On August 9, 2025, Norbert Link will present the first message, titled, “Comments on News and Prophecy, August 9, 2025,” and Michael Link will present the sermon, titled, “A Story of Sacrifice.”
The live services are available, over video and audio, at http://eternalgod.org/live-services/ (12:30 pm Pacific Time; 1:30 pm Mountain Time; 2:30 pm Central Time; 3:30 pm Eastern Time; 8:30 pm Greenwich Mean Time; 9:30 pm Central European Time). Just click on Connect to Live Stream.
The Daily Mail wrote on August 1:
“The president is taking out his frustration on Dr. Erika McEntarfer, the commissioner of labor statistics, who was appointed to the role by former President Joe Biden. He accused her of ‘faking’ jobs numbers before the 2024 election to ‘try and boost Kamala’s chances of victory,’ in a blistering post to Truth Social that did not provide evidence of the stunning accusation…
“Hiring growth dropped dramatically last month and unemployment ticked up, the latest jobs report released on Friday showed. Non-farm payrolls added 73,000 in July, far lower than the 100,000 expected by analysts. The unemployment rate also ticked up to 4.2 percent. The report also sharply revised down the figures for May and June by a combined 258,000 jobs from the previously released figures.
“Following the revision June’s total was left at just 14,000 and May’s at 19,000 — effectively flat. Analysts say July’s figure is also likely to be revised lower, possibly into negative territory.
Trump hammered the economist for those revisions, although they are routine in the government’s monthly job reports – sometimes going up, sometimes going down as businesses around the country report on their payrolls. .. The latest figures suggest cracks are in fact starting to show up in the economy, despite a slew of previous better-than-expected economic data released recently…
“It is just the latest example of Trump demanding that even traditionally independent parts of the government bend to his preferences – although a president who is denied bad information about the unemployment situation would be deprived timely information to change course for their own political benefit.”
The Guardian wrote on August 2:
“Speaking to reporters on Friday, Donald Trump defended his decision to fire Erika McEntarfer, the commissioner of labor statistics, and falsely accused her of having released reports just before the 2024 election that overstated the number of new jobs created by the Biden-Harris administration. Asked by a reporter, ‘Why did you fire the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics?’ Trump replied: ‘Because I think her numbers were wrong, just like I thought her numbers were wrong before the election.’
“The president then went on to give a wildly inaccurate account of the jobs data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in 2024. ‘Days before the election, she came out with these beautiful numbers for Kamala, I guess Biden-Kamala, and she came out with these beautiful numbers trying to get somebody else elected,’ Trump said, entirely misrepresenting the jobs report released on 1 November 2024, four days before the election, which in fact showed the US added just 12,000 jobs over the previous month.
“At the time, the Trump campaign called the jobs report ‘a catastrophe’ that ‘definitively reveals how badly Kamala Harris broke our economy.’ On Friday, however, the president offered a very different account of that report released just nine months ago. ‘Then, right after the election,’ Trump claimed, ‘she had an 8- or 900,000 dollar [sic] massive reduction, said she made a mistake.’
“What Trump was misremembering is a Bureau of Labor Statistics announcement, on 21 August 2024, that updated data showed that there had been 818,000 fewer jobs added in the US in the previous year than it had initially estimated. That downward revision was large, but part of an annual process, in which the bureau updates its initial estimates when it gets better data.
“The same day that revision was announced in 2024, Trump [posted] that the Biden-Harris administration had been ‘caught fraudulently manipulating Job Statistics’ and the ‘New Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that the Administration PADDED THE NUMBERS with an extra 818,000 Jobs that DO NOT EXIST, AND NEVER DID.’ On Friday, however, Trump repeatedly insisted that the August revision had not come until after the November election…”
Express wrote on August 2:
“Pressure inside the White House has risen once again as Donald Trump erupted, sacking the head of the US statistics agency after they released data about the nation’s weakening jobs market… [despite] zero evidence that any data was tampered with…
“His brash move has triggered concerns for bankers and markets around the world, who believe Trump may now interfere in the publishing of financial stats and reports that decide the prices of a wide variety of assets.”
This will contribute to America’s economic downfall.
The New York Post wrote on August 1, 2025:
“New cracks emerged in the U.S. economy on Friday after the government reported a significant slowdown in job growth, a sign of the serious and accelerating effects of President Trump’s punishing new tariffs... The jobs data offered only the latest indication that Mr. Trump’s policies, particularly his expanding global trade war, had started to put the squeeze on the economy. Tariffs are taxes on imports, paid by U.S. companies purchasing those goods abroad. Other economic data released this week offered fresh evidence that Mr. Trump’s duties had slowed trade and started to send prices higher…
“Adding to its challenges, the president late Thursday announced a dramatic widening of his trade war, slapping major new tariffs on dozens of countries that take effect on Aug. 7. Switzerland was stunned by a 39 percent tariff, among the highest. Syria, Laos and Myanmar were handed rates of 40 to 41 percent… Earlier in the week, Mr. Trump imposed 50 percent tariffs on Brazil as punishment for its prosecution of Jair Bolsonaro, his ally, who is accused of plotting a coup after he lost the last presidential election.”
The New York Post wrote on August 1:
“Among the notable rates that will be charged at 12:01 a.m. Aug. 7 — rather than on the Friday deadline initially announced by the White House — are 15% for Iceland and Israel, 30% for South Africa, 39% for Switzerland and 20% for Taiwan and Vietnam…
“The steepest tariff rates will be carried by Syria (41%), Laos and Myanmar (40%), Switzerland (39%) and Iraq and Serbia (35%). The list also denotes a 35% rate on imports from Canada after Trump signed an order upping the current tariff by 10 percentage points.”
More and more Americans are waking up to the fact that Trump’s economic policies just don’t work and are harmful to America. Note the next article.
The Guardian wrote on August 1:
“Americans are struggling financially, grappling with debt and the rising cost of living, and are blaming the Trump administration and corporate interests for worsening economic outlooks for working families, according to a new poll. Six out of 10 Americans place blame on the Trump administration for driving up their cost of living, according to a poll conducted by Morning Consult for the Century Foundation…
“Sixty three per cent said Trump had had a negative impact on grocery prices, and 61% said he had had a negative impact on the cost of living. Nearly half, 49%, said the Trump administration had had a negative impact on their finances. Nearly eight out of 10 Americans, including 70% of Republicans, fear that Trump’s tariffs will increase the price of everyday goods. ‘Donald Trump has simultaneously raised prices on everyday goods through a reckless approach to tariffs, a decimation of programs that help Americans afford healthcare, education, food and childcare, and then kneecapping federal regulators who keep banks and other big businesses from swindling consumers,’ said Julie Margetta Morgan, president of the Century Foundation…
“According to the poll, more than six out of 10 Americans said it had become more difficult to find a good paying job, buy a home and afford childcare. More than four out of five Americans, 83% said they were concerned about the cost of groceries, with 46% saying they were very concerned. Some 47% said they were worried about being able to pay their rent or mortgage, 64% said they were worried about affording an unexpected medical expense.
“About 48% said they believed they would have trouble affording an unexpected $500 bill without borrowing. One in four said it would be ‘very difficult’… Americans also fear things are getting worse economically, with 76% of those polled saying they fear a looming economic recession…”
These are terrible figures, but sadly, they reflect reality.
The Guardian wrote on August 4:
“Switzerland, home to some of the world’s best-known luxury brands, was left stunned after the US president on Friday imposed one of the highest tariff rates [39%] in his global trade reset. Industry associations said tens of thousands of jobs were at risk.
“Local media had reported that after three months of talks, negotiators believed they had secured a 10% tariff on exports to the US, a key market for Swiss products such as luxury watches, jewelry and chocolate but also machinery and pharmaceuticals. But after a 30-minute call with Keller-Sutter on Thursday evening variously described as ‘bad-tempered’, ‘disastrous’ and ‘badly misjudged’, Trump imposed a levy even higher than the 31% he had announced on his so-called ‘liberation day’ in April…
“Analysts have said tariffs could still change at any moment because of the unpredictability of the Trump administration…”
A subsequent meeting between Marco Rubio and Swiss President Karin Keller-Sutter in Washington did not result in any changes.
Breitbart wrote on August 1:
“President Donald Trump increased the pressure on [Prime Minister Narendra] Modi on Wednesday by threatening to impose a 25% tariff on Indian imports, plus additional penalties if India continues to do business with Russia… Trump… castigated India for buying the ‘vast majority of their military equipment from Russia,’ and he seemed to accuse the Indians of financing the invasion of Ukraine by purchasing large quantities of Russian oil…
“In another Truth Social post, Trump appeared to wash his hands of India altogether. ‘I don’t care what India does with Russia. They can take their dead economies down together, for all I care,’ he grumbled…”
The New York Times wrote on August 3:
“Indian officials said on Saturday that they would keep purchasing cheap oil from Russia despite a threat of penalties from President Trump, the latest twist in an issue that New Delhi thought it had settled…
“India has drastically increased its purchases of Russian oil since the Kremlin invaded Ukraine. Russia is now the source of more than one-third of India’s oil imports — up from less than 1 percent before the war. It brings in about two million barrels of crude oil a day, making it the second largest importer of Russian oil, after China.”
Newsmax wrote on August 4:
“President Donald Trump said on Monday he will substantially raise tariffs on India over its purchases of Russian oil. ‘India is not only buying massive amounts of Russian Oil, they are then, for much of the Oil purchased, selling it on the Open Market for big profits. They don’t care how many people in Ukraine are being killed by the Russian War Machine,’ Trump said in a post on Truth Social.”
India will become part of the kings of the East, joining Russia, China and other Far Eastern nations.
Politico wrote on July 31:
“Federal appeals court judges on Thursday sharply questioned President Donald Trump’s authority to impose sweeping tariffs on foreign trading partners under an unprecedented use of emergency powers. Several judges of the Washington, D.C.-based Federal Circuit Court of Appeals repeatedly wondered how Trump could justify the broad tariffs using a 1977 law known as the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA, that presidents have used to set economic sanctions and other penalties on foreign countries — but never previously tariffs…
“However, the 11 judges vigorously questioned attorneys for the states and the private companies as well…
“The New York-based U.S. Court of International Trade ruled in May that Trump had exceeded his authority under IEEPA to impose the tariffs and ordered them to be vacated. The Trump administration appealed that ruling to the Federal Circuit, which allowed the government to continue collecting the duties while the case proceeds. The appeals court set a rapid-fire schedule to consider the matter in front of the court’s full 11-member bench, which is made up of eight Democratic appointees, three Republican appointees and no Trump appointees. The lawsuit is expected to end up at the Supreme Court.”
A decision of the Court of Appeals is expected to be announced in August.
Focus wrote on August 1:
“The court could prohibit Trump from pursuing the tariff war. Then the 15 percent tariffs on most goods would also be invalidated [including those against the EU and Germany] … Trump is imposing his tariffs… without parliamentary approval… In parliament, the Republicans hold a narrow majority in both chambers (Senate and House of Representatives). This majority could be enough for Trump to push through his tariffs after all.
“However, the next elections are scheduled for 2026. Parliament will largely be re-elected. The parliamentarians must already seek re-election. Trump’s tariffs are also rather unpopular among Republican voters. It is possible that some Republican dissidents will oppose Trump… Even if the appeals court rules against Trump, the tariff war is likely to continue to occupy Germany for a long time.”
Meaning, the relationship between the USA and Germany will continue to deteriorate drastically.
Politico wrote on July 28:
“The European Union has admitted it doesn’t have the power to deliver on a promise to invest $600 billion in the United States economy, only hours after making the pledge at landmark trade talks in Scotland. That’s because the cash would come entirely from private sector investment over which Brussels has no authority… ‘It is not something that the EU as a public authority can guarantee. It is something which is based on the intentions of the private companies,’ said one of the senior Commission officials. The Commission has not said it will introduce any incentives to ensure the private sector meets that $600 billion target, nor given a precise timeframe for the investment…
“The Commission pointed out that the figure would come from private companies, not European taxpayers, contrasting with Japan’s promise to mobilize $550 billion of both public and private investments in the U.S. as part of a recently agreed trade deal.
“But the idea that the private sector can be relied upon to provide that level of investment was met with skepticism… ‘[The EU] is not China, right? So nobody can tell private companies how much they invest in the U.S.’...”
In addition, all 27 EU member states would have to approve the deal. Some, like France, Hungary and now even Germany have expressed reservations.
The New York Post wrote on August 5:
“President Trump warned Tuesday that if the European Union fails to deliver on its commitment to invest $600 billion in the US, he will ramp up tariffs against the 27-nation bloc… ‘Then they pay tariffs of 35%,’ Trump [said] when asked what would happen if the EU doesn’t pony up. ‘They brought down their tariffs, so they paid $600 billion and because of that, I reduced their tariffs from 30% down to 15%,’ the president explained.
“‘They gave me $600 billion and that’s a gift. … They gave us $600 billion that we can invest in anything we want.’… ‘The details are $600 billion to invest in anything I want. Anything. I can do anything I want with it,’ Trump reiterated when pressed for more specifics…”
EuroNews wrote on August 5:
“The European Commission is unable to design and implement investments on behalf of the private sector. The $600 billion has been described by the Commission as an indication based on the executive’s contacts with industry. ‘It’s not something the EU, as a public authority, can guarantee – it’s something based on the intention of private companies,’ a senior official said last week.”
Euractiv wrote on August 5:
“An official White House account of the deal also states that the EU has committed to purchase ‘significant amounts of US military equipment’ – a claim rejected by Brussels.”
NPR wrote on August 5:
“Four European countries have agreed to buy $1 billion worth of U.S. weapons and send them to Ukraine… ‘We already have commitments from the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, and Denmark – over one billion dollars for American weapons that Ukraine will receive…’, Zelenskyy wrote on X.”
MSN wrote on August 4:
“The State Department is proposing a rule requiring some business and tourist visa applicants to post a bond of up to $15,000 to enter the United States, a step critics say could put the process out of reach for many… The new visa bond program will take effect on August 20…
“Under the plan, U.S. consular officers can require a bond from visa applicants who meet certain criteria. This includes nationals of countries with high visa overstay rates, countries with deficient screening and vetting, and those that offer citizenship-by-investment programs, particularly where citizenship is granted without a residency requirement. Visitors subject to the bond will receive it back upon leaving the U.S., naturalizing as a citizen, or in the event of death. If a traveler overstays, however, the bond may be forfeited and used to help cover the costs associated with their removal…
“Citizens of countries in the Visa Waiver Program are exempt, and consular officers will retain the discretion to waive the bond on a case-by-case basis… The list of affected countries will be published at least 15 days before the program begins and may be updated with similar notice. In the 2020 version of the pilot, countries such as Afghanistan, Angola, Burkina Faso, Burma (Myanmar), Chad, Congo, Eritrea, Iran, Laos, Liberia, Libya, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen were included.”
The New York Post wrote on August 4:
“The Justice Department is opening a federal grand jury investigation of former Obama administration officials… including former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, former CIA Director John Brennan and former FBI Director James Comey…
“Trump and current DNI Tulsi Gabbard have called for a federal probe into the early days of the Russia collusion probe dubbed ‘Crossfire Hurricane’… The president has accused the former officials of a treasonous and seditious conspiracy to undermine his first-term agenda, which ultimately led to more than two years of leaky investigations before special counsel Robert Mueller turned up no evidence of collusion…
“Treason does not have a statute of limitations, but no American has been convicted of that charge since 1949. It’s possible that prosecutors could develop a novel legal theory to revive seemingly expired charges, as performed by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg last year when he won a 34-count felony conviction against Trump for falsifying business records to conceal 2016 hush money payments.”
The New York Post wrote on August 5:
“JPMorgan and Bank of America ‘debanked’ President Trump for his role in the January 6 Capitol Hill melee following pressure from the Biden administration’s banking regulators and the Federal Reserve… sources at the banks — the largest and second-largest in the US in terms of assets — confirmed… threats from President Joe Biden’s bank regulators that banking the former president’s money put them in danger of falling afoul of rules that prohibit financial institutions from doing business with individuals and companies that present a ‘reputational risk.’…
“Trump himself revealed that he was debanked… He said he was denied services at both institutions sometime after his first term ended in January 2021, just weeks after the storming of the Capitol… First, he said, he was booted by JPMorgan. ‘I had 100s of millions. I had many, many accounts loaded up with cash. I was loaded up with cash, and they told me, “I’m sorry, sir, we can’t have you. You have 20 days to get out.” I said, “You’ve got to be kidding. I’ve been with you for 35, 40 years.”’ Then he was denied services by Bank of America….
“Trump and his regulators have sought to end the practice and he’s issuing an executive order imminently to end politically motivated debanking.”
This is really outrageous. Trump’s executive order would be more than overdue.
Texas Tribune wrote on August 4:
“The Texas House voted Monday afternoon to track down and arrest more than 50 Democratic lawmakers who were not present when the chamber gaveled in. After the 85-6 vote, House Speaker Dustin Burrows said he would immediately sign civil warrants for each of the legislators, empowering the chamber’s sergeant-at-arms and state troopers to arrest and bring them to the Capitol. They will not face civil or criminal charges from the arrests. The warrants apply only within state lines, making them largely symbolic as most of the legislators in question decamped to Illinois, New York and Massachusetts to forestall passage of the GOP’s proposed redraw of Texas’ congressional map…
“The current congressional map, drawn by a Republican-dominated Legislature in 2021, has netted 25 GOP seats in the last two elections. But after pressure from President Donald Trump’s team, Abbott directed lawmakers to redraw the map during the special legislative session, which started July 21. Last week, the House proposed new congressional lines dividing up existing districts in Austin, Houston and Dallas with the aim of netting five more Republican seats…
“Rep. Gene Wu, chair of the House Democratic Caucus, said in a statement Sunday, accusing Abbott of ‘using an intentionally racist map to steal the voices of millions of Black and Latino Texans, all to execute a corrupt political deal.’… The departed House members will face fines of $500 for each day that they miss, as well as the threat of reprimand, censure and expulsion, although that would require a two-thirds vote among members.”
Newsmax wrote on August 6:
“Defiant [Democratic] House members remaining absent from the Texas Legislature stand to be fined nearly $400,000, according to the state chamber’s rules… A total of 57 Democrats skipped Monday’s session, bringing the penalties to $28,500.”
CNN wrote on August 5:
“For a second day in a row the Texas House failed to reach a quorum as dozens of Democrats have left the state in protest over GOP plans to potentially eliminate five Democratic US House seats ahead of the 2026 midterm elections… Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said he would seek court rulings against the Democrats if they don’t return by Friday ‘ensuring that their seats are declared vacant.’…”
This would be an unprecedented and, legal experts say, likely futile effort requiring individual lawsuits against each member and new elections to fill their seats
Express wrote on August 1:
“The war of words between US President Donald Trump and Dmitry Medvedev, a close ally of Vladimir Putin, escalated on Friday evening. The American leader announced on the platform Truth Social that he had ordered two nuclear submarines to be positioned ‘in appropriate regions’ in light of ‘foolish and inflammatory statements’ coming from Russia… It comes after Medvedev warned Mr Trump to remember Russia has Soviet-era nuclear strike capabilities of last resort. That came after Mr Trump told Medvedev to ‘watch his words’…
“[Medvedev] said Mr Trump should remember how dangerous the fabled ‘Dead Hand’ can be. This was a reference to a secretive Russian command system designed to launch nuclear missiles if Russia’s leadership were to be taken out in an enemy strike.”
It won’t come to that. No major war between the USA and Russia, let alone a nuclear war, is prophesied in the Bible. But, a nuclear war between Russia and a German-led Europe IS foretold in Scripture.
MSN wrote on August 4:
“Russia and China are staging mock combat drills and other war games in the Sea of Japan in a sign of strengthening military ties.
“Though pre-planned, the joint naval exercises that began on Sunday came a day after Donald Trump moved US nuclear submarines closer to Russia in response to inflammatory comments from Russia’s former president Dmitry Medvedev.”
Express wrote on August 4:
“Vladimir Putin has moved at least four heavy Tu-95MS nuclear bombers closer to Europe.
“The strategic aircraft are often used to bomb Ukraine, and Insider UA says they have been loaded with missiles, leading to a ‘high probability’ of an imminent major attack.”
Deutsche Welle wrote on August 4:
“Around one in six Germans say they would join the military in the event of a conflict or a call to arms, a new survey… recorded that 16% of participants said they would ‘definitely’ fight, while another 22% said they would ‘probably’ do so.
“However, 59% said they would ‘probably not’ or definitely not be willing to defend Germany in the event of an attack… More than one in four respondents (27%) said they considered a military attack on Germany within the next five years to be very or somewhat likely. Meanwhile, 59% of respondents said they felt it was likely that Germany would have to provide military assistance to another NATO member.”
These results make little sense. But these “opinions” are only temporary anyhow.
The New York Post wrote on August 1:
“French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced this week that their countries would unilaterally recognize a Palestinian state. The first problem with that is ‘Palestine’ is a fictional place. There never was any such thing…
“What happens when a civil war breaks out? Because the prospects are quite high… The French and Brits should recall that the first thing Gazans did when handed a protostate in 2005 was to destroy over 3,000 greenhouses and modern farming systems that American Jews had purchased for $14 million and handed them, gratis. The second thing they did, though, was put Hamas in charge.
“So, will France and Britain support open elections in this new nation?… What if Hamas, or some other iteration of that organization, wins those elections? Will France and Britain recognize such a state?…
“Is France or Britain going to disarm Hamas? Is France or Britain going to bring back the more than 50 hostages still being held and tortured in Gaza?…”
Canada has also declared that they want to recognize a Palestinian state. Germany has said that they are supporting a two-state solution. But a two-state solution is fiction. Israel does not want it, and neither do Hamas and the Palestinians. They want a one-state solution—without Israel.
Nius wrote on August 2:
“The German government has increased its concern about the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip. Government spokesman Stefan Kornelius stated that despite ‘initial slight progress’ in providing aid to the population, the emergency remains acute. Of particular concern is the systematic diversion of aid supplies by Hamas and other criminal organizations, which are blocking urgently needed aid for the civilian population.
“According to German security sources, a significant portion of the aid supplies entering the Gaza Strip are stolen by Hamas and other groups. 50 to 100 percent of the aid is intercepted by armed forces or criminal organizations, according to a security insider. Since May 19, a total of 2,010 trucks carrying aid from the United Nations have entered the Gaza Strip. However, official UN figures show that only 260 of these trucks reached their destination. The majority, approximately 1,753 trucks, were forcibly intercepted by armed forces. These goods then often end up on the black market and do not reach the affected civilian population.”
But it’s easy to blame Israel for this as well. Anti-Semitism is in high gear.
BBC News wrote on August 4:
“Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has visited the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem and prayed there, violating a decades-old arrangement covering one of the most sensitive sites in the Middle East. Photos and videos of his visit show Ben-Gvir leading Jewish prayers at the compound, which is known by Jews as the Temple Mount, in occupied East Jerusalem. Praying at the site breaks a long-time arrangement that allows Jews to visit the site but not pray.
“The Israeli prime minister’s office released a statement saying there had been no change to Israel’s policy of maintaining the status quo agreement that allows only Muslim worship there. Jordan, custodian of the site, called Ben-Gvir’s latest visit ‘an unacceptable provocation’. Hamas called it ‘a deepening of the ongoing aggressions against our Palestinian people’, while a spokesperson for Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said the visit ‘crossed all red lines’.
“The site is the holiest place for Jews because it was the site of two Biblical temples. It is the third holiest place for Muslims, who believe it was where the Prophet Muhammad ascended to heaven. It was captured by Israel from Jordan in the 1967 Middle East war… Palestinians… complain that in recent years Jewish visitors have often been seen praying without being stopped by Israeli police. The Waqf, the Islamic endowment which runs the site, said Ben-Gvir was among 1,250 Jews who ascended the compound on Sunday morning. Ben-Gvir, an ultra-nationalist who as national security minister oversees the police, has visited the site before, but the Times of Israel reported this was the first time that he openly prayed at the site. He was flanked by police officers while entering and touring the compound.
“In a statement at the site, Ben-Gvir said ‘horror’ video of hostages recently released by Hamas, in which they appear emaciated, were aimed at putting pressure on Israel, and called for the hostages’ return. The minister also repeated his call for Israel to occupy the whole of the Gaza Strip (so is Netanyahu) and to encourage what he described as ‘voluntary emigration’ of Palestinians from the territory…”
Why is it that Muslims are allowed to pray on the Temple Mount, but Jews are not?
The Daily Beast wrote on August 1:
“A mystery third person was spotted on camera in jailhouse footage from Jeffrey Epstein’s final night alive, a CBS News investigation has revealed. The person, who was not identified or even mentioned in a Department of Justice investigative report, is seen entering a common area near where Epstein’s cell was located just after 4 a.m. on Aug. 10, 2019, two hours before he was found dead.
“A CBS analysis of footage determined that the guards on duty, Tova Noel and Michael Thomas, did not unlock a door to let the unknown person into the Special Housing Unit within the Metropolitan Correctional Center. That reportedly contradicts what Noel told the DOJ, when she said that the opening of the door to the area ‘requires a physical key.’ Without the key, which was supposedly only accessible to Noel and Thomas, it is unclear how the mystery person entered the unit.
“Footage released by the government this month comes from a security camera that did not have a visual on the entire common area for Epstein’s unit. It recorded the guard’s desk, which was a floor below where Epstein was held, and only a sliver of the staircase that led to the convicted sex offender’s cell block. The limited footage is extremely grainy, making it challenging to analyze movements in the area.
“CBS notes that the lone security camera with footage—the DOJ says other cameras were broadcast live to a security center, but their footage was lost—did not capture enough of the staircase leading to Epstein’s cell block to say definitively that the mystery person did not approach it. ‘There is no way to know from the video if it indeed was possible for someone to enter the unit and climb the stairs to Epstein’s cell without being seen,’ the network reported…
“White House officials from the administrations of both Joe Biden and Donald Trump have said that all evidence points to Epstein’s cause of death being a suicide. Still, debate over whether the alleged sex trafficker died via suicide or was murdered—as his brother, Mark, and many MAGA figures believe—has been widely debated. The CBS analysis includes the expertise of video forensics specialists. They said they saw multiple issues with the government’s conclusions about what went down on Epstein’s final night alive. Among the reported ‘discrepancies’ was a mysterious ‘orange shape’ that was recorded ascending the stairs to where Epstein’s cell was located…
“Despite the guards on duty being required to check on Epstein every half-hour, as he was on suicide watch and temporarily did not have a cell-mate, the DOJ said no guards checked on him that night. His body was found at breakfast the next morning…”
at.com reported on August 1:
“President Donald Trump’s name [as well as the names of other prominent public figures were] redacted ‘numerous times’ in the Jeffrey Epstein files by an FBI team determining which information potentially could be released to the public, according to an explosive report published Friday.”
It was also revealed that the redaction took place before it was announced that “no further disclosure” of the Epstein files “would be appropriate or warranted” (Common Dreams, August 1).
Newsmax wrote on August 6:
“Maxwell… reportedly told Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche during their interview last month that President Donald Trump never did anything inappropriate in her presence… Maxwell, who is serving 20 years in prison after being convicted of sexually trafficking minors, further said nothing that could be considered harmful to the president…”
Her attempt to get a pardon or at least leniency is obvious.
Breitbart wrote on August 2:
“Robert F. Kennedy Jr…. confirmed the move on Saturday, blasting federal health agencies for allowing a known neurotoxin to be injected into pregnant women and children for decades… Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced that thimerosal, a mercury based preservative still found in flu shots given to children and pregnant women, has now been fully banned in the United States…
“A… study found that this highly toxic mercury remains in the brain for over 27 years. Kennedy cited a CDC-funded 2017 study linking flu shots during pregnancy to miscarriage, which found the odds of miscarriage within 28 days were 7.7 times higher for women who received the vaccine. He also referenced a 2017 study… that reported an elevated risk of autism spectrum disorders in children whose mothers received a flu shot during the first trimester…
“Despite intense pressure and smears from the pharmaceutical industry and its media allies—many of whom labeled him an ‘anti-vaxxer’—Kennedy never backed down. ‘I’ve spent 20 years trying to get mercury out of vaccines,’ he declared…
“Kennedy framed the decision as the beginning of a reform movement to restore public trust in federal health agencies… He called on global health bodies, particularly the World Health Organization and GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance, to end the use of mercury-based preservatives in vaccines administered to babies in developing countries…
“The call comes just weeks after the Gates Foundation pledged $1.6 billion to GAVI, a global vaccine initiative that says it helps immunize children in poor countries. Gates [is] a longtime vaccine advocate and former associate of Jeffrey Epstein…”
A good and much needed decision by Kennedy.
The Daily Mail reported on August 1:
“For centuries, devout Christians have flocked to the Italian city of Turin to pay their respects to one of the most famous relics in the world. The Shroud of Turin is a piece of linen, measuring 14ft 5in by 3ft 7in, that bears a faint image of the front and back of a man. Many believe that this image was created when Jesus was wrapped in the venerated shroud shortly after his death on the cross 2,000 years ago.
“However, according to a new study, the Shroud of Turin was never laid on Jesus’ body. Brazilian 3D designer and researcher Cicero Moraes, an expert in reconstructing historical faces, says that the shroud is nothing more than a ‘masterpiece of Christian art’. Mr Moraes used digital modelling software to examine how cloth drapes over the human body compared to a low, flat sculpture of a body. These results… show that the shroud’s distinctive pattern could only have been produced by a sculpture.”
The New York Post wrote on August 2:
“According to Canada’s top prosecutors, the only thing worse than tyranny is ‘mischief.’ And the worst possible ‘mischief’ is objecting to tyranny.
“In a sentencing hearing earlier this week, the Canadian government sought a ludicrous eight-year sentence for Chris Barber, one of the leaders of the Covid ‘Freedom Convoy’ protest that riled Ottawa in early 2022. For another leader, Tamara Lich, the Crown asked for an outlandish seven years.
“In April, a court ruled that Barbers and Lich were not guilty of obstructing police or intimidation during the demonstrations. But they were convicted of ‘mischief’ — in part because the truckers in the 40-mile convoy honked their horns to protest some of the most oppressive Covid mandates in the world… From the start of the pandemic, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau acted as if Covid entitled him to absolute power. Anyone who refused to get the approved Covid vaccines was castigated as a public enemy…. Banks were authorized to freeze the personal accounts of anyone suspected of donating to the truckers.
“The Covid vaccines were catastrophically failing to prevent infections at the same time Trudeau dropped an iron fist on anti-vax protestors. Almost 90% of Canadian adults had been vaccinated by the start of 2022 as Covid cases were soaring… Even though he was vaxxed and boosted, Trudeau himself came down with Covid during the trucker protest. Trudeau pretended that no Canadian had a right not to get injected because he personally proclaimed that the Covid vaccine was safe. But the rushed approval process ignored potential adverse side effects.
“In January 2024, Canadian federal judge Richard Mosley ruled that Trudeau’s use of the Emergencies Act had been unreasonable, illegal and unconstitutional. Trudeau’s regulations ‘criminalized the attendance of every single person at those protests regardless of their actions.’ The judge slammed ‘the absence of any objective standard’ for freezing bank accounts, but the court decision provided no relief for any of the victims whose bank accounts were unjustifiably seized or whose freedom and privacy was shredded.
“America saw similar absolute immunity for politicians who fueled fear and fabricated emergencies to seize absolute power, including New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s disastrous decree forcing nursing homes to accept Covid patients, President Joe Biden’s illegal vaccine mandate for large private companies and Covid Czar Tony Fauci’s presidential pardon for sending U.S. tax dollars to the Wuhan Institute of Virology that killed 7 million people worldwide…”
Appalling, shameful, disgusting, despicable. You name it.
Acknowledgement and Disclaimer:
These Current Events are compiled and commented on by Norbert Link. We gratefully acknowledge the many contributions of news articles from our readership. The publication of articles in this section is not to be viewed as an endorsement or approval as to contents or accuracy of the selected articles, but they are published for the purpose of pointing at worldwide developments in the light of biblical end-time prophecy and godly instruction. Our own comments are provided in italics.
On August 9, 2025, Norbert Link will present the first message, titled, “Comments on News and Prophecy, August 9, 2025,” and Michael Link will present the sermon, titled, “A Story of Sacrifice.”
The live services are available, over video and audio, at http://eternalgod.org/live-services/ (12:30 pm Pacific Time; 1:30 pm Mountain Time; 2:30 pm Central Time; 3:30 pm Eastern Time; 8:30 pm Greenwich Mean Time; 9:30 pm Central European Time). Just click on Connect to Live Stream.
by Brian Gale (United Kingdom)
When men and women put themselves forward in political elections, if successful, they take on great responsibility.
The law of the land is already there, and they not only must uphold those laws, but they will be required to enact new laws, if deemed necessary.
Law is vital in any civilised society to avoid anarchy; most people will accept that, although we do hear of elected politicians who break the law and suffer the consequences. Others just break the law, hoping to get away with their infraction.
When it comes to the Law of God, mainstream Christianity in general dismisses this as not being necessary, since it teaches that Jesus has done it all for us! How blessed are we in the Church of God to know that we DO have to keep God’s Law!
Law is a vital part of life, whether people like it or not.
And then there is the law of unintended consequences.
The Tutor2u website gives this definition: “The law of unintended consequences refers to the idea that actions or decisions can have unforeseen and unintended consequences, often in ways that are not immediately apparent. This can occur because complex systems often have multiple interconnected parts, and a change in one part of the system can have ripple effects that are difficult to predict.” They give a number of examples, two of which are as follows:
There are many examples on the internet. One was about India’s vultures, and it read as follows:
“In the mid-1990s India’s population of vultures began to die in droves. At first it was thought the animals were being killed off by a mysterious disease, but the culprit was eventually identified as an anti-inflammatory drug called diclofenac that was being administered to sick cattle.
“As the vultures scavenged meals from the cows that didn’t pull through, they consumed small quantities of the drug. A vulture’s stomach acid is capable of dissolving anthrax and cholera bacteria, but the slightest trace of diclofenac causes their kidneys to fail. In a matter of just a few years India’s vulture population plummeted from 40 million to just 100,000 birds.
“In India cattle are raised almost exclusively for dairy rather than meat, so when the beasts die their carcasses are left for scavengers. When the vultures all but disappeared, food was in plentiful supply for the millions of feral dogs that roam India in packs. More dogs meant more humans being bitten, and this in turn led to an increase in fatalities from rabies.
“The Indian Government banned the use of diclofenac in 2006, but the damage may prove to be irreversible. Despite the efforts of conservationists several species of vultures remain critically endangered.”
There were quite a few unintended consequences in that story.
Bringing this right up-to-date, we read on thewoof.org how recent events in the USA have had such awful unintended circumstances for those animals which cannot look after themselves:
“One of the administration’s executive orders focuses on intensifying immigration enforcement, leading to an uptick in deportations and detentions. This surge has resulted in numerous pets being abandoned or surrendered when their owners are detained or deported.
“Animal shelters, especially in areas with large immigrant populations, are witnessing an influx of these displaced pets, stretching their already limited resources. The Guardian highlights cases where pets are left behind due to sudden deportations, emphasizing the emotional and logistical challenges faced by both the animals and shelter workers.”
Did the Trump administration even consider these consequences in their race to impose draconian measures that have been compared to Nazi Germany in the 1930s? Probably not, but if they did, it would show how little regard they have for the welfare of God’s creatures. Galatians 6:7 is clear: “…whatsoever a man sows, that he will also reap.” Those involved will be held accountable for not only these appalling actions but all the others that are currently being foisted on the human race with no regard for the welfare of some of God’s creatures.
BBC News reported on 12th April 2025 that “An animal sanctuary has said it is bracing itself for ‘another tidal wave of rescue cases’ if Donald Trump’s trade tariffs put extra financial pressure on UK pet owners.
“Woodlands Animal Sanctuary in Holmeswood, Lancashire, said existing cost-of-living pressures had made the past winter much busier than previous years, and that its cattery was full by March.
“The sanctuary said 90% of the animals it had taken in were given up by owners who could no longer afford to keep them or who were facing eviction from their homes.”
There are so many problems in the world today, and decisions taken on another matter, in another country, can have devastating effects elsewhere.
Animal welfare is just one of them, but it can be heartbreaking to consider that because of the law of unintended consequences, decisions taken about one issue can unexpectedly affect those which completely rely on man for their existence.
There seems to be, so much of the time, very little kindness in the world today, and the treatment of animals is right up there with so many other examples. Kindness is a godly quality, mentioned many times in the Bible, and one that can be most ignored. And recent events where people are arrested without regard for the welfare of the animals affected and left behind is just one of so many actions that would come under the law of unintended consequences.
We can learn from this so that when we make decisions, we consider every facet that that decision will bring about. This is especially true in our spiritual lives which must be of paramount importance.
When Jesus returns and sets up the soon-coming Kingdom of God, decisions will then be made on a godly basis with every consideration taken into account when action is required, and the law of unintended consequences will not be applicable!
by Norbert Link
We begin with Trump’s furious reaction to the new unfavorable job report and continue with his tariffs policy which is backfiring on America; his new (proposed) tariff rates; and an interesting development regarding a pending court decision on the constitutionality of his tariffs. We also report further on the “deal” between the EU and the USA. Please view our recent StandingWatch program, titled, “US-EU Trade Deal—Biggest Deal Ever Made, or a Disaster?”
We speak on the turmoil in the Middle East (especially related to Palestine; Hamas and Gaza); actions in the Far East; fights between Republicans and Democrats; more discrepancies in the Epstein debacle; and conclude with new discoveries regarding the Shroud of Turin and Canada’s [and America’s] appalling hypocrisy related to their Covid policies; as well as a welcome decision by Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Throughout this section, we have underlined pertinent statements in the quoted articles, for the convenience and quick overview of the reader.
The Daily Mail wrote on August 1:
“The president is taking out his frustration on Dr. Erika McEntarfer, the commissioner of labor statistics, who was appointed to the role by former President Joe Biden. He accused her of ‘faking’ jobs numbers before the 2024 election to ‘try and boost Kamala’s chances of victory,’ in a blistering post to Truth Social that did not provide evidence of the stunning accusation…
“Hiring growth dropped dramatically last month and unemployment ticked up, the latest jobs report released on Friday showed. Non-farm payrolls added 73,000 in July, far lower than the 100,000 expected by analysts. The unemployment rate also ticked up to 4.2 percent. The report also sharply revised down the figures for May and June by a combined 258,000 jobs from the previously released figures.
“Following the revision June’s total was left at just 14,000 and May’s at 19,000 — effectively flat. Analysts say July’s figure is also likely to be revised lower, possibly into negative territory.
Trump hammered the economist for those revisions, although they are routine in the government’s monthly job reports – sometimes going up, sometimes going down as businesses around the country report on their payrolls. .. The latest figures suggest cracks are in fact starting to show up in the economy, despite a slew of previous better-than-expected economic data released recently…
“It is just the latest example of Trump demanding that even traditionally independent parts of the government bend to his preferences – although a president who is denied bad information about the unemployment situation would be deprived timely information to change course for their own political benefit.”
The Guardian wrote on August 2:
“Speaking to reporters on Friday, Donald Trump defended his decision to fire Erika McEntarfer, the commissioner of labor statistics, and falsely accused her of having released reports just before the 2024 election that overstated the number of new jobs created by the Biden-Harris administration. Asked by a reporter, ‘Why did you fire the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics?’ Trump replied: ‘Because I think her numbers were wrong, just like I thought her numbers were wrong before the election.’
“The president then went on to give a wildly inaccurate account of the jobs data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in 2024. ‘Days before the election, she came out with these beautiful numbers for Kamala, I guess Biden-Kamala, and she came out with these beautiful numbers trying to get somebody else elected,’ Trump said, entirely misrepresenting the jobs report released on 1 November 2024, four days before the election, which in fact showed the US added just 12,000 jobs over the previous month.
“At the time, the Trump campaign called the jobs report ‘a catastrophe’ that ‘definitively reveals how badly Kamala Harris broke our economy.’ On Friday, however, the president offered a very different account of that report released just nine months ago. ‘Then, right after the election,’ Trump claimed, ‘she had an 8- or 900,000 dollar [sic] massive reduction, said she made a mistake.’
“What Trump was misremembering is a Bureau of Labor Statistics announcement, on 21 August 2024, that updated data showed that there had been 818,000 fewer jobs added in the US in the previous year than it had initially estimated. That downward revision was large, but part of an annual process, in which the bureau updates its initial estimates when it gets better data.
“The same day that revision was announced in 2024, Trump [posted] that the Biden-Harris administration had been ‘caught fraudulently manipulating Job Statistics’ and the ‘New Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that the Administration PADDED THE NUMBERS with an extra 818,000 Jobs that DO NOT EXIST, AND NEVER DID.’ On Friday, however, Trump repeatedly insisted that the August revision had not come until after the November election…”
Express wrote on August 2:
“Pressure inside the White House has risen once again as Donald Trump erupted, sacking the head of the US statistics agency after they released data about the nation’s weakening jobs market… [despite] zero evidence that any data was tampered with…
“His brash move has triggered concerns for bankers and markets around the world, who believe Trump may now interfere in the publishing of financial stats and reports that decide the prices of a wide variety of assets.”
This will contribute to America’s economic downfall.
The New York Post wrote on August 1, 2025:
“New cracks emerged in the U.S. economy on Friday after the government reported a significant slowdown in job growth, a sign of the serious and accelerating effects of President Trump’s punishing new tariffs... The jobs data offered only the latest indication that Mr. Trump’s policies, particularly his expanding global trade war, had started to put the squeeze on the economy. Tariffs are taxes on imports, paid by U.S. companies purchasing those goods abroad. Other economic data released this week offered fresh evidence that Mr. Trump’s duties had slowed trade and started to send prices higher…
“Adding to its challenges, the president late Thursday announced a dramatic widening of his trade war, slapping major new tariffs on dozens of countries that take effect on Aug. 7. Switzerland was stunned by a 39 percent tariff, among the highest. Syria, Laos and Myanmar were handed rates of 40 to 41 percent… Earlier in the week, Mr. Trump imposed 50 percent tariffs on Brazil as punishment for its prosecution of Jair Bolsonaro, his ally, who is accused of plotting a coup after he lost the last presidential election.”
The New York Post wrote on August 1:
“Among the notable rates that will be charged at 12:01 a.m. Aug. 7 — rather than on the Friday deadline initially announced by the White House — are 15% for Iceland and Israel, 30% for South Africa, 39% for Switzerland and 20% for Taiwan and Vietnam…
“The steepest tariff rates will be carried by Syria (41%), Laos and Myanmar (40%), Switzerland (39%) and Iraq and Serbia (35%). The list also denotes a 35% rate on imports from Canada after Trump signed an order upping the current tariff by 10 percentage points.”
More and more Americans are waking up to the fact that Trump’s economic policies just don’t work and are harmful to America. Note the next article.
The Guardian wrote on August 1:
“Americans are struggling financially, grappling with debt and the rising cost of living, and are blaming the Trump administration and corporate interests for worsening economic outlooks for working families, according to a new poll. Six out of 10 Americans place blame on the Trump administration for driving up their cost of living, according to a poll conducted by Morning Consult for the Century Foundation…
“Sixty three per cent said Trump had had a negative impact on grocery prices, and 61% said he had had a negative impact on the cost of living. Nearly half, 49%, said the Trump administration had had a negative impact on their finances. Nearly eight out of 10 Americans, including 70% of Republicans, fear that Trump’s tariffs will increase the price of everyday goods. ‘Donald Trump has simultaneously raised prices on everyday goods through a reckless approach to tariffs, a decimation of programs that help Americans afford healthcare, education, food and childcare, and then kneecapping federal regulators who keep banks and other big businesses from swindling consumers,’ said Julie Margetta Morgan, president of the Century Foundation…
“According to the poll, more than six out of 10 Americans said it had become more difficult to find a good paying job, buy a home and afford childcare. More than four out of five Americans, 83% said they were concerned about the cost of groceries, with 46% saying they were very concerned. Some 47% said they were worried about being able to pay their rent or mortgage, 64% said they were worried about affording an unexpected medical expense.
“About 48% said they believed they would have trouble affording an unexpected $500 bill without borrowing. One in four said it would be ‘very difficult’… Americans also fear things are getting worse economically, with 76% of those polled saying they fear a looming economic recession…”
These are terrible figures, but sadly, they reflect reality.
The Guardian wrote on August 4:
“Switzerland, home to some of the world’s best-known luxury brands, was left stunned after the US president on Friday imposed one of the highest tariff rates [39%] in his global trade reset. Industry associations said tens of thousands of jobs were at risk.
“Local media had reported that after three months of talks, negotiators believed they had secured a 10% tariff on exports to the US, a key market for Swiss products such as luxury watches, jewelry and chocolate but also machinery and pharmaceuticals. But after a 30-minute call with Keller-Sutter on Thursday evening variously described as ‘bad-tempered’, ‘disastrous’ and ‘badly misjudged’, Trump imposed a levy even higher than the 31% he had announced on his so-called ‘liberation day’ in April…
“Analysts have said tariffs could still change at any moment because of the unpredictability of the Trump administration…”
A subsequent meeting between Marco Rubio and Swiss President Karin Keller-Sutter in Washington did not result in any changes.
Breitbart wrote on August 1:
“President Donald Trump increased the pressure on [Prime Minister Narendra] Modi on Wednesday by threatening to impose a 25% tariff on Indian imports, plus additional penalties if India continues to do business with Russia… Trump… castigated India for buying the ‘vast majority of their military equipment from Russia,’ and he seemed to accuse the Indians of financing the invasion of Ukraine by purchasing large quantities of Russian oil…
“In another Truth Social post, Trump appeared to wash his hands of India altogether. ‘I don’t care what India does with Russia. They can take their dead economies down together, for all I care,’ he grumbled…”
The New York Times wrote on August 3:
“Indian officials said on Saturday that they would keep purchasing cheap oil from Russia despite a threat of penalties from President Trump, the latest twist in an issue that New Delhi thought it had settled…
“India has drastically increased its purchases of Russian oil since the Kremlin invaded Ukraine. Russia is now the source of more than one-third of India’s oil imports — up from less than 1 percent before the war. It brings in about two million barrels of crude oil a day, making it the second largest importer of Russian oil, after China.”
Newsmax wrote on August 4:
“President Donald Trump said on Monday he will substantially raise tariffs on India over its purchases of Russian oil. ‘India is not only buying massive amounts of Russian Oil, they are then, for much of the Oil purchased, selling it on the Open Market for big profits. They don’t care how many people in Ukraine are being killed by the Russian War Machine,’ Trump said in a post on Truth Social.”
India will become part of the kings of the East, joining Russia, China and other Far Eastern nations.
Politico wrote on July 31:
“Federal appeals court judges on Thursday sharply questioned President Donald Trump’s authority to impose sweeping tariffs on foreign trading partners under an unprecedented use of emergency powers. Several judges of the Washington, D.C.-based Federal Circuit Court of Appeals repeatedly wondered how Trump could justify the broad tariffs using a 1977 law known as the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA, that presidents have used to set economic sanctions and other penalties on foreign countries — but never previously tariffs…
“However, the 11 judges vigorously questioned attorneys for the states and the private companies as well…
“The New York-based U.S. Court of International Trade ruled in May that Trump had exceeded his authority under IEEPA to impose the tariffs and ordered them to be vacated. The Trump administration appealed that ruling to the Federal Circuit, which allowed the government to continue collecting the duties while the case proceeds. The appeals court set a rapid-fire schedule to consider the matter in front of the court’s full 11-member bench, which is made up of eight Democratic appointees, three Republican appointees and no Trump appointees. The lawsuit is expected to end up at the Supreme Court.”
A decision of the Court of Appeals is expected to be announced in August.
Focus wrote on August 1:
“The court could prohibit Trump from pursuing the tariff war. Then the 15 percent tariffs on most goods would also be invalidated [including those against the EU and Germany] … Trump is imposing his tariffs… without parliamentary approval… In parliament, the Republicans hold a narrow majority in both chambers (Senate and House of Representatives). This majority could be enough for Trump to push through his tariffs after all.
“However, the next elections are scheduled for 2026. Parliament will largely be re-elected. The parliamentarians must already seek re-election. Trump’s tariffs are also rather unpopular among Republican voters. It is possible that some Republican dissidents will oppose Trump… Even if the appeals court rules against Trump, the tariff war is likely to continue to occupy Germany for a long time.”
Meaning, the relationship between the USA and Germany will continue to deteriorate drastically.
Politico wrote on July 28:
“The European Union has admitted it doesn’t have the power to deliver on a promise to invest $600 billion in the United States economy, only hours after making the pledge at landmark trade talks in Scotland. That’s because the cash would come entirely from private sector investment over which Brussels has no authority… ‘It is not something that the EU as a public authority can guarantee. It is something which is based on the intentions of the private companies,’ said one of the senior Commission officials. The Commission has not said it will introduce any incentives to ensure the private sector meets that $600 billion target, nor given a precise timeframe for the investment…
“The Commission pointed out that the figure would come from private companies, not European taxpayers, contrasting with Japan’s promise to mobilize $550 billion of both public and private investments in the U.S. as part of a recently agreed trade deal.
“But the idea that the private sector can be relied upon to provide that level of investment was met with skepticism… ‘[The EU] is not China, right? So nobody can tell private companies how much they invest in the U.S.’...”
In addition, all 27 EU member states would have to approve the deal. Some, like France, Hungary and now even Germany have expressed reservations.
The New York Post wrote on August 5:
“President Trump warned Tuesday that if the European Union fails to deliver on its commitment to invest $600 billion in the US, he will ramp up tariffs against the 27-nation bloc… ‘Then they pay tariffs of 35%,’ Trump [said] when asked what would happen if the EU doesn’t pony up. ‘They brought down their tariffs, so they paid $600 billion and because of that, I reduced their tariffs from 30% down to 15%,’ the president explained.
“‘They gave me $600 billion and that’s a gift. … They gave us $600 billion that we can invest in anything we want.’… ‘The details are $600 billion to invest in anything I want. Anything. I can do anything I want with it,’ Trump reiterated when pressed for more specifics…”
EuroNews wrote on August 5:
“The European Commission is unable to design and implement investments on behalf of the private sector. The $600 billion has been described by the Commission as an indication based on the executive’s contacts with industry. ‘It’s not something the EU, as a public authority, can guarantee – it’s something based on the intention of private companies,’ a senior official said last week.”
Euractiv wrote on August 5:
“An official White House account of the deal also states that the EU has committed to purchase ‘significant amounts of US military equipment’ – a claim rejected by Brussels.”
NPR wrote on August 5:
“Four European countries have agreed to buy $1 billion worth of U.S. weapons and send them to Ukraine… ‘We already have commitments from the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, and Denmark – over one billion dollars for American weapons that Ukraine will receive…’, Zelenskyy wrote on X.”
MSN wrote on August 4:
“The State Department is proposing a rule requiring some business and tourist visa applicants to post a bond of up to $15,000 to enter the United States, a step critics say could put the process out of reach for many… The new visa bond program will take effect on August 20…
“Under the plan, U.S. consular officers can require a bond from visa applicants who meet certain criteria. This includes nationals of countries with high visa overstay rates, countries with deficient screening and vetting, and those that offer citizenship-by-investment programs, particularly where citizenship is granted without a residency requirement. Visitors subject to the bond will receive it back upon leaving the U.S., naturalizing as a citizen, or in the event of death. If a traveler overstays, however, the bond may be forfeited and used to help cover the costs associated with their removal…
“Citizens of countries in the Visa Waiver Program are exempt, and consular officers will retain the discretion to waive the bond on a case-by-case basis… The list of affected countries will be published at least 15 days before the program begins and may be updated with similar notice. In the 2020 version of the pilot, countries such as Afghanistan, Angola, Burkina Faso, Burma (Myanmar), Chad, Congo, Eritrea, Iran, Laos, Liberia, Libya, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen were included.”
The New York Post wrote on August 4:
“The Justice Department is opening a federal grand jury investigation of former Obama administration officials… including former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, former CIA Director John Brennan and former FBI Director James Comey…
“Trump and current DNI Tulsi Gabbard have called for a federal probe into the early days of the Russia collusion probe dubbed ‘Crossfire Hurricane’… The president has accused the former officials of a treasonous and seditious conspiracy to undermine his first-term agenda, which ultimately led to more than two years of leaky investigations before special counsel Robert Mueller turned up no evidence of collusion…
“Treason does not have a statute of limitations, but no American has been convicted of that charge since 1949. It’s possible that prosecutors could develop a novel legal theory to revive seemingly expired charges, as performed by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg last year when he won a 34-count felony conviction against Trump for falsifying business records to conceal 2016 hush money payments.”
The New York Post wrote on August 5:
“JPMorgan and Bank of America ‘debanked’ President Trump for his role in the January 6 Capitol Hill melee following pressure from the Biden administration’s banking regulators and the Federal Reserve… sources at the banks — the largest and second-largest in the US in terms of assets — confirmed… threats from President Joe Biden’s bank regulators that banking the former president’s money put them in danger of falling afoul of rules that prohibit financial institutions from doing business with individuals and companies that present a ‘reputational risk.’…
“Trump himself revealed that he was debanked… He said he was denied services at both institutions sometime after his first term ended in January 2021, just weeks after the storming of the Capitol… First, he said, he was booted by JPMorgan. ‘I had 100s of millions. I had many, many accounts loaded up with cash. I was loaded up with cash, and they told me, “I’m sorry, sir, we can’t have you. You have 20 days to get out.” I said, “You’ve got to be kidding. I’ve been with you for 35, 40 years.”’ Then he was denied services by Bank of America….
“Trump and his regulators have sought to end the practice and he’s issuing an executive order imminently to end politically motivated debanking.”
This is really outrageous. Trump’s executive order would be more than overdue.
Texas Tribune wrote on August 4:
“The Texas House voted Monday afternoon to track down and arrest more than 50 Democratic lawmakers who were not present when the chamber gaveled in. After the 85-6 vote, House Speaker Dustin Burrows said he would immediately sign civil warrants for each of the legislators, empowering the chamber’s sergeant-at-arms and state troopers to arrest and bring them to the Capitol. They will not face civil or criminal charges from the arrests. The warrants apply only within state lines, making them largely symbolic as most of the legislators in question decamped to Illinois, New York and Massachusetts to forestall passage of the GOP’s proposed redraw of Texas’ congressional map…
“The current congressional map, drawn by a Republican-dominated Legislature in 2021, has netted 25 GOP seats in the last two elections. But after pressure from President Donald Trump’s team, Abbott directed lawmakers to redraw the map during the special legislative session, which started July 21. Last week, the House proposed new congressional lines dividing up existing districts in Austin, Houston and Dallas with the aim of netting five more Republican seats…
“Rep. Gene Wu, chair of the House Democratic Caucus, said in a statement Sunday, accusing Abbott of ‘using an intentionally racist map to steal the voices of millions of Black and Latino Texans, all to execute a corrupt political deal.’… The departed House members will face fines of $500 for each day that they miss, as well as the threat of reprimand, censure and expulsion, although that would require a two-thirds vote among members.”
Newsmax wrote on August 6:
“Defiant [Democratic] House members remaining absent from the Texas Legislature stand to be fined nearly $400,000, according to the state chamber’s rules… A total of 57 Democrats skipped Monday’s session, bringing the penalties to $28,500.”
CNN wrote on August 5:
“For a second day in a row the Texas House failed to reach a quorum as dozens of Democrats have left the state in protest over GOP plans to potentially eliminate five Democratic US House seats ahead of the 2026 midterm elections… Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said he would seek court rulings against the Democrats if they don’t return by Friday ‘ensuring that their seats are declared vacant.’…”
This would be an unprecedented and, legal experts say, likely futile effort requiring individual lawsuits against each member and new elections to fill their seats
Express wrote on August 1:
“The war of words between US President Donald Trump and Dmitry Medvedev, a close ally of Vladimir Putin, escalated on Friday evening. The American leader announced on the platform Truth Social that he had ordered two nuclear submarines to be positioned ‘in appropriate regions’ in light of ‘foolish and inflammatory statements’ coming from Russia… It comes after Medvedev warned Mr Trump to remember Russia has Soviet-era nuclear strike capabilities of last resort. That came after Mr Trump told Medvedev to ‘watch his words’…
“[Medvedev] said Mr Trump should remember how dangerous the fabled ‘Dead Hand’ can be. This was a reference to a secretive Russian command system designed to launch nuclear missiles if Russia’s leadership were to be taken out in an enemy strike.”
It won’t come to that. No major war between the USA and Russia, let alone a nuclear war, is prophesied in the Bible. But, a nuclear war between Russia and a German-led Europe IS foretold in Scripture.
MSN wrote on August 4:
“Russia and China are staging mock combat drills and other war games in the Sea of Japan in a sign of strengthening military ties.
“Though pre-planned, the joint naval exercises that began on Sunday came a day after Donald Trump moved US nuclear submarines closer to Russia in response to inflammatory comments from Russia’s former president Dmitry Medvedev.”
Express wrote on August 4:
“Vladimir Putin has moved at least four heavy Tu-95MS nuclear bombers closer to Europe.
“The strategic aircraft are often used to bomb Ukraine, and Insider UA says they have been loaded with missiles, leading to a ‘high probability’ of an imminent major attack.”
Deutsche Welle wrote on August 4:
“Around one in six Germans say they would join the military in the event of a conflict or a call to arms, a new survey… recorded that 16% of participants said they would ‘definitely’ fight, while another 22% said they would ‘probably’ do so.
“However, 59% said they would ‘probably not’ or definitely not be willing to defend Germany in the event of an attack… More than one in four respondents (27%) said they considered a military attack on Germany within the next five years to be very or somewhat likely. Meanwhile, 59% of respondents said they felt it was likely that Germany would have to provide military assistance to another NATO member.”
These results make little sense. But these “opinions” are only temporary anyhow.
The New York Post wrote on August 1:
“French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced this week that their countries would unilaterally recognize a Palestinian state. The first problem with that is ‘Palestine’ is a fictional place. There never was any such thing…
“What happens when a civil war breaks out? Because the prospects are quite high… The French and Brits should recall that the first thing Gazans did when handed a protostate in 2005 was to destroy over 3,000 greenhouses and modern farming systems that American Jews had purchased for $14 million and handed them, gratis. The second thing they did, though, was put Hamas in charge.
“So, will France and Britain support open elections in this new nation?… What if Hamas, or some other iteration of that organization, wins those elections? Will France and Britain recognize such a state?…
“Is France or Britain going to disarm Hamas? Is France or Britain going to bring back the more than 50 hostages still being held and tortured in Gaza?…”
Canada has also declared that they want to recognize a Palestinian state. Germany has said that they are supporting a two-state solution. But a two-state solution is fiction. Israel does not want it, and neither do Hamas and the Palestinians. They want a one-state solution—without Israel.
Nius wrote on August 2:
“The German government has increased its concern about the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip. Government spokesman Stefan Kornelius stated that despite ‘initial slight progress’ in providing aid to the population, the emergency remains acute. Of particular concern is the systematic diversion of aid supplies by Hamas and other criminal organizations, which are blocking urgently needed aid for the civilian population.
“According to German security sources, a significant portion of the aid supplies entering the Gaza Strip are stolen by Hamas and other groups. 50 to 100 percent of the aid is intercepted by armed forces or criminal organizations, according to a security insider. Since May 19, a total of 2,010 trucks carrying aid from the United Nations have entered the Gaza Strip. However, official UN figures show that only 260 of these trucks reached their destination. The majority, approximately 1,753 trucks, were forcibly intercepted by armed forces. These goods then often end up on the black market and do not reach the affected civilian population.”
But it’s easy to blame Israel for this as well. Anti-Semitism is in high gear.
BBC News wrote on August 4:
“Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has visited the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem and prayed there, violating a decades-old arrangement covering one of the most sensitive sites in the Middle East. Photos and videos of his visit show Ben-Gvir leading Jewish prayers at the compound, which is known by Jews as the Temple Mount, in occupied East Jerusalem. Praying at the site breaks a long-time arrangement that allows Jews to visit the site but not pray.
“The Israeli prime minister’s office released a statement saying there had been no change to Israel’s policy of maintaining the status quo agreement that allows only Muslim worship there. Jordan, custodian of the site, called Ben-Gvir’s latest visit ‘an unacceptable provocation’. Hamas called it ‘a deepening of the ongoing aggressions against our Palestinian people’, while a spokesperson for Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said the visit ‘crossed all red lines’.
“The site is the holiest place for Jews because it was the site of two Biblical temples. It is the third holiest place for Muslims, who believe it was where the Prophet Muhammad ascended to heaven. It was captured by Israel from Jordan in the 1967 Middle East war… Palestinians… complain that in recent years Jewish visitors have often been seen praying without being stopped by Israeli police. The Waqf, the Islamic endowment which runs the site, said Ben-Gvir was among 1,250 Jews who ascended the compound on Sunday morning. Ben-Gvir, an ultra-nationalist who as national security minister oversees the police, has visited the site before, but the Times of Israel reported this was the first time that he openly prayed at the site. He was flanked by police officers while entering and touring the compound.
“In a statement at the site, Ben-Gvir said ‘horror’ video of hostages recently released by Hamas, in which they appear emaciated, were aimed at putting pressure on Israel, and called for the hostages’ return. The minister also repeated his call for Israel to occupy the whole of the Gaza Strip (so is Netanyahu) and to encourage what he described as ‘voluntary emigration’ of Palestinians from the territory…”
Why is it that Muslims are allowed to pray on the Temple Mount, but Jews are not?
The Daily Beast wrote on August 1:
“A mystery third person was spotted on camera in jailhouse footage from Jeffrey Epstein’s final night alive, a CBS News investigation has revealed. The person, who was not identified or even mentioned in a Department of Justice investigative report, is seen entering a common area near where Epstein’s cell was located just after 4 a.m. on Aug. 10, 2019, two hours before he was found dead.
“A CBS analysis of footage determined that the guards on duty, Tova Noel and Michael Thomas, did not unlock a door to let the unknown person into the Special Housing Unit within the Metropolitan Correctional Center. That reportedly contradicts what Noel told the DOJ, when she said that the opening of the door to the area ‘requires a physical key.’ Without the key, which was supposedly only accessible to Noel and Thomas, it is unclear how the mystery person entered the unit.
“Footage released by the government this month comes from a security camera that did not have a visual on the entire common area for Epstein’s unit. It recorded the guard’s desk, which was a floor below where Epstein was held, and only a sliver of the staircase that led to the convicted sex offender’s cell block. The limited footage is extremely grainy, making it challenging to analyze movements in the area.
“CBS notes that the lone security camera with footage—the DOJ says other cameras were broadcast live to a security center, but their footage was lost—did not capture enough of the staircase leading to Epstein’s cell block to say definitively that the mystery person did not approach it. ‘There is no way to know from the video if it indeed was possible for someone to enter the unit and climb the stairs to Epstein’s cell without being seen,’ the network reported…
“White House officials from the administrations of both Joe Biden and Donald Trump have said that all evidence points to Epstein’s cause of death being a suicide. Still, debate over whether the alleged sex trafficker died via suicide or was murdered—as his brother, Mark, and many MAGA figures believe—has been widely debated. The CBS analysis includes the expertise of video forensics specialists. They said they saw multiple issues with the government’s conclusions about what went down on Epstein’s final night alive. Among the reported ‘discrepancies’ was a mysterious ‘orange shape’ that was recorded ascending the stairs to where Epstein’s cell was located…
“Despite the guards on duty being required to check on Epstein every half-hour, as he was on suicide watch and temporarily did not have a cell-mate, the DOJ said no guards checked on him that night. His body was found at breakfast the next morning…”
at.com reported on August 1:
“President Donald Trump’s name [as well as the names of other prominent public figures were] redacted ‘numerous times’ in the Jeffrey Epstein files by an FBI team determining which information potentially could be released to the public, according to an explosive report published Friday.”
It was also revealed that the redaction took place before it was announced that “no further disclosure” of the Epstein files “would be appropriate or warranted” (Common Dreams, August 1).
Newsmax wrote on August 6:
“Maxwell… reportedly told Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche during their interview last month that President Donald Trump never did anything inappropriate in her presence… Maxwell, who is serving 20 years in prison after being convicted of sexually trafficking minors, further said nothing that could be considered harmful to the president…”
Her attempt to get a pardon or at least leniency is obvious.
Breitbart wrote on August 2:
“Robert F. Kennedy Jr…. confirmed the move on Saturday, blasting federal health agencies for allowing a known neurotoxin to be injected into pregnant women and children for decades… Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced that thimerosal, a mercury based preservative still found in flu shots given to children and pregnant women, has now been fully banned in the United States…
“A… study found that this highly toxic mercury remains in the brain for over 27 years. Kennedy cited a CDC-funded 2017 study linking flu shots during pregnancy to miscarriage, which found the odds of miscarriage within 28 days were 7.7 times higher for women who received the vaccine. He also referenced a 2017 study… that reported an elevated risk of autism spectrum disorders in children whose mothers received a flu shot during the first trimester…
“Despite intense pressure and smears from the pharmaceutical industry and its media allies—many of whom labeled him an ‘anti-vaxxer’—Kennedy never backed down. ‘I’ve spent 20 years trying to get mercury out of vaccines,’ he declared…
“Kennedy framed the decision as the beginning of a reform movement to restore public trust in federal health agencies… He called on global health bodies, particularly the World Health Organization and GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance, to end the use of mercury-based preservatives in vaccines administered to babies in developing countries…
“The call comes just weeks after the Gates Foundation pledged $1.6 billion to GAVI, a global vaccine initiative that says it helps immunize children in poor countries. Gates [is] a longtime vaccine advocate and former associate of Jeffrey Epstein…”
A good and much needed decision by Kennedy.
The Daily Mail reported on August 1:
“For centuries, devout Christians have flocked to the Italian city of Turin to pay their respects to one of the most famous relics in the world. The Shroud of Turin is a piece of linen, measuring 14ft 5in by 3ft 7in, that bears a faint image of the front and back of a man. Many believe that this image was created when Jesus was wrapped in the venerated shroud shortly after his death on the cross 2,000 years ago.
“However, according to a new study, the Shroud of Turin was never laid on Jesus’ body. Brazilian 3D designer and researcher Cicero Moraes, an expert in reconstructing historical faces, says that the shroud is nothing more than a ‘masterpiece of Christian art’. Mr Moraes used digital modelling software to examine how cloth drapes over the human body compared to a low, flat sculpture of a body. These results… show that the shroud’s distinctive pattern could only have been produced by a sculpture.”
The New York Post wrote on August 2:
“According to Canada’s top prosecutors, the only thing worse than tyranny is ‘mischief.’ And the worst possible ‘mischief’ is objecting to tyranny.
“In a sentencing hearing earlier this week, the Canadian government sought a ludicrous eight-year sentence for Chris Barber, one of the leaders of the Covid ‘Freedom Convoy’ protest that riled Ottawa in early 2022. For another leader, Tamara Lich, the Crown asked for an outlandish seven years.
“In April, a court ruled that Barbers and Lich were not guilty of obstructing police or intimidation during the demonstrations. But they were convicted of ‘mischief’ — in part because the truckers in the 40-mile convoy honked their horns to protest some of the most oppressive Covid mandates in the world… From the start of the pandemic, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau acted as if Covid entitled him to absolute power. Anyone who refused to get the approved Covid vaccines was castigated as a public enemy…. Banks were authorized to freeze the personal accounts of anyone suspected of donating to the truckers.
“The Covid vaccines were catastrophically failing to prevent infections at the same time Trudeau dropped an iron fist on anti-vax protestors. Almost 90% of Canadian adults had been vaccinated by the start of 2022 as Covid cases were soaring… Even though he was vaxxed and boosted, Trudeau himself came down with Covid during the trucker protest. Trudeau pretended that no Canadian had a right not to get injected because he personally proclaimed that the Covid vaccine was safe. But the rushed approval process ignored potential adverse side effects.
“In January 2024, Canadian federal judge Richard Mosley ruled that Trudeau’s use of the Emergencies Act had been unreasonable, illegal and unconstitutional. Trudeau’s regulations ‘criminalized the attendance of every single person at those protests regardless of their actions.’ The judge slammed ‘the absence of any objective standard’ for freezing bank accounts, but the court decision provided no relief for any of the victims whose bank accounts were unjustifiably seized or whose freedom and privacy was shredded.
“America saw similar absolute immunity for politicians who fueled fear and fabricated emergencies to seize absolute power, including New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s disastrous decree forcing nursing homes to accept Covid patients, President Joe Biden’s illegal vaccine mandate for large private companies and Covid Czar Tony Fauci’s presidential pardon for sending U.S. tax dollars to the Wuhan Institute of Virology that killed 7 million people worldwide…”
Appalling, shameful, disgusting, despicable. You name it.
Acknowledgement and Disclaimer:
These Current Events are compiled and commented on by Norbert Link. We gratefully acknowledge the many contributions of news articles from our readership. The publication of articles in this section is not to be viewed as an endorsement or approval as to contents or accuracy of the selected articles, but they are published for the purpose of pointing at worldwide developments in the light of biblical end-time prophecy and godly instruction. Our own comments are provided in italics.
If God gave me something great – whatever we imagine to be great; whether it be a wife or a husband, a lot of money, a house, or a position in the Church or at work –, then I would give it my best! We may have said this before or thought it. I would be ready for more. I would love to serve God with something significant.
But Jesus draws our attention to an important connection. In Luke 16:10, he says, “He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much.”
Jesus is referring to the principle of faithfulness here. And He makes it clear that faithfulness does not begin with big, admirable tasks. It begins with the small things, in the hidden places, in everyday life.
The very little things are the small moments in our lives that seem insignificant: how we handle our money, how we talk about people when they are not present, how we manage our time, whether we keep our promises, whether we pray, whether we keep the temple of our body clean. It is often the inconspicuous decisions that say a lot about our character.
God does not look at the outward size of a task, but at the attitude of the heart with which we approach it. The question isn’t: How great is what we do? But rather, are we faithful in it? Jesus says that our behavior in small things reflects our inner state.
Those who are unjust in small things, that is, careless, complacent, dishonest, will also be so in big things. Conversely, those who prove themselves faithful in small things show that they are also ready for greater responsibility.
In Luke 19:17, Jesus emphasizes this principle again. In the parable of the talents, the Lord says to his servant: “… ‘Well done, good servant; because you were faithful in a very little, have authority over ten cities.’”
In Matthew 25:21, Jesus also calls out to the faithful servant in the parable: “… ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’”
This means that being faithful in small things is not insignificant, but preparation – the door to greater blessings, greater responsibility, and greater impact. God tests our hearts through small things. They are not unimportant; they are crucial.
This is also evident in Proverbs 28:20, which says, “A faithful man will abound with blessings, But he who hastens to be rich will not go unpunished.” Faithfulness bears fruit in the long run. On the other hand, those who are only interested in quick profits or outward success are easily tempted. God honors the faithful heart.
But we live in a world where often only the big things count – big projects, big visibility. However, in God’s Kingdom, things work differently. There, it is not size alone that matters, but character. Not influence, but integrity. Not applause, but faithfulness.
Paul also addresses this topic. In 1 Corinthians 4:2, he writes: “Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful.”
When God entrusts people with tasks, reliability is His most important criterion. It is not how spectacularly someone acts, but how faithfully they use and pass on what has been entrusted to them.
That is why it is dangerous to say: Once I am given a big task, I will take it seriously. Because our behavior in small things will be repeated in big things. Those who are careless, imprecise or complacent today will be so tomorrow, only with greater responsibility and greater impact.
If we want to serve God, it starts today with small decisions. Am I reliable in my everyday life? Am I honest in small things, friendly to people? Romans 12:18 says: “If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.”
Faithfulness is also shown in not giving up when immediate results are not visible. Paul encourages Christians in Galatians 6:9 with the words: “And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.”
This means that there will be a harvest, but it will come later. Faithfulness is the way to get there.
We should also serve God in our everyday lives and at work. Paul writes in Colossians 3:23-24:
“And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ.”
This shows that when we go to work in the morning and do our best, remain honest, and take responsibility, we honor God.
God sees into our hearts. Psalm 101:6 says:
“My eyes shall be on the faithful of the land, That they may dwell with me; He who walks in a perfect way, He shall serve me.”
God is looking for faithful Christians; people He can rely on, who serve with dedication in small tasks.
An example of such a person is Hanani in Nehemiah 7:2: “[T]hat I gave the charge of Jerusalem to my brother Hanani, and Hananiah the leader of the citadel, for he was a faithful man and feared God more than many.”
That is why Nehemiah appointed him over Jerusalem; not because he was the most talented person, but because he was a faithful man.
Finally, the book of Revelation describes a great promise from God to faithful people. In Revelation 2:10, we read: “Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.”
“Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.” What a promise! Faithfulness has eternal value. Those who remain faithful to God, even in difficult times, in trials, in seemingly unimportant situations, will ultimately be rewarded by God Himself.
All these Bible passages show that faithfulness in small things is not a side issue. It is crucial for our spiritual growth, for our witness, for our calling. God does not call us first to do great things, but He wants us to follow Him faithfully, day after day.
And it is there, in faithfulness to the little things, that the way opens up for what God has in store for us.
Faithfulness in small things is so important because it reveals our heart and character. Those who are faithful in small things—such as in their use of money, time, words, or a promise—prove that they are also ready for greater tasks.
Great deeds impress people. But faithfulness in small things impresses God.
Lead Writer: Christoph Sperzel (Germany)
Initial translation: Daniel Blasinger
compiled by Dave Harris
“Die Geschichte des Opfers” is the title of this Sabbath’s first German split sermon, presented by Michael Link. Title in English: “A Story of Sacrifice.”
“Könnte Ihre Unpünktlichkeit Sünde sein?” is the title of this Sabbath’s second German split sermon presented by Norbert Link. Title in English: “Could Your Unpunctuality Be Sinful?”
“Kontrollieren Sie Ihre Gedanken” last Sabbath’s German sermonette presented by Dmitrij Niemann, is now posted. Title in English: “Control Your Thoughts.”
“William Tyndale,” last Sabbath’s sermonette presented by Paul Niehoff, is now posted. Here is the summary:
God has raised up many people to do the work He required. One of them used to translate much of the Bible into English from the original languages was William Tyndale, a Catholic priest whose aim was to enable the common people to read God’s Word in their native language. Because of doing this, he was put to death.
“Beyond the Basics of Obedience,” last Sabbath’s sermon presented by Kalon Mitchell, is now posted. Here is the summary:
The 10 Commandments are the basics in the laws of God. They are the cornerstones for any true practicing Christian. Yet, Christ goes on to tell us that the 10 Commandments are not enough in terms of going above and beyond. What does that mean and what does that look like?
This Update is an official publication by the ministry of the Church of the Eternal God in the United States of America; the Church of God, a Christian Fellowship in Canada; and the Global Church of God in the United Kingdom.
Editorial Team: Norbert Link, Dave Harris, Rene Messier, Brian Gale, Johanna Link, Eric Rank, Michael Link, Anna Link, Kalon Mitchell, Manuela Mitchell, Dawn Thompson
Technical Team: Eric Rank, Shana Rank
Our activities and literature, including booklets, weekly updates, sermons on CD are provided free of charge. They are made possible by the tithes, offerings and contributions of Church members and others who have elected to support this Work.
While we do not solicit the general public for funds, contributions are gratefully welcomed and are tax-deductible in the U.S. and Canada.
Donations can be sent to the following addresses:
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Canada: Church of God, ACF, Box 1480, Summerland, B.C. V0H 1Z0
United Kingdom: Global Church of God, PO Box 44, MABLETHORPE, LN12 9AN, United Kingdom
On August 2, 2025, Paul Niehoff will present the sermonette, titled, “William Tyndale,” and Kalon Mitchell will present the sermon, titled, “Beyond the Basics of Obedience.”
The live services are available, over video and audio, at http://eternalgod.org/live-services/ (12:30 pm Pacific Time; 1:30 pm Mountain Time; 2:30 pm Central Time; 3:30 pm Eastern Time; 8:30 pm Greenwich Mean Time; 9:30 pm Central European Time). Just click on Connect to Live Stream.
JTA wrote on July 25:
“President Emmanuel Macron says France plans to recognize a Palestinian state during his appearance at the United Nations’ General Assembly in September. The move is ‘consistent with [France’s] historic commitment to a just and lasting peace in the Middle East,’ Macron wrote… The announcement — which appeared in French, English, Arabic and Hebrew — came as a surprise after Macron backed out of a meeting with Saudi Arabia next week, delayed from June, at which Palestinian statehood was expected to be discussed.
“The announcement is largely symbolic. But it is a powerful symbol, coming as France and other allies have grown frustrated with Israel’s war in Gaza and alarmed by the humanitarian catastrophe unfolding there. France is by far the largest and most influential country to recognize a Palestinian state. It also has the largest Jewish population of any country to have done so. [And it is the only known nuclear power in Europe besides the UK.]
“Israeli officials panned Macron’s announcement. ‘Such a move rewards terror and risks creating another Iranian proxy, just as Gaza became,’ Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement. ‘A Palestinian state in these conditions would be a launchpad to annihilate Israel — not to live in peace beside it.’
“U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement that the United States ‘strongly rejects’ Macron’s move. ‘This reckless decision only serves Hamas propaganda and sets back peace,’ Rubio wrote… ‘It is a slap in the face to the victims of October 7th.’
“Hamas praised Macron’s move as ‘a positive step in the right direction’… Spain, Norway and Ireland all announced last year they would recognize a Palestinian state, joining roughly 140 other countries that had already done so…”
Trump responded to reporters, “What he says doesn’t matter… that statement doesn’t carry weight.” Germany said it has no plans to recognize Palestinian statehood in the short term.
Newsmax added on July 25:
“U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee ridiculed the plan, noting on X that ‘Macron’s unilateral “declaration” of a “Palestinian” state didn’t say WHERE it would be. I can now exclusively disclose that France will offer the French Riviera & the new nation will be called”’Franc-en-Stine”.’
“In another post, he wrote: ‘How clever! If Macron can just “declare” the existence of a state perhaps the UK can “declare” France a British colony!’… [Or, perhaps, France could declare Britain a French colony—based on prophecy, this would be more likely to happen.]
“Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry also commended Macron’s announcement as ‘historic’ and called on other countries to his example.”
Breitbart added on July 25:
“[Israel’s immigration minister] said that Jews in France are no longer safe and should emigrate to Israel. Many have done so already in recent years, fleeing antisemitism.”
Sooner or later, the whole world will turn against Israel in favor of the Palestinians.
MSN wrote on July 31:
“Canada has joined France and Britain in announcing plans to recognize a Palestinian state in September as international pressure builds on Israel over the ongoing starvation crisis and war in Gaza. The move leaves the United States increasingly isolated from some of its closest allies on the issue of Israel and how it has conducted its military campaign. US President Donald Trump blasted Canada’s decision, threatening to derail ongoing trade talks with Ottawa.”
LifeSiteNews wrote on July 25:
“The announcement [of France to recognize a Palestinian state] comes on the heels of France — along with 27 other western nations — issuing a joint statement condemning Israel for its ‘drip feeding of aid and the inhumane killing of civilians’ in Gaza while calling for ‘an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire’ to end its genocidal war…
“In a phone call last week with Abbas, Pope Leo XIV echoed the demand for immediate humanitarian aid to be admitted into the Gaza Strip to feed the starving population while condemning the use of indiscriminate force against civilians and Israel’s U.S. -backed plan to ethnically cleanse the native Palestinian population.
“He then recalled with the Palestinian president, ‘the auspicious 10th anniversary of the Comprehensive Agreement between the Holy See and the State of Palestine, signed on 26 June 2015’ said the Holy See’s statement.
“This commemoration marked one of the milestones in a long list of public expressions of support for the Palestinian cause from Catholic prelates in the Holy Land, the Holy See, and around the world. The unanimous and constant voice of these spiritual leaders has demanded an end to the ‘sin’ of Israel’s ongoing illegal 58-year military occupation of internationally recognized Palestinian territory, which is seen as the ‘root’ aggression of the seemingly perennial conflict.”
Newsmax wrote on July 25:
“President Donald Trump accused Hamas on Friday of not wanting to reach a ceasefire deal in Gaza… After U.S. and Israeli negotiators quit indirect talks with Hamas in Qatar, Trump said that ‘it was too bad. Hamas didn’t really want to make a deal. I think they want to die.’…
“Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that ‘together with our U.S. allies, we are now considering alternative options to bring our hostages home, end Hamas’s terror rule, and secure lasting peace.’’
Of course, one cannot trust or “negotiate” with terrorists.
The Guardian wrote on July 27:
“Israel has said it will halt military operations each day for 10 hours in three areas of Gaza and allow aid to come in through new corridors as it seeks to quell international fury… The pause would be repeated every day from 10am to 8pm local time until further notice and Israel would continue fighting in other areas of Gaza…
“Israel said the measures were designed to improve the humanitarian situation and ‘refute the false claim of deliberate starvation in the Gaza Strip’, releasing footage of an overnight aid airdrop, that included flour, sugar and canned food. Jordan and the United Arab Emirates also carried out airdrops on Sunday afternoon.
“Israel also said it would establish humanitarian corridors to allow the UN to deliver food and medicine to Gaza…”
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on July 29 that the UK will recognize a Palestinian state if Israel does not agree to a Gaza ceasefire.
Israel Today wrote on July 25:
“Over the past few days, anti-Israel and anti-Jewish feeling has been ratcheted up into an absolute frenzy… On the Greek island of Rhodes, a mob armed with knives attacked a group of Jewish teenagers. About 50 French Jewish children, returning from a summer camp in Spain, were thrown off a flight at Valencia airport after the children sang Hebrew songs, and their tour leader was arrested and thrown to the ground.
“The BBC’s obsession with demonizing and delegitimizing Israel has reached pathological proportions. This week, it gave pride of place on its flagship radio show Today to ever-more twisted accusations and blood libels casting Israel as an evil and murderous state, including the claim by a British surgeon working in Gaza that the Israel Defense Forces were playing a game in shooting Gazan boys in the food queues by targeting a different part of their body every day.
“The broadcasting behemoth could scarcely contain its excitement as reporters and interviewees joined in chorusing that ‘a reckoning was coming’ with the imminent end of the war in Gaza, after which Israel’s ‘war crimes’ would be revealed, and the case for declaring a Palestine state was therefore now overwhelming…
“This week, the media published distressing pictures of skeletal children as evidence of starvation in Gaza. But the adults in these pictures were all conspicuously well-fed…
“There may be increasing hunger in Gaza, but to blame Israel for this is grotesque… 950 trucks have been stuck inside Gaza because the United Nations and its agencies are refusing to distribute the food and other aid they are carrying… That’s because it’s working hand-in-glove with Hamas, which is determined to cause deaths from starvation as a weapon of war, just as it’s used Gaza’s civilians as human shields and cannon fodder…”
Sadly, the worldwide hatred against Jews and the state of Israel will continue.
Israel 365 News wrote on July 29:
“This time of year, the Jewish people take on many additional practices to mourn the destruction of the Temple. Judaism places a tremendous amount of emphasis on having a Temple…
“When the Jewish nation builds the Temple, God’s presence (“Shechinah”), as it were, rests within it… The return of the Shechinah is promised in the third Temple… the Temple unites the entire nation… At its core, building a Temple is a mitzvah (commandment or good deed). Moreover, it enables the Jewish people to fulfill many additional mitzvot. Over one-third of the 613 mitzvot are dependent on the existence of the Temple…
“…the Torah emphasizes that the Temple service provides atonement for the sins of both individuals and the nation… The Temple was intended as a spiritual center not just for Jews, but for all nations…
“The Temple’s rebuilding is central to numerous prophecies… When prophecies are fulfilled, they sanctify God’s name by affirming the truth of His messengers…
“Without the Temple, we risk losing sight of our higher purpose, placing too much value on human achievements while neglecting the divine connection that gives life its deepest meaning. The Temple is not just a building; it is the bridge between heaven and earth, the place where the infinite touches the finite, and where humanity can truly feel the presence of God.”
A third temple will be built prior to Christ’s return, but it will be polluted by the “man of sin,” sitting in the temple of God and proclaiming to be God.
ABC News wrote on July 25:
“President Donald Trump’s tariffs cost German auto giant Volkswagen about $1.5 billion over the first half of 2025, the company said on Friday. Sales in North America plunged 16% due primarily to U.S. tariffs, said Volkswagen, which owns a host of brands including Audi, Lamborghini and Porsche.
“The company warned of further ‘challenges’ that will arise from ‘an environment of political uncertainty, expanding trade restrictions and geopolitical tensions,’ among other factors.
Volkswagen marks the latest in a string of major carmakers to announce billions in tariff-related losses.
“General Motors on Tuesday said tariffs on cars and auto parts drove $1.1 billion in losses over three months ending in June. A day earlier, Jeep maker Stellantis said it expects to have suffered $2.7 billion in losses over the first half of 2025 due in part to U.S. tariffs.
“Electric-vehicle maker Tesla this week reported a roughly $3 billion drop in revenue over three months ending in June when compared to the same period a year earlier. In a statement on Wednesday, Tesla touted a ‘strong balance sheet’ but acknowledged a ‘sustained uncertain macroeconomic environment resulting from shifting tariffs.’
“Tariffs of 25% on vehicles imported into the United States went into effect on April 2. The auto tariffs, which apply to cars and auto parts, threaten to raise costs for carmakers that often oversee an intricate supply chain snaked between the U.S., Mexico, Canada and beyond…
“A trade agreement struck between the U.S. and Japan this week dropped auto tariffs from the universal level of 25% to 15%, putting foreign carmakers in other countries at a disadvantage…”
Deutsche Welle wrote on July 27:
“The United States and the European Union on Sunday reached a trade deal, ending a months-long standoff… ‘We are agreeing that the tariff straight across, for automobiles and everything else, will be a straight across tariff of 15%,’ according to Trump. Currently, most EU goods face a 10% tariff, with levies of 25% on cars and car parts [as well as on semiconductors and pharmaceutical goods]. But the rate would not apply to steel and aluminum, which are being taxed at 50%.
“Trump also said the bloc had agreed to purchase ‘$750 billion (€638 billion) worth of energy’ from the US, as well as $600 billion more in additional investments. ‘Purchases of US energy products will diversify our sources of supply and contribute to Europe’s energy security. We will replace Russian gas and oil by significant purchases of US LNG, oil and nuclear fuels,’ von der Leyen told reporters…
“The 15% rate is the same as the one announced with Japan earlier this week. But it marks a significant compromise, especially given that von der Leyen offered a ‘zero-for-zero tariffs for industrial goods’ when talks began. Still, the EU chief said they agreed ‘zero-for-zero tariffs on a number of strategic products’ including aircraft and aircraft parts, some chemicals, and certain agricultural products.
“The trade pact will need to be approved by all 27 member states.”
That will still have to be seen…
ntv wrote on July 27:
“It was already clear in advance that imports from the EU to the US would be subject to significantly higher tariffs than before the start of Trump’s second term. .. The EU Commission… considers the tariffs unjustified and doubts their compatibility with the rules of the World Trade Organization. That the EU is now accepting a compromise is due to the fact that many member states consider the risks of an escalation of the trade dispute to be more significant than higher tariffs…”
“That the automotive sector, as well as the steel and aluminum industries, had already suffered from high tariffs in recent months also played a role. The EU’s negotiating position was also weakened by Europe’s dependence on US military capabilities. There were fears that Trump could once again question the NATO pledge of assistance in the event of an escalation of the trade dispute. Given the threats posed by Russia, this was seen as a major risk, especially in eastern EU states.
“In the economic sphere, however, the EU could have put considerable pressure on the US with retaliatory tariffs…”
Europe won’t forget this American blackmail and coercion…
Please view in this regard our in-depth analysis of this situation with many articles not quoted in these Current Events in our new StandingWatch program, titled, “US-EU Trade Deal—Biggest Deal Ever Made, or a Disaster?”
In addition, please note this article:
Express wrote on July 30:
“Emmanuel Macron has ripped into the European Union in an extraordinary rant. The French President fumed at Brussels for failing to agree a better trade tariffs deal with US President Donald Trump. He said Europe ‘does not see itself sufficiently’ as a global power…
“‘To be free, you have to be feared. We have not been feared enough. There is a greater urgency than ever to accelerate the European agenda for sovereignty and competitiveness.’”
Fox News wrote on July 24:
“Lies and lying people comprise the sorry epitaph of Barack Obama’s presidency. The Big Lie was that then-candidate Donald Trump colluded with Russia to rig the 2016 presidential election. It derived from a phony dossier commissioned and financed by former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton that Obama’s national security team happily peddled to destroy his successor…
“The Russia hoax took off like a rocket. It crash-landed on Wednesday, July 23, when Tulsi Gabbard, the director of National Intelligence, accused Obama, Brennan and others of engineering the false intelligence… Newly declassified documents show that a December 8, 2016, draft of Obama’s Presidential Daily Briefing (PDB) debunked the notion of Russian electoral meddling to help Trump. But… FBI Director James Comey and his cohorts reportedly scuttled it…
“The next day Obama convened a highly confidential meeting at the White House. The president ordered his intelligence cronies to expedite a new ICA that would reverse the PDB’s conclusion and energize the collusion fiction. With his marching orders in hand, Brennan immediately went to work on it… Other intel agencies that typically contribute to the assessment were deliberately excluded to stifle dissent. Evidence shows that Brennan then selected a handful of sycophants — with only one principal drafter — to craft the entire ICA that bore little resemblance to the truth and established facts. On January 6, 2017, the rushed-to-completion ICA was produced…
“Obama’s dirty fingerprints were all over the cooked-up intelligence claiming that Moscow helped Trump in some grand collusion conspiracy. On Wednesday, Gabbard held a news conference to lift the veil of secrecy and malevolence. She leveled the following broadside: ‘President Obama, Hillary Clinton, John Brennan, James Clapper, James Comey and others, including their mouthpieces in the media, knowingly lied as they repeated the contrived narrative that was created in this January 2017 intelligence community assessment with high confidence, as though it were fact.’… As ‘irrefutable proof,’ she unlocked the 2020 report of the House Intelligence Committee that had never before been seen publicly, thanks to the machinations of then-Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., who buried it as classified in a limited-access vault at CIA headquarters…
“The heretofore hidden House Intelligence report reveals how Russian intelligence ‘possessed DNC communications that in 2016 Clinton was suffering from “intensified psycho-emotional problems, including uncontrolled fits of anger, aggression, and cheerfulness.” Clinton was placed on a daily regimen of “heavy tranquilizers” and while afraid of losing, she remained “obsessed with a thirst for power.”’ Obama and Democrat Party bosses apparently knew all about Clinton’s mental instability and found it ‘extraordinarily alarming.’…
“In sending a criminal referral for possible prosecution to the Justice Department, Gabbard stated, ‘The evidence that we have found and that we have released directly point to President Obama leading the manufacturing of this intelligence assessment.’… Obama denies any wrongdoing. But he should thank Trump for winning the recent landmark Supreme Court decision that provides all presidents with immunity. Ironically, the former president can now hide behind its broad protections. However, no such shield extends to others involved.
‘It is folly to predict at this stage what prosecutions, if any, the future may hold. But the stain of corruption is already embedded in the epitaph of Obama’s presidency.”
See our recent StandingWatch program on lying politicians, titled, “Politicians, Wars and the Lies of This World”
Click Orlando wrote on July 24:
“Local veterans are speaking out against the deployment of 200 Marines to assist U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Florida…
“Alexander McCoy, a Marine Corps veteran who served six years as an embassy guard in the Middle East, Latin America, and Europe, expressed his unease about the deployment. ‘The U.S. military is for fighting America’s enemies and if we’re using them here in the United States, the implication is that Americans are enemies,’ McCoy said. In response, McCoy drafted an open letter denouncing the use of Marines in ICE operations, stating, ‘We swore an oath to the Constitution, and the law makes clear what the U.S. military is for and not for. Using Marines to participate in ICE operations on U.S. soil dishonors that oath.’…
“Since issuing the letter, over 200 veterans have added their names in support. Among them is Doug Jackson, a fellow Marine and infantryman who deployed to Iraq in 2007. ‘Marines train for war or they’re going to war, so this is not a mission that Marines want or are trained for,’ Jackson said. He emphasized that opposition is not limited to ‘hysterical, far-left people on the news,’ but represents a genuine concern among service members.”
Politico wrote on July 26:
“President Donald Trump and Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller set a goal of deporting 1 million undocumented immigrants each year — a staggering number that would require a massive expansion of immigration enforcement. Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’ delivered just that, throwing roughly $170 billion to the administration’s immigration restriction program, including $45 billion for new detention centers and $30 billion to hire 10,000 new ICE officers. ICE will now become the largest law enforcement agency in the country.
“Anti-immigration hardliners view it as a major victory. But as ICE transforms into a massive, un-uniformed, masked domestic army — one that critics fear will have carte blanche to arrest, detain and deport persons without cause or due process, whether they enjoy legal status or not — there’s reason to believe it could backfire. Think what you will of the administration’s immigration agenda, but there is little denying that mass deportations on the scale that Trump and Miller envision will necessarily require brute displays of force that may shock the public conscience, even among people who theoretically support the broader goals…
“The political backlash remains to be seen. It’s not impossible to imagine blue states and cities enacting variations on Personal Liberty Laws, setting off a collision between federal and local authorities…
“More ominous, still, is the potential for violent reaction. In a country as heavily armed as the United States, where many states allow gunowners to use lethal force when they believe their property or lives to be at stake, it is not impossible to imagine [violent] riots. The protests that rocked Los Angeles this year, while largely disciplined and peaceful, devolved into instances of violence as police clashed with protesters… As the administration’s raids intensify and spread…, the potential for violence will only increase.”
CNN wrote on July 25:
“The pending merger between Paramount Global and Skydance Media was formally approved by the Trump administration on Thursday, concluding months of regulatory uncertainty. FCC commissioners voted 2-1 along party lines to give the $8 billion deal a green light. The approval means that Skydance CEO David Ellison can complete the deal and take control of Paramount in the coming weeks.
“The usually lengthy merger review process was pockmarked by allegations of political interference stemming from President Trump’s scathing criticism of Paramount’s CBS News division… the current and future owners of Paramount had made ‘over $36 Million Dollars’ in commitments to him.
“One part is publicly known: On July 1, Paramount agreed to pay $16 million toward Trump’s future presidential library to resolve the president’s legally dubious lawsuit against CBS News… [That’s an understatement. The lawsuit was frivolous from the outset, with no chance of success.]
“Trump said the future owners of Paramount had also promised millions of dollars worth of public service announcements, which is how he arrived at the $36 million figure…”
This does not sound too good…
The Huffington Post wrote on July 25:
“Former ABC News reporter Terry Moran isn’t letting up on his ‘vicious’ criticism of Stephen Miller more than a month after his ‘world-class hater’ post about Donald Trump and his senior White House aide led to his abrupt exit at the network. Moran… referred to old clips of Miller while arguing that he’s been ‘spitting the same kind of venom and lies’ as he has in the Trump administration.
“In one video, a 17-year-old Miller said that the torture of Iraqis during the Iraq War is the ‘way to go’ because it’s a ‘celebration of human life and dignity.’ ‘The cruelty is the point,’ said Moran of Miller… ‘Trump sees him as essentially putting kind of some intellectual gloss on his own gut instincts and they work together to bludgeon the country with almost a disheartening and depressing level of cruelty and falsehood every day.’… Moran argued that Miller ‘clearly sees lying as a way of exerting power’…
“His post [in June]… led to swift outrage from top White House officials, including Vice President JD Vance. He was subsequently suspended by ABC News, which called the post a ‘clear violation’ of the network’s policies. The network would later announce that his contract would not be renewed.”
Daily Mail wrote on July 24:
“A federal appeals court delivered a blow to Donald Trump’s executive order ending birthright citizenship, deeming it unconstitutional… The ruling from a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals comes after Trump’s plan was also blocked by a federal judge in New Hampshire. It brings the issue one step closer to coming back quickly before the Supreme Court… The 2-1 ruling keeps in place a decision from U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour in Seattle, who blocked Trump’s effort to end birthright citizenship…
“The Supreme Court has… restricted the power of lower court judges to issue orders that affect the whole country, known as nationwide injunctions. But the 9th Circuit majority found that the case fell under one of the exceptions left open by the justices [a class-action lawsuit]. The case was filed by a group of states who argued that they need a nationwide order to prevent the problems that would be caused by birthright citizenship only being the law in half of the country…
“Judge Patrick Bumatay, who was appointed by Trump, dissented. He found that the states don’t have the legal right, or standing, to sue… Bumatay did not weigh in on whether ending birthright citizenship would be constitutional.”
The Associated Press wrote on July 25:
“A federal judge on Friday blocked the Trump administration from ending birthright citizenship…
“U.S. District Judge Leo Sorokin [US District Court, District of Massachusetts], joining another district court as well as an appellate panel of judges, found that a nationwide injunction granted to more than a dozen states remains in force under an exception to the Supreme Court ruling. That decision restricted the power of lower-court judges to issue nationwide injunctions…. Sorokin said a patchwork approach to the birthright order would not protect the states in part because a substantial number of people move between states.”
Deutsche Welle wrote on July 27:
“An increasing number of Americans are choosing to leave the United States due to what they perceive as a growing atmosphere of hostility, particularly toward marginalized groups.
“Traditionally, Mexico has been a popular destination for retirees and digital nomads from the US, but now it’s also attracting individuals who feel threatened because of their political beliefs, sexual orientation or human rights work… For many, Mexico represents not just a geographical escape, but a refuge from what they see as an increasingly intolerant and repressive environment in the United States.’
What a terrible development in the “land of the brave and the free.”
The Hill wrote on July 25:
“… it’s no longer absurdly premature to start talking about succession. And… there are three leading contenders.
“Vice President JD Vance — seemingly the obvious successor — is clearly positioning himself as heir apparent to Trumpism 2.0: similar themes, better vocabulary, a little more polish and (crucially) a future.
“Tucker Carlson now also seems to be testing out what it would look like to actually run for office. And Donald Trump Jr. is lurking around the perimeter; the assumption is that his name will carry him somewhere, though it’s not clear where (or even if) anyone would follow him…
“For the first time in nearly a decade, the right is confronting a future without a clear standard-bearer. And every would-be successor faces the same paradox: To win Trump’s base, you have to sound like Trump. But the more you sound like Trump, the more you remind people you’re not him…
“Of course, Trump isn’t gone yet. Republicans… could still hold on to Congress in November [although this might be rather doubtful]. Maybe Trump can ultimately find a way to outrun the Epstein controversy and set the terms for the next four years. And, regardless, he could also play a vital role in picking (or sabotaging) whoever inherits his mantle.
“But that doesn’t change the fact that his era is already ending. The spell is finally starting to wear off. And somewhere, just beneath the surface, it feels like the scramble for 2028 has already begun. The question isn’t whether someone can pick up the torch. It’s whether that person can prevent the flame from being extinguished entirely.”
Trump will stay in power as long as he is needed to fulfill biblical prophecy. And that might even mean, beyond 2028…
Reuters wrote on July 26:
“President Donald Trump’s super powers as a public figure have long included the ability to redirect, evade and deny. But the Republican’s well-worn methods of changing the subject when a tough topic stings politically are not working as his White House fends off persistent unrest from his usually loyal base about convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and his associates. Trump has scolded reporters, claimed ignorance and offered distractions in an effort to quash questions about Epstein and the suspicions still swirling around the disgraced financier’s case years after his 2019 death in prison. The demand for answers has only grown… the president’s right-leaning base… has long believed the government was covering up Epstein’s ties to the rich and powerful.
“A Reuters/Ipsos poll this month showed most Americans think Trump’s administration is hiding information about Epstein…
“Trump has weathered tougher periods before, and his conservative base, despite its frustration over the files, is largely pleased with Trump’s work on immigration and the economy. In a July Reuters/Ipsos poll, 56% of Republican respondents favored the administration’s immigration workplace raids, while 24% were opposed and 20% unsure….”
It’s truly shocking how ANYONE can support those raids…
The Huffington Post wrote on July 28:
“‘You ought to be speaking about Bill Clinton, who went to the island 28 times,’ Trump told reporters [just before leaving for Scotland], referring to the notorious private island where Epstein ran an underage sex trafficking ring. ‘I never went to the island.’… The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday that Bondi informed Trump on May he was named multiple times in Epstein’s case documents. On Friday, Trump denied ever being briefed on his name appearing in the Epstein files…
“Both Trump and Clinton’s names appeared on flight logs from Epstein’s private jets…”
If not to Epstein’s island, where did Trump go on Epstein’s planes? Flight logs reflect that Trump flew on Epstein’s planes at least eight times. Trump also denied a report by the Wall Street Journal that he allegedly wrote and sent a racy X-rated birthday card to Epstein. He sued the WSJ over this report. As a public figure, he would have to prove that the WSJ had “actual malice”—that they knew that their report was false or that they acted with reckless disregard for the truth. The WSJ has maintained that their report is true. Trump’s lawsuit does not seem to have any chance of success. Also note the next article:
The Guardian wrote on July 29:
“Donald Trump suggested on Tuesday that Jeffrey Epstein…’stole’ Virginia Giuffre and other young female staffers whom he hired away from the president’s Mar-a-Lago country club…
“Senior White House aides have repeatedly suggested in recent weeks that Trump broke with Epstein in about 2004 and expelled him from the Mar-a-Lago club for inappropriate behavior of a sexual nature… [Virginia Giuffre] was hired away from the Mar-a-Lago spa by Epstein’s accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell in 2000, when she was 16… but two years later, Trump spoke highly of Epstein to a reporter.”
Originally, it was claimed that Trump and Epstein severed their relationship in 2004 over a business deal. Trump and the White House need to get their stories straight.
Express wrote on July 28:
“King Charles is allegedly ‘very concerned’ that US President Donald Trump could launch into a massive rant about immigration during his second state visit to the UK in September… It comes shortly after the US president sent Prime Minister Keir Starmer ‘advice’ about the ongoing small boat crisis.
“While on a private visit to Scotland, Mr Trump warned the Prime Minister that those coming across on dinghies are ‘bad people’, but praised efforts to end crossings. Meanwhile, after arriving in Scotland on Friday, the US politician made headlines after he declared that illegal migration is a ‘horrible invasion’ that is ‘killing Europe.’
“Now, civil servants have issued warnings that he could break protocol and make politicised comments during his visit to England in a few weeks… ‘He will be appalled by what Trump said on Friday, which seems to be entirely driven by his domestic agenda, and will be very concerned about the possibility of a repeat of Trump’s outburst in September.’…
“… aides fear the US president might give an impromptu interview to the media with political statements, which could put the monarch in a difficult position. They said: ‘If Trump starts sounding off about the evils of immigration to the cameras while the King is standing next to him, the King would find that hard to take.’”
With Trump, everything is possible.
The Future of Freedom Foundation published the following article on July 22:
“With President Trump’s MAGA supporters in full rebellion over his refusal to release all the records relating to the Jeffrey Epstein pedophilia investigation, get ready for a big crisis in foreign affairs designed to distract attention from the Epstein scandal.
“It certainly wouldn’t be the first time a ruler engaged in such a strategy. In fact, it’s a time-honored way to get people to set aside their rebellion and instead ‘rally ’round the flag.’ Consider the immortal words of James Madison, the father of the Constitution: ‘The means of defense against foreign danger have been always the instruments of tyranny at home. Among the Romans it was a standing maxim to excite a war, whenever a revolt was apprehended.’
“Madison was saying that in the old Roman Empire the populace would periodically go into rebellion mode, rebelling against things like exorbitant taxation or monetary debasement at the hands of their rulers. Whenever that would happen, the emperor would simply instigate a war against some scary foreign enemy, which would stir up both fear and patriotism within the populace. People would forget their rebellion in order to be kept safe from the new official enemy with which they were now at war…
“What might U.S. officials do this time to distract people away from Jeffrey Epstein? The Ukraine-Russia war provides an excellent opportunity to do that. All that needs to be done is furnish Ukraine with long-range missiles that are used to attack Moscow, St. Petersburg, or other big Russian cities. In that case, Russia will be tempted to strike at NATO countries that are providing such missiles… What better way to create a diversion away from Jeffrey Epstein than producing the prospect of all-out nuclear war between the United States and Russia?
“Of course, there is also China… Ginning up a crisis with nuclear-armed China, say over Taiwan, would be another excellent way to cause people to stop thinking about Epstein.
“There is also, of course, nuclear-armed North Korea. As we learned in the first Trump administration, it is fairly easy to stir up a crisis with that communist regime. Even if North Korea might not be able to strike the U.S. with its nuclear missiles, it can certainly strike South Korea and Japan. Would that prospect be enough to get people’s minds off Jeffrey Epstein?…
“Needless to say, Iran is always available whenever a scary official enemy and a big foreign-policy crisis is needed. All that needs to be done is to proclaim that Iran is still producing nuclear weapons and plans to use them against Israel or the United States… A big, scary official enemy and another big foreign crisis that would easily cause all those MAGA people to forget Jeffrey Epstein.
“One thing is certain: Given the fact that Epstein obviously had very wealthy and very powerful clients — and, more important, given the very real likelihood that Epstein had connections to either Israeli or U.S. intelligence or both — there is no reasonable possibility that Trump is going to order the release of all the federal investigative files in the Epstein case. Will his MAGA supporters simply accept the inevitable and give up? If they don’t, then everyone should prepare himself for the prospect of a big foreign crisis in the near future.”
The real irony is this: Some of the scenarios described in the article are not only imagined and in need of “creation” by the USA, but they are already very real. This includes an escalation of the Ukraine-Russia war; China’s anticipated invasion of Taiwan; North Korean attacks on South Korea; and Iran’s continuation of the production of nuclear weapons. Another crisis is of course the situation in the Middle East, involving Israel, Hamas and the Gaza Strip.
Fox News wrote on July 27:
“Jay Leno reflected on why he always kept his jokes politically balanced while hosting ‘The Tonight Show’ for over two decades. The 75-year-old comedian recently sat down for an interview with David Trulio, the president and CEO of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation, during which he was questioned about his approach to political humor…
“‘It was fun to me when I got hate letters [like] “Dear Mr. Leno, you and your Republican friends” and “Well, Mr. Leno, I hope you and your Democratic buddies are happy” — over the same joke,’ Leno recalled. ‘And I go, “Well, that’s good,”’ he said. ‘That’s how you get a whole audience.’
“Leno went on to note how late-night comedy has changed amid the current divisive political landscape. ‘Now you have to be content with half the audience because you have [to] give your opinion,’ Leno said… ‘I don’t understand why you would alienate one particular group… I like to think that people come to a comedy show to kind of get away from the things, you know, the pressures of life, whatever it might be…
“‘And I love political humor… but it’s just what happens when people wind up cozying too much to one side or the other… Funny is funny… It’s funny when someone who’s not….when you make fun of their side and they laugh at it, you know, that’s kind of what I do… why shoot for just half an audience all the time? You know, why not try to get the whole [audience]…’”
Good advice, which applies to left-wing and right-wing “comedians.”
Politico wrote on July 24:
“As a democratic state, Ukraine is under assault from two sources. Its first and most obvious adversary is Moscow, which has long wanted to return the country to the days of being a Kremlin plaything, a mere Russian satellite. But arguably there’s another insidious and corrosive adversary from within — the country’s own semi-autocratic leadership. This is what opposition lawmakers and civil society activists have been arguing for months, as Ukraine’s presidential administration has been grabbing more power, weakening other governing and regional institutions — including the country’s parliament — while also intimidating critics in a bid to silence them with hue-and-cry campaigns or by labeling them as Russian stooges.
“They say the extent of this democratic backsliding became clearer this week after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy gutted Ukraine’s two key anti-corruption agencies which had been zeroing in on top government officials. The move prompted the first country-wide street protests since Russia’s full-scale invasion began in 2022.
“In Kyiv, hundreds of protesters gathered near the presidential complex while crowds of veterans, active-duty soldiers and civilians gathered in dozens of other towns… Despite the rallies, Zelenskyy approved the new law, which will hand substantial authority over the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAP) to the politically appointed prosecutor general…
“With public and EU pressure mounting on Zelenskyy, the Ukrainian leader appeared to offer a concession Wednesday night, saying in his regular evening address that he will advance new legislation responding to protest demands that will ensure ‘all the norms for the independence of anti-corruption institutions will be in place.’ What he meant remains unclear and hasn’t quelled public anger over a law he signed in such haste.
“The two agencies in question came into being in 2015 at the insistence of the EU and other international partners, including the administration of then-U.S. President Barack Obama. Washington and Brussels wanted to see Ukraine genuinely combat its deep-rooted and endemic corruption problem, and pressed for the establishment of anti-graft bodies independent of the government, ones that would be powerful enough to probe wrongdoing by top officials and those with political connections.
“But Law No. 12414, which Zelenskyy quickly signed after it was rushed through the Verkhovna Rada with almost unprecedented haste, now strips both NABU and SAP of that independence. Instead, it grants the prosecutor general’s office the power to issue orders to these agencies and reassign cases to their own prosecutor, in effect dismantling the safeguards that protect those bodies from undue political meddling…
“For months [EU officials and diplomats have] been complaining bitterly — though always in private — about the Ukrainian president’s democratic backsliding. They’ve been unhappy with the purges and reshuffles that have seen the departure of more independent-minded ministers and officials from government…
“Posting on social media before the new law’s approval, European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos said the situation would hurt Ukraine’s accession negotiations. ‘Independent bodies like NABU & SAPO are essential for Ukraine’s EU path,’ she wrote. Meanwhile, the ambassadors of G7 nations in Kyiv issued a joint statement expressing their ‘serious concerns.’…
“So why are EU officials only now publicly expressing their worries about this monopolization of power? In part it’s because the move on the anti-corruption agencies was so blatant. According to both public record and anti-graft officials who spoke to POLITICO on condition of anonymity, NABU had opened probes into the dealings of presidential office insiders and ministers. Added to which, the presidential administration had started going after anti-corruption activists like Vitaly Shabunin, head of the Anti-Corruption Action Center NGO. Shabunin warned on social media: ‘Zelensky’s prosecutor general will stop investigations against all the president’s friends.’
“The fierceness of the public response likely caught the EU’s attention as well. The Kyiv Independent, an English-language media outlet read closely in Brussels, headlined its sharply critical editorial: ‘Zelensky just betrayed Ukraine’s democracy.’”
The Kyiv Independent also wrote on July 25:
“Lawmakers, experts, and activists say that over the past week, Ukraine has made a leap towards authoritarianism and lawlessness.”
Reuters wrote on July 30:
“The 8.8 magnitude quake off Russia that triggered tsunami warnings across the Pacific occurred on what is known as a “megathrust fault”, where the denser Pacific Plate is sliding underneath the lighter North American Plate, scientists said. The Pacific Plate has been on the move, making the Kamchatka Peninsula area off Russia’s Far East coast where it struck especially vulnerable to such tremors…
“With its epicentre near the city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, it was the biggest earthquake since the devastating Tohuku event in 2011… The 8.8 magnitude event on Wednesday came less than two weeks after a magnitude 7.4 earthquake in the same area, which has now been identified as a ‘foreshock’.”
The Independent wrote on July 30:
“A terrifying discovery was made at a nuclear facility in South Carolina: radioactive wasps…
“There are other examples of nuclear activity affecting the animal world, from German forests and Japanese mountains to the Enewetak Atoll between Australia and Hawaii. Large parts of the radioactive contamination across the world came after superpowers conducted tests as they raced to create devastating weapons during the 20th century. For instance, the U.S. tested nuclear weapons on Enewetak Atoll between 1948 and 1958, leading to sea turtles becoming radioactive in the surrounding waters. After the test, the U.S. buried the waste in a concrete tomb that has started to leak…
“Wild boars in the forests of Bavaria, at times, have high levels of radiation, with scientists long believing that it stemmed from the 1986 nuclear meltdown in Chernobyl, Ukraine. However…, 68 percent of the contamination in boars in the area stemmed from global nuclear testing. The boars became contaminated after eating truffles, which had absorbed radiation from nuclear fallout that had settled in the ground.
“Norwegian reindeer were contaminated after Chernobyl, after the fallout was blown northwest, later falling as rain…. Europe is heavily contaminated by Chernobyl…”
And so man continues to destroy the environment, including the animal world.
Express wrote on July 25:
“Eurocrats are preparing to treat Britain as a ‘cash cow’ under a controversial £130 billion EU defence fund, with a Brussels insider claiming the bloc sees Sir Keir Starmer as a ‘pushover’ rather than a genuine partner. The warning comes as the Prime Minister prepares to negotiate UK participation in the Security and Action for Europe (SAFE) fund—part of the EU’s wider £700 billion effort to rearm itself…
“The SAFE fund, expected to launch formally this summer, will offer low-interest loans to member states for joint procurement of weapons, ammunition, and defence systems. While British companies would theoretically be eligible to bid for contracts, the EU has made it clear that access will not come free—and that non-member countries like the UK will have to pay for the privilege. Under the proposed terms, any British firm awarded a SAFE-backed contract would trigger an obligation for the UK Government to contribute an equivalent share back into the fund.
“That contribution would effectively subsidise the rest of the scheme without granting Britain… any voting rights over how the money is spent. Frank Furedi, Executive Director of the think tank MCC Brussels, warned: ‘EU powerbrokers see Starmer as a pushover—desperate for approval and ready to sell out British interests to curry favour in Brussels. They view the UK not as a partner, but as a cash cow—ripe for exploitation… And they’re counting on him to hand over billions just for the “honour” of joining their EU Defence Fund, plugging their financial holes at Britain’s taxpayer’s expense.’”
Starmer’s wish to return to the EU will not work out…
Nius wrote on July 25:
“… the problems of the Merz government… could plunge the entire country into a [dramatic] crisis because the CDU/CSU and SPD lack a common project, speak different political languages, and have to compete with each other almost daily.
“And yet, Friedrich Merz’s popularity ratings… at an all-time low (32 percent satisfied, 64 percent dissatisfied) are the smallest of the problems. Less than a hundred days after the change of government, the CDU/CSU and AfD are hovering around the 25 percent mark in the polls, the SPD is sinking toward the 10 percent mark, and there is little indication that things will improve anytime soon. It is Friedrich Merz’s fateful summer!…
“Merz is running up billions in debt, but wants to prohibit the EU from doing the same. Merz’s billions for Ukraine and the arms purchases from the US for Kyiv are not easy to explain everywhere in the country and are only moderately popular…
“Merz’s perception that if this government fails to deliver and convince the people of the centrist parties, future majorities without the AfD might no longer be possible, and the country might be headed for a bleak future, may be shared or not… The fact is… that the potential of those who could imagine voting for the AfD has grown continuously in recent years and is currently measured at 33 percent…
“In a remarkable in-depth analysis, Allensbach head Renate Köcher recently showed that reservations about Alice Weidel’s [AfD] party are also diminishing because more and more people in their circles know AfD supporters and do not perceive them as a threat. 80 percent of AfD voters, Köcher writes, do so to send a protest signal that they are dissatisfied with the current political course.
“But precisely on this, the government of Friedrich Merz, due to its internal paralysis and external distancing from the AfD, cannot send a political signal and persuade protest voters to change their minds…
“The Merz government’s classic 100-day deadline expires, according to the German Press Agency, exactly on August 13th, the day the Wall was built. Some believe the ‘firewall’ could become for the Union what the inner-German Wall was for the GDR…”
Germany’s current coalition government is doomed… sooner or later…
Acknowledgement and Disclaimer:
These Current Events are compiled and commented on by Norbert Link. We gratefully acknowledge the many contributions of news articles from our readership. The publication of articles in this section is not to be viewed as an endorsement or approval as to contents or accuracy of the selected articles, but they are published for the purpose of pointing at worldwide developments in the light of biblical end-time prophecy and godly instruction. Our own comments are provided in italics.
| Live Services | William Tyndale / Beyond the Basics of Obedience |
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| Q&A | Would You Classify Yourselves as Universalists? (Part 2) |
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On August 2, 2025, Paul Niehoff will present the sermonette, titled, “William Tyndale,” and Kalon Mitchell will present the sermon, titled, “Beyond the Basics of Obedience.”
The live services are available, over video and audio, at http://eternalgod.org/live-services/ (12:30 pm Pacific Time; 1:30 pm Mountain Time; 2:30 pm Central Time; 3:30 pm Eastern Time; 8:30 pm Greenwich Mean Time; 9:30 pm Central European Time). Just click on Connect to Live Stream.
by Rene Messier (Canada)
Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong’s favorite Scripture was Psalm 133:1-3, which reads:
“Behold, how good and how pleasant it is For brethren to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious oil upon the head, Running down on the beard, The beard of Aaron, Running down on the edge of his garments. It is like the dew of Hermon, Descending upon the mountains of Zion; For there the LORD commanded the blessing—Life forevermore.”
We cannot have this kind of unity unless we are like-minded; that is, think alike and being on the same page.
Paul gave us this admonition in Philippians 2:5: “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus…”
When the mind of Christ is internalized in our minds, there is harmony. The competition is gone and the focus is turned to accomplishing the task given to us by God. The spotlight is not on us but on Christ and our Creator God, with the desire to fulfill His Will in our lives.
It’s not just the mind of Christ in our minds, but the mind of the Father also.
In John 17:19-24, Christ says this in His prayer to God the Father:
“And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth. I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me. Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.”
It is really incredible that God and Christ live in our minds through the Holy Spirit, but to what end?
Their Spirit in us does not force their Will upon us, since we are free moral agents. What They do is to influence our thinking to make proper judgments and decisions. They also open our minds to spiritual truths and spiritual understanding of Scripture—not just the understanding of what is written in the physical sense, but a deeper spiritual understanding of the intent of Scripture, which is a tremendous blessing, allowing us to grow in biblical knowledge.
In order to maintain this status, we have to be faithful in the study and meditation of the Word of God, lest we forget through neglect. We must make certain that this close relationship with God is maintained.
This knowledge should act as a catalyst to be zealous in our study and meditation of God’s Word, the Bible.
Flesh and blood cannot enter the Kingdom of God, as we read in 1 Corinthians 15:50-53: “Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed—in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.”
The only thing moving forward into the Kingdom is our minds preserved by our human spirit which, combined with the Holy Spirit of God which had been bestowed on us, will be placed in a new spiritual body given to us by God. Let us ensure we remain faithful to the end to receive eternal life in God’s Family.
by Norbert Link
We begin with developments in the Middle East with special emphasis on anti-Israel and pro-Palestinian movements; and speak on the costs of tariffs and a (proposed) deal between the USA and the EU.
Please view in this regard our in-depth analysis of this situation with many articles not quoted in these Current Events in our new StandingWatch program, titled, “US-EU Trade Deal—Biggest Deal Ever Made, or a Disaster?”
We continue with Obama’s “big lie”; veterans’ opposition to the deployment of Marines to assist ICE; the question as to whether ICE raids will backfire; FCC’s suspicious approval of an eight billion dollar merger; and the possible underlying reasons for the termination of former ABC News reporter Terry Moran.
We continue with legal challenges to Trump’s order to do away with birthright citizenship; the fact that more and more Americans are leaving the USA; the question as to Trump’s successor; Trump’s art of detraction (which might or might not help in the Epstein case); speculation that a new conflict might soon be “manufactured”; and Jay Leno’s advice for late-night comedians.
We speak on Ukraine’s perceived descent into a corrupt dictatorship; and conclude with strong criticism regarding Britain’s Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
Throughout this section, we have underlined pertinent statements in the quoted articles, for the convenience and quick overview of the reader.
JTA wrote on July 25:
“President Emmanuel Macron says France plans to recognize a Palestinian state during his appearance at the United Nations’ General Assembly in September. The move is ‘consistent with [France’s] historic commitment to a just and lasting peace in the Middle East,’ Macron wrote… The announcement — which appeared in French, English, Arabic and Hebrew — came as a surprise after Macron backed out of a meeting with Saudi Arabia next week, delayed from June, at which Palestinian statehood was expected to be discussed.
“The announcement is largely symbolic. But it is a powerful symbol, coming as France and other allies have grown frustrated with Israel’s war in Gaza and alarmed by the humanitarian catastrophe unfolding there. France is by far the largest and most influential country to recognize a Palestinian state. It also has the largest Jewish population of any country to have done so. [And it is the only known nuclear power in Europe besides the UK.]
“Israeli officials panned Macron’s announcement. ‘Such a move rewards terror and risks creating another Iranian proxy, just as Gaza became,’ Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement. ‘A Palestinian state in these conditions would be a launchpad to annihilate Israel — not to live in peace beside it.’
“U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement that the United States ‘strongly rejects’ Macron’s move. ‘This reckless decision only serves Hamas propaganda and sets back peace,’ Rubio wrote… ‘It is a slap in the face to the victims of October 7th.’
“Hamas praised Macron’s move as ‘a positive step in the right direction’… Spain, Norway and Ireland all announced last year they would recognize a Palestinian state, joining roughly 140 other countries that had already done so…”
Trump responded to reporters, “What he says doesn’t matter… that statement doesn’t carry weight.” Germany said it has no plans to recognize Palestinian statehood in the short term.
Newsmax added on July 25:
“U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee ridiculed the plan, noting on X that ‘Macron’s unilateral “declaration” of a “Palestinian” state didn’t say WHERE it would be. I can now exclusively disclose that France will offer the French Riviera & the new nation will be called”’Franc-en-Stine”.’
“In another post, he wrote: ‘How clever! If Macron can just “declare” the existence of a state perhaps the UK can “declare” France a British colony!’… [Or, perhaps, France could declare Britain a French colony—based on prophecy, this would be more likely to happen.]
“Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry also commended Macron’s announcement as ‘historic’ and called on other countries to his example.”
Breitbart added on July 25:
“[Israel’s immigration minister] said that Jews in France are no longer safe and should emigrate to Israel. Many have done so already in recent years, fleeing antisemitism.”
Sooner or later, the whole world will turn against Israel in favor of the Palestinians.
MSN wrote on July 31:
“Canada has joined France and Britain in announcing plans to recognize a Palestinian state in September as international pressure builds on Israel over the ongoing starvation crisis and war in Gaza. The move leaves the United States increasingly isolated from some of its closest allies on the issue of Israel and how it has conducted its military campaign. US President Donald Trump blasted Canada’s decision, threatening to derail ongoing trade talks with Ottawa.”
LifeSiteNews wrote on July 25:
“The announcement [of France to recognize a Palestinian state] comes on the heels of France — along with 27 other western nations — issuing a joint statement condemning Israel for its ‘drip feeding of aid and the inhumane killing of civilians’ in Gaza while calling for ‘an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire’ to end its genocidal war…
“In a phone call last week with Abbas, Pope Leo XIV echoed the demand for immediate humanitarian aid to be admitted into the Gaza Strip to feed the starving population while condemning the use of indiscriminate force against civilians and Israel’s U.S. -backed plan to ethnically cleanse the native Palestinian population.
“He then recalled with the Palestinian president, ‘the auspicious 10th anniversary of the Comprehensive Agreement between the Holy See and the State of Palestine, signed on 26 June 2015’ said the Holy See’s statement.
“This commemoration marked one of the milestones in a long list of public expressions of support for the Palestinian cause from Catholic prelates in the Holy Land, the Holy See, and around the world. The unanimous and constant voice of these spiritual leaders has demanded an end to the ‘sin’ of Israel’s ongoing illegal 58-year military occupation of internationally recognized Palestinian territory, which is seen as the ‘root’ aggression of the seemingly perennial conflict.”
Newsmax wrote on July 25:
“President Donald Trump accused Hamas on Friday of not wanting to reach a ceasefire deal in Gaza… After U.S. and Israeli negotiators quit indirect talks with Hamas in Qatar, Trump said that ‘it was too bad. Hamas didn’t really want to make a deal. I think they want to die.’…
“Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that ‘together with our U.S. allies, we are now considering alternative options to bring our hostages home, end Hamas’s terror rule, and secure lasting peace.’’
Of course, one cannot trust or “negotiate” with terrorists.
The Guardian wrote on July 27:
“Israel has said it will halt military operations each day for 10 hours in three areas of Gaza and allow aid to come in through new corridors as it seeks to quell international fury… The pause would be repeated every day from 10am to 8pm local time until further notice and Israel would continue fighting in other areas of Gaza…
“Israel said the measures were designed to improve the humanitarian situation and ‘refute the false claim of deliberate starvation in the Gaza Strip’, releasing footage of an overnight aid airdrop, that included flour, sugar and canned food. Jordan and the United Arab Emirates also carried out airdrops on Sunday afternoon.
“Israel also said it would establish humanitarian corridors to allow the UN to deliver food and medicine to Gaza…”
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on July 29 that the UK will recognize a Palestinian state if Israel does not agree to a Gaza ceasefire.
Israel Today wrote on July 25:
“Over the past few days, anti-Israel and anti-Jewish feeling has been ratcheted up into an absolute frenzy… On the Greek island of Rhodes, a mob armed with knives attacked a group of Jewish teenagers. About 50 French Jewish children, returning from a summer camp in Spain, were thrown off a flight at Valencia airport after the children sang Hebrew songs, and their tour leader was arrested and thrown to the ground.
“The BBC’s obsession with demonizing and delegitimizing Israel has reached pathological proportions. This week, it gave pride of place on its flagship radio show Today to ever-more twisted accusations and blood libels casting Israel as an evil and murderous state, including the claim by a British surgeon working in Gaza that the Israel Defense Forces were playing a game in shooting Gazan boys in the food queues by targeting a different part of their body every day.
“The broadcasting behemoth could scarcely contain its excitement as reporters and interviewees joined in chorusing that ‘a reckoning was coming’ with the imminent end of the war in Gaza, after which Israel’s ‘war crimes’ would be revealed, and the case for declaring a Palestine state was therefore now overwhelming…
“This week, the media published distressing pictures of skeletal children as evidence of starvation in Gaza. But the adults in these pictures were all conspicuously well-fed…
“There may be increasing hunger in Gaza, but to blame Israel for this is grotesque… 950 trucks have been stuck inside Gaza because the United Nations and its agencies are refusing to distribute the food and other aid they are carrying… That’s because it’s working hand-in-glove with Hamas, which is determined to cause deaths from starvation as a weapon of war, just as it’s used Gaza’s civilians as human shields and cannon fodder…”
Sadly, the worldwide hatred against Jews and the state of Israel will continue.
Israel 365 News wrote on July 29:
“This time of year, the Jewish people take on many additional practices to mourn the destruction of the Temple. Judaism places a tremendous amount of emphasis on having a Temple…
“When the Jewish nation builds the Temple, God’s presence (“Shechinah”), as it were, rests within it… The return of the Shechinah is promised in the third Temple… the Temple unites the entire nation… At its core, building a Temple is a mitzvah (commandment or good deed). Moreover, it enables the Jewish people to fulfill many additional mitzvot. Over one-third of the 613 mitzvot are dependent on the existence of the Temple…
“…the Torah emphasizes that the Temple service provides atonement for the sins of both individuals and the nation… The Temple was intended as a spiritual center not just for Jews, but for all nations…
“The Temple’s rebuilding is central to numerous prophecies… When prophecies are fulfilled, they sanctify God’s name by affirming the truth of His messengers…
“Without the Temple, we risk losing sight of our higher purpose, placing too much value on human achievements while neglecting the divine connection that gives life its deepest meaning. The Temple is not just a building; it is the bridge between heaven and earth, the place where the infinite touches the finite, and where humanity can truly feel the presence of God.”
A third temple will be built prior to Christ’s return, but it will be polluted by the “man of sin,” sitting in the temple of God and proclaiming to be God.
ABC News wrote on July 25:
“President Donald Trump’s tariffs cost German auto giant Volkswagen about $1.5 billion over the first half of 2025, the company said on Friday. Sales in North America plunged 16% due primarily to U.S. tariffs, said Volkswagen, which owns a host of brands including Audi, Lamborghini and Porsche.
“The company warned of further ‘challenges’ that will arise from ‘an environment of political uncertainty, expanding trade restrictions and geopolitical tensions,’ among other factors.
Volkswagen marks the latest in a string of major carmakers to announce billions in tariff-related losses.
“General Motors on Tuesday said tariffs on cars and auto parts drove $1.1 billion in losses over three months ending in June. A day earlier, Jeep maker Stellantis said it expects to have suffered $2.7 billion in losses over the first half of 2025 due in part to U.S. tariffs.
“Electric-vehicle maker Tesla this week reported a roughly $3 billion drop in revenue over three months ending in June when compared to the same period a year earlier. In a statement on Wednesday, Tesla touted a ‘strong balance sheet’ but acknowledged a ‘sustained uncertain macroeconomic environment resulting from shifting tariffs.’
“Tariffs of 25% on vehicles imported into the United States went into effect on April 2. The auto tariffs, which apply to cars and auto parts, threaten to raise costs for carmakers that often oversee an intricate supply chain snaked between the U.S., Mexico, Canada and beyond…
“A trade agreement struck between the U.S. and Japan this week dropped auto tariffs from the universal level of 25% to 15%, putting foreign carmakers in other countries at a disadvantage…”
Deutsche Welle wrote on July 27:
“The United States and the European Union on Sunday reached a trade deal, ending a months-long standoff… ‘We are agreeing that the tariff straight across, for automobiles and everything else, will be a straight across tariff of 15%,’ according to Trump. Currently, most EU goods face a 10% tariff, with levies of 25% on cars and car parts [as well as on semiconductors and pharmaceutical goods]. But the rate would not apply to steel and aluminum, which are being taxed at 50%.
“Trump also said the bloc had agreed to purchase ‘$750 billion (€638 billion) worth of energy’ from the US, as well as $600 billion more in additional investments. ‘Purchases of US energy products will diversify our sources of supply and contribute to Europe’s energy security. We will replace Russian gas and oil by significant purchases of US LNG, oil and nuclear fuels,’ von der Leyen told reporters…
“The 15% rate is the same as the one announced with Japan earlier this week. But it marks a significant compromise, especially given that von der Leyen offered a ‘zero-for-zero tariffs for industrial goods’ when talks began. Still, the EU chief said they agreed ‘zero-for-zero tariffs on a number of strategic products’ including aircraft and aircraft parts, some chemicals, and certain agricultural products.
“The trade pact will need to be approved by all 27 member states.”
That will still have to be seen…
ntv wrote on July 27:
“It was already clear in advance that imports from the EU to the US would be subject to significantly higher tariffs than before the start of Trump’s second term. .. The EU Commission… considers the tariffs unjustified and doubts their compatibility with the rules of the World Trade Organization. That the EU is now accepting a compromise is due to the fact that many member states consider the risks of an escalation of the trade dispute to be more significant than higher tariffs…”
“That the automotive sector, as well as the steel and aluminum industries, had already suffered from high tariffs in recent months also played a role. The EU’s negotiating position was also weakened by Europe’s dependence on US military capabilities. There were fears that Trump could once again question the NATO pledge of assistance in the event of an escalation of the trade dispute. Given the threats posed by Russia, this was seen as a major risk, especially in eastern EU states.
“In the economic sphere, however, the EU could have put considerable pressure on the US with retaliatory tariffs…”
Europe won’t forget this American blackmail and coercion…
Please view in this regard our in-depth analysis of this situation with many articles not quoted in these Current Events in our new StandingWatch program, titled, “US-EU Trade Deal—Biggest Deal Ever Made, or a Disaster?”
In addition, please note this article:
Express wrote on July 30:
“Emmanuel Macron has ripped into the European Union in an extraordinary rant. The French President fumed at Brussels for failing to agree a better trade tariffs deal with US President Donald Trump. He said Europe ‘does not see itself sufficiently’ as a global power…
“‘To be free, you have to be feared. We have not been feared enough. There is a greater urgency than ever to accelerate the European agenda for sovereignty and competitiveness.’”
Fox News wrote on July 24:
“Lies and lying people comprise the sorry epitaph of Barack Obama’s presidency. The Big Lie was that then-candidate Donald Trump colluded with Russia to rig the 2016 presidential election. It derived from a phony dossier commissioned and financed by former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton that Obama’s national security team happily peddled to destroy his successor…
“The Russia hoax took off like a rocket. It crash-landed on Wednesday, July 23, when Tulsi Gabbard, the director of National Intelligence, accused Obama, Brennan and others of engineering the false intelligence… Newly declassified documents show that a December 8, 2016, draft of Obama’s Presidential Daily Briefing (PDB) debunked the notion of Russian electoral meddling to help Trump. But… FBI Director James Comey and his cohorts reportedly scuttled it…
“The next day Obama convened a highly confidential meeting at the White House. The president ordered his intelligence cronies to expedite a new ICA that would reverse the PDB’s conclusion and energize the collusion fiction. With his marching orders in hand, Brennan immediately went to work on it… Other intel agencies that typically contribute to the assessment were deliberately excluded to stifle dissent. Evidence shows that Brennan then selected a handful of sycophants — with only one principal drafter — to craft the entire ICA that bore little resemblance to the truth and established facts. On January 6, 2017, the rushed-to-completion ICA was produced…
“Obama’s dirty fingerprints were all over the cooked-up intelligence claiming that Moscow helped Trump in some grand collusion conspiracy. On Wednesday, Gabbard held a news conference to lift the veil of secrecy and malevolence. She leveled the following broadside: ‘President Obama, Hillary Clinton, John Brennan, James Clapper, James Comey and others, including their mouthpieces in the media, knowingly lied as they repeated the contrived narrative that was created in this January 2017 intelligence community assessment with high confidence, as though it were fact.’… As ‘irrefutable proof,’ she unlocked the 2020 report of the House Intelligence Committee that had never before been seen publicly, thanks to the machinations of then-Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., who buried it as classified in a limited-access vault at CIA headquarters…
“The heretofore hidden House Intelligence report reveals how Russian intelligence ‘possessed DNC communications that in 2016 Clinton was suffering from “intensified psycho-emotional problems, including uncontrolled fits of anger, aggression, and cheerfulness.” Clinton was placed on a daily regimen of “heavy tranquilizers” and while afraid of losing, she remained “obsessed with a thirst for power.”’ Obama and Democrat Party bosses apparently knew all about Clinton’s mental instability and found it ‘extraordinarily alarming.’…
“In sending a criminal referral for possible prosecution to the Justice Department, Gabbard stated, ‘The evidence that we have found and that we have released directly point to President Obama leading the manufacturing of this intelligence assessment.’… Obama denies any wrongdoing. But he should thank Trump for winning the recent landmark Supreme Court decision that provides all presidents with immunity. Ironically, the former president can now hide behind its broad protections. However, no such shield extends to others involved.
‘It is folly to predict at this stage what prosecutions, if any, the future may hold. But the stain of corruption is already embedded in the epitaph of Obama’s presidency.”
See our recent StandingWatch program on lying politicians, titled, “Politicians, Wars and the Lies of This World”
Click Orlando wrote on July 24:
“Local veterans are speaking out against the deployment of 200 Marines to assist U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Florida…
“Alexander McCoy, a Marine Corps veteran who served six years as an embassy guard in the Middle East, Latin America, and Europe, expressed his unease about the deployment. ‘The U.S. military is for fighting America’s enemies and if we’re using them here in the United States, the implication is that Americans are enemies,’ McCoy said. In response, McCoy drafted an open letter denouncing the use of Marines in ICE operations, stating, ‘We swore an oath to the Constitution, and the law makes clear what the U.S. military is for and not for. Using Marines to participate in ICE operations on U.S. soil dishonors that oath.’…
“Since issuing the letter, over 200 veterans have added their names in support. Among them is Doug Jackson, a fellow Marine and infantryman who deployed to Iraq in 2007. ‘Marines train for war or they’re going to war, so this is not a mission that Marines want or are trained for,’ Jackson said. He emphasized that opposition is not limited to ‘hysterical, far-left people on the news,’ but represents a genuine concern among service members.”
Politico wrote on July 26:
“President Donald Trump and Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller set a goal of deporting 1 million undocumented immigrants each year — a staggering number that would require a massive expansion of immigration enforcement. Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’ delivered just that, throwing roughly $170 billion to the administration’s immigration restriction program, including $45 billion for new detention centers and $30 billion to hire 10,000 new ICE officers. ICE will now become the largest law enforcement agency in the country.
“Anti-immigration hardliners view it as a major victory. But as ICE transforms into a massive, un-uniformed, masked domestic army — one that critics fear will have carte blanche to arrest, detain and deport persons without cause or due process, whether they enjoy legal status or not — there’s reason to believe it could backfire. Think what you will of the administration’s immigration agenda, but there is little denying that mass deportations on the scale that Trump and Miller envision will necessarily require brute displays of force that may shock the public conscience, even among people who theoretically support the broader goals…
“The political backlash remains to be seen. It’s not impossible to imagine blue states and cities enacting variations on Personal Liberty Laws, setting off a collision between federal and local authorities…
“More ominous, still, is the potential for violent reaction. In a country as heavily armed as the United States, where many states allow gunowners to use lethal force when they believe their property or lives to be at stake, it is not impossible to imagine [violent] riots. The protests that rocked Los Angeles this year, while largely disciplined and peaceful, devolved into instances of violence as police clashed with protesters… As the administration’s raids intensify and spread…, the potential for violence will only increase.”
CNN wrote on July 25:
“The pending merger between Paramount Global and Skydance Media was formally approved by the Trump administration on Thursday, concluding months of regulatory uncertainty. FCC commissioners voted 2-1 along party lines to give the $8 billion deal a green light. The approval means that Skydance CEO David Ellison can complete the deal and take control of Paramount in the coming weeks.
“The usually lengthy merger review process was pockmarked by allegations of political interference stemming from President Trump’s scathing criticism of Paramount’s CBS News division… the current and future owners of Paramount had made ‘over $36 Million Dollars’ in commitments to him.
“One part is publicly known: On July 1, Paramount agreed to pay $16 million toward Trump’s future presidential library to resolve the president’s legally dubious lawsuit against CBS News… [That’s an understatement. The lawsuit was frivolous from the outset, with no chance of success.]
“Trump said the future owners of Paramount had also promised millions of dollars worth of public service announcements, which is how he arrived at the $36 million figure…”
This does not sound too good…
The Huffington Post wrote on July 25:
“Former ABC News reporter Terry Moran isn’t letting up on his ‘vicious’ criticism of Stephen Miller more than a month after his ‘world-class hater’ post about Donald Trump and his senior White House aide led to his abrupt exit at the network. Moran… referred to old clips of Miller while arguing that he’s been ‘spitting the same kind of venom and lies’ as he has in the Trump administration.
“In one video, a 17-year-old Miller said that the torture of Iraqis during the Iraq War is the ‘way to go’ because it’s a ‘celebration of human life and dignity.’ ‘The cruelty is the point,’ said Moran of Miller… ‘Trump sees him as essentially putting kind of some intellectual gloss on his own gut instincts and they work together to bludgeon the country with almost a disheartening and depressing level of cruelty and falsehood every day.’… Moran argued that Miller ‘clearly sees lying as a way of exerting power’…
“His post [in June]… led to swift outrage from top White House officials, including Vice President JD Vance. He was subsequently suspended by ABC News, which called the post a ‘clear violation’ of the network’s policies. The network would later announce that his contract would not be renewed.”
Daily Mail wrote on July 24:
“A federal appeals court delivered a blow to Donald Trump’s executive order ending birthright citizenship, deeming it unconstitutional… The ruling from a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals comes after Trump’s plan was also blocked by a federal judge in New Hampshire. It brings the issue one step closer to coming back quickly before the Supreme Court… The 2-1 ruling keeps in place a decision from U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour in Seattle, who blocked Trump’s effort to end birthright citizenship…
“The Supreme Court has… restricted the power of lower court judges to issue orders that affect the whole country, known as nationwide injunctions. But the 9th Circuit majority found that the case fell under one of the exceptions left open by the justices [a class-action lawsuit]. The case was filed by a group of states who argued that they need a nationwide order to prevent the problems that would be caused by birthright citizenship only being the law in half of the country…
“Judge Patrick Bumatay, who was appointed by Trump, dissented. He found that the states don’t have the legal right, or standing, to sue… Bumatay did not weigh in on whether ending birthright citizenship would be constitutional.”
The Associated Press wrote on July 25:
“A federal judge on Friday blocked the Trump administration from ending birthright citizenship…
“U.S. District Judge Leo Sorokin [US District Court, District of Massachusetts], joining another district court as well as an appellate panel of judges, found that a nationwide injunction granted to more than a dozen states remains in force under an exception to the Supreme Court ruling. That decision restricted the power of lower-court judges to issue nationwide injunctions…. Sorokin said a patchwork approach to the birthright order would not protect the states in part because a substantial number of people move between states.”
Deutsche Welle wrote on July 27:
“An increasing number of Americans are choosing to leave the United States due to what they perceive as a growing atmosphere of hostility, particularly toward marginalized groups.
“Traditionally, Mexico has been a popular destination for retirees and digital nomads from the US, but now it’s also attracting individuals who feel threatened because of their political beliefs, sexual orientation or human rights work… For many, Mexico represents not just a geographical escape, but a refuge from what they see as an increasingly intolerant and repressive environment in the United States.’
What a terrible development in the “land of the brave and the free.”
The Hill wrote on July 25:
“… it’s no longer absurdly premature to start talking about succession. And… there are three leading contenders.
“Vice President JD Vance — seemingly the obvious successor — is clearly positioning himself as heir apparent to Trumpism 2.0: similar themes, better vocabulary, a little more polish and (crucially) a future.
“Tucker Carlson now also seems to be testing out what it would look like to actually run for office. And Donald Trump Jr. is lurking around the perimeter; the assumption is that his name will carry him somewhere, though it’s not clear where (or even if) anyone would follow him…
“For the first time in nearly a decade, the right is confronting a future without a clear standard-bearer. And every would-be successor faces the same paradox: To win Trump’s base, you have to sound like Trump. But the more you sound like Trump, the more you remind people you’re not him…
“Of course, Trump isn’t gone yet. Republicans… could still hold on to Congress in November [although this might be rather doubtful]. Maybe Trump can ultimately find a way to outrun the Epstein controversy and set the terms for the next four years. And, regardless, he could also play a vital role in picking (or sabotaging) whoever inherits his mantle.
“But that doesn’t change the fact that his era is already ending. The spell is finally starting to wear off. And somewhere, just beneath the surface, it feels like the scramble for 2028 has already begun. The question isn’t whether someone can pick up the torch. It’s whether that person can prevent the flame from being extinguished entirely.”
Trump will stay in power as long as he is needed to fulfill biblical prophecy. And that might even mean, beyond 2028…
Reuters wrote on July 26:
“President Donald Trump’s super powers as a public figure have long included the ability to redirect, evade and deny. But the Republican’s well-worn methods of changing the subject when a tough topic stings politically are not working as his White House fends off persistent unrest from his usually loyal base about convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and his associates. Trump has scolded reporters, claimed ignorance and offered distractions in an effort to quash questions about Epstein and the suspicions still swirling around the disgraced financier’s case years after his 2019 death in prison. The demand for answers has only grown… the president’s right-leaning base… has long believed the government was covering up Epstein’s ties to the rich and powerful.
“A Reuters/Ipsos poll this month showed most Americans think Trump’s administration is hiding information about Epstein…
“Trump has weathered tougher periods before, and his conservative base, despite its frustration over the files, is largely pleased with Trump’s work on immigration and the economy. In a July Reuters/Ipsos poll, 56% of Republican respondents favored the administration’s immigration workplace raids, while 24% were opposed and 20% unsure….”
It’s truly shocking how ANYONE can support those raids…
The Huffington Post wrote on July 28:
“‘You ought to be speaking about Bill Clinton, who went to the island 28 times,’ Trump told reporters [just before leaving for Scotland], referring to the notorious private island where Epstein ran an underage sex trafficking ring. ‘I never went to the island.’… The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday that Bondi informed Trump on May he was named multiple times in Epstein’s case documents. On Friday, Trump denied ever being briefed on his name appearing in the Epstein files…
“Both Trump and Clinton’s names appeared on flight logs from Epstein’s private jets…”
If not to Epstein’s island, where did Trump go on Epstein’s planes? Flight logs reflect that Trump flew on Epstein’s planes at least eight times. Trump also denied a report by the Wall Street Journal that he allegedly wrote and sent a racy X-rated birthday card to Epstein. He sued the WSJ over this report. As a public figure, he would have to prove that the WSJ had “actual malice”—that they knew that their report was false or that they acted with reckless disregard for the truth. The WSJ has maintained that their report is true. Trump’s lawsuit does not seem to have any chance of success. Also note the next article:
The Guardian wrote on July 29:
“Donald Trump suggested on Tuesday that Jeffrey Epstein…’stole’ Virginia Giuffre and other young female staffers whom he hired away from the president’s Mar-a-Lago country club…
“Senior White House aides have repeatedly suggested in recent weeks that Trump broke with Epstein in about 2004 and expelled him from the Mar-a-Lago club for inappropriate behavior of a sexual nature… [Virginia Giuffre] was hired away from the Mar-a-Lago spa by Epstein’s accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell in 2000, when she was 16… but two years later, Trump spoke highly of Epstein to a reporter.”
Originally, it was claimed that Trump and Epstein severed their relationship in 2004 over a business deal. Trump and the White House need to get their stories straight.
Express wrote on July 28:
“King Charles is allegedly ‘very concerned’ that US President Donald Trump could launch into a massive rant about immigration during his second state visit to the UK in September… It comes shortly after the US president sent Prime Minister Keir Starmer ‘advice’ about the ongoing small boat crisis.
“While on a private visit to Scotland, Mr Trump warned the Prime Minister that those coming across on dinghies are ‘bad people’, but praised efforts to end crossings. Meanwhile, after arriving in Scotland on Friday, the US politician made headlines after he declared that illegal migration is a ‘horrible invasion’ that is ‘killing Europe.’
“Now, civil servants have issued warnings that he could break protocol and make politicised comments during his visit to England in a few weeks… ‘He will be appalled by what Trump said on Friday, which seems to be entirely driven by his domestic agenda, and will be very concerned about the possibility of a repeat of Trump’s outburst in September.’…
“… aides fear the US president might give an impromptu interview to the media with political statements, which could put the monarch in a difficult position. They said: ‘If Trump starts sounding off about the evils of immigration to the cameras while the King is standing next to him, the King would find that hard to take.’”
With Trump, everything is possible.
The Future of Freedom Foundation published the following article on July 22:
“With President Trump’s MAGA supporters in full rebellion over his refusal to release all the records relating to the Jeffrey Epstein pedophilia investigation, get ready for a big crisis in foreign affairs designed to distract attention from the Epstein scandal.
“It certainly wouldn’t be the first time a ruler engaged in such a strategy. In fact, it’s a time-honored way to get people to set aside their rebellion and instead ‘rally ’round the flag.’ Consider the immortal words of James Madison, the father of the Constitution: ‘The means of defense against foreign danger have been always the instruments of tyranny at home. Among the Romans it was a standing maxim to excite a war, whenever a revolt was apprehended.’
“Madison was saying that in the old Roman Empire the populace would periodically go into rebellion mode, rebelling against things like exorbitant taxation or monetary debasement at the hands of their rulers. Whenever that would happen, the emperor would simply instigate a war against some scary foreign enemy, which would stir up both fear and patriotism within the populace. People would forget their rebellion in order to be kept safe from the new official enemy with which they were now at war…
“What might U.S. officials do this time to distract people away from Jeffrey Epstein? The Ukraine-Russia war provides an excellent opportunity to do that. All that needs to be done is furnish Ukraine with long-range missiles that are used to attack Moscow, St. Petersburg, or other big Russian cities. In that case, Russia will be tempted to strike at NATO countries that are providing such missiles… What better way to create a diversion away from Jeffrey Epstein than producing the prospect of all-out nuclear war between the United States and Russia?
“Of course, there is also China… Ginning up a crisis with nuclear-armed China, say over Taiwan, would be another excellent way to cause people to stop thinking about Epstein.
“There is also, of course, nuclear-armed North Korea. As we learned in the first Trump administration, it is fairly easy to stir up a crisis with that communist regime. Even if North Korea might not be able to strike the U.S. with its nuclear missiles, it can certainly strike South Korea and Japan. Would that prospect be enough to get people’s minds off Jeffrey Epstein?…
“Needless to say, Iran is always available whenever a scary official enemy and a big foreign-policy crisis is needed. All that needs to be done is to proclaim that Iran is still producing nuclear weapons and plans to use them against Israel or the United States… A big, scary official enemy and another big foreign crisis that would easily cause all those MAGA people to forget Jeffrey Epstein.
“One thing is certain: Given the fact that Epstein obviously had very wealthy and very powerful clients — and, more important, given the very real likelihood that Epstein had connections to either Israeli or U.S. intelligence or both — there is no reasonable possibility that Trump is going to order the release of all the federal investigative files in the Epstein case. Will his MAGA supporters simply accept the inevitable and give up? If they don’t, then everyone should prepare himself for the prospect of a big foreign crisis in the near future.”
The real irony is this: Some of the scenarios described in the article are not only imagined and in need of “creation” by the USA, but they are already very real. This includes an escalation of the Ukraine-Russia war; China’s anticipated invasion of Taiwan; North Korean attacks on South Korea; and Iran’s continuation of the production of nuclear weapons. Another crisis is of course the situation in the Middle East, involving Israel, Hamas and the Gaza Strip.
Fox News wrote on July 27:
“Jay Leno reflected on why he always kept his jokes politically balanced while hosting ‘The Tonight Show’ for over two decades. The 75-year-old comedian recently sat down for an interview with David Trulio, the president and CEO of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation, during which he was questioned about his approach to political humor…
“‘It was fun to me when I got hate letters [like] “Dear Mr. Leno, you and your Republican friends” and “Well, Mr. Leno, I hope you and your Democratic buddies are happy” — over the same joke,’ Leno recalled. ‘And I go, “Well, that’s good,”’ he said. ‘That’s how you get a whole audience.’
“Leno went on to note how late-night comedy has changed amid the current divisive political landscape. ‘Now you have to be content with half the audience because you have [to] give your opinion,’ Leno said… ‘I don’t understand why you would alienate one particular group… I like to think that people come to a comedy show to kind of get away from the things, you know, the pressures of life, whatever it might be…
“‘And I love political humor… but it’s just what happens when people wind up cozying too much to one side or the other… Funny is funny… It’s funny when someone who’s not….when you make fun of their side and they laugh at it, you know, that’s kind of what I do… why shoot for just half an audience all the time? You know, why not try to get the whole [audience]…’”
Good advice, which applies to left-wing and right-wing “comedians.”
Politico wrote on July 24:
“As a democratic state, Ukraine is under assault from two sources. Its first and most obvious adversary is Moscow, which has long wanted to return the country to the days of being a Kremlin plaything, a mere Russian satellite. But arguably there’s another insidious and corrosive adversary from within — the country’s own semi-autocratic leadership. This is what opposition lawmakers and civil society activists have been arguing for months, as Ukraine’s presidential administration has been grabbing more power, weakening other governing and regional institutions — including the country’s parliament — while also intimidating critics in a bid to silence them with hue-and-cry campaigns or by labeling them as Russian stooges.
“They say the extent of this democratic backsliding became clearer this week after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy gutted Ukraine’s two key anti-corruption agencies which had been zeroing in on top government officials. The move prompted the first country-wide street protests since Russia’s full-scale invasion began in 2022.
“In Kyiv, hundreds of protesters gathered near the presidential complex while crowds of veterans, active-duty soldiers and civilians gathered in dozens of other towns… Despite the rallies, Zelenskyy approved the new law, which will hand substantial authority over the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAP) to the politically appointed prosecutor general…
“With public and EU pressure mounting on Zelenskyy, the Ukrainian leader appeared to offer a concession Wednesday night, saying in his regular evening address that he will advance new legislation responding to protest demands that will ensure ‘all the norms for the independence of anti-corruption institutions will be in place.’ What he meant remains unclear and hasn’t quelled public anger over a law he signed in such haste.
“The two agencies in question came into being in 2015 at the insistence of the EU and other international partners, including the administration of then-U.S. President Barack Obama. Washington and Brussels wanted to see Ukraine genuinely combat its deep-rooted and endemic corruption problem, and pressed for the establishment of anti-graft bodies independent of the government, ones that would be powerful enough to probe wrongdoing by top officials and those with political connections.
“But Law No. 12414, which Zelenskyy quickly signed after it was rushed through the Verkhovna Rada with almost unprecedented haste, now strips both NABU and SAP of that independence. Instead, it grants the prosecutor general’s office the power to issue orders to these agencies and reassign cases to their own prosecutor, in effect dismantling the safeguards that protect those bodies from undue political meddling…
“For months [EU officials and diplomats have] been complaining bitterly — though always in private — about the Ukrainian president’s democratic backsliding. They’ve been unhappy with the purges and reshuffles that have seen the departure of more independent-minded ministers and officials from government…
“Posting on social media before the new law’s approval, European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos said the situation would hurt Ukraine’s accession negotiations. ‘Independent bodies like NABU & SAPO are essential for Ukraine’s EU path,’ she wrote. Meanwhile, the ambassadors of G7 nations in Kyiv issued a joint statement expressing their ‘serious concerns.’…
“So why are EU officials only now publicly expressing their worries about this monopolization of power? In part it’s because the move on the anti-corruption agencies was so blatant. According to both public record and anti-graft officials who spoke to POLITICO on condition of anonymity, NABU had opened probes into the dealings of presidential office insiders and ministers. Added to which, the presidential administration had started going after anti-corruption activists like Vitaly Shabunin, head of the Anti-Corruption Action Center NGO. Shabunin warned on social media: ‘Zelensky’s prosecutor general will stop investigations against all the president’s friends.’
“The fierceness of the public response likely caught the EU’s attention as well. The Kyiv Independent, an English-language media outlet read closely in Brussels, headlined its sharply critical editorial: ‘Zelensky just betrayed Ukraine’s democracy.’”
The Kyiv Independent also wrote on July 25:
“Lawmakers, experts, and activists say that over the past week, Ukraine has made a leap towards authoritarianism and lawlessness.”
Reuters wrote on July 30:
“The 8.8 magnitude quake off Russia that triggered tsunami warnings across the Pacific occurred on what is known as a “megathrust fault”, where the denser Pacific Plate is sliding underneath the lighter North American Plate, scientists said. The Pacific Plate has been on the move, making the Kamchatka Peninsula area off Russia’s Far East coast where it struck especially vulnerable to such tremors…
“With its epicentre near the city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, it was the biggest earthquake since the devastating Tohuku event in 2011… The 8.8 magnitude event on Wednesday came less than two weeks after a magnitude 7.4 earthquake in the same area, which has now been identified as a ‘foreshock’.”
The Independent wrote on July 30:
“A terrifying discovery was made at a nuclear facility in South Carolina: radioactive wasps…
“There are other examples of nuclear activity affecting the animal world, from German forests and Japanese mountains to the Enewetak Atoll between Australia and Hawaii. Large parts of the radioactive contamination across the world came after superpowers conducted tests as they raced to create devastating weapons during the 20th century. For instance, the U.S. tested nuclear weapons on Enewetak Atoll between 1948 and 1958, leading to sea turtles becoming radioactive in the surrounding waters. After the test, the U.S. buried the waste in a concrete tomb that has started to leak…
“Wild boars in the forests of Bavaria, at times, have high levels of radiation, with scientists long believing that it stemmed from the 1986 nuclear meltdown in Chernobyl, Ukraine. However…, 68 percent of the contamination in boars in the area stemmed from global nuclear testing. The boars became contaminated after eating truffles, which had absorbed radiation from nuclear fallout that had settled in the ground.
“Norwegian reindeer were contaminated after Chernobyl, after the fallout was blown northwest, later falling as rain…. Europe is heavily contaminated by Chernobyl…”
And so man continues to destroy the environment, including the animal world.
Express wrote on July 25:
“Eurocrats are preparing to treat Britain as a ‘cash cow’ under a controversial £130 billion EU defence fund, with a Brussels insider claiming the bloc sees Sir Keir Starmer as a ‘pushover’ rather than a genuine partner. The warning comes as the Prime Minister prepares to negotiate UK participation in the Security and Action for Europe (SAFE) fund—part of the EU’s wider £700 billion effort to rearm itself…
“The SAFE fund, expected to launch formally this summer, will offer low-interest loans to member states for joint procurement of weapons, ammunition, and defence systems. While British companies would theoretically be eligible to bid for contracts, the EU has made it clear that access will not come free—and that non-member countries like the UK will have to pay for the privilege. Under the proposed terms, any British firm awarded a SAFE-backed contract would trigger an obligation for the UK Government to contribute an equivalent share back into the fund.
“That contribution would effectively subsidise the rest of the scheme without granting Britain… any voting rights over how the money is spent. Frank Furedi, Executive Director of the think tank MCC Brussels, warned: ‘EU powerbrokers see Starmer as a pushover—desperate for approval and ready to sell out British interests to curry favour in Brussels. They view the UK not as a partner, but as a cash cow—ripe for exploitation… And they’re counting on him to hand over billions just for the “honour” of joining their EU Defence Fund, plugging their financial holes at Britain’s taxpayer’s expense.’”
Starmer’s wish to return to the EU will not work out…
Nius wrote on July 25:
“… the problems of the Merz government… could plunge the entire country into a [dramatic] crisis because the CDU/CSU and SPD lack a common project, speak different political languages, and have to compete with each other almost daily.
“And yet, Friedrich Merz’s popularity ratings… at an all-time low (32 percent satisfied, 64 percent dissatisfied) are the smallest of the problems. Less than a hundred days after the change of government, the CDU/CSU and AfD are hovering around the 25 percent mark in the polls, the SPD is sinking toward the 10 percent mark, and there is little indication that things will improve anytime soon. It is Friedrich Merz’s fateful summer!…
“Merz is running up billions in debt, but wants to prohibit the EU from doing the same. Merz’s billions for Ukraine and the arms purchases from the US for Kyiv are not easy to explain everywhere in the country and are only moderately popular…
“Merz’s perception that if this government fails to deliver and convince the people of the centrist parties, future majorities without the AfD might no longer be possible, and the country might be headed for a bleak future, may be shared or not… The fact is… that the potential of those who could imagine voting for the AfD has grown continuously in recent years and is currently measured at 33 percent…
“In a remarkable in-depth analysis, Allensbach head Renate Köcher recently showed that reservations about Alice Weidel’s [AfD] party are also diminishing because more and more people in their circles know AfD supporters and do not perceive them as a threat. 80 percent of AfD voters, Köcher writes, do so to send a protest signal that they are dissatisfied with the current political course.
“But precisely on this, the government of Friedrich Merz, due to its internal paralysis and external distancing from the AfD, cannot send a political signal and persuade protest voters to change their minds…
“The Merz government’s classic 100-day deadline expires, according to the German Press Agency, exactly on August 13th, the day the Wall was built. Some believe the ‘firewall’ could become for the Union what the inner-German Wall was for the GDR…”
Germany’s current coalition government is doomed… sooner or later…
Acknowledgement and Disclaimer:
These Current Events are compiled and commented on by Norbert Link. We gratefully acknowledge the many contributions of news articles from our readership. The publication of articles in this section is not to be viewed as an endorsement or approval as to contents or accuracy of the selected articles, but they are published for the purpose of pointing at worldwide developments in the light of biblical end-time prophecy and godly instruction. Our own comments are provided in italics.
In the first part of this Q&A, we ascertained that the fundamental idea of Christian universalism is that ALL human beings will eventually receive salvation. We looked at a number of biblical references which refute this assertion, and we will now continue to show from the pages of the Bible, that this belief is void of any Scriptural approval.
Universalism seems to ignore the fact that some will commit the unpardonable sin. In our free booklet “Do We Have an Immortal Soul?” we find this information:
“What is the Unpardonable Sin?
“From other Scriptures we know that there are at least two ways in which the unpardonable sin can be committed.
“Jesus warns us in Mark 3:28–29, not to ‘blaspheme’ the Holy Spirit, regardless of whether we are converted or not. If we do, we reject the only power that can convert and change us. And if we continue with that course of action of resisting God and refusing to repent, then we might reach a point when it will become impossible for us to repent. We will then have made the final, irrevocable decision never to repent and to change. Such an attitude will lead to actual hate and resentment for God and His way. You see, if we don’t want to repent, God will not grant us repentance. And without repentance, there can be no forgiveness. That is why a sin which we refuse to repent of, will not be forgiven.
“In addition, converted people who have received the gift of God’s Holy Spirit, can commit the unpardonable sin, if and when they later fall away and irrevocably reject God’s way of life (cp. Hebrews 6:4–6; Hebrews 10:26–29).”
We have already seen how wrong this “Universalist” concept is and how it can lead on to, or incorporate, other false ideas which we will now address.
The mainstream Christian teaching of going to heaven and hell is mentioned in the context of universalism. In our Q&A entitled, “Do the Wicked Go to Hell?”, the first paragraph states that: “The concept that the wicked go to an ever-burning hell after their death is nowhere taught in Scripture. In fact, the Bible does not even teach the existence of an ever-burning hell, torturing wicked souls of departed ones for their evil deeds.”
In a further Q&A, “Would you please explain Revelation 14:11? Does this Scripture teach that the wicked will be forever tormented in hell fire?,” we read the following:
“The unrepentant wicked will ultimately be burned up. That will happen after the Millennium and the Great White Throne Judgment. However, the passage in Revelation 14:11 does not address that time period. It merely serves as a forerunner and a warning. Most people who will worship the false political and religious system of Babylon, as well as its human representatives, won’t fully comprehend what they will be doing — they will not commit the unpardonable sin leading to the second death, from which there will be no resurrection (Revelation 20:14-15; 21:8). Rather, God will bring them back to life in a Second Resurrection, when the gravity of their wrong conduct will be revealed to them, and when they will be given an opportunity to repent and accept God’s Way of Life.”
In another Q&A, entitled “What are the biblical proofs that we do not go to heaven when we die?”, we read:
“The idea that we will go to heaven after death is an entirely unbiblical concept. It is derived from paganism.
“The biblical understanding is not complicated, but pure and simple, and very easy to comprehend: When a man dies, he is dead, but he will live again through the resurrection from the dead. Until then, he will sleep a dreamless sleep, without any consciousness. He will not go to heaven when he dies, nor will he suffer in a purgatory or ‘hell.’ Rather, he is asleep, until Christ awakes him out of his sleep. And He will, because as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all will be made alive (1 Corinthians 15:22).”
Now let us briefly address the Lake of Fire. In our Q&A, “Will There Be Punishment in the Third Resurrection? (Part 1)”, we read:
“Sadly, there are those who have had their opportunity. They have committed the ‘unpardonable sin.’ They knew and understood perfectly well that they had to submit to Christ, but they refused to do so. They became bitter, hateful, resentful and malicious. They made the unchangeable decision NEVER to repent. If a person has reached that stage that he CANNOT repent, because he has made the final decision NOT to WANT to repent, then God will not force repentance on such a person. God grants repentance, but a person must want to receive it. A person, though, who maliciously rejects Christ would only continue to live in misery and pain–and that is why God will save such a person from eternal misery, by DESTROYING him or her in a lake of fire.
“The Third Resurrection describes those sinners who have made the final and irrevocable decision to rebel against God. They have refused to ever obey God, and they have developed a hostile attitude towards Him, filled with hatred and contempt, which prevents them from ever repenting of their terrible sinful conduct and nature. They will be raised to physical life to be burned up and destroyed in the lake of fire.”
It is impossible to refute Revelation 21:8 which reads: “But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.” The wicked will be destroyed.
We say in our Q&A, “Do the wicked go to hell?”
“It is true that the New Testament speaks about a fiery place, which is translated in some English Bibles as, ‘hell.’ The Greek word for this place is ‘gehenna.’ It does not, however, describe an ever-burning hell, as commonly understood by many… Please note the following excerpts from our free booklet, “Do You Have an Immortal Soul?”, addressing the concept of a fiery hell:
“The word ‘gehenna’ and the very concept of it are derived from the Valley of Hinnom outside Jerusalem in which the corpses of dead people, mainly criminals, would be burned up. It is another expression for the ‘lake of fire’ in Revelation 20:15, in which all who have acted wickedly, and who have refused to repent, will be thrown into, to be burned up or ‘devoured.’ (Remember that Hebrews 10:27… tells us that the wicked wait for God’s fiery indignation that will ‘devour’ them.). That is the ‘hell’ or the ‘gehenna’ fire that Christ is talking about…-‘the second death’ from which there will be no resurrection.
“Those who sin deliberately, willfully and maliciously, God will resurrect to physical life [please note that they were dead — not in heaven, hell, limbo or purgatory — and that they had to be brought back from death to physical life] to throw them-their physical body and their soul or their ‘life’-into ‘gehenna’ or the lake of fire (Revelation 20:13-15; 21:8). They won’t burn there forever-rather, they will be burned up. They are the ‘chaff,’ that will be ‘burned up’ with unquenchable fire (Matthew 3:12)-that is, no human can quench it. Notice that this fire will ultimately even burn up or bring to dissolution ‘heaven and earth,’ so that a ‘new heaven and a new earth’ can be created by God (2 Peter 3:10-13).
“The wicked, such as the rich man in Christ’s parable in Luke 16, will not burn forever and ever, for all eternity, in an everlasting hell fire, but they will be ‘burned up’ (cp. again Matthew 3:12). The Greek word for ‘burned up’ is ‘katakaio’-conveying the meaning that nothing of what is burned up will remain. We read in Revelation 18:8 that modern Babylon ‘shall be utterly burned with fire.’ The word for ‘utterly burned’ is, again, ‘katakaio’ in the Greek. And we are told that ‘that great city Babylon [will] be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all.’ (Revelation 18:21).
“In the same way, the wicked, such as the rich man in Luke 16, that are [brought back to life from the dead and then] thrown into ‘gehenna’ or the lake of fire [called the SECOND death!], will be ‘burnt up’-they ‘shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up… that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.’ (Malachi 4:1). They will become ashes under the feet of the righteous (Malachi 4:3); it will be as if they had never existed (Obadiah 16).”
In Romans 11:26-27 we read the following: “And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: “The Deliverer will come out of Zion, And He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob; For this is My covenant with them, When I take away their sins.”
If all of Israel, every last one, was going to be saved, all of the Scriptures that we’ve looked at would be null and void and that cannot be so, as the Scripture cannot be broken or contain contradictions (John 10:35).
The statement that “all Israel” will be saved must not be misunderstood. We say the following in our Q&A, “I have heard it said that the Biblical terms “all” or “every” [such as, “every person” or “every thing”] do not necessarily have to mean, “without any exception.” Is this correct?”:
“… the concept that Christ is the Savior of ALL men does not rule out the fact that some will NOT be saved. Here, the word ‘ALL’ is NOT used in an all-inclusive sense. Some WILL commit the unpardonable sin and be destroyed and burned up in the lake of fire (Hebrews 6:4-8; Revelation 20:13-15). Still, we read that ‘ALL Israel will be saved’ (Romans 11:26). As stated, this might give the impression that every last Israelite will inherit salvation. But this is not true, as there will be some who will reject salvation. For instance, Christ warned the Pharisees that they were walking on very thin ice, heading towards committing the unpardonable sin (compare Mark 3:28-30 and Matthew 9:34).
“Paul continues in Romans 11:32 that God, in His dealings with Israel, ‘has committed them ALL to disobedience, that He might have mercy on ALL.’ In both cases, the word ‘all’ is not used to teach all-inclusiveness, without any exceptions. Not every last Israelite will repent, and not every Israelite–even at the time of Paul–was disobedient. The early Church of God consisted at first exclusively of Israelites who had become obedient to the faith.
“We also read in Romans 14:11 that ‘EVERY tongue shall confess’ to God. But again, this does not include every last person, as some will not confess to God, but instead, they will be destroyed in the lake of fire–they will die the second death–in utter rebellion to God.
“There are additional examples where the words ‘all’ or ‘every’ are not to be understood in an all-inclusive sense…
“In Matthew 23:3, Christ told the Jews to ‘obey ALL’ (Authorized Version) what the scribes and Pharisees commanded them to do. In Ephesians 5:24, Paul says that women are to be submissive to their husbands in EVERYTHING. And Peter says in 1 Peter 2:13 that we are to submit ourselves to EVERY ordinance of man. However, these passages are not all-inclusive and allow–yes, DEMAND–an exception. This exception is found in Acts 5:27-32, where Peter makes it clear that we must obey God rather than man, and that we must DISOBEY man if we would otherwise disobey God.
“We also read that the gospel of the Kingdom of God will be preached in all the world as a witness, and then the end will come (Matthew 24:14). This does not mean that every last person on earth will hear the gospel just prior to Christ’s return. There will be those alive at the beginning of the Millennium who never heard Christ’s gospel message (compare Isaiah 66:19). This is why Matthew 24:14 must be read together with Scriptures such as Mark 13:10 and Luke 24:47, stating that the gospel will be preached “among” all nations…
“In Luke 6:30, Christ tells us that we are to give to EVERYONE who asks of us and wants to borrow from us. Again, this is not an all-inclusive command, as Paul says, for example, that we must work to make a living, and if we are unwilling to work, we should not eat (2 Thessalonians 3:10). So, Christ was not telling us that we must give to just EVERYONE who wants to eat, even though he is unwilling to work…
“Finally, we read in 1 Timothy 4:1-5 that ‘EVERY creature of God’ is good for food. Some use this passage to claim that we are therefore no longer obligated to refrain from eating UNCLEAN meat. However, we also read in Genesis 9:3 that ‘EVERY moving thing that lives shall be food for you. I have given you ALL things, even as the green herbs.’ It goes without saying that we must not eat POISONOUS green herbs–even though ‘all things’ were given to us for food–and we therefore must not eat meat which was not created for food (Compare again 1 Timothy 4:4, stating that those who believe and know the truth of God’s Word, as revealed in Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14, understand WHICH animals God has created FOR FOOD). We see, therefore, that these passages are not all-inclusive, but must be understood in context.
When Paul speaks about the concept that “all Israel shall be saved,” he does not mean, every last one of the Israelites. Matthew Poole’s Commentary agrees, stating: “all Israel is not meant every individual Israelite, but many, or (it may be) the greatest part of them. So ‘all’ is to be taken in Scripture: see John 6:45; 1 Timothy 2:6, and elsewhere.”
In conclusion, the belief in universalism is not taught in the Bible. We have looked at the fact that our behavior now does matter for those who have been called and chosen by God. We have reviewed the unpardonable sin and have also looked very briefly at the fact that people don’t go to heaven or hell when they die and why the Lake of Fire is necessary.
There are also many Scriptures about not staying with our calling until the end and that we have to be careful that no one takes our crown. Matthew 24:13 quite simply states: “But he who endures to the end shall be saved.”
None of the information given in this Q&A gives even the slightest impression that universalism – that of all people being eventually saved – is an accurate statement that the Bible teaches. Quite the reverse, and this teaching should be completely rejected. And the further danger is that it can lead to further incorrect biblical understanding.
The apostle Paul wrote: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing” (2 Timothy 4:7-8).
Finally, we read in James 1:12: “Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.”
Universalism is yet another deceptive offshoot of mainstream Christianity and runs contrary to the teachings of the Word of God!
Lead Writers: Brian Gale (United Kingdom) and Norbert Link
compiled by Dave Harris
“US-EU Trade Deal—Biggest Deal Ever Made, or a Disaster?” is the title of a new StandingWatch program, presented by Evangelist Norbert Link. Here is the summary:
Why the contradictory opinions? What exactly was agreed to? Did Trump “eat von der Leyen for breakfast”? Did she “sell out and betray the Europeans”? Will the deal bring the EU and the USA closer together or damage the relationship even further? What are the consequences for Europe? Will the deal negatively affect US customers?
“USA-EU Deal—der größte Deal aller Zeiten, oder eine Katastrophe?” is the title of a new AufPostenStehen program, presented by Norbert Link. This German program covers similar topics as described above.
We are pleased to announce that Mr. Ralph Leaf who lives in Washington was baptized by Rene Messier on Sunday, July 27. As Mr. Leaf is unable to travel, Mr. Messier drove to Washington to conduct the baptism in a hotel pool, close to Mr. Leaf’s home. Mr. Leaf is in his seventies. He has been married for almost 40 years. He is a retired attorney and accountant.
“Jacob Serves for Rachel” is the latest video in our Bible Story Series on YouTube.
“Laufen Sie vor Gott davon?” is the title of this Sabbath’s German sermon, presented by Norbert Link. Title in English: “Are You Running Away from God?”
“Die Kraft des heiligen Geistes,” last Sabbath’s first German split sermon presented by Mike Richter, is now posted. Title in English: “The power of the Holy Spirit.”
“Dekade der Extreme – Im Epizentrum,” last Sabbath’s second German split sermon presented by Manuel Müller, is now posted. Title in English: “Decade of Extremes – At the Epicenter.”
“Are You Running Away From God?” last Sabbath’s sermon presented by Norbert Link, is now posted. Here is the summary:
The Bible contains many examples of righteous and unrighteous people who were willing to run away from God—at least temporarily in some cases. Why did they do it? Some corrected their mistake; others did not. What can we learn from their example, and why is it so dangerous to walk away from God, even in seemingly little things? Why is it critical to return to Him quickly and promptly when we recognize what we are doing?
This Update is an official publication by the ministry of the Church of the Eternal God in the United States of America; the Church of God, a Christian Fellowship in Canada; and the Global Church of God in the United Kingdom.
Editorial Team: Norbert Link, Dave Harris, Rene Messier, Brian Gale, Johanna Link, Eric Rank, Michael Link, Anna Link, Kalon Mitchell, Manuela Mitchell, Dawn Thompson
Technical Team: Eric Rank, Shana Rank
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On July 26, 2025, Norbert Link will present, “Comments on News and Prophecy, July 26, 2025,” and the sermon, titled, “Are You Running Away From God?”
The live services are available, over video and audio, at http://eternalgod.org/live-services/ (12:30 pm Pacific Time; 1:30 pm Mountain Time; 2:30 pm Central Time; 3:30 pm Eastern Time; 8:30 pm Greenwich Mean Time; 9:30 pm Central European Time). Just click on Connect to Live Stream.
Deutsche Welle wrote on July 18:
“Volker Türk, the UN high commissioner for human rights, called for all countries to immediately end deportations to Afghanistan on Friday… His statement came just hours after Germany deported what it said were 81 criminals to Afghanistan, which is controlled by the Islamist Taliban…
“Though many countries halted deportations when the Taliban returned to power in 2021, many have now resumed deportations. According to the UN, Iran alone deported more than 500,000 Afghans in June. More than 1.9 million Afghans have been returned to the country from Iran and Pakistan since January 1…
“[German Chancellor] Friedrich Merz… made tougher migration policy a key pillar of his February election campaign.”
Merz might be trying to imitate Trump. He will fail in this.
Deutsche Welle wrote on July 18:
“German Chancellor Friedrich Merz took the unusual step of criticizing Israel on Friday. Merz, speaking at an annual summer press conference, said Israel’s approach to Gaza is ‘no longer acceptable.’
“The chancellor called for an immediate ceasefire in the beleaguered enclave as the death toll there surpassed 58,000 this week. He also called for more humanitarian assistance for those in Gaza — something that has been gravely hampered by Israel’s decision to boot all international aid programs out of Gaza in favor of the highly controversial US-run and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which critics have called a cynical death trap for desperate Gazans seeking to find food for their families.
“Merz also noted that his government ‘does not support’ Israel’s settlement policy, adding that he clearly expressed that sentiment in his calls with Netanyahu.”
The rift between Europe, including Germany, and Israel will get wider and deeper.
The Associated Press wrote on July 20:
“Pope Leo XIV renewed his call on Sunday for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza… Leo also expressed his ‘deep sorrow’ for the Israeli attack on the only Catholic church in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, which killed three people and wounded 10 others, including the parish priest… The shelling of the Holy Family Catholic Church in Gaza also damaged the church compound, where hundreds of Palestinians have been sheltering from the Israel-Hamas war, now in its 21st month. Israel expressed regret over what it described as an accident and said it was investigating…
“‘The world no longer tolerates war,’ Leo told reporters waiting for him outside the cathedral. Asked about his phone conversation on Friday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Leo said, ‘We insisted on the need to protect the sacred places of all religions.’”
In an accompanying article, the Associated Press wrote on July 20:
“The Israeli military published new evacuation warnings for areas of central Gaza on Sunday, in one of the few areas where the military has rarely operated with ground troops… The announcement comes as Israel and Hamas have been holding ceasefire talks in Qatar, but international mediators say there have been no breakthroughs…
“Also on Sunday, 65 Palestinians were killed, many while attempting to seek aid, according to local hospitals… It is unclear whether they were killed by the Israeli army or armed gangs or both…
“Gaza’s population of more than 2 million Palestinians are in a catastrophic humanitarian crisis. Hamas triggered the 21-month war when militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 others hostage. Fifty remain, but fewer than half are thought to be alive.
“Israel’s military offensive that followed has killed more than 58,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which doesn’t say how many militants are among the dead but says more than half of the dead have been women and children…
“The Hostages Family Forum, a grassroots organization that represents many of the families of hostages, condemned the evacuation announcement and demanded that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Israeli military explain what they hope to accomplish in the area of central Gaza, accusing Israel of operating without a clear war plan… On Saturday night, during the weekly protest, tens of thousands of protesters marched in Tel Aviv to the branch of the U.S. Embassy, demonstrating for an end to the war… Israeli bombardments continued to pound the Gaza Strip overnight. Large explosions in northern Gaza were visible from Israel as plumes of fire shot into the sky.”
Even though Trump has not publicly rebuked Netanyahu, it was reported that six White House officials openly criticized him, allegedly stating, “Bibi acted like a madman. He bombs everything all the time… This could undermine what Trump is trying to do.”… “Netanyahu is sometimes like a child who just won’t behave.”
Further, Trump allegedly called Netanyahu to demand an explanation for the shelling of the Catholic Church in Gaza.
It was also reported that “US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee has threatened to publicly declare that Israel no longer welcomes Christian groups to Israel over what he said was Jerusalem’s failure to approve tourist visas for evangelical missions” (The Times of Israel, dated July 18). However, unconfirmed reports suggested on July 20 that the matter had been “resolved” (Jewish Insider).
Times of Israel wrote on July 18:
“Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accuses Israel of using the Druze minority in Syria as a pretext for expanding into the war-torn country. ‘Israel, using the Druze as an excuse, has been expanding its banditry into neighboring Syria over the past two days,’ Erdogan says in a televised speech after the weekly cabinet meeting, calling Israel a ‘terror state.’
“Erdogan says Turkey will not allow Syria to be divided or its multicultural structure and territorial integrity harmed, after Israel’s actions allegedly sought to ‘sabotage’ a ceasefire in the country.”
But others did too. Note the next article.
Ynet wrote on July 17:
“Foreign ministers of Jordan, UAE, Bahrain, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait, Lebanon and Egypt issued a joint statement, saying they ‘support Syria’s security, unity, stability and sovereignty – and reject any foreign interference in its affairs.’…
“Additionally, the ministers condemned Israel’s attacks in Syria.”
In June, Trump had terminated the Syrian sanctions program.
The National Security Journal wrote on July 14:
“In mid-June, after weeks of bombing of Iran’s nuclear sites by Israel, the U.S. carried out strikes of its own, using B-2 bombers to deliver bunker-buster bombs to the Fordow nuclear site and other locations throughout Iran.
“The attacks took place, Israel and Iran agreed to a ceasefire soon after, and the strikes did not lead to a wider or protracted war in the Middle East or any oil shock or other economic calamity, as many had feared. But while some in the West had hoped that the strikes would imperil the future of the Iranian regime, that doesn’t appear to have happened, either.
“There have been bitter debates over whether or not President Donald Trump’s insistence that the nuclear sites had been ‘obliterated’ was true, but the president is now talking about the circumstances under which another attack could be necessary…. Trump… told Netanyahu that he ‘favored a diplomatic settlement with Tehran,’ but ‘didn’t otherwise object’ to Israel’s view of the situation.
“… In addition, the [Wall Street Journal] quoted a senior Israeli official as stating that Israel ‘wouldn’t necessarily seek explicit American approval to resume strikes on Iran,’ although Trump would likely pressure the Israelis to commit to the diplomatic track. And despite Trump’s assurances about ‘obliteration,’ ‘Israel has concluded that some of Tehran’s stockpile of near-bomb-grade enriched uranium at Isfahan survived last month’s attacks and that with considerable effort Iran could recover some of the fissile material from that site,’ the Journal said.”
The claim that Iran’s nuclear sites had been “obliterated” was dubious from the outset.
CNN wrote on July 15:
“President Trump has effectively handed Vladimir Putin an extraordinary green light: 50 days to finish off his brutal summer offensive in Ukraine before facing any consequences.
Only if there is no deal to end the war by the end of that period, in early September, would the threatened 100 percent tariffs on Russia and secondary sanctions on Russian trading partners kick in. That must seem like an eternity for millions of sleepless Ukrainians now enduring an escalating Russian onslaught of deadly missile and mass drone strikes on their towns and cities…
“… in Moscow, officials are already quietly breathing a sigh of relief. After all, it could have been much worse for them. Sanctions could have been immediate, if President Trump had wanted, or much higher – such as the 500 percent tariff rate being proposed in a bi-partisan bill in the US Senate. Not that a renewed threat of sanctions is certain to alter the Kremlin’s course in Ukraine. Far from it… Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Tuesday that Russia would be able to deal with further sanctions should Trump follow through with his threats.”
The New York Post agreed, writing on July 17:
“… why give the Russian strongman yet another chance, this one to last 50 days? That’s just 50 days of additional bloodshed… Indeed, within hours of Trump’s threat, Moscow launched more massive attacks on Ukraine — including, notably, on civilian sites, like a shopping center and energy infrastructure.
“… the 50-day grace period gives Russia an incentive to ratchet up the killing and seize as much of Ukraine as possible before the deadline. Meanwhile, many — on both sides — will die during those seven weeks, for no good reason, before Russia feels any fresh pain… there’s little logic in waiting.”
Bild Online wrote on July 18:
“It was the great hope against Putin’s missiles: On Monday, US President Donald Trump announced that he would supply weapons to Ukraine, and the Europeans would only have to pay for them. Now it’s clear: Germany not only has to pay up – it also has to supply them itself. And yet the Bundeswehr already lacks air defense.
“The Ukrainians urgently need air defense to defend themselves against missile and drone terror from Russia. The plan: Ukraine will receive additional Patriot systems. Germany wanted to cover the cost of two units (two billion euros)… But now it turns out: Germany will not only pay, but will probably have to send Bundeswehr air defense itself because Trump doesn’t want to give up its own weapons.
“…The idea was actually that the Americans would supply Ukraine from their own stocks and that Germany would cover the costs of reordering. But then Trump insisted that the US military could not give up any of its air defense. Europe would have to procure the air defense system from its own stocks… The fact that Germany is paying for the weapons for Ukraine is not enough. Europe must also make cuts in its depots and can only reorder replacements from the American arms industry… [A new] Patriot system is still being completed by the US arms company Raytheon and is not expected to be ready for at least six to eight months.
“In order to help Kyiv more quickly, BILD reports that it is being examined whether Germany will (once again) step in. And transfer another Bundeswehr Patriot unit to Ukraine. The replacement would then have to be ordered from Raytheon, and delivery would take years. However, the Bundeswehr already lacks air defense. At the beginning of the Ukraine war, the troops had twelve Patriot systems to protect our country against air attacks. Three units have already been transferred to Ukraine. Two systems are in use in Poland to secure the airport through which NATO flies all weapons for Ukraine. According to BILD reports from the Bundeswehr, three systems are currently being updated and are therefore not currently operational. At least one system is needed for soldier training.
“This means that a maximum of three units are currently available for domestic air defense. If another system is transferred, that would leave two. The situation will not improve for several years. The previous ‘traffic light’ government ordered eight Patriot systems. The first is scheduled to arrive at the Air Force at the end of 2026, and the remaining ones by 2029.”
Merz was maneuvered into accepting this “deal.” Germans are not happy.
Breitbart wrote on July 23:
“A majority of Germans oppose efforts to ban the populist Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party, with many believing that it is merely an attempt by the Berlin establishment to sideline its opposition.
“In May, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV), Germany’s political spy agency, under the direction of then-far-left Interior Minister Nancy Faeser, ruled that the AfD is a ‘right-wing extremist’ organisation. While the classification is currently under legal challenge, if upheld, it would allow for state surveillance of the party and potentially clear the way for the government to ban the party to supposedly protect German democracy…
“The survey follows warnings from Professor Andreas Rödder of the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, who cautioned last week that banning the country’s second-largest party could fundamentally undermine faith in German democracy. The professor said that ‘a ban’… would be a ‘sure path to civil war’.
“The justification for a ban of the party has also come into question, including from the former head of the same BfV political intelligence agency, which classified the party as an extremist organisation. Former Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution chief Hans-Georg Maaßen said last month that the classification was likely a result of political pressure from the then-left-wing government and the Antifa-tied former Interior Minister Nancy Faeser, to whom the agency reported at the time of the ruling.
“‘This is a clear case of using domestic intelligence services to suppress opposition,’ Maaßen said, adding that the ‘BfV has been weaponised to attack political rivals in an unscrupulous way. This damages its public reputation and undermines its core mission.’ The ex-spy chief also questioned the evidence used by his former agency…”
According to the newest polls, the AfD has now become as popular as Chancellor Merz’s CDU party.
Daily Mail wrote on July 17:
“President Donald Trump sent a salacious birthday message to Jeffrey Epstein that included a risqué hand-drawn picture of a naked woman with a cryptic message inside, according to a new report. Trump has furiously denied the allegations published in The Wall Street Journal that he took part in a 50th birthday album organized for the disgraced billionaire by his associate Ghislaine Maxwell. The birthday letter included what appears to be Trump’s famous signature and was obtained by the WSJ…. [According to the Independent, dated July 18, “Trump is accused of writing a cryptic note that made mention of a ‘wonderful secret’ in his note to the disgraced financier.”]
“Trump categorically denied any involvement in the drawing or writing of the text. ‘This is not me,’ he said. ‘This is a fake thing. It’s a fake Wall Street Journal story. ‘I never wrote a picture in my life. I don’t draw pictures of women. It’s not my language. It’s not my words… not the way I talk. Also, I don’t draw pictures… I told Rupert Murdoch [owner of WSJ] it was a Scam, that he shouldn’t print this Fake Story. But he did, and now I’m going to sue his a… off, and that of his third rate newspaper.’
“Although Trump claimed he ‘never wrote a picture in my life’, several sketches he made of New York City landmarks as early as 2004 are readily available online.
“In a separate post, he called on Attorney General Pam Bondi [after the WSJ story broke] to seek the court’s approval to release [some evidence]. ‘Based on the ridiculous amount of publicity given to Jeffrey Epstein, I have asked Attorney General Pam Bondi to produce any and all pertinent Grand Jury testimony, subject to Court approval. This SCAM, perpetuated by the Democrats, should end, right now!’…
“There is no evidence former Democratic officials tampered with the documents or played any role in promoting conspiracies about the files, which members of Trump’s administration stoked for years.”
It is also unclear “whether the move will be enough to quell the calls from Trump’s supporters to release the entirety of the so-called Epstein files, given the grand jury transcripts [and only “pertinent” testimony] represent a small portion of the evidence collected” (CNN, dated July 18).
Fox News added on July 18:
“Before joining the Trump administration, [Attorney General Pam] Bondi was among the staunchest advocates for releasing the Epstein list, telling Fox News’ Sean Hannity in 2024: ‘It should have come out a long time ago.’”
So said many other Republicans, including Donald Trump Jr.
The Daily Mail wrote on July 23:
“Trump was informed months ago by Pam Bondi that his name appears ‘multiple times’ [‘more than previously thought’] in the Jeffrey Epstein files the same day she recommended against releasing all documents… because they contained child pornography and personal information for victims…”
Mediaite wrote on July 17:
“Several drawings made by President Donald Trump in the 1990s and early 2000s resurfaced on Thursday after the president claimed to have ‘never wrote a picture in my life.’.. Trump has sketched a number of drawings over the years, including a drawing of the Manhattan skyline dated 2004 – just one year after he is accused of drawing the naked woman for Epstein. The 2004 Manhattan drawing was reportedly sketched by Trump for a charity art sale before being put up for auction again in 2019…
“Trump sketched another drawing of the Manhattan skyline in 2005, this time for another charity auction. It was put up for auction again in 2017. These sketches from the early to mid-2000s were reportedly drawn with Sharpie markers.
“Yet another sketch – this one displaying the Empire State Building – was produced by Trump for a charity auction in 1995, where it sold for less than $100. It was sold again at auction in 2017 for $16,000. According to the Wall Street Journal, Trump’s alleged 2003 letter to Epstein ‘contains several lines of typewritten text framed by the outline of a naked woman, which appears to be hand-drawn with a heavy marker…”
According to the Independent, dated July 18, “At least five sketches from the late 1990s and early 2000s have been sold at auction,” including the “Money Tree Drawing.” The article also said: “In his 2010 book Trump Never Give Up, the president boasted, ‘Each year I donate an autographed doodle to the Doodle for Hunger auction at Tavern on the Green… Art may not be my strong point,’ he admitted.”
… and the Truth will find you out…
Politico wrote on July 17:
“President Donald Trump’s allies rushed to dismiss a report that he sent a salacious birthday letter to accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein… ‘Forgive my language but this story is complete and utter [BS],’ Vice President JD Vance wrote on X. ‘The WSJ should be ashamed for publishing it. Where is this letter? Would you be shocked to learn they never showed it to us before publishing it? Does anyone honestly believe this sounds like Donald Trump?…
“Even Elon Musk… said the letter ‘really doesn’t sound like something Trump would say’ and ‘sounds bogus.’ Other high-profile MAGA figures and far-right activists… deemed the letter… a fabrication.”
Speaker Mike Johnson also rushed to Trump’s defense. Paradoxically, the publication of the alleged letter might have united many MEGA supporters in defense of Trump. Steve Bannon told CNN on July 18 that “he believed the story had united a base that had been showing signs of fraying.”
It has been said that the WSJ would have never published the article if they hadn’t been absolutely certain that the Trump letter was legit.
The Independent wrote on July 18:
“When he was a best-selling author with designs on running in Ohio’s Senate race four years ago, JD Vance was one of the multitudes of Republican figures who assailed the mainstream press for not giving enough attention to multimillionaire sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. Now, as Donald Trump’s vice president, Vance would prefer Epstein stay out of the headlines…
“Vance’s admonishment represents a head-spinning reversal from the attitude he expressed in December 2021, when he wrote on the same platform (then known as Twitter) to ask what interest the U.S. government would have in ‘keeping Epstein’s clients secret.’ He also shared a post by conspiracy theorist Jack Posobiec alleging that the government had made a deal with Epstein co-conspirator and convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell, purportedly to keep a ‘little black book’ of her and Epstein’s contacts from being made public.
“Continuing, he said: ‘If you’re a journalist and you’re not asking questions about this case you should be ashamed of yourself.’”
Business Insider wrote on July 18:
“President Donald Trump has made good on his pledge to sue over The Wall Street Journal’s Thursday report that Trump wrote a ‘bawdy’ letter to Jeffrey Epstein on his 50th birthday [in 2003]. Trump on Friday filed suit against Rupert Murdoch, Dow Jones, the CEO of News Corp, Robert Thomson, and Khadeeja Safdar and Joseph Palazzolo, both reporters for the Wall Street Journal, accusing the group of committing defamation by publishing the article. The suit seeks at least $10 billion in damages. [As the lawsuit includes two causes of action, for which $10 billion in damages are sought in each cause of action, many point out that Trump is actually suing for at least $20 billion in damages, not even including punitive damages, court costs etc. Some legal experts predict that the suit will be dismissed even before reaching the deposition stage. We will see.]
“‘Despite the glaring failures in journalistic ethics and standards of accurate reporting, Defendants Dow Jones and News Corp. — at the direction of Defendants Murdoch and Thomson — published to the world the false, defamatory, and malignant statements authored by Defendants Safdar and Palazzolo,’ the filing reads. It continues: ‘Hundreds of millions of people have already viewed the false and defamatory statements published by Defendants. And given the timing of the Defendants’ article, which shows their malicious intent behind it, the overwhelming financial and reputational harms suffered by President Trump will continue to multiply.’..
“Trump’s name and those of some of his family members were listed in one of Epstein’s contact books, and Trump is mentioned as a passenger in flight logs for Epstein’s private jets. Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club was regularly referenced during the criminal trial of Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s associate, who was convicted of sex trafficking multiple women on Epstein’s behalf. One woman testified that Epstein, during the course of several years of abuse, took her to Mar-o-Lago and introduced her to Trump when she was 14 years old. Virginia Giuffre, one of Epstein’s most prominent accusers, who died by suicide in April, has testified that she and Maxwell were at Mar-a-Lago when Giuffre was recruited as a victim of Epstein’s.”
Virginia Giuffre was famously pictured as a young underage girl together with Prince Andrew. She was “spotted one day by Epstein’s girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell while working a summer job, aged 15, at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach. Virginia described how she was ‘passed around like a platter of fruit’ among the Epstein and Maxwell’s friends until she managed to escape, aged 19” (The Times, dated July 1, 2025).
In an interview with the New York Magazine in 2002, Trump said about Epstein: “He’s a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side.” In turn, Epstein believed himself to be Trump’s “closest friend”. Eventually, they had a falling out in 2004 over a bidding war on a property in Florida.
More appalling statements are made about the close relationship between Trump and Epstein in an article by the Guardian, dated July 18, 2025—too appalling to be repeated here.
With his lawsuit, Trump might have opened up Pandora’s Box. Many feel, it might contribute to his downfall. Note the next article.
Focus Online wrote on July 20:
“Trump’s lawsuit also poses risks for the president: The issue will remain a part of media coverage as long as the proceedings continue. Furthermore, the Journal’s lawyers could attempt to question Trump under oath as part of the trial…
“It is certainly not expected that Donald Trump’s name will be visible [in released documents], especially since the Department of Justice has already indicated that it will redact large portions of the documents, particularly victim-related and personally identifiable information…
“Nearly 80 percent of Americans want the government to release all documents it has on convicted child molester Epstein. And more than two-thirds, including half of Republicans, believe the government is covering up evidence.”
MSN wrote on July 19 that the US president is facing an uncontrollable loss of power.
The Daily Mail wrote on July 20:
“John Kiriakou, an ex-CIA officer who was jailed in 2012 for leaking the agency’s waterboarding interrogation techniques used at Guantanamo Bay, shared his views on the controversial pedophile [Epstein] – including his opinion on the alleged list of clients. Kiriakou… believes the alleged list… will not see the light of day because it holds incredibly valuable intelligence information that the CIA would never hand over simply because the public demanded to see it…
“The CIA whistleblower specifically said he believes that Epstein, 66, was employed by Israel’s intelligence service Mossad – and that is why the list will not come out… Epstein’s convicted madame Ghislaine Maxwell’s family also had alleged ties to Mossad. Her father, Robert Maxwell, was allegedly an Israeli spy… ‘I believe there was a list, a client list. There had to have been. We know there was a black book… So where is it? Was it destroyed?…’
“Kiriakou isn’t the only one who believes Epstein allegedly worked for Mossad, as Tucker Carlson made the same claim earlier this month… Carlson questioned where all of the billionaire’s wealth came from, going from a math teacher to ‘having multiple airplanes, a private island, and the largest residential house in Manhattan.’”
The Washington Post wrote on July 22:
“Over the past 48 hours, President Donald Trump has asked his Truth Social followers ‘How did [former USAID administrator] Samantha Power make all of that money?’ He said he might scuttle a stadium deal if the Washington Commanders football team doesn’t change its name back to the Washington Redskins. He highlighted a memo from his director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, that said Obama administration officials planned a ‘treasonous conspiracy in 2016’ aimed at Trump. Emphasizing the point, he posted an AI-generated video of Barack Obama being arrested in the Oval Office.
“During a fusillade of posts on the social network he owns, Trump even released a three-minute mash-up of clips that would seem more at place on-screen at a sports bar than in a president’s official feed: a woman snatching an approaching snake from the grass, a car sliding under a truck barreling along a highway, and no fewer than four people doing tricks on motorcycles and jet skis. On Monday, Gabbard added another item to the list — announcing the release of hundreds of thousands of documents related to the 1968 assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. The through-line connecting those disparate posts? They have nothing to do with the political problem that has dogged Trump for weeks — the 2019 death of Jeffrey Epstein As the controversy over Epstein… has refused to dissipate, Trump and those closest to him have tried repeatedly to divert attention to other subjects, with limited success.
“Republican strategist Alex Conant said the Epstein episode has called into question Trump’s ability to evade electoral consequences of actions that would kneecap other politicians. ‘Nobody turns the page better than Donald Trump,’ Conant said. ‘His entire first term was constantly changing narratives. We lost track of all the dramas because he’s always adding a new one to distract from the previous ones… Normally his base helps change the topic by latching on to a new outrage. But now he’s in a fight with his base’… efforts to change the subject have been so far unsuccessful, experts and observers say. Instead, new attention has focused on Trump’s own well-documented friendship with Epstein… polls show that large majorities of the public believe the government is hiding facts about the Epstein case. As a result, the president… finds his political power threatened by a conspiracy theory he can’t shake.
“… Russell Muirhead, a professor of democracy and politics at Dartmouth College and a Democratic state legislator from New Hampshire [said:] ‘… it looks like he’s just another elite, corrupt like all the rest, and that impression will remain, to some extent, regardless of whether this particular story is at the top of people’s attention.’”
The Daily Mail wrote on July 22:
“Former President Barack Obama tore into Donald Trump in a rare and blistering statement after the president dramatically accused him of ‘treason’ and said the Justice Department should probe his rival over the Russia ‘hoax.’
“’Out of respect for the office of the presidency, our office does not normally dignify the constant nonsense and misinformation flowing out of this White House with a response. But these claims are outrageous enough to merit one,’ said Patrick Rodenbush, a spokesman for Obama’s office…
“The former president’s spokesman then turned to the report of Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence, who alleged that the Obama administration ‘manufactured and politicized intelligence’ against Trump. ‘Nothing in the document issued last week undercuts the widely accepted conclusion that Russia worked to influence the 2016 presidential election but did not successfully manipulate any votes. These findings were affirmed in a 2020 report by the bipartisan Senate Intelligence Committee, led by then-Chairman Marco Rubio.’
“That last line needled Trump’s secretary of state and national security advisor, who was seated next to the president during his extended discourse on Obama and his team.”
Rubio sat there quietly and visibly uncomfortably.
The Los Angeles Times wrote on July 18:
“It might be hard for outsiders to realize how pervasive the Trump administration’s immigration raids feel here in Southern California. Friends describe relatives been pulled over for no apparent reason. Neighbors tell me of housekeepers and gardeners too afraid to come to work… the vast majority of those hauled away have had no prior criminal convictions…
“A few of the actions stand out because of their size, like last week’s raid on Glass House Farms, the Camarillo cannabis operation. Federal officials arrested more than 300 people and one man trying to flee… fell to his death from the top of a greenhouse. The death of the 57-year-old worker reinforced the high stakes of the raids.
“The arrests of 31 people at a Home Depot in Hollywood also got a fair amount of attention…
“The Fashion and Flower District emptied out after the raids… people are carrying their passports, fearing the color of their skin could get them stopped. Day care centers stand quiet because parents are afraid if they leave their children there, they might not get to see them again…
“American citizens swept up in the raids are among the ones that have troubled readers the most…”
Many Americans still don’t recognize the horror caused by ICE and its discriminatory raids and arrests.
The Guardian, July 21:
“Migrants at a Miami immigration jail were shackled with their hands tied behind their backs and made to kneel to eat food from styrofoam plates ‘like dogs’, according to a report published on Monday into conditions at three overcrowded south Florida facilities. The incident at the downtown federal detention center is one of a succession of alleged abuses at jails operated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency (Ice) in the state since January, chronicled by the advocacy groups Human Rights Watch, Americans for Immigrant Justice, and Sanctuary of the South from interviews with detainees.
“Dozens of men had been packed into a holding cell for hours, the report said, and denied lunch until about 7pm. They remained shackled with the food on chairs in front of them… Degrading treatment by guards is commonplace in all three jails, the groups say. At the Krome North service processing center in west Miami, female detainees were made to use toilets in full view of men being held there, and were denied access to gender-appropriate care, showers or adequate food.
“The jail was so far beyond capacity, some transferring detainees reported, that they were held for more than 24 hours in a bus in the parking lot. Men and women were confined together, and unshackled only when they needed to use the single toilet, which quickly became clogged… When the group was finally admitted into the facility, they said, many spent up to 12 days crammed into a frigid intake room they christened la hielera – the ice box – with no bedding or warm clothing, sleeping instead on the cold concrete floor…
“Immigration detention numbers nationally were at an average of 56,400 a day in mid-June, with almost 72% having no criminal history, according to the report…”
CBS News had already reported on this on July 9:
“Cuban reggaeton artist Leamsy La Figura, arrested last week in Miami-Dade on assault charges, was transferred to South Florida’s new immigration detention facility known as Alligator Alcatraz in the Everglades, the singer confirmed in a phone call. He and other detainees claim they are enduring inhumane conditions at the site, including lack of access to water, inadequate food and denial of religious rights…
“In a phone call from inside the facility, La Figura described what he called horrific conditions… ‘They only brought a meal once a day and it had maggots. They never take off the lights for 24 hours. The mosquitoes are as big as elephants,’ La Figura said… Other detainees echoed La Figura’s concerns… A… detainee, who said he is Colombian, described deteriorating mental health and lack of access to necessary medical care… He also claimed his Bible was confiscated…
“On Tuesday, state officials responded to the allegations made by detainees at the facility, saying they are ‘completely false’…”
Of course, what else would they say?
NBC Miami wrote on July 21:
“Over the weekend, Miami’s archbishop prayed for the detainees outside the facility [“Alligator Alcatraz”]. The archbishop… wants to hold mass inside. That hasn’t been granted.”
The National Catholic Reporter (NCR) wrote on July 8:
“President Donald Trump’s social media team at Homeland Security… has clearly not read any of Isaiah… The prophet famously includes the call to ‘make justice your aim: redress the wronged, hear the orphan’s plea, defend the widow.;’ … During a speech announcing the bombing of Iran, Trump invoked God. ‘I want to just say, we love you, God,’ Trump said…
“It isn’t a stretch to imagine that if Isaiah were prophesizing today, the United States would be the subject of his righteous fury. And though many social media users were quick to admonish the administration, there were still thousands who… commented with apparent glee.”
Express wrote on July 22:
“In a stunning development that has sent shockwaves through Washington and the Trump political orbit, CNN interrupted its regular programming to air a scathing montage highlighting unfulfilled trade promises made by Donald Trump’s Commerce Secretary. The montage, released late Monday evening, compiled repeated assurances by Howard Lutnick, a close Trump ally and a key architect of the Trump administration’s economic agenda, claiming that significant trade deals were imminent. Trump once hailed him as a ‘brilliant negotiator’ but has now been exposed for making bold claims that, according to critics, were rooted in smoke and mirrors.
“The visuals were striking: side-by-side clips showed Lutnick promising that trade deals were in their final stages, while official documents and expert analyses indicated that negotiations had either stalled or had never truly begun… This comes after President Donald Trump threatened on July 12 to impose a 30% tariff on imports from Mexico and the European Union starting on August 1. This threat followed weeks of failed negotiations with major U.S. trading partners to reach a comprehensive trade deal…”
Subsequently, Trump announced a “massive” trade deal with Japan. But note the following articles.
The Independent wrote on July 23:
“Japan agreed a trade deal that would see the US cut import tariffs on automobiles from the East Asian country from 25 per cent to 15 per cent. The deal is a significant boost to the Japanese automobile industry which sends over a quarter of its total exports to the US market… Trump described it as the ‘largest TRADE DEAL in history’ and an ‘exciting time for the United States of America’…
“The deal commits Japan to investing $550bn in the US economy. Prime minister Shigeru Ishiba confirmed the deal had been struck on Wednesday, just days after his ruling Liberal Democratic Party suffered a major loss in a key upper house election. Despite facing calls to step down in the wake of the loss, Mr Ishiba vowed to move forward with the agreement, insisting it didn’t compromise Japan’s agricultural interests… adding that US rice imports would remain within existing quotas.
“The agreement expands market access for American goods like automobiles, rice and other agricultural products. The full terms are still to be made public, however. Mr Ishiba said he would closely review the agreement before releasing it, noting his chief trade negotiator, Ryosei Akazawa, had made eight trips to Washington since April to negotiate with treasury secretary Scott Bessent and commerce secretary Howard Lutnick.
“Japanese markets reacted positively to the deal… However, Japanese bond futures fell sharply, with the 10-year benchmark dropping 0.92 yen to its lowest since March… The dollar index fell for the third consecutive day…
“The agreement drew criticism from American carmakers who argued that the deal gave preferential treatment to Japanese imports. ‘Any deal that charges a lower tariff for Japanese imports with virtually no US content than the tariff imposed on North American-built vehicles… is a bad deal for US industry and US auto workers,’ said Matt Blunt, president of the American Automotive Policy Council. Tariffs on vehicles made in North America remain at 25 per cent…
“The new agreement does not address the longstanding issue of 50 per cent American tariff on Japanese steel and aluminium. It also excludes provisions related to defence budgets…”
There was some confusion regarding alleged Japanese investments in the USA.
CNBC wrote on July 23:
“‘Japan will invest, at my direction, $550 Billion Dollars into the United States, which will receive 90% of the Profits,’ Trump wrote in the post… The card on Trump’s desk displays a 10% tariff, in addition to a 15% levy rate on the automotive, pharmaceutical and semiconductor industries. However, Trump said in his Truth Social post only that Japan would face a rate of 15%, without elaborating… Below the tariff rate, ‘$400B’ appears on the board in large lettering. The number four is crossed out, with ‘500’ written above it… Trump used a different figure in his post than even the altered amount on the card, saying in the post that Japan would invest $550 billion in the U.S. It is not clear why the amount in his post was $50 billion higher than the altered amount on the card…
“Wall Street was left a bit confused by the terms of the deal. Andy Laperriere, head of U.S. policy research at Piper Sandler, said Japanese officials are ‘describing it differently’ when it comes to the investment plan. Japan’s leaders, he said, see the $550 billion figure as a cap and inclusive of government loan guarantees. ‘Especially given that the Japanese believe they are being bullied into this commitment, they will almost certainly slow walk whatever investments they don’t think are in their own economic self-interest,’ Laperriere wrote to clients in a Wednesday note.”
Please read our Editorial this week, titled, “They Are Lying to Us!”
The Guardian wrote on July 18:
“The Trump administration has decided to destroy $9.7m worth of contraceptives rather than send them abroad to women in need. A state department spokesperson confirmed that the decision had been made – a move that will cost US taxpayers $167,000. The contraceptives are primarily long-acting, such as IUDs and birth control implants, and were almost certainly intended for women in Africa, according to two senior congressional aides, one of whom visited a warehouse in Belgium that housed the contraceptives. It is not clear to the aides whether the destruction has already been carried out, but said they had been told that it was set to occur by the end of July…
“The department decided to destroy the contraceptives because it could not sell them to any ‘eligible buyers’, in part because of US laws and rules that prohibit sending US aid to organizations that provide abortion services, counsel people about the procedure or advocate for the right to it overseas, according to the state department spokesperson. Most of the contraceptives have less than 70% of their shelf life left before they expire, the spokesperson said, and rebranding and selling the contraceptives could cost several million dollars.
“However, the aide who visited the warehouse said that the earliest expiration date they saw on the contraceptives was 2027, and that two-thirds of the contraceptives did not have any USAID labels that would need to be rebranded.
“The eradication of the contraceptives is part of the Trump administration’s months-long demolition of the Agency for International Development (USAID), the largest funding agency for humanitarian and development aid in the world. After the unofficial ‘department of government efficiency’ (Doge) erased 83% of USAID’s programs, [secretary of state Marco] Rubio announced in June that USAID’s entire international workforce would be abolished and its foreign assistance programs would be moved to the State Department… In total, the funding cuts to USAID could lead to more than 14m additional deaths by 2030, according to a recent study published in the journal the Lancet. A third of those deaths could be children.
“‘If you have an unintended pregnancy and you end up having to seek unsafe abortion, it’s quite likely that you will die,’ said Sarah Shaw, the associate director of advocacy at MSI Reproductive Choices, a global family planning organization that works in nearly 40 countries. ‘If you’re not given the means to space or limit your births, you’re putting your life at risk or your child’s life at risk.’
“MSI tried to purchase the contraceptives from the US government, Shaw said. But the government would only accept full price – which Shaw said the agency could not afford, given that MSI would also have to shoulder the expense of transporting the contraceptives and the fact that they are inching closer to their expiration date, which could affect MSI’s ability to distribute them.
The state department spokesperson did not specifically respond to a request for comment on Shaw’s allegation, but MSI does provide abortions as part of its global work, which may have led the department to rule it out as an ‘eligible buyer’…”
This is another example of the rotten world with its evil demonic systems we are living in.
The Atlantic wrote on July 14:
“Five months into its unprecedented dismantling of foreign-aid programs, the Trump administration has given the order to incinerate food instead of sending it to people abroad who need it. Nearly 500 metric tons of emergency food—enough to feed about 1.5 million children for a week—are set to expire…, according to current and former government employees with direct knowledge of the rations.
“Within weeks, two of those sources told me, the food, meant for children in Afghanistan and Pakistan, will be ash…”
The New York Post wrote on July 22:
“President Trump said Tuesday he is considering eliminating the capital gains tax on home sales — a potentially massive financial break for sellers… Trump was responding to a question from Real America Voice reporter Brian Glenn, who is in a relationship with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene. The Georgia GOP congresswoman recently introduced a bill in Congress calling for the elimination of the tax on home sales…
“Minutes earlier, the president had unloaded on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell for not lowering interest rates. ‘It’s causing a problem for people who want to buy a home,’ Trump said… claiming that Powell will be out in ‘eight months’— despite his term expiring May 15… The president said the housing market could be unleashed ‘just by lowering the interest rates.’
“Single tax-filers can currently exclude a maximum of $250,000 in capital gains when they sell their homes, a limit that has been in place since 1997. Joint filers can exclude up to $500,000. ‘Families who work hard, build equity and sell their homes should not be punished with massive tax bills,’ Greene said in a statement about her bill. ‘The capital gains tax on home sales is an outdated, unfair burden…’ The elimination of capital gains tax would have to be passed by Congress.”
This would be a step in the right direction. The fewer taxes, the better.
Semafor wrote on July 17:
“Britain’s government said it would lower the country’s voting age to 16 before the next general election in a bid to increase democratic participation. The proposal to allow 16- and 17-year-olds the right to vote in general elections represents the biggest change to the electorate since the voting age was reduced from 21 to 18 in 1969…
“The move to extend the franchise was part of the governing Labour Party’s manifesto: Labour argued that the change would bring greater fairness to 16- and 17-year-olds, many of whom already work and are eligible to serve in the military.”
What stupidity! So, one evil is used to justify the next.
Acknowledgement and Disclaimer:
These Current Events are compiled and commented on by Norbert Link. We gratefully acknowledge the many contributions of news articles from our readership. The publication of articles in this section is not to be viewed as an endorsement or approval as to contents or accuracy of the selected articles, but they are published for the purpose of pointing at worldwide developments in the light of biblical end-time prophecy and godly instruction. Our own comments are provided in italics.
On July 26, 2025, Norbert Link will present, “Comments on News and Prophecy, July 26, 2025,” and the sermon, titled, “Are You Running Away From God?”
The live services are available, over video and audio, at http://eternalgod.org/live-services/ (12:30 pm Pacific Time; 1:30 pm Mountain Time; 2:30 pm Central Time; 3:30 pm Eastern Time; 8:30 pm Greenwich Mean Time; 9:30 pm Central European Time). Just click on Connect to Live Stream.
by Norbert Link
We are taking a very unique position in this world—not voting in governmental elections nor joining the military and participating in its wars, just to name a few examples. Why is this so?
The short answer is very simple. This is not God’s world. It is Satan who deceives and rules mankind, and he is a murderer, a liar and the father of lies (John 8:44). He rules over all human kingdoms and governments (Luke 4:5-6). As Satan delights in lies, so do his human instruments (Psalm 62:4). And this is why the world is, as it is, which Hosea 4:2 describes so vividly: “By swearing and lying, Killing and stealing and committing adultery, They break all restraint, With bloodshed upon bloodshed.”
The Ron Paul Institute published the following insightful article on July 14, 2025: “Those who understand the philosophy, history, and economics of liberty can explain that it is not just that some government officials lie. Instead, all governments lie, and the more important the issue the bigger the lie. In fact, the modern state is built on a series of lies…”
This assessment is so true! That is why converted Christians must not have anything to do with the lies of this world. Exodus 23:7 warns us: “Keep yourself far from a false matter.” Some might say, but a little lie is accepted, if we prevent thereby great mischief, and their rationale justifies to vote for the ”lesser evil.” God’s answer is two-fold. He tells us in 1 John 2:21: “… you know… that no lie is of the truth.” And in 1 Thessalonians 5:22: “Abstain from every form of evil.”
As true Christians, we ought to understand that “Lying lips are an abomination to the LORD” (Proverbs 12:22), and we must not have anything to do with spreading lies or supporting them in any way. We ought to remember that God will “destroy those who speak falsehood; The LORD abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man” (Psalm 5:6). In fact, all liars will end up in the lake of fire (Revelation 21:8)—unless they repent of their evil ways.
The following famous Q&A has validity: “Q: How do you know that a politician is lying?” “A: When he moves his lips.”
We are literally surrounded by and bombarded with political lies. But our false sense of patriotism and nationalism might cloud our minds and sear our conscience. The most recent debacle of the Jeffrey Epstein matter has clearly manifested the fact that we have been lied to. But we have also been lied to in regard to the government’s current immigration policy. We were told that only illegal aliens who are hard-core capital criminals would be detained and deported, and only a few “casualties” or “collateral damage” might be affected in the process. As we know now, that was a blatant lie from the outset.
For instance, The Miami Herald wrote on July 15:
“Hundreds of immigrants with no criminal charges in the United States are being held at Alligator Alcatraz, a detention facility state and federal officials have characterized as a place where ‘vicious’ and ‘deranged psychopaths’ are sent before they get deported… Mixed among the detainees accused and convicted of crimes are more than 250 people who are listed as having only immigration violations but no criminal convictions or pending charges in the United States… Nationally, nearly half of detainees in ICE custody as of late June were being held for immigration violations and did not have a criminal conviction or charge…”
The Los Angeles Times wrote on June 29:
“A Times analysis found that 69% of those arrested… had no criminal conviction and 58% had never been charged with a crime.”
58% to 69% is quite a high figure for “collateral damage.” So, far from focusing merely on illegal aliens who have been convicted of capital crimes, as it had been originally promised, the current government goes after aliens without papers, legal tourists and other aliens who are here legally, green card holders, birthright citizens, and now even naturalized American citizens.
We, in God’s Church, must have nothing to do with or support or justify in any way the lies of the government… no matter, in what context they are being uttered.
One of the biggest lies this world, under Satan’s influence and deception, is promulgating is the idea that we must fight in war to defend our country, and that only through military strength can we achieve peace. I addressed this worldwide lie in an Editorial, dated March 7, 2003, titled, “War or Peace—Which?”, where I wrote this:
“The Bible tells us that Satan has deceived this whole world (Revelation 12:9). It is Satan, the author of war, who has caused man to think that destruction can produce construction — that war can result in peace. Man wants peace. But, man does not know how to achieve it… 6000 years of human history of pain and misery have proven that our wars do not bring peace, but that they only result in more wars… God’s way of peace and Satan’s way of war are total opposites.
“… we can be used by Christ as His ambassadors of peace. We are to represent His government, His kingdom, His rulership — and as such, we cannot be participating, neither in word nor in deed, in this world’s ways of war… man has chosen Satan’s way of war, destruction and death — and as a consequence, man is now facing the distinct possibility of eradicating all human life from the face of this earth.”
Yes, as God’s true children, we must be “putting away lying,” while speaking “the truth” with our neighbor (Ephesians 4:25), without giving “place to the devil” (verse 27). We must not lie about peace and war, and make God a liar when He says that He will end all wars and teach all mankind the way to peace.
A famous German songwriter, Reinhard Mey, sang a song in 2003 with the title, “It is time.” In this song, he describes a dead soldier who believed in the lies of his government. One verse states:
“If humanity falls for lies again
Then it can happen that soon no one will be alive anymore,
No one to bury the billions of dead.
Yes, they also lied to you in the same way,
Just like they still do with us today…”
Christ warned in Matthew 24:22: “And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened.”
Let us make sure that we belong to the elect–always “speaking the truth in love” (Ephesians 4:15), while not falling for the lies of this world, but abhorring and abstaining from them in every form.
And that is why we do not vote in governmental elections and why we do not join the military nor fight in the wars of this evil lying world.
by Norbert Link
We report on developments in Europe regarding deportations; violence in Gaza and Syria; and the debate on what was destroyed in Iran’s nuclear sites.
We continue with American and European “arrangements” pertaining to the Ukraine-Russia war; the discussion about banning the AfD in Germany; and we speak on the ongoing debacle of the Epstein matter, including President Trump’s “defamation” lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal.
We address a new fight between Obama and Trump; controversial ICE raids and mistreatment of detainees; Trump’s lucrative deals (or the lack thereof), including his “massive” deal with Japan; and America’s destruction of contraceptives and emergency food supposed to be sent to other countries.
We conclude with an intention to do away with capital gains tax on home sales; and Britain’s intention to lower the country’s voting age to 16.
Please note our news StandingWatch program, titled, “Politicians, Wars and the Lies of This World.”
Throughout this section, we have underlined pertinent statements in the quoted articles, for the convenience and quick overview of the reader.
Deutsche Welle wrote on July 18:
“Volker Türk, the UN high commissioner for human rights, called for all countries to immediately end deportations to Afghanistan on Friday… His statement came just hours after Germany deported what it said were 81 criminals to Afghanistan, which is controlled by the Islamist Taliban…
“Though many countries halted deportations when the Taliban returned to power in 2021, many have now resumed deportations. According to the UN, Iran alone deported more than 500,000 Afghans in June. More than 1.9 million Afghans have been returned to the country from Iran and Pakistan since January 1…
“[German Chancellor] Friedrich Merz… made tougher migration policy a key pillar of his February election campaign.”
Merz might be trying to imitate Trump. He will fail in this.
Deutsche Welle wrote on July 18:
“German Chancellor Friedrich Merz took the unusual step of criticizing Israel on Friday. Merz, speaking at an annual summer press conference, said Israel’s approach to Gaza is ‘no longer acceptable.’
“The chancellor called for an immediate ceasefire in the beleaguered enclave as the death toll there surpassed 58,000 this week. He also called for more humanitarian assistance for those in Gaza — something that has been gravely hampered by Israel’s decision to boot all international aid programs out of Gaza in favor of the highly controversial US-run and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which critics have called a cynical death trap for desperate Gazans seeking to find food for their families.
“Merz also noted that his government ‘does not support’ Israel’s settlement policy, adding that he clearly expressed that sentiment in his calls with Netanyahu.”
The rift between Europe, including Germany, and Israel will get wider and deeper.
The Associated Press wrote on July 20:
“Pope Leo XIV renewed his call on Sunday for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza… Leo also expressed his ‘deep sorrow’ for the Israeli attack on the only Catholic church in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, which killed three people and wounded 10 others, including the parish priest… The shelling of the Holy Family Catholic Church in Gaza also damaged the church compound, where hundreds of Palestinians have been sheltering from the Israel-Hamas war, now in its 21st month. Israel expressed regret over what it described as an accident and said it was investigating…
“‘The world no longer tolerates war,’ Leo told reporters waiting for him outside the cathedral. Asked about his phone conversation on Friday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Leo said, ‘We insisted on the need to protect the sacred places of all religions.’”
In an accompanying article, the Associated Press wrote on July 20:
“The Israeli military published new evacuation warnings for areas of central Gaza on Sunday, in one of the few areas where the military has rarely operated with ground troops… The announcement comes as Israel and Hamas have been holding ceasefire talks in Qatar, but international mediators say there have been no breakthroughs…
“Also on Sunday, 65 Palestinians were killed, many while attempting to seek aid, according to local hospitals… It is unclear whether they were killed by the Israeli army or armed gangs or both…
“Gaza’s population of more than 2 million Palestinians are in a catastrophic humanitarian crisis. Hamas triggered the 21-month war when militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 others hostage. Fifty remain, but fewer than half are thought to be alive.
“Israel’s military offensive that followed has killed more than 58,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which doesn’t say how many militants are among the dead but says more than half of the dead have been women and children…
“The Hostages Family Forum, a grassroots organization that represents many of the families of hostages, condemned the evacuation announcement and demanded that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Israeli military explain what they hope to accomplish in the area of central Gaza, accusing Israel of operating without a clear war plan… On Saturday night, during the weekly protest, tens of thousands of protesters marched in Tel Aviv to the branch of the U.S. Embassy, demonstrating for an end to the war… Israeli bombardments continued to pound the Gaza Strip overnight. Large explosions in northern Gaza were visible from Israel as plumes of fire shot into the sky.”
Even though Trump has not publicly rebuked Netanyahu, it was reported that six White House officials openly criticized him, allegedly stating, “Bibi acted like a madman. He bombs everything all the time… This could undermine what Trump is trying to do.”… “Netanyahu is sometimes like a child who just won’t behave.”
Further, Trump allegedly called Netanyahu to demand an explanation for the shelling of the Catholic Church in Gaza.
It was also reported that “US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee has threatened to publicly declare that Israel no longer welcomes Christian groups to Israel over what he said was Jerusalem’s failure to approve tourist visas for evangelical missions” (The Times of Israel, dated July 18). However, unconfirmed reports suggested on July 20 that the matter had been “resolved” (Jewish Insider).
Times of Israel wrote on July 18:
“Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accuses Israel of using the Druze minority in Syria as a pretext for expanding into the war-torn country. ‘Israel, using the Druze as an excuse, has been expanding its banditry into neighboring Syria over the past two days,’ Erdogan says in a televised speech after the weekly cabinet meeting, calling Israel a ‘terror state.’
“Erdogan says Turkey will not allow Syria to be divided or its multicultural structure and territorial integrity harmed, after Israel’s actions allegedly sought to ‘sabotage’ a ceasefire in the country.”
But others did too. Note the next article.
Ynet wrote on July 17:
“Foreign ministers of Jordan, UAE, Bahrain, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait, Lebanon and Egypt issued a joint statement, saying they ‘support Syria’s security, unity, stability and sovereignty – and reject any foreign interference in its affairs.’…
“Additionally, the ministers condemned Israel’s attacks in Syria.”
In June, Trump had terminated the Syrian sanctions program.
The National Security Journal wrote on July 14:
“In mid-June, after weeks of bombing of Iran’s nuclear sites by Israel, the U.S. carried out strikes of its own, using B-2 bombers to deliver bunker-buster bombs to the Fordow nuclear site and other locations throughout Iran.
“The attacks took place, Israel and Iran agreed to a ceasefire soon after, and the strikes did not lead to a wider or protracted war in the Middle East or any oil shock or other economic calamity, as many had feared. But while some in the West had hoped that the strikes would imperil the future of the Iranian regime, that doesn’t appear to have happened, either.
“There have been bitter debates over whether or not President Donald Trump’s insistence that the nuclear sites had been ‘obliterated’ was true, but the president is now talking about the circumstances under which another attack could be necessary…. Trump… told Netanyahu that he ‘favored a diplomatic settlement with Tehran,’ but ‘didn’t otherwise object’ to Israel’s view of the situation.
“… In addition, the [Wall Street Journal] quoted a senior Israeli official as stating that Israel ‘wouldn’t necessarily seek explicit American approval to resume strikes on Iran,’ although Trump would likely pressure the Israelis to commit to the diplomatic track. And despite Trump’s assurances about ‘obliteration,’ ‘Israel has concluded that some of Tehran’s stockpile of near-bomb-grade enriched uranium at Isfahan survived last month’s attacks and that with considerable effort Iran could recover some of the fissile material from that site,’ the Journal said.”
The claim that Iran’s nuclear sites had been “obliterated” was dubious from the outset.
CNN wrote on July 15:
“President Trump has effectively handed Vladimir Putin an extraordinary green light: 50 days to finish off his brutal summer offensive in Ukraine before facing any consequences.
Only if there is no deal to end the war by the end of that period, in early September, would the threatened 100 percent tariffs on Russia and secondary sanctions on Russian trading partners kick in. That must seem like an eternity for millions of sleepless Ukrainians now enduring an escalating Russian onslaught of deadly missile and mass drone strikes on their towns and cities…
“… in Moscow, officials are already quietly breathing a sigh of relief. After all, it could have been much worse for them. Sanctions could have been immediate, if President Trump had wanted, or much higher – such as the 500 percent tariff rate being proposed in a bi-partisan bill in the US Senate. Not that a renewed threat of sanctions is certain to alter the Kremlin’s course in Ukraine. Far from it… Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Tuesday that Russia would be able to deal with further sanctions should Trump follow through with his threats.”
The New York Post agreed, writing on July 17:
“… why give the Russian strongman yet another chance, this one to last 50 days? That’s just 50 days of additional bloodshed… Indeed, within hours of Trump’s threat, Moscow launched more massive attacks on Ukraine — including, notably, on civilian sites, like a shopping center and energy infrastructure.
“… the 50-day grace period gives Russia an incentive to ratchet up the killing and seize as much of Ukraine as possible before the deadline. Meanwhile, many — on both sides — will die during those seven weeks, for no good reason, before Russia feels any fresh pain… there’s little logic in waiting.”
Bild Online wrote on July 18:
“It was the great hope against Putin’s missiles: On Monday, US President Donald Trump announced that he would supply weapons to Ukraine, and the Europeans would only have to pay for them. Now it’s clear: Germany not only has to pay up – it also has to supply them itself. And yet the Bundeswehr already lacks air defense.
“The Ukrainians urgently need air defense to defend themselves against missile and drone terror from Russia. The plan: Ukraine will receive additional Patriot systems. Germany wanted to cover the cost of two units (two billion euros)… But now it turns out: Germany will not only pay, but will probably have to send Bundeswehr air defense itself because Trump doesn’t want to give up its own weapons.
“…The idea was actually that the Americans would supply Ukraine from their own stocks and that Germany would cover the costs of reordering. But then Trump insisted that the US military could not give up any of its air defense. Europe would have to procure the air defense system from its own stocks… The fact that Germany is paying for the weapons for Ukraine is not enough. Europe must also make cuts in its depots and can only reorder replacements from the American arms industry… [A new] Patriot system is still being completed by the US arms company Raytheon and is not expected to be ready for at least six to eight months.
“In order to help Kyiv more quickly, BILD reports that it is being examined whether Germany will (once again) step in. And transfer another Bundeswehr Patriot unit to Ukraine. The replacement would then have to be ordered from Raytheon, and delivery would take years. However, the Bundeswehr already lacks air defense. At the beginning of the Ukraine war, the troops had twelve Patriot systems to protect our country against air attacks. Three units have already been transferred to Ukraine. Two systems are in use in Poland to secure the airport through which NATO flies all weapons for Ukraine. According to BILD reports from the Bundeswehr, three systems are currently being updated and are therefore not currently operational. At least one system is needed for soldier training.
“This means that a maximum of three units are currently available for domestic air defense. If another system is transferred, that would leave two. The situation will not improve for several years. The previous ‘traffic light’ government ordered eight Patriot systems. The first is scheduled to arrive at the Air Force at the end of 2026, and the remaining ones by 2029.”
Merz was maneuvered into accepting this “deal.” Germans are not happy.
Breitbart wrote on July 23:
“A majority of Germans oppose efforts to ban the populist Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party, with many believing that it is merely an attempt by the Berlin establishment to sideline its opposition.
“In May, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV), Germany’s political spy agency, under the direction of then-far-left Interior Minister Nancy Faeser, ruled that the AfD is a ‘right-wing extremist’ organisation. While the classification is currently under legal challenge, if upheld, it would allow for state surveillance of the party and potentially clear the way for the government to ban the party to supposedly protect German democracy…
“The survey follows warnings from Professor Andreas Rödder of the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, who cautioned last week that banning the country’s second-largest party could fundamentally undermine faith in German democracy. The professor said that ‘a ban’… would be a ‘sure path to civil war’.
“The justification for a ban of the party has also come into question, including from the former head of the same BfV political intelligence agency, which classified the party as an extremist organisation. Former Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution chief Hans-Georg Maaßen said last month that the classification was likely a result of political pressure from the then-left-wing government and the Antifa-tied former Interior Minister Nancy Faeser, to whom the agency reported at the time of the ruling.
“‘This is a clear case of using domestic intelligence services to suppress opposition,’ Maaßen said, adding that the ‘BfV has been weaponised to attack political rivals in an unscrupulous way. This damages its public reputation and undermines its core mission.’ The ex-spy chief also questioned the evidence used by his former agency…”
According to the newest polls, the AfD has now become as popular as Chancellor Merz’s CDU party.
Daily Mail wrote on July 17:
“President Donald Trump sent a salacious birthday message to Jeffrey Epstein that included a risqué hand-drawn picture of a naked woman with a cryptic message inside, according to a new report. Trump has furiously denied the allegations published in The Wall Street Journal that he took part in a 50th birthday album organized for the disgraced billionaire by his associate Ghislaine Maxwell. The birthday letter included what appears to be Trump’s famous signature and was obtained by the WSJ…. [According to the Independent, dated July 18, “Trump is accused of writing a cryptic note that made mention of a ‘wonderful secret’ in his note to the disgraced financier.”]
“Trump categorically denied any involvement in the drawing or writing of the text. ‘This is not me,’ he said. ‘This is a fake thing. It’s a fake Wall Street Journal story. ‘I never wrote a picture in my life. I don’t draw pictures of women. It’s not my language. It’s not my words… not the way I talk. Also, I don’t draw pictures… I told Rupert Murdoch [owner of WSJ] it was a Scam, that he shouldn’t print this Fake Story. But he did, and now I’m going to sue his a… off, and that of his third rate newspaper.’
“Although Trump claimed he ‘never wrote a picture in my life’, several sketches he made of New York City landmarks as early as 2004 are readily available online.
“In a separate post, he called on Attorney General Pam Bondi [after the WSJ story broke] to seek the court’s approval to release [some evidence]. ‘Based on the ridiculous amount of publicity given to Jeffrey Epstein, I have asked Attorney General Pam Bondi to produce any and all pertinent Grand Jury testimony, subject to Court approval. This SCAM, perpetuated by the Democrats, should end, right now!’…
“There is no evidence former Democratic officials tampered with the documents or played any role in promoting conspiracies about the files, which members of Trump’s administration stoked for years.”
It is also unclear “whether the move will be enough to quell the calls from Trump’s supporters to release the entirety of the so-called Epstein files, given the grand jury transcripts [and only “pertinent” testimony] represent a small portion of the evidence collected” (CNN, dated July 18).
Fox News added on July 18:
“Before joining the Trump administration, [Attorney General Pam] Bondi was among the staunchest advocates for releasing the Epstein list, telling Fox News’ Sean Hannity in 2024: ‘It should have come out a long time ago.’”
So said many other Republicans, including Donald Trump Jr.
The Daily Mail wrote on July 23:
“Trump was informed months ago by Pam Bondi that his name appears ‘multiple times’ [‘more than previously thought’] in the Jeffrey Epstein files the same day she recommended against releasing all documents… because they contained child pornography and personal information for victims…”
Mediaite wrote on July 17:
“Several drawings made by President Donald Trump in the 1990s and early 2000s resurfaced on Thursday after the president claimed to have ‘never wrote a picture in my life.’.. Trump has sketched a number of drawings over the years, including a drawing of the Manhattan skyline dated 2004 – just one year after he is accused of drawing the naked woman for Epstein. The 2004 Manhattan drawing was reportedly sketched by Trump for a charity art sale before being put up for auction again in 2019…
“Trump sketched another drawing of the Manhattan skyline in 2005, this time for another charity auction. It was put up for auction again in 2017. These sketches from the early to mid-2000s were reportedly drawn with Sharpie markers.
“Yet another sketch – this one displaying the Empire State Building – was produced by Trump for a charity auction in 1995, where it sold for less than $100. It was sold again at auction in 2017 for $16,000. According to the Wall Street Journal, Trump’s alleged 2003 letter to Epstein ‘contains several lines of typewritten text framed by the outline of a naked woman, which appears to be hand-drawn with a heavy marker…”
According to the Independent, dated July 18, “At least five sketches from the late 1990s and early 2000s have been sold at auction,” including the “Money Tree Drawing.” The article also said: “In his 2010 book Trump Never Give Up, the president boasted, ‘Each year I donate an autographed doodle to the Doodle for Hunger auction at Tavern on the Green… Art may not be my strong point,’ he admitted.”
… and the Truth will find you out…
Politico wrote on July 17:
“President Donald Trump’s allies rushed to dismiss a report that he sent a salacious birthday letter to accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein… ‘Forgive my language but this story is complete and utter [BS],’ Vice President JD Vance wrote on X. ‘The WSJ should be ashamed for publishing it. Where is this letter? Would you be shocked to learn they never showed it to us before publishing it? Does anyone honestly believe this sounds like Donald Trump?…
“Even Elon Musk… said the letter ‘really doesn’t sound like something Trump would say’ and ‘sounds bogus.’ Other high-profile MAGA figures and far-right activists… deemed the letter… a fabrication.”
Speaker Mike Johnson also rushed to Trump’s defense. Paradoxically, the publication of the alleged letter might have united many MEGA supporters in defense of Trump. Steve Bannon told CNN on July 18 that “he believed the story had united a base that had been showing signs of fraying.”
It has been said that the WSJ would have never published the article if they hadn’t been absolutely certain that the Trump letter was legit.
The Independent wrote on July 18:
“When he was a best-selling author with designs on running in Ohio’s Senate race four years ago, JD Vance was one of the multitudes of Republican figures who assailed the mainstream press for not giving enough attention to multimillionaire sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. Now, as Donald Trump’s vice president, Vance would prefer Epstein stay out of the headlines…
“Vance’s admonishment represents a head-spinning reversal from the attitude he expressed in December 2021, when he wrote on the same platform (then known as Twitter) to ask what interest the U.S. government would have in ‘keeping Epstein’s clients secret.’ He also shared a post by conspiracy theorist Jack Posobiec alleging that the government had made a deal with Epstein co-conspirator and convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell, purportedly to keep a ‘little black book’ of her and Epstein’s contacts from being made public.
“Continuing, he said: ‘If you’re a journalist and you’re not asking questions about this case you should be ashamed of yourself.’”
Business Insider wrote on July 18:
“President Donald Trump has made good on his pledge to sue over The Wall Street Journal’s Thursday report that Trump wrote a ‘bawdy’ letter to Jeffrey Epstein on his 50th birthday [in 2003]. Trump on Friday filed suit against Rupert Murdoch, Dow Jones, the CEO of News Corp, Robert Thomson, and Khadeeja Safdar and Joseph Palazzolo, both reporters for the Wall Street Journal, accusing the group of committing defamation by publishing the article. The suit seeks at least $10 billion in damages. [As the lawsuit includes two causes of action, for which $10 billion in damages are sought in each cause of action, many point out that Trump is actually suing for at least $20 billion in damages, not even including punitive damages, court costs etc. Some legal experts predict that the suit will be dismissed even before reaching the deposition stage. We will see.]
“‘Despite the glaring failures in journalistic ethics and standards of accurate reporting, Defendants Dow Jones and News Corp. — at the direction of Defendants Murdoch and Thomson — published to the world the false, defamatory, and malignant statements authored by Defendants Safdar and Palazzolo,’ the filing reads. It continues: ‘Hundreds of millions of people have already viewed the false and defamatory statements published by Defendants. And given the timing of the Defendants’ article, which shows their malicious intent behind it, the overwhelming financial and reputational harms suffered by President Trump will continue to multiply.’..
“Trump’s name and those of some of his family members were listed in one of Epstein’s contact books, and Trump is mentioned as a passenger in flight logs for Epstein’s private jets. Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club was regularly referenced during the criminal trial of Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s associate, who was convicted of sex trafficking multiple women on Epstein’s behalf. One woman testified that Epstein, during the course of several years of abuse, took her to Mar-o-Lago and introduced her to Trump when she was 14 years old. Virginia Giuffre, one of Epstein’s most prominent accusers, who died by suicide in April, has testified that she and Maxwell were at Mar-a-Lago when Giuffre was recruited as a victim of Epstein’s.”
Virginia Giuffre was famously pictured as a young underage girl together with Prince Andrew. She was “spotted one day by Epstein’s girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell while working a summer job, aged 15, at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach. Virginia described how she was ‘passed around like a platter of fruit’ among the Epstein and Maxwell’s friends until she managed to escape, aged 19” (The Times, dated July 1, 2025).
In an interview with the New York Magazine in 2002, Trump said about Epstein: “He’s a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side.” In turn, Epstein believed himself to be Trump’s “closest friend”. Eventually, they had a falling out in 2004 over a bidding war on a property in Florida.
More appalling statements are made about the close relationship between Trump and Epstein in an article by the Guardian, dated July 18, 2025—too appalling to be repeated here.
With his lawsuit, Trump might have opened up Pandora’s Box. Many feel, it might contribute to his downfall. Note the next article.
Focus Online wrote on July 20:
“Trump’s lawsuit also poses risks for the president: The issue will remain a part of media coverage as long as the proceedings continue. Furthermore, the Journal’s lawyers could attempt to question Trump under oath as part of the trial…
“It is certainly not expected that Donald Trump’s name will be visible [in released documents], especially since the Department of Justice has already indicated that it will redact large portions of the documents, particularly victim-related and personally identifiable information…
“Nearly 80 percent of Americans want the government to release all documents it has on convicted child molester Epstein. And more than two-thirds, including half of Republicans, believe the government is covering up evidence.”
MSN wrote on July 19 that the US president is facing an uncontrollable loss of power.
The Daily Mail wrote on July 20:
“John Kiriakou, an ex-CIA officer who was jailed in 2012 for leaking the agency’s waterboarding interrogation techniques used at Guantanamo Bay, shared his views on the controversial pedophile [Epstein] – including his opinion on the alleged list of clients. Kiriakou… believes the alleged list… will not see the light of day because it holds incredibly valuable intelligence information that the CIA would never hand over simply because the public demanded to see it…
“The CIA whistleblower specifically said he believes that Epstein, 66, was employed by Israel’s intelligence service Mossad – and that is why the list will not come out… Epstein’s convicted madame Ghislaine Maxwell’s family also had alleged ties to Mossad. Her father, Robert Maxwell, was allegedly an Israeli spy… ‘I believe there was a list, a client list. There had to have been. We know there was a black book… So where is it? Was it destroyed?…’
“Kiriakou isn’t the only one who believes Epstein allegedly worked for Mossad, as Tucker Carlson made the same claim earlier this month… Carlson questioned where all of the billionaire’s wealth came from, going from a math teacher to ‘having multiple airplanes, a private island, and the largest residential house in Manhattan.’”
The Washington Post wrote on July 22:
“Over the past 48 hours, President Donald Trump has asked his Truth Social followers ‘How did [former USAID administrator] Samantha Power make all of that money?’ He said he might scuttle a stadium deal if the Washington Commanders football team doesn’t change its name back to the Washington Redskins. He highlighted a memo from his director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, that said Obama administration officials planned a ‘treasonous conspiracy in 2016’ aimed at Trump. Emphasizing the point, he posted an AI-generated video of Barack Obama being arrested in the Oval Office.
“During a fusillade of posts on the social network he owns, Trump even released a three-minute mash-up of clips that would seem more at place on-screen at a sports bar than in a president’s official feed: a woman snatching an approaching snake from the grass, a car sliding under a truck barreling along a highway, and no fewer than four people doing tricks on motorcycles and jet skis. On Monday, Gabbard added another item to the list — announcing the release of hundreds of thousands of documents related to the 1968 assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. The through-line connecting those disparate posts? They have nothing to do with the political problem that has dogged Trump for weeks — the 2019 death of Jeffrey Epstein As the controversy over Epstein… has refused to dissipate, Trump and those closest to him have tried repeatedly to divert attention to other subjects, with limited success.
“Republican strategist Alex Conant said the Epstein episode has called into question Trump’s ability to evade electoral consequences of actions that would kneecap other politicians. ‘Nobody turns the page better than Donald Trump,’ Conant said. ‘His entire first term was constantly changing narratives. We lost track of all the dramas because he’s always adding a new one to distract from the previous ones… Normally his base helps change the topic by latching on to a new outrage. But now he’s in a fight with his base’… efforts to change the subject have been so far unsuccessful, experts and observers say. Instead, new attention has focused on Trump’s own well-documented friendship with Epstein… polls show that large majorities of the public believe the government is hiding facts about the Epstein case. As a result, the president… finds his political power threatened by a conspiracy theory he can’t shake.
“… Russell Muirhead, a professor of democracy and politics at Dartmouth College and a Democratic state legislator from New Hampshire [said:] ‘… it looks like he’s just another elite, corrupt like all the rest, and that impression will remain, to some extent, regardless of whether this particular story is at the top of people’s attention.’”
The Daily Mail wrote on July 22:
“Former President Barack Obama tore into Donald Trump in a rare and blistering statement after the president dramatically accused him of ‘treason’ and said the Justice Department should probe his rival over the Russia ‘hoax.’
“’Out of respect for the office of the presidency, our office does not normally dignify the constant nonsense and misinformation flowing out of this White House with a response. But these claims are outrageous enough to merit one,’ said Patrick Rodenbush, a spokesman for Obama’s office…
“The former president’s spokesman then turned to the report of Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence, who alleged that the Obama administration ‘manufactured and politicized intelligence’ against Trump. ‘Nothing in the document issued last week undercuts the widely accepted conclusion that Russia worked to influence the 2016 presidential election but did not successfully manipulate any votes. These findings were affirmed in a 2020 report by the bipartisan Senate Intelligence Committee, led by then-Chairman Marco Rubio.’
“That last line needled Trump’s secretary of state and national security advisor, who was seated next to the president during his extended discourse on Obama and his team.”
Rubio sat there quietly and visibly uncomfortably.
The Los Angeles Times wrote on July 18:
“It might be hard for outsiders to realize how pervasive the Trump administration’s immigration raids feel here in Southern California. Friends describe relatives been pulled over for no apparent reason. Neighbors tell me of housekeepers and gardeners too afraid to come to work… the vast majority of those hauled away have had no prior criminal convictions…
“A few of the actions stand out because of their size, like last week’s raid on Glass House Farms, the Camarillo cannabis operation. Federal officials arrested more than 300 people and one man trying to flee… fell to his death from the top of a greenhouse. The death of the 57-year-old worker reinforced the high stakes of the raids.
“The arrests of 31 people at a Home Depot in Hollywood also got a fair amount of attention…
“The Fashion and Flower District emptied out after the raids… people are carrying their passports, fearing the color of their skin could get them stopped. Day care centers stand quiet because parents are afraid if they leave their children there, they might not get to see them again…
“American citizens swept up in the raids are among the ones that have troubled readers the most…”
Many Americans still don’t recognize the horror caused by ICE and its discriminatory raids and arrests.
The Guardian, July 21:
“Migrants at a Miami immigration jail were shackled with their hands tied behind their backs and made to kneel to eat food from styrofoam plates ‘like dogs’, according to a report published on Monday into conditions at three overcrowded south Florida facilities. The incident at the downtown federal detention center is one of a succession of alleged abuses at jails operated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency (Ice) in the state since January, chronicled by the advocacy groups Human Rights Watch, Americans for Immigrant Justice, and Sanctuary of the South from interviews with detainees.
“Dozens of men had been packed into a holding cell for hours, the report said, and denied lunch until about 7pm. They remained shackled with the food on chairs in front of them… Degrading treatment by guards is commonplace in all three jails, the groups say. At the Krome North service processing center in west Miami, female detainees were made to use toilets in full view of men being held there, and were denied access to gender-appropriate care, showers or adequate food.
“The jail was so far beyond capacity, some transferring detainees reported, that they were held for more than 24 hours in a bus in the parking lot. Men and women were confined together, and unshackled only when they needed to use the single toilet, which quickly became clogged… When the group was finally admitted into the facility, they said, many spent up to 12 days crammed into a frigid intake room they christened la hielera – the ice box – with no bedding or warm clothing, sleeping instead on the cold concrete floor…
“Immigration detention numbers nationally were at an average of 56,400 a day in mid-June, with almost 72% having no criminal history, according to the report…”
CBS News had already reported on this on July 9:
“Cuban reggaeton artist Leamsy La Figura, arrested last week in Miami-Dade on assault charges, was transferred to South Florida’s new immigration detention facility known as Alligator Alcatraz in the Everglades, the singer confirmed in a phone call. He and other detainees claim they are enduring inhumane conditions at the site, including lack of access to water, inadequate food and denial of religious rights…
“In a phone call from inside the facility, La Figura described what he called horrific conditions… ‘They only brought a meal once a day and it had maggots. They never take off the lights for 24 hours. The mosquitoes are as big as elephants,’ La Figura said… Other detainees echoed La Figura’s concerns… A… detainee, who said he is Colombian, described deteriorating mental health and lack of access to necessary medical care… He also claimed his Bible was confiscated…
“On Tuesday, state officials responded to the allegations made by detainees at the facility, saying they are ‘completely false’…”
Of course, what else would they say?
NBC Miami wrote on July 21:
“Over the weekend, Miami’s archbishop prayed for the detainees outside the facility [“Alligator Alcatraz”]. The archbishop… wants to hold mass inside. That hasn’t been granted.”
The National Catholic Reporter (NCR) wrote on July 8:
“President Donald Trump’s social media team at Homeland Security… has clearly not read any of Isaiah… The prophet famously includes the call to ‘make justice your aim: redress the wronged, hear the orphan’s plea, defend the widow.;’ … During a speech announcing the bombing of Iran, Trump invoked God. ‘I want to just say, we love you, God,’ Trump said…
“It isn’t a stretch to imagine that if Isaiah were prophesizing today, the United States would be the subject of his righteous fury. And though many social media users were quick to admonish the administration, there were still thousands who… commented with apparent glee.”
Express wrote on July 22:
“In a stunning development that has sent shockwaves through Washington and the Trump political orbit, CNN interrupted its regular programming to air a scathing montage highlighting unfulfilled trade promises made by Donald Trump’s Commerce Secretary. The montage, released late Monday evening, compiled repeated assurances by Howard Lutnick, a close Trump ally and a key architect of the Trump administration’s economic agenda, claiming that significant trade deals were imminent. Trump once hailed him as a ‘brilliant negotiator’ but has now been exposed for making bold claims that, according to critics, were rooted in smoke and mirrors.
“The visuals were striking: side-by-side clips showed Lutnick promising that trade deals were in their final stages, while official documents and expert analyses indicated that negotiations had either stalled or had never truly begun… This comes after President Donald Trump threatened on July 12 to impose a 30% tariff on imports from Mexico and the European Union starting on August 1. This threat followed weeks of failed negotiations with major U.S. trading partners to reach a comprehensive trade deal…”
Subsequently, Trump announced a “massive” trade deal with Japan. But note the following articles.
The Independent wrote on July 23:
“Japan agreed a trade deal that would see the US cut import tariffs on automobiles from the East Asian country from 25 per cent to 15 per cent. The deal is a significant boost to the Japanese automobile industry which sends over a quarter of its total exports to the US market… Trump described it as the ‘largest TRADE DEAL in history’ and an ‘exciting time for the United States of America’…
“The deal commits Japan to investing $550bn in the US economy. Prime minister Shigeru Ishiba confirmed the deal had been struck on Wednesday, just days after his ruling Liberal Democratic Party suffered a major loss in a key upper house election. Despite facing calls to step down in the wake of the loss, Mr Ishiba vowed to move forward with the agreement, insisting it didn’t compromise Japan’s agricultural interests… adding that US rice imports would remain within existing quotas.
“The agreement expands market access for American goods like automobiles, rice and other agricultural products. The full terms are still to be made public, however. Mr Ishiba said he would closely review the agreement before releasing it, noting his chief trade negotiator, Ryosei Akazawa, had made eight trips to Washington since April to negotiate with treasury secretary Scott Bessent and commerce secretary Howard Lutnick.
“Japanese markets reacted positively to the deal… However, Japanese bond futures fell sharply, with the 10-year benchmark dropping 0.92 yen to its lowest since March… The dollar index fell for the third consecutive day…
“The agreement drew criticism from American carmakers who argued that the deal gave preferential treatment to Japanese imports. ‘Any deal that charges a lower tariff for Japanese imports with virtually no US content than the tariff imposed on North American-built vehicles… is a bad deal for US industry and US auto workers,’ said Matt Blunt, president of the American Automotive Policy Council. Tariffs on vehicles made in North America remain at 25 per cent…
“The new agreement does not address the longstanding issue of 50 per cent American tariff on Japanese steel and aluminium. It also excludes provisions related to defence budgets…”
There was some confusion regarding alleged Japanese investments in the USA.
CNBC wrote on July 23:
“‘Japan will invest, at my direction, $550 Billion Dollars into the United States, which will receive 90% of the Profits,’ Trump wrote in the post… The card on Trump’s desk displays a 10% tariff, in addition to a 15% levy rate on the automotive, pharmaceutical and semiconductor industries. However, Trump said in his Truth Social post only that Japan would face a rate of 15%, without elaborating… Below the tariff rate, ‘$400B’ appears on the board in large lettering. The number four is crossed out, with ‘500’ written above it… Trump used a different figure in his post than even the altered amount on the card, saying in the post that Japan would invest $550 billion in the U.S. It is not clear why the amount in his post was $50 billion higher than the altered amount on the card…
“Wall Street was left a bit confused by the terms of the deal. Andy Laperriere, head of U.S. policy research at Piper Sandler, said Japanese officials are ‘describing it differently’ when it comes to the investment plan. Japan’s leaders, he said, see the $550 billion figure as a cap and inclusive of government loan guarantees. ‘Especially given that the Japanese believe they are being bullied into this commitment, they will almost certainly slow walk whatever investments they don’t think are in their own economic self-interest,’ Laperriere wrote to clients in a Wednesday note.”
Please read our Editorial this week, titled, “They Are Lying to Us!”
The Guardian wrote on July 18:
“The Trump administration has decided to destroy $9.7m worth of contraceptives rather than send them abroad to women in need. A state department spokesperson confirmed that the decision had been made – a move that will cost US taxpayers $167,000. The contraceptives are primarily long-acting, such as IUDs and birth control implants, and were almost certainly intended for women in Africa, according to two senior congressional aides, one of whom visited a warehouse in Belgium that housed the contraceptives. It is not clear to the aides whether the destruction has already been carried out, but said they had been told that it was set to occur by the end of July…
“The department decided to destroy the contraceptives because it could not sell them to any ‘eligible buyers’, in part because of US laws and rules that prohibit sending US aid to organizations that provide abortion services, counsel people about the procedure or advocate for the right to it overseas, according to the state department spokesperson. Most of the contraceptives have less than 70% of their shelf life left before they expire, the spokesperson said, and rebranding and selling the contraceptives could cost several million dollars.
“However, the aide who visited the warehouse said that the earliest expiration date they saw on the contraceptives was 2027, and that two-thirds of the contraceptives did not have any USAID labels that would need to be rebranded.
“The eradication of the contraceptives is part of the Trump administration’s months-long demolition of the Agency for International Development (USAID), the largest funding agency for humanitarian and development aid in the world. After the unofficial ‘department of government efficiency’ (Doge) erased 83% of USAID’s programs, [secretary of state Marco] Rubio announced in June that USAID’s entire international workforce would be abolished and its foreign assistance programs would be moved to the State Department… In total, the funding cuts to USAID could lead to more than 14m additional deaths by 2030, according to a recent study published in the journal the Lancet. A third of those deaths could be children.
“‘If you have an unintended pregnancy and you end up having to seek unsafe abortion, it’s quite likely that you will die,’ said Sarah Shaw, the associate director of advocacy at MSI Reproductive Choices, a global family planning organization that works in nearly 40 countries. ‘If you’re not given the means to space or limit your births, you’re putting your life at risk or your child’s life at risk.’
“MSI tried to purchase the contraceptives from the US government, Shaw said. But the government would only accept full price – which Shaw said the agency could not afford, given that MSI would also have to shoulder the expense of transporting the contraceptives and the fact that they are inching closer to their expiration date, which could affect MSI’s ability to distribute them.
The state department spokesperson did not specifically respond to a request for comment on Shaw’s allegation, but MSI does provide abortions as part of its global work, which may have led the department to rule it out as an ‘eligible buyer’…”
This is another example of the rotten world with its evil demonic systems we are living in.
The Atlantic wrote on July 14:
“Five months into its unprecedented dismantling of foreign-aid programs, the Trump administration has given the order to incinerate food instead of sending it to people abroad who need it. Nearly 500 metric tons of emergency food—enough to feed about 1.5 million children for a week—are set to expire…, according to current and former government employees with direct knowledge of the rations.
“Within weeks, two of those sources told me, the food, meant for children in Afghanistan and Pakistan, will be ash…”
The New York Post wrote on July 22:
“President Trump said Tuesday he is considering eliminating the capital gains tax on home sales — a potentially massive financial break for sellers… Trump was responding to a question from Real America Voice reporter Brian Glenn, who is in a relationship with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene. The Georgia GOP congresswoman recently introduced a bill in Congress calling for the elimination of the tax on home sales…
“Minutes earlier, the president had unloaded on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell for not lowering interest rates. ‘It’s causing a problem for people who want to buy a home,’ Trump said… claiming that Powell will be out in ‘eight months’— despite his term expiring May 15… The president said the housing market could be unleashed ‘just by lowering the interest rates.’
“Single tax-filers can currently exclude a maximum of $250,000 in capital gains when they sell their homes, a limit that has been in place since 1997. Joint filers can exclude up to $500,000. ‘Families who work hard, build equity and sell their homes should not be punished with massive tax bills,’ Greene said in a statement about her bill. ‘The capital gains tax on home sales is an outdated, unfair burden…’ The elimination of capital gains tax would have to be passed by Congress.”
This would be a step in the right direction. The fewer taxes, the better.
Semafor wrote on July 17:
“Britain’s government said it would lower the country’s voting age to 16 before the next general election in a bid to increase democratic participation. The proposal to allow 16- and 17-year-olds the right to vote in general elections represents the biggest change to the electorate since the voting age was reduced from 21 to 18 in 1969…
“The move to extend the franchise was part of the governing Labour Party’s manifesto: Labour argued that the change would bring greater fairness to 16- and 17-year-olds, many of whom already work and are eligible to serve in the military.”
What stupidity! So, one evil is used to justify the next.
Acknowledgement and Disclaimer:
These Current Events are compiled and commented on by Norbert Link. We gratefully acknowledge the many contributions of news articles from our readership. The publication of articles in this section is not to be viewed as an endorsement or approval as to contents or accuracy of the selected articles, but they are published for the purpose of pointing at worldwide developments in the light of biblical end-time prophecy and godly instruction. Our own comments are provided in italics.
In order to address this question, we need to know what a universalist is.
Wikipedia states the following: “The fundamental idea of Christian universalism is universal reconciliation – that all humans will eventually receive salvation. They will eventually enter God’s kingdom in Heaven, through the grace and works of the Lord Jesus Christ.” They also have this reference:
“Otis Ainsworth Skinner (1807-1861), A Series of Sermons in Defense of the Doctrine of Universal Salvation, Page 209, [points out that universalism] is not part of mainline Christian doctrine either Catholic or Protestant. [He writes that] ‘Repentance is a means by which all men are brought into the enjoyment of religion, and we do expect any man will be saved while he continues in sin. However, Unitarian Universalism holds a universal salvation, because… ‘we expect all men will repent.’”
The Free Dictionary similarly defines universalism as “the doctrine held especially by some Christian groups, that all people will eventually be saved.”
On the website universalist.org under the heading “Who Are We?,” we read:
“We are a liberal, Universalist Christian church–liberal in that we have no creedal test for membership, Universalist in our belief in the final harmony of all souls with God, and Christian in that our mission is to create a loving community for worship and service in the spirit of Jesus Christ. We are a member congregation of the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA).”
We learn from Learn Religions.com that “Some universalists believe that after a certain cleansing period, God will free the inhabitants of hell and reconcile them to himself. Others say that after death, people will have another opportunity to choose God. For some who adhere to universalism, the doctrine also implies that there are many ways to get into heaven.”
On the website britannica.com, we read the following:
“From the beginning, Universalists have differed widely in matters of belief. Attempts to write statements of faith, one as late as 1935, met with only partial success. Liberalism, freedom of individual interpretation, tolerance of diversity, agreement on methods of approaching theological and church issues, and belief in the inherent dignity of each person have been the strongest elements keeping the movement together. Universalists generally stress the use of reason in religion and modification of belief in the light of the discoveries of science. Thus, the miraculous elements of traditional Christianity are rejected as incompatible with modern knowledge. Jesus is considered a great teacher and an example worthy of imitation, but he is not held to be divine. A broader conception of Universalism began to emerge in the 20th century. Although stressing their ties to the Christian tradition, Universalists were exploring the universal elements of religion and seeking closer relationships with non-Christian religions.”
There are many issues to be addressed from all of the above information. Let us firstly address the belief that all humans will eventually receive salvation.
If everyone will eventually receive salvation (as it was stated by the Free Dictionary, quoted above), it simply does not matter, nor does it make any difference, how we live our lives. The word “eventually” is interesting as it can give the impression that someone who may have lived an evil life may have to go through some “hoops” in order to finally receive their salvation. If that was correct, it would be against all that the Bible teaches.
Let us review a few Scriptures that show behavior really does matter.
We read in 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 with our emphasis underlined:
“Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.”
We read here that some used to behave in a wrong and sinful manner, before they became converted and members of the church of God, but we also read in Proverbs 26:11:
“As a dog returns to his vomit, so a fool repeats his folly,” meaning that some Church members could turn back to their former life. Therefore, anyone who has gone off the straight and narrow way and has not repented and got back on track will not be in the Kingdom of God.
Further, in 1 Corinthians 15:1-2, we read:
“Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.” Paul says they have to hold fast to that which he preached to them.
Hebrews 10:26 is also instructive:
“For if we sin wilfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins.” So again, anyone who has been converted can still go off track and sin wilfully and will not be continuing in the Truth. For such a person, the consequences are dire.
We further read in 2 Peter 2:20-22:
“For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning. For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them. But it has happened to them according to the true proverb: ‘A dog returns to his own vomit,’ and, ‘a sow, having washed, to her wallowing in the mire.’”
We know that at the end time, the love of many will grow cold. We read in Matthew 24:12:
“And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.” The love mentioned here is “agape” which is godly love and applies to Church members. Unconverted people of this world do not have godly love within them and, because of lawlessness, the love of many in the Church will grow cold. When that happens, those who lose this godly love will not make it into the Kingdom of God unless they repent quickly of this and return to fully following the Way of God.
We also know that there will be a falling away from the Truth at the end of the age, as we read in 2 Thessalonians 2:1-3:
“Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come. Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition.”
The time frame is obviously the end time as it talks about the man of sin or the false prophet, and verse 10 is very telling in the context of the “once saved, always saved” belief of some. It states: “… and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved.” The love of the Truth is vital to our salvation; without it, we will lose out!
1 Timothy 4:1 is also a revealing piece of Scripture:
“Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons.” Departing from the faith, for whatever reason, will be a terrible position to be in unless there is true repentance.
And in Hebrews 6:4-6, we read:
“For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame.”
Can true Christians lose their salvation? Yes! Once saved, always saved? The Bible gives an emphatic NO to that question also. If we’re saved now and we can’t lose out whatever we do, where’s the motivation? Why continue to grow and overcome? There would be no need, as the matter would be unchangeable, irrespective of our future behavior. However, the Scriptures clearly tell us that we must grow and overcome AND endure to the end. We are instructed in 2 Peter 3:18 to “Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.”
We read in Revelation 3:11:
“Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown,” which clearly indicates that we could lose out. The crown referred to is the crown of righteousness which we read about in 1 Corinthians 9:24-27: “Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.”
And so, according to the above reference, the apostle Paul understood that he could be disqualified and not receive his crown. That goes against the teaching that we have been reviewing.
(To be continued)
Lead Writer: Brian Gale (United Kingdom)
compiled by Dave Harris
“Politicians, Wars and the Lies of This World,” is the title of a new StandingWatch program, presented by Evangelist Norbert Link. Here is the summary:
Why do we in God’s Church refuse to vote in governmental elections, to join the military and to fight in war? The answer is simple, and it has to do with the lies with which we are bombarded on a daily basis. Do you recognize those lies in their many different forms? What are some of those lies? And do you believe God and the Truth, or Satan and his lying politicians?
“Politiker, Kriege und die Lügen dieser Welt,” is the title of a new AufPostenStehen program, presented by Norbert Link. This German program covers similar topics as described above.
“Was wäre der Mensch ohne die Tierwelt?” last Sabbath’s German sermonette presented by Patrick Flück, is now posted. Title in English: “What Would Humans Be Without The Animal World?”
“Akeya – Where Are You?” last Sabbath’s first split sermon, presented by Kalon Mitchell, is now posted.
“Futile Excuses,” last Sabbath’s second split sermon, presented by Michael Link, is now posted. Here is the summary:
What are some excuses that we may have said in our lifetime, especially when we were younger, that we have used to persuade ourselves from diligently studying God’s Word and keeping His Sabbaths correctly? What can we learn from the several young individuals in the Bible who obeyed God, and how can we, as children of God, continue to grow spiritually, making sure that we succeed?
This Update is an official publication by the ministry of the Church of the Eternal God in the United States of America; the Church of God, a Christian Fellowship in Canada; and the Global Church of God in the United Kingdom.
Editorial Team: Norbert Link, Dave Harris, Rene Messier, Brian Gale, Johanna Link, Eric Rank, Michael Link, Anna Link, Kalon Mitchell, Manuela Mitchell, Dawn Thompson
Technical Team: Eric Rank, Shana Rank
Our activities and literature, including booklets, weekly updates, sermons on CD are provided free of charge. They are made possible by the tithes, offerings and contributions of Church members and others who have elected to support this Work.
While we do not solicit the general public for funds, contributions are gratefully welcomed and are tax-deductible in the U.S. and Canada.
Donations can be sent to the following addresses:
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On July 19, 2025, Kalon Mitchell will present the first split sermon, titled, “Akeya – Where Are You?” and Michael Link will present the second split sermon, titled, “Futile Excuses.”
The live services are available, over video and audio, at http://eternalgod.org/live-services/ (12:30 pm Pacific Time; 1:30 pm Mountain Time; 2:30 pm Central Time; 3:30 pm Eastern Time; 8:30 pm Greenwich Mean Time; 9:30 pm Central European Time). Just click on Connect to Live Stream.
