSNBC ‘All In’ host Chris Hayes hours after she announced her resignation following the Department of Homeland Security’s decision to ‘pause’ the Disinformation Governance Board… The board was criticized almost from the moment of its creation last month by conservatives, libertarians and even some liberals, who compared it to the Ministry of Truth from George Orwell’s novel ‘1984.’”

The Hunter Biden Scandal

Newsmax wrote on May 17:

“A former White House staffer during the Trump administration has apparently posted more than 120,000 emails [to a searchable database this week through his organization, Marco Polo] from Hunter Biden’s now-infamous laptop computer, which was seized by the FBI in 2019… The emails reportedly span from December 2009 to March 2019 — shortly before Hunter Biden dropped off his MacBook Pro at a Delaware computer store, but never returned to pick it up…

“Among the reported highlights, according to the Daily Mail: The ‘10 for the big guy’ message, which potentially links President Joe Biden to son Hunter’s overseas business dealings — during Joe Biden’s time as vice president (2009-17) — through a 10% equity stake in a Chinese energy conglomerate… Hunter Biden describing an apparent quid pro quo with a Mexican billionaire’s son, outlining how Biden got him into the White House and presidential inauguration ceremony, and then thanking him for visits to a villa…

“The site also pointed out that Hunter Biden’s laptop had been abandoned… as a legal loophole for posting the trove of emails online…

“The Daily Mail reportedly had the laptop authenticated by top cyber forensics experts last year; and earlier in 2022, The Washington Post and The New York Times independently verified the contents of Hunter Biden’s laptop…

“This potentially sets the stage for Republican lawmakers launching a full-scale investigation into the alleged corruption exposed from Hunter Biden’s laptop in 2023, if Republicans take back control of the House chamber after the November midterm elections.”

Republicans have said that, if they come to power in the midterm election and if the allegations against Hunter Biden and Joe Biden are proven to be true, an impeachment procedure against Joe Biden would be initiated.

A New Definition of “Woman”

Breitbart wrote on May 12:

“The San Diego County Board of Supervisors has adopted a new definition of ‘woman’ that would reportedly allow male-to-female transgender residents to demand inclusion as women in jails, homeless shelters, and domestic violence shelters… the ordinance… include[s] those who simply identify as women…

“Local television station KUSI-TV [said:] ‘Now in San Diego County, the definition of “women” will include transwomen and intersex women…’

“Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson declined to provide a definition of ‘woman’ in her confirmation hearings in March.”

Britain’s Sad “Accomplishments”

The Daily Mail wrote on May 14:

“A dozen native oysters washed down with vintage champagne, then a large tranche of oozing, bloomy, artisan Camembert — there is no finer or more elegant lunch.

“You could be enjoying such delicacies on holiday in Normandy and, for decades, you may have wished we did this just as well at home… At last the British are beating the French at what they do best — producing the greatest food and wine… As for our seafood, it is riding a high… Tourists are flocking to the British coast in pursuit of the freshest lobster, crab, Dover sole and turbot, while there’s an expanding market for buying fish online, direct from the boats….

“The popularity of shellfish has also boomed. Oysters, once a rarity on menus, are popular again. Our brown crab is considered the best worldwide owing to cold waters, and we can even buy ormer — or abalone — farmed in Jersey.

“So these are exciting times. Essentially, one no longer needs to live near a good fishmonger to buy the freshest fish. There are seafood sellers online who will deliver even live shellfish to your door via overnight courier.”

“Sadly,” all these “delicious” “foods” are forbidden in the Bible and declared to be “unclean,” since they are harmful to humans.

Hard to Believe: Used Cars Much More Expensive than New Cars

The Daily Mail wrote on May 14:

“Motorists are facing a massive used car premium with some second hand vehicles costing some £26,000 more than a brand new model… A nearly new Landrover Defender with a list price of £62,000 will cost £10,000 more if the car is second and with relatively low mileage. This is especially true if the car is bought using a PCP plan, which are affected by changes in the interest rate…

“The Bank of England’s monetary policy committee has indicated that interest rates will have to rise further in order to counter the threat of runaway inflation despite the very real threat of the country moving into recession… Also, manufacturers have said that the supply of microchips used in onboard computers and vital safety systems are in incredibly short supply since Covid-19.

“Under normal market conditions, a second hand car will lose a considerable percentage of its value as soon as its front wheels hit the tarmac outside the dealership… Even Britain’s cheapest car, the Dacia Sandero has seen it price increase. A one-year-old version with 10,000 miles on the clock will cost £12,481 – or £312 a month on a three-year PCP with £2,000 deposit. This makes the used car £5,333 more expensive than the new version…

“New car buyers, however can face long waiting lists before they can sit into their vehicle… Popular marques such as BMW and VW have told prospective buyers that there is a nine-month waiting list… Worse still for motorists, diesel prices have soared to a new record high despite the cut in fuel duty, figures show.”

 Acknowledgement and Disclaimer

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

In much of the Scriptures, there is mention of covenants.

For a start, what is the meaning of the Hebrew word for covenant? Every instance in the Old testament is translated from the Hebrew word בְּרִית bĕriyth. A few times the Hebrew word is translated as confederate or league, but in most of those places, covenant could have been used instead. The word bĕriyth is from a root with the sense of “cutting”, because pacts or covenants were made by passing between cut pieces of flesh of an animal sacrifice. So actually, the expression “make a covenant” literally means “cut a covenant.” This becomes very obvious in the covenant of circumcision. Genesis 15:9-11, 17-18 shows the passing between cut pieces of flesh. Genesis 15:9-11 reads: “So He said to him, ‘Bring Me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.’ Then he brought all these to Him and cut them in two, down the middle, and placed each piece opposite the other; but he did not cut the birds in two.”  Genesis 15:17-18 continues: “And it came to pass, when the sun went down and it was dark, that behold, there appeared a smoking oven and a burning torch that passed between the pieces. On the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying: ‘To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the River Euphrates…’”

Many covenants can be compared with formal and personal contracts when God is involved. They establish relationships, especially between individuals.

The first occurring covenant in the Bible, other than the covenant of day and night (Jeremiah 33:25), is that of marriage, although it is mentioned directly only in a way that it was not being kept correctly. Malachi 2:14-16 answers the question as to why God was not receiving the offerings from their hands (compare verse 13): “Yet you say, ‘For what reason?’” God answers: “Because the LORD has been witness Between you and the wife of your youth, With whom you have dealt treacherously; Yet she is your companion And your wife by covenant. But did He not make them one, Having a remnant of the Spirit? And why one? He seeks godly offspring. Therefore take heed to your spirit, And let none deal treacherously with the wife of his youth. For the LORD God of Israel says That He hates divorce…”

The first time a covenant was mentioned specifically in the book of Genesis is in chapter 6:18. God was about to destroy the earth with a flood because of all the evil upon it. He told Noah because of his righteousness, “…I will establish My covenant with you; and you shall go into the ark—you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you.” The contents of this covenant is stated in Genesis 9:11-17: “‘Thus I establish My covenant with you: Never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood; never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.’ And God said: ‘This is the sign of the covenant which I make between Me and you, and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth. It shall be, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the rainbow shall be seen in the cloud; and I will remember My covenant which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. The rainbow shall be in the cloud, and I will look on it to remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.’ And God said to Noah, ‘This is the sign of the covenant which I have established between Me and all flesh that is on the earth.’”

We can be very grateful for this covenant knowing that a flood will not destroy all flesh as it states “for perpetual generations” and an “everlasting covenant”. Interestingly, both “perpetual” and “everlasting” are translated from the same Hebrew word that is also translated “continuance, always, without end.” The fact that God uses it twice in the one passage proves its certainty.

The next covenant mentioned was given to one man, Abram, but, as we will see, the blessings of this covenant were also to his descendants. God had described this man as righteous in Genesis 15:6: “And he believed in the LORD, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.” The covenant is stated in Genesis 15:18. At this time, Abram had just experienced a disturbing prophetic dream: “On the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying: ‘To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates…’”

In that Scripture, we see that God had promised Abram descendants. But Sarai was barren up until this time. So, at her suggestion, Abram fathered a son through Hagar, Sarai’s maid. This caused upset between Sarai and Hagar and so Hagar finished up fleeing into the wilderness to escape from Sarai. Here, as related in Genesis 16:10, “…the Angel of the LORD said to her, ‘I will multiply your descendants exceedingly, so that they shall not be counted for multitude,’” and that she was to name her son Ishmael (compare verse 11). So now Abram has a son, Ishmael, whom God is going to bless greatly. And the fact that God was going to bless Ishmael is repeated three more times in later passages. However, Ishmael was not Abram’s descendant through whom God would fulfill His promise to Abram to give him the land, as we will see.

In Genesis 17 God made another covenant with Abram, one that was much more comprehensive than the previous covenant. Beginning in Genesis 17:1-9, we read: “When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, ‘I am Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless. And I will make My covenant between Me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly.’ Then Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying: ‘As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be a father of many nations. No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be called Abraham; for I have made you a father of many nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you. And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and your descendants after you. Also I give to you and your descendants after you the land in which you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.’ And God said to Abraham: ‘As for you, you shall keep My covenant, you and your descendants after you throughout their generations.’”

This is the first time in the Bible that God introduces Himself as God Almighty or “El Shaddai” (compare verse 1). According to the Soncino commentary, there are numerous ways to explain the meaning of these Hebrew words, including “being‘sufficient’”; “your God and Protector”; “being victorious and mighty over all”; and other interpretations. Shaddai (Almighty) has also been derived from a root meaning ‘to heap benefits’; and it would then mean ‘Dispenser of Benefits’, the friend who shepherds the patriarchs and preserves them from all harm. God is reassuring Abram that even though his hopes may be dim at times, nothing is impossible to God Almighty.

Then God made a further covenant with Abraham, the covenant of circumcision, also referred to in Acts 7:8. Genesis 17:10-11 reads: “This is My covenant which you shall keep, between Me and you and your descendants after you: Every male child among you shall be circumcised; and you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between Me and you.”

So now we also see that this covenant in Genesis 17:1-9 has a sign, that of circumcision, just like the covenant with Noah had a sign, that of the rainbow. The difference is that circumcision was itself a covenant, as well as a sign, while the rainbow was a sign, but not a covenant.

Then God spoke about Sarai, that her name was to be changed to Sarah and that she would be a mother of nations; kings and peoples will be from her at ninety years old. This was such a miraculous thing that God here reveals her age, something He does with no other woman in the Bible.

In Genesis 17:18-21, we read: “And Abraham said to God, ‘Oh, that Ishmael might live before you!’ Then God said: ‘No, Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his descendants after him. And as for Ishmael, I have heard you. Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly. He shall beget twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation. But My covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this set time next year.’” So, as mentioned before, Ishmael was to be greatly blessed, but the covenant blessings God promised to Abraham were to pass down through Isaac.

After Isaac was born, and when he was weaned, Abraham had a great feast to celebrate the occasion (compare Genesis 21:8). Ishmael, up until this time had been Abraham’s only son, but now was relegated into second place, as he was not the offspring of Sarah, but of Sarah’s maid. On this occasion, he laughed at or ridiculed Isaac (verse 9). Galatians 4:29 says, he persecuted Isaac: “But, as he who was born according to the flesh then persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, even so it is now.” Sarah asked Abraham to “cast out” Ishmael and his mother, but the matter was “very displeasing in his sight” (Genesis 21:11).  So God comforted Abraham again showing him that Ishmael would be blessed. Genesis 21:12-13 states: “But God said to Abraham, ‘Do not let it be displeasing in your sight because of the lad or because of your bondwoman. Whatever Sarah has said to you, listen to her voice; for in Isaac your seed shall be called. Yet I will also make a nation of the son of the bondwoman, because he is your seed.”

Again, Ishmael would be blessed but God emphasised the covenant blessings would pass through Isaac. In Genesis 21:18, when Ishmael was dying of thirst, God again reveals that Ishmael would be a great nation when He said to Hagar: “Arise, lift up the lad and hold him with your hand, for I will make him a great nation.” This is the fourth time God has promised blessings to Ishmael.

Of course, God’s covenants with Abraham were not the only covenants mentioned in the Bible. In the same chapter, there arose a dispute over a well that Abimelech’s servants had seized. Abimelech denied knowledge of this so Abraham and Abimelech made a covenant at Beersheba in which Abraham made a witness of the covenant by giving seven ewe lambs to Abimelech. They were a “witness” or we might say, a sign of this covenant. In this instance, they swore an oath and made a covenant (compare Genesis 21:27-32.)

As an aside, when Abraham died, both Isaac and Ishmael buried Abraham where Sarah had been buried in the field of Heth (compare Genesis 25:9-10). This implies that Ishmael was aware of the happenings in the land of his birth, so even though he was not living with his father, he was living close enough to travel to the burial.

The continuation of the covenants and their blessings occur with Isaac’s sons, Esau the firstborn and Jacob. In Genesis 25:27, we read: “So the boys grew. And Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field; but Jacob was a mild man, dwelling in tents.” He may have been mild, but he was also cunning. After all, his name meant supplanter.

In Genesis 26:3-5, God again reminded Isaac of the oath He had sworn to Abraham after Abraham had shown that he was willing to sacrifice Isaac: “Dwell in this land, and I will be with you and bless you; for to you and to your descendants I give all these lands, and I will perform the oath which I swore to Abraham your father. And I will make your descendants multiply as the stars of heaven; I will give to your descendants all these lands; and in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed; because Abraham obeyed My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws.”

Galatians 3:16 explains that the promises which God gave to Abraham included the promise of the “Seed”—Jesus Christ—and that through Him, all the nations of the earth would be blessed (compare Genesis 22:18). The covenant which God established with Isaac makes specific mention of the promise of the Seed.  It was a prophecy of the Messiah to come, and it was still because of Abraham’s righteousness, not because of anything Isaac had done. But of course, Isaac had to agree to the covenant which God wanted to make with him, which he obviously did.

In the book of Luke 1:72-73, we read that God would “perform the mercy promised to our fathers And to remember His holy covenant, The oath which He swore to our father Abraham.” The implication of this verse is that the oath God swore and the covenant are closely related and the covenant was established and confirmed by an oath.  In fact, the terms oath and covenant are used together, as we will see.

During this time another covenant was made between Isaac and Abimelech that Isaac would not harm Abimelech or his people since he recognized that God was with Isaac (compare Genesis 26:28-30).

(To Be Continued)

Lead Writer: Paul Niehoff (Australia)

compiled by Dave Harris

“Konsequenzen des Ukraine-Krieges im Lichte biblischer Prophezeiung,” is the title of a new AufPostenStehen program, presented by Norbert Link. Title in English: “Consequences of the Ukraine War in the Light of Biblical Prophecy.”

Pentecost will be observed on Sunday, June 5, 2022. We will broadcast a live service at 12:30 pm, PST.

“Der Kampf mit dem EGO,” the sermonette presented last Sabbath in Germany by Daniel Blasinger, is now posted. Title in English: “The Fight with the Ego.”

“Biden’s Ministry of Truth and Consequences of the Ukraine War—Comments on News and Prophecy, May 14, 2022,” the first message presented last Sabbath by Norbert Link, is now posted. Here is a summary:

In this program, we speak on the formation of the new “Disinformation Governance Board”, warning of the dangers of such a body and of the people involved who are being accused of having a history of spreading lies and misinformation… which, according to some, can also be said, allegedly, of the US government itself over many years. It is contended that the formation of the new body manifests the ever-growing move towards total dictatorship within the USA. We also speak on the consequences of the war in Ukraine for the USA and for the entire world—including the depletion of America’s weapons and famine for many countries.

“Remember the Frog,” the sermon presented last Sabbath by Brian Gale, is now posted. Here is a summary:

The analogy of the frog in boiling water is reviewed in connection with the true Christian who has to be very careful about deception that can happen slowly and gradually and can lead to unintended consequences if we’re not very careful.

On May 14, 2022, Norbert Link will present “Comments on News and Prophecy, May 14, 2022, and Brian Gale will present the sermon, titled, “Remember the Frog”.

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

A leaked initial and not-binding draft of US Supreme Court Judge Samuel Alito, stating that the majority opinion from the court would overturn the judgment known as Roe v. Wade, which legalized the right to abortion across the country, has been met with outrage and condemnation. The leak has been described as an “original sin for judicial ethics,” and “one of the greatest breaches of security in the history of the Court.”

If Roe v. Wade were overturned, then each state would be allowed to decide whether to permit, restrict or ban abortions within its own borders. It is estimated that 26 states would be certain or likely to restrict abortion procedures.  On the other hand, pro-abortion states have been taking aggressive action to expand abortions, including, in particular, California, Colorado, Oregon and Illinois.

Practicing Catholic politicians like Joe Biden, Nancy Pelosi or Chuck Schumer strongly opposed the proposed decision, saying that the woman’s right to choose must be upheld and that the decision would be “one of the worst and most damaging decisions in modern history,” even though the Catholic Church prohibits most cases of abortion, focusing thereby on the killing of an innocent unborn child. But Joe Biden said that “a woman’s right to choose is fundamental.” However, his church is not consistent either, and the alleged Pope’s declaration, if true, that Joe Biden is a good Catholic would be hypocritical and shameful.

Apart from the egregious violation of ethics and confidentiality, the most shocking but not surprising development has been the outrageous reaction by progressives to the substance and contents of the leaked draft. Vice President Kamala Harris responded: “How dare they tell a woman what she can do and cannot do with her own body?… How dare they try to stop her from determining her own future? How dare they try to deny women their rights and their freedoms?”

Kamala Harris echoed of course what Joe Biden, Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer had said, and they are by no means the only ones. For instance, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that the “right to choose is a woman’s right and a woman’s right alone.”

On the other hand, Joe Biden took quite a different stance in the past when he opposed the Supreme Court’s decision to legalize abortion one year after Roe v. Wade. “I don’t think that a woman has the sole right to say what should happen to her body,” he told the Washingtonian in 1974, one year after the court legalized abortion. Not only does Joe Biden’s changed position show how extreme the Democrat Party has become, but it is also obvious that Joe Biden has become a tool in the hands of the radical left.

In our new booklet, “The Ten Commandments”, we address the question of abortion. In that booklet, we prove from the Bible that life begins with conception. No matter what progressives and “pro-choice” proponents might say, the killing of innocent unborn life in the mother’s womb IS murder in the eyes of God. While those who uphold abortion state foolishly that it is strictly and solely the decision of the mother whether or not to kill her child, the rights of the unborn child and of the father are simply and conveniently ignored, and God is completely forgotten.

As we point out in our booklet, “Statistics of abortions are nothing short of alarming.” At the end of May 2019, “Abortions in the USA since 1973 (the time of Roe v Wade) are now over 61 million. Worldwide abortions for 2019 were 16 million. Worldwide abortions since 1980 are over 1.5 billion… Over 200,000 abortions are performed each year in Britain… One of the nations with the highest rate of abortion is Russia… [F]or every 1,000 women between 15 to 44, 37.4 had an abortion. Another nation with a high abortion rate is Cuba [with] an abortion rate of 28.9.”

We also list in our booklet the horrifying abortion rates in many other countries. Most of them would be described as “civilized.”

Let me be clear, then. Abortion for ANY reason is murder in the eyes of God—and it should be in our eyes. With this godly understanding, it is obvious that there can be no exception, and in this area, not only progressive “pro-choice” proponents, but also conservatives and religious leaders, taking the “pro-life”-position, fail miserably as well, and that almost universally. To illustrate the point, let me quote from an article by Breitbart, dated May 5:

“Kathy Barnette, a Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania, released a powerful video Tuesday in which she discussed being conceived in rape when her mother was just age 11… Barnette affirmed her life has value despite having been the byproduct of a tragic act of violence [stating:] ‘In the world the Left desires, I would never have been born…’ Barnette said her own experience made her become more adamant about the sanctity of life and cautioned people against believing that children like her should be aborted. ‘Even among Christians, even among staunch conservatives, an exception to the rule of being pro-life, for many, is in the case of rape, and yet my life has value,’ she said. Barnette cited her own family, including her husband and children, as evidence of this value. ‘None of this would have happened if the exception to the rule had applied,’ she said.”

What a powerful testimony! I wholeheartedly agree with her sentiment. Don’t you? Let me repeat: In God’s eyes, EVERY abortion is murder. It is a horrible crime and can NEVER be justified, regardless of the circumstances.

In this issue, we devote many articles to the formation of the new “Disinformation Governance Board” in the USA, warning of the dangers of such a body and of the people involved who are being accused of having a history of spreading lies and misinformation… which, according to some quoted articles, can also be said, allegedly, of the US government itself over many years. It is contended that the formation of the new body is another unconstitutional step toward suppression of “unpopular” opinions, manifesting the ever-growing move towards total dictatorship within the USA.

We address efforts in some US states and by US companies, as well as in Canada, to continue the murder of abortion [please view our NEW StandingWatch program, titled, “(When) Is Abortion Murder in the Eyes of God?” and our recent StandingWatch program, titled, “Free Abortions in California… ‘Repent or Perish!’”’]; the hopeless and incurable division within the USA; the obvious conflict of interest of Joe Biden’s new Press Secretary; and we publish some tough questions for Joe Biden and speak on the mysterious bewilderment pertaining to his presidency. We also address the curse of inflation for the American people and the opinion that the EU needs an army; as well as the surprising victory of the nationalist party Sinn Fein in Northern Ireland, which seeks unification with Ireland.

We speak on political propaganda relating to Russia, Ukraine and Germany [please view in this context our recent StandingWatch program, titled, “Did Hitler Have Jewish Blood?”]; Russia’s May 9 “Victory Day”; the consequences of the war in Ukraine; and we conclude with frictions between the Pope and the Russian Orthodox Church and the obvious attempt of the Pope to cave in by taking certain political positions.

Our Lying Government

Politico wrote on April 29:

“Who among us thinks the government should add to its work list the job of determining what is true and what is disinformation? And who thinks the government is capable of telling the truth? Our government produces lies and disinformation at industrial scale and always has.

“This is the government that lied about winning the war in Vietnam, that said the Watergate affair was a ‘third-rate burglary,’ that fought a  secret war in Nicaragua, that lied about a clandestine love affair in the White House, that used faulty intelligence to force a war in the Middle East… President Barack Obama shortchanged the truth. Of 600 Obama statements… a quarter of them fell into the ‘red zone’ of being false, mostly false, or ‘pants on fire’ false. Not so long ago,  50 intelligence officials assured the nation that the Hunter Biden laptop story bore ‘all the classic earmarks of a Russian information operation.’… The idea that Covid could have come from a Chinese lab was similarly dismissed as disinformation; now it’s considered a legitimate possibility by the Biden administration. Meanwhile, we have documented proof from the Washington Post that…  Joe Biden can’t handle simple truths! (We don’t need to reassess the Donald Trump presidency here, do we?)…

“After branding something disinformation, it’s only a short slide to suppressing the contested information… If Russian disinformation is a problem, it has been so for almost a century… the Russians started sending out fake defectors in the 1930s to spread disinformation in the West. After World War II, the Soviets shifted their focus to the United States. Two years after the surrender of Nazi Germany, Soviet leadership sought to influence public opinion by covertly funding newspapers and radio stations around the world… It forged documents and attempted to plant them in credible publications. In one disinformation campaign, it promulgated the tall tale that AIDS was the product of an American biological weapons experimentation…”

Shocking when you think about all the lies that our governments have been spreading…

A Long History of Lying

The Ron Paul Institute wrote on May 7:

 “The most egregious and blatant official U.S. disinformation campaign in years took place three weeks before the 2020 presidential election. That was when dozens of former intelligence officials purported, in an open letter, to believe that authentic emails regarding Joe Biden’s activities in China and Ukraine, reported by The New York Post, were ‘Russian disinformation.’ That quasi-official proclamation enabled liberal corporate media outlets to uncritically mock and then ignore those emails as Kremlin-created fakes, and it pressured Big Tech platforms such as Facebook and Twitter to censor the reporting at exactly the time Americans were preparing to decide who would be the next U.S. president.

“The letter from these former intelligence officials was orchestrated by trained career liars — disinformation agents — such as former CIA Director John Brennan and former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper. Yet that letter was nonetheless crucial to discredit and ultimately suppress the New York Post‘s incriminating reporting on Biden. It provided a quasi-official imprimatur — something that could be depicted as an authoritative decree — that these authentic emails were, in fact, fraudulent…

“The purpose of Homeland Security agents is to propagandize and deceive, not enlighten and inform. The level of historical ignorance and stupidity required to believe that U.S. Security State operatives are earnestly devoted to exposing and decreeing truth… is off the charts… That the Board will be run by such a preposterous and laughable figure as Nina Jankowicz… has, in some sense, made this board seem more benign and harmless. After all, how nefarious and dangerous can a board be when it is governed by a person as frivolous and banal as this, calling herself ‘the Mary Poppins of disinformation’? But just as banality can be a vehicle for evil, it can also be a vehicle for repression and tyrannical control…

“… this new Disinformation Czar has herself ratified and helped spread virtually every disinformation campaign concocted by the union of the Democratic Party and corporate media over the last five years… An agency with a long history of lying, run by life-long disinformation agents, has just created a board to issue… official decrees, all overseen by a person who is so partisan and ideologically motivated that it is hard to take her seriously. Whether or not you take her seriously, the power that Homeland Security has just secured for itself is anything but a joke.”

In fact, it is frightening and extremely dangerous.

Ill-Defined, Biased and Dangerous

Politico wrote on May 5:

“In an almost offhand fashion last week, Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told several congressional committees that his Department of Homeland Security had created a new body, the Disinformation Governance Board (DGB). He offered few specifics as to how it was combating disinformation, and few have come since, apart from his meaningless comment that the DGB would have no ‘operational authority or capacity.’ In short, the message amounted to ‘There’s nothing to see here or worry about.’ We disagree, and we have seen this saga before. An episode from over a hundred years ago tells us a great deal about how such a venture can go wrong, and to some extent already has.

“We refer here to the Committee on Public Information, created by President Woodrow Wilson on April 14, 1917, one week after the United States entered World War I. This was done through a three-sentence executive order that offered no meaningful specifics other than that the CPI would be headed by the pyrotechnic, muckraking journalist George Creel.

“Wilson seems to have had in mind that the CPI would be responsible for censoring information that compromised military operations. This, of course, was a matter of legitimate concern. But in the next 18 months that the war lasted, the CPI grew willy-nilly into a ministry of propaganda… The CPI soon began declaring ‘the facts,’ calling out Americans who dared to dissent, and even chastising small town editors who took minor exception to administration policy…

“The appointment of Creel was another major misstep… From his early days in Kansas City and later Denver, his crusading journalism was overwrought and his political alliances never far from the surface…

“The appointment of Nina Jankowicz as executive director of the DGB is similarly ill-advised… Jankowicz has drawn criticism for comments that smack of political bias, among other things appearing to wholly dismiss the Hunter Biden laptop controversy as Russian disinformation…

“The biggest problem, however, was with the very idea of a government agency monitoring truth… Despite its claims to provide only facts, however, [the CPI] could not resist playing on emotions and providing tendentious information that fed on unfounded fears of German spies lurking everywhere. Those ‘spies,’ in effect, were people who challenged Wilson’s administration policies…  if America learned anything from its experience with the CPI, it is this: An organization that is ill-defined can be anything it wants to be… And that is particularly perilous when that organization is a governmental entity that has the power to speak directly to 330 million Americans….”

Warnings from the past are usually ignored.

Unconstitutional Assault on Freedom of Speech

The Week wrote on May 4:

“The Biden administration’s plan to create a Disinformation Governance Board is a ‘shockingly unconstitutional assault on freedom of speech,’ says Mike Huckabee…

“‘The concern [is] that the board will spy on Americans,’ says the Wall Street Journal in an editorial… and tells ‘the masses what is true and what is false’…

“These are worthy goals. But that doesn’t mean we should give the job to a federal government that has lied to the American people about everything… The horrible name alone is reason enough to ‘pull the plug’ on the Disinformation Governance Board ‘and never speak of it again,’ says… the Washington Post. Calling it ‘Orwellian is an insult to George Orwell,’ who understood the importance and power of language…”

Another Step Toward US Dictatorship

Fox News wrote on May 5:

“Rand Paul challenged Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas over his department’s newly-announced Disinformation Governance Board, asserting that the American people do not need the federal government to tell them what the truth is. Paul specifically pointed to claims that he has made about the COVID-19 pandemic that have not been in line with administration policies. ‘I’ve said a million times that cloth masks don’t work. YouTube takes me down. They’re a private company I can have that beef with him. What about you? You’re going to look at that? I often say that natural immunity from having had the infection is equal to the vaccine or better. You’re going to take that down?… Are you going to put information out there saying that I’m spreading disinformation?’ Paul asked. ‘Mayorkas stated that his agency’s staff ‘are not the public’s health experts to make those determinations.’ ‘So public health won’t be part of the Disinformation Governance Board? No COVID disinformation? Yes or no?’ Paul pressed.

“Mayorkas would not answer, claiming that Paul was giving him ‘vague’ hypothetical situations. Paul claimed that his examples were ‘very specific.’ [Paul said:] ‘… you don’t have the perspective of history knowing that disinformation, the largest progenitor of disinformation in our history, has probably been the U.S. government.’ That last comment was in line with what Paul said earlier, about the U.S. government having a history of spreading disinformation. ‘Do you know who the greatest propagator of disinformation in the history of the world is? The U.S. government,’ Paul said. ‘Are you familiar with McNamara? The Pentagon Papers? Are you familiar with George W. Bush and the weapons of mass destruction? Are you familiar with Iran-contra?… I want you to have nothing to do with speech… Do you think the American people are so stupid they need you to tell them what the truth is? You can’t even admit what the truth is with the Steele dossier. I don’t trust government to figure out what the truth is. Government is largely disseminating disinformation.’”

Paul has a valid point. When governments try to suppress opinion and “define” the truth as they want to propagate it, then they have become dictatorships.

Companies “Look After” Their Employees to Guarantee Their “Right” to Kill

Breitbart wrote on May 4:

“Since conservative-leaning states began flexing their legislative muscles to outlaw abortion within their borders or severely limit its practice, companies from the likes of Amazon to Yelp have been drafting policies that will pay for employees’ abortions should they live in a state that outlaws the practice…

“Amazon became the latest corporation to cover employees’ travel costs to seek abortion care. The company told staff it would pay up to $4,000 in travel expenses annually for medical treatments including abortions…

“Amazon joined Citigroup, Yelp, Uber, Lyft, Bumble, Match Group, and Salesforce to draft such a policy. On Tuesday, Levi Strauss & Co. reminded its employees that its current benefits program will grant reimbursements ‘for healthcare-related travel expenses for services not available in their home state, including those related to reproductive health care and abortion.’…”

And so, the murder of innocent unborn children continues…

Come to Canada to Murder Innocent Lives!

Huffington Post wrote on May 5:

“A Canadian official said Wednesday that Americans will be able to obtain abortions in Canada should the Supreme Court overturn the landmark abortion rights decision, Roe v. Wade… Abortion is legal in Canada at any point in pregnancy. …

“Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that the ‘right to choose is a woman’s right and a woman’s right alone.’ ‘Every woman in Canada has a right to a safe and legal abortion. We’ll never back down from protecting and promoting women’s rights in Canada and around the world,’ he said.”

Nothing else could be expected from left-wing radical autocrat Trudeau. To him, the right of an unborn child to LIVE does not seem to matter.

Some Tough Questions for Joe Biden

The American Thinker wrote on May 6:

“Why are you leaving the southern border wide open with no troops, no army, and no border security?… Why are you intentionally enacting policies that hike up the price of gasoline?  Why do you pursue policies that drive up the price of food?  Why do you push an agenda that drives up the inflation rate to a 40-year high?… Why promote policies that have made the price of homes unaffordable for many families, and made it so that rental properties are out of reach for many couples?  Why have you brought us to a place where there is a shortage of fertilizer for farmers, and thus the yield on crops will be smaller, and there will be even less food for American families?

“Why are citizens who acted within their legal rights during the J6 rally imprisoned in Washington, D.C.?  Why do they remain in American Gulags without being officially charged and without the provision of bail?  Why did you say it is illegal and an insurrection to question the outcome of the stolen 2020 election?  Why are you against voter identification to vote lawfully, but are insistent on a vaccination passport to enter a store or fly on a plane?  Why do you call your enemies white supremacists?  Why did seven states all stop the counting of votes, all at the same time, on election night?…

“Why would your government lie about where the COVID-19 virus actually originated?  Why did you shut down schools, make the wearing of masks mandatory, require citizens to keep six feet apart, and impose an experimental vaccine upon the nation — when it was clear these ‘solutions’ did not work?… Why, during COVID, did you lock down schools and churches — but keep open liquor stores, hemp centers, and needle exchanges?  Why are you against allowing individual states, within our federal system, to decide on their own laws with respect to the pro-life issue?  Why are you in favor of more federal legislative protection for snakes, alligators, and turtles more than you are for protecting living babies inside the womb?

“Why would your Deep State create a Ministry of Truth?…

“Why did your Department of Defense leave behind $83 billion’s worth of military equipment for the terrorists in Afghanistan to keep?… Why do you think it is acceptable for public schools to groom young children?… Why did you tolerate mobs of BLM and Antifa pulling down statues of Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt?…”

Of course, many more tough questions could be asked of Mr. Biden and his administration… It appears that he and his administration are being used by spiritual forces to destroy America from the inside. Note the next article.

The Mystery of Biden’s Presidency

The New York Post wrote on May 8:

“… a cottage industry of so-called journalists is… twisting truth to make the failing president [Biden] a victim, if not a hero…

“… his administration has effectively defined ‘extremist’ as anybody who disagrees with its far-left dogma, including parents objecting to school racial and sexual indoctrination… the left-wing media doesn’t have a single unkind word to say about the unprecedented leak itself… neither the White House nor congressional leaders Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer condemned the radical leftists who published the home addresses of six conservative justices and promised to protest outside their houses. Schumer instead gave a speech [insisting] that the justices ‘have lied to the US Senate, ripped up the Constitution, and defiled both precedent and the Supreme Court’s reputation.’

“This is civil war level fiery and drew the ire of GOP colleagues, who accused him of slandering the justices and of trying to intimidate the court…

“And that remains the central mystery of the Biden presidency – how and why did that happen? How did a career moderate create perhaps the most radical administration in history? Here was an unlikely president, old and in obvious decline, who had the narrowest possible majorities in Congress at a time of intense polarization….

“Biden… started going far left, kept going and has never stopped… Each blunder underscores the mystery that hangs over this White House: Why, Joe Biden, did you sacrifice your presidency and American progress on the altar of the far left?”

Here is the mystery which most people don’t understand: Satan is the god of this world, and he influences the leaders of this world. And the Bible has prophesied thousands of years ago that in our time, due to America’s horrible sins, it will go down. Its fall is undeniable and inevitable, and it will end soon in defeat in a nuclear war.

The Terrible Curse of Inflation in the USA

cnbc wrote on May 11:

“Inflation is showing no signs of slowing down, making it harder for workers to make ends meet… Food prices are up at the fastest pace in more than 41 years… As of March, close to two-thirds, or 64%, of the U.S. population was living paycheck to paycheck…

“Consumers who are struggling to afford their day-to-day lifestyle tend to rely more on credit cards and carry higher monthly balances making them financially vulnerable… Overall, credit card balances rose year over year, reaching $841 billion in the first three months of 2022… At this rate, balances could soon reach record levels amid higher prices for gas, groceries and housing…”

The New York Post added on May 10:

“Biden isn’t fooling anyone ⁠— inflation is his fault and he has no solution to fix it.”

Biden vs. Trump and America’s Hopeless Division

Fox News reported on May 5:

“Trump on Thursday told Fox News Digital that ‘MAGA [“Make America Great Again”] is saving America,’ and slammed President Biden for being ‘divisive’… Trump’s comments are in response to Biden, who, reacting Wednesday to the leaked draft opinion signaling the Supreme Court’s intent to overturn Roe v. Wade, slammed Republicans, saying the controversy is ‘about a lot more than abortion.’

“Biden said the ‘MAGA crowd’ is ‘the most extreme political organization that’s existed in recent American history.’ Biden declared in April that the GOP [“Grand Old Party”; that is, the Republican Party] ‘ain’t your father’s Republican Party,’ saying it has shifted to a ‘MAGA party’ and warning that right-leaning politicians ‘who know better’ are ‘afraid to act correctly’ out of fear of losing a primary election.”

The Democratic Party is surely not anymore what it used to be in the not-too-distant past. This country is hopelessly divided and given to hatred, with no change in sight.  And a house divided CANNOT stand! And it won’t.

Conflict of Interest of Biden’s New Press Secretary

The New York Post wrote on May 6:

“President Biden’s trailblazing pick of his new press secretary is already being accused of creating troubling conflicts of interest because of her long-term relationship with star CNN reporter Suzanne Malveaux. Karine Jean-Pierre — who next Friday will be both the first black and first openly gay person to hold the key White House post — lives with the network’s national correspondent in Washington, DC, with their 7-year-old daughter…

“While the groundbreaking pick was widely celebrated, it also left some questioning the pair’s impartiality, especially given CNN’s recent scandals, including now-axed host Chris Cuomo’s behind-the-scenes meddling in brother New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s sex scandals. ‘This is one of many examples of the corporate media LITERALLY in bed with the government it covers,’ tweeted Alex Marlow, editor-in-chief of right-wing news outlet Breitbart.”

Current White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki is no stranger to controversy herself when it was revealed that, while still acting as Press Secretary, plans had been finalized for Psaki to join left-wing MSNBC. The conflict of interest is obvious, but does not seem to bother the White House.

Politics and More Politics… Developments in Germany and Russia Regarding Ukraine

Deutsche Welle reported on May 5:

“German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock is due to travel to Kyiv.  The announcement came after weeks of friction after German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said his visit was not welcome by Kyiv.  Earlier on Thursday, the president’s office said he spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy by phone adding that both Steinmeier and Scholz have both been invited to Kyiv….‘The German president expressed his solidarity, respect, and support for the Ukrainian people’s courageous fight against the Russian aggressors,’ the spokesperson said. ‘Both presidents described the discussion as very important and very good… Irritations of the past were cleared up…’

“[Israel’s] prime minister [Bennett] accepted President Putin’s apology for Lavrov’s remarks and thanked him for clarifying his attitude toward the Jewish people and the memory of the Holocaust,” a statement from the Israeli prime minister’s office said. The Kremlin made no direct reference to the row…”

How past irritations between Germany and Ukraine were “cleared up,” and what Putin allegedly “apologized” for, if anything, remains clouded in mystery. As true politicians, all parties are trying to show a good face to a bad game. But this “friendly” relationship of propaganda will not last…

Europe Needs an Army

The American Conservative wrote on May 9:

“There is [a] solution which has until now been met with derision from all sides of the American political spectrum: American support for the creation of a European Union army… President Donald Trump reacted angrily to French President Emmanuel Macron’s mention of the idea in 2018. Conservatives and anyone who wishes for the U.S. to successfully pivot to Asia should reconsider this position.

“… The E.U. is not entitled to the lives of America’s soldiers… The E.U. has a thriving arms industry, massive population, nuclear weapons… They can take care of themselves…

“Americans died in the Second World War for two reasons: to extinguish a 20th-century Nazi threat and extinguish a 20th-century Japanese threat. They did not die to occupy Europe forever… some might claim that the E.U. is simply not ready for an army, or that leaders in the E.U. will not want to take on such a burden. But not being ready or willing is no reason for America to stay in Europe forever. Since 1945 we have defended Europe, and in return we have received mockery and scorn… it is time for Europe to learn to fend for itself. The next presidential administration should make the formation of a European Union army a top foreign-policy priority.”

And so, Europe will have a unified army soon… much sooner than many may think.

Sinn Fein’s Historic Win in Northern Ireland

 The Associated Press wrote on May 8:

“The Irish nationalist party Sinn Fein, which seeks unification with Ireland, hailed a ‘new era’ Saturday for Northern Ireland as it captured the largest number of seats in the Northern Ireland Assembly for the first time in a historic win… Sinn Fein secured 27 of the Assembly’s 90 seats. The Democratic Unionist Party, which has dominated Northern Ireland’s legislature for two decades, captured 24 seats. The victory means Sinn Fein is entitled to the post of first minister in Belfast for the first time since Northern Ireland was founded as a Protestant-majority state in 1921….

“The victory is a milestone for Sinn Fein, which has long been linked to the Irish Republican Army, a paramilitary group that used bombs and bullets to try to take Northern Ireland out of U.K. rule during decades of violence involving Irish republican militants, Protestant Loyalist paramilitaries and the U.K. army and police.

“Sinn Fein vice-president Michelle O’Neil… stressed that it was imperative for Northern Ireland’s politicians to come together next week to form an Executive — the devolved government of Northern Ireland. If none can be formed within six months, the administration will collapse, triggering a new election and more uncertainty.

“O’Neill has said, on Irish unification, there would be no constitutional change until voters decide on it. Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald indicated Friday that planning for any unity referendum could come within the next five years.”

Russian Dress Rehearsal for Victory Day on May 9:

The Associated Press wrote on May 7:

“Russia held a dress rehearsal on Saturday for the military parade to commemorate Victory Day on [Monday,] May 9, when the country marks the defeat of Nazi Germany during World War II.

“This year’s Victory Day… won’t just honor a conflict that ended 77 years ago. Many Russians will be thinking about the thousands of troops in neighboring Ukraine. Signs of support for the military have grown across the country since Feb. 24, with the letter ‘Z’ appearing on billboards and signs in the streets and subways, and on television and social media.”

“On Saturday, an RS-24 Yars intercontinental ballistic missile rolled through Red Square as part of the rehearsal in Moscow, with warplanes and helicopters flying overhead, troops marching in formation and self-propelled artillery vehicles rumbling past.”

On Instagram, the Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) posted on March 3 that the “Z” symbol is an abbreviation of the phrase “for victory,” while the “V” symbol stands for “strength is in truth” and “The task will be completed.”

Putin Defends Invasion of Ukraine

The Los Angeles Times wrote on May 9:

“Putin delivered a strident speech Monday at an annual military parade in Moscow, accusing the U.S. and the West of provoking the conflict and comparing it to the Soviet Union’s fight against Nazi Germany in World War II.

“But the Russian leader stopped short of using the occasion — known as Victory Day to mark the defeat of Hitler’s forces 77 years ago — to declare an all-out war with Ukraine… Russia still refers to the invasion as a ‘special military operation,’ which does not require a full national mobilization of resources for war.”

For now?

Does America Run Short of Weapons because of the Ukraine War?

Bloomberg wrote on April 14:

“Western allies face a choice: Send more weapons to Kyiv or save their stockpiles for their own defense. America is following an ‘arsenal of democracy’ strategy in Ukraine: It has avoided direct intervention against the Russian invaders, while working with allies and partners to provide the Kyiv government with money and guns.

“…Yet as the war reaches a critical stage with… the arsenal of democracy is being depleted… it is revealing American weaknesses that could be laid bare in the next great-power fight. American stockpiles of key weapons are smaller than one might imagine, partly because of production constraints and partly because most of the Pentagon’s roughly $750 billion budget goes to manpower, health care and things other than bullets and bombs…”

The Heritage Foundation wrote on May 5:

“Supplying Ukraine with weapons… will almost certainly exacerbate the issue of an already depleted American arsenal. Due to the complexity and time required to manufacture today’s precision weapons, we must start thinking now, before a war breaks out, about whether America has enough weaponry to sustain a conflict….

“Last month President Biden released a defense budget request that does not even keep up with the rate of inflation, much less provide for any growth to meet our own needs. It’s a recipe for weakness at a time when the free world desperately needs strength.”

On May 10, Popular Mechanics published an article with the following headline:

“…the U.S. Sent So Many Missiles to Ukraine That It Depleted Its Own Stockpiles.”

Possibility of Defeat Becomes Real

The Washington Times wrote on May 3:

“New reports have now been disseminated to an increasingly concerned public that the West’s major defense contractors are unable to replenish the drained stocks of Javelin anti-tank missiles and stingers… For the West, specifically the Americans, we should be asking our leaders how we got to this place where weapons that are both essential and basic for modern warfare… are suddenly unavailable in the numbers needed to fight a modern war?…  If, as the Russians insist, we are already in another world war and the West has already almost depleted its supply of essential weapons, one must wonder how the future of America’s fighting capabilities will be negatively impacted. It doesn’t look good, that’s for sure…

“American leaders have so badly ignored industrial policy that we may yet lose a world war because we’ve gutted our manufacturing capabilities for so long that we can’t recover… and once America’s enemies realize that we can no longer threaten them because of severe limits on the availability of our arms, then the real challenge to America’s military begins … and the possibility of defeat becomes painfully real.”

Hunger Crisis Because of Ukraine War

npr wrote on April 20:

“The pains of every war ripple out beyond the borders of the conflict zone. And as the war between Russia and Ukraine drags on, the disruptions in the global food supply chain are beginning to deepen the already dire hunger crisis around the world.

“Ukraine and Russia combined export 30% of the world’s wheat, in addition to other food supplies. Now, because of the ongoing war, the price of food worldwide is skyrocketing and 38 countries are facing acute food insecurity, meaning they are just one step from famine.”

WFP wrote on May 6:

“The World Food Programme (WFP) is calling for the immediate reopening of Black Sea ports – including Odesa – so that critical food from Ukraine can reach people facing food insecurity… Today, as record numbers of people wonder what they will eat tomorrow, harvests from Ukrainian farms are failing to be shipped to the destinations where they are needed most… 44 million people around the world are marching towards starvation…

“Before the war, most of the food produced by Ukraine – enough to feed 400 million people – was exported through the country’s seven Black Sea ports. In the eight months before the conflict began, close to 51 million metric tons of grain passed through them… Global food prices have risen sharply since the onset of the crisis. This will affect local food prices and people in the most vulnerable locations, on extremely tight budgets, are particularly at risk…”

Pope Francis vs. Patriarch Kirill

Fox News wrote on May 5:

“The Russian Orthodox Church hit back at the Vatican this week after Pope Francis told an Italian newspaper that Patriarch Kirill should not ‘transform himself into Putin’s altar boy’ amid the invasion of Ukraine. ‘Pope Francis chose the wrong tone,’ the Russian Orthodox Church said in a statement on Wednesday. ‘Such statements are unlikely to contribute to the establishment of a constructive dialogue between the Roman Catholic and Russian Orthodox Churches, which is especially needed at the present time.’

“The Pope recalled during an interview with the Italian Corriere della Sera newspaper that half of a 40-minute conversation he had with Patriarch Kirill in March consisted of the Russian Orthodox Church leader reading off ‘all the justifications for the war.’ Kirill, a longtime supporter of Putin, has echoed the Russian president’s justifications for the war in sermons and placed the blame on NATO. ‘Patriarch Kirill recalled that at the end of the Soviet era, Russia received an assurance that NATO would not move an inch eastwards. However, this promise was broken, even the former Soviet Baltic republics joined NATO,’ the Russian Orthodox Church said Wednesday. ‘Russia could not and cannot allow this to happen.’

“Despite their disagreements, Pope Francis also partially blamed NATO, telling the Italian newspaper this week that the ‘barking of NATO at Russia’s door’ may have forced Putin to invade… Pope Francis met with Kirill in-person in Cuba six years ago, marking the first time that a pontiff has met with the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church since the Great Schism nearly a millennium ago.”

Is Francis playing politics again, as he is known to do? Bild Online commented, the pope should stay out of politics and devote himself to prayer instead. This is of course an illusionary and unrealistic proposal. Historically, the Catholic Church has never stayed out of politics. Indeed, it is the woman riding and to an extent directing and leading the coming European beast of 10 core nations, as described in Revelation 17.

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.

Much confusion exists about the biblical covenants. In fact, there are many covenants mentioned in God’s Word. We discuss those in our free booklet, “And Lawlessness Will Abound.”  

In there, we state, first of all, what a covenant is:

“The word ‘covenant,’ as used in the Old Testament, is a translation from the Hebrew word ‘berith.’ The meaning of this term is ‘covenant, agreement or contract.’… Webster defines a ‘covenant’ as a ‘usually formal, binding agreement between two or more persons, to do or not to do something; a document containing the terms of the agreement.’” The word “berith” is also defined, by Strong’s, as a “compact.”

When the New Testament speaks of covenants, it uses the Greek word “diatheke,” which conveys the same meaning as the Hebrew word “berith.” Strong’s defines it as a contract or as a devisory will or testament. The dual meaning of the word for both a covenant and a testament is important, as explained below. We also show in our above-mentioned booklet that the new covenant is a marriage agreement between Christ and His Church. Christ will marry His Church at His return—the marriage will be consummated between Spirit beings. But it is not only a marriage agreement. We added this:

“In addition, this marriage contract with Christ is also an agreement to inherit what had been promised, through covenants, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and to their descendants. It is not only a will, or a testament that can be changed by the testator at any time before his death, but it is a legally binding, enforceable agreement. In any event, the testator, Jesus Christ, who inherited the promises from Abraham and his offspring, did already die, so His will, as promised to us by a contract, cannot be changed anymore. A will or a testament, in biblical times, was more like a mutual contract of inheritance. In fact, the Greek word for ‘covenant’ and for ‘testament’ is exactly the same, i.e., ‘diatheke.’ Both parties had to agree to the terms of the covenant of inheritance. This contract could be based on certain conditions, and the agreement could only be carried out, and the inheritance obtained, if both parties fulfilled the conditions…

“We, as spiritual Israelites, must be married in order to obtain the inheritance. The New Covenant tells us to whom we have to be married—Jesus Christ. But a marriage can only occur and last if both parties are willing to marry each other, and to remain faithful to each other. Christ has already made a marriage agreement with us—a betrothal—and He will spiritually consummate His marriage with us at His return, if we remain faithful (Revelation 19:7–9; Matthew 22:2; 25:1)… [If] we become disobedient and rebellious and begin again to practice the wrong way of life, Christ has the right to divorce us…”

When God made a covenant with man, He set forth the subject matter (the contents, conditions and promises) and offered the same to man, and man had to agree to and accept the offer. Until man accepted God’s offer, no covenant was entered into. When man subsequently broke the agreed-upon covenant, God was no longer bound by the terms, but man still had to suffer the penalty for breaking the covenant (compare for example Leviticus 26:25).

When God and man made a covenant, they entered into a very special relationship. That is why we speak many times of a covenant relationship. The marriage agreement or covenant constitutes such a relationship. The bridegroom and the bride promise to fulfill the conditions of the marriage covenant, and when the minister officiating the marriage declares them as husband and wife, before God, then a covenant has been entered into which was made between three parties—the husband, the wife and God. This covenant is supposed to last until the death of either the husband or the wife; it must not be broken; but sadly, many times it is. When one party forsakes the marriage, the other party is no longer bound, and divorce is possible. God was “married” to Old Testament Israel, but sent Israel away and divorced her due to her spiritual adultery or idolatry (Jeremiah 3:8).

When we become baptized, we enter into the conditions of the New Covenant. As we explain in our previously mentioned booklet:

“Christ clearly told us the conditions of the New Covenant, and we accepted them at the time of our baptism. As ancient Israel said, we also said, ‘Everything that the LORD has said, we will do.’ We also, of course, accepted Christ’s shed blood that forgives our sins, and we acknowledged that we had entered into a covenant with God at the time of our baptism. Does this mean, then, that the New Covenant has already been made with us at the time of our baptism? Well, yes and no.

“The New Covenant is a marriage agreement. The consummation of our marriage with Jesus Christ—the bridegroom and the Lamb—is still in the future. This is where the biblical concept of betrothal becomes important. In biblical times, the parties went through a period of ‘betrothal’ before they actually consummated the marriage. Mary was already betrothed to Joseph when she was found to be with child (Matthew 1:18). Since they had not consummated the marriage, Joseph thought that Mary was guilty of fornication. But Mary and Joseph were already called, at the time of their betrothal, husband and wife (Matthew 1:19–20, 24; compare also Deuteronomy 28:30). Betrothal was a binding agreement or contract of marriage, and it could only be severed through a divorce. With this contract, the husband had promised his wife to consummate the marriage with her, after a certain period of time.

“In the same way, we, when we became baptized, entered into a covenant with God, and into a contract of betrothal with Jesus Christ. The consummation of our marriage will occur, once Jesus Christ returns to establish His Kingdom. At that time, we will be immortal Spirit beings—born-again members of the God Family.”

When we become baptized, we enter into a life-long commitment and a life-long relationship with God, which He will not break, as long as we stay obedient. However, continued disobedience could lead to our breaking the covenant and ending our relationship with God.  So both our marriage agreement and our baptism constitute covenants establishing a relationship with God.

As we can see from the foregoing examples, we must accept the covenant conditions. When God made His covenants with Abraham and Isaac, they accepted the same. However, Jacob did not at first. When he deceived Isaac and fled, he told God at Bethel that he would tithe IF he would return safely (not before then), and he said that then (not before then), He would be his God (Genesis 28:18-21). He only entered into a covenant relationship with God and accepted God’s covenant offer, when He wrestled with Christ, signifying his repentance, dedication and perseverance.

As we said, a covenant has a certain “subject matter,” and it requires at least two parties who agree to enter into a covenant relationship. For instance, God made several covenants with Abram or Abraham, and each agreement enlarged the scope of the godly promise, being part of the particular covenant. The promises or conditions of the covenant in Genesis 15:18 were limited to a particular piece of land; the covenant in Genesis 17  involved the promise that many nations and kings would descend from Abraham, and it included the promise that the Eternal would be God for Abraham and his descendants. Another covenant with Abraham, referred to in Acts 3:25-26, included spiritual promises referring to Jesus Christ (compare also Genesis 22:16-18). As Abraham increased in faith and obedience, God increased the scope of His promises, by making additional covenants with him. It appears that He even made another covenant with Abraham, not specifically mentioned in Scripture as such, as God promised him not to be just the heir of certain lands, but of the entire world (Romans 4:13; this is also a promise included in the New Covenant for all Christians).

We state in our booklet:

“Abraham is actually called the friend of God in numerous places (James 2:23; 2 Chronicles 20:7; Isaiah 41:8). This means that Abraham agreed with God as to how to live, because two cannot walk together unless they are agreed (Amos 3:3). Abraham lived in obedience to God’s laws, and that is why God called him His friend and entered into agreements with him.”

Even though God made covenants with Abraham, and then, because of the obedience of Abraham, He made a covenant with Isaac, and another one with Jacob (Leviticus 26:42), the Bible may sometimes speak about God’s covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, as the subject matter and the promises involved were the same. (The promises which God gave Abraham were the same as the promises which He gave Isaac and Jacob.) Still, God made individual covenants with Abraham and with Isaac and with Jacob, as the parties to the covenants were not identical.

We also read that God made other covenants with David and with Aaron or Levi, which had different subject matters and included different promises. The same is true for the covenant of circumcision, and the covenant which God made with the nation of Israel under Moses (commonly referred to as the “Old Covenant.”). But even there, God made several covenants with them. The first covenant which He made was broken by Israel when they made the golden calf; so God made another covenant with them. In this regard, Exodus 34:10 says this about the covenant which God made with Israel after they had built the golden calf: “Then the LORD said: ‘I AM MAKING a covenant with you’” (Exodus 34:10, NIV). This is indeed the proper translation of the tense—God is referring to a new contract that He was about to enter into with the people. The Living Bible says it in a similar fashion: “This is the contract that I AM GOING TO MAKE with you.” The New American Bible states, “‘Here then,’ said the LORD, ‘is the covenant I WILL MAKE.’”

Later, just prior to crossing over the River Jordan to enter the Promised Land, Moses addressed the younger generation. He said in Deuteronomy 29:1, “These are the words of the covenant which the LORD commanded Moses to make with the children of Israel in the land of Moab, besides the covenant which He made with them in Horeb.”

It is important that we understand that a covenant does not constitute law, but is BASED on law. Covenants and laws are not identical. For instance, we are told in Joshua 7:11, “Israel has sinned [Sin is the transgression of the LAW, 1 John 3:4], and they have also transgressed My covenant which I commanded them.” When it comes to the covenant which God made with the younger generation at Moab, it was made on the basis of additional laws that had been written in the Book of the Law as time had gone on—laws that had not been the basis for the covenant(s) that God made with Israel at Mount Sinai a generation earlier. These additional laws had been added later because of sin, and included sacrificial rules, rituals, and other ceremonial washings, as well as curses and penalties (Galatians 3:15-19).

Some have claimed that the Old Covenant was identical to the Ten Commandments, and when the Old Covenant with its rituals became obsolete due to the death of Christ, the Ten Commandments vanished as well, and Christ brought a “new law” with just eight or nine of the Ten Commandments, while omitting the Sabbath commandment and the commandment against idolatry. This is nonsense. [Please read our booklet, “The Ten Commandments,” which addresses this false teaching in detail.] God’s covenants were all, in one way or another, based on the Ten Commandments which existed before God made ANY covenant with men. And insomuch as the covenants under Moses with the nation of Israel did not bring the Ten Commandments into existence, they did not do away with the Ten Commandments, when certain covenants became obsolete.

This becomes also clear when realizing that God made a separate covenant with the nation of Israel which is described in Exodus 31. We state the following in our booklet:

“The subject matter of this covenant was the Sabbath, but this covenant did not bring the Sabbath into existence. This covenant was made long after the Ten Commandments had been announced, and, as we saw earlier, the Sabbath commandment was already in existence since the time of the creation of man. So, we see again that a covenant is not identical with the law, although it is based on law.

“We read in Exodus 31:16, ‘Therefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant.’ In addition, the Sabbath law was now designated as a sign between God and Israel. Verses 13 and 17 tell us, ‘Surely My Sabbaths (this word is in the plural and refers to both weekly and annual Sabbaths or Holy Days) you shall keep, for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the LORD who sanctifies you… It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel forever…’

“By observing and being mindful of this sign, Israel would understand that it is God who sanctifies them, and Israel as a nation would become a sign to the other nations of this world, as the keeping of God’s Sabbaths does single one out. This separate Sabbath covenant between God and His people was never abolished—neither were the laws of God commanding us to keep His weekly and annual Sabbaths holy. And, since Christians are to be spiritual Jews (Romans 2:28–29; Galatians 6:16; Revelation 2:9; 3:9), they have a two-fold obligation to keep God’s Sabbaths—first, because God commands us to do so; and second, because they are under a specific covenant or agreement that God made with both physical and spiritual Israel, for all generations.”

In addition, the New Covenant is also based on the Ten Commandments, but not on laws that God has decreed are no longer valid. The New Covenant is not based, for example, on the sacrificial system, the Levitical priesthood, and other rituals and washings. But it is important that we understand why those particular laws are no longer valid. Not, because the “Old Covenant” was abolished, and with it all Old Testament laws. The concept that the “Old Covenant” ended, and with it all the laws of the Old Testament, is WRONG, as a covenant is not identical with the law, but it is BASED on the law. The Old Covenant ended, because it was based on laws which ended. We say this in our booklet:

“When analyzing the covenants that God made with the ancient nation of Israel at Mount Sinai and in Moab, God did away with those covenants [except for the Sabbaths covenant with Israel, which remains in force and effect], as too many laws on which those covenants had been based, had become obsolete. Also, God wanted to make a new covenant that would include additional promises that were never a part of the previous covenants with the nation of Israel. So, God abolished the previous covenants with the nation of Israel because certain laws on which the covenants were based were changed or abolished.”

(To Be Continued)

Lead Writer: Norbert Link

compiled by Dave Harris

“(When) Is Abortion Murder in the Eyes of God?” is the title of a new StandingWatch program, presented by Evangelist Norbert Link. Here is a summary: 

A leaked draft of US Supreme Court Judge Samuel Alito, stating that the majority opinion from the court would overturn Roe v. Wade, which legalized the right to abortion across the country, has been met with outrage and condemnation. Practicing Catholic politicians like Joe Biden, Nancy Pelosi or Chuck Schumer strongly opposed the proposed Court decision, saying that the woman’s right to choose must be upheld. But what about the right of the unborn child and of the father? What is GOD’s viewpoint? Is abortion wrong? And if wrong, is it only sometimes wrong, or is it always wrong and a sin and a crime in God’s eyes? 

Pentecost will be observed on Sunday, June 5, 2022. We will broadcast a live service at 12:30 pm, PST.

A new Member Letter (May 2022) has been written and posted. This letter reports on our recent Church Conference and will be sent to those who are on our mailing list.

“Niemals die Hoffnung aufgeben!” is the title of this Sabbath’s new German sermon, presented by Norbert Link. Title in English: “Never Forsake Hope!”

“Die Zehn Gebote,” is the title of a new German translation of our booklet, “The Ten Commandments.” This booklet is in the final stages of preparation for printing and has been sent to graphic artist, Shelly Bruno.

“Haben wir eine unsterbliche Seele?” is the title of a new German translation of our booklet, “Do We Have an Immortal Soul?” It has entered the final review cycle of our German Editorial Team. 

“Es werden sich alle Knie beugen,” the sermonette presented last Sabbath in Germany by Mike Richter, is now posted. Title in English: “All Knees Will Bow.”

“Two Mountains—Only One Choice,” the first split sermon presented last Sabbath by Frank Bruno, is now posted. Here is a summary:

When we do not trust in God and His promise for us, we fail to obey Him. The Israelites were brought to the edge of the promised land, yet still failed to trust in God—despite ample examples of God’s love and mercy for His chosen ones. Unbelief can be our undoing and lead us into sin. This Split Sermon will cover scriptures that bring to light the choice God places in front of us, and how we can grow stronger in our faith.

“A Broken Spirit,” the second split sermon presented last Sabbath by Eric Rank, is now posted. Here is a summary:

The Bible tells us that a broken spirit is a sacrifice to God. On the face of it, a broken spirit sounds like something that is a source of discouragement. This might seem contradictory to the faithful, positive attitude that Christians are also instructed to develop. What does it actually mean to have a broken spirit?

On May 7, 2022, Frank Bruno will present a spit-sermon, titled, “Two Mountains—Only One Choice,” and Eric Rank will present a split-sermon, titled, “A Broken Spirit.”

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 war in Ukraine, along with so many other conflicts, is revealing horrible and inhumane things. News reports are prefaced with a warning that “what we are about to see may be disturbing!”

How easily, it seems, people are driven to invade and mercilessly kill those from another nation. Human compassion appears to have been lost. However, incredible kindness has surfaced even in the mindless destruction occurring in Ukraine, and that is in the way other nations, notably, Poland—along with Romania, Moldova, Hungary, Slovakia and Germany—have taken in Ukrainian refugees numbering into multiple millions of displaced persons!

The practice of kindness appears to be the exception, though. Watching the daily news in the so-called democratic nations has become nearly unbearable, because what we see displayed are oftentimes terrible examples of vicious brutality. Only occasionally do we see a story in which tenderness, compassion or love of our fellow man is featured.

All of this should bring us to a bit of self-examination. Are we, as Christians, shining “as lights in the world” (Philippians 2:15)? One way in which we can do that is to practice kindness when it falls to us to do so.

Kindness within our families (including our church family) is so absolutely foundational in this regard.

Husbands are told to “love [their] wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her” (Ephesians 5:25). Wives are told to “submit to [their] own husbands, as is fitting in the Lord” (Colossians 3:18). Children are told to “obey [their] parents in the Lord, for this is right” (Ephesians 6:1). Brethren are told to “be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another” (Romans 12:10).

How is our family life? Are husbands kind to their wives and children? Are wives kind to their husbands and children? Are children kind to their parents? Do we treat our brethren with kindness?

Finally, consider the practice of kindness as it is presented in the following context:

“Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection” (Colossians 3:12-14).

We begin with the leak of a draft majority opinion of the US Supreme Court, overturning the landmark Roe v. Wade decision which had legalized abortion across the country.

We continue with controversial comments by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, stating, among other things, that Hitler had “Jewish blood,” causing strong condemnation from Israel which had been very careful, up to this point, not to upset Russia. Please view in this regard our new StandingWatch program, titled, “Did Hitler Have Jewish Blood?”

We also report on Hamas’ threats against Israel and Iran’s international terrorist activities.

We report on Putin’s alleged forthcoming operation and threats from Russia to destroy major cities in Europe, including London, Berlin and Paris, through the use of nuclear weapons and a “radioactive tsunami.”

We continue with the growing dissatisfaction and criticism against Germany’s chancellor Olaf Scholz—and the entire German elite—claiming, among many charges, that Scholz is acting due to pressure and not because of conviction, and asking whether Germany has a true leader. In this regard, please view our recent StandingWatch program, titled, “Weak German Government under Attack” . We also report on another “change of heart” by Germany regarding an embargo on Russian oil imports, while Hungary, Slovakia and other European nations are strongly opposed to such action.

We speak on Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Ukraine, while Joe Biden is being told not to visit, apparently because of his many unpredictable and embarrassing blunders. We also speak on Putin’s allies around the world, who, to a large extent, will ultimately be part of the prophesied “kings of the East.”

We conclude with further evidence of the godlessness of Canada and the terrible American school system.

Leaked Draft—Roe v. Wade to be Overturned?

Deutsche Welle wrote on May 5:

“Protesters gathered outside the US Supreme Court late on Monday after news outlet Politico released what it said was a draft majority opinion from the court overturning the landmark abortion judgment known as Roe v. Wade. Written by Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, the initial draft [which was drafted in February of 2022, without any information as to whether the initial draft was subsequently revised] is his opinion and what he believes reflects the opinion of at least four other conservative members of the top court. It does not reflect comments or reactions from other members of the nine-member court. It is also not the final decision, since the Supreme Court has not ruled on the case yet, and judges can also change their final vote.

“In the reported draft opinion, Alito said he believes that ‘Roe was egregiously wrong from the start… It is time to heed the Constitution and return the issue of abortion to the people’s elected representatives,’ the opinion reportedly adds.

“Roe v. Wade is the landmark US Supreme Court judgment of 1973 that legalized the right to abortion across the country. It was once again upheld in a 1992 ruling, which said states could not place an ‘undue burden’ on women seeking abortions before a fetus could survive outside the womb, at around 24 week…

“It is typical court procedure for a member of the court to write a draft of the court’s opinion after holding a preliminary vote on a case privately, but it is exceptional for the draft opinion to be leaked to the public as a case remains pending before it…. The Supreme Court is expected to rule on the case in June…”

Fox News added on May 4:

“Chief Justice John Roberts confirmed that Alito’s draft opinion… was genuine – although the draft dates back to February, and it does not represent the current or final opinion of the court.”

If Roe v. Wade is overturned, then each state is allowed to decide whether to allow, restrict or ban abortions within its own borders. It is estimated that 26 states would be certain or likely to restrict abortion procedures. In some cases, prosecutions could be brought against anyone aiding in obtaining an abortion. Practicing Catholic politicians like Joe Biden, Nancy Pelosi or Chuck Schumer strongly opposed the proposed decision, saying that the woman’s right to choose must be upheld and that the decision would be “one of the worst and most damaging decisions in modern history,” even though the Catholic Church prohibits most cases of abortion, focusing thereby on the killing of an innocent unborn child. Many conservatives surmise that the leak occurred to sway the court’s decision by a left-liberal outcry. The leak has been described as an “original sin for judicial ethics,” and “one of the greatest breaches of security in the history of the Court.”

Israel Upset Over Lavrov’s Comments About Hitler

Times of Israel wrote on May 2:

“Israeli leaders on Monday demanded an apology and denounced Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov for saying Nazi leader Adolf Hitler ‘had Jewish blood’ and that Jews are among the worst antisemites. Lavrov made the remarks during an interview with Italian television, in which he claimed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s Jewishness did not undercut Russia’s claims that its invasion of Ukraine was meant to ‘denazify’ the country.

“‘The aim of such lies is to blame the Jews themselves for the most terrible crimes in history that were committed against them, thus freeing from responsibility the oppressors of Israel,’ Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said in a statement from his office.

“Bennett’s denunciation followed stronger condemnation from Foreign Minister Yair Lapid and other Israeli ministers. ‘This is an unforgivable and scandalous comment, a terrible historical error and we expect an apology,’ Lapid said. ‘Hitler was not of Jewish origin and the Jews did not murder themselves in the Holocaust. The lowest form of racism against Jews is blaming the Jews themselves for antisemitism.’ Added Lapid: ‘We are making every effort to maintain good relations with Russia, but there is a line, and this time the line has been crossed. The Russian government  must apologize to us and to the Jewish people.’”

Breitbart added on May 2:

“Despite Israel’s ambivalent stance regarding the Russia-Ukraine war – the result of being a rare ally of both countries — its language has taken a stronger tone in recent weeks…”

Axios wrote on May 2:

“It’s the first time Israel has publicly condemned the Russian claim that Zelensky is a ‘Nazi.’… The condemnation is the latest example of how Israeli policy toward the Russian invasion of Ukraine has slowly shifted, with the Israeli government voicing more criticism of Russian action and showing more willingness to give aid to Ukraine. While Israel condemned the Russian invasion and recently accused Russia of committing war crimes, it has for many weeks taken a careful approach to the Ukraine crisis to ensure military cooperation with Russia in Syria continues.”

The “good” relationship between Russia and Israel will end.

The Daily Mail wrote on May 3:

“Russia has doubled down and accused Israel of supporting neo-Nazis in Ukraine in a bitter row sparked by Sergei Lavrov’s comments that Adolf Hitler had ‘Jewish blood’….  in a statement today, the Russian foreign ministry said Lapid’s comments were ‘anti-historical’ and ‘explaining to a large extent why the current Israeli government supports the neo-Nazi regime in Kyiv’… Moscow reiterated Lavrov’s point that Zelensky’s Jewish origins did not preclude Ukraine from being run by neo-Nazis.”

Hamas Threatens Israel

Times of Israel wrote on May 2:

“In a speech Saturday night filled with murderous threats and denunciations of Israel, Hamas’s Gaza leader Yahya Sinwar said the terror group ‘will not hesitate to take any steps’ if Israel ‘violates’ the Al-Aqsa Mosque… ‘Violating Al-Aqsa and Jerusalem means a regional, religious war,’ he said…

“Sinwar praised the recent terror wave against Israelis that has left 15 dead; encouraged Palestinians in the West Bank and Arab Israelis to commit more attacks; hailed a ‘global shift’ in favor of the Palestinian cause; and urged the Islamist Ra’am party to withdraw from Israel’s governing coalition… Ra’am suspended its membership in the coalition after the recent clashes between Palestinians and police at the Al-Aqsa Mosque. Although tensions have not escalated further, Ra’am has yet to officially rejoin the government…

“Sinwar further accused Israel of seeking to partition the Temple Mount as a ‘first step’ to ‘destroy the Al-Aqsa Mosque and build a temple’ in its place… ‘Al-Aqsa is indeed in danger,’ Sinwar said…

“As for Arabs living in Israel, he urged them, too, to kill Israelis: ‘Our people living inside the occupier state — in the Negev, in the [northern] Triangle, in Haifa, in Acre, in Jaffa and in Lod — everybody who has a gun should take it, and those who don’t have a gun should take a butcher’s knife or any knife he can get,’ he said…”

Iran’s International Terrorist Activities

The Jerusalem Post wrote on April 30:

“[Israel’s] Mossad – operating in Iran – apprehended and interrogated an Iranian national who was leading a plot to kill an Israeli diplomat and a US general, sources have confirmed. An audio recording released on Saturday showed a photo of Mansour Rasouli admitting he had been ordered to establish a cell to assassinate a worker at the Israeli Consulate in Istanbul, a US general stationed in Germany and a journalist in France…

“The Quds Force, the IRGC branch responsible for overseas operations, planned to carry out the assassinations via drug cartels, with the Islamic Republic reportedly willing to pay over $1 million for the targets. The planned hits were organized by a member of Quds Force’s Unit 840 stationed in Europe, who was paid $150,000 to ‘prepare for the assassinations’ by using his connections to various European drug lords.

“Unit 840 is a relatively secretive operational unit that organizes terrorist infrastructure outside Iran against Western targets and opposition groups… Defense officials said the failed assassinations join a long list of similar plots, including recent ones in Kenya and Colombia. Turkish, British and American reports over the last few years have accused Iran of using major international crime organizations to help advance its goals abroad, which include carrying out terrorist plots.”

Putin to Be Operated and His Powers Transferred?

The Sun wrote on April 30:

“[Putin] has been source of considerable speculation amid reports that he is battling both abdominal cancer and Parkinson’s Disease. But now it has been reported that 69-year-old Putin could soon vanish as he goes under the knife, with power transferred to Nikolai Patrushev.

“Shadowy Patrushev, 70, is seen as a key architect of the Ukraine war strategy and the man who convinced Putin that Kyiv was awash with neo-Nazis.  The claim was reported on Russian media outlet General SVR, which first raised issues of Putin’s health around 18-months ago…

“When exactly Putin will go into hospital is unclear but it is unlikely to [be] before May 9, when he presides over the grandiose Red Victory Day commemoration of the defeat of Hitler…

“An all-out war [against Ukraine] would allow Moscow to draft in more conscripts, impose martial law and also bid for support from its international allies – such as Belarus.”

Destroying Europe?

The Sun wrote on May 2:

“RUSSIAN state TV has threatened to drown the UK under a radioactive tsunami in a bizarre new propaganda video. In the chilling broadcast the presenter also showed how the Kremlin’s latest world-ending Satan 2 nuclear missile could also annihilate Britain. The warning comes as the Kremlin raised the prospect of devastating military strikes on Britain over its deal to supply weapons to Ukraine… host Dmitry Kiselyov heralded Russia’s second option to ‘plunge Britain into the depths of the sea’ with its ‘underwater robotic drone Poseidon.’ In a chilling graphic he warned the missile would raise a giant tsunami wave up to 1,640ft high…

“Putin himself last week darkly warned of using nuclear weapons against the UK and its European allies as devastating nuke maps were broadcast across Russian TV. It gleefully warned Berlin can be nuked in 106 seconds, Paris in 200 seconds and London in 202 seconds. The Sarmat hypersonic 208-ton ’Satan-2’ intercontinental ballistic missile has a speed of 15,880mph and is claimed by the Kremlin leader to be ‘unstoppable’…

“Sergei Lavrov said the risk of World War 3 is now ‘considerable’ – saying the West is essentially fighting a proxy war against Moscow via its support for Kyiv…

The Mirror added April 30:

“Russian state TV simulated a terrifying nuclear strike on Europe, declaring there would be ‘no survivors’… The terrifying claims… were made on the popular TV show which is one of the country’s most watched.”

This will not happen now, but nuclear war, involving Russia and Europe, WILL happen in the future.

Criticism Against Scholz

The Daily Mail wrote on April 29:

“After two months of prevarication and excuses, the German government at last agreed this week to send some heavy armour to Ukraine… Better late than never, you might think. Except that the 50 Gepard (German for cheetah) anti-aircraft vehicles it has approved first saw service in the 1960s and, despite several upgrades, haven’t been part of the German army’s arsenal for over a decade… Military experts say it’s a complicated weapon that requires months of training (five months, for example, when the Romanian army acquired it), a constant stream of spare parts — and ammunition from Switzerland, which the Swiss have not yet agreed to send.

“No wonder Ukrainians feel Germany’s heart is not quite in its efforts to arm them with the weapons it desperately and quickly needs.

“Yet it’s only just over two months since Scholz made an historic speech to the German parliament which was hailed at the time as a watershed. In an address which lasted just under an hour, as Russian armour and troops poured across the border in an unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, the recently elected chancellor laid waste to Germany’s long-standing policy of cosying up to the Kremlin. He promised billions more for defence to end the hollowing out of Germany’s military, support for sanctions against Moscow and even weapons for Ukraine. When he sat down, 16 years of Merkelism — the pro-Russian approach of his predecessor, Angela Merkel — lay in tatters.

“It was all the more remarkable coming from a chancellor whose Social Democrat party had always been in the vanguard of rapprochement with Russia — a policy known as Ostpolitik, which dates back to the early 1960s.Yet in the aftermath of this supposed watershed, Scholz was nowhere to be seen. It was almost as if he’d gone into hiding…

“Sympathetic commentators reminded us that Scholz was in coalition with the Greens, who dabbled in pacifism, and had to accommodate the Left of his own party, which still had a soft spot for Ostpolitik despite Russian barbarities in Ukraine. But the Greens let it be known they were in favour of sending heavy weapons and the Left kept their heads down. Another pathetic excuse bit the dust…

“Die Welt, one of Germany’s most respected newspapers, calls Scholz’s failure to follow through after his watershed speech as ‘the most dangerous miscalculation in the history of the Federal Republic’. It’s a crisis for the whole German political establishment, since all of it — Left, Right and centre plus big business and trade unions — has been implicated in the sorry mess that Germany’s long-standing complicity with the Kremlin has become.

“As perhaps Germany’s most egregious Putin puppet, former chancellor Gerhard Schroder, recently confessed: ‘We were all at it for 30 years.’ As chairman of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, and board director of oil giant Rosneft, he has been filling his boots with Russian energy company treasure for years — and still is.

“The German establishment has been more vociferously critical of Brexit Britain than of Putin’s Russia. Now it’s paying the price for its Kremlin complicity. Schroder’s great mate, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, is Germany’s head of state. His ties with Moscow are so extensive that Kyiv has declared him persona non grata. Ukraine’s ambassador to Berlin refuses to be in the same room as him.

“The contrast between Germany’s political leaders and the female leaders who have been dubbed the Five Warrior Women of the North could not be starker — or more refreshing. Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Estonia and Lithuania are all led by smart, feisty women who’ve been fiercely critical of Putin from even before the invasion and robustly supportive of Ukraine since…

“The decision to become increasingly reliant on Russian hydrocarbons was entirely of Germany’s own making. It was not forced to go down this route. Important voices at home and abroad warned Germany not to do it. They were ignored. It was a terrible mistake with huge geopolitical consequences that are now tragically unfolding for all to see…”

Germany has messed it up big time for many years.

Deutsche Welle wrote on April 30:

“When it comes to the war in Ukraine, Chancellor Olaf Scholz has insisted that Germany is ‘doing everything’ possible. And yet the gap between his words and actions suggests otherwise… Earlier this week, I blinked, and something that Olaf Scholz had spent weeks insisting was impossible suddenly became possible. Germany will start delivering anti-aircraft tanks to Ukraine. Like so much of German policy on the war in Ukraine, including the initial decision back in late February to send any weapons at all, the announcement came out of the blue: Just hours before, leading members of Scholz’s Social Democratic Party had given interviews saying sending heavy weapons was out of the question. Apparently, they didn’t get the memo — or Scholz left them in the dark, as he reportedly did to some of his ministers when he proposed a major budget hike for the Bundeswehr (Germany’s armed forces) in the days following the Russian invasion.

“In the leadup to the war and ever since, Germany’s default position has been we can’t: We can’t send weapons to a conflict zone, we can’t block Russia from SWIFT, (international payment system), we can’t embargo Russian energy, we can’t send heavy weapons — the list goes on… the fact that so many ‘can’t do’s’ have turned into ‘can do’s’ reveals a discrepancy between the chancellor’s rhetoric and Germany’s feet-dragging actions… Scholz seems to be acting out of pressure rather than conviction… The spontaneous U-turns, where the impossible becomes possible overnight, suggests that ‘can’t’ may really be ‘don’t want to’ in disguise.

“… at the moment, Germans don’t seem keen on making sacrifices. A poll released Thursday showed that only every other German was willing to give things up in daily life to help Ukraine. But public support can shift… Germany has the tools to do much, much more. The question is does it have the leader.”

Of course, the answer is obvious. None right now. But it will change in due time.

The Guardian wrote on May 1:

 “The German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, has defended himself against accusations that his approach to Russian aggression has been hesitant and timid, insisting his decisions followed close consultation with Germany’s allies and sought to avoid any suspicion that the country was ‘going it alone’. Scholz has faced fierce criticism even from within his own government and last week came under particular fire from the opposition leader, Friedrich Merz, who accused him of weak leadership and of ‘procrastination, dithering and timidity’…

“Scholz appeared to bow to immense domestic and international pressure last week by announcing that Germany would deliver heavy weaponry to Ukraine, in the form of self-propelled anti-aircraft systems, in what was seen as a sharp policy U-turn. But while the outspoken Ukrainian ambassador to Berlin, Andriy Melnyk, said he welcomed the move, he piled further pressure on Scholz on Sunday by insisting it did not go nearly far enough, and demanding more ‘fantasy and courage’ from Germany… Melnyk… said that the Gepard anti-aircraft guns promised last week were insufficient and too old…

“As debate raged among policymakers in Germany as to when and whether Germany can become independent from Russian gas supplies, the news agency DPA reported that the government was planning to support EU plans for a Russian oil embargo, as part of a sixth round of sanctions about to be announced by the bloc, despite opposition from Hungary, Austria, Slovakia, Spain, Italy and Greece….”

Hungary Opposed to Ban of Russian Oil and Gas

Express wrote on May 2:

“Senior officials in Hungary have warned that Budapest is prepared to block any attempts in the European Union to impose sanctions on Russia’s oil industry… Hungary has warned that if these measures would hinder Budapest’s ability to import energy, the country would be ready to veto it… Hungarian Cabinet Minister Gergely Gulyas told HirTV on Sunday: ‘Since such decisions require unanimity, it makes no sense for the commission to propose sanctions affecting natural gas and crude oil that would restrict Hungarian procurements. ‘We’ve made it clear that we’ll never support.’…

“ An official told Reuters that in order to keep the 27-nation bloc united, the EU Commission might offer Slovakia and Hungary ‘an exemption or a long transition period’… German Vice-Chancellor Robert Habeck warned that there was still no unity among the EU member states on whether to ban Russian oil and gas.”

Germany Suddenly for Oil Embargo?

Deutsche Welle wrote on May 2:

“German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has said Berlin was ready to support a gradual, EU-wide embargo on Russian oil imports… [Economy and Climate Minister Robert] Habeck admitted that higher prices in Germany were there for the long run, as the state could not cushion all energy price increases… But he said that for a number of firms, the consequences of higher energy costs would not kick in until 2023, as many companies had long-term contracts on fixed terms…

“Habeck said that most of the current energy supplies arriving from Russia go to the Schwedt refinery near Berlin… responding to Habeck’s comments, the city of Schwedt issued a statement calling into question his assurances that an embargo was ‘feasible,’ and accusing the government of ‘dictating terms from afar’ for the city’s main business.”

Breitbart added on May 2:

“Germany’s central bank has warned that should the country entirely cut off Russian energy it could severely increase inflation and damage economic growth, warning that the economic powerhouse of the European Union could experience a two per cent decline in GDP this year. However, despite the move to cut off Russian oil, the government has not made any commitments to cutting off liquid natural gas from Moscow…

“At present, the European Union pays Russia some €780 million ($850/£680 million) per day in exchange for oil and natural gas. Since the invasion of Ukraine began in February, the bloc has sent over €44 billion to Russia, accounting for 71 per cent of Russian energy exports. Germany, the largest single nation buyer [of] Russian gas and oil in the EU, has sent more than €9 billion since the start of the invasion.”

Pelosi in Ukraine

Axios wrote on May 1:

“House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Sunday led a congressional delegation to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv…

“For the time being, the White House has ruled out sending President Biden, citing security concerns.”

The real reason might very well be that Democrats are concerned about what Biden might say or do during a visit to Ukraine. Note the next article.

Biden’s Embarrassing Blunders

The New York Post wrote on April 29:

“Gaffe-prone President Biden has raised concerns after his latest embarrassing blunder, which saw him repeatedly stumble over the word ‘kleptocracy’ during a Thursday speech asking the US Congress for an additional $33 billion Ukraine aid package… Biden, 79, was talking about his administration’s plans to seize Russian assets when he ran into some linguistic trouble. ‘We’re going to seize their yachts, their luxury homes, and other ill-begotten gains of Putin’s kleptoc- — yeah — kleptocracy and klep- — the guys who are the kleptocracies,’ Biden told reporters with a self-deprecating chuckle…

“Moments earlier, Biden also mistakenly said [twice] that the US will ‘accommodate’ the Russian oligarchs ‘and make sure we take their — take their ill-begotten gains.’”

Putin’s Allies

Express wrote on May 2:

“Putin and his regime is becoming increasingly desperate in Ukraine, where it has struggled to make gains beyond the country’s outskirts while facing international condemnation. Some world leaders have supported the invading regime, breaking from the global consensus… He isn’t without support, as he has scattered allegiances around the world. Most of them come from Eastern Europe, but some surprising officials have warmly welcomed members of the Russian regime in the last few months.

“Chief among them is Alexander Lukashenko, the controversial premier of Belarus, known as the ‘last dictator in Europe’… Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has also supported the Russian regime… Vucic has boasted about his political ties with his Russian counterpart. He has refused to condemn Russia and participate in the EU’s sanctions regime, despite having applied for membership, undermining the bloc’s work to discourage attacks on Ukraine…

“Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban attained another term this year. Almost immediately after winning his election in April, Orban dropped his attempts to distance himself from his historical backing of Putin and criticised Volodymyr Zelensky. He called Ukraine’s leader an ‘opponent’ of Hungary, and the Kremlin said that Putin sent him a personal message of congratulations after his win…

“Further east, Putin’s regime has found support from the Indian government… India has continued to trade with Russia despite western sanctions and increased oil imports, undercutting efforts from other nations… Earlier this month, officials organised a vote to condemn Russia that 143 nations supported, including the US, UK, France and Germany. But India, Pakistan, Iran and China were among the abstainers, and the vote exposed four other supporters of Putin, whose administration voted against it… Syria, Belarus, North Korea and Eritrea all voted not to condemn the invasion. Belarus was already aiding Putin in Ukraine, while the remaining nations voiced their distaste for western interventionism.”

The Jerusalem Post wrote on April 30:

“Americans… responded negatively to the relationship between Russia and China, which has not denounced Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine… Some 62% saw the relationship as a very serious problem for the US and another 30% saw it as somewhat serious.”

It is interesting that some of the nations mentioned in the quoted articles will ultimately unite and become part of the Far Eastern military alliance, which is described in the Bible as the “kings of the East.”

Russia’s Robot Army

Express wrote on May 4:

“Russian military expert Viktor Murakhovsky warned… ‘there is a myth abroad that Russia lags behind in robotics.’ In reality, he claimed, no other army in the world possesses such a diverse range of unmanned vehicles and drones as the Russian Federation. Given recent investments by Putin’s forces in the arena of robotics, this is a situation that appears unlikely to change any time soon.

“Mr Murakhovsky said: ‘Today’s Russian army is the successor of the Red Army, which created remote-controlled tanks back in the 1930s.’ Mr Murakhovsky told Russia Beyond: ‘After the war, pilotless planes were developed in the USSR…  in terms of land and sea robots it has the most extensive program in the world.”

Collaboration Between Ukrainians and Russians

The Washington Post wrote on May 4:

“Rumors about traitors run rife as invading forces have seemed to know in advance which residents have guns and which are said to be wealthy…

“In small towns and villages across Ukraine that fell under Russian occupation in February and March and have since been liberated, the fog of war has been replaced by the fog of conspiracy and suspicion. Weeks later, citizens across the country speak in hushed tones about people who they believe sold out their neighbors and whether they might have done so willingly or under duress.”

Pope Francis Blames NATO for the War

The Daily Beast wrote on May 3:

“‘I feel that before going to Kyiv, I must go to Moscow,’ [Pope Francis] told Corriere Della Sera in an interview that ran Tuesday. But the meeting would not exactly be to condemn Putin, based on what he told the paper. He said that the real ‘scandal’ of Putin’s war is ‘NATO barking at Russia’s door,’ which he said caused the Kremlin to ‘react badly and unleash the conflict.’…

“Francis repeated comments he has made in general audiences and in other interviews that the war is nothing more than a giant opportunity for a ‘trade in arms’ and that it is still ongoing because of the constant shuttling of weapons to Ukraine…

“Francis veered toward conspiracy theory as he blamed the international community for instigating the war… ‘In Ukraine, it seems that it was others who created the conflict…’”

Ungodly Canada

The Spectator wrote on April 30:

“Since last year, Canadian law… has allowed both the rich as well as the poor to kill themselves if they are too poor to continue living with dignity… [Canada] will even pay for their deaths. What it will not do is spend money to allow them to live instead of killing themselves…

“In 2015, the Supreme Court of Canada reversed 22 years of its own jurisprudence by striking down the country’s ban on assisted suicide as unconstitutional… The next year, Parliament duly enacted legislation allowing euthanasia, but only for those who suffer from a terminal illness whose natural death was ‘reasonably foreseeable’…

“It only took five years for the proverbial slope to come into view, when the Canadian parliament enacted Bill C-7, a sweeping euthanasia law which repealed the ‘reasonably foreseeable’ requirement – and the requirement that the condition should be ‘terminal’… Even before Bill C-7 was enacted, reports of abuse were rife. A man with a neurodegenerative disease testified to Parliament that nurses and a medical ethicist at a hospital tried to coerce him into killing himself by threatening to bankrupt him with extra costs or by kicking him out of the hospital, and by withholding water from him for 20 days. Virtually every disability rights group in the country opposed the new law. To no effect…

“Since then, things have only gotten worse. A woman in Ontario was forced into euthanasia because her housing benefits did not allow her to get better housing which didn’t aggravate her crippling allergies. Another disabled woman applied to die because she ‘simply cannot afford to keep on living’. Another sought euthanasia because Covid-related debt left her unable to pay for the treatment which kept her chronic pain bearable…

“[The media] has expressed remarkably little curiosity about the open social murder of citizens in one of the world’s wealthiest countries. Perhaps, like many doctors, journalists are afraid of being accused of being ‘unprogressive’ for questioning the new culture of death…

“Next year, the floodgates will open even further when those suffering from mental illness … become eligible for assisted suicide, although enthusiastic doctors and nurses have already pre-emptied the law. There is already talk of allowing ‘mature minors’ access to euthanasia too…”

This is terrible. But those responsible will be held accountable by God.

Schools Must Stop Indoctrinating Our Children

Dr. Ron Paul of the Ron Paul Institute wrote on May 2:

“A Florida bill restricting classroom instruction regarding sexuality in kindergarten through third grade has become the latest culture war skirmish. Supporters of the bill say government schools have no business being involved in this type of instruction with young students. They make a good point. The use of government power to indoctrinate children in certain political and social beliefs — regardless of the wishes of parents — is a major problem.

“While the instruction at issue in Florida is associated with efforts of leftists, the temptation to seek to achieve ideological objectives through education policy can be strong among conservatives as well… [Some] conservatives are trying to force schools to adopt a ‘patriotic’ curriculum. This is just as pernicious as leftists’ efforts to force schools to teach critical race theory. Students indoctrinated in critical race theory will graduate believing that white male capitalists are the source of all evil. Students indoctrinated in ‘patriotism’ will graduate believing every bit of propaganda sponsored by the war party and will smear all dissenters from the ‘party line’ as unpatriotic…

“In a free society, parents — not politicians, bureaucrats, or teachers unions — would control education. Parents would decide whether and when their children’s education will include topics like sexuality, race theory, and the evidence for and against Darwinism.”

The school system in the USA is awful.

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 literal act of littering is not directly and expressly addressed in the Bible, but neither are such areas as smoking, vaccinations and other matters. But there are many principles that show that we can learn from God’s Word even if a specific area cannot be found in Scripture.

 We will find out in this Q&A that littering is something that we must take seriously. There may be those who see this question and think that it is so obvious that it need not be addressed in the Church of God. But it does because we can all fall short in this area even though it may be considered a little thing.  After all, Christ said: “He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much” (Luke 16:10).  As a spin-off to littering, we will also address neatness and tidiness.

Life is made up of many small things, and we do need to take those small things seriously.

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines litter as: “trash, wastepaper, or garbage lying scattered about; an untidy accumulation of objects.”

Let us bring to mind how big a problem this can be.  It was reported in July 2019 that the “Glastonbury (music) Festival has been left with a sea of litter left to be cleaned up – just hours after Sir David Attenborough appeared on the Pyramid stage to praise the festival’s anti-plastic campaign. But some were left asking about Glastonbury’s ‘Plastic free’ mantra as photos showed the devastating mess left in the wake of the world’s most famous festival.

“Around 1,300 volunteers are taking on the gargantuan task, using bin bags from recycled plastic to hand sort debris left on the ground and across the festival site’s 15,000 bins.  The clean-up of the festival takes an estimated six-weeks to complete.”

Mr Armstrong, the late human leader of the now defunct Worldwide Church of God, used to comment on the yearly Rose Parade in Pasadena as one of the most beautiful things this world was able to offer, but also bemoaned the terrible amount of trash and litter being left behind after the event, saying that in this world, even the most beautiful things are being polluted and defiled.

There was a series of programmes on British television in 2021 about the workings of Chatsworth House showing all that goes on behind the scenes as well as the facilities that are available. The Church held the annual Feast of Tabernacles at this site for 10 years between 1999-2009 in what is a truly millennial setting.  However, one day that it was opened to the public during different lockdowns during 2020, an area was designated for use by those wishing to have a picnic.   The amount of waste left was staggering with many staff taking hours just to clean up the area.

We read on the website trashhero.org the following: “Litter is what we call trash when it ends up outside a bin or landfill.  Litter is bad for animals and people. Plastic waste suffocates, disables and kills thousands of animals each year. Litter is dirty and spoils our environment.

“Turtles, seals, birds and dolphins often mistake plastic waste for food. Plastic bags floating in the water can look like jellyfish, for example. After animals eat plastic, their intestines get blocked and their normal food can’t be digested properly. If they eat too much plastic, their stomachs always feel full, so they don’t eat anything else. Eventually they can starve to death. Plastic also contains lots of nasty chemicals that can poison animals and cause internal injuries.

“Animals often get entangled in plastic bags. This means they can suffocate, starve or drown. It also makes it easier for predators to catch them. Plastic bags constrict an animal’s movement which means they can get exhausted, or sometimes develop an infection from wounds caused by material wrapped around them. Plastic packaging can sink to the ocean floor, get wrapped around and smother coral reefs. Inland, plastic blocks drains, allowing mosquitoes to breed and spread dengue fever. Litter makes the beach look dirty. Sharp objects like broken glass can cut your feet. Because of this, there may be fewer visitors and local people will have less income from tourism.”

We should be able to see that litter is a real problem which so many seem to treat with disdain or contempt.

In an article by the Los Angeles Times, dated April 14, 2022, the following was stated:

“The Los Angeles City Council passed two motions… to address illegal dumping on the streets and in vacant lots of trash and junk like appliances, furniture, tires and other waste… ‘We live in a very trashy city,’ [Councilmember Kevin] de León said… ‘In terms of a large metropolitan city, we are the trashiest largest city in America.’ The city controller’s office reported last year that illegal dumping of trash, debris and hazardous items in public areas increased 450% between 2016 and 2020.”

Let us review a few Scriptures which reflect the Way of God.

In Genesis 2:15, right at beginning of civilization, we read: “Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it.”

In bibleref.com, we read: “One of the most important lessons which jumps out from this verse is that immediately after he was created, the first man had a God-given purpose. God placed him into the paradise of the garden of Eden with a job to do. God had created a world which included work needing to be done; He created man with a mission to do that work. Logically, God didn’t need to structure the world in this way. He could have created a world that was fully self-sustaining. He could have made human beings to simply live in luxury and enjoy all of God’s creation without ever having to contribute anything. That, however, was not God’s design. Even before [human] sin entered the world, human beings were meant to work, to help to accomplish God’s purpose. That is built into us.”

We should note what the angels say to God about those who pollute and destroy the environment: “We give You thanks, O LORD God Almighty… Your wrath has come, And the time… that you… should destroy those who destroy the earth” (Revelation 11:17-18).

Likewise, today we are not to dismiss looking after our gardens, if we have one.  To keep it neat, tidy and functional is the way that we are expected to deal with this.

In Matthew 7:12, we read about how we should treat others: “Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.”  Those who leave litter on someone else’s grounds would probably not appreciate others littering their own place. Therefore, we should treat other people’s property with the respect that we would ourselves expect to receive.

There is a graphic example in Mark 6:38-44 with Jesus and the loaves and fishes as we read: ^“But He said to them, ‘How many loaves do you have? Go and see.’  And when they found out they said, ‘Five, and two fish.’ Then He commanded them to make them all sit down in groups on the green grass.   So they sat down in ranks, in hundreds and in fifties.   And when He had taken the five loaves and the two fish, He looked up to heaven, blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to His disciples to set before them; and the two fish He divided among them all.   So they all ate and were filled.   And they took up twelve baskets full of fragments and of the fish.  Now those who had eaten the loaves were about five thousand men.”

They didn’t leave all the fragments for others to clear up as would probably happen today, but they cleared up after the event. Of course, Christ made clear that He wanted the fragments to be gathered up “so that nothing is lost” (John 6:12). In addition, picking up food from the ground might not have been very hygienic.   Perhaps showing the magnitude of the miracle that 5,000 men plus women and children had been fed with five loaves and two fish was astonishing only to be compounded even further by the amount of fragments that had been left.   It also showed that littering was not the way it should be and they would have left the area in the same way that they had found it. It is a good principle not to leave a place dirtier than how we found it.

We see the aspect of service that is not in evidence when serving others is not shown.  In Galatians 5:13 we read: “For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.”   Loving and serving others is not manifested by selfishly leaving a pile of litter for others to dispose of.

Looking after the interests of others is clearly shown in Philippians 2:3-4: “Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better [higher] than himself.  Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.”

Do we as the people of God engage in littering of any kind?   Have we ever carelessly discarded a food wrapper or an empty drink can?  If there are no bins for depositing such rubbish, then we are obliged to take these home or to another place where they may be disposed of in the right way.  Have we ever thrown a discarded item out of our car window?

Have we ever engaged in some form of fly-tipping which is the illegal dumping of liquid or solid waste on land or in water?  The waste is usually dumped to avoid disposal costs and such a mess  that is created by such selfishness, has to be dealt with by others.

Do we always pick up after our dog once it has done its “business” on the front yard of somebody else’s property? After all, it isn’t exactly the most enjoyable chore we’ll ever engage in. It can be tempting to skip this task, but doing so may even be illegal in many places.

Part of rebellious mankind’s modus operandi is that man thinks that he can do exactly as he pleases without regard to planet Earth or any of his fellow human beings.   It is an attitude that is ugly and uncaring, and we must ensure that we don’t slip into doing the same thing, perhaps even thoughtlessly.

The above examples are a part of being neat and tidy.   Are our homes untidy, maybe even scruffy?   Of course, for some who have illness or disability problems, this can be a difficult area to keep control of.   We know that where there is dirt and litter, vermin can be attracted to such areas, and so it is vital that we eliminate any possibility of this happening in our own homes.   And home is where we spend the majority of our time, and so, why shouldn’t it be a delightful place to dwell?

A good question to ask is, are we always prepared for any visitors to enter our home or do we have to specifically prepare well in advance?   For those who are always clean, neat and tidy and keep their home that way, there is no such concern for any unexpected visit. Of course, we understand that there might be and oftentimes are valid exceptions, but we are speaking in general terms.

One website wrote about “Messy Home, Messy Life, Messy Saint” and observed: “And, your yard. What do you announce to the neighborhood about yourself if there is trash all around? Hoses wind around like green spaghetti. The flower pots still have desiccated geraniums in them that were killed last fall by freezing weather. Clean it up, and throw away the stupid stuff which you once thought you might use. And, if much of the junk is your kids’ stuff, make them help you. If your kids are too mean spirited to clean up their own trash, you are not raising them– they are raising YOU.”   Very straightforward advice but true to those who have eyes to see and ears to hear.

Let us think about heaven, God’s abode.   Of course, it is spiritual and not physical, and we really can only wonder about the spiritual realm but would the One who created the universe and everything we see, be dirty, untidy and uncaring about presentation?   We should all know the answer to that question and, as we are to be growing in grace and knowledge to become more like God, we would surely want to follow Him in all His ways.

God would surely disapprove of anyone leaving His creation in an untidy mess with trash and general litter marring the beauty that is our planet and it makes unnecessary work for others to do when we should be doing this ourselves.  Anything that reduces or inhibits the proper enjoyment and full use of our God-given environment will not be met with God’s approval. Leaving rubbish for others to clear up is selfish and unthinking.

What sort of message does it send out to the young people growing up today when their parents and family just throw rubbish anywhere they want?   And when they take little or no interest in keeping their home, clean, tidy and litter-free?

It is interesting that the Singapore project has produced amazing results showing that attacking the littering problem can be very advantageous.  We read the following in an article by the BBC::

“Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, there were campaigns that urged Singaporeans to keep toilets, factories and bus stops clean. The 1976 Use Your Hands campaign had students, parents, teachers, principals and civil servants cleaning up schools at the weekend. There were also numerous tree planting initiatives. The aim wasn’t just to make the city more pleasant. A cleaner city, Lee Kuan Yew reasoned, would create a stronger economy. ‘These standards will keep morale high, sickness rate low, and so create the necessary social conditions for higher economic growth in industry and in tourism. This will contribute to the public good, and in the end to everyone’s personal benefit,’ he said.

“On all of these counts, Singapore has done well. Life expectancy has grown from 66 to 83 (which is third best globally). In 1967, tourist arrivals were a little over 200,000 compared to a just shy of 10 million for the first three quarters of 2018. Inward foreign direct investment ballooned from US$93m in 1970 to US$39bn in 2010. It’s now the fifth largest recipient of, foreign direct investment receiving $66bn in 2017.”

Doing the right thing will always produce good results, as we see in the above example.   For anyone visiting Singapore, they will see a litter-free environment as littering is very heavily punished.  People have been “trained” not to litter and to keep things neat and tidy, and it is a joy to see this actually working, which is in great contrast to the many nations of the world who have little or no control on such matters.

There is no specific command in the Bible not to litter but if there was, it would probably be ignored by most people like all of the other Commandments of God are.  We shouldn’t litter because it is not the Way of God, nor is it helpful to man as we have seen.   Let us be the best example we can be to all people and do that which is pleasing in His sight.

If you have read this and feel that you have not been guilty or are totally on top of this matter, then congratulations to you.   Most will surely be able to identify with being slack in this area at times, and if that is so, then maybe this presentation may be just the nudge that you need!

Let us make ourselves a committee of one to ensure that we are not part of this problem and that we always set the best possible example!

Lead Writer: Brian Gale (United Kingdom)

compiled by Dave Harris

“Did Hitler Have Jewish Blood?” is the title of a new StandingWatch program, presented by Evangelist Norbert Link. Here is a summary:

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov was condemned by Israel, as well as many others, for his recent comments that Nazi leader Adolf Hitler “had Jewish blood.” But where does this idea come from? And can it teach us something about the arrival of the coming beast mentioned in the book of Revelation and other prophetic biblical books?

“Hatte Hitler jüdisches Blut?” is the title of a new AufPostenStehen program, presented by Norbert Link. This program covers the same topic as described above.

“Geheimnisse offenbart! Unsere Auferstehung zum ewigen Leben,” is the title of this Sabbath’s new German sermon, presented by Norbert Link. Title in English:“Mysteries Revealed! Our Resurrection to Eternal Life.”

“Was sagt die Bibel über Krieg?”, the sermonette presented last Sabbath by Dmitrij Niemann, is now posted. Title in English: “What Does the Bible Say About War?”

We are very pleased to announce the ordination of Elder Eric Rank to the office of Pastor. This was done on the Sabbath by the ministry during our annual Church Conference. We will report on more details about the Conference in our May Member Letter.

“Impossible Without a Miracle,” the sermonette presented last Sabbath by Brian Gale, is now posted. Here is a summary:

This message contains some conjecture about the place of safety which is promised to the true church at the time of the Great Tribulation.  Scripture is clear about the event but neither the place nor the timing is known, nor are the travel arrangements!  Some speculative ideas are reviewed as to how this might happen.

“Equality with God in His Kingdom?”,the sermon presented last Sabbath by Norbert Link, is now posted. Here is a summary:

Is it our destiny to attain equality with God? Or just a certain resemblance? Is Christ equal to God or just similar to Him? What does it mean to inherit the Kingdom of God? What IS the Kingdom of God? Do we have to do something to inherit it? What is meant by “born again”? Who or what is God? IS God a Family, or does He just HAVE a Family? What is the connection between God, the God Family, and the Kingdom of God? What is the gospel of the Kingdom? And finally, what is the most important work of God on earth today?