On December 15th, 2012, Dave Harris will give the sermon, titled, “Six-Hundred Years.”
 
The services can be heard at www.cognetservices.org (12:30 pm Pacific Time; 1:30 pm Mountain Time; 2:30 pm Central Time; 3:30 pm Eastern Time). Just click on Connect to Live Stream.

With the recent elections behind us, the focus for the USA is now on what the future will bring. Ongoing talks about a compromise to solve or at least “help”  in some way the outcome of the fiscal cliff and the economic issues is the immediate center of attention for this nation.  However, either way one looks at this, the outcome, as we know it, looks grim. This nation will never dig its way out of the hole it has dug, which appears to look more and more like a grave. That is, until Christ returns to put a stop to all of this. 

This is no surprise to those who actually understand what the Bible is saying and what the Bible has prophesied since the beginning, about the fate of this country and the Commonwealth nations of the British Isles, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and others. The current state that this nation is in, is the result of a selfish attitude to put matters in their own hands and ignorantly giving in to Satan, instead of looking to God for help. 

God the Father has given for now His authority to the god of this world, Satan the devil, and the leaders and nations of this world have unknowingly followed Satan instead of the one true God (Revelation 13:4-5).  And so have many of the people we may know, including close friends of ours, who have been deceived by keeping the things that God prohibits and thereby not keeping the things that God commands. God’s plan for this nation is quite evident and clearly prophesied.  Since we are aware of it, we have to be extra vigilant that we don’t slip up and “forget” His plan and purpose. 

At the same time, what we must understand is that God is in overall control of this entire situation, as He is in control of our individual lives.

As we pointed out in our free booklet, “Human Suffering, Why…and How Much Longer?”, “Satan has been given authority over continental Europe, Russia, China, India, as well as the United States of America, Great Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand—the WHOLE WORLD… Is there a conflict then? Is it Satan or God who has control over man? There is no conflict. Although God has not yet taken Satan from his earthly throne, Satan can only do what God allows him to do! Satan is still subject to God’s Will.”

God is the one who places certain individuals in power to FULFILL His purpose, for “He changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and raises up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise And knowledge to those who have understanding” (Daniel 2:21). God is very clear in the book of Hosea as to who should rule a nation. In chapter 13 and verses 9-11, God says: “”O Israel, you are destroyed, But your help is from Me. I will be your King; Where is any other, That he may save you in all your cities? And your judges to whom you said, ‘Give me a king and princes’? I gave you a king in My anger, And took him away in My wrath.” 

In another place, He says to those who forsake Him: “They set up kings, but not of Me; they made princes, but I did not acknowledge them” (Hosea 8:4). God does not take pity on those who rebel against His law for, “He shall come like an eagle against the house of the Lord, Because they have transgressed My covenant And rebelled against My law” (Hosea 8:1).

Just as God has a specific plan for you and me, He also has a predetermined plan and purpose for all the nations (Acts 17:26).  Today, the leaders of this world are not in search of the one true God, to have God fight their battles; yet they look to their own reasoning and resources.  What about us? Do we look to God in EVERY situation we are faced with? 

Situations will become more severe and we will have to stand up for what is right despite what politicians and leaders insist on what is “ok,” but contrary to God’s law.  We must NEVER leave Him out of the picture, but put matters into His hands (2 Corinthians 1:9; Jeremiah 17:5; Deuteronomy 1:30). This is very difficult to do at times, especially in the heat of the moment.  We must keep our head high and look to God for help.  It’s not going to get easier for this nation, but it’s necessary in light of prophecy and God’s plan, for He states in Jeremiah 27:5, “I have made the earth, the man and the beast that are on the ground, by My great power and by My outstretched arm, and have given it to whom it seemed proper to Me.” 

Satan may have his glory here on earth, but it is only temporary, for God is in complete control and the end result will be fulfilled victoriously, according to His plan.

We begin with the ongoing troublesome situation in Egypt and the naïve and shortsighted politics of the USA which has been supporting the radical Muslim Brotherhood, while still providing Egypt’s powerful army with weapons. The shocking report of the Muslim Brotherhood’s current torture methods is a terrible indictment against America’s claim of supporting the suppressed. At the same time, the California Supreme Court will be hearing a legal case challenging Barak Obama’s eligibility as President, while leading American politicians are accused of playing “Russian Roulette.” We also relate a shocking report regarding “invisible soldiers.”

Turning to Germany, we are citing from the German press which is now becoming openly critical of Egypt’s return to dictatorship, while stating that neither the government nor the opposition are correct or competent. We are also reporting on the upcoming political battle and fight for the German chancellorship and introducing you to Angela Merkel’s challenger, Peer Steinbrück. Further, the German Parliament legalized circumcision of young boys, but the new law does not annul the negative viewpoint of most Germans on the issue.

While the EU is in the process of taking over Cyprus, frightening reports are being received from Italy, indicating that highly controversial Silvio Berlusconi is contemplating running for the office of Prime Minister, after Mario Monti announced that he will resign. What is even more disturbing is the possibility that the Italian people might actually vote for Berlusconi. Even though present polls suggest that only 20 % of Italians would vote for Berlusconi, it is also speculated that these figures might dramatically change until the new election.

We continue with talking about Europe’s deafening and hypocritical silence regarding Hamas’ declared goal to destroy the state of Israel, while condemning Israel for its settlement policy; report on the wish of the British people to leave the EU and on Britain’s “descent into godlessness”; speak about the discovery of a previously unrecognized asteroid which came dangerously close to earth; and conclude with several articles on Hanukkah and Christmas celebrations, which have become quite similar in recent times.

Egypt’s President Morsi More Dictatorial and Autocratic

The Telegraph wrote on December 10:

“President Mohamed Morsi has ordered Egypt’s army to take on police powers – including the right to arrest civilians – in the run-up to a divisive constitutional referendum that has triggered mass street protests… Late Sunday, the main opposition group, the National Salvation Front, called for huge protests in Cairo to reject the December 15 referendum. It dismissed a key concession Morsi made rescinding another decree giving himself near-absolute powers as too late, saying he had already used it to railroad through the draft constitution…

“National Salvation Front spokesman Sameh Ashour told a news conference [that going ahead] with the referendum ‘in this explosive situation with the threat of the Brothers’ militias amounts to the regime abandoning its responsibilities’… Morsi’s camp argues it is up to the people to accept or reject the draft constitution. If the charter is rejected, Morsi has promised to have a new one drawn up by 100 officials chosen directly by the public rather than appointed by the Islamist-dominated parliament.

“But analysts said still-strong public support for Morsi, and the Brotherhood’s proven ability to mobilise the grassroots level, would likely help the draft constitution be adopted. ‘The Muslim Brotherhood believes that it has majority support so it can win the constitutional referendum,’ said Eric Trager, analyst at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. If that happens, he warned, it would ‘set up the country for prolonged instability’.”

Like Adolf Hitler and his SS and SA militias gambled on the support of a majority of the German people—and got it—so are President Morsi, the Muslim Brotherhood and their military allies engaged in a huge gamble which they might win. Egypt seems to be heading towards a full-fledged (Islamist) dictatorship, and especially the USA has proven to be totally oblivious to this development—as they were for a long time towards Nazi Germany in World War II. Please also note the Gestapo torture methods of the Muslim Brotherhood in the next article.

The Muslim Brotherhood’s Torture Chambers

Al Monitor reported on December 6:

“Al-Masry Al-Youm spent three hours in total in the torture chambers established by the Muslim Brotherhood at the gates of the Ittihadiya Palace in the suburb of Heliopolis. The central torture chamber, which is located in front of the gate facing the Omar Ibn Abdel Aziz Mosque on al-Merghany Street, is secured with a cordon and iron barriers, where the Central Security Forces (CSF) prevent the access of any persons without the authorization of the Brotherhood… The torture process starts once a demonstrator who opposes President Mohammed Morsi is arrested in the clashes or is suspected after the clashes end, and the CSF separate Morsi’s supporters from his opponents. Then, the group members trade off punching, kicking and beating him with a stick on the face and all over his body. They tear off his clothes and take him to the nearest secondary torture chamber…

“It is hard to determine how many locations there are, given that the torture chambers are established as near as possible to where a person is arrested. Before the interrogation process starts, they search him, seize his funds, cellphones or ID, all the while punching and slapping his face in order to get him to confess to being a thug and working for money. They ask him why he took to the street, whether he got paid to take part in the protest and whether he supports Mohamed ElBaradei, founder of the Constitution Party, or Hamdeen Sabahi, founder of the Egyptian Popular Current or the dissolved Egyptian Nationalist movement. As long as this person denies the allegations, they beat him and insult his parents…

“After a while, the detainee is transported from the secondary torture chamber to the central one. On his way, the beatings and insults continue. Every time the prisoner encounters a member of the Brotherhood, that person gets in his share of the insults and beatings. They also may collectively insult him before he enters the central room, while a Brotherhood lawyer hands over his national ID card, his funds and his belongings to the SSIS chief…

“The health conditions of some of the prisoners was very bad and they were unable to answer questions. Some of them were bleeding all over their bodies, severely exhausted and not receiving any medical aid…”

The Associated Press reported on December 11:

“They showed a military-style precision: Crowds of bearded Islamists proclaiming allegiance to Egypt’s President Mohammed Morsi and chanting ‘God is great’ as they descended on tents set up by anti-Morsi protesters outside the presidential palace, swinging clubs and firing rifles… a former Brotherhood member and now an opponent of the group, said the Brotherhood was surprised by the public opposition to Morsi’s moves ‘and they had no hesitation in hastening to implement their ideas and resorting to violence.’…

“One of the detention center victims, Yehia Negm, an Egyptian diplomat who has been an outspoken critic of Mubarak, told The Associated Press he was dragged on the ground from one of the frontlines to the center, where he was beaten. He is suffering from multiple injuries in the head, eye, nose, and ribs from beating and had remains of pellets in his forehead from gunfire during the clashes. ‘When they found my ID that says a diplomat, they started accusing me of working with security agencies, of being a spy and of serving foreign countries,’ Negm said. ‘They rained beatings down on me. They started yelling at me, saying, “You infidels, you want to burn the country down, you are not Muslims.’”

And these are the people the West is supporting to govern Egypt! Continue to read about Washington’s naivety in the next article.

Muslim Brotherhood Best Friend of Washington

The Washington Post wrote on December 7:

“How did Washington become the best friend of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, even as President Mohamed Morsi was asserting dictatorial powers and his followers were beating up secular liberals in the streets of Cairo? It’s a question many Arabs ask these days, and it deserves an answer.

“Morsi and his Brotherhood followers are on a power trip after decades of isolation and persecution. You could see that newfound status when Morsi visited the United Nations in September and even more so during the diplomacy that led to last month’s cease-fire in Gaza, brokered by Morsi and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. The Brotherhood leaders had gone from outcasts to superstars, and they were basking in the attention…

“The Obama administration has been Morsi’s main enabler. U.S. officials have worked closely with him on economic development and regional diplomacy. Visiting Washington last week, Morsi’s top aides were touting their boss’s close contacts with President Obama and describing phone calls between the two leaders that led to the Gaza cease-fire… Probably thinking he had America’s backing, Morsi overreached on Nov. 22 by declaring that his presidential decrees were not subject to judicial review…

“Through this upheaval, the Obama administration has been oddly restrained…

“For a lesson in the dangers of falling in love with your client, look at Iraq: U.S. officials, starting with President George W. Bush and Gen. David Petraeus, kept lauding Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, despite warnings from many Iraqis that he was a conspiratorial politician who would end up siding with Iran. This misplaced affection continued into the Obama administration: Even after the Iraqi people in their wisdom voted in 2010 to dump Maliki, the United States helped him cobble together enough support to remain in power. Arab observers are still scratching their heads trying to understand that one…”

America’s futile (and foolish) attempts to buy allies are strongly condemned in Scripture. If you are still not convinced, then read the next article:

USA Supports Muslim Brotherhood Militarily

The Washington times wrote on December 8:

“For Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood-dominated government, more battle tanks and jet fighters are on their way from the United States. Cairo’s military link to Washington has remained intact, meaning the U.S. will continue to modernize the biggest military in Africa… Analysts say Egypt’s military buildup presents risks for Washington — and Israel — with the growing influence of the Brotherhood, whose overriding goal is to establish Shariah, or Islamic, law worldwide… Egypt is due 200 M1A1 Abrams battle tanks, the same mechanized firepower manned by American soldiers, bringing Egypt’s inventory to a robust 1,200. Also in the pipeline is a squadron of the Air Force F-16 Falcon, a multipurpose warplane able to dogfight and drop ordnance… The billions of dollars in U.S. military aid — in annual $1.3 billion stipends — have made the Egyptian air force the fourth-largest F-16 operator among 25 countries. Egypt’s 4,000 tanks, including the 1,000 or so M1A1s, make it the world’s seventh-largest tank army…

“Frank Gaffney, a senior defense policymaker in the Reagan administration, has been warning about the rise of the Brotherhood as it relates to the U.S. ‘My principal concern with the Obama administration’s approach to Egypt is they seem oblivious to the fact it is now in the hands of a regime that is deeply hostile to the United States and certainly poses an immediate threat, I believe, to our friends in Israel,’ said Mr. Gaffney… ‘Under those circumstances, it is alarming that they are continuing to arm Egypt in a way that can only exacerbate the threat… There are two things that are troubling… One is the sheer quantity of the weapons that these enemies of the United States have inherited, let alone those they will be getting if we continue to make arms sales with them. The second is the quality of these weapons’…

“Could U.S.-produced F-16s, manned by Egyptian pilots, one day attack Israel? ‘I think that is a valid concern, given the ideological goals of the Muslim Brotherhood,’ Mr. Phillips  [James Phillips, a Middle East analyst at the Heritage Foundation] said… Egypt is the second-largest recipient of U.S. military aid; Israel is first.

“Most of Egypt’s assistance is in the form of weapons, such as tanks and fighters, bought with U.S. tax dollars through a program called Foreign Military Sales. According to the Congressional Research Service, Egypt has ordered $14 billion in equipment since 2003.”

Israel National News reported on December 12:

“Egypt’s increasingly unstable Muslim Brotherhood regime, voted into power on an anti-US and anti-Israel platform, is about to receive 20 F-16 fighters jets [from the USA]…  The order for the Lockheed-Martin planes is another win for the American military-industrial complex… Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. Wesley Miller explained to Fox, ‘The U.S.-Egypt defense relationship has served as the cornerstone of our broader strategic partnership for over thirty years. The delivery of the first set of F-16s in January 2013 reflects the U.S. commitment to supporting the Egyptian military’s modernization efforts. Egyptian acquisition of F-16s will increase our militaries’ interoperability, and enhance Egypt’s capacity to contribute to regional mission sets.’

“President Barack Obama had distanced himself from the Muslim Brotherhood until it became clear that it was a driving force following the fall of Mubarak. In a radical shift of foreign policy, Obama’s advisors, some of whom support a more liberal policy towards Hamas, began making contacts with the Muslim Brotherhood and eventually established open contacts with the radical Islamic party.”

America’s desires to “buy” allies have rarely been successful. They “bought” the alliance of Russia against Germany in World War II; the friendship of Saddam Hussein against Iran; and the cooperation of Osama bin Laden against Russia in Afghanistan. In each case, those “friendships” with “allies” have turned to challenges and defeat through Frankenstein monsters.

California Supreme Court to Rule on Barack Obama’s Eligibility as President

On December 5, Beforeitsnews.com published the following press release from the Law Offices of Dr. Orly Taitz:

“Breaking news! Supreme Court of CA to rule whether Obama should be declared illegitimate for the U.S. Presidency due to his use of forged IDs and a fraudulently obtained CT Social Security number. Loss of 55 CA electoral votes will certainly mean new elections in the U.S.

“After originally refusing to hear the case under the original jurisdiction, Supreme Court of California was persuaded by Attorney and Candidate for the U.S. Senate Dr. Orly Taitz to take on a case Noonan, Judd, MacLaren [sic], Taitz v Bowen under the provisions of the California Constitution, which allow Supreme Court of California to hear special cases under the Original Jurisdiction…

“This case is brought on behalf of four plaintiffs, all of whom have perfect standing. Edward Noonan won the American Independent Party Presidential Primary in CA and certificate of his win was submitted to the court. Keith Judd is a Democratic Party candidate for the U.S. Presidency, registered with the FEC, he was a runner up to Barack Obama in West Virginia Democratic Party Primary with 40% of the vote, Thomas Gregory Macleran was a Republican candidate for President, registered with the FEC. Attorney and Doctor Orly Taitz was a candidate for the U.S. Senate in CA.

“This case has two premises.

“First. Plaintiffs provided the court with evidence of nearly One and a half million invalid voter registrations in the state of California. Such a large number of invalid votes justifies STAY of certification of the results.

“Second. Plaintiffs provided evidence of Candidate Barack Obama committing massive elections fraud by using forged IDs and a fraudulently obtained Connecticut Social Security number 042-68-4425, which was never assigned to Obama and using a name, which is not legally his, as he is listed under the last name Soebarkah in his mother’s U.S. Passport and there is no evidence of him ever legally changing his name from Barack Obama Soebarkah to Barack Obama. Additionally, in his school records in Indonesia his citizenship is listed as Indonesian, not American. There is no record of him relinquishing his Indonesian citizenship and gaining the U.S. citizenship. Even if one were to believe that he arguendo changed his citizenship from Indonesian to American later in life, he would be a naturalized citizen and not natural born.

“Additionally, plaintiffs provided the courts with a sworn affidavits of Maricopa county, AZ investigator Mike Zullo, who is currently conducting a criminal investigation of forgeries in Obama’s IDs, and who attested that Obama’s birth certificate, Selective Service certificate and Social Security card represent forgeries. Similarly, Plaintiffs provided affidavits of Sheriff Joseph Arpaio, Senior Deportation Officer John Sampson, experts Paul Irey, Douglas Vogt and Felicito Papa and investigator Susan Daniels, all of whom are attesting that Obama’s IDs are forgeries.

“Affidavit of Assistant Clerk for the City of Honolulu Timothy Adams attests to the fact that there is no birth certificate for Barack Obama in any hospital in Hawaii. Statement of the Minister of Health of Kenya, James Orenga attesting to Obama’s birth in Kenya and Obama’s own biography submitted by him to his literally agent in 1991, stating that he was born in Kenya and raised in Indonesia. Plaintiffs are stating that if this court does not STAY the certification of the election results, this court will commit treason against the United States of America by allowing a foreign national, a citizen of Indonesia and possibly still citizen of Kenya to get in the position of the U.S. President and Commander in Chief by virtue of fraud and use of forged IDs and a stolen Social Security number.

“Attorney Orly Taitz is a civil rights attorney, who is conducting this and a number of other cases pro bono… If the Supreme Court of California does not grant a STAY, the case will go to Supreme Court of the United States Justice Anthony Kennedy, who is in charge of the 9th Circuit.”

There are truly far too many questions surrounding Barack Obama’s eligibility as US President than to simply ignore, and premature and rather naïve and uninformed comments by conservative Fox News commentators such as Bill O’Reilly (who is highly promoting his Christmas merchandize around this time of year and just mockingly denied the FACT that the Christmas tree is being condemned in Jeremiah 10) or Greta Van Susteren that they are satisfied with Barak Obama’s legal legibility are extremely counterproductive. Donald Trump IS correct in pursuing this issue, even though his constant flip-flops and ridiculous public stunts have not helped either.

America Plays Russian Roulette

Newsmax wrote on December 12:

“Sens. Joseph Lieberman and John McCain say they’re not encouraged by the talks between President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner and worry that they’re playing ‘chicken’ and ‘Russian roulette’ with the approaching year-end deadline for striking a debt reduction deal… Lieberman, an independent who is retiring from the Senate at the end of this year, said everybody knows that both Republicans and Democrats ‘have got to act’ to avert the combination of automatic spending cuts and tax increases due to begin on Jan. 2…

“But he added, ‘Right now I feel the contrary happening… That is playing with fire,’ he said, calling it ‘high-risk . . . Russian roulette’ to allow the country to go ‘over the cliff’ and then ‘come back under that pressure and negotiate a deal in January’ when the new Congress convenes. ‘The consequences could be disastrous,’ Lieberman continued…

“[Republican] McCain… indicated Republicans would have to be guaranteed that spending cuts and entitlement reforms would be addressed early next year in exchange for tax hikes on higher income earners. ‘We know what the elephant in the room is. It’s entitlements,’ McCain said.”

Whether or not intentionally jumping or inadvertently falling from the fiscal cliff can be avoided, this country is in deep and irreversible trouble.

Completely Invisible Soldiers?

The Daily Mail reported on December 10:

“The U.S. military is backing the development of camouflage fabrics that could one day make their soldiers completely invisible, it has been claimed. The so-called ‘Quantum Stealth’ camouflage material is said to render its wearers completely invisible by bending light waves around them…

“However, its development is apparently so secret the Canadian company behind it says it cannot even show the technology in action and offers only mock ups of its effect on their website. Nevertheless, Guy Cramer, CEO of Hyperstealth Biotechnology Corp, says he does not care that some observers remain sceptical as to his company’s claims since ‘the people that need to know that it works have seen it. Two separate command groups within the U.S. Military and two separate Canadian Military groups as well as Federal Emergency Response Team (Counter Terrorism) have seen the actual material so they could verify that I was not just manipulating video or photo results,’ Mr Cramer said. ‘These groups now know that it works and does so without cameras, batteries, lights or mirrors… It is lightweight and quite inexpensive. Both the U.S. and Canadian military have confirmed that it also works against military IR scopes and Thermal Optic’…

“In a statement published on his company’s website, Mr Cramer… says it would… allow special forces teams to carry out raids in broad daylight without detection; it could enable the creation of the next generation of stealth aircraft, invisible not only to radar but also the naked eye; and it would enable submarines to remain concealed even when they surface near an enemy fleet. Most incredibly, he imagines a group of Canadian battle tanks decked out with Quantum Stealth camouflage that could engage an enemy unit with no signs of their location except the sound of their engines and guns. ‘As news spreads of an invisible Canadian army which can move without detection, the psychological effect on the enemy is devastating, they never know when or even if this invisible army has them targeted or surrounded,’ he said. ‘How can you hit a target you cannot see, how do you defend from the invisible?’”

Of course, if true, enemies of the USA, the British Isles and Canada could use this weapon too, if it falls into their hands.

German Reactions to Morsi’s Power Grab and the Arab Spring

Süddeutsche Zeitung wrote on December 7: “The only thing that Morsi, the Muslim Brotherhood functionary who rose to become head of state, has proven, is his inability to facilitate the integration of Egypt’s 85 million people… Neither side can be counted on for understanding…”

Handelsblatt wrote on December 7: “In light of the current polarization between the Islamists and the secular camps, Egypt now finds itself in a deep political crisis. The crisis contributes to the worsening of the country’s long-standing and severe economic problems and weakens the role of Egypt in the region… The country suffers from the incompetent governance of the Muslim Brotherhood and at the same time the immaturity of the opposition.”

Die Welt wrote on December 7: “… people who have no experience with freedom will misuse it, and the consequences will be chaos and renewed violence… Morsi … is an Islamist, but not a holy warrior. Rather, he is a crafty power-hungry politician… The Arab Spring is turning into a hard winter…”

The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung wrote on December 7: “Violence as a means of political confrontation is escalating and a calming of the situation is not in sight…”

Egypt will suffer much in the future, as the Bible clearly prophesies.

Steinbrück vs. Merkel

Der Spiegel Online wrote on December 10:

“Germany’s opposition Social Democrats attempted to relaunch their campaign to oust Chancellor Angela Merkel in the 2013 election by giving strong backing on Sunday to their candidate, Peer Steinbrück… Steinbrück, a former governor of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany’s most populous state, served as finance minister under Merkel from 2005 to 2009 in a ‘grand coalition’ between her conservatives and the SPD. He won praise for his assured handling of the global financial crisis and subsequent economic downturn in 2008 and 2009. But he has been unable so far to allay doubts about whether he will be able to mobilize enough center-left voters to have a chance of ousting Merkel… He faces an uphill struggle to beat Merkel… were Germans able to vote directly for their chancellor, 49 percent would support the incumbent chancellor with just 39 percent of respondents saying they would vote for Steinbrück. Still, that gap has narrowed in recent weeks.

“More to the point, Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union party (CDU), together with its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU), stood at 39 percent in the poll, well ahead of the SPD at 30 percent. The Greens scored 14 percent and the pro-business FDP, Merkel’s junior coalition party, was at 4 percent, below the 5 percent threshold it would need to be able to stay in parliament… Steinbrück, 65, ruled out serving in another grand coalition. ‘I don’t just want a partial change of government… I want an entirely new government. I want an SPD-Greens government for our country. I’m not available for any grand coalition.’ Political analysts say, however, that such a coalition is the most likely outcome of the next election.”

This would be another unwelcome development for Germany. In its history, grand coalitions between CDU and SPD have never worked, but have led to violent developments in the 60’s.

Who is Steinbrück?

The Local wrote on December 10 that Steinbrück “has the uphill task of stopping the world’s most powerful woman from winning a third term,” continuing:

“Voters recently had a taste of his fiery debating style in the Bundestag lower house of parliament, notably when he accused Merkel of doing the ‘dance of the seven veils’ on saving Greece and challenging her to ‘tell it how it is’… He has not been helped by a rocky start to his campaign, first accused of using his influence when finance minister to gain sponsorship for a chess match, then admitting he earned €1.25 million ($1.61 million) for speeches… Gero Neugebauer, political scientist at the Free University in Berlin, also said Steinbrück’s style was similar to that of Merkel’s, although more dynamic. ‘If Merkel is often described as hesitant, Steinbrück is a man of action,’ said Neugebauer.

“… his sense of humour has at times landed him in hot water and led to one newspaper dubbing him the ‘most hated man in Switzerland’ after he compared the Swiss to ‘Indians’ during a bitter tax row between the two neighbours… SPD supporters will hope that his campaign follows the example of his favourite animal, the rhinoceros. ‘It starts very slowly but when it gets going, nothing can stop it,’ said Steinbrück.”

Even though very few seem to be willing to predict that Steinbrück will win the next election, stranger things have happened.

Circumcision Legal in Germany

The Local wrote on December 12:

“Members of lower house of parliament the Bundestag passed the cross-party motion with 434 votes for the measure, 100 against and with 46 abstentions. The legislation states that male infants may be circumcised for religious reasons within six months of their birth by a ‘specially trained’ practitioner, although this person does not have to be a doctor. Nevertheless, the rite must be carried out ‘in a professional medical manner,’ the law states and stipulates exemptions for infants who could be at risk from the practice such as haemophiliacs.

“The legislation sought to clear up confusion after a judgement published in June by the regional court in the western city of Cologne. While considering a case brought against a doctor who had circumcised a Muslim boy, the court ruled the rite was tantamount to grievous bodily harm. The decision united Jewish and Muslim groups in opposition and caused outrage from religious and political leaders in Israel and Muslim countries.”

Even though the law might now allow circumcision of Jewish and Muslim boys, almost 150 members of parliament did not vote in support of the legislation. In addition, the majority of the German people are opposed to the practice. The many published negative commentaries on the issue in the weekly, Die Zeit, are rather telling. And at a given moment, laws can always be changed again. Notice also the next article.

Concerns Remain

NBC reported on December 12:

“‘The basic sentiment here is anti-religious,’ said Sylke Tempel, editor-in-chief of Internationale Politik, a foreign policy journal published by the German Council of Foreign Affairs. ‘And Germans throw overboard anything that has to do with tradition.’ According to Tempel, the Cologne ruling was not a deliberate attack on Islam or Judaism but showed a total misunderstanding of how important circumcision is to both religions. TNS Emnid, a German polling organization, found in a July 2012 survey that 56 percent of Germans agree with the Cologne ruling.

“Deirdre Berger, executive director of the American Jewish Committee in Berlin, a Jewish advocacy organization, said that the Cologne ruling can be traced to a body of law and medical literature that has been accumulating over the past decade… While applauding Wednesday’s vote to legalize circumcision, Berger does not believe this ends the controversy. The law is likely to be appealed to Germany’s Supreme Court, she said, and could open the door to more restrictive legislation in other European countries that are having similar anti-circumcision debates.”

EU Takes Over Cyprus

Der Spiegel Online wrote on December 10:

“Cyprus wants help from the European Union’s bailout fund. But the price for the billions in emergency aid money is high. The country will effectively lose its sovereignty… it is already clear that in return for billions of euros for the debt-ridden country from the European bailout fund, the ‘troika,’ made up of the European Commission, the European Central Bank (ECB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), will essentially take control of the Mediterranean island.”

The Return of Italy’s Berlusconi?

Der Spiegel Online wrote on December 10:

“Italy faces a return to political chaos after Prime Minister Mario Monti announced at the weekend that he will resign, prompting his notorious predecessor Silvio Berlusconi to say he would attempt a comeback.  The renewed uncertainty sent European shares into a slump as trading for the week began on Monday morning. Investors aren’t the only ones worried, either…

“After a crisis meeting with Italian President Giorgio Napolitano on Saturday, Monti, a well-respected economist who is largely seen as responsible for restoring trust in the country’s ability to weather the euro crisis, announced that he would step down before the end of his term, pending parliamentary approval of next year’s federal budget. This is expected to occur before Christmas…

“In response, 76-year-old Berlusconi, who is embroiled in a sex scandal, said he would pursue a fifth term as prime minister. The election was scheduled for March or April, but is now likely to be brought forward to February. Many fear that Berlusconi could send Italy spiraling into ruin if he is re-elected… Meanwhile, European Commission President José Manuel Barroso warned on Sunday that the euro zone’s third-largest economy cannot be allowed to turn its back on reforms… European Central Bank executive board member Jörg Asmussen told German newspaper Bild that Monti’s government had ‘achieved great things in a short amount of time,’ including the return of investor trust and budgetary consolidation. ‘Whoever governs Italy — a founding member of the EU — after the election, must continue this course with the same seriousness,’ he added…

“But Berlusconi, who was sentenced to jail time for tax fraud in October, seems determined to fight his way through his upcoming trial — over paying for sex with an underage prostitute — and back to the top of the country’s political world.

“The billionaire media tycoon has his popularity measured by polls on weekly and sometimes even daily basis. And these have recently shown that the time may be ripe for a comeback, with Monti’s government no longer as popular as it once was thanks to drastically rising taxes, a tough fight against tax fraud in the sports world and the loss of thousands of jobs through austerity measures. Berlusconi, by contrast, has promised to save Italy and defend it from the ‘diktat’ of German Chancellor Angela Merkel that he alleges was followed dutifully by Monti. Berlusconi’s campaign promises to be heavily populist, and with his party on the verge of falling apart, the media mogul has little to lose.

“At this point, no one can predict who will lead Italy after the election…”

Berlusconi, not unlike Hitler, promises his people great things. And who knows, he might deliver some, but under his rule, Italy is bound to lose. However, the Bible makes it very clear that Italy will remain a strong member of the EU, but the usual Italian political chaos and economic uncertainty could trigger the need and necessity for Italy to give over their authority to a central European power, led by Germany.

Europe’s Deafening Silence Towards Abbas and Hamas

The Times of Israel wrote on December 10:

“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday slammed the international community and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas for failing to speak out against explicit calls for Israel’s destruction by Hamas leaders on Saturday. Speaking at a Hanukkah ceremony with the foreign press, Netanyahu contrasted Europe’s condemnations of Israel for approving construction plans in East Jerusalem and the West Bank, with its lack of response to Hamas political leader Khaled Mashaal’s weekend speech in Gaza, in which he said the Palestinians would ‘not give up an inch of Palestine,’ and that ‘Jihad and armed resistance is the only way.’

“Said Netanyahu: ‘This weekend, the leaders of Hamas openly called for the destruction of Israel. Where was the outrage? Where were the UN resolutions? Where was President Abbas?’ Soon after Netanyahu spoke on Sunday afternoon, the EU did issue a statement saying that it found ‘inflammatory statements by Hamas leaders that deny Israel’s right to exist unacceptable. The European Union will never cease its efforts to combat terrorism which seeks to undermine the openness and tolerance of societies through indiscriminate acts of violence against civilians.’… ‘Why weren’t Palestinian diplomats summoned in European and other capitals to explain why the PA president not only refused to condemn this but actually declared his intention to unite with Hamas,’ Netanyahu asked…

“Hamas chief Mashaal completed a three-day visit to Gaza on Sunday. In a speech marking the terrorist group’s 25th anniversary, he reiterated his movement’s commitment to wipe out the state of Israel… Netanyahu made his statements as 27 foreign ministers of EU countries were convening in Brussels to debate [and condemn] Israel’s approval last week of the thousands of housing units to be built in East Jerusalem and the West Bank… Ahead of the meeting, Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt said Europe’s political view of the Middle East has changed profoundly because of Israel’s advancement of plans to build 3,000 new settler homes in the West Bank and East Jerusalem… British Foreign Secretary William Hague said he expected ‘the entire EU will be strongly opposed’ to the settlement building.”

Europe’s double-standard and hypocrisy regarding Israel and the Palestinians should clearly be visible for every objective observer. The Bible shows that Europe will turn totally against Israel—even with military means. Notice the next article.

Europe Determined to Destroy Israel?

The Times of Israel wrote on December 12:

“Europe rushes to condemn any settlement activity in the West Bank, but regards with equanimity the prospect of the Jewish state’s destruction, Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman charged on Tuesday, comparing European UN delegates to members of Fatah, and reiterating his long-standing view that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is not a figure with whom Israel can negotiate.

“Liberman also said that the next rocket attacks on Israel from Gaza would prompt a far more dramatic Israeli response than last month’s eight-day Operation Pillar of Defense. Israel would not be able to suffice with what he called surgical strikes, but would have to use ground forces and retake all of Gaza, from which Israel withdrew completely in 2005. ‘The next missile attack will obligate us to send in ground forces and, unlike with Pillar of Defense, to take complete control of Gaza. And the world should not urge Israel to exercise restraint.’

“Speaking at a Hanukkah menorah-lighting ceremony in Tel Aviv, Liberman slammed the international community for applauding Abbas’s speech last month to the United Nations General Assembly during a deliberation of the PA’s successful bid to upgrade its status in the international body to ‘nonmember state.’…

“Liberman also directed critical remarks at the European Union, which on Monday issued a scathing condemnation of an Israeli announcement of plans to build 3,000 new units in the West Bank… ‘Many European Union foreign ministers simply ignore reality,’ the foreign minister said. ‘As far as they’re concerned, the destruction of Israel is a matter of course.’… Liberman claimed that some of the EU foreign ministers had refused to censure Hamas… ‘I don’t want to name names and cite exact quotes, but a significant number of foreign ministers did not want to mention Hamas in their statement and did not want to insert [in the statement] a sentence calling for the cessation of incitement, when the incitement in question was a direct call for our destruction,’ Liberman said.”

Whether Europe may or may not realize it, the Bible clearly prophesies that in the not-too-distant future, Europe will intervene militarily in the Middle East and occupy the state of Israel.

Britain In or Out?

The Economist wrote on December 8:

“Opinion polls show that most Britons are in favour of leaving the European Union. Baroness Thatcher’s Conservative Party, which took Britain into Europe four decades ago, is divided between those who long for an arm’s-length relationship and those who want to walk out. The second camp is swelling.

“Even the fiercest British critics of the EU are astonished by the speed at which things are moving… A referendum on Britain’s membership of the EU now seems a matter of timing. Continental Europeans are surprised too—and annoyed. They are bewildered that the British should be talking of leaving a club that many believe has shifted decisively in a free-trading, Anglo-Saxon direction in the past two decades.

“They also resent the way Britain seems to be using the threat of an exit as a bargaining tool, especially at a time when the euro is in crisis. As they see it, Britain wants to carve out a privileged place for itself in the European club, where it can enjoy free trade without any of the other membership rules. In Berlin and Rome, political leaders argue that Britain needs to make up its mind once and for all: does it want to be in or out?”

It IS only a matter of time until Great Britain is no longer a part of the EU… at least not of the core European nations.

Britain’s Descent into Godlessness

The Economist wrote on December 11:

“Britain continues its descent into godlessness, according to the latest 2011 Census data. Just over a quarter of people in England and Wales… say they have no religion… The proportion of Christians has fallen from 71.8% to 59.3%. All other main faiths have edged up, and Muslims now account for 4.8% of the population, compared with 3% in 2001. What of less common creeds? About a quarter of a million people ticked the ‘Other religion’ write-in box. Among them, 56,620 wrote Pagan, while Agnostics and Atheists claimed around 30,000 adherents apiece. Rastafarianism, Zoroastrianism and Shamanism made the list, while the most common was Jedi Knight, by 176,632 Star Wars fans…”

And even most of those adhering to “Christianity” are not even trying to follow the dictates of Jesus Christ.

Asteroid Comes Dangerously Close

CBS News reported on December 11:

“A newfound asteroid gave Earth a close shave early today, zipping between our planet and the moon just two days after astronomers first spotted it.The near-Earth asteroid 2012 XE54, which was discovered Sunday (Dec. 9), came within 140,000 miles of our planet at about 5 a.m. EST Tuesday (Dec. 11), researchers said. For comparison, the moon orbits Earth at an average distance of 240,000 miles or so.

“Astronomers estimate that 2012 XE54 is about 120 feet wide — big enough to cause substantial damage if it slams into Earth someday. An object of similar size flattened 800 square miles of forest when it exploded above Siberia’s Podkamennaya Tunguska River in 1908… 2012 XE54 will be coming back to Earth’s neighborhood before too much longer. The asteroid completes one lap around the sun every 2.72 years.

“Scientists have discovered about 9,000 near-Earth asteroids to date, but perhaps a million or more such space rocks are thought to exist. And some of them are potentially dangerous. Observations by NASA’s WISE space telescope suggest that about 4,700 asteroids at least 330 feet wide come uncomfortably close to our planet at some point in their orbits. So far, researchers have spotted less than 30 percent of these large space rocks, which could obliterate an area the size of a state if they slammed into Earth.

“But there are much bigger asteroids out there, such as 4179 Toutatis, a 3-mile-wide behemoth that’s in the process of flying by Earth now. Toutatis will remain 4.3 million miles away during its closest approach Wednesday morning, but it may come closer on future passes. Toutatis would inflict devastating damage if it slammed into Earth, perhaps extinguishing human civilization. The asteroid thought to have killed off the dinosaurs 65 million years ago was about 6 miles wide, researchers say.”

Hanukkah and Its Christmas Influences

The New York Times wrote on December 7:

“When my brother was in kindergarten, where he was the only Jewish student, a parent organizing enrichment activities asked my mother to tell the class the story of Hanukkah. My mother obligingly brought in a picture book and began to read about foreign conquerors who were not letting Jews in ancient Israel worship freely, even defiling their temple, until a scrappy group led by the Maccabee family overthrew one of the most powerful armies in the world and won their liberty.

“The woman was horrified. The Hanukkah story, she interrupted, was not about war. It was about the miracle of an oil lamp that burned for eight days without replenishing. She urged my mother to close the book. My mother refused. The woman wasn’t alone. Many Americans, Jews as well as Christians, think that the legend of the long-lasting oil is the root of Hanukkah’s commemoration. And perhaps that mistake is no surprise, given that for many the holiday has morphed into ‘Christmas for Jews,’ echoing the message of peace on earth accompanied by gift giving. In doing so, the holiday’s own message of Jewish survival and faith has been diluted.

“Hanukkah is one of the most widely celebrated Jewish holidays in America. But unlike Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur and Passover (or even the lesser-known Sukkot and Shavuot), all of which are explicitly mentioned in the Torah, Hanukkah gets only a brief, sketchy reference in the Talmud, the voluminous collection of Jewish oral law and tradition written down hundreds of years after the Maccabees’ revolt.

“There for the first time the miracle of the oil is recorded: the ancient temple in Jerusalem held an eternal flame, but after the desecration by the foreign invaders — including the sacrificing of pigs, a non-kosher animal, on the altar — only one day’s worth of purified oil remained. Yet the faithful went ahead and lighted it.  The oil burned in the rededicated temple for eight days, long enough for a new supply to arrive. Hence the practice of lighting candles for eight nights to observe Hanukkah, which means dedication in Hebrew…

“Though Hanukkah is a minor Jewish holiday, 19th-century activists in America promoted it to encourage their coreligionists to take pride in their heritage. During the 20th century it was embraced more broadly by Jews who wanted to fit in with other Americans celebrating the holiday season — and to make their kids feel better about not getting anything from Santa. It helped, of course, that Hanukkah falls near Christmas on the calendar and traditionally involved candles and small monetary gifts. Over time, children began receiving grander presents, and Hanukkah-themed season’s greeting cards proliferated. Some families even started to purchase ‘Hanukkah bushes,’ small trees often decked out with Stars of David and miniature Maccabees.

“By the 1980s, when I was a child, menorahs had been placed next to mangers in the public square and Hanukkah songs had been incorporated into winter holiday concerts. Despite this recognition, I still felt excluded enough to brag to classmates that my holiday was better than Christmas, since it had eight days of gift giving, instead of one…”

The fact that Christmas and Hanukkah celebrations have become more and more similar should make us pause to think. Also note the next article.

Jewish Organizations in Israel Sell Christmas Trees

The Jewish News Archive reported on December 10, 2012, that “The Jewish National Fund began distribution today of Christmas trees to Christian institutions and individuals.

“The Jerusalem Tree Nursery, in cooperation with the Christian Department of Israel’s Ministry of Religions, also will provide trees for Christian diplomats and foreign experts on duty in Israel.” This was a quote from the Jewish Telegraph Agency, dated December 22, 1959.

Such conduct is most certainly not acceptable in God’s eyes, and it is no surprise that God accuses modern Judah of engaging in idolatrous practices.

The Pagan Lies of Christmas Customs

The Local wrote on December 6:

“[The German] Nikolaus is not to be confused with Santa Claus, who Germans call the Weihnachtsmann… They are two different people… [Nikolaus “appears” each] year on December 6… Known as Nicholas the Wonderworker for his miracles, he is also identified with Santa Claus. Beliefs and traditions about Nikolaus were probably combined with German mythology, particularly regarding stories about the bearded pagan god Odin, who also had a beard and a bag to capture naughty children…

“According to the legend, Nikolaus comes in the middle of the night on a donkey or a horse and leaves little treats – like coins, chocolate, oranges and toys – for good children… Sometimes Nikolaus only leaves a switch in the boot, ostensibly for spankings, to show that the child doesn’t deserve a treat. In other families, a man disguised as St. Nicholas will visit the family or the child’s school alone or with his… sinister-looking alter ego Knecht Ruprecht [representing a demon or even the devil] to question the children about their behaviour…

“Children were often quite frightened of being questioned about their behaviour because they’ve been told that St. Nicholas will hurt them with his rod or even put them in a sack and take them away. Though the custom is in decline, in more Catholic regions, parents inform a local priest of naughty behaviour. The priest then pays a personal visit wearing the traditional Christian garb to threaten the little rugrats with a beating… He is usually pictured with a long white beard, a bishop’s mitre and a red cloak, sometimes with a sack over his shoulder and a rod in his hand…

“Santa Claus, or the Weihnachtsmann, usually comes to German homes – often in person – on the afternoon of Christmas Eve.”

As we can see, all of this is a conglomeration of pagan rites and “Christian” lies. For more information, please read our free booklet, “Don’t Keep Christmas.”

It was Satan’s goal from the outset to try to kill Christ physically and spiritually. Satan attempted to have Christ killed as a Child, including through Herod’s mass murder of young boys from two years old and under. If he had succeeded, this would have altered or even defeated God’s plan for a Saviour, but Satan’s attempt was thwarted by God, and Christ was protected as a Child in Egypt. We might even recall that Satan tried to wipe out all the Jews to prevent Christ from being born as a Jew from the tribe of Judah, but through Esther’s and Mordecai’s brave conduct, that plan was thwarted as well.

Later, Satan tried to defeat Christ spiritually, by tempting Him to sin. He knew that just one sin would have disqualified Christ from being our Saviour. After His baptism, Christ fasted for forty days and forty nights in the wilderness. Satan thought that that was the moment to strike, and that he had the upper hand. He did not realize that God allowed Satan to tempt Christ for the purpose of defeating Satan. After all, it was God the Father’s Spirit which led Christ into the wilderness to be tempted there by Satan.

We read in Matthew 4:1-2: “Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry.”

Satan felt confident that in Christ’s physically weakened state, he could get Him to sin and thus disqualify Him as Saviour of mankind. After Christ had fasted for such an unusually long period of time (the Bible only records that Elijah and Moses fasted that long—Moses even twice), He was very weak physically. But what Satan did not realize was that Christ was now very strong spiritually and extremely close to God. Christ had prepared Himself for Satan’s temptation through fasting, prayer and meditating on God’s Word.

However, Satan thought Christ’s weakened physical state and His hunger were His vulnerable points, and so the devil’s first temptation was to ask Christ to turn stones into bread. Satan reasoned that playing on physical needs and desires would be the best attack against a person who was almost dying of hunger because of such prolonged fasting.

Matthew 4:3-4 continues:  “Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, ‘If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.’ But He answered and said, ‘It is written, “MAN SHALL NOT LIVE BY BREAD ALONE, BUT BY EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS FROM THE MOUTH OF GOD.”’”

First, Satan tried to appeal to vanity and selfishness, by questioning Christ’s status and position, saying, “IF you are the Son  of God.” He was hoping that Christ would respond by exclaiming, “What do you mean, ‘IF’? I’ll show you who I am,” and that He would then prove the point by turning the stones into bread.

This demonstrates Satan’s tactics. He first questioned the truth and appealed to human nature. He did so in the Garden of Eden, tempting Eve to question whether she should really obey God and refrain from eating the forbidden fruit. But where Eve failed, Christ succeeded. There was no vanity or the lust for selfish glory in Christ. How did Christ deflect Satan’s attack?  He used the Word of God by quoting Scripture.

Having been defeated with his first blow, Satan moved on to the next temptation.

Matthew 4:5-7 reports:  “Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, ‘If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written: “HE SHALL GIVE HIS ANGELS CHARGE OVER YOU,” and, ‘IN THEIR HANDS THEY SHALL BEAR YOU UP, LEST YOU DASH YOUR FOOT AGAINST A STONE.”’ Jesus said to him, ‘It is written again, “YOU SHALL NOT TEMPT THE LORD YOUR GOD.”’”

Notice Satan’s same tactic with the tempting question, “IF you are the Son of God…”, hoping for a better response than the first time. But now Satan added another element: He also quoted Scripture. However, he quoted the Word of God out of context, and he twisted the meaning. He is still doing the same today for gullible and ignorant people, and he is using his ministers to deceive those who do not understand the truth (2 Corinthians 11:13-15). They will quote Scripture too, but they will twist it and cite it out of context, to mislead people to think that they can continue to sin and disobey God and still inherit eternal life.

But in quoting the Word of God correctly and with the intended meaning, Christ responded to and deflected Satan’s second attack—as we must do today, when confronted by Satan’s ministers, who might be deceived themselves and who are deceiving others (2 Timothy 3:13).

Satan does not give up easily. He is not one to quickly throw in the towel, and so he put it all on the line with his next temptation.

Matthew 4:8-10 tells us:  “Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to Him, ‘All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.’ Then Jesus said to him, ‘Away with you, Satan! For it is written, “YOU SHALL WORSHIP THE LORD YOUR GOD, AND HIM ONLY YOU SHALL SERVE.”’”

Here is Satan’s real agenda revealed. He wanted Christ to worship him. It is important to understand Satan’s agenda of wanting to be worshipped as God. We read that before the creation of man, Satan attempted to depose and displace God and become (like) the Most High (Isaiah 14:14). He has deceived the whole world (Revelation 12:9) which, unknowingly, worships Satan as the “god of this age” (2 Corinthians 4:4; compare Revelation 13:4).

He wanted to be worshipped by Christ, and so he offered Him all the kingdoms of this world and all their glory for the prize of being worshipped. Christ did not dispute Satan’s claim that he and the demons under his command were the rulers of this world (compare Luke 4:6; John 14:30; Ephesians 6:12); He knew that this was so and that this was and is NOT (yet) God’s world—but it will be when God sets up His Kingdom here on earth at the time of Christ’s SECOND coming in power and great glory.

Satan tempted Christ by offering Him there and then all the glory of this world’s kingdoms. In other words, he was telling Christ, you don’t have to go through all that suffering by being rejected, betrayed and beaten, and you don’t have to die by crucifixion, and then have to wait some two thousand years to become the ruler over this world. He told Him: You can have it all now—without pain and suffering. And reading between the lines, he also told Christ in effect: You can change the world now by making this a better place and by converting the minds of people and by bringing peace, happiness and health, destroying all of man’s pain and suffering.

From a human perspective, this would sound appealing for the average person—and even for well-meaning individuals who do want to eradicate the miseries on this planet—but Christ, out of love for God and His Master Plan, turned down Satan’s offer by quoting Scripture once again.

Satan, having used the biggest guns as it were to try to get Christ to fall short of the mark and sin, withdrew from Him for a season or until “an opportune time” (Luke 4:13).

Matthew 4:11 concludes: “Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.”

As Jesus was near death because of hunger, the angels undoubtedly brought him food and drink. They also encouraged and congratulated Him for passing this test and defeating Satan’s temptations, as an angel of God would later encourage and strengthen Him in the Garden of Gethsemane, shortly before His arrest (Luke 22:41-44).

Through fasting and prayer and knowing and being able to quote God’s Word correctly in times of need, Christ was well armed to take on Satan. He had been clothed with the complete armor of God. Satan wants to destroy God’s people today, as He tried to destroy Christ. He is going around as a roaring lion, seeking whom he can devour—physically and spiritually (1 Peter 5:8). We must resist him, as Christ did (verse 9). Christ was protected by God’s armor, and so we need to be as well. This armor is described in this way in Ephesians 6:13-18:

“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 fervent prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication…”

Christ utilized the sword of the Word of God to deflect the temptations of Satan. This is a good lesson for us: The more we know our Bibles, the more we are in a position to defeat Satan’s attacks and evil devices.

Satan choose the time, just prior to Christ’s three-and-a-half years of public ministry, because he thought that because of His fasting, Christ was very vulnerable. He miscalculated His odds and while strictly focusing on His physical weakness, he underestimated Christ’s spiritual strength. Christ overcame Satan by using the sword of God’s Word and the power of God’s Spirit in Him. The encouraging truth is that we can use the same sword and the same Spirit of God to overcome Satan’s temptations, following Christ’s perfect example.

Lead Writers: Rene Messier and Norbert Link

The new member letter for December, written by Dave Harris, has been posted on the Web, and hard copies were sent out this week.

“Neu! Abrahams Herkunft und Berufung, Teil 1 (Abraham’s Ancestry and Calling, Part 1),” is the title of the new German sermon for this week. This is the first part on a series on Abraham. This part covers Genesis 11:10-Genesis 15:1. It discusses Abraham’s background and calling, his occasional lack of faith and his sins from time to time, and the lessons that he had to learn to grow in faith and become more and more righteous.

“America’s Disastrous Foreign Policy in Egypt” is the new StandingWatch program recorded by Evangelist Norbert Link. Here is a summary: The Muslim Brotherhood of Egypt is a violent Islamist organization which is kidnapping and torturing their opponents. It has become the best friend of the USA which is still supplying Egypt with battle tanks, jet fighters and billions of dollars in military aid. God strongly condemns the American policy of trying to buy friends and allies, which the Bible calls lovers. Far too often, they will turn around and become America’s bitter enemies. Egypt will be no exception.
 
StandingWatch Radio will air this program beginning on Sunday, January 6, 2013.

On December 8th, 2012, Robb Harris and Eric Rank will give split sermons, titled, respectively, “Sacrifice of Words” and  “Accountable for Faith.”

The services can be heard at www.cognetservices.org (12:30 pm Pacific Time; 1:30 pm Mountain Time; 2:30 pm Central Time; 3:30 pm Eastern Time). Just click on Connect to Live Stream.

The Bible teaches us that in our weakness, we are made strong if we rely on God (2 Corinthians 12:10). For that we can all feel relieved. We can trust in God to defend us and fight our battles. We know that we must rely on God for any strength that we might be able to claim. Indeed, all our strength comes from God. Since any strength that we have is not our own, does that mean that we don’t have to work to build our strength? Can we just sit back and relax while we wait for Christ to return? The answer is clearly, “No!” We cannot give up growing in strength just because that strength is not our own. While we know we are weak, we must become strong.

When Joshua was taking over the leadership of the nation of Israel, God told him through Moses, and personally, that he must be strong. In Joshua 1:7 we read an admonition to Joshua from God that we might also take to heart: “Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go.”

Instead of telling Joshua to simply let things happen as they might because God was in control, He tells Joshua to be strong! The strength Joshua is told to have is for the conviction to follow God. It takes effort and courage to face the world that is so set against the ways of God. Strength is absolutely necessary for a Christian to build, develop, and nurture.

Increasingly, the world that we live in is turning away from God. Because of this, anyone who follows God will stick out like a sore thumb. To face the ways of the world and to overcome them we encounter inevitable conflict. Without strength, training, and preparation, we put ourselves in a position of vulnerability. Building up our strength is absolutely vital to our salvation as this world becomes more contrary to God.

It is on our responsibility to become competent and capable of making the right decision in God’s eyes as we navigate through this life. What that means is that we need to be accountable for our understanding of God’s Word. We need to own it. We need to prove the truth to ourselves so that we are strong. Unlike previous generations on the earth who did not have access to even read the Bible, we have the privilege to have God’s Word available to us constantly. We lack no opportunity to learn from the Word of God. Modern technology even allows us to carry a completely searchable Bible in our pocket. We simply have no excuse precluding our ability to become very strong in our convictions.

In an effort to become strong, we must remember that it requires more than adopting a set of correct beliefs. Strength is developed by exercise. It is not enough to know that we need to keep the seventh day- Sabbath; we need to know why. It is not enough to know that God is a Family; we need to know how those Family relationships are defined. The principle here is that knowing doctrine is not enough. We need to be able to prove doctrine – to ourselves. Only when we can prove doctrine to ourselves, does it become truth in our minds allowing us to withstand the evil we encounter (Ephesians 6:13-14).

If we are not absolutely strong in our beliefs, we fall prey to becoming influenced by rhetoric rather than truth. Without investing the effort to increase our strength in our convictions, we increase our odds of choosing paths of behavior that we will later regret, leading to death. Fortunately, we have the opportunity right now, to spend our efforts wisely – to build our spiritual strength by learning and proving our understanding. Indeed, it requires work to become strong, but our efforts will prove to be worthwhile. By unwavering in our commitment to follow God, we will reap a reward much greater in magnitude than our relatively tiny investment of time and effort today.

We begin with reporting on more and more attempts by especially dictatorial, autocratic and fanatical countries to control and censor the Internet. This course of conduct, if successful, would also hamper dramatically the effectiveness of God’s Church in proclaiming the true gospel of the Kingdom of God in all the world as a witness (Matthew 24:14); so we can easily see who is really behind these attempts.

We continue with relating the Obama family’s obsession with Christmas trees; and focus on the true nature of the radical Muslim Brotherhood movement and Egypt’s desperate struggle for freedom and liberty.

We speak of the consequences of the UN’s decision to recognize Palestine as a state and the ensuing troubled relationship between Israel and Germany, as well as Europe’s outrage over Israel’s announcement to continue with its settlement program.

We report on Europe’s and especially Germany’s big and extremely lucrative business of weapons’ sales all over the world—including sales to unpredictable governments—and speak of potential sabotage attacks on nuclear power plants in Iran and Southern California.

We relate the White House’s questionable objections to further economic sanctions against Iran, speak of the dangerous situation in Syria, and conclude with an article on the rise of demonic possession and “exorcisms” in the Catholic Church.

Control and Censor the Internet?

Deutsche Welle wrote on December 3:

“Talks in Dubai, under way until December 14, could bring radical changes to the Internet and who controls it… Proposals to place the Internet under the control of a global authority, like the International Telecommunication Union, a UN body, have resurfaced… Net observers say the Arab Spring would have failed to achieve the scale it did without Facebook and other social media – hundreds of thousands of unhappy citizens apparently agreed to protest and organized their demonstrations via these interactive platforms… Russia, China and Iran are among the countries that would like to see greater Internet controls, either in the form of new regulations or a global authority, or both… critics argue their real reasons are to control the packets of information that move across their borders…”

Countries under fanatical Islamist rule, as well as repressive countries such as Russia and China—and very soon a developing dictatorial European power bloc—will control the Internet or prohibit or shut down Internet access of their subjects—and violations will be punished with imprisonment or death.

The Obama’s Christmas Trees Obsession

Investors.com wrote on December 3:

“Now safely ensconced in the White House for 49 more months, the Obamas have decorated the place with 54 Christmas trees this year. Even allowing for the usual Washington excesses with taxpayer money, that’s a whole grove of Christmas trees… In fact, the Obamas’ 54 trees this year are almost 50% more Christmas trees than last year. That was during the campaign before Obama whispered a reminder to the Russians that he had to be careful until Nov. 6, when a victory would give him more ‘flexibility’…

“In addition to 54 Christmas trees, Michelle Obama has overseen the placement of thousands of ornaments in public rooms. Many of the ornaments celebrate the Obama family dog, Bo, who seems to have become the First Family’s favorite symbol of Christmas… There’s several hundred yards of garlands and wreaths all over the hallways and rooms. And, of course, a traditional gingerbread house that has working chandeliers and weighs about 300 pounds…”

This would be preposterous even without realizing how pagan and ungodly Christmas decorations and celebrations are.

Muslim Brotherhood Pays Gangs to Beat Up and Assault Opponents

Mail on Line wrote on December 1:

“Egypt’s ruling party is paying gangs of thugs to sexually assault women protesting in Cairo’s Tahrir Square against President Mohamed Morsi, activists said. They also said the Muslim Brotherhood is paying gangs to beat up men who are taking part in the latest round of protests, which followed a decree by President Morsi to give himself sweeping new powers… activists have reported nearly 20 attacks in the last ten days and say there has been a dramatic increase in mob sex attacks on protestors in the last year…

“The newspaper spoke to two men who admitted they were paid to target female protestors… in a group of around 65 local men and got paid between £10 and £20 a time. But they would not reveal who pays them.”

The Muslim Brotherhood is an extremely dangerous organization, and their actions and course of conduct are reminiscent of Gestapo methods in Nazi Germany. Note the following articles as well.

Muslim Brotherhood Fooled Washington

NBC wrote on December 3:

“The era of the Muslim Brotherhood appears to have arrived. President Obama has hailed the Brotherhood’s President Mohammed Morsi as a pragmatist who helped end the Gaza crisis. Egyptians here think the Brotherhood has conned Washington, just like it conned them…

“Egypt was torn in half just over a week ago when Morsi made himself more powerful than Mubarak ever was, and the kings before him. Morsi declared himself above judicial oversight, his decisions final and unassailable. He made himself, according to critics, a new pharaoh on the Nile. Imagine if, after five months in office, an American president announced that he could pass any law he pleased regardless of Congress or the U.S. Supreme Court. Imagine if he said his decisions were final and inspired by God… Morsi last night apologized for the power grab and said he didn’t want the extra authorities, but that they were necessary for the good of the people and to safeguard the revolution. Dictators always say stuff like that. Burn down the village to save it.

“At first Egyptians were shocked that Morsi would make such an obvious and, according to Egyptian judges, blatantly illegal move. It’s clear now, as some analysts have long feared, that the Brotherhood is making sure it doesn’t lose power again by taking control of Egypt’s constitution. The Brotherhood wants to write the rules of the game. Now they’ve done that too. Protected by the president’s new-found supreme and unquestionable powers, Morsi ordered his Islamist allies to finish writing the constitution and get it on his desk by the end of this week. They did it, even though many independent legal experts, Christians and opposition politicians boycotted the drafting process. The Brotherhood called the new constitution ‘a jewel.’ Many Egyptians say it leaves too much room for the implementation of Shariah law…

“The constitution has long been the Muslim Brotherhood’s lodestar and, in the past, they have been willing [to] kill for it. In 1954, not long after a group of ‘free officers’ carried out a coup against the British-backed monarchy, a Brotherhood assassin tried to kill President Gamal Abdel Nasser. Nasser, a leading free officer, favored a mostly secular, pro-military constitution. The Brotherhood, an Islamist group that supports the return of Arab and Islamic unity and the revival of ancient Muslim glory and Shariah laws, couldn’t accept the new rules.

“The Brotherhood’s assassination attempt failed. The gunman’s eight bullets, fired while Nasser was giving a speech in Alexandria, all missed. The Brotherhood was banned. The group went underground, at times tolerated but more often repressed by Nasser’s successors: presidents Mubarak and Anwar el-Sadat. When the revolts started against Mubarak, the Brotherhood saw that fate had given them another chance…

“Looking back now, it all seems so obvious, yet many Egyptians refused to see it coming. In fact, many of the secular revolutionaries backed the Brotherhood, arguing they were better allies than the hated military. The Brotherhood played its cards well… The protests continued to grow. Labor unions went on strike. The military enacted a coup against Mubarak. President Obama withdrew his support for Washington’s long-time Arab friend. And Mubarak the president was no more.

“The Brotherhood first said it wouldn’t seek the new presidency at all. It promised to exist solely as an influential member of civil society. Back then, many Egyptians feared the Brotherhood… The Brotherhood went to work… It sent its representatives around the world, especially to Washington, on a charm offensive. We’ve been oppressed, they claimed. We were slandered by a tyrant. We’re not what you’ve heard. We can unite the Sunni world against Iran. We can help bring Israeli-Palestinian peace. There were many promises of a great future…

“Morsi won the election by a narrow margin and then five months into his term, made himself a dictator and ordered his Islamist friends to quickly finish the constitution… Yet the United States has remained mostly silent on all this, urging both sides to stay calm and work it out. Washington’s policy seems to be that what’s going on is simply democracy in progress as Egyptians learn to use their new rights. But in Tahrir Square people seem convinced the Brotherhood isn’t testing its fledgling wings. They say Morsi knows exactly what he’s doing, Washington be warned.”

The true nature of the Muslim Brotherhood should have been understood from the outset. But it seems Washington and other Western nations are refusing to hear or heed the warning; and that God has poured out a spirit of deep sleep and of blindness on our leaders (Isaiah 29:10), as well as on Egypt (Isaiah 19:14), so that they would stumble and fall, without waking up to and perceiving the real dangers.

Egypt’s Struggle for Freedom

Die Welt wrote on December 3:

“Egypt lies on the fault line of two continents, not just geologically, and the European coast is not far away either. What moves Egypt today moves the region tomorrow, and the shockwaves could very well spark fear and terror among the Europeans.”

The Bible shows us that Europe and Egypt will at first be allies against Israel, but they will then become enemies. Please read our free booklet, “Middle Eastern and African Nations in Bible Prophecy.”

Morsi Won’t Relent

The Times of Israel reported on December 6:

“Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi addressed the country for the first time since mass protests began earlier this week, defiantly standing his ground on the issue of the draft constitution, the upcoming national referendum, and his immunity from oversight…

“Earlier in the day, the Egyptian army sealed off the presidential palace with tanks and barbed wire Thursday, a day after fierce clashes between supporters and opponents of the Islamist leader over a disputed constitution killed at least seven people… Protesters defied a deadline to vacate the area… The Brotherhood, which had erected metal barricades and manned checkpoints with rocks and empty glass bottles overnight, withdrew from the area by afternoon…

“The violence on Wednesday was the worst since Morsi was elected in June… The intensity of the overnight violence, with Morsi’s Islamist backers and largely secular protesters lobbing firebombs and rocks at each other, raised the specter that the country would grow even more polarized and violent.”

Palestine a “State”—Dark Clouds Before the Storm

Newsmax reported on December 1:

“The General Assembly vote declaring that Palestine, within the pre-1967 borders, is a ‘state,’ at least for some purposes, would have nasty legal implications, if it were ever to be taken seriously by the international community.

“It would mean that Israel, which captured some Jordanian territory after Jordan attacked West Jerusalem in 1967, is illegally occupying the Western Wall (Judaism’s holiest site), the Jewish Quarter of old Jerusalem (where Jews have lived for thousands of years), the access road to the Hebrew University (which was established well before Israel even became a state) and other areas necessary to the security of its citizens.

“It would also mean that Security Council Resolution 242, whose purpose it was to allow Israel to hold onto some of the territories captured during its defensive 1967 war, would be overruled by a General Assembly vote… It would be the first time in history that a nation was required to return all land lawfully captured in a defensive war…

“These absurd conclusions follow from the theater of the absurd that occurred when the General Assembly, for the thousandth time, issued an irrelevantly one sided declaration on Palestine. As Abba Eban once put it: ‘If Algeria introduced a General Assembly Resolution that the world was flat and that Israel had flattened it, it would pass 100 to 10 with 50 abstentions.’ That’s pretty much what happened the other day. I wonder whether the European countries that voted for the Resolution knew what a tangled web they were weaving.

“Nor was this Resolution a recognition of the two-state solution, since a considerable number of states who voted for it have refused to recognize Israel’s right to exist. What they were looking for was a one-state resolution — that one state being yet another Islamic country that voted for Hamas in the last election and that is likely to be governed by Sharia Law that will not allow Jews or Christians equal rights…

“The United Nations’ action will also incentivize Hamas to continue firing rockets into Israel on a periodic basis in order to provoke Israeli retaliation. Many in Hamas believe that the recent fighting in Gaza actually helped the Palestinians get more votes in the General Assembly…This is all a prescription for continued warfare, lawfare, and enmity. It is not a prescription for resolving a complex and difficult issue in a realistic manner. But what else is new at the United Nations!”

Very true. Israel will be all alone, and the next articles prove the point.

Germany Has Distanced Itself From Israel

Der Spiegel Online wrote on December 3:

“Berlin has distanced itself from Israel with the decision to abstain from voting on enhancing the Palestinians’ status in the UN General Assembly. Israel had expected a clear ‘no’ vote, but Chancellor Angela Merkel balked at Prime Minister Netanyahu’s uncompromising approach to the peace process… Germany’s stance on this issue shows just how deeply frustrated its government is with the Netanyahu government’s policies. The UN vote was a defeat for Israel. In the end, 138 of the 193 UN member states supported the Palestinians’ petition, including France and 13 other European Union member states. Germany’s abstention weighed particularly heavy because it meant that Canada and the United States were the only major Western nations to vote on Israeli’s side.

“…relations between Chancellor Merkel and Prime Minister Netanyahu have rarely been as bad as they are now… When it became apparent that a series of EU member states would support the Palestinians’ bid for observer-state status, the Israelis asked Germany to push all of its fellow EU states to abstain. Up until that point, Netanyahu had pressured Merkel’s government to gather as many ‘no’ votes as possible within the EU. But the Israeli change of heart arrived too late. In the meantime, the governments of a majority of EU states, including France’s, had decided to back the Palestinians… Merkel was upset that the Israelis were treating Germany’s vote like a bargaining chip.

“The chancellor was particularly annoyed because Netanyahu had shown himself completely unwilling to make concessions. On several occasions, Merkel had urged him to at least make a gesture on the issue of settlement construction in order to send out a signal to the Palestinians. Doing so would have made it easier for Merkel to campaign for the Israeli position. But Netanyahu stubbornly ignored her wish…”

EU Countries Summon and Rebuke Israeli Ambassadors In Protest

The Times of Israel wrote on December 3:

“Several European capitals on Monday summoned Israeli ambassadors to sharply express unhappiness over Israel’s plans to significantly expand settlement construction, as anger over the move worldwide continued to simmer. In Washington, the White House called on Israel to reconsider its plans to develop the controversial E1 tract of land east of Jerusalem in the West Bank. Yet officials in Jerusalem said they would not back down from the plan, which is seen as a punitive measure against the Palestinians for going to the United Nations to be upgraded to a nonmember observer state.

“The foreign ministries of France, Britain, Spain, Denmark and Sweden on Monday summoned and sharply rebuked the Israeli ambassadors to their countries. An Israeli official quoted by Israel Radio said the tone of the rebukes was ‘harsh and very unpleasant.’ A British Foreign Office spokesman issued a severely worded condemnation of the Israeli government decision on Friday to approve 3,000 housing units in the West Bank and East Jerusalem…

“Elsewhere in Europe, Germany and Russia joined the chorus of condemnations, with the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs tweeting a steady stream of denunciations.”

The EUObserver added on December 3:

“‘The European Union has repeatedly stated that all settlement construction is illegal under international law and constitutes an obstacle to peace,’ said EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton.”

Der Spiegel Online added on December 3:

“United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Sunday sharply criticized the Israeli government’s plan to expand settlement building in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, calling the plan ‘an almost fatal blow’ to a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict… German Chancellor Angela Merkel also found unusually strong words. Her spokesman said the government was ‘extremely concerned’ about the settlement plans. ‘Israel is thereby undermining confidence in its readiness to negotiate.’”

Merkel and Netanyahu Meet in Germany

On December 6, 2012, Der Siegel Online reported about a meeting between Merkel and Netanyahu in Germany, stating:

“‘On the settlement question, we have agreed to disagree,’ said Merkel on Thursday. Netanyahu struck a similar tone: ‘One should be able to voice different opinions among friends.’ In contrast to the emotion he showed during the German-Israeli government consultations a year and a half ago, Netanyahu was much more relaxed as he took questions from the media this time around. Then, he held a stern lecture on settlements as he stood at Merkel’s side. This time, he was brief and to the point…

“Despite their recent differences, Merkel left no room for doubt in Berlin that she supports the right for the Jewish state to exist… She said it has been ‘unfortunately’ necessary to make this clear again, after the rocket attacks by Hamas from Gaza. The chancellor emphasized that the recent violence in the Gaza Strip, which saw an eight day skirmish between Israel and the Palestinians, was triggered by Hamas rockets…

“In three years, Germany and Israel will celebrate 50 years of diplomatic relations. The peace process in the Middle East remains a constant theme even as the situation in the Middle East seems to have become more challenging than ever in recent months. The Europeans, Netanyahu says, believe the settlements issue is the root cause of the conflict. But, he argues, it is not purely a territorial issue, which is evident in the most recent attacks from the Gaza Strip, where Israel doesn’t keep troops…

“Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian National Authority, recently celebrated his success at the United Nations, as a large majority of the UN General Assembly essentially recognized a state of Palestine by granting the Authority non-member observer status. Netanyahu had hoped Germany would vote no on the measure, and even before his visit to Berlin he voiced his disappointment over Germany’s abstention on the vote. Merkel said she had ‘taken note of it.’

“There had even been speculation in the Israeli media over whether or not Germany might even join in possible sanctions against Israel. The press conference at the Chancellery showed how deep the feeling of insecurity was. Merkel was asked by an Israeli journalist if Germany would take ‘further measures’ against Israel. Clearly irritated, Merkel said after a brief pause: ‘I am not someone who threatens.’ This week’s consultations, she said, focused on solutions to problems and on the question as to whether the construction of settlements would be a ‘helpful step, or not a helpful step.’ The foundations of German-Israeli relations are ‘untouchable’ Merkel affirmed, adding ‘and they withstand differences of opinion.’”

However, this is clearly wishful thinking.

Germany’s and Europe’s BIG Weapon Sales

Der Spiegel Online wrote on December 3:

“Germany used to be extremely careful about where it exported its weapons. In recent years, however, Chancellor Angela Merkel has shown a preference for sending high-tech armaments abroad rather than German soldiers — even if that means doing business with questionable regimes…

“The government of Qatar has… shown interest in buying up to 200 [Leopard 2] tanks, a deal that, should it come to fruition, could be worth up to €2 billion ($2.6 billion).

“The Saudis, for their part, have already become loyal customers. Last summer, the German government responded positively to their request to buy up to 270 of the Leopard 2 tanks. But now Riyadh wants more. In a new request, the sheikhs have petitioned the German government for its approval of the purchase of a few hundred ‘Boxer’ armed transport vehicles… The government hasn’t issued a decision yet on the deal, which would likewise be worth billions.

“German high-tech weapons are a hot commodity among Arab potentates and other autocrats. They haven’t failed to notice that the coalition government of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the pro-business Free Democratic Party (FDP) has steadily relaxed Germany’s otherwise restrictive arms export policy…

“The official (and most recent) Military Equipment Export Report for 2011 shows that business is booming, with arms export permits issued by the German government topping €10 billion for the first time. Some 42 percent of the weapons are destined for so-called third-party states, outside NATO, NATO-equivalent and European Union countries, another number that could very well be record-setting. In 2010, it was just 29 percent…

“In accordance with the chancellor’s wishes, Germany is now sending soldiers to conflict zones in emergency situations only. Instead, ‘partner countries’ in the affected regions are to be strengthened through arms exports…

“Israel gets nuclear-capable submarines from the Germans, as well as any other weapons it wants… Last Monday, with impressions from the most recent Gaza war in their minds, Merkel and her ministers decided to approve [a new] weapons deal with Jerusalem. Germany had to support Israel, ‘now more than ever,’ one minister argued, saying that the threat coming from Hamas is serious. The group agreed that the arms shipment should also send a message. In this context, [German Foreign Minister Guido] Westerwelle is the personification of German paradox. Only a week earlier, he had tried in vain to serve as a peace broker between Israel and the Palestinians. And now the same minister was rubber-stamping the delivery of weapons that could be used in the Palestinian conflict…

“In addition to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates is the other major importer of German weapons… six guarantees have been issued for deals with countries in troubled regions throughout the world. The biggest recipient is Algeria, followed by Egypt, Israel, Indonesia, Iraq and Pakistan. The guarantees for Egypt (€700 million) and Israel (€405 million) are especially sensitive. For both countries, the guarantees are intended to secure the purchase of submarines…

“The submarines for Egypt, which are not as technically sophisticated as the ones for Israel, led to a dispute between Merkel and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who would like to block the Egypt purchase. The issue has yet to be resolved, but it is possible that Islamist Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi may soon take delivery of two new submarines…

“Compared to France and the United Kingdom, Germany is still restrained when it comes to promoting the domestic arms industry. Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy remains the champion of promoters of his own war industry. He is thought to have promised rising nuclear power India a nuclear technology deal as a bonus if it chose to buy French fighter jets. It was an offer the Indians couldn’t pass up.

“Merkel is now using her trips abroad to pave the way for weapons deals. In Angola, for example, she offered President José Eduardo dos Santos the prospect of an energy partnership. But she also reminded him of the many offshore oil platforms that are largely unprotected. ‘We would also like to help you with your defense efforts, such as upgrading your navy,’ Merkel said at an economic conference in the Angolan capital Luanda. Specifically, she was talking about patrol boats for the Angolan coast guard, at €10 million to €25 million apiece.

“The government also uses the Bundeswehr for its export offensive. For instance, there has been a ‘Eurofighter Task Force’ in place at the Defense Ministry since 2008. The German Air Force spends more than €20 million in taxpayer money to support the marketing of Eurofighters to India…

“Chile, for example, is getting 172 tanks, for which it is paying the Bundeswehr €46 million with an additional €78.6 million being spent on upgrades. Turkey took delivery of 354 tanks, which were outfitted with new combat technology for €298 million. A similar deal is in the works with Singapore, and Indonesia is expected to follow suit…”

Europe, under German leadership, is described as modern Babylon in Revelation 18—a very rich and powerful brutal economic entity which is rich and increased with goods—also, and especially, through its sales of submarines and other weapons of war (Revelation 18:3, 5, 13, 19, 24; compare also Revelation 13:4, 7, 10).

Iran’s Nuclear Reactor Sabotaged?

DEBKA reported on December 1:

“Iran’s nuclear reactor at Bushehr was shut down in mid-October for fear of an explosion. [On] Saturday Dec. 1, an authoritative Russian nuclear industry source revealed the cause of its malfunction: ‘Indicators showed that some small external parts were… in the [Bushehr] reactor vessel….’ They were identified as ‘bolts beneath the fuel cells.’…

“Moscow sources report this information came from a source in the office of Sergei Kiriyenko, head of the Russian nuclear energy authority Rosatom, which supervised the construction of Iran’s first atomic reactor at Bushehr…  Russian scientists and engineers were rushed from Moscow to Bushehr when Russian leaders including Vladimir Putin were warned that the danger of an explosion at Bushehr was high. Neither Moscow nor Tehran reported what was happening. Now they are racing against the clock to get the reactor back on stream.

“Russian experts estimated that an explosion at the Bushehr reactor had the potential for causing a million Iranian deaths and hundreds of thousands of radiation victims in the Persian Gulf emirates, which supply the world with one-fifth of its fuel. The hazard was so great in October that Putin ordered command teams of the Russian emergency ministry trained to deal with nuclear disasters to set out for Bushehr in southern Iran…

“[On] Friday, Nov. 30, shortly before the disclosure from Moscow, Tehran for the first time in its twenty-year nuclear program showed concern about the impact of ‘nuclear accidents’ at Iran’s nuclear sites on the wellbeing of the population and environment. Gholamreza Massoumi, head of Iran’s accident and medical emergency center,… referred to ‘accidents’ at the Isfahan Uranium Conversion Facility where yellowcake is converted into highly toxic uranium hexafluoride and revealed: ‘People who have been in the region, for example – Isfahan’s UCF – have had some accidents for which they have been treated.’ He admitted that some employees at Isfahan had suffered from ‘health issues’ and warned of ‘problems that civilians living close to nuclear sites could face.’ Massourni’s comments were removed from the semi-official Mehr news agency’s website a few hours after they were published.

“Officials in Tehran, already jumpy over the near-catastrophe in Bushehr, must have realized that the comments about the urgent need to prepare emergency services for nuclear accidents… were a recipe for a nightmare scenario of mass panic in the population and an outcry in the Gulf region against the hazards of Iran’s nuclear program – even before it produces a weapon.”

If the near-catastrophe in Bushehr was indeed caused by sabotage, it would be interesting to speculate who might have been behind that. At the same time, Western powers such as the USA are not  immune against nuclear sabotage, either, as the next article might show.

Southern California Power Plant Sabotaged?

NBC News wrote on November 30:

“Security has been beefed up at the San Onofre nuclear power plant in Southern California after it was discovered that a generator there might have been tampered with, the plant operator said. The plant has been out of service since January due to a leak in a steam generator. Southern California Edison said it discovered engine coolant in an oil system in the backup diesel generator in late October during routine monitoring. An internal probe found evidence of potential tampering, though it could not be confirmed…

“The news is the latest blow to San Onofre’s majority owner, which earlier this month said the cost of the prolonged outage at the damaged nuclear power plant has topped $317 million. San Onofre’s Unit 2 and Unit 3 reactors have been shut down since January after operators discovered a leak in a steam generator tube in Unit 3…

“The investigation into the potential tampering is ongoing, the utility said, adding that it has enhanced security at the nuclear power plant that sits on the coast about halfway between Los Angeles and San Diego…”

If true, it would likewise be interesting to speculate who might have been behind that act of sabotage.

White House Disapproved New Sanctions Against Iran

On November 30, 2012, the cable.foreignpolicy.com wrote the following:

“The White House announced its opposition to a new round of sanctions that the Senate unanimously approved Friday, in the latest instance of Congress pushing for more aggressive punitive measures on Iran than the administration deems prudent… The new legislative language would blacklist Iran’s energy, port, shipping, and shipbuilding sectors, while also placing new restrictions on Iran’s ability to get insurance for all these industries. The legislation would also vastly expand U.S. support for human rights inside Iran and impose new sanctions on Iranians who divert humanitarian assistance from its intended purpose…

“But the White House told several Senate offices Thursday evening that the administration was opposed to the amendment… One of the White House’s chief concerns is that Congress is not providing the administration enough waivers, which would give the United States the option of negating or postponing applications of the sanctions on a case-by-case basis.

“The White House also said that secondary sanctions should apply only to those Iranian persons and entities that are guilty of aiding Iran’s nuclear and missile programs… The new sanctions too broadly punish companies that supply materials, such as certain metals, that could be used in Iran’s nuclear, military, or ballistic missile programs, the White House worries. The bill allows those materials to be sold to Iranian entities that intend to use them for non-military or nuclear-related purposes, but the administration said that the ambiguity in that part of the legislation will make it hard to implement.

“Finally, the White House doesn’t want to implement the part of the new legislation that would require reports to Congress on the thousands of boats that dock at Iranian ports and the dozens of Iranian planes that make stops at airports around the world. Those reporting requirements ‘will impose serious time burdens on the Intelligence Community and sanctions officers,’ the White House said in the e-mail. The Obama administration often touts the Iran sanctions it once opposed…”

All of this begs the question as to how serious is the Obama Administration when it comes to preventing Iran from developing a nuclear weapon?

Syria—Worst Fears Confirmed

NBC News reported on December 6:

“The Syrian military is prepared to use chemical weapons against its own people and is awaiting final orders from President Bashar Assad, U.S. officials told NBC News on Wednesday. The military has loaded the precursor chemicals for sarin, a deadly nerve gas, into aerial bombs that could be dropped onto the Syrian people from dozens of fighter-bombers, the officials said.

“As recently as Tuesday, officials had said there was as yet no evidence that the process of mixing the ‘precursor’ chemicals had begun. But Wednesday, they said their worst fears had been confirmed: The nerve agents were locked and loaded inside the bombs. Sarin is an extraordinarily lethal agent. Iraqi President Saddam Hussein’s forces killed 5,000 Kurds with a single sarin attack on Halabja in 1988.”

Commentators estimated that these chemical weapons, if used, could kill in excess of one million Syrians and many more people outside Syria, including Israel. It may be inconceivable to believe that a leader would use deadly weapons against his own people, but sadly, many historical examples do exist for such horrific conduct. For instance, Adolf Hitler, obviously being demonically possessed, ordered the destruction of the German people just prior to his death by suicide.

Demon Possession on the Rise?

The Independent wrote on November 30:

“The Catholic Church has established an exorcist hotline in Milan, its biggest diocese, to cope with demand. Monsignor Angelo Mascheroni, the diocese’s chief exorcist since 1995, said the curia had also appointed twice as many exorcists to cope with a doubling in the number of requests for help over 15 years… The Monsignor said he knew of one exorcist who had been seeing up to 120 people a day. ‘But with so little time per client he was only able to offer a quick blessing. That’s not enough,’ he said…

“It’s not clear why the number of suspected possessions has risen so sharply…Father Gabriele Amorth, who was the Vatican’s chief exorcist for 25 years, claims to have dealt with 70,000 cases of demonic possession. [He] said that sex abuse scandals in the Roman Catholic Church were proof that ‘the Devil is at work inside the Vatican’. He also claimed that satanic behaviour lay behind Vatican attempts to ‘cover up’ the deaths of Alois Estermann, then commander of the Swiss Guard, his wife and another Swiss Guard, Corporal Cedric Tornay, in 1998…

“Defined by the Catholic Encyclopaedia as ‘the act of driving out, or warding off, demons, or evil spirits, from persons, places, or things which are believed to be possessed or infested by them, or are liable to become victims or instruments of their malice,’ exorcism has been practised by the Church for centuries, but its use has increased dramatically over the last half century.”

Even though we do not believe that “exorcisms,” as practiced by the Catholic Church, will in fact cast out demons and heal demonically possessed persons, there can be no doubt that people being troubled by demons and cases of severe demonic possession have increased drastically in recent years. The Bible predicts that in these end times, Satan and his demons would become extremely angry and active. You might also want to read our Q&A, addressing the question as to how to understand “miraculous healings” and “exorcisms” which do not originate with God.

In the previous three installments, we discussed the biblical regulations of the Land Sabbath (Exodus 23:10-11; Leviticus 25:1-7, 18-22) and rejected extreme viewpoints which hold that either these regulations must be enforced today, literally and in their entirety, by the Church of God and its members, while others hold that they are no longer applicable today, not even in principle.

We concluded the last installment by pointing out that the correct view has been taught for many years by the Worldwide Church of God, under Herbert W. Armstrong, and is being adhered to today by the Church of the Eternal God in the USA, the Church of God, a Christian Fellowship in Canada, and the Global Church of God in the UK.  We will now explain what this correct view is, and how it relates to us today.

In a letter by the Personal Correspondence Department of the Worldwide Church of God, the following was stated:

“The question naturally arises, then, how can a Christian apply these laws of God now? Obviously, an individual cannot observe all the details of these laws, since they would require national legislation. An individual cannot release his own debts, and there is no divinely appointed inheritance for each family today. But these laws are all for man’s good, so we ought to observe them to the extent that this can be done in the present system. Even where a law cannot be practiced in the letter, it should be kept in the spirit…

“A farmer who owes money to banks probably cannot let all his land rest every seven years, since he owes mortgage and other loan payments that must be made each year. In such a case, it is suggested that the land be rested in rotation so that each field receives its rest sometime during a seven-year period. If one is able to rest the whole farm at once, so much the better. He can reckon his seventh year from the time of baptism or from the time that the knowledge comes to him regarding the land rest…

“Virtually all agricultural colleges know the benefits of crop rotations and of ‘resting’ land by putting it in pasture or cover crops periodically. Good soil conservation measures should also be practiced.”

In a letter by the Global Church of God to a reader in the UK, dated September 10, 1996, the following was stated:

“Since God’s laws are not being observed nationally, there is no set year in which the land Sabbath is observed today. Can anyone today prove conclusively that he knows the original cycle which began the 7th year after Israel entered the land in about 1400 B.C.? But an individual can obey the biblical directive by resting his land one year out of every seven. The land sabbath is a wonderful law which teaches stewardship, ecological principles, economics and social responsibility, as well as lessons in living by faith (by trusting God to perform a miracle in the sixth year so that there would be sufficient bounty to carry over the rest year, and on until the new crop comes in after that).

“The Global Church of God believes, as did the Worldwide Church of God under Mr. Herbert Armstrong’s leadership, that a person should rest his land, whether he is a farmer with acreage or a backyard gardener. However, few of God’s people ‘work the land,’ as many more did just a few decades ago, and so, today, there is little discussion of such matters. Even without a national observance, the land Sabbaths can be observed on one’s own seven year cycle, just as brethren pay their third tithe on their own cycle (from the date of baptism or from the feast [of tabernacles] nearest to their baptism…

“Even though the land Sabbaths are important and should not be diminished by omission or neglect, they are not the primary focus of God’s Word…”

This is indeed correct. “For the Kingdom of God is not eating and drinking [or physical matters related thereto], but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Romans 14:17). For example, the laws pertaining to clean and unclean meat, as well as to the Land Sabbaths, are dealing first and foremost with physical matters. They are physical injunctions for our physical good and for our health. They DO become spiritual, however, when we refuse to obey those laws and principles, although we know better, because we don’t care for God’s Word, or because we want to live in defiance and rebellion against Almighty God.

In a subsequent letter, dated April 16, 1997, Evangelist Colin Adair wrote the following for the Global Church of God:

“It is simply not possible for the Church as a whole to impose the seventh year land Sabbath on its members. We are not living in a physical nation today as a Church. For instance, farmer members come into the Church at different times. If the Church imposed a particular year on everyone, then some farmers would be keeping a land Sabbath any time in a series of seven years.

“The Church is a spiritual body today, not a physical nation under a physical government. However…the Global Church does teach that farmers and gardeners should keep a land Sabbath because it is a physical law of God. Land does need rest… the general principle is that we obey the physical laws given to Israel as much as we can, living under our circumstances. But there are some laws God gave Israel which we cannot follow because they need a priesthood.”

In addition, ritual laws and certain national laws need not to be followed today. For more information and a thorough discussion, please read our free booklet, “And Lawlessness Will Abound…” 

Since it is our teaching and understanding that the principles of the Land Sabbath ought to be adhered to today, as much as possible, how are they to be applied in particular?

In the April 1969 edition of The Good News, the following was explained in an article, titled, “A Sabbath Rest for the Land!”:

“Many think the word ‘REST’ means let the soil lie IDLE! Some have even wondered if the farmer should sell his stock (if he has any), padlock the gates and either go for a long holiday, or get himself a job. This is a totally WRONG impression!!

“The seventh YEAR of rest is typified by the seventh DAY of rest, and you know that you are NOT commanded to observe the weekly Sabbath by climbing into bed and lying perfectly still for the 24 hours!… Likewise a YEAR of rest is the time when we physically recharge our soil and lay the foundation for success during the coming six years!…

“HARVESTING is the key to the Sabbatical Year! Crops are NOT to be planted for harvesting. Lev. 25:5 shows that the principle involved is not one of refraining from planting or growing. The growth of plants is actually encouraged during the Sabbatical Year!… the command is only against the harvesting of commercial crops. We are told that the poor can come and take whatever their immediate needs may be…

“Then what is the specific PHYSICAL purpose of the Sabbatical Year? It refers to the principle of building up large reserves or organic residues, both in and on the soil. The diligent farmer will take full advantage of his one-in-seven-year opportunity… if you’re just a home gardener, the principles outlined here are as applicable to you as to any farmer with a large field…

“The most efficient way to GIVE the maximum amount of dead plant matter to the soil is certainly not by refraining from planting crops during the seventh year. We should refrain from planting anything we INTEND TO HARVEST… harvesting of crops [is] the focal point behind the Sabbath Year…

“If this extra plant growth is not to get widely out of hand and produce a massive seeding of less desirable plants, it must be ‘topped’ regularly with some type of mower. THIS IS NOT HARVESTING! No, not even if you take some of it away to compost it – providing it is returned to that area. We left the ‘topped’ portions of our pastures to decompose right where they fell from the mower…”

The Bible also speaks of cattle or livestock and beasts in the land grazing the ground during the Land Sabbath (Leviticus 25:6-7). The ensuing manure contributes, of course, to soil fertility.

There may be many more questions arising as to the practical application of the Land Sabbath provisions, but we hope to have given you a general overview in this series of articles. The principle should be clear. Let the land “rest” (understood in the right way) the seventh year as best as you can, by refraining from harvesting commercial crops (recall for example that fruit trees are excluded, but vineyards and olive yards are included), while using the time to build up large reserves or organic residues.

As we have pointed out, in this day and age, the regulations of the Land Sabbath and the Jubilee Year can only be applied in principle by the Church and its members, as the Church has no legal authority and jurisdiction over many of these provisions. However, when Jesus Christ returns and RULES, the provisions of the Land Sabbath and the Jubilee Year will be restored and literally applied within the spirit of the Law. Man will be taught what is best for him and, in time and for the most part, he will accept God’s truth.

Lead Writer: Norbert Link

The draft of our new booklet on the biblical timeline, titled, “Biblical Prophecy — From Now Until Forever,” has entered the second editorial review stage. We anticipate publication early next year.

A new member letter for the month of December has been written. It will be posted on our webpage and sent out early next week. In the letter, Pastor Dave Harris warns of the false concept of trying to set dates to determine the time of Christ’s return, and encourages all of us to be always ready and to do the end-time Work of God.

On December 1, 2012, our brethren, who were assembled for Sabbath services in Germany, were able to connect via SKYPE (that is, via video transmission) with several other scattered brethren and prospective members to allow all an opportunity to “meet” together. Being able to participate in song services and opening and closing prayers, see and speak with one another, “see” and hear Thilo Hanstein presenting the sermonette, and play the recorded video sermon presented by Evangelist Norbert Link added greatly to the fellowship. We are planning to continue these types of services in Germany on a regular basis.

This week’s German sermon is titled, “Neu! Michas und Dans Goetzendienst”. It is discussing the account of idolatry in Judges 17 and 18, and also addresses the identity and future of the tribe of Dan. The English translation of the German title would be: “Micah’s and Dan’s Idolatry.”

Please note that live services are broadcast in the U.S. each Sabbath and can be accessed through our website–http://eternalgod.org/. In addition, we have meetings in Ramona, California; Woodburn, Oregon; Fort Collins, Colorado; Summerland, BC (Canada); and,in addition, we conduct services in England. Members also participate in the Chat Room that is associated with our Internet transmissions. If you desire more information, please contact us.

A new StandingWatch program, titled, “Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood and Its Future,” has been recorded and posted. Here is the review: President Morsi of Egypt has been wrongly applauded for his involvement in the Gaza crisis. Subsequently, he showed his true colors and that of the Muslim Brotherhood. The West’s ignorant assessment of the Arab Spring is shameful, since the real goals of the radical Islamic movement should have been clear from the outset. Egypt’s future will be grim, and much turmoil, defeat in war and captivity is in store for the country.

StandingWatch Radio will run a program on the origin of the Christmas tree starting Sunday, December 16th and again the following week. “Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood and Its Future” will be aired beginning Sunday, December 30th.

NOTE: Both the audio recordings of our Sermonette and Sermon from this past Sabbath are now posted on our webpage. The video recording of the Sermon is also posted. In these important messages, Norbert Link addresses alarming developments in some fellowships of the church along with warnings from the examples of others who turned away from God. Here are the titles and summaries:

“Apostasy in the Church of God“–For over ten years, we have warned that another falling away from the truth will occur in the Church of God, but only very few have heeded the warning. We now see that the prophesied renewed apostasy has begun.

“Idolatry in the Book of Judges“–When we commit idolatry, we forsake the true God. The book of Judges gives us many examples and warns us not to follow the bad lead of the ancient Israelites. But sadly, our Christian nations engage today in the same kind of Baal and Astarte worship, and calamity will be the consequence. Also available in video.

Shelly Bruno

My family moved across town a few months ago. The decision to move was based on a number of reasons, but primarily the fact that our boys are growing and we wanted a bigger backyard. My oldest was also starting at a new school, and we felt it would be beneficial to live closer to both school and work.

We moved 7 miles, but that small distance has actually created a world of change for us. Everything is different: time not spent in a car, time now spent on bikes, where I store our belongings, the places I run my errands, how long it takes to drive to a friend’s house, and especially the view I see when I look out of our windows. My perspective has been transformed.

The time and energy spent moving across town has consumed far more effort than I would have guessed. Challenges seemed to spring up out of nowhere and the best laid plans weren’t always easy to follow. Despite some of the negative aspects, the outcome has been very positive in ways I also would not have guessed.

This experience makes me think of the changes of address coming in the future. This much anticipated spiritual move will provide benefits that are difficult to imagine. I look forward to what God is preparing for me in His house, and how my perspective will forever and completely be changed.