New year, new opportunity, so they say in the world. Well, the world has ushered in the year 2025 with many wrong things, which I won’t go into here, but I would like to ask a question: What are we going to do in 2025?

Will we continue to do the same this year as the year before? Was it perhaps a year of escape, escape from the Church, from the Truth, from God? Or have we been careless? If so, then we should turn quickly from the wrong path and withdraw from this society or from carelessness.

But what can we do? Who can help us?

It is not enough to eliminate the obvious sins in our lives. We must also actively resist the wrong influence of this society.

God tells us in James 4:7 what to do: “Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.”

So far, so good. But it’s not that easy, is it? And so, James gives us further instructions: “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded” (verse 8).

We are in a spiritual battle that requires spiritual help. Let us look at another passage in Ephesians 6:12-13: “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.”

God is Spirit, as we read in John 4:24. He can give us the spiritual help we need—which we desperately need. We have to ask Him for help. “For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find” (Romans 7:18).

We need spiritual nourishment. We need God; we have to spend time with God, praying, meditating, and studying God’s Word.

But, somehow, we don’t see it that way. We try to convince ourselves that we don’t need to spend that much time with God; we tell ourselves that we don’t have that much time. All too often, the physical displaces the spiritual.

Jesus Christ spoke of a field that could have produced fruit but instead thorns and thistles sprang up and choked the Word. What were the thistles? Matthew 13:22 tells us: “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.”

Jesus Christ said that worrying about the material things of this life can prevent us from being fruitful!

Luke 10:40 says: “But Martha was distracted with much serving,” while Mary chose to listen to the Truths Christ was imparting to her. And so, in the remaining part of verse 40, we read: “…and she [Martha] approached Him and said, ‘Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.’”

But Jesus’ response to Martha was surprising to her:

“And Jesus answered and said to her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her’” (verses 41-42).

Too many of us are spiritual Marthas!

There is nothing wrong with serving, nothing wrong with doing physical labor. But if we allow a lack of time because of material activities to push God into the background, then we are on the wrong path.

Let’s be honest with ourselves. Have we really spent enough time with God? If not, let’s pray to God as David did in Psalm 119:18: “Open my eyes, that I may see Wondrous things from Your law.”

As we absorb God’s thoughts by studying His Word, our overall spiritual resilience will increase. We will automatically be better equipped for the struggles and temptations of the upcoming day. Of course, we will still have problems, but from now on we will make progress.

The fight continues this year, it might even get tougher.

Twenty-four hours a day, Satan is active. He never stops attacking the human spirit. Whether we are ready to fight or not, Satan is already throwing all his energies into the battle. He is not waiting for us to declare war on him! We cannot afford to delay the fight. We must start arming ourselves immediately.

For what do we read in Ephesians 6:10-18?

“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints…”

If we are not prepared to resist Satan’s attack, we have already lost the battle! Satan will not give us any advance warning. He is like a cunning serpent.

The key to victory is to make wise use of our time. Let us not be too busy or careless to pray or study God’s Word.

Let us not be among the many who will stand unprepared, perplexed and maybe even shocked before our Creator, wishing they could live their lives all over again to rearrange their daily schedule to include God.

If we haven’t already done so, now is the time to begin implementing our plan of attack. Let’s be sure we can say with the apostle Paul: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” (2 Timothy 4:7).

Let us hold on to what we have. Christ tells us in Revelation 2:25: “But hold fast what you have till I come.” And if it has slipped out of our hands, let us bring back what we had, while it is still possible. Christ warns us again in Revelation 3:11: “Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown.”

Our eternity is at stake!

Initial translation from the German: Daniel Blasinger

Very bad conditions prevail throughout the world. Apart from the incompetence of all politicians, the tax madness and the wars in this world, there is a very specific matter that makes me so upset that anger and a deep sadness over these barbaric acts of humanity towards animals arise in me.

Recently, our Current Events, published on December 27, 2024 (Update 1139), featured a heartbreaking article about Bua Noi, a gorilla in Thailand. I was so devastated by it that I had to cry.

The Sun wrote on December 20:

“[Thailand’s only gorilla] Bua Noi has lived behind bars in [Bangkok] Thailand for most of her life… The gorilla has been caged up [for more than three decades] in the widely criticised Pata Zoo which is located on the sixth and seventh floor above a [desolate and decaying city center shopping mall]. This allows passers-by and shoppers to gaze in at the unloved mammal who is unable to ever leave… A damning report back in 2019 detailed how Bua had been pulling out her hair and anxiously rolling around in her isolated cage. Footage also shows the lonely gorilla looking visibly depressed and staring through the bars of her old cage.”

This is brute force for no reason! This is animal abuse that causes a lot of suffering!

Animal welfare organizations like PETA have desperately tried to free the gorilla in Thailand from this disgusting facility; unfortunately so far without success, because the “owner” only wants to release the gorilla for a horrendous amount of money. I cannot understand how a person owning such a disgusting enclosure can be so heartless to this gorilla, as well as to many other beautiful creatures of God.

The German Animal Protection Act requires us to protect the “life and well-being” of animals: “No one may inflict pain, suffering or harm on an animal without reasonable cause,” Section 1, Principle). Anyone who keeps an animal must, according to this law, ensure that it is fed, cared for and housed in a manner appropriate to the needs of its species (Section 2; 2a). Unfortunately, this does not happen very often in this world, including in Germany.

Animals may have instincts and are unable to reason to the same extent, as God has endowed this quality on humans, but they do have feelings, they have empathy, and they can express their joy beyond measure. A dog, for example, is a friend of humans and can be a true protector. It can also give people joy and make them laugh. And of course, many other animals can do that too.

In our Current Events, published on October 29, 2021 (Update 994), we also read: “Fauci is under fire for allegedly funding experiments where beagle puppies were locked in cages with hungry sandflies that would eat them alive…

“The organization claims that as many as 44 beagle puppies were used as part of the cruel experiment in a Tunisia laboratory. Some of the dogs allegedly had their vocal cords removed to muzzle their barking. ‘Our investigators show that Fauci’s NIH division shipped part of a $375,800 grant to a lab in Tunisia…”

And in the issue of our Current Events, dated February 11, 2022 (Update 1009), we published an article from Life News dated February 4 that stated: “Recently, the University of Pittsburgh continued to defend its gruesome experiments involving implanting aborted babies’ scalps onto rodents and other research with aborted baby body parts…”

There are many more articles about animal abuse in this cruel world. To put it mildly, what is being done to animals is very bad, and we can consider ourselves “lucky”, that there are many animal welfare organizations that take care of these creatures of God, some of them on a voluntary basis. Animals are creatures of God that should be treated with love and respect.

In Genesis 1:20-25 we read: “Then God said, ‘Let the waters abound with an abundance of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the face of the firmament of the heavens.’ So God created great sea creatures and every living thing that moves, with which the waters abounded, according to their kind, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. And God blessed them, saying, ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.’ So the evening and the morning were the fifth day. Then God said, ‘Let the earth bring forth the living creature according to its kind: cattle and creeping thing and beast of the earth, each according to its kind’; and it was so. And God made the beast of the earth according to its kind, cattle according to its kind, and everything that creeps on the earth according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.”

God saw that everything He had created was good. We would even argue that everything He has created is perfect. Yet humanity cannot comprehend this wonderful creation because Satan the devil, that serpent of old who is the adversary, has brought the entire world under his evil spell and bewitched it. But God sees everything that is happening on this earth, whether it is good or evil!

David already had this knowledge and wrote it down in Psalm 14:2-3: “The LORD looks down from heaven upon the children of men, To see if there are any who understand, who seek God. They have all turned aside, They have together become corrupt; There is none who does good, No, not one.”

In Psalm 11:4-6 we read: “The LORD is in His holy temple, The LORD’s throne is in heaven; His eyes behold, His eyelids test the sons of men. The LORD tests the righteous, But the wicked and the one who loves violence His soul hates. Upon the wicked He will rain coals; Fire and brimstone and a burning wind Shall be the portion of their cup.”

That will be their just reward when Christ returns to this earth, for all these and many more terrible deeds that mankind has done.

Revelation 11:18 shows the following: “The nations were angry, and Your wrath has come, And the time of the dead [better: the living], that they should be judged, And that You should reward Your servants the prophets and the saints, And those who fear Your name, small and great, And should destroy those who destroy the earth.”

Let’s take a look into the future, at what awaits us with Christ in the Millennium and beyond– a world full of peace, with humans unified in peace with the animals, which are to be treated with care and mindfulness, as God intended from the beginning. And let’s look at what the Bible, God’s Word, prophesies for the animals in the future:

“The cow and the bear shall graze; Their young ones shall lie down together; And the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play by the cobra’s hole, And the weaned child shall put his hand in the viper’s den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain, For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD As the waters cover the sea” (Isaiah 11:7-9).

“The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, The lion shall eat straw like the ox, And dust shall be the serpent’s food. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain,’ Says the LORD” (Isaiah 65:25).

These are firm promises from God for our future, which we proclaim today! The Church of the Eternal God in the USA, the Kirche des Ewigen Gottes in Germany and all their affiliated organizations around the world proclaim exactly this Kingdom of Peace that will be established over the entire earth in the near future. Let us see what Isaiah has written for us today, in Isaiah 52:7-8: “How beautiful upon the mountains Are the feet of him who brings good news, Who proclaims peace, Who brings glad tidings of good things, Who proclaims salvation, Who says to Zion, ‘Your God reigns!’ Your watchmen shall lift up their voices, With their voices they shall sing together; For they shall see eye to eye When the LORD [Christ] brings back Zion [Jerusalem].”

That is exactly what we are doing today. Day by day, week by week, month by month and year by year, we are relentlessly working to make people aware of the desperate state the world is in and why—because man continually breaks God’s law. It is time to wake up and escape the trance of darkness in order to open oneself to God!

Let us all continue to fulfill our duties to become worthy so that when Christ comes, He can say to us: “Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord” (Matthew 25:23).

Initial translation from the German: Daniel Blasinger

As we read God’s Word, we find many references to living with wisdom as well as knowledge and understanding. An obvious question that arises is what is wisdom? The Oxford English Dictionary provides a very clear and appropriate definition as the first in a list of definitions. It is: “Capacity of judging rightly in matters relating to life and conduct; soundness of judgement in the choice of means and ends; sometimes, less strictly, sound sense, especially in practical affairs: opposed to folly.”

When we want to find out what God says about wisdom, the obvious, but not the only place to find out is in the book of Proverbs. In fact, the two verses after the statement of authorship reveal the purpose of the book. Proverbs 1:2-3 reads: “To know wisdom and instruction, To perceive the words of understanding, To receive the instruction of wisdom, Justice, and judgment, and equity…”

And we find where wisdom comes from in Proverbs 2:6-7: “For the LORD gives wisdom; From His mouth come knowledge and understanding. He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; He is a shield to those who walk uprightly.”

We can read examples of God providing wisdom to various ones He has chosen. One was Joseph in the presence of Pharaoh, king of Egypt (Acts 7:10). Another was Solomon who had the wisdom of God to administer justice (1 Kings 3:28). A third example was Daniel and his three friends (Daniel 1:17).

The Bible mentions two kinds of wisdom. One comes from the fear of the LORD and the other is of the world. 1 Corinthians 2:6-7 mentions these two kinds of wisdom, one of this age and the rulers of this age who are coming to nothing, and the other is of God, which is for our glory, and will last forever. We can ask God for His wisdom if we lack it, as is mentioned in James 1:5. In fact, among the gifts of the Spirit listed in 1 Corinthians 12:8-10, wisdom is placed first presumably because it determines how we live and succeed in life.

Considering the rulers of this age, many times their wisdom leads them and their countries to hatred and war rather than to peace. However, God in His wisdom recommends in Romans 12:18 for us to live peaceably with all as far as it depends on us. So, we see that worldly wisdom and godly wisdom can have opposite results, one leading to death, and the other, life.

Looking back at the definition, wisdom enables us to have soundness of judgement, and to understand that for whatever action we partake of, it will result in an effect, whether good or bad.

God warns us in the book of Proverbs of things we need to avoid so as not to harm ourselves. A few examples are, with whom not to associate, and also to avoid adultery. These are not only listed in the book of Proverbs, but Exodus 23:2 instructs us not to follow a crowd to do evil, and 1 Corinthians 6:18 instructs us to flee sexual immorality. There are also many positive actions listed in the book of Proverbs, that if we fulfill them, we will receive positive results.

James 3:13-18 provides a very useful conclusion to the importance of godly wisdom compared with earthly wisdom, “Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic. For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.”

So, to live a righteous life, we must seek and use godly wisdom.

God tells us in Isaiah 43:18-19 (New International Version) to “forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.” This shows us that we should not dwell or linger over or spend time thinking about the past (except for the purpose of not repeating past mistakes) because God is always working something new for us, and providing for us the path which affects our future. 

God has predestined us, called us before time began for a specific purpose (Romans 8:28-30).  Even though this refers to the past, it still alludes to what is present and what will come in the future. We may have been shown the Truth through someone else, for instance through family members, and through them we were able to receive the knowledge we need to inherit eternal life. 

Someway or somehow, we became knowledgeable of the Truth, and God granted us this gift for us to use.  Because we have this understanding now, we shouldn’t be ashamed of what we know NOW (2 Timothy 1:8-9).

Yes, we are to learn from past mistakes so we can be successful in the future, just as Paul explained in Philippians 3:14-16, pressing on toward the goal and the prize of obtaining eternal life.  We are to go forward with our understanding, not drift backward.  The Bible teaches us many examples from the past of those who went through difficulties that we can learn from for our benefit as explained in 1 Corinthians 10:1-13. Many of those who were confronted with challenges and trials will be in the Kingdom. They were not perfect, and yet, they overcame their imperfections.

Insofar as our future is concerned, what we do NOW is vital, as we have pointed out countless times. We are to watch what is going on in the world and warn the world about what is coming! (Matthew 24:42, 14).  We have to be prepared, vigilant, focused, and look to God for help in fighting our battles (Ephesians 6:10-18), and also use the Holy Spirit that God has given us at our baptism which will help us to continue and to grow in wisdom and understanding so that we can inherit eternal life (John 6:63).

We are not to base our lives on physicality alone, but we have to live “by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4).  We need to focus on what the Bible says and must not be fooled by Satan’s tactics which may have been used by some people with whom we have associated with throughout the years. Satan is using the same tactics presently and will also use them in the future.  What does Satan do? How did he tempt Christ? How does he tempt us? He questions the Truth and appeals to human nature.  He then quotes Scripture, but out of context, to twist the meaning which adds to confusion and questioning.  He uses people today to do the same thing.  

This is where we need to remain focused and diligent, continuously asking God to open our understanding so we can comprehend His Word (John 8:31-32).  Only He can call us and the ONLY way we can understand is when God opens our minds.  This is what separates us from the people of the world who don’t understand what we understand.  

This also determines our future for we need God’s Spirit to be successful. David understood this as well. He needed to trust in God insofar as his future was concerned (Psalms 51:10-11).  More often than not, the future is based on trust, and putting trust and confidence into something now hoping that it will come to fruition in the future.  We trust that God will protect and provide for us now, and also in the future. 

In the meantime, God has appointed certain specific people to do a job, to teach, and to spread the word on what is coming (Ephesians 4:11-16). We are all working together for something better.  We have our individual talents, and we all have a certain part to do in the Church.  This unified effort will bring about success. The end is something we all look forward to because ALL things will be made new, and if we overcome, then we will inherit ALL things (Revelations 21:1-7).

We can see how the past, present, and future all work together. The Bible shares with us experiences that even the most faithful had to go through, and their experience can also be for our admonition. The Bible shows us how we are to apply the Word of God in our present lives by obeying Him so we can then experience what the future indeed has in store for us.

It’s still only a matter of a few weeks since we were keeping the annual Feast of Tabernacles as instructed by God, where we heard many messages about the greatness of God and the wonderful future just ahead of us.   We will also have enjoyed fellowship with people of like-mind and the cares and concerns of life in general will have been put to one side in order to enjoy this annual celebration which is unlike anything else we experience in our normal activities.  As we returned home, we were soon back into our everyday routines and again fighting against Satan and his society.

In his Editorial dated 14th July 2023 entitled “Get Mad!” Mr. Norbert Link wrote the following:

“In order to fulfill our responsibility effectively and convincingly, we must ourselves feel anger and hatred for the injustice, wickedness, rebellion against God and the lies and misrepresentations we observe daily, from the very top down, starting with the ‘heads of the house of Jacob’ and the ‘rulers of the house of Israel, Who abhor justice And pervert all equity’ (Micah 3:9). This anger must be reflected in our speaking and writing in order to be convincing. When we speak about the horrible sinful conduct of our leaders and the people, and don’t show convincingly how mad and really outraged we are about it, we will not wake anybody up (Ephesians 5:14).”

And so, after each Feast, it is back to having to live in a godless system and doing everything we can to get behind the Work that the Church is doing in anticipation of the return of Jesus Christ.

Mr Link writes about “the horrible sinful conduct of our [National] leaders and the people” and it is interesting to see that three consecutive UK Prime Ministers oversaw changes that the nation now accepts as the norm, but changes that God totally condemns in His Word.

Tony Blair (1997-2007) followed by Gordon Brown (2007-2010) and then David Cameron (2010-2016) all pursued, over a period of 19 years as leaders of the UK, the promotion of homosexuality and, it appears, were proud of their achievements in this regard.

The gov.uk website on the History of the UK Government states as follows: “Why is history important? Governments are remembered for their leaders and the course they set for their country.”   Quite so, and what these three leaders achieved has helped to set us on the path of destruction that now lies before us.   The promotion of perversion is something that people seem to be so proud of!  But not God!

This UK government website has this to say about Tony Blair:

“Major Acts – Civil Partnership Act 2004: allowed legal recognition of civil partnership relationship between two people of the same sex.”

The same website has this to say aboutDavid Cameron: 

“Major acts – Fixed Term Parliaments Act 2010 Academies Act 2010 Education Act 2011 Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013 Succession to the Crown Act 2013.”

In 2009, The Christian Institute reported that “Gordon Brown is in negotiations with France and Spain in an attempt to get British civil partnerships legal recognition in EU member states. These negotiations form part of Gordon Brown’s campaign for ‘gay rights’ recognition across Europe.  During an interview with a gay lifestyle magazine, Mr Brown said: “I’m fighting to get all the countries in Europe to recognise civil partnerships carried out in Britain.’”

Since David Cameron left the Prime Ministerial office in 2016, there have been 5 Prime Ministers, none of whom have shown the slightest interest in rectifying this God-defying legislation probably because it has become so ingrained in society that to do so would signal their immediate political demise.

Recently, in November 2024, two well-known female professional footballers who are engaged, announced that they were expecting a baby. While this news received much support from well-wishers across the game, it also prompted what one fans’ group called “hateful comments” on social media.  Chelsea Pride, an LGBTQ+ supporters’ group, condemned the comments in a statement posted on social media platform X. “Homophobia has no place in football, at Chelsea, or in our society,” it said.  Another headline said that it was “another reminder of how far society has to go,” meaning that full acceptance of this practice was not yet achieved.

It appears that there were “homophobic” comments on social media. Exactly what they were are not explained but it could be that saying such behaviour is unacceptable and that homosexuality is wrong is counted today as homophobic. We are told that we do not only have to accept such behaviour but approve of it and, whenever possible, promote it.

This societal acceptance and promotion of sin has become accepted conformity and part of the grievance industry.   And I am hopping mad about it!

A question to always ask is what have been the fruits of this behaviour.   We now have, in the UK, the most sinful sexual conduct ever seen in this once great nation.   We have (supposedly) over 70 different sexual designations and the weirdest conduct ever seen.   

But there’s even more outrageous and ridiculous behaviour.  In June 2023, the Daily Mail reported that “Britain’s strictest headteacher has said children allowed to self-identify as animals, moons and holograms should be moved to another school by their parents.” This was already seen as saying too much. It was demanded that the headteacher had to allow such self-identification of children at any school.

And so, if children want, they are now allowed to self-identify as whatever comes into their minds.   What on earth are their parents doing to allow this gross stupidity?  It has got to the stage that if our ten-year-old pet chihuahua wanted to self-identify as a human being, it is hardly likely that any criticism would be made of it, such is the state of play in our educational system and society today!   (I jest, but only just!) 

Isaiah 3:4-5 is an excellent commentary which will be ignored by most people: “I will give children to be their princes, And babes shall rule over them. The people will be oppressed, Every one by another and every one by his neighbor; The child will be insolent toward the elder, And the base toward the honorable.”

And finally, in this Editorial, I get very upset indeed when I hear blasphemy on a daily basis, taking the Name of God, of both the Father and of Jesus Christ, in vain by so many in society today, from the very young to the oldest, not seeming to care one jot about what they are saying.   Am I mad about that?   Absolutely!

I have just mentioned these areas briefly where I am mad and outraged about what is going on.   And there’s more, but space does not permit me to expand further.  I hope that it shows in this Editorial that we should get mad at what is going on in this Satan-inspired society!

The original book, “The Tale of Two Cities,” was published in 1859 by English author Charles Dickens; it was set in London and Paris before and during the French Revolution. In this Editorial, I want to look at the people of the ancient cities of Nineveh and Sodom. Both these cities had issues with sin.

In Jonah 1:2, we read God’s words to Jonah: “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before Me.” Nineveh had issues with wickedness which is not really defined by God as to the exact problem it had.

This is what is said about Sodom, in Genesis 18:20-21: “And the LORD said, ‘Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grave, I will go down now and see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry against it that has come to Me; and if not, I will know.” God states that their sin is great, without going into any detail.

It’s interesting to notice that He, together with two angels, wanted to go in person to see how bad it was. You have probably heard that it is sometimes hard to describe a situation and, “You had to be there to see how bad it was”—to be there in person to get the full impact or feel how bad a situation was. God, in the Person of Jesus Christ, would stay with Abraham but would send His two angels to Sodom to evaluate the people there.

Sodom was really bad, as described in 19:4-5: “Now before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both old and young, all the people from every quarter, surrounded the house. And they called to Lot and said to him, ‘Where are the men [the two angels] who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us that we may know them carnally.’”

They wanted to abuse the two guests sexually, thinking they were ordinary men, and both young and old were in the mix. It is evident that the whole town was perverted and twisted sexually.

Both these cities had major issues but the outcome of them was totally different.

After trying to avoid his commission, Jonah finally went as instructed by God and warned Nineveh of destruction.  In Jonah 3:2-4, we read that God told Jonah again: ‘‘Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and preach to it the message that I tell you.’ So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the LORD. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, a three-day journey in extent.  And Jonah began to enter the city on the first day’s walk. Then he cried out and said, ‘Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!’” 

So Jonah sounded the alarm or trumpet as it were of coming destruction; and what was the response from the city?

Jonah 3:6-10 tells us: “Then word came to the king of Nineveh; and he arose from his throne and laid aside his robe, covered himself with sackcloth and sat in ashes.  And he caused it to be proclaimed and published throughout Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, ‘Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything; do not let them eat, or drink water. 

But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily to God; yes, let every one turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands. Who can tell if God will turn and relent, and turn away from His fierce anger, so that we may not perish?’  Then God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God relented from the disaster that He had said He would bring upon them, and He did not do it.”

The result was repentance of the city and thus God changed His mind about destroying it. Please note however that the city of Nineveh was destroyed later by falling back to their old ways.

What about Sodom? Genesis 19:15-17 reads: “When the morning dawned, the angels urged Lot to hurry, saying, ‘Arise, take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be consumed in the punishment of the city.’ And while he lingered, the men took hold of his hand, his wife’s hand, and the hands of his two daughters, the LORD being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city. So it came to pass, when they had brought them outside, that he said, ‘Escape for your life! Do not look behind you nor stay anywhere in the plain. Escape to the mountains, lest you be destroyed.’”

Continuing in Genesis 19:24-25: “Then the LORD rained brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah, from the LORD out of the heavens. So He overthrew those cities, all the plain, all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground.”

So Sodom was totally destroyed. Lot had apparently been a judge in Sodom, “sitting in the gate” (Genesis 19:1); he had warned the people of Sodom repeatedly (compare Genesis 19:7-9; 2 Peter 2:7), but they did not listen. When the city was evaluated by the two angels, being there in person, it was determined that redemption at that point was far from attainable, leading to its destruction. This is not to say that the people of Sodom, as well as of Nineveh, won’t have a future opportunity to repent after their resurrection to physical life, and then be given an opportunity for salvation.

We all sin from time to time. When we realize our error, we repent and ask for forgiveness, knowing God will forgive us our sins with the understanding that we are to make efforts to overcome sin, not to succumb to it.

On the other hand, if we harden our hearts by sinning and do not repent, we could find ourselves in the situation of Sodom, beyond repair and redemption. But while the unconverted people of Sodom will have a chance in the future, for us, as converted Christians who fall away for good, there is only one final fate, which is the lake of fire from which there is no comeback (compare Hebrews 10:26-27).

As we go forward in our Christian walk, we will sin on occasion, but the final outcome of sin is really up to us; so, let’s make the right choices. 

When God created Adam and Eve, He placed them in a beautiful garden with many different trees. Two of them were special—the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God told them that they could eat from every tree—this would have included the tree of life—but not from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. He was very specific: He said that if you eat from that tree, you will surely die.

Of course, Adam and Eve disobeyed, ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and were driven out of the garden. They had NOT eaten from the tree of life, and God prevented them now from doing so, lest they “eat, and live forever” (Genesis 3:22).

We have long understood that the tree of life—even though a literal tree—was also symbolic for the gift of the Holy Spirit. If they had eaten from the tree of life, they would have received the Holy Spirit and, after a life of overcoming sin, they would have been able to inherit eternal life in the Kingdom of God. Now, they were cut off from access to the Holy Spirit, and that included all their descendants, with a few exceptions, until the time when Christ will open up the possibility of salvation for everyone, beginning with His Second Coming.

As the tree of life was symbolic for the Holy Spirit, it included the right kind of knowledge—godly knowledge—which God would have revealed to them upon eating from the tree of life. In eating instead from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they rejected godly knowledge and rather embraced humanly devised and satanically inspired knowledge—the “knowledge” of what they felt was good and evil.

For instance, before they had eaten from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they were not ashamed that they were naked (Genesis 2:25)—of course, they were married and the only human beings at the time. But after eating from it, they became ashamed and covered themselves because they were “afraid” (Genesis 3:7, 10). They had chosen to use human wisdom and to decide for themselves what, in their eyes, was good and what was evil (compare Isaiah 5:20-21).

They created a world of Satanic deception—a world being cut off from God the Father. It was and is a world built on sand which cannot and will not endure. The other house—the spiritual temple of Jesus Christ – is built on the rock and will stand forever. However, there cannot be a mixture of the two. As true Christians, being in the Body of Christ, we cannot also be a part of and dwell in the Babylonian house of this world. But not everyone who might be attending a Church of God congregation, is truly righteous and embracing the knowledge of God. As Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 15:34: “Awake to righteousness, and do not sin; for some do not have the knowledge of God. I speak this to your shame.”

In this world, there is no “truth or mercy or knowledge of God” (Hosea 4:1). God will make the “knowledge“ of the wise men foolishness (Isaiah 44:25). We read that the fear of the LORD is the beginning of (true) knowledge (Proverbs 1:7), but in regard to the people of this world, “there is no fear of God before their eyes” (Romans 3:18).

They still eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil on a DAILY basis; thereby following the knowledge and wisdom of Satan and rejecting the good knowledge of God. That is why we have wars, destruction, misery, cursing, bitterness, unrighteousness, lawlessness, adultery, alternate lifestyles and false religions all around us. That is why no one knows the good way to peace (“knowing” instead that peace must be brought about through war), and no one seeks the true God. No one—except the firstfruits—those very few converted Christians in the Body of Christ. But they, too, must come out of this evil and Satanic world (Revelation 18:4). They must be separate (2 Corinthians 6:17-18). They must continuously eat from the tree of life – which gives us godly wisdom and true understanding (Proverbs 3:18). With it, we can be righteous and a tree of life to others (Proverbs 11:30)—a source of encouragement, help and comfort (Proverbs 15:4; 13:12).

We, who have been eating from the tree of life, must be shining examples (Philippians 2:15) to show what it means to reject eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. We must not add to or delete from the Word of God (Revelation 22:18-19; New International Version). We must make sure that we grow in the knowledge of Christ (2 Peter 3:18; compare Ephesians 4:13,15), and that we “do His commandments,” so that we never lose our “right to the tree of life” (Revelation 22:14).

In 1973, a parolee and an accomplice in Stockholm, Sweden, took 7 employees of a local bank hostage for a period of six days. In the end, when the situation was resolved and the two were taken into custody, the hostages declined to assist prosecutors in pursuing charges and, in fact, they began raising funds for the criminal defense of the two.

Wikipedia recounts that Nils Bejerot, a Swedish criminologist and psychiatrist, described the hostages’ reactions as a result of being brainwashed by their captors. He called it “the Norrmalmstorg syndrome;” it later became known outside Sweden as Stockholm syndrome.

As I observed the reaction of many people here in the US to the recent presidential election, the factor that seemed to emerge was a measure of mass hysteria and panic from the liberal and progressives who seemed united in their belief that the freedoms they had heretofore had, to live as they wished, and so-called reproductive right—abortion—would be gone the next morning. The days of Walter Cronkite, Edward R. Murrow, and other news media luminaries of the past reporting the facts in as unbiased a way as humans are capable of has been replaced. Now we see corporate media, backed by unseen and ultra powerful people who seek to divide and destroy morality and civilization.

It seems to me that many have embraced a new religion that transcends politics and ideology and is more about controlling minds and behavior. The ancient Romans were adept at this. Initially hailed for their effective governance, this was not enough for them as they wanted absolute control over the people—both their own citizens, and those they conquered. Rather than winning the hearts and minds of the population, they chose threats, fear and pain.

As true Christians, we have to guard against becoming a hostage to the structures and prevailing thinking of this world. In Proverbs 4:23, we receive pure and simple guidance to aid us: “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life” (New International version throughout). Most of us have to work in business and other structures in the world in order to feed and house our families. However, we can opt out of the holiday parties and events that glorify Satan and his hold on this world. We can avoid being sucked in to the things that cause us to stumble.

When I worked in local government, I noticed how prevailing beliefs often were accepted as facts, much as we witnessed with the Covid crisis. An example was the public reaction to the arrival of West Nile Virus in the summer of 2004. The virus had made its way to the Rocky Mountain region through a specific mosquito vector or species.

There were thousands of residents who wanted mass pesticide fogging at night with trucks rolling down every street. A nearly equal cohort were equally vocal that pesticide fogging would be killing chemically sensitive residents. Of course, neither position was correct to the point of absolute certainty, yet people became hostage to either position and could not get past it. Each side became so enamored of their message that there was no room for facts. Conversely, we know that as true Christians, we are not part of the world’s structures—we must instead be focused and aligned with God. 2 Timothy 1:7 illustrates what God intends for His people in such times: “For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.”

God does not want us scared and influenced by society such that we accept and, at worst, identify with the immoral and corrupt elements that surround us. We often hear this characterized as accepting the lesser of evils. In Philippians 4:8, we see what Paul had to say about these matters: “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”

If we are seeking what is true, pure, noble, and healthy, it is unlikely that we would willfully join a group or take a job that would cause us to constantly be faced with difficult situations pitting God’s ways with the ways of this world. In Isaiah 26:7-10, the prophet Isaiah lays out how true Christians can seek alignment with God versus the world: “The path of the righteous is level; O upright One, you make the way of the righteous smooth. Yes, LORD, walking in the way of your laws, we wait for you; your name and renown are the desire of our hearts. My soul yearns for you in the night; in the morning my spirit longs for you. When your judgements come upon the earth, the people of the world learn righteousness. Though grace is shown to the wicked, they do not learn righteousness; even in a land of uprightness they go on doing evil and do not regard the majesty of the LORD.”

God has been remarkably merciful with His people through the ages, and He wants us to grow to the point that we can identify how the evils of this world can draw us in and hold us hostage. Much like those bank employees in Sweden in the 1970’s, if we spend all of our time with our seemingly benevolent captors, we will undoubtedly begin to draw our inspiration and see our future through their corrupt vision. The words of Paul to the Church at Corinth in 2 Corinthians 10:1-6 can help us as we make our way as true Christians in this world.

“By the meekness and gentleness of Christ, I appeal to you—I, Paul, who am ‘timid’ when face to face with you, but ‘bold’ when away! I beg you that when I come I may not have to be as bold as I expect to be toward some people who think that we live by the standards of this world. For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. And we will be ready to punish every act of disobedience, once your obedience is complete.”

We have all of these Scriptures and more available to us to enable us to stand strong; always seeking alignment with God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ. In this way, we can avoid false doctrines that can hold us hostage to this world.

How do we become stronger and stronger in faith? Certainly, we must; but even having faith in our time seems outside our control. We can read about others in the pages of the Bible who were noted for having great faith, but can we also attain that key attribute?

We are challenged by a very crucial requirement as we follow Jesus Christ: “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6).

We see then, first, that we must believe that God is real! That takes faith, because we can’t see Him, for He is a spirit (John 4:24). Yet, we do learn about God through His written Word and the Creation He has made—things we can see and understand. Since that is true, then can we learn more about Him and be strengthened in our faith?

Second, to strengthen our faith as Christians—begotten children of God—we have access to God the Father through Jesus Christ (John 14:6). We can have our prayers answered and, when that happens, our faith can grow. In every aspect of our life, we can seek to walk in righteousness before God, which simply means obeying Him. The more we become obedient sons and daughters of our Father in heaven, the more we will grow in faith.

God has all the answers to anything we could possibly imagine or ever need! Have we grown in faith to the extent that we believe this? Do we truly face all our challenges based on this kind of resolute and unshakeable faith?

Being called by God in this life should allow us to reflect and consider the many times when our faith has been tested. When we fellowship as members of the body of Christ (the Church of God), we share our stories of faith with others. We should also be able to see personal growth and how, with the power of God’s Holy Spirit, we are being strengthened in faith.

Having the kind of faith that will please God is, indeed, the hard work of salvation! Let’s remember that we aren’t alone when it all seems too great a challenge to have faith for the moment. Consider the example of a father who sought to have his son healed. Jesus said, “‘If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes’” (Mark 9:23).

I think the father’s response hits home for all of us: “‘Lord, I believe; help my unbelief’” (Mark 9:24).

He did find the help he needed, as Jesus did help and healed his son. We, too, can be strengthened in faith by God.  In matters small or great, ask for God’s help—fully trusting that He will!

We are now a few weeks past the Feast of Tabernacles. We have settled back into our routines, and we are once again dealing with the things that make up our individual lives. 

Usually, after a Feast, I personally feel a very strong desire to once again be a Christian. The fire is burning within me and the excitement for what we believe is strongly in my mind and it is revived with me. Then, as the weeks start to blend together, the daily life becomes mundane. It is a challenge to maintain the amount of zeal and excitement that was felt at the Feast of Tabernacles. 

I don’t think that I am alone in feeling this way!

How do we maintain the feelings that we had at the Feast? 

We are told many times that while it is a proclivity for people to feel this way – to get sad, frustrated, angry or mad – we must realize that we don’t have to feel this way. In fact, we are told we are to be just the opposite. 

We are reminded that we are to be zealous, on fire, stirring up the Spirit of God within us and enduring (Romans 12:11; Hebrews 10:36; 1 Corinthians 14:12; 2 Timothy 1:6-7). This doesn’t leave a lot of room for becoming lazy or disinterested.

I have been thinking deeply about how to sustain that same level of enthusiasm that I felt at the Feast. One of the things that has been coming to mind over and over is a deep need to spend time in Bible study. We often emphasize that it is important to study, but I truly wonder how much time we each spend reading and studying the Bible on a regular basis. 

We find in Hebrews 4:12 (in the New International Version) a very decisive reason as to WHY we should be studying: “For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” 

We can understand our thoughts, our emotions, our zeal, our fire and passion for the Truth when we are studying the Word of God. Without this studying, our religion may become empty. 

Turning to 2 Timothy 2:15 and quoting from the Authorized Version, we find another example: “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” Again, this shows us that in studying the Word of God — ingraining it into our thoughts — it will become a part of who we are. It will sustain and help us to maintain the type of attitudes and mindsets that we need in dealing with the situations that come up in our lives.

When we fail to or refuse to spend time studying the Word of God — because we are too lazy, or too busy, or too tired, or not feeling like it – we may, to an extent, deny the power of God and show our human pride.

The antithesis of this is found in the letter of James.

Again, using the Authorized Version, James 1:21 states: “Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.”

Let us notice that it is with meekness – that attribute that we need to make it into the Kingdom of God (Matthew 5:5) – that we need to be spending time studying. WHY? To enable us to use the Word in our lives. In Romans, chapter 11, the Apostle Paul shows how and why we are grafted into the Family of God. But he also reminds us, as Christ also did (John 15:2) that just because we are grafted into the God Family doesn’t mean that we cannot lose out on bearing fruits. We should understand that reading the Bible and studying it is an integral part of our Christianity; it is not merely a nice idea or a “maybe I’ll get to that later.” NO! It is a need. It is one of the lifelines to God. 

When we study, we are showing God that we care about His words. And as we read previously – these words are “ALIVE and ACTIVE”.  In Isaiah 55:11, in the New International Version, we read that God continues to lead us through His omnipotent Word: “… so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.”

That is the God we worship. That is the God with whom we are to have a relationship! This is the remembrance we need to bring forth into our lives so that we not only make time to study, but that we come to desire that study time — to desire to be in the presence of God and to really understand His power and what it can accomplish in our lives. 

We each have an opportunity and a responsibility in our calling. The way in which we live our study life will have a direct impact on our individual lives, the lives of our families, and the lives of our fellow Christians as we each seek to understand how to grow. To accomplish this, we must be studying and then applying the Word of God diligently. 

If you may not know what to study, our Q&As in our weekly Updates would be of great help.

Ephesians 3:14-21 nicely wraps this all together and summarizes it for us in this way: “For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”