On May 1, 2021, Norbert Link will present, “Comments on News and Prophecy, May 1, 2021,” and Michael Link will present the sermon, titled, “Paul’s Challenges”.

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.

During our regular Bible study, we might come across a Scriptural passage which might at first sight be difficult to understand, requiring further scrutiny, research, prayer and meditation. Peter said at one time that Paul wrote “some things [which] are hard to understand” (2 Peter 3:16). He warned against twisting those Scriptures to one’s own destruction. One fundamental principle to always keep in mind is that the Bible never contradicts itself. Another principle is that God reveals His Truth “line upon line, line upon line, Here a little, there a little” (Isaiah 28:10).

One of these passages which I recently concentrated on is Malachi 1:11, which says:

“‘For from the rising of the sun, even to its going down, My name shall be great among the Gentiles; In every place incense shall be offered to My name, And a pure offering; For My name shall be great among the nations,’ says the LORD of hosts.”

I wondered: Does this passage tell us that in the Millennium or even before, Israelites and Gentiles will bring incense and animal sacrifices and offerings to God wherever they want to, “in every place,” and that God will accept such religious worship?

If so, then we would have been very wrong with comments we made in chapter 8 in our booklet, “Biblical Prophecy—from Now until Forever,” where we explained that at the beginning of the Millennium during the first 3 ½ years of Christ’s reign, animal sacrifices will be given to God by the lost sheep of the House of Israel at a new Temple, but not “in every place” throughout the entire earth. We also pointed out that the third Temple, where the sacrifices will be given, is mentioned only in connection with the House of Israel.

We also said this:

“Physical Israelites will bring animal sacrifices to a new temple in Jerusalem at the beginning of the Millennium. These sacrifices will not be given for the purpose of obtaining spiritual forgiveness, but just to remind the people that they had sinned, and help them to focus on the ultimate Sacrifice of Jesus Christ. As it was the case in Old Testament times, these sacrifices will be temporary and will be administered by physical Levites to physical unconverted people, so as to allow the transgressor to remain within the community of Israel.”

There is nothing in the Bible indicating that Gentiles will bring animal sacrifices to God before the Millennium begins; nor, that they will be brought in every place. Jews (not Gentiles) will bring for a short while sacrifices in Jerusalem, not in every place, but even they will be suppressed by the European beast power. And after the Millennium has begun, we read that Egyptians who want to have fellowship with Israelites, will bring sacrifices and offerings (Isaiah 19:21), but the implication is, in light of all the passages in the book of Ezekiel, chapters 40 – 47, that they will do so at the third temple and not “in every place” they choose.

How then, so I wondered, are we to understand Malachi 1:11? I viewed the context and saw the contrast between the Israelites who profane God’s name, and the Gentiles who honor it. I began to contemplate that this must be referring to spiritual sacrifices, which true Christians are already giving now, and which they will also give in the Millennium. I found that several commentaries came to the same conclusion.

The Benson Commentary wrote:

“Prayers and praises shall be presented before me as incense. For here the prophet describes the Christian sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving…”

The Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary added:

“Since ye Jewish priests and people ‘despise My name’ (Mal 1:6), I shall find others who will magnify it (Mt 3:9). Do not think I shall have no worshippers because I have not you; for from the east to the west My name shall be great among the Gentiles (Isa 66:19, 20), those very peoples whom ye look down upon as abominable. Pure offering—not ‘the blind, the lame, and the sick,’ such as ye offer (Mal 1:8). … The ‘incense’ is figurative of prayers (Ps 141:2; Re 8:3). ‘Sacrifice’ is used metaphorically (Ps 51:17; Heb 13:10, 15, 16; 1Pe 2:5, 12).”

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges stated:

“By ‘incense’ and ‘offering’ we are to understand those ‘spiritual sacrifices’ of prayer and praise (Hebrews 13:15)… and self-dedication (Romans 12:1), which all Christians as a ‘holy priesthood’ (1 Peter 2:5) are privileged to offer, and which are ‘acceptable to God through Jesus Christ’. … incense was the symbol of prayer (Luke 1:9-10). The Psalmist saw the same spiritual significance in ‘incense’ and ‘offering’ (Psalm 141:2).”

I also found other commentaries trying to say that the incense offered by Gentiles refers to Catholic rites and worship services. That explanation could be easily dismissed, as Catholics do not pray to the God of the Bible, but to a Trinitarian God, falsely believing that the Holy Spirit is a person. They most certainly do not magnify God’s true name.

And so, Malachi 1:11 speaks of true Christians who give spiritual sacrifices, and refers especially to those of Gentile descent, who are part of the firstfruits in this day and age, signified by one of the two leavened wave loaves which had to be offered at Pentecost (Leviticus 23:17). Paul says in Romans 15:16 that the offering consisting of the Gentiles might be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit (compare the margin in the new NKJV and the NIV).

The search for the right understanding of Malachi 1:11 just serves as an example as to how we are to study God’s Word. It may need time, effort, patience and dedication to the Truth, without coming to premature and hasty conclusions (Isaiah 28:16). Daniel wondered about a passage and had to wait with patience for understanding until God revealed to him the meaning (Daniel 9:20-23; 10:11-12, 14). Christ opened understanding to His apostles so they would comprehend the Scriptures (Luke 24:45). On the other hand, there were certain prophecies which Daniel would not understand, as it was not yet the time (Daniel 12:8-10). But with Bible study, prayer and meditation, answers will come, if God so wills (Ephesians 1:15-19), and these answers will make sense and add further pieces to our comprehension of the great puzzle of God’s masterful Work—the foundation of knowledge—the Holy Bible.

by Norbert Link

 We begin with a European announcement to perhaps allow fully vaccinated US tourists to travel to Europe this summer while in spite of the hype in the press, many questions remain unanswered at the moment [please see our new StandingWatch program, titled, “US Tourists Allowed to Visit Europe?—Not So Fast!”; address the German government’s “observation” of anti-lockdown demonstrators by creating a “new category”; a campaign of some popular German actors to protest against Germany’s new coronavirus restrictions and the incredible shameful backlash which they are experiencing; a new push for a European Army, this time by Germany’s rising political star, the chancellor candidate of the Green Party; the FBI’s new troublesome powers to break into private computers without the owner’s consent and without a search warrant; the FBI’s raid on Rudy Giuliani due to an investigation whether he “violated the law by lobbying the Trump administration on behalf of Ukrainian officials”; and calls for John Kerry’s resignation due to “allegations he fed Iran sensitive information on 200 Israeli military operations.”

 We continue with the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan, which has begun, while Taliban “ramps up” bombings there.

We focus on incredible police and governmental persecution of churches in Canada and the UK; California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s recall in the fall due to, among other concerns, his coronavirus restrictions and his hypocritical conduct; and Putin’s violent crack-down on his opponents and his alleged ambition to reestablish the Tsarist Empire by taking over or invading certain countries which once belonged to the Russian Empire.

We conclude with some remarkable comments by Dr. Ron Paul about the Marxist ideology.

Throughout this section, we have underlined pertinent statements in the quoted articles, for the convenience and quick overview of the reader.

Fully Vaccinated US Tourists Allowed to Visit Europe this Summer?

The Associated Press wrote on April 26:

“The European Union is finalizing plans to allow tourists from the United States to travel to the 27-nation bloc this summer, officials said Monday… The commission didn’t say when exactly tourists will be allowed back inside the bloc, and if a reciprocal approach will apply to European tourists willing to travel to the U.S…

“On Sunday, The New York Times published an interview with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, reporting that fully vaccinated Americans would be able to visit EU countries this summer since all coronavirus vaccines currently used in the U.S. have also been approved by the EU’s drug regulator. But the report didn’t mention whether she was asked about whether Americans could also provide a negative PCR test or evidence of recovering from COVID-19… [She said that the] ‘27 member states will accept, unconditionally, all those who are vaccinated with vaccines that are approved by EMA.’…

“The European Union is putting the finishing touches to a system of certificates that would allow EU residents to travel freely across the region by the summer as long as they have been vaccinated, tested negative for COVID-19 or recovered from the disease. Under the plan discussed with their U.S. counterparts, American tourists could be included in the program… But EU member states will have the final say on whether to implement the guidelines. The commission said other third countries have made similar requests, but didn’t name them. Asked whether negotiations with the United Kingdom were ongoing, European Commission spokesman Christian Wigand said ‘no contact to this end’ has been made.

“Travel to the EU is currently extremely limited except for a handful of countries with low infection rates including Australia and New Zealand. But Greece, which is heavily reliant on tourism, has already lifted quarantine restrictions for the U.S., Britain, the United Arab Emirates, Serbia, Israel, and non-EU members Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland that are part of a European travel pact. Travelers from those countries will no longer be subject to a seven-day quarantine requirement if they hold a vaccination certificate or negative PCR test….”

Deutsche Welle added on April 26:

“Trump attempted to loosen travel restrictions on European travelers shortly before he left office in January, but this was promptly reversed by the President Joe Biden’s administration later that month. The US has yet to announce plans on allowing travel from the EU.”

npr wrote on April 26:

“It is not yet clear when the EU will open up — von der Leyen did not provide a specific timeline, and individual EU member states are permitted to enforce stricter rules than the bloc as a whole. It is also unclear how countries will determine if travelers have been fully vaccinated, but nations and air carriers in Europe have been discussing the use of vaccine passports or vaccine certificates for months…

“Even as the EU is sending positive signals to American travelers, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is warning them not to travel to much of Europe, at least not yet. The CDC website warns Americans not to go [to] Greece, Italy, Spain or even the United Kingdom…”

Bloomberg added on April 26:

“The United States was ‘on track’ and making ‘huge progress’ with its campaign to reach so-called herd immunity, or the vaccination of 70% of adults, by mid-June, New York Times said citing Ursula von der Leyen…”

Talks are cheap. Let’s see what actions will follow, if any. That 70% of American adults will be vaccinated by mid-June is highly doubtful in light of the strong opposition of many Americans to Coronavirus vaccinations. But the increased governmental pressure to get vaccinated is growing everywhere.

The LA Times Newsletter wrote on April 24:

“[California’s] Health officials say they have no plans to institute vaccination ‘passports.’ But new reopening rules incentivize businesses to demand such proof. Meanwhile, the University of California and California State University intend to require vaccinations.”

More and More Shots Needed?

The Associated Press wrote on April 28:

“Europe can achieve herd immunity against the coronavirus within the next four months, the head of German pharmaceutical company BioNTech, which developed the first widely approved COVID-19 vaccine with U.S. partner Pfizer, said… Ugur Sahin, BioNTech’s chief executive, [said:] ‘… we need a third shot to get the vaccine protection back up to almost 100% again…’ Vaccine recipients currently receive a second dose three weeks after their first shot, although some countries have longer intervals. Sahin suggested the third should be administered nine to 12 months after the first shot. ‘And then I expect it will probably be necessary to get another booster every year or perhaps every 18 months,’ he said.

“Concerns have been raised that existing vaccines might be less effective against new variants of the virus now emerging in different parts of the world… Sahin said the vaccine’s effectiveness… was still being investigated.”

“Germany’s Fauci”, Christian Drosten, said, according to Focus, dated April 28, that in the autumn or winter, a new modified shot against the coronavirus might have to be administered because those who have been vaccinated might still pass on the virus to others.

And now… Anti-Coronavirus Lockdown Protest Movement under Observation

Deutsche Welle wrote on April 28:

“German intelligence chiefs have placed parts of the anti-coronavirus lockdown protest movement under observation… Germany’s Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV)… said elements of the so-called Querdenker (lateral thinking) group  were of particular concern because they questioned the legitimacy of the state…

“The movement does not fall into pre-existing categories of concern — such as far-right, far-left, or Islamist — but a new category, the BfV said. For this reason, the German Interior Ministry said it had created a new category of ‘delegitimization of the state where relevant to constitutional protection.’”

Germany’s actions become more troublesome and dangerous by the week…

Actors Oppose Germany’s Coronavirus Restrictions

The Guardian wrote on April 26:

“… a series of satirical videos making fun of coronavirus restrictions, recorded by TV actors associated with the crime drama (“Tatort”), has plunged lockdown-fatigued Germany into a bitter culture war. A website called #allesdichtmachen (“close it all down”), was launched on Thursday night, featuring 53 to-camera clips in which high-profile actors sarcastically boast of the lengths they have gone to restrict their social contacts and appeal on the government to lock down the country even harder… The videos… have drawn a ferocious backlash not least from other actors…

“Jan Josef Liefers… used his video to sarcastically praise the media for uncritically supporting the government’s measures and shutting out scientists who didn’t toe its line… Twenty actors have withdrawn their videos from the campaign’s website after the backlash…

“The tabloid Bild, the country’s bestselling newspaper, and its sister broadsheet Die Welt, have become increasingly vocal in their criticism of the nationwide ‘emergency brake’ rules that came into effect this weekend and shown… sympathy for the actors’ campaign.

“At the start of the pandemic Germany had high levels of compliance with social distancing measures… Even when the government agreed on a second lockdown in the winter, 67% of those surveyed in polls showed their approval… At the start of April, 48%… wanted restrictions to go further, while only 24% thought they went too far.”

This is really a sad commentary on German sheep mentality. Disappointing that 20 actors withdrew their videos, for whatever reasons. If one has a conviction, one has to follow it, no matter the backlash and no matter from where support or criticism are coming.

German Green Party for EU Army

Express wrote on April 26:

“The German Green Party’s candidate to succeed Ms Merkel has set out steps to implement the creation of a European Union armed forces in the party’s foreign policy agenda. Polls in Germany suggest that the Green Party’s Annalena Baerbock has a high chance of becoming the nation’s first Green Chancellor. Ms Baerbock has called for the creation of EU military units that would come under the direct control of the European parliament. Speaking to German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung she said: ‘In my view, we have to bundle our capabilities together more strongly as Europeans. Europe’s defence spending is three or four times as high as Russia’s but our capabilities are limited because we duplicate a lot.’

“… Over the weekend two surveys were conducted in Germany that showed the Green Party levelling with Ms Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union Party, CDU, in popularity…

“Now that a Green-led German government is a distinct possibility the party has attracted serious scrutiny over its defence policies. The German Green Party has traditionally been pacifist and campaigned for the nation to withdraw from Nato and remove US atomic weapons from its territory. However, the Greens have adopted a more pragmatic and less principled approach in recent years.”

In addition, the Green Party is at the forefront of strongly supporting heavy fines for violators of coronavirus restrictions. Angela Merkel proposes more rights for vaccinated people (the Local, dated April 26), but this proposal is being criticized, for now, for its obvious and blatant violation of the German Constitution. But it is shocking to see how far the German government is already willing to go. And it will get much worse.

US Troop Withdrawal from Afghanistan Has Begun

Fox News wrote on April 26:

“The U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan has begun, just as the Taliban ramp up bombings in the region.

“President Biden pushed back the initial May deadline set by the Trump administration, instead aiming withdraw all troops by Sept. 11. Around 2,500 American troops currently operate within the country. The move has received bipartisan backlash, with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., saying it would be a ‘grave mistake’ to withdraw before ensuring the Taliban had been defeated…

“The Taliban have continued their activity in the region… The Ministry of Interior reported that the Taliban conducted 62 bomb blasts and six suicide bombings in the last 11 days, killing 63 civilians and wounding 180 more… Former President George W. Bush warned last week that the decision to withdraw troops from the country would provide opportunities to the Taliban that he hoped the U.S. would not come to regret.

“Biden has maintained that his withdrawal timeline is based on consultation with experts, Congress and allies on the world stage. ‘I am now the fourth American president to preside over an American troop presence in Afghanistan. Two Republicans. Two Democrats,’ Biden said. ‘I will not pass this responsibility to a fifth.’”

America’s presence in Afghanistan did not end the bloodshed, nor did it bring peace or security.  It turned out to be a futile, but very costly adventure in terms of the loss of American lives.

FBI Can Break into Private Computers without Owner’s Consent

Market Watch wrote on April 26:

“The FBI has the authority right now to access privately owned computers without their owners’ knowledge or consent, and to delete software. It’s part of a government effort to contain the continuing attacks on corporate networks running Microsoft Exchange software, and it’s an unprecedented intrusion that’s raising legal questions about just how far the government can go… The authority the Justice Department relied on and the way the FBI carried out the operation set important precedents. They also raise questions about the power of courts to regulate cybersecurity without the consent of the owners of the targeted computers…

“The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act generally makes it illegal to access a computer without authorization. This law, though, does not apply to the government… Rule 41 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure… permits the FBI to access computers outside the jurisdiction of a search warrant…

“Important legal issues remain unresolved with the FBI’s current operation. One is the question of liability. What if, for example, the privately owned computers were damaged in the FBI’s process of removing the malicious code? Another issue is how to balance private property rights against national security needs in cases like this. What is clear, though, is that… the FBI could hack into computers at will, and without the need for a specific search warrant.”

This is a truly dangerous and deeply worrisome development.

Feds Raid Giuliani’s Apartment

Fox News wrote on April 28:

“Federal investigators have executed a search warrant on… Rudy Giuliani… The raid on Giuliani… comes as federal authorities were investigating whether he violated the law by lobbying the Trump administration on behalf of Ukrainian officials in 2019. Giuliani has served as former President Donald Trump’s personal attorney on a number of high-profile matters.

“According to Giuliani’s attorney Robert Costello, seven FBI agents arrived at the apartment at 6 a.m. on Wednesday, and remained for roughly two hours. The agents seized several electronic devices including laptops and cell phones. ‘This is totally unnecessary,’ Costello told Fox News, claiming that the raid was done to ‘make him look like he’s some sort of criminal.’…

“Giuliani was instrumental in Trump’s push to have Ukraine investigate then-candidate Joe Biden and his son Hunter regarding energy company Burisma Holdings, for which Hunter Biden served on the board.”

Newsmax added on April 28:

“In addition to his Madison Avenue apartment… investigators also executed a warrant at Giuliani’s office on Park Avenue… Federal prosecutors in Manhattan had pushed last year for a search warrant for records, including some of Giuliani’s communications, but officials in the Trump-era Justice Department would not sign off on the request… Officials in the deputy attorney general’s office raised concerns about both the scope of the request, which they thought would contain communications that could be covered by legal privilege between Giuliani and Trump, and the method of obtaining the records…

“The issue was widely expected to be revisited by the Justice Department once Attorney General Merrick Garland assumed office… The Justice Department requires that applications for search warrants served on lawyers be approved by senior department officials.

“The warrants do not mean that charges are near or even expected.”

While Trump was President, the Justice Department did not proceed against Giuliani. Under the new President and the new Attorney General, it does while apparently refusing to proceed against Hunter Biden, Hillary Clinton and others.

John Kerry under Fire

The Daily Mail wrote on April 28:

“John Kerry is facing mounting calls to resign as President Biden’s climate envoy amid allegations he fed Iran sensitive information on 200 Israeli military operations while he was Secretary of State under Obama. Several Republicans… have called for him to step down following leak of tapes of recordings from Tehran’s foreign minister Javad Zarif.

“Kerry emphatically denied giving Zarif information about Israeli attacks on Syria, calling stories about it ‘unequivocally false.’ A leaked recording of Iran’s foreign minister featured Iranian diplomat Zarif claiming that Kerry told him Israel had attacked Iranian proxies in Syria while serving as Barack Obama’s Secretary of State, a role he held between 2013 and 2017…

“Pompeo, Kerry’s successor as Secretary of State…, said the recording tells ‘what I’ve said for years: that [Zarif] continued to engage with former Secretary of State Kerry on policy matters after Kerry’s public service and, according to Zarif, Kerry informed the Iranians of Israeli operations,’ said Pompeo.

“Former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley accused Kerry of ‘tipping off’ the Iranians. ‘This is disgusting on many levels. Biden and Kerry have to answer for why Kerry would be tipping off Iran, the number one sponsor of terror, while stabbing one of our greatest partners, Israel, in the back,’ she said.”

Persecution of Churches in Canada

RT wrote on April 26:

“Churches in Canada have been subjected to aggressive policing of Covid-19 restrictions, despite the fact that the Charter of Rights and Freedoms protects the rights of religion and assembly… In Alberta, a church called Gracelife has been physically fenced off by the government until its leaders agree to abide by government rules regarding mass gatherings. In the same province, a pastor in Calgary named Artur Pawlowski kicked health officials and police out of his church, comparing their tactics to those of the Gestapo, after they’d arrived to investigate supposed public-health violations. Given that the pastor is Polish, he’s likely all too aware of how the Gestapo treated his people during World War II. Similarly, the Gracelife church being fenced off rings some familiar, and alarming, bells…

“Canada is supposed to recognize the right of citizens to practise their religion… community and fellowship have always been part not just of Christianity, but of all Abrahamic religions.

“When I see a health inspector show up with several armed police officers to a place of worship demanding that a service is stopped, I have a hard time arguing against comparisons to the Gestapo. The same with seizing a church and telling its congregation that they must comply with the government or they cannot worship God in their own church.

“Anytime that a government sees itself above deity or as a substitution for deity it is becoming a tyranny. These Canadian citizens have the right to believe in God and worship as they choose. They have the freedom to assemble, and they have the freedom of association… Canada as a nation is going to need to decide something right now. Is it going to allow Christians to kneel to God, or is it going to act as if it is God and want them to kneel to it first? If the answer is the latter, I fear that the darkest days for Christians in Canada have only just begun.”

Sadly, these same questions must be asked for just about every country all over the world.

Persecution in the UK Too

The Daily Mail reported on April 28:

“This is the moment police pulled an elderly Christian preacher off his podium and arrested him for making ‘homophobic statements’ – after supporters say he refused to stop reading from the Bible about how God wanted families to be headed by a ‘father and a mother’. Two women can be heard shouting ‘this is a Christian country’ as two policemen lead the 71-year-old man away when he refused to stop addressing the crowd outside Uxbridge Station in West London. Police said they had received complaints the man had been making ‘allegedly homophobic comments’ and arrested him under the Public Order Act, which can be used under the vague proviso that someone is using ‘abusive or insulting words’ that cause ‘harm’ to someone else.  He was later released without charge…

“Pastor Peter Simpson, Minister of Penn Free Methodist Church in Buckinghamshire, who was preaching with Pastor Sherwood before the arrest, said: ‘Everything he said was bible based. He was not saying anything abusive; he is a Christian minister. There did not seem to be any recognition from the police that Christian ministers and such views exist. If there was a Pride parade in Uxbridge, the police would support it even if Christians were offended. You don’t have to be an evangelical Christian to be shocked by this. Anyone who cares about liberty should be concerned about what happened in Uxbridge…

“Whatever one’s personal views on homosexuality might be, it is surely pertinent to ask what kind of nation have we become that the minister of a Christian church is arrested for upholding in the public square the very truths which Her Majesty the Queen promised to uphold in her Coronation Oath in 1953, with a Bible in her hand?’”

Good questions in view of a very sad reality.

Newsom Will Face Recall Election in the Fall

The L.A. Times Essential California Newsletter wrote on April 27:

“It’s finally official: Gov. Gavin Newsom will face a recall election in the fall. Newsom is only the second governor in California history and the fourth in U.S. history to face a recall election. The first election to recall a California governor was in 2003, when voters recalled Democratic Gov. Gray Davis from office and elected Hollywood action star Arnold Schwarzenegger, the last Republican to serve as the state’s chief executive… Newsom will face a statewide vote of confidence by year’s end….

“The governor’s first-in-the-nation stay-at-home order and state coronavirus policies brought him soaring job approval ratings in the spring. But as Californians grew frustrated with economically devastating government-mandated restrictions to stem the spread of the virus, those same actions galvanized the campaign against him. Another turning point came in November, when Newsom sat down for one of the more fateful meals in California political history. The optics of opulent hypocrisy — a wealthy, telegenic governor celebrating a lobbyist’s birthday at an ultra-exclusive restaurant after pleading with Californians to stay home — catalyzed a groundswell of anger…

“California voters will be asked two questions on their recall ballots: First, do you want to recall Newsom from office? And second, which of these candidates should replace him? [The votes on the second question will only be counted if more than half say yes to the first.] Newsom is barred from being listed among the candidates who can be considered if the recall passes.

“A Republican has not won statewide office in California since 2006, but several are already challenging Newsom. The list includes former San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer, businessman John Cox, former Northern California Rep. Doug Ose and Olympic medal-winning reality [and transgender] TV star Caitlyn Jenner.”

Daily Mail added on April 27:

“Jenner is a registered Republican. She voted for Trump in 2016 but not in 2020, in protest against his position on transgender issues. In an announcement on Instagram, she did not indicate whether or not she’ll run as a Republican or Independent.  A member of Jenner’s team – which includes many prominent former Trump White House figures – told Axios: ‘She’s running as someone that’s socially liberal and fiscally conservative.’ She has hired Tony Fabrizio, a pollster who worked on both of Trump’s campaigns, and Brad Parscale also helped her in an informal role.”

Many commentators feel that physically and spiritually bankrupt California cannot be healed, no matter what is being tried.

Russia’s Crackdown on Navalny and his Network

npr wrote on April 26:

“The political network of jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has been ordered to suspend its activities pending a court ruling on whether to label it and other affiliated organizations ‘extremist’ — a move that would likely result in them being permanently shuttered… [It] would effectively end any meaningful political opposition in Russia ahead of September parliamentary elections…

“The FBK, founded in 2011 by Navalny, has been highly critical of key Russian figures, including President Vladimir Putin. Meanwhile, Navalny himself has become a key political figure and one of the few prominent voices openly opposed to Putin. In January, Navalny’s team released a YouTube video detailing an investigation into what it says is a lavish Black Sea palace built for Putin with funds from a ‘slush fund.’ The video has been viewed tens of millions of times. The Kremlin has dismissed the investigation as ‘pure nonsense.’…

“While traveling last August, Navalny suddenly fell ill and was hospitalized in Germany, where doctors determined that he had been poisoned with a Soviet-era, military grade nerve agent. Navalny blamed Putin for ordering the attack, but the Kremlin has denied any involvement. After months of treatment and recovery, Navalny returned to Russia in January, only to be promptly jailed. He was later sentenced to three and a half years in a penal colony on old fraud charges that he says are politically motivated…

“Just last week, Navalny ended a more than three-week hunger strike to protest his lack of medical treatment for leg and back pain while in prison.

“Amnesty International has condemned the move to label Navalny’s network as extremist, saying the ‘looming ban has far reaching consequences for Russian civil society… Tens of thousands of peaceful activists and the staff of Aleksei Navalny’s organizations are in grave danger – if their organizations are deemed “extremist” they will be at imminent risk of criminal prosecution,’ Amnesty said.”

Newsmax wrote on April 27:

“A Russian court said on Tuesday it had imposed restrictions on jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK), while it considers a legal request… from the Moscow prosecutor to officially outlaw the FBK on the grounds that it is an extremist group.”

Russia’s violent persecution of any opposition is well-documented. In addition, Russia, with support of the Russian Orthodox Church of which ex-KGB spy Putin is a member, has also labeled the Jehovah’s Witnesses as “extremist” for their religious views, including on human government, military service and voting.

Putin to Restore the Tsarist Empire?

The Sun wrote on April 26:

“VLADIMIR Putin has staged a ‘successful’ test of a mystery new anti-ballistic missile… It comes as the Russian president aims to use his firepower to restore the country’s Tsarist empire, the Polish defence minister Mariusz Blaszczak has claimed…

“Recent pressure on Ukraine combined with the annexation of Crimea in 2014 and hostilities in Georgia in 2008 indicated this trend he claimed, suggesting the Kremlin leader was eyeing a takeover in four NATO countries including Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. Like Ukraine, all were once part of the Russian empire. He quoted late Polish president Lech Kaczynski warning ‘first Georgia, then Ukraine, then the Baltic states, then perhaps Poland’.”

No doubt about the fate of Ukraine. It is less clear when it comes to Poland. The assumption has been that Poland will become a fully integrated part of the emerging European super power.

A Free Non-Marxist Society

Ron Paul of the Ron Paul Institute wrote the following on April 26:

“It is ironic to see self-described Marxists, progressives, and other leftists protesting violence by government agents. After all, their ideology rests on the use of force to compel people to obey politicians and bureaucrats…

“Free markets, individual liberty, limited government, sound money, and peace are key to achieving prosperity and social cohesion. Those sincerely concerned about improving all human lives should turn away from the teaching of Karl Marx and John Maynard Keynes, who advocated expansive government power…”

Paul makes an important point. Marxism and socialism, including national socialism, are based on the heavy use of governmental authority, inadvertently leading to a dictatorship. Hitler’s Germany and Stalin’s Russia are prime examples… but by no means the only ones.

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.

Underlined is the word “true”. The reason for this is that there are many so-called “Christians” who will claim Christianity but fail to keep the commandments of God, such as the keeping of the Sabbath and annual Holy Days, tithing, clean and unclean meats, or who celebrate pagan holy days, such as Christmas and Easter, to name a few. So we really need to have context as to whom we are talking about. We MUST realize that we are not here to make this world a better place or to make a difference in the world by focusing on “good deeds.” (Please see our Q&A on this subject for further reference).

Rather, it is the foremost commission of the Church of God to preach the gospel of the Kingdom of God in all the world as a witness so that Jesus Christ can return (Matthew 24:14). In our free booklet, “How to Find the True Church of God,” How to Find the True Church of God | Church of the Eternal God we explain in detail what all is contained in that announcement. We also say this: “The Church of God must be watchful and zealous in fulfilling its commission of preaching the gospel. It must be committed to doing the Work of God (James 1:25). It must not become complacent and detracted, losing the focus on the most important Work of preaching the gospel by perhaps replacing it with other pursuits; such as trying to make this world a better place by voting in governmental elections; joining the military; or by performing ‘missionary works’ in Third World countries.”

We also explain that the Church of God has a duty to feed the flock. This includes feeding the flock spiritually, but also physically, by helping those members who are in need (Please see our statements in the booklet about the tithing system).

When we keep God’s commands fully, He opens the door for blessings.

It has been observed by the ministry in the Church of the Eternal God and its affiliates that many times people in poorer parts of the world claim that they want to know the Truth and say that they keep the aforementioned commandments, but oftentimes, they are trying to get something out of the deal by misrepresenting or some variant. This is not to say that all are like this, but it is true for the vast majority. When we can help individuals who are truly doing their part and are or want to become faithful Church members, then we do so, as we are able. We have sent a minister to Africa in the past, we have baptized a person in Africa, and we have members in many parts of the world.

In regards to the poor in the church, in 1 John 3:16-18 we are told (NIV): “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.”

When John wrote this, there were church congregations scattered around. Some of them were able to help others. And so John is saying here that it is right and good to help other Christians if and where possible. He says “sees”, meaning we see a literal need. When we read about the early Church in the book of Acts, we note that they were all near each other in proximity.

Later, when Paul would go and visit other churches in various parts of the world, they were making provisions and gifts for him for the sake of continuing the work of preaching the gospel in all of the world at that time! He would also carry some things to other churches in need, but this wasn’t his primary mission.  He wasn’t just distributing goods. Also of interest is that in the early church, they selected 7 trusted men who could organize the distribution to the poor in the congregation, so that the ministry could continue in doing the work appointed to them, that of preaching the Gospel. Ministers have various duties and responsibilities.

When talking about the Church at that time, it is crucial to note that these people were all of one accord. They were in one group. They were NOT split up. They were pointed all in the same way. Amos 3:3 rightly states: “Can two walk together unless they are agreed?” In fact, in 1 Corinthians 1:31, when there started to be some contention between members due to people liking one minister over another and actually “adoring” them, Paul was quick to point out that there should be no discrepancies as they were all mere men, of like mind and working together to preach the gospel, each in their own way and calling as God saw fit. Unfortunately, there are many splits today, and many individuals and groups who are teaching various things or holding on to the way that they perceive the Truth to be. Due to this reason, we in the Church of the Eternal God and affiliates are holding on to the Truth as God has shown us, and we will continue to do so as God opens the doors for us to preach this truth!

We cannot assume to know how many “poor” are in the various churches of God which are not affiliated with us, nor can we assume to know who is converted. We would think that they are being taken care of, physically, by the organization that they belong to. Indeed, it would be quite challenging to think otherwise as there are hundreds of offshoots of the Worldwide Church of God. If a church organization were to attempt to help every poor person whom they became aware of, there would be nothing left to help preach the Gospel as we have been commissioned to do. So, when we have the means to do so within our realm of influence regarding those whom we know, as they are affiliating with us, we reach out and help whenever possible.

Paul reminds us in Acts 20:35 that it is more blessed to give than to receive. This is a general way of thinking that does not come naturally to most people. Most people are more worried about themselves, individual needs and interests, often even to the detriment of others. Going above and beyond is what Christ taught.

When Christ was here on the earth, there were the poor then as well. Yet we do not find Him condemning the use of costly fragrance on Himself. John 12:1-7 (NIV) shows us that Christ was making a point that there would always be those to take care of. We find in many places that taking care of those who are poor is good in the eyes of God. He was NOT talking about those in the world, as we find for example in Deuteronomy this command (given by Christ Himself as the God of the Old Testament). Chapter 15 and verses 7-11 (NIV) reads: “If anyone is poor among your fellow Israelites in any of the towns of the land the LORD your God is giving you, do not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward them. Rather, be openhanded and freely lend them whatever they need. Be careful not to harbor this wicked thought: ‘The seventh year, the year for canceling debts, is near,’ so that you do not show ill will toward the needy among your fellow Israelites and give them nothing. They may then appeal to the LORD against you, and you will be found guilty of sin. Give generously to them and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the LORD your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to. There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your fellow Israelites who are poor and needy in your land.” (Compare James’ admonition in New Testament times in James 2:14-17 regarding needy brethren).

In the early Church it was a very unique time. When study is given into what was happening at that time and the situations at hand, it is interesting because the wealth distribution system in the Roman Empire at that time was very skewed and unjust. 90% of people lived below the poverty line in those days!

Also interesting is the use of the words, “those in your land.” That is, those with whom you have contact. The nation of Israel was a great people and scattered. But this would have to be localized. This was to be happening where it was local. While we have the internet today to quickly disseminate information, there are still principles involved. Currently we do not have ministers in Africa or remote places. We have contact with a few faithful in parts of the world and we send help when there is a need and when we can do so.

Another point to make is that God does and will bless those who faithfully keep all of His commandments, no matter where they live. Sometimes this includes having to suffer through extreme trials and hardships. We cannot expect to be able to help every single poor person within the Churches of God. There may be situations which God is using for His own purpose to enable  people to grow in allowing them to go through whatever trials they have to endure to make it into the Kingdom of God, to ultimately become a part of His Family. Let us think about the early Christians who were martyrs, and of those in the near future who will be persecuted and will also have to face martyrdom for the sake of the Truth! The Bible prophesies this! Many times we think we know what’s right or best in a situation or a matter and we don’t take into consideration what God wants, what He is working out, or the path that He has laid out for each of us individually. On the other hand, it is fully supported in Scripture that when we see someone in need we do what we can to help them if at all possible (note Galatians 6:10).

When focusing on tithes and offerings, including freewill offerings and third tithe, we should of course be sure that we are sending the money to the right place, approved by God, but once we have done so, that is, once we have made a tithe or an offering to God, possibly even a freewill offering, that money is no longer ours. Where that money goes should no longer be our concern. An offering is to be given with a cheerful heart, not a begrudging one that needs to know where and how the tithes and offerings will be spent. It is pretty bold to take on the proclamation that one needs to know where and how money is being used. Some within the greater Churches of God have written to us in the past, and their attitude is that the leaders in charge should be transparent with funds! Is this what God says? Is that what we find in the Scriptures above? No! It is plain that God expects the leadership in the Church to lead righteously and to do those things that are expected! Unfortunately, it has been experienced by the ministry (think of Moses and moving on through the Bible) that people will always find a way to complain about how money is being used. There have been unfortunate circumstances where money has been misappropriated or misused within the Church, but this doesn’t nullify God’s commands, and those who have misused funds will have to give an answer just as all of us will before the judgement seat when it is our time.

This includes a little bit of a warning for all of us.  It is unwise to make broad-stroke assumptions about the ministry and the time that they have. In some instances there are those in the ministry who are paid and work full time for the church. In other instances there are those ministers who work “outside,” not being employed by the Church, and still find time to do the work given to them in the Church on top of their full schedule. Each has been called by God to accomplish a role within the Church, which is also true for each of the members.

God has ordained the ministry as He sees fit! If we truly believe that Christ is the Head of the Church, then we also have to take instruction and listen to the people whom He puts in charge. This is no light thing! 1 Corinthians 12:12-30 shows us that all in the body of Christ are put in their respective positions, as God sees fit!  This includes the ministry and those in charge under Christ. Ephesians 4:11-16 reminds us that the ministry is there to help guide and direct everyone to grow in unity. Each part doing its work! As we said above, without unity, how can a body function? It cannot!

God’s Family is a hierarchy. God the Father at the Head, Jesus Christ below Him and in subjection to the Father, then the various ranks in the ministry and then deacons and members. This is not a justification for trying to “lord” it over people. It is the fact. God has ordained tithing. In fact, in Malachi 3:8, we find the question: “Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.” When God appointed the Levites as the priests and those who would take care of the temple and all of the process that went along with that, He laid out very careful instructions on everything that was to be done. In those instructions, nowhere do we find the command that the other tribes were to be auditing and looking into how the Levites carried out their responsibilities.  Remember that even Jesus did not “control” Judas who had the money bag, even though he was a thief. But all of this was for a purpose—Judas was to betray Christ because of his greed, and Christ knew this.

Paul had something to say in this regard. He said in 1 Corinthians 11:1: “Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.” Many times we have heard people complain and say something along the lines of: “Well, then you are just following a man,” but they really misrepresent and are being stubborn in this regard! As mentioned, the ministry was put in place by God! Christ tells us in Matthew 7:15-20 that by people’s fruits we WILL know them! We can see from the fruit of the Spirit in someone’s life how they are living, how close they are to God. This is what the Bible tells us! This is not to say that the ministry doesn’t make mistakes, but in general, we need to look at the overall picture.

God commands generosity and giving as a general attitude where and when possible. We are not supposed to be hoarding riches for the sake of becoming rich. Psalm 128 talks about the blessings that come from those who fear God. That is, keeping all of the commandments which are in force and effect today (we are not talking about rituals and ordinances which were superseded by Christ’s death). It also says that if people are doing this, then they will have food to eat and will be happy.

Solomon, in Ecclesiastes 5:18-20, relates this knowledge (NIV): “I have seen personally what is the only beneficial and appropriate course of action for people: to eat and drink, and find enjoyment in all their hard work on earth during the few days of their life that God has given them, for this is their reward. To every man whom God has given wealth and possessions, he has also given him the ability to eat from them, to receive his reward, and to find enjoyment in his toil; these things are the gift of God. For he does not think much about the fleeting days of his life because God keeps him preoccupied with the joy he derives from his activity.”

We know about the rich ruler to whom Christ spoke saying go and give all you have to the poor, and follow Me (Matthew 19:20-22). Is this saying that we should all be giving everything we have to the poor? Should we not be enjoying the product and fruit of our labors?

God knows everything about us. He knows our hearts and our needs. He provides and makes provision for us in different ways. Christ knew what the rich ruler needed to do to follow Him—apparently to become a minister—and in order to inherit eternal life in the Kingdom of God.  In this instance, it was to do as He commanded. But this man couldn’t bring himself to do this. He loved his riches too much and was unwilling to give them up to follow Christ. This is not to say that money is wrong, nor are riches. But the concept is that this should not be the main focus in our lives. If we can and want to help others, then we can give to those whom we know personally or we can give free-will offerings to the Church for dispersal as seen fit by the ministry and those who are in charge. But we should never lose focus and forget our main collective and individual responsibility as the Church of God—to be involved in and support the most important Work on earth today: To announce the soon-coming Kingdom of God so that Christ can return to make an end to all hardship, misery, pain, suffering and poverty for all peoples.

Lead Writer: Kalon Mitchell

compiled by Dave Harris

“US Tourists Allowed to Visit Europe?—Not So Fast!” is the title of a new StandingWatch program, presented by Evangelist Norbert Link. Here is a summary:

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen allegedly said in an interview with the New York Times that “fully vaccinated Americans would be able to visit EU countries this summer.” But MUCH MORE was said and would be required, as this program will explain, and what does “fully vaccinated” actually mean? Be very careful when you hear and are tempted to act upon sensational news or representations and assurances by some health experts or governmental officials which might be misleading or continuously changing. When it comes to vaccinations, do your own research and make a decision based on your own individual situation and personal circumstances.

“Are Jews and Christians at Odds with Jesus Christ?” our new booklet, has been mailed to our subscribers in the US; also, copies were sent to Germany, the UK,  Australia and to Canada. Copies are available upon request.

“Beasts of the Bible—Evil People and Evil Empires,” is the working title of our newest booklet. This has entered the first review cycle.

“Deutschlands Absturz in die Diktatur” is the title of this Sabbath’s new German sermon, presented by Norbert Link. Title in English: “Germany’s descent into dictatorship.”

“Das Wort mit Leben füllen,” last Sabbath’s sermonette given in Germany by Daniel Blasinger, is now posted. Title in English: “Filling the Word With Life.”

“Beyond a Doubt,” the first sermon presented last Sabbath by Frank Bruno, is now posted. Here is a summary:

Doubt is a word that we use in our everyday lives—perhaps even overuse. There are so many examples of how we express doubt in our lives, and it can creep into our relationship with God the Father and with Jesus Christ. In this Split Sermon, we will discuss the insidious nature of doubt and explore scriptures that can offer a pathway to strengthen our bond with Jesus and our obedience to God’s Commandments. Doubt can be like a poison in many ways and faith and confidence in Jesus Christ is the antidote.

“Job and His Friends,” the second sermon presented last Sabbath by Eric Rank, is now posted. Here is a summary:

What can we learn about the subtleties of right and wrong in the story of Job? The counsel of Job’s friends provides us with a provocative example of how one can arouse the wrath of God by having the wrong attitude.

On April 24, 2021, Split Sermons will be given this coming Sabbath: Frank Bruno will present the first sermon, titled, “Beyond Doubt,” and Eric Rank will present the second sermon, titled, “Job and His Friends.”

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.

Throughout the Bible, we see how God deals with situations in various ways, and He makes it clear that His Law still stands and that He wants us to abide by it.  There are examples where He boldly proclaims His laws and judgments; and when He wants to get His point across, it becomes quite evident that His Will is being done. When He has a purpose for you and me, He will be there to guide us, to test us, and to make us realize what His intentions are for our future.  Just as God is bold, we are to be the same when it comes to His Law, when the situation calls for it.  We are not to be shy in what we believe; we must not be unsteady, doubtful and fearful about what others may think, wavering when being asked about our beliefs. Rather, we are to use our voice with conviction, with confidence, and with boldness.

Of course, we should be mindful of the situation in what we say and to whom we say it. Christ, for example, always had the perfect response in every situation He was in.  He knew what to say and when to say it, when to be bold and when to be quiet.

When there is a purpose that God wants to be fulfilled, He will see to it that it happens.  After Elijah fled into the wilderness and prayed that God would take his life when he heard that Jezebel, the wife of the king of Israel, Ahab, was seeking to kill him, notice how God responded to him (1 Kings 19:9-18).  He showed Elijah His power through nature, just like He explained to Job His almighty power and just how insignificant Job was compared to God.  God responded to Elijah in a supernatural way which really got his attention—with all this might through a powerful wind, an earthquake and a fire, to nothing but a delicate whispering voice.   This also shows us that the Work of God doesn’t always need to occur with dramatic revelation and manifestations (compare Zechariah 4:6).  Noticeable displays of power are not always necessary for God to act.  He knows how to deal with each and every one of us.

There are many different ways in which He proclaims His voice to communicate with His people.  We find throughout the Bible how He communicates through a whirlwind in the book of Job; how He reveals His presence in an earthquake and a fire with Moses and the Israelites in the book of Exodus; and how His voice sounds like thunder in various Scriptures.

When God proclaimed His Law to the Israelites, it was given amidst a tempest of wind, thunder and lightning, attended with an earthquake (notice Hebrews 12:18-24).  But as we just saw in the example of Elijah, God does not always speak in that way.

The world perceives God’s Law as harsh and chooses to celebrate man’s pagan holidays, instead of keeping the weekly Sabbath and God’s annual Holy Days.  Mankind today doesn’t care about God’s Law or want to believe that it is wrong to keep these pagan days. Mankind may just be completely ignorant about these days anyway, but the time will come when God will manifest His power and will declare to the whole world what is right and what is wrong.

Once people understand what God’s Law is all about and their eyes are opened, their perception will be quite different.  They will realize that God gave His Law to protect man from harm—that it is for their own good. Depending on the person and his or her situation, God may speak with a loud voice, or with a “whisper.” As Gill’s Exposition of the Bible puts it in reference to Psalm 89:15, God may speak with “a gentle voice of love, grace, and mercy, of peace, pardon, righteousness, and salvation by Christ.” The commentary continues that God, “by the law breaks the rocky hearts of men in pieces, shakes their consciences, and fills their minds with a sense of fiery wrath and indignation they deserve, and then speaks comfortably to them, speaks peace and pardon… blessed are the people that hear this still, small, gentle voice.”

God speaks to people at different times and in different ways, but only a few actually listen and understand what He is saying. That is why it is vital to keep learning and studying, to build our understanding and relationship with God because the more we do that, the more ready we will be to listen to His voice when He speaks, and the more likely we are to obey and apply what we hear.

by Norbert Link

We report on escalating tensions between Russia and Ukraine, as well as America’s weakness and a call for European strength in light of Putin’s warning to the West. We report on inappropriate comments by America’s ambassador to the UN and U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters, in connection with police officer Derek Chauvin’s murder trial and conviction [please see our new StandingWatch program, titled, “Chauvin’s Conviction—Was Justice Served in a System that Works?” ]; an increase of American troops in Germany; and a brutal power struggle for succession of Angela Merkel’s post. We also report on Chancellor Merkel’s and Health Minister Jens Spahn’s planned Coronavirus restrictions through federally imposed measures, as well as German court decisions prohibiting all demonstrations against Coronavirus restrictions.

We speak on deeply troubling announcements regarding the ongoing need for continued Pfizer injections; Dr. Fauci’s inability or unwillingness to become specific, thereby “destroying” America “from the inside” through “tyranny”; and “inhumane” coronavirus restrictions in the UK.

We address attempts by the Catholic Church to enforce Sunday worship and the willful ignorance regarding the institution of Sunday and the replacement of the biblical Sabbath; the intent to declare sainthood for Robert Schuman, a key “founding father” of the European Union; and another example of unscrupulous censorship by Facebook.

We conclude with developments in Israel; the precarious situation in Lebanon; a horrible decision by a Canadian activist judge; and the insane scientific ambition to create monkey-human chimeras.

Throughout this section, we have underlined pertinent statements in the quoted articles, for the convenience and quick overview of the reader.

Ukraine Tensions Sore

AFP wrote on April 17:

“Faced with the largest deployment of Russian troops on Ukraine’s borders since 2014, [Ukraine] President Volodymyr Zelensky has requested more help from the West, and Western leaders have urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to stop intimidating Ukraine… The US on Thursday announced sanctions and the expulsion of 10 Russian diplomats in retaliation for what the White House says is the Kremlin’s US election interference, a massive cyber attack and other hostile activity..”

According to Israel 365, dated April 19, “Russia responded to the sanctions on Friday by expelling ten US diplomats and banned several other high-ranking officials from entering the country. The banned officials included Attorney General Merrick Garland, Director of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, FBI Director Christopher Wray, Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines, Director of the U.S. Domestic Policy Council Susan Rice, and Director of the U.S. Federal Bureau of Prisons Michael Carvajal. In addition, entry is denied to John Robert Bolton, former National Security Advisor to the United States President, former US Permanent Representative to the United Nations, and Robert James Woolsey Jr., former director of the US Central Intelligence Agency…”

The Sun wrote on April 17:

“The US has warned commercial pilots against overflying the potential war zone around eastern Ukraine… amid fears they could be shot down like flight MH17. During the last ‘hot’ conflict in the region, a Malaysia Alrlines Boeing 777 – flight MH17 – was shot out of the sky by pro-Moscow rebels, killing 298 people, in July 2014… [We are observing] the greatest period in tension between Russia and Ukraine…

“In Ukraine, a warning was given by [the] army… not to form private militias amid fear of Russian attack… The Ukrainians fear that formation of unofficial armed bands could be exploited by Russia.”

The Sun wrote on April 19:

“RUSSIA has deployed nuclear bombers and fighters in a show of strength as fears of war with Ukraine mount… Pilots practised carrying out air combat, interception and striking air targets at speeds of up to 1,550mph, at a potential altitude of 12.5 miles. Russia has insisted that its current spate of military exercises across the country pose no threat to its neighbour.

“The show of strength comes as Russian state TV claimed the takeover of Ukraine’s border region was ‘inevitable.’… Ukraine has threatened to rebuild its nuclear arsenal – which it gave up after the collapse of the USSR a generation ago – if the West refuses to grant it membership of the alliance… The Russian ambassador to the UK has warned of a ‘bloodbath’ in Ukraine – and vowed to respond if Kiev moves troops to the Donbass region.”

Israel 365 wrote on April 19:

“There is no doubt that the Russian military is gearing up for a military conflict… Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky signed Decree No. 117/2021 on March 24, essentially declaring war with Russia. Since the decree was issued, a bilateral military buildup has been underway…”

American Weakness

Deutsche Welle added on April 17:

“Russia sent 15 warships to the Black Sea for a maneuver on Saturday amid escalating tension with Ukraine and the West… The Russian Defense Ministry announced on Friday that some sea areas off the Crimean Peninsula would be temporarily closed off to foreign warships because of the maneuvers… The United States recently canceled the deployment of two warships to the Black Sea following complaints from Russia… the Kremlin has argued that it is entitled to move Russian troops wherever it pleases within its territories… it has pledged to go to lengths to protect Russian speakers in the region.”

After Joe Biden announced some economic sanctions against Russia and the expulsion of 10 Russian diplomats, he declared that these were sufficient and that sending warships to the Black Sea was no longer necessary to deter Russia (which reacted in kind by announcing retaliatory sanctions against the USA). This is truly another example of incredible shortsightedness, but in line with prophecy which tells us that ultimately, Russia and Ukraine will collaborate against Europe. This is reminiscent of World War II when Ukraine originally worked together with Nazi Germany against Russia, but then switched sides and became Russia’s supporter against Hitler’s Germany.

Putin Warns the West

The Associated Press wrote on April 21:

“President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday sternly warned the West against encroaching further on Russia’s security interests, saying Moscow’s response will be ‘quick and tough’ and make the culprits feel bitterly sorry for their action… ‘I hope that no one dares to cross the red line in respect to Russia, and we will determine where it is in each specific case,’ Putin said. ‘Those who organize any provocations threatening our core security interests will regret their deeds more than they regretted anything for a long time.’

“Moscow has rejected Ukrainian and Western concerns about the troop buildup… But the Kremlin also has warned Ukraine against trying to use force to retake control of the rebel-held east, saying Russia could be forced to intervene to protect civilians in the region…

“As Putin spoke, a wave of protests started rolling across Russia’s far east in support of imprisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny. The politician, who is Putin’s most persistent critic and was poisoned with a chemical nerve agent last year, started a hunger strike three weeks ago to protest what he said was inadequate medical treatment and officials’ refusal to allow his doctor to visit him. Navalny’s treatment and deteriorating condition has caused international outrage and prompted his allies to call the nationwide protests. Police detained several Navalny associates in Moscow and moved to disperse unauthorized demonstrations across Russia, arresting scores.

“In his speech, Putin pointed to Russia’s moves to modernize its nuclear arsenal and said the military would continue to build more state-of-the-art hypersonic missiles and other new weapons… In an apparent reference to the U.S. and its allies, the Russian leader denounced those who impose ‘unlawful, politically motivated economic sanctions and crude attempts to enforce its will on others.’

“In an emotional outburst, Putin chastised the West for acquiring a defiant stance toward Russia… Russia this week engaged in a tense tug-of-war with the Czech Republic, following Prague’s move to expel 18 Russian diplomats over a massive Czech ammunition depot explosion in 2014. Moscow has dismissed the Czech accusations of its involvement in the blast as absurd and retaliated by expelling 20 Czech diplomats.

“Putin also harshly criticized the West for failing to condemn what he described as a botched coup attempt and a failed plot to assassinate Belarus’ President Alexander Lukashenko, allegedly involving a blockade of the country’s capital, power cuts and cyberattacks. Belarusian and Russian security agencies arrested the alleged coup plotters in Moscow earlier this month. ‘The practice of organizing coups and planning political assassinations of top officials goes over the top and crosses all boundaries,’ Putin said, drawing parallels to plots against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and the popular protests that led to the ouster of Ukraine’s former Russia-friendly president, Viktor Yanukovych, in 2014. Russia responded to Yanukovych’s ouster by annexing Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula and throwing its support to the separatists in the country’s east. Since then, fighting there has killed more than 14,000 people and devastated the industrial heartland…”

It is interesting that in light of biblical prophecy, the time will come when Europe will attack Russia and Far Eastern nations with “conventional” and bio-chemical weapons, and the “kings of East” will react quickly with powerful nuclear weapons.

Deutsche Welle reported on April 22:

 “The Russian defense minister on Thursday ordered troops taking part in military drills near the Ukrainian border to return to their regular positions [by May 1].  However, [the defense minister] also ordered that heavy weapons be kept in place about 160 kilometers (100 miles) east of the border for another military exercise later this year.”

Europe’s Need for Strength

Express wrote on April 19:

“EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has claimed that Russia has massed ‘over 150,000 troops’ along the Ukrainian border and in the annexed Crimea peninsula… Mr Borrell said Russia was deploying ‘all kind of materials’ on the border including ‘the highest military deployment of Russian army in Ukrainian borders ever’ in what he dubbed a ‘clear matter of concern’ for the EU.

“But French President Emmanuel Macron once suggested going one step further to counter the threat of Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin. Mr Macron, who has pushed for a joint European Union military force since his arrival in power, said the continent needed a ‘real European Army’ to defend itself.”

And so, a European Army IS going to come.

US Ambassador Maligns the US Constitution

Newsmax wrote on April 18:

“U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield [rebuked] the Constitution as having underpinnings of ‘white supremacy’ [and as being] fundamentally corrupt and flawed and not noble and good… Thomas-Greenfield [said], ‘the original sin of slavery weaved white supremacy into our founding documents.’”

A US ambassador is not to malign his or her country in front of those less righteous than the USA (compare Habakkuk 1:13).

Rep. Maxine Waters’ Abhorrent Comments in the George Floyd Murder Case

Star Tribune wrote on April 19:

“… defense attorney Eric Nelson called for a mistrial, citing immense media exposure, particularly a comment by Democratic U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters over the weekend in which she said while in the Twin Cities that protesters should get ‘more confrontational’ if there is no guilty verdict.

“‘I’ll give you that Congresswoman Waters may have given you something on appeal that may result on this whole trial being overturned,’ Hennepin County District Judge Peter Cahill said, denying the motion while acknowledging that Nelson’s concerns were legitimate. ‘This goes back to what I’ve been saying from the beginning,’ the judge said.

“‘I wish elected officials would stop talking about this case, especially in a manner that is disrespectful to the rule of law and to the judicial branch and our function. I think if they want to give their opinions, they should do so in a respectful and in a manner that is consistent with their oath to the Constitution to respect a coequal branch of government. Their failure to do so I think is abhorrent, but I don’t think it has prejudiced us with additional material that would prejudice this jury,’ Cahill said, adding that the jury has been repeatedly told to not to follow the news. “

Controversial Maxine Waters’ inappropriate comments have been interpreted in the news as inciting violence. Nancy Pelosi felt her comments do not need an apology (note articles below).

Verdict against Chauvin to be Overturned on Appeal?

Breitbart wrote on April 20:

“Renowned defense attorney and Harvard Law School professor emeritus Alan Dershowitz said Tuesday that the conviction of former Minneapolis, Minnesota, police officer Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd should be overturned on appeal because of the public intimidation of the jury and the judge’s refusal to sequester the jury. Dershowitz noted the ‘outside influence’ of people like Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), who encouraged unrest at a protest on Saturday night in nearby Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, if there was no murder conviction in the case.

“Chauvin was convicted Tuesday of all of the charges in the case — second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter.

“Dershowitz told Newsmax: ‘What was done to George Floyd by Officer Chauvin was inexcusable, morally. But the verdict is very questionable, because of the outside influences of people like Al Sharpton, and people like Maxine Waters. Their threats and intimidation, and hanging the sword of Damocles over the jury, and basically saying if you don’t convict on the murder charge, on all the charges, the cities will burn, the country will be destroyed, seeped into the jury room because the judge made a terrible mistake by not sequestering the jury. So the judge himself said, this case may be reversed on appeal. And I think it might [be] reversed on appeal. I think it should be reversed on appeal.

“‘I think the American Civil Liberties Union, which would be all over this case if it weren’t a racially-charged case, all Americans who care about due process and liberty should be concerned that the jury verdict may have been influenced by, if not the thumb, maybe even the elbow of the outside pressures, the fears, the threats. Every juror in that room knew about those threats. And when they sit and deliberate, they have to be saying to themselves, consciously or unconsciously, if I were to render a verdict other than a murder verdict, what the consequences will be, for me, and my family, my friends, my business. That should never, ever, be allowed to seep into a jury room. So I have no real confidence that this verdict — which may be correct in some ways — but I have no confidence that this verdict was produced by due process and the rule of law, rather than the influence of the crowd.’”

If that verdict were to be overturned, one can only imagine the reaction in the country.  Also note the next article.

Political Interference Unacceptable

The New York Post published the following article by Andrew C. McCarthy, a former federal prosecutor, on April 20:

“Remember when the Left used to go ballistic over President Trump’s propensity to lob rhetorical bombs into pending investigations and prosecutions?… For all the downsides of his unhinged commentary, Trump never took matters to the point of jury intimidation, as the preternaturally unhinged Democratic Congresswoman Maxi[n]e Waters did over the weekend.

“Because of her, this isn’t over.

“Waters checked every box. As a federal representative from a California district, she traveled to another sovereign state, Minnesota, to interfere in its judicial system. Her rabble-rousing was done in violation of a curfew that the elected mayor had imposed to suppress the rioting that followed the tragic accidental killing of Daunte Wright by a police officer. And her remarks can only be interpreted as an incitement to violence — one less ambiguously provocative than the one over which she and other House Democrats impeached Trump.

“Waters’ standing as a member of Congress gives her no immunity against Minnesota’s criminal laws against obstruction of justice. She ought to be under investigation. Remarkably, rather than distance themselves from such egregious conduct, the nation’s leading Democrats are piling on. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi insists that her fellow California congresswoman has nothing to apologize for. For his part, President Biden waited until the jury was deliberating to make the stunning public statement that he is ‘praying’ for Chauvin to be convicted.

“The fact that the jury was sequestered [during deliberation]… is no excuse. [Biden] is a lawyer and former Senate Judiciary Committee chairman who well knows that sequestration does not make jurors impervious to prejudicial publicity. And if he’s been following the case as he claims to have been, he knows trial judge Peter Cahill has pleaded that public officials stop commenting on the trial — under circumstances where, even before the Bidens and Waters piped up, there was already substantial reason to doubt that Chauvin could get a fair trial in Minneapolis.

“It does not matter how you hoped Chauvin’s trial would end. Our viability as a free, prosperous, rule-of-law society is dependent on the viability of courts as the protection every one of us, equally, can rely on against overbearing government and politicized mobs. In fact, due process is essential if we are to hold the guilty accountable — including police officers who abuse their power. Chauvin’s… conviction now has a real chance of having the result overturned because public officials, who know better, have recklessly undermined the integrity of the trial…”

In light of the 9+ minute video showing Chauvin’s horrible conduct towards Floyd, the conviction of Chauvin was hoped for and celebrated in the USA and all over the world, including by many liberal and conservative outlets, with the claim that the American legal system is the best in the world and that it works, or begins to work. However, this is the very point which is in question, as the previous articles raise—apart from the obvious hypocrisy, the politicizing and the double-standard of some American politicians and their supporters.

More US Soldiers to Germany

Defense News reported on April 13:

“The U.S. Army is sending two new units to Europe… making up about 500 soldiers… This will bring 750 family members to U.S. Army Garrison Wiesbaden in Germany… a third one that will deploy where necessary… ‘The [new units] will enable U.S. Army Europe and Africa to synchronize joint fires and effects, control future long range fires across all domains and will create more space, cyber and electronic warfare capabilities in Europe,’ Col. Joe Scrocca, the spokesman for U.S. Army Europe and Africa, said.

“The Army in Europe will also retain three sites ‘previously scheduled to be returned to the German government due to growing operational requirements in the European theater.’ President Trump had plans to drawdown U.S. troops presence in Europe against the advisement of military leaders, lawmakers and defense and national security experts.”

Not only are these American enlargements of US troops in Germany highly unpopular, one must ask whether the US is creating a Frankenstein monster in Europe.

Power Struggle in Germany

Bloomberg News wrote on April 18:

“The battle to lead Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservative bloc into September’s election is headed for a final showdown…

“Armin Laschet, who leads Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union, and Markus Soeder, who runs the CDU’s Bavarian sister party CSU… have been holding secret negotiations since Friday… Both leaders… missed their self-imposed Friday deadline for an agreement. Given the current stalemate, there is growing concern among party leaders that any escalation of the standoff could cause irreversible damage to Merkel’s conservative bloc five months before the national election…

“In the latest poll by the institute Kantar the CDU/CSU bloc is only 7 percentage points ahead of the Green party… Polls have consistently showed that Soeder would comfortably defeat his main rivals if there were a direct vote for chancellor in the general election, while Laschet would lose.”

Bild wrote on April 18 that both leaders have been engaged in a brutal election war. The paper added that even though finally there will be a chancellor candidate who will call himself “victor,” he will be, in reality, a defeated man.

Deutsche Welle wrote on April 19: 

“Leading officials for the German conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party voted to nominate Armin Laschet as chancellor candidate for this year’s election in the early hours of Tuesday morning… The vote is not an official decision on the candidate for the conservative bloc…”

With such an unpopular candidate as Laschet, one wonders how even conservative voters would react in the next election.

The Greens named their co-leader, 40-year old Annalena Baerbock, as the candidate to succeed Merkel. Deutsche Welle commented that based on Baerbock’s policies, there is “ little room for doubt that any potential coalition between the Greens under Baerbock and the conservatives could be a volatile arrangement.”

Germany has never had a Green chancellor or a chancellor from Bavaria’s CSU party. At the same time, as the Bloomberg News article points out, Armin Laschet is unpopular in Germany, while Markus Soeder, an admirer and follower of the legendary late Franz-Josef Strauss, has been gaining in popularity after his recent humiliating showing in Bavaria where he only reached 37 percent—the worst result in the history of Bavaria’s CSU. On the other hand, 63 percent of Germans see in Soeder as an acceptable chancellor candidate, while only 29 percent believe this of Laschet.

Armin Laschet CDU/CSU Top Candidate

Deutsche Welle reported on April 20:

“The state premier of Germany’s most populous state (NRW) is set to lead the conservative challenge in the general election later this year after his main rival Markus Söder backed out of the race… only 32% of voters who voted CDU or CSU in the 2017 federal election said they would stick with their choice if Laschet were the candidate… Observers say that it will now be no easy task to unite the CDU/CSU bloc behind its top candidate in an election campaign…

“The CDU is experiencing unusually hard times, for numerous reasons. These include difficulties in containing the coronavirus pandemic; various cases of corruption in party ranks; cronyism and distrust; not to mention a chancellor who… is domestically seen as a ‘lame duck’ because this is her last term… The road to the chancellorship will be a long and rocky one for Laschet.”

None of this looks good for the future of Merkel’s party.

Germany’s Planned Coronavirus Restrictions per Federal Law

The Local wrote on April 19:

“Politicians in Germany are holding crunch talks over a new nationwide ’emergency brake’ mechanism that would force states to implement tougher Covid rules when infections reach a certain level. On Monday, Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives (the CDU and CSU) plus the Social Democrat (SPD) parliamentary groups – which make up the coalition government – discussed changes to the Infection Protection Act draft. If the law is passed by the Bundestag, states would be obliged to enforce new restrictions as soon as more than 100 new coronavirus infections per 100,000 inhabitants are registered over three days in a seven-day period.

“Here are the proposed changes under discussion:

“Night-time curfews in badly-hit Covid areas should be in place from 10pm to 5am… Jogging and walks would be allowed until midnight. People would generally only be allowed to leave their homes during the curfew for work or emergencies…  In schools, virtual learning would be compulsory when a region hits a 7-day incidence of 165 Covid infections per 100,000 people or more… For children up to the age of 14, sports should continue to be possible in groups. The outdoor areas of zoos and botanical gardens are to remain open to visitors with an up-to-date negative Covid test. Employers must provide two coronavirus rapid tests per week to staff who can’t work from home. If the employer says staff can work from home, employees have to accept this offer…

“All regulations are initially limited to June 30th. Other parts of the draft include limiting gatherings of people from different households. Contact with one person outside of the household is permitted, with a maximum of five people being allowed together in hotspots. [As Deutsche Welle reported on April 21, in affected areas, (it is to be ensured that) “nonessential shops only allow customers in with a negative COVID-19 test and an appointment. If the incidence rate exceeds 150, customers can only pick up preordered goods.”]

“The Bundestag wants to pass the law on Wednesday [which it did after a “contentious debate” with strong opposition from the FDP, the Left and the AfD]. It will then go to the Bundesrat – which represents Germany’s 16 states – on Thursday.  If it is passed [and signed by the German President] the update to the Infection Protection Act would be put into place as soon as possible… “Federal Health Minister Jens Spahn (CDU)…  called on states to introduce restrictions immediately [adding, “No one needs to wait for the law.”].”

These harsh measures would even constitute a compromise and a “watered-down” version of a prior draft which Angela Merkel and Jens Spahn supported. “On Friday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel called upon lawmakers in the country to grant additional powers to the federal government to enforce lockdowns and curfews…” (Breitbart, April 19).

Subsequently, Deutsche Welle wrote on April 22:

“German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Thursday signed a national ‘emergency brake’ into law shortly after the legislation passed the upper house of parliament [Bundesrat, which is made up of representatives of the 16 federal states.] … The secretary-general of the free-market liberal Free Democrats (FDP)… reiterated his party’s opposition. Volker Wissing told public broadcaster ZDF on Wednesday evening: ‘In a free constitutional state, the state must clearly justify why it intervenes so massively in fundamental rights. The federal government has not succeeded in providing this justification.’… Even before the law was passed by the Bundesrat, Berlin lawyer Claus Pinkerneil lodged a complaint with the German Constitutional Court… FDP members of the Bundestag have also announced lawsuits.”

As Bild Online explained, both the Bundesrat as well as Steinmeier could have stopped the law due to concerns, but they did not do so. The tabloid also said that many legal experts question the constitutionality of that law, and that Germany’s highest court could revoke it. However, based on the hype and political propaganda, that is more than doubtful.

Germany is just one example, but an important one, for the ridiculous nonsensical restrictions which are being enforced in countries all over the world. Satan is TRULY the god of this world and the prince of darkness and of the power of the air, ruling all nations and governments whom he has thoroughly deceived.

Germany Prohibits Anti-Corona Restriction Demonstrations

Deutsche Welle reported on April 17:

“Bavaria’s Administrative Court agreed with the local authority that a ban on gatherings by groups of mostly COVID-deniers was necessary to prevent the risk of infection… the Saxony Higher Administrative Court… said that there was justifiable danger for the participants and passers-by… The ruling said the organizers would not be able to maintain social distancing and safety measures. The decision is unappealable and any other planned events are also prohibited…

“The Querdenker group has hosted several anti-lockdown rallies in recent months, with one demonstration in Leipzig attracting over 20,000 participants from around the region in November. German Justice Minister Christine Lambrecht has called on police to take a hardline against coronavirus demonstrations… ‘In addition to criminal prosecution, demonstrations must be broken up by the police,’ she said…”

Breitbart added on April 19:

“Despite the ban on gatherings, thousands of people turned out to protest in the city of Stuttgart on Saturday, with at least 700 people being arrested for attending the ‘illegal’ rally. Police in the city said that they also had recorded over 1,000 breaches of the mask-wearing mandate. Around 250 people also gathered in Cologne, under the banner of ‘no to curfews! Health protection instead of restricting our rights,’ after the city imposed a curfew for the first time since the Second World War.”

The police also forcefully stopped a demonstration in Berlin with 7,000 participants.

Germany is becoming more and more a prophesied dictatorship that does not tolerate any views opposed to the official policy. At the same time, Israel dropped outdoor COVID mask orders.

A THIRD Shot and ANNUAL Vaccinations!

Daily Mail wrote on April 15:

“Pfizer Inc’s CEO says he believes people will ‘likely’ need a third dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. During a panel discussion hosted by CNBC in conjunction with CVS Health that aired on Thursday, Albert Bourla said a potential booster shot would be administered six to 12 months of being fully vaccinated.

“Bourla added that he thinks it is possible that people will need to be immunized against coronavirus annually.”

The Times of Israel added on April 15:

“Pfizer and BioNTech are now testing their shots for children. On Wednesday they said the vaccine showed 100 percent efficacy against the coronavirus in 12- to 15-year-olds, as the companies eye approval for adolescents to get the shots before the next school year.”

When and where will this end?

Fauci’s Tossing a Coin

On April 18, the Ron Paul Institute republished the following article by the Washington Times:

“Fauci said on Sunday on national news that even those who’ve been vaccinated should not gather indoors, or eat indoors, or remove their masks — or basically, in essence, do anything that involves being and breathing around others. [He] will have Americans walking on pins and needles, living in fear, forever…

“His so-called supporting science is about as solid as tossing a coin. Heads, stay at home; tails, don’t go outside. Heads, wear a face mask; tails, wear two face masks…

“Now, with vaccines rolled out left and right, and more and more Americans getting vaccinated, and more and more Americans doing what the government told Americans to do — to wear face masks, to get vaccinated, to socially distance, to stay out of school, even — now, Fauci wants to suggest it’s all for naught?… Fauci and his made-up scientific terminology has done enough harm to the American people in terms of generating needless fear to strip individual liberties.

“It’s time to stop listening to him. It’s actually well past time to stop listening to him. Fauci’s faux science is simply destroying America from the inside, crippling freedoms and cowering Americans in the corner…”

The Bible has prophesied for a long time that America will be destroying itself from the inside, before it will be totally destroyed from the outside.

In a related article, Adam Dick of the Ron Paul Institute wrote on April 18:

“As in the past, freedom stands in opposition to tyrannical government. Out of the coronavirus panic, tyranny gained the upper hand. What Fauci is saying in the interview is that one type of tyranny — coronavirus crackdown — can only be eliminated if another tyranny is accepted — people giving up their own control over their medical care by acceding to pressure to take the shots even though they do not believe doing so is the right health decision for them. Fauci thus leverages one form of tyranny to advance an additional form of tyranny. Either people take the shots or they keep, mostly figuratively, being hit by clubs… Fauci… is really declaring he is an enemy of freedom.”

Inhumane Coronavirus Rules

Breitbart wrote on April 18:

“Brexit leader Nigel Farage has slammed the ‘inhuman’ coronavirus rules which saw the Queen, 94, left sitting masked and alone at the funeral of her husband of 73 years. The Queen, who along with her late husband Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, was vaccinated against the Chinese virus all the way back in January, was following social distancing rules for funerals imposed on the rest of England by Boris Johnson’s administration. ‘So desperately sad to see the Queen sat alone during the funeral service,’ [wrote] Farage on social media. ‘These Covid rules are inhuman.’

“Just 30 people attended the funeral of the Duke, Britain’s longest-serving consort, in a substantial reduction from the 800 who had originally been planned — although a substantial number of Armed Forces personnel took part in the proceedings, reflecting his status as perhaps the last major public figure to have seen action during the Second World War, when he served in the Mediterranean, Indian Ocean, and Pacific theatres…

“Grandson Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, flew in from America to participate in the restricted funeral, although his controversial and heavily pregnant wife Meghan remained behind, reportedly on the advice of her doctors.”

 Sunday Rest Required?

Vatican News wrote on March 4, 2021

“…on the occasion of the International Day for a work-free Sunday, the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the EU (COMECE) and the European Sunday Alliance urged political leaders in Europe to protect synchronised free time… According to the network – which includes more than 100 national Sunday alliances, trade unions, employers’ organisations, civil society associations, churches and religious communities in the European Union – a full day of rest per week is indispensable to recover… EU Bishops also recall that ‘humans are social beings…A day free of work recognised by tradition or custom is therefore ‘essential to disconnect, literally and figuratively”’.

“The Alliance thus urges political leaders in Europe to make synchronised free time a priority… In particular, the European network calls on the European Commission ‘to align its upcoming proposal for a directive on a right to disconnect with article 2 of the Council of Europe’s Social Charter which already requires “a weekly rest period which shall, as far as possible, coincide with the day recognised by tradition or custom in the country or region concerned as a day of rest.”’”

The “mark of the Beast”  requires Sunday rest and work on Saturday—God’s holy weekly Sabbath. Note the next article.

Sunday NOT the biblical Sabbath

Forward wrote on March 25:

“Georgia Republicans recently passed a bill to eliminate early voting on Sunday… Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, of Mississippi [wrote:] ‘In God’s word, in Exodus 20:8, it says “Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy.”’…  Hyde-Smith figured that it was self-evident that Sunday is the Sabbath… The Jewish Sabbath… is on Saturday, not Sunday; in fact, some Christians, such as the Eastern Orthodox, also observe a Saturday Sabbath.

“Even Sunday Sabbath Christians would agree that their Sabbath is not the biblical one Hyde-Smith is referring to in Exodus. Christianity’s shift to observing the Sabbath on a Sunday, as well as changing the parameters of its observance, was an attempt by Christians in the Roman Empire to differentiate themselves from Jews who were persecuted by the Romans. Constantine then codified the Sunday rest day, adding to the law that Christians were forbidden from ‘Judaizing’ and must work on Saturdays. But no one argues that Sunday was the ‘seventh day’ referred to in the holy text; it was considered the first day of the week in both Hebrew and Roman calendars. Hyde-Smith’s Exodus justification for the Sunday voting ban doesn’t hold…”

Sainthood for Key Founding Father of Europe?

Catholic News Agency reported on April 16:

“Pope Francis could declare venerable the French statesman Robert Schuman, a key ‘founding father’ of the European Union, a Vatican official has said… Cardinal Semeraro told the French newspaper La Croix the Pope is likely to declare Schuman venerable before summer begins…

“He was France’s Minister of Foreign Relations when he announced the forming of the European Steel and Coal Community on May 9, 1950. The move is considered a first step towards the creation of the European Union. Schuman was also a key negotiator for the North Atlantic Treaty and the European Coal and Steel Community. He served as the first President of the European Parliament which named him ‘Father of Europe’ when he left office…

“In November 2003 remarks to the Robert Schuman Foundation… St. John Paul II called Europeans to remember and cherish their Christian roots. He praised Schuman for spending his political life ‘in the service of the fundamental values of freedom and solidarity, understood fully in the light of the Gospel.’”

Facebook under Attack (Again) for Arbitrary Political Censorship

Newsmax wrote on April 19:

“Facebook’s decision last week to censor news articles critical of Black Lives Matter leader Patrisse Cullors has been questioned after it was revealed that the social media giant co-founder, Dustin Moskovitz, gave more than $5 million into a network of nonprofits run by Cullors… Facebook blocked its users from posting links to a story in the New York Post about how Cullors, who calls herself a Marxist, spent $3.2 million on high-end real estate as her BLM Global Network Foundation took in millions in donations, saying the reporting violated its ‘privacy and personal information policy.’

“News Media Alliance (NMA), a media nonprofit which represents nearly 2,000 American news organizations, criticized Facebook for its ‘completely arbitrary’ decision to block the story about Cullors… The National Legal and Policy Center, a watchdog group, also slammed Facebook’s decision, saying ‘this, once again, proves freedom of speech is an option not a feature across the Facebook platform, where their corporate interests are placed above the interests of their users at every turn.’”

Sick!

Netanyahu Seeks Direct Election

Newsmax reported on April 21:

“Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has decided to seek a direct election for prime minister and no longer is seeking a government that relies on the support of the United Arab List Party, he said Tuesday. Netanyahu said a direct election for prime minister will pass if Yamina supports it… Seeing no chance to form a government, Netanyahu still intends to maintain his mandate to do so, associates said. That mandate ends May 4, after which a group of small parties that oppose him hope to be able to form an alternative government…

“Netanyahu twice failed to build a governing coalition in Israel’s two 2019 elections. After the 2020 election, the longtime leader formed a unity government with his main rival in what they said was an emergency coalition to manage the coronavirus crisis. The partnership collapsed in December after months of infighting.”

Hezbollah Preparing for Lebanon’s Collapse

The Algemeiner published the following article on April 19

“Lebanon’s Hezbollah terror organization is advancing its preparations for the possibility that the state may collapse… The group is expanding its food ration card system, importing medicine and preparing storage for fuel to be delivered by the organization’s patron, Iran… These steps are aimed at broadening services provided by Hezbollah to its Shi’ite support base, which is mostly concentrated in southern Lebanon, as well as in south Beirut and the Bekaa Valley…

“Having to again rely on factions for basic needs has reminded many Lebanese of the country’s civil war days between 1957 to 1990… Lebanon’s currency has crashed and… food prices in the country have risen by 400 percent.”

A horrible Decision by a “most dishonorable” Judge in Canada

International Family News wrote on April 19:

“In the Canadian National Anthem ring the words, ‘the true north, strong and free.’ And it pains me as a Canadian to say that ‘the north’… my native land, is no longer strong or free, because it has sold truth down the river without a paddle. That point has been recently hammered home thanks to an activist judge in British Columbia. A Canadian father is in jail today for simply doing as any loving parent would do; protecting one’s child from clear and present danger.

“On Friday, April 16th, Rob Hoogland – a postman from Vancouver, British Columbia – was handed a 6 months jail term. His crime? Calling his daughter ‘she’ and ‘her’, railing against ‘gender ideology’ indoctrination his child was being subjected to at school, and defending his child from medical assault being imposed on his family by the state.

“Hoogland is in jail today for those ‘crimes’. But he has been a prisoner for much longer. Well before Hoogland was a prisoner in a Vancouver jail cell from March 16th to April 12th, awaiting trial. Well before Hoogland surrendered himself to the court March 16th in response to the BC Attorney General’s ruling of contempt of court. And even before a most dishonourable Judge Michael Tammen issued the warrant for his arrest on March 4th.

“Rob Hoogland has been a prisoner of the ‘system’ going back to 2015. It was then that things started to unravel for him and his young family… Hoogland and his estranged wife – whom he divorced in the spring of 2015 – were concerned for their then 5th-grade daughter who was getting into trouble at school. The parents consented to having their daughter speak to a school counselor. Unbeknownst to Mr. Hoogland, his daughter would spend the next two years meeting with school counsellors and in grade 7, his daughter cut her hair very short. It was at the end of that school year that Hoogland noticed that his daughter was listed in her yearbook under a male name. What had been happening is that the school had been feeding Hoogland’s daughter a steady diet of transgender ideology. The girl had already begun ‘transitioning’ to a male under the supervision of psychologist Wallace Wong who had referred her to an endocrinologist at the Gender Clinic at BC Children’s Hospital in Vancouver.

“… Hoogland is up against a storm of opposition which includes his wife who, along with Canadian legal and medical systems, continues to forge ahead into transitioning her daughter into a male – both socially and medically. And that doesn’t even take into account the constant barrage from schoolmates, mainstream media, pop culture, and a Marxian education system that put this troubled girl down a road from where there is no return… and her father behind bars…

“By the time Rob Hoogland had attended that first visit to the endocrinologist with his daughter, the cards were well stacked against him. The doctor laid out the plan to medically ‘change’ his 13-year old girl into a boy. Hoogland said ‘no’. He said his girl had told him she was a lesbian. She was just going through a phase. He also told the doctor that his girl had already had two extremely uncomfortable run-ins with the school and his daughter’s infatuation with two separate male teachers. Hoogland was also beside himself having to have dealt with his child’s suicide attempt in Grade 8; this, after the child had been ‘affirming’ herself as a boy…”

In a world ruled by Satan, nothing is surprising anymore. This is a sick sick world.

Monkey-Human Chimeras

Deutsche Welle reported on April 16:

“A team of scientists from China and the United States… injected human stem cells into monkey blastocytes… The team… then managed to keep some of the embryos made up of two different genetic materials alive for up to 20 days. A ‘mixed’ organism like this is also known as chimeric, or an interspecies chimera… the key ethical question relates to what kind of creatures these chimeras would be… whether these embryos are human or not is open to question…”

Hitler experimented with these ideas, trying unsuccessfully to create a mixture or a “hybrid” between humans and chimps, called “humanzee.” Man is trying to play God against the normal laws of nature, as in nature, humans could never mix with chimps to produce a “hybrid” or a “chimera”… These are horrible prospects.

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.

Recently, Pope Francis promoted both concepts.

The Daily Mail wrote on March 2:

“Pope Francis has warned that mankind is facing a second great flood caused by climate change unless leaders act to fix corruption and injustice. The 84-year-old said that, in the story of the great flood in the Bible, God used his wrath to punish injustice and ‘clean up’ the world. He then added that humanity is facing another ‘great deluge, perhaps due to a rise in temperature and the melting of glaciers. [That is] what will happen now if we continue on the same path,’ he said…

“While discussing justice, Francis brings up the example of the biblical flood which destroyed the world except for Noah – who was deemed virtuous enough to survive. The flood itself may have been a myth, Francis says, but it is used as an example to show how God uses wrath to punish injustice and right wrongs in the world.”

The Pope’s belief that Noah’s Flood was or might have been a myth is reflected by the common false understanding of scholars who do not accept the reliability of the Bible.

For instance, we read in the Wikipedia Encyclopedia:

“Although the story of Noah… has become the most well-known flood myth in Western culture, it shows the influence of earlier narratives from Mesopotamia… [There is a Babylonian] account of a great flood, [and we possess now] several versions of the Mesopotamian flood myth; the version closest to that in [the Bible] appeared in a 700 BC Babylonian copy of the Epic of Gilgamesh… [It is] preceded by the similar Sumerian creation myth—the oldest surviving example of such a flood-myth narrative… A worldwide deluge, such as the one described in Genesis, is incompatible with modern scientific understanding.”

However, we are not interested in the “understanding” of God-denying scientists and scholars, whom the Bible calls “fools.” Rather, we do believe in the authenticity of the Bible, and our belief is based on facts.

For proof, please read our free booklet, “The Authority of the Bible.” 

In addition, the existence of many different and independent accounts of a worldwide flood proves the real occurrence of such a flood… and not the opposite.

Let us notice what the Bible says about Noah’s worldwide Flood.

In Genesis 6:7-8, 12-13, we read:

“So the LORD said, ‘I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.’ But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD… So God looked upon the earth, and indeed it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth. And God said to Noah, ‘The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with violence through them; and behold, I will destroy them with the earth.’”

Genesis 7:4, 17-23, continues:

“‘For after seven more days I will cause it to rain on the earth forty days and forty nights, and I will destroy from the face of the earth all living things that I have made’…

“Now the flood was on the earth forty days. The waters increased and lifted up the ark, and it rose high above the earth. The waters prevailed and greatly increased on the earth, and the ark moved about on the surface of the waters. And the waters prevailed exceedingly on the earth, and all the high hills under the whole heaven were covered. The waters prevailed fifteen cubits upward, and the mountains were covered.

“And all flesh died that moved on the earth: birds and cattle and beasts and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, and every man. All in whose nostrils was the breath of the spirit of life, all that was on the dry land, died. So He destroyed all living things which were on the face of the ground: both man and cattle, creeping thing and bird of the air. They were destroyed from the earth. Only Noah and those who were with him in the ark remained alive.”

Clearly, according to the biblical record, Noah’s Flood was not just a local occurrence, but worldwide. It covered the whole earth and destroyed “all living things which were on the face of the ground.” Only Noah and those in the Ark were spared. This means that the “intellectual” idea of the Pope and others that the Flood might have been a myth is false and unbiblical.

In addition, God promised that He would never again bring a worldwide Flood on this earth.

Genesis 9:11, 15 states:

“‘Thus I establish My covenant with you: Never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood; never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth… I will remember My covenant which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh.’”

This means, the Pope’s speculation that a worldwide Flood could occur due to climate change is false and unbiblical as well.

Is there more biblical proof that Noah’s Flood was not a myth, but real?

Jesus believed in it and spoke of it as a fact.

We read, for example, Jesus’ words in Matthew 24:37-39: “‘But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days of Noah before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day THAT NOAH ENTERED THE ARK, and did not know until the FLOOD CAME and took them all away, so will the coming of the Son of Man be.’”

The early apostles accepted the account of Noah’s Ark as HISTORICAL FACT. Paul wrote in Hebrews 11:7: “By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.”

Neither did Peter doubt the historical accuracy of Noah’s Ark. He spoke about the “days of Noah” in 1 Peter 3:20, “…while the ARK was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water.”

Also note 2 Peter 3:5-6 (New International Version):

“[Scoffers] deliberately forget that long ago by God’s word the heavens came into being and the earth was formed out of water and by water. By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed.”

The Flood was real, and it covered and destroyed the entire earth, and all people and land animals died except those who were in Noah’s Ark.

The story of Noah’s Flood is not a myth. It is true, and Jesus, Paul and Peter believed that it was factual.

We stated the following in our Q&A, “Is the Biblical story of Noah’s Ark based on fact, or is it mere fiction or folklore?”

“Skeptics have claimed the Ark could not possibly hold all those animals and provisions, but simple fact proves otherwise. The physical dimensions alone, as given in Genesis 6:15, stagger the imagination… The Ark had a capacity equal to more than 500 standard American railroad freight cars! That was equivalent to 175 modern one-bedroom apartments! No ship of such size was again built until the 19th century AD!…

“Only 40 percent of the animal kingdom lives on land, and 70 percent of all species of land animals are insects. The remaining 30 percent of the terrestrial animal kingdom are on… average the size of a rhesus monkey or a medium-sized dog. Most animals can be maintained in small confinement for long periods and remain healthy… Estimates of the number of land mammal, bird, reptile, and amphibian species on earth today total about 18,000.

“… only about half of the space on the three decks [of the Ark] would have provided plenty of room to accommodate all those animals. That left the other half of the ship for food and supplies and for Noah and his family…

“Today, many who profess to be ‘Christians,’ neither believe in the historical accuracy of ‘Noah’s Ark,’ nor in the return–or Second Coming–of Jesus Christ to this earth. Peter warned of such ignorance and denial of God’s Word, which will have serious consequences for those who are guilty of it. He wrote in 2 Peter 3:3-7: ‘… scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming?”… for they willfully forget: that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water, by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water. But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.”

In addition, two Q&As explain that Noah and his family could indeed have built the ark https://www.eternalgod.org/how-was-it-possible-for-noah-and-his-family-to-actually-build-the-ark/, and how long it took for them to do so https://www.eternalgod.org/how-long-did-it-take-noah-and-his-sons-to-build-the-ark/.

We might also take note of the fact as to HOW God might have brought worldwide destruction through an all-encompassing Flood, based on the account in the Bible.

In our booklet, “Evolution—a Fairy Tale for Adults?”, we say this:

“Perhaps the most familiar worldwide destruction is the flood described in Genesis 7 and 8. Have you ever thought about what events must have occurred to cause such worldwide destruction? Quoting… from the book ‘In Search of Noah’s Ark,’ page 58, ‘…[Genesis 7:11] says, “On that day all the fountains of the great deep burst forth, and the windows of the heavens were opened”… The pressured waters below the crust suddenly erupted at a point of weakness. Collapse at one point would cause a chain reaction leading to similar eruptions at many other points around the world. The resulting atmospheric turbulence, combined with immense amounts of dust blown skyward from volcanoes, would begin condensation and precipitation of the canopy.’

“… many theologians and scientists state that a vapor canopy once surrounded the earth. Theologians refer to Genesis 7:11 where it says that the ‘windows of heaven were opened.’ They feel this is probably a reference to the pre-flood vapor canopy. Another reference to this canopy can be seen in Genesis 1:6-7, where we read that God made a firmament and divided the waters under the firmament from the waters above the firmament, giving reference to a water vapor canopy. This canopy, scientists explain, would have created a greenhouse effect. This seems to be confirmed in Genesis 2:5 where we are told that the antediluvian world was watered by dew or mist, not by rain. This dew would have been dependent upon humidity, saturation, temperature, dew point and condensation—all made possible through the water vapor canopy.

“Continuing now from the book ‘In Search of Noah’s Ark,’ citing from page 59, ‘We see the possible significance of the order of destruction mentioned in Genesis 7:11. Subterranean upheavals within the oceans, volcanic eruptions and earthquakes and the gushing forth of those waters triggered the opening of the windows of heaven, and the canopy waters poured upon the Earth as torrential rains for 40 days and 40 nights before slacking off to light rain for the next 110 days…’

“But what started the whole thing? Here is one possible answer from the same book. On page 62 it says, ‘We believe it’s plausible that a gigantic meteorite colliding with Earth could have jarred the Earth’s crust so tremendously that it set off the universal cataclysmic conditions necessary to have caused the rising of the sea beds, earthquakes, volcanoes and the collapse of the water canopy.’

“We understand, of course, that it was God who brought about the flood. But as He used water to destroy the earth’s surface, it is legitimate to ask what else, based on Biblical evidence, God might have used to bring about the results. And a meteorite hitting the earth is a possible answer, since God has used meteorites at other times as well to bring destruction on this planet…”

However God chose to do it, it is clear from the pages of the Bible that Noah’s Flood happened, causing worldwide destruction and the death of all people and all land animals, except for Noah and those in the Ark, and it is likewise very clear that God will never bring a worldwide Flood again on this earth, be it through “climate change” or otherwise.

We either believe the clear words of the Bible or the assumptions, speculations and “arguments” of people who think they can doubt God and know it better than God. But for us in the Church of the Eternal God and our corporate affiliates, we choose to believe God and follow Him.

Lead Writer: Norbert Link

compiled by Dave Harris

“Chauvin’s Conviction—Was Justice Served in a System that Works?” is the title of a new StandingWatch program, presented by Evangelist Norbert Link. Here is a summary:

Derek Chauvin was convicted of second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter for killing George Floyd. The conviction of Chauvin was celebrated with the claim that the American legal system works. However, that statement is in question, due to mistakes made during the court proceedings and inappropriate political intervention. Does God think that our legal system works?

Our newest Booklet, “Are Jews and Christians at Odds with Jesus Christ?” has now been printed, and copies will be sent to our subscribers. If you would like a copy, requests may be made through our website: www.eternalgod.org.

Our new German booklet, “Die biblischer Prophezeiung—von nun an bis in Ewigkeit!” is being printed in Germany. It has been posted on our German website.

“Gehen wir über uns hinaus!” is the title of this Sabbath’s new German sermon, presented by Michael Link. Approximate Title in English: “Above and Beyond!”

“Die frohe Botschaft,” is the title of last Sabbath’s German sermonette, presented by Johann Schell. Title in English: “The Good News.”

“A Better Way,” the sermonette presented last Sabbath by Eric Rank, is now posted. Here is a summary:

The world tells us that the right way to live adheres to a moral standard founded in little more than what feels right. The end result is a self-indulgent model of ethics focused on glorifying man rather than God. The Bible tells us that there is a better way of living that leads us to a truly positive and fulfilling life.

“God of Heaven,” the sermon presented last Sabbath by Dave Harris, is now posted. Here is a summary:

How do you even begin to know God? Who is God? Where is God from and where is God right now? God is revealed in  the Bible—are you among the very few who understand?

On April 10, 2021 Dave Harris will present the sermonette, titled, “The Future is Forever,” and Eric Rank will present the sermon, titled, “God’s Hands.”

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.

In one way or another, most Americans celebrated Easter this year. Around the world, Easter was observed by close to one-hundred nations. By contrast, the Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread figured prominently in just one country—the nation of Israel.

While various religious organizations lead the way in Easter observance, only a precious few keep the commanded Holy Days of God falling in this time of the year—those who are members of the True Church of God.

Freely, it is admitted that Easter has been adopted from abject paganism. Yet, people who could and certainly should know better call this a “Christian observance.” But this is nothing less than the proverbial attempt of putting lipstick on a pig and calling it pretty. Making up how God is worshipped is rejected by God, and He condemns those who do so!

God expressed His contempt to ancient Israel and Judah for their pagan worship practices—and His warnings apply today:

“‘Your New Moons and your appointed feasts My soul hates; They are a trouble to Me, I am weary of bearing them’” (Isaiah 1:14); and, “‘I hate, I despise your feast days, And I do not savor your sacred assemblies’” (Amos 5:21).

Unless we observe only God’s commanded Holy Days, God will not accept us or our false and useless worship! The one holiday so dear to many nominally professing Christians, Christmas, is based on downright demonic worship—it has nothing to do with the true Son of God! Short of national days of thanksgiving, prayer or even repentance and fasting, God does not hear—He won’t accept evil!

“‘Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!’” (Isaiah 5:20).

Great national punishment is coming from God. Whole nations will go into captivity, war will ravage the earth and life, itself, will come to the brink of total destruction. Why? Because of violence and rebellion against God! Few understand and still fewer are taking God’s warnings seriously.

To escape these terrible times and to have God’s protection, we must submit to His Will for us. That includes obeying Him by keeping His true Holy Days: the Seventh Day (Sabbath) and the Annual Feast Days of God.

Regarding what we who are living in this godless society should be doing, God warns us: “‘Come out of her my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues’” (Revelation 18:4).

by Norbert Link

We begin with an eye-opening article on the wealth and influence of the Catholic and Protestant churches in Germany; further talk about the establishment of a European army; the shameful collaboration of the EU and the USA against Israel and in favor of the PA; the hateful efforts of the WCC to hurt, smear and destroy Israel; and the shortsighted actions of the USA towards the ICC.

We continue with an alarming buildup of Russian troops at Ukraine’s border; Europe’s new lockdown rules and further dictatorial ambitions, especially in Germany, with their potentially devastating, but largely overlooked consequences for liberty and freedom; and we ask the question as to how reliable polls are when allegedly revealing the feeling of the people.

We report on police actions to enforce coronavirus restrictions in England, Canada and Ireland with remarkably different results and reactions; and address the question as to whether Facebook has become a new worldwide empire with Mark Zuckerberg being its Roman Emperor.

We speak on controversial actions by the Disney franchise; an outrageously blasphemous and demonic development by California’s Department of Education pertaining to the state’s school system [In this context, please view our new StandingWatch program, titled, “Aztec Demons in California’s Schools?”]; outspoken and true words by the Archbishop of Canterbury; the speculation that Princess Anne spoke on Harry’s and Megan’s child but that she was misquoted; Donald Trump’s advice to parents as to how to deal with their children pertaining to addictive substances; and a short clip about the paganism of Easter bonfires.

Throughout this section, we have underlined pertinent statements in the quoted articles, for the convenience and quick overview of the reader.

Germany’s Christianity

Deutsche Welle wrote on April 1:

“The Holy Roman Empire, the birthplace of Protestantism, the battlefields of Christian theology. The lands that make up modern Germany once had front-row seats to some of the most significant developments both in the history of Europe and of Christianity. Today, those Christian roots are hard to overlook. Public holidays based on Catholic and Protestant beliefs provide highly-anticipated vacation days that go beyond just Christmas and Easter. And while ‘Christian’ political parties — Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union and the Bavarian Christian Socialist Union, for example — are considered traditional rather than religious, the parties’ names make it clear they were conceived on the basis of Christian values…

“Roughly 45.7 million Germans identify as Christian, be they Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox or non-denominational. That’s nearly 55 percent of German society, according to figures from 2019. The Muslim population comprises approximately 5 percent (4.5 million) of the population; the Jewish community 0.1 percent (94,7000)… The majority of Germany’s Christians are registered as either Catholic (22.6 million) or Protestant (20.7 million)…

“In 2019, the Catholic Church and the Protestant Church collected a record-breaking €6.76 billion ($7.94 billion) and €5.95 billion ($6.98 billion) in church tax, respectively. The right for churches to collect a de-facto membership fee in the form of a tax dates back to 1919… The rate is currently set at 9 percent of one’s income… And as the Finance Ministry handles the tax for them… it also receives a neat 3 percent of the total, which added up to €380 million in 2016…

“The two churches own at least 830,000 hectares  (8,300 square kilometers or 3,200 square miles) of land… The churches themselves have disclosed tens of thousands of buildings that they each hold in addition to at least 21,100 Protestant and 24,500 Catholic churches. When examining buildings related to the churches’ roles in healthcare, education, and charitable work, the Catholic Church has at least 66,000 additional holdings and the Protestant Church a further 50,000…  Moreover, they receive state funds to compensate for property losses dating back to the early 1800s when Napoleon upended the Holy Roman Empire. According to broadcaster Deutschlandfunk, this amounted to nearly €500 million in 2017 and comes from taxpayers whether they belong to a church or not…

“Another reason Catholic and Protestant interests are so visible in German society is the seats church representatives are granted on supervisory boards across a wide variety of organizations. There, the churches sit alongside other interest groups such as conservationists, union leaders, and experts from a range of fields in the name of representing an important demographic. By way of example, the two churches have a voice on public broadcasting councils, from the nationwide ARD and ZDF to the regional WDR, to the international Deutsche Welle (DW), which receives federal funds. Included in these councils’ oversight tasks is helping to select the director-general. Given the innumerable supervisory boards across Germany, it is next to impossible to know exactly how many of these seats are held by the churches….

“When asked by German pollster INSA in 2017 if they believed in the resurrection of Jesus Christ, only 52 percent of Catholics and 48 percent of Protestants said yes. When asked if they believed in life after death, only 40 percent of Catholics and 32 percent of Protestants said they did…”

This article gives additional meaning to the description of the fallen woman in Revelation 17, riding the beast and being called “Mystery, Babylon the Great, the mother of harlots” (verse 5).

Talks about a European Army

Express wrote on March 31:

“Last week, Brussels rubberstamped a £4.3billion defence project which has been tipped to pave the way for the long-proposed EU army. French President Emmanuel Macron and Germany Chancellor Angela Merkel have both reportedly expressed interest in such a move, particularly after the US pulled out of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty in 2018.The so-called EU army doesn’t exist at the moment, with military powers organised individually by the 27 EU member states.

“But during an interview with Welt in Germany, Bundestag President and CDU politician Wolfgang Schäuble [said:] ‘We don’t have much time. We live in a dangerous world in which Europe needs an operational, modern army. The Germans would be up for it. They would immediately be willing to give up a national army…’

“France’s former Defence Minister Sylvie Goulard, who was also taking part in the same interview with Die Welt,… said: ‘Most of the French would not have any reservations about forming a common army with the Germans… It’s a matter of life and death. It must not happen that when the first coffins return to Europe, self-doubts arise about the fundamental necessity of the common army.’”

A European Army will arrive.

EU and USA in Collaboration to Establish a Palestinian State

Israel Today wrote on April 1:

“Two new scandals involving the Palestinian Authority (PA), the European Union, and the current US Administration of President Joe Biden were revealed by Israel’s Channel 13 News and the US news organization The Washington Free Beacon. The scandals show that instead of consolidating its sovereignty in Judea and Samaria (or the so-called ‘West Bank’), Israel is losing the battle over its Biblical heartland. Both the European Union and the Biden Administration are helping the PA to establish a terrorist state in this area.

“Last week, Channel 13 broadcast a blockbuster two-part documentary about the shocking activities of the European Union (EU) in the so-called ‘Area C’ in Judea and Samaria. This area was assigned to Israel under the Oslo Accords and COGAT, the Civil Administration of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), [and it] is responsible for daily affairs there, including issuing building permits… Arabic-speaking employees of this organization disguised themselves as Arabs and went undercover into the Palestinian Authority (PA) to investigate exactly what are the activities of the EU in Area C. The investigation clearly showed that the EU is secretly helping the PA to create a Palestinian state in Area C, as well as Arab Jerusalem… The EU, the United Nations and certain Arab countries are funding the entire project to the tune of three billion euros…

“Then there was a shocking report by Adam Kredo, an investigative reporter for The Washington Free Beacon, an US-based news site. Kredo’s article was about an as yet unpublished US State Department report that described how the PA continues to use foreign aid to pay stipends to jailed Palestinian terrorists and the families of so-called ‘martyrs,’ Palestinian Arabs who died during terrorist attacks. The report stated that the PA has continued to use foreign financial aid to fund payments to terrorists held in Israeli jails for attacks on Israelis until this very day. In 2019, the PA further distributed $191 million to the families of shahids (Islamic martyrs), according to Kredo.

“The funding of these practices by the PA are prohibited under US law, and it was the reason the Trump Administration cut off financial aid to the PA. The new US administration of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris has decided to resume financial aid to Palestinian Arabs in Gaza and the West Bank, the State Department stated in the report. ‘The State Department admitted it was unable to certify to Congress that the Palestinian Authority and Palestine Liberation Organization are complying with the Taylor Force Act, the legislation that prohibits funding the PA as long as it continues its “pay to slay” policy,’ Kredo wrote. He furthermore reported that in 2020 the PA allegedly allocated $155 million in foreign aid for its ‘pay to slay’ in program….”

It’s the world against Israel. Note the next article.

The World Council of Churches’ (WCC) Fight Against Israel

 Israel 365 wrote on April 3:

“With an annual budget of almost $30 million, the WCC is succeeding in hurting Israel.  Formed as a collective of 347 churches, denominations and church fellowships in more than 110 countries and territories… it plays a key role in mobilizing churches worldwide to support international… campaigns against Israel.

“The WCC is a central promoter of the Kairos Palestine document, which characterizes terrorist acts of ‘armed resistance’ as ‘Palestinian legal resistance,’ denies the Jewish historical connection to Israel in theological terms, calls to mobilize churches worldwide in the call for BDS [Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions], and compares Israel with the South African apartheid regime.

“The WCC is also critical of Christian Zionism, claiming that ‘Christians who promote “Christian Zionism” distort the interpretation of the word of God and the historic connection of Palestinians—Christians and Muslims—to the Holy Land, enable the manipulation of public opinion by Zionist lobbies, and damage intra-Christian relations.’ In February 2021,… Frank Chikane, moderator of the WCC’s Commission of the Churches on International Affairs (WCC-CCIA)… portrayed Israel as ‘demons’ and stating that ‘those who support Israel to brutalize Palestinians,… the blood of the people of Palestine will be sought from them because they collaborate by allowing this system to continue.’…

“In June 2017, the WCC published and circulated a letter by the National Coalition of Christian Organizations in Palestine that called on the UK to apologize for the Balfour Declaration, labeled Israel a ‘colonial state,’ and portrayed Palestinians as the true victims of the Holocaust.”

USA Removes Sanctions against ICC

JTA wrote on April 2:

“The Biden administration removed sanctions that President Donald Trump had imposed on International Criminal Court officials while continuing to decry the ICC’s work targeting U.S. and Israeli personnel. ‘These decisions reflect our assessment that the measures adopted were inappropriate and ineffective,’ Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Friday in a statement. ‘We continue to disagree strongly with the ICC’s actions relating to the Afghanistan and Palestinian situations,’ Blinken said, referring to separate investigations into alleged war crimes by U.S. and Israeli personnel.

“‘We maintain our longstanding objection to the Court’s efforts to assert jurisdiction over personnel of non-States Parties such as the United States and Israel,’ he said, referring to the fact that neither Israel or the United States have accepted ICC jurisdiction. ‘We believe, however, that our concerns about these cases would be better addressed through engagement with all stakeholders in the ICC process rather than through the imposition of sanctions.’

“Trump last year imposed economic sanctions and travel restrictions against ICC workers directly involved in investigating American troops and intelligence officials for possible war crimes in Afghanistan. In the same executive order, Trump said he may extend the sanctions against investigations into U.S. allies, naming Israel. Israel backed Trump’s sanctions and reportedly asked Biden not to remove them.

“The Palestinian Authority in February cleared a major hurdle to getting the ICC to prosecute Israelis when an ICC panel decided the court has jurisdiction to investigate Israelis and Palestinian terrorists, including from Hamas, for alleged crimes during the 2014 Gaza War.”

What a terrible shortsightedness by the USA towards the ICC.

Russian Buildup of Troops at Ukraine’s Border

Express wrote on April 3:

“Russian troops are gathering close to the border with Ukraine, a move which has sparked concern across the West…

“Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said he was ‘gravely concerned’ at the situation, while US President Joe Biden offered reassurances to Ukraine’s leader Volodymyr Zelenskiy during a 50-minute phone conversation yesterday. Ukraine, Western countries and NATO have all accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of sending troops and heavy weapons to prop up proxies in Donbass who seized a swathe of eastern Ukraine in 2014, at the same time Russia annexed the Crimea.

 “Kyiv and Moscow have blamed each other in recent weeks for a spike in violence in the eastern Donbass region, where Ukrainian troops and Russian-backed forces have fought a conflict which has killed 14,000 people in seven years by Ukraine’s estimate. Russia says it only provides political and humanitarian support to separatist fighters in what it casts as an internal conflict. However, speaking yesterday, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told the BBC Russia troops were massing at Ukraine’s northern and eastern borders, as well as ‘in the illegally occupied Crimea’. He added: ‘So from three directions we observed a military build-up of the Russian federation. Ukraine is not looking for any escalation – we do not need war.’

“Mr Kuleba has discussed matters with Mr Raab, who subsequently tweeted that he had ‘reaffirmed UK support for Ukraine’s sovereignty & territorial integrity’. He added: ‘We are gravely concerned about Russian military activity which threatens Ukraine.’ After his conversation with Mr Biden, President Zelenskiy said: ‘… President Biden assured me that Ukraine will never be left alone against Russia’s aggression.’…

“The Kremlin said yesterday any deployment of NATO troops to Ukraine would lead to further tensions near Russia’s borders and force Moscow to take extra measures to ensure its own security… Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters yesterday that the situation at the contact line in eastern Ukraine between Ukrainian government forces and Russian-backed separatist forces was quite frightening and that multiple ‘provocations’ were taking place there….

“In a statement issued on Thursday, the European Union said: ‘… the Russian Federation has launched yet another conscription campaign in the illegally-annexed Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol to draft residents of the peninsula in the Russian Federation Armed Forces. This is another violation of international humanitarian law…’”

The Daily Star added on April 3:

“Russian military analyst Pavel Felgenhauer has warned WW3 could be sparked by rising tensions between Russia and Ukraine… The terrifying alert has come after footage was widely shared on social media showing suspected large scale Russian military movements in regions close to rebel-held eastern Ukraine and annexed Crimea… With tension sharply rising, Pavel Felgenhauer, who has written several books about Russia’s political and military leadership… warned events could see ‘war in a month’… ‘The crisis has the potential to escalate into a pan-European war, if not even a world one,’ Felgenhauer warned starkly in an interview with Rosbalt news outlet in Russia…

“‘In the West, they don’t know what to do about it.’… He claimed all the conditions could be in place by early May when Russia will hold a major Red Square parade to mark the anniversary of victory in World War Two, and he suspects a ‘decision has been made already… Some (in the West) say that the Russians should not be provoked, and military intervention is too risky. Others, on the contrary, are in favour of unification (of Russia and Ukraine) and open confrontation…’”

France 24 wrote on April 2:

“Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that most of Ukraine’s military appeared to understand the danger of a ‘hot conflict’ in Donbass. ‘I very much hope that they will not be “incited” by politicians, who in turn will be “incited” by the West, led by the United States,’ said Lavrov. ‘Russian President Putin said (this) not long ago, but this statement is still relevant today, that those who would try to start a new war in Donbass – will destroy Ukraine.’”

Newsmax added on April 4:

“The U.S. European Command has raised its threat level as Russia has increased its aggression in Eastern Europe and the Arctic over the last two weeks, including Moscow’s buildup of military troops and equipment in eastern Ukraine and an ‘unusual peak’ of Russian warplanes flying near Alaskan airspace…”

According to the Bible, Russia and Ukraine will unite to ultimately fight Europe.

Russia-Ukraine Situation Cause for Concern

 Deutsche Welle reported on April 8:

 “Mykhailo Samus of the Kyiv Center for Army, Conversion and Disarmament Studies, is convinced that Moscow has long been preparing for an invasion and has already begun concentrating equipment and troops along the border with Ukraine. The analyst says, ‘Russia has effectively created three new armies encircling Ukraine.’ He says six submarines armed with Kalibr cruise missiles — which are capable of carrying nuclear warheads — have been dispatched to Crimea…”

 CNN wrote on April 8:

 “The United States is considering sending warships into the Black Sea in the next few weeks in a show of support for Ukraine…

 “White House press secretary Jen Psaki said…, ‘The United States is increasingly concerned by recently escalating Russian aggressions in eastern Ukraine, including Russia’s movements on Ukraine’s border. Russia now has more troops on the border of Ukraine than any time since 2014. Five Ukrainian soldiers have been killed this week alone…’

 “On Thursday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to withdraw troops in order to de-escalate the situation… According to a Kremlin readout of the call, Putin accused Kyiv of ‘provocative actions.’”

 The Daily Star wrote on April 8:

 “It is feared that within days more than 95,000 assault troops, backed by tanks, armoured vehicles, artillery and even thermobaric rocket batteries will be ready to invade. Tens of thousands of Ukrainian troops— including reservists—have been called up to the border and US advisers are believed to be ‘in [the] country’… American intelligence assessments grade the threat of a major Russia-Ukraine flare-up as [a] ‘potential imminent crisis’ as stated by their European operations centre EUCOM…

 “More than ten heavily-armed Russian warships are now steaming towards the Caspian Sea from the Black Sea, armed with artillery and other weapons to back Putin’s land forces…”

Europe’s New Lockdown Rules and Germany’s Ambitions

Deutsche Welle wrote on April 2:

“Since the start of the pandemic, the Scandinavian country [of Sweden] has… kept bans and prohibitions to a minimum. However, since the start of January this year the government has been clamping down a little more. It passed a new set of  measures… but in comparison with other EU countries, these are very mild. A maximum of four are allowed to sit at a single table in a restaurant. Up to eight people are allowed to meet. Shops and tourist accommodation remain open.”

It does not look like as if Sweden fares worse than the European lockdown countries.  Still, it was announced that a majority of Germans want stricter and tougher lockdown rules and that Angela Merkel should have more authority over the German states. Of course, one has to be very careful with those polls as many are manipulated and ask ambiguous questions. Still, if true, do these Germans really know what they are asking for?

Former German Minister of Interior, Thomas de Maizière (CDU), is demanding a change of the German constitution to allow the enforcement of emergency laws (“Ausnahmezustand”) by the government in case of a crisis (Die Welt, April 3).

The Guardian reported on April 5:

“The interior minister, Horst Seehofer, said a nationwide approach was the only way for the country to effectively fight the virus’s spread. ‘There is a great desire among the population for unified rules,’ he told the newspaper Welt am Sontag. ‘Therefore my proposal is to establish uniform rules with a federal law … which would prescribe which measures have to be taken according to the incidence value.’”

Such a law would deprive the German states of their authority… a dangerous precedence for Germany’s government which has historically proven to abuse empowering laws once it has the chance.

 The Associated Press reported on April 3 that “Germany’s president [Frank-Walter Steinmeier] says the country is enduring a ‘crisis of trust’… amid pandemic restrictions and dissatisfaction over the government´s response… [He] conceded that ‘there were mistakes’ regarding testing, digital solutions and vaccinations.” “Mistakes” is a very mild term. In fact, Germany’s mishandling shows complete incompetence of Germany’s leaders while they are desperately trying, including through unconstitutional dictatorial means, to stay in power.

Deutsche Welle wrote on April 5:

“North Rhine Westphalia (NRW) State Premier Armin Laschet called for a harder lockdown [or “bridge lockdown”] on Monday… However, Laschet’s request has been met with skepticism from fellow German lawmakers… The chairman of the CDU and one of [Merkel’s] potential successors as chancellor…  is asking for fewer private contacts, which could require curfews at night, and for more people to work from home… ‘I think a lot of what Mr Laschet says is unclear,’ said Berlin State Premier Michael Mueller (SPD)… ‘I don’t think Mr Laschet has thought things through.’

“The co-chairwoman of The Left party, Janine Wissler also criticized Laschet… ‘Whether his proposals are based on insight or because he has lost the power struggle against the chancellor, remains [to] be seen. In any case, this crisis management makes one become fearful and anxious.’”

Laschet’s NRW has become one of the most dictatorial and liberty-restricting states in Germany—and not only in regard to coronavirus measures and lockdowns.

The Daily Mail wrote on April 7:

“Angela Merkel has called for a ‘short national lockdown’ to curb Germany’s coronavirus crisis… It comes a fortnight [two weeks] after Merkel made a humiliating apology for the ‘mistake’ of trying to impose a five-day Easter lockdown… But today, her spokeswoman, Ulrike Demmer signalled another flip-flop by the Chancellor.”

According to Bild Online, dated April 7, Bavaria’s Markus Soeder rejected these concepts, saying that this is not the time for “experiments” and that the present coronavirus infection numbers in Germany do not give an accurate and honest picture. Actually, they have not done so for a long time.

Reuters reported on March 31:

“Finland’s government has withdrawn a proposal to confine people largely to their own homes in several cities to help curb the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic… The decision followed a statement from a constitutional law committee that deemed the proposal too vague and not in compliance with the constitution.”

The Brussels Times wrote on March 31:

“The Belgian State has been ordered to lift ‘all coronavirus measures’ within 30 days, as the legal basis for them is insufficient, a Brussels court ruled on Wednesday… The judge gave the Belgian State 30 days to provide a sound legal basis, or face a penalty of €5,000 per day that this period is exceeded, with a maximum limit of €200,000…”

Other (European) countries should follow Finland’s and Belgium’s lead.

ECHR: Compulsory Vaccinations May Be Necessary!

 Deutsche Welle wrote on April 8:

 “The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg ruled Thursday that compulsory vaccinations  would not contravene human rights law and may be necessary in democratic societies. The ruling came following conclusion of a complaint brought to the court by Czech families regarding compulsory jabs for children… Although the ruling did not deal directly with COVID-19 vaccines, experts believe it could have implications for the vaccination drive against the virus, especially for those who have so far stated a refusal to accept the jab.

“This judgment ‘reinforces the possibility of a compulsory vaccination under conditions of the current COVID-19 epidemic,’ Nicolas Hervieu, a legal expert specializing in the ECHR, told AFP news agency… The decision said that the compulsory vaccines administered by Czech health authorities were in line with the ‘best interests’ of children… By Czech law, children must be vaccinated against nine diseases including diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, hepatitis B and measles. The case was brought to the court by families who had been fined, or whose children had been refused access to a nursery for failing to comply with their legal vaccination duty.”

How Reliable Are Big Surveys regarding Vaccine Passports?

Breitbart wrote on April 1:

“Britain is a nation of cowed, compliant, gullible, vaccine passport bootlickers, if you believe the latest survey from Ipsos MORI. Apparently, eight out of 10 Britons think there should be ‘vaccine passports’ for people who want to work as ‘a frontline worker or in the NHS or care sector’. A majority (58 per cent) actually believe you ought to take the jab merely to be allowed to travel on public transport. Have the liberty-loving British really turned so quickly into a nation of joyless, vaccine-compliant, Big-Government-worshipping bootlickers?

“I have my doubts… lots of people [are] enjoying themselves in the sun at Nottingham Park… mainstream media lockdown addicts tried to reframe this as a ‘Covidiots go mad outdoors’ disaster story. But what I see is people behaving naturally — and not buying into the government narrative that coronavirus is just waiting to kill them as soon as they open their mouths…

“Ipsos MORI… suggests to respondents that if ‘vaccine passports’ are adopted, it ‘could lead to coronavirus restrictions being lifted more quickly.’ Ipsos MORI must know — because everyone is feeling it — that people are now so desperate for ‘coronavirus restrictions’ to be ‘lifted more quickly’ that they’d happily sell their grandmothers into slavery and their children to Satan…

“At the time of writing, 90 per cent of respondents have answered that they think the results of COVID polls from the big polling companies are ‘poll-ox’. For once, this is an unscientific opinion poll with credibility.”

Depending on how issues are framed and whether “leading” questions are asked, the desired poll results are predictable.

Police in London Shut Down Worship Service

The Daily Mail wrote on April 3:

“A Good Friday service at a Polish church was shut down by police for breaching Covid rules as worshippers were threatened with £200 fines. Officers shut down the religious ceremony in Balham High Street, south London, at around 5pm yesterday. Footage shared on social media shows an officer tell worshippers that the gathering is ‘unlawful’ and that they have to go home.

“But the parish Parafia Chrystusa Krola — Christ the Believer — has issued a statement saying it believes police ‘brutally exceeded their powers’…

“Official coronavirus guidance states communal worship or prayer can be attended by as many people as a place of worship can accommodate, as long as they are socially distanced. People are also encouraged not to mingle after a service and go back to their homes as quickly as possible.

“In the video, a police officer tells a church full of worshippers wearing face masks that they have to stop the Good Friday service. He says: ‘You are not allowed to meet inside with this many people under law. At this moment in time you need to go home. Failure to comply with this direction to leave and go to your home address, ultimately could lead you to be fined £200 or, if you fail to give your details, to you being arrested…’

“People on social media have slammed the police for shutting down the service, labelling the handling of the situation ‘disproportionate‘. One wrote: ‘I’m actually ashamed of what you did on Good Friday of all days. Stop hiding behind Covid transmission, when we see large scale protests being facilitated at this very minute in London.’”

Breitbart added on April 4:

“The move caused considerable anger among conservatives who traditionally back the police in the face of violent protesters calling to defund them, accusations of ‘institutional racism’, and so on, with Brexit champion Nigel Farage, for example, sharing a video of the ‘bust’ and commenting, ‘I want to support our police forces but this sort of thing makes it very difficult.’”

The police action would have been clearly disproportionate and inexcusable. Sadly, such autocratic actions are not limited to England. Paris just deployed 6,600 police to enforce new coronavirus lockdown rules “which include a ban on traveling more than 10 kilometers (6 miles), a ban on outdoor gatherings of six people or more and a continued nationwide 7 p.m. curfew” (Breitbart, April 3).

Polish Church Stands Up to Police in Canada

Breitbart reported on April 4:

“Police were … expelled from a Polish church in Alberta, Canada after disrupting an Easter service… Pastor Artur Pawlowski ordered the six officers who descended on the Cave of Adullam Church out of the property… accusing them of ‘intimidating people in a church during the Passover’… Pawloski said to the camera as the officers walked away. ‘Passover. The holiest Christian festival in a year, and they’re coming to intimidate Christians during the holiest festival — unbelievable!’ he exclaimed…

“The pastor had been polite but firm with the half-dozen officers originally, telling them: ‘Please get out, get out of this property, immediately get out’ as they clustered together a short distance inside the building. He became markedly firmer as they attempted to linger and put questions to him, insisting: ‘I don’t want to hear a word. Out! Out! Out of this property immediately, until you come back with a warrant — out!’

“Pawloski chastised them as ‘Nazis’ and declared that ‘Gestapo is not welcome here’ as they straggled out, largely in silence…”

The parallels are there, except that the Gestapo, once in full power, might have used their guns and shot everyone.

But Not So in Ireland

ADF International wrote on April 1:

“Irish Christians cannot gather to worship at church this Easter Weekend. This month marks nearly a full year of the blanket ban on public worship being in place throughout the country. Supermarkets and hardware stores remain open with precautions in place, as well as public transport – yet churches are deemed too dangerous to open their doors, even to masked and distanced worshippers… In response to a challenge at the High Court, the government has confirmed that it is a criminal offense for a priest to conduct mass unless for the purpose of a funeral or a wedding. Similarly, worshippers could face a fine or up to 6 months jail time for leaving their homes to attend a place of worship…

“Recently, Scotland’s top civil court found that a similar blanket ban on worship was unlawful… In November, Westminster’s chief medical and scientific advisors conceded that evidence for church closures was… ‘not based on scientific fact.’”

In light of such inconsistent guesswork, words fail…

Facebook—the new Roman Empire?

Breitbart wrote on April 3:

“Here’s a recent headline to ponder from… Axios: ‘The sovereign state of Facebook vs. the world.’… Axios was exaggerating, of course; Facebook is not a sovereign state (although it does plan to issue its own currency). So yes, Facebook is huge and powerful, bidding to be a key partner in… the international reordering of world power, in favor of the powerful. As the article details: ‘Facebook’s 3 billion monthly active users, its mountain of money and its control over the flow of information all put the company on an equal footing with governments around the world — and, increasingly, it’s getting into fights with them’…

“… every conservative recalls that back in January, Facebook banned Donald Trump, even as it continued to allow repressive foreign countries, such as the People’s Republic of China (PRC), as well as left-wing extremists, to flourish on its site. Heck, it’s been reported that Facebook has actually hired citizens of the PRC to help with its censoring.

“Meanwhile, Facebook’s March 3 announcement that it would resume accepting American political advertisements was treated as huge news… Facebook is the single most important media company in America today, and so of course politicians are happy to pay to be seen on its platform.

“… Facebook… founder and CEO, Mark Zuckerberg [displays] many similarities [with] Augustus Caesar, the first Roman emperor… Zuckerberg has manifestly sought to model himself after that ancient empire-builder…

 “Zuckerberg and Facebook have been fashioning themselves into some sort of world state.  Just last month, The New Yorker magazine published a 7,500-word article, headlined, ‘Inside the Making of Facebook’s Supreme Court.’ As the piece detailed, Facebook has spent more than $100 million to create its own planetary governing body, formally known as the Oversight Board, aimed at adjudicating questions of content and censorship…

“Its stock price has increased by more than a third in the last year, such that Zuckerberg himself is worth almost $100 billion. And yet still, empires fall… no empire, no greatness, is permanent… And yet the globe-girdling social network has so much embedded power and momentum that it will likely do just fine in the future; for instance, if Facebook can work with the Democrats to put the focus on heavy content-moderation, it can create a barrier against smaller rivals, which won’t be able to afford such content-moderation… the Biden administration’s new trade chief, Katherine Tai, announced  just on March 26 that the U.S. government would be imposing tariffs on countries that added taxes to big U.S. digital firms, including Facebook…”

The dangerous influence and power of Facebook is obvious.

Star Wars’ Trans Jedi Knights

Breitbart wrote on March 31:

“The official Facebook page for the Star Wars movie franchise celebrated ‘Trans Day of Visibility’ on Wednesday by unveiling the recently created characters Terec and Ceret, who are ‘trans non-binary Jedi Knights.’ ‘In honor of #TransDayOfVisibility,’ the caption to the artwork reads, ‘we’re proud to unveil an exclusive cover highlighting Terec and Ceret, trans non-binary Jedi, currently featured in Marvel’s The High Republic comic. We support trans lives and we are passionate and committed to broadening our representation in a galaxy far far way.’

“The High Republic project is a new multi-media ‘sub-franchise’ made up of books for kids, young adult and adult novels, and comic books intended to expand the Star Wars universe into all new stories set 200 years before the saga of Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader. The Star Wars franchise has taken criticism from left-wing activists for its reluctance to introduce fully realized LGBTQ characters into its Skywalker saga movies, books, and comics.

“LGBT Star Wars characters often appeared in fan stories before Disney bought the franchise but some also appeared in officially licensed computer games, novels, and comics. But the blockbuster movies steered clear of gay representation for the most part, bringing criticism onto the franchise. Disney included a lesbian kissing scene in 2019’s Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Disney made headlines later when it removed the lesbian kiss scene from the film in Singapore, bending to the country’s strict rules surrounding LGBT content in Singapore

“The effort to add LGBT characters has become a concerted effort since 2012, when Disney acquired the property from Lucasfilm for $4 billion. Since the purchase, Disney has been steadily adding LGBT characters to every part of the franchise. The characters are considered ‘cannon,’ and are therefore sanctioned and permanent additions to Star Wars stories.”

At the same time, the Disney franchise warns against Disney movies such as Peter Pan, Dumbo or Aristocats as racially or ethnically problematic. Disney would turn in his grave if he knew what has become of his accomplishments.

California’s Schools to Destroy Christianity?

Israel 365 News wrote on March 29:

“The Department of Education in California… has approved a 900-page ‘Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum’ designed to ‘decolonize’ America. The program aims to right the supposed wrongs of the imperial Christianity that swept the Americas clean of their indigenous religions. The curriculum’s core promise is that it will help root out Christianity, and the capitalism and racism that apparently came with it.

“To empower children as forces for ending such white colonialist hangovers, pupils are being instructed to pray in chants each day to Aztec gods that formerly sacrificed (and sometimes ate parts of) children and their parents. The curriculum instructs the pupils to invoke these gods to empower themselves as ‘social warriors’…

“Huitzilopochtli, the former Aztec god of war and sun, is expected to be particularly helpful in the new curriculum’s mission to right these wrongs. Students are encouraged to entreat Huitzilopochtli (a deity who inspired hundreds of thousands of human sacrifices during Aztec rule) to endow themselves with ‘a revolutionary spirit’ in order to bring ‘transformation’ in combatting ‘white supremacy, racism and other forms of power and oppression.’

“It is not enough, apparently, in today’s ethnic studies to learn about other religions. Children must be made to practice those religions… the new curriculum ‘recommends that teachers lead their students in a series of indigenous songs, chants, and affirmations, including the “In Lak Ech Affirmation,” which appeals directly to the Aztec gods.’ As the pupils chant and clap to the gods, including Tezkatlipoka (the vengeful god of night and sorcery), Quetzalcoatl (the Feathered Serpent regarded as the god of wind and rain), and Xipe Totek (the life-death-rebirth deity who wears a suit of flayed human skin), they will be instructed to seek ‘healing beliefs’ while attaining revolutionary empowerment. The students will shout ‘Panche beh! Panche beh…! You are my other self,’ appealing to the gods to give them critical consciousness.”IF TRUE, then this would be the most blatant blasphemous attempt of California’s Department of Education to teach our children idolatrous concepts and practices in complete violation of God’s biblical commands NEVER to do that.

Village News wrote on March 30:

“California’s state education board unanimously approved a model ethnic studies curriculum Thursday, March 25, after years of divisive debate, multiple drafts and more than 100,000 public comments about the proposal. The nearly 900-page curriculum focuses on ‘historically marginalized peoples’ – particularly racial minorities – and calls on students to study the ‘imperialism, settler colonialism and genocide, both cultural and physical’ of those peoples.

“The curriculum made national headlines early in March after Discovery Institute scholar Christopher Rufo, who researches ‘woke’ ideology in public education, released details of a draft lesson plan about pre-Columbian American history. The lesson plan called for the ‘decolonization’ of American society and would have students chant to the Aztec god of human sacrifice. One of the ‘lesson resources’ included in the draft curriculum would have teachers lead students in an ‘ethnic studies community chant’ to various Aztec gods for the power to become ‘warriors’ of social justice. The lesson plan linked a video showing what appeared to be students participating in a unity chant with similar language described.

“The ‘chants, affirmations, and energizer can be used as energizers to bring the class together, build unity around ethnic studies principles and values and to reinvigorate the class following a lesson that may be emotionally taxing or even when student engagement may appear to be low,’ according to the draft curriculum.

“Tezkatlipoka, one of the Aztec gods mentioned in the chant, is associated with cannibalism and human sacrifice according to the World History Encyclopedia…

“In a March 10 report about the curriculum published in City Journal, Rufo detailed the radical ideas espoused by R. Tolteka Cuauhtin, the original co-chair of the ethnic studies curriculum who worked on the pre-Columbian American history material. Cuauhtin’s book ‘Rethinking Ethnic Studies,’ which is referenced throughout the lesson plan, denounced the U.S. as a ‘Eurocentric, White supremacist, capitalist, patriarchal, heteropatriarchal and anthropocentric paradigm.’ Cuauhtin also claimed White Christians are responsible for ‘coloniality, dehumanization and genocide’ against Native Americans because European colonization of the Americas led to the replacement of indigenous religions with Christianity.

“The curriculum materials call for ‘transformational resistance’ against the ‘hegemonic Eurocentric neocolonial condition.’ One of the terms included in the lesson plan is ‘countergenocide.’ ‘The chants have a clear implication: the displacement of the Christian God, which is said to be an extension of White supremacist oppression and the restoration of the indigenous gods to their rightful place in the social justice cosmology,’ Rufo said in City Journal.

“The ethnic studies curriculum may have been approved by the state education board, but it is still only a recommendation for districts that want to incorporate ethnic studies and not yet a statewide requirement….”

However, it is to be feared that many schools and teachers in California will adopt these blasphemous concepts and practices, and that other states will follow California’s terrible lead.

Snopes, a California fact-checking website which is considered “one of the best” by the left-wing media, and which is run by a couple (husband and wife), wrote on March 31:

“The California Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum (ESMC), which schools can voluntarily adopt or not, suggests that students participate in a ‘community chant’ that includes references to ‘tezkatlipoka’ and ‘huitzilopochtli,’ which are translated as ‘self reflection’ and ‘the will to act,’ respectively. Some historical accounts describe those words as the names of gods to whom the Aztecs carried out human sacrifices. However… Tezkatlipoca and huitzilopochtli are presented in the community chant not as gods of human sacrifice, but as the names of broad indigenous concepts that teach students self-reflection and action…”

Even if the last comments were true, it would make no difference (in fact, it would make it even more dangerous due to the intentional cover-up and secrecy as to what was happening) because these names clearly are associated with awful pagan gods or demons, and the Apostle Paul tells us that we are not to come in contact with demons in any way. Snopes also falsely claims in the article that accounts of mass human sacrifices by Aztecs, if true at all, are largely exaggerated.

Archbishop of Canterbury Warns Against Suppression of Opinion

 Daily Mail wrote on March 31:

“The Archbishop of Canterbury has railed against the creeping trend of cancel culture as a ‘huge threat’ to the Church of England’s future. Justin Welby also defended the right to freedom of speech after a teacher was suspended for showing his class a cartoon of the Prophet Muhammad. In a rare intervention, the head of the Church waded into the row engulfing the school in Batley, West Yorkshire, where the teacher has gone into hiding after furious protests from Muslim parents….

“He further slammed cancel culture and those that are trying to expunge Britain’s history. Statues of controversial figures have been targeted by campaigners, and last year a Bristol monument to the slave trader Edward Colston was memorably toppled… Welby said: ‘We can’t erase the past. It’s impossible. We have to learn from it sometimes, often, always… We cannot cancel history. We cannot cancel differences of opinion.’ …

“The Archbishop noted it was an alarming trend growing at UK universities, where controversial speakers have been no-platformed.”

Not Race, but Suitability?

Daily Mail wrote on April 2:

“Lady Colin Campbell today claimed that Princess Anne is the royal Meghan and Harry accused of racism in their bombshell interview with Oprah – but insisted the Queen’s daughter was completely misunderstood by the Sussexes…

“’There were no concerns about Meghan’s colour. Princess Anne was rightly concerned that if the marriage proceeded and there were children there would be huge problems, not because of Meghan’s colour, but because of Meghan’s inability and determination to remain unable to appreciate the cultural differences’. “

Trump Warns against Use of Addictive Substances

The New York Post wrote on April 2:

“Former President Donald Trump took a thinly veiled shot at his White House successor, saying the key to good parenting is keeping kids away from drugs, cigarettes and booze. The… father of five took the apparent swipe at President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter — who has detailed his lifelong struggles with alcohol and drugs in a new memoir — during a Thursday interview with Real America’s Voice anchor Gina Loudon. ‘You have to talk to them, you have to be with them,’ Trump told Loudon. ‘A lot [of] people… don’t give their children enough time.’

“Trump, 74, whose brother Fred died of alcoholism in 1981, then stressed the importance of keeping his kids away from addictive substances. ‘You could have good children, but if they start with the drugs or the alcohol – and I always add cigarettes in there too, frankly – but I say no drugs, no alcohol, no cigarettes and I’ve said it for years to all of them,’ the former commander-in-chief told Loudon. Trump said he stresses his stern anti-drug and alcohol stance to his five children from three marriages – Don Jr., Ivanka, Eric, Tiffany and Barron – to the point that they start ‘going wild’ in response to his fatherly wisdom. ‘You know, they don’t like it,’ Trump said. ‘But it really, so far, I think, has had a pretty good impact.’

“Without elaborating, Trump then told Loudon he had witnessed ‘some really great children go bad’ because… ‘they get hooked on drugs or alcohol, and you really just can’t let that happen, because once that happens, then you’re dealing in a new ballgame,’ Trump told Loudon…

“Hunter Biden’s new memoir, ‘Beautiful Things,’ in which he details his struggle with substance addiction following the 2015 death of his older brother, Beau, who died of brain cancer at 46, will be released on April 6. The 51-year-old Biden has had at least six stints in rehab for alcoholism and drug addiction, including a crack cocaine binge in 2016. Three years later, The Post exclusively revealed that Hunter Biden was suspected of smoking crack at a Washington, DC, strip club where he dropped ‘thousands of dollars’ during multiple visits.”

We would agree with Donald Trump that one should stay away from drugs and cigarettes. However, the Bible does not prohibit the moderate use of alcohol and even recommends it. On the other hand, a former or recovering alcoholic must avoid the consumption of alcohol at all costs. (The only exception for such a person is the consumption of a very small portion of alcohol during the Passover evening, for truly converted Christians, after much prayer to God for His special protection on that occasion.)

 Easter Bonfires.. once pagan but now no more…?

Deutsche Welle wrote on April 4:

“It’s a tradition almost everywhere in Germany to light a big Easter bonfire. The originally pagan custom, which celebrates the arrival of spring, was adopted by Christians to represent the resurrection of Christ…”

God does not accept this kind of worship which has its roots in paganism. He condemns it thoroughly.

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.

The passage in question reads as follows in the New King James Bible: “Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves.”

Let us review Christ’s different statements one at a time.

First, He speaks of His disciples as sheep in the midst of wolves.

Barnes Notes on the Bible states: “I send you, inoffensive and harmless, into a cold, unfriendly, and cruel world.” The Benson Commentary adds: “I now send you forth weak and defenceless among a wicked, cruel, and persecuting people.” Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary elaborates: “Our Lord warned his disciples to prepare for persecution. They were to avoid all things which gave advantage to their enemies, all meddling with worldly or political concerns, all appearance of evil or selfishness, and all underhand measures.”

In Acts 20:29 and in Luke 10:3, wolves are used as symbols of persecutors and predators. Christ sends us into the world, in the midst of wolves, to overcome them. He wants us to withstand them, and with His help, we will.

In our Q&A, we stated the following about the symbolism of wolves, as referring to world-ruling empires:

“Habakkuk 1:6-8… describes the final rise of the modern Chaldeans—a bitter, hasty, terrible and dreadful nation. In verse 8, God says that they are ‘more fierce than evening wolves’… modern Israel and Judah are described as devouring wolves (compare Zephaniah 3:3 and Ezekiel 22:27, referring to Jerusalem’s judges as wolves, leaving not a bone till morning, and also to Israel’s princes as wolves, tearing the prey, shedding blood, and destroying people)…

“Savage wolves are also used as metaphors for people who are opposed to God and His Church. Christ speaks about false prophets, coming to God’s people, as ‘ravenous wolves’ (Matthew 7:15), and Paul warns the church at Ephesus that after his departure, savage wolves would come in among them, not sparing the flock (Acts 20:29). Christ said that those wolves would catch the unprotected and forsaken sheep and scatter them (John 10:12), because they trusted in uncaring hirelings and not in God’s true shepherds. Christ told His disciples that He would send them as sheep in the midst of wolves (Matthew 10:16). Especially in the end time, when the beast (the final revival of the Roman Empire as well as the final leader) will be manifested on earth, it will behave as a ravenous savage wolf against God’s people. While the world will admire, adore and even worship the beast, it will blaspheme God and persecute the saints (Revelation 13:6-8).”

In our Q&A, we added the following warning against wolves coming to the church:

“On the website whatchristianswanttoknow, we read an excellent description headed ‘The sneaky wolf. They hide until the time is right.’ Continuing: ‘Wolves are sneaky. They watch the prey and plan the attack. The sneaky wolf [that is, a] false prophet is in the church watching and waiting. He is the one who calls secret meetings. He gains the trust of folks and then rises up to attack, taking innocent victims with him. The Bible is clear about how God will deal with these sneaky wolves.”

On the other hand, in Matthew 10:16 (and also in Luke 10:3), Christ is primarily speaking about His disciples being sent, as sheep or lambs, to or among wolves, not the other way around. How then can sheep or lambs be surviving and successful in such a hostile environment of ravenous wolves?

Christ gives the answer in His statements about serpents and doves. It may be helpful to look at some alternate translations of Matthew 10:16.

The New American Standard Bible says: “Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be as wary as serpents, and as innocent as doves.”

The Good News Translation reads: “Listen! I am sending you out just like sheep to a pack of wolves. You must be as cautious as snakes and as gentle as doves.”

Smith’s Literal Translation reads: “Behold I send you as sheep in the midst of wolves; be ye therefore discerning as serpents, and pure as doves.”

The Mace New Testament says: “By your mission you will be exposed like sheep in the midst of wolves: be then as circumspect as serpents, and as inoffensive as doves.”

Regarding doves in particular, Moffat speaks of being “guileless as doves.”

The Luther Bibles, as well as Schlachter, Menge and Zürcher translate consistently, “be without falsity as doves” (“ohne falsch wie die Tauben”), and Die Gute Nachricht and Hoffnung fuer alle say, “without deceit” (“ohne Hinterlist”).

We might readily accept the concept of the pure, gentle, guileless and inoffensive innocence of a harmless dove without falsity, which we must incorporate, but we may have an initial problem with viewing serpents as “wise” which we have to imitate. Of course, Christ did not refer to Satan, the serpent (Revelation 12:9; 2 Corinthians 11:3), demons which we will tread upon (Luke 10:19) or the Pharisees whom He calls “serpents” (Matthew 23:33). Rather, Christ had something different in mind.

Gotquestions states the following:

“Jesus was using similes (figures of speech that compare two unlike things) to instruct His disciples in how to behave in their ministry. Just before He tells them to be wise as serpents and harmless as doves, He warns them that they were being sent out ‘like sheep among wolves.’

“The world, then as now, was hostile to believers—not incidentally hostile, but purposefully hostile. Wolves are intentional about the harm they inflict upon sheep… Jesus taught His followers that, to be Christlike in a godless world, they must combine the wisdom of the serpent with the harmlessness of the dove… As we take the gospel to a hostile world, we must be wise (avoiding the snares set for us), and we must be innocent (serving the Lord blamelessly)… Wisdom does not equal dishonesty, and innocence does not equal gullibility…

“Jesus showed that He was as wise as a serpent in the way He taught. He knew enough to discern the differences in His audiences (a critical skill)… He refused to be caught in the many traps that His enemies laid for Him… Jesus showed that He was as harmless as a dove in every circumstance. He lived a pure and holy life… He acted in compassion… and He challenged anyone to find fault in Him… Three times, Pilate judged Jesus to be an innocent man…”

Calvarynexus.org adds:

“Jesus sends His disciples out as sheep in the midst of wolves [Matt. 10:16]. They were being sent as His ambassadors to a world that opposed His reign. His disciples are like seemingly vulnerable sheep among seemingly hostile wolves. But the key to being effective is not to be sheepish… they needed to be both wise as serpents and harmless as doves.

 “To be wise as a serpent relates to being prudent, careful, and intelligent. It has the connotation of [being] able to deal with the likely challenges or dangers of life in a potentially threatening place. To be harmless as doves has an association of gentleness and peace; but the Greek term also relates to purity, innocence, and simplicity.”

The word for  “wise“ (phronimos) means, according to Strong’s #5429, “thoughtful, i.e. sagacious or discreet (implying a cautious character).” Young defines it as: “mindful, prudent, provident.”  It is used, for example, in an approving sense in  Matthew 7:24; 24:45; 25:2; describing the wise man building his house on the rock; the faithful and wise servant; and the five wise virgins.

The Pulpit Commentary describes the “wise serpents” in this way: “Wise. Prudent… The prudence of the serpent is specially apparent in the quickness of its perception of danger and the rapidity with which it escapes from it.”

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges adds: “wise=prudent, full of precaution.”

Vincent’s Word Studies states: “Denoting prudence with regard to their own safety.”

Barnes Notes on the Bible writes: “Probably the thing in which Christ directed his followers to imitate the serpent was in its caution in avoiding danger. No animal equals them in the rapidity and skill which they evince in escaping danger. So said Christ to his disciples, You need caution and wisdom in the midst of a world that will seek your lives.”

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible commentary states: “… the wisdom of the serpent would save them from unnecessary exposure to danger.”

Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible writes: “The serpent… is… to be imitated by the followers of Christ, as to make use of all proper methods to preserve themselves from the insults and rage of men, and not expose themselves to unnecessary dangers: and, as much as in them lies, they should be careful to give no just occasion of offence, or irritate, and provoke them to use them ill, and to avoid all snares and traps that are laid for them.”

But Christ also says that we must be harmless as doves.

The word for “harmless”, (akeraios) means, according to Strong’s #185, “unmixed, i.e. fig. innocent, — harmless, simple (Phil. 2:15).” Others state that the word could also mean “sincere.” A related word (akakos) can be found in Hebrews 7:26.

The Pulpit Commentary describes the harmless doves as “literally ‘unmixed, unadulterated’ and emphasizes the idea of simplicity of character.”

Vincent’s Word Studies points out: “Lit. unmixed… Used of wine without water… Hence guiltless. So Luther, without falsity (Compare Romans 16:19, Philippians 2:15).”

“Barnes Notes on the Bible states: “He directs them, also, to be harmless, not to provoke danger, not to do injury, and thus make their fellow-men justly enraged against them. Doves are, and always have been, a striking emblem of innocence.”

Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible writes: “… maintain the innocence and harmlessness of the dove, being free from all wicked cunning and craftiness, without rancour, malice, and wrath; not meditating and seeking revenge, but meek and humble in their deportment, leading inoffensive lives, and proceeding in the course of their calling, though liable to many insults, and much oppression.”

The Life Application Bible summarizes Christ’s statement regarding the serpents and the doves, quite appropriately, in this way: “We are not to be gullible pawns but neither are we to be deceitful connivers.”

To conclude, Christ sent us into the world to fulfill God’s commission and plan for us (John 17:18), but we are not to be of the world (John 17:16). We are to be aware of the fact that the world is hostile towards God and His Way of Life, full of ravenous wolves which are ready to tear us apart. But following Christ’s admonition and with His help, we can be victorious, if we behave wise as serpents and harmless as doves.

Lead Writer: Norbert Link

compiled by Dave Harris

“Azetec Demons in California Schools?” is the title of a new StandingWatch program, presented by Evangelist Norbert Link. Here is a summary: 

Is the Department of Education in California recommending to invite demons into our schools, by instructing pupils to “pray in chants each day to Aztec gods that formerly sacrificed children and their parents”? Some reports ring alarm bells, while others try to diminish or explain away what is happening. This program will explore what is really going on… and what you as parents or students must do.

“Are Jews and Christians at Odds with Jesus Christ?” is the title of our NEWEST BOOKLET. It is now posted, and copies will be sent to our mailing list and to those who request it. Printing of hard copies has begun.

“Mein Tröster, warum lässt Du auf Dich warten?” the afternoon Offertory presented in Germany on the last day of Unleavened Bread by Robert Kintzi, is now posted. Title in English: My God, Why Do We Have To Wait So Long For You?

“Discerning Salvation,” the morning sermonette presented on the last day of Unleavened Bread by Frank Bruno, is now posted. Here is a summary:

Each of us face a variety of decisions every day—of course some are more critical than others. Occasionally we may be confronted with choices that challenge us to the core of our humanity. To those that God has called He has an expectation that we will use the blessings and skills that He has imbued us with. This is the ability to discern the correct choices and pathway that is in keeping with God’s commandments. During this Passover observance and the Feast of Unleavened Bread we reinforced our understanding that in taking part in the Passover observance we are to first discern the Body of Christ. We are to be aware of His life and that He died so that we could gain access to the Kingdom and the blessing of eternal life with Jesus and the Father. Discernment is a blessing from God and in this Sermonette on the Last Day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread we shall together explore the scriptures that will help us to better understand this blessing and the purpose in our lives.

“Overcoming—It’s For Life!” the morning sermon presented on the last day of Unleavened Bread by Dave Harris, is now posted. Here is a summary:

Do you want to live forever, inherit all things and become part of the Family of God? Only those who overcome will do so! Is that what you are doing with your life right now?

“How Deep?” the afternoon Offertory presented on the last day of Unleavened Bread by Kalon Mitchell, is now posted. Here is a summary:

We do heavy spring cleaning before the Days of Unleavened Bread! How do we transition this from being just about a physical activity to being a spiritual one? How can we use the days we have been through to be cleaner as we move forward?

“What Happened Historically During the Days of Unleavened Bread?” the afternoon sermon presented on the last day of Unleavened Bread by Norbert Link, is now posted. Here is a summary:

In this sermon, we will discuss historical events which took place during the Days of Unleavened Bread. These occurrences do not only have literal meaning, but they also have symbolic relevance for us. The godly injunctions and admonitions are surely  important for us today.