On April 2, 2011, Norbert Link will give the sermon, titled, “How Close Are You To God?”

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.

Satan would love nothing more than to drive a wedge into our spiritual life and separate us from God. His ultimate goal is to do whatever he can to take us out of the Church, the body of Christ. Now, especially at this pre-Passover time of the year and at this juncture in the end-time, he is for sure doing all that he can to disrupt us in our walk towards the Plan of God.

Imagine a spirit being that has been around for eons – 6,000 years would be a short time to him.  Knowing that he only had this short time, he, as an entity that never tires, would be relentless in his goal to derail true Christians.  Night and day, he would accuse the brethren before God (Revelation 12:10), and he would walk around seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8; Job 1:7; 2:2). 

Now imagine that this very short period of 6,000 years is almost up.  How much more, if it were possible, would Satan be stepping up his effort to thwart the Plan of God? 

God would love nothing more than to have us as members of His Family in His Kingdom.  His ultimate goal is to do whatever He can to see that we are successful in this calling.  Now, especially at this pre-Passover time of the year and at this juncture in the end-time, He is for sure doing all that He can to reconcile us in our walk towards the Plan of God.

Imagine a loving God—the Father—who has inhabited eternity with only one other Family member—Jesus Christ. After all that time, He began carrying out His plan that included fashioning the physical universe with all the laws to govern it. God also created man and gave him His laws to be governed by.  He sacrificed His only Son to pay for the penalty for our sin in order that we may live and have access to His Power – the Holy Spirit which further aids us in attaining His goal for us—to grant us the awesome opportunity to qualify for a position in His Kingdom and Family. 

Now imagine we only have a short time left.  We are quickly coming to a crossroads – a time when God will pronounce His final judgment on the firstfruits of His creation.  Then, in the twinkling of an eye, it will all be decided.  Do we sense the urgency?

Wherever we look, it seems that we are confronted these days with uncertainty, turmoil, upheaval and disaster.

We begin reporting on tumultuous political events in Europe—including Germany, France, England and Italy—which could lead to an emergence of charismatic popular leaders replacing current less popular ones. And while we are told that the euro has been saved for good, evidencing the continuing and inevitable unification of continental Europe, the Canadian government failed, and President Obama’s political survival is anything else but certain.

Focusing on the Middle East, we are reporting on events in and pertaining to Iran, Syria and Libya; addressing the terrible costs of war which will undoubtedly contribute to America’s economic downfall; discussing frightening revelations on the dangerous levels of radioactivity in Japan; and concluding with a settlement involving Jesuits who agreed to pay $166.1 million to hundreds of American Indians and Alaska Natives who were abused at the Catholic order’s schools in Oregon, Washington state, Idaho, Montana and Alaska.

Clearly, the time for Jesus Christ’s return MUST be near! But not everyone agrees—in fact, the majority of Americans does not. As Fox News reported on March 24, “the perceived increase in the number and severity of natural disasters is evidence to 44 percent of Americans of what the Bible calls The End Times, prophesied in the Old Testament’s book of Daniel and the New Testament’s book of Revelation. Fifty-two percent disagreed, according to the poll.”

Turmoil in Europe

Germany — Stunning Defeat for Merkel

On March 28, 2011, Deutsche Welle reported:

“Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats (CDU) suffered significant political blows over the weekend following two state elections which saw the Greens make dramatic gains. The polls have been widely viewed as a referendum on nuclear energy. The Greens garnered 24.2 percent support in the Baden-Württemberg election, doubling their share of the vote since the last state polls in 2006. This has paved the way for a Green party state premier, a first in German history. The Social Democrats (SPD) polled 23.1 percent, giving a green-red coalition of the Greens and the SPD a majority. As predicted, the CDU took a severe drubbing, coming in with only 39 percent, a drop of 5.2 points. It was the party’s second-worst showing in the state…

“Speaking in Berlin on Monday, Merkel said the election defeat in the conservative stronghold of Baden-Württemberg after nearly six decades of rule was painful and would take a long time to overcome…  [In] the smaller state of Rhineland-Palatinate it was the SPD, not Merkel’s CDU, that was the main casualty of anti-incumbent sentiment on election day, although state Premier Kurt Beck is to retain power. The SPD lost its absolute majority but remained the strongest party with 35.7 percent of the vote, a fall of 9.9 percent since the last state election in 2006. The Greens polled 15.4 percent, a 10.8-percent increase, securing representation in the state parliament after a five-year hiatus… The result could indicate a coalition between the SPD and the Greens in Rhineland-Palatinate as well.”

We present the following selection from Germany’s press releases on Monday:

Der Spiegel wrote:

“… the writing is on the wall for Merkel and her center-right coalition if it doesn’t regain the trust of voters ahead of the 2013 general election… Merkel’s controversial decision last year to extend the lifetimes of Germany’s 17 nuclear reactors by an average of 12 years is coming back to haunt her… But it would be unwise to start writing off Merkel…”

Süddeutsche Zeitung wrote:

“Merkel is already studying the Green Party, which could become important to her as a means to stay in power, as a replacement for the [present coalition party] FDP… The things one does to stay in power! Anything, if need be. And she will reverse everything again if necessary. The CDU will suffer a crisis of identity. The FDP is already in an existential crisis which has now dramatically worsened…”

Die Tageszeitung wrote:

“The CDU will hold party leader Angela Merkel accountable for the disaster. She will remain in office, simply because there is a lack of alternatives to her… Of course the nuclear disaster in Japan had an impact. But the Greens can justifiably claim that no one warned about the dangers of nuclear technology as consistently as they did… The Greens have been insisting on an energy turnaround for more than 30 years. After their landslide victory it’s clear now that this epochal change in energy policy has just been launched.”

Bild wrote:

“The election is, of course, a major blow for the center-right coalition. Losing power in the conservative bastion of Baden-Württemberg will cause long-term pain. Angela Merkel knows that. She won’t throw in the towel though. She has stronger nerves than Gerhard Schröder, who abruptly called an early general election when his SPD lost its stronghold of North Rhine-Westphalia.”

Ultimately, and perhaps very soon, a powerful charismatic German political figure will arise who will meet the approval of most of the German people.

France — Blow for Sarkozy

Deutsche Welle reported on March 28:

“France’s Socialists emerged with the greatest share of the vote by far in local elections on Sunday, dealing a blow to French President Nicolas Sarkozy ahead of presidential elections next year… the left… attracted 49.9 percent of the vote. That figure… compares with 35.9 percent for Sarkozy’s conservative UMP party…

“… the pressure on Sarkozy appears to be coming from the right, as well as the left. The far-right National Front scored 11 percent, having seen its polling popularity increase significantly since leader Marine Le Pen, daughter of long-time leader Jean-Marie Le Pen, took over in January… An opinion poll for the Le Parisien daily, suggesting that Le Pen herself could win the first round of the presidential election, has sent shockwaves through the center ground of French politics. The French president’s popularity has sunk to a record low of below 30 percent… Elections took place in about half of France’s cantonal councils on Sunday.”

The EUObserver added on March 28:

“Several EU diplomats and even one foreign minister speaking off the record in Brussels in the run-up to the Libya campaign pointed to next year’s French presidential elections as a big reason for Sarkozy’s enthusiasm to take on the Libyan dictator. But looking in detail at French operations in Libya, military analysts have also said that France is using the war to promote its badly-selling €60-million-per-unit Rafale fighter.”  

It may be shocking for many to realize that wars are being started for selfish politcal and economic reasons. But if we want to be honest—hasn’t this always been the reason for human wars? (compare James 4:1-2). Considering this sobering fact, why would a true Christian want to participate in such godless conduct?

England—Turmoil on the Streets

The EUObserver reported on March 28:

“In the largest demonstration of public anger to hit the UK since protests against the Iraq War in 2003, hundreds of thousands marched through the British capital on Saturday (26 March) against cuts to public services. According to various sources, between 250,000 and 500,000 snaked their way through central London during the event, which was organised by the country’s Trade Union Congress, with 800 coaches [buses] from across the country arriving in London…

“Protesters also engaged in a series of roving civil disobedience actions shutting down high-street shops and banks to highlight the companies’ tax avoidance policies while a few hundred anarchists smashed the windows of store fronts and daubed bank offices with paint. Some 200 individuals were arrested and 84 injured, including 12 police officers who required minor treatment at hospital. A few hundred protesters gathered in Trafalgar Square at the end of the day, but police cleared the area in the evening provoking scuffles with protesters.

“While the government says the cuts are necessary to tame the government deficit, protesters said that reduction in public spending during a recession will worsen the situation… Opposition leader Ed Miliband spoke out against the cuts at a rally in Hyde Park, comparing the protest to previous struggles for justice against Apartheid South Africa and the fight for the vote for women.”

Ultimately, Great Britain will not be able to solve its economic problems. For more information, please read our free booklet, “The Fall and Rise of Britain and America.”

Italy — Berlusconi Faces the Music

Deutsche Welle reported on March 28:

“Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi attended his first hearing in eight years on Monday over allegations of fiscal fraud and breach of trust in his Mediaset business empire. Berlusconi – as well as his son Pier Silvio Berlusconi, who is deputy chairman of Mediaset – are accused of fraud and embezzlement over the acquisition of television rights for inflated prices… Last year, Italy’s Constitutional Court struck down a law that protected the billionaire prime minister from prosecution…

“It’s the first of four hearings bearing down on Berlusconi, who is set to stand trial next month on charges that he slept with an underage prostitute. He is also involved in a bribery trial which reopened last week. The embattled leader has denied all charges against him, insisting they are part of a left-wing plot to oust him.”

It appears that Mr. Berlusconi’s days as Italy’s leader are numbered; but then, stranger things have happened, especially in Italy.

The Euro Has Been Saved “For Good”

Der Spiegel Online wrote on March 25:

“EU leaders achieved a breakthrough in Brussels on Thursday night, reaching a deal on the permanent crisis fund that will come into effect in 2013. After agreeing to a last-minute change regarding the terms of how Germany would pay money into the new permanent bailout fund for the euro, European Union leaders on Thursday reached a final agreement on the plan that they hope will eliminate speculation over the future of the common currency…

“In addition to the permanent euro crisis fund starting in 2013, Thursday’s deal includes stricter debt rules to ensure the stability of the euro and a pact aimed at strengthening fiscal coordination among EU countries. The European summit… had been billed as the final major summit to seal a long term rescue plan for the euro. A year after Greece’s de facto bankruptcy — leading to 12 months that saw the common currency fighting for survival — the message from Brussels was: The euro will not spiral into another existential crisis. The euro has been saved for good.”

Notwithstanding the “expert opinions” of those who do not understand biblical prophecy, it has been certain from the outset that the euro will survive.

Turmoil in Canada

Canadian Government Collapes

Reuters reported on March 25:

“The opposition toppled Canada’s Conservative government on Friday, accusing it of sleaze and mismanagement…The defeat paves the way for an election that will likely be fought on two main themes — ethics and the economy. Likely dates are May 2 or May 9. Canada’s dollar was steady at C$0.9810 to the U.S. dollar, or $1.0194… Prime Minister Stephen Harper admitted he was disappointed by the result, and said Canadians did not want what will be the fourth general election in less than seven years.”

We should continue to take note of Canada. As the British people are descendants of Ephraim—one of the two sons of Joseph—so are the English-speaking Canadians. Canada’s close relationship with the USA must be realized–the people of the USA being descendants of Manasseh, the older son of Joseph (compare Genesis 48:1-20). And so it appears that the biblically prophesied fate of all of these “blood-related” countries is closely intertwined.

Trump vs. Obama?

Newsmax reported on March 24:

“Donald Trump is not backing down from his demand that President Barack Obama produce his birth certificate and stepped up his criticism by questioning why he has not released other personal records, including college transcripts and legislative papers. The billionaire real estate tycoon and star of ‘The Apprentice’ created a stir on Wednesday when he said on ‘The View’ that Obama must release his birth certificate. Now Trump has reiterated his call in an exclusive interview with Newsmax.TV, with this simple message for Obama: Why don’t you produce your birth certificate and put to rest all speculation that you were born outside the United States?

“He says Obama’s birth certificate controversy is a ‘strange situation’ — there are conflicting reports as to what Honolulu hospital he was born at, and the governor of Hawaii claims he somehow remembers Obama being born 50 years ago…

“Obama asserts that he was born in Honolulu, but former Pennsylvania Deputy Attorney General Philip Berg has claimed that Obama’s paternal grandmother says she was in the delivery room when he was born in Kenya… After questions were raised about his birth, Obama’s campaign released a Certification of Live Birth. The form is a summary document and does not include the newborn’s location of birth. The long-form Birth Certificate includes such data, but Obama has declined to release it…

“Asked about the Obama administration’s handling of the rebellion in Libya, Trump tells Newsmax: ‘For one thing, if you’re going to save lives on a humanitarian basis you should have started sooner, because many of those lives are gone. For another thing, you really have to find out who you’re fighting for. Who are the rebels? You have some people who say that Iran is controlling the rebels, that Iran is the happiest of all nations because they think as soon as we leave they’re going to go in with the rebels and take over Libya. I hear more and more reports that the rebels aren’t the sweetest people on earth either. It looks to me like it’s a total mess.’”

On March 28, Newsmax added the following:

“Donald Trump, who has been making television appearances calling for President Barack Obama to release his official birth documents, released his birth certificate exclusively to Newsmax on Monday. ‘It took me one hour to get my birth certificate. It’s inconceivable that, after four years of questioning,  the president still hasn’t produced his birth certificate…’

“Trump was skeptical that so few people have stepped forward to verify Obama’s birth.’ I went to the best college and I was a great student, and it is inconceivable to my brain that no doctor, no nurse, nobody has stepped forward to verify the birth, other than the governor. He remembers? The governor [of Hawaii]? A birth 50 years ago? Come on…’

“He said other presidents have produced these documents without any hesitation. ‘Ronald Reagan, George Bush have produced their birth certificates’… Trump added that the local newspaper ad announcing Obama’s birth also strikes him as odd. ‘Someone takes an ad out in the paper announcing his birth days later? How many people do you know who take an ad out in the paper to announce a birth, and then won’t show anyone the birth certificate?’…

“Trump appeared on ‘The View’ last week and found it ‘insulting’ that co-host Whoopi Goldberg intimated that racism was behind the birth-certificate issue. Goldberg said that no white president had ever been asked to produce a birth certificate. ‘The fact is they asked John McCain for his birth certificate,’ Trump told Fox today. ‘They’ve asked others for their birth certificate. They asked Bush for his birth certificate…’”

The reaction of the mainstream media, and especially the center-left and left media, was predictable. Rather than responding to the issues, attempts were made to discredit Donald Trump in other respects.

And so, the following was reported by Newsmax on March 29, 2011:

“Billionaire real estate developer and rising GOP 2012 prospect Donald Trump is firing back at mainstream media reports that the birth document he provided exclusively to Newsmax on Monday was invalid. Trump has provided Newsmax a signed, dated Certificate of Birth from the City of New York’s Department of Health.

“The new birth certificate states that Trump was born in the borough of Queens on June 14, 1946. It is signed by the mayor, the acting registrar of records, and the commissioner of health. Trump said that once he realized the document he provided Newsmax on Monday was not an official birth certificate, it only took him a couple of hours to clear up the matter and locate the official document.”

On March 31, 2011, Real Clear Politics reported:

“Donald Trump speculates that President Obama’s birth certificate may say he is a Muslim. Trump says there is something on his certificate that he does not want the public to see.”

Donald Trump might very well become an interesting political figure in the months and years ahead. His assessment pertaining to President Obama’s birth certificate and the situation in Libya might be correct.

Turmoil in the Middle East

Watch Iran

CBN wrote on March 28:

“New evidence has emerged that the Iranian government sees the current unrest in the Middle East as a signal that the Mahdi–or Islamic messiah–is about to appear. CBN News has obtained a never-before-seen video produced by the Iranian regime that says all the signs are moving into place — and that Iran will soon help usher in the end times. While the revolutionary movements gripping the Middle East have created uncertainty throughout the region, the video shows that the Iranian regime believes the chaos is divine proof that their ultimate victory is at hand…

“The propaganda footage has reportedly been approved at the highest levels of the Iranian government. It’s called The Coming is Near and it describes current events in the Middle East as a prelude to the arrival of the mythical twelfth Imam or Mahdi — the messiah figure who Islamic scriptures say will lead the armies of Islam to victory over all non-Muslims in the last days…

“The video claims that Iran is destined to rise as a great power in the last days to help defeat America and Israel and usher in the return of the Mahdi. And it makes clear the Iranians believe that time is fast approaching… The ongoing upheavals in other Middle Eastern countries like Yemen and Egypt–including the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood — are also analyzed as prophetic signs that the Mahdi is near — so is the current poor health of the king of Saudi Arabia, an Iranian rival…

“Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Khameini, and Hassan Nasrallah, leader of Iran’s terrorist proxy Hezbollah, are hailed as pivotal end times players, whose rise was predicted in Islamic scriptures. The same goes for Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadenijad, who the video says will conquer Jerusalem prior to the Mahdi’s coming.”

Iran is definitely a country to watch. There can be no doubt that the fanatic approach of Iranian Muslims regarding the coming of the Mahdi could create much turmoil in the Middle East and around the world.

Syria Divides USA and France

The EUObserver wrote on March 28:

“Syrian President Bashir al-Assad’s forces killed at least 20 more protesters over the weekend. But the US gave him credit for reforms and ruled out intervention, in contrast to hawkish French rhetoric…

“Al-Assad has freed prisoners, promised to lift the country’s long-standing emergency law and to change the constitution to appease demonstrators. But some EU diplomats stationed in Damascus fear he is capable of extreme violence if things go badly, citing the example of his father, who massacred over 20,000 people in the town of Hama in 1982… US secretary of state Hilary Clinton condemned the violence but appeared to give al-Assad a blank cheque in terms of outside intervention.

“… the Clinton rhetoric stands in contrast to remarks by French President Nicolas Sarkozy in Brussels on Thursday. Referring specifically to Syria and Libya, Sarkozy at the time said: ‘Every ruler should understand, and especially every Arab ruler should understand that the reaction of the international community and of Europe will from this moment on each time be the same.’”

There is much polemic talk, of course, but wars do begin with words!

The Los Angeles Times reported on March 29:

“The Syrian government resigned Tuesday as President Bashar Assad sought to stem a widening rebellion by promising to reform the police state that has kept his family in power for more than 40 years in one of the Middle East’s most strategic countries. Dissolving the Cabinet was the latest gambit by Assad to counter protests that threaten the kind of upheaval that brought down autocratic leaders in Egypt and Tunisia. The move suggested that the ruling elite is alternating between concessions and crackdowns as it navigates a crisis that has killed at least 61 people in recent days. That strategy did not save Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak or Tunisian President Zine el Abidine ben Ali.”

Libya—The Dangerous Adventure

Deutsche Welle wrote on March 19:
 
“By beginning to attack targets in Libya, the international coalition, led by France, is embarking on a dangerous adventure… It’s not clear what they hope to achieve with the military action. If it’s about protecting civilians from Gadhafi, the coalition would have to engage in a month-long attack… What also applies to this war is: If you go into it, you need to know how and when you can end the fight. I fear that the coalition has become involved in this civil war, despite the lessons of the Balkan wars, the Iraq wars and the Somalia fiasco, but perhaps with pure intentions. It’s not clear how it’s going to end.

“Therefore, the German Government has made the right decision not to participate in the military conflict… Giving the French President, who is under domestic pressure, the lead role is also not the best solution. Sarkozy is prone to impulsive decisions… Are France and Italy prepared for a Gadhafi, who has been backed into a corner, to send his bombers to attack Naples or Marseilles? He has already made these kinds of threats.

“If the actions of the coalition require many civilian casualties in Libya, the favorable public opinion in the coalition and in the Arab world will rapidly tip – against the coalition. A dangerous adventure with an uncertain outcome has begun.”

A very good analysis. Please also read the next article in this regard.  For more insight, please watch our two StandingWatch programs, “The Future of Libya” and “Libya in Prophecy.”

Chaos and Uncertainty in Libya’s Revolutionary Leadership

Der Spiegel wrote on March 30:

“The international community is using air strikes and missiles to defend freedom, human rights and democratic ideals in Libya. But are those also the values the rebels themselves are fighting for?… Since the air strikes began, the revolution has become a war with foreign support legitimized by a United Nations resolution and, as of this week, led by NATO. Western planes — whether American, French, Spanish or Canadian — have flown hundreds of sorties, bombing Gadhafi’s supply convoys, military bases, tank columns and primary residence in Tripoli.

“It was a moral decision, meant to help people rising up against one of the most brutal dictators in the Arab world. But there is no turning back. If the West intends to liberate the country from its dictator, it really has only three options: annihilate Gadhafi’s forces in a massive bombing campaign; send in ground forces; or equip the rebels with heavy weapons. The rebels have ruled out peace negotiations with Gadhafi.

“For the international community, the intervention in the Libyan conflict is about defending the fundamental values of freedom, human rights and self-determination. But the question is: Are all those who have a say in Benghazi just as interested in freedom, human rights and self-determination?…

“Libya is a political no man’s land… Most of those now calling the shots here are sons of the former regime and it’s worth asking what kind of state they want to create. Is it possible for democracy to prevail after 41 years where politics were forbidden? Or will the revolution fail in the end, even if it succeeds in toppling Gadhafi? And perhaps the greatest danger of all: Could this country, cobbled together by force under Gadhafi, end up disintegrating back into its component parts, into tribes, criminal gangs, warlords and Jihad groups, well-armed with Western weapons?…

“It is said that 8,000 people in Benghazi were government spies — the rebels found their names in files kept by the secret police. Armed young men roam the streets at night, arresting regime supporters, but private acts of revenge take place as well… Around 100 regime loyalists have recently been imprisoned. Armed young men are searching houses and also arresting sub-Saharan Africans, anyone they assume to be mercenaries and all those they simply refer to as spies, locking them up in the same prisons once used to hold opposition members… The prisoners sit in dark cells that stink of feces and urine…

“The rebels’ mood, exuberant and lighthearted in the beginning, has shifted. Their rhetoric is becoming increasingly tense and they dismiss any criticism as propaganda… These are the same threats, word for word, that Gadhafi uses to scare his opponents.”

Sadly, this seems always to be the end result of human rule. The oppressed, when being given the opportunity, become the oppressors.

Similar… with the Same Results?

The Drudge Report published the following on March 20:

“MARCH 19, 2011

“OBAMA: ‘Today we are part of a broad coalition. We are answering the calls of a threatened people. And we are acting in the interests of the United States and the world’…

“MARCH 19, 2003

“BUSH: ‘American and coalition forces are in the early stages of military operations to disarm Iraq, to free its people and to defend the world from grave danger’…”

This is indeed an interesting comparison, also in regard to the dates. We should realize that God has a time table. For more information, please read our free booklets, “The Authority of the Bible” and “Are You Predestined to Be Saved?”

Libya—War May Last “Awhile“

The New York Times wrote on March 27:

“Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates acknowledged Sunday that the unrest in Libya did not pose an immediate threat to the United States. Even so, he and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said the Obama administration was justified in taking military action to avert a massacre there that could have altered the course of the popular revolts roiling the Arab world. The comments by President Obama’s two top national security officials… offered a striking illustration of the complex calculus that Mr. Obama faced in committing the military to impose a no-fly zone over Libya — one of the greatest gambles of his presidency… Both officials acknowledged that the operation could drag on for months or even into next year…

“On the key question of whether Libya constituted the kind of vital national interest that would normally justify military intervention, Mr. Gates offered a blunt denial… ‘No, I don’t think it’s a vital interest for the United States, but we clearly have interests there, and it’s a part of a region which is a vital interest for the United States,’ Mr. Gates said… Mrs. Clinton jumped in to clarify that the United States was obliged to act after allies like Britain and France, for whom Libya is a vital national interest, had requested that the international community respond… Mrs. Clinton emphasized that the administration did not view the Libya intervention as a precedent… she ruled out military action in Syria… the administration has watched violent crackdowns in Bahrain, Yemen and other Arab countries without intervening…”

President Obama Defends Action Against Libya…

The Associated Press reported on March 29:

“Defending the first war launched on his watch, President Barack Obama declared Monday night the United States intervened in Libya to prevent a slaughter of civilians that would have stained the world’s conscience and ‘been a betrayal of who we are.’ Yet he ruled out targeting Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, warning that trying to oust him militarily would be a costly mistake. Obama announced that NATO would take command over the entire Libya operation on Wednesday, keeping his pledge to get the U.S. out of the lead but offering no estimate on when the conflict might end.”

… While World Leaders Plan for Post-Gaddafi Libya

France24.com/AFP reported on March 29:

“Leaders from more than 35 governments and NGOs meeting in London have agreed to set up a contact group to provide ‘political direction’ to a post-Muammar Gaddafi Libya in coordination with the UN, African Union, Arab League and EU.”

Reading between the lines, while President Obama said that it would be a costly mistake to oust Gaddafi militarily, the 35 leaders meeting in London are already planning for a post-Gaddafi Libya.

Libya–NATO Takes Over… What?

The New York Times wrote on March 28:

“… the American military warned on Monday that the insurgents’ rapid advances could quickly be reversed without continued coalition air support… General Ham’s warning… underscored the essential role of Western airstrikes, now focused mainly on Colonel Qaddafi’s ground troops, in reversing the rebels’ fortunes…

“Left open, as well, was the question of how the allies could justify airstrikes on Colonel Qaddafi’s forces around Surt if, as seems to be the case, they enjoy widespread support in the city and pose no threat to civilians. On Monday, the Russian foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, strongly criticized the allied attacks, saying ‘we consider that intervention by the coalition in what is essentially an internal civil war is not sanctioned by the U.N. Security Council resolution,’ news agencies reported…

“At a news conference in Naples, Italy, Lt. Gen. Charles Bouchard of Canada, who has been named to lead the NATO air campaign, said that the goals of the air campaign remained the same… As Western warplanes again bombed sites around Tripoli and other Qaddafi strongholds, NATO agreed at a meeting in Brussels to take over the mission. The decision effectively relieved the United States of leading the fight…”

NATO Hypocritical?

The Local wrote on March 25:

“Angela Merkel’s government has gone on the offensive over its maligned Libya policy, pushing hard for a complete oil embargo and even hinting that its NATO allies are hypocrites for bombing the country while still buying its oil.

“Development Minister Dirk Niebel told broadcaster ZDF on Thursday night that in effect Britain, France and the US were hypocritical for not supporting a complete embargo on Libyan dictator Muammar Qaddafi’s oil. ‘It is notable that exactly those countries which are blithely dropping bombs in Libya are still drawing oil from Libya,’ he said – remarks that are hardly likely to ease tensions with key allies angered over the country’s refusal to take part in the military operation.

“Meanwhile Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle on Friday criticized French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s broad threat to Arab rulers that they faced Libya-style intervention if they violently repressed their own people… Westerwelle, who abstained from the United Nations Security Council vote last week to enforce a ‘no-fly zone’ in Libya, said military means alone could not solve the Libyan crisis… It has been widely reported that NATO allies – France in particular – are deeply annoyed by Germany’s refusal to participate in enforcing the no-fly zone and bombing Libyan military targets, as well as its abstention in the vote to approve the measures in the Security Council.”

The Costs of War

Reuters reported on March 22:

“The no-fly zone over Libya could end up costing the Western coalition more than $1 billion if the operation drags on more than a couple of months, defense analysts say… The expense of patrolling the no-fly zone… is likely to be $30 million to $100 million a week… By comparison, the much more extensive Afghan war costs more than $9 billion a month.

“Some U.S. lawmakers and critics of President Barack Obama’s decision to join allies in the Libya bombing campaign have argued the United States cannot afford the operation while Congress wrangles over spending cuts and the country’s $1.48 trillion deficit. The Pentagon already has plans to cut $78 billion in defense spending over five years and is delaying weapons programs and putting off maintenance to reduce costs.

“… the Tomahawk cruise missiles fired so far by Britain and the United States cost about $200 million… The crash of a U.S. F-15 warplane was an unexpected cost… [The Pentagon will] probably… replace it with a joint strike fighter, with an estimated price tag of between $100 million and $150 million… defense analysts warned that British expenses for even a limited operation like Libya could quickly add up. Analyst Francis Tusa told BBC Radio 4 the missions flown so far cost Britain about 200,000 pounds ($325,000) per aircraft, with missiles running 800,000 pounds ($1.3 million) apiece. With Britain flying 10 Typhoon fighters to patrol the no-fly zone, ‘you’ll be looking at potentially 2, 3 million pounds a day ($3.25 million to $5 million),’ he said…”

ABC News reported on March 28:

“One week after an international military coalition intervened in Libya, the cost to U.S. taxpayers has reached at least $600 million, according figures provided by the Pentagon. U.S. ships and submarines in the Mediterranean have unleashed at least 191 Tomahawk cruise missiles from their arsenals to the tune of $268.8 million, the Pentagon said. U.S. warplanes have dropped 455 precision guided bombs, costing tens of thousands of dollars each. A downed Air Force F-15E fighter jet will cost more than $60 million to replace. And operation of the war craft, guzzling ever-expensive fuel to maintain their positions off the Libyan coast and in the skies above, could reach millions of dollars a week, experts say.”

In a world where people are starving to death because of lack of food and money, it is truly irresponsible to see world powers misappropriating funds to play their war games… But the curse of war and its terrible consequences are inevitable, as the next article shows.

“America Is Going Broke!”

Mail On Line wrote on March 23:

“A senior Federal Reserve official warned today that America is going broke… With the U.S. now fighting three wars, the massive new military drain on the budget could not have come at a worse time as the nation is trying to claw itself out of recession. The first day of Operation Odyssey Dawn had a price tag of well over $100 million for the U.S. in missiles alone…

“Dallas Federal Reserve Bank President Richard Fisher said the American economy is at a crucial ‘tipping point.’ He added: ‘If we continue down on the path on which the fiscal authorities put us, we will become insolvent – the question is when.’”

Japan—Dangerous Levels of Radioactivity

BBC News wrote on March 28:

“Highly radioactive water has been found for the first time outside one of the reactor buildings at Japan’s quake-hit Fukushima nuclear plant, officials say. The leak in a tunnel linked to the No 2 reactor has raised fears of radioactive liquid seeping into the environment. Plutonium has also been found in soil at the plant, but not at levels that threaten human health, officials say… Up until now, pools of water with extremely high levels of radiation have only been detected within the reactor buildings themselves.”

Mail On Line had already reported on March 19 that Japanese nuclear plant chief WEPT finally admitted that the radiation leak is “serious enough to kill people.”

The British paper, Express, added the following on March 31:

“NUCLEAR fallout from Japan has been detected in Britain sparking fears the whole country could have been exposed to radiation. Radioactive iodine was found in air samples taken in Oxfordshire, Glasgow and Dublin.

“Officials insisted the amount was ‘extremely low’ but the traces came from the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant, 5,500 miles away, which was crippled when the magnitude 9 earthquake and tsunami hit Japan nearly three weeks ago… Experts last night played down the risks to humans and the environment despite the Iodine 131, the chemical in a radioactive state.”

In spite of consistent denials by the Japanese government and even the Western press, we must consider the facts. And the facts are that radiation, resulting from destruction through earthquakes and other natural catastrophes, as well as from nuclear war, WILL kill an incredible amount of people in the future. Please study our free booklet, “The Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord.”

Jesuits Settle Claims for Abuse

The Associated Press reported on March 25:

“Jesuits in the northwestern U.S. have agreed to pay $166.1 million to hundreds of American Indians and Alaska Natives who were abused at the Catholic order’s schools around the region. The settlement also asks the order to provide a written apology to the victims and to share documents with them such as their personal medical records. The Oregon Province of the Society of Jesus runs schools in Oregon, Washington state, Idaho, Montana and Alaska. The claims are from victims who were students at reservation and village schools in all five states. The province had previously settled another 200 claims. Then the organization filed for bankruptcy, claiming the payments had depleted their treasury. But victims argued the province remained wealthy because it controls and owns Gonzaga University, Gonzaga Preparatory School, Seattle University and other schools and properties.”

As many of our readers know, the Church of the Eternal God and its affiliates, the Global Church of God in the UK and the Church of God, a Christian Fellowship in Canada, as well as the Kirche des Ewigen Gottes in Germany, observe the annual Festival of the Days of Unleavened Bread. God commands us that during the seven days of that Festival, all leavened products have to be removed from our houses, and that only unleavened products are to be consumed during that time.

We explain in our Statements of Beliefs that we observe “The Days of Unleavened Bread once a year by not partaking of any food prepared with leaven for a period of seven days following the Passover. The partaking of the unleavened bread symbolizes the commitment to live a sinless life (Leviticus 23:6-8; Acts 20:6; 1 Corinthians 5:7-8).”

For a general overview as to this Festival, please read our Q&A, which asks and answers the question: “Exodus 12:18, among other Scriptures, commands us to eat unleavened bread for seven days. Is this command still valid today? If so, how is it to be applied?”

For a more thorough presentation, please read our two free booklets, “God’s Commanded Holy Days,” and “The Meaning of God’s Spring Holy Days.”

As the Question in this particular Q&A suggests, new people who become acquainted with this Festival and want to obey God’s injunction, might not have yet a clear understanding as to what constitutes leavened products, which need to be removed and avoided during the Seven Days of Unleavened Bread.

In a previous Q&A, we discussed, in general terms, what constitutes leaven, and we addressed some specific areas, such as beer or toothpaste. We also addressed some areas where the understanding of the Jews differs from the understanding that God reveals in His Word.

That particular Q&A asked and answered the question: “We are commanded in the Bible to remove all leaven from our houses during the Days of Unleavened Bread. Is it true that your understanding and the understanding of the Jews are different, as to what constitutes leaven that needs to be removed? If so, could you explain your position and the reasons for it?”

Please make sure that you read or re-read that Q&A in conjunction with the material that is presented herein.

In addition, we are now providing you with a list as to what constitutes leaven which should be removed from our houses and which should not be partaken of during that time. Although quite thorough, we still would like to mention that this list must be viewed with caution; that is, it is critically important that one looks at the ingredients of each product.

For instance, just because the word “puff” or “puffed” is in the label (for instance, “puff pastry”) does not necessarily mean that the product is leavened. In the USA, there are normally four main ingredients in puff pastry: flour, butter, salt, and water; that is, it would contain no leaven. However, in the UK, “puff pastry” DOES include leaven, as reflected on the label, which means that it must be avoided. In any case, even in the USA, labels need to be checked to ascertain whether the product contains leaven.

Some pie crusts are unleavened, but one needs to be careful here, because most crusts do have leaven in them. We are informed that Marie Calendar’s does not have leavening in their crusts. Again, it is important that the labels are carefully reviewed to ascertain what the products contain.

The following lists items which contain Baking Powder and/or Baking Soda (or Sodium Bicarbonate) and/or YEAST and/or Baker’s Yeast. All of these need to be avoided during the Days of Unleavened Bread:

Crackers; Bread; Bagels; Muffins; Hamburger and Hot Dog Buns; Garlic Bread; Baguettes; Cheese Straws; Sausage Rolls; Corn Dogs; Sour Dough; Biscuits; Pretzel; (some) Cereals; Cheese Puffs; Cake; Pastry; (some) Pies; Cookies; Ice Cream Cones and Wafers; (some) Ice Cream with added Cookies; Pancakes; Waffles; Puff Pastry [in the UK, see comments above]; Self-Rising Flour; Graham Crackers; Bread Crumbs; Deep-Fried Chicken; Anything battered, i.e., Onion Rings or Fish; Croutons; Flour Tortillas; Burritos; Soft Tacos; Kit Kat; Wafer Biscuits; (some) Candy; (some) Candy Bars; Chinese Orange Chicken; Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) Breaded Chicken; (some) Cereal Bars; Granola Bars; and (most) Bacon Bits.

Note that in the UK, the reference to “bacon” in “bacon bits” is understood as meaning pork. Of course, pork must not be eaten at any time. In the USA, the reference to “bacon” can also apply to beef and to turkey. But “beef bacon bits” or “turkey bacon bits” must not be consumed during the Days of Unleavened Bread, when they contain leaven (as distinguished from “autolysis yeast,” which is not a leavening agent, and therefore appropriate for consumption, see below).

Also, we need to point out that many restaurants have leavening in unsuspected products, for instance in meat. Most of this information is readily available online. For instance, in checking the ingredient statement on Taco Bell’s website, we are informed that in addition to the more obvious items (such as flatbread or chalupa flatbread), their chili and their “seasoned ground beef” contain yeast (which is to be avoided during the Days of Unleavened Bread).

On the other hand, products which contain Yeast Extract [as distinguished from Yeast] (for instance in soups), or “Autolyzed Yeast” or “Deactivated Yeast” are fine (these are not leavening agents, as they provide no fermentation activity. For instance, Deactivated Yeast is strictly designed to be used as a reducing agent for increased extensibility). In addition, Corn Tortillas are fine as well. Also exempt from the injunction to remove items from our houses during the Days of Unleavened Bread are those products which are not used for human consumption, such as dog or cat food, fire extinguishers and toothpaste; or beverages, such as beer.

We hope this list will be of assistance. We cannot overemphasize, however, that it is important to read the labels for the ingredients of each product. When in doubt, we should abstain from eating the item during the Days of Unleavened Bread, for “he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because he does not eat from faith; for whatever is not from faith is sin” (Romans 14:23).

A new member letter was sent out this week, covering our annual conference and the pre-Passover season in which we are living. The letter also makes reference to the recent ordination of Mr. Eric Rank as an Elder, and the imminent travel of Mr. and Mrs. Link and their entire family to Germany in order to observe the Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread with the German brethren. The letter includes a renewal card for the USA, and everyone on our mailing list in the USA is requested to fill out and return the card to us, to ensure continuing and uninterrupted service.

New information regarding our Feast sites for 2011 in California and North Wales has been posted on our US and UK Web sites. 

A new StandingWatch program was placed on the Internet, titled, “The Future of Libya.” 

In the program, the following is discussed: Why are we fighting against Libya? What do we hope to achieve? Who should lead? The USA does not want to, but it does not like France to lead, either. The Arab world and Turkey are opposed to air strikes; Germany won’t participate at all; NATO is taking a confusing position; and France’s role is becoming more and more problematic. In light of this confusion, what does the Bible say about the role that Libya will play in the not-too-distant future?

A new German AufPostenStehen program was placed on the Internet, titled, “Libyen in der Prophezeiung” (“Libya in Prophecy”).

A new German sermon has been posted on the Internet.  It is titled, “Wie Nahe Ist Ihnen Gott?” (“How Close Is God To You?”)

by Bill Koeneke (Britain/USA)

Living on the east coast of New Jersey, I often went swimming in the summer. I was 7 or 8 years of age at the time when on one such occasion, I was suddenly caught by the undertow and dragged out to sea. It was perhaps only 10 yards or so, but it seemed a very long way out. Frightened, I became disoriented, attempting to grab onto  something–anything–and then I began to lose consciousness. It felt like an oncoming pleasant death. I simply gave in to what seemed inevitable. Suddenly someone grabbed me, pulled me out, and pumped me out—and here I am, yours truly!  On this occasion I had eluded death. Since that event I continue to fear being in deep water.

As a young lad in my teens, I became interested in justice, and I was always eager that the good guys would win over the bad guys.  Some of my favourite radio and cinema programs involved cops and robbers and cowboys. As I matured, and near the end of my last year of college, I decided I wanted to join the FBI. I travelled to one of their field offices to take a written test. Unfortunately, I was so nervous that, as a result, I failed to pass the test which appeared at first to be fairly easy — I “flunked out” as they say. Fortunately, however, in the years following and together with a bit of hindsight and also in the light of my calling, it has occurred to me I had been, in effect, diverted from this career where I would have had to carry a weapon and perhaps, in the line of duty, would have had to kill someone.

Prior to the closing years of World War II, I joined the U.S. Army Air Force and was trained in Texas as an Airplane and Engine mechanic on their B-29 bomber aircraft. Following completion of the course, I was shipped to an east coast camp where I was asked to volunteer for a secret mission. Not knowing what the mission was all about, and wary of volunteering for the unknown, I declined. Subsequently I learned that it would have involved a transfer to the Pacific island of Tinian where some of the Army’s B-29 aircraft were stationed.

That assignment, in turn, would have involved me as a mechanic, along with others, helping to prepare one such aircraft which eventually was used to drop the first atomic bomb on Japan–with the result of having directly killed, out of a total population of 450,000, around 135,000 in Hiroshima and 64,000 in Nagasaki and let alone those thousands who subsequently died weeks and months later from exposure to the effects of radiation and flash burns. In the light of my calling I have come to realize I was led to opt out of a potential scenario where I would have been directly involved in a mission with devastating consequences.

I was then shipped to the European theater of operations in southern France where there were no B-29s, in order to work on other types of aircraft as a mechanic while involved also in the refuelling unit. Thus I was spared from being assigned to one of the crews flying out of other airfields, for example in England, with B-17 aircraft, the so-called “Flying Fortress” that had as their daily mission the job of bombing, and thus killing, thousands of Germans, and in a number of cases the airmen themselves being shot down.

As a result of these incidents and considering the possibility of similar happenings in the past of which I am unaware, I feel mightily blessed, for with hindsight I have come to realise that, in effect, and unknowingly at the time, I was being super-naturally protected and prepared for a very special future mission.  Once discharged from the Air Force in 1946, it was to be another 26 years before I actually realized God’s calling for that future mission.

It has been brought to our attention that God predestined and foreknew those whom He would ultimately call, and that the called-out ones are no longer subject to time and chance. I believe, based on the incidents I related above, that even prior to my actual calling, God was already watching over me, and that He was guiding and directing me in certain incidents.

Considering my own situation in that light, God called me for a far greater mission than anything this world could offer—a mission in which I have been involved for the past 39 years—and Amen to that!

On March 19, 2011, Rene Messier will give the sermon, titled, “The Sabbath–P P F.”

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:  Due to the annual conference, there will be no Update for the week ending March 25. The next Update will be published for the week ending April 1.

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. Luke 17:7-10 makes this very clear, quoting Christ’s words as follows: 

“And which of you, having a servant plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come at once and sit down to eat’? But will he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare something for my supper, and gird yourself and serve me till I have eaten and drunk, and afterward you will eat and drink’? Does he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I think not. So likewise you, when you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do.’”

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.

In fact, there are two types of offerings mentioned in Scripture. The first category refers to the annual Holy Day offerings which we are commanded to give on each of the seven Holy Days. Deuteronomy 16:16-17, referring to the three Holy Day seasons (in the spring, in the beginning of summer and in the autumn), states:

“Three times a year all your males shall appear before the LORD your God in the place which He chooses: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, at the Feast of Weeks, and at the Feast of Tabernacles; and they shall not appear before the LORD empty-handed. Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the LORD your God which He has given you.”

In order to give an offering which is pleasing to God, we need to think about it and plan for it ahead of time. If we fail to plan, we plan to fail.

The other type of offering refers to those kinds of additional occasional contributions which we might decide to give to the Work of God throughout the year, apart from the bi-weekly or monthly tithe and the seven annual Holy Day offerings. These also show to God where a person’s heart really is.

What is interesting to note again is that no fixed amount is mentioned in the Bible as to how much we give for offerings. The criteria we are to use are how much we are blessed, not only in the physical sense, but also in the spiritual food and knowledge that one receives from God through His servants. This is something on which one cannot put a price tag. Rather, it is like the famous pearl of great price.

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. Remember, God loves a cheerful giver (2 Corinthians 9:7).

We begin reporting about Japan’s terrible earthquake and its consequences, including an ensuing nuclear crisis and a plagued economy. The political fallout can be felt around the world, including in Germany.

Voices warn us that a similar catastrophe could happen in the USA, and a scientific report claims that the American continent will be hit by a major earthquake during the month of March. California is especially mentioned as one of the most likely locations—others focus on the New Madrid fault in Missouri. We also note the eruption of volcanoes during the time of the Japanese earthquakes and aftershocks.

A thought-provoking analysis on Libya by Der Spiegel shows the dilemma the West is facing, with no real solutions in sight. More and more voices seem to advocate the imposition of a no-fly zone over Libya, but especially Germany is reluctant to agree to it, fearing that it would be drawn again into another unpopular war. However, we note that ultimately Germany—not France—will be placed in the position of a powerful leader over a European army, destined to invade the Middle East.

We are also observing the ongoing violence in Bahrain, and the arrival of foreign troops in the country (especially those from Saudi-Arabia) might backfire and prompt Iran to become more involved.

Terrible Consequences of Japan’s Mega Earthquake

As the news unfolds, it is becoming frighteningly obvious that the Japanese government, as well as many international press releases, at least until recently, do not tell us the whole story about the catastrophic events of the nuclear power plants in Japan, following last week’s devastating earthquake. The very few news releases which have been showing the scope of the horrible situation were, and still are, classified as “sensational irresponsible reporting.” However, it seems that the main media has been behaving terribly irresponsibly, and that we are facing, what might be perhaps the biggest nuclear catastrophe outside the horrors of war.

Mail On Line wrote on March 16:

“Japan’s stricken nuclear power plant was abandoned for hours today, as soaring radiation forced emergency workers to flee for their lives and authorities were reduced to spraying reactors with police water cannons… And in an extraordinary attack, the French government accused the Japanese of losing control of the situation and hiding the full scale of the disaster… Industry Minister Eric Besson said: ‘Let’s not beat about the bush. They have visibly lost the essential of control (of the situation). That is our analysis, in any case, it’s not what they are saying.’

“In a sign of mounting panic, Cabinet Secretary Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano has already warned that the long-range cooling efforts may not work…The biggest concerns centre around the four over-heating reactors, and in particular radioactive steam pouring out of the plutonium-fuelled reactor number three which exploded on Monday. Plutonium is far more hazardous to health than uranium, which is used to power the other five reactors on the site.   

“There has been damage to four reactors at the Fukushima , three of which were hit by explosions and another caught fire. Reactor number four is the second highest concern after a nuclear fuel storage pond was exposed to the atmosphere after a fire. A fifth and six reactor, which were previously unharmed, were today being sprayed with water amid reports that they too were heating up…

“The turn of events caused European energy commissioner Guenther Oettinger to warn that Tokyo had almost lost control of events. ‘There is talk of an apocalypse and I think the word is particularly well chosen,’ he told the European Parliament.”

Financial Disaster

Newsmax wrote on March 14:

“Japan’s central bank rushed to bolster markets on Monday in the wake of the country’s worst disaster since World War II… Markets swooned at the shock of an 8.9 magnitude earthquake and a tsunami that may have killed more than 10,000 and has left millions of people without power, water, or homes. The Nikkei average closed 6.18 percent lower on Monday… Investment bank Credit Suisse put economic losses from the quake at no less than $171 billion…

“Japan’s central bank doubled its asset buying scheme to 10 trillion yen ($122 billion) and held interest rates at 0-0.1 percent after it earlier said it would pump a record 15 trillion yen into the banking system… The disaster shut down about a fifth of the country’s nuclear power generation capacity. Thermal plants also closed, forcing the world’s third-biggest economy to instigate rolling blackouts to conserve energy… Economists said that the triple blow of quake, tsunami, and nuclear accident is set to damage the already struggling economy harder and longer [than] initially expected…

“Companies that trade with Japan face a loss of business and worries that governments will look at nuclear power less favourably. On Wall Street, S&P 500 futures were down 0.3 percent on Monday…”

Oil Prices Will Go Nowhere But Up…

Deutsche Welle reported on March 14:

“The question many experts are now asking is whether the natural catastrophe that shook Japan could cause a new tremor in the country’s economy, the world’s third largest after the US and China… Toyota, the world’s largest carmaker, stopped production at all 12 of its plants in Japan. Nissan shut down its four factories, and Honda has halted production as well. Consumer electronics heavyweights Canon, Sony and Panasonic have also put production on hold, and the country’s large oil refineries and steelmakers have suspended operations as well…

“Before the quake, Japanese capital markets were already under pressure. The country is battling a huge debt burden, twice as high as its annual economic output… What the world could experience in the long term… are higher oil prices. Japan is the world’s third-largest oil importer. And given the likelihood that the country will rely less on nuclear energy and more on oil in [the] future, prices on global markets will go nowhere but up.”

Japan Earthquake Alters Coast Line, Changes Earth’s Axis

On March 12, 2011, VOANews.com reported the following:

“The massive earthquake that hit Japan on Friday was so powerful that it changed the shape of the country’s coastline and shifted the earth’s axis. Geophysicist Kenneth Hudnut, who works for the U.S. Geological Survey, told CNN that the quake moved part of Japan’s land mass by nearly 2.5 meters. Experts say that the huge shake, caused by a shift in the tectonic plates deep underwater, also threw the earth off its axis point by at least 8 centimeters.”

The Bible predicts that the earth’s axis will change even more as a consequence of future devastating earthquakes. For more information, please see our two-part StandingWatch programs, “Earthquakes in Prophecy, Part 1” and “Earthquakes in Prophecy, Part 2.”

Could It Happen AGAIN in the USA?

CBS News reported on March 12:

“Not only could a disaster like the one that hit Japan Friday happen in the United States – one already has, and could again, experts said… Dr. Marcia McNutt, director of the U.S. Geological Survey, [said:] ‘Every time an event like this happens, it’s a wake-up call for us here in America that we need to be prepared.’ McNutt said the exact scenario that we saw happen in Japan has already occurred, in the Pacific Northwest. ‘

“‘Brian Atwater, who’s a specialist at the U.S. Geological Survey, has looked back into the geologic record and seen evidence that, on the 26th of January, at 9 p.m., in the year 1700, there was an earthquake that generated a tsunami … offshore Oregon … that was actually historically recorded in Japan,’ McNutt said. ‘It was the same magnitude as this event. It happened then. It could happen again… I think what this event in Japan has shown us is that something like a wall of water that is six feet high, running six miles inland, or even higher, is something that we are equally unprepared for…’

“‘The most obvious place [said James Gaherty, seismologist and Lamont associate research professor at Columbia University] is the Pacific Northwest, the coast of Washington and Oregon…’”

It Surely Can…

The Huffington Post wrote on March 14:

“… the nuclear problems in Japan were much worse than being reported at that time… there has been a partial meltdown at Fukushima… making a complete meltdown once again possible… overall, the U.S. media… downplayed the possibility of a similar problem at a U.S. reactor…

“First, the San Onofre nuclear power plant in California is less than 100 feet above sea level. That’s not high enough to be safe from a major tsunami, as the Japanese experience showed. Second, the most dangerous earthquakes anticipated in the U.S. are not in California, but along the New Madrid fault in Missouri, where quakes greater than 8.0 are expected, not as often as in California, but still too often for comfort. And unlike California quakes, which are relatively localized in their impact, New Madrid quakes affect huge areas — and the nuclear plants in the Midwest have not really been designed for the possibility of an ultra-large quake in the region.

“But really, the big issue is not whether the next U.S. nuclear disaster will look just like Japan’s… [But] something went wrong, and the cooling systems in the reactors failed. Every nuclear power plant in the world, and every plant currently under construction, shares that vulnerability. Exactly what goes wrong — what takes down the cooling system — is unpredictable… That’s not reassuring — it’s terrifying.

“… we shouldn’t listen to experts who tell us ‘it can’t happen here’… There are too many ‘worst-case’ scenarios to include them all in a design basis or an operating plan. How many different forms could a terrorist attack take? And how many of those are adequately taken into account in the design of nuclear reactors?…”

Russia Warns: America Will Be Hit in March by Major Earthquake

Real News Reporter wrote on March 12:

“A new report released today in the Kremlin prepared for Prime Minister Putin by the Institute of Physics of the Earth, in Moscow, is warning that the Americas are in danger of suffering a mega-quake of catastrophic proportions during the next fortnight (14 days) with a specific emphasis being placed on the United States, Mexico, Central America and South American west coast regions along with the New Madrid Fault Zone region…

“Raising the concerns of a mega-quake occurring, this report says, are the increasing subtle electromagnetic signals that are being detected in the Earth’s upper atmosphere over many regions of the World, with the most intense being over the US Western coastal and Midwest regions. Important to note [is] that Russian and British scientists are at the forefront of predicting earthquakes based on these subtle electromagnetic signals and have joined in an effort to put satellites in space to detect more of them.

“More ominously in this report are Russian scientists confirming the independent analysis of New Zealand mathematician and long-range weather forecaster, Ken Ring, who predicted the deadly Christchurch quake and this week issued another warning of a quake to hit on or about March 20th…

“Most ominous in this report, though, is its warning that the fault-riddled State of California may be about to suffer its most catastrophic earthquake in decades as new reports for this region show the mass death of millions of fish… just like the mass stranding of whales on New Zealand beaches days prior to the February 22nd destruction of Christchurch…

“As this report concludes… as of yet, ‘no firmly reliable’ method for predicting earthquakes has been scientifically recognized…”

Whether or not a major earthquake will strike the American continent and especially California within the month of March, it appears extremely likely that especially California WILL be hit by a major earthquake one of these days…

Volcanoes Erupt in Japan and Russia

On March 13, Times Life reported:

“A volcano in southwestern Japan erupted Sunday after nearly two weeks of relative silence, sending ash and rocks up to four kilometres (two and a half miles) into the air, a local official says.  It was not immediately clear if the eruption was a direct result of the massive 8.9-magnitude earthquake… The 1,421-metre (4,689-feet) Shinmoedake volcano in the Kirishima range saw its first major eruption for 52 years in January. There had not been any major activity at the site since March 1.”

On March 11, planetsave.com stated the following:

“The major earthquake that hit Japan today may have just triggered some volcanoes in Russia as well. While  reports are still vague on the incident, there is a strong correlation between the two occurrences. In Russia, there are reports that earthquakes [were] felt during the eruption. In the Russian Far East, there has been a strong volcanic eruption… While this eruption does not seem to be a significant threat to the people in Russia, the fact that an earthquake in Japan could have triggered a volcano eruption in Russia does have some significance.”

We also heard in January about a volcanic eruption of Mount Etna in Italy. We can expect more and more worldwide volcanic eruptions with devastating consequences, as we are nearing the return of Christ.

“Nuclear Fallout” in Germany

Deutsche Welle reported on March 14:

“Chancellor Angela Merkel on Monday pledged a three-month pause in her government’s plan to extend the running times of Germany’s nuclear power plants. She said that this would mean that some of the oldest reactors will be turned off, at least temporarily, almost immediately. Merkel said that the risks of a meltdown at the Fukushima atomic reactors in Japan, triggered by the massive earthquake and subsequent tsunami in the region, had shown the world that nuclear safety should be reevaluated.

“‘The events in Japan have taught us that something, which all scientific data suggested to be impossible, could become a reality after all,’ Merkel told reporters in Berlin… ‘It’s taught us that risks that were considered absolutely improbable still aren’t impossible.’ Even though Germany and Europe are unlikely to experience a magnitude 8.9 earthquake or a tsunami, Merkel said, the Fukushima example had shown that Japanese state-of-the-art safety precautions were not infallible.”

However, this assumption is a fallacy. The Bible predicts that at least one huge earthquake (apparently exceeding the magnitude of 8.9) will strike Europe and destroy the city of Rome. And there are further biblical indications that big tsunamis will strike the coastlands of Europe as well. We have of course known for many years that nuclear power plants and atomic reactors are not foolproof and that they can become extremely dangerous. The following article plays out some of the unsettling scenarios involving nuclear power plants.

German Voices on Nuclear Energy

On March 14, Der Spiegel quoted certain German daily papers, pertaining to the nuclear disaster in Japan and the potential political and economic consequences for Germany and Japan, as follows:

“Center-left Süddeutsche Zeitung writes:

“‘The events in Japan, which geographically couldn’t be much further from Germany, will influence politics in this country. They could soon start changing majorities and make governing even harder for the center-right coalition… It’s not good news because in the end, for example in Baden-Württemberg, it will only take a few percentage points more or less to determine the election outcome… For Merkel, it is hard to imagine a greater accident at present than the loss of a CDU governor in Baden-Württemberg… The unpopular government of Prime Minister Naoto Kan has been on the brink of collapse in recent weeks. It seemed paralyzed, distracted, disoriented and divided. Now it has to lead the country through what may be its worst disaster since 1945. Can it? In the Soviet Union the Chernobyl disaster accelerated the downfall of a broken, paralyzed political system’…

“Conservative Die Welt writes:

“‘The earthquake of March 11 was no terrorist attack. But its political and psychological consequences will be as great as 9/11 because it has shown what a terrorist attack on nuclear plants would look like… The high-tech democracy Japan has shown what could happen if an Internet attack on German or French nuclear reactors were to happen… Or if a determined, technologically skilled terrorist group were to seize control of a power station…’

“The mass-circulation Bild tabloid writes:

“‘The nuclear accident is giving even firm supporters of nuclear power cause for thought, because the unthinkable happened in Fukushima. But even if we wanted to, we couldn’t switch off all nuclear reactors overnight. Because the lights would literally go out…’

“Left-wing Berliner Zeitung writes:

“‘This hasn’t hit a run-down Soviet reactor, a badly constructed Russian plutonium machine which supplied the army with material for their nuclear weapons, as was the case with Chernobyl in 1986. Then and ever since, the builders of nuclear power stations in Europe, North America and Japan boasted that a serious accident could be virtually ruled out thanks to superior Western nuclear technology. Every country — Germany, the US and Japan — claimed to have the world’s best reactors. Everything was secured several times over, all conceivable problems could be handled, all eventualities were prepared for, they said. The disaster at [Fukushima] shows: It’s simply not true… The radioactive fallout from Fukushima won’t hit Germany, but the political fallout has already arrived. People are alarmed and there is major uncertainty about “peaceful” nuclear power, not just among diehard anti-nuclear campaigners.’”

Libya—“The West’s Nightmare”

On March 14, Der Spiegel Online published a rather lengthy article on the situation in Libya. We are quoting interesting extensive “must read” excerpts, as they show convincingly the many problems which the West is facing in regard to Libya. No easy answers present themselves, and it seems that the situation will get much worse, no matter what the West will or won’t do, and regardless as to who is ruling or will rule Libya. Real hope does not lie in man’s feeble efforts to attempt to create lasting peace and true freedom anywhere on this planet. Only Jesus Christ—the Prince of Peace—will enforce peace on earth, when He returns, and He will then proclaim for mankind true and lasting freedom and liberty. Let us pray to God that His Second Coming will occur very soon.

The magazine wrote:

“There are times when some politicians and diplomats in Europe and the United States wish that someone would die. They wish that a head of state or government would give the order to dispatch a number of aircraft or launch a few missiles. They don’t speak openly of this, of course, but they do say these things under their breath. ‘Why doesn’t somebody just shoot him?’ they ask. Usually, this hope is directed by Europe toward America.

“This is again such a time. A number of politicians and diplomats are quietly hoping that they will hear one morning on the radio that Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi has died during the night. According to this scenario, the news bulletin will then inform listeners that an American bomber squadron has safely returned to its aircraft carrier in the Mediterranean.

“The current situation calls to mind former US President Ronald Reagan. He tried to eliminate Gadhafi back in April 1986. At the time, Reagan ordered 36 laser-guided bombs to be dropped on the Bab al-Azizija military compound, Gadhafi’s command center in the suburbs of Tripoli. Gadhafi survived. Reagan was derided for the failed mission and sharply criticized for the attempt. Some Western countries view such actions as murder — and thus unacceptable.

“When it comes to war and the West, it always boils down to a question of ethics. Now all eyes are directed toward US President Barack Obama. What will he do? He has the arsenal required to make a renewed attempt, but he apparently also has greater scruples… The same holds true for the Europeans. At their summit in Brussels on Friday, European Union leaders called for Gadhafi to immediately resign. Although a military operation has not been ruled out, it has been made contingent on the approval of the United Nations, the Arab League and the African Union. Speaking after the meeting, German Chancellor Angela Merkel underscored that she was highly skeptical about a no-fly zone. The EU is relying on economic sanctions for the time being.

“This is a nightmarish situation for the West. For years, Europe and America have courted Gadhafi and regarded him as a valuable business partner, without giving so much as a second thought to the suffering of his people. Now a large proportion of this oppressed population is fighting for its freedom, but the West is doing little to halt the advances made by Gadhafi’s loyal supporters. The West wants to help, but it remains helpless…

“As politicians in Europe and America grapple with the issue of Libya, they are strongly influenced by the disastrous wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Two predominantly Muslim countries have been attacked and occupied, also with the aim of creating a better world according to Western models. But these have not been success stories. The regimes backed by the West have been dubious, to say the least, and the security situation remains precarious… The negative experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan have sown doubt in America and Europe about the morality of these missions…

“Military action is also being discussed… But Obama continues to hesitate, and this lack of action is drawing increasing criticism… former presidential candidate John McCain and independent Senator Joe Lieberman are both criticizing Obama’s reluctance to intervene… McCain, for his part, is calling for a no-fly zone… That step, however, is highly controversial in Washington. The US military, which has already been stretched thin by its deployments in Afghanistan and Iraq, has remained rather reticent in its comments. Establishing a no-fly zone would be a ‘challenge,’ says General James Mattis, the commander of US Central Command. The US military would first have to destroy Libya’s air defenses, he says…

“For the EU it will be even more difficult to come to a joint position on Libya, although that didn’t stop French President Nicolas Sarkozy from unilaterally taking action. Last Thursday, France recognized the Libyan National Transitional Council in Benghazi as the legitimate representative of the Libyan people… Furthermore, government officials in Paris say that the French president wants to use targeted air strikes to weaken the Gadhafi regime… In Berlin, the Chancellery was indignant over the French initiative. At the summit in Brussels, Merkel voiced her clear opposition: ‘We cannot recognize the transitional council,’ she told the assembled heads of state and government…

“Merkel also clearly expressed her reservations with regard to a no-fly zone: ‘What is our plan if we create a no-fly zone and it doesn’t work? Do we send in ground troops?’ she asked before adding: ‘We have to think this through. Why should we intervene in Libya when we don’t intervene elsewhere?’ It was a sharp rebuff for Sarkozy…

“Until recently, France and Germany have had their separate areas of responsibility: While Paris looked after the Mediterranean area, Berlin was more oriented toward Eastern Europe. But in internal discussions, [Foreign Minister] Westerwelle has already made it clear that this will no longer be the case. Much to the annoyance of the French, Berlin now also wants to have a greater say in the Mediterranean region…

“Chancellor Merkel and Foreign Minister Westerwelle agree that nothing good will come from a no-fly zone over Libya. They both fear that Germany could be drawn into the civil war in this way. The government also knows, though, that economic sanctions are only effective over the long term, so Berlin doesn’t want to entirely rule out the option of military intervention. The obstacles are significant, however, since China and Russia are showing little inclination to approve such a mission in the UN Security Council.

“The German government’s hesitant stance also arises from the fact that Germany recently won a non-permanent seat on the Security Council. Although this presents an excellent opportunity for Westerwelle to play a more prominent international role as foreign minister, it also means that Germany will probably have to participate in the mission if the Security Council approves a no-fly zone. Anyone who claims a leading role in New York must be prepared to assume certain responsibilities.

“The opposition also supports the German government’s position. No one in Berlin is calling for a no-fly zone without a mandate from the Security Council… The clearest arguments against a military intervention by the West are presented by Rainer Stinner, the foreign policy expert in parliament for the pro-business Free Democratic Party (FDP), which is Merkel’s government coalition partner. ‘Anyone who proposes a no-fly zone should (also) say who will enforce it,’ he contends. Such a decision could lead to aerial combat and other fighting, he says. ‘Should we then send in the German Luftwaffe?’…

“The chairman of the National Transitional Council, former Libyan Justice Minister Mustafa Abdul Jalil, is not a charismatic figure… His National Council is hopelessly divided and could only agree on three points: Gadhafi must go, the West should impose a no-fly zone, but Western troops should not fight on the ground. Nobody knows what kind of state these men want to build, or what freedoms it would guarantee. President Hamid Karzai — intensely pandered to by the West — has turned out to be a corrupt ruler in Afghanistan.

“In Libya there is also no solution that would genuinely satisfy the West. There is no clear, promising vision of the future of this country without Gadhafi — but there is no doubt that it will be disastrous with Gadhafi. Is military deployment the answer? Germany could easily be drawn into another war at a time when the majority of Germans already oppose their country’s military presence in Afghanistan…”

Many of the above-quoted comments should make us pause to think and reflect on the accuracy of biblical prophecy, all leading to the worldwide catastrophic climax ushering in the return of Christ and the establishment of a better world. The cited excerpts include comments about the uncertainty of Libya’s future with or without Gadhafi; the helplessness of the West and the unwillingness of any political leader to lead—except perhaps for the questionable attempts by the French, who are, however, in no recognized position to lead; and the fact that Berlin, which was so far oriented toward Eastern Europe, now also wants to have a greater say in the Mediterranean region.

Arab League Agrees to No-Fly Zone, But…

The EUObserver reported on March 14, 2011:

“The Arab League has given the green light for Western powers to impose a no-fly zone in Libya, prompting France to step up its campaign for military action. The 22-member league in a resolution on Saturday (12 March) called for the UN Security Council to quickly issue a mandate for a no-fly zone in Libya…

“The Arab League development comes after the UK and France failed to persuade no-fly sceptics at an EU summit in Brussels on Friday. German foreign minister Guido Westerwelle continued to voice concern… ‘We don’t want to get pulled into a war in North Africa,’ he explained… German ally Austria called for an EU fact-finding mission to visit the rebel stronghold in Beghazi. Italy and Malta… also remain reticent.”

However, the Bible shows that ultimately, Germany, as the future leader of a unified European army, will be pulled into a war in the Middle East.

But in the Meantime…

Deutsche Welle reported on March 16:

“Efforts by Britain, France and the Arab League, acting through Lebanon, to impose a no-fly zone have met with stiff resistance at the United Nations… A draft resolution that diplomats said would ban ‘all flights‘ in Libyan airspace and allow ‘all necessary measures to enforce compliance‘ was distributed. China and Russia were believed to have been behind the opposition movement, while Germany, India and the United States were said to have doubts about the plan… In a final communique, the ministers made no mention of plans for a no-fly zone, agreeing instead that the UN Security Council should put more pressure on the Gadhafi regime ‘including through economic sanctions’…

“Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini told reporters that along with Germany, Russia had argued that a no-fly zone would not be effective and could be counterproductive. Germany’s hands-off approach clearly pleased Gadhafi, who praised its stance in an interview on Tuesday with German television station RTL. ‘Germans have taken a good stance on our situation, unlike many other Western countries,‘ Gadhafi told RTL… He said that in the future, only Russia, India and China would get Libyan oil or other Libyan business. But because of its opposition to the no-fly zone, Germany could also possibly get oil, he said, adding: ‘Germany … not France … deserves a permanent seat on the UN Security Council.'”

And Then…Another Switch…

Haaretz wrote on March 16:

“The United States, France and Britain on Wednesday urged the UN Security Council to take swift action on a proposed no-fly zone over Libya, as Washington suggested it might have decided to back the plan… [U.S. Secretary of State Hillary] Clinton told CBS television: ‘For the Arab League to call for military action to protect civilians in Libya, against a member of the Arab League, was an extraordinary statement of leadership and real conviction’…”

The imposition of a no-fly zone [identified by Mrs. Clinton as “military action”] would mean outright war—another unpopular war which the USA and its allies would be drawn into—and a war which could not be won.

Violence in Bahrain

CNN wrote on March 14:

“Foreign troops arrived Monday in the strategically and financially important Persian Gulf kingdom of Bahrain after a month of citizen protests, the Bahraini government said. Saudi Arabia, Bahrain’s giant neighbor to the west, appears to have provided at least some of the troops, who arrived under the banner of the Gulf Cooperation Council. In a statement, the government described the troops as ‘coalition forces’ but did not say what countries were represented. Their mission was equally vague… The Gulf Cooperation Council comprises six Gulf states — Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Qatar…

“The arrival of the troops followed a day of clashes between protesters and security forces that resulted in the hospitalization of more than 1,000 people, human rights activists said… Simon Henderson, director of the Gulf and energy policy program at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy… noted that the administration of Barack Obama has been urging political dialogue but said Monday’s move was not what the U.S. president meant. ‘Sending in Saudi forces is hardly encouraging political dialogue,’ Henderson said. ‘The great danger is, it will actually worsen the situation by encouraging Iran to get involved. Not militarily, probably, but certainly diplomatically and rhetorically.’

“The underlying concern is that Iran, an overwhelmingly Shiite state, could seize the opportunity to meddle in Bahrain’s internal affairs. Bahrain has a Shiite majority population, but its rulers are Sunni. Saudi Arabia’s eastern province is home not only to many of the country’s rich oil fields but to its largest concentration of minority Shiite as well. In recent weeks, Shiite demonstrators there have protested the Saudi government, whose leaders are overwhelmingly Sunni. The Saudi government would presumably be concerned that any uprising by Shiite Muslims in Bahrain could inspire the Shiite population in nearby Saudi Arabia to follow suit.”

The situation in Bahrain and in other Middle Eastern countries continues to escalate. There seems to be no peace in sight. Truly, Christ’s words come to mind, when addressing the end-time “beginning of sorrows”: “You will hear of wars and rumors of wars” (Matthew 24:6).

Due to the annual conference, there will be no Update for the week ending March 25. The next Update will be published for the week ending April 1.

Our annual conference will begin on Friday, March 18, and is scheduled to last until Wednesday, March 23. Please pray for God’s inspiration and guidance for the success of the conference.

The German translation of our booklet, “Jesus Christ—a Great Mystery,” was sent to our Graphic Designer for finalization.

Two new StandingWatch programs were posted on the Web, titled, “Earthquakes in Prophecy, Part 1” and “Earthquakes in Prophecy, Part 2.”  The summaries of these programs are, respectively:

The terrible earthquake in Japan and the subsequent tsunamis should remind us of Christ’s warning in the Olivet prophecy that great earthquakes will strike this earth prior to His return. But He also spoke of religious deception, wars, famines, disease epidemics, the Great Tribulation and the heavenly signs. It is important to know the prophesied sequence of these events, leading to His Second Coming.

The Bible predicts that much greater earthquakes than the one in Japan will soon strike this earth. The books of Revelation and Isaiah give us many details as to what will happen, and why. Even Jerusalem will be hit by a huge earthquake, and so will be many other cities.

A new German AufPostenStehen program was posted on the Web, titled, “Erdbeben in Biblischer Prophezeiung” (“Earthquakes in Biblical Prophecy”).  

Norbert Link’s new video-recorded sermon was posted on the Web, titled, “Paul’s Letter to the Philippians (Part 4).”

A new German sermon was posted on the Web, titled, “Im Anfang, Teil 5” (“In the Beginning, Part 5”).

by Kalon Mitchell

Growing up in the Church of God, I’ve heard my fair share of people’s stories about how God has helped them in a personal way–whether it be with blessings or protection. And through the years, He has done the same for me on several instances. The most recent intervention occurred just the other day.

As I was driving home from work, winding up the large hill with hair-pin curves that I always take home, there, around the tightest turn, came a large diesel truck towards me. It was hauling a 5×20 covered trailer behind it. I could see that for a truck that size, it was rounding the corner way too fast, and that it was coming into my lane. So I slowed down to a stop about forty feet away and watched as the events played out before me. As the truck continued around the corner, the back right tire on the trailer hit a large rock that was off to the side of the road.

I watched in disbelief as the trailer started to tilt and continued to do so more and more. I could see it coming—the trailer was going to flip, rip off its hitch, and the truck might flip too; and truck and trailer would all come crashing into me, possibly even pushing me off the side of the mountain.

Then it happened. The trailer drove on one wheel in about a 45 degrees angle, and I thought for sure the trailer was about to tip over, but all of a sudden, it slammed back on to the ground.  As truck and trailer passed me, the driver had a shocked look on his face. I gave him a big thumbs up.

As I started to drive away, I was hit by the fact that there was no physical way that the trailer should have done that. The only explanation was that God was indeed watching out over me. I said a prayer, thanking God for sparing my life. I was reminded again that God observes us at all times. He is always right there, not around the corner. It is true: I am not to tempt Him by placing myself in harm’s way, but when there are unforeseen instances where I need His protection, He will and does watch over me.

On March 12, 2011, Norbert Link will give the sermon, titled, “Paul’s Letter to the Philippians, Part 4.”

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.

This world places too much trust in people and physical things. Many times people don’t end up getting what they ask for and what they want. The reason becomes obvious when we consider how they ask, what they ask for and whom they ask. Many forget or don’t even know about the bigger picture and who it is that supplies all desires and who is the source of trust.

Where do so many people put their trust?  They trust in riches, in their jobs, in their boss and co-workers, in physical things, or in certain individuals like a doctor or a lawyer; they trust in their religion, friends and family and their mate; or they trust in their political leadership or the opposition.

So where do WE put our trust?  Do we put our trust in the same things that the world does?  Do we put our trust in what we hear on TV or what we read in the paper, as distinguished from our weekly updates?  Do we trust in man like a political leader; for instance, the president?  Do we trust in our country?  Do we trust in a false god and false religion or a false teaching?

Micah 7:5-7 tells us that we should not even put our ultimate trust in a friend or any human being, including ourselves, and Proverbs 20:19 states that we must be careful with certain people. The Bible also warns those who put their trust in money: “He who trusts in his riches will fall” (Proverbs 11:28).

We should know whom we ought to trust. But do we? Do we really trust God the Father; Jesus Christ; God’s Word, the Bible; and God’s Church—the “pillar and ground of the truth” (1 Timothy 3:15)?

We must never leave God out of the picture.  It is through God and because of God that we can have certain trust in selected individuals, but we must be aware that trials will come to test our trust. We also have to be careful that we don’t trust in ourselves, without God in the picture, as it says in Proverbs 28:25-26: “He who is of a proud heart stirs up strife, But he who trusts in the LORD will be prospered. He who trusts in his own heart is a fool, But whoever walks wisely will be delivered.”

Tough times are ahead of us, and as the Church’s annual conference approaches in just a few days, tough decisions may have to be made.  We have been admonished by the ministry to pray and even fast for the success of the conference, and that everything will be done and decided with total trust in God. This principle applies to every facet in our individual lives as well.

Proverbs 3:5-6 tells us: “Trust in the LORD  with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.” When we trust in Him, He will give us the desires of the heart, as it says in Psalm 37:3-4.

We read about several individuals in the Bible who put their trust in God, like David who went to God many times in prayer to ask for deliverance from his persecutors (compare 2 Samuel 22:3; Psalm 7:1).  Job went through some very serious trials and had to trust God that there were reasons for his suffering. Abraham trusted in God when he was to offer his son as a sacrifice. Moses had to trust God when he was commanded to free Israel from Egypt. Even Jesus Christ, when He was on this earth, had to trust in His Father to get through many trials, and also, when He was being tempted by Satan. Christ could have sinned because He was in fact human, but through trust, faith, and the power of His Father’s Holy Spirit in Him was He able to overcome and remain sinless. He did it for us, for our benefit, so we could inherit eternal life.  

Trust and faith do go together.  We can’t have faith if we don’t have trust, and we must pray with good intentions, as it says in Hebrews 13:18-19: “Pray for us; for we are confident that we have a good conscience, in all things desiring to live honorably. But I especially urge you to do this, that I may be restored to you the sooner.”

The Bible prophesies that times will get more and more tough. We have to stay strong and trust in God and what God promises us.  The world is blind and in darkness. They don’t realize what is to come in the near future. If we are ever in doubt about somebody or something, we should always remind ourselves who it is that we can count on at all times, and where we should put our trust. Remember: In God We Trust!!

We begin with reporting on America’s dire economic and unemployment situation, with little hope for improvement in sight. An alarming article on the fear of US farmers reminds us of frightening prophecies in the book of Leviticus, and while the dollar continues to slide, the euro is registering a sharp rise.

Europe’s “fight” with Islam is bound to continue, leading to the inevitable manifestation of politicians who will try to capitalize on the people’s feelings.

We continue reporting on Libya, Saudi Arabia and Egypt; addressing the present and future role of the USA and Europe in that part of the world; and mention biblical passages which shed light on the future of the Middle East; and we quote the result of a poll regarding this world’s most popular and least popular countries.

We conclude with articles on biblical “interpretation” in the light of a new Catholic translation, the concepts of “Ash Wednesday,” and an illusionary piece from the Huffington Post, discussing the question whether Muslims and Christians worship the same God. Even though the answer should be obvious, we also raise the real question which should have been addressed, but wasn’t.

U.S. Underemployment at Almost 20%

On March 3, gallup.com reported the following:

“Unemployment, as measured by Gallup without seasonal adjustment, hit 10.3% in February — up from 9.8% at the end of January… The percentage of part-time workers who want full-time work worsened considerably in February, increasing to 9.6% of the workforce from 9.1% at the end of January… Underemployment, a measure that combines part-time workers wanting full-time work with those who are unemployed, surged in February to 19.9%…

“This suggests that the real U.S. jobs situation worsened in February. That is, jobs are relatively less available now than in January…. In turn, this suggests job market conditions in terms of underemployment also worsened during February. This deterioration in the jobs situation combined with surging gas prices, budget battles at the federal and state level, and declines on Wall Street tend to explain the recent plunge Gallup recorded in consumer confidence.”

America’s economic situation is dire, and, as also the next article shows, the crisis in the Middle East, resulting in higher oil prices which will affect many facets of the American economy, will only increase and accelerate the problems.

US Gasoline Prices Sharply Increase

CNN reported on March 7:

“U.S. gasoline prices increased nearly 33 cents in two weeks, the second-biggest two-week jump in the history of the gasoline market… The jump was the biggest since a 38-cent hike between August and September 2005. At the time, the price increase was driven by damage caused by Hurricane Katrina… As the fighting between opposition forces and Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi’s troops begins to look more like a civil war, expect prices to continue to rise… Prices have risen nearly 82 cents since September 2010…

“While Libya is not among the top suppliers of U.S. oil, and only 3% of Libyan oil exports head to the United States, global economics link the events there to the pumps at home. Libya produces a light, high-gravity crude oil that is most in demand by less complex refineries around the world… As this oil becomes unavailable, it forces buyers of crude to substitute crude with similar properties from other oil producers, thereby increasing demand and starting a chain reaction that raises prices of crude and gasoline in the United States.

“…the rising gas prices could dampen the nation’s economic recovery… Of the cities surveyed, the highest average price in the continental United States was in San Diego at $3.87 per gallon. The lowest price was in Billings, Montana, at $3.15.”

US Farmers Fear the Return of the Dust Bowl

The Telegraph wrote on March 7:

“For years the Ogallala Aquifer, the world’s largest underground body of fresh water, has irrigated thousands of square miles of American farmland. Now it is running dry… the Ogallala Aquifer… stretches all the way down the eastern slope of the Rockies from the badlands of South Dakota to the Texas Panhandle. It does not replenish…

“But it was only in the 1940s, after the Dust Bowl (the result of a severe drought and excessive farming in the early 1930s), that the US Geological Survey… were about to repeat the dreams of man from the days of Ancient Egypt and Judea to turn the desert green, only without the Nile or Jordan. With new technology the wells could reach the deepest water, and from the early 1950s the boom was on… Billions upon billions of gallons… have been pumped… in a brief half-century… the Ogallala level [was drawn] down from an average of 240ft to about 80…

“The irrigated Plains grow 20 per cent of American grain and corn… and America’s ‘industrial’ agriculture dominates international markets. A collapse of those markets would lead to starvation in Africa and anywhere else where a meal depends on cheap American exports… The Ogallala supply is going to run out and the Plains will become uneconomical to farm…

“Water – not oil – has always been the most valuable resource in the West. Wars have been fought over it, feuds maintained, and fortunes won or lost. Apart from the Ogallala, the main source remains the Colorado River, flowing west from the Rockies, its annual bounty of snow melt providing the drinking water for Las Vegas, irrigation for California’s Central Valley, and the swimming-pools of Los Angeles. No one is surprised that the mighty Colorado now runs dry before it reaches the Pacific…”

God prophesies about the future of the United States of America (the modern descendants of the ancient House of Israel) in no uncertain terms, when addressing our sins and stating in Leviticus 26:19-20: “I will break the pride of your power; I will make your heavens like iron and your earth like bronze. And your strength shall be spent in vain; for your land shall not yield its produce, nor shall the trees of the land yield their fruit.”

Dollar in Decline, Euro on the Rise

The Financial Times wrote on March 6:

“Hedge funds and forex dealers are betting record amounts against the dollar, reflecting a growing belief that the US currency has lost its haven appeal and that eurozone interest rates will soon rise. As the crisis in the Middle East has worsened, the latest exchange data show that traders are selling ‘short’ the currency. The big US fiscal deficit and concerns about the effect of rising oil prices have been blamed by some for the dollar’s slide…

“Given the continued losses for the dollar this month, [David Watt, analyst at RBC Capital Markets] said it was likely that investors had since added to their bets against the US currency, short of an ‘absolutely stunning’ reversal in sentiment… The data confirm the sharp turnround in sentiment towards the single currency [the euro]  from speculative investors, who as recently as January were betting on losses for the single currency on worries over the eurozone sovereign debt crisis.”

The US dollar will continue to fall, while the euro will continue to rise. What America needs in these dire times is true leadership. But can it be found? The next article suggests the opposite.

Newt Gingrich’s “Explanation” of His Past Marital Infidelity

The Associated Press reported on March 9:

“Newt Gingrich says his passionate hard work for his country contributed to his marital infidelity. In an interview posted Wednesday by The Christian Broadcasting Network, Gingrich – who recently converted to Catholicism – said he had sought God’s forgiveness for mistakes in his past… The twice-divorced former U.S. House speaker has said he had an affair with Callista, a former congressional aide, while married to his second wife. It happened at the same time he was attacking President Bill Clinton for his relationship with White House intern Monica Lewinsky.

“The interview with the Christian broadcaster comes as Gingrich gears up for a likely presidential run. He has been courting religious and social conservatives who would be critical in a GOP primary.”

So, marital infidelity can be blamed on hard work for the country? Is it also a reason for accusing someone else of it, when one is guilty of it himself?

Germany’s New Interior Minister’s Controversial Comments

Der Spiegel Online wrote on March 7:

“Germany’s new interior minister touched off controversy within hours of taking office when he said that Islam did not historically ‘belong’ to Germany, causing Muslim groups to react furiously… ‘To say that Islam belongs in Germany is not a fact supported by history,’ the politician, who belongs to the conservative Bavarian party the Christian Social Union, said in his first press conference as minister.

“The comment was a repeat of earlier criticism he had made of an October 2010 statement by German President Christian Wulff, who famously said that ‘Islam also belongs to Germany.’ Representatives of Germany Muslim population were outraged. Lamya Kaddor, chairwoman of the Liberal-Islamic Union in Germany, called Friedrich’s remarks a ‘slap in the face of Muslims’…”

The Far Right on the Rise in France

Deutsche Welle wrote on February 18:

“The wave of Tunisian immigrants that arrived in France last week shouldn’t plan on getting too cozy. The new leader of the National Front is poised to capitalize on what she says is an immigration crisis. French police say they have arrested some 100 Tunisians who landed on the Italian island of Lampedusa last week as they tried to enter France. The arrested immigrants, each carrying a document provided by the Italian authorities, are being held in detention centers across southeastern France.

“Should these immigrants request political asylum, their demands would more than likely be turned down, and France would be under no obligation to allow them to stay… The government is taking a hard line on these immigrants – but that is not preventing Marine Le Pen, the new leader of the far right National Front party, from making political capital out of what she says is the beginning of a new immigration crisis. In an interview with French public radio on Friday, Le Pen said the ‘great wave of migrants‘ was one of the consequences of the revolutions taking place in the Arab world.”

Deutsche Welle wrote on March 6:

“An opinion poll in France has found that right-wing politician Marine Le Pen could defeat President Nicholas Sarkozy in upcoming elections… The poll results… showed the 42-year-old leader of the National Front party would receive 23 percent of the vote in the first of the two rounds of presidential elections due to occur in France [in May of 2012]. Center-right Sarkozy would only receive 21 percent of the vote, according to the poll… Part of Le Pen’s platform so far has included comparing Muslims in France to an occupying force.”

Europe’s dealings with Islam, including its “immigration crisis” and the arrival of refugees from the Middle East, will lead to the rise of more and more politicians who will try to capitalize on the situation, and many will accept and follow their agendas.

Libya Sliding into Civil War?

Fox News wrote on March 7:

“Libyan warplanes launched fresh airstrikes on rebel positions around a key oil port Monday, trying to block the opposition fighters from advancing toward Moammar Gadhafi’s stronghold in the capital, Tripoli. Rebels in the area said they can take on Gadhafi’s elite ground forces, but are outgunned if he uses his air power. ‘We don’t want a foreign military intervention, but we do want a no-fly zone’, said rebel fighter Ali Suleiman. He added that the rebels can take on ‘the rockets and the tanks, but not Gadhafi’s air force.’

“Libya appears to be sliding toward a civil war that could drag out for weeks, or even months…”

Europe May Need to Intervene Militarily in Libya

On March 7, Der Spiegel Online published an interview with Martin Schulz, a foreign policy expert with Germany’s center-left Social Democrats. He has been a member of the European Parliament since 1994 and the chairman of the Socialist group in the European Parliament since 2004. We are bringing you the following excerpts:

“All of the measures [against Gadhafi] that can be taken within the context of the Charter of the United Nations must be considered. I am deliberately emphasizing the word ‘all’ there — in other words, including the military option… It’s clear that whatever measures are taken will have to be coordinated with the Arab League and the African Union… A no-fly zone is one way to rein in Gadhafi. It certainly makes sense, if it can be implemented. But it isn’t entirely uncomplicated. I agree with the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s view that this would be a highly risky proposition…

“People are always chiding ‘the EU,’ but the institutions in Brussels are taking action… The member states are the problem. They are pursuing interests that are sometimes widely divergent. I’m sick of these constant attacks on ‘the EU.’ The real scandal is the never-ending maneuvering of the member states. France has historic interests, and so does Britain. But Germany’s game isn’t any better. The German foreign minister sings the praises of the revolution, while the chancellor says: No refugees, please. None of this is credible… We all tolerated Gadhafi, both the EU and the United States. One could criticize this as amoral, but it was also realpolitik…

“I don’t know how strong Gadhafi is at this point. He’s a dictator who is surrounded by militias that are apparently well-trained and well-equipped. Parts of his army have abandoned him, but that doesn’t seem to be enough to bring him down quickly. I think that the outcome of this power struggle is still completely open…”

The Bible prophesies that a coming United States of Europe will intervene militarily in the Middle East, with the justification of wanting to bring peace to that part of the world.

Calls for No-Fly Zone in Libya

ABC News reported on March 7:

“As forces loyal to Moammar Gadhafi battle the opposition for control of key cities, the Obama administration is under growing pressure to do something to stop the violence. Although rebels celebrated after pushing Gadhafi’s forces out of Misrata, this increasingly appears to be a fight no one is winning.

“…there have been more calls for the United States to step in with a big move: enforcing a no-fly zone. ‘This would send a signal to Gadhafi that the president is serious when he says we need for Gadhafi to go,’ Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said…

“But it could also require U.S. bombing inside Libya to take out air-defense systems. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has tried to shut the idea down and was joined Sunday by President Obama’s chief of staff, Bill Daley.

“’Lots of people throw around phrases of “no-fly zone,” and they talk about it as though it’s just a game on a video game or something,’ Daley said on ‘Meet the Press.’ One fear is a public relations victory for Gadhafi if he managed to shoot down a U.S. jet…

“’We can’t just go in and put airplanes over Libya. It’s going to take a campaign to take out these surface-to-air-missile systems, to bomb where the aircraft are being parked. It’s not just go in and establish a no-fly zone with no cost. We will have to blow things up on the ground in Libya if we want to establish a no-fly zone. It’s a two step process and it will take time and a significant military package to accomplish,’ [former deputy assistant secretary of state Steve] Ganyard said…

“While Obama acknowledged the danger of a stalemate that ‘could be bloody’ if rebels do not push out Gadhafi, Obama also indicated a willingness to avoid any sort of military action in Libya. ‘We did not see anti-American sentiment arising out of that movement in Egypt precisely because they felt that we hadn’t tried to engineer or impose a particular outcome, but rather they owned it,’ he said of the revolution in Egypt.”

However, the next article suggests that the USA IS involved in engineering a particular outcome in Libya.

USA Asks Saudi Arabia for Help

The Independent wrote on March 7:

“Desperate to avoid US military involvement in Libya in the event of a prolonged struggle between the Gaddafi regime and its opponents, the Americans have asked Saudi Arabia if it can supply weapons to the rebels in Benghazi. The Saudi Kingdom… has so far failed to respond to Washington’s highly classified request, although King Abdullah personally loathes the Libyan leader, who tried to assassinate him just over a year ago.

“Washington’s request is in line with other US military co-operation with the Saudis… Their assistance would allow Washington to disclaim any military involvement in the supply chain – even though the arms would be American and paid for by the Saudis. The Saudis have been told that opponents of Gaddafi need anti-tank rockets and mortars as a first priority to hold off attacks by Gaddafi’s armour, and ground-to-air missiles to shoot down his fighter-bombers…

“Saudi Arabia is already facing dangers from a co-ordinated day of protest by its own Shia Muslim citizens who, emboldened by the Shia uprising in the neighbouring island of Bahrain, have called for street protests against the ruling family of al-Saud on Friday. After pouring troops and security police into the province of Qatif last week, the Saudis announced a nationwide ban on all public demonstrations…

“If the Saudi government accedes to America’s request to send guns and missiles to Libyan rebels… it would be almost impossible for President Barack Obama to condemn the kingdom for any violence against the Shias of the north-east provinces. Thus has the Arab awakening, the demand for democracy in North Africa, the Shia revolt and the rising against Gaddafi become entangled in the space of just a few hours with US military priorities in the region.”

Politics and the attempt to “buy allies” will be a cause for the ultimate downfall of the USA. However, as the next articles show, America is afraid to lead.

Hillary Clinton: “US Must Not Lead…”

Fox News reported on March 9:

“Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told Sky News Wednesday that a no-fly zone over Libya cannot be a U.S.-led effort, and would need the backing of the international community… ‘because this comes from the people of Libya themselves,’ she told Sky News…

“In testimony on Capitol Hill last week, Gates argued that there has been a lot of ‘loose talk’ when it comes to setting up no fly zones, warning senators and congressmen that such a decision would require military strikes on Qaddafi’s air defense capabilities. But Retired General Wesley Clarke, who was actively involved in setting up a NATO no-fly zone in Bosnia, says that was not the case there where they simply warned Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic that if his air defense systems were turned on, they would be bombed, which served as a deterrent for the most part and allowed allies to enforce the no-fly zone without bombing local air defense facilities.

“During a speech to West Point cadets late last month, Gates questioned the wisdom of military intervention in such a volatile region of the world. ‘In my opinion, any future defense secretary who advises the president to again send a big American land army into Asia or into the Middle East or Africa should have his head examined, as Gen. MacArthur so delicately put it,’ he said… ‘I don’t think anybody has any intention of putting any ground forces in Libya,’ he said. ‘Nobody has ever even talked about that.’”

Is the USA Missing Out?

USA Today wrote on March 9:

“Libyans battling Col. Moammar Gadhafi are increasingly desperate for a no-fly zone and say the United States is missing a chance to topple an anti-American dictator and win the gratitude of a new democracy in the Middle East. ‘This is a window of opportunity for the United States,’ said Zahi Mogherbi, a political science professor and unofficial adviser to the provisional government. ‘They are not taking it or they are taking their time.’

“People in eastern Libya, where rebels are in control of a swath of the country, are urging the West to impose a no-fly zone against Gadhafi’s air force. The calls have become more urgent as forces loyal to Gadhafi have blunted a rebel offensive as it moved toward Tripoli. ‘People are losing faith in the international community,’ said Essam Gheriani, a spokesman for the rebel movement. ‘What are they waiting for?’

“The White House said Wednesday that it continues to consult with allies over Libya and that military pressure is an option. President Obama has said Gadhafi should step down but has not backed a no-fly zone or any military means. Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman, an independent, said the U.S. should be arming the rebels.

“People here have an ambivalent view toward the U.S., Mogherbi said. President Reagan was the first world leader to highlight Gadhafi as an international pariah and sponsor of terrorism. That earned him credit, Mogherbi said. ‘People thought of that as some kind of support to the Libyan people,’ he said. Mogherbi said, however, that Libyans believe the U.S. became critical of Gadhafi only when he threatened U.S. interests, such as with terrorist attacks against U.S. targets. ‘But nobody talked about what he was doing to the Libyan people,’ said Mogherbi…

“Many Libyans said they approved of Reagan’s targeting Gadhafi in 1986, but mostly they recall that he missed. ‘We would be happy if Gadhafi was killed, but no one liked Reagan when he bombed Libya,’ said Khalid Ali, 28, owner of a clothing store. ‘The United States has a lot it can do to support the Libyans,’ Ali said. ‘I wonder why they are taking it slow?’

“John Pike, director of the Globalsecurity.org, said the U.S. may regret not helping the rebels overthrow Gadhafi… ‘It would be reasonable to assume he might go back to his old troublemaking ways,’ Pike said, referring to Gadhafi’s sponsorship of terrorism. ‘Certainly we would lose the opportunity we thought we had to turn Libya into a normal country,’ at peace with its neighbors.”

France Jumps Ahead… and Angers Europe

The EUObserver reported on March 9:

“French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s surprise decision to formally recognise Libyan rebels in Benghazi as the legitimate government of Libya caused dismay at a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels on Thursday (10 March).

“German foreign minister Guido Westerwelle in an unusually candid press briefing said he was sitting next to French foreign minister Alain Juppe in the EU capital when the news broke, complaining that he had not been pre-notified and that Mr Sarkozy appears to have acted ‘on a whim’. He added that the French position is ‘not the German position or the European position.’

“Berlin believes the Sarkozy move is a public relations stunt following recent revelations that his prime minister and former foreign minister took gifts from dictators in Egypt and Tunisia shortly before the revolutions. It also believes the move is linked to the 2012 presidential elections in France, with the latest polls indicating that Mr Sarkozy will not make the second round. Italy as well distanced itself from the French position.”

As mentioned in an earlier article, France may be moving to the right. Whether Mr. Sarkozy’s recent political maneuvering will have the outcome desired by him, or whether it will continue to backfire, will have to be seen.

The Middle East—a Perspective

The following article might shed some light on why we face so many problems in the Middle East.

Der Spiegel wrote on March 8:

“The Middle East has dominated global politics for decades, to a degree disproportionate to its geographic size and population. Reports of war, violence and terror between North Africa and the Persian Gulf have become background noise in the lives of an entire generation. The region has experienced well over a dozen international wars, numerous civil wars and military coups, and thousands of terrorist attacks and political assassinations since 1945 alone… the conflicts of the Middle East occur in a region that sits on top of close to 60 percent of the world’s oil and more than 40 percent of its natural gas reserves…

“For more than 400 years, the Ottomans had controlled North Africa, Syria and Palestine, Mesopotamia all the way to the Persian Gulf, the Red Sea to Aden, and the Nile to the Sudanese border. But the French captured Algeria and Tunisia, and in 1882 Egypt fell to the British. Now [in 1911] the Italians had landed in Libya. Like the British and the French, they too sought to establish colonies in Africa… [What would follow was] a century in which the entire Middle East would turn into a battlefield among political, ideological and religious forces, a hothouse of global politics.

“… the demons of the Middle East suddenly surfaced around the world. Al-Qaida came onto the global stage, a terrorist organization that came from the heart of the Arab world and yet was capable of operating with unprecedented global reach. On Sept. 11, 2001, it finally became clear that the Middle East had given birth to a monster… Ten years after the attacks on New York and Washington, an uprising has gripped the Arab world that no one saw coming. It began in Tunisia and spread to Egypt, Bahrain, Yemen and Jordan… from Morocco to the seemingly peaceful Sultanate of Oman, from wealthy Saudi Arabia to Iraq, which the United States supposedly liberated eight years ago… the West, instead of celebrating what it has demanded for years, is standing on the sidelines with its mouth agape, fascinated, and yet speechless and fearful…

“In early 1915, when it was becoming clear that the Ottoman Empire would not survive World War I, politicians in London and Paris hit upon the idea of dividing up what was left of the empire. The British and French plan targeted the Arab provinces of the Ottoman Empire…The Sykes-Picot Agreement and the Balfour Declaration, signed in 1916 and 1917 respectively, are the two founding documents of the modern Middle East. They served as the basis for five states — Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Jordan and Israel — and the eternal non-state of Palestine. The existence of those has remained a source of division and unrest to this day.

“The Arabs, who would not discover the exact wording of the documents until after World War I, still consider them to be documents of betrayal even today. In the eyes of many Arabs, the borders they created, and the dynasties the British and French installed within these borders, have always lacked legitimacy… They blame the West for having created artificial states, countries like Lebanon and Iraq that are ethnically and religiously divided and which remain virtually ungovernable to this day, and for the fact that the Hashemite dynasty installed by the British failed in Syria and then Iraq, and only survives today in Jordan…”

British Bungled Operation in Libya

Breitbart wrote on March 7:

“The British government was left red-faced Monday after a botched attempt by special forces to make contact with opposition forces in Libya ended in the team being seized by rebels. The team, reportedly made up of six soldiers from the elite SAS and two diplomats, flew into Libya by helicopter and made their way to the opposition-held city of Benghazi. But they were rounded up by lightly armed rebels soon after they arrived, reports said… they succeeded only in angering Libyan opposition leaders who denied they had asked for any help and by late Sunday they had been packed off to Malta on a British naval ship…

“The bungled operation raised eyebrows because Britain prides itself on the competence of the SAS, which is believed to play a major role in the conflict in Afghanistan as well as in past wars in Iraq and the Falklands… The Daily Telegraph, traditionally a pro-armed forces newspaper, said the mission was a ‘blunder’ which had handed a propaganda coup to Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi.

“Britain’s government has made a faltering start to its handling of the Libyan crisis. Prime Minister David Cameron banged the drum for the imposition of a no-fly zone last week, only to backtrack rapidly to say it was no more than ‘contingency planning.’ And in the first days of the revolt, [British Foreign Secretary William] Hague drew fire for suggesting that Kadhafi had fled to Venezuela.”

We read in the Bible that the land of Egypt will not escape the coming king of the North (Daniel 11:42).  But Libya is mentioned as well. The king of the North–the future leader of a united Europe–will “have power over the treasures of gold and silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt; also the Libyans and Ethiopians shall follow at his heel” (Daniel 11:43). At the beginning of the Millennium, Libya and Iran (Persia) will be part of an alliance with Russia and China, which will attempt to invade Israel (Ezekiel 38:5). For more information on Ezekiel 38, please listen to our new StandingWatch program, titled, “When Will Russia Attack Israel?”

Violence Returns to Egypt

The BBC reported on March 6:

“Pro-democracy activists in Egypt have been attacked by men in plain clothes, armed with knives, outside the interior ministry in Cairo, reports say. It is the first such attack since the fall of Hosni Mubarak last month. Protesters have stormed ministry and secret police offices to obtain documents they say show evidence of repression under the former president…

“Dismantling the security apparatus has been one of the key demands of the protest movement, the BBC’s Magdi Abdelhadi in Cairo says. The events of the weekend have been described as the Egyptian storming of the Bastille, he says. The secret police apparatus was the nerve centre of the Mubarak government. Activists who stormed the Cairo headquarters told the BBC they had found evidence of a parallel state structure that monitored all aspects of life in Egypt.

“Mohammed Abdelfattah, a protester who raided the headquarters in Nasr City, said: ‘We found transcribed phone calls between university professors, political activists, opposition figures.’ Evidence of torture was also found, he added.”

Reuters reported on March 6:

“Egyptian soldiers, on the streets since the start of the uprising, fired into the air for several minutes to disperse the protesters. As they ran, the protesters were confronted by men they described as thugs… In the last two days, protesters have broken into 11 offices belonging to the state security apparatus across the country, seizing documents which they feared would be destroyed by officers to cover up abuses perpetrated by the force… The military council which has ruled Egypt since Mubarak stepped down warned against publication of documents taken from state security offices and urged their return.”

More Violence in Egypt

The Wall Street Journal reported on March 9:

“Clashes that broke out when a Muslim mob attacked thousands of Christians protesting against the burning of a Cairo church killed at least 13 people and wounded about 140, security and hospital officials said Wednesday. The Muslims torched the church amid an escalation of tensions between the two religious groups over a love affair between a Muslim and a Christian that set off a violent feud between the couple’s families. The officials said all 13 fatalities died of gunshot wounds.”

The Los Angeles Times wrote on March 9:

“Egypt suffered the deadliest unrest since President Hosni Mubarak’s ouster when clashes Wednesday between Muslims and Coptic Christians left 13 dead and 140 injured. The bloodshed, on the edge of a Cairo slum, renewed concern about the government’s willingness to protect the Christian minority. Army units intervened only after Muslims set fire to homes and businesses… Authorities said the dead were evenly divided between Christians and Muslims, and witnesses said the victims included a 14-year-old boy who was shot in the head… Egypt’s Coptic Christians, about 12% of the population, have long been subject to discrimination. No church can be built or repaired without a presidential decree. Copts have also been targeted in a recent series of attacks…”

It remains to be seen whether Egypt will ever become a democracy. The Bible shows that ultimately, Egypt will form a violent confederacy with Libya and Ethiopia (Ezekiel 30:3-5; Jeremiah 46:9). But we also need to realize that at the time when the Holy Spirit was poured out on early followers of Christ, people from Egypt and Libya were assembled (Acts 2:10), and later, Philip was sent to baptize “a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under Candace the queen of the Ethiopians, who had charge of all her treasury” (Acts 8:27). We read that at the beginning of the Millennium, Egypt might not immediately follow God’s commands to, for example, keep the Feast of Tabernacles (Zechariah 14:18), but the Egyptians will finally know the LORD (Isaiah 19:21); they will live in peace and harmony with modern Assyria or Germany, and with all the modern descendants of ancient Israel; and God will bless the Egyptians and recognize them as His people (verses 23-24).

Israel, Iran, North Korea and Pakistan Most Unpopular Countries

Haaretz reported on March 7:

“A poll conducted by the BBC revealed Tuesday that Israel is one of the most negatively viewed countries in the world, ranking at the bottom of the chart along with Iran, North Korea and Pakistan… 22 out of 27 countries leaned toward a negative view of Israel, headed by Egypt, Turkey, and Indonesia. The countries which had the most positive view of Israel were the United States, Russia, Ghana, and China… many more Americans chose to rate Israel negatively in 2011, marking an increase of 10% since 2010. Moreover, negative perceptions of Israel grew stronger in Britain, Canada, Indonesia, Australia, Portugal, Spain, and Kenya.”

That Israel is perceived as one of the most unpopular countries is not surprising, as we are observing the development of the biblically prophesied fact that Israel will end up in total isolation.

Germany, Britain and Canada Most Popular Countries

The Telegraph wrote on March 6:

“Britain has been named as the second most popular nation in the world – being pipped to the top spot only by old rivals Germany… Britain’s positive rating for 2011 was 58 per cent, up from 53 per cent in 2010. Negative views of Britain decreased by two per cent, now standing at 17 per cent.

“Of the 27 countries polled, 24 were positive towards Britain while two, Pakistan and Mexico, have overall negative views. Those with the most positive views of Britain were in the United States, at 80 per cent. They were followed by Australia at 79 per cent and Canada at nearly 70 per cent. Germany was the most positively viewed nation, with 62 per cent of those surveyed rating its influence as positive… Canada was the third most popular of the countries polled, followed by Japan, France and Brazil. The US came seventh ahead of China, South Africa and India.”

Germany is destined to lead the coming United States of Europe, and that developing unity, as well as its leader, will be admired and followed and even worshipped (Revelation 13:3-4).  But it appears very likely that Britain will not be a part of that ultimate unity. In light of this, the next article is very interesting.

Britain to Eurozone: Count Us Out

The New York Times wrote on March 7:

“Do what you like. Just count us out. That, in essence, is the message that Britain is sending its European partners as the 17 countries that share the euro move toward closer economic integration this month. In a departure from half a century of British diplomacy, Prime Minister David Cameron has adopted a strategy of benign disengagement from the core project of the European Union to appease the numerous euroskeptics in his Conservative Party. Rather than seeking, like his predecessors, to shape and restrain European integration, he is watching from the sidelines as an inner circle of euro zone states begins separate annual summit meetings and moves forward with coordinating economic policy.

“Mr. Cameron has said Britain has a vital interest in the success of the euro zone, its biggest trade partner… But he is now effectively pulling up the drawbridge to the Continent by enacting a ‘United Kingdom Parliamentary Sovereignty Bill’ that would make any further transfer of power from London to Brussels subject to a national referendum. Britain chose not to adopt the euro when the Maastricht Treaty on monetary union was negotiated in 1991. But Labour governments from 1997 to 2009 were committed to adopting it — in theory, at least — if the economic conditions were right… Mr. Cameron, however, has pledged that Britain will never join the euro zone as long as the Conservatives are in power…

“Mr. Cameron’s ‘little Britain’ policy is already having consequences for both Britain and Europe. For one thing, it has left longtime British allies in northern and eastern Europe to fend for themselves. Sweden and Denmark — which, like Britain chose not to adopt the common currency — are now scrambling to strengthen links with the euro zone for fear of being left out of economic integration… Poland and other central European states saw Britain as their pro-enlargement, pro-market best friend when they joined the Union in 2004, but they are now racing to build closer ties with Germany and France to avoid being stuck in Europe’s slow lane.

“The Poles are furious because Britain’s drive to shrink the E.U. budget would reduce regional development funds earmarked for Warsaw and the other newcomers. Diplomats and analysts say Britain’s effective withdrawal from the economic and fiscal policy negotiations has even pushed France and Germany into each other’s arms.”

“North Korea Nears Completion of Electromagnetic Pulse Bomb”

ABC News reported on March 9:

“The North [North Korea] is believed to be nearing completion of an electromagnetic pulse bomb that, if exploded 25 miles above ground would cause irreversible damage to electrical and electronic devices such as mobile phones, computers, radio and radar, experts say… On top of disrupting major communication tools used by both civilians and the military, the waves would affect financial transactions and civilian airplanes dependent on radio signals…”

North Korea is a country to be watched. It will play an important role in the future and could be part of the confederacy, described in Ezekiel 38, aligning itself with Russia and other Far Eastern nations against Israel. For further information, please see our StandingWatch program, titled, “A Single Nuclear Bomb Could Destroy America.”

Earthquakes in Japan

The Associated Press reported on March 9:

“A series of powerful aftershocks shook the eastern coast of Japan early Thursday, briefly triggering a tsunami alert, in the wake of a strong earthquake that hit a day earlier… The country’s meteorological agency said Thursday’s temblors were likely aftershocks from a 7.3 magnitude earthquake that hit in the same area Wednesday, shaking buildings hundreds of miles (kilometers) away in Tokyo and triggering a small tsunami. The series of aftershocks included a magnitude 6.8 quake… and a magnitude 6.1 temblor…”

We will hear more and more about earthquakes in diverse places (Matthew 24:7), as well as mass killings of all kinds of animals (Hosea 4:3), as the next article reports.

Millions of Dead Sardines in California

On March 9, dailybreeze.com wrote the following:

“Millions of sardines created a massive stink and an even bigger cleanup effort in Redondo Beach’s King Harbor Marina on Tuesday after they swam inside overnight, became trapped and died. Twelve to 18 inches of dead sardines blanketed the water’s bottom in Basin 1 off Marina Way. Another thick layer of dead fish coated the surface from the breakwall to the inner docks, surrounding boats and walkways.

“Authorities with the California Department of Fish and Game, along with other ocean biologists at the scene, declared the mass death a natural event. The fish, they said, sucked every drop of oxygen from the water and couldn’t breathe… authorities believe the huge school of sardines, perhaps blown in by the night’s 40-mph winds and crashing waves, swam into King Harbor and became disoriented. Those who chose other basins were fine, but the schools that headed into Basin 1 ‘backed themselves into a corner’ and were unable to find their way out… They quickly depleted the oxygen in the water and died.”

For more information, please see our StandingWatch program, “Birds and Fish Will Waste Away.”

Biblical Changes to Reflect Catholic Church’s Interpretations

Reuters reported on March 2:

“A new edition of one the most popular English-language bibles will offer substitutes for words… to better reflect modern understanding, a Catholic group said on Wednesday… Nearly 50 scholars from all faiths and a committee of Roman Catholic bishops have labored since 1994 over the first fresh edition of the New American Bible since 1970, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops said.

“The changes go beyond a few words being altered, and include freshly-written notes that should help readers better understand the Catholic church’s interpretation of biblical concepts… In a change in a passage in Isaiah 7:14 that foretells the coming of Jesus and his birth to a virgin mother, the 1970 edition’s reference to ‘the virgin’ will become ‘the young woman,’ to better translate the Hebrew word ‘almah.’”

Note that the biblical wording is changed in order to help the reader better understand the Catholic Church’s INTERPRETATION of biblical concepts. But the Word of God is not a matter of private interpretation (compare 2 Peter 1:20).

Ash Wednesday’s Customs

The Times-Picayune wrote on March 9:

“Ash Wednesday [following Carnival or Marty Grass celebrations] marks the beginning of the season of Lent. It is a season of penance, reflection and fasting which prepares Christians for Jesus Christ’s resurrection on Easter, through which Christians believe they attain redemption. Ashes, marked in a cross on the forehead, are a symbol of penance made sacramental by the blessing of the church.

“Following the example of the Ninevites, who did penance in sackcloth and ashes, Christians’ foreheads are marked with ashes to humble their hearts and remind them that life passes away on Earth. The ashes are made from the palms blessed in the Palm Sunday celebration of the previous year. The ashes are christened with holy water.

“Lent is mostly observed by the Lutheran, Methodist, Presbyterian and Anglican denominations, and also by Roman Catholics.”

The Bible says nothing about Christians having to keep “Lent,” or “Ash Wednesday,” or “Easter.” It does not remotely suggest to bless ashes with “holy water,” and to “mark” the “forehead” with the sign of the cross. But notice what the Bible says about marking one’s forehead. Revelation 13:16, speaking about a religious power, states: “He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads…” God warns His people not to accept that mark (compare Revelation 14:9; 20:4). As we explain in our free booklet, “Europe in Prophecy,” this mark has much to do with the rejection of God’s commandments and the acceptance of pagan customs and practices, falsely called “Christian.”

“Do Christians and Muslims Worship the Same God?”

The Huffington Post wrote on March 3:

“At the height of the Iraq War in 2004, influential TV evangelist and former U.S. presidential candidate Pat Robertson said: ‘The entire world is being convulsed by a religious struggle. The fight is not about money or territory; it is not about poverty versus wealth; it is not about ancient customs versus modernity. No. The struggle is whether Hubal, the Moon God of Mecca, known as Allah, is supreme, or whether the Judeo-Christian Jehovah God of the Bible is supreme’…

“The fact of the matter is this: fearful people bent on domination have created the contest for supremacy between Yahweh, the God of the Bible, and Allah, the God of the Quran. The two are one God, albeit differently understood. Arab Christians have for centuries worshiped God under the name ‘Allah.’ Most Christians through the centuries, saints and teachers of undisputed orthodoxy, have believed that Muslims worship the same God as they do…

“After the fall of Constantinople (1453), the city named after the first Christian emperor and a seat of Christendom for more than 1,000 years, Cardinal Nicholas of Cusa, a towering intellect and an experienced church diplomat, affirmed unambiguously that Muslims and Christians worship the same God, albeit partly differently understood…

“Whether Muslims and Christians worship the same God is also the driving question for the relation between these two religions globally. Does the one God of Islam stand in contrast to the three-personal God of Christianity? Does the Muslim God issue fierce, unbending laws and demand submission, whereas the Christian God stands for love, equal dignity and the right of every individual to be different? Answer these questions the one way, and you have a justification for cultural and military wars. Answer them the other way, and you have a foundation for a shared future marked by peace rather than violence.”

However, the real question is not whether Muslims and orthodox Christians worship the same God, but whether either of them worship the true God of the Bible. The sad answer is, none of them do. Among many problems, Muslims deny the divinity of Jesus Christ and, in effect, the only One through whom we can obtain salvation (Acts 4:12), and orthodox Christians deny, in effect, that Jesus Christ became a man and died and was dead in the grave for three days and three nights (Matthew 12:39-40), and they falsely worship the Holy Spirit as God, the third person of a “Trinity.” For more information on what the Bible teaches, please read our free booklets, “Is God a Trinity?”, “God is a Family” , and “Jesus Christ—a Great Mystery.”

The passage in 1 John 3:9 reads, according to the New King James Bible:

“Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.”

As we pointed out in our recent Editorial, ”Begotten and Born Children,” which was published in Update #481, the Greek word which in 1 John 3:9 is translated twice as “born,” is “gennao.” This term can mean “begotten” or “born”; and it can also describe the process from our spiritual begettal to our spiritual birth. We showed that “when addressing the spiritual begettal and birth process, the Bible clearly says that a born-again person IS spirit and invisible (John 3:6, 8); and nobody, who is still human, is therefore born again.

“Christ also said that we must be born again to be able to see the Kingdom of God (John 3:3). This is true as the Kingdom of God is the Family of GOD, composed of Spirit, and human eyes cannot see God or the Kingdom of God (1 Timothy 6:16). We even read that flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 15:50). In order to be able to enter God’s Kingdom, we must be spirit, as God is Spirit (John 4:24), and we must be God, as God is God (1 Corinthians 15:49; Hebrews 1:1-3).”

We also addressed the fact that “when we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit at the time of our baptism (after repentance and faith in the Sacrifice of Christ and belief in the gospel of the Kingdom of God), we are begotten by the Spirit, and we have thereby already become children of God; or, we might say, we have become part of the Kingdom of God ‘in embryo.’ As begotten children, we must grow in the knowledge and understanding of the truth (2 Peter 3:18). We are desirous of the pure milk of the word (1 Peter 2:2), being nurtured by our ‘mother’ (Galatians 4:26)– the church of God — as a new-born human child is being fed and cared for by his or her human mother (compare Ephesians 4:11-16, telling us that we are to be edified by the ministry to be able to grow up in all things into Christ)… As Spirit-begotten children of God, we ought to have the desire to become perfect, as the Father in heaven is perfect (Matthew 5:48); to become pure as Jesus Christ is pure (1 John 3:3); to overcome [the world’s societies], Satan and self, as Christ overcame (Revelation 3:21; John 16:33; Matthew 4:1-11; Romans 8:3).”

With this background, let us now focus on 1 John 3:9. As mentioned, since the word ”gennao” can mean “begotten” or “born,” depending on the context, we need to determine the intended meaning.

We pointed out the following in our free booklet, “Are You Already Born Again?”

“Additional Scriptural proof that we are not yet born again is found in 1 John 3:9, where we read: ‘Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed [the Holy Spirit] remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.’ Notice, too, 1 John 5:18, ‘We know that whoever is born of God does not sin.’

“According to these passages, one who is born again CANNOT and DOES NOT sin. The only being that CANNOT sin is God. Even Jesus Christ, when He was here on earth as a human being, COULD HAVE sinned. He was in all points tempted as we are, though He did not sin (Hebrews 4:15). The fact that He was tempted shows that it was possible for Him to sin. It also shows that He was fully man, as God cannot be tempted to sin (James 1:13). When it comes to Christians, however, they DO sin from time to time, even after receiving the Holy Spirit.

“We read in 1 John 1:7–10: ‘But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son CLEANSES us from all sin. If we say that WE HAVE NO SIN, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.’

“Notice that John says two things here. He emphasizes that we DID sin in the past, and also, that we still DO sin now. He uses the past and the present tense. He is talking to Christians—those who have received the Holy Spirit. Yes, Christians DO sin from time to time! They CAN sin, which means that they CANNOT already be born again, because those who are born again CANNOT sin. God will bring many sons and daughters into His Family through a resurrection or change to immortality. THEN, they will be BORN AGAIN God beings, and as such, they will be UNABLE to sin.

“Some who want to uphold their teaching that we are already born again translate 1 John 3:9 as, ‘cannot abide in the state of sin.’ However, this is not what the Scripture says. Rather, the correct translation, word for word from the Greek, reads, ‘… he is not able to sin.’ The Biblical truth is very plain: One who is born again is UNABLE to sin.”

Most translations of 1 John 3:9 prefer the rendering “born” in both instances, as quoted at the beginning of this Q&A from the New King James Bible, but they falsely assume that we are already born again now. However, when concluding that 1 John 3:9 refers to the here and now, a few translations choose the rendering, “begotten.” For instance, the New American Bible says:

“No one who is begotten by God commits sin, because God’s seed remains in him; he cannot sin because he is begotten by God.” The Swiss Zuercher Bible also uses twice the word “begotten,” while the German Menge Bible and the Elberfelder Bible give both alternatives (in parenthesis in the text, or in a footnote).

Other translations, realizing the potential difficulties with making a particular choice (especially, when they teach that we are already born again now), state more ambiguously:

“No child of God commits sin, because the divine seed remains in him; indeed because he is God’s child he cannot sin” (Revised English Bible; similar the New Jerusalem Bible).

Some who feel that the passage does refer to us here and now, but realizing that John could not have said that it is impossible for Christians to sin (see the discussion above), claim that the phrase, “he cannot sin,” should be rendered as, “he cannot continue practicing sin,” or, “he cannot habitually sin.” The International Version says, “he cannot go on sinning,” and the Living Bible states, “… [he] does not make a practice of sinning, because now God’s life is in him; so he can’t keep on sinning…”

Notice, too, how the Amplified Bible renders this verse, obviously unwilling to make a definite choice—the words in parenthesis and in brackets are in the original:

“No one born (begotten) of God [deliberately and knowingly] habitually practices sin, for God’s nature abides in him—His principle of life, the divine sperm, remains permanently within him—and cannot practice sinning because he is born (begotten) of God.”

We have established so far that if one is truly BORN of God, he CANNOT sin, because then he is God, and God cannot sin. If one wants to say that the passage of 1 John 3:9 refers to the here and now (that is, to begotten Christians today), then one has to add quite a few words to the original text, in an attempt to make it consistent with other passages in John’s writings. Rather than saying that the one who is begotten of God CANNOT sin, one has to say that he cannot CONTINUE PRACTICING sin, or that he CANNOT HABITUALLY PRACTICE sin, or something to that effect. The problem, of course, is that the Greek text does not contain these words—they must be added in order to convey what is perceived to be the intended meaning.

However, another problem arises with these additions when we consider Paul’s own words, which he wrote down YEARS after his conversion and the receipt of the Holy Spirit. This is what he himself said, in Romans 7:14-16, 19, 25:

“… I am carnal, sold under sin. For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice, but what I hate, that I do… the EVIL I will not to do, that I PRACTICE… So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.”

This is not to say that Paul was ever indifferent or careless about his sins. He knew that those who PRACTICE evil things will not inherit the Kingdom of God (Galatians 5:21; Revelation 22:15). He agreed with John who said that those who do not PRACTICE righteousness and who do not love their brothers and sisters in Christ are not of God (1 John 3:10). Paul did not want to sin; he did not want to practice evil, but he realized that at times, he would slip, and that he needed God’s forgiveness and mercy and power and strength to overcome and conquer sin (Romans 7:24-25; 8:37).

Old habits die slowly and only with difficulty and under severe trials and tests. It is possible for a Christian to repeat the same sin repeatedly, out of habit. But upon continued and ongoing repentance and belief in Christ’s Sacrifice and with the genuine desire to forsake those sins (Proverbs 28:13), they will be forgiven him, and God’s seed—the Holy Spirit–will remain in such a person. It is only that when we refuse to repent and change, we are in danger of losing God’s Spirit (Hebrews 6:4-6). God is most certainly not less merciful than what He requires of us. He is most certainly not limiting Himself to just forgiving us the same sins only once or twice, when we truly repent, while Christ told Peter that he needed to forgive his repentant brother seventy times seven, upon his repentance (Matthew 18:21-22; compare Luke 17:3-4).

Therefore, we conclude that 1 John 3:9 does not address begotten Christians today, in this day and age, but rather, that it makes the profound statement that once we are truly born again, we will not sin anymore. It will be impossible for us to sin—to even commit one single sin, let alone practicing sin—because it is impossible for God to sin, and we will be God, with God’s Holy Spirit remaining in us and flowing out from us forever (John 7:37-39).

Lead Writer: Norbert Link

REMINDER: Our annual conference will be held this year in California, beginning on March 18. Please pray for God’s inspiration and guidance for the successful preparation of the conference.

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