On April 4, 2020, Robb Harris will present the sermonette, titled, “From All Sides,” and Dave Harris will present the sermon, titled, “The Second Exodus.”

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.

NOTICE: We will not publish an Update next week (April 10, 2020), but we will resume publishing the following week (April 17, 2020).

PASSOVER will be observed on Tuesday evening, April 7, 2020, following sunset (which begins the day of April 8^th). The FEAST OF UNLEAVENED BREAD will be observed April 9-15, 2020. We will broadcast live services in the morning and afternoon on the Holy Days—Thursday, April 9^th and Wednesday, April 15^th. Further details are available at https://www.eternalgod.org/live-services/

As most of the world sits locked down in their homes and scared, how are we doing as Christians? Are we succumbing to the daily terror in the news? Are we becoming discouraged and disheartened about what is happening? What is our mental attitude and state of mind at this time?

We are rapidly approaching the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. I remember thinking a month ago that I needed to really start digging in and examining myself, and I am surprised by how quickly that time has passed.

The god of this world, Satan, is causing massive panic (toilet paper shortages, as one small example) and great distress on ALL people right now. Most everyone I have talked within the Church is facing trials and troubles in unprecedented waves. It also appears to me that our trials are coming with such frequency that it can be hard to properly focus and take the time to examine ourselves correctly for the Passover.

While trials are not new to us, maybe the intensity with which they are coming is new.

I want to encourage each of us to MAKE the time to seek God, to examine ourselves and to work on the growth of our relationship with God. It takes effort and it takes time. I was listening to an old sermon by Mr. Edwin Pope (the late Senior Pastor of our Church), and he was reiterating how important our relationship with God actually is. The first few chapters of the Bible are replete with individuals who shaped the world by their relationship with God. We have to realize that we too have this same weight on our shoulders. I would suppose that this is not something that we venture to think about a lot. But our relationship with God, and our obedience, is in direct relation to helping to shape the outcomes in this world. Please note Matthew 6:33; 2 Peter 3:12; Matthew 24:22; and Matthew 24:14.

These Scriptures plainly tell us that we each have a direct responsibility in helping to accomplish these things. It is easy to not realize the impact and the magnitude of our calling. Satan wants to destroy each of us because of the impact we can have. James 4:8 tells us: “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” Now is the time to really be drawing close to God, especially as the Passover draws near. If we have not been zealous in this regard, it is time to rectify this (Matthew 22:37; Romans 12:11; Hebrews 10:19-22, 4:6, 11; 7:25; 11:6 ). Drawing near to God is not a physical act, though it can include that. It is directing our heart, our mind and our attention to God, to His laws and commands, and being willing to look into our hearts and recognize where we have sin and then root it out. As Mr. Norbert Link has asked all of us to do, we should set aside a personal day of fasting and prayer prior to the Passover, if we have not already done so.

The Apostle Paul had to rebuke the Corinthian church, but he was pleased with the results. 2 Corinthians 7:5-12 states: “For indeed, when we came to Macedonia, our bodies had no rest, but we were troubled on every side. Outside were conflicts, inside were fears. Nevertheless God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus, and not only by his coming, but also by the consolation with which he was comforted in you, when he told us of your earnest desire, your mourning, your zeal for me, so that I rejoiced even more. For even if I made you sorry with my letter, I do not regret it; though I did regret it. For I perceive that the same epistle made you sorry, though only for a while. Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorry, but that your sorrow led to repentance. For you were made sorry in a godly manner, that you might suffer loss from us in nothing. For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death. For observe this very thing, that you sorrowed in a godly manner: What diligence it produced in you, what clearing of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what vehement desire, what zeal, what vindication! In all things you proved yourselves to be clear in this matter. Therefore, although I wrote to you, I did not do it for the sake of him who had done the wrong, nor for the sake of him who suffered wrong, but that our care for you in the sight of God might appear to you.”

We need to continue looking at ourselves, examining ourselves and making sure that we will be taking the Passover in a right and worthy manner. We need to make sure that we are drawing close to God, so that our examination is not just causing worldly sorrow, but rather godly sorrow that produces change in us. Are we changing? Are we allowing God’s Spirit to help us to change? If we are attempting to get rid of sin on our own, we will fail (2 Corinthians 13:5; 2 Peter 1:10-11).

While we begin to see the prophesied downfall of the modern House of Israel, it should cause us to wake up and to become more diligent in seeking and maintaining a right relationship with our great God. We need to do this so that we can stay mentally strong and sound in the faith (1 Corinthians 16:13; 1 Peter 5:1-10; Ephesians 6:18).

When we are properly seeking God, we will be having different desires than this world has. We will want to seek God. We will want to change. We will have hope (Romans 15:13). We will have desire for the Kingdom of God, and our entrance into it. Philippians 2:13 tells us that if we are on the proper wavelength  and have the right mindset, then God can and will work through us. This should be what we are desiring and striving towards.

It is amazing how the Word of God is also needed, as we seek to draw closer to God. When we properly spend time in studying the Word of God, we start to become convicted of what we read, and we can really begin to make the changes in our lives that must be made to draw close to God.

by Norbert Link

We begin with restrictions for US citizens in connection with the coronavirus and the resulting consequences for personal liberty and freedom, religion and the economy. In this regard, please view our new StandingWatch program, titled, “Religious Persecution of Christian Pastors in the USA?”

We quote articles claiming that mass quarantines are not sustainable and showing the devastating effects on personal health conditions.  

Europe’s situation is deeply troublesome and poses the question as to whether and when a powerful charismatic autocratic leader will arise to lead core European nations out of this and other crises.

We cite two articles from Great Britain strongly disagreeing with measures taken by Boris Johnson to combat the coronavirus; ask whether the post-Brexit negotiations between the UK and the EU will have to be suspended; and report on a controversial decision regarding religion in Brazil.  

We speak on attempts to sacrifice a Passover lamb on the Temple Mount; and conclude with an alleged attempt by Pope Benedict to bring about the downfall of Pope Francis.

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

President Trump Passed Historic Bill 

MarketWatch wrote on March 27:

“President Donald Trump on Friday signed a $2 trillion stimulus bill that would cut $1,200 checks to many adults, expand unemployment insurance payments and extend loans to businesses, all in an effort to combat the coronavirus outbreak’s toll on the economy…”

Until recently, the national debt was above 23 trillion dollars. With the rescue package of 2 trillion dollars and more money needed in the future, the national debt will most likely soon exceed 26 trillion dollars. Some analysts fear we might see a national debt of over 30 trillion dollars within the next two years.

Clearly, this country is being brought down to its knees as NEVER BEFORE.

Pastor Arrested for Conducting Church Services in Florida

CNN wrote on March 30:

“Rodney Howard-Browne, a Tampa Bay area pastor, has been arrested following two large services at his church over the weekend…

“Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister said Howard-Browne has been charged with two counts: unlawful assembly and a violation of health emergency rules. Both are second-degree misdemeanors… Last week Hillsborough County issued an order directing residents to remain at home effective March 27 except for ‘essential services’… ‘His reckless disregard for human life put hundreds of people in his congregation at risk,’ Chronister said at a news conference on Monday, ‘as well as put thousands of residents who may interact with them in danger.’

“… one of [the pastor’s] attorneys issued a statement Monday challenging the logic of the county’s stay-at-home order and saying the River church took extra health precautions for its services Sunday. The church gave each attendee hand sanitizer, had its staffers wear gloves and enforced a six-foot distance between family groups in the auditorium, attorney Mat Staver said… ‘the actions of Hillsborough Country and the Hernando County Sheriff are discriminatory against religion and church gatherings.’…

“‘I’m not… negating that people are dying from the coronavirus,’ [Rodney Howard-Browne] said. ‘We’re not saying that, just saying that the thing is blown totally way out of proportion…’

“In a statement posted March 22 on its website, the church claims that closure orders violate religious freedom. ‘…By what authority does the government declare the church non-essential?… The Church is a place where people turn for help and for comfort in a climate of fear and uncertainty. In a time of crisis, people are fearful and in need of comfort and community, more than ever before.’”

Focus reported on March 31 that Pastor Rodney Howard-Browne surrendered voluntarily to the police after learning that a warrant for his arrest had been issued; and that after posting bail in the amount of $500.00, he was released within less than an hour. His arrest appears to be unreasonable and overbearing. 

Police Attack on Baptist Church in Baltimore, Maryland

The Baltimore Sun wrote on March 31:

“A prominent pastor is vowing to hold worship services this Sunday and beyond after Baltimore police tried to shut down a service at his church amid increasing coronavirus-related constraints on social gatherings… Alvin Gwynn Sr. said he was delivering a sermon Sunday to 10 worshipers when four patrol cars containing ‘eight or nine officers’ pulled up in front of the Friendship Baptist Church and several tried to enter the building.

“Gwynn, the longtime senior pastor of the church on Loch Raven Boulevard, said security guards prevented the officers’ entry until he had finished his sermon. ‘You should have seen it, man, it looked like a police raid on a drug deal,’ he said… When he asked officers to explain why they were there, Gwynn said, they looked ‘bewildered,’ declined to answer, and called a superior. Lt. Suzanne Fries had advised the officers on the scene to ‘shut down the gathering,’ according to an incident report supplied by the Baltimore Police Department. ‘At this point, the church service ended and the crowd dispersed,’ the report continued. That, Gwynn said, was when the patrol cars departed and his congregants left.

“Gwynn, 74, also serves as president of the Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance of Metropolitan Baltimore, a group that includes the leaders of more than 50 churches. He said he limited the size of the gathering to 10 — the church’s five security guards were stationed outside the sanctuary — and ensured that those present had at least 6 feet of space between them, in compliance with guidelines issued by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and the state health department…

“A police spokeswoman, Detective Chakia Fennoy, said officers were responding to a report of a gathering in violation of the governor’s orders… ‘We encourage residents to call 311 with any nonemergency calls related to improperly open businesses or unlawful gatherings of crowds,’ the department said in a statement. ‘Any officer that observes a business that is in violation of the governor’s executive order must investigate the complaint.’…

“Gwynn… argued that under the Bill of Rights, the government cannot restrict either the size of gatherings for worship or a citizen’s right to attend a service… The [governor’s] order requires all those living in Maryland to stay home unless it’s to participate in ‘essential activities,’ regardless of the size of the gathering… A statement from the governor’s office of legal counsel seemed to support ‘minimal’ activity at houses of worship… the governor’s communications director, Mike Ricci, tweeted a response to a question about whether a group of five people would be in compliance if they assembled in church to record a pastor’s sermon for online use. ‘Yes. Churches may have those kinds of minimal operations,’ Ricci replied.

“Gwynn pointed to a 2018 federal directive that appears to contradict [governor] Hogan’s decision to classify churches as ‘nonessential.’ In June of that year, the CDC issued guidelines on how governments should respond in the event of widespread contagion. ‘The collaboration of faith-based agencies with public health agencies will be essential in protecting the public’s health and safety if and when an influenza pandemic occurs,’ it reads…

“Police Commissioner Michael Harrison… said Tuesday that the department is prepared to enforce the stay-at-home order… ‘When we find that people are not voluntarily complying, then the instructions will be to make a physical arrest,’ he said…”

These events are taking place in the democratic USA with a Constitution guaranteeing the unrestricted RIGHT and FREEDOM of worship and religious assembly. 

More State vs. Church Battles in Louisiana

CBS News reported on April 1:

“Buses and cars filled a Louisiana church parking lot for another service Tuesday evening as worshippers flocked to hear a Louisiana pastor who is facing misdemeanor charges for holding services despite a ban on gatherings…

“A few protesters turned out, too, including a man shouting through a bullhorn against those gathering at the Life Tabernacle Church in the city of Central…

“[Pastor Tony] Spell… compared going to church to going to the hospital, but for spiritual healing…

“The order from Gov. John Bel Edwards prohibits gatherings of more than 10 people… Each violation carries a maximum penalty of six months in jail and a $500 fine… The governor has urged church leaders instead to continue their services online or in smaller groups to lessen the risks.”

Spell posted this on Facebook: “This is a government overreach. They are asking us as a government to stop practicing our freedom of religion. And we have a mandate from God to assemble and to gather together and to keep doing what we’re doing.”

All of this could boil over very soon, as more and more church services will be conducted in open and sometimes provocative defiance of any order by state governors.  To enforce such orders might prove to be extremely counterproductive. On the other hand, the appearance of vocal anti-church demonstrators might also lead to violence. If politicians are not very careful, they may lose the support and the votes of the evangelical communities. 

Texas Governor: “Church Services ARE Essential”

 Breitbart reported on April 1:

“Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has signed an executive order that makes churches an ‘essential service’… Abbott included language to encourage online worship services and told church leaders and parishioners to practice ‘social distancing’” to prevent the spread of the virus if they do gather for services…

“There has been controversy, particularly in the Houston area, over church closures in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Pastors are in court challenging a stay-at-home order that Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo announced a week ago that restricts churches to online-only services. To that end, Abbott’s latest executive order supersedes ‘any conflicting order issued by local officials.’…

“The executive order… comes one day after Fox News guest commentator Dr. Steven Hotze and three Houston pastors asked the Texas Supreme Court to declare unconstitutional a March 24 order from Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo barring in-person religious services. ‘The circumstances presented by coronavirus do not excuse unlawful government infringements upon freedom,’ Hotze argued in the emergency petition for writ of mandamus filed with the state’s high court on Monday…

“[One Texas pastor] alleged… that a Houston police officer threatened him with jail and a $1,000 fine ‘if he did not stop preaching the gospel to his congregation,’ according to the petition.”

More Totalitarian Measures in the USA

Insider wrote on March 28:

“The National Guard assisted Rhode Island police with house-to-house searches on Saturday to seek out anyone who has traveled from New York and force them to self-isolate…

“The National Guard was deployed to all 50 states in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak. The Trump administration stressed that the deployment did not equate to martial law, and that the troops served as an additional resource that governors could assign…”

Newsmax added on April 1:

“The National Guard can be used to enforce individual states’ stay-at-home orders as the coronavirus pandemic forces nationwide closures and restrictions, Defense Secretary Mark Esper confirmed… ‘That would be an option for the governors,’ Esper said.”

Something similar seems to happen in Germany and in many other countries where the military is being employed more and more to “help” the governments, the “public” and the police in their fight against the coronavirus. In addition, it was posted by the Drudge Report that two U.S. states — Alabama and Massachusetts — have begun providing the addresses of those known to have been diagnosed with COVID-19 to the police.

Ending Democracy?

The Week wrote on April 1:

“…regimes around the world are using new powers to protect themselves from public scrutiny while claiming to be protecting the public…

“In this battle, [the state] has no legitimate basis for limiting press freedom, restricting public criticism, or otherwise interfering with the process of public accountability…”

Order to Bring Former Troops Back to Active Duty

Newsmax reported on March 28:

“President Trump issued an order Friday night that permits the Pentagon to bring former U.S. troops and members of the National Guard and Reserve back to active duty to augment forces already involved in the military’s response to the coronavirus pandemic…

“Former active-duty and reserve service members… are commonly considered out of the military and rarely recalled…”

But in times of crisis, extraordinary measures are being employed and largely accepted by most people. 

Order to Produce More Ventilators

Newsmax also reported on March 27:

“President Donald Trump on Friday ordered General Motors Co. to make ventilators for coronavirus patients, invoking a federal law that gives him vast powers over industry in crises…

“Trump said in a statement that he had signed a memorandum ‘directing the secretary of Health and Human Services to use any and all authority available under the Defense Production Act to require General Motors to accept, perform, and prioritize federal contracts for ventilators’…”

Trump Extends Guidelines… After All That Talk!

Breitbart wrote on March 29:

“President Donald Trump on Sunday said that guidelines for Americans fighting the coronavirus will be extended to April 30… acknowledging that his hopeful Easter deadline for loosening restrictions was shattered…”

Newsmax wrote:

“Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said in an interview with CNN: ‘… we argued strongly with the president that he not withdraw those guidelines after 15 days, but that he extend them. And he did listen.’”

The Algemeiner added:

“Asked during the briefing if floating the idea of lifting restrictions by mid-April had been a mistake, Trump called it ‘just an aspiration’ and said he now believed the country could be on its way to economic recovery by June 1.”

Trump also remarked that limiting the number of deaths to 100,000 or 200,000 would constitute a “good job,” according to Deutsche Welle.  Doctors or so-called “experts” rule—even though they admit that they do not know much about the virus.

For instance, Austria has made face masks mandatory for people shopping and in all other settings where people can come into close contact. In following her medical experts, Angela Merkel responded by saying that Germany will not proceed in this way, stating that masks are counterproductive and could even be dangerous in that they are becoming virus-carriers within a short period of time.

Now, the discussion about the feasibility of wearing masks has reached the USA. And this, after medical “experts” have proclaimed time and time again that face masks are ineffective for the “ordinary” citizen and should be reserved for doctors and nurses. This proves again how little “experts” know… but rulers and governmental officials follow blindly medical experts whom they choose, no matter what, and the mass-media and the public “stand in awe.”

Financial Disaster

The Week wrote on March 31:

“… stocks… capped off their worst quarter since the 2008 financial crisis as a result of the novel coronavirus pandemic. The S&P 500 finished the quarter down 20 percent, its largest decline since 2008, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 23 percent. The downturn was global in scope — Stoxx Europe 600 had its biggest quarterly drop since 2002, and Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average fell to 2008 levels, as well…”

According to Newsmax, dated April 1, “The Dow Jones tumbled more than 700 points on Wednesday as investors fled to safe-haven assets after new orders for U.S.-made goods plunged to an 11-year low and private payrolls fell for the first time since 2017.”

The Week wrote on April 1:

“… the latest plunge came after President Trump warned the next two weeks would bring some of the most ‘painful’ fallout yet. DoubleLine Capital CEO Jeffrey Gundlach predicted the market lows of March will be surpassed by new lows in April.”

Staggering Numbers of Unemployment

 Deutsche Welle wrote on April 2:

 “The unemployment rate in the US surged to a new record high on Thursday, with the US Labor Department reporting that 6.6 million people filed unemployment claims just last week alone. The latest figures far surpass the previous week’s record of 3.3 million.

 “Efforts to curb the COVID-19 pandemic by implementing strict social distancing measures and shuttering businesses and restaurants have led to mass layoffs across the country — prompting the unprecedented spike in US unemployment…

 “During the Great Depression from 1929 to 1933, the US unemployment rate peaked at 24.9% — a figure that economists and officials fear could now be topped due to the coronavirus pandemic… the Federal Reserve estimated that the unemployment rate in the US could rise to 32.1%… Some economists estimated that by the end of April, as many as 20 million people in the US will have lost their jobs.”

In light of all this, one would hope that people wake up and examine their spiritual condition and their relationship with the true God. Sadly, this does not seem to be true at all for the overwhelming majority. 

The Next Financial Crisis: A Collapse of the Mortgage System

Politico wrote on March 27:

“The U.S. mortgage finance system could collapse…

“When individuals stop making payments on their home mortgages, the companies that handle the loans and process those payments, so-called mortgage servicers, are still on the hook: They’re legally obligated to keep sending money to insurers and investors in mortgage-backed securities…”

Low Oil Prices… a Mixed Blessing?

Money Morning wrote on March 30:

“The oil price has collapsed this year…

“… the market is being flooded with more oil than ever before… The US is currently the world’s top oil producer, ahead of Saudi Arabia. But that might not last if the country is forced to slash production as low oil prices continue. The other massive problem is on the demand side. Coronavirus means that people have virtually stopped flying… People have stopped driving too…

“Another problem is that we are running out of storage space for the spare oil. Analysts suggest that at current storage capacity we have months or perhaps weeks before storage space is full. That leads to the idea that we could even at some point see a negative oil price – where people are literally paying others to take it off their hands…”

Half of Canadians on the Brink of Insolvency, Due to Coronavirus Restrictions 

Financial Post wrote on March 30:

“The coronavirus crisis is delivering an unprecedented financial shock to Canadians at a time when their personal finances were already fragile.

“… half of Canadians… surveyed are now on the brink of insolvency, saying they are $200 or less away from not being able to meet their debt obligations each month. A quarter of these said they are already unable to meet those obligations…”

Mass Quarantine Not Sustainable over a Long Period of Time

Deutsche Welle wrote on March 27:

“More than a billion humans around the globe are trying — hard — to endure… various symptoms of self-isolation. Expect many to fail.

“… Shutting schools has added to the pressures… Some people will develop psychiatric conditions, mental health conditions. There will be a rise in depression… Some people develop, particularly health professionals… an increase in the rate of post-traumatic stress disorder… there will be an increase in psychiatric disorders…”

Violence might be a result as well. Note the next article. 

Chinese Citizens Furious with their Government

Breitbart wrote on March 28:

“A huge protest march swept out of China’s Hubei province on Friday, with thousands of angry residents pouring across a bridge into neighboring Jiangxi province and clashing with police…

“The Hubei residents streaming across the bridge are clearly angry after weeks of the coronavirus lockdown, which in theory is being lifted… Evidently the protesters are infuriated by how the government has treated them during the crisis…”

A preview as to what is to come in other countries as well, including the USA?

Divorce Rates Climb Due to Quarantine

Newspunch wrote on March 31:

“Divorce rates in China have soared because ‘couples are spending too much time together’ during coronavirus quarantine…

“Shaanxi Province in northwestern China have seen an unprecedented rise of divorce appointments since re-opening on March 1, with people queueing around the block to file divorce papers, reports say. ‘Young people are spending a lot of time at home. They tend to get into heated arguments because of something petty and rush into getting a divorce,’ Mr Lu  explained…”

This is the fruit of human attempts to fight one problem—reaping many more problems as a consequence.

Moment of Truth for Merkel

Politico wrote on March 27:

“Just when it looked like Angela Merkel was going to ride quietly into the sunset, fate intervened. Two weeks ago, the German leader’s biggest worry was finding a successor and a life after politics. Now she finds herself in the center of what many consider the most serious global crisis since World War II…

“For better or worse, Merkel is the only European leader with either the experience or stature to take charge… For the woman who steered Europe through the financial panic that nearly brought down the euro and the refugee crisis of 2015, this might seem like familiar territory. It’s not. This time around, the scope of the crisis and the consequences of failure are much greater than anything Merkel has ever dealt with…

“In Europe, it’s up to each individual country to decide if and when to stop listening to the epidemiologists and public health officials arguing for extended lockdowns… Yet given Merkel’s political influence and the importance of Germany’s economy to the rest of Europe, many are likely to follow her lead…”

None of this sounds very promising or encouraging for Europe. It is obvious that very soon, a core Europe will have to form and a strong, powerful and totalitarian leader must arise. We have felt for many years that this would happen, in all likelihood, in a time of crisis. And totalitarianism is already a sick phenomenon that permeates Europe. 

Totalitarianism in Hungary

Axios wrote on March 30:

“Hungary’s parliament passed a law Monday to allow Prime Minister Viktor Orbán almost unlimited power, for an indefinite period, to fight the coronavirus outbreak…

“Hungary has taken a sharply authoritarian [turn] over the past decade under Orbán, and it’s likely that he and other strongman leaders around the world will seek to maintain powers they gain during the current crisis long after it’s over.”

This is indeed the fear and the anticipation, but most are asleep at the wheel and do not comprehend the dangers of such authoritarian powers which they are willing to accept, until it is far too late.  

Deutsche Welle added on March 30:

“The [law] includes the introduction of jail terms of up to five years for people who spread ‘fake news’ about the virus or measures against it, raising anxieties about freedom of press in Hungary.”

Totalitarianism in Serbia

The National wrote on March 29:

“Serbia has sentenced a man to three years in jail for breaking self-isolation orders… It was the first such sentence in Serbia…

“Serbia has introduced some of the most restrictive measures including a 12-hour police enforced curfew and a 24-hour ban on leaving the home for those older than 65. Authorities say at least 112 people are in detention in Serbia for ignoring orders to stay at home and are awaiting trial…”

Jews Blamed for the Coronavirus

Breaking Israel News wrote on March 27:

“… anti-semites of all sorts are echoing the blood libels from 700 years ago when the Jews were blamed for the Black Death that killed over 100 million people…

“During the Black Death in Europe from 1348 to 1351, Jews were blamed for the pandemic that killed over 100 million people, nearly half the population of Europe. This led to countless pogroms and at least 510 Jewish communities were destroyed in this period. In many cities, the civil authorities either did little to protect the Jewish communities or actually abetted the rioters. The pogroms motivated by the plague continued until 20 years after the plague disappeared.”

Will we be seeing a massive repeat of such atrocities due to panic and the search for a “scapegoat”? 

Israeli Government Escapes to Underground Bunker

Breaking Israel News wrote on March 26:

“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that future cabinet meetings will be held in an underground bunker in the Jerusalem hills…

“Called the National Management Centre, the hardened underground complex includes living quarters and command facilities. ‘This [bunker] is another tool for managing, controlling, oversight and tracking’ the coronavirus…’ [according to an unidentified source.]

“Some Israeli officials tried to joke off the move… Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz said in an interview with Tel Aviv radio station 102 FM that the bunker had limited usefulness in the current crisis as ‘it protects from bombs, but not from microbes.’…

“Construction on the $240 million underground bunker began in 2007. Designed to withstand a nuclear bomb, it can house the Prime Minister’s Office, military commands centers and the necessary civil authorities to run the country.”

The whole world seems to be in a state of panic, leading to most unreasonable and sometimes even laughable decisions—if the entire situation would not be so terribly serious. More than 1 million Israelis or more than 24% of the workforce are now unemployed. 

Panic Galore 

On March 29, The Mail on Sunday published the following article by one of its journalists, Peter Hitchens:

“As I watched the Prime Minister [Boris Johnson] order mass house arrest on Monday night, I felt revulsion, anger and grief – as anyone brought up when this was a free and well-governed country would. I also felt terribly alone. You could not have known, from anything broadcast that night or printed the following day, that anyone was unhappy with these events. But they were.

“… I now suspect this dark season might get still worse before we see the clear, calm light of reason again. The greater the mistake we have made, the less willing we are to admit it or correct it. This is why I greatly fear worse developments… When I predicted roadblocks in my column two weeks ago, which I did, I did so out of an instinct that we were entering on the craziest period of our lives since the death of Princess Diana…

“But even I would not have dared to predict the mass house arrest under which we are all now confined… Perhaps we will emulate the French or Italian states, which have returned to their despotic origins.

“…as a former resident of the USSR, I can tell you that this sort of endless meddling by petty authority in the details of life… is normal in unfree societies – such as we have now become for an indefinite period. It is, by the way, also a seedbed for corruption… The vast majority develop very mild symptoms or none at all. Millions may already have had it…

“Many people will die with coronavirus. But this does not mean that they died of it… John Lee, a recently retired professor of pathology and a former NHS consultant pathologist, writes in The Spectator this weekend that by making Covid-19 a notifiable disease, the authorities may have distorted the figures.

“‘In the current climate, anyone with a positive test for Covid-19 will certainly be known to clinical staff looking after them: if any of these patients dies, staff will have to record the Covid-19 designation on the death certificate – contrary to usual practice for most infections of this kind. ‘There is a big difference between Covid-19 causing death, and Covid-19 being found in someone who died of other causes. Making Covid-19 notifiable might give the appearance of it causing increasing numbers of deaths, whether this is true or not. It might appear far more of a killer than flu, simply because of the way deaths are recorded.’”

Very true, but in our panic-driven media-propagated hysterical societies, who wants to hear words like these?

A Former Supreme Court Judge Speaks out against Mass Hysteria 

Express wrote on March 30:

“Lord Sumption, a former UK Supreme Court judge, has criticised the emergency measures taken in response to the coronavirus pandemic as proof of ‘hysteria-driven Government policy’. He called the current Government measures ‘symptoms of collective hysteria’ and warned that the ‘cure was becoming worse than the disease’… [He] branded the widespread confinement to houses as imprisonment and called the Derbyshire police force ‘disgraceful and shameful’ for their overreach.

“Lord Sumption told the BBC’s World at One programme:

“‘When human societies lose their freedom it is not usually because tyrants have taken it away, it is usually because people have willingly surrendered their freedom for protection against some external threat… Anyone who has studied history will recognise the symptoms of classic collective hysteria… Hysteria is infectious. We are working ourselves up as we exaggerate the threat and stop asking ourselves whether the cure is worse than the disease. We have to recognise that this is how societies become despotisms.

“‘The symptoms of coronavirus are clearly significant for those with other underlying health conditions, especially if they are old. There are exceptional cases when young people are struck down. But, in Italy, only 12 percent of deaths can be clearly tied to coronavirus being the main cause of death. Yes this is serious but is it serious enough to warrant placing the entire population under house imprisonment, wrecking our economy for an indefinite period, destroying businesses that honest and hard-working people have taken years to build up, saddling future generations with debt, inflicting depression, stress, suicide and unbelievable distress on millions of people who are not especially vulnerable.’ 

“He criticised the press for ‘amplifying and echoing’ the public’s sense of panic before ripping into the conduct of the police – singling out Derbyshire Police for criticism. Derbyshire Police have garnered controversy recently for dumping black dye into a picturesque blue lagoon to stop people posing for photographs during the lockdown. Last week, the same police force shamed dog walkers and ramblers after tracking them through the hillsides with drones.”

Deutsche Welle reported on March 29 that “The lockdown in the United Kingdom could continue for up [to] six months.” The UK will NEVER be able to recover economically. And the developments, as pointed out in the next article, do not help at all. 

UK-EU Post-Brexit Negotiations to Be Suspended? 

The Telegraph wrote on March 27:

“Boris Johnson faces escalating pressure to suspend all post-Brexit trade negotiations… the prime minister has been urged to pause talks until parliament returns and the crisis is under control… the Welsh and Scottish governments [also] called on the prime minister to halt the negotiations over the UK-EU’s future relationship…

“Downing Street has repeatedly insisted that there will be no extension to the 11-month transition period.”

The EU indicated that they would be willing to extend the negotiations. 

Places of Worship “Essential” in Brazil

24matins.uk wrote on March 27:

“Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro decreed Thursday that places of worship are ‘essential services’ that must be exempted from coronavirus confinement orders… The decree… adds ‘religious activities of any kind’ to the list of exempted services, alongside supermarkets and pharmacies… The president, who has called the reaction to the pandemic ‘overblown,’ says such measures are unnecessary and will wreck Latin America’s biggest economy…

“Last week, the influential evangelical pastor Silas Malafaia, a Bolsonaro ally, called confinement measures ‘a tactic by Satan… Satan works with fear,’ he said.”

Passover Sacrifice on the Temple Mount?

Breaking Israel News wrote on March 31:

“… the Sanhedrin is preparing for an actual sacrifice fully consistent with Biblical requirements, brought on the Temple Mount… The Sanhedrin has issued a formal request [to] the leaders of Israel and the U.S. to allow this to happen…

“The vessels have been prepared and merely need to be immersed in a ritual bath to be purified. Kohanim (Jewish men descended from Aaron the priest) are registered for service and their Biblically mandated clothes are ready. Wine and oil, prepared to the strictest requirements, are ready. A red heifer is being raised but lacking one, the halacha (Torah law) permits time-bound public sacrifices like the Korban Pesach and the Korban Tamid (twice daily offering) to be brought in impurity…

“Rabbi Hillel Weiss, the spokesman for the Sanhedrin… [said:] ‘The only thing preventing the Jewish People from performing the Passover sacrifice is the Israeli government.’…

“The Passover sacrifice can only be offered in one place; on the Temple Mount. The sacrifice does not require an actual Temple structure but it does require an altar that is built to adhere to the Biblical requirements. Such an altar was constructed last year and stands ready… The material was ruled to be fit for use in the Temple…”

Even if the government were to allow this one-time Passover sacrifice on the Temple Mount, it would not mean, of course, that therefore the prophesied end-time daily sacrifices would have begun. 

Pope Benedict Accused of Plotting Downfall of Pope Francis

Express wrote on March 30:

“POPE BENEDICT is ‘plotting the downfall of Pope Francis’…

“Many cite Benedict as one of the key traditionalists within the Catholic church is pushing against Francis’ wish to allow sweeping changes at the Vatican… Expert Lynda Telford… fears that Benedict… is leading a charge of angry traditionalists within the Vatican who do not want to see… modern ideals as part of a new Catholicism mandate…

“Benedict and Francis’ relationship has been difficult over the course of his tenure at the Catholic church’s helm. Benedict resigned seven years ago, claiming poor health and growing mental pressures within the chief position. It was the first time such a move was made since the 1400s, and has seen Benedict continue to exert his authority and influence over some of the church’s most staunch traditionalists.

“Some argued that Francis’ decision to not allow a move that would have seen married men allowed to become priests in the Amazon regions, in a bid to combat a worrying decline of clergymen in the most remote areas, was due to Benedict.”

Perhaps, we still might not have heard the last word about Benedict. 

Large Earthquake in Idaho

The Associated Press wrote on April 1:

“A large earthquake struck north of Boise Tuesday evening… The U.S. Geological Survey reports the magnitude 6.5 temblor struck just before 6 p.m…

“The earthquake added stress during an already tense time for the region… the Idaho region has an earthquake of about this size every 30 or 40 years… Tuesday’s quake appeared to be on an unmapped ‘strike-slip fault’…

“The area [has] already recorded five aftershocks within the first hours after the 6.5 earthquake.”

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.

People claim, oftentimes falsely, that they have received God’s call—especially to preach or witness for Jesus. Indeed, the Bible does speak of God calling people, but what does that really mean and how can you know that God has called you?

On the Day of Pentecost when God’s Holy Spirit was given to His Church, we find this:

“Then Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call’” (Acts 2:38-39).

Here, Peter addresses the fact that God is calling specific people, and later he writes to those who have been called; those who are now part of the Church of God:

“But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy” (1 Peter 2:9-10).

Throughout history, God has called people for His unique purposes, and we have the extraordinary example of Abraham:

“Now the LORD had said to Abram: ‘Get out of your country, From your family And from your father’s house, To a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.’ So Abram departed as the LORD had spoken to him, and Lot went with him. And Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran” (Genesis 12:1-4).

It is also important to note how willingly Abraham responded to God’s call:

“By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going” (Hebrews 11:8).

Of the prophet Jeremiah, God said, “‘Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations’” (Jeremiah 1:5). In other words, Jeremiah was predestined before he was even conceived to be called during his lifetime! That also happened to Cyrus, king of Persia, for God named him and appointed him to return the Jews from Babylonian captivity and to cause them to rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem—this was written in the Book of Isaiah about one-hundred-fifty years before the birth of Cyrus (compare Isaiah 44:28—45:1-7).

Of course, the greatest example of God’s predestination and calling is that of Jesus Christ. Consider the overwhelming number of prophecies about Him and the very explicit details which were written long before His birth (compare, for example, chapters 49 and 53 in the Book of Isaiah).

With God’s calling comes great responsibility! The Father sent His Son, Jesus, to be the Savior of the world (compare John 12:47; 1 John 4:14). If you are called by God, it is to do His Will, and that involves a role in the Church of God. The Church of God is composed of those whom God has called out of the world, as Jesus said about His disciples, and, by extension, all who will have come afterward:

“‘If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you’” (John 15:19).

In praying to His Father, Jesus spoke of those who are called as being separate from the world (compare John 17:14-17). Why? Because being in the world and embracing this society, its customs and practices, is not living according to the spiritual laws of God—it is in fact, “enmity against God” (Romans 8:6-7). Those who are called are to live lives which are unmistakably different from those who are not called, and the Apostle Paul clearly explains what it means to be called by God:

“This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart; who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness. But you have not so learned Christ, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness” (Ephesians 4:17-24).

To be called by God includes great potential for those who finish their calling:

“Therefore let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father. And this is the promise that He has promised us—eternal life” (1 John 2:24-25).

Paul wrote to the brethren in Thessalonica encouraging them to “…walk worthy of God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory” (1 Thessalonians 2:12). He, as he did so often in his epistles, reminded them of the tremendous goal ahead for those whom God calls.

We find more details about the future in God’s calling:

“Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.  Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure” (1 John 3:1-3).

However, today is not the time when God is calling everybody to salvation! Now is the time God is calling a select few to be, what the Bible calls, “firstfruits” (James 1:18), and to be in the First Resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:23; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Revelation 20:4-6). This fact is shown in the Holy Days of God—specifically in the meaning of the Feast of Pentecost. Leviticus 23:15-22; Exodus 23:16; 34:22 and Deuteronomy 16:9-12 all describe this annual Holy Day of God as depicting the firstfruits of harvesting in the spring—while the fall feasts, the Feast of Tabernacles and Last Great Day, represent a much greater harvest and period of judgment. A fuller explanation is available in our booklets: God’s Commanded Holy Days; The Meaning of God’s Spring Holy Days and The Meaning of God’s Fall Holy Days.

Jesus called His disciples a “‘little flock’” (Luke 12:32), and history has certainly proven that very few people have ever been a part of the Church of God. Paul explained to the brethren in Corinth about whom God has chosen to call:

“For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence” (1 Corinthians 1:26-29).

Very few people have been called by God at this point in time! In fact, Jesus said that not all could even understand His teachings—only those to whom it was given (Mark 4:10-12). Being called by God means that He has initiated contact; otherwise, we would not even have access to the Father or to Jesus Christ, and this is what Jesus explained:

“‘No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him…’” (John 6:44); and, “‘…I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me’” (John 14:6).

Is God calling you to salvation? Jesus said, “‘And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free’” (John 8:32). Are you able to understand the truth found in God’s Word—and believe it? Are you acting on the truth you understand—without compromise? Have you come to believe the gospel—the good news of the Kingdom of God, which Jesus preached (Mark 1:14-15) and what the Church of God is commissioned to preach in our time (Matthew 24:14)?

If you are called by God, here are some first steps by which to prove your calling:

“But what does it say? ‘The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart’ (that is, the word of faith which we preach): that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture says, ‘Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.’ For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. For ‘whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’ How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, Who bring glad tidings of good things!’ But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, ‘Lord, who has believed our report?’ So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.  (Romans 10:8-16)

Once God calls us, we must grow in our calling—as the Apostle Peter explains:

“Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord,  as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins. Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble; for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 1:2-11).

When God calls you, you have a responsibility to respond to His calling and strive to live in accordance with His Word. God’s true calling will be your only opportunity to inherit eternal life when Christ returns.

Lead Writer: Dave Harris

compiled by Dave Harris

Our new booklet, The Ten Commandments, has been posted on our CEG website, as well as the new German booklet Und weil die Gesetzlosigkeit überhandnimmt… (And Lawlessness Will Abound…) on our German website.

Our booklet “The Mysteries of the Bible” has been translated into Spanish, titled “LOS MISTERIOS DE LA BIBLIA” and has been posted to our Spanish site.

A shortened Church Conference was conducted via SKYPE on Sunday and Monday (March 29-30, 2020). Necessary administrative items were discussed along with future plans in light of the current Coronavirus difficulties.

“Religious Persecution of Christian Pastors in the USA?” is the title of a new StandingWatch program, presented by Evangelist Norbert Link. Here is a summary:

We hear about more and more cases where pastors defy the orders of the state governments prohibiting them and their Church congregations to assemble for worship services. Police are being employed to break up the services and fine and perhaps even arrest the pastor and others. Some wonder as to how long will Americans tolerate such intrusion into their sacred and cherished rights of religious liberty, warning that civil unrest and worse could be the consequence. Listen to what the Bible has to say about this serious development.

“Totalitarismus notwendig zur Bekämpfung des Coronavirus?” is the title of a new AufPostenStehen program, presented by Nobert Link. Title in English: Totalitarianism Necessary to Combat the Coronavirus?”

“Das teure Blut Jesu Christi,” is the title of this Sabbath’s German sermon, presented by Norbert Link. Title in English: “The Precious Blood of Jesus Christ.”

“God’s Message to Laodicea,” is the title of a special Bible Study presented last Sabbath by Norbert Link. Here is a summary:

In what way is God’s letter to His Church in Laodicea a strong warning for us today, especially in light of the coronavirus? Are the oftentimes totalitarian measures to combat the virus a preview of the manifestation of the beast? In this sermon, we will also discuss questions such as: What is meant with a lukewarm attitude? Did Christ have a beginning? Who was Melchizedek? Why won’t God protect many Laodiceans during the Great Tribulation? Why does God warn especially Laodiceans not to fight in war?

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?