On August 2, 2025, Paul Niehoff will present the sermonette, titled, “William Tyndale,” and Kalon Mitchell will present the sermon, titled, “Beyond the Basics of Obedience.”

The live services are available, over video and audio, at http://eternalgod.org/live-services/ (12:30 pm Pacific Time; 1:30 pm Mountain Time; 2:30 pm Central Time; 3:30 pm Eastern Time; 8:30 pm Greenwich Mean Time; 9:30 pm Central European Time). Just click on Connect to Live Stream.

Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong’s favorite Scripture was Psalm 133:1-3, which reads:

“Behold, how good and how pleasant it is For brethren to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious oil upon the head, Running down on the beard, The beard of Aaron, Running down on the edge of his garments. It is like the dew of Hermon, Descending upon the mountains of Zion; For there the LORD commanded the blessing—Life forevermore.”

We cannot have this kind of unity unless we are like-minded; that is, think alike and being on the same page.

Paul gave us this admonition in Philippians 2:5: “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus…”

When the mind of Christ is internalized in our minds, there is harmony. The competition is gone and the focus is turned to accomplishing the task given to us by God. The spotlight is not on us but on Christ and our Creator God, with the desire to fulfill His Will in our lives.

It’s not just the mind of Christ in our minds, but the mind of the Father also.

In John 17:19-24, Christ says this in His prayer to God the Father:

“And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth. I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word;  that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one:  I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me. Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.”

It is really incredible that God and Christ live in our minds through the Holy Spirit, but to what end?

Their Spirit in us does not force their Will upon us, since we are free moral agents. What They do is to influence our thinking to make proper judgments and decisions. They also open our minds to spiritual truths and spiritual understanding of Scripture—not just the understanding of what is written in the physical sense, but a deeper spiritual understanding of the intent of Scripture, which is a tremendous blessing, allowing us to grow in biblical knowledge.

In order to maintain this status, we have to be faithful in the study and meditation of the Word of God, lest we forget through neglect. We must make certain that this close relationship with God is maintained.

This knowledge should act as a catalyst to be zealous in our study and meditation of God’s Word, the Bible.

Flesh and blood cannot enter the Kingdom of God, as we read in 1 Corinthians 15:50-53: “Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed—in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.”

The only thing moving forward into the Kingdom is our minds preserved by our human spirit which, combined with the Holy Spirit of God which had been bestowed on us, will be placed in a new spiritual body given to us by God. Let us ensure we remain faithful to the end to receive eternal life in God’s Family.

by Norbert Link

We begin with developments in the Middle East with special emphasis on anti-Israel and pro-Palestinian movements; and speak on the costs of tariffs and a (proposed) deal between the USA and the EU.

Please view in this regard our in-depth analysis of this situation with many articles not quoted in these Current Events in our new StandingWatch program, titled, “US-EU Trade Deal—Biggest Deal Ever Made, or a Disaster?” 

We continue with Obama’s “big lie”; veterans’ opposition to the deployment of Marines to assist ICE; the question as to whether ICE raids will backfire; FCC’s suspicious approval of an eight billion dollar merger; and the possible underlying reasons for the termination of former ABC News reporter Terry Moran.

We continue with legal challenges to Trump’s order to do away with birthright citizenship; the fact that more and more Americans are leaving the USA; the question as to Trump’s successor; Trump’s art of detraction (which might or might not help in the Epstein case); speculation that a new conflict might soon be “manufactured”; and Jay Leno’s advice for late-night comedians.

We speak on Ukraine’s perceived descent into a corrupt dictatorship; and conclude with strong criticism regarding Britain’s Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

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

France to Recognize Palestinian State 

JTA wrote on July 25: 

“President Emmanuel Macron says France plans to recognize a Palestinian state during his appearance at the United Nations’ General Assembly in September. The move is ‘consistent with [France’s] historic commitment to a just and lasting peace in the Middle East,’ Macron wrote… The announcement — which appeared in French, English, Arabic and Hebrew — came as a surprise after Macron backed out of a meeting with Saudi Arabia next week, delayed from June, at which Palestinian statehood was expected to be discussed. 

“The announcement is largely symbolic. But it is a powerful symbol, coming as France and other allies have grown frustrated with Israel’s war in Gaza and alarmed by the humanitarian catastrophe unfolding there. France is by far the largest and most influential country to recognize a Palestinian state. It also has the largest Jewish population of any country to have done so. [And it is the only known nuclear power in Europe besides the UK.] 

“Israeli officials panned Macron’s announcement. ‘Such a move rewards terror and risks creating another Iranian proxy, just as Gaza became,’ Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement. ‘A Palestinian state in these conditions would be a launchpad to annihilate Israel — not to live in peace beside it.’ 

“U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement that the United States ‘strongly rejects’ Macron’s move. ‘This reckless decision only serves Hamas propaganda and sets back peace,’ Rubio wrote… ‘It is a slap in the face to the victims of October 7th.’ 

“Hamas praised Macron’s move as ‘a positive step in the right direction’… Spain, Norway and Ireland all announced last year they would recognize a Palestinian state, joining roughly 140 other countries that had already done so…”

Trump responded to reporters, “What he says doesn’t matter… that statement doesn’t carry weight.” Germany said it has no plans to recognize Palestinian statehood in the short term. 

Newsmax added on July 25: 

“U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee ridiculed the plan, noting on X that ‘Macron’s unilateral “declaration” of a “Palestinian” state didn’t say WHERE it would be. I can now exclusively disclose that France will offer the French Riviera & the new nation will be called”’Franc-en-Stine”.’ 

“In another post, he wrote: ‘How clever! If Macron can just “declare” the existence of a state perhaps the UK can “declare” France a British colony!’… [Or, perhaps, France could declare Britain a French colony—based on prophecy, this would be more likely to happen.] 

“Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry also commended Macron’s announcement as ‘historic’ and called on other countries to his example.” 

Breitbart added on July 25: 

“[Israel’s immigration minister] said that Jews in France are no longer safe and should emigrate to Israel. Many have done so already in recent years, fleeing antisemitism.” 

Sooner or later, the whole world will turn against Israel in favor of the Palestinians. 

Canada and Great Britain to Recognize Palestinian State

MSN wrote on July 31:

“Canada has joined France and Britain in announcing plans to recognize a Palestinian state in September as international pressure builds on Israel over the ongoing starvation crisis and war in Gaza. The move leaves the United States increasingly isolated from some of its closest allies on the issue of Israel and how it has conducted its military campaign. US President Donald Trump blasted Canada’s decision, threatening to derail ongoing trade talks with Ottawa.”

Catholic Church Shows Its True Colors 

LifeSiteNews wrote on July 25: 

“The announcement [of France to recognize a Palestinian state] comes on the heels of France — along with 27 other western nations — issuing a joint statement condemning Israel for its ‘drip feeding of aid and the inhumane killing of civilians’ in Gaza while calling for ‘an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire’ to end its genocidal war…

“In a phone call last week with Abbas, Pope Leo XIV echoed the demand for immediate humanitarian aid to be admitted into the Gaza Strip to feed the starving population while condemning the use of indiscriminate force against civilians and Israel’s U.S. -backed plan to ethnically cleanse the native Palestinian population. 

“He then recalled with the Palestinian president, ‘the auspicious 10th anniversary of the Comprehensive Agreement between the Holy See and the State of Palestine, signed on 26 June 2015’ said the Holy See’s statement.

“This commemoration marked one of the milestones in a long list of public expressions of support for the Palestinian cause from Catholic prelates in the Holy Land, the Holy See, and around the world. The unanimous and constant voice of these spiritual leaders has demanded an end to the ‘sin’ of Israel’s ongoing illegal 58-year military occupation of internationally recognized Palestinian territory, which is seen as the ‘root’ aggression of the seemingly perennial conflict.” 

No Ceasefire 

Newsmax wrote on July 25: 

“President Donald Trump accused Hamas on Friday of not wanting to reach a ceasefire deal in Gaza… After U.S. and Israeli negotiators quit indirect talks with Hamas in Qatar, Trump said that ‘it was too bad. Hamas didn’t really want to make a deal. I think they want to die.’… 

“Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that ‘together with our U.S. allies, we are now considering alternative options to bring our hostages home, end Hamas’s terror rule, and secure lasting peace.’’

Of course, one cannot trust or “negotiate” with terrorists.

Israel Halts Attacks on Gaza 

The Guardian wrote on July 27: 

“Israel has said it will halt military operations each day for 10 hours in three areas of Gaza and allow aid to come in through new corridors as it seeks to quell international fury… The pause would be repeated every day from 10am to 8pm local time until further notice and Israel would continue fighting in other areas of Gaza… 

“Israel said the measures were designed to improve the humanitarian situation and ‘refute the false claim of deliberate starvation in the Gaza Strip’, releasing footage of an overnight aid airdrop, that included flour, sugar and canned food. Jordan and the United Arab Emirates also carried out airdrops on Sunday afternoon. 

“Israel also said it would establish humanitarian corridors to allow the UN to deliver food and medicine to Gaza…”

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on July 29 that the UK will recognize a Palestinian state if Israel does not agree to a Gaza ceasefire. 

Worldwide Persecution of the Jews and the Jewish State 

Israel Today wrote on July 25: 

“Over the past few days, anti-Israel and anti-Jewish feeling has been ratcheted up into an absolute frenzy… On the Greek island of Rhodes, a mob armed with knives attacked a group of Jewish teenagers. About 50 French Jewish children, returning from a summer camp in Spain, were thrown off a flight at Valencia airport after the children sang Hebrew songs, and their tour leader was arrested and thrown to the ground. 

“The BBC’s obsession with demonizing and delegitimizing Israel has reached pathological proportions. This week, it gave pride of place on its flagship radio show Today to ever-more twisted accusations and blood libels casting Israel as an evil and murderous state, including the claim by a British surgeon working in Gaza that the Israel Defense Forces were playing a game in shooting Gazan boys in the food queues by targeting a different part of their body every day. 

“The broadcasting behemoth could scarcely contain its excitement as reporters and interviewees joined in chorusing that ‘a reckoning was coming’ with the imminent end of the war in Gaza, after which Israel’s ‘war crimes’ would be revealed, and the case for declaring a Palestine state was therefore now overwhelming…

“This week, the media published distressing pictures of skeletal children as evidence of starvation in Gaza. But the adults in these pictures were all conspicuously well-fed… 

“There may be increasing hunger in Gaza, but to blame Israel for this is grotesque… 950 trucks have been stuck inside Gaza because the United Nations and its agencies are refusing to distribute the food and other aid they are carrying… That’s because it’s working hand-in-glove with Hamas, which is determined to cause deaths from starvation as a weapon of war, just as it’s used Gaza’s civilians as human shields and cannon fodder…” 

Sadly, the worldwide hatred against Jews and the state of Israel will continue. 

Why a Third Temple? 

Israel 365 News wrote on July 29: 

“This time of year, the Jewish people take on many additional practices to mourn the destruction of the Temple.  Judaism places a tremendous amount of emphasis on having a Temple… 

“When the Jewish nation builds the Temple, God’s presence (“Shechinah”), as it were, rests within it… The return of the Shechinah is promised in the third Temple… the Temple unites the entire nation… At its core, building a Temple is a mitzvah (commandment or good deed). Moreover, it enables the Jewish people to fulfill many additional mitzvot. Over one-third of the 613 mitzvot are dependent on the existence of the Temple… 

“…the Torah emphasizes that the Temple service provides atonement for the sins of both individuals and the nation… The Temple was intended as a spiritual center not just for Jews, but for all nations… 

“The Temple’s rebuilding is central to numerous prophecies… When prophecies are fulfilled, they sanctify God’s name by affirming the truth of His messengers…

“Without the Temple, we risk losing sight of our higher purpose, placing too much value on human achievements while neglecting the divine connection that gives life its deepest meaning. The Temple is not just a building; it is the bridge between heaven and earth, the place where the infinite touches the finite, and where humanity can truly feel the presence of God.” 

A third temple will be built prior to Christ’s return, but it will be polluted by the “man of sin,” sitting in the temple of God and proclaiming to be God.

The Costs of Tariffs

 ABC News wrote on July 25: 

“President Donald Trump’s tariffs cost German auto giant Volkswagen about $1.5 billion over the first half of 2025, the company said on Friday. Sales in North America plunged 16% due primarily to U.S. tariffs, said Volkswagen, which owns a host of brands including Audi, Lamborghini and Porsche. 

“The company warned of further ‘challenges’ that will arise from ‘an environment of political uncertainty, expanding trade restrictions and geopolitical tensions,’ among other factors.

Volkswagen marks the latest in a string of major carmakers to announce billions in tariff-related losses. 

“General Motors on Tuesday said tariffs on cars and auto parts drove $1.1 billion in losses over three months ending in June. A day earlier, Jeep maker Stellantis said it expects to have suffered $2.7 billion in losses over the first half of 2025 due in part to U.S. tariffs. 

“Electric-vehicle maker Tesla this week reported a roughly $3 billion drop in revenue over three months ending in June when compared to the same period a year earlier. In a statement on Wednesday, Tesla touted a ‘strong balance sheet’ but acknowledged a ‘sustained uncertain macroeconomic environment resulting from shifting tariffs.’ 

“Tariffs of 25% on vehicles imported into the United States went into effect on April 2. The auto tariffs, which apply to cars and auto parts, threaten to raise costs for carmakers that often oversee an intricate supply chain snaked between the U.S., Mexico, Canada and beyond… 

“A trade agreement struck between the U.S. and Japan this week dropped auto tariffs from the universal level of 25% to 15%, putting foreign carmakers in other countries at a disadvantage…” 

Trade Deal Between USA and EU? 

Deutsche Welle wrote on July 27: 

“The United States and the European Union on Sunday reached a trade deal, ending a months-long standoff… ‘We are agreeing that the tariff straight across, for automobiles and everything else, will be a straight across tariff of 15%,’ according to Trump. Currently, most EU goods face a 10% tariff, with levies of 25% on cars and car parts [as well as on semiconductors and pharmaceutical goods]. But the rate would not apply to steel and aluminum, which are being taxed at 50%.

“Trump also said the bloc had agreed to purchase ‘$750 billion (€638 billion) worth of energy’ from the US, as well as $600 billion more in additional investments. ‘Purchases of US energy products will diversify our sources of supply and contribute to Europe’s energy security. We will replace Russian gas and oil by significant purchases of US LNG, oil and nuclear fuels,’ von der Leyen told reporters… 

“The 15% rate is the same as the one announced with Japan earlier this week. But it marks a significant compromise, especially given that von der Leyen offered a ‘zero-for-zero tariffs for industrial goods’ when talks began. Still, the EU chief said they agreed ‘zero-for-zero tariffs on a number of strategic products’ including aircraft and aircraft parts, some chemicals, and certain agricultural products. 

“The trade pact will need to be approved by all 27 member states.” 

That will still have to be seen… 

American Blackmail and European Weakness 

ntv wrote on July 27: 

“It was already clear in advance that imports from the EU to the US would be subject to significantly higher tariffs than before the start of Trump’s second term. .. The EU Commission… considers the tariffs unjustified and doubts their compatibility with the rules of the World Trade Organization. That the EU is now accepting a compromise is due to the fact that many member states consider the risks of an escalation of the trade dispute to be more significant than higher tariffs…” 

“That the automotive sector, as well as the steel and aluminum industries, had already suffered from high tariffs in recent months also played a role. The EU’s negotiating position was also weakened by Europe’s dependence on US military capabilities. There were fears that Trump could once again question the NATO pledge of assistance in the event of an escalation of the trade dispute. Given the threats posed by Russia, this was seen as a major risk, especially in eastern EU states. 

“In the economic sphere, however, the EU could have put considerable pressure on the US with retaliatory tariffs…” 

Europe won’t forget this American blackmail and coercion… 

Please view in this regard our in-depth analysis of this situation with many articles not quoted in these Current Events in our new StandingWatch program, titled, “US-EU Trade Deal—Biggest Deal Ever Made, or a Disaster?” 

In addition, please note this article:

Macron Attacks Trade Deal

Express wrote on July 30:

“Emmanuel Macron has ripped into the European Union in an extraordinary rant. The French President fumed at Brussels for failing to agree a better trade tariffs deal with US President Donald Trump.  He said Europe ‘does not see itself sufficiently’ as a global power…

“‘To be free, you have to be feared. We have not been feared enough. There is a greater urgency than ever to accelerate the European agenda for sovereignty and competitiveness.’”

Much Worse Than Imagined—Obama’s “Big Lie” 

Fox News wrote on July 24: 

“Lies and lying people comprise the sorry epitaph of Barack Obama’s presidency. The Big Lie was that then-candidate Donald Trump colluded with Russia to rig the 2016 presidential election. It derived from a phony dossier commissioned and financed by former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton that Obama’s national security team happily peddled to destroy his successor… 

“The Russia hoax took off like a rocket. It crash-landed on Wednesday, July 23, when Tulsi Gabbard, the director of National Intelligence, accused Obama, Brennan and others of engineering the false intelligence… Newly declassified documents show that a December 8, 2016, draft of Obama’s Presidential Daily Briefing (PDB) debunked the notion of Russian electoral meddling to help Trump. But… FBI Director James Comey and his cohorts reportedly scuttled it… 

“The next day Obama convened a highly confidential meeting at the White House. The president ordered his intelligence cronies to expedite a new ICA that would reverse the PDB’s conclusion and energize the collusion fiction. With his marching orders in hand, Brennan immediately went to work on it… Other intel agencies that typically contribute to the assessment were deliberately excluded to stifle dissent. Evidence shows that Brennan then selected a handful of sycophants — with only one principal drafter — to craft the entire ICA that bore little resemblance to the truth and established facts. On January 6, 2017, the rushed-to-completion ICA was produced… 

“Obama’s dirty fingerprints were all over the cooked-up intelligence claiming that Moscow helped Trump in some grand collusion conspiracy. On Wednesday, Gabbard held a news conference to lift the veil of secrecy and malevolence. She leveled the following broadside: ‘President Obama, Hillary Clinton, John Brennan, James Clapper, James Comey and others, including their mouthpieces in the media, knowingly lied as they repeated the contrived narrative that was created in this January 2017 intelligence community assessment with high confidence, as though it were fact.’… As ‘irrefutable proof,’ she unlocked the 2020 report of the House Intelligence Committee that had never before been seen publicly, thanks to the machinations of then-Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., who buried it as classified in a limited-access vault at CIA headquarters… 

“The heretofore hidden House Intelligence report reveals how Russian intelligence ‘possessed DNC communications that in 2016 Clinton was suffering from “intensified psycho-emotional problems, including uncontrolled fits of anger, aggression, and cheerfulness.” Clinton was placed on a daily regimen of “heavy tranquilizers” and while afraid of losing, she remained “obsessed with a thirst for power.”’ Obama and Democrat Party bosses apparently knew all about Clinton’s mental instability and found it ‘extraordinarily alarming.’… 

“In sending a criminal referral for possible prosecution to the Justice Department, Gabbard stated, ‘The evidence that we have found and that we have released directly point to President Obama leading the manufacturing of this intelligence assessment.’… Obama denies any wrongdoing. But he should thank Trump for winning the recent landmark Supreme Court decision that provides all presidents with immunity. Ironically, the former president can now hide behind its broad protections. However, no such shield extends to others involved.   

‘It is folly to predict at this stage what prosecutions, if any, the future may hold. But the stain of corruption is already embedded in the epitaph of Obama’s presidency.”

See our recent StandingWatch program on lying politicians, titled, “Politicians, Wars and the Lies of This World” 

Veterans Oppose Deployment of Marines to Assist ICE 

Click Orlando wrote on July 24: 

“Local veterans are speaking out against the deployment of 200 Marines to assist U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Florida… 

“Alexander McCoy, a Marine Corps veteran who served six years as an embassy guard in the Middle East, Latin America, and Europe, expressed his unease about the deployment. ‘The U.S. military is for fighting America’s enemies and if we’re using them here in the United States, the implication is that Americans are enemies,’ McCoy said. In response, McCoy drafted an open letter denouncing the use of Marines in ICE operations, stating, ‘We swore an oath to the Constitution, and the law makes clear what the U.S. military is for and not for. Using Marines to participate in ICE operations on U.S. soil dishonors that oath.’… 

“Since issuing the letter, over 200 veterans have added their names in support. Among them is Doug Jackson, a fellow Marine and infantryman who deployed to Iraq in 2007. ‘Marines train for war or they’re going to war, so this is not a mission that Marines want or are trained for,’ Jackson said. He emphasized that opposition is not limited to ‘hysterical, far-left people on the news,’ but represents a genuine concern among service members.” 

Will ICE Raids Backfire?

Politico wrote on July 26: 

“President Donald Trump and Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller set a goal of deporting 1 million undocumented immigrants each year — a staggering number that would require a massive expansion of immigration enforcement. Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’ delivered just that, throwing roughly $170 billion to the administration’s immigration restriction program, including $45 billion for new detention centers and $30 billion to hire 10,000 new ICE officers. ICE will now become the largest law enforcement agency in the country. 

“Anti-immigration hardliners view it as a major victory. But as ICE transforms into a massive, un-uniformed, masked domestic army — one that critics fear will have carte blanche to arrest, detain and deport persons without cause or due process, whether they enjoy legal status or not — there’s reason to believe it could backfire. Think what you will of the administration’s immigration agenda, but there is little denying that mass deportations on the scale that Trump and Miller envision will necessarily require brute displays of force that may shock the public conscience, even among people who theoretically support the broader goals… 

“The political backlash remains to be seen. It’s not impossible to imagine blue states and cities enacting variations on Personal Liberty Laws, setting off a collision between federal and local authorities… 

“More ominous, still, is the potential for violent reaction. In a country as heavily armed as the United States, where many states allow gunowners to use lethal force when they believe their property or lives to be at stake, it is not impossible to imagine [violent] riots. The protests that rocked Los Angeles this year, while largely disciplined and peaceful, devolved into instances of violence as police clashed with protesters… As the administration’s raids intensify and spread…, the potential for violence will only increase.” 

FCC Approves 8 Billion Dollar Merger 

CNN wrote on July 25: 

“The pending merger between Paramount Global and Skydance Media was formally approved by the Trump administration on Thursday, concluding months of regulatory uncertainty. FCC commissioners voted 2-1 along party lines to give the $8 billion deal a green light. The approval means that Skydance CEO David Ellison can complete the deal and take control of Paramount in the coming weeks. 

“The usually lengthy merger review process was pockmarked by allegations of political interference stemming from President Trump’s scathing criticism of Paramount’s CBS News division… the current and future owners of Paramount had made ‘over $36 Million Dollars’ in commitments to him.

“One part is publicly known: On July 1, Paramount agreed to pay $16 million toward Trump’s future presidential library to resolve the president’s legally dubious lawsuit against CBS News… [That’s an understatement. The lawsuit was frivolous from the outset, with no chance of success.] 

“Trump said the future owners of Paramount had also promised millions of dollars worth of public service announcements, which is how he arrived at the $36 million figure…” 

This does not sound too good… 

Why Veteran Journalist Terry Moran Lost His Job 

The Huffington Post wrote on July 25: 

“Former ABC News reporter Terry Moran isn’t letting up on his ‘vicious’ criticism of Stephen Miller more than a month after his ‘world-class hater’ post about Donald Trump and his senior White House aide led to his abrupt exit at the network. Moran… referred to old clips of Miller while arguing that he’s been ‘spitting the same kind of venom and lies’ as he has in the Trump administration. 

“In one video, a 17-year-old Miller said that the torture of Iraqis during the Iraq War is the ‘way to go’ because it’s a ‘celebration of human life and dignity.’ ‘The cruelty is the point,’ said Moran of Miller… ‘Trump sees him as essentially putting kind of some intellectual gloss on his own gut instincts and they work together to bludgeon the country with almost a disheartening and depressing level of cruelty and falsehood every day.’… Moran argued that Miller ‘clearly sees lying as a way of exerting power’… 

“His post [in June]… led to swift outrage from top White House officials, including Vice President JD Vance. He was subsequently suspended by ABC News, which called the post a ‘clear violation’ of the network’s policies. The network would later announce that his contract would not be renewed.”  

Birthright Citizenship—Court of Appeals Rules Against Trump 

Daily Mail wrote on July 24: 

“A federal appeals court delivered a blow to Donald Trump’s executive order ending birthright citizenship, deeming it unconstitutional… The ruling from a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals comes after Trump’s plan was also blocked by a federal judge in New Hampshire. It brings the issue one step closer to coming back quickly before the Supreme Court… The 2-1 ruling keeps in place a decision from U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour in Seattle, who blocked Trump’s effort to end birthright citizenship… 

“The Supreme Court has…  restricted the power of lower court judges to issue orders that affect the whole country, known as nationwide injunctions. But the 9th Circuit majority found that the case fell under one of the exceptions left open by the justices [a class-action lawsuit]. The case was filed by a group of states who argued that they need a nationwide order to prevent the problems that would be caused by birthright citizenship only being the law in half of the country… 

“Judge Patrick Bumatay, who was appointed by Trump, dissented. He found that the states don’t have the legal right, or standing, to sue… Bumatay did not weigh in on whether ending birthright citizenship would be constitutional.” 

Further Birthright Decisions Against Trump 

The Associated Press wrote on July 25: 

“A federal judge on Friday blocked the Trump administration from ending birthright citizenship… 

“U.S. District Judge Leo Sorokin [US District Court, District of Massachusetts], joining another district court as well as an appellate panel of judges, found that a nationwide injunction granted to more than a dozen states remains in force under an exception to the Supreme Court ruling. That decision restricted the power of lower-court judges to issue nationwide injunctions…. Sorokin said a patchwork approach to the birthright order would not protect the states in part because a substantial number of people move between states.” 

More and More US Citizens Fleeing USA 

Deutsche Welle wrote on July 27: 

“An increasing number of Americans are choosing to leave the United States due to what they perceive as a growing atmosphere of hostility, particularly toward marginalized groups. 

“Traditionally, Mexico has been a popular destination for retirees and digital nomads from the US, but now it’s also attracting individuals who feel threatened because of their political beliefs, sexual orientation or human rights work… For many, Mexico represents not just a geographical escape, but a refuge from what they see as an increasingly intolerant and repressive environment in the United States.’ 

What a terrible development in the “land of the brave and the free.” 

Succeeding Trump? 

The Hill wrote on July 25: 

“… it’s no longer absurdly premature to start talking about succession. And… there are three leading contenders. 

“Vice President JD Vance — seemingly the obvious successor — is clearly positioning himself as heir apparent to Trumpism 2.0: similar themes, better vocabulary, a little more polish and (crucially) a future. 

“Tucker Carlson now also seems to be testing out what it would look like to actually run for office. And Donald Trump Jr. is lurking around the perimeter; the assumption is that his name will carry him somewhere, though it’s not clear where (or even if) anyone would follow him… 

“For the first time in nearly a decade, the right is confronting a future without a clear standard-bearer. And every would-be successor faces the same paradox: To win Trump’s base, you have to sound like Trump. But the more you sound like Trump, the more you remind people you’re not him… 

“Of course, Trump isn’t gone yet. Republicans… could still hold on to Congress in November [although this might be rather doubtful]. Maybe Trump can ultimately find a way to outrun the Epstein controversy and set the terms for the next four years. And, regardless, he could also play a vital role in picking (or sabotaging) whoever inherits his mantle. 

“But that doesn’t change the fact that his era is already ending. The spell is finally starting to wear off. And somewhere, just beneath the surface, it feels like the scramble for 2028 has already begun. The question isn’t whether someone can pick up the torch. It’s whether that person can prevent the flame from being extinguished entirely.” 

Trump will stay in power as long as he is needed to fulfill biblical prophecy. And that might even mean, beyond 2028… 

Trump’s Art of Detraction…Failing or Not? 

Reuters wrote on July 26: 

“President Donald Trump’s super powers as a public figure have long included the ability to redirect, evade and deny. But the Republican’s well-worn methods of changing the subject when a tough topic stings politically are not working as his White House fends off persistent unrest from his usually loyal base about convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and his associates. Trump has scolded reporters, claimed ignorance and offered distractions in an effort to quash questions about Epstein and the suspicions still swirling around the disgraced financier’s case years after his 2019 death in prison. The demand for answers has only grown… the president’s right-leaning base… has long believed the government was covering up Epstein’s ties to the rich and powerful. 

“A Reuters/Ipsos poll this month showed most Americans think Trump’s administration is hiding information about Epstein… 

“Trump has weathered tougher periods before, and his conservative base, despite its frustration over the files, is largely pleased with Trump’s work on immigration and the economy. In a July Reuters/Ipsos poll, 56% of Republican respondents favored the administration’s immigration workplace raids, while 24% were opposed and 20% unsure….” 

It’s truly shocking how ANYONE can support those raids… 

The Truth According to Trump 

The Huffington Post wrote on July 28: 

“‘You ought to be speaking about Bill Clinton, who went to the island 28 times,’ Trump told reporters [just before leaving for Scotland], referring to the notorious private island where Epstein ran an underage sex trafficking ring. ‘I never went to the island.’… The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday that Bondi informed Trump on May he was named multiple times in Epstein’s case documents. On Friday, Trump denied ever being briefed on his name appearing in the Epstein files… 

“Both Trump and Clinton’s names appeared on flight logs from Epstein’s private jets…” 

If not to Epstein’s island, where did Trump go on Epstein’s planes? Flight logs reflect that Trump flew on Epstein’s planes at least eight times. Trump also denied a report by the Wall Street Journal that he allegedly wrote and sent a racy X-rated birthday card to Epstein. He sued the WSJ over this report. As a public figure, he would have to prove that the WSJ had “actual malice”—that they knew that their report was false or that they acted with reckless disregard for the truth. The WSJ has maintained that their report is true. Trump’s lawsuit does not seem to have any chance of success. Also note the next article: 

The Guardian wrote on July 29: 

“Donald Trump suggested on Tuesday that Jeffrey Epstein…’stole’ Virginia Giuffre and other young female staffers whom he hired away from the president’s Mar-a-Lago country club… 

“Senior White House aides have repeatedly suggested in recent weeks that Trump broke with Epstein in about 2004 and expelled him from the Mar-a-Lago club for inappropriate behavior of a sexual nature… [Virginia Giuffre] was hired away from the Mar-a-Lago spa by Epstein’s accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell in 2000, when she was 16… but two years later, Trump spoke highly of Epstein to a reporter.” 

Originally, it was claimed that Trump and Epstein severed their relationship in 2004 over a business deal. Trump and the White House need to get their stories straight.

King Charles Concerned That President Trump Will Break Protocol 

Express wrote on July 28: 

“King Charles is allegedly ‘very concerned’ that US President Donald Trump could launch into a massive rant about immigration during his second state visit to the UK in September…  It comes shortly after the US president sent Prime Minister Keir Starmer ‘advice’ about the ongoing small boat crisis.

“While on a private visit to Scotland, Mr Trump warned the Prime Minister that those coming across on dinghies are ‘bad people’, but praised efforts to end crossings. Meanwhile, after arriving in Scotland on Friday, the US politician made headlines after he declared that illegal migration is a ‘horrible invasion’ that is ‘killing Europe.’  

“Now, civil servants have issued warnings that he could break protocol and make politicised comments during his visit to England in a few weeks… ‘He will be appalled by what Trump said on Friday, which seems to be entirely driven by his domestic agenda, and will be very concerned about the possibility of a repeat of Trump’s outburst in September.’…

“… aides fear the US president might give an impromptu interview to the media with political statements, which could put the monarch in a difficult position. They said: ‘If Trump starts sounding off about the evils of immigration to the cameras while the King is standing next to him, the King would find that hard to take.’”

With Trump, everything is possible. 

“Get Ready For a Big Foreign Crisis” 

The Future of Freedom Foundation published the following article on July 22: 

“With President Trump’s MAGA supporters in full rebellion over his refusal to release all the records relating to the Jeffrey Epstein pedophilia investigation, get ready for a big crisis in foreign affairs designed to distract attention from the Epstein scandal. 

“It certainly wouldn’t be the first time a ruler engaged in such a strategy. In fact, it’s a time-honored way to get people to set aside their rebellion and instead ‘rally ’round the flag.’ Consider the immortal words of James Madison, the father of the Constitution: ‘The means of defense against foreign danger have been always the instruments of tyranny at home. Among the Romans it was a standing maxim to excite a war, whenever a revolt was apprehended.’ 

“Madison was saying that in the old Roman Empire the populace would periodically go into rebellion mode, rebelling against things like exorbitant taxation or monetary debasement at the hands of their rulers. Whenever that would happen, the emperor would simply instigate a war against some scary foreign enemy, which would stir up both fear and patriotism within the populace. People would forget their rebellion in order to be kept safe from the new official enemy with which they were now at war… 

“What might U.S. officials do this time to distract people away from Jeffrey Epstein? The Ukraine-Russia war provides an excellent opportunity to do that. All that needs to be done is furnish Ukraine with long-range missiles that are used to attack Moscow, St. Petersburg, or other big Russian cities. In that case, Russia will be tempted to strike at NATO countries that are providing such missiles… What better way to create a diversion away from Jeffrey Epstein than producing the prospect of all-out nuclear war between the United States and Russia? 

“Of course, there is also China… Ginning up a crisis with nuclear-armed China, say over Taiwan, would be another excellent way to cause people to stop thinking about Epstein. 

“There is also, of course, nuclear-armed North Korea. As we learned in the first Trump administration, it is fairly easy to stir up a crisis with that communist regime. Even if North Korea might not be able to strike the U.S. with its nuclear missiles, it can certainly strike South Korea and Japan. Would that prospect be enough to get people’s minds off Jeffrey Epstein?… 

“Needless to say, Iran is always available whenever a scary official enemy and a big foreign-policy crisis is needed. All that needs to be done is to proclaim that Iran is still producing nuclear weapons and plans to use them against Israel or the United States… A big, scary official enemy and another big foreign crisis that would easily cause all those MAGA people to forget Jeffrey Epstein. 

“One thing is certain: Given the fact that Epstein obviously had very wealthy and very powerful clients — and, more important, given the very real likelihood that Epstein had connections to either Israeli or U.S. intelligence or both — there is no reasonable possibility that Trump is going to order the release of all the federal investigative files in the Epstein case. Will his MAGA supporters simply accept the inevitable and give up? If they don’t, then everyone should prepare himself for the prospect of a big foreign crisis in the near future.” 

The real irony is this: Some of the scenarios described in the article are not only imagined and in need of “creation” by the USA, but they are already very real. This includes an escalation of the Ukraine-Russia war; China’s anticipated invasion of Taiwan; North Korean attacks on South Korea; and Iran’s continuation of the production of nuclear weapons. Another crisis is of course the situation in the Middle East, involving Israel, Hamas and the Gaza Strip. 

Jay Leno’s Advice For Late-Night Comedians 

Fox News wrote on July 27:

“Jay Leno reflected on why he always kept his jokes politically balanced while hosting ‘The Tonight Show’ for over two decades. The 75-year-old comedian recently sat down for an interview with David Trulio, the president and CEO of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation, during which he was questioned about his approach to political humor… 

“‘It was fun to me when I got hate letters [like] “Dear Mr. Leno, you and your Republican friends” and “Well, Mr. Leno, I hope you and your Democratic buddies are happy” — over the same joke,’ Leno recalled. ‘And I go, “Well, that’s good,”’ he said. ‘That’s how you get a whole audience.’ 

“Leno went on to note how late-night comedy has changed amid the current divisive political landscape. ‘Now you have to be content with half the audience because you have [to] give your opinion,’ Leno said… ‘I don’t understand why you would alienate one particular group… I like to think that people come to a comedy show to kind of get away from the things, you know, the pressures of life, whatever it might be… 

“‘And I love political humor… but it’s just what happens when people wind up cozying too much to one side or the other… Funny is funny… It’s funny when someone who’s not….when you make fun of their side and they laugh at it, you know, that’s kind of what I do… why shoot for just half an audience all the time? You know, why not try to get the whole [audience]…’” 

Good advice, which applies to left-wing and right-wing “comedians.” 

Ukraine a Corrupt Dictatorship? 

Politico wrote on July 24: 

“As a democratic state, Ukraine is under assault from two sources. Its first and most obvious adversary is Moscow, which has long wanted to return the country to the days of being a Kremlin plaything, a mere Russian satellite. But arguably there’s another insidious and corrosive adversary from within — the country’s own semi-autocratic leadership. This is what opposition lawmakers and civil society activists have been arguing for months, as Ukraine’s presidential administration has been grabbing more power, weakening other governing and regional institutions — including the country’s parliament — while also intimidating critics in a bid to silence them with hue-and-cry campaigns or by labeling them as Russian stooges. 

“They say the extent of this democratic backsliding became clearer this week after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy gutted Ukraine’s two key anti-corruption agencies which had been zeroing in on top government officials. The move prompted the first country-wide street protests since Russia’s full-scale invasion began in 2022. 

“In Kyiv, hundreds of protesters gathered near the presidential complex while crowds of veterans, active-duty soldiers and civilians gathered in dozens of other towns… Despite the rallies, Zelenskyy approved the new law, which will hand substantial authority over the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAP) to the politically appointed prosecutor general… 

“With public and EU pressure mounting on Zelenskyy, the Ukrainian leader appeared to offer a concession Wednesday night, saying in his regular evening address that he will advance new legislation responding to protest demands that will ensure ‘all the norms for the independence of anti-corruption institutions will be in place.’ What he meant remains unclear and hasn’t quelled public anger over a law he signed in such haste.  

“The two agencies in question came into being in 2015 at the insistence of the EU and other international partners, including the administration of then-U.S. President Barack Obama. Washington and Brussels wanted to see Ukraine genuinely combat its deep-rooted and endemic corruption problem, and pressed for the establishment of anti-graft bodies independent of the government, ones that would be powerful enough to probe wrongdoing by top officials and those with political connections. 

“But Law No. 12414, which Zelenskyy quickly signed after it was rushed through the Verkhovna Rada with almost unprecedented haste, now strips both NABU and SAP of that independence. Instead, it grants the prosecutor general’s office the power to issue orders to these agencies and reassign cases to their own prosecutor, in effect dismantling the safeguards that protect those bodies from undue political meddling… 

“For months [EU officials and diplomats have] been complaining bitterly — though always in private — about the Ukrainian president’s democratic backsliding. They’ve been unhappy with the purges and reshuffles that have seen the departure of more independent-minded ministers and officials from government… 

“Posting on social media before the new law’s approval, European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos said the situation would hurt Ukraine’s accession negotiations. ‘Independent bodies like NABU & SAPO are essential for Ukraine’s EU path,’ she wrote. Meanwhile, the ambassadors of G7 nations in Kyiv issued a joint statement expressing their ‘serious concerns.’… 

“So why are EU officials only now publicly expressing their worries about this monopolization of power? In part it’s because the move on the anti-corruption agencies was so blatant. According to both public record and anti-graft officials who spoke to POLITICO on condition of anonymity, NABU had opened probes into the dealings of presidential office insiders and ministers. Added to which, the presidential administration had started going after anti-corruption activists like Vitaly Shabunin, head of the Anti-Corruption Action Center NGO. Shabunin warned on social media: ‘Zelensky’s prosecutor general will stop investigations against all the president’s friends.’ 

“The fierceness of the public response likely caught the EU’s attention as well. The Kyiv Independent, an English-language media outlet read closely in Brussels, headlined its sharply critical editorial: ‘Zelensky just betrayed Ukraine’s democracy.’” 

The Kyiv Independent also wrote on July 25: 

“Lawmakers, experts, and activists say that over the past week, Ukraine has made a leap towards authoritarianism and lawlessness.” 

Huge Earthquake Off Russia

Reuters wrote on July 30:

“The 8.8 magnitude quake off Russia that triggered tsunami warnings across the Pacific occurred on what is known as a “megathrust fault”, where the denser Pacific Plate is sliding underneath the lighter North American Plate, scientists said. The Pacific Plate has been on the move, making the Kamchatka Peninsula area off Russia’s Far East coast where it struck especially vulnerable to such tremors…

“With its epicentre near the city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, it was the biggest earthquake since the devastating Tohuku event in 2011… The 8.8 magnitude event on Wednesday came less than two weeks after a magnitude 7.4 earthquake in the same area, which has now been identified as a ‘foreshock’.”

Radioactive Animals

The Independent wrote on July 30:

“A terrifying discovery was made at a nuclear facility in South Carolina: radioactive wasps…

“There are other examples of nuclear activity affecting the animal world, from German forests and Japanese mountains to the Enewetak Atoll between Australia and Hawaii. Large parts of the radioactive contamination across the world came after superpowers conducted tests as they raced to create devastating weapons during the 20th century. For instance, the U.S. tested nuclear weapons on Enewetak Atoll between 1948 and 1958, leading to sea turtles becoming radioactive in the surrounding waters. After the test, the U.S. buried the waste in a concrete tomb that has started to leak…

“Wild boars in the forests of Bavaria, at times, have high levels of radiation, with scientists long believing that it stemmed from the 1986 nuclear meltdown in Chernobyl, Ukraine. However…, 68 percent of the contamination in boars in the area stemmed from global nuclear testing. The boars became contaminated after eating truffles, which had absorbed radiation from nuclear fallout that had settled in the ground.

“Norwegian reindeer were contaminated after Chernobyl, after the fallout was blown northwest, later falling as rain…. Europe is heavily contaminated by Chernobyl…”

And so man continues to destroy the environment, including the animal world. 

Britain EU’s Cash Cow? 

Express wrote on July 25: 

“Eurocrats are preparing to treat Britain as a ‘cash cow’ under a controversial £130 billion EU defence fund, with a Brussels insider claiming the bloc sees Sir Keir Starmer as a ‘pushover’ rather than a genuine partner. The warning comes as the Prime Minister prepares to negotiate UK participation in the Security and Action for Europe (SAFE) fund—part of the EU’s wider £700 billion effort to rearm itself… 

“The SAFE fund, expected to launch formally this summer, will offer low-interest loans to member states for joint procurement of weapons, ammunition, and defence systems. While British companies would theoretically be eligible to bid for contracts, the EU has made it clear that access will not come free—and that non-member countries like the UK will have to pay for the privilege. Under the proposed terms, any British firm awarded a SAFE-backed contract would trigger an obligation for the UK Government to contribute an equivalent share back into the fund. 

“That contribution would effectively subsidise the rest of the scheme without granting Britain… any voting rights over how the money is spent. Frank Furedi, Executive Director of the think tank MCC Brussels, warned: ‘EU powerbrokers see Starmer as a pushover—desperate for approval and ready to sell out British interests to curry favour in Brussels. They view the UK not as a partner, but as a cash cow—ripe for exploitation… And they’re counting on him to hand over billions just for the “honour” of joining their EU Defence Fund, plugging their financial holes at Britain’s taxpayer’s expense.’” 

Starmer’s wish to return to the EU will not work out… 

Friedrich Merz’s Fateful Summer 

Nius wrote on July 25: 

“… the problems of the Merz government… could plunge the entire country into a [dramatic] crisis because the CDU/CSU and SPD lack a common project, speak different political languages, and have to compete with each other almost daily. 

“And yet, Friedrich Merz’s popularity ratings… at an all-time low (32 percent satisfied, 64 percent dissatisfied) are the smallest of the problems. Less than a hundred days after the change of government, the CDU/CSU and AfD are hovering around the 25 percent mark in the polls, the SPD is sinking toward the 10 percent mark, and there is little indication that things will improve anytime soon. It is Friedrich Merz’s fateful summer!… 

“Merz is running up billions in debt, but wants to prohibit the EU from doing the same. Merz’s billions for Ukraine and the arms purchases from the US for Kyiv are not easy to explain everywhere in the country and are only moderately popular… 

“Merz’s perception that if this government fails to deliver and convince the people of the centrist parties, future majorities without the AfD might no longer be possible, and the country might be headed for a bleak future, may be shared or not… The fact is… that the potential of those who could imagine voting for the AfD has grown continuously in recent years and is currently measured at 33 percent… 

“In a remarkable in-depth analysis, Allensbach head Renate Köcher recently showed that reservations about Alice Weidel’s [AfD] party are also diminishing because more and more people in their circles know AfD supporters and do not perceive them as a threat. 80 percent of AfD voters, Köcher writes, do so to send a protest signal that they are dissatisfied with the current political course. 

“But precisely on this, the government of Friedrich Merz, due to its internal paralysis and external distancing from the AfD, cannot send a political signal and persuade protest voters to change their minds… 

“The Merz government’s classic 100-day deadline expires, according to the German Press Agency, exactly on August 13th, the day the Wall was built. Some believe the ‘firewall’ could become for the Union what the inner-German Wall was for the GDR…”

Germany’s current coalition government is doomed… sooner or later…

 Acknowledgement and Disclaimer:

These Current Events are compiled and commented on by Norbert Link. We gratefully acknowledge the many contributions of news articles from our readership. The publication of articles in this section is not to be viewed as an endorsement or approval as to contents or accuracy of the selected articles, but they are published for the purpose of pointing at worldwide developments in the light of biblical end-time prophecy and godly instruction. Our own comments are provided in italics.

In the first part of this Q&A, we ascertained that the fundamental idea of Christian universalism is that ALL human beings will eventually receive salvation.   We looked at a number of biblical references which refute this assertion, and we will now continue to show from the pages of the Bible, that this belief is void of any Scriptural approval.

Universalism seems to ignore the fact that some will commit the unpardonable sin. In our free booklet “Do We Have an Immortal Soul?” we find this information:

“What is the Unpardonable Sin?

“From other Scriptures we know that there are at least two ways in which the unpardonable sin can be committed.

“Jesus warns us in Mark 3:28–29, not to ‘blaspheme’ the Holy Spirit, regardless of whether we are converted or not. If we do, we reject the only power that can convert and change us. And if we continue with that course of action of resisting God and refusing to repent, then we might reach a point when it will become impossible for us to repent. We will then have made the final, irrevocable decision never to repent and to change. Such an attitude will lead to actual hate and resentment for God and His way. You see, if we don’t want to repent, God will not grant us repentance. And without repentance, there can be no forgiveness. That is why a sin which we refuse to repent of, will not be forgiven.

“In addition, converted people who have received the gift of God’s Holy Spirit, can commit the unpardonable sin, if and when they later fall away and irrevocably reject God’s way of life (cp. Hebrews 6:4–6; Hebrews 10:26–29).”

We have already seen how wrong this “Universalist” concept is and how it can lead on to, or incorporate, other false ideas which we will now address.

The mainstream Christian teaching of going to heaven and hell is mentioned in the context of universalism.   In our Q&A entitled, “Do the Wicked Go to Hell?”, the first paragraph states that: “The concept that the wicked go to an ever-burning hell after their death is nowhere taught in Scripture. In fact, the Bible does not even teach the existence of an ever-burning hell, torturing wicked souls of departed ones for their evil deeds.”

In a further Q&A, “Would you please explain Revelation 14:11? Does this Scripture teach that the wicked will be forever tormented in hell fire?,” we read the following:

“The unrepentant wicked will ultimately be burned up. That will happen after the Millennium and the Great White Throne Judgment. However, the passage in Revelation 14:11 does not address that time period. It merely serves as a forerunner and a warning. Most people who will worship the false political and religious system of Babylon, as well as its human representatives, won’t fully comprehend what they will be doing — they will not commit the unpardonable sin leading to the second death, from which there will be no resurrection (Revelation 20:14-15; 21:8). Rather, God will bring them back to life in a Second Resurrection, when the gravity of their wrong conduct will be revealed to them, and when they will be given an opportunity to repent and accept God’s Way of Life.”

In another Q&A, entitled “What are the biblical proofs that we do not go to heaven when we die?”, we read:

“The idea that we will go to heaven after death is an entirely unbiblical concept. It is derived from paganism.  

“The biblical understanding is not complicated, but pure and simple, and very easy to comprehend: When a man dies, he is dead, but he will live again through the resurrection from the dead. Until then, he will sleep a dreamless sleep, without any consciousness. He will not go to heaven when he dies, nor will he suffer in a purgatory or ‘hell.’ Rather, he is asleep, until Christ awakes him out of his sleep. And He will, because as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all will be made alive (1 Corinthians 15:22).” 

Now let us briefly address the Lake of Fire.  In our Q&A, “Will There Be Punishment in the Third Resurrection? (Part 1)”, we read:

“Sadly, there are those who have had their opportunity. They have committed the ‘unpardonable sin.’ They knew and understood perfectly well that they had to submit to Christ, but they refused to do so. They became bitter, hateful, resentful and malicious. They made the unchangeable decision NEVER to repent. If a person has reached that stage that he CANNOT repent, because he has made the final decision NOT to WANT to repent, then God will not force repentance on such a person. God grants repentance, but a person must want to receive it. A person, though, who maliciously rejects Christ would only continue to live in misery and pain–and that is why God will save such a person from eternal misery, by DESTROYING him or her in a lake of fire.

“The Third Resurrection describes those sinners who have made the final and irrevocable decision to rebel against God. They have refused to ever obey God, and they have developed a hostile attitude towards Him, filled with hatred and contempt, which prevents them from ever repenting of their terrible sinful conduct and nature. They will be raised to physical life to be burned up and destroyed in the lake of fire.”

It is impossible to refute Revelation 21:8 which reads: “But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”   The wicked will be destroyed.

We say in our Q&A, “Do the wicked go to hell?”

“It is true that the New Testament speaks about a fiery place, which is translated in some English Bibles as, ‘hell.’ The Greek word for this place is ‘gehenna.’ It does not, however, describe an ever-burning hell, as commonly understood by many… Please note the following excerpts from our free booklet, “Do You Have an Immortal Soul?”, addressing the concept of a fiery hell:

“The word ‘gehenna’ and the very concept of it are derived from the Valley of Hinnom outside Jerusalem in which the corpses of dead people, mainly criminals, would be burned up. It is another expression for the ‘lake of fire’ in Revelation 20:15, in which all who have acted wickedly, and who have refused to repent, will be thrown into, to be burned up or ‘devoured.’ (Remember that Hebrews 10:27… tells us that the wicked wait for God’s fiery indignation that will ‘devour’ them.). That is the ‘hell’ or the ‘gehenna’ fire that Christ is talking about…-‘the second death’ from which there will be no resurrection.

“Those who sin deliberately, willfully and maliciously, God will resurrect to physical life [please note that they were dead — not in heaven, hell, limbo or purgatory — and that they had to be brought back from death to physical life] to throw them-their physical body and their soul or their ‘life’-into ‘gehenna’ or the lake of fire (Revelation 20:13-15; 21:8). They won’t burn there forever-rather, they will be burned up. They are the ‘chaff,’ that will be ‘burned up’ with unquenchable fire (Matthew 3:12)-that is, no human can quench it. Notice that this fire will ultimately even burn up or bring to dissolution ‘heaven and earth,’ so that a ‘new heaven and a new earth’ can be created by God (2 Peter 3:10-13).

“The wicked, such as the rich man in Christ’s parable in Luke 16, will not burn forever and ever, for all eternity, in an everlasting hell fire, but they will be ‘burned up’ (cp. again Matthew 3:12). The Greek word for ‘burned up’ is ‘katakaio’-conveying the meaning that nothing of what is burned up will remain. We read in Revelation 18:8 that modern Babylon ‘shall be utterly burned with fire.’ The word for ‘utterly burned’ is, again, ‘katakaio’ in the Greek. And we are told that ‘that great city Babylon [will] be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all.’ (Revelation 18:21).

“In the same way, the wicked, such as the rich man in Luke 16, that are [brought back to life from the dead and then] thrown into ‘gehenna’ or the lake of fire [called the SECOND death!], will be ‘burnt up’-they ‘shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up… that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.’ (Malachi 4:1). They will become ashes under the feet of the righteous (Malachi 4:3); it will be as if they had never existed (Obadiah 16).”

In Romans 11:26-27 we read the following: “And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: “The Deliverer will come out of Zion, And He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob; For this is My covenant with them, When I take away their sins.”

If all of Israel, every last one, was going to be saved, all of the Scriptures that we’ve looked at would be null and void and that cannot be so, as the Scripture cannot be broken or contain contradictions (John 10:35).

The statement that “all Israel” will be saved must not be misunderstood. We say the following in our Q&A, “I have heard it said that the Biblical terms “all” or “every” [such as, “every person” or “every thing”] do not necessarily have to mean, “without any exception.” Is this correct?”:

“… the concept that Christ is the Savior of ALL men does not rule out the fact that some will NOT be saved. Here, the word ‘ALL’ is NOT used in an all-inclusive sense. Some WILL commit the unpardonable sin and be destroyed and burned up in the lake of fire (Hebrews 6:4-8; Revelation 20:13-15). Still, we read that ‘ALL Israel will be saved’ (Romans 11:26). As stated, this might give the impression that every last Israelite will inherit salvation. But this is not true, as there will be some who will reject salvation. For instance, Christ warned the Pharisees that they were walking on very thin ice, heading towards committing the unpardonable sin (compare Mark 3:28-30 and Matthew 9:34).

“Paul continues in Romans 11:32 that God, in His dealings with Israel, ‘has committed them ALL to disobedience, that He might have mercy on ALL.’ In both cases, the word ‘all’ is not used to teach all-inclusiveness, without any exceptions. Not every last Israelite will repent, and not every Israelite–even at the time of Paul–was disobedient. The early Church of God consisted at first exclusively of Israelites who had become obedient to the faith.

“We also read in Romans 14:11 that ‘EVERY tongue shall confess’ to God. But again, this does not include every last person, as some will not confess to God, but instead, they will be destroyed in the lake of fire–they will die the second death–in utter rebellion to God.

“There are additional examples where the words ‘all’ or ‘every’ are not to be understood in an all-inclusive sense…

“In Matthew 23:3, Christ told the Jews to ‘obey ALL’ (Authorized Version) what the scribes and Pharisees commanded them to do. In Ephesians 5:24, Paul says that women are to be submissive to their husbands in EVERYTHING. And Peter says in 1 Peter 2:13 that we are to submit ourselves to EVERY ordinance of man. However, these passages are not all-inclusive and allow–yes, DEMAND–an exception. This exception is found in Acts 5:27-32, where Peter makes it clear that we must obey God rather than man, and that we must DISOBEY man if we would otherwise disobey God.

“We also read that the gospel of the Kingdom of God will be preached in all the world as a witness, and then the end will come (Matthew 24:14). This does not mean that every last person on earth will hear the gospel just prior to Christ’s return. There will be those alive at the beginning of the Millennium who never heard Christ’s gospel message (compare Isaiah 66:19). This is why Matthew 24:14 must be read together with Scriptures such as Mark 13:10 and Luke 24:47, stating that the gospel will be preached “among” all nations…

“In Luke 6:30, Christ tells us that we are to give to EVERYONE who asks of us and wants to borrow from us. Again, this is not an all-inclusive command, as Paul says, for example, that we must work to make a living, and if we are unwilling to work, we should not eat (2 Thessalonians 3:10). So, Christ was not telling us that we must give to just EVERYONE who wants to eat, even though he is unwilling to work…

“Finally, we read in 1 Timothy 4:1-5 that ‘EVERY creature of God’ is good for food. Some use this passage to claim that we are therefore no longer obligated to refrain from eating UNCLEAN meat. However, we also read in Genesis 9:3 that ‘EVERY moving thing that lives shall be food for you. I have given you ALL things, even as the green herbs.’ It goes without saying that we must not eat POISONOUS green herbs–even though ‘all things’ were given to us for food–and we therefore must not eat meat which was not created for food (Compare again 1 Timothy 4:4, stating that those who believe and know the truth of God’s Word, as revealed in Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14, understand WHICH animals God has created FOR FOOD). We see, therefore, that these passages are not all-inclusive, but must be understood in context.

When Paul speaks about the concept that “all Israel shall be saved,” he does not mean, every last one of the Israelites. Matthew Poole’s Commentary agrees, stating: “all Israel is not meant every individual Israelite, but many, or (it may be) the greatest part of them. So ‘all’ is to be taken in Scripture: see John 6:45; 1 Timothy 2:6, and elsewhere.”

In conclusion, the belief in universalism is not taught in the Bible.   We have looked at the fact that our behavior now does matter for those who have been called and chosen by God.   We have reviewed the unpardonable sin and have also looked very briefly at the fact that people don’t go to heaven or hell when they die and why the Lake of Fire is necessary.  

There are also many Scriptures about not staying with our calling until the end and that we have to be careful that no one takes our crown.   Matthew 24:13 quite simply states: “But he who endures to the end shall be saved.”

None of the information given in this Q&A gives even the slightest impression that universalism – that of all people being eventually saved – is an accurate statement that the Bible teaches.  Quite the reverse, and this teaching should be completely rejected.  And the further danger is that it can lead to further incorrect biblical understanding.

The apostle Paul wrote: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing” (2 Timothy 4:7-8).

Finally, we read in James 1:12: “Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.”

Universalism is yet another deceptive offshoot of mainstream Christianity and runs contrary to the teachings of the Word of God!

Lead Writers: Brian Gale (United Kingdom) and Norbert Link

compiled by Dave Harris

“US-EU Trade Deal—Biggest Deal Ever Made, or a Disaster?” is the title of a new StandingWatch program, presented by Evangelist Norbert Link. Here is the summary:

Why the contradictory opinions? What exactly was agreed to? Did Trump “eat von der Leyen for breakfast”? Did she “sell out and betray the Europeans”? Will the deal bring the EU and the USA closer together or damage the relationship even further? What are the consequences for Europe? Will the deal negatively affect US customers?

“USA-EU Deal—der größte Deal aller Zeiten, oder eine Katastrophe?” is the title of a new AufPostenStehen program, presented by Norbert Link. This German program covers similar topics as described above.

We are pleased to announce that Mr. Ralph Leaf who lives in Washington was baptized by Rene Messier on Sunday, July 27. As Mr. Leaf is unable to travel, Mr. Messier drove to Washington to conduct the baptism in a hotel pool, close to Mr. Leaf’s home. Mr. Leaf is in his seventies. He has been married for almost 40 years. He is a retired attorney and accountant.

“Jacob Serves for Rachel” is the latest video in our Bible Story Series on YouTube.

“Laufen Sie vor Gott davon?” is the title of this Sabbath’s German sermon, presented by Norbert Link. Title in English: “Are You Running Away from God?”

“Die Kraft des heiligen Geistes,” last Sabbath’s first German split sermon presented by Mike Richter, is now posted. Title in English: “The power of the Holy Spirit.”

“Dekade der Extreme – Im Epizentrum,” last Sabbath’s second German split sermon presented by Manuel Müller, is now posted. Title in English: “Decade of Extremes – At the Epicenter.”

“Are You Running Away From God?” last Sabbath’s sermon presented by Norbert Link, is now posted. Here is the summary:

The Bible contains many examples of righteous and unrighteous people who were willing to run away from God—at least temporarily in some cases. Why did they do it? Some corrected their mistake; others did not. What can we learn from their example, and why is it so dangerous to walk away from God, even in seemingly little things? Why is it critical to return to Him quickly and promptly when we recognize what we are doing?

On July 26, 2025, Norbert Link will present, “Comments on News and Prophecy, July 26, 2025,” and the sermon, titled, “Are You Running Away From God?”

The live services are available, over video and audio, at http://eternalgod.org/live-services/ (12:30 pm Pacific Time; 1:30 pm Mountain Time; 2:30 pm Central Time; 3:30 pm Eastern Time; 8:30 pm Greenwich Mean Time; 9:30 pm Central European Time). Just click on Connect to Live Stream.

We are taking a very unique position in this world—not voting in governmental elections nor joining the military and participating in its wars, just to name a few examples. Why is this so?

The short answer is very simple. This is not God’s world. It is Satan who deceives and rules mankind, and he is a murderer, a liar and the father of lies (John 8:44). He rules over all human kingdoms and governments (Luke 4:5-6). As Satan delights in lies, so do his human instruments (Psalm 62:4). And this is why the world is, as it is, which Hosea 4:2 describes so vividly: “By swearing and lying, Killing and stealing and committing adultery, They break all restraint, With bloodshed upon bloodshed.”

The Ron Paul Institute published the following insightful article on July 14, 2025: “Those who understand the philosophy, history, and economics of liberty can explain that it is not just that some government officials lie. Instead, all governments lie, and the more important the issue the bigger the lie. In fact, the modern state is built on a series of lies…”

This assessment is so true! That is why converted Christians must not have anything to do with the lies of this world. Exodus 23:7 warns us: “Keep yourself far from a false matter.” Some might say, but a little lie is accepted, if we prevent thereby great mischief, and their rationale justifies to vote for the ”lesser evil.” God’s answer is two-fold. He tells us in 1 John 2:21: “… you know… that no lie is of the truth.” And in 1 Thessalonians 5:22: “Abstain from every form of evil.”

As true Christians, we ought to understand that “Lying lips are an abomination to the LORD” (Proverbs 12:22), and we must not have anything to do with spreading lies or supporting them in any way. We ought to remember that God will “destroy those who speak falsehood; The LORD abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man” (Psalm 5:6). In fact, all liars will end up in the lake of fire (Revelation 21:8)—unless they repent of their evil ways.

The following famous Q&A has validity: “Q: How do you know that a politician is lying?” “A: When he moves his lips.”

We are literally surrounded by and bombarded with political lies. But our false sense of patriotism and nationalism might cloud our minds and sear our conscience. The most recent debacle of the Jeffrey Epstein matter has clearly manifested the fact that we have been lied to. But we have also been lied to in regard to the government’s current immigration policy. We were told that only illegal aliens who are hard-core capital criminals would be detained and deported, and only a few “casualties” or “collateral damage” might be affected in the process. As we know now, that was a blatant lie from the outset.

For instance, The Miami Herald wrote on July 15: 

“Hundreds of immigrants with no criminal charges in the United States are being held at Alligator Alcatraz, a detention facility state and federal officials have characterized as a place where ‘vicious’ and ‘deranged psychopaths’ are sent before they get deported… Mixed among the detainees accused and convicted of crimes are more than 250 people who are listed as having only immigration violations but no criminal convictions or pending charges in the United States… Nationally, nearly half of detainees in ICE custody as of late June were being held for immigration violations and did not have a criminal conviction or charge…” 

The Los Angeles Times wrote on June 29:

“A Times analysis found that 69% of those arrested… had no criminal conviction and 58% had never been charged with a crime.”

58% to 69% is quite a high figure for “collateral damage.” So, far from focusing merely on illegal aliens who have been convicted of capital crimes, as it had been originally promised, the current government goes after aliens without papers, legal tourists and other aliens who are here legally, green card holders, birthright citizens, and now even naturalized American citizens.

We, in God’s Church, must have nothing to do with or support or justify in any way the lies of the government… no matter, in what context they are being uttered.

One of the biggest lies this world, under Satan’s influence and deception, is promulgating is the idea that we must fight in war to defend our country, and that only through military strength can we achieve peace. I addressed this worldwide lie in an Editorial, dated March 7, 2003, titled, “War or Peace—Which?”, where I wrote this:

“The Bible tells us that Satan has deceived this whole world (Revelation 12:9). It is Satan, the author of war, who has caused man to think that destruction can produce construction — that war can result in peace. Man wants peace. But, man does not know how to achieve it… 6000 years of human history of pain and misery have proven that our wars do not bring peace, but that they only result in more wars… God’s way of peace and Satan’s way of war are total opposites. 

“… we can be used by Christ as His ambassadors of peace. We are to represent His government, His kingdom, His rulership — and as such, we cannot be participating, neither in word nor in deed, in this world’s ways of war… man has chosen Satan’s way of war, destruction and death — and as a consequence, man is now facing the distinct possibility of eradicating all human life from the face of this earth.”

Yes, as God’s true children, we must be “putting away lying,” while speaking “the truth” with our neighbor (Ephesians 4:25), without giving “place to the devil” (verse 27). We must not lie about peace and war, and make God a liar when He says that He will end all wars and teach all mankind the way to peace.

A famous German songwriter, Reinhard Mey, sang a song in 2003 with the title, “It is time.” In this song, he describes a dead soldier who believed in the lies of his government. One verse states:

“If humanity falls for lies again

Then it can happen that soon no one will be alive anymore,
No one to bury the billions of dead.

Yes, they also lied to you in the same way,
Just like they still do with us today…”

Christ warned in Matthew 24:22: “And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened.”

Let us make sure that we belong to the elect–always “speaking the truth in love” (Ephesians 4:15), while not falling for the lies of this world, but abhorring and abstaining from them in every form.

And that is why we do not vote in governmental elections and why we do not join the military nor fight in the wars of this evil lying world.

by Norbert Link

We report on developments in Europe regarding deportations; violence in Gaza and Syria; and the debate on what was destroyed in Iran’s nuclear sites.

We continue with American and European “arrangements” pertaining to the Ukraine-Russia war; the discussion about banning the AfD in Germany; and we speak on the ongoing debacle of the Epstein matter, including President Trump’s “defamation” lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal.

We address a new fight between Obama and Trump; controversial ICE raids and mistreatment of detainees; Trump’s lucrative deals (or the lack thereof), including his “massive” deal with Japan; and America’s destruction of contraceptives and emergency food supposed to be sent to other countries.

We conclude with an intention to do away with capital gains tax on home sales; and Britain’s intention to lower the country’s voting age to 16.

Please note our news StandingWatch program, titled, “Politicians, Wars and the Lies of This World.”

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

“UN Calls For Immediate End to Afghan Deportations” 

Deutsche Welle wrote on July 18: 

“Volker Türk, the UN high commissioner for human rights, called for all countries to immediately end deportations to Afghanistan on Friday… His statement came just hours after Germany deported what it said were 81 criminals to Afghanistan, which is controlled by the Islamist Taliban… 

“Though many countries halted deportations when the Taliban returned to power in 2021, many have now resumed deportations. According to the UN, Iran alone deported more than 500,000 Afghans in June. More than 1.9 million Afghans have been returned to the country from Iran and Pakistan since January 1… 

“[German Chancellor] Friedrich Merz… made tougher migration policy a key pillar of his February election campaign.” 

Merz might be trying to imitate Trump. He will fail in this. 

“Merz: Israel’s Approach to Gaza ‘No Longer Acceptable’” 

Deutsche Welle wrote on July 18: 

“German Chancellor Friedrich Merz took the unusual step of criticizing Israel on Friday. Merz, speaking at an annual summer press conference, said Israel’s approach to Gaza is ‘no longer acceptable.’ 

“The chancellor called for an immediate ceasefire in the beleaguered enclave as the death toll there surpassed 58,000 this week. He also called for more humanitarian assistance for those in Gaza — something that has been gravely hampered by Israel’s decision to boot all international aid programs out of Gaza in favor of the highly controversial US-run and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which critics have called a cynical death trap for desperate Gazans seeking to find food for their families. 

“Merz also noted that his government ‘does not support’ Israel’s settlement policy, adding that he clearly expressed that sentiment in his calls with Netanyahu.” 

The rift between Europe, including Germany, and Israel will get wider and deeper. 

Pope Leo Calls For Immediate Ceasefire in Gaza 

The Associated Press wrote on July 20: 

“Pope Leo XIV renewed his call on Sunday for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza… Leo also expressed his ‘deep sorrow’ for the Israeli attack on the only Catholic church in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, which killed three people and wounded 10 others, including the parish priest… The shelling of the Holy Family Catholic Church in Gaza also damaged the church compound, where hundreds of Palestinians have been sheltering from the Israel-Hamas war, now in its 21st month. Israel expressed regret over what it described as an accident and said it was investigating… 

“‘The world no longer tolerates war,’ Leo told reporters waiting for him outside the cathedral. Asked about his phone conversation on Friday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Leo said, ‘We insisted on the need to protect the sacred places of all religions.’” 

No Ceasefire In Sight 

In an accompanying article, the Associated Press wrote on July 20: 

“The Israeli military published new evacuation warnings for areas of central Gaza on Sunday, in one of the few areas where the military has rarely operated with ground troops… The announcement comes as Israel and Hamas have been holding ceasefire talks in Qatar, but international mediators say there have been no breakthroughs… 

“Also on Sunday, 65 Palestinians were killed, many while attempting to seek aid, according to local hospitals… It is unclear whether they were killed by the Israeli army or armed gangs or both… 

“Gaza’s population of more than 2 million Palestinians are in a catastrophic humanitarian crisis. Hamas triggered the 21-month war when militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 others hostage. Fifty remain, but fewer than half are thought to be alive. 

“Israel’s military offensive that followed has killed more than 58,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which doesn’t say how many militants are among the dead but says more than half of the dead have been women and children… 

“The Hostages Family Forum, a grassroots organization that represents many of the families of hostages, condemned the evacuation announcement and demanded that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Israeli military explain what they hope to accomplish in the area of central Gaza, accusing Israel of operating without a clear war plan… On Saturday night, during the weekly protest, tens of thousands of protesters marched in Tel Aviv to the branch of the U.S. Embassy, demonstrating for an end to the war… Israeli bombardments continued to pound the Gaza Strip overnight. Large explosions in northern Gaza were visible from Israel as plumes of fire shot into the sky.” 

Even though Trump has not publicly rebuked Netanyahu, it was reported that six White House officials openly criticized him, allegedly stating, “Bibi acted like a madman. He bombs everything all the time… This could undermine what Trump is trying to do.”… “Netanyahu is sometimes like a child who just won’t behave.” 

Further, Trump allegedly called Netanyahu to demand an explanation for the shelling of the Catholic Church in Gaza. 

It was also reported that “US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee has threatened to publicly declare that Israel no longer welcomes Christian groups to Israel over what he said was Jerusalem’s failure to approve tourist visas for evangelical missions” (The Times of Israel, dated July 18). However, unconfirmed reports suggested on July 20 that the matter had been “resolved” (Jewish Insider). 

Erdogan Attacks Israel (Again) 

Times of Israel wrote on July 18: 

“Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accuses Israel of using the Druze minority in Syria as a pretext for expanding into the war-torn country. ‘Israel, using the Druze as an excuse, has been expanding its banditry into neighboring Syria over the past two days,’ Erdogan says in a televised speech after the weekly cabinet meeting, calling Israel a ‘terror state.’ 

“Erdogan says Turkey will not allow Syria to be divided or its multicultural structure and territorial integrity harmed, after Israel’s actions allegedly sought to ‘sabotage’ a ceasefire in the country.” 

But others did too. Note the next article. 

Ynet wrote on July 17: 

“Foreign ministers of Jordan, UAE, Bahrain, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait, Lebanon and Egypt issued a joint statement, saying they ‘support Syria’s security, unity, stability and sovereignty – and reject any foreign interference in its affairs.’… 

“Additionally, the ministers condemned Israel’s attacks in Syria.” 

In June, Trump had terminated the Syrian sanctions program. 

Not Totally Destroyed? 

The National Security Journal wrote on July 14: 

“In mid-June, after weeks of bombing of Iran’s nuclear sites by Israel, the U.S. carried out strikes of its own, using B-2 bombers to deliver bunker-buster bombs to the Fordow nuclear site and other locations throughout Iran. 

“The attacks took place, Israel and Iran agreed to a ceasefire soon after, and the strikes did not lead to a wider or protracted war in the Middle East or any oil shock or other economic calamity, as many had feared. But while some in the West had hoped that the strikes would imperil the future of the Iranian regime, that doesn’t appear to have happened, either. 

“There have been bitter debates over whether or not President Donald Trump’s insistence that the nuclear sites had been ‘obliterated’ was true, but the president is now talking about the circumstances under which another attack could be necessary…. Trump… told Netanyahu that he ‘favored a diplomatic settlement with Tehran,’ but ‘didn’t otherwise object’ to Israel’s view of the situation. 

“… In addition, the [Wall Street Journal] quoted a senior Israeli official as stating that Israel ‘wouldn’t necessarily seek explicit American approval to resume strikes on Iran,’ although Trump would likely pressure the Israelis to commit to the diplomatic track. And despite Trump’s assurances about ‘obliteration,’ ‘Israel has concluded that some of Tehran’s stockpile of near-bomb-grade enriched uranium at Isfahan survived last month’s attacks and that with considerable effort Iran could recover some of the fissile material from that site,’ the Journal said.” 

The claim that Iran’s nuclear sites had been “obliterated” was dubious from the outset. 

50 Days Delay 

CNN wrote on July 15: 

“President Trump has effectively handed Vladimir Putin an extraordinary green light: 50 days to finish off his brutal summer offensive in Ukraine before facing any consequences.

Only if there is no deal to end the war by the end of that period, in early September, would the threatened 100 percent tariffs on Russia and secondary sanctions on Russian trading partners kick in. That must seem like an eternity for millions of sleepless Ukrainians now enduring an escalating Russian onslaught of deadly missile and mass drone strikes on their towns and cities… 

“… in Moscow, officials are already quietly breathing a sigh of relief. After all, it could have been much worse for them. Sanctions could have been immediate, if President Trump had wanted, or much higher – such as the 500 percent tariff rate being proposed in a bi-partisan bill in the US Senate. Not that a renewed threat of sanctions is certain to alter the Kremlin’s course in Ukraine. Far from it… Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Tuesday that Russia would be able to deal with further sanctions should Trump follow through with his threats.” 

The New York Post agreed, writing on July 17: 

“… why give the Russian strongman yet another chance, this one to last 50 days? That’s just 50 days of additional bloodshed… Indeed, within hours of Trump’s threat, Moscow launched more massive attacks on Ukraine — including, notably, on civilian sites, like a shopping center and energy infrastructure. 

“… the 50-day grace period gives Russia an incentive to ratchet up the killing and seize as much of Ukraine as possible before the deadline. Meanwhile, many — on both sides — will die during those seven weeks, for no good reason, before Russia feels any fresh pain…  there’s little logic in waiting.” 

Tricked and Outsmarted? 

Bild Online wrote on July 18: 

“It was the great hope against Putin’s missiles: On Monday, US President Donald Trump announced that he would supply weapons to Ukraine, and the Europeans would only have to pay for them. Now it’s clear: Germany not only has to pay up – it also has to supply them itself. And yet the Bundeswehr already lacks air defense. 

“The Ukrainians urgently need air defense to defend themselves against missile and drone terror from Russia. The plan: Ukraine will receive additional Patriot systems. Germany wanted to cover the cost of two units (two billion euros)… But now it turns out: Germany will not only pay, but will probably have to send Bundeswehr air defense itself because Trump doesn’t want to give up its own weapons. 

“…The idea was actually that the Americans would supply Ukraine from their own stocks and that Germany would cover the costs of reordering. But then Trump insisted that the US military could not give up any of its air defense. Europe would have to procure the air defense system from its own stocks… The fact that Germany is paying for the weapons for Ukraine is not enough. Europe must also make cuts in its depots and can only reorder replacements from the American arms industry… [A new] Patriot system is still being completed by the US arms company Raytheon and is not expected to be ready for at least six to eight months. 

“In order to help Kyiv more quickly, BILD reports that it is being examined whether Germany will (once again) step in. And transfer another Bundeswehr Patriot unit to Ukraine. The replacement would then have to be ordered from Raytheon, and delivery would take years. However, the Bundeswehr already lacks air defense. At the beginning of the Ukraine war, the troops had twelve Patriot systems to protect our country against air attacks. Three units have already been transferred to Ukraine. Two systems are in use in Poland to secure the airport through which NATO flies all weapons for Ukraine. According to BILD reports from the Bundeswehr, three systems are currently being updated and are therefore not currently operational. At least one system is needed for soldier training. 

“This means that a maximum of three units are currently available for domestic air defense. If another system is transferred, that would leave two. The situation will not improve for several years. The previous ‘traffic light’ government ordered eight Patriot systems. The first is scheduled to arrive at the Air Force at the end of 2026, and the remaining ones by 2029.” 

Merz was maneuvered into accepting this “deal.” Germans are not happy. 

Most Germans Oppose Ban of AfD 

Breitbart wrote on July 23:

“A majority of Germans oppose efforts to ban the populist Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party, with many believing that it is merely an attempt by the Berlin establishment to sideline its opposition.

“In May, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV), Germany’s political spy agency, under the direction of then-far-left Interior Minister Nancy Faeser, ruled that the AfD is a ‘right-wing extremist’ organisation. While the classification is currently under legal challenge, if upheld, it would allow for state surveillance of the party and potentially clear the way for the government to ban the party to supposedly protect German democracy…

“The survey follows warnings from Professor Andreas Rödder of the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, who cautioned last week that banning the country’s second-largest party could fundamentally undermine faith in German democracy. The professor said that ‘a ban’… would be a ‘sure path to civil war’.

“The justification for a ban of the party has also come into question, including from the former head of the same BfV political intelligence agency, which classified the party as an extremist organisation. Former Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution chief Hans-Georg Maaßen said last month that the classification was likely a result of political pressure from the then-left-wing government and the Antifa-tied former Interior Minister Nancy Faeser, to whom the agency reported at the time of the ruling.

“‘This is a clear case of using domestic intelligence services to suppress opposition,’ Maaßen said, adding that the ‘BfV has been weaponised to attack political rivals in an unscrupulous way. This damages its public reputation and undermines its core mission.’ The ex-spy chief also questioned the evidence used by his former agency…” 

According to the newest polls, the AfD has now become as popular as Chancellor Merz’s CDU party. 

Alleged Birthday Letter From Trump to Epstein Surfaces 

Daily Mail wrote on July 17: 

“President Donald Trump sent a salacious birthday message to Jeffrey Epstein that included a risqué hand-drawn picture of a naked woman with a cryptic message inside, according to a new report. Trump has furiously denied the allegations published in The Wall Street Journal that he took part in a 50th birthday album organized for the disgraced billionaire by his associate Ghislaine Maxwell.  The birthday letter included what appears to be Trump’s famous signature and was obtained by the WSJ…. [According to the Independent, dated July 18, “Trump is accused of writing a cryptic note that made mention of a ‘wonderful secret’ in his note to the disgraced financier.”] 

“Trump categorically denied any involvement in the drawing or writing of the text. ‘This is not me,’ he said. ‘This is a fake thing. It’s a fake Wall Street Journal story. ‘I never wrote a picture in my life. I don’t draw pictures of women. It’s not my language. It’s not my words… not the way I talk. Also, I don’t draw pictures…  I told Rupert Murdoch [owner of WSJ] it was a Scam, that he shouldn’t print this Fake Story. But he did, and now I’m going to sue his a… off, and that of his third rate newspaper.’ 

“Although Trump claimed he ‘never wrote a picture in my life’, several sketches he made of New York City landmarks as early as 2004 are readily available online. 

“In a separate post, he called on Attorney General Pam Bondi [after the WSJ story broke] to seek the court’s approval to release [some evidence]. ‘Based on the ridiculous amount of publicity given to Jeffrey Epstein, I have asked Attorney General Pam Bondi to produce any and all pertinent Grand Jury testimony, subject to Court approval. This SCAM, perpetuated by the Democrats, should end, right now!’… 

“There is no evidence former Democratic officials tampered with the documents or played any role in promoting conspiracies about the files, which members of Trump’s administration stoked for years.” 

It is also unclear “whether the move will be enough to quell the calls from Trump’s supporters to release the entirety of the so-called Epstein files, given the grand jury transcripts [and only “pertinent” testimony] represent a small portion of the evidence collected” (CNN, dated July 18). 

Fox News added on July 18: 

“Before joining the Trump administration, [Attorney General Pam] Bondi was among the staunchest advocates for releasing the Epstein list, telling Fox News’ Sean Hannity in 2024: ‘It should have come out a long time ago.’” 

So said many other Republicans, including  Donald Trump Jr. 

The Daily Mail wrote on July 23:

“Trump was informed months ago by Pam Bondi that his name appears ‘multiple times’ [‘more than previously thought’] in the Jeffrey Epstein files the same day she recommended against releasing all documents… because they contained child pornography and personal information for victims…”

Never Drawn Pictures?

Mediaite wrote on July 17: 

“Several drawings made by President Donald Trump in the 1990s and early 2000s resurfaced on Thursday after the president claimed to have ‘never wrote a picture in my life.’.. Trump has sketched a number of drawings over the years, including a drawing of the Manhattan skyline dated 2004 – just one year after he is accused of drawing the naked woman for Epstein. The 2004 Manhattan drawing was reportedly sketched by Trump for a charity art sale before being put up for auction again in 2019… 

“Trump sketched another drawing of the Manhattan skyline in 2005, this time for another charity auction. It was put up for auction again in 2017. These sketches from the early to mid-2000s were reportedly drawn with Sharpie markers. 

“Yet another sketch – this one displaying the Empire State Building – was produced by Trump for a charity auction in 1995, where it sold for less than $100. It was sold again at auction in 2017 for $16,000. According to the Wall Street Journal, Trump’s alleged 2003 letter to Epstein ‘contains several lines of typewritten text framed by the outline of a naked woman, which appears to be hand-drawn with a heavy marker…” 

According to the Independent, dated July 18, “At least five sketches from the late 1990s and early 2000s have been sold at auction,” including the “Money Tree Drawing.” The article also said: “In his 2010 book Trump Never Give Up, the president boasted, ‘Each year I donate an autographed doodle to the Doodle for Hunger auction at Tavern on the Green… Art may not be my strong point,’ he admitted.” 

… and the Truth will find you out… 

Trump Letter a Fabrication? 

Politico wrote on July 17: 

“President Donald Trump’s allies rushed to dismiss a report that he sent a salacious birthday letter to accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein… ‘Forgive my language but this story is complete and utter [BS],’ Vice President JD Vance wrote on X. ‘The WSJ should be ashamed for publishing it. Where is this letter? Would you be shocked to learn they never showed it to us before publishing it? Does anyone honestly believe this sounds like Donald Trump?… 

“Even Elon Musk… said the letter ‘really doesn’t sound like something Trump would say’ and ‘sounds bogus.’ Other high-profile MAGA figures and far-right activists… deemed the letter… a fabrication.” 

Speaker Mike Johnson also rushed to Trump’s defense. Paradoxically, the publication of the alleged letter might have united many MEGA supporters in defense of Trump. Steve Bannon told CNN on July 18 that “he believed the story had united a base that had been showing signs of fraying.” 

It has been said that the WSJ would have never published the article if they hadn’t been absolutely certain that the Trump letter was legit. 

JD Vance’s Head-Spinning Reversal 

The Independent wrote on July 18: 

“When he was a best-selling author with designs on running in Ohio’s Senate race four years ago, JD Vance was one of the multitudes of Republican figures who assailed the mainstream press for not giving enough attention to multimillionaire sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. Now, as Donald Trump’s vice president, Vance would prefer Epstein stay out of the headlines… 

“Vance’s admonishment represents a head-spinning reversal from the attitude he expressed in December 2021, when he wrote on the same platform (then known as Twitter) to ask what interest the U.S. government would have in ‘keeping Epstein’s clients secret.’ He also shared a post by conspiracy theorist Jack Posobiec alleging that the government had made a deal with Epstein co-conspirator and convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell, purportedly to keep a ‘little black book’ of her and Epstein’s contacts from being made public. 

“Continuing, he said: ‘If you’re a journalist and you’re not asking questions about this case you should be ashamed of yourself.’” 

Trump Sues WSJ 

Business Insider wrote on July 18: 

“President Donald Trump has made good on his pledge to sue over The Wall Street Journal’s Thursday report that Trump wrote a ‘bawdy’ letter to Jeffrey Epstein on his 50th birthday [in 2003]. Trump on Friday filed suit against Rupert Murdoch, Dow Jones, the CEO of News Corp, Robert Thomson, and Khadeeja Safdar and Joseph Palazzolo, both reporters for the Wall Street Journal, accusing the group of committing defamation by publishing the article. The suit seeks at least $10 billion in damages. [As the lawsuit includes two causes of action, for which $10 billion in damages are sought in each cause of action, many point out that Trump is actually suing for at least $20 billion in damages, not even including punitive damages, court costs etc. Some legal experts predict that the suit will be dismissed even before reaching the deposition stage. We will see.] 

“‘Despite the glaring failures in journalistic ethics and standards of accurate reporting, Defendants Dow Jones and News Corp. — at the direction of Defendants Murdoch and Thomson — published to the world the false, defamatory, and malignant statements authored by Defendants Safdar and Palazzolo,’ the filing reads. It continues: ‘Hundreds of millions of people have already viewed the false and defamatory statements published by Defendants. And given the timing of the Defendants’ article, which shows their malicious intent behind it, the overwhelming financial and reputational harms suffered by President Trump will continue to multiply.’.. 

“Trump’s name and those of some of his family members were listed in one of Epstein’s contact books, and Trump is mentioned as a passenger in flight logs for Epstein’s private jets. Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club was regularly referenced during the criminal trial of Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s associate, who was convicted of sex trafficking multiple women on Epstein’s behalf. One woman testified that Epstein, during the course of several years of abuse, took her to Mar-o-Lago and introduced her to Trump when she was 14 years old. Virginia Giuffre, one of Epstein’s most prominent accusers, who died by suicide in April, has testified that she and Maxwell were at Mar-a-Lago when Giuffre was recruited as a victim of Epstein’s.” 

Virginia Giuffre was famously pictured as a young underage girl together with Prince Andrew. She was “spotted one day by Epstein’s girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell while working a summer job, aged 15, at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach. Virginia described how she was ‘passed around like a platter of fruit’ among the Epstein and Maxwell’s friends until she managed to escape, aged 19” (The Times, dated July 1, 2025). 

In an interview with the New York Magazine in 2002, Trump said about Epstein: “He’s a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side.” In turn, Epstein believed himself to be Trump’s “closest friend”. Eventually, they had a falling out in 2004 over a bidding war on a property in Florida. 

More appalling statements are made about the close relationship between Trump and Epstein in an article by the Guardian, dated July 18, 2025—too appalling to be repeated here. 

With his lawsuit, Trump might have opened up Pandora’s Box. Many feel, it might contribute to his downfall. Note the next article. 

Risk for Trump 

Focus Online wrote on July 20: 

“Trump’s lawsuit also poses risks for the president: The issue will remain a part of media coverage as long as the proceedings continue. Furthermore, the Journal’s lawyers could attempt to question Trump under oath as part of the trial… 

“It is certainly not expected that Donald Trump’s name will be visible [in released documents], especially since the Department of Justice has already indicated that it will redact large portions of the documents, particularly victim-related and personally identifiable information… 

“Nearly 80 percent of Americans want the government to release all documents it has on convicted child molester Epstein. And more than two-thirds, including half of Republicans, believe the government is covering up evidence.” 

MSN wrote on July 19 that the US president is facing an uncontrollable loss of power. 

Mossad and the Client List 

The Daily Mail wrote on July 20: 

“John Kiriakou, an ex-CIA officer who was jailed in 2012 for leaking the agency’s waterboarding interrogation techniques used at Guantanamo Bay, shared his views on the controversial pedophile [Epstein] – including his opinion on the alleged list of clients. Kiriakou… believes the alleged list… will not see the light of day because it holds incredibly valuable intelligence information that the CIA would never hand over simply because the public demanded to see it… 

“The CIA whistleblower specifically said he believes that Epstein, 66, was employed by Israel’s intelligence service Mossad – and that is why the list will not come out… Epstein’s convicted madame Ghislaine Maxwell’s family also had alleged ties to Mossad. Her father, Robert Maxwell, was allegedly an Israeli spy… ‘I believe there was a list, a client list. There had to have been. We know there was a black book… So where is it? Was it destroyed?…’ 

“Kiriakou isn’t the only one who believes Epstein allegedly worked for Mossad, as Tucker Carlson made the same claim earlier this month… Carlson questioned where all of the billionaire’s wealth came from, going from a math teacher to ‘having multiple airplanes, a private island, and the largest residential house in Manhattan.’”  

“As MAGA World Focuses on Epstein, Trump Seeks Focus on Anything Else” 

The Washington Post wrote on July 22: 

“Over the past 48 hours, President Donald Trump has asked his Truth Social followers ‘How did [former USAID administrator] Samantha Power make all of that money?’ He said he might scuttle a stadium deal if the Washington Commanders football team doesn’t change its name back to the Washington Redskins. He highlighted a memo from his director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, that said Obama administration officials planned a ‘treasonous conspiracy in 2016’ aimed at Trump. Emphasizing the point, he posted an AI-generated video of Barack Obama being arrested in the Oval Office. 

“During a fusillade of posts on the social network he owns, Trump even released a three-minute mash-up of clips that would seem more at place on-screen at a sports bar than in a president’s official feed: a woman snatching an approaching snake from the grass, a car sliding under a truck barreling along a highway, and no fewer than four people doing tricks on motorcycles and jet skis. On Monday, Gabbard added another item to the list — announcing the release of hundreds of thousands of documents related to the 1968 assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. The through-line connecting those disparate posts? They have nothing to do with the political problem that has dogged Trump for weeks — the 2019 death of Jeffrey Epstein As the controversy over Epstein… has refused to dissipate, Trump and those closest to him have tried repeatedly to divert attention to other subjects, with limited success. 

“Republican strategist Alex Conant said the Epstein episode has called into question Trump’s ability to evade electoral consequences of actions that would kneecap other politicians. ‘Nobody turns the page better than Donald Trump,’ Conant said. ‘His entire first term was constantly changing narratives. We lost track of all the dramas because he’s always adding a new one to distract from the previous ones… Normally his base helps change the topic by latching on to a new outrage. But now he’s in a fight with his base’… efforts to change the subject have been so far unsuccessful, experts and observers say. Instead, new attention has focused on Trump’s own well-documented friendship with Epstein…  polls show that large majorities of the public believe the government is hiding facts about the Epstein case. As a result, the president… finds his political power threatened by a conspiracy theory he can’t shake. 

“… Russell Muirhead, a professor of democracy and politics at Dartmouth College and a Democratic state legislator from New Hampshire [said:] ‘… it looks like he’s just another elite, corrupt like all the rest, and that impression will remain, to some extent, regardless of whether this particular story is at the top of people’s attention.’”

Obama vs. Trump

The Daily Mail wrote on July 22:

“Former President Barack Obama tore into Donald Trump in a rare and blistering statement after the president dramatically accused him of ‘treason’ and said the Justice Department should probe his rival over the Russia ‘hoax.’  

“’Out of respect for the office of the presidency, our office does not normally dignify the constant nonsense and misinformation flowing out of this White House with a response. But these claims are outrageous enough to merit one,’ said Patrick Rodenbush, a spokesman for Obama’s office…

“The former president’s spokesman then turned to the report of Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence, who alleged that the Obama administration ‘manufactured and politicized intelligence’ against Trump. ‘Nothing in the document issued last week undercuts the widely accepted conclusion that Russia worked to influence the 2016 presidential election but did not successfully manipulate any votes. These findings were affirmed in a 2020 report by the bipartisan Senate Intelligence Committee, led by then-Chairman Marco Rubio.’

“That last line needled Trump’s secretary of state and national security advisor, who was seated next to the president during his extended discourse on Obama and his team.”

Rubio sat there quietly and visibly uncomfortably. 

ICE Raids Invasive 

The Los Angeles Times wrote on July 18: 

“It might be hard for outsiders to realize how pervasive the Trump administration’s immigration raids feel here in Southern California. Friends describe relatives been pulled over for no apparent reason. Neighbors tell me of housekeepers and gardeners too afraid to come to work… the vast majority of those hauled away have had no prior criminal convictions… 

“A few of the actions stand out because of their size, like last week’s raid on Glass House Farms, the Camarillo cannabis operation. Federal officials arrested more than 300 people and one man trying to flee… fell to his death from the top of a greenhouse. The death of the 57-year-old worker reinforced the high stakes of the raids. 

“The arrests of 31 people at a Home Depot in Hollywood also got a fair amount of attention… 

“The Fashion and Flower District emptied out after the raids… people are carrying their passports, fearing the color of their skin could get them stopped. Day care centers stand quiet because parents are afraid if they leave their children there, they might not get to see them again… 

“American citizens swept up in the raids are among the ones that have troubled readers the most…” 

Many Americans still don’t recognize the horror caused by ICE and its discriminatory raids and arrests.

Horrible Abuses at US Detention Camps 

The Guardian, July 21: 

“Migrants at a Miami immigration jail were shackled with their hands tied behind their backs and made to kneel to eat food from styrofoam plates ‘like dogs’, according to a report published on Monday into conditions at three overcrowded south Florida facilities. The incident at the downtown federal detention center is one of a succession of alleged abuses at jails operated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency (Ice) in the state since January, chronicled by the advocacy groups Human Rights Watch, Americans for Immigrant Justice, and Sanctuary of the South from interviews with detainees. 

“Dozens of men had been packed into a holding cell for hours, the report said, and denied lunch until about 7pm. They remained shackled with the food on chairs in front of them… Degrading treatment by guards is commonplace in all three jails, the groups say. At the Krome North service processing center in west Miami, female detainees were made to use toilets in full view of men being held there, and were denied access to gender-appropriate care, showers or adequate food. 

“The jail was so far beyond capacity, some transferring detainees reported, that they were held for more than 24 hours in a bus in the parking lot. Men and women were confined together, and unshackled only when they needed to use the single toilet, which quickly became clogged… When the group was finally admitted into the facility, they said, many spent up to 12 days crammed into a frigid intake room they christened la hielera – the ice box – with no bedding or warm clothing, sleeping instead on the cold concrete floor… 

“Immigration detention numbers nationally were at an average of 56,400 a day in mid-June, with almost 72% having no criminal history, according to the report…” 

CBS News had already reported on this on July 9: 

“Cuban reggaeton artist Leamsy La Figura, arrested last week in Miami-Dade on assault charges, was transferred to South Florida’s new immigration detention facility known as Alligator Alcatraz  in the Everglades, the singer confirmed in a phone call.  He and other detainees claim they are enduring inhumane conditions at the site, including lack of access to water, inadequate food and denial of religious rights… 

“In a phone call from inside the facility, La Figura described what he called horrific conditions… ‘They only brought a meal once a day and it had maggots. They never take off the lights for 24 hours. The mosquitoes are as big as elephants,’ La Figura said… Other detainees echoed La Figura’s concerns… A… detainee, who said he is Colombian, described deteriorating mental health and lack of access to necessary medical care… He also claimed his Bible was confiscated… 

“On Tuesday, state officials responded to the allegations made by detainees at the facility, saying they are ‘completely false’…” 

Of course, what else would they say? 

NBC Miami wrote on July 21: 

“Over the weekend, Miami’s archbishop prayed for the detainees outside the facility [“Alligator Alcatraz”]. The archbishop… wants to hold mass inside. That hasn’t been granted.” 

God Angry With the USA? 

The National Catholic Reporter (NCR) wrote on July 8: 

“President Donald Trump’s social media team at Homeland Security… has clearly not read any of Isaiah… The prophet famously includes the call to ‘make justice your aim: redress the wronged, hear the orphan’s plea, defend the widow.;’ … During a speech announcing the bombing of Iran, Trump invoked God. ‘I want to just say, we love you, God,’ Trump said… 

“It isn’t a stretch to imagine that if Isaiah were prophesizing today, the United States would be the subject of his righteous fury. And though many social media users were quick to admonish the administration, there were still thousands who… commented with apparent glee.”

Where Are the Deals? 

Express wrote on July 22: 

“In a stunning development that has sent shockwaves through Washington and the Trump political orbit, CNN interrupted its regular programming to air a scathing montage highlighting unfulfilled trade promises made by Donald Trump’s Commerce Secretary. The montage, released late Monday evening, compiled repeated assurances by Howard Lutnick, a close Trump ally and a key architect of the Trump administration’s economic agenda, claiming that significant trade deals were imminent. Trump once hailed him as a ‘brilliant negotiator’ but has now been exposed for making bold claims that, according to critics, were rooted in smoke and mirrors. 

“The visuals were striking: side-by-side clips showed Lutnick promising that trade deals were in their final stages, while official documents and expert analyses indicated that negotiations had either stalled or had never truly begun… This comes after President Donald Trump threatened on July 12 to impose a 30% tariff on imports from Mexico and the European Union starting on August 1. This threat followed weeks of failed negotiations with major U.S. trading partners to reach a comprehensive trade deal…” 

Subsequently, Trump announced a “massive” trade deal with Japan. But note the following articles. 

A Massive Deal with Japan? 

The Independent wrote on July 23:

“Japan agreed a trade deal that would see the US cut import tariffs on automobiles from the East Asian country from 25 per cent to 15 per cent. The deal is a significant boost to the Japanese automobile industry which sends over a quarter of its total exports to the US market… Trump described it as the ‘largest TRADE DEAL in history’ and an ‘exciting time for the United States of America’…

“The deal commits Japan to investing $550bn in the US economy. Prime minister Shigeru Ishiba confirmed the deal had been struck on Wednesday, just days after his ruling Liberal Democratic Party suffered a major loss in a key upper house election. Despite facing calls to step down in the wake of the loss, Mr Ishiba vowed to move forward with the agreement, insisting it didn’t compromise Japan’s agricultural interests… adding that US rice imports would remain within existing quotas.

“The agreement expands market access for American goods like automobiles, rice and other agricultural products. The full terms are still to be made public, however. Mr Ishiba said he would closely review the agreement before releasing it, noting his chief trade negotiator, Ryosei Akazawa, had made eight trips to Washington since April to negotiate with treasury secretary Scott Bessent and commerce secretary Howard Lutnick.

“Japanese markets reacted positively to the deal… However, Japanese bond futures fell sharply, with the 10-year benchmark dropping 0.92 yen to its lowest since March… The dollar index fell for the third consecutive day…

“The agreement drew criticism from American carmakers who argued that the deal gave preferential treatment to Japanese imports. ‘Any deal that charges a lower tariff for Japanese imports with virtually no US content than the tariff imposed on North American-built vehicles… is a bad deal for US industry and US auto workers,’ said Matt Blunt, president of the American Automotive Policy Council. Tariffs on vehicles made in North America remain at 25 per cent…

“The new agreement does not address the longstanding issue of 50 per cent American tariff on Japanese steel and aluminium. It also excludes provisions related to defence budgets…”

There was some confusion regarding alleged Japanese investments in the USA. 

Confusion Abounds…

CNBC wrote on July 23:

“‘Japan will invest, at my direction, $550 Billion Dollars into the United States, which will receive 90% of the Profits,’ Trump wrote in the post… The card on Trump’s desk displays a 10% tariff, in addition to a 15% levy rate on the automotive, pharmaceutical and semiconductor industries. However, Trump said in his Truth Social post only that Japan would face a rate of 15%, without elaborating… Below the tariff rate, ‘$400B’ appears on the board in large lettering. The number four is crossed out, with ‘500’ written above it… Trump used a different figure in his post than even the altered amount on the card, saying in the post that Japan would invest $550 billion in the U.S. It is not clear why the amount in his post was $50 billion higher than the altered amount on the card…

“Wall Street was left a bit confused by the terms of the deal. Andy Laperriere, head of U.S. policy research at Piper Sandler, said Japanese officials are ‘describing it differently’ when it comes to the investment plan. Japan’s leaders, he said, see the $550 billion figure as a cap and inclusive of government loan guarantees. ‘Especially given that the Japanese believe they are being bullied into this commitment, they will almost certainly slow walk whatever investments they don’t think are in their own economic self-interest,’ Laperriere wrote to clients in a Wednesday note.”

Please read our Editorial this week, titled, “They Are Lying to Us!” 

US Government Destroys Contraceptives Worth Almost 10 Million Dollars 

The Guardian wrote on July 18: 

“The Trump administration has decided to destroy $9.7m worth of contraceptives rather than send them abroad to women in need. A state department spokesperson confirmed that the decision had been made – a move that will cost US taxpayers $167,000. The contraceptives are primarily long-acting, such as IUDs and birth control implants, and were almost certainly intended for women in Africa, according to two senior congressional aides, one of whom visited a warehouse in Belgium that housed the contraceptives. It is not clear to the aides whether the destruction has already been carried out, but said they had been told that it was set to occur by the end of July… 

“The department decided to destroy the contraceptives because it could not sell them to any ‘eligible buyers’, in part because of US laws and rules that prohibit sending US aid to organizations that provide abortion services, counsel people about the procedure or advocate for the right to it overseas, according to the state department spokesperson. Most of the contraceptives have less than 70% of their shelf life left before they expire, the spokesperson said, and rebranding and selling the contraceptives could cost several million dollars. 

“However, the aide who visited the warehouse said that the earliest expiration date they saw on the contraceptives was 2027, and that two-thirds of the contraceptives did not have any USAID labels that would need to be rebranded. 

“The eradication of the contraceptives is part of the Trump administration’s months-long demolition of the Agency for International Development (USAID), the largest funding agency for humanitarian and development aid in the world. After the unofficial ‘department of government efficiency’ (Doge) erased 83% of USAID’s programs, [secretary of state Marco] Rubio announced in June that USAID’s entire international workforce would be abolished and its foreign assistance programs would be moved to the State Department… In total, the funding cuts to USAID could lead to more than 14m additional deaths by 2030, according to a recent study published in the journal the Lancet. A third of those deaths could be children. 

“‘If you have an unintended pregnancy and you end up having to seek unsafe abortion, it’s quite likely that you will die,’ said Sarah Shaw, the associate director of advocacy at MSI Reproductive Choices, a global family planning organization that works in nearly 40 countries. ‘If you’re not given the means to space or limit your births, you’re putting your life at risk or your child’s life at risk.’ 

“MSI tried to purchase the contraceptives from the US government, Shaw said. But the government would only accept full price – which Shaw said the agency could not afford, given that MSI would also have to shoulder the expense of transporting the contraceptives and the fact that they are inching closer to their expiration date, which could affect MSI’s ability to distribute them. 

The state department spokesperson did not specifically respond to a request for comment on Shaw’s allegation, but MSI does provide abortions as part of its global work, which may have led the department to rule it out as an ‘eligible buyer’…” 

This is another example of the rotten world with its evil demonic systems we are living in. 

500 Tons of Emergency Food to Be Destroyed 

The Atlantic wrote on July 14: 

“Five months into its unprecedented dismantling of foreign-aid programs, the Trump administration has given the order to incinerate food instead of sending it to people abroad who need it. Nearly 500 metric tons of emergency food—enough to feed about 1.5 million children for a week—are set to expire…, according to current and former government employees with direct knowledge of the rations. 

“Within weeks, two of those sources told me, the food, meant for children in Afghanistan and Pakistan, will be ash…” 

Doing Away With Capital Gains Tax on Home Sales? 

The New York Post wrote on July 22: 

“President Trump said Tuesday he is considering eliminating the capital gains tax on home sales — a potentially massive financial break for sellers… Trump was responding to a question from Real America Voice reporter Brian Glenn, who is in a relationship with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene. The Georgia GOP congresswoman recently introduced a bill in Congress calling for the elimination of the tax on home sales… 

“Minutes earlier, the president had unloaded on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell for not lowering interest rates. ‘It’s causing a problem for people who want to buy a home,’ Trump said… claiming that Powell will be out in ‘eight months’— despite his term expiring May 15… The president said the housing market could be unleashed ‘just by lowering the interest rates.’ 

“Single tax-filers can currently exclude a maximum of $250,000 in capital gains when they sell their homes, a limit that has been in place since 1997. Joint filers can exclude up to $500,000. ‘Families who work hard, build equity and sell their homes should not be punished with massive tax bills,’ Greene said in a statement about her bill. ‘The capital gains tax on home sales is an outdated, unfair burden…’ The elimination of capital gains tax would have to be passed by Congress.” 

This would be a step in the right direction. The fewer taxes, the better. 

Britain to Lower Voting Age to 16 

Semafor wrote on July 17:

“Britain’s government said it would lower the country’s voting age to 16 before the next general election in a bid to increase democratic participation. The proposal to allow 16- and 17-year-olds the right to vote in general elections represents the biggest change to the electorate since the voting age was reduced from 21 to 18 in 1969…

“The move to extend the franchise was part of the governing Labour Party’s manifesto: Labour argued that the change would bring greater fairness to 16- and 17-year-olds, many of whom already work and are eligible to serve in the military.” 

What stupidity! So, one evil is used to justify the next.

 Acknowledgement and Disclaimer:

These Current Events are compiled and commented on by Norbert Link. We gratefully acknowledge the many contributions of news articles from our readership. The publication of articles in this section is not to be viewed as an endorsement or approval as to contents or accuracy of the selected articles, but they are published for the purpose of pointing at worldwide developments in the light of biblical end-time prophecy and godly instruction. Our own comments are provided in italics.

In order to address this question, we need to know what a universalist is.

Wikipedia states the following: “The fundamental idea of Christian universalism is universal reconciliation – that all humans will eventually receive salvation. They will eventually enter God’s kingdom in Heaven, through the grace and works of the Lord Jesus Christ.”   They also have this reference:

“Otis Ainsworth Skinner (1807-1861), A Series of Sermons in Defense of the Doctrine of Universal Salvation, Page 209, [points out that universalism] is not part of mainline Christian doctrine either Catholic or Protestant. [He writes that] ‘Repentance is a means by which all men are brought into the enjoyment of religion, and we do expect any man will be saved while he continues in sin. However, Unitarian Universalism holds a universal salvation, because… ‘we expect all men will repent.’”

The Free Dictionary similarly defines universalism as “the doctrine held especially by some Christian groups, that all people will eventually be saved.”

On the website universalist.org under the heading “Who Are We?,” we read:

“We are a liberal, Universalist Christian church–liberal in that we have no creedal test for membership, Universalist in our belief in the final harmony of all souls with God, and Christian in that our mission is to create a loving community for worship and service in the spirit of Jesus Christ. We are a member congregation of the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA).”

We learn from Learn Religions.com that “Some universalists believe that after a certain cleansing period, God will free the inhabitants of hell and reconcile them to himself. Others say that after death, people will have another opportunity to choose God. For some who adhere to universalism, the doctrine also implies that there are many ways to get into heaven.”

On the website britannica.com, we read the following:

“From the beginning, Universalists have differed widely in matters of belief. Attempts to write statements of faith, one as late as 1935, met with only partial success. Liberalism, freedom of individual interpretation, tolerance of diversity, agreement on methods of approaching theological and church issues, and belief in the inherent dignity of each person have been the strongest elements keeping the movement together. Universalists generally stress the use of reason in religion and modification of belief in the light of the discoveries of science. Thus, the miraculous elements of traditional Christianity are rejected as incompatible with modern knowledge. Jesus is considered a great teacher and an example worthy of imitation, but he is not held to be divine. A broader conception of Universalism began to emerge in the 20th century. Although stressing their ties to the Christian tradition, Universalists were exploring the universal elements of religion and seeking closer relationships with non-Christian religions.”

There are many issues to be addressed from all of the above information.  Let us firstly address the belief that all humans will eventually receive salvation.

If everyone will eventually receive salvation (as it was stated by the Free Dictionary, quoted above), it simply does not matter, nor does it make any difference, how we live our lives.   The word “eventually” is interesting as it can give the impression that someone who may have lived an evil life may have to go through some “hoops” in order to finally receive their salvation.   If that was correct, it would be against all that the Bible teaches.

Let us review a few Scriptures that show behavior really does matter.

We read in 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 with our emphasis underlined:

“Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God?   Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.  And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.”

We read here that some used to behave in a wrong and sinful manner, before they became converted and members of the church of God,  but we also read in Proverbs 26:11:

“As a dog returns to his vomit, so a fool repeats his folly,” meaning that some Church members could turn back to their former life. Therefore, anyone who has gone off the straight and narrow way and has not repented and got back on track will not be in the Kingdom of God.

Further, in 1 Corinthians 15:1-2, we read:

“Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.” Paul says they have to hold fast to that which he preached to them.

Hebrews 10:26 is also instructive:

“For if we sin wilfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins.” So again, anyone who has been converted can still go off track and sin wilfully and will not be continuing in the Truth. For such a person, the consequences are dire.

We further read in 2 Peter 2:20-22:

“For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning. For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them. But it has happened to them according to the true proverb: ‘A dog returns to his own vomit,’ and, ‘a sow, having washed, to her wallowing in the mire.’”

We know that at the end time, the love of many will grow cold.   We read in Matthew 24:12:

“And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.” The love mentioned here is “agape” which is godly love and applies to Church members.  Unconverted people of this world do not have godly love within them and, because of lawlessness, the love of many in the Church will grow cold. When that happens, those who lose this godly love will not make it into the Kingdom of God unless they repent quickly of this and return to fully following the Way of God.

We also know that there will be a falling away from the Truth at the end of the age, as we read in 2 Thessalonians 2:1-3:

“Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come. Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition.”

The time frame is obviously the end time as it talks about the man of sin or the false prophet, and verse 10 is very telling in the context of the “once saved, always saved” belief of some.  It states: “… and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved.” The love of the Truth is vital to our salvation; without it, we will lose out!

1 Timothy 4:1 is also a revealing piece of Scripture:

“Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons.” Departing from the faith, for whatever reason, will be a terrible position to be in unless there is true repentance.

And in Hebrews 6:4-6, we read:

“For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame.”

Can true Christians lose their salvation? Yes!  Once saved, always saved? The Bible gives an emphatic NO to that question also.  If we’re saved now and we can’t lose out whatever we do, where’s the motivation? Why continue to grow and overcome? There would be no need, as the matter would be unchangeable, irrespective of our future behavior. However, the Scriptures clearly tell us that we must grow and overcome AND endure to the end.   We are instructed in 2 Peter 3:18 to “Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.”

We read in Revelation 3:11:

“Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown,” which clearly indicates that we could lose out.   The crown referred to is the crown of righteousness which we read about in 1 Corinthians 9:24-27: “Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.”

And so, according to the above reference, the apostle Paul understood that he could be disqualified and not receive his crown.   That goes against the teaching that we have been reviewing.

(To be continued)

Lead Writer: Brian Gale (United Kingdom)

compiled by Dave Harris

“Politicians, Wars and the Lies of This World,” is the title of a new StandingWatch program, presented by Evangelist Norbert Link. Here is the summary:  

Why do we in God’s Church refuse to vote in governmental elections, to join the military and to fight in war? The answer is simple, and it has to do with the lies with which we are bombarded on a daily basis. Do you recognize those lies in their many different forms? What are some of those lies?  And do you believe God and the Truth, or Satan and his lying politicians?

“Politiker, Kriege und die Lügen dieser Welt,” is the title of a new AufPostenStehen program, presented by Norbert Link. This German program covers similar topics as described above.

“Was wäre der Mensch ohne die Tierwelt?”  last Sabbath’s German sermonette presented by Patrick Flück, is now posted. Title in English: “What Would Humans Be Without The Animal World?”

“Akeya – Where Are You?” last Sabbath’s first split sermon, presented by Kalon Mitchell, is now posted.

“Futile Excuses,” last Sabbath’s second split sermon, presented by Michael Link, is now posted. Here is the summary:

What are some excuses that we may have said in our lifetime, especially when we were younger, that we have used to persuade ourselves from diligently studying God’s Word and keeping His Sabbaths correctly? What can we learn from the several young individuals in the Bible who obeyed God, and how can we, as children of God, continue to grow spiritually, making sure that we succeed?

On July 19, 2025, Kalon Mitchell will present the first split sermon, titled, “Akeya – Where Are You?”  and Michael Link will present the second split sermon, titled, “Futile Excuses.”

The live services are available, over video and audio, at http://eternalgod.org/live-services/ (12:30 pm Pacific Time; 1:30 pm Mountain Time; 2:30 pm Central Time; 3:30 pm Eastern Time; 8:30 pm Greenwich Mean Time; 9:30 pm Central European Time). Just click on Connect to Live Stream.

In my business of industrial recycling, I handle items that are traded through the scrap metals market. Recently, due to an increase in stolen commodities being sold in the Denver, Colorado, area, very strict laws covering identifying anyone selling things like scrap copper, brass or aluminum have been enacted.

The identification process involves a personal signature on an electronic screen. However, also included is a statement which begins with, “I swear and affirm that I am the legal owner of the property…” Of course, I could not verify in this manner due to what Jesus instructed in Matthew 5:33-37 regarding not swearing. As a result, I won’t be able to do my business in this particular city.

Typically, choosing to affirm is an acceptable alternative to swearing in such matters. In this case, though, the scrap company was operating under a county-wide mandate and could not accept just affirming. This is a company I have conducted business with for almost forty years. Fortunately, I do have other areas to sell my material.

My experience illustrates what Jesus said of those who follow Him:

“‘I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world’” (John 17:14-16).

In small ways and sometimes in big ways, we are reminded that being a Christian means that we don’t fit in this world, its governments, businesses or religious practices. Sabbath and Holy Day observances set us apart. Refusal to join in military service, not voting or being involved in political elections, rejecting jury participation and following biblical guidelines for such things as marriage, foods we eat and don’t eat, keeping God’s weekly and annual Holy Days and rejecting this world’s pagan holidays, or simply how we conduct ourselves in society at large, are among some of the ways in which we are, and must be, different.

The lesson I take away from my recent experience is that we can unexpectedly come face to face with challenges that may test us to stand up for the Truth and to reaffirm that we are indeed “not of this world.” At times like this, it is helpful to be reminded of what Paul wrote:

For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ…” (Philippians 3:20).

by Norbert Link

We speak about upheavals in Germany’s coalition government, especially involving Jens Spahn, leader of the CDU/CSU parties; continue with President Trump’s controversial tariffs and trade war policies; and address ongoing raids which are based many times on racial profiling, causing tremendous collateral damage. Please watch a recent message, titled, “Do You Love or Hate a Stranger?” 

We speak about the Epstein scandal which might prove to be Trump’s Achilles’ Heel. Please note our recent StandingWatch program, titled, “The Epstein Scandal—No Murder and No Client List?” 

We also report on court decisions and numerous federal judges standing up to, what is perceived to be, Trump’s unconstitutional executive orders.

We conclude with the powerful Houthis; Iran’s call for Trump’s assassination; more weapons for Ukraine; Canadians’ perspective on the USA;  and developments in Spain.

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

Jens Spahn Faces Criticism Over Ongoing Costs From Mask Purchases 

The Munich Eye wrote on July 7: 

“The ongoing financial implications of mask procurement during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic continue to draw scrutiny, particularly towards Jens Spahn, the former Health Minister of Germany. Despite the passage of time since the initial purchases, the federal government is still grappling with substantial follow-up costs associated with the acquisition of protective masks. According to a report by the Federal Court of Auditors submitted to the Bundestag’s Budget Committee, there remains a significant stockpile of 800 million masks as of 2024, for which no effective distribution strategy has been established. The expenses related to managing this excess procurement have surged by EUR57 million, totaling EUR517 million in 2024. Projections for the current year indicate an allocation of EUR45 million, with an anticipated total expenditure of EUR67.3 million for the years 2026 and 2027. This figure includes costs for storage, logistics, destruction of unused supplies, external consultancy, and legal advice. 

“Spahn is under increasing pressure due to the procurement strategies employed by the Health Ministry during his tenure. In 2020, the Ministry engaged directly in the procurement process, entering into fixed-price contracts without prior negotiations, which led to disputes with suppliers over unaccepted deliveries. The Federal Court of Auditors highlighted that the Ministry spent approximately EUR5.9 billion on 5.8 billion masks, yet only 1.7 billion were distributed domestically. Consequently, a significant portion of the procured masks had to be destroyed or remains pending destruction. 

“In response to the looming possibility of an inquiry, Spahn expressed a calm demeanor… He defended his actions during the pandemic, arguing that decisions made during that time should be contextualized within the crisis and criticized what he described as malicious allegations against him… However, subsequent investigations by several media outlets revealed that Spahn had played a crucial role in the mask procurement process, allegedly leading to inflated purchasing costs, favoring associates, and neglecting proper needs assessments. Spahn has denied all allegations of impropriety… 

“As discussions continue regarding the implications of the mask procurement strategy, further inquiries and testimonies are expected in the upcoming sessions of the Bundestag’s Budget and Health Committees.”

Germany’s Judicial Appointments Postponed 

Deutsche Welle reported on July 11: 

“The conservative CDU/CSU bloc has pushed for postponing the vote on one of the [three] judges… The union’s junior coalition partner, the Social Democrats, were outraged by the decision… The conservative bloc, made up of the CDU and the allied Bavarian… CSU, requested postponing the vote on the appointment of Frauke Brosius-Gersdorf following plagiarism allegations. Brosius-Gersdorf’s candidacy was put forth by the… SPD, the junior partner in the ruling coalition. 

“The conservatives had already expressed skepticism over her liberal stance on abortions and her support for mandatory vaccinations during the COVID-19 pandemic… A two-thirds majority is needed for judges to be elected to the high court. The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party has said it would support [Federal Labour Court judge Günter] Spinner [who was proposed by the CDU], but not the SPD candidates. The conservative may be reliant on AfD votes to get its candidate through as it has so far rejected talks with the Left Party. However, votes are secret so it will not necessarily be clear if the AfD votes are what gets Spinner across the line.” 

But there is much more going on behind the scenes than meets the eye. Especially “power-hungry” Jens Spahn is again in the midst of controversy. 

Note the next article. 

This Disaster Has a Name: Jens Spahn 

Bild Online published the following commentary by lead author Peter Tiede on July 11: 

“A catastrophic day for our parliament!… The election of three lawyers to Germany’s highest court has become a scandal today. A monstrous embarrassment for parliament, the constitutional court, and the country. A brutal blow to this coalition. A subterranean dismantling of a lawyer. A unique event in the history of our parliament. And this scandal… bears two names: that of Chancellor Friedrich Merz and, above all, that of Jens Spahn, his CDU/CSU parliamentary group leader. 

“Because: Spahn should have fixed all this for Merz. Spahn should have recognized that his parliamentary group would NOT elect the SPD candidate for the highest court with a majority. Now, the scandal’s glaring traces are also sticking with Merz. Spahn should have protected Merz, his own parliamentary group, and, above all, his coalition partner from this damage. Spahn slept through this for weeks, or underestimated it, or let it run. 

“But almost worse than his failure at work… is his cowardice. Because what happened that Friday morning was cowardly: Spahn hid behind a flimsy, barely investigated accusation of plagiarism against the SPD’s candidate for judge. When it became clear that even individual discussions with MPs who did not want to vote for the SPD candidate were fruitless, when it became clear that many dissenters had NOT contacted HIM, Spahn hid behind the plagiarism hedge. And then the star witness, the plagiarism hunter, came along and said: He never mentioned plagiarism. And whoosh: the hedge was gone! Behind it was a caught Jens Spahn. And a duped chancellor. 

“For this coalition… the debacle is a catastrophe. Brutal for Merz: The SPD now has every reason for bloody revenge. It can now demand even higher prices for everything it doesn’t actually want, but which is agreed upon in the coalition agreement. From pensions to citizen’s income to investments – the SPD can demand, block, and pay back. Thanks to Spahn, it can lead Merz around the ring. There’s only one thing, according to SPD leadership, the SPD can no longer do: work with Jens Spahn in a spirit of trust. And so Friedrich Merz must ask himself whether he can and wants to continue to rely on Spahn, whether [Spahn] has the trust of his parliamentary group – and whether he, the Chancellor, can still expect the SPD to put up with this Jens Spahn. 

“Merz had also been warned from within his own ranks against appointing the power-hungry Spahn as parliamentary group leader. He did it anyway. Even though Spahn, as Minister of Health, is under massive pressure due to the procurement of masks during the coronavirus pandemic. Spahn has been in self-defense mode for weeks. And now it’s obvious that Merz was wrong, that Spahn can’t do both: take care of himself and the parliamentary group; cover both his own back AND the Chancellor’s. 

“Today’s election disaster is far worse than a million pointless or overpriced masks… The damage to Merz, the CDU/CSU, and Spahn is one thing. The damage to our country is something else entirely: Friedrich Merz and the CDU/CSU must ask themselves what and who they want to continue to subject us to. Because our country has never seen such a scandalous drama as today. This must not go without consequences…” 

t-online reported on July 13 that Merz clearly supported Spahn and described the process as “undramatic.” Due to tremendous pressure, Spahn has finally admitted that he has “some” culpability and liability for the disaster.   

And More and More Tariffs 

Thomson/Reuters wrote on July 11: 

“U.S. customs duty collections jumped again in June as President Donald Trump’s tariffs gained steam, topping $100 billion for the first time during a fiscal year and helping to produce a surprise $27 billion budget surplus for the month, the Treasury Department reported on Friday. The budget data showed that tariffs are starting to build into a significant revenue contributor for the federal government, with customs duties in June hitting new records… 

“Trump has long touted tariffs as a lucrative revenue source, saying on Tuesday that ‘the big money’ would start to flow in after he imposes higher ‘reciprocal’ tariffs on U.S. trading partners on Aug. 1. Trump disagrees with economists who consistently say those taxes are paid by U.S. consumers and importers… tariffs have now grown into the fourth-largest revenue source for the federal government… 

“… the president has put his tariff assault into overdrive, announcing 50% levies on copper imports and goods from Brazil and a 35% tariff on Canadian goods, all due to start on Aug. 1. The Trump administration is preparing more sector-based tariffs on semiconductors and pharmaceuticals.” 

Trade War Continues 

Deutsche Welle wrote on July 12: 

“The US is set to impose a 30% tariff on all goods from the European Union from August 1, 2025… The 27-member bloc and the US failed to reach an agreement to strike a comprehensive trade deal, including zero-for-zero tariffs on industrial goods…. The US president said the trade relationship with the EU has been ‘unfortunately, far from Reciprocal,’ as such ‘we will charge the European Union a Tariff of only 30%.’ Trump has frequently described tariffs as charges on other countries, but in reality, the charge is usually paid by the consumer within the US. Tariffs make imported goods more expensive and thus less competitive… 

“The German economy, the biggest in Europe, is heavily reliant on exports and thus particularly vulnerable to a trade war with the US. 

“European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the EU is prepared to take the necessary steps to safeguard its economic interests if the US proceeds with imposing a 30% tariff rate on EU exports…’ including the adoption of proportionate countermeasures if required.’” 

Trump also announced a 30% tariff against Mexico. The AP wrote: “With Saturday’s letters, Trump has now issued tariff conditions on 24 countries and the 27-member European Union.” 

Politico wrote on July 12: 

“GOP warning sign in new poll: Trump’s voters don’t love his tariffs… About 1 in 4 self-identified 2024 Trump voters… said last month that the president’s tariffs are hurting the United States’ ability to negotiate better trade deals with other countries. They’re also evenly divided on whether Trump should have the ability to unilaterally impose tariffs on other countries in the first place, with 45 percent saying he should and 44 percent saying he should get approval from Congress 

“… while the tariffs he has raised on imports like steel, aluminum and auto parts, as well as a baseline 10 percent duty on all foreign goods, have brought in billions of dollars, they are paid for by the companies and individuals importing the goods — costs many companies pass onto their consumers.” 

Crazy! 

EU’s Proposed Retaliatory Tariffs 

Politico wrote on July 14:

“The European Union is looking at targeting €72 billion in U.S. goods in a second round of trade countermeasures, including aircraft, cars and car parts… 

“The bulk of those exports targeted are industrial goods, totaling €65.7 billion, while €6.4 billion in agricultural products would also be hit if EU countries back the new retaliatory tariffs. The list includes bourbon whiskey… The biggest line item in the 200-page list is aircraft and aircraft parts, with tariffs set to target almost €11 billion of U.S. exports — potentially dealing a heavy blow to plane maker Boeing… 

“Then comes machinery, followed by cars and car parts; chemicals and plastics; medical devices and equipment; electrical equipment; and industrial goods — all of which fall into multibillion-euro categories.” 

Chaotic Raid on California Cannabis Farm 

The New York Post wrote on July 11: 

“A migrant farm worker died after sustaining ‘catastrophic’ injuries from a 30-foot fall during Thursday’s chaotic immigration raid at a southern California marijuana farm… The worker… suffered a broken neck and skull, along with a severed artery, after immigration agents descended on Glass House Farms in Camarillo during a large-scale operation that erupted into a violent scene as authorities clashed with dozens of demonstrators… 

“Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said the worker wasn’t being pursued by federal authorities when he climbed onto the roof of a green house and fell… Several other farm workers were also critically injured during the raid, which resulted in the arrest of about 200 migrants suspected of being in the country illegally. US citizens were also detained, with some still unaccounted for, farm union officials said. 

“Ten migrant youths, most of them who crossed the border unaccompanied, were also found at the Ventura County pot farm… The facility is now under investigation for child labor violations… Glass House Farms has since denied claims that it violated hiring regulations or employed minors. The farm, which uses half of its space for cannabis while the other is dedicated to tomatoes and cucumbers, said it ‘fully complied with agent search warrants’ ahead of the immigration operation… Thursday’s raid is believed to be the largest carried out under the Trump administration…. 

“President Trump announced Friday that he’s granting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents ‘Total Authorization’ to arrest violent protestors following [the] chaotic California cannabis farm raid that resulted in rocks being hurled at federal law enforcement vehicles. The angry mob attempted to block a road between farm fields and several agitators appeared to be hurling rocks at the officers, who used canisters with an unknown substance and fired less-than-lethal rounds in an effort to get the crowd to retreat, according to ABC 7. 

“One man among the crowd of protesters appeared to fire a gun at advancing agents. The FBI is offering a reward up to $50,000 for information leading to the apparent shooter’s conviction.

Officers speeding away from the scene in SUVs and vans were also pelted with several large rocks… 

These violent confrontations will continue. They were so predictable. This won’t end well. 

Homan Admits: ICE Engaged in Racial Profiling 

Mediaite wrote on July 11: 

“President Donald Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, sparked a wave of angry reactions on Friday after he told Fox News that border patrol doesn’t need probable cause to detain suspected illegal migrants… ‘[They just need] articulable facts based on the location, the occupation, their physical appearance, their actions…’” 

The Forgotten Victims 

MSN wrote on July 12: 

“Federal immigration agents raided a Home Depot in Barstow last month and arrested a man who had his 3-year-old pit bull, Chuco, with him. A friend managed to grab Chuco from the scene and bring him back to the garage where he lives. The dog’s owner was deported to Mexico the next day. Pets belonging to people who are deported or flee are being left in empty apartments, dumped into the laps of unprepared friends and dropped off at overcrowded shelters… Unless people do take the initiative [and get the pets out], those animals will starve to death in those backyards or those homes… Yet with many animal refuges operating at capacity, it can be difficult to find temporary homes… Pets are like the collateral damage to the current political climate… 

“Animals suffer from the emotional strain of separation and unceremonious change when their owners vanish, experts said. When a mother and three young daughters from Nicaragua who were pursuing asylum in the U.S. were unexpectedly deported in May following a routine hearing, they left behind their beloved senior dog. She was taken in by the mother’s stepmom. Not long after, the small dog had to be ushered into surgery to treat a life-threatening mass. The small dog is on the mend physically, but ‘is clearly depressed, barely functioning and missing her family,’ the stepmother wrote… She is used to spending all day with the girls and sleeping with them at night, the stepmom said. From Nicaragua, the girls have been asking to get their dog back. For now, they’re using FaceTime.” 

LA Judge Orders ICE to Stop 

NPR wrote on July 11: 

“A federal judge in Los Angeles [who is black and was appointed by Joe Biden] ordered the Trump administration to stop carrying out immigration sweeps in which she said federal agents have been indiscriminately arresting people across southern California without reasonable suspicion that they’re in the country illegally. Since early June, agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Border Patrol and other federal agencies have been roving Los Angeles and surrounding counties arresting thousands of people in what civil rights lawyers characterized in a lawsuit last week as an unconstitutional and ‘extraordinary campaign of targeting people based on nothing more than the color of their skin.’ 

“In her order, Judge Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong, of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, said there is ‘a mountain of evidence’ to support the claim that agents are arresting people solely based on their race, accents, or the work they’re engaged in, in violation of the Fourth Amendment’s protection against unreasonable government seizure. ‘The seizures at issue occurred unlawfully,’ Frimpong wrote. 

“She issued two temporary restraining orders — one prohibiting immigration agents from arresting people without reasonable suspicion that they’re in the country illegally, and the other requiring agents to give people they arrest immediate access to lawyers. The orders, which apply to Los Angeles and six surrounding counties, are temporary while the case moves forward. But they could severely restrict the Trump administration’s ability to continue carrying out the raids that have sown fear and terror in immigrant and Latino neighborhoods since they started on June 6… 

“In a statement, Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin criticized the ruling. ‘A district judge is undermining the will of the American people,’ McLaughlin said. ‘America’s brave men and women are removing murderers, MS-13 gang members, pedophiles, rapists — truly the worst of the worst from Golden State communities. Law and order will prevail.’ 

“But the ruling is the latest potential roadblock for President Trump as he escalates his immigration crackdown by focusing on large, Democratic-run cities whose leaders he’s accused of trying to sabotage his efforts to carry out his mass deportation plans. 

“It came a little more than a week after Public Counsel, the American Civil Liberties Union and other groups filed an emergency class action lawsuit alleging that ICE and Border Patrol agents are engaged in widespread racial profiling, arresting people they encounter in public solely because they have brown skin or because they’re doing work often done by immigrants. Since early June, agents have repeatedly raided known hubs for Latino workers, including car washes, day laborer gathering spots, and street vendor corners. They’ve also pulled people who appear to be Latino out of their cars, and picked them up from bus stops and on sidewalks. They’ve arrested immigrants without legal status and U.S. citizens alike. Many of the arrests have been filmed by bystanders and posted to social media… 

“Judge Frimpong said during Thursday’s hearing that she was skeptical of the government’s general assurances that immigration agents are not arresting people arbitrarily… Whether immigration agents will scale back their aggressive tactics in response to the judge’s order is unclear…”

California’s Original King of Deportation 

The Los Angeles Times wrote on July 12: 

“He sent federal immigration agents into Southern California communities, farms and workplaces vowing to drive ‘illegal aliens’ back across the border. His raids regularly netted hundreds of arrests a day and he once boasted about apprehending 70,000 people in a single month in San Diego County alone. 

“When L.A. declared itself a ‘sanctuary city’ for Central American migrants, he vowed to have Washington cut off the city’s federal funding. He took pride in arresting undocumented workers when they showed up to collect their lottery winnings… Before Donald Trump and Stephen Miller and Kristi Noem, there was Harold Ezell. 

“Ezell… ran one of — if not the — biggest deportation operation in California history… using his troops to, as he put it, turn back the ‘invasion’ and return America to ‘Americans’… 

“Ezell himself admitted in 1986 that all the arrests were not keeping up with the estimated 2,000 new border crossings each day. He insisted it was about sending a message. That same year, Congress passed the landmark Immigration Reform and Control Act, which gave a path to citizenship to more than three million immigrants here illegally… 

“Ezell eventually became a major supporter of Proposition 187, the California measure that prohibited undocumented workers from receiving public assistance. The measure passed, but it began a political backlash to anti-immigration policies. Changing attitudes and demographics made California much more supportive of immigration as a benefit to the economy and the culture… Ezell died in 1998… the extremism of the 1980s and 1990s anti-immigration movement were also the seeds of its destruction… Stephen Miller should learn well from Ezell, but not in the way he would like to think… History has not been kind to Ezell… that’s how history is already remembering Miller…” 

“Support For Immigration Reaches Historic High in US Despite Trump Crusade” 

El País wrote on July 12: 

“Against the backdrop of an unprecedented crusade against migrants, the United States is experiencing a surprising turnaround in public perception on immigration, according to a recent Gallup poll. Despite the fact that this was one of the issues that marked the presidential election and delivered the presidency to Donald Trump just eight months ago, support for immigration in the country has now reached record highs, even among Republicans. About 8-in-10 Americans, 79%, say immigration is ‘a good thing’ for the country today, up sharply from 64% a year ago and a high point in a nearly 25-year trend. In contrast, only two in 10 U.S. adults say immigration is a bad thing, down from 32% last year. 

“The poll, conducted between the 2nd and 26th of June, shows that the change in perception is across the political spectrum. While Democrats remain the most positive on immigration, at 91%, there was also a significant increase among Independents and Republicans over the last year: from 64% to 79%, and from 39% to 64%, respectively…. 

“More specifically, when asked about their opinion of President Trump’s immigration policy, only 35% approve of his administration’s management on migration, while 62% disapprove. Among Hispanics, support drops to 21%, 14 points below the national average, reflecting their strong opposition to policies such as mass detentions and deportations. However, the partisan breakdown on this point is stark: 85% of Republicans approve of Trump’s work on immigration, compared to just 28% of independents and a minimal 2% of Democrats. In contrast, 81% of Democrats report ‘strong’ disapproval.” 

Hundreds at Alligator Alcatraz Without Criminal Charges 

The Miami Herald wrote on July 15: 

“Hundreds of immigrants with no criminal charges in the United States are being held at Alligator Alcatraz, a detention facility state and federal officials have characterized as a place where ‘vicious’ and ‘deranged psychopaths’ are sent before they get deported… Mixed among the detainees accused and convicted of crimes are more than 250 people who are listed as having only immigration violations but no criminal convictions or pending charges in the United States… 

“A third of the detainees have criminal convictions. Their charges range from attempted murder to illegal re-entry to traffic violations. Hundreds of others only have pending charges… The information… suggests that scores of migrants without criminal records have been targeted in the state and federal dragnet to catch and deport immigrants living illegally in Florida… 

“Nationally, nearly half of detainees in ICE custody as of late June were being held for immigration violations and did not have a criminal conviction or charge…” 

And so, we are consistently being lied to. Note the next article

Mistrust the Government

The Ron Paul Institute published the following article on July 14 which was written by Ron Paul in his weekly column:

“The willingness of so many Trump allies to openly criticize the Epstein announcement and other actions like the bombing of Iran is a positive development. Advancing liberty requires that more people refuse to automatically trust government officials, whether concerning Epstein, wars, the economy, or other important matters… 

“Those who understand the philosophy, history, and economics of liberty can explain that it is not just that some government officials lie. Instead, all governments lie, and the more important the issue the bigger the lie. In fact, the modern state is built on a series of lies…

“Exposing such lies is key for restoring liberty…” 

So true! That’s why converted Christians must not have anything to do with it. 

Mistrust the (Fake) Media

The Record wrote on July 14:

“A Kremlin-linked disinformation group has been impersonating real journalists and publishing fake articles on spoofed news websites to spread false narratives in France, Armenia, Germany, Moldova and Norway, researchers have found… Storm-1516 used the names and photos of legitimate reporters on bylines to lend credibility to false claims published on the fake news sites…

“A fake article targeting German Chancellor Friedrich Merz claimed that he had illegally killed a family of polar bears during a hunting trip in Canada. The story was unsigned but listed several staff members of the Toronto Star as authors, none of whom were involved…” 

Is Trump Falling Apart Over Epstein? 

Showbiz411 wrote on July 12:

“The presidency is falling apart [over] Pam Bondi’s announcement that no Epstein files exist. They existed a short time ago, of course, when binders were waved around reading ‘Epstein Files.’… We can imagine Trump is [in the files] since Epstein called him his best friend and there is plenty of video evidence of their hanging out together. 

“So what does Trump do? He announces this morning, apropos of nothing, that he might revoke Rosie O’Donnell’s citizenship. Rosie has been living in Ireland just to get away from the madness here. She’s very much a US citizen, born in New York to American parents. 

“Trump knows he can’t do this, but it’s a misdirection, a fake out to get the press off the Epstein story. He also announced 30% tariffs on the UK and EU today. He’s trying to get away from the court ruling last night stopping ICE from acting like the gestapo. Trump is losing bigly. Trump also lost his final appeal to not pay E. Jean Carroll $5 million in the sex abuse case.”

Trump Responds… But Fails 

NBC News wrote on July 13: 

“On the weekend President Donald Trump decided to pick his biggest political fight to date with the MAGA base he created in his own image, thousands of his adherents were gathered together… Trump pulled the rug out from his base Saturday evening when he released a lengthy social media post that completely dismissed the importance of the issue, which has consumed the right for the past week — and longer…

“Trump’s supporters have gone along with him through every scandal and policy shift. When he made a decision, his base backed him. But the Epstein issue is challenging this alliance like never before... There was no escaping the topic of the Epstein files this weekend in Tampa, with many attendees and speakers calling for Bondi to be fired — even as Trump sent the clear message that he wants his supporters to move on…

“Former Florida state Rep. Anthony Sabatini, who was among Trump’s biggest supporters when in the state Legislature and was in attendance at the event, called Trump’s Truth Social post ‘out of touch.’ 

“On the main stage at the Student Action Summit on Friday night, Megyn Kelly, a high-profile conservative commentator and Trump supporter, asked crowd a simple question: Bondi or Bongino? ‘Bongino!’ the crowd screamed in unison Friday night. ‘It’s 7,000 to 0,’ responded Charlie Kirk, prominent conservative activist and the head of Turning Points USA, who was the master of ceremonies for the weekend.” 

Trump’s Achilles Heel

The Hill added on July 13:

“Elon Musk blasted President Trump on Saturday over his defense of Attorney General Pam Bondi… ‘Just release the files as promised,’ Musk added. Musk, a few minutes later, responded to a separate post calling the Epstein case Trump’s ‘Achilles’ heel,’ rebuking the president for pledging to release the files on the campaign trail and now dismissing the significance of the case. 

“‘This is a very big deal,’ Musk responded. ‘What… kind of system are we living in if thousands of kids were abused, the government has videos of the abusers and yet none of the abusers are even facing charges!?’… The president suggested some of his political opponents ‘created’ the Epstein files…” 

Trump’s opponents created files which don’t exist? Words fail… 

Epstein Scandal Will NOT Go Away! 

Fox News wrote on July 13: 

“Longtime conservatives and supporters of Trump sounded off on social media this weekend, as well as in person during a convention in Florida, with various messages pledging that the Epstein scandal will not ‘go away.’… 

“‘Donald Trump please understand the EPSTEIN AFFAIR is not going away,’ retired Lt. Gen. Mike Flynn, Trump’s national security advisor from his first administration, posted to X on Saturday. ‘If the administration doesn’t address the massive number of unanswered questions about Epstein, especially the ABUSE OF CHILDREN BY ELITES (it is very clear that abuse occurred), then moving forward on so many other monumental challenges our nation is facing becomes much harder.’…

“‘We cannot allow pedophiles to get away. I don’t personally care who they are or what elite or powerful position they hold. They must be exposed and held accountable!!!’ Flynn continued in his X post.” 

Lingering Doubts Regarding Epstein’s “Suicide” 

Breitbart wrote on July 12: 

“[A] Wired article said on Friday that the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) recently released several hours of what it labeled ‘full raw’ video from a camera near the criminal’s cell the night before his demise. 

“Metadata embedded in the video and analyzed by WIRED and independent video forensics experts shows that rather than being a direct export from the prison’s surveillance system, the footage was modified, likely using the professional editing tool Adobe Premiere Pro. The file appears to have been assembled from at least two source clips, saved multiple times, exported, and then uploaded to the DOJ’s website, where it was presented as ‘raw’ footage. 

“Experts caution that it’s unclear what exactly was changed, and that the metadata does not prove deceptive manipulation. The video may have simply been processed for public release using available software, with no modifications beyond stitching together two clips. But the absence of a clear explanation for the processing of the file using professional editing software complicates the Justice Department’s narrative… 

“During a recent episode of The Drill Down podcast, hosts Peter Schweizer and Eric Eggers interviewed Epstein’s former attorney David Schoen… He continues to doubt that Epstein killed himself… based on the findings of Dr. Michael Baden, whom he called the best forensic pathologist in the world. He also said Epstein asked him to do work that would only have had an impact much later, suggesting he had no intention to kill himself…” 

Epstein Mysteries 

Daily Mail wrote on July 14: 

“Critics have pointed to the fact that there is a crucial minute missing from the jail house video that also does not show the door or, indeed, the inside of Epstein’s jail cell.” 

Only two cameras were operational in the vicinity of the Special Housing Unit at the time Epstein was found, and neither of them captured his cell door. Closer cameras, which might have captured the door, were reportedly malfunctioning at the time.  

Jeffrey Epstein’s cellmate was removed from his cell on the morning of August 9, 2019, as part of a routine, prearranged transfer. Despite a previous determination that Epstein needed to be housed with a cellmate, no replacement was assigned after this transfer. This left Epstein alone in his cell at the time of his death the next day. 

Coverup to Protect Prominent Pedophiles? 

Alter Net wrote on July 10:

“Alan Dershowitz… alleged in a bombshell disclosure that key documents tied to convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein are being withheld — not to protect victims, but to shield powerful figures… Dershowitz continued: ‘I know who’s suppressing them, but I’m bound by confidentiality from a judge and cases, and I can’t disclose what I know… But… I know the names of people whose files are being suppressed in order to protect them, and that’s wrong…’ 

“Meanwhile, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) reacted to Dershowitz remarks Thursday and wrote on the social platform X: ‘RELEASE THE EPSTEIN CLIENT LIST!!!!’ Political analyst Dominic Tripi wrote: ‘The names, the concealed documents, who’s being protected, all of that is available. It’s a pure coverup, they think if you find out the truth it will thoroughly destroy the legitimacy of governing institutions.’” 

Some claim that Epstein might have worked for the Mossad (Israeli intelligence) which Israel has denied. 

Trump Supporters Unhappy With Trump

Mediaite wrote on July 16:

“President Donald Trump, in a stunning Truth Social post Wednesday, branded the Jeffrey Epstein story — which has been perpetrated by the highest ranking members of his Justice Department for years — a ‘hoax.’… The president made clear he no longer wants the support of those who remain interested in the Epstein investigation…

“The comments from Trump come amid a raft of public criticism from prominent MAGA influencers over his handling of Epstein, and even public polling showing broad dissatisfaction among his base.”

Deutsche Welle added on July 15:

“Trump repeated his claim [on Tuesday]  that the Epstein files were fabricated by the Democratic presidents before him, despite having previously said during his 2024 election campaign that he would ‘probably’ release them… Many of Trump’s supporters… are accusing the administration of shielding powerful figures allegedly tied to the case…

“…far-right figures… and even his daughter-in-law, Lara Trump… have demanded more transparency. Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson also broke with Trump, calling for full disclosure of any Epstein-related files, saying, ‘We should put everything out there and let the people decide.’ Several other Republicans have echoed the same view… ‘For this to go away, you’re going to lose 10% of the MAGA movement,’ said Steve Bannon, Trump’s former chief strategist, amid the growing political fallout…”

Other prominent Republicans demanding the release of all the Epstein files include former Vice President Mike Pence, Senator John Kennedy, and Senator Ted Cruz.

AFP wrote on July 16:

“US President Donald Trump blasted ‘foolish’ [and ‘stupid’] Republican supporters Wednesday as he went on the attack against anyone questioning his administration’s handling of the case of dead sex criminal Jeffrey Epstein… “Trump is facing the most serious split in his loyal right-wing base since he returned to power…”

Trump needs to be careful that he does not lose more and more supporters. Attacking them like that is not the way to do it.

Most Americans Disagree With Trump

The New York Post wrote on July 16:

“As much as President Trump and the White House would like everyone to shut up and move on from the dead pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, a new poll shows that the scandal isn’t going away.

Rasmussen polling this week shows Trump has suffered a sharp drop in approval over the period of the Epstein brouhaha, plummeting from a plus-4 popularity rating to a negative-4 in three weeks.

“The poll of 1,164 likely voters conducted on July 8-10 found that just 21% believe the Trump FBI and DOJ are telling the truth about Epstein, who was found hanged in his jail cell in 2019.

While FBI Director Kash Patel and deputy Dan Bongino insist that Epstein committed suicide, only 31% of voters believe them.

“Roughly two-thirds of every political category — 68% of Democrats, 66% of Republicans and 69% of unaffiliated voters — reject the idea that the Epstein case is closed and instead believe that there are dozens of powerful and wealthy offenders who need to face justice.”

Three Minutes Missing

 WIRED wrote on July 16:

“Newly uncovered metadata reveals that nearly three minutes of footage were cut from what the US Department of Justice and Federal Bureau of Investigation described as ‘full raw’ surveillance video from the only functioning camera near Jeffrey Epstein’s prison cell the night before he was found dead…

“The metadata confirms that the first video file, which showed footage from August 9, 2019, continued for several minutes beyond what appears in the final version of the video and was trimmed to the 11:58:58 pm mark, right before the jump to midnight.”

Judge Blocks Trump Order on Birthright Citizenship 

Newsweek wrote on July 11: 

“The legal fight over President Donald Trump’s executive order restricting birthright citizenship could soon return to the U.S. Supreme Court.  A judge in New Hampshire on Thursday blocked Trump’s order ending birthright citizenship for children born to those without legal status from taking effect anywhere in the U.S. Judge Joseph LaPlante, who was appointed by Republican President George W. Bush, issued a preliminary injunction and certified a class-action lawsuit that includes all children who will be affected. 

“The judge’s decision comes just weeks after the Supreme Court limited judges’ authority to issue nationwide injunctions… without settling the underlying question of the constitutionality of Trump’s order. 

“The court didn’t rule out whether judges could accomplish much the same thing by a different legal means, a class action. Birthright citizenship, enshrined in the Constitution’s 14th Amendment, makes anyone born in the U.S. an American citizen, including children born to mothers in the country illegally. 

“LaPlante wrote in his order…: ‘Respondents’ arguments about irreparable harm remain unconvincing to the court, which has no difficulty concluding that the rapid adoption by executive order, without legislation and the attending national debate, of a new government policy of highly questionable constitutionality that would deny citizenship to many thousands of individuals previously granted citizenship under an indisputably longstanding policy, constitutes irreparable harm, and that all class representatives could suffer irreparable harm absent an injunction…’ 

“LaPlante’s order included a seven-day stay to allow for appeal.” 

Judges Stand Up to Trump 

The Editorial Board of the New York Times wrote on July 12: 

“Many Americans in positions of power, including corporate executives and members of Congress, seem too afraid of President Trump to stand up to his anti-democratic behavior. Federal judges have shown themselves to be exceptions. ‘Judges from across the ideological spectrum are ruling against administration policies at remarkable rates,’ said Adam Bonica, a political scientist at Stanford University. 

“These rulings have halted Mr. Trump’s vengeful attempts to destroy law firms, forestalled some of his budget cuts and kept him from deporting additional immigrants. Yes, the Supreme Court has often been more deferential to the president. Still, it has let stand many lower-court rulings and has itself constrained Mr. Trump in some cases… 

“Courts have blocked some policies, including the deportation of additional detainees to a Salvadoran prison. Other policies remain in effect, including the confinement of immigrants previously deported to El Salvador. Many cases are still being heard.”

We are setting forth below findings by some of the judges appointed by Ronald Reagan, George W. Bush, and Donald Trump: 

“J. Harvie Wilkinson III, Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. Appointed by Ronald Reagan 

“On the refusal to return Kilmar Abrego Garcia from El Salvador: ‘This is a path of perfect lawlessness, one that courts cannot condone.’… 

“Patrick J. Schiltz, District of Minnesota. Appointed by George W. Bush 

“On the revocation of a student’s visa: ‘The court cannot imagine how the public interest might be served by permitting federal officials to flaunt the very laws that they have sworn to enforce.’ 

“Clay D. Land, Middle District of Georgia. Appointed by George W. Bush 

“On an attempt to designate someone as an ‘alien enemy’ without due process: ‘Allowing constitutional rights to be dependent upon the grace of the executive branch would be a dereliction of duty by this third and independent branch of government and would be against the public interest.’ 

“Roger L. Gregory, Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. Appointed by George W. Bush 

“On a claim that Venezuela has invaded the U.S.: ‘As is becoming far too common, we are confronted again with the efforts of the executive branch to set aside the rule of law in pursuit of its goals.’ 

“Stephanie A. Gallagher, District of Maryland. Appointed by Donald Trump 

“On the deportation of an asylum seeker to El Salvador: ‘Defendants have provided no evidence, or even any specific allegations, as to how Cristian, or any other class member, poses a threat to public safety. … This is a court of evidence.’ 

“Richard J. Leon, District of Columbia District. Appointed by George W. Bush 

“On an executive order targeting the law firm WilmerHale: ‘There is no doubt this retaliatory action chills speech and legal advocacy, or that it qualifies as a constitutional harm.’ 

“John D. Bates, District of Columbia District. Appointed by George W. Bush 

“On an executive order targeting Jenner & Block: ‘In short, the order raises constitutional eyebrows many times over. It punishes and seeks to silence speech ‘at the very center of the First Amendment.’ 

“Trevor N. McFadden, District of Columbia District. Appointed by Donald Trump 

“On The Associated Press’s access to the White House being restricted for not using ‘Gulf of America’: ‘Indeed, the government has been brazen.’ 

“John C. Coughenour, Western District of Washington. Appointed by Ronald Reagan 

“On the order denying birthright citizenship: ‘I’ve been on the bench for over four decades. I can’t remember another case where the question presented is as clear as this one. This is a blatantly unconstitutional order.’ 

“Joseph N. Laplante, District of New Hampshire. Appointed by George W. Bush 

“On the order denying birthright citizenship: ‘The executive order contradicts the text of the 14th Amendment and the century-old untouched precedent that interprets it.’ 

“Royce C. Lamberth, District of Columbia District. Appointed by Ronald Reagan 

“On a funding cut for the agency overseeing Voice of America: ‘It is hard to fathom a more straightforward display of arbitrary and capricious actions than the defendants’ actions here.’ 

“Mary S. McElroy, District of Rhode Island. Appointed by Donald Trump 

“On a claim that an agency was not responsible for a funding freeze it had announced: ‘In short, the government asks the court “to overlook the simplest, most logical explanation” for what happened. The court declines.’ 

“William G. Young, District of Massachusetts. Appointed by Ronald Reagan 

“On a cut in funding for research into health disparities: ‘I have never seen government racial discrimination like this.’ 

There have of course been many more judges, appointed by Democratic presidents, taking issue with Trump’s actions. 

The article continues: 

“The judiciary’s willingness to confront Mr. Trump over the past six months has been vital. In other democracies that have slid toward autocracy, the complicity of judges has frequently been a key reason. For now, many American judges are standing firm. They have done so even as Mr. Trump and his allies have personally threatened judges and made many feel unsafe. It remains unclear what will happen next. 

“One scenario is optimistic — namely, that judges on lower courts will continue to constrain Mr. Trump, the Supreme Court will ultimately uphold most of these rulings and the administration will largely obey them… Other scenarios are more disturbing: that the Supreme Court becomes even more deferential to him, or that the administration flouts court rulings more blatantly than it already has. Either way, federal judges have made clear that they consider Mr. Trump’s conduct to be more worrisome than the conduct of any other modern president.” 

The Houthis as Powerful as Ever 

The Telegraph wrote on July 10: 

“A little over two months ago, Donald Trump was emphatic in claiming to have halted Houthi militants’ attacks on shipping in the Red Sea… Despite Mr Trump’s confidence, this week the Houthis have sunk two vessels in quick succession on the critical shipping route and shattered months of relative calm off Yemen’s coast… The Houthi resurgence has taken some nations by surprise, especially after its biggest backer – Iran – was hit first by Israel and then by US B2 bombers. 

“But through careful alliance building, ruthless extortion rackets and more independence, the group is more powerful than it has been in years. This week’s attacks, which the Houthis said were conducted in solidarity with the Palestinians, not only show the hollowness of Mr Trump’s supposed ceasefire, but also the resilience of the militant group and the limits of air strikes… 

“Mr Trump’s declaration of victory in May was murky from the start… While Mr Trump had publicly said the Houthis had agreed to stop attacks, the group itself had continued to say it would attack vessels linked to Israel and its allies. Any deal between the two was in fact probably only restricted to US vessels… 

“A two-year campaign of strikes conducted under Joe Biden and then Mr Trump is estimated to have cost at least $7 billion… Last year, United Nations experts said the Houthis were allegedly collecting as much as $180 million each month from shipping agencies to allow vessels to sail through the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden without being attacked. While the report was questioned by maritime safety experts, such income would be one of the Houthis’ main revenue streams….” 

Iran Wants Trump Assassinated 

Newsmax wrote on July 11: 

“Grand Ayatollah Naser Makarem Shirazi, Iran’s top Shiite cleric, and Grand Ayatollah Hossein Noori Hamedani issued fatwas against Trump after the U.S. bombings of Iranian nuclear facilities last month, citing alleged threats against Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and that anyone who works with the U.S. and Israel is an ‘enemy of Allah.’ Shirazi proclaimed that any ‘Muslims of the world’ who successfully assassinate Trump or Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be deemed ‘warriors of Allah’ and ‘receive blessings.’ 

“The fatwas prompted the creation of an organization called the ‘Blood Covenant,’ which claims to have raised nearly $40.3 million for Trump’s assassination… Iranian religious figures at the Howza-e Ilmiyya seminary in Qom offered support for the fatwas on Trump, saying July 2 that the president’s ‘blood is permitted’…” 

More Weapons for Ukraine 

Deutsche Welle wrote on July 14: 

“President Donald Trump said the US will send Patriot air defense systems to Ukraine and that they will be paid for by the European Union. During his announcement, Trump expressed his frustration in dealing with Russian President Vladimir Putin… Trump has threatened to impose secondary tariffs of 100% on Russia and countries that trade with it (unless a deal to end the war with Ukraine is reached within 50 days)— in an attempt to bring the war in Ukraine to an end… 

“Berlin has already provided Kyiv with three of the 12 Patriot systems it previously possessed. ‘We only have six left in Germany,’ [German defense minister Boris] Pistorius said. [He] added that at least one Patriot unit was always unavailable due to maintenance or training, and that two others had been lent to Poland. ‘We definitely can’t give any more,’ Pistorius said. Pistorius also stated that Germany would not deliver its long-range Taurus missiles to Ukraine despite Kyiv’s renewed request.” 

The Associated Press wrote on July 14: 

“Trump said European allies would buy ‘billions and billions’ of dollars of U.S. military equipment to be transferred to Ukraine…  Germany has offered to finance two Patriot systems…” 

CNN added on July 14 

“Trump spoke last week to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who said on the call he was looking for the US to deliver the systems to Germany so they could be transferred to Ukraine.” 

EU Not Entirely Happy with USA Over Ukraine

 Deutsche Welle wrote on July 15:

“‘The 50 days that Mr. Trump has announced is rather long,’ Dutch foreign minister Caspar Veldkamp said… The [European Union’s foreign affairs chief Kaja] Kallas told reporters after Tuesday’s meeting that she would like to see Europe and the US ‘share the burden’ of arming Ukraine… Denmark’s Rasmussen made a similarly veiled allusion…

“While the US ranks as Ukraine’s single largest donor since its full-scale invasion by Russia, the European Union as a whole has spent roughly the same amount as Washington over the same period… The EU outspends the US when the cost of hosting and assisting Ukrainian refugees is factored in.”

“US Navy’s Next-Generation Submarine Program Faces Alarming Delay” 

Fox News wrote on July 14: 

“The Navy’s next-generation attack submarine won’t be a reality for at least 15 years, according to a new report. The Navy’s SSN(X) was originally slated to enter production in 2031. That timeline has since slipped – to 2035 and now to 2040, due to escalating costs and budget constraints. 

“The Navy requested $623 million in its FY 2026 budget to advance the program… 

“Despite nearly doubling its shipbuilding budget over the past two decades, the Navy has consistently fallen short of its ship-count goals. The Government Accountability Office noted that Navy shipbuilding programs and yards are effectively operating in a ‘perpetual state of triage.’”

More Than Half of Canadians See U.S. as a Top Threat 

National Post wrote on July 8: 

“As U.S. President Donald Trump pursues his global trade war and talk of annexation, a new poll suggests the percentage of Canadians who view the United States as a top threat has tripled since 2019. 

“While this year’s survey by the Pew Research Center suggests that 55 per cent of Canadians still say the U.S. remains this country’s most important ally, it also says that 59 per cent now see the U.S. as a threat — up from 20 per cent in the 2019 poll… In Canada, roughly three-quarters of respondents said the U.S. poses an economic threat and 53 per cent said it poses a national security threat.” 

Israel-Syrian War Continues

Axios wrote on July 16:

“The Trump administration has asked Israel to halt its strikes on Syrian government targets and to open direct talks with Damascus, a senior U.S. official told Axios on Wednesday… U.S. officials are highly concerned that the Israeli attacks — including on Syrian military headquarters in Damascus and near the presidential palace — could destabilize the new Syrian government.” 

The Jerusalem Post added on July 16:

“As of Wednesday afternoon, the IDF had undertaken 160 aerial attacks on Syrian regime forces in and around the vicinity of Sweida in southern Syria, where Israel says the regime’s forces are slaughtering Syrian Druze.

“In addition, the IDF has attacked, and possibly destroyed, Syria’s Defense Ministry, and also attacked part of the Presidential Palace in Damascus. Dozens or more Syrian regime forces are said to have been killed in IDF attacks.”

Daily Mail wrote on July 9: 

“Spain’s hard-right Vox party has doubled down on a vow to deport illegal immigrants by declaring it would also remove foreigners who ‘have not adopted our customs’. .. 

“’We don’t know how many there are,’ he added. ‘But when we reach the government, we will. And they will all go.’ The fiery rhetoric comes as Vox enjoys a significant boost in the polls after Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s  Socialist Party (POSE) slipped in the wake of a corruption scandal… Sanchez, who leads a minority coalition government comprising far-left party Sumar, has thus far resisted mounting calls from the opposition to resign and call a snap election… 

“The main opposition People’s Party was well ahead on 33.3% support, while Vox – the third-largest party in Spain’s parliament – climbed 1.3 percentage points to 15.2%… The People’s Party has previously rejected proposed deportation plans put forward by Vox.”

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 Christian Post reported on September 15^th 2024 what the Pope (Pope Francis at that time) had said during a visit to Singapore.  It read as follows:

“During a three-day visit to Singapore, Pope Francis declared that ‘all religions are a path to God,’ sparking backlash among religious leaders in the U.S.  The statement was made at an interreligious meeting with young people at a Catholic junior college shortly before his departure back to Rome. Departing from his prepared remarks, Francis spoke off the cuff, stating that different religions are like ‘different languages to reach God. During his 2022 trip to Kazakhstan, he made similar statements. Auxiliary Bishop Athanasius Schneider of Astana, a frequent critic, had then commented on the risk of creating a ‘supermarket of religions.’”

The chaplain and Theology Department Chair at St. John XXIII College Preparatory in Katy, Texas, stated that: “Unsurprisingly, the pope’s remarks have drawn criticism, but what he said is not substantially different from things said by his immediate predecessors. Pope St. John Paul II was often criticized for his participation in interfaith prayer and dialogue. He said at a general audience in 1998 that other religions are ‘different routes’ that attempt to answer the same human desire for communion with God.”

The headline in the publication Christian Today in May 2018 was “Why Jesus is no longer the one way to heaven for many American Christians,” and this remark was made by a minister from the First Corinthian Baptist Church: “People take many paths to God, he argued, noting that he personally celebrates the paths others take in finding Him — even if that path does not involve faith in Jesus.  And so the key is you believe in God. And whatever your path is to God I celebrate that. Personally, I celebrate that.”

One writer, decrying the Pope’s comment, said: “Jesus is still the only way to heaven.”   This was correctly decrying a wrong concept and, then, mentioning another wrong concept about going to heaven at death which we have disproved time and time again.

vaticanfiles.org stated that “On April 15th, 2018 Pope Francis claimed that atheists go to Heaven thus reinforcing the impression that his opinions on the afterlife are somewhat clumsy when compared to standard biblical views.” 

In 2008, a Pew Research Center Study found that more than half of all American Christians believe that at least some non-Christian faiths can lead to salvation. Nearly a decade later, a new study has shown that even among the most traditional Christian groups, significant minorities are also rejecting God as described in the Bible.

We may recall that when the Israelites were in Egypt, that land had so many different gods.  Wikipedia writes that “gods and goddesses appear in virtually every aspect of ancient civilization, and more than 1,500 of them are known by name. Taking the Pope’s recent remarks, would any of the ancient Egyptians find the true God by worshipping these fake gods?”

It was interesting to read the following comments in the Christian Post in October 2021 with the heading “Nearly 70% of born-again Christians say other religions can lead to Heaven: study”:

“Nearly 70% of born-again Christians disagree with the biblical position that Jesus is the only way to God, according to a new survey from Probe Ministries.  The survey, which looked at religious beliefs and attitudes toward cultural behaviors, polled 3,106 Americans ages 18 to 55 from all religious groups, including 717 respondents who identified as born-again Christians.”

One other author wrote, “The very claim that there are many ways to God, assumes that some religions are wrong, because not all religions are trying to get to God.  I would like to humbly suggest that there are good reasons to think that the Christian position is true and hence, I am not angry that God has only provided one way to Him in the person of Jesus. Rather, I am grateful that, although I didn’t deserve it, God lovingly provided the way for me (and, indeed, for everyone who believes—c.f.  John 14:6.”

John 14:6 reads: “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.’”

And that is correct! The Bible says that there is no other way other than through Christ!   And yet the Catholic Church themselves state: “In its own authoritative text on the ‘unicity and universality of the salvific mystery of Jesus Christ,’ the Vatican cites the Acts of the Apostles: ‘There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved’‌ (Acts 4:12).”   You have to wonder how the Popes reconcile their views that atheists get to heaven (a wrong concept anyway) when their church quotes Acts 4:12.

Perhaps the Popes ought to preach and teach according to the beliefs that the Catholic Church has; otherwise, it is hypocrisy!

Christianity is a unique and exclusive faith, the One True God as outlined in His Word, the Holy Bible.  Along with John 14:6 and Acts 4:12 which clearly reveal this, we ought also to consider Matthew 7:13-14: “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.”

True Christianity, as we have written and said many times, is the narrow gate and involves much more than just “giving your heart to the Lord”.

In our booklet: “Many Are Called, But Few Are Chosen,” this shows that you cannot just join the Church of God.   We read on page 6 the following:

“Jesus called His disciples a ‘little flock’ (Luke 12:32), and history has certainly proven that very few people have ever been a part of the Church of God. Paul explained to the brethren in Corinth about whom God has chosen to call:

“‘For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence’ (1 Corinthians 1:26–29).”

True Christianity is the only Way to God today, and very few people have been called by God at this point in time!   The Conclusion in this booklet on page 65 reads as follows:

“What we have described and what you have learned in this booklet should prove the magnificent aspect of God’s incredible and awesome master plan for ALL of mankind. But it is YOU whom God might have predestined before time began to be called for salvation in this day and age. 

“If you understand and act upon the information contained in this booklet, as revealed in the Bible, there is every reason to conclude that YOU are one of the few—the firstfruits—who are called today with the potential to inherit eternal life and enter the Kingdom and Family of God when Christ returns.

“This means, then, that you would have a responsibility, because today would be YOUR day of salvation. It is up to you, with God’s help, to make your calling and election sure, and not to neglect such a great salvation offered to you. God is confident and convinced that you, whom He knew and predestined long before your birth to be called now, will make it into His Kingdom. Please, share His conviction in you, and act accordingly.”

The Bible is clear and unequivocal.   There is only one Way to the true God, and true Christianity is unique among all of the false religions of this world.

Lead Writer: Brian Gale (United Kingdom)

compiled by Dave Harris

A new Member Letter (July 2025) has been posted and mailed to our subscribers. Pastor Rene Messier writes about the creation of angels and the sin of Satan and those rebellious angels who followed him. Also, pointing to our unique potential to become members of the Family of God—if we remain faithful to God and stay engaged in the Work given to us.

“Jacob and Esau (Part 2) – Jacob’s Deception” is the latest video in our Bible Story Series on YouTube.

“Macht Euch bereit – das Ende ist nah!” is the title of this Sabbath’s German sermon, presented by Michael Link. Title in English: “Get Ready – The End Is Near!”

“Sanftmut statt Aggression,” last Sabbath’s German sermonette presented by Robert Macher, is now posted. Title in English: “Gentleness Instead of Aggression.”

“Family Rules—Tu Dein Bestes,” last Sabbath’s German sermon presented by Christoph Sperzel, is now posted. Title in English: “Family Rules—Do Your Best.”

“Do You Love or Hate a Stranger?” last Sabbath’s sermonette presented by Norbert Link, is now posted. Here is the summary:

Do you love strangers—legal or illegal aliens with or without documentation—or do you hate and curse them? What does God, in His Word, the Bible, say about this? And what is the fundamental difference between the right kind of patriotism and the wrong kind of nationalism?

“Staying In Your Lane,” last Sabbath’s sermon presented by Rene Messier, is now posted. Here is the summary:

In this sermon, we will look at those who strayed out of their lane and authority designated to them and the disastrous results of doing so.