This Week in the News

The Most History-Shaping Election since WW II

The Associated Press wrote on December 9:

“Britain is facing the most testing and significant period in its modern history since World War II. The polarized electorate now has a critical choice to make — but it seems unlikely the result… will heal deep and toxic divisions

“This election [on December 12] will shape the country’s future.”

Axios wrote on December 9:

“This has been a brutal campaign fought by two leaders who are disliked and distrusted by broad swaths of the public. Johnson has been accused of repeatedly misleading voters, while opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn has been charged with allowing anti-Semitism to fester within his Labour Party…”

Johnson Wins Big

 JTA wrote on December 12:

 “Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Conservative Party has defeated Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party by a large margin in Britain’s general elections on Thursday, exit polls indicate. The Conservatives received 368 seats out of 650 according to the polls by BBC, ITV and Sky News, with Labour lagging far behind with 191…

“Many British Jews have said the elections are particularly fateful for them because they believe that the Labour Party has become institutionally anti-Semitic under its left-wing leader, Jeremy Corbyn, who was elected to lead the party in 2015… If the exit polls are accurate, it would be the worst performance by Labour in any general election since the World War II…”

 It would also be the biggest victory for the Conservatives since 1987.

Brexit Almost Certainly a Given!

 The Sun added on December 12:

 “The expected results mean Britain’s political chaos could finally be over, leaving Boris with the numbers to push his Brexit deal through Parliament in weeks… Exit polls… almost always correctly predict the outcome of general elections and are known to be accurate…”

BBC News wrote on December 12:

“If the exit polls pans out – it means one big constitutional question will be ‘solved’. The UK will leave the European Union under Boris Johnson. There will be bumps along the road and negotiating a new trade deal might not be easy. But a Tory majority government will take the UK out of the EU. If the numbers in Scotland play out, though, another constitutional clash is coming… So while Brexit might become easier to deliver – there will still be big debates over the future of the UK…”

Scotland is vehemently opposed to Brexit.

The Huffington Post wrote on December 12:

“… a newly empowered Prime Minister Boris Johnson will be able to claim a mandate to ‘get Brexit done’ on his terms, likely killing off any chance of a second referendum on Britain’s membership in the European Union… [The results give] the Conservatives an unexpectedly large majority of 86 seats, if the poll is accurate… Brexit was central to the campaign run by Johnson, who is pushing to leave the European Union by the end of January…”

ABC News wrote on December 12:

“If early exit polls are any indication, Conservatives have won a huge victory in U.K.’s closely watched general election… The victory would mean a clear vindication for Brexit-champion Boris Johnson, who would remain as prime minister.”

The anti-Brexit tabloid Bild Online stated: “By the end of January, it will apparently be said: ‘Bye-Bye EU!’” But the tabloids also pointed out that difficult negotiations between the EU and Great Britain will continue until the end of 2020, to determine the future relationship between the two power blocs.

Die German paper Die Welt commented: “Brexit will now almost certainly happen by the end of January.”

Ukraine between EU and Russia

The Associated Press wrote on December 8:

“Germany’s longer-term economic interests are a continual challenge for Ukraine. Berlin is seen as having harmed Ukraine’s interests by moving forward with the completion of a Russian-German gas pipeline called Nord Stream 2 that will bring Russian natural gas to Western Europe. Its route bypasses Ukraine, cutting off its leverage as a transit country and an income source…

“Vadim Karasev, head of the Institute of Global Strategies, an independent Kyiv-based think tank, said the Europeans ‘have grown tired of Kyiv’s endless problems… European powers, he said, ‘can’t endlessly deal with Kyiv’s problems when they have their own issues to solve.’”

Russia the Clear Winner

Deutsche Welle wrote on December 9:

“Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky agreed to implement a cease-fire in eastern Ukraine by year-end, following their first meeting on Monday at a summit in Paris mediated by France and Germany… The four-way summit with the leaders of Germany and France also led to all sides agreeing to implement an ‘all for all’ prisoner exchange by the end of the year.”

Bild Online commented: “For years, Putin plays dumb, deceiving the world. And Macron and Merkel are ‘extras.’”

Newsmax added on December 9:

“The presidents of Ukraine and Russia… failed to resolve crucial issues such as a timeline on local elections and control of the borders in the rebel-held region… the two leaders failed to find a compromise to bring an end to the 5-year-old war that has killed 14,000 people, emboldened the Kremlin and reshaped European geopolitics…

“A major breakthrough at the Paris talks had been seen as unlikely… With U.S. influence waning around the world, many in Kyiv see one clear winner: Russia.”

Deutsche Welle added on December 10:

“The Ukrainian president may consider the Paris summit to be a draw with Russia, but he couldn’t be more wrong… The West and Ukraine are willing to compromise to woo [Putin], the undisputed ruler of Russia…

“The annexation of the peninsula by Russia was not even on the agenda in Paris. But… [it] helps prevent Ukraine’s ambitions to move closer towards the EU and NATO, as countries with ongoing conflicts cannot be admitted as members…”

The Bible reveals very clearly that ultimately, Ukraine and Russia will be working together AGAINST Europe.

House Democrats Push for Impeachment of President Trump

Breitbart wrote on December 10:

“House Democrats on Tuesday unveiled two articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump over his contacts with Ukraine: Abuse of power and obstruction of Congress… The charges… stem from second-hand allegations brought forth in a whistleblower complaint by a partisan CIA officer, who alleged President Trump attempted to pressure the leader of Ukraine to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter Biden, in exchange for U.S. military aid. Both President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky have both vehemently denied any pressure was applied during their July 25 telephone conversation at the center of the impeachment inquiry.

“Notably absent from the articles were any mention of bribery, which House Democrats accused the president of committing in his dealings with Ukraine. Also absent was an article regarding past claims that the president obstructed special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into now-debunked criminal conspiracy between the 2016 Trump campaign and Russia…”

Democrats decided against introducing additional articles of impeachment [such as, obstruction of justice and bribery], fearing that such additions might not even be accepted by the House controlled by the Democrats and that they would clearly guarantee their defeat in upcoming elections. Regardless, Democrats have already signed their death warrant for political suicide, as the impeachment circus will fall flat in the Senate. Trump will once again emerge as the winner and be re-elected in 2020.

No Grounds for Impeachment

Breitbart wrote on December 10:

“Democrats’ articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump allege… the two weakest possible charges among the many the House had been considering.

“The term ‘abuse of power’ does not appear in the Constitution’s Impeachment Clause, which specifies that Congress’s power of impeachment covers ‘Treason, Bribery, or other High Crimes and Misdemeanors.’…

“Harvard Law School professor emeritus Alan Dershowitz… argues… that ‘abuse of power’ is never impeachable — at least not without an underlying crime. In this case, there is none…

“Legal scholar Cass Sunstein, a former Obama administration official and an intellectual leader on the left, published a crucial book…  in 2017… Of ‘obstruction of Congress,’ Sunstein said that a president cannot be impeached simply for resisting subpoenas. A mere ‘conflict between the branches’ of government, he declared, is ‘no legitimate basis for impeachment’…”

Even scholars from the left state clearly that the Democrats have no case against Trump. But it had to develop in this way so as to guarantee that Trump will stay in office after the next election.

NAFTA Revised

The Independent wrote on December 10:

“House speaker Nancy Pelosi has announced that Democrats have reached a deal on Donald Trump’s revised version of Nafta, just after her caucus introduced two articles of impeachment against the president. The deal would revise the 1990s free trade agreement between the countries [USA, Mexico and Canada], with slight tweaks that would especially impact the autos sector, copyright and the US dairy industry.

“But the timing of the deal shows that Ms Pelosi is also playing a shrewd political game, knowing that some of her most vulnerable members may be sticking their necks out by backing impeachment against Mr Trump. At the same time, Democrats are risking handing Mr Trump a major trade victory with just under a year before the 2020 election.”

Again, the “politics” of the Democrats portray an attitude of willful self-infliction and harm.

Escalation of Chinese-American Trade War

Express wrote on December 11:

“China has ordered all its government offices and public institutions to remove American computers amid trade negotiations between the two countries failing to progress… this is likely to hit US companies such as HP, Dell and Microsoft hard. Analysts at Jefferies say that US technology companies generate as much as $150bn a year in revenues from China…

 “This comes after US President Donald Trump’s administration banned US companies from doing business with Chinese telecoms equipment maker Huawei earlier this year… Washington was said to be concerned about Chinese technology companies helping the government to conduct cyber espionage. Huawei was a particular concern as it helped build ultra-high-speed 5G networks around the world.”

This trade war, and others which are pending or which will arise, WOULD be very harmful to the American people. However, it was just announced by Newsmax, dated December 12, that  “The White House reached a ‘deal in principle’ with Beijing on trade… In the current deal, the United States would suspend tariffs expected to go into effect on $160 billion in Chinese goods, and Beijing has promised to buy more U.S. agricultural goods…”

NATO’s Uncertain Future and Europe’s Destiny

On December 4, Project Syndicate published the following article by Joschka Fischer who was German Foreign Minister and Vice Chancellor from 1998-2005:

“A profound change in US strategic priorities under President Donald Trump demands that Europeans revisit long-held assumptions about their collective defense. The result is that Europe must fend for itself for the first time since the end of World War II. Yet after so many years of strategic dependence [on] the US, Europe is unprepared – not just materially but psychologically – for today’s harsh geopolitical realities. Nowhere is this truer than in Germany.

“NATO’s future is more uncertain now than at any time in its history… NATO’s survival can no longer be taken for granted, and Europeans cannot wait 20 years to figure out what should come after it…  Europe has no choice but to become a power in its own right… But Europeans should not harbor any illusions about what defense autonomy will require.

“… NATO still exists, and there are still US troops deployed in Europe. But the operative word is ‘still.’… the alliance’s unraveling has become less a matter of ‘if’ than ‘when.’… Macron understands this, whereas Germany, in typical fashion, is paying mere lip service to its old commitments, promising to increase its defense spending but making little real headway. Macron understands that the rupture in Europe’s defense following a withdrawal of US troops… would unfold… as a sudden break… Europe… must make substantial investments in its military and expand its own capabilities on a massive scale. In other words, it must act as if the break has already happened…

“Trump’s nationalist shift under the slogan of ‘America first’ has suddenly forced Europe to confront the question of its own sovereignty, which means becoming an independent technological power with the ability to act decisively as a united front. The EU never would have done so of its own volition. Trump, whatever his intent, is forcing Europe to reinvent itself… the EU must act as if the alliance was already gone.”

Angela Merkel has been described in the German press as someone who is sound asleep. But others are not, and sooner than later, European core nations, under a new German leadership, will unite to create a powerful military unity.

Annexation of the Jordan Valley?

The Times of Israel News wrote on December 5:

“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussed the possible annexation of the Jordan Valley and other parts of the West Bank with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo during their talks here… Netanyahu stressed, however, that ‘These things are much easier when you have a government…’

“Netanyahu also said he and Pompeo agreed to move forward with plans for a joint defense treaty… Asked about the International Criminal Court chief prosecutor’s statement, issued earlier on Thursday, that she was ‘concerned’ about Netanyahu’s vow to apply Israeli sovereignty over the Jordan Valley, he replied tersely: ‘It’s our full right to do it, if we decide to do it.’”

Israel will go forward with plans such as the ones described in this article.

Praying on the Temple Mount

The Jerusalem Post wrote on December 5:

“Until recently, police have prevented Jews and other non-Muslims from praying conspicuously on the Temple Mount out of a concern that such activity would stoke tensions and lead to violence from Muslim worshipers. In the past, the police would routinely eject or detain any non-Muslim seen to be praying at the holy site, and this stance was mostly backed by the courts, which ruled that although in theory Jewish prayer was legal on the Temple Mount the police were entitled to prevent it due to security considerations. But all this has changed in recent months.

“According to Elishama Sandman, a spokesman for the Yeraeh Temple Mount visitation advocacy group, the prayer services have been taking place at least since Passover this year… He said however that the various Temple Mount activist groups are ‘not satisfied’ with the new situation, and hope eventually that the prayer services can be more organized, and that prayer will be possible with prayer shawls, tefillin, prayer books and a Torah scroll. ‘The ultimate vision is of course that the Temple be rebuilt on the Temple Mount,’ he said.”

Jewish prayers on the Temple Mount are another step towards bringing animal sacrifices and building the prophesied third temple on the Temple Mount.

New Israeli Elections in March

 The Week wrote on December 11:

 “Israel in March will vote in a third election within a year, after a final deadline for forming a government passed Wednesday and parliament moved to disband itself.

 “In the country’s last election in September, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his challenger Benny Gantz were essentially deadlocked. That meant Netanyahu was given the first opportunity to form a coalition, and when he failed to do so, Gantz took the reigns. But he also couldn’t execute an agreement, which — in an unprecedented move — meant the mandate was passed to parliament, which got one last opportunity before the clock ran down and elections became the only option.”

 The Algemeiner added on December 11:

 “What had once seemed nearly impossible to many Israelis — a third visit to polling stations after the inconclusive ballots of April and September — carries a heavy economic price: it will be well into 2020 before a new budget is passed, which will mean months of cutbacks that will weigh on growth…

 “But this time, Israel‘s longest-serving leader [Benjamin Netanyahu, 70,] is running under the cloud of a criminal indictment announced last month… As prime minister, Netanyahu is under no legal obligation to resign as a result of the indictment, and while in office he can ask the legislature to grant him immunity from prosecution.

 “As caretaker premier, Netanyahu would remain in the post until a new government is formed — a process that could stretch months past a March [2] ballot if what is likely to be tortuous coalition-building is taken into account.”

Pope Compares Trump with King Herod!

Breaking Israel News wrote on December 6:

“In a report published on Thursday, it was reported that while on a recent visit to Buddhists in Thailand, Pope Francis addressed the issue of refugees, comparing the policy of building walls and detention centers to the acts of King Herod who killed Jesus… ‘there are walls that even separate children from parents,’ Pope Francis said in an oblique reference to President Trump’s policies on the southern border, suggesting that the policies will ultimately fail. ‘Herod comes to mind. Yet for drugs, there’s no wall to keep them out.’

“King Herod, also known as Herod the Great, was a Roman client king of Judea. Herod’s family were converts to Judaism and his religious commitment was questioned by some elements of Jewish society. While Herod publicly identified himself as a Jew and was considered as such by some, this religious identification was undermined by the decadent lifestyle of the Herodians… Herod later executed several members of his own family, including his wife Mariamne.

“In the account of the Massacre of the Innocents in the New Testament, in an attempt to kill the infant Jesus, Herod gave orders to kill all boys of the age of two and under in Bethlehem and its vicinity.”

A very unfortunate comparison by the Pope, whether it was made intentionally or not.

Merkel Visits Auschwitz

Deutsche Welle reported on December 6:

“German Chancellor Angela Merkel viewed what may be the most devastating testimonial to the industrial murder perpetrated by the Nazis at Auschwitz-Birkenau: The building that houses the personal belongings of those people who were sent to their deaths at the camp. She saw enormous mounds of human hair, thousands of pairs of glasses and a mountain of suitcases…

“Merkel [addressed] the alarming increase in racism, hate crimes, intolerance, xenophobia and anti-Semitism…

“Following Helmut Schmidt (1977), and Helmut Kohl (1989 and 1995), Merkel became just the third German chancellor to visit Auschwitz… As the early afternoon sun begins to set in the west, Merkel’s journey through the darkest chapter of German history also came to a close. She saw the ruins of the gas chambers and the remnants of Birkenau’s crematorium. She stood in front of a rail car parked at the camp’s train platform, where more than 1 million people stepped off of trains and to their deaths.”

Sadly, as many fear, another Holocaust WILL happen. It is clearly prophesied in the Bible.

Germany’s Young Socialites Condemn Government for Anti-Israel Stance

The Jerusalem Post wrote on December 9:

“The youth organization of Germany’s Social Democratic Party (SPD) condemned in late November its leadership’s anti-Israel voting record at the UN. The Young Socialists (Jusos) organization wrote that the ‘disproportionate condemnation of Israel, the only democratic state in the Middle East’ is a problem affecting UN bodies ‘that is carried out not only by states of the Middle East, but also European states who pass, or abstain from, anti-Israel resolutions.’ Jusos urged Germany to ‘dissociate from the initiatives and alliances of antisemitic member states in the bodies and specialized agencies of the United Nations.’…

“There are over 70,000 members of the Jusos who fall into the age group 14 to 35 years-old.

“Germany’s Social Democratic Foreign Minister [Heiko] Maas has greenlighted nearly 30 condemnations of the Jewish state at the UN since 2018. Christoph Heusgen, Germany’s ambassador to the UN, compared Israel in March with the jihadi terrorist organization Hamas. Maas and Chancellor Angela Merkel[‘s] administration have rejected efforts to change Germany’s anti-Israel voting pattern at the UN. The Free Democratic Party pushed an initiative in the Bundestag in the Spring to reverse the alleged anti-Israel bias of the Merkel administration. Merkel’s party, the Christian Democratic Union, and the SPD rejected the initiative.”

The track record of politicians such as Maas and Heusgen is clearly appalling in this regard; and so is the at least passive approval of Angela Merkel, which stands in deep contrast to her visit at Auschwitz.

“Ninth Circuit Lifts Injunctions Blocking Trump’s ‘Public Charge’ Rule for Immigrants”

Politico wrote on December 5:

“A divided federal appeals court has lifted several injunctions blocking the Trump administration from implementing a rule aimed at limiting immigration benefits for individuals who participate in government programs such as food stamps or Medicaid.

“In an order Thursday, a three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals voted, 2-1, to stay preliminary injunctions issued by federal judges in Oakland, Calif., and Spokane, Wash., against the newly issued ‘public charge’ policy just before it was to take effect in October.

“However, the policy remains on hold because judges in Maryland and New York City also blocked the new rules nationwide and their decisions are unaffected by the ruling from the 9th Circuit, which has jurisdiction over nine Western states. The Justice Department is also appealing the other injunctions.

“The majority on the 9th Circuit panel said the Trump administration was likely to prevail in its arguments that it had legal authority to issue regulations to broaden the definition of what constituted someone likely to become dependent on public assistance. ‘We find that the history of the use of “public charge” in federal immigration law demonstrates that “public charge” does not have a fixed, unambiguous meaning,’ Judge Jay Bybee wrote, joined by Judge Sandra Ikuta. ‘Rather, the phrase is subject to multiple interpretations, it in fact has been interpreted differently, and the Executive Branch has been afforded the discretion to interpret it… the wisdom of the policy is not a question we can review,’ added Bybee, who, like Ikuta, was appointed by President George W. Bush.

“The third judge on the panel, John Owens, [who was appointed by Obama] dissented, saying he would have denied the stay and allowed the injunctions to remain in place pending more thorough review by the appeals court…”

These are alarming developments for millions upon millions of (potential) immigrants, and when the case ends up with the US Supreme Court, the opinion of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals might very well prevail.

Prosecuting the Innocent and Supporting the Guilty

Breitbart wrote on December 6:

“The criminal case against the undercover video journalists who exposed the fetal tissue trafficking activity of Planned Parenthood and its allies in the biomedical procurement industry is headed to trial. Former California Attorney General Kamala Harris, now a U.S. senator and former 2020 presidential candidate, initiated the case against David Daleiden and Sandra Merritt of Center for Medical Progress. When Harris was elected to the U.S. Senate, her successor, current Attorney General Xavier Becerra, continued the case.

“The undercover citizen journalists were charged with 15 felony counts, 14 counts of illegal recording of confidential conversations and one count of conspiracy. The case makes them the first undercover journalists to be criminally prosecuted in the history of the state of California. On Friday, Judge Christopher Hite of San Francisco Superior Court announced nine of the felony charges had sufficient evidence to proceed to trial. Hite dropped the remaining six charges.

“Daleiden said in a statement: ‘Former California Attorney General Kamala Harris concocted this bogus, biased prosecution with her Planned Parenthood backers against undercover video reporting… The real criminals are the Planned Parenthood leadership who sold fetal body parts from late-term abortions and weaponized the justice system to try to cover it up.’…

“Thomas More Society Vice President and Senior Counsel Peter Breen, said that Daleiden used the same practices other undercover journalists have used to expose corruption. ‘David Daleiden is being charged as a criminal for openly delivering information that the public has a right to know, information that the abortion lobby and its financially supported elected officials would rather keep hidden,’ he said. ‘This prosecution by the State of California is an abuse of the justice system…’”

This is indeed a scandalous example of political persecution in California’s courtrooms, and we will continue to report on the further developments of this unjust procedure.

How Robocalls Became America’s Most Prevalent Crime

The Week wrote on December 7:

“Today, half of all phone calls are automated scams… Automated telephone calls might be America’s most prevalent form of lawbreaking, with more than 180 million such calls every day. A 2009 law that banned unsolicited, prerecorded telemarketing has failed to stem the explosion of calls seeking to steal information or scare people into scams… Just the time wasted dealing with robocalls costs Americans $3 billion per year… 70 percent of Americans don’t answer calls from unfamiliar numbers anymore… October was the worst month on record, with an estimated 5.7 billion robocalls…

“By one estimate, 90 percent of scam calls from abroad now show up as U.S. numbers. Robocalls home in on targets by asking consumers to press a button if they’d like to stop receiving calls, which actually lets callers identify ‘live’ numbers

“Many Americans have been called by a fake Social Security Administration representative, who claims that the recipient’s Social Security number is compromised, asks for the number, and then uses it to commit identity theft. (In reality, the IRS and SSA don’t make unrequested telephone calls.)… Robocalls are often menacing, threatening prison or deportation; these tactics intimidate some vulnerable seniors and immigrants into cooperating…”

 Those who engage in robocalls or in hacking computers of others should be regarded as mean and despicable criminals and, if caught, they should be treated accordingly.

Volcanic Eruption on White Island

The Independent wrote on December 9:

“There are no more survivors of the volcanic eruption on New Zealand‘s White Island that killed at least [six] and left more than 30 wounded, police have said. The death toll is expected to rise [Eight missing people are believed dead]… among those currently listed as missing or injured are [five] New Zealanders who were part of the tour operation, and [24] tourists from Australia, [nine from the US, four from Germany, two each from China and Britain, one from Malaysia]…

“Many day tours visit the island regularly, and one from the Ovation of the Seas cruise liner was there at the time… Experts said they believed the island, which is New Zealand’s most continuously active volcano, had been dangerous for some time. It last erupted three years ago. ‘White Island has been a disaster waiting to happen for many years,’ said Ray Cas, a professor emeritus at Monash University…

“Monday’s was the first deadly eruption on White Island, also known as Whakaari, since 1914. The volcanic island is uninhabited and privately owned.”

The questions have been raised as to why tourists were allowed on the island when it was known that its volcano was potentially dangerous. However, there are many active or potentially active volcanoes and people do not care about the dangers. Mount Vesuvius in Italy is just one example.

Creating Animal-Human Embryos

The Daily Star wrote on December 7:

“Chinese scientists have created pig monkey hybrids… ‘This is the first report of full-term monkey-pig chimeras’, Tang Hai at the State Key Laboratory of Stem Cell and Reproductive Biology in Beijing told New Scientist.

“The animals had only a small amount of monkey DNA – concentrated in the heart, liver, spleen, lungs and skin cells. The team is now trying to create healthy animals with a higher proportion of monkey cells, says Hai. While the long-term goal is to incubate human-compatible organs in pig hosts, the team chose to develop the technique using monkey cells first.

“This is at the result of criticism around work done by Juan Carlos Izpisua Belmonte’s team at California’s Salk Institute in 2017. In that case pig-human hybrids were created but concerns were raised that the animals could have partly human brains. Belmonte’s team is now working in China, and according to an unconfirmed report have already created human-monkey chimeras…

“In other experiments, researchers have created monkeys with brains that are partially human, mice with human cells in their eyes and sheep with partially human organs. A rival team is working on a project to create a mouse with a brain made entirely of human cells.”

This is SICK and despicable! It seems that scientists will justify anything to satisfy their morbid desire for experimentation.

Samoa Incarcerates Anti-Immunization Campaigner

Deutsche Welle wrote on December 6:

“Samoan authorities on Friday warned that propaganda opposing a mass vaccination drive would not be tolerated after an anti-immunization campaigner was arrested. Police arrested Edwin Tamasese and charged him with incitement against a government order late on Thursday. The country is struggling to control a measles epidemic that has killed at least 63 people, most of them children…

“Details of the arrest were published by an online edition of [the] national newspaper  the Samoa Observer. The paper said Tamasese — who could potentially face up to two years in jail — was arrested after he breached a written warning demanding that he end his anti-vaccination activities…

“Samoa on Friday entered the second day of a lockdown as it administers compulsory vaccinations. Businesses and non-essential government services have been shut down and residents have been told to obey a dawn-to-dusk curfew and to display a red flag outside their home if they are unvaccinated to alert mobile immunization teams.”

With the hysteria pertaining to those who caution against vaccinations due to side-effects, such drastic authoritarian governmental measures can be expected to occur in many other countries as well.

Deadly Deer Disease Could Infect Humans

The Sun wrote on December 5:

“A DEADLY infection similar to mad cow disease is spreading in deer – and could infect humans, experts have warned.

“Officials are monitoring cases of chronic wasting disease (CWD), which attacks the brain, spinal cord and other tissue, in North America. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says the disease – sometimes referred to as ‘zombie deer’ – has now spread to at least 26 states.

“Around 12 months after an animal is infected with CWD, it suffers progressive weight loss, listlessness, drooling, lack of awareness, lack of fear and aggression before the infected animal dies. The disease is caused by proteins (called prions) that attack the brain and spinal tissue.

“Symptoms are similar to bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), also known as mad cow disease, and its human equivalent, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), which is incurable

“CWD, which was discovered in 1967, is spread through bodily fluids, either directly or through contamination of soil, food, or water. There’s no treatment or cure for CWD, and it’s fatal to animals who become infected. Experts fear the disease could easily make the leap to humans through infected meat….

“Dr Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, told the Independent: ‘We could be having human transmission occurring today and we wouldn’t even know it. The key issue here is that unlike the mad cow disease, here we see (chronic wasting disease) in the muscle as well, so it’s actually much more present in the meat that you’re eating. Cooking doesn’t do anything to destroy it.’”

Sadly, we can expect more and more reports like these. The Bible predicts massive deadly disease epidemics to occur soon around the world.

German Bishops: Homosexuality Is Normal

Breitbart wrote on December 11:

“The German Catholic bishops’ conference has issued a statement declaring homosexuality to be just as ‘normal’ as heterosexuality…

“Both the homosexual and heterosexual orientation ‘belong to the normal forms of a sexual predisposition that cannot and should not be changed by any specific socialization,’ the Dec. 5 communiqué stated… Since one’s sexual orientation is unchangeable, ‘in church thinking, this means that any form of discrimination against homosexuals must be rejected…’ the bishops note…”

Catholic Church thinking and God’s mind, as revealed in the Bible, are two different things.  

We also received the following report from Australia:

In a legal case here, Israel Folau, one of the top Rugby players in the world, came to a confidential settlement with Rugby Australia. He was suing for 14 million dollars for being wrongly terminated for his Instagram post that homosexuals will go to hell. Since he has hundreds of thousands of followers, Rugby Australia claimed that it was against his employment contract to make such statements publicly and it affected their income because of the loss of sponsors.

Australia currently is determining a freedom of religion bill which is causing great controversy. The religious community say it does not go far enough in allowing them to hire and fire based on religious ideals. The non-religious community say it will allow for discrimination and hate speech. Interestingly, the religious community including Catholics, Anglicans, Jews, Muslims and others are all in agreement.

EU vs. Poland on Sexual Education

LifeSite News reported on November 20, 2019:

“Over 400 members of the European Parliament have voted to pass a resolution criticizing a Polish bill called ‘Stop Pedofilii’ that seeks to protect minors from sexual abuse by adults. The… bill seeks to make the incitement of minor children to sexual activity illegal in Poland… The age of consent in Poland is currently 15… anyone who has sex with a child under 15, including another child under 15, in Poland can be charged with statutory rape.

“An explanatory note attached to the ‘Stop Pedofilii’ bill gives some historical context for the proposal. It says some sex education teachers have been promoting sexual activity, including homosexual acts and masturbation, to Polish children, thanks to sexual education standards for Europe composed by the World Health Organization and the German Federal Center for Health Education (BZgA). These standards were introduced to Poland for the first time in 2013.

“‘According to the Standards, children of the age of 0–4 should learn information regarding masturbation and enjoying pleasure by touching their bodies,’ the note states… the Standards also stipulate that children from the age of 4–6 are supposed to know how to express their own sexuality and sexual feelings as well as ‘take pleasure and joy in’ masturbating. Children aged 6–9  must learn about sexual consent and different methods of intercourse and contraception. Children between 9 and 12 are supposed to learn how to use condoms, learn about their first sexual experiences, and receive information about orgasms. Children between 12 and 15 should be able to communicate about their own and their partners’ desires ‘in order to have safe and pleasant sex.’ ‘According to the Standards, at every step of development there is also intensive familiarizing of children with homosexuality,’ the note adds.”

Shame on Germany and the WHO for promoting these terrible ungodly and clearly harmful sexual education standards, and shame on the 400 members of the European Parliament for criticizing the Polish government which is trying to stop sexual abuse of children by sex education teachers and others.

Scorpions on the Planes

USA Today wrote on December 7:

“A passenger on a United Airlines flight from San Francisco to Atlanta had a nasty surprise: A scorpion sting… [The passenger] was stung multiple times… This isn’t the first time that a scorpion has made its way onto a flight without a ticket. This is at least the third occurrence of the animal causing a disturbance on a plane in 2019 alone.

“Earlier this year, in February, [a] passenger caught a scorpion on video as it crawled out of an overhead bin after the Lion Air flight landed in Indonesia… Just a month later, a student flying from Toronto to Calgary was stung by a scorpion in the middle of the flight…”

St. Nicholas and the Devil

The Associated Press wrote on December 7:

“Dozens of people in grim reaper and devil costumes accompany St. Nicholas on his journey through the village of Valasska Polanka in this eastern corner of the Czech Republic. It’s an old pre-Christmas tradition that has been surviving for centuries in a few villages in the Wallachia region.

“The whole group parades together from door to door for the weekend. St. Nicholas presents the children with sweets to soothe them after they see the scary costumes. The devils wear homemade masks of sheepskin and travel with white creatures representing death who carry scythes. The custom reportedly dates from the pagan era before Christianity, when the masks helped the people of mountainous region defend themselves against the demons of winter.”

Paganism is still very much alive in “Christian” cultures.  Note the next article.

Austria’s Demons

The Guardian wrote on December 8:

“Goat-horned half-demons with scraggy coats of fur, lolling tongues and threatening bundles of birch branches are no one’s idea of a welcome guest on a winter’s night. In Austria, however, the figure of the Krampus has been part of pre-Christmas folklore for centuries, with men in costumes roaming the streets to scare children and grownups from the end of November to the middle of December. Yet in recent years the Krampus has developed to become an altogether very modern bogeyman, with a rising number of complaints about the demons acting in a drunkenly and disorderly fashion once they have donned their fearsome masks.

“In Carinthia, police recorded a number of violent incidents this year in the run-up to the official ‘Krampus day’ on 5 December, with one person being hit in the face with a birch and an 11-year-old child being left with bloody cut on their thigh. In Klagenfurt, in Carinthia, the fire brigade complained that two of firefighters were set upon and beaten by a group of Krampuses, while in Salzburg last Sunday police were called out to deal with a number of drunken devils in the city centre. A video of Thursday’s Krampus run in Sterzing in South Tyrol, on the Italian side of the border, shows spectators fleeing in panic as a group of devils start to beat and kick a person lying on the ground.

“In the town of Neumarkt in Lower Austria, a man dressed as a Percht, an Alpine pagan goddess, sustained severe neck injuries when a spectator yanked his mask by the horns. In Schwoich in the Tyrol region, three Krampuses set their costumes on fire and suffered burns after accidentally setting off a box of fireworks…

“In the 19th century, evil Krampus spirits began to accompany Sankt Nikolaus impersonators on home visits and would sometimes cross the threshold to scare children… in recent years the appetite for large-scale ‘Krampus runs’ has grown across Austria: at an event Salzburg on 23 November this year, about 1,000 goat-demons roamed the streets of the city…”

Christmas celebrations and accompanying pagan activities such as Krampus and other demon figures really belong together. That is why some who are professing Christianity are re-thinking their approach towards Christmas, as the next article shows.

Dropping Christmas Celebrations

Breaking Israel News wrote on December 10:

“Particularly for Christians who are reconnecting to the Hebraic roots of their faith, traditional celebrations of Christmas have begun to raise knotty questions about the lack of a scriptural basis for the holiday, as well as its seemingly pagan origins. Ever-increasing numbers of Christians are dropping the traditional celebrations associated with Christmas…

“Just how widespread is the trend away from Christmas among Christians today? [Jon] Sherman told Breaking Israel News, “Although celebrating Christmas is still all but assumed in most evangelical circles today, the occurrence of people in the faith beginning to question Christmas is global, and the magnitude is growing exponentially.”

Re-Building the Temple of Baal

Breaking Israel News wrote on December 9:

“The Russian government recently announced that it will partner with the Syrian government in reconstructing the ancient temple to the pagan god Ba’al in Palmyra… Mentioned more than 90 times in the Bible, most notably when Elijah defeated the priests of Ba’al, also known as Moloch, in a contest to bring down fire from heaven to burn a sacrifice, Ba’al became the archetypical form of idol worship

“Followers of Ba’al engaged in bisexual orgies and sacrificed human infants, burning them alive. Anthropologists conjecture that the child sacrifice was to cull the population after the inevitable outcome of wanton sexuality…”

Why would anyone professing Christianity or Islam want to rebuild such an ancient temple to a demonic pagan god?

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.

Update 903

Voice; Leave it to God

On December 14, 2019, Michael Link will present the sermonette, titled, “Voice,” and Norbert Link will present the sermon, titled, “Leave it to 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.

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Positive Discrimination

by Brian Gale (United Kingdom)

In a previous editorial in Update #877, dated 24th May 2019, entitled “How They Love to Play with Words to Get Their Own Way!” I gave the example of how a young man in the UK was discriminated against because he was “a white, heterosexual male without disability’”, according to the report put out by the BBC.

This is a growing trend to try and impose politically correct language in the UK by an ever increasing liberal elite. This has also taken hold in many other countries, and it is important to see the hypocrisy and unfairness that has gripped our nations (Please also see our Q&A, entitled “Why is political correctness a potential problem for Christians and the Church of God today?” in Update #865, dated 22nd February 2019).

Of course, we shouldn’t be surprised, but it is important to be aware of what is going on so that we are not sucked into accepting that which should not exist in a properly functioning society. On the website findlaw.co.uk, we find the definition of “positive discrimination” as follows:

“Positive discrimination is the process of giving preferential treatment, especially in employment, to minority groups of society that have been prejudiced against in the past. It should be noted that ‘preferential treatment’ does not mean that these individuals will automatically be preferred to another candidate, but rather should two candidates be deemed a similar level, the individual from the minority group will be preferred. For example, should two candidates who are equally matched in skills go for a job and one is from a minority group and one isn’t, then positive discrimination will see that the former candidate will receive the job offer.”

Positive discrimination is an oxymoron which is a figure of speech in which apparently contradictory terms appear in conjunction.

As long ago as 2011, a black TV presenter hit out at the Government’s new positive action law saying that “people should be judged on their ability and not skin colour.” She said that she was overjoyed to learn she had been picked to star in a TV series only to later discover that it was not wholly her ability to do the job, but her skin colour which helped land her the role.

Subsequently, she called on employers to pick the person they believe will be best at the job—and said those not selected for jobs and promotions must strive to make themselves more competitive instead. She said that when she discovered bosses had picked her because she was black, it bought her “crashing down” and prompted her to question whether other successes in her life were “real.”

In 2014, The Telegraph reported that William Fittall, Secretary General to the General Synod and the Church’s most senior official, told MPs and Peers that where male and female candidates are equally qualified for a position as bishop, it will be advised that the woman should be appointed over the man. This was in order to even out the gender imbalance in clerical positions as quickly as possible.

Christianity Today said that “Discrimination is an ugly word—used with increasing abandon to criticise those who fail to toe the line of tolerance.  The news that the Church of England will encourage bishop selection committees to use ‘positive discrimination’ to appoint women is therefore interesting, though not necessarily a surprise.”

What do we see from all of this?

First of all, the meaning of perfectly good English is twisted to suit what the establishment wants, and puts a positive spin on it.

Secondly, preferential treatment may be given to help multiculturism and can put members of the indigenous population at a disadvantage.

Thirdly, this legislation can be used to enable a woman bishop in the Church of England to be appointed over a male bishop when the Bible clearly shows that women should not be ordained to the ministry in the first place.

And fourthly, the idea that the best person for the job is put at risk, to say the least.

One internet commentator said that “Positive discrimination is still discrimination, calling it positive is a nonsense and a logical fallacy. If we have positive discrimination then: positive murder, positive rape, positive child abuse, positive stealing and positive money laundering and so on and so on.”

Good questions to always ask are whether such things will happen or be allowed in the coming Kingdom of God!

Jesus said in Matthew 5:37: “But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one.”   We are told to be clear-cut with our speech with no ambiguity or double meanings, and positive discrimination doesn’t fit into those categories and, therefore, won’t be allowed in the Kingdom of God.

In Isaiah 5:20 we read: “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil.” We are certainly seeing that in many ways today—particularly with sexual practices and, perhaps, positive discrimination has quietly slipped under the radar in this respect!

There is no partiality with God (Romans 2:11), which is another reason why there will be no discrimination in the Kingdom of God.

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by Norbert Link

We begin with covering the “most history-shaping election in the UK since World War II,” speak on the ongoing shaky relationship between Ukraine and Russia and Europe’s failure to intervene effectively; address the House Democrats’ decision to introduce two articles of impeachment against President Trump, thereby committing political suicide; and report on the revised AFTA agreement; the possible escalation of the Chinese-American trade war; and NATO’S uncertain future and Europe’s destiny.

We speak on Israel’s desire to annex the Jordan Valley; prayers on the Temple Mount; new elections in March; and the Pope’s incredible comparison of President Trump with King Herod.

We address Angela Merkel’s visit to Auschwitz and the youth organization of Germany’s Social Democratic Party’s condemnation of anti-Semitism manifested by German politicians.

We point out the status of the Trump administration’s new dangerous interpretation of the “public charge” immigration requirement; the ongoing lawsuit AGAINST undercover journalists exposing the terrible practices of Planned Parenthood; and ever-increasing criminal robocalls.

We also address the deadly volcanic eruption on an island belonging to New Zealand; the appalling creation of animal-human embryos by sick scientists; Samoa’s criminal persecution of an anti-vaccine campaigner; a deadly deer disease which could infect humans; new developments pertaining to the ever-increasing liberal position on homosexuality and sexual “education”; and a somewhat disturbing encounter with scorpions on airplanes.

We conclude with several articles on “Saint Nicholas” and the devil; Austria’s demons; new attitudes towards Christmas celebrations; and the re-building of the temple of Baal.

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

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The Most History-Shaping Election since WW II

The Associated Press wrote on December 9:

“Britain is facing the most testing and significant period in its modern history since World War II. The polarized electorate now has a critical choice to make — but it seems unlikely the result… will heal deep and toxic divisions

“This election [on December 12] will shape the country’s future.”

Axios wrote on December 9:

“This has been a brutal campaign fought by two leaders who are disliked and distrusted by broad swaths of the public. Johnson has been accused of repeatedly misleading voters, while opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn has been charged with allowing anti-Semitism to fester within his Labour Party…”

Johnson Wins Big

 JTA wrote on December 12:

 “Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Conservative Party has defeated Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party by a large margin in Britain’s general elections on Thursday, exit polls indicate. The Conservatives received 368 seats out of 650 according to the polls by BBC, ITV and Sky News, with Labour lagging far behind with 191…

“Many British Jews have said the elections are particularly fateful for them because they believe that the Labour Party has become institutionally anti-Semitic under its left-wing leader, Jeremy Corbyn, who was elected to lead the party in 2015… If the exit polls are accurate, it would be the worst performance by Labour in any general election since the World War II…”

 It would also be the biggest victory for the Conservatives since 1987.

Brexit Almost Certainly a Given!

 The Sun added on December 12:

 “The expected results mean Britain’s political chaos could finally be over, leaving Boris with the numbers to push his Brexit deal through Parliament in weeks… Exit polls… almost always correctly predict the outcome of general elections and are known to be accurate…”

BBC News wrote on December 12:

“If the exit polls pans out – it means one big constitutional question will be ‘solved’. The UK will leave the European Union under Boris Johnson. There will be bumps along the road and negotiating a new trade deal might not be easy. But a Tory majority government will take the UK out of the EU. If the numbers in Scotland play out, though, another constitutional clash is coming… So while Brexit might become easier to deliver – there will still be big debates over the future of the UK…”

Scotland is vehemently opposed to Brexit.

The Huffington Post wrote on December 12:

“… a newly empowered Prime Minister Boris Johnson will be able to claim a mandate to ‘get Brexit done’ on his terms, likely killing off any chance of a second referendum on Britain’s membership in the European Union… [The results give] the Conservatives an unexpectedly large majority of 86 seats, if the poll is accurate… Brexit was central to the campaign run by Johnson, who is pushing to leave the European Union by the end of January…”

ABC News wrote on December 12:

“If early exit polls are any indication, Conservatives have won a huge victory in U.K.’s closely watched general election… The victory would mean a clear vindication for Brexit-champion Boris Johnson, who would remain as prime minister.”

The anti-Brexit tabloid Bild Online stated: “By the end of January, it will apparently be said: ‘Bye-Bye EU!’” But the tabloids also pointed out that difficult negotiations between the EU and Great Britain will continue until the end of 2020, to determine the future relationship between the two power blocs.

Die German paper Die Welt commented: “Brexit will now almost certainly happen by the end of January.”

Ukraine between EU and Russia

The Associated Press wrote on December 8:

“Germany’s longer-term economic interests are a continual challenge for Ukraine. Berlin is seen as having harmed Ukraine’s interests by moving forward with the completion of a Russian-German gas pipeline called Nord Stream 2 that will bring Russian natural gas to Western Europe. Its route bypasses Ukraine, cutting off its leverage as a transit country and an income source…

“Vadim Karasev, head of the Institute of Global Strategies, an independent Kyiv-based think tank, said the Europeans ‘have grown tired of Kyiv’s endless problems… European powers, he said, ‘can’t endlessly deal with Kyiv’s problems when they have their own issues to solve.’”

Russia the Clear Winner

Deutsche Welle wrote on December 9:

“Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky agreed to implement a cease-fire in eastern Ukraine by year-end, following their first meeting on Monday at a summit in Paris mediated by France and Germany… The four-way summit with the leaders of Germany and France also led to all sides agreeing to implement an ‘all for all’ prisoner exchange by the end of the year.”

Bild Online commented: “For years, Putin plays dumb, deceiving the world. And Macron and Merkel are ‘extras.’”

Newsmax added on December 9:

“The presidents of Ukraine and Russia… failed to resolve crucial issues such as a timeline on local elections and control of the borders in the rebel-held region… the two leaders failed to find a compromise to bring an end to the 5-year-old war that has killed 14,000 people, emboldened the Kremlin and reshaped European geopolitics…

“A major breakthrough at the Paris talks had been seen as unlikely… With U.S. influence waning around the world, many in Kyiv see one clear winner: Russia.”

Deutsche Welle added on December 10:

“The Ukrainian president may consider the Paris summit to be a draw with Russia, but he couldn’t be more wrong… The West and Ukraine are willing to compromise to woo [Putin], the undisputed ruler of Russia…

“The annexation of the peninsula by Russia was not even on the agenda in Paris. But… [it] helps prevent Ukraine’s ambitions to move closer towards the EU and NATO, as countries with ongoing conflicts cannot be admitted as members…”

The Bible reveals very clearly that ultimately, Ukraine and Russia will be working together AGAINST Europe.

House Democrats Push for Impeachment of President Trump

Breitbart wrote on December 10:

“House Democrats on Tuesday unveiled two articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump over his contacts with Ukraine: Abuse of power and obstruction of Congress… The charges… stem from second-hand allegations brought forth in a whistleblower complaint by a partisan CIA officer, who alleged President Trump attempted to pressure the leader of Ukraine to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter Biden, in exchange for U.S. military aid. Both President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky have both vehemently denied any pressure was applied during their July 25 telephone conversation at the center of the impeachment inquiry.

“Notably absent from the articles were any mention of bribery, which House Democrats accused the president of committing in his dealings with Ukraine. Also absent was an article regarding past claims that the president obstructed special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into now-debunked criminal conspiracy between the 2016 Trump campaign and Russia…”

Democrats decided against introducing additional articles of impeachment [such as, obstruction of justice and bribery], fearing that such additions might not even be accepted by the House controlled by the Democrats and that they would clearly guarantee their defeat in upcoming elections. Regardless, Democrats have already signed their death warrant for political suicide, as the impeachment circus will fall flat in the Senate. Trump will once again emerge as the winner and be re-elected in 2020.

No Grounds for Impeachment

Breitbart wrote on December 10:

“Democrats’ articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump allege… the two weakest possible charges among the many the House had been considering.

“The term ‘abuse of power’ does not appear in the Constitution’s Impeachment Clause, which specifies that Congress’s power of impeachment covers ‘Treason, Bribery, or other High Crimes and Misdemeanors.’…

“Harvard Law School professor emeritus Alan Dershowitz… argues… that ‘abuse of power’ is never impeachable — at least not without an underlying crime. In this case, there is none…

“Legal scholar Cass Sunstein, a former Obama administration official and an intellectual leader on the left, published a crucial book…  in 2017… Of ‘obstruction of Congress,’ Sunstein said that a president cannot be impeached simply for resisting subpoenas. A mere ‘conflict between the branches’ of government, he declared, is ‘no legitimate basis for impeachment’…”

Even scholars from the left state clearly that the Democrats have no case against Trump. But it had to develop in this way so as to guarantee that Trump will stay in office after the next election.

NAFTA Revised

The Independent wrote on December 10:

“House speaker Nancy Pelosi has announced that Democrats have reached a deal on Donald Trump’s revised version of Nafta, just after her caucus introduced two articles of impeachment against the president. The deal would revise the 1990s free trade agreement between the countries [USA, Mexico and Canada], with slight tweaks that would especially impact the autos sector, copyright and the US dairy industry.

“But the timing of the deal shows that Ms Pelosi is also playing a shrewd political game, knowing that some of her most vulnerable members may be sticking their necks out by backing impeachment against Mr Trump. At the same time, Democrats are risking handing Mr Trump a major trade victory with just under a year before the 2020 election.”

Again, the “politics” of the Democrats portray an attitude of willful self-infliction and harm.

Escalation of Chinese-American Trade War

Express wrote on December 11:

“China has ordered all its government offices and public institutions to remove American computers amid trade negotiations between the two countries failing to progress… this is likely to hit US companies such as HP, Dell and Microsoft hard. Analysts at Jefferies say that US technology companies generate as much as $150bn a year in revenues from China…

 “This comes after US President Donald Trump’s administration banned US companies from doing business with Chinese telecoms equipment maker Huawei earlier this year… Washington was said to be concerned about Chinese technology companies helping the government to conduct cyber espionage. Huawei was a particular concern as it helped build ultra-high-speed 5G networks around the world.”

This trade war, and others which are pending or which will arise, WOULD be very harmful to the American people. However, it was just announced by Newsmax, dated December 12, that  “The White House reached a ‘deal in principle’ with Beijing on trade… In the current deal, the United States would suspend tariffs expected to go into effect on $160 billion in Chinese goods, and Beijing has promised to buy more U.S. agricultural goods…”

NATO’s Uncertain Future and Europe’s Destiny

On December 4, Project Syndicate published the following article by Joschka Fischer who was German Foreign Minister and Vice Chancellor from 1998-2005:

“A profound change in US strategic priorities under President Donald Trump demands that Europeans revisit long-held assumptions about their collective defense. The result is that Europe must fend for itself for the first time since the end of World War II. Yet after so many years of strategic dependence [on] the US, Europe is unprepared – not just materially but psychologically – for today’s harsh geopolitical realities. Nowhere is this truer than in Germany.

“NATO’s future is more uncertain now than at any time in its history… NATO’s survival can no longer be taken for granted, and Europeans cannot wait 20 years to figure out what should come after it…  Europe has no choice but to become a power in its own right… But Europeans should not harbor any illusions about what defense autonomy will require.

“… NATO still exists, and there are still US troops deployed in Europe. But the operative word is ‘still.’… the alliance’s unraveling has become less a matter of ‘if’ than ‘when.’… Macron understands this, whereas Germany, in typical fashion, is paying mere lip service to its old commitments, promising to increase its defense spending but making little real headway. Macron understands that the rupture in Europe’s defense following a withdrawal of US troops… would unfold… as a sudden break… Europe… must make substantial investments in its military and expand its own capabilities on a massive scale. In other words, it must act as if the break has already happened…

“Trump’s nationalist shift under the slogan of ‘America first’ has suddenly forced Europe to confront the question of its own sovereignty, which means becoming an independent technological power with the ability to act decisively as a united front. The EU never would have done so of its own volition. Trump, whatever his intent, is forcing Europe to reinvent itself… the EU must act as if the alliance was already gone.”

Angela Merkel has been described in the German press as someone who is sound asleep. But others are not, and sooner than later, European core nations, under a new German leadership, will unite to create a powerful military unity.

Annexation of the Jordan Valley?

The Times of Israel News wrote on December 5:

“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussed the possible annexation of the Jordan Valley and other parts of the West Bank with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo during their talks here… Netanyahu stressed, however, that ‘These things are much easier when you have a government…’

“Netanyahu also said he and Pompeo agreed to move forward with plans for a joint defense treaty… Asked about the International Criminal Court chief prosecutor’s statement, issued earlier on Thursday, that she was ‘concerned’ about Netanyahu’s vow to apply Israeli sovereignty over the Jordan Valley, he replied tersely: ‘It’s our full right to do it, if we decide to do it.’”

Israel will go forward with plans such as the ones described in this article.

Praying on the Temple Mount

The Jerusalem Post wrote on December 5:

“Until recently, police have prevented Jews and other non-Muslims from praying conspicuously on the Temple Mount out of a concern that such activity would stoke tensions and lead to violence from Muslim worshipers. In the past, the police would routinely eject or detain any non-Muslim seen to be praying at the holy site, and this stance was mostly backed by the courts, which ruled that although in theory Jewish prayer was legal on the Temple Mount the police were entitled to prevent it due to security considerations. But all this has changed in recent months.

“According to Elishama Sandman, a spokesman for the Yeraeh Temple Mount visitation advocacy group, the prayer services have been taking place at least since Passover this year… He said however that the various Temple Mount activist groups are ‘not satisfied’ with the new situation, and hope eventually that the prayer services can be more organized, and that prayer will be possible with prayer shawls, tefillin, prayer books and a Torah scroll. ‘The ultimate vision is of course that the Temple be rebuilt on the Temple Mount,’ he said.”

Jewish prayers on the Temple Mount are another step towards bringing animal sacrifices and building the prophesied third temple on the Temple Mount.

New Israeli Elections in March

 The Week wrote on December 11:

 “Israel in March will vote in a third election within a year, after a final deadline for forming a government passed Wednesday and parliament moved to disband itself.

 “In the country’s last election in September, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his challenger Benny Gantz were essentially deadlocked. That meant Netanyahu was given the first opportunity to form a coalition, and when he failed to do so, Gantz took the reigns. But he also couldn’t execute an agreement, which — in an unprecedented move — meant the mandate was passed to parliament, which got one last opportunity before the clock ran down and elections became the only option.”

 The Algemeiner added on December 11:

 “What had once seemed nearly impossible to many Israelis — a third visit to polling stations after the inconclusive ballots of April and September — carries a heavy economic price: it will be well into 2020 before a new budget is passed, which will mean months of cutbacks that will weigh on growth…

 “But this time, Israel‘s longest-serving leader [Benjamin Netanyahu, 70,] is running under the cloud of a criminal indictment announced last month… As prime minister, Netanyahu is under no legal obligation to resign as a result of the indictment, and while in office he can ask the legislature to grant him immunity from prosecution.

 “As caretaker premier, Netanyahu would remain in the post until a new government is formed — a process that could stretch months past a March [2] ballot if what is likely to be tortuous coalition-building is taken into account.”

Pope Compares Trump with King Herod!

Breaking Israel News wrote on December 6:

“In a report published on Thursday, it was reported that while on a recent visit to Buddhists in Thailand, Pope Francis addressed the issue of refugees, comparing the policy of building walls and detention centers to the acts of King Herod who killed Jesus… ‘there are walls that even separate children from parents,’ Pope Francis said in an oblique reference to President Trump’s policies on the southern border, suggesting that the policies will ultimately fail. ‘Herod comes to mind. Yet for drugs, there’s no wall to keep them out.’

“King Herod, also known as Herod the Great, was a Roman client king of Judea. Herod’s family were converts to Judaism and his religious commitment was questioned by some elements of Jewish society. While Herod publicly identified himself as a Jew and was considered as such by some, this religious identification was undermined by the decadent lifestyle of the Herodians… Herod later executed several members of his own family, including his wife Mariamne.

“In the account of the Massacre of the Innocents in the New Testament, in an attempt to kill the infant Jesus, Herod gave orders to kill all boys of the age of two and under in Bethlehem and its vicinity.”

A very unfortunate comparison by the Pope, whether it was made intentionally or not.

Merkel Visits Auschwitz

Deutsche Welle reported on December 6:

“German Chancellor Angela Merkel viewed what may be the most devastating testimonial to the industrial murder perpetrated by the Nazis at Auschwitz-Birkenau: The building that houses the personal belongings of those people who were sent to their deaths at the camp. She saw enormous mounds of human hair, thousands of pairs of glasses and a mountain of suitcases…

“Merkel [addressed] the alarming increase in racism, hate crimes, intolerance, xenophobia and anti-Semitism…

“Following Helmut Schmidt (1977), and Helmut Kohl (1989 and 1995), Merkel became just the third German chancellor to visit Auschwitz… As the early afternoon sun begins to set in the west, Merkel’s journey through the darkest chapter of German history also came to a close. She saw the ruins of the gas chambers and the remnants of Birkenau’s crematorium. She stood in front of a rail car parked at the camp’s train platform, where more than 1 million people stepped off of trains and to their deaths.”

Sadly, as many fear, another Holocaust WILL happen. It is clearly prophesied in the Bible.

Germany’s Young Socialites Condemn Government for Anti-Israel Stance

The Jerusalem Post wrote on December 9:

“The youth organization of Germany’s Social Democratic Party (SPD) condemned in late November its leadership’s anti-Israel voting record at the UN. The Young Socialists (Jusos) organization wrote that the ‘disproportionate condemnation of Israel, the only democratic state in the Middle East’ is a problem affecting UN bodies ‘that is carried out not only by states of the Middle East, but also European states who pass, or abstain from, anti-Israel resolutions.’ Jusos urged Germany to ‘dissociate from the initiatives and alliances of antisemitic member states in the bodies and specialized agencies of the United Nations.’…

“There are over 70,000 members of the Jusos who fall into the age group 14 to 35 years-old.

“Germany’s Social Democratic Foreign Minister [Heiko] Maas has greenlighted nearly 30 condemnations of the Jewish state at the UN since 2018. Christoph Heusgen, Germany’s ambassador to the UN, compared Israel in March with the jihadi terrorist organization Hamas. Maas and Chancellor Angela Merkel[‘s] administration have rejected efforts to change Germany’s anti-Israel voting pattern at the UN. The Free Democratic Party pushed an initiative in the Bundestag in the Spring to reverse the alleged anti-Israel bias of the Merkel administration. Merkel’s party, the Christian Democratic Union, and the SPD rejected the initiative.”

The track record of politicians such as Maas and Heusgen is clearly appalling in this regard; and so is the at least passive approval of Angela Merkel, which stands in deep contrast to her visit at Auschwitz.

“Ninth Circuit Lifts Injunctions Blocking Trump’s ‘Public Charge’ Rule for Immigrants”

Politico wrote on December 5:

“A divided federal appeals court has lifted several injunctions blocking the Trump administration from implementing a rule aimed at limiting immigration benefits for individuals who participate in government programs such as food stamps or Medicaid.

“In an order Thursday, a three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals voted, 2-1, to stay preliminary injunctions issued by federal judges in Oakland, Calif., and Spokane, Wash., against the newly issued ‘public charge’ policy just before it was to take effect in October.

“However, the policy remains on hold because judges in Maryland and New York City also blocked the new rules nationwide and their decisions are unaffected by the ruling from the 9th Circuit, which has jurisdiction over nine Western states. The Justice Department is also appealing the other injunctions.

“The majority on the 9th Circuit panel said the Trump administration was likely to prevail in its arguments that it had legal authority to issue regulations to broaden the definition of what constituted someone likely to become dependent on public assistance. ‘We find that the history of the use of “public charge” in federal immigration law demonstrates that “public charge” does not have a fixed, unambiguous meaning,’ Judge Jay Bybee wrote, joined by Judge Sandra Ikuta. ‘Rather, the phrase is subject to multiple interpretations, it in fact has been interpreted differently, and the Executive Branch has been afforded the discretion to interpret it… the wisdom of the policy is not a question we can review,’ added Bybee, who, like Ikuta, was appointed by President George W. Bush.

“The third judge on the panel, John Owens, [who was appointed by Obama] dissented, saying he would have denied the stay and allowed the injunctions to remain in place pending more thorough review by the appeals court…”

These are alarming developments for millions upon millions of (potential) immigrants, and when the case ends up with the US Supreme Court, the opinion of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals might very well prevail.

Prosecuting the Innocent and Supporting the Guilty

Breitbart wrote on December 6:

“The criminal case against the undercover video journalists who exposed the fetal tissue trafficking activity of Planned Parenthood and its allies in the biomedical procurement industry is headed to trial. Former California Attorney General Kamala Harris, now a U.S. senator and former 2020 presidential candidate, initiated the case against David Daleiden and Sandra Merritt of Center for Medical Progress. When Harris was elected to the U.S. Senate, her successor, current Attorney General Xavier Becerra, continued the case.

“The undercover citizen journalists were charged with 15 felony counts, 14 counts of illegal recording of confidential conversations and one count of conspiracy. The case makes them the first undercover journalists to be criminally prosecuted in the history of the state of California. On Friday, Judge Christopher Hite of San Francisco Superior Court announced nine of the felony charges had sufficient evidence to proceed to trial. Hite dropped the remaining six charges.

“Daleiden said in a statement: ‘Former California Attorney General Kamala Harris concocted this bogus, biased prosecution with her Planned Parenthood backers against undercover video reporting… The real criminals are the Planned Parenthood leadership who sold fetal body parts from late-term abortions and weaponized the justice system to try to cover it up.’…

“Thomas More Society Vice President and Senior Counsel Peter Breen, said that Daleiden used the same practices other undercover journalists have used to expose corruption. ‘David Daleiden is being charged as a criminal for openly delivering information that the public has a right to know, information that the abortion lobby and its financially supported elected officials would rather keep hidden,’ he said. ‘This prosecution by the State of California is an abuse of the justice system…’”

This is indeed a scandalous example of political persecution in California’s courtrooms, and we will continue to report on the further developments of this unjust procedure.

How Robocalls Became America’s Most Prevalent Crime

The Week wrote on December 7:

“Today, half of all phone calls are automated scams… Automated telephone calls might be America’s most prevalent form of lawbreaking, with more than 180 million such calls every day. A 2009 law that banned unsolicited, prerecorded telemarketing has failed to stem the explosion of calls seeking to steal information or scare people into scams… Just the time wasted dealing with robocalls costs Americans $3 billion per year… 70 percent of Americans don’t answer calls from unfamiliar numbers anymore… October was the worst month on record, with an estimated 5.7 billion robocalls…

“By one estimate, 90 percent of scam calls from abroad now show up as U.S. numbers. Robocalls home in on targets by asking consumers to press a button if they’d like to stop receiving calls, which actually lets callers identify ‘live’ numbers

“Many Americans have been called by a fake Social Security Administration representative, who claims that the recipient’s Social Security number is compromised, asks for the number, and then uses it to commit identity theft. (In reality, the IRS and SSA don’t make unrequested telephone calls.)… Robocalls are often menacing, threatening prison or deportation; these tactics intimidate some vulnerable seniors and immigrants into cooperating…”

 Those who engage in robocalls or in hacking computers of others should be regarded as mean and despicable criminals and, if caught, they should be treated accordingly.

Volcanic Eruption on White Island

The Independent wrote on December 9:

“There are no more survivors of the volcanic eruption on New Zealand‘s White Island that killed at least [six] and left more than 30 wounded, police have said. The death toll is expected to rise [Eight missing people are believed dead]… among those currently listed as missing or injured are [five] New Zealanders who were part of the tour operation, and [24] tourists from Australia, [nine from the US, four from Germany, two each from China and Britain, one from Malaysia]…

“Many day tours visit the island regularly, and one from the Ovation of the Seas cruise liner was there at the time… Experts said they believed the island, which is New Zealand’s most continuously active volcano, had been dangerous for some time. It last erupted three years ago. ‘White Island has been a disaster waiting to happen for many years,’ said Ray Cas, a professor emeritus at Monash University…

“Monday’s was the first deadly eruption on White Island, also known as Whakaari, since 1914. The volcanic island is uninhabited and privately owned.”

The questions have been raised as to why tourists were allowed on the island when it was known that its volcano was potentially dangerous. However, there are many active or potentially active volcanoes and people do not care about the dangers. Mount Vesuvius in Italy is just one example.

Creating Animal-Human Embryos

The Daily Star wrote on December 7:

“Chinese scientists have created pig monkey hybrids… ‘This is the first report of full-term monkey-pig chimeras’, Tang Hai at the State Key Laboratory of Stem Cell and Reproductive Biology in Beijing told New Scientist.

“The animals had only a small amount of monkey DNA – concentrated in the heart, liver, spleen, lungs and skin cells. The team is now trying to create healthy animals with a higher proportion of monkey cells, says Hai. While the long-term goal is to incubate human-compatible organs in pig hosts, the team chose to develop the technique using monkey cells first.

“This is at the result of criticism around work done by Juan Carlos Izpisua Belmonte’s team at California’s Salk Institute in 2017. In that case pig-human hybrids were created but concerns were raised that the animals could have partly human brains. Belmonte’s team is now working in China, and according to an unconfirmed report have already created human-monkey chimeras…

“In other experiments, researchers have created monkeys with brains that are partially human, mice with human cells in their eyes and sheep with partially human organs. A rival team is working on a project to create a mouse with a brain made entirely of human cells.”

This is SICK and despicable! It seems that scientists will justify anything to satisfy their morbid desire for experimentation.

Samoa Incarcerates Anti-Immunization Campaigner

Deutsche Welle wrote on December 6:

“Samoan authorities on Friday warned that propaganda opposing a mass vaccination drive would not be tolerated after an anti-immunization campaigner was arrested. Police arrested Edwin Tamasese and charged him with incitement against a government order late on Thursday. The country is struggling to control a measles epidemic that has killed at least 63 people, most of them children…

“Details of the arrest were published by an online edition of [the] national newspaper  the Samoa Observer. The paper said Tamasese — who could potentially face up to two years in jail — was arrested after he breached a written warning demanding that he end his anti-vaccination activities…

“Samoa on Friday entered the second day of a lockdown as it administers compulsory vaccinations. Businesses and non-essential government services have been shut down and residents have been told to obey a dawn-to-dusk curfew and to display a red flag outside their home if they are unvaccinated to alert mobile immunization teams.”

With the hysteria pertaining to those who caution against vaccinations due to side-effects, such drastic authoritarian governmental measures can be expected to occur in many other countries as well.

Deadly Deer Disease Could Infect Humans

The Sun wrote on December 5:

“A DEADLY infection similar to mad cow disease is spreading in deer – and could infect humans, experts have warned.

“Officials are monitoring cases of chronic wasting disease (CWD), which attacks the brain, spinal cord and other tissue, in North America. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says the disease – sometimes referred to as ‘zombie deer’ – has now spread to at least 26 states.

“Around 12 months after an animal is infected with CWD, it suffers progressive weight loss, listlessness, drooling, lack of awareness, lack of fear and aggression before the infected animal dies. The disease is caused by proteins (called prions) that attack the brain and spinal tissue.

“Symptoms are similar to bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), also known as mad cow disease, and its human equivalent, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), which is incurable

“CWD, which was discovered in 1967, is spread through bodily fluids, either directly or through contamination of soil, food, or water. There’s no treatment or cure for CWD, and it’s fatal to animals who become infected. Experts fear the disease could easily make the leap to humans through infected meat….

“Dr Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, told the Independent: ‘We could be having human transmission occurring today and we wouldn’t even know it. The key issue here is that unlike the mad cow disease, here we see (chronic wasting disease) in the muscle as well, so it’s actually much more present in the meat that you’re eating. Cooking doesn’t do anything to destroy it.’”

Sadly, we can expect more and more reports like these. The Bible predicts massive deadly disease epidemics to occur soon around the world.

German Bishops: Homosexuality Is Normal

Breitbart wrote on December 11:

“The German Catholic bishops’ conference has issued a statement declaring homosexuality to be just as ‘normal’ as heterosexuality…

“Both the homosexual and heterosexual orientation ‘belong to the normal forms of a sexual predisposition that cannot and should not be changed by any specific socialization,’ the Dec. 5 communiqué stated… Since one’s sexual orientation is unchangeable, ‘in church thinking, this means that any form of discrimination against homosexuals must be rejected…’ the bishops note…”

Catholic Church thinking and God’s mind, as revealed in the Bible, are two different things.  

We also received the following report from Australia:

In a legal case here, Israel Folau, one of the top Rugby players in the world, came to a confidential settlement with Rugby Australia. He was suing for 14 million dollars for being wrongly terminated for his Instagram post that homosexuals will go to hell. Since he has hundreds of thousands of followers, Rugby Australia claimed that it was against his employment contract to make such statements publicly and it affected their income because of the loss of sponsors.

Australia currently is determining a freedom of religion bill which is causing great controversy. The religious community say it does not go far enough in allowing them to hire and fire based on religious ideals. The non-religious community say it will allow for discrimination and hate speech. Interestingly, the religious community including Catholics, Anglicans, Jews, Muslims and others are all in agreement.

EU vs. Poland on Sexual Education

LifeSite News reported on November 20, 2019:

“Over 400 members of the European Parliament have voted to pass a resolution criticizing a Polish bill called ‘Stop Pedofilii’ that seeks to protect minors from sexual abuse by adults. The… bill seeks to make the incitement of minor children to sexual activity illegal in Poland… The age of consent in Poland is currently 15… anyone who has sex with a child under 15, including another child under 15, in Poland can be charged with statutory rape.

“An explanatory note attached to the ‘Stop Pedofilii’ bill gives some historical context for the proposal. It says some sex education teachers have been promoting sexual activity, including homosexual acts and masturbation, to Polish children, thanks to sexual education standards for Europe composed by the World Health Organization and the German Federal Center for Health Education (BZgA). These standards were introduced to Poland for the first time in 2013.

“‘According to the Standards, children of the age of 0–4 should learn information regarding masturbation and enjoying pleasure by touching their bodies,’ the note states… the Standards also stipulate that children from the age of 4–6 are supposed to know how to express their own sexuality and sexual feelings as well as ‘take pleasure and joy in’ masturbating. Children aged 6–9  must learn about sexual consent and different methods of intercourse and contraception. Children between 9 and 12 are supposed to learn how to use condoms, learn about their first sexual experiences, and receive information about orgasms. Children between 12 and 15 should be able to communicate about their own and their partners’ desires ‘in order to have safe and pleasant sex.’ ‘According to the Standards, at every step of development there is also intensive familiarizing of children with homosexuality,’ the note adds.”

Shame on Germany and the WHO for promoting these terrible ungodly and clearly harmful sexual education standards, and shame on the 400 members of the European Parliament for criticizing the Polish government which is trying to stop sexual abuse of children by sex education teachers and others.

Scorpions on the Planes

USA Today wrote on December 7:

“A passenger on a United Airlines flight from San Francisco to Atlanta had a nasty surprise: A scorpion sting… [The passenger] was stung multiple times… This isn’t the first time that a scorpion has made its way onto a flight without a ticket. This is at least the third occurrence of the animal causing a disturbance on a plane in 2019 alone.

“Earlier this year, in February, [a] passenger caught a scorpion on video as it crawled out of an overhead bin after the Lion Air flight landed in Indonesia… Just a month later, a student flying from Toronto to Calgary was stung by a scorpion in the middle of the flight…”

St. Nicholas and the Devil

The Associated Press wrote on December 7:

“Dozens of people in grim reaper and devil costumes accompany St. Nicholas on his journey through the village of Valasska Polanka in this eastern corner of the Czech Republic. It’s an old pre-Christmas tradition that has been surviving for centuries in a few villages in the Wallachia region.

“The whole group parades together from door to door for the weekend. St. Nicholas presents the children with sweets to soothe them after they see the scary costumes. The devils wear homemade masks of sheepskin and travel with white creatures representing death who carry scythes. The custom reportedly dates from the pagan era before Christianity, when the masks helped the people of mountainous region defend themselves against the demons of winter.”

Paganism is still very much alive in “Christian” cultures.  Note the next article.

Austria’s Demons

The Guardian wrote on December 8:

“Goat-horned half-demons with scraggy coats of fur, lolling tongues and threatening bundles of birch branches are no one’s idea of a welcome guest on a winter’s night. In Austria, however, the figure of the Krampus has been part of pre-Christmas folklore for centuries, with men in costumes roaming the streets to scare children and grownups from the end of November to the middle of December. Yet in recent years the Krampus has developed to become an altogether very modern bogeyman, with a rising number of complaints about the demons acting in a drunkenly and disorderly fashion once they have donned their fearsome masks.

“In Carinthia, police recorded a number of violent incidents this year in the run-up to the official ‘Krampus day’ on 5 December, with one person being hit in the face with a birch and an 11-year-old child being left with bloody cut on their thigh. In Klagenfurt, in Carinthia, the fire brigade complained that two of firefighters were set upon and beaten by a group of Krampuses, while in Salzburg last Sunday police were called out to deal with a number of drunken devils in the city centre. A video of Thursday’s Krampus run in Sterzing in South Tyrol, on the Italian side of the border, shows spectators fleeing in panic as a group of devils start to beat and kick a person lying on the ground.

“In the town of Neumarkt in Lower Austria, a man dressed as a Percht, an Alpine pagan goddess, sustained severe neck injuries when a spectator yanked his mask by the horns. In Schwoich in the Tyrol region, three Krampuses set their costumes on fire and suffered burns after accidentally setting off a box of fireworks…

“In the 19th century, evil Krampus spirits began to accompany Sankt Nikolaus impersonators on home visits and would sometimes cross the threshold to scare children… in recent years the appetite for large-scale ‘Krampus runs’ has grown across Austria: at an event Salzburg on 23 November this year, about 1,000 goat-demons roamed the streets of the city…”

Christmas celebrations and accompanying pagan activities such as Krampus and other demon figures really belong together. That is why some who are professing Christianity are re-thinking their approach towards Christmas, as the next article shows.

Dropping Christmas Celebrations

Breaking Israel News wrote on December 10:

“Particularly for Christians who are reconnecting to the Hebraic roots of their faith, traditional celebrations of Christmas have begun to raise knotty questions about the lack of a scriptural basis for the holiday, as well as its seemingly pagan origins. Ever-increasing numbers of Christians are dropping the traditional celebrations associated with Christmas…

“Just how widespread is the trend away from Christmas among Christians today? [Jon] Sherman told Breaking Israel News, “Although celebrating Christmas is still all but assumed in most evangelical circles today, the occurrence of people in the faith beginning to question Christmas is global, and the magnitude is growing exponentially.”

Re-Building the Temple of Baal

Breaking Israel News wrote on December 9:

“The Russian government recently announced that it will partner with the Syrian government in reconstructing the ancient temple to the pagan god Ba’al in Palmyra… Mentioned more than 90 times in the Bible, most notably when Elijah defeated the priests of Ba’al, also known as Moloch, in a contest to bring down fire from heaven to burn a sacrifice, Ba’al became the archetypical form of idol worship

“Followers of Ba’al engaged in bisexual orgies and sacrificed human infants, burning them alive. Anthropologists conjecture that the child sacrifice was to cull the population after the inevitable outcome of wanton sexuality…”

Why would anyone professing Christianity or Islam want to rebuild such an ancient temple to a demonic pagan god?

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.

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How Does God Know the Future?

The Bible tells us that God can look into the future and knows what will happen. What are the methods He uses, and can we understand them?

Actually, the Bible clearly states at least two methods that God uses to know the future—one that we can understand quite readily, and one that we, as humans, can only vaguely understand.

In our lives, we often say what we intend to do at variable times in our future. Things like arranging an education for a preferred vocation. Financial planning for future events. Even preparing to attend God’s Feast days. Things like arranging accommodation and transport to get there.

Of course, there are warnings about not being overly confident in our abilities to carry out what we say. James 4:13-16 is a warning for us: “Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit’; whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. Instead you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.’ But now you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.”

God also says what He will do in the future, as is mentioned in Numbers 23:19 where He put these words in Balak’s mouth: “God is not a man that He should lie, Nor a son of man that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?” Unlike us, God can and will carry out what He says, and nothing can prevent Him.

This is also stated in Isaiah 46:9-11: “Remember the former things of old, For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me, Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things that are not yet done, Saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, And I will do all my pleasure,’ Calling a bird of prey from the east, The man who executes My counsel, from a far country. Indeed I have spoken it; I will also bring it to pass. I have purposed it; I will also do it.”

This passage includes a prophecy that God would use a particular man to perform God’s Will. Most commentaries state that this man was king Cyrus whom God used in the rebuilding of His temple. Isaiah 46:11 and especially Isaiah 44:28, which identifies Cyrus by name, were written long before Cyrus was born and about one hundred and fifty years before the events stated in 2 Chronicles 36:22-23 occurred. God spoke and He made it good.

There are many more prophecies which God spoke and caused to happen. An early one is in Genesis 17:16, where God stated that through Sarah, Abraham would engender nations and kings. He also promised to make the family of Ishmael great (compare Genesis 17:20).

God has made many promises of what He would do, some having already occurred in the past, and some, like the promise in Revelation 21:2 of God sending down the holy city, New Jerusalem, from heaven, still to occur in the future (compare also Revelation 3:12).

So that is one method God uses to know what the future holds; namely, that He has the ability to make it happen. But there is another method that we cannot fully understand because as humans, we have a limited lifespan and are subject to time.

God informs us in Isaiah 57:15 that He inhabits eternity. Some commentaries indicate that this means that time in eternity is unknown, or that it does not proceed as we normally think of it. (compare Barnes’ Notes on the Bible and the Benson Commentary).

This then can give an explanation of how God foreknows events in the future that He may not personally cause, or that He may not cause in their entirety. For example, we read in Ephesians 1:4: “Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love.” This clearly indicates that God knew those in Ephesus whom He would call for salvation in that day and age, before He created the world.

Romans 8:29-30 also indicates that God knew those whom He would call in this day and age before they were born: “For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover, whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.”

God has predestined us before the foundation of the world to be called in this day and age. There are other Scriptures, however, that indicate that the justification and glorification depend on our response to God’s calling. If we respond as God requires, then He will justify and glorify us.

Again, God foreknew certain individuals whom He would call in this day and age. What is most interesting here is that the passage is written in the past tense, as if His intention had already been fulfilled. This indicates that if God says He will do something, in His mind, it is as good as already done. (Compare with Romans 4:17 where we read that God calls those things that do not exist yet as though they did.)

A question that arises is how much does God know? Is there anything God does not know? Job 37:16 informs us that God is perfect in knowledge. Perfect can also be translated, complete or full (compare Strong’s H8549). He knows the hairs on our head (Matthew 10:30). Psalms 147:4-5 informs us that God knows all the stars by name and His understanding is infinite. In Psalm 139:1-4, David acknowledges that God knows all his thoughts and everything he does. So while we have limitations on how much we can know, God does not have such a limitation.

But we must also emphasize that God has chosen NOT to know certain things about us. When He calls us to salvation, He expects of us and has full confidence that we are able to and will qualify for eternal life. However, He has chosen NOT to know whether all of us will indeed stay faithful to the end. It IS possible that some of those who are called today can commit the unpardonable sin to end up in the lake of fire. But God has chosen not to know that; otherwise, He would call some of us today KNOWING that we won’t make it.  That would be tantamount to being predestined for condemnation, which the Bible clearly does not teach.

In addition, there are some passages that show us that God still has things to find out about humans. The obvious one is in Genesis 22:12: “And He said, ‘Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.’” Here God learned something about Abraham that He had not previously known fully.

And most importantly to us, in Revelation chapters 2 and 3, God says to the Christians in the seven churches, “to him who overcomes,” which is followed by an absolute promise to them of various rewards. So He watches us to see if we will qualify to be in His Kingdom forever.

From this we can see that God does know what will happen in the future either by causing events to occur or by the fact that, if He so chooses, He sees everything that has ever or will ever happen. But God has created us as free moral agents, and so He still needs to test or try us to find out our character in order that He can know us fully and glorify us (Romans 8:30).

Lead Writer: Paul Niehoff (Australia)

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Preaching the Gospel and Feeding the Flock

compiled by Dave Harris

“Das Buch Sacharja—Prophezeiungen für die heutige Zeit!” is the title of a new German promo video, presented by Michael Link.

“Was die Bibel über den dritten Tempel vor Christi Rückkehr offenbart,” is the title of this Sabbath’s German sermon, presented by Norbert Link. Title in English: “What the Bible Reveals About the Third Temple Prior to Christ’s Return.”

“Der zweite Blick,” is the title of last Sabbath’s German sermonette, presented by Johann Schell. Title in English: “The Second Look.”

“Impeachment, Immigration and Indifference–Comments on News and Prophecy (December 7, 2019),” is the title of last Sabbath’s first message, presented by Norbert Link. Here is a summary:

The attempts to force President Trump out of office through the impeachment hoax will utterly fail. Through their ill-conceived biased political maneuverings, Democrats have guaranteed that Trump will be re-elected. From a spiritual standpoint, Trump will have to stay in power until he has fulfilled his providential role. What is that role, and how do our American immigration system, the building of a third temple in Jerusalem, a new holocaust and a nuclear war against the USA come into play? And why are Americans so indifferent as to what is going on?

“Words—Part 2,” is the title of last Sabbath’s sermon, presented by Brian Gale. Here is a summary:

This sermon is a continuation from the previous message and looks at seven more points – this time exclusively about God’s Word.

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How This Work is Financed

This Update is an official publication by the ministry of the Church of the Eternal God in the United States of America; the Church of God, a Christian Fellowship in Canada; and the Global Church of God in the United Kingdom.

Editorial Team: Norbert Link, Dave Harris, Rene Messier, Brian Gale, Johanna Link, Eric Rank, Michael Link, Anna Link, Kalon Mitchell, Manuela Mitchell, Dawn Thompson

Technical Team: Eric Rank, Shana Rank

Our activities and literature, including booklets, weekly updates, sermons on CD are provided free of charge. They are made possible by the tithes, offerings and contributions of Church members and others who have elected to support this Work.

While we do not solicit the general public for funds, contributions are gratefully welcomed and are tax-deductible in the U.S. and Canada.

Donations can be sent to the following addresses:

United States: Church of the Eternal God, P.O. Box 270519, San Diego, CA 92198

Canada: Church of God, ACF, Box 1480, Summerland, B.C. V0H 1Z0

United Kingdom: Global Church of God, PO Box 44, MABLETHORPE, LN12 9AN, United Kingdom

Update 902

Comments on News and Prophecy (December 7, 2019); Words, Part 2

On, December 7, 2019, Norbert Link will present “Comments on News and Prophecy (December 7, 2019),” and Brian Gale will present the sermon, titled, “Words, Part 2.”

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.

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The Value of Life

by Eric Rank

After reading articles in recent Updates about the atrocities and scandals surrounding abortion, I become increasingly aghast at the dismissive treatment of human life. This is of course nothing new, but it seems that the rhetoric is becoming more brazen and unapologetic. In the misappropriated name of mercy and freedom of choice, unborn infants are consciously and systematically murdered. Even when circumstances in the life of the mother are difficult, the fact remains that only one party has a voice in the choice to kill. The life of the murdered is valued only for the salvaged body to be bought and sold on the market for scientific and medical purposes. To God, the society that allows this to happen is shamefully condemned. And that is putting it lightly.

Infanticide is clearly an evil deed in the eyes of God (compare 2 Kings 8:12, Amos 1:13, Matthew 2:13-18). To draw any other conclusion that justifies abortion is plainly insulting to Him. God gives us some very clear commandments to love one another. To make a conscious choice to kill an innocent, helpless child is an impudent rejection of God that demonstrates the very opposite of love. The choice to kill shows a sharp contrast between the value that God has for our human lives and the attitude of man that counts life so cheap.

The ever-increasing spending on the military also shows an irony in the hearts of man and their governments. In the name of protecting peace and safety, the accumulation of war machines capable of wiping out entire populations proliferates. How the act of killing in war can fulfill a mission of peace boggles the mind. Yet, this is the claim that militaries and governments make. The hostility that makes a system of defense seem necessary begins in the misguided, selfish hearts of men.

“Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members? You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures” (James 4:1-3). The value of life from the perspective of mankind is not the same as God’s. To the carnal man, the “other” side is a threat, which affects an escalation of increasingly violent responses, killing people who are valuable to God.

What is the value of life? To mankind, one would think that the value of our own lives would be paramount. But from the ways in which man behaves, the evidence shows the opposite to be true. Sadly, life is cheap to man. The killing that we hear about in the news, the laws of the land, and the investments of man prove it. To God, this attitude to life contrasts His undying love for us. In a perfect expression of love, God the Father offered His Son as the ultimate Sacrifice to cover man’s sin which was necessary so that all could live eternally (compare John 3:16). Then, in further proof of God’s love for life, He resurrected Jesus Christ to live in glory forever. To God, the value of life is infinitely greater than the evaluation made by man. God values our lives so greatly that His entire plan involves bringing as many to eternal life as possible so we can all live together in love and everlasting peace. The value of life will finally meet an equilibrium where death itself is destroyed.

We should be encouraged by the value that God places on our lives individually as well. He is intimately involved in the details of our lives. He knows our struggles. He knows our hearts. He knows our needs. Beyond merely knowing us, He loves us and values us individually. “Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows” (Matthew 10:29-31). Even if our lives are cheap to man, we are valuable in the eyes of God.

Seeing that God values our life infinitely more than the world does, how should we conform our minds, hearts, and behavior? Quite simply, we follow God’s lead and demonstrate love through obedience. “By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome” (1 John 5:2-3). When we obey God, His love for us grows and our life fulfills the value He holds for us. In addition, we express the same value of life towards our fellow man through obedience to God’s commandment to love one another. If we want to understand the value of life, we need to do nothing more than look to God and learn from Him.

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by Norbert Link

It has been said that if you have four attorneys or law professors in the room, you might get at least eight legal opinions. This claim did not hold true in the House Judiciary Committee hearing this week where four legal scholars were questioned to determine whether President Trump had committed an impeachable offense. While three law professors who had been invited by the Democrats were unanimous in their conclusions that Trump had committed impeachable offenses (Harvard law professor Noah Feldman, Stanford law professor Pamela Karlan and University of North Carolina law professor Michael Gerhardt), the fourth law professor, Jonathan Turley from the George Washington University, who had been approved by the Republicans, totally disagreed with that assessment and warned Congress instead not to abuse its power in the proceedings.

This was remarkable in that he was not even a Trump supporter, stating from the outset that he had voted against him. But any fair-minded politically unbiased person would have concluded that he was the one with the most reasonable conclusions, while the three professors on the other side were unconvincing in their biased and politically motivated legal analysis which at times bordered on the ridiculous. We will not comment any further in this issue on the impeachment circus, given the fact that President Trump will not lose his office prematurely due to impeachment, and that he WILL be re-elected in 2020.

In more important, relevant and meaningful substantive news, we report on the 70th anniversary of NATO and the obvious disagreements between NATO members; [note our new StandingWatch program, titled, “Why NATO Is Breaking Apart”the political trouble Germany’s great coalition finds itself in; the dubious role of Germany’s far-right AfD party; and the known activities of terrorists in Germany.

We continue with the London Bridge murder and anti-Semitism in Britain; and we speak on Israel’s strong disagreement with six European nations, as well as turmoil in Iraq and Iran.

We address the Chinese-Russian pipeline; the troubling question as to how to store nuclear waste; America’s trillion dollar deficits; and California’s overlooked and ignored volcanoes.

We conclude with articles on Pope Francis’ attempts to create a world religion; and plans to vaccinate people with microchips in pursuit of a New World Order.

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

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Tense NATO Summit Celebrating Its 70th Anniversary

Deutsche Welle wrote on December 3:

“US President Donald Trump kicked off a tense two-day NATO summit on Tuesday by criticizing French President Emmanuel Macron’s comment about the ‘brain death’ of the military alliance.

“Speaking to the press on the summit’s sidelines, Trump [called] Macron’s comments ‘nasty,’ ‘insulting,’ and ‘very dangerous’ adding that: ‘Nobody needs NATO more than France.’… [Trump] said that he could ‘see France breaking off’ from NATO… [He reiterated] his call for European partners to increase defense spending – calling out Germany in particular for falling short…

“The French president told reporters he stands by his ‘brain death’ comments, even if they ‘shook up a lot of people’… Macron pointed out that [the 29] NATO members have different definitions of what constitutes terrorism. He called on Turkish leaders to clarify their position at this summit, saying ‘they now are fighting against those who fought with us. And sometimes they work with ISIS proxies.’”

President Trump, who had been highly critical of NATO in the past, also said in a press conference with Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (whom he later described as “two-faced”) that it was not fair that Germany had not been paying its fair share in all the previous years, saying that they owe much money to the US. Also, that if they don’t deliver, tariffs will be imposed on German cars. Trump said the US has the better cards. He also said that Germany should pay much more than what they have presently agreed to. When asked whether the USA would defend a NATO ally when attacked, he said: “That is a good question,” continuing with complaints about the failure of some NATO allies to pay their fair share.

Later, Deutsche Welle reported this on December 4:

“On Wednesday, NATO leaders agreed on the importance of mutual defense…  ‘We reaffirm the enduring transatlantic bond between Europe and North America … and our solemn commitment as enshrined in Article 5 of the Washington Treaty that an attack against one ally shall be considered an attack against us all,’ they said in a joint statement… Trump suddenly canceled a press conference scheduled for the end of the day’s proceedings after footage leaked that appeared to show other world leaders mocking him behind his back.

While one has to wonder as to how political the “reaffirmation” of NATO leaders really is, the subsequent abrupt departure of Trump shows the deep rift within NATO. Also note the next two articles which reveal American and German feelings about NATO and their respective countries.

Americans Skeptical of NATO

Politico wrote on December 3:

To the extent that U.S. citizens think about NATO at all, they disagree about whether honoring its commitments would be worth the sacrifice. This wavering commitment likely signals a belief that American protection is no longer necessary for European security or that the United States has different priorities from when NATO was created 70 years ago…

“NATO is in the midst of an existential crisis…”

“Germany Would NOT Use Military to Defend… [the] US from Attack”

Express wrote on December 2:

“YouGov quizzed voters in the UK, France, Germany, the USA, Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Norway about their attitudes towards the [NATO] alliance… Germans object to the possibility of defending the United States from attack by 43 percent to 32 percent, in stark contrast to the 54 percent of Americans think they should defend Germany should it find itself besieged… [In France, the support for defending the USA was even much less.]

“Both countries [Germany and France] also baulked at the idea of defending Ukraine, which is not a member of NATO, France by 35 percent to 28 percent, and Germany by 47 percent to 22 percent…

“On the wider issue for support for NATO generally… [in] France, just nine percent of those asked strongly support the alliance, a drop of 12 points compared with two years ago. In the case of Germany, strong support has plummeted, down from 41 percent in 2017 to 22 percent now. Even in the UK, strong support has fallen dramatically, from 42 percent to 25 percent.”

Germany’s New Military Budget

Deutsche Welle wrote on November 29:

“The German parliament has passed a record budget for 2020… [It] will include Germany’s ever-largest military budget amounting to some €45.05 billion (compared to €43.23 billion this year), with extra money specifically earmarked for the Bundeswehr’s overseas missions and NATO commitments.

“… Wednesday’s ‘general debate’ in the Bundestag [showed] the rift in Merkel’s coalition with the Social Democrats, whose parliamentary group leader Ralf Mützenich said his party would not blindly support the ‘urge’ for military dominance…”

Germany, following external pressure, will become more and more powerful in its military endeavors.

Germany’s Grand Coalition in Serious Doubt

Deutsche Welle wrote on November 30:

“With the fate of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s coalition government on a knife-edge, her center-left partners have elected new leaders. The Social Democrats now face a decision on whether to remain in the government.

“Vice Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who is also finance minister, and his running mate Klara Geywitz were soundly beaten, obtaining only 45.33% of the vote from the party’s rank and file. Both back staying in the coalition until the next national elections in 2021. Instead, party members chose challengers Norbert Walter-Borjans [sometimes called the German Bernie Sanders] and Saskia Esken, who have been strongly critical of the alliance with Merkel’s conservatives..

“Many party members are in favor of leaving the government and rebuilding support for the party in the opposition. That would likely trigger new elections or pave the way for a weak and uncertain minority government…

“The SPD is desperate to try and win back voters following a series of electoral losses and plunging support in opinion polls. ‘Whoever wins this membership poll will deserve the full support of the entire party,’ Foreign Minister Heiko Maas [said], an SPD member… Current opinion polls put the party at 14%, trailing in third place behind Merkel’s conservatives and the Greens…”

It is remarkable that the SPD has still some of their controversial members in high political positions, such as Scholz and Maas, while the party is of no political consequence in national elections.

Deutsche Welle added on December 1:

“Who would have thought it? The Social Democrats (SPD) have voted for revolution. Norbert Walter-Borjans and Saskia Esken, two party members who, up to this point, had been relatively unknown… belong to the party’s left… Those who, until now, have had a say in the running of the SPD have been duped… And no wonder. [They] had pledged to stay in the governing coalition until the next scheduled election in fall 2021.

“… Given that Germany will assume the EU Council presidency in 2020… neither party is keen to hold an early election. Anyone who has made it to the front row, and thus has much to lose, has no interest in political suicide. Norbert Walter-Borjans and Saskia Esken are different… Both are convinced that the SPD is only in such a weak position because it’s moved too far towards the political center. They want to bring the party back to its social democratic roots, heralding a new beginning with a radical change of course…”

The Guardian wrote on December 2:

“Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, the head of the Christian Democrats (CDU), said the coalition deal with the Social Democrats (SPD) would either stay intact or the SPD would have to leave the government…”

The big question is, who will replace Merkel and emerge as the leader of Germany and/or Austria and ultimately Europe, in fulfillment of biblical prophecy?

Will Germany’s Far-Right AfD REALLY Change?

Reuters and the Algemeiner wrote on December 2:

The far-right Alternative for Germany on Saturday elected a decorator from the east backed by a radical wing within the party as one of two co-leaders. The election of Tino Chrupalla, a lawmaker from Saxony, is a tribute to former Communist eastern states where the AfD has made big gains in three elections this year. He will lead Germany’s largest opposition party with Joerg Meuthen, an economics professor from the industrial southern state of Baden-Wuerttemberg who serves as a European Parliament lawmaker…

“The AfD is the biggest opposition party in the Bundestag national parliament, which it entered for the first time in 2017, propelled by voters angry at conservative Chancellor Angela Merkel’s decision in 2015 to admit almost one million mainly Muslim asylum seekers. The AfD also sits on opposition benches in all of Germany’s 16 state parliaments, where it is ostracized by all established parties, including Merkel’s center-right Christian Democrats (CDU) and the center-left Social Democrats (SPD).

“Alexander Gauland, 78, a unifying figure in the AfD who has been a co-leader since 2017, did not stand for reelection. He has said he wants to pass on the baton to a new leadership that ensures the party join a governing coalition with Merkel’s CDU, at least at the state level. ‘They call us Nazis, fascists and right-wing terrorists,’ Gauland told delegates. ‘But we need to be wise and resilient. The day will come when a weakened CDU has only one option: us.’…

“‘If we want more success we need to change,’ Chrupalla said on Friday… ‘We want to move toward the center. This will work because the CDU keeps moving to the left.’… The party is more popular in former Communist eastern states, with double the support that it has in the west of the country. ‘In a few years, we may well have an AfD-CDU coalition, most likely at the state level in the east,’ said Matthias Quent, director of the Institute for Democracy and Civil Society. ‘This could split the CDU. Some CDU members in the east are openly in favor of such a coalition.’…”

AfD’s pronouncement of change and Gauland’s statement that the party needs to be “wise and resilient” could be interpreted in different ways.

Known Terrorist Organization Operates Openly in Germany

The Jerusalem Post wrote on December 1:

“The Lebanese terrorist organization Hezbollah uses a center in Berlin as well as other locations across Germany to recruit members and raise funds for terrorism and weapons purchases, according to a report by the Berlin-based Tagesspiegel newspaper… According to the article, Hezbollah members ‘use Germany as a place for drug trafficking, trade in stolen cars and money laundering. The implications of the group for the drug business are well documented.’

“The report said that Hezbollah’s ‘main routes now move from South America to Africa into the EU. Cocaine reaches Germany mainly via the ports of Rotterdam, Antwerp and Hamburg.’ Within the capital city of Berlin, ‘Hezbollah is also allowed to spread propaganda here in the Reuterstrasse, recruit new members, collect donations – and then forward them to Beirut,’ Tagesspiegel reported.

“The Islamic Center Imam Riza, a Shi’ite institution, is located on Reuter Street in the Berlin district of Neukölln. Berlin’s intelligence agency – the rough equivalent of Shin Bet – revealed in its 2019 report that 250 Hezbollah members live in the capital. A total of 1,050 Hezbollah members and supporters operate across Germany, according to other German intelligence reports.

“Some 30 mosques and cultural centers in Germany have links to Hezbollah, according to a 2019 Hamburg intelligence agency report…

“The Jerusalem Post exclusively reported in August that a Hezbollah mosque in the German city of Münster posted a shocking video on its Facebook page announcing it was proud of terrorism and its allegiance to the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. A Lebanese member of the Imam Mahdi Zentrum Shi’ite mosque in Münster declared: ‘We belong to the party of Ruhollah [Khomeini]. We have been accused of being terrorists – we are proud of terrorism.’

“The German government has rejected appeals to outlaw Hezbollah’s so-called political wing from the country; the military wing was banned by Germany and the European Union in 2013.”

Hezbollah and all its operations are clearly part of a violent and dangerous terrorist organization. Germany’s indifferent approach towards them is shocking, but as we pointed out in our last Update, anti-Semitic positions might very well be a cause for it.

The London Bridge Murder

Daily Mail wrote on November 30:

“The London Bridge attacker who murdered two innocent people in a knife rampage was a convicted terrorist banned from entering the capital. Usman Khan, 28, was released from jail on condition that he obey 20 strict conditions, including not going to London, but probation bosses granted him an exemption to attend an ex-prisoners’ conference organised by Cambridge University because they wrongly believed he had reformed. Instead, he launched a frenzied knife attack inside the Fishmongers’ Hall building on Friday afternoon before being chased down by members of the public on London Bridge where he was shot dead by police.

“Last night, a catalogue of apparent errors by police, judges, politicians and probation services emerged that allowed Khan to launch his attack close to the scene of another terrorist atrocity at Borough Market just two years ago. Khan was jailed in 2012 over a plot to kill Boris Johnson and blow up iconic sites including the London Stock Exchange. Released under strict bail conditions in December last year, he had to wear a tag, attend deradicalisation sessions and was under surveillance by MI5. Yet he apparently ‘hoodwinked’ the authorities by behaving like a ‘model ex-prisoner’ and lulling them into allowing him to travel to London. As the investigation into Khan continued, it emerged that:

“Judge Lord Justice Leveson decided Khan had ‘bigged up’ his role and downgraded his sentence. His release from jail was signed off by the Ministry of Justice, then led by David Gauke. MI5 did not have ‘surveillance eyes’ on Khan on Friday.”

The unfolding story about this known terrorist is extremely troublesome in light of the apparent incompetence of involved government agencies.

Far-Left Anti-Semitism in Britain

The Algemeiner wrote on December 1:

“A new study on antisemitism in the UK found that more than two-thirds of strong supporters of Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn hold at least one antisemitic view. It also found that far-left hatred of Jews is now more prevalent than far-right Jew hatred in Britain, with 60% of the former believing at least one stereotype…

“The poll revealed that 84% of British Jews believe Jeremy Corbyn to be a threat to the Jewish community, with 42% having considered leaving the country in the past two years due to antisemitism, a scale that is ‘unprecedented since medieval times,’ according to the report. Almost half of British Jews cite not feeling comfortable identifying as Jewish in public…

“Gideon Falter, Chief Executive of Campaign against Antisemitism [said:]… ‘the far-left is now home to even more anti-Jewish bigotry than the far-right… Nowhere is that more obvious than in the Labour Party, where Jeremy Corbyn is now the politician of choice for anti-Semites.’

“In the last year, over a dozen MPs and three peers have resigned from the Labour Party citing its institutionalized antisemitism. Many MEPs, councilors, and members have also left in protest.”

These figures are shocking!

Netanyahu Slams Six European Nations

Times of Israel wrote on December 1:

“Israel on Sunday scolded six new European members of the INSTEX barter mechanism meant to circumvent US sanctions on Iran, saying they encouraged the Iranian regime’s repression of its citizens and ‘should be ashamed of themselves.’ ‘While the Iranian regime is killing its own people, European countries rush to support that very murderous regime,’ Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu charged in a video released Sunday.

“In a separate statement, Israel’s Foreign Ministry said ‘Belgium, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden could not have picked worse timing. The hundreds of innocent Iranians murdered during the latest round of protests are rolling in their graves.’…

“[Netanyahu continued:] ‘And while the people of the Middle East bravely stand up to Iran and its henchmen, here’s the absurd thing: While all of this is happening, countries in Europe are working to bypass US sanctions against Iran…. While Iran bombs Saudi Arabia’s oil installations, while Iran rushes to enrich uranium for nuclear weapons, European countries rush to appease Iran with even more concessions.’

“In an apparent reference to World War II, the Israeli leader added: ‘These European countries should be ashamed of themselves. Have they learned nothing from history? Well, apparently not. They are enabling a fanatic terrorist state to develop nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles, thereby bringing disaster to themselves and upon everyone else.’…

“The accession of the six new members ‘further strengthens INSTEX and demonstrates European efforts to facilitate legitimate trade between Europe and Iran,’ France, Germany, and Britain said.”

All these Israelite European nations (i.e., Belgium, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, France and Britain, and, in addition, non-Israelite Germany) are turning against the state of Israel, and vice versa. Ultimately, it will be the entire world against Israel.

Iraq in Turmoil… America’s Attempt to Bring Democracy to the Country Failed Completely

Reuters and the Algemeiner wrote on December 2:

“Iraq’s parliament voted on Sunday to accept the resignation of Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi after weeks of violent anti-government protests that have rocked the country. Abdul Mahdi’s decision to quit on Friday came after a call by Iraq’s top Shi’ite Muslim cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani for parliament to consider withdrawing its support for Abdul Mahdi’s government to stem the violence… Iraqi forces have killed nearly 400 mostly young, unarmed demonstrators since mass anti-government protests broke out on Oct. 1. More than a dozen members of the security forces have also died in clashes.

“Abdul Mahdi’s resignation, though welcomed by protesters, is not expected to end the demonstrations, which have called for an overhaul of a political system accused of being corrupt and keeping most of the population in poverty. Protesters on Sunday torched the Iranian consulate in the holy Shi’ite city of Najaf for the second time in a week, police and civil defense sources said…

“The unrest poses the biggest challenge for Iraq since Islamic State insurgents seized swathes of Iraqi and Syrian territory in 2014. It pits mostly young, disaffected Shi’ite protesters against a Shi’ite-dominated government backed by Iran and accused of squandering Iraq’s oil wealth while infrastructure and living standards deteriorate.”

America’s attempts to bring democracy to Iraq have failed entirely.

Iran in Turmoil

Aljazeera wrote on December 2:

“At least 208 people are believed to have been killed in Iran during a security crackdown on protests that came after a surprise petrol price increase, Amnesty International has said… adding that the actual figure was likely to be higher…

“‘The escalation of the use of force is evident from the fact that protesters were shot from close range. Protesters were also shot from the rooftops and in one case from a helicopter. This represents a regression even by the Iranian government’s own standards.’… It described the death toll as ‘evidence that Iran’s security forces went on a horrific killing spree’…”

The New York Times wrote on December 2:

“Iran is experiencing its deadliest political unrest since the Islamic Revolution 40 years ago… as angry protests have been smothered in a government crackdown of unbridled force.”

As long as Iran is run by dictators, there will be no peace and freedom in the country. However, one should not think that if a governmental change were to take place in the country, it would become more friendly towards America. Rather, Iran will become more and more aligned with Russia.

The Chinese-Russian Pipeline

Deutsche Welle wrote on December 2:

“China and Russia’s leaders opened the giant ‘Power of Siberia’ pipeline project on Monday. The 3,000 kilometer pipeline has been hailed as a sign of the close friendship between two of the world’s superpowers… The project, which Putin has called ‘the world’s biggest construction project,’ is set to last 30 years and pump $400 billion (€363 billion) into Russia’s economy… The agreement came as Russia faced sanctions from the EU and US after it annexed the Crimean peninsula during the same year. It is part of Russia’s plan to boost trade with countries like China and Turkey, as relations with the West continue to deteriorate…

“Xi and Putin… both attended the opening ceremony via video link… ‘ This step takes Russo-Chinese strategic cooperation in energy to a qualitative new level and brings us closer to fulfilling the task, set together with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, of taking bilateral trade to $200 billion (€181 billion) by 2024,’ said Putin. Putin added that it was ‘a genuinely historical event.’

“Xi told Putin via video link that ‘China-Russia relations are entering a new era’ and that the pipeline was an ‘example of deep integration and mutually beneficial cooperation.’”

In the near future, a powerful coalition will develop between Russia, China and other Far Eastern nations. The Bible calls this emerging power bloc “the kings of the East.”

Blocking Russian Gas Pipeline to Germany?

 Newsmax wrote on December 4:

 “President Donald Trump is under pressure from two key senators to thwart completion of the Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline from Russia to Germany by sanctioning companies involved in the project.

Senators Ted Cruz, a Texas Republican, and New Hampshire Democrat Jeanne Shaheen are pushing to put a provision that would sanction companies involved in the construction of the pipeline in a defense spending bill that is viewed as a must-pass measure before Congress leaves Washington for the year.

 “Cruz expressed frustration with the Trump administration for not acting on its own to impose sanctions that could stop the pipeline, which is a project of Russian energy company Gazprom PJSC…

 “Cruz and Shaheen sponsored legislation, which was approved by the Foreign Relations Committee in July by a vote of 20-2, that would target vessels that lay the pipeline and sanction executives from companies linked to those vessels. It would deny visas to those individuals and block transactions related to their U.S.-based property or interests. The bill would also penalize entities that provide insurance to the project.

“It was never brought to the floor for a vote, but Senator Jim Risch, the chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, told Defense News that the sanctions measure had been added to the draft of the National Defense Authorization Act. The sanctions measure may fall victim to haggling between Democrats and Republicans about what should or shouldn’t be included in the defense bill…

“The Nord Stream 2 project has divided the European Union, with nations led by Poland concerned about Russia’s Gazprom tightening its grip on the region if the new pipeline comes online...

“Trump was non-committal when asked about sanctioning the pipeline companies as he met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel Wednesday during this week’s NATO summit in London. ‘Well, we haven’t really determined that yet,’ Trump said. ‘I do think it’s a problem. But it’s a problem that Germany’s going to have to work out for themselves. Maybe for Germany, it won’t be a problem. I hope it’s not, actually. But we’ll be talking about that.’”

It would be hard to imagine what would happen if the USA were to impose sanctions on Russia and Germany regarding the pipeline.  Nothing that has happened so far would even come close to the animosity which would develop between those countries.

Where to Store Nuclear Waste?

CNN wrote on November 30:

“Germany… [will close] all of its nuclear plants in the coming years… [The seven power stations still in operation today are due to close by 2022.] Experts are now hunting for somewhere to bury almost 2,000 containers of high-level radioactive waste. The site must be beyond rock-solid, with no groundwater or earthquakes that could cause a leakage. The technological challenges — of transporting the lethal waste, finding a material to encase it, and even communicating its existence to future humans — are huge. But the most pressing challenge today might simply be finding a community willing to have a nuclear dumping ground in their backyard…

“Currently, high-level radioactive waste is stored in temporary facilities, usually near the power plant it came from… As the name suggests, high-level radioactive waste is the most lethal of its kind

“With more than 400 nuclear power plants around the world, many nearing the end of their operating lifetimes, the issue of waste storage will only become more urgent…”

Another example of how mankind has created its own disasters.

Our Trillion Dollar Deficits

The Hill wrote on December 1:

“Trillion-dollar deficits as far as the eye can see, and hardly a voice of caution to be heard.

In the old days, a decade or so ago, Democrats would have assailed Donald Trump’s failure on federal deficits; instead of eliminating it, as promised, the deficit has doubled to a trillion dollars as far as the eye can see.

Republicans would be in full fury over the spending schemes of Democratic presidential candidates; even the mainstream moderates propose huge increases for health care, education and the social safety net for the disadvantaged. Yet deficits, as a political issue, are dead.”

People have become accustomed to dangerous situations. It is as if a spirit of slumber has overtaken them.

California’s Ignored Volcanoes

The Los Angeles Times wrote on November 30:

“California is famous for its catastrophic earthquakes and wildfires, but they are not the state’s only natural hazards. As head of the observatory, or CalVO, Mangan has drawn attention to the state’s more overlooked threats: a dozen restive volcanoes that stretch from Medicine Lake near the Oregon border to the Salton Buttes in the Coachella Valley… the risk of a small-to-moderate eruption somewhere in the state over the next 30 years is 16% — about the same as for a magnitude 6.7 or greater earthquake along the San Andreas Fault… Unlike earthquakes, which are over in a matter of seconds, volcanic eruptions can drag on

“[Air Traffic could be interrupted.] Planes regularly fly over California’s volcanoes, ferrying up to 300,000 passengers to, from and along the West Coast every day. Each year, millions more people drive through the Mount Shasta hazard zone on Interstate 5 between Redding and the Oregon border… Thousands of miles of high-voltage power lines bound for major population centers cross through hazard zones, particularly in the northern part of the state. These could short out if covered in wet ash, leaving consumers in the dark for weeks. A natural gas pipeline snakes between Shasta, Lassen and Medicine Lake, supplying 4.2 million homes. And many of the state’s water reservoirs lie within the ash fall zones of various volcanoes… ash damages electronics and interferes with radio signals…”

Earthquakes, volcanoes, wildfires, hurricanes, tornadoes and other natural catastrophes, including the impact with asteroids and meteors, will contribute to the destruction of vast areas of the USA and the entire world.  In this regard, we received the following report from Paul Niehoff in Australia:

“47 wildfires are burning in Queensland and 96 in New South Wales from the south coast to the Queensland border. Sydney has hazardous air quality due to the smoke, people with health issues are being urged to stay indoors and some workers are refusing to work outdoors. Central Western Australia has extreme fire danger, temperatures over 40 degrees are expected.”

Controversial Pope’s Quest for a World Religion

Breaking Israel News wrote on December 1:

“Islam was founded in the 7th century CE, approximately 600 years after the founding of Christianity and several thousand years after Judaism began. As an aggressive form of replacement theology, Islam appropriated all of the figures in the Christian and Jewish Bible as Muslim prophets. Even though Buddhism was founded in the 6th century BCE, Islam did not appropriate Siddhārtha Gautama, the founder of Buddhism, as a Mulsim prophet. This may be because Islam considers Buddhism to be a forbidden form of idolatry… ‘The Pope wants to unify all religions and all governments under one world order,’ Rabbi Assur said. ‘What is the big surprise? He is not hiding anything. Just listen to what he says and who he is and his plans are right there for all to see.’

“Pope Francis… is the first pope from the southern hemisphere and, most significantly, he is the first Jesuit to be appointed to the position. Though established by papal order in 1540 to stop the spread of Protestantism and convert the indigenous peoples of Africa and the Americas, the Jesuit order has historically been treated with suspicion by the Catholic Church for being power-hungry‘You assume that the pope is Catholic but he is certainly not acting like a Catholic,’ Rabbi Asore said… ‘Brotherhood is a wonderful thing but one religion is only good if it is worshipping the true God,’ Rabbi Asore said…

“Pope Francis has come under fire before for connecting the Catholic Church with the children of Ishmael. In 2015, 71 elders of the Sanhedrin tried the Pope in absentia for recognizing a ‘State of Palestine’ with an official treaty. By doing so, the Sanhedrin claimed, the Pope was denying the covenant as described in the Bible in which God gives the land of Israel to the descendants of Jacob…

“Pope Francis has also made displays similar to his sitting barefoot in front of the Golden idol of Budda in Bankok that showed a shocking level of tolerance for idolatry. In October, a video emerged of what appears to be Pope Francis blessing a Pachama Goddess statue. Pope Francis has also taken on a policy in which homosexuals are welcomed into the church so much so that the American LGBT magazine The Advocate named Pope Francis their Person of the Year for 2013.”

The Bible predicts we will see a universal body of “believers”—all in opposition to the true God.

Coming—Microchip Vaccinations?

Natural News wrote on October 23:

“It’s all happening, just as we predicted. Big Pharma is officially partnering with the tech industry to pair ‘immunization’ with digital biometrics, meaning humans will soon be microchipped, tracked, and ultimately controlled through a global identification matrix… Similar to how cattle are marked with ear tags, this globalist alliance wants all humans to be ‘vaccinated’ with digital tracking chips that will create a seamless monitoring system for the New World Order to manage the populations of the world with ease…

“While the… program’s testing grounds are primarily in the Third World, the group says it’s also now working with governments here in the United States to start microchipping people through vaccination. In Austin, Texas, for example, the homeless population is now being exploited as a collective guinea pig for… microchip vaccination program… [the program] is also jabbing refugees with its microchip vaccinations…

“All of this is priming the public for an eventual mandate of microchip vaccinations…”

The article makes the common mistake of equating microchip vaccinations with the mark of the beast. It has nothing to do with it. Still, the article is remarkable in that it shows what misguided power-hungry people are willing to do.

 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.

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Would you please explain the concept of not giving offense to others? (Part 3)

In the first two parts, we saw that Christ was called a stumbling block and that He indeed offended people, and He was still without fault or sin. We explained that giving offense has to be seen in the context of sinning.

However, some teach or suggest that Paul told us to refrain from doing what we have learned to be right if someone with a weak conscience thinks it is wrong. In making this claim and support their idea, they are referring to several Scriptures.

One of those passages is Romans 14:1-20:

Receive one who is weak in the faith, but not to disputes over doubtful things. For one believes he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats only vegetables. Let not him who eats despise him who does not eat, and let not him who does not eat judge him who eats; for God has received him. Who are you to judge another’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand.

One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind. He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord; and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it. He who eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives God thanks; and he who does not eat, to the Lord he does not eat, and gives God thanks…

“But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ… So then each of us shall give account of himself to God. Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather resolve this, not to put a stumbling block [Greek proskomma] or a cause to fall in our brother’s way. I know and am convinced by the Lord Jesus that there is nothing unclean [common] of itself; but to him who considers anything to be unclean [common], to him it is unclean [common].

Yet if your brother is grieved because of your food, you are no longer walking in love. Do not destroy with your food the one for whom Christ died. Therefore do not let your good be spoken of as evil; for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. For he who serves Christ in these things is acceptable to God and approved by men. Therefore let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another.

“Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All things indeed are pure, but it is evil for the man who eats with offense [Greek proskomma]. It is good neither to eat meat nor drink wine nor do anything by which your brother stumbles or is offended [Greek skandalizo] or is made weak. Do you have faith? Have it to yourself before God. Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves. But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because he does not eat from faith; for whatever is not from faith is sin.”

The passage speaks about two concepts: One having to do with self-declared fast days, and another with eating or not eating meat. This includes the concept of being a vegetarian or a vegan, as well as the concept of not eating meat [which was clean] for fear that it was sacrificed to idols [which became “common” due to false usage]. The entire passage addresses the concept of not judging and condemning a brother.

We quote from our booklet, “God’s Commanded Holy Days”:

“Romans 14:2–3 is addressing the consumption of vegetables and meat (‘For one believes he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats only vegetables’). Some thought that they must not eat meat… Part of the reason for their decision might have been that the meat, which could be purchased in the market, was probably offered to idols. Knowing this, some had a conscience problem with eating meat that had been sacrificed to idols (compare 1 Corinthians 8:1–13).

“The context in Romans 14:5 is the consumption of certain foods. Paul addresses the fact that some esteem a certain day above another. In the very next verse, he shows the connection between the consumption of food and the regard for days. He says in verse 6: ‘He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord; and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it. He who eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives God thanks; and he who does not eat, to the Lord he does not eat, and gives God thanks.’…

“Paul talks about new Church members who still had a weak conscience and thought they had to FAST on particular days. That is, they thought they could not just fast on ANY weekday of their choice, but that it could only be done on particular designated days. (Note again verse 6, ‘… he who does not eat, to the Lord he does not eat.’ The context of the discussion is FASTING.) Others understood that one can fast on ANY day of the week, and that God does not enjoin us, except for the Day of Atonement, to fast on a specific day during the week.

“This is the reason Paul says, ‘One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike.’ The context is eating and drinking and fasting. Paul is really saying in verse 6, ‘He who observes [or better, ‘regards,’ as the Authorized Version has it] the day [as a fast day] observes [or regards] it to the Lord; and he who does not observe [or regard] the day [as a Fast day] observes [regards] it to the Lord, too, because the one who does not eat on that day, does it to the Lord, and the one who does eat on that day does it to the Lord, too, as he thanks God for the food he partakes of.’ Paul’s point is to not judge another for the way they worship God, as long as it is done on the basis of Scripture.

“Romans addresses the wrong kind of judgment and condemnation which could cause a new brother with a weak conscience to stumble and fall when he is condemned for what he does. It also admonishes the weak brother not to violate his conscience by eating, for example, meat sacrificed to idols even though his conscience would prohibit it.”

This passage does not say that Paul could not eat such meat either. But the passage seems to also hint at the complicated situation of meat sacrificed to idols, which Paul addresses more fully in two other passages… both of which are used by some to teach that we must cease from doing what is right if a brother with a weak conscience becomes offended by it.

The first of these two passages is 1 Corinthians 8:4-13, which reads:

Therefore concerning the eating of things offered to idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is no other God but one. For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as there are many gods and many lords), yet for us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and through whom we live.

“However, there is not in everyone that knowledge; for some, with consciousness of the idol, until now eat it as a thing offered to an idol; and their conscience, being weak, is defiled. But food does not commend us to God; for neither if we eat are we the better, nor if we do not eat are we the worse. But beware lest somehow this liberty of yours become a stumbling block [Greek proskomma] to those who are weak.

For if anyone sees you who have knowledge eating in an idol’s temple, will not the conscience of him who is weak be emboldened to eat those things offered to idols? And because of your knowledge shall the weak brother perish, for whom Christ died? But when you thus sin against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ. Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble [Greek skandalizo], I will never again eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble.”

The Authorized Version translates: “… if meat make my brother to offend… lest I make my brother to offend…”

The context here is again the conscience of the weak brother. If Paul were to eat meat sacrificed to idols (which was fine per se) in the presence of a weak brother who would then be emboldened to eat likewise, but he would eat it as meat sacrificed to idols, thereby committing idolatry (which is against God’s Law), then Paul would have acted wrongly. He would actually have caused a brother to stumble or to sin. This is even more true in light of the following warning by Christ in Revelation 2:14:

“But I have a few things against you, because you have there those who hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block [Greek skandalon] before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit sexual immorality.”

In this passage, Christ described a concerted effort by some in the Church to persuade members to eat meat sacrificed to idols as part of an idolatrous service, which was of course wrong and against the Law of God against idolatry.

However, Paul’s statements in 1 Corinthians 8 cannot be interpreted to mean that Paul would never eat meat which was sacrificed to idols, even if he was in the presence of others. It is only IF the weak brother is emboldened and concludes that he can eat it too, but he does so in violation of God’s Law by eating it as meat sacrificed to idols, that Paul said he would not do it then in the brother’s presence. But Paul is not saying either that the entire Church congregation could not eat such meat if a person disagrees with such practice. It is only if our conduct would lead a brother with a weak conscience to follow our example but in doing so, he would violate his conscience, that he should not be asked or encouraged to participate in such a Church function.

In 1 Corinthians 10:25-32, Paul continues to address the same situation:

Eat whatever is sold in the meat market, asking no questions for conscience’ sake… If any of those who do not believe invites you to dinner, and you desire to go, eat whatever is set before you, asking no question for conscience’ sake.

But if anyone says to you, ‘This was offered to idols,’ do not eat it for the sake of the one who told you, and for conscience’ sake… Conscience,’ I say, not your own, but that of the other. For why is my liberty judged by another man’s conscience? But if I partake with thanks, why am I evil spoken of for the food over which I give thanks? 

Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. Give no offense [Greek, aproskopos; lit., not causing to stumble] either to the Jews or to the Greeks or to the church of God, just as I also please all men in all things, not seeking my own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved.”

This passage addresses outsiders as well as Church members with a weak conscience. In this example, Paul would be eating with unbelievers, but it appears that members with a weak conscience would have been present as well. If someone was to say that the meat was sacrificed to idols, perhaps in order to test him as to what he would do, or because a weak church member would have a conscience problem as described in 1 Corinthians 8, then Paul said that he would not eat it in order to avoid sinful conduct. In this context, we would also need to consider that someone would sin if he were to violate his conscience (Romans 14:23).

The conscience must however be based at least remotely on the Bible, and must not contradict it. It was clearly prohibited in the Old Testament, judging by the letter, to eat meat sacrificed to idols. But Paul explained in the New Testament how this law was supposed to be understood. We must be careful not to use this example and apply it to every conceivable situation, when the conscience of a new member is at issue. We must always evaluate whether a conscience problem has any basis in God’s Word.

What is also clear from the foregoing is that someone who might disagree with a certain Church teaching or practice cannot force the Church to change its teachings and practices to accommodate his or her weak conscience.

This means, we must not try to convince others of “our” individual conscience and persuade them not to engage in a certain course of action, which is not prohibited in Scripture. For instance, some are vegetarians or refuse to drink alcohol, even though the Bible clearly shows that it is right and proper to eat clean meat and to consume alcohol in moderation. A vegetarian or someone who rejects alcohol must NEVER try to persuade others to become vegetarians or to refuse alcoholic consumption. (Of course, someone who refuses to drink alcohol would exclude him or herself from proper observance of the annual Passover service and his or her partaking of the symbols of bread and wine).

It is for instance not true that the Church of God must cancel a social dance event only because one visitor might be offended, thinking it is sinful to dance. The visitor, due to his or her weak conscience, should then refrain from participating in the dance, and the Church should not try to force him or her to participate and to thereby violate his or her weak conscience. On the other hand, he or she should prayerfully evaluate his or her conscience and ask God for insight and understanding as to whether his or her opinions are in accordance with God’s Law or just the product of human tradition and his or her own ideas. Examining the example of an alleged prohibition to dance, there is no basis in the Bible for such a wrong concept.

We should also consider that the Church of God is the foundation and pillar of truth (1 Timothy 3:15), and it has been given the responsibility from God to decide questions like the ones discussed in these three Q&As with clarifying binding authority (Matthew 16:19; 18:18).

Let us notice what would otherwise be the consequence if a brother or visitor with a weak conscience could enforce their opinions on the Church of God:

(a)  No more social dance evenings

(b)  No more eating in a restaurant on the Sabbath, including on the Night to Be Much Observed

(c)  No more eating meat… all have to become vegetarians or vegans

(d)  No more staying in hotels on the Sabbath, including during the Feast of Tabernacles and the Last Great Day

(e)  No more formal dress code, as ties are allegedly pagan

(f)    No more jewelry or wedding rings or earrings, as they are all allegedly pagan and prohibited by God

(g)  No more listening to music or watching movies which in the opinion of the member or visitor are objectionable

(h)  No more wearing Make-Up, let alone distributing Make-Up products

(i)    No more birthday acknowledgments

(j)    No more wedding anniversaries

(k)  No more Thanksgiving Day gatherings

The list could be endless, and it is also apparent that a brother or a visitor with a weak conscience who would object to any of the activities raised above would become guilty of sowing discord if he or she were to discuss these ideas with other members. It is obvious that Paul who sometimes wrote things which were hard to understand (2 Peter 3:16) did not mean any of this, because otherwise he would have contradicted Christ who never sinned, but who “offended” people intentionally.

Lead Writer: Norbert Link 

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Preaching the Gospel and Feeding the Flock

compiled by Dave Harris

Mr. Bill Koeneke, a long-time Church of God member in the UK, has died at the age of 93. He had not been well for some time and had only recently been released from the hospital.

Why NATO Is Breaking Apart” is the title of a new StandingWatch program, presented by Evangelist Norbert Link. Here is a summary:

How can we be so sure that NATO will not survive? We can get an inkling by reviewing the events during this week’s 70th anniversary celebration of the military alliance and the overall attitude of the American and German people towards NATO, but this is just the tip of the iceberg.

“Warum die Nato zerbrechen wird,”  the new German AufPostenStehen program,  was also posted; it covers the same topic as the English StandingWatch program. 

“Wie man das schwache Gewissen (nicht) verletzt!” is the title of this Sabbath’s German sermon, presented by Norbert Link.  Title in English: “How (not) to Wound the Weak Conscience.”

“Das nächste Jahrzehnt wird eine Dekade der Extreme,” is the title of the sermonette presented last Sabbath in Germany by Manuel Müller. Title in English: “The Next Decade Will Be a Decade of Extremes.”

“I Will Give You Rest,” the sermonette presented last Sabbath by Eric Rank, is now posted. Here is a summary:

Living a Christian life in this day and age takes a lot of hard work. God promises rest, however, to those who are obedient to Him. How can we find rest in our lives now and in the future?

“It’s a Promise!” the sermon presented last Sabbath by Dave Harris, is now posted. Here is a summary:

Can God heal—will He? Do we have the faith to be healed? Our part is to have faith and to keep on having faith—to trust God to do what He has promised.

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How This Work is Financed

This Update is an official publication by the ministry of the Church of the Eternal God in the United States of America; the Church of God, a Christian Fellowship in Canada; and the Global Church of God in the United Kingdom.

Editorial Team: Norbert Link, Dave Harris, Rene Messier, Brian Gale, Johanna Link, Eric Rank, Michael Link, Anna Link, Kalon Mitchell, Manuela Mitchell, Dawn Thompson

Technical Team: Eric Rank, Shana Rank

Our activities and literature, including booklets, weekly updates, sermons on CD are provided free of charge. They are made possible by the tithes, offerings and contributions of Church members and others who have elected to support this Work.

While we do not solicit the general public for funds, contributions are gratefully welcomed and are tax-deductible in the U.S. and Canada.

Donations can be sent to the following addresses:

United States: Church of the Eternal God, P.O. Box 270519, San Diego, CA 92198

Canada: Church of God, ACF, Box 1480, Summerland, B.C. V0H 1Z0

United Kingdom: Global Church of God, PO Box 44, MABLETHORPE, LN12 9AN, United Kingdom

This Week in the News

Tense NATO Summit Celebrating Its 70th Anniversary

Deutsche Welle wrote on December 3:

“US President Donald Trump kicked off a tense two-day NATO summit on Tuesday by criticizing French President Emmanuel Macron’s comment about the ‘brain death’ of the military alliance.

“Speaking to the press on the summit’s sidelines, Trump [called] Macron’s comments ‘nasty,’ ‘insulting,’ and ‘very dangerous’ adding that: ‘Nobody needs NATO more than France.’… [Trump] said that he could ‘see France breaking off’ from NATO… [He reiterated] his call for European partners to increase defense spending – calling out Germany in particular for falling short…

“The French president told reporters he stands by his ‘brain death’ comments, even if they ‘shook up a lot of people’… Macron pointed out that [the 29] NATO members have different definitions of what constitutes terrorism. He called on Turkish leaders to clarify their position at this summit, saying ‘they now are fighting against those who fought with us. And sometimes they work with ISIS proxies.’”

President Trump, who had been highly critical of NATO in the past, also said in a press conference with Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (whom he later described as “two-faced”) that it was not fair that Germany had not been paying its fair share in all the previous years, saying that they owe much money to the US. Also, that if they don’t deliver, tariffs will be imposed on German cars. Trump said the US has the better cards. He also said that Germany should pay much more than what they have presently agreed to. When asked whether the USA would defend a NATO ally when attacked, he said: “That is a good question,” continuing with complaints about the failure of some NATO allies to pay their fair share.

Later, Deutsche Welle reported this on December 4:

“On Wednesday, NATO leaders agreed on the importance of mutual defense…  ‘We reaffirm the enduring transatlantic bond between Europe and North America … and our solemn commitment as enshrined in Article 5 of the Washington Treaty that an attack against one ally shall be considered an attack against us all,’ they said in a joint statement… Trump suddenly canceled a press conference scheduled for the end of the day’s proceedings after footage leaked that appeared to show other world leaders mocking him behind his back.

While one has to wonder as to how political the “reaffirmation” of NATO leaders really is, the subsequent abrupt departure of Trump shows the deep rift within NATO. Also note the next two articles which reveal American and German feelings about NATO and their respective countries.

Americans Skeptical of NATO

Politico wrote on December 3:

To the extent that U.S. citizens think about NATO at all, they disagree about whether honoring its commitments would be worth the sacrifice. This wavering commitment likely signals a belief that American protection is no longer necessary for European security or that the United States has different priorities from when NATO was created 70 years ago…

“NATO is in the midst of an existential crisis…”

“Germany Would NOT Use Military to Defend… [the] US from Attack”

Express wrote on December 2:

“YouGov quizzed voters in the UK, France, Germany, the USA, Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Norway about their attitudes towards the [NATO] alliance… Germans object to the possibility of defending the United States from attack by 43 percent to 32 percent, in stark contrast to the 54 percent of Americans think they should defend Germany should it find itself besieged… [In France, the support for defending the USA was even much less.]

“Both countries [Germany and France] also baulked at the idea of defending Ukraine, which is not a member of NATO, France by 35 percent to 28 percent, and Germany by 47 percent to 22 percent…

“On the wider issue for support for NATO generally… [in] France, just nine percent of those asked strongly support the alliance, a drop of 12 points compared with two years ago. In the case of Germany, strong support has plummeted, down from 41 percent in 2017 to 22 percent now. Even in the UK, strong support has fallen dramatically, from 42 percent to 25 percent.”

Germany’s New Military Budget

Deutsche Welle wrote on November 29:

“The German parliament has passed a record budget for 2020… [It] will include Germany’s ever-largest military budget amounting to some €45.05 billion (compared to €43.23 billion this year), with extra money specifically earmarked for the Bundeswehr’s overseas missions and NATO commitments.

“… Wednesday’s ‘general debate’ in the Bundestag [showed] the rift in Merkel’s coalition with the Social Democrats, whose parliamentary group leader Ralf Mützenich said his party would not blindly support the ‘urge’ for military dominance…”

Germany, following external pressure, will become more and more powerful in its military endeavors.

Germany’s Grand Coalition in Serious Doubt

Deutsche Welle wrote on November 30:

“With the fate of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s coalition government on a knife-edge, her center-left partners have elected new leaders. The Social Democrats now face a decision on whether to remain in the government.

“Vice Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who is also finance minister, and his running mate Klara Geywitz were soundly beaten, obtaining only 45.33% of the vote from the party’s rank and file. Both back staying in the coalition until the next national elections in 2021. Instead, party members chose challengers Norbert Walter-Borjans [sometimes called the German Bernie Sanders] and Saskia Esken, who have been strongly critical of the alliance with Merkel’s conservatives..

“Many party members are in favor of leaving the government and rebuilding support for the party in the opposition. That would likely trigger new elections or pave the way for a weak and uncertain minority government…

“The SPD is desperate to try and win back voters following a series of electoral losses and plunging support in opinion polls. ‘Whoever wins this membership poll will deserve the full support of the entire party,’ Foreign Minister Heiko Maas [said], an SPD member… Current opinion polls put the party at 14%, trailing in third place behind Merkel’s conservatives and the Greens…”

It is remarkable that the SPD has still some of their controversial members in high political positions, such as Scholz and Maas, while the party is of no political consequence in national elections.

Deutsche Welle added on December 1:

“Who would have thought it? The Social Democrats (SPD) have voted for revolution. Norbert Walter-Borjans and Saskia Esken, two party members who, up to this point, had been relatively unknown… belong to the party’s left… Those who, until now, have had a say in the running of the SPD have been duped… And no wonder. [They] had pledged to stay in the governing coalition until the next scheduled election in fall 2021.

“… Given that Germany will assume the EU Council presidency in 2020… neither party is keen to hold an early election. Anyone who has made it to the front row, and thus has much to lose, has no interest in political suicide. Norbert Walter-Borjans and Saskia Esken are different… Both are convinced that the SPD is only in such a weak position because it’s moved too far towards the political center. They want to bring the party back to its social democratic roots, heralding a new beginning with a radical change of course…”

The Guardian wrote on December 2:

“Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, the head of the Christian Democrats (CDU), said the coalition deal with the Social Democrats (SPD) would either stay intact or the SPD would have to leave the government…”

The big question is, who will replace Merkel and emerge as the leader of Germany and/or Austria and ultimately Europe, in fulfillment of biblical prophecy?

Will Germany’s Far-Right AfD REALLY Change?

Reuters and the Algemeiner wrote on December 2:

The far-right Alternative for Germany on Saturday elected a decorator from the east backed by a radical wing within the party as one of two co-leaders. The election of Tino Chrupalla, a lawmaker from Saxony, is a tribute to former Communist eastern states where the AfD has made big gains in three elections this year. He will lead Germany’s largest opposition party with Joerg Meuthen, an economics professor from the industrial southern state of Baden-Wuerttemberg who serves as a European Parliament lawmaker…

“The AfD is the biggest opposition party in the Bundestag national parliament, which it entered for the first time in 2017, propelled by voters angry at conservative Chancellor Angela Merkel’s decision in 2015 to admit almost one million mainly Muslim asylum seekers. The AfD also sits on opposition benches in all of Germany’s 16 state parliaments, where it is ostracized by all established parties, including Merkel’s center-right Christian Democrats (CDU) and the center-left Social Democrats (SPD).

“Alexander Gauland, 78, a unifying figure in the AfD who has been a co-leader since 2017, did not stand for reelection. He has said he wants to pass on the baton to a new leadership that ensures the party join a governing coalition with Merkel’s CDU, at least at the state level. ‘They call us Nazis, fascists and right-wing terrorists,’ Gauland told delegates. ‘But we need to be wise and resilient. The day will come when a weakened CDU has only one option: us.’…

“‘If we want more success we need to change,’ Chrupalla said on Friday… ‘We want to move toward the center. This will work because the CDU keeps moving to the left.’… The party is more popular in former Communist eastern states, with double the support that it has in the west of the country. ‘In a few years, we may well have an AfD-CDU coalition, most likely at the state level in the east,’ said Matthias Quent, director of the Institute for Democracy and Civil Society. ‘This could split the CDU. Some CDU members in the east are openly in favor of such a coalition.’…”

AfD’s pronouncement of change and Gauland’s statement that the party needs to be “wise and resilient” could be interpreted in different ways.

Known Terrorist Organization Operates Openly in Germany

The Jerusalem Post wrote on December 1:

“The Lebanese terrorist organization Hezbollah uses a center in Berlin as well as other locations across Germany to recruit members and raise funds for terrorism and weapons purchases, according to a report by the Berlin-based Tagesspiegel newspaper… According to the article, Hezbollah members ‘use Germany as a place for drug trafficking, trade in stolen cars and money laundering. The implications of the group for the drug business are well documented.’

“The report said that Hezbollah’s ‘main routes now move from South America to Africa into the EU. Cocaine reaches Germany mainly via the ports of Rotterdam, Antwerp and Hamburg.’ Within the capital city of Berlin, ‘Hezbollah is also allowed to spread propaganda here in the Reuterstrasse, recruit new members, collect donations – and then forward them to Beirut,’ Tagesspiegel reported.

“The Islamic Center Imam Riza, a Shi’ite institution, is located on Reuter Street in the Berlin district of Neukölln. Berlin’s intelligence agency – the rough equivalent of Shin Bet – revealed in its 2019 report that 250 Hezbollah members live in the capital. A total of 1,050 Hezbollah members and supporters operate across Germany, according to other German intelligence reports.

“Some 30 mosques and cultural centers in Germany have links to Hezbollah, according to a 2019 Hamburg intelligence agency report…

“The Jerusalem Post exclusively reported in August that a Hezbollah mosque in the German city of Münster posted a shocking video on its Facebook page announcing it was proud of terrorism and its allegiance to the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. A Lebanese member of the Imam Mahdi Zentrum Shi’ite mosque in Münster declared: ‘We belong to the party of Ruhollah [Khomeini]. We have been accused of being terrorists – we are proud of terrorism.’

“The German government has rejected appeals to outlaw Hezbollah’s so-called political wing from the country; the military wing was banned by Germany and the European Union in 2013.”

Hezbollah and all its operations are clearly part of a violent and dangerous terrorist organization. Germany’s indifferent approach towards them is shocking, but as we pointed out in our last Update, anti-Semitic positions might very well be a cause for it.

The London Bridge Murder

Daily Mail wrote on November 30:

“The London Bridge attacker who murdered two innocent people in a knife rampage was a convicted terrorist banned from entering the capital. Usman Khan, 28, was released from jail on condition that he obey 20 strict conditions, including not going to London, but probation bosses granted him an exemption to attend an ex-prisoners’ conference organised by Cambridge University because they wrongly believed he had reformed. Instead, he launched a frenzied knife attack inside the Fishmongers’ Hall building on Friday afternoon before being chased down by members of the public on London Bridge where he was shot dead by police.

“Last night, a catalogue of apparent errors by police, judges, politicians and probation services emerged that allowed Khan to launch his attack close to the scene of another terrorist atrocity at Borough Market just two years ago. Khan was jailed in 2012 over a plot to kill Boris Johnson and blow up iconic sites including the London Stock Exchange. Released under strict bail conditions in December last year, he had to wear a tag, attend deradicalisation sessions and was under surveillance by MI5. Yet he apparently ‘hoodwinked’ the authorities by behaving like a ‘model ex-prisoner’ and lulling them into allowing him to travel to London. As the investigation into Khan continued, it emerged that:

“Judge Lord Justice Leveson decided Khan had ‘bigged up’ his role and downgraded his sentence. His release from jail was signed off by the Ministry of Justice, then led by David Gauke. MI5 did not have ‘surveillance eyes’ on Khan on Friday.”

The unfolding story about this known terrorist is extremely troublesome in light of the apparent incompetence of involved government agencies.

Far-Left Anti-Semitism in Britain

The Algemeiner wrote on December 1:

“A new study on antisemitism in the UK found that more than two-thirds of strong supporters of Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn hold at least one antisemitic view. It also found that far-left hatred of Jews is now more prevalent than far-right Jew hatred in Britain, with 60% of the former believing at least one stereotype…

“The poll revealed that 84% of British Jews believe Jeremy Corbyn to be a threat to the Jewish community, with 42% having considered leaving the country in the past two years due to antisemitism, a scale that is ‘unprecedented since medieval times,’ according to the report. Almost half of British Jews cite not feeling comfortable identifying as Jewish in public…

“Gideon Falter, Chief Executive of Campaign against Antisemitism [said:]… ‘the far-left is now home to even more anti-Jewish bigotry than the far-right… Nowhere is that more obvious than in the Labour Party, where Jeremy Corbyn is now the politician of choice for anti-Semites.’

“In the last year, over a dozen MPs and three peers have resigned from the Labour Party citing its institutionalized antisemitism. Many MEPs, councilors, and members have also left in protest.”

These figures are shocking!

Netanyahu Slams Six European Nations

Times of Israel wrote on December 1:

“Israel on Sunday scolded six new European members of the INSTEX barter mechanism meant to circumvent US sanctions on Iran, saying they encouraged the Iranian regime’s repression of its citizens and ‘should be ashamed of themselves.’ ‘While the Iranian regime is killing its own people, European countries rush to support that very murderous regime,’ Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu charged in a video released Sunday.

“In a separate statement, Israel’s Foreign Ministry said ‘Belgium, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden could not have picked worse timing. The hundreds of innocent Iranians murdered during the latest round of protests are rolling in their graves.’…

“[Netanyahu continued:] ‘And while the people of the Middle East bravely stand up to Iran and its henchmen, here’s the absurd thing: While all of this is happening, countries in Europe are working to bypass US sanctions against Iran…. While Iran bombs Saudi Arabia’s oil installations, while Iran rushes to enrich uranium for nuclear weapons, European countries rush to appease Iran with even more concessions.’

“In an apparent reference to World War II, the Israeli leader added: ‘These European countries should be ashamed of themselves. Have they learned nothing from history? Well, apparently not. They are enabling a fanatic terrorist state to develop nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles, thereby bringing disaster to themselves and upon everyone else.’…

“The accession of the six new members ‘further strengthens INSTEX and demonstrates European efforts to facilitate legitimate trade between Europe and Iran,’ France, Germany, and Britain said.”

All these Israelite European nations (i.e., Belgium, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, France and Britain, and, in addition, non-Israelite Germany) are turning against the state of Israel, and vice versa. Ultimately, it will be the entire world against Israel.

Iraq in Turmoil… America’s Attempt to Bring Democracy to the Country Failed Completely

Reuters and the Algemeiner wrote on December 2:

“Iraq’s parliament voted on Sunday to accept the resignation of Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi after weeks of violent anti-government protests that have rocked the country. Abdul Mahdi’s decision to quit on Friday came after a call by Iraq’s top Shi’ite Muslim cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani for parliament to consider withdrawing its support for Abdul Mahdi’s government to stem the violence… Iraqi forces have killed nearly 400 mostly young, unarmed demonstrators since mass anti-government protests broke out on Oct. 1. More than a dozen members of the security forces have also died in clashes.

“Abdul Mahdi’s resignation, though welcomed by protesters, is not expected to end the demonstrations, which have called for an overhaul of a political system accused of being corrupt and keeping most of the population in poverty. Protesters on Sunday torched the Iranian consulate in the holy Shi’ite city of Najaf for the second time in a week, police and civil defense sources said…

“The unrest poses the biggest challenge for Iraq since Islamic State insurgents seized swathes of Iraqi and Syrian territory in 2014. It pits mostly young, disaffected Shi’ite protesters against a Shi’ite-dominated government backed by Iran and accused of squandering Iraq’s oil wealth while infrastructure and living standards deteriorate.”

America’s attempts to bring democracy to Iraq have failed entirely.

Iran in Turmoil

Aljazeera wrote on December 2:

“At least 208 people are believed to have been killed in Iran during a security crackdown on protests that came after a surprise petrol price increase, Amnesty International has said… adding that the actual figure was likely to be higher…

“‘The escalation of the use of force is evident from the fact that protesters were shot from close range. Protesters were also shot from the rooftops and in one case from a helicopter. This represents a regression even by the Iranian government’s own standards.’… It described the death toll as ‘evidence that Iran’s security forces went on a horrific killing spree’…”

The New York Times wrote on December 2:

“Iran is experiencing its deadliest political unrest since the Islamic Revolution 40 years ago… as angry protests have been smothered in a government crackdown of unbridled force.”

As long as Iran is run by dictators, there will be no peace and freedom in the country. However, one should not think that if a governmental change were to take place in the country, it would become more friendly towards America. Rather, Iran will become more and more aligned with Russia.

The Chinese-Russian Pipeline

Deutsche Welle wrote on December 2:

“China and Russia’s leaders opened the giant ‘Power of Siberia’ pipeline project on Monday. The 3,000 kilometer pipeline has been hailed as a sign of the close friendship between two of the world’s superpowers… The project, which Putin has called ‘the world’s biggest construction project,’ is set to last 30 years and pump $400 billion (€363 billion) into Russia’s economy… The agreement came as Russia faced sanctions from the EU and US after it annexed the Crimean peninsula during the same year. It is part of Russia’s plan to boost trade with countries like China and Turkey, as relations with the West continue to deteriorate…

“Xi and Putin… both attended the opening ceremony via video link… ‘ This step takes Russo-Chinese strategic cooperation in energy to a qualitative new level and brings us closer to fulfilling the task, set together with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, of taking bilateral trade to $200 billion (€181 billion) by 2024,’ said Putin. Putin added that it was ‘a genuinely historical event.’

“Xi told Putin via video link that ‘China-Russia relations are entering a new era’ and that the pipeline was an ‘example of deep integration and mutually beneficial cooperation.’”

In the near future, a powerful coalition will develop between Russia, China and other Far Eastern nations. The Bible calls this emerging power bloc “the kings of the East.”

Blocking Russian Gas Pipeline to Germany?

 Newsmax wrote on December 4:

 “President Donald Trump is under pressure from two key senators to thwart completion of the Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline from Russia to Germany by sanctioning companies involved in the project.

Senators Ted Cruz, a Texas Republican, and New Hampshire Democrat Jeanne Shaheen are pushing to put a provision that would sanction companies involved in the construction of the pipeline in a defense spending bill that is viewed as a must-pass measure before Congress leaves Washington for the year.

 “Cruz expressed frustration with the Trump administration for not acting on its own to impose sanctions that could stop the pipeline, which is a project of Russian energy company Gazprom PJSC…

 “Cruz and Shaheen sponsored legislation, which was approved by the Foreign Relations Committee in July by a vote of 20-2, that would target vessels that lay the pipeline and sanction executives from companies linked to those vessels. It would deny visas to those individuals and block transactions related to their U.S.-based property or interests. The bill would also penalize entities that provide insurance to the project.

“It was never brought to the floor for a vote, but Senator Jim Risch, the chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, told Defense News that the sanctions measure had been added to the draft of the National Defense Authorization Act. The sanctions measure may fall victim to haggling between Democrats and Republicans about what should or shouldn’t be included in the defense bill…

“The Nord Stream 2 project has divided the European Union, with nations led by Poland concerned about Russia’s Gazprom tightening its grip on the region if the new pipeline comes online...

“Trump was non-committal when asked about sanctioning the pipeline companies as he met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel Wednesday during this week’s NATO summit in London. ‘Well, we haven’t really determined that yet,’ Trump said. ‘I do think it’s a problem. But it’s a problem that Germany’s going to have to work out for themselves. Maybe for Germany, it won’t be a problem. I hope it’s not, actually. But we’ll be talking about that.’”

It would be hard to imagine what would happen if the USA were to impose sanctions on Russia and Germany regarding the pipeline.  Nothing that has happened so far would even come close to the animosity which would develop between those countries.

Where to Store Nuclear Waste?

CNN wrote on November 30:

“Germany… [will close] all of its nuclear plants in the coming years… [The seven power stations still in operation today are due to close by 2022.] Experts are now hunting for somewhere to bury almost 2,000 containers of high-level radioactive waste. The site must be beyond rock-solid, with no groundwater or earthquakes that could cause a leakage. The technological challenges — of transporting the lethal waste, finding a material to encase it, and even communicating its existence to future humans — are huge. But the most pressing challenge today might simply be finding a community willing to have a nuclear dumping ground in their backyard…

“Currently, high-level radioactive waste is stored in temporary facilities, usually near the power plant it came from… As the name suggests, high-level radioactive waste is the most lethal of its kind

“With more than 400 nuclear power plants around the world, many nearing the end of their operating lifetimes, the issue of waste storage will only become more urgent…”

Another example of how mankind has created its own disasters.

Our Trillion Dollar Deficits

The Hill wrote on December 1:

“Trillion-dollar deficits as far as the eye can see, and hardly a voice of caution to be heard.

In the old days, a decade or so ago, Democrats would have assailed Donald Trump’s failure on federal deficits; instead of eliminating it, as promised, the deficit has doubled to a trillion dollars as far as the eye can see.

Republicans would be in full fury over the spending schemes of Democratic presidential candidates; even the mainstream moderates propose huge increases for health care, education and the social safety net for the disadvantaged. Yet deficits, as a political issue, are dead.”

People have become accustomed to dangerous situations. It is as if a spirit of slumber has overtaken them.

California’s Ignored Volcanoes

The Los Angeles Times wrote on November 30:

“California is famous for its catastrophic earthquakes and wildfires, but they are not the state’s only natural hazards. As head of the observatory, or CalVO, Mangan has drawn attention to the state’s more overlooked threats: a dozen restive volcanoes that stretch from Medicine Lake near the Oregon border to the Salton Buttes in the Coachella Valley… the risk of a small-to-moderate eruption somewhere in the state over the next 30 years is 16% — about the same as for a magnitude 6.7 or greater earthquake along the San Andreas Fault… Unlike earthquakes, which are over in a matter of seconds, volcanic eruptions can drag on

“[Air Traffic could be interrupted.] Planes regularly fly over California’s volcanoes, ferrying up to 300,000 passengers to, from and along the West Coast every day. Each year, millions more people drive through the Mount Shasta hazard zone on Interstate 5 between Redding and the Oregon border… Thousands of miles of high-voltage power lines bound for major population centers cross through hazard zones, particularly in the northern part of the state. These could short out if covered in wet ash, leaving consumers in the dark for weeks. A natural gas pipeline snakes between Shasta, Lassen and Medicine Lake, supplying 4.2 million homes. And many of the state’s water reservoirs lie within the ash fall zones of various volcanoes… ash damages electronics and interferes with radio signals…”

Earthquakes, volcanoes, wildfires, hurricanes, tornadoes and other natural catastrophes, including the impact with asteroids and meteors, will contribute to the destruction of vast areas of the USA and the entire world.  In this regard, we received the following report from Paul Niehoff in Australia:

“47 wildfires are burning in Queensland and 96 in New South Wales from the south coast to the Queensland border. Sydney has hazardous air quality due to the smoke, people with health issues are being urged to stay indoors and some workers are refusing to work outdoors. Central Western Australia has extreme fire danger, temperatures over 40 degrees are expected.”

Controversial Pope’s Quest for a World Religion

Breaking Israel News wrote on December 1:

“Islam was founded in the 7th century CE, approximately 600 years after the founding of Christianity and several thousand years after Judaism began. As an aggressive form of replacement theology, Islam appropriated all of the figures in the Christian and Jewish Bible as Muslim prophets. Even though Buddhism was founded in the 6th century BCE, Islam did not appropriate Siddhārtha Gautama, the founder of Buddhism, as a Mulsim prophet. This may be because Islam considers Buddhism to be a forbidden form of idolatry… ‘The Pope wants to unify all religions and all governments under one world order,’ Rabbi Assur said. ‘What is the big surprise? He is not hiding anything. Just listen to what he says and who he is and his plans are right there for all to see.’

“Pope Francis… is the first pope from the southern hemisphere and, most significantly, he is the first Jesuit to be appointed to the position. Though established by papal order in 1540 to stop the spread of Protestantism and convert the indigenous peoples of Africa and the Americas, the Jesuit order has historically been treated with suspicion by the Catholic Church for being power-hungry‘You assume that the pope is Catholic but he is certainly not acting like a Catholic,’ Rabbi Asore said… ‘Brotherhood is a wonderful thing but one religion is only good if it is worshipping the true God,’ Rabbi Asore said…

“Pope Francis has come under fire before for connecting the Catholic Church with the children of Ishmael. In 2015, 71 elders of the Sanhedrin tried the Pope in absentia for recognizing a ‘State of Palestine’ with an official treaty. By doing so, the Sanhedrin claimed, the Pope was denying the covenant as described in the Bible in which God gives the land of Israel to the descendants of Jacob…

“Pope Francis has also made displays similar to his sitting barefoot in front of the Golden idol of Budda in Bankok that showed a shocking level of tolerance for idolatry. In October, a video emerged of what appears to be Pope Francis blessing a Pachama Goddess statue. Pope Francis has also taken on a policy in which homosexuals are welcomed into the church so much so that the American LGBT magazine The Advocate named Pope Francis their Person of the Year for 2013.”

The Bible predicts we will see a universal body of “believers”—all in opposition to the true God.

Coming—Microchip Vaccinations?

Natural News wrote on October 23:

“It’s all happening, just as we predicted. Big Pharma is officially partnering with the tech industry to pair ‘immunization’ with digital biometrics, meaning humans will soon be microchipped, tracked, and ultimately controlled through a global identification matrix… Similar to how cattle are marked with ear tags, this globalist alliance wants all humans to be ‘vaccinated’ with digital tracking chips that will create a seamless monitoring system for the New World Order to manage the populations of the world with ease…

“While the… program’s testing grounds are primarily in the Third World, the group says it’s also now working with governments here in the United States to start microchipping people through vaccination. In Austin, Texas, for example, the homeless population is now being exploited as a collective guinea pig for… microchip vaccination program… [the program] is also jabbing refugees with its microchip vaccinations…

“All of this is priming the public for an eventual mandate of microchip vaccinations…”

The article makes the common mistake of equating microchip vaccinations with the mark of the beast. It has nothing to do with it. Still, the article is remarkable in that it shows what misguided power-hungry people are willing to do.

 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.

Comments on News and Prophecy (December 7, 2019); Words, Part 2

On, December 7, 2019, Norbert Link will present “Comments on News and Prophecy (December 7, 2019),” and Brian Gale will present the sermon, titled, “Words, Part 2.”

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.

Update 901

I Will Give You Rest; It’s a Promise!

On, November 30, 2019, Eric Rank will present the sermonette, titled, “I Will Give You Rest,” and Dave Harris will present the sermon, titled, “It’s a Promise!”

The live services are available, over video and audio, at https://www.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.

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What Should Be the Mindset of Kings and Priests?

by Kalon Mitchell

In Revelation 5:10, we are told something fundamental as to who we are as Christians: “And [Christ] have made us kings and priests to our God; And we shall reign on the earth.” We are told the same in Revelation 1:6. We are here now as physical people—flesh and blood human beings. But our potential before us is to become spiritual kings and priests in the Kingdom of God. The thought that occurred to me is that in order for this to happen, we have to think like kings and priests NOW.

We should constantly take note of Christ’s perfect example. He was and is our King and our High Priest. The Bible says we are to become like Him. Philippians 2:5-9 tells us: “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name.”

Before Christ became a human being, He was a divine part of the God Family. But He laid His divinity aside to become an obedient servant, willing to serve. If we wish to become kings and priests, then we too need to take on Christ’s mindset of being a servant.

So what does it take to have this mindset? We find our answers in the Holy Scriptures.

God commanded the kings of Israel to write out the Law of God that the priests kept, and they were to constantly read it so that they would be mindful of how they should be ruling as servants of the Most High.

Deuteronomy 17:18-20 states: “Also it shall be, when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write for himself a copy of this law in a book, from the one before the priests, the Levites. And it shall be with him, and he shall read it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the LORD his God and be careful to observe all the words of this law and these statutes, that his heart may not be lifted above his brethren, that he may not turn aside from the commandment to the right hand or to the left, and that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he and his children in the midst of Israel.”

The king’s mind was to be on God and His laws. If we are unwilling to read from the Word of God, then we will NOT be led by God. It is plain and simple. If we do NOT believe what we read, then we will NOT be led by God. Action and faith go hand in hand here. We cannot have one without the other. Some may say the Bible is good and all, but I am just too tired, or I don’t read well, etc. There will always be a million excuses as to why we cannot do something which we should.

We have to have the mindset of being kings and priests. Our mindset is everything. We alone are in charge of our mindset. God has allowed us to choose. The question then is, what will we allow our mindset to be focused on?

In 2 Corinthians 10:3-6, Paul reminds us of how we should be thinking: “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.”

Strongholds are mental blocks; things that we hold in our minds and against which we must fight. These strongholds can be anything. A stronghold can be a wrong personal attitude or self-righteousness. Worry can be a stronghold. Seeking the approval of other people can be a stronghold. Anything that we make into an idol in our lives can be a stronghold, including, but not limited to, fear, guilt, resentment, insecurities and self-pity. All of these things can be strongholds in our minds. Notice, it says that we must bring EVERY thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ and that we must be ready to punish ALL disobedience.

We ALL have either faced these challenges or are facing them now. The ONLY way to overcome them is to come to God and change our mindset. We have to think as God wants us to think, learning how to bring our thoughts into focus and alignment with God’s teaching.  Peter tells us in 1 Peter 1:13: “Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” Luke 12:35 states that we must “…let our waist be girded and our lamps burning.” This means, we must be ready for action. We must be ready in our minds at all times in being a Christian and having a Christian attitude and mindset. Christ warned in Mark 7:14-23 that everything evil comes from within us. And when evil is in our minds, then we must continually fight it.

The right and perfect mindset is one that is set on God. One that is humble, teachable, loving and merciful. One that listens to those who are in authority and gives reverence. Paul once again speaks to each of us in Philippians 2:12-17: “ Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure. Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or labored in vain. Yes, and if I am being poured out as a drink offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. For the same reason you also be glad and rejoice with me.”

When we have the mindset of being kings and priests, we will do everything in our power to continue in this way because we realize what our potential is and how soon that potential is coming to reality.

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We report on alarming developments in Germany pertaining to governmental restriction of a nonprofit organization for opposing Nazism and fascism; point out the long-standing anti-Israeli position of Germany’s neo-Nazi parties and the Greens; quote a shocking article suggesting for Europe to stop recognizing Israel as an independent state; show that the relationship between Israel and Jordan is at an all-time low; explain why Israel’s Attorney General has broken the law by indicting Benjamin Netanyahu; and refer to a report by the Church of England claiming that so-called “Christian” theology was largely responsible for the Holocaust; as well as ungodly positions by Britain’s Labour Party under Jeremy Corbyn. Please view our new StandingWatch program, “Is Another Holocaust Coming Soon?

We continue reporting on Chinese concentration camps while the world is silent; speak on the danger of nuclear weapons and the fact that no one wants to take the first step of atomic disarmament; and address a vicious attack of Germany’s Economy Minister on the USA. We also quote several articles discussing the growing perception that Donald Trump is indeed “God’s chosen one.”

We speak on Brexit developments which seem to indicate that finally, the goal of those who want to leave the EU will be reached soon; and we conclude with an article about the dangers of vaccinations.  

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

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ALARMING—German Holocaust Victims’ Group Loses Charity Status

Deutsche Welle wrote on November 24:

“One of Germany’s oldest and biggest Holocaust victims’ organizations is facing the loss of its nonprofit status…

“The Union of Persecutees of the Nazi Regime/Federation of Antifascists (VVN-BdA) received a notice this month from the financial authorities of the [city] of Berlin that its nonprofit tax benefits would no longer be awarded…

“Several other nonprofit organizations and politicians condemned the decision… who described the letter from the financial authority as an ‘alarm signal for democratic civil society.’

“Nonprofit status exempts an organization from several taxes, and allows supporters to write their donations off against tax. In a statement posted on its website on Friday, the VVN-BdA said the decision could lead to five-digit back taxes that could endanger the group’s survival. But other German financial authorities, such as the one representing North Rhine-Westphalia, continue to recognize VVN-BdA’s nonprofit status

“According to [a 2016 report by] the Bavarian intelligence agency charged with tracking extremist groups, the VVN-BdA’s agenda goes beyond simply fighting far-right extremism… The report also cited an article by VVN-BdA spokesman Ulrich Schneider in support of direct blockades of Nazi demonstrations as evidence that the organization accepted left-wing extremist groups as allies.

“The VVN-BdA describes itself as a non-party-affiliated alliance of victims of the Nazi regime, resistance fighters, and anti-fascists of all generations. It was originally founded in 1947, having emerged from an alliance of Holocaust victims’ associations and former anti-Nazi resistance fighters… The group now has around 6,000 members in Germany.

German financial authorities appear to be cracking down on politically active nonprofit organizations… According to a report in Der Spiegel magazine, German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz is keen to cut tax benefits for groups that try to influence political debate.”

This is an extremely dangerous, biased and right-wing decision, which is based on ridiculous arguments and ludicrous conclusions [see some of our underlining in the article], and it may set in motion very troubling developments reminiscent of the rise of Adolf Hitler.

REVEALING—German New Nazis’ and Greens’ Anti-Israel’s Policy 

The Jerusalem Post wrote on November 24:

“The German neo-Nazi party The Third Way and the Green Party welcomed the EU top court ruling that mandates Israeli products from the disputed territories must be branded with a label to show consumers that they were not produced in Israel proper.

“The Third Way ‘has been calling for years to boycott all products from the terrorist state of Israel’… Third Way added a link to an article from 2014 titled: ‘Israel Boycott: What anyone can do against Zionist genocide.’ A graphic on the Third Way’s entry states: ‘Boycott products from Israel: 729=Made in Israel.’ The number 729 is used in bar codes to identify Israel-based products and companies.

“The intelligence agency for the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate wrote in its 2018 report: ‘The Third Way’s slogan “Boycott Products from Israel”… betrays significant parallels to the anti-Jewish agitation of the National Socialists.’

“German intelligence officials in the state of Baden Württemberg wrote in a 2018 report that propaganda from the Third Way calling to boycott Israeli products ‘roughly recalls similar measures against German Jews by the National Socialists, for example, on April 1, 1933 (the slogan: “Germans! Defend yourselves! Don’t buy from Jews!”).’

“MPs from the German Green Party have sought to label Jewish products from the West Bank, Golan Heights and east Jerusalem since 2013… Green Party MP Renate Künast… once invoked a contemporary antisemitic conspiracy theory to describe a German organization as a ‘Mossad front’ that seeks to advance Israel’s security and stop Iran’s nuclear weapons program.

“In 1983, the Green Party put out a ‘Green Calendar’ with the headline ‘Israel, the gang of murderers’ and urged a ‘boycott of goods from Israel.’ The German daily Die Welt published an article titled ‘The long tradition of Green Anti-Zionism,’ in which the Green Party’s history of blaming Israel for the Middle East’s problems was highlighted.”

Anti-Israeli positions and anti-Semitism have now gone far beyond the preposterous claims of certain controversial German parties and have reached the entirety of Europe, as the above-mentioned EU Court’s decision has proven. The next article shows the extent of such anti-Israeli positions in the EU which ultimately lead to a military intervention in the Middle East and Europe’s occupation of Israel.

Sad and Troubling —Anti-Semitism in Germany on the Rise

The Algemeiner wrote on November 26:

Antisemitic outrages have risen precipitously across Germany during the last year, together with a corresponding rise in antisemitic attitudes. Two studies on Tuesday from separate regions of Germany underlined that the problem exists on a national scale.

“First, the daily newspaper Der Tagesspiegel reported that antisemitic incidents in the state of Brandenburg [in East Germany] during the first nine months of this year equaled the entire record for 2018… Meanwhile, an academic… study, carried out by the Friedrich Schiller University of Jena, showed that 16 percent of respondents in Thuringia [in East Germany] agreed with the statement that Jews were unwelcome aliens (‘They don’t belong here.’)… The university study also showed that 24 percent of Thuringia residents identified with right-wing extremist parties, such as the ‘Alternative for Germany’ (AfD).”

Have those Jew-hating Germans learned NOTHING from history?

SHOCKING—Europe to Stop Recognizing Israel as an Independent State?

Project Syndicate wrote on November 25:

With the United States standing firmly with Israel’s most hawkish elements, it is up to the rest of the international community to push back against Israel’s violations of international law in Palestinian territory. The European Union should lead the charge.

“The United States may have just obliterated any remaining hope for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s declaration that Israeli settlements in the West Bank do not violate international law defies a longstanding global consensus. The rest of the world must push back…

“After the US reversal, the EU’s foreign-policy chief,  Federica Mogherini, confirmed that its position on Israeli settlement policy ‘remains unchanged: all settlement activity is illegal under international law’ and ‘erodes the viability of the two-state solution and the prospects for a lasting peace.’

“But this is far from the first time the EU has criticized Israel’s behavior… If European leaders – or, indeed, any others around the world – want to advance a vision of an independent Palestinian state alongside an Israeli one, they have only two choices: officially recognize Palestine as an independent state or stop recognizing Israel as one until it proves it is serious about reaching a negotiated solution.

“Already, most European parliaments have voted in favor of recognizing Palestine as an independent state along the pre-1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital. But only Sweden has followed through, with the EU advising others to wait for the perfect opportunity to arise – the moment when a unified decision to recognize Palestine could have a real impact. Now is that moment.”

Even though the article does not set forth the OFFICIAL policy of the EU, there is no denying that it describes quite accurately the underlying reasons for the EU’s conduct and actions. The anti-Israeli policy of the EU is in stark contrast to the current pro-Israeli policy of the USA… the differences could not be greater. This is bound to result in a military clash between those two power blocs in the very near future.

DANGEROUS—Israel and Jordan—Relations at an All-Time Low

Breaking Israel News wrote on November 24:

“Relations between Jordan and Israel are at an ‘all-time low’ King Abdullah [said]… Regarding the Israeli-Arab conflict, Abdullah added that ‘If we do not solve the Israeli-Palestinian issue, Israel cannot really be part of the Middle East’

“‘I think that no small amount of us in this room believe that the only way forward is the two-state solution – because the alternative is much worse,’ he added…  ‘But I am not ready for this to come at the expense of what my father and late Prime Minister Rabin fought so hard to achieve, as a symbol of hope and opportunity for Israelis, Palestinians, Jordanians and others.’

“Despite the king’s sentiments, it should be noted that Prime Minister Rabin was against a Palestinian state.”

These are strong anti-Israeli words coming from Jordan… and they are also misleading.

INTERESTING—Israel’s Attorney General Breaks the Law in Indicting Netanyahu

Breaking Israel News wrote on November 24:

“According to Israeli law, Israel’s Attorney General, Avichai Mandleblit has no authority to indict the Prime Minister at this time… The law states that before the attorney general indicts a Member of Knesset such as Netanyahu, they must first submit a recommendation to the Knesset committee. The only problem is that during a transition government (as there is now), there is no Knesset committee which means that no indictment can be handed down.

“The law also states that after the Knesset Committee receives the letter to recommend an indictment, the committee then has to take the time to discuss whether or not the suspect should enjoy immunity. These sessions can take months. And as long as there is no government, as is the case currently, these discussions cannot even take place.

“As [Conservative pundit Caroline] Glick puts it: ‘When Mandleblit announced that he was indicting Netanyahu, he made a political decision, not a legal one. He behaved like a politician and not like an attorney general… everything a lie. There is no indictment, no law and no sentence. There is a coup whereby state prosecutors (with the help of opportunistic politicians and politically biased journalists) are trying to bring down a political leader without elections.’”

The parallels to the US Democrats’ strictly political attempts to concoct reasons for their indictment scheme against President Trump are only too obvious. In this regard, Bild Online wrote on November 24:

“Witnesses in the impeachment showdown accuse him severely. [But] Trump will be the winner in the end.” It should also be noted that none of the witnesses who accuse him have first-hand personal knowledge. It has all been hearsay in the impeachment circus. And as we said before, the alliance of Donald Trump (USA=Manasseh), Benjamin Netanyahu (Israel=Judah) and Boris Johnson (UK= Ephraim) would be an interesting triumvirate.

TELLING—Church of England Blames So-Called Christian Theology for the Holocaust

Breaking Israel News reported on November 24:

“Christian theology played a part in the stereotyping and persecution of Jewish people that ultimately led to the Holocaust, according to a new report released by the Church of England on Thursday.

“… the 121-page report said attitudes towards Judaism over centuries had provided a ‘fertile seed-bed for murderous anti-Semitism,’ and that Anglicans and other Christians must repent for the ‘sins of the past,’ as well as actively challenge anti-Semitic attitudes or stereotypes. ‘The attribution of collective guilt to the Jewish people for the death of Christ and the consequent interpretation of their suffering as collective punishment sent by God is one very clear example of that,’ the report said.”

The report is right in pointing out that the Bible condemns the concept of a “collective guilt” and a “collective punishment” approach against the Jews. Please note our Q&A on that issue, titled, “What is the significance of the saying of Jews at Jesus’ time that ‘His blood be on us and on our children’ (Matthew 27:25)?” 

CONFIRMED—Britain’s Labour Party and Jeremy Corbyn Deeply Anti-Semitic 

Breitbart wrote on November 26:

“The Archbishop of Canterbury has backed an electoral intervention by Britain’s chief rabbi by saying the country should be alert to the profound unease felt by many Jews at the prospect of a left-wing Labour government led by Jeremy Corbyn. Justin Welby tweeted Tuesday after Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis wrote in the Times of London that Britain’s Labour Party and its leader have been deeply tarnished by anti-Semitism

“It is without precedent for the chief rabbi to express his thoughts on party politics during an election campaign. He stopped short of advising voters to shun Labour but made his point about the prospect of Jeremy Corbyn gaining Number 10. ‘The way in which the (Labour) leadership has dealt with anti-Jewish racism is incompatible with the British values of which we are so proud,’ he wrote…

“The Labour Party in general has been engulfed in claims of institutionalized anti-Semitism since Corbyn became leader. At a personal level, he has also been slammed after pictures emerged confirming he attended a 2014 wreath-laying ceremony for Palestinian terrorists. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly admonished Corbyn when the images became public last year: ‘The laying of a wreath by Jeremy Corbyn on the graves of the terrorist who perpetrated the Munich massacre and his comparison of Israel to the Nazis deserves unequivocal condemnation from everyone – left, right and everything in between.’

“Netanyahu’s rare public criticism of a foreign politician came after the Daily Mail newspaper published photos of Corbyn holding a wreath to honor the instigators of the Munich atrocity. He had previously denied being part of the service… Also last year Corbyn’s camp defended comments he made during a speech at a rally outside Israel’s London embassy in 2010 in which he compared Israel’s blockade of the Gaza strip to the Nazi sieges of Leningrad and Stalingrad during World War II.”

The Labour Party’s anti-Semitism under Corbyn is well- documented and undisputable. What is shocking and alarming is that so many Brits are willing to vote for them. Notice the next article as well.

Disgusting—Radical Proposals on Abortion

The Daily Mail wrote on November 25:

“Labour’s… radical proposals on abortion seem to have slipped through unnoticed.

“However, it is vital we examine the party’s declaration that ‘we will uphold women’s reproductive rights and decriminalise abortions’. Decriminalising abortion would mean you could have one for any reason; you wouldn’t even be asked why you wanted it.

“Right To Life campaigners say the plan has the potential to allow unlimited abortions right up to birth, well beyond the present 24-week limit, which is already around twice the average time limit on abortions in Europe… Legislatively, it would mean scrapping the existing 1967 Abortion Act, which says you have to give a reason for an abortion and that two doctors have to sign it off…

“Two years ago, a Daily Mail investigation revealed that Marie Stopes, which has 60 clinics across England, signed off abortions for women they had never even met. Undercover reporters were approved for abortions based on a brief phone conversation with a call centre worker and told there was no need to meet a doctor because they filled out the necessary forms ‘behind the scenes’, based on reasons given to staff over the phone. The discussions could be as short as 22 seconds…”

The liberal ungodly laws in England and elsewhere are already terrible enough. Left-wing Labour wants to make them even worse…

SHAMEFUL—China’s Concentration Camps, while the World Is Silent (Again)

The Associated Press wrote on November 24:

“President Donald Trump’s new national security adviser [Robert O’Brien] is criticizing what he says is silence from the rest of the world over China’s confinement of more than 1 million Muslims in reeducation camps, linking the lack of a global outcry to China’s economic clout…

“‘Where is the world? We have over a million people in concentration camps,’ O’Brien said. ‘I’ve been to the genocide museum in Rwanda. You hear “never again, never again is this going to happen,” and yet there are reeducation camps with over a million people in them.’”

The Associated Press wrote on November 25:

“[New] classified documents lay out the Chinese government’s deliberate strategy to lock up ethnic minorities even before they commit a crime, to rewire their thoughts and the language they speak… Drawing on data collected by mass surveillance technology, computers issued the names of tens of thousands of people for interrogation or detention in just one week… the documents give the most significant description yet of high-tech mass detention in the 21st century in the words of the Chinese government itself. Experts say they spell out a vast system that targets, surveils and grades entire ethnicities to forcibly assimilate and subdue them.”

The world was silent when the truth about concentration camps in Nazi Germany was known. The world has been silent ever since in light of unspeakable atrocities. There is a reason for that: This is Satan’s world, not God’s.

FRIGHTENING—Nuclear Weapons Not the Solution

Deutsche Welle wrote on November 24:

“Visiting Japan, Pope Francis has condemned atomic weapons, nuclear deterrence and the growing arms trade…

“In a highly symbolic visit to Nagasaki, one of the two Japanese cities devastated by nuclear strikes during the closing days of World War II in August 1945, Pope Francis said nuclear weapons were ‘not the answer’ for global security, peace and stability… ‘I ask political leaders not to forget that these weapons cannot protect us… Peace and international stability are incompatible with attempts to build upon the fear of mutual destruction or the threat of total annihilation,’ Francis noted…

“The head of the world’s 1.3 billion Catholics also criticized governments for spending huge sums on the development and manufacture of destructive weapons, while millions of people worldwide remain destitute…”

The Associated Press added on November 26:

“Pope Francis is planning to change official Catholic Church teaching to declare the use and possession of atomic weapons as ‘immoral,’ a move that makes clear that his rejection of the Cold War-era doctrine of deterrence is to be official church policy… ‘This must go in the Catechism of the Catholic Church,’ he said, referring to the published compendium of official church teaching. ‘Not just the use, also the possession,’ he said…

“Francis first articulated his opposition to the doctrine of deterrence in 2017, during a Vatican conference, when he said the possession of nuclear weapons was ‘to be condemned.’ The shift upended three decades of the Vatican’s tacit acceptance of nuclear arsenals. Starting in 1982, St. John Paul II had held that deterrence could be morally acceptable in the interim as long as it was used as a step toward mutual, verifiable disarmament…”

No amounts of weapons—nuclear or otherwise—are the answer for our protection. But until man changes his way of thinking, finally realizing that “it must be of the spirit, if we are to save the flesh” (General Douglas MacArthur, Tokyo Bay, September 2, 1945), we will slip and stumble from one catastrophe to the next, until the unthinkable will happen, as our comments to the next article show. 

TYPICAL—Germany Not Ready and Willing

Deutsche Welle wrote on November 22:

“Only a world without nuclear weapons can be a ‘safe world,’ the German foreign minister [Heiko Maas] said on a trip to Hiroshima. But that requires international consensus, and Germany won’t be taking the first step… [He] said he was against a unilateral German withdrawal of nuclear weapons… Germany currently stores around 20 US nuclear warheads. The armed forces have Tornado jets on standby to deploy them if necessary…

“The US nuclear attack on Hiroshima at the end of World War II almost completely destroyed the city and killed around 140,000 people, mostly civilians. Tens of thousands died subsequently as a result of the long-term effects of the radiation. Three days after the attack on Hiroshima, US forces dropped another nuclear bomb on the city of Nagasaki where a further 70,000 people died.”

Heiko Maas’s poor and faulty reasoning shows why there will be no solution to our problems. This world will not get rid of nuclear weapons; in fact, they will be used again and if it were not for the return of Christ to end man’s madness and bring peace, all life on this planet would be annihilated. 

STUNNING—Germany Economy Minister Attacks USA

Politico wrote on November 25:

“German Economy Minister Peter Altmaier on Monday defended describing the United States as ‘unreliable and untrustworthy’ in a debate over whether Chinese companies should be banned from providing equipment for Germany’s 5G telecoms network. The U.S. ambassador to Berlin, Richard Grenell, strongly condemned the remarks, branding them ‘an insult to the thousands of American troops who help ensure Germany’s security and the millions of Americans committed to a strong Western alliance.’

“Altmaier, Angela Merkel’s former chief of staff and a close ally of the chancellor, made the comments on live television… Merkel has advocated letting the Chinese in, despite deep reservations both within her own party and her governing coalition…

“Altmaier’s negative characterization of Germany’s longtime ally and protector illustrates the depth of the rift between the U.S. and Germany, which has worsened in recent months amid trade disputes and Washington’s persistent criticism of Berlin’s failure to meet NATO defense spending goals…

“Altmaier, however, wasn’t the only senior figure to draw comparisons between the U.S. and China on the talk show. Dieter Kempf, the president of the German Federation of Industries, a powerful business lobby, said he saw no reason to treat Chinese companies any different from American ones… ‘If you compare the Chinese intelligence act with the U.S. Patriot Act, which some of us appear to have forgotten, one can see that they have pretty much the same requirements.’”

That rift between the USA and Germany (as well as Europe) will continue to worsen until a MILITARY confrontation is no longer unthinkable. 

AFFIRMING—Donald Trump… the “Chosen One” Sent by God?

The Huffington Post wrote on November 25:

Departing Secretary of Energy Rick Perry [said] that the president was ‘the chosen one’ sent by God to rule over America. The former Texas governor and Republican presidential rival of Trump used Old Testament kings to make his point. ‘God’s used imperfect people all through history,’ Perry said. ‘King David wasn’t perfect, Saul wasn’t perfect, Solomon wasn’t perfect.’

“Perry said he shared his thoughts with Trump on paper recently. ‘I said, Mr. President, I know there are people that say you said you were the chosen one and I said, “You were.” I said, “If you’re a believing Christian, you understand God’s plan for the people who rule and judge over us on this planet and our government.”’…

“Perry… is not the first Trump acolyte to attribute the president’s ascent to religion. Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale said earlier this year that ‘only God could deliver such a savior to our nation.’ Former White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said God ‘wanted Trump to become president.’ And Secretary of State Mike Pompeo…  said in March that ‘it’s possible’ that Trump… had been sent ‘to help save the Jewish people.’”

Daily Mail added:

“The failed 2012 and 2016 presidential candidate continued: ‘None of us got here by accident. I’m a big believer that the God of our universe is still very active in the details of the day-to-day lives of government. You know, Barack Obama didn’t get to be the president [of the] United States without being ordained by God. Neither did Donald Trump

“Trump won the Republican nomination after turning aside a raft of rival Republicans – including Perry, who in 2016 denounced him as a ‘false prophet.’ ‘Let no one be mistaken – Donald Trump’s candidacy is a cancer on conservatism, and it must be clearly diagnosed, excised and discarded,’ Perry warned in a speech at the National Press Club in July of 2015. ‘My fellow Republicans, beware of false prophets. Do not let itching ears be tickled by messengers who appeal to anger, division and resentment. Resentment is the poison we swallow that we hope harms another. My fellow Republicans, don’t take the poison.’…

“Trump described himself as the ‘chosen’ one when describing his role taking on China on trade practices. ‘Somebody had to do it,’ he told reporters at the White House at the end of August. ‘I am the chosen one,’ he said, looking upward [and stretching out his arms]. ‘Somebody had to do it. So I’m taking on China.”

It is not true that God ordains every president of the United States, or every ruler on this planet. As we explain in our Q&A on Romans 13:3,  the Bible tells us that sometimes, God has nothing to do with certain people coming to power. This is Satan’s world, not God’s, and Satan is the ruler of this world, which includes the USA, the UK, Israel and other nations. Sometimes, people come to power without any spiritual influence—neither from God nor from Satan. At other times, Satan gives power and authority to certain people (he will do so in respect to the beast and the false prophet or the man of sin). On the other hand, nothing happens against God’s Will. And sometimes, God intervenes directly and places people in power, strictly and solely for the purpose of fulfilling biblical prophecy. We believe that in regard to Donald Trump, and perhaps other current leaders, this is the case.

UNFOLDING—“Brexit—No Going Back Now”

Express wrote on November 25:

“EU BOSSES are set to press ahead with a new European Commission without Britain after Boris Johnson’s steadfast refusal to nominate a representative. The Prime Minister’s hardline stance threw Brussels into a tailspin as its own laws clearly state every member nation must have a commissioner. But EU legal teams have been working round the clock throughout the weekend to come up with a solution to make the new Commission legitimate without a British presence.

“… Officials are confident [that] the next European Commission [will be conducted] in December without a UK commissioner. [A document by the EU commissioners] says the UK’s failure to meet its obligation to nominate a commissioner ‘cannot undermine the regular functioning of the Union and its institutions and thus cannot constitute an obstacle to the appointment of the next Commission in order for it to start as soon as possible exercising the full range of its power under the Treaties’.

“The European Commission has wide-ranging powers that include proposing policies on everything from migration to climate change, policing member states’ budgets and negotiating global trade deals. It is normally comprised of one representative from each of the EU’s 28 member states. Britain was given until midnight last Friday to respond to the launch of legal action in which it is accused of violating EU law by refusing to put forward a nominee. But the Government did not respond and is not expected to do so.”

Brexit will happen soon. The “patience” of the EU with the UK is running out. While Angela Merkel has been trying so far to delay Brexit, the Bible says that ultimately, Germany will not be able to help the UK anymore. From a biblical perspective, Brexit will destroy the UK, but it is prophesied to happen. At the same time, Money Week reported on November 24 that Christine Lagarde “is pushing harder on the door that Draghi already opened – the ECB is here, it’s printing money, and it will continue to buy all the bonds you can issue in order to fund more government spending. Meanwhile, progress towards ‘ever closer union’ will continue… Draghi effected political change but cloaked it under economics. Lagarde is going to do more, and in plain sight…”

Sicknesses Because of Vaccinations 

The Associated Press reported on November 25:

Four African countries have reported new cases of polio linked to the oral vaccine, as global health numbers show there are now more children being paralyzed by viruses originating in vaccines than in the wild. In a report late last week, the World Health Organization and partners noted nine new polio cases caused by the vaccine in Nigeria, Congo, Central African Republic and Angola. Seven countries elsewhere in Africa have similar outbreaks and cases have been reported in Asia. Of the two countries where polio remains endemic, Afghanistan and Pakistan, vaccine-linked cases have been identified in Pakistan…

“The Independent Monitoring Board, a group set up by WHO to assess polio eradication, warned in a report this month that vaccine-derived polio virus is ‘spreading uncontrolled in West Africa, bursting geographical boundaries and raising fundamental questions and challenges for the whole eradication process.”

We need to understand that ALL vaccines are potentially dangerous, and that is especially true for people with a weak immune system.  In countries where it is mandatory for children to be immunized, it is important that parents are aware of the potential dangers so they can pray fervently to God for His protection of the children. An uninformed, casual and lackadaisical approach is most certainly not called for.  

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.

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Would you please explain the concept of not giving offense to others? (Part 2)

In the first part, we saw that Christ was called a stumbling block and that He indeed offended people, and He was still without fault or sin.

On the other hand, as we will show, the Bible tells us that we are not to cause offense. How is this to be understood in light of the fact that Jesus Himself did offend people?

We read in Luke 17:1-2:

Then He said to the disciples, ‘It is impossible that no offenses (Greek skandalon, which means stumbling block) should come, but woe to him through whom they do come! It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea, than that he should offend (Greek skandalizo, which means, cause to stumble) one of these little ones.”

The following words by Jesus are added in Matthew 18:6-7:

“But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin (Greek: skandalizo), it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea. Woe to the world because of offenses (Greek: scandalon)! For offenses must come, but woe to that man by whom the offense comes!”

The Authorized Version states: “But whoso shall offend one of these little ones…” The kind of offense Jesus is addressing here is in the context of committing sin.

Note how Jesus continues in Matthew 18:8-9:

If your hand or foot causes you to sin (Greek: skandalizo; lit.: cause to stumble), cut it off and cast it from you. It is better for you to enter into life lame or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet, to be cast into the everlasting fire. And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you. It is better for you to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire” (compare Mark 9:42-47).”

Again, the Authorized Version renders consistently: “… if thy hand or thy foot offend you… if thine eye offend you…”

Let us also note the concept of offense in the context of committing sin in Matthew 5:27-30:

“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin [Greek: skandalizo]pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin [Greek: skandalizo], cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.”

The Authorized Version translates again: “If thy right eye offend thee… if your right hand offend thee.”

Here, the context is obvious. Offense or causing to sin or to stumble is addressed in the context of committing adultery. Our own members (eye or hand) should not “offend” us in causing us to sin; in the same way, we are not to offend others by causing them to sin.

Paul admonishes Timothy in the same way in Philippians 1:9-11:

And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ, being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.”

In the Greek, the word for “without offense” is aproskopos, which means literally, “not causing to stumble.”

So, Paul told Timothy to make sure he was without offense; that is, that he was without sin against God.

Let us also note Christ’s words in Matthew 13:38-43 in explaining the parable of the wheat and the tares:

The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one. The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels. Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age. The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend (Greek: skandalon; lit., offense or stumbling block), and those who practice lawlessness, and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”

Those who are offenses and stumbling blocks in the parable are equated with those who practice lawlessness. The context is sin, which is lawlessness or the transgression of the Law of God, must not be overlooked.  Christ, even though He was a stumbling block to people, NEVER sinned. The people mentioned in the parable of the wheat and the tares were unrepentant sinners, however.

Also notice Matthew 16:21-23:

From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day. Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!” But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense [Greek skandalon; a stumbling block] to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.”

Peter, although meaning well, tried to convince Christ not to fulfill His God-given purpose. This was tantamount to temptation inspired by Satan, and this is why Christ answered so strongly, as He would have sinned if He had followed Peter’s “advice.”

We are not to consciously “offend” people in the sense that we cause them to sin. Christ never did this; He acted and taught God’s Word in the letter and in the spirit, which included deviating from human customs and practices, which were not taught in God’s Word. In some cases, they even violated the letter and, in other cases, the spirit of the Law of God. In doing so, He became an offense to others, but this was quite all right. Christ did not react by saying: Because I offend someone, I will no longer do what I am doing or say what I am saying.

The context between offending people and sinning against them by transgressing God’s law in the letter or in the spirit is also shown in the following passages:

Romans 16:17 states:

“Now I urge you, brethren, note those who cause divisions and offenses [Greek, skandalon] contrary to the doctrine which you learned, and avoid them.”

Those who offend or cause divisions and thereby create stumbling blocks for others, by teaching wrongfully against God’s Word, are to be avoided.

2 Corinthians 6:3 adds: “We give no offense in anything, that our ministry may not be blamed.”

Here, the Greek word for “offense” is proskope, which means a stumbling block.

We are not to offend by sinning against God’s Word. In other words, sin constitutes offense against God and man.

James also equates offending or stumbling with sinning against the Law of God.

James 2:10 reads:

For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.”

The Authorized Version says: “yet offend in one point…”

The Greek word is ptaio, meaning to stumble or to fall.

James 3:1-2 continues:

My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment. For we all stumble (Greek ptaio] in many things. If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body.”

The Authorized Version renders it: “… we offend all. If any man offend not…”

Again, we offend when we sin.

In Acts 24:12-16, we find Paul’s words recorded, as follows:

 “And they neither found me in the temple disputing with anyone nor inciting the crowd, either in the synagogues or in the city. Nor can they prove the things of which they now accuse me. But this I confess to you, that according to the Way which they call a sect, so I worship the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the Law and in the Prophets. I have hope in God, which they themselves also accept, that there will be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and the unjust. This being so, I myself always strive to have a conscience without offense [Greek aproskopos; literally, not causing to stumble] toward God and men.”

The same thought is expressed here: We sin against God and man when we transgress His Law.

2 Corinthians 11:29 states:

Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to stumble [Greek skandalizo; i.e., to cause to stumble], and I do not burn with indignation?”

The Authorized Version reads: “…who is offended, and I burn not.”

Paul echoes what Christ said earlier: If we cause someone to stumble and sin by transgressing God’s Law, then we are guilty. That is, we must not encourage or even teach someone to sin. That would be an offense against God. 

In light of the foregoing, let us explain how we are to understand the following passage in Matthew 17:24-27, which reads:

 “When they had come to Capernaum, those who received the temple tax came to Peter and said, ‘Does your Teacher not pay the temple tax?’ He said, ‘Yes.’ And when he had come into the house, Jesus anticipated him, saying, ‘What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth take customs or taxes, from their sons or from strangers?’ Peter said to Him, ‘From strangers.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Then the sons are free. Nevertheless, lest we offend [Greek skandalizo; i.e., cause to stumble] them, go to the sea, cast in a hook, and take the fish that comes up first. And when you have opened its mouth, you will find a piece of money; take that and give it to them for Me and you.’”

Christ explained that He, as the Son of God (the Owner of the Temple), was not really obligated to pay the temple tax. But He said to Peter to pay it for the both of them lest they offend the tax collectors. This “offense” by not paying the temple tax would not have been sinful per se, but Christ wanted to avoid in this case an unnecessary confrontation, so that later, the accusation that He did not pay taxes at all was clearly unfounded.

Quite to the contrary, He had stated that we should give Caesar what is Caesar’s (taxes) and to God what is God’s (tithes and offerings). (Of course, the temple tax was not owed to the Roman government, but it was paid to those who were in control of the Temple). In addition, Peter had already stated to the tax collectors that Christ was paying the temple tax, so Christ did not want to make Peter out to be a liar.

On one occasion, Paul circumcised Timothy, even though he had clearly explained that circumcision was no longer necessary. But he did so to avoid an unnecessary confrontation with the Jews as he wanted to use Timothy to help him preach the gospel to them. On the other hand, he steadfastly refused to circumcise Titus as those insisting on it were teaching that circumcision was necessary for salvation. Paul did not say that he had to circumcise Titus as to not create a stumbling block or an offense to those false teachers. He did not teach that we must give in to those who disagree with us when their conscience, which is based on wrong teachings, is “defiled.”

(To Be Continued)

Lead Writer: Norbert Link

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Preaching the Gospel and Feeding the Flock

compiled by Dave Harris

Is Another Holocaust Coming Soon?” is the title of a new StandingWatch program, presented by Evangelist Norbert Link. Here is a summary:

On November 9, 2019, the world remembered the “Kristallnacht” (“The Night of Broken Glass”) in Nazi Germany, leading to the Holocaust. Many fear that another Holocaust could happen, and recent events, opinion polls and governmental decisions seem to support this concern. Anti-Semitism is clearly on the rise throughout the world, including in Germany and continental Europe, the United Kingdom and the USA.

“Ein Mühlstein um Deinen Hals,” is the title of this Sabbath’s new German sermon, presented by Norbert Link. Title in English: “A Millstone Around Your Neck.”

Meeting Isaiah,” the sermonette presented last Sabbath by Frank Bruno, in now posted. Here is a summary:

For a person who has been called by God, the pathway to deeper learning and understanding can still be daunting. As our commitment to God and obedience to His commandments grow stronger, we can pray for help and understanding. This can come to us in the form of the Holy Spirit following our baptism. However, in order to grow in faith and to get to this point we must rely on the Bible—the complete Word of God. With God’s blessing, the Book of Isaiah offers a bridge between the Old and the New Testaments, enabling us to read and understand Scriptures that in the past may have seemed locked and confusing to us. Together we will consider several Scriptures that help us make this connection and better understand that the Bible is truly our road map to salvation.

Where is Peace?” the sermon presented last Sabbath by Eric Rank, is now posted. Here is a summary:

When we experience struggle, difficulty, and conflict in our lives, where can we find peace? What can we do to create more peace in our lives?

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How This Work is Financed

This Update is an official publication by the ministry of the Church of the Eternal God in the United States of America; the Church of God, a Christian Fellowship in Canada; and the Global Church of God in the United Kingdom.

Editorial Team: Norbert Link, Dave Harris, Rene Messier, Brian Gale, Johanna Link, Eric Rank, Michael Link, Anna Link, Kalon Mitchell, Manuela Mitchell, Dawn Thompson

Technical Team: Eric Rank, Shana Rank

Our activities and literature, including booklets, weekly updates, sermons on CD are provided free of charge. They are made possible by the tithes, offerings and contributions of Church members and others who have elected to support this Work.

While we do not solicit the general public for funds, contributions are gratefully welcomed and are tax-deductible in the U.S. and Canada.

Donations can be sent to the following addresses:

United States: Church of the Eternal God, P.O. Box 270519, San Diego, CA 92198

Canada: Church of God, ACF, Box 1480, Summerland, B.C. V0H 1Z0

United Kingdom: Global Church of God, PO Box 44, MABLETHORPE, LN12 9AN, United Kingdom

I Will Give You Rest; It’s a Promise!

On, November 30, 2019, Eric Rank will present the sermonette, titled, “I Will Give You Rest,” and Dave Harris will present the sermon, titled, “It’s a Promise!”

The live services are available, over video and audio, at https://www.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.

Update 900

Meeting Isaiah; Where is Peace?

On, November 23, 2019, Frank Bruno will present the sermonette, titled, “Meeting Isaiah,” and Eric Rank will present the sermon, titled, “Where is Peace?”

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.

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Truly Dedicated

by Michael Link

To be truly dedicated takes commitment and long-suffering with much patience.  It’s a life-long commitment to follow God’s laws, especially if we have chosen to live that way when God has called us out of this world to something far greater which will only be manifested at its full potential when Christ returns back to this earth to establish His Kingdom.  Then we will see what we have been longing for our whole lives.  But before we get to that point, we need to evaluate ourselves by truly asking how dedicated we are in the Church of God.  As we live our daily lives, being preoccupied with our jobs, school, activities and such, do we sometimes wonder if we are dedicated enough; that is, dedicated in our spiritual lives, what we believe in, and also dedicated to our Bible studies?  Are we dedicated to the Work of God and to our calling?  We like to believe that this is true since fruits have shown how the Work has progressed, how the Word has gone out, and how we, the called-out ones, have listened and responded.

It takes dedication to keep the Sabbath, ALL of God’s commanded Holy Days, ALL of God’s laws and statutes and to LIVE by them.  We devote our time, our efforts and ourselves to a particular purpose, the very choice we made for something far greater.

We have committed ourselves to God because we trust in Him (Psalm 37:5; 31:1-5).  We also show a dedication to the Work, which God has indeed blessed and it’s amazing how much we are in fact getting done even with our limited resources.  However, with God, there is no limit.  God tells us in Proverbs 16:3 that if we commit our works to God, our thoughts will be established.  The Work and this Church have certainly been established with much more work to do on the horizon.  It requires a lot of faith, patience and trust.

We have also devoted ourselves to God and by doing that, with the right attitude, we can expect God to truly bless us (compare 2 Chronicles 31:4-12).   Proper tithing does in fact bring forth blessings, and it does take a certain type of devotion to God to do it correctly with faith, not grudgingly with doubt.

By keeping God’s Law, we sacrifice what the world has to offer, for we have given up something valued in “man’s eyes” for the sake of something else regarded as more important or worthy.  It took a sacrifice to attend ALL of God’s Feast Days and to keep the weekly Sabbath day, for example.  What are we sacrificing?   By living God’s Way, we are living sacrifices.  Romans 12:1-2 states: “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”

By doing good and sharing, we also offer a sacrifice which is pleasing to God (Hebrews 13:15-16).   When we fast occasionally or when we observe the Day of Atonement, we sacrifice the physical food and drink and replace it with spiritual food and drink.  We sacrifice for something better by humbling ourselves to God (compare Leviticus 23:26-32; 1 Kings 21:27-29).

By dedicating our lives to God, there is no doubt that God will bless us for it.  The Bible proves that God had blessed others like Abraham (read, for example, Hebrews 6:14), and all he had to do was obey.  In Haggai 2:15-19 God promises blessings as He says in verse 19.   Because we keep God’s Law, we also fear God in the correct manner as explained in Psalm 128:1-6.  And when we continue in this way by being truly dedicated, God will bless us!  “The LORD will give strength to His people; The LORD will bless His people with peace” (Psalm 29:11).

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by Norbert Link

We begin with interesting articles about Pope Francis and the Catholic Church [please view in this regard our StandingWatch program, titled, “Is Pope Francis the False Prophet of the Bible?”]; speak on Iran’s move to cut off Internet access and ways to turn the Internet back on for Iranian citizens; and address the rise of anti-Semitism in Germany—including in at least one popular and influential German party—and also across Europe and in the USA.

We speak on further movements and ideas in Israel to build the third temple, including the thought of just moving the Dome of the Rock to a different location; report on America’s reversal of the concept that Israel’s settlements are illegal and reactions and possible consequences; speak on Israel’s uncertain future due to the failure to form a new government; and address the interesting thought, as published in an Israeli paper, that Donald Trump might be the last President of the United States prior to the coming of the Messiah. [In this regard, please view our new StandingWatch program, “How Near Is Christ’s Return?”]. We also quote from an article asking the theoretical question as to whether America would be ready for an “openly gay” president.

We continue to speak about the nuclear crisis and the many countries which have nuclear weapons or which may acquire them soon.

We conclude with reporting on controversial mandatory vaccinations in Germany and on the travesty of an abominable court decision for Planned Parenthood and against undercover Video journalists.

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

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The Pope’s Stance on Nuclear Weapons, Death Penalty, Euthanasia, Abortion and Suicide

The Associated Press wrote on November 17:

“[Pope] Francis has gone further than any other pope by saying that not only the use, but the mere possession of nuclear weapons is ‘to be firmly condemned.’…

“Francis changed Catholic teaching last year by declaring the death penalty ‘inadmissible’ in all cases. He has also denounced today’s ‘throwaway culture’ where euthanasia, abortion and suicide are often considered acceptable…”

The disagreements between the Pope and conservatives within the Catholic Church continue.

Pope Condemns Groups like the Churches of God

Vatican News wrote on November 11:

“Pope Francis… warned against those who tell us that the end is coming immediately, that ‘the time is at hand.’ … ‘The poor facilitate our access to heaven,’ he said.”

 The end IS near, and we do NOT go to heaven when we die.

“The Pope Has Gone Further Away from God”

Breaking Israel News wrote on November 17:

“Pope Francis received the Grand Imam… of Egypt at the Vatican on Friday… a joint statement signed by the Pope and the Imam in February in Abu Dhabi intended to promote a ‘culture of mutual respect.’

“William Kilpatrick, a professor at Boston College… was skeptical of the agreement. ‘It’s unlikely that the Muslim parties will stick to their end of the bargain’, he wrote upon its signing, noting that the document ‘seems to have been written almost entirely in Rome. [The agreement is] geared to obfuscating the dangerous differences while emphasizing the surface similarities between Christianity and Islam… This is not what Muslim converts want to hear from their pope….That the Pope seems to propose the Quran as a way of salvation, is that not cause for worry?’

The meeting at the Vatican comes at a time when traditional values in the Catholic Church are changing. Pope Francis has taken on a policy in which homosexuals are welcomed into the church… Pope Francis stated that homosexual ‘tendencies are not a sin…’

“Catholic dioceses in the United Kingdom are reportedly hosting homosexual Masses designed to welcome homosexuals into the church and combine ‘gay pride’ with the Eucharist and other Romish sacraments… these pro-homosexuality events have received blessings from the local Roman Catholic bishops…

“Rabbi Hillel Weiss, the spokesman for the Sanhedrin, noted that… rather than take the time to repent, the Pope has gone even further away from God…”

The Algemeiner wrote on November 16 that “Pope Francis said on Friday politicians who rage against homosexuals… remind him of Hitler.”

 The Pope’s fascination with homosexuals is quite remarkable.

Strengthening the Bonds with Other Religions?

Deutsche Welle reported on November 20:

“Once again, Pope Francis is traveling to countries where Catholics make up a small percentage of the population… the pope, who arrived in Thailand on Wednesday, has made it his mission to use such trips to foster understanding between faiths. The pontiff said he sought ‘to strengthen the bonds of friendship that we share with many Buddhist brothers and sisters.’…

“Francis [has] gone further than his predecessors by making… astonishing statements… about religious diversity

“Media outlets will give heavy coverage to the pope’s visits to the memorials to the victims of the atomic bombings in Hiroshima, where he will participate in an interfaith peace conference, and Nagasaki, where he intends to deliver a rebuke of the use of nuclear weapons… Francis will become the second pope to visit Hiroshima and Nagasaki. John Paul II visited in 1981, at the height of the Cold War…”

As we reported in our last Current Events section, and as it is discussed in our StandingWatch program, titled, “Is Pope Francis the False Prophet of the Bible?”, Pope Francis’ attempts to bring non-Christian religions under the Roman Catholic Church’s umbrella is being heavily criticized by conservative Catholics.  

Iran Cuts Off Internet Access

The Associated Press wrote on November 17:

“Iran’s supreme leader on Sunday cautiously backed the government’s decision to raise gasoline prices by 50% after days of widespread protests, calling those who attacked public property during demonstrations ‘thugs’ and signaling that a potential crackdown loomed.

“The government shut down internet access across the nation of 80 million people to staunch demonstrations that took place in a reported 100 cities and towns… By Saturday night, connectivity had fallen to just 7% of ordinary levels… The semiofficial ISNA news agency reported Sunday that Iran’s Supreme National Security Council ordered a ‘restriction of access’ to the internet nationwide, without elaborating.”

This shows how easy it is for autocratic dictatorships to cut off access to the Internet. But note the next article.

How the USA and the EU Could Turn the Internet on for Iran

Deutsche Welle wrote on November 19:

Richard Grenell, the US ambassador to Germany, tweeted that the United States and EU could ‘turn the internet on’ for Iran after the regime shut it down during protests against fuel price hikes. [He] followed up with a tweet to cellphone manufacturers and social media companies, encouraging them to join in the task…

“It’s nearly impossible for ordinary users with computers and routers to quickly access familiar internet services if a regime blocks network connections. However, limited communication may still be possible with a fair amount of effort…

“Before the World Wide Web got going in the 1990s, plenty of people already used the internet to communicate without being online all the time. CrossPoint (also called XP) brought together the function of discussion forums with those of an email program. Simple PCs equipped with one or two telephone modems acted as servers. These CrossPoint servers only needed to call one another every now and then on a normal telephone line to exchange their data packets.

“The technology works in countries run by authoritarian regimes, too. The Zamir Transnational Network demonstrated that starting in 1991, during the wars in the former Yugoslavia. As long as the servers were able to reach a telephone number in a free country, communication with the internet and the rest of the world was assured… It could still take days for an email to reach its recipient, but it was far faster than sending a letter.

The backbone of a contemporary system in Iran and other countries with authoritarian governments would be the hundreds of thousands or even millions of smartphones that people carry around with them… Each of those phones would become a server and connect with other phones nearby. A massive parallel internet would emerge through which users could communicate with each other…

“The free internet for Iran that Ambassador Grenell has called for could possibly be implemented with a cleverly designed app that would include a number of secret servers operated inside the country that allow telephone communications abroad… If a country blocks all channels of communication abroad, what’s left is communication into space…”

Today’s technologies and their potential are just amazing. God will assure that the gospel message will be proclaimed in all the world as a witness before Christ’s return.

Germany’s Volkstrauertag and the Rise of Extremism

Deutsche Welle wrote on November 17:

“German dignitaries paid their respects to the victims of war, oppression and violence on Sunday, as they took part in annual Volkstrauertag (“Remembrance Day”) ceremonies in Berlin…

“The president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, Josef Schuster, used the day of remembrance to caution against what he called ‘a creeping tendency’ of right-wing populism and extremism… Schuster spoke of ‘a real danger’ of becoming accustomed to right-wing extremism, citing ‘regular neo-Nazi concerts’ and the electoral success of the far-right AfD party…”

Antisemitism is clearly on the rise in Germany and throughout Europe.

Antisemitism in the US and across Europe

The Jerusalem Post wrote on November 17:

“Over the past five years, the world has seen record high numbers of antisemitic incidents in the United States and across Europe. Holocaust survivors say verbal and physical attacks against Jews and their property in 2019 are in many ways akin to what they experienced in Germany in the 1930s, which has created a deep-seated fear that another Holocaust is possible

“Polls done on the subject of antisemitism in Austria and the United States have yielded frightening results. In the US, 58% of Americans believe that something like the Holocaust could happen again… 68% of people believed that antisemitism was prevalent in the United States… nearly a third of all Americans and more than four out of 10 millennials believe that substantially less than six million Jews were killed (two million or fewer) during the Holocaust…

“In a similar survey done… in Austria this year, similar results were reported. More than half (58%) of Austrians said that they believe that something like the Holocaust could happen again in other European countries. More than a third of Austrian adults – 38%, who are 43% of millennials and Generation Z – believe that National Socialism/Nazism could come to power again…

“Prof. Judy Baumel Schwartz of the Department of Jewish History and Contemporary Jewry at Bar-Ilan University said the hatred of Jews didn’t start with the Holocaust. ‘Hatred of Jews began a very long time before Hitler’… Following the Holocaust and until the 1980s, it wasn’t fashionable to be antisemitic, but this was just a temporary situation and ‘now Europe has gone back to the way it always was.’”

 This is frightening and deeply depressing. The propaganda promulgated on the Internet and in the social media is dangerous when false information is disseminated—such as the hoax that the Holocaust did not exist.

German Neo-Nazis and Green Party .. .an Interesting Symbiosis

The Jerusalem Post wrote on November 15:

“The EU’s top court has been engulfed since Tuesday in an antisemitic legal scandal because of its singling out of Jewish, Israeli products from the disputed territories for a punitive labeling system. Critics say the legal ruling is discriminatory.

“What has been omitted from the rage over the alleged European Union discriminatory ruling is that Germany’s main neo-Nazi party and the German Green Party advocated a labeling of Israeli products from the disputed West Bank, Golan Heights and east Jerusalem territories as early as 2012 for the Nazi party NPD and for the Greens in 2013…

First, the Nazis: In 2009, Jürgen Rieger, a Holocaust denier and then-deputy chairman of the neo-Nazi National Democratic Party of Germany, called on Germans to boycott Israel. In 2012, the NPD party submitted a legislative initiative in the parliament of the German state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania to mark Israeli products…

“A mere five months later, in 2013, Germany’s influential Green Party introduced an initiative in the federal parliament that largely mirrored the neo-Nazi-sponsored legislation from the previous year… Both initiatives use the historical model of the German Nazi regime boycotts of Jewish businesses starting on April 1, 1933, and invoking the mass slogan: ‘Germans defend yourselves. Do not buy from Jews!’… The much-documented antisemitism of the Green Party has been reported on over the decades…

“A striking feature of the Green Party’s deep obsession with targeting Jewish products with disciplinary action is that the party, like the EU’s top court, ignores the over 100 other territorial disputes in the world. Put simply, the Green Party seeks no economic warfare against Turkish products, for example, for Ankara’s illegal seizure of Northern Cyprus…

“The Israel Hayom columnist Caroline Glick tweeted on Tuesday: ‘Weren’t the Nazis rooted in the Green Party beginning in the late 19th century? And didn’t Nazis play a key role in establishing the postwar Greens? Didn’t the Greens push to label Jewish Israeli goods? (Yes, all the above is true.)’ Glick , a former columnist for the Post, hit a button about the Nazi roots of the Green Party.

“Take the example of August Haussleiter, who, as co-founder of the Greens in 1979, played an important role in the party’s development. Haussleiter was active in Hitler’s Munich Beer Hall Putsch in 1923 and praised the German Wehrmacht in 1942. Baldur Springmann, a former member of the SA, the Nazi Party’s original paramilitary organization, also played a critical role in the nascent phase of the German Green Party. He left the party in 1980.”

This is a very revealing article, as it exposes the deeply anti-Semitic culture of Germany’s neo-Nazis and the popular environmentalist Green Party—not unlike Britain’s Labour Party under Jeremy Corbyn.

Removing the Dome of the Rock?

Breaking Israel News reported on November 18:

“The Supreme Court of India ruled that an ancient [Hindu] temple must be rebuilt and a mosque that was built in its place must be relocated elsewhere. The case is surprisingly similar to the situation at Jerusalem’s Temple Mount and some see this as a precedent paving the way for the return of a Jewish Temple.

“… last week, the Indian Supreme Court gave its final ruling that the land required to build the Hindu temple be handed over by the Muslim authority…

“Assaf Fried, the spokesman for the Temple Organization, noted the unmistakable similarities between the case in India and the situation on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem… ‘The situation is precisely like the one in Jerusalem. Though it cannot be used in Israeli jurisprudence, conceptually, it is compelling… The structure of the Dome of the Rock, which is not a mosque but only a monument, can be moved to another location on the Temple Mount or in Jerusalem. It could even be transferred to Mecca.’…

“Yaakov Hayman, chairman of the United Temple Movements, agreed that the case in India was identical to the situation at the Temple Mount… He suggested moving the Dome of the Rock… ‘It is a beautiful building but it doesn’t need to be precisely there. That specific site is holy to the Jews. I think that what was shown in India is what should be done. If it was done in India, it can be done in Israel.’”

The push towards building the Third Temple gets more and more intense…

USA Reverses Decision to Call Israeli Settlements Illegal

Breitbart wrote on November 18:

“Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced Monday that the U.S. had reversed the policy of Presidents Jimmy Carter and Barack Obama, who declared Israeli settlements in Judea and Samaria (the ‘West Bank’) illegal. Israel took over the region during the Six Day War in 1 June 1967, after Jordan, ignoring pleas from Israel to stay out of the unfolding war with Egypt and Syria, began shelling western Jerusalem. Israel’s counter-attack was victorious.

“Though the area is commonly described as ‘occupied,’ Israel has long maintained that the territory is actually ‘disputed,’ since Jordan had no sovereign right to the territory. If anything, Israel has a superior legal claim, resting on the Balfour Declaration on 1917 and the subsequent League of Nations approval of the British Mandate, which included provision for a Jewish National Home in Palestine. Palestinians also claim the area for their future state.

“Jews had lived in portions of Judea and Samara for millennia. It is the Biblical cradle of the Jewish faith; Jews also lived in Jerusalem, Hebron, and other areas. Many were killed or expelled in the 1948 war of independence, but some began coming back, and establishing new settlements on state land, from 1968 onward…

“Secretary Pompeo issued a statement explaining the administration’s legal reasoning…: ‘After carefully studying all sides of the legal debate, this Administration agrees with President Reagan.  The establishment of Israeli civilian settlements in the West Bank is not per se inconsistent with international law.’…

“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli leaders celebrated the U.S. decision…”

The Associated Press added on November 18:

“The European Union warned of the potential repercussions in a statement following the announcement that did not mention the U.S…. The international community overwhelmingly considers the settlements illegal

“Shortly after Pompeo’s announcement, the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem issued an advisory warning for Americans planning to travel in the West Bank, Jerusalem and Gaza…”

The Associated Press wrote on November 20:

“The Vatican on Wednesday expressed concern that ‘recent decisions’ could undermine regional stability in the Middle East, in an apparent reference to the US reversal of position on Israeli settlements.”

The Netherlands Objects

The Times of Israel reported on November 20:

“The Dutch parliament on Tuesday approved a motion pushing back against a European Court of Justice decision that ordered the labeling of Israeli goods made in West Bank settlements. The motion, approved 82-68, calls on the government to object to the ruling, unless similar standards are applied to all disputed territories around the world. It deems the singling out of Israel in such regard unfair and discriminatory…

“The Dutch vote, supported by Christian groups in parliament and backed by the governing coalition, does not compel the government to act and is largely symbolic. However, diplomatic officials told the Ynet news site that the strong support from the coalition indicated it would guide government policy to an extent.”

The Netherlands is the exception. Most European countries, including Germany, reject the American positionEven though somewhat symbolic, the statement of the USA will set the stage for a coming clash in the Middle East. Note the next article.

Netanyahu Moves Ahead

Breaking Israel News reported on November 20:

“While much of the world screamed at the Trump administration’s announcement that international law does indeed grant Israel the right to Judea and Samaria, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took the opportunity to move forward towards redemption. As per a campaign promise made before the September 17 election, Netanyahu  announced on Tuesday [that he] approved a bill that would annex the Jordan Valley. The initiative for the bill actually came from Sharren Haskell (Likud) who, in light of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s announcement, requested that the bill be exempted from the mandatory six-week waiting period and be fast-tracked with a Knesset vote held next week. The move would include about 20 percent of Judea and Samaria into Israel

“The vote should go through with ease since Benny Gantz, head of the left-wing Blue and White party, announced two weeks ago that he supported annexing the Jordan Valley and the area adjacent to the Dead Sea. The left-wing party responded to Netanyahu’s campaign promise by saying,  ‘[We are] happy Netanyahu is adopting the Blue and White policy platform’…

“Rabbi Yehudah Glick, a Temple Mount activist and former Likud Member of Knesset, described the annexation of the Jordan Valley as the beginning of redemption. ‘The Jordan Valley, in particular, Jericho, was where the Jews first came into Israel,’ Rabbi Glick told Breaking Israel News. ‘That was the beginning of the first redemption. It was where we first became a free nation. This announcement is more than a political agenda. Just like the Jews who first crossed the Jordan River after the Exodus from Egypt, this is an announcement to the world that we are home… Like Abraham, we are saying, ‘Hineni’ (Here I am). We are here, and we are ready to settle the entire land,’ Rabbi Glick said.”

This will surely give rise to further anti-Israel resolutions and actions.

Israel’s Uncertain Future… a Third Election on the Horizon

Deutsche Welle reported on November 20:

“Benny Gantz, Blue and White party leader, announced on Wednesday that he will not be able to form a new government… President Reuven Rivlin had given him a midnight deadline… He now returns the mandate to Rivlin. This announcement deals a major setback to Gantz’s hopes of replacing Netanyahu as prime minister.

“Parliament now has 21 days to rally around Gantz, Netanyahu or another candidate to avoid the third election within twelve months… Avigdor Lieberman, leader of a smaller Israeli party and dubbed ‘kingmaker’ in the election, said earlier on Wednesday that he would not support Gantz, all but ensuring Gantz’s failure. He previously also ruled out working with Netanyahu.

Neither Gantz nor Netanyahu have the required majority in parliament to form a government in their own right. Despite rounds of meetings, both have been unwilling to bend on key issues… A third election now seems likely with no other solution on the horizon.”

This means, Netanyahu remains Prime Minister for the time being.

Netanyahu Indicted

JTA wrote on November 21:

“Benjamin Netanyahu has been charged in three corruption cases, marking the first time a sitting Israeli prime minister has been indicted.

“The charges, announced on Thursday evening by the Justice Ministry and Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit, include bribery and breach of public trust.

“Netanyahu has denied the charges and called the investigations against him a ‘witch hunt.’…

“He has 30 days to request that the Knesset grant him parliamentary immunity in order to avoid a criminal trial. Government ministers are required to resign if faced with a criminal charge, but not the prime minister.

The Jerusalem Post added:

“The indictment will significantly impact the ongoing efforts to form a coalition before December 11 when the period of 21 days expires.”

Donald Trump—the Last US President?

On November 13, Breaking Israel News published an article with the following headline:

“Rabbi: Blessing Trump as King Shows He is the Final President Before the Return of Davidic Dynasty.”

The article continued:

“President Trump attended an Orthodox Jewish fundraising event at the Intercontinental Hotel in Manhattan on Tuesday evening. Four hundred Orthodox Jews participated in the event… Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Jacobson recited the blessing said upon seeing a non-Jewish ruler… The crowd responded with an enthusiastic ‘Amen’ and chants of ‘Four more years.’ The Talmud states that it is a mitzvah (Torah commandment) for a Jew to go out of his way to see rulers and kings, whether they are Jewish or non-Jewish… ‘Though it is true that Trump is not technically a king but he is the most powerful ruler of the world,’ Rabbi Hollander told Breaking Israel News. ‘In that sense, Trump is more of a king than other kings.’…

“Rabbi Berger noted that the blessing of Trump as a king was timely indeed. He cited Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki, the medieval commentator known by the acronym Rashi, explains that this mitzvah is incumbent on Jews who will see the coming of the Messiah… ‘The Messiah will come to fix the mess that has been made of governments around the world, in almost every nation. America and Israel are both having crises in leadership,’ Rabbi Berger said.

“‘We are seeing that democracy simply does not work. The Bible does not talk about democracy. If the U.S. had a king, there would not be any spurious impeachment process or pointless investigations. Democracy allows people who hate the country, who hate God, and even hate half of the people, to run the country. This breakdown of government is intended to turn people to the real king.’ ‘If Israel had a king, there would not be any election reruns,’ Rabbi Berger said. ‘Since David was the king, he went out and dealt with the Philistines in a true and decisive manner. Because Israel does not have a king, it is 70 years and we are still getting attacked by the same Philistines.’ ‘We need the real king and all this conflict over how to run the country will end with the emergence of the true king,’ Rabbi Berger said.”

We have suggested for quite a while that Donald Trump might indeed be the last President of the United States. And as the article points out, only the Messiah will be able to make an end to the mess which we have created.

“Is America Ready for an Openly Gay President?”

AFP wrote on November 18:

“As young Democrat Pete Buttigieg emerges as a genuine contender in the 2020 White House race, his rise poses the question of whether America is ready for an openly gay president… The latest national polls put the Afghanistan veteran fourth behind… former vice president Joe Biden and… senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders… While Buttigieg does not dwell on his sexual orientation, he has spoken candidly about his decision to come out four years ago, and his engagement in 2017 to Chasten — with whom he hopes to start a family, perhaps even in the White House.

Unlike Europe where half a dozen countries have elected gay leaders since 2009, the barrier to LGBT presidential candidates, as well as women, remains unbroken in the United States. Barack Obama, the first black man elected president in 2008, was preceded in the White House by 43 white males, none openly gay… Now we have two [openly gay] governors [and] two [openly gay] US senators… The first openly gay presidential candidate was Fred Karger, who sought the Republican nomination in 2012, although his candidacy never took off.

“On its website, Victory Fund regularly updates a map of elected LBGTQ officials in the United States: the number currently stands at 762 across all levels of government and all states except South Dakota and Mississippi… In May, a Gallup poll found 76 percent of respondents said they would vote for a gay candidate, three times more than in 1978. Among Democrats… the share rose to 83 percent… Most [opposed] were able to overcome their reservations after hearing him speak in calm and measured tones and once he had reminded them he is a practicing Christian…”

The change in the USA—and around the world—pertaining to “openly gay” politicians is quite remarkable and a telling sign of the times. The Bible condemns the practice of homosexuality. But the discussion as to whether America is ready for an “openly gay president” may only be of theoretical interest, because Donald Trump will be reelected in 2020.

The Nuclear Crisis

Project Syndicate wrote on November 18:

Iran has begun a slow but steady process of getting out from under many of the agreement’s limits… It may… be calculating that these steps could dramatically reduce the time it would need to produce nuclear weapons without being attacked. But it is at least as likely that Iran’s actions will lead the US, or more probably Israel, to undertake a preventive strike designed to destroy a significant part of its program.

“Such a strike could lead several other regional powers, including Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt, to develop or acquire nuclear weapons of their own. Turkey, increasingly estranged from many of its allies, has suggested that it may choose to develop nuclear weapons regardless of what Iran does. North Korea is far ahead of Iran: it already has several dozen nuclear weapons and missiles, has tested missiles that can reach the US, and is developing submarine-launched nuclear weapons.

“The notion that North Korea will agree to give up its weapons and ‘denuclearize’ is fanciful. Its leader, Kim Jong-un, believes that only nuclear weapons can ensure his regime’s survival, a belief understandably strengthened by the experience of Ukraine, which accepted security guarantees in exchange for giving up the nuclear weapons it inherited from the Soviet Union, only to be invaded by Russia 25 years later.

“One risk is… that North Korea’s neighbors, including South Korea and Japan, will determine that they, too, need nuclear weapons given the North Korean threat and their diminished confidence in the reliability of the US and its guarantees to protect them with its nuclear forces. The danger in both regions is that a race to acquire nuclear weapons could trigger a preventive war…

India and Pakistan, two countries with a long history of bilateral conflict, are both nuclear powers. Nuclear deterrence cannot be assumed

“… the number of countries [known to have] nuclear weapons is… nine… But with nuclear technology increasingly available, arms control unraveling amid renewed great power rivalry, weakened alliances as the US pulls back from the world, and fading memories of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, we are entering a new and dangerous period. Nuclear competition or even use of nuclear weapons could again become the greatest threat to global stability. Less certain is whether today’s leaders are up to meeting this emerging challenge.”

A nuclear all-encompassing World War III is prophesied to happen soon.

Vaccinations for Children Soon Mandatory in Germany

Deutsche Welle wrote on November 14:

“On Thursday, the German parliament — the Bundestag — passed a law to make immunization mandatory. The ‘Measles Protection Act’ stipulates that as of March 2020 children and staff in kindergartens and schools, medical facilities, and community facilities must be vaccinated. These include residences for asylum seekers, refugee shelters and holiday camps. Parents who do not vaccinate their children of school age will face hefty fines of up to €2,500 ($2,749), while younger children could face a ban from day care facilities…

“After months of debate, the law approved on Thursday wasn’t passed without criticism. Pediatrician Dr. Steffen Rabe… said every parent should be allowed to decide whether they immunize their child. ‘The law is unnecessary, ineffective and unconstitutional,’ Rabe told DW, quoting the right of bodily integrity…

“As the measles vaccination in Germany is only available as a triple — and sometimes quadruple — shot, the mandatory measles vaccination will also indirectly make immunization against measles, mumps and rubella, and in some cases chicken pox obligatory… ‘Some parents don’t want to vaccinate their children against all three diseases due to concerns about possible… side effects later in life,’ Rabe said.

“The German Association of Cities was also critical, saying that the law will affect the legal right to a place at a kindergarten and the difficulty of finding an available spot — an ongoing issue in Germany. German Health Minister Jens Spahn defended the new law.”

Many can be influenced by following the popular mass-media-driven notion endorsed by many governments regarding the necessity of vaccinations, while overlooking or suppressing potential side effects. Spahn who is openly gay has also been instrumental for the enactment of other laws which are likewise quite controversial.

 In addition, Bild Online reported on November 20 that Germans are overwhelmingly disappointed with their government. Only 26% feel the quality of their government constitutes strength for their country, and only 57% have confidence in the political stability (down from 81% a while back). 73% of East Germans think that the current government is too weak. Further, the coalition between CDU and SPD is being rejected by a large portion of the population, but so would be a coalition between the CDU and the Greens.  

Jury Sides with Planned Parenthood Against Undercover Video Journalists

Breitbart wrote on November 15:

“The jury in the federal civil case brought against the undercover video journalists who exposed Planned Parenthood in its alleged trafficking of the body parts of aborted babies found in favor of Planned Parenthood Friday. In the case of Planned Parenthood v. Center for Medical Progress (CMP), the jury found the pro-life journalists caused significant harm to the abortion chain with its sting video series and awarded punitive damages to the abortion chain of over $2.2 million, according to the Thomas More Society, which represented David Daleiden, who headed the CMP project.

“In a statement, Daleiden said: ‘Justice was not done today in San Francisco. While top Planned Parenthood witnesses spent six weeks testifying under oath that the undercover videos are true and Planned Parenthood sold fetal organs on a quid pro quo basis, a biased judge with close Planned Parenthood ties spent six weeks trying to influence the jury with pre-determined rulings and suppressed the video evidence, all in order to rubber-stamp Planned Parenthood’s lawsuit attack on the First Amendment. This is a dangerous precedent for citizen journalism and First Amendment civil rights across the country, sending a message that speaking truth and facts to criticize the powerful is no longer protected by our institutions.’

“Prior to the start of the trial, U.S. District Judge William Orrick III ruled the jury would not be allowed to consider any information Daleiden gleaned from the video recordings… Orrick has been the subject of controversy as he presided over the case, during which he imposed a gag order on CMP regarding the online publication of the National Abortion Federation (NAF) and Planned Parenthood video footage… the Good Samaritan Family Resource Center — an entity that is in partnership with a Planned Parenthood affiliate, a member of the NAF — had named Orrick as an emeritus member of its board… Orrick’s wife’s Facebook account was found to have included posted public comments — along with a photo of her and her husband — that indicate support for Planned Parenthood and criticism of Daleiden and CMP.

“Planned Parenthood has yet to be prosecuted for any of the allegations of profiting from the sales of the body parts of babies aborted in its clinics….”

This Judge should have been disqualified, as he was obviously biased. This is a travesty of justice and an abominable judgment of shame in favor of an organization which is admittedly engaged in terrible and ungodly conduct. How could a true Christian participate in jury trials like these?

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.

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Would you please explain the concept of not giving offense to others? (Part 1)

We need to carefully examine this misunderstood question. We will start with statements about Christ and His conduct; show what giving offense really means; and we will examine what Paul wanted to convey when talking about not offending our weak conscience or that of another person.

Let us first notice that Jesus Christ was called a stumbling stone and a rock of offense.

Isaiah 8:14 states this about Christ:

“He will be as a sanctuary, But a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense To both the houses of Israel, As a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.”

Romans 9:30-33 adds:

What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness of faith; but Israel, pursuing the law of righteousness, has not attained to the law of righteousness. Why? Because they did not seek it by faith, but as it were, by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumbling stone [Greek: proskommatos]. As it is written: ‘Behold, I lay in Zion a stumbling stone [Greek: proskommatos] and rock of offense [Greek: skandalon; literally, stumbling block], And whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.’”

1 Peter 2:6-8 confirms:

Therefore it is also contained in the Scripture, ‘Behold, I lay in Zion A chief cornerstone, elect, precious, And he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame.’ Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious; but to those who are disobedient, ‘The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone,’ and ‘A stone of stumbling [Greek: proskomma] And a rock of offense [Greek: skandalon; i.e., stumbling block].’ They stumble, being disobedient to the word, to which they also were appointed.” 

Finally, let us notice 1 Corinthians 1:21-24:

For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block [Greek: skandalon] and to the Greeks foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.”

These Scriptures tell us that people would be offended by Christ and His actions and they would accuse Him of being a stumbling block to them.

Let us focus on some of Christ’s actions, His teachings and His entire purpose for His First Coming which were offensive to people. Christ was perceived as one who was guilty of causing offense to people and of causing them to stumble, but Christ never sinned.

Galatians 5:11 reads:

“And I, brethren, if I still preach circumcision, why do I still suffer persecution? Then the offense [Greek scandalon] of the cross has ceased.”

People were offended by the fact that the Messiah should die on the cross. But Christ did not alter God’s plan by refusing to die that way in order not to offend people and to avoid the “stumbling block of the cross.”

Matthew 11:2-6 states: 

“And when John had heard in prison about the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples and said to Him, ‘Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?’ Jesus answered and said to them, ‘Go and tell John the things which you hear and see: The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is he who is not offended [Greek: skandalizo; lit., to cause to stumble] because of Me’” (compare also Luke 7:23).

Even John the Baptist had doubts as to whether Christ was the Messiah because He did not act in the way that he had expected. But Christ did not change His behavior, even if that offended people.

Matthew 13:54-57 emphasizes that Christ offended people simply by who He was. They thought that God would have worked it out differently, if Christ were really the Messiah:

“And when He had come to His own country, He taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished and said, ‘Where did this Man get this wisdom and these mighty works? Is this not the carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary? And His brothers James, Joses, Simon, and Judas? And His sisters, are they not all with us? Where then did this Man get all these things?’ So they were offended [Greek: skandalizo] at Him. But Jesus said to them, ‘A prophet is not without honor except in his own country and in his own house.’ Now He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief” (compare Mark 6:3).

They thought He should have stopped preaching, given who they thought He was. As a consequence, they were offended when He did not do what they wanted Him to do, and so He could not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief and refusal to accept Him as the Messiah.

John 6:41-62 continues this theme by pointing out that people were offended by what Christ taught, whom they thought they knew, and they left Him because of that:

The Jews then complained about Him, because He said, ‘I am the bread which came down from heaven.’ And they said, ‘Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How is it then that He says, “I have come down from heaven”?’ Jesus therefore answered and said to them, ‘Do not murmur among yourselves. No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day…

“‘I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world.’ The Jews therefore quarreled among themselves, saying, ‘How can this Man give us His flesh to eat?’

Then Jesus said to them, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me. This is the bread which came down from heaven–not as your fathers ate the manna, and are dead. He who eats this bread will live forever.’ 

These things He said in the synagogue as He taught in Capernaum. Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this, said, ‘This is a hard saying; who can understand it?’ When Jesus knew in Himself that His disciples complained about this, He said to them, ‘Does this offend [Greek: skandalizo] you?  What then if you should see the Son of Man ascend where He was before?…’ From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more.” 

Jesus spoke figuratively by referring to the partaking of bread and wine at the Passover.  He then made reference to His death, resurrection and ascension to heaven. He could have said it differently and less “provocatively,” but He did so on purpose, thereby dividing the wheat from the tares, knowing that many of His disciples would be offended by His words.

Matthew 15:1-12 gives another example to show how little Jesus cared about offending the scribes and the Pharisees.

“Then the scribes and Pharisees who were from Jerusalem came to Jesus, saying, ‘Why do Your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash [ceremonially] their hands when they eat bread.’ He answered and said to them, ‘Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition? For God commanded, saying, “Honor your father and your mother”; and, “He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.” But you say, “Whoever says to his father or mother, ‘Whatever profit you might have received from me is a gift to God’– then he need not honor his father or mother.” Thus you have made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition.

“‘Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying: “These people draw near to Me with their mouth, And honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.”’…

“Then His disciples came and said to Him, ‘Do You know that the Pharisees were offended [Greek: skandalizo] when they heard this saying?’ But He answered and said, ‘Every plant which My heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. Let them alone. They are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch.’”

Rather than saying that from now on, He and His disciples would ceremonially wash their hands, He told the Pharisees and scribes that they were guilty of breaking God’s commandments by their traditions. He knew of course that they would be offended by His words… that He would be for them a stumbling block and a rock of offense.

Let us note additional examples where Christ’s actions were opposed to the expectation and ideas of others, which offended people. 

He talked to the Samaritan woman at the well, which was against the custom of His time, and so His own disciples were astonished when He talked in public to a woman.

He told the parable about the merciful Samaritan which angered the Jews who looked at Samaritans as “dogs.”

He ate with harlots and tax collectors, which upset the self-righteous Pharisees.

He allowed His disciples to pluck grain on the Sabbath, which offended the merciless Pharisees so that they condemned the innocent.

He healed on the Sabbath, which offended the Pharisees and others who taught that healing should not take place on the Sabbath.

He allowed children and babes to praise Him when He entered Jerusalem, which offended the Pharisees.

He allowed several women to anoint Him with oil, which offended all of His disciples, who followed the lead of Judas Iscariot in that matter (John 12:1-8; Matthew 26:1-13). He did not tell the woman who followed the example of Mary not to anoint Him, after Mary had been condemned by His disciples. He did not say: Please do not do this as you are offending My disciples. And of course, His disciples complained again. But Christ’s reaction was one of praise for both women.

We should also take note of the fact that people will become so offended that they will leave the Church, but it does not say that other members were at fault.

Matthew 13:20-21 quotes Christ’s words when telling the parable of the sower:

But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles” (compare Mark 4:17).

The Authorized Version translates: “he is offended.” The Greek word is skandalizo, which means, as we have seen, “to cause to stumble.”

There are many warnings of Christ to the effect that we must not become offended at a given situation or even at Him when we are victims of persecution.

In John 16:1-4, Christ states the following:

“These things I have spoken to you, that you should not be made to stumble. They will put you out of the synagogues; yes, the time is coming that whoever kills you will think that he offers God service. And these things they will do to you because they have not known the Father nor Me. But these things I have told you, that when the time comes, you may remember that I told you of them…”

The Authorized Version reads: “…that you should not be offended.” The Greek word is skandalizo.

Matthew 24:8-10 adds this warning for the end time:

All these are the beginning of sorrows. Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake.  And then many will be offended [Greek skandalizo], will betray one another, and will hate one another.”

Sometimes, we may not realize how easily we can become offended.

Matthew 26:31-34 reports that Peter did not think it was possible that he would ever be offended by Christ, but he was. We read:

Then Jesus said to them, ‘All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written: “I will strike the Shepherd, And the sheep of the flock will be scattered.” But after I have been raised, I will go before you to Galilee.’ Peter answered and said to Him, ‘Even if all are made to stumble because of You, I will never be made to stumble.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Assuredly, I say to you that this night, before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times” (compare Mark 14:27-29).

The Authorized Version reads: “all ye shall be offended because of me… though all be offended… I will never be offended.” The Greek word is skandalizo throughout.

They were all offended because of Christ, including Peter, and they all had denied that it could happen. This shows that we must be very careful not to become offended by what Jesus Christ is doing today in His spiritual body—the Church.

Rather than becoming offended, we must be careful that we don’t cause God to place a stumbling block before us because of our conduct. David prayed that those who reject God should be given a stumbling block—that is, they will even stumble more over the Word of God, by upholding their own traditions and opinions.

We read in Romans 11:7-9:

What then? Israel has not obtained what it seeks; but the elect have obtained it, and the rest were blinded. Just as it is written: ‘God has given them a spirit of stupor, Eyes that they should not see And ears that they should not hear, To this very day.’ And David says: ‘Let their table become a snare and a trap, A stumbling block [Greek skandalon] and a recompense to them.’”

(To Be Continued)

Lead Writer: Norbert Link

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Preaching the Gospel and Feeding the Flock

compiled by Dave Harris

 A new Member Letter (November 2019) has been written and mailed to our subscribers. In this letter, Pastor Dave Harris reminds us to look to exactly what it means to be called into the Truth of God.

A Ministerial Skype Meeting was conducted last Sunday morning (November 17, 2019). We established a date for next year’s Church Conference—Thursday, March 26, 2020, through Sunday, March 29, 2020—to be held in Escondido, California. Also, ministerial assignments for the 2020 Fall Holy Days were determined.

A new StandingWatch program was produced by Evangelist Norbert Link, titled, “How Near Is Christ’s Return?” Here is a summary:

One of the reasons that we know that Christ’s Second Coming is just around the corner is the fact that the Jews are anxious to build the third temple in Jerusalem. An interesting case in India might be used as compelling precedence for removing the Dome of the Rock and the Al Aqsa mosque. America’s new policy stating that Israel’s settlements are not illegal was rejected by the EU and the Vatican and will also contribute to turmoil in the Middle East, especially in light of Israel’s plans to annex the Jordan Valley. Finally, the anointing by a Jewish Rabbi of President Trump as King constitutes for some the necessary fulfillment of a command in the Talmud, leading to the Coming of the Messiah.

“Was bedeutet es, keinen Anstoß zu geben?” is the title of this Sabbath’s new German sermon, presented by Norbert Link. Title in English: “What Does It Mean Not to Give Offense?”

“Wie wir jederzeit dankbar sein sollten,” is the title of this Sabbath’s new German sermonette, presented by Michael Link. Title in English: “How We Should Be Thankful At All Times.”

“President Trump’s Destiny — Comments on News and Prophecy (November 16, 2019),” is the title of last Sabbath’s commentary, presented by Norbert Link. Here is a summary:

Some feel that President Trump is fulfilling a prophetic role in relationship to the state of Israel, which is similar to the role of Cyrus, King of Persia, who helped the Jews to build the Second Temple. They say that Trump will be used to help build the Third Temple, as a prerequisite for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.  Trump seems to believe this himself.

“Sermon – Words – Part 1:” is the title of last Sabbath’s sermon, presented by Pastor Brian Gale. Here is a summary:

This sermon looks at the importance of words, and explores seven areas where words impact on church members lives today.

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How This Work is Financed

This Update is an official publication by the ministry of the Church of the Eternal God in the United States of America; the Church of God, a Christian Fellowship in Canada; and the Global Church of God in the United Kingdom.

Editorial Team: Norbert Link, Dave Harris, Rene Messier, Brian Gale, Johanna Link, Eric Rank, Michael Link, Anna Link, Kalon Mitchell, Manuela Mitchell, Dawn Thompson

Technical Team: Eric Rank, Shana Rank

Our activities and literature, including booklets, weekly updates, sermons on CD are provided free of charge. They are made possible by the tithes, offerings and contributions of Church members and others who have elected to support this Work.

While we do not solicit the general public for funds, contributions are gratefully welcomed and are tax-deductible in the U.S. and Canada.

Donations can be sent to the following addresses:

United States: Church of the Eternal God, P.O. Box 270519, San Diego, CA 92198

Canada: Church of God, ACF, Box 1480, Summerland, B.C. V0H 1Z0

United Kingdom: Global Church of God, PO Box 44, MABLETHORPE, LN12 9AN, United Kingdom

This Week in the News

The Pope’s Stance on Nuclear Weapons, Death Penalty, Euthanasia, Abortion and Suicide

The Associated Press wrote on November 17:

“[Pope] Francis has gone further than any other pope by saying that not only the use, but the mere possession of nuclear weapons is ‘to be firmly condemned.’…

“Francis changed Catholic teaching last year by declaring the death penalty ‘inadmissible’ in all cases. He has also denounced today’s ‘throwaway culture’ where euthanasia, abortion and suicide are often considered acceptable…”

The disagreements between the Pope and conservatives within the Catholic Church continue.

Pope Condemns Groups like the Churches of God

Vatican News wrote on November 11:

“Pope Francis… warned against those who tell us that the end is coming immediately, that ‘the time is at hand.’ … ‘The poor facilitate our access to heaven,’ he said.”

 The end IS near, and we do NOT go to heaven when we die.

“The Pope Has Gone Further Away from God”

Breaking Israel News wrote on November 17:

“Pope Francis received the Grand Imam… of Egypt at the Vatican on Friday… a joint statement signed by the Pope and the Imam in February in Abu Dhabi intended to promote a ‘culture of mutual respect.’

“William Kilpatrick, a professor at Boston College… was skeptical of the agreement. ‘It’s unlikely that the Muslim parties will stick to their end of the bargain’, he wrote upon its signing, noting that the document ‘seems to have been written almost entirely in Rome. [The agreement is] geared to obfuscating the dangerous differences while emphasizing the surface similarities between Christianity and Islam… This is not what Muslim converts want to hear from their pope….That the Pope seems to propose the Quran as a way of salvation, is that not cause for worry?’

The meeting at the Vatican comes at a time when traditional values in the Catholic Church are changing. Pope Francis has taken on a policy in which homosexuals are welcomed into the church… Pope Francis stated that homosexual ‘tendencies are not a sin…’

“Catholic dioceses in the United Kingdom are reportedly hosting homosexual Masses designed to welcome homosexuals into the church and combine ‘gay pride’ with the Eucharist and other Romish sacraments… these pro-homosexuality events have received blessings from the local Roman Catholic bishops…

“Rabbi Hillel Weiss, the spokesman for the Sanhedrin, noted that… rather than take the time to repent, the Pope has gone even further away from God…”

The Algemeiner wrote on November 16 that “Pope Francis said on Friday politicians who rage against homosexuals… remind him of Hitler.”

 The Pope’s fascination with homosexuals is quite remarkable.

Strengthening the Bonds with Other Religions?

Deutsche Welle reported on November 20:

“Once again, Pope Francis is traveling to countries where Catholics make up a small percentage of the population… the pope, who arrived in Thailand on Wednesday, has made it his mission to use such trips to foster understanding between faiths. The pontiff said he sought ‘to strengthen the bonds of friendship that we share with many Buddhist brothers and sisters.’…

“Francis [has] gone further than his predecessors by making… astonishing statements… about religious diversity

“Media outlets will give heavy coverage to the pope’s visits to the memorials to the victims of the atomic bombings in Hiroshima, where he will participate in an interfaith peace conference, and Nagasaki, where he intends to deliver a rebuke of the use of nuclear weapons… Francis will become the second pope to visit Hiroshima and Nagasaki. John Paul II visited in 1981, at the height of the Cold War…”

As we reported in our last Current Events section, and as it is discussed in our StandingWatch program, titled, “Is Pope Francis the False Prophet of the Bible?”, Pope Francis’ attempts to bring non-Christian religions under the Roman Catholic Church’s umbrella is being heavily criticized by conservative Catholics.  

Iran Cuts Off Internet Access

The Associated Press wrote on November 17:

“Iran’s supreme leader on Sunday cautiously backed the government’s decision to raise gasoline prices by 50% after days of widespread protests, calling those who attacked public property during demonstrations ‘thugs’ and signaling that a potential crackdown loomed.

“The government shut down internet access across the nation of 80 million people to staunch demonstrations that took place in a reported 100 cities and towns… By Saturday night, connectivity had fallen to just 7% of ordinary levels… The semiofficial ISNA news agency reported Sunday that Iran’s Supreme National Security Council ordered a ‘restriction of access’ to the internet nationwide, without elaborating.”

This shows how easy it is for autocratic dictatorships to cut off access to the Internet. But note the next article.

How the USA and the EU Could Turn the Internet on for Iran

Deutsche Welle wrote on November 19:

Richard Grenell, the US ambassador to Germany, tweeted that the United States and EU could ‘turn the internet on’ for Iran after the regime shut it down during protests against fuel price hikes. [He] followed up with a tweet to cellphone manufacturers and social media companies, encouraging them to join in the task…

“It’s nearly impossible for ordinary users with computers and routers to quickly access familiar internet services if a regime blocks network connections. However, limited communication may still be possible with a fair amount of effort…

“Before the World Wide Web got going in the 1990s, plenty of people already used the internet to communicate without being online all the time. CrossPoint (also called XP) brought together the function of discussion forums with those of an email program. Simple PCs equipped with one or two telephone modems acted as servers. These CrossPoint servers only needed to call one another every now and then on a normal telephone line to exchange their data packets.

“The technology works in countries run by authoritarian regimes, too. The Zamir Transnational Network demonstrated that starting in 1991, during the wars in the former Yugoslavia. As long as the servers were able to reach a telephone number in a free country, communication with the internet and the rest of the world was assured… It could still take days for an email to reach its recipient, but it was far faster than sending a letter.

The backbone of a contemporary system in Iran and other countries with authoritarian governments would be the hundreds of thousands or even millions of smartphones that people carry around with them… Each of those phones would become a server and connect with other phones nearby. A massive parallel internet would emerge through which users could communicate with each other…

“The free internet for Iran that Ambassador Grenell has called for could possibly be implemented with a cleverly designed app that would include a number of secret servers operated inside the country that allow telephone communications abroad… If a country blocks all channels of communication abroad, what’s left is communication into space…”

Today’s technologies and their potential are just amazing. God will assure that the gospel message will be proclaimed in all the world as a witness before Christ’s return.

Germany’s Volkstrauertag and the Rise of Extremism

Deutsche Welle wrote on November 17:

“German dignitaries paid their respects to the victims of war, oppression and violence on Sunday, as they took part in annual Volkstrauertag (“Remembrance Day”) ceremonies in Berlin…

“The president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, Josef Schuster, used the day of remembrance to caution against what he called ‘a creeping tendency’ of right-wing populism and extremism… Schuster spoke of ‘a real danger’ of becoming accustomed to right-wing extremism, citing ‘regular neo-Nazi concerts’ and the electoral success of the far-right AfD party…”

Antisemitism is clearly on the rise in Germany and throughout Europe.

Antisemitism in the US and across Europe

The Jerusalem Post wrote on November 17:

“Over the past five years, the world has seen record high numbers of antisemitic incidents in the United States and across Europe. Holocaust survivors say verbal and physical attacks against Jews and their property in 2019 are in many ways akin to what they experienced in Germany in the 1930s, which has created a deep-seated fear that another Holocaust is possible

“Polls done on the subject of antisemitism in Austria and the United States have yielded frightening results. In the US, 58% of Americans believe that something like the Holocaust could happen again… 68% of people believed that antisemitism was prevalent in the United States… nearly a third of all Americans and more than four out of 10 millennials believe that substantially less than six million Jews were killed (two million or fewer) during the Holocaust…

“In a similar survey done… in Austria this year, similar results were reported. More than half (58%) of Austrians said that they believe that something like the Holocaust could happen again in other European countries. More than a third of Austrian adults – 38%, who are 43% of millennials and Generation Z – believe that National Socialism/Nazism could come to power again…

“Prof. Judy Baumel Schwartz of the Department of Jewish History and Contemporary Jewry at Bar-Ilan University said the hatred of Jews didn’t start with the Holocaust. ‘Hatred of Jews began a very long time before Hitler’… Following the Holocaust and until the 1980s, it wasn’t fashionable to be antisemitic, but this was just a temporary situation and ‘now Europe has gone back to the way it always was.’”

 This is frightening and deeply depressing. The propaganda promulgated on the Internet and in the social media is dangerous when false information is disseminated—such as the hoax that the Holocaust did not exist.

German Neo-Nazis and Green Party .. .an Interesting Symbiosis

The Jerusalem Post wrote on November 15:

“The EU’s top court has been engulfed since Tuesday in an antisemitic legal scandal because of its singling out of Jewish, Israeli products from the disputed territories for a punitive labeling system. Critics say the legal ruling is discriminatory.

“What has been omitted from the rage over the alleged European Union discriminatory ruling is that Germany’s main neo-Nazi party and the German Green Party advocated a labeling of Israeli products from the disputed West Bank, Golan Heights and east Jerusalem territories as early as 2012 for the Nazi party NPD and for the Greens in 2013…

First, the Nazis: In 2009, Jürgen Rieger, a Holocaust denier and then-deputy chairman of the neo-Nazi National Democratic Party of Germany, called on Germans to boycott Israel. In 2012, the NPD party submitted a legislative initiative in the parliament of the German state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania to mark Israeli products…

“A mere five months later, in 2013, Germany’s influential Green Party introduced an initiative in the federal parliament that largely mirrored the neo-Nazi-sponsored legislation from the previous year… Both initiatives use the historical model of the German Nazi regime boycotts of Jewish businesses starting on April 1, 1933, and invoking the mass slogan: ‘Germans defend yourselves. Do not buy from Jews!’… The much-documented antisemitism of the Green Party has been reported on over the decades…

“A striking feature of the Green Party’s deep obsession with targeting Jewish products with disciplinary action is that the party, like the EU’s top court, ignores the over 100 other territorial disputes in the world. Put simply, the Green Party seeks no economic warfare against Turkish products, for example, for Ankara’s illegal seizure of Northern Cyprus…

“The Israel Hayom columnist Caroline Glick tweeted on Tuesday: ‘Weren’t the Nazis rooted in the Green Party beginning in the late 19th century? And didn’t Nazis play a key role in establishing the postwar Greens? Didn’t the Greens push to label Jewish Israeli goods? (Yes, all the above is true.)’ Glick , a former columnist for the Post, hit a button about the Nazi roots of the Green Party.

“Take the example of August Haussleiter, who, as co-founder of the Greens in 1979, played an important role in the party’s development. Haussleiter was active in Hitler’s Munich Beer Hall Putsch in 1923 and praised the German Wehrmacht in 1942. Baldur Springmann, a former member of the SA, the Nazi Party’s original paramilitary organization, also played a critical role in the nascent phase of the German Green Party. He left the party in 1980.”

This is a very revealing article, as it exposes the deeply anti-Semitic culture of Germany’s neo-Nazis and the popular environmentalist Green Party—not unlike Britain’s Labour Party under Jeremy Corbyn.

Removing the Dome of the Rock?

Breaking Israel News reported on November 18:

“The Supreme Court of India ruled that an ancient [Hindu] temple must be rebuilt and a mosque that was built in its place must be relocated elsewhere. The case is surprisingly similar to the situation at Jerusalem’s Temple Mount and some see this as a precedent paving the way for the return of a Jewish Temple.

“… last week, the Indian Supreme Court gave its final ruling that the land required to build the Hindu temple be handed over by the Muslim authority…

“Assaf Fried, the spokesman for the Temple Organization, noted the unmistakable similarities between the case in India and the situation on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem… ‘The situation is precisely like the one in Jerusalem. Though it cannot be used in Israeli jurisprudence, conceptually, it is compelling… The structure of the Dome of the Rock, which is not a mosque but only a monument, can be moved to another location on the Temple Mount or in Jerusalem. It could even be transferred to Mecca.’…

“Yaakov Hayman, chairman of the United Temple Movements, agreed that the case in India was identical to the situation at the Temple Mount… He suggested moving the Dome of the Rock… ‘It is a beautiful building but it doesn’t need to be precisely there. That specific site is holy to the Jews. I think that what was shown in India is what should be done. If it was done in India, it can be done in Israel.’”

The push towards building the Third Temple gets more and more intense…

USA Reverses Decision to Call Israeli Settlements Illegal

Breitbart wrote on November 18:

“Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced Monday that the U.S. had reversed the policy of Presidents Jimmy Carter and Barack Obama, who declared Israeli settlements in Judea and Samaria (the ‘West Bank’) illegal. Israel took over the region during the Six Day War in 1 June 1967, after Jordan, ignoring pleas from Israel to stay out of the unfolding war with Egypt and Syria, began shelling western Jerusalem. Israel’s counter-attack was victorious.

“Though the area is commonly described as ‘occupied,’ Israel has long maintained that the territory is actually ‘disputed,’ since Jordan had no sovereign right to the territory. If anything, Israel has a superior legal claim, resting on the Balfour Declaration on 1917 and the subsequent League of Nations approval of the British Mandate, which included provision for a Jewish National Home in Palestine. Palestinians also claim the area for their future state.

“Jews had lived in portions of Judea and Samara for millennia. It is the Biblical cradle of the Jewish faith; Jews also lived in Jerusalem, Hebron, and other areas. Many were killed or expelled in the 1948 war of independence, but some began coming back, and establishing new settlements on state land, from 1968 onward…

“Secretary Pompeo issued a statement explaining the administration’s legal reasoning…: ‘After carefully studying all sides of the legal debate, this Administration agrees with President Reagan.  The establishment of Israeli civilian settlements in the West Bank is not per se inconsistent with international law.’…

“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli leaders celebrated the U.S. decision…”

The Associated Press added on November 18:

“The European Union warned of the potential repercussions in a statement following the announcement that did not mention the U.S…. The international community overwhelmingly considers the settlements illegal

“Shortly after Pompeo’s announcement, the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem issued an advisory warning for Americans planning to travel in the West Bank, Jerusalem and Gaza…”

The Associated Press wrote on November 20:

“The Vatican on Wednesday expressed concern that ‘recent decisions’ could undermine regional stability in the Middle East, in an apparent reference to the US reversal of position on Israeli settlements.”

The Netherlands Objects

The Times of Israel reported on November 20:

“The Dutch parliament on Tuesday approved a motion pushing back against a European Court of Justice decision that ordered the labeling of Israeli goods made in West Bank settlements. The motion, approved 82-68, calls on the government to object to the ruling, unless similar standards are applied to all disputed territories around the world. It deems the singling out of Israel in such regard unfair and discriminatory…

“The Dutch vote, supported by Christian groups in parliament and backed by the governing coalition, does not compel the government to act and is largely symbolic. However, diplomatic officials told the Ynet news site that the strong support from the coalition indicated it would guide government policy to an extent.”

The Netherlands is the exception. Most European countries, including Germany, reject the American positionEven though somewhat symbolic, the statement of the USA will set the stage for a coming clash in the Middle East. Note the next article.

Netanyahu Moves Ahead

Breaking Israel News reported on November 20:

“While much of the world screamed at the Trump administration’s announcement that international law does indeed grant Israel the right to Judea and Samaria, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took the opportunity to move forward towards redemption. As per a campaign promise made before the September 17 election, Netanyahu  announced on Tuesday [that he] approved a bill that would annex the Jordan Valley. The initiative for the bill actually came from Sharren Haskell (Likud) who, in light of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s announcement, requested that the bill be exempted from the mandatory six-week waiting period and be fast-tracked with a Knesset vote held next week. The move would include about 20 percent of Judea and Samaria into Israel

“The vote should go through with ease since Benny Gantz, head of the left-wing Blue and White party, announced two weeks ago that he supported annexing the Jordan Valley and the area adjacent to the Dead Sea. The left-wing party responded to Netanyahu’s campaign promise by saying,  ‘[We are] happy Netanyahu is adopting the Blue and White policy platform’…

“Rabbi Yehudah Glick, a Temple Mount activist and former Likud Member of Knesset, described the annexation of the Jordan Valley as the beginning of redemption. ‘The Jordan Valley, in particular, Jericho, was where the Jews first came into Israel,’ Rabbi Glick told Breaking Israel News. ‘That was the beginning of the first redemption. It was where we first became a free nation. This announcement is more than a political agenda. Just like the Jews who first crossed the Jordan River after the Exodus from Egypt, this is an announcement to the world that we are home… Like Abraham, we are saying, ‘Hineni’ (Here I am). We are here, and we are ready to settle the entire land,’ Rabbi Glick said.”

This will surely give rise to further anti-Israel resolutions and actions.

Israel’s Uncertain Future… a Third Election on the Horizon

Deutsche Welle reported on November 20:

“Benny Gantz, Blue and White party leader, announced on Wednesday that he will not be able to form a new government… President Reuven Rivlin had given him a midnight deadline… He now returns the mandate to Rivlin. This announcement deals a major setback to Gantz’s hopes of replacing Netanyahu as prime minister.

“Parliament now has 21 days to rally around Gantz, Netanyahu or another candidate to avoid the third election within twelve months… Avigdor Lieberman, leader of a smaller Israeli party and dubbed ‘kingmaker’ in the election, said earlier on Wednesday that he would not support Gantz, all but ensuring Gantz’s failure. He previously also ruled out working with Netanyahu.

Neither Gantz nor Netanyahu have the required majority in parliament to form a government in their own right. Despite rounds of meetings, both have been unwilling to bend on key issues… A third election now seems likely with no other solution on the horizon.”

This means, Netanyahu remains Prime Minister for the time being.

Netanyahu Indicted

JTA wrote on November 21:

“Benjamin Netanyahu has been charged in three corruption cases, marking the first time a sitting Israeli prime minister has been indicted.

“The charges, announced on Thursday evening by the Justice Ministry and Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit, include bribery and breach of public trust.

“Netanyahu has denied the charges and called the investigations against him a ‘witch hunt.’…

“He has 30 days to request that the Knesset grant him parliamentary immunity in order to avoid a criminal trial. Government ministers are required to resign if faced with a criminal charge, but not the prime minister.

The Jerusalem Post added:

“The indictment will significantly impact the ongoing efforts to form a coalition before December 11 when the period of 21 days expires.”

Donald Trump—the Last US President?

On November 13, Breaking Israel News published an article with the following headline:

“Rabbi: Blessing Trump as King Shows He is the Final President Before the Return of Davidic Dynasty.”

The article continued:

“President Trump attended an Orthodox Jewish fundraising event at the Intercontinental Hotel in Manhattan on Tuesday evening. Four hundred Orthodox Jews participated in the event… Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Jacobson recited the blessing said upon seeing a non-Jewish ruler… The crowd responded with an enthusiastic ‘Amen’ and chants of ‘Four more years.’ The Talmud states that it is a mitzvah (Torah commandment) for a Jew to go out of his way to see rulers and kings, whether they are Jewish or non-Jewish… ‘Though it is true that Trump is not technically a king but he is the most powerful ruler of the world,’ Rabbi Hollander told Breaking Israel News. ‘In that sense, Trump is more of a king than other kings.’…

“Rabbi Berger noted that the blessing of Trump as a king was timely indeed. He cited Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki, the medieval commentator known by the acronym Rashi, explains that this mitzvah is incumbent on Jews who will see the coming of the Messiah… ‘The Messiah will come to fix the mess that has been made of governments around the world, in almost every nation. America and Israel are both having crises in leadership,’ Rabbi Berger said.

“‘We are seeing that democracy simply does not work. The Bible does not talk about democracy. If the U.S. had a king, there would not be any spurious impeachment process or pointless investigations. Democracy allows people who hate the country, who hate God, and even hate half of the people, to run the country. This breakdown of government is intended to turn people to the real king.’ ‘If Israel had a king, there would not be any election reruns,’ Rabbi Berger said. ‘Since David was the king, he went out and dealt with the Philistines in a true and decisive manner. Because Israel does not have a king, it is 70 years and we are still getting attacked by the same Philistines.’ ‘We need the real king and all this conflict over how to run the country will end with the emergence of the true king,’ Rabbi Berger said.”

We have suggested for quite a while that Donald Trump might indeed be the last President of the United States. And as the article points out, only the Messiah will be able to make an end to the mess which we have created.

“Is America Ready for an Openly Gay President?”

AFP wrote on November 18:

“As young Democrat Pete Buttigieg emerges as a genuine contender in the 2020 White House race, his rise poses the question of whether America is ready for an openly gay president… The latest national polls put the Afghanistan veteran fourth behind… former vice president Joe Biden and… senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders… While Buttigieg does not dwell on his sexual orientation, he has spoken candidly about his decision to come out four years ago, and his engagement in 2017 to Chasten — with whom he hopes to start a family, perhaps even in the White House.

Unlike Europe where half a dozen countries have elected gay leaders since 2009, the barrier to LGBT presidential candidates, as well as women, remains unbroken in the United States. Barack Obama, the first black man elected president in 2008, was preceded in the White House by 43 white males, none openly gay… Now we have two [openly gay] governors [and] two [openly gay] US senators… The first openly gay presidential candidate was Fred Karger, who sought the Republican nomination in 2012, although his candidacy never took off.

“On its website, Victory Fund regularly updates a map of elected LBGTQ officials in the United States: the number currently stands at 762 across all levels of government and all states except South Dakota and Mississippi… In May, a Gallup poll found 76 percent of respondents said they would vote for a gay candidate, three times more than in 1978. Among Democrats… the share rose to 83 percent… Most [opposed] were able to overcome their reservations after hearing him speak in calm and measured tones and once he had reminded them he is a practicing Christian…”

The change in the USA—and around the world—pertaining to “openly gay” politicians is quite remarkable and a telling sign of the times. The Bible condemns the practice of homosexuality. But the discussion as to whether America is ready for an “openly gay president” may only be of theoretical interest, because Donald Trump will be reelected in 2020.

The Nuclear Crisis

Project Syndicate wrote on November 18:

Iran has begun a slow but steady process of getting out from under many of the agreement’s limits… It may… be calculating that these steps could dramatically reduce the time it would need to produce nuclear weapons without being attacked. But it is at least as likely that Iran’s actions will lead the US, or more probably Israel, to undertake a preventive strike designed to destroy a significant part of its program.

“Such a strike could lead several other regional powers, including Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt, to develop or acquire nuclear weapons of their own. Turkey, increasingly estranged from many of its allies, has suggested that it may choose to develop nuclear weapons regardless of what Iran does. North Korea is far ahead of Iran: it already has several dozen nuclear weapons and missiles, has tested missiles that can reach the US, and is developing submarine-launched nuclear weapons.

“The notion that North Korea will agree to give up its weapons and ‘denuclearize’ is fanciful. Its leader, Kim Jong-un, believes that only nuclear weapons can ensure his regime’s survival, a belief understandably strengthened by the experience of Ukraine, which accepted security guarantees in exchange for giving up the nuclear weapons it inherited from the Soviet Union, only to be invaded by Russia 25 years later.

“One risk is… that North Korea’s neighbors, including South Korea and Japan, will determine that they, too, need nuclear weapons given the North Korean threat and their diminished confidence in the reliability of the US and its guarantees to protect them with its nuclear forces. The danger in both regions is that a race to acquire nuclear weapons could trigger a preventive war…

India and Pakistan, two countries with a long history of bilateral conflict, are both nuclear powers. Nuclear deterrence cannot be assumed

“… the number of countries [known to have] nuclear weapons is… nine… But with nuclear technology increasingly available, arms control unraveling amid renewed great power rivalry, weakened alliances as the US pulls back from the world, and fading memories of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, we are entering a new and dangerous period. Nuclear competition or even use of nuclear weapons could again become the greatest threat to global stability. Less certain is whether today’s leaders are up to meeting this emerging challenge.”

A nuclear all-encompassing World War III is prophesied to happen soon.

Vaccinations for Children Soon Mandatory in Germany

Deutsche Welle wrote on November 14:

“On Thursday, the German parliament — the Bundestag — passed a law to make immunization mandatory. The ‘Measles Protection Act’ stipulates that as of March 2020 children and staff in kindergartens and schools, medical facilities, and community facilities must be vaccinated. These include residences for asylum seekers, refugee shelters and holiday camps. Parents who do not vaccinate their children of school age will face hefty fines of up to €2,500 ($2,749), while younger children could face a ban from day care facilities…

“After months of debate, the law approved on Thursday wasn’t passed without criticism. Pediatrician Dr. Steffen Rabe… said every parent should be allowed to decide whether they immunize their child. ‘The law is unnecessary, ineffective and unconstitutional,’ Rabe told DW, quoting the right of bodily integrity…

“As the measles vaccination in Germany is only available as a triple — and sometimes quadruple — shot, the mandatory measles vaccination will also indirectly make immunization against measles, mumps and rubella, and in some cases chicken pox obligatory… ‘Some parents don’t want to vaccinate their children against all three diseases due to concerns about possible… side effects later in life,’ Rabe said.

“The German Association of Cities was also critical, saying that the law will affect the legal right to a place at a kindergarten and the difficulty of finding an available spot — an ongoing issue in Germany. German Health Minister Jens Spahn defended the new law.”

Many can be influenced by following the popular mass-media-driven notion endorsed by many governments regarding the necessity of vaccinations, while overlooking or suppressing potential side effects. Spahn who is openly gay has also been instrumental for the enactment of other laws which are likewise quite controversial.

 In addition, Bild Online reported on November 20 that Germans are overwhelmingly disappointed with their government. Only 26% feel the quality of their government constitutes strength for their country, and only 57% have confidence in the political stability (down from 81% a while back). 73% of East Germans think that the current government is too weak. Further, the coalition between CDU and SPD is being rejected by a large portion of the population, but so would be a coalition between the CDU and the Greens.  

Jury Sides with Planned Parenthood Against Undercover Video Journalists

Breitbart wrote on November 15:

“The jury in the federal civil case brought against the undercover video journalists who exposed Planned Parenthood in its alleged trafficking of the body parts of aborted babies found in favor of Planned Parenthood Friday. In the case of Planned Parenthood v. Center for Medical Progress (CMP), the jury found the pro-life journalists caused significant harm to the abortion chain with its sting video series and awarded punitive damages to the abortion chain of over $2.2 million, according to the Thomas More Society, which represented David Daleiden, who headed the CMP project.

“In a statement, Daleiden said: ‘Justice was not done today in San Francisco. While top Planned Parenthood witnesses spent six weeks testifying under oath that the undercover videos are true and Planned Parenthood sold fetal organs on a quid pro quo basis, a biased judge with close Planned Parenthood ties spent six weeks trying to influence the jury with pre-determined rulings and suppressed the video evidence, all in order to rubber-stamp Planned Parenthood’s lawsuit attack on the First Amendment. This is a dangerous precedent for citizen journalism and First Amendment civil rights across the country, sending a message that speaking truth and facts to criticize the powerful is no longer protected by our institutions.’

“Prior to the start of the trial, U.S. District Judge William Orrick III ruled the jury would not be allowed to consider any information Daleiden gleaned from the video recordings… Orrick has been the subject of controversy as he presided over the case, during which he imposed a gag order on CMP regarding the online publication of the National Abortion Federation (NAF) and Planned Parenthood video footage… the Good Samaritan Family Resource Center — an entity that is in partnership with a Planned Parenthood affiliate, a member of the NAF — had named Orrick as an emeritus member of its board… Orrick’s wife’s Facebook account was found to have included posted public comments — along with a photo of her and her husband — that indicate support for Planned Parenthood and criticism of Daleiden and CMP.

“Planned Parenthood has yet to be prosecuted for any of the allegations of profiting from the sales of the body parts of babies aborted in its clinics….”

This Judge should have been disqualified, as he was obviously biased. This is a travesty of justice and an abominable judgment of shame in favor of an organization which is admittedly engaged in terrible and ungodly conduct. How could a true Christian participate in jury trials like these?

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.

Meeting Isaiah; Where is Peace?

On, November 23, 2019, Frank Bruno will present the sermonette, titled, “Meeting Isaiah,” and Eric Rank will present the sermon, titled, “Where is Peace?”

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.

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