Update 1043

On November 5, 2022, Eric Rank will present the sermonette, titled, “Squirm,” and Dave Harris will present the sermon, titled, “Seeking and Finding God!”

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

In Psalm 90, we find “a prayer of Moses the man of God.” He discusses the very foundational truth that man’s physical life is only temporary… and VERY short. Verse 10 states: “The days of our lives are seventy years; And if by reason of strength they are eighty years, Yet their boast is only labor and sorrow; For it is soon cut off, and we fly away.” We understand, of course, that these numbers are only average estimates in this day and age; many people might die before they turn seventy, and others may even get as old as one hundred years, and counting. But Moses makes the point that death IS inevitable, and he continues in verse 12: “So teach us to number our days, That we may gain a heart of wisdom.”

David echoed this sentiment in Psalm 39:4: “LORD, make me to know my end, And what is the measure of my days, That I may know how frail I am.”

This admonition is not only meant for older people. Solomon says in Ecclesiastes 12:1: “Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth,” continuing in verses 13 and 14: ”… Fear God and keep His commandments, For this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every work into judgment, Including every secret thing, Whether it is good or whether it is evil.”

This physical life is not an end in itself… it is a training ground to qualify for a better life to come. But while “in the flesh,” we must have the right focus, as so aptly expressed by James:

“Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit,’ whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanished away. Instead you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that’” (James 4:13-15).

We must acknowledge God in all our ways, striving to become more and more like Him—becoming perfect as He is perfect (cp. Matthew 5:48). Jesus enjoyed this physical life in a right and godly way, but He never lost sight of His real purpose—why He came and what He had to do. While God wants us to “prosper in all things” (3 John) and that we have “life” “more abundantly” (John 10:10), having “all sufficiency in all things” (2 Corinthians 9:8), His ultimate goal for us is much more permanent and eternal.

He wants us to become born-again immortal members in His very Family, and in working for that goal, we must be willing to give up everything, counting it as rubbish (Philippians 3:8), in order to attain the resurrection from the dead to eternal life (verses 10-11). In that, we follow and are looking unto Christ who was rich, but, in comparison, became poor for our sakes (2 Corinthians 8:9). He was willing “for the joy that was set before Him” to endure the cross and to despise the shame (cp. Hebrews 12:2).

His focus was always on God the Father, only saying and doing the things which were pleasing in God’s sight. He knew how short His physical life would be, and He could not afford to become side-tracked. We, too, must avoid becoming entangled with the affairs of this life which could easily cloud our minds as to what is really important for us. Rather, we need to have the mind of Christ (Philippians 2:5), and when we do, we will number our days to gain a heart of wisdom, knowing they will end soon, but only in this physical realm.

by Norbert Link

We begin with the election day in Israel and the return of Benjamin Netanyahu which could lead to a collision course between the USA and Israel; report on the terrible South Korea stampede on Halloween; speak on the election in Brazil resulting in the victory of a “corrupt” “hardline socialist”; point out ongoing frictions between the USA and the Arab world; report on concerns about a new trade war between America and Europe; and show that Europe is waking up on defense.  

We speak on new developments regarding the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine; and publish a remarkable article reporting on America’s past war crimes. We also show that Germany is heading for “rough years ahead” and give further examples of the terrible “leadership” of Germany’s chancellor and his health minister.

We report on another appalling move by the CDC; crazy and dangerous experiments by English and American scientists; and conclude with an article about the newest WMD destroying America—Fentanyl. Please view in this regard our new StandingWatch program, titled, “How We Are Destroying Ourselves.”

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

Election Day in Israel

Israel Today wrote on November 1:

“Today we choose our next prime minister, his government coalition, and those who we believe can meet the many challenges of the modern Jewish state… the airwaves are crammed with the dizzying spin of candidates flattering themselves as though they will somehow miraculously protect our nation from our enemies, from ourselves, and unify the country. In the next breath they gleefully point out just how horrible their opponent would be if elected…

“Politicians don’t even bother anymore to offer an honest assessment…”

Sadly, this assessment is true for politicians all over the world, and the USA is certainly no exception.

Netanyahu Is Back

JTA wrote on November 2:

“As most of the votes in Israel continue to be tallied on Wednesday, Benjamin Netanyahu looks assured of returning to power, as his far-right bloc of parties is predicted to win around 65 seats, well above the 61 needed in the 120-seat Knesset, or parliament.

“The official final results are not expected to be finalized on Wednesday, but over 80% of the votes had been counted by the afternoon local time.

“Many of the votes that have not yet been counted are nicknamed ‘double-envelope ballots,’ cast by security officers, prisoners, diplomats abroad, residents of assisted living facilities and hospital patients and staff. These ballots have in recent years heavily favored right-wing parties.

“Netanyahu, who has only been out of the prime minister’s office for 16 months, is expected to form a coalition with multiple haredi Orthodox parties and the Religious Zionism slate of two parties, led by the far-right extremists Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich. Ben-Gvir has worried American Jewish leaders with his anti-Arab, anti-LGBTQ and other inflammatory rhetoric…

“Current Prime Minister Yair Lapid’s party is predicted to win 24 seats, compared to 32 for Netanyahu’s Likud…

“Ben-Gvir, touted as a rising star who has electrified the conservative electorate, will likely be given a high-ranking cabinet position. He is hoping to be named security minister, which would put him in charge of the country’s police force.”

The Associated Press wrote on November 2:

“Tuesday’s election was Israel’s fifth in less than four years, with all of them focused largely on Netanyahu’s fitness to govern. On trial for a slew of corruption charges, Netanyahu, who denied wrongdoing, is seen by supporters as the victim of a witch hunt and vilified by opponents as a crook and threat to democracy…

“Netanyahu was Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, governing for 12 consecutive years – and 15 years altogether – before he was ousted last year by a diverse coalition led by the centrist Yair Lapid, the current caretaker prime minister. But the coalition that Lapid cobbled together, which included the first Arab party ever to join a government, was decimated by infighting and collapsed after just one year in power…

“The night’s strongest showing was by the Religious Zionism party, which emerged as the third-largest party. At an all-male campaign gathering in Jerusalem, religious men wearing Jewish skullcaps and waving Israeli flags danced in celebration. At the celebration, supporters of the party’s top candidate, Itamar Ben-Gvir, chanted ‘Death to terrorists.’

“Ben-Gvir is a [of] disciple Rabbi, Meir Kahane, who was banned from parliament and whose Kach party was branded a terrorist group by the United States before he was assassinated in New York in 1990…

“Such positions could put a future Netanyahu government on a collision course with the Biden administration, which supports a two-state solution with the Palestinians…”

Ultimately, America will rise up against Israel.

Terrible South Korea Stampede Causes Many Fatalities and Injuries

Deutsche Welle wrote on October 30:

“At least [151] people were killed in a stampede on Saturday night in the South Korean capital of Seoul… An additional 150 people were injured in the crush, which took place in the city’s Itaewon district, where Halloween festivities were taking place… Most of the dead are in their teens and 20s…

“Local media estimated that 100,000 people were in the streets of Itaewon on Saturday night for the Halloween parties. The festivities were the largest they had been in years after South Korea eased its coronavirus restrictions in recent months…

“EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said he was ‘deeply saddened… by the terrible events in central Seoul. What [was] meant to be a celebration turned into a tragedy with so many young casualties,’ he tweeted…”

The problem is, Halloween is a festival in honor of Satan and should not be celebrated by anyone. Note the next article:

Halloween—a Demonic Festival

CBN wrote on October 30:

“Millions of people will be celebrating Halloween on Monday, October 31, including many Christians. In fact, Halloween is the second-largest commercial holiday in America, typically grossing around $10 billion in sales… However, many do not realize there’s a darker reality to this celebration and it is steeped in paganism and witchcraft…

“CBN News’ Charlene Aaron interviewed former Satanist John Ramirez, who warned that Christians should have nothing to do with practicing pagan customs. ‘Halloween is the most diabolical demonic holiday,’ he said.”

It certainly is…

Brazil’s New (Old) Left Leader

Breitbart wrote on October 30:

“The top electoral authority in Brazil announced on Sunday evening that 77-year-old hardline socialist Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, once convicted and sentenced to over two decades in prison for alleged corruption, had won this year’s presidential election against incumbent conservative Jair Bolsonaro…

“Little more than a percentage point separated Lula, who served as president previously from 2003 to 2011, from Bolsonaro… National newspaper of record O Globo described the results as the closest election since 1989, when Lula narrowly lost to Fernando Collor de Mello, who was impeached and ousted from office over corruption allegations in 1992…

“Lula’s victory is particularly momentous given that, during 2018 elections, which Bolsonaro won, he was in prison after being found guilty of buying a luxury beachfront property with bribe money. The case was part of a much larger corruption investigation… which unveiled a nationwide corruption scheme involving dozens of high-ranking politicians that operated during Lula’s presidential tenure. The government enriched itself by offering overpriced contracts for infrastructure and other public works projects to private contractors… and those private contractors would then use some of the excess money to bribe the politicians, securing future contracts.

“Last year, the nation’s top court, the Supreme Federal Tribunal (STF), let the now president-elect run for office again by overturning his conviction on the grounds that the judge initially in charge of the case, Sergio Moro, was personally biased against Lula and originally did not have jurisdiction to try the case. The reasoning did not challenge any of the evidence against Lula or the appeals that affirmed the original conviction…

“Leftist American President Joe Biden was among the first to congratulate Lula on his reported victory on Sunday. Biden, as a candidate in 2020, had vowed to destroy the Brazilian economy…  if Bolsonaro did not accept an unspecified $20-billion environmental investment, prompting Bolsonaro to later threaten to go to war with the United States. Their relationship never recovered.”

Reuters added on October 31 that “Argentine President Alberto Fernandez flew to Sao Paulo to meet the president-elect on Monday and hailed ‘a new era for the history of Latin America. A time of hope and future that begins today.’… Congratulations also poured in from other foreign leaders [besides Biden], including China’s Xi Jinping, Russia’s Vladimir Putin, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron.”

An interesting list of leaders congratulating the new corrupt leader of Brazil. We do not expect that the relationship between the USA and Brazil will become or remain friendly in the long run.

America Insults Arab World?

Israel 365 wrote on October 30:

“The Saudis believe that the Biden administration’s hostility towards Saudi Arabia is the result of the influence of far-left US politicians who have infiltrated the Democratic Party.

“The Saudis, in addition, are warning that the Biden administration is acting against America’s interests in the Middle East by alienating and insulting Saudi Arabia and other traditional allies of the US in the Arab world.”

Coming–Trade War Between Europe and the USA?

Politico wrote on October 27:

“After publicly falling out, Olaf Scholz and Emmanuel Macron have found something they agree on: mounting alarm over unfair competition from the U.S. and the potential need for Europe to hit back… both leaders agreed that the EU cannot remain idle if Washington pushes ahead with its Inflation Reduction Act, which offers tax cuts and energy benefits for companies investing on U.S. soil, in its current form.

“Specifically, the recently signed U.S. legislation encourages consumers to ‘Buy American’ when it comes to choosing an electric vehicle — a move particularly galling for major car industries in the likes of France and Germany… [According to Scholz and Macron,] similar incentive schemes for companies will be needed to avoid unfair competition or losing investments. That move would risk plunging transatlantic relations into a new trade war…

“In a blow to Germany’s industrial core, chemical giant BASF announced plans Wednesday to reduce its business activities and jobs in Germany, with company chief Martin Brudermüller citing heightened gas prices — which he criticized for being six times as high as in the U.S. — as well as increasing EU regulation as the reason….”

Europe Wakes Up on Defense

The Media Line wrote on November 1:

“Now that 15 European countries have joined the German-led European Sky Shield Initiative, a joint defense system, the likely sale of Israel’s Arrow 3 air defense system to Germany will become the largest defense export in Israeli history, reaching a sum of 3 billion euros. Jerusalem and Berlin are waiting for Washington to approve the deal; the United States has the right to veto any sale of the Israeli defense system, since the US financed the research and development of the Arrow 3…

“Israeli defense industries have always had a market in Europe, but since the Russia-Ukraine war started, …there is that deep understanding among central, eastern and northern European countries that the threat is real, and that big wars are not over… As the threat grows… the demand for advanced and proven systems like Arrow 3 is growing as well… the Russian invasion of Ukraine served as a wake-up call for many European countries regarding… the lack of capabilities to cope with the Russian attack on their territory… the United States… is probably not enthusiastic about watching Germany’s accelerated military build-up plans over the past year…”

And so, Europe will develop a powerful Army.

Germany Warns Serbia

Insider Paper wrote on November 1:

“Germany has cautioned Serbia against cultivating deeper ties with Russia, warning that it could thwart its bid to join the European Union, a German government source said on Tuesday. Two days ahead of a Western Balkans summit in the German capital intended to bolster relations with the six countries of the region, the senior official said Belgrade needed to decide whose side it was on: Moscow’s or the EU’s… ‘Should he choose the other path, it will have ensuing consequences’ for Belgrade’s future with the EU, the official said.

“Serbia has been a candidate to join the European Union since 2012 but its prospects are seen as bleak without a normalisation of relations with Kosovo… Tensions have been exacerbated by the war in Ukraine, with many Serbs sympathetic to traditional ally Russia…

“Thursday’s summit in Berlin hosted by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will bring together the heads of government of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia as well as EU leaders.”

It will be interesting to see in whose corner Serbia will end up. Serbia’s interest in Russia is well-known.

Too Much Money for Ukraine?

The Week wrote on October 18:

“House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) has suggested the days of Ukraine aid could come to an end should Republicans regain the lower chamber in the upcoming midterm elections… ‘I think people are gonna be sitting in a recession and they’re not going to write a [free] blank check to Ukraine. They just won’t do it…’ McCarthy recently [said]. ‘And then there’s the things [the Biden administration] is not doing domestically…’

“So far, the U.S. has approved over $60 billion in support for Ukraine… with more than $18.2 billion in security assistance given since January 2021… Other Republicans, including those running for office in November have criticized the amount of money the U.S. has contributed to the war.”

Der Spiegel wrote on October 26 that not only Republicans, but also Democrats are becoming critical of Joe Biden’s actions towards and military support for Ukraine.

Russia Suspends Black Sea Grain Export Deal

Thomson/Reuters wrote on October 29:

“Russia’s suspension of a Black Sea grain export deal requires a strong international response from the United Nations and the Group of 20 major economies, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Saturday. In a video address, he accused Russia of trying to create an artificial famine in Africa, the Middle East and South Asia.

“U.S. President Joe Biden denounced the move as ‘purely outrageous’ and said it would increase starvation.

“Russia’s defense ministry said Ukraine attacked the Black Sea Fleet near Sevastopol on the annexed Crimean peninsula with 16 drones early on Saturday, and that British navy ‘specialists’ had helped coordinate the ‘terrorist’ attack.

“The suspension will cut Ukrainian grain exports from its crucial Black Sea ports… The deal allows shipments of grain from Ukraine, one of the world’s largest exporters, that the Russian invasion had halted.”

In the meantime, Russia has allegedly agreed to resume the Black Sea grain export deal.

Reuters reported on November 2:

“Russia said on Wednesday it would resume its participation in a deal freeing up grain exports from war-torn Ukraine, reversing a move that world leaders had said threatened to exacerbate global hunger. Moscow announced the sudden reversal after Turkey and the United Nations helped keep Ukrainian grain flowing for several days without Russian participation in inspections.

“The Russian defence ministry justified the change by saying it had received guarantees from Kyiv not to use the Black Sea grain corridor for military operations against Russia...”

Russia has also claimed now that British navy personnel blew up the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines on September 26. Britain strongly denied this claim. Previously, Russia had said “Washington had a motive as it wants to sell more liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Europe” (Thomson/Reuters, October 29).

All Guilty of War Crimes

MSN wrote on October 30:

“Russian bombs and artillery have killed thousands of civilians while destroying Ukrainian schools, hospitals and apartment buildings.

“As of this week, the UN has tallied 15,908 civilian casualties, including 6,306 killed. Those numbers, which include hundreds of children, are likely low. Russia’s strike this summer on a crowded shopping mall drew the condemnation of leaders of the G7: ‘Indiscriminate attacks on innocent civilians constitute a war crime,’ said the elected leaders of the largest Western democracies. ‘Russian President Putin and those responsible will be held to account.’

“But that statement, endorsed of course by President Biden, glosses over America’s own complicated legacy of bombing civilians in World War II. Throughout that war, civilians worldwide sadly bore a heavy burden. The Japanese pulverized China’s wartime capital of Chongqing, while the Germans hammered British cities in the Blitz. The British subsequently retaliated, burning Hamburg, Berlin and, of course, Dresden, a city whose name has become synonymous with the horror of air warfare…

“As head of the 21st Bomber Command on Guam, LeMay chose to abandon America’s longtime strategy of daylight high-altitude precision attacks in favor of burning Japanese cities in low-level nighttime raids. For his inaugural strike on the night of March 9, 1945, he set his sights on Tokyo. LeMay’s 12-square-mile target area, which was 87.4 percent residential, had an average population density of 103,000 people per square mile, meaning the bombs fell largely on the kitchens, living rooms and bedrooms of the Japanese capital’s working-class civilians…

“At 12:07 a.m., his first bomber unloaded on the Japanese capital. For the next 142 minutes, nearly 300 planes dropped 1,665 tons of incendiaries. These napalm-filled explosives were designed to punch through the metal and tile roofs of shops and homes, spraying flaming jellied gasoline on walls, furniture and bedding. Hundreds of blazes soon erupted, ultimately melding into a massive tidal wave of fire that rolled across the city. Temperatures amid the conflagration soared as high as 2,800°F., hot enough to melt concrete, liquefy asphalt and fuse coins together. ‘The town was a blazing hell,’ recalled survivor Sumi Ogawa, ‘lit by the swirling and roiling flames.’…

“The sun rose the next morning to reveal an apocalyptic wasteland. The attack incinerated 16 square miles of Tokyo and killed 105,000 men, women and children. Another 40,000 people suffered injuries and a million were left homeless…

“Back in Washington, officials monitored the nation’s editorial pages and radio broadcasts for evidence that the killing of civilians might spark outrage among the American public. Those fears, however, proved unfounded…

“The lack of any public outcry served as a green light for LeMay, who over the next five months proceeded to burn dozens of Japanese cities… America, in short, was waging war against Japan’s civilians… In the 177 days from his strike on Tokyo until the Japanese surrender on board the USS Missouri, LeMay torched 66 Japanese cities, leveling 178 square miles. Of all those operations, LeMay’s raid on Tokyo proved one of the deadliest, rivaled only by the fatalities caused by the atomic bomb attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in the waning days of the war.

“All told, America’s bombing campaign against the Japanese homeland killed 330,000 people, injured nearly a half million more, and left 8.5 million homeless. ‘Curtis LeMay,’ observed his biographer Warren Kozak, ‘ordered the deaths of more civilians than any other man in U.S. history. No one else comes close, not William Tecumseh Sherman, not George S. Patton — no one.’

“It is important, as we grieve the awful war crimes Russia is committing in Ukraine, that we as Americans remember our own tragic history of attacks on civilians nearly eight decades ago in our quest for total victory.”

No nation has a corner on the market when it comes to terrible war crimes and the killing of innocent civilians.

Germany Warns of Rough Years Ahead

Reuters wrote on October 28:

“Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has plunged Europe into an era of insecurity, Germany said on Friday a day after Vladimir Putin predicted a ‘dangerous’ decade ahead. German president Frank-Walter Steinmeier said the 24 February invasion had ended ‘old dreams’ of a united continent.

“‘It has plunged us into another time, into an insecurity we thought we had overcome: a time marked by war, violence and flight, by concerns about the expansion of war into a wildfire in Europe,’ said the president, who is from a wing of Germany’s Social Democrats that long argued for closer economic ties to Moscow. ‘Harder years, rough years are coming.’

“Germany, which has joined European sanctions against Russia and weapons deliveries to Ukraine, has recorded the arrival of more than a million Ukrainian refugees and warned of possible energy shortages this winter after cuts in Russian gas supplies.

“Mr Putin… accused Western leaders of inciting the war in Ukraine, which he says was justified by Kyiv’s expressed wish to join Nato. Western dominance over world affairs was coming to an end and ‘ahead is probably the most dangerous, unpredictable and, at the same time, important decade since the end of the Second World War,’ Putin said.”

Unfortunately, Germans don’t listen anymore to Steinmeier, also because of his support of Russia and Germany’s dependence on Russian gas, as Bild Online commented on October 3:

“What a pity that the current Federal President can no longer shake anyone up, that his words simply fade away. But it is not surprising: Frank-Walter Steinmeier has lost all credibility. Hardly any other German politician has been on the wrong side of history as often as our head of state…

“A strong Federal President would never be more important than now, in times of war, energy crisis and inflation. A President who holds the country together. Unfortunately, the wrong person is sitting in Bellevue Palace.”

Wake Up, Chancellor Scholz

Focus wrote on October 30:

“‘Has Germany learned from its Russia problem? The test could come in China,’ writes the ‘New York Times’ on Sunday. The Danish newspaper Politiken has a headline: ‘Wake up Chancellor’. Who is meant is Chancellor Olaf Scholz and his ‘geopolitical blindness,’ the newspaper judges. Shortly after the controversial deal for the Chinese state shipping company Cosco to enter the port of Hamburg, Scholz is preparing for his first visit to China.

“… SPD leader Lars Klingbeil, Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) and leading representatives of German business have warned against excessive Chinese influence. The pressure on the Chancellor is great these days.”

German Health Minister’s Lack of Credibility

 “Health Minister Lauterbach (59, SPD) wants to legalize cannabis, although the consumption of this drug can lead to significant health damage. This is based on the view that people act on their own responsibility, i.e. they should decide for themselves what danger they want to expose themselves to. The state should no longer make this decision for them through a ban.

“That is understandable. Why shouldn’t an informed citizen be able to decide for himself whether to consume cannabis? However, this argument contradicts everything Lauterbach thought was right in the case of Corona. No state coercive measure, no restriction of personal freedom was hard enough for him to avert damage to the health of the population. He propagated the lockdown, compulsory vaccinations, compulsory home office, bans on contact, the closure of schools, the complete standstill of cultural life, allegedly everything to protect health.

“Through this radical policy, he even made a career from a simple MP to a minister. So now the opposite…

“Lauterbach… still advocates vaccinating even young children. Children and young people were never particularly at risk from Covid-19…

“This health minister has got himself caught up in an irresolvable contradiction. Against the background of the Corona policy he is pushing, his cannabis approval just seems bigoted.”

The CDC Strikes Again

The Ron Paul Institute wrote on October 21:

“On Oct. 20, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention handed another huge gift to Big Pharma: In a little-publicized meeting, the agency’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices voted to recommend adding the Covid vaccine to the childhood and adolescent immunization schedule. This makes the Covid vaccine market vast and indefinite—exposing children to unnecessary risks while shielding drug companies from liability.

“Throughout the pandemic, the CDC and the Food and Drug Administration rubber-stamped every iteration of the vaccines that came through the door. So this final outcome is hardly surprising. And yet it still has the power to shock. It never should have come to this. Despite all the ‘sciencing’ that led us here, it is a completely perverse outcome. The Covid bonfire is down to its last fading embers—and now the CDC effectively decrees that every child forever should receive this novel, barely tested, potentially dangerous injection.

“The potential profits flowing from this approval are enormous. The Covid injections were all approved under emergency laws that effectively shielded the corporate developers from any liability. This temporary shield would expire in October 2024. When the CDC officially adds the shots to the childhood immunization schedule, all future liability transfers to the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program, or VICP. The shield extends to adult shots, as well; once the product is covered under VICP, manufacturers become immune against all consumer legal challenges, shifting damages claims to US taxpayers. Having already received FDA approval as ‘safe and effective,’ and with no concern for liability, the manufacturers are free to churn out mRNA injections as they will. Shots and boosters from birth until death, multiplied by every citizen in the nation. Childhood Covid vaccination is the 2021 windfall compounded into eternity.

“Children are at minuscule risk from the novel coronavirus and transmit it at lower rates than adults. That much we have known since the early days of the pandemic. Public-health authorities also acknowledge that the Pfizer/Moderna products don’t prevent infection or transmission of the virus, that the mRNA formulation doesn’t grant any lasting immunity, that the benefit of the shot against severe disease is only evident for older patients, and that there are risks of significant adverse events, including heart inflammation, neurological impairment, autoimmune disease, and death. There is no reason to inject children with this novel therapeutic.

“Parents have spoken with their feet; the uptake of these injections for children under 11 has been well below what officials were hoping. Despite a massive publicity campaign that likened vaccination to a ‘super-power’ and recruited Sesame Street characters to the cause, by September, only 6 percent of children under 5 had received even a single dose, and fewer than 2 percent were ‘fully vaccinated.’ Dr. Peter Hotez, CNN’s go-to vaccine advocate, thinks the reason is a failure to scare parents enough… maybe parents can see what is hiding in plain sight: Kids don’t need this shot, and the risk of harm is real.”

Let those who have ears to hear listen…

Crazy Scientific “Experiments” in England and the USA

Daily Mail wrote on October 31:

“British scientists intentionally created hybrid Covid strains in risky experiments judged to be like ‘playing with fire’, MailOnline can reveal.

“Hamsters were infected with mutant viruses, blends of the original Wuhan strain and parts of either Omicron or Delta. Critics of the research, carried out by Imperial College London, called it ‘insanity’ and warned the lab trials could, in theory, unleash a new viral threat. Twenty scientists were involved in the project, including one who sits on the Government’s advisory panel SAGE…

“Our revelation comes amid ongoing furore over similar experiments in the US, where authorities have proposed a crackdown on virus manipulation research. Earlier this month, DailyMail.com, MailOnline’s US equivalent, revealed academics at Boston University combined different parts of the Omicron and the original Wuhan Covid strains.

“Critics say this combined the higher lethality of the ancestral SARS-CoV-2 version, which triggered the pandemic in early 2020, with the extreme transmissibility of the milder Omicron strain. Omicron is said to be just contagious as measles, although the claim is disputed. The hybrid virus they created killed 80 per cent of infected mice…

“A leak of such an engineered virus from the Wuhan Institute of Virology is one of the main theorised origins of the pandemic. The infamous lab carried out similar research involving coronaviruses found in bats, with some arguing this work constituted gain of function experiments, though others refute this. But others argued the Boston University research was unquestionably gain of function as it had the potential of increasing its transmissibility — even if the end result appeared to be the opposite.”

What are these crazy scientists up to? Do they want to eradicate most of mankind?

Fentanyl—a Weapon of Mass Destruction

National Interest wrote on October 27:

“Since 9/11, enterprises in China and cartels in Mexico have produced and exported thousands of pounds of a lethal chemical that has killed over 100,000 Americans. Despite this deadly assault on America, there has been no decisive whole-of-government reaction by the United States to solve this problem. In fact, there has been almost no coordinated reaction at all.

‘That lethal chemical is fentanyl, and it is high time for the Biden administration to declare it a weapon of mass destruction (WMD), treat the Mexican cartels that push it into the United States as foreign terrorist organizations (FTO), identify Communist China as the source of the problem and make it pay for it, and bring order to our southern border, the main gateway for this deadly drug.

“The numbers are staggering. Fentanyl can be up to 50 times stronger than heroin and up to 100 times stronger than morphine, and as little as two milligrams can be fatal. Federal data indicates that of the almost 1 million drug overdose fatalities since 1999, most of which were from fentanyl. And the loss of life is growing rapidly: Fentanyl overdoses caused 57,832 deaths in 2020 and 71,238 in 2021, a 23 percent increase. Fentanyl overdoses are the number one cause of death for Americans between the ages of eighteen and forty-five. In 2021, fentanyl killed almost twice as many Americans in this age group than the second-place killer, motor vehicle accidents.

“Last year, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol seized 11,201 pounds of fentanyl and noted that this quantity could kill every American citizen seven times over.”

America is being destroyed from the outside and is destroying itself from the inside.

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 of this two-part series, we looked at Scriptures which indicate that the early apostles thought that Jesus might return in their lifetime, and since that time, there have been many other predictions about the Second Coming right up until the present time. We showed that the world is currently in chaos with prophecies being fulfilled.  We also briefly reviewed the manifold and insurmountable problems around the world at this time.

It is the job of the true Church of God to preach the gospel about the soon-coming Kingdom of God on earth and to warn about what is to come.

In our booklet “The Gospel of the Kingdom of God,” the following is written under the heading, “We Must Be About Our Father’s Business,” on pages 25-26:

“As we saw earlier, when Jesus Christ came preaching the Kingdom of God, people thought that He would establish it right then. Note in Luke 19:11: ‘Now as they heard these things, He spoke another parable, because He was near Jerusalem and because they thought the Kingdom of God would appear immediately.’

“Although He, the future King of the Kingdom, was among them, the establishment of the Kingdom of God here on this earth would come much later—at the time of His second coming. He gave a parable in Luke 19 to explain this. Remember, He spoke in parables so that the world would not understand, but so that His disciples would understand.

“Luke 19:12: ‘Therefore He said: A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return.’ Christ is talking about Himself. He is the nobleman who went into a far country—the third heaven—to receive from God the Father the kingdom or government or rulership over this earth.

“We read about this already in the account of Daniel 7:13-14, where the Son of Man would appear in the clouds before the Ancient of Days to receive everlasting dominion and a kingdom that shall not be destroyed, so that all peoples and nations should serve Him.

“And the angels confirmed this in Acts 1:11, when they told the disciples at the time when Christ ascended to heaven: ‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.’

“Before Christ, the nobleman, departed for the far country, he instructed his servants to keep busy during his absence. We read in Luke 19:13: ‘So he called ten of his servants, delivered to them ten minas [a mina was worth about three month’s salary], and said to them, “Do business till I come.”’

“What the master gave his servants was valuable. And they were to DO something with what they had received. They were not to sit back and do nothing. Over and over we read in the Bible that Christ expects action from His disciples. He tells us in Matthew 28:19-20 that we are to make disciples of all nations, ‘“teaching them to observe ALL THINGS that I have commanded you, and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.’” We already read in Mark 16 that we are to ‘go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.’

“Also, He admonishes us in Matthew 24 to watch and to be ready when He, the Master, returns. Beginning in Verse 45: ‘Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season? Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing. Assuredly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all his goods. But if that evil servant says in his heart, My master is delaying his coming, and begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and to drink with the drunkards, the master of that servant…will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites.’

“Again, we see that Christ expects His servants to BE DOING something—but it has to be the RIGHT kind of work. In this parable, the head servant is charged with feeding his fellow servants healthy physical food while his master is gone.

“The analogy here is that of the ministry feeding the sheep healthy spiritual food until Christ returns. As Christ told Peter three times, ‘feed my sheep.’”

The Church must feed the sheep, those who have repented and been baptised and are living a life pleasing in the sight of God.  The Church also has the duty and responsibility to warn the world about what is surely now not too far away.  Let us list the reasons why we feel this way. 

1. We have seen that since the 1950’s, this has been the first time in recorded human history that we have had the capacity to commit cosmocide which is the destruction of planet Earth, especially as a result of human  Just as an aside, and purely out of Church of God interest, according to WordSense Dictionary online and  Wiktionary.org., the origin and history of the word “cosmocide” is shown as being in the “1989, Plain Truth – Volume 54, page 9, a magazine of the now defunct Worldwide Church of God.
2. In addition, we are now at the end of the 6,000 years allotted to man.   In our Q&A “Do you teach that modern man is only about 6,000 years old? Do you believe in a 6,000-year plan of God?”, https://www.eternalgod.org/q-a-14722/ we read the following:

“The concept of a biblical 7,000-year plan and the creation of man about 6,000 years ago has been believed by Jews and Christians alike over the millennia. The historian Edward Gibbon wrote in ‘The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire’ that this concept was taught by Rabbi Elias around 200 B.C., who expressed the common belief that it had been taught by the prophet Elijah. The Encyclopaedia Judaica explains that this tradition can even be traced back to Moses.”

3. From our understanding of prophecy, much is now in place for the end-time scenario with some important pieces of the jigsaw almost ready to be put in place, e.g., the arrival of the beast power in Europe and a new charismatic leader; a third temple to be built; nations with nuclear capabilities which could be unleashed at the press of a button; and all of the unprecedented problems that the world now faces for which there are no humanly-devised answers available.
4. Signs of the times.  We read in Matthew 24:32-33: “Now learn this parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer isSo you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near—at the doors!” This follows on from Jesus talking about His Second Coming (see verses 29-31).   We have to discern what is going on in the world and how prophecy is being fulfilled.

There have always been scoffers about, and there are plenty today – those that deride the understanding that there is indeed a supreme Almighty God, and even if this is admitted, scoffing about the return of Christ abounds.

“And as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man: They ate, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all.  Likewise as it was also in the days of Lot: They ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built; but on the day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all.  Even so will it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed” (Luke 17:26-30).

We further read in 2 Peter 3:1-4 a passage that shows that there will be scoffers at the end of this age: “Beloved, I now write to you this second epistle (in both of which I stir up your pure minds by way of reminder),  that you may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us, the apostles of the Lord and Savior,  knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, and saying, ‘Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.’”

Jude verses 17-18 also reveals mockers: “But you, beloved, remember the words which were spoken before by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ:  how they told you that there would be mockers in the last time who would walk according to their own ungodly lusts.” 

The original question asked was “Don’t you emphasise the end times too much when there still seems to be plenty of time left?,” and it is an assumption that there seems to be plenty of time left, but is there?

Some claim that it has been the end times since the inauguration of the New Testament Church in 31 AD and that it is a period of time from the first coming of Jesus Christ until His return.   After all, we read in 2 Peter 3:8: “But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.”

On the website “got questions,” we read:

“In a sense, the marking of time is irrelevant to God because He transcends it. Peter, in 2 Peter 3:8, cautioned his readers not to let this one critical fact escape their notice—that God’s perspective on time is far different from mankind’s (Psalm 102:12; 24-27). The Lord does not count time as we do. He is above and outside of the sphere of time. God sees all of eternity’s past and eternity’s future. The time that passes on earth is of no consequence from God’s timeless perspective. A second is no different from an eon; a billion years pass like seconds to the eternal God.

“Though we cannot possibly comprehend this idea of eternity or the timelessness of God, we in our finite minds try to confine an infinite God to our time schedule. Those who foolishly demand that God operate according to their time frame ignore the fact that He is the ‘High and Lofty One . . . who lives forever’ (Isaiah 57:15).”

The phrase “with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day” shows the difference between God and man and is just a way of trying to show that the difference between the ways of God and the ways of man are so great that words cannot do this justice.   It is a way of trying to describe that which we cannot really understand.  God is patient, and He gives us the time we need; man, generally, is impatient.

However, the idea that in regard to Christ’s Second Coming, the end-times began with Christ’s first coming does not at all convey accurately what the Bible is talking about. The prophecies and statements regarding Christ’s Second Coming do not refer to events which occurred about 2,000 years ago, but are written for the last generation—for OUR learning and instruction, “on whom the end of the ages have come” (1 Corinthians 10:11). Paul was inspired to address us today, even though, as we pointed out in the previous Q&A, he might have thought that he would experience the return of Christ in his lifetime. Also compare Christ’s words in Revelation 1:1-3, saying that the time of the Day of the Lord (the main theme of the Book of Revelation) was near or at hand. Again, He addressed the end-time generation with this statement, as it could by no means be said that the Day of the Lord was near about 2,000 years ago.

No one knows the time of Jesus Christ’s return, except the Father, who is the One who will decide as to when He will send Christ back, and those who take it easy, not expecting His return anytime soon, could be caught out as we read in Matthew 24:36-44, and that would be a very unfortunate position to be in.  Jesus was “about His Father’s business” at the age of 12 as we read in Luke 2:41-49.   Can we, as followers of Jesus, do any less?

The signs are there in the world today that man simply does not have the answers to the many and varied problems that exist, and only the intervention of God to save mankind will resolve this matter.   But we must be close as we understand prophecy and how it is being fulfilled on the world scene now.   It surely cannot be that long but it is for the Father only to decide such timing.

Let us consider this. Regardless as to when Christ returns, those called and chosen will have lived a far better life than they would have done had they remained “in the world” and its ways.   God’s Way brings far more joy, happiness and peace of mind and it enables them to be a part of the end-time commission to the Church to preach the gospel. And the future for those called and chosen by God will be an eternity of serving and sharing in the Kingdom of God.

Please see the sermon given by Mr Eric Rank entitled “Don’t Stop Living,” given on 20^th August 2022, where he encourages everyone to proceed with normal planning in our lives involving God in every way and aligning ourselves with His Way of Life and if Christ returns before such plans come to maturity, then something much better will replace them – the Kingdom of God. https://www.globalchurchofgod.co.uk/dont-stop-living/

We know from Scripture that Jesus will return and whether we died before this or are still alive at that time, we will be with Him when He does.   As we read earlier in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18: “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.  Therefore comfort one another with these words.”

Until that time happens, it is our job to warn the nations about what is just around the corner.   We do that through the StandingWatch programme, through all of the material that is available on our website, and through our advertising and involvement with social media outlets that allow us to reach right across the globe.   And we will continue to do this for as long as we are able and for as long as God allows us to do this in His service.

Lead Writer: Brian Gale (United Kingdom)

compiled by Dave Harris

“How We Are Destroying Ourselves,” is the title of a new StandingWatch program, presented by Evangelist Norbert Link. Here is a summary: 

Certain developments might very well contribute to the prophesied downfall of America and Britain. We report on dangerous and risky experiments taking place in laboratories in London, England, and in Boston, USA, which were called “insanity” and which could unleash, in theory, a new deadly “viral threat”; and we address a new lethal chemical, dubbed as a “weapon of mass destruction,” which has arrived on American soil in quantities which could kill every American citizen seven times over.

“Der Thron Davids und Jakobs Gedenkstein („der Stein des Schicksals“),” is the title of this Sabbath’s new German sermon, presented by Norbert Link. Title in English: “The Throne of David and Jacob’s Pillar Stone (‘the Stone of Destiny’).”

“Wachsen in der Erkenntnis Gottes—Aber wie?” is the title of last Sabbath’s German sermonette, presented by Mike Richter. Title in English:  “Grow in the Knowledge of God—But How?”

“Sind wir das Salz der Erde?” is the title of last Sabbath’s German sermon, presented by Thilo Hanstein. Title in English: “Are We the Salt of the Earth?”

“Live with the Right Vision—Comments on News and Prophecy (October 29, 2022), the first message presented last by Norbert Link, is now posted. Here is a summary:

Terrible Events are escalating in the world on a daily basis, and the future looks grim. Some say that there is no reason to study hard in school or college in order to get good grades; pursue a career, get married, have children, and plan otherwise for the future in general, as the world will end soon and Christ’s return is on the horizon. But is this the right approach?

“How Are We to Do God’s Work?” the sermon presented last Sabbath by Norbert Link, is now posted. Here is a summary:

Many different ideas exist today as to what is the responsibility of God’s Church in these end times, and how to accomplish what we are commissioned to do. The Bible compares our task with the blowing of trumpets to warn of impending disaster. It also shows us how we are to blow these trumpets. It takes dedication and zeal, as well as total reliance on God and the conviction that He will bless our efforts as long as we are loyal to Him and do not give up.