On July 14, 2018, Michael Link will present the sermonette, titled, “Truth or Legend?,” and Norbert Link will present the sermon, titled, “The Prophet Elijah in the Past, the Present and the Future, Part 2.”

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

We wouldn’t say we have too much love for God or our neighbor, nor say that we are way too zealous in serving God or that our faith is far too strong. In fact, we would all very likely admit to wanting much more of such good things as these.

Nevertheless, some good things might actually be too much if we aren’t careful!

There is a deeply profound lesson for all of us in the example of the young man who had great wealth and who asked Jesus what good thing he should do to have eternal life (compare Matthew 19:16-22). What Jesus told him required an abrupt reshaping of his life—and he was unwilling to go that far. Riches and the lack of commitment stood in his way to eternal life.

When the children of Israel were about to enter the land which God had promised, they were sternly cautioned to beware when abundant blessings came to them (compare Deuteronomy 8). Here is God’s warning:

“‘Then it shall be, if you by any means forget the LORD your God, and follow other gods, and serve them and worship them, I testify against you this day that you shall surely perish. As the nations which the LORD destroys before you, so you shall perish, because you would not be obedient to the voice of the LORD your God’” (Deuteronomy 8:19-20).

We must be very careful to not suffer the same kind of fate. We live in a time of remarkable and unparalleled abundance—so much so, we might get caught up in pursuing things that will not last. Things which are not eternal! Most of us don’t have great wealth, but we can become self-satisfied with our circumstances and lose our true focus. Jesus left this message for us—for those who understand the gospel of the Kingdom of God:

“‘Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful’” (Matthew 13:22).

My title is a phrase we have probably all heard. We get its meaning by experience. We know that too much dessert, for example, is just too much of a good thing (compare also Proverbs 25:16; 25:27). It takes understanding to balance the use of things. And so it is when it comes to our daily living as Christians in this world.

There is, however, something which lies ahead which will never be too much of a good thing, and that is eternal life in the Kingdom of God.

by Norbert Link

We begin reporting about events pertaining to President Trump’s attendance at the NATO summit in Brussels which started with a bang; and the increasing controversy and escalation between the USA and especially Germany as well as the concern that the USA might withdraw its troops from Europe (Please view our new StandingWatch program, “How God Views the 2018 NATO Summit”) and we speak about the vulnerability of Germany’s present government, especially of Angela Merkel and Horst Seehofer, and the rising star of Austria, Sebastian Kurz, as well as some concerns of former EU Parliament President Martin Schulz.

We address the current Brexit disaster after the resignations of Boris Johnson and David Davis, evolving around concepts of a “hard Brexit,” a “soft Brexit” and a “disorderly no deal.”

We point out the increasingly dictatorial and autocratic government of Turkey’s President Erdogan; and we report on a new-found friendly relationship between Ethiopia and Eritrea and the escalation of a worldwide trade war with grave consequences for everyone concerned.

We conclude with the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh as Supreme Court Justice; the struggle of the unpopular Jehovah’s Witnesses with the EU’s new data protection law and their persecution in many countries; Jimmy Carter’s strange and unbiblical opinions about Jesus Christ; and the reported odd opposition of a US delegation to breastfeeding.  

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

“Brace Yourselves—Donald Trump Is Coming”

Deutsche Welle wrote on July 8:

“On Wednesday, the US president will be in Brussels for the NATO summit, where he will likely continue to ruffle feathers… And then, on July 16, Trump will travel to Finland to meet his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin…

“There is great anxiety at NATO about how the meeting will go… At a recent speech in the state of Indiana ahead of the US midterm elections in November, Trump made clear his anger about Germany… He directly attacked Chancellor Angela Merkel, claiming that the United States pays for Germany’s security but receives little in return. And then he accused Germany of prioritizing energy deals with Russia and leaving the United States to foot the bill. Trump… has already indirectly threatened to pull US troops from Germany if the country does not increase its defense spending.

“In the worst-case scenario… the United States could demand that European members directly pay for US troops to be stationed on the continent…”

Die Welt wrote on July 9:

“When more money needs to be spent [by the Europeans] for their own defense, then it must be done as efficiently… as possible… Nothing but a unified European army would fulfil those demands—not as replacement, but as a compliment to NATO which becomes less and less interesting for the USA.“

It may be interesting to note that “Donald” is an Anglicization of the Scottish Gaelic name, Domhanll, which means world-ruler. As the above-quoted articles predicted, President Trump did indeed ruffle feathers after arriving in Europe. Note the next articles.

Trump Attacks Germany—Merkel Counters

The EUObserver wrote on July 11:

“US leader Donald Trump, backed by Poland, has begun the Nato summit with a tirade against Germany’s plan to build a pipeline with Russia [The president appeared to be referring to the Nord Stream 2 pipeline that would bring gas from Russia to Germany’s northeastern Baltic coast, bypassing Eastern European nations like Poland and Ukraine and doubling the amount of gas Russia can send directly to Germany]… ‘Germany is a captive of Russia,’ Trump said after meeting Nato head Jens Stoltenberg in Brussels on Wednesday (11 July). ‘Germany’s totally controlled by Russia because they’ll be getting from 60 to 70% of their energy from Russia, and a new pipeline … and I think it’s a very bad thing for Nato,’ he said. ‘We [the US] are supposed to protect you [Europe] from Russia, but Germany is making pipeline deals with Russia … explain that’, he added. ‘We’re supposed to be guarding against Russia and Germany goes out and pays billions and billions of dollars a year to Russia,’ he said.

“Trump… was loose with the facts, given that Russian oil and gas account for just 20 percent of Germany’s energy mix and that NS2 is being financed by private firms from Austria, France, Germany, the Netherlands and the UK, rather than by German public money. His comment on Berlin being Moscow’s ‘captive’ also overlooked Germany’s leadership on EU economic sanctions against Russia.

“The remarks… met with a swift rebuttal by German chancellor Angela Merkel. ‘I experienced first hand that a part of Germany was occupied by the Soviet Union. It’s good that we can now make our own decisions,’ she said…

“Trump’s assault on NS2 pleased Poland, which sees the pipeline as a strategic threat… ‘NS1 helped Russia to modernise its army, then attack Georgia and Ukraine and violate international law. NS2 would also help Russia to pursue revisionist policy. The question is what we are going to do about that?,’ Polish foreign minister Jacek Czaputowicz said… he also repeated calls for the US to create a permanent military base in Poland, despite German concern that this could mean moving out tens of thousands of US troops from Germany…

“[NATO-chief] Stoltenberg indicated that other allies, as well as Germany, were increasingly confused by US foreign policy.”

The Nord Stream 2 Pipeline–Trump Has a Point!

The Telegraph wrote on July 11:

“Donald Trump was right to criticise Germany for its billion dollar energy deals with Russia at the Nato summit in Brussels on Wednesday morning. He hit the nail on the head – and Angela Merkel where it hurts –  when he took aim at the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project… The lead Russian company is the state-owned Gazprom, which has former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder on its staff roster and a controlling 51 per cent share in the project, which will cost at least $15 billion.”

The Guardian wrote on July 11:

“Trump is not only one to ask questions.

“… the US president’s view that this will make Europe particularly dependent on Russian gas is widely shared by European politicians, thinktanks and energy specialists, including some in Berlin. No country is more angry about the pipeline than Ukraine [which] stands to lose billions of much needed dollars if Russia can transfer its gas transmissions to Europe across the Baltic Sea, away from a pipeline running across Ukrainian territory…

“Sweden, Denmark and Finland have expressed ecological reservations about a second natural gas pipeline at the bottom of the Baltic… The UK has also been objecting, albeit less stridently… The biggest fear is that the pipeline allows Russia a boot on the throat of Europe. It had not been afraid to cut off supplies faced by price disputes with Ukraine.”

The Gloves Are Off

The Guardian wrote on July 11:

“[Merkel] also hit back at Trump’s criticism that Germany contributed too little to European defence. ‘Germany does a lot for Nato,’ she said. ‘Germany is the second largest provider of troops, the largest part of our military capacity is offered to Nato and until today we have a strong engagement towards Afghanistan. In that we also defend the interests of the United States.’…

“This summit is shaping up to be the most divisive in Nato’s 69-year history…

“Trump [seems to be] keen to see Merkel replaced as chancellor. His outburst could be part of a strategy to try to undermine her at a time when she is domestically vulnerable. Merkel has been one of the most outspoken critics of Trump among European leaders… Trump’s antagonism towards Merkel is partly personal, a reaction to a senior European politician standing up to him and her very evident dislike of him, which she makes little attempt to hide…”

Merkel has been known to be very timid in her criticism of Donald Trump. When she is described as “one of the most outspoken critics of Trump,” then imagine what would happen if a leader were to come to power in Germany who would be REALLY outspoken, and whose words would be followed by actions. The Bible prophesies that this is exactly what will happen soon.

Handelsblatt Global commented: “‘Germany is totally controlled by Russia.’ Donald Trump, US President. Quote of the Day. Always the diplomat.”

On July 11, Newsmax re-published the following article by The Associated Press:

“Trump predicted as he departed Washington that the ‘easiest’ leg of his journey would be his scheduled sit-down [with] Putin — a comment that did little to reassure allies fretting over his potential embrace of a Russian leader… European Council President Donald Tusk pushed back against Trump’s constant criticism of European allies and urged him to remember who his friends are when he meets with Putin in Helsinki. ‘Dear America, appreciate your allies, after all you don’t have all that many,’ he said.”

America will soon lose even those few remaining allies…

Now Up to 4%?

The Wall Street Journal wrote on July 11:

“President Donald Trump pressured allies to double their military spending target to 4% of GDP, while questioning NATO’s value… Following the 4% proposal, Mr. Trump and NATO’s 28 other leaders agreed to a joint summit declaration that recommitted them to moving toward the 2% target by 2024… Then, after leaving the summit, Mr. Trump called for allies to raise their military spending to 2% ‘IMMEDIATELY, not by 2025’—misstating the year and avoiding mention of his 4% proposal…”

The Week wrote on July 12:

“President Trump told NATO leaders in person and on Twitter that he wants member nations to spend 2 percent of their GDP on defense spending more quickly than the 2024 deadline agreed to in 2014, and maybe raise it to 4 percent, prompting an emergency session of NATO leaders Thursday morning.

“Trump also reportedly threatened to break with NATO and go it alone if other members don’t raise defense spending quickly. In a news conference afterward, Trump said he believes he can withdraw the U.S. from NATO without Congress but sees no need to after the other countries, he said, made ‘a real commitment’ to raise spending to 2 percent of GDP in a ‘relatively short period of years.’…”

Deutsche Welle wrote on July 12:

“French President Emmanuel Macron told reporters the alliance had not agreed to anything new during the meeting. ‘There is a communique that was published yesterday,’ he said, adding, ‘It confirms the goal of 2 percent by 2024. That’s all.’ A German government spokesman also said the meeting had merely reaffirmed the 2 percent goal by 2024.”

BBC News wrote on July 12:

“… no other country has confirmed any increased commitments as yet… French President Emmanuel Macron meanwhile said that no country had signed up to anything more than what was agreed four years ago.”

Will America Withdraw Its Troops from Europe?

McClatchydc.com wrote on July 6:

“European leaders… fear the United States may… begin to bring American troops home from the continent…  Some worry… Trump, at the U.S.-Russia summit, could agree to take the first steps to embolden Russia, such as halting military exercises or agreeing that Crimea, a region of Ukraine annexed by Russia in 2014, belongs to Russia…

“A third of active-duty U.S. military troops overseas – more than 60,000 – are stationed in Europe, including 35,000 in Germany, 12,000 in Italy, 8,500 in the United Kingdom and 3,300 in Spain… Thousands more rotate into other European countries temporarily…”

At this point, the White House has denied that plans are being discussed to withdraw troops from Europe, and it is alleged that Congress would have to agree to such withdrawal. If so, one cannot take it for granted that Congress would necessarily oppose such withdrawal, given the tremendous amount of expenses necessary for stationing US troops in Europe.

Many Germans for US Troops Withdrawal

The Local wrote on July 11:

“A survey… has revealed that close to one in two Germans want all the US troops still stationed on German soil to leave… 42 percent of Germans would be happy if the US pulled its troops out of the Bundesrepublik. At the same time 37 percent said they want the US soldiers to stay, while 21 percent gave no answer.

“In particular, voters for the far-left Die Linke and far-right Alternative for Germany [AfD] wanted an end to US army bases, with 67 percent and 55 percent, respectively, saying the Amis should go. On the other hand, only 35 percent of voters for Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats (CDU) support this.

“… Germany… still hosts more US soldiers than any other country except Japan.”

Germany Must Step Up and Lead

Handelsblatt Global wrote on July 12:

“The consequences for security and German identity are vast. Angela Merkel understands this. That’s why she is worried. She knows that the German domestic debate lags far behind these geopolitical realities.

“The question is not when exactly Germany reaches the NATO goal of spending 2 percent of GDP on defense. It is how to explain to Germans that their country must start leading Europe to create… a European substitute for American power, as America increasingly turns its gaze from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Ready or not, Germany must step ‘up’.”

Europe’s Key Problem

The Project Syndicate wrote on July 5:

“Europeans are more worried about the future than they were a decade ago, not least because they are not convinced that their political leaders can respond effectively to current challenges…

“A key problem lies in the intricacy of the EU, which is poorly equipped to function amid chaos… The world of 2018 is one of chaotic play… Europe has too many moving parts. The EU is deliberately complex… That complexity is fine in normal times, but it is problematic at exceptional moments, when the play is frenetic. At those moments, the EU looks more like the Habsburg empire…

“The Habsburg empire had its own potential grand deal… but it was never concluded. Instead, the political elite began to believe that only an external political challenge – in the event, a brief war – could solve the problem. But World War I was no brief war, and far from rescuing the empire, it destroyed it. After 1918, nostalgia for the old empire surged. It looked better, more tolerant, and even more capable than the group of competing nation-states that succeeded it…”

In other words, what is being advocated, but missing at the moment, is a unifying authority with more or less swift and dictatorial powers. The Bible predicts that this is exactly what Europe will get very soon, at a time when, to reiterate a statement from the article, “the political elite began to believe that only an external political challenge – in the event, a brief war – could solve the problem.”

“Merkel Must Go”

The New York Times wrote on July 5:

“Admirers still speak of Merkel as if she is Europe’s last lion, the only leader with the vision and capacity to save the E.U… the longer she’s in office, the more the forces of reaction will gain strength…

“Europe needs a real security policy, backed by credible military power and less dependence on Russian energy… The stakes are too high for a muddler like Merkel to stick around.”

Half of the Germans agree.

The Circus of the Immigration Fight Continues…

News Channel 5 wrote on July 10:

“Germany’s Interior Minister Horst Seehofer presented his migration ‘master plan’ Tuesday in another jab at Chancellor Angela Merkel and her asylum policies. Seehofer has been pushing for more hard-line immigration and asylum policies and even threatened to quit over Merkel’s open-door policies. A recent agreement within Merkel’s governing coalition strengthened Germany’s asylum laws slightly.

“But Seehofer wants to take it a step further. Notably, his plan includes the establishment of ‘transit centers’ along Germany’s border, where migrants would be held during asylum proceedings. That term had been removed from the coalition’s agreement, in part because the Social Democratic Party feared the centers might be compared to World War II-era internment camps…”

Seehofer Asked to Resign

The Local wrote on July 11:

“An Afghan man deported from Germany has been found dead in a hotel room in Kabul after committing suicide, officials said Wednesday. The 23-year-old man… was forcibly returned to the Afghan capital on July 4th along with 68 other failed Afghan asylum seekers. He had been staying at a hotel used by the International Organization for Migration as temporary accommodation for returnees while he waited to go to the western city of Herat…

“According to Spiegel, he lived in Hamburg where he had been convicted of theft and assault. He came to Germany in 2011 and applied for asylum but his case was rejected. The apparent suicide is set to heap pressure on Interior Minister Horst Seehofer, who had already faced criticism for a comment made on Tuesday in which he joked that the 69 deportations to Afghanistan had coincided with his 69th birthday.

“Kevin Kühnert, leader of the youth wing of the Social Democrats responded to the news of the suicide by calling for Seehofer to resign… ‘Horst Seehofer is a reprehensible cynic whose character doesn’t befit his office. His resignation is overdue.’…

“Civilians continue to bear the brunt of the bloody conflict that has been raging since 2001, making the issue of deportations from Germany and other European countries highly controversial. Germany itself is deeply divided over the issue… Some of the deportees have spent most of their lives living outside of Afghanistan before being deported. More Afghans are likely to be deported after Merkel’s shaky three-party coalition agreed last week on a tougher migration policy that will reduce the number of asylum-seekers in the country…”

Seehofer’s popularity has sharply declined in Germany, and the call for his resignation gets louder, while the right-wing AfD party—Germany’s biggest opposition party– has gained further support.

How Martin Schulz Sees It

El Pais wrote on July 6:

“Martin Schultz’s story is right out of a Greek tragedy. President of the European Parliament from 2012 to 2017, he did not seek re-election… [He gave the following] joint interview with EL PAÍS, La Repubblica and Le Figaro:

“It is almost fascist for the interior minister [of Italy] to want to register the Roma people. What we are experiencing is a brutalization of language in politics… this means the end of democracy… the right has been organizing itself for a long time now… In this case, ‘the right’ means anti-democratic, anti-European and populist forces. It is disgraceful the way they attack minorities…

“This will take us to the abyss… Matteo Salvini in Italy, Heinz-Christian Strache and Sebastian Kurz in Austria, Viktor Orban in Hungary and other right-wing populists are determined to liquidate the EU…

“It’s understandable that people want more security and simple things. Those who paint the world in black and white, like Trump or Salvini, propagate their simple ideas and that’s very attractive. You need to have the courage to say that the world is complicated…

“The domestic chaos [in Germany] caused by the Christian Social Union (CSU) is dramatic for Europe. At a time when we are experiencing American unilateralism and Russian authoritarian expansion, Europe cannot engage in regressive politics… I want to be a deputy who will defend the European chapter of [Germany’s] coalition agreement. This coalition must wage the battle for the European Union.”

Schulz’s assessment that Kurz is willing to liquidate the EU, is overblown. Kurz supports the EU, as the next article shows, but not that kind of EU which Schulz would like to see.

Sebastian Kurz—Europe’s New Leader?

Bloomberg wrote on July 6:

“German Chancellor Angela Merkel has often been called the European Union’s real leader… A different chancellor seems positioned for leadership now: Austria’s Sebastian Kurz…

“Few people care much about the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union, which Austria assumed on July 1. It’s usually just a public relations opportunity for member states that otherwise get little time in the limelight. It’s different with Kurz, though. In the six months since he became chancellor at the head of a coalition between his center-right People’s Party and the far-right Freedom Party, he has positioned himself as a go-to figure for European politicians as well as for powerful outside forces…

“Kurz has said that he’d like to be a ‘bridge-builder’ between the Visegrad Four (Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia) and the rest of the EU.

“… Russian President Vladimir Putin, who rarely travels to Europe, has visited Kurz in Vienna and asked for his help in arranging a meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump… The Austrian chancellor is one of the Trump administration’s favorite European politicians. ‘Look, I think Sebastian Kurz is a rock star,’ Richard Grenell, Trump’s unloved ambassador to Germany, told Breitbart News in a recent interview. ‘I’m a big fan.’

“… Kurz is at the center of events, hated by no one, blamed for nothing… a poll in May showed that if he led a party in Germany, it would have won more votes than Merkel’s center-right bloc, the country’s most popular political force…”

England’s Brexit Disaster

Breitbart wrote on July 9:

“Prominent Brexiteer and senior government minister Boris Johnson resigned his cabinet post Monday afternoon, following his colleague David Davis who departed as Brexit Secretary Sunday evening. The development will leave Theresa May looking increasingly vulnerable, as a growing Brexit rebellion attempts to face off her move to lead Britain into a so-called Brexit in name only [so-called “soft Brexit”], where Britain will remain mostly tied to the European Union…”

The Project Syndicate wrote on July 9:

“May now has a full-blown political crisis on her hands – and all the while, the massive economic and social costs of crashing out of the bloc are beginning to sink in.”

Newsmax added on July 9:

“If Davis’s resignation rattled May, Johnson’s shook the foundations of her government… Johnson is one of Britain’s best-known politicians, and one of the most prominent advocates for Brexit… With Britain due to leave the currently 28-nation bloc on March 29, 2019, EU officials have warned Britain repeatedly that time is running out to seal a deal spelling out the terms of the divorce and a post-split relationship…

“Britain and the EU hope to reach broad agreement by October so the national parliaments of the remaining countries can ratify a deal before Britain leaves. The timetable increasingly looks overly optimistic, and EU frustration with British division and chaos is growing. European Council President Donald Tusk said Monday that ‘the mess caused by Brexit is the biggest problem in the history of EU-UK relations and it is still very far from being resolved.’

“Opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn said the government was incapable of delivering Brexit… The fear among May’s allies is that more resignations may follow…”

The Huffington Post wrote on July 9:

“May promised to deliver a ‘hard’ Brexit when she came to power, but has since dialed back those aspirations… ‘Theresa May’s Government is in meltdown,’ deputy leader of the Labour Party Tom Watson said. ‘This is complete and utter chaos. The country is at a standstill with a divided and shambolic government. The Prime Minister can’t deliver Brexit and has zero authority left.’”

Coming—a Disorderly No Deal?

Politico wrote on July 11:

“May herself conceded to MPs that unless the EU changes its negotiating position, ‘there is serious risk it could lead to no deal.’ She said this would be a ‘disorderly no deal’ as well because neither side would be able to countenance signing a withdrawal treaty under this scenario. Despite the chaos in the British Cabinet Monday, Brussels showed no sign of changing track…

“But if the EU’s red lines do not change, May will be back facing another crisis by the end of the year. Only this time, she may not be able to survive.”

Trump Backs Johnson

Breitbart wrote on July 10:

“President Trump has poured petrol onto the flames of UK Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit crisis by coming out for her chief opponent Boris Johnson…

“To his numerous enemies – in which the UK media abounds: even in the conservative press, Trump coverage is almost uniformly negative – this will [be] seen as yet further evidence that Trump is entirely unsuited to any political office, let alone the leadership of the free world. To his admirers, though… this is precisely the kind of behaviour that makes Trump one of the most… winning presidents ever…

“At the weekend, Britain was effectively hijacked by a Remainer coup… Trump does not want that coup to be successful for a number of obvious reasons, from his friendship with ex-UKIP leader Nigel Farage… and his instinctive loathing of the EU project to his sense that the Brexit vote in the UK was the precursor to his own victory in the presidential elections.”

Turkey’s Dictatorship Increases

The Week wrote on July 8:

“The Turkish government on Sunday fired and canceled the passports of some 18,000 civil servants, about half of them police officers, alleging ties to terrorist organizations. Another 6,000 are members of the military, and many of the remaining 3,000 are teachers and professors.

“The move comes shortly before President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is expected to lift the two-year national state of emergency imposed following a failed coup in 2016. About 160,000 Turkish civil servants have been similarly purged since the coup attempt, and 50,000 of them have been charged and jailed.”

Deutsche Welle wrote on July 9:

“Recep Tayyip Erdogan is set to hold greater powers than any other Turkish leader has seen in decades… Turkey’s transition from a parliamentary democracy to a system featuring an all-powerful executive president marks the country’s largest shift in governance since the Turkish republic was founded out of the ruins of the Ottoman Empire almost a century ago.

“Several foreign leaders were set to attend Monday’s inauguration. They included leaders from Ankara’s allies in Africa, the Middle East and Soviet Union, although relatively few EU figures. The only sitting EU leaders expected were Bulgarian President Rumen Radev and Hungary’s hardline Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

“Former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder was set to attend on behalf of the German government. According to a spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry in Berlin, it was usual for the government to send to a former leader to such an inauguration ceremony.”

Schröder was invited by Erdogan as a special friend. This fact, combined with Schröder’s special friendship with Putin, has led to much consternation in Germany.

Ethiopia and Eritrea End War

Deutsche Welle wrote on July 9:

“Ethiopia and Eritrea officially declared an end to a two-decades-old war on Monday, a day after their leaders held a historic summit in the Eritrean capital Asmara. The two neighbors also agreed to resume flights, open embassies and develop ports together… The rapprochement is a result of the peace talks… in a bid to end 20 years of enmity. Eritrea was part of Ethiopia until 1993, when it declared its independence in a referendum.

“The two neighbors started a frontier war in 1998 that killed an estimated 80,000 people. Full-blown fighting ended in 2000, but their troops have faced off across their disputed border ever since…”

The united country of Ethiopia/Eritrea fulfilled an end-time prophecy in Daniel 11, when it, as the “king of the South”, pushed against the king of the North (the emperor of Italy) who then responded via an attack under Mussolini. It will have to be seen whether the prophecy was dual and will find a further fulfillment in the days ahead through a modern king of the North and a king of the South.

Trade War Escalates

Politico wrote on July 10:

“The Trump administration escalated a mounting trade war with China on Tuesday by publishing a list of $200 billion worth of Chinese goods that it proposes to hit with an additional 10 percent tariff. ‘Rather than address our legitimate concerns, China has begun to retaliate against U.S. products,’ U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said… ‘There is no justification for such action.’

“The new tariff list broadens the types of goods caught up in the trade war by targeting items like seafood, minerals, chemicals, and personal care items, such as shampoo and soap. It also includes a number of consumer products such as handbags, luggage, gloves and paper. The new U.S. move came after China retaliated in kind against tariffs that President Donald Trump imposed last week. Other Chinese-made goods [are] slated to face the new 10 percent tariff. The list include[s] building supplies, such as plywood and floor panels; certain wool products, cotton yarns and threads; woven cotton fabrics; and certain automobile parts, including tires…”

JTA wrote on July 11:

“Israel will not be exempt from steel and aluminum tariffs recently imposed by the Trump administration. The 25 percent tariff on steel and the 10 percent tariff on aluminum has the potential to seriously harm the Israeli metal industry… The United States is Israel’s largest goods export market…

“The lack of an exemption was announced Monday… Canada, Mexico and the European Union also did not receive exemptions. Australia, Argentina, Brazil and South Korea have received permanent exemptions.”

Nomination of Brett Kavanaugh as Supreme Court Justice

The Associated Press reported on July 9:

“Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says that Judge Brett Kavanaugh [a practicing Roman Catholic] is a ‘superb’ Supreme Court pick and that senators should ‘put partisanship aside’ in considering him… Democrats are already lining up against Kavanaugh as too conservative. But McConnell says senators should give him ‘the fairness, respect, and seriousness that a Supreme Court nomination ought to command.’…

“Republicans hold a mere 50-49 Senate majority, with the prolonged absence of the ailing Arizona GOP Sen. John McCain. The defection of one Republican would kill the nomination unless at least one Democrat votes yes.”

Kavanaugh first faces a bipartisan Senate committee, which will issue a recommendation to the full Senate following their hearing. That is followed by a debate and vote by the full Senate. Kavanaugh will need at least 51 votes to receive confirmation. Vice President Mike Pence can cast a vote to break a tie.

The Huffington Post wrote on July 9:

“If confirmed, the 53-year-old U.S. circuit judge could tilt the balance of the court in a solidly conservative direction for decades to come, likely affecting decisions on abortion… gay rights and capital punishment…

“Kavanaugh’s most prominent opinion on abortion rights came in 2017 when he wrote in dissent not to allow an undocumented teenager to seek an abortion while in federal custody at the U.S. border in Texas… Kavanaugh also dissented with the majority in Priests for Life v. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, arguing that the Obama administration had imposed a “substantial burden” on the rights of religious groups by requiring them to include birth control coverage in their health insurance plans…”

JTA wrote on July 9:

“Kavanaugh… is well respected by the Republican establishment, although some on the right have said he is not conservative enough. Trump reportedly was wary of Kavanaugh’s close ties to George W. Bush, who nominated him to his current position in 2003… He helped draft the Starr Report, which called for President Bill Clinton to be impeached because he lied about having had a sexual relationship with Monica Lewinsky… He fought on the legal team urging Florida not to have a recount in the 2000 presidential election between Bush and Al Gore, Clinton’s vice president. The Supreme Court decision not to do so led to Bush becoming the president…

“… the Jewish establishment tends to take progressive stances on domestic issues such as reproductive rights, LGBTQ rights, voting rights, gun control and separation of church and state…

“Orthodox groups are likely to welcome a court that protects public religious expression over strict separation, as it did in recent rulings confirming a baker’s right to refuse to bake a cake for a same-sex wedding…”

Jehovah’s Witnesses Bound by EU Data Protection Law

Reuters reported on July 10:

“Jehovah’s Witnesses must obtain consent from people before they take down their personal details during door-to-door preaching in order to comply with EU data privacy rules, Europe’s top court ruled on Tuesday. The case arose after Finland in 2013 banned Jehovah’s Witnesses from collecting personal data during door-to-door visits.

“The U.S.-based Christian denomination… challenged the decision, saying that its preaching should be considered a personal religious activity and as such the notes taken down during such visits are also personal. A Finnish court subsequently asked the Luxembourg-based Court of the Justice of the European Union (ECJ) for advice, which said on Tuesday that such religious activity is not covered by exemptions granted to personal activity…

“Jehovah’s Witnesses differ from mainstream Christianity in a number of their beliefs, including rejecting the doctrine of the Trinity and opposing blood transfusions and military conscription.”

Newsweek elaborated on July 10:

“‘The Court concludes that EU law on the protection of personal data supports a finding that a religious community is a controller, jointly with its members who engage in preaching, of the processing of personal data carried out by the latter in the context of door-to-door preaching organised, coordinated and encouraged by that community, without it being necessary that the community has access to those data…’

“The group’s tenets significantly differ from other mainstream sects of Christianity and forbid participating in military service, giving blood and celebrating holidays, including religious feasts [the reference here is to “religious feasts” such as Christmas, Easter or New Year’s] and birthdays…

“As a result, the EU court found that ‘the concept of a “filing system” covers a set of personal data collected in the course of door-to-door preaching, consisting of the names and addresses and other information concerning the persons contacted, if those data are structured according to specific criteria which, in practice, enable them to be easily retrieved for subsequent use…

“The Jehovah’s Witnesses have run into trouble elsewhere, too. Russia has arrested a number of the group’s followers in the country after declaring the religious community to be an ‘extremist organization’ in 2017 and utilizing other methods to crack down on their activities.

“Like Russia, South Korea has mandatory military service and has so far denied offering Jehovah’s Witnesses a pass. Seoul’s constitutional court ruled last week that such a strict stance was unconstitutional and that the government must present an alternative option, but the group’s representatives told Newsweek that over 2,000 of its followers remained imprisoned in South Korea for refusing military service.”

Jimmy Carter: Jesus Would Approve of Gay Marriage and Certain Abortions

Breitbart wrote on July 9:

“Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter said Sunday that Jesus would approve of gay marriage and certain abortions… Asked about gay marriage, he replied that it is ‘no problem with me. I think everybody should have a right to get married regardless of their sex.’

“Regarding whether he thinks Jesus would approve of gay marriage, Carter replied ‘I don’t have any verse in Scripture,’ but added, ‘I believe that Jesus would approve of gay marriage.’ ‘I think Jesus would encourage any love affair if it was honest and sincere and was not damaging to anyone else and I don’t see that gay marriage damages anyone else,’ he said… ‘The only thing I would draw a line on,’ he said, is ‘I wouldn’t be in favor of the government being able to force a local church congregation to perform gay marriages if they didn’t want to. But those two partners should be able to go to a local courthouse or to a different church and get married.’

“Mr. Carter said that abortion has always been a struggle for him, because he does not believe Jesus would be in favor of most abortions… ‘I have a hard time believing that Jesus would approve abortions unless it was because of rape or incest or if the mother’s life was in danger’… he said.”

Well, the Jesus Mr. Carter believes in is most certainly not the Jesus of the Bible who taught marriage between a man and a woman and who condemned homosexuality and the killing of innocent life (abortion) for any reason.

US Delegation Opposed to Breastfeeding?

Ars Technica added on July 9:

“In May, a US delegation to the World Health Organization issued stunning trade and military threats in its opposition to a well-established and otherwise uncontroversial resolution encouraging breastfeeding… The resolution simply put forth that mother’s milk is the healthiest option for infants and that countries should work to limit any misleading or inaccurate advertising by makers of breast-milk substitutes. It affirms a long-held position by the WHO and is backed by decades of research.

“But more than a dozen participants from several countries—most requesting anonymity out of fear of US retaliation—told the Times that the American officials surprised health experts and fellow delegates alike by fiercely opposing the resolution. At first, the US delegates attempted to simply dilute the pro-breastmilk message, voiding language that called for governments to ‘protect, promote, and support breastfeeding’ and limit promotion of competing baby food products that experts warn can be harmful. But when that failed, the US reportedly put the squeeze on countries backing the resolution by making aggressive trade and military threats—a move that further stunned the assembly.

“The Ecuadorian delegation, for instance, was expected to introduce the resolution but was weaned off the idea after the US threatened to impose harmful trade measures and withdraw military assistance—which the US is providing in the northern part of the country to help address violence spilling over the border from Colombia. Officials from the US, Uruguay, and Mexico said that at least a dozen other countries—many of which are poor countries in Africa and Latin America—dropped the resolution…

“The Times notes a 2016 series in the Lancet in which researchers estimated that universal breastfeeding could spare the lives of 823,000 children each year and save $302 billion in economic losses. The WHO has long said that breastfeeding is the optimal feeding method for infants and recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of a child’s life and continued feeding with introduction of other foods up to two years of age.

“In the end, the US’s effort to dash the WHO resolution encouraging breastfeeding was largely unsuccessful. Russia ultimately sponsored the resolution and the American delegation did not issue any threats to the country.”

We wonder why the US delegation opposed encouragement of breastfeeding. It is indeed well-established and beyond any reasonable dispute that it is the most preferable feeding method for infants.  

Acknowledgement and Disclaimer

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

In the first part, we discussed the biblical passages pertaining to the second Passover, i.e. Numbers 9 and 2 Chronicles 30. We read that those who were unable to partake of the first Passover [at the beginning of the 14^th day of Nisan, the first month in the Hebrew calendar], due to ritual uncleanness or absence because of a long journey, were allowed to take the second Passover. They would do so EXACTLY 30 days later [at the beginning of the 14^th day of Iyar, the second month in the Hebrew calendar], and in EXACTLY the same way as the first Passover was observed. We also saw that under King Hezekiah, the whole congregation kept the second Passover, and they proceeded to keep seven Days of Unleavened Bread, followed by another seven days of celebration.

In the past, there has been some confusion as to whether or not to keep the Days of Unleavened Bread [or some resemblance of abstaining from unleavened bread for seven days], following the second Passover.

For instance, it has been recommended that if a person keeping the second Passover did NOT observe the Days of Unleavened Bread after the first Passover, he or she should observe seven days of unleavened bread after taking the second Passover. It was also mentioned, however, that the first and last days of this period of unleavened bread following the second Passover would NOT be Sabbaths.

This approach does not seem to find biblical support. Numbers 9 does not mention anything about keeping any of the Days of Unleavened Bread after the second Passover. Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible points out correctly that in Old Testament times, the second Passover was to be eaten “in the same manner as the first passover was eaten, Exodus 12:8; only no mention is made of keeping the feast of unleavened bread seven days…”

When reading about how the Jews observe the second Passover (“Pesach Sheni” in Hebrew), it is pointed out that the festival is only one day this time, rather than seven. In other words, a “shifting” takes place from a seven day festival to a one day event (the Jews consider the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread as constituting one festival, calling it “Passover,” even though technically, the Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread are two different festivals). They continue explaining that it is not necessary to remove leaven from one’s premises for seven days, following the second Passover, or to abstain from eating leavened products during that time.

When reviewing the incident in 2 Chronicles 30 under King Hezekiah, we find that the whole occurrence was quite unorthodox in that people partook of the second Passover who were, under the ritual law, not permitted to do so, due to their ceremonial uncleanness (verse 18), but that Hezekiah prayed to God for “atonement” (verse 18) and God listened to him and forgave and “healed” them (verse 20), while the Levites ate throughout the feast for seven days, “making confession” (verse 22). Subsequently, the whole assembly agreed to continue the celebration for another seven days (verse 23; notice that the words “the feast” in this verse are in italics, meaning that they are not in the original Hebrew). The 14-day observance after the second Passover was done voluntarily; there was no biblical command to do so.

We do not know how exactly those 14 days were kept. But in any event, this occurrence cannot be used as a precedence for those today who keep the second Passover, so that they would need to also keep seven days of unleavened bread, because IF we were to look at the occurrence under King Hezekiah as binding for us today, then 14 days would have to be kept in some way, not just seven.

We should also understand why God was willing to “overlook” or pass over the inaccurate observance of the Passover at that time. Until King Hezekiah, there is no record that the children of Israel and Judah even kept the Passover after Joshua and Samuel (compare 2 Chronicles 35:18). They might have done so, but not with the same zeal and dedication as they did under King Hezekiah. And it appears that they did not keep it again after Hezekiah, at least not with the same zeal, until the service was temporarily restored under King Josiah (2 Chronicles 35). In the incident of 2 Chronicles 30, under King Hezekiah, God forgave them their inadequacies as He looked at their new-found zeal and dedication to His Word, even though their understanding was not perfect. Even under Moses, it appears that only very few Passovers were actually held.

Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers states the following pertaining to Joshua 5:10:

“This is the third Passover in Israel’s history. The first two were kept under Moses–(1) in Egypt, when the Lord delivered them; (2) the second at Sinai, when He had ‘brought them unto Himself.’ (3) The third is on the other side [of the] Jordan under Joshua. Two belong to the Exodus, or going out; one to the Eisodus, or coming in… The law in Exodus 12:48 is, “no uncircumcised person shall eat thereof.” Hence, while they wandered in the wilderness, this uncircumcised generation could not keep the Passover.”

The Benson Commentary agrees, stating this pertaining to Joshua 5:10:

“The children of Israel kept the passover — Which was their third passover: the first was in Egypt, Exodus 12.; the second at mount Sinai, Numbers 9.; the third here; for in their wilderness travels, these and several other sacrifices were neglected, Amos 5:25. While they were in the wilderness, they were denied the comfort of this ordinance, as a further token of God’s displeasure. But now God comforted them again, after the time that he had afflicted them.”

Likewise Matthew Poole’s Commentary: “This [in Joshua 5:10] was their third passover: the first was in Egypt, Exo 12; the second at Mount Sinai, Num 9; the third here; for in their wilderness travels these and all other sacrifices were neglected, Amos 5:25.”

Very little has been published in the past in Church of God literature about the specific circumstances allowing or even encouraging a person to take the second Passover, when he or she did not partake of the first Passover. If anything was said at all, it was stated that the person was “unable” to take the first Passover; that “he or she inadvertently misse[d] the first Passover due to circumstances beyond their control”; that “strenuous circumstances occurred”; or that they were “not able” to keep the first Passover “due to illness or other emergency circumstances.”

Commentaries are also very vague. Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges states that it “was understood in later days to include all good reasons which might prevent anyone from keeping the festival.” The Benson Commentary says that “the Hebrews think that other hinderances [sic] of like nature are comprehended; as if one be hindered by a disease, or by any other such kind of uncleanness.”

We are informed that the definition of “distant journey” has been interpreted very liberally by the rabbinic tradition.

In the Church of God, it has been understood for a long time that the examples in Numbers 9 are not exclusive. A baptized person who was unable to keep the Passover because of sickness (perhaps lying in a hospital bed without any privacy) was always permitted and encouraged to take the second Passover.

There might be additional unusual circumstances which might have to be scrutinized carefully; and it is important to provide here a few more specific details for the purpose of assisting and guiding in this process. The following comments are not introducing “new doctrine,” nor are they meant to be understood as providing definitive doctrinal or administrative decisions of the Church, but rather, to help sharpen our thinking pertaining to what might or might not constitute “unusual circumstances” in specific situations. However, converted members contemplating to take the second Passover should never do so without prior consultation and counsel with the ministry.

If baptized members did not take the first Passover because of what might be described as “spiritual uncleanness” (more on this term below), which was followed by genuine repentance, would they be allowed to partake of the second Passover, or would they have to wait another year and then partake of the next first Passover? Would this situation be analogous to the ritual uncleanness prohibiting a person to partake of the first Passover? Persons who were ritually unclean could not take the first Passover, but they could take the second Passover when they had become ritually clean. Would the spiritual analogy apply so that those who were “spiritually” unclean could not/should not take the first Passover (that is why it is always emphasized during the Passover ceremony that no one should take the Passover if he/she is harboring grudges against someone else), but once they became spiritually clean, they could partake of the second Passover?

[On the other hand, a person thinking that he or she should not partake of the first Passover because of “spiritual” uncleanness would make a mistake when unilaterally deciding not to do so. Such a person might very well be sinning, as Paul commands us to examine ourselves and then to TAKE the Passover (1 Corinthians 11:28). A decision in this regard, pro or con, should always be first discussed and counseled with the ministry.]

In addition, when someone is not baptized, he would not be spiritually “clean,” but once he is baptized, he would be spiritually “clean” and therefore able to take the Passover. Does this understanding help us in determining certain developments pertaining to the second Passover? Let us suppose that someone would be ready for baptism prior to the (first) Passover, but could not be baptized just before the Passover, because of practical problems, such as no minister being present prior to Passover. Would this person who becomes baptized a few days after the first Passover be allowed to take the second Passover? We saw that a person could not partake of the first Passover when he was ritually unclean, but he could partake of the second Passover if he became ritually clean in the meantime. Would this analogy apply to spiritual cleanness due to baptism; in other words, could the spiritual analogy apply that when an unbaptized person who is spiritually unclean and therefore prevented from taking the (first) Passover, as he or she would take it unworthily, would be able to take the second Passover after he or she becomes spiritually clean through baptism?

One argument against this concept might be that the ritually unclean person was physically circumcised; that is, he could have taken the first Passover if it had not been for his ritual uncleanness or his being on a journey. The spiritual analogy might mean that the person was baptized (spiritually circumcised), but could not take the first Passover for reasons other than not being baptized, while an unbaptized person could not have partaken of the first Passover in the first place. In addition, there is no biblical record that a man who was not physically circumcised could partake of the Passover. On the other hand, as mentioned above, there are very few biblical records when the Passover was kept in the first place, and the command of physical circumcision only applied to men, not women, but women did participate in the Old Testament Passover observances.

One might also consider that just because conditions prevented the baptism from taking place before the first Passover through no one’s fault, should this preclude taking the second Passover after baptism which took place right after the first Passover? Had all the relevant conditions been in place; e.g., availability of a minister and a suitable place for baptism, then the baptism would have taken place prior to Passover. The person had no fault in not being baptized in time for the first Passover. The Israelites who could not keep the Passover because they were defiled by the dead body of a man, asked Moses: “Why are we kept from presenting the offering of the LORD at its appointed time among the children of Israel?” (Numbers 9:7). Today, a person presents himself, as a living sacrifice, to God the Father and Jesus Christ at Passover, while accepting THE Sacrifice of Christ for the ongoing remission of his sins.

We should also consider that in the situation under King Hezekiah, the first Passover could not be observed, among other reasons, as there were not enough Levites present who had “consecrated “ themselves (2 Chronicles 30:3). Could this analogy apply in a situation today when no minister was present prior to the first Passover to baptize a person?

In Matthew 18:18 we read Christ’s words to His ministry: “Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

It ultimately requires a decision by the Church ministry, considering all the facts and circumstances in a given situation, as to whether it should be recommended to a person who did not observe the first Passover to be allowed to observe the second Passover. It would have to be an individual decision of the local minister, reviewing all the facts and circumstances, whether to recommend the second Passover for someone who was baptized right after the first Passover, because the baptism could not take place before the first Passover, through no fault of the person. The same might apply when a baptized person did not take the first Passover due to “spiritual” uncleanness but subsequently genuinely repents and is desirous of taking the second Passover. This might also include a situation when an ill-advised “decision” by a member was made not to take the first Passover which might turn out to have been incorrect, due to a wrong evaluation of the circumstances or due to a wrong understanding of pertinent facts, and when the member repents of his or her mistake and has the strong desire to take the second Passover. In either case, an individual should not take it upon himself or herself, without the consultation with a minister, to take the second Passover on his or her own. Although the ultimate decision rests with the individual member, it is strongly recommended that he or she counsels first with the ministry on the matter of the second Passover.

From the way Numbers 9:10-12 is rendered in some translations, one might conclude that a person MUST take the second Passover if the situation warrants it, and that the person were to sin if he or she would not do it. The Authorized Version states that those who could not keep the first Passover “shall” keep it on the 14^th day of the second month. (The Revised Standard Version and the Revised English Bible state it in similar terms, i.e. “shall” keep it, or even “must” keep it). However, this is not what Numbers 9:10-12 seems to want to convey. Rather, the idea seems to be that when the second Passover is to be observed, it must be at that particular time; it must be “to the LORD”; and it must be in accordance with the ordinances of the (first) Passover. The New King James Bible renders these verses in this way, thereby accurately reflecting the intended meaning:

“… he may still keep the LORD’s Passover. On the fourteenth day of the second month, at twilight, they may keep it. They shall eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. They shall leave none of it until morning, nor break one of its bones. According to all of the ordinances of the Passover they shall keep it.”

Also compare the New International Version; the New American Bible (“he may still keep the LORD’s Passover”); and the New Jerusalem Bible (he “can still keep a Passover for Yahweh”).

In any event, applying the principles of Numbers 9 to the New Testament Church, it will be the ministry who is to make a recommendation in a given situation, as to whether it is advisable or recommended to take or not to take the second Passover, based on godly inspiration, conveying what God may bind or loose in heaven in a specific case. Undoubtedly, the ministry has been given authority to make decisions in such cases, as God has given the ministry authority to declare, based on godly-revealed wisdom and discernment, whether someone has repented of his or her sin, or not (John 20:23). However, if the ministry, under godly inspiration, concludes that the second Passover “may” or “should be” taken, then a person’s decision to ignore the ministry and act contrarily might very well be sinful.

This would also be true for the first Passover when the ministry concludes, under godly inspiration, that there are no reasons to prevent someone from taking the first Passover, and the member just chooses to ignore such advice. The reverse is true as well: When the ministry, under godly inspiration, concludes that the first or second Passover should not be taken under the particular circumstances, then the member might sin if he or she acts contrary to that conclusion and partakes of the first or second Passover anyhow. It really boils down to the question as to whether we believe that God inspires His ministry in cases like these, or whether we are entitled to just do whatever we please (compare Judges 17:6; 21:25). [Of course, if it is concluded that a second Passover should not or does not need to be taken, then the person is of course required to partake of the next first Passover, unless circumstances dictate otherwise, as discussed above.]

Another question is how the second Passover is to be kept. The answer is: Similarly as to how the first Passover is being kept at home by those who are scattered and unable to attend the Passover service in person. The Church of the Eternal God and its international affiliates have prepared pre-recorded material for those baptized Church members who are eligible to take the first (or second) Passover at home. Normally, the Passover service consists of three parts: The footwashing; the partaking of the bread; and the partaking of the wine. When only one person is observing the Passover at home, then the footwashing ceremony must be dispensed of, for obvious reasons.

When two or more persons are partaking of the Passover at home, then—if husband and wife—they would wash each other’s feet, and if additional men and women are participating, then men would wash the feet of the other men, and women of the other women. If a ministerial couple who had partaken of the first Passover are present for the second Passover in order to assist someone who might need help, then the minister could officiate the second Passover service, but he and his wife should not partake of the Passover themselves, as otherwise, they would keep the Passover more than once within a year, which would be against God’s Law.

In conclusion, we would strongly recommend that converted members who may be in doubt as to whether or not to take the first or second Passover, should not make a unilateral decision in this regard, but counsel first with the Church ministry for guidance and direction.

Lead Writer: Norbert Link

compiled by Dave Harris

A new Member Letter (July 2018) has been written and mailed our subscribers. In this letter, Michael Link encourages Christians to set our goal to be victorious in God’s calling.

“How God Views the 2018 NATO Summit” is the title of a new StandingWatch program, presented by Evangelist Norbert Link. Here is a summary:

 It started with a bang. President Trump voiced his strong objections to Germany’s plan to build a pipeline with Russia that would bring gas from Russia to Germany, thereby becoming dependent on and being held captive by Russia. Mr. Trump is not alone with his criticism of Germany. In addition, he chided NATO members, especially Germany, for not paying enough to NATO, comparing it with the huge amount which the USA provides. Disagreements exist as to what was really committed to during the summit. Fears have resurfaced that the USA may leave NATO and withdraw its troops from Europe, especially Germany. What DOES the Bible say about these developments?

“Schon sehr bald–Weltweite Vernichtung vor Christi Kommen!” is the title of this Sabbath’s German sermon, presented by Norbert Link. Title in English: “Very Soon–Worldwide Destruction Before Christ’s Coming!”

“Turbulence Along the Way,” the sermonette presented last Sabbath by Frank Bruno, is now posted. Here is a summary:

This sermonette makes the point that true chaos as we humans experience it is well within God’s plan for his creation. What appears to be chaotic and discordant is actually quite ordered and precisely designed by God. We are not unlike a small creature living among the branches of a great tree with seemingly endless limbs, sub-branches, and intricate leaves—each with their own complex structure that God planned and designed. When we are converted and we trust and believe in God our Creator—all falls into place with His order.

“Great Leadership,” the sermon presented last Sabbath by Eric Rank, is now posted. Here is a summary:

Throughout the history recorded in the Bible, leaders emerge and come to power with a wide range of quality. Some leaders were bad, some were good, and a few were great. What are the attributes that make a great leader? What can we learn and apply in our own lives where we have a scope of leadership?

On July 7, 2018, Frank Bruno will present the sermonette, titled, “Turbulence Along the Way,” and Eric Rank will present the sermon, titled, “Great Leadership.”

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.

Magicians are impressive to watch. While their skill at performing seemingly impossible feats is fascinating, I find the psychological aspects mostly intriguing. The most important element of a well-performed trick involves causing the observer to form a false belief by manipulating his or her attention. Magicians perform tricks by drawing attention away from the hand that pulls an object out of a secret hiding place, and instead brings the observer’s focus to the other hand whose purpose is to distract. The simple action of paying attention to the wrong thing causes the unwitting observer to draw all kinds of false conclusions.

Magic tricks are designed to entertain, so the impact on those sitting in the audience is generally inconsequential. However, not all tricks that employ the use of deception are harmless. Satan is a master at distracting people from the Truth. He does this just as a magician does — by drawing attention to some other tantalizing fiction while the actual Truth is concealed. By misrepresenting facts, Satan has successfully drawn angels away from serving God. He has likewise deceived the world to believe that all of creation has somehow materialized from nothing. The contrived creation theories inspired by Satan to leave God out of the picture fit the profile of a magic trick. These creation theories provide so-called intelligent explanations that distract people from seeing how Satan hastily hides the actual Creator of all existence behind the curtain. Unlike entertaining magic tricks, Satan’s tricks have a severely dangerous effect. Those who fall for his lies are led away from obeying God.

Avoiding deception is very challenging though. Just as a magic trick can leave the observer wondering how it was possible to defy the laws of physics, a deceptive argument that is logically sound can derail good judgment — unless we are rooted in faith. Paul warned the disciples of his time about this: “Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ” (compare Colossians 2:8). If we allow ourselves to focus our attention away from the Truth that can be proven from the pages of the Bible, and instead give our trust to any other way of understanding, we allow ourselves to be cheated. When we turn our beliefs away from the simple Truth of God and entertain other contradictory teachings instead, we set in motion a process which may lead to our eternal death. Unless we reverse the process of embracing and following Satan’s lies, we become cheated out of our salvation.

Fortunately, we have a choice as to what to give our attention. We can choose to pay attention to the Truth of God, hanging on to it faithfully, or we can choose to believe the lie. It might sound like an easy thing to focus on the Truth, but it can be a great challenge. The world that we live in bombards us with ideas that tug at our faith, which may compel us to give up on the Truth that stands so opposed to the ways of the world. But we need to dig in our heels and trust in God’s Truth, not man’s. Our love for the Truth is what will keep us grounded, protect us from becoming cheated, and keep us far from condemnation (compare 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12).

Our sight must remain fixed on God so that we don’t become deceived by distracting arguments and ideas that pull us away from the Truth. Even though the world says otherwise, we have to remember that seeking pleasure in unrighteousness has an ultimate end that is deadly. We are instructed in this regard by the wisdom of Solomon: “My son, give attention to my words; Incline your ear to my sayings. Do not let them depart from your eyes; Keep them in the midst of your heart; For they are life to those who find them, And health to all their flesh” (Proverbs 4:20-22). If we don’t want to allow ourselves to be fooled by the tricks of Satan, we need to focus on the Truth and never allow our gaze to turn away from it.

by Norbert Link

We begin with a thought-provoking article pertaining to America’s Independence Day, and continue with reporting on the inconsistent and unsuccessful attempts of Europeans to deal with their “migrant crisis,” showing complete disharmony, backstabbing, blackmail, compromise, selling out and defeat of moderate voices, while the view points of the extreme right seem to become more and more victorious. In this context, please view our new StandingWatch program, titled, “Europe’s Immigration Nightmare.” 

We speak on President Trump’s unhappiness with European failure to pay adequately for their defense and rumors of US willingness to withdraw American troops from Europe, as well as a catastrophic worldwide trade war.

We also address, among other things, Prince William’s controversial visit to Jerusalem; France’s reintroduction of mandatory national service for minors; North Korea’s continuation of producing enriched uranium for nuclear weapons; the ongoing military collaboration between Russia and China; the upcoming summit between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin in Finland; and Mexico’s new leadership.

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

What Would Jesus Do?

Fox News published the following article on the occasion of America’s 4^th of July Celebrations:

“What does it mean to be a patriotic American in today’s divisive climate? What are our values as a nation? How should we treat each other and those outside – or at – our borders? It’s an understatement to say we don’t all agree. The only way I can cut through the confusion is to cling to my identity in Christ. I love this country and have always felt blessed to live here. But I’ve seen enough of the rest of the world – more than 60 countries – to know that people outside of America face hardships we can’t even imagine. And I wonder just what God expects from us when so many are suffering…

“My true citizenship is in heaven. I’m a Christian first and an American second… there’s no better way to think through the hotly debated issues of our day than to ask, ‘What would Jesus do?’… Jesus was one of the least politically correct people of his day… Jesus didn’t care about politics; he cared about people. His love for little children is clear. His regard for women is well-documented. When he saw someone in need, he stopped what he was doing and responded with compassion. He treated everyone with dignity, no matter their choices or circumstances.

“… Jesus was clear about priorities. When religious leaders tried to trap him with questions about the law, he boiled it down for them – and for us: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the law and the prophets hang on these two commandments’ (Matthew 22:36-40).

“Let’s not forget, the ‘neighbor’ Jesus commands us to love doesn’t only apply to citizens of our country. The parable of the Good Samaritan is Jesus’ timeless lesson on who our neighbor is: anyone in need. So what would Jesus do with unborn children? With immigrant families arriving at our border or refugees seeking safe haven? With people of different races and religions? With disadvantaged children in the U.S. lacking basic necessities?…

“As citizens of God’s kingdom, we’re called to stand apart and resist cultural and political influence… When we wield spiritual power rather than political power, Christians become a force for good – in any country… This can happen here in America, if we choose biblical correctness over political correctness; if we follow Christ, not the platform of either political party…”

Europe’s Nightmare

The following articles on the topic of European immigration are selected to show the reader the hopeless attempts to deal with migrants, while resorting to controversial means and playing into the hands of far right voices, leaders and movements. We do not only quote these articles to show the way in which Satan rules this present evil world, but also, how these developments in a divided Europe pertaining to the migrant crisis will contribute to the biblically prophesied formation of a strong CORE Europe under the leadership of a powerful charismatic political and military leader. Present developments do not appear to give reason for much hope in a future peaceful and humane European power bloc.

European Immigration Deal because of Blackmail?

Deutsche Welle wrote on June 29:

“After 12 hours of negotiations, exhausted EU leaders presented an agreement on migration. It is above all a shift to the right of the political spectrum toward making it harder to cross into the EU. The populists have prevailed.

“The problem is supposed to be moved outside of Europe’s borders where screening centers will be set up. They’re supposed to scare off Libya and other North African countries, so that African migrants don’t even try to cross the Mediterranean to reach Europe in the first place… The EU wants to strengthen its partnership with Libya of all places, where migrants face exploitation and torture. The Libyan coast guard, already receiving EU support, will in future be responsible for fishing migrants out of a much larger area of the Mediterranean…

“Lots of money will cloak this strategy, as will the praise for EU-African cooperation… This is, of course, much too tedious for the current political problem. It’s unfortunate that Italy’s new government of right-wing populists, with its ruthless rejection of people stranded at sea, came out on top: Reception centers in the bloc will be closed. So, Italy got its wish, at least on paper. Blackmail, as it turns out, was effective…

“Hungary’s prime minister, Victor Orban, can now rightly point to the fact that his idea – fences, fear and forcing people back to the border – won in the end… The number of migrants heading for Europe has dropped by 95 percent compared to 2015, according to the summit agreement. The question is how to prevent the remaining 5 percent from entering the EU.”

EU Plan Immigration “a Farce”

Daily Mail wrote on June 29:

“A Brussels plan to build EU migrant detention centres descended into [a] farce last night as European leaders lined up to refuse to host them… French president Emmanuel Macron said he would not host one of the ‘controlled centres’ and Austrian chancellor Sebastian Kurz mocked the prospect of one being built in his country… Italian prime minister Giuseppe Conte rejected Mr Macron’s suggestion that the asylum centres would be hosted in countries such as Italy.”

Egypt Refuses EU Call for Migrant Reception Centers

Deutsche Welle wrote on July 1:

“Egypt… will refuse to host migrants aiming for the European Union… Egypt… will not build refugee camps for migrants deported from the European Union if asked. The announcement came after details of a new EU-wide migration deal revealed that bloc leaders will seek to build centers for asylum seekers in ‘partner countries’ in the Middle East and Africa.

“The leaders of Albania, Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria have also said they will refuse to build reception centers for migrants attempting to reach the EU…”

Hungary’s New Anti-Immigration Measures

Herald Net wrote on June 29:

“… lawyers risk jail time if they so much as help a client fill out a complicated Hungarian-language form. Hungary’s parliament last week approved a legislative package aimed not only at barring the gates to almost any outsider — but also decreeing punishment for those who try to aid would-be migrants…

“Even before the latest stringent measures, Hungary earned a reputation for hostility toward migrants who surged through Europe three years ago… Hungary erected a barrier on its border with Serbia and Croatia…”

In the Arms of the Extreme Right?

The Daily Mail wrote on June 29:

“From Greece to Germany, from Sicily to Scandinavia, people are unhappy about mass migration, are punishing the politicians they blame for it and are increasingly drifting into the arms of the extremist Right.

“In Austria, the 31-year-old Right-wing Chancellor Sebastian Kurz sent hundreds of troops to the border to prepare for a possible migration surge this summer. In Hungary, the authoritarian leader Viktor Orban recently announced plans for a special 25 per cent tax on organisations that support migration…”

Core Europe–Merkel’s Deal with EU Nations

Express wrote on July 1:

“[The] German Chancellor secured ‘rapid return’ migrant return deals with 16 countries at an EU summit on Friday. At the EU summit, Germany, Spain and Greece reached a trilateral migration deal of ‘reciprocal cooperation’, along with a wider EU migration agreement. Mrs Merkel struck the deals with countries including Hungary, Belgium, France, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Sweden, Portugal, Poland, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia and Luxembourg…

“The wider EU migration agreement aims to minimise the ‘secondary movements’ of migrants, who register in one EU country and then cross into another. Asylum seekers whose ‘first entry into the European Union was Spain’ will be returned by Germany to Spain, the Spanish government said in a written statement. Germany will also pay for the cost of their return… In return, Mrs Merkel will give the go ahead for family reunification to take place in Germany. The move will see 2,900 people who presently live in Greece, reunited with their families in Germany…”

Even though some of the above-mentioned countries subsequently denied that such a deal was struck, it still shows that a core Europe or a Europe with two speeds is bound to develop. Some don’t seem to understand that a core Europe IS prophesied in the Bible. God’s Holy Word speaks of TEN European nations and groups of nations… not of 28 European member states. By no stretch of the imagination can 28 member states constitute 10 nations.

Merkel Safe for Now by Agreeing to “Transit Centers”?

Deutsche Welle reported in July 2:

“Chancellor Angela Merkel and Bavarian conservative leader Horst Seehofer have reached a deal on migrant policy that could save the governing coalition [if the] Social Democrats accept the deal…

“Merkel said Germany would be putting in place national ‘transit centers’ [on the Austrian border] to ‘order and steer secondary migration’ — the movement of migrants within the EU… In order to retain its absolute majority, the CSU is anxious to present a hard line on migrants and head off competition from the right-wing populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) party…”

Newsmax republished the following article by AFP, dated July 2:

“The deal… drew immediate fire from critics, such as Bernd Riexinger of the opposition far-left Die Linke party, who on Twitter slammed the plan for what he labelled ‘mass internment camps…’”

Breitbart London added on July 2:

“While Seehofer’s comparatively strong stance has caused this clash with Merkel, the Bavarian leader remains a centre-right figure fundamentally unopposed to mass migration, and the new compromise will do nothing to undo the effects of decades of mass migration to Germany…”

Germany’s Junior Coalition Party SPD May Have to “Compromise”

Deutsche Welle wrote on July 3:

“Anyone hoping for quick approval by Social Democrats [CDU’s junior coalition party] was sorely disappointed… one of the biggest problems is that the party [SPD] already resoundingly rejected transit centers back in 2015 during Germany’s previous grand coalition government.

“In late 2015, SPD leaders including now-Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, Ex-Foreign Minister and former Party Chairman Sigmar Gabriel and Secretary-General Lars Klingbeil took to social media to portray the zones as ‘gigantic prisons’ and ‘mass camps in no man’s land.’ ‘The SPD has won the day,’ Gabriel wrote on Twitter back then. ‘Transit zones are off the table. No house arrest, no fences.’

“With that in mind, the SPD is almost certain to insist at least upon a change in name for the facilities proposed by the CDU and CSU… That choice of phrase leaves enough wiggle room for Social Democrats to reach some sort of agreement with conservatives on new migrant processing facilities, provided they’re called something else. But whether the SPD’s own grass roots will allow the leadership to exploit that leeway is another matter…

“It’s in the SPD’s best interest to facilitate a reconciliation between Germany’s two conservative parties. A divorce between the CDU and CSU would almost certainly prompt a fresh national election. That’s something that the SPD, currently mired in historic lows of 16 to 18 percent in public opinion polls, can ill afford.”

And in fact, they did compromise.

Deutsche Welle wrote on July 5:

“The leaders of Germany’s three-way governing coalition [CDU, CSU and SPD] agreed on a deal concerning migration and asylum policy after German Chancellor Angela Merkel made a deal with Interior Minister Horst Seehofer to introduce tougher controls at Germany’s border with Austria…

“The leaders agreed on ditching so-called transit centers to process incoming asylum-seekers, rather there will now be ‘transit processes in police centers,’ CSU leader Seehofer told reporters.”

The fact is that the “transit centers” are to remain, only with a different name. Seehofer now speaks of “transfer centers.”

What political dishonesty and despicable maneuvering.

Merkel Under Fire

Deutsche Welle wrote on July 4:

“Addressing parliament for the first time since her clash with Interior Minister Horst Seehofer, the German chancellor sought to stress a common way forward. But things remain tense both inside and outside her coalition… if Merkel was trying to sell peace and prosperity, the largest opposition party, the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), wasn’t buying. Before Merkel’s speech, AfD joint parliamentary leader Alice Weidel, took direct aim at the chancellor. [Weidel] called the deal on migrants a ‘Pyrrhic victory’ and prophesied that the governmental crisis over the issue would continue. She added that the conflict was symptomatic of a general failure on the part of the government… The far-right populist concluded by calling upon Merkel to resign…

“[The SPD] insisted that the foundation of government policy remained the coalition agreement signed by the CDU-CSU and the SPD in March and not any deals struck between conservatives alone… ‘You lost sight of the basics,’ the co-leader of the Green party’s parliamentary group, Toni Hofreiter, said [to Merkel]. ‘What you’ve created is chaos.’”

“Merkel Hangs on by Selling Out”

Handelsblatt Global wrote on July 3:

“If you believe their spin, Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union and Horst Seehofer’s Christian Social Union last night snatched victory from the jaws of defeat. One moment Seehofer was still heard jibing that ‘I won’t let myself be sacked by a chancellor whom I made chancellor in the first place.’ A few hours later, besotted by the thought of clinging to his office a bit longer, he was gloating that the deal they had struck contains everything he had demanded and ‘allows’ him to remain interior minister.

“There is nothing good about this deal. Neither for this governing coalition… nor for Germany, which will keep teetering on the brink of a governmental crisis; nor for Europe, which now lacks a reliable partner in its largest member state; nor for refugees, who will be caught in a legal and humanitarian limbo as Europe keeps fighting about them…

“For Merkel, this amounts to 99 percent capitulation. Since the fall of 2015, and with renewed vigor in recent weeks, she had insisted that Germany’s nine borders (which all lie within the Schengen area) remain open, and that no asylum seekers will be turned back before their case is heard. Now they will be turned back: into camps that mustn’t be called by that name (lest they remind people of concentration camps). Any reverse flow from the camps to Austria or Italy will cause those countries to close their borders, which amounts to precisely the ‘nationalist’ and ‘un-European’ solution Merkel had claimed to oppose…

“Merkel has sold out. The deal… will not restore peace to the relationship between CDU and CSU. There is no more trust among them. The sparring parties will stumble from fight to fight, all the way up to the regional election in Bavaria in October. It remains hard to imagine that both Merkel and Seehofer can stay in office. Meanwhile, the Social Democrats are fed up with both of them…”

The Chicago Tribune wrote on July 2:

“Relations between Merkel’s CDU and its Bavarian sister have been badly strained, and the CSU itself is now riven by competing factions… ‘How often have… Merkel and… Seehofer said they’ve found a “good compromise” that then resulted in an escalation just a few hours / days / weeks later?’, Katrin Göring-Eckardt, the leader of the Green Party, tweeted after the compromise was announced. ‘It’s exhausting. It doesn’t solve any problems, it just creates new ones.’”

“Transit Zones” Already Exist in Hungary

Deutsche Welle wrote on July 3:

“The transit zones… already exist in Hungary.

“In the transit zone, which Hungary has declared a no man’s land, officials… check whether the asylum-seeker has been registered in another European Union country or whether the asylum application is obviously unfounded for other reasons…

“Rejected asylum seekers are returned to Serbia from the transit zone. The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg condemned this practice back in March 2017… The court called their internment illegal. The deportation to Serbia was also criticized because there was a risk of a ‘chain deportation’ to Greece. Hungary has appealed this judgment. A final verdict is still pending…

“For transit zones to work, it is imperative to seal off the border with a fence or very tight border controls… In the case of Germany, this would mean that the border with Austria would have to be closed off and controlled along its entire length of 817 kilometers. But this wouldn’t comply with the rules of free movement within the Schengen area…”

Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz: The EU’s New Power Broker?

Deutsche Welle wrote on June 30:

“Austria takes over the EU Council presidency on July 1. Its conservative new leader Sebastian Kurz sees himself above all as a gatekeeper, with migration at the top of the agenda for his country’s mandate… With a right-wing populist chancellor, Sebastian Kurz, at its helm, the bloc is about to be led by a country whose policies on migration in recent years have shown little willingness to compromise…

“Austria’s EU presidency coincides with the final stretch of the Brexit negotiations, set to be finalized this year in order to pave the way for the UK’s exit from the bloc in early 2019. Whether such deadlines can be met remains to be seen…”

It also remains to be seen what else Austria will do while “in charge” of the EU.

Deutsche Welle wrote on July 3:

“Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz… said that a migration deal that ended a bitter dispute between German Chancellor Angela Merkel and her interior minister, Horst Seehofer, would force Austria to ‘protect’ its southern border…

“Analysts have warned that other EU countries may mimic Austria’s reaction…”

“US Considering Troop Withdrawal from Germany, Report Says”

Deutsche Welle reported on June 30:

“The US Department of Defense is examining options for withdrawing US forces stationed in Germany after President Donald Trump expressed interest in such a move, The Washington Post reported on Friday. The newspaper… said officials were analyzing the cost and consequences of shifting either some or all 35,000 US troops to the US or Poland…

“The US Department of Defense rejected The Washington Post‘s report on Friday evening. A Pentagon spokesman told German news agency DPA that the National Security Council had not received any cost analysis from the Ministry of Defense for relocating US troops stationed in Germany. Trump had reportedly showed interest in shifting US forces during a White House meeting earlier in the year after he had voiced shock at how many US troops were in Germany, the largest contingent of US forces in Europe…

“European officials have learned about the analysis, according to the newspaper, and are trying to ascertain whether it reflects Trump’s intentions or is part of a negotiating ploy ahead of a July 11-12 NATO summit in Brussels…”

“Trump Warns NATO Allies to Spend More on Defense, or Else”

The New York Times reported on July 2:

“President Trump has written sharply worded letters to the leaders of several NATO allies – including Germany, Belgium, Norway and Canada – taking them to task for spending too little on their own defense and warning that the United States is losing patience with what he said was their failure to meet security obligations shared by the alliance… In his letters, the president hinted that after more than a year of public and private complaints that allies have not done enough to share the burden of collective defense, he may be considering a response, including adjusting the United States’ military presence around the world.

“‘As we discussed during your visit in April, there is growing frustration in the United States that some allies have not stepped up as promised,’ Mr. Trump wrote to Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany in a particularly pointed letter… ‘The United States continues to devote more resources to the defense of Europe when the Continent’s economy, including Germany’s, are doing well and security challenges abound. This is no longer sustainable for us… Continued German underspending on defense undermines the security of the alliance and provides validation for other allies that also do not plan to meet their military spending commitments, because others see you as a role model.’”

Handelsblatt Global wrote on July 3:

“Trump actually has half a point. At another NATO summit in Wales in 2014, the allies had agreed to a long-term goal of spending 2 percent of their GDP on defense. Germany currently spends only 1.3 percent… The budget for 2019 does include more money for the army: €42.9 billion, or €4 billion more than this year. But that only sounds good until you realize that Germany should in theory be spending more like €72 billion a year… In a nightmare scenario, Trump starts drawing down the US military presence in Europe, or makes other gestures that cast doubt on NATO’s ability and will to defend itself…”

Ultimately, Europe will have their own powerful army, as the Bible clearly prophesies.

Trade War Between USA and its Allies and Foes

AFP wrote on June 29:

“Canada hit back at the United States Friday with retaliatory tariffs on $12.6 billion in American goods, including summer barbecue essentials such as orange juice, ketchup and bourbon. The 25 percent tariffs on steel products and 10 percent on consumer goods take effect on July 1 in the opening salvo in a trade war with President Donald Trump.

“Ottawa also announced Can$2 billion (US$1.5 billion) in aid for Canadian steel and aluminum industries and workers hurt by US metals tariffs.”

AFP wrote on July 4:

“German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday warned US President Donald Trump against unleashing an all-out trade war after he threatened to impose steep tariffs on cars from the European Union. In a speech to the Bundestag federal parliament, Merkel said both sides were effectively locked in a ‘trade conflict’ since Trump’s decision to slap punitive tariffs on steel and aluminium [sic] imports. ‘It is worthwhile to prevent this conflict from becoming a real war’… Trump on Sunday charged that Europe is ‘possibly as bad as China’ on trade, as he reiterated that he is mulling import taxes of 20 percent on EU cars.

“The EU has slapped tariffs on iconic US products including bourbon, jeans and Harley-Davidson motorcycles, as a symbolic tit-for-tat response to the metals duties. Taking aim at Trump over his complaint that the EU, and in particular economic powerhouse Germany, is running a massive trade surplus against the US, Merkel said that his calculation is skewed as it is based only on goods, not services.”

Fortune wrote on July 2:

“The European Union is reportedly preparing to slap tariffs on up to $300 billion of U.S. products, if the White House goes ahead with its threatened tariffs on auto imports from the EU. This is based on a letter, reported by the Financial Times, from the European Commission to the U.S. Commerce Department.

“The threatened figure is enormous, dwarfing the levels of tariffs that have been lobbed at the U.S. in the early stages of what may turn out to be a fully-fledged trade war. It’s around the same as the value of U.S. imports of foreign cars and parts…”

Newsmax wrote on July 3:

“Major U.S. trading partners including the European Union, China and Japan voiced deep concern at the World Trade Organization (WTO) on Tuesday about possible U.S. measures imposing additional duties on imported autos and parts… Over 40 WTO members, including the 28 countries of the European Union – warned that the U.S. action could seriously disrupt the world market and threaten the WTO system, given the importance of cars to world trade… A Russian official told the WTO meeting that the issue of U.S. investigations had been raised over the past year in different WTO meetings, only to see things change for the worse. The United States was losing its reputation as a trusted trade partner, the Russian delegate told the meeting…

“China, Canada, Switzerland, Norway, Turkey, Costa Rica, Hong Kong, Venezuela, Singapore, Brazil, South Korea, Mexico, Qatar, Thailand and India all echoed the same concerns and said they doubted the U.S. tariffs were in line with WTO rules…”

AFP wrote on July 5:

“Steep American tariffs on Chinese goods worth tens of billions of dollars are due to take effect at midnight Thursday, as US President Donald Trump fires the decisive salvo in a trade war between the world’s top two economies.

“Beijing has vowed to retaliate dollar-for-dollar, ‘immediately’ imposing counter-tariffs on American exports despite warnings the burgeoning conflict will send shockwaves around the global economy and strike at the heart of the world trading system…”

“Horribly Intolerant Behavior” by Democrats in Opposition to Trump’s “Disgraceful Policy”

Piers Morgan wrote on June 25 in the Daily Mail:

“Last week was a very bad week for President Trump. His disgraceful new policy of separating migrant children from their parents rightly blew up in flames of hellish vitriol and scorn. There was no defence for such a vile, heartless action and Trump fully deserves all the criticism that has since rained down on his head – including from his own wife and daughter, and senior Republicans. You can tell just how bad it was by the way he performed an almost unprecedented, panicky U-turn within days of the scandal being exposed.

“Yet America’s liberals… still conspired to get it horribly wrong and allow Trump to regain the high moral ground. First, actor Peter Fonda tweeted: ‘We should rip Barron Trump from his mother’s arms and put him in a cage with pedophiles and see if mother will stand up against the massive giant [real bad language] she is married to.’ I read this disgusting post with a mixture of shock, horror and head-scratching bemusement. What on earth possessed Fonda to write such a thing about an innocent young 12-year-old boy who must already be suffering considerable angst from being the son of such a divisive president?

“… the owner of a Red Hen restaurant in Virginia threw out Trump’s press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders at the weekend – simply because she works for Trump… This incident came a few days after Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen was interrupted by protestors in a Mexican restaurant in Washington DC, and after Trump adviser Stephen Miller was branded a ‘fascist’ while dining in another Mexican restaurant…

“Regardless of what you think of Trump, it’s absolutely pathetic that a White House employee like Sarah Sanders cannot eat with her family in an American restaurant without being humiliated in such a way. It’s even more pathetic that U.S. politicians are now demanding more of this kind of nonsense…

“Democrat Rep. Maxine Waters openly called for more Trump staffers to be targeted in public… This is a member of Congress actively encouraging crowd disorder against anyone in the Trump administration, regardless of whether they are out in a private capacity, perhaps with young family. It’s hard to think of a more intolerant, or dangerous, command from someone who professes to want more tolerance.

“… This kind of horribly intolerant behaviour only serves to further strengthen Trump’s support, especially amongst those who voted for him, and thus further increases his chances of winning another term in 2020. So ironically, and inexplicably, liberals are currently doing everything in their power to help get Trump re-elected.”

This shows how terribly divided the USA is today.

How the Post-War German Government Used Nazis for their Services

Fox News reported on June 29:

“The daughter of Heinrich Himmler [Gudrun Burwitz-Himmler], who led Adolf Hitler’s ruthless SS, worked as a secretary for West Germany’s [foreign intelligence] spy agency [BND] in the 1960s [from 1961 until 1963] in Munich under a different name despite never renouncing Nazism and remaining active in far-right extremism for decades…

“Burwitz-Himmler, who was famously photographed with her father at various Nazi events when she was a child, was a notorious postwar supporter of the extreme right and remained active in those circles into her old age. She died last month in Munich at 88… She worked at the BND at a time when it was led by Reinhard Gehlen, a controversial ex-WWII German general who also worked for U.S. intelligence postwar and employed many former military officers and Nazis as spies. Gehlen ran the then-West Germany spy agency until 1968.

“After the war, Burwitz-Himmler was arrested and made to testify at the Nuremberg trials and repeatedly sought to justify her father’s actions. She married journalist Wulf Dieter Burwitz, who later became a party official in the Bavarian section of the far-right NPD. She was also affiliated with Stille Hilfe, or “Silent Assistance,” which helped accused Nazi war criminals find refuge and avoid extradition. It is believed the group was first created by a group of SS officers and right-wing German clergy. She remained a committed Holocaust denier until her death.

“… the BND has come under criticism in recent years for failing to root out right-wing extremists in the post-war era. Critical historians have said ex-Nazis and far right sympathizers working inside security agencies after World War II may have protected others. Himmler, who as commander of the SS was a principal architect to the murder of six million Jews in the Holocaust, killed himself while in British custody in 1945.”

Prince William’s Controversial Trip to the State of Israel

Breitbart wrote on June 28:

“Prince William reportedly refused a request to meet with Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat in the capital out of concern that it would come across as a political statement. Barkat in turn refused to meet with the British royal outside the capital. According to Israel’s Channel 2, Barkat asked to meet with the British royal in the capital but was told that meeting in that location would imply British recognition of Israeli sovereignty over Jerusalem. Instead the prince was told that he could meet with Barkat at a reception at the British ambassador’s residence in Ramat Gan. Barkat refused, saying he would rather not meet at all ‘out of respect for Jerusalem.’…

“The prince’s trip was the first official visit by a member of the royal family since the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948. The visit sparked a minor controversy even before it took place when Kensington Palace used the term ‘Occupied Palestinian Territories’ to describe his upcoming visit to Jerusalem’s Old City. UK Ambassador to Israel David Quarrey defended the decision, saying that all ‘the terminology that was used in the program was consistent with years of practice by British governments. It’s consistent with British government policy.’

“The prince also drew criticism for referring to ‘our two countries’ during his meeting with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas… Britain’s Foreign Office said… that ‘the UK government supports the creation of a sovereign, independent and viable Palestinian state… The UK will recognize a Palestinian state at a time when it can best help to bring about peace.’…

“William had a poignant last day on Thursday, with visits to the Western Wall, the Temple Mount and the [Russian Orthodox Church of St. Mary Magdalene to visit the grave of his great-grandmother, Princess Alice] on the Mount of Olives… The prince also visited the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and received special dispensation to enter the Dome of the Rock, despite the fact that he is not Muslim.”

The Times of Israel wrote on June 27:

“Although prince visited PM and president, a mayoral meet in the capital was apparently a step too far, given UK stance on [the] disputed city… Apparently a meeting by the prince with the mayor in Jerusalem, however, would have implied an unacceptable degree of British recognition of Israeli rights in the city.”

The Bible shows that ultimately, Israel will find no support from either Britain or America, let alone from Europe or other nations.

France to Reintroduce Compulsory National Service for all 16-Year-Olds

The Independent wrote on June 28:

“The French government has begun putting into action its promise to reintroduce national service for all 16-year-olds. During his election campaign Emmanuel Macron, France’s prime minister, said restoring national service would inspire patriotism and social cohesion. Both girls and boys will serve in the two-stage programme.

“The first stage will be a compulsory month-long placement with a focus on civic culture… The options being looked at include voluntary teaching and working with charities, alongside traditional military training with the army, police or fire service. This would largely take place during France’s school holidays.

“A second, voluntary stage of at least three months and up to a year would also be available. In this phase, young people would be encouraged to serve… in an area linked to defence and security… However, they would also be able to volunteer for work in social care, culture or the environment…

“The plan represents a watered-down version of the ‘direct experience of military life’ Mr Macron promised during his election campaign. Between 600,000 and 800,000 young people would have faced military training and spent at least a month with the armed forces…

“Mr Macron is the first French president not to have done military service, as he came of age after the practice was scrapped. National service ended in Britain in 1957, though military service remains compulsory in Greece, Russia and Finland.”

This crazy but dangerous idea reminds us of the type of compulsory national services in communist countries and in Nazi Germany. The fruits of such indoctrination have always been terrible. Furthermore, we feel strongly that France will, in due time, introduce compulsory military service, and other European nations will do likewise.

North Korea INCREASES Production of Enriched Uranium for Nuclear Weapons

The Huffington Post reported on June 30:

“North Korea has been secretly increasing production of enriched uranium for nuclear weapons at clandestine sites, several U.S. intelligence sources have told NBC News.

The information, based on the latest U.S. intelligence assessment, follows CNN’s publication of satellite photos earlier this week showing expanding work on a nuclear research site in North Korea.

“The news also comes just weeks after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met with President Donald Trump in a historic summit in Singapore. The leaders said they would ‘work toward’ denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, but they didn’t settle on specific details or deadlines…

“The North Koreans have stopped nuclear tests, but ‘there’s no evidence that they are decreasing stockpiles, or that they have stopped their production,’ said one U.S. official, the network reported Friday. ‘There is absolutely unequivocal evidence that they are trying to deceive the U.S.’ Another senior intelligence official told NBC: ‘Work is ongoing to deceive us on the number of facilities, the number of weapons, the number of missiles’…

“Satellite images from June 21, which CNN revealed Wednesday, appear to show upgrades to a major nuclear research facility in North Korea. Analysts at 38 North, which tracks North Korean activity, said the images revealed that ‘improvements to the infrastructure at North Korea’s Yongbyon Nuclear Scientific Research Center are continuing at a rapid pace.’”

Was it really believable that one could trust the North Korean dictator’s “promises” to denuclearize his country?

China and Russia to Collaborate Militarily

MSN wrote on July 3:

“China’s defense minister has pledged his country’s support to the Russian army in the latest in a series of high-level contacts between the top U.S. military rivals… [It was] emphasized that the military leaders expand and deepen cooperation in all areas… [and that] the friendly cooperation between Chinese and Russian militaries has maintained a sound momentum of high-level development, and the two armies have yielded great results in such fields as personnel training, joint training and exercises, and military competitions…

“China and Russia… both expand their military power and enhance their political clout abroad. They have pursued a number of joint military exercises, enhanced bilateral economic relations and have vowed to support one another in the face of what they see as U.S. Cold War-era aggression toward their rise.

“… China and Russia also have unique relationships with their mutual neighbor, North Korea… China and Russia attempted to persuade the United Nations Security Council last week to introduce measures that would gradually remove tough sanctions against North Korea amid a thawing in its relationship with the U.S., but Washington refused, citing a lack of progress in Pyongyang’s denuclearization.”

Upcoming Trump-Putin Summit on July 15 in Helsinki

Breitbart wrote on June 29:

“President Donald Trump will demand Russian leader Vladimir Putin force Iran to pull out their military presence from Syria, an unnamed source told the Arabic-language newspaper Al-Hayat. ‘If the Putin-Trump summit is held on July 15, its core will be to negotiate Washington’s insistence on Iran’s withdrawal from Syria,’ a Western diplomat told the newspaper in anticipation of the meeting between the two men next month. Iran, alongside Russia, has been providing military assistance to Bashar al-Assad’s Syrian Arab Army in its civil war against the government rebels…

“The Kremlin has since confirmed that preparations are underway for the meeting, with the Finnish capital of Helsinki as the chosen location… this meeting will be the first official one solely between the two leaders. Their relationship has been subject to much speculation from the media, as Trump remains under investigation by the FBI for alleged collusion that occurred during the 2016 election with the Russian government…”

Invading Venezuela?

On July 4, Newsmax re-published the following article of The Associated Press:

“As a meeting last August in the Oval Office to discuss sanctions on Venezuela was concluding, President Donald Trump turned to his top aides and asked an unsettling question: With a fast unraveling Venezuela threatening regional security, why can’t the U.S. just simply invade the troubled country? The suggestion stunned those present at the meeting, including U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and national security adviser H.R. McMaster, both of whom have since left the administration…

“In an exchange that lasted around five minutes, McMaster and others took turns explaining to Trump how military action could backfire and risk losing hard-won support among Latin American governments to punish President Nicolas Maduro for taking Venezuela down the path of dictatorship… But Trump pushed back. Although he gave no indication he was about to order up military plans, he pointed to what he considered past cases of successful gunboat diplomacy in the region, according to the official, like the invasions of Panama and Grenada in the 1980s.

“The idea, despite his aides’ best attempts to shoot it down, would nonetheless persist in the president’s head. The next day, Aug. 11, Trump alarmed friends and foes alike with talk of a ‘military option’ to remove Maduro from power… shortly afterward, he raised the issue with Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos…

“Then in September, on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly, Trump discussed it again, this time at greater length, in a private dinner with leaders from four Latin American allies that included Santos… Trump… went around asking each leader if they were sure they didn’t want a military solution [and] each leader told Trump in clear terms they were sure.

“… a National Security Council spokesman reiterated that the U.S. will consider all options at its disposal to help restore Venezuela’s democracy and bring stability. Under Trump’s leadership, the U.S., Canada and [the] European Union have levied sanctions on dozens of top Venezuelan officials, including Maduro himself, over allegations of corruption, drug trafficking and human rights abuses. The U.S. has also distributed more than $30 million to help Venezuela’s neighbors absorb an influx of more than 1 million migrants who have fled the country.

“Within days of the president’s talk of a military option, Maduro filled the streets of Caracas with loyalists to condemn ‘Emperor’ Trump’s belligerence, ordered up nationwide military exercises and threatened with arrest opponents he said were plotting his overthrow with the U.S….”

Mexico’s New Leadership

Deutsche Welle wrote on July 2:

“Mexico’s new left-wing president, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (“AMLO”), has all the political means he needs to reinvent the country, for better or for worse… [He] will have an enormous amount of political power. Not only did he and his Morena party make history by capturing more than half the presidential vote for the first time in modern Mexico in a competitive election, they also won several state governorships, the influential post of Mexico City mayor and… the majority of both chambers of congress…

“Lopez Obrador… is regarded as a messiah. He has made many promises, too. He wants to put a stop to organized crime’s rising influence, curb Mafia-like government bureaucracy, end impunity, be an advocate for the poor, fight for justice, commit himself to democracy and national sovereignty and, of course, be tough in the face of US President Donald Trump.

“AMLO will have to unite Mexico’s various political groups if he wants to make good on his promises, in particular to reduce the huge gap between rich and poor… Every single day, 70 percent of Mexican exports go to the US… to prevent a further deterioration in US-Mexico relations, continued cooperation in important areas like immigration and cross-border crime is vital.

“Mexico needs peace. These days, the universities are empty because young people prefer to make easy money in organized crime. Last year alone, more than 26,000 people were murdered in the country. AMLO must change that if he wants to show that millions of Mexicans were right in supporting him. There will not be a run-off ballot, so the dye is cast. There is no second chance — Mexico has reached a crucial turning point in its history…”

Tarot Cards an Ancient Evil

Breaking Israel News wrote on June 25:

“Sales of tarot cards have risen sharply in the last year as self-proclaimed witches claim that divination and dark-magic are effective…

“The BBC published an article last week noting a 30-percent increase in sales in tarot cards last year, citing data collected by US Games Systems, a publisher of tarot games. Tarot may be a modern trend but its roots are ancient, with some sources claiming the deck has its origins in the Book of Thoth, a legendary tome of Egyptian occult and idolatry. Based on four suits, tarot cards are similar to common playing cards but with some significant differences that serve its primary purpose: divination.

“The Latin root of the word ‘divination’ means “to foresee, to be inspired by a god,” but the Torah expressly forbids the practice. ‘Let no one be found among you who consigns his son or daughter to the fire, or who is an augur, a soothsayer, a diviner, a sorcerer’ Deuteronomy 18:10.

“Rabbi Daniel Asore, a member of the Sanhedrin, noted that the anti-divine aspect of divination is precisely the reason why the practice is proscribed and considered one of the more egregious forms of evil…”

Acknowledgement and Disclaimer

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

There are two passages in the Bible which deal expressly with the “second Passover.” It is first introduced in Numbers 9:1-14, where we read:

“Now the LORD spoke to Moses in the Wilderness of Sinai, in the first month of the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt, saying: ‘Let the children of Israel keep the Passover at its appointed time. On the fourteenth day of this month, at twilight [literally, “between the two evenings,” designating the time between sunset and nightfall], you shall keep it at its appointed time. According to all its rites and ceremonies you shall keep it.’ So Moses told the children of Israel that they should keep the Passover. And they kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the first month, at twilight, in the Wilderness of Sinai, according to all that the LORD commanded Moses, so the children of Israel did.

“Now there were certain men who were defiled by a human corpse, so that they could not keep the Passover on that day [compare Numbers 5:2; 19:11-12]; and they came before Moses and Aaron that day. And those men said to him, ‘We became defiled by a human corpse. Why are we kept from presenting the offering of the LORD at its appointed time among the children of Israel?’ And Moses said to them, ‘Stand still, that I may hear what the LORD will command concerning you.’

“Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Speak to the children of Israel, saying, “If anyone of you or your posterity is unclean because of a corpse, or is far away on a journey, he may still keep the LORD’s Passover. On the fourteenth day of the second month, at twilight, they may keep it. They shall eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. They shall leave none of it until morning, nor break one of its bones. According to all the ordinances of the Passover they shall keep it.

“‘”But the man who is clean and is not on a journey, and ceases to keep the Passover, that same person shall be cut off among the people, because he did not bring the offering of the LORD at its appointed time, that man shall bear his sin. And if a stranger dwells among you, and would keep the LORD’s Passover, he must do so according to the rite of the Passover and according to its ceremony; you shall have one ordinance, both for the stranger and the native of the land.”‘”

In the Old and the New Testaments, the Passover was to be observed as a memorial once a year. In our free booklet, “The Meaning of God’s Spring Holy Days“, we state:

“We read in 1 Corinthians 11:26: ‘For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.’ Many have interpreted this Scripture to say, ‘Take it as often as you please.’ But this is not what the Scripture teaches. By reading in context, we learn that Paul was reminding the disciples of the events that happened on the ‘same night in which He (Christ) was betrayed’ (verse 23). Paul stated that on that night, Christ took the bread and the wine, gave it to His disciples, and said, ‘Take, eat…do this in remembrance of Me… This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me’ (verses 24, 25)…

“Christ commanded His converted disciples to partake of the symbols of bread and wine ‘in remembrance’ of ‘the Lord’s death.’ This is clearly a memorial—as the first and last Days of Unleavened Bread are memorials—and memorials of momentous occasions are always observed annually—once a year—on the anniversary of the event they commemorate. It should be noted that God specifically denotes seven ANNUAL Sabbaths or Holy Days to be observed in their appointed times. These annual Holy Days are either memorials of events that have already taken place, or they foreshadow events that will still occur. It is during these annual observances that we are instructed to keep exactly what God has commanded.

“Christ and His disciples were keeping the Passover—an annual celebration of the time when Old Testament Israel was spared from death… the Israelites had to take some of the blood of the Passover lamb and put it on the two door posts and on the lintel of the houses where they ate the lamb (Exodus 12:7–8). God had promised to ‘pass over’ the Israelites when He saw the blood (Exodus 12:13, 23). The entire service was called the ‘LORD’S Passover’ or the ‘Passover sacrifice’ (Exodus 12:11, 27).

“Luke 22:15 tells us that Christ had ‘desired with fervent desire to eat this Passover.’ We read in Matthew 26:17–20 that the disciples had prepared the Passover, and that Christ and His disciples ate it—the Passover lamb—’when evening had come’ (Matthew 26:20; notice also Mark 14:12–18, 22). Christ changed the symbols that night from the flesh and the blood of a lamb, to the bread and the wine of the true ‘Passover Lamb’—Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 5:7)…

“By partaking of the bread and the wine on the Passover night, Christ’s disciples symbolically partake of the flesh and blood of Jesus Christ for the continued forgiveness of their sins, as well as for their physical and spiritual healing, eventually leading to eternal life (John 6:58). So we see that it was the night of Jesus’ last Passover supper that He introduced the new symbols. Note that the Passover symbols were changed, not WHEN, or how often, Passover itself was to be observed.

“The Passover was kept once a year—’as a memorial.’ On the night when Christ was betrayed, He kept the Passover. The Passover was, at that time, celebrated as a supper—that is why it is called in Scripture ‘the Lord’s supper.’ Christians are today to continue keeping the Passover, but not as a meal—not as ‘the Lord’s Supper.’ They are only to partake of the symbols of bread and wine on the Passover night. They do not eat a full meal during the Passover service… Christians are told that they must ‘discern the Lord’s body’—they must distinguish the symbols of bread and wine from an ordinary meal (1 Corinthians 11:29). 1 Corinthians 11:20, 34 tells us, ‘Therefore when you come together in one place, it is NOT to eat the Lord’s Supper… But if anyone is hungry, let him eat at home.’ (As an aside, nowhere does the Bible describe the Passover service as ‘communion,’ when we are to partake of bread and/or wine)… Paul did NOT say in 1 Corinthians 11 that Christians should partake of the ‘Lord’s Supper,’ and that they can do so ‘as often as they please.’ Rather, they are partaking of the New Testament Passover symbols of bread and wine once a year—during the Passover service—in memory of and as a memorial of Christ’s death and sacrifice. Every year, when they do so, they proclaim Christ’s death until He returns.”

The introduction of the second Passover does not change anything in regard to what is stated above. Those who are allowed to observe the second Passover did NOT keep the first Passover. Those who have kept the (first) Passover would not keep it again one month later. That means, the Passover is still being kept only once a year.

As Israel forsook God and His laws, they also forgot to keep the Passover and the Seven Days of Unleavened Bread, which follow the Passover. In due time, King Hezekiah of Judah restored the proper worship temple service in Judah, and in the process, he told the Jews and those from the house of Israel who had not been taken away by the Assyrians to keep the Passover (2 Chronicles 30:1, 6). However, as “they could not keep it at [the] time [of the first Passover], because a sufficient number of priests had not sanctified themselves, nor had the people gathered together at Jerusalem” (verse 3), the king, his leaders and all the congregation in Jerusalem had agreed to keep the Passover in the second month (i.e., to keep the second Passover) (verse 2). Many of the remnant of the house of Israel refused to come to Jerusalem for the second Passover, but some “humbled themselves and came to Jerusalem” (verses 10-11). Some of those who assembled had not “cleansed themselves” “according to the purification of the sanctuary”, even for the second Passover, they “ate the Passover contrary to what was written.” Hezekiah prayed for God’s forgiveness for them, and God healed them (verses 18-20).

God had decreed that the Seven Days of Unleavened Bread were to be kept in the first month, following the (first) Passover. The king and the people proceeded to keep them however in the second month, following the second Passover (2 Chronicles 30:13, 21-22). And because of the restored feelings of gladness and joy, it was decided to observe the Days of Unleavened Bread for another seven days (verse 23). We read that “since the time of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel, there had been nothing like this in Jerusalem” (verse 26).

We note that the first Passover was not observed because there were not sufficient priests who had [ritually] sanctified themselves “because the cleansing of the temple was not finished until the sixteenth day, see 2 Chronicles 29:17 and… because the priests had not sanctified themselves sufficiently; that is, a sufficient number of them were not sanctified, to slay all the passover lambs” (Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible); and because the people had not gathered together in Jerusalem which “they could not do, because neither was the matter agreed upon, nor were the people summoned thither, till the proper time was past” (Benson Commentary).

In addition, we read that there were those who ate the second Passover even though they had not cleansed themselves. They were not ceremonially clean, but God forgave them upon the prayer of Hezekiah.

The Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary explains that the priests slaughtered the Passover lamb for those who were ceremonially unclean (see verse 17), stating: “This was a deviation from the established rules and practices in presenting the offerings of the temple. The reason was, that many present on the occasion having not sanctified themselves, the Levites slaughtered the paschal victims… for everyone that was unclean. At other times the heads of families killed the lambs themselves, the priests receiving the blood from their hands and presenting it on the altar. Multitudes of the Israelites, especially from certain tribes (2Ch 30:18), were in this unsanctified state, and yet they ate the [second] passover—an exceptional feature and one opposed to the law (Nu 9:6); but this exception was allowed [better: it was not held against them] in answer to Hezekiah’s prayer (2Ch 30:18-20).”

Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible adds the following comments to verse 17: “For there were many in the congregation that were not sanctified,…. Or purified from uncleanness, contracted either by idolatry, or through such things which, according to the ceremonial law, made them unclean, and from which they had not now time to cleanse themselves according to the law: therefore the Levites had the charge of the killing of the passovers for everyone that was not clean, to sanctify them unto the Lord; this they did for the masters of families, who were ceremonially unclean, who otherwise might have killed their passover lambs themselves, see Exodus 12:6, but now the Levites did it for them, that their passovers might be sanctified and consecrated to the Lord; for, as Philo the Jew says… one day in a year the whole sacrificed, everyone acted as a priest, and brought and slew his own sacrifice, meaning at the passover.”

The Benson Commentary adds this in commenting to verse 18:

“A multitude of the people had not cleansed themselves — Either they did not know, after such a long night of ignorance and superstition, what ceremonies were required, in order to their purification, or they had not time to use them. Yet having an eager and pious desire to commemorate their wonderful deliverance out of the Egyptian bondage, they were permitted, in their uncleanness, to eat the [second] passover, lest they should be discouraged if they were denied it, in this their return to the true religion. But Hezekiah prayed for them — It was his zeal that had called them together in such haste, and he would not that they should fare the worse for being straitened for time in their preparation. He therefore thought himself concerned to be an intercessor for those that ate the [second] passover otherwise than it was written. And he had confidence that God was so gracious that he would not, on account of the omission of some prescribed ceremony, be wroth with men whose hearts were upright before him.”

We need to emphasize that the second Passover is still to be observed today with the new symbols introduced by Jesus, but ONLY by those who did not and could not partake of the first Passover. We note that in Old Testament times, the second Passover was observed exactly in the same way as the first Passover, only that it was kept exactly one month later, but still on the 14th day of the (second) month, “at twilight” (between the two evenings of sunset and nightfall); with unleavened bread and bitter herbs; and with Passover lambs which were not to be kept until morning, and the bones of which were not to be broken. (Of course, blood was not put on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses during the first or the second Passover, as this was strictly done during the very first Passover night. That part of the original ceremony was not carried out during subsequent first and second Passover celebrations.)

We should also note that Numbers 9:10-12 does not say anything about observing Seven Days of Unleavened Bread AFTER the observance of the second Passover. We will discuss in the next installment as to how we are to understand and apply today the events described in 2 Chronicles 30.

In addition, we read that only those could observe the Old Testament Passover (both the first and the second Passover) if they were physically circumcised (compare Exodus 12:48). This fact has important ramifications for the observance of the New Testament Passover as Paul warns against partaking of it in an unworthy manner (1 Corinthians 11:27, 29). In ancient Israel, a foreigner could not partake of the Passover if he was not physically circumcised, and from this, the Church of God has concluded and teaches that a person must be “spiritually” circumcised in order to partake of the Passover.

Note this from our free booklet, “The Meaning of God’s Spring Holy Days,” regarding the Passover:

“The Old Testament demands that no male who was uncircumcised was to participate at the Passover… Even though physical circumcision is no longer a requirement for New Testament Christians, they are circumcised spiritually (Colossians 2:11–12; Romans 2:26–29). This can only occur through the indwelling Holy Spirit, which God gives us after proper baptism. Christ’s disciples had been baptized (even though, in the extraordinary case of the eleven apostles, they had not yet received the Holy Spirit—they would receive it, however, on the Day of Pentecost)…

“No male was allowed, in Old Testament times, to partake of the Passover, unless he was circumcised. True Christians are circumcised spiritually, in the heart, by and through the Holy Spirit dwelling in them, after proper baptism. Therefore, only properly baptized members of the spiritual body of Christ—the Church—who don’t hold grudges against anyone, and who do not have hate toward others in their hearts, are to partake of the annual symbols of bread and wine. In doing so, they reflect on the suffering and death of Jesus Christ. This teaching is supported by the fact that Jesus waited until Judas had left them, before He introduced the New Testament symbols of bread and wine…”

As there is, in spiritual application, “neither male nor female” in God’s Church today (Galatians 3:28), the requirement of having been “spiritually circumcised” by having been properly baptized and having received the gift of the Holy Spirit in order to partake of the Passover symbols applies to both men and women.

We should take note of the fact that the second Passover was for those who could not take the first Passover because, among other reasons, they were ritually unclean or defiled by having touched a corpse. When they became ritually clean, they could take the second Passover. In the next installment, we will discuss if and under what circumstances the spiritual analogy might apply when a person who is spiritually unclean and therefore prevented from taking the first Passover, as he or she would take it unworthily, would be able to take the second Passover after he or she has become spiritually clean. In this context, we will also address the important point that the men who were not able to keep the first Passover due to ritual uncleanness asked Moses why they should be deprived from presenting the offering of the LORD on Passover. Finally, we will explain how eligible participants should observe the second Passover.

(To Be Continued)

Lead Writer: Norbert Link

compiled by Dave Harris

A Tech Team Meeting was conducted on July 1, 2018, via SKYPE. Hosted by Eric Rank, plans for ad campaigns on the Internet, podcasts and specific equipment needs for our live broadcasts were discussed.

“Europe’s Immigration Nightmare,” is the title of a new StandingWatch program, presented by Evangelist Norbert Link. Here is a summary: 

Europe is involved in an unparalleled immigration scandal, showing complete disharmony, backstabbing, blackmail, compromise, selling out, a defeat of moderate voices and a victory of the far right. A European “deal” of establishing “screening centers” in African countries has been described as a “farce.” Germany’s Angela Merkel is fighting for her political survival and striking controversial and probably illegal deals with Bavaria’s Horst Seehofer regarding transit centers on European soil. Austria’s Sebastian Kurz is proposing more controversial ideas. Where will this all end?

“Europas katastrophale Einwanderungspolitik,” is the title of a new AufPostenStehen program, presented by Norbert Link. This is the German language version of the subject described above.

“Die Bibel zeigt: Der Dritte Weltkrieg kommt bald!” is the title of this Sabbath’s German sermon, presented by Norbert Link. Title in English: “The Bible Shows: World War III Comes Soon.“

“Hungering for the Unknown,” the sermonette presented last Sabbath by Robb Harris, is now posted. Here is a summary:

Man’s arrogance led him to build the tower in Babel, not to glorify God but to stand as a monument to man. God commanded man to be prosperous and fill the earth, something quite opposite to what those in Babel were doing. We must not fall into a similar trap, through arrogance, assuming our own desires and knowledge are sufficient to please God.

“Is This the Time of the End?” the sermon presented last Sabbath by Dave Harris, is now posted. Here is a summary:

We live in a period when things are about to change. In fact, they already are—IF we understand what to look for! By all indications, this is the time of the end spoken of in the Bible. It is the closing generation of Satan’s rule over mankind.

On June 30, 2018, Robb Harris will present the sermonette, titled, “Hungering for the Unknown,” and Dave Harris will present the sermon, titled, “Is This the Time of the End?”

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

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” These are the famous memorable words that Thomas Jefferson laid down back in 1776 as the core values of the United States of America in what is known as the Declaration of Independence. They still stand at the head of the US Code to this day.

However, the present day does not seem to harmonize with this statement, as we see corruption all around us. This comes as no surprise, as this has been going on for many, many years, but we see how things are getting worse—not just here, but the whole world is affected.

This Declaration is supposed to be the foundation of the United States. It is remarkable that God has created all of us equally, meaning that we all have the ability and the same choice to follow Him and His Way of Life. God has called out specific people at this time, like you and me within the Church of God, with the special responsibility of proclaiming the Truth, but the time will come when every single person will ultimately have the chance to know and understand what we are experiencing now.

When it comes to what we believe in, no one should be able to take that away from us, as long as we are determined, making sure that our choices are the correct ones. This country still enjoys freedom of religion, but the way things are going, that may very well not be the case anymore for long, as the Book of Revelation shows. We also read in 2 Peter 2:18-22 how false teachers will deceive many people, and this is something that we in the Church need to be cautious about as well.

As quoted above, three specific words are mentioned in the Declaration of Independence, and God talks about the same specific words that we should abide by and experience, namely Life, Liberty and Happiness. God tells us in 2 Corinthians 3:17-18 that the Lord is the Spirit and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.

God explains to us what it is that we need to be doing to draw closer to God in order to gain our freedom. It is quite simple but difficult to do by human standards. Notice what Christ said in John 8:32-36: “‘And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.’ They answered Him, ‘We are Abraham’s descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can You say, “You will be made free”?’ Jesus answered them, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.’”

Laws change in this world. Since the Declaration was written, so many things have happened in the meantime. Times are not getting any better, as more and more laws are created or changed that affect society, which is certainly not in accordance with God’s spiritual laws or the Way that He operates. God’s spiritual Law has been the same then, now and will continue so in the future. “But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does” (James 1:25). Do we want to be part of this perfect Law?

Christ has to make us free through the repentance that God the Father offers us. When we sin, we are not free but slaves to sin. However, one may think that we are also slaves when we submit to God and His Way. But there is a big difference. Being a “slave of sin” does not bring forth good fruit, and it will lead to death. Being “slaves to righteousness” brings everlasting life. Which one do we choose? If we want to have our freedom, we must obey God (compare Romans 6:16-19). And only when Jesus Christ returns to establish His Kingdom here on earth will we finally experience TRUE freedom and liberty.

We can say that we have signed our very own Declaration of Independence, but not of this world. We have devoted our lives to God; we look to divine protection and our lives are in God’s hands, for our citizenship is not of this world (Philippians 3:17-21).

God asks us to choose life and reject death (Deuteronomy 30:15-16, 19-20). The life that God is offering us is everlasting life (Matthew 19:17). It requires that we keep His commandments.

This, in turn, leads to true happiness. Proverbs 29:18 says, “…happy is he who keeps the law.” In John 13:17, Christ confirms that we are happy when we do the right things (Authorized Version). And Psalm 144:15 says that “happy are the people whose God is the LORD!”

When Thomas Jefferson wrote about Life, Liberty and Happiness, he had our physical condition in mind. God is using the same words but He is not just referring to our physical life, but also, and more importantly, to our eternal existence.

by Norbert Link

We report on the election of Tayyip Erdogan as the autocratic President of Turkey and his strained relationship with the state of Israel and the USA; address a new European “Military Force” and the concept of core Europe in light of the ongoing devastating migrant situation; and speak on the “end of global Britain” and the fear of a major financial crunch because of Brexit.

We also address the US Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the US travel ban against seven countries; report on a widely-unknown negative consequence of the tax reform bill for churches; and address the escalation of a coming trade war and the unparalleled deteriorating and increasingly hostile relationship between Europe and the USA. In this context, please view out new StandingWatch program, titled, “Soon! The Bible Prophesies WAR Between Europe and the USA!” 

We conclude with an article about the failure of the UN and the FDA’s approval of the first drug derived from Marijuana.

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

Erdogan Declares Victory in Turkey

Reuters reported on June 25:

“Tayyip Erdogan and his ruling AK Party claimed victory in Turkey’s presidential and parliamentary polls on Sunday… [it] ushers in a powerful new executive presidency long sought by Erdogan… Critics say it will further erode democracy in the NATO member state and entrench one-man rule… Under the new constitution, he could serve a further term from 2023, taking him to 2028…

“Turkey held Sunday’s elections under a state of emergency declared after a failed military coup in July 2016 that Erdogan blamed on… U.S.-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen… Since the coup attempt, Erdogan has waged a sweeping crackdown on Gulen’s followers in Turkey, detaining some 160,000 people…”

Breitbart wrote on June 26:

“Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh phoned Erdogan Sunday evening… Haniyeh congratulated Erdogan and said he would dispatch a delegation to Turkey in the coming days, and indicated a willingness to deepen ties with Ankara, the statement said.

“…Erdogan has been among Hamas’s strongest supporters on the world stage, and Turkey under him has been accused of harboring leaders of the terror group and allowing it to launder money for militant activities.”

Hamas has been declared by the US as a terrorist organization with the goal to eradicate the state of Israel.

Erdogan More Successful in Germany Than in Turkey

Deutsche Welle reported on June 25:

“Nearly two-thirds of the Turkish community in Germany cast votes for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Sunday’s election, far more than the support he averaged in Turkey…

“In Berlin… calls of ‘Recep Erdogan, our leader’ could be heard… In Dortmund… Erdogan supporters with Turkish flags shouting ‘Allahu Akbar’ (God is Great) and slogans against the Kurdish militant group PKK. Marco Bülow, a member of the Bundestag for Dortmund with the Social Democrats, wrote on Twitter: ‘Sorry, but that makes me sick.’”

Erdogan’s Autocratic Powers

Deutsche Welle reported on June 25:

“Turkey no longer has a prime minister. The president… is now chief executive. [He] is responsible for appointing and dismissing vice-presidents, ministers and senior officials… parliament has no say in these matters… The president can issue decrees that become legally binding once they are published in the government’s official bulletin. Parliamentary approval is not needed. If parliament does adopt a related law, the decree then becomes invalid…

“… the president effectively controls parliament… [He] appoints six of the 13 members of the Council of Judges and Prosecutors, which in turn appoints judges and prosecutors. Parliament, where the president is majority leader, chooses the council’s other members… Turkey’s military courts have already been abolished.”

Washington’s Chilly Reaction

AFP wrote on June 26:

“Washington’s chilly reaction to Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s election victory and consolidation of his presidential powers reflect expectations that no thaw in US-Turkish ties is imminent. Erdogan’s position as Turkey’s leader remains strong, but his parliamentary majority now depends not just on his own AKP party but also on the nationalist MHP — no friend to America… And in particular, Erdogan is now even less likely to bend on his key beef with Washington: Turkey’s determined opposition to the Pentagon’s continued support for Kurdish militia inside Syria…

“Despite being a leading NATO ally, Turkey has entered into an understanding to buy Russia’s advanced S-400 air defense system, in defiance of US sanctions on Moscow.”

Turkey—biblical Edom—is prophesied to take a very hostile stance against “Israel”—both the Jewish people and the USA, the UK and other English-speaking nations which are modern descendants of the ancient house of Israel.

The New European Military Force

The Guardian wrote on June 25:

“Nine EU member states have agreed to establish a European military force for rapid deployment in times of crisis… Spearheaded by the French president, Emmanuel Macron, the joint enterprise will allow national armed forces across Europe to coordinate and react swiftly together.

“Ministers from France, Germany, Belgium, Britain, Denmark, the Netherlands, Estonia, Spain and Portugal signed a letter of intent in Luxembourg on Monday. Since the election of its new government, Italy has backtracked on its initial support, but Rome has not ruled out the country’s future involvement…

“The development has caused some anxiety within Nato, where officials are concerned about any duplication of roles and distancing by European nations from the US… The European Intervention Initiative is outside the EU’s structures, so will allow for full UK involvement after Brexit…”

Back to Core Europe?

The Independent wrote on June 25:

“German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she will seek direct deals with separate EU states on migration … ‘There will be bilateral and trilateral agreements… not always wait for all 28 members,’ she said… French President Emmanuel Macron offered his backing for Ms Merkel’s proposal, saying the solution should be ‘European’ but it could just be several states together.

“Rome has started turning away ships with migrants rescued at sea… Hungary and Poland have refused to host any arrivals. Now backed by Austria, they want to end any further discussion on rules for sharing them out across the bloc…

“A poll published in Germany on Sunday showed the dispute was weakening support for Merkel’s coalition and pushed the AfD to its highest ratings…”

Euractiv wrote on June 25:

“The recent EU mini-summit on migration held on 24 June has reaffirmed more openly than ever before the fundamental dissensions and schism among member states, if not among EU institutions themselves, in the field of migration and asylum policy. A two-speed EU migration policy would be the best solution to keep EU unity…

“… What is often overlooked by most commentators today is that old-time member states such as Denmark and the United Kingdom, in particular, have consistently opted out of a range of provisions in the area of EU home affairs, the Schengen acquis and the Charter of Fundamental Rights, not to mention several other EU instruments in the fields of justice, employment and social policy, over the past two decades…”

A core Europe or a two-speed Europe is clearly prophesied to occur in the not-too-distant future.

A Humanitarian Tragedy

Deutsche Welle wrote on June 27:

“A rescue boat stranded for days in the Mediterranean carrying over 200 migrants was finally allowed to dock in the capital of Malta… The Lifeline, a vessel for German NGO Mission Lifeline, had been waiting to be allocated a port for six days after rescuing 234 migrants off the coast of Libya last Thursday…

“[Maltese Prime Minister Joseph] Muscat said that once in port, the ship would be impounded and the crew placed under investigation for allegedly operating illegally – including violating rescue protocols and operating without the correct registration…

“Lifeline is run by a non-governmental organization (NGO) based in Dresden called Mission Lifeline. The ship has been stranded at sea since June 21… The refusal by Italy and Malta to open their ports to the ship – and the haggling among EU states over how to distribute the migrants – showed a hardening of positions [of] EU leaders…  Earlier this month, Italy and Malta both refused to let a French humanitarian ship dock, which forced some 630 migrants to travel an additional 1,500 kilometers (900 miles) to Spain…”

AFP wrote on June 27:

“German migrant rescue group Mission Lifeline Wednesday denied breaking the law…

“Italy and France have accused the charity of acting illegally by refusing to hand the shipwrecked migrants over to the [Libyan] coastguard during the June 21 rescue, arguing that such operations play into the hands of human traffickers. But Lifeline argued that the migrants would not be safe in Libya, where they have faced abuse and rape in holding centres…

“Lifeline said it followed the principle of non-refoulement under international law that forbids returning asylum seekers to a country where they likely face persecution…”

Deutsche Welle wrote on June 26:

“Mediterranean countries are all in the same boat: they don’t want ships carrying rescued refugees to dock at their ports. That approach poses a big problem for aid organizations…

“Repeated cases of refugee rescue boats being turned away from European ports have sparked anger among aid workers and religious authorities…

“Prior to their upcoming summit, EU leaders have held intense discussions with respect to a unified European migration policy… Migrants are to be deterred from embarking on the hazardous passage across the Mediterranean in the first place… Someone who has slim prospects of being rescued from their inflatable dinghy may not embark on the journey at all – that’s the ministers’ reasoning, in a nutshell…

“The number of refugees who completed the passage across the Mediterranean to Italy has decreased to 16,400 during the first half of 2018, compared to 73,000 during the first half of 2017. At the same time, the number of people from Africa who cross over to Spain has increased sharply. At least 635 people are known to have drowned this year on the route between Libya and Italy…”

This is a terrible humanitarian tragedy, and beyond the ability of man to solve. The conflict between the hardening of the European governmental position and the effort of aid organizations to rescue those in need is bound to escalate. It seems that migrants are always losing. Note the next article.

Worldwide Migrants Problem

Daily Mail wrote von June 25:

“Algeria has denied mistreating migrants amid claims it has abandoned more than 13,000 in the Sahara Desert over the past 14 months – including pregnant women and children. The country has been accused of expelling the migrants without food or water and forcing them to walk, sometimes at gunpoint, under a blistering sun before being left to die. Officials from the International Organisation for Migration have warned of a looming ‘catastrophe’…

“Migrants from across sub-Saharan Africa – Mali, the Gambia, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Niger and more – are part of the mass migration toward Europe, some fleeing violence, others just hoping to make a living. Many then attempt perilous attempts to cross the Mediterranean to Italy or Spain… Untold numbers die [or they] simply vanished in the Sahara.

“A European Union spokesman said the EU was aware of what Algeria was doing, but that ‘sovereign countries’ can expel migrants as long as they comply with international law…

“Italy’s far-right Interior Minister Matteo Salvini has called for processing centres to be set up south of Libya’s borders as a way to block attempts by migrants to cross the Mediterranean… Salvini… bluntly told foreign charities to stop rescuing migrants off the North African coast…”

These are appallingly inhuman proposals and actions.

Nazis Abducted about 400,000 “Aryan”-Looking Children

Handelsblatt Global wrote on June 22:

“A trial by a victim of Nazi Germany’s policy of abducting ‘Aryan’-looking children in occupied Eastern Europe shows the lasting pain suffered by families torn apart by cruel governments… The plaintiff, Hermann Lüdeking, is suing the German government for a crime committed in the early 1940s. As Nazi Germany occupied much of Europe, the SS kidnapped hundreds of thousands of blond-haired, blue-eyed children who fit the regime’s racist ideals. The children were brought into ‘assimilation camps’ where they were ‘Germanized,’ robbed of their identities and eventually given up for adoption to loyal Nazi couples… Many of those children never saw their real families again. Estimates vary, but it is usually stated that up to 400,000 ‘Aryan’-looking children were taken from their families in Eastern Europe and Nazi-occupied Norway. Half of all the abductions took place in Poland.

“Mr. Lüdeking… was 6 years old when the Germans abducted him. He still remembers the day when, months later, ‘an elegant woman with a hat’ turned up at his Nazi-run orphanage and chose him. From then on, Maria Lüdeking, a senior member of a Nazi women’s organization, was his ‘mother.’ Some 76 years later, her ‘son’ is still fighting for justice… He found his Nazi adoption paperwork, which referred to him as Roman Roszantowski, born in Poland in 1936. But even that birth name probably is fake. The Nazis were good at covering their tracks, and post-war Germany was all too eager to sweep war crimes under the carpet…”

A lesson from history! The Bible shows that in the future, slavery and abductions will become wide-spread among many “civilized” countries.

Hostility Towards Christians Accelerating Worldwide

One News Now wrote on June 22:

“… more and more nations are targeting believers in Christ than any other faith… Across the globe, peacefully practicing one’s faith as a Christian is becoming more and more scarce… Some of the biggest suppressors of religious freedom were found to come at the hands of state officials governing over tens or hundreds of millions of citizens.

“Laws prohibiting the freedom to practice one’s faith continue to rise for more than half of the nations of the world.”

Scripture tells us that a worldwide martyrdom of true Christians will occur in the future. The hostility against “Christianity” in general will of course include antagonism against true Christians who will be considered as sects or cults—being unworthy of protection.

Watch China

Former German Foreign Minister and Vice-Chancellor Joschka Fischer wrote on June 22 in Project Syndicate:

“It is now clear that the twenty-first century is ushering in a new world order…

“Europe and the North Atlantic dominated the global economy for four centuries… Though the US remains the world’s leading superpower, China has emerged as both a new and ancient geopolitical force. With a population of 1.4 billion people and an enormous domestic market, China is already challenging the US as the world’s economic, political, and technological leader…

“Anyone who has ever visited the corridors of power in Beijing knows that Chinese leaders have their own map of the world. On it, China – the ‘Middle Kingdom’ – lies at the center, while Europe and the US drop off the left and right sides, respectively. In other words, the US and Europe… are already… consigned to the margins…”

The Bible predicts that many Far Eastern nations, including China and Russia, will form a union in competition to the West. They are called in Scripture the “kings of the East.”

“The End of Global Britain”

Project Syndicate wrote on June 25:

“In the two years since the Brexit referendum, the United Kingdom’s global influence has been significantly diminished…

“Since the June 2016 Brexit referendum, British foreign policy seems to have all but collapsed…

“Since World War II, Britain’s close relationships with continental Europe and the US have served as the two anchors of its foreign policy. But now, both lines have essentially been severed… a Europe without Britain’s traditional leadership, judgment, and diplomacy will be a lesser Europe. And Britain, by its own hand, risks being reduced to a footnote.”

Major Financial Crunch on the Horizon?

Business Insider wrote von June 27:

“A major financial crunch on contracts worth almost £30 trillion ($39.7 trillion) could be on the horizon in March next year, the Bank of England warned on Wednesday. The UK’s central bank used its latest Financial Stability Report… to warn that Britain’s impending exit from the European Union could have a huge impact on over-the-counter derivative markets…

“The Bank of England’s warning comes amid growing tensions between UK and EU financial authorities… ‘Firms cannot take for granted that they continue to operate as at present nor can they rely on as yet unrealised political agreements or public policy interventions,’ Andrea Enria, the EBA’s chair said, warning that banks need to ‘speed up’ their preparations for a cliff-edge EU exit.”

Iranians Protest Against their Regime

CBN wrote on June 26:

“… thousands of Iranians take part in a second day of protests against the Islamic regime… Iran’s currency, the rial, has plummetted in recent days against the US dollar prompting thousands of Iranians to protest in front of Parliament and on the streets of Tehran…

“‘This protest in Iran is significant,’ said Dr. Mike Ansari… ‘It is the traders of Tehran’s Grand Bazaar that have taken to the streets protesting the rising prices and the plummeting value of Iran’s currency.’ Ansari… said traders at the sprawling Grand Bazaar have historically played a significant role in the political affairs of the Islamic republic. ‘Remember, it was this group of traders who were extremely influential in Iranian politics in 1979 when they economically backed the uprising, the revolution against the Shah, and brought Ayatollah Khoemeni to power,’ Ansari noted.

“Iranians chanting ‘Death to Israel’ and ‘Death to America’ are a common occurrence. Monday’s protests were different… thousands of angry protesters [were] chanting, ‘Death to Palestine’ and ‘Death to Syria,’ an apparent reference to Iran’s military engagement in Syria and funding of the terror group Hamas in the Gaza Strip. ‘Most Iranian families are facing grave economic hardship,’ Ansari said. ‘The prices of milk, eggs, meat, bread have skyrocketed, yet Iranian people are witnessing their government investing millions of dollars in expensive regional disputes in Iraq, Syria, Yemen to increase its regional influence, while [Iranian people] go hungry,’ Ansari added…”

Supreme Court Upholds Trump’s Travel Ban

ABC reported on June 26:

“The Supreme Court has upheld President Donald Trump’s travel ban in one of the most highly anticipated decisions of this year, saying the ban is ‘squarely within’ the president’s authority. The Court’s 5-4 ruling that the third iteration of Trump’s controversial proposal… is constitutional comes after two previous attempts by the administration to bar immigration to the United States from certain foreign countries.

“That newest iteration of the travel ban is a presidential proclamation signed on Sept. 24, 2017, that indefinitely restricted most travel from the countries of Chad, Iran, Iraq, Libya, North Korea, Syria, Venezuela, and Yemen—linking the restrictions to those countries’ purported vetting deficiencies. In April, The U.S. lifted travel restrictions on Chad… Trump said in a statement the ruling is a ‘tremendous victory’ for the American people…

“The court ruled in favor of the administration, Chief Justice John Roberts writing ‘…the Government has set forth a sufficient national security justification to survive rational basis review. We express no view on the soundness of the policy. We simply hold today that plaintiffs have not demonstrated a likelihood of success on the merits of their constitutional claim…

“‘The Proclamation is expressly premised on legitimate purposes: preventing entry of nationals who cannot be adequately vetted and inducing other nations to improve their practices. The text says nothing about religion,’ Roberts said. ‘Plaintiffs and the dissent nonetheless emphasize that five of the seven nations currently included in the Proclamation have Muslim-majority populations. Yet that fact alone does not support an inference of religious hostility, given that the policy covers just 8% of the world’s Muslim population.’”

Newsmax wrote on June 26:

“Alan Dershowitz said Tuesday the Supreme Court’s decision upholding President Donald Trump’s travel ban ‘is right to the Constitution’…  ‘This is about people who want to come into the country and have no rights under the American Constitution,’ the Harvard Law School professor emeritus [said]… Dershowitz also slammed Democratic attacks on the Trump administration, citing the call by California Rep. Maxine Waters for Americans to ‘absolutely harass’ White House officials while they are off duty or out in public spaces…

“‘We’ve become a very divided country. Anything that Trump does, whether it be recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital or negotiating with North Korea, he can do no right when it comes to extremists on partisan grounds — and for some extremists on the other side, President Trump could do no wrong…”

The Week wrote on June 26:

“The Supreme Court upheld President Trump’s travel ban Tuesday, but in the process it quietly overturned its 1944 ruling that the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II was constitutional. The case, Korematsu v. United States, was invoked in the dissent, but ‘whatever rhetorical advantage the dissent may see in doing so, Korematsu has nothing to do with this case,’ the majority opinion said.

“The majority went on to argue that the ‘forcible relocation of U.S. citizens to concentration camps, solely and explicitly on the basis of race, is objectively unlawful and outside the scope of presidential authority,’ adding: ‘Korematsu was gravely wrong the day it was decided, has been overruled in the court of history, and — to be clear — has no place in law under the Constitution.'”

Tax Reform Requires Churches to Pay Huge Tax for Some Fringe Benefits

Newsmax wrote on June 26:

“The Republican tax reform passed in December is requiring churches, hospitals, colleges and other historically tax-exempt organizations to begin paying a 21 percent tax on some types of fringe benefits they give their employees…

“Many non-profit organizations are stunned to learn of the tax, which has been little noticed and could cost them tens of thousands of dollars. Many of the groups say it will be a significant financial burden, as well as an administrative one, as they previously did not have to deal with the IRS… Even though many are still unaware of the change, more than 600 churches and other groups have already signed a petition demanding the change be repealed…

“The main benefits affected are transportation-related, like free parking in a garage and subway and bus passes, as well as targeting meals provided to workers… Many nonprofits say they are confused over how exactly the tax works, with churches, for example, asking how they are supposed to calculate the value of parking spaces for employees… The Treasury is now working on regulations detailing how the tax will work, even though the groups are supposed to have already been paying the tax every quarter since it went into effect on Jan. 1…”

As many churches and other nonprofit organizations would be affected by these rules, which Congress was reportedly not even aware of when they passed the law, it is hoped that they will be rescinded as soon as possible.

Trump Germany’s Enemy?

Der Spiegel wrote on June 20:

“Vladimir Putin operates in the shadows. The Russian president controls a clever disinformation campaign with the aim of upsetting the populations of Western countries, discrediting their institutions, dividing society, influencing elections and ultimately causing the collapse of liberal democracy. Nevertheless, there are still many people who continue to believe that Putin is innocent and that the claims are merely the malicious fabrications of Western intelligence agencies. Is it all just a conspiracy theory?

“Regarding Donald Trump’s intentions, by contrast, there can no longer be any doubt… Trump acts quite openly. And now, the American president has turned his attentions toward launching a disinformation campaign against Germany. He is doing so as a way of justifying his morally repugnant refugee policies to the American people…

“In an unprecedented step into German domestic affairs, the U.S. president seized on the current disagreements within Chancellor Angela Merkel’s governing coalition about refugee policy. The German people were ‘turning against their leadership,’ he tweeted gleefully, and followed that up with a blatant lie, saying ‘crime in Germany is way up.’ Europe, he intimated, had made the big mistake of letting in millions of people who had ‘violently’ changed the culture.

“Apart from the fact that this is all lies, the author is a man who bears more responsibility than any other for the ongoing, brutal attempts to rip down all that has been laboriously built up since World War II. In a second tweet, Trump then repeated his lie about rising crime rates in Germany and said that ‘officials do not want to report these crimes.’ It reads like a speech that could be held at a right-wing extremist rally in Dresden… The claim – leveled without a shred of proof – that the German government and its officials would deliberately keep the true extent of criminality from the citizens of Germany should not go without consequences. His open support for German right-wing populists is nothing less than a blatant attack by a foreign power on this country’s government. It is a direct attempt by the White House to destabilize the Federal Republic of Germany.

“Angela Merkel has been far too restrained in her reaction to this threat. The chancellor simply responded that the crime figures recently presented by Interior Minister Horst Seehofer speak for themselves. Those statistics show that crime has in fact gone down slightly. And if there is one person in German politics who could never be accused of whitewashing crime statistics, it is Seefhofer, who is currently looking for any excuse possible to take an even harder line on migration.

“No, this U.S. president was never a partner. He is a hostile opponent. We should finally start to treat him as such and act accordingly… relations to this U.S. government should be reduced to a bare minimum. It is also no longer necessary to pretend to be on friendly terms. Germany and the European Union should abandon polite self-restraint when dealing publicly with Trump and his government… We have long known that we could no longer rely on the United States under Donald Trump. Now, though, it has become clear that we have to protect ourselves from him.”

Some may claim that we publish this article because we want to support Europe and reject Trump. This would be untrue. We do NOT take any political side nor do we speak for or against a political candidate or a political party or the policy of a particular country; in fact, we could not care less about politics. The reason why this article is highly explosive is the fact that it represents the view point of the majority of Germans and Europeans. And this shows that—and why—it is no longer inconceivable that—and why—open hostilities will break out between the USA and Europe, under German leadership. The Bible has long ago prophesied that in the end times, a NUCLEAR WAR will be fought between those two power blocs… and that Europe will attack the USA militarily. The following articles give further credence to this conclusion.

Trade War Escalating—Harley-Davidson Announces Production Outside USA

Deutsche Welle wrote on June 25:

“In a regulatory filing on Monday, Harley-Davidson said each of its motorcycle[s] shipped to the European Union would cost about $2,200 (€1,880) more after the bloc raised its levies on imported US bikes to 31 percent from 6 percent on June 22. This would cost the company about $90 million to $100 million annually, the manufacturer said and added that it was striving to absorb rather than pass extra costs on to customers in the medium-term.

“In order to avoid the impact of higher EU tariffs on its sales, the company also announced that it would be ‘implementing a plan to shift production of motorcycles for EU destinations from the US to its international facilities.’… The Milwaukee-based company sold almost 40,000 motorcycles in the EU last year, generating revenue second only to the United States…

“Harley-Davidson is the first American manufacturer to detail the financial impact of the escalating trade tensions between Washington and its allies… Daimler, which also produces its premium Mercedes cars in the US, said its 2018 profits were expected to be hit by higher Chinese tariffs on imports of American-made cars.”

In response, President Trump tweeted the following on June 26:

“Early this year Harley-Davidson said they would move much of their plant operations in Kansas City to Thailand. That was long before Tariffs were announced. Hence, they were just using Tariffs/Trade War as an excuse… A Harley-Davidson should never be built in another country-never! Their employees and customers are already very angry at them. If they move, watch, it will be the beginning of the end – they surrendered, they quit! The Aura will be gone and they will be taxed like never before!… Harley must know that they won’t be able to sell back into U.S. without paying a big tax!”

The concern is that other American firms may follow Harley-Davidson’s example.

“US President Insists EU Will Drop Its Retaliatory Tariffs. Brussels Has No Plans to Do So.”

Politico wrote in June 26:

“In the escalating trade war with the U.S., Brussels has a clear message for Donald Trump: It’s not backing down… French Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire said Europe was ready for Round Two if Trump really wanted it. ‘If the United States hits us again with a 20 percent increase on cars, we will respond again…

“Even in Berlin… the view is now that there can’t be any offer to Trump… If Trump does impose tariffs on European cars — which he threatened to do if Brussels doesn’t remove certain tariffs and trade barriers — the EU would likely debate further countermeasures…”

The Associated Press wrote on June 27:

“European Council President Donald Tusk says the European Union must prepare for the worst due to the policies of U.S. President Donald Trump, as a trade war looms between Washington and Brussels. In a letter to EU leaders Wednesday, Tusk wrote that ‘trans-Atlantic relations are under immense pressure due to the policies of President Trump.’ Tusk… said that ‘unfortunately, the divisions go beyond trade.’ He wrote: ‘It is my belief that, while hoping for the best, we must be ready to prepare our Union for worst-case scenarios.’”

One must ask the question as to what is meant with a “worst-case scenario.” Again, we are NOT publishing these articles about the trade conflict to take political sides but rather to show how biblical prophecy is being fulfilled, predicting the growing antagonism of Europeans towards the USA; the total isolation of the USA in the world; and the increasingly deteriorating relationship between the USA and its allies. One might say, “You have said it often enough, so we do not need to hear it again and again.” However, we are quick to forget and need to be constantly reminded as to what is happening, showing that it is in fulfillment of God’s faithful Word.

The UN Has Failed

On June 20, Bild Online published the following interview with “Carla del Ponte (71) [who] was the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia from 1999 to 2007. For four years, she was also responsible for investigating war crimes in Rwanda. Following several years as Ambassador to Argentina, she became member of the UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria… the Swiss native explains how the UN’s inactivity in the face of the atrocities in Syria, which have even amounted to genocide, drove her to despair”:

“When you’ve been investigating horrible crimes like those in Syria, there has to be a tribunal at the end, an international court of justice… However, the international community – the UN Security Council, to be more precise – does not want this tribunal. Syria is a member of this committee. The ambassador is allowed to spread his stupid ideas there. The UN, who likes to consider itself the world’s conscience, prefers to watch and do nothing…

“Russia and China with their right to veto [prevented al-Assad and his henchmen from being brought to court]. Russia used to support al-Assad’s father. Now they are standing by a war criminal. Don’t forget that Russia is selling weapons. In seven years of war, you need a lot of weapons… the UN has failed. It has failed completely when it comes to the protection of human rights… Human rights violations are happening everywhere in the world. In Africa, in Yemen. Half of the states who are members of the Human Rights Council violate human rights themselves. We urgently need a reform. Countries that violate human rights every day must be kicked out of the UNHRC. The right to veto must go…”

When asked whether it is correct to say that “there is only a thin, cracked layer of civilization that covers the darkness that’s slumbering in every human being,” she answered:

“I tend to agree. Take Rwanda as an example. Neighbours who lived and even ate together all the time suddenly killed each other with machetes. This hatred was the consequence of brainwashing. The same thing that Milosevic did in Yugoslavia. Although I very much hope that something like this is not possible in my home country, I cannot exclude the possibility…”

The assessment of the UN’s failure is very true. No human attempt to bring peace has ever succeeded. It will require the return of Jesus Christ and the establishment of the Kingdom and the Government of God to usher in lasting peace on earth.

FDA Approves First Drug Derived from Marijuana

The Website of statnews.com reported on June 25:

“The Food and Drug Administration on Monday approved the country’s first drug derived from marijuana, a medication that treats two rare and devastating forms of epilepsy. The drug, GW Pharmaceuticals’ Epidiolex, is made of cannabidiol, or CBD, a component of marijuana that does not give users a high. It is given as an oil, and in clinical trials, it was shown to reduce the number of seizures by about 40 percent in patients with Dravet or Lennox-Gastaut syndromes…

“Before GW can market Epidiolex, though, the Drug Enforcement Administration will have to reclassify CBD, which in this case, because it comes from marijuana, is considered a Schedule I drug, meaning it has no medical value and a high risk of abuse. The agency is expected to do so within 90 days…

“Many families have moved to states where marijuana is legal medically or recreationally so they could treat their children with CBD on their own…”

It is hoped that medical marijuana will be reclassified so that the present unnecessary controversy between the Federal government and the states on this issue will cease once and for all.

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.

Let us review some Scriptures that reveal that the unrighteous will NOT be in the Kingdom of God

1 Corinthians 6:9-11: “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God?   Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.  And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.”

We read here that some Church members used to behave in a wrong and sinful manner but we also read in Proverbs 26:11: “As a dog returns to his vomit, so a fool repeats his folly,” meaning that some Church members could turn back to their former life. Therefore, anyone who has gone off the straight and narrow way and has not repented and got back on track will not be in the Kingdom of God.

1 Corinthians 15:1-2: “Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.” Paul says they have to hold fast to that which he preached to them.

Hebrews 10:26: “For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins.” So again, anyone who has been converted can still go off track and sin willfully and will not be continuing in the Truth. For such a person, the consequences are dire.

2 Peter 2:20-22: “For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning. For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them. But it has happened to them according to the true proverb: ‘A dog returns to his own vomit,’ and, ‘a sow, having washed, to her wallowing in the mire.’”

It Does Matter What We Do!

In Romans 2:5-11, we read about God’s righteous judgment:  “But in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who ‘will render to each one according to his deeds’: eternal life to those who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor, and immortality;  but to those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness—indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish, on every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek; but glory, honor, and peace to everyone who works what is good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.  For there is no partiality with God.”

This passage is very clear about those who obey the Truth and their reward and those who do not obey the Truth.

Romans 6:15-19: “What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not! Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness? But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness.” This passage clearly shows that we are slaves to whom we obey—God or sin.

Romans 8:13-14: “For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.” We must put the deeds of the body to death; i.e., it truly DOES matter what we do!

Galatians 6:7-8: “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.”

People who emotionally “gave their heart to the Lord” at a crusade or at some other time did not really repent, and unless they do, they will not be in God’s Kingdom. But even those who became converted may have drifted away from the Truth or may have even deliberately turned their back on that which they once embraced, and as such, are no longer Christians.  Of course, if they were called by God, then they can repent and it is God’s wish that they do so, but they will be held responsible for their actions, whatever course they may take.

So, putting all of these Scriptures together, the Bible tells us the following:

When Peter was asked what they should do, he said: “Repent, and let every one of you be baptised in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38). It was not just an emotional experience—a one-off experience.  Repent means to be sorry for past sins and implicit in it is that we will try and avoid such sins in the future.  After repentance and belief in Christ’s Sacrifice and in the gospel of the Kingdom of God, then what do we have to do?

• We should be baptized followed by the laying on of hands.
• We have to develop and practice an ongoing godly behavioural pattern.
• We must not look back to our former life (compare Luke 9:62: “But Jesus said to him, ‘No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.’”)
• We have to surrender our lives to God and He must come first (see Luke 14:26-27).
• It becomes clear that being saved (salvation) is not a once in a lifetime experience but a process that lasts throughout our lives.
• And we must endure to the end or we can lose out.

Jesus reproved those who were hypocrites, as we read in Luke 6:46: “But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say?” We have to follow the instructions that we are given and keeping the Commandments of God is of paramount importance.

It is critical to make these further observations.

1. We can lose our crown of life.

Revelation 2:10: “Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.” Faithfulness to God is a requirement and the only conclusion from this verse is that those who were being saved, but weren’t faithful unto death, would not receive the crown of life!

Revelation 3:11: “Behold, I come quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown.” This verse clearly shows that we can lose out and can lose our crown.

2. At the end time, the love of many will grow cold.

Matthew 24:12: “And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.” The love mentioned here is “agape” which is godly love and applies to Church members.  Unconverted people of this world do not have godly love within them and, because of lawlessness, the love of many in the Church will grow cold. When that happens, those who lose this godly love will not make it into the Kingdom of God unless they repent quickly of this and return to fully following the Way of God.

3. There will be a falling away from the Truth at the end of the age.

2 Thessalonians 2:1-3: “Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come. Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition.” The time frame is obviously the end time as it talks about the man of sin or the false prophet, and in verse 10 is a very telling verse in the context of the “once saved, always saved” belief of some.  It states: “… and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved.” The love of the Truth is vital to our salvation; without it, we will lose out!

1 Timothy 4:1: “Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons.” Departing from the faith, for whatever reason, will be a terrible position to be in unless there is true repentance.

Hebrews 6:4-6: “For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame.” Interestingly, this is one of many Scriptures that proponents of “once saved, always saved” quote as part of their proof saying that it is “an often misunderstood passage” and then go on to make assertions that don’t stack up with what the Bible reveals.

To avoid falling away, it is imperative that we must persevere in God’s Truth giving God thanks for our calling. Having a laid back approach to what God expects of us and never uncompromisingly carry out our individual and collective responsibilities could well lead to Christ saying: “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’” (Matthew 7:23).

One writer asked the following:

“Why would our arch enemy, the devil, tempt Christians to sin if our future sins are all forgiven and could never be imputed to us? In fact, the devil would be wasting his time if no sin could ever be charged against the believer! The devil obviously believes what the OSAS (once saved, always saved) teachers want us to believe, for he is ever trying to get us to yield to his temptations. Jesus told us to pray to not be led into temptation (Matthew 6:13). Why would the Lord want us to pray daily about such if sin could not be imputed to the believer anyhow?”

It is a very dangerous thing to think that “once saved, always saved” is approved by biblical instruction.  One English entertainer once said that he was told that he should “give his heart to the Lord” which he did, and that he didn’t have to change anything. The Bible clearly says otherwise.

Can true Christians lose their salvation? Yes!  Once saved, always saved? The Bible gives an emphatic NO to that question.

If we’re saved now and we can’t lose out whatever we do, where’s the motivation? Why continue to grow and overcome? There would be no need, as the matter would be unchangeable, irrespective of our future behaviour. However, the Scriptures clearly tell us that we must grow and overcome AND endure to the end.

2 Peter 3:18: “Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.” This doesn’t indicate that nothing else needs to be done after conversion!

One passage of Scripture that proponents of “once saved, always saved” use is in John 10:27-29 which reads as follows: “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.  My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand.” But to follow is a continuous tense and we need to continue to follow Jesus to receive eternal life – we mustn’t grow weary and give up.

In Philippians 1:6 we read: “… being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.” To achieve this goal, we need to stick to the process that was started when we were baptised and keep repenting, growing and overcoming with God’s help and that way the good work that was begun in us, God will complete at Christ’s return.

1 John 1:7-9: “But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.  If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” God will forgive our sins but we do have to repent and confess them.

In our booklet “Are You Predestined to be Saved?,” we read the flowing on page 71:

“WE WILL SUCCEED! True Christians ought to have a continual attitude of thankfulness and appreciation to God for both the physical blessings and spiritual blessings that He gives us.  There is one most fundamental reason WHY we CAN be truly thankful to God.  That reason is the PROMISE that we who are called, WILL make it into God’s Kingdom!   Yes, God has called us to SUCCEED. If God had any doubt whether or not we would succeed, He would not have called us in this day and age. God is SURE and CERTAIN that we will make it! How certain are WE? Let us notice God’s absolute conviction that YOU, if you are one of God’s begotten children, WILL make it into His kingdom.

“Realize first, that, as far as God is concerned, it is already a done deal.  Only ONE person can stop you from qualifying, and that person is YOU!  As we saw in the last chapter, it IS possible for those who are truly called to salvation, to commit the ‘unpardonable sin.’ That is why the concept, ‘once saved—always saved,’ is wrong.  We were saved from our past sins (Matthew 1:21; compare Romans 3:25); we are being saved right now (Acts 2:47); and we will be saved in the future—when Christ returns (Romans 5:10). Only the one who endures to the end will be saved (Matthew 24:13).  We need to conquer our fears and doubts, and that is why we need to overcome our carnality that tempts us to return to this world. BUT, in God’s eyes, this battle WILL BE won!  It is not impossible to succeed!  To the contrary, it is certain that we WILL succeed, as long as we let God live and rule our lives.  And THAT is WHY we can be truly thankful, always, now and forever!“

It might come as somewhat of a surprise to some that when a person is saved and becomes a righteous person, he can die spiritually if he leaves the Way of the Life that he has been called to.   We must remember that at the dawn of civilisation, Satan tempted Eve in the garden of Eden and said “you will not surely die” but she did, although she lived a long time after this action that she took.

In the book of Ezekiel, chapter 18, we read the following in verses 24-26:

“But when a righteous man turns away from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and does according to all the abominations that the wicked man does, shall he live? All the righteousness which he has done shall not be remembered; because of the unfaithfulness of which he is guilty and the sin which he has committed, because of them he shall die.

“Yet you say, ‘The way of the LORD is not fair.’ Hear now, O house of Israel, is it not My way which is fair, and your ways which are not fair? When a righteous man turns away from his righteousness, commits iniquity, and dies in it, it is because of the iniquity which he has done that he dies.”

This a revealing piece of Scripture showing that a righteous man can turn away from righteousness and die in his iniquity because there is no repentance of his sins.  “Once saved, always saved” is shown to be a false concept from these verses in the book of Ezekiel.

In John 8:51, Jesus said: “Most assuredly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word he shall never see death.” This must be about spiritual death as all men die at some time. That is how we must live and those who were once saved and stray away from their calling will be lost – not once saved, always saved!

So, recapping, there are 3 aspects to salvation as the Scriptures clearly reveal:

• We are saved now.
• We are being saved.
• And to be finally saved, we must endure to the end.

As previously mentioned, there are many writers who present the case for the fallacy of the “once saved, always saved” debate, giving voluminous evidence to prove their stance but, inevitably, there will be counter arguments and discussions put forth by the adherents of this belief. As we said at the beginning of this series, this subject is one where there are many proponents on both sides of the debate who can present their case powerfully, but the Church of God has, historically, had the understanding that is shown in this presentation.

The real Christian life is a life of overcoming, of spiritual growing. The concept of “once saved, always saved” is clearly wrong and unscriptural.

Lead Writer: Brian Gale (United Kingdom)

compiled by Dave Harris

“Soon! The Bible Prophesies WAR Between Europe and the USA!” is the title of a new StandingWatch program, presented by Evangelist Norbert Link. Here is a summary:

Even though this might still be difficult or even impossible for many to comprehend, the Bible clearly reveals that prior to Christ’s return, a terrible war will be fought between Europe and the USA. Reviewing the facts, we can see that preparatory movements are already in place to bring about what Scripture calls the “Great Tribulation.” Without taking any political position, we are just telling you what God’s Word is revealing to you, and if Jesus were not to return to shorten those coming days, no human being would survive.

“Are you Already Born Again?” is the title of a new StandingWatch Talking Points, presented by Pastor Rene Messier. Here is a summary:

Many professing Christians think they are already born again, and they readily share their convictions with others, presenting what would seem to be a convincing case for the need to be “born again” in this life. In reality, they miss one of the most important teachings of the Bible—what man’s ultimate potential is and how to attain it.

“Sagt uns Christus, dass seine Rückkehr nahe ist?” is the title of this Sabbath’s German sermon, presented by Norbert Link. Title in English: “Does Jesus Tell Us that His Return Is Near?”

“The Prophet Elijah in the Past, the Present and the Future,” last Sabbath’s sermon, presented by Norbert Link, is now posted. Here is a summary:

Remarkable events occurred in the life of ancient Elijah, and they are written down for us today for our learning, admonition and example. There are those who believe that Elijah did not die, but that he is still alive today in heaven or someplace else, and that we will soon return to do a powerful Work, prior to Christ’s Second Coming. What does the Bible tell us about these ideas? How are we to understand that Elijah will come before the terrible Day of the Lord?

On June 23, 2018, Norbert Link will use the time for the sermonette and the announcements to discuss current events in the light of biblical prophecy. He will also present the sermon, titled, “The Prophet Elijah in the Past, the Present and the Future.”

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

In last week’s Editorial, Mr. Brian Gale asked whether we are sighing and crying over all the abominations that are done in our countries. He specifically addressed the results of a referendum to repeal Ireland’s abortion ban, legalizing and legitimizing the murder of innocent children. Another abominable development which we should all sigh and cry about is US Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ current policy of “zero tolerance” regarding illegal immigrants, leading to the forceful separation of young children from their parents and the internment of the children in detention or concentration camps.

Do we understand HOW mean-spirited and ungodly this policy is? Or have we become so hard-hearted and indifferent to the misery of the weak that we cannot even grasp the enormity of such terrible conduct?

President Trump and his administration have come under unusually strong vocal attacks by Democrats and Republicans alike, and even his own wife, Melania, as well as former first lady Laura Bush did condemn the practice. Mrs. Bush called the practice “immoral” and “cruel.” She wrote: “These images are eerily reminiscent of the Japanese American internment camps of World War II, now considered to have been one of the most shameful episodes in U.S. history.” First lady Melania Trump said through a spokesperson that she hates to see children separated from their families, and that a country needs to be “governed with heart,” obviously implying that presently, the USA is not.

American Catholic and evangelical leaders, including Cardinal DiNardo and Franklin Graham, condemned the practice; and even Mr. Sessions’ own church, the United Methodist Church, rejected it as well in no uncertain terms. So did Orthodox Jews and the other major Jewish religious movements.

Bowing to political pressure, President Trump issued an executive order on June 20, claiming that it will keep migrant families together. But this order did not abandon or reverse the “zero tolerance” policy. And while the order, if it survives legal challenges, might prevent temporarily the separation of parents and children, it would in effect “lock up immigrant parents and their children together, indefinitely.”

Europeans are watching these unfolding events with horror, but many are guilty of similar atrocities, be it in their mind, in word or even in action. In a compelling article, Handelsblatt Global asked the question whether Europe had lost its soul in the refugee crisis. Pointing at the hypocrisy of French president Emmanuel Macron; the criminal prosecution in France and Belgium of law-abiding citizens who assist illegal immigrants in any way; and questionable methods in Denmark, the author states: “It won’t be long until someone suggests barring them from certain professions altogether,” alluding to Germany’s Nazi regime prohibiting Jews to carry out many designated jobs and occupations.

Today, law-abiding citizens in the USA, including ministers, are also being threatened with legal actions if they were found to help illegal aliens (“harboring a criminal” is the offensive phrase which is being used).

Focusing on the informal alliance of right-wing politicians in Germany, Austria and Italy, the author of the Handelsblatt Global article states, “A right-wing axis from Berlin to Rome–that sure has a ring to it.” Again, the suggested parallel to Nazi Germany, Nazi Austria and Nazi Italy in World War II is unmistakable.

When Jews tried to escape Nazi Germany, America and many other countries refused to take them in, and as a consequence, they were among the millions of Jews who were murdered in concentration camps. Today, many persecuted refugees flee the atrocities in their homelands and seek shelter in Europe and the USA, but again, they may not be allowed to come in and find protection in countries which claim to be willing to help others in need.

Mr. Sessions, with the support of the White House, claimed that the Bible justifies his actions. He said with a smirking smiley face: “I would cite you to the Apostle Paul and his clear and wise command in Romans 13 to obey the laws of the government because God has ordained them for the purpose of order.”

The Truth is that God NEVER ordained any government or political leader for the purpose of violating the letter or the spirit of HIS Holy Word. In fact, the Apostle Peter tells us, as he told the Sanhedrin, that true Christians have to obey God RATHER than man, and we are NOT to obey men if they demand something of us which is against the Law of God. As many Christian leaders have pointed out, including those who normally support the Trump agenda, the policy of “zero tolerance” and the criminalization of illegal immigrants with the consequence of taking young children away from their parents is a “radical departure from the Christian religion” and “goes against pretty much the entire Bible.” They also stated that we are “sometimes morally obligated not to follow” the laws of the land.

I liked very much the following comment by one writer: “If you had all the power in the world, maybe you would also hear a serpent dipping its smooth body down from some shadowy bough to say: God wants you to do whatever you like with your power, and whatever you do with it is good.”

After all, this is Satan’s world, and he calls good evil and evil good. He pretends to be an angel of light, but he is, and always will be, the prince and power of darkness. What should make our blood boil is when misguided politicians dare to blaspheme God by misquoting His Holy Word in an effort to justify their ungodly behavior.

But thanks be to God that this terrible mismanagement of human rule and the total abandonment of true godly values will end soon, because it can’t be long now until Christ returns to destroy the abominations and atrocities of this evil world. We are called out of this world to qualify for the Kingdom of God–to rule mankind with righteousness, mercy and love. Are YOU qualifying now? Are you developing the mind of Christ and the way of His thinking in your life, or are you still finding any justification and redeeming value in satanically inspired policies which are totally against anything that God stands for? Because if and as long as you do, God would not want you to be in His Kingdom.

by Norbert Link

In this issue, we are reporting on the controversy pertaining to the Trump Administration’s and Attorney General Sessions’ “zero tolerance” policy regarding illegal immigration, leading to the separation of children from their parents and the internment of the children in temporary detention centers. An executive order by President Trump, claiming to put an end to such internment, might make things worse, not better. We also address Mr. Sessions’ and the White House’s misinterpretation of the biblical teaching in this regard. At the same time, we point at Europe’s and Germany’s struggle with their immigration issues, which could even lead to a premature departure of Angela Merkel as German Chancellor. In this context, please view our new StandingWatch program, “How Does Trump’s Executive Order Help Innocent Children?” 

Among other things, we address the ongoing mutual imposition of tariffs and the likelihood of a worldwide trade war, which might result in military actions; and we report on the current position of Pope Francis on issues such as abortion, homosexuality and the family.

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

America’s Immigration Policy Condemned

Deutsche Welle wrote on June 15:

“Nearly 2,000 children have been separated from their families at the US-Mexico border in six-weeks. Despite wide condemnation, the Trump administration defended the policy, saying it was just enforcing the law. Due to an increasing number of migrant children in government custody, officials in US President Donald Trump’s administration confirmed on Friday that a temporary encampment near the US-Mexico border in Texas had been built…

“The startling figure is a result of a new directive from Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who on April 6 announced a ‘zero tolerance’ policy on immigration that would refer all cases of illegal entry for criminal prosecution. Cases that involved families were typically sent for civil deportation proceedings. These allow children to remain with their parents. The new directive eliminates that option and has led to the separation and internment of the children in temporary shelters.

“The Trump administration has come under fire for both the criminalization of all immigration cases and the family separations… House Speaker Paul Ryan and other Republicans distanced themselves from the White House, saying they were not comfortable with family separations…”

Current and Former First Ladies Condemn Sessions’ “Zero Tolerance” Policy

The Huffington Post wrote on June 18:

“Former first lady Laura Bush issued a rare castigation of the Trump administration on Sunday, calling family separations at the U.S. border with Mexico ‘immoral’ and drawing parallels to World War II internment camps. Bush’s editorial in The Washington Post mirrored growing criticism of the Justice Department’s new policy to prosecute as many people as possible who cross the border illegally. The move, announced last month by Attorney General Jeff Sessions, has already resulted in a massive spike in children being separated from their parents. Last week, DHS announced that nearly 2,000 kids had been separated from their parents during a six-week period ending last month. Many are currently being held in juvenile detention centers.

“Bush wrote: ‘I live in a border state. I appreciate the need to enforce and protect our international boundaries, but this zero-tolerance policy is cruel. It is immoral. And it breaks my heart. Our government should not be in the business of warehousing children in converted box stores or making plans to place them in tent cities in the desert outside of El Paso. These images are eerily reminiscent of the Japanese American internment camps of World War II, now considered to have been one of the most shameful episodes in U.S. history… it is our obligation to reunite these detained children with their parents — and to stop separating parents and children in the first place. People on all sides agree that our immigration system isn’t working, but the injustice of zero tolerance is not the answer.’

“First lady Melania Trump appeared to offer her own criticism of the policy on Sunday, telling CNN through a spokeswoman that she ‘hates to see children separated from their families’ by immigration authorities… ‘She believes we need to be a country that follows all laws, but also a country that governs with heart.’”

Europe Condemns…

Deutsche Welle wrote on June 20:

“In Europe, Trump’s ‘zero tolerance’ policy has been met with fierce criticism. British Prime Minister Theresa May said images of migrant children held in cage-like units were ‘deeply disturbing.’ ‘A person’s dignity does not depend on them being a citizen, a migrant or a refugee,’ Pope Francis, a staunch supporter of migrant rights, said in a tweet. ‘Saving the life of someone fleeing war and poverty is an act of humanity.’”

The Telegraph added on June 19:

“Asked if Theresa May thought it was acceptable to cage children, the prime minister’s spokesman said: ‘The welfare and safeguarding of children is at the heart of our immigration policy. We do not separate child refugees or asylum seekers from their families.’”

Trump Administration to Be Blamed for the Refugee Debacle

Business Insider wrote on June 18:

“The Trump administration has repeatedly denied that its policy is to separate children from their parents when families cross the US border illegally. But its own internal documents contradict that… President Donald Trump had previously tried to blame the policy on the Democrats, but over the weekend his secretary of homeland security, Kirstjen Nielsen, flat-out denied that such a policy existed.

“‘We do not have a policy of separating families at the border. Period,’ Nielsen tweeted. But the Department of Homeland Security does separate children from their parents at the border, and it just put out a press release about it on Friday, explaining its new ‘zero tolerance’ policy for border crosses…

“Nielsen continued: ‘For those seeking asylum at ports of entry, we have continued the policy from previous Administrations and will only separate if the child is in danger, there is no custodial relationship between “family” members, or if the adult has broken a law.’”

According to the Trump Administration’s new policy of “zero tolerance,” every adult who is illegally entering the USA has broken the law and is now being treated as a criminal (as mentioned above, this was NOT the case before). Therefore, the statement by Nielsen is patently misleading.

Also, the Week wrote on June 18:

“The policy… sees an average of two children separated from their families at the border every hour.”

Trump Unrepentant?

Newsmax wrote on June 18:

“Facing rising outrage from some Republicans as well as Democrats over the forced separation of migrant children and parents at the U.S.-Mexico border, President Donald Trump dug in Monday, again blaming Democrats and declaring he would keep the U.S. from becoming ‘a migrant camp.’…

“‘The United States will not be a migrant camp and it will not be a refugee holding facility,’ he added. ‘Not on my watch.’”

The Week wrote on June 19:

“President Trump on Tuesday defended his administration’s ‘zero tolerance’ immigration policy against growing outrage over the separation of nearly 2,000 migrant children from their parents… ‘When you prosecute the parents for coming in illegally, which should happen, you have to take the children away,’ he said. ‘People that come in violate the law, they endanger their children in the process, and frankly, they endanger all of our children.’”

“Trump Team Keeps Misrepresenting”

 Deutsche Welle wrote on June 19:

“Thrice in two days has the administration of US President Donald Trump made misleading claims about Germany. Just a few hours after the president falsely stated that the crime rate in Germany had risen and that Germans were scared of immigrants, Attorney General Jeff Sessions mistakenly told an interviewer that the camps for migrant children at the US-Mexico border should not be compared to Nazi concentration camps because the Nazis  ‘were keeping the Jews from leaving the country.’

“The fact notwithstanding that many Germans detest any comparison to the Holocaust… the reaction in Germany is sure to be one of swift condemnation, just as it was to Trump’s tweet about crime on Monday…

“Despite Sessions’ claims, as has been well-documented, in late 1941 the Nazis began deporting millions of Jews from across Europe to death and concentration camps they had constructed across the continent. Even Fox News later [reported] that Sessions was immediately criticized as being tone-deaf in his response…”

However, the Trump-friendly Fox News network has come under increasing attack for its “coverage” of the immigration disaster. Ingraham said on Monday evening’s The Ingraham Angle that the child detention centers are “essentially summer camps [or] boarding schools.” And Ann Coulter called the migrant children “actors.” These comments are indeed horrible and disgusting.

Christian Leaders Condemn Sessions’ Interpretation of the Bible

The Huffington Post wrote on June 15:

“Attorney General Jeff Sessions seems to think Jesus would love his policy of separating immigrant families at the border. Christian leaders say otherwise.

“‘While protecting our borders is important, we can and must do better as a government, and as a society, to find other ways to ensure that safety,’ Cardinal Daniel Nicholas DiNardo, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said in a statement. ‘Separating babies from their mothers is not the answer and is immoral.’ ‘Disgraceful,’… Franklin Graham, son of the late and influential Rev. Billy Graham and a supporter of President Donald Trump, said in a Tuesday interview. ‘It’s terrible to see families ripped apart, and I don’t support that one bit.’

“Even Sessions’ own church, the United Methodist Church, is rejecting what he is doing. ‘Tearing children away from parents who have made a dangerous journey to provide a safe and sufficient life for them is unnecessarily cruel and detrimental to the well-being of parents and children,’ reads a statement signed by Bishop Kenneth Carter, president of the Council of Bishops of the United Methodist Church.

“… the attorney general hit another nerve Thursday when he claimed the Bible justifies his actions. ‘Concerns raised by our church friends about separating families’ are not ‘not fair or logical,’ he said in a speech in Fort Wayne, Indiana. ‘I would cite you to the Apostle Paul and his clear and wise command in Romans 13 to obey the laws of the government because God has ordained them for the purpose of order.’

“White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders backed up Sessions’ claims later that day, calling it ‘very biblical to enforce the law.’

“HuffPost asked some Bible scholars what they make of Trump administration officials invoking Scripture to defend their immigration policy. ‘It makes my blood boil,’ said Matthew Schlimm, a professor of the Old Testament at the University of Dubuque Theological Seminary in Iowa. ‘Sessions has taken the passage from Romans 13 completely out of context… Anyone with half an ounce of moral conviction knows that tearing children away from parents has nothing to do with love.’…

“James Martin, a Jesuit priest and the editor-at-large of the Jesuit magazine America, said Sessions’ actions are in fact the opposite of the Bible’s teachings about caring for the poor and being compassionate. ‘I cannot imagine anyone in his or her right mind thinking Jesus would approve of ripping children from their parents,’ Martin said in a Friday interview on MSNBC. ‘It goes against pretty much the entire Bible in the ethos of Jesus, and it’s deeply un-Christian.’”

The Washington Post wrote on June 15:

“Here, whether deliberately or unknowingly, Sessions and Sanders radically depart from the Christian religion, inventing a faith that makes order itself the highest good and authorizes secular governments to achieve it. In Christianity as billions of faithful have known it, order and lawful procedures are not ‘good in themselves’ and it is not ‘very biblical’ to ‘enforce the law’ whatever it might be… meaning Christians are sometimes morally obligated to follow civil laws and are sometimes morally obligated not to…

“As Sessions himself observed quoting James Madison in a lengthy October 2017 memorandum on federal protections concerning religious liberty, ‘the duty owed to one’s Creator is “precedent, both in order of time and in degree of obligation, to the claims of Civil Society.”’ Sessions can either believe that or believe what he and Sanders said Thursday, but he can’t believe both…

“Any number of scriptural passages are available here, though less useful for Sessions’s purposes. From Deuteronomy 10: ‘For the Lord your God . . . loves the strangers, providing them food and clothing. You shall also love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.’ Or from Jeremiah 7: ‘If you really change your ways and your actions and deal with each other justly, if you do not oppress the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow and do not shed innocent blood in this place . . . then I will let you live in this place, in the land I gave your ancestors for ever and ever’…

“If you had all the power in the world, maybe you would also hear a serpent dipping its smooth body down from some shadowy bough to say: God wants you to do whatever you like with your power, and whatever you do with it is good.”

Orthodox Jews Condemn Sessions’ Interpretation of the Bible

JTA wrote on June 14:

“The Orthodox Union released a statement criticizing the Trump administration’s policy of separating the families of illegal immigrants after they cross the U.S. border… ‘As an Orthodox Jewish organization whose values are anchored in those of the Torah and Jewish history, we are deeply concerned about any steps taken that affect families and the parent/child relationship,’ read the statement by O.U. President Moishe Bane.

“Because children cannot be prosecuted with adults, they are reclassified as unaccompanied minors and taken away, either to mass children’s shelters or foster homes… Religious groups across the spectrum, Jewish and not, have opposed the policy…

“On Thursday, 26 Jewish groups, including the three other major Jewish religious movements, signed a letter opposing the family separation policy. The statement was organized by the Anti-Defamation League. ‘This policy undermines the values of our nation and jeopardizes the safety and well-being of thousands of people,’ the letter says. ‘As Jews, we understand the plight of being an immigrant fleeing violence and oppression. We believe that the United States is a nation of immigrants and how we treat the stranger reflects on the moral values and ideals of this nation.’”

JTA added on June 20:

“A group representing children hidden during the Holocaust slammed the U.S. border policy of separating families seeking asylum. ‘Separation of the family for us is probably the worst thing that ever happened to us,’ said Rachelle Goldstein, who was separated from her parents in Belgium when she wasn’t even 3 years old…

“‘When you take a child away from the parents, from the home, from everything that they know, they are never the same,’ Goldstein said…, adding that many children separated from their parents during the Holocaust had still not overcome the trauma.”

75 Former U.S. Attorneys Condemn Sessions’ Policy

The Huffington Post wrote on June 19:

“A bipartisan group of former U.S. attorneys has penned an open letter to Attorney General Jeff Sessions, calling on him to end the Trump administration’s highly controversial family separation policy at the border. The 75 former U.S. attorneys condemned the zero tolerance policy, announced by Sessions in May, under which children are put into shelters while parents facing prosecution for illegally crossing the border into the United States are jailed. ‘Your Zero Tolerance policy has resulted in the unnecessary trauma and suffering of innocent children,’ they wrote in a letter published Monday on Medium. ‘We also emphasize that the Zero Tolerance policy is a radical departure from previous Justice Department policy, and that it is dangerous, expensive, and inconsistent with the values of the institution in which we served,’ they continued…

“Although President Donald Trump and several members of his administration, including Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, have repeatedly claimed the family separation policy must be enforced, legal experts, including this group of attorneys, have challenged such an assertion. ‘As former U.S. Attorneys, we know that none of these consequences  ― nor the policy itself  ―  is required by law,’ they wrote in their letter to Sessions. ‘Rather, its implementation and its execution are taking place solely at your direction, and the unfolding tragedy falls squarely on your shoulders.’…

“Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said Trump could ‘stop the policy with one phone call’ during an appearance Friday on CNN. ‘If you don’t like families being separated, you can tell [the Department of Homeland Security] to stop doing it,’ Graham said. Rep. Will Hurd (R-Texas), whose district includes a stretch of the U.S.-Mexico border, also criticized the policy… ‘This is clearly something that the administration can change,’ he added. ‘They don’t need legislation to change it.’”

Trump Signs Order that He Says Will Keep Migrant Families Together

After all the condemnation, as quoted above, President Trump gave in for political reasons and signed an executive order, which he originally said he would not and could not do. Trump’s reverse position (some call it, Trump’s defeat) must be viewed in light of the midterm election which Republicans were concerned of losing if Trump’s and Sessions’ controversial policy of separating children from their parents and incarcerating the children in detention camps would not be changed. We need to point out, however, that in spite of all the hype and claims about ruling with a heart, the “zero tolerance” policy itself was NOT changed. And as it will be shown, the executive order might make matters worse, not better.

CNBC wrote on June 20:

“President Donald Trump signed an executive order Wednesday that he says will keep migrant families together during detention on the U.S.-Mexico border. The president backed down from his administration’s policy of splitting migrant families, which for days the White House insisted could only end through congressional action. Facing a nationwide uproar and bipartisan calls to at least temporarily end the practice, the president said he ‘didn’t like the sight or feeling of families being separated.’ [It was admitted by Republicans that the “sight” of the disturbing images hurt them deeply politically.]

“Trump said he will not end the administration’s ‘zero tolerance’ policy of criminally prosecuting every adult who crosses U.S. borders illegally, including those seeking asylum. The White House also will keep pressure on Congress to pass legislation that meets Trump’s goals of halting the separation practice, funding his proposed border wall and limiting legal immigration… The order did not appear to address how the government would go about reuniting families.

“Here’s what the executive order would do, according to text circulated by the White House:

“It orders Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen ‘to the extent permitted by law and subject to the availability of appropriations’ to keep families together during criminal proceedings. The measure says the administration does not have to keep families together ‘when there is a concern’ that detaining a child with a parent ‘would pose a risk to the child’s welfare.’ It directs Attorney General Jeff Sessions to file a request with a federal district court in California to change a legal settlement that curbs the government’s ability to keep children in detention. It orders Sessions to prioritize criminal proceedings for cases involving families.”

There are surely very many loopholes and uncertainties contained in that order. And as the next article shows, it’s highly improbable that it will be successful—in fact, it might make matters worse.

Trump’s Executive Order Highly Suspect

The Huffington Post elaborated on the new Executive Order, as follows:

“President Donald Trump’s plan to stop his administration’s policy of separating immigrant children from their families seems simple: Lock up immigrant parents and their children together, indefinitely.

“But there’s no evidence that Trump has the legal authority to make his wish reality. His plan, issued in an executive order on Wednesday, conflicts with a 2015 court ruling that required the government to release child migrants from detention after 20 days. Trump can’t dismiss federal judges’ rulings by decree. So his executive order will trigger a massive showdown between his administration and human rights activists in court…

“Trump administration officials have insisted that they enacted the family separation policy in part because of a 2015 court order over a 1997 court settlement called the Flores agreement. The Flores agreement and the ensuing 2015 ruling limit the length of time that children can be detained, including with their parents. Most detained immigrant children must be released within about 20 days to continue their deportation proceedings outside of detention. In the past, the federal government has generally released the children’s mothers from family detention along with them rather than splitting them up [which is known as the “catch and release” policy. It has been wrongly claimed by the Trump administration that most of those who were released disappeared and never showed up in court. However, about 75 % did appear in court.]…

“… according to his order, parents being prosecuted will be locked up with their kids in most circumstances while criminal proceedings go forward ― and even after, while they pursue immigration cases. Those proceedings can take years.

“The order conscripts the entirety of the federal government into mass immigrant family detention…

“It’s hard to predict how the courts might rule… U.S. District Judge Dolly Gee, who presides over the case, repeatedly hammered the Obama administration with harshly worded rulings in the years that it tried to expand family detention to deal with an influx of Central Americans seeking asylum.”

Too Little Too Late

Deutsche Welle wrote on June 21:

“Trump’s migrant family separations reversal too little, too late… Trump bowing to pressure does nothing for the children already taken from their families. The likelihood that they’ll be reunited with their parents swiftly – if at all – looks grim. US administration officials said on Wednesday that they had no plan on how to bring them back together…”

Are Republicans Intentionally Blinding Themselves?

Deutsche Welle wrote on June 21:

“A poll published on Monday… showed that two-thirds of Americans were against separating children from their parents, but a majority of Republican voters supported the idea…

“… no one in this administration and only a few of the Republicans who control Congress are prepared to stand up to Trump… Trump’s policy of separating children from their parents served as a litmus test for conservatives who traditionally viewed themselves as the defenders of family unity…

“There was no huge outcry from the party of Abraham Lincoln and Ronald Reagan about the fact that a Republican government instituted a policy that mandates taking children away from their parents.

“Instead, many defended the policy while others obfuscated or tried to rationalize the issue for themselves… Together, the episode was just the latest sign that the GOP is now fully the party of Trump.

“That does not bode well for the future of the country. If taking away children from their parents is not enough for Republicans to break with… [President Trump]. What is? It’s a troubling prospect to consider.”

Indeed it is!

USA Withdraws From UN Human Rights Council

JTA wrote on June 19:

“The Trump administration has withdrawn the United States from the U.N. Human Rights Council because of its bias against Israel. Nikki Haley, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, and Mike Pompeo, the secretary of state, jointly announced the pullout on Tuesday evening. ‘The Human Rights Council is an exercise in shameless hypocrisy,’ Pompeo told the media…

“Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the departure ‘courageous.’…

“The George W. Bush administration refused to join the council when it was established in 2006 as a successor to the U.N. Commission on Human Rights… The Obama administration joined the council, arguing that its presence was a more effective means of defending Israel on the council and of addressing human rights abuses elsewhere…”

Kim Jong Un in China Again

The Week wrote on June 19:

“North Korean leader Kim Jong Un arrived in China on Tuesday for a two-day visit, his third trip since March. Kim briefed Chinese President Xi Jinping on his recent summit with President Trump, and Xi said he was ‘very pleased’ with Kim’s performance at the meeting, CNN wrote. Kim and Trump agreed to work together toward the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. Trump also offered to guarantee the security of the North Korean regime and promised to end ‘war games’ with South Korea, which both North Korea and China have criticized as provocative.”

China Announces Retaliatory Tariffs

CNBC wrote on June 15:

“The Chinese State Council’s commission on tariffs and customs said in an online statement that a 25 percent tariff will take effect July 6 on agriculture products, automobiles and ‘aquatic products.’

“The tariffs counter the United States Trade Representative’s announcement earlier on Friday that the U.S. will initially impose an additional 25 percent tariff on 818 Chinese imports worth about $34 billion on July 6.”

Trump’s Tariffs Could Bite Americans and the Rest of the World

The New York Times wrote on June 16:

“As the Trump administration imposes tariffs on allies and rivals alike, provoking broad retaliation, global commerce is suffering disruption… As the conflict broadens, shipments are slowing at ports and airfreight terminals around the world. Prices for crucial raw materials are rising. At factories from Germany to Mexico, orders are being cut and investments delayed. American farmers are losing sales as trading partners hit back with duties of their own.

“Workers in a Canadian steel mill scrambled to recall rail cars headed to the United States border after Mr. Trump this month slapped tariffs on imported metals.

“… history has proved that trade wars are costly while escalating risks of broader hostilities. Fears are deepening that the current outbreak of antagonism could drag down the rest of the world…

“The United States last year imported more than $600 billion in goods and services from Canada and Mexico, the two other nations in the North American Free Trade Agreement — a deal Mr. Trump has threatened to blow up. Americans bought more than $500 billion in wares from China, and another $450 billion from the European Union. Collectively, that amounts to nearly two-thirds of all American imports…

“Sixteen years ago, when President George W. Bush put tariffs on steel, imports fell substantially. Such memories now stoke modern-day fears… economists and business leaders note that many imports are components that are used to manufacture goods at American factories.”

EU Retaliates with Tariffs

Deutsche Welle wrote on June 20:

“A raft of retaliatory tariffs from the European Union on US products will come into effect on June 22. The EU’s list of targets reads like a summary of emblematic American exports, including motorbikes and jeans.

“The retaliatory measure comes in response to US tariff hikes on steel and aluminum that were imposed on EU member countries on June 1, with the White House citing grounds of national security… The agreed EU countermeasures will initially target a list of US goods worth $3.2 billion (€2.8 billion), most of which will be hit with import duties of 25 percent.

“The products affected by the move range from agricultural produce such as rice and orange juice to jeans, bourbon, motorbikes and various steel products…

“Canada and Mexico have also announced their own similar countermeasures just as an even greater trade spat pits the US against China. Together, the current battles have raised the specter of a global trade war, spooking financial markets that fear major consequences for the world economy.”

Turkey Retaliates with Tariffs

Newsweek wrote on June 21:

“Turkey implemented $266.5 million in tariffs against the United States on Thursday… The Turkish tariffs affect American imports of coal, paper, walnuts, almonds, tobacco, unprocessed rice, whiskey, automobiles, cosmetics, machinery equipment and petrochemical products.

“Bloomberg reported that the tariffs impact 19 percent of the $9.4 billion in products the U.S. sends to Turkey.”

CNN Money added on June 21:

“Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci said in a statement: ‘We cannot and will not allow Turkey to be wrongly blamed for America’s economic challenges.’

“… India said this month that it plans to move ahead with retaliatory tariffs, too.

“Turkey is the world’s eighth largest steel exporter… The United States was Turkey’s top market for steel in 2017.”

Will President Trump wake up to reality before it is too late for America?

Sit Up at Attention and Listen to Trump

Politico wrote on June 16:

“President Donald Trump… likes the way dictators do business. ‘He speaks, and his people sit up at attention,’ Trump said on Friday morning of North Korean despot Kim Jong Un… ‘I want my people to do the same.’…

“Fox’s Bret Baier reminded the president of Kim’s record earlier this week… that Kim is ‘clearly executing people.’ But the president blew Baier off. ‘He’s a tough guy. Hey, when you take over a country, tough country, tough people, and you take it over from your father I don’t care who you are, what you are, how much of an advantage you have. If you could do that at 27 years old, I mean, that’s one in 10,000 that could do that,’ Trump explained…”

So did Adolf Hitler.

Germany’s New US Ambassador Must Navigate Trump-Merkel Divide

“Amid deeply strained ties between Washington and Berlin, Emily Haber, Germany’s new US ambassador, has her work cut out for herself… Haber… will be Germany’s first female envoy to Washington when she officially starts her post later this month…

“Haber, who earlier in her career was posted in Russia and Turkey, also served for several years as deputy minister in the foreign ministry, where she played a key role representing Germany in the negotiations that lead to the Iran nuclear accord — another thorny topic that necessitated working closely with Washington…”

Trump Gets Involved in German Immigration Battle, Angers Germany and Misrepresents the Facts

Deutsche Welle wrote on June 18:

“The US president has waded into the ongoing standoff between Chancellor Angela Merkel and her interior minister over migration. But his claim that crime in Germany ‘is way up’ doesn’t tally with official statistics…

“US President Donald Trump on Monday claimed that Germany’s leaders were losing the support of the public over the migration issue. His untimely comments come amid a deepening split between German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the leader of her coalition ally, Horst Seehofer, over asylum policy and border controls.

“Trump told his Twitter followers: ‘The people of Germany are turning against their leadership as migration is rocking the already tenuous Berlin coalition.’ The US leader went on to say that ‘Crime in Germany is way up’ before adding that there had been a ‘big mistake made all over Europe in allowing millions of people in who have so strongly and violently changed their culture!’ In a warning to the American electorate, Trump warned: ‘We don’t want what is happening with immigration in Europe to happen with us!’

“Trump’s comments are certain to irk German ministers, especially as Europe’s largest economy recently reported the lowest crime figures in more than 25 years. The number of crimes fell almost 10 percent in 2017 over the previous year. A 22 percent reduction in non-German suspects was also noted. Separate studies suggest that Iraqi and Syrian refugees in Germany are less likely to commit crimes, as they don’t want to spoil their chances of obtaining asylum…

“Rolf Mützenich, foreign affairs expert for the center-left Social Democrats (SPD), cautioned Trump against interfering in German politics. ‘As the American ambassador has done previously, Trump is trying to sway the domestic political debate in favor of right-wing conservatives and populist elements in Germany,’ he told DW. ‘We will not change our constitutional principles and precepts of European cooperation learnt from history to align with the “America First” policy in Washington.’”

President Trump has a unique talent to meddle when he should keep out of it; thereby making more and more enemies out of former friends.

Merkel Has Two Weeks

Handelsblatt Global wrote on June 18:

“With the migrant crisis stoking tensions in the EU and within her government, Angela Merkel has two weeks to broker complicated compromises. Without a deal, her days as chancellor could be numbered.

“Angela Merkel’s rebellious interior minister appears to have given her more time to work out a European solution to the refugee crisis, and possibly to save her disunited government. Writing in a German Sunday newspaper, Horst Seehofer said that tough decisions on migration must be taken at the European Union summit at the end of this month, but stressed that his CSU party had no desire to see the governing coalition fall apart.

“Such are the tensions within Ms. Merkel’s government that this was regarded as a conciliatory statement, giving the green light to the German chancellor to plunge into bilateral negotiations with other EU leaders ahead of the summit… The one thing everyone can agree on is that this is a daunting diplomatic challenge, even for Ms. Merkel, the virtuoso of fudge and compromise…

“Mr. Seehofer is a senior figure in the Christian Social Union (CSU), the Bavarian sister party of Ms. Merkel’s Christian Democrats (CDU). On migration, he has long been a thorn in the chancellor’s side, including through his informal alliances with right-wing leaders in Austria, Hungary and Poland… The party faces Bavarian regional elections in October. With its polling numbers weak, it wants to combat the threat of the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD). The CSU has ruled Germany’s second most-populous state since the Second World War, but could lose its absolute majority this time around.”

Deutsche Welle added on June 18:

“The German constitution guarantees the right to asylum to anyone persecuted for political reasons, while the Dublin convention stipulates that everyone’s application be checked on a case-by-case basis. That means migrants have a right to be heard if they claim asylum, even if they don’t have valid travel documents…

“Critics and political pundits, including former Interior Minister Gerhart Baum, have described Seehofer’s proposal as illegal, not to mention a reckless destabilization of Merkel’s new government… If Seehofer were to impose border controls unilaterally using his authority as interior minister, Merkel could overrule him using her constitutional power as chancellor. But that scenario would likely lead to Seehofer’s resignation, a collapse of the government coalition, and new elections…

“Bavarian State Premier Markus Söder, a rival of Seehofer in the CSU, has questioned the efficacy of the upcoming EU summit, because, he claimed, no European agreement had been reached in the last three years…”

First Planned Biological Bomb Attack on Germany Confirmed

Handelsblatt Global wrote on June 20:

“German authorities have now confirmed what many feared: The 29-year-old Tunisian man arrested last week in Cologne was creating a deadly biological weapon he intended to use for a terrorist attack somewhere in the country…

“Various Islamist groups… have published instructions on the internet on how to make biological weapons from the deadly toxin ricin…

“The substance kills the body’s cells by preventing them from creating vital protein. It is far deadlier than cyanide, with no antidote; just a few milligrams are enough to kill a person when injected, inhaled or swallowed.

“As early as World War I, the United States tested ricin as a potential weapon, mixed together with ammunition or spread as a dust, but never deployed it. The substance is still subject to global biological and chemical weapons conventions…

“The Bild newspaper… claims American security officials tipped off German investigators…

“A father of four with a wife who converted to Islam, Sief Allah H. came to Germany in 2016. Media has reported that he has sympathies with the Islamic State…

“Currently, Germany has 770 people classified as a threat. Many of them are believed to have entered the country during the refugee influx in 2015 and 2016.”

This new shocking development is not going to help Angela Merkel.

Has Europe Lost Its Soul in the Refugee Crisis?

Handelsblatt Global wrote on June 18:

“How convenient it would have been if the 629 migrants rescued by SOS Méditerranée on the MS Aquarius had drowned instead. Sure, it would have been awful. But the deaths would quickly have been a mere statistic of the kind we have got used to. The media would have churned out a few chilling headlines, and then moved on. This or that European politician would have uttered the usual platitudes. Most wouldn’t have bothered at all. And everybody would have just gone on with their lives, once again oblivious to the corpses at the bottom of the sea, anonymous and faceless like dust under a rug.

“But the migrants aboard the Aquarius did not drown. Unlike the 10,000 women, men and children who went missing while attempting to reach European shores in the past three years, they got lucky. A French NGO patrolling the Mediterranean had plucked them out of their overcrowded dinghies, where they were facing certain death. Among the migrants are seven pregnant women and over 100 children or minors. Most of them are from sub-Saharan Africa.

“The case of the Aquarius has since cascaded through the politics of the European Union. Italy’s new populist government closed its ports to the ship, international obligations and human decency be damned. Malta didn’t let the Aquarius dock either. Fortunately, Spain’s new prime minister finally stepped in and offered the Aquarius a safe harbor in Valencia. The Africans got there on Sunday, after a week-long odyssey in precarious conditions.

“All the while, the French president cast aspersions rather than lifting a finger. Emmanuel Macron criticized Italy’s ‘cynicism and irresponsibility’ for not taking in the boat people. Never mind that several French ports were much closer than Valencia. In fact, Paris quashed an offer by Corsican regional authorities for the Aquarius to dock there. Italy was furious at Macron’s hypocrisy.

“This is the same Emmanuel Macron who, in January of last year, praised Angela Merkel because she had ‘saved our collective dignity’ by allowing Germany to take in hundreds of thousands of migrants during the refugee crisis of 2015… Since he took power, Mr. Macron has done little to end the asylum stalemate in the EU… Paris has taken in less than 10 percent of the 9,816 refugees from Italy it had agreed on under an EU resettlement scheme from 2015. It has closed its long border with Italy to migrants headed north, leaving hundreds stranded outside of the resort town of Ventimiglia. Untold numbers have died in the Alps, trying to make the perilous crossing that’s off the well-trodden paths in order to avoid being caught.

“It gets worse. The French government has prosecuted law-abiding citizens for the crime of assisting immigrants after they entered the country on foot… France is not alone in its appalling behavior. Belgium, too, is prosecuting citizens under the controversial ‘crime of solidarity’ towards illegal migrants. Denmark confiscates the valuables of anybody who has the temerity to apply for asylum there. Last month, a center-right minister in Copenhagen suggested that Muslims in certain jobs should be banned from working during Ramadan. It won’t be long until someone suggests barring them from certain professions altogether.

“And Germany… The country that saved the continent’s dignity three years ago is now so transfixed by its own xenophobic far right that the question of whether to allow in a few thousands of relatives from the refugees’ home countries caused coalition talks to fail last year. And now the government is on the verge of collapse because right-wingers want to crack down even harder on immigration. In neighboring Austria, a young and ambitious chancellor who governs with the far right has called for an ‘axis of the willing’ with Italy and Germany to combat illegal immigration. A right-wing axis from Berlin to Rome — that sure has a ring to it.

“So maybe the Axis should live up to its name and bring in warships to sink the migrants’ dinghies. Nothing short of this will stop desperate people with nothing to lose from attempting to come to Europe. No one embarks on a dangerous journey across the Sahara and then on unseaworthy boats without a truly compelling reason.

“Or perhaps EU politicians should instead grow a conscience and stop selling their souls for a few far-right votes. Pedro Sánchez of Spain has put Mr. Macron, Ms. Merkel and Italy’s Matteo Salvini to shame. Spain is a troubled country — it has high unemployment, a struggling economy and is mired in its worst political crisis in decades as Catalonia tries to secede. And with the Moroccan coast clearly visible from its southernmost region, it is also on the front line of the refugee crisis. More than 10,000 migrants arrived there by sea this year alone. Yet most Spaniards don’t blame immigrants for all their ills or vote for far-right parties to keep them out. The Spanish prime minister didn’t think twice about doing the right thing.

“So if Spain can do it, why not the rest of the EU?… Europe is the richest continent in the world and certainly can handle a few thousand migrants in a dignified manner… If France and other EU countries had respected their pledges to support Italy instead of bickering, the far right probably wouldn’t be in power in Rome now…”

The hypocrisy of some European leaders is indeed appalling.

“Italian Jews Recall Holocaust-Era Law in Condemning Plan to Register Country’s Roma”

JTA wrote on June 19:

“Italy’s Jewish community condemned a call by the country’s hardline interior minister to take a census of Italy’s Roma, or Gypsy, population. The Union of Italian Jewish Communities, or UCEI, said in a statement issued Tuesday that the call by Matteo Salvini to create a ‘registry’ of Roma in Italy recalled the anti-Semitic legislation introduced by Italy’s fascist government on the eve of the Holocaust in 1938…

“Salvini’s ‘announcement of a possible, specific census of the Roma population in Italy worries us and reawakens memories of the racist measures taken just 80 years ago and, sadly, increasingly forgotten,’ the UCEI statement said… The UCEI statement said there was no ‘search for consensus, no anxiety about public order that justifies the disturbing proposal to single out specific social categories of citizens, to censor them and subject them to special security policies reserved only for them.’”

Strong Earthquake Hits Japan

Deutsche Welle wrote on June 18:

“A 6.1 magnitude quake hit the western city [of Osaka] during the morning commute. It was the largest since records began in 1923… the earthquake struck at 8.a.m. local time… at a depth of about 13 kilometers (8.1 miles)…

“The train and subway service in and around Osaka, including the bullet train to Tokyo, was suspended while checks were made… About 80 flights from and to Osaka were canceled… It is expected to take eight to 12 days to resume piped gas supplies to more than 110,000 residents in the Osaka region…

“A major manufacturing center, Osaka is the headquarters for companies including Panasonic and Sharp. Production at the Honda, Mitsubishi and Toyota car plants was temporarily suspended when the quake hit. Osaka is due to hold the G20 meeting in June 2019.”

A foretaste of worse things to come.

Scientist Searches for Loch Ness Monster DNA

Deutsche Welle wrote on June 17:

“A New Zealand scientist has traveled to Loch Ness in Scotland with a team to collect water samples from the lake that may give clues as to what creatures are lurking in its waters — including the legendary monster that has allegedly been sighted more than 1,000 times in the past 1,500 years… ‘Maybe there is something extraordinary out there,’ geneticist Neil Gemmell of the University of Otago told the Agence France-Presse news agency.

“Professor Gemmell said the water samples he had taken would be assessed for ‘monster DNA’… The first sighting of a strange creature in Loch Ness, a lake in northern Scotland, is attributed to Saint Columba, who brought Christianity to Scotland in the sixth century. But the most recent was on March 26 this year by a US couple.

“Many people who claim to have seen the creature describe it as a long-necked reptilian being, which has led to theories that Nessie, as the monster has affectionately been named, could be a plesiosaur left over from the age of dinosaurs. The animal is thought otherwise to have been extinct for at least 66 million years. Other theories say Nessie could be a sturgeon or a Wels catfish, though none have ever been caught in the lake.”

For more information on the Loch Ness creature, please read our free booklet, “Heavens and Earth—Before and After the First Man.”

Koko Dies

The New York Post wrote on June 21:

“Koko, the thoughtful gorilla who captivated the world through her ability to use sign language and revealed an empathetic side to great apes, has died. She was 46… Koko… could sign more than 1,000 words…

“Her remarkable ability to sign landed her on the cover of National Geographic twice – in 1978, in a photo she took of herself in a mirror, and again in 1985, with an image of her mourning the death of one of her pet kittens.

“Throughout her life, Koko adopted several felines, using sign language to give them names like All Ball, Lipstick and Smoky…

“In 2012, she stunned scientists by playing wind instruments, including the recorder, harmonica and party-favor whistles – an ability that showed primates can learn to control their breathing…”

Pope Francis Defines Family and Equates Abortion to Nazi-Era Race Purification

The Wall Street Journal wrote on June 17:

“Pope Francis likened abortion to Nazi eugenics practiced ‘with white gloves,’ and said the only real families are those based on marriage between a man and a woman, using uncharacteristically blunt language on two controversial moral issues.

“Addressing an Italian family association on Saturday, the pope equated the contemporary termination of pregnancies in response to fetal maladies or defects discovered through prenatal testing to the policies of Hitler’s Germany. ‘Children should be welcomed the way they come, the way God sends them to us, the way God allows, even if sometimes they are ill. I’ve heard that it’s fashionable—or at least habitual—to perform certain exams in the early months of pregnancy, to see if the baby is unwell or comes with a certain problem,’ the pope said. ‘And to have an easy life, one does away with an innocent,’ he added.

“The pope also rejected the concept of nontraditional families not based on heterosexual marriage. ‘Today—it hurts to say it—one speaks of “diversified” families: different types of family …but the human family as the image of God, man and woman, is only one. Only one,’ the pope said…

“Pope Francis’ remarks were consistent with traditional Catholic teaching yet unusually strong for a pope who has generally played down medical and sexual ethics and taken a strikingly conciliatory approach to gay people…”

Pink News added on June 17:

“It had been hoped that the Pope was in the process of softening the Catholic Church’s position on LGBT rights, particularly as it was just last month that he told Juan Carlos Cruz, a gay survivor of sexual abuse by a prominent Chilean priest: ‘God made you like this and loves you like this and I don’t care.’… The Pope also praised spouses who stay with unfaithful partners, hoping for them to stop cheating on them instead of asking for a divorce. ‘Many women – but even men sometimes do it [with wives] – wait in silence, looking the other way, waiting for their husband to become faithful again,’ he said. This, he added, was ‘the sanctity that forgives all out of love.’

“Conspiracy theorist and alt-right host Alex Jones, whose InfoWars YouTube channel has 2.3 million subscribers, went on an alarming rant after the Pope’s more accepting comments last month… Jones then told his followers that the pontiff was ‘as close as you’re gonna get to Satan in the flesh.’…

“But the Pope gave notice that he wasn’t upturning thousands of years of Church doctrine just days after speaking to Cruz, when he reportedly used a private meeting to warn bishops in Italy that they should reject any applicants to the priesthood who they suspect might be gay…”

The double-talk of Pope Francis is mind-boggling.

Compulsively Playing Video Games a Mental Health Condition?

Medical Press wrote on June 18:

“… the U.N. health agency [WHO] said Monday that compulsively playing video games now qualifies as a mental health condition…

“WHO said classifying ‘gaming disorder’ as a separate addiction will help governments, families and health care workers be more vigilant and prepared to identify the risks. The agency and other experts were quick to note that cases of the condition are still very rare, with no more than up to 3 percent of all gamers believed to be affected…

“Dr. Joan Harvey, a spokeswoman for the British Psychological Society, warned that the new designation might cause unnecessary concern among parents. ‘People need to understand this doesn’t mean every child who spends hours in their room playing games is an addict, otherwise medics are going to be flooded with requests for help,’ she said…

“The American Psychiatric Association has not yet deemed gaming disorder to be a new mental health problem…

“Dr. Mark Griffiths… guessed that the percentage of video game players with a compulsive problem was likely to be extremely small—much less than 1 percent—and that many such people would likely have other underlying problems, like depression, bipolar disorder or autism… Griffiths said playing video games, for the vast majority of people, is more about entertainment and novelty…”

It seems WHO has nothing better to do than to waste their time with such ridiculous research and misleading conclusions.

Acknowledgement and Disclaimer

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

In our Update number 663, dated 21st November 2014, was an editorial by Mr. Michael Link, entitled “Once Saved, Always Saved?” We will continue with that presentation to provide additional information on this important subject.

There are a number of theological subjects that evoke much discussion and debate on both sides of the argument, and “once saved, always saved?” is one of those.

“Can true Christians lose their salvation?” is a very good question to ask and is one that arouses much debate back and forth about whether someone who believes they are saved will always be saved irrespective of their actions after “giving their heart to the Lord.”   There are many who see the fallacy of the “once saved, always saved” concept whilst there are many others who share a diametrically opposite theological stance on this subject and who, no doubt, use many of the same Scriptures but interpret them differently.

So, what is the Truth of the matter?

In this series on the subject, we won’t be able, nor do we wish to try and emulate those who have spent a lot of time putting together so much material but to look at it by a sound review that comes to a conclusion that we believe to be entirely scriptural.

One very short tract about this matter spoke about “eternal security” and one telling phrase in their explanation is as follows: “You see, when you were saved, you died to sin and changed masters. Instead of serving sin, you now serve Christ. You are not free to do as you like; you are now free to do the Lord’s will.  Any true believer who tries to ‘live as they like’ will be chastened by their Father and any professing Christian who ‘lives like the devil’ and gets away with it, is only proving they were never saved in the first place.”

That sounds good at face value but it means that everyone who, for whatever reason, falls away from the Truth must be regarded as someone who was never saved in the first place – they believe that every last one of them, however much they were once on fire for the Truth, was never converted.

The ”once saved, always saved” approach is a popular one and one that emotionally is very easy to accept! It conveys a message that little is required on our part beyond “accepting” the Sacrifice Christ made for us. However, such teachings are deceptive and misleading because they completely overlook clear and important biblical instructions regarding that which God holds us accountable for in the process of salvation. The Bible reveals that Jesus didn’t do everything for us.  To enter the Kingdom of God, there are specific things we must do – and on a regular basis.

One example of how this “once saved, always saved” issue could not be correct is in the case of the apostle Paul. He was a giant of the New Testament Church and thoroughly converted but he said that even he could be lost.  Paul says, “But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified (adikomos).”  This word is translated “castaway” in the Authorized Version (1 Corinthians 9:27). Paul is clearly saying that he could lose out if he had strayed from the Way of Life that he had been called to.  In Matthew 7:13-14, this Way of Life is referred to in this way: “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it.  Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.”  A few verses later, in Matthew 7:21-23, we read “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’”

This passage might address those who were never converted but thought that they were, supposing to work for Christ, which they in fact never did. But it is also possible that they were converted at one time but lost their salvation, and Christ never knew them in the sense that He could never be sure how they would act. In any event, this is a stark warning that we must live the Way of Life to which we have been called.

In his valedictory, Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 4:6-8 that he was faithful until the end: “For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand.  I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.  Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.” Paul said that he had finished the race. He had been faithful to the end. He had made it, showing that it was necessary to do these things throughout his life.

In Hebrews 2:1 we read: “Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away.” Proponents of the “once saved, always saved” concept try to minimise what disqualified really means but in 2 Corinthians 13:5 we read: “Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Prove yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? — unless indeed you are disqualified (adikomos).”  Therefore, if you are disqualified, Jesus Christ is not (any longer) in you which is something that must be, in order to be a true Christian.

There are three aspects of salvation, and these are:

1. We are saved now.   After we repent and are baptised, we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38).   At that point, we are saved from the penalty of death from our past sins.   However, it doesn’t mean that we are finally saved and that we could not lose the salvation which we did receive.
2. We are being saved – it is a process of growing in grace and knowledge.
3. To be finally saved, we must endure to the end.

Webster defines salvation as: “The saving of man from the spiritual consequences of sin; especially deliverance from sin and eternal damnation.” We read this: “Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness and sin is lawlessness” (1 John 3:4).   In the Authorized Version, it states that “Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.”

1. We are saved now!

Let us look at some Scriptures which reflect this position.

1 Corinthians 15:2: “… you are saved IF you hold fast that word which I preached to you – unless you believed in vain.”  Holding fast indicates that salvation can be lost. We are saved now but must remain saved by steadfast continuance in the Word of God.

Ephesians 2:5: “even when we were dead in trespasses, [He] made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved).” The Greek says here, “you are in a saved state.” Not merely, “you are being saved.” However, it doesn’t just stop there and it isn’t just a simple case of belief and faith. There are conditions which we will discuss later.  As long as we are growing, overcoming and being faithful to God we are in a “saved state” but this state can be lost if we leave “the narrow way,” as Jesus pointed out in Matthew 7:13-14.

Ephesians 2:8: “For by grace you have been saved through faith and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.” Again, we are saved now, but that faith must be living faith because faith without works is dead (James 2:17; see also verses 14-26 which discuss this whole issue). This is not a once and for all scenario where salvation can’t be lost, as it would contradict ALL of the other Scriptures that clearly teach that salvation is a process.

In 2 Timothy 1:9 we read the phrase “who has saved us.” We are saved at the time, but can lose out if “we neglect so great a salvation” (please see Hebrews 2:3).

Titus 3:5: “not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Spirit.” Again, we are saved at the time, but can lose out if “we neglect so great a salvation” – as referenced previously.   We are in a special category and our salvation is sure if we continue faithfully following God and His ways.

2. We are being saved!

Acts 2:47: “… And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.” This is indicating a process. The Authorized Version says: “… such as should be saved.” This is a conditional tense – indicating conditions and not a fait accompli.

1 Corinthians 1:18: “… but to us who are being saved (indicating a process) it is the power of God.”

2 Corinthians 2:15: “For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved (again indicating a process) and among those who are perishing.”

3. To be finally saved, we must endure to the end!

Matthew 10:22: “… But he who endures to the end will be saved.”

Matthew 24:13: “But he who endures to the end shall be saved.”

Mark 13:13: “… But he who endures to the end shall be saved.”

Mark 16:16: “He who believes and is baptized will be saved…”

In Colossians 1:21-23, we read about the apostle Paul reminding the brethren, both then and now, that we have to continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, not a lukewarm “Christian” who has strayed far from the course that God intends that we pursue earnestly. It reads: “And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight— if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister.”

1 Timothy 1:19: “… having faith and a good conscience, which some having rejected, concerning the faith have suffered shipwreck.” If a ship is no longer seaworthy, it sinks.

Hebrews 3:6: “… but Christ as a Son over His own house, whose house we are if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm to the end.”

In Hebrews 3:12-14, it does talk about the possibility of church members departing from the living God but needing to be steadfast to the end: “Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; but exhort one another daily, while it is called ‘Today,’ lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end.”

Hebrews 6:15, when talking about Abraham, states: “And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise.” Had Abraham not patiently endured, he would not have obtained the promise. Endurance is vital.

Hebrews 10:36: “For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise.”

In Hebrews 12:1, 4, we read: “Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us… You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin.”

God wants Christians to continually strive to put sin out of their lives. If we are to become Spirit-born members of God’s Family, we must prove that we will obey God here and now by striving with all of our heart, mind and strength, and together with God’s help, to put sin out of our lives and keep it out! It’s a full-time job that continues for the rest of our natural lives.

2 John 1:8: “ Look to yourselves, that we do not lose those things we worked for, but that we may receive a full reward.”

Revelation 2:26: “And he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations.” The very obvious indication here is that those who don’t overcome and don’t keep His works until the end will not be in the Kingdom of God and will not have power over the nations.

Revelation 3:10: “Because you have kept My command to persevere, I will also keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.” It is a command of God to persevere as the Scripture here clearly reveals.

Let us look at an analogy that someone gave that may be helpful.  Supposing that you were shipwrecked, along came another ship and you were saved. This wouldn’t mean that once saved, always saved, as you could be shipwrecked for the second time and would need to be rescued once again. You were originally saved and needed to make sure that you continued to avoid getting into a position where you could be shipwrecked again. Likewise, we are in the process of being saved but we can lose out. We must make sure that we continue in the faith. Our salvation is sure if we continue faithfully but is lost if we neglect it (Hebrews 2:3).

(To Be Continued)

Lead Writer: Brian Gale (United Kingdom)

compiled by Dave Harris

“How Does Trump’s Executive Order Help Innocent Children?” is the title of a new StandingWatch program, presented by Evangelist Norbert Link. Here is a summary:

After a worldwide outcry over the “zero tolerance” policy of the Trump administration, criminalizing all illegal immigrants and leading to the separation of young children from their parents and the internment of the children in detention camps, President Trump signed an executive order, claiming that it will keep migrant families together. But does the executive order help the children, or does it make matters worse? Is the European condemnation hypocritical as they are engaging in similar conduct? Why are our immigration systems so broken and what does the Bible have to say about all of this? Is Attorney General Jeff Sessions right when he stated that Romans 13 commands us to obey the laws of the government? Must we obey all laws, even though they might violate the letter or the spirit of God’s Word?

“Hat Christus die steinernen Tafeln mit den 10 Geboten abgeschafft?” is the title of this Sabbath’s German sermon, presented by Norbert Link. Here is the summary for the German sermon. Title in English:  “Did Jesus Abolish the Tablets of Stone With the Ten Commandments?”

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

What are the requirements to actually be considered God’s children? Do we have to do more than just “believe” in Jesus Christ and what does that all entail? What is the difference between “born again” and “begotten” children of God?

“Joy of Living Today,” the sermon presented last Sabbath by Kalon Mitchell, is now posted. Here is a summary:

We are told as Christians that we need to be joyful. In fact one of the fruits of the Spirit is Joy! But what does it mean to be joyful in a Christian way? How can we achieve in obtaining this crucial part of God’s Spirit? What does it take and what are the consequences for not obtaining it and then also for it dwelling in our lives?