On March 28, 2020, Norbert Link will present “Comments on News and Prophecy (March 28, 2020),” and the sermon, titled, “God’s Message to Laodicea.”

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.

Restrictions get tighter and our “freedom” grows increasingly limited when it comes to what we were able to do just weeks ago. The question is whether more drastic measures are in the immediate future as cases of the Coronavirus increase and a “handle” on it looks grimmer, while leaders grasp for answers on how to deal with this crisis.

As the days continue, measures to cope with this new lifestyle become more extreme with “stay-at-home” orders. In focusing on California, people were encouraged just recently to go outside and go hiking, go to the beach, go to the park, and limit gatherings to less than 10 persons, and at the same time practicing “social distancing.” Yet, the public did what they assumed was “ok” to do, based on this convoluted information, until these recommendations were changed in California once again, leading to complete closures of beaches and parks and hiking trails along with threats of $1000 fines due to the overcrowding of people “gathering” at these places.

When there is nothing else to do, what can one expect?  Now everyone is restricted from what one can do outside.  What will the next day bring?  As the days go by, people’s patience will run out and stress, depression and anxiety will increase, which could very well lead to anger and taking matters into one’s own hands.  According to a report by CNN, dated March 19, “Gun sellers across the United States are reporting major spikes in firearm and bullet purchases as the coronavirus spreads across the country… ‘The world has never seen anything like this and people want to make sure they’re prepared for whatever lies ahead, whether that be food shortages, government shutdown, or worse,’ a spokesperson for Ammo.com said in an emailed statement. ‘When everything around you is uncertain, having a supply of ammunition can make our customers feel safer.’” This is a scary scenario and if people get tested on what they can or can’t do anymore, can we imagine what this could lead to, perhaps if martial law went into effect?

On March 10, 2017, I wrote an editorial, titled, “Civil War in America?” where this question was asked regarding the very possibility of this occurring in the near future, but at that time it focused on controversial governmental decisions which angered many people; yet were supported by others.  We saw then a stark contrast in viewpoints from two different sides within the nation. Much hasn’t changed since then.  In fact, things have gotten A LOT worse, as we can see now reactions to responses to the Coronavirus epidemic and what it has led to, not just in this country, but all around the world.

That editorial addressed what is extremely relevant right now, which is that “what WE in God’s Church know is that overall, America will not be able to emerge out of the mess they are currently in; that the relationship between America and the rest of the world will get worse and worse; and that this nation will end up in captivity and slavery because of the terrible sins they are committing (Zechariah 7:4-14; 8:7-15; 9:10; 10:6-10; 11:4-17).” This is still coming and that is why we need to be READY NOW, and continue to watch what is happening, as it says in Matthew 24:42: “Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming.”

Mankind doesn’t seem to understand who the god of this world actually is, and it cannot connect the dots as to why all this is happening. On the other hand, God’s people DO understand why.  The vast majority will be caught off guard even more so as things WILL get worse and they will not even know what hit them until it is too late.

I concluded the editorial in the same way this one is ending here, stating that, “This is why we in God’s Church must proceed in warning our people and the rest of the world of what is coming in the near future (Ezekiel 33:2-7; Isaiah 62:6; Luke 21:36).”

by Norbert Link

In this special issue, we are reporting on the coronavirus and worldwide governmental autocratic and totalitarian measurers in so-called democratic societies to deal with the crisis, raising the strong possibility of global economic collapse. While many people in Europe agree with extreme methods of their governments to combat the coronavirus, President Trump intends to end soon the pain of the shutdown in the USA. However, as can be expected, his medical team and certain governors oppose such a plan. In this regard, please view our new StandingWatch program, titled, “Please End the Pain of the Coronavirus Shutdown!”  

We also compare the symptoms and the disproportionate rate of sickness and death of the coronavirus with other infectious diseases, and point out that legal scholars question the constitutionality of governmental methods restricting or abolishing individual freedoms.

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

Quarantine in US States

As of Sunday night, a statewide lockdown was declared in New York (after the governor had stated for days and weeks that he would NOT issue such an order) California (in a convoluted order by the governor), Illinois, Connecticut, New Jersey, Ohio and Louisiana.

Subsequently, Massachusetts, Texas, Florida and others joined the club of panic-stricken governors as well who have severely limited the individual freedoms of US citizens.

The Guardian reported on March 22 that this means that “Nearly one in three Americans was under orders on Sunday to stay home.”

 This is totally insane.

Ending the Pain of the Shutdown?

Reuters reported on March 23:

“President Donald Trump is… expressing concern at the damage the coronavirus shutdown is doing to the U.S. economy and is debating whether it can be safely reopened…

“In a tweet late on Sunday, Trump tweeted: ‘We cannot let the cure be worse than the problem itself,’ adding that at the end of the 15-day shutdown period [by the end of March], ‘we will make a decision as to which way we want to go.’…”

Breitbart added:

“On Monday, the president also shared messages on Twitter thanking him for the suggestion. ‘If Trump saves us from the Depression everyone else was leading us into by reversing the country’s course on this, I am going to build a statue to him in my front yard…,’ lawyer Robert Barnes [see the article from Barnes below] wrote on Twitter. Trump wrote: ‘Robert, we will end up stronger than ever before. Thank you!’”

Newsmax wrote:

“Axios pointed out that such a policy would almost certainly result in strong disagreement with the health experts, who are expected to push for a longer period of social distancing and quarantining across the nation…”

On March 23, Trump repeated publicly in a press conference that he is thinking of easing the restrictions soon. He said: “Our country wasn’t built to be shut down…”

When asked whether he had received the endorsement of physicians for his plan, he answered that they are in consultation, but if it were up to the doctors, the whole world would stay in quarantine for two years and they would never open the world. He repeated the same assessment on Tuesday and said he would like to open it up by Easter so that Churches could have live assemblies again. Medical “experts” and the mass media reacted with anxiety, rejection and sometimes even with furor.

Others, politicians and doctors alike, have likewise expressed their objections to the lockdowns and have been heavily attacked by the mainstream press as a consequence. Let us hope and pray that President Trump will carry out what he expressed and make an end to the unconscionable measures of quarantining healthy people, leading to their personal destruction and the sure destruction of the entire economy.

Shutting Down our Economy

On March 24, Newsmax published the following article by Patrick Buchanan, which was titled, “Can We Afford Killing the Economy to Kill the Virus?”

“… all ‘nonessential businesses’ are being closed and their workers sent home to shelter in place and to keep ‘social distance’ from friends and neighbors to minimize the risk of spreading this easily transmissible virus. Unfortunately, what is ‘nonessential’ to some – bars, restaurants, hotels, stores, cruise ships, tourist sites, shops, malls – are places of employment and indispensable sources of income for millions of other Americans.

“Close the businesses where these Americans work and you terminate the paychecks on which they depend to pay the rent and buy the food and medicines they and their families need to shelter and live. And if the salaries and wages on which workers depend are cut off, how are these millions of newly unemployed supposed to live?…

“Many Americans can survive on what they have on hand for two or four weeks. Far fewer can survive without income for two or four months. If we shut down the economy, what will we have when the medical crisis passes, be that in May, June, July, August or September?…

“At some point, the country is going to have to open up the supply chains and take the risks to let the market work to provide food – or people will engage in panic buying, hoarding and using any means to get what they need for themselves and their families. Reports of folks in this heavily armed nation stocking up on guns and ammunition suggest a widespread apprehension of what may be coming…”

And if we don’t get back to “normal” pretty soon, we will have destroyed our economy completely.

Many Negative Reactions in USA

AP wrote on March 20:

“Solar Tactical… urged customers to call local police to protest the effort to close… ‘Your 2nd Amendment right is no longer considered essential during forced shelter in place,’ the shop said…”

This is just one example of many others who are VERY upset about the stay at home orders. As we mentioned in the previous Update, the sale of firearms has astronomically increased, and there is a REAL DANGER of civil unrest and civil war breaking out in the USA.

When Breitbart published the stay home order by Governor Newsom in California (the first US state declaring a lockdown), readers responded with furor. Here are some excerpts:

“California is a New Venezuela in the making… Politicians don’t have the authority to violate your Constitutional rights, period. Once you give up your rights it takes guns to get them back… The street people and illegals have more rights than working Americans apparently, so Newsom is locking up the working public to do more unnecessary damage to the economy… the incarcerated are being freed while law-abiding citizens are being locked in their homes. Sounds like Communism to me…

“Thousand are killed & raped each year by illegals – He sets killers loose on streets in his sanctuary state, yet he’s worried about Corona?… Most of us need to go out to work just to keep the roof over our heads. Staying home and waiting for things to get better is guaranteed homelessness… I need to take care of my family… He did announce the abortions will continue… 22,000 DEAD! In the USA! Oh wait. That’s just the normal flu since last August. Never mind…”

US Constitution Quarantined

On March 22, the Drudge Report linked to an article of RT in which they published an opinion piece by Robert Barnes, an American constitutional lawyer (mentioned above), as follows:

“Do we really think ‘it can’t happen here’ in America? Could we quarantine the constitution? Are we doing it already?

“Panics from pandemics unleash unchecked governmental power. The very premise of popular films like V for Vendetta reveal this: a group uses a virus to seize power and create a totalitarian society. Anyone could witness this from far-off lands, watching the news about China locking people up in their own homes and then removing them screaming from those homes whenever the state wanted. World War I and the Great Depression birthed virulent forms of governments with leaders like Hitler, Mao, Mussolini and Stalin.

“Governments across America already used the pandemic, and the media-stoked panic around the pandemic particularly, to limit, restrict or remove First Amendment freedoms of speech and free association, with officials complaining about the potential restraints the freedom of religion imposed upon them. Others denied or declared the right to deny Second Amendment rights of gun purchase for personal safety… They want to coordinate with tech companies to surveil and spy on your everyday movements and activities, in violation of the Fourth Amendment and potentially waive, unilaterally, your medical right to privacy in multiple contexts. Stay-at-home orders deprive you of your profession, occupation, business and property, without any due process of law at all beyond an executive fiat in violation of the Fifth Amendment right to due process.

“Governments request the authority to involuntarily imprison any American on mere fear of infection without any probable cause of crime or clear and present danger of harm by that person’s volitional conduct, deny access to personal counsel in an unsupervised, un-surveilled manner in violation of the Sixth Amendment, and act as judge, jury and executioner in violation of the Seventh Amendment right to a trial by jury, as jury trials themselves get suspended around the country in the nation’s quieted courts and fear-muted public…

“Our founders were intimately familiar with pandemics, viruses and plagues, yet they did not allow any to suspend our Constitutional liberties. Not one word in the Constitution about plagues or pandemics to exempt the government from any of our Bill of Rights. Why do our current courts allow it? Because the public is asleep at the wheel. Think the pandemic threatens to kill us all? A review of the data shows the pandemic is more panic than plague.

“Time to wake up… Only when an awake public asserts their human liberties to protest the loss of their liberties will, then, governments quit using public health crises to seize power that does not belong to them…”

Very well expressed and VERY true. We see the deprivation of individual liberties and freedoms all over the world.

Trampling on the Constitution  

Fox News reported on March 26:

 “… growing segments of the U.S. population say state and federal governments are trampling on freedoms central to American life in the name of protecting public health… Laws spelling out what steps a state can take during a pandemic can be complex and difficult for judges to sort through.

“Some haven’t been updated in decades… And they also differ state to state…

 “A few Americans are already fed up and have taken their grievances to court by suing their respective states. But a relative trickle of legal challenges will likely become a flood if lockdowns drag on for weeks and frustrations mount…”

Totalitarianism in “Democratic” Societies—UK Becomes Totalitarian

The Sun wrote on March 20:

“PEOPLE suspected of being infected with Covid-19 could be held for up to six weeks under new powers being proposed by the Government. Patients would be initially detained for 14 days, but that can be extended if doctors still have concerns…

“The sweeping laws give the [government the] power to order [people] not to attend work or to stay in isolation, or ban them from travelling. And they will face a £1000 fine if they don’t comply… Officials will be able to suspend all plane and ship arrivals at airports or ports… The emergency powers will be able to be ‘switched on’ and ‘switched off’ if and when needed – for up to two years…

Deutsche Welle reported on March 24:

“The UK imposed a three-week lockdown, with the possibility of an extension. People may only leave their homes to go to work, buy groceries, visit the doctor, or for exercise. Gatherings of more than two people are not allowed.”

Upday added on March 26:

 “Places of worship for services [are prohibited], with the exception of funerals, which are to be attended only by the immediate family… Police will be given the power to impose fines on people who do not adhere to the new measures…” 

Live in Sin to Fight Coronavirus

BuzzFeed News wrote on March 24:

“Couples in the UK have been told they must either start living together or not see each other in person for what is potentially several weeks… deputy chief medical officer Jenny Harries said couples should consider the ‘strength of their relationship’ and commit to either spending the lockdown period together or apart…”

Pleading for a World Government

 Breaking Israel News wrote on March 26:

 “The United Kingdom’s former Prime Minister Gordon Brown has called on world leaders to form a ‘temporary’ global government to resolve both the medical and economic crises caused by the coronavirus pandemic… that could enjoy executive powers to execute the response…

 “Highlighting the differences between the 2008 economic collapse that he dealt with and the current crisis, Brown added ‘This is first and foremost a medical emergency and there has to be joint action to deal with that. But the more you intervene to deal with the medical emergency, the more you put economies at risk.’”

Totalitarianism in Australia, France and Spain

Deutsche Welle reported on March 24:

“In Australia, traveling to foreign countries will be banned. Weddings can go ahead with no more than five people and funerals can go ahead with no more than 10 people.

“In France, people exercising may still go outside, but runners and walkers may only go out for up to an hour a day and must remain within a kilometer of their homes. Most marketplaces have been required to close. Since French President Emmanuel Macron put the country on lockdown a week ago, people have only been allowed to leave home for necessary reasons, as in the UK.”

“Spain also closed its external borders with its European neighbors. People are limited to only leaving their homes to go to the pharmacy and grocery shopping. [The same is true for Italy.] Outdoor exercise is also banned, except for taking a dog on a walk. Hundreds of thousands of police and military personnel are enforcing the lockdown.”

Dictatorships on the rise… in our “free” world. But not in Sweden… for now.

Deutsche Welle wrote on March 24:  “While other European countries are adding to growing lists of restrictions on public life, Sweden has kept schools, bars and restaurants open and is encouraging its citizens to go out for some exercise. Gatherings of up to 500 people are still allowed in Sweden…  Swedish authorities believe harsher restrictions aren’t worth the impact on society…”

What does Sweden understand that most other countries don’t? But it may not last for long.

Sweden “Re-Thinks”

 The Daily Mail wrote on March 26:

 “Sweden is considering cutting off Stockholm from the rest of the country after a spike of coronavirus deaths in the city… Sweden has so far  resisted following other European countries – including neighbours Norway and Denmark – into full lockdowns, but the latest figures have spooked politicians into a re-think… Now there are concerns that people living in the city could spread it to previously-unaffected parts of the countryside as they visit holiday homes during the Easter break…

 “As a result, ministers are drawing up plans to isolate Stockholm from the rest of the country to try and contain the spread. However, state epidemiologist Anders Tegnell advised these are only plans and stressed ‘we are not there yet.’ It marks a dramatic shift from where Sweden was just 24 hours ago – with schools and bars open, and people being encouraged to go outside for fresh air.

 “Prime Minister Stefan Lofven, in a televised speech on Sunday, urged people to ‘take responsibility’ and follow the government’s recommendations.

“Those include working from home if you can, staying home if you feel sick, practice social distancing, and stay home if you belong to a risk group or are over the age of 70. Gatherings of more than 500 people have been banned – compared to more than two people in Britain and Germany – and the government has advised secondary schools and universities to close their facilities and conduct classes online.”

Germany Becomes Totalitarian

Deutsche Welle wrote on March 20:

“The mounting coronavirus crisis has led to speculation that the German government will impose a state of emergency (“Notstandsgesetze”) for the first time ever…

“The German government… is already using powers… to limit some constitutionally-mandated freedoms during an epidemic: Namely, the freedoms of movement, assembly, and the inviolability of the home.

“However, if stronger powers are deemed necessary, then a state of emergency can be implemented… it also allows for the restriction of certain freedoms… citizens may be obliged by law to join ‘civilian services for defense purposes, including the protection of the civilian population.’… the right to the privacy of mail and telecommunications can also be restricted… the federal government can… effectively take over their police forces. As in a natural disaster, a threat to the free democratic order may also be used as a reason to deploy the armed services.”

Deutsche Welle wrote on March 19:

“The German military is preparing for a long-term operation inside the country… soldiers may also be used to maintain public order. Germany has around 180,000 soldiers in its standing army, plus 120,000 military reservists…”

In addition, the German media points out that police officers may be used more and more to enforce Merkel’s new convoluted “social-distancing” restrictions (see below), demanding for example of citizens walking on the street to identify themselves, which might constitute a violation of the German Constitution (compare t-online, dated March 22). But will the government care about this breach of the law? Note the next article.

Deutsche Welle wrote on March 22:

“The northwestern state of Lower Saxony has instituted a new wave of restrictions, including a ban on social contact, to hinder the spread of the coronavirus. Police in Hanover, Oldenburg, Braunschweig, Goslar and Göttingen have increased police presence to enforce the new restrictions.”

The ”free state” of Bavaria (“Freistaat Bayern”) became the first German state to impose lockdown measures. Other German states such as Saarland followed.

It has been reported that after a public debate in recent weeks on the authority of the German federal government vs. the German states, German Health Minister Jens Spahn (who has ambitions to become chancellor and whom Merkel praised as doing a good job) wants to get a law enacted to the effect that the federal government will take over the authorities of the German states in the attempt to fight the coronavirus. The German states would have to agree to voluntarily surrender their powers and to give their authority to the German federal government under the lead of Spahn.

Merkel in Self-Quarantine after Announcing New Convoluted Restrictions

npr wrote on March 22:

“German Chancellor Angela Merkel has put herself under self-quarantine after learning that her doctor who had vaccinated her against pneumonia on Friday has tested positive for COVID-19… The news of Merkel’s quarantine came soon after her government imposed new social-distancing rules that limit public gatherings to two people, not including families. [That’s the interpretation of what Merkel announced, which was in really poor German and also as equally convoluted as the announcement by the Governor of California.]…

“From now in Germany, when people do go outside, they are being told to keep a distance of four feet (1.5 meters) from anyone else… Germany is just one of many countries limiting crowds… The U.S. government has said that no more than 10 people should gather in one place [but some US states have been restricting this further], while Switzerland says people in groups of fewer than five must stay at least two meters apart or face a fine.”

Deutsche Welle wrote on March 24:

“Unlike other European countries, Germany has so far stopped short of ordering its over 80 million population to remain at home — instead opting for strict social distancing measures which were issued on March 22. Public gatherings of more than two people are banned, except for families and those who live together…”

Deutsche Welle added:

“In the event that [Merkel] becomes too ill to work, her cabinet would continue to function without her. There are plans for such an event, too. Article 69 of the Basic Law, or constitution, features a simple sentence: ‘The federal chancellor nominates a minister from the cabinet as deputy.’”

It was subsequently announced that Merkel tested negative initially, but that more tests are needed to establish that she did not contract the coronavirus.

And the People Want It So

Politico wrote on March 20:

“Despite having the most severe restrictions imposed on their liberty since World War II, polling suggests that people across Europe are largely behind their leaders…

“In times of crisis, leaders often benefit from a ‘rally around the flag’ effect, meaning that support for government rises, provided the situation is not obviously mishandled…

“In Italy, which was the bloc’s first country to introduce a nationwide lockdown on Tuesday last week, two-thirds of citizens said this week they are satisfied with the government’s response… In Belgium, which this week also imposed far-reaching restrictions on public life… 66 percent of participants… said they back the measures…

“[In] Germany… almost half of people are satisfied with the crisis management of their federal state… In Austria… [s]upport increased from 63 percent last week to 88 percent this week…”

Due to ongoing propaganda to the effect that certain measures must be taken to save lives, the approval ratings from European citizens for the dictatorial methods of their governments and the apparent unquestioned willingness to surrender their individual liberties and freedoms are frightening. When the beast arises in Europe, the same thoughtless reaction will be seen… and much worse.

Totalitarianism in Hungary

The Tiroler Tageszeitung reported on March 20 that the Hungarian government placed 140 companies under military supervision. According to n-tv, Hungary is also preparing for enacting emergency laws.

Totalitarianism in Israel — Netanyahu Uses Coronavirus to Stay in Power

The AP wrote on March 20:

“In recent days, Netanyahu and his surrogates have shut down the court system, approved the use of sophisticated phone-surveillance technology on the general public and temporarily suspended the activities of parliament… He has ordered people to stay indoors, ordered tens of thousands of people into home quarantine and virtually sealed its borders

“… his hand-picked justice minister all but closed the court system in a middle-of-the-night order just two days before Netanyahu’s trial on corruption charges was to begin. In another overnight move, Netanyahu’s Cabinet authorized the Shin Bet security agency to use phone-tracking technology to retrace the movements of infected people and identify those who had come into contact with them…

“Then, on Wednesday, Parliament Speaker Yuli Edelstein abruptly suspended activities at the Knesset… Edelstein rejected the public uproar and said he was committed to reconvening parliament.”

Subsequently, Israel’s Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein resigned rather than accede to a Supreme Court order to call a vote on his replacement.

Breaking Israel News wrote on March 23:

“The Israeli Army is preparing for an increased role in assisting the national effort to stem the spread of the Coronavirus. If a nation-wide quarantine [lockdown] goes into effect, Israeli troops in tandem with police units are readying to patrol the streets and enforce regulations.”

Austria’s Sebastian Kurz thanked Benjamin Netanyahu for his radical measures in his fight against the coronavirus, stating that this prompted him to do the same in Austria.

Now Billions in Lockdown

 AFP wrote on March 24:

“India ordered its billion-plus population on Tuesday to stay inside for three weeks, bringing a third of the world under lockdown as the coronavirus pandemic forced Japan to postpone the Olympics until next year… Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘total lockdown’ call doubled the number of people around the globe under some form of movement restriction to more than 2.6 billion people…

“Nearly 130 million Americans, or 40 percent of the population, are under or will soon come under some lockdown order, including in the largest state of California…

“The extraordinary measures being imposed around the world have radically altered daily life and have also revealed horrifying tales. Soldiers in Spain reported finding abandoned elderly people — some dead — at retirement homes. Younger people have been warned not to visit elderly loved ones to avoid spreading the virus to the most vulnerable.”

This is indeed a horrible testimony of man’s incompetence.

Coronavirus—Overwhelmingly Only Mild Symptoms and Mass Recovery

The Associated Press wrote on March 20:

“For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. It can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia, for some people, especially older adults and those with existing health problems. [This is true for every flu.] Most people recover — those with mild illness in about two weeks, while those with more severe illness may take three to six weeks…”

Of the currently 530,000 pending cases of people who had been diagnosed with the virus, about 24,000 have died (many times of or in combination with other underlying illnesses), while about 121,500 have totally recovered (as of bing.com, March 26, 2020).

By comparison, the World Health Organization has determined that the flu kills between 250,000 to 500,000 people each year. About 10% of U.S. residents get influenza each year. About 36,000 Americans die each year from complications of the flu. So far, about 700 Americans have died of the coronavirus. The world’s deadliest infectious disease is tuberculosis. Each year, on average, 1 million people die of it.

The Week wrote on March 25:

“A plurality of COVID-19 cases in New York City are among those aged 18 to 44… 95% of people who have died so far [worldwide] had an underlying health condition.”

Downfall of the Economy

The Hour wrote on March 20:

“The U.S. economy is deteriorating more quickly than was expected just days ago, as extraordinary measures designed to curb the coronavirus keep 84 million Americans [by now, the number is even much higher] penned in their homes and cause the near-total shutdown of most businesses… Already, it’s clear that the initial economic decline will be sharper and more painful than during the 2008 financial crisis.

“Next week, roughly 3 million Americans will file first-time claims for unemployment assistance, more than four times the record high set in the depths of the 1982 recession… That’s just the start of a surge that could send the jobless rate spiking to 20 percent from today’s 3.5 percent… Estimates of the pandemic’s overall cost are staggering. Bridgewater Associates… says the economy will shrink over the next three months at an annual rate of 30 percent.

“… keeping friends and co-workers apart is a recipe for crippling the consumer spending that drives 70 percent of the $21 trillion economy… The sudden turnaround in U.S. economic fortunes is without historic parallel. As 2020 began, the U.S. had been growing without interruption since the middle of 2009… Now, the economy is screeching to a halt…”

The Atlantic wrote on March 20:

“No one alive has experienced an economic plunge this sudden…

“… we’re in a recession and everyone knows it. And what we’re experiencing is so much more than that: a black swan, a financial war, a plague…  What is happening is a shock to the American economy more sudden and severe than anyone alive has ever experienced… the unemployment rate seems certain to reach heights not seen since the Great Depression or even the miserable late 1800s…

“None of that is surprising. Planes have been grounded, conferences canceled, millions of Americans told not to leave their homes except to get groceries and other necessities. Because of the emergency measures now in place, businesses have had no choice but to let workers go. The list of employers laying off workers en masse includes cruise lines, airlines, hotels, restaurants, bars, cabinetmakers, linen companies, newspapers, bookstores, caterers, and festivals…

“The markets are not normal, either. The stock market lost 20 percent of its value in just 21 days–the fastest and sharpest bear market on record, faster than 1929, faster than 1987, 10 times faster than 2007. The financial system has required no less than seven emergency interventions by the Federal Reserve in the past week…

“Yet in the real economy, everything has halted, frozen in place. This is not a recession. It is an ice age.”

CNBC wrote on March 20:

“The Dow is down more than 24% for March and is currently on pace for its biggest one-month fall since September 1931.”

It picked up on Tuesday in response to Trump’s declaration of intent to lift the lockdown shortly, and with hope that a stimulus package would be approved soon. But the roller-coaster will continue. This man-made Satan-inspired catastrophe is without precedence.

UK Agriculture in Big Trouble without EU Workers

Forbes wrote on March 24:

“The U.K. organization for farmers, landowners and businesses in rural England and Wales has said labor shortages caused by coronavirus could be devastating for this years’ harvest. They are calling for a ‘land army’ of local labor to be recruited to assist the sector, which expects to see its labor supply cut by 75% as EU workers who normally come to the U.K. to work for the harvest season are prevented from coming.

“The U.K. agriculture sector was already in trouble, heavily reliant on EU workers as it is. Since the Brexit referendum in 2016, when the U.K. voted to leave the European Union, labor supply from the mainland has been dwindling, and the government’s recent immigration stance emphasizing high-skilled migration has provided little comfort.

“… the agriculture sector usually uses around 60,000 seasonal laborers per year to complete the harvest, and they expect only around 25% of that amount this year. Factor in a 20% coronavirus infection rate… they estimate some 80,000 people will need to be mobilized to protect Britain’s harvest…

“Crucially the government have classified agricultural workers as ‘key workers’, meaning under the new lockdown measures announced by Prime Minister Boris Johnson, they will be allowed to travel to work. But first you need to find them… without EU labor, the situation is dire for U.K. agriculture…”

Another example of how a country destroys itself.

US Nuclear Bombs to Stay in Germany

Deutsche Welle wrote on March 26:

“The US has stored nuclear bombs across Europe… including in Germany…”

“In the case of a nuclear strike, the American soldiers who guard the bombs located on the German air base… would attach the bomb to German fighter jets and activate the code. Then German crews would embark upon what insiders refer to as a ‘strike mission’ — delivering the American bombs to their destination… This agreement — American bombs guarded by American soldiers on a German base but flown by crews and planes of Germany’s military forces, the Bundeswehr — dates back to the Cold War and NATO’s nuclear deterrence strategy aimed at keeping the Soviet Union at bay…

“While the precise number of American bombs stored in Europe is unknown, estimates put them at roughly 150. Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and Italy are all part of the sharing agreement. With the exception of those on Italian soil, all of the bombs are located within a few hundred kilometers of each other…

“In March 2010, Germany’s parliament, the Bundestag, passed a cross-party resolution urging the government to ’emphatically’ work towards getting its American allies to withdraw all nuclear weapons from Germany… But, a decade on, that goal seems ever more elusive, following Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 and investment in nuclear-capable medium-range missiles. Now, rather than working towards the bombs’ withdrawal, the US military is set to modernize and upgrade them…

“For now, however, despite a clear majority of its citizens firmly opposed to nuclear weapons, Germany seems unlikely to withdraw from the deal any time soon. Rather, it is set to receive modernized bombs… The modernization program, which will see the old bombs being dismantled and new ones delivered to American military sites in the US and across the world, is extremely expensive…

“The new bomb — the B-61-12 — will have ‘significantly enhanced capabilities‘… It is equipped with a tail kit, which enables it to be delivered and hit its target much more accurately… The current bombs are simply dropped from the plane, rather than like ones with tail kits, which guide themselves once released…

“It remains unclear when Germany will actually receive the bomb, as there has been a delay in the production of the bombs in the US, due to problems reproducing components… But… first tests for the integration of the weapon onto German Tornado jets are set to happen this year…”

Quite remarkable in the light of biblical prophecy.

Religious Nonsense

Deutsche Welle wrote on March 20:

“The Vatican has announced that the sins of faithful Catholics who have been struck down by the coronavirus will be forgiven… provided they say a certain number of prayers and read the Bible ‘for at least an hour.’”

Words fail…

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.

To answer this question, let us first of all look at some definitions.

In a previous Q&A we wrote:

“…the Great Tribulation (Matthew 24:21) is followed by the Heavenly Signs (Revelation 6:12-14; Joel 2:30-31; Matthew 24:29) and by the Day of the Lord (Revelation 6:17). The indication is, from Scripture, that the Day of the Lord begins one year before Christ’s return (compare, for example, Isaiah 34:8). But even as the Day of the Lord does not end with Christ’s return, but is ongoing, so the Great Tribulation (which begins approximately 2½ years prior to the Day of the Lord) does not end, either, when the Day of the Lord starts. Rather, it continues until Satan, who causes the Great Tribulation to occur, is removed from his throne.

“Christ returns to cut the Great Tribulation short (Matthew 24:21-22). This means, the Great Tribulation is still ongoing — it overlaps for one year, in that sense, with the Day of the Lord. So, all in all, the Great Tribulation lasts approximately 3½ years, but during the last year of the Great Tribulation, God starts to intervene — approximately one year before Christ’s actual return…” We also understand that God could shorten these days to less than 3 ½ years.  (Compare our free booklet, “When and How Will Christ Return?”)

In the above-quoted Q&A, we also pointed out that the Day of the Lord is the day of GOD’S wrath, while the Great Tribulation is the time of Satan’s wrath.

There have been many disastrous and catastrophic wars down through the ages. In World War 1 and World War 2, many millions were killed or injured as we can read below.

On the historyonthenet.com website, we read:

“World War One was one of the deadliest conflicts in the history of the human race, in which over 16 million people died. The total number of both civilian and military casualties is estimated at around 37 million people. The war killed almost 7 million civilians and 10 million military personnel.”

On the worldwar2-database.blogspot.com website, these figures are given: “… most suggest that some 60 million people died in World War II, including about 20 million soldiers and 40 million civilians.  Many civilians died because of disease, starvation, massacres, bombing and deliberate genocide. The Soviet Union lost around 27 million people during the war, almost half of all World War II deaths.  One of every four Soviet citizens was killed or wounded in that war.”

We rightly think of the horrors that both sides of the war suffered, but we read in Matthew 24:21-22 about a time in the not-too-distant future, which will dwarf anything that has happened in the last 6,000 years of mankind on earth: “For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be.  And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened.”

God does not mince His words. Mankind will be on the brink of extinction when Jesus Christ returns to stop that happening.

Why is this happening?   God who created all things through Jesus Christ (see Ephesians 3:9) has given instructions on how and how not to live.   God instructed Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, and they were deceived by Satan the devil.   Mankind then continued on the wrong path so much so that “the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Genesis 6:5). God was sorry that He had made man on the earth and was grieved in His spirit” (verse 6).   This seems to be about 1,650 years after man was created.

About a thousand years later, God gave Israel the choice between blessings for obedience and curses for disobedience (see Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28). History shows that Israel, generally, made a mess of such opportunities.   The Old Testament is replete with examples of some kings of Israel and Judah who had the right approach but following David and Solomon, only a few kings of Judah lived righteous lives, while none of the kings of Israel did. Usually, the leaders lived in opposition and rebellion towards God, and the people followed their bad example.  In short, God’s Way was usually superseded by men who thought that they knew better.

Fast forward to the New Testament when Jesus Christ was listened to and sought after by many thousands, but on the day of Pentecost, there were just 120 disciples (Acts 1:15) awaiting the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:4-5).   Since that time, the true Church of God has been a small, persecuted group and mankind has, in general, been a God-defying race.

Down through the ages, we have seen behavior and attitudes that are incompatible with God’s Way of Life, with man always seeming to think that he knows better than the One who created us all.

Do our present societies around the world reflect the Way of Life that God would have us live, and always for our own benefit?   The answer to that question can be seen by the mess that the world is currently experiencing.

Many pages could be used in showing how evil this world is, and it is getting worse by the day.   Wars and military conflicts abound; atheism seems to be a “religion” on its own; blasphemy by the young and the old; perversion in many sexual areas has become the norm; and abortion annually murders millions of innocent unborn children.   The Ten Commandments are shunned by most of the world, and man makes up his own laws and rules, usually in direct opposition to God’s expressed Will.   The list could go on for many pages.

Mankind today, generally, has no interest in God, most certainly not in the true God of the Bible, many denying that He even exists. To give one of so many examples that could be used, let us quote, selectively, the words that a British actor and entertainer made in 2015. This famous atheist described what he would say if he got to heaven – of course we know that we don’t go to heaven when we die and he doesn’t believe in God and so this would never happen anyway – but it is quite a blasphemous attack against God that he made.   He said:

“I will say bone cancer in children, what’s that about? How dare you, how dare you create a world that has such misery that is not our fault. It is not right.   It is utterly, utterly evil.  Why should I respect a capricious, mean-minded, stupid God who creates a world that is full of injustice and pain?”

He added: “Because the God who created this universe, if it was created by God, is quite clearly a maniac, utter maniac.  Totally selfish.  We have to spend our life on our knees thanking him?!   What kind of god would do that?

“Yes, the world is very splendid but it also has in it insects whose whole lifecycle is to burrow into the eyes of children and make them blind.    They eat outwards from the eyes.   Why?   Why did you do that to us?   You could easily have made a creation in which that didn’t exist. It is simply not acceptable.

“It’s perfectly apparent that he is monstrous.   Utterly monstrous and deserves no respect whatsoever.  The moment you banish him, life becomes simpler, purer, cleaner, more worth living in my opinion.”

We quote that as a dire example of those who categorically refuse to see the hand of a great Creator God, but would add that there are many others who can be just as objectionable in their blasphemous approach. Statements like the one quoted above do reflect an utter ignorance of the fact that this is not God’s world, but that it is ruled by Satan the Devil who has also had tremendous influence on the nature of the animal world. For more information, please read our free booklet, “Heavens and Earth… Before and After the First Man.” Other booklets, which address the issues raised by the above-quoted atheist, are “Punishment for Our Sins,” “Sickness and Healing—What the Bible Tells Us,” and “Human Suffering—Why… and How Much Longer?”

In the 16th chapter in the Book of Revelation are further telling examples of man’s rebellious “intractability” – a word that can mean: unmanagableness, defiant, rebellious, obstinate, stubborn, disobedient – which is the trait of beings unwilling to obey.   Here we see the horrors of the seven bowls – the first one being malignant or loathsome sores on the men who had the mark of the beast and those who worshipped his image, which shows the result of ignoring the Way of God (verse 2).

In the third verse, we read about the second bowl with the sea turning to blood.

The third bowl in verse 4 reveals that the waters turned to blood.

The fourth bowl (verses 8-9) reveals that men will be scorched and instead of repenting, “they blasphemed the name of God who has power over these plagues; and they did not repent and give Him glory.”

The fifth bowl is about darkness and pain (verses 10-11), and again, men were unrepentant and “they gnawed their tongues because of the pain and blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and did not repent of their deeds.”

With the sixth bowl, the Euphrates dried up, and when the seventh bowl is poured out, the earth was utterly shaken, “And great hail from heaven fell upon men, each hailstone about the weight of a talent. Men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail, since that plague was exceedingly great (Verse 21).”

In spite of such terrible events, some, or many, will blaspheme God’s Name, and will refuse to repent and simply will not give God the glory.   Of course, these events are right at the end of the time of terrible trouble, but the attitude manifested even at a time of very great distress shows how stubborn, defiant and obdurate man can be.

It should be become obvious why a loving God will allow the Great Tribulation and why He will bring about the Day of the Lord on the human race except for His people whom He will protect at that time.  It is because there is no other way of getting their attention and even at such a time of unprecedented horror, some will still not be entreated. Rather, they will still curse God and be disobedient and rebellious. Man will have brought this upon himself by his continuous rejection of the Way of God.

God wants to get the attention of man and show him the right way to live, but a 6,000 year history, under the evil sway of Satan, has twisted and distorted many minds; so much so that even in the most adverse of conditions, some will still go the way of the evil one.   Man has to learn, once and for all, that the only right way of living is the Way of God which will be a loving, joyous and righteous way,  and any who refuse to repent and accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior will ultimately be as if they had never existed.

There is so much more on this subject. We have several additional booklets, addressing these important questions, including “The Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord” and “How Can We Know that Christ’s Return Is Near?” All our booklets are free for the asking.

Lead Writer: Brian Gale (United Kingdom)

compiled by Dave Harris

A shortened Church Conference will be conducted via SKYPE this coming Sunday and Monday (March 29-30, 2020).

“Please End the Pain of the Coronavirus Shutdown!” is the title of the new StandingWatch program, presented by Evangelist Norbert Link. Here is a summary:

Do we “let the cure be worse than the problem itself”? President Trump thinks so. This program shows the dangerous consequences of governmental measures causing unparalleled suffering for our people and incredible damage to our economy, with fears of massive suicides and even civil war. Why is the public “asleep at the wheel,” when it comes to mounting violations of our constitutional rights and freedoms?

“Coronavirus und Gottes Botschaft an Laodizäa” is the title of this Sabbath’s German sermon, presented by Norbert Link.  Title in English: “Coronavirus and God’s Message to Laodicea.”

“Gott wird für Sie sorgen!” is the title of this Sabbath’s German sermonette, presented by Pastor Michael Link. Title in English: “God Will Take Care of You!”

“Einsicht,” is the title of last Sabbath’s German sermonette, presented by Mike Richter. Title in English. “Understanding.”

“God’s Letter to Philadelphia,” the sermon presented last Sabbath by Norbert Link, is now posted. Here is a summary:

Why is the letter to the church in Philadelphia extremely important for us today? What is meant with the key of David; the open door; the hour of trial; the place of safety; the third horseman of the Apocalypse; and Satan’s wrath; and how are we to understand the prophesied expensive time and the reactions to the coronavirus which cause the financial ruin of many businesses and contribute to the complete destruction of our economy?

On March 21, 2020, Norbert Link will present “Comments on News and Prophecy (March 21, 2020),” and the sermon, titled, “God’s Letter to Philadelphia.”

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.

Coronavirus! A man-made pandemic which originated in China, apparently due to the ungodly consumption of unclean meat. It is destroying the world—its civilization; its societies and global economy. Panic reaction to the virus has changed our daily lives… including cancellations of social and sport events; closure of schools, restaurants and shops; serious restrictions for our jobs and work abilities; national and international travel bans; prohibitions of assemblies and confinements in mandated isolation and quarantine… as well as cancellations of our religious worship services.

Many countries have already banned church services, and who is to say as to how long these limitations of our religious and individual liberties and freedoms will continue… It is as if we are victims of a worldwide war… and in a sense, we are—each country seems to fight a suicidal war against itself and an all-encompassing “preemptive” war against other nations.

When hearing this mind-boggling news which affects many innocent people and which sounds like the wild imaginations of a science fiction or horror movie, I wonder how much we have taken our freedom from autocratic restrictions and totalitarian governmental intervention for granted with the opportunity to assemble each week for our religious services. Many times, the sad truth is that we begin to really miss something when it is taken away from us. The Bible admonishes us that we should not forsake the assembling of ourselves together (Hebrews 10:25). Many have not heeded God’s warning in this regard, or they might have attended half-heartedly, lacking real zeal and enthusiasm for God and His people.

In Old Testament times, ancient Israel and Judah polluted God’s holy days—either not keeping them at all or keeping them grudgingly with their own added traditions—and God was very angry about this and punished them with many plagues and ultimately, with destruction, death, war and captivity.

We can read about this in Ezekiel 20:12-13:

“Moreover I also gave them My Sabbaths, to be a sign between them and Me, that they might know that I am the LORD who sanctifies them. Yet the house of Israel rebelled against Me… and they greatly defiled My Sabbaths…” As a consequence, God said that He would rule over them with “a mighty hand, with an outstretched arm, and with fury poured out” (verse 34).

Ezekiel 22:26 adds:

“Her priests have violated My law and profaned My holy things; they have not distinguished between the holy and unholy, nor have they made known the difference between the unclean and the clean; and they have hidden their eyes from My Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them.”

Sadly, man seldom learns from his mistakes, it seems, and today’s “priests” in our modern nations have hidden their eyes from God’s holy Sabbaths as well. As a consequence, God pronounces a curse on us for repeating the sins of our forefathers.

In Hosea 2:11, God tells us how He feels about “days of worship,” which man created for himself, while rejecting God’s Sabbaths:

“I will also cause all her mirth to cease, Her feast days, Her New Moons, Her Sabbaths—All her appointed feasts.”

But we should not overlook the fact that God is also angry with the lackadaisical attitude with which some of His people might be “keeping” His Holy Days, and that He announces the possibility of preventing them from keeping His Sabbaths by assembling for worship services, as they did not really appreciate this great privilege anyway.

Hosea 9:5 gives us this sobering warning in the context of future slavery and captivity for our nations which will also include some—if not many—of God’s people: “What will you do in the appointed day And in the day of the feast of the LORD?” The Neue Luther Bibel 2009 writes: “What will you do then during the annual feasts and the feast days of the LORD?”

Amos 8:10-12 also adds this sad prophecy:

“I will turn your feasts [or feast days] into mourning, And all your songs into lamentation… ‘Behold, the days are coming,’ says the LORD God, ‘That I will send a famine on the land, Not a famine of bread, Nor a thirst for water, But of hearing the words of the LORD. They shall wander from sea to sea, And from north to east; They shall run to and fro, seeking the word of the LORD, But shall not find it.’”

Are we experiencing now a foretaste of what is going to come—a last warning perhaps and a strong admonition from God to get our act together, before it is too late? To get us back on track to worship the true God of the Bible with zeal, dedication, enthusiasm and love? All of us are called upon to examine ourselves and to make sure that God provides us with protection from the worldwide plagues and their consequences, and to appreciate fully the Sabbaths which God gave us as a sign between Him and His people.

by Norbert Link

It seems that not a day [or even an hour] goes by when we don’t read or hear about new horrible developments regarding a variety of measures in the human attempt to combat the coronavirus pandemic. In this issue, we have concentrated on the most alarming and deeply concerning and frighteningly mind-boggling prohibitions and bans. The unthinkable (including the restrictions of our individual and collective liberties and freedoms) has become the norm; and the most bizarre has been embraced.

 In other news, we speak of interesting events in and pertaining to Israel; the forgotten horrible Syrian war; the devastating locust plague approaching the Middle East; the hotchpotch of interpretations by biblical “scholars” regarding end-time prophecy; and the strange phenomenon of mind control in our “free” societies.

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

Worldwide Lack of True Leadership

Politico wrote on March 16:

“Welcome to politics’ darkest hour. If the coronavirus outbreak has taught us anything beyond the necessity of careful hygiene, it’s that the first victim of a pandemic is leadership. At no time in the past 75 years… have global leaders so utterly failed to deliver.

“… Few may have expected inspired leadership from U.S. President Donald Trump… Even so, his fumbling of a national address on the emergency, followed by his trademark blame-shifting… will be remembered as a low point in American political leadership…

“Boris Johnson… has sounded more like the Grim Reaper. ‘Many more families are going to lose loved ones before their time,’ he said in a televised address on Friday, insisting that his government has ‘a clear plan.’ Trouble is, the strategy underlying that plan… appears to have unnerved more people than it has reassured, fueling fears that Johnson has no plan at all…

“The German chancellor [Angela Merkel]… left management of the pandemic to her youthful health minister, Jens Spahn… The government’s response to the crisis has been marked by crossed wires and confusion…”

The leaders of this world have been failing miserably.. .and not only in regard to the coronavirus. Very soon, a strong charismatic political military dictator will arise in Europe… and the world will blindly follow and even “worship” him.

Worldwide Economic Destruction

Newsmax wrote on March 17:

“Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Morgan Stanley economists… declare[d] that the coronavirus has triggered a global recession, with the debate now focusing on its likely length and depth… The outlook could darken even further if the virus lasts longer than anticipated, or wields greater economic pain — given factories, schools, restaurants and shops are closing around the world…”

Reuters wrote on March 17:

“As governments in the United States and Europe start shutting restaurants and schools, as well as asking people to stay home, several investors are concerned the current crisis could snowball into something bigger than a recession, including a credit crisis, or even a depression.”

We have warned of the possibility of a coming global depression for quite some time.

Destruction of U.S. Economy

Politico wrote on March 16:

“The early signals from the coronavirus crisis point to a scale of damage unseen in the modern U.S. economy: the potential for millions of jobs lost in a single month, a historic and sudden plunge in economic activity across the nation and a pace of sharp market swings not seen since the Great Depression…”

The Drudge Report wrote on March 18 that the Dow Jones closed at 19,804 on the day when Trump was sworn into office, and that the index crashed below that on March 18, meaning all the gains since the Trump inauguration were wiped out.

Restrictions of Free Movement of Americans

CNN wrote on March 16:

“The White House advised all Americans to avoid groups of more than 10 and urged older people to stay at home altogether in a set of new guidelines… ‘We’ll see what happens, but they think August, could be July, could be longer than that,’ Trump said of the time when life might return to normal in the United States… The guidelines… will remain in place for 15 days, officials said.

“Included in the new guidance was a recommendation for all Americans to stay away from bars, restaurants and food courts and to avoid discretionary travel. The guidelines also suggest closing schools and canceling all social visits in homes. Some officials have warned that further attempts to limit Americans from traveling domestically could have a dire effect on the economy. Those arguments have been countered by health officials… Still, the guidelines issued on Monday were only recommendations and not mandates…”

Politicians follow the guidance of “health experts,” who have been admitting time and again that they really don’t know anything specific about the virus either. When the blind follow the blind…

Martial Law in the USA

Newsmax wrote on March 18:

“President Donald Trump announced Wednesday that he will invoke a federal provision not used since the Korean War that allows the government to marshal the private sector in response to the coronavirus pandemic…

“Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau jointly announced that the U.S.-Canada border would be closed, except for essential personnel and for trade…

“Trump likened the effort to the measures taken during World War II and said it would require national ‘sacrifice.’”

ABC7 wrote on March 16:

“Gov. Gavin Newsom is calling for all California bars to close amid the coronavirus emergency and asking all Californians age 65 and older and those with chronic conditions to isolate themselves at home… Newsom’s call for the shutdowns was described as ‘guidance‘ rather than a legal order by the government…”

What an incredible “guidance” or, as other papers termed it, “encouragement” by a governor.

But it may get much worse. Fox News reported on March 18 that California is preparing for the worst case scenario, considering imposing martial law which “would take the extraordinary step of replacing the usual laws with military authority, with the possible suspension of civil liberties like freedom of association and movement.”

Our world is becoming—quite literally—a global prison camp. Spiritually, we have been imprisoned or held captive by Satan from the time of Adam and Eve’s sin.

Schools to Stay Closed

Politico wrote on March 17:

“California’s schools will likely stay closed for the rest of the academic year over coronavirus concerns, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Tuesday in a jaw-dropping prediction for families barely settling into new weekday routines with children at home… If it holds true, more than 6 million California public school students would remain home for an unprecedented length of time unless the state finds alternatives.

“Nearly 99 percent of the state’s schools have closed, though Newsom has not issued a state mandate requiring them to do so, citing concerns about the impact on low-income families… Earlier Tuesday, Kansas became the first U.S. state to officially close schools for the remainder of the academic year.”

It can be expected that the rest of the country will follow these panic-stricken examples. What a nightmarish scenario.

Hopeless Ignorance

Daily Mail wrote on March 18:

“The Surgeon General [Jerome Adam] warned on Wednesday that it could take longer than 15 days to slow the spread of coronavirus but that Americans must ‘pitch in’ and do their part now to stay home and self-isolate if they want the deadly disease to die… Some… are calling for harsher action, like a two-week national shutdown to force people indoors.

“There has not been a clear cut answer on how long Americans will have to continue living in this current state of crisis. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has said the current state of crisis could last nine months, whereas experts overseas say it could even longer…”

This is just one example to show the hopeless ignorance when it comes to the virus, and the futile attempts to deal with it.

Americans Prepare for Social Unrest and Civil War

The Guardian wrote on March 16:

“Sales of guns and ammunition are soaring across the US as fears of possible social unrest amid the coronavirus crisis are prompting some Americans to turn to firearms as a form of self-protection…

“Larry Hyatt, owner of one of the country’s largest gun shops… the Guardian that the scenes of mass buying at his store were virtually unprecedented. ‘This is only the second time in my 61 years of business that we’ve seen anything like this,’ he said, adding that the first occasion was the aftermath of the mass shooting at Sandy Hook elementary school in Connecticut in 2012.

“Hyatt said that the type of guns being bought was reflective of the fear prevalent among customers. There was almost no interest in hunting rifles. Instead, people were opting for target guns and there was big demand for AR-15 semi-automatic assault-style rifles. Asked why he thought the spike was happening, Hyatt replied: ‘Financial meltdown, pandemic, crime, politics … you throw it all into the pot, and you have one hell of a mess.’…

“Firearms are already the second most prevalent killer of children in the US after car crashes. In the 14- to 17-year-old bracket, gun injuries are the highest single cause of death…”

It seems like, people are getting mad in an attempt of self-destruction.

Restriction of Free Movements of Brits

Express wrote on March 15:

The Sun reported on June 17 that Boris Johnson, in employing “war-time” measures, asked that “OVER a million people should stay inside their homes for 12 weeks and everyone else must avoid going out… The over 70s, those who are pregnant, and anyone with underlying health conditions (around 20million Brits) should try not to leave their homes if they can, and avoid crowded spaces immediately.”

The website of ageuk.org reported:

“People aged over 70, pregnant people, and people with underlying health conditions are being asked to stay at home and avoid unnecessary, close contact with other people for up to 12 weeks by 21-22 March.”

Europe Closes External Borders

Deutsche Welle wrote on March 18:

“All 27 EU member states on Tuesday evening committed to implementing travel restriction measures… EU member states have said they will temporarily restrict non-essential journeys to travelers from [other] countries to the bloc… The purpose of the new restrictions is to keep individual EU states from closing their national borders…

“Several EU member states have already closed their national borders. The commission hopes the new restrictions will encourage them to lift internal border control measures.”

This is such a juvenile approach, and it is also, in part, in obvious retaliation of Trump’s European travel ban directed towards the European Schengen zone as well as the UK and Ireland. In response, on March 19, the US State Department issued the highest (level four) international travel warning and urged Americans not to travel abroad under any circumstances and to return home if they are already abroad.

Frightening Developments in Europe

The Guardian wrote on March 17:

“The EU has endorsed the strictest travel ban in its history as France joined Italy and Spain in full lockdown… some member states, including Austria, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Poland, unilaterally began imposing border checks… Charles Michel, the president of the European council, said: ‘We are confronting… a long and difficult crisis…’

“Emmanuel Macron… said on Monday night the country was ‘at war’, announcing that the army would help move patients to hospitals and 100,000 police would check the new regulations were being observed…  Anyone leaving their home must complete a legal document downloaded from the interior ministry’s website, or written out by hand, declaring on their honour that they are out for one of the permitted reasons…

“The struggle against the coronavirus was an ‘economic and financial war’ that will last for some considerable time, [French finance minister Bruno] Le Maire said. ‘It will be lengthy and it will be violent … this war will require us to mobilise all our forces,’ he said.”

Terrible images of dictatorial countries and their inhumane actions from the past and present are coming to mind.

Also, the following was reported by Breitbart on March 18:

“The Prime Minister of France warned that if the United Kingdom doesn’t enact stricter measures to combat the spread of the COVID-19 virus, Britons will be banned from travelling to France.”

Europe’s hostility towards the UK will increase.

Nation of Israel Asks Vatican to Restore Temple Vessels

Breaking Israel News reported on March 15:

“… the Nation of Israel requests that the Vatican immediately return to Jerusalem the Temple vessels that have been stored in Rome for nearly 2000 years… Josephus Flavius, a first-century Roman-Jewish scholar of priestly descent, reported that the Temple artifacts were indeed taken to Rome and placed in Vespasian’s Temple of Peace, completed in 75 CE.

“Since that time, there have been several unverified sightings of the Menorah in the Vatican… In the second half of the 12th century, a Spanish Jew known as Benjamin of Tudela… claims in his journal that the Jews of Rome knew that the Temple vessels were hidden in a cave in the Vatican…

“It should be noted that on Sunday, the Waqf (Muslim authority) ordered the silver-domed al Aqsa Mosque and the gold-domed Dome of the Rock closed until further notice. Jews are still visiting their holiest site, the Temple Mount.”

The relationship between Israel and the Vatican, which was never good, will dramatically deteriorate.

Israel Government Still in Limbo

Times of Israel wrote on March 16:

“Blue and White chairman Benny Gantz vowed on Monday to cobble together a coalition ‘within days’ after President Reuven Rivlin tasked the centrist alliance leader with forming a government…

“The ceremonial tapping of Gantz to form the government came hours after Rivlin hosted the Blue and White leader along with Netanyahu for a three-way summit Sunday evening in an effort to encourage the two men to form an emergency unity government amid the coronavirus outbreak… Rivlin’s proposal this time was based on the previous offer, but reportedly gives Netanyahu a full year as prime minister before handing the baton to Gantz…”

Much could happen within a year. Also, Netanyahu announced on March 19:  “The government will approve tonight emergency regulations to limit movement. You are ordered to stay at home… This isn’t a request, this isn’t a recommendation, but a binding requirement that will be enforced.”

This emergency declaration has been strongly condemned  in Israel, as have been newly-rolled out regulations that allow the government to track mobile phones of individuals with coronavirus or suspected of being infected.. 

Syrian War Has Caused Death, Misery and Ruin

Deutsche Welle wrote on March 15:

“… the ongoing war in Syria entered its tenth year to little fanfare on Sunday… the decade-long conflict has displaced 11 million people, killed more than 384,000, including 116,000 civilians, and created an international humanitarian crisis with no end in sight… Last week, the UN wrote on Twitter that ‘a decade of fighting has brought nothing but ruin and misery. There is no military solution…’’

While the world is occupied with the coronavirus, millions of people suffer from displacement, ruin, misery and death in war. The world ignores this serious problem and stands idly by.

The Jerusalem Post wrote on March 17:

“Turkey sends flights to evacuate its own citizens [from the EU] while it denies health care to [140,000] asylum seekers who flee to Greece amid unprecedented EU closures.”

Locust Plague Coincides with Coronavirus

Times of Israel wrote on March 16:

“A plague of locusts the likes of which have been unseen for over 30 years is about to hit Africa and the Middle East. Adding to the perfect biblical storm, the current coronavirus pandemic is affecting travel of international experts and in-country gatherings for training to combat the locust threat…

“The Desert Locust… ‘is the most destructive migratory pest in the world,’ according to the Locust Watch website. As depicted in the Book of Exodus, when the highly mobile swarms of Desert Locust form, ‘they are ravenous eaters who consume their own weight per day, targeting food crops and forage’…

“The current widespread breeding in Kenya, Ethiopia, and Somalia represents ‘an unprecedented threat to food security and livelihoods at the beginning of the upcoming cropping season,’ writes the Locus Watch website… It appears that the hardest hit countries will include Kenya, Ethiopia, Somalia, Iran, Pakistan, and Sudan…

“Not all regions of the Middle East will be affected, however. Despite the proximity to the Jewish holiday of Passover… it appears that the swarms will not hit Israel or the country’s crops.”

Pandemics and worldwide famine are prophesied.

What Religious “Scholars” (Don’t) Know

The Washington Post wrote on March 17:

“This is not the end of the world, according to Christians who study the end of the world… Could this be a sign of the apocalypse? It sure might feel apocalyptic. But not if you ask Christian writers and pastors who have spent years focusing their message on the Book of Revelation — the New Testament’s final book.

“… many evangelical leaders interpret it to mean that Jesus will return to Earth, believers will be raptured to heaven and those left behind will suffer seven dreadful years of calamities… Jeff Kinley, a writer of books on biblical prophecy… pointed… to Jesus’ words about the events before the end times in Luke 21:11: ‘There will be great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven.’ ‘I think he’s referring to a future time,’ Kinley said. ‘I don’t think this is an actual fulfillment of that.’ The Bible is very specific about what will happen before the End Times, Kinley says, and those events haven’t all unfolded yet. For one major thing, the ancient temple in Jerusalem is supposed to be rebuilt first.

“Gary Ray, a writer for the prophecy website Unsealed, agreed: He and his fellow evangelical End-Times writers are focused on what is happening with holy sites in Israel, not disease… In Ray’s opinion, these portents should send non-Christians rushing toward the Bible, so they can convert while there is still time before the Christians are raptured and everyone else has to endure the wretched seven years…

“One reason for all these relatively rosy assessments from people who might otherwise be doomsday prophesiers? It might be… the president, who is very popular among evangelical Christians…

“James Beverley, a professor at Tyndale Seminary in Toronto, said he found… that charismatic and Pentecostal prophets, who normally think the End Times are near, have been less likely to forecast doom during the Trump administration. ‘Some are saying that Satan is the source of evils like the virus, but the doom and gloom message is missing. There is such a positive view on Trump and such strong wishes for his reelection that there is deep hope that the virus will die out, a strong economy will return and Trump will defeat the Democratic nominee,’ Beverley wrote in an email. ‘It is stunning how optimistic charismatic prophets are since Trump won in 2016.’”

As it is almost always the case, the article reflects the opinions of biblical “scholars” which might include some few parcels of truth with a whole big bag of errors. Try to pick out for yourself where you can find the small pieces of truth and the many huge errors in the article.

Mind Control in Our “Free” Societies

Daily Mail published on March 14 the following article by one of their journalists:

“It was a bright, cold day in Oxford and everywhere I looked, rainbow flags flapped and fluttered in the sharp wind. They flew from the ancient colleges along the High Street. They flew from the Town Hall…

The mere act of suggesting that there is anything oppressive about these banners will ensure that I am convicted of ‘homophobia’… It is startling to recall walking down the same street more than 50 years ago, when nobody had ever thought of rainbow flags and this was still a free country…

“A huge change in sexual morality of all kinds was cleverly presented as mainly being the liberation of homosexuals from persecution… Britain is full of people who have never wholly agreed with the great sexual revolution which has overtaken us in the past 30 years, and is now embraced by the Conservative Party and the churches.

“But even in private they hesitate to say so… For they know a terrible thing. If they are denounced, they could lose their livelihoods… We also have an embryonic Thought Police patrolling Twitter. And we have increasingly ferocious official lying…

“Some sort of national emergency – a major terror attack, an economic collapse, perhaps even a devastating epidemic – will at some point speed up our descent into a semi-totalitarian dusk. The Civil Contingencies Act already gives government astonishing powers to rule by diktat if it can think of a good enough excuse…

“There is no barricade of law which stands between us and the introduction of an unfree society. There is no major party which can be relied [on] to oppose such a change, provided it can be dressed up as being in the interests of ‘security’, of ‘equality and diversity’ or of not offending people…

“How long before students all over Britain will note the appearance of rainbow flags each February, and think that it has always been so, and that there never was another opinion?”

Biblical standards are disappearing in our societies… and woe to those who want to uphold them.  

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.

First, we should look at where the command to de-leaven our homes is mentioned in the Bible, beginning with the Old Testament.

We read in Exodus 12:15-20:

“Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall remove leaven from your houses. For whoever eats leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that person shall be cut off from Israel. On the first day there shall be a holy convocation, and on the seventh day there shall be a holy convocation for you. No manner of work shall be done on them; but that which everyone must eat—that only may be prepared by you. So you shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for on this same day I will have brought your armies out of the land of Egypt. Therefore you shall observe this day throughout your generations as an everlasting ordinance. In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at evening, you shall eat unleavened bread, until the twenty-first day of the month at evening. For seven days no leaven shall be found in your houses, since whoever eats what is leavened, that same person shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he is a stranger or a native of the land. You shall eat nothing leavened; in all your dwellings you shall eat unleavened bread.”

This is the first place where this is mentioned and the penalty for not complying was being “cut off” from the congregation. The Jews understood correctly that the removal of leaven would have to be completed “at the eve of this festival,” prior to the beginning of the First Day of Unleavened Bread.

Adam Clarke’s commentary explains that “leaven was an emblem of sin, because it proceeded from corruption; and the putting away of this implied the turning to God with simplicity and uprightness of heart.” We should note, however, that the biblical passage, quoted above, does not specifically explain this meaning. As we will see, this will be explained later in Old Testament passages, and the full explanation can be found in the New Testament where the spirit of the law is discussed.

Exodus 13:3-10 also addresses de-leavening and abstaining from eating leavened products for seven days, while eating unleavened products:

“And Moses said to the people: ‘Remember this day in which you went out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage; for by strength of hand the LORD brought you out of this place. No leavened bread shall be eaten. On this day you are going out, in the month Abib. And it shall be, when the LORD brings you into the land of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Hivites and the Jebusites, which He swore to your fathers to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, that you shall keep this service in this month. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be a feast to the LORD. Unleavened bread shall be eaten seven days. And no leavened bread shall be seen among you, nor shall leaven be seen among you in all your quarters. And you shall tell your son in that day, saying, “This is done because of what the LORD did for me when I came up from Egypt.” It shall be as a sign to you on your hand and as a memorial between your eyes, that the LORD’s law may be in your mouth; for with a strong hand the LORD has brought you out of Egypt. You shall therefore keep this ordinance in its season from year to year.”

Here it is stated that it was a sign and annual memorial when God brought them out of Egypt, which occurred on the First Day of Unleavened Bread, at night.

Another place speaking about eating unleavened products and abstaining from leaven for seven days is mentioned in Deuteronomy 16:3-4:

“You shall eat no leavened bread with it; seven days you shall eat unleavened bread with it, that is, the bread of affliction (for you came out of the land of Egypt in haste), that you may remember the day in which you came out of the land of Egypt all the days of your life. And no leaven shall be seen among you in all your territory for seven days…”

Notice the reference here to coming out of Egypt, where they had been held captive and had been afflicted for many years. The Church of God has understood that Egypt is used here as a type of sin and that the introduction of a little leaven to a clump of dough will eventually leaven the whole lump. This is further explained, for example, in 1 Corinthians 5:6:

“Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump?”

This is a clear reference to a little sin which, if not removed, will corrupt a person. It might even corrupt others in the church. If a person is sinning continually in plain sight and is not removed or “cut off” from the congregation, it might affect others. Paul is referring to this principle when he addressed a person having sexual relations with his mother or stepmother, which evil conduct was known, tolerated and even endorsed by some in the church.

Paul was aware of the danger of tolerating sinful behavior. If we do not put sin out of our lives, it could lead to our destruction and the destruction of others. Even a little sin or compromise can be catastrophic if not being dealt with. It is compared to leaven which puffs up both in its physical use and in a person’s life.

Notice the further instruction by Paul in 1 Corinthians 5:7: “Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us.”

We are to de-leaven our homes and abstain from leavened products and thereby remind ourselves that we have to purge out the sin and disassociate ourselves from the sinner who, like a rotten apple, influences others. We are to get rid of sinful conduct, repent of it and be a new lump by becoming spiritually renewed before God. We must not justify sin or make excuses for the sin, but rather, we must eradicate it and replace it with righteous behavior.

Paul restated the same injunction in Galatians 5:9: “A little leaven leavens the whole lump.”

The importance of removing leaven from our homes—a physical act—lies foremost in its spiritual application: It represents removing sin—a type of leaven—which, if not dealt with and repented of, can ultimately lead to the second death in the lake of fire.

There are several examples in the Bible where, if we are obedient in doing the physical things required of us, the spiritual meaning and understanding is revealed later. That is why obedience even in commanded physical matters is so important since it tests us to see if we will obey God in everything, and God can and will add the spiritual understanding in His due time.

Lead Writer: Rene Messier (Canada)

compiled by Dave Harris

We are very sad to announce that Mr. Ray Goodrum died on March 14, 2020, in Kelowna, British Columbia. Mr. Goodrum was a long-time member in God’s Church, and he is survived by his wife, Virgie, and son, Frank.

A new Member Letter (March 2020) has been mailed to our subscribers and is now posted. In this letter, Pastor Michael Link points to prophecy being fulfilled as never before, and he asks if we are indeed really ready for what comes next. This letter has also been translated into German and posted on our website. In addition, this week’s Editorial has also been translated into German and posted on our German website.

Due to flight restrictions and for other considerations, we have cancelled our Church Conference scheduled for the last part of March. However, we plan to use SKYPE to take care of necessary business and for further discussions. Sadly, all international and national flights for the Passover season were also cancelled.

The text and cover design for our new booklet, “The Ten Commandments,” has been submitted by graphic artist Shelly Bruno in preparation for final edits before printing.

The latest 3-part Q&A series on “Should We Be Afraid of the Future?” has been translated and posted on our Spanish page.  Title in Spanish: ¿Deberíamos tener miedo al futuro?

“Coronavirus and Worldwide Wars… an Incredible Paradox!” is the title of the new StandingWatch program, presented by Evangelist Norbert Link. Here is a summary:

While we are living in a world with awesome progress, we are unsuccessfully trying to fight appalling evil. Why is this so? While mankind is combating the coronavirus to save lives, it is engaged in preparations for a global all-encompassing nuclear war which could eradicate the human race. How can we explain this paradox?

“Trump’s ‘Irresponsible’ and ‘Incompetent’ European Travel Ban,” is the title of last week’s StandingWatch program, presented by Evangelist Norbert Link. Here is a summary:

Indeed, “incompetent” and “irresponsible” are words which were used to describe President Trump’s European travel ban to “protect” against the “foreign” coronavirus, and much more drastic words have been uttered. The condemnation of his latest action without notice, which contradicted everything which he had said earlier, is worldwide, for different reasons. Panic and fear are engulfing this entire Satan-ruled world, and wide-ranging decisions with huge devastating consequences are being made which will also destroy our entire economy. Where will all of this lead, and what can YOU do about it?

“Coronavirus und Gottes Botschaft an seine Kirche in Philadelphia,” is the title of this Sabbath’s new German sermon, presented by Norbert Link. Title in English: “Coronavirus and God’s Message to His Church in Philadelphia.”

“Die einzig wahre Gesinnung,” is the title of last Sabbath’s German sermonette, presented by Robert Kintzi. Title in English: “The Only True Attitude.”

“God’s Design Plan,” the sermonette presented last Sabbath by Frank Bruno, is now posted. Here is a summary:

We are clear that none of us have seen the face of God the Father in this earthly existence. While only a very few were blessed to have walked with Jesus Christ during His time on earth, He was clear in His messages to mankind that those who believe, without having seen, are truly blessed. The Bible is rich with the information that we can rely on to grow in our faith and understanding. In addition, all that God has created—each one of us, and the world around us also has God’s signature design. In this Sermonette we will explore the Scriptures that bring this to light, and help us to see just how God created mankind to reflect His and His Son’s image, and His never-ending promise to those who believe and obey His commands.

“A Reason For The Hope That Is In You,” the sermon presented last Sabbath by Eric Rank, is now posted. Here is a summary:

The Bible instructs us to always be ready to have an answer for the hope that is within us when people ask us about our beliefs. What are your reasons for continuing to hope for the future that God promises?

On March 7, 2020, Norbert Link will present, “Comments on News and Prophecy (March 7, 2020),” and Michael Link will present the sermon, titled, “Heart 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 world at the moment is in a spiraling catastrophic downspin of one major curse after another, which has accelerated since January this year. One article which demonstrates this, titled, “10 Plagues That Are Hitting Our Planet Simultaneously,” has been published on February 17 by Michael Snyder and linked by the Drudge Report, as follows:

“All of a sudden, really crazy things are starting to happen all over the world… The following is a list of 10 plagues that are hitting our planet simultaneously…

“#1 Armies Of Locusts –… swarms of locusts the size of major cities have been devouring entire farms in Africa in as little as 30 seconds.  These swarms have also been spreading throughout the Middle East, and now we have learned that they have even reached China… Billions of the insects have destroyed food supplies across Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia in what has been described as the worst plague for decades.

“#2 Extremely Bizarre Weather Patterns –… An all-time record 209 mph wind gust just hit California, and absolutely crazy storms are happening all over the planet… Sydney has been thrown into chaos by a devastating storm that saw two months of rainfall in just two days – forcing mass evacuations, leaving 150,000 homes without power, and prompted warnings not to drive to work. The storm dumped 400mm of rain on the city over the weekend, causing mayhem for commuters on Monday morning with roads blocked, ferries canceled and trains suffering major delays across the network.

“#3 Unprecedented Flooding – We are seeing unusual flooding all over the world right now, and the flooding that is devastating the southern U.S. at this moment is being called ‘unprecedented’… In Jackson, Mississippi, hundreds of residents either watched their homes flood over the weekend or worried their residence would soon be drenched as the Pearl River crested Monday at 36.8 feet, its third-highest level ever recorded – behind only 1979 and 1983. Calling the Jackson floods ‘historic’ and ‘unprecedented,’ Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves said in a Sunday press conference that ‘we do not anticipate this situation to end anytime soon. It will be days before we are out of the woods and the waters recede.’

“#4 Major Earthquakes –… A magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck Tuesday (January 28) about 80 miles from Jamaica, shaking people in the Caribbean and as far away as Miami. A tsunami of 0.4 feet was recorded in the Cayman Islands at George Town, but no tsunami was observed at Port Royal, Jamaica, or Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic.

“#5 Unusual Volcanic Eruptions – … One of Indonesia’s most active volcanoes, Mount Merapi just experienced its most powerful eruption since 1930! The eruption reportedly took place on Thursday (February 13) and was caught on video displaying a powerful and terrifying eruption showing the moment the crater exploded and launched lava and ash an estimated 2,000 meters into the air forcing local residents to stay outside of the designated no-go zone 3km (1.8 miles) from the crater.

“#6 The Coronavirus – Needless to say, the coronavirus outbreak in China has been getting more headlines than anything else on this list.  The numbers continue to rise, and many are speculating that this could potentially become the worst global pandemic since the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918…

“#7 The African Swine Fever – ‘Pig Ebola’ has already wiped out millions upon millions of pigs in China, and it has now spread to more than 40 other countries.  The price of pork is absolutely skyrocketing in China right now, and to help fill the demand the Chinese are increasingly importing pork from U.S. sources…

“#8 The H1N1 Swine Flu – Unlike the African Swine Fever, the H1N1 Swine Flu can actually kill humans.  In fact, it has already killed more people outside of China than the coronavirus outbreak has… As of now, the H1N1 virus is posing a great threat once again as it has claimed 13 lives in Taiwan in the last week. This virus is highly contagious and is known to spread from human to human. It is especially dangerous for those with a compromised immune system like those suffering from chronic medical conditions and long-term health conditions.

“#9 The H5N1 Bird Flu – This strain of the bird flu caused a massive global scare a number of years ago, and now it is experiencing a stunning resurgence… experts are warning that this outbreak could be just getting started… China also is reportedly dealing with an outbreak of the deadly H5N1 bird flu in chickens in the Hunan province, an area that borders the province where the coronavirus emerged… As of Feb. 1, local authorities had culled 17,828 poultry after the H5NI outbreak…

“#10 The H5N8 Bird Flu – This strain is different from the H5N1 bird flu, but many believe that it is even more frightening.  It has started to pop up in numerous places around the globe… Germany has reported an outbreak of the highly pathogenic H5N8 bird flu virus in a backyard in the southwestern part of the country…

“2020 has certainly started off with quite a bang, and many expect global events to continue to accelerate… things are likely to get even crazier in the months ahead.”

In spite of all of this happening, and much more could be added, are the people, communities and nations asking themselves WHY this is occurring? Well, it is happening because of SIN. China is experiencing this horrible outbreak of the coronavirus because of breaking God’s laws regarding clean and unclean meats. The United States is under a curse for their murders, sexual sins, drug abuse and a host of other issues they are not addressing nor dealing with.

We are witnessing the effect of worldwide sinning but not addressing the root cause which is transgressing His commandments and laws in effect today, but if they were to obey, these curses would go away. Just as the author of the article states, “Hold on to your hats, it will get worse” (paraphrasing). Indeed, it will get much worse before it gets better.

Look at what Christ stated in Matthew 24:21: “For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be.”

As we approach the Passover season and examine ourselves, let us make sure we are putting sin out of our lives so that we may be worthy to escape that which is coming on the whole world and to stand before the Son of Man when He returns. This we know: Things will get MUCH better—there will be absolutely no comparison whatsoever–once Christ returns and ends the current madness.

by Norbert Link

As we report every week on important news developments around the globe, we should be able to see how prophecy is marching on. Most of the reports are grim, foreboding and frightening, and the next big prophetic event, as announced in the Bible, will be the terrible and unparalleled Great Tribulation. We must not become disillusioned when reading those reports, but we should instead remind ourselves that, in a sense, this bad news is good news, because we know that these things must occur so that Jesus Christ can come back to usher in the wonderful world tomorrow.

Satan knows this too, and his wrath is great. He will try, whatever he can, to destroy all of mankind—quite literally and also spiritually, by disseminating his wrong ideas, religions and philosophies. Satan’s wrath is foremost directed, though, against God’s true Church and true Christians, knowing that his time is short. We must all be very well aware of Satan’s evil techniques and we must not fall prey to his deceitful devices and his temptations, including feelings of frustration and the wish to give up. Instead, we should seek God even more and pray for His strength and unsurpassable power, lifting up our heads as we know that Christ’s return is near.

We begin with a new serious challenge for Europe and Germany as Turkey has opened its borders for Syrian immigrants to migrate to Europe; speak on the numerous devastating global consequences of the coronavirus; offer some sound advice as to what to do and not to do under the circumstances; and warn of new and much more deadly pandemics which are prophesied.

We publish frightening perspectives and nightmare scenarios of what it could mean to the world once Trump is reelected; and report on the (for many) surprising outcome of the Democratic “Super Tuesday.”

We speak on an absolutely futile “peace treaty” between the USA and the Taliban in Afghanistan; address Netanyahu’s victorious election results in Israel; the lack of a workable relationship between Jordan and Israel; and the stunning comments that the Third Temple could have been built already in 1967.

We report on Putin’s attempt to legalize marriage as only between a man and a woman and to enact a ban on same-sex marriage; and, at the same time, America’s fascination with the LGBTQ community.

We address Germany’s new mandatory vaccination laws and the dubious roles which two popes played during the Nazi era. In this regard, please view our new StandingWatch program, “The Collaboration of two Popes with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy.” 

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

New Invasion of Refugees Threatens Europe

Reuters and Algemeiner wrote on February 28:

“Refugees in Turkey headed towards European frontiers on Friday after an official declared that borders had been thrown open in response to the escalating war in Syria, a day after 33 Turkish soldiers were killed by Russian-backed Syrian government troops… ‘We have decided, effectively immediately, not to stop Syrian refugees from reaching Europe by land or sea,’ a senior Turkish official told Reuters on condition of anonymity… ‘All refugees, including Syrians, are now welcome to cross into the European Union,’ the official said, adding that police and border guards had been stood down…

“Greece and Bulgaria said they were immediately reinforcing their frontiers. Bulgaria’s prime minister said the prospect of a new migration crisis was even more of a threat when European countries were struggling to respond to the coronavirus…

“A million civilians have been displaced since December inside Syria near the Turkish border in desperate winter conditions, perhaps the worst humanitarian crisis of a war that has already made half the country homeless. Turkey, already home to 3.7 million Syrian refugees, says it cannot take more…”

The Revival of the European Migration Crisis?

The Associated Press wrote on March 1:

“Thousands of migrants and refugees massed at Turkey’s western frontier Sunday, trying to enter Greece by land and sea… Greek authorities said they stopped about 10,000 crossing attempts Saturday, and another 5,500 on Sunday…

“In Istanbul, a steady stream of buses, taxis, cars and minibuses were ferrying hundreds more throughout Sunday to Edirne, a town near the border with Greece. The vehicles weren’t part of any regular bus route. Those boarding the buses — the vast majority Afghans — said they were heading to Greece and eventually hoped to get to Germany…”

Deutsche Welle wrote on March 3:

“The images from the Greek-Turkish border are shocking… Some refugees hold signs asking for help from German Chancellor Angela Merkel. After all, the chancellor rescued refugees in Hungary from a similar situation by letting them come to Germany. Refugees on the border with Greece are now hoping for the same.

“But Germany in 2020 is not the country it was in 2015. Looking back, Merkel acknowledges there was a ‘loss of control.’ The chancellor has since described the open borders that allowed hundreds of thousands of people to pour into the country as a ‘mistake’ that should not be repeated.

“Many things have happened since 2015. The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) has become increasingly popular in Germany and right-wing terrorism appears to be on the rise… ‘We are seeing refugees and migrants who are being told on the Turkish side that the route to the EU is now open — and of course it is not,’ Merkel’s spokesman Steffen Seibert underscored at a press conference on Monday in Berlin…

“Friedrich Merz, who is gunning to lead Merkel’s center-right Christian Democrats (CDU), spoke out against accepting more refugees from Turkey. He said Berlin needs to send a clear signal: ‘There is no point in coming to Germany. We cannot take you in.’… The AfD [called] for the immediate closure of Germany’s borders.”

And so, refugees at the border are again becoming pawns in a political game of the mighty. But this could prove costly for the survival of Germany’s grand coalition. Note the next article.

German Protestors for Open Borders

Deutsche Welle wrote on March 4:

“Thousands of protesters gathered in Berlin on Tuesday in front of German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s official residence to demand the opening of the border between Turkey and the European Union… similar protests were held in Hamburg and Potsdam…

“The protests come as German politicians are put under increased pressure to deal with the situation at the Greek border… The German chancellor (Angela Merkel, CDU) has so far remained firm that the EU’s borders are closed… German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer (CSU) also tweeted on Tuesday evening in Arabic… ‘Europe’s borders are not open to refugees from Turkey, and this applies to our German borders as well.’”

“More protests are planned for later in the week.”

Major Companies Cancel Conferences in the USA

MSN wrote on February 29:

“Major companies are beginning to cancel conferences and travel plans within the United States due to the coronavirus, which analysts warn will have cascading impacts on the country’s hotels, airlines and convention centers.

“International travel — particularly to Asia — has so far been the hardest-hit part of the industry, though analysts say that could soon change as fears of the coronavirus spread to Europe and North America. Hotels around the country have begun reporting a rise in group cancellations…

“Workday called off a sales conference in Orlando scheduled for next week, while Google and Facebook canceled multiple events in California and Nevada between March and May. Amazon this week told employees to put off ‘nonessential travel’ in the United States…

“Shares of hotel companies and airlines plunged this week, as coronavirus-related fears led global markets to post their worst weekly losses since the Great Recession. Shares of Marriott and InterContinental Hotels Group fell about 9 percent apiece, while American Airlines and Jet Blue posted declines of more than 20 percent.”

Airlines Being Hit

USA Today wrote on February 29:

“The Trump administration is urging Americans to avoid travel to parts of Italy and South Korea amid growing concern about the spread of coronavirus… Vice President Mike Pence announced that the U.S. has raised the travel warning to level 4 – its most severe warning – regarding travel to affected areas of Italy and South Korea…

“American Airlines late Saturday announced plans to cancel its flights to Milan through April 24…”

The Sun wrote on March 1 that “DELTA is suspending its daily flight between New York’s JFK airport and Milan Malpensa Airport for two months amid coronavirus fears.”

AFP wrote on February 29:

“Due to the ‘accelerated spread of the coronavirus’ [Lufthansa] said it would have to cut the numbers of its short- and medium-haul flights by up to a quarter and ground 23 of its long-haul planes. [This also includes a 40% reduction of flights to Italy]…[The German press reported that Lufthansa will cancel more than 7,000 flights in March. This includes at least 3,700 flights from and to the Frankfurt  Airport.]

“Lufthansa’s share price plummeted by close to 21 percent on the Frankfurt stock exchange this week as investors panicked over the effects of the virus. The International Civil Aviation Organization has said that the virus outbreak could mean a $4-5 billion drop in worldwide airline revenue…”

British Airways announced that they will cancel all return-flights during the month of March from England to Italy and some Asian countries. Deutsche Welle wrote on March 2 that “the airline industry is facing the worst downturn since the 2008 financial crisis.”

Italy announced that until mid-March, all schools and universities will be closed. German Health Minister Jens Spahn said on Wednesday that the coronavirus has become a “global pandemic,” warning that “worse was still to come” (The Local, March 4), and that there would be “restrictions on everyday life,” according to Deutsche Welle. The article added that “earlier on Wednesday, the German government had banned the export of medical gear and adjusted a national travel advisory to warn of an ‘elevated quarantine risk’ associated with cruise ship travel.”

Israel Severely Restricts Entry from Europe

 AFP wrote on March 4:

 “Israel on Wednesday imposed tough new travel restrictions on five European nations due to fears of coronavirus, barring entry to almost all non-residents of the Jewish state arriving from these affected countries.

“Israel had earlier in the day ordered all citizens and residents returning from the five countries — France, Germany, Spain, Austria and Switzerland — into 14-day home quarantine upon entering the country.

“The measures come on top of restrictions previously imposed on arrivals from mainland China, Hong Kong, Thailand, Singapore, Macau, South Korea, Japan and Italy.

“Guidelines issued by the health ministry on Wednesday afternoon declared that foreigners from the affected European countries ‘will not be able to enter Israeli territory unless they can prove they have a place to stay in quarantine’.

“The interior ministry issued a statement in the evening saying tourists from these countries ‘will not be able to enter Israel from Friday at 8:00 am (0600 GMT)’.”

Gloomy Prediction for Global Economy

The Week wrote on February 28:

“The end of a very rough week for U.S. markets brought a worrying prediction… Nouriel Roubini, a New York University business professor and market prognosticator who foretold the housing bubble burst, told Yahoo Finance on Friday to expect ‘severe’ consequences as the coronavirus continues to rattle markets… predicting ‘global equities to tank by 30 to 40 percent this year.’

“He said people… don’t realize the ‘simple math’ tells us that realistically, a squeezed Chinese economy will mean downturns around the globe. ‘This crisis will spill over and result in a disaster,’ said Roubini.

“Though the week just saw a 3,500-point drop for the Dow Jones Industrial Average, Roubini warned: ‘It is far from being over.’”

The Week reported on March 2:

“The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 1,293 points for a 5.1 percent gain on Monday, rebounding from a slump stemming from coronavirus fears. It’s the Dow’s biggest points gain of all time and its biggest percentage gain since 2009. The rise comes ‘on hopes that central banks will take action to shelter the global economy’ from the coronavirus’ effects, The Associated Press reports… Last week was the Dow’s worst since the 2008 financial crisis with a loss of more than 3,000 points.”

The Associated Press wrote on March 3:

“Fear and uncertainty continue to control Wall Street, and stocks fell sharply Tuesday after an emergency interest-rate cut by the Federal Reserve failed to reassure markets wracked by worries that a fast-spreading virus will cause a recession.

“The Dow Jones Industrial average sank 785 points, or 2.9%. It had surged 5% a day earlier on hopes for aid from the Fed and other central banks.”

The Dow Jones did very well on Wednesday, following the “Super Tuesday” results, but as fears of the coronavirus continued, notice what happened on Thursday:

CNBC wrote on March 5: “Dow tanks more than 950 points [on Thursday] as Wall Street’s roller-coaster week continues.”

Our shaky economy is built on hopes and dreams… which seem to change by the day. Roubini might be right with his prognostication regarding the disastrous financial consequences of the virus. He also said that because of it, Trump will not be reelected. On that he is dead wrong. Trump will be reelected for sure.

Sound Advice

Deutsche Welle reported on March 1:

“Four years ago, the Bonn-based Federal Office of Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance (BBK) published a checklist of long-lasting foods it recommends stockpiling for emergencies… It advises Germans to stockpile food and drink for about ten days.

“Specifically, the checklist states that one person needs 14 liters of liquid a week, and recommends stocking mineral water and fruit juice in particular. Even so, the BBK warns against panic buying, advising Germans to stockpile only foods and drinks ‘that you and your family would consume anyway’…

“Bulgarian daily 24 Tschassa… praised the advice provided by German authorities, saying that in most cases ‘consumers just hoard all kinds of products – without a proper idea how long they will come in useful or whether they might need them at all.’ The paper said… ‘it makes no sense to buy excessive amounts of supplies.’”

“Stop Buying Face Masks, but Follow Other Recommendations!”

CNN wrote on March 2:

“The United States’ top doctor has one simple request: Stop buying face masks. US Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams’ message, posted to Twitter on Saturday, was a response to face mask shortages as people stocked up due to coronavirus concerns. ‘Seriously people,’ he began, and though it’s a tweet, you can almost hear the exasperation in his plea. ‘STOP BUYING MASKS!’ ‘They are NOT effective in preventing general public from catching #Coronavirus, but if healthcare providers can’t get them to care for sick patients, it puts them and our communities at risk!’ he continued…

“The tweet comes during what has become a mask boom… [But] if these masks run out, they won’t be available to the medical professionals who are at the highest risk for disease transmission… Meanwhile, stores across the country have run out of masks…

“The CDC recommends the following to prevent the spread of any respiratory disease:

“Avoid close contact with people who are sick. Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth. Stay home from school or work when you are sick. Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash. Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces using a regular household cleaning spray or wipe. Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after going to the bathroom, before eating, and after blowing your nose, coughing or sneezing. If soap and water are unavailable, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol. Always wash hands with soap and water if hands are visibly dirty.”

This advice should be heeded.

Obscure Sect Partially Responsible for Coronavirus Outbreak in South Korea

Christianity Today wrote on March 2, 2020:

“An apocalyptic sect whose leader claims he is an angel of Jesus [or, according to other reports,  that he is Christ Himself or the Second Coming of Christ, and that he is immortal] has become the biggest cluster of coronavirus infections in South Korea, which now leads the world in cases of COVID-19 disease outside of China… More than 400 of those infected have been directly linked to a single house of worship, a Daegu branch of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony—viewed as a cult by mainstream Korean Christian organizations—where a woman in her 60s attended two services before testing positive for the virus…

“A petition asking Korea’s president to dissolve Shincheonji gathered more than 750,000 signatures in four days… However, church leaders worry such a move could give the government an excuse to do the same to regular religious groups later…”

It was also reported that “Seoul’s city government has asked prosecutors to press charges, including murder, against the founder of a secretive religious sect for failing to cooperate in containing the spread of the deadly coronavirus” (ibtimes, dated March 2). This charge has been strongly denied by the group, claiming that they cooperated with governmental agencies from the time they found out about the sick member.

Worldwide Devastating Pandemics Coming!

The Week wrote on February 29:

“Picture a new viral disease like the Wuhan coronavirus, now called COVID-19, that passes easily from person to person and spreads rapidly around the globe. But unlike COVID-19, which kills perhaps 2 or 3 percent of its victims, this virus kills 20 percent of those infected. Or 40 percent. It might sound like a disaster movie premise… but viral disease experts are in wide agreement that such a pandemic is coming, and that it will inflict unimaginable devastation. The only question is when it will hit…

“The most likely scenario is a pathogen that jumps from animals to humans and can spread through the air. The outbreak of COVID-19 was traced to a live-animal market in Wuhan, China, where a bat virus appears to have added some genetic material from a soldierfish. Many viral diseases have been traced to animals, including HIV (which originated in chimpanzees), MERS (camels), SARS (probably bats and civet cats), and Ebola (unknown, but probably bats). Last year researchers at Johns Hopkins ran a simulation of a hypothetical coronavirus emerging from a Brazilian pig farm: The result was 65 million dead within 18 months. Another concern is a familiar very deadly virus that mutates, allowing it to spread more easily… The intentional or accidental release of a manmade pathogen is another threat; new genetic engineering tools have made them far easier to create…

“Human population growth. People are encroaching on previously wild areas where unknown viruses and bacteria lurk in animals; those who become infected carry the pathogens back to densely packed cities, where disease is easily spread. The 1998 emergence of the Nipah virus, for example, was linked to deforestation in Malaysia that displaced fruit bats and put them near pig farms. Pigs became infected, and the virus then spread to farmworkers. In the past 50 years, more than 300 pathogens have emerged or re-emerged, including Zika and yellow fever…  The surge in international travel allows viruses to spread around the globe quickly…

“Are we prepared for a major pandemic? Not at all. A report released last October by the Global Health Security Index found glaring gaps in readiness; out of 195 countries surveyed, not one was judged fully prepared to handle a major event… Experts say the U.S. and other countries need to spend vastly more money on pandemic preparedness…

“Epidemics have been a fact of life… The earliest on record dates to 430 B.C., when a pestilence that may have been typhoid fever took root in Athens, killing up to two-thirds of the city’s population. In A.D. 541, the Justinian plague spread through the Mediterranean world; recurrences over the next two centuries would kill more than 25 percent of the world’s population. In the 14th century, another outbreak of plague, called the Black Death — driven by fleas that live on rats but can bite humans — claimed over 75 million lives, including some 60 percent of the population of Europe, whose cities were piled with reeking corpses. In the 16th and 17th centuries Native Americans were ravaged by smallpox and other diseases brought by European conquerors and colonists; in some areas as much as 90 percent of native populations were wiped out. The pandemic with the greatest number of casualties in history was the Spanish flu of 1918. It infected some 500 million people worldwide — a third of the population — and killed as many as 100 million.”

Worldwide pandemics are prophesied to happen very soon.

A Nightmare Scenario

The Week wrote on March 2:

“Here is a scenario… President Trump… uses the threat of a pandemic to severely restrict international travel to the United States and institutes stringent new limits on U.S. citizens’ ability to travel abroad — perhaps mandatory medical testing, biometric data collection, or vaccination before you leave; extended interviews with Customs agents to vet the reasons for your trip; or even a near-complete embargo on visits to China and other countries where coronavirus outbreak coincides, in Trump’s mind, with an economic threat to America…

“This would not be the first time a crisis has been used to fundamentally change global mobility: Just over a century ago, the passport system we now take for granted did not yet exist. In the decades before the first World War, international travel was generally unhindered… A train might cross multiple borders in Europe within a single day… travelers could typically travel whenever, wherever, and for whatever reason they wanted.

“During World War I, the Triple Alliance nations (Austria-Hungary, Germany, and Italy) began requiring passport use, and both Triple Entente states and neutral countries soon followed suit. After the war, the United Nations’ precursor, the League of Nations… held the first passport conference in Paris. Its aim… was to restore the pre-war regime of freedom of movement… That aim was not achieved… Further attempts to return to pre-war travel freedoms also failed…

“Permanent, serious strictures on our freedom to travel may seem unlikely at the moment… wouldn’t such repressive measures, particularly those affecting U.S. citizens, be widely unpopular? Yes, but what would people do about it?… And anyway, passports were once widely unpopular, too. The 1926 passport conference observed that the public desired ‘a resolution contemplating the abolition of passports at the earliest possible date.’ It was a desire unmet.

“… as the coronavirus crisis is used to curtail international travel — there’s already a ban on U.S. entry by foreign nationals who have been in China in the previous two weeks and a mandatory quarantine for U.S. citizens returning from Hubei province — we would do well to take care from the outset that measures are as minimal as possible and firmly bounded by expiration dates.

“Draconian travel restrictions are not an inconceivable outcome here, and, if history is any guide, once done, they won’t be easy to undo.”

It is interesting that Germany, Austria/Hungary and Italy invented the passport system. And prophetically, the concerns raised in the article are not out of the realm of possibility.

Four More Years of Trump—Europe’s Security At Risk

Project Syndicate published on February 27 an article by Joschka Fischer, former German Foreign Minister and Vice Chancellor from 1998-2005:

“The re-election of President Donald Trump could spell the end of the liberal world order and the system of alliances that America has fostered since the 1940s… Should Trump win in November, he will have a mandate to wreak havoc for another four years…

“Make no mistake: it makes a big difference whether Trump is in office for eight years rather than just four. In addition to Americans, Europeans would be the first to feel the consequences of a second Trump term…

“In 2020, no one will make the same mistake again. But nor can anyone claim not to know what they are getting with Trump. He… has stayed mostly true to his campaign promises.

“… If Trump is re-elected, he will most likely behave even more radically and without restraint. He will be fully convinced that he is the ‘chosen one.’

“… Europeans should be preparing for the worst… Europe’s very security and sovereignty are now at risk. The EU must ask itself if it is prepared to do what is necessary to remain an independent player, united in the common interest of all Europeans…”

And all of this is exactly what is prophesied.

The Democrats’ Super Tuesday

Drudge Report linked on March 3 to the following article by “Reason”:

“As Super Tuesday finally transfigures the Democratic presidential nomination process into a binary choice between two old, occasionally problematic white men whose enduring popularity is consistently underrated by a baffled mainstream press, it’s worth reflecting on just how poorly the media’s preferred candidates performed in the 2020 race.

“In the end, The New York Times‘ dual Democratic presidential endorsements—bestowed upon both Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D–Mass.) and Amy Klobuchar (D–Minn.)—… just didn’t matter.

“Nor did the media’s fawning over South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg, early flirtation with Beto O’Rourke, and absolute worship of Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) resonate with the millions of Americans living outside the Acela corridor.

“Instead, Democratic voters indicated over and over again that they were most interested in the popular former vice president and the iconoclastic but well-respected runner-up from the 2016 Democratic race. Before the actual primaries, Biden consistently led in polls and Sanders performed well—and then the eventual voting followed this pattern, with early wins for Sanders and a comeback surge from Biden. The idea that any other candidate had a particularly likely shot at the nomination was always pundit-driven misdirection from a class of commentators demanding more interesting, intersectional characters, because the commentators themselves are more interested in identity-based diversity than the rest of the country.

“Indeed, the media stumped for Warren so hard that Vox‘s Matt Yglesias recently had to write a post explaining to people why she was losing… outside the Vox bubble, there was little interest in the kind of cultural progressivism represented by Warren.

“At present, Biden and Sanders are locked in a battle for delegates. Both men have a good shot at the nomination. But this was true a year ago as well. They were both better-known and better-liked than many in the media seemed to grasp, and an endless series of magazine covers, fluff pieces, and editorial board endorsements aimed at other candidates couldn’t make any difference whatsoever.”

NPR wrote on March 4:

“The Democratic presidential contest is now a two-man race. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders went into Super Tuesday the front-runner, but it was Joe Biden’s night. The former vice president rode a surge of momentum out of his big win in South Carolina on Saturday and established himself squarely as the principal alternative to Sanders.

“Biden won a majority of states, including Texas, Tuesday night. Sanders is projected to win California, but with votes still being counted there it’s unclear which candidate will emerge with a delegate lead. That sets up what looks to be a sharp fight over the next two months between candidates with very different ideologies — Sanders paints in bold colors and wants radical change; Biden believes in progress accomplished by working with Washington’s competing interests.”

Axios reported on March 4 that “Michael Bloomberg, who spent hundreds of millions of dollars to self-fund his 2020 presidential run, announced Wednesday that he is suspending his campaign after a poor performance on Super Tuesday  and will endorse Joe Biden.”

JTA wrote on March 5:

 “Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who drew strong support from Jewish progressives, has dropped her bid for the Democratic presidential nomination.”

At this point, she has not endorsed Biden or Sanders. But no matter who the Democratic nominee will be, he will not become the next President.  

“Peace Treaty” Between USA and Taliban?

The Associated Press wrote on February 29:

“The United States signed a peace agreement with Taliban militants on Saturday aimed at bringing an end to 18 years of bloodshed in Afghanistan and allowing U.S. troops to return home from America’s longest war.

“Under the agreement, the U.S. would draw its forces down to 8,600 from 13,000 in the next 3-4 months, with the remaining U.S. forces withdrawing in 14 months. The complete pullout, however, would depend on the Taliban meeting their commitments to prevent terrorism.

“President George W. Bush ordered the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan in response to the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. Some U.S. troops currently serving there had not yet been born when the World Trade Center collapsed on that crisp, sunny morning that changed how Americans see the world.

“It only took a few months to topple the Taliban and send Osama bin Laden and top al-Qaida militants scrambling across the border into Pakistan, but the war dragged on for years as the United States tried [to] establish a stable, functioning state in one of the least developed countries in the world. The Taliban regrouped, and currently hold sway over half the country.

“The U.S. spent more than $750 billion, and on all sides the war cost tens of thousands of lives lost, permanently scarred and indelibly interrupted. But the conflict was also frequently ignored by U.S. politicians and the American public…

“The Taliban harbored bin Laden and his al-Qaida network as they plotted, and then celebrated, the hijackings of four airliners that were crashed into lower Manhattan, the Pentagon and a field in western Pennsylvania, killing almost 3,000 people…

“Trump has repeatedly promised to get the U.S. out of its ‘endless wars’ in the Middle East, and the withdrawal of troops could provide a boost as he seeks re-election in a nation weary of involvement in distant conflicts…

“The prospects for Afghanistan’s future are uncertain. The agreement sets the stage for peace talks involving Afghan factions, which are likely to be complicated. Under the agreement, 5,000 Taliban are to be released from Afghan-run jails, but it’s not known if the Afghan government will do that. There are also questions about whether Taliban fighters loyal to various warlords will be willing to disarm…”

To think for one moment that one can make a successful peace treaty with terrorists is absolutely illusionary and ludicrous. We don’t think that even the Trump administration seriously believes in its success either. The main reason for this treaty is a justification to withdraw American troops from Afghanistan, with a view to the elections in 2020, but as a consequence, Afghanistan will continue to experience further and even more violence and chaos.

“Bibi Is Back”—Netanyahu’s Strong Win

“The Jerusalem Post wrote on March 2:

“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu succeeded in winning [58] seats for his bloc of right-wing and religious parties in Monday’s election…

“Netanyahu spoke to the heads of the parties in his camp immediately after the exit polls were announced and agreed to form a strong nationalist government as soon as possible.”

However, lacking the needed majority of 61 seats, Netanyahu is forced to enter into difficult coalition talks with other parties.

Times of Israel wrote on March 5:

“… the Central Elections Committee on Thursday confirmed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s party as the largest after Monday’s general election, with final results giving it 36 seats to rival Blue and White’s 33. The full results… confirmed, however, that the right-wing bloc of parties supporting Netanyahu had won 58 seats, three short of a majority needed to form a coalition.“

Reuters added:

 “That could spell further deadlock and another snap election to follow Monday’s vote, which was Israel’s third in a year.”

Jordan-Israel Peace Treaty at Risk

JNS wrote on March 4:

“Relations between Jordan and Israel are at their lowest ebb since the signing of the 1994 peace treaty between the two countries, and the treaty itself is now ‘at risk,’ Jordanian Prime Minister Omar Razzaz said on Monday…

“According to Razzaz, Jordan is angry about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s pledge to extend Israeli sovereignty to the Jordan Valley and parts of Judea and Samaria as set forth in the US ‘Prosperity to Peace’ plan, and about Israeli ‘violations of the sanctity of Muslim and Christian endowments in Jerusalem.’

“In January, Jordan’s King Abdullah told France 24 News that Israel’s relationship with his country ‘has been on pause for the past two years’…”

Third Temple Could Have Been Built already in 1967

Breaking Israel News wrote on March 3:

“Rabbi David Katz, the author of ‘Laws of Ger Toshav,’ notes… ‘The Temple could have been built in 1967. The objective reality was that there were IDF soldiers on the Temple Mount.

“The Third Temple could have been built but the rabbis decided not to. In 1967 we had everything we need to move forward for everything, the Third Temple, the Kingdom of David, and we still do.’”

And this time, it will be built very soon.

Putin: Marriage between a Man and a Woman

Deutsche Welle wrote on March 3:

“Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday submitted a proposal to establish a ban on same-sex marriage in the country’s constitution. The draft amendment enshrines the mention of Russians’ ‘faith in God’ and states that marriage is between ‘a man and a woman’… The Russian president has long aligned himself with the Russian Orthodox Church and actively promoted distancing his country from liberal Western values. Last month, he said Russia would not legalize same-sex marriage as long as he remains president.

“Putin has said he is not prejudiced against gay people, but has asserted that homosexuality and gender fluidity are out of step with traditional Russian values. A federal law signed by Putin in 2013 already considers the ‘public promotion of homosexuality’ as a crime. Currently, only heterosexual couples can adopt children. Prior to that, homosexuality in Russia was officially criminalized until 1993 and considered a mental illness until 1999.”

Insofar as his definition of marriage is concerned, Putin is right. Note, by contrast, the following article.

Outlawing Conversion Therapies in the USA

ABC News wrote on March 4:

“Virginia became the 20th state in the country to outlaw conversion therapy for LGBTQ minors… ‘Conversion therapy sends the harmful message that there is something wrong with who you are,’ [Governor] Northam said…  The other states that have banned conversion therapy for minors are California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Maine, Nevada, New Jersey, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont and Washington.

“The Virginia bill outlaws any health care provider in any profession licensed by a regulatory board of the Department of Health from engaging in conversion therapy… Del. Patrick Hope, who sponsored the bill, called the practice dangerous and destructive. ‘We should be supporting and celebrating our LGTBQ youth, not putting them in harm’s way,’ he said.”

God in His Word condemns the practice of homosexuality. But in this evil world ruled by Satan, God’s Word means nothing to most people.

Germany’s Mandatory Measles Vaccinations

Deutsche Welle wrote on March 2:

“A law requiring mandatory measles vaccinations  came into force on Sunday in Germany. The law, which was passed last year, stipulates that kindergartens and schools can only accept new children if they have been vaccinated. Under the new law, kids must be ‘verifiably’ inoculated against measles. If the child’s immunization is not documented, schools will be required to notify the local public health office.

“For children already enrolled in schools, proof of vaccination will have to be presented by July 2021, while parents who refuse to vaccinate their children will face fines of up to €2,500 ($2,760).”

These kinds of governmental mandatory measures are just the beginning and do have a bearing on the biblical warning that an authoritarian power bloc will arise in Europe, led by Germany, dictating to the people how to live, how and when to buy and sell, and how and when to work and to cease from working.

The Popes and Fascism

The Guardian wrote on March 1:

“New light will be shed on one of the most controversial periods of Vatican history on Monday when the archives on Pope Pius XII— accused by critics of being a Nazi sympathizer—are unsealed. A year after Pope Francis announced the move, saying ‘the church isn’t afraid of history’, the documents from Pius XII’s papacy, which began in 1939 on the brink of the second world war and ended in 1958, will be opened, initially to a small number of scholars.

“Critics of Pius XII have accused him of remaining silent during the Holocaust, never publicly condemning the persecution and genocide of Jews and others. His defenders say that he quietly encouraged convents and other Catholic institutions to hide thousands of Jews, and that public criticism of the Nazis would have risked the lives of priests and nuns…

“David Kertzer, an American expert on the relationship between the Catholic church and fascism… said there were ‘signs of nervousness’ at the Vatican about what would emerge from the archives… ‘On the big question, it’s clear: Pius XII never publicly criticised the Nazis for the mass murder they were committing of the Jews of Europe – and he knew from the very beginning that mass murder was taking place. Various clerics and others were pressing him to speak out, and he declined to do so. Although there is a lot of testimony showing that the church did protect Jews in Rome, when more than 1,000 were rounded up on 16 October 1943 and held for two days adjacent to the Vatican [before deportation to the death camps], Pius decided not to publicly protest or even privately send a plea to Hitler not to send them to their deaths in Auschwitz…’

“Pius – whose birth name was Eugenio Pacelli – was Vatican secretary of state under his predecessor, Pope Pius XI, and a former papal nuncio, or envoy, to Germany. In 1933, he negotiated a concordat between the Catholic church and Germany. After he was elected pope, six months before the outbreak of war, the Vatican maintained diplomatic relations with the Third Reich, and the new pontiff declined to condemn the Nazi invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939.

“In December 1942, Pius XII spoke out in general terms about the suffering of the Jews, although he had known for several months about the Nazi extermination plans. In 1943, he wrote to the bishop of Berlin, arguing that the church could not publicly condemn the Holocaust for fear of causing ‘greater evils’.”

An interesting work by the above-quoted author, David I. Kertzer, titled, “The Pope and Mussolini” (copyright 2014), shows the inner workings of the Vatican and the close cooperation and sometimes infighting between the Catholic Church under both popes (Pius XI and Pius XII) and Mussolini and Hitler. The Hitler-Mussolini era constituted, in collaboration with the Roman Catholic Church, the sixth revival of the “Holy Roman Empire”–the “woman riding the beast.”

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.

(Español: ¿Deberíamos tener miedo al futuro?)

In the previous Q&A, we discussed one of the greatest fears which we could have—the fear of man—the fearful concern what man may think about us or do to us. But there are of course many other fears which we might encounter, and the Bible refers to some of them in numerous places.

No matter what situation we might find ourselves in, and what circumstance might tempt us to become afraid, God shows us the way out. This Q&A will begin to address the way of escape from fear.

When they were facing or finding themselves in an extremely difficult situation, God’s servants have turned to God for help, peace, security and salvation.

While in distress, David prayed in Psalm 4:3:

“But know that the LORD has set apart for Himself him who is godly; The LORD will hear when I call to Him.”

This is a vital key when we are in the midst of uncertainty—the conviction and persuasion that God hears us when we call on Him. This fact is beautifully reconfirmed in Psalm 107:23-32, coupled with the responsibility of those who have prayed to God and then been helped by Him to thank Him for His intervention:

“Those who go down to the sea in ships, Who do business on great waters, They see the works of the LORD, And His wonders in the deep. For He commands and raises the stormy wind, Which lifts up the waves of the sea. They mount up to the heavens, They go down again to the depths; Their soul melts because of trouble. They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, And are at their wits’ end. Then they cry out to the LORD in their trouble, And He brings them out of their distresses. He calms the storm, So that its waves are still. Then they are glad because they are quiet; So He guides them to their desired haven. Oh, that men would give thanks to the LORD for His goodness, And for His wonderful works to the children of men!”

We find the same teaching and admonition in Psalm 118:1, 5-6, 8-9:

“Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever…  I called on the LORD in distress; The LORD answered me and set me in a broad place. The LORD is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me?… It is better to trust in the LORD Than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust in the LORD Than to put confidence in princes.”

Our ultimate help can only come from God. With that conviction, we need not fear men, nor place our confidence in man as if our help were to come from them, and not from God. But knowing this, we are to thank God for and not forget His intervention.

Solomon made even this remarkable statement in Proverbs 10:3:

“The LORD will not allow the righteous soul to famish…”

This presupposes and necessitates much confidence in God’s presence. And so, God’s servants knew—and had to remind themselves continuously and constantly—that they were not alone and that God knew their anxieties and fears and that He would stand by them and protect them and help them.

David states in Psalm 27:1-3, 13-14:

“…The LORD is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid? When the wicked came against me To eat up my flesh, My enemies and foes, They stumbled and fell. Though an army may encamp against me, My heart shall not fear; Though war should rise against me, In this I will be confident… I would have lost heart, unless I had believed That I would see the goodness of the LORD In the land of the living. Wait on the LORD; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the LORD!”

Here is another key in our fight against anxiety and fear: Waiting on God’s help and intervention while being convinced that He WILL help. Oftentimes, we want God’s action right there and then, but great strength and faith might develop in patience.

Knowing this, David advises us in Psalm 32:6-7:

“For this cause everyone who is godly shall pray to You In a time when You may be found; Surely in a flood of great waters They shall not come near him. You are my hiding place; You shall preserve me from trouble…”

Again, he writes in Psalm 23:4:

“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.”

He was still walking through the valley of the shadow of death. God did not spare him from that. But He spared him from fear and despair, because David knew that God was with him.

The sons of Korah who due to their faithfulness did not have to suffer their father’s fate of extinction because of his rebellion, stated this in Psalm 46:1-3,7:

“… God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, Even though the earth be removed, And though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; Though its waters roar and be troubled, Though the mountains shake with its swelling. Selah… The LORD of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.”

It is important that we remind ourselves in times of anxiety, fear and despair that the great and mighty God is with us.  It is so easy, while being in the heat of fire, to forget this all-important fact.

In Psalm 49:5, 15, the sons of Korah wrote this:

“Why should I fear in the days of evil, When the iniquity at my heels surrounds me?… God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave, For He shall receive me. Selah.”

When God has the power to resurrect us from the dead, then He has most certainly the power to help us in difficult situations in this life. In times of trials, we might forget easily how powerful He is, but it is important to always remember that so that fear of the future does not consume us.

David wrote in Psalm 31:19-24:

“Oh, how great is Your goodness, Which You have laid up for those who fear You, Which You have prepared for those who trust in You In the presence of the sons of men! You shall hide them in the secret place of Your presence From the plots of man; You shall keep them secretly in a pavilion From the strife of tongues… You heard the voice of my supplications When I cried out to You… Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart, All you who hope in the LORD.”

David made it a point to conscientiously remind himself of God’s great and ongoing involvement in his life, so that he could be of good courage and conquer all fear. He wrote in Psalm 56:3-4, 8:

“Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in You… In God I have put my trust; I will not fear. What can flesh do to me?… You number my wanderings; Put my tears into Your bottle; Are they not in Your book?”

David also said in Psalm 31:15: “My times are in Your hand.” He knew that nothing could happen to him unless God were to allow it—including his “good” times and “bad” times, as well as the time of his life and the time of his death—and that God would only allow or do in his life what would be best for him. Paul would later say that all things work together for good to those who love God and do His commandments. We read in Psalm 112 that the righteous who “delights greatly in His commandments” (verse 1) “will not be afraid of evil tidings; His heart is steadfast, trusting in the LORD. His heart is established; He will not be afraid” (verses 7-8).

This same thought is expressed in Proverbs 3:25-26 for those who keep His law and apply His wisdom and understanding:

“Do not be afraid of sudden terror, Nor of trouble from the wicked when it comes; For the LORD will be your confidence, And will keep your foot from being caught.”

This sentiment is echoed in Jeremiah 17:7-8, as follows:

“Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, And whose hope is the LORD. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, Which spreads out its roots by the river, And will not fear when heat comes; But its leaf will be green, And will not be anxious in the year of drought, Nor will cease from yielding fruit.”

While in distress and when facing persecution from evil men, we must not cease from yielding fruit; we must not cease from living a righteous life.

Isaiah 8:12-13 tells us not to be afraid of the threats of men, but rather to have fear and respect for God. In Isaiah 35:4, God adds this thought:

“Say to those who are fearful-hearted, ‘Be strong, do not fear! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, With the recompense of God; He will come and save you.’”

This is the confidence we must always have: That God is on His throne; that He knows what is happening in our lives; that He sees the injustice and persecution which evil and wicked people are trying to inflict on us; and that He, in His due time, WILL intervene to save us and to deal powerfully with our enemies. And that in the meantime, He will not allow that anything happens to us which would be too difficult for us to bear.

God reinforces this marvelous truth throughout the pages of the Bible, which reads like this: We don’t need to fear because God is with us. God will give us His protection, security, help and safety.

Isaiah 41:10-14 quotes God’s words to us as follows:

“‘Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’ Behold, all those who were incensed against you Shall be ashamed and disgraced; They shall be as nothing, And those who strive with you shall perish. You shall seek them and not find them—Those who contended with you. Those who war against you Shall be as nothing, As a nonexistent thing. For I, the LORD your God, will hold your right hand, Saying to you, “Fear not, I will help you.” Fear not, you worm Jacob, You men of Israel! I will help you,’ says the LORD And your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.”

The same promise is reiterated to us in Isaiah 43:2, 5, 15-16:

“‘When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, Nor shall the flame scorch you… Fear not, for I am with you… I am the LORD, your Holy One, The Creator of Israel, your King.’ Thus says the LORD, who makes a way in the sea And a path through the mighty waters…”

God is with us. He is our mighty King—the RULER over the entire universe. Even if He allows us to go through fire which could burn us and water which could drown us, He is with us and will not allow that they harm or kill us before the God-decreed time of our death. And He might create the way of escape in a surprising and totally unexpected fashion—by showing us a path in and through the roaring sea and the mighty overflowing waters. To allow in our minds the possibility of such powerful godly intervention requires much faith on our part—which we will discuss in the next installment.

(To Be Continued)

Lead Writer: Norbert Link

compiled by Dave Harris

A Tech Team meeting was held on Sunday, March 1, 2020, via SKYPE. Hosted by Eric Rank, progress on new website themes was discussed along with making improvements on our live broadcasts.

“The Collaboration of two Popes with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy,” is the title of a new StandingWatch program, presented by Evangelist Norbert Link. Here is a summary:

Will the world learn more now about the most debatable periods of the Vatican’s recent history, the controversial conduct of Pope Pius XI and Pope Pius XII prior to and during World War II, and the collaboration of the Roman Catholic Church with Hitler’s Nazi Germany and Mussolini’s fascist Italy? Could such massive collaboration happen again in our time?

“Gottes Sendschreiben an Seine Kirche (Teil 1),” is the title of this Sabbath’s new German sermon, presented by Norbert Link. Title in English: “God’s Letters to His Church (Part 1).”

“Dein Wille geschehe!”, the sermonette presented last Sabbath in Germany by Johann Schell, is now posted. Title in English: “Your Will Be Done.”

“Chaos and Order,” the sermonette presented last Sabbath by Kalon Mitchell, is now posted. Here is a summary:

Chaos is all around us. As the times get darker and we are getting closer to Christ’s return, the amount of chaos in our lives and in the world is increasing. How can we remain calm and centered and make order from the chaos? God commands us to create order, but how do we accomplish that?

“The Falling Away Has Begun!”, the sermon presented last Sabbath by Norbert Link, is now posted. Here is a summary:

The Bible prophesies that a large group of people will fall away from the Truth just prior to Christ’s Return. We are also told that individuals have been falling away from the Truth at all times. What are the reasons for falling away from God? And how are we to act when we are confronted with lying and grievous wolves who are trying to deceive us and encourage us to leave the Church of God?

• Initial information about our 2020 Feast sites (US and Germany) is posted on our website along with contact information.
• The 2020 Church Conference will be conducted in Escondido, California. Arrival will be Wednesday, March 25, 2020, and departure is scheduled for Monday, March 30, 2020.