On April 29, 2006, Norbert Link will give the sermon from Oregon, titled, “Keys For Successful Prayers.”

The services can be heard at www.cognetservices.org at 12:30 pm Pacific Time (which is 2:30 pm Central Time). Just click on Connect to Live Stream.

When I went for a walk just after moving to Colorado, I was prepared
for the elevation change and the cooler weather, but what caught me off
guard was the lack of humidity. After living in the Deep South
and the semi-sub-tropical climates of Australia, I was not prepared for
what awaited me: headaches, decreased strength and extreme
thirst. Of course, by the time I realized that I was becoming
dehydrated it was normally too late to avert the symptoms. In all
of this, I became painfully aware of my need for water.

In our
walk with God, we must constantly be aware of our need for living water
(John 4:10) or we may suffer from spiritual dehydration. Without
this living water we will get headaches that will keep us from being in
our right mind, that is the one that we are to be emulating, the mind
of Christ (Philippians 2:5). If we do not drink in of it
regularly we will lack the power and strength that we need to
accomplish our journey (Romans 15:13). When we become aware of
our thirst, we simply need to go to the source of living water and
drink from there (John 7:37-39).

Now is the time when we should
start drinking in of the living water, the Holy Spirit, before our need
is too great. With physical dehydration, we can drink in until
our stomach hurts and though our headache, weakness and thirst will
eventually dissipate, the symptoms that we had developed will not
vanish immediately. The same is true spiritually. We see in the
parable of the ten virgins (Matthew 25:1-12) that the ones without
enough of the Holy Spirit were not able to fill their insufficiency
right away. Because of this they missed out on the wedding to the
Bridegroom, Jesus Christ. As we march down this path towards the
Kingdom of God, this is the last thing that any one of us wants to
happen.

As we approach Pentecost, the time of the year when God
first poured out His Holy Spirit on the New Testament Church, we should
be mindful of this great and precious gift that God has bestowed upon
us and made readily available. God is telling us in Revelation 22:17:
“…let him who thirsts come. And whoever desires, let him take of the
water of life freely.” Let’s make sure that we are never
found wanting.

Iran–Is the World Repeating Its Mistakes in Iraq?

It may appear this way. Der Spiegel Online succinctly pointed out in its article of April 20:

“The international community failed to agree on Iraq before the 2003 US-led war and is making the same mistake over Iran amid deadlock over how to deal with its nuclear ambitions, say German commentators. Meeting in Moscow this week, the veto-holding members of the United Nations Security Council yet again couldn’t reach a common position on Iran. China and Russia repeated their rejection of any proposals to impose sanctions against Tehran, depriving Washington of the hard line approach it is seeking to stop Iran’s controversial nuclear program. German newspapers on Thursday believe history is repeating itself. Center-left Süddeutsche Zeitung says the world community hasn’t learned from its mistakes over the Iraq war and is giving Iran a free ride… The veto powers on the Security Council are ignoring the most obvious options because they conflict with their own individual interests, the paper adds… Mass circulation Bild Zeitung points out that Iran, the world’s fourth-largest oil producer, is benefiting from the surge in oil prices caused by its ‘devilish game with the world community’s fear [of] an Islamic atom bomb.’ ‘Tehran doesn’t have atom bombs yet but it’s had an oil bomb for a long time. Both together make the terror regime hard to attack. And they’ve got to be slapping their thighs with joy when they see how week after week, the Security Council is unable to agree on a common policy.'”

And so, we should not be that surprised about Russia’s position, as explained by AFP in its article on April 21. The report pointed out Russia’s “economic interests” in Iran as follows:

“Russia has ruled out talk of sanctions against Iran without proof that Tehran is seeking nuclear weapons as alleged by the United States, and vowed to continue military cooperation with the Islamic republic… Nikolai Spassky, deputy secretary of the national security council, said that… Russia’s proposal to enrich uranium on Russian territory for use as nuclear fuel in Iran remained on the table and described it as a means of ‘assisting’ Iran in developing nuclear power for as long as it took for international verification of its nuclear program… Russia… is helping Iran build its first nuclear power station.”

According to an article in Bild Online, which was published on April 21, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice stated that the United States could attack Iran militarily together with a “coalition of the willing,” irrespective of a resolution of the U.N. Security Council.

For more information, please watch our recent StandingWatch program, titled, “Is Nuclear War Coming?”

Afghanistan–the Lost Battle

Der Spiegel Online reported on April 20, 2006, that the war for Afghanistan is being lost–for all practical and objective purposes. The attempt of the Allies to bring peace to this war-torn country is FAILING. In fact, the situation has become WORSE, not better! Again, the lesson from man’s history has been reconfirmed: Man’s wars NEVER bring lasting peace. It also shows the accuracy of Biblical prophecy: That in these end times, America’s military endeavors are just not being blessed with success. The magazine pointed out:

“The Afghan capital Kabul is blossoming, but the rest of the country remains a war zone in which Western troops routinely encounter warlords, drug barons and the Taliban. And the situation isn’t improving… Instead of becoming safer in the past five years, Afghanistan has become more dangerous. Since the war in Afghanistan began in October 2001, 284 American soldiers have died, including 99 in the past year alone. And last year was the deadliest year since the arrival of the International Security Assistance Force…  in December 2001. A total of 1,600 Afghans were killed by terror attacks in 2005… The situation in the country’s south and southeast is already alarming. Despite the almost five-year-long, US-led campaign against the Taliban, the organization once again controls large portions of Pashtun provinces Nimruz, Oruzgan, Helmand, Kandahar and Paktika… The Taliban has forged an alliance with the drug mafia that could quickly jeopardize the West’s reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan. To ensure that farmers are able to continue cultivating their poppy fields, the Taliban has hired warlords and drug dealers to serve as a sort of security service against foreign military personnel. The income generated from opium production helps the Taliban and al-Qaida pay for weapons and vehicles, and drug dollars are apparently even being used to compensate the families of suicide bombers.”

Bush and Merkel–How Close Are They Really?

After Angela Merkel became the new German Chancellor, replacing Gerhard Schröder in what many believe has become the most powerful office in Europe, expectations rose that the German-American friendship would be reestablished. But, as Der Spiegel Online correctly reported on April 20, not all is good between the two power blocs. In its article, “Merkel’s Double Approach With Bush,” the magazine pointed out:

“In public, Chancellor Merkel has spoken warmly about the Bush administration and stated her intention to improve trans-Atlantic relations that suffered under her predecessor Gerhard Schröder. But lately, the chancellor hasn’t shied away from giving Washington critical advice about how to manage its foreign policy… She has a lengthy wish list, and it’s getting longer by the day. Merkel is demanding changes in Washington’s policies towards Iran and Russia, and she’s not happy with the president’s lax treatment of nuclear power India, either… Merkel is half-openly distancing herself from her overseas friends. Speaking before a session of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the Bundestag, she expressed her sympathy for the Russians, who have been the subject of considerable criticism from the US in recent months… The Germans are no less critical of the US nuclear deal with what Bush has called the Indian ‘superpower.’ The deal would see Washington providing technical know-how for India’s civilian nuclear program. Before Bush’s visit to India, Merkel called the president and urged him to exercise more restraint towards Delhi. It would be hard to argue that one could deny Iran what was alright for India, she cautioned.”

Threats From Russia

Not only does Europe have to be concerned about threats from the Middle East regarding its needs for oil supply–now Russia has joined in and warned Europe to keep its nose out of Russia’s oil business. Here is why: Russia does not need Europe, but Europe needs Russia. Der Spiegel Online reported on April 20:

“The Russian gas giant Gazprom on Thursday warned Europe not to interfere with its expansion plans. Otherwise, Asia may suddenly become a higher priority than the EU… The chief executive of Italian energy supplier ENI, Paolo Scaroni, told the European Parliament that fierce competition over dwindling gas supplies would likely characterize relations between Europe and other parts of the world in the future. Scaroni warned that ‘gas can be a formidable weapon when it comes to foreign policy.’… Earlier this year, a dispute between Moscow and Kiev led to Gazprom interrupting the supply of gas to Ukraine for several days, plunging households across the country into icy coldness.The event highlighted the economic and political power that the Russian natural gas monopolist wields. Former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder recently took a post on the supervisory board of a new company — made up of Gazprom and two German companies — which plans to build a natural gas pipeline from Russia to Germany through the Baltic Sea.”

In light of these developments, Schröder’s new post, even though sharply criticized in Germany, might turn out to be–at least for Germany–the saving anchor in a stormy ocean.

U.S. Dollar Too Unstable

On April 21, 2006, RIA Novosti [Russian News and Information Agency] published the following article: “Russia cannot consider the dollar as a reliable reserve currency because of its instability, the {Russian] finance minister said Friday. ‘This currency has devalued by 40% against the euro in recent years,’ Alexei Kudrin told a news conference in Washington on the occasion of the opening spring session of the International Monetary Fund. According to the Central Bank of Russia, the dollar accounted for 70% of Russia’s gold and currency reserves, euro for 25% and other assets for 5% in late 2005. As of April 14, 2006, the reserves were $212 billion.”

As we predicted at the inception of the Euro, the Bible strongly indicates that the Euro would become the most powerful currency in the world.

England Prepares To Invade Germany…

… but only on the soccer field. At least, that is the hope. As Der Spiegel Online reported in its article of April 20, “To make sure England’s long rivalry with Germany stays on the soccer pitch during this summer’s World Cup, the British government is offering fans extra consular help and advice [on] how not to offend their hosts… The English are… dissuaded from making references to World War II, which might upset German sensibilities. Chants such as ‘two world wars and one World Cup’ and a song titled ‘Ten German Bombers’ — celebrating the RAF’s victory over the Third Reich’s Luftwaffe in the Battle of Britain — remain extremely popular with England supporters when facing soccer rival Germany even 60 years after the war. But the ‘Avoiding Penalties’ guide [by the British government] also lets English fans hoping to taunt ‘The Hun’ know that the Nazi salute is illegal in Germany and using it could get them arrested. Britain’s brash tabloid media — known for its fondness for using World War II to bait the Germans — predictably was stunned by the advice.”

The article continued: “Some 100,000 England fans are likely to head to the World Cup in Germany this summer… British authorities said they plan to spend nearly £500,000… to help fans with 20 consular officers to help with emergencies. They are also hoping to keep Britain’s notorious football hooligans [considered by many as the worst in the world] in check by negotiating special security arrangements with the Germans. Over 3,000 British citizens previously convicted of soccer-related offenses will be prohibited from traveling to Germany, Britain’s Home Office said. Britain will also send 44 uniformed police officers to Germany.”

The World Cup is the most attended and watched sports competition in the world. Its political influence must not be underestimated. Even wars have started over something much less “significant” than a series of lost soccer games.

Will The British Monarchy Survive?

Queen Elizabeth turned 80 last week. Analyzing the institution of the monarchy in Britain, USA Today came to interesting conclusions. In its recent article, the paper stated:

“Queen Elizabeth II, who has been on the throne longer than all but three British monarchs, turns 80 today… As the popular Elizabeth enters her twilight years, some Britons wonder whether the sun should set on the 1,000-year-old British monarchy when it sets on her–especially with the unpopular Charles, 57, next in line for the throne. Advocates of maintaining the monarchy say having Elizabeth as the symbolic head of a great nation, performing ceremonial duties, is worth the $65 million it costs British taxpayers every year… Foes, however, portray the monarchy and its birthright of privilege and wealth as anachronisms in the 21st century… Prince William, tall and blond like his late mother, Diana, stays out of trouble and is quiet and well-mannered…

“British monarchs are not, however, chosen by opinion polls or popular elections. There is a line of succession. And there is no way that William will take the throne before Charles unless Charles voluntarily bypasses the job that he has spent his life training for or dies before he gets there. Because the queen will not abdicate, age indeed could be a problem for Charles. Although the queen is 80, she appears robust. Her mother, the Queen Mother Elizabeth, lived to age 101 and died in 2002. Historian Lacey dismisses much of the conjecture. He says Charles will become king and argues that the British monarchy and the mystique that surrounds it are larger than the personalities involved, including the prince of Wales… the British and royalty seem to go hand in hand. As Shakespeare put it: ‘This royal throne of kings … this blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England.’… Because the monarchy has been around for so long and survived so many personalities, Lacey doesn’t soon foresee a day when it will disappear.”

The Bible confirms that Britain’s monarchy will continue until the return of Jesus Christ. If you want to learn more about this remarkable and perhaps astonishing assertion, please read our free booklet, “The Fall and Rise of Britain and America.”

No Patriotism in Germany–So Far

U.S. Citizens may have difficulty understanding the following–as in America, waving and exhibiting the flag has almost become a routine and many times an obsession and an overdone expression of national pride–but in Germany, the waving of the German flag is still pretty much taboo. Der Spiegel Online explained in its article of April 21:

“Over six decades after the end of World War II, Germans still have a pathological fear of patriotism. Flying the flag is still a faux pas… National pride, especially when it comes to publicly displaying a love, or even a mild affinity, for Germany is still simply taboo. When Horst Köhler left a plum job as head of the International Monetary Fund to become Germany’s president — mostly a ceremonial position — in 2004, he said in his speech, ‘I love Germany.’ Reuters reported at the time that the sentence ‘sent a hush through the packed Reichstag chamber.’… Sixty-plus years after the end of World War II, German patriotism just ain’t in the cards. Even the memorials the country builds these days are more anti-monuments. The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe is just the most recent example.

“Things are changing, of course. Germany’s participation in the Balkan military operation in the 1990s and in Afghanistan starting in 2002 were major steps forward. German military power, the country learned, can be associated with things other than mass murder. But asking a German whether he loves his country will generally elicit a quick ‘no’ or an uncomfortable silence. Köhler’s ‘I love Germany,’ was almost visionary. But the flag thing is weird. After all, there’s nothing to be ashamed about. Black, red and gold were traditional colors long before Hitler arrived — indeed he ditched the tricolor in favor of the swastika. The colors date back to those used by emperors during the Middle Ages and were again used by army volunteers resisting the Napoleon invasion in the early 1800s. During the 1848 revolutions across Germany, leaders officially adopted the tricolor as the movement’s flag. Still, though, the thing is a symbol for Germany and Germany is a problematic country for Germans to get worked up about.”

As the magazine said, however, things are changing. In this context, the EUobserver published an interesting piece on April 21, stating:

“The German government is stepping up its efforts to make German more prominent in the EU, demanding that EU documentation be translated into the language of Goethe- or else it will not attend meetings. ‘Germany has a right to have these documents in German,’ the deputy foreign minister, Gunter Gloser, told German news agency DPA on Thursday (20 April)… Bundestag president Norbert Lammert wrote in a letter to European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso that the German parliament would refuse to debate EU documents that were not printed in German. Berlin on Thursday said it wanted a reply from Brussels on the matter before the next EU summit in June. The Berlin move is the second promotion for German in recent weeks, as the EU Ombudsman in late March asked that German be considered for a language choice on EU presidency websites [At present, presidency websites are only available in English and French]. With the union’s enlargement towards the east in 2004, the second EU language is German, spoken by 12 percent of citizens. French is spoken by close to 11 percent, while Russian shares the fourth slot with Spanish… Currently, 62 percent of EU institution texts are drafted in English, and large parts of EU-information on-line is never translated into the mother tongue of readers–particularly those speaking smaller languages.”

The Bible predicts that Germany will become the most powerful country in continental Europe, economically, politically and militarily. To an extent, it already is! And when a very charismatic German leader arrives on the world scene who will not only make promises, but also deliver, then the Germans will follow him–as will the rest of Europe. But we have not reached that period just quite yet. In the meantime, we are called upon to wait, watch and observe.

Italy, Europe and the U.S.

The International Herald Tribune published an article on April 22 about the anticipated future rocky relationship between the USA and Italy, as well as Italy’s increased involvement to bring about a United Europe. It stated:

“The wafer-thin victory of Romano Prodi’s center-left coalition over Silvio Berlusconi’s center-right alliance is another setback for the Bush administration’s foreign policy, and ushers in what is likely to be a complicated period in U.S.-Italian relations. Berlusconi gave uncritical support to the Iraq war in the face of overwhelming opposition from his own electorate. This hurt him politically, even though Italy’s stagnant economy and his own erratic and undignified performance in the election campaign were probably more important factors in his election defeat.

“For most of the postwar years, a close association with an American president was a major plus for a European political leader, particularly an Italian one. Alas, those days are now past. President George W. Bush made a major miscalculation when he arranged for Berlusconi to address a joint session of Congress on the eve of the Italian election, and endorsed his re-election in a joint press conference. The Italians, and particularly the leaders of Prodi’s victorious center-left coalition, will not soon forget this blatant interference in Italy’s domestic affairs, television reports of which were run over and over on Berlusconi’s three private television networks as well as on the three state television networks under his control.

“Prodi and the leaders of the coalition of reformed Communists and moderate democrats that will form the main element in his government are not anti-American, even though most of them are anti-Bush. During the election campaign, they denounced the decision to invade Iraq as both a strategic mistake and a violation of international law, and made clear that they would withdraw Italy’s 3,000 troops in Iraq as soon as possible… Unlike the Euroskeptic Berlusconi government, Prodi will try to promote a common European foreign policy and a credible European military capability. He will also seek more active European involvement in the Israel-Palestinian conflict.”

Iraq Is In The Midst Of Civil War…

… but very few want to admit it. At least, that is the assessment of many thousands of Iraqis who are fleeing the country. The Associated Press reported on April 21:

“Within Iraq, thousands are on the move as death threats drive them to neighborhoods where their sect has more strength, international and Iraqi officials say. Reprisal killings between Shiite and Sunni extremists have sharply increased… In addition, neighboring countries have seen greater numbers of Iraqis arriving, according to international officials… Most of those leaving have gone to Jordan and Syria, and some to Egypt… officials in Jordan say there are 250,000 Iraqis legally residing in the kingdom. Unofficial estimates put the number at 600,000, at least…

“Ban Istefan is one of them. Her Christian family was threatened in Iraq about a month ago and fled to Jordan. The 34-year-old biology lecturer… said both her Christian family and a next-door Sunni neighbor received letter threats saying, ‘The time has come for the infidels to be punished.’ Asked if Iraq was in the midst of civil war, Istefan said, ‘Of course … but no one wants to admit it.'”

Israel Preparing To Retake Gaza Strip?

The Associated Press reported on April 21 about some frightening prospects in Israel and the Middle East, which could set the whole world on fire. The report explained:

“In a growing barrage of Israeli pressure against Hamas, a senior military commander said Israel is actively preparing to reoccupy the Gaza Strip and a powerful lawmaker said the entire Palestinian Cabinet could be targeted for assassination after the appointment of a wanted militant to head a new security force. Officials said there were no immediate plans to strike at the Hamas-led government. But the comments reflected rising Israeli impatience with the Islamic militant group, which has refused to renounce violence, defended a suicide bombing in Tel Aviv this week and failed to halt militant rocket fire from the Gaza Strip… Israel withdrew from Gaza last summer, ending 38 years of military occupation. Since the pullout, militants have fired rockets into southern Israel on a nearly daily basis.”
The Telegraph reported on April 24, 2006: “Iran’s nuclear programme is the most serious threat faced by Jews since the Nazi holocaust, Israel’s defence minister [Shaul Mofaz] has said… [Calls] by Iran’s president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, for Israel to be ‘wiped from the map’ have increased tensions between the two countries.”

Keep your eyes on the Middle East. It is there, as well as in Europe, where history will be made!

America’s Battle With Illegal Immigration

The Associated Press reported on April 25, 2006, that “President Bush had a blunt message Monday for fellow Republicans focusing only on get-tough immigration policies: He said sending all the nation’s estimated 11 million illegal immigrants back to their home countries is not the answer… With Congress coming back from a two-week spring recess to a long election-year to-do list and tensions flaring nationwide over immigration, Bush urged lawmakers to adopt a middle-ground policy. He called a Senate bill, which creates a way for illegal immigrants to work legally in the United States and for many to eventually become citizens, an ‘important approach.’… As for Bush’s comment on deportation, a Time magazine poll in January found 50 percent of the country favored deporting all illegal immigrants…

“Well aware that November elections could end GOP control of Congress, Bush is walking a fine line on the emotional immigration issue, between his party’s conservative base which wants a clampdown on illegal immigration and business leaders who believe the economy needs immigrants to fill jobs. All sides are exerting pressure. With armed citizen patrols popping up in border states, leaders in Arizona and New Mexico have pleaded for better policing of U.S. borders while other communities complain about the pressure that burgeoning immigrant populations are placing on local services. At the same time, tens of thousands of Hispanic and others – a potentially important voting bloc – have taken to streets across the country in the past few weeks to demand more immigration-friendly policies… The House has passed a law-and-order immigration bill that would erect fences along the Mexican border and treat people who sneak across as felons to be deported. An alternative Senate measure would set up a temporary guest worker program… but require all illegal immigrants to leave the United States before they could apply for the visas.”

Deadly Terror Attack in Egypt

The Associated Press reported on April 25 about the most recent deadly terror attack in Egypt, and the reaction of the international community. It was stated:

“Egyptian authorities, already struggling with elusive terror cells in the rugged Sinai Peninsula, moved quickly Tuesday–arresting 30 men in the triple bombings that ripped apart a resort town on a tranquil holiday evening. Radical Muslim groups moved just as rapidly to distance themselves from the Dahab attacks, which killed 24 people. The leader of Egypt’s banned Muslim brotherhood condemned them as ‘aggression on human souls created by God.’ The militant Palestinian Hamas organization called them a ‘criminal attack which is against all human values.’ Many frightened tourists fled Sinai coastal resorts where two previous bomb attacks–like the Dahab blasts–bore the hallmarks of al-Qaida-linked groups that appear to have a free hand to continue operations in the barren, backward and extremely rugged Sinai Peninsula.

“Egyptian authorities–despite massive sweeps by thousands of troops and hundreds of arrests after each previous Sinai attack–appeared increasingly frustrated by the ease with which terrorists continue to hit the country’s vital tourism industry. It brought in $6.4 billion in 2005 and is the top source of foreign exchange. ‘This incident is addressed to the whole of Egypt, there is no reason for it other than an attempt to destroy the economy of Egypt by attacking tourism,’ said Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif as he visited blast victims in a Sharm el-Sheik hospital. President Hosni Mubarak, who oversees an already-stagnant economy with unemployment rising in lockstep with the population explosion, called the attack a ‘sinful terrorist action.’… Arabs throughout the Middle East voiced outrage, signaling a growing backlash as fellow Muslims increasingly bear the brunt of terrorist attacks. Of the 24 dead in Dahab, 21 were Egyptians… All three Sinai bombings were timed to Egyptian national holidays when resorts were especially crowded with local tourists as well as foreigners who flock to the seaside towns, the world-renowned beaches and extraordinary reefs… The German Foreign Ministry said a 10-year-old German boy was among the dead.”

Exxon’s All-Time High Profit

Reuters stated the following on April 27, 2006: “Exxon Mobil Corp., the world’s largest publicly traded oil company, on Thursday reported quarterly profit surged, driven by rising oil prices. Net income in the first quarter was $8.4 billion, or $1.37 a share, up from $7.86 billion, or $1.22 a share, a year earlier. Revenue jumped to $88.98 billion from $82.05 billion. Crude oil prices have risen steadily from about $20 a barrel in 2002 to over $75 last week, handing oil and gas companies a long-running profit bonanza. But the fat profits have also angered U.S. drivers grappling with rising gasoline prices and provoked sharp criticism of Big Oil from lawmakers and consumer advocates.”

Our newest Standing Watch program, titled, “What Concerns Americans The Most?” addresses these and other problems which plague the United States.

It depends what is meant by that term. Also, we need to understand
that the Bible teaches a resurrection to immortal life and a
resurrection to a physical existence.

Regarding the resurrection
of those who died “in Christ,” that is, in whom God’s Holy Spirit
dwelled when they died, we read that they are resurrected with an
immortal SPIRITUAL body. God will raise them up to spiritual, immortal
and eternal life. God will not first resurrect their dead “physical
bodies” and then “change” them into spiritual bodies. Rather, God will
resurrect or raise the Christians with spiritual bodies, as the Bible
clearly indicates. We read the following, in 1 Corinthians 15:35-49,
about the “first” or “better” (Hebrews 11:35) resurrection to eternal
life:

“But someone will say, ‘How are the dead raised up? And
with what body do they come?’ Foolish one, what you sow is not made
alive unless it dies. And what you sow, you do NOT SOW THAT BODY THAT
SHALL BE, but mere grain–perhaps wheat or some other grain. But God
GIVES IT A BODY as He pleases, and to each seed its own body. All flesh
is not the same flesh… there are also celestial bodies and
terrestrial bodies… There is one glory of the sun, another glory of
the moon, and another glory of the stars; for one star differs from
another star in glory. So also is the resurrection of the dead. The
body is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption. It is sown in
dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised
in power. It is sown a natural body, IT IS RAISED A SPIRITUAL BODY.
There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body… And as we
have borne the image of the man of dust (Adam), we shall also bear the
image of the heavenly Man (Jesus Christ).”

Paul tells us in the
above passage that the physical body which dies is NOT the same body
“that shall be.” Rather, God GIVES us a spiritual body “as He pleases.”
He does not resurrect our physical body and then change it into spirit.
In fact, Paul says that in the resurrection to eternal life, we will be
“absent from the [physical] body” (2 Corinthians 5:8). 2 Corinthians
5 further explains that God will give Christians a new kind of
body (verses 1-4). Only the bodies of those in Christ who are alive
when Christ returns will be changed into spirit, while the dead in
Christ will be RAISED INCORRUPTIBLE (1 Corinthians 15:51-52).

When
we die in Christ, our bodies decay. The bodies of those who died in
Christ thousands of years ago have completely decayed. They became dust
and ashes, as God said that they would (Genesis 3:19). The only
exception was the resurrection to eternal life of Jesus Christ, who was
merely dead for three days and three nights, and whose physical body
did not decay, before He was resurrected to immortality (Acts 2:25-27).
When God the Father resurrected Jesus Christ, He changed His physical
body (which was still in the grave) into a spiritual body. That is why
Christ could later walk through closed doors, and why He could make
Himself visible and invisible, as He pleased. We should also note that
Christ, when He again became a Spirit being, which is invisible to the
human eye, could manifest Himself as a human being, even so much so
that He appeared to have flesh and bones (Luke 24:39-40). Of course, as
a Spirit being, He did not really have flesh and bone, but He was able
to manifest Himself in such a way. Jesus did speak of “a spirit” not
having flesh and bones as He did (verse 39). However, He was speaking
of demonic spirits not being able to manifest themselves in the flesh.
(Compare our free booklet, “Angels, Demons and the Spirit World,” pages
42-43). We have the example of Christ and two angels appearing as men
and eating a meal in the time of Abraham (Genesis 18:1-8). This example
shows that God (Christ in the Old Testament account) and faithful
angels could manifest themselves in the physical domain as men.

HOW
exactly, will God resurrect those who died in Christ? We know that God
gives every man a spirit which separates him from the animals (1
Corinthians 2:11). (For more information on the spirit in man, please
read our free booklet, “The Theory of Evolution–a Fairy Tale for
Adults?”, pages 19 -24). The spirit in man records all our thoughts and
retains all of our memories, as well as our general outward appearance.
We read that the spirit in man goes back to God when man dies. In
addition, a Christian receives in his life God’s Holy Spirit, which
will also return to God, together with the spirit in man, when the
Christian dies.

In his book, “The Incredible Human Potential,”
Herbert W. Armstrong explained the resurrection to eternal life in this
way (pages 91-92, hard cover):

“If one has received the Holy
Spirit, then in the Resurrection, God will provide a Spirit body,
formed and shaped by the Spirit mold. The resurrected being will be
composed of Spirit, not matter as the human model was… The body that
comes in the resurrection is not the same body that was flesh and blood
in the human lifetime… The flesh and blood physical body, after
death, decomposes and decays, but the spirit that was in that body,
like the sculptor’s mold, preserves all the form and shape, the memory,
and the character intact… After death, whether buried in the earth,
cremated, or what, the physical body returns to the earth. But the
spirit that was in the man, now having recorded everything–the body’s
form and shape, the facial identity, the memory and the
character–returns to God. It will be preserved unchanged. Such saints
as Abraham, Moses, David and Daniel died thousands of years ago… they
were composed of corruptible flesh and blood. All that was them (man is
composed wholly of matter) long since decomposed. ”

It is
through the spirit in man (combined with the Holy Spirit) that God will
raise Christians with immortal spiritual bodies. The Bible reveals that
the physical bodies of Christians will cease to exist in the first
resurrection. They will be given new bodies composed of spirit–no
longer susceptible to pain and suffering and no longer subject to death
and destruction!

The Bible also teaches that all those who did
NOT die “in Christ” will be resurrected AFTER the Millennium to be
given their chance to choose God’s Way of Life. This is commonly
referred to in the Bible as the “second resurrection.” But they will be
resurrected as physical beings, not as Spirit beings. When they are
raised from the dead, they will receive a new physical body–not a
spiritual body. But this does not mean that God will resurrect their
identical physical bodies, which they had when they died, and which
subsequently decayed in their graves–or which were obliterated in
atomic and nuclear blasts in Hiroshima, Nagasaki and in a nuclear war
still prophesied to come, or which became ashes during the Holocaust,
or which were cremated.

HOW, exactly, will God resurrect them?
God will not raise their physical bodies which had been decayed and
decomposed. Rather, He will resurrect them in the same way (albeit to
physical life) as He will raise those who died in Christ.

Herbert
W. Armstrong wrote the following in Mystery of the Ages, p. 127 (hard
cover), regarding the second resurrection to a physical, mortal
existence:

“At death, ‘then shall the dust return to the earth as
it was: and the spirit shall return to God who gave it’ (Eccl. 12:7).
The spirit is the depository of memory and character. The spirit is
like a mold. It retains even the human form and shape of the deceased,
so that in the resurrection TO JUDGMENT [that is, in the second
resurrection] those who have died shall look as they did in life,
retain whatever character they established in life, remember everything
that was stored in their memory. But in the meantime, in death, there
is no consciousness–they ‘know not any thing’ (Eccl. 9:5).”

When
those in the second resurrection are being given physical life, God is
not resurrecting their physical bodies, per se. (There are a few
Biblical examples of resurrections of physical bodies, for instance of
Lazarus, but in these cases, the physical bodies had not yet completely
decayed so that God could resurrect the bodies, by putting the spirit
of life back into them. Compare, too, Matthew 27:52. The resurrection
to a physical existence in Ezekiel 37, describing the “valley of dry
bones,” is of course a vision, and uses figurative terms, to describe a
resurrection to physical life. It cannot be used literally to teach a
resurrection of the same dead physical bodies. After all, in the
vision, the very dry bones speak, verse 11).

Insofar as the
second resurrection is concerned of those who died more than 1,000
years or even 7,000 years earlier, and whose bodies decayed or were
obliterated, God will be using their spirit in man (which returned to
God upon death) to create through it a new physical body for them. God
will give them a new flesh and blood physical body, as He pleases,
using the spirit in man as a “mold” which has retained even the outward
appearance of the person.

This is not to say that the persons
will be raised exactly to the same physical existence that they had
when they died. For instance, we don’t believe that a person who,
through an accident or a birth defect, had only one arm or one leg,
will be resurrected to exactly that identical state, but, in all
likelihood, with two arms and two legs. We find it reasonable to
conclude that blind persons will be raised with eyesight. An aborted
fetus will obviously not be resurrected as a fetus, but as a human
being who will be capable of living on his own. When Adam and Eve were
created, God did not create them as little children, but as grown
adults, perhaps in their early or mid-twenties, and He placed in them
the spirit in man, even though they were without any prior experience.

We
don’t know how, exactly, God will raise those in the second
resurrection. The Bible does not reveal whether a person who died at
age 90 will look like a 90-year old person in the second resurrection,
or whether he will look like the person that he was when he was in his
twenties. But it stands to reason that all will be resurrected to live
healthy lives for about one hundred years, which–as the Bible
indicates–is most likely the time allotted to them during the Great
White Throne Judgment period, prior to the creation of new heavens and
a new earth (compare Isaiah 65:17, 20, indicating that a “child”–that
is a Christian who is to become like a child–will live for one hundred
years, and that an unrepented “sinner,” being “one hundred years old,”
shall be “accursed”).

For more information on the second resurrection, please read our free booklets, “Do You Have an Immortal Soul?”, p.28, and “God’s Commanded Holy Days”, pp. 31-32, 53.

Lead Writer: Norbert Link

A new StandingWatch program
has been placed on the Web, titled, “Nuclear War Is Coming.” Another
program was recorded Thursday morning and will be on the Web soon. It
is titled, “What Concerns Americans the Most?”

Norbert Link left
for his trip to Oregon. He is scheduled to return Monday night, May 1,
with a stop-over of several hours in San Francisco. Please pray for Mr.
Link’s travel, as mass demonstrations at several U.S. ports have been
announced for May 1.

On April 22, 2006, Dave Harris will give the sermon, titled, “All Knowledge.”

The services can be heard at www.cognetservices.org at 12:30 pm Pacific Time (which is 2:30 pm Central Time). Just click on Connect to Live Stream.

By the time you read this editorial, the Spring Holy Days will have
past. During the Days of Unleavened Bread we will have portrayed, by
our actions, the need of putting sin out of our lives and of keeping
sin out. Yet, we find, even physically, that this is a very difficult
endeavor, indeed! It is not easy at all! And why is that? Because sin
is so deceitful that it often creeps into our lives when we least
expect it! And there it is!

Perhaps it was never in our thoughts
to commit a certain sin, which crept in as we committed an act which is
contrary to God’s Way of life. Yet, the sin appeared!

In the book
of Hebrews, we read the following, relative to this deceitful nature
which is found within man: “Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of
you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; but
exhort one another daily, while it is called ‘Today,’ lest any of you
be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin” (Hebrews 3:12-13).

God
is showing to us here that with sin being deceitful, as it is, there is
a need for each of us even to exhort one another in this matter of our
overcoming in putting sin out of our lives. Never forget that we live
in a deceitful world, filled with deceitful people; and no wonder.
Satan is the great deceiver! His ministers come to deceive the very
elect! We must be ever alert to his devices!

We read in Psalm 5
that God abhors the deceitful man, one who speaks falsehood. We are
warned in the book of Ephesians to “…put off, concerning your former
conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful
lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on
the new man which was created according to God, in righteousness and
true holiness” (Ephesians 4:22-24).

This can only be achieved through the power of God the Father and Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit, which is in us!

Paul
recognized this fact as he fought his own problems. We read of this
trial of Paul’s in the book of Romans, Chapter 7. He recognized the
power of sin in one’s life:

“For we know that the law is
spiritual, but 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. If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with
the law that it is good” (Romans 7:14-16).

Yes, Paul saw that the
law, which defines sin, was good; but he also saw that at times he
continued to walk contrary to that good law. It just happened in his
life, because of his own weaknesses.

“But now, it is no longer I
who do it, but sin that dwells in me. For I know that in me (that is,
in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but
how to perform what is good I do not find. For the good that I will to
do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice”
(Romans 7:17-19).

This was a great dilemma for Paul, as we all can understand, having come through the same type experience.

“Now
if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin
that dwells in me. I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the
one who wills to do good. For I delight in the law of God according to
the inward man. But I see another law in my members, warring against
the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin
which is in my members” (Romans 7:20-23).

In verse 24, Paul shows
that he has come to understand that it is only by the power of God the
Father and Jesus Christ (through the Holy Spirit, which emanates from
God the Father and the Son) that he would ever be able to truly serve
God and to live a life of righteousness, which was his desire!

That
is also our desire, brethren, who have been called to the Way of
Righteousness. And it is through that same power that we will be able
to achieve our desire! As Christ said on numerous occasions, all things
are possible with our God. Never give in to the deceitfulness of this
world, and always keep this hope before you, with continual faith in
our Savior, Jesus Christ!

Iran’s True Intentions?

In a highly revealing article by Amir Taheri, a former Executive Editor of Kayhan, Iran’s largest daily newspaper, who now lives in Europe, The Telegraph in Great Britain stated the following on April 16:

“Last Monday, just before he announced that Iran had gatecrashed ‘the nuclear club’, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad disappeared for several hours. He was having a khalvat (tête-à-tête) with the Hidden Imam, the 12th and last of the [Imams] of Shiism who went into ‘grand occultation’ in 941. According to Shia lore, the Imam is a messianic figure who, although in hiding, remains the true Sovereign of the World. In every generation, the Imam chooses 36 men, (and, for obvious reasons, no women) naming them the owtad or ‘nails’, whose presence, hammered into mankind’s existence, prevents the universe from ‘falling off’. Although the ‘nails’ are not known to common mortals, it is, at times, possible to identify one thanks to his deeds. It is on that basis that some of Ahmadinejad’s more passionate admirers insist that he is a ‘nail’, a claim he has not discouraged. For example, he has claimed that last September, as he addressed the United Nations’ General Assembly in New York, the ‘Hidden Imam drenched the place in a sweet light’. Last year, it was after another khalvat that Ahmadinejad announced his intention to stand for president. Now, he boasts that the Imam gave him the presidency for a single task: provoking a ‘clash of civilisations’ in which the Muslim world, led by Iran, takes on the ‘infidel’ West, led by the United States, and defeats it in a slow but prolonged contest that, in military jargon, sounds like a low intensity, asymmetrical war.

“In Ahmadinejad’s analysis, the rising Islamic ‘superpower’ has decisive advantages over the infidel. Islam has four times as many young men of fighting age as the West, with its ageing populations. Hundreds of millions of Muslim ‘ghazis’ (holy raiders) are keen to become martyrs while the infidel youths, loving life and fearing death, hate to fight. Islam also has four-fifths of the world’s oil reserves, and so controls the lifeblood of the infidel. More importantly, the US, the only infidel power still capable of fighting, is hated by most other nations. According to this analysis, spelled out in commentaries by Ahmadinejad’s strategic guru, Hassan Abassi, known as the ‘Dr Kissinger of Islam’, President George W Bush is an aberration, an exception to a rule under which all American presidents since Truman, when faced with serious setbacks abroad, have ‘run away’. Iran’s current strategy, therefore, is to wait Bush out. And that, by ‘divine coincidence’, corresponds to the time Iran needs to develop its nuclear arsenal, thus matching the only advantage that the infidel enjoys.”

The article continued:

“While Bush is determined to create a Middle East that is democratic and pro-Western, Ahmadinejad is equally determined that the region should remain Islamic but pro-Iranian. Iran is now the strongest presence in Afghanistan and Iraq, after the US. It has turned Syria and Lebanon into its outer defences, which means that, for the first time since the 7th century, Iran is militarily present on the coast of the Mediterranean. In a massive political jamboree in Teheran last week, Ahmadinejad also assumed control of the ‘Jerusalem Cause’, which includes annihilating Israel ‘in one storm’, while launching a take-over bid for the cash-starved Hamas government in the West Bank and Gaza. Ahmadinejad has also reactivated Iran’s network of Shia organisations in Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Yemen, while resuming contact with Sunni fundamentalist groups in Turkey, Egypt, Algeria and Morocco. From childhood, Shia boys are told to cultivate two qualities. The first is entezar, the capacity patiently to wait for the Imam to return. The second is taajil, the actions needed to hasten the return. For the Imam’s return will coincide with an apocalyptic battle between the forces of evil and righteousness, with evil ultimately routed. If the infidel loses its nuclear advantage, it could be worn down in a long, low-intensity war at the end of which surrender to Islam would appear the least bad of options. And that could be a signal for the Imam to reappear. At the same time, not to forget the task of hastening the Mahdi’s second coming, Ahamdinejad will pursue his provocations.”

One Year of New Papacy

Der Spiegel Online reported on April 18, 2006, about the first year of Benedict XVI’s rule as Pope. The article was titled, “Ratzinger’s Quiet Non-Revolution.” It introduced the article as follows: “A year into his papacy and the radical shift many had expected when Pope Benedict XVI  [formerly known as Cardinal Ratzinger] became pope last spring has yet to arrive. Instead, he has chosen discretion.”

Still, the article portrays the Pope as an extremely intelligent and talented man with a vision and an agenda. It speculates that no liberal reforms can be expected under his rule; that he wants to increase the influence of the Catholic Church in Europe, the Middle East, Russia and China, by somewhat downplaying the Roman Catholic’s position that the Pope is understood to be the “father of princes and kings, ruler of the world and representative of Christ on earth”; and that his goal is to leave behind a “dogmatically and organizationally strengthened Vatican” for his successor.

The article pointed out:

“It’s difficult to love a German pope, but the Romans like him… Ever since April 19, 2005, the date of Pope Benedict’s election, Ratzinger has been treated in the curia — often something of a hotbed of intrigue — with distanced and amazed admiration, says [Notker] Wolf [an Abbot Primate of the Order of St. Benedict]. It’s a demeanor that Italians often reserve for Germans, but it shouldn’t be confused with affection… Since February, he says, things have begun speeding up. The reform of the curia has been decided. The encyclical has been published, and one and a half million copies have already been sold. The number of members of the papal council was reduced, a high-ranking member of the curia was sent to Egypt as Nuntius, and 15 new cardinals were appointed, including — to the horror of the papal bureaucracy — only three veterans from the curia. ‘Reform,’ says Ratzinger, ‘consists in the removal of the unnecessary.’…

“Benedict wanted the ‘tiara’ — the triple-layer papal crown in the coat of arms — replaced by a mitre, the headwear worn by bishops… It’s a heraldic shift that points to an agenda. The three rings of the tiara originally represented the pope’s universal claim to power, as ‘father of princes and kings, ruler of the world and representative of Christ on earth.’ Benedict wanted it one size smaller, as a sign of good will toward the Orthodox Church. Indeed, this pope seems to be seeking out dialogue with the East. As an icebreaker, he sent Cardinal Walter Kasper — who is not only head of the papal committee responsible for relations with Judaism, but who also helps look after the Church in the Orient — to Moscow as his personal representative…

The article continued that “omens and miracles are daily bread in the Catholic realm. March 24, the day that chief herald Andrea Cordero Lanza di Montezemolo was elevated to cardinal by Ratzinger, a former member of the Hitler Youth, was also the anniversary of a massacre in the Ardeatine Caves, in which the SS murdered Corderos’s father after days of horrific torture. A coincidence? Not likely… [The cardinals] believed that no one but a professor from the land of Martin Luther could be trusted to focus attention on the church once again in a Europe of transcendental illiteracy… Pope Benedict XVI writes and writes and writes. Letters, sermons, speeches, circulars and books. He is already the most-published pope in church history. This supreme shepherd is even capable of inserting a fundamental theological thought into the accreditation of the ambassador of Andorra… He writes all of his major sermons himself, and he completely rewrites prewritten speeches in his tiny academic handwriting, dubbed ‘picture books’ by his office staff… It’s no secret that Ratzinger regrets the disappearance of Latin from the mass, and that the mere thought of guitars being played in the church gives him hives… He wants to leave a dogmatically and organizationally strengthened Vatican for his successor, as long as he has enough time left to achieve his goals. In other words, anyone still hoping for a papal shift on issues such as contraception, ordination of women or granting Holy Communion to those who have been remarried will have to wait for Ratzinger’s successors.”

What does the future hold for the Catholic Church? And how will it effect the rest of the world? Please read our free booklet, “Europe in Prophecy.”

President Bush and the Catholic Church

Zenit reported on April 7, 2006, that “President George Bush spoke on the [Catholic] Church’s contribution to freedom, defending life, and immigration in his address to the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast in the U.S. capital. The Catholic Church, the president said today, ‘offers a vision of human freedom and dignity rooted in the same self-evident truths of America’s founding. This morning we ask God to guide us as we work together to live up to these timeless truths,’ he added. ‘Freedom is a gift from the Almighty,’ continued Bush, ‘and the Catholic Church and its institutions play a vital role in helping our citizens acquire the character we need to live as free people.’ Bush also recalled the role of Pope John Paul II in fighting for freedom in Europe… ‘Like his predecessor,’ continued Bush, ‘Benedict XVI understands that the measure of a free society is how it treats the weakest and most vulnerable among us.’ The president also expressed gratitude for the ‘leading role that the Catholic faith-based organizations play in our nation’s armies of compassion,’ especially for their work to welcome newcomers to the country. Bush then commented on immigration: ‘An immigration system that forces people into the shadows of our society, or leaves them prey to criminals is a system that needs to be changed.'”

More Murder in Israel

On April 18, 2006, Der Spiegel Online reported about the most recent suicide attack in Israel; Hamas’ approval of the same; and the reaction of the German press. It was stated:

“One day after a Palestinian suicide bomber killed nine people in front of a Tel Aviv fast-food restaurant during the Jewish holiday of Passover on Monday, the prospects for peace in the Middle East look bleaker than ever. It was the deadliest bombing in over a year and the first since the radical Islamic group Hamas took over the Palestinian government after elections in January. But instead of condemning the attack, a representative of Hamas said it was a legitimate response to Israeli ‘aggression.’ The comment has sparked outrage in Israel and throughout the international community… The escalation comes as a number of major international donors have cut their financial aid for the Palestinian Authority. The refusal to condemn the latest suicide bombing will certainly make it unlikely that many will resume supporting the cash-strapped Palestinians. But there is a risk that Hamas will turn towards Iran — which backs Islamic Jihad and recently pledged $50 million in aid to the Palestinians…

“[Most German] commentators… consider the group [Hamas] to have now put itself beyond the pale, boding ill for the Middle East. The center-left Süddeutsche Zeitung believes that the latest tragic events in the region make clear that the Palestinian Authority is being led by a terror group… The conservative Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung [states that the] Palestinian territories appear more likely to descend into chaos — with all the side-effects for Israel… The centrist Berlin daily Der Tagesspiegel focuses on Iran’s dangerous influence in the region… [It suggests that] Europe should… keep its nerve and stick to its demand for the recognition of Israel. Anything else would be unthinkable to ask of Europe’s taxpayers.”

On April 14, Iran’s highly controversial leader had stated that “Israel was heading toward annihilation,” according to a press release of The Associated Press. He added that the “Zionist regime will be eliminated by one storm.” On April 16, according to CNN, “Former Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres responded to threats made by Iran’s president against Israel, saying Mahmoud Ahmadinejad ‘will end up in the same way as [Saddam] Hussein… Ahmadinejad represents Satan, not God,’ said Peres, who shared the 1994 Nobel Peace Prize with the late Palestinian and Israeli leaders, Yasser Arafat and Yitzhak Rabin… Peres, a leading figure in Israel’s ruling Kadima Party, previously has called Iran ‘the greatest danger’ to the world and urged the international community to stop the Islamic republic from acquiring a nuclear weapon.”

Israel and the entire Middle East will be facing more and more violence in the years to come. For more information, please read our free booklet, “The Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord.”

Record Flooding in Southeast Europe

Der Spiegel Online reported on April 18 about yet another “unprecedented century flood” in Southeast Europe, stating: “Record flooding along the Danube River continued to wreak havoc with residents of southeastern Europe on Tuesday, disrupting ports, destroying farmlands and sending people fleeing from their homes across the Balkans. The flooding continued after a weekend which saw the Danube rise to its highest level in 111 years, forcing the emergency evacuation of thousands in Serbia, Romania and Bulgaria as the waters breached dams along the fabled river. Heavy rain and melting snow from Central Europe has contributed to record water levels along Europe’s second-longest river, where the water volume is double what it was at this time a year ago… For the people of Romania, the floods have evoked painful memories of deadly flash floods that hit the country last year. Those floods killed 74 people and caused €1.5 billion in damage.”

Another Blow to U.S. Reputation?

AFP reported on April 16 about another potentially devastating development regarding the reputation–or the lack thereof–of the United States in the rest of the world, especially in Europe and the Middle East. According to news reports, the USA had been planning to invade Iran before the invasion of Iraq–and before the election of Iran’s current radical leader.

The report stated:

“The United States began planning a full-scale military campaign against Iran that involves missile strikes, a land invasion and a naval operation to establish control over the Strait of Hormuz even before the March 2003 invasion of Iraq, a former US intelligence analyst disclosed. William Arkin, who served as the US Army’s top intelligence mind on West Berlin in the 1970s and accurately predicted US military operations against Iraq, said the plan is known in military circles as TIRANNT, an acronym for ‘Theater Iran Near Term.’ It includes a scenario for a land invasion led by the US Marine Corps, a detailed analysis of the Iranian missile force and a global strike plan against any Iranian weapons of mass destruction, Arkin wrote in The Washington Post. US and British planners have already conducted a Caspian Sea war game as part of these preparations, the scholar said… preparations under TIRANNT began in earnest in May 2003 and never stopped, he said. The plan has since been updated using information collected in Iraq…

“The US military has been involved in contingency planning against Iran since at least the presidency of Jimmy Carter, who undertook a failed commando operation to rescue US hostages in Tehran in 1980. Following the 1996 bombing of an apartment building used by the US Air Force in Khobar, Saudi Arabia, which was reportedly traced to Iranian agents, the administration of then-president Bill Clinton considered a bombing campaign, according to Richard Clarke and Steven Simon, who held at the time high-level counterterrorism positions at the National Security Council. ‘But after long debate, the highest levels of the military could not forecast a way in which things would end favorably for the United States,’ the two experts wrote in Sunday’s New York Times. They warned Iran could retaliate against the United States by using its terrorist networks ‘that are far superior to anything Al-Qaeda was ever able to field.'”

The United States of America will be facing more and more political isolation from the rest of the world. For more information, please read our free booklet, “The Fall and Rise of Britain and America.”

Blair vs. Bush?

 According to an article in the Scotsman of April 16, 2006, “Tony Blair has told George Bush that Britain cannot offer military support to any strike on Iran, regardless of whether the move wins the backing of the international community… Amid increasing tension over Tehran’s attempts to develop a military nuclear capacity, the Prime Minister has laid bare the limits of his support for President Bush, who is believed to be considering an assault on Iran… While the sense of crisis over Iran has been escalated by the fiery rhetoric between Tehran and the West–particularly Washington–many within the British government are now convinced that the impasse can be resolved by repeating the same sort of painstaking diplomatic activity that returned Libya to the international fold. However… [U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza] Rice reiterated that President Bush has not taken any option off the table, including a military response, if Iran fails to comply with the demands of the international community.”

No More “Islamic Terrorism”?

The EUobserver reported on April 13, 2006, that “The EU is working on a public communication lexicon which blacklists the term ‘Islamic terrorism.’ The ‘non-emotive lexicon for discussing radicalisation’ should be submitted to EU leaders who will meet in June, according to press reports. EU officials drafting the guidelines hope that the European Commission and the European Parliament will also endorse the linguistic code of conduct, which will be non-binding. ‘Certainly “Islamic terrorism” is something we will not use … we talk about “terrorists who abusively invoke Islam”,’ an EU official told Reuters.The aim of the guidelines is to avoid the use of words that could unnecessarily offend Muslims and spark radicalisation. ‘Jihad’ is another term under review…'”

Persecution of Christians in Turkey

On April 12, 2006, Der Spiegel Online reported about ongoing persecutions of Christians in Turkey. The magazine stated:

“Christians are a vanishing minority in predominately Muslim Turkey. The murder of a [Catholic] priest in February shows that the situation has become precarious — both for Catholics and for Turkey’s EU bid… Christians are a tiny, tolerated minority in Turkey, a country which is 99 percent Muslim, and [a] Catholic priest even advises the members of his congregation not to wear any visible symbols of their faith, such as a cross dangling on the outside of a blouse or shirt… There are many churches and monasteries dating from centuries of Byzantine Christian rule, although most have since been converted into mosques. During the great population exchange between Turkey and Greece in 1923, almost 1.5 million Orthodox Christians were expelled from Asia Minor and replaced by 356,000 Muslims from Greece. As a result of the mass murder and expulsion of the Armenians in World War I, the country had already lost almost a million Christians. The result was an almost entirely Muslim state.

“Turkey is still home to about 100,000 Christians. Their status is one of the barometers being used to determine Turkey’s suitability for European Union membership, making the murder of Father Santoro especially inconvenient for the administration in Ankara, which is rooted in Islam but is doing its utmost to portray Turkey as tolerant and liberal-minded… Turkey’s Christian minorities had hoped that reforms introduced by the administration of Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan — as part of its effort to gain EU membership — would not just lead to a few improvements, but to complete religious freedom. Although Christians are permitted to practice their faith freely, in many cases their churches have practically no rights and often have no claim to the property they stand on… ‘The basic level of anti-Christian sentiment has increased,’ says Felix Körner, a German Jesuit whom the Vatican sent to Ankara to encourage a Christian-Islamic dialogue. Turkey’s efforts to enter the EU have triggered nationalist counter-reactions, says Körner. ‘Even in educated circles, people are saying that Turkish unity and national sovereignty are in danger.'”

Even though the Bible foretells that Turkey–which is Biblical “Edom”– will cooperate with Europe, it appears unlikely, because of Turkey’s religion and heritage, that Turkey will become a full member of the EU.

Immigration Problems in the USA

Der Spiegel Online reported on April 12 about the growing problems which the US government is facing regarding its immigration policies. The magazine paints an interesting picture which is reminiscent of Germany’s past and present immigration situation, and which is sometimes overlooked in the USA:

   “The marches prove that immigrants are not alone. They have families — and they’re woven into America too deeply to tear out. The crowds parading up the streets of America on Monday, and for the last two weeks, have been telling us with their bodies, if not always in English, that illegal immigrants are not alone in the United States of America. Indeed, illegal immigrants, who were supposed to live a shadowy existence, belong to neighborhoods and to church congregations that were willing to stand alongside them. And most important: Many millions of illegal immigrants have U.S. relatives, sons and daughters, in-laws, cousins, grandchildren. That family tie is the lesson of these parades. In Houston and Boston, in Phoenix and in San Jose, Calif., what we saw were not exactly ‘protests,’ nor were they political demonstrations, primarily. We were seeing huge family gatherings, celebrations of the clan… In generations past, for example during the Depression,… there were mass deportations. Send the Mexicans back! But now, how do you deport so many millions who belong to even more millions?…

“The giant was sleeping in Phoenix and Chicago and throughout North Carolina. And the Democrats were just as happy to leave the snoring undisturbed, because of the unhappiness of trade unionists and of the complaints of African-Americans against illegal migrant workers who undercharge America for their labor, then work with third-world fury. Some Republicans, including the president, saw signs of the giant stirring. George Bush is the first American president to speak Spanish and to run a reelection ad in which he is pictured waving a Mexican flag… But then there is the Republican Party of Pat Buchanan and Tom Tancredo — a party that now mixes hysteria with patriotism and wars against any notion that America exists within the Americas… No other children in America hear what the children of illegal immigrants now regularly hear on angry-white-guy talk radio… From the Congress came daily calls for a vast new Wall of China, mass deportations. And a litany of complaints: Illegal immigrants take, take, take from America. They pose a burden, a drag on the country; they are welfare cheats, criminals, drug dealers, thieves. No one in public mentioned to their children what their parents and grandparents have done for America for over a century — and at what a cheap price.”

The Bible contains many warnings against mistreating our strangers, fatherless and widows. A country which engages in such unbiblical conduct cannot count on God’s blessings.

Global Warming–It’s Real!

The New York Daily News reported on April 17, 2006, about a surprisingly effective and scary movie, which was produced by Al Gore, about the real and devastating effect of Global Warming. The article explained:

“… you will be captivated, then riveted and then scared out of your wits. Our Earth is going to hell in a handbasket. You will see the Arctic and Antarctic icecaps melting. You will see Greenland oozing into the sea. You will see the atmosphere polluted with greenhouse gases that block heat from escaping. You will see photos from space of what the icecaps looked like once and what they look like now, and, in animation, you will see how high the oceans might rise. Shanghai and Calcutta swamped. Much of Florida, too. The water takes a hunk of New York. The fuss about what to do with Ground Zero will turn to naught. It will be under water. ‘An Inconvenient Truth’ is a cinematic version of the [free] lecture that Gore has given for years warning of the dangers of global warming. The case Gore makes is worthy of sleepless nights: Our Earth is in extremis. It’s not just that polar bears are drowning because they cannot reach receding ice floes or that ‘The Snows of Kilimanjaro’ will exist someday only as a Hemingway short story. It’s rather that Hurricane Katrina is not past, but prologue. Katrina produced several hundred thousand evacuees. The flooding of Calcutta would produce many millions [of evacuees]… the film leave(s) no doubt of the peril we face.”

Babylon Being Rebuilt?

The Belfast Telegraph reported on April 17 about Babylon’s recent destruction through the American and Polish troops and its possible restoration under German leadership: 

“For more than a millennium, Babylon was one of the great cities of antiquity. It reached its greatest glory in the early 6th century BC, as the capital of Nebuchadnezzar…, builder of the celebrated Hanging Gardens. Babylon declined and fell into ruin after it was conquered by the Persians under Cyrus the Great in around 538 BC. But no devastation seems to have matched that inflicted by US troops and their Polish allies after the overthrow of Saddam Hussein… after entering Babylon in April 2003, coalition forces turned the site into a base camp, flattening and compressing tracts of ruins as they built a helicopter pad and fuel stations. The soldiers filled sandbags with archeological fragments and dug trenches through unexcavated areas, while tanks crushed slabs of original 2,600-year-old paving… After US and Polish troops left in 2004, the first restoration plans for Babylon were drawn up. Last November Unesco, the United Nations’ cultural and scientific organisation, said it would be carrying out some initial repair work, and setting up a photographic registry of the site. The work, in which France, Britain, Poland, the US, Iraq, Japan, Italy and the Netherlands are also involved, is being co-ordinated by the German Archaeological Institute, under the direction of the Iraqi authorities and Unesco.”

To answer this question, we need to describe the historical background briefly.

As we pointed out in the Q&A of Update #137, dated April 2, 2004, the Bible distinguishes between the Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread. Both are annual Feast days, to be kept once a year. The Passover is to be observed at the beginning of the 14th day of the first month (which month is called Abib or Nisan), according to the Hebrew calendar (Leviticus 23:5; Numbers 28:16). The First Day of Unleavened Bread is to be observed at the beginning of the 15th day of the first month, according to the Hebrew calendar (Leviticus 23:6; Numbers 28:17). It was during the Passover night–the night of the 14th day–that the death angel passed over the Israelites who were in their houses (hence the name, “Passover,”), while killing the firstborn of Egypt (Exodus 12:6-13). But it was on the 15th day–“on the day AFTER the Passover”; that is, one entire day LATER–that the Israelites went out of Egypt, and it is on THAT day (at the beginning of the 15th day of the first month) that we are to celebrate the Night To Be Much Observed (Exodus 12:42; Numbers 33:3). (Remember that according to the Hebrew calendar, days start and end with sunset.)

Today’s Jewish community is totally confused about this distinction. In fact, they keep the PASSOVER at the END of the 14th and in the beginning of the 15th day, TOGETHER WITH the Night to Be Much Observed, as if the two distinct events were one and the same. But this is not according to Scripture. As stated, Scripture commands that we partake of the Passover at the BEGINNING of the 14th day, while observing the Night to be Much Observed at the beginning of the 15th day–one entire day LATER! God said that at the END of the 14th day (or in the beginning of the 15th day), we are to eat unleavened bread until the END of the 21st day–that is, for seven days (Exodus 12:18).

As the Passover is to be kept one day before the Seven Days of Unleavened Bread, why do we teach that the New Testament Passover symbol of the bread has to be unleavened? For instance, many Christian organizations allow for leavened bread during their “communion”–which they also observe more than once a year, which is another clear violation of Scripture.

Some point out that in New Testament times, the Passover was sometimes included in the Feast of Unleavened Bread, but then the entire time was counted as lasting eight days, not just seven days. One of the reasons why the day of Passover was included as an “unleavened” day was that the Jews, when leaving their homes to go to Jerusalem, had to remove all leaven from their homes, before they left (Exodus 12:19). But this would not compel us to abstain from eating leavened bread, per se, during the day of Passover. Just based on Scripture, there is NO COMMAND for us today to remove all leaven from our houses before the first day of Unleavened Bread. Scripture only requires that all leaven must be removed, at the latest, DURING the Passover DAY, so that no leaven is to be seen in our houses for seven days, BEGINNING with the First Day of Unleavened Bread.

Still, the Church teaches that we must use unleavened bread, when partaking of the SYMBOLS of bread and wine during Passover. Why?

There is both a spiritual and a literal reason for this command:

From a spiritual standpoint, leaven, during the Passover season, is symbolic of sin (1 Corinthians 5:6-8; Matthew 16:12; Luke 12:1-2), and Christ was sinless (Hebrews 4:15). To use leavened bread as a New Testament symbol for His broken body would not convey the spiritual significance of His sinless life. The same would be true for the practice of some Christian churches, which, during their weekly “communions,” don’t partake of wine at all–maybe only the ministering priest does–or they partake of white wine. However, in order to stay with the symbolic meaning of the wine, as representing Christ’s blood, the wine needs to be red; it needs to be received by baptized Church members during the Passover night; and in that religious setting, it must only be partaken of ONCE a year, and NOT more often than that. After all, Christ did not change the Passover, which is an annual celebration–He only changed the SYMBOLS to partake of DURING the annual Passover celebration.

In addition, the Bible specifically prohibited the Israelites in the Old Testament to eat leavened bread together with the Passover meal. This proves that there was no leavened bread available during the Passover MEAL (as distinguished from the rest of the Passover day). As Christ and His disciples partook of the regular Passover meal that night (Luke 22:14-16), Christ would not have had available leavened bread, when He introduced the New Testament symbols during the Passover meal (Matthew 26:26-28). This can clearly be seen, when analyzing the Scriptures of Exodus 12:8 and Deuteronomy 16:1-3:

In Exodus 12:8, God told the Israelites that they had to eat the Passover lamb (verses 3, 6) with “unleavened bread.” In Deuteronomy 16:3, God commands that “no leavened bread” shall be eaten “with it”–that is, with the Passover lamb compare verse 2). The rendition of the New King James Bible is confusing here, as they insert a paragraph between verses 2 and 3, and translate the passage as follows: “(2) Therefore you shall sacrifice the Passover to the LORD your God, from the flock and the herd, in the place where the LORD chooses to put His name. (3) You shall eat no leavened bread with it; seven days you shall eat unleavened bread with it, that is, the bread of affliction…”

However, the insertions of these paragraphs are arbitrary, as they cannot be found in the original. Notice how the Tanakh (The Jewish Bible) translates this passage, without placing a paragraph between verses 2 and 3: “(2)You shall slaughter the passover sacrifice for the LORD your God, from the flock and the herd, in the place where the LORD will choose to establish His name. (3) You shall not eat anything leavened with it; for seven days thereafter (Lit. “upon it”) you shall eat unleavened bread…” This rendition makes it very clear that nothing leavened was to be eaten with the Passover lamb; and that nothing leavened was to be eaten during the seven days of unleavened bread, following the day of Passover. This proves that the bread which Christ gave His disciples during the Passover meal was UNLEAVENED, based on the INSTRUCTIONS in God’s Word. In following Christ’s example and the godly commandment, we, too, must partake of unleavened bread and red wine during the annual Passover service.

Lead Writers: Norbert Link and Dave Harris

Robb and Laura Harris wish to announce the forthcoming birth of
their second child–due in December! Robb, Laura and their son, Caymus,
live in Fort Collins, Colorado.

Norbert Link will be visiting
the church in Oregon by the end of April. He is scheduled to leave
Thursday morning, April 27, and to return Monday night, May 1, with
stop-overs of several hours in San Francisco. Please pray for Mr.
Link’s travel, as mass demonstrations at several U.S. ports have been
announced for May 1.

Our new booklet, “The Mysteries of the
Bible,” has been completed and sent to our printer in England. The
booklet has been posted on the Web.

Please continue to pray for
our public Bible lecture in Fort Collins, Colorado, during the evening
of May 21, 2006. This presentation, by Norbert Link, will be held at
the Hilton Fort Collins Facility, and will be based on our new booklet,
“The Mysteries of the Bible.” Please pray that the printed booklets
will arrive in time for the lecture.

As recently announced, we have been placing most of our StandingWatch programs on “Video Google.”

The
most watched programs have been, so far: “Ghost of Departed Ones?”,
“What Is Happening in Germany?”, “The Pope Is Dead–What Is Next?”,
“Afghanistan’s Radical Islam,” “What Is the Church?” “Germany in
Prophecy” and “Europe and the Middle East.”

The most watched
programs during the week ending April 15 were: “Afghanistan’s Radical
Islam,” “The Pope Is Dead–What Is Next?”, “Evolution or the Bible?”,
“Da Vinci, Judas and a Fish,” and “Ghosts of Departed Ones?”

by Kalon Mitchell

How many times do we, as humans, limit God?
How many times do we think that, maybe, God would help us in a certain
situation, but yet still don’t ask Him about it? Throughout my short
time before becoming baptized, and even sometimes afterwards, I have
limited God and gone and done what I thought best, or just didn’t get
an answer. But yet each time I have put my full faith, confidence and
trust in God, He has answered me in amazing ways that I hadn’t thought
of or even imagined to be possible.

God tells us throughout the
Bible that He will take care of us in every way if we put our faith and
confidence in Him and ask Him for help. So the question I have for us
is simply this: Are we limiting God? The problem is: We are human. We
have sometimes an attitude of thinking that we know it all, and that we
don’t require any help. Some may feel that they know everything! But
yet God requires of us to become meek, humble and obedient.

So
let us all, in the following days, weeks, months and years, come before
our Creator with humility, and let us lay our problems, hopes and
dreams before Him, asking Him for His help and guidance.

On April 15, 2006, Norbert Link will give the sermon, discussing “temptations.”

The services can be heard at www.cognetservices.org at 12:30 pm Pacific Time (which is 2:30 pm Central Time). Just click on Connect to Live Stream.

On Wednesday, April 19, 2006, is the Last Day of Unleavened Bread. Robb Harris will be giving the sermon in the morning from Colorado, and Edwin Pope will give the sermon in the afternoon from San Diego.

The services can be heard at www.cognetservices.org at 9:00 am and 1:30 pm Pacific Time (which is 11:00 am and 3:30 pm Central Time). Just click on Connect to Live Stream.

One of the characteristics of this end time generation is a distinct
lack of appreciation, as mentioned in 2 Timothy 3:1-5: “But know this,
that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers
of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers,
disobedient to parents, UNTHANKFUL, unholy, unloving, unforgiving,
slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors,
headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,
having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people
turn away!”

This seems to be the plight of modern times in this
hustle and bustle “dog-eating-dog” world we live in. There is a real
lack of appreciation for so many of our blessings. It seems the more
one has in the way of possessions, the less one is appreciative.

We
have just come through a time of self-examination as we prepared for
the Passover. As we consider the great sacrifice of our Lord and
Savior, Who sacrificed Himself for all of us, giving His life for our
sins; our lives should be devoted to God’s Way of sacrifice and of
giving, rather than to the selfish approach of this world. Paul
succinctly put it in perspective, in Romans 5:8: “But God demonstrates
His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ
died for us.”

Not only did Christ die for all of us while we were
still sinners, but if you were the only person on the earth, He would
still have died for you. Christ is your personal Savior, as He is
mine–and He is potentially the Savior of all of mankind.

As we
are concentrating on putting sin out of our lives, and conducting our
lives in a Godly manner, it is important  that we remember
Christ’s great Sacrifice for us. It is also critical, especially at
this time, to be truly appreciative of the fact that because of what
Christ did and does for us, God the Father is granting us the
opportunity to become members of His very Family in the future.

Resurrection of the Body?

On April 5, 2006, Scripps Howard News Service reported that “Most Americans don’t believe they will experience a resurrection of their bodies when they die, putting them at odds with a core teaching of Christianity.” The report continued that this poll “put Americans in conflict with both the Nicene Creed and the Apostles’ Creed, ancient statements of faith meant to unify Christian belief. The Nicene Creed, adopted in 325 at the First Council of Nicea under Roman Emperor Constantine, concludes with the famous words: ‘We look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. Amen.’  Similarly, the Apostles’ Creed professes a belief in ‘the resurrection of the body.’ Only 36 percent of the 1,007 adults interviewed a month ago by the Scripps Survey Research Center at Ohio University said ‘yes’ to the question: ‘Do you believe that, after you die, your physical body will be resurrected someday?’ Fifty-four percent said they do not believe and 10 percent were undecided.”

The article continued:

“‘I don’t know what to make of this,’ said retired Episcopal Bishop John Shelby Spong, author of ‘Resurrection: Myth or Reality’… ‘Maybe the old Greek idea of an immortal soul has taken over and the idea of a resurrected body has fallen into disrepute’… Robert Wuthnow, director of the Center for the Study of Religion at Princeton University, said the poll seems to have broken new ground in understanding America’s popular theology. ‘This is definitely interesting. I haven’t seen a similar question asked before,’ Wuthnow said. ‘In a way, though, it doesn’t surprise me. I can think of interpretations of the creeds that would suggest a spiritual resurrection rather than one of the physical body.'”

The poll reflects the confusion of Christian believers pertaining to the teachings of their churches. Of course, the confusion started already with orthodox Christianity’s “explanations,” as stated especially in the “Apostle’s Creed.” The Bible nowhere teaches the resurrection of the physical body of those who die in Christ. In fact, that would be quite an impossibility, as the physical body decays. Paul teaches that we will be resurrected with a spiritual body (1 Corinthians 15:35-37, 44). Correctly understood, the orthodox Christian teaching of the resurrection of our physical bodies is plainly false. And so is the teaching of an immortal soul. No wonder, then, that most Americans are confused about these vital issues. But theologians should not be “surprised” about this confusion; rather, they should blame themselves as the confusion results from their own wrong teachings.

For more information, please read our free booklet, “Do You Have an Immortal Soul?”

The “Gospel of Judas”

On April 5, 2006, Zenit published an interesting article about the so-called “Gospel of Judas,” stating that “The National Geographic Society has announced its intentions to publish an English translation of an ancient text… later this month. The 31-page manuscript, written in Coptic, purportedly surfaced in Geneva in 1983 and has only been translated now. ZENIT asked… Thomas D. Williams, dean of theology at the Regina Apostolorum university in Rome, to comment on the relevance of the discovery.” Here are excerpts from Mr.Williams’ thoughtful comments:

“Though the manuscript still must be authenticated, it likely represents a fourth- or fifth-century text, and is a copy of an earlier document produced by a Gnostic sect called the Cainites. The document paints Judas Iscariot in a positive light, and describes him as obeying a divine ordinance in handing over Jesus to the authorities for the salvation of the world. It may well be a copy of the ‘Gospel of Judas’ referred to by St. Irenaeus of Lyons in his work ‘Against the Heresies,’ written around A.D. 180… The Gnostic gospels, of which there are many besides this one, are not Christian documents per se, since they proceed from a syncretistic sect that incorporated elements from different religions, including Christianity. From the moment of their appearance, the Christian community rejected these documents because of their incompatibility with the Christian faith… To put a historical perspective on things, that would be like you or me writing a text now on the American Civil War and having that text later used as a primary historical source on the war….

“Such theories regarding Judas are certainly not new. It’s enough to remember the 1973 play ‘Jesus Christ Superstar,’ where Judas sings, ‘I have no thought at all about my own reward. I really didn’t come here of my own accord,’ or Taylor Caldwell’s 1977 novel ‘I, Judas.’ The enormous economic success of ‘The Da Vinci Code’ has undoubtedly stirred up the pot, and provided financial incentive for theories of this sort. Michael Baigent, author of ‘Holy Blood, Holy Grail,’ now has a book out called ‘The Jesus Papers,’ which recycles the old story that Jesus survived the crucifixion. And a newly released ‘scientific’ study asserts that meteorological conditions could have been such that Jesus really walked on ice, when the Gospels say he walked on water. Basically, for those who reject outright the possibility of miracles, any theory, outlandish as it may be, trumps Christian claims.”

It is, in fact, true that people with itching ears like to listen to anything BUT the Holy Bible. There is a reason for the antagonistic approach of many Christian “believers” toward the one and only book, which should be the very foundation of their Christian belief. For answers to these puzzling questions, please watch our new StandingWatch program, titled, “Da Vinci, Judas and a Fish.”

Italian Election Results

Der Spiegel Online, in collaboration with The New York Times, published the following editorial on April 12: “Italian elections did not used to be like this–so closely fought, so ideologically polarized–in short, so like the American presidential elections of 2004 and 2000… But that was before the era of Silvio Berlusconi, the center-right politician, showman and self-made billionaire who came into this week’s election as Italy’s longest continuously serving prime minister since World War II. After a long Monday night of seesawing returns, Italians awoke Tuesday to hear that Mr. Berlusconi had lost, by the narrowest of margins, to Romano Prodi, a center-left politician and economist. Mr. Prodi is Mr. Berlusconi’s opposite in almost every way… But the slimness of that majority will make it harder for the new government to push through the fiscal, labor market and regulatory reforms that Italy badly needs to revive its flagging economy and provide for its aging population.”

AFP reported on April 11 that with the election of Prodi, Bush was stripped “of another Iraqi war ally in Silvio Berlusconi, with staunch US partner Tony Blair barely holding on in Britain. Pro-war supporters had already departed in Spain and Portugal… Anti-Iraq sentiment has also colored the political landscape for other US allies, such as Poland, where a recent poll showed that 72 percent of Poles wanted their remaining 900 troops pulled out.

France, Italy and Germany

Der Spiegel Online published an article on April 11, discussing the overall situation in Europe in light of recent developments in Italy, France and Germany. It was stated: “How times have changed. Just a few months ago, Germany was still regarded as the ‘sick man’ of Europe, incapable of modernizing its once-proud economy… Things might not be exactly rosy in Germany, but some of the country’s neighbors now seem in far worse shape. The French government’s failure to implement its youth jobs law [and the announcement by President Chirac that, due to pressure from French students and unions, the proposed labor law will not become effective in France] and the emergence of what looks set to be a fragile, Socialist-led government in Italy is making Germany look positively dynamic by comparison. As students and trade unions staged parades across France on Tuesday to celebrate their victory, commentators said the center-right government’s withdrawal of the hated First Job Contract in response to weeks of strikes and mass demonstrations had killed off any prospect of reform until after the presidential election in 2007… In Italy, after a night of confusion over who had won in the closest election in modern Italian history, Romano Prodi claimed victory over Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and pledged to form a ‘strong’ government, Italy’s 61st since World War Two. But his wafer-thin margin — 25,000 votes out of some 38 million cast — raised the prospect of political deadlock that would prevent him from cutting the budget deficit and revamping the country’s bloated welfare system. ‘The threat of a stalemate, the worst possible scenario, has emerged and clouds the future with uncertainty,’ bank UniCredit Banca Mobiliare said in a note to investors as share prices fell on the Milan Stock Exchange.

“Germany began tackling reforms three years ago under then-chancellor Gerhard Schröder… The measures were highly unpopular, but the people protested in a very orderly and, well, German, fashion. Punctually on every Monday evening during the summer of 2004, months before the most hard-hitting measures were to be implemented, tens of thousands would gather in cities, mostly in eastern Germany where unemployment is highest. They chanted ‘We Are The People’ and blew whistles, and would march through town to squares where union leaders and left-wing politicians riled against the reforms. Then they would roll up their banners and go home quietly. No violence. No general strike. No one seemed to consider staging a protest on a Tuesday, or a Wednesday maybe… Not so in France, where street protests, often violent, are part of the political process. Some 3,400 people were arrested during nationwide protests against the First Job Contract, with which President Jacques Chirac and Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin wanted to combat youth unemployment by making it easier for employers to hire and fire workers aged 26 or under.

“Participation in nationwide demonstrations twice exceeded a million people during a period where the situation intensified after trade unions began organizing a series of national strikes… The climbdown has dented Villepin’s chances of running for the presidency in 2007. In Germany, Schröder’s reforms ultimately ended his political career after a series of regional election defeats forced him to call an early general election for last September, which he lost to conservative challenger Angela Merkel. But Merkel campaigned on even tougher changes, and has begun to discuss reform of the health care system in her right-left coalition with Schröder’s Social Democrats. While unemployment hasn’t started coming down yet, business and consumer confidence is improving, boosted by the prospect of the World Cup in June. ‘I wouldn’t go as far as to say Germany is the reform engine of Europe, but it is making slow progress,’ said Deutsche Bank’s Bielmeier.”

Again, we see how Germany is emerging as Europe’s leader! This is clearly in accordance with Biblical predictions. Please read our free booklet, “Europe in Prophecy.”

U.S. Politics In Iraq

According to an article of April 11, which was posted on mlabelle@argusleader.com, “Newt Gingrich, the former Republican Speaker of the House, told students and faculty at the University of South Dakota Monday that the United States should pull out of Iraq and leave a small force there, just as it did post-war in Korea and Germany. ‘It was an enormous mistake for us to try to occupy that country after June of 2003,’ Gingrich said during a question-and-answer session at the school. ‘We have to pull back, and we have to recognize it.’… [Referring to the situation with Iran,] Gingrich told the students their generation was entering a dangerous period–just as dangerous or more than that of the Cold War.”

On April 10, UPI quoted former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell as follows: “We made some serious mistakes in the immediate aftermath of the fall of Baghdad… We didn’t have enough troops on the ground. We didn’t impose our will. And as a result, an insurgency got started, and … it got out of control.” The article continued to present Powell’s position, which appeared to be quite different from Gingrich’s, as follows: “The retired general said as a result, the United States is morally obliged to ‘stick with the people of Iraq’ for as long as it takes to restore order…” America’s leading role in the world is gradually diminishing. For information on further prophesied developments, please read our free booklet, “The Fall and Rise of Britain and America.”

Nuclear War With Iran?

The national and international community reacted with horror about revelations in “The New Yorker” that allegedly some in the Bush Administration are considering dropping nuclear bombs on Iran. The newspaper, which was written by respected veteran reporter Seymour M. Hersh, published the article on April 10. (Hersh was the first who published the ground-breaking news about torture of Iraqi prisoners in the US military prison in Abu Ghraib). The report included the following excerpts:

“The Bush Administration… has… intensified planning for a possible major air attack… There is a growing conviction among members of the United States military, and in the international community, that President Bush’s ultimate goal in the nuclear confrontation with Iran is regime change… One of the military’s initial option plans, as presented to the White House by the Pentagon this winter, calls for the use of a bunker-buster tactical nuclear weapon, such as the B61-11, against underground nuclear sites… The lack of reliable intelligence leaves military planners, given the goal of totally destroying the sites, little choice but to consider the use of tactical nuclear weapons. ‘Every other option, in the view of the nuclear weaponeers, would leave a gap,’ the former senior intelligence official said. ‘”Decisive” is the key word of the Air Force’s planning. It’s a tough decision. But we made it in Japan.’ He went on, ‘Nuclear planners go through extensive training and learn the technical details of damage and fallout—we’re talking about mushroom clouds, radiation, mass casualties, and contamination over years”…

“The attention given to the nuclear option has created serious misgivings inside the offices of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, he added, and some officers have talked about resigning. Late this winter, the Joint Chiefs of Staff sought to remove the nuclear option from the evolving war plans for Iran—WITHOUT SUCCESS, the former intelligence official said… The Pentagon adviser on the war on terror confirmed that some in the Administration were looking seriously at this option… The matter may soon reach a decisive point, he said, because the Joint Chiefs had agreed to give President Bush a formal recommendation stating that they are strongly opposed to considering the nuclear option for Iran…”

The article continued:

“The Administration’s case against Iran is compromised by its history of promoting false intelligence on Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction… The Europeans are rattled, however, by their growing perception that President Bush and Vice-President Dick Cheney believe a bombing campaign will be needed, and that their real goal is regime change… Tony Blair, the British Prime Minister, was George Bush’s most dependable ally in the year leading up to the 2003 invasion of Iraq. But he and his party have been racked by a series of financial scandals, and his popularity is at a low point…”

The Washington Post confirmed some of the information in “The New Yorker” in an independent piece over the weekend. While British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw immediately rejected the reports in an interview with BBC as “completely nuts,” the Pentagon, according to Reuters of April 9, “WITHOUT DENYING THE REPORT, reiterated that it was pursuing a diplomatic solution to the nuclear row.” This reaction in a very half-hazard way prompted Der Spiegel Online to comment on April 9 that it poured even more fuel into the fire–especially in the Italian press. Even Straw’s additional comments to the BBC did not sound too re-assuring. According to Reuters, he stated: “Britain, Washington’s closest European ally, would not accept a pre-emptive strike against Iran… But if Iran were to attack Israel or to attack or THREATEN its neighbors, ‘that’s a very different circumstance,’… adding that Israel would have a right to self-defence if attacked.”

According to Straw, the mere THREAT of an attack would be sufficient justification for Israel to carry out a pre-emptive strike. This double-talk opened even wider the floodgates of speculations and fear of a potential nuclear war!

Somewhat belated, President Bush responded on April 10 to the reports. According to the Associated Press, “President Bush said Monday that force is not necessarily required to stop Iran from having a nuclear weapon, and he dismissed reports of plans for a military attack against Tehran as ‘wild speculation.'”

On the other hand, AFP reported on April 10 that “White House spokesman Scott McClellan said however that Bush is not taking the military option off the table.”

Iran’s reactions to the reports were forthcoming.

On April 11, 2006, AFP stated that “President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad vowed he will not back down ‘one iota’ over Iran’s nuclear programme.” Taking a somewhat inconsistent position, “Iran has dismissed any talk of an attack against it as ‘psychological warfare,'” while an Iranian army chief of staff, General Abdolrahim Mousavi, said that “Iran was ‘vigilant’ and ready to fight back. ‘We know America’s nature, and we are keeping enemy movements under surveillance. We are aware of their oppressive actions and goals against the Muslim nations,’ he added.”

The reports and reactions have, of course, given oil companies with record gross earnings in 2005 a welcome opportunity to try to make more money. As AFP reported on April 11, “World oil prices rose Monday, hovering around 68.0 dollars per barrel on market jitters over a potential military conflict between the United States and Iran, dealers said.” Focus Online added on April 11 that an increase of gas prices will also occur in Europe.

To top it all off, Iran announced on April 11 that they successfully enriched uranium for the first time–which is necessary to build an atomic bomb. According to an article posted on April 11 by usinfo.state.gov, “the Iranian regime is ‘moving in the wrong direction,’ White House press secretary Scott McClellan said.” He added: “‘This is a regime that has a long history of hiding its nuclear activities from the international community, and refusing to comply with its international obligations. Defiant statements and actions only further isolate the regime from the rest of the world, and further isolate the Iranian people.'”

Der Stern Online stated in its commentary on April 12 that Iran is miscalculating the situation. “With their provocations, they will not enforce concessions, but war.”

These are indeed frightening times. The Bible, sadly, predicts that just prior to the return of Christ, this world WILL experience nuclear war. For more information, please read our free booklet, “The Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord.”

Before analyzing the passage in Romans 5:12, 19, let us very briefly
discuss the concept of “original sin.” It was developed by Augustine,
based on a wrong translation of the Greek text in Romans 5. The
Broadman Bible Commentary points out, in Vol. 10, on page 195:
“Augustine, who knew very little Greek, followed the Latin
translation… and, on the basis of this mistranslation, developed his
doctrine of original sin, understood as inherited guilt, and the result
was a lurid picture of unbaptized infants in limbo. It is significant
that even Roman Catholic scholars, plagued most by this disaster, are
now saying bluntly the doctrine is not in Scripture.”

Simply put,
the concept of the original sin holds that we all “inherited” guilt or
transgression from Adam and Eve who “originally” sinned. According to
that concept, we inherited eternal death–which is the penalty for sin
(compare Romans 6:23)–even though we ourselves did nothing to deserve
this penalty. In other words, Adam and Eve’s original sin was somehow
arbitrarily transmitted to all, down to the last baby born before
Christ returns. From this UNBIBLICAL concept derived additional ideas,
namely:

— the Catholic concept that a baby must be baptized to
be freed from the “inherited” guilt and penalty for the original sin of
Adam and Eve (Biblical baptism is not for babies or children, however,
as clearly explained in our booklet, “Baptism–a Requirement for
Salvation”).

— the Catholic concept of the “immaculate
conception” — the idea that Mary had to be free from original sin from
the moment of her conception, as otherwise Jesus had to have been born
with inherited guilt and transgression. As sex in marriage is
considered by the Catholic Church as less than ideal, the further
concept was developed that Mary remained a perpetual virgin even after
Christ’s birth. (This concept is unbiblical, as explained in our
booklet, “Jesus Christ–a Great Mystery.”)

The wrong concept of the inherited “original sin” is described by the Nelson Study Bible, as follows:

“Through
[Adam] sin entered the world. Sin brought death. The result is that
death is now a universal experience… In Adam, we all sinned… The
result is physical and spiritual death for everyone. From Adam we
inherited a sin nature. Furthermore, as a result of our sin in Adam, we
face a common judgment–death.” The commentary goes on to say that
Adam’s sin “brought death upon us all,” and that it is not necessary
that we sinned individually.

This concept is blatantly wrong and unbiblical.

Romans
5:12, 19 is used as the proof verse of original sin. It reads, “…
through one man sin entered in the world, and death through sin, and
thus death spread to all men… by one man’s disobedience many
were made sinners…”

However, this passage does not tell us that
we are guilty of eternal death, just because of Adam’s sin, and without
any personal responsibility. Rather, an important part of the Scripture
was left out in the above quote. Romans 5:12 reads, in its entirety:
“Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death
through sin, and thus death [the penalty for sin] spread to all men,
BECAUSE ALL SINNED…”

This passage does not say that all sinned
only “in Adam”– that is, that only Adam sinned, and that his sin was
somehow transferred to all. Rather, the passage says that all have
sinned, individually. Romans 5:14 says that “death reigned from Adam to
Moses, even over those who had not sinned according to the LIKENESS of
the transgression of Adam.” But, they DID sin. Verse 13 says that sin
is not imputed when there is no law. Since death reigned from Adam to
Moses, and beyond, there WAS a law, and sin WAS imputed. Sin is the
transgression of the law (1 John 3:4, Authorized Version), and the
penalty for sin is death (Romans 6:23). Romans 3:23 tells us that “ALL
have sinned [not just Adam] and fall short of the glory of God.” And
Romans 14:12 makes it clear that we will have to give account to God
for what WE have done–we don’t have to give account for the sin of our
forefather Adam.

The idea that eternal death reigned over us even
though we did not sin, individually, is absolutely unbiblical and
misrepresents God’s very character. God is fair. If He was to hold us
responsible and make us pay for something we did not do, He would be
terribly UNFAIR.

We read in Ezekiel 18:20: “The soul who sins
shall die. The son shall NOT BEAR THE GUILT OF THE FATHER [or his
forefather Adam, who is the “father” of the human race, see Luke
3:23-38].” This text PROVES that the concept of the inherited original
sin is FALSE.

In an old article by Herbert W. Armstrong, titled, “Are People Lost Because of Adam’s Sin?,” it is stated:

“”…
it says in plain language that death passed on upon all men because all
have sinned. The death penalty is passed upon you–it is passed upon
everyone of us, because we have sinned–because we have lived the wrong
way and have not turned to God. The Scripture does not say that the
penalty of Adam’s sin is eternal death for you and me–but the penalty
for your sin, of my sin, of our sins, is death! But God so loved this
world that he gave his only begotten son, Jesus Christ, that whosoever
believeth on him should not perish, but should have the gift of eternal
life (John 3:16). The way is to repent– to repent of sin– and
acknowledge Jesus Christ as personal Savior.”

But Adam and Eve’s
sin DID do something to this world. The concept of “inherited” original
sin is clearly wrong–but notice what DID happen when they sinned. In a
brief article in the Plain Truth magazine of September 1963, the
following is accurately explained:

“… Adam and Eve… sinned.
They were driven from the Garden of Eden. By sinning, they cut
themselves off from the guidance, authority and knowledge of God (Gen.
3:24). Adam not only cut himself off–he was responsible for cutting
his children off–from the help and instruction of God. Even his own
son became a murderer (Gen. 4:8)… So Adam’s sin was unique in that it
was the first human sin–it was he who cut man off from God… We have
not been forced to sin because Adam sinned!”

But the sad fact is
that we all followed Adam’s wrong example: We all sinned and brought
upon us the penalty of ETERNAL death, and so we read that “by the one
man’s offense many died” (Romans 5:15), and “by one man’s disobedience
many were made sinners” (Romans 5:19).

As we sinned by following
Adam’s example, we can live righteously by following Christ’s example.
We read that through one Man’s obedience [that is, the obedience of
Jesus Christ who never sinned and who never disobeyed God’s law] many
will be made righteous (Romans 5:19). However, this does not happen
automatically. As Adam’s sin and the consequential death penalty were
not automatically transferred on us via “original sin,” without any
individual responsibility, Christ’s obedience and His righteousness are
not just automatically transferred on us without individual
responsibility, either. Rather, we must repent of our sins and believe
in Christ’s Sacrifice and His gospel message, in order to obtain
forgiveness of our sins, so that we can be freed from the death
penalty. Following this, we are to be baptized into His death (Romans
6:3). We are not to continue in sin (Romans 6:1) after we have died to
sin (Romans 6:2). Rather, after having been baptized and “raised from
the [spiritual] dead,” we are to “walk in newness of life” (Romans
6:4). Christ only became the author of eternal salvation to all “who
OBEY Him” (Hebrews 5:9).

We are responsible for our actions. We
can continue living in sin, by following Adam’s example, or we can
begin and continue to live in righteousness, by following Christ’s
example. The choice is ours.

Lead Writer: Norbert Link

A new StandingWatch program was posted on the Web. It is titled, “Da
Vinci, Judas and a Fish.” It discusses the common source and origin of
the Da Vinci Code, the “Gospel of Judas” and the Theory of Evolution,
which just announced that the fossil of a shallow water fish allegedly
constitutes the “missing link” between fish and land animals.

On April 8, 2006, Edwin Pope will give the sermon, titled, “As We Examine Ourselves…”

The services can be heard at www.cognetservices.org at 12:30 pm Pacific Time (which is 2:30 pm Central Time). Just click on Connect to Live Stream.

On
Tuesday evening, April 11, 2006, is Passover. If you are a baptized
member of the Church of God and won’t be able to attend local services,
but want to keep the PASSOVER AT HOME, please read the SPECIAL
ANNOUNCEMENTS regarding this in this Update, under “Feasts.”

On Wednesday evening, April 12, 2006, is the Night to Be Much Observed.

On
Thursday, April 13, 2006, is the First Day of Unleavened Bread. Rene
Messier will be giving the sermon in the morning from Oregon, and Dave
Harris will give the sermon in the afternoon from Colorado.

The
services can be heard at www.cognetservices.org at 9:00 am and 1:30 pm
Pacific Time (which is 11:00 am and 3:30 pm Central Time). Just click
on Connect to Live Stream.

A quite remarkable statement is found in chapter five of Acts. It
has to do with how the founding apostles reacted upon being threatened,
imprisoned and then beaten–all for teaching in the name of Jesus
Christ: “So they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing
that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name” (Acts 5:41).

One
of those apostles, Peter, reminds us of the approach we are to have:
“Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let
him glorify God in this matter” (1 Peter 4:16).

This teaching lies at the heart of Christianity, because it is the way in which Jesus lived His life.

Rejoicing
and glorifying God in the face of persecutions is, undoubtedly, a great
challenge for Christians, but what happens when we suffer for our own
mistakes? What kind of attitude must we show when we are corrected?

When
things just don’t go well in our lives, do we become discouraged? We
all do, but we must never give up–even if our trials seem
overwhelming. Consider what is said in Hebrews: “‘My son, do not
despise the chastening of the LORD, Nor be discouraged when you are
rebuked by Him; for whom the LORD loves He chastens, And scourges every
son whom He receives'” (Hebrews 12:5-6).

When we make mistakes,
God–because He loves us–will discipline us! He does this in order
that we can complete our calling and “…that we may be partakers of
His holiness” (Hebrews 12:10). God has very specifically chosen to call
each one of us at this time! He is offering us an opportunity to be in
the first resurrection, called “a better resurrection” (Hebrews 11:35),
because those who attain this will not be subject to destruction, that
is, the second death (Compare Revelation 20:4-6).

Because we have
been given this incomparable calling, God is working with us to insure
our success. That means there will be times when we will have to face
and endure correction: “Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the
present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable
fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it” (Hebrews
12:11).

James addresses this aspect of our calling with a
stunning challenge: “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into
various trials” (James 1:2).

When you become discouraged, when
life seems to overwhelm, when there just appears to be no help–take it
to God! Take time to realize that God is still there for you and with
you–regardless of whether you are suffering as a Christian or you are
being corrected.

What are we to say in times such as these? As
paradoxical as it might appear to others, our response should be one of
gratitude to God. You might consider starting your conversation with
God with these words–Thank You! Thank You! Thank You!

USA Prepares For War With Iran

On April 2, 2006, The Sunday Telegraph reported about secret talks between the British government and military leaders pertaining to a military strike against Iran. The paper explained the reasons for these talks, as follows:

“It is believed that an American-led attack… is ‘INEVITABLE’ if Teheran’s leaders fail to comply with United Nations demands to freeze their uranium enrichment programme… The United States government is hopeful that the military operation will be a multinational mission, but defence chiefs believe that the Bush administration is prepared to launch the attack on its own or with the assistance of Israel, if there is little international support.”

The article continued:

“British military chiefs believe an attack would be limited to a series of air strikes against nuclear plants–a land assault is not being considered at the moment. But confirmation that Britain has started contingency planning will undermine the claim last month by Jack Straw, the Foreign Secretary, that a military attack against Iran was ‘inconceivable’… At the centre of the crisis is Washington’s fear that an Iranian nuclear weapon could be used against Israel or US forces in the region, such as the American air base at Incirlik in Turkey. The UN also believes that the production of a bomb could… lead to further destabilisation in the Middle East, which would result in Egypt, Syria and Saudi Arabia all developing nuclear weapons programmes… There are thought to be at least eight known sites within Iran involved in the production of nuclear materials, although it is generally accepted that there are many more secret installations.”

Keep your eyes on the Middle East. The Bible is very clear that traumatic events will occur in that often hostile part of the world. For more information, please read our free booklet, “The Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord.”

Iran Prepares For War With USA

The Associated Press reported on April 5, 2006, that Iran claimed it had successfully test-fired a “top secret” missile, the third in a week. According to the article, “the report called the missile an ‘ultra-horizon’ weapon and said it could be fired from all military helicopters and jet fighters.”

The article went on to explain:
“The tests came amid war games being held since Friday… At the same time, the head of the Revolutionary Guards, Gen. Yahya Rahim Safavi, said the United States must recognize Iran as a ‘big, regional power.’ Speaking on state television, Safavi said Iran could use the Straits of Hormuz to apply pressure on foreign powers. About two-fifths of the world’s oil supplies pass through the 34-mile-wide entrance to the Gulf… On Tuesday, Safavi called for FOREIGN FORCES TO LEAVE THE REGION. The U.S. 5th Fleet is based in Bahrain. That same day, Iran tested a new surface-to-sea radar-avoiding missile equipped with remote-control and searching systems, state TV reported. It said the new missile, called Kowsar, was a medium-range weapon that Iran could mass-produce. It also said the Kowsar’s guidance system could not be scrambled, and it had been designed to sink ships. On Friday, Iran tested the Fajr-3, a missile that it said can avoid radar and hit several targets simultaneously using multiple warheads. Iran also has tested what it calls two new torpedoes. One of the torpedoes, unveiled Monday, was tested in the Straits of Hormuz. That seemed to be a CLEAR WARNING TO THE UNITED STATES that Iran believes it has the capability to disable oil tankers moving through the Gulf.”

These are frightening reports. Jesus warned that at the time just prior to His return, which He called the “beginning of sorrows,” “you will hear of wars and rumors of wars” (Matthew 24:6, 8). When Christians find themselves surrounded by fear, terror and aggression, they might be tempted to fight for their country–especially against non-Christian enemies. But would this be God’s solution? For more information, please read our free booklet, “Should You Fight in War?”

Iraq Without New Government

AFP reported on April 3 that “US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and British counterpart Jack Straw wound up two days of intensive talks with Iraqi leaders pressing them to speed up the formation of a new government but without any indication of a breakthrough. More than three months after legislative elections, they urged Iraqi leaders to overcome their differences and choose a strong figure to unify the country and restore stability… Their visit in the midst of a POLITICAL VACUUM in the war-torn country brought on by the lack of a new government came even as the dominant conservative Shiite coalition has asked US LEADERS TO STOP MEDDLING IN IRAQI AFFAIRS.”

The article continued: “For the United States, a national unity government is the key for an eventual withdrawal of coalition troops from Iraq, with high political stakes for the Bush administration. Polls show two-thirds of Americans opposed to his handling of Iraq, where more than 2,300 US troops have died, and the war [will likely be] a key issue in congressional elections in November.”

Even though the United States and Great Britain fought for Iraq and lost thousands of troops in the process, there is little gratitude in the world for their endeavor. In fact, it appears that their actions have not accomplished much for Iraq in the eyes of many commentators and reporters, as well as a majority of American citizens. These astonishing developments were prophesied in the Bible, and there is a reason for them. If you want to know the reason, please read our free booklet, “The Fall and Rise of Britain and America.”

Europe And The Vatican

According to an article by EUObserver, which was published on March 31, “Pope Benedict XVI has joined forces with the conservative European People’s Party to highlight Christian values as the core of the European project… the Pope urged the politicians to prove their commitment to the Christian heritage by not supporting policies that counter basic principles.”

The article continued:

“In a list of examples, [the Pope] mentioned ‘the protection of life in all its stages, from the first moment of conception until natural death,’ as well as ‘recognition and promotion of the natural structure of the family–as a union between a man and a woman based on marriage.’… The leader of the European Parliament’s EPP-ED group, Hans-Gert Pottering, noted in his speech to the Pope and participants in the audience that the group had fought to get a reference to God in the European Constitution. ‘Although we were not successful, the final text does embody essential Christian values. The EPP-ED Group, as an advocate of Judaeo-Christian values, is determined about the spiritual and moral dimension of the European project,’ he said.”

The Vatican will play an influential and dominant role regarding the ultimate European UNIFICATION of ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN “core” member states. History and the Bible show that the Roman Catholic Church was a part of several European unifications of the past, which were known, among others, as “the Holy Roman Empire,” or “the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation.” They included revivals of the European Empire under German or Austrian leaders such as Charlemagne, Otto the Great or Charles V. (The concept, however, which is proclaimed by some today, that the Protestant German Empire under Otto von Bismarck, called the “Second Reich,” constituted a revival of the Holy Roman Empire, is clearly erroneous.) The Bible predicts that a final resurrection of the Holy Roman Empire will occur, consisting of ten “core” nations or groups of nations. For more information, please read our free booklet, “Europe in Prophecy.”

Rice’s Unsuccessful Trip To England

AFP reported on April 1 about a less-than-successful trip of Condoleezza Rice to England. In fact, her visit seemed to have been “cursed” in a multiplicity of ways. The article explained that her trip was “a public relations nightmare on which little has gone completely as planned.” It continued:

“Rice came to northwest England on what was supposed to be a feel-good visit to Straw’s constituency to repay his October trip to her home state of Alabama. But the journey was plagued by problems from the start. Hopes of meeting former Beatle Paul McCartney fell through, a mosque withdrew its invitation and a local luminary lined up to host a concert in nearby Liverpool pulled out as a political statement. She visited a school in this community that is 25 percent Muslim, but many of the children were kept home for the day by protesting parents. Others cut classes to join the protests. Rice was supposed to attend a local football match but it was moved to Monday night for better television coverage. So a brief ceremony to present her with a jersey took place in an empty 32,000-seat stadium. The unflaggingly acerbic British press was less than kind to Rice on her visit to the United States’ staunchest wartime ally, taking off on her fashion choices as well as her politics… On a trip designed as diplomatic puffery, Rice also managed to make some unwanted headlines with an admission at a foreign policy forum Friday that the United States had made ‘thousands’ of tactical errors in Iraq. The offhand comment sent her spokesman scrambling to call reporters with assurances she was just speaking figuratively. Too late: the remark made the lead of all three international wire services and the front page of the Washington Post.”

Governmental representatives of the United States of America are not even praised by their own allies, the British– let alone by the rest of the world. Why should this be the case? The Bible tells us, and our free booklet, “The Fall and Rise of Britain and America” gives you the answer.

Evolution’s Downfall or Resurrection?

The Associated Press reported on April 2, 2006, about a prognosis by mathematician and Intelligent Design proponent William Dembski to the effect that the “Evolution theory” is “on her last legs.” According to Dembski,”all the debate in this country over evolution won’t matter in a decade. By then, he says, the theory of evolution put forth by Charles Darwin 150 years ago will be dead… Dembski is one of the country’s leading proponents of intelligent design, which asserts that certain features of living organisms are best explained by an intelligent cause. The ideas put forth by Dembski’s movement have piqued the interest of some school boards, churches and politicians–including Kentucky’s governor and President Bush… Dembski, who holds a Ph.D. in mathematics and philosophy, teaches a course on intelligent design at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville. He calls Darwinian evolution ‘viscerally unacceptable’ to most Americans… Kentucky Gov. Ernie Fletcher called design by an intelligent source a ‘self-evident truth’ in his annual State of the Commonwealth address in January. Fletcher has said he would encourage schools to teach the concept.”

The article continued to explain that the “debate [between Evolution and Intelligent Design] is fueled by a belief that Darwinian evolution is linked to atheism, said Eugenie Scott, director of the National Center for Science Education and a former UK professor… Dembski said: ‘I guess I would say that even though intelligent design has a long way to go, it seems to me evolutionary theory is so problematic that just about any alternative that’s scientific, or has the possibility (of being scientific) should be allowed on the table.'”

Even though the concept of “Intelligent Design” is not providing us with the correct answers as to the origin of life, it has at least highlighted the untenable position of Darwin and his followers that all life “evolved” accidentally from an organic soup of gases which accidentally developed.

The Evolution theory is false. This is not changed by the “fact” that some scientists discover, from time to time, fossils which they claim to be “missing links”–allegedly proving that fish developed into reptiles, reptiles into birds, birds into mammals, and mammals into humans. The press just reported that scientists “have caught a fossil fish in the act of adapting toward a life on land” (The Associated Press, dated April 5, 2006). The Guardian gloated on April 7: “Scientists have made one of the most important fossil finds in history: a missing link between fish and land animals, showing how creatures first walked out of the water and on to dry land more than 375m years ago.” They later admit, however, that the “fish” was only “on the verge of the transition from water to land.” This, of course, is mere conjecture and speculation.

Scientists called the fossil “Tiktaalik,” meaning, “a large, shallow-water fish.” They actually tell us that land animals (and therefore man) evolved from fish. This is ridiculous. The existence of an extinct fish-like creature which lived in shallow water proves nothing. We have living animals today which exist on land and in the water, such as seals. The crucial issue is this: IF fish developed into land animals, to better adapt to their environment, why are there still fish living today? If birds developed into mammals, why do we still have living birds? According to the evolutionary concept, they should all have been extinct.

God calls all such ideas “foolishness.” Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, speaks about the “wise” of this world in Romans 1:20, when he states: “For since the creation of the world His [God’s] invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse.” For a full explanation, please read our free booklet, “Evolution–A Fairy Tale for Adults.”

It is true that we are all “unworthy” in comparison with God the Father and the Sacrifice of Jesus Christ, but this is not what Paul is addressing. Rather, Paul speaks about the manner in which we partake of the Passover—and yes, if we partake of the Passover in an unworthy manner, and if we, especially, fail to discern the Body of Christ which was beaten for our healing from our sicknesses, then prolonged sickness and even death might be the consequence.

It is important to study the context of these verses as found in 1 Corinthians 11:17 through 34. Paul very emphatically corrected those in Corinth who had been treating the Passover in an irreverent and self-centered manner. He mentions that there were divisions within the Church (verses 18-19). Beginning with the early chapters of 1 Corinthians, Paul strongly warns against the divisions that were arising—especially those that were created by some members who focused on the personalities of various ministers (Compare 1 Corinthians 1:11-13; 3:1-23).

Paul took issue with the conduct of those who were assembling for what should have been the observance commanded by Jesus Christ through the symbols He instituted surrounding Passover. Note what Paul had already written to the Corinthians regarding their allowance of sexual immorality. He illustrates their problem through the Days of Unleavened Bread: “Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth” (1 Corinthians 5:6-8).

Here is what Paul states in 1 Corinthians 11:20: “Therefore when you come together in one place, it is not to eat the Lord’s Supper.” We understand this verse to say that they could not and should not try to eat the Lord’s Supper, as the Passover is not the Lord’s Supper. Paul was chastising them for trying to eat a supper or a meal, rather than just partaking of the symbols of bread and wine in a worthy manner. (We address this issue in Update #88 in the Q&A, pointing out that we are not to partake of the Lord’s Supper or a meal, but of the Passover symbols. Also, we explain this distinction again in Update #189, under “Feasts,” titled, “Is Passover the Lord’s Supper?”) He plainly chastises the Church for assembling in a way that nullified the intent and example of observing the New Testament Passover as instituted by Jesus Christ. Paul challenges their practice of using this time for a common meal; of getting drunk; and of adding to the division between members who were wealthy and poor because of their degenerated observance of the Passover.

In verses 23 through 26 of 1 Corinthians 11, Paul carefully reminds the Church of the correct way to observe this time—not as a riotous, self-indulgent meal, but as a meaningful reminder of the glorious sacrifice made by Jesus on behalf of mankind. In verse 26, Paul states: “For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.” The correct observance of these symbols, along with observing the time established by God for the Passover, is to be faithfully followed by the New Testament Church (Compare Exodus 12; Leviticus 23). As we see from verse 23, Jesus instituted the symbols at this same specified time as an example for the Church (Compare John 13).

Next, Paul gives a powerful warning that no Christian should take lightly: “Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord” (1 Corinthians 11:27); continuing in verses 29-30: “For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep [are dead].”

Although the application is much broader, we may, nonetheless, apply what is stated in Hebrews concerning those who take for granted the inestimable sacrifice of Jesus Christ: “For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries. Anyone who has rejected Moses’ law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace?” (Hebrews 10:26-29).

Paul warned the Church at Corinth that their actions were seriously and dangerously wrong! Like the message in Hebrews, the people in Corinth were treating the Passover as a “common thing”—that is, just another meal, and, even worse, as an activity of the Church in which rebellious actions were taking place. We find an Old Testament parallel in the story of the golden calf. In their idolatry, the children of Israel made a proclamation that their observance was “a feast to the LORD” (Exodus 32:5). They brought upon themselves both an immediate penalty of death for some (Verse 28) and a future punishment for their sin (Verses 34-35).

Disobeying God will lead to death. The only exception is through repentance and forgiveness, and our
repentance and God’s forgiveness are only possible because of the death of Jesus Christ in our place. He paid the ultimate penalty, and His sacrifice is not a meaningless ritual. The Passover must not be taken lightly—rather, we are to approach this observance carefully through a personal reflection and self-examination.

In another letter to the Corinthians, Paul states: “Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you are disqualified” (2 Corinthians 13:5). This is essentially what he had told them to do regarding the Passover Christ established: “But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup” (1 Corinthians 11:28); Continuing in verses 31-32: “For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world.”

Being “chastened by the Lord” is exactly the purpose that was accomplished through Paul’s writing. It applied to the members in Corinth, and it applies to us, today. We are to examine ourselves in order to properly take the Passover—to do as Jesus Christ commanded. Indeed, some, both then and even now, have failed to properly discern the Lord’s body—which was beaten for our healing—and they might thereby have suffered the consequence of physical sickness and perhaps even death. They, like Israel of old, have brought upon themselves penalties for their sins. We can avoid these consequences if we seek to zealously obey what God has commanded!

This is not to say—by any means—that every Church member who is suffering from an illness is being punished by God because of a lack of discernment of Christ’s body. As we explain in our booklet, “Sickness and Healing–What the Bible Tells Us,” the reasons for sickness and disease are manifold, and they might have nothing to do at all with any ungodly conduct of the sick person. All Paul is saying in 1 Corinthians 11 is that sickness COULD be the result of partaking of the Passover in an unworthy manner, by not discerning the beaten body of Christ and the fact that we are healed “by His stripes” (Isaiah 53:5; compare Matthew 8:16-17).

Even though we are asked to examine ourselves, Paul also says that we ARE to take the Passover, if we are baptized members of the Church of God. When we examine ourselves and when we hear sermons telling us of our ongoing need to overcome, we must not become so discouraged that we don’t want to take the Passover! Rather, examining ourselves should serve as the preparation God wants for us. Once we do, we are to focus on Jesus Christ—He is our Passover! Just as He set us an example, let us also keep the Passover in the manner that is truly pleasing to God!

Lead Writers: Dave Harris and Norbert Link

A new member letter
has been written and sent out via mail. It has also been posted on the
Web. In the letter, Edwin Pope discusses important principles regarding
Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread. Also included is a write-up
about our recent Church conference. The write-up was submitted to the
Journal for publication.

The new StandingWatch program, “Uproar in France,” was posted on the Web.

We
received this update from Rey Coria in the Philippines: “I’m happy to
inform you that we had distributed your booklet “Are you Predestined to
be Saved” to some old-time members. We had positive feedback from them.
In fact, we photocopy that booklet along with other booklets for
distribution. I would like to wish you in advance a happy Days of
Unleavened Bread. We’re preparing for the Passover season. Give our
regards to all of you.”

by Phyllis Bourque

Many years ago, as a new 28-year-old
convert, and the mother of a newborn and a toddler of 18 months, it was
no small challenge to get ready for church. My mate was not being
called as I was, and so Sabbath preparations rested entirely on me. One
particular Sabbath, the children were fussy, I was tired, and it was
raining…all good reasons to stay home, or so my still somewhat
“Protestant mind” thought.  Missing church that day didn’t seem as
big to me as the hassle of getting everything ready to go. So, I stayed
home.

The next week when I went to church, many of the ladies
flocked around me, very interested in my well-being and the children,
as was their custom. They mentioned how they had missed us the last
Sabbath and wondered if any of us had been sick. I explained that such
was not the case, but that the challenge of getting the children ready
to go out on a rainy day was a bit more than I could handle. And then I
said, “….but God understands.”

An elder’s wife among the group
quickly spoke up and said, “Oh, He understands, alright. He understands
where your heart is.”  Her words were well-chosen and very
powerful, and they echo in my mind to this day.  I came to realize
then how my actions were related to my conviction.

In the ensuing
years, I have been faced with diverse trials–trials that I never could
have predicted, nor would I have chosen had I known the details ahead
of time. But through those trials, God has given me ample opportunities
to learn much-needed lessons in order to grow in my conversion, showing
Him where my heart was and is, as I go through those trials. I
certainly cannot claim perfection in this area, but I keep trying, and
those very powerful words from a friend have been helpful along the way.

Yes,
God does understand where our heart is.  Every day we show Him
where it is, in what we think, in what we say, and, most of all, in
what we do.