On October 8, 2011, is the Day of Atonement. Norbert Link will give the sermon, titled, “Hope for the World.”

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.

NOTE:

This will be the last Update for the next three weeks, due to the Church of God’s annual celebration of the Feast Of Tabernacles. Services during the Feast will be broadcast live over the Internet, at www.cognetservices.org. Speakers and times are posted as well. To listen in, just click on Connect to Live Stream.

The next Update will be published for the week ending October 28, 2011.

We have the opportunity to meet once a week and now with the upcoming God-ordained Feast of Tabernacles, we will have the chance to up the ante.  Including the Last Great Day we will be meeting eight days in a row which will give us the occasion to be with like-minded people.

Will we be unified?  Will we all be on the same page spiritually?  If we all have the Holy Spirit of God, then we will be — case closed.

There is ONLY “one body and one Spirit” because there is only “one God and Father of all” (Ephesians 4:4-6).  So if we are of this body and have the same Spirit, then we will all be on the same wavelength.  We will be unified in our approach towards Christianity and one another.  We will all have a similar spiritual personality that will be exemplified in our daily actions and interactions.

In His last prayer before being wrongfully taken into custody, Jesus asked four times on our behalf:

• “…that they may be one as We are,”
• “…that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You,
• “that they also may be one in Us,
• “…that they may be one just as We are one” (John 17:11, 21-22).

For Him to ask this many times when He knew that His physical life was near its end, shows us just how important this was and is.  Do we assign it all due weight today?

As we fellowship with one another, realize that by the Power of God working in and through us, we can be a part of the solution… a part of the answer of this prayer of Jesus Christ.

We report about the controversial targeted killing of U.S. citizens by U.S. drone strikes and the legal and constitutional questions that such actions raise; the U.S. change in its stance towards the status of Jerusalem, as well as Germany’s pressure on Israel to stop any settlement activities in the city; the ongoing troubles in the Middle East; Germany’s 21st anniversary celebration of its reunification; Angela Merkel’s clear victory in the German Parliament and her praise from international allies, supporting her fight for the euro and a united Europe; and we conclude with a frightening and at the same time revealing article on the literal worship of Vladimir Putin.

The Controversial Killing of al-Awlaki

The Los Angeles Times wrote on September 30:

“The killing of two Americans by a U.S. drone strike in Yemen has reignited a debate about whether targeting U.S. citizens — even terrorists — is legal under the rules of war or constitutes an extrajudicial execution that ignores their rights. The Obama administration contends that U.S.-born radical cleric Anwar Awlaki was a legitimate target because he played an ‘operational’ role in Al Qaeda, alleging that, among other plots, he directed a 2009 Christmas Day plan to blow up a Detroit-bound jetliner… But some human rights advocates and legal scholars said the administration had never produced evidence to back up that claim.

“They said the 40-year-old cleric was an influential recruiter and motivator, but there was little evidence to directly link him to belligerent operations against the United States. The attack also killed Samir Khan, 25, a U.S. citizen and anti-American propagandist who ran an Al Qaeda-linked website that called for attacks on the United States. Diane Marie Amann, a University of Georgia law professor who has monitored terrorism trials for the National Institute of Military Justice, said the debate over whether Awlaki’s killing was legal hinges on whether the war against Al Qaeda is an armed conflict or an international police action.

“‘Viewed through the lens of ordinary criminal justice, for the government to kill a suspect rather than put him on trial is summary execution, clearly forbidden by U.S. and international law alike,’ Amann said. ‘Viewed through the lens of armed conflict, the result is different, however: The laws of war permit a state to kill its enemies.’ An array of international law experts defended the legality of the airstrike, illustrating the conflicting interpretations of law in the fight against terrorism.”

Haaretz wrote on September 30:

“The killing of al-Awlaki, who was born in the United States, may mark the first time that a U.S. Commander in Chief has given a public order to the country’s security forces to premeditatedly kill one of its own citizens, without access to a trial or due process under American law.”

The Wall Street Journal added on September 30:

“The case of Anwar al-Awlaki and his extrajudicial killing poses a legal and moral quandary for the U.S.: Can a country that so closely guards the presumption of innocence take a citizen’s life without so much as a court order?”

It is indeed a frightening development, when American citizens can be singled out for assassination without a fair trial, even though no charges had been filed against them and no evidence had been presented that they posed an immediate danger to the country. When our political leaders are given such unrestricted powers, it is easily foreseeable how they might be abused. How far may a future corrupt leader go to misuse such unlimited authority? We should never think something like this could not happen in a civilized country. One should only remember the horrors inflicted on millions of innocent people, when Adolph Hitler received and/or usurped such absolute authority. Not too many expected such developments at the time when he was elected.

Ron Paul Speaks of Wrongful Assassination

In an additional article, the Los Angeles Times wrote on September 30:

“Ron Paul, the Texas congressman who is seeking the GOP presidential nomination, on Friday criticized the Obama administration’s action in killing Anwar Awlaki… Paul was the strongest critic on the Republican side in condemning the attack, which was praised by other candidates… Paul told reporters that Americans need to think about such actions because Awlaki was born in the United States and was entitled to the same rights as all U.S. citizens.

“‘No, I don’t think that’s a good way to deal with our problems,’ Paul said in a videotape of the questioning by reporters. Awlaki ‘was never tried or charged for any crimes. No one knows if he killed anybody. We know he might have been associated with the “underwear bomber.” But if the American people accept this blindly and casually that we now have an accepted practice of the president assassinating people who he thinks are bad guys. I think it’s sad… To start assassinating American citizens without charges, we should think very seriously about this.’

“[Former New Mexico Gov. Gary] Johnson made the same points as Paul, warning that killing an American citizen without due process set a dangerous precedent despite the need for the United States to remain vigilant against terrorism… other parts of the Republican Party have advocated a foreign policy based on a more robust U.S. role abroad. Perry… praised the attack… Mitt Romney also praised the Obama administration…

“Ironically, the libertarian opposition to the attack was similar to the argument by the [ACLU] in its disapproval. ‘The targeted killing program violates both U.S. and international law,’ ACLU deputy legal director Jameel Jaffer said in a prepared statement. ‘As we’ve seen today, this is a program under which American citizens far from any battlefield can be executed by their own government without judicial process, and on the basis of standards and evidence that are kept secret not just from the public but from the courts. The government’s authority to use lethal force against its own citizens should be limited to circumstances in which the threat to life is concrete, specific and imminent. It is a mistake to invest the president – any president – with the unreviewable power to kill any American whom he deems to present a threat to the country,’ he stated.”

The warnings should not be ignored, no matter who is raising them.

Los Angeles Times Raises Concern

In a follow-up article, the Los Angeles Times wrote on October 2:

“Amid all the self-congratulation over the killing of Anwar Awlaki and the confident assertion that the world is a better place as a result, it is worth remembering that the secret, unilateral, targeted assassination of a U.S. citizen far from the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan is hardly something to celebrate.

“If Awlaki was in fact the architect of terrorism attacks inside the United States, as officials maintain he was, then perhaps his demise is to be welcomed. But we don’t really know, do we? There was no transparent, legal, reviewable process by which he was placed on the list of those targeted for killing by the U.S. government. There was no judicial procedure, nor any public airing of the charges against him. He had no opportunity to respond to specific allegations.

“Even in wartime, the killing of a U.S. citizen — or anyone else — who poses no immediate danger is morally obnoxious. It also is impossible to harmonize with the U.S. Constitution. The 5th Amendment says that no citizen should be deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law. If Awlaki had been arrested in America, rather than assassinated in Yemen, he would have had an incontestable right to a trial…

“We understand the government’s conundrum. In this dangerous new world, our enemies don’t wear uniforms, threats cross national borders, and an order given abroad can quickly lead to devastation at home. The U.S. has struggled for a decade with how to safeguard people without crossing moral lines or violating individual rights.

“But if the United States is going to continue down the troubling road of state-sponsored assassination, the government should, at the very least, provide a clear understanding of the criteria used to decide who should be placed on the target list. And there must be some form of judicial review of those decisions; why should a judge’s approval be required to place a wiretap on a suspected terrorist but not to kill him? Since Sept. 11, 2001, the U.S. has detained many alleged terrorists, only for courts to discover that the evidence against them was unreliable or wrong…”

When even an Obama-friendly paper such as the LAT raises legal concerns, it is high time to wake up.

Secret Panel Can Put Americans on “Kill List”

Reuters reported on October 5:

“American militants like Anwar al-Awlaki are placed on a kill or capture list by a secretive panel of senior government officials, which then informs the president of its decisions, according to officials. There is no public record of the operations or decisions of the panel, which is a subset of the White House’s National Security Council, several current and former officials said. Neither is there any law establishing its existence or setting out the rules by which it is supposed to operate.

“The panel was behind the decision to add Awlaki, a U.S.-born militant preacher with alleged al Qaeda connections, to the target list. He was killed by a CIA drone strike in Yemen late last month. The role of the president in ordering or ratifying a decision to target a citizen is fuzzy…

“The White House is portraying the killing of Awlaki as a demonstration of President Barack Obama’s toughness toward militants who threaten the United States. But the process that led to Awlaki’s killing has drawn fierce criticism from both the political left and right. In an ironic turn, Obama, who ran for president denouncing predecessor George W. Bush’s expansive use of executive power in his ‘war on terrorism,’ is being attacked in some quarters for using similar tactics. They include secret legal justifications and undisclosed intelligence assessments.

“Liberals criticized the drone attack on an American citizen as extra-judicial murder. Conservatives criticized Obama for refusing to release a Justice Department legal opinion that reportedly justified killing Awlaki. They accuse Obama of hypocrisy, noting his administration insisted on publishing Bush-era administration legal memos justifying the use of interrogation techniques many equate with torture, but refused to make public its rationale for killing a citizen without due process…”

Muslims Concerned

USA Today wrote on October 1:

“Muslim groups around the world condemned al-Awlaki’s violent message but questioned the military strike… Mosque leaders ‘are concerned that the alleged drone attack sends the wrong message to law-abiding people around the world’…  the statement said.

“The Ramadhan Foundation, a British Muslim group, suggested al-Awlaki should have been tried in an international court. ‘One of the greatest values of our countries is that every human being is entitled to a free and fair trial,’ said Mohammed Shafiq, who leads the Manchester-based group. ‘Terrorists and extremists are no different.’ The U.S. is disregarding human rights when it confronts terrorism, Shafiq said.

“‘I am disappointed that the United States government has increased this sort of extra-judicial killing without referring to the legal system,’ he said. ‘These drone attacks have no legal justification in international law and have killed thousands of innocent people, including children.’ It is ‘time for the Obama administration to restore justice and the rule of law,’ he said.”

Even though many Muslims did not approve of al-Awlaki’s activities, their reaction shows that the US action is not popular among many of them. The reason is clear: If controversial actions can be implemented against an unpopular individual such as al-Awlaki, who is to say who will be next on the target list?

Most Americans Don’t Care

BBC news wrote on September 30:

“… some in the US have criticised the administration’s targeted killing of a US citizen abroad, arguing he should have been arrested and put on trial. However… despite the fact Awlaki appears to have been targeted for his words rather than actions, very few Americans are likely to be concerned about any infringement of his rights.”

Sadly, many Americans don’t seem to care about anything these days except as to how to put food on the table. According to USA Today, less than one percent care about America’s “war against terrorism.” However, to ignore and even accept by default potentially illegal and unconstitutional actions is a very dangerous trend.

America’s Foolish Foreign Policy

Reuters reported on October 2:

“U.S. officials have met members of the Muslim Brotherhood’s political party, a U.S. diplomat said, after Washington announced it would have direct contacts with Egypt’s biggest Islamist group whose role has grown since U.S. ally Hosni Mubarak was ousted… The Brotherhood is one of Egypt’s most popular and organized groups, with a broad grassroots network built up partly through social work even in Mubarak’s era. The contacts may unsettle Israel and its U.S. backers.

“The Brotherhood [officially] renounced violence as a means to achieve political change in Egypt years ago. But groups like Hamas, which have not disavowed violence, look to the Brotherhood as a spiritual guide… The diplomat said contacts with the Brotherhood were part of [a] bid to understand Egypt better and explain U.S. policies.”

Fast and Furious

The Weekly Standard wrote on October 4:

“The Fast and Furious scandal, in which the Justice Department knowingly gave Mexican criminal gangs thousands of guns, just keeps escalating. The latest development centers around whether or not Attorney General Eric Holder lied to Congress about having knowledge of the controversial gun trafficking operation. Recently released documents say Holder was briefed about the operation long before he told the Judiciary Committee he was first aware of what was going on. (Holder now claims he misunderstood the question was being asked.)

“What’s more, CBS News investigative journalist Sharyl Attkisson — who’s been covering the scandal from the beginning — says in an interview… that the White House and Justice Department have taken to screaming at her for reporting on the story… Finally, Attkisson notes that the White House is claiming that a thorough investigation of the scandal is unwarranted…”

Angry Protests Against Bank of America

Mail On Line wrote on October 1:

Police have arrested two dozen protesters for trespassing during a demonstration against Bank of America’s foreclosure practices at the banking giant’s offices in downtown Boston… Organizers say about 3,000 people joined the protest…

“The Bank of America website crashed yesterday after being overwhelmed by angry customers following the decision to charge them to use $5 a month if they use their debit cards. The site went down for hours in the morning and hours later service was still intermittent. The breakdown came less than 24 hours after the bank revealed it will roll out the fee early next year…

“Though the bank… will use the revenue to help increase revenue, the move is seen as biased against less wealthy clients as they are more likely to use a debit card because they are often denied credit.”

We are informed that the $5 monthly fee will apply to purchases with debit card—not for using it at a teller to withdraw money. Also, the bank may not begin charging the fee in all states of the USA next year, but may begin with certain (undisclosed) states first.

Hillary Clinton Changes Position on Israel

The New York Sun wrote on September 27:

“Secretary of State Clinton, in a sharp departure from her stance when she was a senator, is warning that any American action, even symbolically, toward recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel must be avoided for the reason that it would jeopardize the peace process. Her warnings were issued in a brief she has just filed with the Supreme Court — in which she is arguing that a law she voted for when she was Senator is unconstitutional because it could require the U.S. government to give to an American citizen born [in] Jerusalem papers showing the birthplace as Israel…

“Mrs. Clinton’s brief alleges that any American action that ‘symbolically or concretely’ signals it recognizes Jerusalem being in Israel would ‘critically compromise the ability of the United States to work with Israelis, Palestinians and others in the region to further the peace process.’ The brief contends that American policy is to remain neutral over all sovereignty issues, leaving them to negotiations, and that the U.S. thus ‘does not recognize Palestinian claims to current sovereignty’ in the West Bank or Gaza either…

“If the Obama administration believes in the neutrality principle it is asserting in the Supreme Court — and that the mere mention of ‘Jerusalem, Israel’ on its website, or putting ‘Israel’ on an individual’s passport, would violate that principle – the question will arise as to whether it will also scrub… the references to the ‘Palestinian’ territories. If it does not treat both situations the same, the Supreme Court may legitimately question whether the Clinton brief is asserting the true reason for the administration’s adamant opposition to the designation of ‘Israel’ [in connection with Jerusalem].”

Biblical prophecy indicates that the USA and Israel will be at odds in the future. Conduct such as the one described above might contribute to such development.

“Time Is Short”

Newsmax reported on October 2:

“Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warns that ‘time is short’ before Iran obtains nuclear weapons and poses a direct threat to Israel and the rest of the world. ‘Iran poses certainly a great danger to Israel, but it represents an enormous danger to the Middle East and to the world,’ Netanyahu said to PBS’s Charlie Rose, during a recent visit to New York to speak at the United Nations… ‘Iran supplies terrorists with rockets and many other things. It would give [terrorists] a nuclear umbrella or worse, actually give them nuclear weapons’…

“Pointing to steps Iran has already taken against Israel, Netanyahu said, ‘We vacated [Gaza] and Iran essentially walked in with its Hamas proxy, and they’re packing a lot of missiles. We walked out of Lebanon, and Iran walked in with its Hezbollah proxy, and they fired thousands of rockets into the north of Israel. The last thing we want is to walk away from the West Bank or pieces of the West Bank and have Iran come in and place thousands of rockets on Tel Aviv.’

“But Netanyahu still has hope that stricter international sanctions against Iran could bring down the Islamic Republic. ‘I think this regime is a lot weaker than people think,’ he said… ‘I don’t believe that the Iranian people will coalesce around a regime it detests… I think they’ll applaud this pressure, because they want to be relieved from this medieval regime, this violent theocracy that is oppressing them and threatening everyone else.’”

However, with this last pronouncement about the desires of the Iranian people, Netanyahu might be dead wrong. Also, note the next article.

Ganging Up Against Israel

Haaretz wrote on September 30:

“German Chancellor Angela Merkel called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday and expressed anger over the approval of 1,100 housing units in… Jerusalem. The Chancellor’s office said Merkel told Netanyahu that the new housing permits ‘raise doubts over the Israeli government’s readiness to begin serious negotiation with the Palestinians.’

“Over the past two weeks Merkel, along with U.S. President Barack Obama, worked to issue a new Quartet declaration calling on the sides to return to the negotiating table as soon as possible. ‘The Quartet’s announcement made it clear that the sides must avoid taking provocative steps,’ Merkel told Netanyahu. ‘I cannot understand how only a few days after the Quartet’s announcement there is news of the approval of 1,100 new housing units.’ Merkel added that ‘the government of Israel must now clear the doubts over its seriousness. It is your responsibility…’

“On Tuesday, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas spoke with Merkel and said he understood that the Quartet was calling for negotiations based on the 1967 borders and opposed unilateral moves, meaning construction in the settlements should stop.”

It should be clear from this article what the Quartet is really up to. Note the next article.

All Land Belongs to Palestinians

Haaretz wrote on October 1:

“Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has assailed a two state solution for Israel and the Palestinians, saying the Palestinian bid for statehood at the United Nations is doomed to fail… The Palestinians should not limit themselves to seeking a country based on the pre-1967 borders, Khameini said, because ‘all land belongs to Palestinians’… Khamenei also called Israel a ‘cancerous tumor’… Last year, Khamenei told a top Palestinian militant leader that Western support of Israel was ineffective, because Israel’s obliteration was imminent according to the will of God.”

The Vatican’s New Policy Towards Islam

Israel News reported on October 2:

“It has been five years since gave his controversial lectio about Islam at the German University of Regensburg. On September 12th, 2006, Joseph Ratzinger claimed that the god of the Muslims is both transcendental and unreasonable and he severely condemned jihad and the use of violence in the name of Koran. It was the only public event in which a Pope told the truth about some aspects of Islamic religion… It was… a vigorous attack against certain aspects of Islamic fanaticism.

“The reaction to the Pope’s speech was a familiar spectacle: Threats, riots, and violence. From the religious leaders in Muslim majority countries to the New York Times, all demanded the Pope’s apologies. In the Palestinian areas, churches were attacked and Christians targeted. In the Somali capital, Mogadishu, an Italian nun was executed. In Iraq, Amer Iskander, a Syrian Orthodox priest, was beheaded and his arms mutilated… The Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood pledged ‘reactions worst of those against the Danish cartoons’… Under pressure, and aiming to stop any further violence, the Pope apologized.

“Benedict XVI recently visited again his native Germany, but this time with a different agenda. Five years later, the Vatican adopted a pro-Islam course and has capitulated to fundamentalists… Dialogue with Iran’s mullahs is pivotal in the new Vatican agenda… Last month, the Vatican published a letter… , addressing… ‘Dear Muslim friends.’ In the letter, [the Vatican] asked for Islamic help to form an alliance against atheism…

“The State of Israel is easily expendable in the new pro-Islam policy. In January 2009, thousands of Muslims marched in front of Milan’s Duomo to protest against Operation Cast Lead in Gaza. They burned Israeli flags and chanted anti-Jewish slogans. Joaquin Navarro-Valls, John Paul II’s spokesman for 22 years, defended the ‘freedom of expression’ of the Muslims who burned the Star of David. Months later, Pope Benedict visited Bethlehem… Benedict delivered a message of solidarity to the 1.4 million Palestinians isolated in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip. He said nothing of the suffering of Gaza’s 3,000 Christians since Hamas took over that territory in 2007.  Benedict could have decried the bombings, shootings and other Islamist attacks against Gaza Christian establishments, the brutal murder of the only Bible-store owner of Gaza, or the regular intimidation and persecution of Christians there.

“A few weeks later… Mahmoud Ahmadinejad [gave] a speech [before the UN] condemning Israel as ‘totally racist’ and referred to the Holocaust as an ‘ambiguous and dubious question.’ When Ahmadinejad began to speak against the Jews, all European Union delegates left the conference room. The Vatican delegation didn’t say a word.
 
“To understand the new Vatican’s approach toward Islam, one should also read what happened in the historical synod on the Middle East hosted by the Pope last autumn. Nothing was said about Islamist persecution of Christians; indeed, every effort was made to show the Catholic Church’s sympathy to Muslim grievances, especially against ‘Zionism’ – a word evoked as a symbol of evil…

“The very roots of the Christian heritage in the Middle East are being extirpated. When last winter Christians were killed in Egypt, Cardinal Tauran and the Vatican foreign office requested to ‘avoid anger’ and downplayed the Islamist role in the butchering. In the summer of 2010, Bishop Luigi Padovese, Vatican vicar for Anatolia and president of the Catholic Episcopal conference of Turkey, was slaughtered by Islamic fanatics in Iskenderun on the eve of the Pope’s trip to Cyprus. Vatican diplomacy did its part to convince the Pope to immediately and preemptively rule out the idea that this was a ‘political or religious’ murder.

“Elsewhere, the number of Christians in Turkey declined from two million to 85,000; in Syria, from half the population they have been reduced to 4%; in Jordan, from 18% to 2%; nearly two-thirds of the 500,000 Christians in Baghdad have fled or been killed; in Lebanon, Christians have dwindled to a sectarian rump, menaced by surging Shiite and Sunni populations, and in Saudi Arabia Christians have been beaten or tortured by religious police. It’s an ethnic cleansing of monumental proportions that makes it clear why the Vatican’s submission to political Islam, along with its religious anti-Israel stance, will be remembered as one of the greatest moral failings of the 21st Century.”

The Iranian Murderous and Propagandistic Dictatorship

Fox News reported on October 1:

“Iran state media put out a stunning report Saturday claiming that imprisoned Christian pastor Youcef Nadarkhani is facing the death sentence for rape and extortion, not for apostasy and refusing to renounce his religion… [as] part of a larger Iranian media push to counter reports that Nadarkhani was facing execution for refusing to recant his Christian faith… In a ruling from the Iranian Supreme Court, translated into English by the ACLJ, Nadarkhani was sentenced to execution by hanging for, ‘turning his back on Islam’ and ‘converting Muslims to Christianity.’”

“The ruling also alleges that he also participated in Christian worship by holding home church services and baptizing himself and others, effectively breaking Islamic Law. FoxNews.com obtained a copy of the ruling and there is not a single mention of rape or extortion allegations…”

On October 3, Fox News added:

“Imprisoned Iranian pastor Youcef Nadarkhani, originally sentenced to death for apostasy and refusing to renounce Christianity, is now in even greater danger of being put to death in light of reports in state-run media of other charges, including being a Zionist and a threat to national security. ‘The charge of being a Zionist and thus a traitor is among the most serious accusations that can be made in Iran,’ said Jordan Sekulow, executive director of the American Center for Law and Justice, or ACLJ.”

This Hitler-like regime will do everything in its power to advance its own interests, but the world seems to be, by and large, indifferent to the fundamental threat that this country is posing.  Some may utter meaningless and inconsequential “concern”—such as the US government did this week—while other countries and companies still cooperate with it. However, the same powers which inspired Hitler might very well be at work now in Iran. As a famous German proverb says: “If you want to eat with the devil, you must have a long spoon.”

Rockets Missing in Libya

Der Stern Online reported on October 2 that Libya’s new (transitory) government admitted that over 5,000 rockets are missing, and that nobody knows where they are. The magazine stated that these rockets are used to defend against attacking airplanes, but that they can also be used, of course, to shoot down civilian passenger planes.

This is indeed a potential nightmare scenario…

Soon–Civil War in Syria?

The New York Times wrote on October 1:

“The semblance of a civil war has erupted in Homs, Syria’s third-largest city, where armed protesters now call themselves revolutionaries, gun battles erupt as often as every few hours, security forces and opponents carry out assassinations, and rifles costing as much as $2,000 apiece flood the city from abroad, residents say… [They] speak of a decisive shift in past weeks, as a largely peaceful uprising gives way to a grinding struggle that has made Homs violent, fearful and determined.

“Analysts caution that the strife in Homs is still specific to the city itself, and many in the opposition reject violence because they fear it will serve as a pretext for the government’s brutal crackdown. But in the targeted killings, the rival security checkpoints and the hardening of sectarian sentiments, the city offers a dark vision that could foretell the future of Syria’s uprising as both the government and the opposition ready themselves for a protracted struggle over the endurance of a four-decade dictatorship…

“Homs is a microcosm of Syria, with a Sunni Muslim majority and minorities of Christians and Alawites, a heterodox Muslim sect from which President Bashar al-Assad draws much of his leadership.

“Six months of protests and crackdown here have frayed ties among those communities, forging the conditions for urban strife… Tension has grown so dire that members of one sect are reluctant to travel to neighborhoods populated by other sects. Men in some parts of the city openly carry weapons.

“Perhaps the most dramatic facet of the struggle is a series of assassinations this past week that have left nearly a dozen professors, doctors and informers dead in a paroxysm of violence that echoes the sectarian vendettas still besetting Iraq…

“Near the Lebanese border — where residents say weapons flow across a porous border from Turkey, Saudi Arabia and even Qatar — Homs strikes an odd posture. Many of its Sunni residents are at once fearful and proud, empowered by their opposition to dictatorship. Many Alawites are terrified; they are often the victims of the most vulgar stereotypes and, in popular conversation, uniformly associated with the leadership.

“In Alawite villages, only government television is watched. To do so in Sunni neighborhoods amounts to treason. There, Al Jazeera and Al Arabiya are the stations of choice…”

When will man ever learn that “violent uprisings” are tantamount to rebellion in God’s eyes, and they will never produce lasting peace? Such true peace will only come when Jesus Christ returns, and the heart of man will be changed…

Will Syria Set the World on Fire?

WorldNetDaily wrote on October 4:

“NATO troops are training in Turkey for a Turkish-led NATO invasion of Syria… Separately… Russia has been inspecting Syrian forces and has been advising Syria about possible Syrian military responses should NATO attack the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad… The report comes as Assad reportedly warned yesterday he will set the Middle East on fire if NATO forces attack his country. ‘If a crazy measure is taken against Damascus, I will need not more than six hours to transfer hundreds of rockets and missiles to the Golan Heights to fire them at Tel Aviv,’ Assad reportedly said, according to Iran’s state-run Fars news agency.

“Assad made the comments in a meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmad Davutoglu, reported Fars… Assad also reiterated that Damascus will call on Hezbollah in Lebanon to launch an intensive rocket and missile attack on Israel, reported Fars. ‘All these events will happen in three hours, but in the second three hours, Iran will attack the U.S. warships in the Persian Gulf and the U.S. and European interests will be targeted simultaneously,’ Assad was quoted as saying. While Assad’s remarks could not be immediately verified, Iran, which runs Fars, is a close partner to the Damascus government.”

At the same time, the UN Security Council was not even able to pass a watered-down U.S.- and European-backed draft resolution on Tuesday, condemning Syria for its brutal crackdown on protesters, due to a double veto from Russia and China.

Clear Victory for Merkel

The Local wrote on September 30:

“In a move which was largely a formality, Bundesrat MPs who represent Germany’s 16 states approved the bill with no formal ballot, a day after it overwhelmingly won the backing of parliament’s lower house. During Friday’s debate in a Bundesrat extraordinary session, Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble again stressed the urgent need to protect the eurozone…

“The vote before the Bundestag on expanding the €440 billion ($599 billion) bailout fund had also been seen as a crucial test of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s authority amid fears of a major backbench rebellion. However, she secured an overwhelming majority of her own deputies to back the move. Austria became the 14th eurozone state Friday to approve the new powers for the European Financial Stability Facility.”

Bild Online added that Merkel received much praise from the international press. Denmark’s Information wrote that the chancellor’s European spirit places her in the company of Germany’s great European chancellors Konrad Adenauer, Willy Brandt, Helmut Schmidt and Helmut Kohl. France’s Le Figaro wrote that one must admire the courage of Angela Merkel, and that the vote in the German Parliament reflects a personal victory for her. Switzerland’s “Tagesanzeiger” wrote that in light of the vote of the German Parliament, “Germany is better and more European than her reputation.”

The German government, presently under Angela Merkel, will continue to fight for the survival of the euro and the strengthening of the Eurozone, and other European countries will follow.

Germany Celebrates 21st Anniversary of Reunification

Deutsche Welle reported on October 3:

“Germany marked its 21st reunification anniversary in the former capital of Bonn. It was a significant showcase of unity against a backdrop of European disarray… As tens of thousands of visitors descended on sun-drenched Bonn to enjoy the public holiday, the country’s political elite gathered for the formal festivities in the old parliament building for an ecumenical religious service and a speech by Andreas Vosskuhle, the president of the Federal Constitutional Court…

“The justice said that Germany’s identity has been ‘closely linked from the beginning with the commitment to Europe,’ and he lauded the East German in particular for uniting Germany… Germany, as the European Union’s biggest economy, is a key player in trying to stem the EU debt crisis, but the struggle to rescue Europe’s debt-ridden countries is extremely unpopular in Germany.”

Even though Germans may complain, the country will continue to be the leader of the EU and finally, a united Europe, but it is Great Britain which won’t apparently be a part of it. Notice the next article.

Britain on Their Way Out…?

Mail On Line reported on October 2:

“A historic vote on growing demands for Britain to leave the European Union will be held in the Commons before Christmas. MPs will debate whether the Government should give voters a chance to decide the issue once and for all in a referendum… If MPs vote in favour of a referendum, the result would not be binding on the Government.

“But, combined with growing public opposition to the increasing power of the EU, it would put enormous pressure on David Cameron to let the people decide the country’s European fate. The Commons vote has been forced on MPs – and a reluctant Prime Minister – by public demand after the crisis in the eurozone, with desperate attempts to prop up the Greek economy, led to a surge in anti-Brussels feeling…

“In recent opinion polls, when asked directly, nearly half of [the] people want Britain to come out of the EU, with about a third in favour of staying in. But when the question was rephrased to give the choice of returning to a Seventies-style trade association, a clear majority chose that option…

“Since Britain joined the Common Market, there have been a series of Commons votes on whether there should be referendums on EU treaties such as Maastricht and Lisbon – although none on whether we should remain in the EU. All have been defeated, largely due to Government’s ordering MPs to vote them down.”

Ultimately, Britain will leave the EU, and it is most certainly not to be expected that Britain will ever join the Eurozone.

Europe Replaces the USA

Reuters reported on September 30:

“The powering down of Fermilab’s Tevatron particle accelerator on Friday marked the end of a quarter-century of U.S. dominance in high-energy particle physics. The Tevatron, which accelerates and collides protons and antiprotons in a four-mile-long underground ring, has been replaced by the Large Hadron Collider under the French-Swiss border, which began operating in March 2010…

“Europe has outspent the United States by a factor of three… lack of funding was the final blow for the Tevatron after the U.S. Department of Energy decided not to spend the $35 million needed to extend the Tevatron’s operation through 2014…

“‘We are whores to the machines. We will go to wherever the machines are to do our science,’ said Rob Roser, co-spokesman for CDF, one of the two detectors that used the Tevatron. ‘I personally will move to Europe to work on the next machine…’”

Greece’s Problems—but “Europe Can Afford It”

Der Spiegel Online wrote on October 4:

“The good news is that Greece will remain solvent until mid-November, despite the decision reached on Monday evening by euro-zone finance ministers meeting in Luxembourg to delay payment of the next tranche from the €110 bailout fund put together in 2010…

“The bad news, though, is that… European stock markets plunged for the second day in a row on Tuesday amid growing concerns that avoiding insolvency may no longer be possible for Greece…

“Jean-Claude Juncker, who heads up meetings of euro-zone finance ministers,… said on Tuesday that Greece… would remain solvent until November without the payment. ‘Everything will be done to avoid (insolvency) and it will be avoided,’ Juncker told news agency AP…

“With pressure increasing on both Athens and the euro-zone leaders to stabilize the crisis, civil unrest continued to swell in Greece, with protestors blocking off federal ministries across the capital on Tuesday morning in protest of austerity measures…

“Center-right daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung writes: ‘… Only two options are plausible. Greece could choose what amounts to an orderly insolvency… [or] Greece’s exit from the currency union and a debt haircut…’

“The left-leaning Berliner Zeitung writes: ‘No, the Greeks should not fall… the cultural revolution… has yet to begin, and can only be brought about by the Greeks. They must, however, be empowered to take action on their own. And this is not possible within the euro zone. Remaining under its support means a euro guardianship with protectorate-like conditions…’

“Left-leaning daily Die Tageszeitung writes: ‘Even as parliamentarians work on the second rescue package, Athens’ new deficits show that soon a third rescue package will be necessary… Actually an insolvency… could be agreeable, because the Greeks will never be able to fully pay back their loans. Still insolvency is no solution, because only past loans will be settled. The Greeks, however, continue piling up new debts, as the current budget deficit shows. Thus Greece will continue to need help for a long time. But consolation can still be found: Europe can afford it. After all, Greece only has 11 million residents — and an economic output equivalent to the German state of Hesse.’”

Whether Greece will indeed leave the Eurozone is far from certain…

Putin Dreams of Eurasian Union

Reuters reported on October 3:

“Russia’s Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said he wants to bring ex-Soviet states into a ‘Eurasian Union’ in an article which outlined his first foreign policy initiative as he prepares to return to the Kremlin as the country’s next president. Putin said the new union would build on an existing Customs Union with Belarus and Kazakhstan which from next year will remove all barriers to trade, capital and labor movement between the three countries.

“‘We are not going to stop there and are setting an ambitious goal — to achieve an even higher integration level in the Eurasian Union,’ Putin wrote in an article which will be published in Izvestia newspaper on October 4… Putin said he saw the new union as a supra-national body which would coordinate ‘economic and currency policy’ between its members. It would also be open to new members.”

The Bible shows that a confederation of Russia and other Eurasian countries will develop, including China, India and Japan.

Putin the Saint to Be Worshipped…

Der Spiegel wrote on September 29:

“Mother Fotina… prays to Vladimir Putin. Her sect, in a village east of Moscow, honors Russia’s once and future president as a reincarnation of St. Paul. The group represents a rising trend in Russia, but its origins are surprisingly mundane… They believe [Putin is] a reincarnation of St. Paul… Mother Fotina… considers herself the reincarnation of Joan of Arc… Just as Saul persecuted Christians before his conversion to St. Paul, she believes Putin once beset the faithful as a Soviet KGB officer. The Soviets blew up churches, or replaced them with swimming pools, but ‘when he became president,’ she says, ‘the Holy Ghost came to him.’ Since then Putin leads his flock ‘wisely, just as the Apostle did’…

“Across Russia… popular affection for Putin has started turning to religious worship. The country’s top rabbi, Berel Lasar, swooned a few months ago that Russians had ‘every reason to ask God to bless you. Every day and every hour you do good for any number of people, you save hundreds and thousands of worlds.’ Vladislav Surkow, the influential deputy chief of the Kremlin administration, sees in Putin ‘a man whom fate and the Lord sent to Russia.’

“In Putin’s hometown of St. Petersburg, a proliferation of posters once showed the prime minister as an angel, with one hand extended, blessing the city’s inhabitants. Putin’s face was mounted on a photo of the cherubim crowning the city’s Peter and Paul Cathedral…

“In an act of staged self-sacrifice last weekend, President Dmitry Medvedev recommended to a party congress that Putin should replace him as a presidential candidate — and ultimately as president — in 2012. The 11,000 delegates and party members of ‘United Russia’ cheered like true believers in Moscow’s Ice Palace, at what amounted to a Coronation Mass…

“Mother Fotina believes the people have no choice anyway. ‘God has appointed Putin to Russia to prepare for the coming of Jesus Christ,’ she says…”

This is remarkable in light of the fact that there will also arise in Europe two powerful personages—one with a religious and one with a political and military function—who will be worshipped by the masses. The article, quoted above, shows how easily gullible people can fall for such deception.

No specific amount in regard to Holy Day offerings is mentioned, but God’s Word includes guidelines and principles that can help us to decide how much to give.

Firstly, we must keep in mind that we cannot out-give God. Secondly, those of us who have been in the Church of God for a while know about the existence of the annual Holy Days and God’s command to give an offering on those days. We have time to prepare and save for these offerings so that we do not have to make a last minute decision as to how much we may want to give on a particular Holy Day.

In a recent Editorial in Update #484 (for the week ending March 18, 2011), titled, “Offerings,” we said the following:

“We must be committed to the Work of God in supporting its effort to preach and publish the gospel of the kingdom of God in all the world as a witness. The gospel is a message of good news from the God Family, including the fact that God’s government will be established on the earth at the return of Christ. We manifest our financial commitment to God not only by tithing to the Work, but also by additional financial means. Tithing is required; but if we only carry out our duty, then we are rendered unprofitable servants…

“A much better way of telling how deep our commitment to God and His Work is, is by focusing on our offerings to God. They will show where our heart is, and where we want our treasure to be. Matthew 6:21 tells us: ‘For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.’

“We are commanded to tithe, and we are commanded to give offerings. The amount of the tithe—ten percent of our increase or earnings—is pre-determined. The amount of our free-will offerings is not. And how we determine these amounts is indicative of where our heart really is…

“Of course, when we pay God’s tithe and give Him an offering, we are not to boast about it, but we are doing it quietly, discreetly, and from the heart. God can and will, in His due time, bless us openly when we behave with a right attitude…”

God was very displeased with the attitude of the nation of Israel towards their duty to pay tithes and offerings, including on His annual Holy Days, and He expressed His anger in no uncertain terms in the book of Malachi:

“Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, ‘In what way have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings. You are cursed with a curse, For you have robbed Me, Even this whole nation” (Malachi 3:8-9).

So, it is evident that a person can rob God by not tithing or not tithing properly, or by not giving any offering or giving an offering that does not reflect the blessings received from God (compare Deuteronomy 16:16-17). Rather than being blessed by God even more, because of our gratitude and appreciation to God in giving generous offerings, God may pronounce a curse on us for neglecting God’s blessing in our lives.

We understand that salvation is a gift from God. However, God will not grant us salvation if we show Him through our conduct of neglect, indifference and outright rebellion that we are not interested in His gift. The continued failure of obeying God even in matters of tithing and Holy Day offerings could even lead, ultimately, to the loss of salvation.
 
In this context, it may be a good idea to analyze the following questions prior to giving an offering:

1-    What would we be willing to pay for salvation, if it was for sale?
2-    What is the value of salvation to us?
3-    Is refusing to give an offering worth the price of the loss of salvation ?

As stated in Deuteronomy 16:16-17, we are not to appear before God empty-handed on His Holy Days, and we are to give as we are able, according to the blessing of the LORD our God which He has given us. This blessing throughout the year is not limited to just financial blessing. It could include the blessing of good health, of a sound mind, of precious spiritual knowledge and understanding, of having a job and a happy family—things which are difficult to value with a price tag. But they all come into play when we determine the amount of our Holy Day offering.  

We also read the following principle in 2 Corinthians 9:6-11:

“But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work. As it is written: ‘HE HAS DISPERSED ABROAD, HE HAS GIVEN TO THE POOR; HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS ENDURES FOREVER.’ Now may He who supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food, supply and multiply the seed you have sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness, while you are enriched in everything for all liberality, which causes thanksgiving through us to God.”

God is telling us here that if we give “sparingly,” “grudgingly” and “out of necessity,” we cannot expect generous blessings and enrichment in everything from God, including grace and increase in the fruits of righteousness. At the same time, God does not expect of us to give what we don’t have. It is mainly a question of right attitude. That our attitude plays a big part in giving an offering, and that it is of great importance to God, can be seen in the following passage in Luke 21:1-4:

“And [Christ] looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury, and He saw also a certain poor widow putting in two mites. So He said, ‘Truly I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all; for all these out of their abundance have put in offerings for God, but she out of her poverty put in all the livelihood that she had.’”

In the above record, Christ blessed a widow who only gave two mites–a very small amount–but that was all she had at that time. Her attitude was such that she wanted to give, and Christ used her as an example of generous giving in the eyes of God, even though the rich gave much more, but they did it out of their abundance. Christ was not rejecting the offering of the rich, but in comparison with the widow, she gave much more.

We conclude from the foregoing that it is possible for us to rob God by not tithing faithfully and by not giving generous Holy Day offerings, in accordance with how
God has blessed us. We should plan ahead as to how much we want to give and how we can reach that goal.

We cannot put a price tag on God’s gift of eternal life, but we could lose out on eternal life by not obeying God, including in giving Holy Day offerings in accordance with His injunctions. We are commanded to appear before God with an offering; that is, not empty-handed. Blessings from God come in different forms; they include the physical realm, but they are not limited to just the physical. Our attitude in giving is very important to God.

God expects of His followers to give offerings on His annual Holy Days. They are an opportunity for us to express our gratitude for our calling and the blessings, both physical and spiritual, that God bestows upon us throughout the year.

Lead Writer: Rene Messier

We are delighted to announce that on October 1, 2011, Donna Callender (46) was baptized in Summerland by Rene Messier. She has an 8 year old son and is originally from Texas. She lives currently in Penticton, Canada. We are congratulating Donna and welcoming her in the Spirit-begotten Family of God.

A new StandingWatch program was posted on our Web site (www.standingwatch.org) and on YouTube, titled, “Obama Disappoints the World.” Note these comments from this week’s international press: Frightening deterioration between the US and the Eurozone. Germany and America on collision course. Obama’s lecture on the euro crisis fundamentally wrong, overbearing, arrogant, absurd, embarrassing, pitiful and sad. The U.S. can’t be relied on. It has once again betrayed Palestinians and abdicated its global leadership role. Pax Americana in the Middle East is over. Why is this happening? Does the Bible tell us why? It most certainly does, and you need to know.

Norbert Link’s video-recorded sermon, “The Feast of Trumpets in Isaiah” was posted on YouTube and our Web (www.eternalgod.org).

A new German sermon was recorded and posted on YouTube and on our German Web site (www.aufpostenstehen.de). It is related to the Day of Atonement and is titled, “Hoffnung fuer die Welt’ (“Hope for the World.”).

by Phyllis Bourque

I recently read an internet article entitled, “Lenses shield 9/11 photogs as they capture history.” It questioned how those who photographed the event could bear to keep working in the face of such tragedy. One photographer said that his lens acts as a filter, that “the things are happening over there, on the other side.” Another was quoted as saying, “I let the camera absorb all the disaster or the sadness of an event. It protects ME from the event.” The article noted that these photographers knew only what was happening right before their eyes…not realizing the bigger picture of what was going on.

While I wasn’t there in person, I was there emotionally, owing to the very graphic portrayal through hundreds of photos and videos available on the internet. I was there–falling from the building, choking on the ashen dust, gasping for life! Watching such tragedies in the news takes a toll on me…

As I read the accounts of these photographers, I began to think about the constant barrage of news articles, photos and videos of human suffering all around the world due to wars, tsunamis, flooding, drought, famine, etc., every day more death and destruction, helplessness and despair! Add to this, the stressors in my personal life, and I had to ask myself, how I can bear to watch news that is always bad? I know that these things are prophesied, and I know they will get worse, but how can I have a balanced approach to being aware of world events without allowing it to hover like a dark cloud over each day?

The short answer is, God. But in what way, personally, for me? I found the answer to be in communicating with God–reading the Bible, talking with Him, and using His Holy Spirit within me to help me deal with this life. I found the answer to be in paying attention to the messages delivered by God’s ministers through sermons, the StandingWatch programs, the published booklets, and the weekly update, to help me correlate the issues of life with what God says. And I found the answer to be in fellowshipping with God’s people, who are of the same Spirit, so that we can all encourage each other in times of distress. God has given me all of these resources so that I can live a balanced life in an unbalanced world.

I see then, that focusing my “lens” on the greater plan and purpose God is working out on this earth, gives me a clearer picture of what it all means. From this viewpoint, I feel motivated to continue to move forward in my conversion, using God’s Spirit to overcome personal faults and weaknesses, to become better prepared for what lies ahead, both in this life, and the next.

 On October 1, 2011, Robb Harris will give the sermon, titled, “Correction from Disobedience.”

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.

From time to time, and perhaps in some cases daily, we pray for those of our brethren who are sick or who mourn or who are experiencing one problem or another, and of course, we pray for God to eliminate or ease the problems we ourselves may encounter. But how many times do we pray for those outside the Church? And I refer not only to family and friends.

I watch a number of newscasts on television and I find myself thinking about the events broadcast, including, for example, updates on the plight of the little Scottish girl Madeleine McCann kidnapped in Portugal over four years ago and yet still not found. One might blame the parents for being remiss in looking after this innocent little girl, now 8 years old, leaving her alone in their holiday apartment while they dined nearby. Yet that does not excuse the kidnapper nor lessen the agony of the parents or the child. I have prayed that God will give the Portuguese and British and other authorities who are looking for her an extra portion of insight and police intelligence in being able to find Madeleine and that she may be brought home to her parents and the kidnapper(s) brought to justice.

Occasionally I also view other programs on TV such as Children’s Hospital here in the UK, and my heart and prayers go out for the child’s aches and pains and to the parents for their concern when their child succumbs to injury or disease or death. There are numerous other incidents broadcast depicting victims of accidents, of monetary “scams” and criminal acts such as all-too-frequent knifings and the mugging of old ladies. The plight of those caught up in the extreme drought conditions such as in Kenya and Somalia come to mind, and I pray to God that He would mercifully ease their problems of disease and starvation and their desperate need for medical aid and clean water. Certainly we all recall the atrocious and senseless slaughter of more than 70 young people in Norway recently, and I’ve prayed that God would console the parents.

As I quite often jest, if there wasn’t so much crime and bad news these days there wouldn’t be any newspapers!… Wars in the Middle East and North Africa, volcanic eruptions here and there, increasing budget and inflationary pressures, earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, droughts and famines etc. all come to mind. It seems we are swamped with all sorts of bad news—and we in the Church know the reasons why—and our prayers should plead for the return and intervention of Jesus Christ to alleviate the suffering and death which continue to strike mankind in all sorts of ways and with greater frequency.

In the light of all these disturbing events, we in the Church need to avoid being insular or oblivious to the problems of those outside the Church.  Here in the UK where I live I quite often come upon old people having to cope with a cane or walking frame or mobility cart or who are deformed in some way, or blind, and I thank God that I am not likewise encumbered while sympathising with such people and praying silently for them as I walk on by.

As we ourselves suffer trials, such trials can help us to become more sympathetic and empathetic with others going through similar difficulties. When was the last time you expressed your thoughts and prayers in sympathy with such people and in absolute faith that God heard your prayer? David tells us: “The LORD is gracious and full of compassion… and great in mercy” (Psalm 145:8; compare Philippians 2:4). Should we not, as God’s called-out ones, likewise be compassionate?  Indeed, for there is, truly, so many for whom we can, and should, offer our prayers in heartfelt sympathy.

In this segment, we are focusing on the increasing deterioration of the relationship between the USA and EU, which, according to The Daily Mail, “has become frightening.” While The Daily Mail alludes to the “euro crisis” in this context, Der Spiegel Online contends that the “euro crisis” does not even exist.

We are also reporting at length on America’s isolation in the Arab World. The media from Australia, Canada, France, Germany and of course the Middle East and even Israel is taking sides with the Palestinians, against America.

Anti-American headlines are becoming the norm, such as “The USA Cannot Be Relied On…” “USA, Australia and Israel on the Wrong Side of History,” “USA Betrays Palestinians,” “Pax Americana Is Over,” and “Arab Countries Disappointed by Obama.”

We report on Putin’s controversial reemergence and manifestation of Russia’s true power; speak of the pope’s refusal to present an “ecumenical gift” to Protestants and his demand of German Catholics to be obedient to Rome; and conclude with a rather remarkable article on America’s controversial warfare with drones.

“America Has Lost Patience with Europe”

The Daily Mail wrote on September 24:

“As the markets went into freefall over the last few days, the deterioration in relations between the U.S. and the countries of the single currency has become frightening. The Americans believe that if the world were to tumble back into recession or a prolonged depression, as looks increasingly likely, it would be the euro area to blame… All the hard work done in the U.S., Britain and other countries in the wake of the Lehman Brothers collapse three years ago… will have been wasted.

“… the falls in share markets around the world… are not the result of some Anglo-Saxon plot to bring down the single currency. The reality is that months of appalling indecision, driven by some of the mini-countries within the monetary union, had in fact underlined the need for Germany and France to seize the political opportunity to bring the crisis to an end…

“The big lesson of the Great Depression of the 1930s is that governments and central banks around the world were too slow to act… Britain cannot divorce itself from events given that up to 80 per cent of our trade is with euro-area nations. Without a eurowide rescue, the prospects of heading off a prolonged slump – which will devastate every British household and business – will be remote…”

It is interesting that while America blames the Eurozone for the present economic disaster, continental Europe blames America. In fact, anti-American feelings are again very much on the rise in continental Europe. The statement in the above article that “the deterioration in relations between the U.S. and the countries of the single currency has become frightening,” should give us pause to think and reflect on biblical prophecies for these end times. Please also note the next articles.

America vs. EU

The Washington Post wrote on September 24, 2011:

“Major economic powers and the International Monetary Fund on Saturday boosted pressure on leaders of the euro zone to resolve their lingering financial crisis, leveling criticism that included a sharp new economic warning from the United States… In an address to the IMF’s chief oversight committee, Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner starkly outlined the worst-case scenario if the 17 euro nations don’t succeed soon: ‘Cascading default, bank runs and catastrophic risk’… The treasury secretary has been pushing for Europe to take dramatic steps to prove that the region’s governments and its central bank will stand behind weaker nations like Greece and prop up the financial system as needed…

“The European Central Bank is… concerned about taking on responsibility for government debt. Former German ECB board member Jürgen Stark… fired back at Geithner that it wasn’t fair to blame the euro zone for a crisis with roots in the United States…

“Chinese officials, their nation’s growth linked to exports to Europe and the United States, joined the criticism, arguing that the ongoing sense of crisis showed the shortcomings of western-style democracy and culture. ‘The issue is whether Europe can make a decision,’ given the 17 parliaments that must approve an expansion to the euro’s bailout fund, Gao Xiqing, president of the state-owned China Investment Corp., said at an IMF panel discussion on Europe…”

Apart from the emphasis on disagreements between the USA and the EU, what this article also suggests is that even the Eurozone is too big to make decisive and timely decisions. This concern is obviously shared by others, and will ultimately prompt a transfer of power to a smaller group of ten Eurozone countries and their transfer of authority to one charismatic leader.

Germany vs. USA

The Telegraph reported on September 28:

“Germany and America were on a collision course on Tuesday night over the handling of Europe’s debt crisis after Berlin savaged plans to boost the EU rescue fund as a ‘stupid idea’ and told the White House to sort out its own mess before giving gratuitous advice to others.

“German finance minister Wolfgang Schauble… told Washington to mind its own business after President Barack Obama rebuked EU leaders for failing to recapitalise banks and allowing the debt crisis to escalate to the point where it is ‘scaring the world’. ‘It’s always much easier to give advice to others than to decide for yourself. I am well prepared to give advice to the US government,’ he said.”

Der Spiegel Online added on September 28:

“US President Obama has given the Europeans a harsh lecture on the dangers of their ongoing debt crisis… On Wednesday, German media commentators slam Obama’s criticism of Europe.

“The mass-circulation Bild writes: ‘Obama’s lecture on the euro crisis … is overbearing, arrogant and absurd. … In a nutshell, he is claiming that Europe is to blame for the current financial crisis, which is “scaring the world.” Excuse me? The American president seems to have forgotten a few details. The most important trigger of the financial and economic crisis was US banks and their insane real-estate dealings. The US is still piling up debt … The American congress is crippled by a battle between the right and the left. The banks are gambling just as recklessly as they did before the crisis. The president’s scolding is a pathetic attempt to distract attention from his own failures. How embarrassing’…

“The center-right Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung writes: ‘Dark clouds have gathered over the American president. The gloomy state of the economy is putting a dampener on Obama’s future prospects. The optimism of the past is gone, replaced by a cheap search for a scapegoat. Obama thinks he has found one. He blames the Europeans for reacting too late to the debt crisis. We Europeans are apparently taking on too little new debt to get out of the crisis. But we are already feeling the wonderful effects of borrowing too much money.’

“The financial daily Handelsblatt writes: ‘That’s not how friends talk to each other. That applies particularly to friends who have themselves failed to get a handle on their own, self-made crisis. Barack Obama governs a country where, despite billions in state aid, the economy is stagnating, companies refuse to invest despite calls for patriotism, and which gets embroiled in one political trench war after another … Now this country is dispensing advice, suggestions and finger-pointing… In the desperate battle for his re-election he’d rather construct myths, such as claiming that the Europeans alone are responsible for the American mess. Not only is this fundamentally wrong, but — coming as it does from a friend — it’s downright pitiful and sad.’”

“The Euro Is Doomed”… Really???

We are quoting the following article to show you what seems to be logical and right in the eyes of human beings, who do not know biblical prophecy nor understand the mind of God.

The Daily Express wrote on September 25:

“Instead of accepting that the eurozone has failed, EU bosses want to spend even more money trying to sustain their disastrous project… Squandering trillions will do nothing to address the fundamental weaknesses of the eurozone, which meant it was doomed from the start… The Greek crisis should sound the death knell of the Eurozone…”

This article stands in stark contrast to the next one, which comes much closer to the prophesied truth. It strongly indicates what we have said from the outset; namely, that the current economic problems will not lead to the abrogation of the euro.

What Euro Crisis?

Der Spiegel wrote on September 23:

“The talk is and always has been of a ‘euro crisis’… Where, pray tell, is this supposed euro crisis?… What we are seeing is a crushing sovereign debt crisis, not a currency crisis. The intrinsic value of the euro — despite the talk about the dangers of massive inflation — is as stable as that of many other currencies.

“…compared to the dollar… the exchange rate has remained stable. Measured in terms of purchasing power, the euro is even overvalued against the US currency… A united Europe and the euro are the most important political projects of the postwar period. It would be a disaster if they were damaged by taking the wrong course of action.”

The Bible shows that the coming United States of Europe and the euro will not fail until they have fulfilled their prophetic purpose for these end times. It is interesting that mainly Angela Merkel is being “guided” to do whatever must be done to save the euro.

Merkel Prevails Again on Europe…

The Local wrote on September 29:

“The Bundestag approved the expansion of the eurozone bailout fund by a huge majority on Thursday. Chancellor Angela Merkel breathed a sigh of relief as 315 government MPs voted her way… the German parliament voted to increase the scope and scale of the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF). 523 MPs voted in favour of the measure, 85 voted against, with three abstentions…

“Opening the lively, at times fraught debate, Volker Kauder, who heads Merkel’s parliamentary group of conservatives, said it was a pivotal moment in the spiralling eurozone debt crisis. ‘Today in the Bundestag, we have an important decision for the future of our country and for the future of Europe,’ he said, as he called on rebels within the centre-right coalition to toe the line.”

“The USA Cannot Be Relied On…”

On September 23, Canada’s Globe and Mail and France’s AFP published an article by Prince El Hassan bin Talal, brother to Jordan’s late King Hussein and uncle to King Abdullah II, stating the following:

“On Nov. 29, 1947, the United Nations General Assembly recommended that Palestine, which was under a British Mandate since 1922, be divided into two new independent states – one Arab and one Jewish. Arguments over the division of the land continued. It was against this context that the Jewish Agency, perhaps understandably but also pre-emptively and unilaterally, declared the State of Israel. That declaration was immediately recognized by Harry Truman, and accepted by the UN a year later. It also marked the beginning of the Arab-Israeli wars, as five Arab armies crossed the borders of what had formerly been British Mandate Palestine.

“The decisions made 64 years ago continue to haunt us. For two decades, peace negotiations have failed… it is becoming harder and harder to believe that the United States is capable of negotiating a peace between the parties… the U.S. can’t be relied on to guarantee Palestinian rights as assiduously as it does Israeli rights, and… it lacks the heart and moral conviction to be a sincere and impartial partner for peace…”

“USA, Australia and Israel on the Wrong Side of History”

On September 22, Australia’s Today’s Zaman published the following article by Gareth Evans, Australia’s foreign minister from 1988 to 1996, and chancellor of the Australian National University:

“For all his deep emotional attachment to the idea of Israel embracing all of historical Judea and Samaria, [Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak] Rabin knew that the only way to ensure a democratic Jewish state with viable, secure borders was to accept a Palestinian state alongside it, equally secure and viable. They would share Jerusalem as a capital, and find a mutually acceptable solution to the enormously sensitive issue of the return of Palestinian refugees.

“Rabin’s murder was a catastrophe from which the peace process has never recovered. No Israeli leader since has shown anything like his far-sighted vision, commitment and capacity to deliver a negotiated two-state solution. Ehud Barak and Ehud Olmert came close, but not close enough. And since then Binyamin Netanyahu has lived down to every expectation of his statesmanship…

“Now, with negotiations at an impasse, settlement building continuing unabated, no end in sight to the never-ending humiliation of occupation, and all other forms of leverage evidently exhausted, the Palestinians are going to the United Nations to seek recognition in some form of their statehood. They want full UN membership, but — facing inevitable veto of that option by the United States in the Security Council — are willing to accept as a fallback a majority vote by the General Assembly recognizing Palestine as a non-member ‘observer state,’ the status now enjoyed by the Vatican…

“But being on the wrong side of history is never a comfortable position. And that is exactly where the US, Israel and its closest friends — including my own country, Australia — will be if they resist the tide of international sentiment in favor of moving now to recognize Palestinian statehood.”

“USA Betrays Palestinians”

On September 24, the Arab News, claiming to be “the Middle East’s leading English Language Daily,” published an article with the following introduction:

“[The] US has once again betrayed Palestinians and abdicated its global leadership [role].”

The article continued:

“The United States was presented with a historic opportunity this week to demonstrate it believes in what it preaches and it blew it. President Barack Obama’s UN address on Wednesday will go down in history as one of the most disgraceful examples of a US leader’s self-serving groveling before Israel and abdication of leadership…

“If the world community expected better of Obama, after eight years of George W. Bush’s wars and destruction across the Muslim world, he had given it enough reasons to do so. In his own words, Obama sought a ‘new way forward’ with the world’s Muslims, reaffirming the message in his speeches in Ankara and Cairo.

“The US leader squandered it all at the United Nations on Wednesday, in the ultimate betrayal and sellout of the cause of Middle East peace. It was a completely different side of Obama that the world saw at UN General Assembly. He talked of the Israeli suffering surrounded by hostile Arab neighbors and suicide bombers. No mention anywhere of the Palestinian dispossession and persecution under Israeli occupation over the past six decades.

“Even as he hailed the Arab Spring and people power from Tunisia to Egypt to India and their democratic choices, he lashed out at Palestinians for their audacity to make the same choices. Freedom is welcome in South Sudan but not in occupied Palestine. Could there be a more shameful instance of double standards and hypocrisy?…

“Clearly, facing his re-election battle just 14 months from now, Obama has realized that he cannot afford to upset the powerful Zionist lobby and moneybags who run the show in Washington D.C. Whatever the cause for Obama’s turnaround, America is going to pay dearly for this political opportunism and historic folly of its president. By undermining the Palestinian aspirations, the US risks turning the whole of Arab and Islamic world against itself and deepening the dangerous gulf between the West and Muslim world. The US has once again proved that it’s incapable of providing leadership and acting as an honest-broker when it comes to [the] Middle East.

“So where do we go from here? It’s high time the world community took charge of the Middle East situation initiating bold measures to deliver justice to the Palestinians. There’s merit in French President Sarkozy’s suggestion that Arabs and Europeans work together to resolve this long festering conflict. However, it’s not possible without the involvement of the rest of the world. It’s time to show who stands for justice, freedom and equal rights of all men…”

The suggestion that Arabs and Europeans should work together is quite revealing, in the light of biblical prophecy. As the next article shows, Europe is presently divided on the Palestinian question. This means, on the other hand, that Europe is not united in their support for Israel, either.

Europe Divided on Palestinian Question

Der Spiegel Online wrote on September 28:

“The EU is further removed than ever from a common position in the Middle East conflict. The Europeans couldn’t even agree on a joint declaration in the UN Human Rights Council. Some backed Israel, others stood behind the Palestinians, while Germany avoided adopting a clear position… Though there are currently only eight European countries represented on the UN Human Rights Council, the position was meant to speak for the entire EU…

“Chances of a European agreement seemed good on Monday, particularly because the last version of the text had a balanced tone. Israel’s blockade of the Gaza Strip was condemned, as were the most recent Palestinian terrorist attacks on the Israelis. The document also pilloried executions carried out by Hamas in the Gaza Strip and the violence of Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank.

“But this turned out to be too much for some of Israel’s friends in Europe. Just one hour before the official debate began in Geneva, the Netherlands representative reported that his country could not back such a resolution. In a quickly arranged emergency meeting the Dutchman whipped out his iPhone, reading off a number of required revisions, without which he said his country would unfortunately be unable to approve the document. The corrections obviously came directly from the Dutch ambassador’s boss, Foreign Minister Uri Rosenthal, known for his pro-Israeli policies. The member of the conservative People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) is himself Jewish, though not religious, and is married to an Israeli woman.

“He instructed his diplomats in Geneva to strike a number of formulations from the statement, among them numerous references to a ‘two-state solution’ — that is, the foundation of a Palestinian state alongside Israel. The foreign minister also didn’t want any mention of Israel’s arrests of peacefully demonstrating human rights activists or their destruction of homes in the West Bank and East Jerusalem that forced the affected Palestinians to resettle elsewhere.

“And this despite the fact that a report for the UN Human Rights Council confirms that the Israeli government has increased orders for the destruction of homes since the beginning of the year. According to the report, some 387 buildings have been destroyed since January, among them 140 residential buildings, turning out 755 Palestinians. Furthermore, more Palestinians have been displaced in the first half of 2011 than all of last year, the report adds.

“The changes from The Hague were not well-received by the other European diplomats… Germany, Italy and the Czech Republic all declared they were ready to accept the demands, in order to enable a unified European position. Meanwhile Sweden, Austria, Romania and Slovenia declared this was unacceptable. Thus just before the start of the council meeting, the EU representative leading the crisis meeting could do nothing but declare the debate had failed.

“In the end, the text the group had originally agreed upon was signed by only six European countries, among them those who are currently not even on the Human Rights Council. Germany could have signed on, but preferred not to take a position… It’s the latest example of how EU coherence is being sacrificed to national interests. Already hardly anyone expects the EU to present a unified vote if the Palestinian status comes before the United Nations General Assembly in New York. Meanwhile the four countries currently sitting on the UN Security Council — Britain, France, Germany and Portugal — are also unlikely to agree on a single stance…”

Still, what we are seeing in Europe is a constant shift away from support for Israel and towards acceptance of Palestinian positions. The Bible shows that the coming United States of Europe, under German leadership, will become very supportive of Arab demands and very hostile towards the state of Israel. At the same time, even the ten European core nations or groups of nations, which will unite to form a United States of Europe, will be divided; it will be partly strong and partly fragile, and the core nations will not adhere to one another, just as iron does not mix with clay (compare Daniel 2:41-43).

“Pax Americana Is Over”

The Jewish paper, Haaretz, which is very critical of President Netanyahu, wrote on September 23:

“On Friday afternoon, February 21, 1947, the British ambassador to Washington, Lord Inverchapel, showed up at the State Department and informed Under-Secretary of State Dean Acheson that his country could no longer continue providing financial and military support to Greece and Italy. The British ‘are abdicating from the Middle East,’ Secretary of State George Marshall told President Harry Truman… Britain adjusted to the new geopolitical realities by ending its prized mandate of Palestine in May 1948, less than a year after giving up the ‘jewel in the crown’ of India.

“The transition from Rule Britannia to Pax Americana in the Middle East was completed during the 1956 Suez Crisis, when the United States threatened to withhold financing that Britain desperately needed unless its forces withdrew from the Suez Canal. And the United States attained what amounted to the dominant position in the Middle East in the aftermath of the end of the Cold War and the ensuing victory in the first Gulf War, in 1991.

“Like Great Britain in 1947, the United States is finding it more and more difficult to maintain its military and diplomatic status in the Middle East. Its defense expenditures constitute close to a third of its overall budget, at a time when the burden of its fiscal debt is becoming unsustainable.

“The failure to defeat the Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan, the specter of a nuclear Pakistan turning into a failed state, rising concerns about the decline of Iraq into a civil war after the U.S. withdrawal, the growing power of Iran and its regional satellites, the threat that the Arab Spring is posing to regimes that were willing at least to accept the U.S.-backed status-quo, and the deadlocked Israel-Palestinian peace process – all these are clear indications that the era of Pax Americana in the Middle East is over…

“And all this is happening as Turkey and other regional actors try to form a post-American order in the Middle East that even under the best-case-scenario will include support for an independent Palestinian state, and will certainly not be compatible with the positions of the current Israeli government…”

Arab Countries Disappointed by Obama

Lebanon’s The Daily Star wrote on September 22:

“U.S. President Barack Obama… told the countries of the world that Israel is surrounded by people who have launched attacks against it… Obama and his advisers will have to work against the decades-long portrayal of Israel as the eternal victim, when it in fact flouts international law and U.N. resolutions on a daily basis. But the task isn’t impossible – it’s only in the U.S. and Israel where minds must be changed, since the rest of the world backs the Palestinian point of view…

“The American president should realize that while he should be worried about his re-election chances next year, there is the matter of this year to contend with. Popular uprisings have broken out in a number of Arab countries, where people have been paying attention to what Washington has said and done. For the most part, they have been disappointed, and they are certainly going to be disappointed by Obama’s latest stance on the region, a flagrant declaration of bias toward Israel and the kind of ‘same old’ policy…”

Much To Do About Nothing…

The German magazine, Der Spiegel, wrote on September 24:

“He kept the most dramatic statement for the end. ‘We have one goal,’ he said. ‘To be. And we will be.’ With these prophetic words, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas ended a 35-minute speech which will probably be seen as the highlight of his political career. Then, amid thundering applause from the delegates of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, he held up a copy of the application for recognition of an independent Palestinian state and for full membership of the United Nations which he had submitted to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon earlier…

“Abbas’ successful speech will do little to advance the Palestinians’ cause. It seems certain that the Security Council, which has to approve the Palestinians’ membership application, will postpone its vote for months, if not years… The application is opposed by Israel and by the US, which holds a veto as a permanent Security Council member…

“On Thursday, French President Nicolas Sarkozy revealed that there are… concrete plans for… negotiations under the auspices of the Mideast Quartet, which consists of the European Union, the UN, the US and Russia. The plan foresees the resumption of negotiations within a month, Sarkozy said. An agreement on borders and security should be reached within six months, with a final settlement being reached within a year…

“But achieving peace within a year seems an ambitious goal. Then-US President George W. Bush tried the same thing with the so-called Annapolis process — without success…

“Not wanting to leave the stage to Abbas alone, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had announced in advance that he wanted to respond to the Palestinian leader’s statement. The stage was set for a rhetorical duel which would do little to advance the peace process but would earn points for the winner. In the end, Abbas was the clear winner of the hotly anticipated showdown. The Palestinian leader avoided rhetorical tricks and made a convincing impression as an honest representative of a just cause.

“In contrast, Netanyahu came across as arrogant and aggressive. Right at the beginning of his speech, the Israeli prime minister called the UN General Assembly a ‘theater of the absurd’ that ‘for too long has been a place of darkness for my country.’ Netanyahu compared the United Nations to a ‘house of many lies.’  He also made strong remarks aimed at Abbas and the Palestinians, claiming they had rejected or failed to respond to Israeli offers of peace. Netanyahu attacked Abbas’ words about the ‘hopes and dreams’ of the Palestinians, satirically recasting them as ‘hopes, dreams and 10,000 missiles and Grad rockets supplied by Iran.’”

It is amazing how preconceived ideas and concepts may cloud objectivity. To us, it was Abbas who came across as arrogant and unbelievable, while Netanyahu gave a convincing presentation on what the future for Israel would mean, if Abbas and supporters had their way. Note also the next article.

Conflict between Israel and Palestinians Escalates

On September 23, 2011, Israel’s Ynetnews.com wrote the following:

“Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas asked the United Nations on Friday to recognize a state for his people, accusing Israel of engaging in ethnic cleansing in his United Nations speech… ‘Israel issues building permits to settlers so they can build in occupied Jerusalem, while it keeps confiscating lands in eastern Jerusalem and driving away Palestinians from their ancestral lands,’ he said in his address… ‘Our people will continue their popular, peaceful resistance,’ Abbas declared…

“Israel’s Foreign Minister, Avigdor Lieberman, walked out in protest during Abbas’ address. He later told Ynet that the Palestinian leader delivered a ‘speech of incitement’ that included ‘harsh threats.’ Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was not present during Abbas’ speech to begin with… On Friday afternoon, Abbas said he was adamant about not recognizing Israel as the Jewish state.

“‘They talk to us about the Jewish state, but I respond to them with a final answer: We shall not recognize a Jewish state,’ Abbas said in a meeting with some 200 senior representatives of the Palestinian community in the US… Meanwhile, Hamas said Friday that Palestinians should liberate their land, not beg for recognition at the United Nations, firmly rejecting President Abbas’ quest for statehood. Speaking hours before Abbas was due to ask formally that the UN recognize a Palestinian state, senior Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said this would not bring independence.”

But let us ask, since when were the Palestinians entitled to “ancestral lands” in “eastern Jerusalem”? It is very clear that according to the Bible, these lands were given by GOD to the houses of Israel and Judah. Abbas’ comments are also quite revealing in that Palestinians will never accept Israel as a Jewish state, in light of the fact that the PLO has recently announced that no Jew will be allowed to live in a Palestinian state. In his address, Netanyahu responded that it was time for the Palestinians to acknowledge that “Israel is a Jewish state”—something which Palestinians are unwilling to do. Further, Abbas’ description of suicide bombers and other terrorist activities as “peaceful resistance” is quite a stretch.

On September 20, The Blaze wrote this:

“In a weekend interview, an Iranian official described the effort as merely another step in a much broader plan. Mojtaba Amani, Iran’s ambassador to Egypt, openly conceded in an interview with Al-Watan al-Arabi, that the PA’s push for full membership as a UN member state ‘is a step towards wiping out Israel,’ and that ‘the Palestinians must follow a correct example and complete all the measures to prevent the Zionist Entity from depriving them their rights.’”

Putin’s Return to Power

Deutsche Welle reported on September 25:

“The often tricky relationship between Russia and the West could get stickier if a planned leadership reshuffle goes through, putting former President and current Prime Minister Vladimir Putin back in the presidency, but both the US and German governments have pledged to maintain a strong relationship with Moscow, regardless of who governs Russia. Constitutional restrictions forced Putin to step down in 2008 after two terms in office, but after the single term of his hand-picked successor Dmitry Medvedev, Putin is free to run in 2012 elections.

“He announced that he would on Saturday at his United Russia party conference. Putin is widely expected to win that election as his United Russia party dominates the political landscape. A change to the constitution now means presidential terms last six years, meaning Putin could remain in power until 2024…

“US-Russian relations frayed towards the end of Putin’s presidency and that of Obama’s predecessor, George W. Bush. But under Obama and Medvedev the two countries have hammered out a new nuclear arms reduction treaty and greater cooperation on issues like Iran’s nuclear program… Merkel was quoted as saying that she works well with Medvedev, in a tweet from her spokesman Steffen Seibert. ‘Cooperation will be good with every Russian president,’  Seibert continued, ‘because Germany and Russia are connected by a strategic partnership.’…

“If Putin were to take over the presidency, it’s expected that Medvedev would then become his prime minister, a role more focused on domestic policy… Russia’s opposition is deeply concerned about Putin’s potential return to the presidency, with Boris Nemtsov, who served as deputy foreign minister in the late 1990s, describing it as a ‘horror scenario.’  ‘Putin returns and everyone else leaves,’  he said. ‘Foreign capital will flee and people will emigrate.’”

The Local added on September 25:

“In a first reaction to Putin’s nomination to presidential candidate for his United Russia party – which effectively crowns him Russian leader – Merkel was less than warm about the prospect, but diplomatically optimistic… The likely return of the former KGB agent who served in East Germany, to the head of the Russian government will be accompanied by ambitious plans.  He told his party conference that Russia’s economy must grow by up to seven percent a year, and should become one of the five biggest national economies in the world. He said he intended to create 20 million new jobs in modern industry over the coming 20 years.”

Pope Disappoints Protestants

The Local wrote on September 23:

“Benedict… met leaders of the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD), but disappointed those who had hoped for a signal of reconciliation between the Catholic and Protestant Churches.

“Speaking at the Augustine Monastery where Luther had lived 500 years ago, he said, ‘Prior to the pope’s visit there was some talk of an “ecumenical gift” which was expected from this visit. There is no need for me to specify the gifts mentioned in this context. Here I would only say that this reflects a political misreading of faith and of ecumenism’… he did not take part in a joint Catholic and Protestant Eucharist, remaining firm in the separation of the two churches… The pope had said he was not prioritising the idea of bringing the two churches closer together, leaving many disappointed…”

Still, “reconciliation” between the Catholic Church and the Protestant churches will come, but only under Catholic terms. Please also note the next articles.

Be Obedient to Rome

Deutsche Welle reported on September 25:

“[The pope] called on German Catholics to challenge themselves to form a closer relationship with God… ‘The Church in Germany will overcome the great challenges of the present and future and it will remain a leaven in society, if the priests, consecrated men and women, and the lay faithful … work together in unity,’ he said… Benedict alluded to the dissent in the Church on Saturday night, saying that ‘damage to the Church comes not from opponents, but from uncommitted Christians.’

“He went further on Sunday, urging Catholics to remain faithful and obedient to Rome in ‘this time of danger and radical change’ and a ‘crisis of faith.’ ‘The Church in Germany will continue to be a blessing for the entire Catholic world if she remains faithfully united with the successors of St. Peter and the Apostles,’ he said… Also on the schedule for the pope’s last day in Germany is a lunch with religious leaders [and] a meeting with judges from Germany’s Constitutional Court…”

Catholics and Orthodox Closest

VIS wrote on September 24:

“[The pope] met with fifteen representatives from the Orthodox Churches in Germany gathered in the main hall of the Seminary of Freiburg im Breisgau. Germany has a total of 467 Byzantine Orthodox communities with some 1,300,000 faithful belonging to various autocephalous Churches… the Pope reaffirmed that ‘among Christian Churches and communities, the Orthodox are theologically closest to us; Catholics and Orthodox both have the same basic structure inherited from the ancient Church. So we may hope that the day is not too far away when we may once again celebrate the Eucharist together.’”

American Warfare with Drones

The Vancouver Sun wrote on September 23:

“The United States administration of President Barack Obama is dramatically extending the reach of its program using missile-armed remote-controlled drone aircraft to assassinate terrorist and militant group leaders.

“The focus of the operation to hunt down and kill senior figures in al-Qaida and linked groups is shifting from Pakistan, where 581 of the more than 600 people killed in the 118 drone strikes launched last year were hiding, to the Horn of Africa and the Arabian Peninsula.

“The movement to deploy the Predator and Reaper drones to a U.S. base in Djibouti in the Horn of Africa, Ethiopia, an un-named Arab state, and the Indian Ocean islands nation of Seychelles is in response to the rising presence of al-Qaida and its affiliates in the failed states of Somalia and Yemen…

“The program is controversial not least because of the hazy legal authority under which U.S. officials… remotely control the drones and fire their Hellfire missiles at people intelligence information identifies as militants in Pakistan or elsewhere. The drones… [have] been equipped with missiles they are known to have been used in Afghanistan, Libya, Yemen, Iraq and Somalia as well as Pakistan.

“As well as the cloudy legal authority for assassinating people in countries with which the U.S. is not at war, there is the matter of killing innocent bystanders. In Pakistan in particular, there has been much public outrage at so-called ‘collateral damage’ when missile attacks have killed women, children and other people who just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time…

“Since April, the drone-fired attacks in Pakistan have all been launched from Afghanistan. It is the success of this assassination program… that has precipitated the move to the Horn of Africa and the Arabian Peninsula… In Ethiopia, the government of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi is being… cautious before playing host to Obama’s killer drones.”

This kind of warfare is not finding much support. It is also interesting that Ethiopia keeps showing up in one way or another, either in friendly or not-so-friendly relationships with Western powers.

In previous Q&As, we published guidelines for opening and closing prayers, and for preparing and giving sermonettes. We pointed out that our weekly and annual Sabbath services begin with a song service (usually by singing three congregational hymns), followed by an opening prayer, a sermonette or short spiritual message of about 10 to 15 minutes, the singing of another congregational hymn, announcements, followed (occasionally) by a special music presentation (especially during the Feast of Tabernacles), the sermon or main spiritual message of about 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes, and we conclude with a final congregational hymn and the closing prayer.

As all of these elements are part of a worship service in honor of and dedication to God, it is important that we always appear before God in the proper attire and with the right attitude, and that we exemplify correct behavior throughout the entire service. In the past, we have published numerous Q&As, setting forth the principles and guidelines as to how men and women should dress in general; what should be the proper hair length for men and women; and especially, how we should properly dress at Church services and social functions during the Feast of Tabernacles, including at pool or beach parties.

Here are a few selected excerpts from the above-cited Q&As, as they apply to worship services:

“That we ought to appear properly dressed for worship services, has been the long-standing teaching of the Church of God, and for good reason:

“We must understand that we are appearing before GOD. God is a great King. God is the Creator of everything that is good and costly and priceless. He is the Creator of beauty. He most certainly is the Creator of quality. He owns all the gold and silver, and it is He who made it all. If we were to be invited by an earthly king, how would we appear in front of him?… Would you want to appear in unwashed, dirty clothing, wearing washed-out jeans, a T-shirt, and sneakers?

“How much more should we appear before GOD, the KING over His creation, in proper clothes! The famous parable in Matthew 22:10-13 about the king’s wedding feast for his son contains a spiritual lesson, but it also describes a physical principle–that we dress appropriately for the occasion. It DID matter to the king–God the Father–how the guests were dressed for the wedding of His Son, Jesus Christ.

“In this context, we must not neglect culture. In the Western World, it is normally appropriate for men to wear a suit, or a nice combination, with a shirt and a tie… In the U.S.A., Canada or in England [and we might include continental Europe as well], men don’t dress up, when they appear in worship services with an open shirt, a T-shirt or jeans.

“Ladies should also wear appropriate clothing, of course. In addition, their dresses should not be too short or too tight or too revealing–but this principle would also apply in general, not just during Church services…

“God gives us the freedom to determine what is appropriate clothing, within the acceptability of proper dress in our cultures, but to clarify, God does not give us the freedom to violate His specific instructions so that we can follow our culture. For example, God has told us how to wear our hair. We are told that it is a shame for a man – young or old – to wear long hair…

“In addition, some brethren are scattered. They cannot physically join with other members on the Sabbath, so they listen to sermon tapes, or they sit in and listen to live Internet worship services (In passing, those who can physically attend are commanded to do so, and they are not permitted to just use Internet access as a substitute and as an excuse for not ‘having’ to attend Church services in person). If scattered brethren have Sabbath worship services ‘in their home,’ while listening to tapes or to live Internet Church services, they still appear before God during that time, and again, we don’t want to appear before God uncombed, unshaved and unwashed, or by just wearing our pajamas…”

“When God gave instructions for the creation of ‘holy garments’ for the priests of Israel, He specifically wanted them made ‘for GLORY and for BEAUTY’ (Exodus 28:2)… Regarding how both men and women dress when attending Church services, we find a meaningful example in the time when the children of Israel were commanded to wash their clothes in advance of appearing before God (Compare Exodus 19:10,14). Likewise, the priests were to wash themselves when appearing before God (Compare Exodus 30:19-20); and, they were to wear special clothing (Compare Exodus 28).

“It has been the practice of the Church of God to recognize that we are appearing before God when we assemble for Sabbath services along with other special commanded assemblies as given by God [such as commanded worship services throughout the seven days of the Feast of Tabernacles, even though only the first day is a Holy Day]. As such, we do recommend that each person present himself or herself in the best apparel they have available. The foremost idea is to specially prepare to appear before God to honor HIM!…

“God takes great exception to the self-absorbed and self-willed practices of people who lose all restraint. This applies to inappropriate sloppy appearance, as well as to the over-emphasis on wealth and riches… Our responsibility is to dress modestly and yet to dress with quality garments that reflect our honoring of God…”

It is critically important to understand that we appear in front of God during the entirety of our worship service; and this means that every aspect of the service is to reflect our worship of God. This is true whether we are attending together with our brethren in a Church hall, or whether we are, due to necessity, listening in to live Church services from our homes. This means we stand up respectfully and humbly when participating in the opening or closing prayer, and we stand up and participate joyfully in the singing of the congregational hymns.

We concentrate on and listen carefully to the messages (including the announcements, as well as the sermonette and sermon). It is understood, of course, that parents will have to take care of their babies and young children, which might even require at times to take them out of the Church hall, when they get too loud and disturb others. But apart from these sometimes inevitable distractions, there is no excuse for not paying close and undivided attention to services. It would be highly inappropriate to engage in jokes or unnecessary conversation during services (except for unavoidable situations, such as when our technical staff may at times have to communicate with each other to make sure that the services are being properly broadcast, etc.). It would also be offensive to God if someone were to get up during services (whether in a Church hall or at home) to walk to the kitchen for a snack or a meal, or even a cup of coffee or tea or water (excepting necessary circumstances), or to take a nap during services.

In services, most of us do not have many opportunities to audibly participate, except for saying “Amen” to the opening and closing prayers, after having listened carefully and attentively to every word of the prayers, and for singing joyfully during the song service. We cannot overemphasize the importance of participation in the song service with all of our heart, concentrating on each word which we are singing, and agreeing with it completely, knowing that we are not doing so to impress others, but because we are worshipping God when we sing out loud. There have been rare occasions when a brother or sister was told not to sing so loud, but this would be highly inappropriate “advice.” In fact, the song leader should encourage the congregation in words and by his own example to sing out loud and with enthusiasm.

Notice what we read about singing songs and hymns to God:

“Make a joyful noise unto God, all ye lands: Sing forth the honour of his name: make his praise glorious” (Psalm 66:1-2, AV).

Consider Psalm 95:1-3 (AV):

“O come, let us sing unto the LORD; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation. Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms. For the LORD is a great God, and a great King…”

Notice Psalm 149:1-5 (AV):

“Praise ye the LORD. Sing unto the LORD a new song, and his praise in the congregation of the saints. Let Israel rejoice in him that made him: let the children of Zion be joyful in their King… let them sing praises unto him… Let the saints be joyful in glory: let them sing aloud…”

And take note of Psalm 150:1-6 (AV), showing that God expects of us to sing to Him with emotion and with our whole heart:

“Praise ye the LORD. Praise God in his sanctuary… Praise him with the sound of the trumpet: praise him with the psaltery and harp. Praise him with the timbrel…  praise him with stringed instruments and organs. Praise him upon the loud cymbals: praise him upon the high sounding cymbrals. Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD.”

Whether we are speakers (giving sermonettes, sermons, opening or closing prayers, or announcements) or whether we are part of the “listening” congregation, we must all appreciate the truth that we are appearing before God and His holy angels, as well as with His chosen holy people. Speakers have to conduct themselves appropriately, when speaking from the pulpit; they are not to engage in improper comments or “foolish talking, nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks” (compare Ephesians 5:4).

The saying that “familiarity breeds contempt” must never be applicable to our conduct in Church services. This is one of the reasons why our speakers will generally refer to other brethren as Mr. and Mrs., when addressing them publically, rather than using their first names. Church services ARE FORMAL WORSHIP services, in dedication to God and in fellowship with His holy people, and all of us must always keep this in mind throughout the entirety of the service.

Lead Writer: Norbert Link

A new member letter was written and posted on the Web. It will  be sent out tomorrow. In the letter, Dave Harris examines the question as to how Philadelphia perseveres and stays faithful in these evil times.

A new StandingWatch program was posted on our Web site (www.standingwatch.org) and on YouTube, titled, “UK Enslaved and USA Rejected.” The relationship between the UK and Europe is deteriorating, and so is the friendship between the USA and the EU. The UK is fed up with Europe and has become a slave to the EU, according to the Telegraph. The EU rejects advice from Tim Geithner; and while Germany and France don’t care about opposition from the UK and the US, Sarkozy breaks with Obama in New York. The Pope’s visit in Germany has revived the hope for Church unification, which will come, but not in the way that most expect. This won’t be good news for the USA and the UK.

A new German AufPostenStehen program was posted on our Web site (www.aufpostenstehen.de) and on YouTube, titled, “Kommt die Oekumene doch noch?” [“Is Church Unification Still Coming?”]

A new German sermon was recorded and posted on YouTube and on our German Web site (www.aufpostenstehen.de). It is related to the Feast of Trumpets and titled, “Gottes Warnung an Uns” [“God’s Warning to Us.”] It is also the third part of our German series on the USA and Great Britain in the Bible.